Memory's Forever

The little makeshift stage the boys performed on was no bigger than the average bedroom in homes today. Each member had claimed their space on that stage and tried to move to the music as much as the room allowed.

The crowd on the other hand was a different story. It seemed as though the crowd never ended. Mae would find herself glancing back to see the crowd having a great time. She could understand why though, Avenged Sevenfold had put on a good show for amateurs. She laughed and looked back towards the stage.

Brian loved being up on the stage each time they had a show. He felt this was his calling and had no intentions on quitting the business. He loved the way his fans would go wild at each break as they listened to the guitars.

He especially enjoyed watching Mae having a good time. It almost felt like the old days in high school, almost.

The night drew to an end. They were lucky enough to finish up the night. The boys gathered their friends to help them pack up all their instruments and speakers.

Brian called Mae over to the group, "You have fun tonight?" he asked her.

Mae quickly responded, "It was amazing! You guys have really gotten good!" she said. Jimmy looked over to the two and ran towards them.

"Mae! You're not dead! Holy shit, I didn't know you guys were talking again Gates."

"Yeah, ran into her at the store randomly. Had to get her to come so she'd quit talking shit about us,"

Mae lightly smiled. She was starting to feel bad after she had doubted them for so long. "Matt? whoa, hey you!" She called over to him. Mae had a chance to speak to the whole band and had a quick catch-up with each one.

"Did you want to come over to Matt's house? We're having just a small get-together?" Brian asked Mae.

"Um, yeah just promise me you'll get me home early."

"Scout's honor," Brian said as he held up his fingers.

They both climbed into Brian's car soon after and trekked towards Matt's house. Mae felt comfortable the entire time, she noticed. She was glad she was having a good time.

The gathering sat outside passing drinks and cigarettes between each other. Brian had introduced Mae to any one she wasn't aware of and kept her close throughout the night. She was so quiet and timid, Brian had to continually ask her if she was doing alright. He'd then ask her if she wanted to go home.

Each time Mae gave him one word answers; Yeah and no.

He would shrug it off but as the night progressed, he grew tired of it. Brian pulled her towards a reclusive spot in the back yard. He motioned her to sit down on the grass next to him.

Mae still clutched the same beer Jimmy had handed her two hours prior.

"So tell me how you really are doing?" Brian asked.

"I'm doing fine," she replied. She never looked into his eyes. She was worried he'd read her like a book and her secrets would spill out of her mouth.

"Don't get mad or take it the wrong way, but you've really changed. You're not the same Mae I used to know," Brian said.

"Tell me about this Mae, then since you knew her so well," Brian looked at her and smiled. Was she flirting with him?

"She always smiled," Mae looked at Brian. Their eyes locked for a moment but she looked away as soon as they locked. "She was loud, sometimes too loud really. She could be annoying too. The Mae I knew back then would have finished that beer in two minutes, not five hours," She looked down at the bottle and slightly shook it. She smiled at the memories that were brought up.

"Well one thing is for sure. The Brian I knew is still the same Brian,"

"Yeah? How so?"

"He always thought he had the answers to everything,"

"They're not answers, just suggestions." Mae rolled her eyes and Brian laughed.

"No but really. Is everything going okay? You're so reclusive it kinda scares me. I think if I even started flirting with you, you wouldn't even notice. I'm going to tell you something," Brian said. He stared out towards the back yard. It was a wide opening with nothing behind the house except for barren land. "I feel like nothing's changed between us. I still feel like I can trust you and just hang with you. Hopefully feel the same way. I'm not out to get you or hurt you. I want to be your friend. So just know if you ever need anything, even to talk to, I'll always be here."

Mae looked at Brian and finally smiled. She leaned in to hug him and she felt amazing. Human contact was what she needed at this difficult time in her life and Brian could be her savior.

Brian hugged her back, happy at the unexpected gesture. "Let's get you home, I know you're mom is freaking 'cause it's Two am." He pulled her up from the grass and led her back to the crowd. They said good bye and off they went.

Inside the car, Mae was quiet the entire time. She nodded her head whenever Brian asked her something. Brian thought it was because she was tired, but Mae wasn't. Brian's words ran through Mae's mind the entire drive home.

Would Brian care to know what had happened to her for the past two years? No, of course not. She would have to play it safe and just blame the 'blues' for her recent heartbreak. She mentally made a note to go home and ring up her doctor. She felt she would need a new prescription to help her get through the days now.

"Call me if you want tomorrow. I'm just helping my dad work on the garden out back. I could use a good excuse to get out of it. Maybe you can stop by?" Brian asked.

"Um, we'll see. I need to get some things done so I might not have the time," Brian interrupted her immediately.

"I can still tell when you're lying to me, so you may want to work on that," Brian laughed.

"I, uh, well you see," Mae stuttered. They had pulled in front of her house already, "Bye Brian, thanks for the night out, I had a great time." Mae didn't let Brian say another word. She was out the car and was already running up her front door before Brian said anything.

Her words hung in the air. She had a great time? Brian didn't know if she was being sincere or sarcastic. He wasn't happy how the night had ended. Sure, Mae seemed to enjoy the concert but after that was just awful.

He knew one thing for sure and that was that Mae had dramatically changed. He would find out what really happened one way or another, no matter what it took.