The world was spinning.

Moaning loudly, Keely squeezed her eyes shut, covering her face in her hands as she rolled over, snuggling deeply into the covers.

But when she awoke, her brain automatically began taking stock of her body, something that her already aching head did not appreciate. Her mouth tasted disgustingly of rum, making her stomach jerk dangerously as a shiver ran up her body. Then there was her shin which was throbbing with its own pulse,and her head, there was only one way to describe it; a hangover.

Wincing at her weak stomach, Keely finally opened her eyes. And although her first instinct was to slam them shut, ignore the world for a bit longer, she fought them to stay open, shoving herself up to a sitting position.

For a moment she stared stupidly, her mind moving slowly. Wasn't her window on the other wall?

Ignoring the nauseous feeling in her stomach, she crawled cautiously across the enormous bed, sinking into the soft cushions, until she reached the edge and peeked over.

“Oh god,” she muttered, throwing herself back onto the bed. But that wasn't a smart move, moving so quickly should have been avoided as it jostled her entire body, making her all the more dizzy as well as making her throat clench. “Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god,” Keely continued to mumble incoherently as covered her mouth with her hands. She couldn't help but think a hungover mind should not be put through the amount of thinking as she was doing at that moment, it was getting close to overloading on her addled mind.

Wincing she crawled back over to the edge of the bed, though slower this time and there was no jolt of surprise in her stomach as she looked down to Seth who was sleeping on the floor. The blanket he had thrown over him was half covering his body, giving a clear view to the CCR tee shirt and sweat pants he had on as he laid on his back.

“You awake?”

At the sound of his voice, Keely gave another violent jolt, staring down at him with wide eyes. Hadn't he been asleep?

“No, I wasn't asleep,” he answered her silent question with a yawn, rubbing his hands over his face.

Instantly she shut her gaping mouth, and gave asked an blank, “What?”

Giving a half of a snort, Seth finally opened his eyes, looking up at her. “Do you remember anything?”

A slight frown coming to her face, Keely thought back to the night before as she pulled herself up, supporting herself on her elbows as she looked across the room thoughtfully. She could remember clearly as she was sitting sullenly staring at the bar, but things became fuzzier as the night and the shots progressed.

Fighting back a blush at everything she could remember, she said, “I'm pretty good until I started yelling at the bartender as you pulled me out of the place...” Catching sight of a half empty bottle with a clear label of Jack Daniels sitting on the bureau, Keely felt the heat drain from her face as her gaze whipped back down to him. “I didn't drink more here with you, did I?”

“If you drank anymore you'd be getting your stomach pumped at the hospital,” he informed her, dropping his hands from his face. “Were trying to kill yourself or something?”

“Something of the sort,” she muttered vaguely, biting her lip. “Why am I in your room?”

Instead of answering right away, Seth just shoved himself onto his feet easily, running a hand through his hair. “You didn't have your room key on you.”

Although she wasn't sure she wanted to remember what she'd done, Keely pushed her mind, but all that came up was Christmas bells. Christmas bells? “Why didn't I just go get another room key, then?” she asked, shoving herself up on the bed so she was sitting again.

“First of all, the fact that you were passed out and I was carrying you would have looked a bit suspicious. Plus, I doubt the girl would have given you one seeing as you'd just called her a bitch.”

“I called her a bitch?” she gasped.

Smirking Seth rummaged through the duffel bag that was laying beside the bottle of Jack on top of the bureau. “Why is she a bitch?”

Rubbing her temples, although that was far from soothing her pounding head, Keely pulled in a deep breath. “Nothing big,” she mumbled, feeling more than embarrassed by herself as the moments passed by.

With that in mind Keely clambered off the bed, stumbling slightly as a wave of vertigo shook her. “I am officially never ever drinking again,” she muttered as she placed a hand on the wall to steady herself.

“You know I think everyone says that about ten times in their life, and never actually follows through,” said Seth thoughtfully from where he was leaning against the counter.

Sending a glance his way, Keely could feel a scowl come onto her face as she noticed the amused expression on his face. She was definitely putting her bad mood down to her pulsating head, no one could be in a good mood when every sound felt like a chain saw screeching in your mind. And she could only guess it was worse for a musician who relied so much on their hearing where others could not.

“You would know, wouldn't you?” she snapped.

Shrugging he just popped open a bottle of Advil, shaking some into his hand before throwing them back into his mouth. “Yeah, I would,” Seth replied evenly, snatching up her sweater and bag from where they was hanging on the dresser and handing it to her while pressing the bottle of painkillers into her other hand.

For a moment she just looked at him, feeling a line coming between her brows at the concentration it was taking at that moment, ignoring that jump in her pulse she'd long forgotten about. “Uh, thanks,” Keely returned in hopes that he would understand the lengths the last word was going, she just wasn't good at thanking him or even being in the same room with him anymore. Without another word she turned on her heel, tripping over the rug upon the floors before reaching the door.

When she glanced back to him, Seth just looked deep in thought, his eyes unfocused as he stared at the wall as the hand he had leaned against the dresser started tapping on the wood.

Pulling a confused expression, Keely just walked through the door, closing it gently behind her.

Not entirely looking forward to the fact she had to go get a new room key while looking as if she was taking the walk of shame, although for all intensive purposes she was, but not seeing any way around it, she moved towards the elevator at the end of the hall. Yanking her sweater over her shoulders as she did so and tossing back a few of the Advil that Seth had handed her.

As expected the getting of the new key wasn't too enjoyable. The old man running the desk was giving her distasteful looks, though she couldn't say if that was because he heard about the bitch incident or due to the fact that he thought of musicians as second class citizens as many people did, another thing she'd learnt on tour. Telling him repeatedly she'd simply left the key in her room, Keely waited anxiously in her wrinkled clothing, messy hair and sunken eyes from the hangover, tapping her foot on the marble floor.

When she finally got the key, she had to resist the strong urge to just sprint up to her room and hide, mostly because she didn't doubt there would be vomiting involved if she moved that fast. Instead she just leaned against the wall of the elevator, closing her eyes and taking in calming breaths as the movement combined awfully with her already weak stomach.

Getting to her room, Keely's first action was to turn on the miniature coffee maker than came with these hotel rooms, only giving you four cups at a time.

Coffee would be good, no... coffee would be great.

Groaning, Keely crawled into the middle of her bed, not daring to turn on music in case it suffered a link in her mind to a hangover, that would be much too sad. So staring at the closed curtains, she curled up, listening to brewing coffee.

Despite the slight distraction that alcohol as well as Seth had given her, she couldn't keep thoughts of her mother hovering about the edge of her consciousness forever. They were like vultures, circling her mind, looking for the weakest spot to attack. She'd never had this reaction to her mother's death, except for maybe when it had happened, but then there was her father, not to mention Joe would always been with her until now. Why was it when you needed people most, that was when they decided they were going to back away?

It wasn't until she was making her way through the ending droplets from the coffee maker that Keely began to fill self revulsion as well in the pit of her stomach.

What good was sitting around like this, for anyone, really? It was only going to make herself physically sick to pair with the emotional sickness she was already going through. And she was in Vancouver, when had she ever gotten a chance like this before?

With that thought in mind, she head straight to the bathroom that was larger than her bedroom in Bellingham, throwing her sweater to the ground messily as she went, her shirt and jeans soon to follow. The coffee mixed with an extra long, and steaming, shower as well as brushing her teeth a total of six times had brought her along the lines to being a normal person again.

The clean clothes she threw on between teeth brushing sessions didn't hurt either; her mother's leather jacket, a stripped shirt that she didn't bother to do up the top buttons on and a new pair of jeans.

Yes, she was definitely on the road to feeling like a human being once again.

Having completed the first steps of her new found plan, that was honestly not well formed in just her head, Keely snatched up her bag, this time remembering to dump her key and cell phone in it before dashing out of the room.

Walking straight up to the door that matched the other seven in the hall, just their tour bus filling up half the floor, she simply started knocking. When at first no one answered, she just knocked harder, her knuckles putting up a protest.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

Groaning, Keely spun around on her heel. “Why is no one ever in their room?” she asked, seeing Colton walking down the hall to her, whisking the bronze waves out of his eyes. “And it's getting time for you to have a hair cut.”

Colton just smirked at her, pulling the card key out of his pocket. “I was thinking I could do the whole Rick Allen thing.”

“That only works if you lose an arm,” Keely pointed out, leaning back against the door she'd been knocking on.

“Yeah, I'll leave the one armed drumming to Def Leppard.”

““Gunter glieben glauchen globen”,” she quoted vaguely.

He sent her a blank expression, “What?”

Keely just sighed, looking up at him, not everyone got her music references, very few people in fact. “Rock of the Ages?”

“Oh, yeah,” he answered, comprehension flooding his face. “Awesome song, now can you move so I can get in my room?”

“No, I need to ask you something.”

“Then ask, Keel.”

Figuring there was no reason to beat around the bush since time was running out, it was already noon, she simply got to the point. “Did you rent a car for this city?”

Although he was looking more than a bit bewildered, Colton nodded and answered her question promptly. “Yeah, might as well, we're here for long enough and the cab system isn't quite New York, Seth did too. Marco probably would have, but he didn't even remember that we were staying here for this long.”

“What are you doing today?” she asked quickly.

“Well, once I get into my room I plan to grab my wallet and then go out with Marissa,” Colton said pointedly, tugging on the door handle beside her hip.

Giving a sigh of disappointment, Keely stepped willingly away from the door.

Leaning against the wall to rehash her poorly formed mind, she said a vague goodbye to the boy as he headed back to the end of the hall. Well, there were always cabs. It wasn't like she was lacking in money anymore, she'd finally gotten her first official pay check. Apparently being a musician did pay once in a while, unless you were The Who and trashed their instruments every show and ended up being the poorest band of the time because of it.

Interrupting her mental musings of old rock bands was the sound of a door opening, and Keely blinked before looking in the direction of the sound. And just in time to see Seth shrugging on a jacket as he slammed his door shut behind him.

Only then did the thought occur to her, and Keely hastily called out, “Hey!” as she shoved off the wall.

Groaning, Seth rubbed his hand over his forehead, but quickly stopped, reaching out to grab her arms when her skidding stop almost sent them both crashing to the ground. “If you're here to metaphorically kick me in the balls again, I think I'll pass this time,” he informed her, pulling her up to a standing position with ease.

“No – what?” she asked confused. Keely shook her head slightly, pulling her arms out of his grasp before speaking, “Can I borrow your car?”

“What?” he said incredulously.

Guiltily she bit down on her bottom lip, looking at him through her eyelashes. “I know this is kind of random, well, not kind of, really random. And there's no reason for you to lend me it, but I really really need to borrow it. So please, Seth, can I borrow your car?” she pleaded.

He just looked down at her for a moment and Keely sent him a nervous little smile. “Have you ate?” he asked, turning around and heading to the elevator.

“Huh?” she said blankly, staring at his retreating back for a moment before hurrying after him.

“I asked have you ate,” Seth repeated patiently, pressing on the call button as Keely pulled up to a halt beside, looking up at him. “Because I know for a fact you didn't eat yesterday since you were boarded up in your room all day and I doubt that you bothered to eat something before you got wasted.”

Bewildered Keely just pushed her hair back from her face, holding her hands on the side of her head as she stared up at him blankly. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, so you did eat?”

“Well, no, but what does that have to do with anything?” she asked, her voice hedging onto hysterical, following him through the elevator doors.

He shrugged, pressing for the lobby. “Well, I'm not driving you anywhere if you don't eat first.”

Keely felt her brow furrow as they doors closed them in. “I don't believe I asked you to drive me anywhere.”

“I'm not letting you drive my car,” Seth snorted.

This time her eyes narrowed on him. “You've let me drive your car before.”

“I was drunk.”

Choosing to ignore the last comment, she just pointed out, “And this isn't even your actual car, it's a rental. I drove your real car.”

“I repeat, I was drunk,” he said with a little smirk, stepping out of the elevator into a smooth marble lobby.

“Not a good enough reason!” she called, hurriedly following him.

“Last time I let someone else drive my car, Marco totalled it.”

Not noticing the looks that were getting sent their way by the people inhabiting the foyer with the high ceilings, Keely just hastened her step so she was keeping up with his long legged stride. “But I'm not Marco, and I didn't crash your car.”

“If I remember correctly, I think you did a number on my brakes,” he answered, holding open the door for her.

Rolling her eyes, Keely stepped through it.

Seeing the hand that had been on the gear shift reach out towards the radio from the corner of her eye, Keely acted instinctively, slapping it away.

“Ow,” Seth complained, “What was that for?”

“Don't touch the music,” she warned, looking at him through narrowed eyes from across the car. She was sitting, huddled back in her jacket with her legs crossed in front of her as she leaned her back against the passenger's door.

He just sent her an incredulous look. “Why would I change the music? C'mon, Keely, it's King Of The Delta Blues Singers, this is one of the best blues album every made, Keith Richards even says so. It's Robert Johnson, without him the guitar wouldn't be the same. There would be no Muddy Waters, B.B King, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Duan Allman or Stevie Ray Vaughn if it wasn't for this guy! I wasn't about to change the music.”

“I know that already, I love this album, I have this album in my hotel room right now,” Keely answered with a roll of the eyes at his little rant. “But what were you doing then?”

“Turning down the heat,” Seth answered, stretching out his hand again. “You've got it like a sauna in here.”

Without so much as blinking, Keely just slapped his hand for a second time.

“Seriously? What now?”

“It's going to be so cold in here if you turn down the heat,” she whined.

Seth made an disbelieving noise in the back of his throat, looking at her as if she'd abruptly gone insane. But didn't make another move towards the knob, probably expecting to lose a hand if he did. Instead he just let go of the wheel completely.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Keely exclaimed, flinging herself across the space between the seats so she could put her hands on the steering wheel.

“We're on a little country road, I think I can let go of the wheel every once in a while.”

Scowling at his exasperated tone, Keely turned her head to look up at him but never letting go of her hold on the wheel, giving her head a little shake to get rid of the hair from her eyes. What she found was Seth pulling his jacket off his shoulders. “And you were worried about me totalling this car.”

“We wouldn't have crashed,” he said calmly, swivelling about in his seat to toss his jacket back there with that cocky crooked grin on his face.

Trying to keep the heat from rushing to her cheeks when she realized the position she had put herself in, almost throwing herself across his lap, Keely hastily pulled herself up into a sitting position. And watched as Seth leisurely put only one hand on the wheel, the other going back to the gear shift casually.

Shaking her head slightly, Keely let her head fall against the glass that remained cool despite the toasty interior. True to the beginning of December's she was used to in Bellingham, there was as grey pall hanging in the sky as a biting chill raced through the air. The green grass frozen from the cold nights paired with the bare trees and evergreens along the empty road didn't bring up any memories. But she hadn't expected it to, it had been far too long since she'd been near this place, she had very few memories stored of her mother and even those were becoming blurry, and even less took place in this country.

“You never told me I was going to be driving over an hour out of the city.”

Not bothering to even lift her forehead from the window while she snapped, “I didn't have to come, you know. I didn't force you. Would have been better if you hadn't if you're going to be complaining the whole time.”

As silence settled over the car, only broken Johnson's Kind Hearted Woman Blues. Keely took the time to glance down to the directions lit up on her phone.

“So are you ever going to tell me where we're going?” Seth asked eventually.

“No, but turn left next chance you get.”