On With The Show

21

Vince despised the morning shift. 5:30 was when sane people go to sleep, not when they go to work. He rubbed his face. Fuck whoever 'Ford' and 'Jett' are for having their inverter spoilt. He could have been asleep in the office instead of using his cash for a bus ticket to fix their damn inverter. They'd better tip well. Who needs backup electricity at 5:30?  He groaned, rubbing his face as he got on the beat-up bus, wishing that if he was going to die in a bus crash, he'd at least not have dark circles around his eyes.

"5:30?! Joan Jett I know you're pissed at me but this is a whole new level of low!"

Well, at least the person Vince thought was Ford was sane. A rare luxury. He chuckled to himself and waited for her to open the door. "Hi, I'm here to fix your inverter?"

Ford grunted. "Mhm." Her hair was sticking up, and she looked about as angry at the world as Vince felt right then. "Under the stairs."

Vince followed her, rubbing his eyes as he put his equipment on the floor. "I'll need to cut your power," He said, pulling the switch to turn it all off.

"I know you're dying to ask why I was yelling at Joan, go ahead and ask."

"Yeah, why were you?" He said, lazily. His ears perked up ever so slightly, and he smirked. Finally, decent dirt. All he got from Tommy were updates about how perfect Nikki was.

"I didn't want to collaborate with her on her album because her playing and mine are worlds apart. She took that to heart and the inverter broke when we were arguing. Since I'm the villain, I had to get the door. She called you first thing..." She grumbled.\

A shriek cut through the air. There was a thud on the lofted floor. "LITA THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED AND YOU KNOW IT!"

Vince raised his eyebrows – this was going to be eventful.

"Oh?! And how did it happen, Joan? I'm three days younger than you, not three days old! I'm not an idiot so stop treating me like one!"

Vince silently cut the power as he heard fast-paced steps approach.

"Lita, you called me a Jimmy Page wannabe. Guess what, freeloader? Being a Jimmy Page wannabe in a shitty cover group pays the rent!"

"I PAY FOR UTILITIES, JETT! AND I paid for that mullet you wanted because you blew your spare change on a leather jacket that didn't last a day!"

Joan froze. "Don't you bring Cindy into this."

"Stop naming your haircuts, babe!"

Vince smirked to himself – grateful the power was off. Meaningless arguments like this made a shitty side-career worth it. He tuned them out every so often, slightly suspicious when there was silence. He took a deep breath in, bracing himself as he connected the inverter, and turned the power back on. "Sorry to interrupt, but uh – your power backup's fixed."

He turned around. There was cash with a sticky not on it – "tips for the power guy" – behind it were Lita and Joan, in a liplock.

"I'm – uh –" Yes, Vince Neil was at a loss for words. "I'm gonna go –"

Lita waved her hand.

He took the money and left.

*

It was still early when Tommy woke up again. He kept his eyes shut, curling into the familiar scent of whiskey and cheap cologne he'd come to associate with Nikki. A small sound escaped from the back of his throat, only just loud enough to make the smallest dent in the silence. He smiled softly to himself when he felt Nikki's arms wrapped around him protectively, the thin blanket long forgotten by them both. He buried his face in Nikki's chest again, inhaling deeply before slowly opening his eyes. He rubbed his face against the fabric of Nikki's shirt, soon lifting up his head.