tongue of the serpent ➵ a.b.

Chapter 10: The Differential

"My name's Belladonna. But you can call me Belle," Ashley's little shadow says. Apparently they met in a bar and made it off since then. She was cool. Her lips were always tainted red. Half-smirk; half pout. Her eyes would light up the room. She had long, flowing black hair and a personality set for devious masteries. She was very feminine and around 25. She was older but she turned out to be a very good friend.

"Well, my name's Lethia," I say, cunningly, grabbing a cupcake from the free snacks table in the dressing room.

Frey had a thing for Belle. Most definitely. You can just tell by the way he was looking at her! But if he would make a move on her, I know she'd slap him silly. She wants a man who can treat her right (and who's good in bed).

I guess I had never thought about it lately, but I was itching to lose my virginity. Yes, a beautiful reality star is a virgin. Laugh all you want. I wanted to lose it to someone special. I was miss perfect in high school, at least until I dropped out.

"So, you've known Ashley longer than I have," Belle states happily.

I roll my eyes. "Barely."

She smirks. That little smirk is probably turning Frey on right now. And sure enough, I see a little bump in his pants. Great, I wanna throw up now.

Belle was slender but curvy. She had mad curves that complimented everything about her, even the way she walked.

I check the time. It's 6:58. Just about time to start the show.

Soon Celina shows up and escorts us out of the dressing room and onstage. From 7-8 we go onstage and off about a billion times. At the end of the night, it is proven that Robert Conti will no longer be with us.

"Did you see him bitching?" Jake asked, sitting with me and Kane.

Kane laughs and I chuckle a small amount. I don't really want to be around Andy. I can't stop thinking about him. But tomorrow for rehearsal, we'll have to talk. It's stupid.

"That guy has serious anger issues," I hear Cadell say across the room.

Almost as if it was an answer to a prayer, we hear someone screaming in Italian outside our door.

Everyone laughs except me and Andy. We share a moment of vile eye contact. It looked like he was sorry. But I sure wasn't.

We stayed in the room and talked until Pornhoe forced us to go to the hotel around 9. Riding in the car, I got stuck between Belle and Andy. Belle on my left and Andy on my right. I wasn't too happy about my position so I began to talk to Belle. She's super sweet. But if she gets mad, oh my. She's dating Ashley and I think they're perfect for each other. Belladonna Nightshade and Ashley Fucking Purdy. What a duo!

Getting out of the van, Andy grabs my arm. "Um, dude," I freak. What was he doing?

"We need to talk." Andy's face is full of love and concern.

"Bullshit." I scramble out of the van and catch one of the elevators without Andy on it.

I ride it to the twelfth floor and stick in the key to the room. I stop while hearing really loud cursing from upstairs. And loud bangs. Robert.

I step into the room and close the door behind me. The guys will be here in a minute. I decide to take a shower to get Andy off my mind.

I strip my clothes and look at myself in the full-length mirror. B cup breasts; huge curves; black hair; brown eyes; imperfection.

And then I think of Andy. Stick figure; black hair; blue eyes; cranberry lips; perfection.

How could he love me? How could he love such a morbid creature?

I let those thoughts slide as I step into the boiling hot water. It's like Satan himself is running down my back. I hear the door slam: the guys. I don't pay any attention and shampoo my hair. I lather the roots to the ends in silky smooth products. I wash it out and repeat. I put in the conditioner and lather it. I rub it into my scalp and use my fingernails to get in deep.

I can hear Black Veil Brides playing. The guys must be blasting music to rid of Robert's frequent yells. Funny enough, they skip around on the playlist they're on until they stop on "Lost it All". Perfect song choosing. I hum along and hold my own body. I wish Andy was here. I wish Andy could sing it to me. I wish Andy loved me.

When Juliet comes in the song, I cringe. I used to think she was beautiful and an amazing singer. But what is to become of her now? The fans were upset when they broke up, and Andy was destroyed. But who knew Juliet was nothing less than a stalker?

I eventually get out of the shower and I hear the guys blasting some Of Mice & Men song. I make my way into the back room to change into my pajamas. I let my hair air dry and eat dinner. Dinner was a chocolate Poptart. Yummy.

I settle in the bed me and Cadell share and get on my phone. I was constantly on Twitter, usually, but lately I haven't been on as much. I had around 300 k subscribers. I'm very proud!

I scroll down my mentions, looking at love and hate.

"@heloMyh8: just heard @LethiaTSOSM on #BOTA. she sucks!"

"@JuliePie_: @LethiaTSOSM is the shit! Go #differential!"

Differential? What? I always thought a differential is what makes you different. What do these people mean?

"@Suck_My_Andy: everyone needs to join the #differential! @LethiaTSOSM is counting on us!"

I click on @Suck_My_Andy's profile. I scroll down and find tweet after tweet about a fanbase called The Differential. My fanbase. They named themselves. The Differential. It's what makes us different from everyone else.

"Guys!" I scream out in joy. "The fans are coming in herds!"

Just then, Frey peeps his head around the corner, "Hush up and go to bed you dumbfuck."

What? WHAT? That is not what he said. Andy said that to me about a week ago. Cadell and now Frey? What is going on? I start to feel drowsy and fatigue crawls upon me. I feel like I'm breathing through a straw.

Astaroth is the only person in the room and he notices. "You okay?"

I choke silently and shake my head. My legs begin to throb and I hear a voice: "Andy isn't real. Get out of there! Come back to reality!" A figure shaped like Andy appears suddenly and starts screaming. But, he has no voice. I can't hear him, or his footsteps. He's screaming and rushes towards me. What is he saying? He's mouthing words I can't understand.

I collapse on the bed and feel a weight on my chest, Astaroth. He's holding me, but I can't see him. It's dark. I seem to fall into oblivion. I fall into darkness. I fall into sleep. But yet, I fall backwards. I'm leaving one world and venturing into the next: reality.

The bed turns into white carpet and Astaroth's weight becomes nothing. I am not in my world anymore, I am home.

I land in a pink room. My mom walks in a singular door. "C'mon, it's time for dinner," she beckons.

I follow her out the door. And The Differential follows.

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