"Joseph! Get back here!" an angry guy with headphones yelled. Bailey turned around backstage to see Joe rushing up to her. "You're on in 60 seconds!"
"Bailey!" he exclaimed, a little out of breath. "Look, I know everything is crazy right now and I kinda left you with the wrong impression earlier and I'm sorry." he inhaled deeply. "I can see it in your eyes that you're upset, and I really want to fix this! Knowing I wouldn't be able to concentrate on stage with this on my mind, I just had to -"
"Joseph! 10 seconds!" the guy yelled frantically.
"Alright, alright!" Joe yelled back. "Ok, I'm getting yelled at. I have to go. Wait up for me after the show, ok?" he quickly finished, jogging back to the man. All Bailey could do was nod her head, trying to comprehend everything he just spilled.
Sarah rubbed her forehead after watching a small smile form on Bailey's face. "So maybe there is hope." she stated, looking over at Sarah who shrugged.
Bailey scrunched her nose up at her, then made her way to the side of the stage, watching the boys go on. She rolled her eyes after noticing Tori in her spot in front of the barricade, holding a clipboard and wearing a headset. To her amusement, she watched as Tori focused all her attention on Joe. Smiling and winking at him. She wanted to puke on her, but instead she shook her head and walked away.
"Eh, I'll be on the bus." Bailey stated, then left Sarah there backstage. While staring out at Tori from behind the curtain, Sarah sighed, shaking her head in disappointment.
- - - - -
Bailey crashed on the free bunk on the Jonas bus, which happened to be the one closest to the ground, right under Joe's. For the past hour or two, she had been laying there, caught up in her thoughts. Thoughts of how she wanted Joe, how he acted when she was in front of him, why Tori was even here and how he rushed up to her before the show.
Out of annoyance and frustration, Bailey flung another lollipop at her homemade, amateur dartboard that was taped to the wall of the bunk down by her feet. The stick stuck in the center of the paper that had a poorly scribbled imitation of Tori's face on It. It was a simple, lopsided circle for a head, with beady, uneven eyes and poofy dark hair that was scribbled on with a eyeliner pencil that was nearby. The head was accompanied with a set of flame red devil horns, with the word 'SKANK' written underneath. After flinging another lollipop at the sheet, Bailey laughed to herself as she hit the replica of Tori between the eyes.
"What's so funny?" she heard Joe's voice ask, seconds before the curtain to her bunk was pulled open. Instantly, Bailey fumbled for the picture, crumpling it in her fist so Joe couldn't see it. "What's that?" he smirked.
"It's nothing you need to worry about." Bailey replied, looking over at him as he squatted down next to her.
"Oh, really?" his eyes stared into hers between the dark chunks of hair that hung in his line of sight. Smirking, he charged forward to grab the paper from her. Quickly, she moved her hand behind her back as he fell on top of her. "Come on, let me see!" he whined as he sat on top of her. She stared up at him as she kept her hands hidden behind her back.
"No." she said with a chuckle, then flipped him off of her and onto the floor of the tour bus. Quickly, she ripped up the paper, crumbled it back up into a ball, then tossed it behind the couch at the front of the bus before Joe could get up to see anything. Bailey squeaked as he unexpectedly tackled her from behind onto the couch.
"I want to see!" he sounded like a little kid.
"Joe!" she exclaimed, a little out of breath. He had knocked the wind out of her. "Get off." she tried to roll out from under his body, but he couldn't. His legs were tightly straddling her waist from behind. Yeah, it looked pretty wrong.
"What was it?" he continued to question her as she stopped squirming from underneath him. He loosened his grip around her, allowing her to flip over so he was sitting on her stomach. Looking down at her face, he smiled. "Was it a secret love note?"
"Yep." she lied, trying not to laugh at his expression.
"What'd you do with it?" he asked, looking down at her hands. She laughed, making him grab her hands, pinning them down up above her head. "I'm not letting you go until you tell me." his warm breath made the tiny hairs on her neck stand on end. His face and body were hovering only inches from hers as his legs were still clamped around her waist.
"You say that as if I want you to let me go." she smirked, completely forgetting everything that happened earlier. Forgetting about his previous attitude, Tori, her job, Ross. She'd been missing this for an entire two months and she wasn't about to just push away what was happening because of all that. The butterflies made a reappearance in her stomach and she wasn't going to fight them. She missed this feeling.
Joe let go of Bailey's hands, but still held himself up above her. Once again, he got lost into her ocean blue eyes. Slowly, he began to smile. He had missed this as well, being with her, touching her. Bailey couldn't help herself. She grasped the center of Joe's shirt and pulled him down to her. Sparks flew as she attached her lips to his, her grip on his shirt tightening.
The slam of the tour bus door caused them to pull apart. Bailey quickly sat up, making Joe fall back onto her legs from where he was sitting on her stomach. Bailey was surprised to see Tori standing there infuriated.
"Are you serious?" she screamed, her face turning a bit read. Bailey looked at her confusedly, then looked at Joe to see him staring at her in shock, as if he had done something wrong. "Joe, you said you were done with her!" Bailey's jaw dropped as she looked at Joe.
"I did not!" he exclaimed, standing up from her lap.
"Then why did you say you'd go out with me if you're still hung up on her?" Tori questioned, crossing her arms in front of her.
"Please tell me you two are joking." Bailey stated in disbelief.
"I took you out once! And that was out of sympathy for that messed up face." he admitted. Bailey could tell by Tori's expression that that comment stung.
"-And what's your excuse for the other two dates?" she questioned, glaring at him. It took a lot for her to not look at Bailey for her reaction, even though she wanted to see the pain on her face.
"Other two dates?" Bailey exclaimed, standing up herself.
"You're unbelievable." Tori glared at Joe, then stomped off the bus. Instinctively, Joe started to go after her, but then stopped after noticing Bailey's face.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Joe scratched his forehead, not daring to even look Bailey in the eyes.
"I didn't think I'd ever see you again." he stated, then took a seat on the couch against the wall in the dressing room. Ignoring the loud thumping in Bailey's mind, she stayed standing, hoping that Joe would listen to her.
"Look, it wasn't my fault." Bailey expected him to cut her off, but he didn't. "Ross just came in that morning, ordering for me to leave." she continued explaining to him what had happened, how Ross had forbade her from contacting him or the others. The entire time Joe kept his face in his hands. It didn't seem as if he was even listening. Annoyed by the way he was acting, Bailey stopped talking, then sat down in a metal chair across from the couch, staring at Joe expectantly.
"Why would he do that?" Joe muttered, still avoiding eye contact. His mind was racing and his heart was aching.
"I don't know." Bailey replied, wishing he would just look at her. Joe tried to block out her voice, but it was no use. She was starting to get into him again. "Joe, I - "
She stopped after hearing a knock at the door. Instantly, her stomach started rumbling. She had that little feeling inside of her when you know you're about to get busted for something that you're not supposed to be doing.
Finally, Joe moved, making his way over to the door. He opened it to see Ross standing there with his arms crossed in front of him.
"Uh, hi." Joe greeted, scratching his head, not knowing what to expect. Bailey closed her eyes, her back towards the door, awaiting the lecture to spill from Ross' mouth.
"You've got guts, kid." Ross stated. "Let's go." Obeying his stern voice, she got up and walked out into the hallway, completely ignoring Joe's staring eyes. "Joseph, they need you backstage now. It's almost show time." Joe nodded, then made his way down the hall and around the corner, thinking about what just happened. "To be honest, I kind of hoped you'd show up tonight." Ross stated, then started down the opposite side of the hallway from where Joe had left.
"What, why?" she asked confusedly, looking over at him as he stared ahead.
"So I could tell if I made a mistake or not." he said simply. Bailey's head snapped over, sending him a look of disbelief.
"Are you serious? Of course you made a mistake! Do you have any idea what the past to months were like?! Do you have any idea what you messed up?" she exclaimed, stopping mid-way down the hall. Ross took a couple more steps, then turned to look at her.
"I know that now." he smirked, then continued.
"Are you even going to bother listening to what happened that night?" she questioned angrily as she caught up with him. Pursing his lips, he looked over at her. "Fine." Bailey continued with what had happened with Jake and Tori that day, then stared at Ross, waiting for a response.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." he sighed.
"What do you mean, 'that's what you thought'?" she asked, her voice spiking up.
"I kinda figured Tori was lying."
"- And yet you send me home anyway?" Ross looked down at her, not saying anything. "What'd she tell you?"
"First off, you did give her that black eye, you just said so yourself." he smirked. "- But she had said that you hit her because you were jealous of her and Joe's relationship."
It felt as if Bailey's eyes popped out of their sockets. "I don't even know what to say to that except that's defiantly not the reason why I hit her." she paused. "Well, it wasn't jealousy."
"It might turn into that now. . ." Ross muttered.
"What?" she asked, not completely hearing him.
"I've been thinking about this for a while, after I imagined you sneaking in here today." he chuckled, ignoring her question. "You're a pretty dedicated person, and even though tonight is the last show of the tour, I'd like you back on the team."
Bailey looked up at him in shock, "Are you serious?" he nodded as she began to think. He dropped her once, hard. He could easily do it again.
"Well, we have a few closing press conferences within the next few days. We could use the help. Plus, you could catch up with the boys and such." he tried to convince. "Except you'd be bunking with them, since, uh, the other bus is kind of in use."
"Oh?" she didn't like his tone of voice.
"Tori is still with us." Ross finished as he opened the steal door in front of them, leading to the right side of the backstage. Bailey was about to speak her mind but a person interrupted.
"Anything else you'd like me to do?" Tori asked, approaching them, a fake smile plastered on her face. Completely ignoring Bailey, she stared up at Ross' face as she held her hands behind her back.
"No, just to ahead and get ready for the show." Ross replied, then Tori made her way out to the hallway where they just were. "Don't even say it."
"Why do you need me if you have her?" Bailey questioned, not liking how this night was turning out. She was standing her wasting time with Ross and the skank when things between her and Joe were still up in the air. She was there for Joe, not because she wanted to be an assistant again.
"That's another thing." Ross kind of avoided her question.
"Bailey!" Nick exclaimed, running up to her. Her face lit up as he charged at her with a huge hug. "Ah, I missed you so much!" Bailey smiled, closing her eyes as her chin rested on his warm shoulder. She was glad that someone was happy to see her. "Wow, this is so cool." he finished, pulling away. A smile still played on his face. "It's been horrible without you! I mean -"
"Nicholas, get ready for the show. You're on in three!" Ross cut him off. Nick flashed him a look of apology.
"I'll see you after the show, right?" Nick eyed Bailey, she nodded, wondering what he was going to tell her. "Oh, and nice outfit." he winked, then hustled away.
"There's something you're not telling me." she stated, glaring at Ross. "What is it?"
"Why don't you make yourself comfortable. It's the last show. Have fun." he quickly stated, then hurried away, leaving Bailey with a cramping mind.
"What in the hell is up with him?" Sarah asked from behind her, coming out from behind the stage curtain where she had been listening.
"I don't even know and I don't really care." Bailey muttered in frustration of everything that was going on. She turned to look at her friend, the tears slowly building up in her eyes as she thought of the past hour. "Joe won't even look at me. I told him everything and he's acting like I'm some kind of. . . Oh, I don't know, like nothing ever happened between us!"
"Isn't that a good thing? Him acting like nothing happened?"
"No, not about me leaving. He's acting as if nothing happened between us, before all the commotion, before her." her eyes shifted to the floor.
"Don't worry Bails, it'll work out." Sarah replied softly. "Maybe he's just having mixed feelings. I mean, he went on for so long thinking one thing. He'll come around." she lied, leaving out the information that she discovered only moments ago
"I didn't think I'd ever see you again." he stated, then took a seat on the couch against the wall in the dressing room. Ignoring the loud thumping in Bailey's mind, she stayed standing, hoping that Joe would listen to her.
"Look, it wasn't my fault." Bailey expected him to cut her off, but he didn't. "Ross just came in that morning, ordering for me to leave." she continued explaining to him what had happened, how Ross had forbade her from contacting him or the others. The entire time Joe kept his face in his hands. It didn't seem as if he was even listening. Annoyed by the way he was acting, Bailey stopped talking, then sat down in a metal chair across from the couch, staring at Joe expectantly.
"Why would he do that?" Joe muttered, still avoiding eye contact. His mind was racing and his heart was aching.
"I don't know." Bailey replied, wishing he would just look at her. Joe tried to block out her voice, but it was no use. She was starting to get into him again. "Joe, I - "
She stopped after hearing a knock at the door. Instantly, her stomach started rumbling. She had that little feeling inside of her when you know you're about to get busted for something that you're not supposed to be doing.
Finally, Joe moved, making his way over to the door. He opened it to see Ross standing there with his arms crossed in front of him.
"Uh, hi." Joe greeted, scratching his head, not knowing what to expect. Bailey closed her eyes, her back towards the door, awaiting the lecture to spill from Ross' mouth.
"You've got guts, kid." Ross stated. "Let's go." Obeying his stern voice, she got up and walked out into the hallway, completely ignoring Joe's staring eyes. "Joseph, they need you backstage now. It's almost show time." Joe nodded, then made his way down the hall and around the corner, thinking about what just happened. "To be honest, I kind of hoped you'd show up tonight." Ross stated, then started down the opposite side of the hallway from where Joe had left.
"What, why?" she asked confusedly, looking over at him as he stared ahead.
"So I could tell if I made a mistake or not." he said simply. Bailey's head snapped over, sending him a look of disbelief.
"Are you serious? Of course you made a mistake! Do you have any idea what the past to months were like?! Do you have any idea what you messed up?" she exclaimed, stopping mid-way down the hall. Ross took a couple more steps, then turned to look at her.
"I know that now." he smirked, then continued.
"Are you even going to bother listening to what happened that night?" she questioned angrily as she caught up with him. Pursing his lips, he looked over at her. "Fine." Bailey continued with what had happened with Jake and Tori that day, then stared at Ross, waiting for a response.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." he sighed.
"What do you mean, 'that's what you thought'?" she asked, her voice spiking up.
"I kinda figured Tori was lying."
"- And yet you send me home anyway?" Ross looked down at her, not saying anything. "What'd she tell you?"
"First off, you did give her that black eye, you just said so yourself." he smirked. "- But she had said that you hit her because you were jealous of her and Joe's relationship."
It felt as if Bailey's eyes popped out of their sockets. "I don't even know what to say to that except that's defiantly not the reason why I hit her." she paused. "Well, it wasn't jealousy."
"It might turn into that now. . ." Ross muttered.
"What?" she asked, not completely hearing him.
"I've been thinking about this for a while, after I imagined you sneaking in here today." he chuckled, ignoring her question. "You're a pretty dedicated person, and even though tonight is the last show of the tour, I'd like you back on the team."
Bailey looked up at him in shock, "Are you serious?" he nodded as she began to think. He dropped her once, hard. He could easily do it again.
"Well, we have a few closing press conferences within the next few days. We could use the help. Plus, you could catch up with the boys and such." he tried to convince. "Except you'd be bunking with them, since, uh, the other bus is kind of in use."
"Oh?" she didn't like his tone of voice.
"Tori is still with us." Ross finished as he opened the steal door in front of them, leading to the right side of the backstage. Bailey was about to speak her mind but a person interrupted.
"Anything else you'd like me to do?" Tori asked, approaching them, a fake smile plastered on her face. Completely ignoring Bailey, she stared up at Ross' face as she held her hands behind her back.
"No, just to ahead and get ready for the show." Ross replied, then Tori made her way out to the hallway where they just were. "Don't even say it."
"Why do you need me if you have her?" Bailey questioned, not liking how this night was turning out. She was standing her wasting time with Ross and the skank when things between her and Joe were still up in the air. She was there for Joe, not because she wanted to be an assistant again.
"That's another thing." Ross kind of avoided her question.
"Bailey!" Nick exclaimed, running up to her. Her face lit up as he charged at her with a huge hug. "Ah, I missed you so much!" Bailey smiled, closing her eyes as her chin rested on his warm shoulder. She was glad that someone was happy to see her. "Wow, this is so cool." he finished, pulling away. A smile still played on his face. "It's been horrible without you! I mean -"
"Nicholas, get ready for the show. You're on in three!" Ross cut him off. Nick flashed him a look of apology.
"I'll see you after the show, right?" Nick eyed Bailey, she nodded, wondering what he was going to tell her. "Oh, and nice outfit." he winked, then hustled away.
"There's something you're not telling me." she stated, glaring at Ross. "What is it?"
"Why don't you make yourself comfortable. It's the last show. Have fun." he quickly stated, then hurried away, leaving Bailey with a cramping mind.
"What in the hell is up with him?" Sarah asked from behind her, coming out from behind the stage curtain where she had been listening.
"I don't even know and I don't really care." Bailey muttered in frustration of everything that was going on. She turned to look at her friend, the tears slowly building up in her eyes as she thought of the past hour. "Joe won't even look at me. I told him everything and he's acting like I'm some kind of. . . Oh, I don't know, like nothing ever happened between us!"
"Isn't that a good thing? Him acting like nothing happened?"
"No, not about me leaving. He's acting as if nothing happened between us, before all the commotion, before her." her eyes shifted to the floor.
"Don't worry Bails, it'll work out." Sarah replied softly. "Maybe he's just having mixed feelings. I mean, he went on for so long thinking one thing. He'll come around." she lied, leaving out the information that she discovered only moments ago
take two
Two months had passed since the breakdown. Bailey and Joe had no way of contacting each other. Unknowingly, Bailey's mom had blocked Joe's number from calling. Also, Ross made the boys get new numbers to keep Bailey from getting a hold of Joe. No one could understand why they weren't allowed to talk to each other.
"Hey dad, I'm home!" Bailey entered the door to her dad's house, which was her new home. After everything, she decided that it was best to be with him instead of her mom. After everything her mom had done and said about the Joe issue, Bailey had enough. She was out of there.
Especially when all her mom still talked about was Jake and how he was so much better for her.
"Hey sweetie." her dad smiled at her as she entered the living room. Bailey dropped her purse to the ground as she stared at the extra person in the room.
"Oh my God." she barely whispered before running up to the dark haired boy standing next to her father. His long hair was little more chunkier and his body looked a little more built. Instantly, she wrapped her arms around his neck as a few tears trickled down her cheeks. "Joe, I've missed you so much. I called, I really did." His right hand held the back of her neck as the other squeezed around her waist.
"Shhh, it's alright. I know. Everything will be fine now." his comforting voice sent tingles down her spine. Softly, he kissed the top of her head, causing her to pull away from his body to look up into his eyes. She slowly leaned in towards his face, her eyes slowly closing.
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
Bailey rolled over in bed, cursing to herself. She rubbed her eyes, then stared up at the blank ceiling.
"Same dream again?" Sarah asked, lying next to her in her bed. Bailey had crashed at Sarah's house for the weekend. Bailey and her mom hadn't stopped arguing since she had been sent home, two months ago. She needed time away from her.
"Same dream." Bailey mumbled.
Sarah had been sent home from the tour the day after Bailey. There was no reason for her to stay there, since she was only there for her any way. She assured Joe that Bailey had no choice. It felt like Sarah repeated herself a million times, telling him that Bailey would've said 'goodbye' if she could, but he didn't want to hear it. His heart was crushed and it effected everyone.
"You know, the boys are playing n Philly one last time. Tonight's the last show of the tour. . ." Sarah trailed off, looking around the room nonchalantly, hinting her off.
Bailey sat up and stared at her, the most serious look on her face. "We're going. Sare, I don't give a shit anymore." her emotions started to take over. "I'm fed up with people telling me to let him go and that everyone is better off without us being together. It's stupid! You can't tell someone who they can and cannot talk to! We're going to that show."
Sarah winced at her loudness. "It's not 10 'o clock in the morning or anything." she rubbed her ears. "-But I understand, really. That's the only reason why I'm letting you crash here and that's why I completely agree with you. We'll go to the show."
Bailey groaned, then thought of her mom. She'd spazz if she knew of any plan to get a hold of Joe. Tonight was her chance. Their last show of the tour was tonight at the Wachovia Center, Bailey knew for a fact she was going to be there.
- - - - -
"Sold out?!" Bailey repeated, looking over Sarah's shoulder as she clicked around on the computer. "They can't be sold out!"
"What can I say? Those boys are just that hot." she smirked, then received a smack on the arm.
"Dude, we're still going."
"How, Bails? Everyone there will recognize you. What do you think Ross will do if he sees your face?" Sarah questioned.
"Who cares anymore?!" she exclaimed.
"Obviously not you. . ."
"Sarah, I can't shut my eyes without seeing his face! It's like he's haunting my mind. I have to see him." Bailey's eyes started to burn at the thought.
"Alright, alright." she stopped for a moment. "I think I have a plan."
"Hey dad, I'm home!" Bailey entered the door to her dad's house, which was her new home. After everything, she decided that it was best to be with him instead of her mom. After everything her mom had done and said about the Joe issue, Bailey had enough. She was out of there.
Especially when all her mom still talked about was Jake and how he was so much better for her.
"Hey sweetie." her dad smiled at her as she entered the living room. Bailey dropped her purse to the ground as she stared at the extra person in the room.
"Oh my God." she barely whispered before running up to the dark haired boy standing next to her father. His long hair was little more chunkier and his body looked a little more built. Instantly, she wrapped her arms around his neck as a few tears trickled down her cheeks. "Joe, I've missed you so much. I called, I really did." His right hand held the back of her neck as the other squeezed around her waist.
"Shhh, it's alright. I know. Everything will be fine now." his comforting voice sent tingles down her spine. Softly, he kissed the top of her head, causing her to pull away from his body to look up into his eyes. She slowly leaned in towards his face, her eyes slowly closing.
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
Bailey rolled over in bed, cursing to herself. She rubbed her eyes, then stared up at the blank ceiling.
"Same dream again?" Sarah asked, lying next to her in her bed. Bailey had crashed at Sarah's house for the weekend. Bailey and her mom hadn't stopped arguing since she had been sent home, two months ago. She needed time away from her.
"Same dream." Bailey mumbled.
Sarah had been sent home from the tour the day after Bailey. There was no reason for her to stay there, since she was only there for her any way. She assured Joe that Bailey had no choice. It felt like Sarah repeated herself a million times, telling him that Bailey would've said 'goodbye' if she could, but he didn't want to hear it. His heart was crushed and it effected everyone.
"You know, the boys are playing n Philly one last time. Tonight's the last show of the tour. . ." Sarah trailed off, looking around the room nonchalantly, hinting her off.
Bailey sat up and stared at her, the most serious look on her face. "We're going. Sare, I don't give a shit anymore." her emotions started to take over. "I'm fed up with people telling me to let him go and that everyone is better off without us being together. It's stupid! You can't tell someone who they can and cannot talk to! We're going to that show."
Sarah winced at her loudness. "It's not 10 'o clock in the morning or anything." she rubbed her ears. "-But I understand, really. That's the only reason why I'm letting you crash here and that's why I completely agree with you. We'll go to the show."
Bailey groaned, then thought of her mom. She'd spazz if she knew of any plan to get a hold of Joe. Tonight was her chance. Their last show of the tour was tonight at the Wachovia Center, Bailey knew for a fact she was going to be there.
- - - - -
"Sold out?!" Bailey repeated, looking over Sarah's shoulder as she clicked around on the computer. "They can't be sold out!"
"What can I say? Those boys are just that hot." she smirked, then received a smack on the arm.
"Dude, we're still going."
"How, Bails? Everyone there will recognize you. What do you think Ross will do if he sees your face?" Sarah questioned.
"Who cares anymore?!" she exclaimed.
"Obviously not you. . ."
"Sarah, I can't shut my eyes without seeing his face! It's like he's haunting my mind. I have to see him." Bailey's eyes started to burn at the thought.
"Alright, alright." she stopped for a moment. "I think I have a plan."
Saturday, July 31, 2010
It was almost 11pm. Bailey parked the car by the buses and quietly got out. Draping her duffle bag over her shoulder, she grabbed the box of pizza out of the back seat, the bag of Taco Bell from the front, and a cup holder consisting of two bright blue Slurpees from 7-11, Joe's favorite. The parking lot was still and no one had really exited the venue; the boys were still inside.
Power-walking through the busses and into the grassy park behind the venue, Bailey tried all her best to keep the stuff she was holding balanced. Her nerves were wrecked and her heart hadn't beat faster than what it was right then. She hoped to God this thing would work. Without a cell phone, it make things 10 times more complicated and risky, but there was no reason why her plan couldn't work out, even though one little thing could alter her plan.
After walking for a straight three minutes, following an almost straight row of little bushes that her and Mandy had stumbled across earlier that afternoon, she was almost to her destination. Before she knew it, she was trailing through a small wooded area. On the other side was a clearing over-looking a beautiful lake. Smiling up, the full moon shown brightly back at her. Setting down the food on a huge, nearby rock, she quickly un-zipped her duffel bag. Pulling out a big, thin blue blanket, she quickly fanned it out over the dirt where it laid softly. She couldn't help but smile when she pulled out the candles from her bag; she knew Joe was going to love this.
A few minutes passes and the scenery was complete. The moon glistened on the calm water, the candles were scattered around the blanket and up on various rocks as the pizza, Taco Bell, and Slurpee's sat off towards one of the corners on the blanket. Nervously, Bailey took a seat facing the water, waiting for her boy to show up.
- - - - -
"Everything is fine, Joe! Really." Mandy rubbed his back as they walked down the hall inside the venue. It was quarter of 12.
"I haven't be able to get a hold of her all day! Do you know how much it sucked, worrying about her like that?" he snapped, looking after at her.
"I know, I know." she sighed. "But it wasn't her fault, her phone broke. She had been calling you all day."
"Uh-huh, sure." Joe glared over at her. "You don't have to lie. I know she's pissed at me."
"First off, you know for a fact that Bailey is the type of girl to get over things quickly. The fact that it's your birthday, she forgot about it even faster. First thing she did this morning was call you, but you had a stupid interview."
"Like I have any control over that!" he exclaimed.
"Shut up! I'm done." Mandy raised her voice. "And what the hell, since when have I ever lied to you, Joseph?"
He groaned. "I didn't mean that." a sigh left his lungs. "I just want to see her, that's all. I just want to get away from everything right now and just be with her. . ." Mandy smiled, hearing the love in his voice. Her smiled faded when his voice rose. "And no one even knows where the hell she is!"
"I'm sure she's fine Joe." she patted his back again. "Look, just head back to the bus. Maybe she's there."
"Alright." he finished, waving to her before making his way outside. Sighing, Mandy turned around and made her way back to Kevin and Nick.
It was a minute or so before Joe was outside of the bus. With his hand on the door, he became nervous. He was anticipating the fact that he was going to be able to hold her again. It had only been 24-hours, but even in that short time it killed him to be away from her. The excitement in his body began to rise.
"Joe, wait up!" he cringed at the voice and slowly turned around to see Ross jogging up to him.
"I haven't seen you all day! How's the big 1-8?" he smiled, not realizing how annoyed Joe was at this point.
"Good." he faked a smile, just wanting to run onto the bus.
"Just good? That's it?" Ross poked at him, making Joe chuckle in frustration.
"Yeah." he cleared his throat, changing the subject to what was really on his mind. "So have you seen Bailey?"
"No, I haven't. That girl has been running all over hell and creation for me today. Let me say, she is one dedicated assistant."
"Yeah yeah, I know." Joe replied quite quickly. "I really need to find her."
"Where ever she is, I'm sure she's fine." Ross glanced around the parking lot, spotting his bright yellow car which informed that his gift had arrived. Smiling, he continued. "I have something for you."
- - - - -
Bailey sighed, looking up at the sky from her back on the blanket. Her hands were under her head and her feet were crossed down by her ankles. Once it hit 11:30, the anxious feeling in her stomach went away. Now it was only hope that filled her mind; hope that Joe would even show. Slowly, the weight was added to her back as she thought about his birthday that was quickly coming to an end with every second. She began to feel bad, thinking about how many people she cussed at as she rushed to get the food earlier, just so she'd make it back in time before he found her note and showed up to this spot. Now she was hoping that the food wouldn't spoil from waiting so long. Who knows how soggy the tacos were at that moment. The candles were even melted down to half their size as time flew by. The guilt inside of her began to take over as she started to tear up, thinking about Joe. It was now only a few minutes shy of midnight.
At the sound of a cracking twig, Bailey sat straight up, staring into the darkness of the path that lead into the woods. Besides the chirping of the crickets around her, it was silent. Her chest began thumping, the pace quickening with every second. The world seemed to stop when she saw Joe appear from the woods. Instantly, she shot up from the blanket and ran over to him. Smiling, he tightly wrapped his open arms around her body as she squeezed her arms around his neck, the side of her head pressing up against his.
"Happy Birthday Happy Birthday Happy Birthday!" she exclaimed, still holding onto him as he rubbed her back. He chuckled.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" her back tingled at his voice. "About last night -"
"Forget about it." she replied honestly, pulling away from his grasp and holding onto his hand. "I have food!" she pulled him over to the blanket.
"Bails, this looks amazing." he stated in awe as he kneeled down onto the blanket, taking in the scenery. "Thanks."
"Anything for you." she smiled over as him, reaching for the Taco Bell bag. She tossed it to him, then grabbed his Slurpee. He shot her a grin and dove into the bag.
"I wish I would've gotten here sooner. Ross was a bit distracting." he stated before stuffing his face.
"It's cool, really." she watched him in amusement and happiness. "You're here now. It's good." He smiled again before gulping down some of the melted goodness.
Moments passed after Joe finished eating. Bailey had had a slice or two of cold pizza before laying back down onto the blanket, looking up at the dark sky. It was only a second before Joe laid his body down next to her, grabbing her hand and interlacing his fingers with hers.
"This is gorgeous." he sighed before an unexpected belch slipped up and out of him. "Ew."
"Joe! Way to kill it." she playfully nudged him.
"Sorry." he chuckled with a cheesy grin. "This would be a hard thing to kill, you did great. I love it." he stated, then brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. She looked over into his glistening eyes and smiled; he was amazing. "What?"
"You're cute." she replied simply, trying to keep herself from grinning as she turned her head back so she was looking straight up into the starry sky.
"Not as cute as you." he replied softy, sitting up and leaning down to kiss her on the cheek. Once again, he made her stomach flip. He kissed her cheek again. Slowly closing his eyes, his lips moved from her cheek, down her jaw line, and to her neck.
Closing her eyes in satisfaction, Bailey moved her hand and softly placed it on his waist as he slowly maneuvered his body on top of hers, his arms supporting his top half above her as his waist lightly rested on hers. After a moment, Joe made his way up to her lips. They were soft and tasted like blue raspberries. Smiling, Bailey kissed back, slowly sliding her tongue into his mouth. She brought her hand up to his neck, pulling him down closer to her as she turned her body from underneath him, rolling him onto his back. She swung her leg over his waist and leaned her body down against his as their lips stayed connected. Joe's hands gradually made their way up her thighs and to her waist. He felt her smile on his lips. Bailey ran her fingers through his thick hair as his grip tightened around her waist; she knew he was loving it. She could tell as his lower half tensed up from underneath her.
Their make-out session lasted a little while longer until Bailey felt something vibrate on the inside of her leg.
"I swear to God that better be your phone." she reluctantly pulled her lips away from his with a small laugh. He sighed, then reached in his pocket and flipped open the phone as Bailey sat on his stomach, lifting his shirt up and trailing her fingers along the toned surface. She smiled when she saw the goosebumps begin to form.
"What, Kevin?" he asked into his phone, staring up at the moon. "Alright." he paused.
Alright! Bye."
"One thing I love about having a broken cell phone. . ." she trailed off, looking into his warm eyes. He smiled up at her, wanting more. Bailey sighed, then patted his stomach. "Come on, we should get back." she started to stand up, but Joe grabbed her legs.
"I don't want to go back." he said, pulling her back down on top of him and kissing her.
"We have to. It's past 1:30." she chuckled even though she wanted to stay there just as much as he did.
"Fine." he mumbled, his lips meeting with hers one more time before she stood, pulling him up with her. "Even though this ended up being one of the most boring birthdays ever, this sure made up for it at the last minute." he kissed her cheek before helping her pack up the stuff.
Power-walking through the busses and into the grassy park behind the venue, Bailey tried all her best to keep the stuff she was holding balanced. Her nerves were wrecked and her heart hadn't beat faster than what it was right then. She hoped to God this thing would work. Without a cell phone, it make things 10 times more complicated and risky, but there was no reason why her plan couldn't work out, even though one little thing could alter her plan.
After walking for a straight three minutes, following an almost straight row of little bushes that her and Mandy had stumbled across earlier that afternoon, she was almost to her destination. Before she knew it, she was trailing through a small wooded area. On the other side was a clearing over-looking a beautiful lake. Smiling up, the full moon shown brightly back at her. Setting down the food on a huge, nearby rock, she quickly un-zipped her duffel bag. Pulling out a big, thin blue blanket, she quickly fanned it out over the dirt where it laid softly. She couldn't help but smile when she pulled out the candles from her bag; she knew Joe was going to love this.
A few minutes passes and the scenery was complete. The moon glistened on the calm water, the candles were scattered around the blanket and up on various rocks as the pizza, Taco Bell, and Slurpee's sat off towards one of the corners on the blanket. Nervously, Bailey took a seat facing the water, waiting for her boy to show up.
- - - - -
"Everything is fine, Joe! Really." Mandy rubbed his back as they walked down the hall inside the venue. It was quarter of 12.
"I haven't be able to get a hold of her all day! Do you know how much it sucked, worrying about her like that?" he snapped, looking after at her.
"I know, I know." she sighed. "But it wasn't her fault, her phone broke. She had been calling you all day."
"Uh-huh, sure." Joe glared over at her. "You don't have to lie. I know she's pissed at me."
"First off, you know for a fact that Bailey is the type of girl to get over things quickly. The fact that it's your birthday, she forgot about it even faster. First thing she did this morning was call you, but you had a stupid interview."
"Like I have any control over that!" he exclaimed.
"Shut up! I'm done." Mandy raised her voice. "And what the hell, since when have I ever lied to you, Joseph?"
He groaned. "I didn't mean that." a sigh left his lungs. "I just want to see her, that's all. I just want to get away from everything right now and just be with her. . ." Mandy smiled, hearing the love in his voice. Her smiled faded when his voice rose. "And no one even knows where the hell she is!"
"I'm sure she's fine Joe." she patted his back again. "Look, just head back to the bus. Maybe she's there."
"Alright." he finished, waving to her before making his way outside. Sighing, Mandy turned around and made her way back to Kevin and Nick.
It was a minute or so before Joe was outside of the bus. With his hand on the door, he became nervous. He was anticipating the fact that he was going to be able to hold her again. It had only been 24-hours, but even in that short time it killed him to be away from her. The excitement in his body began to rise.
"Joe, wait up!" he cringed at the voice and slowly turned around to see Ross jogging up to him.
"I haven't seen you all day! How's the big 1-8?" he smiled, not realizing how annoyed Joe was at this point.
"Good." he faked a smile, just wanting to run onto the bus.
"Just good? That's it?" Ross poked at him, making Joe chuckle in frustration.
"Yeah." he cleared his throat, changing the subject to what was really on his mind. "So have you seen Bailey?"
"No, I haven't. That girl has been running all over hell and creation for me today. Let me say, she is one dedicated assistant."
"Yeah yeah, I know." Joe replied quite quickly. "I really need to find her."
"Where ever she is, I'm sure she's fine." Ross glanced around the parking lot, spotting his bright yellow car which informed that his gift had arrived. Smiling, he continued. "I have something for you."
- - - - -
Bailey sighed, looking up at the sky from her back on the blanket. Her hands were under her head and her feet were crossed down by her ankles. Once it hit 11:30, the anxious feeling in her stomach went away. Now it was only hope that filled her mind; hope that Joe would even show. Slowly, the weight was added to her back as she thought about his birthday that was quickly coming to an end with every second. She began to feel bad, thinking about how many people she cussed at as she rushed to get the food earlier, just so she'd make it back in time before he found her note and showed up to this spot. Now she was hoping that the food wouldn't spoil from waiting so long. Who knows how soggy the tacos were at that moment. The candles were even melted down to half their size as time flew by. The guilt inside of her began to take over as she started to tear up, thinking about Joe. It was now only a few minutes shy of midnight.
At the sound of a cracking twig, Bailey sat straight up, staring into the darkness of the path that lead into the woods. Besides the chirping of the crickets around her, it was silent. Her chest began thumping, the pace quickening with every second. The world seemed to stop when she saw Joe appear from the woods. Instantly, she shot up from the blanket and ran over to him. Smiling, he tightly wrapped his open arms around her body as she squeezed her arms around his neck, the side of her head pressing up against his.
"Happy Birthday Happy Birthday Happy Birthday!" she exclaimed, still holding onto him as he rubbed her back. He chuckled.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" her back tingled at his voice. "About last night -"
"Forget about it." she replied honestly, pulling away from his grasp and holding onto his hand. "I have food!" she pulled him over to the blanket.
"Bails, this looks amazing." he stated in awe as he kneeled down onto the blanket, taking in the scenery. "Thanks."
"Anything for you." she smiled over as him, reaching for the Taco Bell bag. She tossed it to him, then grabbed his Slurpee. He shot her a grin and dove into the bag.
"I wish I would've gotten here sooner. Ross was a bit distracting." he stated before stuffing his face.
"It's cool, really." she watched him in amusement and happiness. "You're here now. It's good." He smiled again before gulping down some of the melted goodness.
Moments passed after Joe finished eating. Bailey had had a slice or two of cold pizza before laying back down onto the blanket, looking up at the dark sky. It was only a second before Joe laid his body down next to her, grabbing her hand and interlacing his fingers with hers.
"This is gorgeous." he sighed before an unexpected belch slipped up and out of him. "Ew."
"Joe! Way to kill it." she playfully nudged him.
"Sorry." he chuckled with a cheesy grin. "This would be a hard thing to kill, you did great. I love it." he stated, then brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. She looked over into his glistening eyes and smiled; he was amazing. "What?"
"You're cute." she replied simply, trying to keep herself from grinning as she turned her head back so she was looking straight up into the starry sky.
"Not as cute as you." he replied softy, sitting up and leaning down to kiss her on the cheek. Once again, he made her stomach flip. He kissed her cheek again. Slowly closing his eyes, his lips moved from her cheek, down her jaw line, and to her neck.
Closing her eyes in satisfaction, Bailey moved her hand and softly placed it on his waist as he slowly maneuvered his body on top of hers, his arms supporting his top half above her as his waist lightly rested on hers. After a moment, Joe made his way up to her lips. They were soft and tasted like blue raspberries. Smiling, Bailey kissed back, slowly sliding her tongue into his mouth. She brought her hand up to his neck, pulling him down closer to her as she turned her body from underneath him, rolling him onto his back. She swung her leg over his waist and leaned her body down against his as their lips stayed connected. Joe's hands gradually made their way up her thighs and to her waist. He felt her smile on his lips. Bailey ran her fingers through his thick hair as his grip tightened around her waist; she knew he was loving it. She could tell as his lower half tensed up from underneath her.
Their make-out session lasted a little while longer until Bailey felt something vibrate on the inside of her leg.
"I swear to God that better be your phone." she reluctantly pulled her lips away from his with a small laugh. He sighed, then reached in his pocket and flipped open the phone as Bailey sat on his stomach, lifting his shirt up and trailing her fingers along the toned surface. She smiled when she saw the goosebumps begin to form.
"What, Kevin?" he asked into his phone, staring up at the moon. "Alright." he paused.
Alright! Bye."
"One thing I love about having a broken cell phone. . ." she trailed off, looking into his warm eyes. He smiled up at her, wanting more. Bailey sighed, then patted his stomach. "Come on, we should get back." she started to stand up, but Joe grabbed her legs.
"I don't want to go back." he said, pulling her back down on top of him and kissing her.
"We have to. It's past 1:30." she chuckled even though she wanted to stay there just as much as he did.
"Fine." he mumbled, his lips meeting with hers one more time before she stood, pulling him up with her. "Even though this ended up being one of the most boring birthdays ever, this sure made up for it at the last minute." he kissed her cheek before helping her pack up the stuff.
Like, yeah. So, Joe is totally my favorite!" a girl shrieked in line in front of the Wachovia center.
Bailey glared at Sarah as they stood behind the girl and her obnoxious friends. Each one of them were decked out in their Jonas Brothers attire; face paint, shirts with Puffy paint that read 'Marry Me!' on them with other little things. The girls even had signs and gifts fro the boys in their hands. Bailey stared in amusement before getting smacked by Sarah.
"Stop staring, you look just as bad." she scolded, looking down at Bailey's outfit with a huge grin.
"You act like I wanted to wear this!" Bailey exclaimed, failing her arms up. She had a hot pink shirt that read 'I LOVE THE JONAS BROTHERS!' on it in big, bold, black letters with hearts all over the place. Sarah had written a big 'JB' logo on her cheek as well as making her a sign.
"I told you we had to blend in." Sarah replied. Her outfit was pretty much the same, except in purple and Bailey had on a pair of vintage, white Ray Ban sunglasses over her eyes.
"These tickets better get us in." Bailey muttered, not believing what her friend was making her do. Never in a million years had she thought she'd be decked out like this, supporting any kind of band for any reason at all, but Joe was worth it to her.
"I don't know. . .The scalpers were really convincing. . ."
"They better have been for $100!" she exclaimed.
"Oh my God! Doesn't Joe have those sunglasses?!" a girl ahead of them asked, a little too excited.
"Um, I believe so." Bailey replied simply.
"Can I have them?" she asked, making Bailey laugh.
"Are you kidding me?"
"I'll pay you for them!" she stated, Bailey became amused.
"How much?"
"Twenty." the girl replied. She was wearing a white t-shirt with Joe's face ironed on the front.
"Um, I think I'll pass." she chuckled.
Just then, screams were heard from the front of the line. The doors to the venue were opening. Bailey's heart rate picked up as she grabbed and squeezed Sarah's hand, wishing that this plan would work.
- - - - -
"Now I can't see anything." Sarah whined as they stood towards the back of the pit in front of the stage.
"He can't see me during the show! That'll mess up everything. We'll go to the meet and greet afterwards, then it'll go from there."
"What exactly do you expect to happen?" she asked Bailey, making her shrug.
"I have no idea what to expect." Bailey admitted, looking down as the thoughts of rejection soared through her mind. "I don't wanna put him under all that pressure in front of all those people."
"Then what are we going to do? Sneak backstage or something?" Sarah stated sarcastically. Bailey's eyes widened as her lips curled up. "Oh, no. I'm not getting arrested!"
"We won't get arrested. I have a plan."
"Don't we all. . ." Sarah mumbled as Bailey grabbed her hand and lead her out into the lobby of the venue. Bailey held onto her as she lead her through the crowds of people. Nonchalantly, she slipped behind a door that read 'Employees Only'. "Yep, we're totally going to get arrested."
"No we won't, now hush. I've got this." she said coolly, then continued down the long, white hallway. "Now, if I remember correctly, their dressing room should be - " Bailey stopped as they turned the corner, bumping right into Luke, one of the body guards.
"Are you ladies lost?" he asked sternly, looking down at the two girls. Bailey still had her shades on, so he didn't recognize her.
"No sir, just checking out the place." Sarah smiled.
"Uh-huh, let's go ladies." he replied, motioning them to turn around.
"Wait! Aren't you going to give us the test?" Bailey exclaimed.
Luke stopped. "What test?"
"You know, the test you're supposed to give when you run into fans who somehow managed to get backstage." she replied, trying to keep her cool with a smile on her face.
"How do you know about the test?" he questioned.
"Well, uh, you see, there's this thing going around on myspace, and you know, we kind of - "
"Ms.Baker, is that you?" Luke asked, recognizing her voice, reaching for her sunglasses.
"Busted." Sarah muttered.
"It is!" he confirmed as she placed her sunglasses on top of her head. "Where've you been? Last I heard you - "
"Yeah, Ross kicked me off. Long story." she replied dryly. "I really need to see Joe."
Luke stopped for a moment. "I don't know if I'm allowed to do that. . ."
"Luke, I know you're not, but I really need to see him! I haven't spoken to the boy in over two months! I didn't even get to say goodbye and this is my only chance at saying anything to him at all." Bailey's eyes began to water.
He stared at her for a moment before speaking. "Only because I know how much this effected him, I'll let you guys go. And because you were pretty much my favorite JB assistant of all time!" he smiled down at her. "If anyone asks, I have no idea who you two go back here! Got it?" the girls instantly nodded their heads. "Go get 'em."
Sarah swore she hear a squeak come from Bailey as she grabbed her and rushed down the hallway and up to a closed door. Bailey's heart was beating uncontrollably as she raised her hand to knock on the door. Before she could make contact, the door opened. Kevin stood there in shock, staring into her watery eyes.
"Hey." he said softly, then embraced her in a big hug as she plunged forward at him.
"I'm so sorry, I couldn't say goodbye. Ross - " she felt overwhelmed, even if it was just Kevin. She knew that Joe had to be close by. Her moment was quickly approaching.
"It's cool, I kinda figured." Kevin replied, pulling away. "Joe is, uh - "
Bailey's heart stopped as she watched Joe appear behind Kevin in the doorway, his face expressionless. She didn't know what to do or what to say. She couldn't even control the fact that he captivated her gaze yet again.
"Why are you here?" Joe asked blankly, staring back at her.
Instantly, she snapped out of it. "What?" she managed to ask.
"I didn't stutter." he spat, his face growing cold.
"Joe!" Kevin spun around to glare at his brother, disbelief covering his face.
"- And why are you wearing that?" he questioned, looking at her outfit. She shook her head and looked down, a single tear slipping out of her eye.
"You know what Joe, - " Bailey tried to keep her shaky voice under control. " - this game is really getting old."
"Yeah, tell me about it." he crossed his arms in front of him, his face still emotionless.
"What is wrong with you?" she asked in disbelief, staring into his empty eyes.
"What's wrong with you? You're the one who walked out, not me."
"More like dragged out." she spat, not letting another tear fall from her eyes. Stunned by the sour vibe he was sending out, her sadness started to turn into anger. "After two months, do you even know what really happened?" he huffed at her, then looked away. "Ross woke me up early that morning, practically dragging me out of the hotel."
"I'm sure it wasn't that dramatic." Joe interrupted.
Bailey groaned, frustrated by his attitude. "Are you even going to hear me out? That's exactly what Ross did, he shut me down, just like you're doing! Now look where we are." she finished, throwing her hands up.
"Cut it out." Kevin exclaimed, staring mostly at his brother.
"Do you know what it's been like, the past two months not being able to get a hold of you? Not knowing where you really were or what really happened? How many nights I stayed up, not being able to sleep because all I could think about was you." Joe's voice cracked a bit as he clenched his fists. "It was the worst feeling in the world. How could you put me through that?"
"How do you think things were for me, Joe? Huh? You think I was skipping home to sing happy songs about how I was forced to leave the one person that I was completely falling for? You think I chose to leave? How many nights to you think I stayed up, thinking, wondering, crying, wishing that I'd be able to even speak to you again? I don't know if you've noticed, but you're not the easiest person to get a hold of, especially when people are out there trying to prevent any contact what-so-ever!" her tears were flowing but her voice stayed strong. "The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you." Joe's eyes sparkled a bit as a tear dripped down his cheek. Quickly, he wiped it away with a big sniff.
Kevin then motioned for Sarah to follow him. The two walked down the hall, leaving Bailey and Joe alone. After a moment of silence, Joe waved for her to come into the dressing room. Closing and locking the door behind him, he rubbed his face, not believing what was happening.
Bailey glared at Sarah as they stood behind the girl and her obnoxious friends. Each one of them were decked out in their Jonas Brothers attire; face paint, shirts with Puffy paint that read 'Marry Me!' on them with other little things. The girls even had signs and gifts fro the boys in their hands. Bailey stared in amusement before getting smacked by Sarah.
"Stop staring, you look just as bad." she scolded, looking down at Bailey's outfit with a huge grin.
"You act like I wanted to wear this!" Bailey exclaimed, failing her arms up. She had a hot pink shirt that read 'I LOVE THE JONAS BROTHERS!' on it in big, bold, black letters with hearts all over the place. Sarah had written a big 'JB' logo on her cheek as well as making her a sign.
"I told you we had to blend in." Sarah replied. Her outfit was pretty much the same, except in purple and Bailey had on a pair of vintage, white Ray Ban sunglasses over her eyes.
"These tickets better get us in." Bailey muttered, not believing what her friend was making her do. Never in a million years had she thought she'd be decked out like this, supporting any kind of band for any reason at all, but Joe was worth it to her.
"I don't know. . .The scalpers were really convincing. . ."
"They better have been for $100!" she exclaimed.
"Oh my God! Doesn't Joe have those sunglasses?!" a girl ahead of them asked, a little too excited.
"Um, I believe so." Bailey replied simply.
"Can I have them?" she asked, making Bailey laugh.
"Are you kidding me?"
"I'll pay you for them!" she stated, Bailey became amused.
"How much?"
"Twenty." the girl replied. She was wearing a white t-shirt with Joe's face ironed on the front.
"Um, I think I'll pass." she chuckled.
Just then, screams were heard from the front of the line. The doors to the venue were opening. Bailey's heart rate picked up as she grabbed and squeezed Sarah's hand, wishing that this plan would work.
- - - - -
"Now I can't see anything." Sarah whined as they stood towards the back of the pit in front of the stage.
"He can't see me during the show! That'll mess up everything. We'll go to the meet and greet afterwards, then it'll go from there."
"What exactly do you expect to happen?" she asked Bailey, making her shrug.
"I have no idea what to expect." Bailey admitted, looking down as the thoughts of rejection soared through her mind. "I don't wanna put him under all that pressure in front of all those people."
"Then what are we going to do? Sneak backstage or something?" Sarah stated sarcastically. Bailey's eyes widened as her lips curled up. "Oh, no. I'm not getting arrested!"
"We won't get arrested. I have a plan."
"Don't we all. . ." Sarah mumbled as Bailey grabbed her hand and lead her out into the lobby of the venue. Bailey held onto her as she lead her through the crowds of people. Nonchalantly, she slipped behind a door that read 'Employees Only'. "Yep, we're totally going to get arrested."
"No we won't, now hush. I've got this." she said coolly, then continued down the long, white hallway. "Now, if I remember correctly, their dressing room should be - " Bailey stopped as they turned the corner, bumping right into Luke, one of the body guards.
"Are you ladies lost?" he asked sternly, looking down at the two girls. Bailey still had her shades on, so he didn't recognize her.
"No sir, just checking out the place." Sarah smiled.
"Uh-huh, let's go ladies." he replied, motioning them to turn around.
"Wait! Aren't you going to give us the test?" Bailey exclaimed.
Luke stopped. "What test?"
"You know, the test you're supposed to give when you run into fans who somehow managed to get backstage." she replied, trying to keep her cool with a smile on her face.
"How do you know about the test?" he questioned.
"Well, uh, you see, there's this thing going around on myspace, and you know, we kind of - "
"Ms.Baker, is that you?" Luke asked, recognizing her voice, reaching for her sunglasses.
"Busted." Sarah muttered.
"It is!" he confirmed as she placed her sunglasses on top of her head. "Where've you been? Last I heard you - "
"Yeah, Ross kicked me off. Long story." she replied dryly. "I really need to see Joe."
Luke stopped for a moment. "I don't know if I'm allowed to do that. . ."
"Luke, I know you're not, but I really need to see him! I haven't spoken to the boy in over two months! I didn't even get to say goodbye and this is my only chance at saying anything to him at all." Bailey's eyes began to water.
He stared at her for a moment before speaking. "Only because I know how much this effected him, I'll let you guys go. And because you were pretty much my favorite JB assistant of all time!" he smiled down at her. "If anyone asks, I have no idea who you two go back here! Got it?" the girls instantly nodded their heads. "Go get 'em."
Sarah swore she hear a squeak come from Bailey as she grabbed her and rushed down the hallway and up to a closed door. Bailey's heart was beating uncontrollably as she raised her hand to knock on the door. Before she could make contact, the door opened. Kevin stood there in shock, staring into her watery eyes.
"Hey." he said softly, then embraced her in a big hug as she plunged forward at him.
"I'm so sorry, I couldn't say goodbye. Ross - " she felt overwhelmed, even if it was just Kevin. She knew that Joe had to be close by. Her moment was quickly approaching.
"It's cool, I kinda figured." Kevin replied, pulling away. "Joe is, uh - "
Bailey's heart stopped as she watched Joe appear behind Kevin in the doorway, his face expressionless. She didn't know what to do or what to say. She couldn't even control the fact that he captivated her gaze yet again.
"Why are you here?" Joe asked blankly, staring back at her.
Instantly, she snapped out of it. "What?" she managed to ask.
"I didn't stutter." he spat, his face growing cold.
"Joe!" Kevin spun around to glare at his brother, disbelief covering his face.
"- And why are you wearing that?" he questioned, looking at her outfit. She shook her head and looked down, a single tear slipping out of her eye.
"You know what Joe, - " Bailey tried to keep her shaky voice under control. " - this game is really getting old."
"Yeah, tell me about it." he crossed his arms in front of him, his face still emotionless.
"What is wrong with you?" she asked in disbelief, staring into his empty eyes.
"What's wrong with you? You're the one who walked out, not me."
"More like dragged out." she spat, not letting another tear fall from her eyes. Stunned by the sour vibe he was sending out, her sadness started to turn into anger. "After two months, do you even know what really happened?" he huffed at her, then looked away. "Ross woke me up early that morning, practically dragging me out of the hotel."
"I'm sure it wasn't that dramatic." Joe interrupted.
Bailey groaned, frustrated by his attitude. "Are you even going to hear me out? That's exactly what Ross did, he shut me down, just like you're doing! Now look where we are." she finished, throwing her hands up.
"Cut it out." Kevin exclaimed, staring mostly at his brother.
"Do you know what it's been like, the past two months not being able to get a hold of you? Not knowing where you really were or what really happened? How many nights I stayed up, not being able to sleep because all I could think about was you." Joe's voice cracked a bit as he clenched his fists. "It was the worst feeling in the world. How could you put me through that?"
"How do you think things were for me, Joe? Huh? You think I was skipping home to sing happy songs about how I was forced to leave the one person that I was completely falling for? You think I chose to leave? How many nights to you think I stayed up, thinking, wondering, crying, wishing that I'd be able to even speak to you again? I don't know if you've noticed, but you're not the easiest person to get a hold of, especially when people are out there trying to prevent any contact what-so-ever!" her tears were flowing but her voice stayed strong. "The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you." Joe's eyes sparkled a bit as a tear dripped down his cheek. Quickly, he wiped it away with a big sniff.
Kevin then motioned for Sarah to follow him. The two walked down the hall, leaving Bailey and Joe alone. After a moment of silence, Joe waved for her to come into the dressing room. Closing and locking the door behind him, he rubbed his face, not believing what was happening.
About 3 hours went by. Joe was now laying in the bed with an ice pack resting on his forehead and Bailey's body was aligned against his as she stared up at the ceiling with his free arm wrapped around her shoulders. They laid in silence as Sarah clicked around on the laptop and Kevin and Nick stared at the TV screen.
A few workers of the hotel came up to check up on the two about 20 minutes after the incident. Kevin stood his place at the door, assuring the clerk that everything was fine. Since then, things had been quiet. No one had heard anything from Tori or Jake, and Mr. & Mrs.Jonas hadn't returned yet with Frankie.
The stillness in the room was broken with a knock on the door.
"Got it." Nick stated, then hopped off the couch and opened the door. "What?" he asked sternly at the person standing in front of him. He tried not to smile at her black eye.
"Let Bailey know that Ross will be here in the morning." Bailey tensed up at the sound of Tori's voice. "It'd save some time if you told her to pack her bags now."
Joe tightened his grip around Bailey as he felt her muscles trying to pull herself up. "You're not going anywhere." he said softly into her ear, then kissed her temple.
As much as she wanted to believe him, she knew that when Ross got there everything was going to explode. After hearing Nick shut the door, she nuzzled her head into Joe's chest. Nick scratched his head, not knowing if he should repeat what he was just told, or assume that everyone had heard.
Bailey sighed, letting Nick know that he didn't have to say anything. With that, he made his way back to the couch. She sat up on the bed, pulling away from Joe. His back rested against the headboard and his legs were stretched out in front of him. She placed her hand on his leg, then turned her head and looked at him. Once again, she got lost in his warm eyes. He brought his hand up and rubbed the small of her back for comfort. A tingle fluttered up her spine, making her realize that she really cared for him and that he felt the same.
Holding back tears, she leaned in towards him. Softly, their lips met. Joe placed the ice pack down next to him, then rested his hand on her jaw line as she pulled her body closer to him. With Joe still sitting on the bed, she swung her leg over and straddled his waist. After realizing that the others had made their way into his parents' room, he moved his hands down to her waist, then to her thighs.
Bailey kissed him deeply and passionately as her heart thumped in her mind. Oh how she loved being in his arms, his moist lips pecking hers. He was the only guy to ever make her feel so comfortable, loved, and wonderful all at once, all the time. After a moment, she pulled her lips away and rested her forehead on his. She slowly opened to eyes, staring directly at him. A tiny smile formed on her face, making him chuckle.
"What?" she asked quietly.
"You're gorgeous." he whispered.
"You're more gorgeous." she replied cheekily.
"Hm, even with this black eye?" Joe asked as she pulled back, sitting on his lap.
She lightly touched it with her finger. "It actually doesn't look that bad. -But yes, even with that black eye."
"It doesn't hurt anymore." he stated.
"Joe, I'm really sorry."
"It's not your fault, so stop saying sorry. The guy had it coming." he smirked, then grasped her hand in his.
"That's not going to stop me from going home tomorrow."
"Bailey, stop. You're not going home!" he exclaimed. She got up off his lap and walked across the room as the tears fell. "I'll get my mom to talk to Ross." he added.
Hearing that made her believe even more that she was going to be receiving a plane ticket to Philly tomorrow morning.
"I give up." Bailey stated, her back towards Joe.
"Give up?" he repeated, sliding off the bed. "On what? Us?"
Bailey turned to face him. The silent tears continued to fall. "This is too much, Joe. After two weeks -"
"Stop saying that! 'Two weeks'. So what? This happened!" he pointed at his heart, then to hers. "Yeah, two weeks, and I love it! Things have been perfect," she lowered his eyes at him. "-between us. It would've been paradise without the outside barging in." Bailey didn't know what to say to him. "I'm going to do everything in my power to get you to stay."
"Joe." she stared at him from across the room.
"I mean it." he finished sternly.
- - - - -
Bailey woke up the next morning with something cold on her face. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see a dark figure standing above her. The room was pitch black and the room was still.
"Let's go." she listened to Ross' harsh whisper. "Hurry and let's go, before you wake anyone up." she heard him rustling a bag beside the pull-out couch. Bailey looked over to see Joe sound asleep next to her, his hair was sticking every which way as he drooled on his pillow.
"What time is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.
"4am. Now let's go!" his voice was harsh but quiet.
"Are you even going to hear me out?" Bailey hissed at him, standing up from the bed.
"We don't have time for that now." tears stared to form in her eyes. "Plane takes off at 6, we could grab breakfast at the airport before you go."
"Ross, -"
"Now." he finished sternly, starting for the door. "-And I swear, if you wake any of the boys up, you'll be in deeper shit than you are in now."
The tears rolled once he shut the hotel door, leaving her in the darkness. Her mind was screaming to wake Joe up, just to kiss him one last time. To tell him that'd she'd be fine and that he'd be better off without her there anyway. Instead, she grabbed her duffel bag, slipped on her flip flops and exited the quiet room wearing a pair of tiny PJ shorts and Joe's "PONED" shirt.
Too upset to talk, Bailey silently followed Ross down the hallway and onto the elevator. The tension was insane. She couldn't believe this was happening; she was really leaving; without a goodbye. Before the elevator doors opened to the lobby, Ross stole a glance at her tear-stained face. Quickly looking away, he headed through the lobby, out the door and into a taxi cab.
The ride to the airport was silent. Every once in a while, Ross would look at her saddened face, but still he didn't cave. What he was doing was for the best, for everyone. Once entering the airport, Bailey finally cracked.
"- And you're not even going to hear me out?" she forced the words out of her mouth, her voice coming out a little louder than she wanted it to. There was so much frustration leaking out of her, there were so many things she wanted to scream at him, but people already started to stare.
"I think I've heard enough." he replied simply, leading her through the commotion of the airport.
"Heard enough from who, Tori?" she asked, sounding amused. Quickly, her sadness was transforming into anger.
"You did a number on her face." Ross glared down at her. "Your mother isn't too happy about that." Bailey groaned. "For a smart girl, you did a really stupid thing."
"If she hadn't -"
"Bailey, I don't want to hear it."
"This is the problem, Ross! You won't hear me out! There are two sides to every story." she exclaimed, throwing her hands up as they weaved in and out of people.
"You've obviously seen what happened to Joe! If it wasn't for you, he'd be fine!" he replied. "If these boys are going to be at risk with you here, then you need to go."
"Are you kidding me?" Bailey's response was packed with attitude.
"There's no use in talking about it, you're going home and that's final!"
"You don't even know the half of it! Jake -"
"BAILEY, YOU'RE GOING HOME!" he yelled, making the people around them stop to look at them. She bit her tongue, looking up at him, not wanting another tear to fall because of him. He had won, she was going home. "I don't want you contacting anyone in the crew either." he glanced over at her as they approached her gate. "If I find out you're still talking to Joe, or anyone, there will be bigger issues than there are now. You hear me?"
Bailey narrowed her eyes, concentrating on what was going on in front of her. All she wanted to do was scream. Scream and punch the hell of the evil bastard next to her. She had no idea why he was doing this or why he was speaking of the unbelievable, but she felt like she was having a horrible nightmare.
- - - - -
"She was all I ever wanted,
She was all I ever needed and more.
She walked out my door.
And she went away
Left my heart in two.
Left me standing here
Singing all these blues.
And you left without a single word
Not even 'sorry'
I might've hurt worse to hear you say
'I'm leaving, goodbye.'
But your smile still makes my heart sing
Another sad song.
I can't forget it,
Won't regret it.
'Cause I'm still in love with you."
Joe sang sadly into the Miami crowd, Bailey's picture in his mind. He watched as the crowd sung along with him, completely oblivious of to what the lyrics were even about. His nose started to burn, wanting to cry right then, thinking about how he woke up that morning without her. Thinking of the conversation they had the night before, right after they talked to his mom about everything, loving how she was so supportive. How they talked about how much they cared for each other and just loved being around one another. After they had decided to pull through the drama and everything that was going on, she got up and left. He couldn't believe it.
He tried getting a hold of her, millions of times it seemed, but he got nothing. Just her voice on her answering machine. His heart ached every time he dialed her number, hoping, wishing for her to pick up after that 3rd ring. Even after Ross had told him to let her go, he disobeyed his orders and tried anyway. It was no use. It felt as if she was gone forever.
A few workers of the hotel came up to check up on the two about 20 minutes after the incident. Kevin stood his place at the door, assuring the clerk that everything was fine. Since then, things had been quiet. No one had heard anything from Tori or Jake, and Mr. & Mrs.Jonas hadn't returned yet with Frankie.
The stillness in the room was broken with a knock on the door.
"Got it." Nick stated, then hopped off the couch and opened the door. "What?" he asked sternly at the person standing in front of him. He tried not to smile at her black eye.
"Let Bailey know that Ross will be here in the morning." Bailey tensed up at the sound of Tori's voice. "It'd save some time if you told her to pack her bags now."
Joe tightened his grip around Bailey as he felt her muscles trying to pull herself up. "You're not going anywhere." he said softly into her ear, then kissed her temple.
As much as she wanted to believe him, she knew that when Ross got there everything was going to explode. After hearing Nick shut the door, she nuzzled her head into Joe's chest. Nick scratched his head, not knowing if he should repeat what he was just told, or assume that everyone had heard.
Bailey sighed, letting Nick know that he didn't have to say anything. With that, he made his way back to the couch. She sat up on the bed, pulling away from Joe. His back rested against the headboard and his legs were stretched out in front of him. She placed her hand on his leg, then turned her head and looked at him. Once again, she got lost in his warm eyes. He brought his hand up and rubbed the small of her back for comfort. A tingle fluttered up her spine, making her realize that she really cared for him and that he felt the same.
Holding back tears, she leaned in towards him. Softly, their lips met. Joe placed the ice pack down next to him, then rested his hand on her jaw line as she pulled her body closer to him. With Joe still sitting on the bed, she swung her leg over and straddled his waist. After realizing that the others had made their way into his parents' room, he moved his hands down to her waist, then to her thighs.
Bailey kissed him deeply and passionately as her heart thumped in her mind. Oh how she loved being in his arms, his moist lips pecking hers. He was the only guy to ever make her feel so comfortable, loved, and wonderful all at once, all the time. After a moment, she pulled her lips away and rested her forehead on his. She slowly opened to eyes, staring directly at him. A tiny smile formed on her face, making him chuckle.
"What?" she asked quietly.
"You're gorgeous." he whispered.
"You're more gorgeous." she replied cheekily.
"Hm, even with this black eye?" Joe asked as she pulled back, sitting on his lap.
She lightly touched it with her finger. "It actually doesn't look that bad. -But yes, even with that black eye."
"It doesn't hurt anymore." he stated.
"Joe, I'm really sorry."
"It's not your fault, so stop saying sorry. The guy had it coming." he smirked, then grasped her hand in his.
"That's not going to stop me from going home tomorrow."
"Bailey, stop. You're not going home!" he exclaimed. She got up off his lap and walked across the room as the tears fell. "I'll get my mom to talk to Ross." he added.
Hearing that made her believe even more that she was going to be receiving a plane ticket to Philly tomorrow morning.
"I give up." Bailey stated, her back towards Joe.
"Give up?" he repeated, sliding off the bed. "On what? Us?"
Bailey turned to face him. The silent tears continued to fall. "This is too much, Joe. After two weeks -"
"Stop saying that! 'Two weeks'. So what? This happened!" he pointed at his heart, then to hers. "Yeah, two weeks, and I love it! Things have been perfect," she lowered his eyes at him. "-between us. It would've been paradise without the outside barging in." Bailey didn't know what to say to him. "I'm going to do everything in my power to get you to stay."
"Joe." she stared at him from across the room.
"I mean it." he finished sternly.
- - - - -
Bailey woke up the next morning with something cold on her face. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see a dark figure standing above her. The room was pitch black and the room was still.
"Let's go." she listened to Ross' harsh whisper. "Hurry and let's go, before you wake anyone up." she heard him rustling a bag beside the pull-out couch. Bailey looked over to see Joe sound asleep next to her, his hair was sticking every which way as he drooled on his pillow.
"What time is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.
"4am. Now let's go!" his voice was harsh but quiet.
"Are you even going to hear me out?" Bailey hissed at him, standing up from the bed.
"We don't have time for that now." tears stared to form in her eyes. "Plane takes off at 6, we could grab breakfast at the airport before you go."
"Ross, -"
"Now." he finished sternly, starting for the door. "-And I swear, if you wake any of the boys up, you'll be in deeper shit than you are in now."
The tears rolled once he shut the hotel door, leaving her in the darkness. Her mind was screaming to wake Joe up, just to kiss him one last time. To tell him that'd she'd be fine and that he'd be better off without her there anyway. Instead, she grabbed her duffel bag, slipped on her flip flops and exited the quiet room wearing a pair of tiny PJ shorts and Joe's "PONED" shirt.
Too upset to talk, Bailey silently followed Ross down the hallway and onto the elevator. The tension was insane. She couldn't believe this was happening; she was really leaving; without a goodbye. Before the elevator doors opened to the lobby, Ross stole a glance at her tear-stained face. Quickly looking away, he headed through the lobby, out the door and into a taxi cab.
The ride to the airport was silent. Every once in a while, Ross would look at her saddened face, but still he didn't cave. What he was doing was for the best, for everyone. Once entering the airport, Bailey finally cracked.
"- And you're not even going to hear me out?" she forced the words out of her mouth, her voice coming out a little louder than she wanted it to. There was so much frustration leaking out of her, there were so many things she wanted to scream at him, but people already started to stare.
"I think I've heard enough." he replied simply, leading her through the commotion of the airport.
"Heard enough from who, Tori?" she asked, sounding amused. Quickly, her sadness was transforming into anger.
"You did a number on her face." Ross glared down at her. "Your mother isn't too happy about that." Bailey groaned. "For a smart girl, you did a really stupid thing."
"If she hadn't -"
"Bailey, I don't want to hear it."
"This is the problem, Ross! You won't hear me out! There are two sides to every story." she exclaimed, throwing her hands up as they weaved in and out of people.
"You've obviously seen what happened to Joe! If it wasn't for you, he'd be fine!" he replied. "If these boys are going to be at risk with you here, then you need to go."
"Are you kidding me?" Bailey's response was packed with attitude.
"There's no use in talking about it, you're going home and that's final!"
"You don't even know the half of it! Jake -"
"BAILEY, YOU'RE GOING HOME!" he yelled, making the people around them stop to look at them. She bit her tongue, looking up at him, not wanting another tear to fall because of him. He had won, she was going home. "I don't want you contacting anyone in the crew either." he glanced over at her as they approached her gate. "If I find out you're still talking to Joe, or anyone, there will be bigger issues than there are now. You hear me?"
Bailey narrowed her eyes, concentrating on what was going on in front of her. All she wanted to do was scream. Scream and punch the hell of the evil bastard next to her. She had no idea why he was doing this or why he was speaking of the unbelievable, but she felt like she was having a horrible nightmare.
- - - - -
"She was all I ever wanted,
She was all I ever needed and more.
She walked out my door.
And she went away
Left my heart in two.
Left me standing here
Singing all these blues.
And you left without a single word
Not even 'sorry'
I might've hurt worse to hear you say
'I'm leaving, goodbye.'
But your smile still makes my heart sing
Another sad song.
I can't forget it,
Won't regret it.
'Cause I'm still in love with you."
Joe sang sadly into the Miami crowd, Bailey's picture in his mind. He watched as the crowd sung along with him, completely oblivious of to what the lyrics were even about. His nose started to burn, wanting to cry right then, thinking about how he woke up that morning without her. Thinking of the conversation they had the night before, right after they talked to his mom about everything, loving how she was so supportive. How they talked about how much they cared for each other and just loved being around one another. After they had decided to pull through the drama and everything that was going on, she got up and left. He couldn't believe it.
He tried getting a hold of her, millions of times it seemed, but he got nothing. Just her voice on her answering machine. His heart ached every time he dialed her number, hoping, wishing for her to pick up after that 3rd ring. Even after Ross had told him to let her go, he disobeyed his orders and tried anyway. It was no use. It felt as if she was gone forever.
Joe leaned against the front desk in the lobby of the hotel, waiting for the clerk guy to appear after he flicked the little bell. He felt a pair of hands wrap around his waist from behind. He smiled, thinking of Bailey, then grabbed her hands and kissed them.
"Hey, how was-" he turned to see Tori staring up into his eyes. "Ah!" he yelled, then jumped away from her as if she was going to explode like a time bomb. "What is wrong with you?! You were supposed to go with Jake upstairs."
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself." she informed, grinning up at him. He wiped his lips with force as the clerk finally appeared at the desk.
"How may I help you sir? Would you like the Honeymoon Suite?" he asked, looking at Joe, then at Tori.
"Are you serious?" Joe asked in a low voice, staring at the man as if he had 323084 heads. "No, we just need an extra room added onto the 407/409 linked room thing."
"The maximum number of rooms you can have linked are two, sorry sir."
"No, I mean add a single room onto that, like the bill or whatever?" Joe had no idea what he was talking about, his mind was bottled from what Tori had just done. All he wanted was an extra room so she and Jake could be away from everyone.
"Right, right. Sorry." the clerk apologized, then clicked away on his computer, assigning an extra room to their tab.
- - - - -
"Aw, Frankie!" Kevin exclaimed as Frankie looked down at his hot chocolate that was now covering the sidewalk outside of the hotel.
"It was an accident!" he cried. Kevin bent down and tried to clean up the mess a bit.
Bailey chuckled as she stood beside them, casually glancing around; Kevin had the spill covered. Her eyes stopped as she noticed a familiar figure at the front desk inside the hotel lobby. Her mouth dropped as she watched Joe kiss Tori's hands from behind, causing her heart to sink.
"You're kidding me." Bailey barely whispered, staring inside the lobby.
Kevin looked up from the mess on the ground and followed her eyes. He looked just in time to watch Joe yell and jump away from Tori. Bailey entered the lobby just as Joe started talking with the clerk.
"Hey." Bailey said behind Tori. She turned around, looking a bit shocked. "Satisfied?"
Tori smirked. "Well, -" she stopped once Bailey's first made contact with her right cheek. She screamed, then grabbed her face.
"Bailey!" Joe yelled, then quickly made his way in front of her.
"I swear to God if you do one more thing, you'll have something worse than a black eye!" Bailey yelled at Tori who took off towards the elevators. Joe grabbed her shoulders to calm her down a bit, but she shook out of his grasp. "Don't touch me."
Joe's face fell. "What?" he barely got out, staring at her angry face.
"Just don't, Joe." she stared up at him as the burning sensation in her eyes started up again. She shook it off, then walked out of the hotel.
Kevin approached Joe expectantly with Frankie beside him.
- - - - -
Bailey leaned against the concrete wall behind the hotel. She slowly slid down to the ground as the tears began to fall. Her mind raced from Joe, to Tori, and then to Jake and why all of this was happening.
She couldn't understand why things had to be so complicated. She liked Joe and Joe liked her. Why couldn't people just back off? Her mind thought about how things would be if she hadn't been given the job of assisting the boys on tour. She would've never fallen for Joe and she'd never be in the situation she was in now. Bailey thought of how things would be easier on everyone if they weren't together. There wouldn't be as much arguing, yelling, crying. At that point, she felt like giving up. With only a week and a half into this relationship, it was common sense to know to end it sooner than later before she started falling harder and faster for someone who wasn't always going to be there, no matter what promises were made.
Bailey's head rested in her hands as she listened to a pair of footsteps approaching her. Assuming it was Joe, she spoke.
"I can't do this." she muttered, then looked up in shock when Joe wasn't the one standing in front of her. Instantly, she tensed up, staring up into a pair of deep blue eyes.
"I told you." Jake stated, then slowly stepped towards her.
"This is all your fault." she exclaimed, standing up as he came closer.
He smirked, knowing she was right. "You always looked good when you were angry."
She brought her hand up to slap him, but he quickly grabbed it and pinned it against the wall. Shocked my his action, Bailey tried to pull away from him, but she was defenseless as he pinned the rest of her body against the concrete with the weight of his.
"Get off of me!" she yelled, then started to panic, not knowing what he was going to do. "Jake!" she screamed, trying to push him off of her. It was useless, he had her.
"I miss those lips." he said softly, moving in closer to her face. She squirmed under him even more, trying to bring her knee up to his abdomen, but she was locked down. Tears of frustration and fright flowed out of her eyes as he pressed his mouth up against hers. Bailey felt as if she was going to pass out just as Jake was pulled off of her.
She fell to the ground and sobbed a moment before realizing what was happening. She looked up to see Joe on top of Jake, his fist repeatedly making contact with his face. A few more punches and blood made an appearance.
It was like the red was a trigger that set Jake off. Instantly, he flipped Joe over and got a good hit in. "Stop!" she screamed as she got up from the ground, making her way to the boys who were still going at each other.
She reached for Jake, trying to pull him backwards, but one shove from him sent her down to the ground after stumbling over the cracked asphalt. The anger and irritation spiked inside of her. She quickly reproached Jake who was now gripping Joe's bloody shirt and back slapped the side of his face with extreme force, her silver ring sliced his cheek open in the process. He fell backwards off of Joe, his crimson hand covering his cheek.
Joe immediately got up and accompanied Bailey. He grabbed her shoulders, looking down into her teary eyes.
"Are you ok? Did he hurt you?" Even after their rumble, his voice was still soft and caring. Bailey was barely able to nod before she tightly wrapped her arms around his body. She looked down and behind him to see Jake moving.
"Come on." she stated, grabbing Joe's hand and pulling him with her to the front of the building.
The two of them looked horrible. Joe had a little blood dripping from his lip, his left eye was starting to puff up and this shirt was covered in dark red blotches. Bailey didn't look great either. She had a bruise around her wrist, mascara stains down her face and a little bit of blood on her attire as well. They were a mess.
Ignoring the stares and gasps from the people in the hotel lobby, they quickly made their way up to the room in silence, not knowing what to expect. Joe took a deep breath as he opened the door. Kevin laid on the bed watching TV as Nick and Sarah sat on the couch talking.
"Oh my God." Sarah whispered, then rushed over to Bailey and Joe.
"Are you guys alright?!" Kevin exclaimed, rushing up to them as well. Nick stayed seated in shock.
Bailey covered her mouth, then pushed her way to the bathroom and shut the door. Moments later her mouth went sour, causing her to spill her insides out into the toilet. The way she was feeling was over whelming. Her heart was in pain and her mind was in shock. After picturing what had just happened she sobbed again, then spewed a little more out into the bowl.
A soft knock was heard at the door but Bailey didn't bother responding. She couldn't.
"Mom just left with Frankie. Just think what it would've been like if she was here when we walked in." Joe stated, locking the bathroom door behind him. She didn't bother looking up at him. She couldn't bare to see the pain on his face that she caused.
Joe winced as he took a look at his appearance in the mirror. He softly poked as his cheek, then shut his eyes in pain. After a moment, he ran a washcloth under warm water and kneeled down to Bailey. She put her arm up to stop him.
"Joe, stop." she said, grabbing the washcloth from him. She flushed the toilet, closed the lid and motioned him to sit. He was in more pain than she was, physically.
He sat on the closed toilet seat and winced again as the warmth of the cloth came in contact with his forehead. His body was aching and his heart was pounding, but yet the fact that Bailey was there with him kept him in control.
"I had to, Bails." he stated as she wiped the blood from his face. "He shouldn't have touched you. Hell, he shouldn't even be here." he started to tense up.
Bailey leaned in closer to him, holding his chin up as she continued to clean up his face. A singled tear slid down her face as her finger brushed against the cut on his forehead.
"This is all my fault." she barley whispered, pulling away from Joe.
"What?" he asked in disbelief. "How is any of this your fault?"
"How isn't it any of my fault, Joe?" she pulled her hand away from his face, her eyes looking up at the ceiling so the tears wouldn't fall. "None of this would've happened if I had never agreed to take this job in the first place."
"Bailey, stop! Are you hearing yourself right now?" he questioned. "If you never took this job, we would've never met." he looked up into her watery eyes. She nodded her head, then looked away. That action struck Joe's heart. "What are you saying?"
She shrugged her shoulders in frustration, then sat on the side of the bathtub across from him. "If I would've just stayed home, none of this drama would be here. You'd be on tour, having fun and living it up without anything to worry about. With me here, you have all this." she motioned her hands back and forth from him back to her. She could see he was hurt.
"Just stop." This time, she saw the tears forming in his eyes. "Bailey, if you hadn't come on this tour, there are so many things I would've given up on." he took a deep breath. "Girls, for example. I told myself that I wasn't going to fall for anyone, ever again." he grabbed her hand. "Until I met you, it was like the feelings popped out of nowhere, even though I didn't want them to. I'm sorry, but I can't help the way I feel!""
"Joe, it's barely been two weeks."
"Yeah, the best two weeks of my entire life." Bailey shot him a look of disbelief. "Ok, not my entire life, but it's way up there!" he added. "What do I have to do to make you understand that I care about you, Bailey? I just brawled with your psycho ex over you!"
"I know, that's why. . ." she trailed off, looking away.
"That's why what?"
"I don't know." she huffed. "I don't know! It's just, it's not doing anyone any good with me being here!"
"Stop saying that!"
"No Joe, because you know I'm right. What do you think Ross is going to say, or even do, when he finds out about this? If it wasn't for me, everyone would be fine and they're not! Once he finds out, I'm gone."
"Hey, how was-" he turned to see Tori staring up into his eyes. "Ah!" he yelled, then jumped away from her as if she was going to explode like a time bomb. "What is wrong with you?! You were supposed to go with Jake upstairs."
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself." she informed, grinning up at him. He wiped his lips with force as the clerk finally appeared at the desk.
"How may I help you sir? Would you like the Honeymoon Suite?" he asked, looking at Joe, then at Tori.
"Are you serious?" Joe asked in a low voice, staring at the man as if he had 323084 heads. "No, we just need an extra room added onto the 407/409 linked room thing."
"The maximum number of rooms you can have linked are two, sorry sir."
"No, I mean add a single room onto that, like the bill or whatever?" Joe had no idea what he was talking about, his mind was bottled from what Tori had just done. All he wanted was an extra room so she and Jake could be away from everyone.
"Right, right. Sorry." the clerk apologized, then clicked away on his computer, assigning an extra room to their tab.
- - - - -
"Aw, Frankie!" Kevin exclaimed as Frankie looked down at his hot chocolate that was now covering the sidewalk outside of the hotel.
"It was an accident!" he cried. Kevin bent down and tried to clean up the mess a bit.
Bailey chuckled as she stood beside them, casually glancing around; Kevin had the spill covered. Her eyes stopped as she noticed a familiar figure at the front desk inside the hotel lobby. Her mouth dropped as she watched Joe kiss Tori's hands from behind, causing her heart to sink.
"You're kidding me." Bailey barely whispered, staring inside the lobby.
Kevin looked up from the mess on the ground and followed her eyes. He looked just in time to watch Joe yell and jump away from Tori. Bailey entered the lobby just as Joe started talking with the clerk.
"Hey." Bailey said behind Tori. She turned around, looking a bit shocked. "Satisfied?"
Tori smirked. "Well, -" she stopped once Bailey's first made contact with her right cheek. She screamed, then grabbed her face.
"Bailey!" Joe yelled, then quickly made his way in front of her.
"I swear to God if you do one more thing, you'll have something worse than a black eye!" Bailey yelled at Tori who took off towards the elevators. Joe grabbed her shoulders to calm her down a bit, but she shook out of his grasp. "Don't touch me."
Joe's face fell. "What?" he barely got out, staring at her angry face.
"Just don't, Joe." she stared up at him as the burning sensation in her eyes started up again. She shook it off, then walked out of the hotel.
Kevin approached Joe expectantly with Frankie beside him.
- - - - -
Bailey leaned against the concrete wall behind the hotel. She slowly slid down to the ground as the tears began to fall. Her mind raced from Joe, to Tori, and then to Jake and why all of this was happening.
She couldn't understand why things had to be so complicated. She liked Joe and Joe liked her. Why couldn't people just back off? Her mind thought about how things would be if she hadn't been given the job of assisting the boys on tour. She would've never fallen for Joe and she'd never be in the situation she was in now. Bailey thought of how things would be easier on everyone if they weren't together. There wouldn't be as much arguing, yelling, crying. At that point, she felt like giving up. With only a week and a half into this relationship, it was common sense to know to end it sooner than later before she started falling harder and faster for someone who wasn't always going to be there, no matter what promises were made.
Bailey's head rested in her hands as she listened to a pair of footsteps approaching her. Assuming it was Joe, she spoke.
"I can't do this." she muttered, then looked up in shock when Joe wasn't the one standing in front of her. Instantly, she tensed up, staring up into a pair of deep blue eyes.
"I told you." Jake stated, then slowly stepped towards her.
"This is all your fault." she exclaimed, standing up as he came closer.
He smirked, knowing she was right. "You always looked good when you were angry."
She brought her hand up to slap him, but he quickly grabbed it and pinned it against the wall. Shocked my his action, Bailey tried to pull away from him, but she was defenseless as he pinned the rest of her body against the concrete with the weight of his.
"Get off of me!" she yelled, then started to panic, not knowing what he was going to do. "Jake!" she screamed, trying to push him off of her. It was useless, he had her.
"I miss those lips." he said softly, moving in closer to her face. She squirmed under him even more, trying to bring her knee up to his abdomen, but she was locked down. Tears of frustration and fright flowed out of her eyes as he pressed his mouth up against hers. Bailey felt as if she was going to pass out just as Jake was pulled off of her.
She fell to the ground and sobbed a moment before realizing what was happening. She looked up to see Joe on top of Jake, his fist repeatedly making contact with his face. A few more punches and blood made an appearance.
It was like the red was a trigger that set Jake off. Instantly, he flipped Joe over and got a good hit in. "Stop!" she screamed as she got up from the ground, making her way to the boys who were still going at each other.
She reached for Jake, trying to pull him backwards, but one shove from him sent her down to the ground after stumbling over the cracked asphalt. The anger and irritation spiked inside of her. She quickly reproached Jake who was now gripping Joe's bloody shirt and back slapped the side of his face with extreme force, her silver ring sliced his cheek open in the process. He fell backwards off of Joe, his crimson hand covering his cheek.
Joe immediately got up and accompanied Bailey. He grabbed her shoulders, looking down into her teary eyes.
"Are you ok? Did he hurt you?" Even after their rumble, his voice was still soft and caring. Bailey was barely able to nod before she tightly wrapped her arms around his body. She looked down and behind him to see Jake moving.
"Come on." she stated, grabbing Joe's hand and pulling him with her to the front of the building.
The two of them looked horrible. Joe had a little blood dripping from his lip, his left eye was starting to puff up and this shirt was covered in dark red blotches. Bailey didn't look great either. She had a bruise around her wrist, mascara stains down her face and a little bit of blood on her attire as well. They were a mess.
Ignoring the stares and gasps from the people in the hotel lobby, they quickly made their way up to the room in silence, not knowing what to expect. Joe took a deep breath as he opened the door. Kevin laid on the bed watching TV as Nick and Sarah sat on the couch talking.
"Oh my God." Sarah whispered, then rushed over to Bailey and Joe.
"Are you guys alright?!" Kevin exclaimed, rushing up to them as well. Nick stayed seated in shock.
Bailey covered her mouth, then pushed her way to the bathroom and shut the door. Moments later her mouth went sour, causing her to spill her insides out into the toilet. The way she was feeling was over whelming. Her heart was in pain and her mind was in shock. After picturing what had just happened she sobbed again, then spewed a little more out into the bowl.
A soft knock was heard at the door but Bailey didn't bother responding. She couldn't.
"Mom just left with Frankie. Just think what it would've been like if she was here when we walked in." Joe stated, locking the bathroom door behind him. She didn't bother looking up at him. She couldn't bare to see the pain on his face that she caused.
Joe winced as he took a look at his appearance in the mirror. He softly poked as his cheek, then shut his eyes in pain. After a moment, he ran a washcloth under warm water and kneeled down to Bailey. She put her arm up to stop him.
"Joe, stop." she said, grabbing the washcloth from him. She flushed the toilet, closed the lid and motioned him to sit. He was in more pain than she was, physically.
He sat on the closed toilet seat and winced again as the warmth of the cloth came in contact with his forehead. His body was aching and his heart was pounding, but yet the fact that Bailey was there with him kept him in control.
"I had to, Bails." he stated as she wiped the blood from his face. "He shouldn't have touched you. Hell, he shouldn't even be here." he started to tense up.
Bailey leaned in closer to him, holding his chin up as she continued to clean up his face. A singled tear slid down her face as her finger brushed against the cut on his forehead.
"This is all my fault." she barley whispered, pulling away from Joe.
"What?" he asked in disbelief. "How is any of this your fault?"
"How isn't it any of my fault, Joe?" she pulled her hand away from his face, her eyes looking up at the ceiling so the tears wouldn't fall. "None of this would've happened if I had never agreed to take this job in the first place."
"Bailey, stop! Are you hearing yourself right now?" he questioned. "If you never took this job, we would've never met." he looked up into her watery eyes. She nodded her head, then looked away. That action struck Joe's heart. "What are you saying?"
She shrugged her shoulders in frustration, then sat on the side of the bathtub across from him. "If I would've just stayed home, none of this drama would be here. You'd be on tour, having fun and living it up without anything to worry about. With me here, you have all this." she motioned her hands back and forth from him back to her. She could see he was hurt.
"Just stop." This time, she saw the tears forming in his eyes. "Bailey, if you hadn't come on this tour, there are so many things I would've given up on." he took a deep breath. "Girls, for example. I told myself that I wasn't going to fall for anyone, ever again." he grabbed her hand. "Until I met you, it was like the feelings popped out of nowhere, even though I didn't want them to. I'm sorry, but I can't help the way I feel!""
"Joe, it's barely been two weeks."
"Yeah, the best two weeks of my entire life." Bailey shot him a look of disbelief. "Ok, not my entire life, but it's way up there!" he added. "What do I have to do to make you understand that I care about you, Bailey? I just brawled with your psycho ex over you!"
"I know, that's why. . ." she trailed off, looking away.
"That's why what?"
"I don't know." she huffed. "I don't know! It's just, it's not doing anyone any good with me being here!"
"Stop saying that!"
"No Joe, because you know I'm right. What do you think Ross is going to say, or even do, when he finds out about this? If it wasn't for me, everyone would be fine and they're not! Once he finds out, I'm gone."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)