She's A Fan

I Love You More

"Aw, poor little Rosie got mugged in downtown Seattle last night."

"Shut your mouth, Axl." Slash had brought me back from the hospital, and all I wanted was to rest; instead, I was being taunted by the likes of Axl Rose.

"It's so cute how she thought she could defend herself," he laughed. I was pissed at this point. Before Slash could do anything, I broke free of his arms, turned around and threw a hard punch straight into Axl's stomach, and I watched as he doubled over in pain.
"Fuck off," I cursed at him, turning back around and heading towards the bedroom, and Slash followed.

"God, that girl hits hard," Axl whined.
"You had it coming, man," Izzy remarked, feeling no sympathy for him, "Rose is having a hard time, and the last thing she needs is you picking on her."
"Yeah man, what you said was kind of shitty," Duff added, and Steven nodded in agreement.

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I'd buried myself under 2 or 3 blankets in the bed, and I'd started crying again.

Slash wasn't sure what to do, so he just sat beside me, rubbing my back.

At one point he laid down and snuggled up beside me, holding me until I stopped crying. I uncovered my head and pressed my face against Slash's chest, and he wrapped his arms around me.
"You're my rock, baby. I don't know what I'd do without you," I said, pressing my lips to his.

"I love you, babygirl. I hate seeing your face so banged up, though," he said, softly placing one of his hands on my bruised cheek.

With him, I knew that I would be able to move past this.

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July rolled around. The band was in Dallas.

Slash's 23rd birthday was coming soon. I was on edge because I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to get him anything; I didn't have a penny to my name.

When Slash wasn't around, I went to Izzy.
"Hey Izzy, can I talk to you about something?"
"Sure, Rosebud. What's up?"
"Well, you know how Slash's birthday is coming up and everything?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm worried because I wanted to get something nice for him, but I'm flat broke. Is there any way you could help me?"

He smiled. "Sure. What exactly did you have in mind?"
"Well, I noticed a really nice Les Paul in the window of a pawn shop in town, it's red and it looks like it's in really good shape," I said, "I promise I'll pay you back when I can get some money."
"That's a cool idea. And don't worry about it, Rose. I'm a no-strings-attached kinda guy," he laughed, "We'll go get it in an hour?"
"Sure. Thanks Izzy. You have no idea how much this means to me."

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We bought the Les Paul, a pack of picks, a new set of strings, and a lightly used Marshall amp all for $650. Despite what he'd said, I was determined to pay Izzy back someday.

On Slash's birthday, while he was still asleep, I gently slipped out of bed and set everything up, plugging the amp into the wall, the guitar into the amp, and setting the picks and strings on the bedside table.

I got back into bed and snuggled up to him, kissing his lips and gently waking him.
"Morning, birthday boy," I whispered, pressing my forehead to his.
"Morning, princess."
He sleepily pulled me into his arms and held me against his skin. I ran my hands up and down his bare back and our sweet, sleepy moment turned into a full-blown makeout session.

He rolled over on top of me, kissing me passionately, and his hands became tangled in my hair. His lips still tasted of yesterday's whiskey, and I kissed them until the presence of liquor disappeared completely.

Once we were both exhausted, he laid on me, resting his head on my chest, taking my hand and tenderly pressing his lips to it. He closed his eyes and dozed for a few minutes, while I took in the warmth of his body on top of mine; I felt like the luckiest girl in the world to have such a beautiful man to call mine.

I remembered his birthday then, and I grew increasingly excited for him to see his gift. I let him sleep for a few more minutes though, and watched him, in awe of him; he was gorgeous even when he slept.

He woke, pressing warm, sleepy kisses to my cheek and nuzzling his face into my neck. I rested my hand on the back of his head, untangling individual curls with my fingers.
"Baby, I have a surprise for you," I whispered. He lifted his head, and gave me a confused look. I pointed at the guitar and the amplifier beside the bed, and his eyes lit up.

"No fucking way," he said, excited. He rolled off of me and went to look at the guitar. He looked like a little kid on Christmas morning, and it made me happy to see him so excited.
"This is awesome, baby! How did you ever manage this?"
"I can't take all the credit. Izzy took me to get it and helped me pick out the strings and picks," I said, smiling at him. "Do you like it?"

"I love it," he said, coming over to me and kissing my forehead. "But not as much as I love you."
"Happy birthday, baby."

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The next month, my 19th birthday came along, and it had also been a whole year since I'd met Slash and we'd gotten together.

We were in Indianapolis that day, and the band would be playing a show that night.

I woke up that morning with Slash cradling me like a baby in his arms.
"Morning, babygirl," he yawned, "happy birthday."
I nuzzled into his chest and smiled to myself. "Morning."

I dozed in Slash's arms for a few more minutes, and when I woke up again, he said he was going to bring me my birthday presents so I could open them in bed.

He'd gotten me a new purse to replace the one that had been stolen, a gold bracelet, a leather jacket, and roses.

I felt like a spoiled brat; he was so, so good to me.

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Slash came backstage after the show, and he took me into his arms as soon as he saw me, playfully taking off his top hat and placing it on my head.
"Looks good on you," he laughed, snaking his arm protectively around my waist.

"Baby?" I whispered.
"Yeah Rose?"
"Thank you for making my birthday so wonderful. I love you," I said, kissing his cheek.
"I love you more."