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

Chapter 26: Loving You

"You.. what?" I asked. I couldn't help but smile. His face eventually relaxed and he smiled back at me, gently holding my face in his hands again.

"I love you." He sighed, staring back at me with his same dazed look, his smile growing. I stared back, getting lost in his eyes again.

"You don't have to say it back, I just.. I want you to know." He said quietly, giggling to himself. "I know I kinda rushed you into this to whole thing to begin with, and you've given me that but-"

I cut him off, leaning in, kissing him hard on the mouth. His hand moved down to behind my neck, pulling me in closer and kissing me back harder.

"Jake.." He shook his head, smirking back at me.
"It's okay." He said, running his fingers through my hair. "You can say it on your own time. I want you to mean it. So, just let me enjoy right now." He laughed, pulling me into another kiss. I couldn't help but smile, wrapping my arms around his neck. I felt his hands move down to my waist, lifting me up and pulling me into his lap.

"Jake, I-" He cut me off, kissing me again.
"Shhhh.. no, no no." He smiled, pulling me in again.
"Jake!" I laughed, trying to back away, but he held on tight, pulling me back.
"I don't want you to feel pressur-"
"I love you too." I finally managed to get out, now holding his face in my hands.

That shut him up.

He stared back at me wide-eyed, his mouth subtly hanging open. It felt like my whole body was on fire.

"You mean it?" He whispered.
"Of course I mean it." I sighed, leaning in and kissing him again. I felt him smile. By this point, the sun had completely gone down and it was starting to get dark.

"You know, you still have a show tonight." I laughed, backing away, leaning my forehead against him. He sighed.
"I don't want to go.." He whined, keeping his eyes locked on mine. "I just want to stay here with you tonight." His hands moved back down to my waist, pulling me closer towards him. My heart was racing. As much as I wanted to...

I had to pull away, getting up from his lap and holding my hand out to him.

"Come on, we've both got a job to do." I giggled. He sighed and rolled his eyes, but eventually grabbed my hand, getting up. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me close to him.

"You gonna be okay to walk back?" He laughed, leaning down and kissing the top of my head.
"I don't know, I think I may have to take you up on your offer to carry me." I joked.
"Come here.." He said, crouching down. I smirked and jumped onto his back, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck. I rested my head on his shoulder, hiding my face in his hair, looking for anyway to get closer to him. By the time he got us back, the lights on the bus were already on, and his family was waiting out front.

"Thought we were gonna have to play the show without you!" Sam called out as we made our way to the bus. Jake helped me off down off of his back, and took my hand, leading me the rest of the way.

"If it was up to me, you would have." Jake laughed. "Jess dragged me back."

I saw Ronnie look over at him, giving him a smirk and motioning her head towards me. Looking up, Jake smiled and quickly nodded. Ronnie's smile grew. I wonder if she knew what Jake has planned. She flashed me a huge smile, her eyes quickly shooting down to Jake's necklace.

She knew.

The whole family made their way onto the bus, Jake and I following close behind.
"Alright, so who sleeps where?" Ronnie asked. Sam plopped down into his bunk.
"This one's mine, though, since Jake's rarely in his I basically have two." I felt my stomach drop. Ronnie quickly turned to Jake, flashing him wide-eyes. Jake's cheeks burned red.
"So, anyway!" He snapped. "There's plenty of drinks in the fridge if anyone wants, but it won't take long for us to get to the venue."

Jake lead us over to the couch where he sat down, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me closer to him. I turned to him, gently kissing his cheek.
"So, did Ronnie know where we were going?" I asked quietly. He smirked, nodding.
"I might've mentioned it." He said, looking over at her. "I needed to make sure someone knew to leave us alone."

He reached for my hand, intertwining our fingers. He looked around at everyone, smiling as they all talked amongst themselves. I never felt closer to him than I did right now. Then I looked over towards the kitchen table to see Josh and their mom sitting together, Josh's eyes locked on me.

Josh's P.O.V

Ronnie and I waited out by the bus for everyone to come out. It was getting late, and we had to head over to the venue soon.

"This one is so much nicer than your last one. I'm glad they're finally upgrading you." She said, leaning up against the side.
"Yeah.." I said, keeping my eyes out towards the trail to the woods. "It's not bad." I heard Ronnie sigh.
"They're coming, Josh, don't worry." She said. I felt my cheeks burn and quickly looked away, turning to face her.

"Where'd they go anyway?" I asked. She hesitated, biting down on her lip.
"You really wanna know?" I thought for a minute.
"Not really." I said, but shot her a look. She sighed.
"Jake took her out to the lake. He wanted to.. talk to her." She mumbled. My stomach felt sick.
"What do you mean.. talk to her?"
"Josh.." She sighed, crossing her arms. I turned back away to look out for them. It wasn't long until Mom came out to wait with us.

"Did you want to come back here after the show tonight or go out to celebrate?" She asked.
"Let's come back here. We won't be back for a while, and I want to spend as much time home as we can." She smiled back at me, nodding.

Then I finally saw them emerge from the woods. Jake was carrying Jess on his back, her arms tightly wrapped around his neck. They looked.. so happy. My heart sank.

Mom turned to Ronnie.
"I guess it went well." She said quietly. Ronnie flashed her a smile, nodding.
"Good for him." She whispered.

"Thought we were gonna have to play the show without you!" Sam yelled out. Jess hopped down and Jake instantly took her hand, leading her the rest of the way to the bus.
"If it was up to me, you would have." Jake laughed, looking down at Jess. "Jess dragged me back."

Ronnie looked over at Jake, giving him a smirk and motioning her head towards Jess. He shot her a look, smiling and quickly nodding. Ronnie's smile grew into a toothy grin. I couldn't watch this anymore.

I took it upon myself to go onto the bus, sitting down at the table. It wasn't long until the rest of the family followed. Mom came in, sitting down across from me. She gave me a sympathetic smile, reaching over for my hand. I sighed, letting her. I appreciated her not saying anything right now to try and make me feel better; that ship had sailed.

"Alright, so who sleeps where?" Ronnie asked. Sam plopped down into his bunk.
"This one's mine, though, since Jake's rarely in his I basically have two." I felt Mom's grip tighten on my hands, turning to face Sam. His face dropped, and then he flashed her a smile. She shot Jake a look. He quickly looked away, his cheeks burning red.

"So, anyway!" Jake snapped, trying to change the subject. "There's plenty of drinks in the fridge if anyone wants, but it won't take long for us to get to the venue." He then lead Jess over to the couch where he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. She leaned in, and I quickly looked away.

"He couldn't go anywhere else?" I mumbled. Mom's face dropped, her grip tightening on my hand again.
"Well, does he know?" She asked quietly. "Jake would never want to make you upset." I bit my lip, shrugging.
"I.. I think so." I mumbled. She nodded, peeking over at them. I know I put her in a tough spot. But I appreciated her being there for me.

I looked back over at them on the couch, their bodies basically intertwined. I could feel the jealousy radiating through my veins. This was torture. Then I looked down and saw Jess was wearing Jake's necklace. My stomach dropped. I remembered the day he bought it. We all thought it was interesting that he'd pick that one, but he told us he was saving it. We never knew what for.

But now I understood.