14 years - Axl Rose x OC

8

-February 14th, 1977

In the days following his birthday, Bill made it a priority to surprise Lita Monroe for Valentine's day.

After such an abrupt and unexpected confession of his feelings, Bill wasn't sure where the two of them stood. He wasn't sure whether or not he should ask her to become his girlfriend or to simply assume her reciprocation of those words to be evidence enough.

Nevertheless, Bill had been saving up for this exact moment.

After noticing in January Lita's dwindling amount of earned money, he took most of his savings-money from odd jobs around Lafayette and more, and he took it upon himself to buy the concert tickets for her.

Bill had heard Lita all winter: the melody and soft guitar of her music in the background as they spoke, whispering quietly in the night so his step-father didn't hear. This was something she had wanted for most of her young life: that is, to see a musician she liked, to see them play her favorite ballads sung live before her eyes; a moment everlasting and unforgetful.

He'd purchased the ticket the day before, February 13th, and, through correspondence with Lita's old brother Christopher, made sure that the whim he had walked out of was worth it. So Lita hadn't gotten the tickets for herself in time, now he would do that graciously for her.

They had been two of the last ones sold, and, though not the greatest, they had been worth a winter break of shoveling the driveways of the old Lafayette women. At least they'd be in a 100 foot radius of Elvis, who Bill now thought might've been the love of her young life if not for the growing spark between them.

-

Knocking on the front door of Lita's old house, Bill waited for the sound of clicking shoes across the kitchen floor: a telltale sign of Lita's mother coming to the door.

The paint of the outside of the home was scuffed and peeling, the shade of light blue looking even whiter against the shine of the fresh coat of snow. Most of the houses in the area were rentals, but a rare few, including his own, were private property. Bill assumed this to be the case of Lita's home, for if it were his own mother living in a home like this, with its peeling paint and broken screen door, she'd have gotten it fixed before one could even mention it. But, in the case of a rental, all changes to the house had to go through the actual owner first.

In the palm of his hand, Bill held the envelope containing his gift tightly, not wishing for it to be let go as the icy cold wind brushed his hair in front of his eyes.

The front door opened, Lita pulling him in quickly, exclaiming, "Oh, I hope you didn't get frostbite standing out there...I asked mom to get the door, but she's out with Chris and I forgot. Are you cold?"

Her sincerity was nice, and whether or not his hands were frozen inside the pockets of his coat or his hair to the skin of his face was no great deal.

"No, I wasn't out for long. Just coming by to give you something."

"Something, for me? What did I do to deserve it?" A smile graced her face as she said this, an obvious joke, for she knew the occasion and had secretly wished he would stop by.

It was later in the day, and by dinner-time, Lita was unsure of whether or to not expect him. After their encounter on Bill's birthday, communication had been limited and awkward, but still loving. She hastily closed the door and grabbed his hand, pulling him up the stairs and into the floor's only bedroom.

"I wanted to get you something more, you know, after your birthday-for today, but I need the money for some other stuff, so I hope this is enough," she said, quietly pulling a card from her desktop and handing it to him.