Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue. Belongs to Disney. Nor do I own "Hey There, Delilah," or the Plain White T's. Thanks!
A/N: This popped into my head while I was listening to my iPod. The song, of course, is "Hey There, Delilah," by the Plain White T's. There's a twist at the end, and it's Jason/Kelsi all the way. It's rather sad, though.
Enjoy!
"Hey there Delilah,
What's it like in New York City?"
Jason Cross sat slowly in the grass, leaning casually against the tree behind him. He held a small bouquet of white roses in his hand, turning them over slowly as he sat. Placing them to the side, he unhooked the clasps of his guitar case, gently lifting the instrument and setting his fingers on the strings.
"Hey, Kelsi," he said, not expecting a response. "I bet you didn't know that I learned how to play guitar." Jason trailed off, picking out a few notes on the six-string before continuing.
"I want to sing you something, you know, for your birthday. I know it used to be your favorite song, so I just thought I'd learn it."
Jason re-set his fingers and began to play, the notes flowing hesitantly and the words sounding foreign as they came from his throat.
"I'm a thousand miles away,
But girl, tonight you look so pretty,
Yes you do.
Times Square can't shine as bright as you
I swear it's true"
As he sang, he thought back to the first time he had ever heard the song. He and Kelsi had been driving home from school when it had come on the radio. Kelsi had immediately turned up the volume, smiling happily as she sang along to every word. Jason had teased her for it at the time, but later it had grown on him as well.
It became the mantra of their relationship, the tying force that bound them together. After every fight, every "break-up," everything that went wrong, they could play that song and know that everything would be okay.
Mentally shaking himself, Jason returned his full attention to the song, the notes and words flowing stronger and more freely as he played with confidence.
"Hey there, Delilah,
Don't you worry about the distance
I'm right there if you get lonely,
Give this song another listen.
Close you eyes,
Listen to my voice, it's my disguise,
I'm by your side."
It had been for Kelsi that Jason had learned guitar, and it had been for her that he had taught himself that song. It seemed like everything he did was for her. It was for her that he flew three thousand miles to be with her on her twenty-first birthday. It was for her that he missed three days of classes.
He had found it hard to live without her for the previous three years, barely hanging on as he went through his routine of classes, parties, games, and friends. Ever since that fateful night, her eighteenth birthday, he had been running on auto-pilot. He had no control over his actions, or his emotions.
But it was for her that he kept on living.
"Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
What you do to me"
Jason continued playing, but his mind was somewhere else. He was reliving happier days, days when he and Kelsi had been together. Days of parties and games, musicals and proms, car rides and late nights, phone calls and emails. Two years worth of memories played across his mind like a video stuck on fast forward, taunting him and making him wish he could turn back time.
He remembered their senior prom, the first night he had told her he loved her. She had looked stunning, dressed in a pale pink gown, her hair done up in curls and crystal earrings dangling from her ears. He remembered thinking that he was looking at an angel. It had been his defining moment, the moment he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
It was later that week that given her a promise ring, with a promise that they would be married one day. To his knowledge, she never removed it, but wore it every day, a constant reminder of the strength of their relationship.
"Hey there Delilah
I know times are getting hard
But just believe me girl
Someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar
We'll have it good
We'll have the life we knew we would
My word is good"
Jason and Kelsi had been a beacon of hope for their friends. Where all other relationships faltered, theirs remained stronger than ever, a constant reminder of the power of love. They had been labeled the perfect couple by everyone in school, despite the differences in their social circles.
Jason was a basketball star, Kelsi the composer of the school musicals. The most unlikely couple became the most admired couple in a matter of months. Three months, the summer between junior and senior years, were all they needed to cement their status as a couple, and it had remained that way until graduation.
Until her eighteenth birthday.
"Hey there Delilah
I've got so much left to say
If every simple song I wrote to you
Would take your breath away
I'd write it all
Even more in love with me you'd fall
We'd have it all"
Jason remembered the very day. It had been barely a month since graduation, and the tightly-knit gang of East High friends had already lost Troy to USC, Sharpay to NYU, and Gabriella to Stanford. The remaining friends were spending their days together, avoiding the boxes that were stacked in their rooms and the suitcases that stood ready to be filled. They were putting off the future as long as they could, striving to hold onto the days of high school.
They had gathered at a local restaurant to celebrate Kelsi finally turning eighteen. They had been on their way home, Jason at the wheel as Kelsi beamed beside him. Their song was on the radio, and everything was perfect.
Everything was perfect until the car ran the red light, and Jason's dreams were shattered in the span of a few seconds.
"Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me"
He still bore a scar across on his temple from the accident, but it was nothing compared to the emotional pain he still suffered. Kelsi hadn't been wearing her seatbelt, too excited with the prospect of the future to be bothered.
Jason had told her to wear it, but she brushed him off, reasoning that it was late and that no one would be on the roads. She trusted Jason to drive safely, and she trusted the other drivers to do the same.
It was a mistake that would cost her her life.
"A thousand miles seems pretty far
But they've got planes and trains and cars
I'd walk to you if I had no other way
Our friends would all make fun of us
and we'll just laugh along because we know
That none of them have felt this way
Delilah I can promise you
That by the time we get through
The world will never ever be the same
And you're to blame"
Jason felt tears sliding down his cheeks as the song neared the end. That night had been three years ago, and he was visiting her grave on what would have been her twenty-first birthday. He had skipped class to come, as he had for the previous three years.
Kelsi was still everything to him. She was his soulmate, his sweetheart, his partner in crime. He had thought they would have their whole lives together, but fate had intervened.
In honor of her, he came every year and set white roses at the foot of her headstone, remembering her as she was.
She was his, and she always would be.
"Hey there Delilah
You be good and don't you miss me
Two more years and you'll be done with school
And I'll be making history like I do
You know it's all because of you
We can do whatever we want to
Hey there Delilah here's to you
This ones for you"
Trailing off, Jason set the guitar aside, wiping his eyes with his shirt sleeve. He stood slowly, picking up the roses he had set aside before and kneeling before the head stone. Bringing two fingers to his lips, he brushed them across the letters of her name, simultaneously placing the roses on the ground below.
"I love you, Kelsi," he whispered, lingering for a moment at the grave. He bowed his head, resting it on the cool stone. "I love you so much, and I miss you."
Sighing, he stood, picking up his guitar and turning away. As he walked away from the grave, he looked back at the grave, his white roses standing out against the drabness of the other graves.
With that he turned and walked away, raising his eyes to Heaven as he did. He knew he would be back the next year, and he knew that Kelsi was somewhere better, watching over him.
He knew that he still loved her, and he always would.
It was what she did to him, trapping him in her charm and ensnaring him forever. She had bewitched him, body and soul, but he didn't regret it. He loved every minute he had gotten with her, and looked forward to every minute he would have with her again.
"Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
What you do to me."
A/N: Well, that was depressing. I hope it wasn't too bad, or too confusing. I just really wanted to write it.
Reviews greatly appreciated, as always!
Credit where credit is due: Thanks to the Plain White T's for "Hey There, Delilah," a great song and the inspiration for this fic. Woohoo!