Book 4: The Way We've Always Done Before (Axl Rose FanFic)

Ch. 21: F-Bomb

I told Will that I had gone to the little girls' room and had gotten lost on the way back. He simply chuckled and kissed my cheek. I flinched slightly at his touch, but he didn't seem to mind.

The whole night, he kept trying to get me to dance, but I had refused each time saying I didn't feel well. When he asked why I wasn't drinking, I told him that I hated alcohol, which was mostly true. When he finally realized I was going to be a stick in the mud all night, he decided it was time to go.

When he dropped me off at Izzy's house, he gave me a hug and a quick peck on the cheek. He stepped back into the car without a word and drove off into the night.

As soon as his car was out of sight, I lost it. I clenched my hands into fists and stormed up to Izzy's front door, tearing it open and stomping through the house towards his bedroom.

"Wake up!" I ordered, flipping on the light and tugging the blankets off of him.

"Hazel? What the fuck? What happened? What did he do?"

Suddenly Izzy was wide awake, his hair disheveled and his boxers slightly bunched up at his thighs. He frantically scanned over me. I shook my head at him.

"If you are so worried about him hurting me, why didn't you tell me?" I demanded, my arms crossed over my chest.

Izzy's eyes widened and he seemed to remember that Will's anger problem was supposed to be kept a secret. "What are you talking about, Hazel? I just thought maybe you two broke up or something."

"Stop lying to me, dammit!" I shouted, practically bowling him over with my words. "Everyone I fucking know is lying to me! Not you, Jeffrey! Tell me the goddamn truth!"

His eyes widened even more as soon as I dropped the F-bomb. I don't think I had ever even used that word around him before, not once.

"Hazel, I meant to tell you. I was gonna' tell you earlier, but Duff interrupted me-"

"So why not earlier than that? You had so many chances. You and Will were whispering about it that time you caught us in his backyard-"

"You heard that?"

"Yes, I fucking heard it! And you came tearing through his yard like you were on fire, you bastard! You thought he would hurt me!"

My chest was heaving and my face was contorted with anger. I was probably radiating enough heat to melt ice.

"Why would you put me in danger without at least giving me a warning first?"

Izzy sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Please sit down, Hazel."

"I don't wanna' sit," I snapped.

"Fine, fine," he cooed, sitting himself down onto the bed. For once, I towered over him, and I felt in control. It felt nice having the upper hand for once.

"Look, Axl has always had anger issues, but they've gotten worse over time. Sometimes, I swear the dude is losing it."

He paused, collecting his thoughts. I waited patiently for him to continue.

"He married Erin, but things were doomed from the start. You know when he proposed to her, he threatened to kill himself if she said no?"

I gulped, shivers trailing down my spine. Why would Will do that? Was he serious? I didn't even want to imagine a world without him.

"Then, as time passed, the abuse progressed. He was never happy with her, Hazel. He was hardly happy with life. He was always blowing up on the band, blowing up on Erin, blowing up on anyone who looked at him funny..."

"So, why didn't you tell me?"

Izzy shrugged. "Every time I had the chance to, it got interrupted. Plus, Axl wanted to tell you himself when he was ready. But I never would let you walk into a dangerous situation. As I recall, you left my house while I was sleeping. Normally, I would've stopped you from being alone with him after that, but I saw that he changed when you came around. You change him, Hazel. I don't know what it is, but you get through to the old him. It's like you have the key to a doorway that leads right to Will, not 'Axl'."

My muscles slowly began to relax and I sighed, exhaling all of my pent up anger. Why had I jumped down his throat like that? I should've known better than to think that Izzy would let me get hurt.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Don't be," he said, shaking his head. "I should've told you."

I inched towards him until I was close enough to wrap an arm around his shoulders. He leaned his head against my chest, resting his face in my bosom.

"There's also the fact that I do love you. And not just like a sister,"Izzy admitted. "I wanted to see which one of us you would go for. I figured that if I'd told you, you would obviously have gone for the man without the bipolar disorder. But I still figured Axl would win. Axl always wins."

I shook my head gently, stroking Izzy's head as I spoke. "That's why we can't be together, Jeff. If you think that I would go for you just because you'd be easier to deal with than Will's temper tantrums, then you obviously don't know me as much as you thought."

"Well, I do love you."

"I love you too, Jeffrey," I admitted. "But Will is the man for me, even with all of his faults."