And She Was Strong.

The crowd was roaring, its members shaking and yelping and growling with excitement and glory. Lily watched from her position throughout the entire show, just behind the curtain with her eyes taking everything in carefully; she was savoring it all, loving every second of the time she had spent on her best friends. And she was so full of pride that she just couldn’t help herself from shaking; she was bursting with an inexorable amount of joy that she was certain she hadn’t felt so prominent in the longest time. It was a feeling that had remained hidden deep inside her chest, a feeling that had wanted so desperately to come bursting out of her heart that hadn’t had the chance until then.

Lily’s heartbeat was fast. She was caught up in everything: the music, the lights, the people, the atmosphere. There was something that wafted in the air that night at the concert that made the best come out in Lily. And she didn’t know what it was, but she was so entirely thankful for whatever held her inside that night. Whatever it was, it clung tightly and didn’t let go. It didn’t need a reason for remaining. It simply was.

She watched him command the stage. She watched him with her heart on fire as he sang and screamed and stared into the eyes of his fans. She watched him and thought to herself how wonderful his life must be, and how wonderful it was for her to have him be a part of hers.

She watched him and smiled.

He was magnificent.

Zacky was the first one to find Lily; he was closest to the side of the stage, and in that regard, he had the privilege of greeting her before the others. He found her standing there, her arms folded over her chest with a smile laced through her lips. It was unmoving and irrational, but completely profound; there wasn’t a thing about that smile that could ruin the night. That smile spoke for itself, completely and silently understood.

At first, he didn’t know what to say. At first, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to; the crowd was still screaming and yelping for the life of them, and it gave him a numb sort of feeling in the pit of his stomach. But, before long, that numbness consumed his entire body and turned into reckless abandon and joy.

“Lily!” he shouted, hoping his voice could be heard above the shouts and rubble coming from the other side of the curtain. He wasn’t positive that she had, though he was sure her reaction was the same, whether she had or not.

She stepped quickly toward him, her face illuminating through the darkness of the backstage.

She wrapped him in a warm hug; her arms were full of California’s heat, a heat that he had severely missed.

It’s so good to see you,” she told him. And she meant it, too, with her whole heart, she and the two of them had been friends for years, and being without him was hard. Of course- although she would never admit this aloud- it was harder for her to be without Matthew… But she missed Zacky an inexorable amount, as well.

“You too,” he replied, releasing her with a smile.

Jimmy was next to spot her, his reaction to Lily’s appearance at side-stage exceedingly different to that of Zacky. Jimmy stripped all formalities upon seeing Lily, throwing his drumsticks up into the air before letting out a strange sort of war cry that was utterly recognizable as Jimmy’s excitement. He ran toward the girl, limbs flailing about in every direction, his mouth agape.

Lily giggled beneath his grasp, not attempting to wriggle her way out of his arms. And even when he lifted her up into the air, she didn’t put up a struggle.

“Ahh,” he sighed, finally setting her back safely on the ground. “You are still so fucking adorable.” And with that, he ruffled her hair.

She smiled, perhaps a bit stupidly; though no one seemed to mind, so why should she?

When Johnny and Brian eventually left the stage, Johnny looked a little confused as to what exactly was going on. Whereas Brian seemed to know just what was being ogled over; he held a smug grin, which dangled impishly from his lips. He jogged quickly toward Lily, leaving Johnny in his wake.

“Well, well, well,” he mused, “if it isn’t Lily Duvalt.”

“Well, well, well,” she countered, “if it isn’t the Great Synyster Gates.”

He wrapped a big, burly arm around Lily’s shoulders, squeezing her tightly. “How are ya, baby girl?”

“I’m just fine.” And, for just a moment, she actually believed herself. She held onto that moment with everything she had in her, and she would keep it close to her for however long she had to, as long as life wasn’t ‘just fine.’

“Where’s Matthew?” Lily glanced over Johnny’s shoulder (who was finally starting to catch onto what precisely was taking place), looking for him. Her eyes followed the stairs up to the stage, wide and searching. But he wasn’t there.

She looked to Brian for an answer.

He shrugged. “I think he’s heading outside for a little bit. You know, to meet with fans, and shit.”

Lily nodded.

“He’ll probably meet us back on the bus in a little bit.”

Again, she nodded, but this time, with a small smile that was not, by any means, consumed by darkness.

“Hey,” Johnny interjected suddenly, walking awkwardly toward the four, “Lily.”

And it had finally dawned on Johnny that who he was looking at was Lily; to be honest, he didn’t know who she was at first. She was paler than she had been last time, far too pale for anyone to believe that she lived in California. And she was thin, too; she had always been thin, but she now looked a bit sickly. Her eyes, however bright, had deep circles beneath them which Johnny assumed was due to a lack of sleep. She looked fragile, breakable. However much he tried to ignore it, he couldn’t. Didn’t the others see what it was that he saw?

Perhaps they did. Perhaps they just didn’t have it in them to show it.

“Hey, Johnny,” she said. “I missed you a lot.”

She even felt weak in his arms.

“Yeah,” he murmured, “I miss you, too.”