Wicked Dream

One of these days, I'd learn that I was not supposed to run. I had grown out of my asthma enough to no longer need an inhaler, but running for longer than a minute still left me coughing my guts up once I stopped. I'd almost missed my bus from taking so long to get ready.

Normally, I wouldn't care about dolling myself up for a concert. Local gigs were different, there was more room to breathe and move around. At bigger shows, the space was more confined. I always wound up a sweaty, disgusting mess once the show was over anyway. But today was different.

I had a Paradigm Lounge VIP pass for Avenged Sevenfold, and we were one of the lucky towns who got the pit that was built into the stage as part of the experience. I had saved for practically a year in advance for this, so I was able to jump on a pass the moment they went on sale and guarantee myself the very best experience.

On top of that, thanks to Adelaide being so small, with such a small Deathbat community; I had also managed to win a Meet and Greet pass on Deathbat Nation. My friend Tara had won one, too, and I was ecstatic that I'd get to share the experience with her.

It had been three and a half years since Avenged Sevenfold had last graced Australian shores, but I had missed them when they had come here for Soundwave in 2014. Stupid-ass, younger Me had decided it'd be a good idea to skip that one particular Soundwave, as Avenged Sevenfold, Green Day, and HIM were all headlining, meaning they'd clash, and I'd have been torn between the three. In Hindsight, I was kicking myself; Of course you choose Avenged, you always choose Avenged...

Tara met up with me at the train station in town, and the two of us caught the tram to Adelaide Entertainment Centre. It felt so weird going there for a Metal show, the venue mostly catered to Pop Concerts and cliche Pop Punk bands at most. Save for the one year I'd seen Steel Panther there.

Avenged Sevenfold's following had grown dramatically since the last time I'd seen them at the Thebarton Theatre; A venue which looked almost identical to Brixton Academy in London. There was no way they'd be able to fit their crowd's size into that venue these days. But I was so goddamn proud of them, they were as big as Metallica now, and they fucking deserved it.

There was already a small crowd congregating around the entrance, and had I not saved and bought myself a VIP pass, I'd have been pissed about it. Some of them seemed like they'd camped overnight to ensure a good spot, which I respected them for. It took some serious will power to wait outside a venue in the scorching Australian summer heat. Even now, as the sun was setting, it was right on us, burning my pale skin.

"VIP PEOPLE, LINE UP!" called a member of staff. "HAVE YOUR TICKET AND ID'S READY!"

It was now that my anxiety began to set in. And I took deep breaths to try to get the message across to my body that this was a happy occasion, not a scary one. Soon, I'd be in that venue, meeting my favourite band of all time. Anxiety for me wasn't shaking, sobbing and hyperventilating. Instead, my body would feel like it were buzzing, and my head would get a little cloudy.

"You okay?" Tara asked, noticing how quiet I was.
"Yeah, just anxious."
"I can't blame you." she giggled. "You're meeting your Husband soon."
"I'm excited to meet them all, really." I admitted. "Just extra-excited about Brian."
"Naturally."
"Shut up, Fuckhole."

One by one, the VIP people walked through the metal detector and had their bags checked to ensure they weren't packing. A staff member was checking ID's and scanning tickets by the door. We were given the option to store our belongings in a locker just inside the entrance, and so I transferred my money, phone, and ID into a smaller purse I'd brought with me.

We were shown to the Paradigm Lounge and then left to mingle, buy drinks, eat, and admire the various memorabilia around the room. Some people were already taking photos with Syn and Zacky's guitars. I dragged Tara over there and got her to snap a photo of me with Syn's traditional black and white pinstriped Schecter, my tongue hanging out of my mouth and my metal horns raised.

"You already look like him." she giggled. "All you need is a fedora."
"Kinda wish I brought one, not gonna lie."
"You'd probably just end up losing it."
"You do raise a valid point, there." I nodded.

Tara and I snapped photos with Zacky's guitar, Johnny's Bass, and Brooks' drums, and threw down some shots at the bar. They kicked in fast, finally easing my anxious buzzing. We were just finishing a couple of cocktails when another member of the venue's staff entered the room;

"MEET AND GREET PEOPLE, OVER HERE!"

They repeated themselves a few times, until all Twelve of us finally made our way over. We were led down a hall to a smaller, conference-style room, where the tables were shoved up against the walls and a big backdrop of The Stage's album cover was set up in the centre in front of Rafa, already waiting with his camera.

"Soon." I sighed, leaning against Tara's shoulder.
"I know." she squeaked. "You'll probably pass out the moment Brian walks in the room."
"Shut up." I snorted. "You'll be the same the second you see Shadows."
"How can anyone not swoon over those men?" she moaned. "They're beautiful."

Waiting was hard enough on my best days. But waiting to meet a band that meant so much to me, whom I had followed for so long, was agony. Time seemed to slow right down, and it felt like an eternity before the door finally opened and Dan entered the room. The members of the band followed soon after; Matt first, then Johnny, Zacky, Brooks, and finally...

"Oh god..." I breathed. "He's even more gorgeous in real life."

Brian looked absolutely incredible, and I was so goddamn grateful he was wearing his leather jacket. Anyone who knew me well, knew that leather jackets were my ultimate poison. I tried to hide my lust as my eyes lingered on the "REV" part of his chest tattoo, exposed by the plunging black V-neck t-shirt we wore. He'd stuck true to his word that he was growing out his hair; it was almost the same length it'd been during City of Evil. Taking their time to come back here had made the wait worth it, even if just for the length of Brian's hair alone. My priorities were fucked, clearly...

"Don't cream yourself." Tara whispered.
"Shut up." I snapped. "He's fucking-" I let out a low moan.

I watched from the back of the line as each person ahead of us got their photo taken with the band, excitement bubbling away in my stomach - or maybe it was just the alcohol. Try as I may, I couldn't take my eyes off Brian, it felt so surreal to be in such close proximity to him. Was this even real right now? Or was I dreaming? The perks of being at the back of the line meant that once everyone ahead of us had their turn, ours was longer.

"Cool jacket." Matt complimented, eyeing off my army-green bomber jacket after Rafa had taken a photo of me with the band.
"Thanks." I grinned. "I customized it myself."
"No way!" he cried. "Guys! Get a load of this!"
"Oh, nice!" Johnny smiled. "I like the details, here." he added, pointing out the red and yellow skulls, spiders and scratch marks I'd painted on, along with "A7X" from a stencil I had traced and cut out myself.
"Did you see the back?" I said, turning and showing them the huge Deathbat I'd sewn to it, with "FOREVER" above and "A7X" below.
"That's frikken sweet." Zacky smiled.
"How long did that take you?" asked Brooks.
"About two months, had to wait for the t-shirt I cut the Deathbat out of to arrive, and then regular fabric paint wouldn't take to it, so I had to go back and buy acrylics."
"It looks excellent." he smiled.
"Thank you!"
Brian, who had been silent until now, smirked as he eyed it off. "Looks kinda like my jacket."
"May or may not have been the inspiration." I blushed, forcing myself to look up into his mesmerizing deep-brown eyes.
"Wait, are you Shay?"
"You know my name?" I gasped, my eyes widening.
"I saw your jacket on Instagram awhile ago, Dan showed me."
"I totally freaked out when he liked it." I admitted.
"Well, you did an awesome job." he chuckled.
"I did up the back as well, and it's probably my favourite part." I said, turning around to show him.
"Oh..." he breathed, no doubt reacting to seeing "FOREVER" painted there. "That's really touching."
"I know it's been years." I sighed, turning around to face him once more. "But I really am sorry for your loss, I know how much Jimmy meant to you, to all of you."
"Thank you, that's really sweet." Brian replied.

He pulled me in for a hug, and I melted into his embrace. He smelled absolutely heavenly as I
rested my head against his chest, drowning in the scent of Whiskey, Cigarettes and expensive Cologne. My absolute fucking dream. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as he squeezed me tightly for a brief moment before letting go. It made my heart ache to have to pull away.

"The jacket really is awesome." he said, his thin lips set in a tender smile as he gently stroked my cheek with his thumb. "Enjoy the show." he added, stealing my breath away as he placed a soft kiss on my forehead.

I watched him go, my breath ragged and feeling like I was floating on a cloud. The moment had come and gone so quickly, and I wanted to re-live it again and again.

"I saw you checking out his ass." Tara sniggered.
"So what if I was?"

Notes

The Meet and Greet was heavily influenced by my recollection of meeting Bullet For My Valentine in late 2016. Different venue, but I'd imagine it'd be the same deal with meeting A7X - which I haven't yet, sadly.

I had to fucking write this part twice, because ya gurl was an idiot and re-named the Wordpad document, and saved over the former. This version is shit compared to the original, but I couldn't recover it, I tried everything. Good. Fucking. Job.