Two Vibrant Hearts

I was so close to the stage I could practically feel Avenged Sevenfold breathing on me. The chorus of Bat Country rung in my ears as M. Shadows walked across stage directly in front of me. He looked down and glanced at me and smiled. I almost had a heart attack. I reached out for him and I could’ve sworn he was going to bend down and grab my hand when something pulled me away. A rough and rather wet hand clung to my upper arm and spun me around. I looked in horror as a drunk and obviously older gentleman took a final gulp of his beer before pulling me to him. I made a face in disgust and tried to step away, but he pulled me back to him and kissed me roughly. I pulled away and wiped my mouth, utterly disgusted. He ripped the top button off my shirt and I screamed in horror, although no one could hear over the band. The guy was just about to rip the rest of the buttons off my shirt when there was a yell.

“Hey asshole.” A voice yelled from behind me. I looked behind me in shock to see M. Shadows staring at me intently. I stepped away from the guy and watched in silent horror as the drunk guy looked up lazily at the stage. You could tell M. Shadows was pissed by just by looking at the expression across his face as he glared at the guy who tried to rape me. “Keep your hands off that girl.”

“She’s legal!” The guy protested, his words slurring. I crinkled my face in disgust. Shadows scoffed.

“Does she look legal? She has to be 18 at best and snuck in with a fake ID.” He spat back. By now the whole concert was silent and everyone, including the band, was staring at Shadows, the drunk guy and, unfortunately, myself. I cleared my throat and threw a look at the stage.

“I’m twenty-one.” I yelled, feeling slightly embarrassed and irritated. I knew I was pretty short for my age and I had a childish face, but it pissed me off when people assume I was a teenager with a fake ID. Especially security guards. There were, unfortunately, countless number of times I was thrown out of bars and stores when trying to get a drink. I sighed to myself and looked back at the stage. Shadows gave me a look before shaking it off and looking back at the guy. The guy had a cocky and drunken look on his face that made me want to slap him.

“See? She’s legal.” The guy retorted. I glared at him and almost punched him, but I stopped myself. Shadows had such a horrifying look on his face, I made myself a mental note to never piss off M. Shadows. Ever.

“I don’t give a flying fuck if she’s ‘legal’, because rape isn’t.” He growled. I backed myself against the gate, feeling slightly uncomfortable. The drunk guy looked at me and winked before looking back at Shadows. That gesture made me push past the flimsy gate and park myself right next to the stage. I looked back up, although I couldn’t see much. “Now get the hell out of our show or else.”

“You and what army?” The guy asked sarcastically. My eyes shot to him and I raised my eyebrows. He glanced at me and gave me a questioning look.

“Did you just seriously ask M. freaking Shadows who he had for his army?” I asked. He gave me a smug look and, before I knew it, I was being pulled onto stage by my arm. My head shot up and I noticed it was the Rev who was pulling me up. I almost screamed. Almost. I glanced at where M. Shadows was standing when I noticed him, Synyster Gates, and Zacky Vengeance were jumping down off the stage. My eyes widened, but I didn’t have time to see what went down, because the Rev pulled me onto my feet and dragged me with him to backstage. My face was frozen in a state of shock as he led me to a dark area right next to the stage. I looked up and the Rev smiled.

“Matt needs to chill the fuck out, doesn’t he?” He laughed lightly, smiling at me. I couldn’t speak. I literally sat like a fucking idiot, with my mouth permenantly dropped open, staring at the Rev. He laughed and looked back at stage before glancing back at me. “I guess they took care of the guy. Just hang out here and we’ll come talk to you after the concert, okay kid?” With that, the Rev let go of my arm and ran back on stage. Shadows said something about assholes who push themselves on girls or something before restarting Bat Country, but I couldn’t pay attention. I was going to explode. The fucking Rev. Just touched me. I began hyperventilating. I paced for a little bit before throwing myself to the floor and putting my knees to my chest and my hands behind my neck. I breathed deeply, trying to calm myself down. I felt someone’s eyes on me, so I looked up. Synyster Gates stared at me blankly, his eyebrow raised. I sat straight up and waved awkwardly. He laughed and shook his head before focusing back on what to play. I laid down and stared at the concert. It was my first Avenged Sevenfold concert, and I couldn’t even focus on their music. All I could focus on was almost getting raped and M. Shadows standing up for me. Oh, and the Rev touching me.

~

“Goodnight Huntington!” M. Shadows yelled before walking towards me. I sat up and looked around. The concert was already done? Time passed quickly. For the rest of the concert I laid down backstage, singing to their songs. I hadn’t moved from the floor until then. I watched as Shadows, Gates, Vengeance, Rev, and Christ all walked towards me. I stopped breathing. My eyes widened and I stared in utter shock as they all gathered around me. They all smiled at me and I just sat there. Like an idiot. The Rev laughed and walked over to me, sticking his hand out.

“Hey kid, why don’t you come with us to the make-up room and we’ll talk for a little bit.” He said, smiling at me. I said nothing, because ultimately I couldn’t, and took his hand. He smiled and walked to a door I didn’t even notice before, not letting go of my hand. We all filed into a bright pink room that had two orange couches, a few orange swivvle chairs, and three mirrors with bright lights bordering it. I looked in awe for a second before realizing I was still holding the Rev’s hand. I froze and he looked at me. He laughed at my expression and came closer to me. “You excited about something?” I nodded slowly and he put his arm around my neck. I almost died. He looked down at me before letting out an echoing laugh. “Just let it out kid.” All the guys stared at me, waiting for me to say something. My mouth twitched and I honestly didn’t understand how my heart was still inside my body. The Rev nudged me and I finally took a breath. I was about to scream when Zack Vengeance looked over from his spot on one of the couches and chuckled darkly.

“Hey kid, are you okay? You look sick.” He asked, smiling. The guys laughed and I stayed silent. They started staring at me curiously and I took a deep breath before closing my eyes, trying to keep my cool.

“Holy. Mother. Fucking. Shit.” I said quietly, forcing myself to speak. I could see them all smiling, waiting for me to say something else. “The Rev. Touched me.” A roar of laughter erupted from the room as they all laughed at my shock. The Rev pulled me into a hug and I stepped back, getting dizzy. The guys noticed this and all smiled darkly. My eyes widened and before I realized it all of them wrapped their hands around my arms. I started gasping for air as my eyesight went fuzzy. “Why is it getting dark in here?” I muttered. They all widened their eyes and let go of me, except for the Rev. He walked me to the couch and sat me down. I took deep breaths and calmed myself before opening my eyes to see them all staring at me. I blushed and the Rev chuckled from beside me.

“By the way kid, call my Jimmy.” The Rev-er, Jimmy, said. I smiled a little and nodded. All the guys perked up a little and smiled at me.

“Yeah, and you can call me Zach or Zacky.” Zacky Vengeance spoke up. Synyster Gates nodded from his swivvle chair and slid closer to the couch I was on.

“Brian.” He added, waving at me. I waved and Johnny Christ cleared his throat.

“Johnny, obviously.” He murmured, smiling. I smiled back and looked for M. Shadows. I jumped a little when I noticed he was right next to me, because I hadn’t felt him sit next to me when I almost fainted.

“Matt.” He said, his voice sweet. I let out a nearly silent squeak and he smiled, his dimples showing. I gasped a little. I coughed and laughed awkwardly.

“I knew your names, I just didn’t think I was close enough to call you guys by anything other than your stage names since I am just a fan.” I explained, sinking into the couch a little. Brian laughed.

“Well, I say we should all get to know each other so that way you feel comfortable with calling us by our real names.” He replied, smiling. I smiled back and nodded. They were all staring at me, waiting for me to say something.

“Oh, um, I’m Jessica by the way.” I said, remembering I hadn’t told them who I was yet. They all nodded and smiled widely. I smiled back and looked at them. “So what do you want to know?”

“Is this your first A7X concert?” Zacky asked suddenly, sitting on the edge of his seat. I nodded.

“Unfortunately.”

“Who’d you come with?” Johnny continued, also moving his swivvle chair towards me. I laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of my head.

“I came with my friend Emma.” I replied, feeling slightly uncomfortable. They all scooted closer and I shuffled awkwardly a little.

“Is she a big fan?” Zacky asked. I gave them all a look and they responded with a questioning eyebrow raise. All of them.

“Seriously, have you like, not been around a girl?” I asked, laughing awkwardly. Before they could respond I laughed again and scratched my head, “Or is there something on my face? I feel like you’re all planning on eating me.”

“That’s not till tonight baby,” Brian responded, winking at me. At that, my face flushed to probably an ungodly color of red, and they all laughed. I laughed too and gave Brian a high five. Suddenly Matt sat up and spoke, glancing at me the whole time.

“Why don’t we go back to my place and then we can learn more about our new friend,” He suggested, not taking his eyes off me. Everyone agreed and he moved his lips near my ears. I forced myself not to shudder. “Did you get a ride here?”

“Yeah, but I bet she left without me. I’ll call,” I replied, trying not to stutter. I felt Matt smile and I took out my phone to call Emma. It rang a few times before she answered.

“I left without you.” She stated monotonely. I smiled.

“Perfect.” I replied, excited.

“Wait, what’s-“ Emma didn’t get to finish her sentence, because I hung up and nodded excitedly to Matt, who smiled in return. We all stood up and all talked about random things as we walked out to the now empty parking-lot and drove to Matt’s house in separate cars.