Andy was sitting in the back lounge, smiling softly with his cellphone pressed to his ear. "No, gran. It's not too cold. I've been staying warm, don't worry." He replied, picking at the loose thread on the hem of his hoodie. It was a chilly day in Cincinnati, much like it always was this time of year. A decade in sunny Los Angeles has spoiled Andy though so he was freezing.
"Well good, I'd rather you not get sick this early in the year, it could turn into pneumonia you know." Andy's brilliant, beautiful, amazing grandmother said. "How is my guy?" She asked.
"Yanni is doing great." Andy chuckled. Ann loved Yanni like he was a bonus grandson. His whole family loved Yanni. Andy didn't have a lot of people he could say he completely trusted, but outside if his family, Yanni was definitely near the top of that list.
"Good, I'm glad. How about those new boys in your band, I haven't met them yet. Will I get to meet them tonight?" Ann asked.
"They're great and yes, you'll get to meet them, gran. Lonny and Sage." Andy replied, supplying their names for her.
"Your mom has told me how much you like that Lonny, he sounds sweet." Ann said. The smile in her voice obvious.
Andy scrambled to find the right words. He didn't want to jump to conclusions and assume his grandmother meant that in the romantic sense. He didn't like Lonny like that, why would she think he did?
"He's a really great guy, and an amazing musician." Andy said instead. Be wasn't sure why he struggled to reply so much. It was gran. She wasn't implying anything. Not that it would matter because Lonny was just a friend.
"I can't wait to meet him." Ann said. Andy was trying to decipher her tone, was she implying something? Did his mom say something to make her think that Lonny was something more? "I'll let you go, dear. I'll see you tonight."
"Okay, gran. I love you." Andy replied with a smile though his mind was still whirring with questions. If he could get Amy alone, he was going to ask her about this.
"I love you too." And with that she hung up. A cool fifteen minutes as per usual. Ann was not a phone call person at all so fifteen minutes was standard for the elderly woman. There were few things consistent in this world, but gravity and Ann Flanders' short phone calls could always be counted on.
Andy stood, sliding his phone into the pocket of his hoodie. He was so happy he was going to get to see his parents and his grandmother. Living so far away from his family never got easier. Sometimes he missed being a kid. No responsibility, no constant traveling, no bills, just him and his family. He missed that. If Andy thought they would agree to it, he would move his parents down to Los Angeles, but he knew that would never happen. Cincinnati was their home for better or worse.
Andy left the lounge, making his way through the bunk alley when something caught his attention.
His own voice?
He stood there, straining his ears as he listened, trying to figure out what exactly the video was. It wasn't him singing, it was him talking. He heard his cousin's voice and his brows furrowed in confusion. Who was watching The Andy Show?
He finally pinpointed which bunk the sound was coming from, and opened the curtain to find Lonny laying there, his phone propped up on his knee and an episode of The Andy Show playing.
Lonny jumped and much to his horror found Andy standing there. This was exactly the situation Beaux had warned him about. Great. Andy was going to think he was a freaking stalker now. This was mortifying.
"Lonny you didn't have to watch my podcast on YouTube. That's very sweet of you to check it out though." Andy smiled. Lonny paused a few beats. Okay. He had an out, he had deniability. He could easily play along with that notion.
"Oh no, it's on patreon." He corrected. 'What the fuck, Lonny?!'
"Lonny, why did you do that? You can watch stuff for free on YouTube!" Andy couldn't believe it. Lonny was insanely supportive but this was too much to ask for.
"It's fine, I've been a patron for three years." Well... there goes deniability. Lonny didn't know why he was doing this, but part of him felt relaxed enough around the singer to speak freely. He's never felt much shyness or anxiety in his life so telling the truth didn't stress him out too terribly.
Andy's jaw understandably dropped at this revelation. "Run that by me again?" Lonny cringed to himself but it was too late, he had to be honest with the older man now.
"Yeah... I guess I haven't gotten around to mentioning I'm a fan huh." Lonny said as casually as he could.
Andy- to Lonny's surprise- let out a laugh. "Yeah you definitely haven't." He said, sitting down on the edge of the bunk. "How long have you been a fan?" He asked.
"Since Wretched and Divine came out." Lonny admitted. Andy gawked at him. "You've been a fan for six years and didn't tell me?!" Andy exclaimed.
Lonny shrugged. "Yeah... I guess I wanted to try and keep things professional, and I felt like telling you right off the bat wouldn't help that." He explained, leaving out the part where he had a stupid celebrity crush on him.
Andy wasn't sure what to say so he just kind of sat there for a moment. "So you've seen me live and stuff?" He couldn't help but ask.
"Oh yeah, I've seen you at Warped tour three times, I saw you during the church of the wild ones tour, I saw you at the Vancouver show on the black mass tour- funny story, you almost landed on me when you jumped in the crowd to fight that heckler." Lonny rambled.
Andy looked mortified. "You're not the guy I tried to fight, right?" He asked, only half joking. "What? No!" Lonny laughed.
"Okay good because this is some weird long game revenge if so." Andy teased lightly, making Lonny snort. This wasn't nearly as weird or uncomfortable as Lonny had imagined this moment to be.
The two talked for a while about the singer's music, career and band. Andy was careful to keep the conversation positive when it came to Black Veil, Lonny didn't need to know what was going on with the band. Andy wasn't sure how long they talked before Yanni came to the bus to inform them that they needed to head to the venue to get ready for the show.
Andy liked Lonny a lot. He was such a sweet, positive person. He wanted him around forever if he could swing it. The singer was painting a careful line across the bridge of his nose when the door to the green room opened.
"There's my guy." A frail, sweet voice said. "There's my lady." Yanni beamed, bending down to give the older woman a hug. Chris and Amy filed into the room behind the wheelchair, greeting the bodyguard warmly as well.
Andy spun around, his smile so bright that Lonny was sure his cheeks would be sore if it continued. Andy had such a contagious smile. Even though Lonny didn't know the elderly woman, he couldn't help but grin at her presence either.
"Hi, gran!" Andy said, kneeling on the ground next to her wheelchair and taking her hand in his.
"Andy, you look so handsome!" Ann said with a sweet smile, reaching up to cup his cheek. "Are you eating good?" She asked sternly, making Andy chuckle.
"Yes, gran. I'm eating good." He promised, his smile widening even more when she turned her gaze to Yanni, eyeing him skeptically as if to silently ask if the singer was in fact eating good.
Yanni raised his hands in surrender. "Ann, you know I can't control him." He joked.
Lonny couldn't wipe the grin off his face as he watched the interaction. He knew Andy was close to his family, but seeing it in person was truly a beautiful sight.
"Is this Lonny?" The question made the guitarist jump slightly. Andy glanced over at him with such fondness it was staggering. "Yes it is. Lonny, this is my grandmother, Ann." Andy introduced.
"Hello, it's so nice to meet you." Lonny said, standing up and making his way over to shake her hand.
Ann was quick to bat his hand away with a scoff. "Young man, I am not a politician." She said, making Lonny laugh.
"Mom!" Amy exclaimed, her fondness for her mother obvious. "How would you like me to greet you then, Ann?" Lonny asked genuinely.
"You're friends with my Andy. You get a hug." She said matter of factly, holding her arms open. Lonny melted at that and didn't hesitate to lean down and hug her.
Andy probably would've cried if it wasn't for the fact that he had eyeliner on. His grandmother was so sweet, and so was Lonny. His heart couldn't handle it.
"Hey, Lonny. Nice to meet you." Chris said, shaking his hand when he pulled away from the hug.
"Hi, it's nice to meet you too." Lonny replied. Chris and Andy looked so similar to each other, but Andy absolutely had Amy's eyes and smile. Amy- like her mother- went with a hug over a handshake. Lonny liked Andy's family already.
"How's tour been so far, B?" Chris asked his son.
"It's been great. The crowds have been amazing." Andy replied, still knelt on the ground with his hand clasped with his grandmother's. He's always been close with her, but after taking care of her when her cancer came back in 2014, he couldn't imagine not having her around. Obviously he knew that was unrealistic. She was in her 90s, but that didn't make the idea of her passing any easier on Andy. Losing his grandfather nearly killed him.
"How have you been liking the tour, Lonny? This is your first time working with B, right?" Chris asked, turning his attention to Lonny.
"It is, yeah. I've loved it. Andy Black is actually a dream tour gig for me." Lonny replied honestly. Andy looked at him with wide eyes. He didn't know that.
"Really? Well then that's incredible! I'm happy for you." Amy smiled. Andy could tell his family were just as endeared by the guitarist as he was.
"Drew! You're on in ten." Yanni said after the crackle of the walkie talkie got his attention. Andy nodded, giving his grandmother a tight hug before he stood up. "We'll see you after the show, Andy." She said, giving his hand a squeeze before she let it go. "He's handsome." She whispered, making Andy laugh. "Gran." He shushed, and based on Lonny's smile, he definitely heard her.
"It was nice meeting you, Lonny." Amy said with a laugh, grabbing Ann's wheelchair to lead her out of the room.
"Nice to meet you guys too." Lonny replied sweetly. The three exited the green room, Yanni following. That left Andy and Lonny alone. "She's great." Lonny said.
Andy chuckled and nodded. "That she is." He agreed. "We're really close." He said, finishing up the line on his face. Lonny leaned against the counter next to Andy, watching him do his makeup. "I can tell. Your family is so welcoming and sweet."
"Yeah, I'm really lucky." Andy replied with a fond smile. He really was the luckiest person when it came to family. "They think you're okay too." He joked.
"At least Ann thinks I'm handsome." Lonny said with a small, teasing smile.
"Well she's right, you are." Andy replied with a shrug. He didn't realize what he said, but Lonny certainly did. "Ready?" Andy asked, checking his watch for the time.
"What? Oh, yeah. I'm ready." Lonny nodded, feeling unsteady as he followed Andy out of the room. 'He called you handsome, pull yourself together, it's not a big deal.'
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Well apparently my girlfriend has been reading my stories and only just now told me LMAO hi, honey🤣