"How many people do you think are out there?" Josh asked, peeking out from the wings. He seemed nervous enough as it was, so I didn't want to tell him about how many more people I saw waiting outside before we even went in.

"It's gonna be fine. You're gonna do great." I said, now pulling him closer. He smirked back at me, pulling me into a long kiss.

"Thank you for being here. I know with everything going on, it's not-" I cut him off, kissing him again. Tonight was a good night, and that's all I wanted to focus on.

"No matter what you do, I'm always gonna be here for you." I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. His smile grew as his hands moved down to my waist, pulling me in closer.

"And.. it's just one show, right? And then we can start-"

"Well, let's just see how tonight goes. You may.. change your mind. And what if things start happening?" I wanted to help Jake, but if this wasn't something Josh wanted to do, I wasn't going to push him too hard.

"I don't see anything happening." He sighed, looking over to make sure Jake wasn't listening. "I just think.. if something was going to happen, it would have by now. And I don't want to say that to him because, well, this is everything to him, but.. there comes a time when you have to accept if.. it's just not meant to be."

Deep down I knew he was right, but if they played half the show I knew they were capable of, I couldn't imagine why they wouldn't get signed tonight.

"Just.. don't count it out just yet, okay? You're so talented and.. I don't want you to limit yourself. If it comes down to it and you have to pick, then.. okay. But until then, I just think you should let yourself be great, in every way." He nodded, gently caressing my face as he pulled me back into another long, kiss.

"I'm lucky to have you." He said softly. I shook my head, knowing that in every sense of the word, there was no one luckier than me to have someone like him.

"I'm the lucky one. Now.. go be great." I sighed, motioning towards the stage. He giggled to himself, holding his stare on me for a moment.

"What is it?" I asked. He bit down on his lip, now looking more nervous.

"Jaime, I.." He stopped himself, looking back out at the stage.

"W-what?"

"Nothing. I.. I'm just.. I'm happy you're here. You're gonna be where I can see you right?"

"Of course. Are you.. gonna tell me which songs are about me?" I asked, smirking back at him. He shook his head, his smile growing.

"I think you know, Jaime." I didn't. I had suspicions, but.. I just wanted to hear it from him.

Amongst other things.

But I guess there was plenty of time for that.

"Alright, I'm.. I'm gonna go find my seat. You sure you're okay?" He nodded, still seeming unsure as he peeked back out at the crowd.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Okay." I sighed, leaning in, kissing his cheek one last time before making my way backstage.

Further down the hallway, I could see Jake making his way to the stage, guitar slung behind his back. I always loved what he wore on stage. He looked.. good.

"Well, don't you look like a rockstar." I laughed. "You're gonna have all the girls in no time." He shrugged, rolling his eyes.

"I don't care about that." He muttered, giving me a playful smile. As much as I wanted to believe him, it was hard to believe that any guy wouldn't get wrapped up in all that attention. I tried my best not to think about the fact that, if this did work out for them, people would also be looking at Josh like that. It was bad enough being jealous of the other girls at our school, I couldn't imagine having to compete against the entire world.

But deep down, I knew that I wouldn't have to.

I didn't have anything to worry about when it came to him.

"So, how are you feeling? You excited?" He shrugged.

"I mean, I should be, right? I just.. I want it to go well."

"Jake, you can do this in your sleep. If I were you, I'd just get used to the idea that after tonight, your life is gonna change." He nodded, staring back at me with dazed eyes again.

"I.. really hope so." He sighed, now leaning back against the wall.

I hated seeing him so worried, but I knew everything was going to be fine. If anything, this made him look.. that much more human to me. He always kept everything inside and sometimes I just wished he'd talk about how he was feeling. It must be so lonely to think you don't have someone to confide in like that.

"I wish you'd be like this more." I said softly, avoiding his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Just.. honest. You don't talk about.. you very much, and.. I just wish that you would. It's probably lonely, is all. We're all here for you. I'm here for you, whenever you want to talk, about.. anything." He bit down on his lip, his face dropping.

"Anything?" He asked.

"Of course." He was quiet again for a moment, avoiding my eyes.

"Jake, we're on!" Sam yelled down the hall. I heard him sigh, eventually pushing himself up from the wall.

"Coming!" He turned back to me, his eyes moving back down to his shirt that I was still wearing. He reached out, gently touching it as his smile grew. "Can we.. talk later?"

"Sure." I nodded, just happy that it felt like we were finally getting somewhere.

"You're gonna come back to the house after right? We're having a get together with everyone and-"

"Wouldn't miss it, now go ahead." I said, playfully pushing him away. He flashed me a toothy grin, holding his stare on me for a moment before quickly following Sam backstage.

After all those days in the garage, I couldn't wait to finally see them where they belong.

When I got to the doors, I could see Cait and her friends gathered around front, talking amongst themselves. I tried my best to avoid them until..

"Little tacky, don't you think?" Cait called out. My stomach dropped. I hesitated before turning around, all of them glaring at me.

"W-what is?" I asked. She rolled her eyes, making her way over to me, grabbing at Jake's shirt.

"Going for someone else's man, especially when you already have your own. What, one wasn't good enough for you?" I pulled away, my face now feeling like it was on fire.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Jaime. Don't play dumb. You're really gonna try and tell me that nothing happened between you two that night? You were in that closet forever and you expect me to believe that nothing happened? With the way he talks about you? He was counting down the seconds until he could get you alone and.. by the looks of it, so were you."

My stomach dropped. What was she talking about? All I wanted that night was to be alone with Josh. But how did Jake talk about.. me?

"Cait, I don't know what-"

"I'm not stupid, Jaime."

"Cait, I really don't know-"

"Oh my god, you guys are ridiculous, if you're gonna be like this at least fucking own up to it. Like we don't all see it."

See it? Saw what?

"Cait, I don't know what Jake has said to you, but-"

"Oh, so then it was saved just for me. Great." She snapped.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened between you guys, but.. it has nothing to do with me. He.. he told me that he was already thinking about breaking up-"

"Of course he would tell you that, he needs to make sure that you know he was gonna be available. And you must have given him a reason to think you were into it, for him to actually go through with it."

I felt my heart pounding. Where was this all coming from? I knew Cait was upset, she had every reason to be. Who wouldn't be? But.. Jake wasn't interested in me. He never had been and.. he never would be. Not that it mattered anymore, I was with Josh now and I was happy. Jake was my friend, but I had accepted a long time ago that that was all we were ever going to be.

"The shows gonna start, I gotta go-"

"Right, can't wait to see him choke." She snapped, pushing her way past me.

For his sake, I hoped she couldn't be more wrong. If he didn't get this, he was going to be even more heartbroken than he already was. I know he said he didn't really care about Cait, but I'm sure he was just doing what he always did. There had to be some reason why he was acting the way he was.

What else could it be?