chemical kids & mechanical brides. ☽ andy biersack

03 • the past is dead

"we can't go back. we don't know where to begin."

☆

first day of rehearsal
los angeles, ca

"i think we're early." eric spoke up as him and i were the first to step out of the van, looking around to the almost entirely empty parking lot.

"or everyone else is late." andrew launched himself out of the opposite side of the vehicle and landed loudly on his boots. "leave it to us to be the professionals." he ended his complaint with a yawn.

"are we sure we're at the right place?" i cringed back at the gust of wind that hit my body, pulling the sides of my jacket closer to middle of my torso. my head turned all around. maybe anywhere around these parts just looked the same, i tried to convince myself. we weren't exactly california locals.

"this is the exact address." damien came walking around the back of our old van. "unless someone's playing a prank on us, we're the only ones here." he gripped underneath of the back handle and propped it up, pulling his gig bag out of the trunk. "let's just go. the entrance is over there." his natural leader tendencies led us all to the front door of what we were told was our practice space for the day and our venue for tomorrow night.

"you doing okay, kid?" my only slightly less overprotective, honorary brother of a drummer stuck by my side as i drug my feet and fell into the back of the group. "you seem tense."

"i'm gonna be fine." i responded as honestly as i had the nerve to. "just a little bit of nerves, i think."

"well. you know." he nodded along. "just give me the word and i'll break his legs."

"eric." i resisted too much of a laugh or smile, my crossed arms growing tighter and my eyes widening.

"what?" he chuckled as we walked through the opened up glass doors. "you think i don't know what this whole attitude change you have going on is all about? i'm not that dumb."

"first of all, i already told damien we're not beating anyone up." my eyes rolled to the side, shaking my head as if the sound of that wasn't even a little appealing to me.

in reality, i just wasn't all that prepared for "letters from your ghost drummer arrested for assault and battery of black veil brides frontman" to be the title of alternative press's next hit article.

"who're we beating up?" kurt seemed to manifest on my right side out of thin air, scaring the life out of me. "you good?" he looked to me, innocently after my entire body jumped at his presence.

"if everyone could please just stop asking if i'm okay, that would be awesome." i laughed it off, but i was truly beginning to feel like the walls around us were closing in on me. "just assume that unless i say i'm not okay, i am. okay?" i added, calmly.

"affirmative." eric's smartass reply cracked the smile i was trying to keep off my face onto my lips. 

damien opened the double doors to the main stage room of the venue, revealing a quiet and seemingly empty space. we all scanned the room in what felt a simultaneous movement, until i finally spotted who i could only assume were the soundboard guys.

"oh, hey!" my ears perked up as the man closest to the edge of the booth in the back of the room noticed us all standing by. "you guys part of the show tomorrow?" he began to step down the side stairs and down to the level floor, wrapping up a circle of wire around his forearm.