What It Is To Burn

Dess was dreaming, her thoughts happy as she snuggled next to Andy, his soft breathing making her smile and she knew that she didn’t want to get up from this moment of peace. It was their last day of camping and Dess knew that after she got up and made breakfast that everyone would begin to get everything packed up and they would have to return to the real world. The day before had been a blast with only minimal complaining from Andy and Ash as they hiked around the area.

The night had been spent around another campfire, this time with Jake and Jinxx bringing out guitars and the entire group laughed and joked as they made up stupid songs or sang old BVB and SWS ones. Andy had really liked the way that she had sung a long to Carolyn and had mentioned the idea of getting into the studio to do some retracking. Dess smiled as she laid there, stretching her arms above her head, but her peaceful moment was broken as a shout pierced the air and she cracked her eyes open.

The sun was shining down on them from above their tent and while Andy was awake, he had stuffed one of their pillows over his head to try and drown out the noise coming from outside. What on Earth was going on? Dess strained her ears and she could hear Kit, screaming at the top of her lungs and with one look towards the other room of their tent Dess groaned. Kit and Ashley were both up and Dess only groaned louder as she listened to the yelling coming from outside.

It sounded like Kit had finally plucked up the courage to confront Ash about whatever she needed to and Dess only sighed as she laid a hand on Andy’s shoulder and shook him gently. He only growled lowly at her, digging his head under his pillow more and Dess smiled as she bent over and placed her lips against his shoulder. She kissed him softly, but then she bit down, her teeth sinking in to his fleshy shoulder and suddenly he seemed to be wide awake.

“What the fuck babe!? Oww…” He whined as he sat up and rubbed his shoulder. Andy’s hair was adorable looking, with his black locks sticking up in every direction and he only sighed as he rubbed the shaved part with the palm of his hand.

“We need to get out there before they kill one another…” Dess sighed as Andy raised an eyebrow and then sighed heavily as more screaming and shouting could be heard. He got up first, his pale skin glowing in the sun as he held his hands out for Dess to help her up. They were both still in their night clothes-Andy in a pair of black basketball shorts and Dess was wearing an old BVB t-shirt that was three sizes too big, but neither of them cared.


The site that was unfolding before her eyes made Dess cringe and she tried to move forward towards Kit, but Andy held her back, his lanky yet strong arms wrapping around her torso as he held her tightly to him. Kit and Ashley were over by the campfire, both of them standing facing one another and Ashley had his hands held up defensively as Kit pointed her finger at him, her usually gorgeous face twisted in agony and anger.

Dess felt her heart break as she watched her best friend stand there and cry-Kit hardly ever cried-and Dess knew that it was something serious if Kit was in tears. Andy knew that he should stop this crazy fight, but he wanted the two to work through their shit before he stepped in. He could tell something had been brewing between the two hotheaded flirts and maybe this is what they needed. Suddenly a gut wrenching scream pierced the air and Andy focused his attention back towards the arguing duo.


“Fuck you! Fuck you Ashley Purdy and fuck your bass and your band and everything that you’ve ever cared about!” Kit had picked up Ashley’s bass, which had been leaning up against a log nearby and Andy cringed as he watched the small girl lift the instrument above her head and chuck it out towards the murky lake water.

“What the fuck Kitty?! Why the fuck are you so pissed at me? You still haven’t told me anything yet!” Ashley yelled, his voice deep and angry as he moved away from the girl and headed out towards the water to try and retrieve his bass, which was floating on top of the water in a sad state.

“You know why! You fucking know why you piece of trash! Go fuck some more sluts behind my back and then maybe you’ll fucking figure it out!” Kit yelled as she approached the bassist, who had gotten his bass and was currently standing at the waters edge.

“That’s what this is about?! I didn’t think it meant anything to you when we were together! You always made it seem like it was just a fling Kit!” Ashley yelled and Dess felt her jaw drop. Kit and Ashley? Together? When the fuck did that happen?

“I was trying to not get emotionally involved but I never expected you to fuck everything that came your way Ash. Ugh-you’re such a whore!” She screamed, her hands pressing against his chest as Kit pushed Ash and there was a loud splash and a string of obscenities. Kit had pushed Ashley into the lake and Dess tried to hold in her laughter as the bassist just sat there, looking like a drowned rat.

“You’re just fucking jealous Kit! You’ve always been a jealous bitch!” Ashley yelled and Dess felt her heart stop as Kit spun on her heel, her nostrils flaring and she only stood in place, her arms crossed over her chest. At this point everyone was up, Jake, Jinxx and CC having taken seats around the smoldering fire as they watched in shocked awe.

“You want to talk about jealousy?! Fine! Lets talk about how jealous you are of your own best friend and band mate because he got the girl you have a huge crush on! I am not Odessa Montgomery, Ash and I never will be, so stop fucking me over just to get to her!” Kit yelled and Dess felt her eyes grow wide and Andy’s arms tightened around her even more than they already were.


Dess knew that Ashley had developed feelings for her over the past tour-they had seen one another every day for four months and they had grown close. But Dess had grown close with all of the guys while on tour and none of them seemed to have taken it to the level that Ash was currently at. She looked at Ashley and saw the hurt in his eyes as he looked from Kit and then over towards her and Andy. Dess could tell that Andy was tense, his arms were rigid as they held her in place and she could feel his fingers griping into the skin of her arms as they stood there.

What was she going to do? They were leaving for Warped in less than two days and the group would be stuck on a bus from early June to late August so there would be nowhere to go if things got super awkward. Plus Kit would be around since Sleeping was touring as well and that would make things even worse. As Dess looked over the entire situation she felt like crying.


“Kit can we please work this out? I don’t want things to get weird over the summer with us being together on tour…” Ashley was up on his feet, dripping wet but he stayed away from Kit as the red head only snarled at him and then looked to Dess. Kit’s Kelly green eyes were on fire, as were her cheeks and Dess felt her heart go out to her best friend in that moment.

“Why do you want to work it out? So we can be fuck buddies all summer?! Get over yourself Purdy!” Kit spun on her heel, her hair flying out around her head as she headed off towards the woods and Dess hurried a long after her-first stopping at their tent to grab a pair of shorts and some flip flops.


Dess caught up to Kit just as she was rounding a bend to head towards the hiking trail and Odessa only hoped that Kit would stop since neither one of them was dressed to go hiking. The morning was gorgeous as the two girls stopped walking and Kit slumped down on a fallen log that sat nearby and Dess only sighed as she sat down next to her best friend. She threw an arm around Kit’s shoulder, pulling the girl close as Kit began to sob quietly.

Katrina Evans had been through hell and back-Dess knew everything about her best friend’s past and she had hoped that Kit would one day find someone to make her happy-like Andy made Dess. Sadly Kit had a habit of picking losers…guys who would cheat on her, beat her up or worse-use her for her money and connections. The two girls sat there in silence for a while, Kit crying softly as Dess held her and rubbed her back. Kit was a pain in the ass, but Dess loved her and couldn’t stand to see her cry.


“Why didn’t you tell me about you and Ash, Kit?” Dess asked finally and Kit only sighed heavily as she turned to face her best friend and looked her in her beautiful moss green eyes.

“I was ashamed-afraid-of what it meant to be with Ashley. I-I know his past and I know he’s not the best guy, but there’s something about him…I hate myself.” She cried harder then, her green eyes red rimmed and puffy and Dess felt her heart break. She had always been there for Kit after every break up, but this time she had been kept in the dark and it was biting everyone in the ass.

“Hey-you are fucking amazing and fuck Ash for not seeing that. He knew that things were getting kind of serious and he still fucked anyone who would have him this past tour. I just wish you had told me Kit Kat so that I could’ve given him a not so gentle reminder the first time I caught him with some trollop.” Dess laughed and Kit only looked at her best friend with one eyebrow raised.

“Did you really just use the word ‘trollop’ D?” Kit laughed, sniffling loudly as Dess only nodded her head, her cheeks flaming as the two girls smiled at one another.

“I read a lot while we were touring okay? Are you going to be alright this summer Kit? I can try to keep Ash away from the bus whenever you and I want to hang out…or we can hang on your bus-I do love to tease the shit out of Kellin.” Dess laughed as the two girls continued to sit there, the morning sun rising in the sky and Dess knew they needed to head back soon.

“We’ll figure it out I guess. You guys flying out with us tomorrow?” Kit asked as the two girls stood, brushing off their butts to get any debris off before heading back towards the camp.

“Yeah. Brady is coming by tonight to get the cats and Winnie.Trish should be at the house tomorrow morning before our flight.” Dess smiled-Moira’s best friends had grown very close to her and Andy since the couple had moved back. Brady was offering to take the animals for the summer and to look over the house and Trish-having graduated early- was coming on tour with them to help Dess at her Misfits Clothing tent.


Odessa had been in contact with Kevin Lyman about having a tent at Warped this summer to try and boost her clothing sales and after seeing some of the things that she was offering he had given her a very enthusiastic yes. This meant that Dess would be busy all summer-what with helping the guys and her tent, so with a quick call to Jon it was decided that Trish would come along with them to man the tent when Dess couldn’t and to help her keep inventory and to set everything up.

Misfits Clothing had exploded at the end of the last tour and Dess had been able to come up with over five new designs that would be exclusive to Warped Tour, plus her ten original shirts and she would also be adding two hoodie designs as well. It was a lot of work, but Dess was taking a break from DC for the summer, so at least she didn’t have to worry about getting things done on a deadline and then sent off.


“Those two girls worship you…you know that right?” Kit asked, smiling as the two girls walked slowly through the woods. She could hear the guys from far off and Dess only hoped that Ashley was occupying himself with packing everything up.

“I know-I love them both dearly. They remind me so much of Moira and its nice having them around. Plus Trish is willingly helping me with my tent without getting a dime.” Dess laughed as Kit only smiled and then groaned loudly as the two girls came upon their campsite.

“Of course she doesn’t care if you pay her! She touring with one of the biggest bands-her heroes and she gets to see the country…for free!” Kit laughed as Dess only shoved her best friend towards their campsite and sighed as she took everything in.


Andy and Ashley had gotten both tents taken down and were currently trying to get them into Andy’s Rover, while CC was packing the kitchen supplies up. Jake and Jinxx were joking around as they went around the camp, picking up little things here and there that would easily be forgotten. Dess felt her eyes grow soft as she took in this site-these guys, these five wacky, crazy, loud, obnoxious guys were her family, along with Kit and Dess couldn’t imagine it being any other way.

As she sat there on the hood of the car, Kit next to her, Dess could only think about what this would be like if Moira had lived to see it. The younger girl had been so excited at the thought of growing up and getting away from all of the judgmental bullshit that high school had to offer. Sadly it would never happen and while Dess no longer fell apart at the thought of Moira-it still killed her a little bit inside every day to think that she may be joining her sister sooner than she thought.


“You’re thinking about her again aren’t you?” Kit asked and Dess said nothing as she just kept her eyes trained on the guys.

“I think about her every day…” Dess finally said and Kit only nodded and pulled her best friend in for a hug.


They would all get through this-they would all brave the storm that was currently looming over them all, but who would survive to see the very end of it all?

Notes

No cliffhanger for this little break of mine-just a funny and cute chapter. : )

Just so you guys know-this is the last update until after Christmas. I'm thinking Friday of that week will be when I update again. Don't worry though-I will be working on some stuff so you guys will have lots to read when we get back to it!

Please review <3