The Weight of Dreams || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 68: Rare

Jake's P.O.V

For those few minutes, it was only her and I in that bar, and I realized that's how I wanted it to be for the rest of my life.

It was incredible. I saw Juliette perform every night, and she was great, but finally getting to hear Julia made me see that.. she didn't need anyone. She could play, just like this, and people would still be just as mesmerized as I was, though.. I loved knowing that no one else would be lucky enough to have songs written about them.

Just the thought of it made my heart skip a beat, her feeling enough to sit down and write something like this about me. I had written plenty of songs before, but never had I ever known the feeling of being on the other side of it, and it was enough to make me want to whisk her away right now.

I had heard enough.
I loved her. I loved her more than anything.
And she needed to know.
I needed to tell her.
Tonight.

When she finished, there were a few claps, a few approving head nods, but nothing nearly enough to praise what a performer she really was. If only these people had any idea who was in front of them right now. We truly did come from two different worlds.

I clapped extra loud, letting out a few obnoxious cheers until she quickly made her way over to me in an embarrassed fluster.
"Will you stop?" She laughed, jokingly trying to put her hands over my mouth as her cheeks burned bright red. I shook my head, grabbing her face and pulled her into a passionate kiss. I could feel her smile as one of her arms tightly wrapped around my neck, pulling me in deeper, kissing me back harder.

"You are incredible." I sighed, instantly pulling her back into another long kiss. She shook her head, moving away, flashing me a toothy grin.
"I'm glad you think so." She laughed. "I don't think they were very impressed."
"Well, it wasn't for them." I said softly. She bit down on her lip, her smile growing.
"You're right." She said, reaching up, gently caressing my face.

"So.. you said that.. the person who inspired it was here tonight." She nodded.
"I did." She said simply, holding her stare on me.
"Are you gonna tell me who it was about?" I asked jokingly, not wanting to embarrass myself just in case it wasn't about me. She playfully rolled her eyes, pulling me into another long kiss.

"You know who it was about." She whispered. I bit down on my lip, trying my best to contain my giddy grin.
"But.. I want to hear it." I said, still just.. needing to be sure. "From you."
"It's about you." She sighed, now playing along, giving me a look that made me weak in the knees.

As far as she was concerned, I was ready to go home.
If looks were enough, she'd know just how deeply I felt for her as I got lost in her eyes once again.

She leaned into another quick kiss, gently caressing my face before taking my hand, and leading me back towards the table.
"We don't have to go back." I said, only half joking. She shook her head, giggling to herself as she made her way over, sliding back into the booth next to Mom.

"Jake, would you go get us a drink?" She asked, before I could sit. I quickly glanced over, seeing that Julia was giving me a reassuring nod. I told her I'd be with her all night, so if even for a moment she felt uncomfotable-
"It's okay." She said. "And you know, all that singing.." I nodded, leaning in, quickly kissing the top of her head before making my way back over to the bar.

Julia's P.O.V

She was quiet for a moment, watching as Jake made his way across the bar, waiting for him to finally be out of ear shot before turning to face me. I could already feel myself starting to get nervous all over again. I would much rather be back up on stage singing to a sea of strangers who wanted nothing to do with me.

"That was very nice." She finally said, flashing me a timid grin, motioning towards the stage. "Your song. You said.. you just wrote it?" I nodded, feeling my face get hot.
"Y-yeah, it's new." I said softly, nervously picking at the napkin in front of me.
"Can I.. ask who it's about?" I nodded, now giggling to myself.
"You can." Her smile grew, nodding back at me.

She understood.

"Jake loves really hard." She said softly.
"That would be a really nice change for me." I muttered. "Because I've always wanted to." She was quiet for a moment, noticing my change in demeanor.
"Are you okay?" She finally asked. I nodded, giving her a gentle smile.
"I am now." She then reached over, gently taking my hand.

"I'm sorry.." She said. "Considering, I.. I don't know much about you, but.. when Jake talks about you, I feel like I've known you forever, and you just don't sound like someone who would string him along for no reason. It's just.. for the longest time, it didn't make sense, you and him, but.. just seeing you two together.. there's something there that.. is so rare, and.. well, I'm just happy he's happy. And if you make him happy then.. you must be really great."

I gently wiped the tears that had filled my eyes, squeezing her hand tighter. Peeking over, I could see Jake still standing over at the bar, eyes focused as the bartender finished making our drinks. We didn't have much time left alone.

"I love him." I whispered. I could see her eyes instantly light up, despite trying her best to hide her reaction, but even still, I couldn't contain my smile. Just the words falling off of my tongue tasted so sweet, and he deserved to hear them, just as much as everyone else. But it felt particularly important that she knew.

"I think he loves you too." She said, reaching up, gently touching my cheek. "I would just.. hate for anyone to get hurt."
"So would I." I agreed, knowing that's been the only thing on my mind since that first night we kissed.

"Here you go!" Jake called out, sliding into the chair next to me, placing two drinks down in front of us. His mom quickly pulled her hand away, flashing him a satisfied grin.
"Thank you." She said, taking a sip and directing her attention towards the next person who started playing. I took this as my cue.

"Are you gonna sing for me tonight?" I asked, sliding closer to him. He bit down on his lip, shrugging.
"I don't know, what do you want to hear?"
"You'd really sing?" He sighed, playfully rolling his eyes as he reached over, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me closer to him.
"For you, I would. Especially after that song." He said softly, gently kissing my forehead. I felt like I was going to explode, wanting nothing more than to just be alone with him.

"Or.." I said, motioning towards the door. "If you'd rather.. I think I'd enjoy it much more if it was just the two of us." His eyes instantly lip up, his grip on me getting tighter. He quickly scanned the room, noticing that the attention was off of us, and if we were going to sneak out, now would definitely be the time.

"How fast can you finish that?" He laughed, looking down at my cup. I took a big sip before sliding it over to him. He didn't hesitate to grab it, tilting it all the way back and slamming the glass back down on the table with a satisfied sigh.

"Well, I'm gonna be feeling that in a minute." He laughed, taking my hand and helping me out of the booth. "You may get way more than a song out of me tonight." My heart jumped.
"So will you." I said, leaning in close, whispering in his ear. His eyes went wide, his grip on me getting tighter as he quickly pulled me through the bar and out the front door.