Past, Present, Future

(Back in the present)

The two bands were sitting together in what looked like a conference room, waiting for both of the managers to arrive. After Matt gave away the surprise, Larry thought it would be best if both bands got together to meet about goals for their upcoming tour.

Jo and Brian, of course, were stuck sitting right next to each other. It was almost as if the other band members did it on purpose, trying to see if the pair could handle being near each other for an extended period of time. Jo had her arms crossed and was tapping her fingers against her leather jacket, staring at the clock. The managers were late and she was losing her patience. She snuck a peek at Brian through the corner of her eye and he was staring at the clock too, feeling just as impatient as she was.

Across from them, Dee and Jimmy were chatting quietly, being much more serious that Jo had ever seen either of them before. They had so much in common between their interests in their personalities, it was no wonder that they hit it off. Jo looked around the room and saw Johnny half asleep in his chair, Zack talking to Matt, and Riley talking at Izzy while she pretended to care. She and Brian were the only silent pair in the room, unwilling to even look at one another.

Finally, Larry and Simon entered, apologizing for being so late. Together they headed towards the front of the table and everyone else quieted down. Zack smacked Johnny on the arm to wake him up and everyone was attentive, ready to hear what the two men had to say.

“Well, after much discussion, Simon and I have come up with a plan for you all. Hear us out first, then we’ll talk about what you think,” Larry started.

“Avenged Sevenfold already had some tour dates set in stone where they are headlining their own show, but no opener. There are just a few of these around California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona… basically the west coast and south west of America. In total there are ten shows. We think JoiRide can open for all of these shows with a 30 minute set. Avenged can then play their 1 ½ hour set afterwards. There may be a local band for each show as well, but that depends on the venu and who is available. We know that inviting local bands is something that both groups this is important,” Simon continued.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Dee was grinning ear to ear and Riley looked like she was going to piss in excitement. Izzy was keeping it cool as always, but Jo had paled. Ten shows? It wasn’t a lot, but still more than she expected.

“In addition,” Larry picked up from here, “Avenged Sevenfold has recently been asked to join Warped Tour, which will happen this summer. That tours all around the country. Simon is currently attempting to get JoiRide to be a part of this tour, but it’s not set in stone yet.”

“Simon I will sell you my future children if that means we can be part of that tour,” Dee said, laughing. Simon rolled his eyes at her, but smiled, knowing how excitable Dee could be.

“There will be a break in between both tours so that you can have time to spend with your families. Warped Tour is long and you won’t have a lot of time off, but it’s a huge opportunity. Avenged has done it before and it is one of the reasons they have gained such a big following already. We hope the same can happen for JoiRide, even if we can only get you on part of the tour,” Simon finished.

“This is amazing, guys,” Riley piped in. “Even if we can’t get in on Warped Tour, this is a huge opportunity. We have only done shows around LA. I don’t think we can pass this up.”

“Agreed,” Izzy said cooly. Dee bobbed her head excitedly. The three looked at Jo.

Taking a deep breath, Jo tried to calm her nerves. Her friend was right; it was a huge opportunity. All of their shows had been in California so far, and other than appearances in interviews and small local TV shows, they hadn’t had a ton of exposure. And she knew the fans they had would be ecstatic.

She looked over to Brian, who was avoiding her gaze, then back to her friends, who were grinning expectantly at her. They’d most likely be on separate buses and the only time she would have to interact with Avenged was for business purposes. She could keep to herself and avoid the parties if she really wanted to. She could keep away from him.

For the band she said, “I’m in.”

“Great! I think this is a great idea, too,” Matt chimed in. “Your band’s style fits right in with ours and you’re from the same area as us. I think our fans will easily become your fans too.”

“This is so exciting,” Riley said, clapping her tattooed hands together.

“We need to talk about what you want your show to look like for the solo tour, what kinds of roadies we will need, and your budget,” Larry began, losing the attention of all of the JoiRide members. They knew they wouldn’t really partake in this conversation.

“While you all do that, I am going to have the girls come with me. I have our budget here and we’ll discuss our own show while you guys talk about yours. That way we can get this done quicker. I have a meeting in an hour,” Simon said, collecting his things. He walked to the door and the girls stood, following him into a different, smaller conference room nearby.

As soon as they left, Jimmy chimed in, “I want as many flames as possible, but can we please not put them behind me? I’m not trying to burn to death.”

Matt laughed, “Agreed.”

“Hang on a second,” Brian said coldly. “I wish we would have talked about this more before we invited JoiRide here. Of course we had to agree to them coming- they were sitting next to us!”

Everyone looked at Brian with surprise, not expecting his negative outburst. Zack said, “What is there to talk about? You heard Matt; they’ll fit right in with us on tour. They’re a great band, you heard them. And it’s going to be awesome to give them an opportunity to go on tour. We would’ve killed for a band to do this for us. What the fuck is your problem?”

“I’m just pissed you went through with this before talking to us about it,” Brian pouted.

“No, you’re pissed because you could cut the sexual tension between you and Jo with a knife,” Johnny teased.

“Fuck off,” Brian growled, not playing around. Johnny held his hands up in surrender.

“Look, whatever happened between you and Jo is ancient history. You haven’t seen her in years, so why get all pissy now? I don’t even care what happened between you two. Get the fuck over it,” Matt said.

“Okay, dad,” Brian said with an eyeroll.

“I’m serious, Gates. When all is said and done, you can easily separate yourself from her. Don’t go on their bus. Don’t hang with them at parties. Grow up,” Matt retorted.

They were silent then as they looked at Brian, who had his arms crossed and wasn’t answering. Jimmy chimed in, “Think about what Zack said. We would’ve killed for a chance like this.”

Brian knew he was right. He didn’t like it, but knew he had no choice in the matter. He would just have to avoid Jo at all costs; he didn’t want to deal with teenage-like feelings any longer than necessary. He nodded to his band mates, silently agreeing to having the girls join their tour.

“Then it’s settled,” Larry said awkwardly. “Let’s talk about fire.”

-----

Their meeting now adjourned, Matt had the fantastic idea of having everyone over for a party to celebrate the beginning of their tour and “a new friendship,” as Matt called it. Brian didn’t want to come but Jimmy convinced him, telling him to act like a man.

“Look, brother,” Jimmy had told him. “I know you and Jo had this little thing back in high school. You never told me much about her, but I could tell you were into her when you’d talk about your lessons. I don’t know what happened, but it doesn’t really matter, does it?”

“It shouldn’t,” Brian said bitterly. “But I was such a dick to her that she hates me... I don’t want to get into it now.”

“Fine,” Jimmy said. “But you need to figure out a way to get along. I want to be their friends. Dee is hot!”

Brian laughed and shook his head, now seeing why Jimmy wanted everyone to get along. He nodded at his tall friend, promising to behave himself, and promising to attend the party.

He was there now, helping Matt set up a keg in their backyard while Val was inside getting food prepared. She always went out of her way to make sure her friends ate and didn’t get all of their calories from booze, though she wasn’t always successful. Slowly the other guys arrived, some with friends in tow, others with nothing but bottles of liquor.

Out front, Dee and Jo sat in Dee’s jeep. Riley and Izzy were on their way together, driving separate because Riley was taking too long to get ready. Jo was trying to calm herself down before going inside, cursing her friend for forcing her to be here.

“Jojo, I am sorry,” she said sympathetically. “I know this is awkward for you. I just didn’t want to come alone and Riley and Izzy always stick together, you know how they are. You’re my girl, you know?”

“I know,” Jo sighed to her best friend. “I need to show him that I’m happy without him, you know? But seeing him just makes me irrationally angry.”

“It’s not irrational,” Dee argued. “I’d be pissed at him too if he screwed me like that. No pun intended.”

Jo laughed, leaning her head back on the seat. “You’re too much, Dee. I love you.”

“I love you too, more than you know. Stick with me tonight, okay? I will probably be trying my best to talk to Jimmy, but you can stay with me and avoid everyone else.”

Jo nodded and looked over to her friend. “I need to learn to be okay with hanging out with them. I’ll find my way. But I’ll stick with you if I don’t.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Dee said with a smile.

Notes

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xoxo JJ