EAT.

TEN

Trigger warnings: Disordered eating, self harm, mention of death

CC holds the door open for Andy. They're both sopping wet and the singer is beginning to shiver. He keeps his head down and mumbles a thank you as he steps inside, walking slowly past the reception desk and towards their studio, wiping his face with the back of his hand. In the studio, the other three are sat with drinks and various food items. Andy looks at the ground and CC puts a hand to his shoulder, guides him towards an empty couch. Jake, Jinxx, and Lonny finish their conversation, try not to look at him in case it makes him uncomfortable, but it's difficult because none of them has ever seen him in this state before.

"Does anyone have a coat or something?" The drummer asks.

"Sure, I do," responds Lonny, getting up and retrieving his jacket from the back of a chair. He passes is to CC, who positions it over Andy's shoulders. "Is everything okay?" He asks.

Andy is playing with his fingers and sniffling.

"Is it okay if I tell them?" CC asks him quietly, then, "You're freezing. Can I get you a coffee?"

Andy hesitates then nods. He pushes his wet hair from his forehead. "CC," he mumbles.

The man, who's getting off the couch, looks at him. "Yeah?"

"Can I talk to you?"

"Sure, man."

Andy walks with him over to the vending machine. He pulls his sleeves over his hands. "Just tell them the food thing." He keeps his voice down.

CC takes a cup and places it under the machine. "Yeah, of course." He selects Americano. "Are you, like, alright? You're not gonna collapse?"

"I don't know."

"You need to eat something if you're gonna collapse."

"I know."

"Here. Drink this, come sit down. We'll talk all about this with them, you're gonna be alright." He hands the drink to Andy.

"Thanks." They sit back down and the singer sips the coffee quietly, waits for someone to speak.

CC is rubbing his shoulder. "Andy's, uh..." He hesitates. "He's been having a hard time lately."

The man returns to looking down at his lap. He can feel his heart racing, as it has been since he admitted what's going on.

"With all the stress and pressure of being the front-man, he's finding it hard to, uh...hard to cope with everything. And to...to gain some control over himself, he's been avoiding certain things. Social situations, conversations, and the main thing being, uh...the main thing being food."

"You haven't eaten for a few days?" Jake asks.

Andy can't look at any of them. "Try a few months," he says weakly. As he expects, they make a series of horrified sound and faces in response to that. "I wanted to be fitter for tour," he explains. "Guess it went too far. Now I can't eat without hating myself afterwards."

"You can't not eat, Andy, are you insane?"

"Oh wow, thanks a lot! I tell you this because I'm about to fucking off myself and you call me insane? Oh, forget it. I knew it was a bad idea. Thanks for everything, CC. I'm going home." He stands up, pushing Lonny's jacket off his shoulders.

CC grabs his wrist, alarmed suddenly by how bony it feels, how small it is compared to his own. "They're just shocked, he doesn't mean it. Sit down."

"I'm going home," Andy repeats.

"Andy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. Of course you're not insane."

"You're also not helping right now. I thought this was supposed to stop me from cutting myself again." He freezes. He shouldn't have said that.

"You what?" Asks Jinxx sharply. "Tell me you're kidding."

"What on earth would I have to kid about, Jinxx? I haven't eaten a proper meal since we started fucking rehearsals and I've spent every evening for a month slicing up my own skin because at least a blade won't judge me! No, I'm not fucking kidding! I'm literally having a three month fucking breakdown and you ask if I'm kidding? What the hell is wrong with you! What the hell is wrong with you all!" He yanks his wrist free and begins for the door, though just by the wall, he begins erratically breathing, putting a hand flat on the wall and dropping his head down, dizzy.

The nearest to him is Jake, who manages to get there before he collapses, holding Andy gently as he lowers him to the ground, keeps his head raised, and says, "Well shit, things just got very real very quickly."

* * *
They're sitting in the hospital waiting room, where they've been for the past half hour, when finally a nurse approaches. "You're here for Andrew Biersack?" She checks. They collectively nod. "Alright. Andrew is severely malnourished and we've found multiple deep wounds on his left rib cage. He's also showing signs of severe stress and anxiety. Can I ask if any of you were previously aware of any of this?"

"He told us he wasn't eating literally five minutes before he collapsed. Same with the cuts. And we've all been under stress for around three months trying to get prepared for a tour we've got coming up."

"Okay. Currently, Andrew is stable and awake. However, I cannot guarantee it will stay that way as it looks as though he's been denying his body food for months, which, as I'm sure you can imagine, has taken a great toll on his health and his immune system."

"What does that mean?"

"It means there's a possibility that he won't make it."