Arcane Guardian ↣ Avenged Sevenfold

4 ☼ solipsism

May 1995

"Guess who?" Said Synyster, sitting on the edge of Ellowyn's bed.

She jumped, startled by the wake up call, looking up to see him. "Fuck you." She groaned, rolling back over so she didn't have to see his face. "Go away and die."

"That's no way to greet your birthday guest," He pretended not to sound hurt by the comment. "It's your special day dear. You're only fourteen once. And also, I already died. Wasn't very fun."

"You leave for a year and then wish me a happy birthday?" She said sarcastically. "Just go away. I survived a year without you guys, I can survive another."

"I know I was gone for a while," he looked down. Streams of light from her light green curtains shone down to illuminate his sharp features, and she couldn't believe he wasn't real and in front of her. "And I'm sorry. But I had reasons. Really important reasons, Ells."

"I don't believe you." She sat up in bed. Her pale blonde hair almost looked white in its floppy bun, and she felt weirder being in a tank top around him than she used to. They sat in silence, him fully understanding just how much he missed her. "How did you die, Syn?"

He looked behind her. "I drowned," He said. "I thought it would be easier for a kid to understand the brute stuff... Jim being beaten, Matt bleeding out, Zack slitting his wrists. I was out on an iced over lake with my sister. I stepped in the wrong place, and I breathed in too much of the water to save myself. 1871. It's not a feeling I enjoyed."

She nodded, reaching out and taking his hand. "I'm sorry you died like that."

Brian seemed to jump at the touch. Ellowyn gave him a confused look. "Sorry," he explained. "Been a while since I've felt, uh, actual warmth."

"I see mom today," She told him with a warm smile. "And I'm scared. Like, really really scared. I've kind of.... grown to resent her. For letting me get into all this. I'm not just a little kid who adores my mom anymore. I see she took the easy way out of being a parent."

"That really sucks to be her." Syn shook his head. "You're an amazing kid. So, how's the last year been?

Ellowyn made sure not to leave out a single detail about David getting a restraining order from Danny; and how even though they have a complicated relationship, she's grown amorous with her foster dad. She told him all about how Travis moved so the tormenting has stopped, about how she drew Shadow and Syn when she missed them in her notebooks and told anyone who asked they were characters she liked. She talks about how she wants to be a psychologist so she can help kids never be in the situation she was in. She talked about how she smokes now and David helps her buy cigs.

"And I'm fourteen," she smiled up at him. "Who would've thought."

"Who would've thought." He smiled back.

"Where's the others?" She looked around the room to check if they were there. "I buy a box of fruit loops every week in case Jimmy shows back up."

"They can't come," he said, his smile turning into a frown. "Busy with other side matters."

"Other side matters?" Ellowyn raised her eyebrows. "Like what." He looked away avoidantly to which she did something unexpected; she grabbed his face, making her meet his eyes. "Like what!" She shouted. "I've gone a year without seeing you guys and you don't even give me half an explanation? I was all alone! That's the longest I've gone without you all since I was five! So what's more important over there than being here to watch over me?"