"So what's goin' on with you an' Ang?"

I looked up from my notebook and saw Malcolm standing over me. He had his guitar strapped over himself and a bottle in one hand. His eyes were barely visible behind his long hair. We were backstage yet again, Stelle and I. Stelle was working on some photos of the crowd from the wings before the show started, Janis as her guest helping out, and I was writing, keeping to myself. What on earth did he mean "going on"? "Nothing," I said. 

Malcolm sat next to me and started tuning his guitar. "Ya' sure? Couldn't help but notice he's a bit tricky around ya' nowadays," he said focusing on his instrument. I looked around the room for Angus and saw him sharing a laugh with Cliff. 

We still hadn't talked.

I hadn't had the opportunity to come out and ask him if he read the notebook. It was obvious he read something by the way he looked at me. Malcolm wasn't imagining things. But anytime I even looked in Angus' direction he found something to keep him busy. This was something else....the one man I've ever had a serious crush on...and this is what comes of it. 

Was I really the worst person in the world for lying about my past? My job? The fact that I'm from 2024? 

I was starting to think so. 

"Is he givin' you a hard time?" Malcolm asked, looking at me with concern. "Cause I'll shake him up a bit if ya' want."

"No! No, that's fine," I said quickly. Angus didn't need any "shaking up". "Thank you."

"Sure, love." Malcolm went back to playing and I went back to writing. There wasn't anyone left to interview but since they weren't leaving Australia just yet, I might as well hang out a bit longer. Hoping I'd go back to my own time before Stelle decided to take off to Germany. What would I do if I were stuck here for the rest of my life? I didn't have a place to live or a steady job, I didn't even have a passport to show I came here by rules of the law! I was a criminal! 

I'll be arrested and I'll never get to publish my fanfic. 

"I tried talkin' to him a bit," Malcolm went on. "Wouldn't say anythin' but he kept lookin' over at you. Figured somethin' must be goin' on."

"Nothing," I said simply. "Nothing's going on."

Malcolm looked like he didn't believe me. "Alright," he said. "Guess I'll keep grillin' him."

Stelle and Janis came back from taking pictures and were laughing and talking. "Oh, Hannah! We saw a bird out there holding a big sign saying "Take Me, Bon" on it. Could you imagine being that brave?"

Not in the slightest.

The two went off somewhere to laugh and talk some more and I was left with Malcolm. The other boys were practicing or drinking or making a new friend. I expected Malcolm to want to do the same but he didn't seem to mind sitting by me. 

Well, he still practiced and drank, anyway. 

"You an' Stelle got plans after the show?" he asked. 

"I don't think so," I said. "Maybe Stelle does but not me."

"Hm," was all he said. He was still focused on his playing. It still amazed me how these guitarists didn't seem to get severe hand pain when they twisted them around like that on the neck. I mean...how?? He nodded towards my notebook. "Got anythin' left to ask in there?"

"Not really," I said. I flipped through the pages. Flyers, a newspaper, a backstage pass, and plenty of notes. I really thought I was all set. 

"Ya' sure? Most journalists we've seen don't leave till they know our social security numbers," he said. "Or at least our addresses."

"I think I'm okay," I said. I wasn't running out of room yet. I could still ask several more questions. But I couldn't think of any. And these men were busy; they did their job answering me and now it was over. They should move on to other things. 

"If ya' say so," Malcolm said. A roadie came out to tell the band it was time to go on. Malcolm stood up as I saw Angus rushing out of there, keeping his eyes straight ahead. "Alright, we're off to play the buildin' down." And the men left to play their show as the audience roared with pleasure. 

The Glamour Girls, according to Stelle, left her party early. They met a man there who could hook them up with some coke and they accepted his offer and left. Stelle wrinkled her nose at the thought. "Isn't weed enough? Coke makes me too....anxious."

The Glamour Girls weren't backstage tonight either. They must have had better things to do. Stelle and Janis found a corner to sit in and talk and it looked like they were lost in their own little world. There were a few other women like me back there. Wearing their backstage passes like medals. They were different than the one I had been issued weeks ago. Probably so nobody could sneak backstage using the same ones over and over again. 

I read over my interviews with the boys. Nothing professional, but not too silly either. I wondered if whatever sent me here would think it was enough and send me home. What did I have to do to go home? I wasn't in any hurry but I was anxious about it.

As much fun as I was having, I was feeling a little homesick. 

**********

After the show the boys immediately ran for the showers. Some joints were being passed around by the roadies and I declined their offers. Stelle and Janis took a couple. I wondered where Joyce was until Janis said she was visiting their aunt who lived in Sydney. "I'd visit but....our aunt never liked me as much....Joyce was nice and quiet. I'm not."

The two had disappeared somewhere and I didn't feel like looking for them. I kept shooing away a fly that had found its way backstage. The whole place stunk with sweat and the fly probably loved it. Only I wasn't the one sweating! 

"Fuck off," I muttered waving my hand around.

"Nice to see ya' too," a voice said. I looked over and saw Malcolm wearing different clothes and drying his hair with a towel. 

"I didn't mean you," I said feeling all kinds of embarrassed. Malcolm only laughed and sat back down next to me. A roadie came in carrying his guitar which was also dripping with....let's just say it wasn't water. 

"Figured." He had several bottles of water with him and handed me one. "Drink up," he said before chugging one of his. 

"Thanks." I cracked the bottle open and drank. The water was a little warm. After a couple of sips I set the bottle down. Malcolm was already done with his and grabbed another one. I looked around the room but I could only see roadies, a few guests, and Cliff. Stelle and Janis were gone. 

"Hey." Malcolm nudged me. "Some friends an' I are headin' out down the road a ways. Lookin' for a bit of fun, ya' know? Wanna come?"

Was he really asking me of all people to join his friends? And what kind of fun were they expecting to find? I was hesitant. I didn't want to be some carry on that proved to be a drag to their evening. "You want me to go?"

"You've been sittin' around all evenin' lookin' bored stiff an' dragged out," Malcolm said. "Got somethin' on your mind or what?"

Actually, yes, I had a lot on my mind. 

Malcolm drank more water and shrugged. "Jus' thought you would want a night off or somethin'."

I didn't think Stelle would care if I went with Malcolm to wherever he was going. But I disappeared from her party once before; it would probably be best to at least tell her where I was going, that way she wouldn't wait around for me. But did I want to go with him? I didn't know any of their friends and I probably wasn't invited.

Well, Malcolm invited me but you know what I mean!

"Might take your mind off of whatever isn't goin' on between you an' my brother."

He was right. Angus didn't want anything to do with me so I may as well leave him to it and find my own fun. Sure! Why not? 

"I'll go," I said. Malcolm nodded.

"Alright, then." And that was it. I stood up to find Stelle and tell her not to look for me the whole night. I'm sure she'd be thrilled to hear I made other plans. I honestly felt like such a burden around here. Like everyone was just passing me around and babysitting. Maybe I shouldn't have felt that way but I did. 

Comes with the territory of being me, I guess.

I wandered around the backstage area and looked around for Stelle. "Lost?" Cliff asked. 

"Do you know where Stelle went?" I asked.

"Oh, she went to the loo a while ago, but I didn't see her go out. Wasn't payin' attention. She had some makeup with her, she might be touchin' things up."

"Thanks." I went to the bathroom and politely knocked on the door. It wasn't locked and I pushed the door open. It was a public bathroom with a row of stalls and sinks. There was even a tampon machine. A makeup palette sat precariously on the edge of one of the sinks. But that wasn't what caught my eye.

I turned beet red.

"Oh, Hannah!" Stelle said turning to me. She and Janis were wrapped around each other in the middle of a very intense kiss. Both of them were flushed and out of breath. "We're dating now!"

I didn't know how to respond. I gave her a thumbs up and a smile, hoping that was enough. Stelle grinned from ear to ear and before I could explain why I went in there in the first place, Janis pulled her in to continue their...date.

I quickly excused myself and left the bathroom. "She in there?" Cliff asked. I turned red again.

"Oh yeah, she was in there."

"Fixin' her makeup?"

"Er....she will be," I said and left Cliff to stare after me confused. Malcolm's invitation was a blessing from above for both Stelle and I. She and Janis had the place to themselves and I wouldn't...intrude. I found Malcolm who was looking his guitar over.

"So replace the A string and the E string?" a roadie was asking him. 

"Yeah, they're wearin' down a bit. You can see here..." Malcolm plucked them a few times and I couldn't tell there was anything wrong but they certainly could. "Might pop off next show, best to get 'em fixed now."

"Think we should just replace the whole set?" the roadie asked. Malcolm thought it over. "We're already replacing the strings on two of Ang's guitars and Cliff will probably need something done."

"I don't think the sound will be altered too much if it's jus' the two but.....it will play harder if they're all done."

"I mean..." The roadie plucked a few of the strings. "These are pretty good still. Hate to waste them if they work. You still want the usual?"

"Yeah, those sound the best." Malcolm took the guitar on his lap and played a little bit. I wished I had musicians' ears, they can detect the slightest mistake in music and they know which notes are which. They can tell if something is flat or sharp. I was amazed. Malcolm handed the guitar back to the roadie. "Alright, replace 'em all."

"Got it." The roadie took the guitar away and Malcolm noticed me. 

"You alright? Look a bit nervous."

Psh, what? Just because my favorite member of my favorite band asked me to join him and some friends that I've never met to go out somewhere doesn't make me nervous.

I'm terrified.

But I could trust Malcolm. I could still see the tiny cut on his lip healing. It was almost gone but just visible enough to remind me of the scrap. And just like that morning with Bon, I remembered Malcolm would die too. And I couldn't do a thing to save him. 

Best spend as much time with him as I could.