Trouvaille

Chapter 9

With a huge pit of dread in her stomach and upon insistence from Calum and Kay, Nikki had called Tom. He had yelled at her, his parents had yelled at her, made her cry, then cried himself, made her laugh with a story about his Tessa, his dog, and then made fun of her about Calum for ages. He made her promise to keep in touch with her and saved her from having a very similar call with Zoe. He also convinced her to do something she was sure was going to end in disaster- to go with 5sos on the rest of their tour.

Nikki wasn't so famous that she was recognized everywhere she went and stalked by paparazzi at her every move- she had more of the kind of fame that made people stare at her curiously sideways and rack their brains to recognize where they'd seen her. She'd often had people ask her if they'd gone to school with her, or if they'd met her or something. She never told them who she was, just preferring to leave them bemused and wondering for the rest of the day who that girl was. But touring with 5sos was bound to be noticed by their fans and soon, gossip would abound. Having been a part of the fandom, Nikki had seen firsthand how some of them reacted to new girls around their band member and Nikki wasn't sure if she was mentally ready for it. But all of her friends were for it, and they won her over, and now she was on a tour bus headed for Amsterdam.

Amsterdam. Amsterdam was the one place she'd always avoided on her travels to Europe nowadays. Amsterdam was the place where she'd wanted to spend the rest of her life. Her soul city. Ever since she'd read the book, 'Just One Day' something about Amsterdam had called out to her, and the first time she'd gone there, she'd felt the connection immediately- it was a feeling she could never explain to anyone. It was the feeling of having searched for something your entire life and finally finding it, and this discovery brought with it a stillness and peace deep in her. Her entire life had been spent in motion, never able to rest and she'd finally found some place to lay her head.

Ever since she'd moved to LA, and everything that had happened had thrown her entire identity into chaos, Nikki found it impossible to bring herself to go back to Amsterdam. She was scared that everything that had happened had changed her to an extent where Amsterdam wouldn't feel like her soul city anymore. She didn't think that she could handle that. All her life, Amsterdam had called out to her, and she didn't know who she was if she didn't have Amsterdam anymore. It was better living forever being homesick for a place that had never been home that going there to find it wasn't home anymore.

Nikki's dread grew the closer they got to Amsterdam. She was so jittery that she couldn't eat and spend the hours pacing back and forth, driving everyone around her crazy. Michael's dog Southy, who was obsessed with her was following her, trotting back and forth behind her.

'Dude!' Crystal exclaimed finally, 'just sit down.'

'I cannot,' Nikki said, through gritted teeth, 'Oh god!' She groaned, making South whine.

Nikki stomped into the tiny area that passed off as a pantry, slamming open the doors, and slamming it shut again. South was still at her feet, looking up at her expectantly and so she threw him a treat, picking him up in her arms and burying her face in his fur.

Although so much about Nikki had changed, one thing had thankfully remained the same- she loved animals as much as she'd always had, if not more and her love for animals was matched only by her love for them. She had a knack with animals, gaining their trust in record time. She was especially good with dogs, giving many a dog owner insecurities with how much their dogs loved her.

She could never walk past a dog without patting it, and if it was a stray, she always gave them some love and food.

She'd met South the day she'd met the boys, at that party, and he'd loved her since then, snuggling with her and following her around. Michael and Crystal's other dog, Moose also loved her. Luke's dog, Petunia had knocked her over the first time they'd met, and Nikki had gotten extremely close with her, and missed Petunia almost as much as Luke and Sierra.