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

Chapter 149: the Sooner the Better

I felt nauseous as he held his stare on me, my heart pounding in my chest. How badly I wanted to walk away, but I just couldn't. And it seemed like.. neither could he.

"Coming?" Josh asked, gently touching my hand. I finally snapped out of it, nodding, following him back through the wings. I could hear Josh talking to me as he lead us towards the dressing rooms, but his words were drowned out by the overwhelming hammering of my heartbeat blaring in my ears.

Just one look and I was brought right back to square one.
How was I supposed to survive the rest of the tour like this?

I was finally able to tune back in once he brought us into one of the rooms, shutting the door behind us. I made my way over, plopping down on one of the couches, flipping through my camera again, trying to distract myself as much as possible. I was so tired of crying, my eyes still stinging from last night.

"I'm excited to see just how much more snow we got." Josh laughed, going into the bathroom to get changed. I nodded, forcing a smile, but all I could think about was the look in Jake's eyes. We had only been apart for a night but it already felt like a lifetime, and I hated every second of it. All I wanted was to be with him. This wasn't fair. I quickly wiped my face as I felt the tears finally fill my eyes. I didn't want to do this anymore. I didn't want to feel like this anymore. I hated that he had this much power of me, meanwhile, I'm sure.. he was fine. I took a deep breath, trying my hardest to keep down the sobs that were slowly but surely creeping back up my throat.

I jumped at the sound of the door opening, part of me hoping it was him, the other hoping I would never have to see him ever again.
"H-hey.." Sam said, his face instantly dropping as his eyes met mine. My cheeks burned as I looked away, wiping my face again.
"Hi." I managed, my voice cracking.
"Oh, Jess.." He sighed, sitting down next to me, pulling me into a tight hug. I hid my face in his chest as I finally broke down, his grip on me get tighter as his hand gently glided up and down my back.

"Jess, I.. I think you should talk to him." He said softly. I shook my head.
"No." I snapped. "I.. I don't want to see him. I can't see him." He was quiet for a moment, continuing to rub my back.
"Jess, I just think-"
"No, Sam."
"But Jess, he's doesn't-"
"No!" I yelled, pulling away. He stared back up at me wide-eyed, biting down on his lip. I glared back, wiping my face again.

Josh then peeked his head out from the bathroom, his eyes shooting over to Sam.
"What's going on?" He asked. I sighed, shaking my head.
"It's.. it's nothing." I managed. He held his stare on me for a moment.
"Well.. it doesn't sound like nothing. Sam, can you.. go check on the bus? We gotta make sure that we're able to get out of here tonight." Sam hesitated for a moment before finally letting me go.
"Fine." He sighed, pushing himself up from the couch. He quickly shot Josh a look, and then made his way out of the dressing room.

Sam's P.O.V

I should've known.
One night alone with her and he was pulled right back in.
Exactly what he tried to give me shit for.

I quickly made my way through the halls, pushing open the front doors to be met with nearly a foot of snow already. If this continued, there was no way we'd be able to get out of here tonight. Great.

And the last thing we all needed was for the two of them to be forced together. Unless.
Unless that was exactly what they needed.
All of their problems stemmed from them avoiding each other.
Maybe if they were finally forced to talk to each other..

I knew Jess would hate me for it.. at first. But then she'd thank me. Eventually. Maybe.
As much as it would kill me, having to see her hurting like this.. killed me even more.

When I got back onto the bus, I was surprised to see Jake already there, sprawled out on the couch, scrolling through his phone.
"Hey." I said. He gave me a gentle nod, not looking up.
"Hey." He said simply.
"You alright?" I asked. He shrugged, staying silent. I sighed. There was no way I could go through the rest of the tour with them both like this. They were unbearable when they were apart, even more so then when they were together.

"Look.." I groaned, sitting down at the end of the couch, moving his feet out of the way. He shot up, glaring over at me.
"Hey!" He snapped. I rolled my eyes, shaking my head.
"Jake, I know what happened." I muttered. He stared back at me, wide-eyed, his face dropping.
"W-what are you talking about?" He asked. I sighed, looking down.
"Jess' dad.. he.. he told me what you did for her." He bit down on his lip, his cheeks burning red.
"He did?" I nodded, feeling my heart beat faster. He looked back down, avoiding my eyes.

"Jake.. you have to tell her." I sighed. "She.. she is a wreck without you." He perked up for a moment, before shaking his head, looking away.
"Sam, I can't tell her. I promised him that I would back off. Besides.. I.. I told him that I wanted to propose last night. But.. he.. he said no."
"Jake, that doesn't mean any-"
"It means everything, Sam. I.. I can't.. not if he doesn't like me."
"Jake, she doesn't care. She wants you. The idea that.. you don't love her anymore, it's killing her. You need to talk to her." He shook his head, looking away again. I bit down on my lip, feeling my heart start to beat faster.

"Fine." I sighed. "But.. she's on her way back here with Josh. So.. if you don't want to see her, then I'd go into the back if I were you." He nodded, pushing himself up from the couch, going into the bedroom and shutting the door behind him.

Peeking out the window, I finally saw Josh leading Jess out of the building, holding her hand. My stomach dropped. What was going on? Before they made their way up the steps of the bus, they had let go, moving further apart from each other. So they were hiding it too.

"Is Jake still inside?" Josh asked, looking around. I bit down on my lip, nodding.
"Mhm.." I said, avoiding his eyes. I could feel his stare on me as Jess made her way in.
"Um.. if.. if you don't want to see him.. I'd.. I'd head into the back." I said softly. "I'm sure he'll be out here soon." She nodded, holding her stare on me before going towards the back room. I watched her for a moment, wondering if this was actually a good idea after all.

What if this made things worse between them? What if she hated me because of it? I only wanted her to be happy. And.. I think they just needed to get over themselves. And if neither of them were gonna do it.. someone had to.

And the sooner I got her away from Josh.. the better.