Disclaimer: I don't own any of the guys of Avenged Sevenfold (although I wish I did!) or any songs that are mentioned or used in this story. The only characters I own are Chloe, Amanda, and Jon or any other OC that makes an appearance in this story.

Authors note: All of the Avenged Sevenfold boys in this story are at the age of 20 or 21. And this story has no timeline for the release of their music. Songs from Nightmare, Self-titled, City of Evil, and Waking the Fallen are in this even though they are only 20. So you just gotta go with it!

Dear God, Why didn't I Seize the Day?

Chapter 1

Bitter Sweet

Hi, my name is Chloe Anderson, and I'm 18 years old. I'm from Colorado and I came California with my best friend, Amanda Wilson. At the moment we're spending our summer in Huntington Beach. We'll be starting college in September at UC Irvine and my father sent us on vacation here so we can get used to the change in weather. It's a lot hotter and drier here than in Colorado.

Amanda always said I would fit in perfectly in California because of my bright blue eyes, fair skin, and long blond hair. She, on the other hand, is a brunette with brown eyes and fair skin. Amanda was wrong though, most people here look like her, with their brown hair.

On the plane here, she repeated to me continuously that I would find my prince charming, that gorgeous guy that I've always dreamed of. You see, I just had a bad break up with my boyfriend. He was pissed because I chose a college in California over going to a college in New York with him.

So, enough about my past, let's jump to the present! It's the beginning of August so I've already spent two months in Huntington Beach and have a little more than a month 'til school starts on September 20, also, my birthday.

Amanda talked me into trying to surf. She said, "If you can snowboard like a pro, you can surf like a pro!" Both of us are great snowboarders, but she was too chicken to come out surfing with me. Instead, she stayed back on the shore, watching while she tanned.

The waves were abnormally large today and no one else seemed to be in the water. I lay on my board and slowly made my way out past the whitewater waves. The water suddenly went completely flat. So, I turned my board around and let my arms drape over the sides of my board into the cold water. I stared at the shore to see Amanda; she was pointing at something behind me. I looked back at the huge wave that was forming behind me. I took the opportunity to show off in front of Amanda.

I paddled as fast as I could as I rose with the wave. As it started to crash, I jumped up and caught my balance. For some reason, I was being pushed forward. Then I remembered the advice of the my dad's old friend who gave me the board: Keep your weight back when you first catch a wave or else the nose of your board will get caught underwater and you'll be thrown off it!

I glanced down at the nose of my board and sure enough it was being pushed down by the water. But it was too late for me to shift my weight to fix the problem and I was thrown forward off my board. I hit the water hard enough to knock the wind out of me, and I was crushed by the oncoming wave. Every direction I turned wasn't the surface. I felt trapped and helpless, I even tried opening my eyes but everything was dark and there was no sign of light.

Something caught hold of my wrist, I tried to pull away but it was a hell of a lot stronger than I was. I was suddenly hoisted up by my wrist and pulled out of the water. I took a deep breath that was interrupted by coughing up a lot of water. When I opened my eyes, I was face to face with the most perfect face I'd ever seen. He had gorgeous golden brown eyes, high cheekbones, flawless skin, sculpted lips, and messy dark hair. And he was probably 20 or so.

His eyebrows scrunched together as he asked, "Are you okay?"

I looked at him blankly, "Um, I don't know…"

"Does anything hurt?" he asked, still keeping an intense gaze on me.

"No, not really…" I said slowly.

He smiled sweetly. "I'm Brian, by the way."

"Chloe." I cracked a smile that faded quickly.

He led me to the shore and I dropped my board on the sand. I sat down next to my board and he sat down next to me. I couldn't help but taken the sight of him. He had a nicely toned body, tattoo sleeves of monsters, and Blue Blood, written in script of the left side of his chest.

"I was watching you surf, and then you went down and you never came up so I got a little worried." He added, "You're not from around here, are you?"

"No, I'm from Colorado," I said quickly, "But I'll be living here for the next four years 'cuz I'm going to UCI."

He smiled deviously. "Then, why don't you let me show you around tonight? We could see a movie or something."

I looked at him, skeptical about going out with a stranger.

He must have read my face. "Ask anyone on this beach, I swear, I'm not some creep. Go ahead, ask them about Brian Haner," he reassured me.

I looked around at all the now crowded beach. "Um, no thanks, I'll just take your word for it."

"So meet me here tonight at 6:30?" He meant it as a question but it sounded more like a command to me.

"Yeah, sure."

"Then I'll see you tonight, babe." He stood up, winked at me, and walked away.

I sat in the sand and watched him walked back down the beach. Even the back of him was gorgeous, including the tattoo across his back. Haner, I think that was his last name, right?

Amanda was suddenly sitting down on a towel next to me, scratching at the wax on my board.

"So, what was going on there?" she asked curiously.

I smiled, feeling butterflies in my stomach. "I'm going on a date tonight with my sexy savior… And he called me 'babe'…"

"Aren't you gonna say it?" She stared at me waiting for me to answer.

I was lost and didn't know what she was talking about. "Say what?"

"Admit it, I was right! You just met you prince charming!" she insisted.

"We don't know if he's really that prince charming you've been talking about. He's just… He's just hot, perfect, tall, and drop dead sexy, and…" I trailed off into a daze.

Amanda pinched my arm. "Come on, Clo, snap out of it! We've got 3 hours to get you ready for a date; so get up and let's go!"

Amanda grabbed her towel and took off running.

"Wait up, Manda!" I picked up my board and ran after her.

Our apartment was only two blocks away from the beach so every day we would walk down to the beach with just a towel or a chair and come back for lunch or whatever.

I waited as Amanda dug through her pocket to find her key.

She let out a frustrated sigh. "Shit! I forgot my key and you don't have yours, do you?"

I propped my board against the wall and lifted the edge of the rug with my flip-flop. "Calm down, Manda! I always keep an extra key under the rug."

I tossed her the key and she unlocked the door. Grabbing my board, I followed Amanda in with my board dragging behind me. I propped it up against the wall, and stood there waiting for Amanda to give me a command.

"Go take a shower, I don't want you to smell all salty!" she commanded pointing toward the bathroom.

I took a quick shower, coming back out into the living room dressed only in my towel. Amanda grabbed my hand and pulled me into my bedroom. I sat on my bed watching her dig through my closet.

"Okay, this is gonna look great on you!" She held up an outfit and exited the room so I could get dressed. I dressed quickly and she did my hair and makeup.

I looked in the mirror, fixed a stray hair, and spun on my heels so I was facing Amanda.

I smiled. "Okay, so you did a really good job."

She put her hands on her hips saying, "A really good job? More like a masterpiece! You look gorgeous; well, you always do, but extra gorgeous right now!"

I hugged her, but making sure not to mess up my makeup. "Love you, Manda!"

"Love you too, Clo!"

She pushed me away gently, "Now hurry up and go or else you're gonna be late!"

Grabbing my purse, I said goodbye and ran out the door. I slowed down as I got out of the apartment. Pulling my phone out of my purse, I went onto my Facebook.

Status Update: Going on a date with a gorgeous guy named Brian! 3

I looked up at the top of my screen, 6:25. Oh shit! I'm gonna be late! I took off running. I should make it!

I saw Brian standing in the sand. I slowed down to a walk so I would seem out of breath when I finally made it to him.

"I'm sorry, Brian! Were you waiting long?" I asked, a little nervous.

He smiled sweetly, "No, I just got here."

I let out a sigh of relief at the fact that I didn't make him wait.

"So, what do you want to do tonight?" he asked.

"Um, I… don't… know… I was kinda hoping that you would pick…" I said slowly.

"Okay, how about..." He stood there thinking for a moment. "How about going down to the boardwalk?"

"Yeah, that sounds good!"

When he took my hand, I almost wanted to squeal like a little girl would, like "ohmigod! This hot guy is holding my hand!" I smiled nervously, instead.

We started to walk after he told me the boardwalk was just down the street. I could see the lights of the Ferris wheel from here.

"So, was that you first time surfing?" he asked, attempting to keep a straight face and not laugh, but was fairly unsuccessful.

I laughed a little. "Yeah, it was… My best friends told me that if I can snowboard like a pro, I should be able to surf without a problem. But, it's a hell of a lot harder when there's no solid ground and the water's moving…"

"Are you really that good at snowboarding?" he asked, sounding skeptical probably because of my performance in surfing.

"I've won quite a few freestyle competitions, this year. Enough to pay for my first year of college with the prize money," I said nonchalantly.

His eyes widened. "That's insane! I wanna see that!"

I smiled. "Then look me up on YouTube, Chloe Anderson Freestyle. My dad filmed every competition I was in and my ex-boyfriend put them on YouTube."

"I have got to see this!" He pulled at his phone, and pulled up YouTube, searching on "Chloe Anderson Freestyle". He scrolled down the list coming to a video with the title: "Chloe Anderson bloody freestyle accident".

"What's this?" he said, about to click on it. I put my hand on top of his phone to stop him.

"Don't," I said quickly, "That mistake wasn't pretty…"

"What happened?"

"I tried to add another spin into one of my jumps but I didn't land it and I hit my face on the sharp edge of my board…"

Brian's lips curled into a frown. "But you're okay now, right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

He lifted my hand up to his eyelevel and gently kissed my fingers. "I'm glad."

The small 1 tattooed on his thumb caught my eye. "I don't get it. What does it mean?" I asked, pointing at it, sounding a little stupid.

"Oh, um, that's my first tattoo. Got it when I was 14," he said proudly.

"I just got my first tattoo in June…" I lifted my shirt slightly so my tattoo was visible. It was the word 'forever', written in script and tattooed on the front of my right hip.

I laughed softly. "My dad got so mad at me when my brother told him I got a tattoo. He didn't talk to me for a whole month, but then my mom got mad at him so he started talking to me again."

"My parents didn't really care… that much…"

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and unlocked the screen.

Facebook notification: Amanda Wilson likes your status.

Facebook notification: Jon Anderson commented on your status: You say he's gorgeous, I say he's gay! Love you, sis!

I laughed slightly at my brother's comment. Brian glanced at my phone but I quickly put it away.

Brian looked at me, puzzled. "It's nothing; my brother's just messing with me."

We finally made it to the boardwalk. Music played softly in the air as the lights from attractions and vendors glowed with the setting sun. I looked around at the crowd of people and rides.

"So, what do you want to do first?" he asked sweetly.

We rode rides until 10 o'clock. When we waited in line, he whispered sweet-nothings in my ear, and he continuously called me 'babe', 'baby', 'sweetie', 'beautiful', and 'angel'. He held my hand the whole time, and he even kissed me on the Ferris wheel.

We walked slowly down the beach, in the direction of my apartment. Neither of us wanted this night to end. We neared my apartment and he said, "So, I guess I'll text you later, babe?"

"Yeah," I paused, "You know, I don't think I've heard you say my name once today."

He opened his mouth but said nothing.

"Say my name," I commanded.

He stayed silent.

"You don't even remember my name, do you?" I said loudly, "That's why you called me 'babe' and all that shit!"

I started to run towards the stairs to my apartment, but Brian caught my hand to stop me.

"Babe, wait!" he pleaded.

He shook him off and slapped him. "Why should I wait, when my date can't even remember my fucking name? Is that why you have you name tattooed on you back, so you won't forget it?"

I stormed up to my apartment, ripping open the door, and slamming it behind me. Amanda stared at me as I fell face first into the couch.

"What happened?" she asked sympathetically.

"It was perfect," I said softly, "Until I figured out that he couldn't remember my name!"

I sat up, wiping my tears before Amanda could see.

"I knew it was too good to be true…" I said slowly.

Facebook status update: He couldn't remember my name… /3

Authors note: I've been writing this while I'm on my summer vacation and I hope to finish it in the next two weeks (before I go back to school) but I still do need to do my summer homework! I have the 2nd chapter written for the most part and should be released in the next few days! (there will probably 3 to 4 chapters!) Don't forget to leave comments!