As we got back into the car, Jake slammed the door behind him. My stomach dropped. I hated when he got like this.

"Hey, um.. I think it would be better if I talked to him.. alone." I said softly. He held his glare out the front window.
"No, I'm gonna talk to him." He snapped, pulling out of the parking lot.
"Jake, you're angry and he's not-"
"Of course I'm angry, Jess. He could've ruined everything."
"But he didn't. We're together and we're happy. So.. please just let me talk to him. We were all drinking that night, what if he just forgot, I'm sure he didn't mean-"

"Forgot?" He yelled. "You don't forget something like that, Jess. Why are you making excuses for him?" I felt my cheeks burn.
"I'm.. I'm not making excuses, I just-"
"You are, Jess."
"Jake please, I don't want to fight today." He bit down on his lip, nodding.

"Fine." He said softly. "You talk to him."
"Thank you." I whispered. I then reached over, gently taking his hand. He hesitated for a minute, but a smile eventually escaped his lips as he peeked over at me.

"I'm really excited about our place." I said, intertwining our fingers. He nodded, his smile growing.
"Me too." He said softly. "And.. with the next leg of the tour, it might be a little while until we can really get settled in but.. I like that it's still.. ours." I nodded.

As we pulled up their driveway, Jake stopped the car, turning to me.
"Hey, maybe I should go with you guys." He said, biting down on his lip. I sighed, smiling back at him.
"I think Sam just wanted it to be.. me and him." I said. He scrunched up his face.
"Why would he care if it was just you two?" I shrugged.
"I don't know, it's his gift to me, I just-" He sighed, looking away.

"And.. if I'm gonna talk to him, I think it would be better if you weren't there. I know how you get. Things may not.. go as well." I said quietly.
"Fine." He sighed, pulling away. My face dropped as I got out of the car, following closely behind him.

I saw Sam sitting at their kitchen counter as we made our way in. He turned to me, giving me a subtle smile. I could see Jake tense up as Sam hopped out of his chair, making his way over. I reached over, gently rubbing his arm. He peeked back at me, giving me a small smile before heading down the hallway to his bedroom.

"You ready?" Sam asked, grabbing his keys. I nodded, smiling back up at him. His cheeks burned as he smiled back, leading us outside to his car. I knew I had to talk to him about the ring, but I figured I'd wait until later. There was no sense ruining the day just yet. I really don't think he meant anything by it. 

I'm sure it was all just a misunderstanding. 

As I got in his car, I realized that Sam and I had never really spent time alone like this before. Not without the risk of anyone else showing up. He reached his arm around, placing it on the back of my seat as he turned to back out of the driveway. I felt my cheeks burn.

"So.. what do you think I should get?" I asked, turning to face him. He smirked over at me.
"Well... that all depends." He said. "You could get a guitar, if you want, you know, the safe choice, or you could have some taste and get a bass, where then I could teach you how to play our songs." He laughed. My smile grew.

"Oh, so I could play your songs." I laughed. "I thought you were gonna help me with my songs." He flashed me a bigger smile, his cheeks burning.
"Have you been writing more?" He asked, biting down on his lip. I hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded.
"Maybe.." I said quietly, looking forward. He nodded, turning away.
"W-what have you been writing about?" He asked. I felt my heart start to beat faster.
"Don't worry about it." I giggled to myself. I saw him smile again out of the corner of my eye.

As we walked in, I was overwhelmed by just how many different styles there actually were. He noticed.
"Don't worry, just look around and see what you like." He giggled, standing close to me.
"I don't know anything about this stuff, so you should probably lead." He nodded, playfully putting his hands on my shoulders.
"Well, then let's go this way." He laughed, guiding me over towards the basses. I peeked up at him, shaking my head.
"A little biased, don't you think?" He shrugged, flashing me a smile.
"I just think you deserve the best." He said quietly. I felt my cheeks burn.

"This one's cute." I said, stopping at one. He laughed, shaking his head.
"A pink one?" He asked. I smirked back up at him.
"What's wrong with pink?" He shook his head, giggling to himself.
"Nothing, I just.. I didn't take you as one of those girls." He said sarcastically.
"Oh, shut up." I laughed, playfully shoving him. His smile grew as he wandered back closer, wrapping his arm around me.

"What about this one?" I asked, smirking back up at him. He bit down on his lip, his smiling growing.
"That looks like mine." He said. I nodded, holding my stare on him. "So you want to match me?"
"Why not?" I asked. His cheeks burned red.
"You know, usually I wouldn't like it, but for you.." He said, his voice trailing off. I felt my heart start to beat faster.
"For me what?" I giggled. He held his stare on me for a moment, then looked back at it.
"Do you want it or not?" He laughed. I nodded, my smile growing.
"Then this one it is." He sighed, leading us back up to the front counter.

"And will that be all? Do you want it personalized?" I looked up at Sam, my smile growing.
"Oh yeah, you're supposed to name them, right?" I asked. He smirked down at me.
"You can if you want." He said, flashing me a smile. I felt my cheeks burn.
"How do you do it?" I asked.
"We can paint it on the back, if you'd like." I nodded, turning to Sam.
"Hey, can you go pick me out a strap you think would match?" I asked. He smirked down at me, nodding. After I knew he was out of earshot, I turned back.

"You can just write 'Samuel.'" I said quietly. "And then wrap it up, thank you."

When Sam came back over, he placed a pink guitar strap on the counter, smiling back at me.
"Pink?" I laughed. He shrugged.
"You said you liked pink." He giggled to himself. "And it'll look good with the green."
"Alright, whatever you say."

"So, what did you pick?" He asked. "Can I see?"
"You can see when we get back home." I said, peeking over at him. He smirked, nodding.
"You're really not gonna tell me?" I bit down on my lip, shaking my head. He sighed, rolling his eyes, turning back to the counter.
"She named it Jake, didn't she?" He asked. The man behind the counter smirked over at me. I quickly shook my head, giving him wide eyes. He laughed to himself as he finished wrapping it up, bringing it back over to us.
"Yeah, I figured." He sighed.

Once we were finished, Sam grabbed the bass, and brought it out to the car, gently placing it in the backseat.
"You excited?" He asked, flashing me a smile. "Now the real work begins." I nodded, feeling my cheeks burn.
"You're gonna make sure that I'm good, right?" I asked. He nodded.
"Of course, cause what if I can't play one night? Then you can cover for me." I laughed, shaking my head.
"You're funny.." I sighed. He peeked over at me, his cheeks burning.

As we started driving back home, he reached over, placing his hand behind the headrest of my seat. I bit down on my lip, peeking over at him.
"Sam.." I finally said.
"Yeah?"
"Can I.. ask you something?" He looked over at me, his smile growing.
"Anything." I felt my heart start to beat faster.

"Um.. do you.. do you have my ring? From Jake?" I finally asked. His face dropped as his eyes went wide. "He said that.. the night we broke up, he gave it to you.. to give back to me." He bit down on his lip, nodding a little.
"I.. I do." He finally said. "Look Jess, I'm.. I'm sorry, I've been meaning to give it back to you but I just.. I didn't know if it would make things worse.." He sighed, running his hands through his hair.

"Jess.. I was the one who had to take care of you that night and.. I just think if I gave you that ring back, it would have confused you. You needed time. I was.. just trying to help, I swear. I.. I just want what's best for you and sometimes.." He stopped. I felt my heart start to beat faster.
"S-sometimes.. what?" I asked, feeling my cheeks burn.

"Sometimes.. I.. I don't think.. Jake is good for you." He said quietly. My heart dropped.
"You.. you don't." I sighed, holding my stare on him. He bit down on his lip, shaking his head.
"I just feel like.. you keep getting hurt and.. it killed me to see you like that. He's not a bad guy, not at all, and I know you love him, but.. sometimes.. I think.. love by itself isn't always enough."

I felt my heart beating faster as I held my stare on him. I really wasn't sure what to say.

"Jess.. I.. I have so much fun with you. I can't remember the last time I've been able to.. really be myself around someone the way I can be with you. I.. I care about you so much and.. after everything, I feel like.. well, we've gotten close and.. maybe this isn't what you want to hear right now, and.. I don't want to ruin anything but I feel like I can't.. not tell you. Cause.. I don't know, maybe.. maybe you do feel the same way? But.." He sighed, looking over at me.

"Jess, I feel like.. I'm falling for y-"

Then the last thing I remember was the loud crash, glass shattering all around me. Life moved in slow motion as I felt Sam's arm reach out in front of me, quickly pulling me back into my seat just before being launched through the windshield.

And then everything went black.