Nodus Tollens
Always Have An Exit Strategy In Place Before Tackling Giants Wearing Pink
8 JUNE 2233
TARA
“Come on, everyone! Move it!” Tara yelled and even waved her arms.
“We’re moving!” Audrey yelled back. Today was the day. The first official day of the reunion tour. The people that some of the women hired were already milling about and had their own vans, and the girls had five very large tour busses ready to go. Aiden, Sam, Reina, Lindsay, and Patti were all on one bus, which was being called the Purple Bus. Raven, Emily, Audrey, Tori, Pyper, and Tara were all on the Blue Bus.
“What’s the rush for anyway?!” Emily asked as she walked off the Blue Bus. Everyone just got done claiming their bunks and unloading, and Tara rocked back and forth on her heels. Before she could rock forwards again, an arm slid around her shoulders and a head was placed on top of hers. Since Tara was only five feet tall, it could have been almost any of the girls, really.
“The guys are going to be here soon,” Aiden explained. Aiden was two inches shy of six feet, so it was easy for her to use the top of Tara’s head as a prop. Emily’s face softened at Aiden’s words, and she aimed a small smile down at Tara.
“Are you nervous about speaking in public?” Emily asked.
“Not anymore!” Audrey yelled and pushed something into Tara’s hand. Tara looked down at the bright red label and then tightened her fingers around the Coke bottle before looking over at Audrey.
“Thanks, hun,” she said as she twisted the cap off. Tara watched as Sam and Reina stood on either side of Audrey, and all three of them studied her as she took the first sip. She felt the familiar burn she associated with Coke as it hit her tongue, along with something else. Hazel eyes looked away from the bottle and over at her friends, who all broke out into grins.
“It’ll help,” Reina said and patted her shoulder.
“Whose idea was it to put whiskey in my drink?” Tara asked.
“It’s all her!” Sam yelled and pointed at Audrey.
“It was so her idea!” Audrey yelled and pointed at Sam.
“Thanks to both of you then,” Tara said before taking another long sip.
“They’re here!” Pyper yelled from somewhere behind them. Tara jumped, took another sip, and turned around.
“Let’s get this show on the road!” Lindsay yelled as she ran past.
“You’ll be fine,” Tori whispered as she walked by. At her words, Tara took another sip. She linked arms with Tori and Sam, paused just long enough to take another fortifying sip from her bottle, and then started walking.
Before long, Tara was standing on a high platform with a podium up at the front. Front and center. She leaned her forearms against the hot wood, repressed stuttering speeches from high school, and pushed her sunglasses a little higher up her nose. Why did she get elected to be the spokesperson again? (Oh, right, because this was technically her idea.) She watched as three soon-to-be resurrected bands walked past all the hired workers to get close to the front, and she said a quick prayer that all of this would work out in the end. She could feel all the girls standing around her, surrounding her and supporting her, and her tense muscles relaxed in a rush. Tara looked over at Audrey, who smiled and stepped up to her side.
“Hey, everyone! And welcome to the Badass Epic Reunion Tour!” Tara yelled.
“Also known as BERT!” Audrey added. Tara heard a random cheer from the crowd, and it was very easy to guess who it was as Bert grinned up at them. Audrey stepped back, so that it was just Tara addressing the assembled crowd now.
“We’ve got a long year ahead of us, but we’re determined to make it the best year ever! Now, there is one rule. I know everyone hates rules, but this one is non-negotiable. It applies to all employees and rockstars, so listen up! While you are doing your job, you will be sober. I don’t want a single show messed up because someone felt like drinking a little. These fans deserve the best there is, and they’re going to get it!”
Everyone in front of her yelled out a cheer, and Tara felt someone squeeze her hand. A few faces in the crowd looked a little disappointed, and Tara smiled just a little before continuing.
“However, drinking and having a good time is allowed! Just not during show time, got it? We even have a party tent around here somewhere,” Tara said and made a show of looking around. This time the crowd really cheered, and she couldn’t find a single disappointed face. Tara closed her eyes against the noise, just for a moment, and a recent memory popped up. Around four months ago, she’d been to a small show. At the time, the words from the opening speech made her feel like hitting something.
“If it was made before Two-Eight, we don’t want to fucking hear it!”
Two-Eight, 2228, the year that many bands either left the country or were forced into retirement.
“Oh, and guys? There’s only one more thing I’d like to say before I introduce us all.” Tara felt her smile grow at the confused looks. Everyone knew these words, because they’d been repeated many times over the past five years.
“Tara? What are you doing?” Raven whispered.
“If it was made after Two-Eight,” she paused to look at all the shocked faces before continuing, “We don’t want to fucking hear it!”
This time even the girls standing behind her yelled, and Tara felt a warm glow spread throughout her body. Could have just been the whiskey though. Or the unrelenting sunlight.
“Can we know who you are now?!” someone from the crowd yelled.
“My name’s Tara Christens, and I’ll let the rest of the girls introduce themselves!” Tara yelled and then stepped back.
“The name’s Emily Kinston!”
“You can call me Sam.”
“I’m Reina.”
“The name’s Patricia Lyric Vicious, but you can call me Patti.”
“I’m Aiden and in charge of what you eat, so be nice.”
“My name’s Raven.”
“I’m Pyper.”
“Hi, everyone! I’m Lindsay!”
“And I’m Tori.”
“I’m Audrey, and I came up with the name for the tour!” Tara pushed Audrey to the side a little with a smile, and Audrey wrapped an arm around Tara’s waist before dropping her chin onto the shorter woman’s shoulder.
“Well, now that you know all of us, you can mingle and get to know each other! The first show starts tomorrow!” Tara yelled. The crowd started to break up, and she let out a small sigh. That wasn’t so bad. She walked over to the edge of the small stage and sat down, and she kicked her legs so that she could watch them swing back and forth.
“You’re not going to jump, are you?” Emily asked as she sat down next to Tara.
“I think I’m done with jumping off high stuff,” Tara laughed.
“Why’s that?” Lindsay asked as she sat down on Tara’s other side.
“No particular reason.” Tara took another long sip from her bottle after answering, and she heard Emily laughing.
“She jumped off a neighbor’s house and broke her foot when she was younger,” Emily said.
“Right around Halloween too,” Tara added. Just a little wistfully.
“You broke your foot around Halloween?” Lindsay asked.
“There was so much candy…you get so much more candy when you trick-or-treat on crutches,” Tara answered with a wide grin.
“You!” Tara jumped a little at the yell and looked down at the man now standing in front of her.
“Hi, Bert. You look like you’re in a better mood,” Tara said. He grinned up at her, and she realized that her feet dangled right above his hips.
“I am in a better mood. We were wondering, who plays first?” That’s a good question. An important and relevant one, even.
“I forgot all about that, didn’t I?” Tara asked. She knew she should have made note cards, but Sam assured her that she’d be fine without them.
“I think you did,” Emily said and lightly patted her shoulder.
“It happens all the time, you should be used to it,” Lindsay added.
“We decided to go in alphabetical order for the first venue,” Tara said with a decisive head nod. She was going for a decisive head nod anyway.
“I have to go last?” Bert asked with a pronounced pout. Tara almost thought about changing it to reverse alphabetical order.
“I get to go first!” Matt yelled from behind Bert. Bert’s pout may have plucked at her heartstrings, but Matt’s biceps were bigger than her head. Fear won in the end, so they’re sticking with regular alphabetical order for the first venue.
“What’s everyone yelling about?” Patti asked. Bert was missing, and Patti was standing in his vacated spot.
“Patti! Help me down?” Tara asked.
“Scared to jump?” Patti asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Absolutely terrified,” Tara said and pouted down at her. If it nearly worked for Bert, it just might actually work for her.
“I guess so,” Patti said and walked a little closer to the side of the stage. Patti was six feet tall, so she easily helped Tara’s much shorter self down from the stage. Emily and Lindsay, the show offs, just jumped down on their own.
“Hi!” Tara jumped at the new voice, which had yelled in her ear, and quickly turned around. A red bag was pushed in front of her face, and she quickly snatched it. She took a few of the small colorful candies and then handed the bag back to its owner.
“I like skittles. Do you like skittles? You must like them because you’re eating them right now. Where am I sleeping? I’ve got all my bags and nowhere to put them. I think I lost everyone too, but it’s okay because I found more people. Am I talking too fast?” Tara looked at Frank, the person bouncing in place in front of her, and listened as he rambled.
“I love skittles, the busses are this way, and we’ll find your people,” she said as he emptied the bag of skittles into his mouth.
“Who are we finding?” Raven asked.
“Hi! I’m Frank! And you’re Raven! And we’re going to find my people and the busses! Because I’ve got my bags and nowhere to put them!” Frank yelled. Raven looked over at Tara, who just shrugged. Frank wasn’t wrong.
“Oh, I’ve got this one!” Emily yelled.
“Whatever you say, Sarge,” Tara said and saluted. Emily rolled her eyes and then cupped her hands around her mouth.
“All bands! Come this way, and we’ll show you to your bus!” Emily yelled. Those already standing around Emily started walking, but Tara pulled back so that Raven and Frank could get ahead of her. They were already arguing over the merits of each flavored skittle, and she did not want to get in the middle of that.
“Tara!” She immediately stopped and felt a weight on her back a couple of seconds later. Her arms shifted so that she could hold the knees on either side of her ribcage, just over her hips, and then she started walking.
“Hi, Sam,” Tara said and looked at her from the corner of her eye. Sam’s chin was propped on her shoulder as she walked, and it looked like she was pouting.
“You don’t fall anymore,” Sam stated.
“Nope. You don’t either,” Tara pointed out. Sam and Tara both had a problem with random tackling and jumping on people when they were excited, or just bored. In the beginning, they always fell. Sometimes they landed on the floor laughing their asses off, and sometimes they took others down with them. Now, they’re both good at staying standing when they’re jumped on.
“I want the pink one!” Bert screamed and took off running past them.
“I told you the pink one was a good idea,” Audrey said from Tara’s left.
“I guess so,” Tara agreed.
“I’m not really that surprised,” Emily sighed. She had voted for the gray one, which had been completely outvoted. Ten against one.
“Avenged gets the black bus, My Chem gets the red one, and The Used gets the pink one. Sorry, guys,” Tara said and looked at the rest of The Used. They didn’t seem upset or even surprised, but she still felt like it needed to be said.
“It’s okay,” Quinn shrugged. Bert had already disappeared inside the bus.
“Why couldn’t we have the purple bus?” Brian asked.
“Because the purple bus is all mine!” Aiden yelled.
“Everyone just appreciate that you have a bus and not a van. Now get on it and get ready for tomorrow!” Tara yelled and clapped her hands after Sam slipped off her back.
“It’s time for someone’s nap,” Emily whispered in her ear. She’s not cranky. She just wants all of this to go smoothly.
“Sleep is for the weak,” Tara mumbled and watched as everyone moved to get situated. Smoothly…or at least with minimum bumps and bruises.
|XXX|
“You’re Tara, right? The therapist who thought up this crazy idea?” Tara blinked and rubbed at her eyes before looking up. She’d been sitting outside of her bus, on a very nice lawn chair that she packed, and going over the schedule for tomorrow. Which was probably why her eyes felt so gritty.
“I can promise you that I am mostly mentally sound, and I’d like to think that I’d know if I was totally crazy. But that’s a philosophical talk for another day. What can I help you with?” Tara pushed some hair out of her eyes and finally got a good look at the woman standing in front of her chair.
She was tall, at least five-nine, and the denim shorts she was wearing showed off her long legs. Tara could easily see the muscle definition under her pale skin, in her legs and her arms, and her head tilted to the side as she looked at the tattoo sleeve on the woman’s right arm. Sacred geometry. That was interesting. The tank top she was wearing left her arms bare, so Tara could see the entirety of the tattoo. Long teal hair was held up in a ponytail, and a pair of dark brown eyes were looking down at where Tara was currently sprawled. Then again, Tara was sure that there was a ketchup stain on her white tee shirt and her frayed jeans had definitely seen better days. She probably looked like a slob.
“I’m Liza Braxton-Bryar.”
“Ah.” So this was Bob Bryar’s wife, and she was a total knockout. She also looked like she could knock someone out if things took a bad turn.
“I don’t really like people.”
“I get that.”
“But the guys of My Chem? Those are my guys. They’re my family. I need to know that they’re going to be taken care of.”
“So this is what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a shovel talk,” Tara thought as the woman continued to glare down at her.
“I don’t trust The Management, never have and never will, but I want to trust you. I want to trust you and all ten of your crazy friends, because I want my family to be happy. So can you say something just slightly reassuring or are you just going to keep staring up at me like I’m some kind of alien?”
“Sorry, I haven’t gotten much sleep lately because we’ve been so focused on arranging everything for this reunion tour. Getting small local bands to play before the headliners, finding people that can help with all of the technical stuff, finding people to run merch booths, and finding people to help with security because you never can be too careful. Then there’s spreading the word, talking to good journalists and trying to dodge bad journalists, sweet talking venue owners, and then there was squaring everything away back at home. We’ve had to close our businesses for at least a year, and we had to pool our money and resources just to fund this thing.”
Tara paused, took an exaggerated deep breath that was actually needed, and looked straight into Liza’s eyes before continuing.
“Because this thing? It’s all on us. We’ve done all the planning, and all of the funding. Each and every one of us is taking a risk, because we miss the freedom of good music. I don’t know if that’s reassuring or whatever, but it’s the truth.”
“Did you know that your southern drawl gets more pronounced the longer you talk?” Liza asked. Tara was about to fire off a smart ass comment, her usual reaction to someone commenting on her accent, when she noticed that Liza was smiling. Really smiling.
“I’ve been informed.”
“I thought it was a lovely speech.” Tara and Liza both looked over at the sound of the new voice, and Tara was relieved that she didn’t have to look up as far. This woman was only about five-three, and she stuffed her hands in the pockets of her loose black shorts as she smiled. “Sorry, I was coming to talk to…anyone, really, when I heard your speech. It made me feel a little better about this whole thing.”
“And you are?” Tara asked. She was sure that she didn’t know this woman. Long wavy dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, clean tan skin without a tattoo in sight, and no visible piercings. Yeah, Tara didn’t recognize her.
“Oh, sorry. I’m Betty. Whitesides. Dan’s wife.” She walked forward and extended her hand, and Tara reached up to shake her hand. Her yellow tank top slid down a little, and Tara saw the tattoo going across her collarbones. It just said cuddle me. Cute.
“Nice to meet ya. I’m Tara, and this is Liza Braxton-Bryar. Looks like you’re the only wives on this tour,” Tara grinned. The two women looked at each other, sizing each other up, and then shook hands. “If either of you ever need a break from the testosterone, you’re more than welcome on one of our busses. We’re all friendly, once you get to know us.”
“I had to resist the urge to beg Patricia Vicious for an autograph earlier,” Liza said with a grin. Betty made a quiet sound in her throat and rocked up on her toes in excitement.
“I had the same problem with Aiden Angelis! Bestselling author and world class chef? I thought I was gonna swoon or something,” Betty said with a quiet laugh.
“What’s that about swooning?!” Aiden yelled from one bus over. Tara grinned as she turned her tablet off, because they’ve planned as much as they can for now. No point in stressing about it.
“Wanna go meet the other ladies?” Tara asked as she stood up. Liza and Betty shared another look, and they were both grinning when they looked back at Tara.
“Might as well,” Liza said and gestured with her arm for Tara to lead the way.
“Might as well,” Tara echoed and led the way towards more introductions.
9 JUNE 2233
TARA
“Anyone ever tell you that you worry too much?” Emily asked with an irritated huff.
“You mean besides you?” Tara asked.
“Go! Play with the others and let the adults work!” Emily yelled and pointed. Tori, who was standing next to Emily, tried to hide a laugh and failed. Tara huffed and propped her fists on her hips, but Emily stayed firm and didn’t lower her pointer finger. After another moment of glaring, Tara growled a little and tossed her arms in the air.
“Fine! But don’t come crying to me when you realize you have a hair out of place!” Tara ran away with a laugh as Emily tossed a pen at her, and she was still laughing when she bumped into Sam a minute later.
“You’ve been naughty, haven’t you?” Sam asked and linked their arms together. Tara launched into the small story as they walked around backstage, because it was easier to tell a ridiculous story than to think about what was about to happen.
Tonight was the night of the very first show, and Avenged Sevenfold was going to be playing. A local band was on the stage now, and it sounded like the crowd was having a good time. They’re completely sold out, and Tara could even hear fans screaming outside. Earlier, Brian and Zacky had been outside talking to some of them. Tara knew that some of the girls were going to watch the show from the crowd, and Tara and Sam were seriously considering it. They were either going to watch it from the crowd or from the side of the stage, so they just wandered around backstage while they tried to decide.
“You don’t know, that I know, you watch me every night. And I just can’t, resist the urge, to stand here in the light. Your greedy eyes upon me, and then I come undone. And I could close the curtain, but this is too much fun—”
“How’d you know?!” Tara yelled while Sam stood next to her with an excellent poker face. Matt stopped singing and slowly turned around, and Tara and Sam smiled up at him. Way up. Sam’s an inch taller than Tara at five-one, and Matt was an entire foot taller than Sam. Then there’s all the muscles.
“How’d I know what?” Matt asked, clearly confused.
“That we watch you every night?” Sam asked.
“I thought we were just lucky,” Tara added.
“You two watch me?” Matt asked and slowly looked between them.
“Only once a week,” Sam said with wide eyes. Tara opened her mouth to add something, but a very familiar scent stopped her before she could get one word out.
“I smell tacos! Bye!” Tara yelled and started running.
“Save some for me!” Sam called after her.
“No promises!” Tara quickly found the source of the delicious scent, ignored Emily’s comparison of her to a bloodhound, and took the Taco Bell bag out of Emily’s hands. Okay, so Tara might have skipped supper last night. She might have also forgotten about breakfast that morning, and lunch seemed to have completely disappeared. She looked into the bag and counted five separate wrappers.
“No lettuce?” she asked and looked up at Emily.
“I wouldn’t do that to you, even though you worry too much and constantly impede my work process,” Emily said and smiled. Emily had lived through more than her fair share of rants from Tara when people put lettuce on her tacos, but Tara felt like it was fair because Emily always laughed as Tara struggled to get every stringy piece of lettuce out of her tacos. Tara dropped to the floor and crossed her legs, and she placed the large brown bag in the space between her legs. She then patted the spot in front of her, and Emily carefully sat down.
“I had a feeling you’d be hungry,” Emily said as Tara dug into the first taco.
“Your feeling was right. I’m starving,” Tara mumbled around her mouthful. She used her hand to cover her mouth as she spoke, and Emily rolled her eyes at the display.
“Why didn’t you eat anything today? I can’t remember the last time you skipped a meal,” Emily said after Tara had swallowed her food. Tara scratched the side of her nose and pulled the second taco out while shrugging. “You have to eat, or you’ll go all medieval and faint on me. If you faint, some part of you will break and the tour will be ruined because we’ll have to use our money to piece you back together.”
“That’s offensive. I don’t break that easily.” Tara tore off another chunk of taco after the statement and grinned at the disgusted look on Emily’s face.
“Sidewalk,” was Emily’s counter.
“Oh My Christ! That was one time!”
“Whatever, Miss Paper-Skin-And-Glass-Bones!”
“I don’t have paper skin and glass bones! It was a really high sidewalk!”
“Because you’re a midget!”
“Not all of us can be freakshow giants!”
“I’m not a giant! You’re just vertically challenged!”
“I’m fun sized!”
“You’re three inches from fun sized!”
“And you’re three inches taller than Lurch!”
“Shut it, you oompa loompa!”
“Hey! What is the issue?!” Tara and Emily stopped yelling, looked up at Sam, looked at each other, and started howling in laughter. They leaned forward to hold onto each other as they laughed, and Tara heard Sam let out an exaggerated sigh at their dramatics.
“Sorry. Sam.” Tara managed to get out between laughs. Tara watched as Sam sat down beside them with her arms crossed, but it was still another full minute before Tara and Emily stopped laughing. Then Tara straightened up and resumed devouring her taco.
“So, why were you two yelling like kindergarteners?” Sam asked. Since Tara was still rapidly chewing her food, she looked at Emily.
“No particular reason. We were talking about old times,” Emily said and waved a hand in dismissal. Tara and Emily were cheap when it came to practically everything, so they decided to drive to California from Alabama instead of renting a train car for all of their stuff. Along the way they stopped at Las Vegas, because it was too tempting to pass up. During those short three days, Emily’s famous temper surfaced and got them kicked out of an entire section of Vegas. Emily also got a little cut up, which was how the two of them first met a man named Doctor Alberts. The next night, after having a kind of “Goodbye To The Old Me” party, Tara was so drunk that she fell off a sidewalk and broke her arm. The injury sent them right back to Doctor Alberts, who told them they were spirited and should never change. For the past three years, Tara and Emily have gone to Vegas on their own to party it up every six months or so. They normally get a little banged up somehow and inevitably wind up seeing Doctor Alberts, who always patches them up and then tells wild stories from his youth. It’s good times.
Tara listened as Emily explained their first Vegas stop to Sam, and Sam rolled in laughter nearly the whole time. Tara just listened, nodded in the right places, and moved on to her next taco. She hadn’t really been hungry all day, until she smelled food. Then again, she spent most of the day directing people while standing on a stack of boxes downwind from the port-o-potties. It’s hard to have an appetite with that stench constantly clogging your nose…the strong scent of toilets. There’s no toilets near her now though.
“What are you thinking about?” Emily asked. Tara snapped out of her meandering thoughts and answered without thinking it through.
“Toilets!”
“Toilets?” Emily asked.
“Do you really want the details?” Tara asked and took out the final taco.
“You know what? I’m good with not knowing,” Emily said and looked away.
“So, how was the talk with Matt?” Tara asked and looked over at Sam. She watched as Sam’s cheeks turned a light pink, Sam’s such an easy blusher, and she smiled even as she continued to chew her food. She probably shouldn’t smile while she eats. It probably made her look demented.
“You talked to Matt?” Emily asked and turned towards Sam.
“I now know that he sings in the shower,” Sam said and smiled.
“He sings in the shower?” Emily asked. There was definitely confusion in her tone, but Tara was too busy trying not to choke on her food as she laughed to say anything. Emily gave her a worried look, but Tara just waved her off. Sam finally looked over at her, and she must have been able to read minds because she started laughing too.
“What’s so funny?” Reina asked. She was standing behind Emily and looking down as Tara and Sam continued to laugh.
“Matt sings in the shower?” Emily asked and hesitantly looked over at the two laughing women.
“Matt in the shower,” Reina sighed and looked off to the side. Clearly lost in some kind of daydream. Sam and Tara looked at each other, and they both had tears leaking out of their eyes. They managed to stop laughing long enough to draw a breath but continued to look at each other.
“Barbie!” Sam started.
“Girl!” Tara finished as they started laughing again.
“Why are they rolling around laughing? And is that a half-eaten taco?” Tara heard Aiden ask. She instantly stopped laughing to grab her taco, and Sam took one look at Tara’s defensive posture and started up laughing again.
“The taco is mine,” Tara stated and pointedly took another bite.
“It’s okay. Emily already gave me one,” Aiden said with a smile. Tara looked over at Emily, who was also smiling at her.
“You gave away one of my tacos?” Tara’s tone was sad, bordering on pitiful, and Emily reached over to ruffle her already wild hair. It was a good thing the longest parts of her hair only reached her chin; it made it easier to finger comb the thick mess into some semblance of presentable.
“You can only eat so many, and Aiden asked for one,” Emily said. Tara looked over at Aiden and smiled suddenly.
“You’re lucky I love you,” Tara said and quickly finished the taco off.
“Reina! Snap out of perverted thoughts!” Sam yelled. Reina jumped and glared at Sam, but Tara could see the barest hint of color in Reina’s cheeks. She was distracted from the glaring contest by the sound of running feet, and a shin pressed painfully against the top of her spine.
“What are you girls doing sitting around?! The show’s about to start so move!” Tara heard Jimmy yell over her head. Literally. Emily and Aiden pulled Tara to her feet while Reina helped Sam up, and they all took off to watch the first show of the tour.
|XXX|
After a lot of serious deliberation, Tara decided to join the crowd. She took an elbow just below her left eye about halfway through the show, but she could barely feel the throbbing pain right now. Nope, she was too excited. While Tara was in the crowd and getting stepped on, Sam had stayed backstage where she could get a better view of the…performers. The two of them met up soon after the end of the concert, and a plan was very quickly formed. Now they were standing side-by-side, giggling quietly but not exactly discretely.
“You’re both going to get killed!” Reina whispered.
“Nah,” Sam said and glanced over at where Reina was pacing.
“Just Sam is, because I’m going to run faster,” Tara said and smiled over at Reina.
“Matt’s got a good sense of humor, so you’re both going to live,” Brian said and smiled reassuringly at Reina. Yes, Matt’s bandmates were in on the plan. They had even helped a little.
“Unless he turns into some kind of super beast,” Zacky mumbled. Tara looked over and caught him smiling, but she couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“Who’s turning into a beast?” Patti asked as she stopped beside Tara.
“Matt is,” Zacky answered and grinned at Patti.
“And why is Matt going to turn into a beast?” Patti asked and looked at the two giggling women.
“Watch and see,” Sam and Tara said together.
“This is going to end badly, but I can’t make myself leave,” Aiden said from behind them.
“Shh! The beast approaches!” Jimmy yelled. Sure enough, Tara could hear a few cuss words drifting around the corner in Matt’s deep tone. He had been using the shower that was provided backstage, but now it sounded like he was walking around.
“Guys?! What’d you do with my clothes?!” Matt yelled. Sam and Tara looked down at the small pile at their feet that made up Matt’s clothes and started giggling again.
“Raven, you ready?!” Tara called out. Raven smiled at them, raised her video camera, and gave them a thumbs-up.
“One for the money,” Tara said and looked over at Sam.
“Two for the show,” Sam said and grabbed Tara’s hand.
“Three to get ready.”
“And four to go!”
Sam and Tara took off running just as Matt came around the corner, and Tara took that as a sign from the gods. He was wearing what had been left in the bathroom for him, which was nothing but a small bright pink towel. Well, it looked small on him anyway. His eyes widened as the two women ran at him at full speed, but he was too shocked to react. Too shocked to even step out of the way. Sam and Tara both hit him head-on, and all three of them hit the hard floor. Matt let out a small groan, which sounded like an angry bellow to the on-lookers, and Sam and Tara managed to high-five as they laid on either side of him.
“Sam, I love you, but you’re on your own now!” Tara yelled as she quickly scrambled to her feet. She blew Matt and Sam a kiss before taking off, and she heard yelling behind her. Sam was running behind her, but Tara already had a head-start.
“You’re both dead!” Tara looked over her shoulder and saw Matt running after them, gaining on Sam, and his hold on his towel was slipping. Tara let out a small laugh and continued to push herself forward. Before long, she was completely out of the stadium and running outside. She changed trajectory to head straight for the party tent, because she could see that it was lit up. She tripped as she ran inside, and she managed to fall right into Pyper’s lap. The chair Pyper was in rocked a bit, but it didn’t fall over.
“What the hell?!” Pyper yelled and looked up at Tara with wide blue eyes. Tara threw her arms around Pyper’s neck and started laughing.
“We tackled Matt!” was the only explanation she managed to yell out.
“You did what?!” Tara twisted in Pyper’s lap and saw Quinn, so she deduced that him and Pyper had been talking before she ran in.
“Sam and me, we tackled Matt. Well, first we stole his clothes while he was in the shower and only left a pink towel, and then we tackled him!” Tara yelled while still laughing.
“Have you seen the size of that man?! He’s going to kill you!” Quinn yelled with a laugh of his own.
“Nonsense! All of us girls together could take him, couldn’t we?” Tori asked. She sat down across from Pyper and Tara, since Tara was still firmly sitting in Pyper’s lap, and Tara smiled over at Tori.
“Of course we could! Besides, I ran off and I’m pretty sure he caught Sam,” Tara said.
“You left Sam?” Pyper asked.
“I wouldn’t call it leaving,” Tara answered and crossed her arms.
“Then what would you call it?” Jeph asked after appearing behind Tori. Or walking up behind her chair. Whatever.
“Being a faster runner,” Tara grinned.
“You, my friend, are insane,” Tori said and smiled over at her.
“I prefer to think of it as being strategic,” Tara said with a wide smile. She stood up slowly, because her legs sort of felt like jelly from all of the frantic running, and she walked over towards the opening of the tent. When she didn’t hear any loud death threats, she opened one of the flaps.
“Where are you going?” Pyper called after her.
“It’s nearly Tara’s bedtime, and I’ve got a little work to do before I can sleep,” she said and stretched her arms above her head. She hadn’t been this active in a very long time, and her muscles were complaining about the overuse. Oh well, her body will just have to get used to it because she had a feeling that her moshing and running days were far from over.
“Need any help?” Tori asked.
“No thanks, hun. It ain’t nothing I can’t handle on my own,” Tara answered with a small smile. She waved to Quinn and Jeph, and the girls, before walking out. She looked both ways just to make sure she was in the clear and then started towards her bus. She quickly found it and slipped inside, and she let out a relieved sigh once the door closed behind her. It sounded quiet, which meant that everyone was somewhere else. That was fine with her; all of her friends deserved to go out and have a good time. They’ve all been working too hard lately.
She stopped by the fridge, thought about grabbing a bottle of water, and then grabbed a bottle of Coke instead before continuing on to the bunk area. She slipped inside of her bunk and scooted backwards until her back was pressed flush against the wall, and she stretched her legs out in front of her. Her laptop was still on top of her blanket, so she pulled it up onto her lap and wiggled around to get comfortable.
|XXX|
“What are you doing?” Tara jumped a little at the voice, barely enough to jostle the laptop balanced on her thighs, and looked to the side. She never even heard anyone walk onto the bus, much less sit on the bunk right beside her.
“Hey, Lindsay,” she said and hoped her smile didn’t look too tired. She pulled off her glasses and set them on the keyboard, and she closed her eyes as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“What are you doing?” Lindsay repeated.
“Just a little work. I promised some patients that I would keep in contact through email,” she answered.
“You’re working?” Uh-oh. That was Lindsay’s worried tone.
“Yeah, but not too much. I know setting this up drained everyone’s bank accounts, so I decided to keep working.”
“Is that the only reason you’re still working?” Besides being an amazing listener, Lindsay was also a very good observer and knew when someone was lying. Tara just didn’t know what her tell was.
“No, not the only reason. I assigned all my patients to other doctors for their regular appointments, but I told some of my…worst patients that I’d keep in contact with them.” Tara held Lindsay’s eye contact as she spoke, and Lindsay must have been satisfied with her answer because she nodded.
“Well, I was told to come get you,” Lindsay said.
“For what?”
“I don’t know. No one knows, except for Raven and Sam.”
“Oh, so they’re going to show that,” Tara said with a wide smile. She quickly shut her laptop down and scooted to the edge of the bunk, and Lindsay helped her get to her feet. They stepped off the bus together and headed in the direction of the party tent.
“So, you know what’s going on?” Lindsay asked as they started weaving around the busses.
“I think so. Did anyone say anything else?”
“No, but some of the guys were setting up a TV.” A TV in the party tent? They were only going to be staying in LA until the end of the week, for some promotional stuff, so was a TV really necessary?
“Tara!” Arms wrapped around her from the side, but the grip was too tight for her to even turn her head. The height and bright red hair instantly told Tara who it was though.
“Hi, Audrey! Where have you been all day?” she asked. Audrey finally released her, and Tara turned to face her. Audrey had a bright smile, the one that usually meant trouble, and she was wearing a tiara.
“Bert and I explored the town. I’d give you the details, but it’s better if you don’t know anything. That way if they question you, you won’t have to lie,” Audrey said quickly.
“Did you do something illegal?”
“Do you like being lied to?” Tara thought it over and decided she probably was better off not knowing.
“Forget I asked. Where’s Bert?” Audrey pointed, and Tara turned to look behind her. Lindsay was having a very serious conversation with Bert, and Bert seemed just as invested in the serious conversation as Lindsay which just made the whole thing even funnier. Mostly because Bert had a tiara just like Audrey’s, and he was also wearing a sparkly pink tutu.
“Guess what!” Bert yelled excitedly when he noticed Audrey and Tara staring at him.
“What?” Audrey and Tara asked at the same time.
“Lindsay’s gonna cut and play with my hair,” Bert said. Tara looked at his plain black hair and contemplated what colors would work, but hair really wasn’t her specialty. Audrey walked around her and wrapped an arm around Lindsay’s shoulders.
“You’re a brave woman,” Audrey said seriously.
“Would you like to watch?” Lindsay asked her.
“Definitely.”
“We’ll do it tomorrow, before My Chem plays. Now, let’s get to the party tent,” Lindsay said. Audrey grabbed Tara’s arm before wrapping her free arm around Tara’s shoulders instead, and Bert skipped ahead of all three of them. They made it to the party tent without any further interruptions, and Tara looked around to see who all was there to watch the…show. All of the girls were present, as well as all three bands. Surprisingly, there were no other roadies or any of the other hired workers.
“It’s about damn time! Where were you hiding?” Sam asked before Tara could duck and run.
“Why would I tell you my hiding spot?” Tara asked.
“You know, I’m going to get you back for leaving me,” Sam said.
“Leaving you? I thought that you were right behind me,” Tara said while doing her best to look innocent. She had a feeling that Sam wasn’t buying it.
“Of course you did.”
“What are you two going on about?” Audrey asked and looked between them.
“You’ll see,” Sam said and smiled over at her.
“You’re really going to show what happened?” Tara asked.
“Of course I am. Come on, I saved you a front row seat,” Sam said. Audrey and Tara followed her to the front of the party tent, where a giant TV had been set up. Tara fell into one of the vacant chairs and leaned her head against Tori’s shoulder.
“Sleepy?” Tori asked.
“A little,” Tara mumbled around a yawn. A couple of minutes later Tori had to shake Tara awake, and she sat up in her chair with a quiet groan.
“Alright, everyone! Everything’s officially ready, so please enjoy the show!” Raven yelled.
Tara guessed that Raven was the one that set everything up, because she was the one that filmed the whole thing. Tara looked at the screen, and she woke up a little more as she laughed along with everyone else when Sam and her tackled Matt. It looked even more hilarious the second time around, because she had an outsider’s view of two very short women tackling a big guy like Matt. Tara watched as she ran away, short hair bobbing as her legs pumped, and she got to see Matt catch up to Sam just as his towel started to slip. He picked Sam up and threw her over his shoulder with one hand, and his free hand managed to hold his towel up. Sam wiggled and fought to get down, but Matt’s iron grip held her in place.
“Here comes the good part,” Raven whispered. Matt placed Sam on some kind of platform and then he started quickly pulling on a rope. Tara tried not to laugh as Sam went higher up and started yelling down at Matt, but it was hard not to laugh at the smug look on Matt’s face. There was a lot of laughter in the background of the video so Tara couldn’t hear exactly what Sam was yelling at Matt, but judging by the look on Sam’s face? It wasn’t good.
“I spent an hour up there,” Sam said.
“I’ll make it up to you, hun. I promise,” Tara said and looked over at her. Sam hated heights, so Tara knew that she was going to have to do something to make up for running off.
“Oh, I know you will,” Sam said and smiled over at her. It wasn’t one of her nice smiles either…it was definitely one of her evil ones. Everyone behind them was laughing and making fun of Matt for being tackled by two girls, while wearing an itty bitty pink towel. Which was probably why no one noticed when Reina climbed up on a table and cupped her hands around her mouth.
“Pizza’s here!” Reina yelled.
“Can I offer you some pizza?” Tara asked Sam. She rolled her eyes and stood up, pulling Tara along with her. They walked over to where the massive towers of pizza were, and Tara went straight for the meat lover’s. Sam got her own slice and walked over to Reina, and Tara turned around to see Audrey grinning behind her.
“Have I told you that I’m glad I gave you this idea?” Audrey asked and took a bite out of her veggie pizza.
“No, but I’m glad you gave me this idea,” Tara said and smiled at her.
“I’m glad someone came up with this idea.” Tara turned her head to see Ray, and she smiled up at him as she took a bite of her pizza.
“I gotta go find Bert. I think he still has my phone,” Audrey said. Tara watched her walk away and then turned back to Ray.
“So, how do you think things are going so far?” Tara asked.
“Good, so far. It still doesn’t feel real, you know?” Ray asked as they walked away from the table holding up the pizzas.
“I guess it doesn’t, not for you guys. I can’t even begin to imagine what the last five years have been like. I know things were hard on the fans, but I’m sure it was worse for the bands.”
“It wasn’t easy. Everyone dealt with it their own way. I heard that some bands even left and went overseas.”
“Yep. Bring Me The Horizon went back, and they took All Time Low with them. There’s a few more scattered throughout Europe, but they’re hard to keep track of.”
“Are we going overseas any?”
“Yeah, for a few shows. We’ll be here for the next six months, then overseas for three months, and then back here for the last three.”
“All of this can’t be cheap.” Tara raised a brow at Ray, but he just smiled at her before taking another bite of his pizza.
“Oh, trust me, it’s not.”
“So, how can you afford it?” It was Tara’s turn to smile at Ray before answering, and she looked around the tent at where her friends were mingling with the bands that they all idolized.
“We’re not your average fans. We’ve got famous writers, famous tattoo artists, models, and even a cage fighter. We can afford it,” Tara said. Barely, but she didn’t add that part.
“Okay, wow. What are you?”
“I’m a therapist, with a doctorate in clinical psychology. I do a little writing on the side too.”
“A therapist, huh?”
“It’s not the easiest job, but I love it.”
“Tara!” She looked around to see who was calling her name, and she saw Reina grinning in her direction.
“What?!”
“Do you want something to drink?!” Tara noticed the familiar bottles in Reina’s hands, and Tara shook her head even though she was definitely tempted.
“Not tonight!” Reina shrugged her shoulders and turned around to talk to someone else, looked like Brian and Zacky, and Tara turned back to face a confused looking Ray.
“You don’t drink?” Ray asked.
“Not really, and I should get going anyway. See you tomorrow?”
“Probably.”
Tara said goodbye to a few people on the way out and then hurried out of the tent. A few people were hanging around outside, so she stopped to talk to them before saying goodbye. Then a few roadies caught up to her before she reached where the busses were parked, and she talked to them for a few minutes. Around twenty minutes after saying goodbye to Ray, she finally made it to her bus. She didn’t make it soon enough though.
Hands gripped the back of the bus as her pizza made a reappearance, and she was thankful that it was quiet around the busses. She felt a pair of hands in her hair, lifting the longer sections away from her face, but she didn’t have a chance to turn and see who it was. She finished getting rid of everything in her stomach, and she groaned as she turned her face away from the puddle of bile. Her hair had been released by then, and she sucked in a few deep breaths. She slowly looked up and dark brown eyes met her own.
“Have you been drinking?” Emily asked.
“What? No, I promise,” Tara said. Emily walked in front of her and leaned down to study her eyes, which Tara would have rolled if she knew for a fact that the small movement wouldn’t make her sick again. Emily must have realized that Tara’s eyes were clear, because she stepped back and sighed.
“I don’t know if this tour is good for you, especially with that damn party tent.” Emily’s arms were crossed over her chest, and the look in her eyes was more than enough to make Tara hang her head in remembered shame.
“No drinking, Em, I promise. You know I don’t want to get started doing that again.”
“And I don’t want to see you like that again.”
“You won’t. Trust me on this, okay?” Tara looked up again, and Emily’s expression softened.
“Okay. You know I worry about you, right?” Tara smiled over at her closest friend and then stepped around the side of the bus.
“I know. I only got sick because I forgot to eat for most of the day, and then I thought it’d be a good idea to go into a mosh pit and tackle a giant. My body just needs time to adjust, and sleep. Sleep would be awesome,” Tara said as they walked onto the bus.
“Then go sleep, or I’ll make you.” Tara turned so that she could aim a salute at Emily, and she turned back around before Emily could say or do anything. She grabbed a pair of pajamas and her small toiletry bag, and she spent a good ten minutes in the bathroom just brushing her teeth. Once she felt adequately clean, she stumbled back to her bunk and collapsed against the mattress. She didn’t even bother with getting under the blankets first.
TARA
“Come on, everyone! Move it!” Tara yelled and even waved her arms.
“We’re moving!” Audrey yelled back. Today was the day. The first official day of the reunion tour. The people that some of the women hired were already milling about and had their own vans, and the girls had five very large tour busses ready to go. Aiden, Sam, Reina, Lindsay, and Patti were all on one bus, which was being called the Purple Bus. Raven, Emily, Audrey, Tori, Pyper, and Tara were all on the Blue Bus.
“What’s the rush for anyway?!” Emily asked as she walked off the Blue Bus. Everyone just got done claiming their bunks and unloading, and Tara rocked back and forth on her heels. Before she could rock forwards again, an arm slid around her shoulders and a head was placed on top of hers. Since Tara was only five feet tall, it could have been almost any of the girls, really.
“The guys are going to be here soon,” Aiden explained. Aiden was two inches shy of six feet, so it was easy for her to use the top of Tara’s head as a prop. Emily’s face softened at Aiden’s words, and she aimed a small smile down at Tara.
“Are you nervous about speaking in public?” Emily asked.
“Not anymore!” Audrey yelled and pushed something into Tara’s hand. Tara looked down at the bright red label and then tightened her fingers around the Coke bottle before looking over at Audrey.
“Thanks, hun,” she said as she twisted the cap off. Tara watched as Sam and Reina stood on either side of Audrey, and all three of them studied her as she took the first sip. She felt the familiar burn she associated with Coke as it hit her tongue, along with something else. Hazel eyes looked away from the bottle and over at her friends, who all broke out into grins.
“It’ll help,” Reina said and patted her shoulder.
“Whose idea was it to put whiskey in my drink?” Tara asked.
“It’s all her!” Sam yelled and pointed at Audrey.
“It was so her idea!” Audrey yelled and pointed at Sam.
“Thanks to both of you then,” Tara said before taking another long sip.
“They’re here!” Pyper yelled from somewhere behind them. Tara jumped, took another sip, and turned around.
“Let’s get this show on the road!” Lindsay yelled as she ran past.
“You’ll be fine,” Tori whispered as she walked by. At her words, Tara took another sip. She linked arms with Tori and Sam, paused just long enough to take another fortifying sip from her bottle, and then started walking.
Before long, Tara was standing on a high platform with a podium up at the front. Front and center. She leaned her forearms against the hot wood, repressed stuttering speeches from high school, and pushed her sunglasses a little higher up her nose. Why did she get elected to be the spokesperson again? (Oh, right, because this was technically her idea.) She watched as three soon-to-be resurrected bands walked past all the hired workers to get close to the front, and she said a quick prayer that all of this would work out in the end. She could feel all the girls standing around her, surrounding her and supporting her, and her tense muscles relaxed in a rush. Tara looked over at Audrey, who smiled and stepped up to her side.
“Hey, everyone! And welcome to the Badass Epic Reunion Tour!” Tara yelled.
“Also known as BERT!” Audrey added. Tara heard a random cheer from the crowd, and it was very easy to guess who it was as Bert grinned up at them. Audrey stepped back, so that it was just Tara addressing the assembled crowd now.
“We’ve got a long year ahead of us, but we’re determined to make it the best year ever! Now, there is one rule. I know everyone hates rules, but this one is non-negotiable. It applies to all employees and rockstars, so listen up! While you are doing your job, you will be sober. I don’t want a single show messed up because someone felt like drinking a little. These fans deserve the best there is, and they’re going to get it!”
Everyone in front of her yelled out a cheer, and Tara felt someone squeeze her hand. A few faces in the crowd looked a little disappointed, and Tara smiled just a little before continuing.
“However, drinking and having a good time is allowed! Just not during show time, got it? We even have a party tent around here somewhere,” Tara said and made a show of looking around. This time the crowd really cheered, and she couldn’t find a single disappointed face. Tara closed her eyes against the noise, just for a moment, and a recent memory popped up. Around four months ago, she’d been to a small show. At the time, the words from the opening speech made her feel like hitting something.
“If it was made before Two-Eight, we don’t want to fucking hear it!”
Two-Eight, 2228, the year that many bands either left the country or were forced into retirement.
“Oh, and guys? There’s only one more thing I’d like to say before I introduce us all.” Tara felt her smile grow at the confused looks. Everyone knew these words, because they’d been repeated many times over the past five years.
“Tara? What are you doing?” Raven whispered.
“If it was made after Two-Eight,” she paused to look at all the shocked faces before continuing, “We don’t want to fucking hear it!”
This time even the girls standing behind her yelled, and Tara felt a warm glow spread throughout her body. Could have just been the whiskey though. Or the unrelenting sunlight.
“Can we know who you are now?!” someone from the crowd yelled.
“My name’s Tara Christens, and I’ll let the rest of the girls introduce themselves!” Tara yelled and then stepped back.
“The name’s Emily Kinston!”
“You can call me Sam.”
“I’m Reina.”
“The name’s Patricia Lyric Vicious, but you can call me Patti.”
“I’m Aiden and in charge of what you eat, so be nice.”
“My name’s Raven.”
“I’m Pyper.”
“Hi, everyone! I’m Lindsay!”
“And I’m Tori.”
“I’m Audrey, and I came up with the name for the tour!” Tara pushed Audrey to the side a little with a smile, and Audrey wrapped an arm around Tara’s waist before dropping her chin onto the shorter woman’s shoulder.
“Well, now that you know all of us, you can mingle and get to know each other! The first show starts tomorrow!” Tara yelled. The crowd started to break up, and she let out a small sigh. That wasn’t so bad. She walked over to the edge of the small stage and sat down, and she kicked her legs so that she could watch them swing back and forth.
“You’re not going to jump, are you?” Emily asked as she sat down next to Tara.
“I think I’m done with jumping off high stuff,” Tara laughed.
“Why’s that?” Lindsay asked as she sat down on Tara’s other side.
“No particular reason.” Tara took another long sip from her bottle after answering, and she heard Emily laughing.
“She jumped off a neighbor’s house and broke her foot when she was younger,” Emily said.
“Right around Halloween too,” Tara added. Just a little wistfully.
“You broke your foot around Halloween?” Lindsay asked.
“There was so much candy…you get so much more candy when you trick-or-treat on crutches,” Tara answered with a wide grin.
“You!” Tara jumped a little at the yell and looked down at the man now standing in front of her.
“Hi, Bert. You look like you’re in a better mood,” Tara said. He grinned up at her, and she realized that her feet dangled right above his hips.
“I am in a better mood. We were wondering, who plays first?” That’s a good question. An important and relevant one, even.
“I forgot all about that, didn’t I?” Tara asked. She knew she should have made note cards, but Sam assured her that she’d be fine without them.
“I think you did,” Emily said and lightly patted her shoulder.
“It happens all the time, you should be used to it,” Lindsay added.
“We decided to go in alphabetical order for the first venue,” Tara said with a decisive head nod. She was going for a decisive head nod anyway.
“I have to go last?” Bert asked with a pronounced pout. Tara almost thought about changing it to reverse alphabetical order.
“I get to go first!” Matt yelled from behind Bert. Bert’s pout may have plucked at her heartstrings, but Matt’s biceps were bigger than her head. Fear won in the end, so they’re sticking with regular alphabetical order for the first venue.
“What’s everyone yelling about?” Patti asked. Bert was missing, and Patti was standing in his vacated spot.
“Patti! Help me down?” Tara asked.
“Scared to jump?” Patti asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Absolutely terrified,” Tara said and pouted down at her. If it nearly worked for Bert, it just might actually work for her.
“I guess so,” Patti said and walked a little closer to the side of the stage. Patti was six feet tall, so she easily helped Tara’s much shorter self down from the stage. Emily and Lindsay, the show offs, just jumped down on their own.
“Hi!” Tara jumped at the new voice, which had yelled in her ear, and quickly turned around. A red bag was pushed in front of her face, and she quickly snatched it. She took a few of the small colorful candies and then handed the bag back to its owner.
“I like skittles. Do you like skittles? You must like them because you’re eating them right now. Where am I sleeping? I’ve got all my bags and nowhere to put them. I think I lost everyone too, but it’s okay because I found more people. Am I talking too fast?” Tara looked at Frank, the person bouncing in place in front of her, and listened as he rambled.
“I love skittles, the busses are this way, and we’ll find your people,” she said as he emptied the bag of skittles into his mouth.
“Who are we finding?” Raven asked.
“Hi! I’m Frank! And you’re Raven! And we’re going to find my people and the busses! Because I’ve got my bags and nowhere to put them!” Frank yelled. Raven looked over at Tara, who just shrugged. Frank wasn’t wrong.
“Oh, I’ve got this one!” Emily yelled.
“Whatever you say, Sarge,” Tara said and saluted. Emily rolled her eyes and then cupped her hands around her mouth.
“All bands! Come this way, and we’ll show you to your bus!” Emily yelled. Those already standing around Emily started walking, but Tara pulled back so that Raven and Frank could get ahead of her. They were already arguing over the merits of each flavored skittle, and she did not want to get in the middle of that.
“Tara!” She immediately stopped and felt a weight on her back a couple of seconds later. Her arms shifted so that she could hold the knees on either side of her ribcage, just over her hips, and then she started walking.
“Hi, Sam,” Tara said and looked at her from the corner of her eye. Sam’s chin was propped on her shoulder as she walked, and it looked like she was pouting.
“You don’t fall anymore,” Sam stated.
“Nope. You don’t either,” Tara pointed out. Sam and Tara both had a problem with random tackling and jumping on people when they were excited, or just bored. In the beginning, they always fell. Sometimes they landed on the floor laughing their asses off, and sometimes they took others down with them. Now, they’re both good at staying standing when they’re jumped on.
“I want the pink one!” Bert screamed and took off running past them.
“I told you the pink one was a good idea,” Audrey said from Tara’s left.
“I guess so,” Tara agreed.
“I’m not really that surprised,” Emily sighed. She had voted for the gray one, which had been completely outvoted. Ten against one.
“Avenged gets the black bus, My Chem gets the red one, and The Used gets the pink one. Sorry, guys,” Tara said and looked at the rest of The Used. They didn’t seem upset or even surprised, but she still felt like it needed to be said.
“It’s okay,” Quinn shrugged. Bert had already disappeared inside the bus.
“Why couldn’t we have the purple bus?” Brian asked.
“Because the purple bus is all mine!” Aiden yelled.
“Everyone just appreciate that you have a bus and not a van. Now get on it and get ready for tomorrow!” Tara yelled and clapped her hands after Sam slipped off her back.
“It’s time for someone’s nap,” Emily whispered in her ear. She’s not cranky. She just wants all of this to go smoothly.
“Sleep is for the weak,” Tara mumbled and watched as everyone moved to get situated. Smoothly…or at least with minimum bumps and bruises.
|XXX|
“You’re Tara, right? The therapist who thought up this crazy idea?” Tara blinked and rubbed at her eyes before looking up. She’d been sitting outside of her bus, on a very nice lawn chair that she packed, and going over the schedule for tomorrow. Which was probably why her eyes felt so gritty.
“I can promise you that I am mostly mentally sound, and I’d like to think that I’d know if I was totally crazy. But that’s a philosophical talk for another day. What can I help you with?” Tara pushed some hair out of her eyes and finally got a good look at the woman standing in front of her chair.
She was tall, at least five-nine, and the denim shorts she was wearing showed off her long legs. Tara could easily see the muscle definition under her pale skin, in her legs and her arms, and her head tilted to the side as she looked at the tattoo sleeve on the woman’s right arm. Sacred geometry. That was interesting. The tank top she was wearing left her arms bare, so Tara could see the entirety of the tattoo. Long teal hair was held up in a ponytail, and a pair of dark brown eyes were looking down at where Tara was currently sprawled. Then again, Tara was sure that there was a ketchup stain on her white tee shirt and her frayed jeans had definitely seen better days. She probably looked like a slob.
“I’m Liza Braxton-Bryar.”
“Ah.” So this was Bob Bryar’s wife, and she was a total knockout. She also looked like she could knock someone out if things took a bad turn.
“I don’t really like people.”
“I get that.”
“But the guys of My Chem? Those are my guys. They’re my family. I need to know that they’re going to be taken care of.”
“So this is what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a shovel talk,” Tara thought as the woman continued to glare down at her.
“I don’t trust The Management, never have and never will, but I want to trust you. I want to trust you and all ten of your crazy friends, because I want my family to be happy. So can you say something just slightly reassuring or are you just going to keep staring up at me like I’m some kind of alien?”
“Sorry, I haven’t gotten much sleep lately because we’ve been so focused on arranging everything for this reunion tour. Getting small local bands to play before the headliners, finding people that can help with all of the technical stuff, finding people to run merch booths, and finding people to help with security because you never can be too careful. Then there’s spreading the word, talking to good journalists and trying to dodge bad journalists, sweet talking venue owners, and then there was squaring everything away back at home. We’ve had to close our businesses for at least a year, and we had to pool our money and resources just to fund this thing.”
Tara paused, took an exaggerated deep breath that was actually needed, and looked straight into Liza’s eyes before continuing.
“Because this thing? It’s all on us. We’ve done all the planning, and all of the funding. Each and every one of us is taking a risk, because we miss the freedom of good music. I don’t know if that’s reassuring or whatever, but it’s the truth.”
“Did you know that your southern drawl gets more pronounced the longer you talk?” Liza asked. Tara was about to fire off a smart ass comment, her usual reaction to someone commenting on her accent, when she noticed that Liza was smiling. Really smiling.
“I’ve been informed.”
“I thought it was a lovely speech.” Tara and Liza both looked over at the sound of the new voice, and Tara was relieved that she didn’t have to look up as far. This woman was only about five-three, and she stuffed her hands in the pockets of her loose black shorts as she smiled. “Sorry, I was coming to talk to…anyone, really, when I heard your speech. It made me feel a little better about this whole thing.”
“And you are?” Tara asked. She was sure that she didn’t know this woman. Long wavy dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, clean tan skin without a tattoo in sight, and no visible piercings. Yeah, Tara didn’t recognize her.
“Oh, sorry. I’m Betty. Whitesides. Dan’s wife.” She walked forward and extended her hand, and Tara reached up to shake her hand. Her yellow tank top slid down a little, and Tara saw the tattoo going across her collarbones. It just said cuddle me. Cute.
“Nice to meet ya. I’m Tara, and this is Liza Braxton-Bryar. Looks like you’re the only wives on this tour,” Tara grinned. The two women looked at each other, sizing each other up, and then shook hands. “If either of you ever need a break from the testosterone, you’re more than welcome on one of our busses. We’re all friendly, once you get to know us.”
“I had to resist the urge to beg Patricia Vicious for an autograph earlier,” Liza said with a grin. Betty made a quiet sound in her throat and rocked up on her toes in excitement.
“I had the same problem with Aiden Angelis! Bestselling author and world class chef? I thought I was gonna swoon or something,” Betty said with a quiet laugh.
“What’s that about swooning?!” Aiden yelled from one bus over. Tara grinned as she turned her tablet off, because they’ve planned as much as they can for now. No point in stressing about it.
“Wanna go meet the other ladies?” Tara asked as she stood up. Liza and Betty shared another look, and they were both grinning when they looked back at Tara.
“Might as well,” Liza said and gestured with her arm for Tara to lead the way.
“Might as well,” Tara echoed and led the way towards more introductions.
9 JUNE 2233
TARA
“Anyone ever tell you that you worry too much?” Emily asked with an irritated huff.
“You mean besides you?” Tara asked.
“Go! Play with the others and let the adults work!” Emily yelled and pointed. Tori, who was standing next to Emily, tried to hide a laugh and failed. Tara huffed and propped her fists on her hips, but Emily stayed firm and didn’t lower her pointer finger. After another moment of glaring, Tara growled a little and tossed her arms in the air.
“Fine! But don’t come crying to me when you realize you have a hair out of place!” Tara ran away with a laugh as Emily tossed a pen at her, and she was still laughing when she bumped into Sam a minute later.
“You’ve been naughty, haven’t you?” Sam asked and linked their arms together. Tara launched into the small story as they walked around backstage, because it was easier to tell a ridiculous story than to think about what was about to happen.
Tonight was the night of the very first show, and Avenged Sevenfold was going to be playing. A local band was on the stage now, and it sounded like the crowd was having a good time. They’re completely sold out, and Tara could even hear fans screaming outside. Earlier, Brian and Zacky had been outside talking to some of them. Tara knew that some of the girls were going to watch the show from the crowd, and Tara and Sam were seriously considering it. They were either going to watch it from the crowd or from the side of the stage, so they just wandered around backstage while they tried to decide.
“You don’t know, that I know, you watch me every night. And I just can’t, resist the urge, to stand here in the light. Your greedy eyes upon me, and then I come undone. And I could close the curtain, but this is too much fun—”
“How’d you know?!” Tara yelled while Sam stood next to her with an excellent poker face. Matt stopped singing and slowly turned around, and Tara and Sam smiled up at him. Way up. Sam’s an inch taller than Tara at five-one, and Matt was an entire foot taller than Sam. Then there’s all the muscles.
“How’d I know what?” Matt asked, clearly confused.
“That we watch you every night?” Sam asked.
“I thought we were just lucky,” Tara added.
“You two watch me?” Matt asked and slowly looked between them.
“Only once a week,” Sam said with wide eyes. Tara opened her mouth to add something, but a very familiar scent stopped her before she could get one word out.
“I smell tacos! Bye!” Tara yelled and started running.
“Save some for me!” Sam called after her.
“No promises!” Tara quickly found the source of the delicious scent, ignored Emily’s comparison of her to a bloodhound, and took the Taco Bell bag out of Emily’s hands. Okay, so Tara might have skipped supper last night. She might have also forgotten about breakfast that morning, and lunch seemed to have completely disappeared. She looked into the bag and counted five separate wrappers.
“No lettuce?” she asked and looked up at Emily.
“I wouldn’t do that to you, even though you worry too much and constantly impede my work process,” Emily said and smiled. Emily had lived through more than her fair share of rants from Tara when people put lettuce on her tacos, but Tara felt like it was fair because Emily always laughed as Tara struggled to get every stringy piece of lettuce out of her tacos. Tara dropped to the floor and crossed her legs, and she placed the large brown bag in the space between her legs. She then patted the spot in front of her, and Emily carefully sat down.
“I had a feeling you’d be hungry,” Emily said as Tara dug into the first taco.
“Your feeling was right. I’m starving,” Tara mumbled around her mouthful. She used her hand to cover her mouth as she spoke, and Emily rolled her eyes at the display.
“Why didn’t you eat anything today? I can’t remember the last time you skipped a meal,” Emily said after Tara had swallowed her food. Tara scratched the side of her nose and pulled the second taco out while shrugging. “You have to eat, or you’ll go all medieval and faint on me. If you faint, some part of you will break and the tour will be ruined because we’ll have to use our money to piece you back together.”
“That’s offensive. I don’t break that easily.” Tara tore off another chunk of taco after the statement and grinned at the disgusted look on Emily’s face.
“Sidewalk,” was Emily’s counter.
“Oh My Christ! That was one time!”
“Whatever, Miss Paper-Skin-And-Glass-Bones!”
“I don’t have paper skin and glass bones! It was a really high sidewalk!”
“Because you’re a midget!”
“Not all of us can be freakshow giants!”
“I’m not a giant! You’re just vertically challenged!”
“I’m fun sized!”
“You’re three inches from fun sized!”
“And you’re three inches taller than Lurch!”
“Shut it, you oompa loompa!”
“Hey! What is the issue?!” Tara and Emily stopped yelling, looked up at Sam, looked at each other, and started howling in laughter. They leaned forward to hold onto each other as they laughed, and Tara heard Sam let out an exaggerated sigh at their dramatics.
“Sorry. Sam.” Tara managed to get out between laughs. Tara watched as Sam sat down beside them with her arms crossed, but it was still another full minute before Tara and Emily stopped laughing. Then Tara straightened up and resumed devouring her taco.
“So, why were you two yelling like kindergarteners?” Sam asked. Since Tara was still rapidly chewing her food, she looked at Emily.
“No particular reason. We were talking about old times,” Emily said and waved a hand in dismissal. Tara and Emily were cheap when it came to practically everything, so they decided to drive to California from Alabama instead of renting a train car for all of their stuff. Along the way they stopped at Las Vegas, because it was too tempting to pass up. During those short three days, Emily’s famous temper surfaced and got them kicked out of an entire section of Vegas. Emily also got a little cut up, which was how the two of them first met a man named Doctor Alberts. The next night, after having a kind of “Goodbye To The Old Me” party, Tara was so drunk that she fell off a sidewalk and broke her arm. The injury sent them right back to Doctor Alberts, who told them they were spirited and should never change. For the past three years, Tara and Emily have gone to Vegas on their own to party it up every six months or so. They normally get a little banged up somehow and inevitably wind up seeing Doctor Alberts, who always patches them up and then tells wild stories from his youth. It’s good times.
Tara listened as Emily explained their first Vegas stop to Sam, and Sam rolled in laughter nearly the whole time. Tara just listened, nodded in the right places, and moved on to her next taco. She hadn’t really been hungry all day, until she smelled food. Then again, she spent most of the day directing people while standing on a stack of boxes downwind from the port-o-potties. It’s hard to have an appetite with that stench constantly clogging your nose…the strong scent of toilets. There’s no toilets near her now though.
“What are you thinking about?” Emily asked. Tara snapped out of her meandering thoughts and answered without thinking it through.
“Toilets!”
“Toilets?” Emily asked.
“Do you really want the details?” Tara asked and took out the final taco.
“You know what? I’m good with not knowing,” Emily said and looked away.
“So, how was the talk with Matt?” Tara asked and looked over at Sam. She watched as Sam’s cheeks turned a light pink, Sam’s such an easy blusher, and she smiled even as she continued to chew her food. She probably shouldn’t smile while she eats. It probably made her look demented.
“You talked to Matt?” Emily asked and turned towards Sam.
“I now know that he sings in the shower,” Sam said and smiled.
“He sings in the shower?” Emily asked. There was definitely confusion in her tone, but Tara was too busy trying not to choke on her food as she laughed to say anything. Emily gave her a worried look, but Tara just waved her off. Sam finally looked over at her, and she must have been able to read minds because she started laughing too.
“What’s so funny?” Reina asked. She was standing behind Emily and looking down as Tara and Sam continued to laugh.
“Matt sings in the shower?” Emily asked and hesitantly looked over at the two laughing women.
“Matt in the shower,” Reina sighed and looked off to the side. Clearly lost in some kind of daydream. Sam and Tara looked at each other, and they both had tears leaking out of their eyes. They managed to stop laughing long enough to draw a breath but continued to look at each other.
“Barbie!” Sam started.
“Girl!” Tara finished as they started laughing again.
“Why are they rolling around laughing? And is that a half-eaten taco?” Tara heard Aiden ask. She instantly stopped laughing to grab her taco, and Sam took one look at Tara’s defensive posture and started up laughing again.
“The taco is mine,” Tara stated and pointedly took another bite.
“It’s okay. Emily already gave me one,” Aiden said with a smile. Tara looked over at Emily, who was also smiling at her.
“You gave away one of my tacos?” Tara’s tone was sad, bordering on pitiful, and Emily reached over to ruffle her already wild hair. It was a good thing the longest parts of her hair only reached her chin; it made it easier to finger comb the thick mess into some semblance of presentable.
“You can only eat so many, and Aiden asked for one,” Emily said. Tara looked over at Aiden and smiled suddenly.
“You’re lucky I love you,” Tara said and quickly finished the taco off.
“Reina! Snap out of perverted thoughts!” Sam yelled. Reina jumped and glared at Sam, but Tara could see the barest hint of color in Reina’s cheeks. She was distracted from the glaring contest by the sound of running feet, and a shin pressed painfully against the top of her spine.
“What are you girls doing sitting around?! The show’s about to start so move!” Tara heard Jimmy yell over her head. Literally. Emily and Aiden pulled Tara to her feet while Reina helped Sam up, and they all took off to watch the first show of the tour.
|XXX|
After a lot of serious deliberation, Tara decided to join the crowd. She took an elbow just below her left eye about halfway through the show, but she could barely feel the throbbing pain right now. Nope, she was too excited. While Tara was in the crowd and getting stepped on, Sam had stayed backstage where she could get a better view of the…performers. The two of them met up soon after the end of the concert, and a plan was very quickly formed. Now they were standing side-by-side, giggling quietly but not exactly discretely.
“You’re both going to get killed!” Reina whispered.
“Nah,” Sam said and glanced over at where Reina was pacing.
“Just Sam is, because I’m going to run faster,” Tara said and smiled over at Reina.
“Matt’s got a good sense of humor, so you’re both going to live,” Brian said and smiled reassuringly at Reina. Yes, Matt’s bandmates were in on the plan. They had even helped a little.
“Unless he turns into some kind of super beast,” Zacky mumbled. Tara looked over and caught him smiling, but she couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“Who’s turning into a beast?” Patti asked as she stopped beside Tara.
“Matt is,” Zacky answered and grinned at Patti.
“And why is Matt going to turn into a beast?” Patti asked and looked at the two giggling women.
“Watch and see,” Sam and Tara said together.
“This is going to end badly, but I can’t make myself leave,” Aiden said from behind them.
“Shh! The beast approaches!” Jimmy yelled. Sure enough, Tara could hear a few cuss words drifting around the corner in Matt’s deep tone. He had been using the shower that was provided backstage, but now it sounded like he was walking around.
“Guys?! What’d you do with my clothes?!” Matt yelled. Sam and Tara looked down at the small pile at their feet that made up Matt’s clothes and started giggling again.
“Raven, you ready?!” Tara called out. Raven smiled at them, raised her video camera, and gave them a thumbs-up.
“One for the money,” Tara said and looked over at Sam.
“Two for the show,” Sam said and grabbed Tara’s hand.
“Three to get ready.”
“And four to go!”
Sam and Tara took off running just as Matt came around the corner, and Tara took that as a sign from the gods. He was wearing what had been left in the bathroom for him, which was nothing but a small bright pink towel. Well, it looked small on him anyway. His eyes widened as the two women ran at him at full speed, but he was too shocked to react. Too shocked to even step out of the way. Sam and Tara both hit him head-on, and all three of them hit the hard floor. Matt let out a small groan, which sounded like an angry bellow to the on-lookers, and Sam and Tara managed to high-five as they laid on either side of him.
“Sam, I love you, but you’re on your own now!” Tara yelled as she quickly scrambled to her feet. She blew Matt and Sam a kiss before taking off, and she heard yelling behind her. Sam was running behind her, but Tara already had a head-start.
“You’re both dead!” Tara looked over her shoulder and saw Matt running after them, gaining on Sam, and his hold on his towel was slipping. Tara let out a small laugh and continued to push herself forward. Before long, she was completely out of the stadium and running outside. She changed trajectory to head straight for the party tent, because she could see that it was lit up. She tripped as she ran inside, and she managed to fall right into Pyper’s lap. The chair Pyper was in rocked a bit, but it didn’t fall over.
“What the hell?!” Pyper yelled and looked up at Tara with wide blue eyes. Tara threw her arms around Pyper’s neck and started laughing.
“We tackled Matt!” was the only explanation she managed to yell out.
“You did what?!” Tara twisted in Pyper’s lap and saw Quinn, so she deduced that him and Pyper had been talking before she ran in.
“Sam and me, we tackled Matt. Well, first we stole his clothes while he was in the shower and only left a pink towel, and then we tackled him!” Tara yelled while still laughing.
“Have you seen the size of that man?! He’s going to kill you!” Quinn yelled with a laugh of his own.
“Nonsense! All of us girls together could take him, couldn’t we?” Tori asked. She sat down across from Pyper and Tara, since Tara was still firmly sitting in Pyper’s lap, and Tara smiled over at Tori.
“Of course we could! Besides, I ran off and I’m pretty sure he caught Sam,” Tara said.
“You left Sam?” Pyper asked.
“I wouldn’t call it leaving,” Tara answered and crossed her arms.
“Then what would you call it?” Jeph asked after appearing behind Tori. Or walking up behind her chair. Whatever.
“Being a faster runner,” Tara grinned.
“You, my friend, are insane,” Tori said and smiled over at her.
“I prefer to think of it as being strategic,” Tara said with a wide smile. She stood up slowly, because her legs sort of felt like jelly from all of the frantic running, and she walked over towards the opening of the tent. When she didn’t hear any loud death threats, she opened one of the flaps.
“Where are you going?” Pyper called after her.
“It’s nearly Tara’s bedtime, and I’ve got a little work to do before I can sleep,” she said and stretched her arms above her head. She hadn’t been this active in a very long time, and her muscles were complaining about the overuse. Oh well, her body will just have to get used to it because she had a feeling that her moshing and running days were far from over.
“Need any help?” Tori asked.
“No thanks, hun. It ain’t nothing I can’t handle on my own,” Tara answered with a small smile. She waved to Quinn and Jeph, and the girls, before walking out. She looked both ways just to make sure she was in the clear and then started towards her bus. She quickly found it and slipped inside, and she let out a relieved sigh once the door closed behind her. It sounded quiet, which meant that everyone was somewhere else. That was fine with her; all of her friends deserved to go out and have a good time. They’ve all been working too hard lately.
She stopped by the fridge, thought about grabbing a bottle of water, and then grabbed a bottle of Coke instead before continuing on to the bunk area. She slipped inside of her bunk and scooted backwards until her back was pressed flush against the wall, and she stretched her legs out in front of her. Her laptop was still on top of her blanket, so she pulled it up onto her lap and wiggled around to get comfortable.
|XXX|
“What are you doing?” Tara jumped a little at the voice, barely enough to jostle the laptop balanced on her thighs, and looked to the side. She never even heard anyone walk onto the bus, much less sit on the bunk right beside her.
“Hey, Lindsay,” she said and hoped her smile didn’t look too tired. She pulled off her glasses and set them on the keyboard, and she closed her eyes as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“What are you doing?” Lindsay repeated.
“Just a little work. I promised some patients that I would keep in contact through email,” she answered.
“You’re working?” Uh-oh. That was Lindsay’s worried tone.
“Yeah, but not too much. I know setting this up drained everyone’s bank accounts, so I decided to keep working.”
“Is that the only reason you’re still working?” Besides being an amazing listener, Lindsay was also a very good observer and knew when someone was lying. Tara just didn’t know what her tell was.
“No, not the only reason. I assigned all my patients to other doctors for their regular appointments, but I told some of my…worst patients that I’d keep in contact with them.” Tara held Lindsay’s eye contact as she spoke, and Lindsay must have been satisfied with her answer because she nodded.
“Well, I was told to come get you,” Lindsay said.
“For what?”
“I don’t know. No one knows, except for Raven and Sam.”
“Oh, so they’re going to show that,” Tara said with a wide smile. She quickly shut her laptop down and scooted to the edge of the bunk, and Lindsay helped her get to her feet. They stepped off the bus together and headed in the direction of the party tent.
“So, you know what’s going on?” Lindsay asked as they started weaving around the busses.
“I think so. Did anyone say anything else?”
“No, but some of the guys were setting up a TV.” A TV in the party tent? They were only going to be staying in LA until the end of the week, for some promotional stuff, so was a TV really necessary?
“Tara!” Arms wrapped around her from the side, but the grip was too tight for her to even turn her head. The height and bright red hair instantly told Tara who it was though.
“Hi, Audrey! Where have you been all day?” she asked. Audrey finally released her, and Tara turned to face her. Audrey had a bright smile, the one that usually meant trouble, and she was wearing a tiara.
“Bert and I explored the town. I’d give you the details, but it’s better if you don’t know anything. That way if they question you, you won’t have to lie,” Audrey said quickly.
“Did you do something illegal?”
“Do you like being lied to?” Tara thought it over and decided she probably was better off not knowing.
“Forget I asked. Where’s Bert?” Audrey pointed, and Tara turned to look behind her. Lindsay was having a very serious conversation with Bert, and Bert seemed just as invested in the serious conversation as Lindsay which just made the whole thing even funnier. Mostly because Bert had a tiara just like Audrey’s, and he was also wearing a sparkly pink tutu.
“Guess what!” Bert yelled excitedly when he noticed Audrey and Tara staring at him.
“What?” Audrey and Tara asked at the same time.
“Lindsay’s gonna cut and play with my hair,” Bert said. Tara looked at his plain black hair and contemplated what colors would work, but hair really wasn’t her specialty. Audrey walked around her and wrapped an arm around Lindsay’s shoulders.
“You’re a brave woman,” Audrey said seriously.
“Would you like to watch?” Lindsay asked her.
“Definitely.”
“We’ll do it tomorrow, before My Chem plays. Now, let’s get to the party tent,” Lindsay said. Audrey grabbed Tara’s arm before wrapping her free arm around Tara’s shoulders instead, and Bert skipped ahead of all three of them. They made it to the party tent without any further interruptions, and Tara looked around to see who all was there to watch the…show. All of the girls were present, as well as all three bands. Surprisingly, there were no other roadies or any of the other hired workers.
“It’s about damn time! Where were you hiding?” Sam asked before Tara could duck and run.
“Why would I tell you my hiding spot?” Tara asked.
“You know, I’m going to get you back for leaving me,” Sam said.
“Leaving you? I thought that you were right behind me,” Tara said while doing her best to look innocent. She had a feeling that Sam wasn’t buying it.
“Of course you did.”
“What are you two going on about?” Audrey asked and looked between them.
“You’ll see,” Sam said and smiled over at her.
“You’re really going to show what happened?” Tara asked.
“Of course I am. Come on, I saved you a front row seat,” Sam said. Audrey and Tara followed her to the front of the party tent, where a giant TV had been set up. Tara fell into one of the vacant chairs and leaned her head against Tori’s shoulder.
“Sleepy?” Tori asked.
“A little,” Tara mumbled around a yawn. A couple of minutes later Tori had to shake Tara awake, and she sat up in her chair with a quiet groan.
“Alright, everyone! Everything’s officially ready, so please enjoy the show!” Raven yelled.
Tara guessed that Raven was the one that set everything up, because she was the one that filmed the whole thing. Tara looked at the screen, and she woke up a little more as she laughed along with everyone else when Sam and her tackled Matt. It looked even more hilarious the second time around, because she had an outsider’s view of two very short women tackling a big guy like Matt. Tara watched as she ran away, short hair bobbing as her legs pumped, and she got to see Matt catch up to Sam just as his towel started to slip. He picked Sam up and threw her over his shoulder with one hand, and his free hand managed to hold his towel up. Sam wiggled and fought to get down, but Matt’s iron grip held her in place.
“Here comes the good part,” Raven whispered. Matt placed Sam on some kind of platform and then he started quickly pulling on a rope. Tara tried not to laugh as Sam went higher up and started yelling down at Matt, but it was hard not to laugh at the smug look on Matt’s face. There was a lot of laughter in the background of the video so Tara couldn’t hear exactly what Sam was yelling at Matt, but judging by the look on Sam’s face? It wasn’t good.
“I spent an hour up there,” Sam said.
“I’ll make it up to you, hun. I promise,” Tara said and looked over at her. Sam hated heights, so Tara knew that she was going to have to do something to make up for running off.
“Oh, I know you will,” Sam said and smiled over at her. It wasn’t one of her nice smiles either…it was definitely one of her evil ones. Everyone behind them was laughing and making fun of Matt for being tackled by two girls, while wearing an itty bitty pink towel. Which was probably why no one noticed when Reina climbed up on a table and cupped her hands around her mouth.
“Pizza’s here!” Reina yelled.
“Can I offer you some pizza?” Tara asked Sam. She rolled her eyes and stood up, pulling Tara along with her. They walked over to where the massive towers of pizza were, and Tara went straight for the meat lover’s. Sam got her own slice and walked over to Reina, and Tara turned around to see Audrey grinning behind her.
“Have I told you that I’m glad I gave you this idea?” Audrey asked and took a bite out of her veggie pizza.
“No, but I’m glad you gave me this idea,” Tara said and smiled at her.
“I’m glad someone came up with this idea.” Tara turned her head to see Ray, and she smiled up at him as she took a bite of her pizza.
“I gotta go find Bert. I think he still has my phone,” Audrey said. Tara watched her walk away and then turned back to Ray.
“So, how do you think things are going so far?” Tara asked.
“Good, so far. It still doesn’t feel real, you know?” Ray asked as they walked away from the table holding up the pizzas.
“I guess it doesn’t, not for you guys. I can’t even begin to imagine what the last five years have been like. I know things were hard on the fans, but I’m sure it was worse for the bands.”
“It wasn’t easy. Everyone dealt with it their own way. I heard that some bands even left and went overseas.”
“Yep. Bring Me The Horizon went back, and they took All Time Low with them. There’s a few more scattered throughout Europe, but they’re hard to keep track of.”
“Are we going overseas any?”
“Yeah, for a few shows. We’ll be here for the next six months, then overseas for three months, and then back here for the last three.”
“All of this can’t be cheap.” Tara raised a brow at Ray, but he just smiled at her before taking another bite of his pizza.
“Oh, trust me, it’s not.”
“So, how can you afford it?” It was Tara’s turn to smile at Ray before answering, and she looked around the tent at where her friends were mingling with the bands that they all idolized.
“We’re not your average fans. We’ve got famous writers, famous tattoo artists, models, and even a cage fighter. We can afford it,” Tara said. Barely, but she didn’t add that part.
“Okay, wow. What are you?”
“I’m a therapist, with a doctorate in clinical psychology. I do a little writing on the side too.”
“A therapist, huh?”
“It’s not the easiest job, but I love it.”
“Tara!” She looked around to see who was calling her name, and she saw Reina grinning in her direction.
“What?!”
“Do you want something to drink?!” Tara noticed the familiar bottles in Reina’s hands, and Tara shook her head even though she was definitely tempted.
“Not tonight!” Reina shrugged her shoulders and turned around to talk to someone else, looked like Brian and Zacky, and Tara turned back to face a confused looking Ray.
“You don’t drink?” Ray asked.
“Not really, and I should get going anyway. See you tomorrow?”
“Probably.”
Tara said goodbye to a few people on the way out and then hurried out of the tent. A few people were hanging around outside, so she stopped to talk to them before saying goodbye. Then a few roadies caught up to her before she reached where the busses were parked, and she talked to them for a few minutes. Around twenty minutes after saying goodbye to Ray, she finally made it to her bus. She didn’t make it soon enough though.
Hands gripped the back of the bus as her pizza made a reappearance, and she was thankful that it was quiet around the busses. She felt a pair of hands in her hair, lifting the longer sections away from her face, but she didn’t have a chance to turn and see who it was. She finished getting rid of everything in her stomach, and she groaned as she turned her face away from the puddle of bile. Her hair had been released by then, and she sucked in a few deep breaths. She slowly looked up and dark brown eyes met her own.
“Have you been drinking?” Emily asked.
“What? No, I promise,” Tara said. Emily walked in front of her and leaned down to study her eyes, which Tara would have rolled if she knew for a fact that the small movement wouldn’t make her sick again. Emily must have realized that Tara’s eyes were clear, because she stepped back and sighed.
“I don’t know if this tour is good for you, especially with that damn party tent.” Emily’s arms were crossed over her chest, and the look in her eyes was more than enough to make Tara hang her head in remembered shame.
“No drinking, Em, I promise. You know I don’t want to get started doing that again.”
“And I don’t want to see you like that again.”
“You won’t. Trust me on this, okay?” Tara looked up again, and Emily’s expression softened.
“Okay. You know I worry about you, right?” Tara smiled over at her closest friend and then stepped around the side of the bus.
“I know. I only got sick because I forgot to eat for most of the day, and then I thought it’d be a good idea to go into a mosh pit and tackle a giant. My body just needs time to adjust, and sleep. Sleep would be awesome,” Tara said as they walked onto the bus.
“Then go sleep, or I’ll make you.” Tara turned so that she could aim a salute at Emily, and she turned back around before Emily could say or do anything. She grabbed a pair of pajamas and her small toiletry bag, and she spent a good ten minutes in the bathroom just brushing her teeth. Once she felt adequately clean, she stumbled back to her bunk and collapsed against the mattress. She didn’t even bother with getting under the blankets first.
Notes
One of my favorite things from the original story is two small women tackling M Shadows, so I had to keep it. It's one of my favorite scenes from any fanfiction, and I've read a lot of fanfiction over the years. I hope you thought it was funny too!
Also, I've been working on this story for so long that all of it makes sense to me at this point. So if you read anything that seems confusing, please don't be afraid to ask me about it! Because there's a good chance that I just forgot to explain myself.
And here's a picture of Matt in a pink towel!
