Metal Band One-Shots

The Letter (Tarcelo)

 "Marcelo. Marcelo." 

 Marcelo Cabuli awoke that morning to his wife shaking him gently. "Hmm? It's morning?" he mumbled. "How late is it?" 

 He opened his eyes wider and saw the look on Tarja's face. He sat up and asked, "What's happened? Did-did I miss something while I was asleep?" 

 "They fired me, Marcelo." 

 "They...who do-" He stopped, realizing what she meant. "They kicked you out? Just now?" 

 She nodded. "They wrote an open letter explaining that they've fired me and why they decided to do it. It's all over the news." 

 "But...you were all together last night. You wrapped up your tour, and everything...seemed fine. What happened?" 

 Tarja shook her head miserably. "I don't know. I haven't even had time to make sense of this yet. I don't know what I'm going to do." 

 She wrapped her arms around her husband and started crying quietly. Marcelo held her for a while, wondering what had happened that prompted the band to fire Tarja. They were all just together the night before, had their big end-of-the-tour concert, and everyone looked happy. He must have missed something somewhere. But what? 

 "I'm going to go take a shower," Tarja said after a long silence. "I need time to deal with this." 

 When Marcelo was left alone, he went straight to his computer and looked up. And it was true; Nightwish had fired their lead singer in an open letter explaining why they fired Tarja. Marcelo began to read the letter, wondering what stupid excuse they had used for this. When he had finished the letter, he read it again, and then a third time. Then he turned the page off and moved away from the computer, no idea what to think. 

 They had used Marcelo himself as their excuse for firing Tarja. That was it: the letter said that he had been a problem from day one and he had made Tarja into some diva that she wasn't before. 

 Marcelo looked towards the bathroom door, where he could hear the shower running inside. Tarja wasn't a diva. She wasn't when he met her, when he married her, and she still wasn't to that day. 

 But now that he was more awake and thinking more clearly, there had been some tension between Tarja and the rest of the band members, and they might have had some arguments between them. That could have been what prompted the diva accusation. And it was true that none of them liked him. Marcelo really had tried, for Tarja's sake. He tried to be friends with her band members, and he always did his best to be civil. He didn't even know why they didn't like him, but it seemed it was because they believed he made their lead singer into a terrible person they couldn't work with anymore. 

 Marcelo looked back at the computer. Was it something he had done? Had he done something, even more than one thing, that got Tarja fired? What if whatever had happened between her and the people who were supposed to be her friends was because of him? 

 He sighed and shook his head. No. He was not going to put up with any of Tuomas Holopainen's stupid antics, not anymore, not after that letter. Come to think of it, he and Tarja wouldn't have to have anything to do with Nightwish anymore if Tarja didn't want to. Tarja had been talking about doing solo work, and had made it sound like she was planning to leave Nightwish at some point in the future anyway. She didn't really need them; she could have her own career, one that didn't have anything to do with them. 

 When Tarja came out of the shower, she said, "I can tell you've been thinking. What's on your mind?" 

 "I...read the open letter," he began. "I know that I'm the reason they fired you, or at least they're saying that I'm the reason. I...I can't remember if I ever did anything that would have made them kick you out. None of them ever liked me, and I just started avoiding them, so I don't know what I did." 

 "Don't do that, Marcelo. You didn't do anything. It is true that I wasn't always fair, and I did start a few arguments. I guess they decided it wasn't worth for me to stay with the band." She sighed. "I just wish things could have been different. I know...I had ideas for a solo career, but I haven't planned anything. I was going to record another album with Nightwish." 

 "Well, if you still want it, you can start planning. There are Nightwish fans who love you, and they will listen to whatever music you make next. And if you ever need any help, I'll be there." 

 Tarja smiled. "Thank you." She hugged him again, and Marcelo wrapped his arms around her. He felt better knowing that she didn't believe it was his fault she was fired from Nightwish, but he would always wonder if it was.