—by the time the bus pulls up to the parking lot of the Dennys, it's around 11:30. raven reads over the lyrics she'd written on the page one last time before going to wake up raven. ozzy ended up leaving his bag but staying on the motley bus. it worried Raven but knowing her brother, she wouldn't been able to say anything. she plans to ask Nikki about it when they get inside.
a sleepy flora and a quiet raven shuffle off the bus to see the guns waiting by theirs. duff is now dressed in some grey sweats and a black t-shirt, all in shorts and a jacket. the motley bus opens and Tommy walks out in black sweats with skulls on them, no shirt, and Mick is walking behind him looking very unhappy. "put your shirt on you fucking teenager," Raven hears him grumble. tommy sighs and slips on his shirt begrudgingly as the two make their way toward the group.
a couple of minutes later the bus shakes and Vince walks out in jeans and a tank top, followed by nikki and Ozzy. ravens heart drops when she sees him, arm wrapped around Nikki's shoulder as Nikki's arm holds him up by the waist. he looks skinnier and his eyes look a bit sunken with dark circles around them.
she looks away, blinking rapidly to avoid the tears. she trails quietly behind the group as they walk into the Dennys. when they get inside, they push together two tables so they can all sit together. raven ends up in front of Slash (again) with Nikki to her left and Duff to her right. Ozzy is next to Nikki and beside Duff, Flora, and then Vince. mick is in front of Ozzy, Tommy is between Mick and Slash. stevens in front of Duff, with Axl to his right, and then Izzy.
raven's leg aggressively bounces up and down as she twists her rings around her fingers, ignoring the conversation. As she thinks about Ozzy, she's now positive he's been doing heroin, and she's suddenly no longer hungry.
as the waitress comes up to the table, they all order drinks. Raven gets a sweet tea. "are you ok?" Nikki slurs a bit as he leans over to Raven.
she nods. "yeah, why?"
"your legs shaking pretty hard," he shrugs. Raven's hands clench and unclench nervously against her thighs as she tries to redirect the movement. when the attempt fails, Nikki's attention returns to her leg and he brings his hand down to lay across her lower thigh. the shaking stops.
nobody seems to have paid it any mind since they're used to Raven being quiet but Slash does. he has to since she's right across from him. he noticed the way her leg had previously been moving violently as her knee bumped into his a couple of times. she hadn't noticed but it wasn't like he was gonna cuss her out for it at midnight in a Dennys. he also noticed the way Nikki leaned close to her, whispered something, and the way she flushed with embarrassment. he noticed the way her upper arms flexed and he knew what she was doing, it had been a habit she'd developed in June of 1980 when a kid from school mentioned her anxiety. and now, he certainly didn't miss the way Nikki's arm had moved and he knew his hand was on her leg.
