Stardust Chords || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 23: A Break

I followed closely as Noah squeezed my hand tighter, quickly guiding me through the bar and back out to the buses. Part of me felt a little resentful, having him come in and ruin what little time alone I had with Jake, but another part of me felt like that was his plan the entire time.

Before he could pull me into the bus, I stopped, yanking my hand away. Because I knew the second I stepped on that bus, the night would be over.

He stopped, staring back at me wide-eyed.
"What is going on with you?" He snapped. I felt my heart beat faster, always hating when he got like this.
"Nothing is going on with me."
"Well, this isn't the Jewel I know." He said, his voice now getting softer.

But this was the Jewel he knew.
If he ever bothered to pay attention to her.

"Jewel, I want to talk about this." He added, reaching over for my hand. My stomach dropped as he carefully pulled me closer.
"I don't want to talk about this now. Not here."
"Well, then where? Back in the bar? With Jake?" My cheeks burned.
"This.. this has nothing to do with Jake." I lied, avoiding his eyes.

"Well, things were fine until he showed up, so-"
"Things weren't fine, Noah!" I yelled, unable to control myself anymore. How could he be so oblivious? "Things haven't been fine for.. years! It just took.. another guy giving me a second of attention for you to realize that other guys might find me interesting." He rolled his eyes, laughing to himself. I could feel the anger growing inside me, just like it did every time he did this.

"You really think he finds you interesting, Jewel? You think that's why he's giving you attention? Because you're interesting? You don't think it has anything to do with the fact that you're basically the only girl on this tour? Men get lonely, and they'll take what they can get."

I felt like I was going to be sick.
Was that how he felt?
Was that why we got together?
Because I was one of the only girls on tour?

"He could have whoever he wanted." I snapped, now feeling tears come to my eyes. "He wouldn't be spending time with me if he didn't want to be." He glared back at me, his jaw clenching.
"This is besides the point, Jewel." He blurted, reaching back out for my hand again. "I wanted to talk tonight, about us, but instead you decided to spend the night with some guy-"
"He's not some guy." I snapped. His grip on me got tighter.

"Jewel, I want to talk about us." He said, now reaching into his pocket. My heart dropped. What was he doing? There was no way he was planning on doing this now? After everything, this was not going to be our story. I had waited way too long for it to happen like this.
"What about us?" I asked cautiously. He let out a deep sigh, giving me a gentle smile before finally kneeling in front of me, pulling out a small velvet box.

"Jewel, I know this might not be the most romantic proposal, but.. we've never really been the most romantic couple, and I need to just be honest and straightforward with you. We've been together for years now. We've built a life together, and through all the ups and downs, we've stuck together, and I don't know what I would do without you.

I've been thinking a lot about our future and where we're headed. It's not just about all we've been through together but also about what comes next. I know that we've faced challenges, but we've always come out stronger.

So, after all this, I think it's the right time to take the next step. I want to be with you, not just because I think it's the right thing to do, but because I genuinely want to build our future together. It's not about grand gestures or perfect timing; it's about us and our shared history and looking forward to what's ahead. So.. will you continue this journey with me, facing whatever comes our way, as we take this next step together? Jewel, will you marry me?"