That Moment I First Saw You (TFF Fanfic)

Chapter 13: The Last Dance

       Roland nearly felt sick to his stomach as he sat at a large table with Manny, Curt, Ian and a few other people from other bands. He fiddled with his drink, which was non-alcoholic to his dismay, and nearly dropped it in his attempt to bring it to his lips. Curt grabbed his arm.
       "Roland, calm down." He tried to give him a soothing smile but Roland just frowned back at him.
       "Why did I ever agree to wear this stupid suit?" He sighed in agitation and brushed crumbs off of his sleeve. "I hate suits, they're too tight-".
       "Roland," Curt answered giving him a small smile. "It's not the suit and you know it." Roland sighed in response as he watched everyone at the table turn to him.
       "I know. I-I'm just nervous that I'm going to make a fool of myself in front of her..."
       "You won't. Just be yourself and you'll be fine." With that Curt gave his friend one last reassuring grin and then looked above his head. "Oh wow."
       "Hubba hubba," Manny crooned.
       "Is that-?" began Ian. Slowly turning around to see what they were talking about, Roland was taken aback by who he saw.
       Standing atop of the large stairs that brought each new guest down onto the dancefloor, there stood a beautiful stranger with feathered blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. Standing up to get a better look at her, it only took him a second to realize that it wasn't a stranger at all, rather, it was Delilah. She looks... he began to think but was then interrupted by her rapid decent down the stairs. He walked up to her and smiled down at the bashful girl.
       "You look beautiful," he whispered making her blush softly.
       "You don't look so bad yourself," she whispered back with a shy glance up from under her eyelashes. At that, a slow song began to play which brought her back to her childhood and made her rock to it's beat. Seeing her reaction, Roland got the hint.
       "Care to dance?" He grabbed her hand and she laughed beautifully.
       "I'd love to." At that, he then whisked her onto the dance floor and took her by the waist while she grabbed his shoulders. After a minute of awkward slow swaying, they finally found their rhythm and Roland took a moment to admire her.
       The smooth, white dress which reached the floor hugged her curves nicely and sparkled with a hint of glitter. A small strand of pearls dangled from her neck and short heels gave her enough of a boost to help her almost reach Roland's height. She had a touch of mascara and lipstick, but not so much that it overpowered her natural beauty.
       "Did I tell you that you look beautiful yet?" he asked playing dumb.
       "Hm, I seem to remember that," she answered contemplatively. "And did I tell you that you look handsome in a suit?" He winced.
       "Aw, please don't say that. I hate wearing them, but if you asked, I might be tempted to put one on everyday just for you." To his comment, Delilah caressed his face, yet pulled away quickly in fear of who might see.
       "You remind me of my dad when you say that," she said with a small, pained smile. Roland's face turned serious.
       "Is he the reason why you left home?" Startled by the question, Delilah sent him a surprised glance.
       "Yes...and no," she responded. "It's actually both my parents. They're always fighting, always saying that they want to get a divorce," she paused and then scoffed at herself, "but you probably don't want to hear about my problems."
       "No, please, tell me," he interceded. "I want to know why you left." She almost considered telling him to forget about it but she continued.
       "If I had to pin it on anything," she recalled thoughtfully. "I would say it wasn't just my parents but rather everything. My school mates which make my life a living hell, pressure from college, and them." He looked at her sympathetically and then nodded. "But here," she said with a small smile, "I feel safe from all my problems. You make me feel safe." Roland beamed.
       "I'm glad," he replied seeming deep in thought. "You know, we all quite like you here, a-and we think that having you as part of the group fulfills a gap that was there before." Roland paused and Delilah watched him confused. "So I...we were wondering if you'd like to stay with us...permanently." Taken aback by what he was implying, Delilah was about to answer when a voice on a microphone interrupted.
       "And now, in honor of Tears for Fears, here's the biggest hit of 1985, Everybody Wants To Rule The World!" The whole room began to cheer and applaud and at that a familiar song came on. Roland moaned.
       "Oh gosh. Why are they playing this?" He scoffed.
       "What do you have against this song?" Delilah cried. "I love it!" Roland looked at her confused.
       "You do?"
       "Yes of course! I know it sometimes is a little overplayed but I love it anyway." At that, she began to sing the song word for word as Roland watched her in disbelief. It was about to get to her favorite part when he suddenly stopped her singing, interrupting her.
       "How do you know this song?" he questioned almost accusingly. Delilah was confused.
       "Well, I grew up with this song. It was always one of my favorites." At that, Roland suddenly released her and backed away.
       "What do you mean always?" he growled. "This song just came out this year." Roland seemed to be getting more and more agitated by the second. "And I thought that you said that you've never heard any songs from us."
       "I haven't. And this song came out years ago what are-?" It was then, a second too late, that Delilah finally connected the dots. The song they were currently playing wasn't just dedicated to Tears for Fears, they were actually the band who made it and released it that year. Her face fell at the thought. 
       "Delilah, I need to know how you know this when you told me that you didn't know any of our songs." Roland eyed her with growing suspicion. "And why would you say that this came out years ago?" Visually tensing, Delilah's mind came back to what Nicky had said. Do not let Roland go. No matter what, don't let him slip away.
       She should have known that the truth would eventually come out. She would have had to let him go anyway. At that, she watched as he slowly crossed his arms over his chest and waited for her response.
       She gulped and finally said, "I... I haven't been totally honest with you."