The Weight of Dreams || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 14: The One You've Been Thinking About

As we pulled up to the back of the venue, there were photographers lined up on both sides of the bus doors. I wondered how they were legally allowed back here.

I went to grab Sam's hand, but hesitated, feeling my face get hot. He turned to face me, giving me a gentle smile.
"You okay?" He said quietly, holding his hand out. I nodded.
"I'll be okay." I whispered. He nodded, pulling his hand back. I could feel Jake standing behind me. He leaned his chin on my shoulder, getting closer.
"Want me to go with you?" He asked. I bit my lip, nodding, gently sliding my hand into this.
"You have to go out first."

Sam walked out first with Tony and Amy. I saw Amy trailing close behind Sam. I felt my cheeks burn. I could tell she was doing it on purpose, trying to make it look like she was with him. I knew now I would overanalyze every move she made around him. 

I wish she had never told me.

The photographers yelled, getting closer to Sam, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. But he did a good job at ignoring them. I could see him hold up his hand, covering his face as he made his way inside. My heart started to beat faster. I could feel my breath getting heavy again. Jake turned around to face me.

"You doing okay?" He asked, putting one hand on my shoulder. I nodded, taking a deep breath, pulling my hand out of his. He looked down, and then back up at me, his face dropping.
"It's not a good idea." I said quietly, breathing deeper. He bit down on his lip, nodding.

"Okay, but I'm still gonna walk in with you. You're not going by yourself." He said. I nodded. As he opened the door of the bus, I was blinded by the flashes. They started shouting, crowding in on me.

"Juliette! Who's the new boyfriend?"
"How is Don taking the breakup?"
"Does Don know about the new man?"
"Juliette! Over here!" 
"Juliette!" 

They started crowding in closer. Jake turned around, reaching over and grabbing my hand, pulling me the rest of the way inside, and slamming the door as Josh and Danny quickly trailed in behind. He leaned over, whispering into my ear.
"I'm gonna hold your hand from now on." He said. It felt like my face was on fire. I nodded.

We followed Tony and Amy down the hallway to our dressing rooms.

"Okay, you boys are in here. Juliette, you're across the hall. Now it's pretty big back here so make sure you remember where they are. We're on a strict schedule today. Juliette, you've got about 20 minutes until your first interview. And you boys have yours in an hour. You can go and check out the stage while you're waiting for her to finish if you want."

Sam turned to Josh and Danny, motioning down the hallway towards the stage. Jake looked over at me.
"What did you want to show me?" He asked.
"Oh, you can go with them if you want, it's okay." I said. He smirked, shaking his head.
"What is it?" I sighed, smiling back and pulling him into my dressing room, shutting the door behind us.

"I just wanted to be alone with you for a few minutes." I giggled. His eyes got wide and cheeks turned bright red.
"O-oh.." He said, flashing me a big smile. His grip tightened. 
"It's rare that we'll ever get a moment alone." I said, leading him over to the makeup station. I pushed myself up, sitting on top of the counter, looking up at him. He moved in closer, standing between my legs.

"You're so beautiful." He sighed, reaching up, gently running his fingers down my cheek. My heart started to race. "How did I get so lucky?"

I grabbed onto his shirt, pulling him closer.
"You're cute." I giggled, leaning in and kissing him on the lips. His hand moved from my cheek to behind my neck, pulling me in closer, kissing me back harder.

I gently backed away, leaning my forehead against his. He was staring back at me smiling. I had started to feel lightheaded. I never knew that's what kisses were supposed to feel like. My whole life, everything with Don felt.. forced or just.. fake. It felt like it was just something that I had to do. But kissing Jake felt like, just for a moment, I could finally be happy with someone. Like I wasn't just arm candy. Jake kissed me like I was the only girl in the world.