"Do you mind if we stop in here? I'm starving." Duff asked, gesturing in the direction of the diner. They were halfway back to her house and to Marcelline's relief the streets had been mostly empty. Nobody she knew had seen her in her embarrassing state, yet.
"Sure." Marcy shrugged. Duff had offered to walk her home, so she couldn't really protest if he wanted to do something on the way.
The moment they walked through the door, heads were turning. Marcy knew what it looked like. She was wearing his clothes and both of them had clearly just woken up. Everyone probably thought they had slept together. But they hadn't. Marcelline had woken up next to Axl, not Duff.
"D'you want anything?" Duff asked, studying the menu.
"I don't have any money." Marcy stated. An old woman who was sat in one of the booths was staring at them with a look of disapproval. Marcelline felt her cheeks flush.
"I'll pay. What d'you want?" Duff insisted.
Marcy wondered why he was being so kind. He owed her nothing. She looked up at him (which was quite a feat due to their height differences) with a confused look on her face. Men in Los Angeles usually treated her like dirt. "Could I have one of those?" Marcy asked timidly, pointing at the bran muffins on the counter.
Duff ordered the food and they sat down. Marcy looked out the window and sighed. She wondered if Aubrey's morning had been half as bizarre as hers. She was glad Duff was with her. He was comforting and made her feel like everything was going on was a little less weird. Marcy didn't know what she would have done if she hadn't bumped into him earlier.
The odd man - Slash - had crossed her mind many times since her and Duff had left his house. Something about him had attached itself to her thoughts and was refusing to let go. Marcy's heart fluttered as she remembered the way he had moved towards her. How his voice had been so smooth. He had sounded young.
Younger than he acted.
"Marcy? Is that you?" A voice startled her out of her daydream. It was the waitress. She was vaguely recognizable. Aubrey had introduced them once before. Marcy knew her name started with an S.
Sasha? Stacey? Stella? "Selena," Marcy grinned, proud of herself for remembering. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"Yeah, I work here now," Selena laughed, placing the food they'd ordered on the table. She was pretty, with classic dark hair and blue eyes. Marcy knew guys must have swooned at her everywhere she went. "Tell Aubrey I said hi."
Selena swept her eyes over Duff as she began to turn away. The moment she noticed him she froze in her tracks. Selena glanced back over at Marcy, as if she had just become aware of her outfit. Marcelline could see her mind whirring. "Duff!" Selena squeaked. "I'm a huge fan." Then she scuttled off.
That was odd, Marcelline thought to herself. She shook her head and took a bite of her muffin. "How do you know each other?" Marcy asked once she'd finished chewing.
"We don't." Duff laughed. Marcelline decided she liked his laugh.
.
"Marce! Where have you been? I was calling and calling but you never picked up so I came round but you weren't here either. Your neighbor says you haven't been home all night!" Aubrey exclaimed the moment Marcelline came into sight.
Duff had said goodbye outside Marcy's apartment complex. She was glad, Aubrey would have made a big deal out of it if she'd seen him.
"I'm here now," Marcy chuckled. She fumbled with her keys for a moment before opening the door. "How'd your night go?"
"It was insane," Aubrey pushed past Marcelline and made herself at home in her apartment. "You know the guy I went home with? Well it turns out he had a girlfriend and it wasn't the first time he'd cheated. They got in a crazy argument while I was still in the room. We still fucked afterwards though." Aubrey laughed. They sat on the couch and kicked their feet up onto the coffee table.
"Sounds like you had fun." Marcy joked.
"Yup," Aubrey giggled. She was always off on some adventure. "What happened after I left last night?"
"I don't exactly remember," Marcy sighed. She still couldn't get over how weird that morning had been. "I woke up next to some guy and all my clothes were missing. His name was Axl, I think. When I was looking for them I bumped into a guy called Duff and he lent me some of his clothes and walked me home, which was really nice of him. He bought me something for breakfast on the way," She paused for a moment, wondering if she should mention the other man. "When we were still at the house there was this kinda scary drunk guy... he was really good looking. Duff said his name was Slash."
Aubrey's mouth was hanging open in shock. "Did you just say their names were Axl, Duff and Slash?"
"Yeah." Marcy said. Why was it such a big deal?
"Marce!" Aubrey squealed, suddenly jumping up and down where she sat. "You slept with Axl Rose."
Marcelline sent her a blank look. "Who?"
"The lead singer for Guns N' Roses." Aubrey looked like she was about to pass out from excitement.
"You mean the Guns N' Roses?" Marcy asked, eyes wide with surprise. She worked in a music shop, how hadn't she known? "You've got to be kidding."
Aubrey jumped up and grabbed Marcy, dragging her towards the door. "Come on. Let's go to the record store, they've got their faces on the back of their album. You can tell me if it's them."
.
"You don't have work until tomorrow." Marcelline's boss, Henry, said when they entered the store.
"We know," Aubrey said for Marcy. "We think Marce might have rooted Ax-" Marcelline sent her friend a glance and shook her head. Aubrey was horrible at keeping things quiet.
"We've just gotta check something out." Marcy said to Henry before wandering to the back of the store with Aubrey. She expertly searched through the shelves of music until she found what they had come for. Appetite For Destruction. It was the last copy in store.
Aubrey snatched it out of her hands and flipped it over. She held it out to Marcy. She'd been right, There was Duff, Axl, and Slash, staring right back at her. Marcelline didn't recognize the two other men.
"It's them." She nodded.
"Oh my god." Aubrey squealed in excitement.
Marcelline looked a little closer at Axl. She smiled. He was even better looking in person. "I wish I could remember what happened last night." She sighed.
"I bet he was amazing," Aubrey said dreamily. "Did you talk to him when you woke up?"
"He was still asleep." Marcelline shook her head.
"What were Duff and Slash like?" Aubrey asked.
"Duff was nice and Slash was kinda quiet but really intimidating." Marcy shrugged.
Aubrey stared off into space thoughtfully for a while before she quickly put the album away and pulled Marcelline from the shop.
"This calls for a celebration!" She grinned.
"I still have a hangover," Marcy groaned, Aubrey loved to party. "We are not going back to the club tonight."
"Oh yes we are," Aubrey laughed. She snatched the car keys from Marcy and jumped into the drivers seat. "But I've gotta pick up some smack from the corner first."
'The corner' was a dark alleyway where Aubrey bought her drugs. Marcelline wasn't interested in that kind of stuff. Aubrey had been taking heroin as long as they'd known each other but she'd never tried to pressure Marcy into doing it too. Marcelline was glad she hadn't.
.
A dodgy looking guy hustled up the car and Aubrey rolled down the window. "You got my shit?" She asked.
"You got my money?" The guy asked. His hoodie was pulled over his head but Marcy could see his eyes were trained on her. He winked and she sunk further into her seat.
Aubrey pulled out a wad of cash. He swept it out of her hand and left a small bag of white powder in its place. Then he was gone. The whole process had been so quick Aubrey barely had to stop the car.
"He's such a creep." Marcy groaned. She wished Aubrey didn't associate herself with people like that.
"Well, Warren is the best dealer in town, so you'd better not tell him that." Aubrey said seriously.
When they got back to Marcelline's apartment Aubrey rushed around the place, until she found everything she needed. Marcy left the room while she was injecting it. Needles grossed her out.
Not long after, Aubrey came bounding through the door. She clapped her hands together. There was a slightly crazed demeanor to the way her eyes flickered around the room. Marcy was used to this behavior, it happened every time Aubrey got high.
"Right," Aubrey was bouncing on the balls of her feet energetically. "Let's get ready."
Marcy glanced at her watch. It was later than she'd thought, although still earlier than they usually prepared to go clubbing. "I guess I'll call in to work then," She had just remembered it was a Sunday. She was meant to be at the bar in an hour to do her shift. Looked like she wasn't gonna make it.
.
An hour later, they were both caked in makeup and dressed in their tightest clothes. Aubrey was examining herself in the full length mirror. She was flipping her hair and twirling this way and that, pretending to she was in a photoshoot.
Marcelline searched through the wonderful array of cameras and spare lens's on her desk until she found the perfect one - her Sun 600 Polaroid. She cleaned the lens with the bottom of her shirt sleeve and checked there was film loaded.
"Hey Aub, pose for me." Marcy said.
Aubrey spun around to face her and kicked her leg up, blowing a kiss towards the camera. Marcy took the photo and carefully took the film as it emerged, careful not to get any fingerprints on it. She shook it out a little to speed up the developing process before handing the photo to Aubrey.
"We would make the best team. I could be your model and you could be the photographer." Aubrey said wistfully. She stuck the picture to Marcy's pin board and studied it for a moment before loping across the room. Aubrey put her arms around Marcy and hugged her close.
"We're gonna make it some day Marce, I just know it."