I pushed off my new comforter and slowly slid my way out of bed. Jet lag. It was the worst thing ever.
I hung precariously off the edge of my bed, staring at the floor. I really didn't want to get up.
"Ana?" I heard my dad call from the bottom of the stairs. I groaned in pure exhaustion and tucked a piece of my blonde hair behind my ear.
"Yeah Dad!?" I called back.
"Breakfast, sweetheart." he answered.
I groaned once more but slid on my slippers, walking towards the door. My second day here in L.A was about to begin.
I bounced down the stairs lazily, making sure I didn't trip over my own two feet. I rounded the corner to the kitchen when I was startled.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" My dad screamed. I rolled my eyes.
"Thanks dad." I answered, quickly pecking him on the cheek and glancing at the cake he had in his hands.
It was a tradition. For every birthday for as long as I can remember, my dad and I would eat my birthday cake for breakfast. I watched as he cut me a piece.
"So, what are your plans today Anastasia?" he asked.
I thought carefully for a second. "I'm not really sure. Axl said he wanted to take me around town for my birthday, but I haven't heard from him since I've been here." I answered honestly.
Axl was my best friend. We grew up together in Indiana and lived one house down from each other. Our mothers were best friends, and being that they were so close, Axl and I didn't have a choice but to be friends. We went to school together at Jefferson High, and after graduation, I went to college. Axl, on the other hand, wanted to form a band. He always told me he didn't know where or when it would happen, but that when he found a band, they were going to be famous one day. Axl ended up here in L.A, where he did find a band. They've been living here for about two years now. They call themselves Guns N' Roses, and they just landed their first record deal a few months ago.
When my mom died, I had no choice but to move here to L.A with my dad. I had no where else to go and I spent all the money I did have on schooling. When I told Axl I was coming to live with my dad, he was excited. He told me he'd show me around town and we could hang out, just like old times.
My dad stopped chewing when he heard me mention Axl's name. Let's just say his reputation is less then stellar.
"Use that common sense I know you have. Don't let him get you into trouble. Where do you plan on going?" my dad asked, pushing around the excess icing on his plate.
I chuckled, because my dad didn't know me well enough to realize that I made my own decisions.
"I have no clue. He said he was going to show me around L.A. I'll be fine dad, I'm a big girl now." I reassured him.
He sighed.
"It's your birthday, Ana. Just be careful." he repeated.
I put my plate in the sink and planted a kiss on my dad's cheek. "Thanks for the cake Dad. Love you" I said.
I watched the faint grin form on his face as he tried to hide it. My dad was a manly man, and he hated showing any emotion but tough.
"Love you too, Ana" he answered.
I don't know if it was the sugar high from the birthday cake or the fact that I was excited, but I bounded up the steps like a wild child. As soon as I hit the entry to my bedroom, I started to move. All of my stuff was still packed away in boxes, so I had to go searching for all of my things. I eventually found a sexy black dress and a pair of gold flats, since I was too tall to wear heels. I was pulling out some bracelets and gold stud earrings from the box labeled 'jewelry' when my bedroom door flung open violently.
He stood in the doorway, his long red hair shining in the sunlight coming from my window.
"Ana- fucking- stasia." he enunciated, chuckling in between syllables. "How the hell have you been?" he asked.
I ran full speed from the other side of my room, nearly tripping over the boxes and clothes scattered all around.
"Axl!" I squealed in delight and pulled him into a tight hug. He was wearing a black leather jacket, his usual bandana, and a baseball cap on top. His red hair was pin straight. He looked just exactly as he had when I saw him last.
"Happy Birthday, Ana. I left your present in the car." he said, looking me up and down, eyeing my suspiciously.
"What?" I shot him a grin. I didn't know why he was looking at me like that.
"You look good. Have you been feeling better?" he asked. I rolled my eyes.
"Well- Yeah. I guess." I answered him.
"Let's not talk about it. It's my birthday, I want to have some fun." I told him. I finished my eyeliner carefully.
"Yeah, yeah. Cool." he responded, and a silence came over us. I finished lining my lips with a deep red lipstick.
I rubbed my lips together and put the tube of lipstick into the elastic of my nude colored stockings.
"So, what is there to do around this place?" I smiled. Axl chuckled.
"You haven't changed a bit, have you? I'm glad I'm going to be seeing more of you, Asia."
I laughed hard. "And you don't forget anything, do you?" I questioned.
It was a funny story. When we were in middle school, I insisted everyone call me Asia, because Ana wasn't cool enough. Thankfully, I outgrew that stage, but Axl never forgot.
"So what do you say? I'll show you around L.A a little bit, then we can grab dinner, maybe have a few drinks and we can head back to my place. You can meet the band." he grinned, and I could see the enthusiasm in his eyes.
"Sounds good to me." I answered.
I followed Axl down the steps and to the front door. "Dad! I'll be back later tonight!" I called.
"Have fun. And please be careful, Anastasia. Love you" he answered, glancing over his newspaper.
"Love you too dad." I called back on my way out the door.
I jumped in the front seat of Axl's chevy SS. It was black with two white racing stripes.
"Nice car." I said, flashing him a smile.
"Thanks, and Happy Birthday." he said, shoving a giant bottle of cherry flavored vodka into my hands.
I laughed at the note inscribed on the side:
Because I know this is your favorite, and you'll be needing it tonight.
The first bottle's on me. Happy Birthday, Ana!
Axl
"Thanks Ax. You never forget." I twisted the top off the bottle and took a long swig. Axl stared at me with a smile, shaking his head.
"Got to get the night started somehow, Ax. Might as well do it the right way." I chuckled and handed him the bottle. He swallowed a big gulp.
For the next hour or so, Axl drove around, showing me all the sights and places of interest. The Hollywood sign. Sunset Boulevard. Downtown L.A. Universal Studios. The Walk of Fame. The Wax Museum. It was all new and beautiful.
"You'll get used to it." Axl said, watching me take in the scenery.
"I know. It's just nothing like Lafayette." I smiled.
A silence ensued, and I couldn't help but let a single tear roll down my cheek. I missed home.
Axl spoke up. "You know- I think you'll like it here. The people here are free spirits. Sure, some are little odd, but they come and go. Gypsy souls. Kind of like you."
"I just know who I am and what I want. There's nothing wrong with that." I continued to stare out the window until we pulled up outside of a little corner bar.
"We're here." Axl announced as he parked the car on a side street. I pulled my head off the window.
"This is the Whisky. We play here sometimes." he shrugged his shoulders, getting out of the car.
We walked down the sidewalk towards the Whisky. Axl bumped into me, attempting to shove me off the curb. I caught my balance before falling.
"You fucking dick." I laughed.
When we got to the front door, Axl opened it for me. "After you, Ana" he said politely.
We found a table with no problem. Axl ordered a steak and I decided on a cheeseburger. I finished almost the whole thing in one sitting.
"I don't know where you put all that food, Asia, but your still so fucking skinny." Axl shook his head.
My mouth was still full, but I began to speak anyway. "If you want to have a good night of drinking, you gotta eat before hand. Everyone knows that."
"Your a mess, Ana." Axl chuckled.
We finished our meals quickly and listened to the band that was playing. They were pretty good.
"So, do you think you can maintain your heavyweight title?" Axl questioned, and I laughed.
"Axl, we both know that I've always been able to drink more then you. It still stands." I batted my lashes at him and shot a bitchy smile.
He rolled his eyes. "We'll see about that"
As a waiter passed by, I pulled her aside. "six shots of whisky" I told her.
She brought them back shortly, and when Axl saw them, his eyes grew wide.
"Whats a matter Axl?" I asked in my bitchiest tone. "Too much for you to handle?" I shot him a grin.
"It's on now, Fisher. You're going down." he assured me.
It didn't take long at all before both Axl and I were piss drunk. We stayed at the Whisky until they kicked us out at 3 AM. The manager had to call us a cab, because we sure as hell couldn't do it.
"S- stop leaning on me! I'm gonna fall over!" I slurred, shrugging Axl off of me in hysterical laughter.
"Remember that one time, at your family Christmas party, when we stole all of those beers. A-And y-your mom thought it was your Uncle! Remember?!" Axl was busting out laughing, and so was I.
At some point between the laughter, our cab showed up. Somehow, both Axl and I made it in safely. He told the cabbie the address, and we were off. It wasn't too long of a ride to Axl's, in fact, if we weren't so drunk, we could have walked.
"Axl. Get the hell off!" I squealed, but it wasn't in time. Axl's weight in combination with mine made the front door fling right open, and there we were, laying in the entryway in hysterical tears.
"You dickhead! I t-told you! You can't lean on me!" I couldn't contain my laughter, and together we formed just a pile of laughs and happy tears.
After laying on the floor laughing for a good minute or so, I watched a long, curly haired guy wearing a backwards ball cap approach us. He stopped in front of us, and Axl and I tried to stifle our laughter, but to no avail.
"Hey Slash" Axl said, laughing his ass of again.
Just the sight of Axl and I, drunk, in a puddle of tears must have been funny to Slash, because he started to laugh himself.
"You guys scared the shit out of me. I thought you were coming to steal our shit or something." Slash chuckled, moving a few stray curls out of his face.
"Nope. Just us!" Axl busted out in uncontrollable laughter once more.
"I'm Anastay-sha. Nice to meet you Slash." I slurred. "I'm here to party with the band."
"It's nice to meet you too, sweetheart. It looks like you two had a good time, but everyone else is asleep" Slash answered.
"Well fuck. So much for meeting the band." I rolled my eyes and looked at Axl, who was now passed out on the floor.
"Ha! Jackass! He's such a lightweight!" I announced. Of course, I can handle my liquor better then Axl can. It's been that way since we both started drinking at the ripe old age of fourteen.
Slash laughed, but I wouldn't let him get a word in edge wise.
"Well damn. Where am I supposed to sleep?" I asked.
"Axl's room is over there, but it's pretty messy." Slash answered.
"Yeah, he's never been one for cleaning, that's for sure." I responded. "I can just sleep on the couch."
"No, no. You don't have to do that. You can sleep in my bed." Slash's face turned red.
"The couch will be fine, really." I chuckled, but Slash was already helping me off the floor.
I draped my arm around his shoulders and he lead me into a room that I could only assume to be his.
"Slash, really, it's nice of you, b-but I can sleep on the couch." I tried.
"Seriously Anastasia, I'm not even tired. I'm gonna go out and watch some TV anyway. Try to get some sleep."