14 years - Axl Rose x OC

16

--January 23rd, 1990

As Axl thumbed through the catalog in front of him, he glanced up at the mounted TV on the store's wall. The salesman spoke distantly in his ear, but Axl paid no mind.

MTV played on mute, and Axl could see Della and Melissa jumping around in the video on screen before it cut to Lita's face. Axl looked down and back to the book of rings.

"Find anything that looks nice?" The salesman asked. The man's lapels peaked from his suit as he spoke. The black shirt he wore stuck to his chest tightly as he leaned over the glass counter to Axl.

"That gold one looks pretty. How much?" Axl whispered. Erin was a few stores down, and he had to be quick in order to keep secrecy. They planned to meet later where he would ask her the most important question of their relationship. This question arose in his mind earlier in the week, a slow humming in the back of his brain that gradually increased into a loud beat behind his ears. Mixed feelings came after he and Lita spent those few minutes in the broom closet, and it progressed two days ago when they sat together.

Seeing Erin that night forced Axl to confront the back and forth thoughts that seemed to never leave him alone. He had been with Erin for almost four years now, and, with Lita never leaving her mind, Axl needed to do something drastic for her to quit him.

The salesman replied: "Ten thousand."

Axl nodded quickly and pulled out his credit card. This purchase was a last resort not only to save he and Erin's dwindling relationship, but for his own mind as well. He was on edge, and it felt like all cameras were pointed on him, filming forever, as he left the store and made his way through all the shops.

Axl wasn't even sure if he wanted to marry Erin, but he hoped it would stop the nagging feeling that told him to chase after Lita and away from his girlfriend to be where he truly wanted. But he couldn't do that to Erin, he couldn't be an asshole like that.

The ring swung back and hit him as Axl walked to his black camaro. He'd keep it in his pocket until the right time. For now, he'd stay in the studio with the ring poking his side, subtly reminding him of the difficult choice bothering him. Propose to Erin, his girlfriend, the woman that had been with him since the beginning; also the woman who made him want to run away from Los Angeles just to be away from the craziness she brought into his life.

Or Lita. He'd been in love with her for fourteen, almost fifteen, years. She was the catalyst for his music, and she could do no wrong. But she could also reject him; she did have a boyfriend, and, possibly knowing her, she wouldn't give that up.

-

Pulling into the DGC building, Axl headed into the building. Just as he'd predicted, the ring felt heavy in his pocket; the weight of the ring wasn't what he felt was the real thing pulling his pockets down. No, it was the weight of the ring's significance that felt like an iron chain tying him down to the floor.

Walking down the hall of recording studios, Axl could hear the banging of drums coming from the rooms to his left. The sounds of guitars pooled from under the studio door next to him as he walked further down the hall. Singing could be heard from one or two, but one stuck out familiarly to Axl as he made it to the Guns N' Roses studio.

Izzy was inside smoking a cigarette when he entered. Axl could smell the remnants of marijuana coming from Izzy's band tee, and the scratches of his rhythm guitar gleaned off the bright light overheard. "Whatcha got there, Iz?" He asked, plopping himself down on the couch near him, pulling out his hand to ask for a cigarette.

Taking a Marlboro from Izzy's pack, Axl lit the stick with his lighter, which sat snuggly against the ring's box in his pocket. "I've been working on that song you gave me a few weeks back. The first few verses are about there, almost done, but the bridge has me pretty tied up. The rhyme's all messed up. 'Think I'ma scrap it and do a rewrite."