We Knew That Time Would Kill Us

What have I gotten myself into? I wondered glumly, frowning as I stood on the side of the stage. We were nearing Canada, and it seemed was getting colder every place we went. Avenged were doing their sound check, which meant going through their entire set list to make sure everything was going smoothly when it came to their instruments. I was painfully aware that in just a few short minutes, I'd be singing with Matt. It may have been to a nearly empty venue, but still. I hadn't sung in so, so long...

Basically, the entire night was going to be nerve-wracking. I was gonna sing my heart out with Matt, and then tonight after the show he was finally going to meet Evan. I'd honestly been surprised that he agreed to it, I figured he would have waited until the last minute to give me his decision—maybe even after the tour ended and everyone was settled in at home. In any case, I was excited, yet apprehensive. My dad was going to give me his final decision tonight... I simply hoped Evan would make a good impression on him and the guys.

For the past week, I hadn't seen the boys of Wretched Remorse at all, but I had been texting Noah almost incessantly, telling him what was up and not to worry, that'd I'd be back eventually.

While I didn't know if Evan had gotten a new phone since he chucked it at the car window all those weeks ago, I didn't want to risk texting him at all because as usual, Matt would surely find out about it. It just wasn't a good idea at all, and my relationship with my father was of the utmost importance to me then. I wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize it.

Still though, I had to text Noah, if only to tell him to inform Evan of Matt's plans. I was going to just spring it on him after Avenged Sevenfold's performance tonight, that would be just cruel of me.

Yo, Noah. Tell Evan to meet me backstage tonight after A7X. Matt and the guys want to meet him.

As usual, Noah was quick to reply. No fucking way. Can the rest of the band come?! PLEEEASEE, DOLLFACE? I’d love you until you’re old and wrinkly and gross to look at :’)

I let out a sigh, knowing I should have been prepared for him to ask this. After all, it was Noah. That kid wanted to get himself into any kind of trouble he could get his hands on. Sorry little dude, I don’t want to push Matt yet. He’s already on edge about meeting just Evan.

Ugh. Do not call me little, 'cause you're shorter than me. That's it... when you ARE old and wrinkly and gross to look at, I'm gonna run away from you and scream 'get away!' over and over again. Peace easy.

Chuckling, I read his text a few times, wondering what exactly I should say to make him feel better. Alright, Noah. I'm sorry okay? But you'll meet A7X eventually. I promise. Just don't forget to tell Evan!

Fine. But you know he'd love me, bitch.

At Noah's last text, I let out a loud, almost obnoxious laugh. The mental picture of Matt becoming best friends and loving Noah was just too hilarious, and I was willing to bet Noah thought that was exactly what was going to happen.

"What'cha laughin' at?" Jimmy grinned in my face, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Instantly, I pulled back from him with a shocked gasp, onto to realize with slight fright that A7X had finished their rehearsal, and everyone was staring at me in curiosity.

"Uh—" I stammered, reminding myself of the promise I'd made to myself to tell the truth no matter what. "I was—I was texting someone."

"Who?" Brian asked immediately, putting his guitar down to stand next to Jimmy. Matt was observing me from his place by the microphone, while Zacky and Johnny weren't far behind Jimmy and Brian.

Damn, I knew I'd given myself away with the laughing, and began feeling the familiar heat of a blush crawl up my neck. "Come on P, spill." Zacky laughed, putting his hands on his knees while he kneeled down to look at me with a smirk.

"Noah," I mumbled out, just loud enough for everyone to hear. Matt had ears like a hawk, so even from across the stage he managed to pick his name out and strode over to me, looking just as lost as the guys.

"Who's Noah?" Johnny spoke up finally, talking for the first time all night.

What is this, twenty questions? "He's from Wretched Remorse." I stated simply, gaining a little confidence although I shouldn't have, because Matt shot me a 'look' at the mentioning of that band. I chose to shut my mouth for the time being, not wanting to argue with him at all.

"How'd you get his number?" My father demanded, narrowing his eyes at me slightly. This was obviously news to him, as it was for the rest of the guys.

I swallowed, wondering how I should go about this without arguing or getting myself into trouble. For a minute, I thought hard, trying to remember exactly when and where I'd gotten Noah's number. "It was in Vegas—no. That was when we started actually texting. I got his number... at the first show, in Long Beach." I rambled, not being able to stop myself. This was actually the first time I was scared of getting in trouble, knowing that if I fucked up, Matt would refuse to meet Evan after all.

The rest of the guys remained silent after that, knowing there was a very possible fight being brewed at that second. "And you've been texting him ever since?"

On and off. I shrugged, again thinking it would be best if I didn't run my mouth. Saying nothing couldn't possibly get me in trouble, right?

After a moment, he let out a sigh. "I told you weeks ago, I didn't want you in contact with the band."

I froze, and forced myself not to get defensive over this. If this isn’t trying, I don’t know what is. My dad was being... respectful to me, and I was going to do the same for him. Not freak out, as I usually would have when we weren't on decent terms. "Yes," I conceded, but only to an extent. "But I sort of had to just then to let Evan know to meet us later."

Then Matt surprised everyone, even the roadies who had been quietly watch the scene go down on the other side of the huge expanse of the stage. He broke out into a small smile, and I let out the breath I'd been holding. "It's okay." He said finally, leaving it at that.

With a sigh of relief, I focused on the issue at hand. Which was rehearsing for the show with the still undetermined date. I knew it was going to be soon though, and the mere thought of singing on stage scared the crap out of me. Just thinking about it, I was blushing even more than I had been earlier. Because I hadn't sung in so long, I was terrified I'd sound like shit.

"So have you decided what you're going to sing?" Matt asked, looking at me tentatively. I swallowed hard again, and shook my head.

"Welcome to the Family!” Jimmy shrieked, nearly throwing himself backwards as he let his excitement take over.

His enthusiasm spread quickly, and all the guys nodded except for Matt, who was waiting for me to give the go ahead. I sat and thought on this, wondering if the song was too hard or too easy or just not suitable... plus, it was way too cheesy and literal, seeming as I had just joined this family a year ago. Maybe that was what I like about it, though.

It fit. With that realization, my spine tingled and I licked my lips, looking up at Matt to give him a slight, hesitant nod. Hell, I was hesitant about everything regarding this whole 'singing with Matt' thing. Could I really get up on stage in front of thousands of fan and sing as if I did every day? Just going to rehearsals was a leap of faith for me.

My confirmation got everything into gear, and suddenly the entire band was running off somewhere to do something, and it was overwhelming to say the least. Jimmy was goofing around, playing the intro on his drums over and over again, while Zacky and Brian jammed quietly while talking to each other, Johnny next to them with his bass slung over his shoulder, listening to their conversation almost creepily. I couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

Matt had disappeared backstage, and I stayed where I was on top of an old half stack that was situated off to the side, for some reason not in use by the band. He was back a few minutes later, holding up another microphone stand and a sheet of paper, while a roadie trailed behind him with the actual microphone.

I followed him to the front of the stage, and I wanted to run straight off of it when I got a real look at the venue. This one was huge to say the least, and I desperately hoped that the one I ended up performing at wouldn't be half the size of this one.

Noticing my look, Matt gave me a reassuring smile. "This," He gestured out toward where the audience would be in just a few short hours. "Is why I didn't ask you to tonight."

He handed me the sheet of paper, and I quickly realized that they were the lyrics to ‘Welcome to the Family’. “I don’t need these,” I said, attempting to pass the paper back to him.

“No,” He shook his head as he set the microphone stand down, grinning as he adjusted it to my height. I rolled my eyes at his subtly way of letting me exactly how short I was. “It’s not for that. We just have to figure out which parts we’re going to sing individually, and which we’re going to sing together.”

“Oh, alright...” I mumbled, giving the sheet another look. This was definitely new for me—I’d never shared a microphone with anyone, so I didn’t know whether this experience would be a good one or a bad one.