Love And Other Drugs

Lucinda walked down the long hallway, the magazine covers staring her down and she felt slightly more nervous because of it. These people-all guys-had been through this before and she saw them as professionals watching her walk towards something she had no idea how to do. She had never been in a recording studio before but today was the first day for Luxe to put down some vocal tracks for their record. Pixie, Lulu, Mads and Char had already come and gone and now it was her turn, but Luxe wished they were here with her.

As Luxe walked, she thought about the songs that they had written together-she was really proud of every single one and she knew that they would sound amazing. They had ten songs, enough for a record, plus Alex had said that he had picked another song from a writer and that that would also go on the record as a colab with another Interscope artist. It was exciting to think that someone well known would be on her record and as Luxe kept walking she caught eyes with one band who she hoped she would never meet. Black Veil Brides-the most stuck up and self centered band out there.

After that night where she had first heard about them and what the other girls thought, Luxe had gone back to her hotel room and looked up some of their interviews on youtube. What she had seen had made her skin crawl-the singer Andy was an asshole and then some. All he did was fight with people in the audience, argue with people about how great he and his band was and told interviewers that he was going to take over the world. Luxe stared at the magazine cover for a few minutes, her nose scrunched up in distaste. She didn’t like them-the girls had told her things, told her about how they would come in to the bar where Char worked, drink, hardly ever pay their tabs and then the bassist would spend all night hitting on Char and the other female bartender.

Luxe only shook her head-hopefully she would never have to meet Andy or the rest of the band because she wasn’t sure if she would be able to keep her mouth shut. She didn’t usually say much, her southern upbringing kept her mostly polite and silent, but Lucinda hated guys like these. Guys who thought they could do or say what they wanted, treat women how they wanted and just thought the world of themselves. Lucinda sighed and kept on walking, her hands shaking as she finally reached them out and turned the knob on the door to the recording studio.


“Lucinda!” Alex was in there, sitting on a plush leather couch with his designer sneakers and jeans, torn just so. His black hair was slicked back and he had a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses sitting on top of his head. He rose, hugging her tightly and Luxe smiled-she liked Alex for the most part.

“This is Curtis Monroe-he’s the best of the best and is going to help you with anything you need. Nervous?” Alex asked her and Lucinda only nodded her head at first. Of course she was nervous-she had never done this before and didn’t know where to start.

“I-I am. I’ve never been in a studio before.” She said softly, her grey eyes on the floor and Alex just chuckled.

“That’s alright! Curtis and I are going to be here for you every step of the way. Now, what I need you to do is to take this bottle of water and get in to that booth right there. The headphones are hanging on the side of the microphone, put those on so you can hear us and the music that the girls have gotten recorded. We’re going to start with Do Your Worst and then we’ll go from there.” Alex said as he rose and tossed an arm around her shoulders.


Lucinda didn’t say anything, she just allowed Alex to lead her off towards the large room that was almost entirely encased in glass. He led her in there and Lucinda noticed that it was much cooler in the booth than it was in the studio part and she was grateful for that. She took a few sips of water, the cold liquid soothing her throat as Luxe watched Alex smirk at her and then retreat back in to the studio. There wasn’t much in this booth, a wooden chair, a tall microphone with a pair of huge headphones that Lucinda quickly slipped over her ears. She could hear a bit of feedback and then she could hear Alex telling her that they were going to get started. Lucinda cleared her throat and then she heard the rough sounding guitar, mixed with the bass and then it was time for her to sing.


You gotta nasty little side of you that's new to me
I wish I knew the signs were on the wall for all to see
A penny for your thoughts, a dollar for a rational one
You never see the glass is anything but empty

So make your move I dare you

If this is sugar then it's not so sweet
If this is blood then honey it's not deep
So go and do your worst and I'll do mine
But you cannot leave somebody that's been gone for quite some time


They had played this song a hundred times together in the small practice space that Alex had set up for them, but it was still weird for Lucinda to be standing alone and singing it by herself. There were certain parts where Char would come in and sing along with her, so at first Luxe wasn’t sure if she was supposed to sing those parts or not. Alex could see her hesitate and so he stopped the music and told her to just sing everything she could and that Char would be coming in over the next few days to record her own vocals. That made Luxe relax a little bit and she was able to get Do Your Worst down in just five takes. Alex told her that was really good for a beginner and Curtis smiled at her, nodding his agreement.

Lucinda was in that booth for hours, recording two more songs before taking a break to eat the lunch Alex had brought her. He had managed to find a Southern style food truck that parked nearby and that made Lucinda happy as she could have some of the comfort foods she was used to back home. People in LA ate weird things-Pixie was a vegan, which to Luxe’s understanding meant she didn’t eat animals, but she also didn’t eat anything having to do with animals-not honey, eggs, cheese or anything else that an animal had anything to do with making. People out here also weren’t fans of carbs, but Lucinda lived off of carbs and as she dug in to her piece of fried chicken and mac and cheese, it almost felt like she was back at home.

Luxe was sitting on the couch, facing the booth she had just been in for over three hours, when the door creaked open and there was a soft bit of laughter. She was lost in her own thoughts-trying to figure out how she was going to tackle their next song which was Just Tonight and a much slower, almost ballad type of song. The wheels in her head were turning and Lucinda jumped as she felt someone touch her shoulder gently and she turned around, her mouth full of the remaining portion of her mac and cheese so her cheeks were slightly puffed out.

She felt all of the color drain from her face and Luxe quickly swallowed everything in her mouth as she noticed that Curtis and Alex were no longer alone. There was someone else in the studio with them, someone who Luxe had hoped she would never have to meet. His pants were tight, black and had rips in the knees. He had on a white shirt, a deep v-neck that was wrinkled and it looked like he had slept in it. There was also a leather jacket, slightly beat up, hanging over one shoulder and the smirk on his face said it all. His long black hair was hanging across one eye, those blue eyes heavily lined with black liner and while he didn’t have his stage makeup, Luxe would recognize those baby blues and that stuck up smirk anywhere.

Andy, lead singer of Black Veil Brides and overall stuck up asshole, was standing before her, staring at her like she was a sideshow freak.


“Luxe! I want you to meet someone.” Alex said as he motioned for her to come over and then gave her a look she had never seen before. Lucinda was dressed in a relaxed way today-her blonde and teal hair was piled on top of her head, she had very little makeup on, her Ninja Turtles shirt had a cheese drip on it and her baggy pants, while comfortable, wasn’t really the uniform Alex had wanted her to be in. He looked disappointed and Luxe felt slightly ashamed.

“Luxe-this is Andy Six. He’s the lead singer for Black Veil Brides and he’ll be doing the cameo on your record.” Alex said and Luxe felt her entire body go numb. He was going to be the one to be on her record? Oh Hell no!

“Um-hi.” She said, her tone guarded as she held out her hand and watched Andy for a reaction. He looked at her, looked her up and down from the top of her teal tipped hair all the way down to her barefeet with her black painted toe nails. He was judging her, she could tell and Luxe didn’t like it when people judged her so closely.

“Hey. Um-Alex…can I talk to you outside for a second?” Andy asked as he dropped her hand like it had bit him and Luxe noticed that Alex’s face had fallen slightly. The two men both walked out of the studio and while Alex had pulled the door shut, it hadn’t latched and so there was a slim space between the doorframe and the door.

Enough for Luxe to hear what was being said out in the hallway.

“I can’t do this man.” She heard Andy say and Luxe could feel her heart pounding out of her chest.

“What do you mean you can’t do this?! We’re paying you to fucking do it Andy!” Alex sounded mad, madder than Luxe had ever heard him, besides the one time he had told her to shut her mouth, look the part of a rock chick and do what he told her to do.

“She’s not legit man-look at her! She looks like a fucking teenager who’s playing the part of a fucking rockstar. I’m not fucking doing it!” Andy was snarling now, his tone dangerous as he got closer to Alex’s face.

“Luxe is a star Andy-I’m making her in to a star.” Alex said as the two men came nose to nose and even though Andy was a few inches taller than him, Luxe could see that Alex wasn’t backing down. She felt sick, she felt like she wanted to just curl up in to a ball and not do this anymore.

She wanted to go home.

“Whatever. I’ll be here tomorrow to record my part and then I’m done with this little sideshow. These girls aren’t going to make it man…don’t drag me down with them.” Andy said before he turned on his heel and quickly walked down the hallway.


Lucinda felt like crying and as she scurried back towards the couch, she knew that this was going to be harder than she thought. Andy was a seasoned musician, his band had been around for a few years and they were getting ready to release their second album, so he knew what he was talking about. Could she do this? Could Lucinda parade around on stage in her corset top, ripped jeans and make people believe that she was some rock chick who didn’t give a fuck about what anyone thought of her? Could she be someone else for the rest of her life?

Alex entered the room, composed and smiling as he asked Luxe if she was ready to go at it again and Lucinda only smiled and nodded her head. As she entered the booth, placed the headphones back on her head and listened for the soft guitar to enter her ears, Lucinda knew that she could infact do this. She would play the part they wanted her to play, she would parade around on stage, smirking and growling at the audience that she had yet to play in front of and she would do it all for one reason and one reason only.

Andy didn’t believe in her-didn’t think that she and the rest of the girls could make it. Well she was going to prove him wrong and as she opened her mouth and began to sing, Luxe knew that she would make it.

She had to.

Notes

Okay guys, if I don't start getting reviews for this I'm going to stop updating. I really don't want to put a minimum review on this, but this is my last story I'm posting on this site and I would love it if it got some love. <3

Do Your Worst owned by New Years Day
Just Tonight owned by The Pretty Reckless