The next day, I woke up in the Steel Panther Hollywood House, which was basically trashed. Everyone had gotten drunk or high or had done something stupid, unless they had committed fully to a life of sobriety; not many of them had. Everyone except our little family group from yesterday morning was gone, but we weren't. I wanted to go home so I could change and feed Dio, honestly.
So, that's exactly what I did. There was Saran Wrap around my wrist so I could shower and change into an Iron Maiden shirt and jeans, and I fed my dog, letting him play outside for awhile. Once I came in, I turned on the TV, cradling my puppy, and flipped to the musical news channel. They were going absolutely nuts over the party last night.
The reporter dude spoke out, "And last night, Steel Panther singer Michael Starr threw his daughter a massive private birthday party!" A picture of Axl and I, the one with the cheek kiss, showed up on the side of the screen. "Stella Starr is the lead singer of her own band, the Conspirators-" a picture of the four of us popped up- "and the latest girlfriend of Guns N' Roses singer, Axl Rose. Every band, and I do mean every single band in the metal scene showed up last night, it was a wild one! Fans say they saw a ton of 'authentic rocker stuff' going on, and the music could be heard from miles away."
"Are the Conspirators the next new rock band to take the world by storm?" A picture of the band at our first gig replaced the previous two. "The all-girl hard rock band has done a few gigs so far, and from what we've heard, they're amazing! Check out this clip here." A video of us singing Anastasia popped up. How the hell did anyone get that? I didn't care, but it was still a fair question. "A private source says that the Conspirators are working on their first album, which has been said to be released awfully soon! They're also rumored to be joining Mötley Crüe and Guns N' Roses on their tour together in November." Then they cut to something else, so I changed the channel. I did wonder who the private source was, but I was overall extremely happy with the results. It was a kick-ass birthday.
Eventually, everyone made their way to our house or their own; Nikki and Axl showed up, but the rest of their bands went to their own places instead to change and stuff. Once Vicky got back, I told her about my signature last night with Ronnie James Dio, and she immediately decided that we were going out to get it tattooed. We didn't even wait for anyone else to arrive; we just told Axl and Nikki where we were going.
Once we arrived at the tattoo parlor, we were immediately shuffled in, and taken to one of the rooms. Eventually, a biker-looking chick came back with a tattoo needle in her hand. "So, Miss Starr, what're we gettin' done today?" I showed her what was on my wrist, and she grinned. "Looks great! Nice condition, too, that'll make it easier. First tattoo?" I nodded, and she cracked her neck. "You're in for it, then, kid, the wrist ain't one of the easier places..."
It hurt like a bitch. Of course, I swore at first, making Vicky laugh, but I toughened up and powered through it. It was definitely painful, but it was more than worth it, and once you got used to the pain, it wasn't too bad. Part of me was also glad my scars were on the side of my wrist; that way I didn't have to deal with that conversation. When the entire thing was finished, I was definitely thankful it was over, and I really did love the tattoo.
"Looks amazing!" Vicky told me as we walked out, grinning. "I'm happy for you, Stella, I'm glad you got to meet him!" I nodded in agreement, thanking her profusely for the gift. When we got back, of course, everyone who was there wanted to see the tattoo, so I showed them. Vicky, of course, made sure to tell everyone how much I swore at the pain.
Chuckling, my dad mentioned, "Saw the news, by the way. Everyone's talking about you four, hah! Well, say goodbye to your private life, that shit is over." We all laughed, and I shrugged, not as concerned with it as I thought I would be. Fame was growing on me, and I was happy with it.
That afternoon, we went to meet with Doc and Doug and Jasmine, who were going to discuss our timetable as far as the release of Apocalyptic Love. We all sat down around a circular table, and Jasmine laid out a calendar. "So," Doc explained, rubbing his hands together, "Your tour with Guns N' Roses and Mötley Crüe is from November 9th to the 23rd. Today is September 21st, which gives us about seven weeks before the tour starts"
Not Doc, but Doug, continued, "This leaves you with a choice, girls. If we can get the whole album professionally recorded and out before the tour, then that tour would be a chance to promote the album. The good part about that would be that the album would already be out, and that public would have to recognize that you're now a standing contender in the industry. Your other option would be to use the tour as a way to get attention toward you, making people expect more... thoughts, girls?"
Sonic, being as bold as she was, was the first to make her opinion known. "I think we should put it off," she told us. "Don't you wanna leave them just wanting more? Keep them on edge?"
Vicky shrugged, glancing more at Jasmine than the rest of us. "What about merchandise, though? It would do us real good to be able to sell off copies of the album for a couple of bucks. If it were easy access, as well as across the country, that would be a surefire way to get the ball rolling."
Trixie, who was playing with the bat charm of her necklace, nodded up at Vicky. "If you wait too long, they'll forget... even if we hype up everyone else, it all starts here. We need people to remember us... at least if we put the album out first, there's gonna be more to remember."
"You make it sound like we're dying," Sonic muttered, seemingly frustrated that no one agreed with her.
"Well, our careers will if we don't keep content coming... Stella, what do you think?"
I shrugged, making sure I didn't look Sonic in the eye; I hated to just shoot down her point. "I think if we did the album first, it would be better. Besides, that way we can just enjoy ourselves on tour." I gave her an encouraging smile, hoping she'd be alright with the majority. All she did, though, was end up nodding at our managers.
Once we left the building, Sonic turned toward us and laughed a bit. "I'm gonna take the afternoon off, kids, I'm still workin' off the fuckin' hangover." She lit a cigarette and grinned at us. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, alright?" She didn't wait for an answer to turn around and start to walk away.
Rolling her eyes, Trixie muttered, "She's as stubborn as Axl Rose." I glanced at her awkwardly, and she gave a nervous smile. "Am I wrong?" I had to laugh at the bassist; in the professional world, she was definitely right. "Well, I'm gonna head on home. Mom's finally got Janis for awhile, and I miss her." She then made her way off, as did Vicky. I, myself, went back home.
As soon as I walked into my bedroom, I sighed to myself, sitting down on my bed. Part of me wanted to call Axl and ask him what he thought about what was going on with Sonic. Another part of me wanted to ask Nikki; maybe he knew something that I didn't? But the majority of me wanted nothing more than to get more sleep. My head barely hit the pillow, of course, when the phone rang.
"Babe?" Axl asked into the phone as soon as I answered. "You busy right now?"
I yawned rather loudly and cracked my neck, shrugging to myself. "Not really. no. Why?" I added in a chuckle so I didn't sound annoyed; I really wasn't, honestly, but I was sleepy, so it sounded that way.
Axl said confidently, "We're going on a date!" I laughed a bit, waking up slightly more. "Consider it a third birthday present; I'm paying." I groaned, trying to protest to that, but Axl insisted that he would be the one paying. "And wear a dress," he added casually. "It's, uh, upscale."
I didn't really feel like being too formal, quite honestly. As long as it was a dress that didn't look too kiddish, it could be made to seem more formal than it was anyhow. So, I went for a dark scarlet cocktail dress that had a scoop neckline and ruffled cap shoulders. I added all natural makeup, a nude pump, and a simple gold necklace with matching bangles. My hair was brushed out into its natural waves.
Axl, I had to say, was dressed up. He didn't have on a tux or anything extreme like that, but he was wearing a pressed shirt, black jacket, and black jeans that were completely intact. As soon as we walked in the restaurant, the hostess looked up and smiled. "Reservation, please?" she asked kindly.
"Rose," Axl told her politely.
"Mr. Rose! The balcony table, then," she recognized, grabbing two menus and leading us all the way through to the back of the restaurant, and then out to a balcony table. There were a few other tables around, but it wasn't crowded, which was nice. "Your waitress will be with you in a minute," she told us, and we nodded in reply. However, she did open the bottle of wine on the table for us and poured out two glasses.
Cracking his neck, Axl asked, "So how's it going with the band? You guys excited for the tour?"
I nodded, sipping the wine daintily. "We've decided to push out the album before the tour, so it's going to be a bit busy the next week or two. If we can finish it early enough, we'll have the album out for two or three weeks before the actual tour starts. And I am excited for the tour, don't get me wrong, but I have a bad feeling..."
Before I could elaborate further, the waitress pranced over and took orders. Once she'd left to fill them in, however, the conversation continued. "Sonic seems to be, uh, different than from when we started the band. Less 'fuck yeah, let's rock' and more 'whatever, fuck it' when people disagree with her. It might just be a phase or something, but it's weird."
Axl shrugged, putting down his now empty wine glass. "Could be just a phase, or a chick thing. I gotta say, babe, at least guys are straightforward with you, y'know?" I nodded, draining the rest of my own wine. "As for the tour, you'll fuckin' love it. Two of your favorite bands, your boyfriend, your best friend, a shit ton of alcohol and junk, and a trip around America. It's fantastic."
Eventually, the food arrived, and we ate with small talk, pretty much just enjoying each other's company. By the end of it, the sun had set, we'd finished the bottle of wine, and I was leaning on his shoulder the whole way back to my house.
Once we parked in front, I sighed at Axl, not really wanting to leave his side at all. "Axl?" I finally asked, looking up at him. He raised an eyebrow, and I smiled widely. "I love you." He slung an arm around me and kissed my head, smiling.
"I love you, too, Stella." I closed my eyes and snuggled up to him happily. It was true; I really did love him.