Wet skin pressed against the cold wall of a jail cell. Joe had been held in here for four hours now, waiting for someone to come get him, but still no one had turned up with the two thousand dollar cash sum to bail him out of this dull room of misery. The clock just kept ticking further into the day. And by now, the overcast was fading into a pink orange hue as twilight started to set in.

He stared down at his shackled hands as he stayed slumped against the wall, feeling rather sorry for himself. Out of all the places he could be right now, jail shouldn't have been one of them. Joe groaned and closed his eyes. This sucked. He should've been at Elyssa by now and proposed to her already.

Just as he started dropping off, there were approaching footsteps. His eyes immediately snapped open, and he jumped to his feet, praying that this was his god-given chance to be freed.

Steven!! Joe wanted to run to him and hug him, but judging by the look on Steven's face when he came into the room made it clear that he wasn't in a loving mood.

Oh shit. This could only end well.

Joe laughed nervously, unable to hide how he really felt.

His head snapped up when an officer walked in. Was he about to get in trouble again? Or was he going to be freed? He hoped it was the latter because he was pretty sure he'd completely lose it if he had to stay in here one more second.

"Hold out your hands, Perry. I'm gonna take the cuffs off," said the officer, producing a key from his pocket.

Joe's mood lightened a little, and he eagerly held out his hands. He sighed with relief when the handcuffs came off, the pressure from his wrists instantly released. 

 He nursed the red marks that were left on him, soothing the pain.

"You're good to go."

He nodded and started for the exit.

"Hey, don't get into any more trouble, Perry, okay? I don't wanna see you back here anytime soon."

"Trust me, you won't be seeing my face again," Joe assured him before completely leaving the room, Steven aggressively escorting him to the exit by his arm.

When they finally got outside the police station, the guitarist continued to be forcefully led down the street before they came to an alleyway, where he was pulled down and pushed up against the wall. Joe grunted when his back hit the wall, feeling the bricks grazing his skin through his shirt.

"Joe, you have no idea how fucking pissed I am at you!" Steven growled, pinning Joe in place by his shoulders. "What the hell were you thinking bringing drugs back home?! Did you not think you'd get caught?!"

He was trying so hard not to shake him right now.

Joe shoved Steven away from him, not appreciating having his space invaded. "You smuggle drugs all the time!"

"Yeah, but at least I'm sneaky about it!"

Steven couldn't believe how dismissive Joe was being over the matter as though getting caught for smuggling drugs was no big deal. He ran his hand through his hair in exasperation. Joe had slowly become more and more reckless over the past six months ever since he started ingesting copious drugs at a frequent rate. It was getting hard to keep up with and even harder for the guitarist to keep his addiction under wraps from the public. It was becoming increasingly obvious every passing day.

Steven himself was rather open about his substance abuse. It was already public knowledge, so there wasn't any point shying away from it and acting like it wasn't happening. He wasn't proud of it, but he was working on bettering himself. It was gonna be a long, hard road to recovery, but it'd all be worth it in the end.

"Look at you, Joe! You're a mess!!" he exclaimed when Joe seemed to zone out for a moment. He shook his head, feeling completely lost. "I know things are hard, man, but drugs aren't going to get you through. Sometimes, you just gotta dance with the devil.

Steven sighed and sat down beside Joe, who had perched himself on the edge of the pavement, looking extremely miserable, as though he had been fighting with himself for hours.

"Look Joe, I get it," he said, placing a comforting hand on Joe's shoulder. "The album, the deadline, Elyssa - everything is getting too much. I do understand, but I'm not doing drugs all day."

Joe looked up and gave him a judgmental look, making it clear that he saw right through this lie. Though Steven didn't do them as frequently, he still did them all throughout the day.

"Are you stoned right now?"

Steven hesitated before finally responding, "... A little, but that's not the point."

"Then what is the point, Steven, huh? You can't just come down here and chew me out about getting high when you're high yourself!"

Joe couldn't believe the amount of hypocrisy that was coming out of the singer's mouth. It was genuinely mind-blowing how Steven seemed to think he could get away with everything just because he was the lead singer.

"Alright, I got a little buzzed. So what?! I need to be when I have to come down here and rescue your stupid ass! Two thousand dollars, man!! Just because you can't keep your nose out the bag for a second!" Steven shouted, getting to his feet.

He wanted nothing more than to just walk away and leave Joe to wallow in his problems, but he knew he couldn't. Joe needed him.

Steven quickly stepped back as Joe abruptly stood up and pushed him, before getting into his face, clearly trying to intimidate him.

"Hey! Don't push me, asshole!!" he shouted, shoving Joe back. “It's not my fault that you can't help yourself!"

This conversation was not supposed to turn confrontational. Their hot, angry breath fanned on each other's faces as they stared each other down, waiting for the other to do something.

“You seriously have some nerve, Steven, trying to act all innocent.”

Steven shrugged. “Hey man, I'm not playing saint. You can't pin all your problems on me.”

“Oh, really?! The entire reason I'm here is because of you!! You're the one who got me on drugs in the first place!! If you hadn't given me that joint when I was a teenager, then I wouldn't be fucking addicted to all this shit!! It's your fault!!” Joe yelled, his knuckles turning white as he clenched them.

This hit Steven like a freight train, especially when Joe screamed in his face. He couldn’t believe he was being blamed for everything. I mean, yeah, he influenced Joe in some ways, but Joe had ultimately gotten into this all by himself.

“I won't pretend that I didn't play a part. Did I give you your first joint? Yes. But you were the one who decided to try more drugs. This is all off your own back.”

Steven was trying to stay calm because he knew he was right. At this point, Joe didn’t deserve his fury, seeing that it would only stir the pot more, and he didn’t want it to bubble over again.

“Off my own back?! Are you fucking kidding me, Steven?! You - fuck you!”

Joe couldn't comprehend the reality he'd created for himself anymore. It was all built off lies, drugs, abuse and rocky romances. Everything was just so surreal for him; he felt disassociated from the world around him, unlike Steven, who was trying to keep his substance use under control.

“Yeah, fuck me. I know, it's all my fault,” Steven said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“I - I can't believe I even told you that I love you. I would never have admitted that if I knew it was going to get me in this much shit.”

Steven's heart panged with anger and heartache at his friend's harsh words. He knew Joe wasn’t in his right mind at the moment, but it didn't make it hurt any less.

“You… regret telling me that you love me..?”

“Yes! No… yes! No… I - I don't know!”

“Okay… Well, maybe you should go back to that skank of your future wife!! Or better yet, go back to Warren fucking DeMartini!! I know you two kissed at Paul's party, and probably even hooked up!!”

The hurt he was feeling from Joe kissing another man back in December was still fresh. He had already been in love with Joe at the time, which really rubbed salt into the wound.

“At least he showed some level of care towards me and made it known that he loved me!! Unlike you!!" Joe sharply jabbed Steven's chest.

“Joe, you're talking out your dick! I've been by your side for years and loved and cared for you the whole time!! Whilst Warren is just some random rockstar you met, and apparently, he exhibits signs of being a better friend and partner?! Wow. That's so rich.”

“You know what, Steven?! I quit!” Joe screamed.

“Wait. What?” Steven was immediately snapped out of his rage, and he was left bewildered. “Quit?! QUIT?! You can't just quit like this in the middle of the album!!”

“Tough luck. That's rock and roll.”

“So the band doesn't matter to you anymore?! The fans don't matter to you anymore?!” Steven looked like a madman as he flailed his arms as he spoke.

“You guys can go suck each other's dicks. I'm done with the drama.”

“Oh, you mean the drama you caused? What a man, Joe. Running away from your problems like a complete pussy. Well done.” He clapped slowly, mocking him. “Well, we don't need you, anyway!! So, go and get your marriage sorted, then come and collect your shit.”

“Yeah, I will!”

“Awesome! Now get out of my sight, you fucking traitor! I don't want to see your face again!”

Steven watched as Joe stormed away without any last words. He couldn't believe that in half an hour, nine years of friendship had been thrown away just like that as though it was nothing. Guess he was too insignificant to stay in Joe Perry's world.

Joe had been the ultimate light of his life and reason to live, but now all purpose he had felt worthless. With Joe, they were brothers and the toxic twins. But without Joe, well, now he was just some idiot rockstar who pranced about on stage in a stupid costume in front of hundreds of thousands of people every night.

It was supposed to be Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. Not Steven Tyler, spacebar spacebar spacebar, and, spacebar spacebar spacebar, Joe Perry.

He sniffed and wiped away the tears that were forming in his eyes. “I still love you,” he whispered, hoping Joe would hear him. But he was long gone by now. It was just him.

**Joe quit Aerosmith!!😱 Now, what will happen to the band?!?! Buckle up, because it's going to be a bumpy ride...**