More Than Just a Band

Jax's phone hadn't stopped buzzing since he posted the picture. He was scrolling through the endless stream of comments, his lips curled into a satisfied smirk.

Grace sat across from him on the couch, arms crossed as she watched him. "Are you seriously still looking at that?"

Jax glanced up, amusement flashing in his blue eyes. "What? Can't a guy appreciate his own work?" He held up the phone. "We look good, Grace. The internet agrees."

She rolled her eyes, but curiosity got the best of her. She leaned forward to glance at the screen, and sure enough, the comment section was going insane.

"This is real, I don't care what anyone says."

"Jax Riot posting a couple picture??? We've won."

"If this is fake, they deserve an Oscar."

Grace sighed. "Great. Now the entire world thinks we're a fairytale romance."

Jax grinned. "Maybe because we are."

She shot him a look. "Don't push it."

He laughed, tossing his phone onto the table and stretching his arms behind his head. "Come on, you have to admit—it's kind of nice, right? For once, the media isn't tearing me apart. They actually like us together."

Grace hesitated. He wasn't wrong. Usually, the tabloids lived to drag Jax's name through the mud. But now? People were rooting for him. For them.

She exhaled, leaning back into the couch. "I guess it's not the worst thing in the world."

Jax turned his head to look at her, his expression softer now. "No, it's not."

A beat of silence stretched between them, and Grace suddenly felt hyper-aware of how close they were sitting. The warm glow of the dim lights made everything feel... different. More intimate.

Jax smirked, breaking the moment. "So, tell me, how much does my mom actually pay you per week?"

Grace snorted, shoving a pillow at him. "Shut up."

Jax laughed, catching the pillow with ease. "What? I just need to know if I should be jealous of your paycheck."

Grace rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help the small smile tugging at her lips.

And for the first time that night, the chaos of the internet didn't seem to matter.

Just as Grace was about to throw another sarcastic remark his way, Jax's phone buzzed again. But this time, instead of another notification about their picture, his expression shifted. His brows furrowed, and he sat up straighter.

Grace noticed immediately. "What? What is it?"

Jax hesitated for a second before turning his phone to show her. "It's my mom. She just texted me—Call me. Now."

Grace tensed. "That doesn't sound good."

Jax sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, it's either really bad... or really good. Only one way to find out."

He clicked the call button, putting the phone on speaker. The line rang twice before his mother's sharp but composed voice came through.

"Jax."

"Mom."

Grace held her breath, waiting for whatever was coming next.

"I just got off the phone with a very important executive," his mother continued, her tone unreadable. "You're trending worldwide, Jax. But for the right reasons this time."

Jax exchanged a look with Grace before responding, "Yeah, I kinda figured."

His mother sighed, but it wasn't her usual annoyed sigh—it was almost... pleased? "Listen to me. They want to offer you something big. A sponsorship. A major one. The kind that could fix your reputation for good."

Grace's eyes widened. Jax sat completely still, gripping his phone tighter. "Wait. You're serious?"

"I wouldn't be calling you otherwise," his mom replied. "They said that after seeing you and Grace together, they believe you've matured. That you're stable. They want you as the face of their next campaign."

Jax let out a breathy laugh, almost in disbelief. "You're joking."

"I never joke about business," his mom said firmly. Then, after a brief pause, she added, "This could change everything, Jax. You'd finally have the industry's respect again."

Grace watched as emotions flickered across Jax's face—shock, excitement, maybe even a bit of fear.

He swallowed hard. "What's the catch?"

"There's no catch. You just have to keep doing what you're doing. Stay out of trouble. And..." She hesitated. "And keep up the relationship with Grace. At least for now."

Grace's breath caught in her throat. She should've expected that. Of course, the industry would want to capitalize on this. But for some reason, hearing it out loud made her heart race.

Jax was quiet for a moment before he glanced at her. "And what if we don't?"

"Then the deal's off," his mom said simply. "But if you take it, Jax... you'll be back on top."

Jax exhaled, rubbing his jaw. He glanced at Grace again, something unreadable in his eyes.

Then he smirked. "Well... guess we'll have to stay madly in love a little longer."

Grace groaned, shoving him playfully. "You're impossible."

His mom cleared her throat. "So, is that a yes?"

Jax grinned, his eyes locked onto Grace's. "Yeah. That's a yes."

Grace leaned back against the couch, still processing everything. But then, a thought popped into her head.

"So... what about the band?" she asked, tilting her head at Jax. "I mean, all this stuff is about you, but what about the rest of them? You guys haven't really been in the spotlight together lately."

Jax hesitated for a moment before shrugging. "We still hang out. We're still friends. But the music... it's complicated."

Grace frowned. "Complicated how?"

Jax ran a hand through his hair. "We're not officially done or anything. We just haven't been making as much music together. Everyone's kind of doing their own thing right now." He glanced at her with a smirk. "But you wouldn't know that, would you? Since you didn't even know who we were before this whole mess."

Grace rolled her eyes. "Okay, I get it. I wasn't your biggest fan. But I think I deserve some credit for at least trying to keep up now."

Jax chuckled. "Fair enough."

She studied him for a second, noticing the way his smirk didn't quite reach his eyes. "Do you miss it?" she asked softly.

Jax exhaled, leaning his head back against the couch. "Yeah," he admitted. "I do."

Grace didn't say anything. Instead, she reached over and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Jax glanced at her, surprised at first, but then he just smiled—soft and genuine.

Maybe this wasn't the end of the band. Maybe they just needed a reason to start again.