Carolina ~ A Slash Love Story

Ain't Life Grand

"Alright, Guns, get on deck; you're on in fifteen," yelled the stage manager, scrambling around to make sure everything was ready for the boys.

"You ready?" I asked as I stood beside Slash, who busied himself with mindlessly playing with my fingers.

"Well, we would be if Axl was here," Matt said.

"What do you mean, 'if'  he was here?"

"Do you see him anywhere?"

I looked around, not seeing the obnoxious red head anywhere. "No," I admitted. "You know who else I don't see... where's my brother?"

"Shit," Duff muttered, taking another swig of vodka.

No one moved, as they looked around blankly.

"Okay, sure; I'll go look for them," I said, rolling my eyes before heading for the green room.

"Izzy, Axl! Come on," I shouted, walking into the room. "Axl, let's go," I stressed, seeing him sit on his ass on the big leather couch.

"Why are you trying to boss me around?" he asked coolly.

"Because you only have a few minutes left, and during that time I also need to find my brother. Any idea of where he is?"

"Uh... no?"

"Don't lie to me."

"No, I really don't know. Maybe he's taking a piss, how would I know?" he snapped, walking over to me.

"Thanks, you're useless," I grumbled, slamming the door behind myself just as he was about to follow me out.

"Bitch!" he shouted.

"That makes two of us!"

I rolled my eyes, wondering where my brother was as I quickly peeked into each room, hoping to find him. I had started heading back to the stage area when I realized that I didn't check the men's bathroom- not that I wanted to.

"Izzy?" I called, timidly sticking my head in the room. "Izz, are you in here?"

"Uh, yeah. One second."

"Izzy, you only have like five minutes until stage. What are you doing?"

"Nothing, I got a nose bleed," he mumbled, coming around the corner. "They really sent you to get me?"

"I sent myself. Is that a bad thing?"

"No; I wasn't paying attention to time. I had to get the blood off of my face," he explained. "Look at all of this," he said, tossing a was of bloody paper towels in the trash. "Gnarly, right?"

"Yeah... let's go, dude."

We headed back to the group, who anxiously awaited side stage.

"Carolina, you saved the day!" Duff cheered.

"You didn't get that excited when you saw me."

"Shut up, Axl. Not everything is about you," I said, walking over to Slash, who looked nervous. "You gonna be alright?"

"Yeah, just have to get the jitters out," he said softly, bouncing slightly.

"Just relax; you're going to do fine," I assured, kissing his cheek.

"You missed."

"Did I?"

"Mm-hm. Do it right," he teased, holding his guitar away from himself as he kissed me.

It was nice being free to kiss in front of people without worrying, but it still didn't change Izzy too much- I heard him clear his throat, but ignored it as Slash pulled me closer to his chest.