Hummingbird

Craigs POV

Today was completely insane. The crowds were even crazier than usual, and the barriers had to be enforced even more. Indianapolis sure does have spirit.

Now it was about ten, and the bonfire was just getting started. I had lost sight of Niki and the rest of the band, and was wandering around alone. At the moment, I wasn’t exactly drunk, but not exactly sober.

Anything was better than thinking about her.

That first day when I met her was totally unexpected. I had seen her being lifted up by some guy in the crowd, but didn’t take much notice. At first she was just a normal crowd surfer. By the time I had seen the metal can flying, she had just made it to the stage. It was almost like slow motion, how I saw how the aim was off by that little bit, and collided with the side of her head. I felt horrible about it, that throw was meant for me, and instead it caused her to loose her footing and stumble. I was about to grab her to make sure she was okay, but before I could, one of the hired security guards grabbed her by the arm and pulled her off, making her stumble even more. Shock was written all over her face. I don’t think that she knew this, but after she left the stage I stopped that song and started ranting about throwing Monsters at fans. The crowd was still in awe by the time I finally started singing again and finished up the set. After that, I had practically run off the stage to go and find that girl to make sure that she was okay. It took only a moment to find her sitting on some boxes with an ice pack pressed up against her check. At a closer glance, I saw that she was incredibly pretty, beautiful even, which only made my guilt rise even more. I was so nervous going up to her that I pretty much yelled out “Are you okay?” and giving her a near heart attack. I don’t remember much else of that conversation except that I said that she was really pretty and that made her blush. We had barely been talking for two minutes before some incredibly skinny kid came up yelling about how his friend got hurt. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the kid was the singer from NeverShoutNever. Our band made jokes about him constantly, why in the world would this gorgeous girl be hanging out with him? I glanced down at her wrist and saw the backstage bracelet. She must be on tour with him or something. Before I could protest, ukulele boy had his arm around her shoulder and was pulling her up, only to have her push him away. Score one for her! It only took a couple seconds for her to sway, and right there, her knees buckled and she was falling. I didn’t know what to do except to reach out and hold her up. After only a second or to, her eyes flickered open and she blushed. Her green eyes were amazing as they glanced up at me. I wasn’t even sure what happened next, except for the both of us exchanging a few last words. The only one that really stuck with me was her name: Niki.

I actually saw her a lot throughout the next two days, once at IHOP, and yesterday she hung out with the whole band on our bus, where I had to loan her my shirt. Today we had invited her to stand at the side of the stage during out set. We walked around the venue the rest of the day, just talking about anything. I learned that she has a tattoo on her hip, of a fleur de lie, and I told her how I had the same on my arm. Her favorite color changes every day and her favorite movie is Coraline. The most awesome part though, is that we both have key necklaces. She told me how she never takes hers off, and how she's had it for years. It made me wonder what the significance of it was, and if someone special gave it to her.

♣♣♣

Now, I scanned the crowd for her, feeling empty without her presence being near. Other bands kept coming up to talk to me, but after a some small talk, they pretty much left. I took another gulp of the beer in my hand and tried to clear my mind. Setting off to go find something else, I made my way over to the fire. Brian was there talking to some guys from The Devil Wears Prada, and Max and Robert were talking to some girls who we had seen around. My brother had wandered off as soon as the fire was started, and I hadn't seen him since.

I did hear his laugh though. Searching the area, I found the tall and lankly younger Mabbitt standing with a small circle of people, seeming to be having a good time. Next to him was Niki, and on the other side of her was a guy with his arm wrapped around her waist, and it wasn't any of those acoustic idiots that had somehow made it on this tour. Instead, it was the guy who I recognized to be David from Breathe Carolina. I had met him only in passing earlier in the tour. I didn't know what their connection was, and honestly, I didn't want to find out. I swallowed my feelings and turned to walk away, only to be stopped by the giant that I called my drummer.

"Craig, dude, there you are!" He slung his arm around my shoulders and dragged me over to the group of girls he had jut been with, who had somehow migrated closer to where Niki and Colten were standing. "These girls are some of the sound techs working on the main stage, and they said that they wanted to meet you." I had no interest in meeting them, only of escaping this place. I had to fight to keep my emotions in check as I put on a good face and greeted them in the nicest way I could. But it didn't take long for them to discover that I really wasn't interested, and they focused their attention on Max instead, who was more than happy to talk to them. Robert was oblivious to how I felt about Niki, and in search of a new crowd, he dragged me over to where she was still standing, still with his arm around her waist. I winced in anticipation of what was to come.