Guns and Roses

Phoebe watched her boyfriend of five years and fiancé of a year as she walked down the aisle. She was happy that she was finally marrying the man of her dreams. The man she loved with all her heart. She would even go as far as laying down her life for him. But as she got closer to him, she noticed that not everything was right with Jamie. The smile slowly faded from her face, and her heart began beating harder and faster in her chest. Jamie attempted a smile when Phoebe's mother handed her to him, but it came out as a grimace.

Phoebe looked at Jamie again as the priest began his recitations; he was only present in body, not in mind or spirit. She would have to ask him about it during the reception. She hoped that it was nothing serious. Who was she fooling? Of course it was. Anything that took away his peace of mind and happiness at his own wedding had to be serious.

"Jamie Watson, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to protect, to love, and to cherish, 'til death do you part?"

Phoebe almost fainted when he didn't answer right away. She almost died when he shook his head lightly and muttered something under his breath.

"I'm sorry, Phoebe. I…I can't do this…"

"What do you mean? What's wrong, Jamie? Don't you love me anymore?"

Jamie shook his head vigorously and held on to her hand tighter. If not for the current issue at hand, Phoebe would have told him to loosen his grip, but right now, she couldn't even feel the pain.

"Tell me what the problem is, Jamie. We can fix this…"

"I don't know, Pheebs. I have a confession to make…and I don't know if you'll still want to marry such a monster after I tell you what happened…"

"That's for me to decide. C'mon…"

"Not here. Not in front of them…"

Phoebe turned to the priest, who nodded and asked them to follow him. All three ignored the murmurings of the crowd and made their way to the priest's office. The second the door closed securely behind them, Phoebe took hold of Jamie's suit lapels and shook him.

"Out with it. Now, Jamie."

"I'm sorry, Pheebs…"

"For what?"

"He's dead…"

"Alright, darling. Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Okay, Dad."

"Be good. Pay attention in class. Stay away from boys."

Phoebe laughed and listened as her parents went on and on. She was just starting college at UCB, and they had insisted on dropping her off at her new lodgings. They didn't fancy her staying in the school dorm, so Phoebe had scouted around and found three other female students to split the rent of a four-bedroom bungalow. The best part was it wasn't far from school while still being close to all the fun hangouts. Double check!

Her father helped her bring her bags into the house and to her room, and after one last heart-breaking hug, her parents were on their way back home. Phoebe had just settled down on her bed with a coke in hand when she heard voices. Before she could even stand up to investigate, three ladies came barreling through her door. She immediately recognized them as her housemates and smiled.

"Well, look who we have here! You must be Phoebe."

"Yes, I am. You must be Cindy; it's nice to meet you."

"Yes, I am, and that is Mindy and Hailey. Welcome to California."

"Thank you. It's been quite lovely so far."

"Of course it has! This part of California has the best entertainment spots. We are going to show you all of them once you get settled in. For now, you need to take a bath, get some food in you, and rest. All freshmen will need to be in school tomorrow."

Phoebe watched as they breezed out of her room in a flurry of colored hair and short skirts. Phoebe was by no means a prude. She appreciated fashion and loved to experiment with fabrics and color and jewelry. She loved art and everything that was directly or indirectly related to it. That was why she was here, to study interior design.

Phoebe took her housemate's advice and took a bath and got herself something to eat. After unpacking and arranging all the documents she would be needing the next day, she realized it was already past 8 pm. Phoebe closed her eyes and wondered how her parents were doing, if they missed having her at the table for dinner. Being an only child wasn't easy, but she had bonded so well with her parents that she sometimes felt that they were more like siblings. Phoebe felt a sense of loneliness and resisted the urge to call her parents. For God's sake, it was only her first night here!

Phoebe took a deep breath and counted sheep in her mind. Soon she found herself drifting off to sleep.

***

Phoebe was startled awake by the sound of her alarm clock. She angrily shut it off and got out of bed. If she'd stayed under the covers any longer, she knew she would've been tempted to go back to sleep. And then she would've been late on her first day.

Phoebe was ready to leave in 30 minutes, which was record time for her. She picked up her handbag and her files and looked herself over one more time in the full-length mirror. Phoebe had opted to look simple but chic on her first day, so she had dressed in a tight-fitting mid-thigh leather skirt, a baggy sweater, and a pair of black leather boots. She put her hair up in a loose, messy bun and topped the outfit off with a pair of dark shades.

Cindy had left her a note in the kitchen explaining how to get to school. All she had to do was catch a bus at the bus stop down the street. She locked up the house and hid the key. She enjoyed the soft rays of the morning sun on her skin as she walked down to the stop. It was refreshing. In no time at all, Phoebe was done with her entrance paperwork and registration…and was thoroughly exhausted. Thankfully, she still had a week to recover before classes began for freshmen. It was evening by the time she got home. Cindy, Mindy, and Hailey were home and in the living room.

"Oh, girl, you look like you've been run over by a truck…"

"Or thoroughly fucked by some hunk of a man…"

"Hailey!"

Hailey raised her hand in mock surrender as Cindy and Mindy threw her visual daggers, but Phoebe laughed it off. She loved her crazy friends. She dumped her bag on the couch and carefully placed her files on the table before sitting and starting to take off her shoes. Laying back on the couch, she almost moaned at the feeling of the smooth and soft leather beneath her.

"Well guys, I didn't get run over. Obviously. Nor did I get fucked by some hunk…as much as I would've loved that."

Her housemates whistled at her last statement and began catcalling her.

"We've got ourselves a little vixen on our hands, girls!"

"And that vixen needs to come out to play. What do you think?"

"No, guys. She needs to be studying for school."

"I don't. Not until next week, that is."

The three girls exchanged a look that Phoebe couldn't decipher and giggled before they all focused their attention back on Phoebe. Phoebe felt her hackles rise under their gaze, and she knew that whatever came out of their mouth next was going to be crazy.

"We're going clubbing!"

Phoebe sat up on the couch and looked at the beaming faces of her housemates; they were excited, but they were also damn serious. She could see it under the excitement. Phoebe had snuck out of her father's mansion a few times to go to some party or on a date but never to an actual club. That seemed like a hard pass for her.

"What!? I don't think that is a good idea…"

"Why not?"

"I don't know…for starters, I've never been to a club before…"

"What!?"

Phoebe jumped as all three housemates leapt to their feet, looking at her like she'd just dropped from the sky or told them she was from Mars.

"What!?"

"How have you never been clubbing?"

"Uh…I don't know how to answer that. I've just never been clubbing. It's not that big a deal."

Hailey, Cindy, and Mindy fell back into their seats with a sigh, each giving her that look again, the one that made her wonder if she had suddenly grown a pair of horns.

"I don't know which is worse: that you haven't ever been clubbing or that you don't think it's that big a deal," Hailey sighed and looked to the others for support. They all nodded their heads, still looking at her. This time Cindy spoke up.

"Next you'll be telling us that you're a virgin."

"Um, no. I'm not. I fixed that a few years back."

"It is decided, then."

"What is?"

"You're going clubbing, my darling. You need the experience."

Phoebe shook her head vigorously and began to argue, but she was up against three stubborn women. It was not an even match, and soon she found herself agreeing to go to a club.

The three girls screamed and dragged Phoebe by her hands into her room. Hailey ransacked her wardrobe, hoping to find the 'perfect dress.' Cindy rushed into her own room to fetch her makeup box, and Mindy wrestled Phoebe out of her clothes until she was standing in the middle of her room in only her underwear. Mindy looked Phoebe over from her head down to her toes and called for Hailey's attention. They both looked at her and whistled loudly and slowly. Phoebe wrapped her hands around her midriff, trying to cover her hips with her folded arms. She'd always been insecure about her hips and boobs; they were larger than the average girl's where she'd lived.

"You guys mind telling me what the problem is?"

"Problem? Honey, there is absolutely nothing wrong with your body. You're fucking gorgeous."

"Yeah, if I weren't straight, I would bend you over this bed and fuck you till your legs no longer functioned."

Phoebe burst out laughing. Hailey had a pretty loose tongue, and for some reason, Phoebe found it refreshing. She wasn't being babied, and she loved it. All of a sudden, Phoebe felt confident. She walked to the mirror in her room and began to admire her body, something she hadn't done in a very long while.

"Voilà!"

All eyes went to Hailey as she pulled out the perfect dress. One that Phoebe had never worn before. And for a good reason: it was a tight, red, sleeveless number with a deep neckline that only came down to her mid-thigh. She still couldn't remember how that dress had come into her possession, but she had never worn it.

"I can't wear that…"

"Why not?"

"Because it's too revealing."

"That's kind of, like, the point, girl."

"It makes my boobs and my ass look so big."

"It accentuates your assets, and girl, do you have them…"

Phoebe looked at the faces of the three women standing before her holding makeup boxes, heels, and the forbidden red dress. She could tell from their facial expressions that they weren't taking no for an answer. They were ready for war, and the odds were against her. She threw her hands in the air and stomped her feet.

"Fuck it, let's do this!"