Life's A Riot.
Twenty Four.
JC POV.
I’d spent the couple of days after talking to Johnny deep in thought. The decision I’d come to left me numb with fear, but there was no way that I was going to change my mind. I sat on the couch, the dogs lying around me, staring at my clasped hands, going over my decision again and again. My right knee shook with nerves. Each time that I went over it I came to the same conclusion. The sound of a horn outside drew me out of my thoughts. I drew in a deep breath and got to my feet, grabbing my bag and leather jacket off the couch next to me. I glanced at the dogs, who all looked at me curiously as I headed for the door.
“Wish me luck guys.”
~*~
Syn POV.
I ran a hand tiredly through my hair. I was not enjoying this meeting. Not one little bit. We were currently sat in our manager; Bruce’s office, discussing the future of Avenged Sevenfold. To be honest, none of us really knew what to do and it wasn’t helped by Bruce and his bosses needing us to make a decision. The door to Bruce’s office opened, cutting him off mid-sentence. Everyone turned to face the newcomers. I think all of us were surprised to see the three girls stood there. They knew everything that we’d been talking about and considering and I had a rough idea of what they might be doing here.
“Val?” Asked Matt, obviously curious at the appearance of his fiancé. “What’s wrong?” It wasn’t Val the replied, but Leana.
“You’re not giving up.” Her voice was quiet, but firm. “We’re not going to let you … I’m not going to let you.” It was obvious what she was talking about. It was also obvious that she was fighting back tears.
“Sevenfold was Jimmy’s band. I don’t know that I, that we, could continue without him.” Replied Zacky. She met his gaze, her eyes firm.
“So? You think that he would want you to give up on your dream, his dream, just because he’s not here anymore?” We all knew the answer to that, without it being said.
“He’d want you to carry on, not for him, but for yourselves. You all love Sevenfold. It’s a part of who you are. You can’t let it go just because you’ve lost Jimmy. He wouldn’t want you to.” No-one said anything, letting Val’s words sink in. I think that we all wanted the same thing. We wanted to carry on, none of us wanted Sevenfold to die with Jimmy.
“I don’t think that I could stand even trying to find another drummer, never mind holding auditions for one.” Commented Johnny from his chair. There was another brief pause before the final person in the room spoke up.
“You won’t have to. I’ll do it.” Cait’s green-brown eyes were determined. Almost simultaneously all four of us froze. I stared at her in shock. It was Johnny who broke the silence again.
“J? Are you sure?” Cait focused her entire attention on her twin.
“You love Sevenfold, all of you. I refuse to let you give up your dream. It’s not what you want, it’s not what we want and it’s not what Jimmy would want. I mean it.”
“What about Lindenshield? Scars? And the SPCA?” Asked Matt.
“I’ve made up my mind. Now make up yours.” She replied. I couldn’t believe that she would sacrifice everything that she loved so much just so that we could continue doing what we loved. We all shared a glance. This was what he had been hoping for, a way to continue without having to go through the pain of auditioning a new drummer, without having to adapt to a new personality. Cait was as much a part of Sevenfold as we were, so were all of the girls. It was something that we all lived, we all breathed. The opportunity that Cait was offering us was perfect. Silently, we all agreed.
“What you we do without you baby sis?” Asked Johnny getting to his feet and walking over to his twin. They met in the middle and hugged.
“You’d all be lost without me. And, obviously, considerably less entertained.” She replied, smiling. As Johnny released her, Zacky pulled her into a hug of his own.
“My life would be incomplete without you Little J.” He laughed and dodged her light-hearted punch.
“Don’t call me that! I am not a character in Gossip Girl!” She scowled at him.
“I don’t know how to thank you.” Interrupted Matt, before Zacky could wind her up even more. Her scowl turned back into a smile.
“You can thank me, but not calling me a stupid nickname.” He laughed and headed over to Val. I suddenly realised that it was my turn. I didn’t say anything, but pulled her into a hug. We’d certainly become closer since Jimmy’s death, but things could still be a little tense between us. Which was unhelped by Pinkly, who still seemed to like sneaking into Cait’s room and shredding her underwear.
“That you so much Cait. You know how much this means to us all.” I whispered softly. She nodded, biting her lip as she stepped back out of the hug. Then she punched me in the arm.
“Don’t fucking call me that either!” I sighed and rubbed the sore spot on my arm. That was going to leave a bruise. Something’s will always stay the same.
I’d spent the couple of days after talking to Johnny deep in thought. The decision I’d come to left me numb with fear, but there was no way that I was going to change my mind. I sat on the couch, the dogs lying around me, staring at my clasped hands, going over my decision again and again. My right knee shook with nerves. Each time that I went over it I came to the same conclusion. The sound of a horn outside drew me out of my thoughts. I drew in a deep breath and got to my feet, grabbing my bag and leather jacket off the couch next to me. I glanced at the dogs, who all looked at me curiously as I headed for the door.
“Wish me luck guys.”
~*~
Syn POV.
I ran a hand tiredly through my hair. I was not enjoying this meeting. Not one little bit. We were currently sat in our manager; Bruce’s office, discussing the future of Avenged Sevenfold. To be honest, none of us really knew what to do and it wasn’t helped by Bruce and his bosses needing us to make a decision. The door to Bruce’s office opened, cutting him off mid-sentence. Everyone turned to face the newcomers. I think all of us were surprised to see the three girls stood there. They knew everything that we’d been talking about and considering and I had a rough idea of what they might be doing here.
“Val?” Asked Matt, obviously curious at the appearance of his fiancé. “What’s wrong?” It wasn’t Val the replied, but Leana.
“You’re not giving up.” Her voice was quiet, but firm. “We’re not going to let you … I’m not going to let you.” It was obvious what she was talking about. It was also obvious that she was fighting back tears.
“Sevenfold was Jimmy’s band. I don’t know that I, that we, could continue without him.” Replied Zacky. She met his gaze, her eyes firm.
“So? You think that he would want you to give up on your dream, his dream, just because he’s not here anymore?” We all knew the answer to that, without it being said.
“He’d want you to carry on, not for him, but for yourselves. You all love Sevenfold. It’s a part of who you are. You can’t let it go just because you’ve lost Jimmy. He wouldn’t want you to.” No-one said anything, letting Val’s words sink in. I think that we all wanted the same thing. We wanted to carry on, none of us wanted Sevenfold to die with Jimmy.
“I don’t think that I could stand even trying to find another drummer, never mind holding auditions for one.” Commented Johnny from his chair. There was another brief pause before the final person in the room spoke up.
“You won’t have to. I’ll do it.” Cait’s green-brown eyes were determined. Almost simultaneously all four of us froze. I stared at her in shock. It was Johnny who broke the silence again.
“J? Are you sure?” Cait focused her entire attention on her twin.
“You love Sevenfold, all of you. I refuse to let you give up your dream. It’s not what you want, it’s not what we want and it’s not what Jimmy would want. I mean it.”
“What about Lindenshield? Scars? And the SPCA?” Asked Matt.
“I’ve made up my mind. Now make up yours.” She replied. I couldn’t believe that she would sacrifice everything that she loved so much just so that we could continue doing what we loved. We all shared a glance. This was what he had been hoping for, a way to continue without having to go through the pain of auditioning a new drummer, without having to adapt to a new personality. Cait was as much a part of Sevenfold as we were, so were all of the girls. It was something that we all lived, we all breathed. The opportunity that Cait was offering us was perfect. Silently, we all agreed.
“What you we do without you baby sis?” Asked Johnny getting to his feet and walking over to his twin. They met in the middle and hugged.
“You’d all be lost without me. And, obviously, considerably less entertained.” She replied, smiling. As Johnny released her, Zacky pulled her into a hug of his own.
“My life would be incomplete without you Little J.” He laughed and dodged her light-hearted punch.
“Don’t call me that! I am not a character in Gossip Girl!” She scowled at him.
“I don’t know how to thank you.” Interrupted Matt, before Zacky could wind her up even more. Her scowl turned back into a smile.
“You can thank me, but not calling me a stupid nickname.” He laughed and headed over to Val. I suddenly realised that it was my turn. I didn’t say anything, but pulled her into a hug. We’d certainly become closer since Jimmy’s death, but things could still be a little tense between us. Which was unhelped by Pinkly, who still seemed to like sneaking into Cait’s room and shredding her underwear.
“That you so much Cait. You know how much this means to us all.” I whispered softly. She nodded, biting her lip as she stepped back out of the hug. Then she punched me in the arm.
“Don’t fucking call me that either!” I sighed and rubbed the sore spot on my arm. That was going to leave a bruise. Something’s will always stay the same.
7/16/13