Hey! Umm, here to update! Sorry if I sound off...I'm sick. A sore throat, feeling cold so I'm wearing a jacket even though it's pretty decent in the dorms. Yeah, I hope it doesn't get worse, but that doesn't matter! Well my health does matter, but I really wanted to write a new chapter for 'Under the Mask'! I'm super excited for it, really I am and just want to get some progress on it done! Now, I'm NOT giving up on 'Love the Way You Lie' and 'Proxy'; I just haven't enough time to finish chapters for both. They are close to being done, but I have to write them down first. I already had this chapter ready since I was contemplating this story idea for a while now, so don't worry! I'm working on my other two stories, hopefully by this weekend they will be ready! Thank you to everyone for showing support for this story; wow, only the first chapter and already getting some input! Thank you, I really don't deserve such wonderful, amazing readers but again thank you! :') I promise to do my best on this story! Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush! I just love them and writing stories about them, particularly AUs! I also don't own Spider-Man or any of other Spider-Man related characters! All I own is the plot of the story!
Kendall Knight hated school.
He didn't hate school because he thought it was pointless. In fact he was a pretty good student, if a bit of a procrastinator but James kept him in line. The pretty boy was a straight-A student (which dumbfounded a few since he was one of the popular kids) and always made sure to keep his dirty blond friend alert about anything school-wise. Thanks to James, Kendall went from a C-student to B. Sure the two often goofed off and ranked homework at the bottom of their to-do lists, but they did pretty well for seniors only months away from graduation.
Unlike some kids, they didn't get "senior-itis", this "disease" seniors got when gradation came around.
But Kendall hated school simply because there, he was just Kendall Knight. Sure he was a nice guy, was liked by a majority of the student population and all that but if trouble in the city got started up he couldn't get up, go superhero and save victims of a house fire or robbery. No one knew about his secret identity, only James. Not even their best friends Carlos and Logan, who were away in their second year of college, knew about Kendall and Spider-Man being one and the same. It's not that he didn't trust them, he just didn't know how to tell them.
There was no doubt in his mind though that Logan would go all doctor mode on his ass and Carlos ask a gazillion questions on if the spandex was itchy or not.
Yeah, he wasn't ready for that just yet...
So Kendall sighed as he tried to focus in Biology, taking notes on everything Miss Blaine said about photosynthesis for the test they would have next week. James was doing the same next to him, yet he didn't have to look down to see what he was writing. He already knew everything concerning photosynthesis since he tutored freshman in Biology after school Tuesdays and Thursdays.
"I hate that she goes so fast!" Kendall whispered in frustration as the elderly woman moved on to yet another slide for the lecture. A few other students groaned in protest, but Miss Blaine only scowled and went on talking.
James chuckled under his breath, nudging his notebook over. "Here doofus, I got all of it down." He whispered back, shooting the blond his signature Diamond smile. It was the smile that could melt girls' hearts and guys to envy him.
Kendall smiled gratefully at the taller boy and started copying his notes. "Thanks bud, I owe you one."
"No problem, you must still be drained from last night." James said. He didn't have to worry too much about anyone overhearing them, since the pair always sat in the back.
"Ugh yeah, my side is still killing me." Kendall responded, flinching a little when he leaned back in his chair. He could feel the bandages pull in turn with his movement, plus he was still a little out of it from coming home around nearly midnight.
James reached over and placed his hand over Kendall's non-writing one, soft hazel-green eyes locking with deep bottle green ones.
Kendall was glad they were so obvious about their feelings; it didn't bother him, as it did at first when they were kids, that his face would break out in a heavy red blush whenever James touched him. "Hey, it's going to be okay. I have some bandages and rubbing alcohol in my bag, I can check and patch you up more during lunch. I told you to stay home today though, why didn't you listen?"
"Because if I miss too many days, I can risk failing the year. Plus, it would be kind of suspicious if I was gone while Spider-Man was out saving the world."
"But you wouldn't be, you can't move too much right now."
"But right now there's a house fire going on, Jamie. If I wasn't stuck here, I'd be over there." Kendall pointed out, getting a soft sigh from the brunet.
"I know, I know Kendy. I took a look at your web-slingers earlier this morning, seems they're still working up to date with the modifications I made to them last month. Ten times stronger than steel, though ten times lighter than even a feather; strong enough to support a lot of weight and get you out of a pinch in seconds." James said, smiling a bit as he praised his hard work.
Apart from being Kendall's home, James was his tech genius. The brunet was pretty handy with his hands, so when Kendall began contemplating on becoming a hero for New York City, James created the web-slingers. It was made from the same material ordinary spiders used to get around and catch food, yet with a few tweaks here and there. At first Kendall feared for James' life. If anyone, civilian or worse villain, ever discovered Kendall's identity then that would lead to James as well. The two were a team, willing to do anything for each other; Kendall had been shocked that James vowed to protect his secret, even if his life was under threat. Kendall knew he couldn't ask for a better best friend/partner/tech wiz than James, but it still scared him; the thought of the taller boy losing everything just for him, it scared him to death.
Sometimes James' endless loyalty to others was a hindrance over a good quality to have.
Yet when James' parents split and he decided to live alone, at seventeen in a city he barely knew, that quality was overshadowed by the need to survive. As much as James loved his parents and was sad that their fighting had led to a nasty divorce, if he wanted to move on with his life then he needed to leave Minnesota, depend on himself and follow his heart. He kept in contact with his mom Brooke, more so than with his father Michael, and visited his and Kendall's hometown of little Sherwood over holidays, but the brunet has made it clear he could never live there again.
He had good memories there, such as meeting his best friends in the whole world Carlos, Logan and Kendall, but the bad memories of his parents splitting up made it unbearable for him to see Sherwood in an always positive light anymore.
From there Kendall had followed him to New York City. He wanted to see the world, and since he had been accepted to attend one of the best colleges NYC had to offer, his mother Jen allowed her one and only son to live with James since the brunet had been emancipated shortly after his seventeenth birthday. He had a steady job, it provided just enough (thank you, Dr. Conners!) for him and Kendall to live off of, owned a nice decent apartment and was still able to go and finish his high school education. The two have been accepted to the same college Logan and Carlos were at, so in less than a few months they will be bright-eyed freshman; James will be double majoring in Theater and Politics while Kendall in Marine Biology and Creative Writing.
Another thing Kendall will have to work with with his hero identity, too...
"What would I do without you, Jamie?" Kendall asked, being genuine here. Sometimes he did wonder the big "What if?", wonder what his life (superhero side included) would be like without the brunet. He's come very close to losing James in the past; in the short two-year streak the blond had of being Spider-Man, James' life has been threatened by numerous villains. And not just the small-time robbers either, but the big guys; the list as if right now: Green Goblin, Doc Oct, and Sandman. The latest villain had been Venom, an alien Symbiote that had gotten a little too attached to Kendall.
It had fused with Kendall's Spider-Man costume and gave him more strength and flexibility, but also enhanced the normally calm blond's aggressiveness. He suddenly became cold, distant and even violent; he had attacked James when the brunet had suggested getting rid of the suit, and he has never laid a hand on the taller boy before then. James had forgiven him and helped him get rid of the Symbiote, only for the thing to escape the vault it was kept away in at Conners' lab and go missing since then. Both Kendall and James have spent most of what remains of their individual social lives scouting the city for it, but to no avail; the blond still had nightmares about the Symbiote, afraid it had attached itself to another person, corrupting them from the inside out like the parasite that it was.
James promised Kendall he wouldn't stop searching for the Symbiote, but that wasn't what made Kendall worry and sometimes lose sleep at night. That thing had tried to bond with James as well at one point, turning him into what became Venom, but the brunet's will had proven too strong for the Symbiote to corrupt so it gave up the boy. It had abandoned James and left him nearly for dead in an alley. The blond had a personal grudge against the alien substance, he was desperate to find it and destroy it once and for all. He didn't care what it had done to him, but what it made James suffer was something Kendall could not forgive and forget.
The brunet already had issues trusting himself and others; becoming Venom, if only for a short while, however has made it even more difficult for him to accept himself.
He was afraid, and he has voiced this fear to the blond numerous times, of becoming a monster. With or without Venom.
James saw the slight sad tint touch Kendall's lively green eyes and he angled his body a bit so that he could face Kendall and place a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I know that when you look so sad out of the blue that your mind is on Venom. Kendy, what happened...you had no control, I didn't either but I promise we'll find it. We'll find it and bring it to Dr. Conners, he knows things so he could probably tell us how to destroy it without letting him know too much."
"It's not that that's bothering me, James. It was fact...that I could have lost you." Kendall pointed out. James let a small smile touch his perfect lips; it often amazed him just how much Kendall cared about him. He had to be the protector of an entire city, but could easily fall apart when the brunet was involved.
"They were just close calls, but that's not going to happen ever. I can't leave you; you're my best friend, plus Spidey needs his tech wiz. I need you, but also others do too. It doesn't matter if Jameson makes you out as a bad guy still, New York finally loves you. You're their hero, and my hero too. There's going to be a lot of close calls for us, but I promise...I promise, I promise that we'll always be a team, always together." James said firmly, hoping he can ease his friend's deepest fears.
"Venom nearly killed you." Kendall began, but James cut him off gently.
"He nearly killed you too, but look we're both still alive. It's not easy being a hero, but I know that you can do it. There's a reason why you became Spider-Man, and it's not just because you snuck into Oscorp Tower to see me during work." James said, that little bit making Kendall smile in spite of the uneasiness eating at him.
"You became Spider-Man because...you're amazing, a great person and will stand up for what's right. You were a hero before becoming the Web-Head New York knows, once hated and now loves and now...now you're even more of a hero. So don't worry, because no matter what I'll always be here, forever for you." James whispered, his eyes soft and warm behind his whole, thick-rimmed black glasses.
Kendall took a deep breath, trying to hold back tears of gratitude. He rarely cried, but the fact that James was willing to do all of this for him, despite the risks, made him feel a little less alone. He didn't have family in this city, James was his only family apart from Carlos and Logan away at college. His mom and sister Katie didn't know about his hero identity, not even about the incident at Oscorp Tower that turned him into Spider-Man.
It felt nice to know he could be himself with someone without any conditions or strings attached.
"Thanks James." Was all he had to say to make said brunet smile back.
"Anytime, hero." He replied, both flinching though when Miss Blaine's yard-long ruler came crashing onto their lab table.
"What did I say about side conversations during class?" She hissed like a snake, both boys red in the face as the rest of the class began to snicker.
"Sorry, Miss Blaine." They both said. She sniffed, small beady eyes like marbles.
"Detention, both of you."
The whole class was full-out laughing now, apart from the sweet smart blonde named Gwen and quiet, and equally as smart, guy Peter.
James and Kendall couldn't believe it; detention again, this was the third time this month!
'Damn.' James thought, biting his lower lip. Kendall sighed and rested his head down on the table, his hand still laced with James'.
'Fuck my life.'