Author's Note: As I was writing this chapter, I began to notice just how long it was becoming. Therefore, I decided to divide it. This particular chapter will focus mostly on Angelica.

Always Somewhere

Chapter XI

Dezirae and her two friends were more than happy to go to the after-hours party. Likewise, so were Dil's bandmates. "Now I just wonder if the gang wants to go?" said Dil.

"The gang?" asked Dezirae.

"My brother, cousin, and a bunch of our friends from childhood—why don't you come meet them real quick?"

"Okay."

Dezirae, Nichole, and Rachel followed Dil into the stage area of The Nightlife. The gang was still present, but they were beginning to leave the area to pay their tabs.

"Hey, everyone," said Dil.

"Oh, so now you decide to join us," Phil said with a grin.

Dil returned the grin. "Sorry, I got distracted."

"I can see that," added Phil.

"Anyway, I've got some people that I want you to meet." Dil turned to the ladies, and gestured to each of them respectfully. "This is Dezirae, Nichole, and Rachel."

Dezirae, Nichole, and Rachel said 'hello' to Dil's friends, while they returned the message.

"Dezirae, Nichole, and Rachel," began Dil, "these are the gang members." Dil gestured to each one of them, while he began his introduction. "First, I start off with my brother, Tommy; my cousin, Angelica; then my childhood friends: Chuckie and his wife, Ashley; Phil and his sister, Lil; Chuckie's sister, Kimi; and Susie."

Again, Dezirae, Nichole, and Rachel said 'hello' and the 'hellos' were returned.

"Now, Dezirae here, she's celebrating her 21st year of life on the planet," Dil added, while he made an inverted headbanger gesture, and placed it on Dezirae's head.

Dezirae blushed, and when Dil removed his hand, she grabbed it, and locked it into her own.

"Lucky Dil," thought Phil. "But her two friends are also hot!"

"And Dezirae here," continued Dil, "she's going to party a little bit more. One of the regulars here has invited us to an after-hours party at his place. I'm going; my band members are going; the girls are going; but are you guys going?"

The gang paused, before Tommy replied, "Yeah, I'll go. What about you, Kimi?"

"Sure, I'll go; it might give me a chance to talk to some more of the band members."

Dil chuckled. "Just so you girls know, Kimi writes for our newspaper, The Eagle. She's doing a story on us, but tonight isn't the time to worry about interviews. Tonight is a night to have fun."

Kimi smiled. "Okay," she said with a nod.

"I'll go," said Phil; but to himself, he added, "If those two cute girls are going, I'm definitely going!"

Dil nodded, before he turned to Lil. "How about you, Lil?"

"I don't have to work tomorrow, so sure, why not."

Dil smiled, as he turned to Susie. "What about you, Susie? Want to party with all us metal heads?"

"Is that heavy metal music going to be blaring?"

"Could be," Dil replied with a smirk.

Susie sighed. "How much booze do you have?"

"You know, that's a damn good question." Dil turned to the bar area and added, "Hey, Mike!"

"Yeah, Dil?" Mike said, while he approached Dil.

"How much booze do you have at this party?"

"More than plenty—we got a bunch of kegs and liquor bottles earlier this week real cheap. They were practically giving the shit away. That's why we're having this party."

"Okay, sounds good; I just wanted to know." Dil returned to Susie and said, "Well, you got your answer—now what?"

Susie sighed and grinned. "Well, if my friends are going, I think I should go to. If anything, I can drink my way through the music."

The gang laughed.

And Dil smirked, before he turned to Chuckie and Ashley. "How 'bout you two?"

"Well, what do you say, Ashley?" asked Chuckie.

"Well…"

"Yes?"

"I don't have a problem going; I'm just a little worried about getting home."

"If anything you can crash on the floor," said Dil. "That or you can leave the place at four—that's when the cops change their schedules."

"I say we go," said Chuckie. "We haven't gotten out much, since we've been married."

"Well…"

"Ashley, I'll play some Led Zeppelin for you," Dil added with a smile.

Ashley grinned. "How 'bout some Tom Petty?"

Dil laughed. "Well, that certainly through me for a loop. But I'm sure that Mike probably has some Petty lying around. If not, there's always the power of YouTube."

"You know, I like some Tom Petty," interjected Dezirae.

"Well, then, we'll definitely play some! Who knows, maybe I might be in the mood to sing some Tom Petty."

"What's this?" interjected Susie. "Dil Pickles, the 'heavy metal King David', is actually going to sing something non-metal? The world must truly be coming to an end!"

Dil laughed. "Now, now, I'm very diverse. It's just that diversity has to be rock."

The gang laughed.

And Ashley said, "Okay, I'll go. Just to see that, I'll go."

But Angelica smirked, and said to herself, "But in reality, that diversity is when the 'cute girl' you're holding hands with says she likes Tom Petty. Perhaps I should tell him that his precious Dio will consider him a traitor to the heavy metal lifestyle."

Once Angelica finished her thought, Dil turned to her. "Well, how 'bout it, cuz? Want to party, or do you have to pick up Ian early in the morning?"

"Not early in the morning, but I'd like to get him before noon—otherwise, he's going to be wondering where his mommy ran off to."

"You should go, Angelica," interjected Susie. "It'll be fun for you. Besides, you might get to talk with…"

"Stop!"

Susie giggled.

"Get to talk with who?" asked Dil.

"No one in particular," answered Angelica. "Okay, I'll go for a little bit."

"Wonderful!" Dil said with a smile. "You guys go, and pay your tabs. I'm going to head to the back, and remove this robe. Then I'll be back, and get my equipment from the stage."

"Okay, Dil, sounds good," Tommy said, before he, and those around him, began to return to the bar area to pay up. However, Dezirae remind behind—still holding Dil's hand.

"I'll be back in a few—go and pay up what you owe."

"Okay," Dezirae said, while she released Dil's hand.

But as she did so, Dil gave her a quick tickle.

Dezirae giggled, and smiled at Dil, as he walked away into the back area.


About twenty minutes later, the members of Dark Stairway, Dezirae and her friends, and the gang left The Nightlife. Dil, now wearing a Grave Digger shirt, acted their leader—guiding them to Mike's. Since Tommy and Kimi did not drive to The Nightlife, they rode with Dil.

"So, Dil," began Tommy, "how far is this place?"

"Just a couple of blocks away—it won't take long to get there."

"I've got to ask you, Dil, what's your deal with this girl, Dezirae?"

Dil blushed, which seemed to be enhanced, because of his red hair. "Oh, you know, she's just a girl I met in the bar, who liked my music."

"She's very pretty," added Kimi.

Dil continued to smile. "Yes. Yes, she is."

Tommy also smiled.

Dil turned on adjacent street, parked his car next to the curb, and said, "All right, here we are!"

When Tommy and Kimi stepped out of Dil's car, they took a moment to observe their surroundings. The neighborhood Dil had drove them to contained homes that appeared to have been built in the 1940s or 1950s. A much older neighborhood, than the one the gang had grown up in.

"Hmm," Dil began, while he looked at the cars parked nearby, "from what I can tell, we're really bringing the party. In Mike's home right now, I'd say there are probably anywhere from five to ten people."

Dil, Tommy, and Kimi, waited next to Dil's car, while those who had followed him found a spot to park, and exited their cars. Once they did so, Dil said, with a gesture to Mike's house, "Well, here we are. Now, let's party!"

"Uh, Dil?" said Ashley.

"Yeah, Ashley?"

"Isn't this a rough part of town?"

Dil chuckled. "Na, the rough part of town is another three blocks away. We're fine. But if this actually was a 'rough part of town', I'd say that it's nothing compared to the rough parts of town of LA. Wouldn't you agree, Tommy?"

"Oh, of course! Compared to those places, this is a piece of cake."

"Come then, let's party!"


Mike's home had an interior that mirrored much of what was in Dil's apartment—plenty of tapestries and posters. But unlike Dil's apartment, not all of the tapestries and posters were heavy metal related. The members of Dark Stairway were greeted with cheers, when they entered, but it was Dil—holding Dezirae's hand—who received a personal introduction from the host.

"Mr. Dil Pickles!" Mike said with a gesture. "Mr. Chris Boltendahl! Mr. Bruce Dickinson! Mr. Ronnie James Dio!"

Many of the guests, including members of the gang, laughed.

Dil, however, merely smirked. "I'm not any of those guys. They aren't me, and I'm not them. I'm unique. I'm the 'Heavy Metal King David!'"

The guests roared, while Dezirae turned to Dil and smiled.

Mike chuckled, before he turned to the guests that had accompanied Dil. "Obviously, I know who your band members are, and I met these three girls earlier, but who's everybody else that you brought with you?"

"Well, let me introduce all of them to you."

While Dil introduced the members of the gang to Mike, Angelica noticed Johnny, pouring himself a drink from one of the beer kegs. Based on Johnny's facial expression, he did not appear to be in a good mood. After his drink was prepared, Johnny stepped out onto a balcony.

After Dil finished the introductions, Angelica fixed herself a 7-and-7, but as she did so, she turned to the balcony. Johnny was still there, and he appeared to be alone. Once her drink was prepared, Angelica decided to join him.


Johnny turned, when he heard the sliding glass door open. When he noticed that Angelica was coming to join him, he smiled—but, at the same time, he forced himself to smile. "Hey, Angelica."

"Hi, Johnny," Angelica said with a smile. "I just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed listening to you guys tonight. I'm not really a fan of heavy metal, but I had fun tonight."

Again, Johnny forced himself to smile. "Thanks. I appreciate you saying that—thanking the drummer and all."

Johnny took a drink of his beer, and looked at the concrete beneath him.

"Are you all right?"

Johnny returned his focus to Angelica. "Oh, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? To be honest, you didn't look like you were in a good mood a few minutes ago."

Before Johnny could answer Angelica's question, music began to play inside the home. Both Angelica and Johnny turned to the scene. A microphone had been placed in the center of the master room, and Dil began to sing along to Tom Petty's 'You Don't Know How It Feels'.

Angelica chuckled. "Dil singing non-metal music." Returning to Johnny, she added, "Perhaps I should harass him about what his precious Dio would say."

Johnny sighed. "Go ahead." And turning away from Angelica, he added, "I could care less."

"Now I can tell that something's bothering you."

Johnny turned to Angelica.

Angelica took a sip of her drink and added, "It's my motherly instinct."

Johnny smirked.

"What is it, Johnny?"

Johnny sighed. "There are just times, when I feel like I'm just a 'bit player.'"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you notice the reaction that we received, when we-I'm referring to the band-came in?"

"Yeah, all of you guys received an applause."

Johnny took a gulp of his beer. "That's partially true, but another part is missing."

"What other part?" asked Angelica, while she took a sip.

"You notice how Mike gave Dil this big introduction—calling him 'Mr. Bruce Dickinson', 'Mr. Ronnie James Dio', and so forth?"

Angelica nodded.

"How come we didn't get that? By 'we', I mean the other members of the band. It just seems sometimes to me that Dark Stairway should really be called the 'Dil Pickles Show and Friends'. I realize that Dil is not intentionally doing this, and I realize that drummers don't often get the attention that they deserve, but it's really frustrating sometimes. I mean, have you ever worked hard, and just felt like no matter how much effort you put forward, you're just not being noticed?"

Angelica paused, before she answered Johnny's question. "Actually, I do." Angelica observed the stars, before she added, "Johnny, might I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"When you found out that you were going to become a father, how did your parents react?"

Johnny took a drink. "Well, they were upset that I wasn't married, but basically they told me that I needed to be responsible for my child, and I think I've fulfilled that responsibility."

"How so?"

"I always give child support. My daughter never goes without food, diapers, and clothing."

"Do your parents praise you for being a good father?"

"Not in words, but by their body language, I think they're proud of me."

Angelica nodded. "I do the same things that you do for my own son, Johnny, and I do them on my own. Ian's daddy hasn't given me a penny, but despite that, I know that my parents don't respect me. I can see it in their body language, and even though I've had to 'read between the lines', I can see it in their words too."

"What do you mean?"

"Ever since I became pregnant with Ian, I just feel like nothing that I do will ever cause me to regain the respect of my parents." Angelica took a sip and added, "I committed an 'unforgivable sin' in their eyes. I'm just 'one big screw up.'"

"How many 'one big screw ups' do you know sit on Pilot's board?"

"They don't see it that way, Johnny."

"Well then, how do they see it?"

"They don't look at me as someone who earned my job through my own merits. They look at me as someone, who was handed the job, through my mother's influence."

"I take it your mother works for the company?"

Angelica nodded. "She's also a board member."

"Well, Angelica, there is the famous statement, 'It's not who you are; it's who you know.' I mean, consider us. We got a record deal with your company, but critics will always say, 'Well, the only reason you got the record deal was because your lead singer's cousin is a board member.' And that's true. Your presence obviously helped. But we also spent our time honing our craft. Plus, if our album, or any future album, flops, your connection with Dil isn't going to matter to us. If the money isn't there, it isn't there." Johnny finished the last of his beer and added, "The point is, Angelica, you obviously had some skill to get on Pilot's board—regardless of what influence your mother might have had. Plus, you're still working for the company, which means you must be doing an effective job. Only you can do an effective job—your mother can't do that for you."

Angelica smiled.

And Johnny returned the smile—this time with no force involved. "You know, just standing here outside, chatting with you, has made me feel a whole lot better."

"Same here," Angelica said, while she maintained her smile.

Johnny flashed his empty beer cup, and pointed to Angelica's nearly empty glass. "It looks as though I could use another beer, and you could use another drink. Why don't we go back inside?"

"Absolutely!"

But as Angelica and Johnny re-entered the home, someone exclaimed, "The fuck do you think you're doing?!"