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

Chapter 46: Don't Panic

The next morning I was woken up to the sound of talking in the main area of the bus. I sat up, rubbing my eyes as they adjusted to the light. Looking over, I saw Jake was still sleeping. He had flipped over, now clutching his pillow. I sighed, reaching over, pushing the hair out of his face. He looked so peaceful. I moved closer, gently wrapping my arm around his stomach, pulling him up against me, trying to stay as quiet as possible.

The longer the guys thought I was still asleep in my room, the better.

I felt Jake start to move, and eventually he turned to face me. He smiled, staring back at me sleepy-eyed.
"Hi.." He mouthed, wrapping his arms around me, pulling me close. I cuddled closer, hiding my face in his chest. I heard him giggle, now moving his hands under my shirt again, gently rubbing his fingers up and down my back. I sighed.

"Did you stay?" He whispered into my ear. I nodded.
"Of course I stayed." I said softly.
"Thank you."

We lied together in silence while we listened in on what the guys were talking about outside.

"After tonight we have a few days off until our next show, so management got us a hotel to give us a break from the bus. So that'll be nice, these bunks are killing me." Sam said. I heard Jake giggle next to me.
"Shh.." I said, he smirked.
"We could stay in your room." He whispered. I playfully shoved him, shaking my head. His smile grew as he pulled me back in, holding me tight. My heart started to beat faster.

I could lay here with him all day.

"Should we wake Jake up?" Danny said. I felt Jake tense up, his grip getting tighter.
"No.." Sam said softly, trying to be quieter. "He had a long night. He should sleep." My cheeks burned. They definitely heard him. I wouldn't be surprised if they had heard both of us after I came back to his bunk.

"I can't believe she broke up with him." Sam said softly. My heart sunk. "He's probably not gonna be great these next couple of days so.. maybe be a little nicer to him." They guys were quiet for a moment, and then I finally heard Josh chime in. Sam must've been looking at him specifically.

"I will." He said quietly.
"What happened with you and Jess?" Sam asked. My stomach dropped. I really hoped he would keep his mouth shut. The last thing I wanted was for Jake to hear all the details, especially after the night he had.

"N-nothing. Why?" Josh said.
"You know how he feels about her, Josh. I.. I know what I've said but.. I think you need to back off." My heart started beating faster.
"You.. you just don't get it." Josh said softly. I felt my cheeks start to burn. I knew Jake was listening as carefully as I was. This was torture.
"What don't I get?" Sam asked. "He's our brother. He's in love with her."

"And what about me?" Josh snapped. My heart dropped. The bus got quiet.
"What do you mean.. what about you?" Sam finally asked. Josh was quiet again.
"Forget it." He sighed. "It doesn't matter anyway."
"No, what?" Danny asked. "Did something happen?"
"I.. I kissed her."
"You kissed her??" Sam said, getting louder. "She's dating Jake."

"She was dating Jake." Josh mumbled. I felt Jake's grip tighten. My heart was beating faster now. The bus got quieter again. I felt Jake move, sitting up.
"What are you doing?" I whispered. He bit down on his lip, his jaw clenched now.
"I can't listen to this." He said, reaching for the curtain. I quickly grabbed his hand, pulling it back, shaking my head. He looked back down at me with sad eyes.

"Well, he's right." He said softly. I felt my cheeks burn. I didn't know what to say.
"Just stay here." I mouthed to him. He hesitated, staring back at me. He finally lied back down, facing me. I stared back into his eyes, gently running my fingers down his cheek. He gave me a subtle smile, pulling me closer, leaning his forehead against mine.

"Come on." Sam sighed. "Let's go check out the venue before anyone gets here. That'll give Jake some more time to sleep."
"Has Jess gotten up yet?" Josh asked.
"I'm sure you'd love to know." Sam snapped. My heart dropped. "But no. I don't think so. I haven't seen her. She's probably still asleep. I heard them talking last night."
"Talking about what?"
"Jess said she needs time alone.. to figure out what she wants. But then she came back out in the middle of the night. So.. whatever that means.." Sam trailed off. My stomach dropped. He definitely knew I stayed with him. I heard the bus door open and they loudly made their way down the steps, slamming the door behind them.

Jake sat up, looking back down at me again.
"Well, we're alone now." He said with a smirk. He motioned his head towards my room, flashing me wide-eyes. My cheeks burned.
"Jake.." I laughed, shaking my head. I opened the curtain, climbing out of the bunk. "I.. I mean it.. I just.. I need to figure out-"
"You don't need to figure anything out. Come on.." He said, reaching out for me. I moved out of his grip, smiling down at him.

"Now, I'm gonna go get ready. Do I have to lock my door?" I asked, smiling back at him. His smile grew, his cheeks burning.
"You might." He said, shrugging.
"You know last night.. was a one time thing. I'm staying in my room tonight."
"Well, apparently we get to stay in a hotel tonight so.. if you wanted to stay in my room, I wouldn't mind." He said. I bit down on my lip, leaning against the doorway.

"I'm sure I have my own room."
"Yeah, but I'm sure the rooms are so big, what a waste for us to all have our own, we should just share." He said, his smile growing. I laughed, rolling my eyes, going back into my room, leaving the door open.

"You should invite your family to the show tonight." He called out. I opened my backpack, digging through what I had left of my clean clothes. I was almost out.
"Why, so you can show off for them?" I called out, keeping my eyes in my backpack. I sighed. Nothing. When I turned around, I saw Jake in the doorway, holding up one of his t-shirts.

"Here." He smiled, handing it to me. A smile escaped my lips, but he went back out to his bunk before I could say anything.
"Thank you." I said softly.
"I'm sure there will be somewhere you can do laundry at the hotel. I'll ask." He called out. "Or you can just borrow my clothes. I don't mind. I always overpack."

I finished getting dressed and made my way back out into the main area of the bus, sitting down on the couch. I peeked over as he pulled one shirt over his head, tossing it to the side. My cheeks burned. He was so cute. He reached into one of his bags, pulling out a button up, quickly tossing it on, leaving it open. He looked over and caught me staring.

"Come here." He said, flashing me a smile. I felt my whole body get hot. I bit down on my lip, shaking my head, but held my stare on him. He giggled to himself as he started to button up his shirt, staring back with a sly grin.

"You know.. it's not every day we get the bus to ourselves." He said, finally looking back down, going through his bag again. My heart started beating faster.
"So then how would you spend time alone with one of your friends?" I asked, now playing along. He looked back at me, smirking, shaking his head.

"We are not just friends and you know it." He said. "I'll play along for now, but we both know what's gonna happen." 

I bit down on my lip. I did know it. But we needed to be. At least for right now.

"And what's that?" I asked.
"What's gonna happen is you're finally going to come to your senses, and realize that you belong with me." He said, making his way over to the couch. He sat down next to me, staring back at me with dazed eyes. My heart was pounding.

"And when you finally do.." He sighed, reaching for my hand. I let him. "Well, then.. there's another discussion we can have. But not until then." My heart jumped.

"Another discussion?" I asked. He bit down on his lip, his cheeks turning red. He shrugged.
"Yep. But you don't have to worry about that just yet. Not if we're just friends."
"Jake.." I said. He giggled to himself, holding his stare, gently intertwining our fingers.

"What's your ring size by the way?" He asked, his smile growing. I glared at him, wide-eyed. He laughed, flashing me a toothy grin.
"Oh, don't panic, no need to take off. I'm just kidding, Jess." He said softly, looking down at our hands.

But I couldn't tell if he was.