Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I still don't own Big Time Rush. The chapter title comes from "You Hear a Song" by Cassadee Pope. The songs used in this are "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars, "Save You" by Simple Plan, and "Kiss Me" by Ed Sheeran.

What? No un-signed-in reviews?

Thank you for the reviews and alerts :) They always make me smile!

A/N: I have to admit, I'm kind of excited about this chapter. It's my favorite one so far, and I've been going crazy, waiting to post it. It was a fun chapter to write, and hopefully it'll be a fun one to read. :)

I'm not sure when the next update will be, because I only have half of chapter ten finished. Hopefully it'll be next week, but it's hard to tell, so we'll see. In any case, here's chapter nine :)

Enjoy the chapter!


Chapter Nine – You Hear a Song

Katie's POV

The elevator ride down to the lobby was quiet, with James and me standing side by side and not saying anything.

Yeah, okay. This wasn't awkward at all.

We got out once the elevator had reached the lobby and walked back out into the late September sunshine.

"So," James said as we made our way across the courtyard. "What are you in the mood for?"

A little less awkwardness. Seriously, why was this so awkward? We had been alone before. Granted, it had never been right after his psycho roommate accused us of wanting to sleep together…

"Ummm…" I licked my lips, thinking about all the college food that was now at my disposal. "How about Mexican? I could go for a huge plate of nachos."

He chuckled. "Mexican works. We have a really awesome Mexican place just across the way." He nodded towards the other end of the courtyard. "And their nachos are incredible."

"Cool," I smiled. "So, what do you do in your free time?"

"Eat," he grinned. "Workout."

Oh, I bet…I fought back the urge to gulp as I eyed his biceps. They were bigger than my head.

"Watch TV," he continued on. "Read. Hang out with friends. Go see movies. Play guitar. Surf."

"You surf?"

"When I can, yeah."

"How long have you been surfing for?"

"Since I was thirteen," he replied. "Carlos wanted to learn how to surf to impress girls, but his parents didn't want him taking lessons alone, especially since he's accident prone."

I grinned a little, thinking about some of the stories Kendall had told me about Carlos.

"So I ended up tagging along to the lessons with him, and it turned out I was actually kind of good at it. Carlos is better at it," he added. "He may be a bit clumsy, but he's actually really athletic. He's entered a few amateur competitions, and at one point his instructor wanted him to go pro, but he's happy where he is."

"What's he majoring in at UCLA?" I asked curiously.

"Film," he replied. "He wants to be a director. I like being in front of the camera – he likes being behind it."

"That's pretty cool. I bet he's going to be good at that."

"He will be," James said confidently. "When we were in high school he always had his camera out or his phone on record, and he'd make me and Victoria – my ex girlfriend – act out scenes and stuff. And then he'd post the videos on YouTube and Facebook. Everyone was always gushing about how good they were, how they were so beautifully filmed, and it's true. Carlos has a knack for that."

I smiled as he talked about high school, ignoring the part about Victoria. "It sounds like you guys had a lot of fun."

"We did." The courtyard forked off in several different paths, and James led me down the straight one. "What about you? What was high school like? Or – wait – " a sheepish look crossed his face. "I just remembered you were on a TV show for most of high school, and then you were recording."

I giggled. "It's fine. And I had a tutor on set, and then at the studio. It was more fun on set because there were always a few other kids so we'd usually just end up hanging out in one of our dressing rooms and we'd do our work that way. When I was at the studio it was usually just me and my tutor and Gustavo, breathing down our necks to get it done."

"Gustavo?"

"Gustavo Rocque. My producer."

"Oh, right, I know who he is. He's the one who produced all those boy bands from the '90s, right? He had that hit song, Girl to My Heart."

"Look who knows their pop music trivia," I teased.

"My mom was obsessed with that song when I was growing up," he shrugged. "Give me a break. Oh, here we are," he added as we reached what appeared to be a café. He held the door open for me and I flashed him a smile as I stepped inside. He followed, and we headed up to the counter, peering up at the menu.

Ten minutes later we were sitting at a table, sharing an extra large platter of nachos topped with just about everything under the sun. I swiped a chip through the guacamole and sour cream before popping it into my mouth. "So, Elaine, my manager, called me this afternoon."

James looked at me as he swallowed his bite of nachos. "Is that unusual…?"

"No. It's just she was letting me know about the press tour for Haunted University."

"Did you get details about it?"

I nodded. "It's kicking off next weekend, and it's going to go for a month."

His brow furrowed slightly, but other than that there was barely a reaction from him. "Oh. Wow."

"Yeah. We're starting in LA, and then we're going to make a loop around the U.S. We'll be spending a few days in New York City, before heading back to LA for the U.S premiere, and then we'll be flying to London for that premiere."

"Wow," James munched on another nacho. "New York City and London. Sounds like a hard life." He grinned at me good-naturedly.

"Yeah, so hard," I chuckled. "Well, it might suck because Natalia Walker will be there, but we aren't sharing a hotel room, so hopefully it won't be too bad."

"If she starts acting like a bitch, just tell her to fuck off," he advised. "And if she threatens to go to the media with that, just tell her you'll rat her out as well."

I pointed at him. "I like your thinking. I might just have to do that."

He grinned. "Glad to hear it. So, what's the press tour going to entail?"

"Lots of talk shows, lots of magazine interviews, that kind of thing."

"Sounds exhausting."

"It will be," I said dryly. "But it's only for a month. It ends a week or so before Halloween."

"Are you going to be in the states for Halloween?"

"I am, as a matter of fact."

"Got any plans?"

I popped another chip in my mouth. "Not at the moment, though I think one of my friends might be throwing a Halloween party. How about you?"

"I might be hitting up one of the haunted mazes," James shrugged.

I chewed on a nacho thoughtfully before swallowing. "You know, if you're interested you could always come to the party with me…"

He raised an eyebrow. "You're inviting me to a Hollywood party?"

I nodded. "It would just be a costume party, nothing too glamorous, but it would probably be a lot of fun."

"Get back to me if the party actually happens," he told me.

"Will do."

We finished up our food, downed our drinks, and headed off.

"Have you lived in LA your whole life?" I asked James curiously as we walked down a pathway.

He stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. "We moved to LA when I was twelve. We're from Minnesota, actually," he added and I looked up at him. "Shakopee."

I nodded. "I'm from Sherwood."

"Ah, okay. I think I knew that," he said. "Shelby probably told me at some point."

I laughed. "She's enthusiastic, huh?"

"Very enthusiastic. She's passionate about what she loves."

"Seems like she gets that from her big brother," I commented, playfully bumping my shoulder against his. "You seem like someone who gets pretty passionate about stuff you love."

"I definitely can," he admitted. "I can have a one track mind and I won't surface until I finish whatever it is that I set out to do."

I smiled. "That's not necessarily a bad thing. It can probably be a huge help."

"It can be, though it sometimes means that I put aside more important stuff. I risked my finals because I was so hell bent on doing Le Mis."

"But you got through them, didn't you?"

"I did."

"Then it wasn't a total disaster." I glanced at the building on our right and spotted the sign sitting just outside the entrance. "The music building? You have a class in here, right?"

"I do."

"Come on. Give me a tour," I said, taking his hand and leading him into the building.

"Fine, fine," he let out a mock-groan. "But just so you know, I try to avoid classrooms during the weekend."

I pouted at him. "You promised me a tour."

"And a music classroom is interesting to you?"

I shrugged. "I've only seen the one at my elementary school."

"I'm pretty sure it's the same principle. Here we are." He pushed open the classroom door and I stepped inside.

I immediately spotted rows of chairs lined up neatly across the room, and out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of a small, carpeted stage with a piano sitting in the center. The ceiling was domed and the windows were high, giving it an almost cathedral-like feel.

I looked at the piano. "Do you play?"

"The piano? Yeah. I took lessons until I was ten. We had a piano at our old house, and I was always messing around on it. My mom decided I needed lessons after I played Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star without any help."

"Damn. You're a music prodigy, huh?"

He shrugged. "Not exactly. But I do enjoy playing."

"You should play something for me. And maybe sing too. I've been dying to hear you sing again."

He blinked. "Right now?"

"Yeah."

He sighed. "Fine. But if it sucks, I'm blaming you."

"It won't suck." I plopped down in a chair in the front row while James positioned himself at the piano. I watched as he played a few scales to warm himself up, before switching to a melody.

"'Oh, her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they're not shining
Her hair, her hair falls perfectly without her tryin'
She's so beautiful
And I tell her everyday

Yeah, I know, I know when I compliment her, she won't believe me
And it's so, it's so sad to think that she don't see what I see
But every time she asks me do I look okay?
I say

When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
'Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are

And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for a while
'Cause girl, you're amazing
Just the way you are…
'"

My first thought was, oh my gosh, Mr. Rock Star listens to Bruno Mars! My second thought was, oh my gosh, he's playing this song for me! Does this mean he likes me? What does it meeeaaannn? My third thought was, I'll figure that out later, right now I need to look like I'm actually paying attention – fuck, he's so hot and he's so into it and oh man…

Needless to say, I was all over the place.

"'Her lips, her lips, I could kiss them all day if she'd let me
Her laugh her laugh, she hates but I think it's so sexy
She's so beautiful
And I tell her everyday

Oh, you know, you know I'd never ask you to change
If perfect's what you're searching for, then just stay the same
So don't even bother asking if you look okay
You know I'll say

When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
'Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are

And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for a while
'Cause girl, you're amazing
Just the way you are

The way you are
The way you are
Girl, you're amazing
Just the way you are

When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
'Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are

And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for a while
'Cause girl, you're amazing
Just the way you are…
'" He finished, playing the last note and holding it for just a few seconds.

I swallowed hard. His voice was every bit as good as I had remembered it, but it was different, lighter, more airy, now that he was singing a pop song. It was beautiful. I could listen to him sing all day it was so good.

"Well?" he asked me, looking a little nervous. "How was that?"

I smiled at him. "It was beautiful. Amazing. You know, you could totally get a recording contract. I could get you one."

He looked at me, the expression on his face almost uneasy. "Seriously, you don't have to. I like doing musicals. I don't need to get a recording contract. And if I do," he added, voice taking on a firm tone, "I'd like to earn it, not have it offered to me on a silver platter because one of my friends is Katie Knight."

I nodded. "I can respect that. I understand that. It's just…you're so good. I hope you do get a contract one day."

He smiled a little. "We'll see."

It was kind of funny in a way. Most of the people I had met since I was nine or ten had been really into the idea of using me to achieve fame and wealth. Even my brother had used me so that he could date Jo Taylor. But so far James hadn't asked for a single thing, and it kind of made a nice change. And maybe that was why I was so comfortable with him, because he was genuine.

We spent the next couple of hours walking around campus, James pointing out the different buildings. He showed me the theater, where he took a drama class, and the dance studio, where his dance class was held. Occasionally people would call "hi" to him and peer at me curiously, and when they did stop to chat he always made sure to introduce me to them, though he never mentioned my last name. A few people commented that they felt like they had seen me somewhere before, but by that time James and I had agreed to just say that that was probably because I hung out with him so that might be why.

Carlos and Logan were due to arrive at James' dorm at six-thirty, so at six we headed back to the residence hall and up to his room. It was empty, so we plopped down on his bed, spreading out as best we could. I could see a guitar case peeking out from under the bed frame, and I frowned. "Is that your acoustic guitar?" I asked, nodding towards the case.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "I try to keep it out of the way so that no one steps in it. The poor thing's been so beaten up since I first got it."

I chuckled. "You should play it for me."

He whined. "But I already played the piano for you."

"Yes, but they're not the same instrument. Come on," I wheedled. "I did an entire concert for you. You could at least do one or two songs on the guitar."

"You're bossy, you know that?"

I grinned. "Why, thank you very much. You should say more good stuff about me."

He smirked. "You're demanding, you're snarky, and you have an unhealthy obsession with guacamole."

My jaw dropped. "I do not! Guacamole is amazing! Take that back!"

He held up his hands. "Nah uh! Never!"

"Take. That. Back!" I pushed myself to my knees and he smirked at me.

"Make me."

I launched myself at him, pushing him down on his back against the pillows and holding him there. He squirmed under me and I straddled him, my knees digging into his hips as I tried to pin his arms over his head but he was too tall. Damn it.

"I'm going to add that to your Wikipedia page," he taunted. "That you and guacamole are having a love affair."

I slid further up his body, yanking his hands up over his head. "Do you have any handcuffs in here?"

He busted out laughing. "What the fuck? Why would I have handcuffs in my dorm room?"

"Beats the hell out of me. I don't know what kind of kinky things you're into."

"I know what kind of kinky things you're into. Guacamole."

I slapped my hand over his mouth. "I'm not letting you up until you apologize."

He raised his eyebrows at me and his eyes glittered in amusement.

"What?"

In response, he licked my hand and I squealed. The next thing I knew, he had thrown me off balance and I was on my back with James hovering over me, my arms over my head now.

I blinked up at him. "Heeey, you…"

He grinned. "Still think I should apologize?"

"Yes."

He reached down, sliding his fingers under my shirt so that they were against my bare skin, pressing into my sides. "You sure?"

"I swear, if you tickle me, I'll – "

"You'll – ?"

"Do something really drastic," I finished lamely. My brain was clouded, too busy screaming, His hand is under your shirt! He's touching your bare skin! Too. Much. Stimulation! It really wasn't paying attention to the fact that I needed a snarky, witty comment at that moment. It was failing me. Completely, utterly failing me.

"Do something drastic," he repeated, humming thoughtfully as his thumbs rubbed soft circles into the side of my rib cage.

"Yes," I said with as much dignity as I could muster when I was currently behind held down by a six foot something college boy who was overpowering every single sense I possessed. "I'll do something drastic. And it'll be unexpected. You won't even see it coming!" Since my hands were free, I made a kung-fu chop motion with my hands.

Wait. My hands were free. I could use that to my advantage. Somehow. Assuming I wanted to use it to my advantage. I kind of liked where I was.

Something told me I would make a really bad feminist.

"I won't, huh?" He grinned widely, looking like he was enjoying himself.

"Mmm hmm. You'll be completely blindsided."

His right thumb dipped up just under my bra's band and I bit my lip. He was driving me crazy. I was going to end up on the train headed for Loony Ville and I would never look back, all thanks to James and his damn hands. Oh, and his guacamole comment, which he was still totally in trouble for, as soon as I managed to cool the heat spreading through my body. I was sure it wouldn't last forever. Probably.

James smirked, thumb sliding up another centimeter or so. If he went up much farther he was going to be getting a spontaneous introduction to my chest. While my brain had switched to yelling at me to stop him already, my body was fighting back the urge to arch into him and make him get acquainted with the girls.

"I can't wait to see how you're going to blindside me," he murmured, and that was it. A girl couldn't wait forever. And besides, where was the fun if I didn't turn it back on him?

I smirked back, reaching up and trailing my finger up and down his chest, between his pecs and over his abs. His breath hitched, his stomach muscles contracting under my touch, and I fought back the urge to puff my chest out proudly. "How do you know I'm not planning it right now?" I challenged, hooking my finger in the V of his collar before pulling it out and moving back down his torso.

"I don't," he replied. "I'm just going to have to assume that you're not going to blindside me for a little while. And just what exactly are you going to do?" he added.

"Can't tell you," I purred, tracing the waistband of his jeans. "Otherwise it wouldn't be a surprise. And don't you like surprises?"

"Sometimes. You're a constant surprise."

My lips hitched up in another smirk. "You are too. You should surprise me right now."

"Oh?" he quirked an eyebrow. "How so?"

I opened my mouth to say "kiss me", but before I could get those two damn syllables out, an old 3 Doors Down song blasted out from James' jeans pocket and I fought back a groan. You had to be kidding me.

James yelped, rolling off of me as he struggled to pull his phone out, and I scowled at the wall. I knew I should have just yanked him down and kissed him. I knew it. And now I was kiss-less, hot, and annoyed as hell. Whoever had called him had better have a damn emergency, because otherwise –

"Sorry," James said as he ended the call. "That was Carlos. He and Logan are on their way."

"Oh, okay." I forced myself up into a sitting position, ignoring the way my sides still tingled from where he had touched me, ignoring the phantom heat burning into my skin, ignoring the fact that I could still feel his own skin under my fingertips. Fucking hell. I was a mess.

As a way to distract myself, I nudged James. "So, you going to play the guitar for me or what?"

"Yeah," he said, sounding like he had just run a 5K in the space of about three minutes. "Yeah, of course."

Which proved that I wasn't the only one affected by our little episode. He was no longer fighting me on playing the guitar.

He slid down so that he was kneeling on the floor, and he pulled the guitar case out. I watched as he unbuckled the case, lifting the lid to reveal the guitar. I didn't know a ton about guitars, but I knew that this was a nice one, and that despite what he had said earlier about it taking a bunch of abuse, it was well-cared for and loved.

"This is Sandy," he told me as he cradled the guitar in his arms, and I blinked.

"Sandy? You named your guitar?"

"Yes. Don't laugh," he added.

"I'm not going to," I promised him. "Why Sandy?"

"Because she's sand colored. See?" he gestured to the guitar's body. Sure enough, it was the pale golden color of sand, while the neck was a rich brown. The dots along the frets were coral blue, and I knew immediately why he had chosen that guitar. It reminded him of the ocean.

I nodded. "She's gorgeous."

He beamed in pride, and I fought back the urge to laugh. He was so adorable.

I watched as he caressed the guitar's curves as he sat back down on the bed, pick in hand. There was no doubt about it, she was his pride and joy as much as a guitar could be. And now I was thinking about her in gender terms. James was rubbing off on me, at least mentally. If his phone rang he might have been rubbing off on me physically, but that ship had already sailed.

"What do you want me to play?" James asked as he draped his arm over the guitar's body.

"Anything you want. Something that has personal meaning to you," I suggested. I knew from experience that those were always the most intense and most incredible songs to perform, when you felt like you were re-living an experience.

He nodded and began to play. "'Take a breath, I pull myself together
Just another step until I reach the door
You'll never know the way it tears me up inside to see you
I wish that I could tell you something to take it all away

Sometimes I wish I could save you
And there's so many things that I want you to know
I won't give up till it's over
If it takes you forever I want you to know

When I hear your voice it's drowning into whispers
You're just skin and bones, there's nothing left to take
And no matter what I do I can't make you feel better
If I only I could find the answer to help me understand

Sometimes I wish I could save you
And there's so many things that I want you to know
I won't give up till it's over
If it takes you forever I want you to know

That if you fall, stumble down I'll pick you up off the ground
If you lose faith in you I'll give you strength to pull through
Tell me you won't give up 'cause I'll be waiting
If you fall you know I'll be there for you

If only I could find the answer to take it all away

Sometimes I wish I could save you
And there's so many things that I want you to know
I won't give up till it's over
If it takes you forever I want you to know

I wish I could save you, I want you to know
I wish I could save you…
'" he trailed off, hand falling to his side once he had strummed the last note.

I blinked, not entirely sure what to say. That was an extremely emotional song. What the hell did you say to something like that?

I finally settled on, "What's that about?"

"My dad," he said shortly, before starting to play another song. "'Settle down with me
Cover me up
Cuddle me in

Lie down with me
And hold me in your arms

And your heart's against my chest, your lips pressed to my neck
I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet
And with a feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now

Kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
This feels like falling in love
Falling in love
We're falling in love

Settle down with me
And I'll be your safety
You'll be my lady

I was made to keep your body warm
But I'm cold as the wind blows so hold me in your arms

Oh no
My heart's against your chest, your lips pressed to my neck
I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet
And with this feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now

Kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
This feels like falling in love
Falling in love
We're falling in love

Yeah, I've been feeling everything from hate to love from love to lust
From lust to truth I guess that's how I know you
So I hold you close to help you give it up

So kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
This feels like falling in love
Falling in love
We're falling in love

Kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
This feels like falling in love
Falling in love
We're falling in love
…'"

I listened to him, my breath catching in my throat as he played the guitar and sang the lyrics, his voice soulful and melodic.

He set the guitar down on the floor, slipping the pick between the strings, and he turned to face me. I looked back at him, trying to find my voice, trying to figure out what I wanted to say to that. Once again I had no idea how to respond, but this time instead of feeling confused and worried, my stomach was churning in anticipation and my heart was beating rapidly. If he put his hand to my chest, he would be able to feel how fast it was thumping, like a drum during a parade march.

Barely thinking, I scooted closer to him, and he reached over, cupping my face in his hands. I leaned into him, feeling his hand slide down to my neck so that he could angle my face towards his. He was leaning in, lips centimeters from mine and I closed my eyes, almost tasting his mouth –

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Someone was going to pay for that.

James and I jerked apart at the sound of someone pounding on the door.

"James, it's us! Let us in!" Carlos hollered.

Un-fucking-believable. I was going to strangle Carlos and Logan before the night was over, I just knew it. Bloody hell.

James straightened up, running his fingers through his hair. Fingers that, just ten minutes ago, had been under my shirt, so close to crossing the line that Carlos and Logan kept freaking blocking.

Cock blocks.

Hmmph.

"Come in!" James called, not quite able to mask the hint of annoyance that his voice betrayed. At least I wasn't the only one who was frustrated by this.

The door swung open and Carlos and Logan trooped inside, Logan surveying us critically before looking at us apologetically. He must have picked up on the fact that he and Carlos must have interrupted something, and I gave him a tight lipped smile. Carlos, on the other hand, just beamed at us brightly, completely unaware that he and Logan had just interrupted – for the second time in the space of about fifteen minutes – what would have been James' and my first kiss.

"Ready to go?" Carlos said cheerfully.

"Yeah." I got to my feet and James followed suit.

"Let's do this thing!"


Okay, so...how many of you want to kill me? Probably a lot...Sorry? I know how much you guys want James and Katie to kiss, and I'm dying to write it, but I'm trying really hard to stick with the story's plan. Also, I'm trying to make sure that they don't just jump into a relationship. I know this is the ninth chapter, but they haven't spent a lot of time together yet. I know that there are people who jump into a relationship right away, but not these two. So I'm sorry, but I hope you guys will continue reading this story!

Thank you for reading! Please review :)