The Love of My Life

Mia was lying on the couch, watching a re-run of Project Runway when her cell phone rang.

“Oh my god! You will never guess what just happened!” On the other end was her best friend, Nikki.

“Okay?” she said, boredom evident in her voice. Nikki had a tendency to get excited over things like finding a dollar on the street. Somehow Mia doubted that this time was any different.

“Guess!” she said.

Mia sat up on the couch. “You just said that I wouldn’t be able to.”

“Could you at least try to be a little excited?” When she didn’t get a reply, she sighed. “Fine, be a bitch. Anyway, I just won tickets to the Avenged Sevenfold show tonight!”

“Oh, you did?” Mia would by no means call herself a huge fan. She knew some songs and she knew some basic info. She knew that Matt was the singer, Brian and Zacky were the guitarists, Johnny was the bassist and Jimmy was the drummer. That was how far her knowledge stretched. Nikki on the other hand, was a super fan who knew every song lyric word for word and celebrated their birthdays, even though she had never even met them.

“Yes! And best part, we get to go backstage and meet them! Meet them! Can you believe it? I‘m going to be in the same building as Brian, breathe the same air as Matt, walk the same halls as Jimmy… This is so exciting!” Nikki let out a high squeal and Mia couldn’t help but smile at her best friend‘s joy.

“I‘m really happy for you. Wait, did you say we?”

“Of course! Do you think I would go with anyone but my bestest best friend? No sir! Make sure you‘re ready by six thirty ‘cause I‘ll be there to pick you up. Dress to impress! See you then!” With that, Nikki hung up.

Mia put down the phone and glanced at the clock. She had four hours to get ready. It should be enough time to google their setlists and find out how many of the songs they would be playing that she actually knew the lyrics to.

***

During the drive to the venue, the girls listened to nothing but Avenged. Nikki sang along to every song, like she always did, while she drummed on the steering wheel, like she always did. Mia had been relieved to see that she actually knew the majority of the songs the guys usually played on this tour. Not that they would find out either way, but she didn’t want to look stupid just in case.

When they arrived at the venue, they were met by a man from the crew. He took them backstage and into a room where they were to hang out while they waited for the guys to arrive. On a table, they found t-shirts, tour programs, stickers and a package with Nikki‘s name on it. She quickly opened it, pulling out several t-shirts in different sizes.

“Oh my god! Oh my god! Do you see what this is?!”

“Yeah, those are t-shirts,” Mia replied, failing to see what it was that was so special about them.

“No, stupid, they are Zacky‘s t-shirts! From his clothing company! This is so unbelievably cool!” She pulled one on, took it off, pulled another one on, took it off. This continued until she had gone through all of them.

Mia hadn’t even known that Zacky had a clothing company, but based on what she was now seeing, he seemed pretty talented. Well, if he actually did the designs himself and he wasn’t just one of those typical celebrities who put their name on an already finished product. She hated that. It was like a slap in the face to everyone who actually worked for it themselves.

“I’m totally wearing this tonight,” Nikki said as she seemed to have decided on a pink t-shirt with Marilyn Monroe on. Half of her anyway.

“That‘s actually kind of cool,” Mia admitted.

“It is, right? You and Zacky would probably get along great. I mean, since you both design and stuff. He seems really cool in interviews too. Not to mention that he‘s definitely cute.” Nikki winked at her best friend.

“Oh please…” Mia rolled her eyes. She probably wouldn’t get to do more than say hi to the guy before he had some groupies or something to attend to. That’s what rock stars usually did, at least according to every autobiography she had ever read.

They waited around for what seemed like forever. Well, Mia waited. Nikki was too excited over the little gifts to pay any attention at all to the time. When there was a knock on the door however, she jumped up right away, expecting to find the guys on the other side. She didn’t.

“Hi, I‘m Val,” the person said.

“I know! Hi! I‘m Nikki.” She hugged Val who laughed. She was fairly used to getting this reaction from time to time.

Mia wasn’t sure who the girl was, although something about her seemed vaguely familiar. She got up to say hi.

“Mia! This is Val, she has been together with Matt for ages.” Nikki turned to Val again. “Can I just say that you two are cutest couple ever! I can‘t wait until you have babies. They are going to be the cutest kids in the world! You‘re beautiful and Matt, he‘s so… Not that I have to tell you of course, you already know how gorgeous he is.”

Val laughed again. “Thank you, that‘s really sweet.”

“Hi, I‘m Mia,” she said when she felt like Nikki had embarrassed herself enough.

“Nice to meet you,” Val said with a smile. “So, I actually came by for a reason. The guys are really, really sorry but there’s been a little mix up so they don‘t have time to meet you before the show.”

Mia could practically see the disappointment on Nikki’s face who looked like she might start crying any second now.

“But,” Val continued, “they wanted me to see if you would consider staying around after the show and meeting them then? They are so sorry about this.”

And just like that, Nikki’s face lit up again. “Yes! Absolutely! Not a problem!”

“Alright, good. I‘ll tell them.” She turned around to leave. “Hey, do you want to watch the show from the side of the stage with me?”

“Seriously?” Nikki asked. Val nodded.

“You are pretty much making her life right now,” Mia said.

“Aaw, I‘m glad. And the guys love meeting fans so I’m sure they will be excited too. I‘ll come get you in a little bit.” She turned to face Nikki who was just staring out into thin air with a dreamy expression. “Try not to pass out during the show or later on when you meet the guys, okay? They would totally let that go to their heads and their egos are big enough already.“ The girls all laughed at that comment. “Well, I’ll see you soon!”

When Val had left, Nikki gave her best friend a tight hug. “I can‘t believe this is really happening! What if they ask us to stay and hang out with them after the show? What if we get to go on the bus? This is so crazy! And Val is so sweet! And pretty! Did you see how pretty she was? Matt totally got the prettier twin. And she was so nice! I can‘t believe how nice she was. Mia! We‘re going to see Avenged Sevenfold from the side of the stage!” She jumped up and down as she said the last sentence and finally, Mia decided to let excitement sweep her away and she joined her friend in the jumping.

Val returned not long after and took the girls with her. The guys had just gotten on stage, kicking off the first song of the night. Mia knew the lyrics to this one. Critical Acclaim, it was one of her favorites. She and Nikki both sang along with huge smiles on their faces.

Zacky glanced over at them once and he got a curious look on his face. Mia figured that he was probably wondering who they were. During a song break, while Matt and Syn were talking to the crowd, Zacky talked to Johnny and they both looked at the girls. Johnny seemed to be telling Zacky something who then gave the girls another look and nodded at them with a smile. Mia, who had caught eye contact with him, smiled back before she quickly looked away.

Val didn’t miss their little exchange and she gave herself a mental reminder to make sure that they got properly introduced after the show. Mia seemed like a sweet girl and that might be exactly what Zacky was in need of to help get over his recent break-up.

Once the show was over, Mia felt like she was the band’s biggest fan. It was funny when you thought about how she hadn’t really cared much about them that same morning. But no one could deny that they were great. Their songs were good and their energy during the live show was fantastic. She also felt like she and Val had become friends during this short period of time. It was strange, especially considering that she didn’t make friends easily. They had talked during the show and Val had told several funny stories about things that had happened so far during the tour. Suffice to say, touring seemed to be a pretty eventful life.

For some reason, Mia was nervous now that it was over. It meant that it was time for them to meet the band. Most of all, she was nervous about meeting Zacky. They had shared glances a couple of times during the show and there was something about those glances that held a certain spark. It was a spark she had never experienced in her twenty-two years of living and it was a spark that scared her. She was definitely nervous about meeting him.

Nikki on the other hand was too wound up to show even one hint of being nervous. She kept going on and on about how great they were and how much she loved them. Mia was a little surprised that Val hadn’t asked her to stop yet. She must get this all the time and one would think that at some point it would get a bit tiring. But Val just smiled and nodded and talked. She was probably one of the nicest people Mia had met in a very long time.

“Are you ready for this?” Val asked as they stood in front of the magic door; the door that was the only thing separating them from the band.

“No,” Mia replied quietly.

“Yes!” Nikki said.

“Well, here goes…” Val opened the door and walked in first, Nikki following closely behind while Mia took her time. “Guys, here are the contest winners. This is Nikki, she‘s a huge fan,” Val pointed to her and she smiled excitedly. “And this is Mia.”

She instantly felt five pairs of eyes on her. She gave them all a quick wave as she smiled shyly.

“So, you‘re a big fan? How did you like the show?” Jimmy’s voice ended the silence that had enveloped the room after Val’s introduction. He was talking to Nikki who without any hesitation had sat down between him and Johnny.

“Seriously? I loved it! Best show ever! What are the chances of you taking me with you on tour so that I can experience this every night?” Everyone in the room laughed.

“Keep talking like that and your chances are damn likely to increase,” Brian said from the other side of the room.

As Mia looked in his direction, her eyes got caught on someone else. Zacky was moving and he seemed to be headed toward her. She felt herself getting more and more nervous by the second. Through some kind of miracle, Val picked just that moment to walk over to her.

“Hey Matt, come say hi to my new friend,” she told her man who quickly got up and walked over to them.

“Your new friend, huh?” He smiled at Mia. “You must be pretty special then.”

Matt had a very overwhelming presence and Mia found herself at a loss for words. Once again Val saved her for any potential embarrassment.

“She sure is. I almost wish we could take her along on tour with us, then I wouldn‘t have to hang out with boys all the time.”

“Hey! I thought you liked hanging out with me,” Matt pouted.

“Aaw, of course I do, baby. I was talking about the other boys. Speaking of, Zacky, come over here for a minute!”

Mia was sure her heart almost stopped as she stared at Val. What was she doing?! She was supposed to be saving her from having to talk to Zacky, not making it happen!

Val thought it might be for the best if she took care of the introductions and with both her and Matt being there, they could make sure that the conversation between Mia and Zacky flowed smoothly. Therefore, now was the perfect time for the two of them to talk.

“Don‘t worry, I‘ll take care of this,” she whispered to Mia.

When he was standing by them, she stayed true to her word and she took care of it. “Zacky, this is Mia. Mia, Zacky.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said as they shook hands.

“Yeah, you too. Great show.” During the show Mia had been able to look away whenever their eyes met but now she was stuck. As soon as her brown eyes locked with his green ones, she was unable to look away. He had the most intense eyes she had ever seen and it was like they drew you in right away.

“You liked it then? I thought that maybe you weren‘t really into our music since Val introduced your friend there as the big fan.” They both looked at Nikki who seemed to be deep in conversation with Jimmy, Johnny and Brian. She was probably paying compliments to them and they were eating it all up. Then again, who could blame them? Everyone liked flattery.

“No, I‘m a fan. I‘m just not obsessive the way she is,” she smiled as she spoke.

“That‘s cool.” Zacky smiled back at her. “I really like your shirt by the way, where did you get it?”

She looked down at her black oversized t-shirt that had small skulls in hot pink all over it. “This? Um, I made it actually.”

He seemed surprised. “For real? Wow. I‘m impressed. You‘re a designer?”

She shrugged. “It‘s what I went to college for, but I’m not really working at all right now so calling myself a designer would probably be considered a lie.”

“Nah, does a writer need to be published to be a writer or is it enough that he writes?”

“Well, when you put it like that, I guess a writer is a person who writes so…”

He smiled. “There you go. A designer is a person who designs. So you‘re a designer.”

“Okay then, I guess I‘m a designer,” she agreed as they both laughed.

Val stood near them as she listened in on their conversation. She had thought that she would for sure need to step in, but apparently, she had been wrong. Their talk seemed to be going just fine. She felt fairly certain that Zacky was at least a little interested in Mia. She got even more convinced when she heard that Mia was a designer. Zacky loved creative people, not very surprising since he was one too. However, it was surprising to see how comfortable Mia seemed around him after her initial nervousness when he first walked over. Val smiled. Maybe her wish of another girl on tour with them would come true…

“What are you smiling at, baby?” Matt asked her.

“Oh nothing, honey,” she said as she kept on looking at Mia and Zacky who were still deep in conversation.

“Really? Because I‘m pretty sure I can see that matchmaking light in your eyes, just like I did when you hooked up Brian and Michelle.”

“Well, what of it? Maybe it would be good for him,” she replied as she looked at the couple and saw images of their future wedding day in her mind.

“Maybe. Or maybe it would be very bad for her because he‘s not over Gena yet,” he said as he saw images of future heartbreak in his mind.

“You know what, let‘s not get involved. If they like each other, they like each other. If they don’t, they don’t. All I did was introduce them.”

“Alright. I‘m just say-”

She kissed him. It was the one way of shutting him up that always worked.