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.

4

Occasions

Nicole couldn't stop the silly grin on her face as she squeezed Kelly's hand tighter, their eyes trained on the stage. They sat near the back, the darkness falling over them. This seat gave the girls the perfect view of the Whisky a Go Go nightclub, a perfect place to see what kind of reaction her boys could draw from the crowd.

The five came on stage and took their places seeming calm from an outsider's point of view but Nicole could see the signs of their nerves eating at them or maybe it was her own nervous state she could feel. She wasn't imagining it, her eyes followed her brother's teeth chewing on his lip with a passion, and Duff's hair stood in different directions as if he had been running his hands through it constantly. Izzy was staring intense at the strings of his guitar as if summoning it to start playing without him having to be there and Axl was tugging at the fingerless gloves that he insisted to wear. Last but not least was Slash; he rolled his shoulders if the simple action could make the tension that he no doubt felt to melt away.

It was until the band started to make their music that the crowd of the club seemed to take notice of the group on stage. The members of the band, each and every one of them got lost in their craft, the tension rolling of them like water. And the crowd soaked it up while Nicole felt her own nerves ease at watching them play, her eyes taking in the skilled fingers on strings and peaceful expressions settled on their faces- it was a rare sight to behold.

They played a maximum of five songs and the applause crowd only made the band members smile wider as they came off the stage. They didn't came straight over to the girls instead they all shared an awe gaze with one another. Looking at each other as if the whole event had been a dream, the rush running through their pumped bodies confirmed that the gig was real. Steven barked out a laugh, the sound bringing the rest out of their dazed states and joined in with Steven. "We did it!" He fist pumped the air, smiling like a looney before roughly pulling Slash into an embrace with an arm around the curly man's shoulders.

Duff lit up a cigarette, his hands shaking slightly from the buzz in his system. "I almost shit myself when I got on stage but once I started playing...it was just..." There were no words to really explain the thrill of playing for an audience instead of Stevens' garage.

"Right there with you man." Axl draped an arm over Duffs shoulders, the same feelings were rushing through his veins.

"I need a drink." A round of chuckles sounded as Izzy left their sides and started for the table that had Nicole and Kelly.

Nicole leaned against the table, elbows on the top as she watched the guys soak in the events of the night. Her smile grew as she watched her brother became the first to get into action, his energy flying him in the direction of Slash.

"I think they'll make it." At Kelly's words Nicole glanced over to her friend, the woman was partially glowing with the recent gig and Nicole was grateful that her brother had someone like Kelly to support him.

"No doubt about it." Nicole raised her drink to Kelly; they tapped their glasses together before taking a drink for the future of Guns N Roses.

Once Nicole placed the drink on the table, a body mass thumped into her left side and the alcohol was picked up again. She watched Izzy finish of the rest of her drink before he relaxed into the seat beside her. "That bad was it?"

"It was fucking great!" The response came from Duff as he drummed his hands on the top of the table- it seemed he still had energy boiling in his veins at the grin plaster on his face. "You should have taken a picture!"

"You mean with this?" Nicole held up her camera from her lap, a smirk playing on her lips. She didn't care what the guys thought, Nicole wanted to make a scrapbook of sorts to record their time together, the bands achievements - Kelly supported her idea so between the two women they should come up with enough photos to do something.

"When is your next gig?" Kelly was pressed up against the side of Steven as the booth was having some trouble fitting the seven people, the pair didn't seem to be complaining about the close contact.

"In a couple of weeks at The Roxy." Axl's eyes practically glowed when he mentioned the other nightclub. All their hard work was paying up, granted they still have a long road in front of them but they had managed to get their foot in the most popular nightclubs. It seemed managers liked to talk and once you got confirmed by one, other options weren't far behind.

"That's after Nicky's graduation right?" Nicole's eyes snapped to Slash who sat at the end of the booth, his frame hunched over the table to hear. She was surprised with the amount the band was doing that Slash remembered the date of her graduation, than again it shouldn't of surprised her to much as she practically talked about it at least once a week when he came over for dinner.

"Of course! I made sure it wouldn't clash." Axl almost seemed annoyed that Slash thought he could forget the important date Nicole had marked on everyone's calendars.

"And we'll be there!" Duff threw her a wink - he was constantly making jokes about Nicole turning prim and proper on them and kicking her ripped jeans and loud shirts to the back of her wardrobe.

"You better be or I'll be jamming your guitar up your ass." A smile twisted on her face as she threatened Duff who dramatically placed his hand over his heart.

"I swear on my knight's honor." Duff placed his hand over chest as if swearing a secret oath.

Nicole left out a loud snort, these guys had no honor to their names - the guys did what they wanted. God only knows how much mischief they got up to when she wasn't around, and the amount of woman that went in and out of their bed was one thing. Nicole did have to admit that the guys did hold some form of respect. A part that was directed towards women as she knew without a doubt that they would never force or abuse the opposite sex, than again Nicole had witness the way woman threw themselves in the guy's paths and knew they didn't have to pleasure them. She dreaded what it would be like when the band moved higher up the charts.

Kelly turned her attention to Steven with a look of trouble spread across her face. "I think you should dance with me."

Steven was already shaking his blonde head and Nicole had to shuffle the laugh that was building up in her throat at the two of them. She knew her brother would no doubt do anything for Kelly but dancing wasn't in his nature unless he had consumed a lot of alcohol. "No way in hell am I getting on that dance floor."

"Oh come on Stevie!" He shook his head wildly at her, Kelly's troublesome expression turned to Nicole making the other woman's stomach drop. "Nicky! You can't say no to me! Help a girlfriend out."

"If it was anything else, you know I'd loan you a helping hand." Duff wiggled his eyebrows at Kelly, his words slurring slightly.

Nicole let out a groan before pushing her way past Izzy to the end of the table. "Let's move it girlfriend." Her sarcasm dripped through her words but Kelly was in a lighter mood at hearing she had a dance partner.

The currant band playing wasn't the some type of music as the guys, they were lighter with their tunes but the girls were still able to get lost in the notes as they swayed to the music. The alcohol running through their veins only helped to loosen their muscles and bring smiles to their faces.

"Argh, you've got to be kidding me." At the sound of Kelly's voice, Nicole followed her line of sight to their table which now had women accompanying it. Nicole couldn't help but let her own disgust out at the sight of them, the frown deepening as she watched the feminine hands run along Slash's shoulders and whisper in his ear. "I think I better go claim my man." Kelly didn't hesitate at leaving Nicole on the dance floor to stop the unwanted claws from digging into her brother; she didn't blame Kelly because god knew she would have done the same if Slash was hers.

The music in the club suddenly didn't have the same effect on her it did a moments ago, the buzz from the alcohol was just floating in her body and that wasn't enough to make her want to stay for the rest of the night and watch the guys get hammered and score some ass.

Nicole made her way over to the table, moving around Izzy to get her jacket. "I'm out."

"You can't leave now, we're just getting started." Axl shouted at her from the end of the booth, furthest away from her with a brunette practically draped across his lap.

"I've got job applications to do." It wasn't a complete lie, they were sitting on her kitchen table ready to be filled out before they had to be sent out. She didn't wait for another reply and started for the club door; the fresh air would no doubt sober her up by the time she got home.

...

It was a few nights later that the knocking on her door started, Nicole half thought about not opening the front door but the heavy knocking started up again, she wiped her hands on the tea towel to go answer it.

Standing in her doorway, he looked exactly like he had the other night at the club with the black shirt and leather pants. "There's a spare towel in the bathroom." She turned back to the kitchen as he made his way down the hallway to the shower. She heard the faint sound of clothes hitting the ground outside the bathroom door. She grabbed the pair of jeans he had left last time and replaced it with the dirty clothes while throwing a load in the machine, wiggling her nose at the smell of them- she didn't want to think what could be on them.

She leaned against the counter, string the throw together of chicken pieces and veggies. It had become their regular thing, he'd come over for dinner most nights and possibly camp out on the couch. She knew he was using her, that's what the guys do. She had seen them do it a million times over with other people, they only had the clothes on their back with a few bits and pieces and took anything for charity without hesitation. Nicole hated herself for letting her emotions get in the way, Kelly had even pointed it out a few times telling Nicole she needed to sort out whatever was happening between them. The thing was, since that time in her bedroom a few months back there hadn't been any type of connection between them except for the time alone in her house were they just chatted. Nicole didn't know if she could lay it out on the table and tell him to make a decision. She knew that the music would no doubt win over, when he got into that working mode, nothing got in his way - booze, girls and drugs were nothing when he was in that frame of mind.

"Thinking too hard." Her eyes flickered over to the dinner table at the edge of the kitchen. Slash had the chair turned around saddling it, his arms draping over the front of the seat as he laid his head on the top of the chair looking at her with such an unexplainable expression. She could get used to seeing him like that - jeans low on his hips, a light shine on his chest from the shower and droplets falling from his damp hair though she could do without the twitch of his fingers. She had no doubt that he was coming down from a high and just like him, Izzy and Steven would probably be in the same state.

He stared at her, daring for Nicole to say something but it never came. That's what he liked about her, she was down to earth and a stable piece in his life but she never gave out about his ways.

"Looked like you enjoyed yourself the other night." She turned the conversation to safe ground, the gig.

"It was good to get out there."

"But...?" She could hear it hanging in his words.

"It's not what I'm looking for." He struggled with finding the words like he always did. "I want the real deal with a packed stadium."

The real deal - she knew that meant the band would have to travel, go on tour with other bands and make themselves known. Their manager Alan was trying to sort something out for them, he also wanted them to hold back on the gigs for a while. She was beyond happy when Steven came crashing through her house, shouting at the top of his lungs to Kelly and herself about signing up with Geffen Records and later months finding themselves Alan. Time seem to move so much faster than she truly wanted it, they weren't the kids from high school anymore and she couldn't help but wonder when the road would end with her relationship with the guys, when she would just became 'Steven's little sister' instead of 'Nicky'.

"You're doing it again." Slash's rough voice dragged Nicole from her thoughts and she muttered a curse under her breath as a burnt smell reached her nose. She pulled the pan from the flame and grabbed two plates, adding rice to the base before putting the throw together on the plate - always adding a little extra on Slash's plate as she knew the man barely ate during his time away. "What's making you wander?"

Slash's question threw her off, very rarely got involved in the 'bullshit drama' as some of the guys called it. "Just graduation coming up." She left it at that but as Nicole put the plates on the table, the raised eyebrow he gave her told Nicole that he knew a different subject was taking up matters in her mind.

Dinner passed in silence with the tapping sound of Slash's bare feet against the ground, he was constantly moving and making some kind of beat. As per usual, Slash cleared the table and went to the lounge. The sound of the TV drifted into the kitchen while Nicole started washing up the dishes and placing them on the drying rack before wandering in after him.

The couch was filled with his body though he bent his knees to make space for her on the end. Each getting comfortable with the others presence while amused with the latest comedy on TV.

The sudden movement on the other end of the couch made Nicole snap awake to see Slash stretching as if getting ready to leave. "You going?"

"Yeah." The answer was short and she had to wonder where he went most nights.

"Got yourself a bed somewhere else?" The shrug of his shoulder made her stomach drop. "You know..." She was ready kicking herself and the words hadn't even left her mouth yet. "You practically live here anyway, why not bring the rest of your stuff over?"

In the dark she could hardly see anything except from the flickering light the TV provided, she wished she could see his facial expression and body language to get a better read of him. Nicole could feel his gaze burning into her as she sat up on her elbows on the couch.

"I might just take you up on that offer." He stayed there like he was waiting for some kind of response. When he didn't get anything except the usual open expression that she always seemed to carry, the one that could grace him with a smile in a matter of minutes. "Thanks for the food." He lazily made his way to the front door dressed in all black instead of his previous wear, the devil had gotten up earlier and taken care of the dryer leaving the other pair of jeans thrown across the back of the couch in his awake.