A week had passed and everything was going great. Everything between everyone was perfectly fine. Bailey and Tori had become pretty close, or so it had seemed, over the time spent together on their bus and during the shows. Tori knew about her and Joe; she thought it was the cutest thing. That made Bailey feel good, even if she got a little jealous of her sometimes. Everyone loved her.

Sarah was starting to warm up to her also. If her best friend could deal, so could she, even though she knew it'd be better with just the two of them.

"Hey J- Oh, sorry guys." Bailey said, walking into the JB dressing room about an hour before show time. Joe and Tori were sitting on the couch, looking to be having a serious conversation. Bailey faked a smile, gave a little wave, then walked out of the room, making sure the door was shut behind her.

She leaned against the wall by the door in the hallway and shut her eyes for a moment. She knew that nothing was going on between the two of them, but it still stung her to see him talking to another girl so closely like that. Yeah, they all became close on the long bus rides and deep conversations, but unknowingly, Bailey was intimidated by Tori. Tori was drop dead gorgeous. Her body was proportioned correctly, her hair and makeup was always perfect, she had something to say about everything. As much as Bailey hated the attention she received, she envied the girl. She couldn't even compete.

"Hey." the sound of Joe's soft voice made her eyes shoot open. He shut the dressing room door behind him and approached her.

"Hey." her voice cracked a little, but only enough for him to barely notice.

"Bails," he started.

"Joe, don't start. It's nothing." she blew him off, not wanting to get into it at that moment. She didn't have any reasons to back up how she was feeling and she wasn't ready to have a conversation about it. She was still trying to pull it together herself.

"Stop. Just talk to me." He looked down into her beautiful blue eyes between his shaggy, dark chunks of hair that clung to his forehead. He softly brushed a strand of her dark blonde hair out of her eyes as she stared up at him. "I can see it in your eyes. If you don't want me to talk to her, I won't." it was as if Joe read her mind, even though that's not what she was thinking; she wasn't even thinking at all.

"It's not that." she replied, looking away from his captivating stare. He was giving her the stare that could make her tell him anything. She wasn't ready to let her true feelings about Tori flow quite yet.

Knowing that Bailey didn't want to talk about it, Joe just pulled her towards his body and hugged her. Being in his arms made her feel a little better, even more so when he started to caress her back. She closed her eyes as her grip around his torso tightened; she didn't want to let him go.

Joe couldn't understand why she was acting like this all of a sudden. Earlier in the week she seemed fine, but now she couldn't even be in the same room and him and Tori. It felt as is she was giving up on him because a new girl was here. He hoped to God her feelings for him weren't fading because of it.

He then slowly began to pull away from her, only enough so he could get lost in her eyes. He liked her more than anything, but she didn't seem completely convinced. He noticed her eyes starting to tear up as he moved in for a kiss. Softy, their lips met. Bailey let her eyes close as Joe moved his hand to the back of her neck. It was a wonderful few seconds before his tongue trailed her bottom lip; he wanted in. Bailey stepped closer to him to deepen the kiss. His hand moved to her waist, pulling her even closer to his body. Her hands mischievously made their way up the back of his shirt, making the tiny hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He started to smile in the middle of their little make out session, causing her to smile also.

"Shhh." she whispered on his mouth, hoping he wouldn't begin to laugh. She reattached her lips to his before he had the chance.

"Joe!" Kevin yelled down the hall. "Oh, ha ha, sorry." he blushed after seeing them. Bailey pulled her lips away, then pressed her forehead against his chest. "Lockdown time, c'mon."

"C'mon." Joe smiled down at her as he grabbed her hand and started down the hallway. She didn't move.

"You go." she said, letting go of his hand. He tilted his head to the side in confusion. "It's your time with the boys. I'd ruin it. Go."

Bailey wasn't making any sense. "-But you're always there, what are you talking about?"

She shook her head, "Ross is just starting to eye us, that's all." she lied. "I'd just be a distraction." she gave him a weak smile before starting off down the hallway in the opposite direction, leaving Joe alone with his mind racing.

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, closing his eyes as he leaned against the wall.

"You alright?" he looked up to see Tori approaching him from the dressing room. He nodded, then walked away to where Kevin was moments ago without a word. She smirked as she watched him trail down the hall, shaking his head.

"Joseph my man! Where've you been?" Alex, their drummer, asked once he closed the door behind him.

Joe faintly smiled, "I've been around."

"Sure looks like it." he smirked. "That new chick, Tori? Damn." Joe shook his head at that comment. "She totally digs you man."

"Ignore him." Greg, their bassist, stated. "He's going on two months."

"Two months of what?" Kevin asked, looking up at the group.

"Two months since he's gotten any. Ain't that right, Al?" Greg smirked.

"Hey guys, knock it off." John, their other guitarist, ordered. "You know I'm the one that's supposed to be making those comments.

"Well, maybe if you would've - "

"All of you, stop!" Nick exclaimed, causing everyone to shut up and stare at him. It was quite for a moment before he spoke. "Where's Bailey?" he asked, looking at his brother's expressionless face.

"She said she didn't want to be a distraction." Joe muttered before hopping up on the counter on the opposite side of the dull room. Everyone stared at him in disbelief.

"Is everything alright?" Kevin asked quietly. Joe shrugged his shoulders. "Don't sweat it man, maybe it's that time of the month or something."

The other guys replied with a few 'yeahs' and 'maybes' before Nick shattered the awkwardness that floated in the room with a few strums of his acoustic.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Bailey! Go get Joe, we're about to sing 'Happy Birthday!'" Kevin stated as people started to gather around the table in the meet and greet room. The cake on the table read 'Happy Birthday Sarah!'. Her best friend was finally turning 17.

"Joe?" she called down the empty hallway.

Without a response, she made her way to the dressing room. She opened the door to reveal Joe topless with Tori on top of him, straddling his waist. Silent tears slid down her face as she watched Tori kiss his lips, down his cheek and to his neck. She couldn't watch anymore as his hands slid up her legs. Uncontrollably, Bailey let out a sob, causing the two of them to look over at her. Instantly, Joe shot up from the couch and snatched his shirt. She received a beaming smirk from Tori as she straightened out her pants.

Joe approached her slowly, making Bailey step backwards with every step he took towards her. The tears fell harder from her face as her hands began to shake.

"Bails," he started.

"No, Joe." he reached out for her. "Joe, NO!" she screamed.

Bailey felt a pair of hands on her shoulders as she awakened. Quickly, she opened her eyes and sat up in her tiny bunk; she just had that horrible nightmare again.

"Hey, hey." Joe's soft voice tried to comfort her. "It was just a bad dream, shhh." he sat on the edge of her bunk and wrapped his arms around her. She squeezed her eyes shut as she leaned into his neck.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, pulling away. She was glad she hadn't stated crying, like the previous nights after that scene played in her mind.

"I didn't see you after the show last night and I was upset, so I told Ross I was crashing on your bus 'til we get to the hotel because you had already asleep when I got here after the meet and greet and I couldn't talk to you." he ranted. "We should be at the hotel in Miami in a few hours. Apparently, we're meeting up with my parents who are still in Florida on vacation. We have the next week off with them!"

"Sweet." she tried to smile and sound a little excited, but the image of Tori on top of him still played in her mind.

"You finally get to meet Frankie and my parents." he smiled at her, trying to lighten her up. She smiled, then wiped the sleep from her eyes. "Tell me what's on your mind." he stated simply. "I hate how you've been acting these past few days. Tell me what's wrong so I can try to fix it."

Bailey stared at him. "It's nothing."

"-And stop telling me it's nothing. Bails, just talk to me." he pleaded, grabbing her hand.

"It's just, I've been having this dream. . ." she trailed off, looking away from him. She tried to find the words to speak, but she chuckled instead. "Now I'm going to sound so pathetic."

"Hey guys. Joe, I didn't know you were here." Tori smiled as she walked past the bunks. Joe gave her a little wave before making her way to the back. Bailey's eyes followed her until she was out of sight.

"Oh, I think I get it." Joe said quietly, looking at Bailey's blank face.

"You can't even imagine."

"Then tell me so I can try." he said, then received a smack from her. "No, not like that." he rubbed his arm. "Just tell me what it was about."

"Basically you two were seconds away from going at it, until I walked it." Bailey replied flatly. "I know it was just a dream, but it still hurt to see it, even if it wasn't real."

"You know I wouldn't do that. . ." he stated, then rubbed her hand with his thumb.

"I know, I know. It's just - " she stammered.

"I get it, really. If I had a dream like that about you, I'd be acting a little different too." he spoke the truth.

"I just feel so childish now, getting upset about something that's not even real. Sorry. . ." she looked down. "I don't know, it's just, I started getting these negative vibes, then I just over-thought everything. I made assumptions when I shouldn't have. . ."

"I'd never hurt you, believe me. I like you way too much." he moved in closer to her face and lightly kissed her on the cheek. She blinked slowly, then smiled.

"I can't wait to meet Frankie." she exclaimed, feeling a little better than she had the night before. "Let's just forget about this, ok?" she asked, he nodded. She smiled, then leaned in and kissed him.

- - - - -

Bailey paced back and forth on the bus as Sarah and Tori sat on the couch making fun of her.

"This isn't funny, I'm so friggin' nervous." she whined, then stopped and felt her cheeks. "Am I red?"

Tori laughed, "No, you look fine. Just chill out and breathe."

Just then, Joe finally came out of the bathroom from taking his shower. Instantly, the room was soaked with his aroma. Bailey thought she was going to pass out from his lovely scent.

"Babe, are you alright?" he chuckled, approaching her and putting the back of his hand up to her forehead. "You look a little pale."

"I'm good." she lied, then grabbed his hand and put it in front of her.

"Bails, they're going to love you, believe me." he assured her. "Frankie is going to be attached to your leg once he meets you."

"HEY!" Nick jumped up behind them. "We're here. Woah, Bailey. Are you ok?"

"She's nervous about meeting your parents." Tori said, still amused.

"I don't think I've ever seen her so nerve wrecked." Sarah added, receiving a glare from Bailey.

Nick laughed, "You'll be -"

"Fine, I know." she finished. "That's what I'm told. That still doesn't change this ugly feeling in my stomach." Bailey informed, then put her hand on her stomach.

"Bail, if Joe can get past your dad, I think you'll be ok." Sarah tried to cheer her up. Joe nodded at her comment.

"Your dad loved me." he smiled cheekily, Bailey elbowed him. He knew he wasn't going to get away with another comment assuring her that she'd be fine meeting his parents, so instead he commented on her appearance. "You look great by the way." Bailey was wearing a pair of black, silver pinstriped Dickie shorts that were cut off at her knees, with a simple white tank top and Converse. She looked a Joe oddly. "Come on." he grabbed her hand and lead her off the buss after Nick. Sarah and Tori followed eventually.