Patience (d.m)

0.1: Henley Now

Song for this Chapter: Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes

Henley's P.O.V

1987

I bite my lip as I start to finger the bridge on my guitar. I sigh as I look up at all of my band mates who are on the other side of the glass wall.

"I don't know if I can do this, Marilyn," I say, looking at Jack. We call Jack Marilyn because his last name's Monroe. It's a joke that we find hilarious, but Jack finds annoying.

He pushes his dark brown hair out of his face. "I believe in you. And quit calling me Marilyn."

"Not gonna happen, Ms. Monroe," I say, fixing the headphones that are sitting on my head. I watch as Veronica, Brooks, Blakeley, and our manager, Damon, laughing at my comment.

I take a deep breath, then give them a thumbs up. I play the almost haunting guitar riff. It fits perfectly with our new album coming out. We think we're going to call it "Killing Myself". Basically it's going to be about internal struggles, rather than the basic love songs and breakup songs, or songs about worshiping the devil, or songs about sleeping around. We wanted to create something different, and I think this album is going to be a hit.

As the riff comes to an end, I grin to myself. I managed to play it. This riff was beyond anything I'd ever played before, but I think Mick taught me well.

I look back up at my band mates. "How was it?"

Blakeley and Veronica's eyes light up. "Amazing!" They squeal in unison.

I smile, looking down at the bottom of the microphone stand. I look back up at Jack. "Well, was it how you imagined?"

"It was even better than I imagined, Henley," Jack smiles, his eyes bright with pride. "Looks like whoever taught you how to play are pretty good themselves."

I scoff, putting my hands on my hips. Good thing that I have the guitar strap on. "'Pretty good'? No, no. He is the fucking Guitar God. Mick Mars sure as hell is better than 'Pretty good'."

"Mick Mars?" Veronica asks, clueless.

Brooks' eyes widen. "Mick Mars, as in, Guitarist of Mötley Crüe, Mick Mars?"

I nod. "Yep. I've known Mötley since before the band formed." Maybe I should start telling people more about me. It's getting exhausting having everyone finding out that I'm best friends with a famous band months, or in this case, years after I become close with people. "Pretty awesome guys, I have to say."

Just then, the phone rang inside of the room where my bandmates are. Brooks picks it up, trying to sound professional. I can't hear what he's saying since Damon let up on the button so that I can hear what they're saying. Brooks holds the phone from his ear, then presses the button.

"Uh, Tommy Lee's on the phone." I can hear the giddiness in his voice.

I just giggle, taking off the guitar and setting it carefully on the ground. I walk out of the recording booth, fixing my hair which got messed up because of the headphones. I take the phone from Brooks.

"What did you do now?" I ask.

"Believe it or not, nothing this time," He answers.

I laugh at him, shaking my head. "What do you need then, Bass?"

Tommy takes a deep breath. "Well, I met a girl."

"Are you gonna shag her then leave her?" I ask, knowing exactly how my best friend works. I look up to see my bandmates with surprised looks on their faces.

"No! Not this time. I think I'm in love with her," He says. I can practically see the blush on his face.

I sigh, rubbing my forehead with my free hand. "Tom, that's what you said about that one girl that you got engaged too. I don't think I need to remind you of how that ended."

"This is real this time, I promise!"

I take a deep breath. "Okay. So is that all you called to tell me? We're trying to finish our album."

"I was calling to see if you and that new boyfriend of yours would come to dinner tonight. Heather really wants to meet you and that guy."

I shake my head, dryly laughing. "Why do you hate Sav so much?"

"I don't hate him. It's just after what happened with McKagan, I'm more wary about the guys you let in," Tommy explains.

I smile, happy to see that no matter how old we get, or how much time passes, he's still like an older brother to me. "Don't worry. Sav is nothing like. . ." I gulp, feeling old pain come back. "Him. I'll see if he has any plans tonight. Even if he does I'll still come over."

"Great!" Tommy exclaims. "See you tonight!"

I laugh as the line goes dead. I hang the phone up, turning back to my bandmates. "Are we done?"

"Why didn't you tell us you knew Mötley Crüe?" Brooks asks.

I shrug. "Never came up I guess. Anyways, I gotta go to Tommy's tonight with Sav. He's in love again. I'll see you guys later."

I walk out of the studio, feeling my spirits lifted. It's been a while since Tommy and I had gotten together. Even though it'll be with our significant others, we'll still be hanging together. I glance around the lobby of the building. My heart stops as I see a tall man with crazy blonde hair going into one of the rooms. I shake my head. I'm being ridiculous. He's not here. He can't be.

I walk out of the building, feeling my heartbeat in my ears. I get into the pickup truck I bought when I first moved back here to Los Angeles. I drive to the small apartment that Sav and I share. I smile as I turn the radio on to an old Elton John song. Bennie and The Jets. I sing along on the short drive home. I park in the apartment parking lot, then rush up to our apartment. I feel excited because Sav got in about an hour after I left for the studio. He was in Sheffield visiting his family.

I unlock the door as quickly as I can. The door swings open to reveal my gorgeous boyfriend laying on the couch watching whatever movie was on. I grin as I run in and pounce on him. I feel the breath get knocked out of him, but I giggle nonetheless.

"Ouch," He breathes out, his British accent thick. "Nice to see you too."

"I missed you!" I exclaim, laying a kiss on his plump lips.

"I swear," He says, laughing. "You're gonna be the death of me."

I kiss his nose, reaching up to play with his long, dirty blonde hair. "But you love me anyways, right?"

"Of course. Death by you is the way I wanna go out," Sav says, smiling at me.

I roll my eyes. "You're so cheesy."

"But you love it," He responds, pushing a strand of hair out my face and behind my ear.

I stare into his gorgeous blue eyes. I'm so lucky to have him. He treats me better than I could ever imagine.

I finally get up off of him. I grab his hands so that he'll get up too. "C'mon. We have to get ready for a dinner party at Tommy's."

I smile, making my way to our bedroom. We've been dating for two years and I've never stopped loving him. We hardly ever fight. Sav is my home. He's more than I could ever ask for.