don't follow - layne staley

chapter 8

"This is my room,"

It was a tiny little thing. It could've been a wardrobe. The walls had a light pink tint, with painted flowers emerging from the floor. They met the wooden ceiling that held a single humming lightbulb, flickering on and off. The only reliable light was the light that ran through the window, a single pane of glass shielded her from the weather outside. A single pane of glass shielding her childhood from the harsh reality of the world. There was a faint ghost of a 13-year-old Ivy, cutting up magazines of her favourite rockstars and pinning them on the wall with satisfaction. 

Pinned into the walls were posters of singers and photos of friends; things that held a significant importance to her laid so vulnerably in front of Layne. Little labels tangled beside the dried yellow flowers that held onto the wall.  Her bed was in the corner and ontop were bedsheets with botanical patterns. Clothes were folded into drawers, vintage pieces were hung into a thin wardrobe, hiding behind the end of her bed. Jewellery was tangled into a small dish by her bedside, next to a framed picture of a small girl held by her dad.

Layne's head was almost brushing against the ceiling. Ivy sat down on the bed, "Sorry, it's so tiny. Even my uni dorm is larger than this,"

"It's very cute. Very you, Ivy," He said, scanning the room. He took in each individual trinket that laid on her desk. Absentmindedly and carefully picking up the framed photo of the little girl by the sea with an older man, her father. "Is that a photo of you and your dad?"

"Yeah, we're sweet right? He loved taking me to the sea," Ivy smiled, reflecting on the happiness she had when she was with her dad. It was probably best not to tell him her dad wasn't here anymore right now.  Layne also decided it was best not to pry too. 

She reached for her sketchbook and pencil, propping it up against her leg. She bit her lip nervously before she said:

"Let me draw you," She looked up at him before he sat himself on her bed, shifting her long skirt out the way. Ivy was always drawing when she wasn't writing or singing. When she was a little girl, she adored drawing pictures to accompany her stories. Her dad would put them on the fridge, praising her work. She could hear his voice so clearly; "I have the most talented daughter in the world,". Then he would snatch her off the ground and twirl her around in the air, admiration sparkling from his eyes. His rough hands from his physically labouring job would hold her tight, wrapping around her. 

"Since when were you Picasso? I'll draw you too," He insisted, snapping Ivy from the oblivion which was her thoughts. Drawn back to reality, her eyes connected back to his pale blue ones. He stared at her, patience brimming from his face.

"You like drawing too? Layne you never tell me anything!" She lightly nudged him.

"Okay sorry, tomorrow I'm attending an orgy," He said sarcastically.

"You're hilarious," She added, even more sarcastically.

"I draw but it's nothing special, I mean, I drew the Alice In Chains logo," He dismissed his talent.

"You can't say its nothing special but then draw your band logo. Draw me!" She exclaimed, throwing herself off her bed. She put her hand on her hip and arched her back, then lifted her leg up. Her expression contorted into a deadpan, serious look.

"God. Put me on the spot," He laughed and got to drawing.
He would look up occasionally at her, observing her pose, before scribbling on his piece of paper.
"Absolutely stunning. Perfect," 

He revealed his drawing, his lines were thick, filling the negative space around the figure with black ink. It was Ivy, in her exaggerated pose, her flowy white skirt spread out. Her eyelashes were emphasised and her outline was soft and round. 

"I love it! Layne, this is so beautiful! Can I keep it?" She exclaimed, fussing over the drawing, her body craning over Layne to peek at the drawing over his shoulder. 

"Please, keep it," He said firmly, pushing it into her hands. "I insist,"

"Thank you... It's amazing. I'm going to keep it on my wall. Oh wait- I'll frame it,"

"Frame it?!"

"Yes, frame it. I treasure everything my friends give me,"

"That's cute. Your bandmates seem to love you,"

"Yeah, Eliza and Alex, I love them to pieces,"

"Eliza is great. Jerry came back from work one day claiming he got fired because Eliza stole his shoe and put it in the deep fryer,"

"I remember Eliza telling me pieces of this story, how do you steal someone's shoe?"

"That's exactly what I said. I sensed Jerry was missing a few bits from his story,"

"Jerry loves you too. He wouldn't shut up about how great of a singer you are,"

"God, he really wouldn't stop begging me to be in his band until I said yes. I don't regret it though. I can't wait for you to meet my bandmates,"

They laughed and giggled over stories from their pasts, embarrassing or just outrageous- it didn't matter. Just listening to each other, hearing each other speak is what they desired. He enjoyed the way she would place her hand on his shoulder as she bent over when she laughed, and she enjoyed the boyish giggle that would escape his mouth.  Then she realised, she let him into her childhood room so easily. She didn't even think twice about it, or how embarrassed she felt. She would always feel so vulnerable having people around, terrified of what they would think. 

In fact, he seemed thrilled to be in her room, no matter how humiliated she felt. 

She felt so comfortable in Layne's presence. He never raised an eyebrow or questioned anything she did, he just wanted to be in her company.

He was everything she wanted.

He would crack her smile into a grin and make her collapse into giggles. Whenever he wasn't around, she noticed herself still thinking about him anyway. 

Layne Staley needed to get out of her head immediately.

[Hello, extremely late chapter, been very busy with life. I think at the moment, I'm making Layne a bit of a blank slate so in the next few chapters expect a change. Since I haven't touched this fanfic in a while there may be a few changes to it as well :)]