The sunshine beamed brightly through the windows of Melissa's bedroom. As she began to realize she was awake, she thought back to the previous night and dreaded opening her eyes. Eventually, she gave in only to find herself greeting a picture of her and Jake that was taken a few months back.
"Urrgh! I can't get you out of my head no matter what I do!" She groaned with frustration.
Everything seemed to remind her of Jake, and knowing that the night before she had shaken his girlfriend's hand wasn't helping the matter. She needed him in so many ways and it didn't seem possible for him to find out. Obviously, she could tell him, but it didn't seem appropriate under the circumstances.
She looked at the picture.
"You're hopeless... Just like everything else in my life."

Three weeks had gone by and Melissa was just hours away from seeing Jake again. DoS had a show that night, and obviously, she was not about to miss it.
After asking several people to attend the show with her, it became obvious to Melissa that she would have to entertain herself that night and go all alone. It was okay though, because she was used to being alone.
Feeling depressed about the upcoming night, Melissa left for her destination... alone. She arrived about a half hour early and entered the venue. She walked up to the DoS merchandise table, where Jake had his back turned and therefore, did not see her.
"Where am I supposed to pay?" She asked.
"I have no idea," John replied.
Jake turned around, "Oh my God! Hi!" He actually seemed happy to see her, yet for some reason, surprised she came.
"Hi"
"You came!"
"Of course I came," of course, she thought.
They talked for a few minutes, and then Jake asked, "Do you want a wristband?"
"Sure," Melissa said, "Thank you."
They walked behind the table and Jake gave her a wristband to cover the cost of the $8 entry fee. He was so kind to her. He always had been. He appreciated her, and she appreciated him.
"Have you met Ron?"
"I don't think so..."
"Ron, this is Melissa. Melissa, this is Ron."
"Hi," the stranger said quietly.
"Hi, nice to meet you," Melissa replied.
Awkward silence took over and Melissa was at a loss of words. Sometimes this would happen. She just wouldn't be able to come up with anything to say. Luckily for her, Jake was being very talkative.
"Start a conversation with him."
"Why?"
"Because! He doesn't talk. Just start talking to him."
"No!" she laughed.
He gave her a serious look in a playful way, "I gave you a wristband!"
"So? I came to your show!"
"So? I don't care!"
"Well, I don't care if you gave me a wristband. Besides, I don't like talking to strangers."
Jake laughed, "Why not?"
"I don't know. I just don't, which is weird because I work with the public so I meet new people every day."
"Oh yea, you told me about that."
It was kind of a meaningless conversation, but it made Melissa happy.
The night continued on, and Melissa spent most of her time sitting at the DoS table by herself. No one wanted to go with her to the show, and now she was stuck there all alone. Granted, she was with Jake and the other guys, it didn't really make much of a difference because they always spent so much time talking to other people that they were hardly ever in the same place for very long.
Melissa started text messaging a friend to fill the void of emptiness that had taken over. Aside from that, she was trying to keep Ashley off of her mind. She knew his girlfriend would show up any moment and she knew she would have to be pleasant.
Finally, DoS went on and Melissa was in her glory. She loved this band more than any other. Their music was so incredible and she couldn't help but to admire it. As Melissa watched the show, she noticed someone was missing. Not anyone on stage, but someone who should have been there as support. Ashley wasn't there. Her boyfriend was performing and she didn't even show up. This drove Melissa crazy. It wasn't that she wanted Ashley to be there, it was just that Melissa knew how lucky Ashley was to have such a great guy as her boyfriend, and it pissed Melissa off to see her taking advantage of such a great person. It just seemed like she didn't care. She should have been there supporting him. As happy as Melissa was that Ashley didn't show up, she still should have been there.

After DoS performed, Melissa went outside to get some fresh air. She had been sitting in the basement of a church for several hours and she was beginning to feel light headed. She walked out the doors to her right and started for a tree that was standing in the small field of grass before her. She was about half way to the tree when she stopped. She just stood in the grass, with her back turned to the world she knew. She stood there, thinking.
It's not possible for me to be good enough for him. She doesn't even bother coming to his shows, but that's enough for him. I don't get it. I really don't get it. I give up.
Melissa stood in the yard with her arms wrapped around herself for what seemed like forever when Jake walked up from behind, startling Melissa.
"Are you ok?"
She jumped a bit, "Oh, jeez! You scared me... Yea I'm fine."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to."
"It's ok, Jake." She faked a smile.
"Are you sure you're ok? You don't look like you're ok."
"I'm fine Jake. Don't worry about it."
"What do you mean, ‘don't worry about it'? You're standing out here all by yourself and you look miserable! And you want me to just walk away and leave you alone? I think alone is the last thing you want to be."
Melissa just stood there. Jake was right. She didn't want him to leave. She never wanted him to leave. That was always the hardest part of seeing Jake. It always had to end. No matter how hard she tried to stall and stick around even a minute longer, it always ended.
Jake had been standing in back of Melissa the whole time, and suddenly, she felt him put his arms around her. He rested his chin on top of her head from behind; Melissa couldn't breathe.
"I care about you Mel. I know that you and I never really... express feelings to each other, but I do care about you. You mean so much to me. I hate seeing you so depressed like this, and I really hate trying to pretend I don't know it's because of me. I thought I had something special, but with someone else. I thought Ashley cared about me and I thought she supported me. But when I called her to see where she was, she told me she was at work, but I could hear her friends laughing in the background. So basically, she blew me off to hang out with her friends, and then lied to me about it instead of just saying she had other plans.
"I expect her to be at my shows because we don't really have them that often, so it doesn't really seem to me like it's a big inconvenience. But she's never there. Even when she does come, she's not really there, if that makes any sense. I expect her to be there and she never is, and then she lies to me. I never expect you to be there and you always are, and you're always honest to me about everything you say. So now I'm gonna be there for you, and I'm gonna be honest with you," Jake turned Melissa around and looked her in the eyes, "I made a mistake."
They stared in each others eyes as Jake held Melissa's hands. Finally, he reached out and put his arms around her. He held her tightly in his arms and swore to himself he'd never let go, even if he did have to let go.
"So now what, Jake?" Melissa said out of no where, pulling away from him. "Am I supposed to just pretend that everything is ok?" She continued in a voice so quiet it was almost a whisper, "I don't think you realize how painful this is for me. I don't think you realize how hard it is to live with knowing that you felt Ashley was better than me. You made a mistake, but you made it at my cost." Her voice increased slightly, "I was always there for you, I always tried to support you and I did the best I could to make sure you knew how I felt. And you just ignored it. Now, you want something better so you come to me, but only after your girlfriend blew you off. So does that mean I have to blow you off to get your attention? Because I-"
"Melissa!" Jake cut her off. "I didn't do this on purpose. I didn't plan this and I never meant for you to be hurt by it. I know you have feelings for me and you care about me, and I know that you've felt this way for along time, but if you really think that I did this on purpose, and that all along, my goal was to hurt you, then tell me right now, and I'll walk away."
Silence.
Melissa and Jake just stood there. Neither one of them knew what to do next. Melissa didn't want to leave, but it was hard to stay with so many thoughts of infidelities screaming at her in her mind. Jake had hurt her so many times, completely unaware of his actions. Now, he was trying to convince himself and Melissa that nothing had ever happened. It wasn't working.
"Jake... I..." she stuttered, "I don't even know what to say to you. I feel like you're asking the world from and just expecting to get it."
"That's not true Melissa. You know that. I just want us to be together. I made a mistake; a huge mistake. But at least I'm admitting it, and I'm telling you I was wrong. And I'm telling you that if I could turn back time, on the day you told me that you liked me, I would have asked you out. And even though it took something stupid like my girlfriend blowing me off, I still realize now that I wasted a lot of time that I could have happily spent with you. I can't change the past. But we can the future."
Jake stared at Melissa, hoping her eyes would tell him the answer to all his questions. They did. Her eyes were screaming for him. He was all she ever wanted and he finally saw it. He saw how serious she was and he knew everything would be ok.
Jake lowered his head to Melissa's level and after moments of hesitation, he finally kissed her.
Everything was perfect and they both knew that they would be ok.