The Softer Side of Unbearable

Most of the next year was spent on the road. After the tour with Die Manniquin and Inward Eye, Antagonist Theory had the opportunity to tour with Social Code, and eventually they went on their biggest tour yet. They got to open for Shinedown. I didn't know who most of these bands were when I was first told this story, but I've recently been educated in my parents' taste in music.

Spencer made a few appearances with the band when he took his holidays from work. Bailey always seemed happiest when he was around. It was like he was her other half. In all honesty, they probably would have gotten married if he'd been straight. He was the only one that knew everything about her; she trusted him more than her own brother.

Touring wasn't always fun. Bailey often found herself wedged between Angel and Jeff, trying to keep the peace. It was no secret to those who knew her that Angel had issues with her personal space. Jeff was often inconsiderate of those issues. It wasn't that it was intentional, but he didn't think that her personal space was a big deal when they were on tour. When you lived out of a cramped van, it should have been obvious that nobody would get much time or space to themselves. And somehow, Bailey always wound up standing between them with her arms spread wide, begging them to stop before someone got hurt. To anyone else, it would have been a comical sight. Though Angel was the shortest by about three inches, Bailey was still a solid foot shorter than Jeff. To top it off, he spent a lot of spare time in the gym. He could have tossed Bailey aside with a mere flick of his wrist. But for some reason, everyone usually listened to her reasoning. Bailey was a very persuasive girl.

It wasn't often that she was involved in the fights. She generally spent her time texting with Spencer or writing down lyrics that popped into her head. She had learned quickly to adapt to life on the road by escaping into the world that was inside of her own head.

If you're wondering, she stayed friends with the guys in Marianas Trench. They talked off and on while both bands toured, and when they were all home they hung out sometimes. She was closest with Josh, simply because she'd spent more time with him. Well, that and he knew a few of the things that she'd gone through. She often wrote songs about her own life. She found it easier to write about her experiences than to create stories out of nothing.

When they had finished the tour with Shinedown, they had successfully finished all of their album promotion. They had released three singles, one of which had made it into the top ten on the Canadian Billboard chart. Two of them had made it to number one on the Much Music Countdown. Overall, things were looking great for the members of Antagonist Theory.

"You're on top of the world, aren't you?" Spencer asked, grinning at Bailey as she stood on his balcony and watched the cars on the street below.

"You're here with me," she smiled. "I can't be on the top of anything if I'm alone. Thank you for always being there when I needed you."

"As if I had a choice!" He laughed appreciatively. "If I didn't answer those two a.m. phone calls, you would have just kept calling. It was easier to get it over with."

"Even so," she leaned a bit farther over the iron railing. "I appreciate it. Nobody else would still be talking to me after that."

"Not even Josh?"

"Don't get jealous, Spence. He could never take your place in my life."

"I'm not jealous," he argued. "I'm just asking a question."

"And I'd bet that the answer is no. Do you think I could hit a pedestrian if I spit over the edge?"

"Probably not. You could try, I guess. But if you get caught, I had nothing to do with it."

Bailey stared down at the street below and contemplated whether or not to attempt it. Eventually, she shrugged. "Never mind. I have terrible aim when I'm five feet away from someone. Four stories between us would make it pretty much impossible."

Spencer laughed. "That's probably for the best. Hey, I want to show you something!" He turned and pulled open the sliding glass doors. He led the way back into the apartment, then disappeared into his bedroom. When he returned, he was carrying a thin manilla envelope, which he immediately passed over to Bailey.

"What's this?" She asked, opening the envelope and peering inside.

"I had some spare time at work, and I got bored. I know you're not planning on making a new album quite yet, but I came up with a few different ideas for cover art."

She pulled out the papers and scanned them. Spencer was a very talented artist. He had gone into graphic design, but his heart was in the drawing that he did in his spare time. It certainly showed in these paintings. Bailey couldn't think of something good enough to say, so she simply handed the envelope back.

"You don't like them?" He didn't sound hurt, rather, perplexed. "I thought you would love them."

"I do. But you need to keep them here so I don't lose them. I really want to use those; they're amazing. Thank you."

He waved her off like his efforts had been no big deal. "I have fun doing your album artwork. And I've got to earn my keep somehow! Who else gets to hear your lyrics before the rest of the band does?"

"Just you and Josh. But that's only because Josh wrote half of them. So it would be quite difficult to hide them from him."

"Speaking of Josh, I was talking to him the other day-"

"And?" Bailey pulled open the refrigerator and began digging around inside for something to eat.

"Well I was getting to that, if you would let me. Anyways, he wants to know if you wrote anything new on tour. I told him you did, but I didn't know if you wanted anyone to hear it just yet. So I think he was going to call you so that you could meet up sometime soon."

"You're a little behind," she smiled, pulling a take-out container from a shelf and digging a fork out of a nearby drawer. "He called me last night. Want to go over to Josh's tonight? Everyone's going to be there. It's pretty much be there or be square. You shouldn't miss it, for fear of being square."

"Oh yeah? That's how this is going to be?"

"Yeah. Square."

"Fine, I'll come! Don't call me a square, jerk!"

"Slut."

"Bitch."

Bailey put on her cutest grin. "I love you."

Spencer failed his attempt to hold back his laughter. "Love you, too. So when are we going over there?"

"As soon as I finish eating your leftover Chinese food. What is this that I'm eating, anyway? It's really not appealing. It's quite rubbery and tasteless."

"I think they overcooked the squid in the seafood platter."

Bailey dropped the container onto the countertop and raced for the garbage can. Once she spit out the morsel of food, she gave Spencer a horrified look. "Squid?! Sick! I don't eat seafood. Thank you for warning me before I ate it. I think I swallowed some!"

"You'll survive. That'll teach you for eating my food."

"But I always eat your food."

"Yeah, but you'll think twice about it now, won't you?"

She shook her head. "Not really."

"Maybe we should go before you discover the scallops in the fridge. How can you not like seafood? You're weird."

"I like shrimp. But that's it. And even then, they have to be covered in like a pound of batter. Which is why I don't eat it very often. I'd weigh a metric tonne if I ate it all the time. Anyways, let's head out. I don't want Angel to show up before we do. Those guys wouldn't know what to do with her when she's by herself."

"And they know what to do with you?"

"Not entirely. But that's okay. I haven't had the chance to see them all that often lately. So maybe they'll learn if we give them time."

"Then we'd better get them started. They're going to need a lot of time to figure you out."

"You're more complicated than I am, honey. Let's hit the road."

Bailey had no intentions of touring for a long time. It was almost December, and she wanted to have a normal Christmas with her family and friends. She hadn't been home for Christmas in three years. Her family was incredibly supportive of her career, but they all seemed to be excited by the prospect of her joining them for turkey dinner. She herself couldn't wait to actually witness their reactions as they opened their presents, as opposed to simply mailing the packages of presents that she'd bought in various cities on tour and getting a call from everyone to say thank you.

If nothing else, Bailey felt that touring made her appreciate her home life more. It was practically pointless for her to actually have an apartment of her own, since she never stayed there during her time off. She usually wandered from Spencer's apartment to her parents' house, and from there she would go and spend time with her brother. She wouldn't openly admit it, but she was a little bit envious of her brother, Brian. He was four years older than her, and he had a wife and a three-year-old son. Bailey wanted children. She just didn't have the time.

Spencer was the only person outside of her family that always wanted her around. Other friends would let her stay for one night, and then make some excuse about family coming to visit so that she would have no choice but to leave. And she usually took advantage of having a bit of time away from Jeff and Angel. She loved them, but it was nice to have a break from their continuous bickering. Spencer, on the other hand, kept a shelf in his closet open for her. That apartment was more like her home than anywhere else.

"Bailey! You guys made it!" Josh greeted her with a hug when she reached his apartment. "How was the tour?"

"It was so much fun! But it's always good to be home."

"I have to agree with you there. Let's celebrate a successful album and well-deserved homecoming."

"Cheers to that!"