tongue of the serpent ➵ a.b.

Chapter 5: The Mother of all Tickle Wars

"Watch your posture," the voice points out, causing my self esteem to dip. "Straighten your arm."

I sigh and point eye-lasers at him. "Really Andy?"

He looks up at me and fluffs his hair. I can smell the cigarette lingering in the air. His eyes gently focus on my eyes. I can tell he likes the brown: different. "Yes, Lethia," he says a little too seriously.

I raise my left brow upward and crack a smirk. "Hmph..."

"Lethia there's three more days till the performance. We have to finish the choreography," my saviour worries.

I breathe more naturally and settle myself down. I stand back up and go to the stereo to turn it back on to the song I'm supposed to sing: Three Cheers for Five Years by Mayday Parade. This week is all about Acoustic Songs. This will surely bring the audience to their knees.

Andy begins to hum along and I laugh at him.

"What?" he asks jokingly.

I chuckle and start to twirl around, not saying a word. My hair bends with the pressure and currents in the wind I created.

He loudly coughs. "That's not what we practiced. You know you didn't win. We still have six weeks to go."

I stop spinning on my heel and look in the mirror. The giant mirror. This entire room had a mirror on one wall, like a ballerina studio. I remember the faces of Instant Witness. I remember the fear they had and the unknowing of what was to come. Immediately after the elimination, their dressing room was packed up and shipped away. I couldn't imagine that happening to my band. I couldn't bear to imagine the sorrow in Astaroth's face. Kane's crying and Cadell's worry for me. And Frey wouldn't talk for weeks.

Andy gets up from the chair he's perched on and walks behind me. He pushes my hair to the right side of my neck so my left ear is clearly showing. His lips brush the fragile skin of what is my earlobe. He looks in the mirror at us and grabs my arms. He takes them and brushes them against his thighs. "Don't be afraid," he whispers a centimeter from my ear. "Even if the worst happens, I'll always be here." His adam's apple tingles and I can feel the vibration in the air. He rests his head in the crook on my shoulder. "Has anyone told you that you have comfortable shoulders?" he coos, on a lighter note.

I tremble and feel as if I'm falling into an endless pit. "Y-yeah." It's true. Cadell usually rests on my shoulders because for some reason they aren't too pointy but not too hard. Apparently they were comfy. I wanna feel my shoulder.

Andy steps back and tells me what to do while the song plays. I sing along effortlessly and at the end of the song, I end up looking down. Andy strides to the front of my body and lifts up my head with his fingers. He was so touchy: a hugger. And I loved it.

Andy looked in my eyes. "You did great."

My adrenaline rose beyond humanly containable. So I did the only human thing I could do. I attacked him.

My arms flung around his neck and I jumped up and tried to wrap my legs around his hips, yet failed. We toppled backwards and Andy landed on his back. Ouch!

"Oh my Gosh!" I freaked, and pulled him up to a sitting level. Oh no, what have I done!

Andy's hands are covering his face and I can hear a faint cry coming from his mouth. Did I hurt him?

"Andy!" I desperately try to communicate. "What's hurt?" I say, grabbing his shoulders and massaging them gently.

Andy moves his hands from his face and I realize he's not crying: he's laughing. He apparently gets jealous of my obnoxious outburst of flipping him over, so he jumps me. He pins me to the ground and gets on top of me. He laughs and I start to feel violated. But in a funny way.

"Andy!" I scream. I giggle loudly when he tries to tickle my neck. How did he know that was my sweet spot? Oh no!

He continues to brush his fingers against my neck in a fashion that makes me tingle. You know that feeling you get when someone is massaging you or brushing your hair and a whole other part of your body tingles or jumps? Yeah, I had that. It would've been fine; the only problem was that the tingling sensation came from my woman hood. Body, are you really gonna be this way? Function correctly for once!

All the while, Andy was making a sharp turn to tickle my stomach, which I knew would make me go insane. I start kicking him and he jumps up and down like an exotic dancer. "Ouch! Stop!" Andy would sarcastically screech when I'd kick him. He just wouldn't get off of me!

I eventually flipped him over and began to tickle his neck with fury. The noise coming out of his vocals was pure bliss. The shrieking noise of Andy being tickled was the most feminine thing I've probably ever heard him say. As his vocals were strained, I began to feel how enormous his adam's apple was. Damn! I knew it was big, but jeez! It was the size of a freakin' peach!

Getting lost in Andy's neck wasn't the best thing at the moment. Due to the laughing and hysterical actions, we eventually gave in to rest. Rest, as a theoretical and mental element, was like a monster. Always chasing you. But you'd always wake up right before he got to you.

We both collapsed next to each other and chuckled.

Andy's long figure turns towards me and stares me in the pupils. "Damn, you're a fighter!" He rises and begins to walk to get his coat from the ground spot he put it on. "Never guessed that from you."

I stare at him peculiarly. That idiot. What do you think I am? Living in a bus full of gross, dumb boys doesn't make you a softie! But I reside on that comment and play it cool. "Psh, you and your gazelle legs left me no choice!"

Andy slips on his jacket and turns towards me, still laying on the floor. He lowers his hands to his knees and I don't hear anything. What the?

"GAZELLE LEGS?! YOU REMEMBER THAT?" he screams, laughing, causing me to have a loud outburst.

Andy looks up when I say: "Hey baby girl, I got a penis!"

He stands up straight and I can tell he's either been crying or laughing too hard judging by the water in his eyes. "Have you seen how hot my mom is?"

We chuckle at the remembrance of old Bryan Stars videos. I remember those times.

"Ugh, jeez. What time is it?" I ask, sitting up.

Andy checks his watch, "5:30."

"P.M.?"

"No, A.M. you dumbfuck."

Nice language Andy. Your potty mouth can make anyone's day.

At the notion of it being 5:30 P.M. (I knew that Andy) the rehearsal was over. The past four days of rehearsal have been great. Nothing but fun fun fun! And tickle wars.

Andy's voice that reminds me of silk and butter snaps me out of it. "Wanna go eat?"

Eat? Like, eat out? At a restaurant? On a...date?

"Uh, what ya mean?" I say slowly and confident.

Andy looks embarrassed: shy. His cheeks flush red and I try to hide my blushing as well. "Like, to eat. Ya know, at a restaurant."

I smile and I can feel the temperature inside myself flaring. My skin gets goosebumps. Does Andy like me? "Sure. Fuck those guys at the hotel."

"That's the spirit!" Andy says, making his arm hook.

I grab my coat and start to head out the door. Man, was this going to be an interesting night...

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