“You have to let them at least bunk with us. They’ll be our new merch girls, Jessica and Veronica suck anyways. Yes, they’re totally safe, I know. Of course they’ll be good merch girls, they swore their loyalty to Black Veil Brides. They’re bunking with us on the bus and that is final.” Andy angrily tapped the end call button on his phone and smiled at us.

“The deed is done. No one likes a disgruntled rock star.” He laughed, and put his phone down on a cluttered end table.

“So girls, tell us more about yourselves,” Jake said, sitting down in his ‘Pitts’ marked chair.

“You wanna go first? I still need time to compose myself,” Acid said, shaking her head slightly.

“Well,” I stole Andy’s ‘Biersack’ marked chair because standing was starting to hurt. “My birth given name is Destiny. In 10th grade, I changed my name to Blade; I feel it suits my personality more than Destiny. I’m 18 years old today, and this has been the best birthday ever. My best friend is obviously Acid, and we’ve been friends since 4th grade, we haven’t been separated since. Uh, I just got kicked out of my house for wanting to see you guys perform, and now I’m here. Oh, and I am, proudly, two months clean.”

I winced when I pushed down my bracelets, revealing every angry scar. I kept my blades under my bed, just for emergencies. “I still haven’t gotten past the whole “Words Can’t Hurt Me” thing…”

“Oh wow…” Ashley said, getting up from his chair and he took my arm in his big hands. He looked to Andy and all he could do was sigh.

“Well, the good thing is, you stopped. May I ask what all happened?” CC asked, his voice shaking.

“Uh, yeah…I was just going through some really rough times, Acid and I got bullied constantly and it just kind of, got to me, ya know?” I looked to my idols with sad eyes and added, “My life is paradise compared to Acid’s…”

I looked towards my best friend, who was sitting down on a mini couch, and she nodded, giving me the signal that it was okay to tell her story.

“When Acid was born, her mother didn’t want her. Her biological mom had been raped and was too scared to keep the baby. Acid went from foster home to foster home, looking for a place to stay permanently. She finally left and got herself a job, rented an apartment and started taking care of herself. I was there for her 100% of the way and we stick together, no matter what. Luckily, she didn’t suffer self-harm like I have.” I got up from Andy’s chair and sat with Acid on the couch. She was starting to tear up again, and that was never good.

“Uh, guys, why don’t you find out what they need to bunk with us, ask Acid everything, I need to talk to Blade for a second,” Andy said.

"Are you okay Acid?" I asked, and she nodded in response.

Andy was already taking my arm and dragging me to the side of the dressing room.

“I don’t want to intrude, but I care about all of my fans. What made you cut yourself? You are too beautiful to be doing that to yourself.” His big blue eyes connected with my own blue ones and he brushed a piece of hair out from in front of my eyes. I looked at his face, taking in all his features, his eyes, nose, lips, lip ring, his cheekbones and I sighed.

“Acid and I have always been different. We dressed different, looked different, talked, walked, even acted different. Nobody really liked it either. So we got bullied for it. Every day, things were thrown at our backs, names were called, everything under the sun happened to us. We got pushed down the stairs, humiliated. No one ever stood up for us. Not even teachers. They just let it slide. Acid always told me to keep my head held high, to be proud of who I was. Somehow, everything they said, everything they had done, it got to me, it always got to me. So I dealt with it with the one way I knew possible. I…cut. I cut everywhere I could reach, my thighs, my stomach, hips, arms, wrists…everywhere.” My eyes filled with hot tears and I wiped them away before they dared to fall.

“I’m sorry. I feel stupid, I feel weak…” I looked up at Andy and I saw a look of concern plastered on his face.

“You can never apologize for this. This is not your fault. May I ask you a question?”

“Sure, you can do whatever you want, ya big crazy rock star” I said, giggling as I playfully punched his tattooed arm, trying to let him know I was okay.

“Can I call you Destiny? I like that better than Blade.” He smiled down at me and took my hand, saying “It’s a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”

My face flushed and I nodded. “Of course, but you and only you. Not even Acid calls me Destiny. Can I call you BatmAndy?”

“That would be great,” he said with a wide smile.

---

Acid and I had gone back to her car to grab our stuff from the trunk. On the tour bus, we were shown our bunks and where the guys would be sleeping.

“So, CC sleeps here, don’t wake him up until after 11:30 unless you have four cans of Monster in hand. Jake sleeps here, Jinxx sleeps right here, and Ashley and I sleep here,” Andy explained, pointing to each individual bunk as we passed.

"You guys will sleep across from Ash and I and if you guys ever need us, you know where to find us."

“You should probably get some sleep, tomorrow we’re heading to a new venue and the merch girls need their rest.” He ruffled Acid and I’s hair and pushed us in the direction of our bunks.

“But what about you guys? Aren't you gonna be tired in the morning?” Acid asked, her head poking out of her bunk.

“Don’t worry about us kid. This is an everyday thing for us,” Ashley called from the kitchen area of the bus. He came back to the lounge with a new bottle of Jack Daniels whisky and cracked open the bottle, pouring it into five shot glasses. I stared as the five guys downed a shot and they all looked to me.

“Want a shot? We won’t tell,” CC said, a smile playing onto his lips.

I looked to Acid, silently asking permission, and she waved her hand, knowing I like to be mischievous. She ducked back inside her bunk, swiping the curtain closed.

“Let’s do it.” I walked out into the lounge and sat on the floor with the rest of the guys and took a shot glass. “Guys, I've never done this before.”

“Don’t worry about it Blade. If you get drunk, none of us will take advantage of you. We may be rock stars but we’re not inconsiderate. Come on, this’ll be loads of fun, we’ll play Spin the Bottle too,” Jinxx said, wiggling his eyebrows in my direction.

“You guy are how old, and you still play Spin the Bottle?" I lifted my shot glass toward Ashley and smirked.

“Fill’er up baby,” I said, smiling at him.

Ashley filled my glass and I downed the shot, wincing as the acid-like liquid slithered down my throat. I raised my glass, pleading for another shot. He filled my glass again and again, and soon, I was at eight shots of whisky. I was surprised that I hadn't passed out by then.

“Whoa there, that’s enough, Blade. It’s time to play Spin the Bottle,” Jake said, slurring his words a little.

“Damn, this girl is hardcore, I’ve only had three shots, she’s done twice as many plus two more, and it’s her first time drinking!” Ashley said, nudging Andy who had only done three shot as well.

“Rules, no guys kissing guys, if it lands on a guy, kiss their cheek or hand. If it lands on Blade….take it easy. Okay, Ashley, you first, because we’re using your bottle of Jack,” Jinxx announced, placing the bottle on its side on the floor. The guys gathered in a circle on the floor and Ashley spun the bottle. It landed on CC, and he groaned as he kissed CC’s cheek, wiping his mouth afterwards.

“Ooh, Cashley, I ship it,” I slurred, and I giggled at all the ship names the BVB Army had come up with. CC spun the bottle and it landed on Jake. I drunkenly laughed and thought “Cake is real” as CC kissed Jake’s hand. Jake spun the bottle and it landed on Jinxx.

“Janxx is real too guys,” I said out loud, laughing at their horrified reactions. Jinxx spun the bottle and it landed on Ashley.

“Guys,” I said, right before Jinxx was going to kiss Ashley’s cheek. “Jashley.”

“Okay, is there a ship name for all of us?” Andy exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air in defeat.

“Well, to name a few, Andley, Cake, Cashley, Janxx, Jandy, Jashley, and Candy,” and I laughed at their disgusted expressions.

“Jesus, these fan girls take it too far,” Andy said, crossing his lanky, leather clad legs. Ashley took hold of the bottle and spun it, looking at me with hungry eyes. To his luck, it landed on me, and he pulled me into his lap.

“Get ready babe, this is gonna be wild,” he said, and I could smell the alcohol on his breath. I put my arms around his neck and he bent down to kiss me. As soon as our lips made contact, he shoved his tongue in my mouth and explored it.

After about two minutes of vigorous making out with the one and only Ashley Purdy, Andy cleared his throat, tapped Ashley’s shoulder and he looked up and glared.

“What.” It wasn’t a question, it was more of a daring statement.

“The game?” Andy said, pointing to half full whisky bottle on the floor.

“Oh right.” I tried to move from his lap but he pulled me back making me giggle. “You can spin the bottle from here babe,” he whispered in my ear and I felt something hard against my jeans.

“Easy there killer,” I said, slurring the ‘s’ in ‘easy’. I grabbed the bottle and spun it, watching Andy’s hopeful eyes. It landed in between Andy and CC and Jake spoke up.

“She gets to choose,” he said, taking the bottle and filling his shot glass once again.

“I choose Andy,” I said simply. CC groaned and muttered “yeah, they always do.”

I crawled out of Ashley’s lap and placed myself in Andy’s. I looked up into his eyes and smiled slightly.

“Hi,” I said quietly, sounding like a scared little five-year-old. I stared into his eyes and found a hint of lust hidden behind wonderment.

“Hi,” he said back and he leaned down and gently placed his soft lips onto mine. After a few seconds, he deepened the kiss, opening his mouth and putting a hand on the side of my head. He pushed his tongue through my lips and lightly explored, letting me do the same. His kiss made me feel different than Ashley’s. Andy’s kiss was….well, less rough for starters, but it was, filled with passion, filled with much more than the lust that lined his lips.

My thoughts were broken when he bit down on my bottom lip and I groaned underneath him, doing the same to him. My hands snaked up his chest and around his neck, and I tangled my fingers in his long hair, pulling slightly. He pulled back for air and caught his breath, his erection rock hard beneath me. He pressed his forehead onto mine and he smiled.

“Thank you,” he whispered, and the guys around us cheered and clapped at our performance.

Andy removed me from his lap and just smirked at me.

“Well, this drunk girl is tired and is going to bed. Night freaksss!” I stood up and wobbled, from all the alcohol in my system. I stumbled back to my bunk and after several failed attempts, Andy came to my rescue and helped me onto the mattress. He pulled the blanket up and kissed my forehead, whispering “Goodnight Destiny.”

Before I nodded off completely, I heard the guys talking out in the lounge.

“So Andy,” I head Jinxx say. “You and Blade, huh?”

“Come on guys, she’s just the merch girl. She’s drunk, she’s not going to remember this.” His deep voice was unmistakable and I felt the stinging hot tears from earlier. They clouded my vision and I stood up, trying not to lose it. He didn’t care about me. He just needed a new merch girl, one that would adore every last bit of him and do what he says when he says it. He was playing me.

I stumbled to the bathroom before emptying the contents in my stomach into the toilet, and I cried as I sat in the bathroom. It reeked of my vomit and I flushed the toilet, trying to drown out my sobs.

I heard a knock on the tiny door and I replied in a small voice, scared that it was Andy. Sure enough, his deep voice came through the door, asking if I was okay and I stood up, smoothing out my shirt and jeans. I opened the door and pushed past Andy, climbing into my bunk.

“Hey, Destiny, what’s wrong?” He followed my and stared as I climbed up onto the mattress.

“It’s Blade. And I’m just a merch girl, that’s all I’ll ever be to you. Goodnight Andy, I can fend for myself.” I rolled over in my bunk and laid there until I heard his heavy footsteps walk into the lounge.

A merch girl. That’s what I am.

Notes

Hey guys! Sorry I was gone so long, my week has been crazyyy! I love you guys! Check out my other story Angels and Saviors and Whatnot <3 Stay Strong Pinjas!

By the way, I completely support Andley.