From the minute Demona had seen Paige, she knew that the night was going to end in disaster. Due to her position as head bartender, it was typically her responsibility to meet the manager of the talent, but this was the first time the blonde had dreaded the chance. She couldn’t bring herself to do it due to a few reasons, but her main one was due to her fight with her roommate from the night before. After all, it was Jessica’s decision to bring Corroded Coffin to the bar, and if she wanted to take full creative control of the bar for a show, then she was going to take FULL creative control.

 

As she prepared the bar, however, she could see Paige was clearly upset about something. Still, she did her best to ignore the interaction. It was Jessica’s problem, and as the pink-haired girl walked back over, she just sighed, rubbing her temples before speaking.

 

“Would it have killed you to wear the shirt she sent us?” Jessica sounded exhausted already, but Demona didn’t care. The black tee shirts with the Corroded Coffin logo splattered across the front in white looked cheap to her, and she much preferred the white crop top she had made in high school, having drawn the logo herself in a sharpie.

 

“Yup. Just like it’s gonna kill me to work this show.” Tying the short apron over her pleather pants, the blonde pulled her hair into a ponytail near the top of her head before flickering her gaze back to the stage one last time. The band was about to go set their instruments up, but the idea of looking at her old friends – and Eddie – was causing her stomach to twist up in knots. “I need to run to the bathroom, get a cigarette, and do some emails in the back office. Think you can handle things until the show starts up??”

 

Jessica scoffed.

 

“You just don’t want to say hi to everyone.”

 

“Glad you get it, Jess.” Blowing a kiss to her roommate, Demona headed to the back office, already trying to find eight different things to do before being forced to go back on the floor.

 

 

 

It was nearly 20 minutes into the setlist, though, before Demona finally exited the back office. There were far more people in the room than she had expected, and for a brief moment, she wondered if they would be able to make it through the night without a hitch. It was only a brief moment, though. The second she glanced towards the stage, her stomach dropped. Everyone looked almost exactly the same as she remembered them, save for a little bit of aging after 7 years, but her focus wasn’t on her friends. Her eyes had landed on Eddie himself, and as the urge to get sick started to pull over her again, Demona quickly looked away and moved behind the bar.

 

The next hour went on smoothly. Demona avoided looking at the band, and overall, it was a good night for tips and sales. She could barely even see Paige behind the merch table, and she couldn’t help but wonder how many people came from out of town. The band’s music quickly became background sound, and she was able to focus far better than she could’ve expected to, all things considered. Once the rush was calmed down, though, she wrote a note to Jessica explaining she was going out for a cigarette. In truth, she just didn’t want to be around the sound anymore, and after an eyeroll from her roommate at the note, she shrugged at her and started to move out of the room.

 

Unfortunately, the back door was near the stage, and as she weaved through the crowd, the blonde reached up to pull her ponytail out. She hoped to make herself less noticeable, though as she reached the edge of the crowd, she couldn’t help herself. Hesitating, Demona spared a single glance towards the stage, only to be met with her worst nightmare scenario.

 

Staring right back at her was Eddie, and for a moment, the world stopped. Seven years had passed, but her stomach was instantly filled with the same butterflies that flooded over her when they had first met. Seven years had separated them, yet here they were, standing in the same room. It was only for a few seconds, but as she felt her breath catch in her throat, Demona forced her gaze back to the door she had been heading towards.

 

Not another moment passed before she was half-running out the back door, letting the cool September evening air wash over her as she walked halfway down the alley. Maybe some air would help her get her head on straight . . .