It was almost 11 on the dot when Jane awoke slowly from one of the deepest sleeps she had in ages. She had no memories of dreams or waking up in the middle of the night, and her body was still in the same position she was in when she drifted off, the heavy feeling still consuming her.

“Shit.”

She rose with a grunt and scanned the room, then looked down to see her bare chest and laughed, getting up slowly and dragging a white tank top down over her torso and grabbing the first pair of shorts she could find, leaving them unbuttoned in pure laziness. 

Jane poked her head out of the door and spotted Rob out on the patio and also the breakfast in the kitchen, which made her smile, but her attention ultimately returned to him and the stoic look on his face. Without knowing that he was being watched, Jane observed him from inside as she leaned on the doorframe. He looked tired and dissatisfied, as if he’d been kept awake all night with rage. Perhaps, she could try to cheer him up. 
 
“Hey,” her hoarse voice greeted him as her mouth plucked a cigarette from her pack. “Want one?” She asked, the cigarette bobbing with each syllable, as she threw the pack for him to catch. Her elbows leaned on the railing as she exhaled a cloud with a sigh. “I haven’t slept that well in years,” she chuckled. “Thanks for the breakfast.” 

She turned around to eye him. “If you’re tired, I get it, but I was thinkin’ maybe you and I could go exploring a bit. Walk around the city, get some food later or something.” Jane's expression changed from curious to genuinely enthused. "I don't want to be stuck in the room all day."

Jane positioned her body to face outwards towards the view again and enjoyed the last of her cigarette, and then waltzed back into the apartment to grab a plate of what Rob cooked.

As she ate, sat on the island cross-legged, holding the plate with one hand and holding the fork with the other. She was fairly impressed with what he made, and the fact that he made enough for both of them, so the uneasiness temporarily subsided as she ate her first home cooked meal in over a week. She remembered when they were young, up at some ungodly hour when they slept over her house.

[i]Jane would perform her nightly ritual of removing the burnt cigarette and liquor bottle from her mother's grasp and cover her and the recliner in a blanket. At first, when Rob and her began their friendship, she was embarrassed by her mom. But at this point, there was no use hiding it. 

They would finally make their way into the kitchen to find some sort of meal to satisfy their munchies. The weirdest concoctions would come out of the microwave, toaster, or oven, and they would bring their dishes back up to Jane's room to test what they made. [/i]

Memories of her mom made her sad enough. She had passed two years ago, the last time Jane saw either of her brothers, but Rob had been her rock during that time; he even let her crash at his house before she found an apartment. The house was too weird to live in without her mother.

After her breakfast, Jane cleaned up the kitchen and unpacked a few of her things that she'd be wearing the next two days. She kept mentally scolding herself each time a thought of going into Rob's room popped in her head, so she attempted to keep herself occupied until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Rob," Jane called to him as she approached him in his room. "I, uh, I understood everything that you said at the mall. I do. I just don't really get what being normal is anymore." Her eyes shot down to the floor near his feet, and her arms embraced her own body as if to protect herself. "I guess just tell me if I'm overstepping my boundaries or just pissing you off, yeah?" She winced as the words came out. Jane wasn't angry for what he said. If anything, she could only blame herself. 

As she turned to leave, she swiveled right back around to him and met his eyes. "Rob, I - "

[i]"Don't do it, Jane."[/i]

"Get some rest and we'll go out later."

His door clicked closed right before Jane or her hands up to her face. Keeping her thoughts inside of her was getting harder and harder by the minute. It was a raging fire that she only had gasoline for.

Jane resorted to chain smoking on the patio for now. She didn't feel like getting interrogated by Austin or finding strangers to fill her time. Her phone was navigated by her thumb, searching reviews and contacts about the band, and Jane found herself cracking up at some of the comments she saw.

[b]"I heard their front woman was a lesbian."[/b]

"I wish, sweetie," she mumbled to herself.

[b]"The singer looks like a bum with small boobs. Why are her nipples hard all the time?"[/b]

[b]"I like her lips."[/b]

"Thank you." Another mumble.

One comment, though, made her stop in her tracks.

[b]"The drummer is sooooooo cute!"[/b]
And a few comments agreeing underneath it.

This caused a wave of jealously to crash over Jane, and at the recognition of it, she put her phone face down and scooted it across the patio table. She had to tell him. Not yet. But soon.