Disclaimer: I do not own Avenged Sevenfold or their girlfriends (Val, Leana) or releatives that are mentioned in this story. The only stories that are mine are: Nikki, her parents, Dannyy, Chloe, and Emily. Any events that occur in this story are make believe and have no relation to any real events that might have happened.

Authors Note: I know that Brian (Synyster Gates) did not attend Huntington Beach High School, but because this story is make believe he attends HBHS.

So Far Away

"I tried to heal your broken heart with all that I could."

Brian thought it was just going to be one of those normal, boring days like it always was. But to his surprise, he walked through the gate of Huntington Beach High School and found himself lost in a crowd of people. They were all whispering to each other but he couldn't hear what they were saying. It all sounded like static, and the only word he caught were "new girl," "expelled," and "murderer." The first two phrases fit together okay because it was normal for new people to transfer here after being expelled from their old school, but murderer, why would that be associated with a newcomer? Brian blocked out the whispering as he pushed through the crowd to get to his locker. When he finally made it out, he spun the combination lock and pulled his locker open.

The metal door flew open since he pulled it with all his might. The creaking of his locker was followed by a loud thunk.

"Ow, watch what you're doing!" said a girl's voice from the same direction the thunk came from.

Brian closed his locker slightly to see who he had hit. It was a scene girl, a senior just like him, with choppy black hair, heavy black eyeliner around her bright blue eyes, snakebite piercings, and dressed in all black. She glared at him as she rubbed her forehead where she's just been hit by Brian's locker door.

"Who the hell are you?" Brian asked emotionlessly.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" she mumbled.

He stared down at her before it finally occurred to him who she was.

"Wait; are you the new girl that everyone's talking about?" His tone wasn't as harsh as it was before but she continued to glare at him.

"Maybe…"

A hand came down on Brian's shoulder. He looked back to see his two best friends, Matt and Jimmy.

"Morning, Gates," Matt said and then paused realizing he'd just interrupted Brian's conversation. "Ah, this must be the new girl. Hi, I'm Matt, or M. Shadows. This is my good friend, Jimmy, or the Rev. And this guy who's probably been giving you trouble is Brian, better known as Synyster Gates."

"Oh, um, I'm Nikki, and yeah, as captain obvious over there asked," she said, still glaring at Brian, "I'm new here."

"Let me see your schedule," Matt asked.

She dug through her pockets and pulled out a paper. She handed him a folded piece of paper. He examined it for a few seconds and then let out a small chuckle.

"What's wrong with it?" she asked sounding a little worried.

"Nothing's wrong, you just happen to have the exact same schedule as Brian…" Matt said quickly.

Nikki groaned. "You mean I'm stuck with the idiot that hit me with his locker all day long?" she said annoyed.

Jimmy laughed, "Consider yourself lucky you didn't get stuck with either of us. We could make your days a living hell, but Gates won't. He's too nice once you get to know him." Jimmy stood up straight so that he was towering over Nikki. He gave her a friendly smile and then added, "Bri's a big softy!"

She rolled her eyes after glancing at Brian who was glaring at Jimmy.

Matt continued where Jimmy left off, "Stick with Bri and no one will mess with you, I guaranty. And I'm sure he'd be happy to help you find your classes so you don't get lost. Right, Gates?"

Brian let out a sigh and mumbled, "Yeah, whatever…"

Nikki jumped at the sound of the ear piercing bell and noticed how the guys were not fazed by it. That's gonna take some time to get used to, she thought.

Matt and Jimmy walked away leaving Nikki and Brian alone. Brian slammed his locker shut and gestured for Nikki to follow him.

"To English, we go!" he said with fake enthusiasm.

Their English classroom was on the complete opposite side of the school. They walked slowly knowing that they wouldn't be in trouble if they were late since they could use the excuse of Nikki being new.

"I don't get it," Nikki said, breaking the silence, "Why do you guys use those stupid nicknames?"

Brian laughed, "Well, you see, we're in a band called Avenged Sevenfold and those are our stage names."

Nikki thought for a moment, "I've heard of you guys, I think…"

"Not many people have, we're just starting out and we've only played a few shows, but they were really small."

Brian would have kept talking but Nikki cut him off. "They aren't that small, I went to one a few months ago…"

Brian stopped walking suddenly. "Wait- what? You've actually been to our show?" The cross between excited and freaked out expression on his face amused Nikki.

"Yeah, I went with one of my friends. Some guy we used to hang around with told us about you guys. So we went and it was great," she said.

Brian fell silent, not knowing what to say. They were almost to English but Brian had one last question to ask but he wasn't sure how to ask.

"I know this is completely off topic but…" he paused trying to find the right words, "Um, what did you get expelled for?"

"Who ever said I got expelled?" she said quickly.

"I heard someone say it while I was walking in…"

"Then it's none of your business." She looked away from him.

"I guess I'll assume the worst," Brian mumbled in hopes to get her to tell him.

"Go ahead and assume the worst because it is the worst…" Nikki wiped a single tear from her cheek.

Brian was silent and deep in thought. Did she really kill someone? Those rumors were true? But if she was a murderer, she wouldn't be here right now, right? She did say to assume the worst. Isn't this the worst? These were all the questions running through his head.

His trace was broken by someone grabbing his hand. He looked up from the ground to see a teacher standing right in front of him and Nikki tugging on his hand trying to pull him away from the teacher.

"Get to class, Mr. Haner!" the teacher said sternly.

Brian went the way Nikki was pulling him.

"I think we missed the classroom."

She continued to pull him back down the hall as she read the room numbers under her breath.

"D-4." She turned the doorknob and dragged Brian in behind her.

"It's about time, Miss Evans," the teacher said, not even looking up from the book in her hands, "Being late on your first day isn't leaving a good first impression on me."

"I got lost so Brian helped me," Nikki lied.

"You may take your seat Mr. Haner," the teacher said, sounding a bit angry.

Nikki finally realized she was still holding Brian's hand and quickly let go. He gave her a wink before he turn to go to his seat.

The teacher sighed, "It seems that the only open seat is in the back next to Mr. Haner, so please take your seat Miss Evans."

Nikki made her way down through the row of desk. Everyone moved their backpacks out of the way, except for one girl. Nikki didn't notice the backpack that was slipped in front of her and tripped on it. Brian happened to catch her just in time before she could fall face first into the floor. He pulled her up by the hood of her jacket. Brian glared at the girl who tripped Nikki. She glanced at him, regret and fear flashed across her face, and she quickly looked back down at her desk.

Nikki took her seat and started scrawling on a piece of paper. She folded it up into a little triangle and flicked it over to Brian's desk.

Brian unfolded it.

I thought Matt said no one would mess with me if I was with you…

He pulled out a pen and wrote under it.

Well, he's right. I doubt she'll ever mess with you again.

They tossed the note back and forth.

And why is it that people are so afraid of you?

I'll tell you if you tell me why you got expelled.

Looks like I'm not going to find out anytime soon… Why do you want to know so badly?

Because… By saying it what you did is the "worst", it's practically inviting me to be curious.

He tossed it back to Nikki's desk. Nikki read it and then crumpled it up and stuffed it in her pocket.

Brian chuckled to himself. Nikki pulled out a fresh paper and scrawled a message for him. She folded it into a star and tossed it across to Brian. He struggled to unfold it, like trying to untie a knot. It took him a little bit and finally got it open.

What're you laughing at?

Your forehead, there's still a red mark from my locker door.

Nikki blushed and touched her forehead. She rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a small mirror. Brian continued to laugh at her as she examined the red line on her forehead. She glanced at him, he gave her an apologetic smile but she rolled her eyes at it.

"Mr. Haner," the teacher shouted, "If you don't mind, tell the whole class what you find so funny you had to interrupt my lecture. I'm sure we all could use a laugh."

Brian stood up, a serious look coming across his face. "I just noticed that your wig is lope-sided today and about to fall off. Someone needed to tell you, didn't they? I mean we wouldn't want you walking around all day like that, would we?" He smirked as the teacher tugged on her wig in an attempt to readjust it. The class burst out in laughter.

The teacher turned away, "Thank you for the observation, Mr. Haner, but please, next time, don't say it to the whole class."

The bell rang signaling the end of first period.

They went through the rest of the day avoiding trouble but still having fun. It just so happened that the desk next to Brian was empty in every class, so Nikki ended up sitting next to him and passing notes in every class. Well, everything was fine until lunch…

Nikki and Brian sat down on the grass, avoiding the whispering crowds in the quad. Hands came down on their shoulders and it was none other than Matt and Jimmy.

"How are our two lovers doing?" Jimmy asked, sitting down beside Brian.

"Ah, shut up, Jim!" Brian said annoyed. Brian examined Matt's confused face. "What's up, Matt?"

Matt looked around at the crowd in the quad. "Me and Jim got stuck in that crowd and we kept hearing people say some stupid rumor about someone being a murder. We were wondering if you guys had heard anything about it."

Nikki squirmed nervously.

"Nah, we haven't heard anything…" Brian answered quickly.

Nikki jumped to her feet. "I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be right back." She walked away toward the large crowd.

Brian stood up once she was out of ear shot.

"Where are you going, Gates?" Matt called after him.

Brian glanced back at him, "I've got a bad feeling about letting her go anywhere alone, Shads…"

Matt sighed.

"He does have a point though; new people aren't liked very much," Matt said laying back and starring up at the sky, "But don't you think she was acting strange a minute ago?"

"Don't most girls act strange when they have to go to the bathroom?" Jim asked laughing.

Matt laughed along with him. "Okay, you right but still… Brian seems really worried about her…"

Jimmy stood up. "Bri's really into this girl, I mean it's like she's perfect for him. They went from absolutely hating each other to good friends in a few hours. That's gotta be a good sign."

"Whatever you say, Rev…"

Brian stayed 50 feet away from Nikki and she hadn't noticed him following her. To his surprise, she really was heading toward the bathroom. A couple turned the corner and headed in the same direction as Nikki. Brian stopped and watched from a distance.

The couple was a typical high school couple, a football jock and a cheerleader. The cheerleader girl was the first to speak. "Hey, you're that new girl, right?" she asked, her voice shrill and annoying. She didn't bother to wait for an answer and continued, "Is it true that you killed someone? That's what everyone's talking about!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nikki rolled her eyes.

The girl smiled. "It's a simple question. Is… It… True… You… Killed… Someone…?"

"I never killed anyone… What a stupid question!" Nikki said calmly.

"I smell a lie!" the girl sang. She snapped her fingers and the jock stepped forward. "She's lying to me, baby! Can't you do something about it?" she whined.

Her jock boyfriend stepped forward and cracked his knuckles. Nikki didn't see it at coming at all. The guy was standing in front of her one moment and then the next moment she'd fallen on her butt and blood was dripping from her lip. Brian stood in front of her and threw a quick but powerful punch at the jock. A loud crack broke the silence. The guy staggered back holding on to his jaw. The cheerleader cried and clung to him. Brian ignored them and helped Nikki to her feet.

Brian turned back to the jock and said, "There's gotta be something fucking wrong with you to hit a girl! Just get the hell outta my sight!"

The couple scurried off away from Nikki and Brian.

"Let me see," he said softly. He lifted Nikki's chin with a single finger. He examined the split in her lip that was next to her left snakebite. She stared deeply into his eyes as he examined her lip. His eyes moved from her lip to her electrifying blue eyes. A glint of déjà vu flashed through her eyes. Brian moved closer to her until their lips touched. She pulled back after a second. She giggled as she wiped the blood off of his lips.

He smiled. "I guess that's a sign that you're okay?"

They heard laughing from behind them. Brian looked around and saw Matt and Jimmy. They were whispering to each other.

Nikki took a step back and folded over laughed. She laughed until she cried.

"What's so funny," Brian asked as she wiped away the black tears.

Nikki stood up straight, suppressing her laughing fit. Her smile faded as she said softly, "I have no idea…"

Jimmy and Matt stopped whispering.

Jimmy stepped forward. He smiled slyly. "We have a plan!"

"It's Jimmy's plan, I had nothing to do with it," Matt added.

"Fine, that just mean's I get all the credit when it works out," Jimmy smirked. "It benefits both of you, I swear!"

Brian's eyebrow twitched. "Just spit it out already, Jim."

Jimmy laughed. "So… What if you guys pretended to go out? I mean, it would keep people like that away from Nikki, and then you wouldn't have to worry about her so much because everyone would know if they mess with her, they mess with you… Hell, to make it even better, you guys could go out for real!"

Nikki's eyes widened as a smirk came across Brian's face.

"Hell no…" Nikki said slowly.

"Ah, come on Nikki!" Jimmy pleaded, "It's for your own protection; I mean, we wouldn't want that to happen to you again." Jim pointed at her split lip.

Nikki glanced at Brian; he was staring off into space. She thought about it, weighing the pros and cons. She did like Brian; he seemed like a really great guy, but what if he wasn't. People aren't always what they seem. She'd just met him, but he'd already stood up for her, they passed notes all day, and she had every class with him. What harm could "pretending" to go out with him do?

"So?" Jimmy asked, waiting for an answer.

"Fine…" Nikki said.

"I'd love to." Brian winked at her and held out his hand. She took it and they're fingers entwined with each other.

The ear-piecing bells rang and they headed to class.

Nikki had lost Brian in the crowd. Because school had just ended, everyone had gathered in the quad saying their goodbyes and heading home. She felt like she was going in circles, everywhere she turned there were more people and no sign of Brian. Suddenly, a hand wrapped around her waist. She looked over her shoulder. She let out a sigh of relief that it was Brian. He led her out of the crowd.

"Is it like this every day?" she asked, looking back at the crowd.

Brian nodded.

She looked up at him. "I guess I should go…"

She headed for the gate and Brian followed her.

"Did you drive here?" Brian asked.

"No, I walked," she said, "But I live like a few blocks away, it's not too far. I better be going, Brian."

She'd only made it a few steps away from him before he caught her by the arm and pulled her into a hug.

"I'll take you home," he said, and then added, "Remember we're supposed to be 'going out'."

He led her through the parking lot and stopped in front of a sleek black Mustang. He fumbled through his pockets and pulled out keys. He jumped into the driver's seat as she did the passenger's seat. He turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life. He sped out of the parking lot and on to the main road. Nikki gave him directions to her house, which as she had said was only a few blocks away. He pulled on to the street to which her house was on.

"It's that-" She was about to point out her house but Brian put his hand up to stop her.

"Let me guess," he smiled. He pulled up to the house he thought was hers.

"How'd you know?" she asked, shock covering her face.

"I'm a psychic, of course!" He winked.

"Oh come on, Synnie! Won't you tell me?" she whined, and elbowed him.

"Synnie? What kinda name is that?" he mumbled, "But anyway, some new neighbors moved in across the street from me last week… I live across the street."

He pulled into the drive way across from her house. He took the keys out of the ignition and shoved them in his pocket. He jumped out of the car and ran to the other side to open the door for Nikki. She raised an eyebrow under her black bangs.

"I'm your boyfriend, remember?" He gave her the biggest smile she'd seen in a while.

She took his out-stretched hand and reached for her backpack. He picked it up before she could. He threw it over his shoulder.

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. You are my boyfriend, aren't you?" she said sarcastically.

A shrill squeal came from behind them.

Nikki whipped around as Brian let out an annoyed groan.

"Brian's got a girlfriend! I can't wait to tell Kenna!" the little girl sang. She danced around in circles making her pig tails bounce up and down.

"Ah, shut up, Emily. Shouldn't you be doing your homework or something," he said, walking away from the girl but still holding Nikki's hand.

"Well, my parents are going out tonight, so they asked your dad if you could babysit me," she said as she skipped to catch up with them.

"Okay, whatever. Just go inside and I'll be back in a little bit." He waved her away and she ran back to his house.

"Who was that?" Nikki asked, looking back at the little girl.

"That's my 6 year old neighbor, Emily, who I'm force to babysit a lot because she's my little sister's friend. But she's really annoying!"

Nikki laughed but then realized that girl was her neighbor too. They crossed the street but then stopped in Nikki's drive way. Brian wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I know this 'going out' thing was just supposed to be an act," he whispered in her ear, "And I know we just met and all, but I really like you…"

"I really like you, too, Brian," she whispered back. His lips came down one hers but she pulled back after a few seconds.

She smiled shyly at him. "Sorry, my lip still hurts from earlier."

Brian let out an embarrassed laugh. "Oh, yeah, I forgot… Sorry, I was… um… caught up in the moment."

Brian let go of her and she took a few steps toward the house. He followed but she put a hand out to stop him.

"Um, I don't think you want to meet my parents…" she explained.

"Don't you think your parents would want to meet your boyfriend?" Brian smirked.

She laughed, "No." And then she added, "Not yet."

Brian sighed and pulled her in for one last short kiss. "Fine, and by the way, I'll pick you up tomorrow so you don't have to walk to school."

She waited there for a few second until he finally realized that he still had her backpack. He pulled it off his shoulder and handed it to her.

She smiled at him, "I'll text you later, I guess, and if you need any help babysitting then give me a call."

"Bye!" He winked at her before he turned around and walked back across the street.

Nikki slowly made her way to the door and lethargically turned the door knob knowing the moment she walk through the door she'd be interrogated by her parents about her first day. She threw her backpack down next to the coat rack and peeked around the corner. Both of her parents sat on the couch anticipating her arrival.

"Sit down, honey! We want to hear about your day!" her mother called.

Nikki let out an annoyed sigh as she sat down on the couch across from her parents.

"Oh my, what happened to you? Did someone hit you?" her mother asked practically jumping out of her seat to go examine Nikki's lip. Nikki pulled her face out of her mother's grasp.

"It was some guy, his girlfriend told him I was lying to her and he kinda punched me for her... that's all."

"Was it that boy that you were with right now?" her father said angrily.

Nikki rolled her eyes. "That guy I was with was the guy that defended me all day. He even broke the jaw of the guy that hit me. That guy is one of my only friends and one of the few people that doesn't believe the rumors going around about me!" She paused. "And besides, isn't going to this school a punishment? So why do you care if someone hit me? Isn't that part of the punishment? And the rumors, too!"

Her mother sighed. "Yes, going to this school is a punishment but we didn't think you'd get hurt. But what are the rumors about you?"

"Nothing… Never mind!" She stormed off to her room upstairs, falling face first into her bed and pulling her cell phone out of her pocket. She dialed the first number she could think of. It rang a few times until someone finally answered.

"Omigod! Nikki! I haven't talked to you in forever!" the girl screamed into the phone, "Today was your first day at Huntington Beach High, right? How was it? Did you make any new friends? They better not replace me! Did you meet any hot guys? Do you have a new crush? How about a new boyfriend?"

The girl spoke so fast Nikki could barely understand her. "Slow it down a little, Dannyy."

"Ah, come on, Nick, I wanna hear all about it!" Dannyy whined.

Nikki took a deep breath. "Well, my day started out by getting hit in the head with a locker door by a really hot guy. Do you remember when you dragged me to that Avenged Sevenfold concert? He's the lead guitarist for them. And we hated each other at first but now we're friends. And then the drummer and the singer are friends of mine too. And their kinda the only three people I talked to. I got tripped in my first class- people don't really like me very much- but Brian caught me before I fell. And then at lunch, I was gonna go to the bathroom, but some bitch sent her jock boyfriend after me and he punched me, but then Brian was there to defend me again. Jimmy and Matt showed up and Jim suggested that me and Brian pretend to 'go out' so that people would leave me alone. And then Brian gave me a ride home- it just so happens that he live across the street from me- and then he asked me out for real… So… um, yeah… I guess I do have a boyfriend…"

Dannyy squealed, "Omigod! He's hot, right? What does he look like? I can't remember."

Nikki pictured him in her head. "He's way taller than me, but I am kinda short. He had chocolate brown eyes and dark spiky hair. And he's kinda buff and really hot!"

"Oh, yeah I remember him now! He was hot! Take a picture for me! Wait, you said you got punched, right? Are you okay?" she said sounding worried.

"I got a split lip, that's all. I'm fine. Brian broke the guy's jaw for me." Nikki smiled, recalling the moment. "So, how's the squad doing without me, Dan?"

Dannyy sighed. "I'm captain now, but no one listens to me… It's terrible without you. We have a competion coming up, but everyone's so unorganized it's obvious we're going to lose… Oh and Cameron wanted to me to tell you he misses you and he still loves you."

Nikki laughed. "Then can you give him a simple message for me: Fuck off!"

Dannyy giggled. "Of course, Nick!"

"Get down here, Danielle!" Dannyy's mother yelled.

"Oh, shit! I have to go! I talk to you later! Bye, Nikki! And good luck with Brian! Love you!" Dannyy hung up before Nikki got a chance to say goodbye.

Nikki dropped her phone and rolled over so that she was staring at the ceiling. It had been a long day, and sleep seemed like the best solution.