Buttered Popcorn

Chapter 7: December 31, 1986

So I decided I could out-drink Duff.

Everyone warned me this would be a bad idea, but it was New Years. Who cares?

I watched Duff pour the shots from the living room's couch, realizing it was only 6 P.M. As the glasses filled with alcohol, Slash came up behind me and whispered into my ear, "You're gonna regret this, killer. Duff hasn't lost to out-drinking someone since.. last week. But it was to me, so it doesn't really count, 'cause no one can beat me."

"Lay off, Curly. I'm totally going to smash him." I smirked smugly, making eye contact with Duff from across the room as I did so. "It might be the other way around, depending on how much you guys drink." he chuckled. Just before I could turn around and smack him, he disappeared, giggling like a school boy.

"You ready, big shot?" Duff waltzed over to me, slinging an arm around my shoulder and starting to pull me toward the kitchen countertop where the shot glasses sat.

"I think you'd better be worried, 'Mr. King of Beers'. You might not make it out alive." I mocked the ridiculous nickname that I had heard one of the boys call him. "Isn't it kind of ironic? You only drink vodka, yet your 'title' is the 'King of Beers'."

"I go both ways." he shrugged, letting go of his grasp around me once we reached the shots. "I'm sure you do." I scoffed, smiling. "Alright, so this is how it's gonna go: Each of us take a shot at the same time, if you make a face, throw up, or tap out, you lose."

"What do I get when I win?" I asked, eyeing the drinks suspiciously. "Drunk." he responded simply. This was going to end so badly.

"Hell yeah, let's do it!"

Duff smiled at my words, his eyes twinkling in the light with mischief. He knew this was going to be a mistake. I was stubborn and he was a heavy drinker, so there was no way this would turn out well.

He picked up a glass and clinked it against my own before we both shot it back and swallowed. I was trying to keep a straight face, but I genuinely wanted to vomit. The bitter taste alone made me want to throw up, what's gonna happen when I actually get wasted?

"Not too shabby. Number two, sweetheart." he said, repeating the action of before and tapping the shots together. Soon enough, we were six deep and stumbling around. I was obviously more influenced by it than Duff, but he was still quite tipsy after taking a few more than me to 'get on the same level as the lightweight'. I, on the other hand, happened to be out of luck with any chance of sobriety tonight.

Duff was the one that proposed we take a break from the shots, seeing the state I was in. After some relentless teasing and bragging about the fact that I was on the verge of spewing chunks everywhere and that he won, we made our way to the living room where everyone was.

It wasn't only us that weren't sober. Izzy and Slash were nodding off, their heads hanging low. Steven and Les were doing lines off of the coffee table. Axl was surprisingly the most sober, though not all the way. He was high on weed, holding a blunt and taking the occasional puff from it.

"Who won?" Slash mumbled. "I f-fucking did," I slurred, chuckling after Duff began snorting with amusement, "What's so funny?" He looked down to me, holding back his laughs, "I dunno, you tell me. You're the one laughing."

"Shit, you're right." I mumbled, realizing he wasn't wrong. I hated being drunk. I was aware of things, but my body had other plans of whatever my mind wanted. I knew I slurred and stumbled and as much as I wanted to stop making a damn fool of myself, I couldn't help it.

Up until an hour before midnight, that's how we stayed. Everyone off in their own world, occasionally throwing out a joke or comment. Everyone seemed to sober up just a little, at least those on drugs. Duff and I were still quite giggly and drunk, as much as I hated to admit it.

"Who's gonna be my New Year's kiss?" Axl pondered aloud, clearly trying to get a rise out of Les, to which she squealed, "Honeybear!"

"I'm only joking, doll. Unless..?" The redhead glanced over to me as the room fell silent and I broke my gaze from Duff, connecting my eyes with Axl's. "Honeybear!" Les whined again, louder and more obnoxious this time.

"Hey, maybe that's not such a bad idea," Izzy shrugged, agreeing with the singer's proposal, "We can play spin the bottle or some shit."

"That's probably one of your best ideas yet, Iz. Who's up for spin the bottle?" Axl announced, scanning the room as all of the boys' hands shot up. Les and I made eye contact before looking at the raised hands of the band. "Well, looks like you guys are freakier than I thought. Never thought you guys would go for each other." I snorted.

"Well, obviously you guys have to join. I'm not playing spin the bottle with these boneheads." Duff said, wrapping his lengthy arms around me and leaning his head on mine as we sat next to each other on the couch.

"Yes! Y-Yeah, I agree." Steve jumped in, flushing a pink when he became aware of how desperate he sounded. Les and I exchanged glances once again before I spoke, "Fuck it. I'm in."

If I were in a more sober state, I probably would've thought a little harder about it. But as we previously determined, I was no where near that. Les soon agreed with me, putting aside her insane feelings toward Axl for a second to be passed around the band like a bong.

Slash then smiled widely, "Then it's decided. We're playing spin the bottle!"