I made it backstage. 

There were fewer people back there, maybe ten others hanging around the band and crew. One man was drunk and slept against the wall. Beer was flowing and smoke was rising. I wiped my watering eyes looking for anyone I recognised. 

Angus sat on the floor holding an oxygen mask to his face. I stayed back not wanting to intrude. He looked up and saw me and waved me over anyway.

His hair was soaked. His face was red and his shirt was gone. I sat down next to him and he took my hand. His skin was hot against mine and I was almost scared for him. Did it always get this bad? He removed the mask and took a few chilling breaths on his own. His eyes met mine underneath his matted hair.

"Hi," he smiled.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm-" He coughed up a small lung. "I'm fine, I'm fine." He wiped his face with his sweaty hand. 

"You look awful."

He grinned at me and managed a laugh. "Thanks, sweetheart." I sat by his side quietly waiting for him to feel better. Two bottles of water stood beside him, one empty and the other halfway. Bon appeared around the corner with a bottle of alcohol and a towel on his head. 

"Well well, what have we here?" There was that shit-eating grin again. "Made a new friend, have we, Ang?"

"What do ya' want, Bon?" Angus coughed again. 

Bon ignored him. "So, good to see our little fan back again, eh? Can't get Ang outta your thoughts?" Bon laughed when Angus attempted a swift kick. "Ah ah ah, rest up, Ang, no rough housin'." Taking the towel off his head he emptied the bottle in seconds. "How was the show? Right up your alley or downright balls?"

For a split second I hesitated. Then said, "I loved it." Bon grinned. 

"Good! Don't want to disappoint the regulars." He shook the empty bottle in his hand. "Now if ya' don't mind I need a refill." Angus relaxed once he left and I made an attempt as well. The wall was rough against my back and bony shoulders. I noticed him glance at me up and down out of the corner of my eye. I suddenly remembered what I was wearing and began to sweat. 

My stomach growled too. 

Angus looked at me smirking. "That wasn't me...?"

"Come on," he said standing up and offering me his hand. He coughed a little more and directed me to a secluded corner of the room. "Let me powder my nose an' we can get ya' somethin' to eat, yeah?"

**********

We found another diner. We ordered the same thing we did last time. Although Angus decided to splurge a little and got us both chocolate milk. 

"So what's your favourite pastime?" he asked wiping his face with a napkin. "Any hobbies?"

"Well..." Not a hard question. "I like reading. Writing. Gardening." I tapped my fingers against the counter. It was wet with condensation. "Fashion."

"I could have guessed that," he muttered into his milk. I flushed. 

"Uh..." Words were failing me. I couldn't tell him lingerie shopping no matter how true it was. "Sleeping."

Angus wagged his finger. "Good answer." He stuffed more chips into his mouth and tried not to make it obvious that he was speaking with his mouth full. It was kind of cute. "You play any sports?"

"I've always liked badminton," I shrugged. "I haven't played in years, though, I want to play again." 

"Should play you sometime. You can school me."

I did my best to keep the conversation going. "What's the best country you ever visited?"

Angus couldn't get enough of those chips. I almost left to give him a bit of privacy. "France was good. England's fun. It's hard to say really because you only get so much time in one place to do anythin', ya' know? We're always on the move, ya' know? But nothin' beats home."

One question begged me to ask it. "Do you miss Scotland at all?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, course I do. All of us Youngs think fondly of it now an' again." More chips. "I remember bits an' pieces when I was a kid, ya' know. Christmas an' all that. Most of what I remember is from playin' shows there on European tours. An' of course I still have me Scottish blood. Don't pick a fight with me is all I'm sayin'."

Yeah. He was pretty cute. 

I still couldn't believe I had gone to three shows and basically met all of them. Sure this happens to lots of women, but me? I stay home too much for anything to happen. 

"What time do you have to be back?"

"Oh...uh...." Paying extra for cab fare and half the meal not to mention the ticket and pass left me short on cash. I didn't want to tell him that. One of the diner's light bulbs went out. "I don't know. I meant to find a motel to stay the night but I need to find a cheap one because....because I want to be able to get a taxi home."

"Cheaper than the shit hole I took ya' to?" he asked.

"It wasn't that bad--"

"Oh, please, sweetheart, I felt terrible leavin' you there. When I read the notice sayin' somethin' about a, uh, termite inspection, I knew I made a mistake."

He wasn't wrong. The place was pretty gross.

"It's alright, I made it out okay." Collecting our rubbish into one pile he turned to me. 

"Why don't you come back with me to the pub, they're all still there I think....an' we'll take you to our hotel, we'll find ya' a room and then you can taxi back home? We'd take you but we've got a flight to Melbourne later. I'm sure you'd wanna head home then."

Who in their right mind would say no to something like this?

A responsible person, that's who. 

But I had my chokkie milk goggles on and I was desperate for a good place to sleep. 

Why the hell not? 

**********

I didn't expect the station wagon to be so cramped. Sandra was there with us and so was another young lady I'd never seen before, apparently Phil's girlfriend. But all I cared about was how kind they were to let me hitch a ride with them. 

And how thankful I was to have packed my bottle of Dramamine. 

The hotel was big, it must have been a popular one for tourists. Or traveling parties like us. We basically fell out of the car, Bon especially as he had drank another two bottles of that stuff from earlier. All the luggage was stuffed in the boot and it wasn't much. Sandra and Phil's girl Cathy had one small bag each and the boys each took a suitcase. 

And I had my purse. 

Once inside we were met with bright yellow lights and an overwhelming scent of pastries. If I hadn't just banqueted an hour ago I would have raided the glass case with reckless abandon. 

Of course I would have, don't make me prove it. 

Only Cathy ended up getting one and everyone waited for their respective room keys. 

And I didn't get one.

Angus looked over at me and offered me his hand. "It's jus' one night. You can take the bed." 

The goggles were on tight.

I accepted his offer and he led me to the elevator. While inside he leaned against the wall and sighed. "They must have seen the other girls an' thought you'd be sharin' with someone too. Happens all the time."

I smirked to myself. Is that so.

Hoping to call my mum once in the room I told Angus he could have a shower first and he thanked me. 

"Front desk just about wore a hazmat suit around us."

Our room was simple. There were actually two beds in the bedroom so nobody had to resort to the couch. Angus practically threw his suitcase on one of them before jumping into the shower leaving me to find the phone. It was sky blue and sat on a table along with miscellaneous books and a vase with artificial flowers. I rang the number and no one picked up. I tried again. After being denied a response a second time I hung up and went to my bed. The sheets were very beige. Angus' suitcase lay haphazardly on its side with the zipper coming open. I lay down and realised just how exhausted I was from traveling all day. 

Taxis and walking and car rides and elevators and swimming and trains and lucid dreaming...

**********

Angus coughed again and woke me up. "Sorry, hun, didn't mean to." He was in trakkies and socks. "Shower's open if you want it."

I slowly sat up and rubbed my eyes, realising I had nothing to change into. Angus must have understood how uncomfortable it would have been to sleep in a bra and mini skirt and went rifling through his suitcase. 

"Here's a shirt you can wear. It's pretty big on me, should be alright to sleep in." I shyly took it from him. Was he aware of my schoolgirl crush? Did he know how stupid he made me? Did he laugh manically when I was gone, planning his next conniving scheme?

Probably not.

He was just a gentleman. 

The bathroom was still warm and steamy from Angus' shower and the mirror was all fogged up. That was fine with me, I probably looked a troll. 

Warm water splashed over my aching shoulders and I instantly relaxed. Nothing could replace a hot shower. I wished I had some products with me to wash my hair, not to mention I'd be going another night without brushing my teeth. Very glamorous being on the road was. When I was done I grabbed a fluffy blue towel and dried myself as best I could. Ang's shirt was indeed huge and it went down to my upper thighs. This must have been a dress on him. Collecting my clothes off the floor I went back into the bedroom to see Angus half asleep writing something on the hotel stationary. He saw me come in and held it up for me.

"Lyrics," was all he said. I nodded and set my clothes on the edge of my bed. Turning around I saw him a little more awake watching me.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothin'," he said. "Got nice legs is all." He smiled all innocently. 

Total flirt. And I fell for it like a house of cards. 

The sheets were cool and soft on my bare legs. If I was sleepy before the hot shower only made it worse. I settled down and Angus set the notepad on his side table and reached for the light switch on the lamp. He stopped short.

"Hannah?" I looked over at him. He looked hesitant to say whatever it was. "Why did you leave the show?"

He did notice. 

I guess my only option was to tell him the truth. "I left my headphones at my house." I shrugged. "Got a bit loud, I guess."

"That's too bad," he said with a slight frown. "I saw someone run away like we were possessed an' didn't know it was you till I saw you peekin' from the bathroom. Thought maybe we were havin' an off night or somethin'."

"You were great, and I'm disappointed I missed it," I admitted. Angus sat still for a moment before nodding and reaching up to turn off the light switch. 

And that's what happens in a rock star's hotel room.