The Perils of Rock and Roll Decadence

2

Neither of her roommates was home at the moment, and she didn't have a shift tonight. Rosie lived with her high school friends: Andrea Hall and Diana Chavez. They both had actual jobs, at least something more respectable than being a stripper. Andrea, or Andy as everyone called her, worked as a receptionist for a law firm. She absolutely hated the job, but she needed the money. Diana was a waitress and worked at her aunt's diner. She didn't seem to mind the job too much, but there was always a rant about some jackass customer. Their apartment was absolutely pathetic, but then again, it was California. Only three tiny bedrooms, a kitchenette with a countertop that served as a table, and a small sitting area that wasn't even worthy of the title "living room". They rarely had company.

She entered her bedroom and opened her closet doors. She chose a black high-neck cropped tank top that zipped down the front and paired it with a high-waisted corduroy skirt. She slipped on a pair of white socks before entering the bathroom. She applied some light eye makeup and dark red lipstick and brushed out her long, chestnut brown hair that almost reached her hips. She took off the t-shirt that she had worn all day and revealed her tattooed body. Many were small and simple, but they scattered her arms and back and chest and legs. She called it personalization of the body. 

The clock read "6:56", Clay would be here soon. She slipped on her old pair of timberlands that she had since freshman year and grabbed the denim jacket that she bought from a flea market a few years back. It was a miracle that those shoes were still intact since they were about ten years old. There were a few minutes to waste, so she began putting away some dishes. Only a few moments later, she heard a knock on her door. She opened the door to what was expected: Clay.

"Hey baby sis," He greeted her.

"Oh shut up, I'm twenty-four" She replied with sarcastically overdramatic anger in her voice. 

"And I will always be older than you," He said, "Alright, let's go".

They made their way out to Clay's blue 1974 Mustang. The car was relatively beat up, but it was fully functional. The drive would take about 30 minutes from the apartment, right outside Venice to West Hollywood. Clay blasted the music he claimed he introduced Rosie to in middle school: Van Halen, Aerosmith, Judas Priest, etc. 

"So it there any reason you wanted to come with me?" He inquired, suspicious of her intentions. 

"Nope, no reason," She responded quickly before shutting her mouth.

"Alright, whatever you say, dude," He let go of the subject, as he knew Rosie would simply deny any accusations he threw at her, regardless of their truth. 

They arrived at 7:25 at the Rainbow Bar and Grill, where Guns N' Roses often used to perform. They walked through the door, Clay took a seat at the bar and Rosie sat in the stool beside him. She didn't order anything, she swore never to drink after her Uncle John died after years of alcoholism when she was twelve. Clay ordered some kind of beer while they waited, but within ten minutes, Axl was spotted. Behind him were four other recognizable figures: Slash, Duff McKagan, Izzy Stradlin, and Steven Adler. All dressed in leather, many of them wore bandanas. Rosie had been a fan, she would watch their interviews and remembered their names and faces from the inside cover of her Appetite for Destruction record. It was a miracle that there wasn't a storm of people behind them, they were pretty easy to spot out in a crowd.

"Why didn't you tell me they were all coming?" Rosie asked, "I would've told Andy not to go on that date".

"Hey, I thought it was just gonna be Bill, um, I mean Axl" He replied.

There was no way that he was going to recognize us after all these years, the Rivers family moved out of Lafayette almost fifteen years ago. Clay yelled across the room to get their attention. It was Izzy who saw Clay waving from across the restaurant and caught Axl's attention. He squinted at us before walking over, the boys following close behind.

"Would this be Clay Rivers?" He asked, his voice was smooth and low.

"And company" He replied with a laugh before giving Axl a hug.

"What, did you bring a date or something?" He asked once the hug broke off. Rosie wasn't sure if he was joking. 

"God no, you remember my little sister right?" Clay replied. 

"Oh my god", He began smugly, "Is this little Rosie Rivers?".

She rolled her eyes and tried to hide her obvious smirk. "I'm twenty-four now, my god!" She said in fake anger.

"Alright, alright, calm down," Axl said through a laugh. He opened his arms, gesturing for a hug from her as well. She rolled her eyes once more before standing up and giving him a hug.

"Hey, can I get one?" Steven asked, breaking his silence.

"Hey, can everyone stop tryna' feeling up my little sister?" Clay objected.

"Yeah, only childhood friends get hugs" Axl added.

Clay and Axl spent a few minutes catching up while Rosie talked with Izzy, the quietest of the group. Clay and the rest of the band seemed to get along great, and then Axl's attention was fixated on Rosie. He asked her all sorts of questions, she avoided the ones about her occupation, but he was clearly flirting. Clay didn't pay much attention to them, as he was mainly focused on his seemingly interesting conversation with Duff.

Steven seemed to be having a hard time. Rosie wasn't sure what it was, but he kept tapping on Izzy's shoulder to get his attention. Izzy would just brush it off, but he seemed worried. It wasn't long before some big guy bumped into him and Steven swung. Unfortunately, the man was a lot bigger than Steven and swung back, but he didn't miss. He ended up with what would be a very large bruise on his left side of his face. He also ended up getting kicked out.

"Well, of course, this would happen," Axl said mumbled sarcastically.

"I'll take him home, you guys just do whatever" Izzy got up and followed Steven out.

"Okay dude, make sure he's okay though," Slash said. Izzy nodded and silently went out the door.

"That was kind of a drag though" Axl added.

"Can we get outta' here?" Duff asked, "I feel like they're watching us now".

"But where are we gonna go?" Slash asked, "Clay what's your place like?"

"My girlfriend's parents are over for the weekend, we can't go back to my place," Clay said.

Suddenly, all eyes were on Rosie, who quickly realized their intentions. 

"Ugh, fine, but you guys are taking the blame for my roommates' wrath," She said before reluctantly getting up, the four boys following.

This was going to be fun.