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The Rose and Thorn	By : FlameWolf666 Category: Singers/Bands/Musicians > Marilyn Manson Views: 3180 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I still don't know Marilyn Manson, Johnny Depp or any of the other famous people in this fic in real life. Needless to say, this is a work of fiction. I make no profit from this and this is just for fun.

Chapter List
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- 19
Author’s Note: ‘In order to know virtue, we must first acquaint ourselves with vice.’ - The Marquis de Sade
‘Running to the Edge of the World’ (c) Marilyn Manson

Chapter Eighteen: In Your Arms
    The first thing she became aware of was the fact that she was wrapped in a tight embrace. The next thing she became aware of was the feeling of something on her right ring finger. Inhaling deeply, Raven turned in the arms that held her to face Manson. In sleep, the singer looked more relaxed and innocent than she ever saw him awake. Smiling softly, the freelancer reached forward to brush a lock of his dark hair out of his too pale face. She remembered everything and felt a strange glow of happiness and peace within her. She was engaged to Marilyn Manson and everything was right with her world. Giving his nose a brief kiss, she pulled herself free of his arms to walk to the bathroom.
    The cold feeling of the bed next to him was so unfamiliar that it startled the rock star. For a few breathless moments, panic filled him as he scanned the room for any sign of his new fiance. When he saw the closed bathroom door, he let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding before swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Just as he was getting to his feet, his black phone began to play ‘Crazy Bitch’; drawing an aggravated groan from the performer. What the hell could the irritating woman want? Doing his best to remember to play nice, the rail thin man flipped open his phone and managed a fairly amiable hello.
    “Good morning to you too sunshine. Listen, I know she probably forgot and even if she didn’t; I doubt she’d tell you. Today is Meag... er, Raven’s 29th birthday. Have a good... whatever you’re doing,” the other woman informed him before hanging up, leaving Manson with a stunned look on his naked face.
    “Why wouldn’t she.... right... this is Raven we’re talking about here. Probably some bullshit about how she doesn’t see it as important,” he sighed in a half irritated voice, wishing he had known this a day earlier. If he had forewarning, he would have saved the proposal for today. Now he was at a complete loss for what to do for his fiance’s birthday. Blinking, he realized he had the perfect gift already.
    Raven came out of the bathroom with her shoulder length hair tied back in a ponytail and a Marilyn Manson shirt on her torso. She looked rested and relaxed until she saw the singer was up and about. “What are you doing awake?” she asked, taking note of the fact that he was also fully dressed.
    “You being gone woke me up,” he purred, giving her a warm smile as he walked up to her and took her hands in his. It was at that moment she noticed the strange look he had in his mismatched eyes.
    “Remember when I took you up to the top of the hill? We had our knives drawn,” he began in a gruff voice, making her breath stop in her throat. This was one of his new songs, one she hadn’t had a chance to hear.
    “They were as sharp as we were in love,” he continued, beginning to sway her softly as he sang. Raven could only hold her breath as she met his glittering eyes with hers.
    “If God crossed us; we'd take all his drugs, burn his money and his house down, and wait for the fire to spread,” he breathed, almost sounding as if he was singing a love ballad to her.
    “Sometimes hate is not enough to turn this all to ashes,” he belted out, pulling away to watch her face as he turned them in a lazy circle. The stunned female in his arms could only look up at him with an achingly happy expression, making his heart swell with love for this woman.
    “Together as one against all others. Break all of your wings and make sure it crashes,” he sighed in a reassuring, determined voice as he continued to sing.
    “We're running to the edge of the world. Running, running away,” he whispered his eyes squeezing shut as he led them in a slow circle of the room. Raven could only take it in breathlessly, listening to the lyrics that sounded like they had been written for her.
    “We're running to the edge of the world. I don't know if the world will end today,” the performer rasped, resting his forehead against hers as his hand pulsed on her lower back. He had obviously written this soon after the break-up and remembering the circumstances hurt him greatly.
    “I had no choice, I erased the debt of our family, let you say goodbye with lips like dynamite,” Manson continued, his eyes opening to bore right into hers, making her feel like he was singing right to her soul.
    “And everyone turned their backs because they knew when we held on tight to each other, we were something fatal, that fell into the wrong hands,” he whispered, placing a needy kiss to her lips as he turned them in a slow circle. Hearing the aching loss that had been there when she was gone made her close her eyes with a grimace.
    “Sometimes hate is not enough to turn this all to ashes,” the performer sighed, tilting her chin so she was looking up at him again.
    “Together as one against all others. Break all of your wings and make sure it crashes,” he nearly declared in song, his grip tightening on her back as he used his other hand to grab hers and entwine their fingers.
    “We're running to the edge of the world. Running, running away,” husked his shaky voice as he pressed his lips against hers gently.
    “We're running to the edge of the world. I don't know if the world will end today,” he nearly whispered, loving kisses peppering her face. Slowly her guilt left for love and joy again. Even then, he had been determined to try to get her back at some point and the thought made her feel warm on the inside.
    “We don't seek death, we see destruction; death, we seek destruction. We don't seek death, we see destruction; death, we seek destruction,” he sighed, leading them in a slow circle through the room once more; his cheek pressed firmly against hers.
    “We're running to the edge of the world. Running, running away,” he belted, stopping so his eyes looked straight into hers; vicious determination shining in his mismatched orbs.
    “We're running to the edge of the world. I don't know if the world will end today,” the rock star snarled, before taking her lips in a vicious kiss. Then he was breaking the kiss to repeat the previous four lines against her lips. Raven could only continue to allow him to lead, in a state of shock and swooning.
    “See a new beginning rise behind the sun. We can't never catch up to them as fast as we run,” Manson sighed, leading her in a tight circle as he repeated the line three more times. Once he was finished, Raven wasn’t sure she wasn’t still dancing.
    With his voice still humming through her body, the utterly swept away female looked up at the rocker with an utterly heart-breaking smile. Then she was pulling him down into the sweetest, most loving kiss she had ever given him. Her tongue gently parted his lips as she shyly explored his mouth, wrapping a shaking hand in his shoulder length locks. All too soon she was breaking it to burrow her heated face into the dark material of his long sleeve shirt. “Thank you,” she whispered in a soft, happy voice, her joyous tears wetting his shirt.
    “Happy Birthday,” he murmured, making her pull back with an absolutely shocked look. In fact her expression made him chuckle heartily as he leaned forward to kiss her nose.
    “How did you...,” she began until she saw the humor dancing in his mismatched gaze.
    “Fucking Mandy,” Raven growled, no real anger to her voice. After what Manson had just done for her, she couldn’t find it in herself to be angry at her friend.
    “She told me you weren’t going to tell me. Now why would you do a silly thing like that?” the performer sighed in a slightly annoyed voice.
    “You’re just going to make fun of me,” the embarrassed woman murmured as she lowered her gaze and began to poke her index fingers together.
    “Probably, but I want to know anyway,” the taller male teased, relaxing slightly as soon as he realized it wasn’t a self-depreciation issue. The pale woman in his arms huffed semi-playfully as she lightly smacked his right forearm. Then she quickly sobered, lowering her gaze as she grimaced.
    “I... I’m afraid of aging...,” she murmured quietly,shuffling in his arms nervously as she waited for the laughter to start.
    “Are you afraid to die?” the superstar asked, sounding as if he was trying to understand. Giving him a grateful smile, Raven shook her head.
    “I don’t want to die but I don’t fear it. I fear growing old. I fear my body failing me, losing my memory, being in chronic pain, not being able to do any of the things I used to love,” she elaborated, looking a bit disturbed just talking about it. Manson only watched her silently, listening to every word she said.
    “I dread living to be sixty or even eighty. My body is giving me hell already, I really don’t want to see what I’ll be like when I’m elderly,” she continued, shuddering slightly as she rubbed an arm.
    “What do you mean?” the celebrity whispered, an alarmed look on his naked face.
    “It’s nothing too serious, don’t worry. I broke my left elbow when I was nine and it’s never been the same since. It’s gotten so bad that I can’t lift anything with it without horrible pains signals shooting through it. I also have a few issues with my stomach, back and knees. I’m only twenty-nine and I feel like I’m forty,” she explained, feeling a bit happy that he was so concerned for her.
    Her confession only seemed to deepen his worry and a frown crinkled his brow. “Why haven’t you seen a doctor for these things,” he husked out, slowly letting her go to allow his eyes to rove over her. It was almost as if he was checking her for outward signs of damage.
    “Being a freelance artist doesn’t bring in a lot of money. I can’t afford health insurance right now but I have gone to a few free clinics. The most I can afford is some cheap pain meds and Lansoprazole, I just can’t keep up with prescriptions,” she explained, reaching forward to give his right hand a gentle squeeze. Manson only narrowed his eye before he took a deep breath and slowly relaxed.
    “Well, it won’t matter soon anyway. Once we’re married, you can be added onto my insurance. Until then, how about I cover your prescription,” he offered, smiling slightly as he led her out into the living room of the suite.
    “I can’t possibly let you do that! I’m fine with over the counter remedies and even through a free clinic, the medication can run $100,” she protested, only earning a raising of a hairless brow.
    “Hun, with how much I make do you think that matters to me? The doctors probably want you to take that medication for a reason and as long as I’m able, I’m not about to let you go without,” he declared, a steely look in his heterochromic eyes.
    “But...,” she began, not quite feeling right about having him pay for anything. She was an adult, she should damn well be able to take care of herself.
    “No buts Raven. If you don’t start taking this, you could get worse. Besides, you’d do the same for me if our positions were reversed,” the taller male sighed, tugging her gently over to the couch. Then he was sitting down, pulling her down onto his jeans clad lap.
    “Yeah, you’re right on that one but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I almost feel like I’m using you in some way,” she grumbled, nestling into his too bony chest as she wrapped her arms around him.
    “I certainly don’t see it that way. The way I see it, I’m just helping you which is what I’m supposed to be doing anyway,” the rock star holding her sighed, brushing her dark hair out of her face before wrapping his own arms around her.
    “So, what would you like to do on your birthday?” he asked after a few moments of relaxed silence, looking down at her curiously. Raven could only blink for a few seconds before she got a thoughtful look on her milk white face.
    “Do you like gory movies?” she asked, a strange glint in her hazel eyes as she look up at him.
    It was official, she would have to take time off until Raven returned or there would be no house to return to. She had come downstairs to find her living room in shambles with Pogo in the middle of the room, pinned by Ginger and John 5 as Tim and Jeordie picked up the scattered movies. Once again, her poor coffee table had received a tombstoning from her T.V. and the curly haired female found herself having to take deep, slow breaths to stop herself from pouncing on the keyboardist to kill him in a terrible manner. “Gacy... darling, I thought we’ve had this conversation before,” the too pale woman gritted out, her hands curled into shaky fists by her sides as her green eyes sparkled with outright fury. All movement in the room stopped as all the men turned to face her, a terrified silence following soon after.
    In his short time around the journalist, Ginger had never seen her this angry. Not even when Manson was acting like a jerk to Raven during the tour. “Oh we did but you must have missed the part where I don’t give a fuck,” giggled the infuriating male beneath him and John, making the drummer wish he could rewind time and put a hand over the fool’s mouth. Silence filled the room and everyone in the room could feel the rage rising in the air as red began to flush the tiny female’s cheeks.
    “If you guys don’t get off him and give him a head start, I’ll kill him where he lays,” hissed the livid female, making the two band members on top of her victim run away like a bomb was heading their way. Then Pogo was running while cackling, Amanda close on his heels.
    Tom could only stare up at the house, a slightly confused look on his squarish face. From what he was hearing, it sounded like there was a war going on in there. Just as he raised a hand to knock, he heard a loud crash and began to seriously consider coming back another time. It was only the promise of seeing Amanda that kept him in place. Squaring his blue clad shoulders, the broad actor knocked firmly on the door. He only had to wait a few seconds before it was opened by a rather disheveled looking Twiggy. “Who are you? the pink dress wearing male asked, tilting his dreadlocked head to the side.
    “I’m Tom Welling, one of Amanda’s friends. I was here yesterday,” the dark haired stair answered smoothly, doing his best not to stare at the other man’s outfit. The actor admittedly knew very little about Manson and his band, only that they were a strange bunch. Still, seeing a guy wearing a dress was a new one for him.
    “Oh, it’s you. Come on in I guess but don’t expect to be greeted right away,” Jeordie replied, a faint look of hatred in his brown eyes as he stepped aside for the minor celebrity.
    Tom could only blink in confusion before coming inside. It almost seemed as if the guy was pissed off at him for something. Maybe it was because he was after Amanda, who was in a relationship with one of the band members. Brushing it off as a brotherhood thing, the unphased T.V. star walked into the living room to be greeted with a strange sight. The object of his affections was currently chasing a mohawked man around the ruins of a T.V. that had been driven into a table. Blinking at the unusual display, the actor loudly cleared his throat to get their attention. Thankfully this had the desired reaction but with disastrous results.
    Everyone turned to look at him, including the pair that was still running; resulting in a crash as Amanda rammed into Pogo’s back and knocked the taller male over. Soon the two were a tangled heap of limbs, the nutty keyboardist howling with laughter as the flustered journalist tried to extricate herself from him. Ginger was by her side in moments, beating Tom’s reaction time by mere seconds; making the minor star grit his teeth in irritation. “Are you okay Amanda?” he asked, watching as her... boyfriend pulled her free of the still cackling band member.
    “Yeah, yeah I’m good. Er, what are you doing here?” the embarrassed journalist murmured, avoiding his cerulean eyes as she straightened and brushed herself off.
    “I wanted to spend some time alone with you,” Tom replied, earning a glare from Ginger as he released the journalist’s shoulder. In fact, all the men in the room seemed to be growing steadily hostile, their brown eyes narrowed in fury at his audacity.
    As if sensing the brewing violence, Amanda immediately placed herself in front of the actor to prevent him from being attacked. “I’m not going on a date with you. If you can’t respect the fact that I’m with Ginger, I’m afraid that we can’t be friends,” she declared much more sternly than she really felt. On the inside, she felt like she was being torn in half. One part of her wanted to get to know the man a lot better due to how drawn to him she felt. The other part felt disgusted at her indecision due to her already being in a relationship. All at once, she wished Raven had never met Manson in the first place, a thought that made her feel sick to her very core. Her friend was more happy than she had seen in years, what kind of person was she to wish that hadn’t happened just to save herself some grief.
    “I know and I accept that fact. I wasn’t asking for a date anyway. Just some time to get to know you better,” he replied, the look in his eyes making it very hard for her to say no.
    Sighing, she looked unsurely at her boyfriend, nibbling her lower lip. Ginger only narrowed his eyes at Tom before giving Amanda a sweet smile. “It’s okay for you to go out with a friend Mandy,” he reassured, despite the fact that he very much wanted to forbid her from going. As satisfying as that would feel, it would only show that he didn’t trust her to stay faithful to him. Besides, the relieved smile she gave him in return made it all worth it.
    “Where did you want to go?” she asked shyly as she followed the taller man. She never saw the incredulous looks the band and Jeordie were giving the drummer behind her.
    “Are you just going to let her go?” John 5 hissed in disbelief, disgust clear of his pale face.
    “I trust her. It’s not like Tom is going to try to rape her,” the acne scarred man sighed, already feeling anxious about the two of them being alone. He wasn’t worried Amanda would act on her feelings, only worried that they’d grow closer. He would have had to have been blind not to see the growing connection between the pair and he felt his heart ache in his chest. If he lost her, he didn’t know what he would do. How would he ever be able to let anyone else that close?
    A sudden arm around his shoulders brought his attention to an oddly concerned looking Pogo. A bit suspicious of the normally crazy man, Ginger gave him a wary look as he leaned away as politely as possible. “Come on let’s go out to get the new furniture so we can watch some ‘Scooby-Doo’,” he consoled, leading the stunned drummer out of the living room. The others simply shrugged and began to pick up.
    “Do you think she’ll stay,” John 5 sighed as he picked up a bit of the shattered table. Twiggy only sighed before moving one of his dreds behind an ear.
    “I don’t know. I’ve only seen such a strong connection between Raven and Manson. She just doesn’t seem to have that underlying current with Ginger. That’s not to say she doesn’t love him though,” the ex-guitarist responded, looking at Tim. The stoic Swede only gave his normal neutral look as he picked up his own share of debris.
    “We will have to see what happens,” the bassist replied in his thickly accented voice as he gathered half the table and carried it out of the living room.
    Raven gleefully watched Manson’s reactions to one of her favorite movies. She had chosen to show the rock star ‘Dead-Alive’, the goriest movie she had ever seen. Yet, despite the bloodiness, the movie was also exceedingly funny; ending up as a perfect mixture of horror and comedy. She knew it was going to be much more entertaining to watch her boyfriend’s face as soon as the opening screen came on. While the would-be explorer fled from a group of angry natives, followed closely by his guide that was carrying a bamboo and burlap cage; Manson was watching with utter confusion. Then came when the ‘explorer’ got bitten during their escape in a Jeep. When they cut off his hand and blood spurted free, she thought she would die laughing because of how shocked the singer looked. Whatever he had been expecting, this certainly wasn’t it.
    Soon he seemed to be enjoying the strange love story / zombie movie, laughing at the appropriate moments and even seeming to enjoy some of the excessively bloody scenes. Then there had been the scene when the zombie nurse and zombie priest began to fuck on the kitchen table while the poor protagonist was trying to get his skeezy Uncle to leave. The look on his face had very nearly made her burst out into helpless laughter. The performer looked beyond violated and gave her a very judgemental glance that wasn’t helping her hold in her giggles. Oh how she wished she had a camera right now! Then the birth scene happened and the female had to pause until her laughter calmed. “Oh wow! I really wish I had a camera! The look on your face is absolutely priceless!” she hooted, wiping tears of mirth from her cheeks. Manson only gave her a playful noogie before taking the remote from her and pressing play once more.
    As the story continued to unfold, the singer beside her grew more and more perplexed by the strange story. The protagonist was keeping the zombies in the basement like an odd family or a group of very dangerous pets. When it came time for him to get rid of him due to his Uncle blackmailing him over keeping dead bodies in the cellar, Raven could barely stop herself from crying. Yes these were rotting, killer zombies but they still had personalities and seemed to have an odd affection for the poor hero. So when it came time for him to inject them with an overdose of tranquilizers, she was very close to outright bawling her eyes out. Even Manson seemed a bit choked up, his throat working as he swallowed thickly.
    A few minutes later, their sorrow was made to be superfluous as the protagonist was shoved into the basement by his Uncle; making a horrifying discovery. The tranquilizer was meant for animals only. Just as he made that discovery, the dirt floor began to crack and bulge and the zombies below resurrected. When they popped free of the ground, they were pissed. Yet there was one zombie missing, the hero’s mother. Still, the protagonist had more things to worry about as the large crowd of zombies chased him out of the basement to escape into a party his Uncle was throwing. From there, things descended into absolute bloody chaos. There was even an animated pile of guts crawling around at one point, only adding to the oddness of the events unfolding onscreen.
    After plenty of blood, the movie finally reached her favorite part and the freelancer leaned forward with anticipation all over her pale face. The superstar next to her only raised a naked brow before returning his focus to the screen. That was the point the ill-fated man came into his house with a push mower, holding the machine so the blades faced the mob of zombies. Then he proceeded to mow them the fuck down, blood and limbs flying off everywhere. While this was going on, Raven was cackling like a mad woman; seeming to enjoy the wanton destruction just a tad too much. “Aren’t you squeamish?” the frankly shocked rocker asked, with a hairless brow quirked.
    “With real blood, certainly. This is all fake. The effects are great though,” she answered enthusiastically, feeling a bit disappointed when the scene ended. The lawnmower scene was one of the most creative things she had ever seen and she had never seen anything quite like it since.
    “You’re a very strange person,” Manson remarked, amusement tinging his voice as he pulled her against his side to watch the rest of the film.
    When the final face-off came with the thing that had been the hero’s mother, Raven once again turned her attention to her fiance to see his reaction to a coming scene. Sure enough, when the thing that was the protagonist’s mother opened her stomach to envelop him like a twisted fetus, the ‘Antichrist Superstar’s’ eyes very nearly bugged out of his skull. The expression on his face was so ‘what the fuck’ that she very nearly burst into laughter again. Then everything came to a spectacularly gory conclusion, ending with the blood covered man cutting his way free of the monster, grabbing his girl, ziplining down to the street and pressing a bloody kiss to her lips as the credits rolled. “So, what did you think?” she asked, barely able to hold in laughter as Manson gave her an extremely incredulous look.
    “It was certainly... something,” he replied, still looking a bit shell-shocked by what he had just seen.
    “I know right? It’s one of my favorite movies! What did you think of the lawnmower scene?” she gushed excitedly, nearly bouncing from her high amount of energy. The singer only gave her a surprised glance before chuckling.
    “It was pretty fucking awesome, I have to admit,” he replied with a smile, reaching for the phone to order some lunch for them. To be honest, he wasn’t as shocked by the movie as he was by the fact that Raven liked it so much. He never thought his timid fiance would like something so bloody. Of course this only made him want to see what else he could find out about her and he merely grinned as he placed an order for their food.
    Amanda and Tom sat in a crowded diner, the curly haired female just finishing up a story about how she had gotten Mystery. The man across from her only listened silently, his blue eyes focused on her as she spoke. “I have a question for you, I just hope you won’t think I’m rude for asking it,” he murmured, appearing to brace himself as her green gaze settled on him.
    “Go ahead,” she replied, taking a sip of her cola. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach about what he was going to ask but she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
    “Are you happy?” he whispered, his gaze locking with hers. The curly haired female only grimaced before pushing her mostly empty plate away, having lost her appetite.
    “Tom...,” she sighed, her voice holding just a hint of warning. She really didn’t want to have this conversation, truly afraid of where it would lead.
    “I’m not trying to make you leave him, I promise. I’ve never felt as drawn to anyone as I do to you,” he replied, his cerulean orbs holding a pleading edge.
    Amanda bit her lip, both exhilarated and upset by his declaration. She felt the same way but she didn’t feel right about acting on any of that, let alone telling him. There was nothing either of them could do about this connection with her being in a relationship with Ginger. She loved the drummer far too much to hurt him by leaving for someone else, let alone someone he knew she felt drawn to. “I am. Ginger is a very sweet guy,” she replied quietly, avoiding his gaze.
    “Aren’t you lonely when he goes on tour? What about if Manson leaves Raven again?” he whispered, his voice sounding a bit fevered as his hands clenched the tablecloth.
    Amanda only narrowed her eyes before getting up and placing money for her meal on the table. “Thank you for lunch,” she whispered, a steely anger in her voice. Then she was stomping out, her angry mask slipping for the very real panic she felt on the inside. He hadn’t said much but it was enough to make her think about a few things, things that were already nagging at the back of her mind. She could deal with the drummer going on tour, it was the very real prospect of Manson and Raven breaking up that she couldn’t handle. The pair seemed fine now but their history wasn’t exactly all that good. If the worst happened, what would she and Ginger do? The musician couldn’t very well leave the band and she couldn’t go with them. Shuddering at the unwelcome thought, the journalist did her best to shove it to the back of her mind. After all, there was little point in worrying about things that might never happen.
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The Rose and Thorn