"Don't you agree?" Joe's ears perked up at the spike in her voice. Instantly, he nodded before she continued her rant about the most pointless things. He began to zone out again, playing with the straw in his cup as he sat at the little table at the pizza parlor across from Jasmine, the girl he thought was becoming a little more, but now realized that there wasn't even a chance. At the studio and hanging out at his house, Jasmine seemed like a cool girl. But after 3 hours of shopping, and now lunch, Joe realized he was in way over his head. "-And I freaked! Could you believe she said that to me?!" Jasmine asked, her eyes locking onto his.

"No way, really?" Joe questioned, trying to sound as into the conversation as much as he could. Luckily, his tone was convincing enough and Jasmine continued blabbering.

After letting out a tiny sigh, Joe began to zone out again, thinking about the movie premiere that was going to take place the following week. He couldn't wait to see Bailey again, as confusing as that may sound. Once she walked away from him that one day, after he pretty much ended things, he hadn't seen her. He had heard about her, was updated on the tiny things from his mother, but he hadn't seen her with his own two eyes.

It was another minute as his eyes began to drift. Looking past Jasmine, and past the table behind her, he noticed their waiter approaching with a smile. After declining any refills and extra napkins, Joe kept his smile as he watched the polite man walk away. It wasn't until he noticed a familiar face off in the distance that he choked in his own saliva, instantly attracting Jasmine's attention.

"I know! I can't believe she said that either!" she exclaimed, then continued on as Joe regained his composure. He eyed Jasmine for a moment before averting his eyes back to, what he now realized, was Bobby Blake's table. Ten seconds didn't pass until he identified the other person he was with; his own Bailey.

Joe couldn't help himself, he had to stare. Even if it was just the back of her head, it was the most he'd seen of her in the past week. That was just enough to trip him back into their little game.

Giving an occasional head-nod to Jasmine after every pause, Joe constantly looked past her and at Bailey. Accidentally keeping his stare a little too long, he watched as she casually turned around in her seat, her eyes immediately finding his; she knew he was there. Feeling his lips curve into a smile of acknowledgement, his face instantly dropped when he saw her eyes widen and her body spin back around, her arm hitting her glass of soda and knocking it over into her lap. Joe flinched from across the patio of tables as Bailey shot up from her seat, sponging her front side with a hand full of napkins as the root beer soaked into her clothing. Within seconds, she disappeared from the table and into the restaurant. Instinctively, Joe wanted to get up and run after her, but he knew that it was the wrong time and place. He didn't have to do anything.

- - - - -

Biting her lip, Bailey's eyes watered as she wiped her shirt down in the bathroom. Glancing up into the mirror in front of her for only a second, her cheeks reddened even more of embarrassment. She couldn't believe what had just happened.

After slamming the damp paper towel into the trash bin, Bailey closed her eyes and leaned forward on the porcelain sink, slowly building herself back up so she could walk out as if nothing was bothering her. Right now, it wasn't the fact that her entire front side was stained a faded brown color, it was because Joe was sitting out there waiting for her reappearance.

Taking a deep breath, Bailey started for the door. Looking down and flattening out her shirt, she pushed open the door with her elbow, her focus down below. After the turned the corner out of the bathroom lobby, she collided with something hard. Almost falling over, she felt a pair of hands grab her sides, pulling her back into balance. It was a moment before an imaginary electric surge spread throughout her body as she realized who caught her from falling. It was Joseph.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to bump into you, literally." Joe almost stuttered, not really knowing how she was going to act towards him. It had been so long, talking to her almost seemed like a brand new thing.

"It's alright, don't worry about it." she replied, placing her hands on his and removing them from her waist. Pressing her lips together and raising her eyebrows, Bailey began to step around him to head back to her table. She stopped once she felt his warm grasp on her upper arm, making her turn around to give him an attentive look.

"Are you alright?" he asked, sincerity in his voice, his eyes staring back into her blue pools as she watched him stare down at where his skin touched hers.

"Fine. Thanks for caring." she faked a tiny smile, then continued her way back to her table.

Joe stood there for a moment, still letting everything seep in. Still a little high off her touch, and even scent, he continued to zone out, looking like an idiot while standing in the middle of the bathroom lobby with a weird gaze. After returning to reality, he finally realized something; he probably just ruined the best thing that ever happened to him.

About fifteen minutes flew by, Bailey was back at the table with Bobby and Joe had returned to Jasmine. Bailey chewed away on her pizza, completely getting lost in her thoughts about everything. Their new movie, the premiere, Joe. Bobby knew not to talk to her because he could see her mind cranking away. If it was one thing he learned from his mother, it was not to question a woman when she had something on her mind; don't speak unless spoken to. And boy, you better say what they want to hear if you're asked.

"Is he looking over here?" Bailey hissed, keeping her back to Joe's table as her eyes locked on Bobby's. He shifted his eyes and caught hold of Joe's stare. After sighing, he gave her a little nod which made a tiny whimper leave Bailey's body as she let the crust of her pizza fall to the plastic plate.

"Forget about him." Bobby leaned forward and whispered. "He's not even worth it, Bails." Her eyes watered, looking over into is.

"I can't." she replied. "I can't forget about him, Bobby. I want him so bad."

"Well then, go for him." he replied hopelessly, not knowing what it was that she wanted to hear.

"I can't." Bailey spat, almost wanting to slam her head down on to the table.

"You know, I'm getting kind of sick of you." he stated, his voice sounding a little annoyed.

"What!" she exclaimed, a little surprised at this tone.

"Yeah, you say you're over the boy and that you're gonna try to move on, and now you're sitting here and have basically, like. . .melted all over again at the sight of him. It's kinda hard to -"

"Ugh." she groaned, putting her face into her hands that were propped up onto the table with her elbows.

"Yep, he's definitely looking now."

"Thanks, faggot." Bailey muttered, then listened to the silence between them for a moment. "I just. . .don't know what to do."

"Want my opinion?" Bobby offered, his eyes perking up.

"Please." she simply replied, actually putting all her attention towards him.

"There's nothing that you can do, really. It's all up to him now." he sighed, then leaned back in his chair. "I know that's not what you really want to hear, but you've pretty much done your part."

"I wouldn't say so." she stated.

"And why is that?" he asked, a bit intrigued.

"If you haven't noticed, a relationship takes two. It doesn't matter who makes the move. It just matters if there's even a move made in the first place." Bailey admitted, pretty much stating it straight out. "The thing is. . .I don't know if I want to make that move."

"See, that's where you lose me." Bobby admitted. "You say you're into him, then you don't want to do anything to try and get him back. Why?"

"Fear." she responded bluntly. "Fear that'll he'll just throw it all away again."