25 MAY 2233

MATT

A loud groan sounded in the semi-darkness as Matt blindly searched for the annoying sound that had woken him up. The noise had confused him at first, because he hasn’t had an alarm clock in years. He didn’t have a reason for owning an alarm clock, so he didn’t bother with one. After the third ring, he finally realized that it was his phone. Something else he usually didn’t bother with. Grasping fingers finally located it, under the nightstand, and he flopped back against his mattress as he pulled the phone to his ear.

“What?” His voice was rough, like he hadn’t talked in days, which wasn’t far from the truth.

“Matt? Matt Sanders?” The voice on the other end of the line was definitely feminine, a little lower pitched, and professional sounding despite the slight drawl. He doesn’t know any women with a southern drawl.

“That’s me,” he managed to mumble into the phone.

“My name is Tara Christens, and I have a proposition for you.” Matt came a little more awake at her words and rubbed the sleep from his dry eyes.

“What kind of proposition?”

“Well, you and your friends will just have to come and find out.” It was easy to hear the smile in her voice, and it made his stomach roll. It was like a horde of bats had turned his midsection into their new home.

“My friends?”

“Yeah, you remember them, don’t you? Or do you old bandmates mean that little to you?” The drawl was more pronounced when she was angry, it seemed.

“I haven’t forgotten them.” Matt felt like he was defending himself, but he didn’t know why. He doesn’t know this woman, so her opinion of him doesn’t mean anything.

“Good. Now, I want you to get a pen and some paper so you can write this down.” He found a pen after stumbling into the kitchen, and he flipped over an old envelope to write on. She made him repeat back what he wrote before hanging up, and he stared down at the simple directions for a few minutes. Before he knew it, he was dialing a familiar number and cradling the phone between his ear and shoulder as he opened the living room curtains for the first time in a very long time.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Zacky. It’s Matt.” There was a pause, and Matt blinked against the early morning sunlight. His living room was dusty.

“Matt…how’ve you been?” They almost sounded like strangers talking, and Matt resisted the urge to feel defensive. Again.

“Not so good, but that’s not why I’m calling. Some woman just called me and wants all of us to meet her.”

“Meet her? For what?” Zacky sounded as confused as Matt felt, so at least he’s not alone in this.

“She didn’t say. Just said she had a proposition for us.” Zacky was silent for several long seconds, and Matt would have thought that he had hung up if it hadn’t been for the light breathing on the other end. While he waited, he looked around his mostly empty house and at the envelope that was still on the kitchen counter. After what felt like an hour of silence but was probably only thirty seconds, Zacky spoke.

“What do we have to lose? Let’s go.”

BERT

“Just answer the damn thing!” Jeph yelled at Bert after the phone rang again.

“But what if it’s someone I don’t want to talk to?” Bert whined. His phone had been ringing for about a minute now, but he still hadn’t answered it. Seriously, what if it was someone he didn’t want to talk to?

“Fine! Be stubborn!” Jeph yelled. Jeph snatched the phone up just as it started ringing again and put it to Bert’s ear. Bert pointed a finger at his so-called friend and mouthed you’re-dead before taking the phone in his hand.

“What?” he snapped. Maybe, if he’s mean, they’ll hang up and leave him alone.

“Now, is that any way to talk to the person trying to help you out?” The teasing feminine tone on the other end surprised him. Bert was expecting either some kind of debt collector or someone trying to sell something.

“Who is this?” Okay, so, Bert’s curiosity was piqued. Just a little.

“My name is Emily Kinston. I’m assuming that you’re Bert McCracken?”

“You assume correctly. Now, what do you want?”

“Straight to the point, I like it. I just want you to write down the address I say, and then I want you and your bandmates to meet me this Monday. In case you were wondering, that’s four days from now.”

“I know what day it is,” Bert mumbled while searching through a junk drawer for a pen. In all honesty, he had no clue what day it was. It could have been Easter and he’d be none the wiser.

“Ready yet?” Impatient woman.

“Yeah, I’m ready.” He wrote down the address she gave him as well as some other little details, and he hung up after saying a quick goodbye. Jeph was staring at him expectantly, so Bert quickly explained what was going on. Jeph left to call the others, while Bert stared down at the sticky note in his hands. He could be completely wrong about this, but he’s got a feeling that his luck is about to change.

GERARD

“Yeah, we had some good times,” Bob said and sighed a little. His wife, Liza, gave his hand a comforting squeeze but didn’t say anything. They were all spread out around Ray’s living room, all five old band members and Liza, and talking about old times. Times when they had really been alive. Times that they had taken for granted.

“Ray! Phone!” Frank yelled as he walked in. He threw the small phone to Ray before collapsing onto a beanbag chair, and Ray gave him a weird look before answering.

“Hello?” A pause. “Yeah, sure.” Another pause. “Gee! Think fast!”

“Motherfu—” Gerard cut himself off as he grabbed the phone, before it could fall to the floor, and he glared over at Ray. The other man just shrugged his shoulders, and Gerard slowly raised the phone to his ear. “Yeah?”

“Gerard Way?” The woman’s voice sounded almost hesitant, timid.

“Yes. Can I help you with something?” He could feel the others looking at him, but he ignored them for the moment. Something was telling him that this phone call was important and that he’d better pay attention.

“My name is Samantha Madrazo, and I would like to meet with you and your friends. Your bandmates,” she added quickly. Gerard looked up at that to look at the guys, and they were all looking at him with confused expressions.

“Meet for what?”

“That’s for me to know and for you to find out.” She didn’t sound so timid anymore, and Gerard forced back a sigh. These days, surprises were rarely good.

“Alright. Fine.” At the woman’s insistence, he stood up and wandered into Ray’s kitchen. He found a giant glitter gel pen, decided he didn’t want to know, and flipped over the paper that Ray had written his grocery list on. He wrote down everything the woman said, repeated it back to her to make sure he had it all right, and then hung up. He carried the phone and the paper into the living room, and five pairs of confused eyes focused on him.

“What’s with the zombie impersonation?” Frank asked after Gerard just kept staring down at the paper.

“We’ve got a meeting Monday at ten. In California.”

29 MAY 2233

TARA

“What if they don’t want to do it?” Sam asked. Tara opened her mouth to reply, but the sound of echoing footsteps cut her off. Aiden, Sam, and Tara turned their eyes to the entrance and waited. Everyone else had things to do today, to get things ready for the tour they were preparing. Nearly everything was set up; they were mostly only missing the bands.

“What if we don’t want to do what?” Tara straightened up as Bert McCracken, lead singer for The Used, walked in. Jeph, Quinn, and Dan were with him and together they all walked over to the only table that was set-up.

“Something,” Sam said with a secretive smile.

“Which one of you is the Emily chick I talked to?” Bert asked.

“Emily couldn’t make it,” Tara said quickly. Which was a good thing too. Emily hated being called a chick.

“So you get us instead,” Aiden added with a smile.

“Ignore him. He’s just being an ass,” Quinn said and rolled his eyes.

“Am not!” Bert yelled and crossed his arms.

“You should’ve been on the train with him,” Jeph mumbled.

“Fucking nightmare,” Dan agreed.

“You try talking to a random person and have them tell you to come to wherever we are without giving you a reason,” Bert said and took the time to glare at each of his bandmates.

“It’s nothing bad, we promise,” Tara said first.

“Yeah, you just might thank us,” Sam said after looking over at Tara.

“And you’re not wherever. It’s called California,” Aiden said without looking away from Bert.

“Yeah, okay, we’re in California with three strange chicks who won’t tell us anything,” Bert said without breaking eye contact with Aiden. Tara was almost sure they were having a staring contest, but she wasn’t sure what the winner would get. Pride thing, maybe?

“I’m Aiden.”

“You can call me Sam.”

“I’m Tara, and we’ll tell you what’s going on just as soon as the others get here,” Tara said and smiled. She had a feeling that it was a nervous smile; she just hoped they wouldn’t be able to tell.

“What others?”

“Bert?”

“Well, there’s half of the others,” Tara said and pointed at the five men walking into the dining area.

“Gee?” Bert asked and stood up. All of the guys grouped together and welcomed each other, and they talked as if they hadn’t seen each other in years. Maybe they hadn’t.

“So, what’s going on?” Ray asked and looked down the table at where the women were sitting.

“A meeting. I’m going to get the drinks,” Aiden said and walked off.

“A meeting? For what?” Frank asked as everyone started to sit down again.

“You have to wait until the others get here,” Tara said.

“So that we only have to go over this once,” Sam explained.

“Who’d I talk to?” Gerard asked once all the guys were settled.

“That’d be me.” When Tara looked over, she saw Sam give a little wave.

“It’s nice to meet you, Samantha,” Gerard said and smiled. Well, he seemed more at ease than Bert did. Now Tara was really wishing that she’d listened in when Emily called Bert, mostly for the entertainment value.

“Sam, please.”

“Why would someone invite us to a restaurant?! Admit it! You wrote it down wrong!” a new voice yelled. Sounded kind of familiar.

“I didn’t write anything down wrong!” a deeper voice yelled. Five more men walked into the room, and Tara watched as they stopped arguing and took a look around. Five pairs of eyes settled on her and Sam, and Tara crossed her ankles under the table as she tried to sit a little straighter.

“Hi, boys,” Tara said and waved them on in.

“See? I told you I didn’t write it down wrong,” Matt said and walked forward.

“This time,” Zacky mumbled from behind him.

“Which one of you called me?” Matt asked. He braced his palms on the table as he stared down the table at Tara and Sam. Tara wasn’t exactly sure if it was possible, but he looked bigger than he did before and a lot scarier. Aiden chose that moment to walk back into the dining area and place pitchers of drinks on the table.

“Tara, you called Matt, right?” Aiden asked and looked over at her.

“Yeah, that was me,” Tara said. Her voice sounded a little weak to her ears, so she tried to smile.

“I’ll be back with some more pitchers. Make yourselves comfortable,” Aiden said and disappeared again.

“Well, I’m here now,” Matt said while looking directly at Tara. She had to tell herself not to pass out, and she reached under the table to grab Sam’s hand.

“We really should wait for Aiden and the refreshments,” Tara said, nearly in a whisper. Has the man done nothing but work out for the past five years?

“Psst! Tara!” Sam whispered out of the corner of her mouth. Tara leaned towards the side and watched the three bands talk.

“Yeah?” she whispered back as she pulled her hand away from Sam’s. She wiped her sweaty palm against her jeans and took a slow breath.

“He’s freaking huge! Did you see that?”

“It was kinda hard not to.”

“I think he could bench-press both of us.”

“I know I can.” Sam and Tara both froze at the sound of Matt’s voice, and Matt winked at Sam. Well, that was embarrassing. Sam and Tara both straightened up in their seats while trying not to make eye contact with anyone, including each other.

“Can we finally know what’s going on?” Bert asked. The tone was close to a whine, and he poked his bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout when Tara looked over at him.

“I’ve got two trays left and then we’ll talk,” Aiden said as she breezed through to drop off some more pitchers.

“I’ll help,” Jimmy yelled and jumped from his chair.

“Jimmy, the waitress,” Johnny said and smiled up at his taller friend.

“Johnny, the gnome,” Jimmy said with a pat to the top of Johnny’s head. He raced off after Aiden before Johnny could retaliate, and Tara bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing while Sam coughed to cover her laugh. A few moments later, felt like a small eternity to Tara, Aiden and Jimmy returned. Everyone fixed themselves a drink and settled in their chairs, and Tara felt some of that nervous energy returning as all three bands turned to look at the women. Alright, here goes nothing.

“I can do one of two things. I can either give you a long story about how all this came about, or I can cut straight to the point. Which one do y’all want?” Tara asked. She nearly winced as the y’all slipped out and then decided, fuck it. She’s technically on vacation, so she doesn’t have to talk without her natural accent.

“Straight to the point!” Bert yelled. Yeah, that’s what she figured they’d ask for.

“There’s a reunion tour scheduled to start in a couple of weeks, and we’re meeting at the first venue a few Fridays from now so we need your answers today. If you’re not interested, there’s plenty of bands to replace you,” Tara said and laced her fingers together on top of the table.

“A what?” Mikey asked.

“I think she said reunion tour,” Dan whispered loudly.

“That’s what I said. You three have been chosen for the reunion tour. We’ve got venues, busses, and more fans than you can possibly imagine. Everything has been taken care of. All you have to do is show up,” Tara said with a genuine smile. There wasn’t a single trace of nervousness this time, because she’s damn proud of what her friends have put together.

“We’ve worked really hard to bring all this together,” Sam said and leaned forward.

“Because we believe that the fans need you back,” Aiden added.

“So, what do you guys say?” Tara asked.

“How long? A couple of months and then we’re gone again?” Matt asked. He sounded angry, and Tara really doesn’t want to see what Matt looks like when he’s angry.

“One year, and we’ll show everyone that getting rid of y’all was a mistake,” Tara said.

“A year of touring?” Quinn asked, more to himself than to anyone else.

“I’m in,” Gerard said and looked over at his bandmates.

“I’m definitely in,” Mikey said and smiled at his brother.

“They’ll need guitarists,” Ray said and looked at Frank.

“Then I guess we’re in,” Frank replied.

“Can my wife come with us?” Bob asked.

“Yeah, of course! The more the merrier.” Bob nodded, so Tara looked at the other two bands. “Anyone else?”

“Matt?” Sam asked. The Avenged guys had been talking quietly together, and Matt turned back around to face the women.

“We’re in,” he said.

“Bert?” Aiden asked.

“I’ve only got one question,” Bert said as he looked down at them. His elbows were propped on the table, and his laced hands were less than an inch away from his face. He looked really…serious.

“What’s that?” Tara asked when Sam and Aiden remained quiet. This was what she got for coming up with the idea in the first place; she got voted as official spokesperson.

“What took you so long?” Bert’s face broke out into a smile, and Tara sighed out of relief.

“You’re an ass,” Tara said as the rest of the table laughed.

“But I’m a loveable ass,” Bert said and leaned back with a smug look.

“So, is it just going to be us on it?” Zacky asked.

“You three and us girls. We decided that since we arranged and paid for the whole thing, that we could tag along and make sure everything goes as planned,” Tara said. So much money and planning…Yeah, they’ve definitely earned the right to tag along.

“Some of us will help with the teching and managing, and maybe set-up some interviews or something later on,” Sam added.

“In other words, we’ve got you covered,” Aiden promised.

“How many of you are there?” Ray asked.

“There’s eight more, besides us three,” Sam answered.

“You’ll meet them when the tour actually starts,” Aiden said.

“Right now, we need all of you to go back home and get ready. Pack up everything you’ll need and meet us back here in LA on the ninth,” Tara said.

“You girls ain’t wasting any time, are you?” Jeph asked.

“Nope,” all three answered together. The women said goodbye to all the guys and Sam told them exactly where to meet them a couple of Fridays from then, and the women stood together to watch the three bands leave.

“This tour is going to be badass,” Sam said.

“Epic,” Aiden added.

“The badass epic reunion tour. I like it,” Tara said with a smile. Now it was time to give everyone else the good news.

2 JUNE 2233

TARA

“That wrinkle is back between your brows,” Lindsay said before turning back to her workstation. Tara reached up, with her right hand, and poked above her nose. Yeah, those definitely felt like wrinkles. “If you keep that up, you’re going to get a stress headache. Do you want a juice box?”

“No, I’m good. It’s just…We’re really doing this, aren’t we?” Tara was a certified counselor; her day job consisted of listening to people talk about the issues in their lives and trying to help them come up with solutions, so she knew what to look for when she needed to vent. Lindsay? Best listener ever.

“You mean, are we really sponsoring a reunion tour that the government is dead-set against one week from now?” Lindsay looked over her shoulder to flash a smile, and Tara felt her jaw relax the tiniest bit.

“There’s no way it’s going to be easy. The Management and all its many branches exists to keep us safe, and I totally get that. I do. The last thing anyone wants is another global war, but personal freedoms have to mean something. It’s just music.” Tara was sprawled back in the black leather chair now, but her left hand remained perfectly still on the small plastic wrapped table next to the chair.

“Music can start revolutions, if it’s powerful enough,” Lindsay remarked as she turned back around. Tara listened to the sound of the tattoo gun starting and closed her eyes.

“I don’t want to start a revolution, I’m all about peace and love, I just want…I don’t know.” It felt like her left hand was vibrating, but her breathing was much calmer now than when she first walked into the mostly empty tattoo shop. Her and Lindsay were the only ones in the shop, because it’s officially closed until the end of the tour.

“Sure you know. It’s the reason why you’re in here today,” Lindsay said as she continued the tattoo. Right above the four crescent marks on Tara’s left hand, she was getting “see you on the other side” tattooed. The words curved from just above her wrist and ended between the knuckles of her pointer finger and middle finger. Kristy’s last words above the scars she left.

“I know it probably sounds juvenile to think that music, that three bands, can save lives…but what if they can? If this tour saves just one life, won’t it be worth it?” Lindsay was working carefully, so she finished the word she was working on before replying.

“You mean, will it be worth all the potential problems we’re going to run into?” Potential problems…the government regulates things for a reason, so they’re not going to be happy about this little reunion tour. Casey called Tara a few days ago to tell her that people were already talking and word was starting to spread, and that’s about the time that Tara got the stress headache that refused to go away.

“Yeah,” Tara said quietly. She watched the squiggles of colors behind her closed lids and tried to focus on the small stinging pain traveling across the top of her hand, but little worries kept creeping through.

“I think it’ll be worth it.” Tara peeked one eye open, and she could see Lindsay smiling as she continued to tattoo.

“You’re just saying that because you want to start a revolution,” Tara teased.

“Vive la revolution,” Lindsay grinned. Tara closed both eyes again and let Lindsay work uninterrupted.

LIZA

“Babe, you’re not taking that sweater.” Liza Braxton-Bryar watched as her husband, of nine years, paused and looked down at the sweater in confusion.

“You bought this sweater for me,” Bob pointed out.

“Yeah, as a joke, at Christmastime. I didn’t think you’d wear it socially.” Bob looked at the sweater, looked at where she was reclined on the bed, and then carefully folded the sweater before placing it into his winter suitcase. “Remind me, why did I marry such a dork?”

“Because of my dashing good looks,” Bob said before disappearing inside of the closet again. Liza laughed, like Bob probably intended, and decided to let him pack whatever he wanted.

He’s been excited about this reunion tour, all of the guys have, but Liza was a little more skeptical. It’s been five years since the guys were forced to retire, and The Management wasn’t known for changing its mind. So, what kind of people were able to convince them to let this happen? Truthfully, Liza was worried. For all of them. She was hoping that she’d change her mind after meeting the women who have arranged this whole thing; she’s a pretty good judge of character.

Good judge of character…that’s what she told Bob when they first met at the mechanic’s shop she worked at when she was eighteen. A year later, they were married. Three years after that, she owned the mechanic’s shop and was still happily married. Sure, they’ve had their ups and downs over the years. Their marriage really hit a rough patch after the forced retirement, because all of the guys took it pretty hard. That’s one of the reasons she’s so worried; if this reunion tour fails, the guys might not recover. She loves Bob more than anyone else in this world, and she thinks of the guys as family. Her only family. If something were to happen to them, she’d be lost.

“Quit thinking so loud!” Bob called out as he crossed the room towards the bathroom.

“I’m not thinking loud!” she called back.

“You’re twirling your hair!” Liza looked down. Sure enough, she had a thick chunk of bright teal hair wrapped around her index and middle finger. It’s what she gets for letting it grow out past her shoulder blades. Dark brown eyes rolled, and she heard Bob laugh through the open bathroom door. After all their years together, he knows her better than she knows herself.

“You’re really sure about this?” Liza asked after he walked back into the bedroom.

“I think that if we turned it down and didn’t even give it a chance, we’d never forgive ourselves,” Bob answered seriously. He was right, of course. He usually was. Liza traced one of the shapes inked onto her right arm, her entire right arm was sleeved with tattoos of sacred geometry, and she usually traced the circular patterns when she was worried.

“If this goes sideways, I will kick your ass,” she promised and got off the bed. She needed to take out her labret and medusa piercings for the night, but she felt like leaving the three earrings in each ear. They’ll be fine.

“If this goes sideways, I will kick my own ass,” Bob countered. That’ll have to be good enough for now.

BETTY

“Sugar?” Betty Whitesides whispered.

“Yes, dear?” Betty looked away from the spectacle in front of her and over at her husband for the past five years, and she wasn’t surprised to see the smug grin on his face.

“I meant Bert, Dan,” she said when he just continued to grin at her. He slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to his side, and Betty sighed as she dropped her cheek onto his chest. She grew up down the street from Dan, and they were friends all through high school. When her dad passed away when she was nineteen, Dan helped her through it because her dad was all she had. By the end of that year, they were dating. A couple of years later, right before the forced retirement, they got married. It’s the best decision that Betty’s ever made.

“HA! Your wife loves me more than you!” Bert yelled as he zipped through the house again.

“My wife just has a soft spot for degenerates!” Dan yelled back. Betty swatted at Dan’s arm, but not enough to hurt. She’s a bookkeeper, so hurting people usually wasn’t on her list of things to do. She also had cuddle me tattooed across her collarbones, which was a kind of code that she lived by. More cuddles, less fighting.

“Explains why she’s with you!” Jeph yelled as he ran through next.

“You’ve got an ass kicking on the way!” Dan yelled. He pressed a quick kiss against Betty’s forehead and then took off after Jeph, and dark brown eyes rolled as insults drifted from the back of the house. The couch cushion next to her shifted from sudden weight, and Betty was tossed sideways against Quinn. She pushed some of her wavy dark brown hair out of her eyes, considered cutting it for the thousandth time, and then smiled over at Quinn.

“You’re not going to join in on the ass kicking?” she asked him. Most people were surprised when they found out that Betty was married to a retired rockstar, which she thought was ridiculous. Yes, she’s been told that she’s a very nice and usually bubbly person. Yes, she only has one piercing. (Her tongue, which is easily concealed.) Yes, she only has two tattoos. (The one across her collarbones and a flaming drum kit on her left ribcage.) Personally, she doesn’t like stereotypes. Dan’s always been good to her, and the other guys are like her brothers. They’re family.

“No, I’ll just get them after they’ve tired each other out.” It was a smart plan, but Betty narrowed her eyes anyway.

“That’s playing dirty.”

“That’s playing smart,” Quinn corrected just as Bert ran by with a plunger. Betty considered trying to wrangle them but decided to let them tire themselves out; they’ll be easier to deal with then, so Quinn just might be onto something.

“So, this tour.” When Quinn just kept staring at her, Betty sighed and crossed her arms. “You guys are sure it’s solid?”

“I did research on the women running it. They’re good people,” Quinn shrugged. Good people…Betty does her best to give people the benefit of the doubt, but this was her family. If this tour turned out to be something other than what those women said, it’d crush them.

“They better be,” Betty said as a crash sounded somewhere.

“Or you’ll give them a stern talking to?” Quinn asked with a teasing smile.

“Or they’ll be getting an ass kicking,” Betty laughed. Quinn high-fived her at that, and they enjoyed the silence for the next forty-three seconds. Then someone screamed, too high pitched to be serious, and Betty got to her feet with a smile. She had to go check on her guys.

7 JUNE 2233

TARA

“How’s the new tattoo?” Emily asked and sat down across from Tara.

“Itchy. Ice cream?” Tara held the small tub out with her right hand and laughed as Emily’s nose wrinkled up. Emily’s always hated mint chocolate chip, which was the only reason Tara ever offered it to her. The tattoo on the back of her left hand had scabbed over and was seriously starting to itch, but the ice cream made her happy.

“Last night,” Emily finally said. Tara hummed but didn’t reply, and Emily drummed her fingers against the kitchen table. “We won’t be back here for a year. We’re leaving to do something that’s probably going to blow up in our faces at some point, so it’s okay to be nervous.”

“Are you psychoanalyzing me right now? I thought that was my job?” There was plenty of amusement in Tara’s tone, to show that she was kidding, but Emily just narrowed her eyes.

“I’m being a friend. Specifically, your friend. Look, it’s only been a little over a month since Kristy died, and I don’t think you’ve dealt with that yet.”

“I helped organize a reunion tour, in Kristy’s honor,” Tara pointed out while pointing her spoon in Emily’s direction.

“Yeah, you came up with an idea that just might get us hurt if we piss of The Management enough. That’s reckless and dangerous, and I think people like you call making big decisions like that a cry for help.” This time it was Tara’s turn to narrow her eyes, and she stabbed her spoon into the pint of ice cream.

“I just want to make a difference,” Tara sighed after a moment of intense staring. It’s a good thing everyone else in the house was asleep already.

“You’re just one person.” Tara perked up at that and smiled as she grabbed her spoon again.

“Exactly! That’s why the eleven of us got three retired bands to tour again. It takes a village, right?” She took a huge bite of ice cream and didn’t feel her hand itch at all as the cold treat melted on her tongue.

“I totally set myself up for that one, didn’t I?” Since Tara’s mouth was full, she just nodded with her cheeks puffed out. “Whatever. I’ll be keeping my eye on you.”

“Message received, Sarge,” Tara said and snapped off a salute. Emily glared but didn’t argue with her about the nickname, which Tara took as a small victory. Tomorrow, they’ll all leave the house and start on this giant reunion tour. There’s no telling what will happen in the next year, but for right now? Tara had ice cream.

Notes

This chapter is actually short compared to most of the chapters, but I wanted The First Official Day of the Reunion Tour to have its own chapter. I don't think there's anything important that I wanted to explain in this chapter...it explained everything enough. If there's any questions about anything, I'd be happy to answer them!

For anyone who's curious, here's the albums that the bands released before being forced into retirement. So their shows will be a mixture of songs from their previously released albums.

Avenged Sevenfold: Sounding The Seventh Trumpet, Waking The Fallen, City Of Evil, Avenged Sevenfold, Diamonds In The Rough, Nightmare

My Chemical Romance: I Brought You My Bullets You Brought Me Your Love, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, The Black Parade, Danger Days

The Used: The Used, In Love And Death, Lies For The Liars, Artwork

And here's a picture of Liza's Sleeve