Second Chance

"Are you fucking kidding me?!"

I watched the spectacle from across the room, my nerves growing by the minute. Why Matt, Zacky and Johnny had thought not telling Brian and Jimmy about my still being with them was a good idea, I would never know. As it was, we were all in Melbourne now - myself included, obviously - and Brian wasn't happy about it.

We hadn't left Sydney until relatively late this time, arriving in the Victorian capital somewhere in the mid-afternoon. We'd made a quick stop at the hotel so that the guys could change and fix themselves up at least a little for the show, and then it was straight on to Festival Hall to join the others.

It wasn't something that I had been looking forward to.

We'd found them both on the large stage, helping the crew to set things up. I remained by the side of said stage with Johnny, watching on as Matt and Zacky went forward to break "the news" to their two friends. Jimmy had been the first to notice my pressence, and had wasted no time in bringing it to Brian's attention. If his aim had been to start an arguement, he deserved a round of applause - because that was the only thing it brought about.

"Maybe I should just leave."

Much to my surprise, Johnny immediately shook his head and put a hand on my shoulder. The gentle squeeze he gave it was meant to be reassuring, I knew, but it did little to make me feel any better. Every moment that I stood there was another moment spent watching best friends argue. I didn't want to see it, and I most definitely didn't want to be the cause of it all.

"Trust that Matt knows what he's doing."

I did, but that didn't mean that there weren't other options. With a small sigh, I sat down on a nearby box. There were a whole lot of them, scattered around the stage; from watching crew members, I had learned that they were used for storing the guys' equipment when it wasn't in use. It seemed the best place to be at the current time - still in the vicinity that Matt had told me to remain in, but just out of view of Brian and Jimmy (thanks to the drums).

I did my best to ignore whatever was being said, but I still caught phrases like, "She can take care of herself!" and "This is ridiculous!" Admittedly, I couldn't disagree with Brian at all. With a little practice I would be able to take care of myself, and this entire situation was ridiculous. Things like this didn't happen.

"What exactly do you want?!"

I turned around, shocked to find Brian suddenly right in front of me. Literally. Instinctively I leaned back, needing to put more distance between us. His hazel eyes, narrowed and filled with what I could only think of as rage, were inches away from mine. I could practically feel the anger radiating from him.

"Money?" he went on. "Fame? You wanna sleep with him?! Well it ain't gonna happen, kid!"

I found myself rendered speechless. Of course that was the reason he hated me. He thought I was after money and fame. And sex, it seemed. It was here that Zacky decided to come to my aid, as he so often did these days - he grabbed Brian by the arm and yanked him away, allowing me to let out a breath I hadn't realised I was holding.

A breath that turned into a gasp when Zacky began throwing punches.

It lasted all of two seconds before Matt was hauling Zacky away from his target. Brian growled and wiped away some of the blood that was now flowing freely from his nose. He remained where he was, despite the fact that Zacky was still trying to get at him. I watched him struggle pointlessly against Matt, not needing to think twice before deciding that I didn't like this side of him.

"Get off me, Sanders!"

"Calm the hell down, Zack."

"I'm gonna fuckin-"

"Zack!" Matt suddenly yelled, making more than just myself jump. Beside me, Johnny scratched at his head and pretended like the shout hadn't startled him in the slightest. Despite the tense atmosphere, Jimmy snickered. "Either calm down or I'm gonna knock you the fuck out!"

He didn't stop and (if possible) that made me feel even worse about the fact that I was still sitting there, doing nothing to help. Or that I was just sitting there, period. I looked away, not wanting to know this side of the man who - just a few nights ago - had stepped in as my guardian angel. Obviously he had a side that could kick serious ass. That much had been clear from the way he had jumped in and saved me without a thought for himself. But this incredible anger was something that I hadn't seen in him before. And I wished I wasn't seeing it now.

Matt caught my eye.

"Look at her," he instructed, pulling his friend around so that Zacky was facing me instead of glaring at Brian. "You're scaring her, Zee. Is that what you want?"

It was Zacky who met my eyes now, the look in his own turning from one of fury to one of alarm. I stared straight back at him, suddenly unsure.

"Fuck. I'm sorry, Abbey."

"You should be apologising to Brian."

The words were out of my mouth before I knew that I'd been forming them, but I had no desire to take it back. Because it was the truth. They were friends - and no matter how annoyed, how angry somebody could get at their friend, fights like that were not something that should have been happening. And so I let the words linger in the air, waiting for somebody to speak up.

"You don't fool me," Brian hissed, giving the box I was sitting on a sharp kick. It didn't budge an inch, but out of instinct I still clung to the edges of it. He stormed off back stage, still wiping blood from his face. But before he was completely out of earshot, he made sure I knew exactly what he thought of me with one simple word: "Whore."

Zacky growled at the retreating man.

"Don't," Matt spoke firmly, bringing him to a quick silence. "We have a show to play, and you two had better not screw it up for us."

They didn't, as it turned out. I watched them, once again, from the side of the stage as they performed for their Melbourne crowd. Zacky and Brian often came together centre stage, where they stood side by side to play their guitars. It was during these times that I held my breath and hoped that one or the other wouldn't suddenly turn around and start beating their friend senseless. As it was, everything went flawlessly. If I hadn't known that they were fighting, I never would have guessed it. While they were on stage, it was as if nothing had ever happened.

No such luck when the left the stage after their final song, of course.

It was straight back to the hotel after the show, where Zacky and Brian were (thankfully) not sharing a room. As I had suspected would happen, the latter instead marched off with Jimmy, leaving Zacky with Matt and Johnny to figure out the rest of the room arrangements. I found myself not caring what happened next. I just wanted the whole ordeal to be over and done with.