A Rock Prince with a Vengeance

Today was Zacky's 27th birthday, and I still didn't have a present for him sadly. In fact, two days before, I forgot his birthday and not to mention the fact that I slept with his best friend. To be quite honest, I didn't know what to do. All I know about today is that we were also throwing Zacky a surprise party, and I had to distract him the whole day, which leaves me no time to shop for a present. To make matters worse, it was about 3:30, and Zacky's party started in about two and a half hours.

"Good afternoon, Bri. So what did you get Zacky for his birthday?" Val asked me while pouring me a glass of orange juice.

"Nothing. That's the problem."

"Do you have a backup plan at least?"

"Yeah. I'm giving Johnny money to buy him this transparent guitar I know he's been eying for a long time now."

"Drop it, now. He's coming."

When Zacky joined Val and I, he had his blanket over his head. I could tell from the light that he had been crying recently.

"Hey, babe. What's the matter?" I said as I rocked him in my hug.

"I don't want to talk about it right." He grabbed a beer from the fridge and shuffled his feet out of the room. I didn't like seeing him so upset-let alone not wanting to discuss his problems, but I also have to respect his privacy.

"Do you know?" I asked Val.

"Matt told me that his mom called and said that his dad died a couple weeks ago, so he just found out about that."

"That's terrible. What was the cause?"

"Slain by one of Avenged's rivals: MCR."

"Rivals? MCR?"

"Royal rival families seeking revenge for us claiming their land. You never want to hang around them. Evil, evil people."

"I'm sorry to hear about that. That must be horrifying."

"Yeah. Why don't you go and talk to him. He might be in a better mood now."

"Alrighty. Will do." I walked into our room. The lights were off and he was in his covers trying to isolate himself from the world.

"Hey, Val told me the story. I'm so sorry."

"Thanks. It's not your fault. It's that damn MCR."

"How come I never heard of this MCR?"

"They're a pretty secretive royal family."

"I'm so sorry about you losing your dad."

"Yeah, and my mom thought it would be the greatest idea ever to tell me on my birthday and not telling me about the funeral. I didn't even get to say goodbye to him." He began to cry again.

"Here." I held him in my arms for a good half hour.

"Bri, can we go to the cemetery? You know, to say goodbye to my dad." He sniffled.

"Anything for you."



The car ride was silent and the atmosphere was depressing. We were both dressed in black and nobody would make conversation. Zacky's birthday wasn't going to start until he gave his dad a proper final goodbye.

We exited the car and began walking thru the other graves that laid beneath our feet. Out of boredom, I tried to find my parents, but I knew in reality I would never find them. I don't know where they are buried, and I did not attend their funeral.

We stopped in front of a grave that was labeled: Ethan Baker: beloved husband, father, and king. I thought he would receive a much bigger burial place since he was royalty.



Today was my 27th birthday, and I wish this today would of never happened. Yesterday, my mom left me a voicemail, and she told me that my dad died a couple weeks ago. She would of informed me earlier about the death and the funeral arrangements, but she had no way of contacting me until just a few days ago. What hurts me the most that our rivals, MCR, killed him out of jealousy for us stealing their throne. I wish I wasn't apart of a royal family; I wouldn't have to deal with them, and maybe my dad would still be alive today.

Right now, standing before me was my father's grave feeling regretful for not saying goodbye. I guess it's better late than never to do so.

"Bri, can I have a couple minutes to myself?" I asked her. She nodded her head yes in response and examined the other epitaphs.

"Hey dad, long time, no see." I placed the bouquet of flowers next to the tombstone.

"It's been almost ten years since I last saw you, and now here you are, in heaven. I wish you could be here to celebrate my birthday today; the big 2-7 with my girlfriend and I. Speaking of her, if you're watching us from the heavens right now, I want you to meet Briony McCarthy. She's one of the greatest people that's ever came into my life. If you were here right now, you would love her so much."

I turned around to see if Briony was listening to my private goodbye to my dad, and I saw her smile. I guess she heard about all the great, true things I have to say about her.

"Dad, I wish I could stay here forever and tell you everything that happened in the last ten years, but I have unfinished business to take care of. Tonight, I'm proposing to Briony, and I'm nervous. We recently just got back together after a two week hiatus on our relationship, and I was so ready for this day to arrive, and I don't know if I want to hold off on asking her any longer. Dad, I wish you were here to give me advice. I just need a sign on whether it's the right thing to do at the moment."

I felt a warm breeze on the back of my neck. I'm solely convinced that that is my sign to do this.

"You always told me to follow my heart when it comes to love, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. Well, I have to go now. Stay save in heaven." I kissed his tombstone and walked over to Briony.



When Zacky was done saying his final farewell to his father, I could tell he was in a much better mood.

"You seem alot better now." I mentioned.

"I do. I'm glad I got what I needed to say off my chest."

"That's good. It's almost six; is there anything else you want to do?"

"Nope. We can drive home."

The ride home was much better than the one before. Zacky was all anxious about what presents he wanted to receive. A block before we reached home, we both saw cars parked everywhere on the sidewalks. It is never this crowded unless Avenged Sevenfold is throwing a big party. Unfortunately, I think Zacky now knows about his "surprise" party.

"A surprise party for me? You shouldn't have?" Zacky said.

"It's not a surprise now. For everyone else, when we enter, please act surprised. Everyone worked really hard and put in alot of effort in order to plan your party."

"Aw, but you're ruining all the fun for me. I wanted to ruin their fun," Zacky joked.

We both entered the house, and hundreds of people jumped out and surprised us with a "Happy Birthday!" greeting.

"A surprise party for me? You shouldn't have!" Zacky said in another sarcastic tone.



After many hours of partying nonstop and beer bottles later, just about everyone was drunk, except for Zacky and I surprisingly. It was quite amusing seeing some people become wild and others acting like nimrods. The best part of all we had karaoke. Nobody was on key and they all sang terribly, but put on a good show. All the fun simmered down when Zacky tapped the microphone and everyone gave their attention to him.

"First things first, I want to thank everyone for throwing me one helluva party. Whoever idea to bring the karaoke machine, you're a genius." One drunk guy screamed in agreement.
"Secondly, I want Briony McCarthy to please come forward."

I had a feeling that I knew what he was going to do.

"Briony, ever since we first me, I had my heart set on you for life. You are the sweetest, loving, caring, beautiful, man, I could go on and on with a list of adjectives with you kind of girl. Honestly, without you, I don't know where I would be without you. Briony, will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?" He got down on one knee and pulled out a diamond ring.

At first I hesitated. We only got back together just a couple days ago, and he doesn't know about what happened between Brian and I. Yet, I didn't want to reject him in front of hundreds of his friends.

"Yes." I put on one of my best fake smiles and jumped into his arms. When he kissed me, I felt all guilty inside, like I wanted to puke my guts out.

"Do you want to?" He whispered to me. Again, I was hesitant about answering.

"Sure."

"Well, Bri and I are going to leave for the night. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their evening." We both left hand in hand. I won't stop feeling guilty until I tell him.