Live Again (an Andy Biersack love story)

Ch. 16-Burning Like Fire

Jez's POV:

I don't know what to do. My heart wants me to be with Andy but my head screams that it would never work. That it could never work. I felt like I was going insane, like everything was just shutting down because I was too stressed out. I felt like there was no way out. And then he kissed my head, and squeezed me tightly, letting me know that he was there, that he was looking out for me. And all that disappeared. I curled up tightly against him, and he stroked my hair.

"It'll be okay, Jez. We'll figure it out." He kissed my forehead. I believed him. For once.

"We should go back to the hospital, and check on Ash," I said, but I didn't make any move to get up.

"It can wait. The guys'll take care of him. Besides, it seems like you need me more than he does right now."

"I just... I don't know what to do," I said, tears leaking out of my eyes.

"You don't have to know. Sometimes, it's good to just go with what feels right, and what you want." He said, playing with my hair.

"It's hard, though."

"I know. Believe me, I know how hard it is. But trust me on this. You'll feel a lot better if you screw society and what anyone thinks, and do what you want. As long as it's not horribly illegal or something like that." I laughed at that, laying my head back on his chest.

"I just want to lay in bed all day." I said after a long moment.

"Okay." I looked up at him, surprised.

"Okay?"

"Yep. Staying in bed all day sounds pretty good to me, to be honest." He said, and kissed my head.

"Can we watch movies?" He chuckled.

"Of course."

"With popcorn?" Maybe I was pushing it, but my perfect dream date had always been just laying in bed, watching movies, eating popcorn.

"For breakfast?" He asked, amused.

"... Yes?" He laughed, and snuck a kiss against my cheek.

"You're adorable. Popcorn for breakfast. It's happening." Neither of us moved. "We didn't plan this very well. We have to get up to get popcorn. And the remote is way over there." He pointed to the complete opposite end of the room.

"I'll get the remote if you get the popcorn." He groaned, but nodded, and rolled out of the bed, leaning down to kiss me softly as he did. I found myself unable to resist him. He was everything I needed. He was sympathetic without pitying me, advising but not controlling, sweet and caring, but not a push over. And I had no idea what I was supposed to do with that information.

I melted into the kiss, and he ended up back on the bed, supporting himself on his forearms above me.

"I'm going to do that a lot," he whispered against my lips. I couldn't make my mouth formulate a response. He just kissed me again, then got up, leaving me breathless. After a couple minutes, I managed to get up and retrieve the remote. I found myself drifting back towards sleep when Andy came back, and lifted me into his lap like I was a feather. He set me down so my back was pressed to his chest and his arms were wrapped around me, and he opened Netflix.

"What do you want to watch?" He asked. I shrugged, then smirked evilly.

"As long as it isn't Batman, god, I hate those movies so much. The characters are so shallow and unoriginal, too."

I could actually feel him cringe. I giggled, and turned so I straddled his lap. He just looked a mixture of uncomfortable, confused, and horrified.

"I'm kidding, Andy." I said, and pecked his cheek. "I've only seen the first one, but I really liked it. Promise." He kissed me properly.

"Good." He looped his arms around my waist, pulling me against his chest. I laid my head down against his shoulder, relaxing into his embrace. "I hope you know that means we're watching the second one, now." I laughed, but didn't argue, just turning back around to watch. It all seemed like my perfect date. So of course something had to ruin it. That something being Andy's phone. Both of us looked worried. The last time he got a call that interrupted us Ash was in a car accident.

"Hello?" He said, hesitant. His face twisted to an expression I couldn't recognize.

"What the hell does that mean?!?" He shouted. Now I recognized the worried, panicked expression in his face.

"That's not an answer! Are they okay or not?" They. Oh my god. Who could it be this time?

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW?!" Andy shouted. I didn't even flinch. I was already freaking out.

"Don't you have precautions for that?!?!" He said. He was shaking.

"No! We're on our way. We'll help." He hung up.

"Hospital. Now. I'm sorry, we have to get out of bed," he said, looking honestly sorry.

"No, it doesn't matter what happened?"

"There was some gas line explosion or something. Ash and CC made it out, but Jinxx and Jake are missing, and they aren't answering their phones," he said, sounding panicked.

"No!" I gasped. While we were waiting for Ash to wake up, I got really close with all the guys. They were like brothers to me. I leaped out of bed, and grappled my phone, pulling on my shoes as fast as possible, Andy doing the same.

I had to take the keys from him, his hands were shaking too bad to drive. He smiled weakly, his legs bouncing the entire drive there. It was surrounded by fire trucks, ambulances, police cars, police tape, and pedestrians wanting a look at what had happened. We pushed our way through, completely ignoring the officers that tried to stop us. I ran to CC when I saw him sitting in the open back of an ambulance. He stood when he saw us, and hugged me with a small smile.

"Have you guys heard anything about Jinxx and Jake?" He asked, worried. Andy hugged him tightly, shaking his head. Ash limped up, cast free.

"More than half the staff is still missing, too." He said, holding one arm close to his chest. I pulled it out carefully, and looked. There was a large burn over the gash on his arm.

"I have to wait to have it bandaged," he said, grimacing.

"Wait, what about you, are you okay?" I asked CC urgently. He mimicked Ash's facial expression and pulled up his shirt. His chest was almost completely covered in bandages.

"It isn't as bad as his, but it's bigger." He said softly. "Hurts like a bitch." On one hand I was beyond upset to see my friends hurt like this, but on the other, I was just glad to see them alive.

"How many casualties?" Andy asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Pretty much everyone's injured. No body's have been..." Ash trailed off his face contorting at something behind me. I spun. Two bodies were being carried out of the wreckage. I let out a strangled cry as I recognized one of them. Jinxx.