Naturally, as it was summer, the sun hadn't gone down yet. People were everywhere, some with takeaway, some in cozzies and thongs, and most with a smile on their face. Their happiness was a bit infectious. 

Or maybe it was the Dramamine. 

Some rubbish littered the street and there was a bit of spray paint. Not too different than Sydney. The city was alive, the neon signs were flashing, and the mozzies were biting. 

Just like home. I could do this. 

My hotel was in the Hollywood neighbourhood so while being a bit pricey it was within walking distance of the Whiskey, thank fuck. Cars honked left and right at crowded intersections and groups of friends were all laughing and cheering with drinks and joints and I almost wanted to join them. I'd have to bring my friend with me next time. 

The smell of takeaway was delicious. I love Italian. Dinner at the hotel was chicken and vegetables and I'd eaten plenty of that to keep me going through the night. The pastry shop was tempting though with its biscuits and fresh croissants. There were pubs everywhere and I glanced through the windows in each one to take a breath of that atmosphere. I must have been on an adrenaline rush to feel so carefree. 

And there....right on the corner of Sunset Boulevard....was the Whiskey. The crimson building was decked from stem to stern in posters and flyers of new and upcoming acts. There was a line of people outside seemingly waiting for nothing. A large sign on the side announced AC/DC and another band I had never heard of before. I knew what I wanted from this night and I was going to get it. 

Inside was dark and crowded. I had to slip my headphones on right away which got me some funny looks. I made my way across the bar and hugged the wall narrowly avoiding a puddle of broken glass. A group of young women looked at me and it made me nervous until one of them smiled. A pair of men looked at me too and started whispering to each other.

Or at least, everything sounded like a whisper through my headphones. 

Finally, five minutes before eight, the band came out. Oh, it was so good to see them again, I felt like I had been reunited with old friends. Malcolm and Cliff were both smiling, Phil had been given a beautiful drum set to play, Bon wore his favorite invisible shirt and....

And there was Angus.

His hair had gotten much longer and his face was....very handsome. Something about him seemed different, he looked older and his smile was radiant. 

His smile....

That was it! He got his teeth fixed! He looked great, they all did, and seeing them up there onstage filled me with a happiness I hadn't felt in years. It was real.

They were real.

This audience was the loudest one yet. The whole building shook from the sheer monstrous power of rock and roll. My very soul vibrated to the music and...I wanted to dance. 

I actually felt like dancing in public. 

Maybe I would have too if I hadn't already been wearing ridiculous headphones. 

They played plenty off the new album with "Riff Raff" being a huge hit. Some old favourites were reintroduced including "High Voltage" and "Dirty Deeds". Eventually "Bad Boy Boogie" started up and many audience members, especially women, started whistling. Bon sang it like no other, he really is the best singer in the world. But suddenly...about halfway through the song...Angus handed his guitar off to a crew member in the very back. And he came towards the front of the stage and started...

Dancing...?

The whistling grew louder when he slipped his blazer off. I had seen Angus remove his blazer a few times before, it was nothing new. Except...he placed the blazer between his legs and started--

Bloody hell.

My face felt about thirty five degrees. Dropping it behind him he began undoing his tie. This was normal too until he held it out behind his back and dropped it with a wolf-like grin. I was so confused. Why was he being so sensual? Why did the crowd whistle at him like they knew this was going to happen?

And why do I feel so flustered right now??

His nimble guitarist's fingers pulled apart the buttons of his shirt one by one, the white fabric slowly slipping down his sweaty shoulders. 

It wasn't just his smile that changed....

His fellow band members just let him do his thing, once in a while letting a laugh slip out. Angus must have been doing this for a while now and I had been out of the loop. How unlucky of me to see three shows and not once experience this exquisite performance. 

I had also missed out on Ang's little trick during those shows but at least I was aware of it. I was even expecting it now and again. And sure enough, this was the show it happened. 

He stood in front of Phil's drum set and placed his hands on the waistband of his shorts. For a lightning second they came off and were back on again in a blink. And I burst out laughing. The audience whistled louder than ever before and cheered their hearts out. 

My laughter didn't detain me from the image of Angus up there removing his clothes like a cheeky bastard. But I hoped it would cover up the blush of my cheeks and the rapid beating of my heart. 

I must have been ovulating or something.

Two songs later a young woman saw me and narrowed her eyes. It wasn't until she came towards me that I recognised her and boy was it good to see a familiar face. Cathy, Phil's girlfriend, stopped in front of me and I removed my headphones. 

"Hey, I remember you," she said. "You're Ang's girl, right?"

I think I needed a stretcher. "Uh--"

"I mean, you're his friend, yeah?"

"Y-yeah, I guess."

"I saw you take a room with him a while back. I guess I figured you guys knew each other."

Er...somewhat.

"Are you here alone?"

"Uh...yeah, I flew in yesterday."

"They're great, aren't they?" I smiled and nodded. A little loud, sure. But I wasn't going to let that stop me. I wanted to put my headphones back on but I didn't want to be rude in case Cathy wanted to keep talking. Luckily for me she didn't keep me guessing. "You wanna see 'em after the show?"

"Are we allowed to?"

"Sure," she shrugged. "I mean, Phil invited me back and I think they'd let you in too." You'd think I lived in a fairy tale or something with all my good fortune. I accepted of course, and after the show ended she led me right through a door and up some stairs to another room. 

There were a couple men already in there and a woman. I didn't know any of them but I'm guessing they had all been invited. There was a couch against the wall and extra equipment in various corners. There was writing all over the walls and it took me a second to realise they were autographs. 

"Linda, this is...." Cathy paused. "I'm sorry, what was your name again?"

"Hannah," I answered quietly.

"This is Hannah." The woman named Linda stood from the couch to shake my hand. She had lovely dark hair and eyes. 

"It's nice to meet you, Hannah, I'm O'Linda." I smiled at her and looked down at my feet. 

"Would you like a drink, Hannah? Beer, Coke? There's champagne in that bucket over there."

"Uh...no thank you." I scanned the room. "Is Sandra here?"

"No, she's back in Australia, she's flat out working. She and Bon weren't dating or anything, were they?"

"No one said anything if they were," I said. The door opened and in walked a man with a brown suit and a wide collar, Bon, a woman in a Whiskey staff shirt and a lanyard, Phil, Cliff, a man carrying two guitar cases, a second man carrying a third case, Malcolm, a woman dressed very much like myself, and....

Angus.

My heart started beating out of my chest again and my face grew hot. I stayed close to the wall. Malcolm met Linda at the couch and kissed her on the cheek before they both sat down. Angus sat a good space apart from them and downed a bottle of water and accepted a pack of cigarettes from the man in the brown suit. 

"Played your balls off, gentlemen?"

"And our arses," Malcolm responded. 

"An' our arms an' our legs..." Phil muttered grabbing a bottle of beer. 

"First one down, a million to go, right?"

"You'll be millionaires before you know it," said the woman in the Whiskey shirt. 

"Thanks, Donna," Cliff said with a smile. I managed to make myself as small as possible but that didn't stop the larger than life cough that my cold virus had cursed me with. 

There was a pause as everyone wondered who was dying when Bon spoke up first. "Hey, look who it is," he said coming over to hug me with one arm. "Hannah Banana back again, huh? And hot on our trail by the look of it."

"Good to see ya' again, kid," Cliff said getting himself a drink. "Want anything?"

I lowered my head. "No, thank you."

"How'd you get all the way out here, hm?" Bon asked accepting a drink Cliff got him. "Didn't swim, did ya'?"

"I bought a plane ticket. I'm at a hotel a little ways from here." I looked over at Angus who was staring at his now bare feet. 

"Ah. Ang's been thinkin' of ya', right, Ang?" Angus looked up but didn't appear to have heard what Bon said. "Make room, Ang, we've got a lady coming through." 

Bon gestured for me to sit on the couch and Angus left me just enough room. He crossed one leg over the other and put his cigarette in his other hand. I felt shy looking at him. Countless images of him removing his shirt and dancing onstage haunted me and I knew for a fact I'd turn red if I made eye contact. The conversation in the room went on as normal. "So...did you come to Hollywood jus' for fun or did you come for the show?"

"I...." What would he think if I told him I basically followed them here? Besides, I really did want to see more of California before I went home. "I wanted to take a trip and thought I'd make the concert part of it."

"Hm," he nodded having a quick smoke. "Was it alright? Were you able to see it?"

"It was great, the best one so far." And I meant that. From the venue, to the new songs off my favourite album, to the energy the band exuded onstage, to Angus giving a very....intimate...show, it was easily the best concert I had seen. "I had fun."

He smiled. "Good. Glad to hear it." Our conversation had paused for a minute. Should I have said something? Asked him how he was? Before I could he beat me to it. "So how's everything at home? How's work?"

"Fine," I said. It's fine. Everything is fine. "How have you been?"

He cleared his throat. "Good, fine. Cut meself the other day with a can opener but other than that I'm pretty tip top." He reached for his water and had a short drink. He looked me up and down. "You plan to see any more of our shows or..."

"Uh, I don't know, where are you guys headed?"

"Well, we have a few gigs left to play...in various bars on the Strip. An' after that we're goin' up California an' playin' a few shows here an' there an' then....I think Boise or somethin' is next after that." 

If they were staying longer in the area it wouldn't be too much of an intrusion on my part. And I could go home whenever I wanted. Sure! They wouldn't mind as long as I paid my way, right? "I could see a couple before I go home."

He grinned at me. "Hope to see ya' then. We'll have to find another diner 'round here an' have our usual."

Now that sounded like a date. I wouldn't hold him to it but I agreed nonetheless. 

**********

The boys had to get back to their hotel. They hugged me goodbye and wished me well, and Angus told me the next show was at the Rainbow tomorrow night. That would give me plenty of time to explore a bit and relax. The walk back to the hotel was short and I immediately flopped down on the bed, my curls all over the pillow. 

Maybe I'll just sleep like this.

No, I should call my mum again before she went to sleep. 

I got directed to my house and Mum picked up. "Hello?"

"Hi," I said flipping through my magazine. "I'm back at the hotel."

"How was the beach?" Shit. Well...

"Fine. Busy and hot." Total guess.

"I was just about to go to bed, good thing I stayed up. Your dad's wanting to know if you've seen any celebrities around."

Actually I saw five of them. "No, not yet. Or maybe I have and didn't recognise them." The articles in my magazine flashed past me as I didn't pay attention. 

"No Bee Gees or anything? Elvis' ghost?" 

"No, but I did see couple pugs by my hotel on their leash." Mum knew how much I loved pugs. 

"Oh that's--" For a second I thought our connection was lost until she spoke up again. "Your sister says you really need to clean your room. She says you're a slob."

My heart rate picked up. "What is she doing in my room?"

"She's staying over."

I stopped flipping pages. "That doesn't explain anything."

"We let her sleep in your bed while she's here." Mum talked like it was the most casual thing in the world. As much of a pig sty that my room was, I didn't want other people seeing it and telling me how disgusting I was. 

I felt bad enough already. 

"Why didn't she sleep on the couch? Or the air mattress?"

"You don't want your sister sleeping there, do you?" I stayed silent, wrapping the phone cord around my finger. I really didn't care that she slept on the couch, I did that a few times myself. "And it's not like we let some stranger have it, or some gross person." 

"But it's still my room, I would have liked to be asked first."

"You weren't here," she said simply. "We didn't think you would care, it's your sister."

It could be the Queen of England for all I cared. "What if she goes through my things?"

"Well...I'll tell her not to." I sighed. 

"That doesn't mean she won't--"

"She's not going to go through your stuff, Hannah," Mum said like I was being stupid. "Do you have anything in your room you're worried she might find?"

No, I didn't have any illegal or questionable substances in my room, but that didn't mean I wanted my privacy invaded. Or my bed slept in. "No. But if my room is so messy then why didn't she take the living  room? Or the guest room?"

"I've got my clothes in there I'm trying to sort through," she said. "And she wanted a bed to sleep in."

"Well, I have things in my room too, what's the--"

"If you don't want comments on how messy it is then clean it," she said. "It's fine, Hannah, she's your sister. You can let your sister have your room for a few days." I didn't say anything thinking I'd get interrupted again. "You're too sensitive sometimes." 

I tossed the magazine away from me. "I have to go, I don't have tons of money for phone calls."

"Alright, do you know what time you're coming home?" If I didn't give her a date she might be suspicious but I didn't want to give her an inaccurate one in case "something" came up.

And by "something" I meant becoming a full time groupie.

"Maybe some time next week?" I guessed. 

"Okay. Keep us posted." One final goodbye and I hung up. I felt like such a bloody child, throwing a tantrum because her sister took her room. But I was already ashamed at the tragic state of my bedroom, I didn't need other people seeing it. I didn't need anyone accidentally finding something they could use to make fun of me for the rest of my life. 

I have enough experience of that.

Maybe I am too sensitive. Maybe I'm making a huge deal out of nothing, lots of people go through way worse than I do, I have no right to complain about anything. 

Maybe I'm just selfish. Maybe I'm the most selfish, rude, and inconsiderate......