No Copyright Intended
Featuring Music from Keith Urban and Chris Daughtry,
The day he came into the Victorian Hotel in Ferndale that one August 14, 2010 was the day gravity stopped holding me to the earth. Well, the day after to be precise. Him and his rowdy group of friends just waltzed in the lobby and up to the front and asked for a table and a room.
"A please would be nice." I said, irritated.
He leaned in flashing a smile. "Please?"
I'm sorry, sir. I'm afraid you have to wait for the table. Can I have a name?" I asked.
"You don't know who I am?" He said.
Of course I did.
"I'm sorry, sir. I'm afraid I don't know. Will you tell me your name so I can check you into my hotel?"
He sighed. "Just put it under the name Big Time Rush."
"Oh, you're that boy band that sings on Nickelodeon."
"Yeah, that's righ"-
"I always thought that if you were on Nick or Disney Channel it meant that you couldn't get an acting career."
"Hey! I tried out for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation once!" The tall one said.
"James!" Blondie cried. "Shut up! Let me handle this."
He turned back to me, his smile a little strained. "Just give us our room. Actually, give us two rooms. With a connecting door between."
I typed into the computer. I entered their names and asked for I.D. He flashed another smile, him being all tall, dirty blonde and eyebrows, and pulled his wallet out of his perceptibly tight pants and pulled out his card of identification. I took it, looked at it, and handed it back.
"Well, Kendall, Room 207 and 208. I'll send someone up when your table is ready."
He winked at me and they walked over to the elevators. I sat down and rubbed my forehead.
About five minutes later I walked up to room 207. I knocked and James opened the door.
"Well, hello." He said.
I nodded. "Your table is ready. Come quickly or it will be gone." I walked back down to the restaurant with the boys hot on my tail.
"So, are you doing anything tonight?" Kendall asked.
"You mean besides work? No not at all."
"Well, I know a tall, handsome boy who would like to take you out tonight after dinner for the time of your life."
"Wow that would be a great pickup line if you wanted to be single until you were eighty."
"But by the time I was eighty I wouldn't be able to pick up hot girls anymore."
"Exactly."
He gave up and walked behind me. I sat them down at a table and took their order. I gave them their food and walked away. I went around the corner, and sighed. What was I going to do about those boys?
The next day, I was serving Kendall and his Latino friend breakfast when I overheard them talking.
"You know how in those weird Twilight books when a werewolf sees that one person, gravity doesn't hold them to the earth anymore?" Kendall said.
"Oh, don't tell me you fell in love with the waitress." The Latino boy said. "Crap, Kendall, c'mon! Both James and Logan like her also, and remember Jo? That didn't work out so well, are you sure you want to rush into another relationship?"
"I don't know what I did or what she did, Carlos, but she has got me rapt and I can't stop thinking about her. Oh, and that way she turned me down last night that was kind of hot. She didn't even blink an eye. And I am SO over Jo."
"Ok, here's what you're gonna do…" They started whispering.
I walked in and gave Carlos his pancakes. When I turned to leave, I felt a hand on my arm. I turned. Kendall had stood and was looking at me with some sort of emotion. Veneration? No. Love. He came forward abruptly and laid his lips against mine. My eyes grew wide. THIS WAS THEIR PLAN? HOW INCREDIBLY… sweet. He pulled away.
He raised his eyebrows.
"You kissed back." He said. He had to ruin the moment. I did the natural thing. I turned away like I was leaving, then suddenly I turned and smacked him across the face. His head snapped to the side. He looked at me, complete revelation spreading over his face. I smirked. As I was walking away, I fought to keep a smile off my face. Carlos looked at me funny and my smile faded.
"What the hell are you looking at?"
"Nothing"
"Well, then keep your goddamn cheaters of me."
I was folding a lady's laundry when Kendall walked into the laundry room with James and that nerdy kid. When he saw me he turned towards his friends and said,
"Hey James and Logan, BEAT IT!"
They left and he came over.
"What'cha doin'?" He said. I looked at him like he was the clueless person in the world.
"I am folding Mrs. LaDaen's laundry."
"Oh, about this morning, I am sorry, it's just I do like you and Carlos filled my head with the idea"—
I stopped him short with a kiss. When I pulled away, I smiled.
"No need to apologize. I didn't mind it. But, next time you pull stunts like that…don't." I said. He laughed.
"Sorry."
"No prob. But, can we keep this from your friends? They too seem besotted with me."
"Sure. So, would you reconsider that date?" He asked.
"Consider it done. I get off from work at 7:30. What do you want to do?"
"I was wondering if we could go to the Ivanhoe Restaurant across the street for a late dinner and then to the Fortuna Theatre to see the movie Salt. I hear that Angelina Jolie is, like, female Jason Bourne." He struck a ninja pose.
I laughed. "I guess a movie couldn't hurt. But the Ivanhoe is a really posh restaurant. Do you have enough money?"
He scoffed. "Of course."
"Leave"
I threw a pair of Mrs. LaDaen's underwear at him. He caught it.
"You missed me and you have gained nothing in making me leave."
"Yes I have."
He looked down at what was in his hand. He dropped it, screamed like a girl with a mannish voice, and ran out of the laundry room.
"And I have also gained the gratification of watching him screaming like a girl." I said to no one in particular.
He stuck his head back in the room.
"I never caught your name." He said.
"My name is Allejandra."
"Can I call you Allie?" He asked.
"No."
"Fine."
Kendall—
When Allejandra walked out of the lobby she was wearing a blue dress and had blue gunk on her lips and she looked absolutely miserable.
"What the hell is on your face?"
"The housekeeping staff thought I would look funny with blue lipstick on and now I can't get it off."
It was then I noticed that she had a tissue in her hand that was covered in blue yet her lips were still a deep shade of cobalt.
"Well, I think you look good." I said, and she did. I mean, c'mon, I have seen plenty of other girls with dark skin tones who wear blue lipstick and they look like they just downed a box of blueberry popsicles. It is NOT a pretty sight. But Allejandra pulled it off, kinda like how Mercedes pulls off being obnoxious. They really work it. I took her arm and led her over the crosswalk and to the Ivanhoe. We were seated, and we both ordered chocolate pie.
"Dessert before dinner. Nice." She said, smiling.
After dinner, we took the limo over to the Ferndale fairgrounds. Allejandra looked confused.
"Fortuna's that way." She said, pointing to or right.
"I know, but the Humboldt County Fair is here and I am going to take you on the Merry-Go-Round."
"You do realize how lame that is, right?"
"Ferris Wheel, sorry, I meant Ferris Wheel."
We got out of the limo and walked over to the rides. Twenty-five dollars is a lot for a wristband. We walked over to the Ferris Wheel and that was when Allejandra started freaking out.
"Kendall, I don't want to go on the Ferris Wheel." She said.
"Why?" I asked. She mumbled something I couldn't hear. "What?"
"I'm acrophobic. I'm afraid of heights." I laughed.
"Don't worry, I got you." We got on and she sat close to me. The wheel jerked upward and she grabbed onto my arm. We went around a few times and got stuck up at the top and that was just enough for Allejandra.
"I wanna get off." She wailed, almost in tears. I took her hand squeezed it.
"It's okay, I've got you." I said. She placed her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes. We started moving again and we got off at the bottom.
"Ohmagawd, Kendall, let's dance."
"You were just crying and scared to death." I protested, but she was already pulling me towards the music. We stopped in a cluster of old people and she put her arms around my neck as I curled mine around her waist. We rocked back and forth turning in a small circle.
"I think… I love you." I said as I leaned down. I kissed her on the lips and she smiled as she kissed back. I smiled too, and burst out laughing.
"What?" She said. I just kept laughing and she soon joined in and we laughed until a bunch of old couples were all like,
"Shush." We stifled our laughter and kept kissing until we heard,
"Allejandra!"
We broke apart and turned. A familiar face was running towards us. He stopped and stared at me.
"Wayne-Wayne?" I cried.
"Kendork?" He said. He turned towards Allejandra. "This is your new boyfriend now? You would do better looking in the sack."
"Aw, shut your face, Wayne!" Allejandra cried. "Nobody likes a green-eyed dickwad."
"Back off from my girl, Kendork or I'll rip your head off."
I laughed. "Even try. You're so short you can't reach anyway. Oh, and I'd say the same thing to you about your dick, but I can't, because you don't have one."
Wayne-Wayne growled. Literally, he growled. Like, Garr Garrr Grrr, and rushed at me. I pushed him away.
"Kendall!" A new voice cried and a brown person wearing a helmet crashed into Wayne-Wayne. Another person tackled him also. Carlos and Logan! James walked over and smiled.
"Oh, I have always wanted to see that guy his ass trampled." He turned towards me. "When were you going to divulge?"
"Sorry."
"No matter. Now put your arm around her shoulder or waist or something so I can take a picture of you." James pulled out a camera. I wrapped my arm around her waist but she pushed me away.
"What?"
"Oh, shut up Kendall Schmidt. You talk too much." She jumped into my arms and I held her like how the prince holds the princess in those corny movies. She kissed me and James snapped the picture.
"Kendall, you're blushing." He laughed. I threw a wad of grass and he shrieked.
"Not the hair!" He pulled out his lucky comb and started combing out bits of grass. We laughed and continued dancing, once again busting up when James started dancing with an old lady and laughing again when Logan and Carlos danced the Virginia Reel in front of us. Life was…pleasurable.
ELEVEN MONTHS LATER, 4TH OF JULY
Allejandra—
"WWHHOOAA!"
Everybody in Rohner Park in Fortuna gasped. Big Time Rush and I were lying on a blanket in the order of Logan, Carlos, James, me and Kendall. We were almost directly under each shower of flamboyantly incandescent pieces of gunpowder. I was trying to have a good time, but I couldn't. Kendall had just given me the news that he would be going back to L.A, the next day. Whatever he was doing in Ferndale was over and he was now done in Humboldt County. He was flying back from the Arcata airport all the way to LAX.
"I promise, no I swear, baby, I'll be back again." He whispered. "And you'll come to me soon, and I promise, I'll wait for you until you get to LA."
I was going down a couple years later. After I finished my internship at the Victorian Inn I was going down To LA also after having Kendall catch me singing 'Happy Birthday' to myself last December. He had persuaded me to pursue a career in singing. I wasn't so sure, but I trusted his judgment. At least, I did.
FIVE YEARS LATER
I walked out of LAX and hailed a cab. We drove me to the Palm Woods and I got out in the front. I walked into the lobby, checked in, dropped my stuff into my room, changed into my bathing suit, threw a top and shorts on, and walked to the pool. I saw James and walked towards him. He did a double take when he saw me, but his surprise quickly faded into happiness.
"Allejandra!" He cheered. He patted the lounge chair next to him and I sat down.
"Where's Kendall?" I asked. James shrugged.
"Off with Logan and Carlos."
Suddenly, Carlos and Logan walked in from the lobby. When they saw me, they stopped.
"Where's Kendall?" I said. They started stuttering all over themselves.
"UUHH, we are really sorry, Allejandra."
"What are you sorry for?" Just then, Kendall walked in with a strange girl with blonde hair and brown highlights. He whispered something in her ear and she smiled.
"We're sorry, but as soon as he got back, Jo here came up to him and asked, well, begged his forgiveness and being the pansy that he is, he forgave her." James explained.
I couldn't speak. My mouth hung slightly open and I couldn't speak.
James got up and came closer.
"Allejandra, I'm"- James started, but I cut him off with an incensed glare. He backed off. I walked up to Kendall and cleared my throat. He turned. His eyes grew wide when he saw me. I slapped him.
"The next time you pull stunts like that…DON'T!"
"Jo" looked at me like I was in a straightjacket.
"Who the hell are you?"
"I'm Kendall's girlfriend. At least, I was." I looked back at Kendall. "You don't call, you don't write. Me, personally, I thought you were, like, dead or something. Now I'm glad you're not, 'cause I'm gonna kill you myself."
Jo looked confused. "Kendall, what is she talking about?"
He looked frantic, moving his gaze back and forth between us. He spilled the story of meeting me. Everything, from me telling him off, to Wayne-Wayne getting tackled, to kissing me and telling me that he would wait for me until I would come to LA.
Now Jo looked irate.
"Why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend?" She fumed.
"I-I-I"
"You sing, right Kendall? Well here's a song for you." I took a breath:
"Another long summer's come and gone But I close my eyes and one more time You had to go I understand I got a job workin' at the old park pier And then I close my eyes and one more time You had to go I understand And it comes around Oh and I close my eyes and you and I
I don't know why it always ends this way
The boardwalk's quiet and the carnival rides
Are as empty as my broken heart tonight
We're spinnin' around and you're holdin' on tightly
The words came out, I kissed your mouth
No Fourth of July has ever burned so brightly
But you promised you'd be back again
And so I wander around that town
Till summer comes around
And every summer now for five long years
I grease the gears, fix the lights, tighten bolts, and straighten the tracks
And I count the days till you just might come back
We're spinnin' around and you're holdin' on tightly
The words came out, I kissed your mouth
No Fourth of July has ever burned so brightly
But you swore that you'd be back again
And so I'm frozen in this town
Till summer comes around
Are stuck on the Ferris wheel rockin' with the motion
And hand in hand I cried you laughed
Knowin' that love belonged to us, boy, if only for a moment
"Baby I'll be back again", you whispered in my ear
But now the winter wind is the only sound
And everythin' is closin' down
Till summer comes around"
I paused.
"How do you like them apples?"
Kendall looked from me to Jo and back to me. He shook his head.
"This is wasting my time." He turned towards me. "You and I were never meant to be…"
I slapped him a second time.
He turned towards Jo. "…and you, truthfully, you're a bitch."
Jo slapped him across the other cheek. We both stood with our arms crossed, glaring at him. He shook his head again and stormed out. A few minutes later all of us heard a car driving out of the lot.
"The BTR Mobile!" Carlos cried.
"Well," Jo said, "This was… interesting."
I turned towards her, but James and Logan held me back, while Carlos put his helmet on my head and urged me on. But Jo held her hands up in surrender.
"I am so sorry. I didn't know that he had met someone, and I just wanted him back. If I had known, I would have kept my distance."
I shrugged. "That's okay. I would've done the same thing."
The boys stared at me. "So, you're not going to beat her up?" James asked. I shrugged again.
"Not today at least." I looked at him. "Hand me your cell phone."
"Why don't you just use yours?"
"Because it's still upstairs."
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it over. I dialed a number and listened to it ring.
"Who are you calling?"
"Humboldt State University. I'm going there for college to get my degree so I can be a detective. Hello?" A voice answered on the other side. I had a nice long conversation. "Yes sir. Four years sir? I'll do it in two." I hung up. I dialed another number and talked on that for about five minutes. I hung up, grabbed my towel, handed James his phone back, and started towards the lobby.
"Where are you going?" Jo and Logan harmonized. I looked at them.
"To check out."
"Why?"
"I'm leaving. I have a seat booked for the first flight to the Arcata airport." I walked to the lobby and dinged the bell. "hey, Botters, or whatever your name is." He came out.
"It's Bitters."
Whatever. I'm checking out." I checked out, and took the elevator up to room 2K.
"Whoa, you were right next to us?" Carlos asked.
"Yeah."
I grabbed my suitcase and headed out the door. I said my good-byes and hailed a cab to LAX. On the way, I got a call. I looked at the Caller ID and sighed. I flipped open my phone,
"Whaddya want Kendall?"
"I'm ten miles from town I'm out here alone Believe me I won't stop for nothin' All that I'm after
And I just broke down
Spitting out smoke on the side of the road
Just tryin' to get home
to tell you I was wrong
but you already know
to see you, so I've started runnin'
is a life full of laughter
As long as I'm laughing with you
All that still matters
is lovin' the laughter
Without you God knows what I'd do
'Cause I know there's know life after you
The last time we talked I must've been high
the night that I walked
Burns like and iron in the back of my mind
to say you and I
weren't meant to be
And just wastin' my time
Oh, why did I ever doubt you? All that I'm after is a life full of laughter You and I, right or wrong, there's no other one All that I'm after is a life full of laughter All that I'm after is a life full of laughter "Don't bother Kendall, I'm leaving."
You know I would die here without you
As long as I'm laughin' with you
I'm thinkin' that all that still matters is love ever after
After the life we've been through
'Cause I know there's no life after you
After this time I spent alone
It's hard to believe that a man with sight could be so blind
Thinkin' 'bout the better times, must've been outta my mind
So I'm runnin' back to tell you
Without you God knows what I'd do, yeah
As long as I'm laughin' with you
I'm thinkin' 'bout all that still matters is love ever after
After the life we've been through, yeah
Know there's no life after you"
"What?" Came the reply.
"I'm leaving. I'm going to college. I am sorry, though. I did think that you and I could work out. I'm kinda disappointed, yet kinda relieved."
"But"-
"Good-bye Kendall Schmidt." I hung up and leaned my head against the window as tears poured down my face. I closed my eyes to stop the flow, but they squeezed out from under my eyelids anyway. Oh, Kendall, I'm sorry, but it's much too late for apologies.
TWO YEARS LATER
TO THE DAY
I pulled my blue Elin trench coat over my blue Vicuna Wool shirt and my blue Bullhead skinny jeans. I had just come out of the Hairdresser after getting the tips of my dark brown hair dyed blue. I like blue. I stepped out in the street in my black Jimmy Choux stilettos. I hailed a taxi and sped down the street past Rodeo Drive. I got off at the corner and walked the rest of the way to a small building. I walked in, said hello to my secretary, and walked into another room. I paused halfway in and looked at the elegant letters on the front of the door. They said,
Allejandra Figueiredo
Mowhawkee Detective Agency
Los Angeles, CA
I smiled and closed the door behind me. I was barely at my desk when I heard my secretary Jennifer talking to someone. I could hear her laughing. My dear Jennifer Pecot, you have a boyfriend, and I do not believe that that is who you are talking to. The door opened and I buried my nose in a book. I have had too many failed relationships and I was not going to let charm get to me.
"You know, I never liked the book, The Color Purple." A familiar voice said. Where had I heard that voice before? I looked up and grinned.
"Well, well, James Maslow. What did I do to achieve such a visit?"
He cracked a cheesy grin then got serious. "I want you to find someone."
"Who?"
"You're not gonna like this, but, uh, I-WE want you to find Kendall."
"Who are we?" The door opened again revealing Logan and Carlos.
"Allejandra! Looking good!" Carlos said. I came around the desk and hugged them both. James stared at my clothing, then at my coat which I had taken off and hung on a coat rack.
"Ohmagawd, are you wearing what I think you're wearing?" I nodded and turned in a circle. James came over and rubbed his fingers on my shirt.
"Is this Vicuña Wool?"
"Oh yeah."
"How'd you get it? It's, like, $1,700 a yard."
I smiled plainly. "I helped a fashion designer convict his rival. He gave me the whole outfit, well, except the skinny jeans. I got those at Pac Sun."
"I never thought that a small town girl like you would end up with an Elin trench coat, a Vicuña Wool shirt, and…" He looked at my shoes, and then gasped. "Are those Jimmy Choux?"
"Well, someone knows their way around fashion. Now, about Kendall, no, I will not help you. I can't pull myself into this again. Not now."
James sighed. "well, there's no changin' your mind, but, if you do change it, here's my number." He set a card and a piece of folded up paper on my desk and left with the other guys.
"How long have you been waiting to give her your number?" Logan asked.
"About seven years and eleven months."
I looked at the card and sighed. I turned to leave, got my coat on, and remembered something. I turned and picked up the piece of paper. I unfolded it, gasped, dropped it, and backed away.
On the paper was a picture. The picture: A certain boy, well, I guess he'd be a man now and a certain young woman in his arms, pressing her lips against his.
Tears poured out of my eyes and I collapsed on the floor, crying softly into my hands. Jennifer walked in the door and kneeled down beside me.
"You okay, girlie?"
I shook my head. "I ain't ever gonna be okay 'til I find him, am I?"
Jennifer shook her head. "You know, I know you still love him, so go find him. Even if it opens a whole chest full of memories. Just give him that spunk you got in that awesome personality of yours."
Five minutes later, a voice picked up on a certain cell phone.
"James, Meet me at the coffee shop in a half-hour and we'll discuss the case."
I had started pacing when the boys showed up to the café. We sat down at a table and started talking.
"When was the last time you saw him?" I asked. James thought hard.
"About a half-hour after you left to LAX two years ago, he came back to the Palm Woods, packed his stuff, and left. We think he went back to Minnesota, but we're not really sure."
I pulled a laptop out of my bag, started it up and started typing. The boys crowded around me and gaped at what I was doing.
"You do know that hacking into someone's credit card files and phone records is illegal, right?" Logan asked.
"Which is why you're not gonna tell anyone, right?" I said. He nodded.
"My lips are sealed."
"Good." I said as I pulled up an address. I put my computer away, picked my bag up off the floor and walked out the door, the boys on my tail.
"You guys are idiots sometimes. He's been in LA for the past two years. He never left." I hailed a taxi and got in, giving the driver Kendall's address. I looked at the boys.
"You coming or what?" They climbed in and we sped off.
Upon arriving at the small house at the edge of town we climbed out and walked up to the door. Carlos knocked and Kendall opened the door. He dropped the plate he was carrying and stared.
"Hey, Kendall." I said. He looked behind me and gasped.
"Hey, dude." The boys chorused.
"Um, come in." He stepped aside and we walked in his house. We passed a clean kitchen and a nice dining room and stopped in the living room.
"Do you own the place or are you tenanting?" Logan asked.
"Tenanting." Kendall replied.
I chose a chair and sat down. Kendall eyed me and gestured at the couch.
"Sit down if you like." The boys sat down and an awkward silence fell on the room.
"So…" I said.
"So…" Kendall repeated.
He turned to me. "Why'd you come?"
"James, Carlos, and Logan came to me asking if I would help them find you."
"Yeah, she even hacked into your credit card files and phone records." Logan spilled.
Kendall's eyes narrowed.
"LOGAN HENDERSON YOUR LIPS WERE SEALED!" I exclaimed.
"Sorry."
"You. Hacked. Into. My. WHAT?"
"It was the only way I could find you. It was either that, or call up every single Schmidt in every single phone book for every single county in every single state in these United States of America"
"You know, you could have just called me. I never changed my number."
"I knew that."
"You mean you never erased me your contacts?" Kendall laughed. He kept laughing and soon enough his friends joined in. Mortified, and with my face crimson, I got up, picked up my bag, and stated very plainly,
"I never erased you from my heart, either."
That stopped them short.
"What?" Kendall said, incredulity marring his face. I turned and walked to the door as a pretty, blonde woman walked into the living room.
"Oh, Kendall has friends over?" She asked.
"Obviously. And I'm not over, I'm gone." I walked past her and into the kitchen. Kendall dashed out after me and slipped. He regained his balance and kept walking after me. He grabbed my arm and stopped me.
"What are you saying; you never erased me from your heart?" Something dawned on him. "Did you mean…"
"Yes, Kendall, I meant that I'm still in love with you. I have cried myself to sleep every night for the past two years. I tried to get you out of my head, I got rid of everything that reminded me of you, I've been in several different relationships that all failed because I couldn't stop thinking about you and you just threw me away like a dead trout." Tears started resurfacing again. "Two years, Kendall. To the day."
I wiped away tears and glanced at the crowd that had formed in the door to the living room.
"Oh, go away."
Kendall came closer. Even though I was wearing high heels, he was still half a head taller than me. He opened his mouth to say something, changed his mind, and pressed his lips against mine. The crowd smiled and 'Awwwed' Kendall and I looked over.
"Oh, go"-
"Leaving."
Kendall picked me up and sat me on the counter. He placed his hands on my waist and kissed me again as I rested my hands right where his neck connected with his shoulders. I smiled.
"You know; since I haven't seen you for, like, two years, so, let's go…quickly, so we can catch up."
"Would you marry me?"
"Slow down there, Turbo. Not that quickly."
"Well then, how about a movie?"
"Sounds good. But this time, we actually are going to the Fortuna Theatre." I said. He raised and eyebrow and smiled lopsidedly.
"So we're going to fly all the way to Fortuna just to see a movie?"
"Yep."
"Fine." He said.
"Fine." I said.
And together,
"FINE!"