ROSES (Oli Sykes Fan Fiction) COMPLETE

THE BRIT AWARDS

Things were going good for me. I was back to my pre-baby weight, Ivy was starting to sleep longer through the night which meant I was getting more un-interrupted sleep, and my social life had improved too. My friends were visiting and taking me out for lunch and shopping trips sometimes, plus Cassidy and I took Ivy for walks around the parks and waterfront too. Nobody hassled me on instagram since I'd deleted the last photo I posted of Ivy, in fact, my followers had grown with Mom and baby-related pages since I'd posted about her.

Oli was due back to San Francisco for a short visit in a few days, but we still talked every single day. Quite often he actually called me and I felt like we had become pretty comfortable with each other. The awkwardness and resorting to talking about the weather seemed to have disappeared and now I even joked with him again. He seemed happy, and I was too. I think I'd finally found a happy place, a middle ground, somewhere I felt like myself again, and that felt incredible.

I was feeding Ivy one night, just a couple of days before Oli was due for another visit, and I noticed Oli was online, so I decided to say Hello. He was usually the one to initiate conversation, but instead of waiting for him, I decided to message him for a change. I didn't want him to think our friendship was one sided or that I didn't want to talk to him.

I said hello and he replied, but something felt different. The way he replied was kind of short, tense. I couldn't explain it, but he just seemed off, so I called him. I video called him. Maybe I could help him with whatever it was that was bothering him if he was willing to talk to me about it. He had helped me 100 times with Ivy, it was about time I found a way to help him...

"Hey." he said when he answered.
"Hey, is everything OK? You seem stressed or something." I asked. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something seemed off compared to the way he usually was. It was even more apparent now that I could see him. He shook his head and frowned as he looked at me through the screen.
"How the fuck do you do that?" he questioned.
"Do what?" I asked.
"Pick up on my mood when I'm being totally the same as always." he laughed.
"Umm, maybe because I don't think you're being totally the same as always?" I shrugged. He just laughed. "But you knew from messages?" he asked.
"Call it a hunch." I replied with a smile. "So come on, what's on your mind? What's bothering you?" I asked, hoping he'd tell me. He shook his head with a smile then let out a heavy breath.
"It's nothing, really. We're just doing a live performance at the Brit awards tonight." he said.
"Is that a bad thing?" I questioned, not understanding. It sounded amazing!
"I just hate doing award show performances... they make me nervous as hell." he replied. Aww, poor Oli. I had sympathy for him, though I couldn't completely fathom his fear.
"Nervous? You literally sing in front of thousands of people every other night." I said.
"Yeah but they're people who like my band, who have chosen to come to our show and want to hear me... not a bunch of important people, and people who can sing better than me... who probably don't even think I belong there." he replied. Was he serious?
"Don't belong there? Come on, you're like one of the most famous bands in the UK!" I replied. "And at least you can sing! Have you even heard some artists without their auto-tune?!" I giggled. He kind of laughed, but he was still clearly unconvinced. "Seriously, if you were shit you wouldn't have millions of fans. And besides, you have a great voice when you don't just shout words." I said cheekily with a fake eye roll. "You sing to Ivy and she doesn't start crying because you suck. She loves it, and you just about put me to sleep sometimes too!" I smiled.
"You love Daddy's singing, don't you baby girl?" I asked Ivy, who was in her little mobile bed beside the couch. That made him smile and I hoped my job was done.
"You know, if you ever decide you don't want to do the whole environment thing, you could be a life coach. I swear you always know the right things to say to calm me the fuck down and make me feel better." he chuckled.
"One of my many talents." I smiled playfully. He just smiled back at me. "Seriously though, stop worrying about the show. You'll be great! You'll probably just wake everyone up after they fall asleep listening to the hundredth lovey-dovey, cookie-cutter, pop song or rapper singing monotone about bitches and hoes." I said with a shrug. He laughed so hard, beaming that perfect smile at me as he chuckled.
"Thanks Roses." he said.
"No problem." I replied.