The Weight of Dreams || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 10: Everyone Saw It

Sam's P.O.V.

I lied back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, watching the fan spin round and round and round.. 

I hadn't worked up the courage to get up and see what my face looked like yet, despite Juliette telling me I already had black eyes. At least she thought they looked cool. She was probably just saying that to make me feel better. 

I don't know why I said anything. I should've just kept my mouth shut. Everything was going so well. I had never expected to feel so close to someone like her, not like this. Part of me wondered if something was going to happen. It felt like maybe she wanted it to.

I thought back to what Mom had said before we left, but it felt important to get involved in something like this, for someone like her. And she seemed to care about me too. Or at least she acted like it. My stomach dropped. Don did say she was like this. But, deep down I didn't want to believe it. I'd like to think that someone like her couldn't be like that with just anyone. Though when you're forced to be with someone like Don for the sake of your entire career, I could understand searching for affection wherever you could find it. 

I had no intention of finding anything on this tour, but it felt like she found me. I hoped I wasn't just making it all up in my head.

I quickly jumped up, hearing the bus door slam. I listened for a minute.
"Jake? What happened?" There was no answer.
"Jake?" I heard the rustling of the curtains closing over one of the bunks.
"Jake, come on, talk to me. What happened?" 

I got up, making my way out into the main area of the bus to see Josh standing outside of Jake's bunk. I looked over at him, pointing towards the bunk, giving him a confused look. Josh rolled his eyes, shrugging, motioning crying. I felt my stomach drop.

"He's crying?" I mouthed. Josh stared back at me wide-eyed, shrugged again.
"Do you know what happened?" He mouthed back. I shook my head.
"Jake?" I asked, knocking on the wall next to his bunk. "You okay?"

"No!" He finally yelled, his voice muffled. I could tell he had his face shoved into his pillow.
"What happened?" I asked. I leaned against the wall, sliding down to the floor. 
"I made a complete idiot out of myself, okay? That's what happened." He snapped, his voice raspy and sharp. Jake never cried. It killed me to hear him like this.

"I'm sure it couldn't have been that bad." I sighed. "What happened?"
"I kissed Juliette." He mumbled. My heart dropped. I was silent for a minute. Josh noticed, quickly taking over.
"You did what?" He asked. I heard Jake grunt, shoving his face back into his pillow.
"I kissed Juliette." He muttered again.
"Well.. that's great?" Josh said, turning to me again. It felt like my heart was in my throat. Josh looked to me for help, but I didn't have any.

"It's not great!" Jake snapped. "She ran off and locked herself on her bus." I peeked back up at Josh, who was already looking down at me. He stared at me with questioning eyes. I felt my cheeks burn as I looked away again.

"I'm.. I'm sure it wasn't you." I said quietly. "She.. she was already upset when she left."

Jake slowly opened the curtain, rolling over to face us.
"What do you mean? What happened?" He asked me. I sighed, running my good hand through my hair.

"I.. I upset her. I asked her about Don. It.. It wasn't you, Jake. I actually think.. she might really like you." Jake sighed, rolling his eyes and turning back over.
"Well, she sure has an awful way of showing it." He mumbled.
"I'm sure.. if the moment was right.. she.. really would have loved it." I sighed, staring down at the floor. I knew deep down Juliette had had a thing for Jake since the moment we first walked into her dressing room. I saw the way they both looked at each other. It wasn't hard for anyone to notice it.

And it killed me. 

He was the one brave enough to make the first move, and I was the one stupid enough to punch the boyfriend.

"I'm so stupid." Jake sighed, pulling his covers over his head. "She's never gonna look at me again. Don was probably right.. she's probably like this with everyone. It had nothing to do with me."
"Don doesn't know her at all." I said sternly. Josh peeked down at me. I looked away. "She's not like that."

"You would know." Jake snapped.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, feeling my face get hot.
"It means she chose you the day we met her, so I have no idea why you're trying to convince me otherwise. She can't take her hands off you, and you're really gonna sit here and try to tell me she likes me?"  I sighed, pushing myself off the ground and pulled the covers off of him.

"You have no idea what she says about you." I blurted out. "All I have to do is mention your name and she becomes a nervous wreck. Sure, she's comfortable around me, so what? But you.. you do something to her that.. I clearly just don't." Josh looked over at me with wide eyes. I sighed.

He knew.

Jake sat up and looked up at me. The bus was quiet.
"Just.. go talk to her. That's what she really wants."
"She doesn't want to see-"
"She does." I snapped. I went back into the bedroom, and slammed the door behind me.

I plopped back down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling again. I was the one who should feel stupid, thinking someone like her could ever see me as more than... whatever I was to her.

Was I just another guy to get her through the day when Don wasn't around? Someone to be there for her in all the ways Don wasn't? My stomach dropped.

It wasn't like Jake could be with her, anyway. She was with Don, as far as the entire world knew. There was no way in hell she could ever be seen with another guy. And god forbid she ever was. Don would have him dead. I could tell he already had his eye on Jake when he walked in the door. 

It just proved that everyone saw it.. except them.