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It was audition day.
They'd been talking about this for a week, though Lonny suspected Andy had been planning to ask him since before the Ghost of Ohio touring had finished. He'd seen the fondness in the singer's bright blue gaze every time he looked at him since before the Warped dates―and he was sure Andy knew that, since he never made any attempt to hide it.
Lonny was still amazed he'd been chosen to tour with Andy at all. Even long after the tour was finished, it didn't quite feel real―as if it was all some elaborate dream that he would wake up from any second. And yet Andy continually surprised him―inviting Lonny to stay at his place in L.A. for a while, having him on The Andy Show so many times, teaching him about American culture (not that it had helped him understand this disaster of a country very much), and then inviting him to audition for a place in Black Veil Brides.
Lonny well remembered that conversation. They'd been watching a Bengals game (well, Andy had been watching; Lonny had kind of zoned out, not entirely understanding American football no matter how many games Andy had him sit through), and when they'd reached an intermission Andy had simply said, "Hey, Lonny?" When Lonny looked at him, he'd posed the question: "Would you like to join Black Veil Brides?"
Lonny had stared at him for a moment before what he'd asked clicked. "You want me to what?"
"Join BVB," Andy repeated calmly, though he looked a little embarrassed. "I, um...I was talking to the guys again the other day, and they want to get the band back together, but we...we've had...issues..." He didn't seem to want to say something. Lonny had searched his brain for any time Andy had brought up his troubles with the band and found the answer fairly quickly.
"I get it," he'd said quietly, and Andy had continued gratefully.
"Well, we got to talking, and I told them about you. They all agreed they want to give you a chance. I'm gonna need to talk to them about setting up a formal audition so they can hear you play, but..." He'd smiled, a little shyly. "I want you to join the band."
Of course Lonny had agreed―who in their right mind wouldn't?―and here they were a week later. Andy was lingering by the door waiting for the other Black Veil members to show up, and Lonny was nervously tuning and re-tuning his bass, hoping desperately that he wouldn't fuck this up.
It wasn't just the nerves about meeting the rest of his favorite band, though those were high enough. It was more that he was terrified of letting Andy down―terrified they wouldn't like him for some reason, terrified all Andy's faith in him would have been misplaced. He knew Andy was aware that he was a fan―hell, he'd discovered that in the second week of the Ghost of Ohio tour―but what would the rest of them think if they found out? If he fucked up and they realized he was a fan―God, how embarrassing would that be?
Lonny re-tuned his D string again, trying to take his thoughts off the upcoming audition, then jumped as Andy abruptly walked back into the living room leading Jake Pitts, Jinxx, and CC behind him.
"So this is the guy you told us about," were the first words out of CC's mouth.
Jake elbowed him. "Ceese. Don't scare him."
Too late, Lonny thought, but did an admirable job of keeping his expression fairly neutral.
"Sorry, man," CC said, looking sincere.
Lonny just nodded, the fan part of him threatening to spill over if he opened his mouth. I'm talking to them. I'm standing in the same room as the Black Veil Brides. And they're about to listen to me play to see if I can join them. How did I end up in this position again?
"Let us get settled on the couch, and then you can start whenever you're ready," Andy told him, not unkindly. Lonny swallowed and nodded; holy shit, I'm actually doing this.
They arranged themselves―CC, Andy, Jake, Jinxx―on Andy's couch, and Lonny took a deep breath, steeling himself. You can do this. Pretend you're just practicing on your own. Pretend they're not there. You know the song. Just play.
And so he did. His first couple of notes were a little shaky, but not wrong, and his confidence picked up as he fell into the rhythm of "In the End," familiar from so many hours practicing it. He fought the urge to sing the words and focused solely on playing the notes; by the time he reached where Jake's guitar solo usually went, he felt brave enough to even attempt it, albeit a couple of octaves lower. After that it felt like the rest of the song passed in a blur, and before he knew it he'd finished with the final chord and the Black Veil Brides arranged on the couch were all clapping politely.
"Well done," Jinxx complimented, the first he'd spoken.
Lonny blushed, then cursed himself for blushing. You're acting like a fan again. Stop that.
"Thanks," he mumbled, and the drummer and pair of guitarists all looked slightly surprised at hearing him speak.
"Lon," Andy said, and Lonny looked up in surprise of his own at the nickname. "Would you mind going upstairs for a few minutes so we can talk?"
"Yeah," Lonny said. "Yeah, sure." He disconnected his guitar from the amp, then took both items with him as he headed upstairs to await their verdict.
Andy watched Lonny leave with a small smile on his face. "He's always nervous around me," he said fondly. "But he's incredible."
"No kidding," Jake agreed. "Where did you say you found this guy?"
"Canada," Andy said seriously, and Jinxx chuckled.
"He really did well," the rhythm guitarist said. "I don't think I've ever heard anyone play the bass line of 'In the End' that well. Ever."
Andy understood his point completely. Jake chimed in again. "I thought it was brave of him to attempt the solo. And he did it well, too―I'm impressed."
"What about you, Ceese?" Andy asked.
CC shrugged. "I like him. He's really good, like you guys have said, and despite how shy he is I got the sense that he's got a good personality too."
"He does," Andy confirmed. "He's one of the kindest human beings I know."
Jinxx studied him. "You seem a lot happier than the last time we spoke. Before all this."
Andy held his penetrating gaze. "I am. He's been a good influence on me. I'm really happy to have him in my life."
Jinxx maintained the eye contact for another few moments before he nodded. "I can see that. I'm glad you're happy."
"So am I," Andy murmured, almost too softly to be audible. And he was. Lonny had really helped him in so many ways; Andy honestly wasn't sure he could go back to a life without Lonny in it in some capacity, and what better way to have that than by letting Lonny join the band?
He shook himself. "So, what do we think?"
"He's definitely shy," Jake said. "But I admire his skill."
"Agreed," Jinxx nodded, and elbowed Jake. "And being shy's not a problem, is it? You're literally in a band full of guys with social anxiety."
"Ow," Jake protested mildly, grinning at him. "I never said it was!"
Andy chuckled; he'd missed their easy banter. "Ceese?"
"Like I said, man," CC shrugged. "I'm a fan. I like him a lot."
"Well, you know I like him," Andy said. "I'm the one that's been touring with him for a year. But does that mean it's a yes, we can let him join?"
Jake, Jinxx, and CC all exchanged a look, and Andy felt a surge of doubt; what could they possibly be on the fence about? Was he about to let down the man that had as good as saved his life? Andy didn't know if he could live with himself if that happened.
He heard something from upstairs, faint but audible. The others paused as they heard it too. It was Lonny again, still playing; after a few moments of listening, Andy deduced that the song he'd chosen was "Our Destiny."
The four of them were all silent for a few moments, staring up at the ceiling and listening to Lonny's masterful rendition of the song. Almost despite himself, Andy started quietly singing along. "Have we begun to drift away? / Have we learned from our mistakes? / Who will be the one to save our destiny?"
"I almost forgot about this one," Jinxx said quietly. "In the turmoil...with everything...I almost forgot."
"I think we all did," Jake said. "We never played it live."
"He didn't," Andy breathed.
"I think," CC said, "that that's a yes, he's in."
"Seconded," Jake said.
"Thirded," Jinxx added, then frowned. "I don't even know if that's a word."
Andy relaxed, smiling. "Thank you. I'll go get him."
He strode towards the stairs to go tell their new bassist he had a job.
Lonny hadn't consciously intended to start playing.
But he was nervous, and playing always calmed him down when he was nervous, so he'd picked up the bass and played somewhat mindlessly. He knew so many BVB songs by heart that it wasn't even difficult anymore―and the fact that he didn't have the four actual band members watching him this time helped immensely.
He'd just finished the last chord when a knock sounded at the door. It opened a moment later to reveal a smiling Andy.
"Hey, you," he said.
"Are you ready for me again?"
"Yeah, we are." Andy's smile was so wide Lonny thought whatever they had to say couldn't possibly be bad news.
Lonny stood and joined him in the doorway, then paused as Crow appeared from nowhere and wound around their legs the way cats tended to do, purring loudly.
"Where did he come from?" Lonny asked as Andy bent to scoop up the cat.
Andy let Crow sniff his face for a moment before replying. "Who knows. Cats work in mysterious ways. He probably wants food." He smiled at Lonny again. "Want him?"
"To carry down the stairs?" Lonny asked dubiously. "No, thanks." He did, however, reach out to give the purring black-and-white cat a scratch behind the ears.
"Well, come on, they're waiting for us," Andy said, and led the way back down the hall towards the staircase.
They walked in silence for a moment before Andy spoke again. "We heard you playing. From downstairs."
Lonny's nerves jumped. "You did?" He was glad that his voice, at least, sounded level.
Andy nodded, and Crow gave him what could only be described as an affronted look at the movement. "We did," Andy said, ignoring the cat. "'Our Destiny', huh?"
Lonny nodded, a little shyly. "It was the first thing I thought of."
Andy smiled again. "Well...it did the trick."
Lonny's eyes widened. "Wait, do you mean―?"
They emerged back into the living room to find that the guitarists and drummer had all stood up and were facing them. Andy set down his cat (who immediately wandered over to sniff Jake's shoes) and walked to join them, leaving Lonny suddenly feeling very vulnerable facing them.
"You're in," Jake said. "If you want the job."
Lonny couldn't believe his ears. "I'm in?"
"Yeah, dude," CC grinned. "We're all impressed. You're really good."
"And more than that," Jinxx added. "Andy's happy with you around."
Lonny blushed again― damn me― and glanced at Andy to find one of the first genuine, unguarded smiles of happiness he'd ever seen on the singer's face. There had always been a shadow in his smile, before―maybe the loss of the guys―but now that shadow was gone.
"I can see that," he said, and smiled back. He looked back at the others. "So I'm really―that's it? I'm really in the band now?"
Jake chuckled. "Yeah. We don't stand on ceremony."
Lonny figured that tracked. He exhaled, a grin stealing across his face almost despite himself. "Wow. Okay. I...really don't know what to say."
Jinxx chuckled softly. "That's okay. This is a little weird for us too. The last time we added a new person to the band it was CC, and that was almost ten years ago."
CC grinned. "At least I'm not the new guy anymore."
"No, we're still gonna call you that," Andy teased. "You are forever the new guy."
"Rude," CC laughed.
Lonny smiled to himself watching them interact. He was part of this now―promoted, essentially, from soldier to leader. It was all a little hard to believe. But if I'm dreaming, this is the most detailed, vivid dream I've ever had. If I'm dreaming, I don't want to wake up.
"Why so quiet?" Jake asked. "Are you just shy?" He considered that and frowned. "Sorry, that was a little rude."
"No, you're fine," Lonny said, and figured now was as good a time as any. "It's just...I've been a fan a lot longer than I've known Andy. So meeting all of you...and getting offered the job..." He shook his head. "It's a lot."
Jinxx smiled. "You're a fan?"
Lonny nodded, a little embarrassedly. "Yeah. I have been since Wretched. I, uh...I even got a tattoo."
"Really?" Andy asked interestedly. "How come I've never seen this? We've been touring together for half a year, and I know we've talked about Black Veil."
"Well, it's a little embarrassing to admit to your favorite singer while you're touring with him that you've got a tattoo of something he wrote," Lonny pointed out. "But, um...if you'd like to see it...?"
"Sure," Andy said, and the others seemed to agree.
Feeling a little awkward, Lonny pulled up his sleeve and located his "In the End" tattoo. "Here," he said, and blushed again as all four of the others stepped a little closer to take a look. This is embarrassing, why did I do that?
"That's awesome, Lonny," CC said, and Lonny glanced at him in surprise.
"Really?"
"Yeah!" CC looked a little bemused as to why Lonny was so surprised. "It's awesome that you were a fan first, man."
"And he's blushing," Jake noted, grinning. Lonny mentally cursed again as Andy laughed.
"That's not hard to do," he said, throwing a casual arm around Lonny's shoulders. Lonny grinned ruefully and looked down.
"You guys want to hang out for a while?" Andy offered. "Catch up? We've got a lot of lost time to make up for."
"Sure, I'm down for that," CC said.
"Cory's out with friends, they won't be home for a while―I've got time to kill," Jake shrugged.
"Yeah, Alice is at work, I've got time too," Jinxx agreed.
Andy grinned. "Great." His grin softened. "It's nice having you guys around again."
Jake squeezed his shoulder; Lonny watched the whole interaction with a smile on his face. Yes, Andy definitely seemed happier just having his best friends back in the room with him.
Andy leaned in to murmur in Lonny's ear as the guitarists and CC got settled again, already tossing joking insults back and forth. "Welcome to Black Veil Brides, Lon."
Lonny smiled at him. Whatever happened next, he knew he'd always be grateful that he'd met Andy.
So all he said as he allowed the singer to lead him to join the others was, "Thank you."