Categories > Celebrities > Guns n' Roses > Faithfully I'm Still Yours
"So," said Laurie, as the limo sped down the Interstate, on the way to the airport, "how has everyone been holding up?"
"Fine," said Duff. "Did you know that this tour is gonna be twenty-eight months long?"
Laurie nodded. "I knew that." She glanced towards Axl and was surprised to see that he was leaning forward, his head in his hands, shoulder muscles tense. She watched his fingers clench against his temples for a few seconds before realizing that her ex was infuriated over something--what, she wasn't sure.
"You lookin' forward to singing for us?" Slash asked.
"Of course, Hudson," said Laurie, grateful for the distraction, the excuse to turn away from Axl.
"Do you know the words to the songs?" Matt asked.
She nodded, turning to him. "I have both Gn'R albums and the EP."
Axl's head snapped up. He studied Laurie for a few seconds before saying softly:
"You got Gn'R Lies, too?"
"Yeah."
"You like how 'Patience' turned out?"
She felt her heart flutter in her chest. He hadn't forgotten that she'd helped him and Izzy in the writing processes of that song. He hadn't forgotten all the hard work and dedication the three of them had put into that song, way back in '86.
"Yeah," she replied. "I do."
And, for a few seconds, the way both of them were looking at each other, the rest of the Gunners could've fooled themselves into thinking she'd just spoken those two words at the altar.
~~~
They arrived at the airport half an hour after setting out from Laurie's apartment. As their roadies unloaded their stuff from the back, Laurie and the others waited in front of the large glass doors leading into the bustling airport. Laurie avoided looking at Axl, though she could feel his eyes on her, burning holes into the back of her shirt. She couldn't quite understand what had gone on in the limo between them, what emotions had passed through their brains simultaneously. But she knew that whatever it had been, she had to ignore it. It was way too soon to even be considering taking Axl Rose back, too soon to be friends again.
They say, Laurie thought as the roadies finished unloading their bags and the group headed inside, flanked by security guards on all sides, that in rare cases two people can be so close that they are considered fused; that they are no longer two people, but one person. They say their souls are one in the same. They say those two can no longer live without each other; that if they're separated they can function, but as ghosts of themselves.
Watching Axl walking, his legs taking long, powerful strides with each step, his arms swinging gracefully by his sides, his head held high, overlooking his domain, Laurie realized--without much surprise--that the concept of "fusion" applied to them more than anyone else she knew. It would explain why she hadn't turned down his job offer, why they had immediately launched into an easy--albeit hurtful--conversation, why she couldn't seem to take her eyes off him now that they were in the same room.
He's my second soul, Laurie thought as she put her bag on the counter for the security guards to look through. So why the hell is it so hard for me to make eye-contact with him?
~~~
The plane touched down in Seattle, Washington, approximately three hours after it had left the Los Angeles airport. Axl watched Laurie take her purse and carry-on bag off the top rack of the plane, and he sighed. He honestly hadn't meant to ask her anything on the limo ride over, but when she'd said she had Gn'R Lies, well...his curiosity had gotten the better of him and he'd had to ask her. After all, her opinion of "Patience" mattered as much as his and Izzy's; she'd contributed to half the lyrics and even a few guitar licks, though she couldn't play the instrument herself.
Just like he hadn't meant to ask, he hadn't been expecting an answer. But she'd given him one, and the way she'd looked at him then had reminded him of the way she looked at him after the first time they'd made love, way back in '85. It was a look he couldn't capture in a photograph; it was priceless, pure, unending love. It was a look solely reserved for Laurie Stevens, mainly because no one else Axl knew had those soul-searching brown eyes, the ones that penetrated straight through you and made you realize that you weren't the perfect person you pretended to be for the cameras, for the media, for the fans.
Then again, around Laurie, perfection had never mattered.
Axl, Slash, Duff, Izzy, Matt, and Dizzy got their bags from the roadies and were bustled through the airport, past screaming fans, by the security guards. Laurie tagged along behind, her bag bouncing against her thigh as she ran. By the time they got to the limo, she was sore and exhausted.
"When am I meeting the other background singer?" she asked as they slid themselves inside the backseat.
"Before tonight's concert," said Slash. "Probably either at the hotel or sound check."
"Cool," murmured Laurie, running her fingers through her hair.
That simple gesture flung Axl back far into the recesses of his memory, back to countless times when she'd done that out of frustration or annoyance, and he'd been able to wrap his arms around her shoulders or her waist or wherever and hold her and tell her everything would work itself out eventually.
Dammit. I can't do that anymore. Axl let out a frustrated sigh and leaned forward again, his elbows on his knees, his head resting against the heels of his hands. He couldn't believe he'd agreed to let Laurie come on the tour. She was going to drive him insane. And he wasn't sure if it would be from the countless fights they were sure to have, or simply from the intensely emotional memories she evoked every time he looked at her.
~~~
They arrived at the hotel and took care of rooming while the roadies unloaded their bags and instruments. As Axl had predicted, he and Laurie would be sharing a room, due to lack of space, for the rest of the tour. He let out a resigned sigh and gave her a key. She stared at it, puzzled, for a few seconds before finally figuring it out.
"Oh hell no," she snapped. "Look, Axl, I can't--"
"Fucking shut up," he snarled. "You think I want this any more than you?"
"Fuck you!" yelled Laurie angrily. "I'm so tired of not getting to make my own choices around you--"
Axl's eyes clouded over and the rage inside him boiled until it had nearly set his blood on fire. "Yeah? You honestly think you can't make your own choices? You didn't have to come on this tour with us. You had the choice to stay at home. You had the choice to not sing for us." He paused. "You had the choice to walk out on me without an explanation three-and-a-half years ago."
Three was an extremely tense silence after he said this. Laurie's fists clenched at her sides and for a few seconds Slash and Duff stepped slightly forward as everyone anticipated a fight to break out. Then abruptly Laurie stepped back, tucking the room key into her jeans pocket and looking away from her ex-boyfriend and everyone else. "Dammit," she muttered, more to herself than anyone else.
Then she stormed off in the direction of the elevator.
"Shit," grunted Axl, before picking up his bags and following her.
When he arrived at he and Laurie's room, he discovered her standing at the open door, glaring at someone who was standing just out of Axl's vision range. She turned when the singer approached and said, "Axl, who the hell is this and how the hell did she get into our room?"
He was disoriented for a few seconds by the way she said "our room"; the way her voice gently, almost lovingly, caressed the syllables and the way her eyes flashed in defense of their territory. Perhaps it was subconscious...
Then Axl's mind ran over Laurie's sentence, and he said, "She?"
Maybe it's Brynn, he thought, referring to Brynn Daniels, their other background singer who was most infamous for having laid Slash once and Izzy twice. But when he stepped forward, he saw, to his shock and horror, that it wasn't Brynn, but rather a woman that he'd hoped to God he'd never have to see again, not after leaving her forever back in November of last year...
Erin Everly.
Oh God.
"Fine," said Duff. "Did you know that this tour is gonna be twenty-eight months long?"
Laurie nodded. "I knew that." She glanced towards Axl and was surprised to see that he was leaning forward, his head in his hands, shoulder muscles tense. She watched his fingers clench against his temples for a few seconds before realizing that her ex was infuriated over something--what, she wasn't sure.
"You lookin' forward to singing for us?" Slash asked.
"Of course, Hudson," said Laurie, grateful for the distraction, the excuse to turn away from Axl.
"Do you know the words to the songs?" Matt asked.
She nodded, turning to him. "I have both Gn'R albums and the EP."
Axl's head snapped up. He studied Laurie for a few seconds before saying softly:
"You got Gn'R Lies, too?"
"Yeah."
"You like how 'Patience' turned out?"
She felt her heart flutter in her chest. He hadn't forgotten that she'd helped him and Izzy in the writing processes of that song. He hadn't forgotten all the hard work and dedication the three of them had put into that song, way back in '86.
"Yeah," she replied. "I do."
And, for a few seconds, the way both of them were looking at each other, the rest of the Gunners could've fooled themselves into thinking she'd just spoken those two words at the altar.
~~~
They arrived at the airport half an hour after setting out from Laurie's apartment. As their roadies unloaded their stuff from the back, Laurie and the others waited in front of the large glass doors leading into the bustling airport. Laurie avoided looking at Axl, though she could feel his eyes on her, burning holes into the back of her shirt. She couldn't quite understand what had gone on in the limo between them, what emotions had passed through their brains simultaneously. But she knew that whatever it had been, she had to ignore it. It was way too soon to even be considering taking Axl Rose back, too soon to be friends again.
They say, Laurie thought as the roadies finished unloading their bags and the group headed inside, flanked by security guards on all sides, that in rare cases two people can be so close that they are considered fused; that they are no longer two people, but one person. They say their souls are one in the same. They say those two can no longer live without each other; that if they're separated they can function, but as ghosts of themselves.
Watching Axl walking, his legs taking long, powerful strides with each step, his arms swinging gracefully by his sides, his head held high, overlooking his domain, Laurie realized--without much surprise--that the concept of "fusion" applied to them more than anyone else she knew. It would explain why she hadn't turned down his job offer, why they had immediately launched into an easy--albeit hurtful--conversation, why she couldn't seem to take her eyes off him now that they were in the same room.
He's my second soul, Laurie thought as she put her bag on the counter for the security guards to look through. So why the hell is it so hard for me to make eye-contact with him?
~~~
The plane touched down in Seattle, Washington, approximately three hours after it had left the Los Angeles airport. Axl watched Laurie take her purse and carry-on bag off the top rack of the plane, and he sighed. He honestly hadn't meant to ask her anything on the limo ride over, but when she'd said she had Gn'R Lies, well...his curiosity had gotten the better of him and he'd had to ask her. After all, her opinion of "Patience" mattered as much as his and Izzy's; she'd contributed to half the lyrics and even a few guitar licks, though she couldn't play the instrument herself.
Just like he hadn't meant to ask, he hadn't been expecting an answer. But she'd given him one, and the way she'd looked at him then had reminded him of the way she looked at him after the first time they'd made love, way back in '85. It was a look he couldn't capture in a photograph; it was priceless, pure, unending love. It was a look solely reserved for Laurie Stevens, mainly because no one else Axl knew had those soul-searching brown eyes, the ones that penetrated straight through you and made you realize that you weren't the perfect person you pretended to be for the cameras, for the media, for the fans.
Then again, around Laurie, perfection had never mattered.
Axl, Slash, Duff, Izzy, Matt, and Dizzy got their bags from the roadies and were bustled through the airport, past screaming fans, by the security guards. Laurie tagged along behind, her bag bouncing against her thigh as she ran. By the time they got to the limo, she was sore and exhausted.
"When am I meeting the other background singer?" she asked as they slid themselves inside the backseat.
"Before tonight's concert," said Slash. "Probably either at the hotel or sound check."
"Cool," murmured Laurie, running her fingers through her hair.
That simple gesture flung Axl back far into the recesses of his memory, back to countless times when she'd done that out of frustration or annoyance, and he'd been able to wrap his arms around her shoulders or her waist or wherever and hold her and tell her everything would work itself out eventually.
Dammit. I can't do that anymore. Axl let out a frustrated sigh and leaned forward again, his elbows on his knees, his head resting against the heels of his hands. He couldn't believe he'd agreed to let Laurie come on the tour. She was going to drive him insane. And he wasn't sure if it would be from the countless fights they were sure to have, or simply from the intensely emotional memories she evoked every time he looked at her.
~~~
They arrived at the hotel and took care of rooming while the roadies unloaded their bags and instruments. As Axl had predicted, he and Laurie would be sharing a room, due to lack of space, for the rest of the tour. He let out a resigned sigh and gave her a key. She stared at it, puzzled, for a few seconds before finally figuring it out.
"Oh hell no," she snapped. "Look, Axl, I can't--"
"Fucking shut up," he snarled. "You think I want this any more than you?"
"Fuck you!" yelled Laurie angrily. "I'm so tired of not getting to make my own choices around you--"
Axl's eyes clouded over and the rage inside him boiled until it had nearly set his blood on fire. "Yeah? You honestly think you can't make your own choices? You didn't have to come on this tour with us. You had the choice to stay at home. You had the choice to not sing for us." He paused. "You had the choice to walk out on me without an explanation three-and-a-half years ago."
Three was an extremely tense silence after he said this. Laurie's fists clenched at her sides and for a few seconds Slash and Duff stepped slightly forward as everyone anticipated a fight to break out. Then abruptly Laurie stepped back, tucking the room key into her jeans pocket and looking away from her ex-boyfriend and everyone else. "Dammit," she muttered, more to herself than anyone else.
Then she stormed off in the direction of the elevator.
"Shit," grunted Axl, before picking up his bags and following her.
When he arrived at he and Laurie's room, he discovered her standing at the open door, glaring at someone who was standing just out of Axl's vision range. She turned when the singer approached and said, "Axl, who the hell is this and how the hell did she get into our room?"
He was disoriented for a few seconds by the way she said "our room"; the way her voice gently, almost lovingly, caressed the syllables and the way her eyes flashed in defense of their territory. Perhaps it was subconscious...
Then Axl's mind ran over Laurie's sentence, and he said, "She?"
Maybe it's Brynn, he thought, referring to Brynn Daniels, their other background singer who was most infamous for having laid Slash once and Izzy twice. But when he stepped forward, he saw, to his shock and horror, that it wasn't Brynn, but rather a woman that he'd hoped to God he'd never have to see again, not after leaving her forever back in November of last year...
Erin Everly.
Oh God.
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