We walked around a corner and it almost looked like an abandoned underground club; the walls were dark and there was a ripped up leather couch against the wall nearest to me. Large rectangular pillars held up the high ceilings, and which were a (now cracked) glossy black color that matched the walls. One wall was completely clear of graffiti, and a nicer (but still rough) leather chair sat in front of it with its back to us, a barefooted leg hanging over the side.

"That black wall over there," Phil shouted over the sound of someone playing drums, "is used for photo shoots, like, a lot, so we try to keep it bare. There's a really nice new couch over there, too. Some dude threw it out because he spilled coffee on it, or something. Brand fucking new," he said.

Being that I couldn't see around the pillar to the couch he was talking about, I only saw legs clad in tight black denim, a line of safety pins down the front, tipped with faded black pointy boots and a snake wrapped around the person's ankle.

I couldn't see anyone, just their legs hanging over the arms of the furniture. They must have practiced in a back corner or something, because while I could hear them, they were hidden behind another wall that stuck out slightly, dividing part of of the room.

Soon, the drums settled down and I heard a guitar, but it seemed off- whether out of tune or off time, I wasn't sure.

"Come on, Slash!" yelled a familiar sounding voice.

I couldn't put a finger on it, but there was something about the tone that I recognized. It was fairly deep, and had a rich quality to it, but I shrugged it off, not being able to put a name or a face to it.

"What?" a raspy voice called back to the first voice.

"You keep missing your queue, man. Stradlin, get over here!" the first voice shouted.

"Yo, Axl, why don't we try Hair of the Dog? That always seems to work," another voice called.

Looking over at Phil, who had a semi-blank expression, I rolled my eyes, deciding to enter the room completely, irritated that he had stopped us in the 'doorway' of the room.

"Duff, why would we play that when we have originals," the first voice said.

Then I saw it, the flash of copper hair, and it all clicked. It was Will, his voice was just a bit deeper. My eyes widened and I began to back away, but being the winner I am, I knocked over an empty beer bottle, drawing his attention.

"Woah," he said, looking at me. "Well, hello, stranger. Long time no see," he said with a sexy grin that he always saved for me.

Nope. Not sexy. I was over him and annoyed with his exit from my life.

But damn, did he look good in that leather jacket and those tight jeans.

"Will," I said with a nod, turning around to leave, only to bump into Phil, who's face held a knowing smile.

"You son of a bitch!" I hissed, realizing that this was his plan all along.

"'Ey! Where you goin'?" Will asked, taking a few steps closer to me.

"Uh, hom-"

"Who's that?" I heard a voice call out.

Freezing, I looked over to where it came from, seeing a person's hands reach down untangle the snake from their ankle, stand up, placing said snake on the couch and began to walk over.

"Carolina?" he asked softly, clearly in disbelief.

I felt my jaw involuntarily drop; it was my big brother. He looked completely different as he walked over to me; his faded black jeans were lined with safety pins and his denim jacket was offset by a purple scarf. His hair was now long and jet black, slightly greasy, topped with a simple black hat. A cigarette hung from his lips, but when he was a few feet away from me, he flicked it to the ground.

He enveloped me in a hug and I awkwardly patted his back, not knowing what to do.

"Izz, who is it?" I heard the raspy voice say, followed by a ball of curly hair peeking around a chair. He leaned so far that he fell out of his chair (although he was probably drunk, too). He sat up and pushed his curls out of his face.

I felt my heart drop at the sight of the one person I'd been so angry with for so long: Saul. Even though he sat on the floor, I could tell he was a bit taller than he was last I had seen him. He wore a white t-shirt, leather pants, and suspenders that were probably just for looks. His face had matured a bit and his hair was much longer- and bigger. He was more handsome than I had remembered, but that didn't make us friends.

"Well, well, well. Ya know, Hudson, I always did have you on your knees," I said irritably.

"Caro- woah," he said, his eyes widening behind his hair.

"Saul," I said bitterly, again nodding to him.

"Rae, I've missed you so much," Jeff said excitedly. "It's been so long- mom and dad are so worried about you- and I tried to talk to you-"

"Jeff, I missed you, too, but I want to leave."

His smile dropped and his eyes softened.

"Wh- why would you leave? You just got here."

"I didn't mean to be here; Phil tricked me," I said turning around.

I gasped seeing that he was gone. He had left me here with my brother and two people I couldn't stand, and I had no way of finding my way home.

"How have you been, Caro-leen-a?" Will asked, intentionally mispronouncing my name with a coy smile.

"Fine, Will. I know I don't need to remind you how to properly say my name," I said, glaring at him.

"Right, sorry, Caro-line-a," he said, still smiling playfully.

"It's not like old times," I reminded him. "Oh, and by the way, William, fuck you," I said angrily, his smile fading.

"Are you still-"

"Yes I'm still upset. You fucking- you know what, it doesn't matter; you know what you did. And you," I said, pointing to Slash, who was now standing about six feet away, laughing to himself, "an even bigger 'fuck you' to you!" I snarled. "You ruined everything for me!"

"Not my fault you couldn't kee-"

"Guys!" shouted a new voice.

The voice belonged to a very handsome (and very tall) blonde. He also wore black jeans, a white button up, and a black vest.

"What, Duff?"Jeff shouted back.

He had stayed silent when I saw talking to Saul and Axl, knowing it was better to let me vent, rather than argue and stop me.

"Who the fuck is this?" the blonde asked, waving a hand toward me. "Steven," he shouted, looking over his shoulder, "do you know who this chick is?"

Moments later, Steven Adler popped up beside the towering blonde, a huge smile on his face.

"Carolina!" he shouted excitedly before racing over and hugging me.

"Hey, Stevie!" I said, finally happy to see someone.

"How have you been? I haven't been seein' you around lately," he said, practically bouncing in his spot.

"I've been taking care of some friends," I said, slightly nervous around my brother and his bandmates.

"Carolina," my brother breathed, "I missed you so much. I'm so sorry I made you leave."

I could see it in his eyes that he was being genuine, and I cracked. I tightly wrapped my arms around my brother, finally feeling like things were okay between us.

After our hug, I stepped back and cleared my throat, waiting to properly meet 'Duff.'

"Uh, Carolina, this is Duff," Jeff said, pointing to where his tall blonde friend stood, placing his bass against the couch.

"Nice to meet you, Carolina," he said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you, too," I said, returning his smile. Turning my attention back to my brother, I mumbled, "God, Jeff, you look so different," as I played with his hair.

"We are different," he said with a shrug. "We all go by different names now- except Steven."

"What do you go by?" I asked, amused.

"Izzy Stradlin. Will goes by Axl Rose, and Saul goes by Slash."

"And Duff's name is really Duff?" I asked, a bit surprised.

"Duff McKagan," Duff said with a cute smile. "Childhood nickname."

"Cool," I said quietly. "Um... I should let you get back to your thing," I mumbled, awkwardly turning to leave.

"What? No, Carolina, stay," 'Izzy' begged. "Come on, it's been so long! Did you get the stuff I sent you?"

"Yes... I loved it."

"Really?" my brother asked, his smile growing wide.

"Yeah! I listened to the record for four days straight and drove Tracii insane," I said with a chuckle.

"You still hang out with Tracii?" asked 'Slash,' retrieving the snake from the couch.

"Yes," I said, watching the snake slither and wrap itself around his wrist.

"What?" he asked, looking at me, then at the snake. "You wanna hold Clyde?"

"Please," I said, mesmerized by the smooth reptile. I had even surprised myself with being somewhat nice and saying 'please.'

"Here, careful with him," he said, handing me the slippery creature. He observed my actions, as if he was making sure his pet wasn't in danger.

"So cool," I said, mostly to myself.

"Carolina used to want a pet snake when we lived in Indiana, remember that, Axl?"

"Yeah, and your mom would rather have died before getting her one," he said with a laugh.

"I don't know why she was so against it," I murmured, running my fingers along his scales. "They're so cool."

"Yeah, they are," Slash said, watching Clyde slip and slide between my fingers.

After a few minutes, I passed the snake back to him, and my brother had me sit down on the couch beside him to explain what happened.

"They said you were being really awful when you got home," my brother said, referring to our parents.

"Yeah..."

"Well, what'd you do?"

"Yeah, what were you up to, Rae?" 'Axl' asked, sitting on the arm of the couch beside me.

"Do you have to sit that close to me?" I asked, irritated by his presence.

"Yes... well, actually, no. Is this better?" he asked, sliding into my lap.

"Get the fuck off me!" I grumbled, pushing him off of my lap, causing him to fall to the floor.

"Well, I missed you, too," he said sarcastically, scowling as he stood up.

"Did you expect me to be excited to see you?" I asked with a sarcastic laugh.

"Yes, I did actually."

"Well, you were wrong, I said simply.

"Why are you so angry with me?"

"Because I can be, 'Axl,'" I said, using air quotes.

"Don't be like that," he said, as if he was warning me.

"Don't fucking tell me what to do," I said, standing up and walking towards him.

"Are you challenging me?" he asked in disbelief.

"Maybe I am."

"Carolina, sit down- ignore him. Fuck off, Axl!" my brother shouted.

"You can't protect her forever," he said, backing off. "If you wanna step into my world," he said, looking at me, "you better be ready, little girl."

"Fuck you!" I spat, walking back to where my brother sat.

"Don't let him get you worked up. You haven't killed anyone yet, so leave it like that.

"Yet," I stressed.

"Just ignore him, seriously. No one wants to get caught in that crossfire... Now, I want to know what happened."

I sighed deeply, explaining all that had happened; the parties, the smoking, drinking, occasional drugs. I told him about the people I was hanging out with, the things we did, and I told him about what happened between me and our parents- him occasionally interrupting to reprimand me.

"Jesus, Carolina. Cocaine is bad for you," my brother scolded.

"At least I told you," I said with a shrug. "I never got hooked, nor did I see the point of it. I did it twice- I didn't get hooked, and I wasn't into it," I stressed when he made a face at me.

"Still, that was stupid. And those people you were with- what the fuck were you thinking?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"Jeff, please stop," I said, growing annoyed.

"Stop what? Someone needs to get it into your head that you were being an idiot."

"Wow, no fucking way," I said, standing up.

"Where are you going?" he asked, almost sad sounding.

"Home. I didn't ask to be scolded and lectured by you- if that was what I wanted, I'd go home to mom and dad. Find me when you're over it," I said, walking toward the exit. "Bye Stevie. Nice meeting you, Duff," I called, ignoring Izzy, Slash, and Axl, the three of whom I was irritated with (it felt like I would be for life).

It was almost bizarre seeing them; they had faded from my thoughts because I hadn't seen them in so long that I thought I would never see them again. Now I had a few problems; what would I do about Kelly (I was interested), what about I do about my brother and the rest of Guns N' Roses, and how the fuck would I get home...