"Oi, Ang, pass my bottle over here, will ya'?"

"You got two feet, don't ya'?" Angus asked in return. The older man smiled at him.

"An' one of them is gettin' its shoelace tied, now hand it over." Angus sighed and grabbed the cold beer bottle off the coffee table. The glass exchanged hands and was brought to the older man's lips. "Wanna drink?"

"No thank you, Bon, drinking is not my thing."

"You're what, twenty three years old, and don't drink?" Angus sighed and sat on the couch across from Bon. The older and apparently taller man donned a smug smile, watching the younger fiddle with his guitar.

"Told you already, mate, I tried it once, an' it didn't work out. I'd rather not try again, if it's all the same with you." Bon chuckled and continued to nurse his drink.

"Eh, more for me, I guess. You get that song worked out yet, if your drinking can't be?"

"More or less. Mal an' I can't agree over the progression, an' it's drivin' him nuts." Bon grinned.

"You're the one drivin' him nuts."

"Well, the feelin's mutual," Angus muttered. His guitar was set aside and he lay across the couch, closing his eyes. If he had been told years ago he'd be joining his brother's band he would have laughed up a storm. Sometimes he still did, as he remembered the day he accepted the offer. Both had been giving it their all in their own bands, holding the others' weight on their shoulders. Getting sick of working hard for nothing, they got together and wrote a couple of melodies on their own. One by one new members had come in and gone out, with three sole survivors. One of them was having a great time teasing him. "Ready for the show tonight?"

"Always am," Bon replied, swirling the contents in the bottle around. "Your girlfriend comin'?"

"She's not my girlfriend," Angus scoffed, watching the beer bottle Bon was holding. "She's just a little friend comin' with us, nothin' special." Bon raised an eyebrow.

"A friend who so happens to be a girl," he said, eyes searching the ceiling. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you're a lucky man tonight." Angus shook his head and closed his eyes again. "What's her name?"

"Sherrie," Angus answered with a grin. Bon chuckled as Malcolm and another man entered the room.

"That's right, Sherrie. Sherrie the sweet, sweet, cherry." Angus covered his face in laughter inciting the two visitors to chuckle as well.

"Ang, come on, we gotta take the guitars to the trucks," Malcolm said, standing a foot on the coffee table. Angus hummed to himself as he ignored his impatient brother. "That means yours."

"Where's the next show?"

"In Manchester, so get packin'. Bon! Get up, truck's leavin' less than an hour." Both men stood at the command of their rhythm guitarist. The beer bottle taken by Bon, the guitar picked up by Angus and all four men headed out for the truck, their suitcases already packed. A fifth man stood by the truck, his hands in his pockets.

"Got everyone, Mal?"

"That's so, Cliff, all five accounted for an' one more guitar added to the bunch." Angus climbed in the back of the truck to find a place to put his guitar. His brown Gibson SG, the one swinging in the window of the old guitar store, next to the Fender. Finally accumulating the four hundred dollars he needed, he didn't hesitate to run down the street and collect it for himself. Soon enough his band had been making enough money to buy three guitars, though he saved his for his apartment in Australia. Nothing too fancy, just a place to stay with the business he had. One bedroom, luckily two bathrooms in case he had a guest. It wasn't cozy enough to take the place of a real home, though he'd be lying if he said he didn't miss his own bed when he was away on tour. Fortunately for him, Europe was their last stretch.

Angus came out of the truck after putting his guitar away. Cliff and Malcolm were talking on one side while Bon and the drummer Phil were laughing on the other. "Ready, Ang?" Bon asked noticing his appearance.

"Yeah, let's go," he answered. The five men let the roadies pack up the truck while they headed for their tour bus to Manchester. With a show in three hours, punctuality was key. At least, according to Malcolm. Angus' sleeping habits were still not up to his brother's standards, but being that way himself before, he let it slide on more than one occasion. As long as he was there, full eight hours or not, he was okay with it.

The band taking their seats near the back of the bus, some roadies and extra girls found a place to sit as well. A tall brunette with a few blond highlights waltzed her way to the youngest man and sat beside him. "Hey there," she smiled sweetly at him.

"Hey," he answered with a similar face, glad to have some good company. Not that the band was bad company, though he missed a good female friend more than once a day. Angus pulled up his arm rest and laid a hand on her thigh. "You comfortable?"

"Well, it's no private jet, but I'll take it over walking," she answered. "You doin' okay?"

"Tired. But that's jus' the usual, I'm doin' alright." A few minutes passed until the bus closed its doors, gave a jerk to wake up, and drove down the street. Angus closed his eyes hoping to catch a few winks before they reached their destination but the woman next to him kissed him on the cheek spreading warmth throughout his face. If he was honest with himself, other places began to feel warm as well.

"You ready for the show?"

"Mmm...yeah, course it's always good to practice first-"

"You'll be fine," she assured. "I wish I could have stopped to get some flats while we were here, these heels are killing me." Angus took a glance at them and saw nothing wrong.

"You look terrific in them. And anyway, I think one way or another they're coming off soon," he grinned at her. She grinned like a wolf at him, her brown eyes darkening. He brought a hand to her arm and lightly rubbed it. No official proclamation of their relationship had been announced yet it was obvious to the band what they were heading toward. She got along well with them all, Bon even tried to snatch her for himself before she stumbled upon the shorter man. It was alright with him, in the end. Another girl was willing to take her place. "Can't wait to stretch my legs out again," Angus said after about thirty minutes of driving. "Sometimes it's nice not being any taller-"

"I hope this motel has heating," the woman interrupted. "The snow is pretty and all, but I can't sleep in pure cold."

"It will, we checked it this morning, right, Mal?" Angus asked over his shoulder.

"I'm over here," his brother's voice called a few seats ahead of him. "And yes, I checked all that this motel comes with. Indoor plumbing, heating, and a possible case of bedbugs."

"Don't disturb their sleep, Bon," Phil laughed. "The poor bugs have had enough trouble."

"What're you lookin' at me for, Angus is the one with a lady," he retorted making everyone else on the bus laugh. "Let me find one first before warnin' me."

"I think Angus has two ladies, if I'm correct in Mal's story," Cliff piped up. Angus gave the bassist his full attention, curious as to what Malcolm had told him. And anything he might need to pound his brother for.

"What's this about?" Malcolm asked, not paying attention. Cliff rolled his eyes and explained their earlier discussion.

"You said Ang had this girl back in his hometown he was fond of, remember?" he asked as Malcolm searched the air as if the words of their conversation were floating above him.

"Oh! Yeah, that. She ain't around anymore, she moved away from us a long time ago," he said eyeing his brother. Angus' face was cast towards his shoes, and Malcolm knew he would do good to change the subject. "It's uh, not that important anyway, he's got Sherrie now. That's that."

"What was her name?" Sherrie asked, rubbing Angus' arm in return. He didn't answer for some time, and Malcolm knew again, that was not the question to ask. "You had a girlfriend when you were younger?"

"It's not important, Cliff doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut." Denying the subject's importance had Malcolm swimming in guilt, but bringing up a topic like this so many years later in front of a crowd would do his brother no good. Being a part of that past though, he longed to revisit it again, Angus at his side.

"Was it really serious?" Sherrie asked again to her non-responsive companion. "Did you two ever make it official?"

"Mal's right," Angus insisted. "It's not important. God knows how many years ago, let's just focus on the now." Closing his eyes once more, he ignored any more comments or questions about his childhood. He was too tired to talk about it anyway. He needed to save and recharge his energy for the show that night, and other performances. A hand clasped his own, a thumb brushing over his fingers.

The bus pulled into the parking lot, reserved just for them. Angus was woken up with a kiss on the cheek, and he stood up stretching his legs like he wanted. Sherrie took her time getting out of the aisle but Angus waited patiently all the same. Finally the whole group left the bus which had stopped at their motel. One letter on the neon sign was out, a single light glowing above each door. The front desk was in a building all by itself and Phil took responsibility of getting everyone's keys. Once the suitcases were taken out, the band took a key from Phil and headed to their rooms. The truck had gone ahead of the bus and was heading toward the venue, several roadies inside ready to set it all up and take it all down at the end of the night.

Angus held his key in one hand along with his luggage, Sherrie's hand in the other. Their room was on the very end, a small stain on the door. Fixing the key inside, they made themselves comfortable.

Both suitcases were placed on the single bed, Sherrie laying down on top of it. Angus lay down next to her wrapping an arm around her. She lay her head on his chest giving him another wolfish grin. He returned the look, anxious to get the concert started. "Hey there," she said again.

"Hey," he answered all the same. "You comin' to the show?" Sherrie moved her head side to side in consideration.

"No, I'm staying here."

"You don't want to see us?"

"I see you every day," Sherrie pointed out. Angus' face fell, but he reckoned it true all the same. "I'll be here when you get back, then we can do a little something."

"Sounds like a plan," Angus grinned. He kissed her and stood from the bed to get his uniform out. Thanks to a little idea from his sister, his high school uniform was still a part of his daily wardrobe. Nine years ago he would never have agreed to it. He didn't bother to step into the bathroom, Sherrie wouldn't mind.

His tie now wrapped around his neck, a hand reached up to it, pulling him down on the bed. Inches away from his own were two very red lips. Red like a cherry... He hovered over her while she fiddled with his collar with long nimble fingers. "Be back soon?" she asked, her eyes wide and innocent. Angus ran a hand through her hair, lightly brushing her face.

"As soon as I can, yeah?"

"I'll be here." With a smile and another kiss, Angus was let go and he headed out of his room to find the boys.

Malcolm stood by the rental car waiting for the rest of the band to show up. He saw his brother emit from his room and hesitantly approached him. "You alright, Ang?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh just...Cliff really should have kept his mouth shut back there, ya' know. Sorry, I-shouldn't have told them." Angus pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, seeing Malcolm had his own in his mouth. Angus never liked being second place in a race with him.

"It's alright, it was a long time ago," the younger boy shrugged. Malcolm watched him with a slight frown. "I'd forgotten all about it until just then."

"Look, she was my friend too. I loved her just as much and there's-"

"Don't you fuckin' say that," Angus hissed grabbing Malcolm's arm. "You don't know how much I may or may not have loved her, you can't compare your feelings to mine." Malcolm stared into his brother's menacing eyes, glowering something harsh. Once again, Malcolm knew to drop the subject. That didn't mean he would this time.

"We could see her, ya' know. That is, if you wanted to. I-can't make you or anything." Angus shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"Would-would you want to see her?" Malcolm smiled.

"I think it'd be a nice little trip. Haven't been to America in a while. You never know, I may even find a girlfriend of my own there." Angus shook his head.

"Speakin' a which, I can't exactly ditch Sherrie like that." It was Malcolm's turn to shake his head.

"You two aren't officially a couple, and who says you'd be ditchin' her? I'm just talkin' about a little trip over." Angus stared at his shoes. He could feel Malcolm's gaze burning into him. "Of course we'd have to find her first, and then plan a visit. And she'd have to even be there of course."

"Mal, I..."

"Just think about it, huh?" Malcolm asked his brother. "I mean, there's not a whole lot of time right now..." The rest of the band was walking up to them, each with a laugh to share.

"I don't want to get myself mixed up in something I'll regret," Angus said. With those words on his lips, he kept Sherrie in his heart. Malcolm gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Just...think about it. Promise me."

The sun came up over the city, the overnight snowfall sparkling underneath it. City ambiance fired away beyond the window, still quiet enough not to wake the sleeping man. Bed sheets were rolled up by the bottom of the bed, his feet tangled up in them. A vent above the room sent warm air throughout, much to the thanks of the man. Different articles of clothing were strewn about the room and a Do Not Disturb sign hung on the outside doorknob. A cigarette lay in a nearby ashtray, various other joints as well from previous renters. A construction job outside broke through the window and was able to wake the man up, who was entirely under the covers. A stray pillow was on his head and he tossed it away as he stirred.

Angus stretched, his arms reaching over to pull the bed cover aside. No one was there. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. When he looked around the room, he could see the only clothes strewn about were his own. He sighed and ran a hand through his knotted hair. It wasn't the first time Sherrie pulled something like this, and God knew it wasn't going to be the last.

The man pulled himself out of bed, the sudden chill hitting him hard. As much warm air that blew in the room, the temperature outside still haunted him. A bathrobe was taken from a bathroom hook and wrapped around him, instantly taking away any regret he might have felt. Angus took his suitcase from the floor and placed it on the bed to search for new clothes. He didn't bother to search for a note, he knew she never wrote any. Said they were tacky, and impolite. Leaving after a night like that however, Angus wasn't so sure was a terrific idea either. The clock showed it was early afternoon, and who knows how long ago she woke up. He understood if she didn't want to wait for him. But he couldn't understand why she wouldn't just tell him.

A few shirts were stacked aside while he searched for his jeans to wear. Under his pile of clothes he saw something. Nothing of fabric, but of paper. A piece of paper at the bottom of his suitcase. With a reluctant hand, he drew it out. It was crumpled, yellow, and covered in tape. He had it packed a while now, ready to take it with him on tour. After six months he had almost forgotten it, but now last night's little party had something to be thanked for.

He read it. Again and again and again. The words were the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and he wished he could say the same about real life. Truth was, he didn't know. Deep down inside they rang true for him, but could he speak for her? She who he'd not had contact with in nine years? Grabbing a shirt, jeans, and anything else he needed, he ran into the bathroom to shower. His heart was screaming at him to do it, and do it quickly. If he could just see her one last time...He knew what he had to do. Stopping, he turned around back to the bed where the piece of paper lie. The same piece of paper he fixed up in secret, just so he could have something to remember. Before he took off on his mission to find Malcolm, he wanted to remember just once more...