Hear You Me

“So you owe me for completely ditching me the other night.”

Delilah rolled her eyes at the statement from the boy on the other end of the phone. “I did not ditch you; I had other plans. Believe it or not, Mr. Kanitz, my world does not revolve around you.”

“Well you should.”

“I’m so glad my best friend isn’t a cocky jerk…oh, wait,” Delilah joked.

“Wow Lila, that really hurt.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’ll recover soon. So what do I have to do make it up to you?

“Hmm…let me think,” Joel said as he made the moment more dramatic.

“Come on Kanitz, I don’t have all day here.”

“You can’t rush greatness. I know! The guys and I are having practice today and you should come. We need someone to listen to our songs and tell us what’s good and what we need to work on more.”

“I can already tell you what I’m going to say…the drums, bass, and guitar sound good while the vocals are terrible. Get a new singer and This Century will be perfect.”

“Sometimes I really hate you,” Joel grumbled.

“But I love you!” Delilah laughed. “So what time is your practice?”

“At three. Does this mean you’re coming?”

“Yep. I haven’t seen Alex, Sean, and Ryan in a while and I really miss them.”

“Is it too late to take back my invitation?” Joel joked.

“Well I guess you could but I know where you practice so I’m going to show up just to annoy you.”

“Fine. I’ll see you at three, I guess.”

“Hey! You better sound a bit more excited…you get to spend the afternoon with me.”

“It will be the highlight of my week,” Joel sarcastically said. “Seriously though, thanks for agreeing to come. I’ll see you soon. Bye.”

Delilah got ready and made her way to where the boys always held their practices. She was five minutes late but as soon as she walked in the guys stopped what they were doing and greeted her.

“Lila! Joel didn’t tell us you were coming,” Sean said as he ran over to give her a hug.

“Joel’s rude. We already knew that though,” Delilah laughed.

“You’ve only been here a few seconds and I already want you to leave,” Joel joked as he walked over to her.

“Aww did I hurt poor baby Joel’s feelings?” Delilah mocked as she wrapped her arms around the lanky boy.

“You’re mean…we already knew that though,” Joel smirked as the rest of the guys laughed.

“You can’t use my own words against me!”

“Stop being dramatic. Just sit down and listen to us practice,” Ryan joked.

Delilah gasped as she sat down. “Joel’s not the only rude one; all of you are. This is why I like One Direction better than you guys.”

The guys all glared at Delilah before they started playing but she just laughed. Delilah listened as the boys played old songs, new versions of old songs, and some songs she hadn’t heard before. Listening to the guys felt weird without Holland by her side and she was taken back to the guys’ very first concert.

“I’m so nervous right now,” Joel said as more people made their way into the venue.

This Century had gotten the opportunity to open for a local band and they were all excited but also nervous.

“You’ll do great,” Delilah reassured him.

“Yeah, you will. If you do get nervous just remember that Delilah and I are watching and sending our support your way while we work the merch table,” Holland added.

“Thanks guys,” Joel smiled as he hugged both girls before going back stage to finish getting ready.

Delilah and Holland enjoyed the show and were extremely proud of the boys but things took a turn at the end of the concert.

“You would think he’d come out and say hi to his girlfriend first before talking to those other girls,” Holland grumbled.

Delilah looked over to see the group of girls, mostly from their high school, surrounding Joel.

“Holl, they’re his fans. He probably wants to thank them. Plus itn’s not as if he’s the only one talking to them, all the guys are,” Delilah, always the voice of reason, said.

“It’s just frustrating and I’m sure this is just the beginning. Once they get bigger and start going on tours he’ll be surrounded by more girls while I’ll be at home.”

“Joel loves you and would never cheat on you. Don’t let your jealousy get the best of you.”

“Whatever, I’m going to go outside. I need to get some air,” Holland said, walking away once she saw Joel making his way toward the pair.

Delilah watched as Holland stomped off before turning towards Joel who was now beside her. “Hey, great show.”

“Thanks, where’s Holland going?” Joel asked.

“Umm…she needed some air.”

“Is she mad or something?”

Delilah didn’t know what to say so instead she just kept quiet.

“Lila,” Joel said in a warning tone, “is Holland mad at me?”

“Yes,” Delilah said meekly.

Joel groaned. “Why?”

“She saw all those girls around you and got jealous.”

“How is that my fault?”

“Just go talk to her,” Delilah suggested.

“Fine.”

Delilah watched through the window in the venue as Joel tried to reason with Holland but it didn’t look as if she was listening to him. Instead, she was talking animatedly with her hands, rolling her eyes, and shaking her head.

“Trouble in paradise?” a voice beside Delilah asked.

Delilah looked up to see Sean standing beside her. “Yep, they’re in a fight. Good job tonight by the way.”

“Thanks,” Sean smiled and then continued. “You sound mad that they’re fighting.”

“I’m just annoyed. Whenever they fight I always end up in the middle and Holland and I rode here with Joel so the ride home will be awkward.”

“Ah, I see. Well Alex, Ryan, and I are getting ready to go get food and celebrate our first concert. If you want to go with us and avoid those two you’re more than welcome.”

“That would be great,” Delilah said with relief. As she followed the guys to Ryan’s car she couldn’t help but think how Joel and Holland’s relationship was going to survive if Holland kept getting jealous over every single girl that talked to Joel.

“This next song is a new song so be brutally honest about it, okay?” Joel said, breaking Delilah out of her memory.

“I always am,” Delilah joked.

“I know,” Joel joked back before the guys started the song. “Just another story about the young and the useless. Used to be a pretty boy but now he’s just worthless...”

Delilah was in love with the boys’ new song. It had more of a rock vibe than their older stuff but she liked it.

“What did you think?” Alex asked as soon as the song was over.

“It was great. I loved it.”

“Yes! Success.” Sean cheered as the boys began packing everything up. As Ryan, Sean, and Alex left they each gave Delilah a hug and thanked her once again for coming.

“Since the guys have left you can now be honest; what did you really think?” Joel said as he walked towards Delilah.

“I wasn’t lying when I said I liked it. It was really good.”

“Good,” Joel gave a sigh of relief. “I was worried you wouldn’t like it.”

“Don’t worry, I did. It is kind of harsh though. Who is it about?”

“Myself,” Joel sheepishly said. “I wrote it about that month after Holland died when I sat in my apartment doing nothing.”

“Oh, gotcha. So for some reason I was reminded tonight of your guys’ first concert.”

“Ugh, that was so dramatic. I mean the concert was good but Holland and I got into that huge fight afterwards.”

“Believe me, I remember. You guys were mad at each other for a solid week and I had to pick up the pieces.”

“That’s why you’re the best,” Joel smiled as he gave Delilah a hug. “So I have some exciting news.”

“Ok, what is it?”

“We’ve decided to release first full-length and then go on tour to promote it.”

“Oh my gosh Joel, that’s great! When are you guys doing all this?”

“We’re releasing our CD in May and then going on tour from then until July or August.”

“That’s awesome, J. I’m so proud and happy for you.”

“Thanks Lila. I never would have been able to do this without you though. Without your support I’d still be sitting in my house all depressed.”

“Well that’s why I’m the best,” Delilah joked.

“Yes, yes it is.” Joel said as he gave her another hug.