The Morale Boost

Zachary James Baker, also known as Zacky Vengeance, sighed - as he stretched on the couch in the home of friend and band mate, Brian Elwin Haner Jr. On the stereo, BB King’s Blues on the Bayou was playing - and, indeed, the music seemed to match Zacky’s mood.

“Hey, Zacky,” Brian called out, as he entered the living room. “What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing much,” Zacky replied, shrugging. “Just relaxing and listening to BB King.”

“Y’know, Zacky,” Brian commented, gently, “I’m getting rather worried about you. You just, uh… Well, lately, you just don’t seem to be your usual cheerful and easy-going self. Please tell me what it that’s troubling you.”

“Aw, Brian, I’m not totally sure,” Zacky replied, as he sat up. “I guess I’m just a little anxious of… Well, after two more sleeps, our tour begins. I guess I’m just a little….”

“Is that it, Zacky?” Brian asked, as he sat on the couch. He drew Zacky towards him, as he added, “Are you worried that you won’t play well-enough, and that you might let our fans down? I think you need to have some more confidence in your guitar ability.”

“It’s not that, Brian,” Zacky murmured. “It’s the fact that we’ll… Uh, well, we’re gonna be away from home. I’m just not sure that I’m ready to spend so much time away from home.”

“But, Zacky,” Brian protested, “you love travelling. Just think of all the exciting things that we’ll be able to do. Not everyone is as fortunate as we are, in that our job allows us to travel.”

“You have a point, Brian,” Zacky replied, swallowing. “It’s just that… Well, I’m really gonna miss Matt… and Zina… and Mom and Dad.”

“You’ll still be able to text them everyday, though,” Brian pointed out, softly. “And even talk to them on the phone.”

“It’s just not the same thing, though,” Zacky commented, sighing. “Plus, I’m just gonna miss our hang-out spots, and all of our friends that we’ll be leaving behind. There’s just no place like home, y’know.”

“Well, Zacky, I think I know what’ll help boost your morale.”

“Uh, what?” Zacky asked, with uncertainly. He then noticed that Brian was staring at his bare feet. “Uh, Synyster Gates, I don’t think so.”

“Yeah, well, the endorphins…” Brian started to say.

“Look, Brian,” Zacky commented, insistently, “I know how you get, when it comes to tickling my feet. You’re very relentless, and you just don’t know when to let up.”

“Zacky, I’ll just do gentle strokes,” Brian replied, softly. “And I won’t go over fifteen minutes. There won’t be any vicious tickling.”

“You promise?” Zacky asked, raising his eyebrows.

“I promise,” Brian confirmed. “Come, let’s go to my room. I just want you to feel better. I don’t like seeing you so down.”

“All right, I guess,” Zacky replied, as he followed Brian to his bedroom.

“Just lie down on the bed,” Brian instructed, as the duo reached Brian’s room.

Zacky swallowed, as he lay down on Brian’s bed. He felt nervous, as he saw his band mate reach for the ropes that would be used to restrain him. He really hoped that Brian would not go back on his word.

“Are you ready, Zacky?” Brian asked, as soon as Zacky was restrained snugly to the bed.

“Uh, yeah, I guess,” Zacky replied, swallowing.

Brian then began to run his fingers up and down the soles of Zacky’s feet, as his fingertips were barely touching the skin. If Zacky’s feet weren’t extremely ticklish, one might think Brian was massaging his feet.

Zacky broke into helpless laughter, as he began to squirm. Indeed, his laughter did release endorphins into his system.

“That’s what I like to hear,” Brian commented, softly. “The sound of you laughing. I don’t think I’ve even seen you crack a smile within the past couple days.”

Zacky continued to laugh, as Brian continued running his fingertips up and down Zacky’s feet. Even though the tickling sensation was still rather intense, it wasn’t the usual relentless hard tickling that Brian was prone towards doing to him.

“I just want you to think of all the fun that we’ll have,” Brian continued. “It is nice to be at home, sometimes. I like it, too. But I think it’d get rather boring to see the same places every time. You know what they say. Variety is the spice of life. It’s nice to keep a balance.”

As Zacky continued laughing, he could not argue with any of what Brian had mentioned. Indeed, his friend did make some good points.

True to Brian’s word, after fifteen minutes, he stopped tickling Zacky’s feet. Zacky realized that his band mate was right, and he did feel much better. He realized that he had a lot to look forward to.

“I see you still have a smile on your face,” Brian commented, as he began to untie the ropes from Zacky. “It looks like my little tickle therapy really helped. You feeling much better, now?”

“Definitely,” Zacky confirmed, with a small chuckle. “Thank you for keeping your word. You truly are a great friend.”

“I try to be,” Brian replied, as he pulled Zacky into a hug. “Well, Zacky, should we take a car ride while cranking out Candy-O by The Cars?”

“That sounds like a great idea,” Zacky replied, as he hugged his friend back. “And we can maybe spend some time at the beach, too.”

“All right, then,” Brian replied, smiling. “Let’s go.”

As Zacky started preparing for the beach trip, he realized that there was no good reason for him to be anxious. All in all, he loved being the rhythm guitarist for Avenged Sevenfold - and all the perks that came with being a moderately successful rock band.