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

Chapter 10: Fresh Start

I let Jake walk in first and waited a minute to follow. I didn't want to make it look any more obvious than it already did.

"There she is!" Sam yelled when I eventually walked in. "How'd you like the show?" I made my way over and sat next to him at the table.
"You guys were awesome. I had no idea." I said. "Can't believe I get to see that every night." He smiled.
"That's right and you better get used to it!" He laughed. I looked around to see Jake and Josh were missing. Danny noticed.
"They're in your room." He said. I felt my cheeks burn.
"Oh.. no I-" He smirked, shaking his head.
"I'm sure they'll be out in a minute. Josh wanted to talk." I could feel my face getting even redder. I'm sure it wasn't about me. There was nothing going on. It couldn't be about me.

"So, where'd you and Jake run off to after the show?" Sam asked, smirking at me.
"Oh, he uh.. he just wanted to show me, uh.."
"He jumped into the water, didn't he. He always does that. And by the looks of it you went with him." He laughed. I couldn't help but smile.
"Is anything going on with you and my brother?" He asked, holding his smile. My face was on fire.
"We're friends." I said plainly. He nodded, looking down at what he was eating.
"Okaaaay.." He said condescendingly. We sat quietly for a second, but I was learning how much they all hated silence.

"He's my brother, you know." He said quietly. I nodded.
"I know." I sighed.
"And if you hurt him... I'll have to kill you." I laughed, rolling my eyes.
"You won't have to kill me, Sam." He smiled, wiping his mouth.
"Good. Cause that'd really put a damper on the tour."

I looked towards the back of the bus to see my door still closed. I'm surprised I couldn't hear anything, considering how clearly I could hear them all on the first day. It was obviously deliberate. I was really hoping it wasn't about me.

Finally, the door opened and Jake walked out, gently sliding the door shut behind him. I looked up at him as he gave me a wide-eyed look of disappointment and my stomach dropped when I realized Josh wasn't coming out. He slid into the booth next to Sam.

"What was that about?" I asked. I felt him move his foot to touch mine under the table. A small smile escaped from my lips. I gently kicked him away. He smirked.
"Oh, it's nothing. Josh just wanted to talk." He sighed.
"Is.. he okay?" I asked. His eyes got wide and he gently shook his head.
"He's just being Josh." He said quietly. "I'm sure he'll be out in a minute."

"So.." Sam jumped in, trying to break the tension. "I was just asking Jess what she thought of the show." Jake smiled again.
"You get any good shots?" He asked, stealing some food off Sam's plate. Sam slapped him away.
"Oh, absolutely. I can't wait to get a good look at them. But from where I was standing, the view was great." Jake started to blush, moving his foot against mine again. I let him keep it there this time.

"...Should I go talk to him?" I finally asked. Jake bit his lip, peeking at Sam. Sam side-eyed him and rolled his eyes.
"Maybe it would help." Sam said quietly. I sighed, getting up from the table and making my way towards the back of the bus. I took a second before sliding the door open to find Josh laying on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. He peeked up at me.
"Hello.." He said.
"You okay?" I asked. He sat up, staring me down.
"Oh, I'm fine." He said blankly.
"...You don't sound fine." He looked away to avoid eye contact.
"I'm fine." He said again. I walked over and sat on the end of the bed. He eventually looked back at me.

"Why didn't you just tell me you liked Jake before I made an idiot out of myself." He snapped. My stomach dropped.
"W-what do you mean, we're-" He rolled his eyes.
"Come on, Jess." He said, now looking unenthused. My face was burning. There was no way he couldn't tell.

"Honestly Josh, this isn't at all what I wanted this tour to be, and everything just started happening so fast.. with you, with him.. I came here to do a job. And that's all I'm trying to do. If I upset you, or lead you on, I'm sorry but.. I'm.. I'm not trying to be with anyone. It wasn't fair for me to be like that with you at the bar the other night, and I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong idea. You were really sweet tonight, and it took me by surprise, and I'm sorry that I blew you off after the show. Thank you.. for the rose." He looked back up at me, hopeful.

"You're welcome.." He said quietly. He looked over at it sitting on my end table.
"I'd just really love to put this behind us.. and act like it never happened." I said. His face dropped as he nodded.
"Sure.." He sighed.
"Thank you."
"But I don't believe that it didn't mean anything." He finally said, smirking.
"Josh, I-" He stood up and walked over to the door. When he opened it, I saw Jake standing right outside. He stared at me with sad eyes.

"Hey.." Josh said, patting Jake on the back and making his way past him.
"Jake, wait.." I said, standing up. He shook his head and followed Josh back into the kitchen area.

I don't know why this had to be so complicated. After all, this is exactly what I wanted right? I never wanted to be the girl that follows her boyfriend around on tour while she just stands on the sidelines. This was for the best. And yet I couldn't shake the sinking feeling in my stomach.

I gently slid my door shut and plopped back down on my bed. Looking over, I saw the white rose laying on my end table. Looking around I realized there wasn't anything to put it in, so I let it be.

I eventually heard the talking outside my door die down as the lights shut off. I fought it as hard as I could but eventually couldn't hold in the tears that filled my eyes. Before crawling under the blanket, I pulled Jake's sweater over my head and wiped my eyes on his sleeve.