Don't You Dare

Avenged Sevenfold had to take the stage shortly after Brian and Aubrey returned from their romp at the hotel. Hand-in-hand, they hurried through the parking lot, laughing at the fact that the band would take the stage a few minutes late due to them being literally unable to keep their hands off of each other for the last few hours.

Zack, Johnny, and the Berry brothers had done Brian a huge favor by setting up all his gear and tuning it how he likes, so that all he would have to do is show up, grab his guitar, and hit the stage. But they were still running a few minutes behind schedule.

“Jesus, finally!” Matt shouted as he saw the two swiftly approaching. With the signal that their guitarist had finally graced them with his presence, the rest of the band began rushing around to grab their instruments.

Aubrey’s face flushed slightly, knowing they all knew where they had been and what they were doing.

“Do you have your laminate?” Brian asked her as they slowed their pace near the stage.

She looked down at herself. The laminated pass Valary had given her to give her access to any of the backstage areas was nowhere to be seen. “Shit. I must’ve left it at the hotel, sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he said as he pulled his off and handed it to her. “Take mine. Go find, Val. She should be on the other side of the stage. Stay with her while we play.”

“Okay,” Aubrey nodded before turning to walk away.

But before she could take another step, Brian grabbed her arm and spun her back around. Without hesitation, he grabbed the back of her neck and brought her lips to his, kissing her roughly. She kissed back eagerly, as if she hadn’t just spent the last couple of hours physically letting him know exactly how much she missed him.

“So glad you’re here,” he said with a soft pant as he tore his lips away from hers.

“Me too,” she replied. “Good luck.”

He kissed her one last time then let her walk away.

Aubrey found Valary right where Brian had said, on the other side of the stage, jotting something down on a clipboard.

“Hey Val,” Aubrey announced her presence to the band’s manager.

Val glanced up and smirked. “About time you two made it back.”

Aubrey smiled sheepishly. “Brian told me to sit with you while they played.”

“Best seat in the house,” Valary replied then waved for Aubrey to follow her. “Come on.”

They climbed a few unsteady steps to the stage and Aubrey felt her stomach clench.

“We’re watching from the stage?” Aubrey asked with wide eyes.

“Yep,” Val replied. “Unless you want to stand among a thousand sweaty teenagers, half of whom want to do unspeakable things to your boyfriend.”

The word boyfriend rattled in Aubrey’s head, but she ignored it for the moment.

“No thanks,” Aubrey grimaced.

“That’s how I feel too,” Valary laughed. “So side stage it is.”

Aubrey watched as Val hopped up on a stack of stage risers and motioned for her to do the same. Though they were toward the back corner of the stage, they had a great view of the band from behind. It was a whole new perspective, seeing the crowd in the same way that the band does.

“Put these in your ears,” Valary instructed as she handed Aubrey two small orange earplugs. “Trust me.”

“Thanks,” Aubrey stated with relief as she finagled the plugs into her ears. It never even crossed her mind that she would need them. She mentally laughed at herself, still so naive to the ins and outs of touring.

The guys took the stage a few moments later, earning a loud roar from the crowd.

“What the fuck is up, Californiaaa?” Matt hollered into the microphone, transforming into M. Shadows right in front of Aubrey’s eyes as he walked to the middle of the stage.

The crowd screamed even louder in response. The sound of the guitars rang through the monitors as Brian, Zack, and Johnny took their positions and Jimmy took a seat behind his drum set.

The guys immediately began to play their first song and the crowd went insane, moving, dancing, and shoving each other just like Aubrey remembered. But seeing everything from this perspective was wild. She imagined it felt just as surreal to the guys on stage, seeing the huge crowd full of people of all ages, genders, races, and social status, singing along to their song, letting the music move them as they danced, bobbed their heads, and pounded their fists to the beat. It made her even more proud to know them.

After the first song ended, M. Shadows took to the mic again.

“I’m sure most of you guys have noticed that we were a little late getting up here, so I apologize for that shit,” Matt spoke. “If you want someone to blame, it’s all Synyster Gates’ fault.”

Brian cutely shrugged at the crowd then leaned forward and muttered, “Sorry,” into his microphone. The crowd, a majority of the girls, screamed at his brief remark.

He glanced over his shoulder toward the back of the stage where his eyes quickly scanned the people scattered behind him. His eyes fell on Aubrey, sitting on the stage risers next to Val. She was looking right at him and sent him a quick, sweet smile. He couldn’t stop the subtle smile that spread across his face and sent her a quick wink in response then turned back to the crowd.

Val gently elbowed Aubrey in the side and swooned. “Cutest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”

Aubrey chuckled and nodded in agreement.

“However, we’re going to make up for it by playing a brand new song for you guys,” Matt stated to their fans. “So you better fucking move.”

The intro to their new song began playing throughout the speakers.

Aubrey had to admit that actually watching the guys play their set from behind the stage, sitting atop a stack of stage risers, was a lot more fun than working during it. It was exciting and quite a rush to be able to watch the whole thing from start to finish in such an intimate seat. She missed it greatly.

As the guys continued to play, more and more people scattered the stage behind the band and equipment. Aubrey didn’t recognize any of them, but she assumed they were with the tour if they were able to be on the stage. It made her happy to see people, who weren’t a part of the A7X crew or their fans, supporting them.

After their set finished, the real fun started, and Aubrey quickly realized why so many people were hanging around. Because, as she already knew, the guys were the life of the party.

And almost immediately after the guys left the stage, an absurd amount of alcohol was brought out for quick consumption.

Warped Tour was vastly different from the other tour Aubrey had been on with the guys. Most distinctively, there were people everywhere. There were nearly 80 bands on the tour, plus all the band’s crew members, plus all the crew members for the tour itself, who made sure things ran properly.

And it seemed like at least half of those people showed up to party with Avenged Sevenfold after their set. It was slightly overwhelming to Aubrey, who was having a hard time remembering the names of everyone she was introduced to.

“Jesus, everyone loves y’all,” she commented to Brian after he introduced her to the hundredth person that night.

He smiled down at her. “I love it when you say y’all.”

She smirked and poked his side.

“You want a refill?” He asked, nodding to her empty cup.

“Yes, please,” she replied cutely, handing him her cup.

A few feet away, Jason Berry sat in a dilapidated lawn chair next to Val, who was chatting with his girlfriend Kelsey, as he watched his longtime friend flirt and laugh with a girl who seemed to have stolen the hearts of all of his friends.

“He’s all goo-goo-eyed and in a trance,” Jason muttered to Val when another friend began conversing with Kelsey. “I’ve never seen him like that before.”

Val glanced up to see Aubrey and Brian standing at the drink table. She was leaning into him and giggling away as he accidentally spilled the drink he was pouring. He was chuckling, glancing down at her with the utmost adoration in his eyes.

“Me either, honestly,” Val agreed. “But she’s been really good for him.”

“Yeah?” Jason asked, protective of his friend. “You guys all took to her really quickly.”

“Yeah,” Val nodded and agreed again. “She fits in well. As welcoming as we are, that’s not always easy to do.”

Jason nodded in agreement, still watching as Aubrey perked up on her tippy toes and placed a soft kiss on Brian’s cheek, which caused his eyes to light up.

Jason shook his head, remembering that Kelsey made him all lightheaded and giggly when they first started dating. Hell, she still made him feel that way. And if that was the way Aubrey made his friend feel, he had no choice but to be ecstatic about it.

Ø

“How’s Phoenix, AC?” Johnny asked as the band and crew sat around a fold-out table later that night, passing a pipe of marijuana around. “You know, the bitches you left us for.”

A small knot formed in Brian’s stomach at the reminder that Aubrey wasn’t there permanently.

Aubrey laughed, taking a sip of her beer. “Phoenix has been treating me well for once.”

Johnny relented with a genuine smile. “I’m really happy to hear that.”

Traitor, Brian thought.

“You still liking your new job?” Matt asked, igniting a flame under the pipe and inhaling the smoke.

“Yeah,” Aubrey answered happily. “I’ve gotten some great feedback on my first few edits and I’ve already learned a lot. I’m actually going to start taking some online classes toward a degree in the field.”

Brian glanced at her. That was news to him. Why hadn’t she told him?

“Wow, really?” Matt replied.

“Yeah, it’s not really necessarily required, but the chief editor said it will help advance my career, so I’m looking into it,” Aubrey answered.

“I’m still pissed that you left us, but I’m really happy for you at the same time, Aubrey,” Valary commended. “I know how badly you wanted to go home and get your shit together. Sounds like you’re doing just that.”

“For once,” Aubrey sighed, glancing over at Brian, who was staring at her intently. “I am.”

Brian forced a small smile, but inside, his heart was breaking again. He wanted to be happy for her, and a part of him truly was. But she was getting more and more settled in Phoenix, which meant she was less and less likely to be able to come out and see him on the road. Or in California. And he hated that. And he hated that it gave him conflicting emotions.

“Hey, when are we picking teams for kickball?” Jimmy asked the group. “The other game is almost over.”

The conversation drifted towards the kickball game that would be happening in the parking lot soon, so Brian turned to Aubrey.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to go back to school?” Brian asked quietly, keeping their conversation to themselves.

“It’s just classes online, B,” she brushed it off.

“That’s huge, Aubrey,” he insisted. “I wish you would’ve told me.”

“I just decided on it last week,” she explained. “I haven’t applied or anything.”

He nodded but his eyes drifted away from her. She couldn’t tell exactly what he was thinking, but she could tell he was afraid something would keep her away from him even more.

“Hey,” she muttered, moving to get back into his line of sight. “It’s all online. Nothing changes between us.”

He nodded, making eye contact with her for a second then looking away again. “That’s exactly what I’m worried about.”

She frowned as he exhaled a sigh. She didn’t know what to say and she was afraid to say the wrong thing. She didn’t want to talk about this yet, not on her first night with him. So she stayed silent.

“Brian, AC, are you two lovebirds playing kickball tonight?” Jimmy asked.

They snapped out of their own little world and glanced at Jimmy, who was standing up clutching a ball with one hand and pointing at them with the other.

Brian shook his head. “I’m sitting this one out.”

Jimmy nodded then pointed to Aubrey with a questioning look.

“Yeah, me too,” she answered.

“Booooo,” Jimmy whined with disappointment then waved them off. “Well, if you’re playing kickball, let’s fucking go! We’ve got some pop-punk asses to kick!”

Everyone chuckled as Jimmy corralled the group (minus Aubrey and Brian) out of their chairs and began leading them to the adjacent parking lot where a current kickball game was ending.

Their departure left Brian and Aubrey alone. And in silence.

She didn’t know what to say next but she felt like she had to say something, so she swallowed the lump in her throat, mentally psyching herself up to utter the words that were lingering at the tip of her tongue.

“I love you, you know?” She spat.

Brian looked over at her with a neutral expression but he didn’t respond.

“That’s why I’m here,” she reminded him. “You know that, right?”

He nodded. “I know.”

“I couldn’t come back out on tour with you guys permanently, but I could take off work and spend a few days with you. You said so yourself, I could just come out on tour for a few days at a time. That’s what I’m doing,” she explained. “Can’t that be enough for right now?”

Brian exhaled, relenting his anguish almost instantly. She was right. It was better than her still being in Phoenix. He had to keep reminding himself of that and not of the fact that she would only be with him for a few days. He needed to cherish the time with her, not brood over the fact that he wanted more.

“I’m sorry,” he said, sitting up and looking at her again. “You’re right.”

She smiled, thankful that she didn’t upset him further.

“I’m just really enjoying being able to freely be with you on tour and not having to hide anything,” he admitted.

“I know,” she replied. “Sneaking around was pretty fun though, wasn’t it?”

He smirked and nodded. “It was.”

She smiled at him and his heart did its usual little flutter at the loving look she gave him.

“I love you too, by the way,” he replied to her earlier profession.

“I know you do,” she concurred.

Notes

Let me just say, first and foremost, that I am SO SORRY that I’ve been MIA for months. Life just got crazy busy and I had no time to dedicate to writing. That, of course, led to losing inspiration and motivation to write. But I’ve been setting aside some time to write lately and I’m working on finishing up this story! In my original outline, this story only had about 4 or 5 chapters left, but I’ll try to throw in a couple more since I left you guys hanging for so long. Please forgive me! Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has ever read this story, especially the ones who messaged me, telling me they missed this story! I hope you all enjoyed! XOXO &*