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Andy

Talia Lake.

We arrive at the lake not too long later, and it is a sight for sore eyes. I climb out and get caught up staring down at the lake from the elevated parking lot on the hill just above the beach. There’s a nice concrete walkway that has been put in since I was here last, allowing easier access to the beach below.

I’m caught up in the nostalgia of it all; the warm smell of the water rolling toward me on the breeze, the smell twisted with the stink of the algae growing on everything below the water. There’s water birds enjoying the weather, too. Some are diving into the water and gliding just above its surface while others are just wandering the beach.

As CC predicted, there are a couple of groups of people down below, and even from this distance, I can tell there’s a few tall, tanned women in bikinis walking in the pale sand near the shore.

“Hey CC, you got your wish.” I call to him, nodding down the hill while he works to pull a lawn chair out of the back of the van. Curious, he looks up to see what I mean. I know he’s seen it when his eyes widen gleefully, causing Andy to groan, pulling the cooler out and packing it toward the walkway to head down and stake claim to a spot in the sand.

“You really shouldn’t have done that.” Jake says, nudging my arm. I look over at him in confusion, but his eyes are hidden behind a pair of black sunglasses.

“Why?”

“Because we won’t get a conversation out of him for the rest of the day because he’ll be sitting there with binoculars and drool dripping off his chin.” Jake chuckles.

“Hey!” CC snaps from behind us.

I grab the umbrella but it proves to be heavier than it looked. Ashley grabs the other end, nodding at me in a silent, mutual agreement to assist me.

Once we’ve gotten everything out of the van, Jinxx locks it up and pockets the keys, picking up the beach bag off the asphalt and tossing it over his shoulder, making his way down the hill after the others.

Due to the weight of the umbrella and the awkward walking motion we had to use to maneuver the walkway under its weight, we fell behind the rest of them pretty quickly. I hadn’t expected Ashley to say anything to me, and to just politely tolerate my presence, but he chose to actually say something nice.

“Hey, I’m sorry. For all my shitty attitudes.”

I stare at him blankly while I process his words, finding it hard to believe from past experiences that those words could even come out of his mouth directed at me.

“You’re forgiven...” I reply slowly, deeply confused and waiting for him to take it back and say I’d been pranked.

“Please understand, I have my reasons.” He says, lifting his sunglasses, revealing his brown eyes sparkling in the bright sunshine. He sets down the umbrella so that he can focus on me with no distractions.

“I can’t just sit back while he runs blindly into trouble and makes stupid decisions. Someone’s gotta keep an eye on him on this side of the universe.” He jabs a thumb down the hill in the direction of Andy and the others setting up camp down in the sand just out of reach of the tide.

“What changed your mind?”

“You stuck your neck out for us,” He shrugs, “you were willing to risk it all to not only help us make the jars, but also to dig up our bodies, which is not a simple task or something to be taken lightly, especially with there still being the chance that it won’t even work. You did more than you had to, and I respect that... Especially since we’re not even alive.”

He gives me a look to remind me of our previous conversation when he warned me that it would end fatally. The stare sends a chill down my spine that I shake off.

It definitely surprises me and takes me a few moments to respond.

“I mean, there’s still the blatant problem of your fate-driven relationship... But I guess if he’s happy then that’s all I could ask for.”

He looks back at Andy with a lingering gaze, something sorrowful hidden in his gaze. “It’s been years since I’ve seen him this happy, and ironically, full of life.”

He takes a deep breath and holds it for a moment before sighing. “Anyway... I just wanted to tell you that.”

He picks up his end of the umbrella again, prompting me to do the same, and we continue the awkward shuffle down the sidewalk to the beach where Jake greets us both with a “You two are the slowest umbrella carriers in the world.”

From there, the boys take it into their own hands to construct it while CC stands back, hands on his hips, barking orders and giving vague instructions that earn him dirty glares from Andy and the others because of his lack of actual assistance.

I look around, spotting Eliza sitting up near the treeline in the sand. I walk toward her, taking my seat on the ground beside her, looking out at the deep blue water sparkling brilliantly under the early morning sun.

My parents frequently brought me here growing up. We’d play in the sand and in the water, have picnics and go swimming or hiking in the surrounding woods. It was one of the places that I could go with them and everyone would be happy and content. I can’t remember ever having a bad memory here and I really hope that today isn’t the day that one forms.

I remember my parents always felt very at ease here, sometimes more than when we were in our own home. I look out to the water, the shimmering ripples blinding me, trying to see the drawing pull that always brought them back here.

It’s a cool place, of course... But they have always been sort of obsessed with it. Maybe that’s one of the reasons they agreed to let me come out here with my friends. Had it been somewhere else I’d have to stop and wonder if they would have still said yes to it.

Elizabeth has her sunglasses on, her blonde hair pulled up in her pretty messy bun, and looks as though she is genuinely enjoying life. With all the dark secrets looming under the surface, it’s hard for me to believe she is truly so calm. If we were to trade places, I doubt that I would handle well under the pressure.

But then again, maybe she thinks the same way about me... I mean, having two ghosts to look after and not being able to tell anyone about it? Maybe I’ve just become indifferent to the pressure, unaware that it’s there and how crushing it truly is.

“You need to get out of your head, Ash.” Eliza says in a calm, chill voice. I look over at her in confusion, waiting for her to elaborate.

“You’re going to go through an existential crisis if you don’t stop pondering every little detail of your life. Just breathe through it, you’re going to be fine.”

“Is that what you do?” I murmur, looking back out to the water, feeling the churning of anxiety in my chest for all the unknown things to come.

“It’s what I have to do.” She replies with a shrug, leaning back on her hands, her ankles crossed.

Behind this serious moment, all I can hear is the distant bickering of the boys trying to get the umbrella up, while cursing out CC for not physically assisting them.

I breathe slowly, trying to do my best to follow her instructions while also trying not to burst into a rant about all the things she doesn’t know, just to have the opportunity to vent and get it off my chest. To say it to someone who isn’t Andy.

She’s looking over at me, keeping a close eye on me that I don’t start freaking out. After a few moments she stands and brushes off the excess sand, extending her hand toward me.

“Want to walk down to the water with me?”

I grab onto her hand and pull myself to my feet, kicking off my sandals and walking barefoot in the warm sand down to the water where the smooth waves roll in over the darker sand and smooth stones.

Further up the shore, there’s some younger kids playing in the water and attempting to skip stones, but they sink on the first try. There are also a couple of groups of college-age kids blaring trap music on their stereo and dancing half drunk even though it’s not even 1:00 yet.

I redirect my attention on Eliza who’s taking her first steps into the water, sinking her feet down into the sand.

“This is the best kind of therapy.” She says, walking further out into the smooth water until it is within reach of her fingertips.

I step in, too, surprised by how warm it already is and trying to figure out if it had always been this warm during my previous visits.

I have to agree with her, though. Standing in this water, in this place, which was a staple of normalcy for me in my past life, was certainly doing wonders for my mind.

Our peaceful moment is swiftly taken way by the sounds of yelling. We both turn to see what the problem is, spotting Jake, Jinxx, Ashley, and Andy flanking CC, backing him up and cornering him, giving him epically dirty looks. It's a matter of seconds before they spring on him and grab him while he thrashes around.

“Guys! No no noooo!”

They carry him toward the water, handling his thrashing with ease.

“Don’t be such pussies! I was only jokin’ around with ya-”

They march into the water still fully clothed, hauling CC out to sea against his will while he continues to try and bargain with them to keep them from throwing him into the water.

“Any last words?” Jinxx asks him with a proud smirk, not waiting for a response before signaling the others to let go of him.

CC resurfaces within a few seconds, fuming like a wet hen, his carefully styled hair now a matted black mop on top of his head. The others back off, laughing and high fiving each other for serving revenge to their beachside dictator.

His water-logged clothes hang loosely off his skinny frame, dripping back into the lake, the water ripples around where the chaos had broken out earlier calming back into smooth and mellow waves.

He looks to us both, peeling back strands of hair off his face and out of his mouth, sputtering and agitated.

“Fair advice to the both of you-” He breathes, pausing to blow the excess pond water out of his nose with a wince. “Don’t ever make friends... And more importantly, don’t ever make those friends mad.”

With that, he marches out of the water, his movements slow and groggy, weighed down by the immense amount of water dripping off of him.

I look back to Elizabeth, and even though her eyes are unreadable behind her dark sunglasses, she has a huge grin on her face and is laughing. I join in with her, giggling as we watch CC climb back up the sand dunes toward the umbrella sticking out of the sand, constantly grabbing his swim trunks to yank them back into place.

“They’re an interesting bunch.” She says, looking toward the others. She’s never officially met them, and she’s feeling a bit like the black sheep right now. She studies them all carefully, trying to get to the source of who they are, trying to figure out their attitudes and ways of reacting to things so that she can adapt accordingly.

“They are.” I agree, reaching up to pull back my hair into a loose ponytail, securing it with a black elastic.

“I met them at a funeral of all places and none of them knew what to think of me, either. So don’t get too worried about impressing them or making a good impression.”

“But you had Andy to smooth the transition between you and them.” She murmurs doubtfully. “I don’t.”

“I didn’t have the luxury of him actually being there, just his existence to use in an effort to get to know them better. Jake despised me as far as I could tell, Jinxx politely tolerated me and CC was just suspicious and doubtful of my presence at their friend’s funeral.”

She is looking down at the water thoughtfully, watching her toes burrow under the sand in the warping water,

“They probably wouldn’t have given me another thought after that if I hadn’t reached out to CC afterward. He slowly became trusting of me, and the others followed when they realized that I wasn’t lying about being able to see Andy’s ghost.”

“Are you all inseparable now or?...”

I hadn’t really thought of it that way. I shrug “Not really, at least not in that sense. I think we’re all pretty close, but I still don’t know much about any of them. It’ll take a long time before we’re that close I think.”

All the things I’ve learned about them involve them in the darkest part of Andy’s life. I’ve yet to hear any stories that are truly heartwarming where they were all just happy friends together and not at odds because of suicide attempts or skipping town. Jake is easily the most mysterious among them.

Jinxx calls us back in for lunch. We wade back to the shore and trek back up to them, our wet bare feet collecting tiny grains of sand along the way.

CC is still wet, but his sour attitude has completely disappeared. He’s joking around and being his normal class clown self.

As we ate lunch, I kept a careful eye on Elizabeth to make sure that she is settling in alright. She was fitting in perfectly, though, without my assistance. She has a charismatic quality that I could never imitate, no matter how much I tried in middle school. Her charm was one thing that always had her quickly chosen for group projects while regardless of my own looks and confidence, I always managed to be the last choice.

I admire her for that, her ability to seamlessly transition into any conversation or scenario. It’s hard to believe that she was actually uncomfortable hanging out with this group before.

Once we’d gotten everything cleaned up, we were just hanging around chatting. It was at this point that the boredom was too much for CC and he stood up, a sly smile slinking across his face.

“I hereby declare that we participate in a game of chicken.” CC says in a mocking royal accent, placing one hand over his heart while delivering his message.

Jake and Jinxx look to one another, and then to Andy and Ashley. “Alright,” Jake says with a confident nod. “You’re on, punk.”

~~~


We stand in the water, having completed the brief bicker over who would be on what teams. Because we have an odd number of people, one person would be our referee. Ashley volunteered for the first round in the position, wearing an actual smile as he did so, standing back in the waist-high water, watching us organize ourselves.

CC quickly laid claims on me as soon as Ashley called for us to assemble into teams, earning a dirty look from Andy while he grudgingly had to team up with Jinxx since Jake and Eliza had quickly paired up.

Jinxx crouched down in the water, motioning for Andy to get on.

“No, I’ll do you.” Andy insists, getting a firm shake of the head from Jinxx in response.

“No way, I ain’t sitting on your shoulders. Falling from that height would be like jumping out a second story window.”

Andy wears a thin-lipped frown, taking Jinxx’s insult with grace. He grudgingly climbs up on Jinxx’s shoulders, looking deeply embarrassed by it when Jinxx stands up, raising him into the air.

“Are you even supposed to play chicken with three teams?” Ashley asks.

“Don’t doubt the game.” CC replies confidently, hoisting me up into the air on his shoulders.

Jake raises up Eliza and we all move out into the deeper water where the men are almost to their necks and they all align so that we’re fairly close together. I wink at Andy across from me.

“Prepare to eat shit, fucker. You’re going down!”

Andy is gripping Jinxx’s face with his tattooed hands, struggling to balance on his shoulders. He shoots me a smirk. “Bring it, bitch.”

“Ash, you best be careful. I’m out for revenge for the nose bit.” Elizabeth flashes me a smile, which I quickly return to her.

“Alright, everyone clear on the rules? Top player is the attacker, lower player is the vehicle. Use your momentum and valley-girl swatting to knock your opponent off the other player’s shoulders. Last team remaining wins.”

We all nod and Ashley forms a finger gun with his hand, holding it over his head and imitating a gun shot sound.

In that same instant, before I could even pull my gaze back from Ashley to focus on my opponents, I am being slammed off CC’s shoulders.

I apparently had him in a vice grip because he fell back into the water with me. When we surface again we see that it was Andy who’d given us a good smack on his loyal steed. Jinxx winks at me and Andy is cackling.

“Elizabeth! Give him hell!”

“Wh-?”

Andy whirls around as Jake charges through the water, sending Elizabeth slamming into his left collar bone, clipping him good and making him lose his grip. Jinxx swims free of the wreckage while we watch the dark blur under the water shifting and changing shape in the rippling water before surfacing again, wiping the water off his face, pulling back a blackened hand.

“Hey Ash! I finally found something that takes the makeup off!” He exclaims proudly while Jake and Jinxx march around in the water, arms spread out at their sides proudly.

“Winners are Eliza and Jake... Losers... The rest of you.” Ashley gives us the verdict of the round.

“Hey, not fair I was given a shit partner.” Andy whines jokingly, earning himself a sharp punch to the shoulder from Jinxx.

“Next round... I’d say rotate partners but I doubt Ash could hold CC’s fat ass so we’ll keep it as it is.”

CC pretends to be offended, assisting me back up onto his shoulders with some effort. Andy squirms back up onto Jinxx’s shoulders, who makes a show out of how heavy Andy is.

“Don’t fail me this time.” Andy tells him, hanging on under his jaw, ready to march into battle a second time.

“Ready? 3... 2... 1... Go!”

I was focused this time. When Andy and Jinxx came barreling toward me, Andy with his arms out in front of him, I leaned right, the momentum dragging CC along with me out of the warpath.

The hits don’t stop coming, though, because Eliza is also shoving on my right side, trying her damnedest with Jake as her compadre to dump me in the water to be declared victor again.

Andy and Jinxx rise up with vengeance and slam into her and Jake’s side, making her very unsteady, but still hanging on. She recovers her grip and raises her fist into the air. “Nice try, Andy Six.”

I notice Jake’s look of shock when she said that. It also caught Andy off guard. His expression told me that it had been a very long time since anyone had called him that. The name is unfamiliar to me. I look at Eliza in confusion, then back at Andy whom is distracted.

The moment is awkward, sure, but I’m not losing to that undead punk. I nudge CC forward and we successfully slam Andy off off Jinxx’s shoulders who stretches his arms out in relief.

We turn to face Elizabeth, preparing to crown our round two victor. She doesn’t seem to realize the distress she caused by calling him that name. She is completely oblivious, still fully invested in the game.

I want to look back at Andy, but I know she’ll strike me if I do. CC is quick, despite the weight and pressure of the water keeping us from moving too fast.

Jake is laughing, watching mine and CC’s determined expressions. I narrow my eyes at Eliza and she returns it, cocking her head slightly.

“Charge!” I command CC, riding my tortoise toward the enemy. CC and Jake get face to face while me and her battle it out, doing a lot of what Ashley had referred to as ‘valley girl smacking’ where you’re just slapping at each other.

One good shove did it and she lose her grip, tumbling backward off into the water, causing Jake to groan. He’d been counting on winning.

“Want to do another game or call it?” Ashley asks while I slide off CC’s back into the water, walking on my tippy toes towards Eliza who is busy pulling her hair out of her face.

“You did good.” I congratulate her with a proud smile and a side hug. When I look at her face my smile slips away. The water is melting away her makeup... The many layers of foundation to reveal the purple bruises adorning her cheeks and jaw. The injuries she thought no one could or would see.

I redirect her away from the games, calling to Ashley that we’re going to grab some water and to continue on without us. I escort her toward the beach, sitting her down in one of the lawn chairs while I get out my makeup bag from my backpack. I’d brought it along to get ready for the wedding tonight, but as it would seem, it held a deeper value.

“What? What’s wrong?” She asks in confusion. I sigh softly, digging through the bag and handing her the foundation.

“I know you don’t want a confrontation or to have to explain.” I tell her, giving her a look. She knows what I mean immediately as she reaches up to touch her face. Although she can’t see herself right now, she knows what lies below.

“Did Reece do that to you?” I ask her, her eyes flickering to mine, guilt-ridden and embarrassed.

I avert my eyes and hand her the bottle, biting my lip to keep from saying anything that will only push her further from me. “Let’s get you fixed up.” I say, repeating the same words Andy had said to me when he healed my leg.

Notes

Today marks the three-year anniversary of this story! I officially posted it to Mibba on March 5th, but started writing it on February 28th, 2016. I can't remember what it was specifically that inspired the story about Andy being a ghost, but from memory, it had something to do with the lyrics of Lost it All and Saviour.

I originally intended on the story being very short. Some of the original plot is still in this one waiting for a resolution, but the original ending was about the writing assignment Ash is working on at the beginning of the story. She meets Andy, and writes about their adventures to Apture Road and it ends on a happy note. But as this story developed, more ideas infringed and now it's a full-fledge drama lol.

A lot of the earlier chapters were heavily influenced by the book Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children and Hospital for Souls by Bring Me the Horizon and Silent Hill 2. I consider those things to be staples of inspiration for this story.

Also! I have a question for you all: What are some of your favorite BVB fanfics? I've never really read any other than one on Mibba called The Mortician's Daughter. I loved reading Green Day fics back in the day lol so I'd love to read some BVB ones, too. Drop your recommendations below.

Thank you Merelan, Mezzy18, and Whiny Emo Batman for commenting!

Comments

I just want to say, I am here to support you no matter what you do <3

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
4/12/20

Oh gosh, I'm getting weird vibes towards this "sketchy" part of town.

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
5/8/19

I am absolutely in love with this book!

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
4/30/19

Poor Ashley. Poor Andy. Poor Asheen. Wow, what a story! :)

Merelan Merelan
4/29/19

I am conspiring so many theories about this book my head hurts... lol... anyway, great chapter as usual! Can't wait to read what happens next

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
4/25/19