Daddy's Little Surprise

“Daddy, where are we going?” Evangeline asked once Andy secured her into her car seat, he looked at her with love then kissed her forehead lightly.
“You’ll see.”
“Is it a surprise?" she asked with a smile.
"Yes it is," he replied. "do you like surprises?"
"I love them!" she exclaimed, he was glad that he was actually doing something right. He pulled himself out of the backseat and shut the door then hopped into the driver seat where Juliet sat in the passenger seat waiting for him to get going, he started the ignition then carefully backed out of the driveway.
"Where are we going?" Juliet asked while staring at him but before he could respond, Evangeline replied for him.
"It's a surprise!"
Andy chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "What she said."
Juliet smiled softly then turned away from Andy to stare out the passenger window, she did thought Andy could have at least told her where they were going so she could decide if she wanted to go or not but obviously he wasn't going to give her that option. She should be still packing, packing was a lot more important because they were leaving in just a few days and weren't ready for these long weeks on The Black Mass tour. Andy kept his firm grip on the steering wheel while watching the road carefully just in case he spotted an idiot not paying attention, the last thing he wanted was to be involved in a car accident with two of his girls, especially his three year old daughter in the backseat. He could never forgive himself if something bad happened to that little girl on his watch, whether or not he could have controlled it. He glanced into the rear view mirror and smiled as he saw Evangeline staring out the window, watching things pass the vehicle in a rapid speed. Her very blue eyes were lit with happiness and he could see her smile across her cheeks. He didn't know how he could love someone so immediate, but when he found out she was his daughter, there was a love that stirred in his heart. Since then he could look at her and just smile, she was really his daughter, he couldn't imagine Ariel lying to him and obviously she wasn't because she wasn't asking for child's support. That night on the tour bus really did happen and Andy got something out of it that permanently changed his life, he thought he was just a rockstar with a great career and dream, with an amazing girlfriend but secretly he was a father and he wouldn't change that for the world.
Juliet reached towards the radio and turned it on before switching to CD to play one of her albums, she pushed the CD into the CD player and pressed play. She turned the volume up slightly and in a second her voice was surrounding the inside of the vehicle while she softly sang along to it. Evangeline looked away from the window and glared straight ahead at Andy and Juliet, confusion on her face as she didn't know this band nor this song.
"Daddy?" she asked, his blue eyes looked into the rear view mirror immediately to look at his little girl.
"Yes?"
"What is this?" she asked curiously and he knew she was talking about Juliet, he smiled brightly.
"It's Juliet's band, Automatic Loveletter."
"Oh." Evangeline replied, turning her head back towards the window. He chuckled and shook his head side to side lightly, was it just him or was it that everything she did was just so darn cute?
Andy drove for minutes until he pulled over to a sidewalk in front of a building that had a sign hanging overhead that said "ROMP", Juliet looked at the sign and immediately shook her head side to side. The last thing she wanted to be seen in was here. Andy found an empty parking lot and cut off the engine, turning around to look at Evangeline who stared at the building with curiosity.
"You're going to have fun, trust me." he told her and she looked at him with a smile.
He climbed out of the vehicle with sunglasses covering his eyes, he pulled her out of her car seat and set her on her feet then took her hand once Juliet joined his side.
"Why are we here?" she whispered, Andy looked at her with a blank facial expression.
"Because it's for kids and if you've forgotten dear, we have a kid beside us." he replied, motioning towards Evangeline who was distracted by the building.
"Are you sure you want to bring her here?" Juliet interrogated before they reached the doors, Andy pulled it open and motioned them inside.
"Got a better place to take her to, babe?"
Juliet didn't reply though and Andy knew that was his answer, once they entered Evangeline's mouth formed an O and her eyes illuminated with excitement yet even though she was excited and wanted to run to play, she held onto Andy's hand tightly as he approached the woman who stood at the cashier with a very friendly smile. Juliet looked around the indoor playground with slides, a ball pit and a lot more things for children Evangeline's age and a little older. There were a lot of children and the building was filled with their laughter and squeals of happiness that surrounded you and their parents sat and watched with smiles, communicating with one another and she felt completely out of place for certain reasons.
One: Evangeline wasn't her daughter and she wasn't a mother.
Two: because of her appearance.
Andy pulled out his wallet from his back pocket when Evangeline tugged on his hand, getting his attention.
"Daddy, hurry up!" she cried, looking up at him with pleading eyes. The woman behind the counter giggled and Andy looked at her with an apprehensive smile.
"She's adorable, how old is she?"
Andy could never figure out why random people asked for children's ages but he guessed it was because they weren't sure what else to ask about them.
"She just turned four a little while ago." he replied then swiped his card and took the pen to write his name onto the touchscreen pad.
"They're the cutest around that age," she said. "have fun."
"Thank you." Andy said with a chuckle then led Evangeline away from the counter towards Juliet who was approaching a group of table and chairs where most of the adults were.
Evangeline was just dying to get going, to run and play and to explore and Andy could tell just by how she stared at everything with awe.
"Daddy, can I go now?"
"Hold on a minute sweetheart, I'll come with you," Andy said then handed Juliet his cell phone to keep safe just in case. She took his phone without a word then watched him turn his complete concentration towards Evangeline. "okay, I'll follow you." he told her then released her hand, she took off running immediately and he had to run after her to keep up. She ran up some colorful green and pink stairs to a pink slide where she slid down with a giggle, once she got to her feet again she ran back up the stairs to a bigger green swirly slide and Andy watched her slide down it with a huge smile on his face. Something told him this was a great idea. Once she slid down the slide again she spotted the ball pit with colorful balls and her eyes lit with excitement, she got to her feet and took off running and Andy had to jog with her just to keep up. She reached the pit and froze, looking at it with fear yet excitement and Andy looked at her and smiled softly.
"Jump in." he told her, she looked up at him and said;
"but daddy, I'll fall." she pouted her bottom lip and Andy lowered himself to her level and look into her blue eyes.
"Don't be scared sweetie, you're a big girl."
She looked at the pit for a moment in silence then smiled big.
"Okay!"
"Let's take off your shoes first." Andy told her and she sat down on her bum, lifting her legs so Andy could take off her shoes. Once he did, he helped her into the ball pit and she squealed happily and began kicking her legs, kicking the balls upwards slightly.
"Daddy, watch!" she demanded then disappeared under the balls, Andy chuckled and in a moment her head popped up. "did you see me?!"
"I saw you." Andy told her, shaking his head side to side with a huge smile. The emotion he was feeling right now wasn't something he's ever felt before, it wasn't just love but it was something far deeper that he's never experienced before, not even with Juliet. As he watched his little girl smile and giggle jubilantly while playing with the plastic balls, he couldn't help but to smile as wide as his face could handle. His cheeks were even starting to ache but he didn't care, all he could think about was that he was lucky to be a father.
"Andy Biersack?"
Andy turned his concentration away from his daughter and looked at a young female about his age that stood beside him, she had a toddler on her hip and her stomach was swollen and sticking out from another baby.
"Yes?" Andy responded, her hazel eyes illuminated.
"I knew it was you," she exclaimed with a huge smile that spread across her face. "I wasn't sure though but I knew your tattoos looked familiar. I'm Lisa by the way and I'm a huge fan of yours."
"Nice to meet you Lisa," Andy smiled then he looked at her son that was on her hip staring at him with curiosity. "who's this little guy?"
"This is Bentley," Lisa responded and bounced him very lightly that made him smile. "what are you doing here, I didn't think this was a place for a rockstar?"
"Oh," Andy responded a little awkwardly. He turned his eyes towards the ball pit to see Evangeline was socializing with another little girl and he smiled proudly, he couldn't keep her a secret any longer, not when he loved her as much as he did. "I'm here with my daughter."
Lisa's eyes widened. "Daughter? Wow, I thought I knew everything about you but obviously I didn't. How did Juliet hide her pregnancy?"
Andy felt the awkwardness fall on his shoulders and he scratched the side of his scalp, chewing on his bottom lip lightly.
"It's a long story."
"I understand, plus it is your business and not mine. If you don't mind, could I get a picture with you?"
"Yeah, of course." Andy responded.
She placed Bentley on his feet and grabbed her cell phone from her purse then stood beside Andy, he put his arm around her shoulder and smiled into the camera before it flashed. They said their goodbyes then Lisa walked away jubilantly but with curiosity of how Andy became a father and what he meant by it was a long story but she knew she may never know unfortunately.
"Who was that lady, daddy?" Evangeline asked at the edge of the ball pit, Andy lowered to her level and smiled.
"A fan of mine," he replied. "are you having fun?"
"Yes!" she exclaimed and he chuckled. "I miss mommy."
"I bet mommy misses you too," he told her positively. "she'll be back tomorrow before you know it."
"Babe," Juliet said behind him. "Ella and Jake are at the house, we need to get going."
"Why are they over?" Andy asked.
"Ella has some things for me, I'm guessing Jake was dragged along with her. So, let's go babe." Juliet replied then she turned on her heels and headed towards the door. Andy helped Evangeline out of the ball pit and helped put her shoes back on her feet, then he lifted her and held her tight as he exited the building.

Notes