25 JUNE 2233

TARA

“No, five more minutes,” Tara mumbled and tried to roll over.

“You don’t have five minutes.”

“Please, Mama Ruby…I’ll be at school before Chemistry starts.”

“Wake up!” Tara jumped at the sound of the loud voice and glared up at Mikey. She nearly forgot why she was staring up at Mikey instead of one of the girls, but she remembered what happened the night before after waking up a little more. Last night, she’d forgotten that they had to leave right after Avenged finished playing and was nearly left behind. Luckily, she’d been with Mikey at the time and caught a ride on the Red Bus. Raven had already been on it, so she wasn’t completely alone with My Chem and Liza.

“You better have a good reason for waking me up,” Tara drawled out. She was still half asleep, which only deepened her accent, and all she wanted to do was go completely back to sleep.

“Your phone won’t quit going off, and it’s driving me insane!”

“Then why didn’t you just answer it?”

“Because it’s your phone.” Mikey moved her legs off of the couch and then sat down. She could hear her phone vibrating on the table, so she reached over to grab it. She looked past the table to see Raven and Frank sprawled out on the floor, with a graveyard of candy wrappers and chip bags surrounding them. Ray was sleeping sideways in the chair, and she could hear Bob and Liza talking quietly in the little kitchen area. Gerard was…wherever he was. Tara had slept on the couch, and it had felt like being home.

“Hello, you have reached the phone of Tara Christens. She can’t come to the phone right now, but she’ll happily get back to you soon. Please leave a message at the beep…BEEP!”

“Haven’t you ever heard that lying is wrong?” a familiar voice asked. It was just taking Tara a moment to remember names.

“Once or twice. Why are you calling me so early, Casey?” Ha! She remembered the name.

“I’ll be able to make it to the Reno show, and I’m expecting a full coverage interview with all of the guys.”

“Bossy this morning, ain’t ya?” Tara drawled and then yawned. Casey sounded way too chipper for whatever time it was.

“Are you going to ask them or not?”

“Yeah, sure, I’ll ask around as soon as we stop somewhere. Reno?”

“I’ll text it to you so you don’t forget. See you soon!” Casey yelled out a goodbye before hanging up, and Tara groaned as she dropped her phone back onto the table. She thought about going back to sleep, but Mikey was looking down at her. She can’t sleep with someone watching her.

“I got y’all an interview in Reno,” Tara said.

“An interview? Who would want to interview us?” Mikey asked. He sounded skeptical and looked confused.

“Casey Adams, the main writer for Mindless Vengeance. Best damn magazine there is? They talk about the old days and the old bands, about how all of you are missed, and they tend to criticize the new bands for being sell-outs. Casey’s also an old friend. You’ve really never heard of them?” Tara managed to get everything out without yawning, but her eyes were only half opened.

“It’s too early to remember stuff.”

“Agreed. I’m going back to sleep, so get off my couch,” Tara said and pushed at his legs with her feet. He was like a giant tree…No, wait. He was like a giant tree limb. Yeah, that suited him more.

“I don’t feel like moving,” Mikey said with a small shrug.

“Either lay down or leave, no other option,” Tara said and narrowed her eyes at him. Mikey grinned, which made him look like a little kid, and tackled her. Tara’d been tackled more times than she cared to count, but she couldn’t remember ever being tackled while lying down. That was a new one.

“You’re squishy,” Mikey said and poked the side of her stomach. Tara was laying between Mikey and the back of the couch, and she considered pushing him off for a moment. Instead, she just sighed and rolled over so that she was facing the back of the couch. Mikey snuggled up behind her, spooning her, and it was surprisingly comfortable despite the small space.

“Just what every woman wants to hear first thing in the morning. Thanks, Mikes,” Tara mumbled.

“Anytime.” Tara thought Mikey said something else after that, but she never heard it.

|XXX|

“I am going to kill you.”

“Can we push that appointment off to tomorrow?” Tara mumbled. She could feel something solid behind her, something a little soft and a little scratchy pressed against her face, and she had a feeling that someone was glaring at her.

“Sorry, tomorrow’s full.” Tara struggled to open her eyes after turning her head at a slightly painful angle, and dark brown eyes were definitely glaring down at her. Tara smiled up at Emily, but the glare didn’t soften at all. Then the solid thing behind Tara started to move.

“What’s going on?” Mikey was still more asleep that Tara, so it came out as, “Wass goin’ on?”

“You left me with that idiot!” Emily pointed behind her, and Tara used Mikey’s shoulder to push her upper body up and looked around. Lee was standing just behind Emily with his usual goofy grin, his hair was standing up everywhere, and there was a large coffee cup in his hand. He had a very large duffel bag thrown over one shoulder, and there was also a small bag at his feet.

“I’m sorry?” Tara said and looked up at Emily again.

“You were gone, Raven was gone, Audrey disappeared with Bert, Tori is still with Jeph, and Pyper was asleep. So I got stuck with that idiot,” Emily said and jerked a thumb over her shoulder.

“You know you love me,” Lee said and stepped forward. He passed the very large cup of coffee to Tara, who slowly wiggled around until she was in a sitting position. Mikey shifted so that his head was pillowed in her lap, and Tara reached down to play with his hair.

“So, all the other girls have disappeared too?” Tara asked. She took a long sip of her coffee and nearly spit the hot liquid back out. She probably would have spit it out if Mikey hadn’t been in her spitting range. There’s no point in burning her tongue and Mikey’s angelic face.

“Yeah, I figured none of you would make it back to the bus on time anyway,” Emily said.

“Good. It makes things easier.”

“Easier for what?” Emily asked with a raised brow.

“Casey called me this morning. She’s gonna meet up with us in Reno, and she wants an interview with all of the guys. We know we can trust her, so I thought I’d ask them. So a meeting at the party tent as soon as we reach Reno?”

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Lee said.

“Can you send all the girls a text and tell them?” Tara asked and looked at Emily from over the edge of her coffee cup.

“Sure, you just go get ready. We’re only stopped here for another fifteen minutes or so. I’m gonna go drop this one off with The Used,” Emily said and looked over at Lee. Instead of replying, Lee just reached down and then tossed the small bag at his feet at Tara. She caught it, realized it was probably filled with clean clothes and hopefully a toothbrush, and then placed her empty coffee cup on the table.

“I shouldn’t be too long!” Tara called out as Emily dragged Lee off the bus. She gave Mikey’s hair one more pat and then started to wiggle out from under him. They probably won’t reach Reno for a few more hours, and she’d really like to spend the rest of her traveling time on her own bus. In her own bunk. “See ya later, Mikey.”

SAM

“You!” Sam yelled as a group of familiar people walked towards her across the parking lot. They just reached the Reno venue, or at least the parking lot of the Reno venue, and she’d been wandering around for about twenty minutes now.

“Good morning!” the person in the middle yelled.

“It’s three in the afternoon!” Sam pointed out.

“Good evening then,” Tara said and smiled at her. Sam rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

“So, what’s this meeting for?” Sam asked. This morning, Sam and Reina both got a text from Emily saying that there was going to be a meeting in the party tent as soon as they stopped. No other details. Just that.

“I can’t tell you right now,” Tara said.

“Frustrating, huh?” Emily asked and glared down at Tara’s head. Tara must have felt the glare, because she flinched. Or maybe she flinched because of her broken nose? It’s still taped up, but the bruises under her eyes looked a little better today.

“Come on, ladies, let’s not fight,” Lee said and wrapped an arm around both of them. They turned to glare at him in tandem, but Lee just kept grinning.

“So, you three have been getting along okay, then?” Sam asked with a grin of her own.

“Me and Lee have been getting along great, but this one disappeared,” Emily said and glared over at Tara again. Hmm, maybe they’re having a glaring contest? Should she ask to join? Sam’s good at glaring, so she had a good chance at winning.

“That’s not fair! I was kidnapped!” Tara yelled.

“Me too!” Sam yelled. She didn’t mean to yell, but talking at high volumes was contagious. All three of them turned to look at her, and Sam almost laughed at their identical confused expressions.

“Who kidnapped you?” Emily and Tara asked at the same time.

“Reina, after she was kidnapped by Brian,” Sam explained.

“Wow, all the rockstars here are kidnappers,” Lee mumbled to himself.

“It was horrible. Matt had a headache, so we didn’t see him all night. Johnny kept making the weirdest noises with some rubber duckies, Jimmy and Zacky kept yelling at some video game, and Brian and Reina kept making perverted comments. At the video game!” Sam exclaimed. Needless to say, it was a long night.

“Three words: Frank, Raven, sugar,” Tara said. Sam had seen Raven on a regular day, and she was a naturally hyper person. Give Raven a little bit of sugar? Chaos.

“Hi!” Sam jumped at the sound of the loud voice behind her and looked over as more people joined them. Jimmy was standing directly beside Sam with Aiden on his back, and Bert was standing beside him with Audrey on his back. Judging by the guys’ quick breathing and the girls’ windblown hair, Sam was sure that they had just raced.

“Hi!” Lee yelled back. Maybe Frank and Raven weren’t the only ones who’d gotten into some sugar. He looked a little…hyper. More than usual.

“So, we’ve been looking for you,” Aiden said and looked at Tara.

“Did you miss me?” Tara asked.

“Of course! And we,” Aiden pointed to herself and Audrey, “got a text from Emily saying that you were calling a meeting in the party tent.”

“That I am! I’m on my way there now. Is everyone else there?” Tara asked.

“The rest of my guys are,” Bert said.

“That’s where the guys were headed when we came looking for you,” Jimmy said.

“Good. Let’s get going then,” Tara said and started walking. Lee looped one arm through Sam’s and his other arm through Emily’s, and the three of them followed after Tara.

TARA

“I need everyone’s attention!” Tara yelled. The party tent was pretty packed, and she was going to have to remember to thank the Avenged guys for setting the tent up. Everyone’s eyes turned towards her, and she felt an old feeling of nervousness creeping up. This tour was really giving her high school flashbacks, where she always had a small panic attack before every small speech.

“About five and a half years ago, I went to one of the last Avenged Sevenfold concerts. There, I met a woman named Casey Adams. We kept bumping into each other during the concert, and we ran into each other again later that night at a Taco Bell. We got to talking about Avenged Sevenfold, which led to us talking about all the other bands we were obsessed with.”

Tara paused so that the guys could make a few smug comments and bicker for a moment about who was better. She only let it go on for a few funny jabs before continuing on.

“I learned later that night that she worked for a magazine down in Texas. They were just starting out and weren’t all that big yet, but they got really big about a year later. Mindless Vengeance is the only successful magazine here in the US that still continues to talk about the real bands and tells the truth about everything. Casey Adams is their main writer, and she’s a good friend of mine. More importantly, she’s a trustworthy friend. She called me this morning and said she’d be here in time for the Reno show, and she wants to know if she can interview all of you. I promised her I’d ask, because it’s completely up to y’all. So, guys, are you gonna give Casey her interview?”

“Hell yeah!” the guys called out after only a few moments of deliberation. All of the girls were cheering too, and the excitement felt contagious. The first Reno show was five days away, but there’s nothing stopping them from having a little fun before then.

“In that case, I say we…CELEBRATE!” Tara yelled.

LATER THAT NIGHT

“I’ve really been! On a bender and it shows! So why don’t you blow me! A kiss before she goes! Hey! Why’d you stop?!” Sam and Tara were sitting on the ground, back to back, right outside the opening of the party tent. They could still see inside the party tent, and hear everything. Sam had a keyboard in her lap, and Tara had started randomly singing the first song that popped into her head. Which just so happened to be The Sharpest Lives. Sam had been pretty wasted for a while, along with just about everyone else, so she had just gone along with Tara’s random singing. The funny thing? Tara was still completely sober.

“I have an idea!” Sam yelled.

“But why did you stop?! I was getting to the good part,” Tara said with a small pout. She felt Sam’s back leave hers, so she twisted around to look at her.

“I have an idea,” Sam repeated.

“What is this famous idea of yours?” Tara asked. Sam glanced all around them and then leaned forward to whisper in Tara’s ear.

“Let’s tackle a shadow,” Sam whispered and then giggled.

“Ha! I am so not doing that again. I barely got away last time,” Tara laughed.

“But…who’s going to help me? I can’t do it by myself,” Sam said. Tara’s eyes scanned over the large crowd (well, it wasn’t that big since they fired so many people) until she found the perfect person.

“Wait here, Sam. I’ve got the perfect candidate!” Tara used Sam’s shoulder to push herself off of the ground, and she found the person she was looking for instantly. Green eyes looked at Tara warily, and Tara realized that she was bouncing lightly as she stood there smiling at Tori.

“Tara. Are you feeling okay?”

“How nice of you to ask, Tori. I feel perfectly wonderful!” Tara yelled and threw her arms in the air.

“Is she drinking too?” Jeph asked from his new wheelchair. He had some crutches too, but he said the wheelchair was like his pimp-mobile. Or something like that. Tori studied Tara for a moment and then shook her head.

“I don’t think so,” Tori said.

“I’m not, but I have a very important question,” Tara said while still bouncing a little.

“And what’s that?”

“Samantha over there wants to go tackle a shadow, but the last time I did that I wound up running for my life. Sam can’t do it by herself though because, as people know, it takes more than one person to take down a shadow. So, I thought you might be up to helping her,” Tara said with a raised eyebrow. She could see the excitement in Tori’s eyes as she glanced down at Jeph.

“Go for it. I’ll be fine until you get back,” Jeph said and smiled up at her.

“Thank you!” Tori squealed and gave him a quick hug. Then she linked her arm through Tara’s so that they could walk over to where Sam was still sitting on the ground.

“Are you going to help me tackle a shadow?” Sam asked Tori.

“That’s the plan,” Tori said with a wide smile.

“Yes! Let’s go!” Sam yelled and extended her arms. Tori and Tara each took a hand and pulled Sam to her feet.

“Now, I’m going to the other side of this little party,” Tara said and skipped off. She didn’t want to be seen next to those two and have Matt come after her later for being an accomplice. She stopped next to Mikey, who was talking to Emily and Ray.

“There you are!” Mikey yelled and pulled Tara into a side-hug.

“I was lost?” Tara asked and looked up at him. Mikey shrugged and then looked back at Emily and Ray.

“He’s been telling us that y’all are going to paint the nursery purple,” Emily said.

“Mikey, darling, we agreed on violet. Remember?” Tara asked.

“My apologies, I forgot,” Mikey said and rocked them side to side a few times.

“What color is your nursery going to be?” Tara asked Emily and Ray.

“Red.”

“Green.” Tara stared at the two of them, and they both smiled innocently back. So, a Christmas theme, huh? It’s too bad Tara didn’t think of that first.

“So, what happened to you and Sam?” Emily asked. Tara stood on her tip-toes and looked around, and she noticed Matt getting closer to a clearing. Once he was in that clearing, Tara knew what was going to happen.

“Just watch and see. I’m going to get the getaway car,” Tara said with a wide grin. She smacked a kiss against Mikey’s shoulder and then slipped away.

SAM

Sam was naturally clumsy. Sam was intoxicated. Sam was determined not to trip.

“Ready?” Tori whispered into her ear.

“Yep. When it’s over, you run back to Jeph. I’m going far away,” Sam whispered back.

“Got it. Count of three?”

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three!” they both yelled. Matt had just stepped semi-close to the entrance, and no one else was around him. Sam saw his eyes widen in shock as they charged at him, but he didn’t have enough time to react. Sam hit Matt a split-second before Tori did, and her forearms collided with his stomach. She felt her body being propelled forward, which meant he was going backwards, and her body jerked as they all hit the ground. Tori was half on Sam and half on Matt, and Sam looked up just in time for Matt’s eyes to meet hers. His hazel eyes were one percent amused and ninety-nine percent pissed.

“Run for it!” Sam yelled. Tori was gone before the sentence was completely out of her mouth, and Sam jumped up. She felt Matt’s fingers brush her leg, but she kept running. Ran straight out of the tent and was prepared to keep on running when she heard a feminine voice call her name. She slowed to a stop and turned her head to see Tara sitting on the driver side of a golf cart.

“Hurry it up!” Tara yelled. Sam ran over to her and jumped onto the passenger side of the bench seat, and Tara sped off. Sam’s slightly buzzed brain felt overworked, so she leaned her head back as she took a few steady breaths.

“Where’d you find this thing?” Sam finally asked.

“I can’t reveal my secr—What the hell?!” The golf cart came to an abrupt stop, and Sam flew forward just a little. She shook her head to loosen her neck up and then looked around. Bert ran across their path beating at his pants leg, which was on fire, and it sounded like Bert was singing as he tried to put the fire out. Audrey was chasing after him while yelling something, and Jimmy and Aiden were standing off to the side laughing.

“He sings well under pressure,” Sam mumbled as Bert’s singing voice rose an octave.

“Just take your pants off!” Tara yelled. Ah, so the only sober one around does have some wisdom. Bert stopped in front of the golf cart, because he had been running in circles, and started taking off his pants. He finally threw them off and started stomping on them, while Audrey cheered him on. A moment later the fire was out, and Bert snatched his pants up.

“Aha!” Bert yelled with a wide smile. The left leg of his pants was basically gone, and what was left of it looked black and ashy.

“I told you to quit playing with the matches!” Audrey yelled. Jimmy and Aiden were now holding onto each other as they laughed and tried to walk, and Sam worried for a moment about them falling over. They were both so tall…falling from that height must be really scary. The two laughing tall people fell into the golf cart under Sam’s feet, and she quickly pulled her feet up onto the seat.

“That! Was! Perfect!” Jimmy yelled and buried his face in Aiden’s hair.

“It was all like…whoosh!” Aiden yelled.

“What in the hell am I supposed to do now?!” Bert asked and threw his ruined pants back onto the ground.

“Let’s get cupcakes!” Audrey suggested while jumping up and down.

“Yay! Cupcakes!” Sam yelled and clapped her hands. Tara scratched her cheek, right next to the tape holding her broken nose together, and then looked around the cramped space. Jimmy and Aiden’s legs were hanging off the side of the golf cart, and there wasn’t any room between Tara and Sam.

“I guess you two can hop on the back,” Tara decided and pointed behind her.

“Let’s go, Bertapotomus!” Audrey yelled and pulled on his wrist.

“Berta-what? Never mind, I ain’t even gonna ask,” Tara said. She waited until Bert and Audrey were seated somewhat securely and then pulled off. Within minutes, they were driving down a sidewalk and past some stores. Everyone was quiet now, until Tara burst into song.

“Now, this is a story! Of a good man named Ed! Left his son for a moment! Returned found him dead! Recalls a tale as a boy! Of an evil witch, so wicked, so old!”

“Brakes!” Audrey yelled. Tara slammed on the brakes again, but Sam braced herself this time. She looked around and saw an open store, and she smiled at the pretty lights.

“Candy!” Sam scrambled to get out of the little cart, but she had to be careful not to step on Jimmy or Aiden. The two giants followed behind her, and the three of them ran into the store first.

TARA

Tara shook her head with a quiet laugh as she watched Sam, Aiden, and Jimmy all run into the store. Bert and Audrey walked around to the front of the cart, and Tara smiled over at them.

“Hey, Bert?” Tara asked.

“Hmm?” he asked as they stopped in front of the store.

“Do you think they’ll let you in with no pants?” Tara asked. Bert studied a small sign on the door and then whooped.

“It says no shoes, no shirt, no service. It doesn’t say anything about pants,” Bert said and walked right in. Audrey and Tara followed in after him, and Tara looked over at the cashier. The young guy looked like he was asleep, so Tara just shrugged her shoulders and continued walking. She listened as the five other people with her ran around to grab their goodies, and she studied her drink choices. Caffeine was what she wanted, but it was getting late. She finally settled on a large bottle of water and decided to check on everyone else. She turned around to go do that and then nearly toppled backwards as a plastic container was shoved in her face.

“I got…cupcakes!” Audrey exclaimed.

“Mine have red frosting!” Sam shoved another plastic container into Tara’s line of sight, and Tara leaned up on her toes so that she could see the girls on the other side of the containers.

“Umm, that’s wonderful?” Tara asked. Audrey and Sam exchanged a confused expression before looking back at her, and Tara raised a brow at the both of them.

“She just doesn’t understand our genius,” Audrey pouted.

“Aww, I know you’re a genius!” Tara promised and jumped forward to wrap her arms around Audrey’s waist. When Audrey realized that Tara wasn’t letting go, she started dragging her.

“I got chocolate!” That was Aiden, who ran past them with said chocolate held over her head.

“And I got spicy-ness!” Jimmy was right behind Aiden, but he was holding his candy out in front of him. The two of them ran up to the counter and dropped their treats, and the guy behind the counter startled awake.

“What’d you get?” Tara looked up from Audrey’s shoulder to see Bert standing next to them, and he was holding two giant bags of cotton candy.

“Come on, you guys, move it!” Sam yelled and started pushing them. Tara nearly tripped over her own feet as Sam pushed them, and they all stopped at the counter. The guy finally noticed that Bert was just in his white-with-pink-bunnies boxers, blinked a few times, and then shook his head as if to say whatever. Tara let everyone go ahead of her and then slowly stepped up to the counter with her bottle of water.

“Crazy night, huh?” the cashier asked.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Tara replied with a small smile. She swiped her card, added in a little tip, and then jogged outside.

Everyone was munching on…whatever they had gotten, so Tara started driving back in the direction of the parking lot and party tent. The party tent was in sight when Sam suddenly yelled for Tara to hit the brakes. For the third time that night, Tara slammed her foot on the brake and bruised her forearms on the steering wheel. She looked over expecting to see Sam puking her guts up, because alcohol and cupcakes rarely mixed well, but Sam was staring in front of them with a slack jaw. Tara turned to see what Sam was staring at, and she felt her own jaw come unhinged. When she stomped on the brake, the golf cart had turned a little. Now the headlights were putting two people in some kind of freakish spotlight, and Tara felt her eyes burn from a lack of blinking.

“R-reina?” Tara recovered first.

“Brian?” Sam whispered.

“Go Reina!” Aiden yelled at the same time Jimmy cheered, “Go Brian!”

“Holy Hell, I think my eyes have been scarred!” Tara yelled and stomped on the gas. Sam hung halfway out of the golf cart and stared behind them as Tara sped away.

“Hurt her and you’ll be castrated with a rusty spoon!” Sam yelled right before Tara turned around a corner. Tara brought her foot down hard on the brakes for the last time and killed the ignition.

“Well, that was interesting,” Bert said around a mouthful of cotton candy.

“Very,” Audrey agreed. Tara watched them link arms and skip away, with Aiden and Jimmy right behind them. Tara turned to look at Sam, and they both still had the same bewildered looks on their faces.

“Wanna go repress the image of Reina and Brian making out against the side of a bus?” Tara asked.

“Yes, please,” Sam said a little shakily. They both exited the cart and disappeared back into the party tent.

26 JUNE 2233

TARA

A sharp pain exploded in Tara’s right hip, and her body instantly tried to twist away from the source of the pain. She yelled something at the top of her lungs, but she didn’t know exactly what it was. After the pain faded into a hot throb, she rolled over to lie flat on her back. She tried to remember when her bed got so hard as she placed a hand over her aching hip, but she couldn’t remember ever making it to her bed the night before. Hazel eyes slowly blinked open, and she saw someone staring back at her.

“Sorry. Are you okay?” Quinn asked quickly. Tara glanced down at her hip, which was exposed because her tee shirt was pushed up past her bellybutton, and was surprised to see an angry red mark already darkening on her tanned skin.

“I will be,” she concluded. It’d just be a small bruise.

“I didn’t see you down there,” Quinn said and lightly gripped his knees. Squatting like that must be painful.

“Where exactly am I?”

“Halfway under a table in the party tent.”

“How in the hell did that happen? I didn’t even drink last night,” Tara mumbled, more to herself than to Quinn.

“I dunno. Things got crazy last night. Need some help up?” he asked. Tara nodded her head and then took his offered hand. Quinn easily pulled her to her feet, and she took a quick look around. Well, she wasn’t the only one who passed out in the party tent. She jumped up to sit on the table she’d been sleeping under, and Quinn leaned against the table next to her. It looked like they were the only ones awake.

“You’re vibrating,” Quinn pointed out. Tara looked down to see her right pants pocket vibrating, and she quickly pulled her phone out. Instead of bringing it to her ear, she put it on speaker and balanced it on her thigh.

“Yellow?”

“Green!”

“Casey!”

“Tara!”

“I don’t suppose you’re calling me to tell me that you’re on the way?” A call from a journalist this early in the morning, afternoon?, was never a good thing.

“Not exactly. I just got confirmation on who’ll be touring with Mercy’s Prophecy, and no one is going to like it,” Casey said. Shit, shit, shit. Quinn looked very interested in the conversation, and Tara felt his cheek rest against her shoulder.

“Go ahead and tell me,” Tara said while attempting to mentally prepare herself.

“Fall Out Boy.”

Tara nearly fainted from shock, because…what? When did Fall Out Boy sell out?

“Black Veil Brides.”

Tara couldn’t believe that one either. Black Veil Brides had barely gotten started when the music ban was put into effect, and she couldn’t see them switching to the dark side.

“And that’s not all,” Casey whispered.

“There’s more?”

“Mercy’s Prophecy has found a new drummer.” Tara sucked in a deep breath before replying, because she knew the answer wasn’t going to be a good one.

“Who?”

“Branden Steineckert.” And the hits just kept coming. Quinn had moved so close during the conversation that the front of his body was pressed against Tara’s back, so she felt it when he tensed. His old drummer, his old friend, was going to be against him.

“Thanks, Casey. See you in a few days,” Tara forced out.

“See you then,” Casey said and hung up. Tara slipped her phone back into her pocket and then took a deep breath before turning her head to look at Quinn. He was staring out in front of him with a blank expression, and Tara blindly groped behind her until she was gripping his hand.

“Quinn, you okay?” Tara asked quietly. She knew it was a question with an obvious answer, but she still had to ask. Quinn just shook his head without saying anything, but he tightened his fingers around her hand.

“What’s wrong with Quinnathan?” Tara heard Audrey ask from behind them.

“Bad news. Can you round up the few people we’re missing?” Tara asked her.

“No problem. Bert’s still passed out, so I’m making this a solo mission,” Audrey said. She stalked around the table and then disappeared out of the tent a moment later, and Tara returned her attention to Quinn.

“Quinn?” He leaned his head back against her shoulder and slowly wrapped his arms around her waist. He wiggled onto the table next to where she was sitting, and she hesitantly wrapped her arms around him.

“I know he left and everything, but I never thought that he would…Out of all of us, Branden would have been the last to sell out. It’s just not him,” Quinn whispered.

“I don’t know what to tell you. I never pictured him doing it either, but…well, Casey’s never wrong about these things.” She wanted to believe that it was a lie, but Casey wouldn’t have told her unless she was sure. Quinn let out a heavy sigh, and Tara started moving her hands across his back.

“We win!” Tara heard someone yell a few minutes later. Quinn and Tara both jumped at the sudden loud noise, and they looked in front of them. Raven, Frank, Ray, Bob, and Liza were just inside of the party tent. Frank and Ray were both laying on the ground and breathing heavily, and Raven and Bob were holding their ankles. (Raven was holding Frank’s ankles, and Bob was holding Ray’s.) Liza was laughing next to them and lightly petting Ray’s hair. From the looks of it, Tara guessed that they just had a wheelbarrow race.

“We won!” Raven yelled and smiled over at them. She must have noticed the looks on Quinn’s and Tara’s faces, because she stopped smiling.

“Something wrong?” Bob asked.

“Yeah something’s wrong! We lost!” Ray yelled at him.

“I was talking about them,” Bob said and pointed at them. Frank and Ray both turned to look at them and then frowned as well. Tara felt Quinn bury his face in her neck, and she brought one hand up to run her fingers through his hair.

“What’s going on?” Mikey asked as him and Gerard walked in.

“In a minute,” Tara mumbled. If this was how Quinn was acting, how would Bert and Jeph take the news? How would everyone else handle it?

“The last of the stragglers are on the way,” Audrey announced as she walked back in. She looked over at Quinn for a moment, and the serious look in her eyes almost scared Tara. Almost. Audrey snapped out of her small trance and started waking people up, and Tara did her best to soothe Quinn.

Before long, everyone was awake (some after a lot of complaints) and sitting in front of the table that Quinn and Tara were still sitting on. Someone had been kind enough to pass out coffee and other kinds of liquids, and everyone was starting to look a little more alert. Tara had a feeling that it had more to do with the blank look on Quinn’s face than the coffee.

“I got a call from Casey, because she found out which bands are going to be touring with Mercy’s Prophecy,” Tara said to get things started. There’s no point in delaying the inevitable.

“You can do this, hun,” Lindsay mouthed. Tara inclined her head towards her just a little and then continued.

“It’s going to be Fall Out Boy and Black Veil Brides.” Tara sucked in a quick breath and decided to go ahead and tell the rest. “Mercy’s Prophecy has also found a new drummer. It’s Branden.”

Angry shouts came from the crowd in front of her, and Tara felt Quinn tense again as he heard his old friend’s name. Bert actually left the tent (with Audrey behind him), Dan and Betty were looking at Quinn with shocked expressions, and Tori was trying to calm Jeph down. Everyone else looked shocked and confused, and a little hurt too. That’s when Tara remembered that the Avenged guys acted as mentors for Black Veil Brides, and My Chem and Fall Out Boy were old friends too.

“No, let me go! Dammit, I said let me go!” Jeph yelled. He was using his crutches instead of the wheelchair, and Dan and Tori stared after him as he walked off. Emily reached Tara at the same time Betty reached Quinn, and they all looked around at one another.

“Where’s Bert?” Quinn asked.

“I don’t know,” Betty said quietly.

“The guys don’t look so good,” Emily said and looked around the tent.

“I’m sure it’s a big blow,” Tara said.

“A low blow,” Quinn corrected.

“Maybe we should all just go back to our busses,” Betty suggested. It was a good suggestion. They all needed time to process everything.

“We need to find Bert. He shouldn’t be alone,” Quinn said.

“I think Audrey went with him,” Tara said.

“She did,” Emily said quickly.

“Come on, let’s go get Dan,” Betty said and reached a hand out towards Quinn. Quinn grabbed her hand before hopping off the table, and they quickly walked away. Tara looked around and realized that everyone else was gone too.

“I guess that’s our cue to leave as well,” Tara said.

“Yeah, let’s get going,” Emily agreed. Tara slid off the table, carefully, and walked next to Emily back to their bus. When they walked onto the Blue Bus, Tara expected to see the girls already on it. She wasn’t wrong, but she wasn’t exactly right either. All of the girls were on the bus, including the girls from the Purple Bus. Even Audrey, who Tara assumed was with Bert, was sitting on the couch. Audrey must have seen the confusion in Tara’s eyes, because she gave her a weak smile before speaking.

“Bert was really upset and just wanted to be alone,” Audrey said.

“Jeph was the same way,” Tori said in a low voice. Tara took a look around the lounge area, and Reina’s eyes connected with hers. Tara raised an eyebrow at her in question (last night’s image of Reina and Brian was still seared into her memory), but Reina shook her head before looking down at the floor. Emily went and sat down on the floor next to Patti, and Tara slowly walked over to the couch. She sat on the arm of it, next to Audrey, and propped her back against the wall.

Someone turned on a movie, but it was mostly just for background noise because everyone was so absorbed in their own thoughts. One thing was for sure. They were going to have to keep a close eye on all of the guys, to make sure that this news didn’t affect them too badly. They’re also going to have to stay vigilant, because there’s obviously some kind of plan against them. Why else would those specific bands be told to go on tour? Because bands don’t get to decide when they tour. The Management tells them when they will tour, just like The Management tells them what to perform. Tara traced the words inked across her left hand as her thoughts continued to swirl, just to have a reminder of why they were doing all of this in the first place.

“If this tour saves just one life, won’t it be worth it?” That’s what she asked Lindsay before the tour started, and Lindsay told her that she believed it was. Tara can also tell that the other girls feel the same way. Yeah, they’re in a rough patch, but they’ll make it through this.

Notes

I like drama and romantic/sexual tension as much as the next person, but I also really enjoy the more lighthearted/random scenes. So there will be scenes of everyone just having a good time, because I also believe in balance. I feel like this chapter captures that balance perfectly; there’s hilarity and good times, and then there’s some drama.

Now, about the bands touring with Mercy’s Prophecy…I love Fall Out Boy and Black Veil Brides. To the point that I will argue on their behalves, so please don’t get upset about them being the “bad guys” in this story. Just remember that not everything is black and white, okay? This story is nowhere near finished, I don’t even think it’s a quarter of the way finished, so there’s still a lot that can happen before the end.

Okay, quick update on the progress of the story! If you’re not interested or don’t care, you don’t have to read this. I am nearly done with Chapter 17, which is a lot of progress considering how long the chapters are. I work during the week, so I’m doing the bulk of my writing on the weekends and sometimes late evenings. Take for example, yesterday. It was a Sunday where I could have been super lazy, but I decided to write instead. I typed over 40 pages yesterday. My fingers are actually a little sore, but that might be because of my broken knuckle.

The point I’m trying to make is that I’m not giving up on this story, and I’m writing on it nearly every chance I get. So if there’s anyone you want to see, a band or an artist, now is the perfect time to make a request! If you want to see more of a certain character, you can request that too! I’d love to hear someone else’s ideas, because this story has a crazy amount of potential. I can write pretty much anything, so don’t be afraid to request…anything!

Songs Used
The Sharpest Lives by My Chemical Romance
Pumpkin Head by The Misfits

And since this chapter ended on a downer note, here's a gif of Mikey being adorable!