To Find a Little Piece of Heaven You Must First Go Through Hell

*That night*
The newly revamped P-Roach was going onstage in 15 minutes; Avenged had wanted to go first tonight. I had gone through a private sound check with the guys on their bus, and now I was getting ready. I had on a black and red corset top and some ripped jeans. My hair was up and I was wearing black eyeliner on top, red on bottom with lightly applied purple eyeshadow. I walked back into the arena and Zacky and Brian were talking again. They had been talking privately a lot lately, and it was bugging me. But I wouldn’t ask unless it got worse. Zacky gawked at me when I walked towards him. “You look very beautiful tonight honey” said Zacky. “Awe, thanks” I said. I kissed him lightly and Brian squirmed. “Sorry Brian” I said. “It’s fine” he said. I patted his shoulder and he hugged me. “So, want to go hang out with us when we watch the P-Roach show?” Brian asked. I smirked inside my head. “Actually, I’ve got to take care of a few things right now. I’ll be back later” I said. 5 minutes until show time. I walked far enough away so that none of the guys could see me, and then walked up the other side of the tunnel to where Tobin was waiting to go on. “I’m really happy you decided this, Bella” said Tobin. “Yeah, me too” said Jerry. I hugged Jerry tightly. “I missed you Hairy Jerry” I said. “I missed you too Belly-Boo” said Jerry. I cringed. Jerry and Tobin laughed. “Where’s Tony?” I asked. “He’s not here” said Tobin. “Then who the fuck do we have on drums?” I asked; more like demanded. “Turn around” said Tobin. I turned around slowly to see Dave behind me, smiling. “Dave” I said happily. I hugged him tightly now, sensing that he was clean. “I’ve been clean for 2 months now” said Dave. “I’m proud of you Dave” I said. “Thanks” he said, kissing my forehead. I had missed my boys so much. We then heard the speakers ring out “and now, here they are, Papa Roach!” “Bella, stay back here. You’ll know the cue” said Tobin. The three of them ran onstage. I heard Tobin grab the mic. “No, I’m not singing” said Tobin through laughs. The crowd was going insane. I almost cried – this is what Coby did. This felt right. He’d wanted me to do this. Tobin started to speak again and the crowd got silent. “A little under a month ago, we lost the greatest front man we’ve ever known, Jacoby Shaddix” said Tobin. The crowd mourned. “We all miss him, and we know you all do too. But, we’ve found a replacement. Some of you might not like it, but this is what Coby would’ve wanted, we feel” said Tobin. The avenged guys and Jenni were standing on the opposite side of the tunnel (but they still couldn’t see me), giving questioning looks to Tobin. I saw Zacky say “Where’s Bella?” to Matt. He shrugged, and then they all gave each other glances. I smirked. They were crawling through their skin to know. “So, here’s out replacement” said Tobin. I ran out onstage and the crowd went wild. My friends were all in shock, I knew. They were watching this on PPV now. “Ladies and gentlemen, I am Bella Shaddix, Coby’s sister” I said. The crowd went wild with excitement – not a one looked to be disappointed. I took the mic off the stand and Tobin broke into “Getting Away with Murder”. I started singing and it felt great – another adrenaline rush. So this is why Coby loved this so much…
*After the show*
“Bells, you did wonderful” said Tobin as the four of us walked back down the tunnel. “Thanks” I said. I felt proud; I felt connected to my brother. I held the necklace Jerry had brought for me that was on Coby’s will, along with pretty much everything else he owned. I rubbed it; feeling the little black cross that was attached to my neck. We got backstage and Zacky, Johnny, Jimmy, Brian, Matt, and Jenni all ran up. “You had never told us you had your brother’s pipes” said Matt. I blushed; I could feel it. “You were amazing out there Bells” said Johnny. “Agreed times 100” said Brian. I smiled; they thought I did well too. “So, does this mean that you’re in Papa Roach now?” Zacky asked cautiously. “Yes” I said. The other three guys behind me nodded. “Well, we were going to ask them to continue touring with us anyway…” said Matt. The others from Avenged nodded. “Yay!” I shouted. I leaped into Zacky’s arms. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close. “You guys can go smother each other with love now” said Brian vaguely. We all laughed at his smart ass comment and then Zacky carried me to the bus. We sat down and I heard him lock the door behind us. He sat me down on our bed and then pulled me into a side hug, kissing the top of my head. “You’re perfect for me” he whispered. I smiled. “And you’re all the more perfect for me” I said. He let go, and then suggested we should go out. I nodded – it was only 9:30. We both changed into dressier clothes and then he drove the bus to a Chinese restaurant. He knew how crazy I was about certain Chinese foods. We walked in hand-in-hand and the waiter led us to our table.
*an hour later*
“Bella” said Zacky. I looked up at him. He looked nervous; he was sweating and his eyes were sort of twitching. I looked at him with full attention. He took my hand and squeezed it. “First off, I want to say that you look absolutely beautiful” he said. I looked down at my red dress. “Thanks” I said. “Now, there’s something that I want to ask you” he said. I nodded slowly. “I’ve never loved anyone more than you. You make me the happiest man in the world, like I’m not some guy that’s going to be living off of groupies for the rest of his life. You’re so special, and I never want to be with anyone else. These past 10 months, excluding the time where I was stupid and went back to Gena, I’ve never been as happy. Ever” he said. I felt tears coming up. Damn females and their emotions! “Isabella” he said. He slowly left his seat, making my arm trace him to where he got down on one knee. My heart leapt up into my throat. “Will you marry me?” he asked. I choked up. Oh, fuck. There go the tears. Then more came as I noticed he was tearing up a little too. “Yes” I said happily. He stood up and opened up the ring box. It was gorgeous. I stared at it as he placed it on my left ring finger. “I love you” he said. I threw my arms around him and kissed him. “I love you too” I said. He beamed at me and called for the waiter. We both knew that if we didn’t get back to the bus soon that we were going to fuck each other here and now. The waiter came, Zacky paid, and we ran out the door to the bus. We drove back to the arena, barely going over the speed limit, and then as soon as we put the bus in park we were at it again. And it was the best I’d ever had.