A/N: Ahh! An actual update. So sorry for the delay. Work always calls for attention, and one has to answer.
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Disclaimer: BTR is not mine!
After a couple of weeks of intensive practices, and many meetings, Kendall was finally packed and ready to go to the team's first away-game.
"So, like what? You're actually going to be on national television? Wow, I can't believe it. We've been watching those guys since we were babies, dreaming that we'd be one of them, and now you are one, well, one of the guys in suits," James exclaimed, ushering Kendall to make a move in the pool game they were playing at his mansion.
Kendall splayed his hands apart, still holding onto his cue-stick. "I know. I've been pinching myself all week, I've got bruises up and down my arm. I still can't believe this is happening. It's completely unreal," he sighed dreamily, blinking his green eyes. He eyeballed his next move.
"Well, congratulations, man. Speaking of congratulations," James leaned against his cue-stick and smirked suggestively at Kendall. "Has Bev congratulated you, yet? And I don't mean by taking you out to dinner."
Kendall took his shot and missed. He straightened up, groaning. "James, everyone knows what you mean when you say things like that." He sighed again, this time, a little more contemplatively. "And no, we haven't done it, yet. We're taking it slow."
"Dude!" James cried, shooting his shot and getting the ball in. "It's been like a month or something like that. You better get on it. She's gonna start thinking there's something wrong with you. I mean, not that I know from personal experience or anything. You're a good-looking guy, she's a looker herself, what's holding you back?"
Kendall rolled his eyes, listening as James' Hollywood lingo seeped into his speech. He knew Katie was quite literally trying to knock it out of the celeb's head, being unable to tolerate it herself.
"There's nothing holding me back, we're just waiting for the right time," Kendall replied, though not completely convinced himself.
He had wondered why it was taking so long for him and Bev to reach that stage. Over the course of the last month, they had went out or stayed in together quite numerously, but they had never crossed that final line. It was unusual for Kendall to wait this long before sleeping with a girlfriend. He remembered it only taking five dates with Lucy before it happened when they were living at the Palm Woods. He shook his head, it was probably a bad idea to think about his ex-girlfriend, who was now currently his friend, in a mental discussion with himself about sex with his current girlfriend. He shook his head again, thinking about how confusing that last thought was.
"It'll happen when it happens," Kendall stated, hoping that his friend would stop with this conversation.
"Hey, I'm home. Oh, hey, Kendall, Henry didn't mention that you were here." Katie said, mentioning James' manservant as she entered the rec room, or as she liked to call it, 'James' Man Cave'. "Shouldn't you be home packing your stuff?"
"All done. So, now I'm just killing time with James. Carlos is still working on that movie, which I thought he was supposed to be done by now."
Katie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. James slapped himself on the forehead behind her, causing Kendall to frown.
"Ugh, don't even get me started on him. He was supposed to be done, but no. The idiot had to go and insult Marka, again, about her acting. And Marka, lovely Marka, decides that she doesn't want to do the film anymore until Carlos apologizes. So for a whole week, the two of them were sitting in their trailers fuming about each other. Kevin, the director, is furious with the both of them, and with me for being unable to control them. They don't even realize that they're practically blacklisting themselves and me with their childish behaviour. Rachel and Ali have been working with their respective PR people to keep this fight on the down low, because if the media catches wind of this, that's the end of both of their careers," Katie spewed out, a little grateful that she had the actors' agents to help her out.
Kendall whistled, thinking of why James didn't want Kendall to mention Carlos. When his sister was mad, everyone suffered. "Then what happened?" Even though he knew of the consequences, he was still curious as to how the story ends.
"I had to threaten Carlos that if he didn't apologize, than I was going to call home to Mrs. Garcia and let her deal with her boneheaded son. As for Marka, well, because she still has to remain on her grandfather's good side, I told her that if she doesn't accept Carlos' apology, than I was going to tell the paparazzi myself, about what was going on on-set."
Kendall and James winced, "That's harsh, sis." They were aware of how Marka, coming from an affluential family back east, would have to comply to anything that Katie dished out because she didn't want to go back to the likelihood of not only possibly shaming her family name, but also risk potentially losing out on her inheritance.
"Ugh, they should be thankful that they still have their jobs. Now, I have think about how to get back into Kevin's good books so that he'll want to work with me in the future, and not think that I'm so hapless at my job. Never again will I put those two together. I better go make some phone calls right now to try and sort this out."
"Okay, I'll call you when dinner's ready," James said sweetly as he laid a cautious kiss on Katie's hair. "Don't worry yourself over it."
Katie sighed, "'Kay." She briefly hugged him and left the room to head into her home office that once belonged to James. He had given up the room when he realized that his girlfriend needed more than he did. There was little that could be done behind a desk for a singer slash actor.
Kendall bit back a smile, as he witnessed the whole exchange. Even though he constantly questioned their relationship, it was always moments like these that helped him understand how and why James and Katie stayed together.
Not wanting to let James know exactly how much he approved of the relationship, Kendall smirked and did a whipping motion with his hands while simultaneously making the suggestive noise that went along with it.
James flushed, "I am not whipped, okay? Just make your move!"
Kendall's smirk grew even wider. "It's your move, actually."
James grumbled before setting himself up to take another shot. "I knew that."
Kendall chuckled, happy that his friend was suffering slightly. "You are so totally whipped, my friend. Let's face it. You wrote an epic love letter that was published for the whole world to see. Then you write Katie a love song that is so clearly about her. And now, you've not only moved her into your once esteemed 'bachelor mansion,' but also relinquished your prized office. I know you use that office to impress the directors that come over here."
"I didn't have any use for it, really. I can entertain the directors in my living room," James shrugged. "And you, of all people, should know that I wrote that letter, initially, to save Knight Management." He took a shot and missed.
"Yeah, for Katie!" Kendall reiterated, laughing.
"Okay, so I do a lot of things for her, but that doesn't mean I'm whipped," James all but yelled, pointing a finger at Kendall.
"Ahem, please excuse the interruption, but sir, Miss. Katie requires your assistance," Henry announced by the door.
James quickly placed the pool stick on the table. "Oh, thanks, Henry." He glanced at Kendall, "Don't you dare say a word."
Kendall laughed and once again made the whipping sound.
"Listen, you crazy woman, I told you, I don't have your pen! I can't believe you followed me home. You do realize that I can call security to come and get you, right?" Carlos cried out, despite the late hour.
Kendall woke up from the sudden yelling that entered the apartment.
"Please, if you wanted to call security, you would have left me by the front desk, but you didn't. And I know you have my pen. Leslie borrowed it from me and she lent it to Shane who lent it to you, so give it back." A female voice replied, equally as loud.
"I don't have your pen! Why is it so important to you anyway? Just buy yourself a new one." Kendall stuck his head out of his room to see Carlos standing two feet away from a petite red haired woman, eyes blazing.
He stepped out of his room, "Is everything alright out here?" Kendall rubbed an eye.
Carlos gestured to Kendall, "You see? You've woken up my roommate, and he just came back from a flight."
Kendall swore he saw the pretty redhead look sheepishly at him before hardening her glare at Carlos, "That wouldn't have happened if you just returned my pen! And, I can't just go out and buy a new one, that one has sentimental value. Just give it back to me and I'll leave."
"I told you, I don't have it." Carlos sighed, rubbing his face. "Just go home, Marka. It's been a long day, and we still have to work together, again, tomorrow."
Recognizing her dismissal, Marka huffed. "This isn't over." She whipped her hair as she stormed out of the condo.
Carlos sighed, standing before the door. It took a minute before he shut the door and locked it. He turned around and looked at Kendall. "Sorry about that."
"So that's Marka, huh? She's...something," Kendall smirked. "Pretty, though."
Carlos scoffed, "As if. She's nothing but a big pain in my butt. I can't wait until we're finished working because then I won't have to look at her face day in and day out. Anyway, sorry to wake you. You can go back to sleep now."
Kendall smirked. "Okay, but if you want to talk, you know where to find me."
"There's nothing to talk about. She's a mean person, and I can't wait to get away from her!" Carlos yelled, slamming the kitchen counter.
Kendall held up his hands, "Okay. I gotcha." He finally understood what Katie meant when she said that she had never seen Carlos so angry. Very rarely did he himself see his best friend lose his temper, but when he did, things tended to break. "Just relax, and go to sleep. Katie brought over some food earlier, and there's some for you in the fridge. I know you miss Henry's cooking."
Carlos sighed again, dropping his face into his hands as he leaned on the kitchen counter. "Thanks."
Kendall realized that Carlos wanted time to himself, so he shut the door to his room, giving him some space.
"Wow. So he completely flipped, huh? You know I don't think I've ever seen Carlos angry. No wait, there was that time we played that exposing secrets game," Lucy said, as she sat with Kendall on a bench in the hockey arena. Practice had just finished and Kendall and Lucy were waiting around as Ryan took to running around by the rink's edge, excited from watching the players so closely.
Kendall chuckled. "I can't believe you remember all these things from way back then."
Lucy threw her head back and laughed. "Are you kidding me? Those were some great years. I bet you remember almost everything from then too. And, who could forget, that whole ordeal led to you almost butchering Camille from figure-skating. You know, I still have pictures of you in that sparkly purple outfit."
Kendall groaned. "Please tell me you're joking. That was an absolute nightmare, from beginning to end. I never want to relive that moment. Ever."
Even though Kendall was completely mortified with Lucy's anecdote, the two shared laughs as they reminisced. Time simply slipped away. They wouldn't have noticed how long they've been sitting there if a voice hadn't called out to Kendall.
"Kendall?"
Kendall turned his head to a familiar voice. Standing a few levels down was his girlfriend, Beverly.
She looked at Lucy and him questioningly as she continued her way up to them.
Kendall stood up. "Bev. Hey, what are you doing here?" He leaned down and kissed her in welcoming.
"Um, I closed the office a little early. I thought I'd stop by and surprise you." Beverly replied. "Who's your friend?" She raised a delicate eyebrow, voice calm.
Though it took him a few years to understand that girls spoke in a completely different language than a regular human being, Kendall knew that he was treading in dangerous waters with his girlfriend. Even still, he couldn't claim to be an expert in this field. Not for the first time, he wished that girls didn't have to speak so cryptically with double entendres all over the place.
Kendall whipped his head back and forth, flinching internally as he heard his nervousness. "Oh. My bad. Bev, this is Lucy, an old friend from my Big Time Rush days. Lucy, this is Bev, my girlfriend."
Lucy had stood up by the time he made the introductions. She threw Kendall a questioning look before smiling warmly at Bev. "Hi, nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you."
Kendall's eyes grew large. He had never mentioned Beverly to Lucy or vice versa. He had thought it was a bad idea to tell his current girlfriend that he was reconnecting with an old one or tell his ex-girlfriend about his new girlfriend. Kendall was starting to think that it was a bad idea. There was no way that this was going to end well.
"He mentioned how gorgeous you were, but clearly, his words do no justice," Lucy continued, still startling Kendall with her ease of fibbing. She looked down at her watch. "You know, we should probably get going. It's getting late." She called out to her son, who was still having the time of his life running across the backboards. "Ryan! Time to go home, sweetie."
Beverly looked down, noticing for the first time, the tiny person by the ice. She looked back up at Lucy. "He's your son."
Lucy grinned, "Yep, my only true love. Well, I don't want to hold you guys up." She turned to Kendall. "Thanks so much for letting Ryan watch the practice. It really means the world to him."
"No problem," Kendall replied after a beat, mentally scratching his head.
Lucy walked past the couple and headed down the stairs to collect her son. Beverly and Kendall watched on from above. Lucy quickly swung Ryan onto her hip and spoke him. Ryan looked up and waved, before Lucy walked them out the door.
Beverly turned to look at the sheepish blonde. "So, Lucy seems nice."
Remembering all the things that Katie had told him about reading girl's facial expressions when speaking, Kendall knew he was in the clear; Beverly was more amused than angry.
"She's really just an old friend. Her son really likes hockey, so I thought it'd be cool to take him to practice one day." He pulled her to his side as they climbed down the stairs.
"I didn't say anything," Bev responded. "Should I be worried?"
Kendall scoffed, hoping that she understood that he really only thought of Lucy in a platonic manner. "What? No." He grinned after a moment of silence. "Is that a hint of jealously, I detect?"
Beverly nudged him, giggling as he pulled her closer. She rolled her eyes at his apparent obliviousness. "Yes, I was a little jealous. I mean, come on, all of a sudden I see my handsome boyfriend with an attractive female, whom I've never heard of before, sitting alone in an arena, who wouldn't be jealous? But, I do believe you when you say that you guys are just friends. Trust me, I won't go all crazy-over-possessive-super-girlfriend-mode on you, but I am human, I'm allowed to be a little jealous."
Kendall stopped them in their tracks when they reached the parking lot. He nudged her chin up with a finger. "There's nothing going between Lucy and me. I only have eyes for you." He pulled her body up against his as he leaned down and gave her the most heartfelt kiss he could muster. He smiled as he felt her arms wrap around his neck.
When they pulled apart for air, Kendall grinned as he watched Beverly do her odd quirk of slowly opening her eyes, as if she were savouring every moment.
He chuckled, leaning his forehead against hers. "You know, I like a little green on you. It's hot."
Beverly rolled her eyes, smiling as she pushed him away. "I am not green with envy." She unlocked her car door with her remote. "So, I'll meet you at my place?"
Kendall considered her, before answering. "Yeah. We're going to drop off your car, and then we're heading over to James' place."
"Wait? What?" Beverly blinked in bewilderment. "We're meeting up with your friends tonight?" Until this point, Kendall had yet to invite Beverly to join him and the gang for dinner because he didn't know how the group dynamic would be, especially with the history between Beverly, James, and Katie. However, it really wasn't until now that Kendall realized that it was silly of them to avoid each other, because the way he saw it, Beverly was going to be part of his future; they had to get used to it somehow.
"Yep. I think it's time that you join me in all the crazy, wonderful things that happen with my family."
Beverly blinked rapidly again before breaking out into a huge grin. "Okay, let's do this." She got into her car, smiling widely as she drove away.
Kendall grinned, watching his girlfriend leave, before getting into his own vehicle. Before starting the car, he pulled out his vibrating phone. He shook his head, smiling, as he read Lucy's message to him: Yes, I totally just saved your butt. You're welcome. :) Your g/f's totally gorgeous btw. Why haven't you mentioned her?
He couldn't believe his luck, that whole encounter between the two women could have played out much uglier than it did. Fortunately for him, Lucy was on the ball about the whole thing. He shrugged to himself thinking of why girls couldn't always be this awesome and not make a drama out of everything. It would make life much simpler for guys everywhere.
A/N: I know, I take the mickey out of women everywhere in this chapter, but being one myself, I know how catty girls can get. I thought it would be amusing to write something from a man's perspective. Also, I think guys everywhere appreciates a girl who helps him out with tight spots, and I think that Lucy would be one of those girls.
So, really, I'd love to hear what you guys think of this chapter. Review?
I promise to try and update soon, but somehow I actually managed to catch up posted chapters to written chapters. So we'll have to see how this goes. :)
Thanks again for your support! Love your guys!
Love,
D
