Jumping from the truck before Duff's friend Matt could even turn off the engine, I sprint towards the shadowed staircase with my trusty bag slung lazily over my small shoulder, energetically bounding up the concrete steps two at a time until I reach the all but familiar faded door marked clearly '26' in brass numbers.
Locating the rusty old spare key from above the doorframe, with extreme height difficulties and shoving it in the lock out of breath, twisting it eagerly and throwing open the door to hit the wall revealing home.
Flopping to the alcohol stained ground with all past energy gone as quick as lightning, the door swinging effortlessly behind me, my bag laid carelessly on my side.
"I'm hooooome!" I shout, muffled into the dusty carpet. Surrounded by the familiar stench of home.
One by one, the five guys step around me to reach the main room of the apartment, careful not to tread on me before flopping down onto the musty couches, each man sighing with exhaustion.
"You getting up Alex or just gunna hang out by the door?" Steven questions curiously from the record player on the floor, flipping casually through the records like the first time we were all in the same room for the first time, in fact, Slash sits sleepily in the same spot, Duff looks at me oddly from the same couch corner and both Izzy and Axl stand in front of the kitchen doorway talking in hushed tones, cigarettes in hand.
"Yeah I'm coming." I mumble, looking up in awe before lazily dragging myself to my feet and making my way to the sitting drummer, sliding down beside him and yanking my boots from my sore, aching feet.
Resting my head on the drummers shoulder and closing my eyes, soon enough, a KISS track is playing quietly and the boys are either slinking back to their own rooms or taking root on the couches to sleep.
"Where do you want me to put her?"
"Her bed?"
"No shit Sherlock, where is it."
"Second door on the right."
"Is it alright if I crash here tonight, can't be asked to walk back to ours."
"Sure man, crash with one of the guys, the couches are occupied." Theres light laughter as I'm picked up delicately from the hard floor and carried a short distance.
"Ah, fuck." Someone cusses as I hear something crash unceremoniously to the ground.
Prying my groggy eyes open to see a cloud of black curls beneath a top hat.
"I hope you didn't just break my lamp Slash." I mumble up at him.
"Fuck!" The guitarist yells as he drops me to the ground with a thud.
"Ouch, what was that for!?" I shout rubbing my hurting tail bone, the second time in 24 hours that I've been dropped on my ass.
"Jesus Alexis! I thought you were sleeping!" He shouts, clutching his chest, wide eyed, I guess as I can't see through his mass of hair.
"What's up? You guys okay!?" A panicked Duff rushes into the room, looking skeptically between me, the lamp on the floor and the pale Slash looking like he'd seen a ghost.
"Help me up doofus." I hold out my hand to the latter.
"I got it, you can have the couch man." Duff says calmly as he reaches out a large calloused hand to me, effortlessly hauling me to my feet.
Slash meanwhile makes his way back to the main room to where we hear him flop onto said couch ungracefully.
Turning back to Duff, "Thanks, here," gesturing to my small bed, "You can have my bed and I'll crash with Axl."
The giant bassist just laughs before kicking off his worn out boots, pulling the sheets back and tiredly falling back into the bed. "Come on Lex, I don't bite and we both know your brother will be writing or something with the light on until the early morning."
"I'll sleep with Izzy then, Duff this really isn't appropriate." I counter.
"Why not?" He raises his eyebrows before moving against the wall in the bed and pulling the sheets back further in invitation.
"Fine, just let me get changed and stuff." I give in with a defeated grunt, before grabbing a Led Zeppelin shirt I'd stolen from Slash, some old sleeping shorts and toothbrush from my bag in the main room, eyeing already sleeping Slash on one tatty couch and a snoring Steven on the other, drumstick in his nose and beer can resting against his side.
Running off quietly towards the small apartment bathroom where I brush my teeth quickly and change into my sleepwear, returning back to my unlit room, only to find Duff sleeping peacefully shirtless, sheets concealing his bottom half leaving the curiosity on whether he had taken his leather pants off or not.
Stepping towards the bed with heated cheeks, I silently slide in next to him, making sure not to touch the attractive bassist whilst I get comfortable, pulling the thin sheets to my chin and closing my eyes, waiting for sleep to take me over.
"Alexis I can't breathe!" Is gasped beside me, startling me from a dreamless rest...
