Hush, be careful of what you say

Matt POV

Holy shit! We have arrived at the venue a couple of hours ago. We decided to come early so that we mingle with other bands members who came here to support our good cause. But personally I wanted to see the fans’ reaction to the post posted earlier on about Arin. And so far, so good. From what I have seen there aren’t any slogans or messages against him, which is a good sign.
But the situation on facebook and twitter wasn’t likewise. A lot of fans felt betrayed that we have not told them about the newest member of the band. Others felt that only one person should and can take Jimmy’s place: Mike Portnoy. They suggested him since Jimmy was a huge fan of the drummer so the fans thought that would only make sense. Zacky kept checking on Arin to make sure that he’s okay. He kept telling us that he’s doing great but I knew that was a lie.

Right now he looks like a mess: he’s drinking some booze to help him feel better, and he’s barely talking to anyone. He’s just on his phone, texting and texting.
“What do you guys think?” I ask my friends Ben and James from Asking Alexandria.
“About what Matt?” Ben asks, sipping some beer.
“About Arin”
“Damn, talk about perfect timing about that post. It’s like this person knew that he has to perform today with you, for the very first time. I’m a drummer myself, and the fact that I have known you guys for quite a while now, I trust your judgement. I trust that Arin is a good drummer and will be beneficial for the band” James adds.
“But what about tonight? I was quite looking forward, but I have a bad feeling about this. It’s like something is off, like I’m waiting for something bad to happen” I admit with the both of them.
“Dude don’t think like that” Ben tells me.
“Yeah I agree. And this ain’t you. Normally you’re the one being all positive about a gig!” James says.
“But this is different. Don’t get me wrong, I was positive about this, fuck I was so excited! But after that post, damn I’m nervous now!”
“Don’t be. If something bad happens, which might not happen, you know what to do. You have been the leader of the band for years, you have been there for each other and you had some bad times. But you have stuck there for each other. You know what to do Matt, it’s in you!” James encourages me.
“And I’m sure most of your fans trust you and will get to love Arin by time” Ben continues.
I have to admit, it was a good idea talking with Ben and James about this. They aren’t part of the Avenged Sevenfold family, so hearing their thoughts about such situation puts me saner about this. And they’re right, I will stick by my brothers’ side through anything.

“5 minutes till show-time guys!” Jason comes and tells us all. Everyone grouped up by the side of the stage. Brian, Zacky and Johnny have been doing some warm-ups on their instruments and Arin was no-where in site. But as soon as Jason gave us the signal, he came from the side door, holding two drum sticks in both hands and wearing dark jeans.
“You love being topless huh?! Well, now I’m sure where the bras will be thrown at tonight” Johnny chuckles, trying to ease the situation for him.
“Yeah, I always get sweaty by the end, so what’s the point of wearing a shirt?” Arin responds in a calm but sarcastic manner.
“Break a leg dude! I’m sure this is going to be huge for you! I got your back man” James tells Arin as he pats his back.
“Everyone does!” I add.
Brian looks at me with a concerned look as he gives his phone to Jason. Quietly he comes next to me.
“Another post was posted on facebook” he whispers in my ear.
“Are you fucking kidding me?!” I whisper back, but in an angry tone. “What does it say?”
“The person is here at the venue. He or she is here. So expect the unexpected I guess” Brian tells me, looking at Arin at the same time. “I already told our manager and he’s looking at it and trying to get it down asap!”
“Fucking perfect!” I hiss at Brian.


Zacky POV

The adrenaline rush is insane right now. There are so many people at the venue, waiting for us to play at the gig. We heard it was sold-out and it always feels great. As soon as I go on stage, I notice that there are a lot of banners dedicated to our late friend and drummer Jimmy. The fans loved him, everyone did. So it was a devastating news for the fans just like it was for us. Their support was immense! I will never forget that one time I have received a photo album with different pictures of us with Jimmy. Our fans are the best!
And having them here supporting us for this charity event, is great!

As soon as we hit the stage, we can hear our names being yelled, from the girls of course. The spotlights are on us and it is easily visible – the huge grins and tears on our fans’ faces. Once the drumming part started, the spotlight was lit on Arin. I look at the fans to see their reaction, and it was good!
I look back at him, and man, he is like a totally different person! He looks like a beast! Arin is drumming hard, totally focused on his job, not giving a care to the rest of the world. The rehearsals did great, cos damn, he didn’t get one note wrong! He is on time, on tune and playing with full energy! If I had any doubts about him beforehand, I’m sure I got my thoughts right now. He is great, he’s an awesome drummer and totally perfect for our band.
I look at Brian from time to time, and notice that he keeps checking on Arin, with a faint smile on his face. It might be true that he doesn’t want to admit it to us, but I think that he’s convinced Arin should be in our band now.

The first two songs are over, and my god the crowd is going insane.
“How you guys doing tonight?! Are you having fun yet?!” Matt says over his microphone, with the crows screaming out loud.
“I take it as a yes! Holy shit you’re the best!!”
He takes a sip of water, well we all do, it’s super hot right now!
“Before we continue, I would like to say something. As most of you know, this year had been incredible difficult for us and for you. Losing our friend and drummer Jimmy was not an easy event! But you guys are the best and supported us throughout this difficult journey, and because of you we decided not to break up. Thus we had to look for a new drummer and I can assure you it was not easy. After hectic weeks, we met this energetic kid, named Arin and we saw a younger version of Jimmy in him. We were blown away by his talent and so we decided that Arin should be a part of our band, a part of our family, a part of our legacy. So, I would like to introduce our new member of our family, Arin Ilejay!”
At that moment the crowd started screaming and cheering for Arin. Arin got on top of his drum set and thanked the fans. All of us are surprised, it seems like Arin is going to be a hit in our band! Perfect!

“I had no doubts that you fans are going to welcome Arin with open hands!” Matt continues. “Earlier on, our facebook and twitter pages got hacked by a douche, posting a message against Arin. We knew that you fans will ignore such messages and support us all the way! I would like to say something, to the pain-in-the-ass who keeps hacking our pages and apparently is here in the stadium. Just go fuck yourself! Don’t you think that by one post you’re about to bring us down! Far from it, we will get stronger and fight a longer fight!”
Instantly the fans started booing, while other kept saying how Matt is correct. Damn right he is! And the fans are with us, which is all we need!
“Lovely fans, why won’t you join us with the message we would like to send to this person?” Brian says over his microphone. The fans obviously agrees. “Dear douchebag, fuck you and fuck off! Hail to the king, hail to Jimmy, hail to Arin! Hail to the king, hail to Jimmy, hail to Arin! Hail to the king, hail to Jimmy, hail to Arin!”
The fans kept saying this out loud, putting their fists up in the air! It was surreal! I look over at Arin and catch him taking a pic and a video of the people doing so!

And with that, Brian starts his part of Hail to the King, looking at Arin and gives him an approved nod.

Notes

Hey you guys, I'm so sorry it's been too long to update this story!! But I have been really busy lately!
But now I'm here, with another update! :)

Hope you guys like it!! :D I will appreciate some feedback from you lovely people <3 I promise I won't take this long to update with another chapter ;)