Hideous (Andley)

Empty

Ashley stared for a moment at the lifeless body that had now slumped back against the wall, the head hanging low, chin to the chest, and blood seeping from the bullet wound. Something inside of him tugged at his heart strings, and at the back of his mind, nagging him to remember- but remember what? He would remember it if it was important enough, wouldn't he? He wouldn't even forget it in the first place... right?

"Who was he, did you say?" Ashley asked breathlessly, turning to look at the man who had called him in.

Jared approached to stand beside him, kneeling down to observe the dead creature. "They call him the Dark Prince, or the Prince of Darkness. He was the descendant of the royal bloodline of these things..." He muttered.
"No. Not that. His name." Ashley shook his head. "Tell me his name."
Jared stood again and looked at him. "Andrew. Andrew Biersack."

The way the name rolled off Ashley's tongue as he quietly repeated it under his breath felt almost like second nature... It didn't feel foreign like he had expected it to. What was that all about?

"Is there anything else you need from me?" Ashley sighed heavily, suddenly feeling a bit of an urge to leave.
Jared shook his head, showing him to the door. "No..." He stopped. "But I must thank you."

"Nah... No need." Ashley shook his head and turned to leave. Jared suddenly grabbed his arm forcefully.
"Oh, but I must... You got that pest out of the way." Jared grinned. "And for that, I must thank you."
Ashley swallowed thickly, tugging his arm to no avail. "I should go-"
"You aren't going... anywhere..." Jared hissed, tightening his grip. Ashley's eyes widened, watching the physical change in the man holding him captive. "In fact... I haven't had lunch yet today."

"You lied to me to get me here, didn't you." Ashley slowly moved his free hand to his back pocket to grab the knife he always carried.
"Lied? No! Of course not! I simply... left out a few details." Jared hummed, tucking some hair away from Ashley's neck. "One of those being the reason as to why I wanted our friend gone."
"Our?" Ashley narrowed his eyes.

Suddenly Ashley was thrown against the wall, spun around to have his back facing Jared. He felt a cold hand around his as the knife was brought from his pocket and taken from his grip.

"You don't remember... I'm sorry, I guess I forgot that bit." Jared cooed and traced the tip of the blade along Ashley's arm slowly. "I suppose I can tell you now. Not like you'll live long enough for the grief to set in..."
Ashley was silent, squeezing his eyes shut. 

"Andrew was your little boy toy... And then I slipped a drop of venom into his drink, just enough to awaken his dormant vampire genes. Nothing too fancy... He got locked away, you visited him daily... Eventually you broke him out and you both discovered my plot to, y'know, kill of the human race, blah, blah, blah." Jared sighed. "This is the best part though... Andy was losing it and he didn't even tell you. In fact, he wiped all memory of him clean from your mind, and get this, it was an accident. The poor sucker didn't stand a chance surviving any longer!"
Jared laughed maniacally. Ashley opened his eyes and stared at nothing, head turned and cheek pressed up against the wall still. 

Everything came collapsing down inside of like a wall of crumbling bricks. Everything came flooding back to his mind violently; like a dam had burst in his brain and now waves of memories overwhelmed his senses to the point of blacking out. Jared seemed to have backed off, as Ashley collapse to the ground with a dull thud.

|  |  |

Andy awoke alone in a strange, yet somehow eerily familiar place. It was dark, almost pitch black, but Andy could make out vague shadows and silhouette figures around him. He opened his mouth; he tried to find his voice to speak but his ability to voice his thoughts had momentarily abandoned him as a figure stepped out into the dim, ominous lighting. He wore a dark grey Victorian era vest, with a classic pocket watch tucked in the pocket. He had on a small, simple pair of old round lens glasses and had a welcoming, warm expression upon his face. He looked... familiar. 

"Andrew..." The old man smiled, his face glowing with wisdom and his eyes were a twinkling grey. "You've joined us."

Andy opened his mouth to speak again, but just like before, he couldn't muster up the strength to form a sound. The man seemed to know what his question was, though.

"My name is not important." He chuckled, and Andy felt a wave of safety and security wash over him for the first time in a long time. "I am the first of your kind, my boy. I am your... say, creator."
He knelt beside Andy. "You're with your family now. The whole line of the Royals come to remain here once their time in the mortal world ends. Welcome, son."

Andy looked around, and though he knew he should feel happy that he was with others of his kind, he was... sad. He was angry. He was scared, and felt alone, and he was aching so deeply inside. The man saw the despair and longing in his tyrian purple iris' and frowned slightly.

"What is wrong, my boy? Are you not pleased to have reunited with your ancestors?" He stood once more.

Andy pursed his lips and gazed down at his hands, which were laying in his lap limply. "I... I miss-"
"Ashley. The mortal, correct?"
Andy looked up quickly, eyes widening. "Yes, but-"
"We've been watching you, Andrew." He sighed and paced around him.

Andy watched him, his gaze following carefully.
"I expected you to say that, as well. That you... missed him."
"I'm sorry." Andy looked down in shame.
"Don't apologize." The man smiled again. "You have found love. That is not a feeling you can so easily disregard... In fact, it is every feeling in the world. Love is... how shall I put it... love is pain. It is aching in your bones and soul when you are apart, it is... desire to please, it's the will to die for the other. And that, you did."

Andy watched, a lone, salty tear rolling own the curve of his cheek and dripping off his chin, soaking into the collar of his dirty jacket.

"I didn't die for him. I- I pushed him away. I died because I was foolish, and I was stupid, and I put him in danger-"
"You risked your life, with the hopes it would allow him to keep his." The man put a hand on Andy's shoulder. "Do not think so harshly of your choices."
Andy bit his lip. "I killed people..."
"As have I." The man sighed regretfully. "But I learned from my mistakes, and worked to rid myself of that filthy habit. As did you..."

Andy said nothing, looking away.

"This was a test of your character, Andrew. This was a test, to test your strength, your wit, your love. You passed, my son. You passed your test."

Andy stiffened. He wasn't sure how he felt. His blood boiled with anger, as he was just now learning the past troubles were all a test, but he was also... relieved. And confused. "N-No. No. I failed. I failed..."
"Andrew... you risked your life to save the one you love... you resisted the temptation of all you could ever want, because you knew deep down it was wrong... It was foolish. You held your ground, even when the odds were against you." The man chuckled lightly. "How did you fail?"

Andy shrugged and kept his gaze directed to the ground.  

The man removed the pocket watch from his vest pocket and hummed. "Now. I do believe it's about time you get back. Ashley will be waking soon and I'm sure you'd like to be with him as soon as possible, no?"
Andy simply stared at him blankly.

"You'll awake as well, back in your home before any of the past year happened, understand? Your vampire will be dormant once more, and your life will return to normal." He explained. "You will remember none of this."
"Then why test me?" Andy asked quietly.

The man shrugged. "We had to see if you'd be loyal if potential future happenings required your assistance. Nothing to worry about. You'll know if the time come, which I doubt. But we can never be too sure. Now..."

Andy watched as he approached and crouched down and lifted a hand. He suddenly put his fingers against his forehead.

"Sleep."
And for the second time that day, Andy's world went black.

A/N: final chapter is after this y'all ily

pls vote n leave a comment bc it rly does mean a lot, thank you <3