Far And Away.

The fall breeze was chilly against her rosy cheeks and Flora just tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she looked around them. Andy had said very little to answer her question and instead the two of them had told their parents they would be back as they were going for a walk. His mother had given him a look, which Andy returned and Flora could only wonder what was going on. Now they were sitting in the small park by their condo building, each of them on a swing with their hands clasped in the middle. Andy was silent, his blue eyes looking at the ground and Flora could only wonder what was going through his brain.

Obviously Scout was someone that Andy deeply cared for and his family also seemed to like her a great deal as they still had photos of her in their home. So who was she? A friend? Or a girlfriend that Andy had forgotten to mention he had? Flora tried to remain calm, tried to be understanding, but she couldn't help but feel the panic rise within her. Had Andy cheated on a girl with her? Would she soon be the cause of a break up? Sighing softly, Flora finally trained her eyes on the boy sitting next to her and gasped as she caught his stare. Andy's blue eyes were filled with a sadness unlike anything she had ever seen and Flora knew that this was painful for him to even think about.


"Andy if you don't want to tell me...I-I understand." She said, but it wasn't the truth. Flora wanted to know-needed to know-who Scout was and how this gorgeous girl fit in to Andy's life.

"N-no, it's okay. Scout was my girlfriend of three years...but then we broke up." He said and Flora just looked at him. An ex-girlfriend? Okay, that made sense, but why were her photos still all over the place?

"Mom and dad really miss her-we met when I went out to LA to try and act. She came in to my life at a time where I didn't think it was possible for anyone to care about me, but she showed me I was wrong." He said, answering her question before she had time to answer it. Andy had wanted to act-not something Flora knew but interesting all the same.

"We had a lot of fun together, but the distance and her being on set all the time really pushed us a part. I visited whenever I could, but really it just wasn't working. I was trying to get Black Veil off the ground and being in LA helped, but I couldn't stay out there forever." He explained and his tone sounded pained and tear filled.

"When did...when did you guys break up?" Flora asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

"At the beginning of the summer. That was one of the reasons why we moved-I was getting too depressed and mom thought I needed a change of scenery." He said and Flora gripped his hand. Andy looked at her, smiling softly as their eyes met.


Losing Scout had killed him-it still pained him to sing The Mortician's Daughter-and Andy had thought that he would never recover. Scout had been everything to him-loving, caring, funny, smart and of course beautiful. But sitting there, swaying in their swings together, Andy realized that Flora was all of those things as well. Sure they'd hated one another for a long time, but now that hate was turning in to something else-something unstoppable. Andy smiled, letting some of his bangs fall in front of his eyes and Flora only returned that smile. It warmed his heart to see her do that-he knew she also had a lot of pain and mistrust in her life. Andy knew little about Flora's father, only that he left her and her mother a few years ago and hasn't really been heard from since. It was because of him that Flora lost everything-her home, her friends...her normal life.

But it was also because of him that Andy and Flora had met. If the Walshes hadn't lived across the hall from Andy when they had moved in, he and Flora probably wouldn't of met until that first day of school. Sure they would have still been partnered up, but that snarky tension wouldn't of been there. Flora would of just seen him as another guy and they probably would've just dealt with one another in that class. But instead they had hated one another right off the bat and hate was a strong emotion-like passion. Now Andy couldn't even begin to fathom his life without Florence Walsh in it and he vowed silently then and there that he never would.


"Do you miss her?" Flora asked and Andy only smiled softly and nodded his head. Without missing a beat he brought their clasped hands up to his mouth and held the top of her hand right below his nose. His eyes closed gently-she smelled like the honey body wash that he noticed she favored and her skin was soft like a flower petal. Andy kissed the skin of her hand and opened his eyes to see Flora blushing crimson.

"I did, every day of the summer, but then that changed." He said and Flora only looked at him. They were just friends...only friends and nothing more. Is what she kept telling herself, but her brain and her aching heart seemed to have a differing opinion.

"When did you stop missing her?" She asked and then gulped as Andy leaned in closer, his lips tickling the skin of her cheek as his breath passed over her ear.

"The day I realized that I cared about you Florence Walsh."


Flora shivered as she pulled back from Andy slightly, but she could still feel his breath on her face. His eyes were sincere and she knew he wasn't joking around with her. How had someone she hated with such a passion, turned in to someone who she couldn't see her life without? Flora sat there, her hands on the cold chains of the swing she was seated on and then her eyes were closing softly, her head tilting slightly and then it happened. Their lips met in the sweetest, softest kiss she could have imagined and it left her breathless. This wasn't like their first kiss-passionate, quick and unexpected. No, this kiss was filled with a sweetness that Flora didn't even know Andy possessed and it was filled with something else...something powerful and terrifying.

Love.

Notes