Together Burning Bright

The sun was shining down on them brightly and as Dess moved her face up and closed her eyes-she felt at peace. She and Andy were in the middle of their two week long vacation celebrating their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary and of course the trip was bitter sweet. They had planned on doing a huge party and inviting all of their friends, but with the first year anniversary of Kit’s death being just a week before their own anniversary, Andy thought it would be a good idea to get away. They had traveled to the place they had spent their honeymoon-Fiji-and it seemed like it had been a good idea. They had done nothing the first week besides sit pool side or stay in their room. Dess had been an emotional mess, but she seemed to finally be enjoying herself.

Andy looked around-there were a lot of younger couples walking around and he finally took notice of a couple that reminded him of Dess and himself when they had first married. They were young and happily looking at one another as they grabbed their drinks from the bar and began to look around for a place to sit. The girl looked like Dess-blonde, curvy and beautiful-and the guy had a pleasant smile on his lips as the two of them noticed the empty lounge chairs right beside Andy and Dess. Andy looked towards his wife-her face was pointed towards the sky, her moss green eyes covered in dark glasses and her hair, like always, was hanging over one eye. Andy only smiled softly at the couple as they walked by and sat down, the girl beside him and her husband on the other side of her.

Andy looked towards Dess and smiled-they were both nearing fifty and yet he couldn’t see her as anything other than beautiful. Age had agreed with his wife-her blonde hair was beginning to get a lighter, almost a silvery tint to it, her perfect pale skin was puckered with small wrinkles, but her tattoos had held up and so had her figure. She was beautiful to him, not just because of how she looked, but because of everything she had been through in the past year and how she had handled it all. Kit had passed away and while they had been there for it and had gotten to say goodbye-Dess had been inconsolable. She had been admitted to the hospital, unable to move and having a hard time breathing-Andy thought at the time she had been having a heart attack.

A week later they had buried Kit-she was only a few stones away from Moira and Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery, which is what she wanted apparently. Ashley had told Andy that Kit had always seen herself as a part of the Montgomery family and when they had talked about the future, Kit had insisted being buried as close to Dess as possible. A few months later, right after Christmas, their oldest Aria had announced that she was expecting her and Brett’s first child. Andy remembered Dess being ecstatic, but then tragedy struck and Aria had, sadly, lost the baby to a terrible miscarriage. Their daughter had been brave though and thankfully she was enough like her father and refused to give up.

Aria and Brett were expecting another child in the coming winter and thankfully this one was going to come to term. Oliver was now living full time out in LA with his new girlfriend Caroline and while Andy knew Dess was proud of their only son-she missed him. Oliver and his mother were like two peas in a pod-always together down in the studio, working on art or just talking. Andy realized then that losing Oliver and not seeing him every day was going to be hard on Dess and so he had tried to keep her distracted. They were working on some new pieces for Misfits clothing and of course Cammy was keeping them busy. Hollywood Rebels had toured on Warped Tour for the first time this past summer and Andy and Dess thought it would be fun to come along.

It was hot, long and tiring and Andy now understood why he and the guys had decided to pack it in for a bit. They had stayed together-although Jinxx’s health wasn’t the best and neither was CC’s really-but the guys had all come to realize that they needed a break. They had been going strong and hard for over twenty years and now was the time to enjoy life. Jake had become a grandpa, so he and Ella had moved back to the states over the summer. Ash had of course just lost Kit, which had hit his best friend harder than Andy had imagined, CC and Christy had divorced, forcing the drummer to start his life over and Jinxx was dealing with some demons that none of them could really save him from. Andy kept a smile on his face though and as he looked to the couple beside him he only smiled further.


“You two on your honeymoon?” Andy asked and he smirked as the couple looked at one another and smiled brightly. Dess finally seemed to notice the couple beside them and Andy said nothing more as he reached for her hand and watched as his wife smiled and pushed her sunglasses up to rest on the top of her head.

“We are-just got married two days ago. What about you?” The guy said, his voice almost as deep as Andy’s and Dess only smiled. She remembered when Andy was that age-young and full of life, although he never really lost his spark or joy for things that made their lives worthwhile.

“Twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. I’m Andy and this is my wife Odessa.” Andy said, holding Dess’ hand and they both smiled at the young couple. It was like looking in a mirror that was reflecting the past back at them and Dess couldn’t even begin to remember what it had been like being that young.

“I’m Josh and this is my wife Heather-it’s nice to meet you.” The young guy said, holding out a hand and Andy took it in his own and shook it. It was nice talking to people-if Andy missed anything about being on the road, it was connecting with his fanbase.

“Where are you guys from?” Heather asked, her voice light and filled with laughter. Dess smiled-she reminded her of Aria…always smiling, even through the worst situations.

“Virginia. What about you?” Andy asked, sipping at his beer and looking at the couple. What would it be like to be that young again? To not have any cares or worries…no back pain, knee pain or arthritis.

“We’re from California. Can I ask you something…personal?” Josh asked and Andy only smirked. He missed living in California-he and Dess hadn’t lived there since before they were married, but they went back often to visit Oliver.

“Sure.” Andy said and he noticed that Heather was blushing slightly and looking at his arms. Andy’s tattoos-slightly faded and wrinkled-were out for the world to see and he knew then that these two obviously recognized him.

“Are you in that band-Black Veil Brides?” Josh asked and Andy only smirked and ran a hand through his graying hair. He got recognized now and then, but it wasn’t as frequent as it used to be, but he was okay with it. Andy enjoyed his quiet life out in the country with Dess-gardening, working on albums with some newer bands in the area and just enjoying being semi-retired.

“Yeah, yeah I am.” Andy said, smirking as Dess only laughed and sipped at her drink. They were enjoying this vacation, but Odessa was ready to get back home-Aria was due in two months and she wanted to be there to greet her first grandchild.

“Awesome-my mom raised me on your music man. It’s one of the reasons why I became a guitarist.” Josh said and Andy felt his heart swell. He heard this a lot, but not matter what it always made his heart feel light.


Andy had bands that in his own life had done that-had made him want to be a performer. His father had always encouraged him to do what his heart was telling him and Andy was really grateful to Chris Biersack for doing that. He and Dess had also tried to instill that in their own children and they were proud that Arabella, Oliver and Camellia were all doing what they always wanted to do. Andy, of course, had always hoped that his kids would all be in music, but Aria loved animals too much and while Oliver was one of the best guitarists in the world-he had such a passion for art. It was, shockingly, little Cammy who had the love for music like him and as Andy thought about his youngest going out there and making her musical dreams come true, he felt proud.


“That’s really great. Are you in a band right now?” Andy asked and Josh only smiled and shook his head. The music industry was a rough place to be right now-a lot of musicians were calling it quits because of the lack of representation the rock community was getting right now.

“No-I work as a studio musician and producer right now. My wife Heather is a doctor, so thankfully we don’t struggle too much.” Josh said and Dess smiled.

“Our daughter is a Veterinarian and her husband is a Surgeon.” Dess smiled at the couple and Heather returned her bright smile with one of her own. It was nice sitting here, talking to a younger couple about their lives and hearing about how other couples were doing.

“I work in Pediatrics-I love kids. Do you have just the one girl?” Heather asked and Dess only smiled softly. No, no she had three wonderful children, all of whom were different and had made their own happiness in life.

“We have a son and a younger daughter. Our youngest is in a band-Hollywood Rebels.” Dess said and she noticed that Josh seemed to recognize the name. Cammy and the band were getting a lot of air play recently with their new album dropping-greatly influenced by the loss they all felt with Kit’s passing.

“I’ve heard of them! I like their sound-Black Veil Brides mixed with New Year’s Day and some Metallica sprinkled in there. Makes sense, which one is your daughter?” Josh asked and Andy only smiled. That was a pretty accurate description for Hollywood Rebels-they had made it a point to be very guitar influenced and of course with Cammy singing it made everything flow.

“Camellia Evans-all of the kids took their mother’s maiden names. They wanted to get in to the business by their talent alone…not riding on the coat tails of their fathers.” Andy explained and Josh only nodded his head. Andy was incredibly proud of those kids-even though he had driven them all around the state and some neighboring ones when they were too young to drive-he knew it was what his own father had done for him.


The kids had decided at a young age that they were going to form a band and Andy could remember the constant practicing and writing sessions that occurred in his studio. Pierce, with his guitar case and book bag, would get off the bus with Cammy and then they would wait for the twins and Potter to walk over from the Purdy house down the road. Then the kids would spend hours in the studio, starting with BVB covers and then they would throw in some older stuff in there just for fun. Cammy spent hours practicing her stage techniques and Andy had caught her watching youtube videos of him and the band from when they first started. Seeing his daughter on stage-seeing the fire in her eyes as she screamed and held out the mic towards the crowd-Andy saw every little bit of himself in her and he loved it.

The couples sat pool side for hours, talking about anything that came to mind and Dess found that she was enjoying herself. She and Andy had dinner reservations, which they gladly invited the younger couple to and agreed to meet at the front of the hotel to ride over together. It was nice being around a younger couple-it reminded Andy and Dess of their first days together and why they had fallen in love in the first place. Everything had seemed so simple back then-you loved one another, you got married, had kids and raised those kids. There wasn’t anything else for them in life now-their kids were grown and making their own ways in life and Dess knew that with Kit’s passing that there was only more loss to come.

She had lost her own mother and of course Amy Biersack had passed as well a few years ago-so now it was just Chris, who Andy was desperately trying to convince to move in with the couple. The band was getting older-more tired and less able to get out on stage and run around. Ashley, the oldest, was now almost fifty-five and his life style of partying until the sun was high in the sky was beginning to show. Andy was feeling the strain of getting older, his knees were riddled with arthritis and he was less able to hold notes for a long period of time. Jake and Jinxx both had arthritis in their fingers, making playing rough and sometimes impossible. CC had shoulder and back problems and the drummer was talking about having surgery to try and help relieve some of the pain.

All in all they were growing older, but that was okay because they had lived their lives to the fullest and they had made a difference for so many out there. Kids like Josh, who had grown up listening to Black Veil Brides was proof of that and as the older couple sat with the younger couple at dinner, they knew that it was just a matter of time before they would have to start saying goodbye to a lot of their loved ones.

Notes

Another chapter down and no one has died...

If you guys are missing the old Andy and Dess and also want to read some more of my stuff(like I don't have enough of it already) then check out my new collection of songfics- Sing And Celebrate Your Life

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