"Nicholas!" Bailey yelled, tackling him onto the couch in the back lounge. "Ah, I've missed you!" she gave him a big wet kiss on the cheek. He laid stunned underneath her.

"I missed you too?" be sounded a bit confused as he began to sit up, scratching his curly head.

"Hey! You're back." Kevin smiled, walking into the room.

"Kevin!" she exclaimed, popping up and tackling him on the couch on the opposite side of the room and embracing him in a tight hug.

"Someone's a bit excited." Kevin chuckled, hugging back.

"I was dying to get out of that house." Bailey informed. "And now I'm here with you guys. Life is good." she finished, then let go of Kevin and relaxed back into the couch as Joe appeared in the doorway. "Hey." she cooed, calming down a bit as she stared up at his soft face. All Joe did was smile as his made his way over and sat down next to her on the couch, his right leg up against her left.

"This tour is going to be amazing." Joe exclaimed, tilting his head back in satisfaction with a huge grin on his face.

"Yeah." Nick piped in. "It's just us, then Miley's crew. No extra assistants like Tori."

"Oh, really?" Bailey asked, a little surprised. Her happiness grew even more when she realized that this tour was going to run a lot smoother.

Kevin exhaled. "Yeah, she decided to head home. Apparently she had enough of touring." everyone chuckled.

"Woo!" Bailey exclaimed. "That means I get you guys all to myself." she rubbed her hand mischievously.

"More like me." Joe smirked, wrapping his arm around her. She leaned her head into his chest, missing his lovely scent.

"Mhm." she mumbled, resting her hand on his leg.

Joe had missed this, just holding her. Knowing that he was hanging onto someone who really cared about him kept feeding the butterflies in his stomach. He loved the feeling that she gave him. He couldn't get enough of it. Goosebumps formed up his arm as she grabbed his free hand, interlacing her fingers with his.

"Are you cold?" her soft voice sounded like an angel to his ears.

"No, I'm good." he blushed a little, embarrassed at the fact that he let her get into him. Her grasp on his heart was firm and strong; she wasn't letting go any time soon.

- - - - -

"Come on!" Joe whined. "I'm hungry and there's lovely food in there waiting to be ordered and eaten by me!"

After being on the road for about six hours, the bus had finally stopped outside of an Applebee's in the middle of Greensboro, North Carolina to eat. It had been parked for about 5 minutes already, but Nick and Bailey had yet to move away from the TV screen. Their eyes were glued to the notes of 'The Light That Blinds' off of Guitar Hero 2, the buttons on the plastic guitar clicking every second.

"Go ahead Joe, we'll be there in a second." Bailey replied quickly, determined to beat Nick. "Shit." she muttered after a loud clang was heard from the TV from missing a note. "Dammit Joe! Don't talk to me."

Nick laughed at the frustration in her voice. "You gonna be alright, Bails? Ms. Bailey Baker, Queen of GH2." he mocked her, his fingers moving up and down the neck of the guitar, hitting every note that flashed across the screen on 'Hard'.

"Shut up. You've just been practicing. I haven't played in months." she winced at her own lame excuse. She heard Joe groan, then walk off the bus. A few moments later, the song ended and Bailey dropped the guitar.

"Aw, it's alright." Nick patted her shoulder, his smile beaming. "You only lost by. . . 12%."

"I hope you know this is war." she narrowed her eyes at him as she stood up from the floor, setting the guitar down next to the TV. Nick chuckled, then pushed her towards the front of the bus.

Bailey followed Nick through the restaurant and to the large, circle table that was surrounded by high bar stools. The line up was Joe, Kevin, Garbo, Nick, Bailey directly across from Joe, Ross, and then the rest of the band. Quickly, Bailey flipped open her menu, burying her face behind it.

"You finally beat her?" Kevin smirked, looking at Nick. Proudly, he nodded. "Nice."

"Hmph." Bailey exhaled behind the menu. After deciding on the cheese quesadillas, she laid her menu down on the table, then scoped out the rest of the people that were at the restaurant. When her eyes made her way to Joe's, she stuck her tongue out at him. He scrunched up his nose, then attracted his attention to the waiter that approached the table.

"Hey, my name is Mike and I'll be taking care of you guys today." Bailey followed the deep voice to see a guy that looked about 17 or 18 standing between her and Nick with a pen and pad in his hands. He was a little taller than Joe, with spiky, dark blonde hair. The style sort of resembled the old 'Joe-hawk'. He was highly attractive. "-And for you, miss?" he asked, bringing Bailey back down to earth.

"What?" she asked, looking into his emerald green eyes.

His chuckle was a little husky. "What can I get you to drink?"

"Oh, I'll just have a root beer." she replied, a little embarrassed that she hadn't been paying attention.

"Alright, I'll give you guys a few more minutes, then I'll be back to take your orders." Mike informed, nodding his head before taking off into the kitchen in the back of the restaurant.

"Smooth, Bails." Nick laughed. "Smooth like your Guitar Hero skills."

"HA. You're hilarious." she glared over at him. "I was just thinking of something." she lied.

"Now, now. Kids, knock it off." Ross stated.

There was a little small talk before Mike returned with everyone's drinks and took everyone's order.

"Ew. What's that floating in your drink?" Joe asked from across the table, sounding a little disgusted.

Bailey twirled her straw around. "Aw. It's a cherry!" she exclaimed, grabbing the stem and pulling it out, dripping a little root beer on the table.

"Well, that's kind of cute." Nick commented, then winced when Joe kicked his shin.

"I hear that if you can tie a cherry stem in a knot with your tongue, you're a good kisser." Kevin informed the table, nodding his head in amusement to his own statement. There were a few chuckles before all eyes were on Bailey.

"What?" she asked, glancing around at everyone.

"Do it!" Garbo exclaimed, motioning towards the cherry.

Bailey looked down on it. "What? No. I'm not doing it now, are you kidding me? In front of my boss?" she nodded her head towards Ross.

"Oh, you kids amuse me. You act as if I don't know that you and Joe suck each others faces off when no one is looking." Ross glanced back and forth at the two.

"Ok, awkward." Joe muttered, clearing his throat, trying not to blush as Bailey smiled over at him.

"Come Bailey, do it." Nick nudged her.

Rolling her eyes, she popped the cherry in her mouth. Everyone stared as she fiddled with the stem. Moments later she pulled the knotted stem out, showing the table that she could do it.

"Very nicely done." Mike commented, coming up behind her with an order of cheese fries as their appetizer.

"Thanks." Bailey replied, her cheeks turning a little pink as she tossed the stem onto the table. She tried to avoid making eye contact with Joe, but she couldn't help it. She saw the annoyance in his eyes. He didn't like how the waiter was flirting with her and she knew it, but what was she supposed to do about it?

Eventually, their meals came. After a few laughs and full bellies, Mike was there to clear off the table as everyone relaxed, pushing off the fact that they had to get back on the road soon.

"Here, let me get that for you." Mike stated, reaching down for Bailey's empty plate, winking as he dropped a tiny slip of paper in his lap. "You guys all have a wonderful day." he smiled, showing his perfect teeth, then walked away with the dirty dishes in his arms.

Nonchalantly, Bailey slipped the paper into her back pocket, then stood up as everyone stretched, ready to leave. Quickly, but casually, Joe made his way next to her, grabbing her hand and interlocking his fingers with her soft ones, making sure that Mike had seen them as he exited the kitchen. Smirking, he lead her out of the restaurant and onto the bus.

"So what'd he give you?" Joe asked, entering the back lounge of the tour bus. Bailey looked at him confusedly for a second.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, then pulled out the slip of paper from her pocket. She laughed. "He gave me his number." Joe looked at her, showing no emotion on his face. "What? It's not like I asked for it."

"I know." he muttered, sounding defeated as he flopped down onto the leather couch. Sighing, Bailey crumpled up the piece of paper and tossed it into the small waste bin next to the couch.

"Hey, cheer up." she smirked, sliding onto his lap. Instantly, his hands made their way around her waist. She leaned in and pressed her forehead against his. "I'm all yours." she whispered, kissing the tip of his nose.

The feeling in his stomach returned as his softly pressed his lips against hers. Smiling, she kissed back, bringing her hand up to the back of his neck.

"Ugh. So this is what Ross meant about 'sucking face'." Nick chuckled, trying to sound disgusted as he made his way to the other couch. Bailey pulled away, then slid off of Joe's lap and onto the couch. She could tell he was a little disappointed. "So Bailey, you ready to step back up to the plate?" he asked, holding up the plastic guitar.