The parking at the venue was to be expected. Packed as tight as tobacco in a cigarette. Speaking of, Jimmy owes me a fucking carton for how much he smokes. "Jesus.." I muttered, gripping the steering wheel tightly as we tried to find a parking spot. "You're telling me. It's always been like this with shows, people showing up from everywhere. Fans are dedicated." Jimmy piped up from the back seat, the bags covering his lanky body. For some reason, he had the idea to hide instead of doing the whole invisibility thing. It struck me odd. I looked back at him, arching a brow. "What...?" He asked, his doe like eyes looking up at me. "You do know you're a ghost...you don't have to hide." I said, blinking my eyes a few times at him. He smiled sheepishly at me. "Yeah, well...I like the element of surprise. Popping out of nowhere." He said, wiggling his fingers at me. "You can do that anyway with the whole...oh never mind." I grumbled, shaking my head as he pushed a bag over his head once we made it up to the security gates.

"Ticket, ma'am." The guard asked, shining a bright flash light in my face. I smiled awkwardly, pulling up my ticket and back stage pass, handing it to him. He looked it over, nodding in approval before handing it back to me. I sped away from him, only to stop short behind a large line of other cars. Other people waiting to find a parking spot much like me. "I fucking hate this shit." I hissed, putting my head on the steering wheel. "Well, just think, once you find a spot, you don't have to go through that large ass line right there. I can show you where you can go straight to the guys." Jimmy said, appearing in the front seat. Why the hell did he do that and then decide to hide under bags so we could get in? Where on earth was his fucking thought process? I stared at him for a good ten minutes before the line started moving. "You're fucking weird, Jim.." I muttered, shaking my head as I sped up to close the short distance in front of me. I snapped my head to the left and noticed a parking spot for the taking. I quickly swerved out of the wedge I was in between two large SUV's and pealed towards the parking spot. Jimmy stared at me as I grinned like a mad woman, parking the car with a triumphant thrust of my fists, which hit the roof of the car. I looked over at him, wiggling my shoulders. "Come on, cray cray." He muttered, getting out of the car.

The walk wasn't that long for us. We ended up on the other side of the line, near a fence where another guard stood, arms folded over his chest as he brow beated everyone that walked up to the fence. That was, until I flashed my pass, which he happily opened the gate for me. I resisted the urge to look behind me to make sure Jimmy was behind me. Of course he'd be behind me, but the guard wouldn't see that. I walked through the large metal doors that lead to a long hallway. I could hear the faint laughter of the guys in their dressing room. "Jimmy I can't go in there." I said in a hushed voice. "Yes you can, they'll kick you out when it's time for them to go on. Usual pre show ritual. Get them hyped up for the show and what not." Jimmy said, putting a protective arm around my shoulders. I looked up at him, my smile weak, but still there. I looked at his neck then, furrowing my brows. "How the hell did you get a pass?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. "Ah, this thing, yeah, snagged it off a blond bitch that looked more plastic than an actuall fan." He said, shrugging his shoulders. I rolled my eyes, tilting my head back. "Only you, Jimmy." I said, chuckling lightly. "Yup, only me. Now let's get in there and get this done." He said, hopping on his heals. "I'm not doing it before they go on. That's going to ruin the whole show and you know it." I said, pointing up at him with a shaking finger. He dropped his head, "Yeah you're right. Captain Smartass." He grumbled, flailing his arms by his sides. I shook my head again, reaching out to knock on the door. Before I could even connect, the door swung open, revealing a very hyper Johnny.

"Guys! It's Meadow!" He called out, a round of hoops and hollars sounded as he pulled me into the room
"Rosey!" Brian yelled, jumping up from his seat on the large leather couch that sat in their dressing room. He engulfed me in a bone crushing hug. The smell of beer was evident on his breath as he gave me a goofy grin before pulling away. Matt was the next to come up to me, patting my shoulder softly, "Glad you could make it kid." He said, nodding his head. He looked up at Jimmy, holding his hand out. "Who's your friend here?" He asked.
The look of utter agony was written over Jimmy's face was heartbreaking. I wanted to gather him up into my arms and let him crumble right then and there. But now was not the time. "This is...Frankie. He's an old friend from high school. He's always liked you guys." I said, Jimmy looked over at me, smiling softly before taking Matt's hand. "Huge fan." He croaked out, hiding the evident hurt on his face. I reached over and rubbed his back slightly, dropping my hand when his body went rigid. I looked over my shoulder to see Zacky talking with Arin, the newest additioin to Avenged. He was cute to say the least, a baby face to exactly put it. He was skinny, but not as tall as Jimmy, that much was for certain. The guys had invovled Jimmy into a converstation about something, I couldn't quite put my finger on it. The way Jimmy opened up then was fascinating. It was as if he hadn't died at all, but rather sharing war stories with his best friends. Just like old times. I could tell he was holding back from sharing stories that involved the others, his feet bounching in agitation as he sat there. I felt bad for him, but then again, he was given a second chance to interact with his friends. I took a seat next to the beer cooler, where as I did so, Zacky came up to retreive a beer for himself.

"Well hey there, pretty lady." He said, winking at me. I on the other hand couldn't help but blush. "Hi, Vengeance." I said, cocking my head to the side. I couldn't help but giggle when he put a hand to his chest like I had hurt him. "What happened to calling me Zacky? Jesus woman, you know how to hurt a man." He teased, poking my side as he took a seat beside me. I looked over at Arin who was preoccupied by a pretty little brunette that must have been his girlfriend. But knowing how some female fans were. I snapped out of my daze when Zacky started talking, turning my attention to him. "So is that guy your boyfriend?" He asked, jutting his chin to 'Frankie.' Who was, by the way, arm wrestling with Johnny. I shook my head, "Nah, he's just a really good friend of mine. I wouldn't have gotten here without him." I said, looking down at my lap as I fiddled with my thumbs. Zacky nodded his head, "Well it's cool that you brought him. At least someone's keeping you company." He said, nudging my knee with his. I chuckled, looking over at him, "Are you flirting, Veangeance?" I asked, squinting my eyes at him. He put his hands up, "Who me? What? Never." He said sarcastically, shaking his head. I laughed then, reaching over to grab my own beer. "Who said you could have that?" I looked up to see Brian, beaming brightly at me as he himself bent down for a beer. "You fliriting again, Zee?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow at his friend, "Pfft, I don't know what you're talking about, I'm just here for the beer." He said, getting up from his seat. I shook my head, crossing my legs as I leaned back into my seat. "He's certainly something else." I muttered, putting the lip of my beer to my lips and tilted it back. The bitter liquid filling my mouth. "Yeah, well, he's a pretty cool dude." Brian said, sitting down beside me. I looked over at him, smiling softly. "So, Rosey. How's the shop?" He asked, turning to look at me fully. I forcfully swallowed my beer around the lump in my throat, tears springing to life. I pulled in a shaky breath, chewing on my lip. "Well...Not so good as of late." I said, my voice gone hoarse. Brian furrowed his brows, cocking his head to the side, "What do you mean?" He asked, leaning forward. "Well, I mean, two gang members decided to try and rob the place and in end result, Jacob was killed." I said, my lips pressing down together to form a thin line. I could have sworn I saw anger in his eyes when I told him that. His jaw twitched slightly as he sat there, staring at me for at least five minutes. "I..am so fucking sorry to hear that." He whispered, instinctively puttling an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into him. I sighed heavily, swallowing hard yet again. I patted the left side of his chest, pulling my head up to look at him, "It's alright, I just need to get my bearings back before I open the shop back up." I said, wiping under my eyes where as a few tears slipped out. He smiled slightly at me, nodding his head. "If you ever need any help..." He said, shaking his head, "I won't, Brian, but thank you." I said, holding my hand up to cease his offer.

I was never one for charity, whether it was something I needed, or not. I couldn't stand it. And I wasn't about to start now just because a famous rockstar wanted to help me.
"My offer is still on the table, Meadow." He said, his eyes boring into my own. I shifted awkwardly in my seat, "Alright." I murmured, patting his knee before getting up.
"Alright, twenty minutes guys! Fans need to get out." I turned my head to see Jason and Matt Berry walking in, ready to get the guys set up. I walked over to Jimmy, taking his hand. "C'mon hon." I said, pulling him after me towards the opened door. We walked to the end of the hallway near the stage, still hand in hand. "How was it?" I asked, looking up at him. He looked at me, shaking his head. "Like old times." He whispered, his voice breaking. He put on the best smile he could muster up, but was failing as the smile faltered and few tears rolled down his cheeks. "I miss them so much, Meadow...They got to see me, and they didn't even know it was me...you..You don't know how hard that is." He said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I miss them. So fucking much." He cried, breaking down in front of me. I pulled him into me, which was harder than it looked, considering he was an easy foot taller than me. He knew this, which caused him to bend down to his knees, wrapping his long arms around my middle. I couldn't help but feel my own tears form in my eyes as he cried into my shirt. The scene alone was heart breaking. I smoothed his hair back, sniffling softly. "Don't worry, baby boy. They'll know soon enough and everything will be alright. I promise." I whispered, kissing the top of his head. "I wish I was still alive.." He said, his voice hoarse as he continued to hold onto me. "I can't take it anymore..I just..I can't." His shoulders shook as he sobbed then. This was beginning to be too much for me. I've never seen a grown man cry, not even my father at my mother's funeral. But here he was, crying into my shirt, holding onto me tightly like I was the only thing to keep him grounded. All I could do was be there for him. "Shh..." I whispered, wrapping my arms around him the best I could without falling over. I looked out through the corner of my eye to see the guys filing out, paying no mind to the stares we were getting as Jimmy continued to break down in front of me.

"Go, he's fine. We'll see you after the show." I said, nodding at them with a small smile. The guys all nodded their heads, walking past us to get to the stage. I sniffled softly as Jimmy tightened his arms around me. "Jimmy, look at me." I said, putting my hands to the sides of his head, making him look up. "Keep a stiff upper lip." I said, wiping tears from his blue eyes. "Let's watch the show, and then afterwards, everything will fall into place." I said, nodding my head. He swallowed hard, noddding his own head as he began to stand up. "You're too strong for your own good, Meadow." He whispered, hugging me tightly. "Not strong enough for this hug, though." I croaked into his shoulder. making him chuckle lightly. "C'mon, let's see our boys." I said, taking his hand and leading him to the side of the stage.