We all looked up as the back door opened, Jess' dad storming out.

"I will always be there for her, but I was really hoping that she would've been smarter than this.. and picked Sam." He snapped. My stomach dropped as I peeked over at Sam. The last thing he needed was that kind of false hope, especially after what happened the other night.

It didn't matter what anyone said. Nothing was going to come between Jess and Jake ever again, which is the worst thing that someone as stubborn as Sam could ever hear.

I saw Jake through the doorway, seated on the edge of the bed. All he wanted was to make a good impression, only to be left with his fiancé's dad telling him she should've picked his brother. I hated seeing him go through this. It wasn't fair. Despite how I felt, I knew he was hurting.

I could feel it.

"Dad!" Jess yelled, hopping up from the couch. I could tell by the look on Sam's face he was going to try and make this about him, but now wasn't the time.

"Is this what you wanted to talk to me about? You letting him knock you up? You really thought I was going to be happy about that?"

My heart dropped.

I knew it.

She quickly made her way towards the back room as her dad reached out for her.

"No!" She yelled, pulling away from him. "You.. you have no idea what you're talking about. He-" She stopped, tears coming to her eyes. I hated seeing her like this. This wasn't fair to her. She pushed her way past him, slamming the door behind her.

Her dad made his way over, plopping down on the couch next to Sam.

"You know, after our talk, I was really hoping that she would come to her senses." He sighed, turning towards him. "You took care of her, and she seemed like she was better.. with you." Sam nodded. I could feel my cheeks burn. If only he had known what Sam had done. But it wasn't my place.

"I know you care about her, but this is what she does. She gets herself stuck in these positions with these guys that aren't good for her, that hurt her, and-"

"Jake would never hurt her." I chimed in, unable to listen to this anymore. They both turned to face me, Sam's face getting angrier.

"And you know it, Sam. She's made it clear to you that she loves him. They're having a kid together." I could see the color draining from his face. Deep down I wondered what really went on between the two of them that the rest of us had no idea about, for him to be this attached.

But I would never ask.

I already hated knowing as much as I did about her and Jake. The last thing I needed was knowing how much she actually loved Sam too, and knowing that I came second to both of them.

"You say that like you still don't hang on every word she says." He snapped, glaring over at me. I felt my cheeks burn as Jess' dad shot me a questioning look.

"I do not." I muttered, feeling my heart beating faster. He rolled his eyes.

"Oh, please. You think we've all forgotten how you were with her? Jake is the one who found her for the tour, you knew he had a crush on her, and you still went after her that first night. And the music video-"

"Sam, stop!" I snapped. The last thing Jake needed to overhear was anything about that music video.

I knew how badly it hurt him, despite just how much it still meant to me.

"Music video?" Her dad asked, turning back to me. I bit down on my lip, feeling my face get hot.

"She's in one of your music videos? Why didn't I know about this?"

"Well, we didn't really promote it." I said softly. Sam scoffed, rolling his eyes again.

"Yeah, cause we didn't need to. The two of them got us more than enough publicity on their own."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, I'll show you." Sam said, pulling out his phone. My stomach dropped.

"Sam!"

"You're not gonna make me out to be the bad guy when you're just as guilty."

"Yeah but at least I know when to back off. They're engaged!"

"Josh, I know for a fact that you would drop everything to be with her if ever given the chance, so don't even try to lie. You sure wasted no time running over there the night they broke up."

Just because I wanted to help her didn't mean that I didn't respect their relationship. I would always love her, but she made up her mind, and I knew that.

We all turned around as the door to the back room opened. Jess tightly holding onto Jake's hand as she lead him out.

"Jess.." Sam and her dad said together, jumping up from the couch. Jake glared over at them, pulling her closer to him.

"Just.. wait!" She snapped, closely following Jake over towards the door.

I felt bad. They were overwhelming her, and they didn't even see it. How could they claim to love her so much and not realize they were hurting her?

She leaned in, whispering in Jake's ear, pulling him into a quick kiss. He smiled back, whispering back to her, kissing her again. I remember when she barely wanted to hold his hand in front of anyone, now she didn't care who saw them. As much as it hurt, I was happy for him, finally finding someone who could love him so honestly and openly.

Then they both went over to her, almost cornering her into the stairway. I could feel my entire body get hot, my jaw clenching.

"Leave her alone!" I shouted. "She's been though enough today without you guys suffocating her. She doesn't owe either of you anything!" She looked over at me, giving me a gentle smile. My heart jumped, my cheeks burning bright red. I nodded, holding my stare on her.

It didn't matter what happened between us.

I would always be there for her.

Because my love for her wasn't about me.

"Dad, I need to talk to you." She finally said.

"But Jess, I-" Sam chimed in.

"No.. Sam, I can't.. I just.. Dad, please." She grabbed his hand, pulling him back into the room.

Sam held his stare on her as they went back, shutting the door behind them.

"Just leave her al-"

"Will you stop!" Sam shouted, glaring back over at me. "You have no idea what her and I have been through, neither of you do." My stomach dropped. Sam had never gotten like this over anyone before.

"What we had.." He started, shaking his head, plopping back down onto the couch. "It was real. It is. And everyone knows it. Even Jake knows it, and I don't think it's fair for either of you to try and belittle my feelings when you don't understand them. She only liked you because you reminded her of Jake, she needed that when they were apart and she got it from you, but once he came back into the picture, then she didn't need you anymore. But with me it was different. I was there for her, I helped her, and I put her back together when Jake broke her."

"Sam, it doesn't matter how either of us feel, because she chose him, and.. we just have to get over it." I said, looking away.

"Get over it." He laughed. "Like we don't see the way you look at her, the way you dote over her. You really think Jake doesn't notice you pining after her? Every. Single. Day. He's not stupid, Josh. He stays quiet to keep the peace but.. he notices everything." My cheeks burned. I looked away, avoiding his eyes.

There's no way I had been that obvious, had I?

"Sam, the difference between me and you is that I don't expect anything in return just for being there for her. She doesn't owe me anything just because I care enough about her to always want her to be okay. If Jake makes her happy, then.. fine. I want her to be happy. Your feelings for her are selfish and.. that's not love."

He held his glare on me, his cheeks burning red, but once again we were interrupted by Jess quickly making her way out of the back room. Sam jumped up, reaching out for her.

"Jess.."

"Sam, not now. I'm sorry, but.." She stopped, shaking her head, quickly heading down the steps and peeking out the door. Finally, Sam went over to his bunk, hopping up and quickly closing the curtain.

I could hear the loud murmur of the crowd of fans outside, starting to feel uneasy about the idea of her going out there. I knew they meant well, but they had started to get more and more aggressive and the last thing I wanted was anything happening to her because of it.

Soon enough, as expected, Jake pulled her right back in, and made his way through the bus, avoiding our eyes as he went back into the bedroom again. This was something I was glad that I was able to avoid, though, if she wanted me to, I would happily sit through anything.

She held her gaze on Jake until he shut the door behind him, eventually coming over and sitting down across from me at the table. I felt my heart start to beat faster as she looked over at me, giving me a gentle smile.

"How are you feeling?" I asked. She shrugged, smiling back at me. My cheeks burned.

"I feel okay today." She sighed. I nodded.

"Good."

She was quiet for a minute, just holding her stare on me, her eyes now in a daze. It was so easy to get lost in her eyes, to effortlessly plunge into her deep pools of golden brown that could warm you from the inside out. I could gaze into them until I died.

"I'm really sorry that's how you found out." She said softly. "Jake really wanted to be the first one to tell you." I shook my head, reaching out for her hand.

"It's okay." I sighed. "As long as you're okay."

"How do you.. are you.. excited?" I asked. She bit down on her lip, nodding, her smile growing.

"I am so excited."

"Then so am I."

"But I'm also.. terrified." She whispered. I held onto her hand tighter.

"You have nothing to worry about. You're going to be amazing, and.. we're all here to help you. It's gonna be okay." She nodded, tears coming to her eyes.

"Thank you, Josh."

"How are you now? Do you.. want anything? Are you hungry?" She giggled to herself, shaking her head.

"I'm okay."

"I was gonna make myself some tea, I can make you some." I said, getting up and going over to the counter. I rummaged through the cabinet, trying to find whatever we had left that was caffeine free.

"We have peppermint, I know you like that." I called out, looking over my shoulder. She had turned to face me, staring back with a wide grin. My heart jumped.

"Yeah, that sounds good, thank you." She said. I nodded, quickly looking away before my blushing face embarrassed me anymore than it already had. I put one bag into my mug and two in hers, knowing she liked it extra strong.

I could feel her eyes on me the entire time as I waited for the whistling of the boiling water, eventually filling our cups, and carefully bringing them back over to the table.

"Here you go." I said, gently placing hers in front of her. She smirked up at me, her cheeks turning red. I bit down on my lip, trying to contain my smile as I slid back into my seat across from her.

"Thank you." She said softly, keeping her eyes on me.

"Of course."

Before she could even take a sip, her head perked up at the sound of the back door opening, flashing Jake a wide grin as she quickly got up from the table, running over to her dad and pulling him into a tight hug.

I guess.. things were okay between them now.

And.. that was good.

"You got a good one, I guess." He sighed, peeking back at Jake. She nodded, looking over at him.

"I do." She agreed. My heart dropped. She made her way over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him into a passionate kiss.

I thought back to our last kiss.

The Christmas party.

It was quick; routine and familiar, like we had done it a thousand times, and would do it a thousand more. Like lovers who knew every inch of each other's skin, every freckle and blemish and curve.

I would give anything to go back to a time where the idea of a thousand more kisses with her seemed like a possibility.