Spin the Bottle

-Andy's POV-

Thank god the next day was Saturday and we could sleep in. I had my arm around a quivering Ashley as I walked him downstairs to tell my parents what had happened. My mother gasped when she saw us, dropping her newspaper and leaving the couch at once.
"What happened? Are you two alright?"
"Not exactly. Ashes, do you want to sit down at the table while we tell her?" He nodded, choosing to sit on my lap. I noticed that dad had ceased playing with Lucy and Mark was watching us from the computer.
"My parents want to see me again. They apologized and want to meet Andy. I don't know anything else other than that. I don't know if I even want to see them again." I could see the tears in his eyes threatening to spill over.
"It's ok, Ashes," I reminded him calmly, brushing away one that had leaked out.
"Thanks, Andy," he mumbled, squeezing my hand.
"I can see the problem here, Ashley, but it's all your choice. We support whatever you want. So what would you like to happen? Also, try putting yourself in their place. If they're apologizing, they could be overrun with guilt and want nothing more than to at least see you again." He nodded.
"I-I guess they could come over here to meet everyone."
"I think that's a very mature choice, Ashley. Things like this are hard, and you're handling it very well, especially for someone your age. Invite them over for dinner in a few nights, that's when winter break begins for you guys." Ashley sighed in relief.
"Thank you so much, Mrs. Biersack. Honestly, you people are the nicest people I've ever known."

-Ashley's POV-

-Time skip-Ashley's parents are arriving-

God, I was so nervous. It had been almost four months since they kicked me out. I was afraid for Andy, too. Yes, he was perfect, but what would my homophobic parents think of him?
"Andy, I'm worried," I blurted out suddenly. I was gripping his hand tightly, waiting at the door for my parents to arrive. He turned to me, staring into my soul with those piercing blue eyes of his.
"Don't be, darling. Everything will be fine, I promise. As long as I'm here, nothing bad will ever happen to you, ok?" He reassured me with a silky voice.
"Ok," I whispered in response. I closed my eyes, leaning in to kiss him one last time before they came. It was deep yet soft, long yet over too soon when the doorbell rang. Thankfully, I was calm now. Andy always managed to do that, I really did love him more than anything. He was my hero, my savior, my guardian angel who protected me when I was weak. He was my everything, my parents could never change that. I dared let go of his hand to open the door. My mother hugged me as soon as she saw me, a bouquet of flowers in one hand. I found myself hugging her back. As much as I feared to admit it, I missed them. A lot. Before I knew it, my father's arms were around me as well.
"We missed you so much, Ashley," he whispered.
"We're sorry," she added. "So, so, sorry. It was beyond wrong to do that to you. Please forgive us," she begged.
"I-I," I stuttered. I wanted to, but I didn't know if I could. "We can talk more later." She nodded, and they both pulled away.
"So, could we meet the family you've been staying with?" She asked.
"Of course. First off, this is Andy, my boyfriend," I said, motioning to Andy, who was next to me. He had previously been standing there awkwardly, but was now more focused.
"Hello," he greeted them, shaking their hands. "I'm Andy. My parents are also in the living room if you would like to meet them," he offered, and they nodded and followed him there.
"Oh, hello, Mr. and Mrs. Purdy, I'm Amy Biersack, Andy's mom," she introduced herself in friendly tone. So far, so good. Just breathe, Ashley, I reminded myself. Andy and I sat down on the couch together while the parents talked up a storm. He was holding my hand, but really, I wished he could hold me in his arms right now, kiss me and tell me everything will be alright, like he did earlier. But my dad was on my other side, so he couldn't.
"So, Andy, I heard you have two younger siblings. May we meet them?" My mom asked Andy.
"Sure," he replied, standing up. "Ashley and I can go upstairs and get them." Thank you, Andy. He made it 'we' on purpose, knowing that the last thing I wanted was to be left here alone.
"Uh, how about you stay here with us, Ashley?" My father suggested, and my heart sank.
"Ok." I sat back down in defeat. Andy's eyes apologized as he dashed upstairs to find them, going as quickly as possible.
"Ashley, your father and I want you to come back home with us," my mother told me.
“What?!” I gasped. “I-I can’t. People there don’t accept people like me, and besides, I can’t leave Andy.”
“Why not?”
“Because I love him too much to be apart from him for that long. He means everything to me, mom.” She sighed. This couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t real. But it was.
“There is one thing we could do,” Andy’s mom suggested after a short period of quiet.
“What?” My father asked hopefully.
“Andy could stay with you in your town for a while. Ashley stayed with us, you could take turns like that.”
“That could work,” my mother said as she considered the option. “Ashley, how does that sound to you?”
“Anything as long as I’m with Andy.” At that moment, Andy came down with Mark and Lucy. After much mooning over how adorable Lucy was, with her little pigtails and dress while Mark tried to hide and sneak back upstairs (poor guy, I had been in situations like these before), Andy was asked his opinion.
“So, Andy, Ashley has to go home with his parents when they leave, but he doesn’t’ want to be apart from you. How would you feel spending the rest of the school year living with them at their house back home?” Andy’s father asked. I begged him with my eyes, also repeatedly saying sorry. It was so selfish of me to ask this of him, yet there was no need for pleading.
“Yes,” Andy responded without hesitation, approaching me and taking my hand as I stood up. “I don’t ever want to be apart from you for so long, my Ashes,” he whispered. My father cleared his throat, purposely breaking up the moment.
“So, that’s settled. When would we go?” And so the plans were made. I would spend Christmas morning here at Andy’s house, then later that day, we would drive back home in time for the Christmas party at my Aunt’s house. Fun, considering nearly everyone there was a shameless homophobe who would have no problem expressing their opinion around us. Some of my cousins would gladly give us the finger. I would treasure my last morning with Andy at his house.

-Time skip-Christmas morning-

When I woke up, it was snowing. I jumped out of bed excitedly, there wasn't much snow where I was from. I ran into Andy's room and leapt on his bed playfully.
"Wake up, wake up, it's Christmas!" I cried. He sat up with a groan and I kissed him. He smiled, then laughed.
"You're like a puppy right now."
"Woof." He laughed again, smiling that bright grin that I loved so much.
"Aw, come here." He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into a tight hug. "Merry Christmas, baby."
"Merry Christmas." I snuggled up to him. "Hey, what time is it?" He glanced at his clock.
"9:45. I garantee you Lucy and Mark are downstairs at the tree waiting for someone else to wake up." And they were when we checked.
"Merry Christmas!" They both cheered, running up to us and hugging us. Since the first time I came over here, I have by far earned Mark's approval. In fact, Andy once told me that he even looks up to me as a second older brother role model person now, which is really awesome.
"So, are you guys ready to open some presents?" I asked, and they both nodded quickly.
"Santa came, Santa came!" Lucy exclaimed.
"We have to wait for mom and dad, though," Mark pointed out.
"How about we each open one and then wake them up with breakfast in bed?" Andy proposed. Everyone quickly agreed. Lucy squealed as she opened a package and found a doll. Mark gasped as he recieved a new, exclusive video game. Andy discovered one with his name on it, delighted to unwrap it to see an iTunes gift card loaded with cash staring him in the face.
"Ashley, your turn," he said afterward.
"Oh, um, is there one for me?" I asked. Mark rolled his eyes.
"Of course there is! Look, here's one." He passed it to me. Inside, I was overjoyed that Andy's parents had gotten me something. I peeled off the colorful wrapping and opened a white box.
"Wow," I breathed. It was a silver watch, with a little note on the inside. I read it, but not out loud.

Dear Ashley,
Thank you so much for being one of the best things that has ever happened to Andy. Before he met you, he was a different person, one who didn't get the best grades, was generally picked on in school, always wore black, didn't get out much, etc. But he's been so happy ever since you started staying with us. His grades have improved. He cares more about his future. He's been a more positive person, and it's clear how much you two love each other. This is our thank you for influencing him so well. You're a really great kid. Merry Christmas, Ashley.
-Amy and Chris Biersack

Wow. I didn't know what to think, didn't know what to say, except that it really touched my heart that they thought of me in this way. And that we better make them some awesome breakfast.

Notes

Haha, hope everyone liked this chapter! The last one was a little short, so I tried to make it longer.