Two doors down | 5SOS

Fifteen

"Mama!" Delilah's excited voice rings through the phone as she picks up her mothers call.

"Hi baby! How is everything?" Her mom greets happily.

"Good. I miss you though." The little girl pouts. "But I'm okay. The other day the boys took me ice skating!"

"Really? Was that fun? Did you fall?" April smiles as she picks at her hands while talking to her daughter in her office on her lunch break.

"It was fun, I fell a few times but it didn't hurt, really." Delilah smiles and kicks her heels against her bed frame gently as she talks. "How are you?"

"I'm good, sweetheart. I miss you, baby. Listen, we need to talk about something, okay?" Delilah bites her lip nervously at her mothers words and tone.

"Okay..." she hums.

"Okay, baby. I'm fine with you hanging out with the neighbors, I'm happy you're doing fun stuff and all, but you also need to make sure you keep up on schoolwork. You're falling quite a bit behind, and I don't want to nag you because usually you're very good about doing schoolwork and you do a good job, but you've been falling behind."

Delilah frowns and nods, pulling her legs up to her chest. "I know." She whispers, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry, I just- when there's other fun stuff to do I don't think about it or when I do I don't wanna do it right then and then I don't get around to it." The little girl explains sadly.

"I know, bunny. Listen, I want you to give me those boys phone numbers, okay?" Delilah frowns at that.

"Why?"

"So that they can remind you to do schoolwork. I'm sure you'd rather they make sure you're keeping up than your grandparents, right?"

"Yes." Delilah pouts. "But please don't-"

"Don't argue with me please, Delilah. You're a good girl, I know you are, and I'm sure they do too. I'm not mad at you or anything, and I'm not trying to embarrass you, but those boys are older and more responsible and I trust them to help you keep up. If you don't, you won't be allowed to do fun stuff like go ice skating anymore, and your grandparents will be the ones making sure you keep up on school, alright? So you text me the boys phone numbers, okay, sweet girl?"

"Yes mama." Delilah frowns, kicking her feet again. "I don't have their numbers because usually I just go to their house to talk to them, but I'll get them."

"Okay, baby. My lunch breaks almost over, but I love you and I miss you so much, sweetheart." April sighs into the phone, making a kiss noise.

"Okay, bye mama, love you." Delilah wait for her mom to hang up and then sighs and lays back on her bed. After a minute of thinking and feeling sorry for herself she gets up and takes her phone over to the boys house, her grandparents not noticing her leaving or questioning her.

She doesn't bother knocking, just walls in and quietly goes upstairs, to the living room, where the four boys are laying on the couch, partially entangled together. They all look to the door and smile, greeting the little girl.

Delilah doesn't say anything in response to their sweet hellos, but comes and sits on Ashton's lap, as he's in the middle, and lays her head against his chest, hands reaching out to grab the hands of the boys on either side of her, Michael and Calum.

Luke comes to kneel down behind her, hands on her waist, and kisses her cheek. "What's wrong, pretty girl?" He hums, and Delilah whines.

"My mom wants your guys's numbers so she can tell you when I'm behind on school and you guys can remind to keep up." The small girl mutters.

"That's alright baby, here, do you have your phone?" Michael asks, and Delilah hands over the device, cuddling into ashtons chest and enjoying the warmth of Luke who's leaning against her back a bit. Michael puts them in her phone as contacts and also sends the contacts to April and sets the electronic down to lean against her side like calums already doing, kissing at her cheek.

"Can we cuddle in a bed?" Delilah asks sleepily, and the boys softly chuckle around her. She smiles at the sounds, she likes that sound, all their soft laughs entangled together around her.

Soon she's being carried to the nearest room, and set down against a new persons chest, who lays back with her so she's laying face down with her head on their chest and her legs falling between theirs. She takes in a deep breath and smiles at calums scent, hugging her arms around his stomach.

"Would you like anything else, babygirl?" Ashton asks, but Delilah shakes her head. 

"Just wanna cuddle." She sighs. The boys all get in and around her, cuddling up to her and eachother.

Delilah whines when all four of their phones go off at once. "What's she say?" She asks solemnly, and the boys smile.

"She said "hello, this is april, Delilah's mum, I hope you don't mind that I had Delilah give me your phone numbers, but she's falling behind on school and my parents are not the most patient so I thought you would be better people to remind Delilah to stay on top of her work."" Luke reads the message off and Delilah sighs and nods. Luke types an answer back, Delilah doesn't bother asking what it is, and then he lays down again, holding Delilah's hand that's extended to him, stoking her arm.

"Can we go roller skating tomorrow?" She asks quietly after a few silent minutes.

"Not tomorrow, sweet baby-" Delilah inturrupts with a whiny 'why? Pleeaase?' To which Ashton sighs, reaching over to pinch her thigh, and then continues. "As I was saying, tomorrow we all work-" Ashton is cut off by calum, and he sighs again.

"I don't. But you have to do some school, alright, babygirl?" Delilah whines quietly but nods.

"Can I do it here? I don't like being there when my grandparents are around." She mumbles, and calum nods.

"Of course you can, baby pie."