The low crackle of thunder shook Rob’s bunk ever so-slightly, causing him to stir from his light sleep. He had felt Jane leave what seemed like a hour or so ago—off to interview with Andy. He pulled himself from the bed, not bothering to look around for any others, and took a quick, cold shower to awaken him from his haze. Afterwards, he realized that—besides Grant—no one else was in the bus. Something about the weather outside seemed to affect him—the dark, moody gray skies kept him from really feeling like he was here, in Oslo, supposed to be enjoying a break from the stresses of the advent of this new tour. Rob dressed in a dark, long sleeved shirt and black jeans, and set out to quickly redress the bandages on his hands. Just as he was finishing up, he could hear the door to the bus opening, and Aaron’s voice calling out: 

“You up, Rob?” “Yeah,” he called back. He finished with his bandages and walked to the front of the bus to keep the noise down, for Grant’s sake: “What’s up?” “We were all out eating breakfast,” he said. “We were about to go look around Oslo, if you wanted to come.” “Thanks, but, I’m alright,” Rob said. “Have a good time.” He had turned to head back for his bunk, but Aaron didn’t seem to want to let him off so easy. “We’re all trying to make the best of things, man. It would help if you did to.” “Like I said,” Rob answered, not bothering to turn back, “I’m good. Don’t let me stop you from having a good time.” Rob could hear Aaron mutter something to himself before leaving, but was unable to make out what was said. Surely, it was something to the effect of “why are you being this way?” Aaron was a friend that wore his emotions on his sleeve, and Rob could easily tell he was growing frustrated with him. And could he blame him? Rob (and Jane, it seemed) kept spending less and less time with rest of the band and crew. Their time was split between interviews and time with Vicarious, and what little time was spent with the band was usually spent sulking. Who knows? Maybe Aaron was hoping that this hotel break would be helpful for the band as a whole to wind down for a bit. To be honest, Rob was hoping that too. He tossed himself on his bunk and tried to relax, to no avail. He pulled out his phone from it’s pocket, and scrolled instinctually down to Zoe’s name: [i]9:22A.M., Rob:[/i] [b]What’s up?[/b] [i]9:24 A.M., Zoe:[/i] [b]Nothing. Come over.[/b] — Rob crossed the venue’s parking lot and found Vicarious’ bus door open. He let himself in. Inside, Rob walked down the hall to the usual back door, which he opened to find Zoe and Trent talking on the bed. The overhead lights here were turned off, and a few glowing lamps illuminated the room. The air was thick with pot smoke, and [url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOGPDAFTLQY] Sue (Or In a Season of Crime) by David Bowie[/url] droned on rhythmically in the background. Rob tossed himself on the bed next to them, and the three talked again, as comfortably and lightly as they had done back stateside. There was a quiet comfort between the three of them, and there seemed to be no need to censor or mince words. It was the kind of way Rob wished he could interact with his with bandmates. “Where are the others?” Rob asked after Trent finished a story on their guitarist. “Everyone in my bus keeps disappearing.” “Probably dicking around in Oslo,” Trent laughed between drags of his joint. “And Andy’s with Jane,” Zoe added in. She slipped out her phone, scrolling down to a livestream of the radio station. “Let’s see what’s going on.” The music paused, and for a good minute, the three of them listened to Jane, Andy, and Alexander go off about different things. After it seemed like they were going into information everyone already knew, Zoe switched back to the music. For a bit, the three of them didn’t make much of a comment on what they had heard. Rob in particular turned his head to the window and looked out to the falling rain. They way Jane and Andy talked was, in a way, similar to the way Zoe and himself talked to each other. That they had grown close to each other. Possibly very close. “I’ll be right back,” Zoe said suddenly, rising from the bed and getting into the backroom. Rob could hear the loud sink faucet cut on, even with the music playing. “She’d mad at me, isn’t she?” Rob said after she had left, looking to Trent. “She’s frustrated, for sure,” Trent laughed. “She and Andy haven’t been on good terms recently, so that definitely plays into it. But…mind if I ask you something?” Rob nodded. “What the fuck is holding you back, man?”

“What do you mean?” “Ok, look,” Trent continued. “I’m just going to lay it all out there. I know Andy well enough to know he’s either already fucked Jane, or is definitely planning on it. And the impression I seem to get, is that they both clearly want to do it. So what’s the point in torturing yourself and Zoe because both clearly want to fuck?” Rob didn’t respond at first, so Trent continued: “I’m not in your relationship. I can’t tell you what or what not to do. But I’ve been told it’s a pretty casual relationship. So fucking [i]go casual[/i]. There’s no point in agreeing to that shit if you’re not going to take advantage of it. And there’s no point in constantly hanging around Zoe if you’re not going to tell her what you even want when you know she wants more.” “It’s complicated, Trent,” Rob said. “I didn’t want to deal with this. I didn’t want to get casual with Jane in the first place. And I don't want half of my band fucking half of yours. Zoe already hates Jane, and Andy and I don’t seem to get along either. The deeper in this shit I get, the more I feel like I’m running the risk of tearing both of our bands apart.” “Honestly, dude,” Trent said, “You’re giving yourself too much credit if you think you’ll ruin either of these bands. We’ve almost broken up a half dozen times without any outside help. So don’t worry about us. Do yourself a favor, and stop thinking so much.” Trent stood up from the bed. “I need to go meet a contact in Oslo about resupplying. I’ll lock the bus doors behind me. But I need you to do me a favor, and stop torturing Zoe. Because I’m getting sick of watching it happen.” Trent walked quickly to the door of the bedroom, closing it behind him. Outside the window, Rob could see Trent pull the hoodie over his head as he dashed for drier ground. It was the first time he had seen Trent angry. A bit frustrated, yet, but angry? Trent was his first friend from Vicarious, and his first real friend that he had made on the tour. Rob and Trent respected each other, and hearing Trent mad at him was certainly something to think about. Because the truth was, Trent was right. Rob was beginning to be unfair to Zoe. He had been hanging out with her constantly, knowing what she wanted, and never being clear about what he wanted from her. She had become someone to talk at, and not to. And, likewise, Jane was becoming someone he seemed to only be physical with these days. It was the opposite of how he had figured this “casual” relationship would go. So why was he fighting to make it continue on this way? Rob’s relationships with everyone had really deteriorated over the past few days. From the radio silence from Jane to his self-imposed alienation from his bandmates, and now Vicarious’ own frustration, Rob hadn’t done much good for others. For someone so seemingly concerned with other people’s opinions and feelings, he certainly wasn’t doing a very good job at maintaining them. He had figured he had learned something this far into the tour. That his constant ability to overanalyze a situation into oblivion was only serving to hurt people. 
So, what the fuck [i]was[/i] holding him back? Before he could answer himself, the door opened, and Zoe slipped back inside. She was dressed in a long T-shirt and shorts, and her raven hair wove out from her hair in tangled knots. She sat herself gently at the foot of the bed before asking: “Where did Trent go?” “Something about getting more supply,” Rob answered, but he was still distracted. [i]Had she been wearing that before she went to the bathroom? Why did she seem so much more vivid that before?[/i] It was like Trent’s discussion had opened Rob’s mind to Zoe fully. He had always known she was attractive, sure, but he was suddenly so drawn to it. Her deep green eyes. Her clear pale skin. The curves of her body. All of it. Rob moved slightly closer to her on the bed. “Look,” he said barely above a whisper. “I’m sorry I’ve been a bit of a shitty guy recently. I’ve just got…too much shit on my mind sometimes.” Zoe’s own eyes seemed to flutter with the sudden and unexpected forwardness. She too inched closer to him. “Took you long enough,” she jokingly said. Rob’s mind flashed quickly to Jane, and his own relationship with her. The hotel they would be sharing tonight. The intimacy they would surely have. [i]Would she know? Would she care?[/i] Rob and Jane had spoken so briefly and so shortly this tour. The person he once felt like he knew more than anyone else seemed more like a person he was trying to remain on good terms with. Instead of emotionally being with her while being physical with other women, things seemed to be the opposite these days. And Rob was going to reverse that. Starting now, with Zoe. Rob slipped his hand into Zoe’s hair, pushing the jet-black hair back, grasping at the back of her head. “Do you want this?” Zoe whispered out, her head moving closer to his. Without answering, Rob kissed her, and lowered her body with his to the bed. “Yes,” he finally admitted to himself and to Zoe. He did. — Afterwards, Rob had left Zoe to sleep in the bedroom, and walked down the street to a local coffee shop in town. The rain the fell above felt great on his skin, and he didn’t even quicken his pace to outrun what was coming down from above. By the time he had arrived, he was soaking wet. Getting a coffee, and moving to an open window, [url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUKd2j8O8oM] Everybody Does by Julien Baker[/url] played softly in his earbuds as he watched the rain from indoors. He enjoyed this time of peace. Quiet moments of solitude where all other aspects of his life were filled with chaos and disorder. Something was always nice about being alone. After enough time had passed, Rob checked his watch to see that it was almost noon. An hour or so ago, Jane had returned from her interview. And it was time to go back. — Back at the bus, Rob’s entire demeanor felt slightly different. He walked with more of a quiet confidence. He felt more energized and excited. Something about what had happened was…good. And while nothing good lasts forever, forever was certainly not today. And thankfully, he was excited for tonight. His night with Jane. Rob pulled a beer from the fridge and sat down heavily next to Jane. “Awake yet?” He asked her jokingly. “Where did you want to eat?”