The shittier the bar, the more fun it was – at least to Jane anyway. As they weaved through the establishment to grab a drink, she observed this different groups of people lining the brick walls. From her guess, mostly festival attendees based on their outfit choices. It was funny: they all looked the same. The fact that she never tried to dress herself up or make her natural self more attractive was sort of Jane’s quiet rebellion to conforming to trends and expectations. That was the reason she rarely wore a bra – she didn’t care what people thought of her small chest. That’s why she didn’t wear make-up, do her hair, or even wear shoes half the time. Life was complex, layered, short, and wildly beautiful in her opinion, and Jane thought it was a complete waste to spend time on aesthetics. 

She plopped down next to Rob and blurted “Two please,” after he ordered a Yuengling. After she clinked his bottle with hers, she took a large swig, placed the beer on the bar, and shifted her position to face him. “Rob,” she said quietly, a concerned look on her face. “Lighten up, huh? You left Long Beach! We’re on tour. We’re gonna have groupies,” Jane said jokingly as she took another sip. “I’m so sick of waiting tables and bartending for shit pay. I think this tour is gonna be good for us. You and me against the world, Rob, like always,” she nodded as she whipped out her phone and opened the app that was advertised on the jukebox’s screen so that she could choose the song she pleased. 

Once [url=https://youtu.be/CGPCxkyTXsY]Drop by Turnstile[/url] came on over the bar’s speakers, Jane looked around and giggled at a group that was obviously annoyed at the choice, but she did catch a few people singing along with her. One guy in the corner, though, looked familiar. Who was he? “Oh, shit!” Jane exclaimed as she tapped Rob’s arm. “I’ll be right back.” She grabbed her beer and approached the man standing with his group of friends, all of them goofily singing “I’m just a baaaaaad boy, la la la la” at the end of the song.

“Didn’t know you were a Turnstile fan, Jared,” she said as she made her way in front of him.
“No fuckin’ way, Jane Molloy. Long time no see,” he smiled and gave her hug before introducing him to the group of guys surrounding him. “You’re not playing the fest, are you?”
“Afraid so,” she joked. “I’m guessing you guys are, too?” She had met Jared a couple of years ago down in Phoenix when she tagged along to a punk show with some friends. 
“Nah, not this time,” he chuckled. “Just watching. We [i]are[/i] having an after party though. Off of Pine Street. You should come,” Jared offered as a smirk crept on his face. 
“Gotta talk to the guys. We’re driving to El Paso tomorrow, but…” Jane smiled faintly, “I don’t see why not.”
Jared was pleased. “Awesome. Good luck tonight.” 

Jane made her way back to her seat next to Rob and ordered another beer. “There’s an after party tonight. I think we should go. It’d do you good to cut loose a bit, yeah?” she smiled as she thanked the bartender for her beer. As she took the first sip, her eyes landed on Rob where they lingered for a moment.

She knew that, mentally, he was going through a lot at the time. Not that he ever would voluntarily tell her that, but his demeanor disclosed enough. She was used to being the crazy one, and him the serious one, but things were changing. Jane lately felt like Rob was annoyed by her, either by taking care of her or rescuing her when she got too fucked up, or just by her being, well, her.  It really hurt that their dynamic had not been the same, but she tried her best to not let it eat away at her. Of course, the change in their sound has something to do with it, which worried Jane, because if she could, she would [i]completely[/i] change the music they played. She was sick of being compared to the very few female vocalists in their genre. She was sick of the crowd. She was sick of the music. It was what she loved back when she was younger, but as she was growing older, her taste in music was changing. But she had never let Rob know that, not yet anyway. So what was it? 

In reality, no one knew what was going on with Rob but Rob, but Jane's pride wasn't going to let him know her feelings were hurt, so she would have to grin and bear it. For now.