You Were Mine for The Summer

Ambushed...

I was turning around to face the person I had collided into, but all I saw was a striped shirt running off through the crowd. “Yeah, just peachy, I only fell in front of like a zillion people.” I mumbled sarcastically, looking behind me for Sawyer and Alli, maybe they had seen the mystery man. I spun in a slow circle; they had been just behind me when we entered the building! I felt my pulse start to race, I took a slow deep breath but it caught in my throat. I wasn’t moving and a few girls slammed into me, knocking me back a few steps. Music started over the speakers, it was loud, there were at least a hundred people spreading out across the room. It was hard for me to be in large crowded spaces alone. A few accidents from when I was younger had given me irrational fear of being alone in the crowd. Just as I thought I was going to have a full blown panic attack, I felt someone’s hand slip into mine, and pull gently. I whipped my head around to see who it was.

Sawyer.

I felt my heart rate slow to normal speeds, his face concerned and apologetic. Sawyer always being the knight in shining armor to my damsel in distress, he always ran to help Alli and I whenever and wherever we were.  He let go of my hand and hooked a finger through my belt loop. A familiar gesture when he knew I needed to talk to him, but I needed some form of closure. My face turned red, I had been completely irrational Sawyer and Alli would never just leave me. They weren’t the horrible friends I had once had.  He raised his eyebrows at me, and looked at my hands as I raised them towards chest height.

“I was alone in the crowd, and I was starting to panic… I’m such a baby.” I signed, avoiding Sawyer’s eyes and taking in a huge breath. The strongest smell was Sawyer’s cologne just a foot from me, but mixed with it was hair spray, perfume, and sweat. The doors were just now closing so the air conditioning would be kicking on in a few minutes. Sawyer smiled and shook his head, “You’re not a baby, Alli stopped to tie her shoe, I should have grabbed you but some girl cut me off then you disappeared.” He answered, “I fell.” I signed back, laughing. He smiled and grabbed my hand pulling me towards the front of the crowd, with ease.

In the back of the building was a small stage, it was risen above ground level about to my waist line. It was wooden and had four microphone stands off to the left side. There were stairs on the right side that were roped off so no one just ran up onto the stage. On the back of the stage were two tables with chairs behind them. Alli had managed to secure a spot right in the middle of the stage front right up against the stage. I tapped her on the shoulder, “I thought we lost you!” she yelled, struggling to be heard over the other fifty conversations going on. Sawyer’s camera had been balanced on the edge of the stage, he reached over Alli to grab it, and taking a few steps back started to film. Alli and I had performed at a talent show here at the beginning of summer; I smiled to myself lost in a memory. The music dimmed, Alli and I looked at each other… It was time.

Marcus walked out on the stage first, coming up the back steps in between the two tables. “Hello, Ohio!” He said into his microphone, taking it off the stand in the corner and walking out to the middle of the stage, he pulled at his white t-shirt as Alfie walked out on stage. He was in a striped t-shirt, as he grabbed his microphone off one of the stands he laughed, “Whats up, Guys? So, basically what were gonna do today is answer so of your questions!” He said, looking out over the crowd.

“And then, we are gonna take some pictures with you all, at these tables back here!” Marcus finished Alfie’s sentence. The crowd screamed, and they smiled. “Anyone with questions please go to the stairs over there…” Alfie picked up from Marcus’s sentence, “And form a line.”

Alli and I went to the stairs, where two girls were already ahead of us. The one in the very front turned around; “Hey!” she smiled at Alli and I. “Hi, Alice!” I smiled back; Alli waved then Alfie spoke…