You're the One - Part 1 || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 8: Beautiful

I watched the encore from the wing of the stage. The applause was overwhelming. The entire venue was chanting their name. I could see them beaming as they soaked it all in. I couldn't help but smile and clap myself, still making sure to get a few shots of them as they took their bows and ran off stage.

Josh ran towards the wings first, flashing his huge toothy smile at me as his feathered headband stuck to the sweat on his forehead. He pushed it away as he ran his fingers through his drenched hair. 

"That was incredible!" I yelled, letting my camera hang across my chest. "I can't believe-" I was cut off by Jake running past, lifting me up into his arms, wrapping me into a tight hug and raising me up into the air.

"Jake!" I yelled, laughing as he spun me around. I couldn't see anyone else; it was like we were the only two people in the room. I could hear him laughing as he finally put me down. His face covered in sweat, and his hair equally drenched. He was out of breath and his face was bright red. He still looked adorable.
"So how were we?" He asked, only a few inches from my face. I could feel my cheeks burning, hoping he couldn't tell. 
"You were amazing. Oh my god. I had no idea." His smile grew as he ran his fingers through his hair. I grabbed his jacket, looking him up and down.
"That was unreal, how did you learn how to do all that?" 
"Which part?" He laughed. I smiled, holding on tighter. 

Sam followed close, swinging his bass over his back.
"Jake is always super wired after a show." He said, also out of breath. "Watch out for this one. He's the reason we never get any sleep."
"Maybe you just can't hang." Jake said, playfully shoving him. "The night's just getting started." 

I couldn't keep my eyes off him. He was practically glowing - like the world was his. Sam elbowed Jake in the side, and gave him wide eyes before Jake could shoo him away. 
"Knock it off." He mumbled with a smirk. Sam rolled his eyes with a smile, and made his way backstage following closely behind Danny who was already walking next to Josh. My stomach dropped. The rose. And I hadn't even thanked him. Josh turned the corner without looking back.

"So you ready for 3 more months of that?" Jake asked, one of his arms still wrapped around my waist. My heart started to pound.
"That was.. that was really something. I don't think I'm gonna be able to tour with anyone else again after that." I laughed.
"Perfect, you're ours now." he said smiling, scrunching up his nose. I got lost in his eyes once again. His captivating, big, brown eyes. He noticed, and stared back, moving closer to my face. My heart was racing.

"We, uh.." I said, moving back a bit. "We should head back. Don't you guys have to leave right after the show?" He back away a bit, pulling his arm away from me.
"Um.. n-not tonight. We got a little time. The guys will probably go out back and meet some of the fans that wait by the busses."
"You don't wanna go too?" I asked. He bit his lip and was quiet for a moment. 
"Actually.. I wanna try something." He said. I looked back up at him confused.
"What?" I asked.
"Come here." He beamed, taking me by the hand and pulling me backstage. I looked down at our hands as he lead us down the hallway like he had been here a hundred times. Every so often a member of the team would stop and look, as if just noticing one of the band was wandering around alone, but none of them stopped us.

He eventually brought me out back where we had a full view of the water behind the venue. Off in the distance you could see the skyline completely lit up reflecting into the soft waves that crashed against the sand. It was absolutely beautiful.

"Ready?" He asked, peeking over at me with a sly grin.
"...Ready for what?" I hesitated. He took off his coat and tossed it to the side.
"We're jumping in." He said simply, tying up his hair into a tight bun. 
"No we're not!" I yelled. He laughed, lifting my camera strap over my head, and gently placing it onto his coat. 
"You're supposed to do fun things on tour, Jess.." He said, his voice trailing off.
"And you said you're not a partier.. well, neither am I.. but this is where I have my fun. So are you gonna have fun with me, or are you gonna sit on the shore and watch all by yourself?" 

I sighed, feeling a smile escape my lips as he held his hand out for me. I looked down at it, and then back at him. He was holding his stare with his adorable grin. My heart was racing again. I kicked off my shoes and took his hand.
"I'll have fun with you.." I said softly, and within seconds I was airborne, flailing through the air, hand tightly grasping his before we crashed into the freezing cold water.

I was under for a few minutes before it felt like my legs were starting to get numb. As my head broke the shore, I frantically looked around after I didn't feel Jake's hand in mine anymore. I finally heard him scream with laughter. I barely had enough feeling to swim over to where he was.

"Doesn't this feel great?" he asked, now treading water. I tried my best to keep up.
"N-no." I said, now shivering. He noticed, pulling me closer towards him. I felt my body start to warm up where I was pressed against his. The outline of his face lit up from the reflections of the city lights in the water. He was just as beautiful as ever.
"You're insane." I finally managed. He laughed, pulling me closer.
"You did it too. Doesn't that make you just as insane as me?" I smirked, shaking my head. He sighed, looking out at the city skyline again. I wrapped my arms around his neck and looked out too.

"It's beautiful." I finally said, getting lost in the lights dancing on top of the rippling water. I could feel him turn to look at me as I held my gaze out towards the city. I felt him sigh.

"It really is."