All I Ask Is... Why?

ONE MONTH LATER...
"Brian are you sure I look okay?" I asked Brian very nervously as I show off my outfit of dark blue skinny jeans, black flats, white blouse with a dark blue unbuttoned denim over shirt. Normally, I don't wear this because not many people care for it, but it was the only thing I had to wear that looked nice. All I kept hearing in my head was Mercedes' voice over and over again, "Who the hell rocks a denim jacket with denim jeans anymore?" My hair was put down in waves and my bangs were slightly curved enough so everyone could see my eyes, which I don't do a lot. I didn't even do that when I met Ryan's family, only because my bangs were too long and just made to blend in with the rest of my hair. My makeup was done to make myself look pretty natural, which I had a little bit of hell doing. Today is the day that I am going to meet his family and I want everything to go great. I love Brian and the last thing that I want is for him to feel like he needs to choose between me and his family if we all don't get along. It's a good thing Zacky and Mercedes are going with us, aside from being with Brian, that was the only thing that wasn't making me so nervous.

Brian turned around from fixing his hair in the mirror and looked at me. "Baby, you look beautiful." He smiled with a small chuckle. "I'm not too sure about the jacket though." He quickly turned around to finish fixing his hair.

I looked down and observed myself really quickly before looking back at him a little confused. "What's wrong with my jacket?"

"Babe, it's a casual cookout with my family. You're not meeting an agent for a jean modeling company. Plus it's fucking ninety degrees outside, and you're going to wear a jean jacket?" He said sarcastically.

Well, that made me feel better. I looked at myself once more and quickly took off the jacket and threw it on my bed in frustration. I then quickly walked back to my bathroom and debated at myself through the mirror if I should wear my hair up or down. I kept scoffing at myself when I finally figured I had enough and tied my hair up into a nice ponytail. Was I trying too hard? Heavy footsteps filled the room and stopped right behind me. Brian wraps his arms around my waist and stares at me through the mirror, his chin resting on my left shoulder. "You're so beautiful. You know that?"

A small smile appeared on my face as I stared back at his reflection. "Well, you do tell me that all the time."

"Because it's true. It's one of the things that I love about you." He smiled back at my reflection.

My smile grew a little more as I turned around slowly to face him, as he stood up straight to look down at me. His dark sunglasses covering his gorgeous chocolate brown eyes that I get lost in every time I look into them. Gently taking off his glasses, I place them down on the counter next to me. "That's better." I said, never taking my eyes off of his eyes. He leans down and kisses me ever so softly, I wrap my arms around his neck as I tiptoe to kiss him back. "What else do you love about me?" I asked in between kisses.

He chuckled as we pull our lips away from each other. Brian then gently lifts me up to sit me down on top of the counter for us to be eye level with each other. "I love your smile, your eyes, your body, I love how amazing you are in bed." We both laughed for a second. "I love your kindness, your patience, your personality, and your ability to love me just as much no matter how close or how far apart we are from each other. Those things are the things that my family is going to see today and I know they are going to love you, no matter how young you are compared to me."

His words never failed to make my heart skip a few beats in a row. It still amazes me to this day that I am with Brian and that he loves me so much like I love him. And now that we are quote on quote "official", there is no doubt in my mind that I couldn't have found a better man. I leaned in slowly and connected my lips with his in a soft and gentle kiss. He kissed me back and moved in a little closer to me. His thin lips, so soft, so gentle as they lightly touch mine. Pure bliss was taking over and my lips tingled with excitement after he pulled away slowly. We stayed in position and stared at each other for a second before Brian looked at his watch. We had to be at his dad's house by twelve and it was already ten-thirty in the morning, we had been up since eight. "We better go." I said as I quickly made my way off of the counter, leaving me to be eye level with Brian's adam's apple. Quickly placing a small peck to Brian's neck before I giggle and make my way out of the bathroom to all the way downstairs. Mercedes has been staying at Zacky's house every day since her baby bump started to show, and today they find out what the gender of the baby is. They did have an appointment for it last week, but both Mercedes and Zack caught a bad case of a stomach virus and had to go see a doctor instead, for fear that the virus would harm the baby. Luckily four days later everyone turned out fine and they agreed to meet us at the Haner household after the ultrasound appointment.



After what felt like only a ten second drive, we took the long way to mister Haner's house in Los Angeles and that caused us to be about twenty minutes late. The entire time Brian and I listened the radio to try to take my mind off of how nervous I was about this. One song in particular came on that never failed to get the Energizer Battery in me up and running in the past, Savior by Rise Against. I haven't heard this song in so long, but it took me back to the days when I never gave this song a rest because of how much I listened to it. I started off with a slow head bang until Brian turned the radio up a little louder. He smiled at me before focusing back on the road. By the time the first chorus came on, I was already rocking out and so was he. We sang along to the song and I played along to the beat of the drum by smacking on my knees and tapping my foot. I refused to sing louder because I was embarrassed that I didn't have a good voice, even though Mercedes and other people have told me time and time again that I have an amazing voice, I don't believe it. When we arrived to the house, my nerves slowly started creeping up again, so bad that I could feel my grip on the seat becoming tighter and tighter. I could feel Brian taking my hand in his and intertwining his fingers with mine. He placed a small kiss to the back of my hand and it caught my attention. "Don't be nervous baby. They are going to love you." He smiled at me.

I tried my best to smile back and calm down just enough, but that wasn't seeming to work. My attention just kept going back to the house and the thought of only being just a few feet away from going inside and meeting the entire family alone was just nerve wrecking. In my mind, I so desperately wanted to tell Brian to turn the truck around and take me back to my home in Huntington Beach so I could just crawl under a rock and stay there until I die, but I knew that I needed to snap out of this sooner or later if I want this relationship with Brian to work. I took a deep breath before looking back at Brian with an actual smile. "Okay, I'm ready."

Brian escorted me out of the truck and all the way into the house. We immidiately walked inside without knocking because, well, it was Brian's parents house, he doesn't need to knock. We looked around in the living room to see that nobody was in sight. Maybe nobody was home and we can leave, with my luck somebody has to be here. "Hello?" Brian called out.

We then heard a pair of footsteps coming from upstairs and making their way down the steps. Only to reveal that it was indeed the man himself, Brian Haner Sr., also known to the world as Papa Gates. He looked at his son with a smile once he was in full view. "Well, look what the waves washed ashore, it's my long lost son." Mr. Haner laughed and Brian joined in. Brian let go of my hand and embraced his dad in a father and son hug. "It's good to see you Brian. How was the tour?"

"It was great. Usual, traveling a lot. Signing a shitload of autographs and all that other stuff." Brian smiled at his dad.

Wasn't long before Mr. Haner noticed me and smiled at me a little. "Hello. You must be Evelyn. Brian has told me a lot about you... and about seven other girls he's been seeing." He extended his hand out for me to shake as he spoke. I shook his hand until he stated the words 'seven other girls'. This had me a little confused and it started to show on my face. Mr. Haner laughed a little at me as we let go of each other's hands. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding." What a relief. "No but he has told me a lot about you. It's nice to finally meet you." He smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too. Brian has told me a lot about all of you as well." I smiled back at him.

"Well I certainly hope not." He chuckled. "Well come on in." Mr. Haner led me and Brian further into the house and into the kitchen area. He went to the fridge to grab a couple of beers for him and Brian and looked back at me. "Evelyn, what would you like to drink? We have Coke, Heineken, Root Beer, Guinness, Guinness Black Lager, and Pepsi."

"A Heineken would be great for me." I replied.

He grabbed the third bottle and walked over to us to hand us out beers. "You're in luck. That was our last one." He smiled at me. I smiled back as I quickly opened the bottle and took a quick swig. "Thirsty much?" Mr. Haner asked with a slight chuckle.

I didn't take notice that I had just downed about half of the bottle until he said something. I didn't want to admit that I was nervous, so I just said the second response that came to mind. "It was a long drive." I laughed a little.

Both Brians chuckled at my response until Brian Jr finally broke the ice. "So, where is everyone else?"

"Oh, Suzy and McKenna went to go pick up Brent and from there they were heading to the grocery store to get everything we needed. Believe it or not, we actually forgot you guys were coming today until McKenna said something about two hours ago. Your mom called earlier and she said she might not be able to make it today." Mr. Haner then looks at me. "So luckily for you, you only get to meet one mother today. Suzy's a real hard ass when it comes to anyone her children date, so don't be surprised if she says something that offends you or makes you cry." He took another drink. Was he joking again? I really couldn't tell. This is making me even more nervous, I need a drink. I took another swig with the nerves starting to pile up. Mr. Haner then laughs at me again. "I'm only kidding." He continues laughing. "You know, if you are going to be in Brian's life, you have got to get a sense of humor."

"Brian! Are you torturing the poor girl?" Said a woman as she made her way into the house with four bags of groceries in each hand. Followed by a pink haired teenager and a taller man who looked to be around Brian's age.

"No Suzy, just giving her a little pep talk on how you are sometimes." Mr. Haner chuckled as he greeted Suzy with a small kiss.

"Well stop and get the rest of the groceries for me please." Suzy smiled at him.

"Yes ma'am." He smiled back at her. He then turns to me. "Evelyn, this is my wife Suzy. I'm only introducing you to her because she will kick my ass if I don't." He laughed.

She tsked at him. "Stop being mean and help Brent and McKenna with the groceries." She then walked over to me and extended her hand out for me to shake. "It's nice to finally meet you Evelyn. Don't mind my husband, he can be a pain in the ass sometimes." She laughed, and for some odd reason her laughter gave me some sort of comfort.

I shook her hand and smiled, placing my bottle on the island table in the middle of the kitchen. "Well, at least I know where Brian gets it from." I laughed a little and she did too. "It's nice to finally meet you. Brian tells me a lot about you."

"Well I sure do hope so." Suzy looks at Brian and smiles. "It's not very often that we get to see Mister Synyster Gates. Much less have him over for dinner." Suzy then extends her arms out and Brian embraces her in a tight hug. "It is always good to see you goofball." She said as she hugged him back just as tight.

"It's good to see you too, mom." He said back to her. The image of them hugging, as well as him greeting his brother Brent and sister McKenna in a hug just made me realize how precious a family can be, especially if you have parents like Suzy and Brian Sr.

This was one of the things that I wish I had growing up, something that me and Mercedes both wished we had. Since we've been born, our mother and father never wanted us but were forced to keep us until our grandmother was able to take full custody of both me and Mercedes. She lived in Huntington Beach her entire life and grew up on what is now considered the wrong part of town. When she took full custody, she lived with us in our house in San Diego after our mom left to live with my dad in Utah. She eventually grew to miss her home in Huntington Beach and moved back over there with us when Mercedes turned twenty-one. I was only eighteen years old when we lived in Huntington Beach, and our grandmother died in her sleep three months after we moved into her old house. Five months later, Mercedes got accepted to art school and we moved out of our grandmother's house, placing all of her belongings up for sale since we needed to find a quick way to make money for the move. We had no other choice because the landlord was already threatening to evict us since the house wasn't under mine or Mercedes' names. I guess in a way, she directed us into the right paths.



After greeting everyone in the house, McKenna and Suzy and I got to spend time together preparing other foods in the kitchen while Brian, Brent and their dad prepared the meats outside. I was preparing the salads and getting the guys beers whenever they wanted one. While I was in the kitchen, Suzy and McKenna decided to take this time to get to know me a little more. "So when did you meet my brother?" McKenna asked as she chopped the tomatoes.

"I met him back in October last year. I was working at a small shop in the downtown area of Dallas, and he and Matt Berry came in looking for costumes. And as I helped him find one, we just started talking and became good friends after that." I said, sugar coating the dirty details as much as possible.

"Oh that's good. So you're a Texas girl, did you grow up in Dallas?" Suzy asked as she finished up the rest of the potato salad.

"No. Actually my sister and I grew up in San Diego. Our family was going through a rough time, so my grandma took me and my older sister Mercedes in when we were younger. She lived in Huntington Beach and moved us with her over there." I smiled a little.

"Oh, cool. Does your grandma still live in Huntington Beach?" McKenna asked.

I shook my head slightly. "No, she passed away four years ago."

Just then, the two ladies became quiet and looked at me with sympathy well shown in their eyes. "I'm so sorry to hear that honey." Suzy said in a soft tone.

I sighed a little, trying to hold back on the tears that were starting to form at my eyes. "It's okay. She was an amazing woman. And deep down I guess she knew that she wasn't going to be alive with us forever. She was very ill with breast cancer while we lived in San Diego, and we thought she was doing better when we moved to Huntington Beach. I guess it just sort of, snuck back up on her. You know?" I then felt a tear fall down my face from my eye.

Both Suzy and McKenna noticed and they both walked towards me and embraced me in a tight hug. I tried so hard to fight the feeling to cry, but I haven't thought about my grandmother in two years that I started to feel bad for not taking the time to see her at the cemetery since I moved back in town. I really hope she doesn't think I forgot all about her.
"It's alright sweetie, just let it out." Suzy said as she embraced me in a full hug. "McKenna, go get some tissue." She told her. I started to cry a little harder as she cooed and comforted me. "Shh, shh. It's alright. I'm sure she loved you and your sister very much. And I'm also sure that the one thing she wants right now is for both of you to be strong and make something of yourselves. It will all be alright." Her words made me calm down and my crying slowly came to a stop as I hugged her back. "There you go." She gently rubbed my back until McKenna returned with some tissue in her hand. Suzy took a piece and slowly pulled away just enough for her to wipe away the running mascara on my face. "A woman should always be prepared to wear waterproof mascara at all times." She chuckled at me.

I lauged a little. "Thank you." I said to both of them once Suzy finished wiping. I knew it wouldn't be long until someone from the outside noticed all of what was going on with us from the inside. Once I gathered the other two pieces of tissue paper from McKenna's hand, I placed the unused ones in my pocket just when Brian walked inside and stood next to me.

"How's everything going in here?" He asked everyone, but I knew that the question was leaning more towards me for the answer.

"It's going great, I just had a little emotional moment. That's all." I looked at him and smiled.
"You sure you're okay baby? You looked like you were crying pretty hard." He said as he looked into my eyes, I could tell that he was really concerned, but mostly worried.

I nodded back up at him. "I'm fine baby. Honestly."

"Okay." He gave me a quick kiss on the lips. "You ladies be nice to my lady now." He said to Suzy and McKenna with a small smile as they chuckled in response. "By the way, Zacky just called and he said that he and Mercedes are about ten minutes away."

Finally! I thought they would never show up. I nodded slightly. "Okay, great."

"Food's almost done outside so I'm just going to grab a beer and wait with the guys outside." He smiled as he quickly walked over to the fridge and made his way back over to me to give me one more quick kiss. "Love you."

"Love you too." I said before he steps outside and closes the door behind him. I could feel both Suzy and McKenna staring at me as I sighed and felt my heart melt.

"You two must really be in love with each other." McKenna finally spoke up. "I haven't seen him act like that in a long time."

"Neither have I." Suzy said with a warm smile.

I smiled back at both of them as I began helping McKenna out on chopping the rest of the food.



Fifteen minutes go by and Zacky and Mercedes finally show up. Mercedes' belly is barely starting to show and she has been working really hard on trying to keep off the baby weight, especially with her maternity modeling career it adds on a little more pressure to her weight. Zacky spent time outside while Mercedes and I stayed inside with Suzy and McKenna since Mercedes has started getting nauseous at the smell of smoke. During that time, Suzy and McKenna got to know me and Mercedes a little better and have really started to grow a liking towards both of us. Which is a big relief, now that I know they won't have any problems with me at the moment.

Once the guys were fully done grilling the meats, they invited us all outside and we all carried plates of food in our hands. We spent the rest of the afternoon talking and everyone took the time on really getting to know us a lot better. Before we knew it, we were all joking around and acting like one big happy family. Mercedes and I seemed to win everyone over by just being ourselves. "So, Mercedes, we understand that you and Zacky had an ultrasound appointment today. Were you able to find out what you are going to have?" Mr. Haner said after Zacky told a funny story.

Mercedes nodded. "Yeah. We had to practically beg the doctor for an answer and she wanted to keep it a surprise from us for some odd reason. But, we are having a girl." Mercedes and Zacky both smiled at all of us.

I squealed a little in excitement. "Wow! I am going to be an aunt to a baby girl! Have you two thought of any names yet?"

Everyone laughed at my excitement. "Yeah. Just in case, we were going to name it Owen James Baker if it was a boy. Now that we know it's going to be a girl, we are still debating on names." She said as she looked back at Zacky.

"Yeah, I want to name her Annabelle Skylar Baker." Zacky spoke.

"And I want to name her Isabelle Justine Baker. So we've been having a feud on that even before we found out the gender." Mercedes chuckled.

"Well they are both such beautiful names, it is really hard to choose." Suzy spoke up.

"Yeah, but you know what they say, 'you won't know for sure until the moment comes'." Zacky spoke.

We all nodded in agreement. I peeked at Brian's watch to see that we have been here for about five hours, time flew by so fast that I didn't even realize that it has been that long. I knew that Brian would want to give it another hour or two before we made the trip back home, but in all honesty I really didn't want to leave because I was having such a great time. Just then, Papa Gates cleared his throat and raised his beer bottle above the food. "I would like to make a toast, a toast to the new additions to the Haner and Baker family, as well as the Avenged Sevenfold family. Evelyn, Mercedes, you both have passed the test today and I think I speak for the rest of my family when I say that we have all really grown to like both of you. Congratulations on Zacky and Mercedes for the new baby girl. And to Evelyn, for making my son happy since the day you two got together despite everything you two have been through. I guess what I am trying to get at is, ladies, welcome to the family. To Evelyn and Mercedes." Just then we all raised our glasses and clinked with one another. The last person I clinked drinks with was Mercedes, who was having peach fruit juice in a wine glass. Made to look like she was drinking some sort of wine, whatever, it worked for her. Mercedes and Zacky stayed for another hour until Mercedes started getting tired and asking for Zacky to take her home. Brian and I however stayed until nine at night joining the family for two movies and a game of rocksmith. "I really hope you two come back and visit us soon." Mr. Haner added as he walked with us to the front door.

"We will. Probably when the band get's another break from touring." Brian responded with a smile.


We all said our goodbyes and made our way back to the truck. It sort of surprised me that Brian didn't bring Pinkly back with us, being that Brian hasn't stopped playing with her since the moment we got here. The ride back to Huntington Beach was shorter than the ride all the way to Los Angeles. Once we reached back into town, Brian surprised me by taking me to an ice cream shop that also surprised me by the fact that it was still open at this hour. It was eleven by the time that we made it back home and almost everything was closed. "This place is open?" I asked a little shocked.

Brian nodded. "Yeah, this is a new one that just opened up about a month ago. They are open twenty-four hours a day. They must have serious balls to stay open past midnight if you ask me." He chuckled. We both got out of the truck and Brian made sure to lock it and park right in front so he can keep an eye on his truck while we were inside. He ordered a banana nut ice cream in a waffle cone and I ordered a Superman ice cream in a waffle cone. After getting our ice creams, Brian paid for it and we went to sit at a table outside. The summer night was warm with a cool breeze here and there. Not a cloud in the sky and the moon shined so bright down on the small city, the stars covering the sky as much as we could see, which wasn't much due to the light pollution, but I knew there was a shit load of them in the sky because they were easier to see on the way back home. As we sat outside and ate, we talked and told a few funny stories here and there. "My family really loved you. I told you so." He smiled at me.

I nodded in agreement after taking a bite of my cone. "Yes, you did. I didn't think I would make a good impression at first, but after having that cry with Suzy and McKenna, I really started to feel the comfort that I've always wanted from a mother." I smiled.

He smiled back at me, before switching back to a sort of concerned look. "I'm curious, what was said that made you cry?"

I sighed a little. "I was telling them about my grandmother and how she passed away after we moved back here."

"Oh." I had told Brian the story the night that I first stayed with him at the hotel. And from then he had a better understanding as to why I was crying and why I don't like to talk about it. We sat in silence until we finished our ice creams and looked up at the night sky, the sound of the ocean was what really made the scenery more beautiful. "So what happens now?" He asked as he focused his attention back to me.

I looked back at him. "Well, you guys do have to go back on tour until June. And until then, I know that we all have a wedding to prepare for, as well as a baby to arrive. So much to do in so little time."

He nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that is true. I've also been thinking about something." He took my hand in his and fiddled his fingers with mine until they were intertwined. "I was thinking about us taking this to the next step. I mean we practically are already, but I thought we could make things official and we can find a place of our own. I know that Mercedes is going to be moving in with Zacky once they are married and you and I can't keep going from house to house forever."

"So are you asking me to move in with you?" I asked with a smile spreading wide across my face.

"Well, yes, but I was thinking more along the line of us finding a new place to live together. My house has too many good and bad memories, and we can sell it as well as the house that you and Mercedes are living in now once everyone has completely moved out. It's just a suggestion. I mean if you don't want to or you're not ready for that yet then I completely understand."

"Brian, I would love to move in with you." I smiled at him.
He smiled back at me. "Great. We can start looking before the guys and I have to leave for the tour again. But for now, I think it's a good idea to go home and sleep."

"I agree." I laughed as we made our way back to the truck and back to my house to sleep the night away.

Notes

One more chapter before I put this story to an end. I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I can't wait to read your feedback. <3 you all!