Blindsided
By: Riley
Summary – Being dressed for a simple night out became so much more than a favor that was just trying to be repaid. James/OC. For NinjaBrownie
"So, I know this is really last minute, but I need you to do me a favor." James pressed his hands together and gave Riley Jackson-McGuire a pleading look as he looked down at her. She raised an eyebrow as she closed the door to apartment 2J behind her. She had just stepped through the door and was bombarded by the question. Turning her head, she looked at her twin, Rhuben, who was standing beside her, looking just as curious.
"Can I at least breathe first?" Riley asked, taking a step around him, to go greet, Kendall, Logan, and Carlos, who were coming down the swirly slide. "Hey boys, what's up?"
"Hey!" Carlos was the first one off of the floor. He leapt up and crushed both girls in a hug. "Sweet, now that you guys are here, we can really have some fun!" He looked over at Kendall and Logan before looking back at Riley and Rhuben. "Do you guys want to be part of the newest PalmWoods 500 derby?"
"Was that the same one that you did where you broke everything in the PalmWoods and Gustavo got so mad that he forced you all to work?" Rhuben crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. She smirked as she snapped her fingers. "Yeah, and that was when Kendall and Logan tried babysitting and then ended up getting me and Riles to help them."
"You've been spending too much time with us if you can equate everything we do now with something stupid we did back then," Kendall pointed out, looking annoyed.
"Stupid is as stupid does, Hockey-Head," Riley said with a smirk. Kendall smirked back at her.
Though Kendall did a have a point.
Big Time Rush, and Riley and Rhuben, who were part of the band, the DarkElements, had been working together and had been friends for two years and while the guys continued to do stupid things to fix whatever problem they had before, the girls had been around them so much t that they were easily able to guess whenever the guys were having some sort of problem. It didn't help that they, and their brothers, seemed to make their problems worse before it got better, but they were always there to help them, no questions asked.
James sighed loudly, impatiently getting everyone's attention. He placed his hands on his hips and looked over at Riley before giving a wide, charming smile. "So I have this event that I'm going to tonight and I know that it's short notice, and I know that you don't work for us anymore, but I was hoping that you could help style me for it."
"Like right now?" Rhuben pointed at the floor. "I thought we came over so we could meet up before going to the amusement park, Handsome."
"And we will, Beautiful, we will," James agreed. "Right after she helps me with the event that I need to go to."
"That depends on what event this is," Riley said slowly. She jumped and looked around as Kendall, Logan, and Carlos all groaned loudly. Riley looked over at Rhuben, who shrugged in reply. The two then tried to figure out what the other three boys were complaining about, while James tried to talk over them, saying that they were jealous and there was really nothing else that would cause them to react in such an exaggerated way.
"Hey!" Rhuben held her hands up into the air, her loud cry getting the guys to stop. "Ok," she said calmly. "Now, what is the event that you're talking about? And why are these guys…" she jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "Chucking a spaz?"
"I'm going to an event by some organization called Young Hollywood," James explained. He flicked his hair out of his face with a shake of his head. "And they're jealous because they weren't invited to go."
"Oh that." Rhuben waved a hand. "That's nothing really. We're invited to it too, we went last year."
"And who cares if you weren't invited to go?" Riley asked. She placed her hands on her hips and regarded the four boys as she tilted her head to the side. "There's always going to be some events that only one of you are invited to, based on your interests or who the runners of the organization think is the better fit. There have been plenty of events that only Rhu, or me and Rhu, or just Pat, Noah, and Syd, or whatever combination that you can think of, have gone to. It's no big deal, really."
"You're only saying that because you all were invited!" Logan said with a pout.
"Exactly, Logie-Bear." Riley stepped forward and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek while Rhuben laughed when Logan winced. She then turned to Kendall and the two of them did their handshake. "But that's only 'cause I know that you're really annoyed by it." She clasped her hands together and turned back to James. "Ok, let me see what you were thinking and we can get this done fast enough to head out to the amusement park. The rest of you play dome hockey or something."
"Yes, ma'am!" Carlos gave her a salute before doing what he was told.
"Have you always been this bossy?" Kendall asked her, as she was his best friend. "Or am I just noticing it?"
"Yes." Rhuben patted Kendall on the back before leading him over to the dome hockey table. "But don't' worry, K-Dawg, you'll get used to it pretty quickly." Rhuben stuck her tongue out at her sister and Riley responded by sticking hers out as well.
Riley then noticed the frown on James's face. "Anything wrong, mate?"
"No!" James turned his attention to her and flashed a bright smile. "Come on, I'll show you what I have." He led the way into his room and flipped on the light, stepping to the side to show her the room. Riley made a choking sound as she hesitantly stepped inside and looked around.
"Did a tornado blow through here?" Her upper lip curled.
"No, that's just Carlos's side of the room." James waved a hand, dismissively. "That's my stuff, though." He pointed to the closet. The doors were opened and three outfits were hanging up, the rest of the clothes that were hung were pushed back into the walls, to give them space. "So what do you think? I figured it's kind of a casual event, but…I didn't want it to be too casual."
He studied her as she studied the three outfits carefully. She stepped back and looked at one, tilting her head this way and that, before pushing it aside and looking at another one. She then looked at the last one before stepping into the closet, crouching down to look at the shoes that were paired with each of them. James did everything he could not to let his eyes drift down as he waited for her reaction.
"Do you have a date for tonight?" She asked him.
"No." James gave a half smile. It dropped after a second. "And…you know why."
Riley silently nodded as she stepped out of the closet, holding up a pair of black sneakers. She nodded, but didn't say anything else.
It was her and Rhuben that had helped James realize why he didn't go on many dates, when he did, why he opted to go out with the ones that were better looking, and it all went back to his parents. It all went back to his parents' divorce to be more precise. The fact that his father brought him up to be a 'stud' did a lot to his ego when he was a kid, and when he was a bit chubby. Then he saw his mother had looked when she was divorcing her husband, and when they found out that her ex-husband was interested in a girl that was fifteen years younger than the two of them. It tore her apart and it made James mad about the way that he was raised. He loved his parents, but he wouldn't tell them that he hated the reason why they divorced, hated that they divorced in general, and had it affect his life that badly.
He didn't want to treat a girl badly or end up like his parents, so he was hesitant on going out seriously with anyone.
He used to go to Kendall to talk about his parents' divorce and how angry it still made him, but he had stopped after he figured out the reason why. It was all on him now and he was slowly starting to get over it with time. He knew that he could rely on Kendall to talk about it, but it was still a bit of a touchy subject for him, just like Kendall's father was to Kendall.
"I was only wondering just in case I had to coordinate with someone's dress," Riley said, standing up and turning to him. She gave him a weary look. "Would you quick checking out my ass?!" Her dark blue eyes flashed, although she had a look of amusement on her face.
"Sorry Beautiful, can't help it," James said smoothly. "I know a work of art when I see it."
Riley laughed under her breath before turning back to the closet and pointing at his clothes. "I think that with what you have, you have…something, but not something great quite yet. Separately, you have some good pieces, but if we put it all together, I think I can come up with something good." She turned back to him. "As forward as this is going to sound, I need you to strip and put this on!" She tossed him a pair of jeans from the first outfit and a dark button down shirt from the second.
James chucked and kicked off his shoes before grabbing the bottom of his t-shirt and lifted it over his head. He had no problems showing off his body and did it as much as possible. Most of the time it was to annoy the other guys, knowing that they couldn't get a body as good as his was, and the other half was because of the comments. He wouldn't say he was a egotistical guy, but there were many times that he relied on other people's opinions of him to get him through the day. It made him feel wanted. And he would rather have that then be pulled back and forth between his mother and father.
"Told you I know art when I see it," James said with a flirty lift to his tone when he noticed Riley's gaze dip to his stomach.
"You're a regular David, Handsome," Riley remarked sarcastically. She rolled her eyes, waiting for him to change from the jeans that he was wearing to the slightly tighter ones that she handed him. Once he had them on, she handed him a brush and then started to walk around him in a circle as he ran the brush through his hair. "Hmm." She tugged at the shirt and pants in a few places before disappearing behind him.
"Are you looking at my butt?" James asked, craning his neck so he could look at her.
"Well, considering its right here, yeah, mate." Riley stood up and slapped him on the butt for extra measure, causing James to laugh as she moved in front of him. She had a light pink tinge on her cheeks, right under her eyes, though she still seemed as confident as ever. "And that just makes my David comment justified."
James laughed quietly as he watched her figure out what else she would need for him that night. She had her hand up to her mouth and her dark blue eyes were shifting back and forth between the outfits in his closet. She grabbed a belt, a pair of dark brown dress shoes, and a blue blazer and handed them to him. As he pulled those on, she grabbed a tie and draped it around her neck, waiting as he finished pulling his look together.
"What do you think?" Riley turned him towards the mirror, standing behind him.
James looked at his reflection, pulling the sleeves of his blazer own and lightly pulling at the collar of his button down shirt. "I look good," he said as he stared at his reflection, a little longer than necessary. He smiled at himself and pursed his lips a few times as he turned this way and that. Riley waited for him to finish as he continued to twirl. "But that was no question."
"I meant your clothes, Handsome," Riley prompted.
"That too." James laughed and turned to her. "You really outdid yourself, Riles." He stepped forward and leaned down, giving her a kiss on the forehead. Riley's nose wrinkled as he stepped back. "What?"
"Like, my whole family does that," Riley explained. "And it's really weird when someone else does."
"Ok." On a whim, James reached down and gently cradled her face in his hands, bending her head all the way back. Being exactly a foot taller than her, at six-foot-three, it was the easiest way to be able to look directly into her eyes. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers in a quick, sweet kiss. "Better?" He asked in a whisper.
"Mm." Riley didn't answer his question. She grabbed the tie that was around her neck and pulled it off, jumping up onto his bed so that she was standing above him. She then grabbed his shoulders and turned him towards her and draped the tie around his neck, tying it quickly with a few jerks of her hands. James wasn't sure if she knew that he was staring at her, since she was so focused on his tie. "Done!"
"Great, thanks." James didn't even look in the mirror. "Say, Riles…do you want to be my date for tonight? I promise I won't cramp your style." He clasped his hands together and stuck out his bottom lip, giving her the 'puppy dog pout'.
Riley thought for a moment. "Well, it's your turn on the rotation and I'm going to be there anyway." She looked him up and down. "And my dress is black…"
"Cool, we can match!" James smiled. "Thanks Beautiful, this really means a lot."
"Don't thank me." Riley jumped to the floor. "That's what friends are for." She looked pointedly at him. "Though I do expect you to carry my purse whenever I need you to." She flashed him a smile and a wink before leaving the room to join their friends to play dome hockey while they waited for him to get dressed so they could leave.
James grinned to himself as he started to undress himself to change back into his street clothes, making sure not to wrinkle anything that he had just put on. For the first time in a long time, it was a semi-date that he was actually looking forward to.
And, if the night went well, maybe he could get over his fear of being in a relationship.
A/N: I hope you guys liked this one-shot. It was an idea I had for a Jiley story for a while, and at this point I'm planning on extending it into a full story at some point, so put it on your alerts! Haha, thanks for reading.
Cheers
-Riles
