AN: Jimmy is very hard for me to write but I hope this short little thing is okay. I'm just a sucker for friendship fics with Julia and the band members.

Jimmy had been working his ass off for months, and there seemed to be no end in sight. He didn't regret joining the band - mostly, anyway. But when he was sitting up at three in the morning, surrounded by sheet music and textbooks, court cases and schedules, it was sometimes hard not to resent the day that he told Donny that he would do it.

Every day was just as hard - going to class in the morning, then rehearsal or a gig, and then back to his apartment where he would write a paper, or study, usually both. He didn't mention it to anyone, though, not the band, not his professors. He was working through it, and if he told anyone, he knew he everyone would pity him, and that was the last thing he wanted.

It seemed, though, that the guys seemed to forget about the fact that he was still working on his degree. They looked to him for his knowledge, sure, but the idea of him actually working for that knowledge seemed like an afterthought to them. Still, he didn't mention it. They were all dealing with their own problems. And he knew that because he was dealing with those same problems on top of everything else.

"Jimmy?" He lifted his head up at the sound of his name, and saw Julia standing next to him.

"Hey."

They were at rehearsal, and to say that it was running late was an understatement. Donny was going over something with Johnny, and the rest of the group was sitting around at tables doing various things, and for Jimmy, that meant studying. But now, Julia was here.

"Are you doing alright?"

"I'm fine."

"I've just been noticing... you've been working really hard lately."

She noticed. That was new. "It's not that much. I'm in law school, and that just means I can't slack off."

"Surely you can take a break? When you don't have an instrument in your hand, you're bent over those books. That can't be easy."

"Yeah, well, life isn't easy."

Her kind smile faded. "I know that."

"Listen, I don't mean to be harsh. I'm just a little stressed, and I'm taking it out on you. I'm sorry."

Julia nodded. "It's a good thing you're doing, you know. You're helping people in more ways than one."

He gave her an appreciative smile. "That's what I'm aiming for."

"And... if you ever wanna talk, I'll listen."

"That's real nice of you."

She could tell that that was him trying to brush her off, so she continued. "I mean it. If you ever want, or need to talk about the war, or your classes, or anything. I'll be glad to take you out to lunch or something if you don't want anyone else hearing. But I've been told I'm a good listener." She smiled.

He nodded. "I might just take you up on that." And he meant that, surprisingly.

"Good." She said, giving him another smile and headed back over to the stage, leaving Jimmy to his books.