One More, Always More
She watched them evolve into what the world saw them- Guns N' Roses. And whether she was there or not, she felt each step of their victory to success along with the fouls that they battled through. To her, no matter what happened or how many covers took their place, they will always be Guns N' Roses, forever and ever.
1
The Beginning
People knew him as Slash, Nicole knew him as Saul Hudson since the time she started Junior High in Los Angeles, California. She could still remember the first time she saw him, his ball of black curly hair bouncing about with each step and his cameral coloured skin that contrasted against her creamy white and dirty blonde hair. The attraction only grew when her older brother of two years became friends with him, Steven was the complete opposite of Saul as he too had the same appearance but his personality was energetic while Saul always had the mysteries atmosphere about him- maybe, it was that unknown that made her find him so interesting compared to the rest of the boys in her year.
Saul had a talent with a bike, her brother had his skate broad but he didn't compare to anything like his friend though it helped get some of that energy out of his system but a smile never left her brothers face. That smile was something Nicole was always grateful for, when their biological father was in the picture the house was never a pleasant place and he became her soiled rock until the man finally left. Their mother Deanna moved the family- along with their older brother Kenny- to Los Angeles where she met Melvin Adler in which the three children's dropped their father surname 'Coletti' and took Melvin's name.
Nicole was eleven and Steven thirteen when her parents decided to separate them, she didn't know quite how to react except begging her mother to allow him to stay with them in San Fernando Valley while her eyes were threatening to swell with tears. Her pleading didn't sway their choice as they sent Steven to live with their grandparents in Hollywood due to his bad behavior. Kenny was less at home, coming and going as he pleased whether it was working or night's outs, leaving Nicole with the house alone with parents. At the time she resented them for taking Steven away, if someone on the street at seen them the first assumption would be they were twins and that's what the connection between them felt like. The decision that her parents made changed everything between the two siblings, they tried to catch up together but it seemed time and distance was against them.
As they had a couple of year a part between them, they went to different schools and it wasn't until she turned thirteen herself meaning her brother was fifteen that she attended Bancroft Junior High, that was where the thrilling stage begun. The butterflies in her stomach about starting something new and the strong thread of excitement at seeing Steven again.
Nicole wasn't sure whether her brother remembered about her starting Junior High or if her grandparents had mentioned it in passing but she found herself suddenly confronted with a boy older than herself during lunch who seemed interested with his flinging questions in her directions. She barely had to say a word as he came in step with her own smaller strides. "The names Chris, you're a newbie right?" She winced at hearing the word but nodded anyway- usually she would have no problem mouthing off to guy but the years of been separated from her brother meant her comfortable state she usually found herself in had faded with time. "So you'll need someone to show you around?" He barely waited for a response when he grabbed her arm and started pulling her in an unknown direction, trying to take control of the situation she drag her heels of her boots in the ground.
"I'm fine." Her actions and sharp tone must have shifted something in Chris as his face turned into a frown. "I can take care of myself." God knows she had been for a while.
"You're a girl." He made it seem like a laughable situation and Nicole hated men that merely thought because she was female meant she was defenseless.
"I can take care of myself." She repeated it again, turning her arm out of his grip and putting some distance between them.
He went to grab her once again and she moved out of the way, keeping him at arm's length. "Leave her be Murray." Nicole knew that voice, the tone though was something she wasn't used to hearing as Steven took a stand next to her.
"I tagged her first Adler." She couldn't help it, her eyebrows shot up at hearing the word, tagged meant that Chris was seriously going to try and get in her pants; she had heard her brothers use the word before- she started to wish that she had done more damage to Chris when she had the chance; she wasn't anyone's play toy.
"Not with my sister, go find yourself another piece of ass before I change my mind." Chris would have called it bluff but taking in the appearance of the two in front of him did confirm Steven's words. His attention turned to sizing up Steven and he almost considered getting into a fight that he long desired to get out of his body, it was the second body taking a stand behind them that changed his mind.
"She's all yours."
"Already coursing trouble Nicky." She couldn't help the snort that came from her at Steven's words, they haven't seen each other for months and it was the first thing he said to say to her.
"Your one to talk." She turned around to head towards the building and was confronted with a smiling clown stretched across a black shirt, her eyes traveled to the broad shoulders and curly strands of hair that covered a large amount of the guys face. As she stared at him astonished, she didn't know whether he was actually smiling or not but she could feel the intensity of his eyes on her making a blush raise from the neck up.
"And that's Slash." When Steven didn't receive any reply he couldn't help the laugh escape him as he hang an arm around her shoulders and moved her with him around Slash, taking them in the direction of the buildings. Nicole knew her brother was talking as she got lost in thoughts trying to think why the name sounded familiar- the memory of her brother telling her about how he had received his latest scraps from skateboarding; Slash had been the guy to help him back to his grandparent's house. With the memory in place, Nicole turned to look over her shoulder and found him walking closely behind them with his ripped black jeans and boots completing his appearance.
Amongst her years in high school, Nicole did manage to make a couple of good friends- Erin and Kelly. Each of them had their different personalities while Nicole wasn't the most outgoing woman she was more out there than Kelly. Erin bet the both as her personality was the closest to her energetic brothers, though it seemed the two hated been in each other's presence, it was like they couldn't deal sharing the same kind of energy. Usually that wouldn't be a problem in the house as it was normal for her to have the space with her older brothers never there but it was her second year that Steven moved back into their parents' house. It was a matter of keeping Erin and Steven out of the same rooms which Nicole had no problem with as she didn't want her brother over hearing half the topics they speak together. Kelly on the other hand was the sweetheart of the group, she still enjoyed a good time but she blushed furiously as if she was Virgin Mary herself.
"You have the girls coming over again?" Nicole looked up from the pantry as Steven walked into the room with a pair of drum sticks twirling between his fingers. She couldn't help but frown at the sticks, they were her living hell as in ninth grade he took up lessons for drums, that progressed to him buying his own set that had a home in their garage- the damn things were as loud as the marching band at school and she could clearly hear the drums from her bedroom even with the multiple walls between them.
"Yeah, is Slash coming over tonight?" She couldn't help but ask even if it meant listening to the two of them- they were half bad together once they got into tune with one another.
"He should be here soon." Steven reached over and grabbed one of the packets of chips from the pile in her arms - it was the usual food source on their girl's nights.
"Stevie! Get your own food!" She shouted after him, no doubt going to the garage.
"Just making sure your keeping your figure Nicky!" Her response was glaring at the door that led to the garage- if only she had laser eyes; she'd burn a hole in his ass.
Once she entered her bedroom it didn't take long for the drums to start, she slammed her door hoping Steven would hear it. She dropped the food onto her dresser and flopped down on the bed, throwing an arm over her face as she listened to the new beat he had been practicing. She'd rather lay back and listen to Slash with his guitar but she couldn't help be proud at the effort her brother was putting into the drums. She could remember him going for an audition for Sunset staple London and getting turned down before he came up with the idea of making his own band - Road Crew. She thought the name sounded a bit cheesy but none the less was happy for her brother, even more when Slash found his own passion for the guitar. She knew, they all knew there was a long road ahead of them as two didn't make a band no matter how hard they tried.
She jumped up with a new burst of energy at the sound of the bell; Nicole had a huge smile on her face when she opened the door though she rolled her eyes at seeing that it wasn't the girls. "Hello Slash."
"Excepting someone?" Her smile only grew at the grin on his observant face.
"The girls are coming over." He stepped through the door and she closed it behind him. "You got yourself a new hobby?" She teased him as Nicole caught sight of the newspaper rolled up in his hands.
"Tonight we're going to try and find ourselves more members." She raised a blonde eyebrow at him but didn't comment any further as she let him make his way to Steven- Slash had been over enough to know the house better than his own. He did live with his mother- Ola - but as his father left them Slash spent half his time with his grandmother as Ola had to travel for her work, if he wasn't with his grandmother he was playing with Steven, he became another brother to her.
It was the next afternoon and the girls had already gone for the day, she went down to the garage and found the pair spread out on the couch that they had placed their when they decide to make it their 'cave' as she liked to call it. "Mums going to kill you if she catches you smoking in her house." She turned her back to them as they continued with the pot; she grabbed the bread from the freezer and started to make her way back to the house when the newspaper spread out on the ground caught her attention. "No luck with finding some members?"
"Nope." Steven dragged the 'p' out as he banged to the drum sticks against the arm chair.
"Easy fixed, make your own." The two looked at each other in a daze than back at her - Nicole really didn't want to know how long they had been lighting up. She finally rolled her eyes and went to the house when not one of them gave her a response. She almost wished her mother would come home from work and kick their ass- she hated the stuff because it made her lose control, she would never forget her first experience with pot and it was going to be her last.
As Nicole placed her ham and cheese with relish and mayonnaise sandwich on her desk, she took a glance at the college applications that were waiting for her to write and send off- she wanted to help people. When she sees the streets of L.A. Nicole can't help but feel helpless at not been able to do anything so this way she could be some help to people. Steven's passion was the drums, hers were caring for people and they were complete opposite to one another.
At that moment she decide to dismiss her own dreams for a moment and do a favor for her older brother, she picked up the note pad and pen to start writing the damn advertisement.
She was sure it had taken a couple of hours before she got the simple but important notice correct, she reread the words again to double check- WANTED: someone who is willing to decade their time to a Rock N' Roll band. They must be able to play the bass guitar. It was a simple couple of sentences but she had to get it right, make it worth the money she was going to pay for the advertisement and not to mention she didn't want to sound like a stuck up prick. She finished it off by giving the details of her brother name and phone number at the end before ripping the piece of paper from the note pad and grabbing her purse.
It was a four days later that the sound of running feet hummed in their parents hallway, she had just stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her when Nicole was suddenly attacked by a mass of blonde hair. Steven wrapped his arms around her waist and swirled her about as she begged for him to put her down with her finger clutching onto the towel. "Steven!" The sound of his real name been yelled seem to sober him up, putting Nicole back on her two feet but that didn't stop the man from talking.
"I can't believe, you're the fucking best Nicky. The best of, the best of, the best bloody sister in the damn world! Why didn't you tell us about the newspaper!?"
Nicole tried to assess the situation, he didn't seem angry about it so what was his problem. "It slipped my mind." It was true, while he was out and about her college applications were due in and that had been the only thing on her mind.
"Well we" He pointed behind him to Slash who she just realized was in the same room with them and hoped to god the man hadn't seen anything while Steven was twirling her about. "Have we a bassist!" The words seem to click in her mind and she couldn't help herself but smile as she through her arms around Steven and Slash. Thank bloody god- was the words running through her mind, the two of them were driving her crazy and needed something new to do with their time. The thought hit her at the same time; she was going to have three pains in the asses to put up with now. "His going to be over tomorrow, you have to be at the garage and watch!" Steven didn't even wait for answer as he was already racing through the house again, no doubt to his beloved drums with the new boost of energy.
"You going to be there?" Slash's voice snapped Nicole back to reality and she became very aware of her vulnerable state. She nodded to her question as her throat drew too tight to actually say a word. He started to make his way the garage when he stopped in the doorway, seeming totally at ease compared to herself. "Ahh...thanks for the ad." She nodded her head again and he took his leave making a rush of air escape her lungs once he disappeared.
As promised she was seated in the garage with Kelly and Erin seated on either side of her- they may have all finished high school but they stayed pretty close knitted and Nicole half suspected that Kelly had something going on with Steven. The two girls quietly spoke together while Nicole watched the guys; the bass player had joined them. She finally found out that his name was Duff, Duff McKagan who was taller than both guys with his lean body and tanned cowboy boots. She couldn't help but smile at that one detail while the rest of him was blue jeans and black sleeve less top with his wild blonde hair.
They played a couple of Led Zeppelin songs and the three of them just seemed to click, that she could feel the emotion tightening up her throat at hearing them play. Duff on bass seem to smooth them out while Slash let loose on his guitar as much as possible - it was that moment that she saw the smiles passed around each player that Nicole knew there was a connection. Though it didn't matter how well her brother played or the strumming of Duff, her eyes drifted back to Slash's fingers against the strings and her attention shifted from the emotion on his face to the magic in his fingers. Nicole felt overwhelmed once again in Slash's presence that it took her a while to realize the true extent of her feelings- Damn it to hell, Saul Hudson had stolen her heart without her permission.
