Rock One Shots etc :)

One Shot: Axl Rose (Part 1)

She rubbed her abdomen uncomfortably, simultaneously trying not to apply too much pressure to the newly formed bruise under her faded Zeppelin shirt from where they had kicked her and massaging it, hoping it would somehow dull the pain. She could still feel the sharp, jutting sensation of Converse digging into her skin.

This high school wasn't exactly the light in her life. Mediocre equipment with mediocre teaching along with mediocre people. Although she couldn't judge. She wasn't exactly above mediocre. Unlike him.

He was one of the few things that made school tolerable. Not because they talked anymore, oh no. She was in no way "cool" enough or outgoing enough for that.

It was because he was just so gorgeous.

Currently, she sat under a tree towards the back of the school, studying in silence beside Izzy. This part of the campus was shaded and quiet, which is why there were a few people dotted around, including her, who were reviewing for finals. Or, rather, that's what she was supposed to be doing.

Instead her chin was propped up on her palm, her elbow leaning on her leg. Her eyes followed him. He wasn't here to study. Him studying at all was a preposterous notion to even begin to imagine. It just didn't fit their reputations, the notorious bad boys who hung around the back smoking and trading little packets of white powder. If her mom were to know of her little crush, she would freak. It wouldn't matter though, since she'd never get the guts to even begin talking to him again, and why would he ever approach her? She was just a quiet good girl, sitting in the back of the lunchroom humming some indistinct riff while eating and peering at her textbooks.

Her eyes followed his frame as he hung back in the shadows with his group, soft tendrils of smoke curling around their faces. She watched as he flung his head back at something the blonde, Duff, had said, his long, red hair falling over his exposed shoulders and framing his face perfectly, one lock of hair falling over his eyes and his perfectly shaped jawline. He raised his hand up to brush it behind his ear, a cigarette placed firmly and snugly between his index and middle finger. He was so effortlessly alluring it couldn't be fair.

She felt the same pull sometimes after school, when his band always practiced together. She often left late, and while walking towards the gates she'd always have to pass the room they used for practice. She'd often be the only one left in the empty hallway, and the sound of their riffing always drew her in like a magnet. She didn't want to be a creep of anything, but she couldn't always help it, shamefully pressing her ear near the classroom.

His bandmates were good. Really good. She could tell by simply listening that they were dealing with real talent here. The riffs they played were always really catchy, and she'd sometimes find herself humming them absentmindedly. 

And his voice, oh, his voice.

It was just beautiful.

Well, not "beautiful" in the conventional way. Her mom was always talking about how rock 'n' roll was "the devil's music", and his voice certainly played the part, but it was simply so unique and addicting that she found herself mesmerized.

So much so that one time, she had been discovered. She was listening so intently that she didnt notice it when Axl walked towards the door, stuck his head out, and told her with a smirk, "Hey, y/n/n, why dontcha come be our audience, instead of listenin out here? The sound quality can't be as good." It was, quite, literally, their first conversation in probably a year.

She had been so surprised at his appearance, and at the fact he so easily slipped back into using his old nickname for her, that all she had been able to do was squeak and run down the hallway and out the schoolgates. Her and her shyness.

And later, when he heard her humming one of their riffs, he whipped around, red hair swishing, and told her with a grin, "Enjoy our practices y/n/n?"

Similar things had happened to Izzy. Axl wasn't exactly reapproaching them, but at the same time they had had more interactions in the past month than they'd had for a year. It was strange to her.

A gentle voice pulled her out of her daydreams.

"You're doing it again," Izzy whispered softly into her ear.

All she did was sigh, but Izzy seemed to get it, placing his hand over hers comfortingly.

She recalled her early gradeschool days. The three of them had been friends. Best friends, you could say. Always picking each other for projects, sitting together at lunch, and joined at the hip. William, back then, was just as outcasted as the rest of them, and they banded together to form a bond that she had thought was too strong to break. Turns out even bonds like that could feel the effect of wear and tear.

He had drifted away. Drifted away in middle school when people started recognizing him for what he was: a handsome and impossibly talented human being.

But Izzy had always been there. He was there in elementary school when they had just started forming friendships. He was there when William started wanting to be called Axl. He was there when Axl decided to grow his hair out. He was there when they stopped talking. He was the thing that kept her stable in this overwhelming, confusing sea of relationships to navigate, build, and destroy.

He was there for her, especially when, soon, Axl decided he wanted in again.

A/N: Wow, I actually wrote something!? I know, I'm surprised too. Anyways, this is a multi-parter.

Question: Fav song off Appetite?
(Paradise City or You're Crazy or Welcome to the Jungle. 10/10 album, impossible to choose!)