Inside These Arms Of Yours

I smiled to myself as I walked out of the Warner Brother's offices. In my hands was the official first copy of the guys' new self titled cd. They had no idea I had it, only that it was supposed to be arriving soon. I climbed into Zacky's car that I was using and sat back and looked at it.

I couldn’t believe that I actually got to be a part of it, well, more or less create it. It had been a ball getting to work with the guys. You really didn’t get to see the mass amount of dedication they put into it unless you worked with them on it. Smiling down at the black deathbat I set the cd on the passenger seat before beginning my drive back home.

The guys knew the cd was finished and so they had arranged to play a mini show in Hollywood for a few fans at the Key Club. I was stoked because this was the first time I would get to see them live in front of a crowd. Sure I'd seen them play obviously while recording, but I would get to see them interact with the fans and I couldn’t wait. The show was set to be tomorrow night and so the cd had perfect timing. I flipped the radio on while I sat in traffic and bobbed my head to AFI. Chuckling at the memories Miss Murder held I sang it out loud as I drove.

Traffic ended up letting up and the rest of the drive went smoothly. I snagged my purse and held the cd behind my back as I entered the house to the roar of laughter coming from the living room. I tossed my purse into the corner before making my way into the room. All of the guys looked up at me expectantly.

"How much do you love me?" I saw their eyes light up as they all stood. I held my empty hand out in a stop motion and they all stood still.

"You haven't answered me." I smirked.

"We love you a whole fucking lot!" Jimmy said as he started advancing once more.

"And the rest of you?" I questioned as I backed up. They all added in their cries of appreciation and I smiled.

Pulling my hand from behind my back I held the cd up for them to see. I watched as if in slow motion they all came charging toward me. I squealed as five bodies landed on me with several loud thuds.

"Ugh! Get off you fatasses!!!" I yelled from beneath Johnny who had hit me first. Zacky's head was popping out from behind Johnny's shoulder and he was pouting at me.

"Don't give me that look just get off!" I continued to yell. I bet by now the cd was crunched. Way to go guys. One by one they peeled off of me and Johnny helped me stand up before the cd, which was still in tact, was snatched from me.

Clutching my chest and trying to gain my breathing back I flopped down on the couch as they all huddled around the cd.

"I think this calls for some booze." Matt said as he made his way into our kitchen to raid the fridge. He returned but not a minute later with an armful and set them on the table. Johnny opened the case and pulled the cd out before very carefully placing it in the stereo system that Zacky had elaborately rigged up throughout the entire house. It was cute seeing how they treated the cd like gold. They all grabbed some beers before sitting down. Johnny pressed play and the first song started to play.

Zacky sat beside me and had his arm draped around my shoulders.

"How did you know it was ready today?" He asked me over the music.

"I didn't. I got a call on my cell from Warner Brothers saying that it was ready. And I had to drop those papers off by there anyway. So I picked it up while I was there."

"Well aren't you sneaky." He chuckled.

"Hey Jimmy go to track nine will you?" Brian asked. Jimmy had hold of the remote for the stereo and you could tell he was trying to decide which track to turn to next. He nodded and moved through the other songs to the one that I too was most anxious to hear.

I looked over at Zacky and grinned as A Little Piece of Heaven came through the speakers. He smiled back as we continued to listen. The part with my vocals came on and I buried my head into Zack's chest as the guys all cheered.

"Damn! That sounds amazing!" Matt exclaimed as he referred to the part where I echoed him. Zacky pulled my head away from his chest and gave me a huge kiss before grinning like a two year old.

"That is by far my favorite song on the cd." Jimmy said as the song continued.

"Glad you guys like it. Because I'm never singing again." I laughed but then was stopped by their smirks.

"That's what you think." Brian chuckled as I looked at him. I turned to Zacky who just shrugged his shoulders, an identical smirk being sported on his face.

***

"What the heck do I wear to these things Val? I mean I know it's a concert duh. But I don’t know what to wear!" I stood in front of my closet gaping at my clothes while on the phone with Val.

"Well hun I don't know what to tell you. Try asking Zacky." She giggled on the other end. I narrowed my eyes at the wall when I heard her answer. She had been trying to get me to ask Zacky when we both knew she was perfectly capable of helping me.

"Yeah and end up going in my bra and thong that I'm standing here in? I don't think so." I groaned at the thought.

"That would be sexy though!" Matt's voice came through the speaker from in the distance.

"Ah you bitch! You didn't tell me you had it on speaker phone!" I laughed as did she and Matt. "And shut up Matt." I added.

"Well babes I gotta jet and get ready as well. We'll see you tonight! Try asking Zacky!" A dial tone met my ears. I looked down at the phone in disbelief cursing Val mentally for her lack of assistance.

I turned back to my closet and continued to debate what I should wear to the show tonight. I don’t want anything too fancy. I'm more going for comfort.

"You know you could just go like you are." I let out a small scream as Zacky's cold hands wound around my bare waist. I could feel my cheeks turning red from my apparent lack of clothing.

"Somehow I knew you would say that." I muttered as he kissed my neck.

"As much as I truly would love you to, I don't want guys drooling over you. And as much as I'd love to strip you and have my way with you now we have to leave shortly so I do believe that you need some help." I chuckled at his choice of words but turned around to face him.

"Did Val call you?" He shook his head but smirked.

"Nope. But Matt did." We both laughed before turning back to my closet. "Go sit." He said as he pointed to my bed. I did as told and he entered my closet.

It was clear that he was already dressed and ready for the show. He adorned a plaid button up long sleeved shirt with the cuffs rolled up to show off his tattoos and some black semi-skinny jeans. His hair was all messy as it normally was but tonight he just looked different. There was just this glow about him. A glow that most likely came with the confidence he was gaining for the show tonight.

I let my eyes roam over his backside and smirked as he bent over to look at my shoes. Damn did he have a nice ass. I let out a small chuckle and his head turned over his shoulder to look at me. My eyes widened slightly as I tried to act normal.

"I do have a sexy ass don't I? Stare all you want." He paused for a moment. "Only seems fair since I stare at yours day and night." My jaw dropped as he laughed before turning back to my closet.

"Zachary!" I scolded as he laughed even more. I just shook my head knowing that it was true. It only took him a minute before he turned around and had several items of my clothing in his hands.

"Wear this. It'll make you look sexy and yet you'll be comfortable." Zacky was holding up one of my blue tube tops and a pair of skin tight white jean Bermuda shorts. "And your flip flops will do as well." He added in before tossing the clothes to me and flopping down on the bed next to me. I slowly got up and put on the clothes, sort of skeptical of his choice after him saying that he didn't want guys gawking at me. I could feel his eyes watching me as I dressed. Such a typical guy. I turned and gave him a wink before disappearing into the bathroom to do my hair and make up.

Zacky entered behind me, looking like a lost puppy. He sat on the closed toilet seat and watched me.

Occasionally he would add in a few comments such as "You should make your hair wavy." or "Add more eyeliner. It makes your eyes stand out." After his fifth comment I stopped what I was doing and turned to look at him.

"Why are you so picky tonight?" His eyes widened slightly but he regained his composure before speaking.

"No reason. I've just never watched you get ready before. And I want you to look smokin' hot tonight." I raised my eyebrows not believing him but continued anyway.

"Did you realize you forgot to put your piercings in?" I asked him through the mirror. His head bolted up from its position on the counter and stared at his own reflection.

"Fuck! I knew there was a reason I loved you." He laughed before leaving the room.

"It had better be for more than my memory Vengeance!"

I finished up my primping before heading downstairs. Ichabod was standing at the bottom of the stairs panting. He barked once which typically meant he was hungry and out of food. I picked him up and made my way into the kitchen to see that sure enough he was out.

"Aww Ichy did daddy forget to feed you? Maybe I should steal you away since he neglected you. He's such a bad daddy." I chuckled while I sat him down and got his food out before filling his bowl. I set it down and watched as he skidded across the floor to his bowl. I sat on the counter and watched him as he ate. He finished rather quickly and came back over to me. I hopped down and picked the fur ball back up once again before going into the living room. Zacky was standing in the middle of the room with his arms crossed looking expectantly at me.

"Bad daddy?" He asked as he mock glared at me. I laughed before setting Ichabod down on the floor.

"Yep. You're a bad daddy to your puppy."

"I see. Well I'll show you a bad daddy." He pushed me onto the couch and fell on top of me before nibbling on my neck while tickling my sides. I couldn’t tell if my body wanted to laugh or moan. Sadly the laughing was taking over.

"Ahh Zacky stop! Haha I mean it!" I squealed as his hands continued torturing my sides and stomach. Eventually they let up when I was almost out of breath. My breathing was extremely ragged and uneven and so when he bit down hard on my neck I let out a yelp. He let go of my skin and placed soft kisses up my neck to my lips before pulling away to look at me.

"I think we have to go." I barely mumbled out. He nodded in agreement before leaning down to capture my lips in one more heated kiss. We both stood up from the couch, me still out of breath.

"Bye Ich. We'll be back later. Sorry I forgot to feed you. Good thing your mommy is on top of things around here." I laughed thinking it was cute to hear Zacky say mommy. It wasn't a very rockstar thing to say.

"What?" Zacky whined as we walked hand in hand to the car.

"It just sounded funny hearing you say mommy." I giggled as we climbed in.

"Well you better get used to it if you're going to become a mom someday."

"Wait. Are you implying that you might want kids someday?" I smiled at him as he reached over and grabbed my hand as we got onto the freeway.

"You would be correct." I squealed and leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek seeing as his eyes were glued to the road. "After we're married of course." He added in knowing neither of us were ready for kids before we were married.

I couldn’t keep the smile off of my face no matter how hard I tried.

***

"See you look amazing! Did Zacky help you?" Val exclaimed as she hugged me. We were standing backstage off to the side while the guys were warming up.

"Yeah he did. He was sort of picky tonight though. I don't know why." Had I been paying closer attention to Val instead of to the guys I would have seen her smirk.

"I have no idea why. Here come with me back further. I need a beer." I returned my gaze to her and nodded.

"So by the way, you are I are going to be watching from the front and center tonight. We've got spots in front of the barricade." I stopped in my tracks to look at her with a shocked expression written across my face.

"We're what? Are you serious?" She smiled and nodded enthusiastically as she grabbed a beer and handed me one as well. I felt sort of bad getting to stand in the very front. I didn't want to be in the way of the fans. I knew if I was a fan and had someone standing in front of the barrier I'd be pretty pissed off.

"I know what you're thinking. But trust me on this one. Plus the guys insisted on it." I still felt guilty as Val spoke but figured since the guys insisted I really had no say in the matter.
As we approached the guys they turned to face us. They each had something in hand whether it was a guitar, bass, microphone or a set of drumsticks. I smiled at the way they all stood there looking as confident as ever.

"Ready ladies?" Jimmy asked as he absentmindedly twirled his drumsticks in the air.

"Sure am!" Val answered for me. Zacky made his way over to me and slung his guitar over his back so he could give me a hug. He rested his forehead on mine as he stared me in the eyes.

"Can I get a good luck kiss?" His lips contorted into a pout that made me cave. I smiled and pulled his lips to mine. My hand rested on the back of his head as his wound around my waist. He licked my lips and I gave him entrance. His tongue massaged mine lightly. The kiss held so much passion and love in it. It wasn’t rough but rather had a caring feeling to it. I smiled slightly into the kiss but then started to scowl as I heard wolf whistles coming from the other group. Zacky groaned against my lips before pulling away.

"Do you fuckers mind?" He snapped as he whipped his head around, still keeping me in his embrace.

"Well normally we wouldn't, but I think the fans would be happy to see us play tonight and not see you two end up fucking on the floor." Matt snickered as Val hit him on the arm.

"Oh shut up Matt. They're allowed to have a couple moment." Zacky gave her a thumbs up before turning to place a light kiss on my forehead.

"Thank you." He muttered as we pulled away.

"You're very welcome. Now go get 'em tiger." I chuckled as Val started to pull me away. Zacky gave a low purr that cause me to laugh even more. I waved to the rest of the guys right before we disappeared through a door and down a small set of stairs. Val waved to the guard who was standing on the side of the front barricade and he waved us through. I couldn’t help but stare at the stage and get excited. This was going to be awesome.

"Umm excuse me." A very timid voice came from behind us. Val and I both turned to see a girl no older than sixteen standing on the other side of the barrier. "Um hi. I was wondering if I could get a picture with you. I'm Megan." Val noticed how the girl was directing her question more at Val than at me.

"Nice to meet you Megan. You already know who I am obviously. This is Katie. She's…" The girl's eyes widened as she spoke and she turned to stare at me before interrupting Val.

"Zacky's girlfriend. Holy shit I've always wondered what you looked like. I've heard a lot about you from my friends." I was immediately put into a stupor and hoped that her friends didn't think I was some whore or something. "They said you seem really awesome." I let out a shaky breath before nodding.

"Sweet thanks. Nice to know some people don't hate me." The three of us laughed and Megan turned to the guy that was standing beside her. She handed her the camera that she had been clutching and he snapped a picture of the three of us as we posed. It was cool to see how her face lit up when she looked back at this.

"My friends are going to be so jealous. Oh thank you!" We chatted with Megan for a few more minutes before the lights dimmed and the music started. Val turned and winked at me as the guys came out on stage looking very cocky. But what can you do? They're Avenged Sevenfold.

The intro for Afterlife started pouring out through the speakers and the guys launched into their first song. The fans were going nuts as were Val and I. We were singing along seeing as we were one of the few who actually knew the new lyrics.

After the song ended Matt started talking to the crowd and Val leaned over to me. "Scream is next. Matt asked if we'd do the opening scream for fun." I nodded vigorously as he gave us a nod. We screamed at the top of our lungs causing more girls to start screaming. She and I both broke out laughing as they performed. The chorus hit and I found myself staring into Zacky's eyes as he sang.

"You know I make you wanna scream." He mouthed at me causing me to turn beat red. I regained my composure and gave him a wink causing him to smirk. Most of the fans noticed he was interacting with me and starting wolf whistling.

Song after song passed and Val and I were having the times of our lives. Me especially. Val had seen them play so many times and here it was my first time. The venue was full of so much energy and the fans were eating it up as were the guys.

Matt downed a bottle of water before tossing half of it out into the crowd.

"So for this next song we've got a treat for you guy. This is perhaps our favorite song off of this record and it's extremely different than most of our stuff." The guys started off A Little Piece of Heaven but Matt abruptly stopped them before they got too far.

"Something's fucking missing in this song." He paused for a moment as if he were deep in thought before his eyes lit up. Glancing around confused, I saw that all of the guys had devilish looks on their faces. Zacky more than anyone.

"Ah yes. Vengeance care to fetch your girlfriend for us?" My eyes widened at Matt's words as I looked frantically at Val who was smiling and shrugging innocently. Innocent my ass, she knew what was going on. She grabbed me and shoved me forward to where Zacky was squatting down on the edge of the stage. I frantically shook my head but Zacky grabbed me by the waist and hoisted me up on the stage anyway.

"I hate you." I sang under my breath as he wrapped his arms around me.

"No you don't." He chuckled.

"Trust me. You won't be getting any for awhile after this."

"I don't think that will be the case." He said causing Brian to laugh. Thankfully the crowd couldn’t hear us and I knew this because the guys had been talking to eachother throughout the set and I couldn’t hear them.

"So this lovely lady here is Zacky V's lover Katie." He paused as the crowd let out yells. Meanwhile Zacky gave me a big kiss on the lips to prove Matt's point. I was still grumbling not liking the idea of being on stage. "And not only is she that but she helped us record the album, and did some vocals for this song." My eyes got the size of saucers as I figured out what Matt was getting at.

"Now you know why I helped you dress tonight." Zacky whispered in my ear. I turned and smacked him lightly on the arm but was careful not to let the crowd see. He just chuckled before handing me a microphone.

Without warning they started the song once more. I glared at Val who was giving me a thumbs up before she started bouncing to the music. The crowd was sure going nuts for this song, especially when Jimmy sang. I loved hearing him sing. He was a man of many talents yet not many people got to see those sides of him. Matt grabbed me by the waist and spun me around on stage, making me move around with him. Thankful he took the lead I followed his moves. I chuckled lightly realizing that this was actually sort of fun. The guys' energy was rubbing off on me and they were realizing this.

My vocal part came and Matt started twirling me around like we were dancing. I have to admit, it felt funny dancing with Val's man but she was all grins. We continued our little charade and I almost busted out laughing as Zacky walked over looking all smug. I tried so hard to not laugh as he pulled out his deep vocals for the wedding scene. In fact, his voice gave me the chills and he sure took notice before smirking. Brian and Johnny were trying to keep from laughing. Goodness knows they had to keep up that cool disposition they have on stage.

The guys finished up the song to an uproar from the fans. I did a small bow before I was picked up and twirled around in a circle by a pair of strong arms I recognized to belong to my man. He set me down and turned me around so we were facing away from the crowd.

"You're amazing and I love you more than you know." He murmured as he kissed the top of my head in thanks.

"I may be amazing but I'm nothing compared to you and your guitar skills mister." We both chuckled and turned to see Matt was winking at the two of us.

"Alright guys I think this is the last song we have left from the album. And that's probably a good thing seeing as Zacky looks like he wants to fuck poor Katie on the stage." Zacky flipped Matt off before giving me one last kiss and helping me off the stage to stand next to Val once more.

"This song is called Dear God and was actually written by all five of us for our loved ones." Val and I blushed simultaneously looking at eachother. When the song ended Val and I were practically in tears. We immediately rushed off to go backstage and greet the guys. I skidded to a stop however when I saw all five guys standing there looking incredibly sweaty. They looked my way and I put my two index fingers up to form an X informing them to stay away. My nose crinkled up as Zacky bolted toward me and engulfed me in a giant hug.
"Ewwww. You reek!" I fake gagged as Val hugged Matt, her obviously being used to the sweaty rockstar smell. They all laughed at my disgusted expression before one by one, they gave me hugs.

"Great. Now I'm covered in sweat from five different guys. How lovely." As much as I couldn’t get over the smell, there was no place I'd rather be at the moment.