#why is vinyl spelt like that fuck off

[lichenbug]

more silly horse designs :3

[x-ximenas]

Love Means Trouble: Chapter 4

Prompt: Hurricane by Halsey, which you can find in this playlist.

Pairing: OC/Nikki Sixx

Warnings: Alcohol consumption, near smut and my terrible grammar and punctuation remember English’s not my first language.

Word Count: 4,712 words

A/N: All I seem to do is apologize, i know, but college is killing me and draining me slowly -read quickly- Med school is heavy, folks. Anyways, finally finished this chapter, hallelujah!  Also, if you liked this bit, I’d love to hear some comments! If you’d like to be added to a taglist for upcoming parts comment, dm me, ask me… just talk to me!

A/N 2: I made a NEW spotify playlist where you can find the songs I mention in the story.

// Prologue // Previous Chapter // Next Chapter //

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“Well, hello Circe…”

Circe's breath hitched as her name was so naturally spelt by Nikki's lips. His face held some smugness to it, he had finally cracked the code he had been waiting so desperately to crack. Her name.

"H-How?" Circe stuttered, shock clearly written on her face.

"Close your mouth, we don't want any flies going into that pretty mouth of yours, babe" Circe's mouth snapped shut after Nikki's comment.

"And... to answer your question, Tommy" as Nikki said that he flopped down on Circe's couch, who hadn't moved from the entryway nor closed the door.

"Fuck" finally, Circe reacted. She slammed the door shut, her eyes rolling at the mere thought of Tommy talking more than he should.

"I'm going to kill that kid one of these days" She muttered to herself, but Nikki heard her loud and clear.

"Well, I gotta say that if I had known that you were Tommy's Circe I would've listened to him more attentively" Nikki said teasingly, but not attempting to lighten Circe's mood.

"Did he also tell you where I live?" she questioned, ignoring his comment entirely as she went through her cabinets in search for her bottle of Jack. She knew it wasn't the best idea after last night's little trip, but she desperately needed the burn of the alcohol to wake her up.

"No, that was Vince, actually" Nikki kept on mocking her distress, enjoying the change in banter.

"I'm going to kill Barbie too then" Circe spoke louder this time, then she opened the bottle of Tequila she found, the large gulp she took made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up straight.

"Circe... hmmm, it fits you" Nikki said to himself after a brief moment of silence, Circe snorted before taking another drink from the bottle.

"And how do you even know it fits me? Hm?" She asked, walking out her small kitchen before sitting on the couch opposite from Nikki. Her eyebrows rested highly on her forehead, inquiry all across her features.

"I just know it does, call it... a sixth sense" Nikki smiled at her, then he took the bottle of tequila from Circe's grasp. Said action made Circe groan out loud and stand up from her place.

"Yeah, whatever. I call bluff on your sixth sense" she dismissed his comment as she took the needle off the record, trying to be as careful as she could to avoid scratching her Bauhaus' vinyl.

Nikki observed her as she gracefully moved around her apartment in search of another vinyl to play. Circe rummaged through the piles of albums, her brain not cooperating with her at the moment. She had no idea what to play and despite how unpleased she was with Nikki being at her place, she still wanted him to like the music meant to fill in the gaps.

After a few seconds of indecisiveness where Circe's brain couldn't choose between Queen's The Game and Siouxsie and the Banshees' Kaleidoscope, she finally settled for Siouxsie. Circe was delicate when placing the needle on the vinyl, she almost looked as if she was holding a breath. Nikki kept on watching her with curious eyes, his interest was rising as he followed her movements. He didn't think she would be into this kind of music, so different from what Mötley played and from what he had caught her dancing to on their last rendez-vous.

Nikki caught Circe smile to herself once the music started. The almost unnerving sound of the instruments added more tension to the atmosphere. And Siouxsie's strangely calm voice gave the atmosphere some edge.

"So, why did you never tell me your name?" Nikki said, speaking above the music without much effort.

"For fun" was Circe's short answer.

Circe looked everywhere but Nikki's direction as she reached for her pack of cigarettes. He, on the other hand, couldn't stop staring at her, clearly tired of the game she was playing. It had been drawn out for far too long, almost half a year to be exact.

"Fun?" he questioned after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, fun" Circe shrugged before lighting her cigarette.

"You had me playing along just because you wanted some fun?" he asked. He was annoyed, but she took joy in that.

"Yeah, exactly. But you can't tell me you didn't have fun as well, can you Nikki?" she answered with a smug smile, finally feeling more in control of the situation at hand. Then, their eyes met.

Nikki's olive-coloured eyes were lit up with a strange mixture of curiosity, surprise and irritation. Said eyes were framed by his dark eyebrows, that had shot up his forehead. Contrarily, Circe's espresso-coloured eyes were filled with mischief.

"It's true, I can't" he answered, leaning back on the couch.

"But it doesn't mean I'm not tired of it"

"Pity, I was enjoying our game. So sad you're getting tired of it" Circe mocked. A fake pout barely covering the growing smirk.

"Might have to get myself someone who can actually play along" she kept on mocking. She took a puff out her cigarette before she grabbed the bottle of tequila, taking a large gulp right after.

"It's not that I can't play along, the problem here is that you're not playing fair" Nikki leaned forward, grabbing Circe's chin between his fingers.

"And you do? Play fair, I mean" Circe's gaze was unwavering as she looked at Nikki, tilting her head to the side.

Circe took Nikki's silence as her answer and such silence made Circe's ego grow a smidge bigger.

She hummed.

"I see. So, what do you propose, Nikki?" Circe said, sitting on the couch and leaning closer to Nikki. Her head was tilted to the side, and her left eyebrow rose in anticipation.

"What do you seek, Circe?" He retorted, avoiding her question.

"Debauchery, destruction..." Circe answered, her tongue quickly running over her teeth, staying a little longer on her sharp canines. Nikki mirrored her expression.

"That's all I ever look for, that's all I'm good at"

"I'm not scared of a little destruction, I embrace it" Nikki stated, equally as intense.

"What are you trying to tell me, Nikki?" Circe decided to play dumb.

"I don't think I need to say anything"

"You don't, but I want you to spell it out for me. Tell me what you want" 

Nikki stood up from his seat, Circe following suit. Her heart was racing, the silence that lingered this time wasn't of her liking. She took notice of how Siouxsie's voice was starting to lower in volume, the side A of the vinyl coming to a swift end.

Nikki approached her with long strides and once he was in front of her, mere inches separating them, he kissed her. Nikkis large and calloused hands cupped the soft skin of Circe's cheek, said touch made Circe melt. His lips were chapped, but Circe didn't really care. She was too focused on the non-spoken answer he was giving her with the rough clash of their lips.

It was heated, and probably not meant to last long, but there they were, fighting over who lead the kiss. Who was meant to follow who? No one was truly sure, they didn't seem to care.

Nikki's left hand moved to rest on the side of her neck, he appeared to recall her reaction last time he placed it there. Circe gasped once his cold fingers made contact with the heated skin of her neck. Nikki took this opportunity to sneak his tongue inside her mouth briefly.

Soon enough, they broke the kiss. Their foreheads touched as they decided to stay in their position, so close they could breathe the same air. Circe's eyes were still shut, her heart lingering on the moment they just shared. Nikki observed her soft features, from her plump and reddened lips to her eyelashes that graced the skin of her cheeks.

"Is that enough of an answer?" He whispered, no trace of sarcasm. Circe then opened her eyes, somehow the few strands of gold in her chocolate eyes looked brighter this time.

"I'm not sure" Circe laughed, it was genuine for once.

Then, they kissed again. This kiss was almost feverish, not as sweet as the last. And their kisses only grew hotter as they became more frequent and closer to one another. Soon enough, they were tugging at each other's clothes, their fingers itching to take them off.

The first thing to be removed was Circe's crop top, followed by Nikki's shirt. Circe started to pull Nikki to her room by the waistband of his loose-fitted jeans, using this as her chance to remove the belt that held them in their place. 

Then, someone knocked on her door. Circe groaned out in annoyance and she felt Nikki smirk over the sensitive skin of her neck, skin he was kissing and biting in search of her soft spot.

"Ignore them" he mumbled.

"I really want to, but if it's Tommy there's no such thing as privacy"

And then, almost in cue, Tommy opened the door. He was carrying a bottle of Jack and a bag of food meant to be shared with her.

"Hey, Ce!" Tommy said gleefully, his brain not registering Nikki's presence.

"H-hey" Circe said back, adjusting the bra strap Nikki had slipped off.

Circe left Nikki in her room, heading back to her living room. On the way there, she picked up her crop top from the floor and put it on. Once she was close to Tommy the smell of hamburgers made hunger settle in her stomach, she hadn't eaten anything in almost 20 hours, maybe less.

"Oh, fuck Tommy, you're a goddamn lifesaver" Circe moaned as she took the wrapped up burger that he was handing her.

"This is to gulp it down" Tommy said, shaking the half-empty bottle of Jack.

"Yeah, thought as much. I don't think Tequila tastes good with burgers, man" Circe answered with a mouthful of food. Tommy laughed, taking a bite out of his burger.

They kept eating in silence, Circe momentarily forgetting that Nikki was in the apartment until he decided to sit on the armrest of the couch Tommy was sitting in.

"Hey, Sixx" Tommy said, his brain stopping for a minute, finally connecting the dots. Circe wasn't wearing a shirt a few minutes ago and Nikki was just sitting there, shirtless.

"Wait a fucking minute? What the fuck is going on?" Tommy asked, clearly wanting an explanation.

"More like, what's not going on" Nikki mumbled, stealing Tommy's burger and taking a bite out of it.

"Oh" was Tommy's short answer, avoiding Circe's intense gaze.

"I guess I'm leaving" Nikki said as he picked up his shirt from the back of the couch Circe was sitting in.

"See you soon, Circe" and with that he walked out the door, not sparing Circe a glance.

As Nikki closed the door, Circe snapped out her thoughts, the sound of the needle scratching the vinyl finally settling in her brain. She stood up quickly, removing the needle quickly as to avoid more damage. She sighed, glad that there were no scratches to be found. Finally, she faced Tommy, who's eyes never parted from her.

"Yes?" She questioned.

"Nothing" Tommy laughed, taking the final bite from his burger.

"Alright"

Silence.

"By the way, fuck you!" Circe suddenly remembered, he had been the one that gave her name away.

"Why?" Tommy defended.

"You told him my name!"

"I- fuck, did I?" Tommy asked himself, scratching the back of his neck.

"Yep" Circe said, popping the p.

"Shit, sorry" Tommy apologised.

"It's whatever, he was going to find out soon enough" she shrugged not wanting to fight Tommy for being Tommy. She flipped the vinyl and placed the needle on it, the starting notes to 'Christine' filling the room.

"So... You finally finished the painting?" Tommy asked before he took a drink out of the bottle of Jack.

"Yeah, it's in the room drying up" Circe motioned towards her art room, the memories of what she had experienced sending chills down her spine.

"Cool!"

Then, silence. This much quiet was rare between Circe and Tommy. Every time they hung out one of them -if not both- would lead the conversation, but Circe could tell that despite Tommy's initial support, Nikki being in her apartment had thrown him off.

Before Circe could dive deeper into her thoughts, Tommy cleared his throat. Action that captured Circe's attention.

"Are you coming tonight?" Tommy asked Circe, referring to Mötley's gig.

"I'm not sure, I have to go pick some stuff up from work. If I don't think it's too much, I'll probably be there" Circe answered with a smile, Tommy smiled to himself.

"You always have too much shit to do, but you always finish in time, dude. Chill" Tommy noted.

"If you want someone to model your shit you know I'm always available" that comment made Circe's smile grow tender.

Tommy might be too much to handle sometimes, but moments like these made Circe remember why she let him stay in her life; why she ended up in front of the Lee's house after running from her's.

"Well, I better go so you have time to do your shit. Call me" Tommy said, hugging her sideways before leaving.

Circe stayed put, half processing Tommy's departure and when she finally did, she stood up from her place. She grabbed both her house keys and car keys from the countertop, heading out her apartment to her workplace. But not before putting her Siouxsie vinyl back in its sleeve.

The ride to work was longer than it should've been. The roar of her engine drowning out the sound of the busy LA streets. Circe had one hand on her stirring wheel, the other hung out the window. When she got the chance to speed up, her fingers danced with the wind to the beat of the songs playing on the radio.

Once she was a block away from the store she worked in Circe decided to park. She took off her radio, hiding it away to avoid getting it stolen -again. After turning off the engine and closing the door behind her, she headed to the back of the car and pulled out a big duffle bag.

"Hey, guys!" Circe said as she walked in, her co-workers mumbling a greeting back to her.

"Took you long enough, Larson" teased Lu from where she stood, her eyes fixed on the clothes she was putting on the mannequin.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry. But I'm here, right?" Circe shrugged smiling at Lu.

"Whatever. Show us what you brought us" Lu told Circe, taking the duffle bag from her.

Lu motioned to Sarah -another coworker that Circe actually liked- to come closer. Lu dragged both girls to a table they kept around, opening the bag and dropping all its contents on the plastic surface.

The first thing Sarah picked up was an oversized redshirt. Circe had sewn a much tighter frame to it, making it a tight-fitting dress. But, instead of cutting the excess fabric off, Circe had placed safety pins on both sides; safety pins that she had used to lace the front of the dress, simulating a corset.

Then, Lu pulled a two-piece outfit. It was composed of a red leather top and a pair of high-waisted red leather pants. Not a lot had been done to this particular piece, other than Circe making this a two-piece thing and sewing the pants to be a tighter fit.

The next thing to be put on display was a denim jacket. Circe had spilt some paint on it, so she decided to make something out of it. She splattered various colours of paint on it and after realising she had gone a little over-board with the paint on the bottom half of the jacket she decided to cut it two inches below the breast.

Lu's eyes caught sight of yet another leather piece, this time being a trench coat made out of various pieces of leather tailored to be of a larger fit.

The next few items were quickly examined, Lu nor Sarah showing a lot of interest in those pieces. All girls present were aware of how Circe was always asked to do more casual looks, maybe destined to the boring Valley girls that rummaged LA in search of new outfits. So they never really paid much attention to those clothes.

Finally, Sarah and Lu found themselves holding the last two pieces of clothes. These two pieces were designed similarly, both being bodysuits. One of them was made out of an almost translucent black chiffon, Circe had added some lace embroidery over the breasts and on the sides to make it look less naked but still sexy -also it helped to hide the stitches she had used to give more structure to the bodysuit. And the other was made out of matte black cotton, Circe avoided adding details to this particular piece, she decided instead to give it more structure, simulating a corset or hard bodice.

"Well?" Circe asked after the two girls had finished ruffling through the clothes she had brought.

"These are amazing!" Sarah screeched in excitement.

"Please tell us you made an extra bodysuit for yourself, cause you would look so fucking hot, Larson" Lu, teased Circe.

"The boss is going to be so happy, these are going to sell so quickly!" Lu added happily.

"I hope so, I really like these" Circe said, slightly flustered. She might exude confidence most of the time, but when it came to her work it was the other way around.

"We all do, Ce. People are gonna love these" Sarah reassured.

"Now, these are the clothes they're expecting you to revamp" Lu told Circe, grabbing a black trash bag that had been thrown behind the counter.

Circe took a look inside the bag. It was filled with the usuals, big shirts, jackets, leather, ripped clothes and pieces of random fabric. A few ideas popped in Circe's head, already thinking about what she could do with what she was handed.

"I'll do my best, Lu" Circe said, looking up at the redhead in front of her.

"Now, here's your pay. Go, cause they want these thing done for next week"

"And with how many things they expect me to come back with?" Circe questioned.

"At least 6 new things" Lu told Circe. Sarah patted both girls on the shoulder before she left, approaching a customer.

"Fuck" Circe mumbled.

"Okay, okay I'll try"

"I know you will" Lu reassured Circe.

"Bye"

Circe walked out of the store with an empty duffle bag and a full trash bag, a fact that made a couple of people stare at her strangely. Circe opened the trunk of her car, she threw both things there and then headed to the front seat. She sat down, exhaling with a long sigh. Don't get her wrong, she loved her job, she adored making clothes and getting money out of it but sometimes she just wanted to not care. What made her care? She needs money to pay her bills and she needs money to pay for alcohol and drugs.

The drive back home wasn't much different from the drive to work. The music playing on the radio fell on deaf ears, Circe wasn't really in the mood to pay attention to it until she recognized the starting notes to "Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones. Then, she turned the volume up, her head moving to the beat and for a moment she forgot all of the shit she had to do.

Circe entered her apartment with a heavy sigh, the trash bag made her arm muscles tense. She threw it by the coffee table, deciding that she would eventually get to it. Then, she sat on her couch facing the mess she didn't care to clean up before heading to the shop.

I'll do it later, she dismissed before she laid down on her couch and fell asleep.

When Circe woke up, it was nighttime. She looked around herself with a fogged-up vision, her eyes roaming the room in search of the clock. Idiot, you won't be able to see shit with the lights turned off, she mentally hit herself over the head before standing up, heading towards the lightswitch by the door. Once she found it, the room was lit up and she finally read the clock: 2:10; how does she manage to sleep this much? A mystery, truth be told.

She huffed out, staring at the pile of clothes she was meant to fix and then her eyes diverted to her room, Tommy's invitation popping up in her head. She might have missed their set, but there was still some time to party.

Circe quickly went through her clothes, pulling out the bodysuit she made for herself and a black bandeau. She took off all her clothes, throwing them to the corner of the room; then, she put on the bandeau, adjusting it to fit her better. Over it, she slipped on the bodysuit and then the high-waisted shorts she'd been wearing earlier that day.

She looked at herself in the mirror she placed on the closet door, she adjusted the turtle neck of the bodysuit and centered the large peek-a-boo that left her chest exposed. Then her hands travelled to her hair, it was messy and uncombed, her usually wavy hair lacked definition; she groaned, realising she had no other option but to put it up in a bun.

Next, she applied eyeliner over her eyes, blending it carefully with her fingers. After that, she brushed her eyebrows and applied her characteristic maroon lipstick. Circe took a last look at herself on the bathroom mirror, a smile tugging at the ends of her mouth. 

Circe walked out of her apartment and as she locked the door a gust of wind sent chills down her spine, she stayed put for a while to enjoy it. Now, she headed to the boy's place not bothering on taking the car, they didn't live that far anyways.

The walk there was short but enjoyable, and once she was closing in on their apartment complex she could hear the music they were playing, as it got louder a heavy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. Nerves?

Circe blurred out the rest of her walk, and before she noticed she was stepping through the open window, most people not sparing her a glance, until...

"CE!" screamed an over-excited Tommy, then he moved people out of his way to get to her. Once they were face to face, he hugged her tightly. A puppy, she tenderly thought to herself.

"Hey T" she said as soon as he put her down, attempting to match his enthusiasm.

"You know where you can find the booze and the drugs, Vince is probably fucking in the bathroom, Mick is sitting at the table and Nikki..." Tommy's rambling was cut short when he realised what was Nikki doing. Circe only rose an eyebrow.

"... Yeah?"

"I don't know, he was right there," he said pointing at a random place.

"You know you're a terrible liar, right?" Circe said with a small smile, it didn't take her long to find Nikki -his hair gave him away- being straddled by some blonde. Tommy stared at her expectingly, but she just shrugged.

"Meh, whatever" was Circe's reassurance to Tommy's none spoken worries.

Tommy, being the lovesick boy he was, expected more of a reaction from Circe's behalf, especially after finding Nikki in her apartment earlier that day. He stared at her as she shrugged heading towards the display of alcohol on the countertop. Tommy felt frustrated, despite his initial awkwardness, he kinda enjoyed the idea of two of his best friends together.

Circe looked around herself, pondering on what to drink to get rid of the idea of Nikki and the blonde bimbo. Screw it, she thought before uncapping the bottle of vodka and pouring the translucent liquid in a cup she found laying around.

"Well, well, well" said Vince as he approached the brunette, making her snort out a laugh.

"Hey, Vinnie" she greeted, squishing his face with her hand.

"Didn't see you drooling over me tonight" he teased after Circe let go of his face.

"Two things: 1) I don't drool over you and 2) I didn't see your set tonight" Circe pointed out with a smile.

"Ah, you love me anyway" he told her, pulling her into a hug.

"Whatever you say, Barbie"

Then, Circe pushed him away, mumbling something along the lines of you're sweaty and you smell like sex, making Vince laugh.

"I see Nikki hasn't approached you tonight"

"Just got here, Vince and he clearly has better things to do"

Vince hummed and bit down a laugh. "Way better"

"Hey!" she hit Vince's arm playfully, "that's mean!"

Vince shook his head but laughed.

"C'mon, let's sit down for a moment" as he said that he held her hand and dragged her to the band's dining table.

"Mick, you know Circe. Circe, you know Mick" was Vince's quick introduction. Both Circe and Mick nodded their head in acknowledgement, she could tell he was a man of few words.

Time passed quickly, and Circe never really engaged in a conversation, she spent most of her time listening to other people's conversations or laughing at the stupid things the boys did to impress the small crowd that had gathered in their apartment. And yes, Nikki never approached her.

Strangely enough, Circe had stayed put for far too long and she was aching to move, her leg bouncing up and down and her fingers drumming random beats on the table. Tired of sitting down and only standing up to refill her cup she headed outside for a quick breather.

"Hey, T!" She yelled over the music, Tommy turned around to look at her, his mouth open and twitched as if he was saying: what?

Circe took two of her fingers and moved them as if she was smoking, making Tommy understand what she was asking. He nodded and threw his cigarettes to her.

Now, she stepped through the window, already pulling out a cigarette for herself, lighting it with the cheap lighter Tommy kept inside the pack. She leaned on the wall by the door, the cigarette barely leaving her lips, dangling in its place as she inhaled and exhaled the smoke.

"Hey, do you have a lighter?" A blonde girl said, breaking her out of her daze.

"Yeah, here let me help you" Circe said, flicking the lighter and getting the flame as close as she could to the girl's cigarette.

"Thanks" the blonde stayed quiet, but not for long. "So, do you know the band? I saw you sitting with them!"

"Something like that"

"Oh, something like that? Are you fucking one of them or something?" the unnamed girl teased, playfully digging her elbow in Circe's ribs.

"Something like that" Circe mumbled, but it looked like her answer never reached the girl's ears.

"I mean, you're like, really hot! I wouldn't blame them, hey! Even I would fuck you, girl" The blond then placed her hand on Circe's shoulder, dragging it up and down as a coy smile reached her lipstick-stained lips.

At that comment Circe's eyebrows rose, a smirk disguised as an innocent smile slowly appeared on her face. Circe then took the girl's hand in her own, tightening her grasp in reassurance, almost as if she said thank you. But as Circe started to close the space between them someone broke the comfortable atmosphere they had settled in.

"Hey I was looking for you" 

Nikki.

"Yeah, just came out for a smoke" the blonde stated. Nikki offered her a hand and led them to the window, letting the girl walk in first and never directing a word to the brunette.

Circe smiled to herself, the smirk was subtle but very much present. She waved at Nikki as he went through the window, his gaze never leaving her as he took everything in. From her stance to her looks, and then, he saw that recognizable glimmer of mischief.

Fuck.

// Next Chapter //