Celebrity Skin

“Ms. Cash, over here!”
“Ariennette, will you comment about you’re recent romance with Adrian Grenier?”
“Is it true you told off Paris Hilton?”
“TMZ; Ariennette, you were spotted snorting lines at a recent party, any comments?”

This was the normal for Ariennette Cash; paparazzi stalked her like a vulture does their prey. At 26 years old, she’d become a veteran in the Hollywood scene, starring in over 30 movies from the time she was a teen. Now, at the top of her career, she couldn’t get the paparazzi to leave her alone. Wherever she went, they were there, waiting for her. But, it comes with the job, as do the parties and events. Ariennette Cash was the girl America loved to hate; the bad girl of the big screen.

Arriving home, Ariennette’s body guard, Mike, escorted her through the mob scene in front of her house. He left shortly, after making sure no one had gotten in. She walked up the staircase and into her room. She stripped out of her Herve Ledger bandage dress and Louboutin heels, and changed into a set of oversized pajamas. She jumped onto her bed and turned on the television, flipping aimlessly through channels. She sighed in frustration; she couldn’t escape herself no matter how hard she tried. She eventually gave up and put on Nightmare on Elm Street, falling asleep shortly after.

Truth be told, Ariennette hated Hollywood. She hated that she couldn’t go out for a pack of cigarettes without being mobbed, she hated the parties she was required to attend, she hated seeing herself in movies and on TV, but more than anything, she hated not having anyone to talk to. Sure, she had friends. She had tons of them. But none of them were real friends. They were people she partied with, people she worked with, the social scene. She had accomplished what she always hoped for; money and fame. Her late parents, Johnny Cash and June Carter, had left her their entire estate, but she wanted to do it on her own. Now that she did it, she had no one to celebrate it with.

The top of the world is a lonely place.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

“Come on dude, stop fucking around. We gotta get this shit done.” Matt Sanders yelled at his guitarist, Brian Haner Jr.
“Whatever dude.” Brian rolled his eyes and resumed his place in the recording booth.

Their band, Avenged Sevenfold, were working on their newest album. Matt, being the stickler he is for perfection and deadlines, was trying to whip the rest of the group into work mode.

Brian didn’t feel like he needed to be rushed. He had come up with, what he believed, to be his best guitar tracks yet, and knew them like the back of his hand. He strapped the instrument around his neck and effortlessly played the complex solo’s to perfection. Matt nodded his head in time with Brian’s playing, clearly happy the guitarist had been practicing. Truth be told, that’s all Brian had been doing. Since his breakup with Michelle DiBenedetto, Matt’s sister-in-law, he didn’t know what else to do other than play guitar. He felt as though when she left, she took his social life with her. You see, Michelle was a bit controlling during their 5 year romance. She had ‘tamed’ his wild ways, gotten rid of his friends, and introduced him to hers, who she felt were more appropriate company. He let her do it all, mainly because he was in love with her. He would of gotten a tattoo of her face on him if she had asked, because he was sure he would be with her forever. To Brian, Michelle was the one.

One night, he lied to her and said he’d be spending the night at Jimmy Sullivan’s, or The Rev, for a night of drinking. In all actuality, he and Jimmy went ring shopping. He was planning on sneaking home to wake her up and propose to her, because she said she would just be going to sleep. He picked out the most gorgeous, expensive ring he found and bought it on the spot. Upon arrival to his home, he heard noises coming from his bedroom. Sneaking up the stairs, he peeked through his door and saw the love of his life and her best friend’s husband fucking like rabbits. At first, he couldn’t even comprehend what they were doing. He sat there and watched for a good 5 minutes before his temper got the better of him, and he lashed out at the both of them.

Turns out, Brian just wasn’t the one for Michelle. He was ready to work things out between them, but her mind was made up. She was leaving him to run away with Geoff, her best friend’s husband. Brian slept at Jimmy’s, and every trace of Michelle ever being there were gone by morning.

All his band mates had wives or girlfriends who took up most of their time, and all his friends had been lost long ago. So for the last 3 months, all Brian has done is practice new riffs, and record them with the band, all the while eating microwavable dinners and burning through his movie collection.

The top of the world is a lonely place.