She Wouldn't Say Goodbye. (Guns N' Roses)

Thirteen

-Three days later-

"Hey, Izzy, where'd you go?" I walked around the corner shelf in Tower records. Izzy and I had taken a bus here and were just out cattin' around town, nothing really better to do. Bill was hanging out with some guy named Steve Darrow, one of his and Izzy's friends. "Right over here. They have like everything the Rolling Stones have ever done in here." He stated, flipping through the LP's. "They have everything anyone had everdone in here. I can't believe Bill and I have been here for months now and haven't even seen anything California has to offer. I mean- other than walking down the strip and stuff." He shrugged. "Well- you're here with me. 'Guess you could say- sight seeing."  "Too bad for him." I laughed, flipping through some random records. "You see anything you want?" Izzy questioned. I shrugged my shoulders, even though he wasn't looking at my direction. "I don't know- everything maybe." He grinned and strolled over to me. "I know, right?"  "Yeah, I mean- there wasn't a record store like this in Lafayette, for sure."  "I don't have enough fuckin' money for this place." He laughed, but I knew he was just stating fact really. We actually didn't have money for much of anything. "Hey, you said- you hadn't seen much of anything 'round here yet. Do you want to get on one of those cheesy Hollywood tour buses, with the tour guide?" Izzy suggested and that actually (despite it's cheesiness) sounded fun as hell. "That would actually be like super groovy!" He grinned and grabbed my hand in his large palm like a child. "What are we waiting on then?" The two of us putted out of the amazing record store. "Glad you and I are actually hanging out, Iz. You are usually the guy that's got somewhere else to be." He smiled crookedly, lines forming around the corners of his mouth. "And who gave me that title?"  "Well it was a sort of on the spot type thing." I laughed, as did he. "Well, I'm a busy guy."  "What is a day in the life of Izzy Stradlin like?" I questioned him sarcasticly. "I don't know. Maybe I feel busier than I actually am." "You are like the coolest guy around, you've got a reputation for that anyways. Could you be spreading yourself to thin?"  "I'm not really cool, Kat. I'm- I don't know just some guy." He said sounding quite lugubrious, the edges of his mouth curving into a tight lipped expression. Iz lit a Marlboro Red up with a match then put the addictive thing between his lips. "You want one?" He questioned holding the pack of Reds out to me. "Sure."  He grabbed another out of the pack and handed it to me. I settled it in my own mouth and he leaned towards me, lighting mine off of his already glowing cherry. "Thank you." He tipped his head towards me a silent sign of  'you're welcome'. "You really aren't just 'some guy', Jeff. I promise." Izzy turned his head to look at me, biting the corner of his pale lip with his surprisingly white teeth. It wasn't a incredulity when Izzy was quite woebegone, but his change in mood couldn't be expected quite like Bill's (who had quite off the wall mood swings) or anyone else's. He was usually one way most of the time, that's not to say that he is devoid of feelings, because he most certainly wasn't. "I don't know, even though it's supposed to be so easy living in L.A. and being a musician- It's different. Lonely I guess." Jeff slipped a pair of shades over his warm eyes, probably feeling uncomfortable that our regularly normal conversations had turned to him as a subject. We walked down the street, looking for some information on our 'tour' idea. It obvioulsy wasn't a long journey before finding 'said' information. "Here's some brochures, let's see what we've got." Izzy started checking out what different attractions were around. "Well, there's quite a few to choose from. How 'bout 'See Hollywood from a Starline double decker bus'?" I nodded and looked over his shoulder at the pamphlet. "Sounds great, looks like the tour runs in just a few minutes." He pocketed the brochure, taking more drags off his Cig. "We've got enough time it's just a few blocks away." He threw his cigarette down and snuffed it out with his black shoe. "Let's go then." We walked down Sunset towards Hollywood boulevard, taking a bus half way and walking the other half towards the Starline tour stop. We passed by tons of hotels and clubs, taking in those sights as well. I kind of felt bad about having only seen Bill twice over the past three days, but hey- he was the one missing out. Izzy and I arrived at the stop and the  bus was parallel parked, waiting for passengers for the next tour. "So, what time table are we on?" I questioned, Izzy pulled the brochure back out of his pocket. He studied it for a bit. "We're on the red route." I nodded. "Is this what you wanna do?" He questioned. "Yeah, if that's cool, with you?" He grinned and grabbed my hand again. He led me into the bus, we both had goofy grins on our faces, doing something so tourist like when we lived here. "You wanna sit up top?"  "Yeah, of course." I said, with a giggle. "Go up there then and I'll pay for our fair." He let go of my hand and started getting the money out for the bus. I climbed the small, spiral staircase to the upper level of the bus. It was so nice and breezy out, the sun was shining- it was a beautiful day all and all. I found two nice seats near the front for Izzy and I, it would be great for viewing the city. And waited for him to show. I hoped that the bus ride wasn't too expensive, since Izzy worked hard for the money he earned. "Hey, there." Iz sat down on the outside of the booth. "Hi." "You ready to take a tour of Hollywood and Beverly Hills?" He questioned, crossing his legs. "Yes, this should be fun. I do have to ask you something though?" Izzy turned to face me, putting his dark aviator glasses back ontop of his head. "What's that?"  "This didn't break your bank or anything- right?"  "No, Kat. Don't worry about it, that's the perks of having a job. I get to do fun stuff with you." He grinned, lightly tapping my side with his bony elbow. I smiled at him, still unsure, but trusting that he'd tell the truth otherwise. We waited a few minutes just listening to the cars and all the sounds around of the city. Before the eventually the bus started up and the tour guide started talking about the Chinese theater and it's history, we started cruising down Hollywood Boulevard towards The Oriental Theater and the Whisky, actually learning some pretty interesting facts along the way. "Are you having fun?" Izzy whispered. "Yes, thank you. Are you having fun?" He nodded, a smile still evident on his slender face. We walked down these streets everyday, but it was nice sitting with Izzy and hearing about everything from a tour guide. The bus took us past Whisky A Go-Go. The tour guide explained how all the bands that were famous played there, naming bands like; The Doors, Alice Cooper, and Led Zeppelin. "You know, Iz. One day when you and Bill are famous they'll be talking about you, playing at these clubs."  "You think, Kitty Kat?" He questioned, with a toothy grin, putting his arm across the back of our booth. "I know, for sure." And I was sure, there was no way it wouldn't work out that way. I leaned over to him. The sun shining in my face, being warm and free. Maybe I was happy finally.