FicWad

I bit my lip as I decided whether or not I wanted to go to the first Crue show here in China. Finally, my fatigue got the better of me and I shook my head slightly, "I think I'm going to stay here at the hotel guys. I'm just really tired. Good luck on your show though! I'm sure you'll do great. See you guys later."
"Bye Amy!" Tommy waved, wrapping an arm around Nikki's and Mick's shoulders as the four Crue members sauntered out of the hotel room and out to brave the Chinese world. Glad to have some privacy, I wandered over to the bed and inspected it carefully. After pulling down the sheets and climbing in, I found the mattress was soft and plushy. It didn't take very long for me to fall asleep. As a matter of fact, I think my eyes closed as soon as my head hit the pillow.
I had been so deeply asleep that I didn't even wake when the door opened five hours later and a figure slipped inside. It was only an hour after that when I finally broke out of my trance and woke up to find myself no longer along in the hotel bedroom. For a moment, I worried that maybe someone had broke in!
Quietly, I slid out of bed and crept across the floor as stealthily as I could until I was standing right behind the figure who was crouched in the corner of the room. By that time, I finally realized it was Nikki. I threw away my silent disguise and put a hand on his shoulder saying, "God, when did you sneak in here? I must not have even heard the door open. How'd the show go?"
Nikki jumped when I put a hand on his shoulder and whipped around. Sorry that I had startled him, I took a quick step backwards and held up my hands in front of me as if surrendering, saying, "I didn't mean to scare you, Nikki. I thought you heard me, but I guess not. Hey, you don't look so good. Are you okay?"
Nikki shrugged without saying anything. He really didn't look well. His pale face was even more pallid than usual, his hands were shaking slightly, and I could see pain in those usually bright green eyes of his. Today, his eyes looked glazed over and dull as if he were in a trance or wasn't really seeing.
"Nikki, what's wrong?" I asked with alarm as I noticed just how bad he looked. I sank down on the floor next to him and placed a comforting hand over his, willing him to tell me what was wrong. Nikki sighed and mumbled, "It's nothing. Besides, even if I did tell you what's wrong, you couldn't do anything about it."
I didn't know how Nikki could possibly say "it's nothing". It was obviously something or the other! I pressed on, "Nikki, I can tell something's going on. Even if I can't help, it might feel good to share your problem with someone. Come on, please tell me?" Nikki hesitated for a long time while I held my breath, waiting for his answer.
"Fine, I'll tell you," Nikki decided after a long wait. "I've become addicted to heroin and there's none here. I'm like in pain without it now." I had known for a while that Nikki had been doing drugs, but I didn't know he was this addicted to them. I wanted to do something for him, but I wasn't sure what I could do.
Not knowing what else to say, I said, "I see. Well, if there's anything I can do for you, let me know, okay?" Nikki just shrugged his shoulders and lapsed back into silence. I felt terrible for Nikki as I watched him huddle in the corner of the room with those unseeing eyes. Watching him go through this was almost painful. I wished some of the other Crue members would hurry back from the show to see if maybe they could cheer Nikki up.
As if by magic, the door flung open at that exact moment and Tommy and Vince came bustling in. Tommy was laughing and smiling as usually and Vince, who looked a little rumpled, seemed to be having a good time too. If only Nikki could be having fun too, then everything would've been perfect.
"Hey Amy!" Tommy greeted me as he kicked the hotel room door shut behind him. "We missed you at the show. I don't think you would've liked it much backstage though. It was really busy!" Vince tossed his leather jacket onto the bed nearest him and said, eyes twinkling, "Guess what?"
"What?" I asked, having no idea what Vince wanted to say to me. Vince crossed the room and sat down next to me on the bed. I was glad for his company and felt a little spark fly through my body as our thighs touched. Vince continued on with his sentence, "Tommy and I got mobbed at McDonalds by a bunch of Chinese people!"
I frowned and looked towards Tommy to see if it was true. I didn't see why a bunch of Chinese people would want to mob the Crue. Tommy nodded vigorously to confirm Vince's words as he added, "It's true! The Tokyo police had to come and assist us actually. The people here are pretty crazy."
I tried to hide my look of horror. I decided at that moment that I wouldn't be attended any of the Crue's shows in Tokyo. I certainly didn't want to get caught in a mob on unpredictable, dangerous Chinese people! I just didn't trust them for some reason. I know that sounds racist, and it probably is, but I just couldn't control my phobia.

~ ~ ~ ~

Our week stay in China went by like the blink of an eye. Even though I refused to go to any of the Crue shows, I ended up finding stuff to do. One day Mick and I went to the bookstore, another day Tommy and I went to see a movie in Chinese which was a very strange experience, and another day Vince and I went to the local coffee shop just to hang out and talk.
So when our last day in China came around, I was completely caught off guard. I had been sitting on the bed reading a novel when Vince had tapped me on the shoulder and had asked, "Uh, Amy? You do know that we're leaving right after the show this afternoon, right? The show is in a few hours so you might want to start packing."
"Huh?" I asked distractedly as I finished reading a page in my book and set it aside. "We're leaving already? We just got here!" Vince rolled his eyes at me and started tossing the clothes that I had lying out on the bed into my suitcase, "Yes, of course we're leaving already! I told you we would be leaving after we were here a week. And believe it or not, we've already been here a week! So you might want to get off your ass and help me pack your stuff."
Still a little shocked by this news, I set my novel aside and snatched a piece of lingerie out of Vince's hands, "I guess I lost track of time. I actually kind of liked it here. Well...kinda. I'll certainly be glad to head home to Los Angeles this afternoon. I get homesick pretty sick. Sleeping in my own bed is always nice."
"Sleeping with someone in bed is always nice too," Vince added surreptitiously with a sideways look at the piece of lingerie I was folded. I slapped Vince's arm and quickly finished folding the lingerie. After it was folded, I slipped it under all the other junk that was already in my suitcase so Vince would stop staring.
"Uh, Amy?" Vince asked with a hint of nervousness in his voice as he folded on of my tank tops and set it on top of my other items in the suitcase. Without looking up at him, I asked, "What?" At this point, I was busy glancing around the room to make sure there weren't any clothing items I had left laying around.
"You're going to have to come to the Crue show with us because we need to head for the airport as soon as it's done so we can make our plane flight," Vince remarked. Then seeing the look of panic on my face, he added, "It'll be fine, girl! I know you're claustrophobic, but I'll make sure you can sit somewhere away from everyone else. Besides, it's not likely we'll get mobbed or anything." I closed my eyes tightly; I didn't even want to think about being mobbed. But I really didn't have a choice as to whether or not I wanted to go to the Crue show. I was going whether I liked it or not.
Hours later, I sat huddled in the large, cheering crowd of Chinese people in Tokyo. I had left the Crue at the backstage entrance and had traveled up the stairs to the large stadium to try to find a place to sit. Feeling that it would be safer in the back of the stadium, I climbed to the back row and chose a seat where I hoped that nobody would notice me. I knew I was being paranoid, but it just made me nervous to see all these strange Chinese people giving me funny looks.
I was glad when the Crue show finally started. After all, the sooner the show started, the sooner we could all go back to the airport and return to the familiarity of Los Angeles. I watched as Vince, Tommy, Nikki, and Mick started playing their first song. It was "Louder Than Hell" and one of my all-time favorites. Actually, it was my favorite from the new album.
The show was going great until the Crue had been playing for about forty-five minutes. I was just started to relax when I noticed a group of Chinese people rushing towards the front of the stage. Biting my lip, I saw as one of the pale white figures with raven black hair pulled at Vince's scarf and yanked him into the crowd. I gasped and craned my neck to see what they were doing to Vince. But no matter how hard I squinted, all I could see was a blurred mob of people. I was starting to wish that I had sat closer to the front of the stage so I could see what was going on. But again, maybe that would've been a bad idea. After all, then maybe I would've ended up getting trampled by the mob of Chinese psychos!
Four people who were obviously with security rushed onto the stage and dove in the pulsating mob to rescue Vince. After what seemed like a long time, they finally were able to retrieve Vince and pull him back onstage. A loud roar of laughter roamed through the crowd as everyone took the sight of Vince in.
When he had been grabbed offstage, his pants had been ripped entirely off, leaving him just in his five-inch boots. Blushing the color of a red rose, Vince ran backstage as quickly as possible. Two minutes later, Vince returned to the stage wearing Tommy's stage underwear. Shaking my head, I watched as the Crue finished up the show. Vince was pretty crazy sometimes.
Relieved that the show was finally over, I slipped through the crowd and let it pull me to the entrance of the stadium. But instead of heading to the parking lot like everyone else, I strode over to the entrance to the backstage instead to wait for the Crue members. I hoped they would hurry up and get changed so we could get to our plane flight. Luckily, it only took them about five minutes to change and their smiling faces appeared only a few minutes after I had arrived at the entrance.
"Nice show guys," I complimented them, trying not to laugh as I looked at Vince. His cheeks were still flushed pink and he looked a little flustered. I punched him in the arm as the four of us headed towards our cars, "I guess the crowd really loves you, Vince. At least, they love you enough to try to rip your clothes off."
Vince rolled his eyes back at me, "Well, it wasn't exactly like I could do anything about it. After all, the show must go on no matter what happens! Anyways, don't we have a plane flight to catch?"

~ ~ ~ ~

A week after we had arrived home from the tour in China, Vince invited me over to visit. At first, I was a little wary. After all, going to Vince's usually meant Beth Lynn would be around, and we all knew that Beth Lynn certainly wasn't one of my most favorite people in the world. But after Vince assured me that Beth was going shopping with a friend, I relented and decided to head over to his house. I was really just glad to be on good terms with Vince again.
I knocked on Vince's door early this morning and waited for a reply. Tapping my foot impatiently, I looked inside the window to see Vince lunging and doing strange karate-like moves in the living room. Wondering what he was up to, I banged a little harder on the door. Nevertheless, Vince still didn't hear me and I was left standing outside. Not caring how impolite I was being, I took the situation into my own hands and went ahead and just opened the door to Vince's house and let myself in.
Kicking off my shoes, I strode into the living room and greeted Vince, "Hey Vince! I let myself in because you weren't answering the door and you did invite me over today whether you remember doing that or not. So here I am. Tell me though, what the hell are you doing?" Vince was still doing strange kicks and lunges.
After one last lunge, Vince collapsed onto the couch and whipped his sweaty brow with the back of his hand, "I'm trying to get a black belt in the Tang Soo Do style of karate. It's harder than you'd think and it takes a hell lot of practice." I sat down next to Vince and raised an eyebrow curiously at him, "Since when have you been into karate? I didn't even know you liked it."
Vince shrugged, dismissing the subject carelessly, "I don't know. Who cares though? It gives me something to do with my time. Speaking of which, I can think of a lot better things to do than practice karate right now though." Vince gave me an appraising gaze and leaned over close to me. Figuring that he was going to kiss me, I closed my eyes and leaned forwards, waiting for his kiss. Just as I thought our lips were going to touch, a loud slam came from the front door.
Vince and I jerked apart like two dirty criminals caught in an act of felony. Footsteps sounded from the doorway. They were loud and angry sounding. I looked at Vince, wondering what was going on. I asked, "Um, did you invite someone else over or is there some stranger wandering around in your house?"
Vince shrugged, looking just as clueless as me, "I have no idea who that is." The footsteps came louder and finally a figure appeared in the doorway. It definitely wasn't a stranger though; it was Mick! He was standing in the doorway with a tense jaw and a tight gaze. He was obviously pretty upset about something.
I moved over on the couch slightly and pointed to the space I had created next to me for Mick to sit down, saying, "Hey Mick! What's going on? Are you doing okay? You don't look so happy." Mick shrugged and plopped down next to me. There was a minute's silence where Vince and I just stared at Mick, waiting for him to speak.
Finally, Mick burst out, "My computer got stolen! I don't know how it could've gotten stolen though. Do you think maybe Linda stole it?" I frowned. There was a pretty good chance that a crazy bitch like Linda could've stolen Mick's computer. It was really about time for Mick to move out of that old apartment he and Linda used to share.
Mick went on, "I even lost the war game I was programming. Now there's nothing to do." Mick put his head in his hands and slumped forwards. I looked over at Mick sympathetically. I would just hope that Mick wouldn't turn back to drinking. At least the war game he had been playing had kept him from trying to drink himself to death and stuff like that. If I had the money, I'd certainly run out and buy Mick a new computer. But since I hadn't even finished college, I didn't have a dime to spare right now.
As much as I was feeling sorry for Mick, I couldn't help but wish he would go and find someone else to bug right now. I had been looking forward to having some alone time with Vince. Maybe we could go a little farther in our relationship. We couldn't do that with Mick sitting right next to us though. I hoped he would get bored and go back to his house soon.
A faint thumping noise came from the kitchen. Vince, Mick, and I all looked towards the door. Apparently, we had another visitor. Two seconds later, Tommy's grinning face came into sight as he popped through the door and waved cheerily at us, "Hi guys! I see you're all having a party or something! I can't believe I wasn't invited!" Tommy feigned indignation as he smiled cheerfully at us. I was glad to see Tommy, but know I knew there was no way I was going to get any time alone with Vince.
Giving Tommy a rueful smile, I said, "We weren't exactly having a party. Vince and I were just hanging out and then Mick came over to tell us about his stolen computer. And now you're obviously here too. So what's new with you Tommy?" Tommy sank into the lazy boy chair across the couch that Vince, Mick, and I were sitting at.
"Mick's computer got stolen?" Tommy asked curiously, looking at Mick who had placed his head in his hands again. Without bothering to look up at Tommy, Mick replied, "Um hm. I think is was Linda. She stole my car and stuff, so it would only make sense." We all looked sympathetically at Mick for a few minutes.
To break the gloomy atmosphere that we were now surrounded in, I turned to Tommy and asked, "So what's new with you? You seem like you're in a good mood." Tommy certainly did seem extra happy today. He was literally bouncing up and down on the lazy boy and his eyes were shining with excitement. Something was obviously up.
"I have a new girlfriend! Her name is Heather Locklear and she's absolutely amazing! I've never met another woman like her before. She's got this wonderful personality and god, she fucks like a goddess!" Tommy exclaiming, eyes sparkling as he said this. I couldn't decide whether or not to be happy for Tommy. On one hand, it was good that his new girlfriend was keeping him distracted from his divorce with Candice. But on the other hand, was Tommy being fair to Heather? I didn't want him to be cheating by taking turns fucking Candice, Tawny, and Heather. Speaking of Tawny, what had happened to her anyway?
"That's nice that you really like Heather," I started out cautiously. "But what about Tawny? Last I knew, you told me you were dating her. There wouldn't be any possibility that you would be dating Tawny and Heather, would there?" Mick's head jerked up at my question so he could look at Tommy when he answered.
Tommy gave me an appalled look and shook his head vigorously, "Of course I'm not still going out with Tawny! Heather's way better than that bitch any day. We have such a good time together. She came over to my house last night and we watching dirt bike racing on TV. I told her I wanted to try it, and guess what?"
Everyone looked at Tommy, waiting for him to tell us what we were suppose to guess. Tommy shook his head at us disapprovingly and said, "Geez, you guys are no fun! You're suppose to guess. But since you're not guessing, I guess I'm just gonna be forced to tell you, hm? Well, Heather got me a dirt bike! She left it right outside of my house for me this morning!"
I had to admit that it was quite nice of Heather to run out and get Tommy a dirt bike. I wasn't quite sure if I believed Tommy when he said he wasn't having sex with Candice, but even if he was, it wasn't really any of my business. Forcing myself to smile, I exclaimed, "Thanks pretty nice of her, Tommy. I'm glad you two get along so well."
"We get along great!" Tommy agreed enthusiastically. "Look at this!" Tommy extended his left inner forearm to me. I peered at it curiously. There was a black rose tattooed on it and a banner with Candice's name printed on his arm as well. That was pretty sweet for Tommy to get a tattoo with his girlfriend's name on it. I couldn't help but wish I had someone who would tattoo my name on their arm. Unfortuantely, I didn't even have a boyfriend right now, so something like that probably wouldn't be happening any time soon. I tried to push my jealousy to the back of my head as I said to Tommy, "That's sweet of you to get her name tattooed on your arm like that. Maybe you should just marry her already."
Tommy's face went somber and he nodded speculatively. Changing the subject and speaking for the first time since Tommy had arrived, Vince said, "Hey guys, did I tell you I have to work at a few schools nearby here next week?" Tommy stopped mulling the thought of marrying Heather over and turned his attention to Vince, saying, "No, you didn't tell us that. Why the hell would you be working at a school though? That doesn't seem like a good job for you."
"Why not?" Vince laughed, "In case I got caught smoking in the boys' room or something?" That caused his all to laugh, even Mick. Smoking in the Boys' Room was one of the new songs on the new Theatre of Pain album that the Crue had just released. After the laughter had died down, Vince continued, "I'm give speeches about why you shouldn't drink and drive at the schools. I'm hoping it will raise my reputation. I don't want to be thought of as a murderer for the rest of my life."
Vince's voice caught at the end of the sentence and I thought I saw his eyes glazing up. I put a comforting arm around him and squeezed him tightly, whispering, "You're not a murderer, Vince. Nobody thinks of you that way. You're just a guy who made a mistake, that's all." Little did I know how many people really did think of Vince as a murderer.

~ ~ ~ ~

A month later, I was sitting in my room by myself, contemplating on whether or not I should call Steven. I hadn't talked to him for what seemed like ages and I was really starting to miss him. The last time I had heard about him was when Axl had come over for Christmas to tell me that he was in the hospital. Now it was August and I still hadn't heard from Steven. Actually, I hadn't heard from Axl since Christmas either. And of course I hadn't talked to Izzy. It was pretty obvious to me by know that Izzy and I had a silent breakup. That was just Izzy's way of doing things I supposed.
Just as I was flipping open the phone to call Steven, the ringer went off and started beeping. That was pretty ironic timing. I wondered who might be calling me. The Crue was currently doing a show in San Antonio. They had invited me along, but I had declined because I wanted to have a little time at home. It felt like we had just gotten home from the tour in China and I really needed a break from touring around for a while. So who the hell could be calling me?
Flipping the phone open, I said, "Hello?" An excited voice answered me from the other end, "Hi Amy! It's been such a long since we've spoke. It's kind of hard to find a chance to see you since you're always off on yours with the Crue. Anyways, you aren't on a tour right now, are you?"
I recognized Axl's voice right away. A little shiver of excitement spewed through me at the sound of his voice. I hadn't realized just how much I had missed talking to him until now. Replying enthusiastically, I said, "Nope, I'm not on a tour right now. The Crue is down in San Antonio right now actually. I'm just sitting here home alone. So what's up?"
"You remember me telling you how the Hollywood Rose broke up, right?" Axl asked, unable to hide the excitement in his voice. I did indeed remember that the Hollywood Rose had broken up. Poor Steven had been so devastated about being kicked out of the first real band he had ever played in. I said, "Yeah, I remember. What about it?"
"Well," Axl continued, "Tracii Guns helped me set up another band! We had Tracii playing lead guitar, Izzy doing rhythm guitar, Duff Mckagan doing bass, and Rob Gardner doing drums. Do you remember Tracii and Rob? They were former members of the Hollywood Rose. I think you might've met them at a bar a while back. I'm not really sure though."
I thought back hard to when I had first met Axl. I faintly remembered meeting Tracii, but I didn't remember Rob at all. My memory wasn't all that good and I rarely remembered people unless I sat down and had a complete conversation with them. I replied to Axl, "Yeah, I remember Tracii. I don't really remember Rob much though. Who's Duff Mckagan though? I don't think I've heard of him ever before. And speaking of this, whatever happened to Steven? Last I heard, he was in the hospital."
"I'm getting to all that!" Axl laughed, "Just have a little patience! Anyways, so our new little band did pretty well for a while. We all got along really well and we were actually playing at small clubs around town. But then, Tracii didn't show up for one of the shows and so I decided to replace him with Slash, you know, Steven's friend? Slash had a lot more talent than Tracii."
I rolled my eyes. Axl had a habit of firing people if they weren't always on time or weren't doing exactly what he wanted them to do. Someday Axl would have to learn to give people a little freedom. I didn't know Tracii Guns well, but I did know that he was a good guitar player. Firing him because he had just missed one show seemed a little pathetic to me. Axl seemed to have a twisted perspective on things sometimes. Not wanting to cause an argument, I kept these thoughts all to myself.
"About Steven," Axl went on. "He got out of the hospital and so we replaced Rob with him. Steven was thrilled to be playing back with a band. He's really just like a little kid in a candy store when you present him with a set of drums." I sighed with relief, "I'm really glad you gave Rob's position to Steven. I'm sure it meant a lot to him. Steven's been a little down lately and I think it's a really good thing for him and Slash to be playing together."
"Yeah, I thought so too!" Axl agreed cheerily. To be honest though, I doubt Axl had given it any thought at all. Axl suddenly burst out, "Uh, Amy? Since you're not touring with the Crue right now, you don't think you could possibly come to the Whiskey A Go Go next Wednesday, do you? Our new band is playing there and I'd love for you to come and see us play."
I was surprised that Axl's new band was already playing at the Whiskey A Go Go. I mean, that was a pretty big club! I had thought Axl had said that the new band was only playing at smaller clubs. Apparently that was not the case anymore! I didn't have to think twice about agreeing to meet Axl and the band at the Whiskey next week, "Of course I can come! I'd really love to see the new band. It'll be really nice to see Steven and Slash again too."
"Um hm," Axl agreed enthusiastically, "This band is way better than the Hollywood Rose. I can't wait until Wednesday. It's nice that someone I know is actually coming to watch though. So thanks a lot for coming." Axl certainly didn't need to thank me for coming; it was more like I was the priveleged one to be able to attend a show like this!
"Hey Axl," I said as a question popped into my head, "What's this new band called? It's not the Hollywood Rose still, is it?" Axl shook his head as if he was disgusted by the thought, "Of course not! The new band is called Guns 'n Roses. Tracii helped me come up with the name. He came up with it because his last name is Guns and mine is Rose, cool, huh?"
"Yeah, it is cool," I replied. "It is a little odd though now that Tracii isn't part of the band anymore, don't you think? Are you and Tracii still on friendly terms?" There was a moment's silence too long that told me that Axl and Tracii were definitely not on friendly terms anymore and were probably upset at each other.
"We're...uh...okay together," Axl stammered, losing his cool for a moment. "But seriously, who the hell cares about Tracii? Let's not think about Tracii now. We have a whole new band and a whole lot of great songs to play, so why give a fuck about Tracii?" I didn't answer that. Poor Axl didn't seem to realize that he was always burning bridges.
"So who else is coming to the Whiskey A Go Go show? Is Erin coming along?" I asked, trying to make conversation. Axl gave a sharp intake of breath from the other side of the phone, telling me that I had choosen a bad subject to talk about. Regretting my previous sentence, I tried to cover it up, saying, "It's okay with me if I'm the only person coming though."
"Erin and I are fighting right now," Axl said bluntly. "She can be a little bitchy at times. Sometimes we just need a break from each other, you know?" I agreed, "Yeah, everyone can use a little break at times. I don't think there's such a think as a perfect couple. Everyone has their ups and downs and fights. It's just part of life."
"Yeah, definitely, " Axl responded and then said with a tinge of regret in his voice, "Amy? The band members are just arriving at Izzy's house, which is where I am right now. I should probably hang up so I can start band practice with them so we're prepared for Wednesday. I want the show to go perfectly. I'm glad you're coming though. Nice talkin' to you though."
"Nice talking to you too!" I replied before hanging up the phone. I was honestly shocked that Axl had been able to put a new band together in less than six months. Axl was really unpredictable though; you could never expect what he was going to say or do next! I was really excited for Wednesday. It would be awesome to see another band besides Crue perform. What would be even better though, would be seeing Steven again. And okay, if I was being honest with myself, I wanted to see Izzy again too.

~ ~ ~ ~

Wednesday evening, I was peering through my closet, trying to find something suitable to wear. I had a dark, midnight blue dress and a strapless, classic black dress laid out on my bed. I tilted my head to the side, trying to figure out what one to wear. A lot of girls wore black at clubs, so wearing the blue dress would probably make me stand out more. The only question was: did I want to stand out? Biting my lip, I debated between the dresses for a few more seconds before closing my eyes and randomly picking up one of the dresses on my bed.
When I had opened my eyes, I found the dark blue dress in my hands. Deciding that fate had made me pick that dress, I stripped out of my casual tank and jeans. The dress felt silky and cool over my skin as I arranged it over myself. After it was on properly, I dared a glance at the mirror. The effect of the dress was stunning! The blue fabric was almost so shiny that it sparkled and it revealed a lot of skin by my chest. Hopefully, it would have a good effect on all the guys!
I selected a dark blue eye pencil and applied some eye shadow, eye liner, and mascara to my eyes. Then I dabbed on dark burgundy lip gloss to complete my makeup. I looked perfect except for my hair. It was pulled back out of my face in the drab, boring ponytail that it was always in. Knowing that this would simply not do, I heated up a curling iron and tried to curl my hair. The curls turned out a little limp, but they were better than the ponytail.
Figuring this was as good as I was going to get, I smiled at myself in the mirror and turned on my heel to head towards my door. I was really hoping that tonight would be a blast. Little did I know that it was going to start out the opposite of that.

After strapping on some very high-heeled stilettos, I put my hand on the door and was just about to step outside when I heard footsteps approaching me rapidly. Figuring it was my mom, I tried to quickly slip out the door before she could arrive to give me the questionnaire about where I was going and what I would be doing tonight.
Unfortunately, I didn't escape soon enough. My mom's voice met my ears just as I was pulling the door open, "Amy! Wow, don't you look pretty tonight! Are you going to a party or something?" I decided that it would be better for my mom to think I was going to a party versus going to a club. She would definitely think that the environment of a party would be safer.
Giving a half-truth, I nodded, "Um, yeah! I'm going to a party tonight." I met my mom's steady gaze and tried not to look away from her. Looking away or blinking would definitely be signs that I was lying to her. Apparently, my mom accepted the lie, because her next sentence was, "That's nice that you're going to a party. You're not going with those guys from the band you're always traveling with though, right? I thought you said they were in Texas or something."
"Yeah, they are in San Antonio right now," I confirmed. "I'm meeting up with some other friends today." My mom raised a suspicious eyebrow as she continued to stare at me, "Oh really? I didn't even know you had other friends besides for the members of that band. Who are the friends you are meeting up with today?"
"I'm meeting up with Axl Rose," I told her truthfully, glad I could tell her the truth about something. My mom had never met Axl so she couldn't exactly disapprove of me going to a party with me. My mom scrunched up her forehead, as if she was trying to remember Axl. After a few minutes, she just shrugged and said, "That's cool. Have fun at the party, dear."
"Bye mom!" I quickly called, glad to get our of her vicinity as soon as possible. I hurried outside into the darkening night and slipped into my jetta, careful not to catch my skirt on anything sharp. Quickly, I revved up the vehicle and drove over to the Whiskey A Go Go. Luckily, the club wasn't too far away from my house and I was there within minutes.
The parking lot was packed with rows and rows of cars. Forced to park in the very back of the parking lot, I exited my car a few minutes later and started up the long hike to the entrance. As I walked along, I saw a number of different people. There was a girl with bright pink hair and a purple sequined top, there was a girl that had about twenty piercings and at least five tattoos, and there was another girl who looked like she had just stepped out of the magazine Cosmopolitan.
When I finally reached the entrance to the building, I noticed a sign on the window. It said that Guns 'n Roses would be playing tonight! A little shiver of excitement went through me as I popped open the door and moved inside. The Whiskey was so busy that there were people on every side of me. I had been here a few times before with the Crue, but that had been a long time ago and I didn't remember this place well.
Standing in the midst of such a rough and noisy crowd, I felt kind of lost. It was sort of like I didn't belong here. Clubs and bars just weren't my kind of thing. The only reason I went to them at all was because the Crue liked going to them. Trying to figure out what to do, I just stood in the middle of the crowd with my head spinning.
I was totally taken off guard when someone grabbed my shoulder almost violently and started pulling me towards a door to my right that I hadn't noticed before. Before I could scream or figure out what was happening, I had been pushed into a much smaller room with much more space. There were only two tables in this room and only about ten people in the room. Looking up to see the man who had grabbed me, I found myself looking right up at Axl.
"Oh, hey!" I greeted him, a smile forming across my lips. I eagerly took in the scene before me. Slash was sitting on the leather couch with a girl on his lap, Steven appeared to be drowning himself with his beer, a blonde man who I had never seen before was sitting quietly at the end of the table, and there was Izzy sitting only a few feet away from me with the usually cigarette in his hand. My heart lurched with longing as I took in his shiny black hair, smooth skin, and dark eyes. But my feeling of longing quickly turned to an all-consuming jealousy.
Sitting on Izzy's left was a girl I had never seen before. She had long blonde hair and a pretty smile. The girl was obviously Izzy's date. No matter how hard I tried to look away, my eyes stayed focused on the back of Izzy's head. A light tap on my shoulder finally made me look away, but I was unable to obscure the hurt that was filling in my eyes.
"Hey, you okay?" Axl asked, popping a finger under my chin so that I was forced to meet his eyes. I had a bad feeling that my voice would end up trembling if I tried to speak, so I just nodded quietly instead of saying anything. Axl followed my gaze to Izzy and the girl to next him. I watched with a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach as Izzy wrapped his arm around the girl's waist and whispered something in her ear. The girl laughed a light, fluttery laugh that made Izzy smile and tighten his grip around her. I knew I shouldn't be watching all this since it was none of my business, but I still felt like I had a hold on Izzy.
Axl frowned as he looked from Izzy to me. Knowing there was nothing he could do about the situation, he turned away from the Izzy and turned to the rest of the band instead. Clearing his throat, he announced loudly, "Listen up for a sec! How many of you know Amy?" Most of the group turned around and looked at me. Not liking to me the center of attention, I found myself blushing slightly and stepping a little closer to Axl.
Slash waved a hand to me in greeting, Steven tried to pull out a chair for me but ended up knocking it over in his haste, and Izzy didn't bother to acknowledge my presence at all. The guy I had never seen before with the golden hair and blue eyes was staring at me with curiosity. I figured he was the new bass guitar player for Guns 'n Roses. I couldn't quite seem to remember his name though. I hoped Axl would introduce me.
Right on cue, Axl walked me over to the blonde and said, "Duff, meet Amy. Amy, this is Duff Mckagan. I told you about him, didn't I? He's our new bass player." Duff smiled politely at me and stood up to shake my hand. Duff was really tall and thin. He seemed to tower over me and I had to look way up at him in order to meet his gaze.
"It's nice to meet you," Duff said quietly as he shook my hand. I decided I liked Duff. He seemed a little quiet and shy, but he was really kind and friendly. If only Izzy would take some lessons from Duff! After Duff sat back down, I rushed over to sit by Steven. He had a crazy grin on his face and his eyes were shining. I uprighted the chair he had knocked over earlier and sat down by his side. Steven put his beer down on the table to give me his full attention.
"Hey Steven!" I greeted him, trying to focus all my attention on him as well and not worry about Izzy and his newly acquired slut. Okay, now I was being a little mean. Just because I didn't learn her didn't mean she was a slut. I was going to have to learn to become a little less possessive and to forget about Izzy and move on.
"Hi Amy!" Steven burst out excitedly. "It feels like I haven't seen you for a really long time! I was in the hospital for a while though so I couldn't really contact you then. I'm so glad you're here though. We're going to have a blast tonight. So how have you been? Better than me in stuck in the damned hospital, I hope?"
I could tell by the way that Steven's words were slurring together that he was pretty drunk. He seemed a little slaphappy too because of his crazy grin and glazed eyes. No matter though; why should it matter to me if Steven was fucked up or not? I replied to his question, "I've been okay I guess. I'm so sorry you were in the hospital though. I'm glad you're out now though at least. So tell me, how do you like the new band? Does everyone get along real well?"
Steven nodded vigorously, "Oh yeah! The new band is awesome! Duff is an amazing bassist and he's one of the best friends I've ever had." Steven tilted his head to the side to wave happily over at Duff. Duff smiled back at Steven and waved to him. It was pretty obvious that the two had become pretty good friends. That was good though. Steven really deserved a good friend.
Even though I knew I should probably keep my mouth shut, I ended up asking the question that had been on my mind all night, "So how's Izzy been? I see he's found a girlfriend?"
Steven didn't even bother to look towards Izzy when he answered my question. Instead, his eyes stayed on Duff. He was gazing at him with an expression of adoration. I couldn't help but wonder if Duff had been Steven's first real friend. When Steven answered my question, he replied, "Izzy's fine. I guess he stopped playing for London so he could join Guns 'n Roses. And yeah, that's Izzy's new girlfriend. I forgot her name already though."
My whole body tensed up and I felt like I was turning green from jealousy. Steven must've noticed my reaction, because his gaze quickly turned sympathetic as he asked, "You okay? You look a little sick." Then Steven looked at Izzy and seemed to put two and two together, "Were you and Izzy...um...?"
Steven didn't finish his question, but I knew what he was asking. He was definitely asking if I had been close to Izzy. And truth be told, I really thought I had been close to Izzy at one point in time. What if Izzy had never felt that closeness to me though? The relationship could've been one-sided for all I knew. I really regretted getting involved with Izzy, but it wasn't like it was my fault or anything. Izzy had been the one who had approached me, not vice versa.
"We were friends once," I replied softly to Steven's question, doing my best not to listen to Izzy and his girlfriend's laughter coming from behind me at some shared joke they were laughing at. Steven put a hand on my shoulder and said, "Aw, I'm really sorry about that." Then Steven leaned closer to me and whispered in my ear, "Izzy's not all that friendly though. He totally keeps to himself and doesn't have much to do with the band other than playing his guitar."
I nodded, trying to make Steven's remark make me feel better. Unfortunately, I felt the exact same longing for Izzy as before. I wasn't exactly a pro at controlling my emotions or anything. Before Steven and I could say anything else, Axl cleared his throat and announced, "Okay, guys, it's time for our show. Make sure you have your gear and then head backstage. You know, out the door to your left. I'll be there in just a minute."
Slash kissed his girl on the lips before swinging his guitar over his shoulder and heading towards the door to his left. Izzy nuzzled his girl lightly on her neck before following Slash's steps. Steven frowned and apologized, "Aw, I'm sorry I have to go already. We should definitely do something together soon though. That would be fun, don't you think?"
"Yeah, it would be!" I agreed, trying to sound happy despite my gloominess. "It will be fun to watch you perform though! I'm sure you'll do great. You're the best drummer I've ever heard play." Steven blushed happily and leaned over to impulsively give me a little kiss on the cheek. After that, he blushed furiously and apologized again, "Sorry, I didn't exactly mean to do that. It's just...you look so pretty tonight!"
I found that I had actually liked Steven's kiss. He seemed to be the closest to me out of all the band members. Besides, a little kiss like that certainly couldn't hurt anyone. It wasn't like we were having sex or anything! Footsteps sounded behind me and Axl's sharp voice rang out, "Okay, move along! We don't want to be late for our show now, do we?"
Steven shook his head and waved to me before taking Duff's outstretched hand and walking out the door with them. The two looked really cute together. There was tall, serene Duff with short, bouncy Steven. As soon as the door shut behind them, Axl looked at Slash's and Izzy's girlfriends and waved his hand as if trying to get rid of them as he said, "Can you girls go out to the main room or something? We need to evacuate this room."
The two girls nodded and quickly exited the room, I stood to leave too, but Axl touched my arm and shook his head. A little miffed about why he wanted me still in the room and the other two girls out of the room, I sat back down at looked at him questioningly, wondering what he could possibly want.
As soon as I was sitting back down, Axl said in a voice dripping with compassion, "You know, I really should've told you about Izzy sooner. That girl? Well, she's been dating him for the last six months. I would've told you sooner, but I just didn't want to hurt you. I thought maybe Izzy would come around, but I guess not. He's been getting really fucked up with heroin lately and he's just so unpredictable and moody all the time. Are you really upset?"
Was I really upset? Yes, I was extremely upset. I wasn't really sure why I was so upset though. It wasn't like I had thought Izzy and I were still together, it was just that I hadn't ever really expected to see him with another girl tonight like this. Deciding that there was no point in lying, I answered, "Yeah, I am kind of upset. More sad than angry though I guess." That was true; I wanted Izzy, but I wasn't pissed off at him for choosing the pretty blonde over me.
Axl nodded slowly without saying anything. It was like he wasn't really sure what to say to comfort me. Suddenly, words that I didn't even know were in my mouth burst out impulsively, "Axl, why do you think Izzy broke up with me? Do you think it was because I wasn't pretty enough? I mean, that blonde girl literally looks like a supermodel compared to me. Or do you think maybe it was because I tried to force him into fucking me that night a year ago or so? I knew I should've have been so pushy with him, but he was kind of misleading..." My sentence trailed off mainly because my eyes had filled with tears and I found myself crying silently with clear droplets streaming down my cheeks.
"No, no, it's nothing like that," Axl quickly replied hurriedly. "That blonde girl is pretty, but she's not like drop dead gorgeous or anything. Personally, I think you're prettier, but that's just my opinion. And the whole thing with you and Izzy las year...well...I don't really know what to say about that. Like I told you earlier, Izzy can be kind of unpredictable sometimes. But believe me when I say this, it wasn't your fault. Okay? I don't want you to blame yourself for something you didn't do."
As much as Axl was being nice and trying to comfort me, I just couldn't bring myself to believe him. It was like I knew I had done something to lose Izzy. It was all my fault; not Izzy's. This thought just made me feel worse and the tears came more quickly now. Axl sighed, obviously not liking to see me this way.
"Come here, girl," Axl said, opening his arms up to me. I stumbled forward and let him wrap his arms tightly around me. I had to admit I was kind of surprised when he pulled me down onto his lap and pressed me against his chest. I liked the feeling though and certainly wasn't about to pull away. Pressing my face into his shoulder, I could smell his fresh, clean scent. Mm, he smelled good enough to eat! Axl stroked my hair gently through his fingers until my tears had finally ceased.
"Are you okay now?" Axl asked, pulling me away from him slightly so he could get a good look at my face. I nodded and attempted a smile. For some reason, now I found myself completely distracted from Izzy. The fact that I was so close to Axl was giving me shivers down my spine. Axl smiled down at me and gently set me back on my chair as he said, "I've gotta go get ready for the show, why don't you just stay here though? I think you'd be better off here than out there." Axl jerked a finger towards the door that lead to the main area of the club.
I nodded gratefully as he turned and headed towards the backstage area. I didn't think I could stand it out there with all the loud noise and happy, partying people. It was much more enjoyable just to sit back here in this isolated little room and enjoy the music from here. Sometimes I just wanted to be alone.
Only a few minutes later, Guns 'n Roses started their first song. I figured it was called "Don't Cry" because of the lyrics. Halfway through the song, I realized I was suddenly exhausted. Before I knew what I was doing, my eyelids were closing and my mind was shutting down into the darkness of sleep.

~ ~ ~ ~

"Amy? Amy, wake up!" a gentle voice sounded in my ear while a hand shook my shoulder. I jerked my head off of the table and gazed blearily around me, trying to figure out where I was. There was a large table in front of me and I could hear the sound of loud music and people chit chatting from a little ways away. Stretching my arms and trying to clear my bleary eyes, I asked, "Where am I? Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep."
"It's okay," that same voice sounded in my ear. "You're at the Whiskey A Go Go. Remember where that is?" Now I remembered everything. I had gone to the Whiskey to watch Guns 'n Roses perform, and somehow I had ended up falling asleep in the middle of their concert! How embarrassing was that? I twisted around in my chair to see Axl standing behind me. His hair was slightly rumpled and his bare chest was glistening with sweat. It seemed pretty obvious that the show had ended just a few minutes ago. Apologizing, I said, "I'm so sorry! I have no idea why I fell asleep! I guess I'm just tired or something."
"It's okay," Axl reassured me kindly. "How about I drive you home now so you don't fall asleep at the wheel? The last thing we need is for you to end up getting in an accident." Yawning, I shrugged, "Well, if you don't mind, that would be really nice. But what about the others? Where are they?"
Axl scratched his chin as he tried to remember where everyone had gone, "Slash went to hang out at the bar with his girlfriend and Steven and Duff went back to their houses to call it a night. Steven told me to tell you goodbye." I noticed that Axl didn't bother telling me where Izzy was. I figured that was probably because he didn't want to hurt me anymore by bringing up the ex-boyfriend who I was still obviously very interested in.
"Are you sure you don't mind bringing me home?" I asked, getting slowly to my feet and stretching my legs out. I wondered how long I had been asleep for. "If you have somewhere to go, you don't have to bring me home, you know. I can make it home by myself. I'd hate to hold you up or anything."
Axl waved my protests with a hand as he took my hand with his free one and started pulling me towards the door, "You forget that I would've have offered if I didn't want to. And no, I don't have anywhere to go or anything to do. It's not like Erin is here for anything. Besides, after I drop you off at your house, I'm probably just going to go and hang at Izzy's for a while."
Axl pushed open the door to the main partying room and we were instantly merged in a large sea of loud people. Axl parted his way through the crowd easily and I followed in his footsteps. A lot of people snapped pictures of Axl and cheered as he waved to them before pulling me out the door behind him. I figured the Guns 'n Roses show must have been pretty successful by the way the crowd was acting. It looked like Axl already had quite a few fans.
I led Axl to my familiar black jetta and slipped into the passenger seat after handing him the keys. I sure hoped Axl hadn't been drinking since I was giving him complete control of the car. I was going to warn him about being careful with my car when he pulled out of the parking lot, but another question popped through my lips first, "About you and Erin...are you two still fighting?" Axl's jaw stiffened in the moonlight and I could see his shoulders tense up.
"Yeah, we're still fighting," Axl confirmed quietly. "We fight a lot, but we always find a way to work it out. That's just how relationships go, you know?" I nodded silently and let out another big yawn. I still couldn't figure out why I was so tired. It wasn't like I had pulled a lot of all-nighters lately or anything.
As I became more and more tired, I found myself drifting off to sleep again. Without realizing what I was doing, I leaned my left and rested my head on Axl's shoulder. I closed my eyes after that, so I had no idea how he responded to my movement. He didn't push me away though, so that was a good sign.
About five minutes later, Axl whispered softly in my ear, "This is your house, right?" Shaking myself out of my sleepiness, I glanced upwards to see my familiar brick house. I nodded to Axl, but didn't make any attempt to get out of the car. Instead, the two of us just stared at each other. We were only a few inches apart and the tension in the little vehicle was really tense. Axl brought a tentative hand up to my face and traced the line of my jaw from my ear to my chin. My heart was starting to race and was beating so loudly that I swore that Axl must be able to hear it.
Axl leaned a little closer to me. I held my breath, hoping he was going to kiss me. But before I could figure out what Axl was going to do, our front door burst open with a click and light flooded out from our front doorway. Shit! Axl quickly jerked away from me and said, "Um, I should probably go now. Is that your mom?"
I glanced up and noticed a familiar silhouette walking towards his in the darkness. It was definitely my mom. Nodding, I exited the car and stumbled sleepily towards my mom. Axl popped out of the jetta as well and stood hesitatingly besides it, unsure of what to do next. To be polite, I figured I should probably introduce Axl to my mom.
"Mom, this is my friend, Axl Rose. Axl, this is my mom," I said, making quick introductions. I could hear my mom cluck her tongue as she looked Axl over. I could see her gaze wander of his teased hair, sweaty chest, and tattooed arms. Without her saying anything, I could tell she didn't approve. I crossed my fingers that she would at least at civil to Axl though.
"Nice to meet you," my mom said stiffly, shaking Axl's hand succinctly. Without even waiting for him to say anything, she turned around and started back up towards the house, calling over her shoulder, "You should come in now, Amy. It's getting pretty late. I wouldn't want you to catch cold or anything."
Rolling my eyes at her, I turned back to Axl for a minute so I could tell him goodbye. As I stepped up to him, he took both my hands in his and smiled almost nervously. My heart skipped a beat at his touch and all I could manage to say was, "Thanks for tonight. I had a really great time. We'll have to see each other soon again, okay?"
Axl nodded vigorously and leaned forward to kiss my cheek before saying, "Yeah, we will. Bye Amy." Blushing slightly, he turned on his heel and disappeared into the night. I watched his shiny, auburn hair blow out behind him in the breeze as he slowly became no more than a speck in the night. Once my view of him faded, I turned and headed back up to the house. I kicked the door shut behind me and hurried up to my room.
As I slipped out of my dress and pulled on some pajamas, I found my thoughts venturing to Axl. There was no doubt in my mind that I liked him. Well, okay, "like" was probably not the word for it. I was completely and crazily in love with him. There were still two problems though. The first problem was Erin. No matter what happened, Axl and Erin always ended up getting back together after fights. It was as if they couldn't live without each other for too long. The second problem was that Axl and I never seemed to get past the stage of embracing. We still hadn't made it to kissing yet.
I moved across my bedroom and flicked the lights off before climbing into bed. Even though Axl had kissed me yet didn't mean that he never would. Fate could work in very mysterious ways sometimes.

~ ~ ~ ~

Two months later, Vince, Tommy, and me were all sitting in my living room. The Crue had just gotten back from their tour and I had invited them over to my house right away. I always forgot just how much I missed them until I actually had them over. Luckily, my parents were out at a restaurant and wouldn't be home for a while, so we had the house completely to ourselves.
"So how was the tour, guys?" I asked after we were all settled down on the couch. Tommy was sitting on my left, drinking a beer, while Vince was sitting on my right, eying Tommy's beer with longing eyes. Apparently, Vince was still making an attempt at trying to be sober. Good for him! Vince usually had no control so maybe this could be a good thing after all.
"The tour went great!" Tommy exclaimed cheerfully, practically bouncing up and down on the couch next to me. Tommy had been in a really good mood lately. I figured it had something to do with his new girlfriend, Heather, but I decided not to bring up that subject right now. "Well, it went great for me anyways. Vince and Nikki didn't have such a great time."
I turned questioningly towards Vince, wondering what had happened. Knowing Vince, he had probably managed to get into some trouble because of women or drinking. Personally, I hoped it was drinking since I really didn't want to hear about Vince fucking other women right now. Sometimes it just seemed crazy to be how the Crue members had fucked with so many different girls while I had never had sex with a guy before in my entire life!
"I went water skiing in Texas and tore some ligaments in my knee," Vince explained, making a face. "So that was the end of water skiing for me. And you know what really sucked? I had to wear a brace on my leg under my stage clothes. That was really annoying. Oh, and guess what Doc McGhee did to me?"
I had no idea what the manager might have done to Vince, so I just shrugged. Vince scowled and explained, "He was trying to keep me sober while I was on probation, so he locked me up in hotel room in Orlando, Florida with two security guys. He ordered them to beat me up! Goddamn them!" I couldn't help but giggle at that. It seemed like something Doc would do in an attempt to keep Vince sober. Keeping Vince sober was much easier said than done. Vince loved his drinking and drugs, it was almost impossible to keep him away from them. Doc had obviously figured that out.
"So did you stay sober?" I asked Vince curiously, wondering if Doc's method had worked. Vince avoided my eye, looking a little guilty. Tommy laughed and answered my question instead, "He did a pretty good job of it for the most part. But instead of drugs, he's been going after the girls now. I swear he goes through four of them a night, don't ya, Vince?"
Vince started coloring in the face and shifted uncomfortably. To be honest though, I wasn't really mad at Vince for anything. It would have been way to much of me to expect Vince not to fuck with any girls during the door. Besides, I had sort of given up on Vince and I ever really getting together. There were just too many things that kept us apart.
"Anyways," I cut in so Vince wouldn't have to answer Tommy's question, "What happened with Nikki? You said he wasn't doing so well." Tommy nodded vigorously and replied, "Yeah, Nikki had one of the worst tours so far. The night before our video shoot at Dallas, Nikki took an eight-ball of cocaine and four blue pills. He started seeing thing, which really started freaking us all out. Then he jumped on top of the table and started ripping out his hair and he was even foaming at the mouth. Then the next day, someone found Nikki talking to an imaginary friend backstage."
I grimaced; Nikki's drug addiction just kept getting worse and worse. I had hoped he could clean up, but maybe it was too late for that? Nikki really couldn't afford to keep taking drugs like this though. Everyone knew what happened when people starting seeing things and having visions. Worried now, I asked, "So where is Nikki? I see he didn't come over here with you guys."
"Eh, Nikki's somewhere in Los Angeles," Vince stated, shrugging his shoulders. "He met up with his new girlfriend, Nicole, at the airport. They went back to her house to party. I think they spent most of the night shooting heroin." I was surprised by the lack of emotion in Vince's voice. Nobody seemed to be very worried about Nikki except for me. I was going to ask them if they were at all concerned, but Tommy spoke first.
"Guess what, Amy?" he burst out ecstatically, "I took your advice!" I looked at Tommy quizzically and raised an eyebrow. I didn't remember giving him advice on anything. Maybe Tommy was starting to lose it too? But Tommy just laughed and continued on, "Remember when you told me that I should just ask Heather to marry me?"
Oh that. I definitely remembered telling Tommy that now. I had actually said it in a sarcastic manner, but apparently Tommy that I had been serious. Tommy went on, "So I asked her to marry me yesterday. We were traveling in a limousine down Ventura Freeway, and I just thought, 'What the hell? Why not ask her to marry me now?' So I did it!" By the sparkle in Tommy's eyes, I could tell that Heather had told Tommy yes.
Trying to act as excited as Tommy, I replied, "Wow, Tommy, that's great! I hope you're going to be happier with her than Candice." Tommy nodded his head vigorously, "Of course I am! We're perfect for each other. It's like we are destined to be soul mates. Wait...have you even met Heather yet?"
I shook my head. Heather was still a mystery to me. I just hoped she was as different from Candice as possible. Tommy seemed to have a bad taste in girls, hopefully, Heather would be different. Tommy replied, "Just wait until you meet her! I bet you two will be the best of friends. Heather's so kind and friendly. She's a lot like you, Amy."
Before Tommy could continue to gush on and on about Heather, Vince quickly changed the subject by asking, "So how have you been doing lately? Do you have any plans for this weekend?" I thought about my last few weeks. To be honest, I hadn't done hardly anything. The only time I had really done something fun was the night when I went to the Whiskey to watch Guns 'n Roses. Speaking of which, Axl had called me last night and had invited me to hang out with the band for the following weekend. Not seeing why I shouldn't go, I had agreed enthusiastically.
"I went to watch Guns 'n Roses perform at the Whiskey A Go Go," I told Vince. "It's Axl's new band." Vince's eyebrows shot up with curiosity, "Oh really? I didn't know that Axl had started a new band. Tell me all about it! Is it a good band? Do you think they'll be future competition for us?"
Tommy rolled his eyes at Vince, "Nobody is competition for us, Vince. Remember that." To reply to Vince's question, I shrugged my shoulder and admitted, "To be honest, I fell asleep during most of the concert so I don't really remember hearing any of it. I'm heading over to visit the band this weekend though. I can see how they're doing then."
"Yeah, you can be our secret spy!" Tommy laughed. "I'm still sure that they wouldn't be competition for us though. After all, Motley Crue is the best; fuck the rest!" I laughed at Tommy's little rhyme, but wondered to myself if he was right. Would the Crue always be the best? Or would Guns 'n Roses end up making their way to the top?