Chapter 9

I would just like to point out that it was 10 pm in north Carolina and I was completely spent when I wrote this. But here it is anyways.

Characters:

Angela Sansom

Kendall Schmidt

Genevieve Donovan

James Maslow

Carlos Pena Jr.

Logan Henderson

Angela

I groaned as I looked at my alarm clock.

7 was too early to be waking up, especially after everything that had happened yesterday. I can't believe he followed me.

I grabbed my robe and walked out into the main room, just as Gen was about to head out the door.

"Oh, good, you're up. I am heading to the studio to meet with the inspectors and tell my instructors as well that we will have people coming into their classes.

I will see you for class tonight! Bye!" she said before walking out the door, not even giving me a minute to ask whether or not her and James made up last night. I sighed, sinking into the couch and turning on the TV.

That's when I noticed the sheets and pillow spread on the sofa.

Someone slept on the couch last night, and I can probably guess who it was. I shook my head, why are they falling apart over something that I'm having an issue with?

Just then, the door opened and I turned to see James walk through the door shirtless and in just a pair of shorts and running shoes. A baseball cap on his head and an armband holding his iPod.

"Morning." he said, shutting the door and pulling his headphones out of his ears, pausing the iPod.

"Morning, care to explain this?" I asked, gesturing to the sheets and pillows around me.

"Oh, that. Gen forgave me but I have been banished to the couch for the week." he said, scratching at the back of his neck.

"Okay, I was worried their for a second." I said.

"Why would you be worried?" he asked, sitting down in the love seat across from me.

"Because, I don't want you two falling apart over my issues. I don't want what happened to me to happen to Gen. No best friend would wish that on another."

"Not going to happen. I love her to much to ever let her walk away from me." he said confidently.

"That didn't stop you yesterday." I said coldly, looking him in the eyes.

He sighed heavily. "Yesterday, I was a complete fucker, I wont lie about that.

But I shouldn't have let her walk away and put pressure on you to fix my mistakes, that shouldn't be your responsibility." James got to his feet. "I'm going to go shower, and then I think we should hang out, just the two of us.

Okay?"

I smirked, "Gen told you to do this since she had to go into work today?" the look on his face was answer enough. "Dude, you are so whipped." I chortled.

"Maybe, or I may just be in love. It does the craziest things to people." he said before walking into his room and shutting the door. I heard the water running a minute later.

I sighed; I guess there was no getting out of this. I grabbed my coffee cup off the table and walked back to my room, grabbing a pair of white denim shorts and a blue sports bra to wear under my white tank, along with my white and blue vans.

I walked out into the living room, pulling my hair up into a ponytail as I did so, and sat down at the island next to James, who was eating a bowl of cereal.

"What did you want to do today?" I asked, looking up at the news, which was still playing on the flat screen.

"I don't know, maybe a walk down the pier, something to get me, and you for that matter, out of the loft." he replied through a mouthful of Cheerios.

"Next time, try and swallow before talking." I chuckled, grabbing a napkin and wiping the Cheerio and milk that had run down his chin.

He made a show of swallowing before delivering his oh so creative comeback.

"Haha, very funny. Now, seriously, what did you want to do today?" he asked.

"Well-" And that was as far as I got before I was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Wait one second." I said to James before getting up and opening up the door. What the hell was he doing here?

"Angela!" JP cried before scooping me up into his arms and spinning me around, making me laugh.

"Put me down before I vomit all over you!" I laughed.

"Sorry." He said, setting me down onto my feet.

"Oh my god, what in the world are you doing here?" I asked, pulling him into a tight embrace.

"Just came to check up on my baby sister!" He said, pulling away from the hug. "Where is she by the way?"

"You just missed her, she left for the studio about half an hour ago." I shrugged.

"Hey, Angela, mind telling me who is at the door." James asked suspiciously, coming up beside me.

"Sorry, James, this is JP, Genevieve's older brother. JP, this is James Maslow, Gen's boyfriend."

"I didn't know Gen had an older brother." James said, shaking his hand.

"Still sore on the whole family deal I see." JP said drily. Despite the fact that Gen had been shunned by her parents nearly 11 years ago, she still didn't talk about her family all that much.

"Yeah, now, back to my question, what are you REALLY here for. I know for a fact that I am the only one in this loft that you have been in contact with recently, and that was almost two months ago." I said, crossing my arms.

JP sighed heavily, before gesturing to the inside of the loft. "Mind if we take this conversation inside, I don't feel comfortable discussing it out here." I moved out of the way and gestured for him to go into the living room, closing the door as he moved passed me. He sat down heavily on the sofa, placing his head in his hands, James taking the loveseat across from him, leaving me with no where to sit. Sighing, I placed my self on the armrest of the loveseat, making sure that I was balanced enough not to fall down onto James.

It would be bad for the best friend to fall down into the boyfriends lap while the brother was in room.

JP ran his fingers harshly through his hair before speaking, "Mom and dad disowned me as well." He mumbled.

"WHAT!" I exclaimed. JP had done what his parents had wanted, going to Harvard and becoming a very successful lawyer, eventually working for the Supreme Court. How could they disown him for that?

"Yeah, I don't really get it either. I have always done what they wanted me to do, compared to Gen, who completely went against what they wanted." He said.

"No offense, but I don't think Gen would have really enjoyed being a neurosurgeon." I said.

"Your right, she wouldn't have. I've seen pictures of her recently, and trust me, she seems happy. She loves doing what she is doing with her life. And to be honest, it made me jealous. I wanted to be happy like she was, is. So I wrote her a few months ago, asking her what made her turn away from our parents like that. I finally got a response a week ago, telling me to come out to LA to visit for a little while, get to see life through her eyes for a little while, and if I don't see what she did all those years ago, then I should just keep going with what I was doing, and if I saw it, then I should leave and start over. Mom and Dad found out that I was in touch with her though. And they said I shouldn't have been trying to get in contact with someone who isn't part of the family anymore. And that was when I had it. They were trying to control my every action, making my life into what they never would be able to. So I left, and they screamed at me never to come back. So I was hoping that Gen would be willing to take me in for a bit while I figure out where to go from here." He said. I had never met Gen's parents, but I had never thought they would have been that hateful.

"I don't have a problem with you staying here, where you would sleep though would be difficult. Other than that, it should be fine." James said.

"What do you mean? I could just sleep on the couch." JP said, looking more than a little confused.

"Nope, that would be my place to sleep." James said, laughing a little.

"Wait, you have been dating for who knows how long and she won't let you stay in the same bed as her? Gen is more responsible than I thought." He laughed as well.

"No, I said some stupid shit yesterday and got banished to the couch for the week, other than that I do stay with her." James said, looking a little uneasy as to where this conversation was taking him. I turned my head away and hid a smile; this was going to be awesome.

"Oh." JP said, looking at James for a while. Well, staring was more like it. And it eventually got to the point where I was squirming uncomfortably, even though I wasn't at the receiving end of the stare.

"Do you love her?" he finally asked, still looking deep in thought.

"Actually, while I have you here, why don't I ask you something about that." James said, leaning forward slightly.

"Answer the damn question boy." JP said coolly.

"Yes, I do. So much so that I want to ask you for her hand in marriage." He said, looking him right in the eyes.

"How long have you been dating my baby sister?" JP asked, suspicion creeping into his voice.

"Six years in two weeks." James said automatically. He was never one to forget an important date.

"And you haven't done anything yet?" JP quipped, raising an eyebrow.

"I would have done something sooner, trust me, but I was trying to figure out how to get in contact with her father to ask for her hand, not knowing that she had an older brother. But I was never able to find out anything on her family, and she kept very quiet about it, and after a while, I learned not to ask about it, knowing it wasn't something that she liked talking about. So I gave up, and I asked Angela for her hand three days ago actually. I just haven't had the opportunity to ask Gen yet. I actually plan on asking her on our anniversary." James said, looking down at his hands most of the time, looking shy. I rubbed a hand across his shoulders.

"Fine." JP said.

"What?" James asked, looking up at him shocked.

"You can marry her. But remember, you hurt my sister, I break your face." JP said, getting up and standing over James.

"Don't worry JP, I said the same thing to him when he asked me for her hand." I said, standing up off the armrest. "Would you like to join us for a day on the pier?" I asked, since James and I still had enough time to spend together before heading over to the studio.

"Why not, I still need to know what is going on with my little Angel." He said, throwing an arm around my shoulders in a side embrace. I tried not grimace at the nickname, and failed horribly.

"Oh, sorry. Completely blanked there for a moment Ang." He apologized.

"It's fine, I need to get over it eventually." I said.

"Not if he is following you around town you won't" James said, getting up and grabbing his wallet off the counter, along with his car keys.

"What, the guy that broke up with you is stalking you now!" JP exclaimed.

"Guys! Just chill out about it, it really isn't any kind of big deal. Let's just go down to the pier already." I said, before heading out of the loft in front of them.

The ride down to the pier was silent, no thanks to me. Great, I just ruined a great afternoon by bringing Kendall up, though not specifically, just mentioning my creeper of an ex is enough to change the atmosphere on even the most perfect day.

I sighed, looking out the small back window in James' car and watched as the taller buildings of the city became more and more sparse, while the palm trees and smaller houses that usually accompany the beach came into view.

After the agonizingly long car ride, James finally pulled into a parking spot near one of the best piers in the Los Angeles area.

Climbing out of the back of the car after JP, I took my sunglasses down from the top of my head and placed them on my nose, looking around at the seemingly empty pier.

Okay, I knew that there was a chance of rain for today, but I didn't know that it would almost completely empty one of the more popular piers in the area.

I started walking in front of the guys, my flip-flops slapping against the wood of the pier.

"What did you guys want to go and see here? Or, actually, what do we want to show JP about this pier James, since he has never been here before." I asked, looking back at them.

"I don't know…Actually, let's take him to that coffee place, the Roasted Bean, because that place is absolutely awesome!" James responded, moving up to walk next to me.

By the time we got down the pier, more and more people were finally beginning to come out for the day, and there was no shortage of people sitting in at the Roasted Bean.

"Still that white chocolate mocha skim no whip?" James asked.

"Yeah, I'll go and get us a table." I said, weaving my way back through the lines of people, looking to grab the empty table that I saw in the back when we first walked in.

"Awesome." I said, when I noticed that there was actually one of the tables that sat along the observation window was open, and I quickly sat down at it and waited for the guys to come back.

"Here you are Ang." James said, coming up from behind me, startling me.

A hand quickly went to my heart. "Jesus Christ James, the next time you decide to come up behind me, try not to give me a heart attack."

"Well, what fun would that be now?" he ask with a laugh, sitting down next to me, JP taking the seat across from me.

"So, what is going on with my little Sis?" JP asked, I didn't really give him much information about what I was doing in my last letter.

"Nothing much, I have an internship with an art director at UCLA coming up this fall, but other than that I haven't really been doing all to much, more along the lines of helping Gen get to where she is right now." I replied honestly, feeling disappointed in myself. I come out to the city of dreams and I don't even get close to doing what a set out to when I first arrived.

"You haven't even been painting recently? No new works of art to show me!" He exclaimed. When we left, painting had been my life, and now I haven't really done much with it since I got out here. My life and inspiration was gone, so how was I supposed to do anything?

"I actually want to get out to that supply store this week, ideas for a masterpiece have been swirling around in my head for a while now, so I want to get that taken care of." I said, knowing exactly what I wanted to do with the idea I have. Time to destroy people.

"now…what else have you been-" he started, but I never heard the rest of his question, because my eyes were drawn to the tall, blonde figure standing next to one of the windows, looking in at us.

"What is he doing here?" I asked under my breath, turning to fully look at him.

"What are you looking at Ang?" James said in a low undertone.

"Why won't he just leave me alone!" I spit through gritted teeth, slamming my fist down on the table.

"Where is he?" James said, standing up and looking out the windows to find the person that I was starting at.

"Where the fuck it he!" James said, getting out away from the table and marching towards the exit.

"No, James-" I started, getting a hand on his forearm.

"Don't even start with me Ang, if he is following you then someone needs to say something to him." He said, retching his arm out of my hand, pushing out of the doors and onto the crowded end of the pier, his eyes searching wildly for someone that he didn't even know.

"James, he's gone. The moment you started for the door he bolted, he isn't here anymore." I said, trying to calm him down.

JP came up next to us. "Mind telling me what the Fuck just happened there Angela, because it sure didn't seem like just nothing!" great, now I had two angry alpha males on my hands, just what I needed.

"Will you guys just leave me alone! I can handle myself on my own! I don't need you interfering with my life!" I screamed, ignoring the rain as it started pouring down around us, sending everyone else scattering for shelter.

"Not when someone is so intent on being with you that he has resorted to following you around, that tells us that you need someone to help you, so just get over your ego and let us help you!" James yelled back, his hair dripping down into his eyes.

"No! I have been able to handle myself for five years without you and I can do it now!" I screamed back.

"Oh Yeah! Like how Gen had to be the one to stand up for you yesterday after he followed you to her class last night! Like how you broke down into tears and wouldn't even talk to us after you came into the loft yesterday after running into him on your jog? Yeah, that sure lets me know that you can handle it on your own!" James said, standing over me, his usually warm eyes cold.

"You think you know all about me James but you don't. You don't know what it is like dating a guy for five years, giving him everything, your heart, your virginity, your life, and having him throw it all away and telling you that he NEVER loved you. You haven't been there. And you never will be, Gen loves you too much to let you go, so enjoy your life James." I said bitterly, before turning and walking away.

Like so many other times before, I ignore the voices calling my name from behind me. But what I didn't expect was a hand grabbing my wrist and spinning me around, and a pair of strong arms wrapping around me. I turned my head into his chest, not really knowing which one of my boys came to comfort me, but relished in the feeling that for the first time in a long time, someone cared enough for me to come after me when I was this upset.

We stood there for an immeasurable amount of time, before I pulled my head away and looked up, meeting James' hazel eyes looking down at me.

"I'm sorry." Was all he said, and I closed my eyes as he placed a tender kiss on my forehead and I wrapped my arms around him tighter.

"Shit." He said.

"What?" I asked, suddenly concerned.

"Paparazzi, come on." James hissed, pulling away from me and wrapping an arm around my waist, shielding me from them as they ran up to us, trying to figure out if I was the girl that James was dating.

I was grateful when JP stepped in front of us and led us through the crowd and out to the parking lot, all of us climbing into the car quickly before taking off down the freeway back to town.

I didn't realize how late at night it really was until we pulled into the Kick it! back lot.

"Come on." James said, climbing out of the car and looking around for paparazzi again, before guiding us into the building.

I shivered at the AC blasting in the building hit my wet clothes. We wove our way through the back halls of the building before seeing Gen pacing outside of her office. She looked up when she saw us.

"Where in the world were you guys, class starts in 5 minutes and you are just…getting…here-" she said, trailing off as she caught sight of her brother standing here with us.

"JP? What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you for another couple of months." She said, looking frozen in a state of shock.

"Um, would you believe me if I told you that mom and dad disowned me as well?" He said, walking around from behind James and I.

I think I am going to end this here because other wise it is going to become too long and I will have a hard time filling in the chapters between now and when we are going to get a chapter from Kendall again. This is going to be the last chapter of this story for the week because I have been neglecting my other story, What Do You See? For a while and I want to get back to that one as well and finish it. So I will basically update each story every other week.

Also, I saw the BIG TIME SUMMER TOUR at summerfest, and let me tell you, I have never screamed so loud for so long. My sister's friend, Sara from What do you see was there as well and refused to wash her shirt, from this year and last because last year Logan looked at her in that shirt and this year Logan was 20 away from her in that shirt. We didn't have great seats, but it was amazing all the same. Next year my whole group agreed to get VIP meet and greet tickets, so hopefully something good will come from that!

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