classic rock imagines

Layne Staley

requested by and dedicated to bleed-the-freak
i started this when her username was still Tolkienite3791, i just had to change it and :(
and she was actually one of the first people to request an imagine from me, ah the memories :')
and Layne is her LOVE so i really hope i did this right!

***

The time between a show ending and the band getting backstage isn't usually that long. They say goodbye to the audience, wave a little, and then run backstage to refuel on whatever food and drink they can find. It's a fast process, because the band is usually exhausted.

But the guys were taking an eternity to come off stage tonight. Or at least it seemed like it. I checked my watch and found that only a minute and thirty-seven seconds had gone by since the last song ended.

Thirty-eight, thirty-nine... Where are they?

No need to worry. It wasn't like they were never coming back; they would eventually. Only tonight I had been rendered incapable of being patient and waiting. I had to talk to Layne. Soon.

I loved Layne with all my heart. We had always been so close, and he had never let me down. He had such a beautiful and interesting soul, and I remembered how fun it had been to fall in love with him.

I was whisked away from my stroll down memory lane when the band suddenly burst into the backstage area of the venue. Mike was first, followed by Jerry, Sean, and finally, Layne. As soon as my eyes landed on him, a little bubble of happiness rose in my chest. That always happened when I saw him; it seemed my heart would never tire of loving him. And though the rest of me wanted to listen to what it was begging of me and keep quiet so I wouldn't risk losing him, I cared too much about him to do so.

After a lot of congratulating the guys on their performance, they sat to rest for a bit. Sean milled around looking for a snack, eventually managing to find a box of crackers.

"Layne," I said when everyone had calmed down, "can I talk to you? It's kind of important."

He looked up and blinked, nodding. He uncrossed his arms and gently took my hand, leading me to another part of the backstage area.

"Alright, what's up?" He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms again, furrowing his brows and leaning forward a little. I paused to appreciate his stance for a moment; that was how I knew he was really listening.

I drew in a long breath and hesitated. Where should I even begin? "Layne... you know I love you. So, so much, and I don't wish for anything but for you to be happy... and healthy."

"Oh no," he dropped his head. "Please don't tell me you wanna talk about--"

"No, I don't want to. But we have to. Please listen to me, Layne. This isn't some petty habit that I just don't like, this is serious. Your life could be in danger, you know that?"

He lifted his head a little, now looking down at the floor rather than straight at it. His eyes shifted for a moment and he appeared to be in deep thought. One corner of his mouth turned up and he scoffed through his nose.

"What? I'm not kidding, Layne. I don't like seeing you like this--" I suddenly found myself unable to continue. A horrible lump had formed in my throat, making it impossible to speak. Tears sprung into my eyes as what seemed like a very distant memory began to play in my mind.

Of course, Layne was there. It was a rainy day, and we were sitting at home, watching and listening to the drops of water hitting the window. Layne was resting his head on his fist and was looking at me as he smiled a gentle smile full of love and genuine happiness. He'd looked healthy and had a lovely little glow about him and his features. My eyes stung even worse as I looked up and faced what he had become.