"Hey, Chuck!" Joe called out to the buff body guard that had smacked him in the head the night before. "Last night, you kept the headset after you stole it from me, right?" he asked. He had been thinking about it all day, he couldn't get Bailey's teary eyes out of his mind.

"You mean the one you stole from me first? Yeah. Why?" Chuck questioned as he stood there backstage moments before the show was supposed to start, untangling the chords from the hugantic speakers.

"What was said during the show last night?" he asked, looking up at the man that towered over him. Joe's face was full of sincerity.

Instinctively, Chuck would've told him to bug off, but he thought he'd give in this once. "Well, there was bickering back and forth between two ladies, I believe one was your girl, but the older one just cracked down on her hard." Chuck stated, then crossed his arms in curiosity. "Why do you ask?"

Joe shrugged his shoulders. "Bailey just looked upset. She wouldn't really talk about it, so I thought I'd ask around."

"Ah, so Bailey's the young lady you've been drooling over all night?"

"CHUCK!" Joe exclaimed with his mouth hanging open.

"Well, I think it has something to do with a guy. Your name was brought up along with some other kid. What was it, Jake?" he continued, then scratched his chin in thought. Joe quickly looked up. "If I were you, I'd stay out of it. Let her handle it." he eyed him.

Joe huffed in defeat, then waved before walking away.

- - - - -

"Thanks for coming out!" Kevin smiled. "It was great meeting you guys."

"You too." a girl who didn't look older than 13 squeaked, then scurried out of the room behind her two other friends.

"Meet and Greet Two: COMPLETE!" Nick burst out. "AND a day off tomorrow." he leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah, allll day tomorrow we get to stay here in Philly only to play this same show again." Joe stated in boredom.

"Not necessarily." Ross walked into the room where the boys and a few staff members were. "-And stop complaining Joseph."

"Hey Ross." Kevin greeted, Ross nodded in acknowledgement.

"Ms.Baker is actually making a trip down to Delaware tonight to drop her mother off so she can spend time with the rest of her family. You guys are more than welcome to tag along with her. I think you boys have earned a day away from all of this commotion."

"What do you mean 'a day'? It's already 10 'o clock at night." Nick asked as Joe stared up at Ross from his seat, waiting for him to continue.

"If you would've waited for me to finish, then you'd know that you'd be staying the night with them in their home." Ross straightened out his shirt. "I expect you boys to be on your best behavior." Joe rolled his eyes then wiped his sweaty face on his towel; he sounded just like his dad right then.

"Well, what if we don't want to go?" Nick asked.

"Speak for yourself!" Kevin quickly snapped, then shot him an apologetic look after realizing that he was a bit loud.

"Yeah, I wanna go." Joe informed.

"To Delaware?" Nick continued, Joe nodded. "Why can't we just go home for the day?"

"Delaware is only 40 minutes away, compared to the 2 hours it takes to get to Wyckoff from here." Ross stated. "Plus your parents are on vacation with Frankie down in Florida."

"Without us?!" Joe shouted in disbelief, making Ross laugh.

"Apparently." he huffed. "Bailey's mom is getting her stuff together, so be ready to leave in an hour." then with that, Ross exited the room.

"I CALL SHOWER!" Joe yelled, then rushed out of the room, making his way to the bus.

"Since when does he get excited about taking a shower?" Kevin asked, then walked with Nick to the door.

"Since he met Bailey."

- - - - -

"You ready, Ma?" Bailey hung in the doorway of the bus with Ross' car keys in her hand along with her cell phone and a water bottle. She had changed into a pair of dark sweatpants and a form fitting tank top. Her long, dark blonde hair was up in a messy bun and she had on very little eyeliner. She didn't think she'd be seeing the boys before she left, so she didn't care what she looked like.

"Coming, coming." her mom called out with her travel bag slung over her shoulder. "Why are you in such a rush. I'm not going to see you for a whole two months!"

'I know! Isn't it great?' Bailey thought, then took her mom's bag, popped the trunk to Ross' yellow 2007 Chevy Cobalt and tossed it in.

"Hey, don't leave us!" Joe shouted as he ran up to the car with Kevin and Nick close behind him. "Well don't you look nice." he complimented in full seriousness. He admired the fact that she still looked gorgeous in sweatpants and a shirt.

"Ha, you're hilarious." she took it as a joke. "But what do you mean 'don't leave us'? I'm just taking my mom home."

"Ross said that we could go." Kevin said with a smile.

"Oh, ok." Bailey replied. "That's cool. It's gonna be a little cramped on the way there though." she motioned to the backseat.

"You're driving?" Joe asked, sounding a little scared.

"Hey! I'm a good driver" Bailey snapped back.

"Alright, then could you drive me home now, please?" her mom piped in, she nodded.

Bailey flipped the driver's seat up so the boys could slide in. It was Kevin behind the passenger seat, Nick in the middle, then Joe behind Bailey who was obviously driving. Only moments passed before they were on the highway.

Throughout the car ride, Bailey would glance in her rearview mirror, only to steal a glance at Joe. Most of the time his attention was occupied by the various cars they passed on the road, but every once and a while they'd make eye contact. That resulted in the two off them instantly looking away, leaving a smile on both of their faces.

After about 30 minutes of driving, her mother started up. "Take this exit." her mom stated.

"Ma, it's not this one, it's the next one." Bailey replied, glancing over at her.

"No no, take this one."

"This one will turn us around. We want to go home, not back to Philly." she stated.

The interaction between the two caught the boys' attention.

"Bailey Lynn, if I have to say it - "

"MOM! It's the wrong exit." she said loudly as her grip around the steering wheel tightened. Seconds later, they passed the exit her mom told her to take. If it was anything Bailey was sure about, it was her sense of direction. Not to mention she's been back and forth from Philly about 109 times.

"So, uh, Delaware seems pretty nice." Kevin stated, trying to kill the awkwardness. The only thing that responded was the soft music of John Mayer's 'Daughters' that played on the radio.

About 10 more minutes of driving, Bailey took the next exit. About 3 songs on the radio later, they pulled into the driveway of an elegant, 2 story home. It was big, but not Orange County big. It was just the right size for her, her mother and her step-dad who had a few extra bucks.

"I love your home." Kevin stated as they entered the living room. Nick put his finger on his nose as if to say he was brown nosing. He received a smack on the arm for that one.

"Thanks." Bailey's mom said. "Alright. I'll just see you kids tomorrow or whatever. I'm going to bed." she waved off, then headed up the steps.

"You guys hungry?" Bailey asked, then walked into the kitchen with the boys on her tail.

- - - - -

"Sweet, you have a pool?" Joe exclaimed, looking out the back window as he put his dirty plate in the sink.

"No Joe, that's just a big rain puddle with clear blue water." she replied without a hint of sarcasm. He narrowed his eyes at her as she smiled back at him.

"I don't know about you, but I'm ready for bed." Kevin stated.

"Me too." Nick added.

"Wimps." Joe mumbled, he was still wired.

Bailey took Kevin and Nick upstairs and into the spare bedroom. "Make yourselves comfy. Bathroom's at the end of the hall and it's a queen sized bed, so you two will be fine." she waved before returning back downstairs to Joe.

"You're gonna be up for a while, huh?" she asked as she hopped up onto the kitchen counter. Joe did the same except he hopped on the island across from her.

"Yep." he grinned. "You?"

"Yeah, I've got a few hours left in me."

"Wanna go swimming?" he asked, smiling mischievously, hoping to God she said yes. The last thing he wanted to do was play the, 'Well, what do you want to do?' 'Oh, I don't know, what to you want to do?' game, and then ending up having to watch a lame movie because no one would decide on something. No, he wanted to spend time with the girl and get to know her even more.

"Sure." Bailey replied, wondering if he had just read her mind. "We have extra swim trunks for when people, like you, unexpectedly come over."

"You mean amazing, unbelievably awesome people like me?" Joe asked excitedly. All she did was laugh and walk away to retrieve a pair of trunks and her own bathing suit.

After the two got changed, they headed out in the darkness to the in-ground pool. Bailey self consciously held her towel close to her as she made her way down the concrete to the water. When Joe's back was turned, she tossed her towel on the nearby chair and jumped in. After hearing the splash, Joe followed suit and made his own.

"It's nice out tonight." he said as he leaned backwards and floated on his back to look up at the starry sky.

"Mhm." was all she said as she began to float on her back also. She couldn't believe that he was so willing to hang out with her. Everything and anything seemed cool to him, there were no issues what-so-ever. She loved his company, he made her forget about everything.

Joe's mind drifted as well. The silence between the two of them was comforting, and not the least bit awkward in any way. He loved being around her, even if he had only met her a day and a half ago. He lifted his head up to see if she was still floating; she was. Her face, chest and flat, tanned stomach were the only parts of her body that surfaced from the dark water. He couldn't help but steal a glance. He was falling hard.

"You know, - " Bailey started. "- we click." she said simply, then bit her tongue once she realized she had said it out loud.

"Yeah, I love it." he replied, making her heart do a flip flop.

The chemistry was there. They both knew it and so did everyone else. 'Stop it.' Bailey started shouting in her mind once again. 'You're leading him on. You're bringing this on yourself.' she shut her eyes and thought. 'Maybe I want something to happen.' While on the subject of feelings in her mind, an image of Jake popped up. 'Fuck Jake, Joe's better.' Her own thought made her smile and even let out a chuckle.

"What?" Joe asked.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

After floating around for a few, they headed back inside and upstairs to Bailey's room. It was quite nice; mint green and dark aqua walls with various pictures nailed up all over. She had soft and poofy brown and pink bed sheets with a big comforter to top it off. It was as if it had called Joe's name, he ran up and sprawled his arms out, falling onto the bed. Bailey laughed at little, but then stopped once she saw the picture of her and Jake on her surfboard collage next to her dresser. Instantly she approached it, slipped off the photo, crumpled it up and then tossed it in the trashcan. Joe acted as if he hadn't seen.

"I think I have a pair of sweats that'll fit you." she redirected her own attention as she started looking through her dresser drawers. She pulled out two pairs of sweats and two oversized t-shirts.

"Ew, cooties. I'd rather sleep naked." Joe joked, looking up from her with a funny face as she slipped on her clothes overtop of her bathing suit. She was too lazy and tired to take her suit off.

"Ha, not in my bed." she was serious, at least for now. "I'm taking the couch downstairs, so if you need anything or anything, get at me."

"I'll get at you, son." he gangsterized that statement and smiled at her reaction.

"Promise me you won't say that ever again?" she laughed for the millionth time that day because of him.

"Maybe." he said, getting up off the bed, she playfully rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm gonna go. It's almost 2am and my mom is probably going to wake us up early." she groaned.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then." he said, then extended his arms for a hug. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his bare back, because he still had his bathing suit on, and squeezed hard. He kissed the top of her head before pulling away. "Sweet dreams." he said with a smile.

"You too." she smiled back before walking out of her room and closing the door behind her. 'He's so perfect.' she closed her eyes as she tried to take everything in.

Joe sighed to himself once she left. He didn't know what he was getting himself into. He knew that there was more to this girl than anyone could possibly imagine, but in a good way. As he got changed his clothes, he glanced all around her room, but not in a snooping way. He admired the quotes and random pictures of her with friends scattered all around. Her room expressed who she was and who she was about. He chuckled to himself as he looked at the collage of pictures on her surfboard that was attached to the wall that was made into a corkboard thing. There were dozens of pictures of her with friends making obscene faces, ones with immature gestures and actions.

'She's perfect.' he thought, then remembered the picture she had tossed away moments ago. He reached in the waste bin an pulled out the photo. He un-crumpled it to see Bailey sitting with a well-built, shaggy brown-haired boy. His muscled arm was wrapped around her as he kissed her nose. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she had on the biggest smile he had ever seen. Her smile made him smile right then, but then he realized why she tossed the picture in the first place; the guy must've been Jake.

Joe sighed again, then dropped the picture back into the trashcan and slid into her soft bed. He clicked off the light on the table next to him and then sunk his head into the pillow. After rolling over on his stomach and breathing in, he received a light scent of some sort of perfume that was embedded in the blanket. He grinned into the pillow in satisfaction, then slowly drifted to sleep with Bailey on his mind.