Seize the Day

“Happy birthday, Zeeves!” I yelled, arms in the air.

He finally broke his stare and slowly, a grin split his face, getting bigger and bigger by the second. He looked at the other guys, who, with the exception of Matt, all looked just as shocked as he did. Matt was standing slightly behind the group, smiling smugly. He raised his arm and pointed at me. I just shrugged in response as Zack and the boys looked my way.

Zack leapt away from the others and tackled me in a hug. “Thank you,” he nearly squealed. “So how much of this was planned?”

“Well,” I started. “I had the party planned forever ago, but Matt and Larry had to help with logistics.” I grinned again. “L J arranged the fake interview to get you here to Vegas. The rest was me!”

“I’ve never had a surprise party before,” he said. “I always figure it out.”

“I know.” I pointed a scolding finger toward the rest of the band. “That’s why these guys couldn’t know either. I knew they’d spill!”

“But Matt…” Zack started..

“Psha,” I said, gliding over to Matt. “Matt’s not a problem. He was under direct orders not to say a word.” Zack laughed. “Or else…” I added suggestively. I turned to wink at Matt and leaned up for a quick kiss.

“Ew!” Brian teased. “TMI much?”

I rolled my eyes, but laughed anyway. “But yeah, happy birthday, doll. Here, these are for you guys.” I passed the tray of shot glasses and beer bottles off to them. “Now, go enjoy your party!”

Zack downed a shot of Jack without questioning the contents, and took a swig from a bottle to chase it down. “Oh,” he said. “Who’s your friend?” He cocked his head slightly toward Jess, who was now being introduced to Benji Madden and Valary by Michelle.

“That’s my friend Mama J,” I said with a wink. “She works here, but I had the Madden twins talk her boss into giving her the night off so she can hang with us. I had no idea she was even in Vegas!”

“Ah,” he cooed. “Mama J?” he inquired.

“A nickname her internet friends gave her. She sort of has a fan following online,” I said. “Oh, and just so you know, she’s a fan,” I said slyly, as I wrapped my arm around Matt’s waist and we walked away toward the large table set up at the front of the room.

“What was that all about?” Matt chuckled once we were out of Zack’s hearing range.

“About Mama?” I asked. “She’s a ZV girl, through and through. Even runs a blog. Her name’s Jess, but we all call her Mama J, and even have referred to Zack as ‘Daddy V’.” I paused to laugh. “I can’t believe she’s here, though!”

“You didn’t know she was going to be here?” he asked.

“Nope,” I answered as we took a seat at the “head table.” “Had no idea. She was the bartender when Chelle and I went up to get drinks.”

“Well, I’m glad you’ve got a friend on this side of the world,” he replied, kissing my temple.
“I’ve got plenty of friends out here now!” I huffed. “Right before you got here, even Joel was chatting me up.” I knew this would catch his attention.

“Madden was hitting on you?” he growled.

“Did I say that?” I cut back, with a smile. “No, we were chatting, I believe is what I just said, sir. Calm down.” I returned the kiss to his temple. “Just making sure you’re paying attention.”

“You’re terrible!” he groaned, knowing I’d walked him straight into a trap, and he’d fallen straight for it. “Ok, so you’ve got friends out here. But won’t it be nice to have someone you already knew?”

“Yeah,” I resigned. “It really will. Not that I miss Kentucky all that much, but I miss the people.” I swallowed the rest of my Jack and Coke. “But tonight’s a party, not about reminiscing and missing people. Let’s go mingle and have fun!”

His hand slid over to my thigh. “I don’t know, I thought we were having fun here,” he purred in my ear.

“Oh, no no no,” I giggled. “Not here, not now.” I slid up from my chair and tugged him along behind.

We made a lap around the club, stopping to introduce me to a couple more people I’d never actually met, just knew from phone calls inviting them to the party. We finally found Brian, Michelle, Johnny, Zack and Jessica standing in a group talking to several other people. Jess was standing next to Zack, a little closer than was accepted as “acquaintance space.” I elbowed Matt and winked, quickly bobbing my head that direction. He nodded slightly, and smiled his little smile, catching my point.

When she saw us coming, she ran a couple of steps to us. “Hey!” she breathed. “This is an awesome party, by the way!”

“Thanks,” I said, hugging her again. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

“I know, me either.” She squeezed me back and sighed. “Things got a little rough back home, so I moved out. I didn’t know where I was moving, I just left. Found myself in Vegas, got this sweet ass job here, and voila! Here I am.” She held up her hands to emphasize her point. “What about you? Why the hell are you out here, V?”

Matt chuckled deeply next to me. “I guess that’s kinda my fault,” he said. He reached over me to offer Jess his hand. “I’m Matt, by the way,” he said as she took his and he shook lightly.

“Yeah, I know,” she said, but then caught herself. “I mean, it’s really nice to meet you. I’m Jess.”

Matt laughed. “She’s a little like you, isn’t she?” he asked, looking down at me.

Jess, still clasping Matt’s hand, looked at me a little confused.

Through my laughter, I answered her. “That’s exactly what I said when I first met him!” She and Matt both joined me laughing.

“So, it’s your fault?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Matt sighed, overdramatically. “She came out here to visit a friend, and I pretty much kidnapped her and wouldn’t let her leave.”

I nodded emphatically. “It’s true. There were police reports filed and everything.”
He smacked my arm playfully. “Not quite!”

“Ok, ok,” I giggled. “Not quite. But yeah. I came out to visit my friend Sara for a couple weeks, met Matt at a restaurant bar, and the rest is history, I suppose.” Matt wrapped an arm around my shoulder as I talked. “We all went out a couple of times and Matt and I kinda got attached to one another. He asked me to stay, helped me find a job and a house, and well, here I am,” I finished, mimicking her earlier statement.

“V, that’s so fantastic!” she squealed. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Me too,” I said, hugging Matt and chuckling. “Anyway, how’s, uh, things going?” I asked, lifting my chin in Zack’s general direction.

“Oh my god, Vivienne,” she breathed quietly, like she didn’t want Matt to hear.

I raised a finger for her to hold on just a second. “Hey, babe?” I said to Matt. “Can you go chill with the boys for a bit? Mama J and I need a little girl time.” I winked at him, and obliged when he leaned down to peck my lips.

“Sure thing,” he said. “Don’t talk about me too much, ok?”

“Psha,” I huffed. “This one’s so not about you, Mattycakes.” Jess giggled at my use of the silly nickname, but Matt left us and joined up with his bandmates. “Ok, spill!” I squealed as we retreated to the bar for more drinks.

She laughed, but started talking. “V, he’s even more amazing than I thought,” she gushed. “I’m sure you know this, but his eyes…” She trailed off, as if slightly hypnotized. I laughed and snapped my fingers in front of her face. “See? I can’t even begin!”

I laughed with her and offered a high-five. “Yeah, I know. Dreamy, right?” She slapped my hand and agreed. “Well, here’s the deal. He’s been a little aloof since him and Gee broke up.” I saw her eyes darken at the mention of Zack’s ex’s name. “I know, I know. But Gena’s actually a great girl, I swear. Her, Michelle, and I still hang out every now and then. She was invited tonight, but decided not to come. Anyway, he’s not quite Zacky V. just yet. Or hadn’t been until tonight.” I winked at her.

“What do you mean?” she asked, her mouth hanging open a bit.

“Are you kidding me?” I shot. “I saw the way he was looking at you!”

“Really?” she asked, looking over her shoulder toward the group that Zack was standing in the middle of.

“Really,” I replied matter-of-factly.

“Well, we were just talking to Brian and Johnny and Michelle, mostly,” she said. “He was mingling and saying hi to everyone, and he kept kind of ushering me around so I stayed with him.”

“Exactly,” I said, tone short again. I grinned at her. “Wanna test it out?” I asked her, on eyebrow raised wickedly.

“Uh, I’m not sure what you mean,” she said. I could tell she was a little leery of what I was about to suggest.

“Trust me,” I said. I stood up from my barstool, grabbed her hand, and made my way over to the corner of the room. The corner where Benji Madden happened to be sitting alone, waiting for Joel and Nicole to return from the dance floor.

“Hey, Benji!” I called as we approached. He smiled and waved. “I’m Vivienne, Matt’s girlfriend.”

“Yeah, Joel was telling me this was all your plan?” he asked as he stood to greet us.

“That it was,” I replied. “It was quite a feat to pull it off, but I managed somehow.

He chuckled and nodded. “It’s a fuckin’ awesome party, so I’d say you sure did. Hey, Jess,” he added, greeting Mama J. She returned the gesture.

We all stood and talked for a bit, until I excused myself to go to the ladies’ room. I winked at Jess and held up three fingers as I walked away. I slowly put them down one by one, until by the time I was putting the third and final finger down, Zack magically appeared at her side. I literally fist-pumped, and saw out of the corner of my eye that Mama J was laughing at me. I went to find Matt and left her to hang with Zacky Vengeance for awhile.

I found Matt sitting at a table with Johnny, Arin, Brian and Michelle. They were telling Arin some old tour story that involved signing autographs on sex toys. I shuddered and slid into the booth next to Matt. “Ew,” I offered.

“Yeah, it was a little gross,” Brian admitted. “Zack was like, ‘Here, I’ll sign it if you hold it. I’m not touching that thing.’ But it was funny.”

“Ew,” Arin and I said in unison. Michelle had a look on her face that told me she’d obviously heard this one before.

“I bet there aren’t many stories that you haven’t already heard a gajillion times,” I said across the table to her.

“Yeah, they tell the same old shit all the time,” she sighed. “That’s why I was so happy when you started hanging around. New people to talk to! But then I realized it just meant they’d have you tell you all their stories too, and I’d hear them again. And now with the new drummer, here we go again.” She rolled her eyes. “Where’s Jess?” she asked.

I smiled and pointed toward the back corner of the room again, where she and Zack were still standing talking to Benji. Zack had moved around so that he was, once again, a little closer than two people who’d just met would usually stand. Michelle looked at me with a blissful smile on her face.

“Yep,” I said, reading her mind.

“What are you going on about?” Johnny asked. “Yep what?”

Michelle just brushed him off, and kept talking to me. “That’s awesome!” she said. “I hope that’s real.”

“Yeah, me too,” I added.

Matt elbowed me in the side. “If you two matchmakers are done conversing within your heads, the rest of us were thinking we’d like to get more alcohol. You want anything?”

“Another Jack & Coke, please!” I chirped. When five sets of eyes landed on me simultaneously, I sighed. “I’m fine. Really, you were there that first night we hung out. I can handle Mr. Daniels.”

“True,” Brian agreed. “Until you decide you’re hungry. Then god help whatever fast food joint you end up at!”

“Fuck you, Gates!” I hissed through a giggle. That seems to be well on it’s way to becoming my catchphrase these days, I thought to myself. He just laughed.

After another 5 or so hours of partying, everyone started to finally wind down. Each of the guys took a turn in the DJ booth, along with the Madden twins. I heard songs that ranged from Zack’s choice of The Misfits, to Matt’s ridiculous choice of “Barbie Girl” by Aqua. I swear he’s going to kill me with that fucking song! I thought to myself as soon as it started playing.

Zack came up to me once more, as everyone was filing out of the VIP room and into the night. As I suspected, Jess was following closely behind. “V, I can’t thank you enough for tonight,” he said, squeezing me into a death hug. “I really never expected it, but it was the best party I think I’ve ever been to, let alone had thrown for me.”

“Aww, Zackykins! Don’t mention it, dude.” I squeezed him back, not getting even remotely close to the force he was squashing me with. “I’m glad I pulled it off!”

“I am too,” he said. “And now, Jess and I are gonna go hang out and check out the Vegas nightlife.”

I looked over his shoulder to see her face light up. I winked at her. “You guys do that. I think we’re gonna hit it tomorrow, since I’ve never been here. But for now, I have party planned myself into a 17 hour coma, I believe.” Just then, Brian, Michelle, Johnny, Arin, and a couple of other people popped up behind us.

“Yeah, right,” Brian scoffed. “You can try to blame it on the party planning, if you want to, but we all know that it’s the horsecock that’ll be putting you into a coma.”

I slapped his ass. “Don’t you wish you knew that for sure,” I hissed.

Matt just rolled his eyes. “Um, can we stop talking about my equipment and get the fuck out of here?” he asked.

“Yes, let’s do.” I laced my fingers into his and we headed for the door. I paused for just a second to yell over my shoulder one last comment. “Zacky! You take care of my girl. Mama, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”



On Brian’s birthday the next July, Michelle, Jess and I were sitting around Matt’s pool with margaritas. Things had changed a bit, but a lot had stayed the same. Since Jess and Zack were officially an item now, she had moved to Huntington Beach and got in well with a couple of pretty big club owners helping with event planning. I had moved in with Matt not long after Christmas, so she had taken over the lease on my house. Michelle and Brian were still going strong, and were even talking about starting a family soon. Of course, I always made sure to tell Brian that he wasn’t allowed to procreate – That’s all we need, more little Synysters pittering around. Inside though, I knew he’d be a great father. Johnny was single for the time being. Lacey had some family issues come up, so she had moved back to Alaska to be closer to them. JC was pretty bummed for awhile, but was finally starting to come around and be his old douchey self again.

We were partying not just because of Brian’s birthday, but because the boys had just finished writing and recording a new album. The girls and I had spent a lot of time in the studio with them, just being there for supporting, adding our opinions when they asked for them, and occasionally when they didn’t. All in all, the new album was sounding amazing, and was something to be very proud of. It was in the process of final mixing and editing, so we were waiting to hear the finished product. There was also talk of a tour in support of the new disc, which we were all excited about as well. The boys had seen the world over and again, but the world had seen nothing the likes of their ladies when we wanted to have our own fun.