Spring

Chapter 1

Outside the world was wet and cold. Fresh and new life crept out of the earth. The wind whispered 'change' to all that would listen.

The line was long. I was hot, tired, and hungry. But really I didn't give a damn. I doubt any of the other people cared either. What lay ahead was too kick ass to miss.

Escape The Fate.

It was the one band I had loved from the first time I heard 'The Guillotine'. And over the years it had only improved. With the new singer they were taking flying leaps into the music world and my heart. Honestly I was turning into a mega fan girl,

Slowly we inched ahead in line. I was starting to wish I had worn shorts instead of my black pants, but it was too late now. I suffered in silence.

My friend Lexii did not.

"Jesus its hot as a mother fucker!" she said in one of those creepy voices that's both a whisper and a scream.

"Chill Lexii baby, we're like 10 people away." I said as I cuffed her ear.

She only swiped back at me and looked around for any cute boys.

"Maybe I'll meet Prince Charming tonight." She pursed her lips and stood on her tippy toes to get a better view of the line. "Well, not here anyway. The guys here are all 7 and under. Princy is at LEAST an 8."

"Lexii." I whispered. "Its our turn."

She squealed, grabbed my arm, and dragged me into the room.

I ran smack into a tall, solid frame. It immediately shouted. "Whos the short chick?"

"Probably another fan, Robert. Chill." Came a soft voice from the back.

I raised my eyes and scanned the room. There was a blonde and a guy wearing eyeliner on a worn out sofa, one black haired man staring gloomily into space, and the one I had run into with a huge mane of crazy brown curls holding a beer. Lexii squealed and practically sat on the blondes' lap.

"MONTE!" She hugged him as if she would never let go.

Monte blushed and looked at his friend for help who merely laughed and got up to join the curly man.

"I know all about you, I have every CD you've ever put out. I have posters and I know all of your life stories. I even made a few online quizzes to see who you would be most compatible with if you had to choose one of you." She paused for a gasp of breath. "I'm Lexii. This is Kayte."

Everyone was staring at her with wide eyes. We probably would have forever until the man in the corner spoke up.

"Since you made all of those awesome . . . things and what-not, I'm guessing we don't need to intro-"

"-YOU IS CRAIG MABBIT!" Lexii jumped up and blushed hardcore.

He scratched his head and cocked it to the side. It made him look softer, less emo, and over all more attractive. "Yep, that's pretty much it."

"This is Robert! He's got great hair. But he's an asshole." She said looking at me. Robert choked on his drink. "This is Max! He's hot!" Robert looked darker and Max beamed.

Lexii bounced over to my side and pulled me over to the photo center. "Pictures!"

It was over within seconds. And I had barely said a word. Needless to say I was upset the rest of the day. A once in a lifetime opportunity and I had screwed up.

Lexii hugged me goodbye and made me swear to call her after the concert.

'At least,' I thought to myself as I watched her cab drive away, 'there's a concert tonight. I'll have fun.' But my grumbling tummy interrupted my moping. I had forgotten how hungry I was. So I walked about three blocks through the rain to my favorite café.

"Can I get a strawberry smoothie?" Soon I was sitting at my table near the back, sipping sex in a cup, and sketching. Not even ten minutes passed and my relaxing atmosphere had cured my funk.

I looked up from my sketches and nearly fell over. Craig Mabbit was sipping what looked like a banana smoothie right in front of me. He saw me looking and grinned.

Then, to my utter horror, he stood up, and came over.

'Oh god, wait, he might just need a napkin. Yeah that's it. But wait, he's bringing his drink! Ah! He's looking at my face! What do I say? Think girl think!'

But when he reached me, he didn't speak, he just flashed a bunch of hand signs in my face.

" . . . Do you think I'm a mute?" I asked after a few seconds of trying to figure out what the hell was happening.

"Heh, I figured. No one is ever that quiet when they meet a band they like. Well I mean, if you like it." He looked kind of concerned, as if coming here was a mistake. Immediately I felt bad for being a bitch.

"No! I love you!" he raised one eyebrow. I turned crimson. "I mean, your band . . ."

He chuckled and gestured to the empty seat opposite of me. "May I?"

I nodded, the blush spreading.

"I see you're a strawberry gal. I'm more of a banana myself. Berries kinda seem weak to me."

For some reason this ticked me off. "And bananas are any better?"

"They're shaped like the universal symbol of manliness!" he insisted.

I looked confused and he mumbled something that sounded a lot like penis. I couldn't help it, I giggled.

When I laughed my sketchbook fell down so he could see what I was working on. His eyes grew huge.

"Wow. I know we just met and all, but I'm in love." He then went into a huge show of 'ooh-ing' and 'ah-ing' over every detail in my picture.

"Its actually not really all that-"

"-No. Trust me, it is all that. You're an artist. Own up to it."

"When you sing . . . do you feel . . . alive?" I said looking down.

He stared at me for a long time before putting his hand under my chin and pulling up my head to meet his gaze. For a second I thought he was going to kiss me, his brown eyes were so intense.

"Singing is the reason I am alive. And one day you'll realize you have so much more to live for." Suddenly without warning, he pulled up my sleeve and pressed his lips to a scar. "You're beautiful Kayte."

In that moment, it stopped raining.

The bell tinkled, signaling someone had entered the café. It was Max.

"Dude, quit rendezvousing with the locals, our show starts in 30!" he yelled. The owner hissed at him as he ran back out the door waving his arms manically.

Craig looked up at me curiously. His head cocked to the side. "Would you wanna ride?"

Never in all my wildest dreams did I think that I would be going to a show with Craig after sharing a moment. Never fucking ever.

I nodded yes and he took my hand and led me out to his car. He held my hand the whole way. I thought my heart would explode from my chest.

Before they left to perform, Craig wrote his number on my hand and winked at me, before raving after the others onstage.

Six hours later I was sitting on my clutching the phone to my ear.

"Yo yo yo! How was the concert hoe?" Lexii cheered into the phone."

"Lex! You'll never guess what happened!"

"WERE YOU RAPED?"

"Wha-no! I have news so shut up and listen."

One hour and thirty minutes later, having relayed my story with the smallest details, including what he smelled like, Lexii was ecstatic.

"What the shit are you doing?"

"Huh?"

"Hang up and call him! NOW!" Then she hung up and I was left alone with my jumble of nerves. I looked down nervously at my hand, and dialed the number.

It rang three times and I was about to hang up when a melodic voice answered. "Hey-o, what the shit is up?"

"Hi, um is this Craig?"

"Kayte? I thought you weren't gonna call." He sounded really happy, so I felt a little bolder.

"How could I resist after all that flirting earlier?" I twisted the phone chord around my fingers as my grin spread across my face.

"Hehe, listen do you wanna come over maybe?"

I sat up in bed. "Um sure. When?"

"Tomorrow? I'm here for a week. So . . . lets make the best of it."

"A week?" For some reason, my stomache dropped.

"Yeah . . . but as long as I'm here, lets make some crazy ass memories."

We talked for a long time. I'm not sure how long, but by the time I hung up, the sun was rising. Even though we had laughed and talked and generally had a great time, I felt like my world was crashing around me. One week with the most amazing man I had ever met. And then he was gone.