Paying With Laughter

Zachary James Baker, also known as Zacky Vengeance, felt excited - as he followed his friend and band mate, Brian Elwin Haner Jr, to the latter’s bedroom.

“Okay, Brian,” Zacky commented, smiling. “What was it that you wanted to show me?”

“Just wait a sec,” Brian replied, as he stepped into the closet. He began rummaging into a box, until he pulled out a poster. “Voila! Here it is! What do you think?”

“It’s a Led Zeppelin poster,” Zacky replied, softer. “Of course, Led Zeppelin are great rock legends - but I’m a little confused of…”

“Not just a Led Zeppelin poster,” Brian interrupted, grinning. “Take a closer look at it, and see if you notice something.”

Zacky began to close scrutinize the poster, and then he finally understood what was special about it. “It’s autographed by Jimmy Page!”

“Bingo!” Brian exclaimed. “My dad ran into Jimmy Page, last weekend - and he personally witnessed Jimmy signing the poster for him. In fact, Jimmy signed two of them.”

“Two posters?!” Zacky exclaimed, stunned. “That is so exciting. I, uh…” Zacky then chuckled, as he added, “I can’t believe how starstruck I am„ right now. Here I am, the rhythm guitarist of Avenged Sevenfold - and I’m used to having starstruck fans coming up to me. I can’t believe that I…”

“I understand how you feel, Zacky,” Brian replied, chuckling. “But, then again, it is Led Zeppelin that we’re talking about.” He reached back into the box, as he pulled out the second identical poster. “You want it, Zacky?”

“You really mean it, Brian?” Zacky asked, excitedly. “That would be awesome!”

“I certainly do mean it,” Brian replied, cheerfully. “However, I’ll have to ask for a little payment from you.”

“Oh, that’s not a problem,” Zacky replied, smiling. “I have plenty of money.”

“Nope!” Brian replied, smirking. “I’m not accepting money. The only payment that I’m accepting is your laughter.”

“My laughter?!” Zacky exclaimed, stunned. He felt anxious, as he could guess exactly what Synyster Gates had in mind.

“Yeap,” Brian replied, grinning wickedly. “You’re already barefoot, so that part’s already taken care of. Now, I need you to lie on my bed.”

“Aw, Brian,” Zacky groaned. “You just can never have enough fun with my feet, can you?”

“You kidding?!” Brian asked, chuckling. “Your feet were made to be tickled relentlessly. Of course, I’m gonna take as much advantage of that as I can.”

“Aw, Brian, you really do live up to your stage name,” Zacky commented, shaking his head - but not without a small smile. “You’re so sinister!”

“Well, I try,” Brian replied, cheerfully. “All right, Zacky - lie down on the bed. You want that poster, right?”

“Yeah, Synyster Gates, I do,” Zacky replied, as he lay down on Brian’s bed.

Zacky swallowed, as he watched Brian grab for the ropes that would be used to restrain him. He felt rather jittery, as Brian began using the ropes to tie him to the bed. Within a moment, he was tightly secured to the bed.

“You nervous, Zacky?” Brian asked, teasingly.

“Do I even need to answer that?” Zacky replied, swallowing.

“But, Zacky, there’s nothing to be nervous of,” Brian insisted. “All you need to do is laugh and laugh and laugh. That’s it.”

Before Zacky could respond, Brian began to run his run his fingers up and down the soles of the former’s feet. Zacky started to laugh helplessly and squirm. However, he was unable to jerk his feet away.

“That’s the sound I really like to hear, Zacky,” Brian replied, cheerfully. “You laughing. Your laughter always gives me so much pleasure.”

Zacky continued laughing - as he tried, without avail, to block out the extreme tickling sensation. He closed his eyes tightly, but it did absolutely nothing to lessen the tickling sensation.

“You having fun, Zacky?” Brian asked, teasingly. “I’ve no plans to stop anytime, soon. Fortunately for me, my hands don’t tire that easily. You should understand that, being a guitarist and all.”

Zacky felt very helpless, as he understood exactly what his band mate and fellow guitarist meant. Within moments, he grew tired of squirming - and had no choice but to surrender to Brian’s torment of him.

“Tired already, eh?” Brian asked, chuckling. “Y’know, it’s a bit of a vicious cycle. The more relentless I am with tickling you, the more you laugh helplessly - and the more helplessly you laugh, the more I’m encouraged to tickle you relentlessly. There’s absolutely nothing you can do about it.”

Zacky squeezed his eyes shut, as he tried not to pay attention to Brian verbally taunting him. It was bad enough that his feet were extremely ticklish. Granted, his laughter was producing endorphins into his system - but it didn’t make the tickling sensation any less intense.

“If you want the poster, you have to pay the price,” Brian continued. “Even if you decided to change your mind, now - it’s be too late. You’re hopelessly trapped, and I plan to take every advantage of it.”

Zacky continued to give into helpless laughter, as he was unable to ignore his friend’s taunts. While he really loved Brian - the fact was, when it came to tickling him, Brian was very sadistic.

After what seemed like ages, Brian finally decided to have mercy and him and stop. His feet were tingling from being tickled so much.

“How do you feel, Zacky?” Brian asked, as he began to untie his band mate. “Was that worth it for the poster?”

Zacky swallowed, as he had no idea of how to respond. “As usual, you’re such a relentless tickler. Yet, I can’t honestly say that I hate being tickled on my feet - as extremely ticklish as they are. Actually, the truth is, I… kinda love it. It feels funny to say that, but…”

“Here you go, Zacky boy,” Brian commented, smiling - as he handed the second autographed poster to his fellow guitarist. “You definitely deserve it, for being such a good sport.”

“Thank you, Brian,” Zacky replied, smiling warmly. “It’s a great treat.”

Brian sat on the bed - as he drew Zacky close to him, and hugged him tightly. “Well, Zacky, it’s almost sunset. Shall we head to the beach?”

“That’s a great idea,” Zacky agreed, softly. “That’s the great thing about living in Orange County. We can go swimming year round. I should probably call my brother, Matt - and see if he wants to… Oh, wait, I just remembered! He and Johnny were planning to go to the beach, tonight - after eating out at Johnny’s Bar. Well, maybe we can meet them there.”

“That would be cool,” Brian replied, smiling. “Your brother makes very awesome bow ties. He really should consider getting into the business of making them. I mean, your fans always talk about how you look fashionable wearing them.”

“I’ve thought about that, too,” Zacky replied, nodding. “In fact, last night, I suggested that to him - and he mentioned that he’s considering it. He really helped our band, in the beginning - so it’s only right that I return the favour, and help him.”

“Well, Zacky, let’s rock and roll!” Brian suggested. “It’s supposed to be a nice breezy evening, so…”

Zacky smiled, as he reached for the beach bag. All in all, his life was great. One thing that would make it even better, though, would be meeting the great Jimmy Page.