Arcane Guardian ↣ Avenged Sevenfold

27 ☼ slowburn

OCTOBER 2008 

"Way to be a pussy, Zachary!" Noelle shouted as her and Mandy slammed back shots. "Keep up Matt." All that Mandy had wanted for her birthday was just a day out to get absolutely wasted with her friends, and that was exactly what was unraveling. No Thellessany miraculously enough, she had kept her head out their asses the past few weeks. 

Of course Brian had sat with the fact he was doing the time warp again. And again. And again. But he would live. I mean, at this point, did he really have much of a choice? 

Brian came up from behind Noelle and slid his hands around her waist. "How's the absolutely trashed love of my life trying to keep up with a 200 pound man?"

Noelle spun on the bar stool to face him, her legs to either side of him. "I'm great. Honestly we all needed tonight. No drama, and all that. Did Matt break up with the witch or something?"

"She's been MIA I guess. He's all sad puppy about it, which is probably why he's having such a merry time skyrocketing his blood-alcohol-content." Brian smiled. There was certain moments he would just look at Noelle and think in exacts holy shit I'm so glad I waited hundreds of years for this woman. 

"What? is there something on my face?" She scrunched her eyes as she caught him staring. She pulled her arms over his shoulders. 

"No, no. Just beautiful. But I know you won't take the compliment, with your humble ass." 

"I know. I'm so sexy and smart and intimidating. And humble." She mocked, laughing as she kissed him. "I'm glad we're here together. I don't say it enough. Imagine if I was still with Ilejay! How fucked up would that be!?" 

She spun back to down another shot with Matt and Mandy. Jim came up next to Mandy in the same manner, kissing her cheek. 

Brian didn't really know if and how he should tell his friends that they're all on a timer that runs out and resets history. There is no good way to spring that on someone who's married to the love of his life. He notices the way Jim squeezes Mandy, pulls her hair up into a bun with her scrunchie, steals her drink from her and downs it--they were soulmates. He wondered if Noelle was his. 

Zack ran up to the group with a covered dish, smacking it on the bar and uncovering it. "Happy birthday, to the sexy lady we indoctrinated into our blood cult. You're a beautiful piece of our giant fucked up family." 

It was quite literally so stuffed with candles you could not read the lettering but that just made the very wasted group of friends laugh as Zack flicked his lighter trying to get every last candle. "Holy shit Baker, are you trying to set us ablaze!?" Noelle screams, grabbing the lighter from him and taking a candle out of the cake, using it to light the rest. 

"This cake is about 60% wax. But it's perfect nonetheless." Mandy slurred as she smiled. She blew out all the candles (She made it clear beforehand she hates when people sing at birthdays. Not a way.) and made her wish, and then used a shot glass as a spoon to eat. "Zaaacckkk! Red velvet is my favorite." Tears welled in her eyes. "Come here you motherfucker, I love you." She squeezed him. 

"Love you too, crazy bitch." He smiled as he joined them. The cake was slowly devoured, and Mandy considered it an absolutely perfect day.

☼

"Shhh, it's okay baby." Jim pulled an arm around Mandy on the way home. Him, Brian and her were sandwiched in the back of the taxi, her in the middle with her head in Jim's lap and feet in her brothers. "Hope you had a good birthday." 

She didn't sleep. She sat there and looked out in front of her. "Would you hate me if I've been lying to you?" She asked Jim. Brian's head perked up, suddenly listening in to the conversation. 

"Lying to me? That's silly."

"I am." She nodded her head. Jim gave Brian a look, and Brian shrugged. "I've been lying to you all." 

The driver passive aggressively shut his divider. "Howso?" Jim asked softly, running a hand through her hair. 

Mandy grabbed his hand and plopped it on the back of her head. "Brain tumor." She said softly. "Inoperable." 

Brian sat stiff in his seat. He watched as Jim unflinchingly continued stroking her hair, pulling her closer to him. "Is it cancer?" 

She shrugged. "They think it is." 

Brian watched Jim nod, taking a deep breath. He wondered how his best friend could be so calm. Because right about now Brian was ready to kill god. Celebrating his sister's 27th birthday and finding out she had an inoperable cancerous tumor on the same day was just about as fucked up as it got. He wanted to punch straight through the glass of the stupid pretentious cabby's window and do a tuck and roll onto the freeway. 

He shouldn't outlive his little sister. 

"And how do you feel about that?" Jim asked her. He had clearly forgotten Brian was even in the car. "About... Cancer." 

"I don't want to die," She said. "Today was perfect. I want every birthday to be like this. I want more birthdays. I want to die with you. When we're  old and stupid." 

The three sat silently. "Who else knows." 

"Just you two know. And Noelle. She takes me to my appointments." 

Brian's jaw clenched tighter at Noelle knowing his sister was dying and him finding out in drunk mumbles. 

The cab dropped Brian off at Noelle's place, and Jim and Mandy just waved goodbye. 

☼

"So was I just supposed to find out my sister is fucking dying?" He slammed the door behind him as Noelle jumped awake from the couch. She rubbed her head, pushing her hair back from her face. "Huh? Were you ever going to tell me or was she just gonna fucking die?" 

Realization struck her across the face. "Hey, please, calm down." 

"You cannot be seriously telling me to calm down right now. I got my little sister back after hundreds of years and now she has an inoperable brain tumor? Drunk Mandy is very concise with her words. Would she have even fucking said anything if she wasn't wasted?

Noelle stumbled up from the couch, still semi drunk. She walked up to him, putting her hands on the sides of his arms. "She wanted it to be private, Bri. She wanted you guys to know when she was ready. She trusted me not to take care of her." 

"Noelle it's my whole fucking job as her big brother to take care of her!" He shouted. 

"Well considering how invested in pills and Thellessany you were for a minute there she probably thought you had bigger problems!" Noelle snapped. "Brian I know she's your sister but we became best friends when she was fresh out of the foster system. She lived a long ass time in her reincarnation or whatever without you. And I'm her sister, blood or not. That girl is my fucking family. Before I was reunited with you guys I had three people in this world who gave a fuck about me. So forgive me for not running to you with something that was her decision to tell you herself." 

He paced quietly, pulling out a little of his hair from tugging it slightly too hard. "Brian," She said, walking back up to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. He just shrugged out of it, continuing pacing. "Brian, stop and listen." 

"I'm gonna, uh, go, for a while." He nodded, heading for the door.

"Don't push me out right now. It's really fucking hard for me too. But think of how it is on her, on Jim. You know how badly she wanted a life with him."

"It's," Don't cry you fucking pussy, he thought "It shouldn't be this way." 

She pulled him into a tight hug, as he tried to control his breathing. "The day we found out was one of the worst days of my life. But she told me she couldn't handle it if I broke. She needed someone strong for her."

He just grasped her, feeling the hot tears slip slowly. "I fucking hate it," 

"I hate it too." She nodded. "But she needs us. There's... There's nothing we can do."

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