As Rob began to speak to her, clear and direct, an already weak and emotional Jane felt like crawling away and hiding, especially as his eyes looked up to her. Her immediately shot away and chose a focal point in the wet asphalt beneath them that glistened in multiple different hues from the oil on the road, and she gnawed on her bottom lip as it quivered from both crying and the cold air whipping around the pair.

But as he continued on, her eyes began slowly trailing back to him, but when they reached his shoes, Jane couldn’t force them to travel up any further. 

[b]”We may not seem compatible to other people.”[/b]

She couldn’t help but scoff lightheartedly at the sentiment without looking up to him.  It was surely true, so much so that Jane was beginning to feel that way herself, that maybe they would never be able to make things work between them. 

[b]”…but I wouldn’t want it any other way.”[/b]

A smirk began to tug at the corners of her mouth, but she took a deep breath to not let herself get carried away. After all, there was still a large chance that Rob’s memory of what happened between them was still hazy, and what he had said was just a secret his subconscious has told her. Hell, it could’ve just been bullshit; Jane had said some ridiculous things in the past while inebriated. 

[b]”Because I’ll tell you now what I told you then—“[/b]

Finally, her eyes shot up to his, widened with anticipation, and that was when his hands reached out for her and he leaned in. Although they had kissed many times in the past, this felt… different; there were no other motives behind it, no tension buried underneath the surface, no lust driving it. It was soft and simple, and much to Jane’s dismay, short. But soon after she realized that he was going to continue speaking, she was glad they weren’t wasting any time.

[b]”I love you, Jane.”[/b]

Now, her eyes, although perhaps still glossy and red from sobbing only moments ago, were beginning to water again. Then, he said it once more. [b]"I love you."[/b]

Now, Jane was never one for words; anyone could say things they don’t mean, or promise things that they would never fulfill. She loved action. Touch. [i]Feeling.[/i] Words almost never held any weight in her mind – and especially her heart – when they were expressed to her, whether by family, friends, or past lovers. No, when Jane looked back into her memories, she remembered how she felt, or how someone touched her shoulder, or something someone did for her.

But, with Rob in front of her, confessing his true feelings for her verbally, she couldn’t believe the sensation she was experiencing. Jane was paralyzed momentarily, unfamiliar with knowing how he felt about her in the present moment, since they both always seemed to find out what the other was feeling when it was way too late, after mounds of tension had already built between them. 

“Rob,” she whispered, forcing herself to say [i]something[/i] to end the silence although she was unsure of how to continue. All the different scenarios she had played out in her head since their last conversation in his bunk did nothing to prepare her for this. 

“This isn’t your fault,” she whispered again. “We’ve both just been caught up in our own shit without running to the other for comfort. I hate that I made you feel like you needed to change any part of you. I don’t want you to be like me.” Jane took a step closer slowly, but stopped once again about a foot and a half away from him. “I got…” she swallowed both her pride and the lump in her throat, “I got jealous. I was so scared you would find something in Zoe that you couldn’t in me. Th-that you’d realize how fucked I am in the head, or, I don’t know.” 

Another step closer, this time causing the tip of her boots to meet Rob’s shoes slightly. She tilted her head to meet his eyes, which looked equally as exhausted as her own, causing her to briefly purse her lips in sadness. 

“But… I love you, too, Rob.” Her lips parted into a slight smile, and a sense of relief washed over her after the words left her mouth. For once, instead of wanting to whisk him away to the bottom bunk in the bus, she felt satisfied standing there with him in the cold alleyway behind the venue. 

“I don’t know why we go through all of the bullshit we do, but I’d rather deal with that than to not be with you at all.” Her arms were now wrapped around his waist, and the side of her face rested against the warmth of his chest, causing her to sign with comfort. In the distance, down the alley, Jane briefly spotted Andy, who seemed to have noticed her as well. It was too far to see facial expressions, but as soon as he looked in their direction, he looked away with his head hung and continued walking to where the buses were parked down the street. 

Would now be the time to mention Andy to Rob? What would she say? Jane was completely confused and had no answers for anyone – even herself – when it came to their ‘relationship.’ There was chemistry, of course, both mentally and physically, but Jane wasn’t sure how far it went. Plus, when the tour was over, Andy would go back to Colorado and Jane to California. Out of sight, out of mind. 

“Hey,” she murmured, deciding to not ruin the mood with any serious conversation. “I’m tired as hell. How ‘bout we both take a shower, smoke, then go to bed, yeah?” For once, Jane meant it – all she wanted to do was be next to him, unconcerned with whether or not she’d get laid. It was the first time she understood how Rob must have felt so many nights in the past with her. [i]Better late than never.[/i]