Rob didn’t really get it when people thought Jane looked dirty or average. She was fucking beautiful. 

It was the first thought that ran through his head as she came out and complimented him. He as glad she had noticed but was even more distracted by her own beauty. Features people complained about were the one’s he seemed to be drawn to the most. Her tangled hair enthralled him. Her smaller frame fit perfectly with his the once night they had spent together. And…being braless never hurt. 

“You look better,” he responded honestly, instantly regretting the words as he come from his mouth. Sometimes he felt as if he was [i]trying[/i] to sabotage himself. Luckily, Jane didn’t seem to make any obvious reaction to his words, so he was quick to leave them behind in the room, as the two walked out and headed into town. 

That view he had had of the city from so far above seemed much odder here below. The people went from seeming like ants to feeling like a flood of bodies much bigger than himself. Luckily, the roads they traveled seemed to avoid the worst of it, and talking to Jane made the rest of the crowds disappear. 

She seemed happier than before. Less nervous and more open to just simply talk. It felt like they had been friends again, and like every mistake they had made had long since faded with time. Rob constantly noticed things in Jane he had never before. The way she marched along the street with such confidence. Her eyes glowing as she remembered something. The way she lightly bit her lip as she was straining her mind for answers. 

He laughed pretty hard with her as she remembered the past; specifically during the story of Sam. He straightened up and put on his best Sam voice: [i]“Fuck you guys! Damn it, that fucking hurt!”[/i] he quoted Sam loudly from that night, drawing a few strange eyes for his sudden and excessive profanity. He laughed soon after, glad to have someone to remember that sight with him.

He kept smiling, even as Jane took his hand and dragged him into the record store. He took hers back as well, feeling her softer, lighter fingers before releasing soon after. Rob had always liked the sound of vinyl, but Jane [i]loved[/i] it. 

He ended up buying a classic [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3YVKTxTOgU]Brand New[/url] record for himself that Jane had pointed out as she found it in a bin, knowing Rob’s love for the band. 

He smiled at past memories of sitting in Jane’s home, staring at the ceiling together, tapping their feet slightly to the beat of the songs as they passed, talking softly to each other and taking turns getting up to flip or switch out the record. He had spent more time in that bedroom his high school and college-aged years than his own home. As he waited for Jane to finish up, he thought about those days: 

[i]Shit was always thrown about in Jane’s room, but some of Rob’s old things had begun making their way in as well as the years had gone by. Jane’s mom used to be a bit more suspicious of Rob (he was a bit older), but after a while, seemed to stop taking much interest in either Rob or Jane. For her sake, he never mentioned it. 

He’d slip back into his home in the early morning, sometimes passing his father as he left for work. The two stopped talking to each other around the same time Rob graduated.

Rob’s father was an odd-man-out in Long Beach; the lone conservative in a liberal sea. He had moved into the area with his wife and child for the pay, but seemed so angry at Rob once he altered his style; stayed out long past curfew and hung out with the wrong crowds, in his father’s opinion.

His mother seemed to ignore the problems while his father grew more distant. After a night of confrontation, Rob condemned just about everything about his father right to his face. After that, they only spoke through his mother, or when absolutely necessary. In fact, the first time after a year they had spoken was for his father to tell him that a cousin of his had committed suicide.

Rob had gone to Jane’s house immediately afterwards, telling her casually since it had come up in conversation. She somehow knew exactly how to respond. She didn’t try to weasel the words out of him, nor did she try to tell him she knew how he felt. They simply continued on as they were, enjoying each other’s company and talking shit about the other kids at school. For years after, he was so glad he had spend that night at Jane’s house versus trying to talk things out with his mother. He loved her, surely, but Jane [i]knew[/i] Rob. And he didn’t need a shoulder to cry on. 

He just needed a person to share a bed with. To remind him he wasn’t alone.[/i]

Rob shook his head slightly to drain the thoughts from his head as he saw Jane finish purchasing her records. They walked back outside, and continued with the block; talking about whatever they wished. 

[i]”Anywhere you’d like to go?”[/i]

Rob smiled. In his mind, anywhere she wanted would’ve been fine with him. But now, it was his choice to make the decision. 

Before anything could come to his mind, he heard the distinctive sound of live music, coming from somewhere in the area. Looking to Jane, he moved forward, before spotting a bar with a sizable amount of people hanging around the area for this time of day. He moved inside, catching the tail end of a group of guys covering [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTgKRCXybSM]Judith by A Perfect Circle[/url].

He applauded as he heard the final notes, and smiled as the singer cleared his voice with beer and thanked everyone in the town. From the smell of cigarettes to the sounds of idle chat, Rob felt so at home in this place. Music played here meant something. It was purposeful, straight from the heart, and usually really great. 

The guys each moved off their instruments as a bartender quietly handed Rob and Jane an IPA without so much as an ID check. Rob realized that it was no band that was playing, but rather it was the bar’s instruments, and anyone willing to come up with their friends and play were free to do so at will.

The next round of people drunkenly moved up to the instruments, much to the clear distain of a worker watching them closely. They quickly delved into a shitty cover of [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKsxPW6i3pM]The Middle by Jimmy Eat World[/url]. Rob couldn’t help but laugh at how loose they were with the tempo, as the drummer continually sped up the band before trying much to late too slow things down. 

“Man, fuck these guys,” Rob said, sipping his drink. He turned to Jane briefly to see how she was reacting to the sight. “We could do better than this.” 

[i]Actually…[/i] Rob thought to himself. 

“We probably should.”

Rob chugged the rest of the IPA in his hand. It was pretty shitty anyways, and he needed the alcohol much more than he liked the taste. He felt the fluid grow warm in his stomach, knowing he’d have a light buzz kick in soon; if only for a few minutes. 

“Do you want to?” he asked her.