Kill Me With Words

Despite it being August, the breeze that rolled through her open window was slightly chilled and spread goosebumps across her skin. She blindly reached for her soft brown blanket and pulled it up to her chin. She turned over and peeked through half open eyelids to see a slumbering Andy laying next to her. She allowed a tired smile to creep across her lips before letting her eyes slip shut again.

"Beth, wake up!" Someone was shaking her violently out of sleep.

"What time is it?" She groaned.

"Two in the afternoon. And I need to catch my flight home soon." Andy said, still shaking her.

Beth's brain starting making connections and before she knew it, she was throwing the blanket off her and bolting up from bed. "Two PM?! Already?!"

Andy chuckled at Beth's reaction. "I'm already packed and ready to go. Your dad said he would drive me. You can go back to sleep if you want."

Beth was stumbling into a pair of black leggings. "No, no. I want to be there to say goodbye when you leave. I don't know when I'll see you again."

Andy's lip turned down slightly at her words. She was right. They hadn't made plans to visit each other and the boys were most likely going to be busy in LA with writing and recording. "We'll figure something out." He said, grabbing his suitcase. He watched Beth's facial expression twist slightly into disappointment but what else was he supposed to say? He couldn't whip up a plan in five seconds to make her happy. He had to be real with her and he knew there was no way of telling what the future would have in store for them.

His mind spun around in his head and he tried to make sense of what to say. He laid the suitcase down on the bed and opened it up. After rummaging through, he took out his favorite Batman shirt and gave it to her.

She looked at the shirt and then back at him with wide eyes and a pout painted on her lips. "I can't..." She said, trying to push it back to him.

"I insist." He moved the shirt toward her again.

She tried to hold back her excitement and forced her smile to downsize as he pulled her old Poison Sun t-shirt off her and put on his Batman one. It fit baggy but she liked the way she felt in it. The shirt smelled of Andy and she could feel herself swimming in his presence.

"Let's get going." He zipped the suitcase and put it back on the floor. "As much as I want to stay, I can't miss my flight."



Everyone showed up to say goodbye to their new best friends. Marcus and Emily, Spencer, and even Heidi showed to say goodbye to Ash, but they all knew the real reason why she was there.

"Do you really have to go?" Beth asked for the twentieth time even though she knew the answer. She gazed up at Andy with a somber look plastered on her face.

Andy nodded and held his tongue for a moment before speaking. "Come with me." He held her by the shoulders.

Beth shook her head. "You know I can't. I'm not prepared to just up and leave like that."

"Flight 378 is now boarding." A voice sounded over the intercom, cutting between the two of them.

"I have to go." Andy said.

Beth let a single tear slip down her cheek as she practically collapsed in Andy's arms. He held her tightly and let her touch sink into him one last time before he had to part. From over her head, he looked up to see Heidi glaring at him and the green aura of envy surrounding her tall frame. Ash tapped her on the shoulder and pulled her into an embrace but never broke her gaze from Andy.

Emily, Spencer and Marcus said goodbye to Jinxx, Jake and CC as the two couples finished up their goodbyes. Ash and Andy quickly joined the rest of the group and the five of them made their way to the tunnel while Maiden Voyage all watched them depart. Beth ran to the large window overlooking all the plans as soon as Andy and the boys had disappeared. Emily came up beside her and put a loving arm around her shuddering shoulders. Beth felt the warmth of Emily's palm rubbing soothing circles on her upper arm as the two watched the plane take off; Beth still wearing his Batman t-shirt.