Stardust Chords || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 24: More Than Welcome

Jake's P.O.V

I quickly made my way onto the bus, throwing myself into my bunk, and hiding my face in my pillow. I told myself I was never going to put myself in this position ever again, and yet here I was, crying on the tour bus.

It was pathetic. I had no reason to feel like this. She didn't owe me anything. It was my own fault, getting lost within these daydreams of her, of us, that I had created in my own head. But that didn't mean it hurt any less.

I rolled over, pulling out my phone, texting Josh.
"Bus." I typed, before turning over again. It was a matter of minutes before I heard the door open, his quiet footsteps quickly making their way back before carefully opening the curtain.

"Hey." He whispered, sitting down on the edge. "W-what happened?" I sighed, wiping my eyes before turning over to face him. I saw his face drop, but he quickly saved it with a sympathetic smile.
"Noah proposed." I muttered. His eyes went wide, staying quiet for a moment, no doubt thinking of what he could possibly say to try and make me feel better. But he knew there was nothing.

"I'm sorry." He eventually said. "I know how much you like her." I avoided his eyes, now sitting up, pulling my knees up against my chest, leaning my head on top of them.
"I just.. I don't get what she sees in him. H-how could she want to marry someone like that?" Josh shrugged, gently placing his hand on my head.

I appreciated that, despite the fact that, no matter what the case, Josh always took my feelings seriously. When other people might've brushed me off, he never did.

"You know, and.. maybe this doesn't help, but.. when her and I were talking the other night, it kinda sounded like.. she was considering ending things with him, and.. well, I don't want to put words in her mouth or anything but.. it seemed like.. it might've been because of you." My heart sunk.
"You're right." I giggled. "That doesn't help." He smiled, gently pushing the hair out of my face.

"Well, then maybe it was good that nothing happened between you two." He said softly. "If this is how you're gonna be after only a few cigarettes, I couldn't imagine if you two had gotten together." I shook my head, playfully rolling my eyes.
"I just.. I thought this time could be different." I muttered. He nodded.
"I know. Me too."

"What am I supposed to do for the rest of the tour now?" I groaned, sitting back up, running my fingers through my hair. He shrugged, letting out a deep sigh.
"I mean, what can you do? I guess.. the best thing would be to.. not let things get weird. Cause after all, you know she didn't do this to you. There's still so much you don't know about her. There was just too much history between them." I nodded, despite how much I hated hearing it.

It wasn't fair. So the only thing I could blame this on was timing? He got to win just because she met him first?

"So.. everything between us meant nothing?" I said, but deep down I felt silly. Nothing had really happened between us, just a few nights spent sitting too close in bars, a few shared cigarettes that I had romanticized beyond belief. Who was I to be mad at her? And I wasn't mad at her.

I just wished, for once, someone could feel about me the way I felt about them.

"I don't think it meant nothing." He said. "She just.. I don't know." I nodded, keeping my head down. It was then I had realized I had taken him away from his night with Avery.
"I'm sorry." I muttered. "For.. for ruining your night. I.. I didn't mean-"
"You didn't ruin anything." He said simply. I peeked up at him to see him giving me a subtle grin.
"But.. it seemed like it was going well."
"I don't think he sees me that way." He shrugged. "But.. I tried."
"It must be genetics." I laughed. "No one likes us." His smile grew as he playfully shoved my away.