Mr. Brownstone
Axl's POV
I am laying flat on my back in my bed when my eyes open again. Im looking right into my own eyes as I do. At first I think it's a philosophical dream or something. But no. I could feel that I was still very much dancing with Mr. Brownstone. The ceiling above me seems so far away. I feel like I've sunk into my bed three feet. My body feels hot. My head is spinning. What the fuck? When does this shit wear off?
"Axe? Are you ok?" My own voice and face asks me. Huh?
Then everything hits me all at once. That's not me. That's Izzy inside my body. I'm looking up at what I know is izzy but looking so intensely into your own eyes is a little strange. I don't really know how to read my own expressions because Ik never see them. I think I look concerned. Izzy sighs and I can hear myself.
"The fever broke and you stopped sweating. The shaking is gone. You might still feel a little sick, but you're ok now," Izzy nods my head and diverts his gaze downward.
"Why'd you do that Izzy? I could have taken it. I was trying to do you a favor," I hear myself mumbling in the sound of Izzy's voice.
"And I was trying to do you one. This was just the first day of withdrawal. It gets a lot worse before it gets better. And sometimes... sometimes a person can die from it. If you die in my body what happens to you? Or me even? I had to do it Axe."
I guess I understood, but maybe that's just the heroin making me all tame and meek. I guess it would do neither of us any good if something happened to either of us? I'd be gone and Izzy would be stuck in my body for the rest of his life. I guess I see why he shot me up. I guess if I were in his shoes I would probably do the same thing. Hey at least he got me out of Compton alive.
"Izzy?" I ask.
"Yeah?" He asks me raising my head to look at me.
"You said something to me when I was on the sidewalk...what did you say?" I ask him looking right at my eyes.
His eyes flutter a little, "Like I can remember that now," he shrugs my shoulders and looks down again. "You feel ok enough to come downstairs and have a little band meeting plus one bass player?"
I nod and slowly sit up. Izzy looks at me and I just stare back at my whole face. "Yeah, guess we should all talk about what that guy said, see if we can figure out what to do next."
"Yeah cause I didn't understand any of it," my head shakes. Izzy turns eyes to the door, "but Nikki's saying some shit downstairs that kinda makes sense."
"Now I've gotta hear this," I smirk Izzy's face.
I hear myself chuckle, "It's so funny looking at myself. I never knew how shitty I look," but my laughter he's making stops. "That shits done a number on me, hasn't it?" He asks softly. I don't say anything. I could, but I don't. "I'm sorry I had to shoot you up."
"It's ok," I hear his gentlest voice saying my thoughts. "I'll just work on getting you sober tomorrow." I rise to my feet feeling a little heavy and a little off balance. I stumble a bit and am about to fall when my arms grab me. I'm grabbing ahold of my biceps with his hands. My eyes meet my own green eyed stare. But when Izzy stares at me like this I have no clue what he's thinking. I know it's something deep, but I can't tell what.
"Wanna try that again," he says and blinks, breaking the look in my eyes.
"Yeah," I say balancing myself.
We go downstairs and I can hear Stevie talking. "Here's my theory..."
"Sit the fuck down, you don't get a theory," I can hear Duff's voice saying it but I know it's Nikki's words.
"Yeah Popcorn," Slash says, "We'll use your theory when all others have failed."
Duff's eyes fall on me and he smiles at me with Nikki at his helm, "How are we feeling now?"
"Go fuck yourself Nikki," I say to him hearing the tone Izzy gets when he just wants to be left alone.
"Ladies and gentlemen! He's cured!!" Nikki shouts throwing up Duff's arms.
I just find a place to sit. I'm not in the mood to argue with Nikki.i look at Duff wearing a Nikki suit. Duff's not sweating anymore. Apparently he took some smack too to rid Nikki's body of withdrawal. He's holding vodka and smoking a cigarette. Izzy sits my body down next to his.
"Hey Nikki, like explain your theory again for Axl," Izzy says.
"Ok," Nikki nods Duff's head and takes a chug off a bottle of Jack. "So...like when he said we learn from each other, I think he meant something more direct. Like between us and whose body we swapped with. I also heard him say that we all had secrets and things to overcome. I think that means that like me and Izzy have drug addiction to overcome. And you and Duff are the ones to help us do it," Duff's brown eyes flash at me. I swear to god he manages to move Duff's face like his own. Maybe I'm just high, I don't know. "So we all decided, while you were out, that starting tomorrow morning that Izzy and I will start to wean our bodies off of heroin, but that means you and Duff are the ones feeling it."
"Yeah," I nod. That sounded fine to me. I wanted to do it, for Izzy, for the band.
"You sure?" I hear my voice say.
"Yeah," I turn and look at izzy in my body, "fucking positive."
"There's more," Duff's voice continues again with Nikki's words, "we also think that we should like talk. You know, reveal secrets, get shit off our chests, get to know ourselves as well as our hosts."
"Ok," I nod.
"Then there's the issue of band rehearsals," Nikki continues, "I have to learn GNR songs and Duff's gotta learn Crue. I can't very well show up to rehearsals wearing Duff's skin like a fur coat, you know? I'm gonna have to teach Duff how to do all my mannerisms and everything. He going to have to also be the one who runs Crue. I mean it is my band and I make all the final decisions."
"Are you gonna be able to pull it off Duff?" Slash asks him.
Duff pulls the bottle of vodka to Nikki's lips and gulps some. He lowers the bottle, "Fuck no. What the fuck do I do about Tommy? He's gonna know, just like Slash and Steven knew."
"Tommy has the brain of a dumb cur dog, he'll never suspect a thing," Nikki says in Duff's assuring voice.
"And Axl and I have to work on being each other in public," I hear myself speak for Izzy.
I look at myself and nod, "Yeah ok."
"Is it just me, or is Axl way more agreeable high?" Nikki laughs in Duff's voice. This gives everyone a good laugh
