I'm Not Your Protege, Just Your Kid

Zack’s P.O.V

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and threw down the blue paint covered brush in the bucket. I looked around at the navy blue painted room and gave myself credit for doing a fairly decent job. I decided to paint Devon’s room blue and Gena wanted to decorate Jayden’s.

I walked out of his room and went downstairs where the guys were. I went into the kitchen, grabbed a beer from the fridge and went back into the family room. I sat down next to Jimmy and took a big gulp from my beer.

“How’s the room painting going?” Jimmy asked.

“Alright, if I actually had help from you guys I could’ve been done by now,” I said.

“Why help when you know that we’re going to mess it up?” Brian questioned.

I just rolled my eyes and watched whatever was playing on T.V. A few minutes later the front door opened and Gena walked in with two cans of cotton candy pink paint. I grimaced at the color and knew that this was a bad move on her part.

“Gena, I don’t think Jayden is going to want her room pink,” I said.

She rolled her eyes at me and in return the guys rolled their eyes. All the guys and their girlfriends didn’t really like Gena. They attempted to be polite to her when I was around but sometimes it just didn’t work.

“How do you figure that?” she asked and placed her hand on her hip.

“From just reading her record, she doesn’t seem like the type of girl that likes pink,” I answered.

“She’s a girl babe therefore she automatically likes pink,”

“Just because she’s a girl doesn’t mean that she prefers the color pink. Not every girl is stuck up and preppy like you,” Matt said before I could get a word in.

“Whatever I’m going to go paint her room and she’s going to like it,”

Gena walked off and I just sighed. She was stubborn, hardheaded, and a downright gold digger. I have no idea why I keep her around, maybe it’s just the sex or her cooking. Actually her cooking sucks so I guess it’s just the sex that’s keeping her around.

“How do you put up with her?” Brian asked me once we heard Gena walk into Jayden’s room.

“I don’t know. I guess I just learned how to tune her out,” I shrugged.

“You’re a brave man Zack,” Johnny added.

I finished off my beer and picked up the file that had information on my two kids. I looked through the sheets one more time to see if I missed anything. Their pictures were staring back at me and I kept staring at them. They both had green eyes and straight black hair with pale skin like me. Jayden and Devon both had snakebites but Jayden also had her left eyebrow and nose bridge pierced.

“Dude, you’re kids look and sound hardcore,” Jimmy said while he looked over my shoulder.

“Yeah, too bad they really are hardcore at sixteen,” I said and handed him the file.

Jimmy raised and eyebrow and the guys crowded around him. They saw their records and let out gasps.

“Wow, they’ve been arrested multiple times for underage drinking, possession of drugs, and fighting,” Johnny said.

“Zack, Jayden and Devon sound cool. Are you sure they’re your kids?” Brian asked.

“Yes retard now shut up,”

I rubbed my face in frustration and kept thinking of how my life was about to drastically change. In 24 hours two sixteen year old twins were going to be on my doorstep in my possession. Their rooms weren’t even halfway done and I kept drinking in between breaks to get my nerves to calm down.

Jayden’s P.O.V

Devon and I crutched our way through the crowd towards the baggage claim. There was a big group of people in front of us who were walking slower than needed. I huffed and stomped my good foot down on the ground.

“Will you people move out the damn way before I give you guys a reason to need these crutches!” I hollered.

Quite a few people moved while others glare but none the less they still parted a pathway for us.

Devon and I were sitting on a bench after struggling to grab our duffel bags. About an hour and a half had passed since we arrived and there was no sign of anyone coming for us.

“Where in the fuck are these people?” Devon grumbled after wiping sweat from his forehead under his bangs.

“Don’t ask me,” I answered from inside my hood.

He huffed and started kicking small pebbles by his shoe. A shadow came over us and we saw a man standing in front of Devon and I.

“Are you guys Jayden and Devon?” he asked.

“That’s an extremely retarded question,” I said in a monotone.

“It is?” the man questioned.

Well actually I shouldn’t call him ‘man’ I already knew who he was. Once Devon and I found out that our father’s name was Zachary Baker, we did quite a lot of research on him.

“Yes, seeing as how we’re the only teenagers or should I say passengers left from this terminal,”

“Well how do you know that I came to pick up teenagers?”

“Well let’s see you’re Brian Elwin Haner Jr. the lead guitarist for Avenged Sevenfold, whose other guitarist is Zachary James Baker who is our biological father. Besides you already knew our names,” I explained.

Brian got quiet and cleared his throat. I gave him a smirk and he scratched the back of his neck.

“Come on the cars over there,” he mumbled and grabbed our bags for us.

We stood up and ended up towering over Brian, well I didn’t that much I was only about half an inch taller than him. Devon on the other hand was 6”4 and did tower over us.

Brian’s eyes widened a bit but he regained his composure.

He brought us over to a black BMW and popped open the trunk. He put our bags in and slammed down the trunk. He unlocked the doors and we got in the car. On the way in Devon hit his head and grabbed it while we drove off.

“You’re a moron,” I said.

“Shut up,” he mumbled.

We stayed quiet in the back and just looked out the windows.

“So how was your flight?” Brian asked to break the silence.

“Okay,” Devon said.

He nodded and that was the end of the conversation for the rest of the car ride.

We pulled into a driveway where four other cars were.

“Here we are,” he said.

Thanks for stating the obvious Brian.

All three of us got out the car and Brian grabbed our duffel bags. We crutched behind Brian up to the door and he rang the doorbell. The door swung open and we saw a muscular man answer the door which I recognized as Matt from research.

“Hey man,” he said to Brian and opened the door wider for us to go through.

He nodded his head at us while we passed him. We made it into the family room where Johnny and Jimmy were.

“Hey guys we’re here,” Brian announced.

“Man, Brian just loves to point out the most obvious stuff doesn’t he?” I whispered to Devon.

He held back a laugh and everyone got quiet and looked at Devon and I who were hunched over by the loveseat.

“If you stare long enough we might do a trick,” I snapped.

Jimmy was the first to make a move and came over to us.

“I’m Jimmy. I’m one of your cooler uncles,” he said.

He went to hug me but I backed up a couple of inches.

“Sorry, don’t know you,” I said flatly.

He looked at Devon who stood up straight so he could look down at Jimmy.

“I just don’t hug guys,” he said.

Jimmy scratched the back of his head and sat back down. Thundering footsteps could be heard coming down the steps and we all turned to see Zack pulling on a shirt.

“Where are they?” he asked.

“We’re not made of glass you know,” Devon and I said.

He turned his head and his eyes got a little wide as he looked up at us.

“Right. Come on sit down,” he said leading us to the couch.

He took a seat on the coffee table while the guys stuffed themselves in the other chairs.

“So how was the flight?” he asked.

“Alright,” I answered.

Is that the way everyone starts their conversations around here?

“So I guess this situation must be hard for you guys to adjust to,” he started off.

“Not really,” Devon said.

“Well than, you guys must be feeling the same way I am,” he said.

“If you mean finding out that you don’t have one, but two kids after sixteen years, than no,” I answered.

“Oh well than I gue-,”

“How come you didn’t pick us up?” Devon asked.

“Well you see-,”

“Were you too busy sleeping?” I asked.

“No-,”

“Or were you drinking?” Devon questioned.

Zack shifted on the table and the guys were shocked at how we were firing off questions.

“He was definitely drinking,” I said before Zack could answer.

“How do you figure that?” Brian asked.

“Well first off look at how red his eyes are,” Devon said.

“And you smell of alcohol,” I added.

“I say he was drinking Heineken,” Devon said.

“Nope, smells like Jack Daniels,” I said looking into a matching pair of eyes.

Both Devon and I looked at Zack as he just sat there.

“What were you drinking?” I asked.

“JD,” Zack answered.

I sent Devon a smirk and held out a hand. He sighed and threw a five dollar bill in my hand.

“Wow, she’s good,” Johnny commented.

With the way things were going right now I’m pretty sure Zack will be sending us back to Detroit in about a week.