29 JUNE 2233

TARA

Tara straightened her tie as she got out of the cab and looked down to make sure that she hadn’t spilled her coffee on her clothes. The black button-up, with the sleeves rolled up to just under her elbows, was still unstained. Her bright red shorts were still clean too, and the black and red tie was in pristine condition. She pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head, thanked the gods again that she didn’t have to wear that itchy tape across her nose anymore, and then stepped up to the cab’s window. She started patting her pockets for her little wallet, but she couldn’t remember exactly where she’d stashed it.

“Hey, Bobby, thanks for the ride. And don’t forget to call that number I gave you, okay? Jason’s the best lawyer on the entire west coast, and he’ll get everything with your wife straightened out,” Tara said as she finally pulled her wallet out of her zippered back pocket.

“Thanks again, Tara. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you,” Bobby said with a grateful smile as she swiped her card. She handed him a business card when she was done, and he tucked it into his shirt pocket.

“I left my cell number on the back. I want you to call me when everything gets straightened out, and let me know when Marcy is out of the hospital and back at home. I know some good home-care nurses that can help out until she’s back on her feet,” Tara said with a gentle smile. Bobby’s wife, Marcy, had found out a few months ago that she had cancer. The hospital had refused her because she didn’t have insurance or the income to pay for the hospital bills. Bobby had picked up two extra jobs (one of which included driving the cab) to help out. Marcy, despite her weakening body, was still waiting tables to try and save up. Tara knew that Jason would be able to help them, and the lawyer owed her since she’d testified at a few hearings for him.

“No problem,” Bobby said and patted his shirt pocket. Tara waved to him as he drove off, and she hitched her backpack up before walking towards the busses. She was passing The Used’s bus when she noticed someone running towards her, and she held still to wait for him to reach her.

“Tara! You’re back!” He didn’t slow down, so he ran straight into her and nearly knocked them both over. Long arms wrapped around her back as she gripped the sides of the tee shirt he was wearing, and she dropped her head onto Mikey’s chest. She talked to him that morning, he spent thirty minutes describing the cartoon he was watching to her to keep her entertained, but that had nothing on actually seeing him. So Tara nuzzled her cheek against his chest, and that’s when she realized that he was shaking.

“Mikey, what’s wrong?” She tried to pull back to look at him, but he just held onto her a little tighter.

“Gee’s been in a weird mood for a couple of weeks now, but he won’t tell me what’s wrong. When I went to get him for lunch, he was just gone! I’ve tried calling him, looking for him, but I can’t find him anywhere! I don’t know what to do,” Mikey whispered. Anyone with a heartbeat could tell that Mikey loved his brother, and Tara hated seeing Mikey so upset.

“Do you want me to look for him?” Tara asked.

“I’ve looked everywhere,” Mikey groaned out. He leaned back, and the lost look in his eyes made Tara want to cry.

“Maybe you just need a fresh pair of eyes. Why don’t you go lay down for a little while, and I’ll text you if I find him?”

“But you just got back, shouldn’t you go lay down for a little while?”

“I slept the whole trip there, and the whole trip back. I’m up and ready to go. Take my bag, go back to your bus, and try to get some sleep. I’ll text you as soon as I find him,” Tara said. She reached up to lightly pat his cheek, like she always did, but Mikey covered her hand with his before she could pull away.

“Okay, I’ll go do that. I’ll see you later,” Mikey said. He gave her one last spine cracking hug and then turned around. Truth be told, Tara had been looking forward to seeing everyone again. She’d missed her friends while she was gone, and she knew that Emily would want to hear about Melody. The look in Mikey’s eyes though…she would have done anything to get rid of that lost look. She turned left when she got to the sidewalk past the parking lot, to head towards the outer parts of the city, and let her mind wander.

“I really hope the girls are doing okay,” she thought and set off to find the missing rockstar.

SAM

“That is it! Go outside!” Sam yelled and pointed at the door. She could feel several pairs of curious eyes on her, but her focus was only on one man.

“What?” Matt asked and looked up at her. Sam got to her feet so that she could stand in front of him, and she kept pointing at the door.

“I said, get your ogre ass off this bus! Now!” Matt surged to his feet, which meant that Sam had to crane her head back to keep looking at him, and she saw the muscle in his jaw jump as he stared down at her. Then, he turned on his heel and stomped over to the door. He left it open, so Sam walked after him. Once she was outside, she quietly closed the door and then spun around to face him.

“What the hell is your problem?!” Sam yelled and glared upwards. The man in front of her crossed his arms and looked away, which was really annoying because Sam wanted him to see the angry look in her eyes.

“It sounds like you’re the one with the problem,” Matt mumbled.

“I’m not the one who’s had a smartass comment for everything that’s been said today! Now I don’t know what the fuck happened to turn you into an asshole, but you better hurry up and get over it. We don’t have time to deal with divas,” Sam said and moved to walk away. Matt’s hand wrapped tight around her wrist, and Sam looked over her shoulder to glare at him a little more. His hazel eyes had turned dark and were spitting fire down at her.

“Don’t talk about things you know nothing about.” Matt’s voice was almost a growl, and Sam felt her muscles starting to tense. It wasn’t out of fear; it was out of rage, like she was preparing for a fight.

“I know exactly what I’m talking about! I’m talking about a grown man acting like a brooding five year old!” Sam shouted at him.

“You don’t know anything!” Sam opened her mouth to keep yelling, but she released a slow breath instead to steady herself. Matt’s fingers were still wrapped tightly around her wrist, and she paused long enough to wonder if his fingers would leave a mark. The man had a strong grip.

“I know that you’re not the only one who’s had a hard time. I know that you’re not alone in all of this. Now, when that finally sinks in, you can come back to civilization,” Sam said. She snatched her arm out of his now slack grip and walked back onto the Black Bus. Reina and the rest of the guys from Avenged stared up at her with…was that amazement in their eyes? Sam hadn’t done anything amazing. Okay, so maybe she’d gotten a little upset when Matt kept making smartass comments. And maybe she’d gone a little overboard when she yelled for him to get his ogre ass outside. (She really needed to stop letting Aiden talk her into watching weird cartoons about ogres and donkeys.)

“What? Do I have something in my teeth?” Sam asked innocently. Reina was the first one to laugh, and the guys followed soon after. Sam flopped back into a chair, Matt’s usual chair, and watched as everyone turned back into their usual selves. Her mind couldn’t stop replaying what had just happened though.

Sam had always been the quiet one. She was the one that usually hung in the back and watched everyone around her. The writer in her loved watching people to see how they responded to certain situations, and she was normally content to just sit back and watch everything unfold around her. But today…how could one man get under her skin so much that she completely acted out of character? Yeah, she could be a bitch when she needed to be, but she didn’t have a good reason to be a bitch today. Someone else would have said something to him eventually, so it wasn’t up to her to say something. The other question on her mind was…what’s wrong with Matt?

She felt her phone vibrating in her pocket, and she pulled it out with a sigh. She quickly opened her new text, and her eyes started to widen as she read. The message was simple and to the point, and she felt blood rushing from her face as her stomach went cold.

“Sam, what’s wrong?” Reina asked after noticing her expression.

“We need to get to the front gate, now,” Sam said as she stood up. She could hear the guys asking questions, but she just ignored them and walked off the bus. The words from Emily’s text was screaming in her mind, and she knew they needed to hurry.

Patti and I are at the front gates. People are going batshit. Get everyone you can and hurry!

TARA

Tara tightened her hold on the bag in her hand and looked upwards. If someone happened to walk by, they’d probably think she was looking up at Heaven and praying. Which, in a way, she was. She had been walking around for about two hours, and she was sorely tempted to go lay down in an alley. She had walked nearly everywhere, and this place seemed like the best bet. How did the saying go? You’ll always find what you’re looking for in the last place you look? Well, this was definitely the last place most people would look. Mostly because of how cliché it was.

Tara sighed, considered sleeping on the sidewalk one last time, and stepped past the iron gates. There were signs posted on the gates, which clearly stated that no one was allowed to enter, but she ignored that. It also said something about being a historical site and only open from eight to twelve on weekdays. It was about five on a Friday, so she had to get points for showing up on a weekday at least. She walked down the small winding paths and looked up at the towering trees. She loved tall trees.

After a few minutes of walking, she finally found what she was looking for. Well, not exactly. Huge stone buildings were right in front of her, and she started weaving between them. Her Converses didn’t make any noise as she walked, and she was careful to avoid all the leaves and small branches. She found Gerard sitting on the ground with his back propped up against one of the stone buildings. His eyes were closed, so he had no idea she was there. Which probably explained why he almost jumped ten feet in the air when she finally spoke.

“Isn’t hanging around cemeteries a little cliché?” Gerard’s eyes narrowed up at her, but she just smiled back.

“That’s why it’s so perfect. No one thinks to check the super clichés. What’s in the bag?” he asked. Tara looked down at the large brown paper bag in her hands and then walked over to him. She pressed her back against the stone mausoleum and slowly slid down. Gerard watched her slide down, and she turned her head to look at him.

“This, my clichéd little friend, is Tara’s bag of goodies. It seems as if you’re familiar with my brand of goodies,” Tara said as she looked at the small pile of bottles next to him.

“Didn’t picture you as a drinker,” Gerard mumbled as she pulled the first pack out of the bag.

“Yeah, well, life’s full of surprises,” she said and pulled out the second pack.

“What is it?”

“I’m not really sure. I just saw strawberries and a high alcohol content, and that was good enough for me. If you don’t like it, feel free to walk to the closest store and buy something on your own,” Tara said and popped the cap off of a bottle. Gerard mumbled something under his breath and grabbed one of the bottles. Tara leaned to the side so that she could pull her phone out of her back pocket, sent a quick text to Mikey, and then returned her phone to her back pocket before sitting back down. She didn’t tell Mikey where she was, but she promised him that Gerard was perfectly okay and that they’d be back later.

“You came back,” Gerard said and turned his head to look at her head-on. Tara leaned her head against the wall and looked back at him.

“Yeah, I did. It wasn’t easy leaving them, but I had a feeling I’d be needed here,” she said with a small teasing smile.

“What happened to your sister? How’d she get hurt?” Her and Gerard aren’t exactly close, so her family really wasn’t any of his business, but she was in a sharing mood.

“There’s this creek in the woods behind the house; it’s not really deep or anything like that, but the creek bed is pretty steep. Mely and Cady were playing next to it, and Mely slipped in some mud. For an eight year old, she fell a pretty long way. She broke her right arm in one place, her ribs got a little banged up, and there were some cuts and bruises. Her right leg though…poor thing was practically mangled. They had to do surgery to realign the broken piece of bone, and they said she should be okay. It’s gonna take a lot of physical therapy, but Mely’s tough.”

“Did you tell her to ask for that song?” Gerard’s eyes were steady as he looked at her, and Tara licked her dry lips before answering. A part of her wanted to lie, to avoid any embarrassment, but she’d never been a big fan of lying.

“Nope. Mely asked which band you sang for, and I told her. The twins have been listening to my favorite bands their entire lives, and they have their own favorites now. My mama has a video of Mely singing that exact song at Christmas last year. Cady sung most of Nightmare,” Tara grinned. She loved her family, and she hated being away from them sometimes. But it was time to move the conversation to a different topic before she started crying or something. “And thanks for the book. It was excellent reading material.”

“I hope it helped,” Gerard drawled and then smiled. It was the first time he’d ever smiled at her, and Tara laughed as she shoved at his shoulder.

“Ass.” She finished off her first bottle, smacked her lips, and grabbed another one.

“You’re not so bad when you’re not acting crazy.”

“I think that’s the first nice thing you’ve ever said to me,” Tara said and smiled sweetly at him.

“Well, you should try to stop acting like a lunatic.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Gerard didn’t answer, so they sat together in silence. Tara continued to drink from her bottle, and she knew she’d have some very pissed off friends if they knew what she was doing. She had a feeling that Gerard would also have some very pissed off friends if they knew what he was doing too. Well, they were both fucked.

She felt something press against her shoulder, and she rolled her head to the side. Shaggy black hair tickled her cheek, and she reached up to push the hair away. Gerard sighed, and she rolled her eyes. The one time she wanted to be cuddled, she had to do the cuddling. Such a cruel world. She started moving her fingers through Gerard’s hair, gently combing through the strands, and a deeper sigh reached her ears.

“Mikey sent you.” It wasn’t a question, just a fact.

“He was very worried about you. You should have told him you were leaving,” Tara said. She felt like she was scolding a child.

“You didn’t have to come,” Gerard grumbled.

“I owed you for singing my little sisters to sleep. That, and I hate seeing Mikey so upset. Why didn’t you just tell him you were taking some time for yourself?”

“Because then he would want to know why, and I don’t feel like talking about it. Then he probably wouldn’t have let me leave, or he would have followed me. What would you have done?”

“Well, I probably would have found someone to talk to by now,” Tara answered. She felt his head shift on her shoulder, so she turned her head just enough to look down at him.

“If I talk, will you charge me?” A small smile tugged at Gerard’s lips, and Tara started running her fingers through his hair again.

“We don’t have to talk, not yet. When you get ready though, I’ll give you a discount,” Tara said and smiled back at him. Gerard shifted again so that he was looking out in front of them, and Tara leaned her head back against the mausoleum and closed her eyes. He needed to talk, and soon. Something was eating him up inside; something was eating at all of the guys, now that she was thinking about it. Some were better at hiding it, but she knew it was only a matter of time. She wasn’t the only one who had noticed either.

Worried green eyes met hers, and Tara tried to smile reassuringly at her younger friend. It was before everyone found out about “the betrayal,” but it was noticeable even then. Now it just a little easier to tell…easier to see the cracks of strain. Personally, Tara just wanted to set up a big group hug-therapy session.

“I love spending time with him, but sometimes…he gets this look in his eyes. It’s like he’s seeing right through everything and everyone, and I don’t know what to do,” Audrey said. Tara knew she was talking about Bert. If Audrey was missing, they immediately went to Bert because those two were nearly inseparable.

Tara wanted to say something to help her; something that would make her smile and run off singing Skip-To-My-Lou, because she hated seeing Audrey upset. Tara went to school for way-too-many years so that she would know what to say in situations like these. She knew dozens of phrases to put her friend’s mind at ease, but that was the problem. Audrey was one of her closest friends. She was like family, so Tara couldn’t use some textbook phrase with her. She deserved the truth, even if there was no comfort in it.

“There’s nothing we can do, unless they ask for help,” Tara said. Audrey’s eyes held hers and then she slowly nodded.

As for Gerard, he still wasn’t ready. They all needed to talk about the forced retirement and everything that had happened since the start of the reunion tour, but she didn’t think any of them were ready quite yet. Tara believed in helping people, but she knew that someone couldn’t be helped until they realized that they needed help. Until then, she decided, she’d be there for him whenever he needed it. Family was important, but sometimes it took an outsider to put someone at ease. It was something she had never really understood, or why it worked. She just knew that was the way it was sometimes.

“You drink like a pro.” Gerard’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and her whole body jumped a little. She heard him laughing quietly and then he rubbed his head against her shoulder. Tara gently smacked the side of his head, not enough to hurt, and then started playing with his hair again.

“Is that a compliment or an insult?” she asked as she started on bottle number three.

“Compliment. Most girls worry more about how many calories are in their fruity drinks, not how high the alcohol content is.” Tara thought back to her girls, who could drink with the best of them, and smiled. He had seriously been around the wrong kind of women.

“Yeah, well, I’m not the type to worry about things like that.” She felt Gerard nod his head and then they lapsed back into silence. They continued to drink, and they watched as the sun disappeared behind the mausoleums and giant tombstones. It should have been creepy, but Tara had grown up watching every horror movie she could get her tiny hands on. It’d take more than watching a sunset in a graveyard to freak her out. However, if Gerard started hissing and saying he was hungry, she was out of there.

“What do you like better? Sunsets or sunrises?” Gerard asked. Tara thought she preferred a drunk Gerard to a sober one. He was a lot more friendly. Maybe she should start slipping whiskey into his coffee?

“Sunrises. It shows the beginning of a new day,” Tara answered with a smile. She couldn’t count how many mornings she had spent sitting on her front porch and watching the sun rise when she was younger, and she continued the tradition after moving to California by sitting on the beach. The sun doesn’t actually rise over the water, but it was still a nice place to sit and watch the sun make its first appearance.

“I like sunsets. It shows that I made it through another day.” They both started laughing, loud and echoing laughter. Tara’s skin was flushed with warmth now, and she couldn’t remember the last time she felt like this. She wasn’t even completely sure why she was laughing, and she had a feeling that Gerard had no idea either.

“I think I need another drink,” Tara said once they finally stopped laughing.

“Me too.” Tara turned to look at where the cases were and realized that there was only one bottle left in each case. So they had each finished a six-pack. Interesting.

“Well, this is our last one.” Gerard laughed quietly, and Tara turned to look at him.

“What’s so funny?” she asked as she passed over his bottle.

“It might be your last one, but not mine.”

“Gerard Arthur Way! Have you been holding out on me?!” Tara jerked to the side as she yelled, and Gerard’s head slipped off her shoulder. He sat up straight and glared at her, and Tara beamed a smile at him. Ah, this was more familiar territory for them.

“How do you know my full name?”

“Huge fan, remember?”

“Oh, yeah. So, were you one of those stalker fans?” He was smiling now, and Tara pushed him back against the wall. His laughter reached her ears as she grabbed her last bottle, so she figured he was too drunk to feel any pain. But there was always tomorrow. She’ll get him then.

“Damn straight! I even used one of your lyrics to dump my ex. Now, where’s the secret stash?” Gerard flashed her another smile and then turned his back towards her. When he turned back around, there was a bottle of whiskey in his hand. A huge bottle. Yeah, they weren’t going anywhere for a while.

“I say we make a toast,” he said and raised his last bottle of strawberry flavored alcohol.

“A toast? To what?”

“To us becoming half-friends?” Tara couldn’t help snorting at that, which made Gerard laugh.

“Half-friends?”

“I have this feeling that I won’t like you again when we’re sober.”

“The feeling is completely mutual. To us!” she said and raised her bottle as high as she could.

“To us!” Gerard cheered and clinked his glass bottle against hers. They both drained their last two small bottles in one long pull and then started drinking on his “secret stash.”

“It’s gonna be a long night,” Tara sighed after her first drink of whiskey. Gerard pulled the bottle out of her hands and looked over at her.

“Very long.”

A FEW HOURS LATER

“I gave you blood! Blood! Gallons of the stuff! I gave you all that you can drink and it has never been enough! I gave you blood, blood, blood! I’m the kind of human wreckage that you love!”

Gerard and Tara collapsed into a fit of laughter as they finished the song, and they were lying across each other as the laughter died out. The sky was completely dark now, and the two of them had briefly tried to count the stars. They quickly decided that there were too many and that singing was a lot more fun, and Tara had fun making Gerard sing his own songs. Tara reached around Gerard, she was currently stretched out across his back, and grabbed the almost empty bottle of whiskey.

“Hey! Who’s over there?!” Gerard and Tara both froze, and Tara watched the beam of a flashlight move over their heads.

“Cops,” they whispered at the same time.

“This is private property!” a cop yelled.

“Run!” Tara wasn’t sure if she yelled it or if Gerard did, but they both jumped up at the same time and started running. She could hear more than one voice behind them yelling, but she just kept running forwards. They were almost to the gate when her foot hit the edge of a headstone, and she went flying towards the ground. The whiskey bottle was still clutched in her hand, and she felt it shatter as she hit the concrete walking path. Why’d she have to be such a klutz?

“Shit! Come on!” She felt Gerard’s hand wrap around her uninjured one and then she was being pulled up. She was running again as soon as she was vertical, and she could tell that the cops were much closer now. They ran past the opened gates (why didn’t they lock the damn things if they didn’t want anyone inside?) and continued running down the street. After about ten minutes of running, she couldn’t hear anyone behind them and assumed the coast was clear.

“Come on, there’s a motel over here. Got any money?” Tara asked as they slowed to a walk.

“Nope. I used a spare card, and it’s got nothing on it now.”

“I guess that means I’m bank-rolling this operation then. Be a good boy and get my wallet.”

“Why can’t you get it yourse—You’re bleeding!” Tara looked down at where her right hand was holding her left hand in the rolled up bottom of her black button-up.

“It would appear that I am. Now, get my wallet so that I can go to sleep,” Tara said and turned her back on him. Gerard unzipped her back pocket to pull her wallet out and then started walking towards the motel.

“Wait!” He turned around to look at her, and she made one last request. “Ask them for some duct tape.” Gerard gave her a weird look, shook his head, and then walked off. Tara tipped her head back to look at the stars, and it felt like no time at all had passed before Gerard was tugging on her shirt sleeve. He slipped her wallet back into her pocket, zipped it, and then led her to their room for the night.

“So, what now?” Gerard asked after the door closed.

“This way. And bring the duct tape!” Tara called over her shoulder as she walked towards the bathroom. Her legs were throbbing from all of the running, so she jumped up onto the small bathroom counter. The entire bathroom was small…it was a good thing she wasn’t claustrophobic.

“Need any help?” Gerard asked as he walked into the tiny bathroom.

“Nah, I got this. I’ll be cleaned up in a jiffy,” she said. Tara twisted around to turn the cold water on, and she bit the inside of her cheek as she stuck her hand under the flow of freezing cold water. It stung at first, but the water washed away all of the blood. The cuts weren’t deep enough to need stitches, but they’d probably scar. She washed the blood off of her arm and then grabbed one of the towels hanging next to the shower. She folded it carefully and then tightly wrapped it around her hand.

“Duct tape, please,” she requested and held her hand out. Gerard, who was now sitting on the closed toilet lid and watching her, handed it over. He laid his cheek against her thigh as she started wrapping the duct tape around the towel on her hand, and she hummed quietly as she wrapped. It didn’t take her too long to finish, and she smiled as she looked at her accomplishment. “Duct tape really can fix everything.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t use duct tape on your nose then.” Tara narrowed her eyes down at Gerard, and he turned just enough to grin up at her.

“Hey, no hating on the nose. It’s your fault it looks like this anyway,” Tara said and poked the end of Gerard’s nose. He sat up at that and squinted his eyes as he looked up at her, and Tara laughed at the pinched expression.

“How is your nose my fault?” he asked after a moment. In all honesty, her nose was already looking better. The swelling was gone, and the center of her nose just had a small bump in it. The cut right over the bump was scabbed over now too and would fade before too much longer. She still had bruises running along the side of her nose and under her eyes though.

“Well, the first time it got damaged was while I was fighting this huge dude for your tie. Totally worth it though,” Tara said and ran her fingers down the length of her tie. Yeah, it might have been Gerard’s to start with but it was all hers now. She was even careful not to get any blood on it.

“The first time?” Gerard prompted.

“Right. The second time it got damaged was during the chaos after Jeph got hurt. Your ginormous watch nailed me right in the nose and finished breaking it. Also put that little cut on it. See?” she asked and pointed to her nose. Gerard squinted up at her nose one more time and then looked down at the silver watch on his wrist.

“Should I say sorry?”

“No, but you can help me to the bed to make up for breaking my nose. I feel a little faint,” she said and made a show of swaying side-to-side while looking down at Gerard. He rolled his eyes at her, but he still stood up and moved to stand in front of her.

“Do I have to carry you like a baby?” he asked. Tara reached out to grab the collar of his shirt and pulled him close to her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and then locked her legs above his hips.

“Carry me away!” she yelled. Gerard laughed quietly against her ear and then pulled her forward, so that they were chest to chest, and then he easily lifted her off of the counter. His hands held onto the backs of her thighs as he carried her into the other room, and they both fell onto the bed. Tara laughed as her side hit the mattress, and she wiggled back away from Gerard. She was starting to scoot her way towards the far side of the bed when she felt a hand on her forearm, and she went still as she looked over at Gerard.

“Will you…just for tonight?” Gerard asked. His voice came out in a whisper, and Tara slowly nodded her head. He got up to turn off all the lights, and she scrambled to pull the blanket down and get under it. He fell onto the empty space of bed she’d left for him, and she moved close enough to wrap her body around his.

“I’ll always be here if you need me, Gerard. I hope you know that,” Tara whispered. She felt his arms tighten around her back, and he buried his face in her neck.

“I might go back to hating you in the morning, but thanks for tonight. You’re not so bad, Tara.” Her eyes slowly drifted closed as she lifted her right hand to comb through his hair, and she sleepily realized that was the first time he had said her name all night. It might have been the first time she’d ever heard him say her name, she wasn’t really sure at the moment. She was almost asleep when a sudden thought crossed her mind.

“I hope everyone else is okay.”

EMILY

“Everyone! Separate! Now!” Everyone was a little bruised, some people were a little bloody, and the looks Emily received were a mixture of angry and tired. “I want all of you to go to your assigned busses right now! If I catch anyone away from their assigned bus! I will kick their ass! We will hash this shit out tomorrow! After everyone has slept! Now get out of here!”

“That was a really moving speech, Sarge.”

“Don’t call me that,” Emily groaned and took Ray’s offered hands. He helped her off of the chair she was standing on, and she pushed some sweaty hair off of her forehead as she looked up at him. “Didn’t I just give you an order?”

“Bossy, but I like that about you. Wanna walk me to make sure I get there okay?” Ray’s grin made her feel like hitting something, but she’d done enough punching for one day. Speaking of, she was gonna have to ice her hands before passing out.

“Only if you promise to hold me up. I think one of those animals bit me,” Emily said and patted the outside of her left thigh. She was wearing jeans, but she could already tell that she had a bruise in that spot.

“Bit you?” Ray asked as he wrapped an arm around her waist. Her arm moved around his back, and they started slowly walking towards the busses. Emily’s everything was hurting, so she was grateful for the little bit of support.

“Things got crazy,” she said as they hobbled along. Ray looked okay for the most part, but it looked like he had a bruise on his neck. Emily strained up a little to see his neck as they passed under a security light, and she got a good eyeful of the ring of bruises around his neck. Ray noticed her looking, because he just shrugged.

“Some dude jumped on my back and tried to choke me out, but Mikey tossed him off.” Emily wasn’t going to fuss over him, because she had plenty of bruises of her own. She was probably going to have a black eye tomorrow, and her knuckles were raw.

“Strong for such a skinny guy.” Ray hummed, and they completed their walk in silence. They reached the Blue Bus first, and Emily looked up at Ray as they came to a stop. “I thought I was walking you home?”

“I think I’ll make it. See you tomorrow, Sarge.” Ray quickly walked away from her, and Emily paused after opening the bus door.

“Don’t call me that!”

30 JUNE 2233

TARA

Someone was punching Tara in the head. Repeatedly. It was the only explanation for why her head felt like it was busting open. So, who has she pissed off lately? She forgot to text or call Mama Ruby to let her know that she’d made it to California okay, so maybe she’d decided to come beat some sense into Tara’s thick skull. Maybe one of the girls was mad about something…Had she done anything lately to anyone else? She did cut that one chick off in traffic, and she’d looked ready to kill. She’d had pretty big fists too, with rings!

A loud groan interrupted her rambling thoughts, and she reluctantly opened her eyes. The room was mostly dark, but one strip of sunlight came through the small window and fell right across her face. She tilted her head away from the light and looked down. Huh, interesting. Gerard’s head was pillowed on her stomach, with his body stretched out between her parted legs. Her legs were hooked around his, her right hand was lost somewhere in his hair, and he was gripping her left hand even though a towel was duct taped around it. Gerard groaned again and turned his head in the opposite direction, and Tara flexed her fingers against his scalp.

“So, are you always this cuddly in your sleep?” Tara asked. Gerard moved his head again and looked up at her with half-open eyes.

“Don’t think so. Want me to move?” His chin bumped her stomach with every syllable, which kind of tickled.

“Nah, I’m good.”

“Can I go back to sleep now?”

“Absolutely not. We’ve gotta get back to everyone else. I’m sure Mikey and the others are worried, and you have a show to play tonight.” Her left hand was starting to throb, or she was finally awake enough to feel her hand throbbing, so she pulled it away from Gerard’s grasp.

“Ten minutes?” His eyes looked huge in his pale face, it was a truly adorable look, but she was not going to back down! Not this time, even though his pleading face was very hard to resist.

“Nope. We can nap again later. Now get up!” Tara yelled. Gerard mumbled something under his breath, but he eventually rolled off of her and stood up. Their gazes locked for a minute, and they both nodded their heads. Last night had been odd, but they both knew it wouldn’t change anything. They weren’t suddenly going to become the best of friends, because life wasn’t that easy or simple. Despite that, Tara thought that they both realized a friendship might be possible. Some day.

An hour and a half later, they were finally ready to leave the little motel. There was a laundromat connected to the motel, so they had decided to use it to get rid of the alcohol stench that was still clinging to their clothes. So Gerard had worn one of the motel-furnished robes to wash the clothes while Tara showered, and she took over wearing the robe and watching the drying clothes while he took his turn in the shower. They had also found another small towel under the sink and used it to wrap her hand again. Tara was sure there were some bandages back at the bus, but they had to get there first.

“Do you think we missed anything important?” Tara asked. They were walking down the sidewalk, and neither of them had said anything for over five minutes. Nothing at all since they left the motel. Tara hated silence.

“Probably not. How’s your hand?” Tara looked down at her towel-wrapped hand and flexed her fingers. Small bursts of pain slivered throughout her left hand, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle.

“It’s fine. I’ve had worse,” she shrugged.

“Anything I can do?”

“Nah, I’ll be alright. Are you feeling okay this morning?” Tara glanced over at him and saw his head nod.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” he said quietly. To be honest, she had a roaring headache. A couple of years ago she wouldn’t have felt a thing, but it’d been a very long time since she had more than one wine cooler at a club. Or a spiked Coke to help with her nerves. Her head was pounding and the contents of her stomach were threatening to divorce her, but she knew her little hangover would fade soon. They were getting closer to the busses now, and she ran her fingers over her towel-wrapped hand. Luckily for her, her black shirt didn’t show any noticeable blood stains. There were a few darker spots on her red shorts, but they didn’t really stick out. “So, can I ask you for one small favor before we part ways?”

“Shoot.” She figured he wanted to make her promise to keep quiet about their activities the night before, but he didn’t have to worry about that. There was no way she was going to tell anyone what really happened.

“Stay out of the crowd tonight. I don’t want to be responsible for your next injury.” The request shocked a laugh out of her, and she stopped walking so that she could double over. She could even hear Gerard laughing a little along with her. After a few moments, she stopped laughing and straightened up to see Gerard standing next to her.

“So, it’s been nice knowing you and I hope we can meet again another day,” Tara said and stuck out her uninjured hand.

“Maybe.” Gerard had a small smile on his face as they shook hands, and they both froze mid-shake as they heard yelling. It was coming from past the busses, and they shared a quick look before they started walking again. The yelling was coming from the party tent, and they both started walking faster once the party tent was in sight.

“What the fuck happened to you?!” Tara nearly fell as she came to an abrupt stop, and she looked down to see Patti sitting just outside the opening of the tent. Her multi-colored hair was all messed up, one of her bright blue eyes was nearly swollen shut, her bottom lip was split in two places, and her knuckles looked like they had been through a meat grinder. The biggest clue though? She had a glow to her that she only got right after she won a fight.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Tara asked.

“You asshole! When were you planning on telling anyone?! Huh?!” That was definitely Sam…but Tara couldn’t tell who she was yelling at.

“I don’t see how it’s any of your business!” Matt yelled back. Matt? But she thought those two were getting along? What in the hell happened last night?

“It’s everyone’s business, Matt! You should have told someone! Didn’t you realize this could affect everyone?!” Holy Hell, was that Tori? First Sam and now Tori? Those girls were usually quiet and never quick to get angry, so what had them so riled up? Patti must have read Tara’s mind, because she smiled up at her.

“I’ll explain everything after you tell me what happened to you two yesterday,” Patti said. Tara took one long look at the opening to the party tent and then looked back down at Patti. She really wanted to know what had happened to make everyone go crazy, but Patti had asked first.

PATTI

Tara looked worried, but Patti still wanted to know what happened. Everyone had been a little worried when Tara suddenly ran off, just as she got back, to go look for Gerard. It was no secret that those two didn’t get along, but Patti had a feeling that Tara did it more for Mikey than for Gerard. That, and Patti wanted to put off thinking about last night for another few minutes. Damn, what a night.

“Well, Gerard and I spent most of the night talking. By the time we were through, it was pretty late so we just stayed at a motel for the night. Got cleaned up this morning and came back here,” Tara said with a small shrug.

“So all the injuries came from…?” Tara’s cheeks turned a light pink, and Gerard let out a quiet snort of laughter.

“Oh, shut up!” Tara said and turned to hit him on the arm.

“So?” Patti prompted.

“Did I forget to mention that we talked in a historical cemetery closed to the public and were later chased out by cops? Or that I tripped and fell during said chasing?” Tara was smiling now, and Patti couldn’t help the laugh that flew out of her. Leave it to those two to get caught trespassing in a cemetery. It explained why Tara’s left hand was covered in a duct taped towel and the giant bruise on her right leg.

“Are you okay?” Patti asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Duct tape can fix anything, and Gerard here put me to bed,” she said.

“You’re heavier than you look.”

“And you’re an ass.” The words could have been used in an argument, but they were smiling at each other. Weird.

“So, want to get this over with?” Patti asked. Both of their heads snapped back to look at her, and Tara nodded her head. Patti pointed to the ground in front of her, and they both sat down.

“Tell me, oh wise one, the stories of your past,” Tara said.

“Well, once upon a time, there were two girls walking around an enchanted place.” And Patti lost herself in yesterday’s memories.

“Emily? You okay?” Patti asked. They were both walking around the grounds and making sure that everything was okay. They were the ones in charge of security, and they were starting to think that they might need a little bit of help. Everyone was on edge, and they were barely a month in.

“I’m fine, just worried.”

“About anything in particular?” Emily slowly shook her head and sighed.

“Not really, it’s just a little bit of everything. Everything seems so fucked up lately, you know?”

“Yeah, I know.” They walked for a little bit longer in silence and then Patti heard something coming from the front gates. The parking lot and arena were locked up, only the bands and girls could get into the back gate where the parking lot was, and no one should have been around the front gate. Not until the next night’s show.

“What was that?” Emily asked.

“I don’t know, but it can’t be good,” Patti answered.

“It almost sounded like yelling,” Emily mumbled as they started walking towards the front gates. The closer they got, the louder the yelling got, and it was definitely yelling now. Emily’s worried eyes found Patti’s, and Patti could feel tension running through her body.

“Let someone know that we’re going to need some help,” Patti said. Emily pulled out her phone and started to text someone, even as they kept going towards the gates.

What they found stopped both of them in their tracks. There were about fifty people standing in front of the gates, and all of them were holding signs as they shouted. They didn’t look like average pacified protestors either. Oh no, Patti could see the anger boiling in their eyes. She was used to being at a disadvantage in a fight, but she had never had a problem like this. She’s been in a few barroom brawls before, but the odds had never been two against fifty. The protestors were still behind the chain-link fence, but for how long?

“What do you think we should do?” Patti asked.

“Stay here and hope for the best?” Emily suggested with a small smile.

“Sure? Why not?” The words had barely left Patti’s mouth when a sign landed in front of them. It said something about music before Two-Eight, but Patti wasn’t all that worried about what was on the sign. She was more worried about the first two people climbing the fence.

“Hey, Patti?” Emily asked as the first person swung his leg over the top of the fence.

“Yeah?”

“I think we should have went with the electric fence.” The second person was climbing over now, and more people were starting to follow their example.

“Or at least the barbed wire,” Patti said.

“So, should we let them come to us?”

“Might as well. I don’t feel like running.” Fighting was what Patti did for a living, and Emily could definitely hold her own in a fight. They had been in a few barroom brawls together actually…The first two protestors reached them at the same time, and the fight began.

The entire fight after that was mostly a blur. Patti looked around enough to catch snatches of the small battle raging around her, but then a fist would come out of nowhere and she’d be back to fighting again. She looked up one time to see a guy hit Reina from behind, and Brian came out of nowhere and nearly killed the guy. Another time Aiden and Sam were fighting back to back, but Aiden turned just in time to hit some chick right over Sam’s head. Jeph, who should have avoided the fight, was swinging his crutches and hitting anyone near him. Bert and Frank were taking turns tackling people in the crowd and leaving them to get trampled.

It didn’t take too long for the cops to show up, but it took them forever to break up the riot. Ambulances came soon after, and Patti smiled every time she watched a “protestor” get carried away. None of them had to go the hospital, but they did have to take their turns getting looked at. The most serious injury was Sam, whose arm would have to be kept in a sling for two or three weeks. What happened after the fight was definitely clear though.

Emily and Patti were standing to one side of Sam, who was cussing under her breath, and a worried looking Matt was standing on her other side. He had already said something to the EMT about being more gentle, and everything in his tone said that if the man wasn’t gentle then Matt wouldn’t be either. Sam had just rolled her eyes and then went back to mumbling. Emily tensed first, Patti could see her from the corner of her eye, and she half-expected to look up and see more protestors running at them.

“Damn, Kinston, you look like shit,” a voice said. The EMT ignored the newcomer, but the rest of them stared.

“And I still look better than you, Michaels,” Emily said. All of the girls knew the members that made up Mercy’s Prophecy, because Tara had been in a relationship with Kellan for the three years that they had all lived in Briar Lodge. They also all knew that Tara and Emily had known the Morrisons, and Gabe Michaels, since they were kids.

“You assholes have a lot of nerve showing up here,” Patti said and took a step forward. She stared at the three people in front of her, but Gabe was the only one looking in her direction. Mercy’s eyes were trained on the back of Matt’s head, and Kellan was looking around.

“She’s not here,” Emily said. Kellan turned to look at her and crossed his arms.

“How do you know I’m not looking for my brother?”

“Because he’s standing two ambulances over with Bert and glared at you for two seconds before pretending you don’t exist,” Emily said with a wide grin. Mercy’s head twitched in her direction, but she kept looking at Matt.

“Fine, so I was looking for her. Where is she?” Kellan asked. Emily’s smile shifted, and this smile could only be described as pure evil.

“Her and Gerard decided they needed a little alone time, so they left for the night. I’m sure they’re having their own fun right now,” Emily said. Kellan looked ready to kill someone, and Mercy finally turned to look at Emily and Patti.

“So I guess everyone here is getting our sloppy seconds,” Mercy said with a small smirk.

“Okay, I’ve had enough of your bullshit. We get that you’re a bitch, we really do, but can you please go annoy the fuck out of someone else for a night? Because I think I’ve kicked enough ass for one night,” Sam said. Her voice had been calm and even the entire time, but it was easy to hear the anger in her voice.

“You can’t be in a hurry to get some alone time with your loverboy. I’ve had him, and I know he isn’t that good,” Mercy said. She couldn’t be talking about…could she?

“Then why am I the one who left you?” Matt asked. Ho-ly. Shit.

“You were with this…this…Christ! There isn’t a word to describe how horrible she is!” Sam yelled.

“The word you’re looking for is Satan,” Emily said.

“Nah, she makes Satan look like a marshmallow,” Patti said. Mercy turned to glare at them, but Emily and Patti just smiled serenely back at her.

“Kellan, can we leave now? She’s not here, so we don’t have any reason to stay,” Mercy said.

“Yeah, whatever,” Kellan mumbled.

“Gabe, come on!” Mercy yelled. Gabe followed behind them, and Patti turned to see Lee watching them as they walked away.

“Mercy and…Matt? When? How? Dear Christ, why?” Tara asked. Someone stumbled out of the tent, and Patti tilted her head back to see who it was. Bright blue eyes looked down at them and blinked a few times.

“It’s like a zoo in there, and I think all of our friends have lost their minds,” Lindsay said.

“That’s why I’ve been out here,” Patti said.

“When did you two get back?” Lindsay asked.

“I’m not sure…about ten minutes ago? Patti was just filling us in,” Tara said.

“Do you think you can go yell at them?” Gerard asked. He was looking at Tara, who now looked lost in thought.

“It’s pretty loud in there. I’m not sure they’ll listen,” Tara said.

“I don’t know, they might. Tori, Pyper, Audrey, Aiden, and me have all tried to get through to them, but it’s not working. We usually get pulled into an argument as soon as we try to stop one. You, however, should be able to keep a level head,” Lindsay said.

“Why me? I don’t always have the best emotional state,” Tara said.

“It’s simple. You two are the only ones who had more than four hours of sleep,” Patti pointed out. Tara’s eyes met and held Patti’s, and she must have noticed how tired Patti looked. Tara nodded her head and slowly stood up.

“Let’s get this over with then, shall we?”

TARA

Tara honestly couldn’t count how many separate arguments were going on inside the party tent, because some people were yelling as they had more than one argument. It was complete and utter madness, and it just made her headache feel even worse. Lindsay and Patti had decided to stay outside, but Gerard had felt like being brave and followed her inside. No one seemed to notice their presence, mainly because they were too busy yelling at each other. So, it’s going to be one of those days.

“Hey, I know we’re back to hating each other and everything, but can you do me a small favor?” Tara asked. Patti had looked at them with a confused expression earlier, and Tara knew it was because they’d been acting friendly. She had a feeling that would disappear before the day was over.

“What do you want now?”

“Help me onto the table so I can feel tall and yell at people?” Gerard rolled his eyes, but he did lift her onto the table. Tara slowly stood up and pushed some hair out of her face. Surprisingly enough, no one had noticed her yet. Most people realize when there’s a chick on a table, but they were all still too busy yelling. Yeah, it was time to nip this in the bud.

“EVERYONE! SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Her voice, amazingly, didn’t crack as she screamed. Even more amazingly, it worked. Everyone immediately stopped yelling and turned to look at her. Some people looked surprised, and others looked upset about being interrupted.

“Now, I know what happened yesterday, but would someone care to explain what in the hell’s going on here?” Tara asked. The whole tent exploded again, so maybe that wasn’t the best idea.

“SHUT IT UP!” she screamed out. Ah, blessed silence again.

“Nice going so far,” she heard Gerard mumble behind her. She was tempted to kick him, but Lindsay and Patti told her that she needed to control her temper. Instead, she sucked in a deep breath and counted to ten before speaking again.

“Let’s try this again! I know that what happened yesterday was fucked up, and I know everyone in here is beyond pissed! I’m pissed and I missed out on all the action, so I get it! But y’all have got to stop this! You are arguing and fighting with the wrong people! We need to be angry at them! Not each other! We are not going to let any of those assholes tear us apart! Now! I want everyone to turn to the person you were just screaming at and give them a nice big hug!” Tara yelled. Her throat was starting to feel scratchy from all the screaming, but it was the only way to get her point across.

“Group therapy sessions?”

“I will not kick Gerard’s face in…I will not kick Gerard’s face in.”

“Come on, everyone! Put this petty shit behind you and hug the person you were mad at! When you’re done, we can start planning on how to get back at the assholes who were stupid enough to mess with us!” Tara called out with a smile. Well, that got everyone moving. Hugs filled the entire tent, and Tara even wrapped her arms around her middle to hug herself. After the small hugging fest was over, all eyes turned back to her. Everyone looked determined now and ready to get down to business. The momentary insanity had passed.

“Hey, Tara! We got a visitor!” Lindsay yelled. Tara looked ahead to the entrance of the tent, and a small girl was standing between Lindsay and Patti. She was about five-one with short black hair, multiple piercings, and a lot of tattoos. She cleared her throat and took a step forward.

“So, is this a bad time?”

Notes

Another update! I love this chapter; it just might be my favorite chapter of the story, for several reasons. The phrase ogre ass is used to describe Matt, there’s a giant riot in the parking lot, and Tara and Gerard have bonding moments! Definitely one of my favorite chapters.

There isn’t really anything that I want to explain for this chapter. If anyone has any questions about anything, I’d be happy to answer them!

I have posted a new story, if anyone is interested. It’s a Matt/OC and Gerard/OC story. The title is Killing With Kindness, and it only has one chapter at the moment but will probably be updated soon.