Disclaimer: I do not own Big Time Rush. I just like messing with James' and Katie's relationship.

A/N: Yay! A new Jatie story! To celebrate "Break the Ice's completion, I decided to go ahead and post this. This story started creeping up on me in little chunks a few months ago, and then began to shape itself one night a few weeks ago. The idea stuck, and as soon as I got the chance, I began to write it. This is a tiny bit different than what I normally write (at least, it seems that way to me), but it is James/Katie. :)

If you've read "Break the Ice", you might notice a few similarities, such as Katie's personality, and minor situations. The reason for this is that, in a way, one of the plot lines in "Break the Ice" inspired this story, but don't worry, it's not necessary to read the other story to understand this - this story is extremely different from the other. On that note, there's an OC in this. Her name's Shelby, she's 14, and she's James' sister. As much as I dislike putting new OCs in stories, Shelby was kind of needed for the plot, so she got to stay. Okay, there's another OC in this as well, but you won't meet her until the second chapter, though she'll be mentioned in this chapter. This story also kind of starts up slow, though it'll pick up. There's just a bunch of stuff that needs to be established first, so bear with me?

As always, humongous thanks to Dana2184 for reading the first chapter and loving it and urging me to post it. If you haven't already, go and check out her story "Cold Dark December". It's a thriller/mystery/romance and it's Jatie.

Okay, so, this is an AU, set in Minnesota. James is 24 and Katie is 20.

Warnings: Language, mentions of alcohol, and sexual innuendos.

Enjoy the first chapter :)

Pull The Trigger - Definition From Urban Dictionary:
1. To take decisive action with no certainty of the outcome
2. To make a decision that may very well require inflicting a result that is detrimental to self or others.
3. To initiate positive change in a new romantic relationship. This could take the form of telling someone you like them, asking someone on a first date, or kissing them.

Chapter One – Proposition

James' POV

One of the nice things about being an adult and a high school/college graduate is that I haven't had to worry about school in over two years. School is just a place that kids go to before heading off to college, which in all honesty isn't actually all that remarkable. Everyone always talks about college like it's some kind of machine that'll transform you from a bratty teenager into a mature young adult, but I have yet to see it work its magic.

If I grew up at all since I was eighteen, it was because I got older. College had nothing to do with it.

And neither did high school. I never actually thought I would step foot within a one block radius of the Sherwood Lake High School once I graduated, but I was wrong.

Luckily, I probably wasn't actually going to have to go inside. I was just going to have to wait for the bell to ring and for the kids to escape from the dark, winding, torturous halls that made up my old high school.

Mom was just lucky I loved her and my little sister, Shelby, because if anyone else had asked, I would have laughed uproariously and the hung up on them faster than you could say "high school parking lot".

I flipped on my right turn signal and steered the car into said high school parking lot. The first kids were already trickling out through the front doors, and more than once I had to slam on the brakes to keep from getting my ass sued off. It was with a sigh of relief that I guided the car into a parking spot and put the gears in park before shutting the ignition off.

I grabbed my phone and checked the time: 2:20. Shelby would be getting out any moment.

I unbuckled my seatbelt, opened the car door, and clambered out, still holding onto my phone. Once the car was locked up I made my way across the parking lot to the path leading down from the doors and hung to the side so that I didn't get run over by a horde of teenage girls.

I had no idea if I was just old, or if teenage girls had gotten a lot more…slutty looking since I'd been in high school. Granted, I was twenty-four, so it had been awhile, but still. All that makeup, with their hair styled to look messy, while wearing clothes that a street walker would probably blush at the thought of even looking at…Well, okay, that last part may have been a little off, but not by a lot. The clothes were probably within the high school dress code limits, but they were definitely pushing some boundaries.

I felt like a pedophile just by looking at them. And I wasn't even ogling them!

Geh.

Before I could put too much thought into it, my phone burst into song and I peered at the screen to see the Caller I.D. Kendall Knight.

I answered the call, putting my phone up to my ear. "What's up, dude?"

"Apparently there's some creepy guy in his twenties standing around the high school and staring at all the teenage girls passing by."

"Oh, ha, hah, very funny. If any guy is staring at the girls, it's because it's like watching a train wreck."

"Sure it is," Kendall teased. "Anyway, I need to talk to you about something."

"So you followed me? Getting a bit stalker-ish, aren't we?"

"At least I'm not standing around, ogling girls who are ten years younger than me."

"The fact that you know that they're ten years younger than me worries me a lot more than you just tailing me. Should I turn you into the police?"

"Please don't. Jo will kill me, and we had plans for tonight."

"Please, don't elaborate."

"We're going to play Hockey Player and the Groupie."

"Somehow that doesn't sound like a party game."

"Only if you're into orgies."

I glanced around to try to find him so that I could shoot him a glare. "Yeah, okay, gross, dude. When I said don't elaborate, I was serious."

"But I'm excited," he whined. "And you just threatened to turn me into the cops and ruin my chances of ever seeing her in some skimpy little outfit with my name painted across her chest."

I gaped wordlessly at the phone.

"Anyway, I'm heading straight for you. And get that stupid look off your face, you look ridiculous."

"If you talk like that when Shelby gets here, I'll make sure you never get the chance to see Jo like that."

"So touchy. She knows you get stupid looks on your face and that you look ridiculous."

"I meant about your name painted across her chest!" I growled.

Several passing students gave me a bunch of odd looks, and the only teacher in ear shot waggled her finger at me, throwing a disapproving look at me.

Please. Like teenagers don't have access to HBO and the internet.

That reminded me. I needed to make sure Mom and Dad weren't letting Shelby watch anything that would corrupt her mind.

"Oh, that," Kendall said as if a light bulb was flashing on in his head. "Yeah, don't worry, I'd never say anything like that in front of Shelby."

"Good. Because she's only fourteen and I want to keep her innocent for awhile longer."

"I wonder how well that actually worked when I tried to do the same thing with Katie…"

"Katie and Shelby are two different people," I huffed out.

"Yeah, I know. Shelby's a sweetheart and Katie can be a…a word that you should not use to describe your sister."

"Exactly." Although, in all fairness, Katie had never been a bitch to me. Never. Not once. I had seen her rip into people when she was in high school, but she was always on her best behavior when it was just us.

"Anyway, hang up, I'm almost there."

I ended the call and looked around just in time to see Kendall hurrying up the path towards me, hands in his pockets, flannel shirt a little too big for his frame. He might have been a hockey player, but he had never really buffed out. But that didn't matter, not when he had the best aim or the strongest swing in the freaking state.

Kendall grinned at me once he reached me. "Long time no see."

"Gee, I wonder why," I teased as I pulled him into a bear hug. "It might have something to do with the fact that you're always training."

"Says the guy who performs in about ten plays a year," he shot back. "Workaholic much?"

"Actor-holic."

"Ah, of course." He stepped back, grin widening.

"So, what're you doing here?" I asked him as I slipped my phone into my jeans pocket. "Or did you just follow me to the high school for the hell of it?"

"I have a favor to ask you, and I texted you but you didn't answer, so I called your mom and she said you were picking up Shelby. So I figured I'd join you since I hadn't seen either of you in a couple of months."

"Yeah, we really need to work on that. Anyway, what's the favor?"

Kendall shuffled his feet slightly, shifting his weight from side to side. "Well…the thing is…"

"I swear, if you ask me to double date with you and Jo again, I will punch you. The last time we double dated, we ended up watching this cheesy romantic comedy and you and Jo spent the entire time making out, while my date and I tried not to throw up."

"So melodramatic." He rolled his eyes. "Anyway, that's not what I want to ask you about. But, do you even have a girlfriend?"

"Wow. Thanks. You make it sound like I'm hideous or something."

"Maybe just socially awkward."

"Again, thanks."

"That's not what I meant, anyway. I just….you haven't really dated for the past couple of years. You had a girlfriend constantly in high school and through most of college, and then…you kind of abandoned any sort of relationship and just started sleeping around."

I looked away from him, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my leather jacket. That particular period of time wasn't something I actually liked talking about. Or thinking about. Or remembering.

"Look," Kendall wheedled, "we were all really worried about you. I mean, you had a new girl every night."

"I'm aware of that," I replied testily. "I was there."

"I just…what happened?"

"Life happened."

"Anyway…um…that wasn't the point. But are you seeing someone?"

"Yeah, believe it or not, I did find someone."

"I didn't mean to imply – "

"I know. It's cool, forget about it."

"I – okay…" he said meekly, staring down at the ground. "What's she like?"

"Her name's Bailey. She's really nice, really sweet, and really smart. She actually went to college with us, though we never really crossed paths. She's a wildlife biologist, stationed at the college to do research for the time being."

"So she studies animals?"

"Yeah, she loves them."

"Awesome. Has your mom met her yet?"

"Not yet…"

Kendall raised an eyebrow at me. "How long have you been seeing her?"

"For about two months."

"And your mom hasn't talked you into a one on one meeting?"

"I'm just kind of…putting it off…Bailey's not exactly the kind of girl my mom wants for me."

Kendall shook his head, before narrowing his eyes.

"What?"

He nodded in the direction of the stairs. "That guy looks like he's hitting on Shelby."

I whipped around to see for myself. Sure enough, there was some scrawny kid standing way too close to my little sister, talking to her. As I watched, she threw her head back and laughed.

Yeah, I don't think so.

Clenching my fists into balls, I stormed over there, Kendall following close behind me.

"What the hell do you think you're doing with my little sister?" I demanded of the kid.

He let out a nervous squeak, reminding me a bit of Logan when he got anxious or scared. "I – I – I just wanted to borrow her – her – biology notes…"

"Oh, likely story," Kendall scoffed from behind me. "Do you know how many times I 'borrowed' a girl's notes?"

"James," Shelby said, slipping between me and the boy. "He's my lab partner in biology. This is strictly business."

"Oh." My shoulders slumped. "My bad. Sorry."

She nodded before turning back to the boy. I shuffled the couple of steps over to Kendall.

"I hope word gets around that her big brother hangs outside the school," I mumbled to him out of the corner of my mouth. "So that the boys will stay away from her."

Kendall nodded in agreement.

"Anyway." I crossed my arms and fixed him with my best piercing stare. "What's the favor you need to ask of me?"

"See…about that. Favor…the word just sounds so wrong, you know? Seriously, you'd really just be doing a good deed. You'd be a really good Samaritan if you did this. I mean, you know, the whole thing with favors is so over rated. I owe you a favor, you owe me one…Although you totally do. Remember that time in our junior year of college – "

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I held up my hand, silencing him. "I remember, mainly because you've never let me forget. Anyway, what do you need me to do?"

"James. Buddy. Best friend. Old pal. Brother of the ice. Nicest dude in the entire world. No, wait, the entire galaxy. The entire universe. The entire – "

"I get it. I'm an amazing person. Now, what is it?"

"You know how you have a two bedroom apartment?"

"Yeah."

"And you only sleep in one bedroom?"

"That's the way it usually works."

"How would you feel about having someone occupy the other room?"

I furrowed my brow. "Like a roommate?"

Kendall did the double finger pistols at me. "Yes, exactly. Like a roommate. I couldn't have put it better myself."

"Cool. I could use someone to split half the rent. Who'd you have in mind?"

Kendall stretched his mouth into a wide, excited smile. I suddenly had the strangest sense of foreboding.

"Well. About that. You're going to love my suggestion. I mean, seriously, I'm a genius for even coming up with it."

"Just tell me who you think my new roommate is."

"Okay, you ready?"

I grabbed his shoulders, shaking him a couple of times. "I've been ready for the past five minutes."

"Okay. Katie!"

"I – what – ?"

"Katie's going to be your new roommate."

My hands dropped to my sides. "No, she's not."

"Yes, she is. Isn't that just a fantastic idea? I mean, sheesh. I can't believe I didn't come up with it before."

"Katie's not going to be my roommate."

"Oh, come on. Why not?" he whined.

"For one thing, I've barely spoken to her in two years."

"Okay. Okay. I know you two had a falling out right after she graduated from high school, but that was two years ago. That's, like, centuries."

"It's not even half a decade. Shelby, you ready to go?" I added to her.

She glanced over her shoulder at me. "Just about."

"Okay. I'm going to wait in the car."

"James, come on." Kendall hurried after me as I stomped down the steps, heading for the parking lot.

"No. She's not going to be my roommate. I'm not living with her, Kendall."

"You two were so close when you were younger. What happened?"

"It's none of your business! It's between Katie and me." I fumbled in my coat pocket for my car keys and pulled them out.

"But it's affecting both of you. And she needs a place to stay. The dorm she's staying in at the college this year is a party dorm. There's a ton of drinking, a ton of drugs, a ton of hookups, a ton of parties. Do you really want someone who used to be like your little sister living in those kinds of conditions? Her GPA has already dropped since the quarter began."

I spared him a quick glance. "She's not my sister."

"But she was like your sister."

"Kendall, just drop it. It's not going to happen."

He stamped his foot. "Why not?"

"Did you seriously just stamp your foot? I thought only toddlers and teenage girls did that. Are you going to throw a fit next?"

"Maybe. Why don't you want her living with you?"

"Why the hell do you think?!"

"Look, I know whatever happened between you two hurt you. But you haven't even talked to each other since last Thanksgiving. And even then you barely said two words to each other."

"That's not my fault. She initiated the silence. At least, I think she did."

"That's my point! You don't even remember! You were both drunk when you got into the fight!"

"I'm at least ninety percent sure that she's the one who stopped talking to me."

"There's an infallible percentage."

I sighed and turned to face him. We had reached my car now, and I had one hand on the door. "When I woke up the next morning after the night of the party, when we had the falling out, all the contacts in my phone had been changed to Harry Potter characters. Remember? I had to send out a mass text so that I could figure out who was who."

Kendall cracked a smile. "Logan was Hermione Granger."

"Yeah. And you were Ron Weasley. And I'm pretty sure that means that Katie was Ginny Weasley. Only I never heard back from Ginny. I never heard back from Katie."

"Maybe her phone died."

"Not an excuse."

"Maybe she lost her phone."

"I think you'd know if she had."

He groaned. "Will you please just think about it? I'm not saying you have to make a decision right this very moment. But just…consider it? You said yourself that you could use someone else to split the rent with."

"Can Katie even afford it?"

"She has a job at that clothing store she loves so much. What's it called?" He snapped his fingers as if that would help him remember the name.

"Clara's Clothes."

"Yeah, that's the one. See? You can remember where she works and I can't. This is why she should live with you."

"Why can't she just live with Jo or Stephanie or Camille?"

"Because when I'm in town, I'm living with Jo. And Stephanie's living with Carlos and Camille's living with Logan."

"What about Lucy?" I asked desperately.

"You know Lucy never stays in one place for very long."

I groaned, leaning back against the car door. "I'll think about it. But I'm not promising anything."

Kendall beamed. "Thanks, James! Call me when you decide." And before I could even blink, he was dashing away as if he was afraid if he stuck around any longer I would decide not to let Katie live with me.

I shook my head, but perked up when I saw Shelby hurrying towards me, dark brown ponytail swinging. She smiled at me as she reached the car and threw her arms around me.

I hugged her back.

"So, what're you doing here?" she asked me once she had pulled back.

"Mom and Dad both had doctor's appointments and couldn't make it, so Mom asked me to come pick you up. Hope you don't mind."

"I think I'll live," she teased.

"Good. So, I was thinking we could grab a late lunch at Fun Burger if you want."

Her face lit up. "I haven't been there in ages."

"Then get in."

She hurriedly climbed in and I did too.

Forty-five minutes later, we were sitting in one of the booths at Fun Burger, sipping on huge shakes and waiting for our food to arrive.

Shelby tightened her ponytail before checking her phone.

"How's high school going?" I asked as she set her phone down on the table. "Making any friends?"

She shrugged. "I have a couple of friends from middle school, but no one who I'm really close to yet."

"Give it time. High school sucks."

"It does," she agreed, sighing a little.

"Any boys whose asses I'm going to be kicking in the near distant future?"

She blushed a bright red.

I quirked an eyebrow. "Who is he?"

"He's no one…"

"Uh huh. Sure. And I'm a ballerina."

"He's just a boy on the hockey team…He's a junior," she added as I took a sip of my milkshake.

I choked, coughing for a good thirty seconds before I could swallow again. "A junior?!"

"Yeah…Don't worry," she said quickly. "He doesn't even know I exist."

"Who is this asshole?"

"I already told you."

I crossed my arms. "I don't like him. If you like someone, then he should like you back."

Shelby shrugged. "Whatever. I don't have a chance with him. Why was Kendall at the school today?"

"He came to talk to me about something…"

She sipped on her shake. "What about?"

"He wants me to let Katie move in with me."

Her eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

"Dead."

"Oh, wow…Are you going to let her?"

"I don't know. I haven't figured that out yet. On the one hand, I don't make a lot of money and I'm trying not to borrow money from Mom and Dad. I could really use someone else paying at least part of the rent. But on the other hand…"

"On the other hand, things would be weird and it would probably be really hard for you to live in the same apartment with her, especially after what happened."

"Exactly. I know it was two years ago, but things are just finally starting to get better. I don't want to ruin it."

Our food arrived, the waitress sliding our plates neatly in front of us before bustling off. I took a bite of my burger to distract myself from the situation at hand, and Shelby lifted a fry to her mouth.

After a few moments of silence except for the sound of chewing, Shelby looked at me. "You have to do what's best. That's what Mom always says, and you know she's right. You have to do what you think is best for you."

I drummed my fingers on the table. "How did you get so fucking wise?"

She grinned at me cheekily. "Must be all the HBO I watch."

"I'm telling Mom and Dad to reinstall the parental controls on the TV."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Jamie."

Shaking my head, I grabbed my phone and dialed Kendall's number. He answered on the second ring: "Yeah?"

"Is there a way that I can see Katie?"

An hour and a half later, Kendall and I were crossing Sherwood College's football field, heading towards the bleachers where the varsity cheerleaders were huddled together in a group, hair pulled back in perfect ponytails, their uniform sweaters tugged around their tiny bodies tightly.

I could see Katie in the middle of the group, legs stretched out in front of her, arms crossed as she glared at the girl sitting beside her.

Kendall and I exchanged looks before picking up our pace. We knew the look on her face all too well. It was the expression that signified a bitch attack was on its way.

As we drew closer, Katie got to her feet. "I don't know why you even bother, Carla. We both know you lied straight through your teeth to me, and you know how I feel about liars."

"I didn't lie!" the other girl insisted.

"Either way, you're a worthless excuse for a cheerleader, and our coach agrees."

"Coach Willa never said that," another girl piped up.

"She implied it," Katie growled out, whipping around to face her next attacker. "So. Here's the deal. Either you guys listen to me, or I'm going to make your life a living hell, and you know I can. I'm the one with the experience here."

"We were all cheerleaders in high school!" the second girl snapped. "I don't know who the hell you think you are – "

Katie stormed over to her and pushed herself up onto the seat above her so that she was a few inches taller than her. "I'm your worst nightmare, you stupid little bitch. And when it comes to cheerleading, I don't mess around. Now get the fuck out of my sight. Practice is over."

I looked at Kendall. "She hasn't changed much since high school."

Kendall groaned. "She's gotten a little better in some ways, but…She doesn't mess around with cheerleading or boys or social status. She never completely grew out of her high school ways, you know?"

I nodded, turning back so that I was facing the bleachers. The girls were now scurrying away, although a couple of the cheerleaders hung back. Katie seemed to visibly relax as they struck up a conversation with her, and a moment later she was laughing.

One of them said something, and Katie looked around. A moment later, her eyes alighted on Kendall, and then on me. For a long moment, our gazes locked, eyes zoning into the others'. Time stilled, the earth froze in rotation, and there was no one else around us.

And then she blinked and turned her head, and I looked away as well, crossing my arms over my chest.

She hopped down from the bleachers and headed towards Kendall and me, cheerleading skirt rustling in the light breeze.

"Hey," she smiled as she reached us, giving Kendall a quick hug before facing me.

"Hey," I said quietly, adjusting my jacket just for something to do with my hands. "What was that with the other cheerleaders?"

"They wanted to do a routine that would have been a complete disaster. I couldn't let that happen."

"Ah."

She pressed her lips together, before nodding towards one of the buildings a little ways away from the football field. "I'm going to go shower and change, and then maybe we could all catch up?"

"Sounds like a plan," Kendall nodded, and I made a noise of agreement.

She flashed us another smile before hurrying away towards what I figured was the women's locker room.

Once she was out of sight, I looked at Kendall. "Okay. I'll do it. She can come live with me."

He beamed. "You won't regret this, I promise."

Too late. I already did regret it.

So, um...did you guys like it okay? Hate it? Possibly love it? Enjoy it? I know it's probably a little bit confusing, but things will be cleared up in the next few chapters, so I hope you decide to stick around for that.

On that note, if you guys could take a moment to let me know what you thought of it, I would really appreciate it! :)