Through Pain of Heart or Loss of Mind
The Signing
“So what do you think of Black Veil Brides?”
I grimaced, quickly regaining my posture and smiling kindly; I definitely didn't need anyone hating me for this.
I despised Black Veil Brides simply because of the things I had heard about their lead singer, Andy- what was it? Biersack, I think. He was an asshole and was so full of himself he hardly had any friends. The fans were oblivious to it, of course.
“They're- alright.” I stated simply.
“What do you think of the members? Andy, Jake, CC, Jinxx, Ashley?”
I paused, choosing my words carefully before speaking slowly. “One hears things. Whether they're true or not is left to the knowledge of the person himself.”
“What do you mean?”
The interviewer looked at me quizzically, obviously confused. I sat back in my chair and twirled the metallic gray Sharpie between my fingers, thinking of how to put this lightly. I sighed.
“I've heard certain things about certain members I disapprove of. But I'd rather not go into detail, they're just rumors, correct?”
He smiled in reply. “Correct, I suppose. So about your mother, Dita Von Teese. What does she think about your, erm- occupation?”
“She doesn't really mind, although there are some things she'd rather me be doing.” I smiled deviously. “Burlesque dancing wasn't for me.”
He looked kind of dumbfounded, as if he still couldn't believe my middle-aged mother was a Burlesque dancer and looked my age rather than forty. I will admit, she's beautiful; I grew up thinking she was actually immortal. Maybe she is, for all I know.
“Does she attend any shows?”
“Oh, a lot of them.” I replied. “She's always there to support me.”
“What does she think about your relationship with Ben Bruce of Asking Alexandria?”
I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering how he hadn't heard. “We broke up about... six months ago?”
“Really? Oh, erm- sorry to hear that.”
He looked over at the cameraman embarrasingly, a look in his eyes that said 'we can cut that out, right?' he nodded and the interviewer turned back to me.
He looked down at his notecards. “How's it feel being on Warped Tour? Do you like it? Any bands you guys really bond with?”
I thought for a moment. “Uhhh... I think we get along pretty well with Sleeping With Sirens and Pierce the Veil. They're pretty cool, we hang out together a lot. And Warped is a really fun tour, it's great being with other bands and meeting fans around the country. It means a lot to the kids, it means a lot to us.”
The cameraman nodded towards his watch, telling the interviewer that their time was up. He turned to me.
“So thanks again for talking to us, it's always a pleasure.”
He held out his hand and I took it, smiling. “Yeah, no problem, it was great talking to you.”
They got up and left, leaving me sitting there waiting for the rest of the band to show up; we had a signing in about five minutes and a ton of kids were already waiting outside the tent, cheering and yelling my name as the guards kept them back. I smiled and waved at them, my heart swelling with happiness. Nothing in this world makes me happier than seeing these people. They mean the world to me, I mean the world to them. My fans were amazing and I'd be completely lost without them. I'd met so many wonderful people and I'm always honored when they tell me I'm their rolemodel or they admired me. Nothing compares to that feeling.
“There you guys are. Where've you been?” I asked my four bandmates. Alex sat next to me and opposite him were Jessica, Jay and Raven. Before you ask, Raven is in fact not a girl; he's a guy, a guy I'm extremely close to and couldn't live without. Raven had electric blue eyes and long black hair that he normally teased, pale skin and only had two tattoos, contradicting everyone else in the band; Alex, Jessica and Jay were covered in them. I had three, one of them being a black raven on my left forearm, whereas Raven had a white one on his right; it was sorta like a yin-yang thing we had. Long story.
Anyway, after everyone was settled and ready the guards stepped aside, allowing the fans to scramble towards our table with huge smiles on their faces. They all looked extremely hot and were not only grateful to meet us, but to be under the tent away from the hot sun. A very nervous young girl who looked to be about fourteen came up and handed me her vinyl pressing of our first album, Heaven and Hell. I smiled up at her.
“Hey.” I smiled. I stood and hugged her, catching her offguard before she hugged me back. One thing you'll learn about me; I love every single one of my fans. After going on tour with Of Mice and Men for a year and noticing how Austin treated his fans, I learned to do the same thing; tell them thank you, hug them, make it special rather than just signing their CD and moving on to the next person mindlessly.
I sat down and looked up at her, her face reading pure happiness and shock. I smiled.
“What's your name, love?” I questioned. She smiled too.
“M-Mia.”
I scribbled down a small note to her and signed my name, handing it back to her with another smile.
“Thank you so much.”
“You're welcome.”
She smiled at me once again and left, the next person coming up to the table. He had long blonde hair, brown eyes and a huge smile on his face. You'll learn that meet and greets are very happy places.
“Erm- hi.”
“Hey! What's your name?”
“Alec.” He said. I signed his album and handed it to Alex, who read my note before writing his own.
“Does that say Alex?” He questioned.
“No, Alec. With a 'c'.” I replied. He looked kind of disappointed but passed it over to Michael; Alex had this thing where if someone had the same name as him, he thought it was the coolest shit on earth. But then again, Alex thought everything was the coolest shit on earth.
Raven passed the CD back my direction and I handed it to Alec before he left, looking as though he might scream from happiness. Another vinyl was passed down to me by Alex and I looked at the others' notes, learning the guy's name was Nick before writing my own and passing it back. I smiled to myself as I watched a group that had already gotten their records signed exchange CD's, reading each others own notes.
As I said before, there's nothing in the world I'd rather be doing.
I grimaced, quickly regaining my posture and smiling kindly; I definitely didn't need anyone hating me for this.
I despised Black Veil Brides simply because of the things I had heard about their lead singer, Andy- what was it? Biersack, I think. He was an asshole and was so full of himself he hardly had any friends. The fans were oblivious to it, of course.
“They're- alright.” I stated simply.
“What do you think of the members? Andy, Jake, CC, Jinxx, Ashley?”
I paused, choosing my words carefully before speaking slowly. “One hears things. Whether they're true or not is left to the knowledge of the person himself.”
“What do you mean?”
The interviewer looked at me quizzically, obviously confused. I sat back in my chair and twirled the metallic gray Sharpie between my fingers, thinking of how to put this lightly. I sighed.
“I've heard certain things about certain members I disapprove of. But I'd rather not go into detail, they're just rumors, correct?”
He smiled in reply. “Correct, I suppose. So about your mother, Dita Von Teese. What does she think about your, erm- occupation?”
“She doesn't really mind, although there are some things she'd rather me be doing.” I smiled deviously. “Burlesque dancing wasn't for me.”
He looked kind of dumbfounded, as if he still couldn't believe my middle-aged mother was a Burlesque dancer and looked my age rather than forty. I will admit, she's beautiful; I grew up thinking she was actually immortal. Maybe she is, for all I know.
“Does she attend any shows?”
“Oh, a lot of them.” I replied. “She's always there to support me.”
“What does she think about your relationship with Ben Bruce of Asking Alexandria?”
I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering how he hadn't heard. “We broke up about... six months ago?”
“Really? Oh, erm- sorry to hear that.”
He looked over at the cameraman embarrasingly, a look in his eyes that said 'we can cut that out, right?' he nodded and the interviewer turned back to me.
He looked down at his notecards. “How's it feel being on Warped Tour? Do you like it? Any bands you guys really bond with?”
I thought for a moment. “Uhhh... I think we get along pretty well with Sleeping With Sirens and Pierce the Veil. They're pretty cool, we hang out together a lot. And Warped is a really fun tour, it's great being with other bands and meeting fans around the country. It means a lot to the kids, it means a lot to us.”
The cameraman nodded towards his watch, telling the interviewer that their time was up. He turned to me.
“So thanks again for talking to us, it's always a pleasure.”
He held out his hand and I took it, smiling. “Yeah, no problem, it was great talking to you.”
They got up and left, leaving me sitting there waiting for the rest of the band to show up; we had a signing in about five minutes and a ton of kids were already waiting outside the tent, cheering and yelling my name as the guards kept them back. I smiled and waved at them, my heart swelling with happiness. Nothing in this world makes me happier than seeing these people. They mean the world to me, I mean the world to them. My fans were amazing and I'd be completely lost without them. I'd met so many wonderful people and I'm always honored when they tell me I'm their rolemodel or they admired me. Nothing compares to that feeling.
“There you guys are. Where've you been?” I asked my four bandmates. Alex sat next to me and opposite him were Jessica, Jay and Raven. Before you ask, Raven is in fact not a girl; he's a guy, a guy I'm extremely close to and couldn't live without. Raven had electric blue eyes and long black hair that he normally teased, pale skin and only had two tattoos, contradicting everyone else in the band; Alex, Jessica and Jay were covered in them. I had three, one of them being a black raven on my left forearm, whereas Raven had a white one on his right; it was sorta like a yin-yang thing we had. Long story.
Anyway, after everyone was settled and ready the guards stepped aside, allowing the fans to scramble towards our table with huge smiles on their faces. They all looked extremely hot and were not only grateful to meet us, but to be under the tent away from the hot sun. A very nervous young girl who looked to be about fourteen came up and handed me her vinyl pressing of our first album, Heaven and Hell. I smiled up at her.
“Hey.” I smiled. I stood and hugged her, catching her offguard before she hugged me back. One thing you'll learn about me; I love every single one of my fans. After going on tour with Of Mice and Men for a year and noticing how Austin treated his fans, I learned to do the same thing; tell them thank you, hug them, make it special rather than just signing their CD and moving on to the next person mindlessly.
I sat down and looked up at her, her face reading pure happiness and shock. I smiled.
“What's your name, love?” I questioned. She smiled too.
“M-Mia.”
I scribbled down a small note to her and signed my name, handing it back to her with another smile.
“Thank you so much.”
“You're welcome.”
She smiled at me once again and left, the next person coming up to the table. He had long blonde hair, brown eyes and a huge smile on his face. You'll learn that meet and greets are very happy places.
“Erm- hi.”
“Hey! What's your name?”
“Alec.” He said. I signed his album and handed it to Alex, who read my note before writing his own.
“Does that say Alex?” He questioned.
“No, Alec. With a 'c'.” I replied. He looked kind of disappointed but passed it over to Michael; Alex had this thing where if someone had the same name as him, he thought it was the coolest shit on earth. But then again, Alex thought everything was the coolest shit on earth.
Raven passed the CD back my direction and I handed it to Alec before he left, looking as though he might scream from happiness. Another vinyl was passed down to me by Alex and I looked at the others' notes, learning the guy's name was Nick before writing my own and passing it back. I smiled to myself as I watched a group that had already gotten their records signed exchange CD's, reading each others own notes.
As I said before, there's nothing in the world I'd rather be doing.