With her legs crossed and a paper plate on her lap loaded with pizza bagels, Bailey chewed away next to Frankie on the couch in the living room. With pizza sauce covering his face, he continued grubbing as well.

Even with Scooby-Doo on the television in front of her, Bailey's mind seemed to drown out every 'Yikes!' exclaimed by Shaggy himself. Oh the irony. It wasn't too long before she turned at the sound of a door closing upstairs. Listening to a set of feet clomping down the steps, she spun around to see Joe entering the living room with an acoustic guitar in his hands.

"Oh no." Bailey barley got out of her full mouth. Quickly chewing and gulping down, Velma let out a 'Jinkies!' on the TV. Moving quickly to set her plate down on the end of the table, Bailey went to stand up.

"No, sit!" Joe spat.

"Frankie, go eat in your room." Bailey turned to the little boy who looked like his missed his mouth a few times with that bagel.

"-But mom says I'm not- " he began, his voice high.

"Nonsense! Go ahead, you're allowed." she lied, knowing she was going to have to clean up whatever mess he made before Mr. and Mrs.Jonas got home.

"-But I wanna see if Scooby - " Frankie started again, his whine sounding like nails on a chalkboard. With a quick movement of her arm, Bailey grabbed the remote control and clicked off the television.

"They live, I promise. Now go." she hurried him out, then turned to Joe. "You too."

"I'm not going anywhere." Joe started boldly, sitting down into the love seat adjacent to the couch Bailey was on.

"Fine, then I will." she then stood and began walking away. A hand on her shoulder startled her as she turned to see Joe behind her and his guitar tossed onto the couch.

"No, you're gonna sit down and you're gonna listen." he stated, then pulled her back down. Her backside reluctantly reconnected with the cushion as Joe sat next to her and grabbed his guitar.

"No. I'm not going to listen. Joe, you know I -" Bailey was cut off.

"-Can't resist when I sing to you? Exactly. Now shut up." he spat, then placed his fingers on the neck of his guitar, his eyes looking down at the strings. The oxygen in Bailey's lungs froze as Joe's voice filled her ears, the notes from the chords blending and backing his vocals perfectly




"Can you hear me? Does anyone around me
Feel the way that I feel now?
'Cause from the window where I sometimes cry
I just wanna see your face tonight.
And I'm willing to lose everything I am.

'Cause I need you more than ever.
I need your help to find where I've been going wrong so far."

Bailey's eyes began to water as she listened to the boy pour his heart out. With every lyric and every note, her heart began to ache. His voice was full of sincerity and hope as his eyes continued to stare downward, never meeting hers since the first strum. He had her.

"When you're near me, I feel like I just found me
In the traces of the boy from yesterday.
But in a world that is so black and white
I will take the steps to change my life
And I won't be coming back here again.

Now I need your loving hand to guide me
Through the maze of all the things inside me.
And then I'll know that I'm alright."

That was it. Joe's eyes shifted up and met hers as he continued, a tear finally slipping from her eye. Quickly, she wiped it away as he locked his stare, his captivating, oh-so-familiar stare. The one that she fell in love with. The one she was still in love with.

"Please help me get from worse to better
Before these tears soak through this lonely sweater.
And let me know that I'm alright.
I still have one strike of this match left
And I'm holding onto my last breath
And it's getting a little dark around to see here.

Take me under your wing tonight.
Make me so perfect in your eyes.
Hold on, it'll be alright.
You're not alone.

And you'll be here forever.
Forever you'll stay.
And you promise to love me.
You'll love me always."

"I hate you so much." the words left Bailey's body in almost a whimper, her emotions flowing out of her with every tear as Joe put his guitar down, his eyes tearing up as well. She knew she didn't mean it, he knew she didn't mean it; it was actually the exact opposite of how she felt. As if it was one swift movement, Bailey leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his body, her chin resting on his shoulder as she pulled his chest into hers. Instantly, Joe wrapped his arms around her warm waist and squeezed, letting his eyes close as he inhaled her scent that almost put him into a trance. Holding onto her body was like holding onto the world, it was something he didn't want to let go of. Feeling her hot tears on his neck, he squeezed even harder, afraid that she was going to disappear at any given moment. It had to be a dream. There was no way he was holding onto her again.

"You don't know how sorry I am." he croaked, his warm breath hovering down the collar of her shirt as she squeezed her eyes shut, her hands still grasping his body. Just holding onto him made her feel a thousand times better, it made her forget about everything as she breathed in his aroma. Her tense body relaxed in his arms as he turned his neck and kissed the side of her head, warmth and love spreading throughout her body once again.

"I know, I know." she mumbled. "I am too." her voice faded out, causing Joe to slowly pull away from her.

"Bails, you didn't do anything." he stated softly. "It's my fault. I started all this." Joe's mind quickly returned to the present time as Bailey wiped her eyes and looked away from him. It was silent for a moment before she stood from the couch, one arm sliding under her elbow as she propped her hand over her mouth.

"I still don't get why you ended it in the first place." her voice cracked before she turned around to face him.

"Things were crazy. With the show, your movie. There wasn't any time. I told you this." he stated boldly, then took a deep breath. "I know I took it too far, but I wanted to see if I could make it without you. It was hectic, and I knew at some point, some time, we'd go through something like this." Joe paused as his heart sped up. "I couldn't do it, Bails. I couldn't go on without you." she looked away from him, her eyes focusing on everything else but him.

"Well, I'm still trying to see if I can go on without you." she replied softly, her eyes locking onto his, her hand falling from her mouth and crossing in front of her chest. It hurt to see the sadness drown out the life in his eyes, but she needed to do this. She needed time to think things over and see if she really needed him.

"What are you talking about?" Joe asked, his voice cracking as well and his mind racing, wondering why the moment that felt so right only minutes ago felt like it was just shot to hell. Bailey shook her head as she slipped on her shoes.

"I'll just see you at the premiere." she concluded, her eyes leaving his and her hand grabbing her purse. "Tell Frankie I had to go." she got out before exiting the house, leaving the person she wanted standing in the living room speechless.