Buttered Popcorn

Chapter 7.5: December 31, 1986/January 1, 1987

"We know that all too well. I'm sure she's not worse than Axl, though." Izzy shrugged, lighting a cigarette and inhaling.

I had just laid out the fact that Les threw tantrums over small stuff and how she had for years, finished with whole argument that had taken place outside.

"Dude, you'd be surprised how short her fucking fuse it." I sighed. Axl had ended the fight with a slammed door and returned to his room. We all collectively decided that we should just leave him alone, that is until Les returned and they started having angry make up sex. It was weird to listen to, so we all went down to the emptied apartment parking lot.

"So.. no more spin the bottle?" Duff questioned, waiting for me to answer. "I dunno, man. That tantrum sobered me up pretty quick. Plus, there's only one of you that I would actually go all the way with."

That was a lie.

I would probably get in bed with pretty much all of them if I had a few shots, but I couldn't tell them that. I just wanted to see them try and figure out who it was.

"Really? Who?" Steven perked up, looking at me with wide and curious eyes. "That's for you guys to figure out." I shrugged, hiding a smirk. "What?! You can't do that to us, Jimmie! That's like.. harassment.. I think." Slash whined.

"It's definitely not harassment, but I give like- a C plus for effort." I couldn't hold back my smile. Slash really could be a complete idiot sometimes. "But really, who is it?" Izzy chimed from under his paperboy cap. "Well it's definitely not Slash." He let out an overdramatized and offended gasp. "And, it's for sure not Axl."

Duff looked over to Steven and pointed to himself, signaling that I wanted to bang him. Obviously I couldn't let this slide, "And Duff? God, no. I couldn't even imagine!" I said, mocking disgust. "So that leaves Izzy and I." Steven said quietly, glancing over to the other remaining member.

"Well, it's not Izzy," the guitarist chuckled and shook his head, "And it's not you, Steve." "Huh?! I know I'm dumb, but I'm definitely not the only one that's lost here, right? You crossed out all of the band!" Slash said, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Exactly. If you guys thought you'd get off that easy, you're dead wrong. Maybe put in a little effort and you can put in something else." I smirked over at the now-shocked Slash. "I'm kidding, Curly. Jesus. I'm not a prostitute."

"Could've fooled me." Duff shrugged. I reached over and slapped his shoulder, laughing along with him, "Lay off, Big Bird." "Shit it's fifteen til midnight." Steven mentioned, glancing at his wristwatch.

"If I don't have a New Year's kiss I'm gonna be pissed." Slash grumbled, fumbling around in his pockets for extra dollars. "What are you doing, dude?" Duff asked, noticing his friend rummaging for money.

"I'm gonna go slide a five to Candi and see if she'll be my kiss." "The blonde one that's on the corner of the strip?" Steven asked. "Yeah, I met up with her the other day and she didn't charge me as much as she normally does. I'm thinkin' she's got the hots for me or somethin'." Slash wiggles his eyebrows and smiled.

My eyes bounced from one guy to another quickly, trying to catch on to what they were saying. I had an idea, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions. Clearly Izzy saw how confused I looked, as he soon cleared it up. "Hooker." he stated simply, his lips moving around his cigarette. "Hm." I hummed, silently taking it in.

He said it so casually, it almost sounded normal. Slash was asking a prostitute to be his New Year's kiss. Never thought he'd stoop so low. "Dude, that's so pathetic." I groaned. "Well, do I have other options?" he argued back.

I rolled my eyes, "First off, you don't need a New Year's kiss-" "It's good luck!" he interrupted. "And second," I ignored him and kept talking, "The fact that you're asking a hooker- someone who sells her body for drug money- to be your New Year's kiss. New Year's kiss, dude. Holy fuck, that's embarrassing."

"Would you like to be my kiss, then?" he proposed, a devious smirk across his lips. "Kiss the guy that fucked the same hooker multiple times, not to mention, recently? No thanks."

"It wasn't recently, it was like.. a week ago!" He was really trying to sell his point, but I wasn't buying. The guy was practically a prostitute himself. "Wow. That's.. wow." I shook my head.

"Fuck, I need more vodka," Duff groaned, turning the open bottle upside down and letting the last few drops fall into his mouth before he got up, "I'm going to the store." Slash joined, stretching his arms and letting his shirt rise a little to show his lower stomach and pubes, credit to his unzipped jeans.

"Christ, did you name it George W.?" I asked. "Who?" he said, putting his arms down from above him. "Your bush, dude." I snorted, followed by Izzy, Steven, and Duff's laughs.

"No, actually, I didn't." Slash's tone was very 'matter of fact', even if we were talking about his pubes. "Alright, I'm out." Duff announced, saluting me. "Same. I need Jack." Slash added. "You too, Iz?" I asked, seeing him follow his friends onto the sidewalk and down the road. "Cigs," he stated.

Once they disappeared, it left Stevie and I. "Three minutes." he mumbled, staring at the sky. The fireworks began going off, lighting up the night with bursts of orange and red. "I guess you're my last resort, huh?" I asked after a few silent moments. He looked over to me with a sympathetic shrug. I had quickly realized that I hurt his feelings, though I was only joking. "Don't worry, Stevie. You're the one I was hoping for anyway."

His eyes lit up and he smiled, sitting up straighter. I propped myself onto my knees, moving to straddle him before slowly lowering myself onto his lap. His hands guided my hips, resting on me delicately. Once I was comfortable, I rested my hands behind his head and interlocked my fingers. His hands found their way to my cheeks and he pulled my face in slowly.

Our lips connected, much different from the way it was the first time. It was slow and soft, similar to Izzy's. His lips were soft and warm, sending my heart to beat at an insanely fast pace. Butterflies fluttered throughout me, only heightening my nerves.

Once we disconnected from each other, he smiled at me with rosy cheeks, even visible in the dim lighting. "Happy New Year." he said with a cheeky and boyish smile.

"Happy New Year, Stevie."