Don't You Dare: A Synyster Gates Story

Chapter Three

A bad dream woke Aubrey up with a jolt. She blinked a few times, adjusting her to her surroundings. She wasn't sure what time it was, but it had to still be the middle of the night. The bus was quiet but she could feel it gently rocking, meaning they were still driving. She threw on a sweatshirt and climbed out of her bunk then drug her feet into the living space to grab a bottle of water.

"It was hilarious, man," Jimmy slurred, talking to the bus driver as he laid with his back on the floor and his legs up, resting over the couch cushions. "He puked everywhere, all over his expensive clothes, all over his girlfriend. Instant karma."

"What goes around comes around, kid," Merle, the bus driver, replied.

"Aubrey!" Jimmy finally noticed her in the room. "What the fuck are you doing right now?" He seemed totally unaffected by the fact that was it four in the morning.

"Getting some water," she said as she pulled a bottle out of the fridge. "What the fuck are you doing right now?"

"Just livin' my life," he said dreamily.

Merle closed the divider that separated his driver's area from the rest of the bus, hoping Jimmy would finally pass out soon. He truly enjoyed his late night talks with the drummer, but he knew Jimmy needed to sleep off the alcohol and drugs in his system.

"Where are my fuckin' glasses?" Jimmy asked as he swung his legs back onto the ground. He tried to sit upright but swayed violently.

"Whoa, lay back down," Aubrey said as she grabbed Jimmy's glasses off the counter. "Here."

"Thaaank youuu!" He sang as he took them from her and flopped back onto the floor then slid them onto his face.

"You're welcome," she said as she stood over him.

"Are you gonna hang out with me?" He asked sweetly, looking up at her with big eyes.

"Sure," she said with a smile as she sat on the couch and tucked her feet under her.

"I took too many pills," Jimmy admitted somewhat sheepishly. "Everything is floating."

"You gotta be careful, Jim," she said with sincerity. "You really shouldn't mix pills. Especially with alcohol."

"Okay, MOM!" He said with a laugh. "I'm fine. Besides I'm not gonna live to see my thirtieth birthday anyway."

"Don't say that," she told him softly.

"You're fucking cool, AC," he said, as if he was finally coming to that conclusion. "I like you."

"I like you, too, Jimmy," she replied with a chuckle.

Before he could speak again, Brian sauntered into the room quietly. He smiled at Aubrey sweetly. She responded with her own grin.

"Whoa!" Jimmy shouted, whipping his head toward his bandmate, finally noticing him in the room now. "Stealth ninja!" He brought his hands up in the air in a karate pose.

"You are twenty kinds of fucked up, aren't you?" Brian joked to him as he sat down next to Aubrey, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

Jimmy shrugged from the floor. "I'm good."

"I bet you are," Brian laughed.

"AC, did you know that Synyster Gates and I have been best friends since we were like eight?" Jimmy slurred.

"I did not know that," she answered truthfully, glancing at Brian who still had a gentle smile on his face.

"Yep," Jimmy said simply. "One time, when we were younger, he fuckin' pushed me into this lake in the park by where we grew up. When I got out, I told that motherfucker, 'If you ever push me into a lake again, I'm gonna shove a knife in your neck.' And you know what he did? He fuckin' pushed me right back into that lake. And I knew from that moment that we'd be best friends for the rest of our lives. This fuckin' prick."