Living Like A Runaway

Without You

[A/N: I decided to skip to the first day of tour because this was just becoming a ton of filler chapters and that last one was basically a catalyst for the rest of the story, so there's no need for more filling! So happy I got this far.]

-TIME JUMP TO NOVEMBER 3RD-

Jasmine was quite possibly the best manager in the world. Even though we were technically under contract for her uncle, she had been put in charge of actively managing us, and in a secondhand way, the other two bands with us for this tour. Since this was her first time actually being a tour manager and having her own bands, she had taken her astronomically big budget and splurged on us with a bizjet ride to Alabama and new, advanced tour buses. We were also promised our backstage requests, which we all genuinely appreciated, because she didn't have to do anything past the bare minimum.

So, there I was, an hour and a half before showtime, with an order of beef and broccoli, ten gigantic joints, some brownies, and a big bottle of Jack. Normally we would have more time, but in typical rock star fashion, we'd been running late. Anyway, I'd picked out my outfit for the show tonight-a Megadeth crop top, ripped jean shorts, shredded stockings, my ankle combat boots, and my jewelry- but I needed to go grab my trunk of makeup from the bus. 

As I walked through the backstage area to the back door, I noticed an absence of Axl, which was unusual for him. Whether he was in a good mood or a bad one, he was the kind of person that had a bolder presence in the room. Well, that and his ginger hair gave him away instantaneously. So, I decided to check the bus before I went and got my cosmetics. When I knocked on the door to the Guns bus, though, Nikki actually answered, and it was relatively obvious that he was high as a kite on smack. I assumed Slash and Steven, both as drug-infused as Nikki usually was, were with him. 

"Stella," he mumbled in a quiet, paranoid voice, "You need to hurry in if you're going to come in, the Mexicans are fucking watching us!" Oh yeah, I thought, he's doped to all hell.

I bit my lip awkwardly. "Uh, is Axl in here?" He shook his head and I sighed, prompting him to slam the door shut. I could just barely hear the door lock on the other side. I didn't take it as an offense, of course, seeing as the only thing Nikki was doing was hiding from the delusions of Mexicans he thought were there. Hopefully it would wear off into a more normal dope high before the show.

So, I grabbed my makeup from the vacant bus and made my way back to my dressing room. As I was eating my Chinese food- obviously, I'd have to eat before I put on my stage outfit- Duff McKagan walked in, an ecstasy-fueled Tommy Lee trailing behind him. Duff set down his signature bottle on one of the tables and plopped into a chair, and Tommy just stood there laughing. At least he was having an awesome time already.

"Are you gonna be ready in time?" Duff chuckled, a hiccup following. "You know you have like, a little over an hour till you gotta get out there, right?" 

I shrugged, chewing the last piece of my food. Once I swallowed, I replied, "I'll get it done. You two want some food or something?" I picked up my bottle of Jack and took a generous swig, watching the two of them take some brownies. Tommy asked for a joint, too, so I lit one for him, only before lighting one for myself. 

Duff, as drunk as he was, watched me carefully. "You okay there?" he hiccuped again. "You're usually pumped for these shows. Uh, if you're not paranoid." I took a drag off the joint and shrugged again.

"Axl's been missing for awhile," I mentioned, and Duff's face broke into a grin, but then he quickly let it falter. 

Tommy started laughing even harder at this, and I rolled my quickly reddening eyes. "Don't sweat it, Stel," Duff told me, "It ain't the first time he's done it. Besides, if there was somethin' important that was seriously going on, he would tell you. Fuck, I think he trusts you more than Izzy, and Iz knows everything about Axl." I sighed, but nodded. I could deal with it after I was ready.