Two doors down | 5SOS

Eighteen

Two years later

Delilah remains silent throughout the long drive, staring out the window and listening to music when she's not texting her friends about how much her life sucks.

The last two years have been rougher than anything she'd experienced the last fifteen years of her life. At first she was pleased to live with her mom, despite missing her boys. Then when she had to go to public school, she was scared but remained optimistic. She started out as one of the quiet innocent weird kids and as she got picked on a bit and gradually made a few of the wrong type of friends, she learned everything she would have learned in public school the past ten years had she not been homeschooled, and all the information overwhelmed her.

She wanted to be like her friends, cool. So she stopped wearing her pastels- though she stuck fairly firmly to the skater skirts, just mostly in black now, with the occasional pair of ripped black skinny jeans thrown in. She didn't like the music they listened to at first but it grew on her, and when she learned about sex and drugs and alcohol and how every other teenager acts, she just wanted to fit in. Her clothes got more revealing and her behavior changed drastically and her mom hated it, but she was rarely home to do anything about it. She got home and made dinner and went to bed every day, that was all delilah saw of her.

She was pissed at her mom for raising her to be so different from other kids, and as she had learned about relationships she realized the way the boys treated her wasn't normal and although she missed them, she grew rather resentful, wondering if they had just been grooming her for their sick desires. She didn't want to believe that was the case, they had been so sweet and they were her only friends for so long.

At first she made calls to the boys at least once a week if not everyday, but the more she learned the less she called and the less she talked to them the deeper her suspicions and resentment grew, until she began declining their phone calls.

When they asked April, she didn't know the answer. She could only say she was talking less and being bratty more and seemed to be declining in behavior, cussing and arguing and sneaking out.

Eventually it got too much for April, when delilah started giving in to her friends pressuring her to have sex- April caught her making out with a boy in her room and grinding- and then one day when April got home delilah had a boy over and they were both drunk.

The last straw was when delilah stumbled in smelling horribly of weed, April was scared she'd try something worse and get killed or end up in jail. Delilah couldn't live with her anymore, and she couldn't live with her grandparents. She needed full time supervision and some serious guidance.

April debated with herself for a long time on whether or not it was okay for her to leave her daughter in the hands of four men but eventually decided they seemed nice and responsible and Delilah was probably better off with them.

So that's where they were heading. Her parents had divorced and both moved away from the neighboring house so there was no worrying about that.

Delilah doesn't know what will happen to her at the boys house. Her mother told her she'd be homeschooling again. Delilah is beyond angry. She wants to be with her friends and act like all the other teenagers. She doesn't want to go live with the men who are going to baby her and treat her like she's five and never let her leave their sight.

She ignores her moms attempts to talk with her during the three hour drive, angry and nervous.

When they arrive her mom helps her with her bags and Delilah feels similarly to when she was taken to her grandparents, glancing down the street to see the house. It's been repainted and there's a dog and two children running around the yard. She's glad it's full of happiness now. She's a lot angrier this time than she was then.

She startled as the door opens and can't bear to look, keeping her eyes glued to her feet.

"Hi, April, come on in." The deep voice says, she can tell they're smiling genuinely. "Hi delilah." She ignores the greeting.

"Here, let me take this to your room. The suitcase is taken from her by a new voice. She doesn't let herself decipher which voice belongs to which person. She keeps her jaw clenched and her eyes at the floor.

"Cmon Delilah." Her mother ushers her after them they make their way up the stairs to the guest room where they're putting her things. She lays her remaining bag on the bed and sits down.

"Well. If you're all settled, I'll be going." April smiles at the boys. "Give me a hug, lilah." Delilah stands and hugs her mother quickly, then sits back down.

"I love you. Good bye. Thankyou boys." Delilah mumbles it back and then her moms off.

April has informed the boys- well, they're mostly definitely men now, but she'll refer to them as she's used to- over the phone of her behavior.

"So." She still hasn't looked up, doesn't want to acknowledge that she's here or which boy is which, she wants to go to sleep and wake up and have everything be normal. "You haven't been doing too well at your moms, huh sweetheart?"

She shrugs.

"What happened?" No answer. She's met with a few sighs.

"Delilah." Nothing.

"Are you gonna answer? Or at least look up?" Finally, she takes a deep breath and looks. They look almost the same, definitely the same people.

Michaels hair is it's natural color now, or maybe lighter, she never really saw it natural. It suits him.

Lukes hair is shorter than it was, but it looks good. Still curly and his natural color an I'm sorry I hate how he has it dyed it does not look right I like the dark blonde don't come for me. Y'all picture them however you want Bc I still picture 2014 Luke Calum and Ashton and curren Michael lmao I'm just giving current descriptions for drama and emotion idk

Calums hair is curly, which surprises her briefly.

Ashtons hair is darker, longer, and less curly. They all are as beautiful as she remembers them.

Delilah herself has changed a bit, no longer sporting any cotton candy pink in her hair. She has it dyed black and it's grown fairly long. She also wears much more makeup then she used to, but still not tons.

The boys are immediate to take notice of her change in appearance. She doesn't look like a little girl anymore and they miss it.

"You must be hungry after that drive. You want anything?" Ashton asks and she makes eye contact with him and shrugs. She can tell her silence is irritating. Everything is awkward and no one knows exactly what to say.

"We missed you, sweetheart. It's been a long time since weve talked. Can we have hugs?" Luke finally asks and she glances to him, sucking her bottom lip between her teeth and chewing it. She slowly stands and lets them hug her but doesn't really hug back.

"Are you hungry?" She's asked again, this time by Calum. She knows it's Michael who'd greeted them at the door, now, heading their voices again.

"Yeah." She mumbles. They smile and head downstairs for dinner.

It's awkward and silent like the rest of the night was, and as soon as hers is finished she's rushing to her room without being excused and closing her door, wanting to be alone and process everything.