Dan's girlfriend Jen is pretty in an alternative kind of way, with dark hair and creamy pale skin and a tattoo up her thigh. When she meets me she pulls me into a hug and tells me how much Dan has told her about me, which makes me like her straight away.
I notice Mum is in her study drinking wine as we walk down the hall to the kitchen. Dad stands up to shake Jen's hand, and she beams at him when he compliments the artwork on her leg.
Because the Two Soap Dolls gig is an all ages event, there's no alcohol on the premises, so Dan has started drinking now to warm himself up for it. We're catching the bus in, and he's worried he'll sober up on the ride, so he's chugging back a couple of beers, even while Dad watches.
Jen tells me she isn't a big drinker, which makes me feel awkward as I sip on my tequila sunrise that Dad made for me, but she tells me that she's used to being around big drinkers.
'I work at Clydesdale, the bar in the city,' she says. 'I'm not a bartender, I work in promotions and marketing. Mostly I just stand at the door looking pretty and selling drunk people entry tickets, but during the day I'm in the marketing team.'
'So how did you meet Dan, then?' I ask her.
She glances up at Dan, who is talking to Dad. 'He was one of the drunk people I sold an entry ticket to,' she laughs.
'I wasn't that drunk,' Dan protests.
'Mark, our bouncer, was this close to not letting you in,' Jen says cheekily, holding up her thumb and forefinger a centimetre apart.
'Only because he was jealous because he could see you liked me,' Dan says, grabbing Jen around the waist and planting a kiss on her cheek. He looks at me and winks, and I roll my eyes.
'Now, Em,' Dan says. 'I've been having a chat to Mike Elmhirst, who is incidentally coming tonight, and he was saying that you and Lucas are back on friendly terms.'
Even Dad pricks up his ears at this. He turns to me. 'You and Lucas talking to each other again? No way.'
'Dad!' I say. 'It's none of your business.'
Dan finishes the last of his beer and glances at his watch. 'Bus in ten minutes, we should get going.'
'You meeting everyone else in there?' Dad asks.
'Yeah,' I say. I swallow the last mouthful of my drink, which is very strong, and then stand up, grabbing my bag from the counter.
I'm wearing faded, ripped high-waisted jean shorts and a band singlet and denim jacket. The shorts keep riding up so I pull them down when I stand up, and look in my bag to make sure that I've got my tickets.
'I'll still be out when you guys get home,' Dad says. 'I'm working at the theatre tonight, I need to be backstage. But if you need anything you can call your mother.'
Dan and I exchange looks, as if we'd ever call our mother for help, but say our goodbyes and walk out the front door with Jen.
It's a five-minute walk to the bus stop, and the whole time Dan sings a Two Soap Dolls song, out of tune, while Jen laughs and tells him to stop. We wait at the bus stop and when we get on we recognise a few other Hilverton students, also heading into the city for the show.
The bus ride is only about twenty minutes, but the alcohol starts catching up to Dan and his singing gets louder, joined by a few other Hilverton boys who are just as keen as us to see the band.
Jen and I sit together and she asks me about my mum, because she says she saw her once in a magazine about female entrepreneurs. I just laugh at that and tell her that my mum is very good at her job, which is true. There's not much else to say.
'Your dad seems nice though,' Jen says to me. I notice the way she says "though".
'Yeah, he is,' I say. 'Did you ever listen to their music?'
'I did,' Jen admits. 'Because my uncle and his partner were massive fans and they introduced me.'
When the bus stops outside Cathedral Square the three of us follow everyone else off and up the hill. There's a huge line snaking round the streets to the front door of the venue, and when we join the line I call Ainsley to see where she is.
'I can't hear you!' is all Ainsley says on the phone before hanging up. There's screaming in the background, so I assume she's either at the front of the line or inside already. I text her to tell her where we are and then call the boys.
A few minutes later, Harrison, Julian and Watson meet us. They were at a nearby burger joint, grabbing dinner. Watson pulls me into a hug and yells, 'TSD!'
When we get to the front we get our tickets scanned and then shuffle inside with the rest of the crowd. There are stands selling merchandise before the show but we don't have any money so we keep going straight into the hall. Ainsley texts me to tell me that she's near the front left speaker, so we split off from Dan and Jen and push our way to the front.
The supporting act is just about to start and the crowd is already getting riled up. I can feel the adrenaline in the air, a strong mix of sweat and alcohol and teenagers.
We finally locate Ainsley and she spins around and starts jumping up and down next to me. 'Soap Dolls!' she screams.
After ten minutes of swaying with the heavily pressed crowd, the support act for the Dolls finally comes on. It's some band called Crookshank's Redemption that I've heard a bit of, only because Dan is really into them. Hearing them play live affirms Dan's love for the band, and I make a mental note that I should download their album.
When they're off stage the lights go down and the crowd starts chanting for the Dolls to come on stage. In this densely packed hall, it's impossible to keep track of all my friends, so Ainsley and I hold hands.
A drumbeat starts echoing through the hall, although the room is still dark. Lights flash on the stage, and then a spotlight lands on a huge wooden structure that spells out "TSD". The drumbeat gets louder, and I see silhouettes of people on the stage, but I can't recognise the band members. Ainsley and I are pressed forward with the crowd as everyone gravitates toward the stage.
The drumbeat gets faster, and then slower, and then it turns into the intro for one of my favourite songs. When the crowd recognises the song we all scream, and the lights come up and flash colours across the TSD sign before each of the band members is lit up.
Augie Porters is right at the front of the stage, with his head down as he listens to the drumbeat. He's smaller than I had ever realised from photos, possibly because all band photos I had ever seen featured Augie standing in front of the rest of the band. He's ethnically Chinese, with a big forehead and messy black hair. He looks up at the crowd and his forehead wrinkles as he grins, then he pulls the microphone closer to him and sings the first line of the song.
Beside me, Ainsley throws her hands up into the air, and I do the same, squashed forward even more by the crowd as we all start singing along with Augie.
The band is energetic, and so is the crowd. Somehow despite the pressing masses, everyone is jumping and singing together. The energy is totally wild and Ainsley and I get pushed further forward by a big group of girls, so that we're almost near the front of the stage.
After two songs Augie grabs a water bottle from the side of the stage and chugs down half of it before saying, 'HELLOOO, BRISBANE!'
We all cheer and there's a few wolf whistles while Augie takes another sip of water.
'We love you guys, because this is our home,' Augie says. 'I was born here, and this is where I met the band, growing up in this city, so we love coming back. And this next song has pretty special resonance to this city. This is Brunswick Street,' Augie says, and the crowd cheers as he starts singing.
Everyone around me sings along, and Augie throws the microphone out to the crowd and we all chant the line of the chorus, and I feel this connection with everyone else in the room. We're all here because of a uniting love for one band that was born and bred in this town.
I feel a hand on my waist and I drop my arm and look to my right, thinking it must just be someone losing their balance and pushing into me, but then in the red and purple lights I see Lucas standing behind me. There's the tiniest bit of sweat in his hairline that I can see in the flashing lights. He grins at me and says something but I can't hear him over the music, so instead of trying to respond I just grab his hand in my own and pull it up into the air so that we're both dancing along to Brunswick Street. That connection with the whole room seems to reverberate so strongly between Lucas and me, and as we dance along together I remember first finding out about Two Soap Dolls, when we were maybe ten years old.
Lucas got a fat blue CD and tape player for his birthday and Dan must have given him a few CDs, amongst those an EP from local band, Two Soap Dolls. We used to sit on his bed and listen to their first single over and over again, thinking that one day we'd make a band and get famous, just like our parents. Lucas and I used to dance just like this, in his room when his brothers weren't there to tease us.
When the song ends there's a little break and Augie introduces his band members to the crowd, but my mind is too busy concentrating on Lucas's hand clasped in my own. Ainsley is in front of me and she hasn't noticed Lucas, or maybe she's just choosing not to, but I realise that I don't mind her knowing. I'm not ashamed to show her whose hand I'm holding right now.
Throughout the entire Two Soap Dolls set, Lucas and I stay side by side and dance together. Their final song goes off, and everyone screams and cheers as it finishes, and I only let go of Lucas's hand so that I can clap my hands in the air with everyone else. That's when he puts his arms around my waist, and claps his hands together in front of my hips. I lean back into him as the pressure of the crowd drops back, and I feel his chest against my back. He feels so familiar and comforting, right there behind me.
We cheer the Dolls off stage and the lights come up to show an exhilarated crowd, buzzing with the adrenaline from the show. Lucas lets go of me and Ainsley and I grab each other and squeal about how good the show was. Then Lucas taps me on the arm and says, 'You want to see if we can get backstage?'
I glance between Ainsley and Lucas. Ainsley gives me a questioning look. I nod at Lucas.
'I'm going to go find the boys,' Ainsley says, as the crowd pulls back from the stage and towards the bar and the exits.
'Come on, quick,' Lucas says, grabbing my hand and throwing his weight against the direction of the crowd, towards the front of the stage. The ground is littered with crushed plastic cups and a couple of broken shoes. I can see the security guards at the front making sure everyone leaves respectfully. Crew members are on stage packing up the instruments.
'There's another entrance to backstage around this way,' I say, directing Lucas away from the stage and toward the side of the room. I've been here a few times with my dad when he's been setting up the venue for shows he's been managing. I know how to get around backstage, but it's just a matter of getting there in the first place.
Crew are already pulling apart pieces of the set, and I can see them wheeling the big "TSD" letters backstage. If somehow we could mix in with them, then we could slip backstage.
'We need a distraction,' I say, more to myself than anyone.
'Em, where you guys going?'
I turn around to see Watson approaching us. He glances at Lucas and his eyes narrow slightly but he doesn't say anything. And then I notice that he's got his fingers wrapped into the hand of another girl. I recognise her from grade eleven, and I try to give her a warm smile.
'Watson, we need some kind of distraction so we can get backstage,' I say.
Watson looks from me to Lucas, confused.
'I think you're just gonna have to trust us on this one, Langley,' Lucas tells Watson.
Watson narrows his eyes again. 'Really, Elmhirst?'
I roll my eyes. 'Seriously, boys?'
'Fine,' Watson says. 'By the way, this is Meg. Meg, how are you with faking an asthma attack?'
'Uh...' says Meg, looking stricken.
'Not to worry, I'll do it. You guys ready?' Watson looks at me. I nod.
Watson starts to breathe heavily, and clutches onto the arm of Meg.
I give out a shout and run towards one of the security guards. 'My friend can't breathe!' I yell at the big guy with his arms crossed. He looks over my shoulder at Watson, who is now standing with his hands on his knees.
The bouncer abandons his position and runs towards Watson.
'Let's go!' I hiss at Lucas, and I run through the side door that leads to backstage, almost crashing into a crew member carrying a guitar.
'Where do we go?' Lucas asks, as the crew guy gives us a strange look.
'Follow me,' I say, feeling confident enough walking down the hall. I know that there are dressing rooms down the end of this hall because when I was younger my dad brought Dan and me here to meet one of the acts he'd put on. There's another security guard standing outside the hall for the dressing rooms, and my stomach drops. What can we say to him?
'Which door?' Lucas hisses to me as we get closer to the guard.
'The one with the light above it,' I say.
'Just act as if you're totally meant to be here,' Lucas hisses, and we keep walking. I try to relax and look as if I'm totally not out of place. We're friends of the band, I rehearse in my head. Because Augie Porters and the band totally have sixteen- and seventeen-year-old friends. That's likely.
The guard eyes us off as we keep walking towards the dressing room door. Just as I reach it he says, 'Having a good night?'
My stomach lurches as he speaks, and I turn around and give him a weak smile.
'Yeah alright,' Lucas says. 'Can't wait to get out of Brisbane though. I much prefer Sydney.'
The guard shrugs. 'Eh, Sydney is too busy for me.'
'Is Aug inside?' I ask. 'He said he'd talk to me after the show about that mix up with the lighting,' I say.
The guard nods. 'Yeah, they're all in there.'
I grab the door handle and push the door open. Lucas pushes me in and closes the door behind him before I can even get the bearings of the place. But then I see the bass player, Rodney Higgins, with his shirt off, and I realise we must be in the right place.