Radiant Eclipse

Ash nearly dropped her drink in shock, after Corinne let that bombshell go.

"Are you serious? Who else knows aside from me? Matt? Your parents?"

"Just you. I found out this morning. Still working out how to tell everyone. It couldn't have come at a more inconvenient time, with this being the album release and all."

"Cor, just trust and believe that everything will work out just fine. And take it from me, do not wait to tell everyone the news. I don't know how long I will be able to hold it in."

Corinne sipped her water, and thanked Ash for agreeing not to spill the beans. Throughout the rest of the nice, each couple stuck together as the girls were due to leave for their first tour since the previous spring without Avenged Sevenfold.

"It's going to be so weird, touring without them."

The girls talked amongst themselves, as they fixed their makeup in the ladies room.

"Are you okay? You've been guzzling water like it's going out of style. Want some of my rum and coke?"

Anne asked Corinne, who had just disposed of another water bottle.

"No, thanks. I can't have anything, for awhile at least."

"Can't have what? What aren't you telling us?"

Mateja eyed her singer, mascara wand frozen in her hand, halfway up to her face. Corinne glanced at Ash, briefly, before she put her lipstick down and took a deep breath.

"I'm pregnant."

For a moment, the ladies room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. But then, the squealing started. After they all settled down, and finished reapplying their makeup, the girls left their confines and went out to rejoin their boyfriends. One by one each couple disappeared from the party, ending up in hotel rooms that had be procured for them at the nearby Marriott. It was early the next morning, when all the couples, sleepily dragged themselves down to the complimentary continental breakfast.

"So, how long are you girls gone for?"

Jimmy mumbled, as he tried to pry apart a bagel.

"Four and a half weeks. Then we're home for three, then a bunch of random festival/promotional crap again, until Uproar."

Ash answered, as she retrieved her bagel from the toaster and her waffles from the waffle maker. After breakfast, and while Dan the Body made sure all their gear was loaded, the girls said goodbye to their boyfriends.

"Did you tell the guys yet? Or Larry?"

Corinne whispered to Matt.

"Not yet. Going to tell them later. Once you're safely on the road, so Larry can't try to lecture us all. Again."

Matt snorted, before he kissed Corinne one last time, before he helped her into the van. After the van was safely out of a view, Matt led everyone back into the hotel, where he gave Larry and the rest of the band the news. While they spent the rest of the morning packing up the hotel, checking out and heading back home, the girls were touching down in Orlando where the tour was due to start.

"OH HO HO! HE IS FIIIINNNEEEE!!"

Ash whistled, when the boys of Memphis May Fire disembarked from their van at the motel. She currently had her eyes set on the band's guitarist/vocalist, Kellen McGregor. Before she could move from her spot, Anne grabbed arm and held her back.

"What are you doing? I just want to say hi."

"You want to jump his bones, and that is a horrible, horrible idea. You and Johnny are just getting on again, and it's bad enough Austin is on this tour too."

This tour was a huge opportunity for the girls, so he didn't make too much of a scene about it, but it was no secret that Johnny wasn't thrilled about the Ash and Austin being on the same tour. Anne rolled her eyes as Ash pouted, while the girls approached the guys as a whole to get the introductions rolling. They were all joined later that night by the boys from Of Mice & Men, and went out to a late sushi dinner.

"We should all do a song together onstage."

Austin mumbled, after they all did another round of sake shots.

"That sounds like an amazing idea."

MMF's Matty Mullins replied, as he and Ash fought over the last spicy salmon hand roll. The night was put to an end by Dan, when Jess nearly brought an entire plate of sashimi and California rolls to the floor, while waving her hands around; trying to make a point in a story she was telling.

The next few weeks passed by in a blur, as the girls went out on their first tour since the previous year without their boyfriends. It was early on the second last date of the tour, when Ash stepped off of the bus to get some fresh air. Breathing in the fresh San Francisco air, she took barely a step before a large SUV pulled up in front of the bus, and five men that the girls hadn't seen in a month piled out. It didn't take long before Ash had launched herself at Johnny.

"The other girls still sleeping?"

Matt asked.

She nodded yes in reply, and the guys quietly filed onto the bus. Johnny led Ash to a nearby bench, where they sat and quietly enjoyed each other's company. Later that night, the girls were lounging around their dressing room, when Loniel Robinson came in and asked if Anne and Ash would be okay to perform "Second & Sebring" that night. Everyone filed out of the room to watch the girls and Matty Mullins take to the stage.

As Matty and Anne took over the screaming duties, Ash sang alongside Austin, and it left Johnny seeing red. It was something about seeing Ash and Austin next to each other, that just didn't right with him. Once the song finished, the girls bounded off of the stage and dragged the guys with them. While everyone piled into the dressing, Johnny pulled Ash aside into a nearby, empty, ladies' room.

"What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"You and Austin."

"There's nothing going on. What makes you think there is?"

The look on her face dropped and turned into a scowl, as Johnny rambled on about the supposed dalliance he thought Ash and Austin were having.

"One. Are you fucking serious right now?! Two. Do you not even trust me in the slightest anymore? I thought we were over this?!"

Ash pushed past Johnny to leave, and he grabbed her arm to try and stop her. She used all her strength to push him away, and stalked back to the dressing room as fast as she could. For the rest of the night, Ash stayed as far away from everyone, even isolating herself at the afterparty later that night.

"Okay, what the fuck happened?"

Anne and Brian asked Johnny, as they sat on either side of him at the club.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You were totally fine this morning. And now, you and Ash haven't so much as looked at each other since before she went onstage with …"

"Tell me this does not have something to do with her being onstage with … Oh my god, what did you say to her?!"

Johnny chugged the rest of his beer, before he reluctantly recanted his earlier argument with his girlfriend.

"You dumb fucking idiot."

Brian growled, as he smacked the bassist on the back of his head. It wasn't long before they pushed him out of the booth and forced him to go and try to apologize to Ash. Not wanting to do this in front of everyone, Johnny grabbed Ash off of the stool, and dragged her towards the nearby emergency exit stairwell.

"What do you want?"

She glared at him.

"To apologize for being such a dick earlier."

"Well …"

"I know simply saying I'm sorry isn't enough, but I really am sorry for blowing things way out of proportion like that. You were just singing a song with him, and nothing else. I am really for being such a dick. Forgive me?"

Johnny gave her the puppy dog eyes, and jutted out his bottom lip for extra effect.

"I don't know if I really want to."

His face fell, and Ash remained stone faced before she eventually rolled her eyes and a smirk graced her face.

"Kiss me, you dumb piece of shit."

Smiling, Johnny pushed Ash against the wall and pressed his lips to hers. Things quickly got heated, as Johnny pushed up her skirt, and slipped his hand between her thighs.

"Here? Are you sure?"

She moaned, as he sucked a bruise on her neck.

"Fuck yeah."

Was Johnny's more than enthusiastic response. It wasn't long before his pants and boxers were down around his ankles, and he had ripped her thong off and threw it somewhere behind him. All you could hear was the sounds of pleasure and skin slapping against skin, echoing around the stairwell, as the two bassists, worked their issues out.

"Ah fuck, that was some of the best sex I've ever had."

Ash managed to breathe out, once Johnny dropped her legs to the ground. They took a few minutes to compose themselves, before they headed back into the club and into the thick of things.