Karma's Happenstance

Hero Of The Day

Hero Of The Day

Izzy POV 

Axl grabs my arm, dragging me out of the room. It happens so quickly, I have no choice to let go of the girl. I struggle against Axl but his iron grip won’t let go off me. I don't want to leave her side. She's terrified and for some reason I make her feel safe. I really like that.

As soon as we’re out of the room, he gets into my face. 

"Are you fucking insane, Izz? What the hell is wrong with you?" He says. I can tell he is trying to keep his voice down.

Oh, damn. Another lecture from Axl. Exactly what I need right now. As if I don't get these on a regular basis. I don't have time for this fucking shit. I glance at Duff and Slash, who are eyeing us from a safe distance. No help to expect from these fuckers. 

"What is wrong with me?!" I call out furiously. "That motherfucker was trying to rape an innocent girl, Axe! He even got me smacked out like hell to get me out of the way." 

"You need to focus and see the bigger picture here, Izz." Axl keeps going on. "The band…" 

"Oh fuck the band, Axe!"

"Keep your fuking voice own stupid," he jerks at my arm.

"I can’t believe this shit. Who the fuck are you?" I can’t believe that he’d tolerate something like this. 

Axl lets out a sigh, rubbing his temples. I guess this is getting to his nerves. Great. That just means he's going to preach to me that much harder.

"Look, Izz. I know these guys are sick fucks but we need to get on stage. We’ve been paid in advance."

I blink. What is he talking about? 

"Why the fuck don’t I know about this? I’ve never seen a dime. Where’s the fucking money, Axe?"

"What do you think, huh? You think Sixx would just provide you a shitload of dope and ship you out to the desert because he’s such a nice person? We’re all into this mess because of you, Izzy." 

I look at him dumbfounded. How in the hell could I miss this? That junkie inside me just didn’t think about consequences. I have no idea what to say to him, so I just give him a nod and turn to the bedroom door. I go back inside feeling somewhat defeated and pissed off about it.

Nikki is sitting on the bed with a towel to his nose, Tommy is helping him getting cleaned up. The girl is still standing with her back at the wall, clutching the sheet that is covering her body. I reach out to her and she immediately falls into my arm. God she felt so good there too.

"I’m gonna play this fucking show, Sixx." I spit at him. "But if you touch her again, I’m gonna strangle you in your sleep with your bass strings! Got it?!"

He gives me a devious smile. I know that fucker won’t back down. 

"It's fucking 4am. She’s taking the other bedroom. And I’m staying. Just in case you get any ideas." I say and still wait for him to confirm any kind of understanding. 

"You fuckers won’t get anything else from me, you know?" He says. "Go and score yourself, Stradlin. Good luck with that. Karma's a bitch."

Everyone is looking at me with a 'Gee, thanks' expression. Great. Now everybody is gonna be sober and pissed at me for it. And when withdrawals kick in I'm gonna hate me too. But my church girl is safe now. I look to her and see all the gratitude in the world in her eyes. In her eyes I'm the fucking hero. I kinda like the way she's looking at me. It makes me almost forget everyone elses dissappointment in me. I take her by the arm and lead her out of the room.

MJ POV 

Izzy drags me into the other bedroom. I’m still shaking. I can’t believe what had happened. I can’t believe Nikki would do something like that to me. But somehow Izzy had rescued me. He came in and I instantly knew I woul be safe. He’s my knight in shining armor and I feel relieved that I matter to him somehow. 

He closes the door and signs toward the bed. I crawl under the sheets and look at him. He looks restless. I watch him as he runs his hands through his hair. His eyes dart about never relly setteling on anything.

"After that fucking show I’m heading down to LA. You’re welcome to come with me if you like." He says and I give him a smile. 

"Thank you for looking out for me, Izzy."

He just nods with an unreadable expression on his face.

He leans his back into the door and slides down to the ground, resting his back to the door. Is he going to sleep like that? That can't be comfortable.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Someone has to make sure that this fucker stays out of this room." He seems to sigh with the weight of the world crushing it out of him.

"This is stupid. You should sleep in the bed." I hear myself say. Where is this coming from? 

"YOU are sleeping in the bed, honey." He says.

Our eyes lock. I can feel electricity crackling between us and this does funny things with my stomach. I try to smile at him. He's just paralized.

"The bed is big enough for us both." I say and tap the bed beside me. "You shouldn’t torture yourself on the floor."

He stares at my hand that is resting on the bed sheet. "The floor isn’t torture." He says. He hesitates for a moment and then I see him slowly walking to the bed. His strong calloused fingers peel back the sheet and I can feel the mattress dip as he slides next to me, still fully clothed. 

Oh god, I’m not prepared for this. I didn’t even think he would take my invitation. Now Izzy slides beside me, his eyes locked on mine. I can’t look away. Without taking his eyes from me, Izzy shifts into a more comfortable position. 

"I can still go back to the floor, ya know?" He whispers and I can hear him swallow.

"Don’t." I say way too quickly and my voice sounds breathless. 

I focus on his features. His black silky hair is spread out on the pillow. I want to touch it but I’m afraid to move. I can see the slight stubbles on his cheeks and I can’t turn my gaze away from his lips. Those lips that made my knees wobble when they kissed me. 

"Honey?" I can see his lips move. "Why did you invite me into bed?"

Because I want to be near you. I should say that to him. But I don’t.

"Why do you refuse to call me by my name?" I ask instead.