Rocket Queen (d.m)

1.3: Christmas Eve Pt. 1

Henley's P.O.V

Christmas Eve is usually filled with me being bored out of my mind at one of my parents' Christmas parties. There's never anyone my age at them. When we were in LA, I'd usually sneak out and go over to Athena's. Her parents loved me so it was never a problem. And Tommy loved seeing me, apparently. That's just what Athena told me.

This Christmas Eve, however, is different than the rest. Duff and Steven invited Madeline and I to their apartment. I'm definitely grateful that they asked us to go over. I don't think I could stand being in the same room as Eva, Jake, and Hyde. Too much tension, too much awkwardness. At least I'm comfortable with Stevie and Duff.

I look at my outfit that Madeline picked out for me, once again. I still feel like I look like a whore, even though she actually let me wear pants this time. The jeans are ripped to shreds, revealing my ghostly pale legs. The top she gave me is extremely low cut. My boobs are practically falling out! It's black and long sleeved, but it's like a crop top so it shows my stomach. She let me wear my black Doc Martins, which I'm happy about.

She knows that Duff has a crush on me and I have a crush on him. What she doesn't know, is that we've been seeing each other in secret for about a week or so now. I don't know why we're hiding our relationship. There's no reason to. I guess it's just more fun to sneak around.

"Are you ready?" Madeline asks, poking her head out of the closet.

I shake my head at her, still confused on why she wanted to hide in there. "Yes. Why are you in my closet again?"

I can tell she's shrugging, even though I can't see her shoulders. "Good question. Just thought it would be fun."

"You're something else, you know that?" I ask, grabbing my keys from off the bed. I'd like to be able to get back into the house tonight when we come back.

"I know," She says happily as she steps out of my closet. "I'm excited to see Stevie!" She nearly yells.

I flinch, feeling my headache start to come back. "When are you not excited to see him?"

"When he's been a douche," She responds, walking over to my vanity to reapply her lip gloss.

I furrow my eyebrows. "Steven has never been a douche to you. He's the sweetest guy I know!"

"I would've thought Duff would be sweetest," She says, her eyes meeting mine in the mirror with a smirk on her lips.

I roll my eyes. "Are you ready to go or not?"

"I am now," Madeline giggles. She practically skips out of my room. "Let's go!" She yells over her shoulder.

I shake my head at her, laughing quietly. As I grab the door knob to shut the door, the phone goes off. I frown, trying to think who would be calling me. Athena and Tommy.

I sigh. I'll just call them back when I get home. I shut my bedroom door, heading downstairs.

It's so loud down here. I can't even hear myself think! I dodge the multitudes of people just in the living room to go into the kitchen. I look around to see if anyone is looking. No one is, so I reach onto the counter and grab the bottle of vodka. I know for a fact that my parents have the at least five bottles of the cheap stuff laying around. I doubt they're going to miss this one bottle.

I go back through the living room, my eyes scanning for Nico, my little brother. I don't see him anywhere, so he probably went to a friend's house. If he was still here I would've taken him with us to the guys' apartment. I get out of the house to find Madeline standing on the porch. She looks impatient with her arms crossed over her chest. She's wearing a very short, black, strapless dress. The look fits her.

"Finally!" She says, looking almost annoyed with me. "What took you so long?"

I hold up the vodka that was hanging by my side. I swivel it around a bit with a smile on my face. I'm surprised she didn't notice the booze before.

Madeline's eyes light up. "You're a fuckin' genius!" Then she pauses. She's obviously in deep thought. "Wait a minute, won't the guys already have booze?"

I shrug. "Probably, but what's the harm of having more?"

"You're right," Madeline giggles. "Let's go then!"

--

It took Madeline and I about thirty minutes to finally reach the guys' apartment. To be completely honest, it didn't feel like that long. Madeline and I gushed over the guys the entire time. I was careful not to let anything slip about Duff and I. I just told her how cute, sweet, and caring he is. Even when he's drunk. Most guys are complete assholes when they're drunk.

Madeline pulls out a key and puts it into the apartment door. She turns it, then pushes open the door.

My eyes widen. "When did you get a key?"

"Stevie gave it to me a few days ago. He said he was tired of having to get his lazy ass off the couch just to open the door."

I laugh. "Did he really say, "My lazy ass."?"

She nods, giggling. "His words, not mine."

We walk into the apartment. My eyes immediately land on Duff, who's sitting on the couch. His eyes meet mine and a smile spreads onto his lips. He opens his mouth to say something, but Steven bounces into the room like an overexcited puppy. He really reminds me of Tommy sometimes.

"Hey!" He nearly yells at Madeline and I. He pulls me into a hug, but quickly lets go to kiss his girlfriend.

I shake my head at them as they start to make out. I walk over to where Duff's sitting. I go to sit beside him, but he pulls me into his lap. He has this goofy smile on his face that's contagious. Before I can comprehend what's happening, he pulls me in for a kiss.

For a moment, it's like it's just us two in the apartment, in the world. No one else is around. It's just me and him. I kiss him back as hard as I can, enjoying the feeling of him being so close to me. His hand drops from my waist to my thigh. He smiles into the kiss, which causes me to smile. This breaks us apart. He rests his forehead on mine, with his eyes looking deeply into mine.

"Oh my God!" Madeline squeals.

Duff and I both look over at her. She's so excited she looks like she's about to pass out. Steven just has a knowing smirk on his face. I guess Duff already told him.

"You didn't tell Madeline?" Duff whispers in my ear. Even though I can't see his face, I can tell he's shocked.

I shake my head. "I thought the deal was not to tell anyone?"

Duff laughs. "Well I kinda figured it'd be okay to tell our best friends."

"That would've been nice to know," I respond sarcastically.

Duff laughs, leaning in and kissing behind my ear. I try to ignore the butterflies that erupt in my stomach. God, why does he do this to me?

I lean back into him, enjoying how close he is. I haven't ever felt like this. Not even when I had a huge crush on Tommy. I probably still would have that silly crush if Duff hadn't came along.

Duff is something else entirely. Even though we've made out a lot, he's never tried to pressure me into something I don't want to do. He's gentle with me, constantly acting like I'm about to break. He holds me like I'm the thing he cherishes most.

I hate to admit it, but I'm falling hard and deep for Michael "Duff" McKagan. And I wouldn't have it any other way.