Promises, Promises
By: Riley
Summary - Keep every promise you make and only make promises you can keep. Kendall/OC friendship.
It was a little chilly when Kendall arrived at the beach. He hugged his windbreaker closer around him as a light breeze tickled the hair on the back of his head. Walking further along the soft, grainy sand, the crescent waves crashed on shore creating a nice spray that sprinkled across his face every now and then. As he walked along, breathing in the saltiness of the air, his eyes scanned the water.
It was a beautiful sight really; some that people never really got a chance to see. The sunrise in Los Angeles was reminiscent to that of the one in snowy Minnesota. As the sun came up over the water, he had to shield his eyes from the glittering lights that bounced off it, much like it did when it snowed.
He walked up to the edge of the water, feeling the cold sand form between his toes as the air grew warmer as the seconds passed. Crossing his arms, he watched the figures in the water, those that had taken advantage of the bright and beautiful morning and wanted to go for a surf. He could see the line that bobbed up and down in the water on their boards, waiting for the wave that would come up for their turn. He watched long enough for the line to go through at least twice, watching as each wave was dominated by a person standing on top of a few inches thick of fiberglass and polyurethane.
Kendall smiled to himself, gently shaking his head. Of course he had picked up on some of the surfing lingo, he was in an area where going to the beach was as common as seeing surf shops down each street. Not only that, but there was the surfing-skater crowd that frequented the city as well as the state simply because of the life that was advertised there.
It had been what immediately drawn James in and while he himself had been skeptical about it, he had fallen into that trap as well, seeing Los Angeles more as his home than Minnesota. Wiggling his toes in the sand, he kneeled down and set a filled plastic bag on the ground before straightening and shielding his face from the sunlight. Green eyes scanning the horizon, he spotted a familiar figure just as they finished the ending of their ride, gliding through the dissipating wave before sinking back to their waist in the water.
Kendall waved an arm over his head and waited for a moment as the figure picked up the nose of their board and paddled towards the shore. Picking up the plastic bag, Kendall backed up a few paces away from the waves that continued to crash upon shore, the forma licking up towards his ankles.
"Hey," Riley Jackson-McGuire greeted Kendall as she jogged out of the surf, her surfboard tucked under her arm.
"Hey Riles," Kendall greeted her in return.
As soon as the Australian girl's feet hit the dry sand, she slowed to a saunter. "What are you doing here, Hockey-Head?" Casting him a confused glance with her blue eyes she strolled over to her belongings as they rested, untouched in their place. Raising her board high above her head, she swiftly brought it down, shoving the nose of the board into the sand.
"Well, you guys talk about being out here at sunrise for the…" He waved a hand as he tried to remember the correct wording. "Patrol…thing, and I wanted to check it out."
Dusting grains of sand off her hand, Riley turned to face him, her wet raven hair hanging in wavy strands around her face. "Dawn Patrol, mate," she corrected him with an amused smile. "And last I checked you guys are hard to wake up before the sun rises so excuse me if I don't particularly believe you, yeah?"
"We're not that bad," Kendall defended himself. He thought for a moment. "OK, James and Carlos are that bad," he conceded. "Carlos being that he is a very heavy sleeper, enough so that he didn't feel it the one time that Logan, James, and I took him out of his bed and duck taped him to the wall. And James is just a nut job when it comes to getting exactly eight hours of sleep for his 'beauty sleep'."
"My point exactly." Riley reached over and grabbed her large towel, drying herself off before reaching into the drawstring bag that sat by her surfboard and pulled on a pair of jean shorts and a tank top. Once she was dressed she looked at him seriously, eyebrows furrowed together for a moment. "Seriously, what's up?"
With a slight sigh, Kendall placed the plastic bag onto the ground. He wasn't too worried about the food growing cold. The rising sun continued to warm the air and would warm the sand as well. "I wanted to thank you," he said honestly.
"I'm sure you have plenty of reasons for that, but you're going to have to be a bit more specific, yeah?" Riley's eyebrows continued to bunch together then an expression of clarity slid over her face. "Oh, the whole Jo thing," she said and Kendall nodded. Smirking, she reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "No worries, Hockey-Head, the next time you want me to publicly humiliate you, just let me know. I'd be glad to do it again." She laughed and Kendall lightly rolled his eyes. Riley's smirk then faded and she let out a sigh. "Actually, I wanted to apologize to you about that. It wasn't my place to—"
"I said I wanted to thank you, didn't I?" Kendall broke in. He sat down on the sand, stretching out his legs. Riley followed his lead. Sitting down, she picked up her towel and started to run it over her damp hair. "You were right, Riles. Whining and moaning about something I couldn't change…especially when I wanted her to go…it wasn't helping anybody let alone myself." He looked out towards the water for a moment then rubbed at his mouth before turning back to her with a warm smile. "That massive game of manhunt you organized was really fun. And it really took my mind off things."
"You're welcome, Hockey-Head," Riley replied. The two were silent for a moment, smiling at each other and then Riley spoke up again. "I know you feel, though," she said. "I mean, Jo hasn't been gone long and despite the tough love that I've given you to get over it and move on, I know it won't be easy." She ran a hand through her hair. "When we first came out here to LA to start working on our album for the American market, I broke up with my boyfriend before coming."
"Really?" Kendall was surprised. Not only did she make it perfectly clear that she wasn't interested in dating when they first met—James had incessantly asked her and her twin sister before he got the hint—but she never talked much about her past or the relationships she had before. As they had gone on to get to know each other she had told them that she had boyfriends she would rather not mention, so this was the first he was hearing about it.
"Mhm."
"How long were you together?"
"Almost a year, it really depends when you'd considering our anniversary is, but long enough. I wasn't in love with him." Her eyes darkened slightly. "But the first couple of weeks after having left weren't apples. I was pretty fucking depressed over it, but it was mostly having gone from my home to a new place where things were really different, yeah?"
Dropping her towel, she started to dig her fingers into the sand. "But I got some tough love…" she gave a sarcastic laugh. "Which was one of the few things that Robert did right, admittedly." She shrugged. "And I moved on, focused my attention on my music and things got better." She turned her head, brushing her cheek with her shoulder. "Of course having to dominate at manhunt was never in the plan, but it was a great side effect either way."
Kendall laughed. "I'm sure you just had to get that one dig in."
"Its part of my charm, Hockey-Head," she said with an air of modesty.
"Or, Ri, you were dying to say it."
"You know me too well."
"I should,"—he held her gaze—"you're my best friend." He smiled a little as he watched Riley do her best to keep from allowing her surprise to register in her face. Her cheek twitched for a moment and then the surprise broke through before she slowly started to smile. Or was it a smirk? He could never really tell the difference between the two. Logan always said that he could tell, not that it would matter now. He and Riley weren't friends anymore, despite the childhood that they had shared and it didn't look like they were going to make-up anytime soon.
"Really?" She asked, sounding a bit skeptical.
"Really," Kendall insisted. He held up a finger. "Best friend that's a girl, anyway." He bobbed his head back and forth. "James would kill me if I didn't say the he was my best bud." Riley laughed, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"I can see that," she admitted. "That harsh stare that he gives…you may as well start digging your own fucking grave." Leaning forward, she wrapped her arms around her knees, scratching at the back of her right hand, where the tail of a dragon tattoo rested, the rest of it body twisting up her arm, the head resting on her shoulder.
"Be glad you haven't been on the receiving end of them."
Riley tilted her head to the side, her smile (or was it a smirk) widening. "I've heard my glares are much worse."
Kendall laughed. "That too," he agreed. He shifted his leg, bumping into the bag that he had set on the ground. "Oh!" He picked up the bag and placed it in front of him, starting to untie the knot in the bag. "I brought some breakfast."
"Hang on a tick." Riley gently pushed at the bag with her right index finger, as if afraid that the contents inside would leap out and bite her. "You didn't make it did you?"
His eyes swiftly lifted to meet hers as he slightly gritted his teeth. "I told you before, I can cook. I've cooked for Mother's Day, for Thanksgiving, and for myself and Katie for years."
"And, frankly, it's a miracle that your sister and mother are still alive." Riley laughed again and Kendall ignored her, finishing untying the bag and taking out two Styrofoam boxes. Opening one, he examined the contents before handing it out to her. Riley took it and looked over the pancakes and bacon, using the plastic fork to lift the bottom, checking to see if there were any chocolate chips, before smiling and cutting out a large piece of it. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Kendall took a bite of his French toast and nodded over to the waves where the lineup was still being run through. "You looked really good out there."
"Are you talking about me or my surfing?" Riley shot back. She continued before he could reply, her voice taking an air of wistfulness. "Did you know that I used to surf competitively?" Kendall shook his head, still chewing. "Pat and I did. Actually, I was close to going pro, I had a few sponsors and was starting to be scouted, but then our music became so big and I couldn't keep up with it anymore." She looked out towards the water, nose wrinkling for a minute. "Every now and then I wonder what would've happened if I kept competing, continuing to go travel around, surfing the biggest breaks, making a living off of that. But…then I probably wouldn't be as close to my family as I am now.
"Don't get me wrong, I love making music, I love performing, I love my band, I love my family. I love everything the band has given us. But surfing had always been my first love...we're such a water family. Mum and Dad, we would always go back and forth from the beach and the lake so we could surf and wakeboard. They wanted to support all of us in what we did, me and Pat in surfing, Rhu and No in wakeboarding, Julius and Sydney always did both. I love the water, but surfing is my life...and I can't help but wonder 'what if' ever now and then. Just like dancing, in general, is Rhu's first love. Apart from the fact that I love the water in general. A lot of fans ask why don't I go back to do it, but then I would be stopping the band and I don't want that either. Hopefully sometime in the future I'll be able to do it again."
Kendall made a humming sound, cutting another piece of his French toast. It had started to turn cold but he didn't really mind. "Have you ever told anyone that before?" Riley shook her head. "So why'd you tell me?"
She didn't respond until she polished off her pancakes and started in the bacon. "You're my best friend," she said matter-of-fact, finally turning away from the water once more. Tilting her head once more, she gave him a challenging smile, eyes flashing. "I mean, if you can handle it, Hockey-Head."
"Don't worry about me," Kendall raised a hand. "I can handle myself."
"Besides, after all of the time that we spent helping you guys, I kind of have to be." She encased her arms around her upraised legs once more. "The one piece of advice you need to remember about the music industry is that you only have your friends to fall back on. Besides, you helped me out a lot more than I would've liked, admittedly, and the least I can do is the same."
"You already have," Kendall reassured her. "In a lot of different ways." Which was certainly the truth.
Not only had she helped him and his best friends out with their band, having been their wardrobe stylist for as long as they had been around, but for giving advice of people to avoid and work with in the music industry. Then there was the fact that she had helped him out when dealing with his confused feelings about his father being back in LA which was one of the hardest things to deal with. Then there was his dwindling relationship with Jo when they slowly started to fight more and more before she had gone off to New Zealand to film her movies.
Of course she had to be as mysterious as ever and only give advice in a way that he figured it out himself, answering his questions with a question, only getting straight to the point when she felt the time was right.
"And the way I see it, if you got my back, I got yours," he said.
Riley's eyebrow hiked upwards. "Is that a promise you can keep?"
He thought for a moment and then smiled; the familiar glint of his getting an idea came to his eyes. "You just gave me an idea." He reached into his pockets and pulled out his cell phone. He turned on the camera feature and held the phone up to her. Riley immediately brought her hands up and pushed the phone away. "Come on!" He laughed, knocking her hands down. "I need to document this."
"Not when my hair's a mess," she denied.
"You look fine, Ri"
"If by 'fine' you mean my naturally dreading hair and salt water running out of m nose, then you've hit the nail on the head." Kendall batted her hands away and she huffed, dropping her them to her lap. "Fine! What is it that you're documenting?"
"A pact to our friendship," Kendall replied, looking at her thorough the viewfinder of his phone. "We need to make some rules." He thought for a second. "Like…always tell the truth."
Riley tapped her finger against her chin as she thought for a moment. "And always give the benefit of the doubt." She bobbed her head back and forth. "Which probably won't really work, since I rarely, if ever, give more than second chances." Her eyes shifted. "Don't belittle the other person's problems."
"Kendall gave her a pointed look. "Oh really?"
"Hey! I tease, I don't belittle. There's a difference." She reached out and grabbed his phone, turning it around so that it was pointing at him. "What else?"
"You have to watch your language around Katie."
"You have to stop using so many hockey anecdotes and I reserve the right to roll my eyes and scoff when you do."
"Just as long as I can do it when you call me Hockey-Head."
"Fine."
Kendall took the phone back from the Australian girl and focused it as he tried to think of something else that could go into the pact. "No matter how much life gets in the way, we don't let it get in the way of our friendship."
Riley nodded, her eyes lighting up. "And on the reverse side, no matter what happens in our friendship, it doesn't get brought into work. Especially since I don't mix business with pleasure." She reached out and poked him in the chest. "And to go along with that, depending on the circumstance, we don't get into each other's business. If it's something we want the other to know, we'll tell them."
"And…as is the point of a friendship…we promise to be there for each other," Kendall said.
"No matter what," Riley agreed.
"Promise?"
"Promise." Kendall saved the video on his phone and lowered it back down, replacing it into his pocket. The two then did their secret handshake, smiling. Hearing Riley's chuckle, he looked over at her. "It's just as well, Kendork; you wouldn't know what do to without me around."
"You have a high opinion of yourself don't you think?"
She snorted. "Please, Kendoll. You blokes would be stuck wearing that stupid Red, White, and Boy outfits that Rocque Records had picked out for you if I hadn't stepped in and actually made you look decent."
"Excuse me." Now Kendall held up a finger. "But I believe I was the one that had managed to round my friends up and made it so that Gustavo would listen to what it was that we wanted in our band." He smirked back at her. "I don't think you could've done that."
"Not without potentially going to jail, no," Riley admitted, causing the two to start laughing.
"I think that'd be a public service more than anything else, Riles," Kendall added. The two laughed even harder, clutching their sides and gasping for air by the time they had managed to calm themselves down. "Speaking of which, I think I have to get to Rocque Records for work on my vocals."
"Did you take the bus here?" Riley asked as he gathered up his things. "I can drive you over. I'm sure there's some hard labor that Gustavo wants me to do, anyway." She reached out and slapped him on the arm. "As a matter of fact, I'll bring No with me. I'm sure he wants to play a rematch in Ping-Pong."
Kendall gave her a slightly annoyed look. "Not when he beat me out of twenty bucks last time."
Riley threw her head back and laughed. "I love my brother," she declared.
"I'm sure you do, if it has anything to do with embarrassing me in some way you're all for it."
"Pretty much, Hockey-Head."
Kendall helped Riley fold her towel and replace it into her drawstring bag then waited for her to take her surfboard out of the ground. The two walked back towards the car park to get to her car. He slowly started to smile once more, causing Riley to roll her navy blue irises towards him. "What?"
"The last thing to add!" He declared. "I'm going to find a nickname for you that annoys the hell out of you. It may take a while, but I'll find one."
"Good luck with that, mate," Riley said.
The two smiled at each other.
"I don't know where we're going from here, but I can promise one thing,"—Kendall crossed his arms, grinning—"it certainly won't be boring."
THE END