Bullets in a Music Box

Loud music poured into the room through overly large speakers. We have been here for over three hours and I am seriously feeling good. I was sitting at the table with my mixer in front of me while Andy and Ronnie were standing and playing darts. How they can be standing right now boggles my brain. I took another drink of my mixer and when I looked, Andy and Ronnie were walking back to the table.

"So Sadee, Andy here tells me you're gonna be an opening act on tour?" Ronnie asked me when he sat down.

"Yeah, I love performing and Tyler thinks it's a good idea," I said.

"I think it's a great idea. But don't you need a band?" He asked.

"Nope, Tyler has a touring back he is assigning to me. I meet them tomorrow afternoon," I said.

"Well, I'm looking forward to seeing you perform. You got enough songs to do a half hour set?" Ronnie asked and I nodded.

"All of my songs are quite sad, but, I can write new ones and sing them. I'm overly excited for this. I mean, I love performing with you Andy, but, we both have big egos on stage and we both need our own time," I said. Andy nodded and sat down next to me.

"I agree. Would you mind it if I came with you in the morning?" Andy asked and I shrugged.

"I'm not the one you should be asking," I said.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, but, why did Ashley even try and kiss you? I mean, he knew you were with Andy," Ronnie said. I looked at him and shrugged.

"All I know is that Jenn broke it off with him and he was all depressed and shit and said he thought I was hot, which normally I would be like, fuck yes, I know I'm hot. But, then he kissed me and it was weird and awkward and scary," I explained and he nodded.

"Well, I'm gonna sound like the party pooper, but it's almost midnight and I have band practice in the morning," Ronnie said.

"I have to get up early to go to the label in the morning," I shrugged and we all got out of the booth and left the bar. I was a little more than tipsy so I was stumbling around. Andy had his arm firmly around my waist to help me walk and we got to the car. I climbed in the passenger side and he climbed in the drivers side.

When we got home, I walked into the house and immediately went to the kitchen to grab something to eat. I found a bag of cheetos and they just looked like heaven. As I began to eat them, Andy walked into the kitchen with Crow in his arms.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Come here," he said and held a free arm out and wrapped it around me.

"Take a picture," he said. I looked at him and gave him a weird look.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because, I want to," he said and handed me his phone. I rolled my eyes and unlocked it before going into the pictures thing and holding it out in front of us. I made a ridiculous duck face and Andy was smiling like and idiot. Crow, though, looked pissed off or tired. I handed the phone back to Andy and he smiled before setting Crow down and doing something on his phone.

"So do you know what touring band the label has?" I asked. Andy looked up from his phone and thought for a second.

"I know about a guitarist and a bassist, not a drummer," he said.

"Who are they?" I asked.

"Callum Ford the guitarist, and let me tell you, he is beast at guitar. And then Jackson Cooley is bassist. He's been with the label for, four years, I think," he said.

"Cool, I get cool named people. What are your real feelings about me being a solo artist?" I asked.

"I don't care. You are crazy talented and it's pretty hot and attractive when you are performing, the way you put emotion into the song and the way you interact with the crowd at the same time. I wish I was that talented," he said.

"You are that talented. I am so less talented than you," I said.

"Says the girl who makes me mesmerized when she sings on stage," he said and wrapped his arms around me.

"You have more experience than me, therefore you are more talented," I said and put my arms loosely around his neck. From behind me, I felt him move his arm and then I saw him position his phone up to take a picture. At that moment I did not care, I am drunk and tired. He took a picture and then I saw him post it to his instagram.

"You better send me that picture," I said.

"I will," he said and then he pulled me close to him and gave me a tight hug. When he let go, I smiled and turned from him.

"I'm going to bed," I said and left the room.


From the bedside table I heard the annoying beep of my alarm. It was ten times louder today though, since I had a hangover. I rolled over in the bed and hit my snooze button but as I hit it, I lost my balance on the bed and fell off. When I hit my side on the floor, I groaned and curled into a ball. From above me, I heard someone chuckle.

"I swear to god if you do not shut up, I will kill you," I said and the laughter got louder.

"It's eight," Andy said. I groaned again but didn't move. Every muscle in my body was arguing with me and my head felt like a fifteen ton boulder was dropped on top of it and was left there. I felt a hand on my wrist that began to pull me up.

"No, no, stop moving me, I will vomit," I told Andy and he chuckled.

"I'd rather you vomit in the toilet than on the carpet," he said and led me into the bathroom. The second I stepped foot on the tile, everything in my stomach seemed to want to come out. I ran to the toilet and emptied my stomach. I never get sick after drinking, what the fuck? When I finished, I leaned on the toilet and sighed.

"Here," I heard Andy say and when I opened my eyes to look at him, he had ibuprofen in his hand and a cup of water. I grabbed them and quickly took them.

"Now, it's almost eight thirty, are we going to the audition thing?" Andy crouched next to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Yes, we are going. I need to be there for Charlie," I said and he nodded. Another sigh left my mouth and I pushed on the toilet to stand, wobbling in the process.

"Take a shower, I'll call Tyler and tell him we'll be a little late," Andy said and left the room. I stood there, breathing, for a second before turning on the shower and stripping. The room was incredibly cold, but I climbed into the warm shower and felt instantly better.

After I finished in the shower, I walked into the bedroom and found some jeans and a flowey tank top. As I pulled on my pants and the shirt, the door to the room opened and Andy walked in with Crow at his feet.

"You look ten times better," he chuckled and I glared at him.

"I don't even know why that happened. I didn't even drink that much," I said.

"See it's not quantity but quality. You drank straight vodka for a while before switching to mixers and shots," he said. I shrugged and grabbed my shoes and pulled them on.

"What did Tyler say?" I asked.

"He said that was fine, the band isn't even there yet," he said. I nodded and grabbed my blazer from the closet and pulled it over my shirt.

"There, all ready," I said and Andy rolled his eyes before we both left the room and then the house. On the way to the studio, I felt my head ache try and come back. One groan from me and Andy coughed and turned down the radio.

"Do you need more ibuprofen? Or," he said and I shook my head.

"Nope, just head ache, I'll be fine," I said and Andy pulled into a spot at the label. I climbed out of the car and walked into the building with Andy close behind me. When we got up to the floor and to Tyler's office, I saw Lauren waiting outside.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi," I said sourly and I saw Andy roll his eyes from beside me.

"Tyler is talking to Charlie in there, he told me to wait here," she said.

"That's awesome, I'm here for the audition," I said and knocked on the door. A second or two later it opened and Tyler smiled at me. I walked inside with Andy and smiled at Charlie.

"Aunt Sadee," he said and hugged me.

"Kid, how are you?" I asked.

"Nervous," he said.

"You'll do fine. Is he singing one of his own songs or one of theirs?" I asked.

"Well, since they only have two recorded songs, and they are kind of dumb songs, the band actually learned a song of Charlie's and he is using one of his own," Tyler answered.

"Which one?" I asked.

"Victim," Charlie said and I nodded. A minute later there was a knock on the door.

"That better be them," Tyler muttered before opening the door and in walked four male teenagers around Charlie's age. They all had either the stereotypical male hair style, or obnoxiously long hair.

"Alright, let's head to a studio," Tyler said and we all shuffled out of the room and into one of the studios. I sat down on one of the chairs, Tyler on another and Andy next to me. The band walked into the studio and began to tune the instruments and the technical stuff. Charlie stood in the booth with us, freaking out.

"Charlie, calm down, you've got this," I said and rubbed his arm. He nodded and Tyler smiled at him.

"Head on in there, good luck," he said and Charlie walked into the recording booth and stood behind the mic. A minute or so later the music started and I was bobbing my head to the music, then Charlie began singing. It was seriously mesmerizing. He was really trying, but not. His voice is even better here than it was live. I looked at Andy and he was watching intently.

"This sounds better than the acoustic sets," I told him and he nodded.

"I know," he said and I continued to watch. Overall, the five of them had good chemistry, they kind of melded together. Charlie was the missing link. When the song ended, I clapped and Tyler was impressed.

"Okay, I'm going to give you five some time to get to interact while I talk to Sadee and Andy here. Be back in my office in a half hour," Tyler said to them and then he led us back to his office.

"That was amazing," I said.

"It was. I didn't know he could sing that well. Apparently touring did good for him. I wanted to talk to you two because, Charlie isn't going back on tour with you guys. Which means that Ashley is back in the concerts and his suspension is up," Tyler said.

"That's fine. I'm over it now. I am excited to be opening for them," I said.

"So you've decided?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah, Andy likes the idea and so do I," I said.

"Alright, good because I have the touring band here today. Currently they are in a studio down the hall putting music to some of the songs you gave me," he said.

"Alright, that's fine," I said. He nodded. We talked for a little while longer before the door opened and the five teenagers walked back in.

"So, what do you four think?" Tyler asked the band.

"He's cool. And he's got awesome vocals," one of them said.

"I agree. You guys have the rest of today off, but, starting tomorrow, you are coming in to the studio and writing songs," Tyler said.

"Got it," they all said and Tyler dismissed them.

"Now you get to meet your band," Tyler said and we all got up and left the room. As we walked down the hall, Andy's hand found mine and squeezed it tightly before intertwining itself in mine.

"You okay there?" I asked.

"I'm fine, are you okay?" He asked.

"Considering I was throwing up my stomach this morning, I'm good," I said and he chuckled before we walked into a studio. There were three people making music in the recording booth and I was immediately impressed. They fit my style.

"Alright, come out here guys," Tyler said into the mic thing and they all looked up before gettign up and walking out by us. I stood there, kind of awkwardly.

"Sadee, this is Zara Myers, guitarist," Tyler said and Zara shook my hand.

"Hi," I said and she smiled.

"Next it Callum Ford, drums,"

"Hi," I smiled at him and he nodded to me.

"Last is Jackson Cooley, bass,"

"Hi," I said to him and he smiled at me.

"I know you probably don't want to do any practicing today, but, you guys go back on tour in less than two weeks. Are you okay with practicing a bit today?" Tyler asked me. I looked at Andy and he shrugged.

"I can pick you up later," Andy said. I sighed before nodding.

"Whatever," I said and Tyler smiled.

"Well, Andy and I will leave you guys to it. I'll send Joe in here to help with recording some stuff," Tyler said and they left the room.

"Bye to you too," I said and looked at the three standing in front of me. They all looked scared.

"Question, why do you all look like you're gonna shit yourselves?" I asked.

"You're Sadee Christian," Zara said.

"I am, but how is that menacing?" I asked.

"Lori Ann Christian is your mom, you're dating Andy Biersack, you are crazy talented at writing and performing songs, and you are touring with Black Veil Brides," she said. I chuckled and shrugged.

"If you say so, but. I am crazy hungover right now, so, can we just kinda talk for the moment?" I asked. They chuckled and nodded.

"You are different from what we thought," Jackson said.

"I'm not some uptight freak. I'm dating Andy, as you've pointed out, I can't be uptight." I said. "So, what are your stories?"

"What do you mean?" Jackson asked.

"I mean, where are you from? How did you begin playing your instruments? Stuff like that," I said and they nodded.

"Well, I'm Zara, as Tyler said, and I am originally from Boston, hence my awesome accent. I learned the drums at a young age and have had a passion for it since. Um, I do play a double bass drum set, so be prepared for awesomeness," Zara said and I smiled

"Jackson, I am from Memphis but I moved to LA a few years ago. I've always had a knack for music and I learned bass when I was 19, so six years ago. Um, yeah," Jackson shrugged and I nodded.

"And you?" I looked at Callum and he bit his lip.

"Well, I'm Callum. I was born in San Diego and I'm the youngest of seven kids. I've been playing guitar for a long time and I was in a band in high school that was signed to Universal Republic and we had an EP, we went on tour with All Time Low, it was awesome. But we were dropped because we didn't do well. The label kept me because I am amazing on guitar. I am married and I have a daughter who is three," he said and I nodded.

"You guys seem awesome. And I'm loving your look. Tyler said you were putting music to some of my songs, mind if I hear it?" I asked. They all looked at each other before shrugging. The two guys went into the recording booth and Zara looked at me.

"It's nowhere near finished, so if it sounds choppy, that's why," she said. I shrugged and she went to the drum set. Honestly it was a little weird seeing her behind the big drum set. When they began playing I bobbed my head. It was good, obviously it needs work, but I like it. I think this band might work out.

Notes

So, I did take some ideas from my awesome commenters! Shoutout to Andyismybatman for giving me all of the awesome ideas for the story. But yes, I know it is a little rushed or bounces around a lot, but it will get better. I promise. Next chapter will take place like four days later after Sadee and the touring band has had some time to work together. Two more chapters before it's back on tour! Hope you liked it!

Sadee's Outfit:
http://www.polyvore.com/sadee_bullets_in_music_box/set?id=140439690&lid=3974252

Smiles! (As always)