It was Christmas Eve's Eve and Pat had already packed up a small bag to visit his family in West LA. Before leaving the house he went to his friend's room to greet her and his former drummer who, despite it was already five in the afternoon, were still sleeping peacefully. The guitarist tried to gently wake them up, however causing a rude awakening to the blond who immediately opened his eyes and then sat up on the bed, making Pat burst into laughter. "What are you two doing?" Whispered Diane still asleep, moving slowly under the sheets and then calmly opening her eyes. "I'll see you in a few days D." Pat ruffled her hair more than they already were, receiving a nod from the redhead who had her eyes still closed. "If you have to leave the house for a few days, don't forget to close everything properly." Then announced the guitarist who, after saying goodbye to Taylor, went down the stairs, leaving immediately after the house. "Good morning Cherry..." The drummer whispered before leaving a kiss on her bare shoulder and then smiling at her again with a sleepy look. "How's your head?" Diane, turning to him and opening her eyes, put a hand on his forehead, moving the hair that fell on his cut and then to notice with pleasure that it was no longer so red. "Much better, thanks." Taylor took a hand on her face, leaving a kiss close to her lips which she returned as she slipped her fingers through the drummer's slightly longer blond locks. He loomed over her body, bringing one knee between her legs and, moving down with his lips, he left a trail of kisses from her jaw to her chest, lingering mainly on her neck. The redhead gasped slightly as she felt him take between his teeth a flap of skin behind her ear where he surely left her mark on her. "Taylor, no..." She whispered closing her eyes for a few seconds as she arched her back, leaning her chest against the drummer's bare one. "No?" He asked placing his lips on her cheek, stroking her cheekbone with them waiting for an answer from her. Diane turned her face away, bringing their lips together again in a passionate kiss. The blond barely moved his leg between her things, causing her to gasp a second time against his mouth. "No, no Taylor... we can't." He then stood up, sitting on the bed and watching the girl still lying on the white sheets who, closing her eyes, drew a deep sigh. They were silent for a good handful of minutes, still in their positions, before Taylor got up to stand up and watch the girl who had placed herself on her side, with her knees to her chest and her arms around her legs. "Would you like some coffee?" The redhead looked into his eyes and nodded, covering her ears with her hair as she followed him with her gaze as he left the room. The blond stopped halfway up the stairs due to a sudden visit and just watched the front door slowly open. It was definitely someone with the keys, so he wasn't too alarmed. "Diane, honey? Are you home?" The drummer blanched as he saw Izzy's eyes resting on his figure. The other guy shook his head, lowering his head with a bitter half smile on his lips. "Taylor, nice to see you again." The drummer reached him with a brisk step and extending his hand to let the guitarist shake it. "Hey, man. Diane's upstairs. Want some coffee?" Izzy looked at him disinterestedly, nodding at the question and then moving his gaze to the flight of stairs where his girlfriend was in all her glory. "My beautiful Goddess." The guitarist smiled at her while he was waiting for her with his arms outstretched. Diane smiled back, smile that faded as soon as she saw what state her boyfriend was in, much thinner and hollow-faced. "Izzy, how are you?" She brought her arms around his neck before leaving a light kiss on his lips, trying in every way to ignore the looks that the blond gave her from the kitchen. "I've seen better days, but now that I see you I'm much better." He whispered before gently kissing her forehead. "You, on the other hand, are looking so good..." Then he placed his hands on her shoulders and soon he slipped them along her arms to take her hands, stepping back just to observe her better. "Are you clean?" The girl nodded, clutching her boyfriend's hands in hers. "Absurd, I'm really happy for you, honey." The guitarist pulled her back to himself, squeezing her in the thin arms that he found himself. "So are you going to spend the holidays with me?" From the kitchen a glass tumbler was heard falling to the floor which attracted the attention of the couple, followed by a "Fuck!" by the blond."I'm so sorry Diane, I'll buy it back for you." He then added, hiding behind the kitchen island to collect the glass shards from the ground. The redhead then returned her gaze to Izzy who still looked at her waiting for an answer from her. "Of course, Iz."
Taylor didn't stay long at the singer's house, precisely because he felt uncomfortable from all that situation that still seemed to go on for a long time. He didn't mention nor renewed the invitation to Laguna for the girl, he thought there was no need. He knew she wouldn't leave him like an idiot on Christmas Day, or at least he hoped so. That same evening the couple arrived in Pasadena, at the house that the guitarist once shared with Axl, even before creating Guns. Diane hadn't been in it for a long time and for this reason, as soon as she set foot in the living room, she was invaded by countless memories, more positive than negative. "If these walls could talk..." she whispered turning to look at her boyfriend who, placing her luggage on the ground, giggled at her words before approaching the redhead, squeezing her by the hips. "What was Europe like?" The singer put her hands on his arms with a half-smile on her lips, closing her eyes as soon as she put her forehead to hers. "Great, I think t'was one of the most interesting tours I've ever done. You know how much I love festivals..." He nodded before moving his gaze behind him, heading to the sofa to sit down immediately, clapping his hand on his thigh to invite the girl to sit on him. The redhead didn't have it repeated twice and she straddled her boyfriend, bringing her hands to his face before leaving little kisses on his lips. "And what was Capital H like?" She smiled at his question and lost herself for a few seconds in her memories. "Good, it was really good Iz... None of this local shit can ever beat the English one..." He nodded with his mouth ajar, running a hand over her chest before pausing on her shoulder before moving his gaze to her brown eyes. "Yes, I know... But don't come up with any strange ideas." She shook her head, momentarily she could manage the urge to return to the heroine's arms. She still had her methadone in her purse anyway.
The morning of December 24th 1997 will be one of those memories that will never leave Diane's head. The previous evening, just before crawling under the covers, she observed her boyfriend's reflection in the bathroom mirror who, with a syringe in his hand, punctured himself in his neck due to lack of space in his arms. On the one hand she looked at him with disgust, she almost felt like throwing up, but on the other hand she just wanted to know for one last time what he was feeling. That evening they made love after a long time but neither of them felt what was created between the two until a few months before. Izzy wanted to blame the heroin, Diane knew very well that that wasn't the only problem. That morning, as soon as the dark-haired man left the house to go shopping for a "worthy Christmas Eve dinner", as he said, the redhead wasted no time and went to the his desk located in the bedroom, opening the bottom drawer and finding everything she needed for a shot. The guitarist had insisted on getting her out of the house, but she, of course, had found a half-reliable excuse to stay locked between those dark walls. Along with the heroin left in the little silver casing she mixed some methadone in it, dissolving it all with her boyfriend's very clean utensils, before getting ready as she had never done in her life. An adrenaline rush filled her back, making her giggle. You are so stupid Diane. It was the only thing she thought of her when she felt her needle stick under her skin, sucking air in her mouth from the pain it gave. She pushed all the liquid into her blood before throwing herself dead weight on the bed, lying on her back. The last thing she saw as soon as she closed her eyes was Taylor's disappointed look who, with tears visible in his face, shook his head as he crossed his arms across his chest. "What are you doing?" The blond asked her with the voice broken by his crying, moving further and further away from her who seemed to want to chase him. "Taylor, don't leave me here. I need you right now." He shook his head again, disappointed by her behavior, and turned away from her, moving away until he disappeared into thin air.
Diane Larkin went into a coma on the morning of December 24, 1997, found on time and accompanied by her boyfriend to Dignity Health Hospital.
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KISS THE RING ☆ Taylor Hawkins
Fanfiction"She's a red headed woman with a cigarette and evil in her eyes, she's a red headed woman with a cigarette that's her clever disguise." - Samson, Regina Spektor. LA, mid 90s. Diane Larkin is the lead singer of Garbage who, after a rather eventful li...
