Zack and I did, in fact, go to dinner the next night, and we had a wonderful time together. Sneaking out of the hotel without the rest of the group finding out proved to be impossible, though. By the time we left that evening, every single one of them knew what was going on, and teased us thoroughly about it.

Matt and Val, in particular, enjoyed poking fun at me. “After all that protesting, you went and got together anyway, huh?” Val had said, that signature knowing smirk back on her face permanently. Matt had just laughed. “I’m glad you two finally figured it out. It was driving me crazy watching you guys interact and waiting for something to happen!”

And apparently, they hadn’t been the only two who were suspicious. As Johnny put it, “I was trying to stay out of your business and everything, Christa, but I knew you guys had a thing for each other.” Brian and Brooks had nodded sagely in agreement.

We went ahead and told Tennessee what was going on, too, explaining things in the simplest terms we could. “We’re not getting married right now, Ten…” Zack trailed off, moving his eyes to mine and grabbing my hand, giving it a squeeze. “But, someday, we might.” Tennessee had been thrilled.

The tour wrapped up soon after, and we all went back home to sunny California. We had a couple of weeks to prepare for the court date, which was a stressful time filled with long nights and crises of confidence, but we pulled through. When the day came, I fought the prosecution as well as I could, presenting our side to the judge with all five of the guys seated next to me. Ultimately, he ruled in our favor. The night after that victory was the hardest I’d ever seen the guys party.

They decided to take a short break before writing the next record, once things had settled down, but we all knew they wouldn’t stay out of the studio for long. Even after the tour and court case had ended, we all still spent a lot of time together, usually at Matt and Val’s house. It felt great to be included in their group of friends, even when I wasn’t doing legal work for them.

Of course, I spent a lot of time visiting Zack and Tennessee at their house, too. We’d talked about moving in together almost immediately, but decided to take things slow and give it a little bit of time first. My apartment lease would be up in a few months, and we’d see how things were going then. Tennessee asked me every time he saw me when I was coming to live with them “for good.” And considering that I was falling more in love with Zack every time I saw him, and that he seemed to feel the same way about me, it was almost certain to happen.

Reconciling our lives wouldn’t be easy, but it was going better than I could have hoped. Considering that I’d made quite a name for myself in entertainment law at this point, moving from working at the firm to being an independent consultant should be a breeze. I’d be able to work from my computer all the time, which meant I’d be able to go with the guys on their next tour, no matter where in the world it took them.

Dating a rockstar would present its own set of challenges, but so far, Zack and I had been able to keep our relationship a secret from all but our closest friends. I was worried that, when the fans found out the last eligible bachelor in Avenged Sevenfold had been taken, they’d immediately hate me. Zack, however, saw it a different way:

“You’re the missing link that finally completes our group, Christa. I’m sure they’re going to love you.”

FIN

Notes

Thank you so much to everyone who stuck with this story 'til the end! I hope that you enjoyed reading it half as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Also, an extra-huge thank you to everyone who left comments! In all my years of writing fanfiction, I've never had so much feedback on something I've written before. It truly means a lot to me, and it made my day every time. Y'all are the best!! :)