Say You Love Me Damon Salvatore

I twirled the ring on my thumb nervously. Shivers coursed through my body. God, why had I agreed to this? What if I totally lost my nerve and my voice broke during one of the songs? Oh, the songs! What kind did they expect me to sing?
I stopped the car when I knew I was at Delaney’s. Taking a deep breath, I got out and walked towards the open garage. I put on some clothes I had at the back of my closet I saved for going to concerts; A gray fitted T-shirt that had David Bowie as Jareth, from Labyrinth, a pair of black skinny jeans, black low top converse, and skull and crossbones suspenders.
“Hey, guys,” I said almost breathlessly.
The band greeted me enthusiastically. I recognized most of them from gigs and pictures with Juliet. The one playing bass was Paul, wearing dark jeans, a dark blue T-shirt with a band logo and skater shoes. He had dark brown hair that was covered by a dirty gray baseball cap, worn backwards.
The other guy was the lead guitarist, playing an electric, of course. I didn’t remember his name, though. He was dressed similarly to Paul, only the pants were gray and he was wearing a black Hollister shirt and black converse. His hair was a chestnut brown, shaggy and flat ironed.
The drummer, who I recognized as Lane, was wearing a black tank top with a pink skull in the middle of it. She was wearing a black mini skirt with black tights and combat boots. In her black hair were two thick strands of pink on either side of her face.
Then there was Delaney. She had put a red streak through her copper mane of curls and was wearing baggy black jeans, a black corset with a plain red T-shirt underneath, and black skater shoes. I couldn’t remember if she played aqustic guitar or keyboard, though.
“Liv, glad you could make it,” Delaney greeted in her deep voice. “You remember Paul, Lane, and Zack, right?”
“Not Zack,” I said honestly. “Nice to meet you.”
“Ditto,” he chuckled.
“So, O-Livy, are you ready to rock?!” Lane said loudly.
“I sure hope I can.”
“Don’t sweat it, you’ll be fine after one song,” Delaney laughed. “You don’t play an instrument, do you?”
I shook my head. “Just here to sing.”
Delaney nodded. “Just checkn’. So, what can you sing?”
Oh, God, I was afraid of this question. “Just name a song or band.”
“How ‘bout Evanescence?” Paul asked.
I nodded. I really didn’t want to admit I could keep up with Amy Lee, but I did anyway. “Sure.”
“Great!” Delaney said. “You know ‘My Immortal’?”
“Doesn’t everyone?”
“Alright, cool. So you sing the lead and I’ll sing the backup harmony. Will that mess you up?”
I shrugged. “We’ll see.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It turns out my David Bowie T-shirt was a good choice, since F.I.R.E is into classic rock, too. Actually, I’m pretty well fit with the band. They like a lot of music I do—including Seether!—and they liked my singing. At some point, Zack had convinced me to sing Golden Years with him. Let me tell you, Zack is no Bowie. It was still fun, though. I was laughing the entire time, not knowing all the words to Golden Years anyway.
“See you guys Thursday,” I laughed, walking out to my car.
“See ya!” they all shouted back.
I drove of with a wide grin. F.I.R.E—which stood for Fire In Redemption Everlasting—liked me and I really liked them. This band thing—and how ironic is it that I say this?—is a good thing. We practice this Thursday and Saturday we have this gig at a nightclub. I wondered how I was going to get that passed Helen….
About a block away from my house, my cell started playing Clumsy.

Can’t breathe
When you touch my sleeve
Boy, that’s not so crazy
Mmm-mm
Whoa now
Think I’m going down
Feel like Cupid’s hit me
Mmm-mm

I answered, already knowing by the song who it was. “Yes, Juliet?”
“Well? How’d it go?” she squealed excitedly.
I sighed. “They absolutely hated me. Apparently Bowie is so-not-rock-and-roll anymore and kicked me out before I even sang.”
Juliet gasped. “Why did you wear the Labyrinth shirt!”
“I’m just kidding, Jewels. And you know I watch Labyrinth like twenty times a day,” Even as I spoke, the little crazy orange things that dance around the fire song popped into my head. Great, as much as I loved those orange things and the song, it would be in my head all day.
“So it went good?”
“We have a gig Saturday. Me and Delaney are gonna sing My Immortal and me and Zack still haven’t found a song, since Golden Years didn’t work at all.”
“Oh my God! This is amazing! I’m so psyched! You know me and Steph are gonna be in the very front of the crowd!”
“It’s at this nightclub. I’ll have to ask Delaney where the place is again, ‘cause I forgot.”
“Hey, that’s cool. Oh my God, Liv!” Juliet literally screamed.
I pulled my cell away from my ear. “Okay, Jewels, I’m home now, so—“
“Gotta face the principle. You go and tell her what you gotta tell her.”
I almost told her I wasn’t going to tell my mom anything, but stopped myself. “I’ll talk to you later,” I said as I parked the car in the driveway.
I shut my cell and walked up to the front door steps. I wondered if my mom’s SUV was parked in the garage or not. God, I hoped not. It was already eight o’clock on a school night. She’d flip for sure.
Taking a chance, I walked in. “Hello?”
No answer.
Oh, thank God.
I went over to the phone to check the messages.
“Three new messages,” the voice in the phone said. “All message play back.”
“Hey, Helen, this is Trudy Mulligan. I was just calling to make sure you and Olivia were coming for dinner Saturday. We look forward to seeing you two again! Give me a call when you get the chance.”
Ugh, Trudy Mulligan. She was my mom’s friend, who always tried to set me up with random boys on her family reunions. Oh, well, at least I wouldn’t have to go to her house Saturday.
There was a beep and it switched to the next message. “Livy, hey, it’s Steph. Juliet told me about the band—and you two making up. I’m really glad. Fill me in on the details; after, maybe by eleven tonight. I’m on a date with Kurt, so I gotta go. Later!”
Well, sure I’d call her. I was excited about the gig, so I, of course, was excited to share that with her. Then the third message switched on. “Hello, Olivia,” a familiar voice said. My heart stopped and I listened intently. “I think you know who this is. I told you we weren’t done. Just wanted to let you know I’m in the neighborhood. I might pay a visit to your friends. I haven’t really decided. Don’t bother calling back. I’ll contact you again when I know you’re home. See you soon, love. Real soon.”
“End of final message.”
I stared at the phone, speechless. This couldn’t be happening. Before doing anything else, I ran and locked all the doors and windows, covering the windows with the curtains. This could not be happening again!
Close to hysterics, I called Juliet. “Hello?” she said cheerfully.
I took a deep breath, sinking to the floor.
“Liv? Hello?”
I was afraid of talking. I knew if I said one word I break down completely. I took a few more deep breaths before whimpering, “Jewels, he’s back.”