Jane smiled and muttered out a “thanks” to the compliment Rob had paid her. She had bought it before they left Long Beach, thinking there would be a night or two that she’d want to wear something different. Trivial things such as fashion she usually never bothered with, but after she saw the long, tie dyed dress hanging in a small shop window, she immediately fell in love. It was comfortable, and it fed her ego too – she knew it looked great on her. But, it didn’t hurt that Rob mirrored the sentiment. It may have just been the city itself, or the day that she had, but Jane felt as though a burden had been lifted off of her shoulders. Even physically, she didn’t feel as tense or exhausted. The relief was welcomed, probably not only by her, but those who surrounded her, and she was once again thrilled to get back on stage for the second time that day. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As always, Jane’s first stop when they got to the venue was to go to the bar and enjoy the drinks people bought for her and make small talk with fans. In the dark room, Jane caught sight of a girl with big hair, and she couldn’t help but think she looked familiar. “Jane!” The girl cried out as she weaved her way through the crowd. “Holy shit! Mia!” Jane hopped off her bar stool and hugged the girl tightly that approached her. Mia’s mom was friends with Jane’s back when they were younger, but Mia had relocated to New York sometime during high school. “I saw you on the flier,” Mia explained as she pulled away from the embrace. “I had to come see if it was really you or not.” Her hand’s sat on Jane’s bare shoulders as she looked at her up and down. “I haven’t seen you in so long.” Jane was smiling from ear to ear. “I know! You look so good!” she laughed as she took Mia’s hand and turned her around jokingly. “Girl, you already know you look good,” Mia said as she eyed the dress Jane was wearing. “Hey, is Rob still in your band? I haven’t seen him in ages either. Always thought he was cutie.” Jane nearly imploded at Mia’s admission. But on the outside, Jane smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I think he’s, uh, backstage or something. Probably setting up his kit.” Jane couldn’t lie to make herself feel better either. Mia was beautiful. She had dark, caramel skin that wrapped around a thin frame, but unlike her, Mia had been blessed with curves – partly from working out, and partly from genetics – and thick ringlets exploded from the top of her head like fireworks. If Jane had ever met another girl who was anything like her, it was Mia. She was carefree, unashamed of her sexuality, and loved to have a good time. They caught up a bit, shouting at each other over the roar of patrons that filled the bar, until it was time to do a sound check. “Mia, find me after the set. We’re parked out back,” Jane nodded as she hugged her one more time and made her way up on to the stage just as the sound tech requested the front microphone to be tested. “Heeeeeeey, check, check. Hey.” The crowd began to cheer as she continued. “Hey, check, check. That’s good, man,” she nodded to the left side of the stage as her hand shielded her eyes from the bright, warm lights shining down on her. Jane exited to the stage to stand next to Austin as he fiddled with his bass. “You look nice, Jane,” he admitted without looking up from the instrument. “Trying to impress someone?” She rolled her eyes. “No.” Jane didn’t feel he need to defend herself, so instead, she drank her beer quietly and waited for their cue to get on stage. The thought didn’t even cross her mind Austin mentioned it. Was she trying to impress Rob subconsciously? Jane squinted as she adjusted the microphone stand and made it much shorter than it was previously set up. “Hey everyone,” her smoky voice boomed through the venue and quieted the crowd. “We’re In Bloom from Long Beach. Thanks for coming out.” Speechless and two more tracks were played to perfection, and the crowd seemed to really be enjoying the set so far. A few cases of crowd surfing even broke out, which the security guards quickly responded to. The sea of people were feeding of Jane’s energy, and she off of theirs. “Whew,” she breathed into the microphone during a short pause between two of the songs. “You guys are killin’ it. I fucking love New York,” she smirked as the crowd “woo-ed” at the remark. “We got two more for you.” Jane’s hair was wildly tousled about, as usual, and one of the straps of her dress took a permanent spot on the side of her arm. Sweat glistened on her chest and shoulders as she gave as much as she could to the crowd in front of her, and she sighed in relief as the single, the last song they played, came to an end. “Thank you, New York,” she mumbled with exhaustion and waved a hand to everyone. The moment she got off stage, she threw her hair up into a knot and bent over to catch her breath. It was one of her best sets since they had been on the road, and the experience itself was enough to leave her with a high and almost a sense of arousal; a good portion of why Jane loved to perform was for the feeling it gave her, unmatched by any drug or person could give her. Jane met Mia by the van parked in the back lot of the venue. “You guys were so good!” she exclaimed as she went to hug Jane, but immediately recognized the sweat. “I’ll hug you later. You need to shower before we go out.” “Go out, huh?” Jane laughed as she looked down at the sweat Mia had noticed. “Alright, alright. Meet me at the Rochester lobby in an hour, yeah?” “Sounds good,” Mia agreed when she saw the rest of the band approach. “Good set tonight, boys. Hey, Rob,” Mia greeted him, changing her tone as she did. “Good job.” Jane kept on her best poker face as she waved Mia a farewell. “Seriously,” she addressed the band as she climbed into the back of the van, “you guys were awesome tonight.” She used a forearm to wipe the sweat from her forehead. “Mia wants to take us out tonight if you guys are down. I could definitely blow off some steam.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jane hopped in the shower almost immediately when they arrived back at the hotel, and she hummed aimlessly as she got ready in her room. After deciding she dressed “fancily” enough for one night, she returned to her roots: a large, faded Los Angeles tee shirt, shredded jean shorts, a large flannel, and her pair of black vans. She scurried to the door as she heard a knock on it, and she was greeted by Mia - the perfect distraction to keep her doing anything regrettable with Rob. “Ah, there’s my favorite boy,” Mia smiled as she saw Jane’s outfit. “Shut up,” she laughed. “How’d you get up here?” “Ran into Austin down in the lobby. He told me which room you were in.” She made her way past Jane to view the apartment. “This is [i]so[/i] nice. Who are you sharing it with?” Jane averted her eyes to the kitchen. “Uh, Rob.” Mia nodded with a curious expression. “Okay, okay.” She turned back around to Jane and grabbed her hands. “You ready to go?” “Yeah, but let me check and see if Rob’s going. I know Sam and Austin are down. Give me a minute.” Jane approached his door and knocked quietly. “Rob, it’s me.” She slowly creaked open the door and peered in. “Hey, you gonna come with us?”