1990
Axl greeted them at the door once they arrived to the large house. Jackie had never even seen the house before, and she wasn't sure if she should be surprised that Axl owned it. It had Axl written all over it with the luxurious leather furniture and expensive statues lined by the walls, that were of course covered in expensive paintings.
Axl led them around a corner, and immediately Jackie felt bile rise up in her throat at the sight of Calliope straddling Izzy on the couch, feeding him grapes. Since Izzy had his head back against the cushions with his eyes closed, fortunately he hadn't seen her.
"Uh... we can go in the kitchen." Axl scratched his head before speeding further into the house.
"Jackie!" A honey voice called her name, and she turned to see Erin stirring a spoon into a bowl. Jackie sighed, relieved to see a friendly face. "Hi, Erin." she pulled her into a hug.
"Sorry, I got chocolate on my hands." Erin giggled, pulling her hands away. "Ooh, what're you making?" Jackie raised her eyebrows, looking into the mixing bowl.
"Brownies!" Vicki whirled around, smiling brightly at Jackie. "Nice." Jackie nodded with a soft smile. She didn't even notice Vicki standing there.
God, I hope she doesn't know... Jackie thought, mentally facepalming herself.
"Linda, did you get the fuckin' powdered sugar?" Vicki's tone immediately switched as her voice echoed in the kitchen.
"Yeah! Sorry!" Linda came rushing into the kitchen with a large bag of powdered sugar. "I couldn't reach the top shelf." she confessed.
"You coulda asked me." Duff came around, sliding his arms around Linda's waist and leaving a kiss on her cheek.
"Hey Duff." Jackie smiled brightly. It felt good to see him do something as casual as entering the room. Something she'd sorely missed throughout her travels.
"What's up, Jack?" Duff lifted his chin as a greeting. Jackie shrugged, pursing her lips together. Duff nodded, bawling his eyes over to the open sliding glass door.
She followed him out into the warm backyard, where there was a large pool, and lots of grass. Slash, Axl, and Matt were standing on the patio, laughing at some kids who were trying to peek over the fence.
She and Duff stayed off to the side, away from the others. "What's up, sweetheart? How are you doing?"
She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I don't even know." she shrugged, chuckling dryly.
"I mean, really. I don't. I'm confused... about my feelings, about what the fuck is even going on with Izzy and that fucking..." she trailed off before she could say something she'd regret.
"Um..." Duff swallowed thickly, leaning against the pillar to his side. "So... Calliope..."
Jackie darted her eyes over to meet Duff's at the mention of her name. "She... well, she was kind of a groupie that Izzy would call up any time he.. missed you... I guess." he shrugged, looking down at the ground shamefully.
Jackie groaned. "I don't wanna hear any of that I miss you shit. It's just gonna make me feel bad and forgive him like that." she snapped her fingers.
Duff chuckled lightly. "Well, that's what I know, so..." he trailed off, shrugging again. He wished he could do more. Jackie was like a little sister to him, and what affected her, affected him.
"Thanks, Duff." she placed her hand on his arm. She knew he was only trying to help, but she'd rather just ignore it, and act like it never happened.
She turned to go inside again when she heard a giggle and saw Calliope and Izzy stumbling out the door, his eyes locked on her. He didn't even realize she was there. He pulled his sunglasses down to see her more clearly, just to be sure she wasn't another effect of the needle he stuck in his arm that morning.
She wasn't. She was standing right there, staring right back at him. Duff widened his eyes when he turned, placing a hand on the small of her back and practically escorting her through the door, making sure to shoulder check Izzy on his way in.
"You wanna help us with the brownies?" Linda asked when they entered the kitchen again. Jackie looked over at Duff, and he nodded, signaling for her to go.
So, she began preparing the frosting, chatting with the girls while the guys smoked outside.
"Okay, I don't mean to be that bitch, and gossip or anything, but Calliope is so fucking aggravating. She hasn't even said a word to us since she got here, just side-eyeing us and staying glued to Izzy's side." Vicki whispered sharply.
"Oh my god, I know! I can't even ask him a question without her pulling him away." Linda nodded her head in agreement.
Jackie stayed quiet while the three girls spoke of their hatred toward Calliope, until Erin brought her into the conversation. "And stupid fuckin' Izzy messing with Jackie... I wanted to slap him across the face over dinner." she scoffed, shaking her head in annoyance.
"Wait, what? Are you and Izzy together, or something?" Linda asked, averting her eyes over to Jackie.
"Uh... sort of... we were almost together, but..." she trailed off, gesturing to the two in the living room. "I kinda thought you and Slash had something going on." Vicki wiggled her eyebrows.
Jackie was unable to hold back her nervous laughter, quickly looking away as her cheeks started burning. "I don't know..."
Linda cut her off. "Oh! Or that Mason kid." she smirked. Jackie's eyes widened. "Oh, no. No, he's like a brother to me."
"Speaking of, where is Mason?" She looked around the room.
"I think he found some girl last night... told her he was in the band." Erin held back her laughter. "Oh my god..." Jackie rubbed her temples.
Just then, the door flew open, and Mason walked in with a woman glued to his side. He stopped abruptly at the sight of the three girls in the kitchen staring back at him with wide eyes.
"Oh, sorry babe. I'll see you later." He pulled his shades down, winking at her. The woman smiled at him, sauntering out of the front door again.
It was dead silent as he walked into the kitchen, taking a seat on one of the stools in front of the island.
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Vicki muttered.
"Nice of you to drop in." Jackie chuckled, stirring the chocolatey mix she made. Mason scoffed. "Yeah, it was nice of you to ditch me last night."
"Sorry, man. We had better things to do." Slash entered the kitchen again with a grin on his face, sliding his arms around her waist from behind.
"Shut up." Jackie muttered, letting her hair fall in front of her face to hide her flushed cheeks. Slash laughed quietly, moving away from her.
Mason's hard gaze lingered on Slash for a moment, before looking at Jackie again. "Um.. but seriously.. nothing happened last night? Nothing bad?"
"No." She shook her head. "We just got my stuff from the house and went to a hotel."
Mason stood up, wiggling his eyebrows. "Hotel with Hudson, huh? You two getting serious..?"
Jackie laughed quietly as she remembered, he didn't even know they dated before. "I don't know. It's all really confusing right now."
"Yeah, Mason. Help us, or go away." Vicki chimed in.
Mason cocked his head back at Vicki's tone, backing away. "She wants me." he whispered to Jackie before joining the men outside.
Jackie threw her head back in laughter, catching the attention of the other girls who just gave her a strange look. "Okay, preheat the oven." Vicki said after pouring the mix into a dish.
Jackie wasn't even sure what they were having to eat, but when she went in the backyard again, Axl was flipping patties on the grill.
"Axl Rose in front a grill? Something I never thought I'd see." Jackie peeked over his shoulder. "Fuck off, Turner." Axl laughed. "I can be a family man if I want to."
"Come here." He placed the spatula down and pulled her into a hug, as he hadn't done it when she arrived earlier.
Affection wasn't something that came often from Axl, so she was caught off guard a little, but quickly looped her arms around his shoulders. Axl was also very aware of the Izzy situation, since Erin had vented about it the night before, going on about how stupid his bandmate was. Though Izzy was Axl's best friend, he didn't even defend him- he agreed with Erin. When the guys first met Jackie, she'd just been out of a abusive relationship. A victim knew a victim when they saw it, and Axl saw it.
Most of the time he'd mind his own business if he heard Jackie and Slash arguing, but he'd always keep his guard up just in case it got too quiet. He doubted Slash would ever do such a thing- and he didn't, but he was still wary.
Axl was already pissed at Izzy for disappearing for almost a month, when they were supposed to be recording, so finding out about Calliope only pissed him off more. All the guys had warned Izzy about her, telling him to break it off before he went looking for Jackie, but of course, he didn't.
And now he was facing the consequences.
apologies for not updating in a month
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