A/N: Alrighty, another little one-shot. This one shows how protective James is of Katie... and is based on something I did myself once, when my friend's little brother was being bullied...
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Big Time Rush and the cover photo isn't mine (no copyright infringement intended).
Enjoy - typos should now be fixed :)
"Oh man, I'm looking so much forward to some pizza!" Carlos exclaimed, rubbing his growling stomach.
Logan snickered.
"You just had a guy slam straight into your stomach, head first, and you're HUNGRY?"
Next to them James was eying himself in the mirror, carefully combing his hair. He seemed oblivious to the talk about food and sent himself a dazzling smile.
"When is Carlos NOT hungry?" Kendall asked, raising an eyebrow at his friends.
Logan shrugged. Kendall was right, Carlos was like a bottomless pit!
"Come on guys" the Latino called, already by the door, "I wanna get home and eat!"
Logan and Kendall shouldered their huge hockey bags and looked at James. He was styling his hair, a look of grave concentration plastered on his face.
"James move your ass! You're slower than a freaking turtle..." Kendall sighed, feeling the hunger starting to gnaw at his stomach as well.
The tall boy turned his head, sending Kendall a reproachful look.
"You can't rush perfection, bro!"
A growl escaped Carlos by the door and he let his bag fall to the floor. With five long steps he went to James, who was once again smiling at his own reflection. He shrieked as Carlos grabbed him by the arm and yanked him away.
"Carlos! Let go!"
"I wanna eat today, not in a week! Come. On."
"No, I need to fix my hair..." James said, panic in is voice "I can't go out like this!"
Kendall snickered and ruffled James' hair, making said boy let out another mini-scream of dread.
x-x
Together, Kendall, Logan and Carlos succeeded in dragging a yelling James out of the locker rooms and eventually got to the streets.
Cold October-winds were whipping at their faces, making them pull their scarves tighter around their necks.
"Ha! Your hair would have been messed up anyway from these winds!" Kendall pointed out to the pouting James.
"Guys let's just get to Kendall's..." Logan said, teeth clattering in his mouth.
The other boys nodded in agreement and hurried down the street.
James was still pouting as the boys entered the Knight residence, and he almost ran to the bathroom after throwing his coat and shoes haphazardly next to the front door. His hair had to be a disaster at this moment!
"Hi boys" Mrs. Knight yelled from the kitchen, "how was practice?"
"It was fine mom" Kendall answered as he went to the living room. Logan and Carlos followed, the latter more antsy than usual because of the hunger.
x-x
Five minutes later the door bell rang, and Mrs. Knight returned to the dining room carrying a bunch of pizza boxes.
Carlos let out a loud war whoop and jumped a dining chair. He miscalculated his speed and both Carlos and the chair came crashing down, making Logan and Kendall roar with laughter.
Mrs. Knight just raised an eyebrow. She had known Carlos since he was born, and after 14 years could not be surprised by any stunts that boy would pull!
"Whoa" Carlos exclaimed giving his helmet a clap as he bounced back on his feet, "I'm okay!"
"Dinner!" Mrs. Knight yelled, and a few moments later Katie and James joined the others at the table.
x-x
Carlos was munching away happily as Mrs. Knight looked around the table, her heart swelling with love for all five kids. Her eyes stopped at her young daughter.
"Katie, honey, are you okay?" she asked.
Katie eyed her pizza, stalling a bit by slurping at her coke. Then she smiled and looked at her mother.
"Yeah, I'm fine, mom..."
Mrs. Knight wasn't fully satisfied with that answer, clearly sensing Katie's lie, but she was distracted by James and Carlos who had started a tiny food fight at their end of the table, chucking pepperoni slices at each other. Ninja-ish noises erupted from James as he threw a piece of sticky sausage after Carlos who shrank back in the chair, so the pepperoni slapped against the wall, sticking there.
"Boys!" Mrs. Knight sighed.
Absolutely no reaction.
"BOYS, HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU? NO FIGHTING!"
Carlos and James both dropped their killer-ninja-pepperoni-hira-shuriken and hung their heads.
"Sorry Mama Knight" they said in unison, cheeks blushing from once again being yelled at.
In his chair Kendall was chewing on a mouthful of pizza, happy not being the one getting scolded for once. Then he looked at his sister and his happiness was replaced by worry.
x-x
Carlos was helping Mrs. Knight with the dishes, constantly making the petite woman nervous of what he would break next, and the rest of the boys along with Katie went to relax in the living room. Kendall snaked an arm around his sister and squeezed her gently.
"What's bothering you baby sister? And don't say it's nothing..."
Katie's face fell and she stared at her feet. Kendall gave her another squeeze, motioning her to spill the beans.
"It's just... um... there's this boy from the fourth grade who..."
James felt anger bubble inside of him.
"Is someone hurting you Katie-Kat?"
Katie turned to look at James, and felt her eyes burn. Then she nodded and a sniffle escaped her.
"It's this boy, Ryan... he keeps calling me names and... and joking about dad and stuff!"
Kendall bolted from the couch, hands balled up tightly.
"He's picking on you because dad's dead?!" he growled angrily, not wanting to believe what his sister told him was true.
Katie nodded again and a single tear rolled down her cheek. James inhaled deeply and wiped away Katie's tear. He grabbed her around the shoulders and looked her right in the eyes.
"Don't worry Katie, we'll deal with that idiot!"
Katie let out another sniffle and hugged onto James. He patted her head gently.
"And Katie... don't get sad - get even!"
The girl mustered a tiny smile at James' dramatic way of wording things, and Logan raised an eyebrow at his friend.
"I believe the term is don't get MAD - get even, James" he said.
Kendall smacked Logan in the back of the head.
"Don't spoil the moment, man!"
x-x
The lunch break was nearly halfway over and Katie found herself in the schoolyard, sitting on a swing. Suddenly a shadow fell on Katie and she shuddered, not doubting for a second that it was Ryan standing behind her.
"Hey Crybaby!" he called out "are you gonna cry for me today, huh?!"
Katie whipped around feeling the angry knot tighten in her stomach.
"What did I ever do to you?" she asked as she got off the swing, sounding both defiant and vulnerable at the same time.
"Well you come to school looking like that, for one!" the older boy smirked, earning evil grins from his small group of followers.
Katie threw a quick glance down her worn-out clothes and dirty shoes.
"At least I don't pick on other kids to feel better!" she shot back, feeling bolder than usual because of James' words last night.
The bigger boy took a step towards Katie, who shrunk back a bit.
"Oh I don't need to feel better. You're just a know-it-all, who deserves it!"
Katie felt taken aback, and tears rose in her eyes.
"Well at least I'm not stupid!" she retorted, wiping angrily at the falling tears.
"What?" Ryan growled, stepping dangerously close to the small girl, "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?"
"STUPID!" Katie shouted, clenching her fists "YOU'RE STUPID RYAN TAYLOR!"
The fourth-grader balled up a fist and raised it high, making Katie squint in fear. Ryan hesitated, not entirely comfortable with hitting girls.
Suddenly four figures appeared out of the blue. Ryan's posse immediately took off, spotting Katie's older brother and his three friends eying them angrily.
"Hey, where are you going?" Ryan yelled in confusion.
James made a sudden jump towards the smaller boy and with great force ripped down his pants, right there in the middle of the school yard.
"Don't you ever pick on Katie again, you stupid asshole!" he shouted, making every kid turn around and watch.
James shoved the stunned Ryan in the back so he fell down, scraping both knees.
Ryan started crying from fear and humiliation, and James bent down. He spat on the ground right in front of Ryan, who pulled back his head with a shrill squeak.
"If you hurt her again, I'll give you a swirly next time!"
"JAMES DIAMOND!" an angry voice screamed, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
James took a step back, feeling his pulse race as Mrs. Miller stomped towards him. She was pointing at him, clearly furious.
"But he was picking on Katie!" James tried to defend himself and took a step closer to his friends, who had watched the drama unfold, dumbfounded. Katie had joined them, Kendall protectively hugging his arms around her.
Mrs. Miller reached the boys, shaking with anger. She raised her arm and without warning smacked James so hard across the cheek, that the boy had to take a side-step not to stumble. Kendall and Carlos' mouths fell agape, and Logan retreated to safety behind Kendall's back as the slap echoed through the school yard.
"Wow!" Carlos shrieked, not at all knowing how to respond to a teacher hitting his friend.
"We do NOT pull people's clothes off, shove them or swear at this school! Do I make myself clear Mr. Diamond?"
James didn't answer. The slap had obviously caught him completely by surprise, and confusion still dazed his senses. Then the sting on his cheek started itching and James placed a hand on the red mark. He shook off his desire to cry and swallowed hard.
"But he has been bullying Katie for..."
The irate teacher cut through him with ice in her tone.
"So you decided to be a bully yourself!"
Kendall shuffled his feet, clearing his throat.
"But Mrs. Miller, James was just trying to..."
A mere look from the teacher made Kendall shut up. Instead Logan peered at the angry English teacher in front of him.
"Um..." he almost whispered "I don't think, teachers are allowed to hit the students!"
Mrs. Miller pointed her finger at the raven haired boy.
"Are you suddenly an expert on the area, Mr. Mitchell?" she slithered.
Logan swallowed his spit.
"Well" he continued in a tiny voice "I'm just fairly certain that..."
Mrs. Miller raised an eyebrow and puffed up her cheeks.
"No, not an expert!" Logan squealed and ducked behind Kendall.
James usually didn't mouth off to teachers, but he found Mrs. Miller's behavior completely irrational.
"You don't even know what happened!" he yelled indignantly, "What the hell gives you the right to..."
The teacher grabbed James' arm and squeezed hard, making him stop talking.
"Ow" he moaned and narrowed his eyes.
Mrs. Miller didn't release her grip on James but turned her attention to Ryan, who was pulling up his pants.
"You go to the nurse, Ryan, and I'll see you later. Clearly you need to have a talk with Principal Flannigan about how we treat each other at this school!"
"Maybe you should join that meeting as well!" James mumbled angrily, clearly thinking of the slap he'd just received.
His comment earned him another hard squeeze, and Mrs. Miller pulled him along, towards the Principal's office.
"You just got yourself detention for the rest of the week, Mr. Diamond!"
x-x
James, Kendall, Logan and Carlos were standing on the couch playing video games in the living room at Kendall's house, and Mrs. Knight was listening from the kitchen as curses flew left and right. A loud bump told her that Carlos probably had been thrown off the couch for using the ammunition too quickly.
When Katie descended the stairs and joined the boys, they stopped playing. Katie almost looked shy and threw James a tiny smile. He sat down on the couch and pulled her down next to him.
"What's up Katie?"
The little girl looked at James, concern showing on her face.
"I'm sorry you got in so much trouble because of me!"
"It wasn't yor fault" James said "I did all of it by myself!"
"Yeah, I know, but if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been smacked or have gotten detention!"
"Just forget it Katie... You know I'll do anything to protect you right?"
Katie nodded, blushing slightly. If she had had any doubts earlier, after seeing James pants her bully, throw him to the ground and almost spit on him Katie felt absolutely certain that James was just as protective as Kendall!
James ruffled her hair and flashed his pearly whites.
"That's my Katie-Kat! And what do you do if Ryan bullies you again?"
Katie couldn't help but giggle a little as she sent James a slightly mischievous look.
"Don't get sad, get even!"
So that was it... hope you liked it :) Please drop me a review with your thoughts ^.^
I don't know the English term for a Hira Shuriken. A direct translation from the Danish word describing these weapons would be either Ninja-stars or throwing-stars - they're called both. Hope you know what I'm talking about ;)
Just for the record I do not think violence should be used to fight off bullies, but in some cases thinking a little outside the box, might do some good!
I did pull off the bully's clothes (or rather yanked her dress over her head, where it stuck) and I did shove her. She never bullied my friend's brother again! I also got smacked by a very unfair and angry teacher, even though it's very much illegal here in Denmark... So sadly I don't think it's unlikely that stuff like this could happen...
Bullying is never okay and we should all do our best to help fight it! We have the right to be who we are, without fear of being picked on by insecure assholes!
So if you're being bullied, keep your head up high – you're good enough just the way you are!