"So what in the world happened?!" Sarah yelled through the phone. "I haven't heard from you all friggin' day. Something had to have went down. Spill."

Bailey stood at the front of the bus, facing the door with the phone up to her ear and a smile on her face when she thought about kissing Joe, in the rain.

"Oh, uh, yeah." Bailey replied quietly so she couldn't be heard from the back of the bus. "Hold on a sec." she said before making her way to the bathroom. She shut the door, turned on the air vent so no one outside could hear her talking, and then started with Joe's name.



"So Joe, you gonna tell me what happened outside?" Kevin asked, smirking. Joe looked at him wide-eyed, then pointed to the bathroom. "Chill, she can't hear us. She's on the phone with the vent thing on. If we can't hear her, she can't hear us."

"He's got a point." Nick commented, taking his eyes off the TV screen.

"Well, - "Joe started. "- you told us to go outside in the rain, and we did. Then like, - "he stopped, thought, and then smiled.

" - What?" Kevin exclaimed in interest.

"I just, kinda, kissed her." Joe stated as his cheeks turned a little pink.

"What do you mean, 'kinda'?" Nick questioned.

"Forget I said 'kinda', I did kiss her." he corrected himself. Kevin and Nick just stared at him. "What?"

"I don't know, you tell me." the oldest said. "Was it 'in the moment' or was it like, a 'kiss-kiss'?"

Joe shrugged. "I had been meaning to for a while. . ."

"What do you mean, 'for a while'? You just met the girl not even a week ago." Nick questioned.

"Stop asking me what I mean! I mean exactly what I said." Joe spurt out. "I don't know, I just really like her. Even if it has only been a few days. There's just something about her. . ."

"What do you mean you 'don't know'?" Nick smirked.

"NICK!"

"Ok, ok." he put his hands up in surrender.

"So are you going to ask her out?" Kevin asked.

"I - " Joe started as the bathroom door opened.

"Sarah say's her hellos." Bailey informed with a smile, then sat next to Joe on the couch. Everyone was staring at her. "What?" they all shook their heads, then turned back to the TV.

- - - - -

The next morning, Nick was the first one up. The four of them had fallen asleep during the movie the night before. Kevin was sprawled out on one couch, Joe and Bailey were on the other. Nick smiled as he saw Bailey curled up next to Joe who was slouched back with his head against the back of the couch. Her head was on his chest and his arm was around her waist. Quickly, Nick snatched Bailey's phone and took a picture.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Kevin barley got out as he awoke, his low voice crackled. "What time is it?"

"It's like, 10am, but we're still on the road." he replied, then took a seat next to him.

Kevin noticed Bailey and Joe. "Aw, they look so cute."

"I'm awake and I can hear you." Joe said softly. His eyes were still closed and he didn't move at all.

"Ah, he speaks." Kevin stated.

"Me too." Bailey said. She had been up for a while also, she was just so comfortable, she didn't want to move. She was in Joe's arms and she loved it.

Joe opened his eyes at the sound of her voice and looked down at her. He had no idea that she had been awake. He had been up for at least 10 minutes, just holding her.

A few seconds passed before Bailey finally sat up, pulling away from Joe.

"So where are we headed anyway?" Bailey asked before standing and stretching her arms up above her head. Joe watched as his t-shirt rose and revealed her belly button. He frowned to himself as it disappeared as quickly as it showed.

"Memphis, Tennessee." Kevin replied. "But we've still got a few hours to go."

"Great." Bailey stated, sarcasm dripped from her mouth.

"Ha ha, why do you say it like that?" Joe asked.

"It's just all my clothes are on the other bus. It kinda sucks." she chuckled.

"We have clothes." Nick offered.

"I don't think boys pants are going to look all that great on me." she replied.

"I think Nick has a pair or two of girl pants in there." Joe smirked.

"Hey, I think you do too, Joseph." Kevin piped in, causing Bailey to laugh. Joe narrowed his eyes at him.

"C'mon." Nick motioned Bailey to follow him to the front of the bus.

Kevin just stared at Joe who followed Bailey with his eyes as she left with Nick. Joe looked back at him. "What?"

"You're falling so hard." he smirked. Joe didn't bother replying, he knew he was right.

- - - - -

After 3 more hours off driving, the bus was finally parked at an arena in Memphis, Tennessee.

"Last one off is . . . LAST and just sucks!" Nick yelled, then rushed out of the backroom. Kevin quickly followed. Joe went to get up, but Bailey stopped him.

"Joe, can we talk for a sec?" she asked, looking into his eyes as they stayed seated on the couch.

"Yeah, sure." he replied, completely attentive.

"About last night. . ." she trailed off as she shifted her eyes. "Well, I don't know how to ask this without being too forward, but like, what was that?" her soft voice asked. "I mean, I know it was a kiss, but does it going anywhere beyond that?"

Joe kept eye contact. The same thing had been on his mind since then. "Did you want it to?"

"You can't reply to my question with a question."

He chuckled, looked away, then looked back into her sea blue eyes. "I really like you, Bailey. A lot. I love talking with you, being around you, flirting with you, laughing with you, hugging you, and as of last night, - "he started, but stopped when she leaned in and kissed him. She could feel that he was shocked, but it instantly went away as he kissed back. " - kissing you." he finished softly as she slowly pulled away. She smiled when she saw that his eyes were still closed.

"Joe?" Bailey asked after a few seconds, his eyes were still closed and he was silent.

"Shhh, I'm taking it all in. I just spilled my heart out. Give me a moment." he tried to stop himself from smiling, but he failed miserably, causing him to open his eyes and lock them with hers again, she smiled back at him. "Ok, since we skipped a step. . .or three, do you want to go out to dinner sometime? Maybe a movie or something?"

Bailey chuckled, "How about a tour around this arena accompanied with a hot dog and soda?" Joe smiled, he loved her originality and simplicity.

"That works." he replied, standing up and reaching out his hand. Bailey took it and he lead her off the bus.



"Happy Hippo's Hot Dogs?" Bailey asked, looking up at the big purple sign. Joe and her were two of the few people walking around the arena before any fans were let in. "Should I be scared?"

Joe laughed, "As long as they're not made out of hippos."

"Ask 'em." she stated, Joe looked down at her in disbelief.

"What?"

"You heard me, ask him if they're made out of hippos." she nudged her head towards the guy behind the counter. "I dare you." she smirked.

"Ok, fine." he replied, then approached the counter with her by his side. "Excuse me, sir, are your hot dogs made out of hippos?" he asked in a serious tone. Bailey tried to stifle a laugh. Joe elbowed her.

"Why, uh, no. I don't believe they are." the old guy replied.

"Great. I'll order two then. With two Cokes." Joe informed.

"Root beer." Bailey coughed.

"I'm sorry, Root beer. Two Root beers." he corrected, before glancing over at Bailey who was trying not to laugh. "Thanks." Joe said as they grabbed their order and slowly walked away.

"You're just too cool." Bailey joked before taking a bite of her ketchup covered hotdog.

"So I've been told."

"This is probably the best date I've been on, even if we truly are consuming hippos." she stated. Joe almost choked as he began laughing. She smiled over at him as they continued walking.

- - - - -

"I don't think they're ready for us, guys." Joe said into the mic backstage; the crowd went wild.

"What? Are you sure anyone is even out there?" Kevin asked.

"Let me check. . ." Nick stated, then stepped onto the stage. "Woah." he exclaimed as he scanned his eyes over the arena; it was loaded with people in the pit and balconies. The show had to have been sold out. It looked insane!

Bailey stood at the foot of the stage like normal with her clipboard and headset as the boys performed 'Year 3000'. She pretty much zoned out until they started playing 'Mandy'.

"Mandy used to be that girl, the one that never said a word." Joe sung. Bailey looked up, almost swearing that she heard her name. She shook it off, then zoned out again. "Bailey always laughs when I act stupid." she looked up on stage to see Joe smirking at her as he continued to sing. She noticed Nick looking at him like 'WTF', but Joe waved him off. "Bailey always knows exactly what I'm thinking and she's always on my mind."

Bailey's jaw dropped as he sung to her, not believing that he had used her name. She turned around to see if the fans noticed; a few had a funny look on their faces, but other's didn't notice because they were too busy rocking out. For the rest of the song, Joe sang the original lyrics after receiving glares from his brothers.

Halfway through 'Hello Beautiful', Bailey thought her ears were going to explode. Every time Nick would sing, the girls behind her would shriek. To be honest, she felt like strangling them. At some point during Nick's verse, a fan who looked about 13 hopped over the barricade. Instantly, Bailey rushed towards her but the fan was too fast. Within seconds, she was up on the stage, security was quickly moving in. Some of her scream was caught in Nick's mic as she hugged him, but he kept on singing. Joe was laughing at him form the opposite side of the stage as security pulled the young girl off of him. She had clung onto him long enough to slip a note in his guitar strap.

Once again, the show was coming to an end. The boys said their 'thank yous' and 'goodbyes' as a few fans threw random objects onto the stage; one being a pair of socks.

"Thanks, I'm going to go change into these right now." Joe said into the mic, holding up the hot pink, frilly socks. Bailey chucked, then made her way backstage to set up for the meet and greet.

- - - - -

"Mwah!" Bailey smiled after smacking Joe's cheek with a kiss as she ran up to him after the last fan from the meet and greet left.

"You're so sweet." he replied.

"So Nick, what'd that love note say?" Bailey asked him as they finished picking up their stuff that was lying around the room.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, sounding confused.

"Oh come on. I'm not stupid." she smiled. "I saw her slip that note on your strap." she winked, making Nick blush a little.

"Well, it had her number in it." he replied.

Bailey grinned. "Guess who we're calling when we get back to the bus?"

"Guess who's going to go back to their own bus?" Nick mocked.

"Guess who's going to be tackled if he doesn't lighten up?" she asked, Nick was about to reply until she cut him off. "Joe!" she yelled, then ran up behind him and jumped on his back, he grabbed her legs as they wrapped around his waost and held her up. Her arms were draped around his neck as the front of her body pressed up against his back. "Hey gorgeous." she finally whispered in his ear, unknowingly sending tingles down his spine.

"Alright, we're heading out." Kevin waved for everyone to follow him. "Are you rooming with us again?"

"Uh, I don't know." Bailey replied, a little unsure. "Yesterday it was because I had to, but today my bus is actually here."

"Are you saying that you want to leave us?" Nick asked, sounding a bit offended."No, not at all. I just don't think it's appropriate this time." she trailed off as they made their way through the arena.

"It's not any less appropriate than that." Kevin pointed to her on Joe's back. Within moments, they were already outside by the busses.

"Yeah, I just think I'll crash on my bus tonight." she said as Joe let Bailey slowly slide down his back. Her legs moved between his hands as she slid down. After making contact with the ground, she gave Kevin and Nick a hug goodbye. "See you guys tomorrow." she waved to them as they hopped onto their bus. "Don't lose that number!" she called after Nick, then turned to Joe. She could barley make out his eyes at the angle she was at.

Joe smiled as he watched hers glisten in the little moon light that reflected off the bus. He embraced her in a warm hug and held her for a few minutes, every now and then giving her back a gentle rub. After slowly pulling away, Bailey stepped up on her tippy toes and gave him a kiss. For some reason, his lips seemed a lot softer than they had earlier.

"See you tomorrow." he smiled down at her.

"See ya." she waved, then made her way onto her bus. Joe didn't move until she was out of sight.

Once Bailey placed her bag down in the darkness, she clicked on the light. She was instantly stunned by what she saw in front of her.