*~*Zacky’s POV*~*

“Have a good show baby!” Kelly called after Brian as we left the merch booth, heading to the stage area.

I glanced back to see Kamalei handing a muscular guy a T-shirt as he handed her money and stared down her low cut shirt while she batted her eyelashes at him. The sight boiled my blood as I watched guy after guy, day after day, check her out and flirt with her for the past 2 weeks.

Brian slapped me on the back, regaining my attention, “Hey man, come on. You know the Berrys hate when we’re late.”

“Yeah.” I replied as we passed by a security guard.

I couldn’t focus on what else Brian was saying as we walked to the backstage area. We had been touring for a good 2 weeks now and things hadn’t gotten any better with Kamalei and I. I tried to be nice and talk to her but she would usually just walk away as soon as I opened my mouth. Matt tried to make us work it out, but it ended with us sitting on the couches across from one another in silence for 4 hours while Matt sat at the table trying to get us to budge and say what happened. I hadn’t said a word to her in over a week now, and it was killing me.

This silence and broken friendship wasn’t just affecting me negatively, but her as well. She tried to hide it but I could see she wasn’t eating or sleeping nearly as much as she pretended to. I could see the dark circles and puffiness under her eyes every morning when she would get up early and put on makeup before everyone else got up. I saw the way she pushed her food around on her plate like a child that didn’t want to eat their vegetables when we all went out to eat. She was losing a lot of weight and I think the facade of her being happy and smiling was clouding Matt’s ability to see the damage actually being done. As much as she would smile and laugh with everyone all day, I would hear her cry alone in her bunk every night when she thought no one was around. I usually left early when everyone went out, worried that she might do something to herself if we left her alone too long. When she did sleep, she only slept a few hours at a time, just enough time before the nightmares could start I imagined.

I wasn’t sure if it was only my fault or if she was also dealing with the other stuff that happened, but I felt miserable as I listened to her cry every night. It disturbed me to the core and would keep me up, causing me to usually lie out on the couch and watch movies until she would come out for something to drink. I used to invite her to watch with me, but after a week of her rejecting my offers, I stopped asking. I knew she wanted to, as she always would pause, look at the movie, and then continue walking off to her bunk without saying a word. Everything she did was crumbling me more and more every day.

We met up with Johnny in the warm up area, Brian going over to his guitar and checking its tune. I took a seat on one of the metal chairs as I grabbed my own guitar and played a few notes. Jimmy and Leana came into the area shortly after, giggling about something, probably some place they just had sex in.

“Well I better go babe. I’m taking over for Val and Lei today. Love you and have a great show.” Leana said giving Jimmy a kiss before heading off to the booth area.

It was a good thing that Jimmy brought Leana along to help Val out at the merch booth. Now that things had died down some, two girls could take off to watch backstage at a time while the other two ran the stand. Hearing that Lei would be there today kind of got me more excited as she had only sat in backstage one time a few days into the tour. Having her near me still made me feel better, even if we weren’t on good terms. At least I knew she was safe.

Matt and Val came in holding hands and smiling as Val let go of his hand and went to find him a red bull for his pre-show ritual. Kamalei came in behind them, locking eyes with me for a second before she dropped her eyes to the ground and made her way to Jimmy’s awaiting open arms.

“My little Lei-Lei is gonna watch us today! Yay! Finally! Val, you running a sweat shop out there?” Jimmy teased.

“Not enough children.” Val giggled.

“Sure feels like a sweat shop though.” Lei added, fanning herself.

“Oh come on Hawaiian Beauty, it can’t be that hot for you…” Johnny said pinching her arm as he threw his bass on.

“Some days it’s worse than others… but it’s not unbearable.” She said pinching his cheek back.

“Avenged. You’re on in 5.” The stage manager said as he ran off somewhere.

I stood up and joined my bandmates for our usual pre-show rituals, waiting lastly for Jason Berry to come around and slap our asses. We walked up the small stairs to the backstage and listened to the crowd cheer ‘SEVENFOLD! SEVENFOLD!’ letting it get us more amped. I jumped up and down a few times, feeling the adrenaline coursing thru my body. Val gave Matt a kiss before hugging us all, wishing us good luck. Kamalei stood off to the corner by Val before Jimmy went over and kissed the top of her head and she hugged him before he went up to his drum set. One by one the rest of the group followed Jimmy’s actions hugging Lei and kissing the top of her head before heading out on stage, until I was the last one.

She came up to me hugging me around the waist, “Have a great show Zacky.”

“Thanks Lei.” I said as I kissed the top of her head and went out on stage with a smile.

*~*Kamalei’s POV*~*

I blushed as I watched Zacky go out on stage with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“What the hell was that?” Val leaned over and asked in my ear, the music blaring from the stage.

“What?” I inquired, “I couldn’t be mean and not wish him a great show too.”

“How nice of you all of a sudden.” She smirked before screaming as Matt began to bellow out Critical Acclaim.

We watched the guys run around and play up to the crowd; all the while we sang along and cheered after every song. I stood off to the side as Matt and Jason Berry rushed past me and set bottles of water down for the guys in between songs.

Matt came over and leaned in closer to speak to me, “You enjoyin the show lil sis?”

“Yeah. You guys are kickin ass!” I yelled back.

He nodded before going back out on the stage, girls erupting in high-pitched squeals as he ruffled his shirt to cool himself.

I looked at Val to see if it bothered her, “Eh, you get used to it after a while. They can look at the menu, they just can’t order off it.” She shrugged before Zacky came over grabbing a water.

He smiled at me before leaning over to my ear, “Having fun?”

I nodded smiling big.

“Good.” He smirked taking a drink and heading back out.

“How’s everyone doing?!” Matt said into the microphone receiving countless screams, “Now during our break between tours, we got to go on vacation. We got to go somewhere very special to someone that I never knew existed until a few months ago. This special someone came to me at the end of the last tour and is now a part of this family.”

I felt a knot in my stomach as I knew Matt was talking about me.

“So, please welcome my little sister, Kamalei into the family! Kamalei come here and say hi!” Matt said waving me out from the side.

I looked at Val before she shoved me out on stage, “Go Lei!”

I instantly started shaking as people started cheering and screaming. I was frozen there, the fear and rush of the crowd hitting me all at once. Zacky came over, grabbing my hand and pulling me over to Matt who threw his sweaty arm around my shoulders.

“Say hi to everyone sis.” He said before putting the microphone in front of me.

“Hi.” I said shyly waving, receiving more cheers.

“So, this is my sister’s first tour with us and she’s come a very long, long way to do this with us. Where did you come from Lei?” he asked me.

I felt my face get hot as I answered, “Maui, Hawaii.”

“Very far. We’re so happy that you are with us… So what do we do when we have a new family member?” Matt asked the crowd.

“WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!!” the crowd shouted back.

“This song is for you little sister, and for anyone else new to the Avenged family!” Matt said before nodding over at Johnny.

The guys started playing as Johnny came over to me, gently putting his hand on my back and guiding me over to Val. She was jumping up and down with excitement as I came over to her, my nerves still wreaking havoc on me.

“Oh my God! That was so amazing!” she screamed.

“I know. I’m still in shock.” I said holding my hand out, showing her it was still shaking.

We watched them play a few more songs and I noticed Zacky kept throwing me smirks and pouts throughout the songs. I wasn’t completely ready to forgive him yet but I found myself smiling back at him anyway. I really did miss my best friend no matter what I tried to make myself believe. Not talking and hanging out with him was probably the hardest thing to do, but I felt if I did those things, I would be setting myself up again for him to hurt me.

My brother started singing Unholy Confessions and I like many others, went crazy over it. He had the corded microphone and was spinning it around in between verses as Johnny, Brian, and Zacky moved around the stage playing. Suddenly Zacky was to the right of my brother when he swung the microphone around and it hit him hard in the head, blood instantly pouring from under Zacky’s messy hair.

“ZACKY!” I screamed as I made to run out on the stage before Val grabbed me around the waist.

“He’s fine! Look! He’s alright!” she yelled over the music as she held me back.

The blood was dripping all over his face and he shook his head, his blood soaked bangs flying out of his face. Matt turned around and looked back at him, Zacky nodding that he was ok.

They finished the song and Zacky came over to us, the blood streaking his face. I grabbed the towel off the speaker next to me and rushed over to him, wiping his face and standing on my tip-toes to see where he was bleeding from.

“Are you okay?” I asked frantically as I touched a spot on his head with the towel, causing him to wince.

“Ow, yeah… I’m fine.” He said taking a drink of water, “Looks pretty punk with all the blood…”

“Zacky you’re bleeding everywhere.” I told him looking in his eyes concerned.

“I’m fine. We have one more song…” He said as Brian started playing the last song of the set.

He turned and walked back out on stage but I could tell something was off with him. He shook his head back and forth like he was dizzy and was really focused on playing the right notes, barely looking up at the crowd and hardly moving around on stage. I had a sick feeling as I watched my brother sing the last lines to the song and give a farewell to everyone in the audience. The guys threw out picks and drumsticks before coming backstage.

Matt came up to Val and I, wrapping his sweaty arms around our shoulders and turning us to go down the stairs and exit the backstage area, saying “I hope my girls liked the show…”

“Of course we did.” Val said smiling up at him.

I slipped out from Matt’s grip and went past everyone, straight to Zacky, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry, I’m fine. It’s just some blood.” He said grabbing a towel off another nearby amp, wiping his face.

We all walked out from the backstage area, making our way out towards the merch booth. I walked next to Zacky, glancing at him every so often to see if he was really okay. We didn’t exchange words as we walked, Zacky glued to his phone the entire time. When we got to the merch booth, Kelly and Leana instantly kissed their boyfriends and went back to the customers.

“Look it’s Zacky Vengeance!” A blonde girl shrieked as we went towards the side opening of the booth, “Could I get your autograph and a picture?”

He looked at me first, seeing my annoyance of her voice, before flashing her a weak smile, “Uh sure…”

After taking a picture and signing the girl’s stuff he took a seat in the back of the merch booth, cracking a beer open with the rest of the guys. I was worried about him but I willed myself to not show it, instead going up to the front of the booth and taking over for Kelly so she could take a break with Brian.

“Hey hot stuff. Thought I’d come by and say hello…” A voice I recognized said as I looked up from the money I was counting to see Austin.

“Hey Austin! Good to see you! I could hear you guys play earlier… sorry I couldn’t come watch. I was working.” I smiled.

“Hard-working hottie… I like that.” He smirked.

“Cut it out! I’m not a hottie!” I said playfully hitting him across the table. “Do you want to come in? The guys are in the back.” I said pointing behind me.

“Sure, thanks.” He said as I let him in thru the side. “Hottie.” He whispered in my ear as he walked by me.

I turned away, blushing and giggling at his comment, looking up to see a pair of intense green eyes staring at me from a seat in the back of the booth. He just stared as he sipped his beer, and I could tell he was jealous of Austin’s affection towards me.

“Excuse me, can I get this one in a large?” A teenage girl with black hair asked from across the table, grabbing my attention.

“Sure you can.” I smiled at her and reached down into the boxes to get her the shirt, “That’s $20.”

She gave me the money and I turned around to put it in the box, finding Zacky’s attention to still be on me. He still didn’t look well but at least he didn’t have blood pouring down his face any longer.

I worked the booth with Leana until Val came and said she would take over for me if I wanted to go back to the bus for a break from the heat. I accepted the offer and went to the cooler in the back of the booth, grabbing a beer before looking for a cigarette from one of the various packs on the table. All of the boxes of Marlboros littering the table were empty, my brother and his bandmates having gone off to drink with the guys from OM&M on their bus. I sighed heavily before walking out of the booth, looking down at my phone as I headed back to the bus.

Austin had gotten my number from my brother and was sending me funny pictures of their current drinking game in progress. He invited me to come and drink with them, but I honestly wasn’t in the mood to party. I just wanted my smoke and to go relax in the A/C of the bus. I texted him a decline to his offer as I walked by the stage entrance on my way to the bus.

A high pitched giggling voice caused me to look up from my phone, “Zacky! You’re so funny! Of course… you could always show me your tour bus?”

Zacky was leaning against the barrier of the stage entrance and rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, a beer in the other, talking to a young blonde girl who had her boobs pushed up and her ass hanging out of the back of her shorts. He looked like he had a few in the time since I last saw him, but more so he still looked off.

He laughed a little before answering her, “No, no, no… my brothers wouldn’t like that. I actually need to get going anyway. I have someone to check on…”

“Oh, Zacky come on… I could show you a good time. Your brothers too…” she winked at him as she trailed her fingers along his tattooed arms.

I felt myself getting jealous, watching this girl touch and flirt with him. I gripped my phone harder in my hand, feeling my anger rise.

I have no right. He’s going to just hurt me again. I have to be strong and say and do nothing…

He took hold of her fingers softly and stopped her movements as he started to walk away, “Sorry sweetie… I have to go look for someone…”

I put my head down and stared at my phone again, trying to avoid him but I was too late. I had noticed Zacky’s ever-watchful eye everywhere I went, him coming back from drinking early every night and opting to watch movies in the front area on the couch or listening to his IPod in his bunk across from me. He wouldn’t say anything to me, even when it was just us two, but he was always close by.

“Lei! Where you headed? I was just going back to the bus to get some more cigarettes…” he smiled brightly at me, lightly slurring his words.

“I was hoping to go find one on the bus. I’m out.” I replied looking down at the ground.

“Here, I have one left.” He said getting one out from his box in his back pocket and handing it to me.

“Thanks.” I said, lighting it.

“You’re welcome… Will you walk with me to the bus?” He asked looking at me, his complexion looking pale.

I didn’t want to go with him but at the same time I did. I missed him and wanted to be close to him again but I didn’t want to get hurt again by being close to him. I hesitated, checking my phone for Austin to text, possibly giving me an escape strategy, but finding no answer and slipping the phone back into my pocket.

“Alright.” I said receiving a big smile from him as we started off towards the bus.

Notes

So what do you all think of Kamalei's nice gesture towards Zacky? Is Kamalei going to forgive Zacky? What do you think is going to happen next? I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I was stressing to get this chapter up today, and I'm happy to have been able to get it up. Mahalo for reading and for all of your comments. Please leave me some feedback so I know what you all think. Much love and Aloha <3 <3 <3 XoXo