That Moment I First Saw You (TFF Fanfic)

Chapter 10: City of Love

       The flight to Paris was excruciatingly long for Delilah. It almost hurt her to sit for so long but she was able to handle it because she was with Roland. Ever since their first kiss the day before, she had not been able to stop thinking about his soft lips on her, the passion of his kiss and the warm, minty feel of his breath. The memory haunted her dreams, she could feel it whenever she closed her eyes and the thought of not being able to experience that for another eight plus hours made her impatient.
       They were both seated on the left side of the plane, her at the window, him directly next to her and Curt on the other side of him. Opposing to them, Ian, Manny and Nicky clumped together and looked deep in conversation. Leaning slightly forward to look past Roland, Delilah tentatively glanced at Nicky to find her leaning her head on Manny's shoulder and chatting with him happily. Gently smiling, Delilah nodded in approval. It was nice to see her happy. Too bad Roland and I can't be that open about our relationship. Almost like he had read her mind, Roland then scooted slightly closer to her and took her hand discretely in his. Looking up into his face, he tempted her with a smile that made her dizzy.
       With a sudden, unexpected movement he brought his mouth closer to her ear and said, "If you're worried about Nicky finding out, don't be. I promise you she won't." Turning to get a better look at him, Delilah almost thought that he was going to sneak a kiss when the airline attendant walked by and proceeded to ask them if they wanted a drink. He released her hand quickly and then told her to bring two waters and one extra one for the sleeping Curt. Slightly disillusioned at the attendant's interruption, Delilah understood why nobody could know that they were together. Not only would there be repercussions when the band found out, but there probably would be a major uprising amongst the fangirls who had wanted Roland to themselves.
                                ...
       It was evening when they arrived in Paris but not totally dark which created a dilemma for Delilah. If she went to bed right now, at 5 in the evening, then she would most likely wake up in the middle of the night which would not be good. Then, if she even wanted to stay up until it got late enough to sleep, she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to keep her eyes open. She was dead tired even though she had slept a bit on the plane. It was only when Roland suggested taking a walk with her that that she woke up completely.
       "Where are we going on this walk Ro?" Delilah whispered to him as they quickly walked down the hallway in order not to be caught by anyone from the band. "Somewhere as beautiful as the last time I hope." He smiled.
       "Now that's for me to know and you to find out. Have you ever been to Paris before?" She scoffed.
       "Paris? Please. I'd never even been out of my home town until I met you guys." Laughing, Roland turned to her and stopped in the middle of the hallway.
       "Well then you're lucky that you met me. Because you should really get out of the house more." It looked like he was about to kiss her since the hallway was empty but then Curt appeared out of nowhere. Roland quickly pulled back.
       "Hey, where you guys going? Aren't you going to rest after the plane flight?" Looking somewhat startled by Curt's sudden appearance and question, Roland tried to hide his hesitation about the question.
       "Ah, you know I'm just taking Delilah out to see some sights before we head in for the night. She's never been to Paris." Roland gave him a charming grin hiding his nervousness well.
       "And the camera?" Curt asked dubiously. "There's not going to be very good lighting for pictures since it's getting dark." Looking down, Delilah was surprised to just notice the camera that was slung over Roland's shoulder. She almost was surprised to see how old it looked and then she remembered. Oh right, 1985.
       "Well you know...sunset pictures are wonderful. Now if you will please excuse us Curt, we have to get out there before the sun sets." At that, Roland shifted nervously from one foot to the other hoping that his friend would not ask any more questions.
       "Ok..." Curt finally answered after an eternity. "Well have fun I guess." Giving them a small smile and wave Curt watched the couple quickly leave as he turned and thought to himself. Something happened when we were in Canada. Those two are acting really strange. He then smiled. Good, Roland deserves to be loved by someone. Now it's my turn to find the one for me.
                                 ...
       Delilah found herself looking up in awe at the Effel Tower which towered over her head. It was even more beautiful than it had looked in the pictures that she'd seen. With its tall, dark frame that shimmered in the golden sun it looked powerful yet beautiful. As she turned around, she suddenly noticed Roland pointing his camera up towards the tip of the Tower where the sun hung. Hearing the click she rushed over and waited for the picture to pop up on the camera's screen yet it never did. Rather a blank little white paper squirted out of it and she lightly chuckled.
       "Gee Roland, what are you doing with such an outdated camera?" she asked absent mindedly. "If you're such a famous pop-star, then why can't you afford a better quality one?" At this, he twisted his mouth to one side and gave her a confused look.
       "What do you mean, a better quality camera? This is the newest model which just came out this year. This is as high-quality as they get." Feeling surprise, she realized what her mistake was and cursed herself for yet again forgetting that this was 1985 not 2019.
       "Oh..." she said looking away. "I-I thought that I heard that there was another model coming out," she lied wincing guiltily. Giving her one last confused glance Roland seemed to let go of what she had said as he peered into his camera lense.
       "Hey, why don't I get a picture of you in front of the Effel Tower to preserve the moment?" Looking down, bashfully Delilah shook her head.
       "No, no pictures of me," she cringed. "I look horrible on film. And I don't want to always remember myself like that." Expecting him to drop the subject and move on, she glanced up only to find him staring at her in annoyance.
       "What in the world are you saying?" Shaking his head Roland then looked her intensely as she avoided his eye contact. "Delilah, you better not be saying that you think you're ugly because that would be the biggest delusion I think that I've ever heard." He paused and shrugged. "Well, other than you believing that I could update my camera even further." As he chuckled, she gave him a serious look.
       "It's not that I think that I'm ugly. I just don't think I look good in photos." Roland grabbed her chin and tipped her head up towards him so she'd meet his eye contact.
       "You, my love, are the most beautiful, photogenic women I have ever seen. And I do not want you thinking any differently." She blushed yet still looked doubtful of him. "If you don't believe me, let me show you a picture that I took when you weren't looking."
       Wanting to protest, Delilah decided against it as she observed the care in which he took to not wrinkle the picture as he pulled it out of his pocket. It was then that he showed her the picture that she gasped. Taking it gently in her fingertips, she admired the photo that showed her smelling a flower while the Effel Tower sat in the background.
       "Roland...this is beautiful," she whispered.
       "See, now you can believe me when I say that you're beautiful." She then turned to him, looked at him lovingly and kissed him gently as he wrapped his arms around her waist. They stayed there like that until the Parisian sun fell behind the Tower and night fell on Paris.