Raven awoke in her room the next day, this time her curtains open slightly instead of drawn against the world. She blinked blearily at the gap in the curtains, through which greyish light spilled. The soothing sound of pouring rain threatened to lull her back to sleep as she lay there.
Her night last night wasn't the best. She didn't sleep very well.
Raven flipped the blankets off her and got to her feet. Deep inside, she still felt cold and sad, but she decided she needed to come out of her stupor and put on a brave face for the sake of her little son and her father.
She made her way towards the bathroom, because tge first step would be to get freshened up and then find some clean clothes.
Her shower refreshed her greatly, and she stepped from the bathroom feeling much more capable.
"Okay, time to get a grip Raven." She muttered to herself, making her way towards her wardrobe. "Simple. Something simple." She murmured as she opened the doors and began her search for clothes.
She very quickly settled on a loose grey t-shirt and black skinny jeans. She then chose her slightly grubby 'converse' style sneakers to wear, and she combed her just dry hair.
When she looked in the mirror, Raven saw a young woman with comfortable clothing, who looked overall like she was just fine.
When Raven got home to bed at night, however, she knew it would all come out. Her stony exterior would fall away like yesterday's sunshine and the rain would pour.
There was thunder in her heart, and Raven could only keep it quiet for so long.
She made her way downstairs, where her tiny son was playing with a toy car on the rug in front of the couch. He looked up through his extremely curly hair as she approached, and a big smile broke out across his face,
"Mama!" He cried joyously, and bounded towards her, leaving the car discarded on the rug.
"Hello, baby!" She forced a big grin onto her face, and crouched down, opening her arms wide to hug him. The toddler crashed against her and she held him gently to her chest.
"You- o-k?" He asked,
"Yeah, I'm gonna be fine." She smiled, and kissed his head.
"Did u-cool Sash tawk to you?" He looked up at her through big, innocent doe eyes. Her smile never faltered, and she nodded her head. "He says he did." Renan nodded, little curls bouncing. His hair was very alike Slash's, and he had brown eyes like Slash, too.
To an outsider, Renan must look like Slash's son, but it wasn't like that at all. Renan's father was a stranger she met at a party while she was drunk and she accidentally fell pregnant from him.
"I'm gonna go and have breakfast, have you eaten anything yet?" She asked the one-and-a-half year old.
"Yea. Un-coo Sash- god me some." Renan said; he hadn't quite grasped english yet.
"Okay. You can keep playing, I'll be back in just a little while." She gave him a gentle smile, and ruffled his head of curls gently.
She then proceeded to the kitchen to get something to eat. Her father was seated at the table in the same place as yesterday, sipping tea, and Slash was sitting with his feet up just around the other side of the table from him.
"Hi." She greeted, as she went into the kitchen and began preparing a couple of slices of toast.
Slash and her father exchanged suprised glances, and Slash commented,
"Someone's feeling better."
"Yeah, well I thought about what you said, and- you know." She shrugged.
"Good to hear!" Her dad grinned over at her. She returned his smile, and as she did, her toast popped, which made her jump a little.
Slash chuckled,
"Scary toast?"
"Ah, fuck you." She scowled, embarrassed.
"If you're offering." Slash smirked, and Raven blushed as the fangirl inside wet herself with excitement. She managed to contain her excitement to a smile.
"You wouldn't know what to do with this." Raven smirked back, and Slash laughed.
"Ohh- that's a good one." He said quietly. Raven's father cleared his throat loudly.
"I'm still here, you know?" He frowned, awkwardly cradling his tea. Slash and Raven laughed,
"Sorry, dad."
"Yeah. Sure you are." He grouched. Slash looked back at Raven, who was now buttering her toast, and said,
"So... do you wanna come and meet Gilby today?"
"Uhh... I dunno, Slash." She began to frown again, and she scratched the back of her head, not meeting his eyes. She was still touchy about Izzy leaving. Raven wasn't sure she wanted to see Guns N' Roses without Izzy yet.
"Go on, it's not a band practice or anything, I just invited him to come have a few drinks at the bar later. It'll be fun. Just see it as hanging out with a new friend." Slash tried to convince her.
"You really should get out of the house at some point, Raven." Her dad added to Slash's argument.
"Oh fine. I'll go." Raven caved in.
"Awesome. He's expecting me in an hour, so if you want to put on something nice you'd better get going." Slash smiled. He knew her too well. Raven scampered up the stairs, and began to go through her wardrobe.
Eventually, she settled on a tight white cotton shirt, the black skinny jeans and a blue denim jacket. Once she was happy with her appearance, she trotted back down the stairs, and Slash held open the front door.
"I'll be back soon, okay guys?" Raven said to her father and Renan.
"O-kay mommy!" Renan grinned, and her dad smiled and nodded. She then stepped outside, and Slash and her went to his car. Slash opened her door.
"Thankyou!" She was a little taken aback, but it was a pleasant gesture. She managed a smile, and took her seat. Slash shut her door, and went around to the driver's side to get in himself.
Upon arrival at the bar, Raven began to feel nervous.
What if Gilby didn't like her?
What if she offended him or Slash?
What if she fucked up again?
She bit her lip, and when Slash opened her door, she hesitated.
"You okay, Raven?" He stuck his head around the car door, brow furrowed.
"Yeah, I'm fine!" She nodded, forcing a smile. She got out of the car and Slash shut her door and locked the vehicle.
The pub was busy, but Slash found Gilby with no real trouble. She had a feeling they had organised a meeting place beforehand.
"Yo, Gilby my man!" Slash smiled, strolling towards him. Gilby turned, and flashed a smile back,
"Hey!" He greeted, then his eyes wandered to her. He looked her up and down, his piercing gaze making her feel like he could see right through her.
"Hi." Raven's eyes dodged to her shoelaces, and she shuffled her feet.
"And who is this?" Gilby questioned, a pleased smile gracing his features. She blushed, and a tiny smile came onto her face.
"This is Raven, remember me talking to you about her?" Slash introduced her. Gilby rose from his seat and approached her,
"What's wrong?" He asked, bending slightly and trying to look into her eyes, she looked up through her lashes at him shyly. "Are you shy?" Gilby asked her, a reassuring smile on his face. Raven couldn't help but think about how handsome he was. Just as this crossed, her mind, Gilby gently put his fingers under her chin and lifted it to make her look him in the eyes. She was caught like a deer in the headlights of a car. And as cliché as it was, when Gilby's soft sea blue eyes gazed into hers, and she saw the reassuring smile on his face, all her fears were put to rest.
"Now, I'm Gilby Clarke, but you can call me anytime." He winked.

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