A Song for a Soldier

(Anna's P.O.V)

Later that day after we had hung out around downtown Huntington Beach, I had went back with Zacky to his house and formally introduced myself to his family. His mother seemed extremely excited to get to know me and literally asked just about every question she could possibly think of in the last hour that I had been there. "So dear, how long are you home for?" I took in a short breath before breaking the news to her. "Um, I'm actually on leave until further notice, my parents passed away this last weekend and I'm home to help plan with the funeral and take care of my little sister." Her face immediately fell as she embraced me in a tight hug. It actually felt nice to be hugged by a mom again, even if it wasn't my own. "I'm so sorry to hear that hun, you must be devastated." I looked over at Zacky who just smiled halfheartedly. "It's ok Mrs.Baker, I'll be alright." I assured her with a warm smile. She patted me softly on the back before turning to look at Zack. "I'm sure you two have some things to do, I'll be in the kitchen starting on dinner."

We ended up heading upstairs to his room where I couldn't help but to explore every single thing and ask about it. He was extremely neat and organized for a guy, that was for sure. "I'm sorry if they asked so many questions, I hope you didn't feel like you were under an investigation." He joked making me smile some. "It's totally fine Zacky, your parents actually remind me alot of my own." I admitted. He took my hand and gave it a light squeeze. "I'm still really sorry about everything, Anna. I wish we were seeing each other again on better terms." I pressed my lips together before running a free hand through my hair. I really wish that we were too but being with him was already making everything better. But before I could say anything his phone started to ring incredibly loud, making me jump in my spot. He mouthed "sorry" before answering to whoever it was. I just sat there quietly while he talked, peering over at a picture he had beside his nightstand. It was of him and a girl, probably a close friend I'm guessing.

He finally pulled th phone away from his ear before tapping me on the shoulder. "Hey, do you want to go and hangout with the guys?" I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head. "Sure, just let me call home and let them know." He grinned, eagerly telling the person on the other line that we would be over in a bit after I called to make sure it was alright. I took out my phone and dialed my aunt's number. It rang about five times until she eventually picked up. "Hey sweetie, we were just thinking about you. Everything ok?" She asked. I peeked behind my shoulder and noticed Zacky had left the room, probably to give me some privacy. "Yeah everything is ok tia, I'm just calling to tell you that I'm going to hangout at the beach for a little while longer. Is that ok?" I heard the faint sound of people talking in the background, probably my uncle and grandma, before just her voice again. "Sure hun, just try to be home before dark please, your sister wants you to read to her tonight." She laughed lightly. "Ok aunty I will. See you later." I said and hanging up just as Zack walked back into the room. "Hey, so everything good to go?" He asked with a hopefull tone in his voice. I nodded with a smile as I got up from my spot on the bed. "Yeah, let's get going."

(Zacky's P.O.V)

My day has been nothing but full of surprises, to say the least. I definitely wasn't expecting to find Anna standing on my doorstep this morning but I have to say, it was quite the sight to see. While we had hung around the pier earlier, I texted Matt to let him know what I had woken up to and he was extremely anxious to get me to bring her over to hangout. We ended up driving in her car seeing as she had to be home before it got too late. I couldn't fight off the urge to keep looking at her as we eventually pulled into Matt's driveway after my many failed attempts at giving her proper directions. We walked up to the doorway where I was instantly tackled to the floor in a hug from Jimmy. "Dude! Get OFF!" I huffed from underneath his lanky frame. He roared with laughter before eventually getting off and helping me back to my feet. Anna stood there with her eyes slightly widened. This was going swell already.

"Well who is this pretty lady we have over here?" He swooned at Anna while wiggling his eyebrows. She laughed loudly, a smile on her face stretching ear to ear. "That's Anna, dude. The girl Zacky was writing letters to." Came Johnny's voice from the front porch. Jimmy's face suddenly changed and a coy smirk tugged at his lips. Just great, I could tell he was up to something now."Zacky! Help!" Anna screeched loudly as Jimmy proceeded to toss her over his shoulder and run off towards the backyard with her yelling in protest. I chased after him but gave up once I seen him set her down, right in the middle of everybody. "She's definitely a fighter, but I still got her to give in!" Jimmy exclaimed in a victorious sort of way. I put my hand to my head and sighed deeply. "Did you have to leave her right there?!" I scoffed as I made my way to where Anna was left standing. She quickly clung to me for dear life, squeezing at my arm. I put my arm around her shoulders before smiling down at her. "You'll be fine." I whispered seeing her face soften up instantly.

Once we all started to gather around the pool, the girls had all started to show up. Everyone agreed on Anna starting off the conversations, asking her things about the army and stuff until we eventually ran out of things to talk about. I knew it was hard for her to open up to a bunch of people she had never met before, especially when they asked about her parent's, but no one was more understanding than us. All of us except for Val. She insisted on nit picking at every single thing and I could tell by the look in Anna's face that she was getting annoyed by it. I think all of us were though, it definitely wasn't like her.

"Well, now that everyone is all here lets eat!" Matt said as he motioned for everyone to go and sit at the table that was covered in food. "Come on, don't be shy get whatever you want." He said to Anna who nodded thankfully. "I promise it won't be this crazy all the time, you'll get used to it, eventually." I said to Anna who chuckled but nodded her head in understanding. "I'm just not used to that sort of greeting, I guess." I laughed some before pulling out the seat beside me for her to sit down. We all piled on as much food as possible on our plates before Brian held up his beer, making everyone quiet down. "I'd like to make a toast, to our new friend here. Anna, welcome to the crazy world of Avenged Sevenfold and I hope you enjoy the ride, cause it's going to be one hell of one." We all cheered and whistled, making Anna's face turn a complete shade of dark red. I hugged her close to me as she looked around at everyone. "I'm very honored to be accepted into the family and I promise that I'll be the best new member that I can be." She said as she raised her glass and I smiled proudly.

"But she can't be a new member yet, what about Gena, Zack? Aren't you two trying to work things out?" Val said with a devious look flickering in her eyes.