Austin gently nudged Jane to wake her when they pulled into the studio parking lot, ruining the build up of a sensual dream that she forgot the details of after only a few moments of being lucid. She stretched a mumbled to herself before directing her attention out of the window to see Rob greeting someone who looked familiar. [i]"Aaron,"[/i] she remembered. Jane was happy Rob would have someone on the road to talk with - other than [i]Zoe[/i], of course -  because based on how awful he looked, he wasn't doing too well.

At that moment, Jane struggled to wrap her mind around why Rob would be feeling shitty after yesterday's conversation. After all, [i]he[/i] was the one who had basically told Jane that what she was bringing to the table was too much to handle, and therefore, he just wanted to be physically intimate with her. What did he have to be upset about? Knowing Jane, he would get what he want due her complete inability to be physically alone for too long. And yes, she could probably satisfy most of her desires with someone else, but it was too soon to tell what jagged line had been drawn during their conversation. Plus, the sex she had with Rob was too good for her to find the willpower to turn down.

At least, for now.

Jane waved at Aaron as she walked past them with Austin, but she didn't stop to greet him, mainly because she wanted to avoid Rob at all costs. Her emotions were still, at best, a whirlwind of uncertainty, and dealing with Rob before she would have to record would only hurt her performance.

"Harold," she smiled as she approached the older man. 

"Hi, Jane," he replied, giving her a gentle hug. "I really wanted to apologize in person for all of the - "

"Don't sweat it," she interrupted. "I'm over it. We've got a lot more to focus on now, yeah?" 

He nodded in relief. "Yes. Speaking of, remember when I asked you if you knew a sound tech?"

"Shit," she mumbled as she squeezed her eyes shut. "Yes, I'll call him tonight. I completely forgot."

"Thanks. I still have a lot of people calling for press coverage. I don't know if you still want to lay low for now or what, but just keep me posted, okay?" He rubbed her arm. "Let's record something."

Jane sighed and nodded before leaving the conversation to go get something to drink. Austin had followed her to grab a beer when he stopped her.

"What's going on?" he asked quietly as his eyes narrowed.

"Um, I don't know. Rob asked to keep the 'physical' side of our...whatever... the same, but take a step back from everything else."

"Jesus," Austin whispered.

"Yeah. So I don't know what the fuck that means or what I'm supposed to do and not to do, but I don't wanna fucking talk to him to figure it out either." Jane felt anger bubbling up as she spoke, so she took a deep breath before continuing. "Anyway, you still down to do something tonight?"

Austin pulled her in and hugged him before he rustled the hair on top of her hair. "Yeah, kid. Let's go get this shit over with, huh?"

[center]*****[/center]

Of course, Austin and Jane were set to go last in the studio after the guitar and drums were tracked. In her free time, she had called an old friend Cameron who had gone to school for sound. He was twenty-six now and happily owning his own business that he operated from a home office in Long Beach. It had been a few months since they had spoken, but they had the type of friendship that didn't require much maintenance.

"Jane Molloy," he answered the phone cheerily. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Hey, Cameron," she laughed. "How's business treating you?" 

"Good, good. I've got a few employees, which gives me more time to surf and travel. It's been nice. How's the road? I mean, I've seen the articles and shit, but..."

Jane sighed. "Yeah. It's had its ups and downs, and scandalous moments."

They both laughed. 

"I can tell," Cameron chuckled. "I'm sorry that happened. The pictures."

"Eh," Jane replied, "enough people have seen me naked already. What's a few more? Anyway, I wanted to ask, do you have any employees willing to come on the road with us in Europe? I was supposed to figure this out a week ago, but shits been so crazy. The pay would be close to nothing, and they'd have to put up with me, but -"

"Oh stop," he interrupted. "You're always a pleasure. I do have an intern. Lyla. She's working for free now, so I'm sure she'd jump at the opportunity. Let me talk to her and I'll get back to you. Cool?"

"Yeah. Thank you so much, Cam."

"Sure thing, Jane. Call me when you come home, okay?" He requested, his voice taking on a different tone. 

"Yeah," Jane smirked. "We'll see."

Jane hung up the phone just as Sam approached her.

"Hey, J, you're up," he said with a sympathetic smile. 

"Thanks, Sam," she nodded and nudged his arm. She missed hanging out with him and Austin, but it seemed as though the tour had been pulling them in all different directions. 

Jane made herself comfortable in the booth, adjusting the microphone and sitting herself on a stool. She really wasn't in the mood, but if the whole band was on board with putting out a new song, she would have to be too.

[center]*****[/center]

An hour had gone by, and Jane couldn't get out much that she was satisfied with. As she completed the last run through, she took the large earphones off her head and set them down almost forcefully.

"Keep what you want. Scrap the rest. I'm done for the night," she announced through the microphone frustratedly then exited the booth, making a beeline for Austin.

"Let's get the fuck outta here, yeah?" she whispered with a smile. 

Austin nodded, returning the enthusiasm. "I'll call Andy and see when their set is done."

Jane turned to the rest in the studio and waved a hand. "Austin and I are heading out. See you guys later. Harold, I called my friend, he's gonna get back to me tonight. Can you text me the hotel information?"

Harold nodded, not exactly looking too pleased with Jane leaving.

"Bye, guys."

Jane and Austin called a cab and instructed the driver to take them downtown. She was feeling dangerously reckless, the studio time just icing on the cake of the horrible internal struggle she was having. If she could forget about Rob for at least a night, it would be worth whatever she had to do.