It was almost 11pm. Bailey parked the car by the buses and quietly got out. Draping her duffle bag over her shoulder, she grabbed the box of pizza out of the back seat, the bag of Taco Bell from the front, and a cup holder consisting of two bright blue Slurpees from 7-11, Joe's favorite. The parking lot was still and no one had really exited the venue; the boys were still inside.

Power-walking through the busses and into the grassy park behind the venue, Bailey tried all her best to keep the stuff she was holding balanced. Her nerves were wrecked and her heart hadn't beat faster than what it was right then. She hoped to God this thing would work. Without a cell phone, it make things 10 times more complicated and risky, but there was no reason why her plan couldn't work out, even though one little thing could alter her plan.

After walking for a straight three minutes, following an almost straight row of little bushes that her and Mandy had stumbled across earlier that afternoon, she was almost to her destination. Before she knew it, she was trailing through a small wooded area. On the other side was a clearing over-looking a beautiful lake. Smiling up, the full moon shown brightly back at her. Setting down the food on a huge, nearby rock, she quickly un-zipped her duffel bag. Pulling out a big, thin blue blanket, she quickly fanned it out over the dirt where it laid softly. She couldn't help but smile when she pulled out the candles from her bag; she knew Joe was going to love this.

A few minutes passes and the scenery was complete. The moon glistened on the calm water, the candles were scattered around the blanket and up on various rocks as the pizza, Taco Bell, and Slurpee's sat off towards one of the corners on the blanket. Nervously, Bailey took a seat facing the water, waiting for her boy to show up.

- - - - -

"Everything is fine, Joe! Really." Mandy rubbed his back as they walked down the hall inside the venue. It was quarter of 12.

"I haven't be able to get a hold of her all day! Do you know how much it sucked, worrying about her like that?" he snapped, looking after at her.

"I know, I know." she sighed. "But it wasn't her fault, her phone broke. She had been calling you all day."

"Uh-huh, sure." Joe glared over at her. "You don't have to lie. I know she's pissed at me."

"First off, you know for a fact that Bailey is the type of girl to get over things quickly. The fact that it's your birthday, she forgot about it even faster. First thing she did this morning was call you, but you had a stupid interview."

"Like I have any control over that!" he exclaimed.

"Shut up! I'm done." Mandy raised her voice. "And what the hell, since when have I ever lied to you, Joseph?"

He groaned. "I didn't mean that." a sigh left his lungs. "I just want to see her, that's all. I just want to get away from everything right now and just be with her. . ." Mandy smiled, hearing the love in his voice. Her smiled faded when his voice rose. "And no one even knows where the hell she is!"

"I'm sure she's fine Joe." she patted his back again. "Look, just head back to the bus. Maybe she's there."

"Alright." he finished, waving to her before making his way outside. Sighing, Mandy turned around and made her way back to Kevin and Nick.

It was a minute or so before Joe was outside of the bus. With his hand on the door, he became nervous. He was anticipating the fact that he was going to be able to hold her again. It had only been 24-hours, but even in that short time it killed him to be away from her. The excitement in his body began to rise.

"Joe, wait up!" he cringed at the voice and slowly turned around to see Ross jogging up to him.
"I haven't seen you all day! How's the big 1-8?" he smiled, not realizing how annoyed Joe was at this point.

"Good." he faked a smile, just wanting to run onto the bus.

"Just good? That's it?" Ross poked at him, making Joe chuckle in frustration.

"Yeah." he cleared his throat, changing the subject to what was really on his mind. "So have you seen Bailey?"

"No, I haven't. That girl has been running all over hell and creation for me today. Let me say, she is one dedicated assistant."

"Yeah yeah, I know." Joe replied quite quickly. "I really need to find her."

"Where ever she is, I'm sure she's fine." Ross glanced around the parking lot, spotting his bright yellow car which informed that his gift had arrived. Smiling, he continued. "I have something for you."

- - - - -

Bailey sighed, looking up at the sky from her back on the blanket. Her hands were under her head and her feet were crossed down by her ankles. Once it hit 11:30, the anxious feeling in her stomach went away. Now it was only hope that filled her mind; hope that Joe would even show. Slowly, the weight was added to her back as she thought about his birthday that was quickly coming to an end with every second. She began to feel bad, thinking about how many people she cussed at as she rushed to get the food earlier, just so she'd make it back in time before he found her note and showed up to this spot. Now she was hoping that the food wouldn't spoil from waiting so long. Who knows how soggy the tacos were at that moment. The candles were even melted down to half their size as time flew by. The guilt inside of her began to take over as she started to tear up, thinking about Joe. It was now only a few minutes shy of midnight.

At the sound of a cracking twig, Bailey sat straight up, staring into the darkness of the path that lead into the woods. Besides the chirping of the crickets around her, it was silent. Her chest began thumping, the pace quickening with every second. The world seemed to stop when she saw Joe appear from the woods. Instantly, she shot up from the blanket and ran over to him. Smiling, he tightly wrapped his open arms around her body as she squeezed her arms around his neck, the side of her head pressing up against his.

"Happy Birthday Happy Birthday Happy Birthday!" she exclaimed, still holding onto him as he rubbed her back. He chuckled.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" her back tingled at his voice. "About last night -"

"Forget about it." she replied honestly, pulling away from his grasp and holding onto his hand. "I have food!" she pulled him over to the blanket.

"Bails, this looks amazing." he stated in awe as he kneeled down onto the blanket, taking in the scenery. "Thanks."

"Anything for you." she smiled over as him, reaching for the Taco Bell bag. She tossed it to him, then grabbed his Slurpee. He shot her a grin and dove into the bag.

"I wish I would've gotten here sooner. Ross was a bit distracting." he stated before stuffing his face.

"It's cool, really." she watched him in amusement and happiness. "You're here now. It's good." He smiled again before gulping down some of the melted goodness.

Moments passed after Joe finished eating. Bailey had had a slice or two of cold pizza before laying back down onto the blanket, looking up at the dark sky. It was only a second before Joe laid his body down next to her, grabbing her hand and interlacing his fingers with hers.

"This is gorgeous." he sighed before an unexpected belch slipped up and out of him. "Ew."

"Joe! Way to kill it." she playfully nudged him.

"Sorry." he chuckled with a cheesy grin. "This would be a hard thing to kill, you did great. I love it." he stated, then brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. She looked over into his glistening eyes and smiled; he was amazing. "What?"

"You're cute." she replied simply, trying to keep herself from grinning as she turned her head back so she was looking straight up into the starry sky.

"Not as cute as you." he replied softy, sitting up and leaning down to kiss her on the cheek. Once again, he made her stomach flip. He kissed her cheek again. Slowly closing his eyes, his lips moved from her cheek, down her jaw line, and to her neck.

Closing her eyes in satisfaction, Bailey moved her hand and softly placed it on his waist as he slowly maneuvered his body on top of hers, his arms supporting his top half above her as his waist lightly rested on hers. After a moment, Joe made his way up to her lips. They were soft and tasted like blue raspberries. Smiling, Bailey kissed back, slowly sliding her tongue into his mouth. She brought her hand up to his neck, pulling him down closer to her as she turned her body from underneath him, rolling him onto his back. She swung her leg over his waist and leaned her body down against his as their lips stayed connected. Joe's hands gradually made their way up her thighs and to her waist. He felt her smile on his lips. Bailey ran her fingers through his thick hair as his grip tightened around her waist; she knew he was loving it. She could tell as his lower half tensed up from underneath her.

Their make-out session lasted a little while longer until Bailey felt something vibrate on the inside of her leg.

"I swear to God that better be your phone." she reluctantly pulled her lips away from his with a small laugh. He sighed, then reached in his pocket and flipped open the phone as Bailey sat on his stomach, lifting his shirt up and trailing her fingers along the toned surface. She smiled when she saw the goosebumps begin to form.

"What, Kevin?" he asked into his phone, staring up at the moon. "Alright." he paused.
Alright! Bye."

"One thing I love about having a broken cell phone. . ." she trailed off, looking into his warm eyes. He smiled up at her, wanting more. Bailey sighed, then patted his stomach. "Come on, we should get back." she started to stand up, but Joe grabbed her legs.

"I don't want to go back." he said, pulling her back down on top of him and kissing her.

"We have to. It's past 1:30." she chuckled even though she wanted to stay there just as much as he did.

"Fine." he mumbled, his lips meeting with hers one more time before she stood, pulling him up with her. "Even though this ended up being one of the most boring birthdays ever, this sure made up for it at the last minute." he kissed her cheek before helping her pack up the stuff.