Jane only woke up for a moment to say bye to Rob before falling back to sleep. It was only when she had reached a hand over to squeeze him and was met with cold sheets that she processed that he had left. A sigh and a few stretches later, Jane got up from bed and wandered around the empty hotel room. 

A part of her had truly missed staying in such shitty places; there wasn’t the sense of authenticity and adventure in the posh rooms they had been sleeping in. 

The stove’s clock read 5:00 PM. Jane grabbed her speaker and a beer, and after putting on [url=https://youtu.be/LuW-kgUKkNQ]The Executioner by The Black Angels[/url], she sunk into the small tub until her chin touched the warm water. In between sips of beer, she sang along to the lyrics quietly:

[b]”Do whatcha should, honey
Be a good girl, darlin’
‘Cause you’ll meet the executioner one day”[/b]

She began to work the shampoo through her long strands of hair, groaning in pain as her fingers attempted to work through the knots. Next, conditioner. Some of them were beginning to come loose now with enough effort. 

[b]”If it feels good, do it again.”[/b]

A lyric Jane had lived by, and one that also always made her smirk when she sang it. 

She eventually forced herself out of the tub and into the front of the mirror. She stared at herself, noticing a few marks Rob had unintentionally left on her shoulders and neck, and her fingers grazed them lightly and smiled. Jane easily got carried away in the heat of the moment. 

Once she located a brush, she began working in through the tangled hair, cursing at herself for letting it get this bad. A half an hour and a clump of hair later, Jane was able to run her fingers through it, and the sensation made her scalp tingle as she puffed on a joint on the couch. She looked over to the clock once again, 5:57 PM. She frowned a bit, hoping Rob would come back soon, but before she could finish her thought, her phone vibrated on her lap. 

As she read on, her eyes got wider and wider at what Anna was saying. “Jesus Christ,” she mumbled as she had scrolled to the bottom of the page. If she didn’t want to do the interview before, now she [i]really[/i] didn’t want to do the interview. It would all be focused on what Anna had claimed, and as always, never on the music (unless it was regarding new music, of course.) 

Before she could sulk on it for too long, the door creaked open, interrupting the silence that filled the room. Dressed in only one of his tee shirts, she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Hey, Creepy,” she smiled as she tried to hold back a laugh. As she looked up to him, though, she could tell that he was upset about the article. 

“Hey,” she whispered a hand reached up to brush a few strands out of his face. “It’s gonna be fine, yeah? She probably just wanted more attention than she was getting from Vultures. You’re not pathetic or creepy,” she consoled him as her fingers grazed his lips. “If it makes you feel better, I’m glad you were thinking of me when you were with her.” She meant what she said, although it made her question how fucked she was in the head. 

Jane grabbed the hand that hung loosely at Rob’s side and laced his fingers with hers, and after bringing it up to her mouth, her lips softly kissed each fingertip. Her eyes looked up to his as they watched her. “We don’t need to leave for another few minutes. Come on.” 

-------------------

[b]Simon[/b]: Alright everyone. Thanks for tuning into the Musicians Unplugged podcast. We are here with Jane, Rob, Austin, and Sam from In Bloom, originating in Long Beach, California. Since starting out on tour almost three weeks ago, they have seen an insane increase in popularity, and also an increase in the amount of smack being talked about them. Jane, I’m gonna start with you. Wait – did you brush your hair?

[b]Jane:[/b] [laughs] Just for you, Simon. 

[b]Simon:[/b] Why, I’m flattered. Thank you. Okay, Jane. The first question I’m gonna ask, since no one has gotten a direct answer from you, is: Are you bisexual? Do you like both women and men? 

[b]Jane:[/b] Yes. 

[b]Scott:[/b] No hesitation from you there, huh?

[b]Jane:[/b] No one has ever really asked in a straight-forward way. They just always talk about the rumors and shit. Wait, can I curse?

[b]Simon:[/b] Yes, you can. This podcast loves colorful language. Now, did you see the video posted earlier? With Anna, one of the roadies for Vulture?

[b]Jane:[/b] Unfortunately, yes, I did.

[b]Simon:[/b] [laughs] You mind diving in a little bit as to why you didn’t like it? 

[b]Jane:[/b] Oh, god. Rob didn’t deserve what she said about him. We were all kinda fucked up when we started this tour. There was a lot of shit going on not only in our professional lives, but our personal lives, too. Rob isn’t creepy or pathetic. If anything, I think it’s kind of pathetic to do an interview on a band you have no involvement with other than fucking one of its members. The only thing I agree with is that the other bands should be receiving some recognition, too. They all work really hard.

[b]Simon:[/b] Wow, you didn’t hold back, did you?

[b]Jane:[/b] Actually, I could probably continue. But I’ll spare everyone. 

[b]Simon:[/b] Well, then I’ll move on. What do you have to say about the accusations Anna made about you and Rob seeing each other?

Jane’s eyes darted to Rob as he finished the question. She didn’t want to cross some line that he wasn’t ready to, or that [i]she[/i] wasn’t ready to. But, she gave him a reassuring nod and looked back to Simon.

[b]Jane:[/b] Hmm. Rob’s been my best friend for seven years. He, uh, he knows everything about me. The good, the bad, the ugly. [laughs] He’s never condemned me for who I am or what I do with my life or my time. He always looks out for me, wants the best for me. And him. He’s so talented, smart, [i]really[/i] good looking. Sorry if I’m rambling, Simon.

[b]Simon:[/b] That’s okay. Continue!

[b]Jane:[/b] I guess the point I’m trying to make is that, when you have someone like that in your life, you know, someone that cares about you that much, and you feel the same way about them, it’d be stupid not to try to see where things can go. So, I mean, yeah, there’s a few new elements that we added to our relationship, but nothing between us has really changed. He’s still my best friend.

[b]Simon:[/b] That was all very beautifully put, Jane. Thank you. Now, moving along, what would you say is your biggest complaint about how things have been unfolding for you and the band?

[b]Jane:[/b] The bad publicity, man. That no one is focusing on our music when they decide to do a piece on us. It’s all about our personal lives, which isn’t why we’re on tour, you know? I would love to wake up one day and see an article talking about my singing or writing, or the crazy shit that Austin and Sam come up with for our songs, or how talented Rob is. 

[b]Simon:[/b] Sorry for asking you those questions earlier, then.

[b]Jane:[/b] No, no, no. It’s not your fault. I guess it’s just business now. What’s gonna make people click a link? An article about how I started singing, or one of people detailing stuff about who I’ve slept with and my “bad” behavior? Of course, the latter. But, I don’t know. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get used to it.

[b]Simon:[/b] Well, if this means anything, I think you have a phenomenal voice. 

[b]Jane:[/b] Thank you.

[b]Simon:[/b] I think it’s only fair now that we get Rob’s side of the story now. We’re gonna take a quick break and will ask him some questions when we return. 

Simon got up to get some water, and Jane immediately grabbed Rob’s hand and pulled him out of the building. “Hey,” she started as she lit a cigarette. “I hope you don’t mind what I said. I was kinda put on the spot, you know?” She exhaled the smoke above their heads before wrapping her arms around him like she always did. She couldn’t shake the desire to be touching him all the time, no matter how much she told herself to leave him alone. The thoughts made her pull away and take a drag of her cigarette. “If I ever start to drive you crazy, you'll tell me, yeah?"