A/N: Hi Readers. As usual, just wanted to express my gratitude for your support. Here's the next chapter. :)
As much as I want to thank all reviewers personally, that would take too much time, but I would like to address a few:
[XOXO READERS]: Can't promise that it'll happen anytime soon, sorry!
[StuckAt9.99]: I just want to say how much I LOVE your username. Love Letter is my favourite Heffron Drive song. Thanks for the review.
[abbyli]: Deal. ;)
Disclaimer: As stated, only the plot and original characters are mine.
Looking in the mirror, Katie felt she had travelled back in time to her young preteen years. Her straight, brown hair fell past her shoulders, she never had time to keep it maintained; often opting to place it in a bun at the office. She tugged at the hem of her checkered dress shirt over her tank top. Her long legs encased in skinny jeans. The only difference, was her desire to wear a pair of heels with her outfit. Though at the height of 5'7'', Katie had felt considerably shorter than her peers in the modelling industry, and the need to gain extra height eventually became a normality. She smiled at her reflection before turning away to grab her purse and work folder to leave for breakfast with the guys.
As Katie pulled up to the front doors of James' mansion, as she did last night, she let out a laugh as she peered over her sunglasses. She could tell that the guys had very little sleep, by the way Kendall continuously yawned and Logan kept rubbing sleep from his eyes. Carlos was the only one who was alert and perky, waving to Katie as she came to a stop.
"Well, who lost?" Katie asked. Kendall dropped his bag in the back seat and was about to open the door to the passenger seat, when Carlos shoved him aside and hopped in. Katie and Kendall both looked at Carlos.
"Kendall did," Carlos cheerfully replied. "We turned off his alarm so that he would have to lose. Morning, Katie."
"Dude! Get out of my seat." Kendall yelled, frustrated.
"No, I didn't get to talk to Katie, yet." Carlos retorted, pulling on his hood and shades.
"But she's my sister." Kendall fumed, his hands gesturing from him to Katie.
"Well, too bad. I got here first." Carlos said, stubbornly.
"Carlos−" Kendall started before being interrupted.
"Hey, are we going, or what? I'm starving." James yelled from behind the car. Katie looked back to see that James had decided to drive his Benz, one of his many luxury vehicles, that day. Logan was already in the seat, beside him, still trying to stay awake.
"Look, Kendall," Katie started, "just get in my car or James', 'cause everyone is hungry and Carlos is clearly not leaving this seat," Carlos, nodded, emphatically. "Besides, I have the whole week to spend with you."
Kendall pouted, "Fine, but I'm still not happy about this. That's why, I'll be riding with James," he huffed before stomping away.
"Hey, tell James, we're going to the diner," Katie yelled to Kendall, referring to an old favourite hangout of theirs. "Oh, I've forgotten how you guys act like kids, before breakfast." Katie sighed, shaking her head at Carlos.
"Ah, you know you love it," Carlos grinned, "now, vamos!" Katie laughed as she pulled out of the driveway. "So Katie-cakes, how's life? How's Michael?" Carlos inquired, knowing about Katie's last boyfriend from her last e-mail.
"Michael is gone." Katie said. "He was ridiculously clingy, needing to know my every single move of every single day."
"That's not necessarily a bad thing, it just means that he cares about you."
"Yeah, but the guy wouldn't even let me go to the bathroom without an interrogation, first," Katie exaggerated. Carlos laughed.
"What about you? Any special girls while you were exploring the world?"
"Not really. I mean, I did meet someone in El Salvador, but she was preparing to join The Convent. Oh, I also ran into one of the Jennifers in Tokyo."
"Which one?" Katie asked.
"Yeah." Carlos replied, completely evading the question, like he did back at the Palm Woods. He continued to tell her of his camel-riding experience in Egypt, how he kayaked in the Amazon River and broke tea cups in England. Katie laughed through his stories, Carlos always managed to make it so that Katie lived vicariously through his adventures.
"You should have seen it, Katie, the Great Wall of China is so long." Carlos finished, as Katie pulled into the diner's parking lot, with James and the others, right behind them.
Katied nodded. "It sounds amazing, Carlos, and I promise, one day, I will be able to see it for myself." Carlos was always furious when Katie refused to tour the world with the band when she was younger. Katie did regret missing all the adventures that the boys talked about, but she was comfortable where she was, rarely travelling outside of America.
The two got out of the car, watching Logan and James crash into each other as they both tried to get in the restaurant first. Kendall sluggishly followed after them. "So, what do you plan on doing now?" Katie asked as she moved her sunglasses to rest on her head.
"Not sure yet," Carlos shrugged. "I mean, I travelled the world twice, already. James said that I could crash at his place for as long as I want to."
"So, you'll be in town for the next while. Hey!" Katie exclaimed, happily.
"What?" Carlos asked, confused at her sudden outburst.
"You should totally audition for a movie. I know the perfect role for you."
Carls scrunched up his face in hesitation, "I don't know..."
"Trust me, Carlos. It's about an animal trainer who becomes a fighter pilot." Katie grinned, knowing that the storyline would peak his interest. "Listen, later, I'll stop by my office, and I'll get you a copy of the script."
Carlos sighed, but nodded in agreement, relenting to Katie's demand.
"Alright! Let's celebrate with some pancakes." Katie stated happily, as she grabbed Carlos' arm and dragged him through the restaurant doors.
The two spotted the others at a long booth, with Kendall on one side and James and Logan on the other. Katie cheerfully slid in next to James, knowing that it would be a tight squeeze if Carlos tried to sit there. James draped his arm around Katie's shoulders and shared a menu with her. Katie didn't think much of it, knowing that James was a touchy-feely kind of guy. Kendall, however, stared daggers at James, while gulping down his coffee.
"Whatcha doin' there, James?" Kendall hissed between his teeth.
James looked up in confusion, at Kendall's tone. "Excuse me?"
"Why do you have your arm around my baby sister?" Kendall asked again.
Katie sighed and shrugged off James' arm, with James pulling back, looking affronted by the gesture. Katie gave him an apologetic look, before looking back at her brother. "Kendall, you know how James is. He's like a kitten, constantly needing human contact to keep warm."
"Hey, I−yep, baby kitten, that's me." James squeaked as he felt Katie's heel digging into his foot.
Logan and Carlos snickered. Kendall fumed silently, knowing that his sister would get angry if he continued this line of inquiry. Carlos interjected with a question, hoping to diffuse the situation, "Hey James, aren't you dating that girl from The Vampire Story Saga-Trilogy?"
"Aubrey Stewart?" James questioned. "No way, she's like married to her co-star, Robert Paxton, I think."
"For thirty-year-olds, you guys sure have plenty of time surfing the net." Katie said offhandedly.
"We're only twenty-eight!" The four guys yelled, simultaneously.
Katie held up her hands, in defence. Just then, Katie's phone vibrated from inside her purse. After rustling around, she found her phone and checked the caller ID. "Sorry, I gotta get this. Order me the pancake special, will you? With extra strawberries!" She said, before stepping out to answer the call.
"Hey, Marka. How's it going?" Marka Jones was Hollywood's new it-girl and Katie was surprised when she was requested to be Marka's manager. It turned out that Russell was a friend of Marka's and told her that if she wanted to become successful in Hollywood, she should hire Katie. As much as she appreciated Russell and the opportunity to represent the petite redhead, Marka was a little bit of a diva. "Yes, I did finish the script, and I do think that this role would be a good one for you. The character is strong, independent and hilarious to boot. You would definitely be appealing to a variety of audiences." Unlike many of her counterparts in the business, Marka did not have preference for roles that exemplified her talent, but rather preferred roles that sat comfortably with her fans. "Okay, I'll call the studio and let them know that you want the role." Katie nodded as she heard her client agree to the role. "Well, I'll talk to you soon, bye now."
As Katie returned to the table, the guys were already chowing down on their meals. "Pass the syrup." She said, as she reached across the table towards Kendall. "Thanks."
"Effry-ing ohay?" James asked, with his mouth full. Katie smiled.
"Everything is good. It was a just a client. Oh, that reminds me, are you free, after? I thought I had the contract on my laptop, but it's on my office desktop. I'm heading over there later on anyway, you can come with."
"Sure, and we can head over to Rocque Records later, so that Kelly can explain the business to you."
"What's going on? Why does Kelly have to show Katie the ropes?" Logan questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"You didn't tell them?" Katie sighed when James shook his head. Katie started her breakfast, as he explained.
"I didn't get the chance to. By the time I came in, last night, Carlos was already swinging from the chandelier, Logan was about dissect my iguana and Kendall was swimming in my pool...nude!" James exclaimed as the other guys hung their heads in shame.
"Wow, you guys are easy drunks." Katie muttered between bites, shaking her head in distaste, while James nodded and laughed.
"Katie!" Kendall yelled, scandalized that his sister knew about alcohol.
"Kendall, I'm twenty-two, living in L.A., you really think that I'm that innocent. Come to think of it, was I ever really that innocent?" James, Carlos and Logan all pointed at her, in agreement.
"You will always be my ten-year-old, baby-faced sister to me." Kendall smiled, adoringly, causing Katie to smile back. "Now, what is this about Kelly?" he continued to ask.
"Oh, well, James has decided that I am to become his manager." Katie announced, before she took another bite of her pancakes.
Carlos, Kendall and Logan exchanged looks before breaking out into laughter. Katie raised her eyebrows and nodded slightly, understanding their skepticism. James looked frustrated at the apparent agreement that he and Katie wouldn't work well together.
"Well, I happen to think that Katie and I will make a fantastic duo. We'll be 'The Superstar Team of Hollywood' team."
As if on cue, Logan pointed out, "You said, 'team,' twice."
"You bet I did."
Katie chugged down the rest of her orange juice before tossing her napkin on her plate. "Okay, so how are we doing this? Are we all going to my office?"
"I wanna see Kelly," Carlos whined, then added as an afterthought, "and Gustavo, too."
"Why don't Logan, Carlos and I head over to the studio first, and meet you there when you guys are done, doing whatever." Kendall suggested.
"Perfect, James, hand over your keys." Katie nudged him.
"What? And risk my baby getting scratched? No way. You hand over your keys." James replied, clearly scandalized with the thought of allowing any of the other guys to drive his car.
"Fine." Katie grumbled as she tossed her keys to her brother. Katie stood up, ready to leave, "Thanks for breakfast, big brother." She smirked as her brother's face fell.
"Not funny." Kendall replied as he reached for his wallet.
A/N: Well there's that. The next chapter is one of my favourites, I'll try to finish editing it by tomorrow. Again, please leave reviews, all comments are greatly appreciated.