I knew he was kidding. He had to be. There was no way he could actually be thinking like that. Not yet. Not for a long time. Then again, knowing Jake..

"You are kidding, right?" I asked, gently pulling my hand away. He smirked, holding his stare on me.
"Don't worry." He sighed. "Wouldn't dream of it, Jess." He rolled his eyes, getting up from the couch. I felt my stomach drop.

"Jake, I didn't mean it like-"
"I know." He said, giving me a small smile. "You wanna come with me?" He asked. "I'm gonna catch up with the guys."

"Um.." I thought. "Actually, I'm.. gonna call my Dad, I wanna see where they're all gonna be tonight." His smile grew.
"Are you gonna invite them?" He asked, leaning in the doorway. I felt my cheeks burn.
"You really want to meet them?" He nodded eagerly, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Of course I do." He said simply, flashing me a smile. My cheeks burned, a smile escaping my lips. He knew how adorable he was, and I hated it.
"Alright, get out of here.." I laughed, looking away.
"Okay, okay.." He sighed. "Come find me when you're done." He shut the door behind him. 

The phone only rang once before my Dad picked up.

"Sorry. Wrong number." He said.
"Hey Dad." I laughed. I heard him giggle from the other side.
"Hi Sweetheart, you just get in yet? When do I get to see you?" He asked.
"Yeah, we just got here. We're at the venue already. So um.. one of the guys.. they wanted you to come to their show tonight."

"Oh, one of the guys, huh?" He asked. I could hear the tone in his voice. My cheeks burned. I already knew where this was going to go. "Why is this boy so eager to meet me, huh?"
"Daaad.." I sighed. I heard him laugh again.
"Is there anything going on with.. one of these guys?" I bit down on my lip, not really sure how to answer that.

"There.. might be." I said quietly. I heard him giggle again. "It's not.. it's not official."
"He's not leading you on, is he? I know how those type-"
"Don't worry. He's not, Dad." I sighed.

"Alright, alright. I know you can handle yourself. Well, then I'd love to meet this.. friend?" He asked. 
"Yes, we're calling him a friend right now." I giggled. "Please don't make it weird. He's probably going to be nervous as it is."
"Oh.. why would one of your friends be nervous to meet me?"
"Dad.."
"Okay, okay.." He sighed. I could hear the smile in his voice.

"So.. what is your friend's name?" He asked. I should've known he wasn't going to drop it that easily.
"His name is Jake." I said, looking out the window. The last thing I wanted was one of the guys walking in during this conversation.
"Jake.. okay.." He said.
"But Dad.. please be nice." I said softly. "He's.. he's special."
"If you say he is, then I'll be nice." I couldn't help but smile. 

"Have you heard from Mom?" I asked. He was quiet for a minute.
"Not recently." He said simply. I understood.
"She still off.. god knows where?" I asked. He was quiet again.
"Most likely." He said.
"Well, I'm sure she'll turn up when she hears about the show." I sighed.
"Most likely." He laughed.

"Well, I'll send you the directions to the venue. I'd.. prefer if it was just you here but.. if anyone else hears about it, you can invite them too. Just let me know so I can have them put on the guest list."
"Oh, the guest list.." He mocked. "How important is this guy? We never had a guest list for Travis' shows." I felt my cheeks burn. I knew it was only a matter of time until he brought up Travis. 

"Their shows are.. a little bigger than Travis'." I said. "And.. could you not bring him up around Jake tonight?"
"Oh, does your.. friend not know about you two?" He asked. I rolled my eyes. I could tell this friend thing was going to drag out all night. I knew I never should've mentioned anything.

"He knows about Travis, it's just.. I don't want him getting the wrong idea.. you know like-"
"Sweetheart, you are nothing like your Mother, so don't ever worry about that. And.. if he's as good of a friend as you say, he should be able to accept your past too." I sighed.
"Thanks, Dad."

"So, I'll see you tonight." He said. "Can't wait to meet him."
"Okay, see you later, Dad. I love you."
"I love you, Sweetheart."

I hung up, tossing my phone to the side. I don't know why I was nervous, I just really wanted him to like Jake. Aside from Travis, by dad had never really approved of anyone I've ever been with, and sometimes I don't even think he liked Travis all that much. I knew he just wanted the best for me, but our.. current situation was less than ideal. I'm sure he'd assume we weren't together because of Jake.. not because of me.

I peeked out the window before making my way down the stairs of the bus. Thankfully there were only a few fans outside. They all turned to look as I opened the door. I flashed them a smile and a wave.

"That's Jake's girlfriend." I heard them whisper. My heart dropped.
"See, she's wearing his shirt. I saw a photo of him in that one the other day."

I forgot I was wearing his shirt. 

My cheeks burned, and I quickly made my way into the venue. I followed the music as I heard the guys doing soundcheck down the hallway. I peeked my head in and quietly stood off to the side, not wanting to draw any attention to myself.

"I just think if you sang it this way-" Jake said
"I'm singing it fine." Josh snapped, rolling his eyes.
"It just doesn't sound right when you-"
"Well, do you want to do it?"
"Guys, it sounds fine, I just think-" Sam chimed in.

"No, there's a way of doing things but Josh just thinks he can do whatever he wants." Jake snapped, glaring over at him. My stomach dropped. 

I couldn't help but feel like this wasn't about the song anymore. 

"Well maybe you thought it was right this way, but it turns out the way I do it is better." Josh yelled.
"Guys, come on, we should just-" Danny said
"You can't just change the song." Jake yelled. "And you can't just kiss someone else's girlfriend!"
"She wanted me to."
"Did she tell you that? Or do you just assume everyone wants you." Jake snapped, quickly lifting his guitar over his head and dropping it onto the stand.

"You have no idea what she wants, why do you think she always runs to me? Obviously whatever you're doing, you're not making her happy. I can make her happy!" Josh snapped. I could see Jake's face getting angrier. 
"Her and I are gonna be together, so the sooner you accept that and back off-"
"If she was going to be with you, she would've done it by now. She only settled for you when she thought I would get tired of her-"

That was the final straw. 

Jake charged at Josh, shoving him hard towards the wings of the stage. Sam quickly tossed his bass to the side, reaching out to grab Jake, pulling him off of Josh. Danny quickly ran out from behind the drum set, grabbing Josh by the arms before he could swing.

"Jake!" I yelled out, quickly running over to the stage. He stopped, turning to my wide-eyed. Sam pulled him across the stage, as far away as he could get from Josh.
"Can you take him!?" Sam asked. I nodded, quickly climbing up onto the stage and going over to him. He was holding his mouth and I could already see blood smeared across his sleeve.
"I got him." I said, pushing the hair out of Jake's face.

"Come on." I said, taking him by the hand, leading him through the wings. I pulled him backstage until I could find a bathroom to clean him up.
"Are you okay?" I asked, wetting a wad of paper towels. I gently put it up to his face. He winced, then reached for it.
"No, let me help you." I said, holding it against his lip. He peeked over at me, smirking. My cheeks burned. I held in my smile, but I could tell he noticed.

"I'm fine." He sighed, holding his stare. My heart started to race.
"What was all that about?" I asked.
"Well, how much did you hear?"
"Just about all of it." I said quietly. He nodded.
"So then you know." He said plainly.

"I should get you some ice."
"Is it true?" He asked. 
"Is.. what true?" My heart was beating even faster.
"Is it true.. that you just settled for me."
"No." I said softly. "I wanted you." I felt his smile grow under the paper towel.

"Do you still want me?" He asked. My heart jumped.
"Jake.." I smiled. He bit down on his lip, and winced again.
"Don't do that." I giggled to myself. "I'll get you some ice."
"I'll be fine." He sighed, he reached up, holding his hand over mine, staring back at me.

"What did I say about looking at me like that?" I asked. He rolled his eyes, looking away.
"I like when you take care of me." He said softly. I smirked, running the paper towel under the water again. He winced when I placed it back on his lip.

"Did you talk to your dad?" He asked. I nodded.
"He said he's gonna come tonight." I said.
"I'm excited to meet him." He said eagerly.

"Now, I.. I told him.. we were friends." I said, avoiding his eyes. He was quiet for a minute.
"Well.. I guess we are.. for now." I smiled, shaking my head.
"You don't quit, do you?" I giggled. He shook his head.
"I'll never quit." He said, staring back at me with dazed eyes.
"I hope you don't." I said quietly. His smile grew as he reached up, holding my face in his hand, gently running his thumb across my cheek.

"Jake.." I sighed.
"Mhm?" His eyes moved down to my lips. It felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest.
"You should get back." I said, my eyes now moving down to his lips. I hated that I couldn't remember the last time I kissed him. 

How badly I wanted to remember.

"Yeah, I think practice is over after that." He laughed, leaning in close. I reached up, wrapping my arm around his neck. His smile grew as he leaned his forehead against mine. I moved the paper towels away, getting a closer look at his lip.

"It doesn't look too bad." I said, leaning in closer. "How does it feel?"
"Come here so I can find out." He whispered, reaching out, grabbing onto my shirt, pulling me closer. I reached up, wrapping my other arm around his neck, staring back into his eyes. It was so easy to get lost in them.

"I'm a wounded man, the least you can do is kiss me to make it better." He giggled, running his thumb along my cheek again. I smiled, rolling my eyes.

"We'll see how tonight goes."