Hummingbird

Red Car Wire was amazing. I didn’t get very close because I was still wearing my hat and I didn’t want to loose it, but they were still really good. Evan was such a great singer, and he was really awesome on stage. “Timing Just Isn’t Your Thing” was pretty much awesome, and I was really glad that I saw them. I checked my schedule and saw that Meg&Dia were playing next. Ew, I really wasn’t looking forward to seeing them. I scanned the paper to find another band to see, but no one really caught my interest. I definitely didn’t want to go to any of the merch tents, I wasn’t looking for a new shirt or a poster that I wouldn’t even be able to hang up. Cds were pointless when you had iTunes, and honestly, I was sick of band merchandise. I can only handle so much of merch tents at one time.

I really didn’t want to go backstage of Smartpunk, but I had nothing else to do. So I slowly made my way over to backstage, and flashed my purple wristband at the same security guard that was there yesterday. I looked around, but didn’t see any sign of Chris or The Shout. Lucky me, David was there. I tried to make my quick escape, but right as I was about to pass back through security, he called to me.

“Towel girl!” He shouted.

I braced myself for what was to come and slowly turned around. David was running up to me with and excited look on his face. Judging by all the sweat on his head, I guessed that he had just come off from performing.

“Hey, David.” I said.

“Towel girl, now I’m starting to think that you’re following me.” He said, smirking.

I glared back. “No, I’m looking for Chris of Caleb or someone else from The Shout.”

His face flamed up a little bit as I said this. Jealously much? “Well,” he started, “they were here, but your guy’s band left to go get food or something, and Chris had this girl with him and said that since they weren’t going to go on for a while, he was gonna head back to the bus.” I couldn’t help it, I was stunned. Chris rarely dated, girls were just to cruel to him, and almost always used him. And along with that, they cheated on him. A lot. So after he caught this last girl cheating on him, he pretty much stopped dating. Or hanging out with any girls, well, except for me. The only other girls that he really talked to were a couple others that he had known for a while, but they were pretty casual friendships. As David watched my reaction, his face slowly turned shades of red darker.

“Uhm, really?” was all I could manage. I mean, really? It was just so shocking!

“Yeah, really. The backups went to go get food, and Chris went off to party.”

So far, I really wasn’t liking David that much.

When he saw my glare turn into more of a sad face, he went from mad to worried. “Hey, listen,” he said, “the girl seemed nice, and whatever they’re doing, it’s normal here at Warped.”

This didn’t make me feel any better. “Well, what if she’s not nice? What then?”

“Then Chris will move on. It’s pretty much a one-night stand, except its day.”

This made me feel even worse. I really wanted to see him happy, he’s worked so hard this past year, and he’s been through quite a lot.

“Come on, towel girl, it’s not so bad.”

I looked down and tried to hide the worry that was quickly growing. “My name’s Niki.”

-~-

Ok, so I had to admit, David really wasn’t as bad as I thought he was. After we talked by the gates, he went back to his bus to shower and change, and then we went to go get coffee from a nearby Starbucks. And the more we hung out, the more obvious it was that he had a thing for me. I really couldn’t say that I felt the same, but it was sweet how he would sometimes get all nervous or open doors for me. And surprisingly, it was mostly quiet; only three fan girls came up to get his autograph or a picture. That much, I was thankful for. We found out that we actually had a lot in common with each other. It was mostly the small things, like what out favorite song was, or our favorite movie, but it was still nice to find a friend in someone. And to my surprise, it was to a guy that I didn’t even plan on getting to know at all this summer.

But way too soon, we went back to the chaos of Warped Tour. We wanted to go through the front gates because it was closer, but there were way too many people standing right by them. Instead, we had to walk a block and a half to sneak in the back way. Forgetting the information that David had told me earlier, we made out way back to my bus. Talking was heard from the inside, but I thought nothing of it as I opened the door and walked through. Almost immediately, I collided with what I thought was a brick wall. Turns out it was Chris’s new girl friend. But as I took a good look at her, all I saw was a skinny girl dressed in skimpy clothes. It was hard to see what Chris saw in her.

“Who the fuck are you?” she practically shouted in my face.

Whoa, this girl had a huge attitude. Not really a surprise, but her bluntness was. Chris crept up behind and just stared at us with wide eyes. I could feel David’s hand reach up to my shoulder, trying to calm me down. But it just made me really mad. Chris decided to hook up with THIS girl? Why?

“I’m his best friend. I actually sleep here, now move, otherwise I can call security. And seeing as you don’t have a wristband, you’ll get kicked out of here faster than you can say Joplin, Missouri.” She seemed like she was about to say something back, but all she did is push her way past me and David and storm out of the bus. I looked up to see Chris blushing, shame clear on his face. All I wanted to do is say, “See, Chris? You can’t just run off with a girl you just met.” But good friend that I am, I actually told him, “Chris, don’t worry about it. Just go get ready, you’re on stage in about an hour.” He gave me a thankful look and turned around to head off to the bathroom. After I heard the click of the bathroom door being shut closed, I finally walked onto the bus with David closely following. We were all too young, except for manager David and Dustin, to drink. So because David and Dustin were old enough, we kept beer in the fridge. Drinking ages didn’t stop us, though, so I grabbed two of the first beers that I saw and handed one to David and kept the other for myself. We sat down on the couch and opened the two cans. Taking a big gulp of mine (I needed it) I finally started to relax. David just stared at me.

“You’re so different from any girl I’ve ever met,” he said, totally un-phased by what just happened.

“Well, I could say that you’re the first to say that, but I’d be lying.” He smiled back and took a big drink of his beer. Chris came out of the bathroom then, and glared at the cans in our hands.

“Chris, don’t look at me like that,” I started, “I saw an empty can of this next to your bunk this morning, so don’t even think about telling me not to drink it.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but he must have decided against it, because he shut his mouth and grabbed his uke case from under his bunk.

“Fine, I won’t say anything. I’m just gonna go get ready. I’ll see ya when I’m done. Kay, Nik?”

“Okay, Chris. Good luck!” I said to him. He turned to face me right before he left the bus and said thanks.

Finally, peace and quiet without the disturbances of skimpily dressed girls or sensitive singers.

David and I talked for a while, all while finishing off one beer after another. Slowly, I was getting a little drunk, and I could tell that he was too. Before I knew it, we were sitting closer than I would have expected. I should’ve known what was about to happen, but even though my subconscious did, it still didn’t stop me, or it, from happening.

But right in the middle of it, a door opened, and a voice could be heard.

“Nik, what the heck?” Chris practically shouted as mine and David’s lips separated. I looked back from David to Chris to the empty cans all around us. This wasn’t too good.