We're Setting Worlds On Fire

The practice space that the guys had rented was incredibly small and dingy looking. Lily sat there on one battered couch, her knees bent as her legs remained tucked beneath her while she looked around. The walls were covered with posters of different bands-bands the guys admired and looked towards for inspiration. KISS, AFI, Motley Crue, The Damned, and many others were all staring at her and Lily shuddered as she moved her eyes away from the walls and looked at the guys. CC was sitting behind his kit, twirling sticks between his fingers while he waited and he smirked at her, sticking his tongue out as he caught Lily’s eyes.

Jinxx and Jake were both in one corner, fiddling with an amp that was apparently new and needed some fine tuning. Lily crossed her arms over her chest as she noticed Ashley had finally shown up-late as usual according to what Andy had said when she questioned him earlier. The bassist was currently staring at himself in the lone mirror in the room, flexing his arms and his chest as Lily just sat by and watched.

Pathetic. Andy was hooking up his mic and Lily couldn’t help but smile. He had changed into a pair of skinny jeans that were ripping at the knees and he had on a tight white shirt. If she was able to swoon Lily was sure she would be, but really it had no effect on her.


“You guys all set to do this?” Andy asked as he placed both hands on the mic stand and looked behind him at Jake and Jinxx. The two seemed to have finished messing with the amp and were now both pulling their guitars over their shoulders.

“Yeah everything looks good. Where do you want to start?” Jake asked as he strummed a chord and smiled. This new amp was perfection and he couldn’t wait to get back on tour to test it’s really ability.

“Let’s start off with Perfect Weapon to get going and then move into one of the new songs. I would really like to be able to play some of them on the next tour.” Andy said, smiling as he faced Lily and looked right at her. He wanted her to especially hear one new song that he had written because it was for her…and he needed her to know that.


Lily watched as the guys started in on Perfect Weapon and she couldn’t help but nod her head to the beat. Out of all of their songs on the first record, Lily probably liked this one the most and she sat there with a smile on her face as a broken memory came to her mind. She had been there when the guys had shot the video for this-she had dressed up like all of the other kids in the group and was buried somewhere in the crowd. Andy had been so proud that day as they shot and recorded that video and Lily could only remember his wide smile as he watched play back after play back. Those had been the good days-the days when Lily could look at this group of guys and say she was proud of them.

Just as the song ended Lily turned her head and noticed that Sammi had walked through the door, giving her a small wave as she walked over towards Jinxx and kissed him on the cheek. The blonde soon joined her on the couch and Lily was instantly glad to have Sammi there. She needed Sammi around-the older girl kept her calm and level headed and Lily only wished the two of them could be on tour with the guys together.

It was probably best that Sammi wasn’t around though-Lily needed to focus on keeping the guys in line and she had a special plan to get that to happen. Lily turned her attention away from the thoughts of the upcoming tour and noticed that the guys were in a huddle, probably discussing which of the new songs they were going to play. Lily only knew of two that they had been working on-Smoke and Mirrors and New Religion, both of which she had liked when she read over the lyrics.


“Alright-Love Isn’t Always Fair in one, two, one, two, three, four…” Andy said as CC counted them in and Lily’s jaw dropped as she noticed the name of the song. Really? Was this Andy’s way of telling her to fuck off? Because if so-then it was perfect. She couldn’t keep the smirk off of her face as Lily sat on the couch, her arms crossed over her chest while Andy began to sing.

One look and I am sold
You got me on my knees
You steal all my innocence
A love sick melody
Take me…
You always want the one that you can’t have
Cuz’ Love Isn’t Always Fair
You are the best romance I’ve never had
Cuz’ Love Isn’t Always Fair
Your kiss a withered rose
Your lips have buried me
Hearts race the moments gone
We shared this fantasy
Take me…

Listening to him sing this song and then watching as Andy fell to the floor and writhed around, Lily felt captivated by him. She knew in that instant that he was finally learning how to turn his own pain into inspiration and this was what they had needed. The first record, for all intents and purposes, had been mostly inspired by Lily and her own pain that she had gone through as a human, but she knew from this one song that this record would be all Andy.

He was angry with her-good-and she knew that he probably would always be angry with her. But he needed to be, he needed to not want to be with her anymore and in fact Lily was hoping that Andy would finally move on and find another girl-a human girl. As she sat there and watched them finish the song, Lily couldn’t help but smirk at him and relax her arms a little bit.

They moved on to playing old songs such as Never Give In and Knives and Pens, but then Lily noticed that Jake and Andy moved off to one corner and Jake had switched over from his electric guitar to an acoustic one. He was strumming the strings gently, stopping and starting over a few times as he and Andy spoke softly to one another. Lily shut her eyes, focusing as much as she could on hearing their voices until finally she was able to tune in to what they were talking about. It seemed like Andy had been working on a new song, but he was unsure of how he wanted the lyrics to go, so he and Jake were working through it.


“Which part are you having issues with?” Jake asked as he looked towards the notebook in Andy’s hands and smirked as the singer pushed the notebook against his own chest and looked Jake in the eyes. Andy was very protective of his work when he was in the middle of writing-the only person he had ever been open with when he had things going on had been Lily.

“I just don’t think this fits. Here-So here I write my lullaby. To all the lonely ones. Remember as you learn to try…to be the one you love…” Lily listened in as Andy sang softly and she smiled gently as she opened her eyes.She could still hear them, but now she wanted to watch them work on this song.

“What do you think of this set of chords for the chorus?” Jake asked as he played softly and Andy only nodded his head, tapping his right hand against his knee while his left still held onto that notebook.

“I like it. I was thinking maybe towards the end, right after Jinxx’s solo we should amp it up-switch from a soft acoustic sound to a heavier sound with lots of bass and drums. What do you think?” Andy asked and Jake only smiled as he set his guitar down and clapped Andy on the shoulder.


When they had first started writing together Andy had been very unsure of himself and how he wanted things to sound, but with Jake’s help they had gotten through it. The reason the whole first record had so much screaming on it was because Andy had had so much trouble writing bridges and verses. Now it seemed like he was finally getting in to the swing of things and Jake and the rest of the guys were becoming more confident in their singer.

Jake had watched Andy fall apart at Lily’s death and then he watched as one of his best friends completely self destructed after taking a page from Purdy’s book. Jake had been powerless to stop it, but now with Lily back and more badass than ever, Jake, Jinxx and CC were all hoping that she could shake things up.

The guys all came together in that moment, talking in hushed tones about what they wanted to do next and it was decided that they would try out another song, even though it was barely finished and they only had the first verse and chorus finished. Andy cleared his throat, closing his eyes as he thought over the song that they were about to work on.

It had meant a lot to him-more than he had realized at the time and he desperately wanted to get it done before the start of their next tour. He could feel in his bones that this song would be it for them-this would be the song that would change everything. He and the guys had talked about it and they knew that this song was something special-a different sound for a different record.

As Andy stood there and looked out over the room, he couldn’t keep the smile from his lips. He remembered that night, laying there in that alleyway, cursing and screaming at the sky. Lily had been looking down on him then, probably pissed off as she watched him laying in that dirty alley, drunk as ever and crying out for her like a small child. Andy knew she hated him, but suddenly it didn’t hurt so badly knowing that fact. He now had a million songs and hooks running through his brain and that was a good thing. Writing had become very therapeutic for him and Andy knew that it was only going to help them all in the long run.

Lily was looking at him, her head tilted to the side and her lavender eyes were filled with curiosity. As Andy stood there waiting for the guys to get everything together for this last song, he couldn’t help but be reminded of how Lily had looked that night in the crater after she had fallen to Earth. He had been too shocked to noticed it then, but she had looked absolutely breathtaking in her Angelic Form.

Her wings had been pure white, the very tips of their feathers just slightly singed from the fire that had surrounded her but they were still beautiful and magnificent. Her hair, those white blonde strands that he had always loved getting his fingers tangled in, were flying around her face in a slight breeze as she kneeled there looking up at him from over her shoulder. Her lavender eyes-the reason he had fallen for her in the first place-had looked at him, deep down into his soul and Andy had felt himself catch fire at her stare.

All of that was over now-he knew how she felt about him…about them. It was fine, it was okay. Andy knew it was over, he should have figured it out the moment she had put up that force field. Now he was looking at her with indifference-he would always look at her this way. She wasn’t his lover anymore-she was his drill sergeant and this song was for her…it was for all of the fans out there who needed somewhere to belong. For those who felt alone in the world-they would feel lonely no more. For they were all fallen beings…and they would scream and shout together.


We are the in between, cast down as sons of war
Struck to the earth like lightning, on this world we're torn
We won't cause the pain, of living out their law
Take joy in who you are, we know our wings are flawed

We're bored to death in heaven
And down alone in hell
We only want to be ourselves

We scream, we shout
We are the fallen angels
We scream, we shout
Whoa-oh, whoa-oh-oh-ohh

Notes

Well it seems like finally Andy is getting the hint that Lily wants nothing to do with him. Will he give up? Or is he just pretending not to care so that he can catch her off guard?

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