We're Setting Worlds On Fire

Lily watched with a half smirk on her cherry red lips as Andy paced around the room. He was waiting for his interview with Kerrang Magazine to start and he was more than nervous-he was petrified. Lily thought it was kind of funny-Andy was always so confident in everything and here he was, shaking at the mere thought of talking about himself. Andy loved Lily, but they both knew he loved something just as much and that was talking about himself and about Black Veil Brides. Lily had thought it strange that the rest of the guys weren’t around, but then quickly had found out that the magazine had only wanted Andy for this interview.

As he was pacing, Lily took in the Demon before her and she sighed. His long black hair, teased and some of it held back with a black headband, was in need of a cut. His lips, painted in a bright red just like her own, were moving silently as Andy muttered to himself. He was in full Andy Six gear-leather vest, no shirt, his arms and chest covered in black paint and he had on his tight leggings and boots. The guys had somehow developed this biker/rocker look that used fingerless gloves, way too many belts and they were all teasing their hair as high as it would go. Lily loved it and the fans seemed to be enjoying it just as much.

More and more at the shows she would go out, leaving the guys to do their meet and greets and she would see the fans waiting to get in. They were still in the UK-leaving in a few days for a break and then it was back on the road for another small tour-and so the record hadn’t gotten around too much, but the fans that did show up were amazing. They were so dedicated-wearing their War paint and chanting as they stood in line. The guys had been able to recruit more and more over here and Lily knew that that was what they needed.

More attacks were happening-not just around her and the guys, but she was beginning to hear whisperings of attacks happening all around the world. Unexplained things happening-lightening storms, swarms of locusts showing up in random places-these things were a sign of things to come. Lily was terrified to think of what that meant exactly. She had been in constant contact with both Michael and Gabriel, both of whom assured her that they were coming up with a plan of attack. Lily suddenly popped back to the present as she noticed that Andy had stopped his pacing and was now standing in front of her, his tattooed hands on his hips.


“What’s wrong?” Lily asked as she repositioned herself in the chair she was sitting in. Andy just looked at her, taking in her tousled blonde hair, the black and red AFI shirt covering her chest and her ripped jeans that ended in a pair of studded ankle boots.

How could she be so calm right now?

“I can’t do this!” Andy growled as he moved towards her, flopping in to the stiff chair that was next to hers and Lily only smirked. She reached out, placing a hand against the back of his head as her tiny fingers tugged at his hair.

“Sure you can. Come on…you’ve done interviews before.” Lily said moving her hand away from his head as Andy sighed and looked up at the ceiling. This was different…this was a make or break kind of situation.

“None that were never this important. What if I fuck this up Lily?” Andy asked as he covered his face with his hands, his voice muffled as he kept his face pointed towards the ceiling.

“You won’t fuck it up. Just be the over confident, cocky ass that you are at home and everything will be okay.” Lily laughed as Andy turned his head towards her, peeking at her through his fingers and he chuckled lowly.

“Gee thanks-now I know what you really think of me…” He had moved his hands away from his face and Lily took the opportunity to kiss his pierced lips softly. Nothing had moved past this point and she knew Andy wanted more, but there just couldn’t be more.

There was too much at stake.

“It’s true!” Lily giggled as Andy only smirked, one side of his mouth going up as his fingers reached out and tickled at her sides. The two of them sat there, giggling and flirting for a while and Andy finally felt like he was calming down-until the door in front of them popped open and he was ushered inside.


Lily had chosen to sit outside and wait and so with a deep breath Andy pulled the door closed behind him and looked around the room. Everything was pretty basic-wooden desk with family pictures, a shriveled plant in the corner and book shelf behind the young guy sitting in front of him. Not what Andy expected-short cropped blonde hair, thick framed glasses over green eyes and a gentle smile. Andy smirked, placing his hand in the one being held in front of him and he took in a deep breath as he looked to his interviewer.

“It’s nice to meet you Andy, I’m Rob.” The guy said and thankfully his accent wasn’t too thick. Andy had been having the worst time understanding people-Scotland had been the worst place yet. There again he loved to listen to the people over here talk-he was beyond fascinated.

“How’re you doing?” Andy asked as he dropped Rob’s hand and moved to sit on his own. He would pick at his nails otherwise-either that or bite them down to the very quick and neither was going to do him any good.

“I’m good, I’m good. So let’s get started shall we? What makes Black Veil Brides any different from all the other bands out there right now?” Rob asked and Andy chewed on his lip as he thought things over. He knew these questions were going to be pretty typical, but that didn’t make his answers any easier.

“Well we’re really just five guys who want to get out there and play music. What you see is what you get-we love what we do and we want to be there for our fans. We play rock music-not punk, metal or scream-we play what we feel, how we feel.” Andy said and Rob only nodded as he jotted down a few notes and looked up at Andy through his glasses.

“Now there has been a lot of speculation on what genre you guys really fit in to. Some call you a scream band, other’s say you're ‘pussy metal’. How do you feel about all of the labels?” Andy flared his nostrils-this was always a sore subject for him.

“I mean we’re just a band playing rock music. Some days I listen to bands like The Damned and The Misfits-other days I’m rocking out to Motley Crue. Lables are kind of stupid and pointless-they don’t fucking matter to us and if they matter to anyone else than that really fucking sucks for them.” Andy smirked as Rob only nodded his head and readjusted the small tape recorder that was sitting on the desk between them.

“So speaking of your fans-you guys have a pretty hefty fan base. What makes them so loyal to you after only being around for a year and a half?” Andy smiled-he loved talking about the fans and he could talk about them all day if he needed to.


Andy smiled as he thought back to the many faces that stared back at him night after night. The kids who came out, wearing the paint and chanting their names. The fans who cried when they hugged them and told the guys how much their lyrics and their words had helped them through their roughest times. Andy loved those kids-every last one of them and he would fight to the death to protect them. He knew they all had Demons in their lives and Andy wanted to help them fight those Demons as much as they had helped him fight his own. Their love and support had given him a purpose in life, especially when he felt like he didn’t have one.

Losing Lily, being without her for all that time, had been the worst time in his life and every day that Andy had woken up without her, he had felt hopeless. But he had to keep going-he couldn’t give in and leave these kids without someone in their lives who understood…without someone who cared. As Andy sat there in that office, he understood that without these fans he, nor any of the other guys, would have any of this. Without the fans and without Lily, Andy probably would have ended his miserable existence a long time ago…and that was a scary thought.


“Our fans are the most dedicated group of people that I have ever seen. They love us because we love them and without them we wouldn’t exist. They are our Army-they are our family and nothing is going to change that.” Andy said as he crossed his arms over his chest and smiled softly.

“Some people in the music industry say that you guys are a bunch of talentless posers. Care to comment on that?” Rob asked, his voice low and guarded and Andy knew that this part of the interview was coming. Their first record had come out to mixed reviews from the music community and the guys tried to not let it bother them, but it was hard.

“I say fuck them. Fuck anyone who feels they have the right to judge anyone else. You know rock and roll was originally about doing what you wanted and not giving two fucks about who you pissed off. All of these bands who walk around and bitch and moan because their songs aren’t on the radio-I don’t give a shit if our songs are on the radio or not. I make music for two people-myself and my fans.” Andy said and Rob only laughed as he quickly scribbled down some notes.

“So, how about we talk about you a little bit more. Where do you hail from Andy?” Panic set in to his stomach and Andy quickly thought about every American state he had ever been to in his year of touring. He bit on his lip and then just blurted the first thing that came out of his mouth.

“Ohio. I came from a little city in Ohio-kind of an outcast and I didn’t have a lot of friends…actually I didn’t have any.” He said as he placed a hand on the back of his head and fluffed his hair. He had developed the habit of touching his hair when he was nervous and Andy only hoped no one would ever be able to tell.

“An outcast? What was that like?” Andy smiled as he remembered his childhood-never fitting in with the other Demonlings and always feeling like an outsider. It had been terrible, but it had made him stronger and more self sufficient.

“It was rough. I constantly was being picked on and thrown around. Called a freak or a loser. It’s hard being different and I think that’s why our fans love us so much-we’re so different from anything or anyone they’ve ever seen before that they feel drawn to us.” Andy said and he smiled softly. Being told that he was a savior and a hero had made him feel good-it always would.

“Speaking of being drawn to you-word around town is that you are quite the heart breaker. Any lovely ladies gracing your sheets lately?” Andy blushed at this as he thought of the perfect Angel just sitting on the other side of the wooden door.

“There is one girl who I love very much, but we’re just friends. I used to mess around a lot, but right now I need to focus on more important things.” Andy explained and Rob just laughed as he moved on to another question.


The two of them spent two hours, talking about influences, lyrical content and how it felt to be one of the most hated bands in the business. Andy had never considered them hated, but after hearing what some people had said-even people he and the guys looked up to-Andy couldn’t shake his anger. Why did it matter what they looked like? Why did anyone care if their sound changed from record to record? They made music that reached out to people and that was the most important thing. Andy and Rob finally seemed to reach a point in the interview where they were finished and as the singer stood and stretched his arms over his head, Andy realized how exhausting it was talking about himself.


“Well Andy it’s been a pleasure and I’ll see you and the rest of the guys tomorrow at the photo shoot. I want to speak with the others and get some feedback on some of these comments.” Rob said as he stood and shook Andy’s hand. The two men walked towards the door and as Andy opened it, he was happy to see Lily still sitting on the other side.

“Thanks! I’ll see you tomorrow Rob!” Andy called over his shoulder as he pulled the door shut behind him and looked down towards the Angel. Lily was sitting there, her legs folded and her hands resting palm side up with her eyes closed gently.

“How did it go?” She asked as she popped her eyes open and Andy only smiled as he reached down and took her hands in his. Lily stood and placed a quick kiss to his throat as the two of them stood in the small lobby and hugged one another tightly.

“Piece of cake.” Andy shrugged as Lily pulled away and smirked up at him. His lip was red from him biting down on it so much and Lily could see that his head was messed up in the back from his nervous habit.

“Uh huh-sure it was…” She teased as she pulled him along and Andy just followed behind the love of his life.


It had been a long tour and he was looking forward to get back home, working on the new album and setting things in motion for some very big changes in their lives.

Changes that not everyone was going to be very happy with…

Notes

An early morning up date for you guys <3

I'll update on saturday as long as you lovely people...

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