Shattered By Broken Dreams

July 1999

The sun was setting in the horizon, casting a glow of oranges and red over the sea of Huntington Beach. A small group of friends were sitting on the sand, relaxing and enjoying each other’s company. To the casual observer, one girl out of the four friends stood out from the others.

Whilst three out of the four were dressed in band t-shirts with torn jeans and Converse, and were liberally sprinkled with tattoos, a small brunette girl sitting with them was wearing a pair of khaki pants with a white tank-top. She looked like she had escaped from a Pep Rally and had been kidnapped by a bunch of rockers. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

Whilst 18 year old Savannah Kincaid was quiet and shy, and dressed rather conservatively compared to her more outgoing friends, she loved the same music as her friends and was the bass player in their band. Her closest friend in the world, Erica McCarthy, was sitting by her side and was celebrating the fact that their band, Crimson Sins, had just been signed to Hopeless Records. Savannah’s high school sweetheart, Zacky Baker, was also in a band and his band, Avenged Sevenfold, had also just been signed with the label. Savannah was looking forward to seeing him later at the beach and she sighed as she pictured him with his tousled purple hair, Misfits t-shirt, snake-bite piercings and rolled up jeans. They were like chalk and cheese but they somehow just worked together.

Savannah longed to be more outgoing like her friends, but her parents were rather conservative, and whilst she longed to burst out of her shell a little, her inherent shyness came to the fore. She had long brunette hair that she often wore pulled back from her face with hair clips, and she had a friendly open face. Whilst she was not classically beautiful she had an inner poise that many found fascinating.
“Hey now, earth to Sav”, she heard a mocking voice taunt and she glanced over to see the vocalist from her band, Tommy Fraser, smirking at her.
“Oh leave her alone, you big bully”, Erica grinned. “She’s off in Zackyland again.”
“Who’s taking my name in vain”, a husky male voice asked and Savannah felt a shiver go down her spine as her hair was moved aside and lips were softly placed against the back of her neck. The cold metal of snake bites made her bite her lip, and Erica smirked knowingly. She glanced up and felt herself lost in the beautiful vibrant green eyes of her boyfriend. His tattooed arms snaked around her and pulled her back so that was reclining in his lap.

“Hey guys the party’s here!”, a loud voice screamed across the beach and Savannah looked up and grinned as she saw Jimmy barreling across the sand toward them. His recently dyed black hair was sticking up like a hedgehog, and his purple kimono was flapping behind him as he ran.
“I swear that boy gets dressed in the dark”, Erica smirked.
“Hey, I heard that you turd munch”, Jimmy exclaimed with a smirk as he skidded to a stop beside Erica and Savannah, spraying both girls with sand.
“Looks like we’re both gonna be rock stars baby”, Zacky said to Savannah, pulling her close for a kiss. The moment Zacky’s lips touched hers, Savannah almost forgot to breathe. The cold metal of his snake bites pressed against her lips and she sighed against his mouth.
“Oh for fuck’s sake you two, give it a rest”, Jimmy laughed. Zacky flipped him the bird.
“Hey, when do you guys shoot the demo video?”, Matt asked Tommy.
“Tomorrow. It’s gonna be awesome”, Tommy said with a wide grin. “We’re gonna be on motorbikes just cruising down PCH, with shots of us on stage in between.”
“Nice”, Brian commented, as he approached the group with his girlfriend Michelle.

The group left the beach a few hours later, and Zacky drove Savannah back to her parents house.
“I can’t wait for tomorrow”, Savannah said to him, “but I’m so nervous.”
“You got nothing to be nervous about, baby”, Zacky assured her. “You’re gonna be awesome”
“I hope so”, Savannah murmured. “I guess I just have to get used to being on camera. If it’s anything as bad as our first gig I’m going to puke.” Zacky grinned when he recalled Crimson Sins’ first gig at Chain Reaction, and Savannah had frozen like a deer in headlights, and had streaked off stage to throw up. Although, to her credit, she had got back on stage like nothing had happened and had played like a pro.

Zacky pulled Savannah closer and their lips met softly. He gently exerted more pressure and ran his tongue over her bottom lip, enticing Savannah to open her mouth. Her mouth opened on a sigh, and their tongues entwined together. Zacky placed his hand on the back of Savannah’s neck and she moaned against his mouth. The lovers were startled when the porch light snapped on and Zacky leaped backwards when the front door opened and her father stepped outside, his brown eyes raking over Zacky who was trying to hide that a certain part of his anatomy had woken up.
“You were just leaving, right Mr Baker?”, David Kincaid asked.
“Uh, yes sir”, Zacky squeaked. Deciding to be a bit more manly, he pulled Savannah close and gave her a peck on the lips before leaping down the steps and scurrying back to his car.

Savannah turned to her father.
“Really, Dad?”, she asked. David rolled his eyes as he looked down at his daughter.
“He’s no good for you, sweetie”, David replied. Savannah huffed in annoyance.
“You don’t know him at all”, she retorted as she brushed past her father and into the house.

As she got ready for bed, her thoughts turned once again to the video shoot the next day, and the celebration that would be sure to follow the filming. She was already missing Zacky and he had only left ten minutes ago.