***Zacky's P.O.V.***
“Zacky we’ve got to hit stage,” Jimmy called out.

The loud wrap of Jimmy’s knuckles on Zacky’s locked dressing room door brought Zacky out of his zone. He had gotten completely lost in the ritual of tuning his first guitar for the night, his mind lost in the sound of his strings as he tightened and loosened them. It had done it’s job, his mind had been completely void of the viral thing that claimed his best friend as family.

Smiling and back to his old self Zacky stood and unlocked the dressing room door.

“Be there in a sec fuck bag,” Zacky called out in a kidding manner.

Same old same old. Smiling to himself Zacky went about putting on the last of his light eyeliner, straightening out his clothes for the night and strapping on his guitar. Music was his life now, and touring was about the best thing on the planet in his mind’s eye. He got to be on the road, seeing a different city almost every night, with his best friends that he had grown up with. Nothing beat that. Add the constant partying, unlimited booze and girls, girls, girls and Zacky really didn’t see how anyone could want any other life than this.

Zacky walked out of the dressing room to gather with the rest of the guys for their initial last gathering before heading to the stage. Matt said his few words like always as the five of them stood in a huddle in the center of the room. Once the words were done, the toast to rockin it like it was the last night of their lives said Zacky followed last in line as they left the green room. The entire walk to the stage Zacky felt himself getting into music mode, it helped that he could, even this far back from the main stage, hear the fans screaming their praise loudly. This is what it was really for. The kids out there waiting him and his friends arrival. The bodies out there that waited for them to arrive, that dolled out the very last of their saved allowances for a ticket and stood smashed against their peers, sweaty bodies and all, waiting for them to grace the stage. It was a rush. And not one that even she could kill.

“All right, all right. Kales if you had wanted to know what he had eaten for breakfast this morning you could have just asked someone. Tasting it second hand by shoving your tongue into his gullet is so not the way to do it,” Zacky heard Matt tease.

Zacky didn’t see it, but the mention of walking across Kales and Jeph sucking each other’s face off made his stomach curl. As it was he made his way to stand at the end of the semi circle that his band mates had created. Force of habit.

“So says the man who parades around our head of sound with no shirt on,” Zacky heard Kales tease.

She must not have seen him standing there at the end in the dark, even though he could see her. The sight of her and Jeph holding each other tightly made his stomach once again churn. Why couldn’t she just leave his friend alone and leave the tour all together?

Zacky was pulled out of his self debate by the sound of Matt coughing.

“Easy boy, easy,” Zacky heard Syn say as he beat on Matt’s back like he was actually choking.

Zacky couldn’t help but grin.

Finally Zacky heard the guys saying their pieces to Kales before they did their final gathering before gracing the stage. Zacky didn’t bother to say anything, he didn’t even bother to give her the head nod he had earlier. She had killed that flat dead.

Zacky thought now that everyone had said their pieces to her that they would gather one last time, but he was wrong. She had to interrupt it.

“Hey bro, what was the note for?” Kales voice broke through in question.

Zacky felt his stomach turn to acid.

“What note loser?” Matt asked teasingly as he ruffled Kales’ hair.

“The note, saying you were sorry. The one you left on my pillow. Was it for biting my head off earlier?” Kales asked as she tried fixing her hair as she gave Matt a playfully glare.

“I didn’t leave you any note smart one. Why would I apologize for biting your head off any way? It’s my birth right,” Matt said as he shrugged his shoulders.

“Then who did?” Kales asked as she looked at each of the guys standing beside me.

Zacky watched as each of them shrugged their shoulders and shook their heads as if they had no clue what the hell she was talking about. Zacky felt his face pale and tinge green. He felt nauseous. Kales eyes barely even flickered his direction but Zacky could tell by the look of hate passing over her features that she didn’t even think it could be him. Good.

“Huddle up bitches,” Zacky heard Matt’s voice call out and the nauseous feeling left his stomach.

We were about to go on stage once again.

Zacky felt as Johnny’s arm and Syn’s arm encircled his shoulders as one of each of his did the same to theirs.

“Here’s to blowing minds and rocking out like death was at our heels. Here’s to showing everyone up who ever thought we weren’t worth a second of their time and to giving back to those who constantly give us all of theirs. Here’s to living fast, loving the sin we wallow in. Here’s to family,” Matt said just like every other night.

Oh it changed from night to night, but it generally always carried the same message.

Zacky couldn’t help but look under the encircled arms around him over in Kales and Jeph’s direction when Matt said for family. Nor could he, nor did he, miss how Kales had taken a yellow piece of paper out of her pocket, scan it’s contents and then cast a glance his direction. Their eyes met for less than a second before Zacky broke it. But it was all it took for he heard her storm off, stubbing her foot on something in the dark and cursing it almost as bad as she cursed him. Zacky grinned and put his head back into the group.
-xXx-
“You’re kinda cute,” the girl hanging on Zacky’s arm chirped at him.

Zacky felt himself grinning at the girl, and yet cringing on the inside. He had picked another not so bright one. Oh well.

They had played a killer set, done an encore and even signed a few things for kids waiting out back for them. Zacky had even scored himself a girl for the night. She had stood out of the crowd in her pale pink Avenged Sevenfold shirt, that looked as if she had just ripped it so her cleavage would be front and center. It was a new shirt too, as the merch team had only just started carrying a pink shirt in the girl’s style. Zacky had caught her leaning over and sending him the eye. And it had done it’s job. For he caught her look and then proceeded to scan down her entire body, resting momentarily on the skirt that didn’t even seem to be legal. So what if she may or may not be the age she said she was, twenty one, Zacky really didn’t care. As long as later on that night when he roamed through her purse when she wasn’t looking so he could find her ID and it read at least eighteen, he had no worries.

Zacky tightened his grip on her waist and nuzzled his head into her neck, biting it ever so slightly and making her squeal in delight. Oh it was going to be a most advantageous night if he could say so himself.

Notes

He tried so hard to be good.
If only for a moment.
And then, well out comes the manwhore. ;)