She's Just Echo

I wish I could say that I was special. I wish I could say I had the most amazing talents in the world and that I ran away from my parents and spent my life living in the woods. I wish I had an interesting story. I wish I could say I was born with an extra toe, or mind reading abilities, but I was just boring old plain - Jane Echo.

I was just Echo Forests. 26 year old Echo Forests. I liked the villains more than the superheroes, I ate the Nutella out of the jar with a spoon, I slept with a pillow to my chest and my blankets tucked under my feet because I was afraid that a poltergeist was going to grab my feet and pull me from my bed in my sleep, and I fell in love with fictional characters.

When I was in my third year of high school I met freshman Andy Biersack. Probably one of the coolest kids in my school. To me at least. We both listened to The Dropkick Murphys, we liked the oldies better than the new shit, and it wasn’t good if there wasn’t any screaming. Seriously.

My parents were never around much. If they were they didn’t care. I spent half of my time with Andy at his house. I was there when Lightning Thunderstien was created. I was there for every video. I was there when people called him a Satanist for the music he listened to, and he was there when people did it to me. We stuck up for each other.

For the rest of my high school life I spent every waking moment with my best friend Andy. I basically moved into his basement and helped him a lot with his music. I loved him like a brother and he loved me like a sister. Hell his family even treated me as their own. I felt like I finally belonged somewhere.

Once Andy got his band together and they started to become better known the two of us picked up and went on tours. I sold band merch at the concerts for them, cleaned up the bus, and fed them, in exchange for having a bunk and a group of five loving boys.

I laid on my back on the tour bus in front of the TV, my head dipped back so I could see the videogame I was playing right. “Damn it Merle! Where the hell are you?!” I shouted at Survival Instinct. I didn’t know where the hell Merle was, but he was a right bastard for making me look all over the God damn place for him.

I wore a black tank top with lace around the top, a little bow in the center, one of my many black hoodies lazily thrown over the top of it. To cover my ass I had a pair of The Walking Dead boxers on that I thought were pretty sexy and ended up buying for myself. Don’t judge me.

“What the hell is going on in here?” Ash asks, bursting through the door to the bus and staring at me.

“Video games.” I told him simply.

“Mind if I watch?”

“I don’t care.” I stabbed a zombie in the head from behind, freaking out when one came up to me on the side. “No! Bastard! Shit! No! Shit!” I kept hitting the walker hoping it would die and it eventually did. “Take that ya filthy bastard!”

Ash was laying on the sofa, his head in the cushions, his shoulders shaking with muffled laughter. I giggled, saving and pausing the game because I scurried over to him and jumped on his back. I let him turn over and I straddled his waist. “Hi there.” He laughed at me.

“Helooooooo…”

“Can you get off me?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m a zombie.” I whispered. He laughed again and flipped us over, him straddling my hips.

“Do you know what I’m going to have to do to you?”

I gulped. “Set me free?”

“No. I’m going to have to…” He trailed off. “Tickle the zombie out of you!” And his hands flew to my sides, making me squeal.

“Okay! Stop! Ash! I can’t breathe!” I screamed, giggling. He stopped when Andy and Juliet walked in, making it time to use my defense move. I rolled from under him and fell face first into the floor. “Shit.” I mutter, flipping around at sitting up. “Hello OTP, or as I like to call you, Jandy.”

“Get a life, Echo.” Andy scoffed.

“Why would I do that? If I did then I’d have to find a friend that actually liked me.”

“Good luck with that.” Andy grinned cheekily at me, Juliet slapping his arm.

I pointed at him. “Ah, see that right there, why do I need love and affection when I have blind hatred?”

“Are you quoting 10 Things I Hate About You?” Juliet asked us in shock. Andy and I burst out in laughter, me rolling around on the floor, tears pouring down my face.

“Okay, this is going to sound stupid, but what the hell is an OTP?” Ash asks.

“Tumblr talk for one true pairing. I ship them.”

“You what them?”

“She ships us. It means that she like, approves of our relationship and she wants us to date each other and get married and shit.” Andy told him.

“Some people ship you and Andy.” Juliet told Ash.

“But that’s like…gay…” He gasps.

“Anything is shippable.” I grinned at him.

“Who else do I get shipped with?”

“Echo. Like, all the time.”

“Interesting.”

“I don’t like where this conversation is headed. I’m leaving.” And I scampered off to my bunk.
Inside my bunk I had pictures all over the place, on the walls, the headboard and the footboard. Everywhere. Most of them were Kerrang cut outs of the boys and other bands that I liked, but there were some pictures of Ashley and I, some of Andy and I, some of all of us. My bunk was like the inner sanctum.

I held my iPhone in my hands, admiring the Batman phone case before putting on my headphones and turning on my iTunes, letting The Pretty Reckless flow through my ears. I smiled to myself and the curtain in front of my bunk was ripped away and Juliet crawled inside, sitting crisscross in front of me. I pulled out my headphones, taking them off and letting her listen.

“The Pretty Reckless?”

“Yup.” She grinned at me as the two of us got down to business. “Are we working on a new song tonight?”

“Depending on it you have an ideas.”

“Honey I always have ideas.” I smirked at her. “It’s a cover though, and it’s a pop artist person but I think if we add a twist to it that we could manage it.

It's been a long time since I came around
Been a long time but I'm back in town
This time I'm not leaving without you

You taste like whiskey when you kiss me, oh
I'll give anything again to be your baby doll
This time I'm not leaving without you

He said, "Sit back down where you belong
In the corner of my bar with your high heels on"
Sit back down on the couch where we
Made love the first time and you said to me

Something, something about this place
Something 'bout lonely nights and my lipstick on your face
Something, something about my cool Nebraska guy
Yeah, something about, baby, you and I

It's been two years since I let you go
I couldn't listen to a joke or rock 'n' roll
Muscle cars drove a truck right through my heart

On my birthday you sang me A Heart of Gold
With a guitar humming and no clothes
This time I'm not leaving without you, oh, oh, oh, oh

Sit back down where you belong
In the corner of my bar with your high heels on
Sit back down on the couch where we
Made love the first time and you said to me

Something, something about this place
Something 'bout lonely nights and my lipstick on your face
Something, something about my cool Nebraska guy
Yeah, something about, baby, you and I

You and I, you, you and I
You, you and I, you, you and I, I
You and I, you, you and I
Oh yeah, I'd rather die without you and I

C'mon, put your drinks up

We got a whole lot of money but we still pay rent
'Cause you can't buy a house in heaven
There's only three men that I'ma serve my whole life
It's my daddy and Nebraska and Jesus Christ

Something, something about the chase, six whole years
I'm a New York woman, born to run you down
So have my lipstick all over your face
Something, something about just knowing when it's right

So put your drinks up for Nebraska
For Nebraska, Nebraska, I love you

You and I, you, you and I
Baby, I'd rather die without you and I
You and I, you, you and I
Nebraska I'd rather die without you and I

It's been a long time since I came around
Been a long time but I'm back in town
This time I'm not leaving without you

“I love that.” Juliet gushes when I finish. “Who sings it?

“Lady Gaga. A friend from home sent me it and some he changed the way to play it and the tempo. I think it turned out nice.

“Will you come play it at the next set?”

I stared at her. “Please, please, please, please, please?” She begged me. I shrugged. “At least think about it?”

“Maybe someday. Not anytime soon. But someday.”

“I’ll hold you to it.”

“Oh I know you will. Now, get out of my bed. I want to sleep.” She giggled and crawled out pulling the curtain shut for me.

The next morning I got up and put waffles in the toaster. After Jake came out from the bunk room I left everything with him and jumped in the shower before getting dressed. I grabbed my makeup case from the bunk room and went into the kitchen, sitting at the breakfast nook, letting the curling iron heat up while I did my makeup.

Well, time to go to work.

Notes

This is my very first Ashley Purdy fan fiction. Woo!! Let me know what you guys think. I'm open to anything.(:

So my links aren't working right now so this is what Echo sounds like when she sings that song. It's actually Liz Gillies singing because she's damn amazing (She portrays Echo): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nst7Jo9YsJA