Past, Present, Future

Joanna walked out into the blazing California sun, her blue eyes squinting as they adjusted to the light. She took a deep breath, still trying to calm her nerves after yet another interview. She hated talking to the press; it was constantly in the back of her mind that she could say something stupid that would haunt her forever. She sometimes got a little nervous around people, especially in one-on-one conversations with people she didn’t know. Luckily her best friends were with her to back her up when she got nervous.

They were just now leaving the offices of their local newspaper where they met with a reporter that wanted to do a short article on the up and coming new rock and roll band. No one had expected JoiRide to blow up as quickly as they did, and the fact that a hard rock band consisting of all women was becoming so popular was making headlines.

It was all strange to Jo, who grew up always keeping to herself, claiming herself as one of the nerds at school, and all of the attention was totally new to her. She was the front man of the band and was the one that got asked most of the questions and already had more interviews than the other girls. But, with that came the same questions repeated to her over and over again, and she felt tired of repeating herself.

It was always the same: what does your name mean, where did you meet, and what is it like to be one of the few female fronted rock bands? She didn’t mind talking about this, but she liked when they came up with unique questions, like the other day when she was asked about their musical influences.

She remembered getting butterflies when he asked them about that, immediately thinking back six years to her favorite guitarist’s bedroom. Blood ran to her cheeks at the memory, but she thought she played it off well, explaining only what was appropriate. Only one of her band mates knew the whole story she shared with Synyster Gates, and they only reason she shared it was because they were high in their dorm room way before they were famous.

Said roommate wrapped her arm around Jo then, breaking her from her thoughts. “Let’s go drink,” Dee said as she placed her sunglasses on her face and ran her fingers through her blush pink pixie cut.

Riley came up then, saying, “I agree. We need to celebrate.”

“What about rehearsal?” Joanna said, feeling as though they still had more work to do for the day.

“You’re going to kill your voice, Jo. You need to rest,” Izzy said as she caught up, giving her a look.

“Drinking doesn’t help your voice,” she replied.

“Then get water,” Dee said, squeezing Jo’s shoulder. “Let’s go to Daily’s.”

“I’m so tired of Daily’s!” Izzy said. “Let’s go to Johnny’s bar. They have $2 wells tonight.”

“Jesus Christ, you act like we’re so poor! We are making money now, bitch,” Dee said.

“Fuck you,” Izzy replied, rolling her eyes at Dee. “I’m going to Johnny’s.”

Joanna felt a pit in her stomach. She avoided Johnny’s bar at all costs when she was back in Huntington, knowing who she might run into. Her friends were staring at her expectantly now, all waiting for her to agree.

“I am good,” she said. “I want to practice.”

“Jo, you need to live a little,” Riley said gently. “You are already perfect.”

“I guess I’m just tired from the interviews,” she came up with, trying to get out of going.

“Not a fucking option,” Dee said, removing her arm from Jo’s shoulder. She grabbed her hands and pulled her, practically dragging her towards their car that was parked down the street. “I will even buy you the first glass of whiskey, ok? Stop bitching.”

Jo groaned, but went along with her friends, saying a silent prayer that she wouldn’t see anyone she knew…

-------

The bar was packed, being a Friday night with drink specials. The music from the radio was barely audible over all of the noise, and the amount of people in the small bar made Joanna uneasy. She wasn’t a huge fan of crowds, unless she was on a stage staring out at them; at least then she could separate herself from all of the bodies.

Dee continued to drag her through the bar, making a beeline to the bartender to get them some whiskey. At this point Jo welcomed the glass when it came to her, the cool liquid burning her throat as she downed it in two gulps. It was immediately replaced with another glass and a smile from Dee.

“Come on, bitches. Let’s go find some boys,” she teased, winking as she grabbed Jo’s hand to lead her away from the bar. Izzy and Riley followed suit, not bothering to argue.

Dee led them to a free table, practically running to snag it before someone else could. They sat at the high top and Dee looked around, almost as if she was looking for their prey. She leaned over the table, getting close to Jo’s face. “We are fucked.”

Jo raised her brow. “What?”

“I now know why you didn’t want to come here,” she said, leaning back in her chair before taking a sip of her drink. She was grinning into her glass, a scheme brewing in her head.

“Jesus Christ,” Jo muttered, looking around the bar.

“By the stage,” Dee said, grabbing Jo’s head and moving it to the right direction.

Joanna’s stomach dropped when she saw them, nerves bundling and turning into knots. She almost dropped her glass and her body tensed. Softly she muttered a slew of curse words under her breath, looking away as quickly as she could and covering her face.

“Holy shit!” Riley exclaimed. “That’s Avenged Sevenfold!”

“Jesus, Ri. Scream a little louder, would ya?” Izzy chastised, rolling her eyes at her friend.

“I am so sorry,” Dee said then, giving Jo a look of sympathy. “I forgot you told me you didn’t come here because of them. Who’s all here?”

“They all are,” Jo answered, barely audible. Her hands were shaking.

“And they’re all fucking hot,” Riley said, laughing to herself. “Tell me again why we are going to avoid them?”

“It will be extremely awkward,” she replied. “Brian, uh Synyster Gates, and I didn’t exactly leave things on good terms. And haven’t talked in years.”

“What do you mean? I thought he was just your guitar teacher?” Izzy asked, raising a brow.

“Well, we were friends too. But our relationship ended kind of sour when he left to tour with them the first time.”

“Well, we’re different people now, sis. You were both kids back then. Are you still mad at him?” Dee asked.

“Not as much as I was before,” Jo replied honestly with a sigh. “I mean, he was a dick about everything, but at the same time I don’t really blame him for leaving. Look at him now.”

“Yeah, seriously. They really are an awesome band. And you really did learn from the best,” Dee said, staring at the boys from across the room. She turned back and leaned in towards Joanna’s ear, whispering, “And I mean more than guitar.”

“Fuck you,” Joanna said, rolling her eyes. She risked a peek over to the group of guys, accidentally making eye contact with their other guitarist. She cursed under her breath and looked away, praying that he didn’t recognize her.

“Don’t get mad, Jojo, but you’ve definitely been spotted,” Dee told her, nodding over to the boys. She was now being pointed at by the guitarist as he talked to the tall guy next to him, then to Brian. Joanna looked away before she could see his reaction. Dee laughed, “Please don’t freak out. The hot drummer is coming here.”

“God damn it!” Jo said. She grabbed her glass and drowned what was left of her drink, hoping for an ounce of liquid courage.

“Hey, ladies,” the tall drummer said as he approached their table. “Do I know you from somewhere?”

“Maybe?” Dee answered, running her fingers through her pink hair. “I know you, though.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah, and the rest of your possy over there,” she replied, pointing over to the group of guys that were now staring at all of them.

The drummer laughed, “They sent me over here to talk to you.” At this he looked over at Joanna. “We went to high school together, didn’t we? It’s me, Jimmy Sullivan.”

Jo nodded. “I was in a grade behind you.”

“Joanna Williams, right?” She nodded again in reply.

“Well shit,” the drummer continued. “You’re fucking famous now!”

Joanna laughed then, shaking her head. “Barely. Not as famous as you guys.”

“You’ll get there. I listened to your shit. You’re fucking great! Nice pipes, kid. Who’s the drummer?”

Dee raised her hand in reply and the two instantly started discussing drums, their technique, who inspired them, and more. Izzy and Riley chimed in from time to time, but their eyes kept drifting to the group across the room. Joanna almost zoned out, not really caring about their conversation, but she was trying so hard not to look past Jimmy at the rest of his band mates. But at the minutes passed, she couldn’t help it, her eyes sneaking past the tall man beside her to look at the boy she used to know.

He wasn’t looking at them then and was leaning against the wall, talking to the singer of their band, who had a pretty blonde girl leaning against his arm. She recognized them as Matt and Val and smiled when she saw them, happy that they were still together even after all this time. The thought made her sad, her thoughts drifting to Brian and the fact that she was sitting here alone instead of with him.

She pushed the thought aside. It was bullshit anyways; if they had stayed together, who knows what would have come of her career. She was so proud of all that she had accomplished already and couldn’t let herself get wrapped up in self-pity over some guy. It was just hard to forget the last conversation they had…

“Jo?” she heard Dee’s voice say, breaking her out of her thoughts. She gave a nervous giggle and a sorry in reply, so Dee repeated her question. “Jimmy just asked if you wanted to go over and say hey to everyone else.”

“Uh…” she replied, unsure of what to do. She didn’t want to be rude, but dreaded seeing him again.

“Come on,” Riley said, getting up from the table. “I want to meet them.”

For her friends, she got up and followed them to the back of the bar, looking over her shoulder for an escape route, just in case...

Notes

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xoxo JJ