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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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Author’s Note: ‘I can't dislike you, but I will say this to you: you haven't got long before you are all going to kill yourselves, because you are all crazy. And you can project it back at me, but I am only what lives inside each and every one of you.’ - Charles Manson

Sorry for the delay. I caught Pneumonia and had to take some time to recover.

Chapter Twenty-Two: My Little Rollercoaster

    Needless to say, when Raven awoke sandwiched between both Johnny and Marilyn, she was utterly shocked. Shame washed through her in a thick wave and she closed her hazel eyes as she took a deep, shaky breath. “He gave you permission to do this, in fact he was in the same room and was fucking you as well. You have no reason to feel this way,” she hissed to herself, smiling slightly when the pair sandwiching her tightened their arms; as if they had heard her.

    “You’re damn right you have no reason to feel guilty,” rumbled a familiar, amused baritone.

    Blushing slightly, the artist turned her gaze to the singer curled up on her right. The drowsy looking, very naked man was giving her a playfully stern look as he reached up to cup her left cheek. “Besides, didn’t I do the same thing with Twiggy? This will make us even. Also, you have no idea how long I’ve been trying to lure Johnny to bed with me,” the singer continued, drawing a sleepy chuckle from the man on her left.

    “I can vouch that its been pretty much since the day we met. Not to say Bri isn’t attractive, I just wanted more than a one night stand type of relationship,” the half awake actor husked, his raspy voice doing terrible things to her.

    Manson only rumbled laughter in response, stretching languidly as he placed an affectionate kiss on the crown of her head. “You were just playing hard to get,” the lithe man countered, getting a playful glare in response from the celebrity across from him.

    “Only in your head buddy,” the goateed actor grouched, no real heat to his voice as humor glimmered in his dark eyes.

    Raven only watched the pair quietly, her earlier guilt slowly replaced by a warm sense of happiness. She had known the two were friends but she had never known they were so close. Just watching the banter between them, it was clear to her that the two of them trusted eachother quite a lot. The type of trust that came with years of knowing someone and seeing them at their worst. It only made it more sad that Johnny had seemed rather distant from Manson for most of the time she had known the pair. It was obvious something had happened some time ago to drive the two apart and she couldn’t help but wonder what had happened before she had met the pair. “Are you okay?” came Depp’s voice, breaking her out of her thoughts.

    “Yeah, just thinking. You two seem pretty close right now. You act like you’ve been best friends for years but you didn’t act like that when I first met you,” the freelancer replied, her hazel gaze moving from one man to the other.

    Her words caused a flash of hurt to pass over the rock star’s face and a flash of frustration to pass over Johnny’s. “It happened after Dita left. Brian started to... self destruct quite a bit. It got so bad he... Well, you should ask Jeordie why he left. It was just... hard to see a man I knew could be loving and very funny turn into an outright monster. It got so bad, I couldn’t be around him anymore without feeling disgusted that this thing had taken over my friend. The day I met you in the park had been the first I had heard of him in quite a long while,” the movie star sighed, a bit of anger shining briefly in his nearly black eyes. Manson only shifted slightly, making a strange noise as he nuzzled the top of her head.

    “I don’t like what I did. I hurt a lot of the people close to me by lashing out. I even hurt innocent fans. There was no excuse for any of what I did but I couldn’t help myself. Dita had been the only one I had allowed myself to get close to after Melinda and I just... I lost it,” he whispered, his hold on his fiance tightened slightly as he inhaled her scent deeply.

    “Well, you’re doing better now and that’s what counts,” Raven offered, breaking the heavy silence that was suffocating the room.

    “Agreed, I haven’t seen you so playful in quite a long time. Watching you both heal eachother has been amazing,” the tanned star assured, giving the pair a smile before slowly getting out of bed.

    “Where are you going?” the two asked in unison, looking at eachother with amusement while Johnny laughed in response.

    “Well, first I’m going to get dressed. After that and a cup of coffee, I was thinking we should start packing this place up,” he replied with a grin before leaving the room.

    Soon the house was a flurry of activity, Amanda having to step out of the house to set up her relocation with her bosses. The band and Jeordie rushed around to help pack things here and there, Pogo and Tim hustling out boxes that were full. Instead of waiting for the company she was working for to send out a moving van, Manson had opted to rent one himself; saying it would be much faster. Between all of them, they had more than half the house packed in a single day. There were only a few odds and ends left and the singer seemed very anxious to get on the road. “We can let Amanda and the others bring the rest. I really want to get going,” he huffed as it got closer to sunset.

    “But there’s so much left to pack and what about Lady,” Raven protested, meeping slightly when the taller performer grabbed her right wrist.

    “I’m sure they can take care of it. Now come on. I want you to pack a small bag for a few days. It’ll take a while to drive to California,” he urged, tugging her upstairs with Johnny following close behind.

    “What’s the big rush?” the confused female asked as he began to pack a suitcase for her.

    “I don’t feel safe with you here anymore. At least my house is in a gated community. With everyone knowing the address, its only a matter of time before people more crazy than your exs and family show up,” the star replied, sounding a bit sharp due to his growing anxiety. Last night with her mother must have shaken him up more than any of them had realized.

    “I agree. I don’t like the fact that the only one who hasn’t shown up here is your father. Do you have anything you absolutely can’t leave behind for the journey?” Johnny asked, looking more calm than her fiance but still worried.

    Her head frankly spinning, Raven tried to think only to have Manson answer for her. “Kathy, the stuffed dog on the bed there. Any other plushes you want love?” the midnight clad male asked, still packing clothes into a large duffel she had.

    “Uh, just the large Husky. His name is Malchik Gay,” she replied, meeping when the actor behind her rushed to grab the two plushes. He also grabbed a few of her sketchbooks and drawing supplies despite the fact she hadn’t mentioned them, something she was very grateful for.

    “What about books or something to do on the road?” the dark haired actor asked as he handed off the items to Manson.

    Looking a bit like a deer in the headlights, the freelancer walked over to one of her bookshelves and began to pick out some of her favorite novels. Once she had a good selection, she walked over to her agitated looking fiance and put them in the duffel. “Anything else,” the two men probed in unison, wanting to make sure she had all the things she needed.

    “Oh! Just my laptop,” she replied, grabbing said item as well as its power cord from a cubby in her nightstand.

    As soon as she had it in her hands, the performer was packing it and zipping up the large bag before moving his gaze to Johnny and getting a thoughtful expression on his face. “Come with us, I’m sure we could both use your company,” the taller, skinnier man offered, surprising both the movie star and the still dazed look Raven. Depp looked as confused as she did, his almost ebony eyes wide. Then his gaze was shifting to her as he asked her permission silently with his expressive orbs. Slightly uncomfortable being put on the spot like this, the timid femme shifted from foot to foot before giving a very small nod.

    “I... I would like the extra company honestly,” she squeaked before her famous fiance was grabbing her upper arm in a gentle grip and ushering her out of the room.

    In a blur, she was stuffed into the passenger side of her car while Johnny scooted into the back. Barely having time to wave to Amanda, Raven buckled herself in before Manson started her car and pushed the pedal to the floor. He only slowed down when they were leaving the city, relaxing more the further away they got. “I hope Lily doesn’t beat up Lady and Mystery too badly,” he joked after a few moments of dead silence, nearly making a very tense freelancer jump out of her skin. Turning to look at him with a scared look, she only saw concern in his still matching gaze. In the rush, the rock star hadn’t had the time to put in his iconic contact; making this the only time she had see him with his real eyes during the day.

    “Hey, you okay?” whispered his baritone as his hand came to rest on her upper arm, breaking her out of her jumbled thoughts.

    “Yeah, all of this is just happening so fast. I kinda feel a bit dizzy,” she whispered, a reassuring grip on her left shoulder making her turn her focus to Johnny in the backseat.

    “It’ll be okay Raven, Brian and I won’t let anything happen to you,” the handsome star assured, getting a small smile in return.

    As she returned her gaze to the front, she saw her fiance nodding in agreement. “Moving to L.A. and becoming a rockstar can be intimidating at first but we’ll be with you every step of the way. All of us,” he assured, leaning over to give her lips a quick peck before returning his focus to the road. Smiling slightly but still a little off balance from the quickness events had happened, Raven turned on the radio and tuned it to a rock station. Soon the first notes of Manson’s ‘Beautiful People’ began to come out of the speakers, making the freelancer stare at the radio with a mixture of disbelief and amusement.

    “Well that’s just ironic. I don’t think I ever told you this, but this was the first song of yours I ever heard. My Aunt introduced it to me because she thought I would laugh at the lyrics. Instead, I fell in love with your music and started to get every one of your current C.D.s,” she giggled, the sound of the lyrics filling her with nostalgia. The singer only smirked slightly, beginning to sing along just to see her reaction.

    He wasn’t disappointed, the shy female going a deep scarlet as she looked at him with wide eyes. To his further amusement, she even let out a small squee of happiness before joining in. Once the song finished, a song by a band she didn’t know came on and the two lapsed into a comfortable silence; watching the road pass under the car as they drove. “So what can I expect in the music business?” she asked after a few moments of silence.

    “A lot of bullshit really. The record company I work for isn’t too bad but their first order of business is to make money. They will treat you great until you stop bringing in the cash, then they’ll dump you for another. You will be sent on tour after tour like some show pony, at least the tours you don’t set up yourself. You also won’t get all the money you deserve for your music but it’s honestly not all bad. It can be great to write your own stuff and sing it in front of people who love it, there’s nothing like hearing screaming fans,” the midnight clad male replied, a faintly bitter expression on his pale face.

    “The fans and concerts are honestly what I’m dreading the most. I’ve never been good with crowds, let alone doing anything in front of one. Dealing with screaming fans, let alone autograph hounds are going to be rather intimidating,” she murmured quietly, fiddling with the hem of the black shirt she wore as she stared out of her window. Her teeth worried her lower lip as she watched the scenery, her thoughts racing as her anxiety began to rise steadily.

    “Its not as bad as it seems. You get used to it after a while. Besides, you have a bevy of loyal friends to help you,” Johnny assured gently, this time placing two hands on her shoulders in an effort to offer what comfort he could.

    Turning her head to give the actor a tiny smile, the still nervous artist only sighed as she returned her gaze to the passing scenery. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate the attempt to help her feel better, it was just that she had her doubts she would ever get used to fame. She wasn’t used to being in any kind of spotlight, let alone having to perform. What if people didn’t like her? Even worse, what if they did? Shuddering slightly, she returned her focus to the radio in an effort to take her mind off things. After all, it was too late to change her fate now. Thankfully one of her favorite Evanescence songs came on, giving her a very welcome distraction from her rising panic.

    Hours later and well into the night, Manson had finally pulled off at a hotel at the insistence of the pair riding with him. “I’m not even tired,” groused the rock star irritably as he put Raven’s car into park.

    “I know but it’s late and I would like to relax for a bit,” the freelancer replied, smiling inwardly when the tough male deflated instantly into concern.

    “Shit, I’m sorry sweetie. I should have asked you how you felt. Just wait here and I’ll get us checked in,” the rocker responded, leaning over to give her cheek a quick peck before he exited the vehicle.

    Finding herself alone with Johnny, Raven turned to give her goateed friend a grateful smile. “Thanks for trying to help me calm down, I appreciate it a lot. All of this is going to be new to me so having you guys around is really gonna help,” she stated with a smile on her pale face, earning one in return from the tanned thespian.

    “Even if I wasn’t around, Manson and Davis are. They’re perfectly capable of helping you as well. You have a lot of friends who have been through all of this. Even I was shy and nervous at one time. Trust me, things get better,” he assured, giving her a smile of his own.

    “You? You were nervous?” Raven asked, her voice full of disbelief. Her expression must have matched because the star burst into uncontrollable laughter.

    “I-I’m sorry, the look on your face,” he chuckled wiping tears of mirth from his dark eyes. Raven only swatted him playfully in response, her hazel eyes glittering. The handsome male ducked the swing, smiling widely the entire time.

    “Oh you wouldn’t believe how shy I was in the beginning. Unfortunately for me, my first movie was ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’; a surprising hit for a horror movie. Fans for that movie just exploded and I found myself suddenly being hounded everywhere overnight. Screaming females, frantic men. It was horrible for the longest time. I had to learn the hard way how to handle it but I made it through,” he continued, still grinning widely.

    “How did you ever manage?” the artist asked, a bit of anxiety in her voice as she absorbed the information he had told her. To someone like her, that experience sounded like absolute Hell.

    “Much like you, I had to accept the fact that the fans simply weren’t ever going to go away. Same with the paparazzi. I had to learn to adapt but you have an advantage over me. I didn’t have any friends in the industry for a long time. In fact, my first friend was long after I had learned how to take things in stride,” the movie star responded softly, ruffling her hair in an effort to take her mind off things.

    To his relief, the high-strung female began to giggle; relaxing visibly. “Thanks, it makes me feel a lot better to know you’ve been through something similar,” she murmured just as Manson returned with cards to their room. Seconds later, they were grabbing their bags and heading to the elevators, doing their best to avoid detection. Thankfully, despite the fact that everyone was staring at them, no one approached the two men for an autograph on the way. Soon the trio were stuffed into the tiny, metal cube, the doors closing at the elevator transported them to the floor their room was on. The short trip was companionable, the singer stepping out as soon as the door opened to hold it for the duo that was with him. Then they were standing in front of the closed entry, Depp was opening the door and gesturing from them to enter first.

    Giving the two men with her a smile, Raven slipped into the room and turned on the light; revealing a very spacious suite. If it was at all possible, it was even bigger than the suite the actor had frequented while living in the city they were coming from. “Jesus,” she whispered, her hazel eyes moving from the kitchen big enough for five to the living room fit for a small family. The sheer amount of luxury never failed to blow her mind. Having come from a very small town and middle class family, she was used to far less. To her, just going to a normal hotel was a treat. All of this was bordering on being culture shock.

    Shaking herself free of her thoughts, she walked over to the huge couch and sunk down into one of the squishy, white cushions. In fact she sank in so deeply it felt like the plush piece of furniture was trying to eat her. “Being famous has its perks,” purred a husky baritone by her left ear, drawing her attention to her gaunt fiance. The dark haired male smiled down at her in a predatory manner, making her heart race slightly in her chest.

    “I guess so but even this will take some getting used to. A weekend at a Holiday Inn was the height of luxury for me before you guys came into my life. Even if I can afford to do this all the time, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to take it for granted,” she replied in a stunned voice, giving his pale cheek a light kiss.

    Purring in response, the tattooed performed leaned further over the back of the couch to wrap his arms around her. This allowed their cheeks to rest against eachother as he simply enjoyed holding her in his arms. Johnny, who was watching the pair, smiled slightly before carrying his and Raven’s bags to the rooms. After a cursory look, he knew which one his friends would want to share and put the freelancer’s duffel in that one. The room he choose for himself was across the hall, allowing the two to have privacy if they needed it. In fact, he was gonna head there now to give them just that. Just as his hand landed on the doorknob, he heard a familiar throat clearing behind him. “You aren’t planning on hiding from us are you?” purred an amused baritone, making the star chuckle as he rolled his dark eyes.

    “I thought you guys would like some privacy,” he replied, turning to smile at the pair he knew was behind him.

    Both Raven and Manson gave him a smile back, the singer’s looking too lascivious to be purely innocent. “Now who said anything like that? I certainly didn’t?” the taller performer quipped, placing a black nailed hand on a bony hip as he raised a hairless brow.

    “What Manny meant is that we’d love it if you joined us for a bit. We were just about to watch ‘Robot Chicken’,” the artist beside him cajoled, giving the handsome star her best puppy eyes.

    Raising a hand for mercy, the goateed male chuckled before walking to rejoin his two friends. “Alright, enough with those. You need to use such a powerful weapon responsibly,” he half teased. To tell the truth, if the pale female had so much as sniffled; he would have fallen at her feet and begged her to tell him what he could do to make her feel better. Raven only giggled in response before heading back into the living room, the sight of her feeling so carefree filling the celebrity with happiness. An arm wrapping loosely around his shoulders brought him back to reality and he found himself looking up at his oldest friend.

    “You really have it bad for her, don’t you?” the ‘Antichrist Superstar’ murmured quietly, the quiet statement very nearly making Depp freeze. It was only the completely neutral expression on the other male’s face that put him at ease.

    “More than you know Bri. She’s part of my heart even if I can never have her. Just being near her and seeing her so happy is more than enough for me,” the star replied, blinking at the soft expression that came over the singer’s naked face.

    “I should feel jealous but I just don’t. I trust you as much as she does and it makes me happy to hear how much you care about her. At least I know she’ll be protected when I’m away,” he responded, pulling Johnny along with him to the couch.

    “Yeah, that’s one thing you will never have to worry about. Her safety will always come first in my book,” the tanned thespian assured, sitting on the left of Raven while Manson took the right. Soon the trio lapsed into silence as they watched ‘Adult Swim’, occasional laughter filling the large room.

    At the insistence of Manson, Johnny had snuggled up in their bed that night; a decision that had proved to be a good one. Due to the rapidness of everything that had happened as well as the stress of the past few hours, Raven ended up having nightmares for most of the night. When it wasn’t her fiance comforting her, it was the star behind her; the two pairs of arms around her making sure she got through the night. It was only their combined efforts that ensured she slept at all. It was during one particularly violent nightmare that the rockstar had enough. Sweeping her black hair away from her ear, he began to sing ‘Last Day on Earth’ softly. Taking the cue, Depp joined in; the combination of their voices soon allowing the tortured artist to drift into a more restful sleep. It was no surprise that, in the morning, the pair was utterly exhausted.

    Through some combination of sheer willpower and caffeine, the trio checked out on time and made it back out onto the road, Johnny choosing to drive due to how rough the goth rocker looked. It was only the knowledge that it would only be a couple more days that kept the actor driving despite his exhaustion. Only Raven seemed to have any energy and this was due to the fact they had stayed up all night to ensure she got the rest she needed. Thankfully she was very aware of this fact and did what she could to keep up morale. Still, despite her best efforts, the pair were all but ready to collapse by the time they reached their next hotel. “Really, go lay down! You both look like death! I promise I can take care of myself until I’m ready for bed,” the midnight clad femme insisted as soon as they got into the room, disliking how the pair swayed on their feet in a dazed manner. Even more concerning was the fact they both nodded in agreement before shuffling off to their respective rooms.

    Once alone, the artist set to making herself some food before sitting on the couch to watch some cartoons. As she watched an episode of ‘Family Guy’ Raven found herself honestly beginning to think about just how her life was going to change from now on. Depending on how popular her music was, she probably wouldn’t have much, if any, free time to do her art freelancing. Just the thought of it filled her with a strange sadness. Her art had been a part of her life for as long as she could remember and had been a passion for her entire professional career. To give it up for something she didn’t really want to do seemed a bit sacrilegious, almost as if she was giving up on her long time dream of breaking into the professional art world. Still, she had to admit the career she had in front of her was far more promising. Besides, who was to say she couldn’t attempt both. After all, Manson still did art despite the fact he was horrendously busy.
    That thought giving her comfort, Raven simply let herself relax as the night went on. By the time she was ready for bed, she felt more relaxed than she had in a couple days. Smiling at the feeling of contentment filling her, the drowsy woman went into the bedroom she was sharing with her fiance. The sight that greeted her upon entry very nearly made her burst into laughter. Manson was sprawled out naked across the bed, his mouth hanging open as he released loud snores. Taking a deep breath to keep the giggles fighting to get free at bay, the twenty-nine year old slowly entered and shut the door behind her. Then she was crawling onto the small part of the bed that had been allotted her, nearly jumping out of her skin when the sleeping rock star rolled onto his side to snuggle her like a giant teddy bear. After a few seconds she wrapped her own midnight clad arms around him in return and drifted into her own deep sleep.
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The Rose and Thorn