Book 1: Sweet Child O' Mine (Guns N' Roses Fanfiction)✔

19: An old friend's departure

November 6, 1991| New York City

       The band stayed over at a popular hotel at New York City. It was three a.m., Axl was already asleep. Crystal got up from the bed, grabbing the red flannel shirt on the floor and slipped it over her tank top. Taking a last glance at Axl's sleeping figure, she walked out of their hotelroom and met the deafening silence at the hallway that was lit by the faint lights on the ceiling. Obviously everyone's asleep in their own room. Unlike Crystal, she feels like she's suffering from insomnia during the past few days, she could only sleep for four or five hours a day. Dark circles slightly formed under her eyes but she looks even more beautiful as time went by. Her bruises has finally disappeared on her flawless skin. Those pair of icy-blue eyes, her fine features, her sexually attractive body and her long copper hair, she could be a goddess. But she feels empty deep inside though she has Axl, a band of caring friends whom she have once doubted and all of the luxuries she wanted. Sometimes she feels like those things and those people gives her a little bit of happiness and pleasure but leaves her tired and weary.

       She leaned against the wall, lighting a cigarette, the only thing she could do whenever she feels bummed out. At least, it's not as worse as doing drugs just to forget about her problems. A soft sound of acoustic guitar erupted through the silence. She dropped the half-used cigarette and crushed it with her foot. Tracing the mind-relaxing sound that was coming from the door across the hallway, she knew that it was Izzy.

At least, I wouldn't be alone…

        She slightly knocked on the door. The sound stopped and Izzy opened the door.

"What's up?" he made a half smile.

She shrugged, "I can't sleep, may I join you?"

"Sure, come in" she felt a bit tensed when he draped an arm around her waist and led her into his room, closing the door silently. The first thing that caught her attention is his almost empty room and the luggage on the floor. That means only one thing— he's leaving.

"What's going on?" she furrowed her eyebrows.

Izzy sighed and held a forced smile, "Didn't the guys told you that I'm going back home?"

"No" she shook her head.

      They stood by the balcony of his room, Crystal observed him as he lean over the railings, watching the running vehicles down the dark roads of New York. He looked totally exhausted and bummed out. He's pitiful…

"You're leaving?" she glared at him with a worried expression.

He let out a heavy sigh, "Yeah"

Her eyes started to water. "Izzy…"

"Oh no, don't cry!" he tried to hug her but she pushed him away. As for Izzy, it was a mistake to touch Axl's girl. But this time, she was crying because of him and he needed to comfort her.

"Hey, look at me Crystal" he placed a finger under her chin and lifted up her face to meet her gaze. She was never this close to him and she have never seen him like this.

"Listen, it's not like I would be gone forever… I would just take a break" he smiled as he wipe away her tears.

"But Izzy you've been with them for years…" her voice trailed off. He laid his hands on her shoulders.

"I know. I love my band more than anything but everything's different now. Those riots during the tour, Axl's chronic lateness, seeing myself like this. I've been living this self-destructive lifestyle for years… I can't take it anymore. I'm really tired" he explained.