Just Say Yes

“Don't you look radiant.” Corinne commented from the kitchen table, a mug of steaming hot tea in her hand and a newspaper opened on the table. Erin did her best model pose, showing off the outfit she had chosen for the night. The piece she liked best was the black fedora, with a cute bow on the side which gave it a more feminine feel. She had found it back in Vegas and when she had first laid eyes on it, she knew it was perfect given Brian's fascination with them she figured he'd get a kick out of it.

“Thanks.” Erin glanced at the clock, she still had a good twenty minutes before Lisa came to pick up her and Jon for the concert. Knowing Lisa though, she'd be out front ten minutes early. Erin took a seat at the table. “You don't look ready to go.”

Corinne smiled softly. “I'm exhausted from yesterday, sweetie. I can't host a party quite like I used to. You and Jon go.” She urged, sipping her tea.

“Brian will be very disappointed that you're not there.” Erin smiled playing with the hat on her head.

Corinne laughed, patting Erin's forearm gently. “Apologize to him for me?”

“Of course,” Erin nodded, then bit down on her bottom lip as Corinne's free hand flipped the page of the newspaper. “Um, so dad and Jon are leaving for Oregon on Tuesday.” Erin stated, to which Corinne gave a small nod as she read over the paper. “I won't be going with them.” Erin finished and Corinne's head snapped up, her mouth slightly parted in surprise.

“Did you and your father get into a fight?” Corinne flipped the newspaper shut and tossed it to the side as Erin shook her head.

“No, nothing like that.” Erin couldn't fight the smile making its way across her lips.

Corinne eyed her granddaughter suspiciously. “Erin Chantal Listel, what on earth are you smiling about?” Erin giggled softly.

“Cause come Friday I'll be heading south on I-15.”

“I-15 that goes to Cal--” Corinne stopped mid-sentence as she finally understood what her granddaughter was trying to tell her. “You're going to California?”

“Brian asked me.” Erin's smile was almost blinding, Corinne smiled along with her. She could see the excitement in her granddaughters face, it had been a long time since she'd seen that from Erin.

Loud footsteps came bounding down the stair well and within seconds Jon's tall lanky form walked into the kitchen. He was grinning from ear to ear as well but for an entirely different reason. He had chosen to proudly sport one of the few Avenged Sevenfold shirts that he owned.

“Lisa's outside. Come on!” Jon put on his shoes so fast that he almost had fallen over when trying to shove his left foot in and hopped on his right. Luckily he caught himself before he lost his balance then grabbed his jacket from the closet and rushed out the door, not bothering to close it behind him.

“We'll talk more about this later?” Erin asked walking towards the door and grabbing her own jacket from the closet. Corinne nodded with smile as Erin waved happily before shutting the door. What Erin hadn't seen was the smile on Corinne's face falter the second the door closed.

- - - - - - - - -

The drive to Vegas had been interesting, the second Erin had gotten into Lisa's car Jon insisted that they listen to Avenged Sevenfold CD's to get into the spirit. Erin laughed and put the CD's in, Lisa cranked the volume as she sung along almost the whole way. Jon pretended to drum like Jimmy from the backseat and even do his backing vocals when the situation called for it. After one album had played out, Erin went to put in the other while Lisa gushed about how she hoped that Zacky sang the intro 'Seize The Day' because his voice was heavenly. Erin didn't say much but deep down she hoped that they would play 'Dear God' though Jon had told her that they hadn't performed it live all that often.

Thirty minutes later they found themselves pulling into the parking lot of the The Joint located at the Hardrock Hotel, just a block away from where her and Brian had stayed the week before. Lisa informed them that Jason Berry would be outside the back of the venue to meet them and bring them inside. Erin had spotted him rather quickly, Jon practically ran over to greet him and Jason happily handed Jon his pass who took it eagerly. Lisa and Erin took their passes as well and trailed behind Jon, though Jon met up with Matt Berry who took him to side stage. Jason meanwhile directed Erin and Lisa past all the backstage crew and through a private corridor to the floor and told the girls they'd be front and center with a spectacular view of the stage.

The venue was completely empty minus a few of the crew setting up, Erin's eyes scanned the large space and was amazed at how big of a venue they were playing at. She had known the band was big but she just didn't realize how big until that moment. Soon enough other attendees started to flow in at a seemingly rapid pace, Erin noticed that the fans varied from young to old and there were an equal number of girls to guys attendance.

As they waited for all the attendants to file in, a few younger girls who stood next to Erin began talking to her and Lisa and asking them if they had ever been to an Avenged Sevenfold concert before. One of the girls was fairly short with deep brown hair and blue-green eyes, and had a diamond stud in her nose introduced herself as Sol. The other, who introduced herself as Hannah, was slightly taller than her companion and had bright red hair that made Erin sure it wasn't natural, deep brown eyes with no visible piercings.

The brunette complimented Erin on her hat and asked if she was a Synyster Gates fan since he wore them all the time.

Erin just smiled at the comment and answered with a “You could say that.” the girl nodded and told Erin that he was her favorite as well. Then the lights dimmed and loud screams of excitement filled the venue.

Even though it was dimly lit Erin could see the guys walk on stage, Jimmy took his spot behind the drums, Zacky took the left side of the stage and Brian took the right while Johnny was in the middle of the two. Matt sat at what she assumed was a small organ and his fingers began playing the intro to Critical Acclaim. The lights brightened as Brian moved to the middle of the stage as he began playing, his fingers skillfully played the necessary chords and Matt's signature scream over powered those of the crowd behind her.

Through out the first few songs Erin tried pay attention to all the guys and observe them all but she found her eyes drifting over to the right side of the stage. She watched him as he sang along with the songs, and the way his fingers moved so quickly during one of his solos and how focused he looked in that moment. She found herself laughing when he made silly facial expressions to the rest of the guys and the crowd.

They made eye contact at the end of 'Second Heartbeat' and he playfully smirked at her, sending those butterflies through her body. They played 'Afterlife' and 'The Beast and The Harlot' next, then at the beginning of 'Bat Country' Brian had pulled out and actually lit a cigarette, and continued to play while smoking it. She shook her head but couldn't help but find it sexy at the same time. His two fingers came up to his mouth and took the cigarette away as the smoke left his lungs casually. No one should make smoking look that hot.

'Scream' was next on the set list and as he was doing the backing vocals for Matt during the chorus, he stared at her with that devilish smirk plastered on his face. Just as the song came to a close he sent her a wink before the venue went dark, she smiled softly to herself waiting for the next song to begin.

Instead Matt's deep voice filled the darkened venue. “So originally we were gonna play Gunslinger...” The lights slowly came back to life. “but someone,” Matt pointed his thumb towards Brian who played innocent in the matter. “decided they wanted to change the set list last minute.” Matt smiled and shook his head.

The opening chords of 'Dear God' soothed Erin's ears and Matt's voice softly began singing. She almost burst with excitement as she sang along with him, glancing over at Brian as the song hit the chorus and he began singing along as well. Her eyes stayed glued to Brian the entirety of the song, taking in the sound of his voice and the way he effortlessly played his solo. He always managed to surprise her somehow and tonight was no different.

The excitement she felt lasted well through out the rest of the show, Lisa's excitement however peaked during 'Seize The Day' where Zacky had sung the opening lines. Lisa didn't hesitate as she swooned over his voice rather loudly causing some odd looks from some guys standing next to her. Then it peaked again during 'A Little Piece of Heaven' for the same reason.

Erin laughed during the encore song as Brian continuously made obscene gestures and more crazy facial expressions. His stage presence was definitely entertaining.

As the show came to an explosive close, the boys walked off stage and fans warily filed out of the venue, probably not wanting the night to end. She sure as hell didn't. Erin spotted Jason by the private corridor that read 'Employees Only' on the door, she grabbed Lisa's hand and directed them over to him. Jason said he was going to take them to the dressing room as the girls followed him through the backstage area, Erin was a few steps behind Lisa.

They past a large stack of shipping cases, used to store and transport all the instruments and equipment when Erin felt hands grab her from behind. Jason and Lisa didn't seem to notice as they continued towards the dressing room. Erin jumped in surprise and turned around quickly coming face to face with Brian, he had a small white towel slung over his shoulder probably for the sheen of sweat coating his face. He also had some smudged eyeliner peaking out of the corner of his eyes. He smiled at her.

“What did you think?” He asked, but she couldn't make out what he was trying to say. It all came out like a muffled mess, she furrowed her brow.

“I think I'm deaf!” She practically yelled as she tugged on one of her ears, and he threw his head back in laughter.

“Clearly, a rock concert virgin.” He said with a chuckle, she tilted her head at him.

“What did you say?” She yelled again, he shook his head smiling and told her nothing. “Do you like my hat?” Her finger tips danced along the rim of the fedora as he nodded. “I wish I could hear you properly!”

“It's only temporary.” He yelled back, she seemed to understand him because she replied with a loud thank god. He half smiled at her comment, then saw her step forward as she kissed him not caring that he was incredibly sweaty, if he hadn't of been he would've pulled her closer and not let go. Since he was he pulled away after a few seconds, she smiled up at him.

“You were really good, I was impressed!” Her excited smile told him she was genuine. “Thank you for playing Dear God.”

“You're welcome.” He slid an arm around her waist, and he lead her towards the dressing room where the rest of their friends were celebrating another show well done.

- - - - - - - - -

It was around noon the next day when Brian found himself walking into a small bar and grill restaurant just on the outskirts of Las Vegas. Last night, after Erin's hearing had come back about two hours after the show ended, she explained Corinne's absence to him. He had gotten a call earlier in the morning from Corinne apologizing for her absence then asked to meet up with him. He had offered to stop by the diner to talk to her so she didn't have to make a long trip but she told him she wanted to go somewhere further away. Brian wasn't quite sure what she had to talk to him about but he liked the woman so he didn't bother to question it too much.

He scanned the dimly lit vicinity, and spotted Corinne sitting at a small table near a window. She had her head down staring into the cup resting between her hands. He made his way over to the table, her head lifted slightly to look at him when he got close.

“Brian,” she started, slowly standing up and reached out to wrap her arms around him. He rubbed her back lightly before pulling away, she had a faint smile on her face. “thank you for meeting me.” She said sweetly, taking her seat and wrapped her hands around her cup again.

“It's my pleasure.” He flashed his signature smirk as he sat down across from her but only got a weak smile in return. In the short amount of time he'd known the woman she had always seemed like such a vivacious person, whereas the woman currently sitting in front of him seemed heavyhearted.

“Are you okay?” He asked, watching her bring the glass to her lips to take a small sip then place back down onto the table. Before Corinne got a chance to reply, an older waitress came over to the table and asked him if he would like anything. He politely declined and sent the waitress on her way. His eyes drifted back to Corinne as she shifted in her seat, then cleared her throat.

“I'm fine.” Another halfhearted smile grace her lips. “I heard your show was excellent last night, both of them could not stop talking about it.” Brian smiled remembering the excitement in Erin's eyes after the show, and Jon's enthusiasm he had seen out of the corner of his eye while on stage a few times. Corinne stayed silent for moment, looking as if she were thinking something over.

“Erin told me about California.” Brian tried to determine by the tone of her voice whether she approved of it or if she were about to chastise him. If the latter were the case it would explain her request that the conversation took place outside of her small town. Unfortunately Corinne was good at being mysterious when she wanted to be.

“I hope you're okay with it.” Brian held his breath for her response. He hadn't realized how excited he actually was to spend the summer with Erin until the possibility could've been taken from him.

Corinne nodded her head slowly. “I think it's a wonderful idea.” She concluded with a smile, letting him take a large sigh of relief with that answer. “You're probably curious as to why I called you.”

“A little.”

“I just,” She paused to swallow the lump forming in her throat. “I haven't seen Erin this happy in a long time.” She explained, Brian noticed that Corinne and Erin both seemed to share the trait of biting down on their bottom lip. “I'm just glad to see her happy after everything that's happened. Did she tell you about my daughter, Beth?”

“Yeah, she did.” Brian answered solemnly, remembering back to when Erin had explained her mothers death to him and how amazed he was that she spoke about it so freely.

“And you met Jack.” Brian snickered at that, his mind flashed back to the moment in Erin's room and how frustrated he had been when they were interrupted. Corinne didn't seem to notice his amusement at the mention of Jack, her expression remained somewhat wistful.

“I guess what I'm trying to say is,” She took a deep breath to calm herself. “that I need to know that you care about her. She's been through so much and,” Her voice began to faintly crack.

Brian could tell this was difficult for her, he reached out his left hand to hers and rubbed the top of it soothingly. Brian made sure that he was looking Corinne in the eyes before he spoke.

“I can tell you without a doubt that I genuinely care about Erin. You don't even have to worry about that.” He gave her a small reassuring smile. Corinne made a sound of disbelief, which to him sounded like a mixture between laughter and a sigh.

“I do though, Brian. That's what I'm trying to say, I'm not always going to be around to pick up the pieces if something should happen.” Brian narrowed his eyes, he felt like she was trying to tell him something but not coming out and saying what exactly it was.

“You're making it sound like you're dying.” He spoke without thinking, he was about to laugh it off as a thoughtless comment he'd made but Corinne's eyes started to water. Then it hit him, that was what she was trying to tell him.

“I found out a month ago.” She replied, speaking more calmly now that everything had been revealed. “I've been taking an oral treatment but it hasn't been working.”

“What,” He was at a loss for words, he tightened his grip on her hand seeing a few tears roll down her cheeks. “what is it?”

“Pancreatic cancer. It's pretty serious, I'm under going a more aggressive treatment next week.” She mustered a faint smile before pursing her lips to hold back more tears. “The kids don't know.”

“I'd like to keep it that way.” She looked him dead in the eyes to make sure he'd comply with her request. Brian felt several different emotions pass through him as he sat there and Corinne stared into his eyes. He felt one of sympathy for her for having to deal with the horrible disease and it's symptoms. One of frustration for having to keep this a secret from Erin, who he had wanted to be completely open and honest with. And one of fear knowing that the odds of the woman sitting in front of him being able to defeat such a disease were devastatingly low given her age.

“I, uh,” Brian cleared his throat, trying to hide the fact that her news had affected him so much. “I won't say anything, I promise.” He really hoped he was doing the right thing.