Odessa smiled, her head raised to face the sky as she felt the soft snowflakes landing on her cheeks lightly. It was the day before they were to leave for LA and Dess had decided that she and Andy should probably get out and shovel some of the snow off of the walk so that Trish wouldn’t break her neck when she came to take care of the cats. Dess smiled again at the thought of their trip and she felt relieved that everything was set for Christmas so that when they got back on Christmas Eve it wouldn’t be so hectic.

The entire trip was bound to be chaotic with everyone going to the Premier tomorrow night and then Andy was going to go to all three screenings while Dess did her magazine shoot, which she had yet to tell Andy about. Then they would fly home, be there for the holidays and then by January 4th they all would load up and go on the road.


“Babe!” Andy’s voice called out to her and Dess spun around to face him. His face was mostly covered by his thick scarf, his blue eyes shining against the white of his forehead and Dess could only smile as she walked through the thick snow towards him.

“Sorry-just thinking about the upcoming events…” She bit down on her lip as Dess finally reached Andy, taking a shovel from him as she bent down to remove some of the snow from their sidewalk.

“Speaking of upcoming things…Jon told us that we’ll be headlining this year at Warped Tour…” Andy’s face was jubilant as he looked down at Dess and she only smirked up at him as she stopped her shoveling.

“I know-Kit told me when she was here for Thanksgiving…” Dess ducked out of the way-Andy had bent down and had picked up a pile of snow and she saw it coming as he launched it at her.

“How do you always know things before us?!” He laughed as Andy threw more snow at Dess and she just smirked as she bent down to gather her own arsenal.

“Because I have friends in high places…thank you very much!” She giggled as he ran over to her, tackling her to the ground as they both laughed loudly.

“Oh yeah-well did she also tell you that I’m going to be on the cover of AP?” Andy asked, his scarf down from his face as he smirked over at her.

“No! Babe that’s great!” Dess said, her fingers gathering snow as she raised her hand and brought a ball of soft snow down on top of his head as they laid there.

“Mean!” He laughed loudly as Andy moved to get on top of Dess, his hips straddling her as they rolled around in the snow.

“Well I have something to tell you too…” She smiled up at him, her eyes growing wide as Andy smirked down at her evilly before bringing down a small bit of snow until it touched the warm skin of her cheeks.


They giggled and wrestled in the snow for some time, the sky above them opening up as more soft flakes fell to the ground. Dess felt happy in that moment, but it also reminded her of the last time she had played out in the snow. It was strange to think back on everything that had happened in just one year-the things that they had all lost and gained were tremendous and Dess knew that she was a much stronger person because of it. Moving forward was the only way to survive and Dess knew that she would have to just leave the past behind her, but she would never forget the things that had happened either.


“So what is this thing that you have yet to tell me?” Andy asked as he looked at her and smiled. The two of them had stopped their rolling around, both chilled to the bone and now they were sitting on the back steps, hand in gloved hand as they watched the snow fall.

“I got a call from Rock Chic Magazine a few weeks ago and they have chosen myself, Sammi and Ella to do the Girlfriends of Rock cover this upcoming year…I’ll get two pages all to myself and all three of us will be on the cover!” Her voice was happy, her eyes shining and Andy felt happy for her, but he also couldn’t shake his feeling of hesitancy.

“Tha-that’s great Dess.” Andy looked away from her then, his eyes scanning over the side yard that was covered in almost knee-deep snow.

“You don’t sound like you think it’s great.” Her voice was low and sad.

“I just-it’s a big step for you and I, especially you and I don’t know if you realize that.” He looked at her again, his blue eyes sad as Dess stuck out her jaw and scowled at him.

“Are you ashamed of what we have?” Her voice was hurt and silently Andy just shook his head as he continued to look at her.

“Of course not. I just worry about you…fame can be hard to handle.” He reached for one of her hands, his black fingerless gloves warm against her shivering skin.

“Well I’ve been handling it pretty well so far…” She muttered, a hand coming up to brush back the hair that had come loose from beneath her knitted cap.

“Babe-remember our UK Tour? Remember those bottles being thrown?” He asked, his voice low and pained at the mere mention of that shitty night.

“But they voted for us Andy…Lauren said I was the one that your fans most wanted to hear from…” She looked at him then, her green eyes sad and disappointed at his lack of enthusiasm.

“I know, but maybe it’s because you’re with me…” He regretted it as soon as it left his lips and suddenly Dess was up, a shovel back in her hands as she moved towards the sidewalk.


The two of them shoveled in silence, Dess keeping a few steps away from Andy as she tried her best to ignore him. Why couldn’t he just be happy for her? She had supported him through everything, especially with the new record and yet when she got the opportunity to shine a little bit-all he could do was bring her down. Before Andy, Dess had been a very successful comic artist and she still was and was it so wrong to want to be recognized for that? The day was beginning to come to an end, the falling snow coming to a slow stop as Dess looked out over the yard-they had gotten the entire walkway shoveled and she could only hope that it wouldn’t snow anymore while they were gone.

Dess moved over towards the porch, leaning her shovel up against the railing as she sighed and looked up at the sky. It was gray, the clouds thick and heavy looking and she wondered what Moira was doing in that moment. Suddenly she felt a pair of hands reach out and grab her around the middle, pulling her down towards the ground and Dess grunted as she landed, puffs of snow coming up and falling back down on her cheeks. Andy laid next to her, his arms and legs spread out as he moved them back and forth slowly.


“What are you doing Andy?” She asked, her eyes confused as he just continued to look up at the sky, his arms and legs moving back and forth slowly.

“Making a snow angel…” He smirked over at her, his eyes happy and childlike as Dess just burst out laughing.


Andy looked at her, his eyes roaming over her as he just nodded his head at her hands and Dess began to follow his movements. They laid there, making snow angels in silence as they both stared up at the sky and Dess could feel her frustration with Andy melting with each swipe of her arm against the pure snow. She knew that he was happy for her and that his hesitation was coming from a place of love, not jealousy. Dess looked over at him and she saw that Andy was in turn looking over towards her, his blue eyes staring at her lovingly. She sighed and sat up, looking around her to try and figure out how she was going to get up without ruing the angel with her own footprints.


“Here…” Andy said, swiftly getting up and holding his hands out to her. Dess grasped for his hands, smiling as he pulled her up and she bumped into his chest lightly. He held her there, his cold cheek resting against the top of her head.


Andy held her there, her small body warm against him as he just stared off towards the trees. Memories flooded back to him-memories of a skating pond and an accident that truly made him realize what he had with Dess in his life. He was proud of her, he always would be, but Andy was also terrified for her as it seemed that Dess was getting noticed more and more by his fans. Sometimes when they were out together girls would stop them, wanting his autograph which he was fine with but then they also wanted to talk to Dess. It wasn’t a jealousy thing-it was a selfish thing with Andy. He wanted Dess all to himself, something that he didn’t have to share with the world and yet even that seemed to not be possible.


“I’m really happy about the magazine interview Dess…” He said this softly and Odessa almost didn’t hear him at first, but as she looked up at him Dess saw that Andy had a small smile on his face.

“Really? You didn’t sound too happy about it two hours ago when I first told you…” She looked up at him, her eyes skeptical as they both just stood there and stared one another down.

“I’m sorry-really-but you have to understand something. I fell for you, mostly because you’re the best person I know, but I also fell for the fact that you were something I could keep to myself. Sammi is in a band of her own, also in the spotlight and they’re both under a microscope constantly. Ella is a model and that puts Jake in a weird position sometimes. But you-you were this girl who no one knew and I could keep you all to myself.” His eyes were sincere, the blue orbs shining down at her against a gray sky.

“Oh babe…stop being so selfish.” She giggled, her face lighting up as Dess stood on her tip toes and placed a kiss to Andy’s cheek.

“Hey!” He moved her away, reaching down Andy grabbed for some snow but Dess was quicker and soon they had launched into an all out snowball war.


The two laughed and yelled until the sun faded from the sky and the stars could finally be seen through the vanishing clouds. Dess knew that this innocent playfulness would come to an end once the guys went back on tour. Sure-they would all goof around and have fun, but touring was something that the guys took very seriously and Dess knew that she would have to as well. Jon was leaning on her a lot these days, especially when it came to Andy, to keep the guys on schedule and to make sure that they weren’t getting themselves into too much trouble. Dess didn’t mind, but here soon she was going to start asking for a paycheck every two weeks because it seemed like she was doing Jon’s job more than Jon was himself.


“Ready to call uncle?!” Andy yelled at her from across the yard and Dess just shook her head as she ran at him from towards the house. She hit him square in the chest, both of them falling to the snow covered ground as Andy grunted and smirked up at her.

“Nope.” Dess just leaned over, her nose coming to rest against his and she shut her eyes softly. Andy just laid there, his hands resting on her hips as he looked at her and smiled. She was so beautiful, both inside and out and he couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of what their children would look like some day.

“What’s so funny?” She asked, her eyes peeking open at him as Andy just smiled and pressed his lips against hers. He moved her so that she was kneeling in the snow beside him and as Andy stood, he pulled Dess with him and wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders as he led her towards the house.

“Just thinking about babies…” His voice was low as they both walked up the porch steps, their feet pounding against the wood to try and get as much snow off as possible.

“What?! God I swear sometimes I think you’re the girl in this relationship Biersack.” She laughed, the sound tinkling against his ears and it made Andy smile as they entered the house.

“Just think about it babe…a little you running around…blonde hair and blue eyes shining as I run after her.” His smile was wide and happy and Dess could only shake her head at him playfully as she removed her jacket and scarf and headed towards the kitchen.

“I like to think about you changing your first stinky diaper…now that’s amusing.” She walked backwards so that she was facing him and Andy just followed her, his hands in his pockets as the two of them entered the kitchen and took seats at the bar.

“Eh…call me when she turns three and everything else starts to get easier…” He laughed as Dess tossed a napkin at him and looked at the clock. They should probably get their packing finished and have an early night since they had an even earlier flight the next morning.

“It never gets easier babe…never.” Dess gave him a knowing look and suddenly the couple became quiet. The thoughts they shared seemed to be a ghost in the room: what would happen if they had a child and she or he ended up like Moira or Dess’ father?


The couple shook that thought from the table and soon they had lapsed back into the happy laughter from earlier. Dess made her way upstairs to finish packing, making sure she had her dress and shoes for the Premier ready and accessible as she would have to change quickly to make it to the event on time. Andy was all packed, he had fewer things to pack up than she did and for that Dess was grateful-it meant less clothes for her to wash when they got home. She thought about her upcoming photo shoot and while she was excited, Dess was also really nervous. She wasn’t a model and what if she sounded stupid during her interview questions?

Sighing Dess zipped up the last of the suitcases and called for Andy to come up and help her take them downstairs. Quietly she hoped that everything would go well and with a smile she knew that everything would be perfect.

Notes

An update! Hooray! I'm updating this early because I have some stuff I have to do and I probably won't update tomorrow either : (

However I do have a surprise-the title of the fourth and final installment to this series. Are you guys ready for it?

*drum roll*
*keeps drumming*
*still drumming*

Together Burning Bright

So-please read and review this lovely chapter and I will try my best to get another update up soon : )

What It Is To Burn Tumblr