Vengeance Banks In

“Are you serious?” Danielle the merch girl sat down on my bunk bed and gawked at me. “I can’t believe he asked you to be his girlfriend.”

“You can’t tell anyone Danielle, I’m trusting you with this, not even my step-dad knows,” I bit my lip and slapped her arm. “Stop gawking, it’s not that unbelievable.”

“It is so, your seventeen, B.B. it’s like a crime or something,” she flinched when I slapped her again. “I mean by law, sheesh, stop hitting me. I think it’s wonderful, he’s so good looking.”

“Thanks,” I smiled in pride, I hadn’t ever had a boyfriend—well minus the guy in high school I met—he asked me out twice and then turned into a total male. You know what I mean. “I told you I turn eighteen soon, we’re waiting until then to tell people. So you can’t tell anyone, okay?”

“Promise,” she nodded her head and crossed her finger over her heart. “Cross my heart and hope to do all that other stuff, you know.”

“Thanks,” I smiled and hugged her, it was a few more minutes of talking later that Zacky, the man of the hour walked in. “Hey Zacky.”

“Hi Zacky,” Danielle giggled and waved, Zacky raised an eyebrow but waved slowly and turned to me, forked his thumb over his shoulder at Danielle.

“My friend Danielle, she’s the merch girl,” I smiled and pulled him down to sit beside me. “When are the girls arriving?”

“Val had to pick up Michelle, Leana and your mom before she started for the airport, that was—“he stopped to think, it took him a minute before he murmured. “In three hours, give or take a few minutes.”

“Your good,” I laughed as Danielle stood up and brushed off her shirt. “Where you going, goofy?”

“Work, I have four hours before show time, I have to help set up,” Danielle leaned down and gave me a hug before she gave one to Zacky to and then left.

“She’s cool,” Zacky commented with a smile, I laughed and pushed him back on my bed, making sure the curtain was closed before I kissed his lips. “Oh, did you miss me?”

“Yes I did.”

“I just went to get coffee,” he mumbled as I kissed his lips again, his lip rings were cold as usual but I loved the feeling.

“I can’t help it,” I slapped his arm and shrugged. “You didn’t miss me?”

“Of course I missed you,” he stated loudly as he wrapped me in his arms and kissed me so…passionately that it left me reeling. “You okay there, Bri? Did I dazzle you or something, dear?”

“Oh you dazzled me alright,” I smiled gently and pecked his lips; I curled up into his side and just laid my head on his chest. I traced a couple of his tattoos in the hour we laid there, talking about random things. Our childhood stories, random facts about each other and stuff like that and then we heard someone walk in the room. He let go of me, the warmth left as he scooted away.

“Briony? Zacky? You in here?”

“In here,” I called out and opened the curtain; Matt stood by the door and laughed. “Why are you laughing Matthew Sanders?”

“One, don’t do that,” he pointed at me and shook his finger with one of his menacing glares that kind of scared me and then jerked his head back. “And two, let’s go. I have a surprise.”

“Surprise,” Zacky and I sung like children as we fought each other to scramble out of the bus, I elbowed him and he picked me up and threw me on the couch, I pushed him into a wall and he pulled me out of the way and handed me off to Matt.

“Why do I get her?” Matt wondered out loud as he carried me outside, I was leaned over his shoulder with a glare burning everything I looked at. I wasn’t happy being totted by the big gorilla because Zacky said so because he wanted to win!

“Because I said so,” Zacky explained once again walking all calmly towards the venue, I grumbled a few obscenities before we reached the inside building.

“Put me down, damn it. Matt I swear to God if you don’t set me down, I will shove that microphone so far up your ass—“ I stopped when he sat me down and spun me around to see Val his fiancé, Leana, Jimmy’s wife, Michelle, Synyster’s girlfriend and Val’s twin and my mother. “Hi!”

“Hey,” choruses fell out as they swarmed me with hugs and questions about my head.

“Three hours my ass,” I nudged Zacky in the ribs; he grinned and shrugged his shoulders. “Girls, girls, girls, I’m fine trust me.”

“I missed you baby,” my mother embraced me into a hug, I returned it and soon after she was checking out my head, asking me questions and the whole nine yards. I only stopped responding when I turned around to see where Zacky was and spotted him standing with a pretty blond woman.

“Momma, who’s that?” I questioned quietly, she knew the guys way before I did.

“Oh that’s Gena, his ex-girlfriend. She asked Michelle if she could come and visit Zacky tonight and Val said it would be okay if she didn’t ruin the night or something,” mom shrugged weakly and sneered, she had no clue. “I heard that she’s really nice but Zacky and she wasn’t really good together.”

“Oh,” I nodded in agreement even though I wasn’t really paying much attention. I smiled at Val as she walked up and hugged me again, Michelle was behind her. “Hi twin terrors.”