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

Chapter 175: Valentine's Day - Part 2

More tears filled my eyes as I read his card over and over and over, clutching the stuffed elephant up against my chest. It even smelt like him, making me think he had been hiding it in his bunk this whole time. I couldn't believe how thoughtful he was, but I knew at this point.. I shouldn't be surprised anymore.

I slid his card under my pillow, placing the elephant on top before going back out into the main area of the bus where I saw Josh leaning up against the counter, nervously peeking over at me. He bit down on his lip that contained his shy smile, his eyes hopeful.

I hung in the doorway for a moment, feeling my heart beat faster. His smile grew as he held his stare on me, his cheeks burning. I finally went over, feeling more tears fill my eyes as I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. I felt him sigh as he wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me up against him. I felt his heart beating against my chest, his body heat radiating through his sweater. His arms flexed around me as he held me tight, softly rubbing my back, leaning his chin on my shoulder, refusing to be the first one to let go.

That made two of us.

Finally, I looked up at him. He stared back at me with dazed eyes and a soft smile, gently wiping my eyes.
"Thank you." I whispered. He shrugged, his smile growing, his cheeks burning red.
"You're welcome." He said. "I.. I just wanted to do something nice, and I knew I could never top whatever Jake was planning so-" He stopped himself, biting down on his lip. "Hey, um.. since neither of us are doing anything, let's go practice again." He said, gently taking my hand, motioning outside.
"Okay." I laughed, wiping my face again. He grabbed the keys and lead us out to the van.

"You wanna start or do you wanna watch me first?" He giggled.
"You first." I said, hopping into the passenger's side. He got in, leaning over, grabbing his sunglasses from the glovebox, and reached his arm behind me as he effortlessly backed out.
"So, instead of me just driving around the parking lot, since you're gonna be doing plenty of that.. how about we go get something to eat? I'm starving." I peeked over to see him already staring back at me from over the top of his glasses, flashing me a smile.
"Yeah, me too." I agreed, turning away as I felt my cheeks burn.

He rolled down the windows as we drove in silence to the closest diner he could find.
"What do you want?" He asked, turning to me. "I'll run in and grab it. We can eat out here."
"Oh, um.. I'll.. I'll have whatever you're having." I said. He nodded, giving me a soft smile before shutting the door behind him. I watched him as he hopped up the steps, subtly peeking back at me before making his way inside. I bit down on my lip, containing my smile as I felt my cheeks burn again.

I looked down at my phone, checking to see if Jake had said anything.
Still nothing.
I wasn't surprised. I'm sure he was still in his interview.

Jess: hope everything is going well, I miss you xo

I put my phone back into my bag, knowing I wouldn't be hearing from him until later but at least he'd know I was thinking about him. I had barely zipped my bag when I heard my phone vibrate. Digging it back out, I saw he had already answered.

Jake: (heart reacted)

My stomach dropped. So he was already on his phone?
I shook the thought, tossing my phone back into my bag. The last thing I wanted to do today was overanalyze anything else he was doing.

I jumped at the sound of Josh quickly opening the door, hopping back into the van.
"Here you go." He said cheerfully, handing me the bag.
"What did you get?" I asked, peeking inside.
"Just burgers and fries, I figured that was the safest choice." He giggled, reaching his arm behind my head again, quickly backing out.

"You can start eating if you want." He said, peeking over at me. "You don't have to wait for me if you're hungry." I reached into the bag, pulling out one of the french fries, holding it up to his mouth. He giggled, leaning forward to bite it.
"Thank you." He mumbled, covering his mouth with his hand. A smile escaped my lips, my cheeks burning red as I reached in and pulled out one for myself. He leaned over, opening his mouth while keeping his eyes on the road.
"Oh, more?" I laughed, pulling another fry out of the bag and putting it in his mouth. I felt my body get hot as he gently bit down, his lips grazing my fingers.

When he pulled back in, he drove to the opposite end of the parking lot, backing into the spot.
"I think you just like showing off." I laughed, handing him his food. His smile grew, his cheeks burning red.
"I am not." He muttered, peeking over at me.
"Well, whether you are or you're not.. it's still impressive."
"You'll be able to do it too, I promise." He smirked, taking a bite of his burger.

We ate in silence for a few minutes, but I didn't mind.
His company was enough.

"Josh.." I finally said, propping myself up onto the seat, crossing my legs and leaning up against the door, turning to face him. He did the same, holding his stare on me.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you again.. for your gift." I said softly. He shrugged, smiling back at me.
"Oh, no, it's no problem. You already said thank you."
"Yeah.." I sighed. "But.. it.. it meant a lot."

I don't think he'd ever understand how much it meant to me.

"I'm glad. I.. I just wanted to make you happy." He muttered, looking back down at his food.
"You did." I whispered, continuing to eat. "But.. why the elephant?" I heard him giggle to himself, peeking up at me.
"Well, elephants are.. gentle and elegant and.. beautiful, they're smart and they symbolize love and family. And.. it made me think of you."

I felt my heart racing as I held my stare on him. He looked back down, avoiding my eyes.
"Josh, that's.. that's beautiful." He nodded, keeping his eyes down.

"Back home, Valentine's Day was always really special to me." I said, taking the attention off of him. He peeked back up at me.
"I.. I never really had anyone to celebrate it with, so my dad always made a point to make sure that I always felt special. And this is my first year away from him, so.. I don't know, I was excited about it finally being.. well, anyway.. thank you. You made me feel a little at home."

His smile grew as he stared back at me with dazed eyes.
"Jess, I'm.. I'm sorry he forgot, and I'm sorry you're hurt. But.. knowing Jake he.. he'll make it up to you, I'm sure of it." He said, but he didn't sound too convincing.
"Yeah.." I sighed, picking at my food again.
"How.. um.. how goes wedding planning?" He asked, biting down on his lip. I shrugged.
"We haven't talked about anything yet." I muttered.

"Well, what do you want?"
"You know, I.. I never really.. thought about it. After my mom and dad, well.. I.. I really wasn't too convinced I would ever get married. So, now that it's happening, I.. I kinda have to figure out what I like."
"That's the fun part though." He said, sounding more cheerful. "Well, it should all be the fun part. This is supposed to be the happiest time-" He stopped, noticing my face dropping, tears coming to my eyes again.

"Jess?" He said, moving closer to me. I wiped my eyes, feeling my cheeks burn.
"I'm sorry." I mumbled. "Y-yeah, you're right.." He sighed, giving me a gentle smile.
"But.. you don't seem like you're having the happiest time of your life."
"I just.. I feel guilty because.. it was, but then this award thing started happening, and.. that's great and I'm so happy for him, and he's so excited but.. I took one of the tests last night and it was negative and.. I.. I still don't know how I feel about it and.." I stopped, feeling more tears come to my eyes. I hated that I was unloading all of this on him, but I needed to talk about it with someone.

He held his stare on me, biting down on his lip, finally reaching over, gently wiping my eyes.
"Well, Jess.. no matter what happens, you and I.. we kinda went through this before.." He giggled. "And.. I still meant what I said. No matter what happens.. I'll always be here for you." My heart jumped as he gently rubbed his thumb across my cheek, giving me a gentle smile.

"Everything's gonna be okay. Now.. do you want to drive?" He asked, smirking back at me. I couldn't help but smile, wiping my face again, nodding.
"Okay."