A Rock Prince with a Vengeance

I don't know what I just got myself into. I agreed to go on a date with someone who could of just walked back to the coffee shop and asked me out there. No, his friends went all out and kidnapped me; although I would give them brownie points for something different and not traditional.

I'm both nervous and excited about this. I'm nervous because I usually become a klutz and sometimes stutter when I try to talk, but I'm excited because I remember that he was a nice guy and it was nice to think that someone did have a more than a friend feeling toward me even though I hardly remember him.

"Alrighty, now that we got things cleared up, what are we doing now?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. I didn't think things were going to go this well in the first place." The guy said.

"So when and where is this date?"

"At 8 tonight, but it's a surprise. I do suggest to wear something casual."

"I would thank you, but you never told me your names."

"My apologizes. I'm Matt, aka M.Shadows, the tall, crazy one is Jimmy, aka The Rev, the short one is Johnny, aka Johnny Christ, the one with the semi-long hair is Brian, aka Synyster Gates-"

"And the one I'm going on a day with is Zacky, aka?"

"Aka Zacky Vengeance."

"Gotcha. So what's up with the other names?"

"We can explain later."

Things were fine up until that point, then everyone became silent and there was an awkward vibe between the five of us.

"So, this is a pretty big house you guys own. You five must have some money," I said awkwardly. I sucked at making conversation most of the time.

"This is the Prince's house, so it didn't cost us shit, which is pretty nice," Brian responded.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Did you just say Prince?"

"Yea. Zacky's the Prince of the City of Evil."

"Since when?"

"Ever since about the 1200s."

I was shocked, flabbergasted even. Zacky, who's a royal, can have any girl in the entire world, he likes me?

"Are you sure you have the right person? I mean there's probably tons of other Briony's who work at coffee shops in the City, ya know?" I kept on rambling.

"We're pretty sure. His description was that the name was Briony, she worked at a coffee shop, and she had grey eyes. We looked all over the City, and you were the only girl with grey eyes," Jimmy said. Goddamn my eye color; that's how people remember me best.

"But he probably wants someone pretty, and I'm nowhere near that!"

"Briony, you're the right person, I can guarantee you. I know that this is such a big surprise for you and dating someone as powerful as Zacky can be sometimes scary and unusual, you already agreed so you can't back out," Matt said.

"Alright. What time is it?"

"Five minutes to four. Why?"

"Do you mind if I go home for a while to take a shower and change and stuff?"

"You can do that all here. My girlfriend has some clothes you can borrow?" Oh jeez.

"I also have to feed my dog or it will die."

"Fine. Brian, do you mind if you drive Briony home?"

"Not at all. Come with me," Brian said as he led us to a black Escalate.

"Damn I wish I had a car like this-let alone have a license."

"You're like what, 24, 25, and you still don't have a license?"

"Nope. Never had the money to get one. I barely live on what I make."

"You're parents made you pay if for yourself. That's what my dad made me do; it was hard to make the money, but it paid off in the end."

I began to slouch in my seat and hung my head down low. I don't like talking about parents, it's a touchy subject of me to handle.

"I'm sorry." He didn't need an answer from me to know that my parents were dead. My body language explained it perfectly.

"It's alright; it wasn't your fault. I just missed them a lot. It was tough going through my teen years without them."

"I know we barely know each other, but can you explain what the darkest days were? I swear I won't tell a single soul; not even Zacky," he said as he held out his pinkie. The fact that I twenty-something-year-old man still uses the pinkie swear made me giggle a little.

"My parents died when I was 13. My friend's family took me in. Behind their backs, we drank, did drugs, had sex, and all of that crazy shenanigans teenagers do."

"I don't see you as the person that would do all of that. Do you still do drugs?"

"I'm sober, and have been sober since I was 17."

"What made you stop?"

"I got pregnant. Once that pregnancy test said positive, I knew I had to switch my life around."

"You have a kid?"

"Nope. I had a miscarriage, my boyfriend left me, and my friend and I became homeless all before I was 18. Crazy shit, right? What did you do in your teens. I told you basically my life story, it's only fair if you tell me yours."

"I basically did the same exact thing as you did, but I was in a band and didn't get knocked up."

"You were in a band?"

"Yeah, Avenged Sevenfold. I guess we're still a band, we just don't go on tour and shit like that anymore. I'm the awesome guitarist, Matt is singer, Jimmy's on drums, Johnny's on bass, and Zacky's on rhythm guitar."

"How come I never heard of you guys?"

"You never did? We were quite popular, especially in the City music scene, we released 3 cds, and toured."

"Doesn't ring a bell."

"Well maybe you weren't cool enough to listen to us."

"Well maybe you guys weren't cool enough to be megastars."

"Ouch. That hurt, right here," Brian pointed to his heart and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey, do you know where Java Coffee Shop is?"

"I thought I was taking you home? Are you trying to ditch us or something?" He began to fake cry. "And I thought we were becoming good friends!"

"No. I just need some girl advice. I promise that it will take less than five minutes, okay?"

"Fine." I ran into the coffee shop to only find a few people and thankfully Jenny was there.

"Jenny I seriously need to talk to you."

"But I just got off my break."

"You're the manager, you can take as many breaks as you can," I said as I grabbed her by the wrist and lead her to an isolated table.

"Okay so what's the matter?"

"Are you aware that the City of Evil is ruled by a Prince?"

"Yes. I've known that for like, ever."

"How am I the only one that doesn't know this! Don't answer it, it was a rhetorical question. This may sound really, really crazy, but tonight I'm going on a date with the Prince."

"Holy shit, girl! Congrats! It's about time you moved on from Kale. You haven't date since he left you."

"That isn't my problem. Don't you see, he's a fuckin' Prince! What if he doesn't end up liking me cause I'm not pretty or royal or I'm freakin' broke or-"

"Briony Elizabeth, why do you think he asked you out on a date? Because he likes you! He thinks you're pretty and doesn't give two shits if you're not royal and whatnot. Just calm down, okay? Yeah, dating a Prince isn't something anyone goes through in reality, but give him a chance, he might be the one."

"This is why you're my best friend. Thank you so much!" I suffocated her with a hug.

"No problem. Now you go home, pretty yourself up, and have fun. Remember, act like yourself and confidence is key." She said as I walked out of the shop and back into the car with Brian.

"You look much more content."

"I am. Jenny literally saved me from going berserk."

"Are you that nervous about going on a date?"

"Well, yes. It's my first date in like, 7 years, and he's a fuckin' Prince!"

"Don't worry about it. It's not like he's gonna talk proper and bring up world problems, he's just a normal person just like me and you."

"You made me feel a lot better about this. Now off to my house."

"Which is exactly where?"

"Turn left, and go down two blocks."

Brian easily followed my directions, and we were at my apartment in no time.

"This is it. Now follow me," I said as we walked through the same apartment lobby and turned left to the third room.

"Ta-da. Welcome to La Casa de Briony. It's nothing special."

"No offense, but this place looks pretty crappy."

"I know what you mean. Trust me, if I finished high school and had a better job, I wouldn't even be in this City. I'm gonna go get ready, but it may take a while. You can eat, go on my laptop, stare off into space, I don't care. Make yourself at home," I said as I walked into my room and started to get date ready.



You know that saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover"? Well, whoever came up with it, they were right. Knowing Zacky, I thought this girl would secretly be a prostitute, but boy I was wrong. She's an ordinary girl with a dream of getting out of here someday, she's really chill, and not to mention, very pretty. Wait, am I falling for her? I can't be! Zacky has a big crush on her, and as a best friend, I have to respect that.

As I was waiting for Briony, I decided to get something to eat. I opened the fridge and there was cheese, bagels, salads, veggies, fruits, v8, veggie meat, and a carton of chocolate fudge ice cream, but no real meat. Obviously, someone is a vegetarian. I looked in the cabinets, and it was chips galore! After searching the many varieties of chips, I decided on salt & vinegar lays, and headed back to the computer.

Since I hardly go on the Internet, I decided to be a little noisy and look through her iTunes. She had an awesome taste in music. Her playlist consisted of: The Doors, The Beatles, The Black Keys, Foxboro Hot Tubs, Green Day, Dream Theater, John Lennon, Queen, Phantom Planet, The Misfits, Iron Maiden, Metallic, and etc. Some of the bands I wouldn't listen to, but it was pretty descent.

While searching for something to listen to out of the over 2000 songs she has, a little white dog with a collar that read Zero walked up to me.

"Hey there, little puppy," I cooed and I pet the dog and tickled it's tummy. All it did was whimper. "Aw, you don't like me?" The dog then jumped on me, lift it's leg, and started to piss on me.

"Ew, ew, ew! You little shit! You peed on me!" I started to scream like a little girl. All of a sudden, Briony came out wearing a fuzzy, black robe, and her drenched hair was scrunched up into a bun.

"Did the dog pee on you? I'm so sorry," she apologized and took the dog into another room.

"Again, I'm so sorry. Here, let me help," she started to wipe off the pee on my leg.

"It's alright. You're dog is cute, though, and you got the name from The Nightmare Before Christmas."

"I'm obsessed with Tim Burton's work. Do you need a new pair a pants. I probably have a pair of guys' sweats buried in my room."

"I don't need som-"

"Here," she threw me a pair of grey sweats. They looked a little too big, but it's better than smelling like piss. "I'll be done in about ten minutes."

Ten minutes later, she came out looking more beautiful than before. She was wearing a red and black plaid shirt, black shorts, and black cut-off converse that were scribbled with doodles and pictures. The outfit was simple, but she made it stunning.

"Do I look okay?" She asked.

"Zacky would love it, trust me."

"Cool beans. Now let's get going, shall we?"