"Look, I feel bad that you're so down. I'd like to take you out, get your mind off things," Slash said quietly as I read a review in the newspaper.

"Mötley Crüe and Guns N' Roses, a power duo for the ages," I read aloud, ignoring him.

"Carolina, please, just think about it, okay?" he asked before shuffling away.

"Rae," my brother said in a strange tone.

"What?" I asked, already knowing that I wouldn't want to hear whatever he had to say.

"Just let him take you out. You need to get out of the bus more. It's been three weeks-"

"Fans can be heard raving about the show as you walk through the streets," I read, cutting him off, "clearly, the event was memorable, and those that attended will talk about this for-"

"Carolina Rae, listen to me- put the fucking paper down!" he snapped, pulling the newspaper from my hands.

"What do you want?" I groaned as I put my head down on the table.

"Look, you and I both know that you and Nikki aren't going to date, and all Slash is asking for is a fighting chance. Just go out with him one time; you might even have fun, and even if you don't, he'll leave you alone after."

"Iz, I don't-"

"Good morning, Isbells," Axl said to us, stumbling down the bunk hall.

"Well hey, you could stay here with that," my brother whispered. "Everyone else is getting off of the buses today except for him," he said with a shrug. "Your choice."

I sat up, and with a harsh glare to my brother, I sighed and stood up.

"Slash," I called out, heading toward the bunks, dreading the conversation that was about to happen.

°°°°°°

Two hours later, I found myself at the beach with Slash, kicking sand and watching seagulls.

"Oh come on! Will you at least pretend you're having fun?" he asked, blowing his thick curls out of his eyes.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to be here, isn't it obvious?" I asked irritably, rolling my eyes. "It was either you or Axl, and I thought maybe you were the better choice... I'm beginning to realize that I was wrong," I mumbled.

I didn't want to be near him for many reasons, but mostly because he had a talent for constantly tripping up my thoughts and pissing me off. It wasn't enough that I had to stay on a bus with him for a matter of months, but he absolutely would not leave me alone since Axl and I 'broke up.' It was becoming extremely frustrating.

It was like when Izzy and I first moved to Los Angeles; he was always there at my beck and call, even when I didn't want him. This time, I didn't want to test his loyalty and see how far I could make him go, because I already knew that he would do pretty much anything.

I was once again stuck with the idea that there was a little bit of feelings creeping in for him. I didn't want to like him; I didn't want to date another member of Guns N' Roses for a multitude of reasons, but that didn't mean that there was a strange, lingering feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Y'know," he said slowly, tilting his head back, "if you didn't want to go on a date with me, you could have just said no."

I must have looked at him like he had spawned another head... I was so angry, and completely flabbergasted.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Are you delusional, Hudson?"

"No?"

I shook my head angrily.

"I've been trying to tell you for the last three weeks that I wanted nothing to do with you, but noooo. Izzy said-" I gasped, "Izzy! This is what that lying little shit's been up to; this is his fault! If I had just ignored him I wouldn't be here!" I said, throwing my hands up.

That is the last time I ever listened to my brother.

"'Just go,' he said.'you might even have fun,' he said," I mocked. "'He'll leave you alone after,' he said."

I made a mental note to sock my brother later. Now, I was stuck on an all afternoon date with Slash. Brilliant.

"Why won't you just give me a chance?" he asked in a sad tone.

I wasn't buying it.

"You can have any girl on this planet, yet you won't leave me alone. I'm not a target, and I don't want to be here... I should have just stayed on the bus," I mumbled.

"Look, I understand if you don't like me, but at least give me a shot. I might change your mind," he said softly, reaching to brush breeze blown hair out of my face.

I leaned away from his touch, looking up to see him holding his hair out of his eyes. They were soft and sincere, but also held hurt and sadness.

"Please," he begged. He dropped his hair and held my hands in his. "At least pretend to have fun. If it turns out that you really do have fun, I wont even know."

"Slash, I don't... It-" I tried to think of how to formulate my sentence, "it just doesn't seem like a good idea. I don't want to give you the wrong idea from playing pretend."

"Hey, like I said, I won't even know... Plus, it'll keep the vultures away," he added nervously.

"The what?"

What the hell is he talking about now?

"The, uh, girls that follow me around," he said sheepishly.

I rolled my eyes at him once again. He is absolutely ridiculous!

"Don't you think that you're being a little full of yourself?" I asked, pulling my hands away from him.

He shook his head. "Nope, there's a flock of 'em behind you."

I turned around to see a group of women making their way towards us. Returning my eyes to Slash, I thought for a moment. I could see him fidgeting nervously as they got closer, and for some odd reason, I kind of felt bad. Then it hit me.

"Alright, Hudson," I said with a sigh. "I'll give you a shot."

A smile began to form on his lips as he mumbled a shy 'thank you' before looking over my shoulder.

I followed his gaze to the girls, who were still walking over; there were now at least twenty, and I knew that if they got close enough, Slash would be more or less devoured and I would get shoved to the back.

"We're really gonna have to sell this," I said with a laugh.

"We don't have to do anything if you don't-"

I cut him off by roughly grabbing him by the lapels of his leather jacket and pulling him in for a kiss.

After his second of shock wore off, he wrapped his arms around me, holding me close. I hated to admit it, but he had really soft lips; I couldn't stand him, but at least he was amazing at kissing.

After a moment, we broke apart, and he blinked, trying to get a grip on reality as I smiled. He slowly looked up over my head.

"They're going away," he said, puzzled.

"Public displays of affection make people uncomfortable."

"Yeah, well I guess we really did sell it," he said with a wink.

I patted his arm and said, "Thanks. I took theater in high school."

He shook his head, smiling slightly. "Well, what are we going to do first?" he asked, offering me his hand. I stared at it for a moment before taking it and lacing our fingers together.

Oh god.

"How about the rides on the boardwalk?" I suggested.

He nodded. "Cliché, but sure."

°°°°°°

By the time that the sun had begun to set, we had been on every ride on the boardwalk, and had played the few games that they had to offer; I was honestly surprised to see that Slash was pretty good at them, as he had won a goldfish at some bean bag toss game and a stuffed raccoon at the dart game, both of which he had given to me.

Even more surprising to me than his game skills was the fact that I was actually having fun, not just pretending. I'm not saying that he instantly turned into my favorite person all of a sudden, but I liked him a little more as a human.

"Hey, stay here for a sec," he said, standing up. "Don't move, I'll be right back," he added quickly. I nodded and he smiled, disappearing into a group of people that walked by.

I looked out over the rail on the pier, and watched the beautiful waves crash against the sand. The blue-green water looked so beautiful against the gold and pink sky, and the few seagulls that were still flying around made it look like a photo from a postcard.

I sighed happily, drawing in the sights and sounds of the beach. I hadn't even been near the ocean since I was fifteen or sixteen, and Slash bringing me here was what I needed, even if I didn't know it.

A little less than ten minutes later, Slash had reappeared, carrying something that I couldn't quite make out.

"What's that?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

He smiled and held it up, smiling as he said, "I had to be a super-sap and get cotton candy."

A smile came to my face when I saw the fluffy mess of blue and pink.

"I haven't had that in years," I said excitedly. I felt like a child again, and my mind quickly flooded with memories.

"Dude, it's a classic treat," he said as we headed for the nearest bench to watch the sunset.

"The last time I had it, I was probably about six; Izzy used to take me to carnivals with him- well, my mom made him because he would go with his friends," I said with a laugh. "He used to buy it for me to keep me busy when they'd go talk to girls."

°°°°°°

"Dude, what about Carolina? We can't talk to chicks when she's here," whined my brother's friend Allan.

"She's fine, watch," he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me to one of the vendors. He mumbled something to the lady working there, and handed her fifty cents.

"Okay, Rae, I'm going to give you this, but you have to promise to stay out of trouble, and don't tell mom that I was talking to girls, okay?" he asked softly, offering me the giant pink ball of spun sugar.

"You got it," I mumbled.

"Okay. Here you go," he said before leading me back to his friends. "She's cool."

°°°°°°

I laughed at the memory and told Slash about it, who laughed as he tried to pull the candy floss apart.

"It was an easy way to bribe me," I said, watching my new goldfish swim around in the baggie he was in. I leaned my head on Slash's shoulder, causing him to momentarily freeze, before continuing to pull at the fluff.

"Hudson?"

"Hm?"

"I actually did have fun today," I said softly.

"So did I, Carolina," he said, his smile evident in his voice. "I'm glad."

After a moment, I sat up, stretching my arms.

"Hey, Isbell?"

"Wha-"

I was cut off by Slash stuffing a giant wad of cotton candy in my mouth, causing me to laugh and try to push his sticky fingers away from my face.

"Thank you," I said with a laugh. "That's exactly what I was hoping you would do."

"You're welcome," he said, pressing his sticky lips to my cheek, causing me to giggle as I wiped the sugar off of my face.

Okay, so maybe he wasn't so bad after all, but then again, he could the one pretending. Maybe things between us would get better; less arguing and being petty over stupid shit, but only time would tell.

Part of me was hopeful for what ever the future would hold, but part of me was scared shitless at the idea of anything else happening. I wouldn't mind being really good friends with him, but the idea of anything more made me a little nervous.