Sequel: I Had My Heart Set on You ›
True Love
Bum-***-Egypt.
Gavin, Kenzie, and Emma had dropped Zack off at the airport.
Mia had been called into the hospital in the middle of the night- some kid had wrapped his car around a tree drag racing down the 405 and she was needed in surgery immediately (apparently he had been crushed between the steering wheel and his seat and Mia had quite the task ahead of her).
Zack wasn't looking forward to the trip.
Not only was he leaving the girls and Mia behind, but they were heading out for some radio interview in Bumfuck, Egypt. He found himself thanking every deity above that they were only gone for twenty-four hours.
They were taken straight from the plane to the tiny radio station.
A crowd of screaming fans had gathered around, each wielding something for the band to sign, but they were soon hurried inside- their time slot fast approaching.
They were seated and grabbing headphones as the song began to fade out.
"That was Monster by Imagine Dragons, my name is Ian Emerson and you're listening to WZXR 99.3FM. Now I am so excited for today's guest- we have the one and only Avenged Sevenfold! They're here today to talk with us about their upcoming album Hail to the King, which will be in stores in just three short weeks- welcome to Williamsport, Pennsylvania guys!"
They would all say their hello's before then began answering the obligatory album questions.
Tell us about the new album...
Which is your favorite track?
How long was the recording process?
How was it recording your first album with Arin?
Have you started working on getting a tour together?
"So I cannot let a guest come through my studio without asking this question- what is the last song you listened to?"
It was upon his realization that Zack's cheeks flushed scarlet.
He had hoped (and prayed, God did he pray) that Ian hadn't caught a glimpse of him, but to his dismay, he did.
"Ohhhhhhhhh, Zack!" he chuckled, his finger pointing at Zack, making his entire body go hot as sweat began to wick at the back of his neck, "Let's hear it, man! Lay it on me!" but Zack remained silent, his heart beating in his chest like a bass drum. "You might as well get it over with-" Ian taunted further, leaning in, his elbows resting on the round desk.
Zack cleared his throat as he leaned in, his heart dropping: "Kiss You..."
Ian furrowed his brows, "I don't think I know that one! Whose song?"
Zack grumbled at the man before finally mumbling, "One Direction."
At first, the studio went silent.
But once the deejay had time to process what had just rolled off the tongue of one of this century's rock greats, he broke into laughter.
Uncontrollable, hysterical, tear-producing laughter.
It wasn't long before he was practically laying on the desk as he howled and stammered on about One Direction, calling Zack pathetic and putting him down on national radio, tears streaming down his face before Matt had finally had enough.
He slammed his fist down on the desk- rattling every piece of equipment, making one of the microphones strike Ian right in the head. "Shut your fuckin' mouth, Would you? His kids love them and he misses them, so what's the fucking problem?!"
Zack wasn't exactly sure which part of that statement had elicited the deafening silence (the on-air swear, which would undoubtedly result in an FCC fine in Matt's name, or the mention of kids.)
But Ian soon peaked a brow, rubbing at his stubbled chin.
Matt's eyes were wide as he spouted an apology at Zack.
From the moment Zack had become a father, the idea of the world finding out had sat trembling in the back of his brain. He knew the day would have to come eventually. He just thought it would be on his terms, once he had figured out how to guarantee some sort of privacy to Kenzie and Emma. He thought maybe they'd be a little bit older, or maybe they'd be his best-kept secret because, yes, the 'rock' world sort of knew about them after Rock on the Range, but it was almost an unspoken rule- you didn't dispel any information about anyone else's family.
But he also knew that keeping them a secret wasn't possible (as hard as that was for him to stomach).
He knew he couldn't keep them locked away from the world for the rest of their lives (as much as he would have liked to).
In the silence, Zack had crafted a quick, precise response.
"You-" Ian was suddenly serious, "have children?"
"Two girls, both 13, with my high school girlfriend."
And for the first time that day, Ian was rendered speechless.
He fumbled over his words for a solid minute- his station manager finally threatening to go to a commercial break before he spouted out a less-than-graceful: "Well that must be the best-kept secret in rock..."
"That's the idea-" Syn finally spouted off, leaning back farther in his chair. "they're not raising their kids to be a bunch of Kardashian's. They're teenagers who deserve respect and privacy."
"So uh-" Ian leaned in, smug as he spoke, "when will the world get to meet the newest rock prodigy's?"
"Did you hear a word Syn said? I'm not raising a bunch of Kardashian's. Being a teenager is hard enough without the world watching."
"You can't hardly stop the paparazzi-" Ian poked the proverbial "bear".
"I dare any paparazzi to damn well try-" Johnny spoke, his chest rising and falling, "I don't have any qualms with spending a night in jail because it wouldn't be the first and it certainly won't be the last time."
But a resounding crash brought an eerie silence to the studio.
They didn't have to look long to find the source of the commotion- it was Matt, who had, in a hurry, gotten up out of his chair, pushing it backward letting it roll into a cabinet which had been stacked six feet high with CDs and mix-tapes.
And with every last eye marveling the muscled behemoth of a man, he spoke firmly and confidently as he pulled his aviators off his shirt, sliding them on over his hazel eyes. "That's it. We're done, we're out of here."
The station was still on-air when the rest of the boys followed out, angry and ranting as the station manager scrambled to go to commercial, instead of heading to their next interview the boys loaded back onto the plane, which hadn't even had time to refuel.
Their destination: home.
And that was it.
The world officially knew his secret.
Because within an hour there were over twenty different "trends" flying around Twitter, they had dominated every trend, and Zack couldn't keep up with the the inflow of Tweets. Meanwhile, the inflow of trends made him sick to his stomach.
#BakerBabies
#daddyvengeance
#HailtotheBakertwins
#ZackyVisanewdad
#ZVlistensto1D
#rocksbiggestlie
#avengedsevenfold
#a7xsecrets
#daddyvengeance
#rocksnewestroyalty
#anybodyfindthebakertwinsyet?
In all of the chaos, he couldn't wait to get home to Mia and the girls, because he knew he had some explaining to do.
Mia had been called into the hospital in the middle of the night- some kid had wrapped his car around a tree drag racing down the 405 and she was needed in surgery immediately (apparently he had been crushed between the steering wheel and his seat and Mia had quite the task ahead of her).
Zack wasn't looking forward to the trip.
Not only was he leaving the girls and Mia behind, but they were heading out for some radio interview in Bumfuck, Egypt. He found himself thanking every deity above that they were only gone for twenty-four hours.
They were taken straight from the plane to the tiny radio station.
A crowd of screaming fans had gathered around, each wielding something for the band to sign, but they were soon hurried inside- their time slot fast approaching.
They were seated and grabbing headphones as the song began to fade out.
"That was Monster by Imagine Dragons, my name is Ian Emerson and you're listening to WZXR 99.3FM. Now I am so excited for today's guest- we have the one and only Avenged Sevenfold! They're here today to talk with us about their upcoming album Hail to the King, which will be in stores in just three short weeks- welcome to Williamsport, Pennsylvania guys!"
They would all say their hello's before then began answering the obligatory album questions.
Tell us about the new album...
Which is your favorite track?
How long was the recording process?
How was it recording your first album with Arin?
Have you started working on getting a tour together?
"So I cannot let a guest come through my studio without asking this question- what is the last song you listened to?"
It was upon his realization that Zack's cheeks flushed scarlet.
He had hoped (and prayed, God did he pray) that Ian hadn't caught a glimpse of him, but to his dismay, he did.
"Ohhhhhhhhh, Zack!" he chuckled, his finger pointing at Zack, making his entire body go hot as sweat began to wick at the back of his neck, "Let's hear it, man! Lay it on me!" but Zack remained silent, his heart beating in his chest like a bass drum. "You might as well get it over with-" Ian taunted further, leaning in, his elbows resting on the round desk.
Zack cleared his throat as he leaned in, his heart dropping: "Kiss You..."
Ian furrowed his brows, "I don't think I know that one! Whose song?"
Zack grumbled at the man before finally mumbling, "One Direction."
At first, the studio went silent.
But once the deejay had time to process what had just rolled off the tongue of one of this century's rock greats, he broke into laughter.
Uncontrollable, hysterical, tear-producing laughter.
It wasn't long before he was practically laying on the desk as he howled and stammered on about One Direction, calling Zack pathetic and putting him down on national radio, tears streaming down his face before Matt had finally had enough.
He slammed his fist down on the desk- rattling every piece of equipment, making one of the microphones strike Ian right in the head. "Shut your fuckin' mouth, Would you? His kids love them and he misses them, so what's the fucking problem?!"
Zack wasn't exactly sure which part of that statement had elicited the deafening silence (the on-air swear, which would undoubtedly result in an FCC fine in Matt's name, or the mention of kids.)
But Ian soon peaked a brow, rubbing at his stubbled chin.
Matt's eyes were wide as he spouted an apology at Zack.
From the moment Zack had become a father, the idea of the world finding out had sat trembling in the back of his brain. He knew the day would have to come eventually. He just thought it would be on his terms, once he had figured out how to guarantee some sort of privacy to Kenzie and Emma. He thought maybe they'd be a little bit older, or maybe they'd be his best-kept secret because, yes, the 'rock' world sort of knew about them after Rock on the Range, but it was almost an unspoken rule- you didn't dispel any information about anyone else's family.
But he also knew that keeping them a secret wasn't possible (as hard as that was for him to stomach).
He knew he couldn't keep them locked away from the world for the rest of their lives (as much as he would have liked to).
In the silence, Zack had crafted a quick, precise response.
"You-" Ian was suddenly serious, "have children?"
"Two girls, both 13, with my high school girlfriend."
And for the first time that day, Ian was rendered speechless.
He fumbled over his words for a solid minute- his station manager finally threatening to go to a commercial break before he spouted out a less-than-graceful: "Well that must be the best-kept secret in rock..."
"That's the idea-" Syn finally spouted off, leaning back farther in his chair. "they're not raising their kids to be a bunch of Kardashian's. They're teenagers who deserve respect and privacy."
"So uh-" Ian leaned in, smug as he spoke, "when will the world get to meet the newest rock prodigy's?"
"Did you hear a word Syn said? I'm not raising a bunch of Kardashian's. Being a teenager is hard enough without the world watching."
"You can't hardly stop the paparazzi-" Ian poked the proverbial "bear".
"I dare any paparazzi to damn well try-" Johnny spoke, his chest rising and falling, "I don't have any qualms with spending a night in jail because it wouldn't be the first and it certainly won't be the last time."
But a resounding crash brought an eerie silence to the studio.
They didn't have to look long to find the source of the commotion- it was Matt, who had, in a hurry, gotten up out of his chair, pushing it backward letting it roll into a cabinet which had been stacked six feet high with CDs and mix-tapes.
And with every last eye marveling the muscled behemoth of a man, he spoke firmly and confidently as he pulled his aviators off his shirt, sliding them on over his hazel eyes. "That's it. We're done, we're out of here."
The station was still on-air when the rest of the boys followed out, angry and ranting as the station manager scrambled to go to commercial, instead of heading to their next interview the boys loaded back onto the plane, which hadn't even had time to refuel.
Their destination: home.
And that was it.
The world officially knew his secret.
Because within an hour there were over twenty different "trends" flying around Twitter, they had dominated every trend, and Zack couldn't keep up with the the inflow of Tweets. Meanwhile, the inflow of trends made him sick to his stomach.
#BakerBabies
#daddyvengeance
#HailtotheBakertwins
#ZackyVisanewdad
#ZVlistensto1D
#rocksbiggestlie
#avengedsevenfold
#a7xsecrets
#daddyvengeance
#rocksnewestroyalty
#anybodyfindthebakertwinsyet?
In all of the chaos, he couldn't wait to get home to Mia and the girls, because he knew he had some explaining to do.
♠ ♠ ♠
So, these last few chapters are just tying up some loose ends, so most of them are going to be pretty short. Good news- I'm on Spring Break. This story will be finished by Thursday. (I'm doing anything I can to keep myself calm- I graduate in about 8 weeks so...yeah.)Feedback is wonderful.
As always, thank you so much for reading- it really does mean the world.
Also- keep thinking about the "memories" you would like to see.
I would love to know if I have missed anything (I'm not telling you the "memories", it'll be a surprise for you guys!)