The Rhythm Of Our Lonely Hearts

Chapter Twenty: Burn My Name

Chapter Twenty: Burn My Name

August 13th, 2011, Seattle, WA

The sudden shock of cold water caused Andy to panic, grabbing for the side of the pool as he reached the surface. Gasping for breath as another splash beside him threatened to bring him back under. A pair of tattooed arms wrapped around him, pulling him away from the ledge before he could escape.

"You fucking asshole, I can't swim!" Andy yelled, unable to contain his laughter as he fought against Matt's hold on him.

"Oh, come on, it was too easy, you were sitting right there on the edge." Matt chuckled, proud of his sneak attack "Besides it's like five feet max, and you're six foot."

"I'm 6'2" don't sell me short." Andy's feet touched the bottom of the pool, allowing him enough stability to break free from the guitarist. Quickly getting his revenge with a splash to Matt's face.

"Dick! Cheap shot" Matt coughed, wiping the water from his face. "And fine, fine, 6'2" ... still shorter than me, though."

Matt caught the singer right before he could land a punch to his chest, grabbing a hold of his wrists and smirking. He wanted to soak in the carefree moment as much as he could. It had been Andy's idea to make their way down to the motel pool, finding it deserted despite the August heat.

It was their second to last night of tour and given the short drive to Portland, some of the bands had footed the bill for motel rooms to shower and get a few hours of sleep. It was bittersweet, despite how rocky things had been between the two of them, Matt was starting to dread their return to non-tour life. The past few days had been wonderful, to say the least, spending most of them with Andy. The singer had a new life to him that Matt was drawn to.

He felt optimistic for the first time in a long time, Andy had done surprisingly well at staying sober. His daily talks with his therapist seemingly helped, he wasn't naïve enough to think that rehab was no longer necessary; he knew it was. However, he was confident that the two weeks of in-patient would only build on the progress he'd made. His best friend was within his reach again. His guard slowly coming down as he trusted his heart more and more. Giving Andy a second chance didn't have to end in heartbreak.

"You could have drowned me, you know," Andy whined, jokingly.

"Oh please... I'm not going to drown you. Besides, don't act like you wouldn't love if I did mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on you." Matt rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"Oh, shut up... do you even know how to do that?"

"I watched enough Baywatch as a kid... I think I could." Matt retorted, resting his back against the side of the pool.

"Yeah, sure you could..."

Andy leaned his head against the guitarist's shoulder, Matt's grip on his wrists loosening. His hands delicately trailed down the sides of his ribs to his waist, causing a shiver to go down the younger man's spine.

It wasn't just an ordinary night of innocent tour fun, Andy wasn't blind to the city they were in. Seattle: the city where he and Matt first became best friends, over a year ago. It always held a sentimental place in his heart, as well as Matt's. To think that their lives could have drastically changed course if it hadn't been for that railing outside the venue.