Andy

It was strange... Sitting in the nice living room of a man I'd grown up knowing. He'd come over to our house many times, and I'd hung around his daughter, Eva, even more. Since our Dads worked the same shift, and generally the same job sites, we were put together to be babysat while our dads worked, and normally my mother or her nanny would watch us until they got off work.

Eva's mother died when she was young, so Mickey had hired a nanny to look after her while he worked. It didn't make Eva stuck up or anything, mostly because the nanny, Carolyn Fraiser, had kept her down to earth, teaching her honor and respect. And bluntly put, she got her behind paddled when she did wrong, which taught her not to cross an elder, and to always treat others with respect, even if it was not always deserved.

I sat there on the couch in the vast living room, feeling as out of place among the ornate furniture in my simple t-shirt and shorts as an athlete at a junk food shop.

Looking up at the nice light fixture, the tiny, tear drop shaped glass beads that hung from the low-key chandelier. I studied them for a bit, when I awkwardly could not wedge myself into the conversations between my parents and Mickey. I wondered idly what Eva was like now... Did she still have that boyish, short hair cut with razor sharp bangs? Had she abandoned the old, brown color for something more adventurous like I had?

I looked down at my fading green locks, falling a little beneath my collar bone. I still wasn't sure if I missed the emerald yet, or not, as the natural black began to reclaim my roots.

Obviously she had become athletic, which was new. In school, Eva despised sports. We would hang out on the bleachers on the weekends, though, huddled up in quilts during downpours, watching the guys practice their routines while we giggled together, rooting for certain individuals. Back then, we two were shallow pre-teens, and now I was just awkward when it came to boys. I wondered if she'd turned out the same, or if because of her new lifestyle, she was one of the girls guys showed up on her porch to propose a date to, roses in hand.

“Did you hear?” Mickey said with great pride, sitting in the recliner across from us. I paid attention now while he spoke to my parents. “I have a son. Adopted, seventeen.”

“Really?” Interest sparked in my Dad’s eyes and I silently cursed any ideas he was getting.

“Yep, his name is Franky. Here.”

He got up and grabbed a small photo frame off the fireplace mantel, looking at it for a moment before handing it to my Dad. I snuck a glance at it. Two foreign teens were in the photo.

“Eva and Franky last year when we vactioned in Lousiana.” Mickey clarified. I looked closer at it, certain Mickey was joking. Eva looked nothing like herself, besides the bright, green eyes.

Her hair was long, waist length, unnaturally blonde, brown at the roots, her arm around the shoulders of a lanky boy in a button-down shirt, a look of mocking disgust on his face.

“Franky’s being anti-social.” Mickey said in disapproval, taking the photo back to put it away. “He’s upstairs doing something... Probably playing guitar. Hang on.”

He left the room to linger in the stairway, summoning the boy in a loud voice. I didn’t know what to really expect, until he came downstairs, fidgeting under the limelight his Dad had placed on him. “Franky, this is David and his family. Sandy, Ash.” He pointed at me and my Mom, I looked up and met his eyes for the briefest second, dropping my gaze immediately in embarrassment.

Franky looked nothing like his adoptive father or sister. He had thick, black hair combed over into one of those emo hairdos, he had brown eyes, and wore a baggy band shirt. He looked like a variation of Andy.

Mickey nudged him, “Hi.” He greeted lowly, shooting his Dad a glare. It was clear he had no desire to be around people right then.
“Franky graduates next May. Tell them what you’re planning to do with your career.” Mickey encouraged, putting him on the spot the way my parents, and all parents for that matter, often did.

“Uh... Music engineering?”

His Dad nodded cooly in approval, though his expression hinted that he had expected a more diverse explanation.

Mickey encouraged him to sit and talk with us. He sat down, clasping his hands together awkwardly over his knees, avoiding gazes and dodging questions.

I looked at him when he was looking down, taking notice of how much like Andy he looked like, aside from the massive amount of ink on his arms. Franky had none. His face was narrow, but wider with less defined cheekbones than Andy. I took comfort in knowing I hadn’t met his twin.

The front door opened and closed then, followed by some heels clicking on tile, then a girl stepped into the living room with a surprised expression, her eyes scanning of our faces until she settled on mine, searching for a familar face.

“Volcanica!” Eva exclaimed in excitement, kicking off her heels, hurrying down the few carpeted steps. I rose to hug her, a grin on my face when I heard her nickname. I thought she had forgotten, because I had long since had.

Volcanica... If it weren’t obvious, is a beat-around-the-bush reference to my name, Ash. Volcanos produce lava, which burns things... Into Ash. I don’t know why on earth she had ever decided to call me that, but I was grateful it wasn’t as bad of pet-name as should could have used.

“Poison Ivy!” I laughed back, Ivy being a reference to Eva. She’d always liked the villain from Batman, so we just established the name.

“Bye!” She waved at everyone else, grabbing my hand, towing me off, out of the living room, and up the stairs to her room.

“Dude! I can’t believe you’re finally here! I’ve been dying to see you, it’s been so dang long.”

She had a huge grin on her face, already launching into animated topics before we even reached her room at the end of the long, white hallway.

“I don’t think we’ve seen eachother in over eight years...” She became thoughtful. “A lot has changed. I like your hair.” She grabbed a strand briefly before opening the door to her room. I had to laugh, she was just as scatter-brained as she had been back then.

“The green is oddly suiting for you.” She shot me a smirk. “I knew you didn’t like the black. Looks like you’ll need to dye it again, soon.”

Although smiling, I felt uncomfortable discussing my hair, since the black coming back through - and me allowing it to - was like evolving into a new person to suit my new lifestyle.

“Erm, I don’t know if I will.” I shrugged, looking around her room. There was a lot of pink, but also some band posters, as well as some dragonfly shaped lights hanging above her headboard. “The green was great, but now that I’m older, I wonder if I will like the black, I dunno, just a change of tastes.” I laughed, “That haircolor looks really good on you.” I nodded towards her in an effort to deter the spotlight from myself.

Her face lit up and she began to unconsciously braid a strand. “My friend helped me dye it. My Dad didn’t know until he got home from work that night and thought there was an intruder... Ah, good memories.” She wore a guilty grin, before shifting into a dreamy expression. “Anyways, tell me about you! How’s Pendant? Do you have a boyfriend yet? School? Same house? Music tastes, friends, tell meeeee.”

I had to giggle how absurdly teenagerish she was now. And just like back then, she was always eager for some new gossip to stew over.

“Uh...” I hesitated, trying to recall her first question. “Pendant is great. Nothing’s really changed. School... I ah, got kicked out for a few days. Yeah, same house-”

“WAIT.” She stopped me with large eyes. “You got kicked out?! How?”

I pursed my lips guiltily to cover the tiny smile. “Remember Elizabeth?”

She snorted. “Elizabeth was a total tattle-tale when I lived in Pendant.”

“I punched her.”

Her green eyes grew large, like a child being told the best story ever. For the first time since she’d walked through the door, she was silent, until a tiny snicker escaped her slack jaw.

“You... Punched her?” Her lips curved into a shocked grin before she started cackling again. “Wooo, yep, you’ve changed. Total WWE fighter right here.”

My cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

“What she’d do to deserve it?”

“She was irritating me...” I mumbled in reply, wringing my hands awkwardly in my lap, going to sit on the edge of her mattress. She was curled up in a plush computer chair across the room, by her desk. “I was already on edge that day... Things hadn’t been working out too well that week. She just pushed me... Except, she hit me first.”

“She did?! Man, she’s more off her rocker than I thought.”

Reflecting on the memory, I still couldn’t figure why she hit first... She was such a patient, gentle person.

“It was strange...” I agreed, wanting to move onto another topic. “Uh, a bunch of new music tastes. No real friends.” I half lied, Andy’s face appearing in my head briefly before I shook the thought away.

She narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously before her lips turned up into a sneaky grin.

“You didn’t answer one of my questions.”

“Uh... Which one?”

“I asked if you had a boyfriend.”

My expression twitched and wavered in surprise, and she’d already spotted it on my face before I could lie or say anything else.

“You do!” She accused, on her feet in a second, leaving her pink computer chair spinning from her sudden departure.

My eyes widened as I watched her pace the light purple carpet, hand pursed on her chin in thought. “Is it Norman?” She demanded, pointing at me. I shook my head. “How about Jay? You used to have a thing for him back in the day.”

I scoffed, “Yeah, before he came out of the closet two years ago.”
“Seriously?” She asked in surprise, easily sidetracked. “Caleb, Jaice, Cam, Tamani, Jack, James, Daniel, Morgan-”

“No.”

Her eyes proceeded to narrow at me as she squinted at my face in accusation, trying to catch trace of something horrific hiding in my features that would give her a vital hint. I couldn’t very well tell her I loved someone half a decade older than me without her flipping her lid, and it somehow, dangerously, making it back to my parents, so I could undergo more careful analyzation during this trip, and the rest of my life.

“Someone I don’t know?” She hinted.

At this point, I wasn’t sure rather to just throw in the towel and tell her or not. I mean, Andy isn’t my boyfriend.

“Er...”

Her grin only grew, and her glare deepened.

“Come on, Ash!” she wailed. “I have not seen you in forever! Just let me have this teeny, tiny tidbit.” She begged. I crossed my arms stubbornly.

“Just tell me his name!”

“I don’t have a boyfriend.” I mumbled defensively.

“Okay, but judging from your tone, you wish you did!?”

I stared at her in shock. I had only just been re-introduced to her ten minutes ago, and she was already probing into my personal life. I wasn’t mad, it just shocked me, because no one, not even the former Eva I knew, invaded personal space with questions like these. I didn’t have a response.

“So tell me if it could be anyone, what would his name be?”

I hesitated, my pulse pounding “Andy?” I said it like a question, innocently hidden in my voice.

She paused, contemplating my words for a moment. “Andy? That’s it?”

I shrugged.

“Oh... I was expecting something more flamboyant, with more letters.” She laughed. “Okay... So tell me about thisAndy.”

I bit on my lip in deep thought before finally sharing the briefest details. “He’s cool. He was in a band, he has brown hair, blue eyes, is really tall, sweet, lived in Pendant for a while... I don’t know, what do you want to know?”

“How’d you meet him?”

“Er... Car accident.”

She gave me an amused look. “Oh really? How romantic.”

I smirked, “Sure.”

The way she was probably imagining the encounter was a far cry from what actually happened. Instead of meeting as bystanders of a terrible accident, I had loomed over his body, biting my lip nervously, praying with all my will that he would open his eyes and draw a sharp breath.

“What, was he in the accident or...”

I took a deep breath, it shook a bit. I hoped she hadn’t noticed. “Yeah, he was...”

“And you what?... Visited him in the hospital or something?”

“Not exactly. I saw him a while later, by my house.”

“He was stalking you?” She hinted in uncertainty, eyes narrowing at me as she tried to understand the scenario.

“No. He lived nearby. I recognized him, approached him, asked how he was and we just... Hit it off.”

“Hit it off.” she echoed sarcastically. “God, Ash, you sound like a damn fanfic.”

“Anyways, have you kissed?”

“Depends on your definition of kiss. Kiss is a strong word if I’m the one making the move, and if it’s a clumsy effort.”

Her eyes widened. “What did you do!”

My face reddened in embarrassment. “I tried to kiss him, but it was stupid. I couldn’t see him in front of me, I just rammed my face into his.”

For once, Eva did not have a smartass reply for me. Her jaw was slack in shock as she gathered the words I had said, slowly organizing them into an understanable sentence.

“Did you like... Succeed or break his nose or?...”

“Damn near broke mine.” I laughed nervously. “A flop.” I sighed, concluding the awkward tale.

She seemed to sense my lack of interest in the topic, or at least, how uncomfortable I was, because after shooting me a sympathetic look, she changed the subject.

Clearing her throat, she sighed. “Well... That kind of covers all the topics.” She says awkwardly.

“How’s life been for you?” I ask, taking a breath to calm my ecstatic nerves, directing the spotlight to her. Her eyes lit up and you could just tell she was recalling so many wonderful things to share.

“Oh boy, where do I start?” She paced briefly. “I am studying to get a degree in teaching art.”

“Art?” I perked up. “You draw now?”

“Paint, mostly.” She admitted, “I took it up a year or so ago, after being encouraged by my own teacher, Sarah Flemmings. Guess that’s part of why I want to teach, to encourage other kids to do the same.” She shrugged.

“Do you have any works around?”

“Oh, yeah! Hang on.”

I stood up in the middle of the room, watching her walk over to the closet near the door, walking in, rummaging for a moment before carrying out an armload of canvases.

“A few I’ve been working on.”

She handed me the first, I flipped it over, taking a moment to study the artwork printed on the canvas surface, then an additional moment to process all the color and detail in the piece.

“That’s...” I breathed in surprise. “Amazing. Holy crap, you only just started?”

She gave a small, prideful smile that lit up her face. “I practice a lot.”

“Jeez...” I sighed, peeking at the other canvases leaned against the mattress. “I love to draw, but I can’t wield a paintbrush to save my life.”

She laughed, blushing in embarrassment and pride. “Thanks.”

The content of her paintings varied, from vibrant, highly saturated landscape paintings to beautifully colored portraits of musicians and other people that inspired her. I recognized the painting she had done of Kellen Quinn from Sleeping With Sirens. I laughed in surprise as I took it in, holding it out in front of me.

“I had no clue you liked Sleeping With Sirens.” I giggled, grinning with enthusiasm.

Her eyes widened in surprise. “You do?!”

“Absolutely!” I threw my head back in a fit of laughter, and it reminded me how much I had missed having her by my side. Sure, Elizabeth had made a good companion, on the surface, she was a sweet, preppy girl with good music tastes, but there was never any real depth to her. Eva, the girl I’d known my whole life, might as well have been my sister. After all the years apart, it was like we’d never left each other.

“What other stuff do you listen to now?” I inquired curiously, wondering if it was similar that way as well.

She skipped across the purple carpet, to a DVD/CD case by the window, reading off band names, since there was too many albums to carry over.

“My Chemical Romance, Escape The Fate, Panic! At The Disco, Scorpions, Whitesnake, Pierce The Veil, Journey, Fall Out Boy, Twenty One Pilots, Eminem, Paramore, Linkin Park, Kesha, P!nk, Imagine Dragons, Blink-182-”

I cut her off there, ecstatic and thrilled with how many things we had in common. “Oh my God, nothing’s changed!” I paused to let a portion of my laughing fit pass. “I listen to all of those.”

It was crazy to think she hadn’t been around in so long. And now here we were, and it felt as though not a day had passed.

~~~


We just hung out until noon, listening to CD’s on her stereo while I scrolled through my music playlist on my phone, giving her song recomendations while she did the same, writing the song titles on pieces of paper torn from her school notebook.

“Hey, mind if I play a song?” I asked her.

“Sure.” She nodded towards the stereo without looking up. I got up and walked over, snapping my phone into place on the dock, scrolling through my playlist, finding Knives and Pens, and hitting play. We resumed swapping songs, Eva commenting on liking the song. I smiled to myself.

We were doing that until there was a fleeting knock on the door.

“Come in.” Eva called, and the door cracked open, Franky peeked in before opening the door completely, looking very out of place in all his black clothes against the pastel background of Eva’s room.

“Dad said to get you guys for lunch... Is that Black Veil Brides?”

He stopped everything to listen very carefully. We’d both stopped writing to stare at him, surprise for me. I hadn’t expected to encounter a fan anywhere but Pendant, since that was as far as the band made it.

“Uh... Yeah.”

He relaxed a little, still awkward. “Cool. They’re a great band.”

I waited, and sure enough, I saw the shot of remorse in his eyes and silently prayed he wouldn’t mention a damn thing about Andy passing, because that would only make Eva very, very suspicious.

He didn’t, luckily. He only shook his head, mumbled something too low to hear over the music, and ducked into the hall, closing the door behind him.

“Black Veil Brides?” Eva echoed thoughtfully. I looked over, down at her notebook in time to catch her carving the bands’ name into the paper. “I’ll have to check them out.”

Notes

Apologies for the long update, I've made the decision to ditch some projects I took this year, next year. I just don't have a lot of time in the summer to work around them. I'm really happy with how this update turned out!

Shoutouts!

- anathema Thank you soooo stinkin much!!! You were the first person to comment on this story, and (This is an insane shock to me) the hundreth comment, as well. Thank you so much for the insanely kind support! I didn't think I'd ever make it this far, really haha.