Sunset Strip Souveneirs

Scarlett

We aren’t legal in this club obviously, Roxxie is only eighteen and I’m nineteen but the doorman knows and loves me, so I never worry.
I head for the bar straight away and ask for our usual, double vodka orange for me and JD coke for Rox'.

“Who the hell is that?” Roxxie asks me, grabbing her drink immediately and pointing across the room as some people have just walked past us.

“That’s Brett Michaels and C.C Deville” I tell her, pointing out who was who.

“Wow...bangable” she giggles.

“Roxxie, Roxxie” I shake my head.

“That’s my target” I point cross the room to someone with long black hair “Tommy Lee. He’s adorable”

“Fucking right!” a huge smile spreads across her face.

Before moving, we finish our drinks. Then have a shot each of Gin and slip onto the dance floor to grind to Kiss.
This technique usually works in pissing off a bunch of girls and getting easy attention from all the guys.

After that we depart to get another drink each. As I pay the bartender I look up and find some guy has slipped his arm around Roxxie’s waist and is dragging her off, a huge smile covering her face. My eyes go wide because I feel partly responsible for her actions, after all an goodie-goodie Arizona girl of eighteen who’s been here hardly any time in susceptible to all sorts of trouble after one or two drinks.
I snatch my beverage up and rush after her for a few steps managing to grab her arm.

“Where are you going?”

“Just in the back for a while, don’t worry about me!” she giggles as my hand slips from her arm.

I roll my eyes and find myself back at the bar. As I stare at my drink, swirling around the ice cubes in thought, I notice the sounds of a band on stage.

The beat gets my hips swinging without my consent.

“Hey hey hey, hey kid”

I turn my attention to the stage and my feet take me there as if possessed.
Motley Crue is written in huge letters behind the band and I notice Tommy at the drum kit below the sheet.
I try not to be instantly in love with this band just for the simple fact of Tommy. But something strange happens. The music consumes me and song after song becomes embedded into my mind. By the end of each one I find myself singing the choruses along with them. The singer will no doubt be Roxxie’s next obsession as she is very into blonds for some reason. Even after that small fact, he seems to have every other girl in the entire club pining for him in their knickers, just from the looks on their faces. Charisma seems to radiate from him. But I’m not sucked in by it. I notice the guitarist seems a lot older than the rest of them, but he is practically raping that axe with his hands in such a mesmerizing way it’s like nothing I’ve heard before outside of arena rock bands.
Tommy is nuts on those drums but I’ve known this for a while after seeing him a few times with a previous band. Then there’s the bassist. He looks like something from a horror movie. His hair is so amazingly huge and his whole style is only a step away from gothic, but somehow I’m very drawn to him. I can’t even see his damn face but there’s something ridiculously sexy about him, I can’t even peel my eyes away for a second.

I can breathe once more when they finish their set, which undoubtedly blew me away. I stride to the bar for another drink to re-hydrate me in a strange from of alcohol before going to fix my hair in the bathroom.
I move people out of my way and find myself through the ladies’ door successfully. I set my drink down and bring my hairspray out. I finish carefully setting my hair into place and begin applying more red lipstick. A flash of red hair bursts through the door and crashes onto the floor in a stall. I spin around in the unusually empty bathroom and make my way over to the stall precariously.

“Oh my god Rox', what the fuck?” I rush down to her side, pulling her hair from her face and stroking her back as she spills her organs into the toilet bowl.

“I don’t know” puke “I’m sorry” puke.

“Who were you with?” I ask.

She stops throwing up and sits back, leaning against the wall. “I think, his name, was-“ puke.

“Oh fuck it. We’re going” I decide.

“NO!” she demands once finished spewing again. “I’m fine now, I must’a eaten something shitty” she clambers to her feet with my help and stumbles over to the mirror.

“Whatever. But if you end up fucked up you’re in no way entitled to blame me, got it?” I roll my eyes returning to touch up my makeup.

“Yeah, yeah don’t sweat, Scar’” she ‘assures’ me.

We make our way back out into the club once our faces appease us once more. Roxxie goes ahead of me to the bar while I take my time. Tonight’s going OK, right up until someone runs into me; I have to catch the wall not to fall over.

“What the fuck? Watch wear you’re going!” I shout, irate.

“Chill out, bitch” the perpetrator orders, I can’t even make out who it is for the flashing lights.

“Hey fuck you, dude!” I snap.

“No, fuck you!” he shouts right back at me.

“Go fuck yourself!” I throw back as if this is going anywhere.

“Don’t fucking speak to me you whore!”

“Whore? Whore! Fuck off!” I scream, before sense hits me my fist is set in his jaw. I turn on my heel and sprint away as fast as I can through a crowded club.

“Hey Scarlett!” Roxxie grabs my arm.

“Sup, Slag features?” I say, almost hiding behind her as if that guy will come and attack me or something.

“We’re going now. Vince just invited us back to his place” she says with a drunken smile.

“Who?” I sound annoyed.

“Vince!” she points to the blond singer from Motley Crue.

“Ohhh right!” I look behind her, though a few people. “How did you get talking to him?”

“I have a way with these things” she shrugs.

“So, you girls coming now?” he appears at her side, placing an arm over her shoulder.

“I guess” I shrug, still on edge slightly. “Let me just have one more drink”
I order a drink and before anyone can complain that I take forever, the liquid has vanished down my throat.
“Lets go” I smile wryly.

We walk a very short distance and arrive at a house along with a huge crowd of people.
As soon as we’re inside this building, that is in much worse condition that is in much worse condition that the one which Roxxie and I share [I didn’t think such a feat to ever be possible], I begin drinking everything in sight. I would regard such an act as foolish otherwise but right now I don’t care.
“I’ll see you in a bit yeah” I wave at Roxxie as she vanishes outside with someone.

“Hey Scarlett, I got something for you” Tommy calls me.
I follow him into a room and he faces me with mescaline.

“Sweet” I smile taking some.

“Tommy!” someone crashes through the door, “Dude come check this out”

“Nikki! Bad timing dude”

“You!” Nikki glares at me.

“What?” I back off with wide eyes as he looks quite frightening, towering over me.
I notice his jaw is purple and realize what I did.

“You did this? Bitch!” he points to his face, shouting at me.

“I-I’m sorry. You pissed me off!” I say, taking another step back and tripping, landing on a mattress.

“Dude, she did that?” Tommy sounds amused. “This is Scarlett” he smirks.

Nikki folds his arms and sticks his nose in the air.

“I should probably go and find Roxxie” I get to my feet and stumble through the door.

Without another word from either of them I find myself outside and calling Roxxie’s name repeatedly.

I round a corner and see her, her back. And I don’t even wanna see who is underneath her. Watching my friend fuck is not on my to-do list. I sigh wondering weather to go back to the Motley house or not. I decide to go home but I still have to walk past to do so.
I pull my jacket around me and walk.

“Heeeyyyy Scarlett, where are you going?” I swooped up off my feet and swung in a circle before being set down again.

“Tommy?” I say, holding on to him, my vision blurring form dizziness. “I- I was going home” I slur.

“Home? Don’t go home. Nikki won’t bother you again” he declares to me and pulls me back inside.

“I’m not bothered about him, I’m just tired and stuff” I lie.

“Fuck it” he grabs a bottle of whiskey and sits on the sofa arm, pulling me onto his lap by my waist and keeping his arm around me.

I feel my head buzzing with the activity around me. The house is jam packed with people and for once I don’t want to be part of it.

“Hey, Vince, have you got any coke?” someone shouts as he enters the room, Roxxie attached to him. “She looks like she needs some”