"Thank you, Jaime." Jake sighed, gently rubbing my arm. I felt my body get hot again, nodding as a smile escaped my lips.

"But, I.. I don't know if-"

"He'll listen to you, Jaime. I just.. need a chance. And this could be my chance. This could be all of our chance and.. I don't want to give up before I've even gotten to try."

I knew how badly he wanted this, and if there was any way that I could help, then.. I would.

"I'll talk to him." I said softly, taking another sip. He nodded, flashing me a wide grin.

"Thanks." He said again, playfully nudging my arm. "So.. there's a really great spot on my side of the stage, you know, to watch. I was scouting it out and-"

"Well, what about Cait?" I asked, now trying to give him an opportunity to be the one to tell me about them. He stopped, his face dropping, taking another big sip.

"Um.." He started, avoiding my eyes. "Cait and I broke up."

"Oh.. I'm sorry. Are you okay?" He shrugged, eventually nodding.

"Yeah. Like I said, I.. I was looking for a way out anyway." I nodded, smirking up at him, thinking back on that night in the closet. That was the realest he had ever been with me. Granted, I'm sure he was drunk as ever, but it was still nice to feel.. somewhat close to him.

I wish we could be like that more often.

"Right." I laughed. "Well, as long as you're happy." He nodded, now staring back at me with dazed eyes, a subtle grin on his lips.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Everyone seems to think I'm torn up about it but.. I'm okay. She just.. wasn't the one. I knew that." I nodded, now wondering what would qualify as "the one" for Jake. He had never really treated any of his girlfriends like the one, so.. I didn't know what Jake "in love" would even look like.

"You cold?" He asked, I guess noticing me trying to hide my shivering. He slid off his flannel, handing it over to me. "It's basically a wind tunnel back here, I know." I hesitated for a moment before taking it, wrapping it around me.

"Thanks." He shrugged, shyly looking away.

"So are you nervous now? Knowing how much is riding on this?"

"Oh, I'm terrified." He laughed, peeking back up at me. "But.. I don't know, feels good to have people here supporting me.. well, us." He leaned over, playfully nudging me again before slowly making his way next to me. I bit down on my lip, looking up at him as he smiled back down at me.

"Well, you're gonna do great. You always do." I said softly, taking another sip, looking down at my feet.

"You really think so?" I rolled my eyes, nudging him back.

"Oh, shut up, you know you do." I felt my cheeks burn at the sound of him giggling again.

"Well, thank you. That means a lot.. coming from you." I peeked back up at him.

"Why me?" He bit down on his lip, his cheeks burning red again.

"Jaime, with you I feel-"

"Jake?" I heard from behind me. We both turned around, the color instantly draining from his face.

"Cait? What are you doing here?" He quickly moved away from me, tightly crossing his arms, I'm sure now regretting giving me his shirt. My stomach dropped. I was wearing his shirt. I'm sure this would go over well.

"Everyone is talking about the show tonight. And I figured.. we could talk." Her eyes then shot over to me, her face getting angrier. "But I guess I should have known that she would be here."

"I.. I should go." I muttered, not wanting to intrude more than I already felt like I was.

"Yeah. You should." Cait snapped, glaring back at me. My stomach dropped as her eyes moved back down to Jake's flannel. I went to take it off but he shook his head.

"No, keep it. It's okay." He said, giving me a gentle smile. "I'll meet you inside."

I peeked back at Cait who was still glaring at me.

"Will you leave already? You've done enough."

"Don't talk to her like that." Jake snapped. "I don't have to talk to you at all. So just.. relax." I tried my best to ignore her.

"Okay, um.. I guess I'll see you in there. Good luck." I said. He nodded again, giving me another gentle smile.

As I made my way inside, I could already hear Cait's yelling from behind me, followed by Jake's aggravated tone that was only reserved for.. special occasions. I hated that she was putting him through this tonight of all nights. He didn't need this. He needed to be focused, and I would hate for him to mess up his one opportunity over something he didn't even care about to begin with.

I quickly made my way back into the alley, peeking my head out of the doorway. Cait turned back at the sound of the door, Jake's face instantly relaxing once he saw me again.

"Hey, um.. they told me to tell you they need you on stage for a minute." He sighed, nodding.

"Okay, I.. I'll be right in."

"They said it was.. urgent." He nodded, turning back to Cait.

"I have to go. We can finish this later, okay?"

"Fine. Whatever. Not like you care anyway."

"Well, if you're gonna be like that then no, we won't talk later. I told you I was done, so that's it. We're done. You should just go home, Cait." She rolled her eyes, laughing to herself.

"No, I think I'll stay and watch you make a fool out of yourself." I saw his face drop, his cheeks burning red again as she stormed off, shoving past me and making her way back out front.

"Sorry you had to hear that." He muttered. "What did they need?" I shook my head, giving him a gentle smile.

"No one needed you, I just thought that.. that needed to be over." I giggled, playfully nudging him. He flashed me a wide grin, his eyes lighting up.

"Jaime Adams, you are something."

"I guess something is good." He nodded, staring back at me with dazed eyes again.

"Something is very good." He mumbled. I couldn't help but smile.

"So.. what were you writing last night?" I asked, stalling going back in a little longer. He gave me a confused look, now leaning back in the doorframe.

"Writing?"

"Yeah.. when you texted me.. you said you were writing. They were lyric-"

"Oh, right.. yeah, um.. lyrics. Yeah. Eh, nothing really came of it." He said, looking away.

"Well, if you'd ever want to show me anything.."

"Like I said, I'll play for you whenever you want."

"I think you're gonna be a little busy once you get this record deal." I said. He smirked back at me, playfully nudging me again.

"I guess we'll see."

"You're gonna do great, Jake. Don't even worry about it. And.. don't think about her-"

"I wasn't." He said softly, avoiding my eyes again. "She's.. the least of my problems right now."

"There you guys are." I heard from down the hall. Peeking back in, I couldn't help but smile as Josh made his way over to us. He leaned in, pulling me closer and gently kissing my cheek. "I've been looking for you." Jake looked back up at me, his face dropping as Josh wrapped his arm around me, motioning back inside.

"I think we're gonna start getting ready soon. You coming in?"

"Um.. y-yeah. I'll be in in a minute. You two go on without me." Jake said, forcing a smile. I gave him a questioning look before heading inside. He nodded, motioning in before turning his back to us.

"Everything okay?" Josh asked, now slipping his hand into mine, intertwining our fingers. "You haven't heard anything from your mom yet, have you?" I shook my head, keeping my eyes down.

"No, nothing yet. But.. how are you feeling? Are you excited?"

"I'm a little nervous, but.. it's okay. It should be fun. Nothing serious, right? Just another show." I bit down on my lip, nodding, trying my best not to say anything.

"Right. Nothing serious. You're gonna do great."