Don't You Dare

M. Shadows’ voice roared through the venue as the band took the stage. Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates jumped into their positions on top of the speaker risers, strumming and plucking their guitars accordingly. Johnny Christ bobbed his head as his bass boomed into the screaming crowd. The Rev’s arms flailed effortlessly, banging each of his drums in rhythm with his band mates.

Aubrey watched in awe. She started the tour having never heard of Avenged Sevenfold. Now they were her closest friends and her favorite band. She appreciated every detail of their show, because every detail was thought out, planned, and executed with perfection.

For five guys who loved to party, have fun, and often acted like goofy children, they took their jobs very seriously.

And despite having very distinct onstage personas, she could always see little glimpses of their true selves as they performed.

Matt’s mannerisms shined through as he used his hands to put emphasis on words in their songs in the same way he put emphasis on words when he spoke. Zacky’s serious and focused expression while he played guitar mimicked the way he focused in on conversations. Johnny’s stance while playing the bass was nearly identical to the way he stood while he was idle, with his feet apart and slightly leaning back. The wild look in Jimmy’s eyes while he played the drums matched the wild look in his eyes when he's about to do something mischievous. And Brian often smirked while he played a particularly impressive guitar riff or dueled guitars with Zack, which looked exactly like the smirk he often gave Aubrey when he was being inappropriate or promiscuous.

She had really come to appreciate each one of them for who they were, off and on stage.

So why the fuck was she so hell bent on going back to Phoenix again?

Pride, she half-wondered/half-assumed.

Going home was clearly a subconscious decision and determination, because she knew, on the surface, that she wanted to stay with them.

But what would she do? Work as their merch girl forever? Or at least until Brian got tired of her and broke up with her? Then she'd be in the exact same position she was in now. Hell, did he even want to date her? He mentioned being jealous of Jake, the bartender, so she got the impression that he felt some sort of possessiveness over her. But was it alpha-male-testosterone-driven or was it because he truly wanted to be with her?

She still felt guilty about the incident with the bartender, except they had made it very clear in the beginning that their relationship wouldn't turn into anything other than one night of casual sex. But it obviously had. It had turned into way more, going on much longer and much farther than she ever anticipated. And it scared her, it filled her to the brim with anxiety.

And sure, she could walk away with her head held high even if Brian maintained the idea that they were just sleeping together, that it was only sex, and that once she leaves, their relationship would be over. She could be mature and she could handle that. But it didn't mean she didn't want the opposite to happen.

But he lived six hours away. And he was in a touring band. And he clearly liked sex and was surrounded by it. If she wasn't there – would he move on to the next merch girl or fan that threw themselves at him? Sure, he didn't do it on this tour, but he had her there, physically with him with wide open legs. If she wasn't around, would he still turn them away?

She sighed, running her hands through her hair, trying to brush off the skittish and erratic thoughts that consumed her and frazzled her and jumped from one extreme to the next.

And thanks to those thoughts, she felt scattered and edgy the whole rest of the night.

So when she found herself alone with Brian on the bus after the show, she took advantage of the opportunity to talk to him.

“Hey,” she greeted, walking into the front lounge.

“Hey,” he glanced over at her then back at the TV. “I’m gonna put on some tunes. What do you want to listen to?” He asked, looking intently at the television with a wrinkled brow, trying to figure out how to play some music. “I’m guessing Jay-Z or Outkast.”

She laughed as she hopped up on the small kitchen counter, watching him mess with the remote. “Not tonight, actually. Maybe John Mayer?”

He glanced over at her, smiled softly, then nodded. He pressed a few buttons until John Mayer was playing throughout the bus softly.

“So did you enj-”

This time, it was her turn to have a bad case of word vomit.

“I wasn't going to sleep with him,” she interrupted suddenly.

He paused mid-sentence then shut his mouth, surprised by her interruption and by her words.

“Jake,” she clarified. “The bartender at that hotel. I wasn’t going to sleep with him.”

But he knew exactly who she meant before she confirmed it. “You weren’t?”

“I had toyed with the idea,” she admitted, “mostly because I was trying to prove to myself that you and I were just sleeping together, nothing more. But that's not the case anymore. And I had already made up my mind before the vending machine incident, but I'm glad that you would've stopped me anyway. That wasn't what I wanted. What I wanted was you.”

Her admission amused him. She always kept him at arm’s length unless he was buried deep inside of her, so he really appreciated hearing her open up about her feelings for once.

“It really did turn into something so much more than just sex, huh?” He asked rhetorically, nodding his head in confirmation at his own question.

“What do we do now?” She dared to ask, terrified of his answer.

“You're still going to Phoenix?” He asked.

She nodded.

He exhaled and shrugged. “Then there's not much else we can do.”

The clock struck midnight, eliciting a ping from the clock in the back lounge to signal the hour of the new day. But it signaled so much more at that moment.

“It’s officially the last day of tour,” Aubrey announced softly, watching Brian grab two beers out of the fridge.

“I know,” Brian replied tenderly as he twisted the tops off of each bottle and handed her one.

She took a slow sip of the beverage, watching him as he leaned back against the opposite side of the counter and took a swig of his own.

They stared at each other sadly. He really didn’t want it to be the last day of the tour already, the last day he spent with her. He didn’t have much time to persuade her to stay, but he had to try. And since they were alone on the bus, he had to try now.

“It’s not because of me, is it?” He asked.

“What’s not because of you?” She wondered, drinking her beer.

“The reason why you’re not coming on the next leg of the tour,” he clarified. “Is it because of me? Or because of what we’ve been doing?”

“No, of course not,” she answered, shaking her head.

“Cause you know, if you wanted to stop, all you have to do is say the word,” Brian informed her. “This doesn’t have to continue on the next tour if you don’t want it to. I don’t expect anything of you. I hope you know that.”

“I know, Brian. And that has nothing to do with the reason,” she reassured.

He exhaled with a mixture of relief that it wasn’t his fault and grief that he still didn’t know how to change her mind.

“Then why?” He wondered, moving over to her, stepping between her legs and placing his free hand on her hip. “Why won’t you come with us?”

She frowned. She knew he probably didn’t want her to go - hell, he was having great sex on the regular, of course he didn’t want her to go - but she didn’t expect to see such sadness in his eyes over it.

“It just wasn’t my plan,” she answered. “I didn’t even know it was an option in the beginning. I was doing this tour for a few months then going home, resuming my life in Phoenix. The tour was supposed to give me a break and help me heal. And it did. That was always my plan.”

He put his forehead on hers. “Plans can change,” he reminded her with a shrug.

She smiled softly. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go on tour with them, but she had to be realistic. Tours don’t last forever. And even if she continued onto the next part of the tour, she’d always have to go back to her life in Phoenix at some point. She couldn’t rely on the band for the rest of her life.

“Kiss me,” she whispered, setting her beer down.

As she requested, he pressed his lips to hers, kissing her softly, seeking short little kisses, memorizing the way her lips felt and the way she tasted. He skimmed his tongue along her bottom lip, slipping it inside her mouth when she parted her lips. She cupped the back of his head, tangling her fingers in his hair like she always did.

He set his beer down next to hers, nudging his now free hand under the hem of her shirt, feeling the soft, warm skin of her back under the pads of his fingertips.

Their kisses were soft and sweet, not hot and heavy. They just wanted to be kissing and touching each other, intimate and close.

He moved his lips to her cheek, trailing kisses up to her ear then down to her jaw and neck. He inhaled between kisses, memorizing the way she smelled - her skin, her hair, and her shirt as he planted gentle kisses along her collarbone.

He placed sweet kisses up her neck until his lips found hers again. He wasn’t going to give this up. Not yet.

"Stay with me," he mumbled desperately against her lips.

“What?” She asked, panting softly.

He leaned back to look her in the eye. What he wanted to say was: Stay with me forever. But those weren’t the words that came out of his mouth.

“After the barbecue,” he continued. “Stay the night with me, just one more night before you go home.”

“What barbecue?” She wondered.

“Matt and Val always have a big barbecue when we get home from tour,” he explained. “Just a way for us to see all of our friends when we get back. You’re gonna come, right? You have to come and meet everyone.”

“Okay,” she nodded. “I’ll come.”

“And you’ll stay?” He asked, pressing a small kiss on her lips. “With me?”

She nodded again. “Of course I will.”

At her confirmation, his lips crashed onto hers again, this time a little more feverishly than before. Their hands roamed; she tugged on his shirt as he tangled his fingers in her hair with one hand and gripped her hip with the other. Things went from soft and sweet to hot and heavy very quickly.

They were so wrapped up in each other, so consumed with each other, that they didn’t hear the click of the bus door opening. The background music muffled the sounds even further, completely containing Aubrey and Brian in their own little world as their friends’ feet climbed the stairs.

Johnny saw them first as he approached the top of the stairs. He didn’t know what to do, but he knew he had to do something, so he quickly turned around and tried to push Zack and Jimmy back down the stairs.

“Uh, I forgot my wallet,” Johnny said, spurting out whatever excuse he could think of to get his bandmates to turn back around. “We gotta go back and get it.”

“Get it yourself,” Zack retorted, shoving Johnny out the way and climbing the remaining stairs until he was inside the bus.

Johnny scrambled behind him, grabbing at the back of his shirt to try and pull him back, but it was too late.

“Whoa, what the fuck?” Zack exclaimed in astonishment.

That sound, however, Aubrey and Brian heard loud and clear. They quickly separated their mouths and whipped their heads to the side to see Zacky, who was gawking with wide eyes, next to Johnny, who looked sheepish and apologetic.

“What's going on?” Jimmy asked, coming up behind Johnny and Zack.

“Brian and AC were just making out,” Zack said with disbelief.

A smile spread wide across Jimmy’s face. “Whaaat!” His remark was more of an exclamation of excitement than a question.

Brian and Aubrey remained still and wide eyed.

“Wait,” Zack turned to Johnny. “Why aren't you surprised by this?”

Johnny shrugged. “I knew they were fucking.”

“Wait,” Zack turned back to Aubrey and Brian, his eye brows raising even higher, his eyes growing even wider, and his mouth dropping even lower. “You two are fucking?”

“Wait!” Jimmy yelled. “You two are fucking and this piece of shit knew before me?” He pointed to Johnny.

“What is going on here?!” Zack demanded information.

Brian and Aubrey had been silent thus far, but since it was officially the last day of tour, and more than half of the group knew at this point, it was time to just come out with it.

“It just happened,” Aubrey said simply with a shrug, climbing down off the countertop.

“The whole time?” Zack wondered. “And you kept it a secret?”

“We didn’t expect it to go on this long,” Brian said truthfully. “So yeah, we tried to keep it a secret.”

“But they kept fuckin’ the whooole time,” Johnny said, as if he knew the whole story, feeling like he was in the clear now.

“Wow so many things make sense now,” Zack said hazily.

“Right?” Johnny added, relieved that someone else finally had clarity with the carnal knowledge.

"That's why you let this dick walk all over you, huh?” Zack asked Brian, pointing to Johnny. “He was keeping your secret?”

Brian shrugged but nodded.

“You should’ve just told us!” Zack replied.

Although hindsight is always 20/20, looking back now, Zack was right. They should’ve just told everyone. It was fun to sneak around but judging by the reactions so far, they should’ve just told their friends. It would’ve allowed for a lot more alone time.

“Are you still not coming on tour with us?” Jimmy asked Aubrey, wondering what this meant for his best friend and the girl he’s grown to adore.

“I’m not,” she answered. “I really have to get back to Phoenix.”

He frowned. “So you two really are just fucking?”

Brian decided to let Aubrey answer that, knowing the answer would be very different from his perspective.

“Yeah,” she said, though he detected a hint of sadness in her voice. “Sorry, Jim.”

Jimmy's bottom lip stuck out in a pout. But before he could protest the platonic nature of their relationship, Val and Matt sauntered up in the steps, walking into an odd scene that looked like a standoff between Zack, Johnny, and Jimmy, and Brian and Aubrey.

“What are you guys doing?” Valary asked.

“Brian and AC have been fuckin’ the whole tour and didn’t tell anyone,” Johnny blurted.

“Whoa, what?” Matt asked, blinking hard, as if someone had just thrown a punch straight into his jaw and he couldn’t see straight.

“It’s true,” Jimmy confirmed, still smiling like an idiot.

“Holy cow!” Val exclaimed then her face fell. “Hey, wait, I’m kind of pissed that neither of you told me!”

"I know, right?!" Jimmy agreed.

“We didn’t tell anyone,” Brian said with a shrug.

“Except Johnny,” Zack interjected.

Val and Matt looked at Johnny.

“I walked in on them fuckin’ in that nightclub that Jimmy puked in,” Johnny explained.

“Jesus,” Brian breathed in anguish as Aubrey blushed and looked at her feet.

"I'll be damned,” Matt commented. “Well, if I never need someone to keep a secret, I know who to find.”

“Yeah, really,” Val added. “You two pulled that off unbelievably well considering we all lived under each other’s noses for months.”

Brian and Aubrey smirked.

“Not to change the subject from this beautiful discovery, but can we go find food now?” Johnny asked, in fact changing the subject. “I’m starving.”

A spontaneous round of audible agreements followed from his friends, and surprisingly, the subject changed rather quickly, for which Brian and Aubrey were thankful.

Ø

“So,” Matt spoke into the microphone, pausing to give the crowd time to settle down. “This is our last show of the tour and we just wanted to say thanks to all you beautiful motherfuckers for coming out to celebrate this tour with us. It's been the best tour we've ever been on and we really don't want it to end. But if it had to, we're glad it ended here, tonight, with you badass motherfuckers.”

The crowd erupted into a loud roar. Brian began playing the intro to their last song of the night, the last song of the tour, the last song of this chapter in their lives.

Val motioned to Aubrey, catching her eye. She signaled for Aubrey to join her on the side of the stage to watch the last song close and up front. She quickly hopped up on stage with Val and watched the guys deliver a beautiful last performance.

Then their drive back home began.

Notes

I really have to apologize for how long this chapter has been delayed! The holidays were absolutely chaotic (but in a really good way) and although I had plenty of time to write, I didn't get this chapter fully done until tonight, and even so, I had to rush through editing so I hope I caught all the typos! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year! :) Enjoy!