Hey There, Delilah - A 5 Seconds of Summer story

Chapter 26

Damn this boy was persistent.

He always had been, though. He’d never given up on me. Never stopped pestering me to do something with him until I gave in.

He’d never given up on my dreams even when I had.

“Del? You there?”

I blinked, coming out of my thoughts. Luke’s smile was soft. He was also standing a lot closer, only an arms length away. If I stretched out my hand, I could touch his shoulder…

“Delilah?”

“What?” I snapped back to reality. “Sorry. What did you say?”

“I said can we talk?” Luke said, licking his lips nervously.

Last nights events all came rushing back to me and I put a defiant hand on my hip. “Damn right we can. I have some things to ask you.”

Luke swallows, looking nervous. “Fair enough.”

I walked straight past him and take a seat on the couch.

Running a hand over his hair, he sits on the opposite end to me.

We sit there for a few minutes, just watching each other in the silence.

I memorised his face. He was running his tongue nervously over his lips. His blue eyes were shrouded with an emotion I couldn’t read. His fists were clenching and unclenching.

I bit my lip and took a deep breath, indicating that I would start.

“Why did you kiss me?” I blurted.

So that wasn’t the question I’d had in mind to ask first.

Luke’s eyes went even darker. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“Why did you run away?” Luke challenged.

“I don’t know.”

“Really?”

I did know. It had all been too much. Luke had always done that. He had always wanted something from me that I couldn’t seem to give. He’d wanted something more from me that I didn’t know how to give, something that I wasn’t aware he was even missing.

I twined my fingers together. “I’m sorry though.”

“What?” Luke look startled, not expecting the apology.

A bitter half-smile appeared on my face. “I said, I’m sorry. And thank you for the song, Luke. It was…thank you.”

“Did you like it?” Luke said, eagerly. “We’ve been rehearsing it since your birthday. It was gonna be a surprise on our last show, but I thought you needed a bit of cheering up.”

Damn it, he was ticking more boxes on the ‘best guy ever’ list than I was comfortable with.

I smiled, fully this time. “It was amazing. It sounded so good, better than the original.”

Luke grinned. “Thanks. I’m glad you liked it.”

“I meant to stick around.” I said, leaning back against the arm of the couch. “I just…I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s ok.” Luke shifted closer, until he was only a few feet away from me. “Del. It’s ok. Don’t cry.”

“I’m not.” I insisted, wiping my eyes. “I just feel bad. For leaving.”

“It’s past now.” Luke shrugged it off easily. “Are you ok?”

“I have to learn how to not cry.” I muttered.

“Showing emotion isn’t weak.”

“I never said it was. Just wish I could stop crying.”

Luke was quiet, stroking my hair lightly. I hunched down, resting my head on his shoulder.

There were so many unsaid words between us. Stuff he was holding back for reasons I didn’t know, and stuff I was too scared to say.

“Why did you kiss me last night?” I whispered, almost hoping it would go unheard.

He heard.

Luke stilled, his hand just resting on the top of my head.

“For the same reason that you kissed me back.” He replied, equally as quietly as I had.

I swallowed. “I don’t know why I did.”

“I know.”

Maybe it was the way he’d said it with such knowledge, like he knew my secrets before I did. Either way, the fact that he knew something so precious about me that I hadn’t even grasped yet, annoyed the hell out of me.

I got to my feet. “You can’t know something about me that I don’t even know. That’s not fair.”

I was well aware that I was being irrational. But the words were throwing themselves out of my mouth.

I stormed into the bathroom to change, throwing on a sunny yellow sundress and white thongs.

When I got back out, Luke was gone, and Jules, Em and Stella were in his place.

The looks on their faces could only be deemed excited in a way that only a girl can feel.

I felt my own mouth spread into an answering grin. “He asked you out.”

Jules nodded ecstatically and we all shrieked with joy.

Someone turned on the music and we all danced around the tour bus like mad things.