Lies

Sucker Punched

Anastasia

This is my first time seeing Guns N' Roses play at a real show with a real crowd that's not the Whisky or Troubadour and it's so surreal.

The crowd is murmuring quietly with excitement, waiting for the boys to step on stage. Despite not many people knowing about the band, the crowd seemed pretty excited.

It was a good opportunity for the guys to open for The Cult. The more people they could reach with their music, the larger the fan base.

I squeeze in closer to the left side of the stage, where I'm sure Duff will be standing, as usual. I hear a few girls behind me talking amongst themselves.

"I saw this band a few months ago in L.A." she says. "The guitar player is fucking hot."

The girl has to be a lot older then me and definitely older then Axl and Izzy. She's dressed in a tight black skirt and a red tube top. Her black hair is teased out perfectly and she wears a pair of black high heels.

Yeah, Slash would like her, I think to myself.

Everyone in the crowd seemed to know each other, and I was the odd woman out. They all chattered amongst themselves, leaving me to stand there and wait for the boys to come on. I was kind of bummed none of the guys brought their girlfriends on this leg of the tour.

As if on queue, I felt someone touch my arm.

"Hey sweetheart, you here all alone?" the person says, and I turn around to see who it could be.

A tall guy dressed in a plaid sweater with dark wash jeans looked down at me. I silently wondered what a rich boy was doing at a Cult concert. He looked like he belonged up in the box seats at the Opera.

"Nope, I'm here with someone." I tell him plainly. He was far from my type--much too prim and proper.

He smirks as if he thinks I'm bullshitting him.

"Are you here with your girlfriends or with a guy?" He asks.

"My boyfriend." I answer, ignoring him and turning back to the stage. At this point, I could only hope the guys would get the hell on stage so this guy would stop asking me questions.

"You know I watched you walk in and he wasn't with you then. He's been gone an awfully long time." the man says, a snide look on his face.

I try to ignore him, but he just keeps talking.

"You don't have to lie, baby. Just give me a chance." he says.

I roll my eyes. "I told you, I'm not interested. I'm here with my boyfriend." I repeat.

He looks at me incredulously and shoots me a creepy smile. "Alright. Hopefully he'll come back soon." he says, and I shudder at the way he looks me up and down.

Finally.

Where were the guys, anyway? When I left backstage, they said they'd be on in five minutes. It's been 10 minutes at least.

Just as I start to walk towards the entrance of the backstage door, I hear the signature scream.

"DO YOU KNOW WHERE THE FUCK YOU ARE?!" the voice reverberates through the speakers, under the floor boards, and into my very bones.

"YOU'RE IN THE JUNGLE BABY! YOU'RE GONNA DIE!" he screams again.

Better late then never.

I watch as Slash teases the crowd with the opening riff, his unruly curls bouncing as he eventually speeds up, his fingers flying over the strings of his guitar. I watch as Steven bobs up and down at his drum kit with a huge smile on his face, enjoying every minute. I watch Izzy rip out the guitar line gracefully, letting his guitar speak for him since he doesn't talk to the crowd much. I watch Axl as he gyrates his hips, moving his hand down to his crotch and back up again. He has a way of making even the most prude girls flush bright red. I watch Duff as he plucks the strings on his bass, his hair messily spread over his face so you can barely see his dark green eyes. He moves with the beat, his body feeling every single vibration and note.