Hummingbird

I had been at the bonfire for almost an hour, and it only took twenty minutes for things to get awkward. Almost immediately after I had arrived with Escape the Fate, David had found me and pulled me off to the side to talk about what had happened days before. I could see that he was hurt by my avoiding him, and I honestly felt bad. He really did like me, but I was too selfish to give him a chance. But in the end I apologized for avoiding him, and we walked around together. At first, he tried to hold my hand or slide his arm around my waist, and I refused. But with every drink I had, the closer I let him get, and we ended up talking to Craig's brother and a couple of other guys who's names I didn't know, David's arm wrapped around my waist. I couldn't complain though, it was a cold night and I was grateful to be so close to someone, even if it was him.

My drunken thoughts were flooded with one person. Craig. Today had been amazing. After I stood at the side of their stage, taking pictures throughout their whole set, Craig and I had walked around the venue, just talking. It was pretty hard holding long conversations though, because at first, fans kept swarming him and asking for autographs, pushing me out of the way and interrupting our conversations. Each time, Craig would figure out that I had "gone missing" and would walk away from the crowds and pull me along with him, trying to find a more quiet place to chat. But after the previous had happened at least seven times, we decided to just walk through the roped off parts of the huge stadium or what ever it was that Warped had picked as the venue. At last, we had found solace in an empty staircase. We talked for what seems like hours, but was in reality, only a little over an hour. I learned the whole story between him and his daughter's mother. They were still in contact, and she took care of Leila whenever Craig was touring or busy with the band, while he took care of her most of the time when he was home. They fought often about everything, and Craig said it was hard to be in a room with her for more than an hour. But he did love his daughter dearly. She was his number one concern in life, and he wants so much to give her everything and every great experience in life.

We talked more about our likes and dislikes, our favorites, and our life experiences. We did somehow manage not to talk too much about Chris's band or his own, and after our throats were sore from talking. Eventually, Craig's cell phone did ring, and we did have to leave our place. As we journeyed our hands brushed each other's a couple of times, and sparks went through me. I almost had to restrain myself from reaching out to grab his hand as we walked back through the crowds of Warped Tour.

~-~

As my memories subsided, I gained more consciousness of my surroundings. And Craig has appeared in them. Seeing this, I squirmed a bit, which David chose to interpret as me being cold. He pulled me closer and turned to face me.

"How you holdin' up?" He questioned. There wasn't even one slur in his speech.

"Uhh, I guess I'm fine." My speech, on the other hand, was a bit more slurred. And my cup was near empty. I frowned at this and David laughed. I looked around the circle, trying to find a recruit to go get me a new drink. "Hey," I called to Hayden who was standing at the outskirts of our circle. "Hayden, sweetheart, can you please go get me another drink?" I asked sweetly. We glared at each other for a couple of minutes before he finally gave in and walked away. The guys in the group laughed at this and I giggled along with them. But as I glanced over at the empty hole where Hayden just was, I saw something that made my heart skip its next beat. Robert and Craig were on their way over here.

Or it looked more like Robert was dragging Craig over here. My heart sunk a bit at this, but I perked right up as Hayden quickly returned with my new drink.

"That was fast," I beamed. He thrust the drink into my hand with a grin and I took a big gulp. My throat burned at contact with the new drink. I could taste Vodka among other different kinds of liquor. Hayden retook his place, leaving the only open spot next to me, which Robert, along with Craig, quickly filled.

I sensed David's glare at this new addition. His arm pulled me even more closer to him, leaving no space between the two of us. Craig's face fell as he noticed this.

"Niki! Who's this?" Robert said gesturing towards David. He was incredibly hyper, and his words came out fast.

"This is my good friend David." David's breath cached a little when I said this, but I decided to ignore it. After all, we were only friends.

Conversations flowed for the next twenty minutes, with some awkward silences thrown in. But after a while, Robert had drifted off to another group, leaving Craig stuck behind and looking slightly lost. He stared longingly at his now drained cup. By now, I had emptied the cup of the drink Hayden had brought to me. I was full on drunk by now, stuttering, stumbling, and all.

I didn't realize what I was doing as I invited Craig to get another drink with me. I left David and looped my arm through Craig's as we went off in search of the keg.

"So, are you and that David..?" He asked. I looked over at him. As much as I wanted, I knew we would never work out. He had a daughter, and traveled all the time. I mean, I did too so that I could help Chris, but still. He was also older, so we wouldn't even be able to legally date. But this summer, the impossible happened, and I became friends with him in a matter of days. Who knew what else could happen?

"No. We're not together." I replied, with more confidence than I would usually have. The keg now in sight, I started to get a little excited. When I was drunk, I partied big and drank way more than I probably should, ending up with a hangover that would last for days. Judging b how much I had already drank, I realized that I might not even be able to hold much more in, a couple more cups, at most. Craig pulled me the rest of the way over to the keg and refilled my cup for me. I waited patiently for him to finish filling his drink up. When he was done, he only stood there, looking as if he was giving a lot of thought about something. Finally he spoke.

"Wanna take a walk?" He looked really nervous about this, but in my state of mind, it didn't exactly register. But right at that moment, a walk sounded really good to me.

I nodded and turned around, making my way out and away from the crowds. I knew that Craig was following, but I didn;t really know where I was leading him to. So, when we got to the edge of the crowd, I stopped. Right away, Craig pointed in one direction, where there was only grass and trees. I honestly loved when we were at venues where it was outside and open, without lots of buildings around. It took a couple of minutes to reach an area far away enough for it to be quiet, the music could barely be heard. But by the time we had gotten there, I had downed half of my new drink and was stumbling.

Craig walked on for a few steps after I had stopped. He didn't realize that I wasn't walking anymore. "Craig, hold up. I'm dizzy." He turned around and jogged back to where I was. I grabbed my head in my hands and pretty much fell down. Being the sweetheart that he is, Craig steadied me before I completely hit the ground, then keeled down next to me.

"Are you okay?" Worry was written across his face. I stared at him and nodded. Already, I was feeling better. Deciding to relax, I laid down, the grass damp beneath me. At first, Craig seemed worried that I had passed out or something, but after quickly realizing that I was still conscious, he laid down next to me.

We didn't speak, and I don't remember when, but at some point, Craig had slipped his arm around me. The last thing I can remember doing is moving closer to him, and smiling into my sleep.