A/N: Sorry about the late update! I've been kind of in a rut with this story, but hopefully, I have things back on track with it.
Thanks to all my regular reviewers: Readplz, Codex, QuirkySmile, peteythepirate, annabellex2, plus many others (I promise to name you next time)! This story wouldn't keep going if it weren't for you guys. XO
Disclaimer: BTR is not mine
"Kendall. Kendall. Wake up! Kendall."
Kendall groaned, blearily reaching around for his phone to check the time. Three in the morning. He squinted at the shadow at the foot of his bed.
"What the...Katie? What are you doing in my room so late?" He abruptly sat up, opening his eyes wide. "Is it mom? Is there something wrong?" He was about to throw his blanket aside so that he could grab some clothes and head to the airport when Katie flopped down onto the bed.
"No. It's not mom. Nothing's wrong, everything's fine."
"Oh, thank goodness. What are you doing in here?" Kendall asked, sagging his shoulders in relief.
"This is my last night here. Do you think it's crazy that I'm moving in with James so soon? I mean, I know I was the one convincing you to let us do this, but now that it's really happening, I'm just like...I'm just like...I'm freaking out! This is a bad idea, right? I mean, what is happening with my life?"
Kendall could sense that Katie was starting to over-think things, and every time that she did that, she often came to the wrong conclusions. It was her greatest character flaw.
He sighed and patted the spot beside him, signalling for her to join him. Katie crawled across the bed and quickly made herself comfortable by leaning into her older brother's arm. It was something that she used to do as a child when she couldn't sleep at night. Secretly, Kendall liked that their relationship was still this close even after so many years. When he was out here last, visiting his sister, Kendall worried that their relationship was changing because Katie was keeping everything to herself. After one particular episode, she had finally broken down and explained everything to him. Kendall realized that she was only keeping secrets from him so that he wouldn't have to worry about her, but it was nice to know that Katie would always depend on him.
"Katie. I don't really have to tell you this, because I know you know it, but you and James love each other. It's natural for you guys to eventually move in together. You said it yourself, you guys have lived together before, there's nothing different, really."
"Yeah, but we're moving in together," Katie reiterated. "Does this mean something? Are we taking it too far? This is crazy. It's absolutely crazy. I should just cancel the whole thing. I can still do that, right? It's not too late. Carlos can go find his own darn apartment! This one's mine."
Kendall widened his eyes. He never thought that he'd ever have to deal with Katie having cold-feet; she was usually so sure of herself. But, then again, Kendall never had to deal with Katie being in a long-term relationship.
"Whoa, okay, slow down," Kendall breathed out, wrapping an arm around Katie, pulling her into a side hug. "Just breathe, and relax." He waited until he could feel his sister following his instructions. "Now, I'm going to tell you what's going to happen. Tomorrow, we're going to move your stuff over to James' place because you are moving in with him. Just like every other decision that you've ever made, this one is right, too. You are ready to move in with James, because the two of you are at this stage. Like James says, there's no real time limit on you guys, you do things when they feel right, and this feels right, right?"
Katie nodded.
"And you have nothing to worry about, if it turns out that it is too fast for you guys to live together, you can always come back here because I'll be here. Kind of like a safety net."
Katie sighed, "Okay," she whispered much more calmly. "You're right." She sat up and smiled sheepishly at her brother. "Thanks, Kendall, for letting me have a spazz attack on you."
"It's what I'm here for," Kendall grinned, causing Katie to giggle.
She leaned over and hugged him. "Thanks, big brother. For everything."
Kendall returned the hug. "You're welcome, baby sister."
Kendall held up a jar filled with a mysterious liquid up to the light. "What is this?"
"It's ferret urine. I'm testing it to see if the ferret has a specific disease," Beverly replied, watching Kendall make a face as he set the jar down in haste. "So, how did the moving-in go?"
Kendall had told Beverly all that had happened the past week with him and his friends, excluding the part about Lucy and Ryan, he just didn't think that it would seem appropriate to bring up the fact that he hung out with his ex-girlfriend on occasion.
"Pretty well, considering. There were some tears, Carlos', and screams, Katie's, and some laughter, mine," Kendall winked at Beverly. "After two nights of random screaming phone calls to my cellphone, they're finally getting settled in. I honestly have no idea how they managed not to kill each other at this point."
Beverly laughed, "I do. They're crazy about each other."
"Exactly my point."
Beverly rolled her eyes and went back to checking the x-rays in front of her.
Kendall cocked his head, studying the veterinarian at work. "Have I ever told you that you look amazing in that white coat?"
The brunette turned around and smirked at the man standing behind her. "Bearing in mind that this is the first time you've seen me in it, no." She laughed. "You're shameless." Beverly walked closer to him. "Thanks for the compliment, though," she placed a heated kiss on his lips.
Kendall wrapped his arms around her waist, "I should compliment you more often, if this is the way you're going to thank me," he said, returning her kiss.
Beverly pulled away so that he could see her rolling her eyes at his clichéd answer. Kendall chuckled and glanced up at the clock.
He scratched the back of his head. "I have to get going. Going to be late for practice if I don't leave now."
"Oh, yeah, of course. Sorry again about missing lunch. I get a bit swamped here sometimes."
Kendall grinned. "No problem, it's great to see where my gir−you work," he cleared his throat.
Beverly crossed her arms, tilting her head. "Where you just going to say, 'girlfriend?'" A light smirk donned her face.
Kendall sheepishly grinned. "Maybe. Why? Is that a problem?"
Beverly fake pondered his answer. "No, not really," she winked at him.
Kendall let out a breath, "Okay, then," he opened the door, still looking at her. "I guess I'll see you later, girlfriend." He scrunched up his nose. "Yeah, that was pretty lame, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, a little bit. But, I liked it. Now, get to work before you're late, boyfriend."
Kendall waved before leaving with a big grin on his face.
"Knight. When you have a moment, we'd like to speak with you."
Kendall turned his head to the booming voice across the ice rink. He located the coach and the other assistant coaches inside one of the offices on the side of the rink. After standing out on the ice, coaching the players for a couple of hours, he welcomed the idea of talking with the his colleagues inside the warmth of the cramped office. He turned his attention back to his disciples.
"Alright guys, continue with this for the next 10, then move onto shooting. McCann, I want you in net, first." Kendall pointed to the backup goalie. "Then it's Foster. Hill," he looked at Beverly's younger brother, "I want to see improvement. Watch the wrist. Burstrom, you too." The two younger players nodded their heads before concentrating back on their drills.
Kendall nodded, before heading off the ice. He made his way into the office where the others were waiting for him expectantly. John Burns, the headcoach of the team was sitting behind the desk while the other two assistant coaches, Charles Ross and Paul Markov flanked his sides. All three men had been national hockey players within the last decade; Kendall was well-aware that he was working with legends and felt more honoured than ever that he was chosen to work along these people.
"John, Charles, and Paul, what can I do for you fellas?" Kendall asked, smiling pleasantly.
It was rare for him to be called in while he ran the team drills. Being a lower ranking assistant, Kendall was in charge of the warm ups and the cool downs; while seemingly unimportant, Kendall knew that the drills were crucial to every player. Every tiny detail of the player's movement established his ability to be the best of the best. It was up to Kendall to hone the proper techniques for each player.
John cleared his throat. "Kendall, it's been a couple of months now since you've joined us."
Kendall nodded. "Yes, sir, it has."
"And how's that been working out for you?"
"Great. Though, it'd be nice if the coffee machine actually worked. I hate having to send out Petrov every day just to get my caffeine fix," Kendall replied jokingly. A running joke amongst the team was how the players were on schedule to do the coffee run for the coaches as the coffee machine in the training centre was being fixed. However, the coffee machine was 'out of order' since the moment Kendall arrived, and two years prior. The system operated by placing the players' names into a hat and randomly selected. But for as long as the coffee machine was broken, Petrov was the only one who had coffee duty, partially due to the fact that his name was the only one in the hat. Fortunately, Petrov was in on the joke and was happy to go along with it.
"That's good to hear, on another note, I'm sure you know that the pre-season is right around the corner, and we've decided that you are to join us during the home games and a couple of the away games too," John stated, getting straight to the punch.
Kendall was careful not to let his jaw drop. As the general manager and the coaches have discussed when Kendall first joined the team, he was told that he would only work with the team in the practice arena, at least until he was really integrated with the system. Kendall wasn't expecting the opportunity to work with the team during official games at least until the new year.
Kendall blinked a couple of times before answering, "I really appreciate this opportunity. Can I ask why?"
John stood up. "Well, we've been watching you with the guys, Kendall, and we have to say, you do some mighty fine work. I haven't seen Grant shoot the puck like that, ever. He gets your style, the same goes for at least half those guys out there," he pointed to the rink. "We'd like to see what you can do when they're out there on the ice facing the other team. Take it like a chance to see what it's like working behind the boards in the big leagues."
Kendall grinned. "You can absolutely count me in."
"Fantastic. Now, we're setting up the roster soon, and since you've been with the boys for a while, we'd like to hear what you'd have to say about the team positioning. Ain't nothing like valid opinion from every person on the team," John added.
"Sure thing. Thanks again for this opportunity," Kendall affirmed, stepping back slightly, knowing that the meeting was coming to an end. "If you'll excuse me, I should probably get back to practice."
"Right, you are, Kendall. We won't stop you."
"Oh, wait a minute," Charles stopped Kendall. He wrestled around in his pocket before pulling out a neatly folded up photo. He smiled sheepishly at Kendall. "Hey, my daughter, who is a completely grown woman, found out that you're working with me now and completely freaked out. Apparently she was a huge fan of yours back in the day. If you don't mind, Kendall, would you sign this for her? It'd mean the world to her." He handed over a photo of the boys from way back when, and a silver marker.
Kendall laughed, but gladly signed the photo for Charles' daughter, making sure that it was personalized to her. He stood up after he was finished, "Here you go. I hope she likes it." He shrugged. "I'm surprised none of you or the guys haven't taken the mickey out on me for being in a boy band."
The three men standing in front of him laughed before Paul responded. "That's because we haven't had our biannual karaoke night, yet. You just wait for it."
Kendall chuckled nervously, causing the others to smirk. He shrugged again and turned around. Walking away from the office, he hoped none of the players could see that ecstatic grin plastered across his face as he forgot about the upcoming torture, and focused on the opportunity that was just presented to him.
A/N: First of all, the timing of this chapter's update was not purposely scheduled for the exact moment that the NHL returns (finally!), it just so happened to be an awesome coincidence! Secondly, I wrote this chapter weeks ago, and at first, I didn't like how I wrote Katie's anxious moment with Kendall because I wasn't sure if her character would really act like that, but returning to it now, I can see this happening by the way I developed her in this universe. Hopefully you guys feel the same. :)
Just a little note, I won't be updating this story as fast (or as slow :/) as I usually do, because I am working on another story simultaneously. This is the first time I've ever done this, so I'm not too sure how my time management skills are. (Shameless plug: for those of you who are willing to read an M rated story, please check out Demon Hunters). I'll try my best to update HC as frequently as possible.
As always, please leave a review, your positive feedback (or just feedback) is fuel to my fire.
Love,
D
