It Wasn't Meant To Turn Out Like This

“Slacking off, I see.”

Mayza opened her eyes behind the sunglasses she sported on her face and looked up into Brian’s grinning eyes. He bent over the lawn recliner Mayza currently laid in, his face hovering above hers. Brian actually looked a little lively today; Mayza didn’t want to boast, but she couldn’t help but wonder if that was because she had returned. Mayza suddenly realized that she hadn’t intended to fall asleep and looked down to see the book she’d been reading lying open on her lap. Brian pulled back and Mayza slowly shoved herself into a sitting position.

“I’m trying to get a job,” Mayza defended herself, sliding her sunglasses up into her hair and tiredly rubbing her eyes. “It’s hard to be a fairy and find a job. Not everyone views me as an equal. Some view hiring me like hiring, say, a dog.”

“I was just joking,” Brian said, seating himself on the chair beside Mayza’s legs. “I’m just glad that you’re back, to be honest.”

“I am too,” Mayza agreed, sliding her sunglasses back down so she wouldn’t be forced to squint against the mid-afternoon California sunshine. “What brings you here, kind sir?”

“I wanted to give you this,” Brian said, pulling a long, skinny slip of paper from his pocket and handing it to Mayza. She took it and realized that it was a ticket to an Avenged concert in Long Beach in a week. “It’s a backstage pass to our next concert in Long Beach. I usually invite Michelle to the concerts, but I’ve decided to take your advice and I’ve begun to gradually distance myself from her. I knew you hadn’t been to one of our concerts since the Warped Tour days and figured you would enjoy going.”

“Oh, I’d love to go,” Mayza answered with a smile and a nod.

“Well, the concert starts at eight, so I’ll be here at seven or so to take you over there,” Brian said. Mayza nodded and thanked him before he left.

It’d been nearly a week since Mayza returned to Huntington Beach. Within that time, she’d endured several drawn-out, bone-crushing, spine-splintering hugs from multiple people; she’d received at least ten from Jimmy alone. Mayza was living with Suzy and Senior until she could find a job and begin to support her own self. She had already applied to several places, but only a few even accepted her application. Most of the places offering jobs closed their doors to her because she was a fairy.

Times were changing, however, when it came to fairy discrimination. The gradual shift of the way the world saw fairies was a slow movement, but it was indeed happening. Mayza could see it with her own two eyes, whenever she went out in public and noticed that fewer and fewer people gave her odd or dirty looks. People no longer even did a double-take once they realized she actually had wings. One day, Mayza knew that fairies would be treated as equals. It might take a while, but one day, it would happen and it would be the acceptable norm.

!!!!!

“Thank you, Long Beach, you guys were awesome as always and we hope to see you all at the next concert we have here!” Matt yelled to the crowd. All the guys did a quick bow and waved to the crowd and stepped off the stage with all the fans going wild in the background, screaming and clapping.

Mayza had only attended a few of their Warped Tour concerts, and she had no choice but to admit that this one concert topped all of their Warped Tour concerts combined. The band had grown so much in both their playing skills and their abilities to keep the crowd entertained and fired up, a feat not all bands could pull off. Not only did Avenged Sevenfold totally rock out the Long Beach crowd, they looked damn good doing it. None of this Mayza could deny in any way.

“Did we blow your mind?” Jimmy asked Mayza once the entire band had stepped off the stage and the stage lights had turned off. The concert hall beyond filled with chatter as all the concert-goers left the building talking about the highlights of the concert to each other.

“Yeah, my brain is mush right now,” Mayza answered with a grin. Jimmy laughed and walked over to Leana, hugging her despite her protests about Jimmy being sweaty. Brian walked up to Mayza with a smirk on his face. He, too, had an excess of sweat all over his body.

“What did you think?” Brian asked, dabbing at his neck and face with a towel.

“Pretty fucking awesome,” Mayza answered. “You guys have really improved since the Warped Tour days.”

“Thank you,” Brian said, looking rather proud of himself. “You’re much more pleasant than Michelle. By the time I get off stage, she’s complaining about it being hot in here or how she has to work in the morning and all this other bull shit.”

Before Mayza could respond, the door leading into the small backstage area banged open behind them. They all turned to see a pissed-looking Michelle standing there, looking about ready to kill somebody.

“Brian Elwin Haner Jr.!” Michelle snapped, storming into the room and up to Brian, not even noticing Mayza standing there. “You didn’t even tell me you had a concert tonight, you bastard! You cannot believe how worried I was when I arrived home to find you gone! You have some serious explaining to do, mister!”

“He’s a grown man, and I think he has the capability to do whatever the hell he likes,” Mayza answered when Brian just stared at Michelle in shock. Michelle whirled towards Mayza; Mayza could see the gears click inside Michelle’s head as she realized who Brian had brought to the concert in place of her. Scowling, Michelle stepped forward and raised a fist, her intent obviously being to punch Mayza right in the face.

Brian grabbed her wrist. “We’re over.”

Michelle whipped her head around to look at Brian, first looking surprised before suddenly grinning and laughing. She jerked her wrist from Brian’s grasp, turning away from Mayza to face him.

“And how many times have you told me that?” she asked with a smirk. “You never mean it. You find me at your house when you come home and you just don’t argue over it.”

“I mean it this time,” Brian insisted, sounding completely sincere.

“You say that a lot too,” Michelle answered. “You don’t have the balls to really break up with me.”

“Maybe because you have them in a vice grip!” Mayza cut in indignantly. Michelle turned her head and focused her smirk on Mayza’s face. “All he seems to do lately is whimper, when he used to roar. Have you even noticed what you’ve done to him?”

Michelle pivoted herself towards Mayza, taking a step towards her. “This isn’t any of your business, slave. Go back to the forest where you came from!”

“It’s my business when you start to turn my friend into a different person!” Mayza growled. And despite her astoundingly quick fairy reflexes, Mayza didn’t see Michelle’s fist coming at her face until it made contact. Michelle’s hard knuckles slammed right into Mayza’s mouth. She stumbled backward but quickly got her wits about her once again.

Before anyone else could do anything, Mayza launched herself at Michelle, knocking both of them to the ground. She sat on Michelle’s stomach, and Michelle looked horrified as Mayza’s pink eyes swirled with sudden darkness. She actually squeaked in fear when Mayza bared her sharp fangs at Michelle.

“Don’t mess with a fairy, bitch,” Mayza snarled. “Now, I believe the man told you it was over. When I let you go, I want you gone. Pack up your shit and leave Brian’s house. Good luck finding someone half as good as he is.”

She reached out and patted Michelle’s cheek, causing the woman to actually flinch, before climbing gracefully back to her feet. Michelle got up from the floor and quickly searched the room for back-up. She found nothing but hostile glares, even from her own sister, and then hurried quickly from the room.

“I’m beginning to realize what a horrible, ill-conceived idea it is to piss you off,” Brian said with a grin before pulling Mayza into a hug.