The Weight of Dreams || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 65: There to Catch Me

"I can never catch a break, can I?" I sighed. He shook his head, giggling to himself as he pulled me into another long kiss. I tried my best, but couldn't contain my giddy grin.

"Don't worry, you don't have to sing." He said, gently caressing my face. How easy it was to get lost in those eyes. If he stared at me long enough, I'm sure I would do whatever he wanted.
"Though.." He added. "I'm sure they're going to want you to. As soon as everyone realizes it's you-"
"They're gonna want a free show."
"Well, your tickets are hard to come by." He laughed. "Maybe.. just one. For me?" My heart jumped.
"Maybe." I muttered. "But only for you."

"Mom!" I then heard from down the hallway, footsteps loudly making their way down the stairs. "When is Jake getting here with-" and then she stopped as she reached the bottom, her eyes going wide, instantly shooting over to me, suddenly making me aware of the fact that I was still on Jake's lap, practically tangled around him. I quickly moved away, feeling like my face was on fire.

"Ronnie, this is Juliette." He said, now laughing at both of our embarrassment. "Juliette, this is my sister, Ronnie."
"Nice to meet you!" I said, as happily as I could manage, trying my best to pretend like she hadn't just seen me straddling her brother, but she seemed more distracted by the fact that I was there in her living room. I understood the feeling, always patient with everyone who was suddenly overcome with.. shock? That always seemed like the best way to put it.

"Ron, say something." Jake laughed. I nudged him, not wanting her to feel any more embarrassed than she already did. She held her stare on me for a moment before slowly making her way into the living room, lingering in the doorway.
"It's okay, she doesn't bite." He joked. She shot him a look, gradually making her way over to the couch.

"Hi.." She finally said, her lips managing to curl into a timid grin. I reached my hand out, flashing her a smile to match.
"So nice to meet you." I said, putting on my best welcoming voice that I did in all the meet and greets. It seemed to make people feel more at ease, knowing that they weren't bothering me, and that I was happy to meet them, I was happy to meet anyone. The last thing I ever wanted was someone to be scared to meet me, but.. it happened, and I had come to terms with it.

"Don't worry." I said, leaning in close to her. "Jake was way more nervous than you. He was a mess." Her smile grew, now giggling to herself as she sat down next to me.
"I was not!" He chimed in, but I kept my attention on her, holding her hand as she moved closer towards me.
"I can't believe that.. you're here." She said. "I mean.. w-why are you-"
"Well, Jake told me they were having a show in their hometown and.. I wanted to see them play in their own element, I guess. They've been in my world for a little while now, so.. I guess I just wanted to see what it looked like when they were the star of the show." I saw her peek over my shoulder at Jake, her eyes lighting up, her smile growing even more before looking back at me.

"What is he saying?" I asked. She shook her head.
"Nothing." She laughed. "He just doesn't want me to embarrass him." I looked back at him to see his face was now bright red, giving me his name nervous smirk. I reached over, gently touching his cheek.
"So.. are.. are you two-"
"Ron, I think we should get everyone ready to go." Jake said, quick to cut her off. But I knew she had seen us, so I'm sure she had questions. I'm sure they all did considering just how public Don and I were. But there was time for that later.

She hesitated for a moment, her eyes jumping back and forth between the two of us, still assessing the situation before finally getting up.
"Fine." She sighed, smirking back at us before making her way down the hall and into the kitchen. He waited for a moment, listening for when she was finally out of earshot.

"So.. what are we telling everyone?" He asked, propping his head up onto his hand, staring back at me with dazed eyes, his smile telling me everything I needed to know.
"About what?" I asked, stalling as much as I could. He scrunched up his face, leaning in closer.
"You know about what." He said. "About us."
"Who says we have to tell anyone anything?" I laughed. He held his stare on me, still not convinced.

"You know it's hard to tell anyone yet." I whispered, reaching over for his hand, intertwining our fingers. He sighed, eventually nodding.
"I know, it's just.." He stopped, shrugging, bringing his attention back down to our hands.
"I'm not hiding you. I promise, it's just.. not the right time yet. But.. I need you to know that.. I'm all yours, okay?" He bit down on his lip, his smile growing.
"I'm yours too." He whispered. I leaned into a gentle kiss.
"Good."

But I could tell that something was still bothering him.
"What is it?" I asked. He shrugged again.
"They're gonna ask, and I just.. I know what they're gonna say, and.. I don't know. It's just gonna suck, knowing what they're thinking and.. I just want to be one of those guys who gets to just.. be with his girlfriend."

I guess I had never really considered how this whole situation might make him feel in the long run. I knew what he meant. If the roles were reversed, I'm sure my family would assume the worst of him too.

"You can tell them.. that we're together." I said softly. "But.. I just.. I need to be sure that.. we can trust them with this. We can't risk this getting out. Not yet. Not until everything is.. officially over. As far as Don knows, I'm going to be at the Grammy's and we're getting engaged. If word got out that I was here with you-"
"I know." He said, his eyes instantly lighting up. I couldn't help but smile, knowing that I would do whatever it took to make him look at me like this for the rest of my life. It was terrifying.
"So.. if you think we can trust them-"
"We can." He assured me. "They understand how important their discretion is."
"But.. it's never been to this extent before." I said. He was quiet for a moment.

"You're right." He said, his face dropping. I could tell that, despite everything, there was still a part of him that didn't trust me completely, and I didn't blame him. I was the one who was still technically in a relationship, and yet I was the one who didn't trust him? But if he knew how I really felt.. I'm sure this would all be so much easier.

So why was it so hard to tell him?

I had wanted to, so many times I've wanted to just.. finally spit it out, but.. he deserved so much more than that. He deserved the fairytale moments and the grand gestures and.. that's what I wanted to give him. He deserved so much more than just a throwaway comment, a nonchalant "I love you" like we said it every day, and as badly as I wanted to one day get to that point with him, the first time was a big deal, in every sense, and as much as I felt like maybe he might feel the same way about me, there was still a chance I'd be the one feeling like an idiot, having fallen too hard way too soon.

But for him, I'd happily take that plunge head first, no matter what was waiting for me at the bottom, because something told me he would always be there to catch me, no matter how hard I fell. And I needed him to know that I would always be there to catch him too.