You're Not Alone.

Marie stepped off the steps and onto the parking lot pavement, everyone was on the busses, and she had just searched the kitchen high and low for her butcher's knife she'd thrown at the cook earlier. She didn't know what came over her, but burning pasta seemed so stupid and she got angry. She had always gotten angry over peopel fucking up cooking. She was a culinary graduate turned musician. She could have opened a restaurant, been head chef somewhere in New York, but playing music her heart seemed content. She felt like there was a specific reason she was meant to be a musician.

"Marie?"

She turned quickly to face Matt "Oh, jeez you scared me." She laughed, placing her hand over her heart "Why aren't you... on the bus?"

"I think you were looking for this?" He handed over the knife as she stared "Why....?" He stared at her as if it was his question, as if it was completely visible.

"He burnt pasta. Who does that?" She laughed as they began walking back into the venue, aimlessly "So... you guys were amazing." She smiled and stared at him. He was looking down at the ground, he looked like he had been crying. "Are you... are you ok?"

"Yeah." He nodded a little.

"Is that all you can say? Yeah?" She mocked him from their meeting days prior. He let out a laugh "There. That's better."

Matt looked up, he didn't know exaclty why, but he felt like he knew her more than just meeting her and watching her band play. He couldn't explain why he felt so at ease around her, as if he hadn't lost the entire meaning of his life just two years prior.

"So, why do you play rhythm and sing? Ali was telling us you think you suck." Matt asked as they sat on the edge of the stage, Marie placing the knife at her side, feeling incredibly awkward walking around a dark venue holding a butcher knife.

She took a deep breath "Well uhm... my boyfriend Eric.." She paused, feeling all the pent up emotions in the back of her throat "He used to play rhythm for us." She nodded up at Matt.

"Relationships within a band don't work too well... " Matt said with a small laugh "So he quit?"

"In... in a sense." She looked down at the floor "I gotta go, thanks for uhm... giving me this back." She held up the knife and walked quickly out of the venue.

Matt watched as the large iron doors closed behind her. For some reason he knew something was wrong, and that he didn't quit the band. But he wanted to know, he needed to know. His eyes shifted from the door to the cieling.

"What do I do?" He asked quietly, as if Corinne were infront of him, not millions of years away above him.

~*~*~

"So he goes Is that a microphone in your pants? Or are you just happy to see me?! I mean really!" Ali giggled as everyone else laughed a little.

"That's fucking hilarious, to Marie?" Jimmy asked, the two bands had settled on having a getting-to-know-you sesh on the lesser known band's bus.

"Yah... speaking of... where is the ninja chef?" Grant looked around, as did everyone else.

"Here." Marie stepped onto the bus "What's shakin' bacon?" She sat down on Grant's lap "Why did you call me a ninja chef again?" She giggled and fell onto the floor as he pushed her off him.

"Because of your bitcher knife incident today, damn it Marie! You're going to get put in the wacky house." John laughed.

"Bitcher knife?" Zack asked, his head popping up and staring at Marie "You call it a bitcher knife too?"

She nodded as John piped up, he loved this story, and Marie had all she could do to bury herself in a small compartment in the underbelly of the bus.

"She was making soup," At the word, everyone of the boys and girls' heads were facing John as he spoke "She... well... Grant here had the brilliant idea of going to talk to the pretty girl in culinary school, and she threw it at him. It landed meer inches from his noggin."

"Culinary school?" Jackie asked from her seat next to Brian.

"Yeah. Full on New York material." Ali smiled proudly "She cooks us food all the time."

"Really?" Brian asked, turning to the door as it opened "Hey, Shads come join our party."

"I figured I'd find you guys in here." He laughed, his eyes meeting Marie's for a moment until she moved them to Ali "Uh.."

"Uhh.." Zack mocked "Where have you been? We were just talking about how our very own Marie Pristen is a culinary genious."

"Genious? I wouldn't go that far." She blushed.

"Well, you cook better than you mulit task." John pushed at her feet with his "Just kidding."

"Yah." Zack tapped his chin "Why don't you hire a rhythm guitarist? I mean... there are a ton out there." He smiled, pointing at himself.

"You're already in a famous rock band." Marie laughed "And it's ok. It was Eric's spot anyways."

"Eric?" Brian asked "Is he as cocky as our rhythm guitarist? Or did he actually take up another band's offer to play?"

There were a few nervous laughs, Matt just watched from where he sat, he wanted to know, he wanted to know why Marie had acted so sad when she was telling him about Eric.

"Naw, he was my boyfriend." Marie piped up, to the surprise of her bandmates.

"Oh..." Jimmy nodded "Relationships don't work within a band... We've tried." He goofily slung his arm over Zack's shoulder.

"No, Jim, we haven't." Zack laughed "So did he like... quit or something?"

"Was the sexual tension on stage too much to handle?" Brian asked. Neither of them noticing the tears in the eyes of the girl infront of them.

"Hey... hey hey.. What's wrong?" Jackie elbowed Brian in the stomach and knelt down "Babe it's ok, shh... You don't have to talk to these douche bags about it."

Marie shook her head and looked up "It's ok," She sniffled, all the boys noticing her crying now, and felt incredibly awfull "He committed suicide. When uhm... when we were nineteen. The day after I started culinary school, I went over to surprise him with the news and he was in his room-" She paused as a sob shook her body. Everyone on the Avenged Sevenfold side had a spot in their heart that was aching immensly for her right now, knowing what she was feeling.

"Marie, it's ok." Ali moved down to her side as he best friend looked for her "C'mere babe." She pulled her into a tight hug.

But Marie refused it and looked up at everyone "You don't have to talk about it, I'm sorry..." Brian whispered "We know exactly what you're going through."

Marie nodded "I know. I just... excuse me." She pushed Ali away gently and burried her face in her hands, letting the tears fall out that she'd been holding in for the past three years. Soon she felt a pair of arms around her tight, and tears wet on her shoulder.

"It'll be ok, believe me." Matt whispered into her familiar scented hair. That one smell he vowed never to forget "If you ever want to talk... We're all here." He looked down at the girl in his arms, everything about her was so familiar, everything but her looks. The way she acted, talked, what she liked and her manerisms all reminded him so much of Corinne.

She nodded softly, her eyes locked with his. She felt a compulsive need to feel his lips against hers, but she pushed him gently away "Thanks." She whispered, she couldn't kiss her rock-star idol. She knew it was probably just her being a stupid girl.

Matt nodded, recognizing the look in her eyes, and sat back in his chair. Grant bent down and helped Marie up "Off to bed for you, kiddo." He sighed and walked Marie towards the bunks. Matt let his mind wander as he watched her walk away, her walk was the same, the way her arms moved with each step was the exact same. He just couldn't stop wondering if his memory was decieving him.