Love Never Fades
One
July, 2010
Twenty-six-year-old Ashley Purdy grinned as he put the finishing touches on his makeup, an idea that his best friend and bandmate had come up with. It was part of the image he’d had for the band he’d formed, his precious brain child, and he loved the idea. He felt it would help bring back rock ‘n’ roll, something he’d felt was dying a slow, painful death during the past decade.
Aside from his best friend, the creator of the band, their other friends and bandmates were all waiting to be able to hit the stage. Supporting them on their Sacred Ceremony tour were the bands Vampires Everywhere!, Modern Day Esacpe, and Get Scared. They were all decently good friends with the guys and Sandra, their lesbian drummer.
Grinning at his appearance, which he was more than satisfied with, Ash blew his reflection a kiss before leaving the bathroom. This was the last show they had for the next couple days, so he planned to go out and have a good time and get absolutely wasted. He’d done that a few times while they were touring, and thankfully, he hadn’t done anything too stupid, thus far. It was obvious to Sandra that he was queer as a three-dollar bill, maybe because she was a lesbian herself, but that was all she was aware of. None of his bandmates knew who his current crush was, and he wanted it to stay that way.
He didn’t want any of them knowing that he was crushing on his best friend, the frontman of the band he’d joined, Andy Biersack. He was currently twenty-six, fairly young, by today’s standards, but the other man was even younger. He was currently only nineteen, for fuck’s sake! He wasn’t even legal to drink, and by the time he finally celebrated his twenty-first birthday in about a year and a-half, he’d be a month away from celebrating his twenty-seventh.
“Lookin’ good, Ash!” Andy yelled, causing all eyes to turn to him.
Blushing furiously, he waved off their compliments. “Guys, stop it,” he whined softly, blushing even harder as they started cat-calling.
“Why? You’re cute when you blush,” their lead guitarist, Jake, chuckled.
This made him turn the darkest shade of red he’d ever remembered being at his words.
“Hey, I might not be bisexual or gay, but I can still appreciate beauty when I see it,” he chuckled.
“All right, guys; give him a break,” Sandra spoke up, bringing an end to his torture. She knew that he’d had enough, but just couldn’t figure out how to tell them so.
“All right, all right,” Andy conceded with a laugh. “If he turns any redder, I think he’ll look like he’s been making out with a tomato.”
Ash’s jaw dropped with mock outrage, and they could all tell he wasn’t really pissed; the anger never made it to his eyes, which would turn black when he was truly pissed.
“Besides,” the drummer continued with a smirk, “it’s almost showtime, and if we keep teasing and complimenting Ashley, we’re gonna be late.”
With several excited cheers, the rest of the band, which included multi-instrumentalist, Jinxx, tumbled off their small tour bus like a litter of hyper puppies.
“You’re welcome,” Sandra chuckled, patting his back as she followed them.
“Yeah, thanks, Sandy,” he answered, still blushing slightly.
“Listen, I know why you put such effort into looking good,” she said quietly. “I wish you luck in getting your crush, regardless of gender, to notice you.”
Nodding his thanks, Ash followed her and the rest of their bandmates to the stage they were performing on. What none of them knew was that his crush, who was most definitely a man, was closer to home than any of them thought…much closer. Not even a gun to his head could get him to admit it, but he was crushing on Andy.
He had no clue whether the younger man was gay, or at the very least, bisexual, and he didn’t want to make an ass of himself by hitting on him. Besides, the only ones he’d ever actually admitted being gay to were his grandparents, and while they accepted him, that didn’t mean his best friend would. He knew about how the poor thing was horribly bullied in high school, and while he might not be openly mean about it, that didn’t mean he liked homosexuals and wanted one as his best friend.
Sighing heavily as he wrapped his bass strap around himself, Ash made sure his sound pack was working before they headed on stage. That was part of the reason why he couldn’t wait to get slammed; between wanting to find a temporary lover, and just wanting to forget, the alcohol was very tempting. If he’d known what was going to happen after getting as drunk as it took for him to black out, he wouldn’t have bothered with doing so.
* * *
That night after the show, the entirety of Black Veil Brides went to a bar down the street from the venue they’d played at. They hadn’t wanted a quiet night on the bus, considering that they wanted to actually party, and that was fine with their manager. Even if they didn’t come back till the next morning, they’d all manage to get back to the bus before they had to leave for their next venue, and that’s what mattered.
Several hours after arriving at the nondescript bar, Ash was drunk off his ass and far from his normal self. While he was normally a bit shy, although he’d socialize with just about anyone if he had a trusted friend nearby, he was a total extrovert now. Not only that, but he was an incredibly horny drunk, and flirted with practically anything that drew breath. In fact, he’d flirt with his bandmates, even Sandra, who usually politely turned him down with a smile and a chuckle. Even though it disappointed his drunken self and made him pout oh, so adorably, they knew he didn’t really mean to flirt with them.
By the time they got back to the bus, he’d been flirting heavily with an equally drunken Andy. For once, the younger man hadn’t turned down any of his advances, which led to their current situation. Said current situation involved the two of them alone in the back room, rolling around in the queen-size bed they typically shared without a stitch of clothing on.
Judging by the moans, groans, and cries heard from behind the locked door, the others knew damn good and well they weren’t just wrestling or being otherwise idiotic. No, they knew without a doubt that the two were having some more adult fun, which left them worried and shaking their heads. All of them, especially Sandra, just hoped that if either of them remembered the night’s events in the morning, they wouldn’t regret what’d happened. However, only time would tell just what would happen between the two of them.
Twenty-six-year-old Ashley Purdy grinned as he put the finishing touches on his makeup, an idea that his best friend and bandmate had come up with. It was part of the image he’d had for the band he’d formed, his precious brain child, and he loved the idea. He felt it would help bring back rock ‘n’ roll, something he’d felt was dying a slow, painful death during the past decade.
Aside from his best friend, the creator of the band, their other friends and bandmates were all waiting to be able to hit the stage. Supporting them on their Sacred Ceremony tour were the bands Vampires Everywhere!, Modern Day Esacpe, and Get Scared. They were all decently good friends with the guys and Sandra, their lesbian drummer.
Grinning at his appearance, which he was more than satisfied with, Ash blew his reflection a kiss before leaving the bathroom. This was the last show they had for the next couple days, so he planned to go out and have a good time and get absolutely wasted. He’d done that a few times while they were touring, and thankfully, he hadn’t done anything too stupid, thus far. It was obvious to Sandra that he was queer as a three-dollar bill, maybe because she was a lesbian herself, but that was all she was aware of. None of his bandmates knew who his current crush was, and he wanted it to stay that way.
He didn’t want any of them knowing that he was crushing on his best friend, the frontman of the band he’d joined, Andy Biersack. He was currently twenty-six, fairly young, by today’s standards, but the other man was even younger. He was currently only nineteen, for fuck’s sake! He wasn’t even legal to drink, and by the time he finally celebrated his twenty-first birthday in about a year and a-half, he’d be a month away from celebrating his twenty-seventh.
“Lookin’ good, Ash!” Andy yelled, causing all eyes to turn to him.
Blushing furiously, he waved off their compliments. “Guys, stop it,” he whined softly, blushing even harder as they started cat-calling.
“Why? You’re cute when you blush,” their lead guitarist, Jake, chuckled.
This made him turn the darkest shade of red he’d ever remembered being at his words.
“Hey, I might not be bisexual or gay, but I can still appreciate beauty when I see it,” he chuckled.
“All right, guys; give him a break,” Sandra spoke up, bringing an end to his torture. She knew that he’d had enough, but just couldn’t figure out how to tell them so.
“All right, all right,” Andy conceded with a laugh. “If he turns any redder, I think he’ll look like he’s been making out with a tomato.”
Ash’s jaw dropped with mock outrage, and they could all tell he wasn’t really pissed; the anger never made it to his eyes, which would turn black when he was truly pissed.
“Besides,” the drummer continued with a smirk, “it’s almost showtime, and if we keep teasing and complimenting Ashley, we’re gonna be late.”
With several excited cheers, the rest of the band, which included multi-instrumentalist, Jinxx, tumbled off their small tour bus like a litter of hyper puppies.
“You’re welcome,” Sandra chuckled, patting his back as she followed them.
“Yeah, thanks, Sandy,” he answered, still blushing slightly.
“Listen, I know why you put such effort into looking good,” she said quietly. “I wish you luck in getting your crush, regardless of gender, to notice you.”
Nodding his thanks, Ash followed her and the rest of their bandmates to the stage they were performing on. What none of them knew was that his crush, who was most definitely a man, was closer to home than any of them thought…much closer. Not even a gun to his head could get him to admit it, but he was crushing on Andy.
He had no clue whether the younger man was gay, or at the very least, bisexual, and he didn’t want to make an ass of himself by hitting on him. Besides, the only ones he’d ever actually admitted being gay to were his grandparents, and while they accepted him, that didn’t mean his best friend would. He knew about how the poor thing was horribly bullied in high school, and while he might not be openly mean about it, that didn’t mean he liked homosexuals and wanted one as his best friend.
Sighing heavily as he wrapped his bass strap around himself, Ash made sure his sound pack was working before they headed on stage. That was part of the reason why he couldn’t wait to get slammed; between wanting to find a temporary lover, and just wanting to forget, the alcohol was very tempting. If he’d known what was going to happen after getting as drunk as it took for him to black out, he wouldn’t have bothered with doing so.
* * *
That night after the show, the entirety of Black Veil Brides went to a bar down the street from the venue they’d played at. They hadn’t wanted a quiet night on the bus, considering that they wanted to actually party, and that was fine with their manager. Even if they didn’t come back till the next morning, they’d all manage to get back to the bus before they had to leave for their next venue, and that’s what mattered.
Several hours after arriving at the nondescript bar, Ash was drunk off his ass and far from his normal self. While he was normally a bit shy, although he’d socialize with just about anyone if he had a trusted friend nearby, he was a total extrovert now. Not only that, but he was an incredibly horny drunk, and flirted with practically anything that drew breath. In fact, he’d flirt with his bandmates, even Sandra, who usually politely turned him down with a smile and a chuckle. Even though it disappointed his drunken self and made him pout oh, so adorably, they knew he didn’t really mean to flirt with them.
By the time they got back to the bus, he’d been flirting heavily with an equally drunken Andy. For once, the younger man hadn’t turned down any of his advances, which led to their current situation. Said current situation involved the two of them alone in the back room, rolling around in the queen-size bed they typically shared without a stitch of clothing on.
Judging by the moans, groans, and cries heard from behind the locked door, the others knew damn good and well they weren’t just wrestling or being otherwise idiotic. No, they knew without a doubt that the two were having some more adult fun, which left them worried and shaking their heads. All of them, especially Sandra, just hoped that if either of them remembered the night’s events in the morning, they wouldn’t regret what’d happened. However, only time would tell just what would happen between the two of them.
@BandyBandBands
I'll never reveal where I was born, raised, and currently live (at least, not to those I dunno from Adam's house cat), but just suffice it to say...my roots lie in the hills of Tennessee. *grins* And yes, I know I'm right...it's impossible to bullshit a bullshitter, and I need not explain why to another Southern gal.
~Cyn
7/22/15