Jane was awoken as the warm arm that was wrapped around body moved, but she kept her eyes shut, pretending she was asleep until he went on the patio. He was shirtless, only wearing a pair of sweats, and for a moment, Jane caught herself staring at his muscled back. [i]”Here we go,”[/i] she thought to herself as she swung the legs over her bed, stood up, and straightened out the large black shirt she was wearing. It covered enough to satisfy the other occupants of the house – such things didn’t bother Jane – and she slowly exited the living room out on the patio. 

“Mind if I have one?” her raspy voice muttered as a somber expression made its way on her face. After she lit the cigarette, she sat down next to Rob and turned to him. “I, uh, tried to fall asleep on that chair last night,” she smirked as she pointed to the one he was sitting on. “Wasn’t good. Sorry I crashed the couch.” Her gaze made its way to the green grass that carpeted the back yard, and a deep breath and a puff of the Newport later, she abruptly turned her whole body to him and placed her hands on the chair’s arms, and Jane began the talk that she had played out hundreds of times in her head already.

“Look, Rob,” she started, clearing her throat, “I can’t take it anymore. You’ve been my best friend for years, and now... I feel annoying. Dumb for trying to force my friendship on you.” She shook her head as she took another drag. “It fucking sucks, man. I understand you don’t like the single. I get it, I do, but, I never would’ve wrote the fucking song if I knew…” Jane trailed off and looked away from him as she felt tears coming to her eyes, and whispered, “fuck,” as she tried to choke them back. A lump had grown in her throat. 

She stood up and extinguished her cigarette. “I’m sick of things being shitty between us. If it’s something I did, tell me. Let’s bury this. Because the last thing I wanna do is spend the next two months with someone who doesn’t want to be around me.” She turned around as she felt the next wave of tears trying to make their escape, and her eyes squeezed shut as she put her fingers up to the bridge of her nose. Without turning around, she made her final statement. 

“I miss my best friend. If you can’t be that anymore, don't let me wait around like this.” 

Jane walked back in the house and into Sarah and Mark’s room to grab her stuff, and luckily, she didn’t wake them. Her next stop was the bathroom in the hall, where she changed into leggings and a [url=https://youtu.be/H6wYuhLxXm8]Code Orange[/url] shirt cut into a muscle tee and brushed her teeth, and as she was about to leave, the door swung open. Austin.

“Hey, J. I have to say, you getting laid more than me is starting to bother me,” he smiled as he leaned on the door frame.
Jane chuckled. “Well for starters, you wanna work on your sex appeal,” she smirked as she knocked his arm that was supporting him, almost causing him to fall.
“Seriously though. Have you talked to Rob, yet?” he asked quietly.
“I, uh, I kinda talked [i]at[/i] him,” she looked down and scratched the back of her neck. “I don’t know what he wants from me anymore. It’s like he hates me now.” 
“Aw, come here,” Austin said as he hugged her. “Don’t stress about it. Things will get better.” In Austin’s mind, he knew that wasn’t true, but seeing Jane this way tugged as his heart a bit. “I think he’s just got a lot going on right now, okay?”
Jane nodded as she pulled away from him. “Thanks, Austin.” 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jane waited in the driver’s seat of the van as everyone loaded their things and scrolled through the infinite list of songs on her phone, but she ultimately chose [url=https://youtu.be/J6LM-5-oC-k]Dope Calypso by Violent Solo[/url], playing a shitty version of the drums her steering wheel as she sang along. This song always got made her feel better.

Austin climbed in behind her seat and began to sing in her ear behind her, which made her smile. When the chorus hit, they sang loudly in unison. 

[i]“Now, I'm gonna go outside”[/i]

And at that moment,

[i]”Nothing’s gonna save us, nothing’s gonna save us.”[/i]

Jane made a promise to herself to not let Rob’s bullshit get to her anymore. She was done wasting her energy on unrequited feelings. It hurt her too much. Their next stop was Dallas, Texas - a nine hour drive - and as everyone entered the van, she lit a cigarette and backed it out slowly from the drive way and got on the road.