better friends - eddie roundtree x oc

US, 1977

I wasn't paranoid about one thing, that was for sure. Daisy was taking a nosedive off the deep end. She wasn't herself at all. I mean, she had never taken this much. Something was off from the beginning, of course. I mean, Billy did punch her husband in the face. Oh, yeah, Billy punched Nicky. I think he thought he was defending Daisy, in his own special way. But still... this wasn't about that. It was really bad energy, but we just needed to get through it. That's what we all thought. Get through the Miami show and we'd be golden. But then, at the end of "The River", one of the last songs on the set, Daisy almost fainted. She fell on Warren's platform and gashed her leg. Billy carried her off stage as the rest of us played and vocalized awkwardly. The song ended and the only thing that could be heard was thousands of people screaming and chanting, "Daisy. Daisy. Daisy. Daisy." So she came back out; sweaty, bleeding, doped up, and smiling. And then she sang "Look At Us Now". Billy tried to be patient with Daisy when it came to her addiction because he empathized with that, but he couldn't take it anymore. There's a point where you have to realize that sometimes people won't want your help, no matter how much you want to help them. Billy wanted Daisy to be better, and Daisy didn't want to be what Billy wanted her to be.

Daisy almost died that night. But the real kicker is who cared the most about that. Who wouldn't leave her side until he knew she was okay. Who cried on the shower floor with her limp body in his arms. Who pleaded her to not die yet. Not yet. It was Billy, because, of course it was.

"So you left me in the fucking shower?" Daisy screamed. I looked out into the hallway to see the rest of the band doing the same. "Daisy..." Nicky choked out, tears all over his face. "I said pack your shit up and get out of here!" she shouted, chucking his bag on the ground. His tears had stopped and he just shrugged at her; almost indifferent. "No." She scoffed and picked up a decorative vase. "Daisy..." he begged, but she was already doing it. Hundreds of pieces of ceramic cascaded across the carpeting. She tried to push him but he pushed back, about to strike when Warren smacked his hands away and charged at him. He managed to shove him away from her. "You heard the lady. You heard her." Nicky looked as if he was going to explode. "You're making a huge fucking mistake." He picked up his bags from the ground, looking like he was about to cry again. "You'll regret this." His voice was cracking. Wow, what an intimidating man.

Eddie tried to put his hand on Daisy's shoulder to console her, but she didn't need a man's affection right now. Karen and I approached her and held her as she cried. She leeched onto us as if we were her only source of comfort in the world. In that moment, though, I believed we were.

Spring of '77... that was our moment. But, of course, it's when you least want things to change that they always do. Graham, Karen, Eddie, Warren, and I were at some underground scene and heard this music we had never heard before. It was... electric. It was the future. And that's what scared the shit out of us. Who would want music like ours when this existed? Eddie was staring wide-eyed at the band when he stated, "It's over." I had my arm around Warren as we shared a cig and a Budweiser. "Why would anybody care about us when stuff like this exists? We're done, man. We're dinosaurs." I blew out a mouthful of smoke and handed the stick back to Warren. "What're you talking about? Don't worry so much." Karen told him, swigging her beer. Warren passed me back the cigarette so he could ask, "What is this shit?" I answered this one for Eddie. "The future." Then Warren and I walked back to the bar to get something stronger.

Although I understood where he was coming from, I didn't think we were as fucked as Eddie had made us out to be. I mean, we had the biggest album in the country, we were nominated for a whole bunch of Grammys, we were on Saturday Night Live. I mean... I just didn't want to worry about it too much. But, hey, it's called a moment for a reason, right?

Speaking of SNL, dear god was that a rush. It was the first afterparty I got to enjoy because I liked the people I was around, not because of all the drugs. I was having a few drinks with Graham, Eddie, and Warren. Well, until Warren went to go court Lisa Crowne. I wanted to be a wing-woman so bad right now, but I knew he could get her on his own. He didn't need me like Graham had back at The Staircase. But now Graham didn't need me either. I couldn't be sure, even now I can't, but I assumed what I was feeling was similar to when a mother realizes her children are all grown up and don't need her to be at their side 24/7 anymore. It was a shitty feeling. Really shitty. But I didn't have time to dwell, because I heard someone screaming for a medic.