I'll Be There

We pulled up to the festival early in the morning on our huge busses. Nikki woke me and I stared out the window with a yawn. The Earth was baked in a soft golden glow. A few people walked around outside. I noticed they all looked like rockstars. I blinked myself more awake and noticed they WERE rockstars, fans wouldn’t be allowed back here. I tried to recognize some faces, any. “Alexi Laiho!” I yelled. Nikki clapped his hand over my mouth and I stared at him in surprise. “Behave.” He whispered. I nodded and he let go. Then my heart soared. I get to see Dj today!
I put on a clean shirt and hopped off the bus. I saw a familiar guitarist outside waiting for us. “Uncle Mick!” I beamed, running up to him and hugging him gently. I could hear the sarcasm writhing in his pained voice, “Uncle?” He mocked. I smiled up at him. “Mhm.” I affirmed. He sighed dramatically. “Brilliant, another brat to babysit. No more Coke for you, got it?” I rubbed the back of my head and felt my face turn 3 shades of red. I wanted to forget about that. Nikki came up behind me. “Where’s Dj?” I asked anxiously. “Not here yet, bus had some problems. He’ll be around soon.” I frowned. I didn’t know I would miss him this much. “Well, wanna go look around?” He asked, noticing I was upset. “Yeah sure.” I said nonchalantly. Even with so many people I admired in one place all at the same time, I just wanted to see Dj. It’s been the longest few days of my life without him or Kari or even evil lil Creep.
Instead of heading off to some fancy VIP area, Nikki led me up a hill. When we got there we could see cars and fans swarming outside in the early morning light. They looked like many more than just residents of France, in fact I couldn’t even tell where most of them were from due to their outrageous outfits. It looked like Halloween came early this year. I gasped as I saw one large woman below us in the crowd. Nikki followed my gaze. “What?” He asked. “There are some things certain people shouldn’t wear…” I mused. “She’s beautiful.” He said without batting an eye. I looked over at him. “What?” I asked. He looked me in my eyes, a replica of his eyes, and said it again. “She’s beautiful. No matter what anybody looks like, we’re all equal, okay?” I looked down and nodded, feeling a bit foolish. “Remind me to give you my other book later.” He said, getting up to head back downhill. “Alright.” I agreed. I knew he had another book, but I had never read it. I didn’t even know what it was about. I guess that’s pretty pathetic coming from his biggest fan and daughter. I thought about what he said as I followed him back down to the masses of big-haired black-clad people.
Dj looked out his window as the bus arrived. He could see rays of sunlight popping up behind the large stage. Fans were already pouring in, setting up camp and buying enough alcohol to sustain someone for a week. Then he turned his attention to the path his bus was taking, well out of sight of curious fans. He noticed a small flash of red and black on a hill not too far away. Then they were gone. It could’ve been anyone, but his heart soared at the thought. He wondered if being with Nikki for a few days had in fact changed her mind about some things. If not, he wasn’t sure how he could go on living with a girl who couldn’t accept this life. He wanted her to be part of it. His deepest fear however was starting to take root deep in his chest. What if Axl was right, and she only loves him as a fan?
Tommy met us at the bottom of the rise, wearing his usual no-shirt, baggy pants, and converse. He hugged me and fucked up my hair, then took us through the crowd. Nikki’s iPhone buzzed. I stared at him in anticipation, wondering if that was it. He replied to the message quickly, with a small smirk on his face, then nodded down at me. “Yes!” I yelled. “The other little Sixx here?” Tommy asked. Now that I thought about it, with the hair and everything, Nikki and Dj did look a little alike. Then again, we all look alike in the rockstar world. “Yeah, he’ll be over there in about a minute.” Nikki answered his drummer. “Well, let’s go then!” Tommy laughed, running off. “Shit!” I yelled, instantly chasing after him. I heard Nikki not far behind me. I saw Tommy weave through people, doing splits and turns and all sorts of crazy shit like he was in an agility Olympic run. I laughed and tried to mimic him, barely missing a few people. “Dave Mustaine!” I screamed, barreling through a circle of thrash-looking guys. I could recognize that hair anywhere. I turned around as I shoved past the poofy-haired blonde, starstruck, but Nikki was about to plow into me so I resumed my run. “Fucking-A Sixx!” I heard Mustaine yell as Nikki followed me and the psychotic drummer. He laughed from somewhere right behind me, sounding like a kid chasing a soccer ball. I smiled as I saw Tommy up ahead nearing the edge of the crowd. Then I saw a cloud of dust coming down the road in our direction. I beamed, unable to yell as I caught my breath.
Dj noticed a disturbance in the crowd as he drew near. He had just gotten Nikki’s text, saying it was them on the hill. They hadn’t seen his bus coming however, so he could still sneak in. Maybe. He put his hat on over his messy hair and waited for the bus to park. Now he could see the people more closely, and noticed a lanky short-haired guy with no shirt destroying the peace of the crowd. He should’ve recognized the figure sooner. Not far behind the drummer was a streak of red-and-black, dodging the people to the best of their ability. He smiled. So much for sneaking in.
I collapsed on the open swath of ground right next to Tommy, who was breathing hard but didn’t look exhausted like I was. He stood up tall and stretched his arms. I however was on my knees begging for air. Between running and laughing I was wiped. Nikki was bent over on my other side, hands on his knees and gasping. “Fuck Tommy, I need to get exercising again once we hit the states.” Tommy laughed and we watched the bus pull up. Nikki stood up and Tommy held his hand out for me. I stood up and brushed the dirt off my jeans. The next few moments all happened in slow motion. The bus stopped. The door opened. I saw a few figures moving around inside. Richard came out and smiled at us, then headed off to who-knows-where. Then Bumble, who beamed at us and high-fived me. I stared at the door in anticipation. Then, before I knew it, I was in his arms again.
I think I screamed his name when I saw him, but I don’t remember because I tackled the poor boy. I missed the way he held me, the way he smelled, the way I fit perfectly in his arms. “I missed you.” I managed to mumble into his flannel, sure I was about to cry. “Ray, it’s only been a week.” Dj said, prying me off of him and smiling. In that moment I realized two things; One, I had slight abandonment issues, and two, I actually cared about someone enough to miss them. After a moment of me silently staring at him like I’d never seen him before he went to kiss me. Damn, I missed that too. He put his hand in my hair and chuckled. “Did you fertilize this mess while I was gone? I thought you were keeping it short like Nikki’s Ray.” I noticed he kept calling me that, I guess my little nickname had caught on. I smiled earnestly at the guitarist, the one who believed in me, and said simply, “It’s time I be more like me.”