"Is the video really doing that well?" I asked, looking up at Josh. He shrugged, slowly intertwining our fingers.
"You know, I haven't really looked since it went live either. Most of our hype never really came from the music videos, so the label didn't really push them as much. But.. I actually have an interview about it in a few minutes.. if you maybe.. wanted to sit in? They're probably gonna wanna talk about you too." He giggled, peeking down at me. "Might as well give your own input."
I felt my heart start to beat faster. The last thing I had wanted was attention for the video, especially considering Jake, but the circumstances have changed a little..
"You.. really think that's a good idea?" I asked, feeling my cheeks burn. He smiled down at me, nodding.
"Well, you heard them outside. They love it. They actually seemed more excited about you than me." He laughed, leaning in closer. I couldn't help but smile.
"That.. was kinda cool." I said quietly, giggling to myself. He nodded.
"So, I can only imagine what they're all saying online." He said, smiling back. "But we can check it out before the interview so we know what we're getting into." He laughed, leading me backstage.
Sam looked down at us from the stage, his eyes shooting over to me.
"W-where are you guys going?" He asked, grabbing his bass.
"I have an interview." Josh said plainly. "And Jess is gonna sit in with me."
"O-oh.. okay.." He said softly, his face dropping. I peeked back at him before we turned into one of the dressing rooms. He was still staring back at me. I quickly looked away, feeling my cheeks burn.
"So.." Josh said, sitting down on one of the couches. He pulled his laptop out of his bag, placing it on his lap. "I'm.. I'm not entirely sure of what happened with Jake, but.. I'm not dumb. I can tell something happened or else.. you wouldn't be here with me right now." My cheeks burned as my heart started beating faster.
"We.. broke up." I said quietly. "And I think.. it's for good." He looked back up at me, wide-eyed.
"Oh." He said, biting down on his lip. I nodded, looking away.
"Yeah.." He held his stare on me, his cheeks getting redder.
"I'm sorry." He said. I sighed, sitting down next to him.
"No you're not." I managed, forcing a smile. He smirked back at me, his cheeks burning.
"I mean.." He started, holding his stare on me. "I.." He sighed, shaking his head. "I am. I know you're hurting. You.. you love him. And I heard you the other night.. I just.. I didn't know for sure but.. I am sorry, Jess. I never want to see you hurt like that."
I felt my heart beating faster as he held his stare on me.
"Thank you." I said softly, leaning my head on his shoulder. I felt him move closer to me, our legs brushing up against each other.
"So, let's see what we're working with." I sighed as Josh pulled up the video.
"Wow.." He said, scrolling through. "They were right. We.. never get this many comments on a video." I sat up to get a better look, reading as much as I could as he scrolled.
"Amazing to see something so honest. I think more bands should use their actual significant others in their music videos. It's so much more believable. This is truly a work of art. I hope it gets the attention it deserves. More artists should take note. Can't wait to see more from them."
"Their actual significant other.." I said softly. I heard Josh giggle to himself.
"I guess we were believable." He said, peeking over at me. I held in my smile as best as I could. I scrolled back up to watch the video again. James really did make it look beautiful. It was hard to believe that Josh and I weren't actually together. But maybe now that-
I quickly shook the thought.
"Everything about this video is magical. The writing, the music, the visuals. Who knew men could still be this romantic? They give me hope. I hope to one day experience a love like this."
"You hear that?" Josh said, smirking over at me. "We give them hope."
"Yeah, little do they know.." I laughed. He shook his head, his smile growing. I kept scrolling through the comments, and the rest of them were all different iterations of that.
"Well, I'm happy for you guys." I sighed, smiling back up at him. "This is really great."
"You should be happy for you too." He said, gently placing his hand on my leg. My cheeks burned. "Cause.. you're in this now.. everyone knows you too. Who knows what this could lead to."
"W-what do you mean.. what this could lead to?" I asked, feeling my heart beat faster.
"Well you heard them. They.. want you in more videos like this. I mean, if you wanted. And.. who knows who else could see this. What if other artists want you in their videos too?"
"I doubt that." I laughed, rolling my eyes. "I.. I'm not an actress. We weren't acting, it was just-"
"So you admit it wasn't acting." He smirked, his eyes wide. My face burned and I quickly looked away.
"When does the interview start?" I asked.
"They should be here any minute." He laughed. "Do you wanna talk about.. what we're gonna talk about?" He asked.
"Well, you already told everyone outside that we were together.." I said. He rolled his eyes, flashing me a smile.
"I did not tell them we were together.."
"Well, not in so many words.. but you didn't-"
"I said that I was the lucky one. And I meant it. That's all."
"But you knew what you were saying.." He smirked, shrugging and looking away.
Then there was a knock at the door. Josh quickly got up to open it, letting them in.
"Hey, nice to meet you!" He said cheerfully, sticking out his hand.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Sarah, and this is Erick. Thanks for meeting with us today!"
"Of course, of course." Josh said, leading them over towards the couch. He motioned to the chairs across from us. "This is Jess, she-"
"Oh, we know who she is." Sarah laughed, sitting down next to Josh. I reached my hand out.
"Nice to meet you."
"It's great that she's here too, we have some fan questions and it'll be great to hear from the both of you." My heart started beating faster.
"Oh, perfect." Josh said, flashing them a smile.
"So, first question. How was it working together on set? Does getting to do work like this, something so personal, with your significant other make it easier? I could only imagine that it does, especially with a song like this." Sarah asked, looking towards Josh. He looked over at me, biting down on his lip. I hesitated, feeling my cheeks burn, and eventually nodded. His smile grew.
"It's like they have their own secret language." Sarah laughed, turning to Erick. "How sweet."
"It was.. it was great." Josh said, gently placing his hand on my leg. "It's always easy working with someone who understands you, and.. someone you care about so much." He peeked over at me, giving me a subtle smile. I felt my cheeks burn as a smile escaped my lips. "It hardly feels like work."
"And what about for you?" Sarah asked, turning towards me. I held my stare on Josh, gently placing my hand on top of his, feeling my heart beat faster.
"I was so nervous. I had never done anything like that before but.. Josh insisted. He said he'd be the most comfortable with me, so.. I had to do it. And once we started, it was like.. the camera wasn't even there. It was just.. effortless. I'm.. I'm not an actress, so.." I shrugged, looking down at our hands.
"So it's safe to say that it was all real." Sarah asked. Josh turned back to her, nodding.
"We try to be as honest in possible in everything we do, and the video was no different. I love that people can see our story and feel it as deeply as we did."
"And is there any new music in the works that your fans can look forward to in the near future?"
"Well, I'm always writing." Josh said, leaning back, crossing his arms. "So, there's always a chance. But it's a group effort. It's gotta vibe with the whole band. So I guess everyone will just have to wait and see." He giggled, peeking over at me.
"Well, thank you so much. I'm sure everyone is looking forward to the next big thing from Greta Van Fleet."
"Thank you." Josh said. "Always a pleasure."
He helped them up, guiding them out of the dressing room, shutting the door behind them. He turned around leaning back against the door, flashing me a smile.
"I think that went well." He smirked at me, his cheeks getting red. I couldn't help but smile.
"Y-yeah.." I said, biting down on my lip.
"Thanks for playing along but, you know, you don't have to do anything you're uncomfortable with." He said, looking down at his feet. I nodded.
"I know.." I sighed.
"I'm just happy we're talking again." He giggled to himself. "And I know.. you're probably still hurting but.. if I can do anything to make it any easier for you.."
"It's okay.." I said softly, forcing a smile. I could feel tears start to come to my eyes, but I quickly blinked them away. "But.. thank you, Josh." He nodded, giving me a subtle smile.
"Anything for you." He whispered. My heart dropped, and I felt tears come to my eyes again. I got up, quickly making my way over to the door. He moved out of the way, staring back at me wide-eyed.
"Jess, I didn't mean to-"
"It's not you, it's just.. I'm sorry.." I said, pushing my way past. When I got back into the main area of the venue, Sam looked up from the amp.
"Jess?" He asked, putting his bass down. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Sam." I said, wiping my eyes.
"No you're not." He hopped down from the stage, quickly following me towards the door.
"Jess, talk to me.." I sighed, stopping, turning around to face him.
"I.. I miss him." I finally said, letting the tears fall. He stared back down at me with sad eyes, his face dropping.
"I know.." He said softly, reaching out, pulling me into a hug.
"I keep thinking I can just.. keep pushing it down but I can't. I miss Jake. W-why hasn't he even tried to talk to me? Is he really this okay with just.. ending things? Just like that? After everything we've been through? What about everything he said? I just.." I shook my head, hiding my face in Sam's chest. I felt him gently rub my back, pulling me closer.
"I'm.. I'm sure he'll come around. But.. Jess I need you to know, whatever you need, I'm always here for y-"
And then he stopped as we quickly turned, hearing the front doors to the venue open, loudly slamming against the wall. My heart dropped.
It was Jake.