Seize The Day.

Jenny felt Johnny gently shaking her shoulder, “Hey, wake up sleepy head.” She turned to him and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, “Huh?” He laughed as he started to stand up, “We’re there.” She stretched, “Oh, okay.” She went to the back of the bus to get her clothes for the concert and as Johnny watched her stumble sleepily away he couldn’t help but to shake his head and laugh.
She woke Syn up while she was in the back part of the bus. He sat on his bed as he watched her rifle through all of her clothes. He asked, “So how are things with you and Short Shit out there?” She smiled, “They’re better now. Not perfect, but a hell of a lot better.” He stood up and patted her on the back, “Good, I was getting worried about you two not being able to fix things.” She shrugged, “I was just waiting for him to say something. He was more hurt than I was I think.” Brian reached over her shoulder to grab his clothes for the show, “Yea but I don’t know man, you’ve got a really big effect on the guys. Like, I’ve never seen Zacky get attached like that, or Johnny either for that matter. Arin is a whole other story haha. But you get what I mean.” She smiled and nodded, “Yea, I get it,” she paused and looked at him as he took his t-shirt out of the drawer, “So I don’t have any effect on you yet?” He laughed, “You do, I’m just better at hiding it.” She nodded, “Oh, I see.”
They walked back to the main part of the bus and all the other guys were there waiting for them. They all started bringing clothes and equipment into the venue. The stage was unlike anything Jenny had ever seen. It wasn’t huge, but the way they had it set up was insane. By the looks of it, they’d all have their own platform in a way. She started setting up amps on the stage, but she didn’t quite know how to set them up since the stage was so different than the ones they had performed on before. Zacky had seen her getting confused by it so he walked over and helped her set them up. When they were done he put his hand on her shoulder as they looked at the stage as a whole, “Yea,” he said with a slight laugh, “it’s a mindfuck isn’t it?” She laughed and nodded as she headed back into the dressing room to change.
When she walked in, she saw Brian and Matt pinning Johnny down to the ground and Arin was standing over them with a pair of scissors. Jenny’s eyes grew wide with confusion and a little bit of fear, “What are you guys doing to him?!” Matt laughed, “Oh, it’s nothing. Just a little haircut.” Jenny flew across the room and snatched the scissors from Arin, “I don’t think so! You can’t just chop off his Mohawk!” Brian laughed as he pinned Johnny down as he tried to struggle up, “And why not?” She laughed, “Because if you’re trying to cut it while he’s pinned down like that it’s going to look like absolute shit.” Arin laughed as he playfully reached for the scissors, “No, tell us what you really think,” he said sarcastically. She smiled at him and stuck her tongue out at him. She turned back to Matt and Brian, “Can you two please let him go?” They reluctantly released their grip on Johnny’s arms and legs.
He stood up and gave Jenny a hug, “Thank you. I thought I was gonna go bald for a second there.” She laughed, “I’d never let that happen to you Johnny.” He ruffled her hair as he walked over to the mirror to check and make sure nothing had got cut off while the guys were struggling to pin him down. Once he made sure that nothing had been chopped, he turned to the guys, “Why the fuck were you trying to cut off my Mohawk in the first place?” Arin and Syn laughed and Matt started to explain, “Well, we thought you were asleep at first. So we were just gonna cut it all off and let you grow it back in normally. But then it turns out, well, you weren’t asleep. And then you started fighting us and everything and then Jenny walked in and stopped us and, well, here we are.” Johnny had confusion written all over his face, “Yea but, why the fuck were you trying to cut it? I still don’t understand.” Brian laughed, “You’ve had that hairstyle forever bro. It’s time for something new.” Johnny laughed, “Yea, says the guy who’s had basically the same hair ever since he joined the band.” Syn rolled his eyes, “Yea but I can’t get away with all the wacky hairstyles you do. I mean, you had fucking Christmas hair for God’s sake.” Jenny smiled as the argued; they were so much like brothers it was ridiculous. She turned to Johnny, “Yea man, not gonna lie, I kinda miss the ever-changing hair thing. It was so, like, I don’t know. It was cool to say the least.” Johnny smiled at her, “Well, I’ve been thinking of changing it again, but not like they were trying to do haha.”
Zacky walked back in and saw them all standing around laughing. He walked up beside Jenny, “What’d I miss?” She laughed, “The guys tried to chop off Johnny’s Mohawk.” Zacky started laughing as he clapped Johnny on the back, “Damn, and I missed it?” Johnny gave him a sarcastic evil eye, “Not cool man.” Jenny gave a small laugh. Zacky turned to her, “What?” She smiled, “Oh nothing. It’s just that Johnny sounded just like the cartoon of him when he was saying “What the fuck now Fred?” and that entertains me.” Zacky laughed and shook his head, “You’re crazy, you know that right?” She laughed and nodded, “Yea. But just remember, you guys let me live with you on the tour bus.”
They all put on their clothes and did their hair and makeup and whatnot. Before they went out on stage Jenny snagged Arin’s arm and pulled him back. He looked at her confusedly, “You okay?” She nodded, “Yea I’m fine.” She gave him a kiss, “Good luck out there.” He smiled, “You too.”
They all got into their positions, which was a little harder to do since this stage was so different than the other ones they had performed on. They didn’t drop the hanging body that night so Matt figured he’d mix things up a bit and open with a different song. Jenny figured it’d be something new like Not Ready To Die or Welcome To The Family, but he actually opened with their song Girl I Know. That was more than okay with Jenny since it was one of her favorite songs. She came up next to Matt and started dancing like some of the girls had in Avenged Sevenfold’s numerous videos and Matt couldn’t help but to shake his head and smile as he watched her.
Syn and Zacky both came up on either side of her as she walked away from Matt and she started dancing again. She loved feeding off all the energy the guys had while they were on stage. All three of them stood there dancing while they were singing and playing guitar. She loved it. The guys were always crazy, but when they were all out on stage together, it was like something else took over them. They were the same but they weren’t, if that makes any sense.
All throughout the concert they just ran around stage together (as well as they could with the weird setup anyway) and the spotlights struggled to keep up with them. She even got Johnny to join in with them. And even though it was November and it was freezing outside, they had all stripped down to t-shirts and Jenny was down to her tank top and mini-skirt. She looked back up to Arin and he was shirtless as usual. Zacky winked at her and she just smiled and did the same thing back.
Then, in the final chorus when Matt sang the line, “We’ve all been more than eager to sin,” Jenny went up beside Syn and started dancing next to him. He smiled at her, “Clever play on words young lady.” She smiled and winked at him. She couldn’t help it, he was just the kind of guy that you wanted to act that way around. There was just something about him that made you do that. She didn’t know what it was, and she would never tell him that, but it was true.
They went through a few more songs and then Matt nodded to Jenny to come take center stage. He didn’t introduce her anymore, he usually let her introduce herself. She looked out at the crowd, “Alright,” she said after the introduced herself, “tonight I’m gonna be singing a song offa Nightmare, you down?” The crowd cheered. She smiled, “Alright then! This one’s called Victim!” She started singing as the crowd cheered but then quieted down as the lyrics started. She finished the song with tears on her cheeks. She smiled and bowed to the crowd as she went back to her little platform while wiping the tears off her face. After a few more songs, they started their tribute to Jimmy and they told stories about him. Since she couldn’t really go up with Arin because of the odd stage setup, she stayed where she was. She realized how much the darkness of the stage and being alone effected her mood. She didn’t like it. And it certainly didn’t help that they were performing such a heartbreaking song. She realized how much Arin helped her cope with all of it, the song, the loss of Jimmy, the fact that the guys were so hurt, he helped her with everything. Simply by letting her stand there next to him during the tribute.
Matt started singing and he looked out at the crowd; there were so many lighters up in the air. It was incredible. Seeing how all the fans reacted to it reminded him that not only did he lose a best friend, but the fans lost someone too. They knew him almost as well as Matt did. The fans had gone to the concerts and seen him drum. Most of them had seen the behind the scenes videos and the interviews. They’d all heard the stories; they knew who Jimmy was and what he was about. And seeing how much Jimmy’s death affected them, only reminded Matt even more about how real it was. He had to force the last few lines of the song out without breaking down.
When it was over, all the guys faded back to their spots and the lights went back to normal. Everyone on stage felt the difference that night though. There was so much more to it than normal. Syn saw the look on Jenny’s face and he gave her a loving pat on the back before going back to his platform. Johnny saw her and gave her a concerned look. Jenny looked back at him and gave a small smile. She couldn’t even imagine how hard it must’ve hit the guys tonight. And she really didn’t have any idea of how Syn was holding it together so well.
They finished off the concert and headed backstage. This time, Johnny ended up piggybacking on Brian’s back and Matt and Zacky followed close behind, just in case something was to go wrong. They all laughed as they headed off. Jenny waited for Arin to come down off his drummer’s platform in the back and throw his sticks into the crowd. He picked her up and kissed her. And, for the first time since they’d met, he gave her a real kiss as they headed offstage. She could hear the cheers from the crowd as they walked down the hallway, but it was nothing compared to all the excited voices going on inside her own head. She was so happy, she didn’t know if they were ever going to be public about their relationship like that. She loved it though. It was like something out of a dream.
When he set her down she wrapped her arms around his neck and just stood there in front of him, looking at him. He gave her a smile and she couldn’t help but to give him one in return. He gently put his hands around her waist. He looked at her eyes, they looked almost as if they were happy. Almost. He could still see that there was something missing. He couldn’t put his finger on it though. She looked up at him, his hair in a mess and eyes twinkling with so much love and excitement. She could see concern in them too, and she couldn’t help but to giggle at his goofy little half-smirk. She pulled herself closer to him and kissed him. And this time, neither of them pulled back.
Jenny could feel her legs shake from how nervous and excited she was and Arin could feel his heart beat faster. So many thoughts were racing through their heads, going so fast that they couldn’t even tell what they were. But neither of them cared. They were both so happy in that moment. It was like nothing that happened beforehand mattered. It seemed as though there was a protective shield around the two of them as they kissed that made it so no bad thoughts could enter their minds.
Finally, Jenny pulled back a little. Just enough so that their lips weren’t touching anymore. Arin opened his eyes and saw that hers were still closed. But he also noticed that she was smiling. And it was a small smile, but one that seemed more genuine than any smile that he’d ever seen. She rested her forehead against his. “I love you,” she whispered.” She opened her eyes and he smiled at her, “I love you too.”
He held her hand as they walked back into the small dressing room area with the rest of the guys. Zacky and Brian raised their eyebrows in curiosity, “What took you two so long?” Jenny laughed, “Oh, you know, stopped in the hall for a quickie. No big deal.” She flopped down on the couch next to Arin. Johnny looked over from where he was talking to Matt, “Please tell me that you’re joking.” She laughed and nodded, “Yea I’m just kidding.” Johnny gave a sigh of relief, “Okay good. ‘Cause I got money on this ya know.” Arin laughed as he wrapped his arms around Jenny and pulled her closer. She looked up at him and smiled as he kissed her on the head.
Zacky made a gagging sound, “Jeeze you two, get a room.” Jenny laughed, “That’s later Zach, my god. I do have standards.” Syn laughed but had to stop himself so beer wouldn’t come out his nose. Jenny turned to him and laughed, “Calm yourself man. I’m just kidding.” Arin laughed, “Damn.” She smiled and slapped Arin on the stomach, “Oh shut up, you little whore.” Arin just laughed and kissed the top of her head.
She looked around at the guys, “So, any parties tonight?” Zacky shrugged and looked over to Syn, who looked over to Johnny, who then turned to Matt. Matt just shrugged, “I don’t know. I wasn’t planning on it. I was just gonna pack up and start driving. Or maybe spend the night and head out in the morning. The guys nodded and headed back out to the stage to start getting their stuff. Arin kissed Jenny on the top of the head and followed them out. It was only Jenny and Matt left in the room.
She looked at him; he was staring at the ground, beer barely in his hand. She just wanted to hug him and tell him everything would be all right. She went over and sat down in the chair that was in front of him. He shied back a little but then looked up at her. She just looked at his eyes, those beautiful hazel eyes so full of hurt. There was so much trapped inside his head, she could tell. She just didn’t know what to say or how to ask him what was wrong. With the other guys it was easy, you just said whatever came to mind. But with Matt, there was just something about him that made her so much more careful. Maybe it was that night that she first performed with them and she walked outside and saw him out there. He looked a lot like he did then, so hurt and a little lost. She just waited for him to look at her again. When he did, she could see tears growing in his eyes. She gently put her hand on his, “Matt?” That’s all she had to say. Good thing too, because she had no idea where she was going to go after that. He put his head in his hands, “I can’t do it Jenny. I just, I can’t.” She rubbed his arm, “Can’t do what?” He took a deep breath, trying to steady his voice, “Performing without Jimmy. Nothing against Arin, he’s an amazing drummer. But having to do that tribute every night, and seeing everyone in the crowd and how hurt they are and then while singing the words thinking about how much things have changed and how much pain the other guys are in, I can’t do it.” Jenny looked at him and wiped the tears off his face, “Matt, please listen to me okay? I know how hard it is to go from day to day and be reminded of someone. And I can’t even imagine how hard it must be for you to look back and see someone else behind the drums, but things are going to get better. They’re going to get easier. The pain is never going to just, disappear, but things will get easier as time goes on. And the guys are always there for you; they know exactly what you’re feeling. But please Matt, don’t give up on this.” She helped him up out of his chair and gave him a hug. She fought back her own tears, she hated seeing him like this, “It’ll be okay,” she whispered, “I promise.”