If It Means a Lot to You

My eyes flickered open. My breath caught in my throat when I saw Jeremy’s face centimeters from mine. I glanced up and saw one of the blankets had been pulled over our heads. Jeremy’s arm was holding it in place. The other arm was cushioning his head. Our legs were tangled together. I moved a little and Jeremy started to stir.

“Morning,” he said, his voice huskier than it normally was.

“Morning,” I said in return, my voice breathless. He moved a little, scooting back to give me more room.

“Sorry about this. The sun was shining in my face earlier so I pulled the blanket over our heads. I didn’t want it to wake you up.”

Jeremy’s POV:
Rose shrugged.

“It wouldn’t have been a big deal,” she dismissed. My heart was pounding in my chest. I hoped to hell that she didn’t feel it.

She let out a small yawn. If only I could freely tell her how adorable she looked right now. If only I could tell her how beautiful she was. If only I could tell her how sweet she was. If only I could tell her how insane she drove me.

If only I could tell her how much I loved her.

“Gonna get up?” I asked her. She nodded. She got her legs untangled from mine. I threw back the blanket and watched her get up. I sat up when she disappeared into the bunks.

“You got it bad, man,” Kevin said, coming out a moment later. I sighed, running a hand through my short hair.

“You don’t have to tell me that twice,” I grumbled. I let out a groan, rubbing my face. “What am I going to do, Kev?”

“Simple. Grow a pair and make a move.”

“I can’t just do that!”

“You both have been flirting since you met. Everyone knows you two have feelings for each other. We’ve resorted to making some sort of plan to make you two confess your feelings.” I looked at him incredulously.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Kevin shook his head.

“I’m not lying. The guys and I want to see you happy and Rachel wants to see Rose happy. She told us that Rose was shattered after that asshole Luke broke her heart. She just wants someone she knows would be good to Rose and she thinks that someone is you.” I looked at the ground, focusing my eyes on my hands.

“What if she doesn’t actually feel the same way?” I supposed.

“Rachel knows the girl. She’s sure Rose feels the same way,” he assured. I looked up at him.

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.” I sighed.

“Fine. I’ll figure something out.” My eyes landed on the acoustic guitars tucked in the corner. “And I think I just got an idea.”

Rose’s POV:
“Rose, can you do me a favor tonight? That’d be a big a favor to all of us,” Kevin said, sitting next to me. We were all hanging out in the dressing room of the venue the guys would be performing at in Kansas.

“What would that be?” I inquired, raising an eyebrow.

“Would you be willing to go out on stage and take my place during the encore?” My eyes widened.

“Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no.”

“Oh come on, Rose! It isn’t that bad.”

“Says the man that’s been doing it for years.” He rolled his eyes.

“We know you can sing. Jeremy showed us. He found a video someone took of you at some café that he found on Youtube,” Kevin added when he saw my confusion. “And Rachel told us you know If It Means A Lot To You on guitar. So you’re fucked.”

“Do I have to?”

“Please, Rose? For me? For the guys? For Jeremy?” I rolled my eyes.

“Fine. I’ll do it,” I gave in.

“Do what?” Alex asked as he took a seat next to me. Kevin whispered to him what I had agreed to. “Oh sweet! I’ll go tell Neil and Josh.” The drummer hurried off to his other bandmates.

“I’m going to regret this,” I muttered my breath.

An hour later I found myself dreading the commitment I had made to Kevin.

“You’ll be fine,” Rachel reassured me as the guys’ set was quickly coming to a close.

“I’m gonna forget the chords and I’m gonna forget the words and I’m gonna make a fool of myself in front of everyone!” I fretted.

“You’ll be fine, woman! Stop freaking out!” I looked at her.

“You’re on, Rose,” Josh said when they came off the stage. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I took the acoustic guitar from Kevin. On stage, Jeremy had started to play. I waited until he finished the chorus. I started to play. Jeremy looked back. A bewildered smile adorned his features when he saw me. I went to the microphone set up not too far from his and started to sing.

“Give it up for Rose!” Jeremy told the crowd when we finished. The crowed cheered as I smiled bashfully. “But there is something this gorgeous girl next to me doesn’t know.” He fixed his brown eyes on me. “For the past month since I’ve met her, I’ve dedicated this song to her.” A warm smile graced his features. “And I’d like you to know that I mean it.” My heart skipped a beat when I realized what he was saying. “Good night, everyone!”

“You were great! I told you!” Rachel gloated. I smiled. I threw Jeremy a glance but didn’t say anything. We all started towards the bus.

“I need to talk to you,” I told Jeremy before he got on the bus. He nodded. I waited until the door closed behind Alex before turning to face the man before me. “Did you mean it? What you said?” I asked him.

“Yeah, I did” he said sincerely. I looked away for a moment.

Why was I hesitant to tell him when he just confessed his feelings?

“I…” My voice trailed off. A look of worry flashed across Jeremy’s face when the silence stretched on.

“Look, it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. I just-” I cut him off with a kiss to the lips. It took him less than a second to respond; he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer as he kissed back.

“Oh yeah!” we heard from somewhere around us. We broke apart and looked towards the bus. Neil, Kevin, Josh, and Alex were at the windows. Rachel walked over and smacked them each on the back of the head. She flashed me an apologetic smile.

“I take it that’s your way of saying you feel the same way?” Jeremy said, sounding hopeful.

“No, Jeremiah. I’m saying I hate you,” I said sarcastically. I shook my head as he laughed. “Of course I’m saying that.” He smiled before capturing my lips in another kiss.