Love And Other Drugs

Luxe sighed as she sat on the small couch in the recording studio, listening as Andy called for yet another take. Today was the day-Andy and Luxe had come to record their song together and it was going less than fantastic. Andy had been late, of course, and when he had gotten there he had started making demands. The booth needed to have three bottles of water in it, an ashtray and he needed complete silence while he recorded. Luxe always just went in there, sang her tracks and finished, but it seemed like Andy had to make a huge spectacle of it all. He was singing first and while Luxe had heard only minimal amounts of his songs, she couldn't deny that Andy had a pretty good voice.

Luxe sat there, staring down at her short clad legs, short enough so that it showed off the tattoo that she had just gotten, which laid pretty high up on her thigh. It was an antique looking frame, surrounding a beach scene from her childhood. It had hurt like a bitch and as a first tattoo was pretty intense, but Alex wanted her to get some ink and there was no limit to how much it cost, so Luxe decided to go big or go home. Her chest was covered in a black and white shirt, tied in a knot at the waist and her growing hair, now past her shoulders, was down and in her face, ragged looking as she hadn't really brushed it this morning.

Andy had come in this morning-afternoon really-wearing a tight pair of skinny jeans, with his black boots untied and the laces dragging behind him. A Black Flag t-shirt covered his skinny frame and he had so many bracelets on his wrists that Luxe wondered how he was even able to move them. His black hair, now with a light patch towards the back, was less teased than the last time she had seen him but it was still huge and his bangs were still hanging over one crystal blue eye. Luxe rolled her eyes as Andy called for yet another smoke break and she wondered if she was ever going to be able to get in there herself.


"Quite the premadonna isn't he..." She said aloud and Curtis only chuckled and looked at her. Alex wasn't in the room at the moment and so Luxe felt like she could speak more freely.

"Yeah, I worked with him and the band on their first record and he was like that. Trust me-it isn't because Andy likes being a pain in the ass...he's just really passionate about what he does and he wants it to sound as good as it can." Luxe only rolled her eyes more and looked towards the singer in the booth. He was pacing around, his cigarette in his lips and his eyes were closed.

“So what are they like?” Luxe asked as she repositioned herself on the couch so that she was facing Curtis. The producer smirked as he turned in his chair and took a sip of his drink before answering her.

“Not as tough as they come off in interviews. They’re like normal guys-they can be loud, obnoxious and crass, but they love one another and I’ll tell you something…they would do anything for their fans. Andy can be pretty full of himself, but that band has been through a lot and they’ve come really far.” Curtis said and Luxe felt kind of bad. She and the other girls had judged them simply based on facts and not from actual experience.

“How come they treat people like shit when they’re out? Char has said they come in to Crow a lot and never pay their tabs and all the bassist ever does is hit on her.” Luxe said and Curtis only smirked.

“I can’t excuse them not paying their tab, but I will say that they like to think of themselves as rockstars when they’re out. Ashley is a huge flirt and will hit on anything that moves and Charlotte…well she’s just his type.” Curtis said and the two of them grew silent as Andy cleared his throat and called out to them.

“Hey! Quit flirting Curt and lets get this shit rolling again!” Andy called out and Luxe only rolled her eyes as she took out her new iPhone and began to shift through her apps. Alex had gotten all of the girls new phones, the latest in phone tech, but the phones had come with some strings.


The girls were all to get something called Instagram and they were to post at least one picture to it a day. Also they had to follow one another and the official band account-HollywoodDolls-but that wasn’t all. There was something called Twitter and Luxe now had one. She didn’t understand why people would want to know what was going in her everyday life, but she had over 2000 followers and each one seemed to love hearing about her getting a tattoo, or going to the studio or how she and Char were seeing the latest movie. It was strange being so public and having everyone know your business, but Alex just told them that it was normal.

After the photoshoot, Luxe had been sat on the couch, still in full makeup and clothing and had done an interview to introduce herself and the band. Alex had given her a page of things to say to the camera and as Luxe introduced herself simply as Luxe, the lead singer of the up and coming girl band The Hollywood Dolls, she felt silly. She had talked about their sound-a mix between Joan Jett, Heart and Black Veil Brides-cringe- and she had also talked about the other girls. She smiled at the mention of Pixie’s sense of humor and of Char’s love for music and soon Luxe found that she was having a lot of fun. She talked about their upcoming album-All Dolled Up-and their few shows on Vans Warped Tour. After an hour Luxe had been told she had done a good job and could go home.

The next day the video was up on their facebook and youtube and it was tagged with Black Veil Brides so it blew up within a matter of seconds. The video had been cut with their first single off of the record Do Your Worst and everyone seemed to like it. The girls had woken up the next morning to find that their Instagrams and Twitters had a ton of new followers and there was a buzz in the air. They had all gotten together later that day to do a more in depth interview with Hot Topic, which had been put up on their site and was quickly watched by thousands of people. It seemed like The Hollywood Dolls were an overnight success and a lot of people were impatiently waiting for their new album to drop.


“Alright! I have done what I can…lets see what you’ve got.” A voice spoke out to her and Luxe snapped out of her mind as she looked up and saw that Andy was out of the booth and standing in front of her. His hands were held out for her to take and as she placed her hands in his, something ran through her body and Luxe shivered.

“T-thanks.” She said as Luxe pulled herself up and was now standing right in front of Andy. He smirked at her, his lip ring shining in the dim lighting and then he dropped her hands and looked away from her. Something had been in his blue eyes for just a moment-attraction?

“No problem.” Andy said as he quickly sat down and Luxe sighed and moved towards the booth.


Before she had been terrified to sing in front of people-even just Curtis and Alex-but now it was normal and she quickly snapped the headphones on her ears and waited for Curtis to start the track. It was a simple piece of music-just an acoustic guitar and slight bit of drumming in the back ground. She had been given the music and a tape of the track a week ago so she could practice it and as Luxe opened her mouth and looked out towards Curtis, she smirked. Andy had been sitting on the couch, his nose in his phone, but as soon as she began to sing, his phone dropped to his lap and he was staring at her with an open mouth.

Andy felt like he had been electrocuted by the noise coming out of the small booth before him and his heart had almost stopped beating. The voice coming out of the girl who he thought wouldn’t be able to hack it, was not only amazing but it was also really beautiful. She sang with such a pain and passion in her voice that Andy found himself captivated just sitting there watching her perform. He hadn’t been looking forward to this day because he didn’t really see much potential in a girl that had been picked up off of the streets.

It’s not that Andy hated Luxe, but he was slightly jealous of her. He and the guys had worked really hard to get where they were-they played in shitty bars for two years and had beer bottles and other unmentionables tossed at them and here were these girls who had their career handed to them. They were all talented-Andy knew because Alex had sent him their small three song demo that would be sold at their booth the first few days of Warped and Andy had liked what he heard. The girls were amazing in their roles, but there was something about Luxe that kind of rubbed him wrong. She almost seemed disinterested in everything and while she played the part of a rocker well, he could tell that that really wasn’t her.

Oh well, after this he wouldn’t have to see much of her, except maybe at company functions. As Andy sat and watched Luxe go after another take, Alex walked into the room with a weird smirk on his face. Andy was just sitting there, his elbows resting on his knees as he listened to Luxe, but soon enough Alex was tapping on the window to the booth and Luxe got a look of worry on her face. Andy had heard a lot about Alex McFadden-heard that he treated the girls like a product and nothing else, but that was just gossip and Andy didn’t buy in to gossip.


“Luxe! Sorry to interrupt-you were sounding so great doll-but I wanted to come to you and Andy with a little…idea that I had while outside talking to Jay.” Alex was grinning from ear to ear and Luxe could only imagine what Jay-Interscope’s head producer-had in mind for the two of them.

“I almost don’t even want to know…” Andy grumbled, his tattooed arms crossed over his chest and Luxe only smirked. She didn’t like the cocky singer, but she couldn’t help but mirror his lack of enthusiasm.

“Oh but you do! We think it would be a really great and fun idea if you took Luxe out.” Alex said and Luxe felt her heart stop. Andy had his head cocked to one side, one eyebrow raised and a slight frown on his lips.

“Take her out…like on a date?” He asked and Alex nodded his head vigorously.

“Yes! We were thinking perhaps the night before Warped starts-after the bands practice of course-that way you guys have enough time to sort out where you want to go.” Alex seemed so enthusiastic about this idea and Luxe knew she wouldn’t have much of a choice. But Andy did and she was hoping that he would just refuse so she wouldn’t have to.

“I really don’t think that’s a great idea Alex.” Andy said and the producer’s face fell slightly.

“Well it’s all been set in motion. You will take her out the night before Warped Tour starts and further more you will be side stage every single day she performs. Luxe, same for you-when Andy and Black Veil Brides play, I want you on the side of that stage, jumping around and enjoying yourself.” Alex said, his voice stern as he looked at the two singers before him. Why did they have to be so fucking difficult? Why did they have to make things so hard?

“And why should I listen to you? Sorry Luxe-but she’s your product and I’m not…” Andy said and Luxe shrank back. He was angry, almost as angry as he had been that first day in the studio.

“She is my product, but you’ve been asking for a bigger budget on your projects for BVB and Jay isn’t going to give it to you unless your cooperate. Understand?” Alex had a nasty gleam in his eyes and Andy quickly clamped his mouth shut.

“Good, we understand one another then. Since you aren’t overly enthused about this idea, I’ll make the reservations for that night and have them sent to you via text. Luxe-have a good session and Andy…be a little more supportive of your fellow musician…” Alex said as he backed away from them and then left the room.


Luxe jumped as there was a loud bang as Andy had kicked the nearest object, which was a folding metal chair that now was sitting on the floor. Curtis had remained silent in his chair and Luxe only held back her tears as she walked off towards the booth and placed the headphones back on her ears. She put all of her sadness and anger into the next take and as Luxe sang, she noticed that Andy was nolonger watching her. He was on his phone, speaking in to it angrily and while she couldn’t hear his words, she could tell by the set of his face that Andy Six was not a happy camper right now.

Why should he be? They were being forced together and they knew nothing about one another except for the fact that they didn’t like eachother. This date was going to be interesting…infact the entire summer was going to be pretty interesting.

Notes

Blackmail can be a nasty, nasty thing. Will they do it? Will Luxe and Andy go out together or will something else happen to keep them from killing one another?

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