Influence

I didn’t wake up again that night because I could feel Axl behind me, whether he had his arms wrapped around me or his hand clutched mine. When morning did come though, the sun heated the room up quickly causing both of us to slowly wake up. I sat up and looked around the room. It was completely illuminated by the sun now so it must have been about 11 AM. I turned to look at Axl who was just opening his eyes as well.

“How’d you sleep?” I asked immediately. Axl blinked a few times and then sat up.

“Pretty good actually, except for the night fright I had,” he mumbled. I ran my fingers through his hair pulling lightly on the ends.

“What was that all about anyway?” I demanded. He just tossed the blankets off his sweat-saturated body and pulled on a pair of leather pants. I sighed heavily and repeated what he had done. Soon I had followed him into the kitchen where Izzy was sitting on the bench, another cigarette pressed between his lips.

“Morning all,” he announced. I waved at him and got myself a glass of water.

“Hey Iz, how’s it going?” Axl asked. The two guys started talking again, leaving me all by myself. I drifted away and back toward the bedroom. After I had made the bed, I picked up the folder from the bedside table and carried it back into the kitchen.

“I’m going to head in to town soon and give this folder to Jessica,” I told no one in particular. No one bothered to answer me either so I pulled on Axl’s pair of white boots and walked out the front door.
Three quarters of an hour later I walked through the door of pub I was in the day before.

“Dawn?” a familiar voice called from the bar. I looked up. Jessica was at the bar, wiping the top off with an old rag.

“Hey Jess, how’s business today?” I asked. She waved the rag around the place. I glanced around at the nearly empty pub, only five people sat in the whole place.

“It’s absolutely packed!” I exclaimed sarcastically. Jessica rolled her eyes and extended her hand towards me.

“Is that folder for me?” she asked. I nodded and placed it into her hand.

“Awesome, you hired,” she said. I blinked a few times.

“Don’t you wanna look at the papers first?” I asked. She shook her head and threw a t-shirt at me.

“That should be about your size. What times would be best to work for you?” she asked. I thought for a minute before answering.

“10 AM through to 8 PM maybe?” I half-asked.

“Perfect, our other girl just knocked off at 10:30 this morning. She works the late shifts,” Jessica told me. I nodded and looked around at the nearly-empty pub.

“Yeah, you got the easier shifts. You can start tomorrow,” was the last thing she said before walking to the other end of the bar and serving a customer.

“Cool,” I whispered to myself before walking out of the pub and back towards the house. I got just about half way home before looking into a clothes shop window. Hanging inside, right at the back was a shirt that I knew that Axl would absolutely love. I opened the door, hearing the bell tinkle softly.

“Hi there, how can I help you?” came a man’s voice from behind a mountain of clothes.

“Hi, I was wondering if I could grab that singlet in a medium please.” I asked. The man nodded and put it in a black bag for me.

“Oh and can I also get this?” I asked, picking up a black vest from the shelf beside me. He placed that in the bag as well and I paid him.

“Thank you,” I said grabbing the bag and starting my long trek home. I also dropped into another bar on the way to pick up a carton of beer.

Twenty-five minutes later I walked into the house. I turned straight into the bedroom, finding Axl sprawled across the bed, his eyes firmly shut. I put the bag on the floor and heaved the beer to the fridge outside. Izzy was tinkling with a guitar on the ground in the lounge.

“Hey Iz, I’m back. I picked up a carton of beer,” I said. He looked up and nodded.

“Oh and I got a little something-something for you as well,” I replied, quickly racing back to the bedroom and pulling the vest from the shopping bag.

“Here’s a present to just show you how thankful I am for you letting me stay here until I get my own place,” I stated. Izzy pulled the vest from my hands and grunted thanks. I beamed to myself and roughed his hair up a little. Then I trotted back to the bedroom. Axl had not changed his position since I had left. I threw the covers over him and kissed his forehead lightly.

“Guess you can have your present a bit later,” I mumbled into his forehead. He grunted a little but then breathed out deeply and turned his head to the side. I smiled and rejoined Izzy on the floor of the lounge room. He had slung the vest on over his shoulders.

“You like it yeah?” I asked.

“Yeah, it’s a really nice vest Dawn. Thank you very much. What did you get Sleeping Beauty in the room over there?” he questioned.

“A singlet that says ‘Shit Happens’ on the front. I thought that those two words summed up his life completely,” I answered. Izzy smiled and continued to pluck tunes on his guitar.

“You’re pretty good. Play me something I would know,” I pleaded. Izzy ceased his playing and looked up at me.

“Only if you sing,” he challenged. I groaned.

“But I can’t sing. I’m not a singer. We’ll go and wake Axl up and he can sing,” I exclaimed. Izzy shook his head and raised his eyebrows at me expectantly.

“Fine,” I said, giving up. He plucked the tune for Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven and I breathed in slowly.

‘There’s a lady who’s sure
All that glitters is gold
And she’s buying the Stairway to Heaven.
When she gets there she knows
If the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for”

I prepared to sing the next line but there was a bump from the bedroom where Axl was lying. I leapt to my feet and hurried down the hallway. I swung the door open; to find Axl, face down on the ground.

“Axl,” I shouted, landing on my knees beside him. He grunted loudly and placed a hand either side of his face to help himself up.

“What happened?” Izzy demanded from the door way. Axl rolled over and put his head in my lap.

“I was wondering the same thing,” I mumbled looking down at Axl.

“Just a nightmare that’s all. You don’t have to get concerned about it or anything,” Axl shrugged off. I groaned with frustration.

“Babe we are worried. You need to talk about these things, not bottle them up inside,” I exclaimed. He rolled his eyes in an annoyed way. I sighed and gave up there, deciding not argue with the stubborn princess.

“I got you something by the way,” I murmured, running my fingers through his thin red hair. Reaching for the bag, I placed it on his chest lightly.

“What is it?” he asked, ripping the shirt from the bag in seconds.

“Wow, ‘Shit Happens’. Two of the most important words in my life!” he said. I smiled and ran my fingertips down his jawbone.

“I knew you’d like it,” I whispered. He smiled and pressed his face against my hand.

“Thank you,” he mouthed. I grinned widely and made a move to get up. He sat up as well and started to get back onto his feet.
“And there is a carton of beer in the fridge when you’re thirsty or whatever,” I added. Axl instantly walked out of the room. I giggled at him and made the bed before trailing along behind him. He and Izzy already had their first beer open and were guzzling them down at alarming speed.

“When do you start working?” Axl asked after he started his second beer.

“I start working tomorrow morning at ten. I work all day until eight at night,” I replied. He nodded and then slipped his arm around my waist.

“Do you want one?” Izzy asked, his head hidden behind the door of the fridge.

“Yes please,” I replied. He threw me a beer and then slammed the door behind him. I cracked it open, listening to the air escape and then took a sip of the fresh beer. I sighed and leaned against Axl more. His muscles tensed so I placed my head on his shoulder. He tilted his head against mine and then kissed the top of my hair.

“This means I won’t be here for much longer. Once I start my job, I’ll have money and I can get my own place,” I announced. I felt Axl instantly stop pressing his lips against my head.

“Well that’s too bad. It’s been good having you here these past couple of night,” Izzy shrugged.

“But that means we won’t see each other as often,” Axl said, sounding a little depressed. I looked up at him, smiling.

“I’ll come and visit whenever I can. And you’re welcome at my place any time you want,” I answered reassuringly. He beamed down at me and then leant in for a kiss. I pushed my lips against his lovingly.

“Ok how about you take that into your room? I don’t like Public Displays of Affection around me. Makes me feel dirty,” Izzy complained. I rolled my eyes raised my middle finger at him. I heard him groan and vacate the kitchen all together. I wrapped my arms around Axl’s neck, pulling him even closer to me. This got me another loud moan from the lounge where Izzy was now perched. I smiled against Axl’s lips causing him to pull away abruptly.

“What are you smiling about?” he demanded. I shook my head and pushed our lips together again before making my way towards the front door.

“I’m going to go and get us something to eat. Are you boy’s hungry?” I asked.

“Yeah, I feel like Chinese bub,” Axl called out. But Izzy stood up and held out his hand.

“Please, let me get it. You have been walking around all day. I’ll run into town and get this one,” he offered. I gave him the money.

“I’ll get whatever Axl’s getting,” I replied. Izzy nodded and then evacuated the room.

“Now that we have some time to ourselves,” Axl’s breath was at my ear, his hands running up and down my hips. I turned around and kissed him, my hands grasping the small of his back. I let him slip his tongue into my mouth and mine met his half way. He seized my hips tightly and pushed me up against the wall until there was no space between us. I pulled his jacket right off his shoulders and ran my fingertips up his bare arms, feeling the muscles tense against my touch. His lips soon found the most responsive part of my neck again and he bit it lightly. I clawed at the back of his neck with pleasure, letting out a tiny moan in the back of my throat. Axl then started to fumble with the zipper on my pants and I started to get uncomfortable. I grabbed his chin and forced his face to mine again before breaking apart and placing my hands on his shoulders.

“Baby, I already told you my guidelines. Please respect them,” I whispered, breathing heavily. He pressed our faces together and let out a deep sigh.

“Are you saying that you’ve never done anything with a guy before?” he asked.

“Of course I’ve been with guys before. For fucks sake, my best friend was Sarah. But I didn’t just automatically jump into bed with them. I needed them to prove that they are not just with me for the sex,” I whispered back. He squeezed my waist reassuringly.

“Well I’m not just with you for the fucking babe. I really do like you a lot,” he murmured back. I pecked him quickly before ducking and heading towards the lounge room. After getting myself a cool beer I sat on the couch and flicked on the television.

“Izzy will be back shortly, so I hope you’re hungry,” I called out. Axl leapt over the back of the lounge and landed next to me.

“Starving,” he answered. I smiled and placed my head on his shoulder.

An hour later, Izzy finally stumbled through the front door with a plastic bag in his hand.

“Order up,” he sung out. Axl and I leapt from the lounge and into the kitchen. Izzy handed us both a box and a fork and we devoured our cheap Chinese take-out meal.and a fork and we devoured our cheap Chinese take-out meal.

For the rest of the day, and late into the night, Axl, Izzy and I drank beer, ate Chinese, watched television and played around with a few songs on the guitar. By 10 PM I was feeling tired, and remembering I had to work the next day I decided to go to bed. But my legs refused to carry me, so I crawled in Axl’s lap and lay there until he lifted me up and hauled me to the bedroom himself. I felt the boots and jacket come off and soon he had me under the covers, his warm hands wrapped around my skinny waist. I didn’t even notice when I drifted off into the little world between reality and imaginary because in my dreams, I was with Axl as well. So what’s the difference?