FicWad

I turned away from Tommy, hoping he hadn't seen the tears in my eyes, and entered the bathroom. Instead of getting dressed like I should have, I sat on the white tiled floor with my head in my hands. Why couldn't I seem to be happy with just one lover? Why did I always end being attracted to so many people at once? For the first time ever, I could see why Vince had cheated on Beth Lynn. There had to be a reason why I was feeling this way. Perhaps I just hadn't met the right person yet?
Five minutes later, Tommy pounded impatiently on the bathroom door, "Come on, Amy! We've gotta get going. Something tells me that you're just sitting in there doing nothing, am I right?" Feeling sheepish, I didn't bother replying. Instead I got up and quickly changed into some casual clothes. I had forgotten I was still wearing my black party dress from the night before. Deciding not to bother with my hair, I simply ran a brush through it and left it down. My hair was so long that it landed a few inches below my breasts. I wasn't sure if guys liked long hair or not...
"Amy!" Tommy yelled again. I yanked the bathroom door open and mutter, "Sorry." Tommy took one look at my sorrowful face and sighed heavily. He helped me stuff my remaining luggage back into my suitcase. After the two of us had managed to zip both of our suitcases shut, we traveled down the elevator until we reached the hotel lobby.
Mick, Nikki, and Lita were already standing in the center of the lobby with their bags by their side. Nikki looked very tired, but he still seemed to be in a good mood. His arm was around Lita and she was smiling up at him. I didn't doubt the fact that they had sex last night. Or maybe it was this morning as they probably didn't return home until after three or four am.
As we approached the group, a sudden thought struck me; what about Axl? I wanted to see him just one more time before we left. Just one last time couldn't hurt anyone, right? I tugged on Tommy's sleeve to get his attention. Tommy turned and gave me a curious look, "Do you need something, Ames?"
"Uh...sorta," I said in a low tone so that Mick wouldn't be able to hear what I was saying, "Are the LA Guns still here? I wanted to talk to Axl." Tommy pursed his lips and gave me a disapproving look, "I thought we had both agreed that you weren't going to see Axl anymore. Don't you remember Mick? Seeing Axl is only going to make you want him even more than you already do. It would be best if we just left now before you can see him again."
It probably would be best to leave now. But I really just had to see Axl one last time! I was feeling a little nervous after kissing him last night and I wanted to see how he would react to me. As I was trying to find an argument to use against Tommy, voices from behind us sounded, "Hiya there! I see y'all made it home safely. Are you heading out already?"
I spun around to see who had been talking. Ole and Tracii were walking towards us with three beautiful woman trailing after then. I searched anxiously behind them for a sign of Axl, but found none. I took my opportunity and said in as casual of a voice as I could, "Hey Tracii! Is Axl around?" Tracii raised an eyebrow at me, "Nah, he took of last night. I think he was a little pissed off at us. Oh well, he'll get over it fast. Do you want to talk to him about something?"
Behind me, I could feel all the Crue members staring at me curiously. Blushing, I shook my head, "Nah, I was just wondering where he was." Tracii shot me a smile that seemed to say "I don't believe you." Mick glanced nervously at his watch and turned to the rest of us, "We should probably get going, hm? I don't want to miss our plane ride home."
Nikki nodded and suddenly he turned and glared at me, "Sure, I'd love to go home. But we can't unless I get my keys back." Gulping, I tried to hide behind Tommy from Nikki's fury. In an ominous tone, Nikki commanded, "Amy, give me back my fucking car keys!" Nervously, I stuttered, "Uh...I don't have them."
Nikki's face seemed to freeze in horror. Everyone exchanged alarming looks until Mick finally asked, "Well, who does have the keys then?" I didn't want to tattletale on Axl, but it seemed I had no other choice. If I didn't tell Nikki who had his car keys, he would only expect that I had stolen them. In a barely audible voice, I replied, "Axl has them."
From behind me, Tracii and Ole exchanged panicked glances. Without another word, the two of them hustled over to the hotel door and vanished from sight. Nikki broke free of his paralysis and smashed his fist down on his suitcase in rage, "Fuck him!" Feeling defensive, I frowned and chided Nikki, "Don't say that."
All the Crue members turned and eyed me with perplexity. Feeling awkward, I backed away from their protruding glances, "What?" Nikki's eyes widened and he gave me a look that said Amy's-gone-crazy, "He just stole my car, Amy! How the hell am I suppose to get it back now? We won't even make our flight back home."
Trying to keep calm and take control of the situation, Mick replied, "We can just take a cab to McGhee's studio. That way we'll make our flight. While we're on the flight, we can decide what to do about the car then. Okay?" Knowing that Mick's idea was really the only possible one, we all nodded and trudged dejectedly out of the hotel.
The wind was harsh and it whipped my long hair into my face. Chilled to the bone, I decided to take a walk around the parking lot to keep warm while Nikki and Tommy tried to flag a cab down. As I walked, my heart seemed to be torn in two. I had trusted Axl; he had been kind to me. And now he had decided to steal Nikki's car? Was this revenge for the way I had kissed him last night? Biting my lip, I forgot where I was going and walked straight into a car.
I let out a little cry of pain as my left knee smashed into the front of the car. Annoyed, I cussed and kicked the car as hard as I could. As I eyed the car testily, my eyes widened in amazement. The car I had just kicked was a black Porsche! More importantly, it was Nikki's Porsche! A crumpled up piece of paper on the windshield caught my eye.
Curious, I reached forward and snatched the piece of paper off the windshield. From across the parking lot, Tommy shouted at me, "Amy, what are you doing? We've got a cab; let's get the hell out of here!"
"Just a minute!" I yelled back to Tommy as I unwrapped the folded piece of paper. Inside the crumpled up paper was a single, perfect blood red rose. My breath caught in my throat as I stared in awe at the rose. I wanted to hope with all my might that the rose had been meant for me. I was so enthralled in the mystery of the rose, that it took me a minute to realize that there had been a little thud next to me. Down on the ground next to my shoe were Nikki's car keys! Slowly, I picked up Nikki's keys and unfolded the rest of the paper. To my disappointment, there wasn't anything written on it.
Suddenly, someone snatched the paper out of my hand from behind me. Indignantly, I whirled around to try to reclaim the paper. I clutched at it and tried to pull it away from Tommy's tight grip. Instead of releasing the paper to me, Tommy yanked on it harder. An ugly tearing noise sounded as the paper ripped and fell to the ground in several chunks.
"What the hell was that for?" I asked Tommy as I eyed the paper on the ground in dismay. Tommy scowled back at me, "We've been waiting for you for ten minutes now..." Tommy's voice trailed off and his eyes widened in amazement as he noticed the Porsche behind me for the first time, "Oh my god, it's Nikki's car!" Tommy cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled back to where the others were standing by the cab, "Guys, we found the car! Come quick!"
The four figures from across the parking lot perked up and raced towards us with Nikki in the lead. In only a few seconds, Nikki reached us. Still gasping for breath, he managed to say, "Thank god! But where are they keys?" Tommy and Nikki exchanged darkened looks. A car with no keys was as good as no car at all.
"I have the keys," I replied to assure them. Nikki and Tommy looked towards my open palm where the rose and the keys lay. As soon as Nikki eyed the rose, his eyebrow shot up and he completely forgot about his precious keys, "Ooo, a rose! Who's it from? Was there a note?" I sighed; why did Nikki always have to be so inquisitive? Didn't he realize that sometimes things like this were personal? By this time, Mick and Lita had approached us.
I gave Nikki a warning glance and hid the rose behind my back, "So, shall we get going everyone? We don't want to be late now, do we?" Without waiting for a response, I unlocked Nikki's car and climbed into the backseat. To my relief, Nikki kept his mouth shut and popped into the front seat of the car. The others filed in until Nikki's brand new car was packed. Nikki wasted no time as he pulled out of the parking lot and began speeding down the street to McGhee's studio.
Nobody said anything during the entire car ride. Everyone seemed to be tired out from the party last night. I attempted to start a conversation with Mick a few times, but gave up when he only gave me succinct, taciturn answers. He didn't even return my smile. Something fishy was going on. Mick seemed more than just a little tired. Was he upset at me? If so, what had I done?
Five minutes later, we reached McGhee's studio and filed out of the car. The little plane was already waiting for us in the center of the driveway. Tommy, Mick, and I hauled our luggage out of Nikki's new Porsche and waved goodbye as he and Lita took off towards Los Angeles in Nikki's stylish vehicle.
Tommy helped lug my bags into the plane and before long, we were all settled in the back seat of the plane and were in the air. An awkward silence fell between the three of us as we traveled along in silence. I frowned; where was Vince? I hadn't seen him at all this morning. As anxiety clutched at my heart, I frantically turned to Mick, "Mick, where's Vince? I haven't seen him at all today. Have you? Is he alright?" Mick gave me a funny look and shrugged.
"He left early this morning after the rehearsal with one of the girls he had hooked up with last night," Tommy informed me. "Apparently, she was heading back to LA too so Vince decided he would rather travel with her than us. Crazy, huh?" I laughed and shook my head; Vince was impossible. There was no controlling that man; he would do as he pleased and could not be stopped.
The three of us lapsed into silence once more and this time stayed in silence for the three hour long plane ride. The longer I was trapped in the plane, the more I fidgeted. My conscious told me that Mick was upset at me. I couldn't wait until I could speak to him alone.



Just when I thought I was going to burst from the tension in the air, the plane landed on the driveway with a little jolt.
"Here we are!" our pilot exclaimed cheerfully. "I'll let you guys out here." Silently, we reclaimed our bags and jumped out of the plane. It felt so good to be back on silent ground. As I turned to my familiar jetta, Mick's voice called after me, "Amy? Can I speak to you for a moment? I need to talk to you about something."
Dubiously, I turned around and faced Mick. Tommy looked between the two of us and pasted a smile on his face, "Well, I guess I'll get going then and leave you two to talk! See y'all later!" Anxious to get away, Tommy hurriedly pushed his luggage into the back seat of his car and then drove away down the street to his house.
As soon as Tommy had left, Mick squinted at me suspiciously and stated in an emotionless tone, "I think we should break up, Amy. It's clear where your heart lies." I stared up at Mick in horror. He wanted to break up with me? Why on earth would he want to do that? We had been nothing but kind to each other since we had started dating. Well, at least Mick had been kind to me.
"Why in god's name do you want to break up with me?" I cried out hysterically. "What did I do wrong? Please, please don't do this to me!" Mick frowned at me and continued in that same dead tone, "Amy, you know what you did. I know you don't love me or else you wouldn't have cheated like you did. Let's not make a big deal of this. We'll still be friends, okay?"
My mind spun around in confusion inside my skull. What did Mick mean when he said I had cheated? I hadn't cheated on him. I had no idea where he would get an idea like that from. Completely bewildered, I questioned Mick, "What do you mean? I didn't cheat on you, Mick. I love you, I really do. Do you not love me or something?"
"Amy, stop it with this bullshit!" Mick exclaimed, finally getting annoyed. "You know what you did last night. You and Axl disappeared and stole the keys to Nikki's car. It's not hard to figure out why Axl wanted those keys." Nonplussed, I continued to stare at Mick in confusion, "I'm still not getting it, Mick."
Mick let out a long sigh. I could tell he was struggling to keep his temper under control. After a moment, Mick managed to utter in a calm voice, "Amy, I know what you and Axl were doing in the backseat of Nikki's Porsche." Instantly I comprehended what Mick had been trying to say; he thought Axl had fucked me last night in Nikki's car.
My mouth fell open and I gazed at Mick incredulously. When I found my voice, I replied, "Mick, it's nothing at all like that! Axl saved me from a group of drunkards last night. We didn't...you know..." Mick looked relieved, but I could still see he was slightly suspicious, "Hm. Well, why did you want to know where Axl was when we were at the hotel earlier?"
I tried to quickly invent an answer to Mick's question. The last thing I needed was for Mick to find out that I had a crush on Axl. Trying to sound truthful, I replied, "I just wanted to thank him for last night. Nothing more than that. So we're still together then, right Mick?" Mick's brow creased as if he were making a very hard decision.
After what seemed like hours of torture, Mick finally answered, "Yeah. I'm sorry for doubting you, Amy. I should've been the one to save you from those bastards last night. I guess I was the drunk one." Mick leaned down and kissed the top of my head, "I'd best get going now. Sorry again, Amy. Let's do something tomorrow, okay?"
A wave of relief washed over me as Mick smiled for the first time today. I felt a smile cross my own face, "Yes, let's definitely do something together tomorrow. Until then, take care!" With a little wave, I entered my jetta with my heart soaring once more. But as soon as I started driving down the street, a guilty feeling started to seep into my veins. Had the little kiss I had given Axl really fit in the "cheating category"? It wasn't like had sex with him or anything...
As I was contemplated this, the loud ringing of my phone sounded from my purse. I dug through it until I found my little black cell phone and flicked it open, "Hello?" A long paused passed with no answer from the other end. I was about to hang up, when a shaking voice answered, "Amy? I'm so sorry to bother you. But I need somewhere to stay. Can I come over to your house? Just for one night? Please? I don't have anywhere else to go."
It didn't take me long to recognize Beth Lynn's voice, "Of course you can come over. I'm just coming home from Vegas. I'll probably be at my house at the same time you get there if you leave now." There was no answer on the other end of the phone; Beth Lynn had already hung up. There was something eerie about this situation. I drove a little faster.
When I reached home, there was already a car in my driveway. I parked on the street and raced out of the door towards the beautiful blonde woman who had her back to me. In a breathless voice, I greeted her, "Beth! What's up?"
As if in slow motion, Beth Lynn slowly turned around and gave me a sad smile. I gasped in horror; she had a black eye, a gash on her forehead, and blood was streaming from her nose.


I couldn't take my eyes off Beth's marred face. Finally, I managed to tear my eyes away from her gashes. Horrified by the sight before me, I said in a weak tone, "W-what happened to you, Beth? Are you alright?" Beth shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah, I'm fine I guess. I just need to get away from Vince for a while though. Just to be safe, you know?"
I nodded, "Definitely. You don't want to take any chances especially since you're having the baby soon. Can I ask why he did this to you? Or don't you want to talk about it?" Beth bit her lip, "Um, I guess I don't mind telling you. Vince came home with someone unknown girl this morning. He brought her inside our living room. When his girl saw me, she accused him of cheating on her and then she stormed out. Vince, obviously upset, took his anger out on me."
I immediately felt guilty. If I had stopped Vince from going to the Mirage last night, then he would never have met the girl that was causing Beth this much pain. I decided to confess my failure, "I'm so sorry, Beth. This is all my fault. I should've stopped Vince from going to the club last night...it's just that I had really wanted to go with this guy there..." I trailed off. I was sounding very spoiled. Hopefully, Beth would understand.
As a matter of fact, Beth seemed grateful for the change of subject. She raised her eyebrow at me, "You met some guy in Vegas? Why don't you tell me about your time there while we bring our stuff inside." I looked around to see what "stuff" Beth was referring to. All I could see was a small bag by her feet.
"You brought more stuff than just that bag along, right Beth?" I asked nervously. Beth shook her head, "No...I didn't have time to pack much. I needed to get away from Vince rather quickly." I took a step backwards and looked Beth up and down. She wasn't that much taller than me; she could probably fit into some of my clothes. I didn't mind sharing my stuff with her.
"Well, you can borrow some of my clothes for now," I suggested to Beth. "Let's go inside now, shall we?" Beth tried to smile at me, but the smile looked like more of a grimace. I could see that she was in a lot more pain than she was showing. Poor Beth, what had she ever done to Vince for him to treat her this way? I made a mental note to myself to confront Vince about this the next time I saw him. I also needed to put the end to the bet I had made with him a few weeks ago. Ugh, there was so much shit that needed to be taken care of!
Beth and I entered through the front door and clomped up to my bedroom. We tossed our luggage carelessly on the floor and I attempted to do a little last minute cleaning. Why couldn't I have been a neat freak like my mom instead of a total slob? I slid a pile of books off my couch and sank down onto it. This would be my bed for as long as Beth Lynn was staying with us. Beth deserved the bed much more than I did.
Beth dropped down on the bed, looking completely exhausted. Unable to keep my question to myself, I asked, "So what hurts worse? The physical pain or the emotional pain?" Beth rolled over on her side so she could gaze at me from where she was lying on my bed, "Definitely emotional. I regret marrying Vince Neil so much. I wish I could turn time backwards and redo it all again. But as that's not possible, I'm gonna have to live with the consequences of my actions."
A small tear trickled down the side of Beth's face. She looked so pitiful lying there on my bed with the single tear trickling down her torn up face. Pityingly, I plucked a tissue out of the Kleenex box by my bed and tossed one to Beth. Beth easily caught the tissue and wiped the tears from her cheeks and blew her nose.
Once she had calmed down, she said, "Thanks for the tissue, Amy. Can we talk about something besides Vince and me though? Talking about it just makes me feel worse right now. Weren't you going to tell me about the guy you met in Vegas?" Blushing furiously, I shrugged and looked down at the floor.
"Go on," Beth urged. "It'll take my mind of the situation with Vince. Please?" I knew I couldn't refuse Beth Lynn. I had already failed her, the least I could do was try to help her out now. Sighing, I started the story, "Well, there's this band called the LA Guns. They were at McGhee's studio when we arrived. We talked to them later at our hotel. There's four members to the band: Tracii, Ole, Axl, and I can't remember the last one's name. But anyways, we went out to the club with them last night."
"Ooo," Beth commented, her eyes sparkling, "Did you go on a date with one of them?" Sadly, I shook my head, "Not exactly. We all went as a group. Anyways, most of the group ended up getting drunk so Axl, Tommy, and I left. Axl...well, let's just say he's like no other guy I've ever met." My lips formed a dreamy smile as a vision of Axl appeared in my mind.
"What happened next?" Beth prodded curiously. "Did he kiss you or anything?" Ugh, I had wished he had kissed me! Now I would forever live with the suspense of not knowing his feelings towards me.
"Not exactly. I kissed him actually. I didn't wait to see how he responded though so I have no clue as to how he feels about me. God, I miss him already and I only knew him for a day," I complained. Beth sighed sympathetically, "Ah. Well, maybe you'll see him again someday? There's always that World Tour that the Crue has coming up. You never know! Hey, who'd you get that rose from anyways?" I glanced down my hand. I was still holding the rose I had aquired from earlier.
"Uh...I'm not really sure if it was for me," I confessed. "I found it on the windshield of Nikki's car." Beth's face fell and she looked disappointed, "Oh. It sure is pretty though. By the way, did you break up with Mick or something? I thought someone told me you had been going out with him." A lump formed in my throat at Beth's words. Now I was going to look like a slut...again.
Deciding to be truthful, I replied, "Um, not exactly..." I decided not to elaborate. Beth seemed to understand and nodded, "Well, at least you still have Mick since you can't have this Axl person, right?" I put a false smile on my face and nodded, "Yeah, definitely. I should be grateful to still have a lover."
"Yeah," Beth agreed and sorrow immediately started clouding up her eyes. "Listen, you don't mind if I take a nap, do you? I'm just so exhausted. It must be the whole pregnancy thing." One look at Beth's bloodshot, dark eyes told me that she was definitely tired. I answered, "Go right ahead. I'm sure you are tired."
Beth's eyelids fell shut and she flipped onto her other side, "Thanks again for letting me stay her." As Beth fell asleep, my thoughts wandered to what she had said a few moments ago about Mick. Even though I had Mick, I just wasn't happy. No matter what I did, I still wanted Axl. Love wasn't suppose to feel this way, was it? Perhaps I just handed learned what love was yet.



After three months of tedious rehearsing and preparation, it was finally the night of the first Kiss support show! I had driven over to the Irvine Meadows Amphitheater two hours earlier to help the Crue prepare for the show. Beth Lynn had denied my offer to come with me; she was much too scared of Vince at the moment.
I parked my car and walked over to the amphitheater. It was simply gigantic! There were seats for over thousand people in the audience. There was no doubt in my mind that it was going to be a big show tonight! Gazing in awe at the stadium, I took the back entrance so I could get backstage. To my surprise, the backstage area was packed. Apparently, there were many bands performing tonight. I scanned the crowd for the familiar four figures that I had spend most of the last three years with.
Just as I was starting to get frantic, I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard a familiar voice in my ear, "Hiya there, Amy! I haven't seen you for a while. It's great to see you here though. I bet it's gonna be a good show tonight." I spun around to find myself face to face with Vinnie. My tenseness immediately dissolved at seeing a familiar face.
A big grin formed on my lips and I greeted Vinnie excitedly, "Yeah, it's sure gonna be a great show! Are you all prepared for it?" Vinnie nodded, "Yep! I'm a little worried about Eric though. He always gets frightened of big crowds."
"Aw," I replied, "You haven't seen the Crue anywhere, have you Vinnie?" Vinnie scratched his deathly white forehead before replying, "As a matter of fact, I have actually! They're in the far left corner over there. Say, do you wanna hang out with Kiss for a while? I'm sure the Crue's already gotten everything handled. Besides, they don't appear onstage for a while. There are three other bands performing before us."
"Um...thanks for the offer, Vinnie, but I really should see how the Crue is doing," I apologized sincerely. "I'll come hang out with Kiss later, alright?" Vinnie's face brightened slightly and he waved to me before disappearing through the backstage tumult, "Alright. See you later then, Amy!" As I shoved my way over in the direction Vinnie had pointed me in, my mind started to wander. Was there a possibility that Vinnie liked me? Or was he just being friendly?
I was so immersed in my own thoughts, that I completely forgot where I was going and bumped right into a figure in front of me. Stumbling backwards, I met the eyes of the woman I had just knocked into. She was tall and thin with pale skin and dark hair. Feeling clumsy, I stuttered, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you. I guess I just wasn't looking where I was going."
The girl gave me a friendly smile, "Aw, it's okay, honey. It's rather crowded in here. I'm Linda, by the way." The girl, Linda, stuck out her hand to me in a polite gesture. I took her hand and shook it, "Hey Linda, it's nice to meet you. I'm Amy." Suddenly, a familiar voice from Linda's other side sounded, "Linda, sweetie, are you alright?"
That voice sounded all too familiar. I edged to the right to see Mick had just spoken. The two of us locked eyes instantaneously, but Mick quickly broke the eye contact. In an uncomfortable voice, he greeted me, "Hey there, Amy. I see you've met Linda. She's my new friend." I gazed at Mick suspiciously. I wasn't sure if I believed that Linda was just his "friend." Had Mick secretly been dating this girl or had he just met her? My mind spun around in confusion.
From behind Mick, Tommy and Vince glanced over to see what the commotion was about. Vince opened his mouth to greet me, but at that moment, a deafening sound came from the loudspeaker. Spontaneously, I threw my hands over my ears to try to block out the loud sound. Vince laughed at me, "I guess the first band is performing! I'm glad ya made it here, Amy. Did you meet Mick's new girlfr-"
Mick broke off Vince's question with a loud cough. Vince looked from me to Mick and then back to Mick again. His eyes widened and I could easily see what he was thinking; Mick is going out with Linda, but he hasn't told about about her yet. Feeling irritated that I wasn't exactly sure what was going on, I tried to think of something to do to distract myself.
"Hey Vince," I suggested casually, "Can I talk to you in private for a moment?" I still hadn't talked to Vince about Beth Lynn or the bet. Now would be the perfect time to do so. Vince shrugged and walked over to me, "Sure, why not? I'm fucking bored anyway. There's nothing to do back here."
As Vince approached me, Tommy quickly caught the back of his jacket, "Not right now, Vince! You need to concentrate. Talking to Amy will only distract you." Out of the corner of his eye, Tommy gave me a warning glance that meant to say, "Don't you dare go upsetting Vince before our first big show!"
I rolled my eyes and shuffled past Vince. In the corner of the room, Nikki was sitting on the floor with Lita sprawled across his lap. Apparently they had been drinking since several empty bottles were stacked up nearby. Disapprovingly, I kicked the bottles to get Nikki's attention. At the sound of my foot colliding with the glace, Nikki looked up at me with surprise, "Hey Ames! Nice to see you." With that, Nikki went right back to making out with Lita.
Annoyed, I huddled in the corner and burried my head in my hands. This show was going all wrong so far. I had expected to be having fun with Mick right now. But instead, Mick was with some girl I had never seen before. Mick had never struck me as the cheating type, but I had learned I couldn't trust my instincts.
Three hours later, I was still huddled in the exact same spot in the corner. Glancing at my watch, I tried to catch one of the Crue members attention, "Hey guys, aren't you suppose to have been on stage already?" Vince, who had been having a drink, turned to me and rolled his eyes, "Hell yes! We were suppose to have performed like two hours ago, right Tommy?"
Tommy was pacing back in forth nervously. He momentarily stopped to answer Vince's question, "Yeah. I wish they'd hurry up. I feel like I'm gonna pass out or something." Vince clapped Tommy on the back, "Of course you're not going to pass out. Here, have a drink or two!" Vince passed a bottle over to Tommy.
I shook my head; the last thing Tommy needed right now was alcohol! My curiosity made me keep questioning Vince, "Well, if you were suppose to be on stage two hours ago, why are we all still here!" Vince took a long swig from his bottle before replying, "One of the band's singer is having 'voice problems.'"
I narrowed my eyes; voice problems? People didn't just have voice problems. For all I knew, we could be here all night until the singer fixed his voice...if that was possible. Angered, I replied, "Well, he better hurry up and fix his fucking voice! That's an awful excuse for holding up the show." Vince nodded, "I couldn't agree more."
We fell back into silence as Vince and Tommy continued to guzzle down more drinks. Nikki and Lita were still kissing in the corner, and Mick and Linda had completely disappeared from view. I couldn't help but wonder what they were doing. They had better not be having sex somewhere...
After what seemed like an eternity, Vince let out a whoop, "C'mon boys! We're on!" Nikki gently set Lita onto her feet before dashing after Vince. In a loud voice, I called after them, "Good luck guys! And don't worry Tommy, you'll be awesome." Tommy shot me a grateful smile before disappearing onstage.
The show started with the song "Shout to the Devil." It went smoothly without any mistakes. I was so elated at their performance that my anger at Mick had evaporated completely. About thirty minutes into the show, a figure sat down next to me. It was Vinnie. In an excited voice, he turned to me, "Hi! Crue's doing awesome so far. You should be proud of them!" I nodded, "Yeah, they're doing awesome. Are you up next?"
"Um hm," Vinnie confirmed. "Speaking of which, I should probably go get ready for the show now. I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay." Vinnie stood up and was soon engulfed by the mass of people. I couldn't keep a smile off my face; there was no doubt in my mind now that Vinnie liked me.
Suddenly, a raucous roar of applause rose from the audience and the four Crue members elatedly ran backstage. Nikki ran right over to Lita and spun her around in a little circle. Tommy and Vince hugged and exchanged big grins. To my dismay, Linda ran into Mick's arms. I was about to turn away, but then I saw something that almost stopped my heart. Mick had kissed Linda...right on the lips. Shit; she was his girlfriend after all!
Tears spilled over my eyelids and down my cheeks. Without waiting, I ran off stage and sank down next to the stairs that led to the backstage. I just wanted to be alone right now. I had been so stupid to have ever trusted Mick. As I sat sulking in my misery, loud, angry voice sounded from behind me.
"Do you have any idea just how fucking stupid you're being?" the first voice accused. "We could've lost a lot of money from your little stunt. I'm sure you've already cost us a lot of fans." The second voice replied coolly, "I already told you I was having voice problems. Are you deaf or something?" The first voice snapped back angrily, "Oh, c'mon! I'm not dealing with that bullshit. Your voice is absolutely fine. You just don't want to perform for some shitty reason unknown to me."
"Hm," the second voice replied imperiously, "You forget that your little band wouldn't even exist without me. You fucking need me in your band; remember that!" Vexed, I tried to zone out the arguing. I didn't really need to hear this right now when my heart was breaking. Suddenly, footsteps sounded from behind me. I tried to muffled my sobbing. The last thing I needed was for some argumentative bastard to give me a dirty look.
Just as the footsteps approached, a loud sob managed it's way out of my mouth. Damn. Unsure of what else to do, I buried my face in my hands and waited for the footsteps to pass. Unfortuantely, they did not pass. On the contrary, they stopped. Moments later, I felt a hand on my shoulder, "Amy...is that you?"
Oh no; it was someone who knew me! Quickly, I tried to wipe the tears from my face. After I had dried my face, I peered up to see who had spoken to me. My breath caught into my throat; looking into my eyes with a concerned expression was none other than Axl Rose.

I wished I was invisible. Axl always seemed to find me at the worst times. The first time we had met, he had found me lying on the ground, then there had been the incident with the drunkards at the Mirage, and now he had found me crying my heart out. Trying to stifle a sniffle, I replied, "Yeah, it's me." I crossed my fingers and hoped that Axl would go away. I was slightly embarrassed about kissing him at the hotel and right now I wasn't in any state to act flirtatious.
Instead, Axl sat down next to me on the stairs. I tried to hide my face from him. There was no doubt I looked hideous right now. Shit, I always seemed to be caught in predicaments. Why couldn't I just have a normal life like a completely normal girl? I felt a hand clasp over mine. Rather reluctantly, I turned to face Axl. His eyes looked right into mine and I thought I could see concern in them. In his low, gentle voice, he questioned me, "So are you gonna tell me what's wrong?"
I shrugged and attempted a smile. Meanwhile, my head was spinning trying to find some way to escape. As politely as I could, I replied, "It's nothing. I'm just...uh...being paranoid." Axl raised an eyebrow and the corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile that clearly stated, "I don't believe you." In an attempt to steer the conversation away from me, I changed the subject, "What were you arguing about with whoever you were talking to a moment ago?"
Axl rolled his eyes, "That was just Tracii. He was upset because I was 'holding up our show' or some bullshit like that. Tracii's been changing lately. He's all about trying to earn money. He forgets that we do this to have a good time, not for the pay." Axl's mouth hardened into a thin line at the thought of his argument with Tracii.
I was about to ask him what had been going on with his "voice problems" when he said with a sly smile on his face, "I know you were just trying to change the subject. I don't fall for little tricks like that. Why don't you tell me what's going on? I may not understand, but wouldn't it feel good to at least tell someone your problems?"
By this time, my tears had dried up and my voice was no longer trembling. I bit my lip; unsure of whether or not to tell Axl about Mick. He didn't seem to really understand the whole relationship thing. After all, he had called women evil at the Mirage. But he was partially right; I did feel like telling someone about Mick's treachery.
Finally, after a moment of indecision, I burst out, "Okay, fine. You win. I'll tell you, just don't laugh at me." Axl grinned at me and leaned back against the stair behind us and crossed his legs, "I always win. Now spit it out, girl!" I couldn't help but return Axl's smile, there was just something about him that instantly cheered him up.
"You know Mick Mars from the Crue, right?" I began. Axl nodded, "Yeah. He's the tall dark haired one who's your boyfriend." I blushed bright red, "How did you know that?" I didn't ever remember telling Axl that Mick was my boyfriend. Did he read minds or something? Axl laughed at my bewildered expression, "You really have a bad memory. No offense, but it's true. Anyways, I know Mick is your boyfriend because you kissed him when you were at the hotel lobby. Alright, now enough of trying to change the subject! Go on." Sighing, I continued on with my tale, "Well, I thought he was my boyfriend. Today, he showed up at the amphitheater with this pretty girl, Linda. And then after the show, he kissed her. He never even bothered breaking up with me or anything. I don't know what I ever did to him to make him desert me like this."
I turned around to see how Axl was reacting. Finally, he replied with an innocent look, "There may be a reason he broke up without telling you. Do you think that maybe he thought you were in love with someone else or cheating on him? That's the reason most guys break up without telling their ex-girlfriends."
I froze on the stairs; Axl seemed to look right now into my soul. I was in love with someone else and I had been cheating if you considered a kiss cheating. The only problem was that the "someone else" was him. Trying not to reveal my emotions to him, I merely shrugged, "I guess he might've thought that."
Axl nodded, "Tell me something; you weren't happy with Mick anyways, were you? I can see it in your eyes. You're longing for something more. It's easy for me to tell that, and I barely know you. So it was probably quite obvious to Mick since he knows you pretty well. At least, I would assume he knows you fairly well."
Again, Axl was right. I confessed, "I suppose I wasn't happy with Mick. I guess I'm better off without him then. I just have to fucking wait for the right guy for me. Sometimes I don't think there is a right guy for me though." Axl didn't reply to that, he only looked at me thoughtfully with those big, brown eyes of his. Suddenly, a thought popped into my head.
"How do you know all this stuff, Axl? I thought you weren't into relationships," I questioned, trying not to sound too forward. Unfortunately, my question did come out sounding like an accusation.
"Whoever said I was into relationships?" Axl asked. "I'm not. Just because I know a thing or two about them doesn't mean anything. I've watched Tracii, Ole, and Izzy go through millions of girls." My curiosity piqued and I asked, "Who's Izzy?" Axl was about to respond to me when we heard loud footsteps from behind us and angry voice.
"Axl, what the hell are you still doing here?" Tracii was standing on the top stair with his face flushed angrily. "We were suppose to leave ten minutes ago. If we don't hurry and get out of here, the security is gonna kick us out and then we're not gonna be let back here again." Axl turned to Tracii and replied casually, "Who says I give a damn about security? And who ever said I ever want to come back to this fucking place?"
"God, you are impossible!" Tracii shouted irritably. "Even if you don't care, the rest of us do. You influence all of us. C'mon Axl, stop being and ass and let's get out of here." Tracii peered down at his watch anxiously and turned on his heel. I eyed Tracii wearily; he seemed like he was so upset he was going to explode.
"Uh, you should probably go now, Axl," I stated regretfully. Now that we had started talking, I didn't want him to leave. Axl sighed and nodded slowly, "I suppose. Tracii can be such an asshole though sometimes. By the way, are you going to be at San Francisco Convention Center for the Easter show? I heard a lot of bands were going."
I had no idea whether or not Crue was going to the Easter show or not. I replied, "Motley Crue is going to a series of Kiss support shows, but I don't know if we'll be at the Easter show or not. I haven't really been keeping track."
"Well, if you're doing a series of shows, you should be at the Easter one. It's one of the biggest shows of the year. I should see you again there probably," Axl stated as he lazily got to his feet and stretched his arms. Not wanting to sit by myself anymore, I reluctantly got to my feet as well. Before Axl left, he turned around and knelt down so he was level with me. He searched by eyes beseechingly and whispered in a low tone, "Just remember, everything's gonna be okay. That Mick guy, well, he's just a fuckin' bastard. You'll know when you've found the right person. Trust me." Axl wrapped his arms around me in a little hug. A shiver went down my spine at his touch. He had never showed any signs of affection for me before. But a hug wasn't necessarily a sign of affection, right? It could just be a comforting hug that friends exchanged. I couldn't help but hope there was more to it than that though. It was so hard to be in love with someone and not know if they even gave a shit about it.
Before it got too awkward, Axl pulled away from me and gave me smile before he strode off into the crowd. My eyes followed him as if I were hypnotized. I was shocked when I heard a voice from right behind me, "There you are, Amy! We've been looking all over for you. Where have you been? And who was that guy you were just with?"
I turned around to face Vince and the rest of the Crue. All of them were grinning widely and looking exceedingly happy about their earlier performance. Well, all of them except for Mick. He had his arm around Linda's shoulders and was looking down at the floor uncomfortably. I hoped he was feeling guilty for cheating on me. Apparently, I had just been a little piece of trash to him all long.
"Sorry," I apologized to Vince, "I didn't mean to make you guys worry." Vince shook his head as if to dismiss my apology, "It's okay." Vince appeared to be quite drunk. Whenever Vince was high, it was hard to find anything to dampen his spirits. Tommy stepped forward and scrutinized me carefully, "Whoa, what happened to you, Amy? You're a mess." I had completely forgot how bad I looked. My eyes were red and puffy, my makeup was smeared all over my face, and my cheeks were red. Great.
Vince peered closer at my face and let out a low whistle, "Tommy is right. That guy who you were talking to didn't hurt you, did he?" Vince followed my gaze until he laid eyes on Axl's retreating back. As if he could sense Vince's stare, Axl turned around and looked directly at him from halfway across the stadium. The two immediately locked gazes. Axl tossed his auburn-colored ostentatiously over one shoulder, smirked at Vince, and waved at him.
Vince narrowed his sky blue eyes into slits and whirled around to face me, "Was that Axl Rose you were talking to? I don't like that man. Stay away from him." I was surprised by Vince's sudden change in mood. Frowning, I retorted, "Who are you to tell me what to do? I can talk to whoever I want, thank you very much! It's a free country after all."
Before Vince could respond, Tommy quickly interceded, "Shall we get going now that we've found Amy? There's no point in hanging out around here." Nikki nodded eagerly and grabbed Vince's arm to distract him from the argument, "Yeah, that's a great idea. Come on, Vince, you can have a ride in my Porsche." With that, Nikki draped his arm around Vince's shoulder and steered him away towards the parking lot with Lita trailing after them.
Mick, Tommy, Linda, and I took the other route out to the parking lot. Everyone could feel the strained tension between us as we walked in silence. Mick was staying as far away from me as possible and was completely avoiding my gaze. In a forced cheerful tone, Tommy attempted to make conversation, "Well, that was our first big show! We don't have another big one until Easter now."
Tommy's words immediately caught my attention, I turned and asked him, "What show is it? Is it at the San Francisco Convention Center?" Tommy looked at me with surprise and nodded, "Yeah, as a matter of fact, it is. How did you know about that?" Blushing, I replied, "Uh, Axl was telling me about it."
At Axl's name, Mick let out a little cough and we returned to the strained silence. I was still quite angry at Mick, but I was as enraged as I had been. Axl had a point; was it worth it to have a relationship with someone you could never really be happy with?
By this time, we finally reached the parking lot. Mick quickly grabbed Linda's arm and started retreating to the right, "Our car is right over here. Linda and I are gonna getting going now. Great show, Tommy! See you guys later." I bit my lip and glared at Mick as he hurried away from me. Even if we were breaking up, I still wanted to speak to him privately to figure out what I had said or done to make him dump me for Linda like this.
Tommy shifted from foot to foot, looking nervous. He slapped me on the back and said sympathetically, "I'm sorry, Amy." Then with that, he turned and jumped into his own car. I called after him, "Sorry for what, Tommy?" But he was already speeding out of the parking lot in his little red car. I glared after him. Something was suspicious. I could completely understand why Mick was avoiding me, but why didn't Tommy want to be left alone with me? We had always been best friends. Something fishy was definitely going on. It didn't take me too long to figure out what it was.



A week later found me sulking on my bed. I had tried calling Mick several times, but he hadn't picked up. It was clear he was avoiding me, but I really needed to talk to him. I was so frustrated that I finally decided that the best thing to do would be to drive other to Mick's and demand to see him. It was the only thing I could do to wrap up this mess.
Resolutely, I jumped to my feet and ran down the stairs to my car. As I was pulling on my boots, my mom called from the kitchen, "Where are you going, honey?" I clenched my teeth irritably; I didn't want to deal with my mom's nosiness right now. Taking care of my relationship with Mick was top priority right now.
"I'm just going over to Mick's for a little while. See you later, mom!" I said quickly, hoping that this would wrap up our conversation. Unfortuantely, it did not. My mother's voice continued from the kitchen, "I haven't seen Mick for a while. He's such a nice boy. Are you going on a date with him?" Sighing, I replied, "No mom. We're breaking up. Do you have anymore questions? I really want to get going."
"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie," my mom said in a commiserating tone, "Is there someone else you're dating now?" Pulling open the door, I shouted over my shoulder, "Not at the moment. Bye!" I quickly shut the door behind me and receded to my friendly looking little jetta. Without wasting time, I popped inside and drove the short drive over to Mick's house. As soon as I arrived, I parked in the driveway and walked purposefully over to the door.
Talking a deep breath, I knocked loudly on the door and waited for it to open. But it did not open. After five minutes of expectantly at the door, I decided just to let myself in if the door was unlocked. It was Mick's own fault that he hadn't picked up any of my phone calls. Likewise, it was his own fault that he was forcing me to break into his house right now.
I tested the doorknob. It turned easily under my grip and swung open soundlessly. Carefully, I put one foot inside the door. It was dark inside and there was nobody to be seen. Feeling like an invading criminal, I took off my boots and began searching the house. Finally, I came to Mick's bedroom. The door was shut, but I had a strong feeling that Mick was in there. I knocked lightly on the door and then opened it a crack.
Moaning and other lovemaking sounds met my ears. To my horror, Lita and Mick were cuddling in the bed together. Before I could see something I was going to regret, I pulled the door shut as quickly as I could and retraced my steps to the door. As I pulled my boots back on, I heard footsteps coming after me. I looked up to see Mick staring at me regretfully.
"Mick, we need to talk," I stated. Mick nodded, "I know. I'm sorry I've been putting it off for so long. Shall we go outside?" I shrugged and opened the door. The two of us strode outside into the sunny spring day. Mick sat down on the driveway and motioned for me to sit next to him. I sat next to him on the driveway and waited for him to speak first. I hated initiating awkward conversations like this. It was so much easier to let the other person start.
After what seemed like a long silence, Mick sighed and turned to face me, "I'm really sorry about all this, Amy. I should've broken up with you before I got involved with Linda. But...I just wanted you to feel the hurt. I wanted you to feel the same way you had made me feel. Being cheated on can break a person down emotionally."
Mick had completely lost me after his third sentence. What way had I made him feel? It wasn't like I had ever cheated on him. Completely baffled, I put a hand up to stop Mick and said, "I'm confused. Why exactly did you want to hurt me? I don't see what I did to you. I never cheated on you." Mick frowned at me and replied, "Amy, let's not pretend. Let's just tell each other the truth. I know that you like Axl Rose. It's obvious."
"Okay, maybe I do like him," I admitted sheepishly, "but that doesn't mean that I cheated on you. Having a crush on someone isn't cheating, is it?" Mick shook his head thoughtfully, "Nah, it's not cheating. But you did cheat." I sighed, starting to get slightly frustrated by now. Why in the world did Mick think I would be cheating?
"Mick, I didn't cheat! Axl never fucked me, okay? How many times do I have to tell you this?" I exclaimed with exasperation. To my surprise, Mick nodded, "You said he didn't and I think I believe you. You kissed him though, didn't you?" My heart froze and I stared at Mick with incredulity. How would he have known that I had kissed Axl? Knowing better than to deny the truth, I just sat in silence and hung my head guiltily.
Mick reached over and gave my shoulders a little squeeze, "It's okay, Amy. I'm not mad at you for that anymore. And I know you're going to ask how I know about the kiss, so I'll just tell you right now that Tommy told me." My head shot up and I stared at Mick in dismay. How dare Tommy have told my boyfriend that I had cheated on him? No wonder Tommy had apologized at the show to me. He was apologizing for my heartbreak.
"Why that little-" I started to say, but Mick slapped a hand over my mouth before I could finish my sentence and said, "Amy, don't hold anything against Tommy. Our relationship wasn't healthy from the start if you secretly liked a different guy. I'm much happier with Linda and I'm sure you'll be happier once you finally meet the right guy for you."
Sighing, I replied, "Well...guess I'm glad you're happier with Linda. But Mick, I don't think I'm ever going to meet the right guy for me. Nobody ever seems to take any interest in me. Well, at least not the people I want." Mick stood up and shot me a sympathetic smile, "I'm sorry, Amy. But don't worry. You're still young. Someone's gonna want you someday, mark my words. Anyways, I'd better get back to Linda now. Are we good here? We're friends?"
"Yeah," I agreed, "We'll be friends from now on." After waving goodbye to Mick, I turned and climbed hastily back into my jetta. I had someone I needed to talk to right this minute. That person was Tommy Lee.
Driven by animosity, I sped down the road twenty miles above speed limit until I reached Tommy's familiar little house. Angrily, I stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut behind me. I stalked up to Tommy's doorway and walked in without bothering to knock. Tommy was sitting behind his drums and experimenting with a new tune. When he saw me, he smiled widely and greeted me, "Hi Amy! I wasn't expecting to see you here. What a nice surprise! What's up?"
I frowned at Tommy and replied, "I think you know exactly 'what's up', Tommy." Tommy took one look at my face and bit his lip nervously, "Uh, why don't you sit down on the couch and tell me about it." I perched on the edge of Tommy's fraying couch and replied, "You're the reason Mick broke up with me, Tommy."
"Oh that," Tommy answered in a dismissive voice. "Sorry, Amy. But really, it was for the best." The way Tommy dismissed the subject immediately pissed me off. It was as if could care less if he had hurt me at all by telling Mick about my encounter with Axl. Infuriated, I shot back, "You don't give a shit about my love life, do you Tommy? Couldn't you just have kept your fucking mouth shut? I trusted you and you betrayed my secrets and lost me my boyfriend. How could you?"
Tommy finally looked repentant. In an apologetic tone, he said, "I'm sorry, Ames. I truly am. Mick asked me if anything went on between the two of you one night when I had been drinking and it just sort of popped out of my mouth. Like I said, I never meant for it to hurt you. But you weren't happy with Mick anyways, so maybe I was doing you a favor."
"I wouldn't go that far," I exclaimed dubiously, "But how could you tell that I wasn't happy with Mick, Tommy? Everyone's been telling me that. Mick did, Axl did, and now you did too. How can people tell? I honestly thought I was happy with Mick for a while." Tommy tried to suppress a smile, "You don't keep your emotions hidden very well, Amy. It's not one of your talents. Everyone knew you were flirting with Axl that night at the Mirage. Ever since then, you hadn't acted the same way towards Mick. It was almost as if you had lost interest in him. I know it sounds harsh, but it is true."
"Oh my god," I gasped. I had never realized that I had treated Mick badly. But now that Tommy brought it up, I remembered avoiding him ever since we had gotten back from Vegas. I had canceled several of our dates and made up excuses for not being able to go. Suddenly, I felt terrible, "You're right, Tommy. God, I feel so bad now. Why do I always make a mess out of everything? At this rate, I'm never going to find a lover."
"You'll find someone. You're just in too much of a hurry and you're trying way to hard to make relationships work. Why don't you just be single for a while and wait for someone to come to you?" Tommy suggested reasonably. Tommy's plan definitely made sense. I had spent most of my life chasing after guys. It probably would be easier to let a guy come to me first. But what if no guys ever came to me? What if I was single for the rest of my life? I shuddered at that thought.
"I suppose I could do that..." I trailed off, considering the idea. Then at a second thought, I added, "But I've already found the right guy." Tommy raised his eyebrows curiously, "Who is it? Oh wait, don't tell me. It's Axl, isn't it?" Blushing furiously, I shrugged, "Maybe. Why do none of you guys like Axl though? Vince acts like he's a murder or something."
Tommy paused as if thinking through his answer, "Well...Axl isn't exactly the friendliest person on the planet. He needs his space and he's got a terrible temper. It's not that I hold anything against him, but I definitely think you can do better. There are a lot of kinder and less temperamental guys out there."
I opened my mouth to protest, but Tommy cut me off before I could start, "You don't need to defend him, Amy. That's just my opinion. If you still want him, then that's fine. I'm just saying that he's gonna be pretty hard to win over. He's not your average guy." I had known from the beginning that Axl was not the "average guy." I loved everything about him from the way he held himself to his laid back attitude and easy smile. Axl guarded himself inside a shell, but once you broke through that shell, you met the most wonderful man you could ever expect to meet.
Smiling dreamily at the thought of him, I said, "Axl's not normal and that's why I like him." Tommy shrugged at me, "Well, it's your decision. If you want him that bad, go and make him yours. You're planning to meet him at the San Francisco show, aren't you?" I frowned and answered, "Not exactly. I'm not planning to meet him, we just thought that maybe we'd happen to run into each other there. But it's not like we made specific plans. I wish we had though. There's a chance I might not be able to find him backstage either." My mood decreased suddenly at this thought.
"Aw, cheer up!" Tommy exclaimed as he reached over and squeezed my shoulder. "I'll help you find him at the show, all right?" I glanced up at Tommy with surprise, "Really?" It wasn't like Tommy to agree to hunt down my crush for me at a big show like the one that was going to be held in San Francisco.
Tommy smiled back at me, "Sure. Well, on one condition. You've gotta promise me that you aren't mad at me for telling Mick about you and Axl." I rolled my eyes and shrugged, "Fine." Tommy stood back up and walked back over to his drum set, "I've really gotta practice this song, Ames. You can stay and listen if you want, but I won't be able to talk to you."
"That's okay," I replied as I got up and headed towards the door, "I should probably get going anyways. I'm sorry for being so rude earlier. I was just really pissed off." Tommy nodded understandingly, "Yeah, I understand. Don't worry about it. Bye!" I pulled open the wooden door and crossed the driveway back to my jetta.
Now that I had released all my anger, I was feeling much better. As a matter of fact, I was feeling elated. I couldn't wait for the San Francisco concert. No matter how I tried, I couldn't get my mind off of Axl. Maybe he really was the right guy for me after all. Too bad I didn't know about how badly the San Francisco show was going to end up.



After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the day before the big show finally came. I had finished my packing and was waiting in my living room for Nikki to come pick me up. Tommy, Vince, Mick, and Linda had already traveled to San Fransisco yesterday. Nikki and I didn't see the point in being in San Francisco two days earlier so we had decided to drive separately from the rest of the Crue. After only a few minutes of sitting bored on the couch, a loud knocking came from the door.
Without waiting for me to open the door, Nikki stuck his head inside the door and gave me one of his big grins, "Ready to go, Amy?" I leaped up from the couch and ran to the door, "Sure am!" At the door I paused and snatched up my traveling bag. I had done my best to pack light so I won't have to be bothered with a heavy suitcase during the trip. Hopefully, I hadn't forgotten anything too important. With my bag slung over my shoulder, I followed Nikki outside to his shiny Porsche and was about to climb in the back when Nikki called my name.
"Hey Amy, why don't you sit in the front with me? Lita's not coming so it's just gonna be us," Nikki explained from the driver's seat. Mildly surprised that Lita wasn't coming, I plopped by bag into the trunk and hopped into the passenger seat next to him. As we drove off, I turned to Nikki and questioned him about Lita, "So Nikki, where's Lita? This is the first show she hasn't been at. You guys didn't break up or something, did you?"
Nikki shook his head without looking at me, "Nah. I just wanted to be at this show alone because of...never mind." I immediately pressed on with the subject. It was easy to tell that Nikki was hiding something from me and I was going to find out what it was.
"Because of what, Nikki?" I prodded interestedly. Nikki stiffened in his seat and turned up the music as if trying to zone out my voice. I rolled my eyes; Nikki wasn't going to get away without answering my question. I reached over and turned the music back down again, "Okay, Nikki, what's up? I'm probably gonna find out eventually, so why don't you tell me what's going on?"
Nikki sighed loudly, "It's just that we had some trouble at the show in Scottsdale, Arizona. But it's okay, Lita will get over it sooner or later. Can we talk about something else now?" Unfortunately, I had not gone to the show in Scottsdale, so I had no idea what had gone on at that show. Figuring that it was better not to harp on the subject any longer, I shrugged, "Okay, fine."
Nikki exhaled with relief and quickly changed the subject, "So Amy, what's been going on with you and Mick?" I frowned at Nikki; he was always so interested in my love life. I had already discussed my relationship with Mick to about four different people, I wasn't about to repeat the story to Nikki for a fifth time.
"Mick and I broke up," I answered succinctly. "I don't really want to talk about it." Nikki nodded understandingly and we drove for about an hour in complete silence. After the hour, I was so bored that I decided to bring the subject of the concert in Scottsdale back up. In a wheedling voice, I asked, "So what trouble was there in Scottsdale?"
Nikki tossed me an exasperated look, "You sure don't let things go, do you? Fine, I'll tell you, but you'd better shut up after this. Alright?" I nodded eagerly. Nikki was going to tell me the story! Nikki's cheeks flushed slightly as he started to tell me about the performance, "Well, we had just finished our performance and Kiss was starting off their show with the song 'Rock n Roll All Nite." Anyways, Tommy and I were just hanging out behind one of the drum kits when we met Eric's girlfriend. And...uh...we got caught fucking her behind the drum kits."
I slapped myself on my forehead. Nikki and Tommy just could not resist seductive girls! In a dubious voice, I continued, "So who exactly caught you?" Nikki's usually pale cheeks reddened even more, "Um...Eric did."
"Oh god, Nikki!" I exclaimed in horror. "That's just terrible! How come you guys always end up accusing me of cheating and yet you're the real criminals?" Nikki kept his mouth shut and looked at the floor guiltily. Another thought popped into my head, "How did Eric take it? Is he really upset at you?"
Nikki nodded fervently, "Hell, yes! I have never seen a guy that fucking angry before! Actually, all of Kiss hates us now." My heart sank; everyone from Kiss had seemed so nice. Vinnie had even gone out of his way to talk to me and now Nikki had ruined the whole thing because he couldn't resist having sex with Eric's girl.
"Geez, Nikki!" I blurted out in disgust, "You just don't have one drop of self control, do you? Now all of Kiss is going to hate me too. I liked Kiss; they were really nice people." Nikki gave me a small, apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, Amy. I don't think they'll be angry at you though. You weren't even there when the event took place."
I shrugged at Nikki started to pull into a parking lot, "Hm, I guess we'll find out pretty soon. Is this the hotel we're staying at?" Nikki nodded as he carefully parked his Porsche in the parking spot closest to the front of the hotel. I asked my next question rather hesitantly, "Um...Nikki?"
"Yeah?" Nikki asked as we popped out of the car and started unpacking our luggage from the trunk. As I swung my little traveling bag over my shoulder, I questioned, "Is Kiss staying at this hotel too?" Nikki gulped nervously, "I have no idea. I hope not though. That would be...awkward." The two of us walked through the door and into the hotel lobby.
"Speak of the devil..." Nikki murmured under his breath. To my shock, the four members of Kiss were standing at the desk at the end of the room getting their room keys. I resisted the urge to run the other way so I wouldn't have to face them. But really, I shouldn't be feeling so anxious around them. After all, I hadn't done anything wrong. Nikki and Tommy were the ones that had offended them. But I was associated with Crue, so maybe they would treat me in the same way they were treating Nikki.
At that moment, Paul Stanley turned around and looked directly at us. I stood frozen to the spot as if I had been caught in the middle of a crime. Nikki gave my hand a little squeeze and pulled me across the room with him. Paul's eyes narrowed as he watched Nikki. He turned and whispered something in Vinnie's ear. Before I knew it, all four Kiss members had turned around and were watching us with disgust. I flinched under their condescending gazes and attempted to hide behind Nikki. For the first time ever, I thanked god I was so short and Nikki was so tall!
A distorted tension seemed to engulf the room as Nikki approached the desk at the end of the room. The Kiss members were about to turn away, when Vinnie caught a glimpse of me. To my horror, he stopped and called out in a cheerful voice, "Why, is that you, Amy? We hadn't seen you at the last few shows so we weren't sure if you were still traveling with Crue or not."
In a small voice, I replied, "Yeah, I'm still traveling with Crue." I observed each of the Kiss member's face's to see how they were reacting to me. Vinnie was grinning widely, Paul and Gene were giving me friendly looks, and Eric's face remained impassive. That was good; at least none of them were scowling at me.
"Well, it's good to see you again!" Vinnie exclaimed excitedly. "I guess we'll see you at the show tomorrow, then?" I nodded, "Yeah, of course. Good luck you guys!" All the members, except Eric, thanked me graciously and then turned and strode off in the direction of the elevator. I let out a long breath of relief as soon as they had disappeared. They didn't seem to be too angry at me after all! Well, Eric seemed a little moody, but that was understandable under the circumstances.
Nikki quickly received our room keys from the front desk, and then we set off towards the elevator as well. I whistled a little tune under my breath happily as we ambled along. Nikki gave me a confused sort of smile and asked, "What are you so happy about? I don't even remember the last time I've heard you whistle before."
I stopped whistling as we stepped into the elevator and shrugged, "I dunno. I guess I'm just relieved that the Kiss members don't seem to angry at me." As we rode up the elevator, Nikki turned to me slyly, "Even if they were angry with you, would it really matter? It's not like you know them very well." Nikki scratched his chin thoughtful than added, "Unless you like one of them, of course. That would most certainly explain it."
My face reddened as we reached the floor of our hotel room and exited the elevator. Why was Nikki always assuming that I was in love with someone? Truthfully, I replied, "Of course I'm not in love with anyone of them. God, Nikki, why do you always think I'm in love? My love life seems to be the only thing you want to talk about these days!"
Nikki avoided my eye and didn't answer the question. As we walked along the hallway, I considered my theory. It did seem true. After all, Nikki was always asking about my boyfriends or who I was in love with. Was there a small possibility that Nikki was still interested in me? Deep in the bottom of my heart, I loved Nikki, but I didn't want to be his girlfriend. After all, he had just cheated on Lita. The last thing I needed was for someone to go cheating on me and break my heart.
Nikki turned towards a doorway to our left and commented, "These are gonna be our rooms. Who were you planning on rooming with? Tommy, I'm guessing?" I had opened my mouth to speak, but never got the words out. At that moment, footsteps sounded from behind us and a strangely familiar voice called out, "Hey, is that you, Amy?"