It was late in the evening, and if Harold was expecting them to play in Kansas City tomorrow, he’d need at the rest he could get. Emotionally and physically tired, Rob slipped the key card into the hotel’s door, opening it softly as to not wake Jane. It was at least one-thirty, and the alcohol in his system was only driving him forward to sleep. Any conversation he may have wanted to have with her would’ve had to wait. “Jane?” Rob called out into the dark room. He set his things onto the countertop and began to look through the room. She wasn’t there. In fact, it looked as if no one had been there since it was last cleaned. The empty fresh scent of bleach was still lingering in the air, and Rob stood alone in a room designed for two. “Jane?” Rob asked once more into the darkness. Nothing. With a sigh, Rob made his way to the light, illuminating the room in a harsh blue tint. He opened the fridge, pulled out one of the bottled waters provided, and proceeded to finish it quickly in an attempt to clear out some of the buzz lingering in his head. He supposed he deserved it, actually. Ever since Rob’s [i]brilliant[/i] idea of asking Jane to be casual, the two hadn’t spoken much, if at all. And once the metaphorical can of worms had been opened, it could not be undone. There was no fault to hold Jane against whatever actions she had taken, sexual or otherwise, with other people, just as there was no excuse for Rob to feel bad for such an action. The thought of Jane with other men haunted him, but knowing he had straight-up given her permission to do so in some misguided attempt to make her feel better was worse. He had fucked up pretty bad this time. Not bothering to unpack his things, Rob stripped naked as he approached the bathroom, leaving a line of clothes in his wake from the front door to the bathroom. He stood in the shower and let the warm water touch his back for a very long time, before turning it off without even bothering to bathe much, if at all. He dried off and slumped into one of the beds, and was out in about three minutes. — He was awoken the next morning by his phone ringing. With a groan, he reached for it and answered it. 
“You’re not going to like what I’m about to ask of you,” Harold’s voice came on the other end. Rob responded with a low guttural noise, before: “Trust me Harold, you really couldn’t make things worse.” “You’ve got an interview in an hour.” Silence. Then: “I stand fucking corrected, Harold.” “Look,” Harold said. He breathed out softly on the other end. “We’ve been media silent for too long. You don’t even want to know the kind of speculation coming out of this leaked photo incident. Like, you really really don’t. I just need you to answer a few questions and tell them about the single you’re going to play live in St. Louis. I told them to make it short and painless as possible.” “You know what?” Rob said. “Fuck it. Fine. Where do I go?” “Aaron’s gonna pick you up from the room,” Harold said. “And…thank you.” — Aaron and Rob rode in silence for most of the journey to the other end of town, where the radio station was. After Aaron had explained some of the specifics of the interview to Rob, he was lost in his own mind again. He knew they were going to ask him about Jane. All sort of questions about the photos, the sex, the drugs…all of it. Except, this time, there was no united front between the press and him and Jane. No, now it was this shattered, frustrated segments that lie between Rob and Jane. There was bitterness, anger, and confusion. Rob no longer knew what Jane would want him to say on her behalf. Would she even want him to speak on her behalf at all? Does she even know this is happening? At this rate, what little remained of his chances to fix the shit he started could no longer cloud his judgment. He had approached the relationship with the best of intentions, and let those very intentions cloud his judgments and tear it all apart. Now…there wasn’t much left to loose. Rob was tired, weary, and had been moments away from a panic attack for the past week. The world already knew so much about him, and more about Jane. Any sense of privacy was beyond gone for him. Perhaps, forever. Fuck it. There was nothing left to loose. Rob was just going to be as honest as he could be. “Do you know what you’re going to say?” Aaron asked. “Whatever they want,” Rob answered flatly. The two didn’t speak again, and after Rob exchanged pleasantries with the host, Ethan, he was sat down at a table, given headphones and a mic to speak into, and was told he was going on air in just a few moments. Everything blurred around him. All expect for the interview. [b]Ben[/b]: Welcome back to 99.8, Kansas City’s best Alternative Rock station. Coming at you live from the middle of nowhere, the center of everywhere. We’ve got Rob Pennie, of In Bloom. Rob…how are you? [b]Rob[/b]: I’m alright, I guess. [b]Ben[/b]: Big things going on, it seems. I hate to bring it up, but this is the first time we’ve heard from an In Bloom member since Jane’s photos lit up the internet. How’s everyone coping? [b]Rob[/b]: Well, it’s a tricky thing. Obviously, we feel for Jane, and we’re sad to see something like this be so huge, but the world doesn’t stop, you know? There’s still tour dates, and studio times, and phone calls, and all sort of behind the scenes stuff that can’t wait around. We’ve mostly been working on that in the radio silence. [b]Ben[/b]: I’m sure it’s been rough. Pass my condolences to Jane for me. And the rest of you. [b]Rob[/b]: Sure. [b]Ben[/b]: Your relationship in particular with Jane has also been something of major discussion. [b]Rob[/b]: Getting right into all this, aren’t we? [b]Ben[/b]: We’ve only got so much time on here, but we don’t have to if you don’t want to. [b]Rob[/b]: It’s fine, man. I’m not going to blow up on you. And that’s the thing, really. Getting put under the microscope like we’ve been for a while, you sort of loose your sense of privacy. Like, you might ask me other things, and you won’t push the topic, but someone else will. [b]Ben[/b]: I’m assuming you’re referring to that last explosive interview you had a week or so ago? [b]Rob[/b]: [laughing] That’s the one, man. I’m just not the kind of guy to usually be so open about things. I’m pretty reserved about a lot of things, and especially my personal life. You can get frustrated at people with agendas or alterior motives, and it can really get to you. But it’s alright. The sooner people have their answers the sooner we can all get back to the music. [b]Ben[/b]: I can understand that. You seem like you’ve been really thinking about it. [b]Rob[/b]: Actually, I haven’t. Or, at least, I haven’t rehearsed this or anything. And it wasn’t cause I didn’t have time. I’ve been doing my fair share of overthinking and it’s starting to bite me in the ass. Sometimes you’ve got to just go off the cuff and be real with someone. If I scripted this and you gave me a question I wasn’t expecting, I’d be screwed. This way is much easier anyways. [b]Ben[/b]: I get that. I get that vibe from Jane’s interviews as well. [b]Rob[/b]: Jeez, I wish I could be like her in these things. She’s pretty confident in her answers and words. We’re kind of opposites, in that sense. [b]Ben[/b]: In what sense? [b]Rob[/b]: I guess…Jane’s the kind of person who doesn’t question herself, you know? She’s direct, and open about who she is. That doesn’t mean stuff like the photos doesn’t hurt, or anything. Me, on the other hand…I can be volatile. I weigh all the options and variables in my head so much I fail to do things, and I think people want something when they really don’t. [b]Ben[/b]: This all sounds more like things we’ve never heard from you. [b]Rob[/b]: Yeah. I guess so. I’m just coming to terms with it. You gotta remember, Ben, we were barely selling tickets to our friends for years. We played a few places in California, but that’s basically it. We’re nobodies. We’re not used to this kind of attention, and I guess we’re all just having to deal with it. This new sort of normal. And…that’s actually kind of amazing in a way. We’re going to Europe in a few days. We’re going international. That’s got to be one of the coolest things I’ve ever had the opportunity to do, but I’ve been too swarmed to think about it. I’m too caught up in what I think people want that I don’t even realize what I’m doing sometimes. I’ve fucked up things I’m worried I can never fix. [b]Ben[/b]: [laughs] Jesus, Rob. You alright? [b]Rob[/b]: I’m fine. I’ve been right so many times in my life, I can afford to be wrong every once in a while. [laughs] But seriously…it’s the truth. I think fans and critics alike can realize that it’s been rough getting our feet on the ground from all of this. That much is pretty obvious from our past interviews. So yeah. It’s been hard. I won’t speak for the others but it seems to be hard for all of us. And that’s ok. We’re sorting our shit out, same as the kids listening to our stuff. It’s only human. [b]Ben[/b]: We’re out of time, but I wish I had another hour with you. Last thoughts? [b]Rob[/b]: Watch our next few shows. Who knows? Maybe we’ll play something new for you guys. — 
“You told that guy everything,” Aaron said on the drive back to the hotel. “Why now?” “This whole time,” Rob started, “I’ve felt like they’ve been pushing me to get every last bit of information out. Like they wanted to know everything about me. Now…they’ve got nothing left. And I’ve got nothing left to fear from them.” Aaron nodded, but said nothing, and the two split apart at the lobby. “I’ll see you tonight.” Aaron said, slipping away. Rob made his way back to the room, and laid back into bed, thinking about what he had done. Maybe the issue with the press hadn’t resolved in the way he had liked. But now…what else could they really ask of him? He might have fucked up before, but that stopped now. Who knows? It might have been too late anyways.