And She Was Strong.

It was a little after eleven o’clock on a Wednesday night, and Avenged Sevenfold had just finished their set in Denver, Colorado. The crowd was great that night, even better than usual. Everyone, directly after having played, was still in high spirits and was looking for an even better night. Perhaps it was the euphoria of the concert that night, or maybe even the fact that the night was still young. In any case, no one was thinking about the tour being nearly done with, ending with a performance in Huntington Beach on Friday night. No one could be happier.

Even Matthew was having a good time tonight. Everyone had noticed that, for the past few weeks he seemed to be a little separated from everyone else. He was isolating himself, barely speaking or smiling. No one really knew why, but on a night like tonight, everyone was happy that he was coming around to acting like his usual self. Just in the nick of time, it would seem, as he would have to put on a brave face when he returned home. No one wanted to see him silenced from the others, and now, they wouldn’t have to.

“You guys gettin’ kind of hungry?” Zacky asked.

“You’re so fat,” Brian joked. “Always looking for something to eat.”

“Food!” exclaimed Jimmy. “Hunger get what hunger want!”

Matthew had to agree; none of them had eaten before they went out to perform, which might not have been the greatest idea. In any case, Matthew was dying for a cheeseburger, something he felt like he hadn’t had in a long time, although it had probably only been a week or two.

“Come on, guys,” Matt said. “Can we just get, like, a McDonalds, or something?”

The others agreed, and off they went. When they arrived there, only a select few were eating that late. They decided it would be alright to eat inside, so off of the tour bus they all clambered, and into the restaurant they all proceeded.

“Hey, guys,” the cashier greeted. She had a big smile on her face which read that she knew who they were. “What’ll you have tonight?”

“Well…” Brian trailed off, glancing down at the girl’s nametag. “Catherine, I would like a Double Quarter Pounder with cheese, a large fry, and a large Coke. Think you could hook me up?”

“Sure,” she smiled, tapping away at the cash register’s touch screen functions. “Are you all going to be together?”

“Yeah,” Matt interjected before the others could, “I’m buying.”

Jimmy, Johnny, Zacky, Brian, and the rest of the crew that had tagged along all smiled and voiced their thanks; Zacky’s excitement seemed to be the most present in the group. After everyone had ordered, they all pushed a few tables together and took their seats.

Matthew had a smile on his face that just wouldn’t go away. He wasn’t thinking about how much he missed Lily, or about how the tour was almost over. He was just thinking about what a great time he was having, and how he wished that he could feel this fantastic all the time. He knew that, in the back of his mind, things might not appear so bright and enticing after this night. But he wouldn’t let his friends know that. He’d keep his spirits high as long as he could without having to feel bad about it, just so that he could feel alright for a little while. He’d keep them up and before long, he’d feel back to normal.

That night, and at that moment, and with nearly all of his friends, he was convinced that when he got back home- even if he didn’t feel as great as he did right then- Lily would be back to her regular self, too. She would be happy and feel like he did. And then everything would be perfect.

Wouldn’t it?