.:Chapter 07:.

This was something that you waited a long time for. The one that you like finally opens up to you in a way that you couldn't have imagined. Finally, you know that they trust you completely, now you can pursue that relationship that you wanted. Take it and put a sugar coating of fondant over it and bake it so you can enjoy it as long as you want.

"Lizz, come on, we have to get going!" Dak called. He rolled his eyes and tilted his head back down when his sister shouted back, for about the tenth time, that she would be ready to go to the mall in 'just a minute'. "Don't be surprised if we're still here in another half hour." He rested his cheek on his upraised palm, lying lazily on the couch.

"You should be used to it by now," Rhuben commented. She was sitting cross-legged on the couch next to him, looking down at her phone. "Your sister is nothing short of high maintenance at times." She lifted her head and smirked at him. "That's why we told you that we would be going to the beach an hour earlier than we're actually going."

"Good thinking." Dak nodded.

"No," Riley laughed. "We just know your sister." She slouched down in the leather armchair that she was sitting in and crossed her legs at the knee. She looked at her watch. "Where's WayneWayne?" She asked.

Dak waved a hand. "He said that he had to get the car from his sisters so you know how long that's going to take." He pushed himself up as he heard the front door open. "Speak of the devil." He said after as WayneWayne entered the house, closing the door behind him. "Dude, took you long enough."

"Don't ask," WayneWayne said warily. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Seriously, it's not even worth it." He went over to Dak and gave him a high-five before he leaned over and gave Rhuben a one-armed hug. He turned around and

"Hey there Little Miss Riley," WayneWayne greeted her with a bright smile. He walked over to her and gave her a hug, either ignoring or not noticing the strange look that she was giving him. "What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?" He lightly tugged on one of her pigtails.

"Pretty?" Riley laughed as she leaned back so she could look up at him. She brushed her strand of red hair out of her face. "You didn't even call me that even when we were hanging out."

Dak snorted loudly and she gave him the finger. While Kendall had his eyes set on Lucy for a while, Riley and WayneWayne had started to go out. While both of them knew that it was a long shot that they would stay together, they decided to take the pressure off by not saying that they were dating. The only thing that it did was make things complicated for the two of them as his family already thought that they were dating which they denied, and when they were dating, they claimed that they had broken up, just to get them off of his back. It confused everyone and even WayneWayne and Riley were surprised to find out that they could keep things straight. Not many people knew that they had gone out though, only the two, Dak, Rhuben, and her brothers knew. For two reasons, the first one being that Kendall basically hated WayneWayne and only tolerated him because he was Riley's friend and the second was because it really was no one else's business and she liked to keep her private life private.

"I didn't?" WayneWayne asked, looking confused. He scratched the back of his head. "Are you sure?" He pressed. When Riley shook her head, he looked a little concerned. "Well, that explains why my sisters were always on my case about how to treat a girl."

"No worries there," Rhuben commented. "Unlike most guys now, you know how to treat a girl." She looked over at Dak before looking back over at WayneWayne and giving a sweet smile. "And knowing when to be quiet."

WayneWayne laughed.

"I would have remembered it," Riley said simply. "I remember everything." She then thought for a moment. "Everything that really has nothing to do with school work at least." She quickly corrected herself.

"Hmm, that might not be a good thing for me then." His smile faded a little. "But seriously Tinker Bell, what's up?"

Riley blinked at him blankly. "Did you seriously just call me a shrimpy little hot-headed, pixie?"

"Yes," WayneWayne smiled as Dak and Rhuben laughed. "And I'm glad that you got what I was referring to." He snapped his fingers. "Oh, you saw that story about you and Kendall on Just Jared Jr. didn't you?" He asked. He then noticed that Dak had sat up and was frantically waving his arms, trying to get him to stop talking. "What?"

"You don't think do you?" Rhuben questioned. She shook her head as she looked down at her phone again, using her foot to nudge Dak in the side to get him to stop waving his arms like a lunatic. "You couldn't miss it. Ronan's phone was blowing up with messages from his publicist, we have Girlfriend magazine from home calling to confirm it, and our ScuttleButters and MyFaces have been blowing up."

"I don't see what the big deal is," Riley said calmly. She shrugged as she crossed her arms over her chest before twirling some of her hair around her finger. "It's just a bunch of freakishly stupid fans that are jumping on the bandwagon of something that has been around since our two bands started to work together."

"Yeah, but they didn't have pictures and eye witness events as incriminating as this," Dak pointed out.

"Just drop it! Alright!" Riley snapped, her eyes flashing.

"Hey, I'm ready to go!" Lizzie said cheerfully as she stepped into the room. She paused and lowered her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose. "Whoa, did I miss something important?"

"Not yet." Rhuben's eyes lit up as she got to her feet, tucking her phone into the pocket of her jean shorts. "I just got a text from Ronan; we're going to be performing one of our songs as a musical spot on The Jay Leno show!"

"Wow!" WayneWayne looked impressed.

"Congrats!" Dak smiled.

"Can I come?" Lizzie asked.

"It's going to be so cool!" Riley said, her eyes lighting up as well. "Blink 182 was on it and they did a really good job on it." She started to pace back and forth, speaking rapidly. "Their CD and single sales skyrocketed after their appearance. I wonder what song we're going to do. Would it be off of Black and White or One Step Closer? Oh geez, now I have to figure out what we're going to wear. Should we wear matching outfits or reflect our own personality or a combination of both?" She suddenly stopped pacing and pulled the ends of her hair towards her face. "Maybe I should get a haircut."

"Whoa!" WayneWayne held up his hands. "Take a breath and pick a topic!"

Riley stopped talking and merely shrugged. "Sorry," she lowered her gaze to her feet, a troubled expression coming onto her face. "I'm just excited."

"We can talk about it on the way to the mall," Lizzie said. Turning on her heel, she marched towards the front door like a man on a mission. "There's a lot of sales that we're going to miss if we don't get going now."

"And she was the one that was making us late," Dak murmured as he followed his sister.

As the others followed him, Riley could feel WayneWayne's eyes on her. She sighed loudly and looped her arm through his. "Seriously, Dubs, you can be such a worrywart sometimes," she said to him. "And a stick in the mud," she added.

"Just making sure that you're ok," WayneWayne said.

Riley laughed. "Thanks for that. But if I can deal with your crazy family, I think I can deal with a few stupid rumors." She rested her chin on his shoulder. "Trust me. This Jay Leno thing is going to keep my mind off it."

"Anyway." WayneWaye put his hands into his shorts pockets. "How's the bet going? Katie told Lizzie who told us that Kendall is actually winning." He noticed the frustrated pout on Riley's face and laughed. "What? What' sup?"

"I agreed to the stupid bet to scare him away from wanting to be a bad boy," she explained. "And for whatever unfathomable reason, he's actually doing a good job. It's so annoying, usually I can think two or three steps ahead of what he's going to do and plan it so things go my way, like I can read his mind, but now he's actually making this hard." She twisted her mouth to the side before smiling evilly. "Which just means that I'm going to have to step it up a little."

"Well, I still think that you're going to win," WayneWayne reassured her.

Riley reached up and mussed his hair. "Thanks, Wally. It makes me wonder why we never worked out."

"Because of my crazy family," WayneWayne reminded her with a light roll of his eyes.

"Yeah." Riley wrinkled her nose for a second. "But during that time, it was worth it."

WayneWayne smiled.

"Watch it, lady!" Katie ducked behind Kendall as a woman power-walked towards her, looking at her cell phone. She could bet that the woman wasn't even watching where she was going.

Katie stuck her tongue out at the woman as she moved back to Kendall's side and looped her arm through his. The two of them were walking around The Grove, not really planning on doing anything. It was one of the few times that the two of them had hung out since they had gotten to LA, since he was always so busy with his band or some scheme that he managed to fall into. She was enjoying her time, but she wasn't sure if Kendall was, he barely answered any of her questions and didn't even get over-protective when she bought a midriff top, just to see what he would say. She wasn't even going to wear it, but she was surprised that she got away with it.

Kendall didn't seem to even notice that his little sister had almost been murdered by a power-walker. "Yeah, whatever." He muttered his gaze right ahead of him.

Katie sighed loudly as she moved in front of her brother and put her hands on his chest, stopping him. "Ok, why don't you just admit what's really bothering you?" She asked. "Because you hardly noticed that you've been pushed and shoved all day. Just because Riley turned you down to hang out so she could go to the mall with her sister, Dak, and-"

Kendall's green eyes bore back into hers with jealousy and annoyance. "If she wants permission to hang out with a guy I don't like, then fine!" He scowled. "Permission granted."

"She's WayneWayne's friend, too." Katie looked exasperated. "I'm trying to help you out here, bro. People can have more than a few friends if they want. I know that you get possessive about our friends and family, but still, this is ridiculous. They're just friends."

"Like she and I are friends?" Kendall asked.

"Sure, Kendall, sure." Katie rolled her eyes before she sneered. "Like she can really compare the guy that she tried to convince you all isn't a bad guy to someone she's been hanging out with for the last two years."

"Hanging out?" Kendall looked hurt. "That's all we did?"

"No, that's not what I meant!" Katie threw her hands into the air. "Why are you twisting everything I'm saying?" She demanded.

Kendall was silent for a moment. "Fine." He took a deep breath. "Then let me be very clear…" the angry look in his eyes disappeared and he shrugged harmlessly, all the fight draining out of him. "If he's interested in her, then all I can say is he has damn good taste."

Katie blinked once. "Huh?" She asked.

Kendall shook his head. "I don't want to fight with her." He shrugged. "I don't like to fight with any of m best friends." He licked his lips. "Like, when the guys 'moved out' just before we left to go on tour. The idea of not being friends with them anymore-"

"-Over a stupid game, no less," Katie interrupted.

Kendall nodded. "I didn't want that to happen now, too." He shrugged again. "I guess I'm jealous. I mean, yeah, James is good looking and everything, but I still don't like to think that I was being..."

"Replaced?" Katie guessed. "Yeah, I think I get that." She shook her head. "Trust me, Big Brother, no one could you replace you. You irreplaceable." She smirked. "Besides, you have to stay together for the kids." She added, referring to the fans and the rumors that were going around about them. Kendall's laugh gave her butterflies and she tried hard not to beam. She then noticed a couple of girls hovering nearby, giggling at the two of them. Speak of the devil. She turned and looked at them sharply. "May I help you?"

"Um." The girls turned to Kendall. "Are you and Riley, dating?" The tallest girl asked. "Is the rumor true?"

Kendall thought hard about how Gustavo or Kelly would instruct him to answer the question. Even if they were dating, unless the two of them thought it would be a good idea for them to announce it, they had to keep up the image that they were single .That's what caused the whole fiasco with Jo at the time. While he and Jo had been dating, they had to keep it quiet for his image. But then the rumor went around that she was with Jett and Gustavo and Kelly got in the middle and things went out of control.

"She and her family are my best buds. Nothing more, nothing less." He gave as friendly as a smile that he could muster, given the circumstances. "And my private business is my private business. And if it were true. I wouldn't deny it because no one deserves to be denied."

"Oh, ok." The girl looked a little disappointed, but then all three of them brightened. "Can we take a picture with you?"

"Sure." Kendall agreed, after getting a nod from Katie. She backed up a step and Kendall put his arms around the girls and waited patiently, offering a bright smile as each person got their picture taken. "Have a good day!" He waved to them before turning back to Katie. "What?" He asked when he noticed the smile on her face.

"Sometimes I think that you should just stay on tour," she commented. Because you're always a lot happier when you're around your fans."

"Are you sure you're not just saying it because I'd bring more money for you and Mom?" Kendall teased.

"That too," Katie said simply. She looked at her watch. "I'm meeting mom to get our nails done." She reached her arms up to give Kendall a hug. He easily lifted her off of the ground as he hugged her back. "Seriously, I love you, Big Brother. But you have to learn to lighten up and not take things so seriously sometimes." She looked hard at him. "She'll turn around; you just have to remember that with what they went through…it takes a while for them to get comfortable with something. But things will work out, I promise."

Kendall set her down on the ground and waited until she was out of sight before he turned on his heel and walked into a small café that was tucked further back on the street. He knew that no one else that he knew would be there and it was the perfect place to not have to worry about being caught.

Well, it's not even like you're really doing anything wrong. He tried to reassure himself. He walked into the café and looked around, walking over to a table when he spotted who he was looking for.

"Hey Dad," he greeted him, sliding into the seat across from his father. He laughed when he noticed that his father was so engrossed in his phone. "What are you looking at?" He asked.

Kevin chuckled to himself as he turned the phone around and held it out so Kendall could see. He immediately rolled his eyes when he saw that he was on ScuttleButter, looking through the searches. Some of the ScuttButts had the pictures of him and Riley at the mall as they ran into the bathroom; others had it when they had come back out. Of course the pictures made it seem like something else had been going on. The fact that what he had said to the woman was overhead by someone else didn't help things either. But with the fame that he and his friends had suddenly fallen into, he was getting used to it. He didn't like it, but he was getting used to it.

KnightsGurl: Hey BigTimeKendall next time you need some company in the bathroom stall, call me! ;)

KissyForKendall: I don't care what the haters say, Kendall and Riley were meant to be together. I could tell from the first photo shoot that their bands did together!

"And those are just the tame ones," Kendall said, giving the phone back.

"Well, I always knew that my son was going to be a ladies' man," Kevin said. He smiled. "But if I do remember correctly, you did have that one friend that seemed to obsess over his looks." His smile widened as Kendall laughed. "So what's the problem here?" He popped a cheese fry into his mouth. "I didn't raise my son to be afraid of telling a girl his feelings for them."

Kendall raised an eyebrow. "Last I checked you didn't have any problems getting Mom to agree to go out with you."

Kevin laughed, his green eyes crinkling in the corners. "That's just what she tells you, it took me three tries of asking her until she said yes." He then gave a modest shrug. "And…let me tell you, I was nervous about it too."

Kendall shook his head as he grabbed the plate of cheese fries and cut it in half with his fork, scooping some onto his own plate. "Hmm, my father who played in the minor leagues and had two hundred pound men bum-rushing him every game, I doubt he would be that nervous over a girl." He smirked at his father.

"You obviously don't know your mother the way I do," Kevin pointed out.

"Trust me, I'm glad I don't." Kendall laughed.

He leaned back in his seat and smiled at his father. If someone told him that after the tour he would be found sitting with his father and having a normal conversation with him, with no weirdness, he wouldn't believe it. The first time that he had met up with his father, it was nothing short of awkward and he didn't stay long. But the more time that he continued to meet with him, he felt more and more relaxed. But was he ready to tell his mother or his sister about meeting up with him? No. Was he ready to tell his friends about it? Definitely not. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty whenever he met with him in secret; he wasn't sure how anyone was going to react to the news. But it was his business and it was his decision, he could deal with whatever would happen.

Right?

"So how have things been going with your band?" Kevin asked, picking at the appetizer. "You have any shows coming up?"

"Just little things here and there." Kendall laced his fingers and rested his elbows on the table. "We just got off of tour so we're waiting for certifications and sales and we're promoting by going to radio stations and picking out singles and stuff." He shrugged. "Mostly taking a quick break and hanging out." He paused as he looked around. "What about you?" Kevin must have noticed that it was a loaded question. "Any good cases? Talk to any of your clients soon?"

Kevin paused for a moment. "I don't talk to any of my clients after I win or lose a case," he said slowly. "I feel that it's better to leave the past in the past."

"Oh really?" Kendall raised an eyebrow.

"Look." Kevin put down his fork. "I know that you're still upset with everything that went on with our family, but I was young and stupid and didn't know what I wanted." He pointed at his son. "But trust me, now I'm here to stay."

Kendall studied him for a long moment. "If you say so," He replied before changing the subject.

Kendall awoke at that night to the feeling of an ice cold hand clamp down on his arm. He shot up and shifted back in his bed, before calming down when his eyes adjusted. Riley was standing by his bed, looking down at him with a smirk on her face. Kendall had to think for a moment to be sure that he wasn't still dreaming. He then adjusted the covers over his lap, just in case. He didn't want a repeat of what had happened when Katie went to wake him and Logan up, not knowing what typically happened to a guy in the morning. He knew he wouldn't hear the end of it if it happened now.

"I didn't mean to scare you, Hockey-Head." Riley snickered.

"You didn't," Kendall denied. He yawned before looking at his watch. "What are you doing here?" Another thought then struck him. "Wait, how did you even get in here?"

Riley sat down at the end of his bed by his feet. "Mama Knight and Ronan exchanged keys to your guys' crib and our house just in case there's an emergency." She gave him a knowing look. "Though I think it was for a different reason than that." She patted his foot. "Anyway, get up and get your shoes on."

"Where are we going?" Kendall asked.

"You'll see," Riley said mysteriously. "Just get them on and come on." She paused and then studied him, a condescending look on her face. "Don't tell me that you've never snuck out before."

"I have," Kendall denied. He pushed back the covers and quietly got out of his bed, making sure that his movements didn't wake up Logan, who was still sleeping soundly in his own bed. "Just not without a reason before. Last time was to challenge the guys from Duluth to a hockey game after they called us out for being wusses."

"Oooh, how dangerous." Even in the dim lighting Kendall could tell that she was rolling her eyes. "Sneaking out to play hockey." She stood up and tilted her head to the side. "Seriously, Hockey-Head, you don't know how to live."

Kendall ignored her jab as he finished pulling on his jeans. He buttoned them and quickly pulled on a shirt before grabbing his wallet and some flip-flops. He would have gotten some sneakers, but he didn't want her to wait anymore. He walked with her out of the apartment and they snuck quietly through the dark lobby, hoping that Bitters wouldn't wake up for a midnight snack, and then got into her car. Riley pulled out of the parking lot and drove for about twenty minutes before she pulled up to what looked like an abandoned building. Kendall followed her out of the car and around the side of the building.

"Where are we?" He asked in a low voice.

"You'll see." Riley grabbed onto a small ladder that was at the side of the building and quickly climbed up it. Kendall followed her and when they got onto the roof, he walked over to her as she pointed down. "Check it out." She said.

Kendall peered over the side and his eyebrows rose when he saw a large pool sitting below them. He looked around and noticed a high fence surrounded the pool, which is what made them have to climb onto the roof in the first place. If they had tried to climb over the fence, it would have taken too long.

"What's the occasion?" He asked her.

"Nothing." Riley shrugged. "I just thought that we'd have some fun. We haven't had fun without the bet looming over our heads in a while." She scratched the side of her neck. "I was starting to miss it." She looked at him. "Haven't you?"

"Of course." Kendall nodded. His eyes narrowed a little as he looked at her. "Is something wrong?" He asked. "You seem a little weird."

"I was going to ask you the same thing, honestly." Riley quickly switched the subject back to him. "You've, kind of been distracted for a while. And I don't know if it's that I'm just noticing it now, but you seem kind of jumpy, too."

Kendall thought hard about how he was going to answer the question. He couldn't tell her about seeing his Dad; he knew that nothing good would come out of it. Especially since he was the one that tried to defend her own father against the abuse trial. He shook his head. No, the smart thing to do was to deny it, he knew that much.

"Nah, just distracted with school and stuff," he replied.

"Please." Placing her hands on her hips, Riley looked a little annoyed. "I like you enough to realize when there's something going on with you." A few seconds passed and a slight look of horror crossed her face. "That's not what I meant!" She said quickly.

"But it's what you said," Kendall replied. "And you do say that you mean 90% of the things you say."

"But it's not what I meant!"

"But it's what you said!" He then laughed lightly, letting her off the hook. "Nah, nothing's wrong." He looked over at Riley and could tell from the way that she was looking at him that she didn't believe him. But she didn't press him on it and he was glad.

He watched as Riley turned back to the pool, looking down at it. An unrecognizable look was on her face, almost like she was sad. "Night swimming deserves a quiet night and luckily for us, that's what we've got here." She bent down and started to take off her shoes and socks. She then unbuckled the belt that she had on over her shorts and tossed it aside. She then noticed the stunned look on Kendall's face and crossed her arms over her chest, looking smug. "You afraid or something?"

Kendall crossed his own arms, trying not to blush. "Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not the one getting all hot and bothered about swimming in my underwear," Riley pointed out. "Besides, it's not like I haven't seen yours before. I style you guys enough to specifically know what kind of underwear each of you prefers."

Kendall leaned over to look at the pool below them once more. "This is crazy," he breathed.

"That's the point," Riley remarked. "If life doesn't make you crazy then, why bother living it? I know that's how I want it. Live fast and die young, y'know?" She took off her shorts and shirt so she was standing in her underwear. She looked over the edge again, gathering her things and dropping it to the ground by the pool's edge. "Just a tip…don't land on the concrete." She turned around so her feet were on the edge of the roof and jumped, doing a back flip into the water.

Kendall kicked off his flip-flops and pulled off his shirt. "What'll beat that?" He asked, removing his wallet, phone, and keys from his shorts.

"Umm." Riley treaded water as she thought about her, her shoulder length hair fanned in the water around her. "Probably a double front flip. But coming from a simple jump." She brought her hands up out of the water and smoothed her hair back. "Like that parkour stuff that you've been doing with Sydney."

"Right." Kendall nodded. He took a step back and then moved forward. He planted his feet firmly on the roof's edge and swung his arms down, using the momentum as he jumped to do a double front flip into the water below him. When he came up for air, Riley was giving him an exaggerated wince.

"Sloppy entry, Hockey-Head, I'm going to have to dock you some points." She said. "Which makes me win by default." She added with a gloating smile. She watched Kendall's chest rise and fall, glistening under the moonlight. Being in LA had tanned his skin lightly so his skin was bronzed, his chest well defined. She wondered how often he worked out when he wasn't working with Patrick. She knew that James was at the gym almost constantly, but wasn't sure about the others. Probably not.

Riley sneaked a glance at his face to see whether or not she noticed that she had been looking. He'd probably think that she was checking him out or something. Which she hadn't been. Well, not too much.

"You're awful," Kendall said, his competitiveness making him annoyed. He reached out a hand and unexpectedly sent a splash of water at her face, thinking he was funny.

"Knock it off!" Riley sputtered

Kendall did it again, snorting a little.

"Stop it!" came her Riley's high-pitched bark. "You're messing up my hair."

"Yeah, because that hairdo is so hard to recreate," Kendall replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Why do girls care so much about their hair anyway?" He let out a cry when Riley surged forward and placed her hands on Kendall's head, pushing him under the water. He bent his knees and kneeled down, turning around at the same time. Riley swam towards the other end of the pool, obviously trying to get out of harm's way. He swam after her and grabbed onto her foot, pulling her back before he grabbed her into his arms and lifted her out of the water. He shook his hair out of his face when he popped up with her.

"Ta-da," He sang.

"Yeah, that's a great feat," Riley raised an eyebrow. "You're able to pick me up when I weigh, like, zero point two pounds in the water." She had her arms crossed over her chest, but didn't make a move to get out of his arms. He smiled slightly. "Nice swimming by the way, I liked how you combined your kicking and flailing."

"You make me sound so graceful," Kendall joked.

"Like a butterfly." Riley smiled.

Kendall briefly looked towards the sky before he threw Riley into the water in front of him. She let out a shriek before she hit the water, coming up sputtering. She glared at him before swimming over to the pool's edge and grabbing a pool raft that was sitting on the concrete. She put it in the pool and pulled herself half out of the water, resting her arms on the raft. Kendall swam over and lifted himself up onto the other side. The two treaded water, their legs gently brushing against each other.

"So, we can talk about anything right?" He asked.

Riley looked at him for a moment and then chuckled, shaking her head. "You know, honestly, sometimes I don't believe that's true." Kendall gave her a hurt look and then she clarified. "For example, if I asked, you would probably never tell me how many times a day, and at what time of day, you walk your dog."

Kendall immediately got what she was referring to. But he didn't feel embarrassed about it in the slightest. He wasn't sure if it was because he really was taking the things he was learning by being a bad boy to heart, or if it was just because he really did feel that comfortable with her. "Usually in the mornings," he said as if it were an offhand comment. "With Zoey Deschanel."

"Interesting." Riley crossed her arms, leaning forward slightly. "Frankly, I'm surprised you answered, but interesting. Anyway, why'd you ask?"

Kendall took a breath. "If I ever asked you out? What would your response be?"

Riley didn't even have to think about her answer. "Let's just say I wouldn't laugh and leave it at that." She then smirked. "Besides, I don't see why you would waste your time on me when you have hundreds-"she paused for am moment. "-no, make that thousands of girls that are chasing after you. Most of which that wish that you could take them into a toilet stall any day of the week."

Kendall laughed, hard. "That was your idea, remember?"

"So I panicked. It was the first thing that I could think of."

"Rather than a dressing room, you mean?"

"That would just make things even worse, don't you think?"

Riley let go of the raft and floated on her back, looking directly at the sky. Her fingers lightly trailed through the water as she closed her eyes, letting the feeling of the water against her body take her over. She loved the water; it was almost like a second home. Having grown up and lived in places where she could constantly go to the beach, it helped keep her sane for the most part. If she wasn't surfing in the water, she would take out her board and just lay or sit on top of it, taking the time to think.

"Maybe, maybe not," she finally replied. She opened her eyes before turning around and pushing off the wall and gliding back towards him. "It might help you bad boy image now. Besides, it's hard to believe that one of you guys hasn't taken advantage of it."

"Never." Kendall shook his head. "We're too nice."

"That won't help you," Riley remarked. She climbed back onto the raft. "Besides, if you're a guy in the industry…you should get used to rumors like that. Or any rumors at all, really."

"Thanks for the heads up," Kendall said. "Honestly, I don't even know why people want to make rumors." He gave a half smile. "We're not interesting enough for people to care."

"I could have told you that." Riley shivered as a light wind blew and hunched her shoulders up towards her ears. Kendall rested his elbows on the edge of the raft and wrapped his forearms around hers to keep her warm.

"Yeah, but you like me enough, so..." Kendall trailed off, teasing her.

"Ugh!" Riley looked beyond annoyed at this point. "That's not what I meant!"

"But it's what you said!" Kendall reached a hand into the water and splashed her, causing her to laugh and splash him back. Resulting in a mini-water fight.

"Oh!" Riley's eyes lit up. "Did I tell you about Jay Leno?"

"Don't think so," Kendall replied.

He couldn't help the smile that was on his face. The two of them hadn't had a conversation that this in a long time. Where they could talk about anything and just have fun and not worry about what other people thought or what was really going on in their lives that were troubling them. Not that he minded having serious conversations, he just liked being to be silly and have fun with her just as much as they were serious with each other.

Riley and Kendall passed the time thumb wrestling as they talked quietly with each other, just enjoying each other's company. They had been talking about the upcoming Jay Leno show when Riley threw her hands up, aggravated. "You cheated." She accused after another loss.

Kendall was adamant. "I did not."

"Yes you did!" Riley insisted. "You're hiding your thumb behind your knuckles, waiting to attack."

"So?" Kendall asked.

"So, that's cheating. Number one rule of the game. No hiding of the thumb." Riley stuck her nose in the air and turned her head away.

"You're just mad that I beat you and you can't handle that I'm better than you." Kendall teased.

"Yeah, that's it." Riley tilted her head back and looked up at the moon.

Kendall followed her gaze. The moon was completely full, illuminating the area around them. The stars were out and they twinkled against the dark sky. It was so clear that Kendall could see the milky way, the big and little dipper, and even the North Star. It He lowered his gaze and watched Riley, as he had been doing a lot for a little over a year. What would a slow, lingering kiss feel like there in the pool, under the moonlight with the cool water stroking their skin?

The two continued to lean on the raft together, enjoying the silence. He wanted to tell her how he felt, but he was afraid she'd run away. He was sure that this was the right time; it was nothing short of romantic. Having a good time together, he moon light, the ambience, everything. He looked over at her, she had her head tilted back and was looking at the moon above them. He could see the tiny freckles that dotted her nose that you would only notice if you were really close, she had a small smile on her face. Kendall reached over and brushed her hair out of her face. She turned her head toward him a little, as if not willing to look away from the moon. He gently touched her neck, just behind her earlobe. Riley tilted her head down and looked right at him. He leaned forward a little, and she responded, leaning towards him as well, tilting her head, letting her lips relax. He leaned forward a bit more, and jerked back when he heard a clanging sound.

"What was tha-"

Riley shot out a hand and slapped it over his mouth as she listened hard. When she heard the sound again, her eyes widened and she pulled her hand back. "Quick!" She started to push the raft over to the side of the pool. "How long can you hold your breath?"

"I don't know." Kendall leaned to the side and started to scissor kick, helping her move the raft to the side of the pool. "Like, a little over a minute, I think."

"Good." Riley sucked in a deep breath and held her nose before sinking underwater.

Kendall did the same. When he slid underwater, Riley motioned for him to move underneath the raft. As he did so, he tilted his head back to look up towards the surface of the water. As he watch, a shimmering shape of someone walking around the pool reached his eyes. He squinted when he saw a pale light move over the top of the water. He slowly kicked his legs underneath him, waiting for the person to finish searching and leave the pool. He turned his head and looked at Riley, who was floating beside him. She looked completely serene as she waited for the person to go away. Kendall could start to feel the middle of his chest start to burn.

As if sensing his discomfort, Riley reached out and grabbed onto his hand, squeezing it gently. She used her free hand to hold up a finger, letting him know to wait a little bit longer. Finally, she tugged on his hand before pushing the raft away and the two bobbed to the surface of the water. Kendall took a gulp of air, pushing his hair out of his face.

"That was close," he remarked.

"You're telling me," Riley agreed. "Usually they don't come around for another hour." She paused for a moment. "We should probably go before he comes back."

"Good idea." Kendall swam over to the side of the pool and lifted himself out. He then turned around and held his hands out towards Riley. She lifted her hands and he grabbed onto them, easily pulling her out of the pool and into his arms with one pull. He smiled as she flushed and quickly pulled away before leading him back over to their clothes. They quickly gathered them up into their arms. "How are we going to get out if we came in by the roof?"

"Over here." Riley tilted her head and quickly walked around the far side of the building they had used the roof to get in. "You can climb back up onto the roof and back down the ladder or go this way." She pushed a large cardboard box away from the wall revealing a large hole in the fence. "You can only go out this way because it's so close to the street. If you go in this way, you'll get caught too easily and no one expects you to use the roof."

"How'd you find the place?" Kendall asked as he slowly squeezed through the hole, making sure that he didn't get caught on the fence.

"My brothers, sister, and I found it shortly after we came to LA the first time." Riley explained. "No one else really knows it's here since we're the only ones that know what turns to take to get here." The two hurried over to Riley's car and she popped the trunk, taking out two large towels. "It's a good thing I like to go to the beach so much." She said to herself, quickly drying herself off.

"Tonight was really cool," Kendall said as he dried himself off as fast as he could, just in case the guy was going to come around again. "You were right; we hadn't really hung out like that in a while." He looked over his shoulder. "And it was nice to swim in a pool bigger than the PalmWoods," he added with a laugh.

Riley ran a hand through her hair. "You should come over to our house more often then," Riley remarked. She took her towel and threw it into the trunk of her car before pulling her clothes back on. She then took Kendall's towel and threw it into the trunk.

"You guys never invite us over," Kendall pointed out.

"Yeah, well." She shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "We never could back then." She went around to the driver's side of the car. "C'mon, I'll get you back to the PalmWoods."

"D'you mind stopping for some food first?" Kendall asked as he got into the passenger seat of the car, slamming the door shut. "I'm starving."

"That depends," Riley said slowly as she buckled up and stuck her keys into the ignition. "Would you give me judgmental looks if I don't go to whole foods?"

"Only if you eat a bunch of greasy junk." Kendall smiled.

"Maccas it is then!" Riley declared, turning on the car.

Kendall laughed loudly as she put the car in drive and made a U-Turn, driving away from the abandoned building and the pool area. She pulled up to a red light and turned on the radio, bobbing her head lightly to the classic rock that was being played.

"Thanks," Kendall said quietly. He reached out and brushed some of her stringy hair out of her face before leaning over and giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek. He then settled back into his seat as if nothing happened.

"You're welcome." Riley rested her elbow against the door and ran her fingers through her hair. A soft smile was on her face. "Boofhead."

A/N: So, what'd you think? ;)

Cheers,

-Riles