Mercy's All That You Need

“Three days,” Val spoke through an airy wisp of excitement, her eyes alight. “It’s the biggest party of the year in the entire state. Everyone will be there.”

In the vampire world, she meant to say.

“Everyone?” Mercedes asked, intimidated as she felt dread rise up in her belly like a stomach ache. She couldn’t even conjure up the courage to ask whether Gary would be there, and instead opted to finger the hem of one of the dresses Val laid out on the bed.

She was in Val’s and Matt’s bedroom, and because she came to find out on such short notice they hadn’t the time to buy a dress for her. Not that she really even wanted to leave the safety of Matt’s house, anyway—not since the shopping night fiasco. In the last three weeks she all but became a hermit.

“Matt won’t invite anyone potentially dangerous,” Val answered in confidence.

“Okay,” Mercedes said, almost mute. One of the dresses, a little black number, caught her eye. It was understated, elegant, and wouldn’t draw any unwanted attention. It was sexy, too, and Mercedes wasn’t immediately sure if she could even pull it off.

Quick to catch on, Val grinned. “You want to try it on?”

It turned out that raiding Val’s closet in a last ditch effort had been worthwhile. The strapless cocktail dress had a pleated bodice just to give it an interesting edge, and it sure was pretty. In the adjoining bathroom, she shimmied into the piece and sneaked a wary glance into the full length mirror opposite the counter. At about five or six inches above the knee, Mercedes also knew that this would be the most daring dress she’d ever wear. Just through wearing something new and exciting, she was able to forget for a moment or two the version of hell she went through recently.

It was a week since she first dreamt of being with Synyster in his bedroom. A week since her mother’s indignant appearance. Mercy was trying against odds to make light of things and enjoy this moment with her sister-in-law, though the possibilities of what the future had in store for her weighed like that of a cement wall in the back of her mind.

Even so she emerged a minute later wearing the dress to model for Val, trying a grin of her own for a change. Yes, she felt happy playing dress up and doing something normal. Val squealed as soon as she laid eyes on Mercy and rushed forward to take both of her hands while she twirled around. “I knew that was the one!”

How easy it was to imagine that they were just a couple of friends goofing around. The reality of course was much bleaker. Mercy forced herself to revert to how she was before all this happened. Optimistic, always positive Mercy. That was the way she’d be for the next few days. If only so everyone else could enjoy the party to the fullest extent.

Parties were never really her thing, admittedly. She’d only ever been to a couple, and those were in attendance with Ariel. Not exactly good memories to dwell on. Mercy was slowly feeling the infectious excitement, though, and it gave her something else to focus on other than the dreams of Brian that plagued her and the feelings slowly brewing because of them. She’d have given anything to forget all the bad.

Not the family she came to acquire, that was certainly a blessing. The silver lining in her otherwise dismal situation. She wouldn’t trade that part for the world.
When they broke apart a heavy knock fell upon the door, and Val hollered for them to come in. Matt entered soon after, gaze scrutinizing as he took in the pair.

“Don’t you have something a little more… covering?” He asked while he nodded toward Mercedes’ dress.

Yes, it was a little ambitious but it could have been a lot worse. It didn’t show off too much leg—not like some that just barely covered anything. Mercy felt comfortable in the dress, which was a rare feat in itself.

“So what’s the occasion for the party, anyway,” she tried to pose the question lightly, but it came out rushed and a little muffled. She couldn’t meet her brother in the eyes. Every question she asked felt loaded, so Mercy came to always expect the worst in their answers. “It seems like it’s on sort of short notice, too…”

Val looked hesitant then at her probing. That was a first. Usually Val was the forthcoming one when it came to sharing information, but lately she seemed especially squirrelly. At least in regards to Mercy’s change or anything vampire related.

“We always have a party this time of year. It’s pretty much the only one in the area where everyone kind of reunites,” Matt answered her question easily, but shifted from foot to foot when it came to the second. He sent Val a pointed look. “Some of us decided to have it sooner than we usually would because we want you involved.”

Mercy opened her mouth but couldn’t produce any sound, so she simply nodded and smoothed out her dress in a shaky manner. She thought she was capable of reading between the lines, and her mind instantly staggered to the worst. They wanted the party then in case she wouldn’t be there later. They wanted her involved in the festivities because it might very well have been her last chance.

“Your change is accelerating,” Matt said moments later, no doubt sensing the immediate downturn in Mercy’s mood. “Soon it’ll be potent enough that other vampires will be able to tell, so we want to do it before then.”

He looked as if he didn’t want to admit any of this out loud. Heck, Mercy couldn’t blame him. It was hard for her to bear, but she didn’t know how well her brother was taking it since he couldn’t do anything to help her. This was one of the few things in Matt’s life he didn’t have control over.

Of course Matt didn’t think it was a good idea for obvious reasons. Too much attention would be focused on her, he said. She was a new addition to the Avenged group, which was rare. He already told her the backstory she’d give in case anyone happened to ask.

“You’re sure you want to go?” Matt asked one more time. He was worried for her, as any other vampiric big brother would be.

One look from Val was all Mercedes needed to nod once in the affirmative.

“I’ll be careful,” she said, and she meant it. There was no way she’d stray far from anyone at the party. Not like before.

Earlier when Mercy was first told of the party, it was from her brother and to let her knew that she’d be staying home for it. Which Mercy understood. It would be particularly dangerous if fate decided against her that night. With a whole bunch of unknown vampires in attendance, there was a much greater risk of something going wrong than even the simple shopping trip to the mall… and look what happened then.

Val had different plans, however, and as soon as she heard of Matt trying to exclude Mercy from the event she put her foot down, and hard. Minutes later it was official, and Val was helping Mercy decide what kind of dress to wear.

Defeated, Matt made a turn for the door. “Or we could just not have it at all…” he muttered.

“Matthew!” Val snapped. She rounded on him, and he grudgingly turned back around to meet her outraged gaze. Only then did he look as if he just committed a serious offence. “You know how important this is to me. Just drop it, because Mercedes is going.”

It wasn’t often Mercy heard Val speak with such conviction, and she couldn’t understand why Val felt so strongly about something as simple as a party. Mercy was used to being left out.

“Yes, Val,” Matt muttered like a petulant child.

“And besides,” Val was on a roll tonight. She didn’t slow down even for a moment and stepped closer to Matt to point her index finger at his chest. A bemused smile encompassed his features at that and popped his dimples, though he tried to hide it as best he could. It was clear he thought his soul mate was adorable when she was angry. “Gary will think it's weird if you just up and cancel. Everyone expects Brain to introduce her finally, and you know he’ll have someone there to scout it.”

Another fact which made Mercedes queasy and maybe even a little weak in the knees… if she cared to admit it. Word spread through the vampire world fast apparently, and it was abuzz with rumors of Synyster having a new feeder… Mercedes inwardly shuddered at just the thought. It was expected then that Syn would attend this party with his date… her. Not a ‘real’ date, of course, but for all intents and purposes she would act like one with Brian. Good lord, that was probably the most worrying part of the entire night for Mercedes.

Neither did it help that Mercy hadn’t seen much of him since that morning with her mother—oh, and there was also the fact that she still had dreams of him. And with each of those dreams, things would get a little closer. More intimate. In her last one a day earlier, she was sat atop his lap again and just about to lean in and kiss him before she jolted to consciousness.

When everyone first heard of Mercy attending the party with none other than Synyster Gates, they had a good time poking fun at the poor girl before Matt silenced them. Though not before she caught Zacky elbow Brian all while wearing a mischievous smirk. It was all but impossible in that moment to keep the embarrassed flush from her cheeks, and she could only hope none of the vampires were capable of detecting her racing heart.

Matt didn’t take the defeat in stride. He ran a weary hand down his face and opened the door. “Alright, well, I’m going to go talk to Brian.”

Val popped a smile at that, having detected the over-protective vibes Matt practically radiated. Mercy tried to crack the same radiant, carefree smile, but found just the effort too much. Because of those dreams, Mercy was sleeping even less and more sporadically than usual.

“I’ll make sure you have fun,” Val reached forward and gave Mercedes’ arm a comforting squeeze. “Don’t let Matt or Brian or anyone else get you down.”

In the next instant Mercy had to squint to make sure she saw things correctly—were those really tears in Val’s eyes? Then she pulled the shorter girl into a hug, and Mercy knew then that Val, for some reason, felt especially strong about making sure she wasn’t left out.

She might not have understood why, though Mercy was too caught up in the fact that Val seemed to think so much of her already when they barely knew each other. It was comforting and welcomed, to have a true friend for once. For her it didn’t feel as if Val was only her friend by extension of being Matt’s wife. Mercy felt like Val really cared for her. And it was then she realized that she did, too. She cared for Val a lot.

Burning tears blurred Mercy’s vision as she held them back too, and returned Val’s tight embrace. She cried for several different reasons—for Val’s thoughtful nature, for the friend she so desperately needed in such a situation, and for the fact that Val probably wouldn’t get her wish. Because it would prove hard for Mercy to have even near the same experience as the rest of the girls.

Syn wasn’t her real date. She’d have to masquerade under a false identity. She was a half vampire in the midst of elitist, superior beings. And she didn’t know if she’d so much as make it into her twenties.

As much as Val wanted her to be, Mercedes knew she wasn’t like everyone else. She never would be.



Later that night, Mercedes still managed to stay awake as the gang migrated from inside in their various locations (usually with their mate) to outside on the deck. The guys were over by the barbecue sat at the tables drinking, like usual, even though they weren’t cooking anything. Brian wasn’t with him, and Mercy hated the fact that she even noticed. He was out a lot lately, ever since that morning. With everyone around she never got the chance to talk to him, and she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to.

She sat with the girls poolside, stretched out on a comfortable chair. It was a miracle she hadn’t nodded off by then from her lack of sleep, but the girls’ animated chatter kept her alert.

Feeling energized at the new turn of events Mercy liked to hear about the party, about the past ones they hosted and what went on in them. They didn’t seem too out of hand… at least, the girls didn’t tell Mercy any crazy stories. They might have withheld them for her sake, knowing how skittish she still was about the idea of going out in the first place.

Chatting with them, Mercedes always managed to learn quite a bit more than her brother was always willing to divulge. She found out that usually, the party was held at the house. This year, however, Matt didn’t even want to chance anyone coming by. Especially of Gary’s. So it was decided to throw it at a night club in Los Angeles. Lacey wanted to host it at their cabin in Big Bear Lake, but Matt didn’t want to disclose the information to anyone outside Avenged Sevenfold. Mercy hadn’t seen it yet, but from the sound of things it was much nicer than ‘just’ a cabin. She wondered if she would ever get to visit it, but then her mind was lost on the night club.

In Los Angeles. This excited Mercedes as much as the premise of the party—other than passing through while asleep in the car with Matt she never visited the city. She considered it a privilege to spend any amount of time there. If anything, Mercy could do for a temporary change in scenery.

The night seemed to head in the right direction. While she could feel Matt’s worried gaze check on her every so often from across the pool, Mercedes felt like things were going alright for once. Everyone’s mood seemed to be uplifted. With thoughts of a night out and Matt making sure to take every precaution for her safety, perhaps she’d managed to have a little fun at this extravagant party of theirs.

After that thought it was as if a smack of reality hit Mercedes, however, and she reasoned that she couldn’t let herself go completely on Friday night. Not when there were vampires. Something was bound to go wrong. She chose to ignore the fact that she, too, was a vampire. That part of the deal, despite her newfound nocturnal tendencies, still seemed unreal.

Mercedes was in the middle of telling Gena, Lacey and Leana about the dress Val gave her to wear for the party when Synyster stepped out from the kitchen through the glass sliding door, beer in hand. She stopped mid-sentence, air sucked from her lungs at the mere sight of him. He had his usual stoic, confident air, lips set in a straight line. Mercedes couldn’t help but to notice how he caught her eye just for a second while he breezed past the pool and over to the guys.

One look from him and this was what he created—a mess of a stunned, speechless girl. It was the dreams, Mercy told herself, but she knew deep down that this was probably past the point of a crush. It was just ridiculous. She liked his dark grey shirt and how the cut off sleeves showed off his muscled biceps just a little too much. He looked good, too, with no dark circles underneath his eyes from lack of sleep like the ones that took up residence underneath Mercy’s. Finally, she had to shake herself from such thoughts.

When Syn’s back was to her it was as if a switch was flipped and Mercedes was back in the real world. She set her jaw and refocused her gaze only to see the girls all staring at her, eyebrows raised and lips curled into curious, teasing smiles. A distinct heat crept up her neck and she could only imagine how deeply she was blushing.

Not even Leana chose to break the night’s good mood, and the brunette held her hands up. The giggle that slipped past her lips, however, caused Mercy to avert her eyes out of embarrassment. “Okay. Back to the dress.”

The girls just had to witness that. Mercedes felt sick, her voice wavering as she tried to get her bearings and speak coherently. She had to figure out her sudden crop of feelings for Syn, but she just didn’t know how.

It was just the dreams; Mercedes told herself this though she couldn’t make herself believe it any more. Because crushing on her brother’s best friend was so wrong on so, so many levels.