“Thank you guys so much for coming out! We are the Black Veil Brides and we hope to see you guys again sometime soon!” Andy smirked into the mic as the crowd before him roared and clapped until the guys all but disappeared from the stage. Lily clapped right a long with them, her heart leaping into her throat as Ashley passed her, that nasty smirk still on his face as he moved away from her and headed towards the back.

“You guys were so amazing tonight! Best show yet!” Lily smiled as Andy walked towards her, but he didn’t look as excited as she was. It was their last show of the small tour and Lily knew that all of the guys were feeling bummed. They loved playing and they loved seeing their fans-their Army.

“We have some stuff to work on before we record, but yeah it was pretty good I guess…” Andy said, his voice deep and gravelly from singing so much and he only smiled at her as he threw an arm around Lily’s shoulder. He led her back towards the dressing room and then bypassed it as he noticed that Ashley was in there with a few ladies who had managed to get backstage.


The couple headed out towards where the van was parked and Lily only smiled as she saw a small grouping of fans waiting for them around the corner. The night was cool-it was almost the end of October and Lily couldn’t wait-Halloween had always been her favorite time of the year. Andy stopped her, smirking as he reached into a pocket of the leather jacket that he had slipped on and he pulled out his almost empty pack of cigarettes.

They both leaned up against the brick wall of the club, Lily looking out in front of her with her arms crossed as Andy lit up and inhaled deeply. She scrunched her nose at the smokey smell, but then smiled as two young girls approached them. One was wearing a BVB Army tank top underneath a black jacket, while the other had an old tattered AFI shirt on. Both girls were wearing war paint-one looking identical to the singer she was standing in front of and the other could pass for Ashley any day.


“Hey guys how’s it going?” Andy asked the two girls as they approached and Lily only smirked as the two girls just stared at them both open mouthed and in awe.

“It’s going really well-we were so excited to hear that you guys were playing tonight!” The girl with Andy’s makeup exclaimed and Andy only smirked as he snubbed his cigarette out on the bottom of his boot and turned to look at the two girls head on.

“It’s awesome to have you guys come out. I hope you enjoyed the show and everything…” Andy said as he wrapped an arm around Lily and the two girls faces fell slightly. Lily had seen some of the things online about her and Andy and she knew that most girls wished she would disappear.

“Andy when are you going to quit smoking-it’s so bad for you!” The girl who looked like Ashley smirked at the singer and Andy only shook his head. Lily was always on his case about his smoking like a chimney, but he would smoke until the day he died.

“It adds to my rebel image. So how old are you girls?” He asked, trying to change the subject and the two girls only blushed as they both puffed out their chests and tried to smile at him seductively. Lily only rolled her eyes-girls were so weird sometimes.

“Fifteen, but I’ll be sixteen next month…” The girl with Andy’s makeup said as she touched his arm and Lily only shook her head softly.

“Problem?” The girl said as she took in Lily’s reaction and Lily finally got the chance to look her over. Black hair that was hanging in front of brown eyes that were caked in black makeup-making them look dull and her lips were bright pink, which was almost black because of her smearing makeup.

“Nope-no problem. You ready to head back in babe and start packing everything up?” Lily asked as she placed a hand on his arm and Andy only smirked as he nodded and looked at both girls standing in front of him.

“Yeah we better get back in there. It was nice to see you girls-hope to see you come out next time we play.” Andy said as he hugged each one of them before following Lily inside. Usually Lily was okay with him meeting fans, but it was clear to her that those girls were only after one thing and she wasn’t going to let them think for one second that they were going to get it.


Lily moved around the room in near silence as the guys packed up their bags and their instruments. The club had grown quiet. Lily moved towards their merch table and began to fold shirts and pack them in boxes while the guys all moved around to get their things out and in to the van. Andy looked at her, smirking as he noticed that Lily had the most concentrated look on her sweet face as she folded their shirts. Lily had been such a help to them this tour with packing and unpacking the merch table and she had kept Andy sane when the guys around him-especially Ashley-would get a little out of hand.

Andy was so focused on his career and Lily that he couldn’t understand why the guys didn’t feel the same. They partied after every show-going to bars and hanging out with girls that threw themselves at them all. Andy always hung back around the van with Lily-mostly because they were too young to go out, but also because she was all he needed in his life.

Lily looked over her shoulder and she felt her eyes grow wide as she realized that all of the guys had left the room to head out to the van-except Ashley. He was sitting on the couch restringing his bass and as he looked up and met her eyes his grin widened. She ran towards the door, but he beat her to it, slamming it before she could escape and suddenly there was a pounding sound coming from the other side. The front of the club was closed up-the front doors locked and Lily knew in that moment that she was trapped with the one person who wanted to see her dead.

Lily backed up until she was against one wall of the dressing room and Ash only smirked at her as he approached slowly. He came to her, his smile evil and menacing as he grabbed her by her arm and slammed her against the hard wall behind her. Lily saw stars in her eyes and her head was pounding, but she managed to stay alert as Ashley held her in place.


“Oh I knew he would leave you alone sooner or later…” Ashley said and Lily closed her eyes. She could feel his breath on her face and she could smell the alcohol that lingered there. Where was Andy? Why had he left her alone with Ashley?

“A-Ash…pl-please…” Lily pleaded as she opened her eyes and looked into the chocolate brown ones that were staring deep down in to her soul.

“Pa-pa-please…shut up. You took two people from me and now I’m going to show you how it feels…” He snarled as he wrapped a hand around her throat and Lily closed her eyes. This was it-goodbye cruel world this was how she was going to die.

“Ash…don’t do this-if you kill me then what happens to the band? Andy would never forgive you…” Lily said meekly-her air supply was being cut off and so she could hardly talk at this point.

“Don’t care. I’ll just go back home to Hell-Earth was beginning to bore me anyways…” He scoffed at her, but Lily could see the doubt in his eyes and she knew she had him thinking things over now.

“Hell without Lattie and Brighton? You’ll have no friends-Andy will never go back down there and he would probably kill you before you got the chance to get down there yourself.” She said and Ashley seemed to be hesitating as his grip on her throat loosened slightly.

“Lattie…why did you have to kill her?! Why her Lily?!” He screamed in her face, his almond shaped eyes filled with tears as he looked at her. His cheeks-those high cheek bones of his-were covered in his tears and Lily looked at him open mouthed. She had never seen Ashley Purdy cry before and she never thought in a million years that it would happen.

“I didn’t have a choice! She was torturing me and was going to kill me…what was I supposed to do Ash? She was supposed to go back to Hell…you were supposed to make sure she got back to Hell and stayed out of trouble…” Lily said and she gasped for air as Ashley let her go, placing his hands over his eyes as he moved to go sit on one of the beat up couches in the corner of the room.

“It’s all my fault…I was supposed to take care of her and I just let her go like nothing was wrong. I’m the reason she’s dead…” He said and Lily could only stand over him. Should she run? He wasn’t holding her hostage any more. But deep down Lily knew that she couldn’t abandon Ashley right now-he was a nasty asshole, but he was her friend.


Lily sat down next to him on the couch and Ashley couldn’t even look at her in that moment. He hated her-he hated that she had taken everything away from him. His sister. His life in Hell. His best friend. Andy was all consumed by Lily-the two of them were never without each other and that left Ashley feeling like he had no one. The other guys were great-CC was his party buddy, but nothing beat talking to Andy. Andy understood where he was coming from and how it felt to be a Demon on Earth and to feel so out of place.

Ashley sighed as he wiped at his cheeks, ridding them of his tears and he sucked in a ragged breath as he looked to his right and noticed that Lily was staring at him. Those light colored eyes of hers were haunting and as he looked at them Ashley realized something. None of the humans he had encountered had had light colored eyes like Lily’s. Light blue, grey, and green he had seen but never lavender-it was odd and as he stared at them Ashley realized that he knew something about lavender eyes.


“You okay Ash? I-I can leave you alone if you want…” Lily said, breaking the spell that had captivated him and Ashley only grunted as he ran a hand through his teased black hair and looked at her once more. Lavender eyes were a trait that he had read about when he had been a Record Demon back home-people with lavender eyes were special and not normal in the slightest.

“I’m fine. Look I’m sorry Lily-for everything. I know it’s going to take a long time for you to forgive me, but I really am sorry.” Ashley said quietly as he rubbed his tattooed fingers across the back of his neck and looked up at her shyly.

“It’s okay Ash-I know what it’s like to lose someone. You tend to blame everyone around you, but really it’s no one’s fault…sometimes things are just meant to be.” She smiled at him softly and Ashley couldn’t help but return her smile. He could see why Andy liked being around Lily-there was something calming about her.

“Lily?” He asked and Lily looked at him once again, those lavender eyes curious as they had never really had a conversation with one another other than sparing sarcasm back and forth.

“Yeah?”

“Do you believe in Heaven?” Ashley asked and Lily’s eyes grew wide and she seemed to be thinking it over quietly to herself. Did she? She had thought she had gone to Heaven when she ‘died’ but was that really Heaven? Or was it just an in between place for her to learn what she needed to?

“I mean yeah I guess…why?” She asked and Ashley only smiled as he shrugged his shoulders and stood up. The banging on the back door had continued and he knew that there was going to be one pissed off Half Demon waiting for him on the other side.

“Just wondering…” He said quietly as Lily stayed seated and Ashley moved towards the door.


Lily had to believe in Heaven-Ashley was sure of it and as he unlocked the door and watched it burst open Ash knew one thing was for certain. Lily wasn’t just any human. In fact from what he could remember from his reading…Lily wasn’t human at all.

Notes

Surprise! So things have calmed down at work and I felt like updating *smiles*
I hope you guys had a good Turkey Day-or for those of you in other countries that don't eat like pigs at the end of November...well I just hope you had a good day in general : )

Please read and review and know that after this we only have five more chapters left!

<3

Imagine Me and You
What It Is To Burn