On With The Show

3

Tommy groaned in his sleep, turning over on the couch so that his face was pressed against the armrest. Nikki winced at the sight - that could not be comfortable, with his hurt shoulder pressed against the backrest. Not that it mattered - the kid was far too drunk to realize. Nikki wanted to do something. He didn't know what it was about this Tommy fellow. His mood went from awful to amazing the second he saw Nikki, and creepy as it was that he told him 'I have your poster in my room, dude!' Nikki felt responsible for him. At the very least till he sobered up, so he could f.ucking kick him out without feeling guilty if he got hit by a car.

Nikki stumbled back to his room, separated from the rest of the apartment by a curtain (it didn't matter before - Nikki lived alone, for f.uck's sake), not bothering to change out of his booze stained clothes before crashing on the bed, practically comatose moments later.

Tommy slept like a corpse most of the time, only waking up minutes before Nikki did, sitting on the couch, looking completely disoriented as he took in the unfamiliar apartment. Nikki had quite honestly forgotten he was even there.

"What the hell!" Tommy practically yelled as he saw Nikki, who yelled equally loudly.

"You're the kid from yesterday," Nikki said a minute later. "Right. That's who you are. How's your shoulder?"

"I'm not a kid! My - oh, you saw that," Tommy said, his face instantly falling. "Don't talk about Honey! She didn't mean it..."

Nikki was livid. Tommy was absolutely innocent. Naive. He didn't know this Honey chick but she'd f.ucked him up enough if he thought she didn't mean to stab him with a butter knife. He bit his tongue; Tommy was in pain right now. "Fine. You're right. I don't. Though, I do know that you need to change those f.ucking bandages, man. I think you got booze in them."

Somehow Tommy had reverted back to his natural state already. He looked like he was going to start smiling or some shit. "Yeah, dude. I think I need to do that. Though I'm telling you right now, it's pretty nasty."

Nikki sighed, getting Tommy's shirt off, and slowly peeling off the bandages. "It's already dried, so this will hurt," He said, frowning. Tommy clasped his hand. "What now?!"

"Just... Slowly, okay?" Tommy looked up at Nikki with what he thought were the biggest eyes he'd ever seen.

"You know what? Sure," he said, as he went to get the bandages from the cabinet and slowly peeled off the bandages from Tommy's shoulder. Tommy was right - it was the most disgusting knife wound he'd seen in a long time...

*/tw

"That's it! I am done with you, and there is no way in hell I am living here anymore," Frankie said, pulling out the stiletto blade he'd taken from one of the 'degenerates' he was always around. "Between those assholes you're somehow always with - don't make that f.ucking face, you know as well as I do that they are. Not like you ever cared what I told you about anything before. Or anything that happened to me before. Are you forgetting the whole Jack situation? Or is Frankie, your own son, not worth a second thought?"

"Frankie! Frankie no!" Deana was screaming, Frankie was unaffected, he plunged the blade into the skin below his elbow, a sick smile on his face. He pushed it in. He was making it deeper and deeper. It didn't even hurt - it was more mesmerizing than anything else...

\tw*

"Who's Frankie?"

Nikki snapped out of his trance. "None of your f.ucking business, kid."

Tommy fell silent. He could feel Nikki getting angry. He stiffened as Nikki moved behind him, letting out a half-scream as he felt a swab on his shoulder, and the burning that followed. Nikki could practically see the tension in his shoulders.

Focus, Nikki!

He put the antiseptic on Tommy's injured shoulder. The kid had still not calmed own, or reverted back to 'happy' the way he usually did.

"What the hell is going on with you?" Nikki hissed, as Tommy jerked his arm away.

"I'm – I'm sorry," he said, holding still. He clearly was not fine. Nikki could see that. He sighed; it was not his problem, right? For f.uck's sake, he met this kid that day. He had to get a grip.

Minutes later, Nikki was done. "Don't move your arm too much," he said, getting up from behind Tommy, and heading to the front of the couch. Tears were flowing freely down Tommy's face.

"Don't make me go back," Tommy choked out. "This...This isn't the first time she did something like this, Nikki. I'm sorry, but can I-"

"Stay here. Yeah. I told you yesterday. You're not going back to her."

As soon as he said that, Nikki was engulfed in a bone crushing hug. He sat there, frozen, as Tommy laid his head on his shoulder. "Thank you, Nikki Sixx. Can I ask you for one last favour? You don't have to do it."

Nikki sighed. "What is it?"

"I know myself. I am going to try to go back to her. Can you please try to stop me? Do whatever it takes. A whack on the head. Hell, even a punch in the jaw. Just...Please? And if you do see her, can you help me avoid her?"

Nikki didn't know what came over him. He didn't know why he was doing this, it was crazy. He never needed anyone before, and he doesn't need anyone now. He doesn't owe the world anything, and certainly not this Tommy character. This kid better just leave already –

"Yeah, Tommy. I will."