Out of Time [Brian Jones]

Gimme Shelter

*
Oh, a storm is threat'ning
My very life today
If I don't get some shelter
Oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away
* 

I gasped for air, but my lungs couldn't breathe. I started to cough desperately to finally get some air. I threw up. Mostly water at least. It still tasted bad, but not as bad as alcohol would have. I coughed some more, but I felt a bit better...

"At least you're still alive..."

I looked up. Before I hadn't really paid any mind to my surroundings, because of my need for air, but now I curiously looked around. It was a tad blurred, but no surprise there with how dizzy I felt. I was sitting on some pavement down by the river. Alive and wet.

"You saved me..?" I nearly wanted to hit myself, obviously he had saved me. He was as wet as me. At least that explained the second suffocating feeling I got beside my own. Brian.

He shrugged. "I couldn't just let you die..."And for the second time this evening I had a need to laugh out load. He couldn't let me die? And I was about to do exactly that to him. Sometimes it really was astonishing how cruel fate worked. My life got saved by the person, who I just wanted to ignore and let die.

"Why?" I dumbly asked. My voice was raspy and my throat hurt. I probably shouldn't be speaking.

"I don't know what you think of me, but I don't walk around letting people die..."

I sighed. "Yeah you don't..." and I started coughing again. I really shouldn't be speaking.

"Listen, I'm sorry about before... I don't know sometimes I just get like this and then you run off and I had to go after you..." He sighed. "I'll better get you home or to a doctor or anywhere... If we stay any longer here we'll probably catch death."

He put my arm around his shoulders and I mumbled "Here we go again." Water. Suffocating. Death. "Death's already here."

He frowned. "Someday you'll need to tell me what you're on about, but now we need to get you somewhere warm." I didn't reply. Speaking hurt and I still wasn't really in the right mind. So I just nodded.

I had no idea where we were going and I just leaned on Brian. Everything was so hazy and I felt like I would slip away any moment. Brian talked to me, but I didn't really get it. I trembled. The wind had hit me and it was terribly cold. I felt horrible and just wondered why he couldn't have let me be. If it wasn't for him, I might have finally found salvation from this nightmare... I shook my head, this was stupid, I was drunk.

We stopped walking, but I couldn't really see or understand why... I think Brian was talking to someone or rather arguing, because we were wet or something. I didn't really get it and anyway I just wanted to close my eyes and let sleep wash over me, but whenever I was close to sleep, Brian shook me like he was doing now.

"What?" I mumbled. He didn't reply. He put his hand on my head and pushed me inside a car. After I was in, he sat down beside me, but the small loss of contact made me have a vision again. Water. Suffocating. Death. "You're dying the same way as me." I mumbled, but he ignored me again. I wasn't even sure if he could understand me. My voice was fucked up, I had nearly drowned and was drunk, but on other conditions I probably would never have said anything.

I fell in out of consciousness during the ride. Brian was desperately trying to keep me awake and warm, it seemed. He had his arms around me and rubbed his hands along my arms. I wondered why he was so different from before. He had scared, accused and confronted me, but now he was looking after me and I asked myself what really was wrong with him. The sad eyes, the drugs and his fear of dying. Something was off with him.

The car stopped and Brian got out and well dragged me with him. I still had no idea where I was, but I supposed it was Brian's home or something. He seemed at least like he knew where we were heading to. He opened the door and lit the lights. It hurt like hell. He let go off me for a moment and I nearly fell down to the floor. Water. No air. Death. Strangely I got used to the feeling and it didn't really bother me so much. On the other hand I was so out of everything nothing could probably have bothered me any longer.

Brian said something, but again I couldn't really put his words together. He sighed, then grabbed my foot and tried to get my shoes off. He had probably asked me to take them off. "It's alright. I can do that." I said, but I wasn't very sure what he had understood. Anyway I helped him and we got them off. The next thing was my coat and his coat. He put my arm again on his shoulder and we continued our walk.

He led me into a room, which turned out to be the bathroom and again he sat something and pointed to our clothes. I guess he wanted me to take them off, considering they were wet and uncomfortable that didn't really sound like a bad idea at all. I started opening my blouse and it fell down to the ground next thing were my pants. They were much trickier to get off, they were glued to my skin and I probably wouldn't have gotten out of them if it weren't for Brian. I was unsure off my next move, I was in my underwear only half conscious in the company of Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones in his bathroom and all that went through my mind was that it was cold. I shivered Brian went to the shower and put the warm water on. I fully undressed and he helped me get in. It felt great and I started to drift off again. There was no Brian this time to catch me and I painfully landed on my knees for the second time this evening. I think I heard him say fuck and get in to the shower as well. He helped me up and held me until we both we warm enough. Again this was so messed up. There were probably tons of girl who would murder to be naked under the shower in his arms and I was so out that it didn't even cross my mind. All I could think about was the warmth. It felt so good.

He gave me a towel and sat me down on the floor and left me there. I tried to dry me off, but I just wanted to get back under the shower, where it was so warm. When Brian came back, he was wearing some clothes and handed me some as well. It was nothing much. Just a t-shirt and some shorts, but all the same welcome. He helped me put them on and the vision came, but I really was getting used to the feeling. After I was dressed, we resumed our walking position and he brought me into a bedroom and laid me down on the bed. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was ready to sleep and I probably did, because I couldn't remember anything after it.

Again a rather short chapter, but they're getting longer again, promise.  (:

Oh and if somebody wonders why Charlie is OK with everything that happens in this chapter, just keep in mind she's well drunk, so she doesn't really think about it much, if at all.

Thanks for reading, voting & all the lovely comments! (:

Preview for Chapter 8:

"Yeah because that always goes so well, doesn't it?" Mick clearly was enraged, that Brian had just left without saying anything and it wasn't even his fault to start with. It was mine.

"That's not your business." I raised an eyebrow why didn't he just say that it was my fault? Mick would surely act more understanding if he knew the whole story or at least some of it... I felt pathetic and didn't really wanted everyone to know what I had done, but well in this case it might have saved Brian this discussion.

"Not mine, but the bands!"

"It's my band!" Brian screamed and I just wanted to disappear. I didn't want to witness this, but what other choices did I have? I could hardly run away.

"Really? Last time I checked Keith and I did all the work and you're either high or disappear god knows where  or both!"