Stand Up

Lizzie's PoV

"Ha! I finally beat you!" I exclaimed.

"On your fifth try, after I showed you what to do." Caleb said rolling his eyes.

"I still beat you. Plus you were cheating." I accused him as my phone vibrated.

"How was I cheating?!" He asked. I put a finger up to shush him and picked my phone up out of my lap, and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Which house are you in?" Andy asked through the phone.

"Oh. I didnt know you were here yet. Are you on the street?"

"Yeah. I parked in a lot down the street."

"I'll come and get you." I told him and we hung up. "Andy's outside, I'm going to go get him, I'll be back in a minute." I told Caleb who nodded.

"Okay. Don't get shot." He joked. I rolled my eyes and left the house.

I looked around and finally spotted Andy.

"Andrew Dennis Biersack what are you doing?" I yelled. He looked up from the girl he was talking to on the sidewalk and waved me over.

"This is Avery. She's a fan." He said to me when I reached them. "She lives here with her uncle." I looked at the girl. She was probably 15 or 16. She reminded me a lot of myself when I was that age. She was trying to look tough, but any one could see how much she wanted to fall apart.

"So Avery right?" I asked and she nodded. "You can relax, I know it's hard, but trust me nothing will touch you with Andy and I around. I'm Lizzie by the way."

"Nice to meet you." Avery said.

"So you live here?" I asked. She nodded. "I'm Debby's step daughter. Tony is my dad. And Andy is my boyfriend." I told her as Andy reached out to hold my hand.

"So your Caleb's sister?" She asked, her eyes lighted up a bit.

"Step sister yeah." I said.

"That's cool."

"Here." I said taking out a sharpie from my pocket.

I had started carrying them around with me ever since I preformed with Andy and we made our relationship public.
Fans asked me to sign things, I didn't get it, but whatever, it was kind of cool.

"You can call or text me whenever. " I told her as I wrote my number on her arm. She looked at it with confusion.

"Why?" She asked quietly.

"Living here is hard and I know how it makes you crazy, so Im gonna help you through it." I explained. Avery stared hard at the ground.

"Why do you care?" She whispered.

"Because I don't want you turning into what I did." I told her, pushing up the sleeves of my hoodie and showing her the scars. "I might not have gone down the same path as my parents, but the things they did got to me, and I dealt with it a different way."

Avery was quiet. I pulled my sleeves back down and Andy held tightly onto my hand. He'd never seen all my scars. He knew about them, but never how bad they were. I have more too. On my sides and legs. There are more in those areas because I could hide them better.

"Y-you cut?" She asked in shock.

"Yeah, had an accident recently where I could have died. I've been almost a month and a half clean." I admitted. Andy squeezed my hand. He had been the reason I stopped. I didn't want to let him down.

"Thanks Lizzie." She said before pulling me into a hug. I chuckled.

"No problem. Just promise me to use that number." I said as we pulled apart. "And keep me updated on what my idiot of a little step brother is up to."

"I will." She smiled.

"But for now we gotta go." I told her and he nodded

"Next time the band are in Massachusetts I'll make sure that you get to go to the show." Andy said.

"That would be amazing. Thanks Andy." Avery said. She seemed happier. After saying goodbye Andy and I walked back to the house.

"You got her to come out of her shell. That was nice of you." Andy smiled.

"I saw too much of myself in her. That scared me. So I'm going to help her out." I told him.

"Seeing yourself in her isn't a bad thing. You're independent, opinionated, beautiful, strong, and short tempered. But those things were what made me fall for you." Andy said which causing me to blush.

"You need to stop saying nice things to me."

"Never going to happen." He smirked. I sighed and opened the door of the house.

"Sorry in advance for whatever happens today." I whispered to Andy as we walked into the 'man cave.'

"What took you so long?" Caleb asked as we entered.

"Andy got distracted and met Avery. So we talked for a few minutes." I explained. "Andy meet my step brother Caleb Hawkins. Caleb meet my boyfriend, Andy Biersack." I smiled. I loved being able to call him my boyfriend.

"Nice to meet you man. Love your music." Caleb says as cooly as he can. I laughed. "Anyway my mom called me and said that her and your dad are on their way." He informed me and my smile suddenly disappeared.

"How long?" I asked.

"15 minutes maybe." Caleb replied. I groaned.

"You'll be fine." Andy assured me and kissed the top of my head. I didn't respond, I just dragged him to the couch and buried my face into his chest. He chuckled and played with my hair as he and Caleb talked. I was probably acting childish but I didn't care.

I felt my phone buzz I lifted my head up to read the text.

From Kellin
Have you seen your dad yet? Dedicating 'A Trophy Fathers Trophy Son' to you later.

I went to reply as I heard the door open and voices follow.

To Kellin
He just arrived. :/ And thanks.

I sighed and sat up properly.

"Caleb?" I heard a woman's voice ask.

"In the game room mom." He said replied in a monotone voice. My phone buzzed and I quickly read the message,

From Kellin
good luck.

I replied saying Thanks and held my breath as my dad and 'step mother' walked into the room.

"Elizabeth." My dad said. I cringed at the use of my full name.

"Ant- I mean. Dad." I replied remembering I had to call him dad and not his name. I was into the habit of calling my parents by their names and not mom and dad because I never saw them as my parents.

"Look how much you've grown up." He smiled. "And who is this young man?" He asked looking at Andy.

"My boyfriend." I told him. Sending Andy a look to keep quiet.

"I didn't know you were bringing anyone with you."

"He's the only reason I'm even in this state." I replied coldly.

"Well, how about we go out to dinner. Italian? I know a good place." Debby interrupted.

"Sounds good to me." Caleb said. "How about you two?" He asked Andy and I. We just nodded.

"I can drive. I brought the van." Andy said. Debby nodded.

"Great! Lets go." She smiled. If I didn't know better I never would have thought she was doing drugs.

I slid into the passenger seat and Andy drove. My dad was behind me, Debby next to him, and Caleb behind them.

"So Andy tell us about yourself." Debby started. Andy looked at me, and then answered.

"Well, I'm uh 22, and I sing in a band"

"A band? Would I know it?" My father asked. Caleb laughed.

"Never old man. But you might have seen some of my posters, or heard some music from my room."

"Oh are you in that black veil band?" Debby asked.

"That's the one." Andy said.

"What kind of music do you sing?" My dad asked.

"Want me to just play a song?" I interrupted before Andy had a chance to answer.

"Yeah. In The End. You have that on your phone." Caleb said. I nodded and plugged my phone into the van's stereo. I tapped In The End and it started playing.

The car was silent for the 3 minutes and 44 seconds of the song.

It hadn't even been 10 minutes since I saw my dad, and we had probably only said a total of 20 words to each other and I wanted to snap.

When the song unplugged my phone,

"And that was Black Veil Brides." I said. Andy chuckled and reached over to hold my hand. And even though I hated to I pulled away. "Both hands on the wheel Biersack." I said quietly so only he could hear. He ignored me and kept his hand on mine.

"So you're like a rock and roll band?" Debby asked.

"You could say that. The song you heard is on our concept record. Our older music is pretty different." Andy explained.

"Not really. It has the same kind of message." Caleb added.

"Never give in. Never back down." I said. We were all quiet.

"I think you're talented Andy, you have a great voice." My dad said.

"Thanks Mr..." Andy trailed off. He knew I had changed my last name on my 18th birthday to match my sisters.

"Call me Tony."

"Okay then, thanks Tony." Andy said. I felt my phone buzz in my lap.

From Ashley
Fans keep asking where Andy is.

I frowned and replied.

To Ashley
What are you telling them?

A few seconds later I felt my phone buzz again.

From Ashley
What do you want me to tell them? All we've been saying is that he couldn't be at the meet and greet.

I sighed and put the phone in my lap.

"Ashley wants to know what to say to the fans. They keep asking where you are." I told Andy.

"I felt sick so I went back to the bus." He said as the GPS on his phone told him to turn.

"Okay." I said and texted Ashley what Andy had said.

"So you're pretty famous aren't you?" Debby asked.

"We have a strong fan base. But we aren't exactly the most popular band in the music world. We are kind of like the outcasts." Andy tried to explain.

"Isn't that what rock and roll is all about?" My dad asked. "Rebelling and not being like everyone else."

"Yeah." Andy replied as we pulled into the restaurant.

"Isn't this Derek's old restaurant?" I asked.

"He left it to his daughter when he died. She reopened it." Caleb explained to me as we got out of the car. "Your uncle Joey and your dad have been helping out with it."

"Big family?" Andy asked me as we all walked inside.

"Italian family." I corrected. "Speaking of which is my grandfather alive?" I asked Caleb.

"Nope. Died of cancer in like 2008."

"So my mom and dad weren't lying." I said to myself. "Did he ask to meet me?" I asked Caleb.

"Yeah, your dad tried to get you to come and visit. But you never did." He told me.

"Do you blame me?"

"Not at all." He laughed. "You didn't miss out on much. Just meeting some of the extended family." He put air quotes around extended.

"Extended?" Andy asked.

"We are an Italian, or well Sicilian family, we live in the Boston area, and our heritage goes back a while." I said, but Andy still had a clueless look on his face. I laughed. "My grandfather ran the strip clubs for the mob back in the 60's. The extended family are those guys." I explained quietly. He didn't say anything.

"Hey Tony, Debby, and Caleb. Who are your friends?" A man around my dads age asked.

"Elizabeth and her boyfriend decided to come and visit." My dad told him.

"I haven't seen you since you were a baby!" The man exclaimed. "You're all grown up now."

"Yeah, I haven't seen you since we talked on Facebook that one time when I had a question about your daughter." I agreed.

"How about we get you guys something to eat. Then you can all sit down and talk."

"Thanks uncle Joey." I said. I was trying to act civil, but it was hard when I was surrounded by people I didn't really know because they were too wrapped up in their own problems.

"I'll send Kara out to take your orders." Joey said as we sat down. No one said anything and I could tell it was going to be an awkward afternoon.

I was next to Andy and Caleb. My dad and Debby across from us. I took out my phone and texted Andy.

To Andy
Don't order anything alcoholic. My dad will tell my mom and she will bitch about it since I never approved of her or my dad drinking.

I hit send and saw him take out his phone a few seconds later and read the message.

"Kids and their phones." Debby joked.

"Gotta tweet." I lied. And everyone laughed. I felt my phone buzz in my lap.

From Andy
I know. I wasn't planning on It. I have to drive us back remember.

I smiled as the girl came to give us the menus and take our drink order.

"I'll have a coke." Andy said when it was his turn. I had only gotten a water, Caleb got Mountain Dew, Debby got a coffee and my dad had gotten a water as well.

"I'll be back with those and to take your orders." The girl said before walking away.

"So how did you and Elizabeth meet." My dad asked Andy.

" She came to a show with her friend and ended up running into and becoming friends with one of my guitarists girlfriend. We hung out for the weekend then the band had to go back on tour, but we kept in touch and agreed that she and her friend would spend the last month on tour with the band." Andy explained leaving out the parts about my mother.

"You just invited her and her friend on tour with you?" Caleb asked. Andy nodded.

"You dropped everything and went on tour with a rock band? Isn't that a little impulsive and irresponsible. What about your job and college?" Debby asked, sounding repulsed by the whole idea.

"I didn't drop everything. It's still there waiting for me. I don't go to college. My boss wanted me to go. It might have been impulsive and irresponsible, but it's not like I killed someone." I said defending myself.

"Still. You're alone with 5 men in a tour bus." She pointed out.

"Not quite. My friend is also here. Not to mention all the other bands on tour. They're like my family, so I'm perfectly safe." I told her.

"I don't like the idea of it." My dad said.

"Since when was my well being a concern of yours?" I asked him coldly. He looked away, and Caleb coughed awkwardly as the waitress walked over and we ordered, I only got a salad.

"You don't even like salad." Andy said to me as the waitress walked away. I just shrugged, and he let it go.

While Caleb and my dad were talking I felt my phone buzz in my pocket.

From Andy.
You better eat something. If you don't eat the salad we can stop and get something on the way back. But you have to eat.

I didn't bother replying. He wasn't going to listen to my protests so why bother.

The food arrived quicker than I thought it would and everyone started eating. I picked around my salad. Occasionally eating a piece of the turkey in it. I felt Andy watching me. I tried my best to ignore it.

Debby kept starting small talk with Andy. My dad doing the same.

"I thought your mother said you had the scholarship to get into Harvard for law?" My dad asked me suddenly.

"I did. Along with some other colleges. I wasn't going to suffer through 7 years of school to become something I didn't want to be. I'm not the college type." I told him.

"Neither were your parents and look how they turned out." Debby pointed out.

"Just because you go to college doesn't mean you won't be an addict." I reminded her. "You went to college didn't you? You're have a degree in some therapy thing."

"Yes I do. I don't know what you're trying to say, but I assure you that it's false." She said. Caleb laughed.

"Mom, stop trying to sound smart. You sound like a fucking idiot. We all know what Lizzie is implying is true." He said. I smiled.

"Elizabeth can I speak to you alone for a minute?" My dad asked suddenly. I nodded and got up walked away from the table. He soon followed.

"Why am I really here? It's not because you want to rekindle your relationship with your daughter. I knew that was a lie since the first phone call. So what is it really?" I asked. Annoyed at the whole situation, I knew it was a mistake coming, but I also knew if I didn't I would regret it.

"I need money. I got into some trouble, and if I don't pay my dealer I could die." He explained.

"Your addiction is going to kill you anyway. Your dealer just wants to speed up the process." I said. He looked at me. "How much do you need?"

"$780." He smiled, knowing he'd gotten his way.

"I give you this and you never contact me again. I don't want to see you, hear from you, or have anything to do with you." I told him. "I'm helping you out once. Never expect anything from me again."

"Knew that rich boyfriend of yours would be an advantage." He smirked.

"He isn't at your disposal. Watch what you say or you won't get a penny. Is there a bank nearby?" I asked. He nodded.

"How are you getting this money if you aren't using your boyfriend."

"My aunt. She died remember. I was her favorite, and she made sure I was set for a good 15 years." I explained. "Now lets get out of here." I said and we walked over to the table where Andy was paying the check. I rolled my eyes. "We're stopping at the bank on the way to drop these guys off. I'll explain later." I told Andy as we left the restaurant. He nodded and we started driving to the bank. No one said anything.

Andy pulled up to the ATM and I got out of the car to be able to reach it easily.

I took my card out, typed my pin in, and typed in the amount of money I wanted. Once it was finished counting it I put it into one of the envelops, grabbed my receipt and got back into the car.

"We're going back to the house and dropping them off." I told Andy. "And here's your 780 dollars. Remember what I said." I said to my dad coldly, handing him the envelop.

We got back to the house quickly. I didn't bother getting out of the car, but I did open my window to say bye to Caleb.

"Promise me you'll look after Avery. And get out of here. Don't stay around these two. I know Debby's your mom, but you can't keep going like this." I told him.

"I'll look after her. And I'll work in getting out." He said.

"You better. Bye Caleb." I said.

"Don't worry about me. Bye Lizzie, and it was cool meeting you Andy." He said.

"You too." Andy responded and rolled started driving away. "Wanna talk about it?" He asked as we got back into the highway.

"I knew this would happen. I'm so fucking stupid." I said loudly annoyed at myself.

"You aren't stupid. He's the stupid one. You have your dad a chance to have a relationship with you and he threw it away. It's his loss." Andy told me.

"What did I do wrong?" I asked softly. "Why does he keep doing this, he always has, so what did I do?"

"You didn't do anything. I would say that he doesn't know any better, but he does. He's just an asshole. You did nothing." He said.

"But I don't have any family anymore. My mother doesn't give a shit, she just wants to see my downfall, my father just wanted my fucking money, and my sister is always too high to even comprehend what's happening." I said fighting off tears.

"Were they ever your family to begin with? You have a new family now. Me, Leah, Sammi, Jinxx, Ashley, Jake, CC, Kellin and all of sleeping with sirens. The list goes on. We care about you, we will never let anything happen to you." He told me. I didn't say anything as we pulled into the venue. "You wanna go back to the bus and tell everyone what happened?" He asked. I shook my head.

"I'm going for a walk. I need a few minutes." I told him. He nodded and pecked my lips.

"Okay, you know where the bus is. Just use the pass I have you a few days ago if anyone stops you."

I nodded and walked around. All the busses were still here, it was only around 6pm and warped was still going on. I sighed and took out my phone about to text Kellin when I bumped into someone.

"Shit sorry." I said.

"It's fine, it was my fault. Are you supposed to be back here?" A male voice asked.

"I'm with Black Veil Brides." I said, pulling the lanyard out of my back pocket and looking up at the person I was talking to. "Oh my god, you're Jayy Von Monroe." He laughed.

"Fan?"

"Of course." I smiled.

"You coming to the show later?" He asked me.

"I wasn't going to. I didn't even know you were on tour."

"We weren't. But fans asked us if we could play the last couple weeks, so we decided to." He explained. "So are you going to come to the show now?"

"Yeah of course. I need to get my mind off shit anyway." I said and he looked at me for a minute

"Lets go." He said grabbing my hand and dragging me toward the buses.

This was going to be fun.