Once Upon A - Wait Don't I Know You?

Our bodies are slammed against the barriers but we hold our ground. This was Avenged Sevenfold we're talking about!! I mean, my best friends and I didn't come all the way to Huntington Beach just to pass out on the brink. The brink of what?? Of what we've been waiting for our whole lives.

The three of us hold on to each other as best we can, trying to keep each other from falling over. We don't try to move - we'd gotten the best place in the whole venue. Front dead and center. M. Shadows, The Rev, Zacky Vengeance, Synyster Gates, and Johnny Christ were all completely visible from where we stood.

Even though we were hot, sweaty, and sticky we didn't regret our choice of clothing; skinny jeans, band tee shirts, and killer hightop converse. Of course, that was just me. Kara? Jeans and a t-shirt with her favourite black and white striped double tounge lowtop converse. Ryan? Grey, white, and blue hightop Vans with baggy shorts and an A7X tee. We were ready to rock as hard as any other teenager in this stadium.

At the end of the show, Zacky and Synyster threw out guitar picks - Ryan wrestled a guy to the ground for both. And then came what both Kara and I were hoping for. The drum sticks. The Rev threw them from where he sat and it was like time slowed down as the drum sticks flew through the air.

See, Kara and I already had this figured out. Since she was on the softball team, she'd catch the sticks. Since I was taking self defense class and Maui Thai classes I'd fight off anyone who was after them as well. Which meant every person in the stadium. Oh, joyous.

Some random dude knocked Kara out of the way and she missed the drum sticks which landed on the floor. The entire crowd surged forward. I signaled to Ryan to help Kara up as I dropped to my hands and knees. Dangerous tactic. I was getting kneed in the face and people were kicking me, trying to prevent me from getting the sticks.

Which I still ended up getting. I handed them off to Kara who had righted herself after the fall. The random dude that had pushed Kara tried to tackle me, but as we were so tightly packed in, I only ended up leaning against the person behind me. The guy was pissing me off so I pushed him back. He came back at me, determination in his eyes. I prepared myself, spread my legs into a wide stance like I'd been taught and leaned into him as he slammed into me.

"Looks like we got ourselves a bit of a fight going on up here," M. Shadows joked. The crowd half-laughed half-screamed.

"I'm betting on the girl - anyone else??" The Rev added.

"Hey, why don't we bring them up here?" Synyster suggested.

The huge guys that guarded the barrier grabbed me around my waist. I had missed the entire conversation so when the guy grabbed me, I was screaming bloody murder. Then, I realised that the guy that had tackled me was coming too. They set us both on stage and as soon as his feet were down he charged me.

I braced myself once again. When he slammed into me I slid backwards a little. And then I fell forward. The crowd laughed. Zacky had pulled the dude off of me.

"Alright, we didn't bring you up here to watch you fight. We just wanna talk," M. Shadows said.

"Why are you guys fighting in the first place?" Synyster Gates asked.

"She fucking got the drum sticks," the guy replied.

"So! The Rev threw them out there for a reason, dip shit!" I screamed. The crowd 'ooh'ed and 'aah'ed. The guy looked pissed but I shrugged. "Besides, you knocked my friend down. You could've killed her."

"Okay, you guys are fighting over his drum sticks?" Zacky Vengeance asked.

"Yeah," the guy said defensively.

The band members laughed and shook their heads.

"Why don't you guys go hang out backstage, we'll be done in a few minutes," M. Shadows said.

"Hey, she said she had some friends with her," Synyster said. "Yo, help them up here!"

The guy who grabbed me helped Kara and Ryan over the barriers and up onto the stage.

~~~~~~~~~1 Hour Later~~~~~~~~

"So, you guys were fighting over a pair of drum sticks? Really?" The Rev asked me.

"Yeah," I shrugged. "Ryan's in a band and we wanted to get his drummer special drum sticks. There was no way in hell that Kara and I weren't getting those for him.

"Oh, that's cool. Maybe we'll listen to their band sometime," he replied.

"That was shitty, what you did," the guy that tackled me butt in. "You don't need a pair of drum sticks."

"Actually we do, so fuck off," I replied.

"Whatever. Oh, hey Rev! Have you met my friend yet?" and just like that he was pulling The Rev away from me. I rolled my eyes. Some people were just childish.

Kara and Ryan were standing with a guy I had never seen before. He had black hair that cut across his left eye and was streaked with blue and red dye. His eyes were ice blue and he was wearing guy-liner. I walked over and leaned on Kara, looking around the room like I was bored.

"Emer? This is Jayce. He's the douche's friend, unfortunately," Ryan said.

"Oh, cool. Hi," I said. He nods but says nothing.

"Oh, Ana, don't be boring!" Kara cries.

The guys gave me a weird look and said, "Why do they call you two different names?"

"Well, some friends call me Emer, some call me Ana. My name is both actually. Emerana. Unfortunately. It's a horrible name," I sighed dramatically.

Jayce chuckled. "At least you're not a guy with a girl sounding name. Even my grandparents start calling me Joyce sometimes. Friggin' retarded."

"Jayce come on! I have what I came here to get - The Rev's drum sticks!! We can leave now, you don't wanna hang out with these assholes," the guy that tackled me walked over, a pair of drum sticks in his hand.

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Whiney bitch."

Jayce sniggers behind his hand and Ryan and Kara openly laugh. The guy gives me a dirty look and I stick my tongue out.

"Shit! Ana we gotta get you home! It's almost 2am," Ryan said. We all grabbed hands, and yelled 'bye' at everyone as we laughed and ran out of the stadium.

I had snuck out of the house in order to come to this concert and my mom checks on me at 5am so she can make sure I'm still home. She thinks I'm stupid and have no clue. I always know her check-in times. Psht. Idiot.

We hopped in Ryan's green Camaro with two white race stripes down the side. And off we went.