Dreams.

Cassandra's PoV

A few hours later I get a text from Alex saying they were outside. Luckily they don't show up too late, so both my parents are still awake. I pull a sweatshirt over my head and put on some ugg boots before going to meet them outside.

"Don't mess this up for me." I tell them.

"If anything we're going to fix it." Alex laughs.

"Can we just go inside already. It's freezing out here." Ben says.

"Fine. But my mom's on the lookout for any flaw she can find. So best behavior." I demand and lead them inside. Both my parents are standing right in the entry way.

"Hi. I'm Alex. This is Ben. Sorry for intruding on your family Holiday. It's a bit of an emergency." Alex smiles.

"I'm Allen, and this is my wife. But we'll do all the formalities later, why don't you two get settled in? You'll both be in the spare bedroom, but one of you will have the couch in there, while the other has the bed. Cassie will show you where all of that is. We'll meet down in the living room in let's say... Ten minutes?" We agree and I lead the two boys upstairs.

"Your mom was looking at me like she wanted to kill me." Ben laughs.

"Yeah, she's been like that since I got here. She thinks that something's up." I explain.

"I call the bed." Alex says. "And we'll deal with your mom. Don't worry your little head off."

"I hope so." I sigh. We do some catching up, and I find out that Ben's dad has more than a heart condition. He had a heart attack due to a blood clot in one of the main valves. It's pretty serious and Ben is beat up about it because he and his dad have never had the best relationship, and he feels like he's going to lose his dad and never be able to fix it. The main reason Alex came with him is to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. Ben had put his things in the room and left for the hospital soon after we got upstairs. Which was understandable.

Ten minutes quickly go by and we make our way downstairs.

"Cass, calm down alright. Everything will be fine, you're coming back with us either way anyway. We'd miss you too much." Alex tells me. "Just don't worry about it. I'll handle your parents."

"Thanks Alex." I smile.

"So you ready for this?" He asks.

"Nope." I laugh as mom and dad come into the room.

"So you're a couple of Cassandra's friends?" My mom asks.

"Yeah. We met through our friend Andy. We're all pretty close." Alex shrugs.

"I think that's great. It's always good to have close friends when you're new in a place." My dad says, trying to loosen the tension.

"Andy is in that band on your shirt right?" I look down and remember I was wearing the homemade Black Veil Brides shirt before I nod. "And you are trying to get into the music industry too?" She directs her attention back to Alex.

"Uh. Yeah. I'm a bassist. But I can do vocals too. Everyone in out group of friends is trying to make it. Ben is a guitarist. My brother, tucker, he plays drums, Andy sings. He plays bass too if he has to though. My girlfriend Cam is a guitarist, and our friend Faye is a vocalist." He explains.

"And how old are you?" My mother interrupts.

"I'm twenty-two. I've been in California my who life. I grew up out there." He says as my phone vibrates with a text.

From Andy.
Guess what.

I respond asking what as my mom continues her interrogation.

"So none of your group of friends have made it anywhere yet? No matter how long any of you have been out there?"

"Not exactly." He tells her as I get another message.

From Andy
I had to tell my parents first, and I did. So now I can tell you. Black Veil Brides has officially been signed to Standby Records.

I feel my eyes widen and my jaw drop.

"So what makes you think that c-" I interrupt my mom.

"Alex is wrong. Black Veil Brides is signed. Andy just told me." I say. Still in shock.

"Wait seriously?! Tell him I say congrats!" Alex says.

I type a reply to Andy, saying how amazing that is, and that Alex says congrats before looking up.

"Look, Mr. and Mrs. Harris. I get that you're worried for your daughter. She's seventeen and living in California without you. She's in a new place, new people, and it's a lot different from living here. But she's doing just fine. She has a job, she's making money, she has a place to live, she can afford food, and she has friends. Not to mention that she is doing what she loves, which is making music. She's already ahead of most people when they come out there. She's around good people, who care about her, and wouldn't let anything happen to her. So don't be so worried, I get that it's hard not to worry, but at least know that she's in good hands." Alex tells my parents.

My mother has goes silent, and has a slightly pout on her face.

"I say we just stick with the original plan." My dad says.

"I'm good with that." I tell him. "Mom?"

She's quiet again.

"Fine." She grumbles. I smile at her before standing up.

"Good. Now, seeing as it's Christmas tomorrow we should all go to bed." I say, earning a strange look from Alex.

My parents agree and we all say goodnight before they head to their room, leaving just Alex and I.

"It's only like 8pm in LA. There's no way I can sleep now." He tells me, and I roll my eyes.

"Obviously. I was thinking we could just hang out, and drink that alcohol that I know you tried to sneak." He smirks.

"You know me so well."

We go upstairs and into my bedroom, since it's the furthest away from my parents' room. I check my phone to see a text from Andy.

From Andy.
You're with Alex? I thought you were going home for Christmas.

To Andy.
I am home. But Ben's dad is in the hospital, so he and Alex are staying with me over the holidays. But since Ben's with his dad, it's really just Alex.

"Nice setup you have here." Alex comments, gesturing to my wall of pictures of my friends and I since I was a baby.

"Yeah. My mom insisted on keeping all the pictures of me, and seeing as that wall used to be baby blue with a rainbow on it, I decided to cover it up." I explain as my phone buzzes again.

From Andy.
Oh... Be careful. Don't get too close to Alex, he isn't exactly a good guy.