It's in Your Face But You Can't Grab It

I was awakened (if you can even say I was asleep) by the alarm and Lance murmuring, "God damn it." I couldn't help but giggle as he switched off the alarm. He smiled a little then went into the bathroom to shower for work.

I decided it was pointless trying to go back to sleep because one, I could never seem to get back to sleep after waking up and two, I had to be at work soon anyway. I crossed the hall into Vivica and Damion's room and found them both still snoozing. I quietly close the door behind me and slipped downstairs for a quick breakfast.

After eating, I said a quick goodbye to Lance before he headed off to work and went to get ready myself. I threw on a pair of jeans, a Black Sabbath shirt, my black jacket, and a pair of Converses (still love my Converses!). I then just threw my hair into a quick ponytail. It's not like it mattered what I looked like; it's a radio show after all.

The doorbell rang, indicating that my neighbor and best friend was here. Her name was Rachel and she had helped me through my pregnancy (having two kids of her own) and now take care of them when I need her to. She's also the only person I told who the father of Damion and Vivica is. She's kept my secret ever since.

I pulled the door open and Rachel stepped in. "Good morning Raven," she said through a yawn.

"Hey. I see you slept well," I remarked sarcastically. She glared at me causing me to laugh. Rachel was one of the funniest people I had ever met. If I was down, I could look to her and she'd cheer me right up.

"So where are the little demon children?"

This was a little joke between us. They weren't really demons; they were the opposite most of the time. Notice I said most of the time.

"Still asleep."

"Oh good. Now maybe I can get a short nap in," Rachel said stifling another yawn.

"Alright. Can you let Cerberus in later? He hasn't been in all weekend and since Lance isn't home, I don't see the big deal." Lance didn't like dogs for some reason, so Cerberus had to stay outside.

Rachel nodded. "So are we still going to that concert tonight?"

"As far as I know," I replied as I picked up my car keys. "Lance said he'd take care of the kids while we went. He said he'd do it because the concert's work related. Makes me wonder if he'd do it if it weren't."

Rachel shrugged. "Who knows. Men get so lazy sometimes."

I let out a small chuckle. "Well I'm out of here. I'll see you later."

The drive to work was filled with its usual traffic. I really hate traffic. I'm surprised I don't get road rage very often. I parked in my usual spot at work and walked into the studio. I was greeted by all the usual people as I took my place and started reading the schedule. I read the words "2 hour special" on top. Oh fun. Probably just interviewing a band for the whole time with music thrown in. They better be cool if that's the case.

I read down further and gasped at what I saw. Avenged Sevenfold. Holy shit! This was...unreal.

I scanned the rest of the schedule which told me we would be talking about the new self-titled album and whatever else I could think of to bring up. That was my gift; I could always think of something to talk about.

I found myself getting antsy about getting to see my friends again. God, this is too amazing. Five of the people I've been wishing to see for over two years now are going to be on my show. I almost couldn't believe it.

I was just about to go see where the Hell they were when Martin, my organizer dude as I liked to call him, poked his head in and stated, "Your guests are here."

I thanked him calmly, suppressing all the excitement that had just came up at those few words. I have no idea how I was keeping from jumping up and running out there, but I was accomplishing it.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity and half, the five members of Avenged Sevenfold walked in. They all looked so different. I wondered if I would have recognized them before this.

"Good morning boys," I greeted very casually. They all said hello, took their seats, and put on their headphones.

"We're on in 30 seconds Raven," Martin informed me. I nodded to him as I put my own head phones on.

"We knew a Raven once,” Jimmy said. "She was awesome."

I held back a smirk and said, "How ironic." Seconds later, the "On Air" sign flashed on.

"Good morning all you out there in radio land. I hope your morning hasn't sucked too much so far, but if it has, I think I can make it better. This morning I am joined by M. Shadows, Synyster Gates, Zacky Vengeance, Johnny Christ, and The Reverend Tholomew Plague. For those of you who don't know they are the members of Avenged Sevenfold. The band just released their self-titled album in October and that's pretty much why we're here today."

The guys greeted the listeners. "The new album's sound is definitely different from the previous three. Care to elaborate?"

Johnny spoke first: "Well, we've changed our sound album to album and it's always been something different. We kind of want that 'What the fuck?' reaction."

"All the songs we wrote were experiments. We liked some of them so much, we didn't care what anyone thought of it," Matt added.

"What were some of your influences for this album?"

"Well, for the riff, I got the idea from a slot machine. So, Zacky came in with a chromatic scale and you have the riff for 'Scream.' We also had some country influences for 'Dear God' and 'Gunslinger,'" Matt answered.

"Alright, well let's get one of these songs going. When we come back, we'll take a few questions from all you listeners and talk more about the album. But now, here's the first track on the album: Critical Acclaim."

After I had put the song on, I took off my headphones. The guys followed suit.

"What's your last name?" Zacky asked out of the blue.

I didn't answer at first. I was a little shocked at his outburst; he hadn't really said anything the whole interview. The other four gave him a "What the fuck" look.

"Callister," I replied. As soon as I had said it i saw all mouths in the room drop open except Zacky's. He must have figured it out.

"Are you fucking serious?" Brian asked, obviously shocked he had missed it.

I smiled and nodded. The next thing I knew, I was being hugged by all five of them. God, this was amazing. I was finally getting to see probably the best friends I've ever had. I was shocked I hadn't started crying out of happiness yet.

When the song was over, we continued with the interview. It pretty much went in the same fashion as earlier: I'd ask questions, they'd answer; we'd play some songs, and every so often get questions from the audience.

After the segment was over and i had done all the necessary things to finish up, I walked out with the guys.

"Hey, we should go to lunch or something so we can all talk," Matt suggested.

"Um, sure. I've got nothing else to do at the moment. I'll follow you guys to where ever I guess."

We all got in our vehicles and headed off. This was definitely going to be the most interesting lunch I had had in a while.