Love And Other Drugs

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and Andy's chest was heaving. He and Ashley had decided to break away from the mundane tasks of making a record-actually all of the guys had a day off-and had met up early in the morning to walk Runyon Canyon. Andy wasn't too into working out-he had always just been naturally thin, thankfully-and so he was struggling to not pass out as they continued their walk up towards the top.

A small group of girls passed by just as Andy was bent over, his hands on his knees and their slight giggling wasn't helping him.

Andy had asked Ashley to hang out because he needed to keep his mind off of the topic that seemed to be plaguing him every moment he had to himself. Luxe wasn't speaking to him and Andy didn't know what to do about it. They weren't broken up, but she wasn't answering his calls, her door or speaking to him when they were all out in a group together. This had been going on for two weeks and Andy was beginning to lose his mind.

What had he done?

Andy wasn't sure and though he had tried to get Luxe to tell him, she wasn't speaking to him at the moment. Char had alluded to some things the other night when they were all out, but Luxe being nearby had caused the guitarist to clam up. This was why Andy had his best friend and self proclaimed lady killer-Ashley-out climbing over rocks and bushes to see if the expert could shed any light on to the matter.

Of course Andy needed to catch his breath in order to ask his questions and so he quickly took a seat on a nearby rock.


"Need a break already?" Ashley asked as he unhooked his water bottle from his hip and took a seat next to the struggling singer. Andy was bent over, his elbows on his knees and his usually pale face was beet red and covered in a layer of sweat.

"I'm not like you man..." Andy said, heaving out a breath and struggling to inhale one as well.

"You mean in shape? Yeah I got that after the first five minutes. You really should come to the gym with me more often." Ashley said as he took a sip of water and watched as his best friend struggled to do the same. Andy wasn't out of shape, but cardio wasn't his strong point.

"I do yoga...sometimes." Andy said, gulping down water so fast that it almost came out of his nose.

"Yeah when the instructor is cute. You need to do more cardio man-you'd be able to run around on stage better if you conditioned." Ashley said as he stretched his legs out in front of him and looked up at the sky. He missed the massive eye roll that Andy shot his way, but soon enough they were both smirking.

"I run around on stage just fine. I'm actually itching to get back on the road." Andy said and Ashley only nodded his head.


The guys had all gained something from this record, but the one thing they had in common was that this record had brought them all closer together. Their third record, while amazing and filled with good songs, had really drove a wedge between the guys and Andy and it had effected the following tours in major ways.

The summer on Warped Tour, Ashley and Andy had been at one another almost constantly and the only reason it had stopped was because Luxe had forced them to talk. After that they had worked things out, but there was still tension in the air.

The guys had stopped hanging out together outside of the BVB world, but with the forth record they were all much closer. It had alot to do with Bob Rock and his recording style-forcing them all to be in the studio whether they were tracking anything or not. A support system grew out of that and soon they were venturing out to bars together or hanging out at one another's places. Ashley only smiled at Andy, who had finally seemed to recover and silently wondered why the singer had him out here.


"So I'm pretty sure you didn't bring me out here to talk about the coming tour." Ashley said and Andy only nodded, his blue eyes growing serious as he cleared his throat and looked out around them.

"You would be correct." Andy said, still obviously avoiding his question. Ashley just stared at him, his black hair tied back and the loose strands tucked behind his ears.

"Then what's going on Andy?" Ashley asked as the both of them rose and Andy stretched his long arms up over his head. He was still avoiding Ash's gaze, but soon enough he would spill his guts.

"It's Luxe." Was all Andy said before he noticed Ashley had gotten tense. The two of them had had problems in the past-Luxe had slapped Ashley across the face pretty hard in front of several people and the bassist's pride had been damaged.

"What about her? She fucking everything up again?" Ashley asked, his tone guarded and Andy tried to keep calm. This wasn't Luxe's problem...it was Andy's.

"No...no I'm the one who seems to be fucking up." Andy admitted and Ashley only cocked an eyebrow at the singer.


Andy was usually the very last person to admit to being wrong, which was why it had taken them almost two years to mend their friendship after the tyrannical third album. Ashley stayed silent for a moment, trying to figure out what and how he could say what needed to be said to Andy without damaging his fragile ego. The kid was a mastermind when it came to writing songs and making music, but as a person he was as fragile as he could be. Ashley waited patiently for Andy to continue, trying to keep his face neutral.


"I-I don't know what I did Ash. I've loved this girl unconditionally for almost four years and I just don't get what else she needs from me?" Andy asked and Ashley only shook his head. This kid was so clueless and while Ashley wasn't one to settle down, he knew that at this point in a relationship, most girls wanted to move to a higher step.

"Are you guys living together?" Ashley asked and Andy bit down on his ringless lip. He still had the habit of biting down on his now nonexistent lipring.

"No."

"Has she mentioned it?" Ashley asked as they both began to walk up another hill and Andy tried to keep his breathing level.

"Once...a few times I suppose." Andy said and Ashley only nodded his head.

"What about marriage?"

"Only twice...atleast this month." Andy said and suddenly it seemed to be clicking in his brain.

"Anything about your futures together?"

"She did mention that a couple of times..." Andy felt his face go numb as it finally clicked in his brain what was going on with his girlfriend.


Luxe was surrounded by girls who were all dating various guys and some of those girls were getting pretty serious. Pixie and her guy were now living together and talking marriage. Char and Mads were both with guys and Lulu had settled down as well. Luxe and Andy had been together the longest, but they were pretty far behind in terms of where a relationship would normally be by now. Andy stopped walking and slowly ran his hands through his hair.

He was being an idiot.


"What should I do man?" Andy asked and Ashley only smiled, patting him on the back as the two of them continued forward. They were almost to the top of the hill and it seemed like they were pretty much right at the root of Andy's problems.

"Do you love her?" Ashley asked and Andy only smiled.

"Of course..."

"Then I think you need to make your move before she gives up on you and you lose her completely." Ashley said and Andy only sighed.


He didn't want to admit it, but Andy was scared of being with Luxe. She was a ticking timebomb, just waiting to go off in his face.

Notes

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