My Hero

"My hands are shaking," I stated while lifting them into the air and watching them shake without my control over it. I had a weird feeling in my stomach. I wasn't sure I was just nervous or if I needed to puke.

I turned my head to my Brother who was concentrated on the road in front of us, "I think I'm going to puke." I said in a sour tone.

He wrinkled up his nose in disgust, "Not in the car, Colby. You're just nervous. Just think of it like this," He put his blinker on and pulled into the parking lot of the Arena, "We're going to see your favorite band in concert, it's no big deal. After the show is over, you're going to meet them. They are every day people, just like you and I."

"We don't play shows in front of millions of people every night!" I exclaimed, while trying to keep myself under control. Garret just rolled his eyes while pulling into a parking space, "Just relax, Colbs. You'll be fine."

Once he parked the car, he shut the engine off. I watched him take his seat belt off and pull out his wallet. He made sure he had the tickets and backstage passes. After he found them, he shoved them into his pocket.

Garret raised his head, "Ready?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat while shaking my head, "No."

This made him laugh and he got out of the car. I took a few deep breaths and got out of the car. The ice cold air hit my face and I watched the snow fall from the sky. This was nothing new to us. It was in the middle of January and we live in Michigan. Once we were inside, my body started heat back up, but I was still shaking.

We got in line and waited. I was biting my lip and shaking all at the same time. Garret snickered and I elbowed him, "This isn't funny, Gar." He smirked and nodded as we got up to the front of the line.

The guy scanned our tickets and we walked through the Arena. Garret nudged me, "Wanna get something drink or eat before we get down there?" My stomach was still feeling upset, so I shook my head.

We walked past a curtain and gave the guy our tickets. He pointed down the stairs, to a security guard standing on main floor, "Give these to him. He'll let you past the barricades." Garret grabbed my arm and guided me down the stairs. He didn't want to lose me in the crowd of people.

Once we got down to main floor, we gave the guy our tickets. He nodded at us and let us through the barricades. Since it was still kind of early, we got to be front row. My heart was beating a million miles per hour. I turned to Garret and frowned, "How many bands before Avenged Sevenfold?"

"3." He said with an apologetic look.

Great. I'm going to be shaking all night, waiting for them to come onstage.

Finally the 3rd band has just finished their set and they started playing some background music while their crew started taking everything down.

Garret nudged me, "Are you excited?"

"Can't speak.." I said while getting goose bumps on my arms, this made Garret laugh and we waited patiently. They raised a curtain up and they shot the light out. Everyone started to cheer, including myself.

There were strobe lights flashing everywhere and really loud noises, like sirens. I took a deep breath trying to steady myself. I gripped onto the barricade and there was a really loud 'pop' noise. The curtain dropped and smoke filled the stage.

The beginning notes of Nightmare started and everyone started screaming. I, on the other hand couldn't speak. My whole body was numb and the music was vibrating the whole Arena.

Synyster Gates walked out on stage with a small smile on his face. I watched Zacky Vengeance and Johnny Christ follow him out. I looked behind them to see Arin Ilejay getting behind his drum kit. Syn got on the riser and started to play.

The adrenaline was pumping through my veins and I started to get excited. Finally, after a few notes, I watched my idol run out on stage. He jumped on the riser and I screamed as loud as I could.

"NIGHTMARRRRRE!" He screamed into his microphone and I was literally aw-struck. My heart was pounding really fast and the weird feeling in my stomach was now filled with excitement.

All through the song, I sang every word. Garret kept giving me a nudge every time, Matt would step on the riser and look down at the crowd. That only made me roll my eyes.

They moved onto Critical Acclaim and I got chills when they played the back track for Jimmy's vocals. I can't express the way I felt on December 28th, 2009. I try not to talk about it.

Before I knew it, the show was ending. They played, Welcome To The Family, Beast And The Harlot, Almost Easy(which made me laugh, because Syn thought he was hot shit, since he could play it with one hand.), So Far Away, Afterlife, God Hates Us, Bat Country, and Unholy Confessions

They were on their encore and I was excited to know which song they were going to play. Matt came out with a spot light on him and he was breathing heavily, "Alright, so we're going to play a song. A song that some of you might not know, some of you might know it and if you do, well then I better fucking hear you singing with me. This one is called Eternal Rest!"

The blood literally drained out of my body. I grabbed Garret's arm and shook him, "My song!" I was flipping out and Garret smiled while nodding.

Eternal Rest was the first song I heard by them. That was the song that made me fall in love with their music. Syn started to play the intro and everyone was jumping up and down, including myself.

Matt started to sing and I couldn't help, but sing along, "Black enchanting eyes, cut through my heart with no regret or sign of life. They tear apart my pride and cold runs through my veins. I feel their stare from miles haunting every step and they won't stop hunting me down. I know the time will come, when all around me's burned and you'll still see me there asking where you went to and what person brought you here and why you left the burning children cold out in the night and calling for you all alone.."

All the instruments stopped except the drums, Matt stepped on the riser, "Let me here it, with me now, HEY! HEY!" We all screamed 'HEY' with the beat of the drums and Matt smirked, "When Syn starts playing, I want to see you all go fucking crazy, you got that?!" Everyone cheered in response.

We continued to scream 'HEY' and finally Syn started playing again, followed by the others. Everyone was jumping up and down. I was so happy right now. I couldn't stop smiling.

They finished the song up and decided to do A Little Piece Of Heaven. I couldn't help, but laugh at Syn during that performance. He was acting so goofy.

Finally, much to my dismay, their set was over. I was sweating and I had other people's sweat on me. If this was under different circumstances, then I would definitely feel disgusted, but I was on a high that no one could ruin.

So I thought.

Garret and I were waiting in a room for Avenged Sevenfold to get done cleaning up. I was surprised that there was only a handful of people. Garret said the backstage passes weren't too bad. They were expensive, but he knew how much this meant to me.

The door opened and walked in the one and only Synyster Gates. A few girls in the corner squealed, which just caused him to smile. He came in my direction first and my heart was pounding so fast.

"Hey, how are you guys doing tonight?" He asked us while he stuck his hand out. Garret shook it and nodded, "Pretty good, man. You guys' had a killer show tonight."

Syn laughed, "Thanks, it wouldn't of happened if it wasn't for you guys. What's your names?"

"My name is Garret and this is my sister Colby. She's a huge fan, she's been listening to you guys since she was 5 years old." He said with a smile on his face.

My cheeks were now red and Syn turned to me with a huge smile on his face, "Wow, 5 years old, huh?" I nodded, not trusting my voice.

Syn chuckled and side glanced at Garret, "Does she talk?"

They both snickered and my cheeks seemed like they were on fire now. Garret nudged me, "They are just normal every day people."

"If you think I'm some guitar god, then... you're probably right." Syn said and finally that made me laugh. Syn pointed at me, "There's a smile." I was now smiling even bigger than before.

He scratched his chin, "So what was the first song you heard?"

"Eternal Rest." I said, now starting to have a little more confidence.

Syn was loving every second of this, "Really? A 5 year old rocking out to Eternal Rest, now that is hardcore!"

Garret agreed, "Oh yeah it was. She would even try to act like Shadows and scream." He said and I elbowed him.

"We definitely gotta tell Shads that." Syn said with a chuckle towards Garret. He turned back to me, "Well, I just want to say thank you for being such a loyal fan. Do you want me to sign something or take a picture? Or both?" Syn asked.

Garret took his backpack off of his shoulder and pulled out my first Avenged Sevenfold t shirt. It was actually one of the first shirts they even made. He handed it to Syn with a metallic marker.

"Whoa, you're making me feel so old right now. This is like ancient!" He exclaimed.

I chuckled, "It was the first Avenged Sevenfold merch I got."

Syn put it up against the wall and signed it carefully. He gave it back to Garret and turned back to me, "Do you want a picture too?"

"If you don't mind.." I said, not wanting to take up his time.

He smiled and put his arm around my shoulder, "Of course, sweetheart. I wasn't going to let you leave without getting a picture."

Garret took the picture and he made sure it was a good one, which it was. Syn looked at him, "Do you want anything?"

"Nah, I have a happy sister. That's all I want." Garret said which made me smile. He really was the best brother ever.

Syn pulled me a hug, "Thank you for being our fan. You're amazing." I couldn't even say anything back. He pulled away and smirked, "Who's your favorite member?" I just looked at him.

Garret spoke up, "Shadows is. She idolizes him."

"I'll be sure you don't leave without meeting him." He said with a small smile on his face and I nodded. He shook hands with Garret one more time, "I'll see ya guys later!" Syn walked away.

Garret nudged me, "So how do you feel?"

"Like I'm on cloud 9. He is so nice!" I said with a smile planted on my face.

Soon, I had taken pictures with Zacky, Johnny, and Arin. They all signed my shirt too. Syn even told them about how young I was when I first heard them and they were absolutely thrilled by it. They loved it.

Right now, we were just sitting with them on the couch having small talk. Garret was actually becoming pretty cool buds with them. I wasn't really paying any attention, I was just waiting for Matt to come. Garret and I were the only ones to wait for Matt. The rest of them left, even though I have no clue why they would do that.

The door opened and there he was. My hero, M. Shadows. He walked over to us, "Hey guys, what's going on?"

Zacky looked up at him, "Just hanging out. Matt this is Garret and his sister Colby. She idolizes you."

Every nerve in my body was shaking. I swallowed the lump in my throat and mentally told my heart to stop beating so fast. I raised my gaze to his hazel eyes looking down at me, "Really? That's cool." He then took a seat next to Syn and cracked up a beer.

My heart literally sank. Zacky tells him that he's my fricken idol and that's all he's gotta say is that's cool?! Even all of the other guys had a better conversation with me than he did.

Garret stood up, "I gotta use the bathroom, I'll be right back." I was about to leave with him, but I was too shocked over this to move.

Syn noticed my facial expressions and nudged Matt. He said something in a low tone, so I couldn't hear. Matt argued back and then looked at me, "Thanks for being a fan." He said in a forced voice.

I couldn't take it anymore. I stood to my feet, "I don't even know why I even called you My Hero. Even after them telling you that I idolized you, that's all you have to say is that's cool? You even had to be told to tell me thanks! You know what? I'm leaving."

I turned to face the rest of the guys, "Thank you Brian, Zacky, Johnny, and Arin for the pictures and signing my shirt. You guys are amazing." I turned around and started walking. Tears were forming in my eyes.

"You just broke her heart, man! What the fuck is wrong with you?" Syn exclaimed and the others started scolding him. I couldn't find the bathrooms so, I just stormed out the nearest exit. I realized I was by the buses, but I didn't even care.

I rested up against the brick wall and slid down, so I was on my butt. I let my head fall between my knees and the tears started to fall. He is a fucking asshole! What did I ever see in him?!