A Veiled Journey (ON HOLD)

Sleep

(song: Sleep - My Chemical Romance)

I woke up in a strange room...I was sure I had never seen it before in my life. I lifted my head to see that the blanket I was lying under was made of a very soft material, and there was a tiny figure lying next to my leg. It was a dog; a little fluffy dog.

          All of the memories came rushing back to me as I laid there. I got kicked out of the house and I blacked out. Someone was talking to me...this must be the person's room. Shit.

          I peeked under the blanket to see that I was wearing an over-sized Van Halen t-shirt, a pair of sweatpants that went past my toes, and everything else felt like they were in place. At least this person hadn’t stripped me completely. I moved my leg, the one near the dog, and its little head bobbed up to stare at me for a moment. It jumped up to run over to my head and start licking my face.

          “Aw.” I said quietly while patting his head. A minute later, another dog came running in, this one was black, while the other was a white-ish tan color. The black one jumped onto the bed and started licking my face as well.

          “Killer, Tokyo!” A raspy voice called softly from the other side of the door. “You two better not have woken our guest up.” The person who must've been talking to me yesterday came in.

          Mother of god.

          This guy was sexy! I mean, he had a feminine look to him...kinda...but he was-quite possibly-the hottest man I've ever seen. He had long black, layered hair, two sleeves of tattoos, chocolate brown eyes lined in eyeliner, and the word 'Outlaw' tattooed across his stomach, arched over his-what looked to be-rock hard abs. I could see his stomach because his black shirt was unbuttoned.

          “Oh.” He muttered, surprised. “You're awake.”

          My throat went dry, so all I could give him was a nod.

          “Can you talk?” He asked me as he sat on the edge of the bed next to me.

          I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Damn it!

          “Here,” The man handed me a Misfits notepad and a pen. “Use this.” He smiled kindly at me.

          I quickly scribbled a message onto the first blank page. What's your name? I flipped the notepad around so he could read it.

          He looked a bit surprised. “Ashley. Ashley Purdy.” I blinked a few times; Ashley? I'd never met a guy named Ashley before...cool. I smiled over at him. “Could you tell me your name?” Ashley asked me.

          I scribbled my name below what I had just written. Axelle. Axelle Quinn. My friends like to call me Ax. I flipped the notepad around again.

          Ashley nodded. “Nice. Pretty name, for a very pretty girl.” He winked at me. I could feel the blood color my cheeks a bright red.

          “You're blushing!” His statement made me blush even deeper.

          I flipped to a fresh page in the notebook and wrote, Did you say the dogs' names were Tokyo and Killer? and then turned it for Ashley to see.

          He nodded and picked up the white dog. “This one's Tokyo,” He set the little dog down and picked up the black one. “And this one's Killer.” He started to squirm around, so Ashley set him down and he ran to the center of my lap and curled up. “Aren't they cute?” Ashley smiled again.

          I nodded and squeaked out, “Yeah.” Finally finding my voice.

          He looked at me with a shocked look on his face. “Axelle?”

          I cleared my throat. “Ashley?”

          All he did was laugh. “Guess you won't need these anymore.” Ashley reached over and took the notepad and pen from my hands.

          I picked up Killer so that I could cross my legs under the blanket. When he was near my face, he reached up to lick my chin. I giggled and set him down again.

          I looked around the room and could feel Ashley's eyes on me the entire time. There were lots of posters; various pin-up girls, rock magazines…him and other guys.

          I pointed to one of the posters he was on. “You're in a band?”

          “Yep.” I looked at Ashley as he looked into my eyes. “Black Veil Brides.”

          I nodded to myself. “Black Veil Brides...sounds wicked.” I grinned at him. “What do you play?”

          Ashley got up and crossed the room to where bass guitars and an acoustic guitar were sitting in their stands; waiting to be played. “I play bass.” He picked up one of them and brought it over to the bed. “Do you play?”

          I shook my head. “Guitar...and I sing.” I saw his eyebrows raise under his bangs. “I'm not very good though.” I shrugged.

          Ashley went and put the bass back in its place, then sat in front of me, cross-legged, on the bed. “Could you sing me something?”

          I got nervous and started fidgeting with my hair, the hem of his t-shirt, scratching my wrist... “I don't exactly like singing in front of other people...but if you really want me to...” My voice trailed off as I stared into his big brown eyes. Ashley rested his head on his hands and looked at me expectantly.

          I wasn't getting out of this one.

          “Some say now suffer all the children, and walk away a savior or a mad man and polluted, from gutter institutions. Don't you breathe for me, undeserving of your sympathy...'Cause there ain't no way that I'm sorry for what I did...” I sang 'Sleep' by My Chemical Romance softly. I looked up at Ashley to see that he had scooted closer to hear me. “And through it all, how could you cry for me? ‘Cause I don't feel bad about it. So shut your eyes...kiss me good-bye! And sleep, just sleep. The hardest part, is letting go of...your dreams.” I stopped and looked back up at him.

          He was smiling. “You have a great voice!” Ashley patted my hand.

          I smiled at him shyly. “Really? You think so?”

          “Hell yeah!” He laughed. “I love it.” He grinned then listened to my stomach growl. “Hungry?”

          I nodded. “Very.”

          Ashley took my hand and helped me up. “What would you like, Axelle?” He asked as he guided me out of the bedroom and through his house.

          I thought about it for a moment. “Pancakes?”

          “Pancakes it is!” Ashley giggled.