Burnout - two
Duff Mckagan × (oc)
Chapter two — smoke and leather
A/N: so we begin... Most of these chapters might be pretty long, but they'll have breaks. This is most definitely full oc btw
It'd been two days since Coraline Vale was now dating Duff Mckagan.
Allegedly.
Nothing extravagant changed. They hadn't discussed it much, mainly because they were busy. Though now it was friday night and they wanted to go to a live show at a local bar.
They were all gathered at Axl's shared apartment, either pre-gaming or simply getting ready she didn't know.
She was currently doing the latter, too lazy to put too much effort in her appearance when she was gonna get buzzed anyway; she settled on something simple.
Dark washed bootcut jeans that fit her long legs, her usual black combat boots peeking out from the denim. She wore a plain maroon top that contrasted her pale skin, the top slightly off the shoulders because the fabric kept falling.
The word few silver rings, decorated her neck with necklaces and her ears with earrings, most already in because of her multiple piercings. She hadn't bothered to take her dark brown hair out of the French braid it was in earlier, resulting in a few loose pieces framing her face.
Her makeup stayed the same it always was, eyeliner on her water line and tinted dark lipstick. Easy and light.
She grabbed her leather jacket, it being a bit baggy on her lanky figure. She tucked a lighter and cigarettes in the left pocket before leaving her room.
Turns out they were doing both. While Slash was trying to look good, for Lacy she assumed, Steven was taking a shot with Axl.
Duff glanced at her from where he was standing by the fridge, a smile taking over his lips.
"Wanna beer?" He asked, already grabbing one for himself.
"Sure."
She took the glass by the neck when he offered it, standing beside him as her eyes drifted back to Izzy scoffing.
She softly nudged her boot with Duff's, when he looked down at her she nodded towards Slash who was changing his shirt again.
"Is he always this nervous?" She muttered, curious on if it was just Lacy's affect on him.
She watched Duff scoff in amusement, his lips twitching into a grin.
"No, he's just whipped and desperate." He remarked back quietly, not wanting to be heard by anyone else for the time being.
Her lips flickered at the corner and she took a sip of her beer to mask it.
"So how do you wanna go about this whole thing tonight?" He asked, curious as his gaze shifted from Slash to her.
She shrugged, letting her eyes meet his. She realized he wasn't much taller than her—she naturally stood pretty tall though. She'd prefer this over someone shorter than her.
"Just gotta act flirty, I guess. Pretend we're dating, but don't admit to it." She responded, shrugging softly.
It seemed to be the easiest route now that she had to actually be committed to it. She honestly had no clue if Lacy and them would even be there, but practice might help regardless.
"means I get to tell my not-girlfriend how pretty she looks tonight." He joked, downing the last bit from his bottle as he did so.
She huffed quietly in amusement, "You're cliche as hell, dude." She supposed she couldn't bug him too much about it because she'd agreed to the act as well; more hesitantly though.
"You call all your boyfriends dude?" He continued on, the grin on his lips never wavering.
"Gonna start now, honey."
She watched out of the corner of her eye as he laughed easily.
She wandered over to the couch, Duff following close behind her. She slumped down, leaving enough room for him which he used to his advantage, their thighs touching.
"You're taking longer than Lacy to get ready." She remarked, watching Slash tease his hair while trying to somewhat make it look effortless at the same time.
"Yeah I wanna go." Steven joined in on the complaints.
"Gotta make it look good—" Slash deadpanned, scoffing lightly as his hands finally seemed to rest at his sides.
"Just go get laid by someone else," Axl sighed, just as annoyed as everyone else.
"Fuck you, God forbid I want someone back."
"Y'know that saying the best way to get over someone is get under someone else?" The redhead sounded amused at himself and that alone made Cora laugh faintly.
"You're just a slut, man." Steven nudged him, rolling his eyes when Axl dared to look at him with faux offense.
"I don't wanna hear it from you—"
"C'mon, the first set's probably over by now." Izzy cut them off before they could argue.
Duff groaned dramatically, throwing his head back against the couch. She glanced at him, somewhat amused.
"Let's go before you give me a fuckin' headache." He laughed despite himself, glancing between Axl and Steven as they got more annoyed.
"Yeah, some of us actually wanna watch the show." She added, taking the last sip of her beer before standing. Izzy and Steven did the same, clearly now eager to leave.
Axl let out an exaggerated huff before following, Slash being the last out the door after Duff caught up to walk alongside her.
✃╋━╋━
Walking in, it turns out they were late to the set. She had no clue how many bands were performing tonight, but she hoped more so she could actually enjoy the music.
She glanced around as she followed them to the bar. The place was the usual dim bar just off campus, reeking too much of weed and sweat for its own good. The lights overhead stayed placed on the band, their singer moving with an easy going confidence that took up the whole room.
She shifted her gaze to the shot glass placed in front of her. Her focus shifted when Duff placed his glass against her lips instead, a smirk on his face already.
She mimicked his movements, placing her glass against his lips and they downed them at the same time.
He looked smug after, his thumb catching a stray drop of alcohol from the corner of her lip easily.
"Don't wanna waste anything." He teased, licking the drop off his thumb easily before his attention shifted to the band.
She stared at him for a second, a tad dumbfounded by how forward he was being with the act—whatever. Probably had to happen to sell the bit. She'd remember this though, for when it was her turn to make him flustered.
She knew he could be a flirt, she'd witnessed it over the time she'd known him. He was extroverted as hell and people gravitated towards him—it was nothing new, so she didn't take it too personally.
Just then she felt someone's arms wrap around her shoulders in some half-assed attempt at a hug. She tensed slightly, grabbing their forearm and absently removing it only to find it was Lacy and their other friend Sharon.
"We've been waiting for you all night—" Sharon complained, pouting slightly.
"There was a few wardrobe malfunctions..." She subtly hinted towards Slash, sure Lacy would catch on rather than Sharon.
"What? You look fuckin' hot, don't wanna hear it." Sharon's smile grew wider, brushing her dyed hair out of her face briefly.
Cora's face shifted into a small smile. Sometimes she did miss it, the shared dorms and every night out, but majority of the time it was just too overwhelming. It didn't often help that she felt a tad out of place most nights, but regardless, she missed the women; even though reluctant to show it.
"Oh shit—yeah, this is Duff, uh... Axl and Izzy you should know, Steven, and Slash I think you're familiar with." She introduced, ignoring how half of the guys weren't paying attention.
She watched as Lacy's gaze lingered on Slash, almost grimacing at the awkward eye contact that ended as quickly as it started when Slash showed a small smile.
Maybe this would take longer than she thought.
Duff met her eye with a quick glance letting her know that he saw it too, looking more amused than her.
Lacy turned to Duff with a knowing grin on her face, "Mind if I steal her? We've been a bit deprived." She asked, her hand gently grabbing at Cora's forearm. She had half the mind to not brush this one off.
"I think he'll survive." She cut in, tone almost mocking.
"Sure, go 'head." Duff agreed easily, watching as she got dragged into the crowd of people.
The crowd was worse than she expected, though it didn't last long because soon she was standing at a table surrounded by their friends. There were only a few faces she didn't recognize, though it had been a few weeks since she'd last been able to hang out with them.
"It's been forever—" She was immediately greeted by majority of them. She glanced around, not knowing who to focus on before she forced out a small laugh and nodded.
"Yeah, sorry... Been a bit busy." She tried to make a lame excuse before she gave up and just took whatever drink was shoved in her face.
"Mhm... So we've heard..." She was teased softly, a chorus of small laughs following after.
She fell into easy conversation with them, sparking something vaguely familiar. She brushed off conversation about Duff, both because she didn't wanna talk about it, and she figured acting like it was nothing seemed pretty fitting.
Another drink was given to her as soon as she finished her third one. The plan of simply getting buzzed and watching the bands was thrown out the window, all due to how she was now drunk and sitting directly across the room from the shitty stage.
She'd tuned out most of the conversation by now, too lazy to indulge in it. She was fairly content just sitting and halfway listening.
Her eyes kept glancing between each woman who spoke. Sometimes their voices overlapped and in the crowded bar everything turned into a distant buzz eventually.
"I have printed photos of you trying to climb the flagpole naked, I wouldn't be talking—" Her eyes snapped back to the blonde who was teasing Mae. She couldn't help but laugh at the memory. She'd witnessed the ordeal when it went down and it was still just as hilarious now.
It was one of her first memories on campus during her freshman year, but she could picture it clearly.
The memory settled softly like an old wound as the conversation quickly drifted into some dude one of them was now banging—something she couldn't find herself to care about.
She got the vague idea she was hungry—drinking that much on an empty stomach always fucked her up, but she never learned.
A weak excuse fell from her lips before she stood up and wandered back to the bar. She wasn't drunk enough to not be able to walk, more so just stumble and sway lightly here and there.
Axl and them were still on their spot, well, all except Izzy and Steven. She made her say over to them, forgetting about her main reason for coming over as she got sidetracked.
Axl saw her first, letting out a laugh at her current state. He wasn't much better, but usually she held back more.
"Damn, did a number on you, huh?"
She rolled her eyes, standing next to Slash and Duff. She was gonna grab a cigarette, but almost groaned at the thought because her jacket was back at the table.
"Kinda hard when some weird ass combination of whatever-the-fuck is shoved in your face." Her words were slightly slurred to her own ears. She was fucked tomorrow morning.
"Holy fuck, you're wasted—" Duff spoke, his hand moving to rest on her hip, keeping her close and stable.
She barely acknowledged his touch, soft laughter leaving her lips.
"Thanks for the observation." She retorted, her eyes meeting Slash who was staring at her.
"Lacy say anything about me?" He asked, his head tilting to the side. She almost had to roll her eyes at how desperate he was. Whatever, wasn't her business.
"Yeah," she briefly tried to recall all that she had said, "...said you fucked somethin' up and now she has to act civil for my sake. Also said she misses you kinda—maybe." She shrugged, her mind too hazy to think of everything Lacy ranted about.
"What—"
"This place fuckin' sucks. I prefer the one on campus that we sneak into." Axl cut off Slash because he could go on a tangent about the blonde, Cora was immensely grateful for that and the fact they were leaving.
"Can we get food?"
"When do we not?" The redhead scoffed playfully, nudging her further into Duffs side.
She'd been out with the other two enough to know they'd have no complaints either. Multiple occasions she'd witness them down a box of takeout by themselves.
She spotted Lacy from across the bar and waved lazily, pointing towards the door as her goodbye.
"Where's your jacket?" He asked, noticing the lack of leather.
"Table with Lacy and them. I'll probably get it another time." She brushed off, following as Axl and Slash led the way out.
She honestly just wanted away from the bar now. It was loud, and hot, and way too packed for how incoherent she was.
Duff's hand slipped into her own, warm compared to the coolness of his rings. She was sure he could say the same about hers.
"If you insist." He teased back, maneuvering through the crowd along with them.
Stepping outside into the cold air brought goosebumps on her skin that she ignored. It was welcomed compared to the too-warm bar she was just in.
The breeze was nice, blowing the loose strands of her hair softly, to which she ignored.
"All I'm saying is that the misfits are way fuckin' better than queen—" Duff continued to argue with Axl, she assumed it was from just before she joined them.
"Stop lying to yourself. Not in a million years."
"Misfits trample queen, the cure's better than both though." She added absently, unaware that her and Duff's hands were still locked together until his thumb brushed over her knuckles.
"Oh, I don't wanna hear shit, you listen to bikini kill—" Axl scoffed.
"And?"
Duff seemed to agree with her, though she knew he enjoyed punk anyways from the times they had been around each other. She'd seen some of his vinyl collection, what he'd brought with him here.
"You guys both suck." Axl gave up, either too drunk or too annoyed to continue, which was rare.
Duff laughed in response, she saw that he was smug that he won the argument and she couldn't help the slight smirk on her lips.
She followed Slash into the pizza place glancing around. It was pretty empty, probably since it was well past midnight. She stayed back as Axl and Duff went to order, noticing the lack of warmth in her hand but ignoring it.
"Anyone ever tell you that you're like—really whipped?" She spoke, usual filters gone. Her eyes shifted to Slash as she waited for his denial.
He immediately scoffed, "Oh, fuck off. I'm just loyal." He attempted to defend himself, narrowing his eyes in faux offence.
"To someone you're not dating?" She asked, voice laced with amusement and her smirk grew. She leaned closer, expression one of faux interest.
He mumbled something incoherent under his breath and crossed his arms. He was annoyingly easy and taunt. She knew that from the second she was introduced to him.
She would've continued but she was cut off by a jacket being slung over her shoulders. Glancing over she saw Duff talking to Axl, though the look on his face was telling enough.
The scent of warm vanilla musk and cigarettes engulfed her as she adjusted it.
It was warm
She was half tempted to shove it off, but she also didn't want to be cold. She also realized the pockets might have a lighter and cigarettes; digging through them, they did.
She could always just give him one in return.
She waited until they were back outside, having some manners before she lit the cigarette, letting it rest between her lips.
Axl didn't wait, immediately grabbing a slice from the box and thank fuck it didn't end up falling all over the sidewalk.
"Why's no one else eating?"
"Maybe because we're waiting to get back to the apartment?" Slash scoffed out, laughing as Axl looked offended.
"where'd Steven and Iz go?" She asked, suddenly remembering their lack of presence.
"No clue, Iz probably went to get laid or somethin', hopefully doesn't bring anyone home." Axl shrugged, speaking while chewing to which she grimaced at.
"Cora, you still have that back to the future dvd?"
She nodded in response, glancing around the dim area absently. A movie night didn't sound too bad, not really bad at all. She should probably remember to take something to ease her hangover tomorrow. Or just drink water.
She walked into the apartment, leaving the door open for them. She assumed Duff and Slash would just spend the night. They've crashed more than a few times in various spots in the already small place.
She went to her room and kicked off her boots, changing from jeans to sweatpants before grabbing the dvd and heading back out.
Axl was sat on the corner of the couch, messing around with the remote. Slash was by his legs, laid out and eating pizza. Duff was sprawled out on the opposite end, picking a piece of pepperoni off his slice before taking another bite.
She put in the dvd before grabbing a slice of pizza out from the box and sitting in the open spot between Duff and Axl.
She preferred watching movies in silence, she was pretty sure Izzy was the only one out of the five to agree with her on that because they were non stop talking.
"Just saying his mom liking him is kinda fucked—"
"I'd hope you'd find that fucked up?" Axl scoffed at Slash's admittance.
She glanced over shortly, grabbing a blanket from off the back of the couch and covering herself. Duff nudged her leg and pulled at the blanket a bit, effectively putting a little bit over himself.
She watched in quiet amusement before her gaze drifted back to the screen, still attempting to drown out their arguing over the movie. This happened the last time they watched a movie as well.
If anything, she would talk after the movie, rant a bit and relate it to a few other movies and references before her speaking ceased. Though her eyes were getting heavy and head too hazy to even watch fully.
She shifted a tad bit once she finished her slice, resting her head against the back of the couch as she drifted off wordlessly to sleep.
She vaguely felt weight drop on her shoulder, but too tired to care all too much as she let darkness engulf her.
