I'll Be There

I blinked my eyes slowly, cursing the God forsaken sunlight streaming into my face. Once my vision cleared I was greeted by Dj’s smile and dancing blue gaze. His hair was clean yet messy, and his eyes were missing the familiar black patches underneath. I smiled back at him, then squinted angrily at the sunlight. He sat up, shading me from the window. “Morning sleepy head” I yawned and rubbed my eyes, pulling the blanket close to my face. “Mornin” I mumbled. He pushed the hair out of my face and left his hand there. “Wake up, I’ve got a surprise for you.” I blinked clearly this time, my eyes finally adjusting to the light. “Surprise?” I asked. I sat up and looked at him. He nodded to me. “Yeah, but we’ve gotta drive to get to it. Get dressed and I’ll get us breakfast on the way.” “Okay” I agreed, sadly releasing the blanket. He kissed my head and left the room. I dug up some of my clothes that were laying around his room (we were messy people) and put them on, knowing that they were clean because I usually wore his clothes around the house. I had on my Alice Cooper shirt and skinny jeans with my black boots. I took a few minutes to straighten up my hair and put on some light eyeliner, then went out to find him. I hadn’t noticed before, but he was already dressed and waiting.
Kari handed them each a Monster, hugging her brother goodbye and smiling at his girlfriend. The kid was years younger than her, and farther still from Dj, but she kind of liked her. Besides, what she lacked in years she made up for in height. Dj was a bit short just like everyone in that family, so Raven was almost eye to eye with him. They looked perfect together as he led her out the door, watching her closely for any signs of depression. Once they were out the door Kari texted her brother. “Have fun with the guys, don’t get into trouble.” A second later he replied with a wink. She sighed dramatically and plopped down on the couch, calling anybody she knew to see if they could hang.
Dj sped across the desert highway, watching the clock. They definitely wouldn’t be late, but nobody would serve breakfast much longer. Raven was drearily gazing out the window, answering Nikki’s annoyed texts about once every 5 minutes. He poked her playfully. “Want some music?” he asked. She shrugged. “Somebody needs a Happy Meal.” He joked. She gave him a stupid look, then suddenly smiled. “You can’t be serious.” Dj said to her. She grabbed his phone and hooked it up to the car’s Bluetooth, flipping through and settling on “Cherry Pie” by Warrant, singing the whole thing. He smiled and shook his head. A Happy Meal…well then, if she took it literally then so would he.
We were in California soon enough, and before I knew it Dj had pulled into a McDonalds. I giggled. “Really Dj?” I asked. He gave me a sarcastic look. “You suggested a Happy Meal, so I’m getting a Happy Meal to make you happy.” I laughed and lightly slapped his arm. “It doesn’t work like that silly!” I yelled. He smiled. “It seems to be working perfectly.” He stated matter-of-factly. My smile faded instantly as I realized he was right. “Damn.” I mumbled in defeat. So we got our food, I got my stupid Happy Meal and he got a chicken sandwich, which made me kinda jealous but I ate my tiny little burger without complaint. “What the hell is this?” I said as I glared at the small cup filled to the top with ice and about 2 sips of Sprite. I was suddenly grateful for the Monster I had drank already, because this just wasn’t going to cut it. I sighed and pulled out my plastic bag with a racecar in it. After that I pulled out another bag of apple slices, when I was expecting fries. “What in the fuck!” I growled, showing Dj the apples. He shrugged. “New government “health” thing. Apples couldn’t hurt you.” I glared at him. “Meaning?” “No not like that” he rushed, “I just meant that either way apples are healthier than those oily fry things, you’ll feel better too.” “Mmhmm.” I muttered, taking a bite of apple as I pulled my little racecar out of its wrapper. He sighed as we pulled through a gate and into a large yet mostly empty parking lot. I smiled and nearly choked on my apple as I saw a familiar person. “Nikki!” I yelled, bouncing out of the car as soon as it stopped. He was standing outside the building on his phone. He saw me coming though, and caught me as I jumped into his arms. “Sup kiddo.” He said, messing up my hair and putting his phone away. Dj locked the car and walked up to his band mate, giving me a strange look. “Come on now, you can’t blame me for being this awesome.” Nikki commented to the guitarist sarcastically, trying to cheer him up. They hugged and looked down at me. “So what’s going on?” I asked, not sure which one of them to look at. They smiled as I heard a noise from inside. Was that a guitar?
Nikki opened the door and they followed him in, and they were immediately immersed in the sounds of guitar tuning and drum beating. The rest of the building was silent except for the sounds, which were suddenly joined by a loud yell. Dj saw the goose bumps rise on Raven’s arms. She knew whose voice it was, and she looked up at him with wide eyes as he smiled back at her. They rounded the corner to the backstage of a small auditorium where the other three members of Motley Crue were sound checking. “It’s Motley fucking Crue oh my god!” She screamed before throwing her hands over her mouth. Nikki casually strolled onstage, high fiving Vince, and grabbed his bass from where he had left it. “Yo Sixxo!” Tommy yelled, looking at Raven. “Uhh.” She said with a blank look. He laughed. “I remember you! You’re Sixx’s female reincarnation. Wanna come bang with me?” He laughed at his retarded dirty joke and held up a drumstick. Raven looked at Dj then ran up to Tommy. Dj yelled to the drummer “make sure it’s only that kind of bang T-Bone!” The drummer winked at him and helped her onto his lap, handing her some sticks and showing her how his drums were set up. Dj shook his head and grabbed an extra guitar from beside Mick. “Whole step?” He asked the older guitarist. Mick nodded to him as he finished tuning, strumming a few notes with a weak smile. Suddenly there was a sick beat coming from behind them, and the boys all looked to see Raven was the one doing it. Tommy was laughing. Raven finished off the tune and threw her arms in the air victoriously. “Yeah!” Tommy threw his sticks on the ground. “That’s some sick mutha-fuckin shit girl! Fuck me, I’m not touring anymore you are!” Raven grinned sheepishly. “I could never replace somebody in the greatest band on Earth, but thanks anyway.” She beamed, getting off of Tommy and coming back to the regular stage.
I looked around curiously. “Wow.” I breathed. For one I couldn’t believe I was on a real stage, audience or not. Secondly I couldn’t believe I was standing on a real stage with Motley Fuckin Crue, granted I had already met exactly half of them. I ran up to Dj and hugged him tightly. He hesitated, then hugged back, accepting my silent thanks. Then Nikki called me over. “Yo kiddo, you know any of our shit on the bass?” I thought for a second. “I don’t do bass much, but I know Looks That Kill surprisingly.” He handed me his bass and nodded to the other guys. “Alright then. This is how Motley works. We got the silent countdown, and this machine has exactly one switch on it. On or off. Got it?” I nodded, adjusting the strap, which was way low on me considering how tall Nikki was. I still let it sit low though. I loved not only the feel but the look of a low-lying instrument, it seemed more metal for some reason. I smiled deviously and looked up at the guys. Nikki and Dj took a seat in the small auditorium to watch. Suddenly Vince yelled. “Yeaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!” There were four symbol strikes, and then we started. It was magical. Once I got used to the feel of the instrument, and the callouses I was sure to build from the lack of experience on such thick strings, it was fun. The music blasted in my ears, and I dramatically hit the slide right after Mick’s solo. I went to the back and smiled at Tommy, who in turn beamed at me and hit the drums extra hard. Me and Mick also shared a brief moment, and towards the end of the song Vince put a hand on me and had me sing with him. When the song finally ended I burst out laughing and my small audience gave a standing ovation. Nothing could explain the thrill I just had. Nikki climbed back onstage and took his bass from me. All of the guys were cheering me on as Mick came over and handed me a guitar. “What’s your setlist?” He asked me kindly. I always loved Mick, even though I never knew him until now. “Kickstart My Heart, Dr Feelgood, and Primal Scream.” I recited, naming the unfortunately small list of Motley Songs I knew how to play. I lowered my voice. “But I don’t know the solos yet…” He nodded at me, keeping a poker face. “No problem, we’ve got this. We are Motley Crue after all.” “Yo Sixxo!” Tommy yelled to me, though both Nikki and I looked. He snickered at our confusion. “You guys ready to kick some ass?!” He bellowed down at us from behind his drums. Nikki gave a playful glare to his drummer and waved his hand. “Yeah yeah, let’s do this.” I laughed and smiled down at Dj. “You ready?” I yelled to him. He stood up and threw his metal horns at the band. “Motley fucking Crue!” he yelled dramatically, and we started the songs.
Dj looked over at Raven as she slept in the backseat. Nikki was on Twitter beside him. He was happy that she had so much fun today, and he hoped she would remain like this from now on. He had convinced Nikki to come back for a day or two. He looked between them curiously, careful to keep an eye on the empty desert road as well as they headed back to Vegas. Nikki glanced up at him in the middle of typing. Dj stared at the road ahead, pretending he didn’t do anything. “Why does everybody keep looking at us?” Nikki asked, without sounding angry for once. Dj sighed at the bassist, gripping the steering wheel. “You really wanna know?” He asked. Nikki nodded. Dj glanced back at her, making sure she was asleep. “Well…I know this might sound strange, or even impossible I don’t know, but don’t you think you guys look a lot alike? Especially with the hair and everything.” Nikki turned his phone off and set it down. “Yes I know…” He said, without continuing any thoughts. Dj glanced over at his friend. “And?” he asked, curious of his feelings. Nikki sighed. “I don’t know man. She gives me a weird feeling when I see her, and I know we look a lot alike. But there’s a one in a million, one in a BILLION chance that we’re related in any way. Last I knew my sister didn’t have kids, I didn’t have any new siblings, nothing. On top of that what are the odds that she could be ‘mine’? It’s just not likely, no matter what she looks like. Kids dress like me all the time. It’s nothing new.” Dj exhaled quietly. “I guess I just wanted her to be happy, after all of this stuff with her mother, I miss my Raven.” Nikki smiled at the guitarist. Ever since he met him, Dj had the biggest heart. “You’re a great guy Dj. I don’t know anybody who would give so much just for a girl like you have the past few days. Even more, you’ve given her all of this without being involved. Today you just sat back and watched us. You’re the one that deserves to be happy once she’s back to normal. But it’s not me bro. It’s not me.” Dj turned onto the road his house was on. “Yeah, I guess.” He mumbled. Nikki tried to wake up Raven, but when she refused to get up he had to carry her in. Dj left her in her own rom for the night. From now on he wanted her to come to him, not the other way around.
The next morning Nikki woke up to not the hideous sunlight for once, but Dj and James standing over him. “James? The fuck are you doing here? What’s wrong Dj?” The guys just stared at him. Nikki groaned and sat up. “Daren what is going on, where’s Raven?” “Asleep” the guitarist answered. Nikki raised an eyebrow and got out of bed, grabbing his shirt off the back of a chair. “Why are you so quiet James?” The two looked at each other then back to Nikki, nudging each other. “Will somebody please just tell me what the fuck is going on?!” Nikki yelled, getting agitated. The two stopped nudging each other and stared at the bassist. Finally Dj sighed. “Dude, it is you.” Nikki yawned, giving the guitarist a questioning look. “Dj what’s me?” He asked. Dj held up a piece of paper with lots of print on it. “It’s you.” He said. Nikki snatched the paper from him. The top read “DNA Comparison: Match” “Stop fucking with me guys this isn’t funny, it doesn’t even look official.” Finally James spoke up. “Man, I snatched your Coke can the other day, we couldn’t stand the curiosity anymore. It’s true. Raven is your daughter.” Then, for the first time in his life without being high or drunk, Nikki fell in shock.