Deanna • Duff McKagan

Chapter Eleven • Legalities

July 13th, 1985

"I can't believe you're actually doing something for that.. that child!" Haley exclaims, pulling her hair out of it's messy bun. She had just gotten off a twelve hour shift from work when I told her the news; Guns N' Roses will be playing at her brother's frat party.

"He is your brother, Haley," I sigh, flopping down onto my bed. The walls of my room are covered in posters and polaroids, Christmas lights strung around the room. I close my eyes, hoping for a moment of peace.

"Yeah, my free loading, son of a bitch brother who sided with your father after what happened," you could say Haley and I could have a mutual hatred for my father, and that's why we both moved out of his mansion as fast as we could. Yes, we have sort of a hatred for each other as well, but at the same time, I'd take a bullet for her and she'd do the same to me. I mean, she's my sister.

"He threatened to revoke my bail if I didn't, so I could've either asked them to do it or go back to jail," I roll my eyes, groaning as she takes a few more steps into my room. "Can I just sleep?"

"What's going on with you and Duff?" She asks, taking a seat on my bed. "Ever find out who told his girl you two were together?"

I sit up quickly, raising my eyebrow in confusion. "You aren't the one who told her?" I ask. I figured that it was Haley, mad because I brought a shit ton of people home without asking.

"Uh, no? Why would I, I didn't even know he had a girlfriend, nor is it my problem if he did," she shrugs.

"Oh well," I lean against my wall, painted a light shade of yellow from the previous tenants of my apartment. "What about you? Aren't you dreaming of becoming a playmate? Why are you still working at Hal's?"

She lays down on my bed, her feet hanging off of the side. "It's pretty cut throat, I'm gonna be a painted girl at the New Year's party, and I can only go up from there, right?"

"Right," I nod, standing up from my bed to look out my window at the view of Los Angeles. "Hey, the guys are having a party tonight, wanna go?"

"Yeah, sure," she stands up, walking over to the window to look at the view with me. "Hey, I've been thinking.. maybe, just for awhile, the guys could crash here? Let that storage unit be what it's really meant for, a storage unit?"

"Oh thank God!" I exclaim, pulling myself up onto my windowsill. "I was going to ask you but I didn't want to."

"So, we're moving five random men into our house?" She confirms, causing me to laugh and nod. "Awesome, definitely something our dead mother's told us not to do."

•••

Wearing ripped black jeans and a Guns N' Roses t-shirt I made, I step into the storage unit with Haley by my side. The music was lively, Steven playing drums to the beat of Van Halen's 'Jump' playing on someone's boom box.

"Look who it is!" A drunken Duff laughs, holding up a bottle of Night Train wine in his hand.  He pecks me on my lips and my eyes widen in shock. "My two favorite tits!" I roll my eyes as I see him staring at my cleavage. "You made a band shirt!"

"Well, I am your manager," I laugh, taking the bottle of wine from his hand and taking a sip. "Gotta support my favorite boys."

"Haley, Deanna," Axl throws his arms around the two of us, leaning close to my ear before whispering. "Can I talk to you outside, Deanna?"

I nod, following him outside the storage unit and leaving Haley with Duff. I took his Night Train, oops. "Axl, where are we going?"

"Away from the noise," he murmurs, grabbing my hand and leading me down the road. He finally stops at the communal bathrooms that have become quite the mess since Guns N' Roses took up permanent residence in the unit.

"Axl, I can sense something is wrong. What's wrong?" I ask, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Slash and I, we're kind of in some trouble," he sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. "And I'm not exactly sure what I should do."

"Axl," I shake my head. "What did you two do? Please tell me it's not a felony," I know just my the way his eyes drop to the sidewalk that it's most definitely a felony. "What is it so I can figure out how much time you have to serve?"

"There was this girl, Michelle," he starts, looking down the road at the storage unit.

"The girl from that song you're writing?" A couple days ago, Axl showed me the lyrics to a song titled 'My Michelle' that he was writing for an ex girlfriend.

"No, a different Michelle. Could be a five year prison stint, she's uh.. she's fifteen," I can tell just by his mannerisms that he's been hiding this from me for awhile.

"Jesus Christ, Axl, is anything set in stone yet?" When I was with Nikki, I went to UCLA for a year for law, in order to try to help him out of his legal trouble. As soon as him and I ended things, I dropped out of college. Partly because of not wanting to go, and partly because cutting ties with my father meant nobody to pay my tuition.

"Not yet, but they're talking statutory rape charges. I've been hearing rumors the unit is under surveillance, them waiting for any reason to arrest me. Slash is staying with Steven and his girlfriend Monica, I'm just making use of the Tower Records parking lot and gas station bathrooms." A statutory rape charge, right as Los Angeles is starting to recognize the name Guns N' Roses..

"Okay," I sigh, rubbing my temples. "Obviously you can't stay over there, because of the whole LAPD may be watching.. if Slash already has that shit in order, he's staying with Steven, you can stay with Haley and I." His jaw drops and I could tell he wasn't expecting that. I mean, Haley and I were going to offer them a place anyway.

"You're a fucking life saver, Deanna," Axl pulls me into a hug, one that lasts a little longer than a couple seconds.

"What's going on here," I recognize the voices of the drunken Duff and Haley, making their way to me and Axl.

"Axl's moving in with us," I say nonchalantly, unsure if he would like the two of them to know all the gory details.

"But what about me," I have to admit, Duff's pout is incredibly adorable. He stares at where I'm standing with Axl, Axl's arm still slung around my shoulder. I think I see his smile falter.

"Actually," Haley starts, taking the Night Train bottle from my hand. "You, Izzy, Slash and Steven should move in, too." Please don't say we were already planning to ask.

"Slash and Popcorn already have a place with Popcorn's girl," Axl says quickly. "I'm sure Duff and Izzy are fine in the unit.."

"I feel really bad they live there, honestly," I shrug, making eye contact with the lead singer. "Semi-permanent sleepover at my house?"

A/N: is anyone even reading this lol idk if it's good or not