Back in my own apartment in LA; I got up from my bed slowly, hissing at every now and then eventhough I was already on painkiller but how much pain can it kill anyway? What about the pain in my heart? I can’t avoid knowing about Brian because everytime I turned on the TV, especially MTV, their faces always splayed on the screen and I noticed that Brian looked skinnier than before.

It had been 2 months since I was dropped from the assignment and I wondered who replaced me as his guard until he finally will meet the king. The king is something else entirely. Why does he take so long to call Brian in and explain the whole shit to him? And Brian Sr? Why is he so fucking stubborn? Just meet his dad and be done with this!

I scrolled down on my monitor to read the news about them and well, me. The incident in Cabo has been leaked everywhere on the internet. They didn’t know what really happened, they just knew that somebody tried to attack Brian and now Avenged Sevenfold had tightened their security measures. Means, more trained security guards and they will all be men. No women allowed otherwise Brian might fuck them and turned them into his pleasure toy only.

I rolled my eyes as I read on. Weirdly I didn’t see any pictures of Michelle during these two months of progression. Maybe they tried to slow things down now that his secret of cheating finally out?

I clicked on a fan page of them and read all the assumptions about the incident;

A7xDeathbatfoREVer: That girl who got shot, she’s a fucking bitch. I knew she seduced Brian and made him cheated on Michelle. Poor Chelle! :’(

RosanneSullivan_girl: @A7xDeathbatfoREVer who wouldn’t seduce him? If I were their security girl I would go for Brian first LOL.

SeizeTheFxckingDay: why would anyone want to shoot Brian anyway? He’s a sweetheart. Or maybe he impregnated some girl and didn’t want to be responsible?

Leyla.lp: Fuck u guys. I think the security girl was just doing her job. Imagine if she wasn’t around. My Brian would be dead by now. Thank u, whoever u are, wherever u are. :3

Finally a comment that made me smile. The rest were all negative that I couldn’t read anymore. Not much of my photos of being shot were leaked. If there’s any, they were blurry and can’t see much of me being held on Brian’s lap. Maybe because Big T and the management had forbidden them and paid an amount of money for them to shut up about it. But hell, I don’t think you can cover up that big of an incident. I even had to shut myself in my house for a couple of weeks before the news slowed down and moved on to Miley Cyrus twerking on the stage instead.

Thank God people were more interested in a singer doing obnoxious thing on stage than me getting shot in the middle of a fucking airport.

I closed my laptop down and seconds after my doorbell rang. Closing my eyes at the agony I slowly rose up to my feet and walked to the door.

“Hey, how are you today?”

It was Andy. And some food.

“God, Andy. I gave you a spare key didn’t I? Why do I have to walk all the way to the door just to open it for you?”

Andy let out a chuckle as he came in, shutting the door behind him. I noticed he looked exceptionally good today. He wore his black suit and tie, and his hair was gelled to the back, revealing his forehead.



“I understand the grumpiness of an injured person, so I’m just gonna smile and let you bitch on me. But I brought you some Chinese.”

“Great! I’m fucking starving.” I walked a little too fast towards him as he laid down the food on my kitchen table. A sharp stinging pain rammed against my stomach that I have to crouch down, regretting my every movement. It had been two months and it was still hurting.

“Slow down, missy! What are you rushing for?” And pulled me back up and led me to the dining table. He sat me down gently and right then I thought, how I missed my best friend so much.

“How’s your wound? Still nasty?”

I looked down to my flat stomach. My tshirt covered all of my injury but a white bandage was wrapped around my waist that I can’t actually show to him.

“It’s closing up. Wanna see?”

“Nooo thank you.”

I laughed for a bit and regretted immediately. Andy shook his head at me and opened up my box of wanton noodle.

“So, aren’t you interested?”

“In what?”

He rolled his eyes. “The Haner case. You’ve been off from it for two months.”

“And I’d like it to stay that way, thank you.” I lied. Actually I’m dying to know everything. I’m dying to know how Brian is doing.

“Okay. Suit yourself.”

We ate in pure silence and I saw a ghost of a smile etched on Andy’s face as he dug into his sweet and sour chicken rice. Shit. He’s really up to something.

“Fine! What have you got for me?”

He finally flashed his grin and handed me a file. “The king has finally arrived. Here.”

“What?” I put down my noodle and grabbed the file from him. It was filled with photographs of an old man, really fucking wealthy with limousin and all, and his white suit and shining leather shoes was getting down from private jet and was being greeted by-

“President Obama? You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“Yeah. Apparently Cericia and US are in good relationship. So if Brian wants to be the king he has to know so much shit.”

Wow. Now I really doubt that he will make a good king. A prince, maybe but a rock star king? A womanizer king at that?

“And he thinks being a king is that simple.” I mumbled to myself, recalling the last conversation I had with him.

“Huh, what?”

I looked up to Andy and shook my head. “Nothing. Um, so the king will finally meet the two Brians?”

“Maybe. But still don’t know when is it gonna be. The king apparently on a business visit first and foremost before he wanted to meet his son and grandson. I’ll ask Joe.”

Joe. My replacement. He was the one guarding Brian right now and God knows he was strict as fuck.

“And um, how’s Brian doing..?”

“I knew you’re gonna ask that sooner or later!”

I bit my tongue and sneered at him.

“Well, he’s…famous as you can see. As famous as ever. He’d get interviews more than any of his band members now. Mostly the press asked about you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, ‘the girl who got shot’ is your nickname on the internet now. Don’t you know?”

“Oh yeah. I knew. I also have been nicknamed as ‘the bitch who seduced Brian and got shot at last’. Tragic.”

He laughed and kept feeding himself from the chopsticks. He looked nice in whatever he was doing.

“Brian kept telling the press that you saved his life, and he doesn’t know how to repay you back.”

I looked down to my food. Repay me back? God, I thought about so many things of how he can repay me back. But a pang of reality hit me when I remembered about his relationship with Michelle. Shit I dunno, whenever I’m thinking of Brian, my eyes will start to get teary. Right, next topic!

“How’s my shooter doing? Is he talking yet?”

Andy let out big sigh. I guess not.

“That fucker. I don’t know if he’s too loyal or too stupid. But I’m going to his hearing today.”

“So that’s why you dressed up so nicely. For court, or for the judge?”

“How do you know about Laura?”

I slurped the last string of noodle and chewed lazily. “Come on! Do you think I only get visits from you? I have my lab friends!”

He raised his eyebrows and smirked at me. My mind unraveled back to a certain cocky smirk from someone.

“I didn’t know that geeks gossip to each other.”

“Yeah, only about losers like you, asshole. Now clean this up! I’m gonna play some Battlefield and then go to sleep.”

“No, wait, wait. You should really go out, Addie. See the sun. Walk the dog, whatever.”

“I don’t have a dog.”

“Then get one. You’re gonna fucking rot in this apartment if you keep it up. Trust me.”

I grimaced at him but made a mental note to probably get a cat after this. So I can still stay indoors and be a cat lady instead.

“Well, gotta go. Court waits for me.”

“Have fun. Make sure he talks! Or squeeze the juice out of him!”

“Euw. Okay, bye.”

After Andy let himself out of my apartment, I plunged myself on the couch, still moaning in pain as I flicked the TV on and the first thing that came up was the music video for So Far Away by none other than Avenged Sevenfold.

---

Arin sat behind the drumkits in the studio for the second time. The first time he played on this was in his audition to be the drummer for Avenged Sevenfold. He was nervous as hell at the time, though he nailed Unholy Confessions and Second Heartbeat without making any mistakes. The guys referred to him as a ‘demon’ when he started playing.

Today he was back in the studio again. They all were. The writing process had begun and Arin couldn’t wait to participate. He was the earliest here, but not including Zacky who slept over after going through a few of random riffs he wrote for this new album they were planning.

Arin smashed his drum to the intro of Remenissions and it woke Zacky right up. He bolted from the couch and mindlessly stood up without realizing that he was in the studio and there were beer bottles scattered everywhere on the floor.

“Arin? What the fuck? It’s…7 in the morning.”

Arin stopped kicking his drums and bit his tongue. “Sorry man, I didn’t see you there. I thought I was alone.”

Zacky yawned and stretched his body. “Jesus, you’re like a rooster but only with an extra cock.” He threw in a remark casually and made his way to the washroom, leaving Arin jaw dropped behind his drums.

Soon, Matt came in, alone this time without his family entourage together and his hair had grew a little bit longer than usual.

“Morning, Arin. You’re early.”

“I just got here. Zacky’s earlier than me.”

“No shit. That fucker’s here already?”

“He slept over.”

Matt shook his head and rummaged through the chords and notes that Zacky had written down. He tried the melody on with his voice and smiled, felt satisfied with it.

“These are quite good.” He mumbled to himself, putting a footnote under the sheet that he will ask Brian to come up with great solos later.

Speaking of Brian, he’d never seen that friend being so devastated ever since Jimmy passed. Sure they were all mourning but Brian changed. And now after all that happened in Cabo, he changed even more. Matt didn’t want to interfere in his love life but he honestly think that Brian shouldn’t be with Michelle if he doesn’t love her. That will only bring heartache for both of them.

After Addie had been deployed somewhere they didn’t know, Michelle had a huge fight with Brian, which Matt expected that it will end up with them breaking up. But no, it was the other way around. Michelle apologized and begged for them to stay together again.

He didn’t understand why Michelle wanted to be with Brian so much. That fucker treated her like shit too many times until he, himself regretted it. Yet she still cling on to him like none of it matters.

“S’up, Matt? You’re here by yourself?”

Matt spun around and frowned at the sight of half naked Zacky only wrapped in a towel.

“Yeah, I stopped by Brian’s but he just woke up.”

“Was he…alone?”

“I guess. Why?”

“No reason.”

“Why, you afraid that he will bring Michelle here too?”

Zacky put on his Vengeance University t-shirt and his pair of shorts from last night.

“Well, her and that strict bodyguard of his. Jeez, I’m never gonna get used to the fact that my lead guitarist is a fucking prince.”

Matt chuckled and let out a heavy sigh. “So, what’s up with these?” he waved a piece of paper containing Zacky’s chords and notes in front of his face.

“Oh that. Just a few riffs I came up with. This one,” Zacky reached for his Schecter 6661 and strummed a few chords with one foot up on the coffee table. “Probably an intro rhythm, maybe Gates can come up with the riff before it.”

“Nice, nice. What are you gonna call it?”

“I dunno, maybe-”

“Hail to the king!!” Suddenly Johnny barged in, raising both arms in the air and cutting off Zacky’s sentence halfway. Both Zacky and Matt turned to look at him, but then Johnny withdrew immediately when he saw that Brian wasn’t around.

“Oh sorry I thought the king is here. Where is that fucker?”

---

He barely slept nowadays. Most of the time he hung by his backyard with acoustic guitar in his hand, trying to find muse in the darkness. The ocean waves crashed, reminding him of his first kiss with Addie here, then everything led to the now.

Closing his eyes, he plucked a song from Led Zeppelin, Stairway To Heaven and tried to drown himself in it as short humming escaped from his mouth.

“Mr Gates.”

He snapped open his eyes. His new bodyguard, who replaced Addie stood before him with hands clasped in front, waiting for orders.

“It’s late and you shouldn’t be out here.”

Brian growled and ignored the guy’s request. If it was Addie, she would have let him do whatever he wants as long as he feeds himself. Now, he can’t even do that properly. His phone rang, and the screen showed Michelle’s name. He ignored it everytime. He wanted Michelle to give up naturally as he was tired of making his point that he didn’t want to be with her.

“Mr Gates,” the guard called again. This time he got up and grunted loudly, protesting his freedom. It wasn’t his fault to be born in a royal line of ancestry that he had to follow these silly rules like, don’t go out to late at night, don’t be seen in public doing illegal stuff and so on. Hell he’d gone past that phase already when he was younger. Why the fuck did it matter now?

He took one last look at his phone, feeling real tempted to contact Addie but he held it in. He didn’t want Addie to think that she needed to be back beside him. One bullet hole was enough for Brian to panic like hell, he didn’t want Addie to have gone through that again.

But he missed her so much that he can’t stop grinning whenever he saw a box of ice cream, he would play Guitar Hero alone without the bass but he’d let Addie’s name to be in there as the challenger, he would stare at Addie’s fridge note that he kept away once he got back with Michelle and everything that reminded him of her.

Without knowing he pressed the call button on Addie’s number.

“Hey, this is Addie. Sorry I can’t get to the ph-”

“Hello?”

Brian jerked up. His body tensed as his eyes wide opened when Addie suddenly picked up the call.

“Hello? Brian?”

He can’t back out now. She already knew that it was him.

“Brian if you have something to say to me then speak up.”

He remained silent. He just wanted to hear her voice and not argue about anything else.

“I guess not. Well, goodbye then. Be happy. And please, eat.”

He shut his eyes tight when Addie finally ended the call. How he regretted calling her in the middle of confusion and lead to his heart left hanging and incomplete, he can’t even tell.
Remembering that tomorrow he had some writing process to do with the guys, wearily he walked towards his bedroom and put aside his guitar before plunged himself on the bed, reminiscing everything about her.

Notes

A/N: sorry for a tad bit late on updating..been so fucking busy..and out of chaps! promise will write some more on weekend and update again on monday! comments guys!! XD