Seize The Day.

“Dude!” she said as she slapped her friend Corey in excitement, “I can’t believe we got tickets!” Jenny was jumping up and down in anticipation as they waited outside the gates to be let in to the concert. Corey just smiled at her silently. He loved watching her get excited over things like this; it reminded him of the days before everything went wrong. She hugged him, “This is gonna be so amazing! I’ve been waiting like, my whole life to go see them!” He laughed, “Yes, it’s been a long 18 years waiting for this concert to come around.” She gave him a sarcastically evil glare, “Hey, we live in fuckin’ Narnia okay? I still can’t believe that they came here up to North of Hickville and just west of White-Trash Central.” He just shook his head and continued to laugh.
One of the guards started to unlock the gates and open the ticket booth, “Everyone for the Avenged Sevenfold concert, make a line over here!” Jenny grabbed Corey’s hand and dragged him over to the gate so they could be some of the first people in.
The guard checked their tickets and wristbands and sent them off with another guard that would guide them to their seats. “So,” said Corey questioningly, “where exactly are our seats?” Jenny shrugged, “Dunno. But who cares? We’re seeing Avenged fucking Sevenfold!” He hugged her as they walked down the aisle. They kept getting closer and closer to the stage and he could see Jenny’s eyes getting wider and wider the closer they got. Finally, the guard stopped at the small gate that led down into the pit, “Alright, be safe, and don’t die.” Jenny’s jaw nearly hit the floor, “We’re gonna be this close?! Shit dude, did you know that?” Corey just nodded silently. She hugged him, “You’re the absolute best man!” He hugged her back, “Happy birthday…”
She pulled back and looked at him; she couldn’t believe he had just said that. For the past five or six years, she completely ignored her birthday. She had actually forgotten what day it was on. She stared at the ground and tucked her hair behind her ear. He lifted her head up so she was looking at him and he pulled her into a hug. “Look,” he whispered, “I know that you hate your birthday and have so many horrible memories from it, but I want to change that. Please let me try? I want to help. I love you and I just want to see things get better for you. Please let me treat you extra special on your special day…” She pulled back from him and looked him in the eyes, “Corey, you’re the best friend a girl could ever ask for. And I love you with every bit of my being, so I’m gonna let you try to do…whatever you’re trying to do.” He smiled, “Alright, good. ‘Cause I have one more surprise for you after this.”
Before she could ask him about it, more people came down into the pit and she saw the stands filling up with people decked out in their band merch with their signs. She smiled to herself, for the longest time she had wanted to go to an Avenged Sevenfold concert and throw her underwear up on stage. It was just one of those teen-girl things. It didn’t make much sense to most people, but she was determined to do it. She felt the back pocket of her jeans to make sure that she had her extra pair. Corey saw what she was doing and shook his head in amusement, “I can’t believe you’re really gonna do it.” She shoved him playfully, “Oh shut up, it’s a girl thing.” He laughed, “Thank god.”
All of a sudden, the lights went down and everyone went silent. Then, all you could hear was the light piano intro to Nightmare and a blood-red spotlight came down in the center of the stage and you could see a body hanging in a noose. Then the red spotlight went off and a regular one turned on and you could see Matt standing there staring at the ground as the intro continued and then he lifted his head and screamed, “Nightmare!” and the song began with a huge round of cheers from the crowd. The rest of the lights came on shining on the rest of the band members. Jenny nearly fainted when she realized how close she was to Johnny, who just so happened to be her favorite member. She started cheering, singing, and jamming like crazy and Corey just watched her in amazement.
When the song was over, Matt went through the intro that all bands do at the beginning of their concerts, saying how happy they are to be there and everything. “Now,” he said as he smiled down at everyone in the pit, “we’re takin’ a trip back in time with this song. You ready?” Everyone in the crowd cheered. Matt shook his head, “I said, are you ready?!” Everyone screamed twice as loud. “Alright! This one’s called Chapter Four!” Jenny jumped on Corey and wrapped him in a hug, “I love you man!” He laughed, “I love you too.”
After that, they played Afterlife and Jenny got so excited, she wanted to see Johnny do his little base part. When he did, that was when she threw her underwear up on stage. Corey laughed but Jenny was just too excited to care about that. She cheered and saw Johnny smile when he noticed she threw it during his little part of the intro.
The band went through a series of songs, and stories about the songs and stories about Jimmy. And then, the lights dimmed down and there were only spotlights on the band members. Matt’s face grew solemn, “This next song is for our best friend, who’s jammin’ in the afterlife now waiting for us. This one’s for the fucking Rev!” Syn stepped up to his microphone as the banner of the ever-famous hug fell down in the background, “This one’s called So Far Away. I’m sure you all know the song. But tonight, we’re doing it different.” Matt spoke up again, “Tonight, Syn’s gonna be singing it.” The whole crowd went wild and Corey looked at Jenny with concern, this song had always gotten to her, and having Brian sing it, well, Corey wasn’t sure if she could handle it. But he turned away when Syn stepped up to the mic and Zacky hit the first chord on the guitar. Jenny was able to stay strong until the first chorus and then she just let it all go. She was singing, and crying at the same time.
Corey went to wrap his arm around her when he noticed something; Johnny was watching her. Corey nudged her with his elbow. She turned to him, “What?” He nodded up to Johnny, “Look.” She turned and when she saw Johnny looking at her she smiled through the tears and made a heart out of her hands. She turned back to Syn, she was so caught up in his voice, and it was hypnotizing. All of the guys had voices that could melt a heart of stone, but the amount of emotion that went into that song, it tore her apart.
When the song was over, the lights went back to how they were before, but the poster stayed hanging in the back. The band went through another set of songs that included the classics like Seize the Day, Almost Easy, Welcome to the Family, Dear God, and they even performed A Little Piece of Heaven. And, much to Jenny’s delight, they performed Tension. She loved that song mostly because of how much bass was in it. To end the show, they played their new single Not Ready to Die.
Before the song was over Corey pulled her aside, “Ready for part two?” Her face brightened even more than it already had, “YES!” He laughed and pulled a lanyard with a little badge at the end of it out of his jacket, “I scored a backstage pass.” Her smiled grew, but then faded a little bit, “Only one?” He nodded. She looked at the ground, “You go man; you paid for all of this. You deserve it.” He shook his head, “Nah, this has been your dream, to meet the guys. I’m not taking that from you,” he put the badge around her neck, “now, you’re going to keep that on, meet the guys, probably do some underage drinking, and you are going to have fun.” He kissed her on the forehead and she could feel herself blush.
The song ended and Corey nodded to her to hop the fence in front of them and start making her way back towards the tour bus. She hesitated; she didn’t want to leave him and go see the guys by herself. He could see the doubt in her eyes and he waved her off with his hand. Before she could go after him, he was swept up in the crowd and soon enough, she was the only one left in the pit.
She hoisted herself up and sat on the edge of the stage with her feet dangling off. A few minutes passed and then she saw a pair of legs appear next to her and sit down cross-legged right beside her. She turned and saw it was Johnny. Her jaw dropped, she was at a total loss for words. She just looked at him for a second, and then hugged him. When she pulled away, she saw that he was smiling at her. He tilted his beer towards her, “You want some?” She stared at the ground sheepishly. He laughed, “Oh come on, I’m not gonna tell on you.” She laughed and had a sip and went to hand it back to him, but he held his hand up and told her to keep it. “So,” he said as he positioned his legs so they were hanging off the edge like hers, “who are you?” She smiled, “Oh, just another teen girl who never thought they’d live to go to one of your concerts. But you can all me Jenny.” He laughed and shook her hand, “Hi Jenny. Call me Johnny.” She giggled and blushed; she never thought that she’d be talking to Jonathan Seward. It was beyond comprehension. He looked at her, “So, judging by the little badge, I’m guessing you wanna meet the rest of the guys?” She looked over at him, “Honestly,” she said as she looked down at the beer bottle in her hands and took another sip, “If I had to go home right now, I’d be fine with that. I just got to talk to my idol and drink his beer. My life’s complete.” He smiled and her heart melted. She made Johnny Christ smile.
He stood up and offered her a hand to help her do the same, “Well, I’m flattered, but I think the guys will wanna meet the first girl on tour to throw her underwear to me.” Jenny felt her face go beat red and Johnny just laughed, “I’m just playin’. I won’t tell them that. But in all honesty, I think they would like to meet the badass motherfucker that chose to just chill in the pit after the concert was over. That was a brave move, especially in this place. ‘Cause it’s not like you’ll get jumped or anything, but I don’t like dealing with the security people unless I absolutely have to.”
She smiled to herself as she followed him backstage to the dressing room where all the guys had gotten ready. Johnny swung the door open, “Meet the victim of the night!” He pulled Jenny inside and all of a sudden, she felt really nervous and excited at the same time. She pulled back her fire-red hair into a ponytail so you could see the black streaks in it a little better, “Umm…hi…,” she said nervously as she stared down at her feet. There was so much that she wanted to say to the guys, she didn’t even know where to begin. Luckily, she didn’t have to; Johnny did that for her. “So,” he said as he put his arm around her shoulder, “This here is Jenny. This is her first Avenged Sevenfold concert.” She looked up, “Actually, it’s my first concert period.” All the guys’ jaws dropped. “Shit man,” said Syn, “How old are you?” She blushed, “Eighteen.” Zacky raised his eyebrows in shock, “And this is your first concert?” She shrugged, “That would be the idea.” She saw them all shaking their heads in disbelief. Johnny broke the stunned silence, “Where’d your boyfriend get to by the way?” Jenny laughed, “He’s not my boyfriend. But he only got one pass…so…here I am haha.”
All of a sudden a tall, skinny, tan body appeared next to her and she saw Arin. She looked at him, his shaggy hair and big puppy-dog eyes, “Hey.” He smiled at her, “Hey.” She stood there looking at him for a second, “You know, you’ve got some serious balls man.” He looked shocked, “Ummm…thank you? I think?” She laughed, “Nah bro it’s a good thing. You’ve got major guts to sit behind that drum set and rock it out. You’re amazing at it by the way. But seriously, I’ve got major respect for you.” He smiled at her, “Well, thanks man.” She nodded, “No prob.”
She wasn’t sure if she should ask, but since this was probably the only time she would ever see the guys, she knew that she had to. “Hey, can I ask for a favor?” Brian looked at her and laughed, “Well, depends on what the favor is and if we’re getting paid.” Jenny laughed and reached into the pocket of her sweatshirt, “Well, I’m shit broke right now ‘cause I spent all my money on shirts and shit already, but I was wondering if I could get a picture with each of you guys? I never thought I’d ever get to meet you and well, I’d like proof so that when I wake up tomorrow morning, I’ll know this wasn’t a dream haha.”
All of a sudden, Matt walked up behind her and took the camera from over her shoulder, “Ok Johnny, smile nice.” Jenny laughed as Johnny put his arm around her waist. She put her arm around his shoulder and smiled. It was the first time she had actually felt confident with her smile. Then Matt tossed the camera to Johnny and they swapped places. Matt walked up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. She looked back at him, his smile could melt hearts of stone; she just knew it could. And his dimples, forget it, she was hypnotized. Syn laughed, “Hey, camera’s in the other direction babe.” She blushed and turned around towards the camera. Arin ever-so casually slid in next to her, “Am I included?” She laughed, “Well duh! Of course you are!” She wrapped her arms around him and he put his arm around her shoulder. When Arin was done, Zacky came over and playfully shoved him out of the way. He sat down in the chair and patted his leg, “Pop a squat kid.” Jenny laughed, “I dunno man, I might just crush you. And I don’t wanna be the one responsible for killing Zacky Vengeance.” He rolled his eyes, “Oh shut up and sit.” She laughed and sat down on his leg. When Johnny finished taking the picture Syn came over, “Alright, now I’m gonna show you how you really take a picture.” Jenny was laughing and talking to Arin when all of a sudden Brian scooped her up and held her bride-and-groom style. She giggled and threw her arms around his neck as Johnny snapped the picture. He tossed the camera back to her when Syn set her back down, “Hope they came out okay.” She laughed, “Dude, you guys were in them, of course they came out okay!”
They all sat around in the dressing room and talked about everything, from music, to love, to life, and everything in between. All the guys except Johnny left to go get their stuff off the stage, but Johnny flopped down on the couch next to Jenny, “So, you know all our stories. Now, what’s yours?” She laughed, “I don’t have much of one.” He looked at her doubtfully, “Now that right there is a load of bullshit my friend.” He touched her arm gently and she pulled back; she didn’t want him to feel the scars. He smiled at her, “I saw them during the show.” She looked down at the ground and she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. “So,” he repeated as he put his arm around her shoulder, “what’s your story?” She looked back up at him as she wiped the tears away, “How much time do you have?” He laughed, “Well, as much as you need seeing as how you’re not leaving just yet.” Her eyes grew a little wider, “Shit, what time is it? Me and Corey gotta go home…” Johnny shook his head, “Stop worrying, I’m sure that he can fend for himself for the night.” She laughed, “Yea, you’re probably right.” The guys came back in carrying their numerous guitars, microphones and drum cymbals, “So,” said Matt as he pushed Johnny off the couch, “You wanna come chill with us on the bus for a while?”