HALLOWEEN (PT 2)
tw: panic attack
“Time starts now!” They heard Axl yell from outside the door, and Duff turned to Slash. “So, Shirley. Nice to meet ya.” Slash giggled, trying to sound as girly as possible as he replied, “Hey, Duffy. You’re a cutie, aren’t ya?” He slurred his words, trying to sound drunker than he already was, as he had stolen from Axl’s stash of the hard stuff. Duff was so fuckin’ thankful for the darkness to cover his face, as he was sure it was bright red. “You ain’t too bad yourself, Shirley. Say, how ‘bout after all this shit is over we head back to my place?” Slash cracked, laughing as quietly as possible. “I can’t take this seriously, dude I’ve gotten hit on so fuckin’ much tonight!” Duff instantly felt jealous, but tried not to let it creep into his voice as he responded.
“You still gonna catcall those chicks at school now?” He could feel the wind as Slash vigorously shook his head, practically yelling when he said, “Hell no! That shit is terrible! It made me feel all horrible inside, and I was literally doin’ nothing! I was just wandering around and had my ass grabbed three times! Man, I’m gonna go and personally apologize to all those girls.”
Duff smiled, even knowing Slash couldn’t see him in the darkness of the closet. He sat down, hearing and feeling Slash sit next to him. “Do you know how much time we have left in here, pretty boy?” Slash asked, running his hand up and down Duff’s arm. Duff tried not to start freaking out at the nickname, and the touch, and shakily replied, “Uhm, I don’t know.” Slash definitely noticed, leaning closer to Duff’s face and tracing his hand up and down his arm, moving his other hand to his knee. “Nervous?”
“Just a tad, being alone with a pretty girl like you.” Duff tried to play along, hearing Slash giggle and his smile being the brightest thing in the room. “You have a pretty smile,” Duff said, being fully honest. Slash dragged his hand up his thigh, squeezing it slightly. “Thanks, sweetie.”
Duff felt his face heat up, and to match Slash’s energy he hesitantly placed his hand on Slash’s thigh. Slash just laughed softly, and Duff was trying to read into his every action. He paused, realizing that their time in the closet had to be nearly up, and since he would never be this close to Slash again and he would never be this fucked up again while being this close to him, he closed the gap and kissed Slash.
He felt Slash’s mouth part in a surprised gasp, before pulling away quickly. He removed his hands from Duff and scooted away slightly.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck-
“Was… uh, was that still acting?” Duff could hear the apprehension creeping into Slash’s voice and quickly tried to dissolve the situation but genuinely could not get any words out. He felt the air leaving his lungs and he didn’t realize he was crying until he felt a tear land on his cheek.
Duff opened his mouth to try and apologize, but all he could manage was a strangled sob. “Are you okay, man? I’m not mad, I just-” He was cut off by the door flying open, and Axl’s silhouette being the only buffer from the bright lights from outside. “Alright love birds- woah, Duff, you alright?” Duff tried to pull a hand up to cover his face, but was stuck, frozen to the spot. He watched other people crowd around the doorway, but could only bring himself to focus on Slash’s breathing from beside him. He shut his eyes and managed to squeak out, “Yeah, I’m alright.”
Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale.
He matched his breathing to Slash’s next to him, which while it was still fast it was at least slower than Duff’s and it was something to grab onto. He hesitantly opened his eyes, and managed to get his feet under him. He stood up slowly, but then ran out of the closet. Before he turned to the stairs, he stole a glance back at Slash.
He was still sitting on the floor, watching Duff run out of there with a confused expression on his face. He was softly touching his lips, his mind going a million miles per hour.
Why the fuck did I enjoy that? I’m not gay, I’m not gay, Duff is your best friend, you’re not gay for him. It’s not gay to kiss your homies! Even if I’m wearing drag right now, it doesn’t make me gay.
Right?
Duff sprinted past the guys on the stairs, ignoring their lazy grabs at his ankles and turned down the hallway. He’d been to Axl’s before, he knew this house. He opened the door he knew was the bathroom, but seeing it was already occupied by a group of girls he shut the door and moved on. Duff opened another door, this led to a guest bedroom but panicked when he saw two people absolutely going at it. Actually, he was pretty sure it was Steven and Adriana, so he moved on.
He flung open the door to a different bedroom, probably a spare and heaved a sigh of relief that it was empty. He closed the door, not bothering to lock it as he crumpled to a heap at the end of the bed. He let sobs consume him, hugging his arms and knees close to his body.
“Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit.”
He repeated this, almost like a mantra as he cried. He could feel his head beginning to hurt as the sobs continued to rack his body, and tried his best to stop but it only made it worse. He couldn’t get his breathing under control, trying all the methods he had been taught but none of them seemed to work.
He had a stupid song stuck in his head, and it was all he could hear as he tried his best to calm down. Suddenly, it all stopped. He stopped crying, he stopped breathing, and he stopped shaking uncontrollably. This moment lasted for a few seconds before Duff screamed in pain, burying his face in the blankets and shaking pathetically as the sobbing came back. He wrapped his arms and legs as close as he possibly could, his weeping turning into screaming as he struggled to calm down. The shaking came back, worse than before, and he could only repeat a useless breathing technique to himself to hang on to something.
“One, two, three, four-” he couldn’t complete it, stuttering on the word four before breaking down again. He looked up at the clock, then back at the door wishing he were home. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling himself calm just a bit before crying out again.
This seemingly endless cycle continued for what seemed like hours, but only a few minutes had passed before Duff heard a quiet knock on the door. “Duff?” Slash’s voice was muffled and Duff felt himself tense up at the sound of it. He bit his hand, trying not to scream but a strangled cry still made its way out of his mouth as the door was slowly opened. Slash stood in the doorway, staring at the scene in front of him. “Shit, Duff,” he rushed forward, remembering to shut the door before stopping just in front of Duff.
“Can I?” His hand hovered over Duff’s shoulder, and Duff just continued sobbing into the blankets, no response. Slash rested his hand on Duff’s shoulder, running it up and down his arm while he sat next to him. “It’s okay, it’s okay, you’re safe, you’re gonna be okay.”
Duff continued to shake, but his sobs were becoming less violent. “I’m sorry,” he choked out, his breath hitching as he said it. Slash shook his head, rubbing his arm. “No, please don’t apologize, I’m not mad, it’s okay.”
Duff looked up at Slash, reaching up to wipe the tears from his eyes. “Really?” Slash nodded, but Duff was still crying. He needed to distract him, and he suddenly knew exactly how as soon as he recognized the song playing downstairs. “Hey, Duff, what do you know about Led Zeppelin?” Duff lifted his head, turning his gaze to the door. “Oh, I know this song. Man, I love Led Zeppelin…” Duff started to talk on and on about them, and eventually his tangent led to other bands and Slash joined in when he could, trying to keep the conversation going.
About five or so minutes had passed from them talking, and Duff seemed to have calmed down a considerable amount but he would still occasionally stop what he was saying and stare into space and take a deep breath before continuing. Eventually, Duff sat up and stretched, locking eyes with the clock. “My mom’s gonna kill me but I can’t drive home this late.” Slash wanted to offer him a ride, but he then remembered all of the alcohol consumption that had taken place that night and didn’t bother to bring it up. “Should I just sleep here? Axl won’t care, I used to practically live here.” Duff looked back at Slash, and Slash just shrugged. “Whatever you want.”
Duff threw off his shoes, and climbed into the bed. He slid off the tutu and tights from under the blanket, still wearing boxers, and tore off the gloves and tiara. He watched as Slash stood, walking to the door. “Is there anything you need?” Duff was gripped by panic yet again, imagining being alone again and opened his mouth to ask Slash to stay but instead of an actual request all that came out was a timid, “Stay.” Slash turned, reaching to take off his jacket. “Are you sure?” Duff nodded, watching as Slash stripped to as little clothing as Duff was wearing, and slid into bed next to him.
“This is like the sleepovers we used to have,” Slash said, turning to face Duff. Duff smiled, agreeing and admiring his face. They laid there for another minute or so until Slash drifted off first, leaving Duff awake and alone with his thoughts.
I don’t think he cares, but I do. I don’t want to have ruined our friendship, even if I’m the one who’s acting differently.
Duff watched Slash’s breathing, slow exhales and inhales. He just looked at his face, noticing small details before turning to his back, instantly feeling awkward.
A wave of exhaustion hit Duff, and he turned back to his side, facing Slash again. “That was my first kiss,” he whispered, shutting his eyes and blocking out his view of Slash. “I’m sorry.” The word barely left his lips as exhaustion consumed him and he fell into a blanket of sleep.











