It Was The Roar Of The Crowd That Gave Me Heartache To Sing

“No, five more minutes,” I mumbled.

“You don’t have five minutes.”

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

“Wake up!” I jumped at the sound of the voice and glared up at Mikey. I almost forgot why I was staring up at Mikey instead of the girls, but then I remembered what had happened the night before. I had forgotten we had to leave after the show, so I almost got left behind. Thankfully though, I was with Mikey and caught a ride on the MCR bus. Raven was already on it, so I wasn’t completely alone.

“You better have a good reason for waking me,” I slurred. I was still half asleep, and all I 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 my legs off the couch and then sat down. I heard my phone vibrating on the table, and I reached over to grab it. I looked past the table to see Raven and Frankie sprawled out on the floor, a graveyard of candy wrappers and chip bags surrounding them. Ray was sleeping sideways in the chair, and I could hear Bob talking up front to the driver. I had slept on the couch, and it felt like being home.

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

“Haven’t you ever heard that lying is wrong?” an unfamiliar voice asked.

“Once or twice. Who’s this?”

“My name is Casey Adams.”

“Sounds familiar. Do I know you?”

“We met at a concert a few years back. You email us all the time,” the woman said.

“Mindless Vengeance! The best damn magazine out there! I’ve been reading you guys online since we’re on the road, but I haven’t had time to send in my thoughts. I’ll get right on that,” I said quickly. Casey Adams was one of the main writers for Mindless Vengeance, the best damn magazine there is. Mainly because they talk about the old days and how they shouldn’t be so old. They criticize most of the newer bands, and they call the sell-out bands traitors.

“I might be able to forgive you, under one small condition.”

“What’s that?”

“Can you get me an interview with the guys? All of them?”

“Can you be in Utah in the next couple of days?”

“I was just in Vegas.”

“So were we! Listen, today is an off-day, so it’s the perfect time for me to talk to all the guys. We’ll be in Salt Lake City for the next couple of days. If you hang around long enough, I might get you a backstage pass.”

“I knew I loved you. I’ll call you when I cross the state line!” I hung the phone up, tossed it on the table, and then smiled over at Mikey.

“I got yall an interview for later this week,” I said.

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

“Mindless Vengeance. You’ve never heard of them?”

“It’s too early to remember.”

“Agreed. I’m going back to sleep, so get off my couch,” I said and tried to push him. He was like a giant rock…No, wait. A giant tree limb. Yeah, that suits him more.

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

“Either lay down or leave, no other option,” I said and looked over at him. Mikey grinned, which made him look like a little kid, and tackled me. I had been tackled more times than I cared to count, but I can’t remember ever being tackled while we were both sitting down.

“You’re squishy,” Mikey said and poked me. I was laying between him and the back of the couch, and I thought about pushing him off. Instead, I just sighed and rolled over so that I was facing the back of the couch.

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

“Anytime.” I think he said something else after that, but I never heard it.

.....................................

“I am going to kill you.”

“Can we push that appointment off to tomorrow?” I mumbled. I could feel something solid behind me, something kinda soft was pressed into my face, and I felt eyes on me.

“Sorry, tomorrow’s full,” the person said. I struggled to life my lids and pale green eyes found mine. I smiled up at Angel, and she continued to glare down at me. The solid thing behind me moved.

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

“You left me with that idiot!” Angel pointed behind her, and I used Mikey’s shoulder to push myself up and look around. Lee was standing in the doorway with his usual goofy grin, his hair standing up everywhere, and a cup of coffee in his hand. There was a small bag at his feet.

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

“You were gone, Raven was gone, I don’t know where Audrey went, Tori is still with Max, and Anna was asleep. So I got stuck with that idiot,” Angel said.

“You know you love me,” Lee said and stepped forward. He handed me the cup of coffee, and I pulled myself into a sitting position. Mikey moved so that his head rested in my lap.

“So, all the other girls have disappeared too?” I asked. I took a long sip of my coffee and tried not to spit the hot liquid back out.

“Yep. I figured none of you could make it back to the bus on time,” Angel said.

“Good. It makes things easier.”

“Easier for what?”

“Casey Adams from Mindless Vengeance called me this morning, and she wants an interview with all of the guys. So, I thought I’d ask them,” I said.

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

“Can you send all the girls a text and tell them?” I asked and looked up at Angel.

“Sure, you just go get ready,” Angel said and handed me the bag. I put the nearly empty cup on the table and wiggled out from under Mikey.

“I shouldn’t be too long,” I said and picked the small bag up.

Sam’s POV

“You!” I yelled as a group of familiar people walked towards me.

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

“It’s three in the afternoon!” I yelled.

“Good evening then,” Tara said and smiled at me. I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

“So, what’s this meeting for?” I asked.

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

“Frustrating, huh?” Angel asked and glared down at Tara’s head. Tara must have felt the glare, because she flinched.

“Come on, ladies, let’s not fight,” Lee said and wrapped an arm around both of them. They both turned to glared at him.

“So, you three have been getting along okay, then?” I asked, smiling now.

“Me and Lee have been getting along great, but this one disappeared,” Angel said, glaring again at Tara. Hmm, maybe they were having a glaring contest? Should I ask if I can join? I think I have a chance at winning…

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

“Me too!” I yelled suddenly. They all turned to look at me, and I almost laughed at their identical expressions.

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

“Reina, after she was kidnapped by Brian,” I said.

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

“It was horrible. Matt had a headache and we didn’t see him all night, Johnny kept making funny sounds with the rubber duckies, Jimmy and Zacky played some video game, and Brian and Reina kept making perverted comments, at the video game!” I yelled. Needless to say, it was a long night.

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

“Hi!” I jumped at the sound of the voice and turned to the side. Jimmy was standing directly beside me with Aiden on his back, and Bert was beside him with Audrey on his back. I think Audrey was the one who yelled.

“Hi!” Lee yelled back. Maybe Frank and Raven weren’t the only ones who had gotten into the 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 Angel saying that you were calling a meeting in the party tent.”

“And 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 again. Lee looped one arm through mine and the other through Angel’s, and then we started off after her.

Tara’s POV

“I need everyone’s attention!” I yelled. The party tent was pretty packed, and I was going to have to remember to thank the Escape guys for setting this thing up. Everyone’s eyes turned towards me, and I felt an old feeling of nervousness creeping up. I hadn’t been nervous in front of crowds since high school.

“About five and a half years ago, I went to one of the last Avenged Sevenfold concerts. There, I met some chick 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.

“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. Less than a year later, they were huge. Mindless Vengeance is the only successful magazine here in the US that continues to talk about the real bands and tells the truth about everything. Casey Adams just so happens to be their main writer, and we still talk regularly.

“She called me this morning, and she heard about this little reunion tour. She wanted to know if she could have a little interview, and I told her I’d ask yall. So, guys, would you mind giving Casey her interview?” I asked. All of the guys twisted and turned to look at one another, and they were all smiling.

“Hell yeah!” they all yelled. All of the girls were smiling now too, and the excitement felt contagious.

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

Later That Night

“Oh, jingle bombs! Jingle bombs! Mine blew up, you see! Where are all the virgins! Bin Laden promised me! Jingle bombs! Jingle bombs! Your soldiers shot me dead! Hey, why’d you stop?!” Sam and I were sitting back to back on the ground. She had a keyboard across her lap, and I had randomly started singing Jingle Bombs. Sam’s been pretty wasted for a while now, along with the just about everyone else here. The funny part, I’m completely sober.

“I have an idea!” Sam yelled.

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

“I have an idea,” Sam said again.

“What is this famous idea of yours?” I asked. Sam glanced all around her, and then she leaned forward to whisper in my ear.

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

“Ha! I’m so not doing that again. I barely got away last time,” I said.

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

“Wait here, Sam. I’ve got the perfect candidate!” I used Sam’s shoulder push me off the off ground, and I found the person I was looking for instantly. Her green eyes looked at me warily, and I realized that I was bouncing lightly as I stood there smiling at her.

“Tara, are you okay?”

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

“Is she drinking too?” Max 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 me and then shook her head.

“I don’t think so,” Tori said.

“I’m not, but I have a very important question,” I said, still smiling and bouncing.

“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. However, Sam can’t do it by herself because, as people know, it takes more than one person to take down a shadow. So, I thought you’d be up to helping her,” I said with a raised eyebrow. I could see the excitement in Tori’s eyes as she glanced down at Max.

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

“Thank you!” Tori squealed and gave him a quick hug. Then she linked her arm through mine and we started walking back towards where Sam was.

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

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

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

“Now, I’m going to the other side of this little party,” I said and skipped off. I stopped next to Mikey, who was talking to Angel and Jeph.

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

“I was lost?” I asked and looked up at him. Mikey shrugged and looked back at Angel and Jeph.

“He’s been telling us that yall are going to paint the nursery purple,” Angel said.

“Mikey, darling, we agreed on violet, remember?” I asked.

“My apologies, I forgot,” Mikey said.

“What color is your nursery going to be?” I asked Angel and Jeph.

“Purple.”

“Lime green.” I stared at the two of them, and they both smiled innocently back. So, a Joker theme, huh? I wish I had thought of it.

“So, what happened to you and Sam?” Angel asked. I stood on my tip-toes and looked around, and then I saw Matt getting closer to a clearing. When he was in that clearing, I knew what would happen…

“Just watch and see. I’m going to get the getaway car,” I said and slipped away.

Sam’s POV

I am naturally clumsy. I am intoxicated. I will not trip.

“Ready?” Tori whispered in my ear.

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

“Got it. Count of three?”

“One.”

“Two.”

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

“Run for it!” I yelled. Tori was gone before the sentence was completely out of my mouth, and I jumped up. I felt Matt’s fingers brush my leg, but I kept running. I ran out of the tent and was getting ready to run as far as I could when I heard someone call my name. I turned my head to see Tara sitting on the driver side of a golf cart.

“Hurry it up!” Tara yelled. I ran over to her and jumped in the passenger side, and she sped off. My slightly buzzed brain felt overworked, and I leaned my head back.

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

“I can’t reveal my sec—What the hell?!” The golf cart came to an abrupt stop, and I felt myself fly forward a little. I shook my head a little and looked around. Bert ran across our path beating at his pants leg, which was on fire. Audrey was chasing after him while yelling something, and Jimmy and Aiden were standing off to the side laughing.

“Just take your pants off!” Tara yelled. Ah, the only sober one around here does have some wisdom. Bert stopped in front of the golf cart (he had turned around and ran back the way he had originally come from) and started taking off his pants. He finally threw them off and started stomping on them. A moment later the fire was out, and Bert snatched his pants up.

“Aha!” he yelled with a wide smile. The left leg of his pants was basically gone. 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. They fell into the golf cart under my feet, and I quickly pulled my feet under me.

“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 yelled and threw his pants down.

“Let’s get cupcakes!” Audrey yelled and jumped up and down.

“Yay! Cupcakes!” I yelled and clapped my hands. Tara scratched the side of her head and 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 me and Tara.

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

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

“Berta-what? Nevermind, I ain’t even gonna ask,” Tara said. She waited until Bert and Audrey were seated, and then she pulled off. Within minutes we were driving down a sidewalk and past some stores. Everyone was quiet now, until Tara busted into song.

“Now, this 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 this time I braced myself. I looked around and saw an open store and smiled.

“Candy! I yelled and scrambled to get out of the little cart. Aiden and Jimmy were right behind me, and we ran into the store.

Tara’s POV

I watched Sam, Aiden, and Jimmy all run into the store, and I shook my head a little as I laughed. Bert and Audrey walked around to the front of the cart, and I smiled over at them.

“Hey, Bert?” I asked.

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

“Do you think they’ll let you in with no pants?” I asked. Bert studied something on the door, and then he smiled.

“It says no shoes, no shirt, no service. It doesn’t say anything about pants,” Bert said and walked right in. Audrey and I followed in after him, and I looked over at the cashier. The young guy looked like he was asleep, so I just shrugged my shoulders and continued walking. I listened as the five other people with me ran around to grab their goodies, and I studied my drink choices. Oh, what to get, what to get… I finally settled on a yellow PowerAde and decided to check on everyone else. I turned around and a plastic container was shoved in my face.

“I got…cupcakes!” Audrey yelled.

“Mine have red frosting!” Sam yelled and shoved another container into my line of sight.

“Umm, that’s wonderful?” I asked. Audrey and Sam exchanged a confused expression before looking back at me.

“It’s not wonderful. It’s grrrrreat!” Audrey yelled.

“Tony!” I yelled and jumped forward to wrap my arms around her. When she realized I wasn’t letting go, she started dragging me.

“I got chocolate!” Aiden yelled and ran by us.

“And I got spicy-ness!” Jimmy yelled and ran after her. I saw them run up to the counter and drop their candy, and the guy behind the counter jumped awake.

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

“Come on, you guys, move it!” Sam yelled and started pushing us. I nearly tripped over my own feet as Sam pushed us, and we all stopped at the counter. The guy saw Bert’s boxers (they were Batman boxers, just in case you were wondering), blinked a few times, and then shook his head as if to say “whatever”. I let everyone go ahead of me, and then I slowly stepped to the counter with my PowerAde.

“Crazy night, huh?” the guy asked.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” I said with a small smile. I gave him a gave him a five, told him to keep the change, and jogged outside. Everyone was munching on…whatever they had gotten, and I started driving back to the party tent. The party tent was in sight when Sam suddenly yelled, “Brakes!” For the third time that night, I slammed on the brakes and bruised my arms on the steering wheel. I looked over expecting to see Sam puking her guts up (alcohol and cupcakes don’t always mix), but she was staring in front of us with her jaw slack.

I turned to see what she was staring at, and I felt my own jaw come unhinged. When I slammed on the brakes, the golf cart had turned a little. Now the little headlights put two people in some freakish kind of spotlight, and I felt my eyes burn from the lack of blinking.

“R-reina?” I asked.

“Brian?” Sam whispered.

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

“Holy hell, I think my eyes have been scarred!” I yelled and stomped on the gas. Sam hung halfway out of the golf cart and stared behind us.

“Hurt her and you’ll be castrated!” Sam yelled as we turned a corner. I slammed on the brakes for the last time and killed the ignition.

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

“Very,” Audrey replied. I watched them link arms and skip away, with Aiden and Jimmy right behind them. I turned to look at Sam, and we both still had a bewildered look on our face.

“Wanna go forget about the image of Brian and Reina making out on the side of a bus?” I asked.

“Yes, please,” Sam said. We both exited the vehicle and disappeared back into the party tent.