Heaven Nor Hell

I squinted my eyes as the bright sunlight shown through my curtains. I wasn't use to waking up in such bright conditions. I was use to waking up in my dim, one level house, surrounded by other houses, which prevented any sunlight from seeping into the room.

I had been living in California for about three weeks. I spend the first few days living with Gerard in Los Angeles, looking for apartments. I found one in Huntington Beach, about a hour out from Los Angeles, and had moved in immediately. I had a new roommate, Elizabeth, and we instantly clicked. We had been near inseperable for the past few days. She, like me, had a love for music, and we spent hours every night discussing our favorite bands, last night had been no exception. We had stayed up until 4 in the morning, watching her vast collection of Disney movies, and discussing music.

I groaned as I reached over for my phone, before checking the time. It was two in the afternoon. I layed back, debating whether I should get out of bed, before I remembered Elizabeth and I were going out for drinks tonight, since it was Friday. I rolled out of bed and dragged myself into the shower, knowing I'd need one if I planned on going out tonight.

Feeling slightly refreshed after my shower, I switching into a pair of shorts and a Metallica shirt, and ventured to the kitchen to find something to eat. After scouring the fridge, I decided on cold pizza. Elizabeth rarely ever cooked, and I had been too lazy to go grocery shopping, so we were living off a steady diet of take out and leftovers. I made a mental note to make it to the grocery store this weekend for real food.

As I was finishing eating, Elizabeth walked in with her dog Wishbone, an adorable, 4 year old rat terrier. She leaned down to unclip him, before making her way to the fridge and retreaving the pizza box.

"So are you excited to see a little Huntington night life?" she asked as she bit into her slice.

"Yeah, I didn't go out in New Jersey very often, so I'm excited to finally be able to get out a little." I answered, pulling Wishbone into my lap, stroking under his chin.

"Why didn't you go out in New Jersey?"

Oh shit...

"Umm...I didn't live in a very good neighborhood, so I tended to stay in most of the time." I lied, praying she wouldn't ask any more questions.

"Well you'll be safe where we're going. I've been going there since high school, you'll love it." My eyebrow rose when she said "high school" and she just laughed.

"Oh don't tell me you didn't drink in high school! I don't believe that for a second." she giggled. It was true, Mikey, Gerard and I were almost always in something we shouldn't have been. But it made high school just a little more bearable.

"Okay okay," I replied, setting Wishbone on the ground, before refilling his food and water bowls.

"I'm gonna go get ready. What time are we leaving?" I asked, organizing the counter. I was a bit of a neat freak.

"I was thinking around 7. That sound good?"

"Perfect." I smiled, before walking to my room and straight into my closet. Sifting through my shirts, I found a cream and white tank top, and paired it with a cardigan. I grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans, and made my way to the bathroom. I plugged in my curling iron, deciding on light curls rather than keeping it straight. As I waited for it to heat up, I applied a light dusting of makeup, using natural colors to accent my outfit. After, I changed into my outfit, before I parted my hair, and curled it to create light beach waved. I sprayed an ample amount of hairspray, to hold the curls, before I returned to my bedroom.

Walking over my jewelry box, I pulled out my mother's vintage locket, and secured it around my neck. Adding rings, and a few bracelets, I checked my phone to see it was already 6 o'clock. I returned to my closet, and pulled out a pair of simple beige pumps, and carried them out to the living room, where I decided to watch The Big Bang Theory as I waited for Elizabeth to finish. When I first came to California, Gerard and his band had surprised me by purchasing every season for me, telling me I would love it. And after the first episode, I was addicted.

Finally, around 7, Elizabeth walked out of the bathroom, and practically dragged me to the car. I sighed as we stepped in. I really needed a car. And I needed a job. Uprooting your life isn't as simple as one would think. Sure, I was unhappy, but at least financially, I was stable. Now, I had practically nothing.

After a few minutes, Elizabeth pulled into a parking lot. Looking up at the sign, it read "Johnny's Bar and Grill". We both opened our doors, and stepped out. I followed close behind her as Elizabeth led the way to the bar. We found two empty seats and ordered around, as I took in the atmosphere. It was definitely nothing like New Jersey. The bar was cramped and crowded, but still had a homey feel. It seemed like everybody know everybody, which seemed impossible with as big of a town as Huntington Beach was.

As I looked around, I noticed almost everywhere you looked, the name "Avenged Sevenfold" was plastered in some form. If I recalled, they were a band I had heard about in passing, maybe listened to one or two of their songs. I couldn't remember. I tapped Elizabeth's arm.

"What is "Avenged Sevenfold"?" I asked, and her eyes widened.

"You don't know who Avenged Sevenfold is?!" I shook my head as she stared at me in shock.

"And you call yourself a rock fan," she scoffed. "Avenged was started here, in Huntington. In fact, they spent the majority of their time here in this very bar. A few albums later, they're one of the biggest names in rock today." For about the next hour, she explained their history, and even pulled out her iPod to show me a few of their songs.

"I have all their CDs at home, I'll give them to you when we get back, and you can look into them some more." I nodded my head, before excusing myself to go to the bathroom. I was so absorbed as I walked around, searching for the bathroom, and admiring the decor of the bar, I didn't notice a figure in my path until I crashed into another body. I groaned in pain as I landed on my butt, cursing myself for wearing heels to a bar.

"Holy shit, are you alright? I'm sorry, I should have been paying attention." I looked up as someone's large hand was pushed in my face. As I made eye contact, I was mesmerized by the man's chocolate brown orbs. Shaking my head slightly, I placed my hand in his as he hoisted me up to my feet.

"No, I'm sorry. I was lost in thought, I should have been focused on where I was going." I replied, wrapping my arms around myself.

"No harm done," he smiled, and stuck out his hand. "I'm Brian."

I hesitantly placed my smaller hand into his larger one. "Lily."

"That's a beautiful name," he spoke quietly, grinning as I put my head down to hide my blush.

"Well Lily, what do you say I buy you a drink for nearly running you over?" he grinned, and for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to say no.

"I'd like that."