You Put the Spike in My Heart

It had been a week since the My Chemical Romance boys had seen even a glimpse of Bailey...with the exception of Frank who was constantly visiting her on The Used's bus. After the concert of the night they first met her, Bert had told them she went to bed early and then they heard nothing. It seemed like she was just a figment of their imagination. When Frank came back for the other bus, he would never say a word about it.
They had stopped somewhere remote in the city of Atlanta. It was about five in the morning and Gerard was staring up at the ceiling. Everyone else was asleep. The only things he could hear were people still partying in the other buses. They had joined for a few hours the night before but called it a night early so they could get some work done the next day while they were driving to their next destination.
Realizing that counting ceiling cracks was going to get him nowhere fast, he decided to go out for a smoke. Georgia was relatively warm so he didn't grab a jacket before stepping out. He put a cigarette to his lips before softly opening and closing the door, not wanting to wake up anyone else.
He sat on the pavement, lit the end of his cigarette and took a long drag. He stared at the bus in front of him and let out a smoky laugh as he heard Bert's shrill shriek coming from somewhere inside. What stopped him short was a reply in a voice he barely recognized.

"Are you fucking serious, guys?! I can't live off of popcorn and cheetos!"

Gerard quirked his head and smiled a bit. He had been wondering what happened to Bailey. He had also wondered if he was the reason for her disappearance. Ever since their talk, hardly anyone had seen her...like she had never left the bus.
He jumped, startled when the door popped open. Bailey shoved through it angrily and slammed it shut behind her. She had a large bag with her and she dropped to her knees to search through it. She hadn't realized he was about 15 feet from her, dark as it was, so he stayed quiet and watched her.
She pulled a black beanie out and a pack of cigarettes. She shoved the beanie over her messy red hair and pulled out a cigarette with a shaky hand.

"Those are bad for you."

Her hand jumped to her heart when he spoke and then dropped again when she realized it was him. He chuckled and took another long drag.

"Thanks for the warning."

She stuck the cigarette between her lips before rummaging through her bag again. Moments passed and she was getting more and more frustrated.

"Where the hell is my..."

She stopped abruptly when a pack of matches skidded to a stop in front of her. She looked up at him but couldn't see his expression in the dark.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

He again noticed her shaky hands as she tore out a match, lit it and brought it to the cigarette still dangling from her lips.
She took an especially long drag and took her time letting the smoke seep back out, like she wanted to hold it in forever. She threw the matches back to him and he caught them gracefully.

"What are you doing up so early?"

"I'm a vampire, darling. This is late for me."

She snorted and waved a hand above her head dismissively.

"Of course."

"Where have you been hiding?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. She could see his features now that her eyes had adjusted to the dark. It might have grown a little lighter outside as well...but she couldn't place the look on his face, so she tried not to take it personally.

"I haven't been hiding. I just haven't been sticking around. Bars, clubs and sleep. That's all."

He nodded in thought but then turned his head to the door just in time to see Frank poke his head out from the bus. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at Gerard.

"You talking to someone?"

"Over here, genius."

Frank squinted in the dark and then smiled sleepily when he saw it was her.

"Morning, Bailey-Face. Thought I heard your voice out here."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Just having a smoke, mom."

Frank sighed heavily and came out of the bus to sit in between the two.

"I was just curious, it's early and all..."

"Mmmhmm."

She gave him a skeptical look and her tone hinted to drop it. Gerard looked from Frank to Bailey and wondered what they had been discussing this past week when no one else was around. Frank looked to the ground in defeat. Gerard didn't like the silence that had dropped onto them since Frank had made his appearance. It was full of hostility and tension...it just didn't feel right.

"So what are you doing up so early?"

Bailey looked up to make sure he was talking to her and then gave him an incredulous look.

"Are you serious?"

She waved a hand at the noisy bus behind her and took another drag as if the mere thought of it made her need one. Frank grinned.

"You could sleep on our couch."

"Fuck your couch, I'm going grocery shopping."

She stood up and started to put back the contents of her bag that happened to slip out.

"Grocery shopping?"

"Yeah, apparently the guys ate almost everything we had last night. I woke up to bare cupboards and I'm starving."

Her demeanor turned angry again at the thought of it, and she started to pace as she sucked down the rest of her cigarette.

"I'll come with you."

Frank stood and Bailey halted, looking from Frank to Gerard a few times. Neither could interpret the look, but by the way she pinched her lips together in thought she didn't look pleased at the idea. She quickly masked it after a moment and put on a fake smile that only Gerard seemed to notice because Frank smiled back and walked to her side. But as soon as he reached her she walked over to Gerard, leaned down to take his hand and dragged him to his feet.

"You might as well come too, Mr. Vampire. Wouldn't want you to be bored before the sun rises."

She pulled him over to where Frank was and then immediately released his hand...as if recoiling. She shoved her hands in her pockets and started to walk away.
The guys stood there for half a moment longer. Frank shrugged at Gerard and started after her. She looked back and gave him a pleading look that took him off guard, begging him to come along.
It was then that he realized she didn't want to be alone with Frank. He didn't know why, but he couldn't deny her that much. Not when she looked so desperate.
He nodded and started after the two, his mind never stopping for a moment.

What was this girl's deal?