Trust Me! 8/20/06

"This is so cool, Andie!" Gerard squeezed her tight.

Andie didn't take her eyes off Gerard as she walked over to the area where they had been rehearsing and stood before the keyboard. She looked down at the unfamiliar keys and took a deep breath.

"Go, Andie!" cheered Frank, starting a room full of whistles and hoots that ended with Gerard frowning at everyone with his hands on his hips.

**SOUNDTRACK WOULD PLAY: "CANCER"**

Andie's fingers found the keys to begin the song as her eyes found Gerard's for the guts... He was beaming at her again. She closed her eyes and let the melody she recalled flow through her fingertips and fill the silent room.

Gerard watched Andie as he waited to start his vocals. She definately knew the song. How, he didn't know, but she did. He started his vocals and it was surreal to him, just hearing Andie and himself for a few lines. He would never have guessed this could ever happen when he first met her. Now here he was, crazy in love with her, couldn't get enough of her, rehearsing with his band, back in their hometown in Jersey, with Andie playing keyboards for them on one of his favorite songs off the new album... Life was so fucking full of surprises.

Andie played the song as she'd remembered the simple melody, and even improvised a few places. Surprisingly, she did not feel any different than she did playing for herself at home. As a matter of fact, she was flattered to be playing alongside these guys. It felt good. It felt natural. And she felt she truly enjoyed it.

When the song was finished, all the guys started cheering...for Andie.

"Alright! Stop it!" Andie protested, grinning.

"Andie, that was fucking awesome!" Frank complimented her.

"You should hear what she usually plays..." Gerard commented before turning to Andie. "That WAS fucking awesome, Andie. I mean, I knew you could play, but I had no idea you could memorize a fucking tune that quickly! So, I guess you can play 'The Black Parade', too?"

Andie nodded.

"Hey, can you play 'Blood'?" asked Mikey. "Gerard never gets to practice that."

"You guys!" exclaimed Ray. "I got it! Brian was still looking for a permanent keyboardist for the tour!"

"Andie! YOU could play for our tour!" said Frank. "She could do that, right?" He looked around to the other guys.

"I don't know..." Andie said skeptically.

Gerard knew how Andie felt about performing in front of people, and felt bad that she was put on the spot now.

"Okay wait..." said Gerard. "First of all, does everyone agree that Andie could do it if she wanted to? Bob? Mikey?"

"Fuck yeah," said Bob. "Anyone who can play something a day after they first heard it has got mad fucking talent."

"Oh hell yeah," said Mikey.

"Wait a minute..." Andie protested as her fate seemed to have already been decided.

"No, it's okay, Andie," Gerard stopped her. "We have some time. You can just think about it, okay? This is a big fucking decision for you. I KNOW. And we've got a temporary keyboardist for the UK."

"So we'll just tell Brian to hold off on the decision then?" asked Frank.

"Does that sound alright, Andie?" asked Gerard.

"Yeah, I guess," Andie tried to smile. "I'll think about it."


Later, in Gerard's SUV on the way back to the house, Andie wondered in silence what this would mean exactly.

Gerard noticed how quiet she was. He knew she was pondering her decision already.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," she answered. "I just...don't know what to do."

"You know what? Don't do it if you don't want to. It's alright. I mean, don't get me wrong, you're probably the best pianist I've ever heard play in my life, Andie. But if it's something you don't feel comfortable with, don't beat yourself up about it."

"What do YOU think I should do?" she turned to him to watch his reaction.

"I think you should do whatever makes you happy, Sugar," he smiled over at her before turning his eyes back to the road. "If it made you happy tonight, it will make you happy in front of other people, too, believe me. But if it didn't make you happy tonight, then you shouldn't do it, because you would just make yourself miserable."

What Gerard said made sense to Andie. And he would know. Now she just had to decide if what she felt playing tonight was because other people enjoyed it, or because she was playing with Gerard and the guys.