I wasn’t exactly sure where this club the guys were performing at was, but I knew the general area. I hoped once I got closer I would see other people dressed in costumes and they would lead the way.

Thankfully, my hope wasn’t short lived, and I found the club easily. There was a line outside the building, with smaller groups scattered around talking in groups. Close to the side of the building, I spot Zack's tall friend Jimmy around a crowd. Hoping Zack was one of the people standing with him, I made my way over.

“Sheridan!” Jimmy called as I approached. His call caught his groups attention and they turned to look at me. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw Zack standing there, dressed in all black with his face painted to look like a skeleton.

“Hey,” he said. “You made it.”

“Yeah,” I shrugged. “Got done with my homework early.”

I hear a scoff and look up to see Gena dressed as a 1920's Flapper . Her gold dressed gleamed from the lights coming from the side of the building. “What are you doing here?”
“Zack invited her,” Val told her with a glare. She wore a red tutu, red knee highs, white converse and a red crop top t-shirt that said “Thing One” on it. She had a blue ribbon tied in her blonde hair, and her sister wore the same thing except she was “Thing Two ”

“Where’d you get the costume last minute? I’m totally digging it.” Zack asked me, ignoring the two girls.

I shrugged. “Oh, you mean punk rock Minnie Mouse? I just kind of threw it together.” I grin.
Another scoff from the Flapper. “You can’t slap ears on a whore and call it a mouse,” she mumbles.

I scoffed and opened my mouth to say something, but Matt beat me to it. “Gena, shut the fuck up. Stop being a bitch.” He wasn’t dressed in a costume, and now that I got a second to look around, none of the guys were except for Zack.

“I think you look amazing. Did you really dye your hair for the costume? Going all out, huh?” Zack asked.

I laughed. “I guess you could say that.” After all, I couldn’t tell him the truth.
Everyone resumes their conversation but Zack pulls me away before I can immerse myself in it. He leads me a few feet over and lights up a cigarette. “If I knew you were coming as Minnie, I would have dressed up as Mickey,” he winks.

I laugh. “I really didn’t know I was coming until a few hours ago.”

He grins. “Well, I’m super fucking glad you did. And…don’t worry about Gena. She’s just jealous because you look better than her.”

I feel my face heat up. “I’m just trying to have a good time.”

“You assholes ready to go in?” Matt interrupts. Zack tosses his half-smoked cigarette to the ground and stomps it out. The crowd begins to pass us and Zack put his hand on the small of my back as we begin to head closer to the entrance of the club.

We make our way towards the door and the group begins to flash their red wristbands to the bouncer. “Zack, I don’t have one of those,” I whisper.

Zack gives me a smile and nods. “I got you.” Matt flashes his wristband and then Zack flashes his. “Hey, Bruce. She’s with me, can you slap a wristband on her please?”

“Anything for you, Z,” the bouncer says. “Can I see your ID, please?”

I begin to fish my ID out of my back pocket. “I’ll meet you inside, okay?” Zack tells me and I nod.

I give the ID to the bouncer and after studying it, he wraps a bracelet around my wrist and allows me through the door. I enter the club and spot Zack and the rest of the group a few feet away, as I make my way over to them, I notice they’re all staring in the same general direction. I follow their gazes and my eyes land on Gena flirting with what looked like one of the bouncers, who also looked to be a few years older than us.

“What are you guys looking at?” I ask. I guess the better question would have been why are you guys staring at Gena? I mean, she was flirting with someone; what was the big deal?

Brian is the first to answer. “That guy has the hugest crush on Gena.”

“He asks her out every time we come here,” Zack mentions. Was that jealousy and irritation in his voice or did I imagine it?

“So, she’s trying to get us green bracelets instead,” Michelle explains waving her red bracelet strapped to her wrist.

“What’s the difference between red and green?” I ask.

Zack answers me. “Well, this club is for anyone under 21 that has an ID or driver’s license. So, mostly it’s for anyone 16 to 21 years old. They’re trying to target a certain crowd, keep the youth away from illegal activity. At first, they didn’t serve alcohol because most of the crowd is under age but then they began losing the 21-year-old crowd –”

“And so,” Johnny piped up, “they started serving alcohol. The different bands are just so the bartenders don’t have to keep checking everyone’s driver’s – Oh! She’s coming back!” Johnny begins jumping up and down like an overexcited child, Jimmy joins in.

“So, they check your driver’s license once at the door and give you the wristband according to your age. Green means go for the liquor; red means don’t even think about it.” Zack finishes explaining.

Gena all but skips back to the group and discretely flashes a handful of green bracelets. “Sweet!” Johnny cheers, tugging at his red wristband.

“Not here, babe!” Lacey laughs. “Cut it off in the bathroom where no one can see you. We don’t want to get caught!”

Gena starts handing out the wristbands. Lacey, Johnny, Jimmy, Matt, Zack, Val, Leana, Michelle, and Brian all get one before Gena keeps the last one for herself. “Sorry,” she smiles venomously, “I could only get ten.”

I shrug. “That’s okay.” I raise up my right wrist that has a green bracelet wrapped securely around it. “I have one already.”

“You have a fake ID?” Zack asks with a grin.

Gena scoffs. “I thought you were supposed to be a goody two shoes or something.”

I ignore Gena’s comment. “I’m actually really surprised none of you have one.”

“Well, we used to but they’ve been confiscated one time or another,” Matt replies.

“Or lost, or given to someone to use and they never returned it, shit like that,” Val explains.

“Plus, I could never really find one of someone that looked like me and had the same height,” Jimmy sighs.

I didn’t realize we had started walking until the group began to separate – girls going in one direction and boys in the other. I decide to stand outside and wait for them to return. Zack was the first one back, and I wondered how he even had time to remove his bracelet and replace it with the green one.

“So, let me see it,” he smiled.

I give him an odd look. “See what?”

“Your fake ID,” he replied. I mouthed the word “Oh” before digging my ID out of my pocket and handing it to him. Zack looks at it for a long moment. “Wow!” He exclaims. “Do you have an older sister or something? Because this girl looks exactly like you…well, before you dyed your hair.”

I laugh. “That’s because it is me. It’s a real driver’s license issued by the state of Kansas. It’s completely real, except the year of birth.” By this time the group began to come out of the bathrooms but were too engulfed in their own conversations to notice me and Zack.

“Holy shit,” Zack laughs. “How the fuck did you manage that?”

“You don’t want to know,” I replied, and I was sure he wouldn’t. I wasn’t proud of my past and the things I did to get the things I wanted. “I have another driver’s license too. You know, one with the real birth year on it. I just use this one for when I go out.”

“Smart,” Zack tells me, handing back the driver’s license. “You’re going to have to work your magic and get me one.”

The rest of the group eventually makes their way back over to me and Zack and we immediately head to the bar. Some of the group order shots, while others order a beer, I order a rum and coke and turn my attention to the band on stage. I soon realize that they kind of sound awful. The guitarist keeps messing up all sorts of chords and looks completely frustrated. I wonder if it’s nerves or if he genuinely just doesn’t know what he’s doing. At the back of my mind, I silently hope Zack doesn’t suck like this guy does. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to lie to him about something like that or not. I barely knew him or the rest of the group, but I knew I wanted them to do well.

That band finishes their set and a DJ strikes up some upbeat music so the crowd can dance while they get ready for the next band. I mostly sit back with Zack and a few others from the group and drink and have a conversation while the rest of the group goes out to dance. I was tempted to dance, I loved dancing, but I also wanted to stay and talk to Zack and Jimmy.

Before I know it, the DJ is introducing the next band as Avenged Sevenfold. Zack, Jimmy, and Brian stand from the seats next to me.

“It’s show time!” Zack winks before following Jimmy and Brian to the front of the crowd. I wasn’t sure where Johnny and Matt were but I was sure they were somewhere already up front. It occurred to me that I never even asked Zack what his band's name was. Avenged Sevenfold, was it? Pretty fucking neat.

Michelle, Leana, and Val pushed their way through the crowd and I was tempted to follow them but wasn’t sure if I belonged at the front of the crowd with the rest of them. Before I could make up my mind, Michelle reappeared at the back of the crowd and waved me towards her.

“Sheridan,” she called. “Come on!”

I do as I'm told and she grabs my hand and pulls me through the crowd until we reach the front. I immediately look for Zack on the tiny stage. He stands on my left and when we lock eyes he gives me another wink, this time accompanied by a huge smile.

Avenged Sevenfold starts their first song and the crowd goes crazy. I wondered if they had played here before, but didn’t think too hard about it. Matt’s scream surprised me. I never thought he would be able to sound so…scary? Demon-y? Jimmy’s skills on the drums were also something that surprised me. Was this dude taking lessons somewhere? He was amazing, probably the most familiar with his instrument. He never missed a beat and was downright impressive. I’ll be the first to admit I never gave Jimmy the kind of credit he deserved. He just always seemed so distracted on a daily basis, I never thought he would be able to rock the drums.

The songs were so fast paced and the lyrics were intriguing but dark. I wondered if Matt wrote them, I’d have to remember to ask Zack later. I didn’t even notice Val had joined the boys on stage until I heard a female’s voice in the mic. If I thought Matt sounded demon-y, I didn’t know what to think about Val! She was insane! Every female in the crowd cheered during her small part, and when she stepped off stage, Michelle embraced her.

“Great job, sister!” I heard her yell.

As the songs passed, I couldn’t help but keep my eyes on Zack. He genuinely looked like he was enjoying himself up there, jamming with his best friends.

“He’s amazing, isn’t he?” Gena says from beside me. I didn’t even realize she was standing there until she spoke. Had she been there the entire time?

“Yeah, he’s really good at guitar!” I answer awkwardly.

“You know that’s not what I meant,” she smirked. She was right. She meant that he was an all-around amazing individual and he was. He really fucking was. Gena sighs so loud and exaggeratedly that I can hear it over the music. “I am such a lucky girl!” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I knew she was just trying to make me jealous so why was I allowing it to work?

The band finishes their set and as soon as Zack walks off the side of the stage, Gena runs to his side. She leans in to kiss his cheek and I can’t hide the grin on my face when he pushes her away. After rejecting her, Zack makes a B-line for me. My smile spreads when I look past him and notice the look on Gena’s face – pure fucking jealousy and resentment.

“Hey!” Zack smiles. His face is sweaty and the face paint that once resembled a skull has begun to melt and smear.

“Wow!” I exclaim bringing him into a hug. “Zack, that was amazing! You guys are really good!” I tell him after we part.

Zack laughs. “Don’t sound so surprised.”

“Hey,” I smile, “to be fair, you’re the one that said you guys kind of sucked.”

He shrugs. “Good point. I just didn’t want to sound full of myself.” I laugh and he looks around the club for a brief moment. “Hey, I need a cigarette and some fresh air. Want to come?”

I nod and we make our way through the crowd and out the exit. Zack pulls a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He puts one between his lips before offering me the pack. I take one from the pack and Zack lights mine before lighting his own.

Zack inhales deeply before dispelling the cloud of smoke. “I’m really glad you came tonight…and you look fucking amazing.”

I can feel myself blushing and can only hope the darkness from the night conceals it. “Thank you,” I reply. “I’m really glad I came too.”

Zack leans against the building. He closes his eyes as he takes another puff from his cigarette. After a moment, he says, “You know, now I'm going to make you come to every show of ours.”

“Oh, are you?” I chuckle, taking another drag from my cigarette. Man, I haven’t had one of these since before I was admitted into the treatment center.

“Yes,” he grins, opening his eyes. “Don’t worry, we don’t have many shows…yet. But I kind of liked seeing you in the front row.” I didn’t know what to say so I just grinned. He continued, “You know, you can’t give me any more shit about looking at you in calculus anymore.”
I raise a brow and put out my cigarette. “Oh, I can’t? And why not?”

Zack stomps out his cigarette as well. When he looks up at me he has a smirk on his lips. “I saw you staring at me on stage.” He walks passed me, heading back to the club’s entrance.

After a very brief moment of shock and maybe a little embarrassment, I laugh and turn, following him. Once I catch up with him, I slap him playfully on his arm.

“Ow!” He laughs as we show one of the bouncers our wristband and he lets us back in.

“That’s totally not the same thing,” I tell him.

“What?” He asks giving me a look of disbelief, though a smile is still plastered on his face. “How is that any different? You caught me looking at you and I caught you looking at me.”

We walk towards the bar and Zack orders us both a beer. “Because you invited me here to watch your band. So, that’s what I was doing. I was watching you…play with your band.”

Zack throws his head back in a laugh. “Oh, bullshit! Just admit it.”

I take a gulp of my beer. “Admit what?”

“That you think I’m super fucking good looking and you couldn’t keep your eyes off me.”

“Wow,” I laugh, “you really are full of yourself, aren’t you?”

Zack opens his mouth to reply but is interrupted by Gena walking up. “Zack, come dance with me.” I don’t think it was meant as a question.

Zack takes a long drink of his beer and eventually chugs the entire thing. “Actually, I was about to go wash this shit off my face and then dance with Sheridan.”

As Gena turns her face to me with a don’t you fucking dare expression on it, Zack also gives me an expression, a pleading one. I hold back a laugh and clear my throat. “Yeah, sorry, Gena. Zack promised me a dance when he asked me to come tonight.” I don’t know what came over me or why I decided to try and make her jealous but I liked it, especially because it worked. Gena glared at me so hard I thought she was trying to turn me to stone.

After a moment, she turned to Zack. “No problem,” she smiled. “Just save me one before we leave, hot stuff.” Gena brushes her lips against Zack's before he can stop her. She glances at me before strutting away.

“Oy vey,” he mumbles. “Sorry about that. I really am going to wash this paint off my face, though. I’ll be back.” I nod and watch Zack as he heads off into the direction of the bathrooms.

I swirl the remainder of beer at the bottom of my glass and adjust my Minnie mouse ears. The band on stage stops playing and the crowd cheers. I was so wrapped up in my conversation with Zack, I didn’t even realize there was a band playing. I silently wondered if they were any good as I awaited Zack's return.

“Are you having fun?” A voice comes from my left. I look over to see Leana leaning against the bar. She orders a drink and smiles at me.

“Yeah,” I tell her. “I’m really glad I came.”

Leana grabs her drink when the bartender hands it to her. “Well, that’s good,” she takes a sip of her drink. “So,” she says after a few moments, “you and Zack, huh?”

“Me and Zack?” I repeat confused.

Leana smiles. “You like him, don’t you?”

“Oh,” I shake my head looking down at my beer. “We’re just friends. He seems to have a complicated thing with Gena anyway.”

Leana nods. “Yeah, you could say that.” I don’t reply and after a moment she looks like she has something else she wants to say, but before she can say it, Zack returns.

“Ladies, talking about me, are you?” He smiles with a clean face.

Leana laughs and rolls her eyes. “Oh, you wish, Baker. Didn’t your mother ever tell you the world doesn’t revolve around you?” She gives me a wink before disappearing into the crowd.

“What was that about?” Zack asks curiously.

I take a swallow of the remainder of my beer as the DJ changes the song. “I don’t know, but I think you owe me a dance, right?” Zack opens his mouth and it looks like he’s about to protest, but I take his hand and lead him to the middle of the floor before he gets the chance to.

“You know, I don’t really dance. I was just trying to get Gena to fuck off.” He tells me as I face him.

“I push his hands onto my hips and run my hands through his hair. “Oh, so you were just using me, huh?” I tease, rolling my hips into his.

“No, definitely not,” Zack says quietly. His grip on my hips tighten and he pulls me in closer to him.

As the song progresses, the dance gets more seductive. Zack’s fingertips find the holes in the sides of my lace up shorts and his touch on my bare skin is electric. Our lips are mere inches apart and I want to kiss him. The urge comes out of nowhere and is damn near impossible to ignore…

And then the songs ends. Zack and I don’t move for a few seconds, I can feel his hot breath on my lips and my heart races. The DJ announces that it is the last call for bar drinks after the next song. His voice pulls Zack and I out of whatever it was we were in and we pull away from each other. Zack rubs the back of his neck awkwardly as I realize how cold my skin feels without his touch.

“I, uh, I’m going to get going,” I tell him.

“Okay,” Zack nods avoiding my gaze for a moment but before I can turn away from him he says something else. “I’ll walk you home.”

“Oh, it’s fine. Really, I can –” I start but Zack interrupts me.

“Nope, I insist this time,” He grins. Before I can say otherwise, he’s pulling me out into the California streets like I had pulled him to the dancefloor.

“Shouldn’t we say goodbye to your friends?” I ask once the warm air greets me.

Zack shrugs. “They’ll be okay.”

We continue to walk to my house in silence. After a few awkward moments, Zack breaks the silence. “So, did I keep my promise? Did you have a good time tonight?”

I nod. “Yeah, I had a blast. I’m looking forward to more shows.”

Zack says, “Aw! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Like I said, we don’t have too many shows right now but we’re working on some new songs in our free time. That’s why I’m working at the café, to save up some money so we can record a demo when we’re ready. We’ll send it out, get signed, book more shows and then you can be one of our groupies.”

I laugh. “Oh, you fucking wish.”

Zack laughs too and we continue talking until we reach my house. “Well, this is me,” I announce, pointing to my green house.

“Oh, shit,” Zack exclaims. “Are you related to Eli?”

I raise my brows. What an interesting thing to ask. “You know Eli?”

“Yeah, went to school with him for a couple of years before he graduated. He was one of the best quarterbacks we had! He’s fucking awesome, we’ve hung out a few times. So, you are? You’re related to him?”

I get an unsettling feeling in my stomach and chest. “Yeah,” I tell him. I can almost taste the bile rising up in the back of my throat. “He’s my brother.” And my rapist.

“Oh, that’s awesome!” He grins. “Maybe we can all hang out one day? Matt and him used to be good friends too.”

I try to give him a smile but I know I fail. “Well, thanks for walking me home and also for inviting me. I had a blast.” I slowly start to back up the steps, wishing to forget these last few minutes.

“Okay. I’ll see you Monday,” Zack tells me and with a nod, I turn around. Before I can make it to my front door, however, Zack calls out. “Hey, Sheridan?”

“Yeah?” I ask turning back around.

“What’s the real reason you dyed your hair because I know you didn’t do it for some belated Halloween party. Don’t get me wrong, it looks good. You look good…it’s just unexpected.”

I stare at him as I try to come up with an answer. I knew I couldn’t tell him the truth. I knew I could never tell him anything about the mighty Eli, ever. I wet my lips and find my voice. “What’s the real reason why you and Gena have such a complicated relationship?” I counter.

Zack smiles lightly and nods. “Touché,” he replies before turning on his heel and crossing the street. I watch him for a few seconds until I decide to go inside.

Notes

Aaaaaand that's why I decided to separate chapter five from chapter six. If I would have kept it at one chapter it would have been almost 7,000 words...I don't think you guys would have liked that haha. Also, Saturday night I wrote the last chapter of this story! I don't know when it's going to happen, but it's written! The ending of this story is what sparked the story so I'm excited for you guys to read it. :) Anyways, thank you so much for reading!! Don't forget to comment, vote and subscribe!

Thank you to AvengedLover, MeRi, imagine fiction, Synful and DaphneG for commenting!

In case you missed it: Gena's costume | Val and Michelle's costume | Sheridan's costume | Journal Entry

Title credit: Avenged Sevenfold "The Fight"