I woke up the banging on my door at three in the morning and felt myself die inside; I couldn't remember if I had paid my rent, and if it was my landlord, I was doomed.

"I'm coming," I called, trying to pull on some pants. "Shit," I said as I tripped over a blanket that had fallen to the floor, "I'm coming, just a second."

I opened the door, completely out of breath, and only in my bra and unbuttoned jeans, to see Tracii and a group of unfamiliar faces in my door way.

"What are you doing here? Jesus Christ," I said, rolling my eyes as I buttoned my jeans.

"Not Jesus Christ," he said with a snicker, "Tracii. I missed you, he said, looking me up and down. You preppin' for my visit?" he asked with a wink.

"Shut the fuck up and get inside," I said, swinging the door open and waiting for them all to enter.

"You got it," he said, a half-drunk glimmer in his eyes as he lead four other guys in.

"Well, shit," a British accent purred near me. "I never thought I'd see you again, Carolina," Phil said.

"Oh, hey, Phil," I said, stretching up on my toes to kiss him on the cheek.

He smiled and walked in, dropping into one of the chairs in my living room.

"'Ey, where was mine?" Tracii asked, feigning hurt.

"Ask Saul," I said bitterly. "He's the fuck that ruined everything."

"Oh, so you're still angry," Tracii said slowly.

"You're not?" I asked, annoyed. "Make yourselves at home," I said to the strangers standing in my living room. "I, uh... I'm gonna get a shirt," I said before disappearing into my bedroom.

After pulling on a clean New York Dolls shirt, I walked back into the living room.

"Do you guys want anything? I don't really have much," I said, looking around awkwardly.

They all shook their heads and Tracii walked over to me and leaned on my shoulder.

"Tracii, I'm not trying to be a bitch- and quite frankly, if I am, I don't care- but what are you doing here? How did you find out where I live?"

"I told you, I wanted you to meet my band. Guys, this is Carolina," he said, squeezing my shoulders.

"Ah, Carolina the infamous," one of them said.

"Infamous?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at Tracii.

"They know the story," he said with a shrug. "Anyway, that," he said, pointing to the man that had just spoken, "is Mick Cripps, my partner in crime on rhythm guitar."

Mick waved, shaking his black hair out of his face. His brown eyes were soft and he had a very handsome face.

"Over there, we got our God of thunder, Kelly Nickels, A.K.A., the coolest bassist ever. He used to play wi-"

"With Faster Pussycat," I said with a smile.

Kelly perked up and looked at me with a surprised smile.

"We met a long time ago," I said.

"You remember? Holy shit, I didn't think you would," he said.

"I did," I said with a laugh. "I thought I recognized you when you were walking in but I wasn't sure."

Kelly smiled, fluffing his (also) black hair around his face, which was also very handsome. His cheekbones were defined, and his brown eyes were sparkly and sharp. His lips were also very nice- nice enough to make me want to be close friends with him.

"Mister Steve Riley over yonder," Tracii said, pointing to the tallest (and palest) of them.

"Guess what band I was in," he said with a laugh.

"W.A.S.P.," I said.

"No fuckin' way," he said, his jaw dropping.

"What? Was I wrong?" I asked, feeling the embarrassment creep through me.

"No. You we're right," Steve said. "Most people wouldn't have guessed that."

Steve's black hair was a bit curly and framed his face, highlighting his bright blue eyes and solid jawline. Again, a handsome man with black hair.

"And that motherfucker, "Tracii said, "Well, you already know Phil from Girl," he said with a laugh.

"Fuck off," Phil said. "She likes me best anyhow."

"That's why I got to fu-"

"Enough," I said, slapping my hand over Tracii's mouth with a nervous smile.

I felt a tug on my hair and removed my hand from Tracii's mouth as a reflex.

"Fuck her," Tracii finished, eyes wide with a daring smile.

"Guns, you asshole," I grumbled as I punched him in the arm.

"Ow! Okay, enough," he said between laughs. "I'm gonna have a bruise there," he said.

"Good," I said before walking over and sitting beside Phil.

"Ha-ha! She does like me best," he said as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Actually, don't get your hopes up," I said, standing up. "You never called me," I said in a scolding tone.

"Aw, but you told me-"

"Nope, it's fine," I said, sliding into Kelly's lap. "It's totally fine."

"Yes, it is," Kelly said, snaking his arms around me so that I wouldn't fall. "What he didn't mention, is that together we are L.A. Guns. Also known as the Hollywood Vampires."

"Hollywood Vampires?" I asked.

"Yeah, cuz we party all night and sleep all day," Phil said as Tracii plopped on the couch beside him, both of them pouting.

"You died your hair again, I see," Tracii said.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Blonde wasn't really doing it for me."

"You look like your brother," he said.

"Unfortunately."

"Drama queen."

"It's justified," I said.

"Who's your brother?" Mick cut in.

"Jeffrey Isbell," I said, the name tasting bitter in my mouth.

"Izzy," Tracii clarified when they looked confused.

"Holy shit, no way," Mick said, his eyes growing wide.

"Yeah, mate. That's her big brother," Phil said.

"Am I missing something?" I asked.

"Your brother's getting to be a big name."

"Really now?" I asked sarcastically. "Under 'Izzy?'"

"Yup," Kelly said, his breath tickling the side of my neck, "Guns N' Roses are killin' the scene right now."

"Guns N' Roses?" I asked, looking at Tracii, knowing he was somehow involved.

"Long story," he said, trying to change the subject.

"We have time," I said, crossing my arms.

"We started a band, it failed, they split off, kept the name, and now we're here," he said, half-assing his answer.

"That's not that long of a story," I said.

"Got my bases covered," he said, popping the collar of his leather jacket.

"Yeah sure you do," Steve said, rolling his eyes.

His comment sparked a conversation/argument between Tracii, Steve, and Phil, leaving Mick, Kelly, and myself to watch.

"Hun," Kelly said quietly, "Can you stand up for a sec? I got a bad knee."

"Shit, of course. Sorry," I said, carefully standing.

"It's fine; I just gotta move it. It locks up," he said, patting the arm of the chair beside him.

"What happened?" I asked, sitting on the arm of the chair.

"Motorcycle accident. That's more or less why I'm not in Faster anymore. My recovery time would have knocked everything off track."

"Aw, I'm sorry," I said. "That's shitty."

"Nah, it's all good. Now I'm here with these idiots," he said, looking up at the four that were currently throwing around a water bottle that they had found.

"Was it a worthy trade?" I asked with a laugh.

"God, I hope so," he said with a chuckle.

°°°°°°

Around the time that the sun came up, we had all fallen asleep, strewn across the living room, Tracii and Phil shared the couch, Steve fell asleep on the arm of a chair, but rolled to the floor, Mick slept in said chair, and Kelly and I slept in the other arm chair.

Soon enough, there was an angry knock at my door, waking us all up, causing the boys to grumble.

"What are you idiots doing?" I mumbled, still mostly asleep against Kelly's chest.

"Isbell, there's a package here for you," a voice screamed through my door.

"What?" I asked, feeling myself being picked up and tossed over someone's shoulders.

"Isbell," the first voice repeated as they knocked.

Whoever had picked me up (Mick, I think, but I was too groggy to be sure) set me down by the door and tried to go back to sleep.

"Sorry, I was sleeping," I said as I opened my door.

I opened it to see my land lord, all five feet and three inches of him, in my doorway, with a box in his hand. He was balding and his face and head shined with sweat, staining his white wife beater.

"Sleeping? It's twelve o'clock in the afternoon," he said, thrusting the box in my hands. "Rent by tomorrow," he said, trying to look over my shoulder.

"Okay, you got it," I said, standing up straighter.

"You got people in there?" he asked, squinting.

"Uh, yeah. A couple of girls from work," I said easily.

Hearing one of them snicker, I tried to close the door to where my land lord could only see my face.

"We worked very late last night," I said.

"Whatever," he said, waddling away.

As soon as the door was closed, the boys all started laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Girls?" Kelly said, lifting his head.

"Yeah, you got the name, dude," Tracii said with a rich laugh.

"So do you, dipshit," Kelly said, throwing his shoe at him.

"Please don't start throwing shit," I said, walking to the kitchen to open my box.

"What'd you get?" Kelly asked, following me into the kitchen.

"Uh, I don't know; I didn't order anything," I said as I cut the tape.

"Is it safe to open?" he asked jokingly. "You're my shield," he said, holding onto my arms as he looked over the top of my head.

"No; It's a bomb, we're all going to die," I said, pulling the flaps apart.

"Packing peanuts... you're a millionaire," he joked.

Digging through the foam peanuts, I found a card from Adriana.

"Carolina,

Your boss said he'd send this to you. It's from your brother. He asked me to give it to you if I ever got a chance. Hope to see you soon!

-A"

"Who's it from?" Kelly asked, looking through my cupboards.

"Well, my boss got it from a friend, the friend got it from my brother, and now it's- what are you looking for?"

"I don't really know. Whatever gets my attention, I guess."

"There's tea in the cupboard beside the stove," I said, pointing. "I don't think I have coffee."

"Tea is good, too," he said.

Reaching to the bottom of the box, I pulled out a journal and a t-shirt, followed by a vinyl record bearing the same name as the shirt.

Guns N' Roses.

I opened the journal, and read the first page.

"Carolina,

I am so sorry for what happened between us. I know you're probably still angry, but I want you to know that I miss you and I regret how I reacted. Along with this journal (I know how you like to write) there should be a shirt and record from my new band. Come see us some time; we're always around (just follow the word on the streets). I hope to see you soon, baby sister. Love you, Rae.

-Izzy/ Jeff"

I smiled a little. My brother was usually a genuine guy, but when he wrote it, he meant it.

I ran my fingers over the dark green journal. The cover was hard but was covered in a velvety felt. A weird word came to my mind; it was beautiful. I loved it. Something as simple as a journal and a note from my brother made my day great.'

Placing the journal on the counter, I unfolded the black t-shirt, which depicted a cross with five skulls on it, which I assumed were fashioned after the way the guys in the band looked. It was topped with a banner that said "Guns N' Roses," and at the bottom, there was another banner that said "Appetite for Destruction. I had to hand it to my brother, it was bad ass!

Reaching to the bottom of the box, I fished out the record, a small piece of paper falling out of it.

"Carolina,

This was one of the first recordsthat was pressed. We hope you like it.

-Izzy and Co."

Flipping the record, which bared the same same design as the shirt, I saw five silver signatures on the back, three of which had hearts next to them.

I smiled, shaking my head; my brother knew I loved music and writing; what better way to make me feel better about our situation than give me both?

Walking into my bedroom, I placed the record on the player and dropped the needle on the first track, 'Welcome to the Jungle.'