Animosity In The Ranks
Chapter 61
“I’d like t-shirt D in the smallest size for girls you have,” some girl said as she snapped her gum at you.
You grimaced at the sound and even more at her attire for the concert. How anyone thought going to a concert in barely any clothing was a good idea was beyond you. Though you knew why she did, as half the guys waiting at the merch table were eyeing her up and down like a prize to be won. It made your stomach churn a bit, but then you remembered that on occasion when you went out clubbing you use to dress the same, when on the prowl for a guy. Not that you had while you were married, but since the divorce you had once or twice. But at least you were old enough while this girl looked barely even seventeen. You searched through the bins for her size, wanting badly to tell her that all you had was extra large's but decided that you didn’t need to be harped on on your first day of work. Shirt in hand, and correct size, you turned back to the girl.
“Seventeen,” you said as you held out your hand, not wanting to hand over the shirt till you had cash in hand.
The girl smirked at you a bit and handed over a twenty and as you handed over the shirt you made a show of testing the bill with the counterfeit pen at the cash box. Right in her line of sight. When the color came back that it was a real bill, just as you had figured it would be, you got her change and handed it over.
“Have a good night,” you said between clenched teeth.
You had been working the booth now for forty five or so minutes and had a hang of it pretty much. Not much had changed since the days back when you use to do it, just the prices and the quantity and variety of merch. The other two on the Avenged merch team still gave you the slight cold shoulder but things were so busy that there hadn’t been much time for interaction between you. And it didn’t really bother, you weren’t here to make friends, you were here to keep yourself from killing Zacky. And that’s it. Though the people on the Used’s merch team were getting along quite nicely with you, they all seemed to have a Bert-esque quality about them, and it seemed that that was why they had been chosen. Cherise was a whirlwind at the table, moving at a million miles an hour, which shocked you as she was a big woman but didn’t surprise you.
“Oh my god, Kales Mae!” a girl said as she came up to where you were standing waiting for your next customer in the squabble of kids.
You smiled genuinely at the girl, a very well loved, and very old, looking Avenged Sevenfold shirt gracing her body, tucked in at the top of her jeans. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she had on a little black eyeliner, her wrists sporting various spiked and studded bracelets. She looked like you use to back in the day, and you could see the gleam in her eyes that came with being at the show of your favorite band.
“Hey hun,” you said happily, a big grin on your face as you shook the hand she had stuck out.
“Oh my god I love you just about as much as I love your brother’s band,” she said excitedly.
“Well I will take that as a lovely compliment dear heart,” you replied happily.
“Can I have your picture?” the girl squeaked as you let her hand go.
You made sure not to laugh, not a cruel laugh, but you couldn’t help it. You knew it was going to happen eventually, especially once word got around that you were here, but you hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.
“Why of course hun,” you replied.
“Oh thank you, thank you,” she said excitedly as she dug out her camera and got it ready.
As she smiled at you and got the camera positioned you decided to pose for it instead of just smile and stand. You put both of your hands up with the rock signs proudly bared, opened your mouth in a mock yell and crossed your eyes. The girl laughed as she took the picture and blinded you with flash. You blinked it off and went back to merch mode.
“Is there anything I can get for you...” you started to ask, hoping for her name.
“Oh it’s Carrie. And um, can I have letter B in small and the scarf as well?” Carrie asked as you watched her eyes scan the merch available.
“Can do Carrie,” you said happily as you turned to find her items.
Items in hand after waiting for one of the other team members to get out of your way you turned back towards Carrie.
“Its going to be twenty three dollars all together hun,” you said as you folded her shirt and scarf and placed both together neatly.
She handed you thirty and you went to go make change, a smile still on your face.
“Seven is your change hun,” you said as you handed over the bills to the girl.
“Oh thank you so much. I just wish I had something for you to sign, I’m not old enough for a tattoo yet but I hope to get something done by you when I am,” Carrie said happily as she took her change and her items that you held out for her.
“Here, give me one of your dollars,” you said as you dug a sharpie out of your pocket.
Carrie handed over one of her one dollar bills and you happily signed it, writing To Carrie, here’s the shops number. Give me a call when you’re old enough for ink. Much love, Kales Mae. Smiling you handed over the bill.
“Will that do?” you asked as you pocketed your sharpie once again.
“Oh thank you so much. My friends are never going to believe me, even with the picture and signature. Thank you so much again,” Carrie said as she waved and bounded out of the still increasing gathering of kids.
You waved at her and made a mental note to bring your business cards, and that of your shop’s, with you at the next stop. If you were going to be recognized you might as well have something for the kids as well.
“Next!” you said, the smile from Carrie’s reaction still on your face.
-xXx-
“Kales! Kales! Kales!” you heard your name shouted.
It didn’t sound like one of the kids you had been talking to throughout the night, the ones who had recognized you. It sounded older than that. You looked up and scanned the crowd and found the source of your shouted name. Katie was jumping up and down and waving her arms frantically. You started laughing as you waved her over to the side. You heard her uttered excuse me’s and pardon me’s as she tried to cut around to the side to get to you. Finally you took action.
“Move out of the blue haired girl’s way or I’ll kick your asses,” you bellowed.
And it worked, the kids parted and let Katie through.
“Oh good lord I thought I was never going to get through,” Katie said out of breath as she stood to the side of the merch table.
“We need to teach you to boss people around more, all it takes is a well placed elbow and very big voice,” you said with a smile as your friend calmed down her breathing.
“I may just take you up on that one at some point on this tour. Because that was murder,” Katie said as she straightened and pushed some of her fly away hairs off her face.
It was still pulled back into a no nonsense ponytail but running sound was a lot of work and some of it had come loose.
“So what was it you wanted me for that was causing you to act like a jumping lunatic back there?” you asked as you took another kids order.
“Oh yeah, right. Uh, The Used are about to go on, like next, and Jeph told me to come get you and bring you to side stage,” Katie stated, repeating like she had been made to repeat the same message a thousand times to Jeph before he sent her off.
Which more than likely had been the case. Jeph didn’t know her like you and the guys had come to know her and he was probably just trying to make sure that the correct message got to me.
“Twenty one is your total hun,” you said to the kid in front of you you had been waiting on.
“I don’t know if I can run, but I’ll ask. You can go back before some techie blows the sound board and I’ll make my way back there as soon as possible,” you said as you took the kids twenty five dollars to make change.
“Okay, but he said that Cherise should let you. And if not to tell her that she could steal one of the kids from his table to help out,” Katie said with a smile and wave.
You watched as she elbowed her way back out through the kids, she was learning and you hadn’t even begun the lessons yet. You smiled as you handed the kid back his change and made to ask Cherise if you could skip out when The Used started. But she was already looking at you nodding.
“Once the second head liner starts playing it starts to really thin out and we’re usually dead, so you can go. And I am guessing your brother will want you to see their set as well as it’s first of the tour, so stay for that as well. If it gets busy during that I’ll just steal Mark or David from the Used’s table. Just tell your brother he owes me a drink,” Cherise said with a smile.
“Thank you,” you said happily as you turned back to your next kid, mentally making note to buy her a drink yourself for letting you go.
You knew that they had handled themselves quite nicely without you here before, but it was still nice of her to let you go.
You grimaced at the sound and even more at her attire for the concert. How anyone thought going to a concert in barely any clothing was a good idea was beyond you. Though you knew why she did, as half the guys waiting at the merch table were eyeing her up and down like a prize to be won. It made your stomach churn a bit, but then you remembered that on occasion when you went out clubbing you use to dress the same, when on the prowl for a guy. Not that you had while you were married, but since the divorce you had once or twice. But at least you were old enough while this girl looked barely even seventeen. You searched through the bins for her size, wanting badly to tell her that all you had was extra large's but decided that you didn’t need to be harped on on your first day of work. Shirt in hand, and correct size, you turned back to the girl.
“Seventeen,” you said as you held out your hand, not wanting to hand over the shirt till you had cash in hand.
The girl smirked at you a bit and handed over a twenty and as you handed over the shirt you made a show of testing the bill with the counterfeit pen at the cash box. Right in her line of sight. When the color came back that it was a real bill, just as you had figured it would be, you got her change and handed it over.
“Have a good night,” you said between clenched teeth.
You had been working the booth now for forty five or so minutes and had a hang of it pretty much. Not much had changed since the days back when you use to do it, just the prices and the quantity and variety of merch. The other two on the Avenged merch team still gave you the slight cold shoulder but things were so busy that there hadn’t been much time for interaction between you. And it didn’t really bother, you weren’t here to make friends, you were here to keep yourself from killing Zacky. And that’s it. Though the people on the Used’s merch team were getting along quite nicely with you, they all seemed to have a Bert-esque quality about them, and it seemed that that was why they had been chosen. Cherise was a whirlwind at the table, moving at a million miles an hour, which shocked you as she was a big woman but didn’t surprise you.
“Oh my god, Kales Mae!” a girl said as she came up to where you were standing waiting for your next customer in the squabble of kids.
You smiled genuinely at the girl, a very well loved, and very old, looking Avenged Sevenfold shirt gracing her body, tucked in at the top of her jeans. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she had on a little black eyeliner, her wrists sporting various spiked and studded bracelets. She looked like you use to back in the day, and you could see the gleam in her eyes that came with being at the show of your favorite band.
“Hey hun,” you said happily, a big grin on your face as you shook the hand she had stuck out.
“Oh my god I love you just about as much as I love your brother’s band,” she said excitedly.
“Well I will take that as a lovely compliment dear heart,” you replied happily.
“Can I have your picture?” the girl squeaked as you let her hand go.
You made sure not to laugh, not a cruel laugh, but you couldn’t help it. You knew it was going to happen eventually, especially once word got around that you were here, but you hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.
“Why of course hun,” you replied.
“Oh thank you, thank you,” she said excitedly as she dug out her camera and got it ready.
As she smiled at you and got the camera positioned you decided to pose for it instead of just smile and stand. You put both of your hands up with the rock signs proudly bared, opened your mouth in a mock yell and crossed your eyes. The girl laughed as she took the picture and blinded you with flash. You blinked it off and went back to merch mode.
“Is there anything I can get for you...” you started to ask, hoping for her name.
“Oh it’s Carrie. And um, can I have letter B in small and the scarf as well?” Carrie asked as you watched her eyes scan the merch available.
“Can do Carrie,” you said happily as you turned to find her items.
Items in hand after waiting for one of the other team members to get out of your way you turned back towards Carrie.
“Its going to be twenty three dollars all together hun,” you said as you folded her shirt and scarf and placed both together neatly.
She handed you thirty and you went to go make change, a smile still on your face.
“Seven is your change hun,” you said as you handed over the bills to the girl.
“Oh thank you so much. I just wish I had something for you to sign, I’m not old enough for a tattoo yet but I hope to get something done by you when I am,” Carrie said happily as she took her change and her items that you held out for her.
“Here, give me one of your dollars,” you said as you dug a sharpie out of your pocket.
Carrie handed over one of her one dollar bills and you happily signed it, writing To Carrie, here’s the shops number. Give me a call when you’re old enough for ink. Much love, Kales Mae. Smiling you handed over the bill.
“Will that do?” you asked as you pocketed your sharpie once again.
“Oh thank you so much. My friends are never going to believe me, even with the picture and signature. Thank you so much again,” Carrie said as she waved and bounded out of the still increasing gathering of kids.
You waved at her and made a mental note to bring your business cards, and that of your shop’s, with you at the next stop. If you were going to be recognized you might as well have something for the kids as well.
“Next!” you said, the smile from Carrie’s reaction still on your face.
-xXx-
“Kales! Kales! Kales!” you heard your name shouted.
It didn’t sound like one of the kids you had been talking to throughout the night, the ones who had recognized you. It sounded older than that. You looked up and scanned the crowd and found the source of your shouted name. Katie was jumping up and down and waving her arms frantically. You started laughing as you waved her over to the side. You heard her uttered excuse me’s and pardon me’s as she tried to cut around to the side to get to you. Finally you took action.
“Move out of the blue haired girl’s way or I’ll kick your asses,” you bellowed.
And it worked, the kids parted and let Katie through.
“Oh good lord I thought I was never going to get through,” Katie said out of breath as she stood to the side of the merch table.
“We need to teach you to boss people around more, all it takes is a well placed elbow and very big voice,” you said with a smile as your friend calmed down her breathing.
“I may just take you up on that one at some point on this tour. Because that was murder,” Katie said as she straightened and pushed some of her fly away hairs off her face.
It was still pulled back into a no nonsense ponytail but running sound was a lot of work and some of it had come loose.
“So what was it you wanted me for that was causing you to act like a jumping lunatic back there?” you asked as you took another kids order.
“Oh yeah, right. Uh, The Used are about to go on, like next, and Jeph told me to come get you and bring you to side stage,” Katie stated, repeating like she had been made to repeat the same message a thousand times to Jeph before he sent her off.
Which more than likely had been the case. Jeph didn’t know her like you and the guys had come to know her and he was probably just trying to make sure that the correct message got to me.
“Twenty one is your total hun,” you said to the kid in front of you you had been waiting on.
“I don’t know if I can run, but I’ll ask. You can go back before some techie blows the sound board and I’ll make my way back there as soon as possible,” you said as you took the kids twenty five dollars to make change.
“Okay, but he said that Cherise should let you. And if not to tell her that she could steal one of the kids from his table to help out,” Katie said with a smile and wave.
You watched as she elbowed her way back out through the kids, she was learning and you hadn’t even begun the lessons yet. You smiled as you handed the kid back his change and made to ask Cherise if you could skip out when The Used started. But she was already looking at you nodding.
“Once the second head liner starts playing it starts to really thin out and we’re usually dead, so you can go. And I am guessing your brother will want you to see their set as well as it’s first of the tour, so stay for that as well. If it gets busy during that I’ll just steal Mark or David from the Used’s table. Just tell your brother he owes me a drink,” Cherise said with a smile.
“Thank you,” you said happily as you turned back to your next kid, mentally making note to buy her a drink yourself for letting you go.
You knew that they had handled themselves quite nicely without you here before, but it was still nice of her to let you go.
Out of all the fanfics this is the one I've read through 3 times through all 108 chapters. This is one of the best Zacky fics I've read and I still hope it'll be continued one day ; v; a very good read for any Zacky fan.
5/3/18