Weston Hollow

Van Halen Tour Bus

"Hi! Is there any chance that the guys from Van Halen are staying at this hotel??" Valerie cheerfully chimed, smacking her hands on the front desk.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but no band's booked here at the moment." The clerk informed, while looking between the two teenaged girls with an apologetic look.

Valerie's giddiness sunk, along with her smile. "Oh." She silently said.

"Don't worry Val, maybe if we're lucky enough, we'll find them next time." Harper sympathetically spoke, as she rubbed her best friend's shoulder.

Next. Time. Those words seemed to stung Valerie, who looked between Harper and the clerk, slowly nodding.

"Thank you anyway." She sighed in disappointment, earning a nod from the clerk as she felt Harper gently pull her away.

"Hey Harps, we should go to the movies tomorrow." Valerie linked arms with Harper, who hummed in agreement.

"Sounds good. Cindy bailed on me last minute, about a vacation to Hawaii with her parents." Harper sarcastically rolled her eyes, as the girls walked down the street.

"Must be nice, at least she gets to travel." Valerie sighed as they crossed the street.

Meanwhile down the block, stood a man who looked to be in his 30s, selling bands merchandise to teenagers.

Valerie grinned in recognition. "Hey, let's go check in with Vincent. If anybody knows anything, it's him." She implied.

"Alright.." The girls walked up behind a few other teens and queued up.

Valerie stood there in anticipation, awaiting her turn, as did a few others in front of them.

Harper on the other hand, reeked of skepticism. "Val. Are you sure this guy is gonna hook us up? I mean, what if he's a crook?" She whispered to Valerie.

Val brushed her off, "Totally, he's the man!" She reassured her, while making way for others to pass.

Soon, the girls found themselves in front of the line, just a few feet from Vincent. Viny eyed the girls momentarily, before looking to see there were no more people waiting in line.

"Hey Valerie! What could I get you girls? Some Poison mugs maybe? Or would a Ratt t-shirt interest you?" He dug into a carton box beneath the table, getting a t-shirt with the Ratt logo boldly plastered on it, in red.

Valerie chuckled, "Actually, we were wondering if you knew where Van Halen is staying?" She crossed her fingers in hope.

Vincent thought for a moment. "I might know..." He teased, shortly hearing gasps from the duo. "Viny where are they??" Valerie excitedly asked, as Harper chimed in. "Yeah, don't be shy!"

"Alright, I'll tell you," He caved in. "-but if you girls do meet 'em, get me an autograph alright?" He charismatically chuckled and the girls instantly nodded.

- a few moments later -

After taking Viny's directions, the girls had finally found the said hotel. It was a small hotel out of town, but they knew Van Halen had to be there for sure, given their tour bus was parked out front.

They snuck their way in. Squealing to themselves. The first thing they did was bolt for the elevator. They then played rock, paper, scissors to decide who was to go first.

"Okay Harper, remember. If you meet any of the members-or a roadie, you've got to tell me what happened, alright? Good luck!" Valerie squealed once again, before ushering Harper into the elevator and watching the doors close.

She then sat on a turquoise cushion at the lobby and picked up a Metal Edge magazine dating a few months back.

She couldn't stop smiling from excitement. She didn't get to see Van Halen when they last played there, so she knew she had to make the most of it.

Suddenly, a loud roaring noise from what sounded like a motor, startled Valerie, who glanced out the window. She had to do a double take, when she saw that the Van Halen tour bus had taken off.

She gasped, dropping the magazine as she stood up and hurriedly ran outside, not having time to go get Harper. "No. No no no! Wait! Come back!!" She stopped in her tracks, watching the bus go down the boulevard and shortly into the distance.

Valerie threw her arms up in disappointment, as if she'd just missed the school bus. "Aw man! I should've come earlier!!" She frowned, turning on her heel to go back inside.

She crossed her arms, upset at the thought of never getting to meet Van Halen.