Love And Other Drugs

There was a renewal in the air as Luxe stood in the recording booth, the large headphones over her ears as she looked out in to the studio. Curtis, their mixer from the first record, was sitting behind the board while Char, Pixie, Mads and Lulu were all waiting with baited breath for her to sing.

The months had passed by-they were all two months sober and now it was time to work on the EP that they had promised their fans. The break from touring had been nice-Luxe had been able to find herself a reasonably priced townhouse across LA and she was feeling like her old self once again.

It was now May and there were two things for the girls to look forward to-Warped Tour was in a month and they would be attending the Golden God Awards for the first time in a week. Andy and Luxe had spoken a handful of times and now that he was finally back in the area the two of them were planning to meet up and talk.

It had been a rough breakup and there were nights where Luxe desperately wanted to self soothe to try and forget her pain, but instead she wrote and then she would cry herself to sleep. She couldn't blame Andy-he had his own career to think about and he needed to focus.

She still missed him like crazy though.


"You ready Luxe?" Curtis asked and the blonde girl only nodded her head, her long bangs falling in her eyes. The girls had cleaned up-their hair wasn't ratted with long extensions anymore, their eyes weren't caked with old makeup that they had been too tired or high to remove and overall they were looking and feeling good.

"You can do it Luxey!" Pixie called out, clapping her small hands together and Luxe only smiled, nodding her head. She shivered-she was only wearing a torn Hearts t-shirt and some jeans-as she had completely forgotten how cold the booths could be.

"Just take your time girl...we have all the time in the world to get it this time." Curtis said, smiling at her in an encouraging yet flirty way. The two of them had developed this teasing relationship over the past few weeks when Luxe had come in to the studio to watch the other girls.


She liked the sound engineer-he was always really nice to her and had been since she had first come on to the scene. He was also incredibly cute-his light green eyes barely outlined in eyeliner and his ripped jeans and sneakers look gave him an edge but not an over the top one. Luxe still had a massive amount of feelings for Andy, but as she looked at Curtis and saw his beaming smile, she wondered if perhaps Curtis could be good for her.

Suddenly music filled her ears, a fast guitar and low bass and Luxe smiled as she looked down at the sheet in front of her. I Miss The Misery had been something she had written late at night in her despair over Andy and now she was letting it all out.


I've been a mess since you stayed,
I've been a wreck since you changed,
Don't let me get in your way,
I miss the lies and the pain,
The fights that keep us awake-ake-ake
I'm tellin you!

It was as if she was letting out any of the anger she had felt towards Andy go and somehow it was making her feel lighter. In retrospect their relationship had been a lot of things, some good and some terrible. In a lot of ways Andy had been the perfect boyfriend-he had been loving, understanding and supportive.

But on the other hand Andy had also been distracted, pompous and overly focused on his career. Not to mention the pressure the couple had felt from everyone-record label, fans, their own bands-to make it work and to be the perfect couple. Luxe knew that in the end their breaking up had been for the best, but that didn't make it hurt any less.


I miss the bad things,
The way you hate me,
I miss the screaming,
The way that you blame me!
Miss the phone calls,
When it's your fault,
I miss the late nights,
Don't miss you at all!
I like the kick in the face,
And the things you do to me!
I love the way that it hurts!
I don't miss you, I miss the misery!


Some of her words weren't really true-Luxe missed Andy more than anything, but she couldn't let that show. This was supposed to be an angry song, her big return to the world of rock and Luxe had to make it work. Her voice was lower for this song, almost husky and filled with hate and she played it up as she smacked her fists against the table in front of her and looked up.

Everyone in the studio was staring at her, their mouths open as she sang out her pain and Luxe knew that the next song on the list was going to be even worse. She had taken a page from Andy's book and completely wrote out all of her feelings, the good, the bad and the devastating.


I've tried but I just can't take it,
I'd rather fight than just fake it
You know that I've had enough,
I dare ya to call my bluff,
Can't take to much of a good thing
I'm tellin you!

Luxe was tired of faking their relationship, she had been tired of it for a long time, and even though in the end they had developed true feelings for one another, it had turned sour. Luxe had ruined it with her party lifestyle and the drugs, but Andy wasn't innocent either. He had promised that while they were separated that he would be there for her.

How many nights had she called him in Skype, only to find that he wasn't around? Sure the first few weeks had worked perfectly, they would call one another after the shows and talk until they fell asleep, but somehow it all changed.

Luxe had changed.


"That sounds fantastic Luxe! I think we may just need to do another take and then it'll be all set." Curtis said in her ears and Luxe only smiled as she nodded her head and went at it again.


Lost in the words coming from her mouth, Luxe didn't even notice that someone else had entered the booth, someone she had not been expecting. As she reached the chorus of the song, Luxe looked up and felt her words fall flat. Standing against the back wall, half hidden in the shadows, was Andy.

His hair was short with his bangs still long and hanging in front of his eyes. Those haunting eyes-blue and filled with sorrow as he listened to her words. He was clad in a pair of jeans, his long legs ending in his beloved boots-the ones that Luxe had gotten him for Christmas. His tattooed arms were covered in a leather jacket, crossed over his chest as he listened to her sing.

She hadn't been expecting him and as Luxe finished the song, she heard Curtis ask her if she wanted to take a breather. Luxe only nodded as she removed the headphones from her ears and then pulled her shirt down a little bit. The door to the booth popped open and Andy was standing there, right in front of her face like a ghost who would forever haunt her. He smirked at her-God that smirk drove her crazy!

The girls stayed silent as the former couple stood in front of one another, taking the other in and seeing how they measured up. Finally Andy spoke, pushing his long bangs out of his face.


"The EP sounds amazing Luce..." There it was...his nickname for her and the only person who called her anything besides Luxe.

"Thanks man...we've been working really hard at it." Mads said from her seat on the back of the couch and Andy only smiled as he nodded and looked around at all of them.

"It shows. You're looking much better than the last I saw you Luce." He said and then reached out and grabbed one of her hands. She did look better-she had gained weight and was her cute and slightly curvy self again.

"Thanks. I've been through a lot." Luxe finally spoke, her voice low and hoarse from singing. Char reached down, pulling up a bottle of water, which Luxe took gratefully.

"Look...can we head outside and talk?" Andy asked and Luxe only nodded.


The two of them walked out of the room, Char giving Luxe an 'are you okay with this look?' to which Luxe only nodded. She, in fact, was not okay and as they sat down on the hard ground, their legs dangling over the stairwell, Luxe felt like her heart was going to explode. This was the reunion she had been waiting for and wanting, but she didn't think it was going to happen so quickly. She was still working through some stuff with Bob and he had even encouraged her to get Andy in on a few sessions, but she was scared of what her ex had to say.


"You really do look a lot better Luce...how're you feeling?" He asked, his thumb absentmindedly running across the top of her hand.

"I'm feeling free-as dumb as that sounds..." She giggled and he smiled. It was amazing to hear her giggle like that again. It was amazing to see that she had survived.

"No I get it. I was really worried about you...I think I drove the guys crazy." Andy admitted and Luxe only looked at him. He was so concerned and yet he hadn't seen her until today.

"Then why the distance? I've been back in LA for two months...you've been home for two weeks."

"I-I just wanted to let you do this yourself. If I had hovered over you then it would of been a distraction. I'm incredibly proud of you Luce and wanted to ask you something." He was smiling down at her and Luxe felt her heart pitter patter in her chest.

"O-okay." Luxe said and Andy cleared his throat. This was hard because he didn't want them together, at least not right now, but he still felt drawn to the gorgeous singer.

"We're both nominated for Golden God Awards..."

"Yeah, congratulations by the way." She smiled at him and Andy could only smile back. He hadn't seen her look like this since early on in their relationship.

"Will you be my date?" He asked and Luxe only looked at him.


Desperately she wanted to say yes-to scream it from the top of the building-but deep down she couldn't help but hesitate. This could be the start of something great or it could all fall apart right in front of her face.

Notes

Looks like Andy and Luxe just can't stay away from one another...

Review to find out what Luxe's answer is<3

I Miss The Misery By Halestorm