Angus woke up with a slight trouble to breathe. As soon as he removed his face from the pillow the trouble stopped, and he rubbed his eyes from the leftover grogginess. There were two of everything in the room, his head pounding in his ears. His jacket was by his feet on the floor, and he picked it up to place it next to him. He then realized it was the only thing next to him on that couch.

After stretching and giving a yawn, he stood from the couch and peered down the hallway. The bathroom light was on, but no one was in there, aside from a few bottles of pills on the counter with a glass of water. Angus would have taken it had he known what it was doing there. Instead he took a quick trip to the bathroom and brushed his teeth, hoping to get rid of the alcohol still lingering in his breath.

His hair was tussled and his shirt was wrinkled. The pounding in his head got worse and he risked an accusation from the owner as he took a couple pills and washed them down. Whatever happened last night was coming back to him in bits and pieces. Hannah had been there...he remembered feeling a lot warmer that night, not to mention quite a bit more daring...then he had fallen asleep. Surely Hannah hadn't left...

There she was, sitting on his bed embracing a pillow. He made his place at the doorway, not sure if he should go in or not despite the room belonging to him. Hannah was still in her dress, unable to change into any fresh clothes. Angus wasn't sure if she had been able to clean herself up. "Good morning," he finally said.

Hannah hugged the pillow tighter, then relaxed when she saw it was just her friend standing there. "Hullo," she mumbled.

He walked toward his bed and sat on it, giving a little space between him and the girl. She didn't acknowledge him, or even seem to want to. He folded his hands across his lap and sighed, knocking his thumbs together. "How do you feel?" he asked.

"Like hell."

He laughed. "I thought so. I do too."

"You're better off than I."

"We both drank a little more than we should have last night, we both ought to be feelin' hell," he answered.

Hannah buried her face in the pillow and groaned. Angus dropped his smile and put a hand to her shoulder, eyes wandering over her arms, once again covered by her jacket. "Hey, you alright? Feelin' sick?"

"Not in the way that I should," she answered. Angus frowned, clearly unable to understand. "It's that time, Angus."

His eyes widened and he nodded, rubbing her shoulder. "Oh, I see. Is it bad?"

"Worse it's been in a while, and this headache doesn't help."

"That your water in the bathroom?" he asked.

"Yeah, I-hope you don't mind, I woke up this morning in a lot of pain. So I, found something to take." He shook his head.

"Don't mind at all. Hope you don't mind that I took a little drink." Angus narrowed his eyes. Looking at her, which he had grown accustomed and even fond of doing, he noticed something behind her hair he had never noticed before. The skin on her neck had a spot of light purple. He brushed her hair behind her ear to see it better. "What happened to ya' here?"

Instantly she moved away from him, watching his stray fingers in case he might touch it. It was still sore. "That's from-" Her face turned red. "That was from...last night," she stuttered. "Don't-don't you remember?"

The piece just would not fit with the rest of the puzzle. As if it got lost in a completely different box than where it came from. He held a hand to his head as the front of it began to ache, his ears ringing, a slight wave of nausea hitting him. When it passed he shook his head. "Not at all, really."

"You...got a little fresh with me last night, Angus. And...I'll have you know I don't appreciate that."

His eyes widened and he pointed to the bruise. "You mean...I did that?" Hannah nodded and turned her head away. Angus ran a hand through his hair. "God, Hannah, I'm so sorry. I thought you...I jus' thought you-wanted me to-"

"We were both drunk, it's alright," she answered. "It only hurts a little." She hugged the pillow tighter, a wave of pain hitting her middle. "It doesn't compare to cramps."

Angus still feeling remorse for his hormonal actions the other night, offered her help. "You want to lie down, or-how many pills did you take? You can have two, ya' know."

"I almost took three," she admitted. "But I haven't eaten since yesterday morning so I thought I would feel worse if I did."

"You're probably right...yesterday morning?" he asked, staring at her. Hannah didn't respond. "My God, we went back before we ate, didn't we? Yesterday morning?" She finally nodded. "You hungry at all?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, it hurts a little too much to eat anything."

"I'll make this all up to you, I promise-"

"It's alright, Angus!" she almost snapped. "I'll be fine, these pills just take a while. There's nothing to make up, you haven't done anything wrong."

"Hannah, I-I gave you a-a-that," he pointed. "I shouldn't have, I should have noticed you were uncomfortable...were you?" She nodded and Angus felt ten times worse. "See? I made you uncomfortable...and...you told me...Travis..." Hannah looked up at Angus warily. He finally put two and two together. "I'll kill him."

"No-"

"After what you said he did? 'No' didn't work on him? What the fuck did he do to you?"

"It was years ago!" Hannah said, hoping to calm Angus down before his hangover got worse. "He was drunk, and probably mad about something, who can remember? It hasn't happened since, I just got scared again when you..."

Angus sighed and wrapped his arms around her, not caring she was unable to return it because of the pillow. "Give me the word, Hannah," he mumbled into her shoulder. "Tell me it's okay, an' I'll do it."

She took a minute to think. Then nuzzled into him. "No," she said. "No, he's-he's still family." He pulled away from her, keeping his hands on her shoulders, looking at her with sad eyes. "I promised...I promised Mom..."

"Your mum's not here, Hannah," Angus said. "He's a toxic man, he's hurting you! Whether by words or..." He looked at her arms again. "...actions, he's hurting you. And you mean too much to me for me to let that happen." Hannah didn't say anything for a few minutes. Angus didn't force her to speak to him. Suddenly she stood up.

"Oh! I'd better go, huh?" Angus frowned.

"Why?"

"I shouldn't be here when Sherrie gets back-" Angus grabbed her arm and gently set her back down on the bed. He looked at the duvet, bits of thread standing loose. He picked at one, then finding another when it came off. "Angus...?"

"Sherrie's gone," he said quietly. He didn't see Hannah's eyes turn down. "Packed and left a while ago."

"She's gone?" He didn't repeat himself. "I'm sorry, I didn't know-"

"You couldn't have." He put a hand to her cheek and brushed his thumb across it. "There's still so much to learn about each other, eh?"

Hannah kept the subject on the rail. "So, you're not together anymore?" Angus sighed then took his hand away.

"No," he answered. Thinking about it, he said, "I'm not sure we ever really were..."

"I'm sorry," Hannah said. The silence between them was savored. Unless Travis somehow hopped into her pocket and hid under the bed, he couldn't interrupt them. They had the whole world to themselves, and neither could think of a better way to spend their time. "You'll find someone else, Angus. Someone even better, and you'll love her even more." Angus gave her a sad smile.

"Yeah?" He scooted closer to her. "What makes you say that?"

"Because you're Angus," she answered seriously. He nodded.

"Angus Young?" he asked. She shook her head.

"No, just Angus." He dropped the smile and took her words in. Hannah began to hug the pillow again, burying her face in it. "This is awful. Why can't you men have them too?"

Angus smiled again. "Because women were chosen to take on the miracle," he said, smoothing her hair down. All he heard from the pillow was a low, "Some miracle."

"You like kids, don't you?"

"They're fine, but I don't think I'm qualified to take care of one. I spend too much time caring about my own safety." She reached up to press her hand down on Angus' shoulder and neck making him laugh. "And too busy taking care of my friends."

"What are you talkin' about?" he said pushing her hand away. "You'd be a wonderful mother." Hannah removed her head from the pillow.

"Thanks. But...all the same, I don't want kids of my own." Angus nodded, and folded his hands across his lap again. "Ugh, I hate this."

"Here." Angus stood up and left the room, finding his suitcase he left by the kitchen table a few hours ago and rifled through it again. Hannah watched him reenter the room carrying a bathrobe, giving it to her. "You can take a shower if you want, maybe that'll help." She stared at the robe in her hands, knowing it would be a size too big. Angus rocked back and forth on his feet. "You can get yourself clean too, I uh, don't know if you want to brush your teeth or not..."

"Very much," she said. "But not with your toothbrush." Angus laughed as she swung the robe in his direction, hitting his leg. She stood up from the bed and rolled the robe into a ball in her arms then left to head for the bathroom. Angus slowly turned around, not knowing she had the same idea, but at a faster rate.

Their faces were much closer than they meant them to be. Their hearts were racing much faster than they thought they ought to be. And their heads were hurting more than they wanted them to be. Hannah, without thinking, brought back her childhood tendency to rub her wrist when she was nervous. Angus stepped closer, unsure why. He wasn't even sure he had control of his feet at the moment. His hand reached up and cupped her chin, he watched it run his thumb across her lips. Angus didn't know who was doing all this but it certainly wasn't him. Maybe not all of the alcohol had worn off.

"Th-thank you, Angus," Hannah muttered, then turned back around for the bathroom. Angus heard the door close then dropped his hand from keeping still in the air, where his friend had just been. He made for the couch, dropping onto it like a brick and sighing. Just Angus. Not the famous man everyone had come to know, but just a friend she had always known.

He felt around in his back pocket and removed the piece of paper, slightly more torn than it used to be. He opened it up, reading the words written years ago, words that he couldn't say if they were still true.

Many times he tried to tell her. Many times he tried to remind her what they could have had, and every time he had been pushed back down. He set the paper open on the coffee table, staring at it. Fate was deceiving him. Here they were, together again after years apart, and the circumstances were still wrong, wrong for them to be together. If it were meant to be, it would have happened by now. Angus wasn't tired of waiting, but he knew he should stop pretending. It didn't seem like she still thought of him that way anyway, not that he could ever tell as a child. It was time to put the idea out of his mind.

One knock at the door later and the paper was grabbed and crumpled up in his hand. He answered it, and opened his mouth when he saw Malcolm with the biggest grin on his face. "Malcolm."

"Morning, Angus," he said. "A wonderful one it is, ain't it?" The younger man blinked.

"I suppose. Come in, I've been awake a while now." Angus closed the door after his brother who sat on the couch. Malcolm looked around the hotel room humming, occasionally whistling. Angus stood there, staring. "You in a good mood?"

"Well, maybe jus' a bit," he smiled. "I feel great, not had one drop of whiskey last night, ya' hear that? I feel great!"

"That's good, Mal, I'm happy for ya'!" Malcolm didn't think Angus looked happy when the mention of alcohol led him to bring a hand to his forehead. Malcolm leaned forward.

"You sick?"

"No, jus' a headache."

"Huh," Malcolm said. "That's a turn, usually it's me takin' the bullet."

"Glad to help, Mal." The way Angus rubbed his temple, the way his eyes closed as he winced from the pain, and the way he stumbled over to the chair in the corner was something Malcolm knew all too well.

"Angus, don't tell me..." Angus looked at him sheepishly. "What happened, you said you wouldn't have a drop!"

"I know, I know."

"You don't drink!"

"Not so loud, Mal, I only took medicine a few minutes ago." Malcolm sighed and pursed his lips. "No I don't. But...I don't know, I was lookin' at her an' somethin' happened, Mal, I swear it wasn't me last night."

"Uh huh," Malcolm said. "Could have been anyone, there's just so many Anguses out there. Speakin' of which, Hannah alright? She make it back home okay, nothin' go wrong with Travis?" Angus' face turned red again.

"Uh...I should probably talk to you about that."

"What did he do?"

"It's not so much what he did, more so, what he's done-" Malcolm scooted forward on the couch.

"What, she okay?"

"Yeah, she's, she's-"

Both men turned their heads when the a door in the hallway opened and Hannah walked out to the living room, hair wet in a bathrobe Malcolm swore he saw before and a towel in her hands. "She's here," Angus finished with a mumble.

"I can see that," Malcolm said. Hannah scrubbed her hair with the towel then brought it away to see them.

"I found a spare toothbrush in the cupboard," she said. "I hope you don't mind-Malcolm!" Angus took the towel from her so she could hug him. Malcolm held her, moving her wet hair aside.

"Nice to see you too, darlin'." He gave Angus a suspicious look. "You smell like Ang a little bit."

"Thanks, Mal, I've always wanted to smell like a man," she answered.

"I just know Angus uses that same shampoo," Malcolm said letting her go. "I think that's his bathrobe too, if I remember right." When Malcolm moved away Hannah's hair he couldn't help but notice a slight bruise. "Wait, wait," he said as she moved to pull away. "What happened?"

Angus saved Hannah the trouble of answering. "It was an accident, Mal, it uh-happened last night."

"What, did you kick her in the neck at dinner?" Malcolm shook his head while Angus shifted from foot to foot. "I've seen these before, hell, I've given 'em. But..." He brushed a thumb over it. "I've never seen one this big! Christ, what vampire did that?"

"Mal, can I talk to you for a second?" Angus asked pulling him away from Hannah. Hannah grabbed Angus before he could divulge anything else she wasn't comfortable with.

"Wait!" Angus turned to look at her. "Ang? Can we talk first? In...the kitchen or someplace?"

"Uh..." Malcolm nodded his head. "Okay, uh, we'll talk in my room."

"Go easy on her, Ang." With a rough shove to his brother, Angus followed Hannah down the hall to the bedroom, keeping the door slightly open and their voices low.

"Please don't tell him."

"That I made a move?"

"No! Well, you don't have to be explicit about it, but that's not what I meant," Hannah said fixing her hair so it covered her neck. Angus set the towel down on the bed.

"Then by all means tell me."

"I don't want Malcolm getting hurt," Hannah muttered.

"Neither do I," Angus said.

"Travis hurt me when I talked to him, if we tell him what he's done he'll hurt Malcolm. I'm sure he'd love to, and-"

"Malcolm doesn't want to get hurt either, but if our friend is getting abused by her housemate then we need to do somethin'."

"Like what?"

Angus narrowed his eyes. That's it!

"Come back with us," he said quickly, unsure if she understood him. He took her hand, unsure if he was even himself at the moment.

"Go back...to Australia?"

"You could, ya' know," he said, refusing to break eye contact. "We go back next month."

"Travis would never let me-"

"Travis can go play hopscotch with his little pals in Antarctica for all I care," Angus interrupted. "Come on, leave him behind, stay with us for a while." Angus blushed, his words finally setting in. "If you...want to, of course."

"I-wouldn't have anywhere to stay-"

"You can stay with Malcolm," he offered. "He'd be glad to take ya', or we could rent ya' a hotel if you prefer. Or..." He gripped her hand. "Maybe you could stay with me?"

"I wouldn't want to impose-"

"Don't be ridiculous, I'd love to have ya'. I mean, I don't mind you stayin', after all, I did offer. An'...I don't know, it might be nice to have a little company again since Sherrie left." He smiled, happy to see her give one in return. "What do you say?"

Hannah took her time to think about it. "I can't leave Travis forever," she finally said. Angus nodded.

"I understand that." Had it been anyone else in the world she was living with, it wouldn't have been a lie.

"If it's only for a bit...and neither of you mind..."

"We don't mind at all, we'd be glad to have you back home." His heart felt warm when he said home. The three of them, back home where they first met. Where they belonged. "Only until you get yourself in a better place, maybe even earning enough to leave Travis...ya' know, permanently."

Hannah looked down at the carpet, a few drops of water falling from her hair. This was a huge offer, one she had never thought herself to be given. But why should she expect anything less than her two best friends, both of whom brought out a new side of her? A side that hadn't raised its head in years living with her mother's cousin. Maybe, she should take that form just once more.

"I won't make a mess, I promise," Hannah finally agreed. Before he could stop himself Angus grabbed her for a hug, wetting his lips on her hair.

"You'll go?"

"I'll go."

"You haven't seen Aussie in years, have ya'?" Angus asked. "You'll love it, it's exactly the same as when we were kids, an'..." He pulled away to smile at her. "Well, now we have to tell Malcolm."

"I don't mind asking him if I can come with you," Hannah said, stopping Angus before he could leave the room. "But...please don't tell him about..." Angus narrowed his eyes and felt his heart race as Hannah slowly lifted the sleeve of the bathrobe, showing off her peppered skin.

"He'd want to help you, he'd want to know."

"I know, I know. I'm just-not ready." Angus hated the excuse. No one was ever ready, not even him, to tell each other about important information. Hannah knew what he was thinking and continued. "There's no time limit to this, Angus, it won't matter if I tell him now or next week."

"It's just...I would want to know, so I could help my friend." She stared at him, Angus feeling the slightest hint of guilt for making her eyes water. "Alright, not yet. And, we'll keep..." He coughed lightly touching her bruise. "We'll keep this to ourselves, eh?"

"He's not stupid, Angus," Hannah replied with a small smile.

"He hasn't been your brother long enough then if you think otherwise," he said. "Well, a bruise on the neck could be anything. Maybe...maybe I did kick you in the neck at dinner." Hannah laughed.

"Maybe Travis' driving knocked me into the window," she said. Angus nodded.

"That's much better than my story," he smiled. He took her hand again. "Should we go now?"

"We'd better or else he'll get suspicious." The two walked out of the bedroom and found Malcolm in the kitchen making a sandwich out of Angus' ingredients. They dropped their hands as soon as he looked up.

"There you two are! Thought you two jumped out the window an' left me."

"Make yourself at home, Mal," Angus said dipping his finger in the mustard and licking it clean. "Oh, that reminds me, would you care to stay for lunch, Hannah? With Mal an' me?" Malcolm licked the knife and topped his sandwich, watching the two. "Jus'...jus' for a bit?"

She looked into his eyes, knowing deep and well he wanted her company just a little while longer. She wanted his too, wanted to throw everything that happened last night out the window and start again. To spend time with her real friends, and to stay away from Travis for any more time she could spare. "Of course," she said. Malcolm smiled, a drop of mustard hitting his chin.

"This mean I'm stayin' too?"

"Oh, damn, it does, doesn't it?" Angus asked putting a hand to his chin. "Guess I spoke too soon."

"Come here, you bug." Malcolm smeared a bit of mustard on Angus' nose and he grabbed a paper towel to clean it off. Hannah meandered toward the bathroom.

"I'll dry my hair now, change out of this robe..." She caught the men's attention. "You guys can talk now." Angus got the message.

"Okay, we'll clean up a bit around here." Hannah left and Angus grabbed the bag of bread and whacked his brother on the head with it.

"What?"

"How much weed do you smoke that you're this hungry all the time? Eatin' my stash every other day!"

Malcolm bit into his sandwich and sat himself on the counter, swinging his legs like a child. "You stole food off my plate all the time, you an' Alex. Look away one second an' your pudgy little hands are smugglin' my chips." He swallowed and took another bite. Angus put the ingredients away and leaned against the fridge. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Angus wiped his face of projectile sandwich. "I wanted to let you know that, Hannah stayed here last night after the dinner." Malcolm rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I could see that. Wearin' your clothes an' everything."

"Well, she didn't bring anything with her, I wanted to be nice." Malcolm choked a bit.

"She didn't bring anything? Jus' straight from dinner an' back here?" Angus nodded. "Drinking and bringing a girl home? Maybe I should have gone with you, keep you behavin' yourselves."

"No, alcohol was the only thing they had, it was better you didn't go. An' it's good I took Hannah back here, it's less time she has to spend with Travis, ain't it?"

"And more time for you feelin' her up. What did you do to her neck?" Malcolm held a hand up to stop his brother's reply. "I know what you did, never mind."

"I didn't do anything! Travis drove the Hearse an' he still hasn't gotten any better at it." Malcolm took another bite. Angus hoped he couldn't see through him. "I got a bruise too, on my ass. Wanna see?"

Angus began to unzip his pants and Malcolm jumped off the counter. "Keep 'em on, Ang, I'll take your word for it. I don't want to see it. Don't want to know what Travis drove into for that to happen either," he mumbled. Angus sighed, zipping himself back up, hoping he was in the clear.

"Speakin' of spendin' time here, we have a little question to ask you."

"Shoot."

Angus rubbed his wrist. "I asked Hannah if...only if she wanted to...if she would like to come back with us to Australia next month."

"Mm. What'd she say?"

"She said she would. For a little while, only until she can get herself together an' maybe she can make enough without Travis distractin' or botherin' her, so then she can leave him for good. She can move back home for good."

"That's a good idea, I'd love to have her back." Malcolm stuck a finger in his mouth to get some lettuce out of his teeth. "You askin' for my permission, or what?"

"Really jus'-lettin' you know. I mean, it's her choice, isn't it?"

"Yeah. It is. Where's she stayin'?"

"With-with me." Malcolm smiled.

"Have a bit more space now, don't ya'?" Angus nodded and paced the floor of the kitchen, his brother's chewing filling the room. "You takin' the couch?"

"Obviously."

"Hey, jus' askin', I know Sherrie would have none of that couch, nor would she have you sleepin' alone." His sandwich was gone and Angus was glad the chewing had ceased. "You'll like Hannah's company more, I'm sure, as long as you two don't get into anymore playground fights. Remember?"

"How could I forget?" His focus was lost as the bathroom door opened again and Hannah walked out a second time, her dress replaced, with her jacket covering her arms as Malcolm was still there. Malcolm turned his head and grinned.

"Hey, you're lookin' sharp. That what you wore last night?"

"Yeah, it's-the one nice thing I have."

"It's nice." Malcolm turned to see Angus off in his imagination so he elbowed him to wake him up.

"Ow! What?" Malcolm jerked his head. Angus once again felt his face turn the same shade as the dress he found himself staring at. "What-what Mal said."

Hannah smiled and placed Angus' bathrobe by his suitcase. "So you're comin' home with us, are ya'?" Malcolm asked.

"You don't mind, Mal?"

"Do I-why would I mind? Of course I want you back with us. It'll be jus' like old times, eh? Three peas...three rotten, small, vomit colored peas in a pod, yeah?"He wrapped an arm around Angus' shoulder and waved for Hannah to stand by him. "I'll just have to let the band know-again-that we'll be takin' a little stowaway with us."

"I'll have to tell Travis."

"And if he says no?" Angus asked. Hannah grinned.

"Then he can go to Antarctica." Angus laughed while Malcolm looked back and forth between the two.

"Problem children..." he muttered shaking his head. "Alright, what's for lunch, I'm starvin'."

When the afternoon turned to evening and the first of the stars made their appearance, and after three plates of spaghetti were cooked and served, two glasses of water were spilled, (both of which belonged to Angus), and the result of one food fight was cleaned up, Malcolm opened the door of the hotel room, Hannah rushing in for one last hug. "See ya' tomorrow then, hmm?"

"First thing."

"Angus? Take care of her, alright? Imagine if that bruise really had been a hickey." Angus swallowed.

"Yeah, uh, that would be-that would be-" He saw Malcolm wink at him over Hannah's shoulder. "I'll keep her safe."

"I'll let the band know you're comin'," Malcolm said separating from the hug. "Give them a long distance call or somethin'. They'll be glad to see you again, I'm sure."

"Any tours coming up?"

"None so soon you should worry about," Malcolm assured her. "We won't go anywhere too soon an' leave you by yourself, we'll probably jus' wait for the next album. That sound good, Ang?"

"Yeah, sure does." Angus didn't know what he was agreeing to. He hadn't heard him.

"Alright, see you both tomorrow." Angus closed the door after his brother who left for his own hotel room for the night. Hannah had stood there, looking like she wanted to say something.

"You okay?"

"I-should probably go too, Angus." He frowned. "If I'm gonna leave for a whole other country I should at least let Travis know where I am so he doesn't call the police or anything."

"Wouldn't want that," he mumbled. A warmth touched his cheek and spread throughout his face. Angus swore if he was red again, he'd turn into a radish. Hannah stepped away from him, arms behind her back, staring at her shoes. "Go home first, tell him what you're doing. Let him get mad. If he does anything to harm you-" He gently grabbed her arm. "-anything at all, don't hesitate for a second to tell someone, the police, or us-" She cut him off with a hug.

"I won't, I promise."

"Cross your heart?"

"Hope to die."

"I hope in hell you don't," he said forcing a smile. "That'd be a real drag, ya' know?" Every minute they stood there embracing, another star appeared in the sky. It was a wonder it was still dark out by the time they pulled apart "Want me to walk you home? I can."

"Thank you, but I'll be alright, I know the way."

"I know it better-I'm sorry, that was rude. I meant-"

"If we can find our way back from a building neither one of us have ever been to before back to this hotel, when we're drunk, I think I can figure out the road you've walked so many times before." He stepped back to let her pass.

"How's your head?" he asked.

"Better. Yours?"

"My hangover is gone, but I don't think I'll ever fully recover from swingin' it around on stage," he said with a cheeky grin. Hannah smiled and opened the door. "Your-other pains go away?"

"I think I'm fine now, they'll probably come back but I can take something else at home. Goodbye, Angus."

"I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"First thing."

"Okay." Hannah stood there, waiting for him to come up with anything else, stalling her from leaving. He put his hands in his pockets, feeling the crumpled up note. A paper cut sliced his finger when he grabbed it, fighting with himself if he should take it out or not and show her. He let it go. "Good-goodbye," he finally managed.

With one last wave, Hannah closed the door after her. Angus sighed. He took the note out and brought it to his suitcase, where it belonged. Now was not the time to ask for more than a friendship from her. With all they were dealing with, more drama wasn't necessary. And if she was to be his roommate in the next month, he had to keep her an arm's length away so he wouldn't get too attached. She'd only leave for a house of her own. Maybe once she really got her career going, he could...or maybe he never could. Maybe she really didn't like him anymore, or saw him as a brother as she saw Malcolm.

"Maybe she's grown up," Angus muttered to himself as he sat on the couch. His jacket from dinner was still there, left sloppily on the cushion. Angus picked it up and began folding it. "Maybe I'm stuck in my silly phase of puppy love..."

Something fell to his feet. A little white rectangle. Avoiding it colliding with his paper cut, he plucked it from the ground with two fingers and turned it over. He grimaced in disgust as he read the front. Young women desiring company without pay. A phone number was written in blue across the bottom. He had Hannah's company already, he didn't need some stranger to fill up his bed. He had Sherrie for five or six months (he could never remember), and she was the one who broke it off. And none of these girls would be as serious as she was, with or without formal titles. Angus set the card down. Barney was wrong, he wasn't looking for a one time thing. "Should call Sherrie..." Angus thought, just to make sure she got home safely.

He picked the phone up and dialed for a long distance call. Unsure if the hotel phones made these calls he didn't get his hopes up, but smiled when he was approved. It was only when Sherrie didn't answer, in fact hung up, that he lost it. He set the phone back and messed up his hair from his fingers. "Still need to shower," he yawned.

Realizing he was talking to himself, he shook his head. "I'm goin' nuts..." He looked at the card again for any fine print. Nothing about the offer said anything about the company requiring intimacy, just, simple company. Perhaps he could call someone up to talk to. To let out all that was on his mind. Whoever the girl was, didn't even have to go to his place with the wonder of the telephone. His hand hovered over the phone. It was picked up, held in the space of his neck, and a few buttons were pressed.

He hung right up. Not two rings in and he hung up. "This is nonsense," he said to himself. "Maybe I'm bein' dumb, I shouldn't call." Something seemed to possess him. Some being he knew wasn't quite himself, but he didn't feel any physically different. He remembered the being visiting him last night at the dinner, and again on that very couch. A being he could only describe as a 'little devil'. The being picked up the phone and called again, this time, ready to vent his thoughts to a stranger. "Maybe she'll get a kick outta it. Or maybe she'll think I'm a real bugger for wastin' her time." A woman's voice rang through the other end.

Maybe I am.