𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚜 // 𝚊𝚡𝚕 𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚎 [𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎]

XI: I Knew The Storm Was Getting Closer

Sorry if this chapter isn't great, I think I'm a lot better at writing the deep, passive stuff than actual stuff happening. Hope you enjoy it though! :)

Axl POV

The first thought that went through Axl's mind was an ugly, resounding, shit. 

Not one of the throwaway ones, like when you stub your toe - no, it was one of the ones so laden with feeling that the word almost chokes you as it crawls from a sinking pit in the bottom of your stomach up to your vocal chords, one of those words that you throw from your mouth in an attempt to get rid of the sickening feeling enveloping your very being.

Turning away from the doctor with a shaky, "Thank you," he turned to the others, greeted by similarly pained expressions to that which must have been on his face.  Silence reigned for a moment, before Steven spoke up quietly. "I think I need to sit down."

Axl, Slash and Duff followed him towards the rows of plastic seats, sinking onto them as the dust gradually settled in Axl's mind and he pressed his eyes shut to sort through his thoughts. Izzy, one of his best friends for eleven years, was going to be absent from his life for God knew how long, maybe even forever. But don't entertain that thought. For a few months at least, he was going to be without a friend, without a rhythm guitarist, without the boy who had helped him through so much. Images flashed through his mind of the times they had shared - laughter and joking, writing songs, jamming in fields, drifting on the comfortable highs from a joint with -

And then he realised.

Axl's eyes flew open and he cursed under his breath. How the hell had he not realised? How could he have been so stupid?

The others stared at him as his hand flew to his mouth, eyes fixating on the entrance across the room, but not really seeing it. Instead, he saw brown hair, faraway eyes... a younger face, but with the same smile... he saw her inhale curls of smoke... felt that joking ghost of a kiss brush against his lips...

And then he saw another incarnation of that same face as the door opened.

"Let's go," Axl said, throwing the words from his mouth in a torrent as he grabbed his jacket from the seat upon which he'd left it. 

He hoped the others were following but didn't turn to check, too enveloped in his racing thoughts as he almost ran past her, out the door and around several corners before he sank against a cold brick wall, heart thumping as he realised exactly who had been plaguing his mind for these past few days - and why he felt like he knew that face.

Estay isn't Estay. Estay is Layla. 

Oh, fuck no.

Slash, Steven and Duff rounded the corner soon after him. Duff raised his eyebrows, leaning on the opposite wall to Axl. "Wanna tell us what this is all about? First we hear poor Izzy's in a coma, and now you run out of the hospital?"

"I'm sorry, I just realised something," Axl forced his voice to steady, still in shock. He took a deep breath. "This is kind of a long story, so I need you guys to listen. I'm not detracting from what happened to Izzy, but this is also something big."

Steven smiled gently at him. "I'm sure it'll be fine. You know you can confide in us, dude."

"Just maybe not here?" Slash pointed out, gesturing halfheartedly to the alleyway in which the four stood. "My apartment's the nearest. We can go over there."

~

"So, you know Izzy and I grew up together in Lafayette," Axl began. The others nodded, waiting for him to continue as he decided how exactly to tell the story.

"Well, there was also someone else. A girl called Layla. We met when I ran away from home one day - one of those days when I just had to get away from all my stepdad's crap. She was at Izzy's when I turned up there - taking guitar lessons from him. It was pretty awkward at first, since I had to keep checking myself - the things I'd confide in Izzy weren't things I would dream of telling someone I'd just met.

But she was really friendly, had good taste in music, and I'll admit I thought she was beautiful. So the three of us began to hang out more. I think Izzy and I were sixteen at the time, and she was thirteen. Not much of an age gap, but enough that people at school thought it was weird - not that any of us cared much anyway. So we pretty much stopped going, just went to music lessons. Layla was getting better with guitar around the point we quit school - a month or so after we first met - so she and Izzy would play, and I'd sing."

Axl glanced at the others, then took a deep breath and continued.

"I knew by that point I was screwed, because I was already thinking I might love her. But I was yet to fully realise. Until one day, Izzy turned up with a joint in his pocket and the three of us decided to get high. There were kids doing a lot of things, so it never even crossed our minds that it'd be a bad idea. And it was ok to begin with, until it led to other things. 

So we were in a field behind the houses a few streets down from the school. Typical 'idyllic childhood' kinda image - there was a tree with a swing hanging from the branch and everything. We passed along this joint, we were a bit delirious and philosophical from it, and Layla asked if we thought we've ever been in love.

I wanted to say that I thought I might be in love with her, but I was sure she saw Izzy and I as older siblings, so I didn't. Suddenly, though, it got dark and I realised I was done for if I went home. So I asked Layla if I could stay at hers. But her parents had been too far gone for a while and she didn't want to go home either. Long story short, Izzy ended up going home and we stayed out under the stars. It probably sounds romantic, and I guess in a way it was. We were both in a weird place from the joint, and we talked a lot. Everything from music to crazy existential questions. After that night, I knew I was in love."

"Uh, not to interrupt," Slash interjected, "but as cute as this is, what's it got to do with anything?"

"It is kinda a long story, I know," Axl replied, "but I'll get to the point. And there is a reason this is relevant, I promise."

Slash, Steven and Duff all nodded as he delved back into the story.

"I did end up going home in the early hours, mostly to intercept the mail before my parents found out I hadn't been at school. And that's how it continued for a while - ditching school to hang out, using pot, just being irresponsible kids, really - until Layla got hold of some coke.

I think it came from Izzy mentioning it once - not on purpose, neither of us would have done that to her, even though we'd used it before. But however it happened, she ended up with some, and  - I suppose because she was young - she quickly couldn't get enough of it. She got addicted real quick, and that was it. As far as I knew, anyway. Because suddenly, neither Izzy nor I saw her around; all of a sudden she didn't hang out with us anymore, even though it had become such a staple in our lives.

I guess she must've met someone who helped her or something. I still don't know, but I do know that, as strung out as she must have been, she managed to get out of that town. The last time I saw her, she got on a bus with another girl, and then she was gone.

Until now. Because I've seen her several times over the last few days. She was in the recording studio, then in the park when we were coming home from that night out... and just now, in the hospital. And I really don't know how to feel about it. I've never really sat down and thought about all the shit that happened to us, that we did, as kids, so it's all a weird melancholy blur, to be honest. But I've got so used to the thought that I would never see her again, so to see her now... it's weird, really weird, but I guess our pasts have caught up with us. 

Except Izzy's not here to see it."

Did you see this coming? Is the info dump too much? [Genuine feedback would be helpful here if you have time, thanks :)]

Thanks so much for staying with me with this story, the support means a lot, guys!