"I'm Jess." I said, holding my hand out to Charlotte, forcing a smile. "Jake's girlfriend." I saw her face drop a bit, but she maintained her fake smile as she reached out, gently shaking my hand.

"Nice to meet you!" She said. "It's so nice that there's another girl here. I'm usually the only one." She laughed. I nodded.

"Yeah.. that's what it was like for me on the first leg." I said simply. She nodded, holding her stare on me. Jake reached over, wrapping his arm around me.

"Well, maybe we can all meet up when we get to the venue, we can get something to eat before the show." He said, looking over at the rest of them.

"Sounds good!" Kyle called out, grabbing his bag. Charlotte turned back to Jake, flashing him another smile as she grabbed her guitar case and made her way onto their bus.

Of course she played guitar too.

I waited until the rest of them were back on their bus.

"You didn't think to introduce me?" I asked, feeling my cheeks burn. Jake turned to me, wide-eyed.

"I.. I was going to.." He said softly. I nodded, avoiding his eyes. He stayed quiet as he lead us back onto the bus.

"They seem cool." Josh said, sitting down at the table. Danny slid in across from him, grabbing his drink.

"Yeah, Kyle's cool, him and I have been talking for a bit. They're really good." He said, taking a sip. He turned to Jake as we sat down on the couch.

"Charlotte's really good too, I'm sure you guys would have a lot to talk about." He said simply. I felt my cheeks burn, but tried my best not to let it show.

"Oh, yeah.. cool." Jake said simply. I peeked up at him. I couldn't tell how he was feeling about everything, but then again, he's always been good at hiding his feelings.

And that didn't make me feel any better.

I reached out, gently holding his hand, intertwining our fingers. I saw a small smile spread across his lips, but he kept his eyes on Danny. I wasn't sure what was going on with us lately, but I just wanted to go back to when things were.. happier.

I sighed, pulling my hand away, getting up from the couch. He finally looked up at me, his face confused.

"Where you goin'?" He asked.

"I'm.. I'm just gonna call my dad, I told him I'd let him know when we were on the road again." I said softly, motioning towards the back room. He nodded, holding his stare on me.

"O-okay.." He said softly, turning back to the rest of the guys.

I went back, shutting the door behind me, plopping back down onto the bed. I eventually did have to call my dad but.. I just really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone right now. I hated feeling like this.

What I would give to be able to go back to New Year's Eve with him. Everything was perfect. I had never wanted to be married to him more than I had that night. But like always, everything with him either felt like a movie or the end of the world. Why couldn't things just work all the time?

I looked up as there was a gentle knock on the door.

I looked over at Jess as she sat down close to Jake on the couch, reaching over, holding his hand. He gave her a gentle smile but just carried on, keeping his focus on Danny. I could tell what happened outside was bothering her, and I knew that Jake acting like this wasn't helping. I could see her face dropping as she held her stare on him, just trying to get his attention, but he still didn't notice. She then pulled her hand away, getting up. He finally looked up at her, and had the nerve to look confused.

"Where you goin'?" He asked simply. I felt my heart start to beat faster.

Maybe she wouldn't be going anywhere if you could recognize the fact that she just needed a little reassurance from you. I bit down on my lip, trying not to make it obvious I was watching.

"I'm.. I'm just gonna call my dad, I told him I'd let him know when we were on the road again." She said softly, avoiding his eyes. I could hear the sadness in her voice.

"O-okay.." He said, turning back to Danny. Her face dropped as she held her stare on him for a moment before finally turning away, going into the backroom. Looking back at Jake, I couldn't help but feel the anger start to build inside me. All she wanted was him and.. he was completely oblivious to it. Or.. he just didn't care.

"So.. someone seemed a little friendly.." Danny said, flashing Jake a smile.

"What do you mean?" Jake asked, his cheeks burning.

"I mean.. it was kinda hard to ignore the way Charlotte was looking at you, it made us all feel like we were intruding." He laughed. I glared over at Jake who's smile grew.

"She was just being nice." He said softly.

"Mhm.." Josh chimed in, visibly annoyed. "Well, she wasn't that nice to the rest of us."

"You guys are overthinking it. I'm sure she's just.. friendly." He said, looking down.

"Mhm.." Danny said, flashing him wide eyes. "I'm sure she's very friendly." Jake peeked back up at him, his cheeks burning.

"Even if she was.." I chimed in. "It doesn't matter. Jake is practically engaged.. right?" I snapped, looking over at him. He turned to me, biting down on his lip, nodding.

"Y-yeah." He said, holding his stare. I glared back, feeling my heart beat faster. I then felt Danny kick me under the table. My eyes shot over to him where he quickly flashed me a subtle smile.

Now I knew what he was doing.

"So, when is that happening?" Josh asked, propping his arm onto the table, staring back. Jake shrugged, biting down on his lip.

"I.. I haven't decided yet." He said softly. "I.. I want it to be.. special."

"Well, what do you think she'd like?" Josh asked, his face getting angrier.

"I'm.. I'm not sure yet." He sighed, running his hands through his hair. Josh rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair.

I could tell this was just as frustrating for him as it was for me.

How was it that he was the one she always chose?

While they were wrapped up in that, I slowly got up, making my way towards the back room. I figured Jess would've been done with her phone call by now. I hesitated before gently knocking, sliding the door open.

"Hey.." I said, giving her a subtle smile. She smiled back at me, her cheeks burning.

"Hey." She said, sitting up back, crossing her legs. I shut the door behind me, leaning back against it.

"So.. what's wrong?" I blurted out. Her eyes got wide as she bit down on her lip.

"Oh, n-nothing. I'm.. I'm fine." She said softly, now avoiding my eyes.

"Jess.." I said, making my way over to the bed, sitting down on the edge. "You know I know you better than that." She sighed, peeking back up at me.

"I don't know.. maybe I'm just.. being stupid." She finally said. I giggled to myself, moving closer.

"What is it?" I asked. She shrugged, now picking at her nails.

"If it helps.." I said. "I.. I noticed." She peeked up at me.

"You did?" She asked, her eyes getting sad. I nodded.

"It's just.. Jake told me that.. that moment was when.. he knew he liked me.. and I.." She stopped, looking away again. "I don't know.. she's.. she's really pretty."

"I hardly noticed." I said, smiling back at her. She smirked back at me, her cheeks burning.

"Thank you." She giggled to herself. My smile grew as I held my stare on her.

"I'm sorry, I.. I don't want to make this weird for you." She said softly. I shook my head. "We don't have to talk about this."

"It's not weird." I said, looking down, feeling my heart beat faster. "You're still my best friend here, well.. besides Danny. So.. don't tell him I said that." I laughed. "But.. this is something friends talk about, right? If.. if it makes you upset.. you can talk about it with me."

"Yeah, but.." She shrugged, looking back down. I moved in closer.

"I promise." I sighed. "It's okay." She stared back up at me, her smile growing.

"Thank you, Sam." My heart started beating faster the longer she stared.

Did I like talking to her about Jake? Of course not. But.. Ronnie was right. Having her as a friend was better than not having her at all, and if she just so happened to decide that she wanted something more one day..

I'd be there.