#gnr fanfiction
The Dare: A Guns N’ Roses Fanfiction
Chapter 38: The Firescape
Story Summary: A stupid harmless dare, that’s all it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be something they would do, and never revisit. For Delilah, little did she know that visiting the strip wasn’t going to be a one time thing when she made the choice to accept the dare. Life is full of choices. Some choices can mean absolutely nothing, while others can change your entire world. Delilah had heard many rumors about the Sunset Strip or Devil’s Strip. Teenagers would whisper stories about how the Devil walks the streets of the strips without a care in the world. It was known as a place untouched by God. After years of hearing rumors about the Devil’s Strip, Delilah wants to see it for herself. Thus a Dare was born.
Chapter Summary: Del tells Duff that she wants to go to Betsy’s engagement party. Axl slips a truth and Beth doesn’t deny who he says that father’s baby is.
Tags:@gingerspicetalks@str4nge-haze@dustnbones@queen-crue
“You’re up early,” Izzy noted as he walked into the kitchen that Del had turned into a war zone. There were half chopped apples and peppers that looked like they were barely even touched laid out on the cutting board. Wrappers from butter and eggshells danced across the floor as she scurried about moving from one corner of the kitchen to another.
Izzy was never one to admit he understood women or people in general, but the scene that was unfolding in front of him sent concern through his bones. Something was wrong, and there was no doubt that Duff was the reason for the poor girl’s hectic state.
“I’m always up early,” Del shrugged trying to focus on baking. It was the only thing keeping her sane at the moment. Memories of the threat and what if’s had been haunting her late last night and into the early morning. She had been up since before the sun began to rise, and to be honest she could not recall if she ever actually found sleep.
Upon closer thought, Izzy simply nodded his head assuming that this had something to die with Mark and Matt from the night prior. He bit his tongue as he noticed that there was barely any coffee left in the coffee pot. If the little brunette who currently ran around the kitchen bouncing between tasks had drank most of the coffee, he wondered how her heart hadn’t exploded yet from all of the caffeine.
After once again deciding that this was entirely Duff’s fault, he took the remaining coffee from the pot and poured it in the first cup he found.
“I’ll refill the coffee in a few. You’re banned from coffee for the rest of the day,” he pointed at Del when he spoke.
“Who am I Steven?” She shot back, her snappy tone catching Izzy off guard.
“Look around the kitchen Delilah, tell me that this isn’t something Steven would do,” This time it was Del who bit her tongue. She felt like a child in detention. She wanted to protest or tell Izzy to fuck off, but she knew better than to push Izzy at this hour. She cradled her last cup of coffee before taking another sip, returning back to her cooking chaos only moments after the bitter coffee touched her sweet lips.
Izzy huffed down the hall, cup of coffee in hand as he stormed into Duff’s room.
“What the fuck!” Were the only words that escaped Duff’s lips after Izzy had dumped the remaining coffee on his bandmate. Izzy didn’t give a damn if Duff woke up the entire apartment or even the entire building. His idiot bassist needed to deal with whatever the hell Del was going through.
“I don’t know Duff. You tell me. Your girlfriend is an absolute mess in the kitchen, so instead of sleeping away why don’t you go see what is wrong with her,” Izzy barked back.
Duff took in his surrounding for a quick second only to realize that Del was in fact nowhere to be found. Fuck, he thought to himself. Had she run off?
“Did she run off?” Izzy wished he had another cup of coffee to pour on the bassist at his stupid question.
“No, dumbass she is in the kitchen. Like I just said. This is you first girlfriend that I find tolerable, so why don’t you go fix that situation,” Izzy pointed towards the door before he stormed out of it.
“Can you just…shut the fuck up,” Duff rolled his eyes at Slash’s silent protest in the bed on the opposite wall as his.
“Is that coffee I smell?” Slash asked, only moments later.
“Yeah, Izzy fucking woke me up by pouring coffee on me. That bastard..,” Duff huffed again as he pulled himself out of bed.
“Don’t laugh Slash, it’s not funny,” Duff starred his bandmate down who had immediately erupted into a fit of laughter.
“It’s pretty funny dude,” Was all Slash could say between laughing fits, and before Duff slammed the door.
The beautiful smell of Dell’s cooking engulfed Duff’s nostrils when he entered the kitchen. Instead of a sweet Del dancing around while cooking, he was met with a Del who was clearly on the verge of setting the entire kitchen on fire.
Duff froze, lost for words before he could take in the entire scene. Dell’s hair resembled a mad scientist, and her apron was covered in…everything. He didn’t dare try to guess what she had tried to make.
“How can I help?” Del froze in place when Duff spoke.
“Can you tell Izzy to fuck off? Apparently I’m banned from coffee now! I would tell him myself, but I’m afraid laser beams will shoot out of his eyes when he stares me down,” Del admitted, her voice more defeated that she was hoping than she hoped.
Duff, eyeing her now empty cup of coffee, offered her a small chuckle at her silly words before he stepped forward into Del’s storm.
“How about I make some coffee, and then help you chop up those peppers?” Del smiled at Duff before returning to mix her stew or soup. She wasn’t quite sure what she had created.
Just keep wearing your mask around him Del, she told herself as she attempted to force another smile on her face. She knew it wasn’t the time to confront him about Mark and Matt’s threat.
No, she stopped herself in place, immediately lecturing herself on how poorly that would go. She couldn’t tell him about the threat. It would ruin them, of that she was sure. Instead, she decided, she was going to ask him to come to the engagement party.
Duff, making sure to give Del her distance, made some decaf coffee. As much as he didn’t like to admit it, Izzy was right. She needed to be cut off from caffeine. Her bags under her eyes looked as if they were poorly painted on with eyeshadow.
“You don’t need to watch me Del, you’re not the only chef here,” Duff tried using a teasing tone, but he still didn’t earn a laugh from Del.
“So I woke to Izzy dumping coffee on my shirt this morning,” Duff raised a brow when he heard Del hiding a giggle.
“It’s not funny,” Duff replied. This time a small smile was on his face, unlike when he had this discussion with Slash only a few minutes earlier.
“It’s pretty funny,” the moment Del snorted, Duff pulled her into a hug causing Del’s giggles to fill the apartment.
“Not as funny as your face right now,” in a flash, Duff had grabbed some of the yogurt and covered her face with it.
Del immediately grabbed some of the yogurt off of her face and splashed it over Duff’s.
“Nah, you’re still more funny looking,” Del teased before Duff pulled her in for a kiss.
“Do you want to talk about it?” He mumbled as she rested her head on his shoulder.
“Later.”
“Later?” Duff cocked a brow at her, quickly receiving a nod.
“We have a breakfast we gotta cook and coffee you have to pour on Izzy,” He smiled before she went back to stirring her…whatever she had cooking in her pot.
“So, Chef Delly, where would you like the peppers?” Del pointed towards the large pot that seemed to be cooking over the stove.
Time flew by as the two cooked in silence. Chopping and preparing different foods in harmony while enjoying the silence that had grown between them.
Despite Duff finding his peace again, Del still remained on edge and couldn’t keep Mike and Matt’s threat from the party last night racing through her head.
She would never cheat on Duff. She loved him, that she knew for sure, but she couldn’t pinpoint why. It’s was just a million little things that added up to one big thing from his smile to his stupid jokes to the songs he played for her. He didn’t steal his heart. She 100% willingly gave it to him.
Duff continued to focus on cleaning up the mess that was a resultant from Hurricane Del, but he could feel her eyes hang on him. There was something on her mind, and he knew there was no way his silly jokes or cooking could fix it. They needed to talk, and the worst part was that part of him didn’t want to talk about it. He wanted to file Mark and Matt away in a filing cabinet and throw it into the ocean, far far away from Del.
“The fire escape,” Del mumbled, filling Duff with dread as they headed over towards the only place he knew that they could have some privacy.
“Okay, what’s up? What happened last night,” Del shook her head as Duff sat down on the fire escape. His long legs hanging off the end.
“I would like to go to Beth’s wedding party. It’s just a little celebration about her engagement,” The words couldn’t come out of her mouth faster as she spoke.
Duff paused and looked at Del. She was lying, of that he was certain. He knew she didn’t want to go to the damn party. He knew she didn’t want anything to do with her old life.
Maybe if I keep her from it, maybe that would help, he thought to himself.
“No,” Duff replied his focus not leaving the ally that the fire escape faced.
“No?” Del was shocked at his response. He wrote songs and he couldn’t bring himself to using more than one word.
Duff stood up, not saying a word. Del felt smaller than an ant as she stared up at him, “No, I said no. I don’t want you around Mike or Matt.”
“Beth was my friend!” Del shot back, her skin felt like it was boiling.
Was.
Was.
Was.
Del froze as the sentence escaped her lips. She was her friend. Best is not her friend.
“Really? When was the last time you talked to her?” Del remained silent, not wanted to deal withDiff’s words. She wished he went back to the single word answers.
“You call her a friend, but she left you ALONE at the bar Delilah!” Duff shouted back at her.
“So what Micheal! She was scared and maybe I was in the wrong!” Del shouted right back.
“I don’t want you anywhere near Matt or Mike or Beth or whatever the hell their names are! You’re not going there!” He shouted back matching my tone.
Del clutched onto the cold railing that was the only thing keeping her from falling off the firescape. It felt more like sandpaper than any railing she had held before. It gritted under her palms, screaming at her to let go. She wasn’t sure if that was her overactive imagination or the crippling state of this apartment.
Run.
Get away from him before it escalates,
“I thought you would be okay if I was there with you. You could protect me,” she felt childish as all of her nerve had disappeared. Del could feel herself shaking as she continued to use the railing as her support to steady herself. It was the only reason she hadn’t fallen over.
Duff was about to speak when he froze as he looked down at Del, she was cowering. She looked like prey right before the laughter. Her body was leaned up against the cold railing and he could tell that she was visibly shaking.
He reached out a hand hoping to gently stroke her cheek hoping to calm her, but he soon realized how bad the idea was. The moment she flinched, he knew how poor of a choice it was. She had to have known that he would never hurt her.
As if Del was a dying fire, and Duff’s touch was gasoline, she felt her flame return, courage flowing through her veins. She shoved his hand aside and pushed him out of her way. She felt on fire as she stormed through the apartment, ignoring Duff’s pleading in hopes that she would slow down and listen to his logic. She didn’t listen.
Del could feel that every soul in the apartment was watching the scene unfold.
“Shut the fuck up Duff and leave me alone,” Del shouted at the top of her lungs. Her throat was hot and it felt like it was on fire.
“Del, where are you going?” Duff shouted, only furthering the fire she had become.
“Home,” Del shouted, only realizing how pathetic she sounded before slamming the door behind her.
When the door closed behind her, the tears quickly streamed down her face. She felt guilt as she stormed down the stairs. Guilt for acting like a fool. Guilt for yelling at Duff.
Home? She almost scoffed at the idea as the tears came streaming down her face. She had no home.
“Don’t,” Mag’s voice was sharp as Duff went to run after Delilah.
“What do you mean don’t?” Duff shouted.
“You are only going to make it worse.” She countered.
“Did you tell her that it’s your baby or is this only about the engagement party at her old church ?” Axl’s voice cut through the silence.
“What?” Duff turned towards Mags who froze in time. Her face went flush, looking more like a ghost than a living being.
“Mags, what is he talking about?” Duff shouted.
Mags could feel the tears streaming on her cheeks as she ran out to the apartment.
Steven didn’t hesitate as his punch collided with Duff’s face.
While his face burned like hell from Steven’s punch, he couldn’t focus on it. His brain was too occupied with the fact that Mags didn’t deny that he was the father.
He was going to be a father.
And Delly, Delly was gone
The Token: A Guns N’ Roses Fanfiction
Chapter 14: Royaly Screwed
Story Summary: Story inspired by the movie She’s the Man. A female Duff is tired of dealing with the bullshit of trying to make it on the strip as a female bassist. Did Michelle think it through as she chopped her hair? Nope. All she knew was that she wanted to make it on the strip. If she had to mascarade as a guy, so it shall be.
Chapter Summary: Michelle’s (Duff’s) dinner with her roommates and Walter’s dad doesn’t go as smoothly as she hopes when she find out why Walter’s father is back in town
Taglist:@littlemisscare-all@smokeandmirrorz@aratbaby@slashscowboyboots@queen-crue@achiweyow@bitter-13-suite@white-lightning-625
AN: Sorry for the delay with all of my fics, this is defiantly a couple months overdue ❤️
I took a couple minutes to calm my breathing as I stared into the bathroom mirror. I barely recognized the figure before me. It was Michelle’s reflection that stared back at me. The brown haired wig concealed Duff’s blonde hair, and the dress was more pop than hard rock. Duff was hidden away behind the mask of Michelle, it was no longer the other way around.
Betsy’s threat of exposing me as Duff still felt heavy on my head. Everything, she could destroy everything. All it took was a couple words and I would be done, finished. No band would ever want me as their bassist, just due to my reputation.
I got this.
Everything is going to be okay.
Betsy is all bark and no bite.
You will be okay.
I continued mumbling these phrases over and over again until I calmed my breath down. I still had one card I had yet to show, Henry. Henry who worked with Walter’s father. Henry who worked in the music industry.
I glanced at myself one last time in the mirror before heading back to the table with my new plan in place.
Halion were the Kings of the strip, but Walter’s father worked for the record company that ran it. He was my greatest weapon and I needed him on my side.
I felt Nyx’s eyes on me when I returned to my table. I simply ignored him, and took another sip of the wine Walter’s father had ordered. Let him and whoever was watching watch. As any good performer would, I was going to give them a show. As if Betsy’s threat had turned on some switch, I began to play her wicked game.
“So tell me Michelle, how is the coffee shop these days?” I almost choked on my wine at Walter’s father’s question.
“My cousin came back, and my uncle gave her my job. She was going to school for business, and she recently graduated which means she gets my position,” the lie rolled off my tongue.
I offered Henry a smile as he placed his arm around me to comfort me.
Walter simply sent me a glare as I took another sip of my wine. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was actually fired because I got into a bloody fight at work or that I was leaning into Henry’s touch. I felt a little guilt for playing with his friend’s emotions, but that quickly evaporated. I was doing this for Guns N’ Roses, and if I broke some hearts on the way, let it be. Mine had already been ripped to shreds.
“That’s a shame, have you thought about suing?” I couldn’t hide the shock that crossed my face at Walter’s father’s words. Of course he would think of suing! He probably dealt with lawyers every day.
“Well I should add that I was the worst baker. I burned half of the cherry danishes I cooked. My uncle had moved me to coffee and customer only duty a few months back, so I figured it was only a matter of time…before I was let go,” I shrugged again, indulging in my half lie.
“Those cherry danishes, even the ones you overcooked were still pretty good. I remember visiting you one time at work, but you couldn’t talk because you were too busy dealing with an almost riot!” Macy added causing the table to erupt in giggles. I sent her a thankful glance for taking the attention off of me, even if it was only for a couple of seconds.
“Oh a riot of 70 year old retirees and rich middle aged entitled soccer moms? Now that’s a sight I would love to see,” Henry leaned in closer as he spoke and I couldn’t help in indulging with everyone else’s laughter that erupted at our table.
“Hey you laugh, but those old ladies have canes and they hurt!” I joked back.
“Do you need anything? Any refills?” I looked up at the waiter who was eyeing my wineglass and turned towards Walter’s father.
“You don’t need to ask Michelle,” Walter’s father sent me a warm smile as I asked.
“Yes please then,” I sounded like a giggly school girl only earning a small chuckle from Henry.
“Just don’t start dancing on tables,” I blushed at Henry’s whispered words as the memory of me dancing on the dining room table drunk on vodka flashed through my head. That was what? Two years ago?
“Come on, from what I recall you enjoyed the show,” I teased back.
“I did, but if I remember you had your eyes on someone else at the time,” my heart sunk as he hinted at my ex-boyfriend, Nyx. The same Nyx that was currently staring me down from another table.
“Well, tell me, who do I have my eyes on now?”
He sent a cocky smirk my way before taking off his suit coat. “Here, you seemed a bit cold.”
I sent him a confused glance before taking another sip of my wine. I was not cold at all? Had my completion given me away.
“Nyx had been undressing you despite having some whore on his lap, please put the coat on.” His words were more of a command this time.
I wanted to splash my wine in Henry’s face for what he was saying. Duff would have done that for calling Betsy a whore even though she threatened to expose me. Betsy and I were children of sunset strip and he had no right to insult her. Even if she was acting like a whore.
Actually, no, Duff would have done worse. Duff would have punched him in the face. But I wasn’t Duff right now, I was Michelle. Michelle wasn’t aggressive…anymore.
“Are you two okay?” I looked over at Macy as she spoke, without a doubt she recognized my uncomfortableness.
“Yes, Shelly is just being stubborn. She is cold and doesn’t want to take my jacket I’m offering her because she doesn’t want me to get cold,” he replied to Macy who clearly didn’t buy his story at all. It was rather unsettling how easy the lie rolled off of his tongue.
“Fine,” I let out a fake giggle before taking his jacket and putting it on. I didn’t miss the look Henry gave Macy when he looked over towards Nyx earning an understanding nod from Betsy.
“Ok, that smells amazing! Please tell me that that’s our food!” I asked as the air filled with the smell of roasted vegetables.
“Well I did order you fajitas for us to share, so that might be it,” Henry smiled back earning a soft smile from me. This smile was actually genuine, fajitas were always my favorite.
To my relief, Henry was right. The waiters began to place our dishes in front of us and I quickly thanked him before digging in. I couldn’t remember the last time I ate this good.
I remained focused on my dinner, only offering small talk every couple of minutes before our conversation was interrupted by a small squeal.
My face went hot when I looked over to see Nyx had ‘accidently’ ripped some of Besty’s blouse, momentarily exposing one of her breasts. I felt a tug on my heart as I watched her playfully slap Nyx. Was this my fault? Was Betsy acting like this because Nyx promised Pyxie a slot to perform on their up and coming tour?
I remained focused on my dinner as Walter’s father mumbled some choice words under his breath. Guilt flooded my bones before I could stop it. She was acting like a whore because I left her no other options. She was doing what she had to do to make it on Sunset Strip.
“Are you okay?” I looked up to see Walter’s father staring me down as he spoke.
“Yeah, just uhh…”
“Do you know her?” I nodded at Walter’s father’s words.
“I used to be in a band with her, Pyxie,” I added hoping he would look too much into my saddened tone.
“Used to be?”
“I left. The rock scene wasn’t my thing. The music was good, but the people weren’t tolerable,” I paused talking before I looked over at Beth and Nyx, “Exhibit A.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
As Walter’s father continued to talk, I became lost in my thoughts. Was I ever that wild? No, I reassured myself. Despite the rumors, I always had some
minor control over my situation when I was drunk. I guess that is part of the reason Nyx and I broke up.
“Yeah and I could show Shelly around!” My head snapped back into the conversation at the sound of my name. The nickname only Izzy was supposed to use.
“Show me around?” I asked, intrigued to see what they were talking about.
“Yeah, the music studio! Sadly I won’t be able to show you around first thing tomorrow morning because the three of us will be talking to the local bars to see about any rising stars to replace Halion. Would the afternoon work? Say 4ish?” I nodded feeling a pit grow in my stomach.
Turns out I had similar plans as Walter, Henry, and Walter’s father. Axl and I were also going to talk to local bars to get gigs. Maybe I could reschedule? I immediately shot down that idea. Axl wasn’t one to be tolerable when it came to changing plans on him, and he would most likely accuse me of not being devoted to the band. Slash and Izzy would understand, but Axl didn’t know.
Unless I told Axl that I was secretly Duff who is a girl and not a guy. Yeah, Axl totally wouldn’t overreact to that. I almost laughed at the idea of telling Axl that I was masquerading as Duff. Saying he would freak out was an understatement.
“What were those three bands you mentioned earlier?” Henry asked, his attention focused on Walter’s father,
“Truer Blindness, Falcon and Guns N’ Roses,” I almost choked on a pepper when he mentioned Guns N’ Roses.
I locked eyes with Macy, and I did my best to hide my panic.
“All those are rock bands, I thought you would be getting away from the rock scene after the mini hell Halion caused,” Walter asked. I tried to follow the bitterness in his tone. I hid the shock once I realized he was jealous that Henry knew about the bands his own father was looking into before his own son knew.
“I want to get out of the scene, but the payoff is always too good. A new band would have enough motivation to get an album done while costing the company minimal money. Once they get too big, then we would dump them. Usually rockstars start getting big heads after their first album. Which means I dump them after the second album,” Walter’s father clarified.
“Are there any standouts?” I shot Macy a glance as she spoke.
“True Blindness has been on the strip for a while, so they would have the potential to bring in a steady income. I am a bit concerned that no other label had picked them up. Falcon is a newer band that we have heard murmurs about. One of our competitor record companies is interested in them, so naturally I am as well. The big one I’m interested in seeing is Guns N’Roses. Apparently they are a bit wild, but they are new and draw in a big crowd whenever they perform. Guns N’ Roses is a definitely a wild card.” I remained frozen at Walter’s father’s words.
“Guns N’ Roses? That’s Duff’s band, right?” I nodded at Henry’s words.
“You know them?” Walter’ father’s words sent electricity through my veins.
“Yeah, I have made coffee for them,” I replied before returning back to my food.
I wasn’t just fucked, I was full on screwed.
NEW CHAPTER — 49. GIVE IT A NAME.
“I’ll be down in a minute,” she repeated, firmer.
“What’s wrong?”
“Tell Jill and Izzy to go home. Tell them I’m sorry, but that I—just tell them, would you?”
“What?”
The desk chair squeaked, she huffed, and the lock clicked. The door opened only slightly, but it was enough to catch her eyes. Wide, vulnerable, and tear-stained.
“What happened?”
“I’ll tell you after they leave,” she whispered. “Tell them I’m sorry, that I didn’t mean to fuck up the night, but—” Valerie twisted back toward the desk and shrugged—at a loss. “Please, Axl, I’m in no shape to do it myself.”
He nodded slowly. “Alright, just—shit, is it bad news? Does she need something?”
“She’s fine,” Valerie said. “It’s…” The tears returned, her darkened lashes clumping. The shake of her head was swift. “I can’t explain ‘til they’re gone. It’s humiliating.”
“It’s not.”
“It is,” she whispered. “Please believe me.”
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