All In The Name Of...

House of Fire

[A/N: I am so beyond sorry for my lack of updates... the end of 2016-now has been so ridiculously busy. So, here's a double update <3 ]

I didn't say a word to Axl, nor to any of the members of Poison. I jumped off the stage, the crowd becoming a blur around me, and burst into the raw October air. The alcohol churning in my stomach and bloodstream made everything slightly hazy anyway, but I swore that my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. I wasn't the type of person to have vivid, sharp hallucinations like this, no matter what drugs I was on. 

Of course, it would have been smart of me to have taken Axl with me, but it also wasn't Axl's battle. He'd be worried sick looking for me, and I'd probably get hell when I got back to him, but it was a hell of a lot more tolerable than the possibility of my mother actually being out on the streets; and if she was out, what if my stepdad was?

I stepped out of my heels, deciding that it would be easier to walk along barefoot. I walked down the entire Sunset Strip, wishing that I had a joint with me as I looked around, until finally, I saw a significant amount of smoke coming from the back of one of the allies. I turned down it instinctively, even though there was no good reason to. There was a man, presumably a dealer, counting cash. Sighing, I knew that I might as well ask. 

"What's a beauty like you doing down here?" The guy asked, a toothy grin. 

"Looking for someone," I half-slurred back, blinking. "Blonde, looks older, facial scar? She was wearing a pink jacket?"

The dealer shrugged. "It'll cost you." I pulled a hundred bucks out of my purse and handed it to him. He added it to his cash stack, satisfied. "Just bought some smack. Saw her make a left, if that helps you at all. But... what's such a beautiful lady doing looking for a hard junkie? Doesn't seem like your gig, sweet cheeks."

I didn't answer him before I made a strict about face and started running down the street in the direction I'd been told.

The cold eventually stopped bothering me as I jogged down the street. I felt dizzy as hell, and knew that I was dehydrated by the dry feeling in my throat. If I hadn't been so determined, I would have probably been sick. As I was going, however, a car stopped next to me, its lights shining on my tired self. "Stella?" I heard a voice asked. I looked up to see none other than Vince Neil.

"Vince?" I slurred. "What're you doing in Los Angeles?" I stumbled toward him, and he caught me with his arm before I could trip. I turned away, not sure if I was going to be sick or not. He didn't get a chance to answer before, as I'd predicted, I started vomiting onto the sidewalk. Vince held my hair back as I emptied the contents of my stomach, tears building in my eyes.

Sighing, Vince took off his jacket and wrapped it around me as I wiped vomit off my arm. "That ain't important, Stel. What the fuck are you doing running drunk down the damn sidewalk? Something could have happened to you!" 

"M-my mom," I forced out, clenching my stomach. "Saw her at t-the Roxy. She went down this way. V-Vin, you gotta keep going down this way, p-please!" Vince didn't answer me as he guided me into his car. 

Reluctantly, Vince continued on in the direction I pointed him in whilst I faded in and out of consciousness. I did, however, manage to give him the same description as I did to the dealer earlier. I was jolted back awake, however, when Vince slammed the breaks to a stop. When I looked up, all I could see was a hazy blur of orangey-yellow light in front of me. 

I got out of the car, squinting my eyes to see more clearly, when a wave of heat surrounded me. That's when I realized that the glowing blaze of light was a fire. Dio ran up to me, his little paws attacking my ankle in relief. I had no idea how he got out, but I was certainly glad he wasn't stuck in the fire; I loved that dog.