Scandinavian Heartstrings, in Drop D.

Chapter 10.0 Dancing for the cracker

Toki looked out over the crowd, hovering in their bubbles above the heat mirage of the desert sand. His sweaty fingers moved with effort across the fret board. Why did Skwisgaar always have to make it so hard? But he'd had four cups of black coffee on the flight out to this horrible microwave and just managed to keep up with the lead. Skwisgaar kept glancing across the stage at him with what looked like the willingness to rip his guitar from his damp palms and play both at the same time. Fuck it was hot.

Pickles had put a lock on his medicine cabinet after he'd gotten up to take his morning piss and caught Toki with his hand in the cookie jar, a variety of technicolour capsules and tablets sitting on his tongue like skittles. All of them had locked up their drugs after that, so Toki was forced to turn to booze in an attempt to show his brain who was really in charge. If it was going to fuck him up, he was going to fuck it up right back.

His day-drinking buzz had jumped the line over to hangover and the sun was causing his head to pound. This was Charles's stupid idea. He'd implemented additional safety precautions around the launch show, saying something about 'credible threats' and 'concerns with security'. What about his concern for their comfort?

Nathan finished a particularly deep growl and turned away from the crowd wincing. Each of the other members of Dethklok seemed to be stiff on stage, hands pressed into their lower backs any chance they had. Did they really try to suck their own cocks like that guy on Porn Hub? Why chase the impossible? Maybe that had more to do with Skwisgaar's foul mood than Toki's playing? He doubted it.

Toki used a slight pause in his section to wipe the sweat from his brow and dry his palms on his shirt. Skwisgaar looked over to him again but his eyebrows were a different shape. Instead of the crumpled V of red-hot scorn, they seemed to be pressed into an arch of concern. Toki's every move had been shadowed, just as he'd promised. But just as Toki had predicted, he'd left Toki to himself more often than not as soon as extra practice was needed for the launch show. Typical. Toki narrowed his eyes against the glare as the sun beat down. He really needed a drink.

The show was finally over and he couldn't be more relived to climb into his pentapod and blast off. The band returned to a Mordhaus cloaked in an anti-ballistics force field and a ballroom filled with celebrities and industry dildos for the launch party. He put a hand to his throbbing temple. He was way too sober for this shit. A hood on a ladder poured a bottle of bubbles over a tower of champagne saucers. Jackpot.

He made a beeline for the tower with Skwisgaar following as quickly as his sore spine would let him. Racing over, Toki took a non-structural glass and downed the whole thing in one go. It fizzed on his tongue like an aspirin and the pounding next to his eyes dissipated. He tossed the glass over his shoulder but Skwisgaar caught it like a professional baseball outfielder just before it shattered on the flag stones.

"Toki!" Skwisgaar barked "Cans you not embarrasks us in fronts of de label?!"

"Why?" Toki stopped the hood and made him hand over the remainder of the bottle. "Yous does it all the times. Pretty sures you gots the high scores for it."

Skwisgaar scowled and a few Swedish curse words rumbled past his pouty lips. "Just, takes it easy on de sauce, woulds you?" He shook the empty glass at him.

"Pfft" Toki scoffed in imitation and shook the champagne bottle back at him, "That ams a dumb thing whats to says. Ams a party."

"Dis amst a real party and you knows it. It ams just more of de show." Skwisgaar placed the glass gently back on the table and looked imploringly at him. "Just, don't makes me be worrying abouts you tonights."

Toki swigged from the bottle just to piss him off. Of course that's all Skwisgaar wanted. Don't mess up the show, don't inconvenience him, don't make a scene. Just pretend to be normal and go back to how things were. Toki's wound itched and he rolled his shoulder back.