No One Does It Better

Oli's P.O.V

A year can change a lot of things, a year can be something to remember, or something you wish you could forget. The past year had been the most grueling of my life. It’s been a year since Josh Franceschi last laid his lips on mine, a year since he gave me the most beautiful kiss of my life and then ran away once he realized what he had done. Apparently, he loved me too, apparently he was just too scared to wait things out with me; apparently, he didn’t love me enough to stick around. It’s been a year since I've seen him, a year since he recorded Hold Me Down, a year since I've recorded Sempiternal. These albums brought around the most amazing success that I had ever come to face; my bands 3 previous albums were even flying off shelves now that people knew who we were. And You Me at Six? Their now a powerhouse of mass proportions. You can't ignore that fact, but it only makes me feel worse. It’s been a year since Josh had been to the UK, a year since I had heard the words “I’m sorry, I can't.” but I see him all the time, whether if it’s on tabloids or in interviews, he’s always there. It still hurts as bad as it did day one, or two, or three…but there hasn’t been a thing I could do about.

“Baby, are you alright?”

The small voice from under the cover piped up as I sighed in agitation at myself, I had been thinking about the past again. I forced myself to smile as I turned down the covers and gazed down at the person who was sprawled out beside me, Hannah.

“Yes, love. I'm fine, just woke up in a weird mood, no need to worry.” I assured her through tired words and a phony smile, but she seemed to buy it okay. Yes, I was dating Hannah. I figured if the love of my life didn’t want me than I should be with someone who did; and Hannah made it all too clear that she cared for me, but it took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that Josh would never want to be mine. Did I love Hannah? Yes, I loved her quite a lot, but did I love her as much as Josh? Never, and I never would. I knew it wasn’t fair to the devoted woman who lay beside me, but I think part of her knew where my loyalties stood. I would never do anything to purposely hurt her, no, I would never cheat or lie or anything of the sort. But if Josh Franceschi knocked on my door right now and begged me to take him back…would I?

“Stop pouting, you're making Oskar sad!” she whined as he propped herself up and hauled our small miniature dachshund out from under the covers, I couldn’t suppress a laugh as he flopped around in agitation.

“Oh no, not Oskar!” I cried out, using one of my hands to swoop up the small dog and the other to bring Hannah closer to me, she giggled as I pulled her flush to my chest and laid Oskar on top of me.

“Aw, my boys are the best.” She cooed as he reached up to peck me on the cheek, for a brief second I got a flashback from when Josh and I would lay like this, the thought made me shiver.

“Babe…are you sure you’re okay? You seem off today…” she frowned as I shot her a knowing look,

“I'm-“

*RING*

I groaned as I reached on my bedside table and grabbed hold of my phone, Tom was calling.

“Hey bro,” I answered, giving Hannah an apologetic look; she shrugged it off and began to attack Oskar with kisses which the dog returned eagerly. I smiled to myself,

“Oli, I have some news that may be a bit of a mood breaker for you today…” he sounded disgruntled from what I could hear; somewhere in the background I heard Lee and Vegan arguing over something.

“No way will he agree to this!” I heard Lee groan,

“Tom, what is it?” I asked nervously as my palms began to sweat, he sighed.

“So guess who’s touring with You Me at Six?” I didn’t know, but from the sound of his voice it could only mean this was going to be something that would turn my world upside down.

“I don’t know…” I mumbled, Hannah glanced up at me and widened her eyes, I must have been turning an awful shade of pale as four words escaped my brothers lips.

“Bring me The Horizon,” he spoke softly, but I heard him clear as day.

“What? Who arranged that?” I asked, suddenly feeling bitter about the whole situation.

“What do you think? The label and both of the band managers, they say you and Josh need to duke it out in a sort, their tired of you both refusing to tour together. If you don’t come on the tour Epitaph is dropping you and bring me, so you have to man up and go, Oliver.” Tom sounded a bit agitated with me, and in all reality; I didn’t blame him.

“Fine, when is this tour and where?” I bit my lip in anticipation,

“Next month, you leave on the first and will be gone for three months, It’s in the USA, Canada, and bits of South America. I’ll be going with you obviously, but you’re going to have to tough it out. You and Josh need to bury the hatchet, and I know you both still love the fuck out of each other, no pun intended mind you, but don’t be all depressed and angry the whole time were gone. I don’t want to have to make Hannah come along,” I tensed as he mentioned bringing my girlfriend with us, it wasn’t like I didn’t like her coming on tours; no I loved her coming with me and seeing our shows…but not around Josh. No, I don’t want those two anywhere near each other right now, and rightfully so.

“Fine, when are we going to meet up with YMAS and get set lists and supports?” I saw Hannah gasp a little bit before she paled herself, I couldn’t say that I blamed her. I wouldn’t want her going on a tour with her ex either. I shook my head slightly and leaned down to press my lips to hers briefly, for some reason, It didn’t feel the same as it usually did.

“Tonight…heh,” Tom laughed awkwardly and I felt my stomach drop,

“You’re kidding!” I bellowed, no way I was ready to see him this soon!

“Nope, so stop complaining and go get ready, we meet up at Max’s house, 6 p.m sharp; pun intended. See you then…” I heard a click on his end of the line and then silence, I heard Hannah make a ‘hmph’ sound before picking up Oskar and sliding out of bed.

“Hannah, wait…” I pleaded while I slipped on my boxers and chased after her while she slipped on her robe and paraded into the living room. I finally caught up with her when she laid Oskar on the couch; I grabbed her by the arm and spun her around; noticing how tears were already falling from her tired eyes.

“Hannah…” I consoled as I wrapped my arms around the frail woman and brought her into my chest where she cried for what seemed like the longest time. I almost felt guilty for agreeing to go on this tour, but my job was on the line; which meant our house and my cars were up also. Sure, I wouldn’t have a problem signing with a new label, but that would be more tedious then not going.

“Why are you so upset?” I asked her, I knew it was dumb question; I would be livid if she was going on a three month trip with her ex, and one that she had feelings for…I would be furious. It wasn’t like I tried to make Hannah second best to Josh, no, I tried to love her more than him; but in the month that Josh and I were together I fell more in love with him then I had in a year with her. She knew she didn’t stand a chance if things between me and him were reignited, and I felt like a horrible person in admitting that it was true. I wanted to hate him; hell it was safer that way, but something about him made that all the more intriguing. If I couldn’t have Josh, I would have Hannah who was the next best thing; as horrible as that sounds.

“Oli, I know you and him are going to get back together…call it woman’s intuition or whatever but I know it’s true. I guess it just sucks to realize it’s going to happen no matter what I say or do. I love you but you love him more, and that’s that. I knew that when you asked me to be yours, I knew it came with a high price…but Oli, its okay. If I can't have you as a lover then I want you as a friend, but I’ll always love you.” She leaned up and pecked me on the cheek while I clung harder to her,

“Hannah…your too good for me, I love you too…but your right…I am still madly in love with him. I wish It wasn’t true, because you don’t deserve that. Please, don’t think that I'm going to beg him to come back to me, because I'm not…all I'm saying is…” I choked up as the tears fell from my eyes, she quickly wiped them away.

“Oh god Oli, look at us!” she giggled as she threw her hands around my neck, I chuckled in return. “Who am I to stand in between you and Josh? So I'm telling you right now; go get him back. I know I could never compare to him when it comes to you, and before you’re my boyfriend, you're my best friend. He is better for you then I am, I've always knew that, you two were made for each other!” it was moments like this when I realized how blessed I truly was, instead of getting angry or throwing a fit, she understood me. I kissed her forehead and gave her a squeeze before spinning her around for no real reason. She cackled when I swooped her up in my arms and marched over to the sofa where I plopped down, holding her bridal style still while she collected our dog in her arms.

“So your giving me permission to try and win him back?” I questioned, still not entirely sure of what she was hinting at. She nodded her head as Oskar stretched out on her legs before plopping down,

“That’s what I'm saying. You deserve one more shot at it with him, if it doesn’t work…I’ll be here when you get home.” She smiled up at me and I could feel myself start to cry once again; “Oh, Oli! Please don’t cry anymore!” she cooed as she began to tear up herself, we laughed as we wiped the water off of the others face.

“Hannah, I promise this is the last chance he gets…if this doesn’t work, I won’t talk about him ever again. I'll always love you, but if he still doesn’t want me…then I will devote myself to you. I just can't move forward with you unless I know my chance with him is gone…thank you for understanding that.” I kissed her nose and allowed her to sink into my chest,

“But promise me one thing Oli?” she inquired, I grunted in response.

“Promise we can still have movie nights and cuddle even if Josh is around? Hell! I’d love to cuddle up with you boys!” she laughed awkwardly when I burst into a fit of giggles,

“I promise, you will be able to come cuddle with us whenever you want, you cuddle monster. But Hannah, how am I going to get him back exactly? I mean, how could I press him into giving me one final answer?” I sighed as I realized this task was going to be harder than I thought, Hannah shook her head.

“Well I have an idea, and we’re going to need you in your finest clothing and a whole lot of flowers and chocolate!” she snickered, but I knew she was serious. If I was going to win Josh back over, I would need help, and by help I meant I would need my girlfriend. Oh the irony.