Book 2: She's Out To Please (Duff McKagan FanFic)

Ch. 13: School Night

The weekend was coming to an end. Sunday night was disappearing over the horizon, only to be replaced by Monday morning come dawn. I was watching the sky, a beer in hand and a rusted lounge chair under my ass.

The rest of the band was busy rehearsing, and I had disappeared onto the roof to wind down before my self-appointed bed time. After all, "winding down" just wasn't an option if you ever happened to be in the same room as Steven Adler or loads of cocaine. And tonight, we were fortunate enough to have both.

With my leather jacket slung over my body for warmth, I leaned back until I was practically lying down. As I closed my eyes, thoughts of Mary began racing trough my head, causing my heart to beat faster and faster.

I hadn't seen her since our last meeting, and hadn't had a chance to tell her that I would be her English teacher tomorrow. But I guessed that if Margot had already heard the news, then Mary definitely knew by now.

I couldn't help but to wonder if she would be okay with it. Not that she really had a choice in the matter, but it still worried me. I didn't want her fretting over us getting into trouble for having grown close. Not horribly close, but too close for a student-teacher relationship.

Still, I doubted she cared much at all. Mary didn't seem to care much about anything, especially what people thought of us.

Us, I chuckled softly at the idea when I realized what I had just thought. There is no us.

That was a hard pill to swallow.

"Ready for school tomorrow, kiddo?"

A hand suddenly buried itself in my mane of hair and ruffled my blond tendrils playfully. Instinctively, I flinched at the unwelcome intrusion and pulled away from the attack.

"What the hell?" I muttered, turning around just in time to see Axl and Izzy standing behind me. Both of them held a lit cigarette between their lips, and the smoke mingled together in a wispy fog above their heads.

Axl was chuckling heartily at my outburst, and Izzy had an amused smirk on his face.

"Bed time?" Axl teased, reaching out and trying to ruffle my hair again.

This time, I was prepared, and quickly dodged his outstretched palm. "Yeah, actually. It is. My first day of teaching is tomorrow."

"Which is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about," the strawberry blonde stated.

Without any invitation whatsoever, Axl plopped his ass down at my feet. The chair squealed under our combined weight, but he didn't seem too bothered by it. In fact, he was too busy staring intensely at me. An intensity that told me I wasn't going to like whatever it was that Axl had to say to me. Then again, what else is new?

"I know I told you to get a job and start pitching in, but just remember that this band always comes first," he began, his finger jabbing against the rubber supports of the chair for emphasis. "Janitor is one thing, but teacher is a huge responsibility. Waking up early, putting together the daily subject matter, grading papers and tests..."

"Hey, chill man," I held a hand up to silence him. Surprisingly, it worked. "The old teacher put together everything, I just have to regurgitate it all. As for grades, I'll just give them all passing grades. Fuck it. You don't have to worry, I'm totally committed to this band. Okay?"

He stared at me, really taking me in. It was as if he was interrogating me, and I suddenly felt like a traitor in enemy territory. I had no clue why, either. It's not like I had done anything recently to make any of them feel as though I wasn't still their bassist.

Like them, I had high hopes for this band. Unlike my previous endeavors, there was something about these four dudes. Something special. Separate, we had our strengths and weaknesses. We were decent musicians of various backgrounds. But together, we were unstoppable.

Even if we were living off of scraps now, one day, we would have the world in the palm of our hands. And it was that kind of attitude that would get us there. If one of us lost hope, the whole thing could come crashing down.

While I was glad to hear that Axl still worried about the fate of our band, it irritated me that he thought I might be the weak link. Especially when I was now one of the main reasons any of us even had any food.

"Okay," Axl said finally, nodding his head slowly. "If that's the case, get some rest."

He stood from my seat and clapped me on the shoulder. A smile eventually returning to his face.

"You've got a big day tomorrow, Teach!"

I glanced over my shoulder, watching as the singer disappeared from the roof and slid down a nearby drain until he reached the cement below. Izzy watched him too, staring after him in silence until he disappeared. Then he turned to me.

"Be careful," he murmured. "I know that this can get overwhelming if you're not careful. If you ever need any help, just ask."

Of course, I knew he was referring to my anxiety and its uncanny ability to throw a panic attack at me at the worst times. Izzy was the only one who seemed to have caught onto my mental disorders. Or at least, he was the only one who even pretended to care.

I glanced down at the beer bottle in my hand. My one, true friend. My medication. If I could take on rock n'roll, the responsibility of being Guns N'Roses' bassist, and Kaz, I could definitely take on some prissy high school girls.

So long as I had alcohol, I could do anything.

"I'll be fine," I insisted, taking a swig from my bottle. "This will be easy."