Andy, My Little Bloodsucker

Chapter Eleven

I don't know how, but at some point I must've fallen asleep because I found myself waking on warm sand, the sound of the ocean tides lapping onto the shore audible from not too far off. When I opened my eyes, I saw Andy sitting beside me, his legs half-stretched with his arms wrapping loosely around his bent knees, staring off into the ocean. Slowly, I began to prop myself up on one arm, causing him to look over in an instant.

"Sleeping Beauty awakes," he said with a warm smile.

"Ugh... my neck," I groaned, noticing an acute pain on the right side of my neck. Touching my hand to the painful area, I felt the rash had returned. Andy stared at the spot, a look crossing his face that told me he knew something but he only let it slip for a second before returning to his usual manner, plastering a stupid grin on his face.

"I'm sure it will clear," he assured me, rubbing at my back gently. I could feel the cold seeping through the back of my shirt at his touch.

"How did I fall asleep? One minute we were just sitting in your cave and the next... well, I'm not really sure what happened," I told him honestly.

"After my lighter went out, you felt awfully drowsy and simply lay down on the ground in a light slumber," he explained vaguely. It sounded incredibly improbable. I wasn't a parrot that if you placed a blanket over its cage, it would fall asleep with ease.

"You're sure that's what happened?" I asked him skeptically.

"I was there," he said with a shrug. "Do you not trust me?" I didn't know how to answer that. I wanted to say yes but I wasn't sure that was true. I hardly knew him and trust was not so easily given.

When I didn't respond to his question, he chuckled. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you such a thing. It is normal for you not to trust me, yet. We are but strangers to one another, are we not?" I thought of the way he asked, unable to ignore the manner of which he spoke. He sounded as if he had walked straight out of the 1600s.

"Yes, I suppose we are," I agreed. I figured it would remain so.

"Why don't we change that?" I stared at him wide-eyed, unable to even comprehend the question. Before me was the real Andy Biersack in the flesh asking to become closer with me. Suddenly, I forgot how to breathe and my heart was pumping at a million miles a minute. This couldn't have been real; it wasn't possible. I must've been dreaming, yet to wake from this slumber he had briefly described.

"I-I... uh..." I stammered embarrassingly, unable to formulate the words on my tongue. "Y-yeah... yeah, okay," I finally said.

"Great." He flashed me a smile with perfect white, sparkling teeth. "Now c'mon, we've still got a fair amount of time and I don't want it to go to waste." He stood from the sand, brushing it off his knees before reaching toward me with his icy hand. I took it without hesitation, shuddering at the sensation it caused. I would've liked to say it shot a jolt of electricity up my arm like nothing else describable but in reality, it just made me unbearably cold.

****

The sun was just past its apex when we parked by in the mall parking lot. I rose my eyebrow at Andy, thinking it awfully funny that he'd decided to bring me to the mall.

"What? You don't like shopping?" he asked, clearly surprised.

"Yeah sure, when I have the money for it, that is," I told him, thinking of my lacklustre bank account.

"Don't you worry about that," he said, pulling out a hulking wallet from his pocket, brimming with notes.

"You're not serious?"

"Dead serious."

So Andy led me inside and let me run loose through as many stores as I desired. He chuckled lightheartedly as I made a beeline for Hot Topic, grabbing the nearest pair of black ripped jeans I could find and darting into the changing room. I had a sort of "obsession" with my dear black skinny jeans and a certain affinity for those with the tears and loose threads that gave that extra edge. After squeezing into the tight fit, I examined my reflexion from every possible angle, picking out each and every flaw of mine that told me they weren't right for me.

However, when I pulled at the curtain tentatively to show Andy, those doubts immediately dissolved into nothingness just by seeing that stupid grin on his face. How his bright cerulean blue eyes lit up and his entire face lifted, looking me up and down. He then took a printed tee from a nearby rack and handed it to me. "I think this would be the perfect match," he told me before ushering me back into the changing room.

When I unravelled the shirt to look at the printing, I scoffed. Of course he had grabbed one with his very own face gracing the fabric, staring at me so intently. I had never thought of Andy as being conceited though when I considered it, I realised I didn't know anything about him and it wasn't exactly rare for rockstars to think anything less than highly of themselves. Either way, I pulled off my Marvel tee and traded it for that of Black Veil Brides before giving myself a once-over. It fit well and he was right, it did match perfectly.

Adorned in a white wife-beater with a black leather jacket and black ripped jeans to go with his black laced biker boots, he looked like the kind of guy you'd never want to introduce to your parents. His hair was long and scruffy, sitting just below his shoulders as it was a few years back before he'd had it cut so tidily as it was now. I was surprised to see the rest of the band absent from the image, only Andy staring back at me.

I smiled at my reflection, liking how it looked for once.

"You gonna show me? Or just stare at yourself forever?" Andy asked, laughing to himself.

Gingerly, I pulled the drape aside, revealing myself to him. Looking me up and down, I felt like an item on display. I shuffled nervously, shifting my weight from foot to foot as his eyes scanned me over. A young woman with long, raven hair and dark makeup carrying an armful of garments noticed my "modelling" and set the clothing down before walking over to examine me, also.

"You have good taste," she commented with a smile. "Black Veil Brides, now that's a band that goes under appreciated, isn't it?" she said with a laugh.

"Finally! Someone else said it!" Andy said, turning to the woman. Her face immediately paled and her jaw dropped.

"Oh... oh my god," she stated, completely dumbfounded. "Y-you're Andy. I'm a huge fan!" she exclaimed excitedly, her cold exterior melting into total and utter fan-girling. Andy chuckled lightly at his recognition. "Would you sign something for me? It would mean the world to me," she pleaded, searching her pockets desperately for an object to bear an autograph.

"Of course, it would be my pleasure," he told her. Exasperatedly, she handed him a crumpled receipt and a marker, unable to contain her excitement. She was totally starstruck. In one swift motion, Andy scribed his name in curly, bold letters before handing her the item, causing her to melt further. Before she could say anything more, he gently laid his hand on her shoulder, resulting in her body shuddering violently. "You may now resume your job, miss. We'll just be going." Reeling his arm back, the retailer blinked a few times before taking a step back.

"You know, I should really be getting back to work," she told us calmly. "Let me know if you need anything." Leaving us alone, Andy turned to face me, looking smug as ever.

"How did you...?" I couldn't even finish my sentence. Things just weren't adding up.

"I suppose there are perks to being me. People just tend to listen," he explained with a shrug, yet it wasn't quite enough for me. I'd need to remain guarded for the time being; there was something about Andy Biersack that didn't make sense and I intended to find out exactly what I was dealing with. Starting with my rash.