I'VE BEEN RANKED!! IT'S THE 14TH OF JANUARY, 2016 AND I'M CURRENTLY #698 IN TEEN FICTION!! THANK YOU SO MUCH! That gif of Michael Clifford was me. And I'm sorry I'm borderline obsessed with 5sos but any reaction gifs or pictures will probably be of them. Okay! Carry on! THANKS AGAIN GUYS!

The song is I Miss You by Blink-182. This one does relate directly to the chapter. But play it whenever. Okie dokie. Enjoy this chapter!

I didn't see Wesley again until I walked into the band room at lunch. He was chatting with Rodney and I had to leave the room and come back in to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

When I was sure that my eyes weren't deceiving me, I made my way over to the pair. Upon closer inspection, I found that they were in a rather heated discussion.

"Hey guys," I said once I'd reached the cluster of chairs in which they were sitting. "What's gotten the two of you so worked up?"

"Rodney's saying that the Beatle's Revolver album is better than their Abbey Road album. Tell him that he's wrong! Oh, and hi, Barnacle," Wesley waved.

"Ooh, sorry bro. I'm gonna have to go with Rodney. Abbey Road is great. But Revolver has Eleanor Rigby and Yellow Submarine," I told him apologetically. "Plus my dad always used to play it really loudly around the house. So it's also emotionally significant."

Wesley groaned while Rodney held up his hand for a victory high five. I obliged and patted Wesley on the back.

"What about Octopus's Garden?" he argued. "Here Comes the Sun!"

"Sorry, bud. I'm impressed, though. I didn't think you were such a music nerd," I admitted.

"Please," Wesley replied simply. Then he got up, walked towards a practice room and returned with an acoustic guitar which he promptly began to tune.

"So what are you even doing here, Mr. Music Nerd?" I asked curiously.

"I was wondering the same thing, bro. I didn't know your little posse could split up without causing a rift in the space-time continuum," Rodney said, handing me a mozzarella stick from his lunch tray.

"Haha," Wesley fake-laughed. "Well, Rod, Delilah has become my mentor. She's teaching me how to not care. And so, I found it fitting to hang out with her during lunch."

"Oh, so that's what's going on," Rodney said. "People are passing around all kinds of rumors about you two. I heard something with a janitor's closet."

"Oh my god. That was a joke!" I said exasperatedly.

Wesley looked at me for a moment. Then he shook his head and muttered, "I'm not even gonna ask."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "I can't believe people even buy this crap," I muttered. Both of the guys grunted in agreement.

Suddenly, the door to the band room flew open. "What the hell are you three doing in here?" Elise marched over to where we were sitting and glared at each of us individually.

Rodney looked terrified and Wesley looked confused. I hadn't told him about Elise at all. He had no idea what she was capable of.

"Hi, Elise!" I waved cheerily.

"De-li-lah!" She pronounced each syllable of my name separately. "Have I taught you nothing? You've befriended Wesley Hannigan and you guys are hanging out in the band room? Why?"

I sighed. Elise's obsession with being popular was so weird. She was extremely rich. All she needed to do was let people know and her popularity was guaranteed. But, for some reason, she didn't want that to happen.

"Do you guys mind eating in the cafeteria?" I asked, turning to Rodney and Wesley. Rodney shrugged but Wesley looked worried.

"Do we have to?" He hugged the guitar closer to his chest.

"Wow. Wesley Hannigan is scared to enter the school cafeteria. This is so weird," I teased, nudging him with my foot.

"Shut up. I'm not scared."

"Okay..." I pinched his cheek and he glared at me. "Tell you what, you can take the guitar. Our band director encourages us to spread music. And you're popular. So it would be socially acceptable for you to play guitar in public."

"I don't know," he tugged at his bottom lip with his teeth. I saw Elise stiffen. I had to admit. It was probably one of the most attractive things I'd ever seen in person.

"Come on. Please? We don't have to eat there all the time," I pouted. I could not believe I was doing this for Elise. It was probably out of guilt. I wanted to eat in the cafeteria probably even less than Wesley did.

"Fine," he sighed. Elise fist pumped. "But you," he continued, pointing at Elise. "You are buying me lunch."

"Deal," she agreed and they shook hands. We all began heading for the door.

"Hey, guys?" Wesley asked tentatively. We all turned around to look at him. "Can I, like, not be the only one with an instrument?" He smiled sheepishly at us.

I laughed. "Sure, Wes. I'll take a guitar too."

"We can take turns," Elise said. "I play bass but guitar is basically the same."

Wesley looked relieved. I wondered what it was like to need to fit in so much. It seemed pretty suckish.

We headed out, Wesley and I with guitars strapped around our shoulders. On our journey down the hall, I began tuning mine to Wesley's. Elise chattered away and the rest of us stayed mostly quiet, laughing at what she said or making the odd comment. I could tell she was excited. One of Elise's ultimate goals was to conquer high school and now she was on her way.

When we reached the cafeteria, we stopped. "Wesley," I said. "Lead the way!"

"Why me?" he whined.

"Because you're you. Let's make this lesson number two. Fearlessly enter a place full of students who are ready to judge your every move, leading a group of outcasts." I patted him on the back. "I believe in you, Hannigan."

"Fuck you," he muttered.

"No thanks."

He laughed. "Okay, let's go." Then he took a deep breath and walked in, the three of us right behind.

The reactions we received from a few people were comical. Eyes bugged out, a couple of jaws dropped. I didn't think I'd ever get used to this.

Wesley led us to the table at which Rodney and I sat when we were forced into this hell. I sat next to Wesley and Elise and Rodney were across from us.

Elise and Rodney stood to go buy lunch for all four of us. I handed them a couple of bills for mine and they were off, through the quiet cafeteria. Wesley and I were getting quite a few looks and I could tell he was getting nervous.

"Hey, Wes," I said, tilting my head so my eyes met his. "Stop worrying so much. It doesn't matter. They don't matter. Okay?"

He nodded but his demeanor didn't change.

"Okay, let's play something to get your mind off things. Come one, Hannigan. Chin up shoulders back."

Wesley complied and brought his arms around the guitar. He immediately looked more relaxed. "What do you want to play?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Should we start with something simple? You know I Miss You by Blink-182, right?"

He nodded.

"Okay, then. Do you want rhythm or lead?" I asked.

"I'll take rhythm," Wesley said.

"Alright." I brought my fingers to the frets, strumming once to find a comfortable position. Wesley did the same. Then he quietly counted off.

"One. Two. Three. Four."

And we played the song, singing along quietly. We gained the attention of a lot of people. Halfway through the song, most of the cafeteria had migrated closer, watching us play. But Wesley didn't get nervous. In fact he looked more comfortable than I'd ever seen him. And, surprisingly enough, so was I. This was the first time I'd ever performed in front of strangers. But I was better than okay. Our voices and strums grew louder and more confident.

It was amazing. It was as if Wesley and I could read each other's minds. We knew who would sing what part just by a look.

"Don't waste your time on me
You're already
The voice inside my head."

"I miss you
I miss you."

I focused on the strings and bobbed my head as we played the rest of the song, Wesley singing the "I miss you's," until, finally, our strumming faded into silence.

Wesley and I looked at each other, smiling. Then we looked back at the small crowd of onlookers. I could see a few faces I recognized but I didn't take a lot of time remembering who people were at school. My eyes landed on a familiar blonde head and blue eyes. Aimee looked murderous.

Wesley and exchanged a nervous glance; he had seen her too. Then, just as she was shifting to move forward, the people around us broke into applause. I was so surprised that I almost fell off the bench.

It wasn't tumultuous applause but I could tell it was genuine. My face broke into a gigantic grin and when I looked at Wesley, I could see that his expression mirrored mine.

At this point, Rodney and Elise returned with our food so Wesley and I set aside our guitars. People began returning to their regular seats and the four of us began to eat.

Just as I'd stuffed an entire mozzarella stick in my mouth, a rather muscular presence appeared at the head of our table. It was Nathaniel Winters, your typical jock and, as it happened, Wesley's closest friend.

Wesley looked up at him warily. "Hey, dude. What's up?"

"Hey, man," Nathaniel said, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "Hey again, Delilah," he waved awkwardly.

"Yeah. Hi," I replied. "Sorry? Again?"

"Oh," he cleared his throat. "Yeah. I carried your stuff the day you had the...uh...breakdown?"

"Oh! Right. Thanks!"

"No biggie."

We lapsed into silence. I kept my eyes trained on the table but I could feel Wesley bouncing his leg nervously right next to mine.

Elise broke first. "Good God! Nathaniel Winters, would you like to join us for lunch?"

"Sure, why not?" Nathaniel looked extremely relieved.

He slid between Elise and Rodney. Elise looked tiny next to him. She was already quite petite. But next to Nathaniel's broad shoulders and towering stature, she looked like Thumbelina.

"I came to tell you that Aimee is furious. And she's plotting with her followers. Also, sitting at the table is even more boring when you're not there. So here I am, mixing it up," Nathaniel informed us.

"Aw, buddy, you missed me?" Wesley held his hands to his chest.

"Eh." He reached forward to grab the apple on Wesley's tray. As he pulled back his arm flexed. Immediately, Elise and I made eye contact. A silent exchange passed between us. On the outside, we looked cool and collected, but on the inside we were screaming at each other.

"So, can I stay win you guys?" Nathaniel continued, oblivious to Elise and my reactions.

Elise turned towards him. "Depends," she said. "Can you do that thing where you reach your arms behind your back from opposite directions and grab your hands?"

"Uh. Yeah?" Nathaniel complied, his biceps bulging as he did what Elise asked.

"Welcome to the coolest table in the cafeteria, Nathaniel Winters," Elise said. Wesley face-palmed and Rodney snickered.

Nathaniel looked slightly confused but he let it go. "So," he continued, turning back to the rest of us. "What is this I hear about Wesley, Delilah, barnacles, and janitor's closets?"

<3 :) ;) :D B) :P

Thank you again for reading my story! I'm sorry I'm an extremely sporadic updater. But I fully intend to finish Panic. I promise this is not a lost cause.

Okay! Vote if you want to, don't if you don't!

Ooh. I'm gonna try that question thing people do. What song is stuck in your head right now?

I've had Starman by David Bowie (may he rest in peace) stuck in my head all day.

Mmmkay. Until next time!

P.S. If anyone is ever interested in making a cover (cuz I suck at it), just message me!

P.P.S. In twenty minutes, Death of a Bachelor should be coming out! I'm so excited. Okay. I'm sorry. You can go now.