Together Burning Bright

The sun was shining, birds were chirping and all was peaceful-unless you were inside the Biersack residence. Kids were screaming about missing shoes, Arabella-now thirteen and full of sass-couldn’t find her song book and Dess was stuck in the middle of it all…completely alone. Andy was out in LA, doing some small fly in shows and interviews to promote the coming stint on Warped Tour and the new album that had just dropped. As Oliver-now eleven and almost taller than Dess- ran past, she could only smile and continue to sit at the kitchen table and drink her tea.

It was a huge day for Aria-her first piano recital as a dreaded teenager and she was, in Andy fashion, freaking out. First there had been an issue with what she was going to wear-Dess wanted a nice, simple, black dress, but Arabella had suckered her Aunt Kit into buying the brightest hot pink dress that they could find. Then there had been the issue of should they bring Camellia-eight years old and a complete know it all-or should the feisty girl be left at home? It was decided that Cammy could come, but she had to behave or her instrument time would be revoked for a week.

The kids loved learning how to play instruments-Arabella was almost near perfect at the piano and Oliver could jam out with Uncles Jake and Jinxx any time-but Camellia really had a knack for it. Even at age five the small girl had picked up the drums almost instantly, but that wasn’t enough for the blonde haired imp. She wanted to learn everything and so far she had. She was almost as good as Oliver on guitar and while she wasn’t close to Aria on the piano, Cammy could play a tune or two. Dess looked up from her phone, her brow furrowed as one by one her children lined up in front of her and Dess only smiled. Andy was running late-his plane had been delayed and he wasn’t sure if he was going to make it or not.


“Are we all ready to head out troops?” Dess asked as she looked at each of her children in turn. Arabella, with her light blonde hair curling around her face and her bright pink dress hitting her just above the knee, nodded and held her missing songbook in the air. Oliver, who Dess had asked nicely to please put on a suit and had managed to do so thankfully, was smirking from beside his sister who he almost towered over. Then there was Cammy in her black leggings, black and red tutu dress and the loveable smirk on her face.

“Is dad coming?” Aria asked as Dess stood up, pressing down the top of her dark purple dress. She had on a nice dress-a change from her typical jeans and t-shirt ensemble-and she towered over her children in a pair of black pumps. Dess only smiled softly down at her daughter as she moved to get her blonde bangs out of her face and grab for her purse.

“He is-he’s just running a little late…” Dess said the last part quietly as the small group walked out of the house and Dess pressed the unlock button on her car keys. Oliver and Cammy ran to get in, buckling up in the back seat, but as Dess locked the front door she noticed that Aria was hanging behind.

“He’s not coming.” She said, her voice filled with hurt and Dess said nothing as she just wrapped an arm around her teenage daughters shoulder and moved them towards the car. Aria was at an age where nothing was ever right and mother and daughter were constantly in battle.

“He is Arabella Rose. Now stop freaking out and get in the car.” Dess said as she kissed the top of her child’s head and moved to get behind the wheel. It was scary to think that in a few years Aria would be driving-where had the time gone?

“Can we listen to daddy?” Cammy asked from the back seat and Aria only rolled her eyes. They always listened to dad-she wanted to listen to her favorite band, Sleeping Forever. God they were such a good band…they were just everything.

“We always listen to dad!” Aria said, her arms crossed over her chest and she began to pout. That bottom lip-so much like Andy’s-had gotten Aria a lot of things in life, but thankfully Dess was immune to it.

“I wanna listen to the Used!” Oliver called out and Dess smiled. Her son-great taste in music and a lover of Batman as well…she couldn’t ask for anything better.

“Daddy!”

“Sleeping Forever!”

“the Used!” They were all shouting and Dess only rolled her eyes as she pressed shuffle and turned the music up. Aria groaned as a song came on and Dess only glanced at her from the corner of her moss green eyes.


Arabella loved listening to her father and uncles play-even in the womb she loved it-but lately she had been playing the ‘too cool for this’ teenager routine. Andy got upset about it a lot because the two of them had been close up until the past summer. Arabella was pretty-devastatingly so and she had begun to get noticed by boys. The past summer they were all on tour and Aria and Henry had ‘dated’-which really meant that they held hands when they stood on the side of the stage and sat next to one another at dinner. It had been cute, but at the end of everything they had realized that they were closer as friends. This, however, had gotten Aria thinking about boys and how she felt about them and she had turned in to a full on teenager.

Dess only smiled as Andy’s voice came out of her speakers and she could hear both Cammy and Oliver singing along from the back seat. It was amazing to her that she and Andy had been together for thirteen years and yet they still acted like teenagers. It had been embarrassing when their own kids had walked in on them making out in the den or teased them about holding hands in public. But really they loved one another more now than they ever had. There had been a point about two years before that Andy and Dess wondered if they could continue to do this long distance marriage.

Thankfully their love for one another and with some marriage counseling, the couple had found their passion again and they were stronger than ever. Dess could tell that Arabella was nervous because as soon as the car pulled in to the parking lot of the high school where she would be going that fall, the teenager froze up. This was big for her-she had never done something like this before and there were going to be a lot of people there. Kit and her kids would be there, as well as Arabella’s friends and classmates. The most nerve wracking thing of all and the reason why Arabella was worried about her father showing up was because the song she had been practicing for months was a surprise for him.


“Alright. Bells if you want to head in and find Ms. Jacobs while I get these two settled with Kit…” Dess said as she put the car in park and looked towards her eldest daughter. Arabella was white as a sheet, her blonde curls framing her scared face and Dess knew this was big-Aria never acted like this.

“When did you say dad was coming?” Was all she asked, her blue eyes facing out the front window and Dess only smiled as she unbuckled her seatbelt and the other kids did the same.

“He’ll be here Aria…he wouldn’t miss this for the world.” Dess reassured her nervous teen and soon enough they were all out of the car and walking across the parking lot.

“Look at me Aria I’m Uncle Ashley!” Cammy was shouting as she ran across the parking lot and struck pose after pose. The girls were all close with Ash, but Oliver seemed to be closer to Jake and CC-must be a guy thing.

“Watch out for cars Cam!” Dess yelled across the lot as her eight year old laughed and skipped towards the front door.

“I don’t know if I can do this mom…” Aria said as she turned towards her mother once they got up to the front doors of the school. There were a lot of people milling around and Dess knew that this was it-this was her daughter’s make or break moment.

“Look-whether you want to be a rockstar or not you are Andy Biersack’s daughter and I know you can do this.” Dess said as she faced her daughter and placed a hand on each of her bare arms. Cammy and Oliver had run off to find Kit, Pierce, Molly and Elizabeth, but Dess knew they would be okay.

“Does dad ever get nervous before going on?” She asked, her voice small and Dess only smiled softly as she locked eyes with the teen in front of her.

“Are you kidding me? I remember one time I had to literally push your father out on to the stage, but once he gets out there he shines…you will too.” Dess reassured her, but Aria didn’t look too positive about her mother’s kind words.

“But what if I don’t shine? What if I miss a note?” She asked, tears in her blue eyes and Dess said nothing at first and only reached out to hug her child. This is what she had been meant to do-she had been meant to be a mom.

“You will-you’re just like our father and I know you’ll find it in yourself to be the best you can be.” Dess said as she bent down and hugged her daughter tightly. Lately Aria had been standoffish, but Dess felt like crying as Arabella gripped the back of her dress and held on tightly while digging her chin in to her mother’s shoulder. Sometimes you just need your mom…


The two said their goodbyes and Dess waved to a few parents as she walked into the huge auditorium. She and Andy had been here already, speaking with Ms. Jacobs who was Aria’s piano teacher and the choir teacher at Fauquier High. This is where her daughter would be this coming fall-a high school freshman and lowest man on the totem pole. It was going to be hard, but thankfully Aria had made a lot of friends as a kid-unlike her father-and they would all be coming to the same school. That was one thing both she and Andy had encouraged in their kids-don’t let your passions for something run your life. Go out, hang out with friends and have fun because it’s these years in life that you’ll look back on.

Dess finally found her other two children-both of whom were sitting with Kit and her loud brood. Camellia and Pierce were sitting beside one another, laughing over something quietly and Dess only shook her head. Pierce looked just like his father-almond shaped brown eyes, long black hair and a smile that could kill-Cammy was a goner. The two were best friends, but there had always been a love between them…a connection. As Dess sat down and smirked at Kit, who looked nice in a black dress and her long red hair was down around her shoulders. Best friends, sisters and mother’s in crime-they had always been meant to do this together.


“How’s she doing?” Kit asked as she leaned over and smiled at Dess.

“Nervous, but I think she’ll be okay. I just hope Andy manages to get here on time…this is really important to Aria.” Dess said as she looked down at her phone and sighed. No new messages from Andy and her heart was beginning to sink.

“I just talked to Ash-they landed and caught a cab. They should be here just as things get started.” Kit said with a smirk and Dess sighed in relief. If Andy wasn’t here for this Aria would never forgive him and neither would Odessa.


Finally after sitting around for a few more minutes, Ms. Jacobs appeared on the stage and got everyone to take their seats and quiet down. Dess could hardly pay attention to the other kids as they played-she could only look over her shoulder towards the auditorium doors to watch for her husband. Her leg was jiggling so much that her teeth were chattering and finally as there was a break in performances Dess spotted two men rushing down the aisle and looking around. Finally. She smiled, waving her hand in the air and of course Cammy cried out for Andy and the smirking, blue eyed savior had finally found them. He sat down quickly, kissing Cammy on the top of her head and he ruffled Oliver’s hair before looking at his wife with wide eyes.


“Did I miss her?” He asked, his blue eyes worried and his black hair was wild and in his face but Andy didn’t care. He hadn’t planned on being late and he only hoped that he hadn’t missed what was probably Arabella’s most important performance to date.

“I wouldn’t be talking to you if you did…” Dess said, her tone serious and everyone got quiet as the lights went down and Ms. Jacobs walked back out on to the stage. Andy smirked-Dess was still adorable when she was pissed at him and he quietly sat beside her, his hand reaching out for hers.

“Ladies and gentlemen-I would like to present you with our closer of the show. She is a young talent and one of my absolute best students. This is Arabella Biersack with her song-In The End.” Everyone clapped and Dess only smiled as she looked towards her husband.


Andy was sitting there, one of his hands holding hers but his other was covering his open mouth. This had been something that Aria had been working on in secret for months and they all had had a difficult time keeping it from Andy. As their daughter walked out on to the stage, her bright pink dress flowing in the breeze, Dess felt Andy squeeze her hand tightly. They had been through a lot as a couple, both married and otherwise, but as their oldest daughter smiled out into the crowd and then sat down, they knew their pain had been worth it.

Aria sat down, her fingers sliding over the keys and she inhaled deeply as she counted off in her head and began to move her fingers. She had practiced and practiced this for months with the hopes that she would make her father proud. This was the one song of his that she would always love-he used to sing it to her when she would sleep in her crib and then when she got older her dad would sing it to her when she had had a nightmare. It was from their third record, which had come out a long time ago, but they still played it at every show. Aria knew it had been written for her Aunt Moira and she knew that it meant a lot to her mom and really it meant a lot to her as well.

As she played Aria just kept her eyes on the keys-focus. Music wasn’t her great passion in life-Arabella was going to be a vet and take care of as many animals as she could, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t still love music. Oliver had his art and Cammy would probably be the biggest rockstar of them all, but in that moment Aria knew that it was all her. She was halfway through and as she got to the solo part of the song, she trained her blue eyes out towards the audience. Was her father out there? Had he made it in time to see her perform this song for him?

As she looked out into the dark audience, all Aria could make out was one lone person standing on their feet. He was tall, skinny and instantly she knew it was her father. Normally she would be embarrassed, but Arabella knew that this was her father’s way of showing how proud of her he was. As she finished up and smoothed her dress down before standing, Aria sighed in relief. Playing the piano had always been fun for her, but she had other passions in life. Standing up, Aria moved to the center of the stage and noticed that her entire family were on their feet, clapping loudly and shouting her name.

Nobody was clapping as loud or as hard as her father and Aria knew in that moment…no one ever would.

Notes

Chapter 43...only a few more to go guys. The next few chapters will move along quickly, so pay attention to the descriptive paragraphs so see where everyone in the band is in life-especially the kids! Hope you guys liked this one<3

Review<3

Together Burning Bright Tumblr