This I Love

Chapter Eight; Adrianna the Life Saver

*I think it's fucking adorable that to this day, Adrianna and Steven are still friends :3*

**This is a meeeehhhh chapter**

 I helped the band load their equipment before going to the show and managed to help them unload it once we were at the club, Madame Wong's East. The brown haired girl I'd seen the first night, Adrianna, was here with a friend named Pamela. Pamela was a pretty blonde who was going to be dancing onstage with the band but Adrianna, as Steven's unofficial girlfriend, was going to be watching from the floor. "You should come sit with me", Adrianna beamed as she brushed out Steven's curls. We were sitting in the dressing room sharing beer as everyone painted themselves, did their hair, or got changed into stage clothes.

"Do it!" Duff urged, pulling on some boots. "You've only seen our rehearsal! Now you can actually watch us perform."

"Plus, since you're with the band, it's free", Pamela grinned. "Security loves groupies!"

"I'm not a groupie and Scarlette here is a friend of the band", Adrianna giggled. "It's like one of those things where the band okays who gets to come and go with free backstage passes before they hand the leftovers out to the groupies!"

"I think that's part of the rider", I shrugged. "I never really paid attention. I know that if Nikki didn't okay me, Tommy or Vince normally did."

"Why wouldn't your own boyfriend give you the go ahead?" Axl wondered.

Again, I shrugged. "I'm a body snatcher, remember?" I laughed. "We can't have the pod people just wandering around backstage and pretending to be people we know!"

"Aliens aren't real", Steven quipped.

"You say that now. Wait and watch. Tonight she's going to suck you up into her space ship and dissect you!" Duff joked.

"Don't say that!"

"I'm going out for a smoke", Izzy said boredly. "Alien, wanna join me?" I nodded and got off the vanity counter I'd been sitting on to follow him outside. He brought me to the backside of the building where we leaned against the brick wall and shared a pair of Marlboro Reds. "Do you know that bike?" he asked softly. Izzy pointed across the parking lot so I followed the line created by his finger. It was green and white with a too familiar fringed leather seat. I knew the chrome handle bars. I knew the custom exhaust and missing muffler. I knew that the keys were going to be under the seat and after checking, I was right. There the keys were there with the eight ball key chain I knew they'd have.

"They're here", murmured Izzy darkly.

My heart lept into my throat but Izzy produced a small bottle of Jack from his duster that he generously offered me. I took a long swig and let the sticky sweet liquid sit on my tongue for a while before following him back into the bar. It didn't keep me from thinking about them but painting a grin on my face, I let an eager Adrianna drag me down to the actual main room of Madame Wong's East and order us two cosmos.