Ashley came running into my hospital room, engulfing me in the tightest hug I’ve ever had.

“Ribs…breaking…bones…getting crushed…” I huffed out, barely able to talk do to the tight hug.

He finally released me and I breathed heavily, trying to replace all the air he had squeezed out of me. I smoothed down my wrinkled shirt and made my way over to the couch to sit down. Patting the spot next to me Ashley crashed down. Andy came walking in a moment later, smiling and bright eyed.

“Here are your release papers.” He handed to me, grinning.
“So I guess I’m okay?”
“Luckily.”
“It’s a miracle, really.” Ashley chimed in.

Smiling, I pulled myself up from the couch and collected my things. I waved goodbye to the nurses whose names I didn’t know as I made my way down the white hallway. The main doors; my escape route in sight. I picked up my walking pace, longing to be in the fresh air.

I stepped outside and I instantly breathed in the chilly air. Glancing around, I saw both Andy and Ashley’s cars parked next to each other. Shivering a bit, goose bumps covered my arms.

“Can we go get something to eat? I’m starving.” I pleaded.
“Anything for you, hun.” I had never heard his gravelly voice speak such amazing words before-- it made my heart beat a little faster and a grin spread across my face.
“I’d love to go, but I have a date to attend.” Ashley spoke up, smirking.
“You, dating? Really?” I laughed at the thought.
“Yeah, Ash. When the hell did you start dating?”
“The chick is really hot…”
I looked over to Andy, “he just wants to get laid.” We laughed as he flipped us off, driving away.

---

We slid into a little booth in at Dairy Queen--I had requested we come here so I could get a Blizzard. Andy sat across from me, both elbows on the table supporting under his chin. His blue orbs were brighter than ever and the smile hadn’t left his face since I woken up.

I ate my French fries one at a time and sipped on my un-sweet ice tea. Andy and I were sharing a cookie dough blizzard, gleefully I must admit. He would scoop some with his spoon, then I would, then he would. We sat there in silence enjoying each other’s company.

We finished our meals and began the venture back to Ashley’s house. I stared out the window, watching everything as we sped by. I felt at ease in Andy’s present; the anxiety, depression, fear, and anger seemed to melt away whenever I saw his smile beaming at me. The only feeling left was something so pure and unknown to me.

The car slowly pulled down the long driveway, coming to a halt in the same place Andy always parked. Andy held the door open for me as I walked inside. I happily bounced up the old stairs and into the room Andy has claimed as his while he’s here. It looked different then the last time I’d seen it—that’s to be expected though, given someone was living there. It looked disheveled, with wads of paper laying all over the room, clothes flung every which way; but the bed looked like it hadn’t been slept in, in days.

Andy walked in behind me and stopped.

“Were you trying to right a song?” I turned to look at him, innocence gleaming in my baby blues. His smile soon disappeared, and pain returned to his eyes.
“Yeah…yeah, that’s all.” He kicked all the crumbled up papers towards the trash can and flopped back down on his bed.
Desperate to change the subject, I brought up a topic I knew made Andy happy. “So what’s in store for the Black Veil Brides?”
“Well, Ashley and I will be flying out to L.A. in a week to start making a new record. We’re going to make some music videos, and then we started touring in December.”

My heart broke when I heard those words grace his lips: a week. A measly week was all the time I had left with him.

“Awesome. Is the tour an American tour, or worldwide?” I tried to hide the disappointment I was feeling inside.
“Just America for now. They might add another country later on, but for now, it’s just the U.S of A.” His handsome smile had returned and I was so thankful it had.
“That sounds really great, Andy.” I plopped onto the bed next to him.

I couldn’t tell if it was just instinctive or if he had made the decision to—he pulled me into his arms. My head resting on his chest, listening to his heart beat as his chest rose and fell beneath my ear.

---

We lye there, just looking into each other’s eyes; searching for the answers to the world’s unanswered questions—but it was peaceful, and I was content just looking at the curvature of his face, and the simple way his hair fell. I slowly brought my hand up and softly stroked his face with my thumb.

I felt like, at that moment, I knew so much about him. It was almost as if I had known him forever. I noticed everything about him, and I just looked at him, and he at me. It was like the moments you see in movies, expect this wasn’t fake, nor was it acting. It was the reality I was tangled in, though it didn’t seem like reality at all. But sometimes, reality has magical moments that literally take your breath away at just how beautiful the moment is; it’s the type of moment you remember for a lifetime.

It was…perfection.

His soft breathing was such a melody it was lulling me slowly to sleep. I was completely content in that
moment. The smell of nicotine and mint gum made a scent purely his; I breathed it into my nostrils and smiled. He gently wrapped his fingers in mine and peered down at our entwined hands. He spread his hand open, my hand resting in the middle of his palm; my hand tiny compared to his.

At that second in time, lying on his chest, I let the feelings I’d been trying to destroy, take over; I let them take me over fully. There’s no turning back now. Even though I would be destroyed when he left to go back to L.A., I decided to take a chance. After all: you only live once.

Notes

Haaaiiii there :] Cutesie chapter this one is. Hope you liked it. Tell me what you would like to see happen next. <(*-*<) *hugs*