Rob’s reaction, or nonreaction, was a pleasant surprise. Her head now laid on his chest, and as he told her to just relax with him, she felt the vibrations of each syllable on her cheek. Was this the end of their problems? No, of course not. Even as someone who refused to succumb to reality as often as possible, Jane couldn’t deny that they had a lot to deal with before things would settle down again.

But, for right now, she would lay completely still in his arms. The peacefulness alone made her eyes well up, and they rolled with gravity across the bridge of her nose and down into his bare skin. Jane was absorbing all that she could before shit hit the fan. 

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

Jane fought waves of nausea as she sat in a ball in one of the chairs in the room. Harold and the boys were going back and forth about what their next step would be. It was hard to stay focused, but she tried, rubbing her eyes every time they began to lose focus and blur. 

Harold’s voice cut through the fog in his familiar stern tone: [b]”But what I [i]can[/i] do is make sure we’re all on the same page from now on. That’s why we’re all meeting now. So?”[/b]
 
Jane straightened her posture and cleared her throat. “I think we should do it.” It was the first sentence she had spoken since they’d arrived. “An interview or something.” This earned her all the eyes in the room, but Harold was the only one to reply.

“Are you sure, Jane?” he asked, his stare one more of paternal concern rather than managerial. “I can’t control what they say about you guys after you do.” 

“Yeah,” her gravelly voice replied. “But I’m only gonna do it if we come clean about everything.” Jane looked over at Rob, then down at the floor. “I know we, uh, we all try to hold on to whatever privacy we have left, but I’m pretty sure that’s gone now. We just gotta explain what those pictures were about, then try to move on.” 

Harold sighed and ran a hand down his face. “Okay, then. I’ll book an interview for either tomorrow or the next. Lay low until then. No more media stories. And Jane?” 

Her head snapped up to the graying man. “Yeah?” 

“Try to text Andy and see where they’re at with the tour. You may be able to get further than I can.”

Jane felt her cheeks flush, and she nodded quickly. “O-Okay, I’ll let you know.” 

“Alright. Your set’s at eight tonight. Hang out on the bus and relax until then.” Harold clapped his hands together, then quickly exited the room without another word. Jane made note of his expensive looking suit, wondering how many albums were sold to pay for it.

Aaron and Lyla were the first of the crew to leave, who were mumbling lowly between each other. Sam got up and left, probably to catch up with Harold. Austin came up behind Jane and rubbed her shoulders where she sat.

“How you holdin’ up, kid?” he asked softly.

Jane put a hand on top of his and squeezed it. “I’m okay, Aust. Thanks.” Her neck craned so that she can look with him, and she reassured him with his expression that she would be alright. 

He patted her shoulder, nodding in agreement, and soon plodded out of the room, leaving only Rob behind with her. She remained silent for about thirty seconds before shifting her body to face him. “Hope you don’t mind the interview idea. I just don’t really see any other way out of this.” She scratched at her head, then leaned it down on her fist. “But, uh, I think we need to work out this,” her finger point at both of them, “first.”  

She sighed and squeezed her eyes shut, swallowing spit to ease her sore throat. “If you still want to be with me, nothing would make me happier, but if you don’t, I get it. I really do.” The words hurt coming out of her mouth, but Jane knew she had to say it. “I don’t know what’s going on through your mind right now. Hell, I don’t know what’s going on through [i]mine.[/i] I’m not even sure what point I’m trying to get at,” she laughed faintly, but the smile quickly faded back into a serious demeanor. 

What was going to happen? 

“Just…” she heard her voice waver. “If you’re gonna end things, just do it now and get it over with.” Her hands quickly moved up over her face as she began to let her tears flow freely. How embarrassing. Now a days, she couldn’t control any of her emotions. She was a ticking time bomb at all hours now, waiting for something to happen. Perhaps Rob was feeling it, too. How could he not?