ℂ𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕪 𝕃𝕚𝕡𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝔽𝕦𝕝𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕞𝕠𝕜𝕖
part 6 all parts
A/N: hi dolls! sorry this took so long, inspiration hit a little harder but it’s so cute i may have cooked the chapter. have patience, i promise it’s worth the wait #slowburn #mercy #patience
w.c: 13k
The last chord rang through the studio before dissolving into the sound of everyone's voices blending into one.
Axl pulled the microphone stand away from himself and let out a breath, dragging the back of his wrist across his forehead. The room was hot, it always was by the end of rehearsal. Hot from amplifiers, hot from too many bodies packed into the basement, hot from hours of playing the same songs over and over, until their fingers bled, his voice went, hoarse and they sounded exactly right. Or close enough.
Steven tossed a drumstick into the air and caught it. "That's it," he announced. "I'm done.
"Nobody asked." Izzy said, not even looking up from the guitar he was packing away.
"See? That's exactly the negativity I'm talking about." Steven said, dramatically.
Across the room, Slash sat on an amp with one foot propped against a road case, lazily picking through a riff. Every few notes he'd stop, listen, frown, and try again.
Duff bent down to unplug his bass, meanwhile Axl wandered the studio, grabbing a half-empty water bottle somebody had abandoned earlier. He looked over at Axl, frowning.
"Dude, you've got to be kidding."
Axl turned to look at him, confused. "What?"
"We're not playing again, you already made us play that six times." Duff said, exhaustion audible in his voice.
Axl shook his head, crossing his arms, "Five."
"Six."
"Five."
"Six."
Izzy pointed at Duff, "It was six."
Duff threw his hands in the air, "Thank you."
Axl rolled his eyes and turned away before they could start another argument.
The truth was he wasn't even sure anymore. The last couple days had blurred together with endless rehearsals, gigs, late nights out to hand out flyers, arguments. The usual.
Rocky had been pushing them harder lately too. Not in a bad way. Just trying to get them organized enough that people in the industry might eventually take them seriously, and it seemed to be working. At least a little.
Yeah.
It had been a long week since the last time he saw her.
Exactly six days since the diner.
Four days since sitting across from her in a cracked vinyl booth while somehow talking until the sky started getting lighter outside.
He'd seen her, briefly, a few times since then. Passing through the house, once carrying a stack of books upstairs, once rushing to leave for class. But none of those encounters had lasted more than five minutes. Every single one had ended with someone having to leave.
And somehow, he still hadn't called. Which was stupid.
Duff suddenly snapped his fingers in front of Axl's face, causing him to jerk back.
"The fuck?"
"You weren't listening."
Axl scoffed, "I was."
Duff squinted at him, then grinned. "Okay, then. What did I just say?"
Axl stared. Duff laughed.
"Exactly."
"Eat shit."
Duff leaned on the wall, watching Axl with a grin on his face. "Who're you daydreaming about, lover boy?"
Axl stopped in his track, before returning to packing up. "Fuck off, man."
Duff clapped his shoulder as he grabbed his bass, his laugh echoing the long hallway.
By the time they got closer to the front door, the house was mostly quiet. The lamps in the living room were still on, casting a warm yellow glow over the furniture and place itself. Rocky was in the kitchen, reading some paperwork, a half drunk coffee mug sitting beside him. He looked up as the boys came through.
"You finished earlier tonight."
Izzy nodded, "Yeah, we're beat, and already got the last track done."
Rocky nodded, a small smile across his face. "Good. Too bad I couldn't be there. Matt called." he complained as he set the paperwork on the kitchen island with a thud, his voice low.
Slash frowned, "What did he want?"
Rocky waved him off, "Nothing. Called to let me know about the usual bullshit." he sighed, getting up to walk towards them. "Get going, rest."
Axl hung back, while the others shook hands with him before they left the house.
Watched Duff grab his jacket off a chair. Watched Steven nearly walk into a lamp; Slash somehow lose his cigarettes, muttering curses under his breath.
Then he glanced back to Rocky, before walking slowly towards him, his voice low as he spoke.
"Charlotte working tonight?"
Rocky's eyes immediately narrowed, making Axl regret the question. "Interesting question."
"Okay, nevermind." Axl groaned.
Rocky laughed, "Yeah."
"At Rainbow, right?"
Rocky chuckled, "No, at fuckin' Nasa."
Axl shook his head at Rocky's sarcasm, grabbing his jacket from the chair.
"Yes, at Rainbow." Rocky said as he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. His eyes never left Axl. "Why?"
Axl shrugged. "No reason."
"Mhm."
"I was just askin'"
"Sure."
Axl rolled his eyes, putting on his jacket.
Rocky cleared his voice "Closing shift."
Axl's eyes snapped to Rocky in the mirror. "That late?"
"Couple more hours, probably."
Axl nodded once.
Rocky's smile somehow got worse. "You gonna call her?"
Axl nearly walked straight into the doorway.
Behind him, Rocky laughed, clapping Axl on the shoulder. "Drive safe."
"Yeah, yeah."
By the time Charlotte got home, it was almost midnight. Rainbow had finally slowed down during the last hour, leaving her with sore feet, tired eyes, and a lingering smell of cigarette smoke clinging to her clothes.
She pushed through the front door as quietly as she could, the attempt lasting maybe about three seconds.
"You're late."
She jumped. Rocky sat at the kitchen table with reading glasses perched halfway down his nose, looking entirely too pleased with himself.
"Jesus Christ. Rocky."
He laughed, reaching for her wrist to give it a gentle squeeze as she walked pass him to get a water. A small habit he picked years ago. His version of making sure she was okay. He ruffled her hair, smiling as she groaned. "Long night?"
She lazily fixed her hair as she nodded. "Packed."
"People behaved?" Rocky asked, his eyebrows shooting up.
"When do they ever?"
He chuckled. "Fair point."
He then pushed a plate with a sandwich that was sitting on the counter towards her.
Charlotte smiled. "You're the best."
"I try."
She laughed and stole a bite. For a few minutes they talked quietly while she ate. Nothing really important. About a customer who'd gotten too drunk and started screaming at everyone, a photography assignment she finished in her break.
He complained about Steven almost breaking some equipment in the studio. For the FIFTH time. Safe to say that she wasn't surprised.
Eventually, she leaned down, kissing his cheek. "Goodnight."
He smiled, grabbing the book he set down earlier. "Night, kiddo."
A small lamp glowed in her nightstand, the warm light glowing onto the stacks of sketchbooks, creams and other stuff she had placed there. She crossed the record player, dropping the needle carefully, The Clash playing quietly through the room, just loud enough to fill the silence.
Satisfied, she climbed into bed, pulling her journal onto her lap. It's pages were stuffed with sketches, pressed flowers, some poems and random thoughts and observations. She uncapped her pen, staring at the blank page for two minutes straight as she thought of what to write, ending up zoning out.
That was until the phone rang.
Charlotte nearly launched herself off the bed, the sound exploding through the room so loud it almost scared her half to death.
"Jesus Christ." she mumbled to herself, grabbing the receiver right at the third ring.
She sighed. "Hello?"
A pause, and then:
"Took you long enough."
She groaned, rolling her eyes.
"Hi to you too."
"Didn't think you'd call."
"Didn't think you'd answer." Axl said.
A smile pulled at her mouth. "Impossible. You called, so clearly you thought i'd answer."
She could imagine him rolling his eyes.
He waited a few seconds before he spoke again. She could hear him take a drag from his cigarette on the other end.. "Wanted to see if the number you gave me was fake."
Charlotte barked out a laugh. "You are soo full of shit."
"Probably."
For a second she could practically picture him leaning back somewhere, one hand holding the receiver, smirking to himself.
"So," he said. "What're you doing?"
She glanced down at the journal open across her lap. "Nothing."
"Liar."
She scoffed. "How would you know?"
“Because nobody says ‘nothing’ when they’re actually doing nothing.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes. "'M just writing in my journal."
There was a pause, but not an awkward one. She heard him chuckle once lowly,
"That's cute."
She frowned. "Cute?"
"Yeah."
"It's normal to journal."
"Didn't say it's not normal. Only said it's cute."
Charlotte looked down at the page. "I suddenly regret telling you that."
A laugh crackled through the line. "Why?"
"Cause now you're gonna make fun of me."
"I wasn't gonna."
"Yeah, yeah. Sure."
He smiled. "Maybe just a little."
"See?"
His laugh came again.
God.
There was something unfair about hearing it through the phone. It sounded lower somehow.
"So what're you writing?"
"'M not telling you."
"Why?"
"Because it's private, dingus."
"Cowaaard."
Charlotte gasped dramatically. "Excuse you?"
"You heard me."
"I am not a coward."
"Mhm."
"I just have boundaries."
"Sure."
"Ass."
"Brat."
They both smiled despite themselves.
"So what'd you do today?" she asked.
"Rehearsed."
"Amazing."
"I know."
"Anything else?"
A pause.
"Nah."
She blinked. "You're shit at making conversation on the phone, y'know?"
He chuckled. "I wanna hear about you."
She didn't say anything, only blushed a little.
"You eat today?" he asked.
She smiled. "Yeah, Rocky made me a sandwich."
Axl snorted. "Five star meal."
"It was." she laughed "He added chips in the sandwich."
He bit down a laugh. "..Mkay, i get it."
She bit down a grin. "Thank you."
“Still sounds like something a twelve-year-old would eat.”
“Says the man who considers gas station food edible.”
He barked out a laugh. "That's different."
"It absolutely isn't."
They continued talking about all sorts of things, enjoying hearing each other's voice.
At one point, Charlotte looked down at the clock beside her bed and nearly choked. "Jesus"
"What?"
"It's almost midnight."
"So?"
"So normal people sleep."
Axl shifted on the other end. "You got work tomorrow?"
"Mhm."
"What time?"
She looked around her room for a second. "Why?"
"Just askin'"
"Sure."
He laughed, "I just wanna know, that's all."
"You're being all weird."
He smiled. "Sure. Says the girl who stays in to write in her journal on a Friday night."
Charlotte gasped. "Booo. Low blow."
He smirked. "You'll survive."
A smile tugged at her mouth as she looked down at the page in front of her.
At the half-finished sketch now sitting on it.
And before she could stop herself, ""When were you gonna call?"
He paused, stubbing his cigarette in his ashtray, sighing before he replied. "I've been busy."
She rolled her eyes, "Mhm. You got my number a week ago."
He grinned, laying back down on the couch. "You were waitin' for me?"
"No."
"Liar."
"Shut up."
A laugh slipped through the receiver. She could practically see the smug look on his face.
"Was gonna call sooner." he said, his smile softening slightly.
She blinked. "Most people call before a whole week passes."
Axl laughed through his nose. "Yeah."
"So basically you kinda suck at this."
"Probably."
Her smile was tiny as her hand sketched slowly on the page. A small silence settled between them, before he spoke up a little more quietly, voice raspy.
"Wasn't exactly forgetting about you, y'know." his words came out before he could stop them.
But he had to ruin it, of course.
"Hard to forget about somebody who dips her hamburger in milkshake, and eats chip sandwiches."
Charlotte laughed, making him chuckle as well.
"You're an ass, y'know that?"
He smiled, "And you should be sleeping. It's late."
She groaned. "You sound like Rocky."
"God help me, then."
Neither of them stopped smiling.
After a little pause, "Night, Axl."
Then:
"Night, Cherry."
Her stomach immediately betrayed her, twisting and fluttering as she heard the nickname leave his mouth. She hated that nickname. Or at least she was supposed to.
"Don't call me that."
His grin was obvious. "Sleep tight."
The line clicked dead before she could argue.
Charlotte stared at the receiver for a second.
"Asshole."
