Brian’s POV

“What the hell are you guys doing?” I asked as Zacky tied a bandana around my eyes, the world in front of me going dark. “This isn’t one of you sick erotic fantasies, is it?” I couldn’t help but let a laugh as I felt one of the guys slap my ass.

“You make me so horny,” I replied in a high-pitched voice, pinching whoever was standing in front of me. They let out a light squeak and punched me in my shoulder.

I have no idea what these assholes planned but I was up for anything. I was just happy to be making the music I was passionate about with the best friends a guy could ask for.

You see, two weeks ago, my best friend Jimmy, convinced me to join the band he and my friends from high school started. They were in desperate need of a lead guitarist and college wasn’t really my thing. Sure, my dad would be pissed that I wasn’t going to get a degree, but as a professional musician, he would have to understand.

I mean, my friends were in the middle of recording their own fucking album and they wanted me to be part of it! How could I turn down the opportunity to make some sick music with my best friends?

Within my first two weeks, I had helped write the opening solo to the one song they had left to complete on the record. Now here I was, out celebrating and having a great time with my best friends. What more could a guy ask for?

The next thing I knew, I was pushed into the back seat of what felt like Matt’s run-down Toyota. My hands fumbled around as the car squealed out of the driveway, trying to find the ‘oh shit’ handle to keep my balance. I had no idea what these assholes were up to, but I had a bad feeling about this. Someone was going to jail tonight! “You’re not going to going to get me drunk off my ass and leave me in the middle of Huntington Park, are you?”

“Come on, Haner, don’t be such a whine-ass pussy,” Matt laughed from somewhere in front of me. “Just sit back and enjoy this wild ride!” His voice was hoarse from recording scream tracks all day but he sounded excited all the same. “Welcome to your Avenged Sevenfold initiation, Haner.”

“We’re about to fuck you up!” Jimmy screamed in my ear before pinching my nose and shoving a burning liquid down my throat. I swallowed it, recognizing the after taste as Jack Daniels. “Get ready for a night you wont remember! Stoplight!”

Suddenly, I felt the cool ocean air blowing in my face and a mass leaning over me out the window. The unmistakable voice of Jimmy screamed out the window and I couldn’t help but laugh. “WATCH OUT MOTHERFUCKERS, REVEREND BARTHOLOMEW PLAGUE IS FUCKING KICKING ASSES AND TAKING NAMES TONIGHT!”

“Reverend Bartholomew Plague?” Zacky laughed as Jimmy moved back into the car. “Is that your new stage name?” I flew sideways into who I thought was Jimmy as Matt took a sharp turn around the corner. Where the hell was he taking us?

“Fuck yeah! I’m like a fucking reverend with all my wisdom and shit! People will worship the motherfucking ground I walk on because I am a crazy bastard!” He laughed, obviously having indulged more in the Jack than the rest of us.

The car exploded with laughter, “You can say that again, Rev,” Matt laughed, hitting the steering wheel. “Alright, Haner, so we are trying to come up with stage names because who the fuck wants to listen to Matthew Sanders sing in metalcore? Besides, all the greats have stage names, just look at Slash and Axel.” He was right; any band that ever made it into the big time in the metal genera had some kind of stage name.

“Okay, so what are your stage names since Jimmy is now the Rev,” I said after choking down another shot forced in my mouth. This was the fifth one and the warmth from the alcohol was starting to come over me.

“You better fucking believe I’m the Rev,” he laughed, squirming around impatiently in the seat next to me. I swear he had the shortest attention span known to man. “Are we fucking there yet?! I’ve got to piss like a race horse!”

“Just go in this cup or out the window,” Zacky joked, but I was suddenly hit with the cool air again. I guess he decided that taking a leak out the window as we drove was the best choice.

“Don’t you fucking let any of that piss back into the car,” Matt yelled but Jimmy just laughed maniacally. “You’re going to be fucking scrubbing the seats and rug, Jim, mark my words! My car better not smell like fucking piss!”

“Anyway… I’m Zacky Vengeance. Vengeance to get back at all those fuckers that keep telling me that we wont amount to shit. We’ll fucking show them.” I could smell the cigarette smoke coming from his lips and it made me crave that sweet nicotine. “And Matt decided on M. Shadows because it sounds bad ass.”

“So what’s your name gonna to be, Haner?” Matt asked as the car rolled to a stop. “You can’t go up on stage as Brian Haner Jr., you’ll be laughed out of the venue.”

I simply shrugged because I had never really thought about it before. What was I good at? The guitar? Well, duh, that was obvious but no famous guitar players had names like ‘guitar slinger’. I guess I could just be slinger, but I was pretty sure that name had been done before. Fuck, why didn’t this thought ever cross my mind?

“I’m going to go get the stuff, I’ll be back,” Matt chuckled as he got out of the car.

“Don’t get caught,” Jimmy laughed, pushing another shot into my mouth. I was starting to feel the numbness of intoxication take over and I couldn’t help but laugh. “His fake better be good…”

“Who the hell do you think got that bottle of Jack?” Zacky chuckled. It was true, we were all seventeen and underage but that didn’t stop us from getting drunk every weekend. Seconds later, Matt returned and dropped a heavy bag on my lap, causing me to grunt as one of the cans hit my junk.

“Drink up boys, we’ve got to give Haner here his official initiation night!” Matt said before pulling out of the gas station and down the road. The guys each took turns grabbing a can out of the bag and someone placed a tallboy in my hand. Oh, this was going to be a fun night.

After a few more minutes of driving, the car came to a stop and I was ripped out of the car with my tallboy in hand. A pair of hands grabbed my shoulders and steered my down a path, causing me to stumble forward multiple times. I had to blame it all on the alcohol because I could have sworn I never had trouble walking before. Okay, so maybe I was getting fucking wasted, but I still had this stupid blindfold over my eyes!

Suddenly, I was forced to sit down on a low log and I almost lost my balance and toppled over. Laughter burst out around me as I struggled to balance on the log. Once I was stable, a brand new tallboy was pushed into my hands.

“Okay, here are the rules, Haner,” Zacky laughed. “You have to drink that whole tallboy before you can take off your blindfold. Then, you have to find your way back to the car that is hidden somewhere in the park! Good luck,” he roared before he and possibly Matt bolted through the brush, leaving me alone.

“Game on, assholes!” I called after them and started to chug the 20oz beer in my hand. The only problem was that it tasted like ass and I had to gag it down. Fuck, what did they buy? Key Stone’s ugly little brother who pissed into a can? Ugh, this stuff tasted like shit but the effects of the alcohol were coming on strong. I shot gunned the beer in a matter of minutes and ripped the stinky handkerchief off my eyes, only to be surrounded by complete darkness.

“Fuck, I have no idea where I am…” I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. I looked around for a moment and let my eyes adjust to the moonlit park even though my vision was starting to blur. I stood up slowly, only to take another step forward and tumble down the steep embankment.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I screamed, trying to grab anything and everything to stop my forward momentum. Unfortunately, it came in the form of a tree that lodged itself between my legs. I yelled out in pain as I grabbed my throbbing junk, tears forming in the corner of my eyes. I was going to kill those bastards for leaving me there.

“Oh, Brian!” I heard Jimmy scream-sing once I was standing and moving again. I might as well still be blindfolded because between the darkness and my intoxicated state, I couldn’t see shit. “Come out, come out, where ever you are!” his voice slurred.

“Over here,” I called weakly, walking with my hands outstretched in front of me so I wouldn’t fall and smash my nut sack again. Damn that still hurt. I just wanted to get in the fucking car and go back home. This shit wasn’t fun anymore.

The next thing I knew, Jimmy had charged me like a rhino and tackled me to the ground, laughing hysterically. “Here you are! I thought I lost you forever, Brian!” He yelled. I could smell the alcohol on his breath and I knew that he was feeling pretty damn good right now. “I was so worried!” He pulled my face into his hands and kissed my lips.

I pushed Jimmy away and stumbled my way into a standing position. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” I chuckled, wiping my mouth from the trail of spit that he left. “You’re a sick bastard!”

“That’s why they call me The Rev,” He laughed, moving his arms as if he were making an angle in the pile of leaves.

I rolled my eyes and pulled out my pack of cigarettes, not able to stand my nicotine cravings anymore. “Which way is the car?” I asked, blowing out a cloud of smoke. Jimmy only laughed. “You don’t know do you?”

“I have no fucking idea where I am.” Jimmy was now bent over on all fours, laughing like he had never laughed before. “What are we going to do now, Brian?” He asked in a low-pitched voice, suddenly serious. “What are we going to do now?” He was quoting one of those old crime show movies that we had watched a few days ago.

I raised my brow at Jimmy as I took in another drag. “I don’t know, I’m tired,” I replied in an almost Elmo-like voice. “We can either keep walking or we can camp out here forever,” I joked, looking Jimmy in the eye with my eyes bulging slightly. Jimmy’s jaw dropped, looking terrified as he looked around our dark surrounding.

“What if there are fucking… wild animals,” he said after swallowing thickly. His crystal blue eyes looked around with a hint of hysteria and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“In Huntington Park?” I shook my head and started walking forward, hoping to find the path again. It was then that I heard a loud grumble from behind me followed by a Jimmy shriek.

“RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!” He screamed, flying past me as fast as his long legs could carry him. “WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!” I wasn’t sure how he was able to run with that much alcohol in his system but I was impressed.

I stumbled my way after Jimmy through the brush, only to find him leaning against the car with a cigarette in his mouth. He looked calm and relaxed and I shook my head. How could he flip the switch so quickly between calm and psychotic? I guess that was just Jimmy. “I could fucking kill you,” I chuckled, watching the smirk pull over his lips.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Jimmy said, his eyes narrowing at me. “You fucking found the car faster than Matt and Zacky did. Who the fuck knows where they are?”

I shook my head again and climbed inside of the car with Jimmy. “This was stupid as hell.” I took a few more drags of my cigarette before throwing the butt out the window. I just hoped these assholes hurried up. Maybe if we got home, I could call over a hot little piece of ass to hook up with.

“There you fucktards are,” Jimmy called out the window as Zacky and Matt stumbled back down the path that I had been trying to find. “Let’s get out of here I’m starving!”

Matt climbed into the car and started the engine, gaping at me from the rearview mirror. “How did you…?” I simply shrugged as I picked up the bottle of Jack and took a long swing.

“Because my name is Synyster fucking Gates and I’m awesome!” I randomly yelled out the window, causing the others to cheer.

That’s it. I will forever be known as Synyster fucking Gates!

Notes