Radiant Eclipse

It was a nice feeling to roll out of bed the next morning when I felt obligated to; no rude awakenings, the sounds of men fighting playfully as if they were eight instead of thirty-eight. There was none of that crap about getting up at this time to be here by that time, just so you could leave sometime. Nothing. It was just open your eyes when they could no longer hold themselves closed, and toos the comforter away from you. That's what I had been longing for for almost four months, now.

The clock read two in the afternoon. I'd been asleep for almost fourteen hours, it appeared.

My back cracked as I got to my feet, the cold temperature of the redwood flooring causing me to shiver abruptly, waking me up more than I had been the moment before. After relieving myself of the glass of water I drank the night before, I headed down for a breakfast that consisted of an egg, sunny side up, on a whole grain bagel, and a bottle of Mike's Hard Lemonade. It said lemonade on its label, how bad could it honestly be?

Drying my hands after rinsing and putting my dirty dishes int he dish washer, my home phone rang out loudly for what was probably the first time in almost a year. I never handed my home phone out unless it was to management or the band, and my family didn't respect me anymore than they did Al Queda. They lost all respect for me when I was nineteen years old, having shun me out of their lives ever since.

I picked up the phone and answered, "Vickie."

"Hey, Vick, it's Corey," introduced my old friend of the trade, Corey Taylor. "You up for coffee? I've got a proposal for you that you might like to look at."

"The last time you told me that I was butt naked running down Main Street of some hick town in Iowa," I explained to him, heading back up the stairs to go find an outfit for the day. "I'll go for coffee, but I don't trust your dealing skills. You're like the worst drug dealer ever."

Corey laughed and wondered, "You're still upset about that? I figured you'd have forgotten by now, considering how gone you were."

"Exactly," I replied. "I was so far gone I was convinced by you of all people to do something so dumb as that."

"It wasn't that bad," he said.

"I fell in a ditch and landed on glass," I corrected him.

"So?"

"I landed on my...Whatever," I groaned. "The point it, well...I don't know what the point is. Just let me take a shower and get dressed and I'll meet you Starbucks at three thirty. Got it?"

"Three, fine," he agreed.

"No deals involving Smirnoff and hundred dollars worth of clothing, Corey," I said forcefully, hanging up on him as I started the shower and jumped in, though the water was ice cold and unchanging. For a long while I just stood blankly in my shower as the cold sensation of the droplets falling along my back forced me to call it off, and I stepped back out, wrapping a towel around myself as I headed into my walk-in closet.

I pulled on a pair of black super-skinny jeans (almost falling over in the process) and wore an off-the-shoulder Metallica shirt that hugged my curves more than enough, a white spaghetti strap tank top underneath. I curled my snow-white hair into tight curls, pinning back the bangs to give it more of a volumized look, and then applied the usual thick black eye shadow and eyeliner, lashes thick as normal.

Before I ran out the door I grabbed my leather Ed Hardy purse, and slid my feet into a comfortable pair of hot-pink peep-toe high heeled shoes. I started the engine to my diamond-white Mustang Convertible, pulled out of the winding drive way, and sped off towards the downtown area of Huntington Beach, the warm air converging into cold as the wind whipped through the open car all around me.

Eventually I turned off one of the main roads onto a side street that ran along with the beach, and found a parking space just as the clock on my radio glowed 3:01, and I cut the engine hurriedly. Sliding the keys into my pocket, the black lanyard on its chain dangling from it, I slammed the door and strolled into the Starbucks where I spotted Corey in a heart beat, his once-shaved head now home to shaggy black hair.

He wrapped an arm around me as I appeared before him, saying, "Good to see you, Vickie."

"Can't say the same," I said to him though he knew I was only joking with him as we both stepped towards the cashier. I ordered a tall caramel frappacino, Corey a simple Jones Soda, and he gratefully paid for both.

"So what's up kiddo?" Corey asked politely as I led us to a small round booth in the farthest point of the coffee shop.

I sipped the cold beverage hungrily, looking away from Corey so I wouldn't have to answer his questions for a minute or two. Finally, I glanced at him and replied, "Exhausted. Just want to do nothing for the rest of my life. What's this proposal you have for me, now?"

He smiled and leaned forward as I watched a girl glance at me oddly with her gal pal. "Do you like Avenged Sevenfold?" he questioned me.

Cocking an eyebrow confusedly, I replied, "Haven't really listened to them. Why?"

"A few of us men of the trade," he started, adding, "And you, want to do a metal tour that includes every kind of metal there is, not just death. We're talking speed, grind, black, liquid...everything. All tools of the trade. That's what we're going to call it, too; Tools of the Trade. We're going to start it the week you were supposed to go to Europe, but that fell through yesterday when there were arguments with venders over there."

I shrugged. "As long as I get my nice fat check at the end of the tour," I replied, glancing over at the girls who were staring at us still, whispering something here and there as I rolled my eyes. "So it'll be Slaves, Sevenfold, you, and who else?"

Corey chugged a portion of his soda and answered, "Black Dahlia, Cannibal Corpse, Otep, Opeth, Dream Theater...A huge amount of bands. Some will be there the whole tour, like us and Sevenfold, and from what management said, you as well."

Annoyed by the umpteenth time that the girls were looking at us, I turned to face them in my chair and said, "Hey, Barbie? You got a problem with staring at people rudely? Cause I have a solution for that."

She grunted and said, "Excuse you," before getting up to leave.

"Sorry," I said to Corey, once I was turned back around. "I can't stand it when people just stare at me. Do I look like something to ogle at?"

"You are good looking," Corey admitted.

"Thank you," I said, swirling the contents of my drink around aimlessly. "Back to this tour thing, is it just nationally or internationally? I don't really like doing such a huge tour around the world. You and me both know that's almost impossible to get everyone at the same place on time. Especially when it comes to tours that involve people who, for lack of a better term, are brain dead."

Corey grinned and chuckled, explaining, "We all decided no international touring. Too much."

I pretended to thank god with a gesture of my hands and said, "Thank you. So are we supposed to meet and greet one another beforehand, or what's the deal? I don't want to wake up one morning in two weeks to five guys I never met sitting on my tour bus. That's just too creepy for one to handle."

"Well you could meet Avenged tomorrow at the management's party," he suggested. "They'll be there to promote, and I have to be there, so it might be the only time to get everyone at once."

"That's what she said," I joked, gulping down the wad of whipped cream at the bottom of the plastic cup. "What time and where?" I wondered.

"At the studios," he replied. "Around one."

I rolled my eyes and said, "You know I don't get out of bed until at least three thirty."

"You were up when I called," he stated.

"Different scenario," I said.

"How?"

"I went to bed earlier," I told him, tossing my cup in the trash from my seat, the employee of Starbucks giving me an annoyed look.

"So go to bed early tonight," he laughed.

"Do you know who I am, Corey? Because I am starting to think you don't," I explained, getting up as he did. He pulled me in for one of his massive bear hugs as I struggled against him, saying, "Let go of me you jag off!"

He finally let go only when I agreed to be there tomorrow, and we exited the building as we got blank stares from everyone inside. Outside, he said, "I'll see you tomorrow, baby."

"Shove it up your rear end, Corey," I snapped.

"Love you, too," he joked, getting into his Corvette as I got in my car, rolling my eyes at myself for one again agreeing to socialize with the world that I once left for five minutes.