The short time leading up to their departure to Europe were some of the best days, in Jane’s opinion, that her and Rob had together since they first began the tour. Hell, since before the single was being written. Without the uncomfortable energy from trying to tip-toe around the other’s feelings, things seemed to be settling down to how they used to be between the two. They were getting along again, just as they did when they were younger, albeit the now almost-constant physical intimacy.

It seemed as though the new arrangement had heightened Jane’s need to be touching Rob whenever she could, whether it was just using him as a pillow, rubbing his arm, or something far more intimate. Once again, without the tension, things seemed to flow much more natural between the two. One of Jane’s favorite attributes to what they had physically is that she never had to verbally express what she needed from him at the given moment; he seemed to read her far better than anyone else she had been with. Sometimes she wanted things to be more slow-burning and passionate, and other times she craved a mood more aggressive and animalistic, devoid of all romance. The point was that she never had to say what she wanted. He always just knew.

It was all beginning to feel like an addiction. And in turn, it was making the thought of her sleeping with someone else much more difficult to grasp than it was previously. In reality, casual relationships were something that Jane was all too familiar with – using someone physically and not worrying about emotions or feelings. But, this was different. Jane had never tried it with someone who she truly cared for (or was falling deeply in love with.) Due to feeling complete satisfaction, the thought of being with others had barely crossed her mind.

But she knew it would, especially since they would soon be spending so much time with Vicarious. Jane did her best not to think of Zoe, but so many factors contributed to the general uneasy feeling she gave her. A major one being that Zoe wanted Rob. Part of her couldn’t be mad – she knew how great Rob was, and Jane didn’t blame her for developing a crush. But the rest of her was fuming that Zoe seemed to hate her without even having a full conversation. It made her wonder what Rob had told her. 

Now they were all on a plane together, heading to completely new territory, with no idea what laid ahead of them. Jane was thrilled by it, so much so that she found keeping still for twelve hours a difficult task. Her seat was next to the window, with Rob next to her, and Sam next to him. After a few drinks, Jane got fidgety, and she turned her body away from the window to face him. 

“Hey,” she whispered with a smirk on her face. Her fingers slowly grazed the top of his hand and forearm. After a few moments of silence, Jane grabbed his arm to wrap around her body, and she nuzzled her way up until the side of her face rested on his shoulder. “Four more hours,” her voice squeaked quietly as she looked up to him, then her hand reached behind his head and pulled his face down to her so that her lips could meet his. It only felt as if a few seconds passed before she heard a groan from Sam, which made her let go of his neck and, instead, close her eyes and lay on his chest as her hand rested on his stomach. Between the vibration of the plane and the warmth that Rob was providing her, she quickly fell asleep in the semi-fetal position she had made herself comfortable in.

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

After they approached the bus, Jane remained on the outside to smoke a cigarette, and Lyla followed to continue their conversation. It was obvious as to why Cameron had invited her for an internship in the first place. She was a tall, lanky strawberry blonde who could probably have a shot at modeling if sound engineering didn’t work out. Lyla was born and raised by by a big family in Nebraska, but she explained how bored she got, so she moved to California for school.  She was quiet and kind, but Jane assumed that she would loosen up more once she got to know the band. 

“And that’s Vicarious’ bus,” Jane said quietly as smoke poured out of her mouth, nodding her head towards it. “You’ll be seeing a lot of them.” Her voice had a hint of annoyance in it. 

“Do you guys not get along?” Lyla asked as politely as possible. 

“Eh, more like we get along too much,” Jane scoffed. “Zoe and Rob are [i]close[/i], and I’m good friends with Andy. Well. Something like that.” 

“Aren’t you and Rob dating?” She cocked her head to the side in curiosity.

Jane smirked. “Casually. Whatever that means. We’ve been friends for years.”

Lyla nodded, grabbing a cigarette from the pack as Jane held it to her. “How is that working out?” 

Jane lit a second cigarette to make up for lost time on the plane. “It’s a new arrangement, so we’ll find out.” She scratched at her head in thought, and they smoked in silence together, then she stomped her cigarette on the asphalt below. “You ready?”

Lyla nodded and followed Jane onto the bus just as Austin and Sam began to jog down the stairs in a hurry, and she couldn’t help but notice Austin’s reluctance to make eye contact with her. 

“When are we headin’ out?” Jane called behind her.

“Half hour,” Austin yelled back. He still didn’t look back to her.

“You know I’ve seen your dick before, [i]right[/i]?” Jane shouted again, this time with a smile on her face.

When Austin’s face whipped around to look at her, his cheeks presented a red hue. “Shut the hell up, Molloy.” 

Jane erupted in laughter and shook her head, continuing her entrance into the large bus that had been rented to them for the tour. “Jesus,” she whispered to herself as her eyes scanned their new home. She spotted Rob on the couch and smiled, noting how exhausted he looked already, then dragged her bags down the narrow hallway that led to the bunks that lined the walls. Jane spotted Rob’s bag on a back bunk, and she swung her duffle bag on the bunk on top. 

Lyla looked to be getting set up in a bunk in the front section, and Jane smiled as she walked back towards Rob on the couch, plopping down next to him and kissing him forcefully. “Sorry,” she whispered, but her tone betrayed her words. “You weren’t kidding about the lack of privacy.” Her eyes looked around the bus once again, then they landed back onto his. “We’re gonna have to figure out [i]something[/i] before the set tonight.” She kissed his his cheek softly before standing up and heading over to the fridge to grab a beer. “We’re also gonna need to figure out a way to stay awake ‘til then. I doubt Andy got his stash through airport security.”

Once she took her first swig of beer, Jane sat back down in Rob’s lap and sighed as her body went limp in his arms. Part of her hated how much she wanted to be touched by him constantly, platonically or not. Her whole life, Jane could get by on high fives and sex with nothing in between and be satisfied, but now, even something as simple as his arms wrapped around her or his hand on her leg sent chills down her spine, which, she felt, was contradicting the agreement they came to. How were things supposed to be casual if just the label itself was making her want to be around him more and more? Well, she knew that if she decided to be physically intimate with someone else, it wouldn’t be like what her and Rob had. It couldn’t be.

Austin and Sam stumbled on to the bus immediately before Grant announced that they would be leaving for the venue. Jane sighed at the news, but politely nodded to the driver before lifting herself off of Rob. “I guess I’ll go get ready, then, yeah?” 

Jane moved to the back of the bus and crawled onto the top bunk. Being in such a small space with everyone would definitely take some getting used to, and she was reminded of that when her hands thumped the ceiling above her when she attempted to take off her shirt, causing a groan. In a hurried manner, she quickly put on a large black tee shirt, but opted to keep her jean shorts on to avoid the hassle of attempting to get them off. 

Once dressed, she laid down in the bed and sighed. Her mind wouldn’t stop wandering to Rob, how things were going to be in Europe, when he would sleep with Zoe… It was all so frustrating and great at the same time, her and Rob, which was nothing new. But, it was getting harder and harder to hide her attachment and growing feelings for him. It was even harder to not be sure if he felt the same.