Radiant Eclipse

The day after their fun with the ADTR boys in Stockholm, the girls were curled up in cozy beds at their home for the next few days. That being the Hilton hotel in downtown Helsinki. Not a soul stirred in their sleep, except for Corinne who was busy texting away.

"Who you talking to?"

Matt mumbled sleepily, as he tried to take the phone from his girlfriend.

"No one."

Once Corinne was sure Matt was asleep again, she texted Jared back saying that they'd all be there, and went back to sleep for another few hours. Later, when everyone was dressed and gathered in a private dining room, they all sat around, trying to find something to do that night.

"I have somewhere for all of us to go."

Corinne happily piped up.

"Where?"

"The 30 Seconds To Mars show. They're playing at the same venue we're playing, just tonight instead. Jared said to just let him know how many are going, and he'll put us on the list."

Everyone conversed amongst themselves, before deciding to all go. Ash was the first back to the room she shared with Johnny, and took advantage by jumping in the shower first. After applying light makeup, she dressed in black jeans, a light tee, and a thick sweater, with calf length lace up boots. After making sure she had everything she needed, purse included, she was the first downstairs to the can that was to take them to the venue. Anne, Brian, Jess and Zacky were next. And they were followed by Mateja, Jimmy, Johnny, Matt and finally, Corinne.

"Does Matt know about Cor and Jared?"

Ash texted to Anne, Mateja and Jess. They all shook their heads and shrugged.

Once they got to the venue, they were checked in and handed their passes, then led backstage. There, they were introduced to the opening band, You Me At Six and offered drinks and snacks. Almost immediately, Corinne disappeared, which did not go unnoticed by anyone, especially Matt.

"Did anyone see where Corinne went?"

Matt asked aloud. The guys shrugged, while Corinne's bandmates remained silent.

"Is there something you ladies have to say?"

"Well, we've played shows with 30STM before, she probably just went to say hi and say thank you for getting us in."

Jess placated Matt, while Anne turned to Ash and rolled her eyes. What Matt obviously didn't know, was that Corinne and Jared had dated in the past, on and off for a few years. They only broke it off, at the beginning of the past summer. While they waited for show time, all the girls except for Corinne, talked a possible future collaboration with the You Me At Six guys, while the guys in Avenged talked amongst themselves. As they made their way to their seats, without Corinne, Anne quietly spoke to Ash in French about how much of a hypocrite she thought Corinne was being. Lately, she had made enough disparaging remarks about Anne and Brian's choice of an open relationship, and Anne's closeness to other band guys. But then the second she was in the same building as her ex, she disappeared without a trace. Anne thought it was more than suspicious, and couldn't believe that Corinne would turn and do the very thing she was giving Anne shit for.

It wasn't until 30 Seconds To Mars finally took to the stage, that they found out where Corinne had disappeared to. Jimmy was the first to spot Corinne standing sidestage, and wearing a different shirt than the one she had left the hotel in.

"Well, well, aren't you girls sights for sore eyes?"

Emma, Jared's assistant, cooed as she joined the group in their seats. The girls chattered away with Emma, until Corinne took to the stage to sing "The Kill" with Jared.

"They're still so cute together. I don't know why they ever broke up."

Emma mused, loud enough for Matt to hear. All the girls swallowed lumps in their throats, and Mateja quietly told Emma that Matt still don't know about Corinne and Jared. Once they left the stage, Emma led everyone backstage, where Brian and Jimmy were trying to calm Matt's nerves. Anne excused herself to the ladie's room, and in her way back, say something that made her see red. Jared had Corinne pressed against the wall, and his tongue down her throat. Biting her own tongue, Anne made her way back to the group, and Corinne followed soon after.

"Alright, are we ready to go?"

Corinne asked everyone. Clutching her sweater and shirt, and still wearing Jared's shirt, Corinne walked next to Matt out to the van. They had just left the parking lot when, Corinne caught Anne's eye, when she turned to say something to Jess.

"You know, if you have something to say to me, just say it."

"Venaut de la fille que me traite de pute ..."

"Tu l'es!"

"Ladies! Ladies! Can we just not?"

Larry asked from the front seat. Ignoring him, they continued to argue in French before Matt, Brian, Jess and Ash intervened.

"Seriously, do I have to put you both into time out?!"

Asked Larry, as Brian and Matt were still trying to calm their girlfriends.

"Since everyone is here, we need to quickly go over the schedule for the next few days. We have Helsinki the day after tomorrow, and Oslo two days later. Day after that, we fly back to LA and the day after that, Ash you have a follow up with Dr. Cordero. Three more days in California, and you girls fly back to Canada for that tour with Simple Plan. Have you girls given any thought to what we talked about?"

Given that the girls hadn't been in Toronto since the summer, Larry had proposed that they make a permanent to Huntington Beach

"Honestly, we've been so preoccupied, that we haven't."

Jess answered for all of them.

"That's fine. We can save it for tomorrow. Oh and before I forget, if at all possible, we'd like to get some studio time in while you're off. Until you'd rather wait until after the SP tour."

While Larry talked on, everyone quieted down, and dozed off. The next day was spent sleeping in, and playing tourist in Helsinki, as the girls had never been there before. Come show day, Anne and Ash quietly worked on the song that they had started, while Corinne, Jess and Mateja discussed leaving Toronto for Huntington Beach. As they did so, a few knocks sounded and Ben, Danny and Cameron got on.

"Can we help you?"

Corinne grumbled.

"We just wanted to invite you girls over to our bus for a little fry up. James and Sam are cooking, and we got tea and coffee."

Danny replied, with a sly smirk on his face. The girls looked at each other, and shrugged before they followed the boys back to their bus. After a filling breakfast, the girls grabbed their things and headed inside to their dressing room. Just as they were about to either nap or wash up, Larry and the guys in Avenged came into their room, and they did not look very happy.

"Did my speech about condoms and safe sex go over your heads or something?"

"What do you mean?"

Mateja asked, puzzled looks on all of their faces.

"This is what I mean!"

Larry emptied the contents of the paper bag he held, which happened to be full of positive pregnancy tests.

"The guys in AA came to us, and said they found these in their garbage after you girls had breakfast on their bus. Which one of you do these belong to?!"

"None of us!"

"So you're telling me that they're lying?!"

By now, Larry's face had turned a shade of dark pink.

"Have you not noticed the prank war going on? And the fact, that these say prankspace.com on the back?!"

Anne pointed out, as she picked up one, then all of the tests and turned them over. Larry looked them all over, and the colour slowly drained from his face.

"Can we PLEASE, for the love of my health and sanity, stop this prank war?"

"BUT WE HAVE TO GET THEM BACK!"

"I don't care. I would like to get through these last few days in one piece."

Defeated, the girls agreed to put a stop to the prank war.

"Don't look so smug Bruce! Next time we tour together, it's fucking on!"

Anne snarled at Ben, when they passed him on the way to sound check. Since they had yet to do so, Radiant Eclipse and Asking Alexandria made the choice to finally perform their cover of Bon Jovi's "Livin On A Prayer." Everyone got into it, with Matt and Brian even joining in on vocals. Later that night, all the bands partied in the venue, as they had a late bus call.

"Oh man, we have to turn it up. This is perfect for those two!"

Mateja whispered to Anne and Jess, as "Not Over You" by Gavin De Graw stared to play. She turned it up, and the girls shared a laugh, as the lyrics perfect described what was going on between Ash and Johnny. Ash even cracked a smile when she heard the song, but Johnny did not. Not long after, he left the party for the safety of his bunk, and it wasn't much longer before the party died out.

After a day off for travel to Oslo and some sightseeing, everyone was gearing up for the last show of the tour.

"Ladies, can I get one last pre show shot?"

Danny asked, as he walked up to the girls, while they waited to go onstage. The girls posed, then turned to the stage, as their walk on music had started. The night was reminiscent of a rowdy, out of control house party, as there was a lot of drinking and stage diving. At one point, during Unholy Confessions, all of RE and AA stage dove, then when they got back onstage, RE took over for Avenged so that they could do the same.

Once they got offstage and their crews stared to pack up the equipment, everyone gathered their belongings and headed to the buses. They all ended up on the girls' bus where the music blared, and the alcohol flowed. Anne was currently dancing with Brian and Danny, the latter of whom kept hinting at having a threesome. Mateja was taking shots with Jimmy, James, Zacky, Jess and Adam, while Ash danced with Cameron and Ben. Corinne, Matt, Johnny, Larry and Ash Avildsen, had a poker game going with the bus drivers, in which Matt was cleaning house.

Eventually, it looked like Danny had managed to persuade Brian and Anne to say yes, as they had disappeared upstairs. Matt, Larry, Ash A and the drivers had to drag two drunk and passed out bassists in Sam and Johnny, back to their respective buses, while Ash had disappeared somewhere with Cameron and Ben. It was nearly five AM, when the last people awake, Mateja and Jimmy finally stumbled into her bunk, and passed out. The next morning was pure chaos, as everyone tried to pack up their buses, and head off to the airport.

"Hey, short stack. Time to get up and pack."

Jimmy mumbled, as he poked Ash, who he had found passed out on the couch of the girls' bus. Reluctantly, she got up and headed upstairs to clean out her bunk. An hour and a half, and one Starbucks stop later, and all three bands were at the airport in Oslo, bidding goodbye to each other and their drivers. As soon as their gate came into view, they all plopped down and passed out until it was time to board the plane. Everyone settled into their seats, for the two hour flight to Amsterdam; where they had a brief stop over before continuing onto LAX.

"BUT RED LIGHT DISTRICT!"

Jimmy protested to Larry, when he refused to let Jimmy leave the airport.

"HEY!"

Mateja cried in response, before she smacked Jimmy across the back of his head. While everyone watched as Jimmy tried to apologize to her, Ash and Zacky snuck away to the Starbucks that they had spotted not far from their gate.

"So, you're coming back with Jess and I?"

He asked, as they waited in line. Ash nodded yes, and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"You know, I'm still down for beating some sense into him. And I'm sure the other guys are too. We can all see that he's clearly not over you."

Ash smiled, and mouthed a thank you to Zack, before declining to tell them that they had slept together on his birthday. The plane had just started to board once they returned to the gate, so everyone grabbed their things, and were quickly settled in for the long journey home. Much to everyone's delight, they found that there was a Tim Burton channel, that would be playing for the whole flight. Once the plane was in the air, things got very fun and interesting, as Mateja and Brian still had the five smacks to give Jess and Jimmy, and seized the opportunity to do so. Everyone in the bands had quite the laugh, as Larry apologized profusely to everyone around them. Eventually, things quieted down and everyone fell asleep.

"HOME SWEET HOME!"

Jimmy yelled, as soon as they deplaned at LAX. Very sleepily and near zombie like, everyone made their way through customs, then baggage claim, where they were met by Johnny and Zack's brothers, who would help them get back to Huntington. The rest of the day was quite uneventful, as everyone got into bed and passed out, as soon as they were dropped off at their houses. The next morning, Ash woke up to her alarm, and Majesty spooning her and breathing on her neck. Matt and Larry arrived not long after, to take Ash to see the doctor.

"Can we go to Del Taco after this?"

Ash typed out and asked Larry. Because they thought it to be a good move, Larry wouldn't let Ash eat; so the doctor wouldn't be poking around and possibly induce vomiting. Larry relented, as he pulled out of Zacky's driveway. It wasn't long before they were in the doctor's office, seated and waiting. In the meantime, everyone decided to gather at Zack's house for a barbecue.

"Where's the short one?"

Brian asked, as he pulled Anne down onto his lap.

"Larry and Matt took her for a checkup on her voice."

Jess answered, as she served everyone drinks and munchies; then turned on the WII and started a Mario Kart tournament.

"Good to see you again."

Dr. Cordero said as he finally entered the exam room, that Ash, Matt and Larry were led to.

"Let's have a look see here."

He stepped up to Ash, and proceeded to take her vitals, then use all sorts of instruments, including the camera scope to look down her throat.

"Well, everything looks good to me. Do you want to try speaking now? You're free to answer me by the way."

"Yes, please."

Ash spoke her first words in just over a month.

"Now, don't get too excited now. I want you to ease back into things. We'll start with just talking for now. No singing, and definitely no screaming. Now, as I understand, you're due for a short, Canadian tour?"

"Yep."

"Alright, you're free to go to that, but I want you to come see me again when you'll get back. And with that being said, you're all free to go. See you soon."

Everyone shook hands with the doctor, and Ash immediately texted Anne to let her know the results. After stopping to make another appointment, and at Del Taco as promised, Larry took Ash and Matt back to Zack's.

"So, Ash, how does it feel to be able to talk again.

Brian asked, once they walked into the house.

"Fucking amazing. "

Ash and Matt took seats at the table, and ate their food, while watching Johnny, Jess and Jimmy battle each other on Rainbow Road. Later that night, everyone was sitting around the firepit in Zack's backyard, when Johnny excused himself to take a phone call. Ash, who was returning from the bathroom, hid in the kitchen, while Johnny was in the licking room.

"Lacey, babe, I can't drive anywhere. I've been drinking. Now, unless you're going to pick me up or pay for a cab ..."

Biting her lip, Ash managed to creep outside, and acted like she hadn't heard a thing. After a late night, drunken swim, everyone headed inside, and passed out all around Zack's house. The next day, the girls spent running around HB, as they gathered things that needed for the upcoming tour.

"So, we're going to have to talk about it sometime y'know."

Mateja pointed out, as they settled on the Starbucks patio.

"Talk about what?"

"Packing. Moving here for good."

Mateja replied to Corinne. All the girls nodded, and after a brief silence, finally breached the subject.

"Well, we have the tour, starts in St. John's ends in Vancouver. Then we have to come back for Ash's appointment, the jingle ball and recording. So, we'll go back and pack after that?"

Everyone nodded and agreed, then returned to their lattes and scones. Later that day, they met up with all the guys, except for Johnny and headed to the movies. There was a Bela Lugosi movies, which everyone was excited to see. After showings of Dracula, The Raven and Son of Frankenstein, the group left the theatre and headed to the nearby Denny's.

"Fancy seeing y'all here!"

Lacey greets them, as they were seated next to her and Johnny. Everyone talked amongst themselves; the girls about the upcoming tour, while chowing down on some late night nosh.

"So, what's everyone's plans for the rest of the year?"

Asked Lacey, as she tried to engage everyone in conversation.

"Well, we're done touring for the year. But the girls have a cross Canada tour to do."

Matt answered.

"Oh, that sounds fun. When do you girls leave?"

"Tomorrow. We fly to Anne and Corinne's hometown of Montréal. Go to Newfoundland from there and tour Atlantic Canada, before going through the rest of the country. We hit Toronto, which is Ash and the band's hometown, a week and a half in, then continue across, until we finish in Jess and Mateja's hometown of Vancouver."

"Well, that sounds like fun. You know what would be more fun?! Is if all is girls, went for like a spa day, when you'll be back."

While Lacey babbled on, Ash guzzled the rest of her tea and mumbled to Anne,

"Y'all could go to spa day but I'm not."

As soon as they all finished eating, everyone headed back home, and the girls finished packing everything that they would need. The next morning, Dan the Body, and the Berry brothers showed up with the van to take the girls back to LAX. Since Avenged was done touring for the year, they would accompany the girls on the road.

"Is Nat going to tour with us? I miss her."

Jess asked. The girls' manager, Natalie had to leave the tour in Europe, and go back to Toronto to deal with some family issues.

"Should be. I'll call her again."

Mateja replied, as she to advantage and used Zack's house phone. While she tried to get ahold of Nat, the guys helped to load the van, and take some extra time to say goodbye to their girls.

"She didn't answer, so I left a message."

Mateja announced, as she came outside and headed straight into Jimmy's embrace. While everyone said goodbye to each other, Ash sat in the van, listening to the vocal exercises that she was to work on. Finally, Dan pulled all the girls as way, and into the van so they wouldn't miss their flight. The Avenged guys stayed in Zack's driveway until the van disappeared from view, then headed inside to play COD.

The ride to LAX was relatively quiet, as everyone either napped, or put their earphones in, and we're transported into their own worlds. Halfway to LAX, they made a pitstop for gas and snacks, as they were running ahead of schedule for once. Mateja and Ash were nominated to make a Starbucks run, while Anne, Corinne and Jess got the food. As they waited for their order, Ash scoffed and rolled her eyes when she got a text from Johnny.

"You alright?"

Asked Mateja.

"I don't even know anymore."

Ash replied, as she ignored his text.

"This about short shit?"

"I just, I have no fucking clue what's going on with us anymore. Like, he claims he wants to be friends, but then acts like he wants nothing to do with me. It's like Jekyll and Hyde. I never know what the fuck I'm going to get. I'm about done trying. Then his fucking birthday we ---"

Ash stopped herself from blurting out that they had slept together. Of course, not knowing that Mateja already knew.

"I know about his birthday."

She whispered.

"WHAT? HOW?!"

"I saw him leaving your bunk. Don't worry, I haven't told anyone.

"Good. Please don't. At least, by until I have a solid grip on whatever the fuck is going on."

Mateja assured her that she wouldn't, then turned to grab one tray of their drinks, while Ash grabbed the other. They were all soon back in the van, and back on the road to LAX. As soon as they got there, they quickly unloaded their gear, that hadn't automatically been shipped to Montréal, and left the van in long term parking.

"Are we going to meet up with the family when we get there, or when we have the show?"

Dan asked Anne and Corinne as they waited to check in.

"We're staying upstairs from my parents and we'll eat with them before we leave for St. John's. Then my family and Corinne's will all come for the show at the Centre Bell."

Anne replied, before she headed up to the counter. Once they were all checked in and standing in the security line, Natalie finally called the girls back. Because she was still needed to stay at home and take care of her grandmother, she could only make it to the Toronto show.

"When we're in Montréal, can we go to La Banquise and Les Foufs?"

Ash asked, as they moved past security and towards customs.

"Um, I think I speak for all of us, when I say, DUH!"

Jess replied, which caused everyone to giggle. It was another forty five minutes before they all passed through customs and headed towards their gate. They reached their gate and settled down into seats, while Dan called Larry and the guys to let them know that they had got there safely and on time.

"Can we see all the songs you got?"

Mateja asked Ash, who quickly dug out her lyric book.

"The first song is called 'By Now' and that's the one I worked on with Cor, Shads, and Danny. 'Miss The Misery' is something I've had on my mind for a while now. I just finally got it down on paper. I started something else there, working title is 'Freak Like Me.' And that last one, is something Anne and I started."

Ash explained, as the girls started to flip through the book. Both her and Anne, watched with interest, as the girls plus Dan and the Berry brothers, looked at the song that they had written.

"Oh. My. Lord."

Jess breathed, as they had closed the book and handed it back.

"I think Larry is going to have a heart attack with that one."

"And you're not going to tell him or any of the guys for that matter!"

Anne warned them, as she got up to stretch her legs.

"And when do you plan on telling them?"

"Well, they're coming out for the Vancity show, so ... I think that we should rehearse it, and play it for them then."

All the girls agreed, than stood as boarding calls had started. Once they were settled into their seats, the girls buckled up and yawned through the safety demonstration. As soon as they were in the air, the girls dug out their lyric and music books, and got down to work. When the plane touched down in Montréal, just over five hours later, they had finished two more songs and started on two more.

In lieu of a hotel, the band piled into the empty apartment that Anne's parents were in charge of, while Anne stayed in her old room. In the apartment, Mateja and Corinne took one room, Jess and Ash took another, while Dan and the Berry's took the last. It wasn't long before everyone was fast asleep, the jet lag having taken over. After brunch with Anne's parents the next day, where Anne informed them of their plans to move, they headed back to the airport to meet up with Simple Plan, for the short flight to Newfoundland.

"OMG, this view is breathtaking."

Jess squealed, as they settled into their hotel rooms. After landing, they all piled into vans, and headed to their hotel, which had sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean. After taking some time to settle in, unpack, and nap, everyone headed out for a group tour dinner, then off to bed.

*one week later*

"Oh my god. I never thought I'd actually play here!"

Corinne squealed excitedly, as the girls walked out onto the stage at the Centre Bell. They were a week into the Simple Plan tour, and back in Anne and Corinne's hometown of Montréal. Both their families were due to attend the show, and they had already spotted many old friends outside in line.

"I wonder if there will be any cute hockey players here?"

Jess mused, as she eyed the Stanley cup banners that lined the rafters."

"And what would Zack think about that eh?"

Mateja nudged her.

"Hey! Where's the harm in looking?!"

The girls started to giggle, but did an about face when it came time to start sound check. Just as they finished, and were about to go their separate ways, Dan stopped them.

"What gives muscle man?"

"Local television station wants an interview."

"Do we even have time to go?"

"Nope. They sent a crew here though. It's in French, so Ash, Corinne and Anne, you're up. They also would like an acoustic performance, if you're up to it."

Mateja and Jess grabbed their acoustics, while the other girls followed Matt Berry to where the interview set up was.

"Do you know who's interviewing us?"

Anne asked Matt.

"Some chick called Mari Pier Morin."

Anne's face fell, while Ash and Corinne busted out laughing. It took Corinne a few tries to calm down, and explain their reactions to Matt.

"You know that New York Rangers player Anne likes? Brandon Prust?"

"What about him?"

"Mari Pier is his girlfriend. Anne doesn't like her."

"For the love of god, please don't hurt her."

"I can't guarantee anything."

"And please don't try anything with the players."

"What players?!"

Anne grew suspicious when Matt wouldn't answer her. She found out why, when they reached the interview set up. As Mari Pier's makeup was being touched up, Ryan O'Byrne, one of Anne's other favourites, and Mike Cammalleri of the Montréal Canadiens stood off to the side.

"Can't you two contain yourselves?"

Matt asked Ash and Corinne, as they giggled the whole time Anne was being introduced to Ryan. They greeted Mike as well, and got pictures, before the make up team touched them up, and they sat down with Mari Pier. After talking about everything from the birth of the band, up until that moment, some hockey talk included, Anne and Ash got up, while Mateja and Jess took their places.

"You going to be alright there?"

Ash teased Anne. In return, Anne just glared at her and flipped her off. Once they were finished, the girls went to get ready for the show.

"So, how do you feel knowing that Ryan is going to be watching us later?"

Mateja also teased Anne. She refused to answer, and just grabbed her things and headed to the shower. Because they were in Montréal, Anne and Corinne wore Habs jerseys, while Ash, Mateja and Jess dressed in some combination of red, white and blue. As their set time grew closer, the girls got into their huddle, and brought their families in it as well.

They took to the stage with much fan fare, as it had been a few months since they had gotten to play the city. At one point, the girls were brought to tears, as they had stopped playing, as the whole of the Centre Bell kept on singing. Once their set was over, they all gathered at the edge of the stage, and took a group bow. After throwing whatever they could into the crowd, the girls left the stage. They showered, ate, and packed up, before watching Simple Plan's set, then heading off to Les Foufs for drinks, and La Banquise for munchies.