Seize The Day

Yeah, I guess I got deleted? No clue why. But anyways, I'm posting this again. Review these three again please. You'd make my day =]

[AN- This is my first Avenged Sevenfold fic. I don't own A7X. Just my OFC.]

Chapter One: Merry Christmas

Christmas Eve. I fucking hate it. It's the night that changed my entire life. It changed the lives of my band mates. It changed the lives of every single one of our fans. But then again, I never did like Christmas. Too many errands and too much worry for one holiday.

The band and I always went out to dinner and then partied on Christmas Eve in our hometown of Orange County. Sure it wasn't the best in spirit, but then again Christmas isn't about snow or Santa Clause and shit, it's about being with your friends and family. People you love.

And I certainly did love my band. We were all friends growing up together and almost never got sick of each other. After tours' we would often hang out together right after we got off the bus. It's nice when you have great friends like these. People who love you.

Matt Sanders. M. Shadows. Shads. Whatever you'd like to call him. He was the singer in my band and my close friend. Then there was The Rev, Jimmy, on drums, Johnny Christ on bass, and Zacky Vengeance on backup guitar. I, Synyster Gates, played lead guitar.

Zacky was my best friend. We always had each others backs. We were practically brothers since the day we met. Not only did I have a hold a great love for this man, but I also respected him. In the end, this all just made it hurt even more.

The band and I went out for dinner that night. It was to celebrate not only the holiday, but also the beginning of our tour (that would start in two weeks) and the popularity of our new record, City of Evil.

Matt chose some crappy diner to eat at; he didn't really care where we ate, just where we went out afterwards. It had the most creative name: "DINER". As all five of us stepped inside the quaint restaurant, we noticed we were the only customers there.

"Thanks, Matt," huffed Johnny, "thank you for picking the most elegant, five star restaurant for us to eat at on Christmas Eve. Thanks."

"Hey," fought back Matt, "At least we don't have to wait long for our food."

But we did. We were seated at a table by a window that overlooked another diner on a street corner that was bustling with people. Johnny huffed again. We ordered our meals (there was nothing fancy on the menu, plain old burgers). And then we waited. And waited, and waited, and waited.

"God fucking damn it, where is our food?" Johnny just wasn't very patient that night.

"Calm down, Johnny, it'll get here," Zacky reasoned.
"Well, it has been a long time," said Jimmy. The Rev was the quiet one; he didn't speak much and wasn't as rowdy as the rest of us. But he could sure as hell bash the fuck out of the drums.

"Fine, then we'll just leave if you guys wanna be babies about it," I said. I got up to pull my coat on from the back of my chair. Just then three men clad in black with face masks and guns barged through the door.

We all froze. I stood particularly still and raised a brow. "What the fuck?" I said. I heard my voice crack a bit. The workers in the diner became frantic.

"You, sit down," said one of the masked men to me, "And you," motioning to the cashier with his gun, "give me all the money."

"Fucking make me sit down," I said, "You're going to fuckin' rob someone on Christmas Eve? That's fuckin' low."

"I said sit down, punk!" The man, who clearly stood a head taller than me, pointed his gun at me. I could see the rage in his eyes through the mask.

"Syn, sit down," Zacky said quietly, almost whispered. His head was turned down and his eyes looked away.

"No fucking way, they can't do this," I said. I was surprised at the anger that pulsed through me. You could almost say I was a good person, ha.

Zacky grabbed my hand, "Brian. Sit. Down." His green-blue eyes beamed at me and took the form that a puppy dog's might be, pleading me to just shut up and get out of the matter.

"I said sit the fuck down!" The man cocked his gun as the two others were loading money into a sack. It was pointing straight at me. The rest of my friends were looking at me to sit down. I'm not sure why I didn't sit down. I guess I just felt bad for the owners of the shop. They were wrinkled with aging and had been through a lot. Plus, it was fucking Christmas Eve.

That's when it all came crashing down.

I heard a loud bang. And before I could even blink Zacky was in front of me, facing me. I felt his body being pushed towards mine and saw his eyes enlarge. His fingers tugged at my shirt; his lips quivered.

It was then I could tell he was losing balance so I wrapped my arms around him to help him stabilize. My hands retracted when I felt a warm, gooey substance on his back. I looked down at my palms; they were blood red. Blood. I looked to Matt. Jimmy. John. They were all in shock.

I fell back against the wall of the diner, having all of Zack's weight on me. I started to feverishly shake. I just realized what had happened. They shot Zacky.

"You fuckers!" I screamed as I pushed Zacky off of me and onto the table. I glanced everywhere. The crooks were gone. I ran to the door, still looking for them. I swore to God, I'd fucking kill them. People from the other restaurant were starting to vacate and come to the one we were at. They must have heard the gun shot.

I then remembered Zacky. I ran back to the table. The guys were all around him. "Zacky!" I yelled, out of breath for no reason. "Zacky..." I repeated.

"Brian?" he replied in a shaky voice. His eyes opened half way. The florescent lights bounced off the color of his irises, making his eyes look even more gorgeous.

"It's me," I said. It was all I could say. What else could I say? I felt tears sting my eyes. Why did this have to happen to me? Before I completely zoned out, I heard Jimmy on the phone with the police, Matt on the phone with Zacky's parents, and John on the phone with our manager.

"I can't see you, Brian," he spoke again. I choked back tears. His hand was groping around, searching for solace. I relieved him by putting my hand in his. "There you are," he breathed.

"I'm always here, I won't leave you, Zack," I said, now sobbing. Should have fucking sat down! What was I thinking? How did the bullet even hit Zack?

My thumb stroked his hand as I surveyed the damage. There was a pool of blood forming on the table from the wound on his back . His eyes were now closed and his face relaxed. His lips formed a supple smile. I couldn't help but smile too. He looked so peaceful sleeping there.

Just then paramedics arrived. I was asked to step away from him. I dropped his hand ever so reluctantly. I felt an arm around my neck. It was Matt's. I looked to him with a smile of hope. I could tell he was trying to smile back.

I watched the paramedics at their tedious work. One started to take his pulse while the other performed other tasks. Then the one who took the pulse got out a stethoscope. He listened intensely for a heartbeat. After about five minutes, he sighed, shook his head, and took the ear plugs out. Then he asked for a body bag.

"A body bag?" I asked shocked. A scorching flame of fear was lit deep in my core. Before I could get an answer, I saw Zack's now milky white face being zipped up.

"No!" I protested, grabbing at the medics. Johnny and Matt held me back. "You can't take him! He's not dead! He's just sleeping!"

They were out the door. They were in the ambulance. They were on the road.

I yelled and whined and screamed and sobbed for a while longer until Jim calmed me down. I got a ride home from the cops that night. The rest of my friends went in for questioning about the murder/robbery. I just wasn't up to it that night.

When I was safely home, I went upstairs and curled up in my bed. I was still trembling and crying. I was weak. I just wanted to die. I would have taken that bullet for my Zacky. But that's when I became conscious of the fact that Zacky took that bullet for me. Zachary Baker saved my life.

[AN- That was the first chapter. Do you like it? Don't worry it's not all sad. The next chapter will be more light hearted. Please review!]