classic rock imagines

Rachel Bolan

requested by and dedicated to CoverVandenBolan

~ Surprise! (personalized) ~

It was going to be a great day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and I was in a great mood. Today was the day I finally told Rachel the big news.

I had spent the last week planning how I was going to tell him. My original idea had been to just tell him, but it was way too big a deal to do it without any... pizzazz. Then I had planned on asking the rest of Skid Row to help, but it took away from the intimacy. So I enlisted the help of only one person: Snake.

It was an odd way to write a song, but it had worked. I figured out exactly how I wanted it to sound, then asked him to teach me a bunch of chords and notes so I could make it into actual music. Then he'd helped me clean it up and add a few flourishes to make it sound pretty.

Now the day marked as the one for the song's debut was here-- I spent the first half of it preparing for his arrival. The band was currently in the studio recording the songs for their new album. I guessed he would be home at around six p.m. as per the usual schedule, so I had one hour left.

I went over the song a few times, fearing I may have forgotten it. Luckily, I hadn't, and eventually I put the guitar down out of fear of overplaying and messing it up somehow. I didn't know if that was a real thing or if Snake had been messing with me, but I wasn't going to take any chances.

There were thirty minutes to six. Nerves were beginning to eat at me; was telling him even a good idea? That was a stupid thought. What else was I supposed to do, keep it a secret?

There was a sudden knock at the front door. I sprang up and opened it, surprised to see Snake standing there.

"Oh, hey, Snake. What's up? Shouldn't you be in the studio?"

"I got done early today. How are you?"

"Um, good, I guess. Come in, come in. Do you know if Rachel's gonna be done anytime soon?"

He stepped in and replied, "I think so, yeah. He was just cleaning up a couple licks."

"Alright, thanks. Did you need anything?"

"No, I just had an idea for the song. A really quick change, nothing too fancy or complicated but I think it would work better if you added a grace to the high E right after you strum the entire D chord..."

"Wait, wait, wait. I don't know what that is."

"Here, give me the guitar. I'll show you what I mean."

So he showed me what he meant. It did sound better, and it wasn't too hard to play so I added it to the song. He left soon after, and all I had to do then was wait for Rachel to come home.

Finally, when I thought I might lose my mind if he didn't get there soon, I heard a key turn in the lock. I sat bolt upright as my heart began to beat faster. And there he was.

"Hey, Jan. How are you? I brought food, in case you're hungry." He held up a plastic bag.

I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn't get my brain to work fast enough. My courage was failing me. I had planned on telling him then, but instead I said, "yeah, let's eat."

He grinned and nodded, walking over to the table and setting the bag down on it. "Come on, come sit. I got the plates."

I broke out of my trance, still feeling a little uneasy as I went to sit. I looked down at the table and sat, wordlessly reaching for the bag. This was it. It was now or never.