Always There - Part 2 || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 210: High Hopes

"Well, this is different." Jake finally said, flashing me a forced grin. My cheeks burned, holding my stare on him as he reached over, gently brushing his fingers through my hair.
"What, you don't like it?" I asked, playfully flipping it away. He smirked back at me, his eyes now lighting up at the sudden break in tension.
"I didn't say that."

I hated just how easy it was to get lost within these moments with him, when the rest of the world around us seemingly disappeared amongst our deep stares that expressed more longing than we could ever act on.

"You just.. look different." He added. I spun around, my smile growing.
"You don't think I look pretty?" I laughed. He sighed, reaching back out for me, pulling me in and whispering into my ear.
"You know you are the most beautiful girl in the world." My heart jumped, instantly moving away, suddenly wanting nothing more than for Josh to break this up before anything else was said that either of us would regret. Or at least, I would.

I could sense his disappointment.

"So.. I don't even get a hug anymore?" He asked, finally mustering up the courage to call me out on our handshake. He had no idea how much more I wanted to give him, but I knew my limits.
"Jake, I-" And then I was interrupted by a hand on my waist, pulling me in closer as Jake's eyes shot over to Josh who was now pulling him into a hug.

"I can't believe you're out here." Josh laughed, giving Jake a loud slap on the back. Jake nodded, playfully rolling his eyes, I'm sure already missing life back home. He had never expressed interest in any of this, wanting to be as far away from city life as possible. Something else that proved to me that we were never destined to work out, knowing that at all times, one of us would be settling.

And that wasn't fair to either of us.

"Yeah, well, you know I wouldn't miss this." He said, now shoving his hands into his pockets. Josh wrapped his arm around me, pulling me in closer.
"Well, you almost did." He laughed. "Lucky enough Jaime had an extra ticket. They're so stingy here, only giving us each two." Jake quickly shot me a look, his subtle grin making my face hot again. I avoided his eyes, leaning my head on Josh's shoulder, reaching up for his hand. He didn't hesitate to grab on tight, I'm sure looking for any way to remind Jake of his place in all of this.

I was with him now, and he was going to make sure everyone knew it.

"Alright, so.. where is this thing?" Jake asked, trying his best to change the subject. Josh motioned across the street to the school's auditorium to which I could already see the resistance in Jake's body language. He was never one for such crowds, ironic considering his dream was to be playing for them. But I guess it was easier when you knew they were all here for you.

After meeting up with everyone else, Josh grabbed my hand again, pulling me away towards the back entrance where the rest of the graduates were lining up.
"We'll meet back up with you guys out here when it's over!" He called out, carefully guiding me through the crowds until we were alone again, finally feeling his grip on me relax.

"That wasn't so bad." He sighed. I knew what he was referring to.
"Yeah."
"I appreciated the handshake." I smirked back up at him, now giggling to myself.
"I knew you were watching."
"Of course I was." I reached up, gently caressing his face, pulling him into a gentle kiss to which his body instantly relaxed.

"So.. what did he have to say about your new look?" He pried, now running his fingers through my hair.
"Oh, you couldn't hear that from across the street?" He shook his head, smirking back at me.
"No, but I'm pretty sure that was his intention."
"He just said it was.. different." I shrugged, knowing what that meant. Josh nodded, holding his stare on me, expecting more.
"What else did you guys talk about?"
"Nothing really." I said simply, which was true. "He wasn't happy with the handshake either."
"I'm sure he wasn't." He laughed, playfully rolling his eyes. "But.. thank you." I leaned into another long kiss to which I was met with him kissing me back harder until I could feel that familiar smile.

"I said yes to you." I sighed, wrapping my arms around his neck as his hands moved to my waist, pulling me in closer. "You will always come first." He stared back at me with dazed eyes and a permanent smile.
"Thank you." He mouthed to me, but I could tell there was more.
"What is it?" I asked, now feeling us start to sway, almost as if by habit. I loved how easy it was for us to get lost in our own little world, especially considering after today, that's all it was going to be.

Our own little world, whatever that meant for us.

"This is.. still what you want, right?" He asked. My stomach dropped.
"Of course it is. W-why would you-"
"Because.. I see the way you look at him." I stayed quiet, eventually nodding. There was no denying the way I looked at him, I knew that. But that's all it was now. It didn't mean anything anymore.

"Well, you should see the way I look at you." I said, trying my best to contain my grin. "And how much I can't wait to get you back to our place later to-"
"Jaime!" He laughed, his cheeks now burning red. I couldn't help but smile, loving when he got flustered like this.

There was no denying that ever since getting our own place, that left us with plenty of time to really figure out how much better it can be when we were finally completely comfortable with each other. The excitement of something new was always nice, but nothing was better than finally being with someone who knew you in so many more ways than you could ever imagine, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

"You know, I am surprised that more than five minutes went by and your mom didn't bring up the fact that she still doesn't have any grandkids." He laughed, pulling me into another long kiss. My heart jumped.
"Well, just wait. The second we have those diplomas she's gonna remind you of your deal." He shook his head, playfully rolling his eyes before leaning back into another kiss, unable to contain his giddy laughter.

"Hey, it's not by lack of trying.." He joked. And unfortunately he was right. I don't know what it was, maybe something in me always believed that it wouldn't take that long for us once we decided that was what we wanted, but for some reason, it still hadn't happened. He could sense my change in demeanor.

"But.. that's okay." He assured me. "That doesn't mean anything. I like to think.. they just knew we weren't ready for them yet, that's all." I sighed, forcing a nod. But even still, I couldn't help but overthink.

"And besides, when you win today, you're gonna be happy that that's all you have to focus on. So, everything will play out the way it's supposed to." I couldn't help but smile.
"We don't know if I'm gonna win." I said softly, now avoiding his eyes. He gently turned my chin back to face him again, leaning into another soft kiss.
"Why wouldn't you?" He said. His confidence was comforting. I shrugged.
"I don't know, I guess I just don't want to get my hopes up." I said. And it was true.

About a lot of things.

"Well, they'd be crazy not to pick you. And besides, you promised me a job so you better win or else it's back home without a plan for us." I loved how positive he could always be, despite the fact that as the seconds went by I was growing into more and more of a nervous wreck. By the end of the day, our lives were going to change. How was still left to be determined.

"If nothing happens though-"
"But it will." I smirked back at him.
"But if it doesn't.. promise me that you'll consider music again when we get back home." He was quiet for a moment, before finally leaning back in, gently kissing my cheek.

"We'll see."