‹ Prequel: Pictures on the Wall
Romance Is Dead
One.
I’m not quite sure what it was about him, but when he looked at me I just had to leave. Getting embarrassed was something I didn’t do often, but at that moment I felt like I was going to make a fool out of myself in front of him. For me, someone who had been acting for a long time, looking stupid was not something I wanted to do in front of a guy. That fact shouldn’t have mattered, though. At the end of my senior year in high school, just a few months ago, I decided to stop looking for a boyfriend. All the guys I had dated had been total douche bags and I was tired of it; shows and partying would keep me happy.
The light breeze outside the concert hall was nice against my face. It had been really hot inside, with all the people, but now it was just nice and cool. From what I had heard of the end of the show, Romance Is Dead was a pretty good band. I would have to come to another one of their shows, but actually show up on time. All the mixing voices inside could be heard outside and I wondered why it was such a big deal for people to talk to band members at a local show. It wasn’t like seeing a band like Falling In Reverse or even a rapper like Eminem live, so I didn’t see how it was such a big deal.
After people started to filter out, I decided to go back in and get some pictures with the band members. This fall was going to be perfect; hitting up tons of shows and parties. I was done with school now, officially, and it was time for me to start living. Of course, I would have to have pictures so everyone could see what a great time I’m having and to look back at later on.
When I got back into the room where the band was at, there were still quite a few people crowding around the table asking for autographs on phone cases and iPods. One girl was talking to the drummer and asked him to sign her boobs. Unluckily for her, she and her friend were asked to leave as the band wasn’t into degrading women like that, nor did they want anyone acting in such a manner at their shows. Gentlemen. They were hard to find now a days.
I decided to stand in line and have them autograph a copy of their CD I was going to buy. They seemed to have potential in making it as a band, and it would be nice to help them on their way. Girls that were standing in line looked me up and down, their eyes sticking to my body and breaking me up. It was weird to have eyes on me when I just wanted to be another part of the crowd. Didn’t they have something better to look at? There were five hot guys standing before them at the table, not to mention all the others that had come to watch the show.
My phone started to vibrate and I looked at it to see a text message from Alyssa. It said that she saw me, and to look at the merch table. When I did, she was waving her arms like a maniac, calling my name, “Delilah! Over here!” It really was a sight to see.
Approaching the table, I handed her a fifty note and picked up a small t-shirt, because those were the best for cutting, and a CD. The total value was only fifteen, but I loved to help. “How are you, dude? I haven’t seen you since graduation.”
She opened the closed-off part of the tables and pulled me behind them, Yeah, this was really getting the attention of everyone. I just turned my back to the crowd and quietly talked with Alyssa while she sold merchandise to other fans. “What brought you here to the show? If I would have known you’d be here, you’d have been with me backstage,” Alyssa said to her, smiling.
“I just wanted to get out, you know?” I said, leaning against the table, “At the end of the year, I decided to go to tons of shows and parties. All summer I mostly sat around the house and wrote songs and poems though.” I laughed, looking at Alyssa.
“Is that really all you did? I must start taking you out!” Alyssa’s eyes showed devilish qualities.
As more of the fans started to get their merch before leaving, I decided to stand against the wall so Alyssa could do her job. I was looking down at my phone, but the eyes I felt staring at me broke my concentration. When I looked up I saw the bands singer, Bradley, smiling at me. He had a really nice smile, and it made his eyes stand out. I smiled back so I wouldn’t seem rude, but I was curious as to why he was watching me.
After he had finished signing the poster a girl had handed him, he made his way over to me. “Hey,” I said, taking the hand he had extended to me, “I’m Delilah.” It felt like a formal setting, or something you would see in a movie.
His voice was soft, not at all sounding like it had when he was singing, “I’m Bradley. Pleased to meet you, Delilah.” He sat down on the table, motioning for me to sit next to him. I scooted up against the wall, Alyssa sitting on the other side of me. “You know Alyssa?” He asked me, his voice sounding confused.
Alyssa and I just looked at each other and laughed. She put her arm around my shoulder, “We went to high school together,” Bradley nodded at her explanation. “I’ll be bringing her to all the shows, so you can get to know her some other time playa playa. Right now, I’m taking her out to dinner.” Alyssa jumped up and pulled my by my arm out to the front.
Bradley. He seemed really nice, really friendly. It was a shame that Alyssa had dragged me off; it would have been nice to talk to him more, but I had sworn to myself I would go out and have fun. Not go after guys.
Since she had brought her car, and I had brought mine, we decided that I would follow her to wherever it was she decided we would have dinner. After that we would head to the theatre for a movie and then to her house for some ‘girl time’. It was nice knowing that I would be having something to do. If I went to every Romance Is Dead show with her I would definitely meet more people.
After about half an hour of mindless driving, Alyssa finally pulled up at the Cheesecake Factory. I parked next to her and got out of the car. “Cheesecake for dinner?” I exclaimed like a kid, “Yes, please!” I certainly looked ridiculous, but she just laughed and we went inside. I liked to eat, especially sugary food. Alyssa actually treated me to cheesecake for dinner, which was really nice of her.
“So why did you decide to start partying and go to tons of shows, exactly?” She asked me when I had a mouth full of cake. It was the perfect moment for the question though, because then I didn’t have to answer right away. I chewed really slowly, trying to think of a response that would make sense to her.
She began to tap her foot, “Even though we stopped hanging out all the time a while ago, I still know you well enough to know what you are avoiding it. Chew your cake or I’m eating the rest!” Her voice was joking, of course.
I laughed at her and pulled the plate into my lap, the goofiest look on my face. “Alright, well you know how I broke up with Jordan before the end of the year, right? I just realized that I wasn’t living life and experiencing things like everyone else was; wanting to have the perfect relationship was holding me back. So I decided that I was going to do things for me, live for me, and do it well. I put everything that reminded me of one of my exes into the garage and totally re-did my room.” I paused to take a bite of cake, “You should see it though. I now have strings of Christmas lights around the ceiling and pictures I’ve taken completely covering the wall above my bed. Honestly, you wouldn’t even know it was my room. What have you been doing this whole time?”
She laughed and pointed to the Romance Is Dead logo on her shirt, “I told you I was the merch girl! That’s literally all I’ve done. I’ve designed shirts, posters, put together CDs, all that good stuff. I went out on a couple of dates with Sanders, that one kid that kept asking me out last year-“
I couldn’t help but interrupt her, “You went out with Sanders?” I had all about shouted it, and she started laughing so hard that soda almost came out of her nose.
“Yes, I went out with Sanders,” she laughed, “He was really nice, but I felt like he was just too clingy. Plus, the music scene wasn’t his thing, which was a problem for me.” I nodded at her quick explanation, trying not to laugh any more than I already had. Sanders had always been a lurker, you’d never know when he was around. He could have been around at that moment.
Our chatter about what we had been up to since school got out continued on for almost another hour, but it was nice. She paid for our ‘dinner’ and we headed to the theatres to catch a movie. There would probably be only three or so theatres that weren’t full, so we’d have to pick the movie when we got there. Instead of following each other to the theatre like we had for dinner though, we dropped off my car at the house and picked up my things for the night. As I got back into her car, she quickly sped off towards our next destination.
The light breeze outside the concert hall was nice against my face. It had been really hot inside, with all the people, but now it was just nice and cool. From what I had heard of the end of the show, Romance Is Dead was a pretty good band. I would have to come to another one of their shows, but actually show up on time. All the mixing voices inside could be heard outside and I wondered why it was such a big deal for people to talk to band members at a local show. It wasn’t like seeing a band like Falling In Reverse or even a rapper like Eminem live, so I didn’t see how it was such a big deal.
After people started to filter out, I decided to go back in and get some pictures with the band members. This fall was going to be perfect; hitting up tons of shows and parties. I was done with school now, officially, and it was time for me to start living. Of course, I would have to have pictures so everyone could see what a great time I’m having and to look back at later on.
When I got back into the room where the band was at, there were still quite a few people crowding around the table asking for autographs on phone cases and iPods. One girl was talking to the drummer and asked him to sign her boobs. Unluckily for her, she and her friend were asked to leave as the band wasn’t into degrading women like that, nor did they want anyone acting in such a manner at their shows. Gentlemen. They were hard to find now a days.
I decided to stand in line and have them autograph a copy of their CD I was going to buy. They seemed to have potential in making it as a band, and it would be nice to help them on their way. Girls that were standing in line looked me up and down, their eyes sticking to my body and breaking me up. It was weird to have eyes on me when I just wanted to be another part of the crowd. Didn’t they have something better to look at? There were five hot guys standing before them at the table, not to mention all the others that had come to watch the show.
My phone started to vibrate and I looked at it to see a text message from Alyssa. It said that she saw me, and to look at the merch table. When I did, she was waving her arms like a maniac, calling my name, “Delilah! Over here!” It really was a sight to see.
Approaching the table, I handed her a fifty note and picked up a small t-shirt, because those were the best for cutting, and a CD. The total value was only fifteen, but I loved to help. “How are you, dude? I haven’t seen you since graduation.”
She opened the closed-off part of the tables and pulled me behind them, Yeah, this was really getting the attention of everyone. I just turned my back to the crowd and quietly talked with Alyssa while she sold merchandise to other fans. “What brought you here to the show? If I would have known you’d be here, you’d have been with me backstage,” Alyssa said to her, smiling.
“I just wanted to get out, you know?” I said, leaning against the table, “At the end of the year, I decided to go to tons of shows and parties. All summer I mostly sat around the house and wrote songs and poems though.” I laughed, looking at Alyssa.
“Is that really all you did? I must start taking you out!” Alyssa’s eyes showed devilish qualities.
As more of the fans started to get their merch before leaving, I decided to stand against the wall so Alyssa could do her job. I was looking down at my phone, but the eyes I felt staring at me broke my concentration. When I looked up I saw the bands singer, Bradley, smiling at me. He had a really nice smile, and it made his eyes stand out. I smiled back so I wouldn’t seem rude, but I was curious as to why he was watching me.
After he had finished signing the poster a girl had handed him, he made his way over to me. “Hey,” I said, taking the hand he had extended to me, “I’m Delilah.” It felt like a formal setting, or something you would see in a movie.
His voice was soft, not at all sounding like it had when he was singing, “I’m Bradley. Pleased to meet you, Delilah.” He sat down on the table, motioning for me to sit next to him. I scooted up against the wall, Alyssa sitting on the other side of me. “You know Alyssa?” He asked me, his voice sounding confused.
Alyssa and I just looked at each other and laughed. She put her arm around my shoulder, “We went to high school together,” Bradley nodded at her explanation. “I’ll be bringing her to all the shows, so you can get to know her some other time playa playa. Right now, I’m taking her out to dinner.” Alyssa jumped up and pulled my by my arm out to the front.
Bradley. He seemed really nice, really friendly. It was a shame that Alyssa had dragged me off; it would have been nice to talk to him more, but I had sworn to myself I would go out and have fun. Not go after guys.
Since she had brought her car, and I had brought mine, we decided that I would follow her to wherever it was she decided we would have dinner. After that we would head to the theatre for a movie and then to her house for some ‘girl time’. It was nice knowing that I would be having something to do. If I went to every Romance Is Dead show with her I would definitely meet more people.
After about half an hour of mindless driving, Alyssa finally pulled up at the Cheesecake Factory. I parked next to her and got out of the car. “Cheesecake for dinner?” I exclaimed like a kid, “Yes, please!” I certainly looked ridiculous, but she just laughed and we went inside. I liked to eat, especially sugary food. Alyssa actually treated me to cheesecake for dinner, which was really nice of her.
“So why did you decide to start partying and go to tons of shows, exactly?” She asked me when I had a mouth full of cake. It was the perfect moment for the question though, because then I didn’t have to answer right away. I chewed really slowly, trying to think of a response that would make sense to her.
She began to tap her foot, “Even though we stopped hanging out all the time a while ago, I still know you well enough to know what you are avoiding it. Chew your cake or I’m eating the rest!” Her voice was joking, of course.
I laughed at her and pulled the plate into my lap, the goofiest look on my face. “Alright, well you know how I broke up with Jordan before the end of the year, right? I just realized that I wasn’t living life and experiencing things like everyone else was; wanting to have the perfect relationship was holding me back. So I decided that I was going to do things for me, live for me, and do it well. I put everything that reminded me of one of my exes into the garage and totally re-did my room.” I paused to take a bite of cake, “You should see it though. I now have strings of Christmas lights around the ceiling and pictures I’ve taken completely covering the wall above my bed. Honestly, you wouldn’t even know it was my room. What have you been doing this whole time?”
She laughed and pointed to the Romance Is Dead logo on her shirt, “I told you I was the merch girl! That’s literally all I’ve done. I’ve designed shirts, posters, put together CDs, all that good stuff. I went out on a couple of dates with Sanders, that one kid that kept asking me out last year-“
I couldn’t help but interrupt her, “You went out with Sanders?” I had all about shouted it, and she started laughing so hard that soda almost came out of her nose.
“Yes, I went out with Sanders,” she laughed, “He was really nice, but I felt like he was just too clingy. Plus, the music scene wasn’t his thing, which was a problem for me.” I nodded at her quick explanation, trying not to laugh any more than I already had. Sanders had always been a lurker, you’d never know when he was around. He could have been around at that moment.
Our chatter about what we had been up to since school got out continued on for almost another hour, but it was nice. She paid for our ‘dinner’ and we headed to the theatres to catch a movie. There would probably be only three or so theatres that weren’t full, so we’d have to pick the movie when we got there. Instead of following each other to the theatre like we had for dinner though, we dropped off my car at the house and picked up my things for the night. As I got back into her car, she quickly sped off towards our next destination.
♠ ♠ ♠
