.:Chapter 10:.
Katie drummed her fingers on her desk, her eyes continuing to dart back and forth from the clock to Miss. Collins, hoping she didn't notice her anxiousness to get out of the classroom. It was the last class of the year before they were able to take the few days off for the New Year. Why Bitters continued to have the Palm Woods School continue to run even around the vacations students normally got? Katie was sure it had to do with the money that he was getting from the parents that sent their kids to that school.
He was really good at exploiting people when he needed to, though most of the tie his plans fell by the wayside compared to hers. It wasn't her fault she had been dabbling in preying on peoples' trusting nature. It also wasn't her fault that she had managed to get hundreds of dollars from Logan, Carlos, and James by playing poker whenever Kendall had one of them over to hang out or to babysit her because he couldn't handle it himself.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," she muttered under her breath. As soon as she gave the signal that she could leave, she could finally get ready for the party that night. Part of her wasn't sure if she still wanted to go, Victoria was someone that she knew she didn't want to be friends with, on one hand. On another, there was nothing worse than having a bunch of friends that were in the entertainment business and being left behind each and every time. It was, realistically, the only reason she knew that she actually wanted to, sort of, be friends with her.
There'd be someone around for her to hang out with without having to dwell not the fact that she was, in fact, Kendall Knight's little sister and she was doing nothing with her life but going to school. Even after her small stint of being Russell Brand's talent manager didn't help her credibility.
"God, are you on speed or something?" Victoria asked from Katie's right. She rolled her eyes, crossing her legs at the same time. Victoria rested her cheek in her pale palm, and angled her head to the side. "Maybe that's what's interesting about you, you're on drugs or something." Katie clenched her hands into fists as Victoria slowly smiled. "Either that or you're really excited to go to my party. Don't worry Katie, I didn't forget that surprise I have for you." She sat up and leaned towards her, putting her arm around her shoulders. "You're going to be the guest of honor."
"Oh really?" Katie raised an eyebrow. "What did I do to deserve that honor?"
"You're just special, Katie Knight," Victoria said. She turned to her friends and let out a little giggle. When she noticed Miss. Collins turning her way, she sat up straight, an innocent look sliding onto her face. The same look she gave nearly every adult that came her way, just so they wouldn't know that she really was, indeed, a mean girl.
"And that's the last for class today," Miss. Collins said with a warm smile, closing her science textbook. She held it against her chest and smiled around at the class. "I hope you all have a happy New Year and I'll see you when we resume our classes in January." She turned and went back to her desk s the students got up and started to clear their desks and chairs.
Finally! Katie leapt to her feet, throwing her backpack onto her desk. She heard a squishing sound and frowned as a dark spot appeared on the lower bottom from of the bag. Beside her, she could hear Victoria's giggles increase and opened her bag to see a water balloon had exploded in the bag, soaking everything inside. Her notebooks, textbooks, and her mp3 player were now completely soaked. Katie grabbed her mp3 and started to shake water from it. That wasn't a big deal, she had enough money saved up to get another one. She had expected something like that coming at some point, though it was probably one of the more juvenile pranks she had seen.
"Awww, did Katie get a little wet?" Margo said loud enough for other students to turn, wondering what was going on. Once they saw Katie's backpack, they started to laugh as they left the room.
Katie gave a weak laugh. "That's probably one of the lamest pranks I've ever seen," Katie said, picking up her books with one hand and her bag with the other. She carefully slid it into her back, making sure the water didn't touch her clothes. "I came up with better ones when I was three. My brother can attest to that."
Victoria scowled. "Geez, Katie, you're always going on and on about your brother." She stepped close to Katie, enough so that Katie was flooded with the scent of her perfume. "No one cares." She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "I mean, yeah, he's cute and he and the other guys are coming to my party so that's totes cool." Katie made a face. "But you don't need to brag about him all the time. Newsflash, everyone around here is in the industry it's not a big deal."
She stepped around Katie and walked out of the room, her friends following behind her. Katie frowned, following along behind them. She didn't look at Miss. Collins as she left the room; there was no point in bringing her into it. Just talking to Kendall before had really helped her out, how he knew she was up to something, she wasn't sure. Somehow he always knew whenever something was going on, but just like the big brother that he was, he was at least giving her the chance to deal with it on her own instead of going into his 'big brother mode' and wanting to do everything himself. When she was a little kid that did nothing but follow him around, back in Minnesota, it was fine.
But they were in LA now and she was going to have to deal with it on her own.
"Hey!"
Katie looked up and smiled, walking over to Lizzie, who sat in one of the chairs by the French doors that lead to the Palm Woods Pool. As Katie approached, she stood up, brushing off the back of her long skirt. Finally, she lowered her phone and flipped her hair over her shoulder, giving Katie a bright smile.
"Finally you're done; I was starting to get bored." Lizzie gave an exaggerated pout.
Katie laughed. "How do you think I feel? I was the one that had to sit there all day." She let out a short sigh. "Thank God it was the last day." Her eyes then narrowed and she looked Lizzie up and down. "Wait. What are you doing here?"
"Um, we have that party we're going to right?" Lizzie asked, her eyes narrowing. "We need to get a dress or some outfit or something." She placed her hands on her hips. "You know I can't go anywhere without getting a completely new outfit." Katie laughed as Lizzie shook her head, making a tsk sound with her mouth. Katie tried not to roll her eyes. She couldn't even begin to count how many times Lizzie had dragged her off to the mall for some impromptu shopping spree. As much as Lizzie had changed since Katie met her three years ago, she was still someone that spent her money on frivolous things when she could, because she could. "So, let's get going! I've got the keys to Dak's truck."
"Ugh, don't remind me," Katie murmured. "Mom still wont' let me drive. I keep telling her that I won't be able to learn if no one teaches me, but no!"
"I already told you I'd teach you," Lizzie said. She put her arm around Katie's shoulder, pulling her to her side. "It just has to be with a car that's not Dak's because other than driving not the road, he doesn't trust me. And he barely trusts me with his own truck out of the neighborhood."
"You crashed it the second you got your license," Katie reminded her.
"So? He doesn't have to hang it over my head forever."
Katie backed out from underneath Lizzie's arm, shaking her head. Leave it to Lizzie not to listen to what her brother had to say most of the time. Not for the fact that Katie had a little bit of a lasting crush on him, but even she had to agree with Dak when he said that his sister was a terrible driver. Most of the time Katie had her hands over her face or was gripping the life out of her arm rests due to the crippling fear. But it was better than having to be driven everywhere, which Kendall and Dak still insisted. If it was Riley or Rhuben driving them around, or Patrick or Noah for that matter, it wasn't a big deal. But when she was stuck with one of the guys or her mother, it was unbearable.
"So let's go and we can pick something out," Lizzie continued.
"Aww, isn't that sweet," Victoria said, walking over to Katie and Lizzie. Lizzie looked at her then crossed her arms over her chest, obviously looking her up and down. Katie twisted her mouth to the said, waiting for the biting remark that was going to be thrown out. "So Katie actually has a girlfriend. That makes so much sense!" She turned back to Tiffany, giving her a pointed look. "It's no wonder she's so insecure."
Katie just gave Victoria a smile and grabbed onto Lizzie's arm, walking her out of the Palm Woods and through the parking lot, over to Dak's truck. Lizzie didn't say anything until the two girls were inside and the door was closed. "You're just going to let her get away with that?" she demanded.
"No," Katie said honestly. She shook her head, slouching down in her seat. "I'm not going to let her get away with it. I'm tired of her making fun of me all the time." She chuckled. "I already nailed her in the back of the head with a soccer ball."
"Now that makes sense as to why you suddenly decided to switch from dance lessons to soccer ones," Lizzie remarked. She turned on the car, looking over her shoulder as she carefully backed up. "Anyway, what are you going to do? I mean, why are you still going to her party if she's done nothing but torment you since you two met?"
"Because, according to her, I'm her guest of honor," Katie replied. "Which just means that she's going to try and find some way to humiliate me on a grand scale." She brought her hands up, cracking her knuckles, slowly smiling an evil smile. "And I'm going to beat her to the punch." Lizzie nodded silently, continuing to drive along. Katie ran through her options in her head, there wasn't anything she could do unless she was sure what Victoria was going to do first, and even then, she was going to need some help and some supplies. "Do you mind stopping at the Jacksons' house first?"
"Either you want to see your boyfriend or you have something sneaky up your sleeve," Lizzie remarked.
"The latter," Katie said. "I need to talk to Syd."
"What about?" Lizzie glanced over at her with a hint of concern on her face.
She was worried about her. Did Katie really not care that this girl was treating her so badly? She just took it each and every time, bottling up everything that was thrown in her face. The teasing, the taunting, the threats, she just took it all. The only thing Lizzie knew about it was the small tidbits that Katie would tell her. Otherwise she only heard about it from Patrick or Noah if she had ever complained about it to them. She felt incredibly bad when Patrick had called to tell her that Katie had started crying after Victoria had made her spill smoothie all over herself.
There wasn't much that Lizzie could do, other than stand up for her friend whenever she had the chance. It took her ages to get Katie to talk about it the first time and she clammed up every time afterwards. Maybe there was something she could do to make her friend feel better.
Lizzie slowly started to smile as an idea popped into her head.
"What?"
Katie's weary voice broke Lizzie out of her thoughts. Lizzie glanced over at her before slowing down for the red light that was in front of her. Katie had her head resting against her upraised fist, staring out the front window. A solemn expression was on her face. Lizzie had never seen her so bummed before, not even when Katie had to go back to LA from the boys' All Over the World Tour. Oh yeah, her idea was going to put that smile back on her best friend's face. She only needed a little help from Noah to do it.
"Nothing," Lizzie replied as convincingly as possible. "What do you need to talk to Syd about?" She asked again, changing the subject back.
"You'll see."
Lizzie's smile widened as she caught the familiar glint of mischief in Katie's eyes.
Katie grabbed a brush and pulled it through her hair a few times before leaning forward and looking at her handiwork in the bathroom mirror. She looked a lot better than she thought she would, to be honest. Her hair was behaving nicely, and her makeup looked spot on. Katie took a step back and looked at her reflection in the mirror. A jean vest over a long-sleeved pink shirt, and a light colored polka-dotted skirt. It wasn't something she thought she would ever wear, but as the seconds passed it was actually starting to grow on her. Katie smiled to herself as she spun in a quick circle, allowing the bottom of the skirt to rise up a little.
Grabbing the sides of her skirt and pulling them back, Katie looked down and the sneakers she had paired along with them. Yes, it was probably bit too relaxed for a place as upscale as Tatou, even for Victoria's taste in general. But it was something that work for the plan she had set up. Katie could barely keep the smile off her face as she thought about it, she couldn't wait to see the look on Victoria's face when she realized that Katie had finally gotten back at her. It was like Kendall said, she would use her brain and her street smarts to get even rather than actually physically hurting the girl.
She was a Knight, that way.
"Katie are you ready to go yet?" James called, knocking on the door. "We're going to be late!"
Katie rolled her eyes as she turned back to the sink and grabbed a bottle of mascara. How ironic was it that James was the one that was pressuring her to hurry up? If he got the chance, he would have stayed in front of the mirror all day long. Now he was pushing her, the one that would rather just throw on a pair of t-shirt and jeans and run out the door as quickly as possible, to go along quicker? It made Katie laugh. Yeah, she was really in a good mood.
"I'll be out in a minute," Katie called back. She leaned towards the mirror, opening her eyes wide to swipe the makeup onto her lashes. "Calm down." She shook her head for a moment, removing the wand from her eyes, then recapped it. "By the way, how does Jo deal with you thinking you're better looking than her?" She teased.
James let out a low laugh then lowered his voice into that low rumbling he always did whenever he was being exceptionally serious. "Please, do you think I have a death wish? I just tell her what she wants to hear when we all know that I'm the best looking thing on the planet." There was a brief pause and his voice lifted once more. "You used to think so."
"James!" Katie snapped, her voice echoing off the tiled bathroom walls. "I never had a crush on you, OK?!"
"That's good to know," Kendall's voice then came through the door. Katie sighed, rolling his eyes. She could practically see the withering look that Kendall was giving James and the charming smile James was giving him in return. She should have known that no matter how many times she denied her feelings for James when she was younger, that Kendall would catch on at some point. "But, yeah, you need to get out here because Mom has some last minute instructions for us."
"Ok! Ok!"
Katie put down her makeup, checking it one more time before sliding the heart shaped necklace around her neck, making sure it fell flat against her chest. Once that was done, she pulled back her hair once more and left the bathroom. She walked over to her brother and his friends, waiting for the rules her mother was going to lay on them. She looked over at the boys as they waited hands in pockets or behind their backs. They all looked good, she decided, though knew they probably had their girlfriends tell them what to wear. After having gotten more leeway with their band and their image in the past year, Katie couldn't help but cringe and some of the more…questionable things they had managed to come up with.
Katie turned her attention back to her mother, who was now standing in front of the five teenagers, a no-nonsense expression on her face. "Ok, I know that because it's New Years and you guys are going to your first New Years party you expect to have a great night." Mrs. Knight raised a hand. "But I want you to be aware of how dangerous it can be. There will be people out there drinking and there will be people who have been drinking, that will be driving so I want you to leave to get to the Jacksons' house at a reasonable time."
"No problem," Kendall reassured her.
"And if anyone ever pressures you to do something you don't want to, then it's fine to say 'no'."
"Of course," James agreed.
"Don't leave the building at all,"
"We wouldn't dream of it," Logan continued.
"Remember that you're not just representing yourselves as individuals, but you're representing Big Time Rush, Gustavo, Kelly, Rocque Records, and me."
"You got it!" Carlos saluted Mrs. Knight.
"And I want you to keep an eye on Katie."
Katie frowned. No. No way. That would throw a wrench in her whole plan. If the guys were watching her, which she knew they took as a keyword to actually keep an eye on her then everything would be ruined and it would be embarrassing. It would give Victoria another reason to torment her. Not to mention she would probably never forgive them.
"Yep!" Kendall, Logan, Carlos, and James all chorused.
"No!" Katie protested. She let out a sigh, her shoulders slumping as she gazed at her mother. Mrs. Knight turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "Mom, I'm not a baby, I can take of myself. Besides, I'll be with Patrick, Noah, Lizzie, and Sydney all night long." She motioned over to the boys. "And they have their own friends to hang out with; they don't want me glued to their side all night long!"
"Geez, Katie, it seems like you don't want to be seen with us at all," Logan teased.
"I just don't want to be around you all when it hits midnight," Katie mumbled. She cleared her throat and turned back to her mother. "Mom, please! I'm sixteen years old; I can hang out with my friends by myself. And you said before the only rule we had was that we would answer whenever you called all night." Mrs. Knight turned to look at Kendall and when she turned back to her daughter, Katie clasped her hands together, sticking out her lower lip as far as it could go. She saw a hint of a smile on Mrs. Knight's face and even widened her eyes to go along with the look. "Alright."
Katie cheered, throwing her hands into the air.
"Just make sure you call me as soon as you get to the Jacksons' house later tonight, ok?" Katie smiled and nodded. Mrs. Knight nodded back. "Ok, I hope you all have a good time." She moved to walk around them, but Kendall's voice stopped her.
"What are you doing tonight, Mom?" He asked, a sly smile coming onto his face.
Mrs. Knight shrugged, looking back at her son. Katie thought she was trying to be as casual as possible. "I'm just going to hang out around here tonight."
"Alone?" He pressed, giving her the side-eye.
Mrs. Knight placed her hands on her hips, her mouth dropping opens slightly. After a second she closed her mouth once more and then nodded. "Yes, alone," She insisted. "Do you really think I'm not going to take advantage of the fact that I'm finally going to have the apartment to myself for a night?"
"Whatever you say, Mama Knight," James said with a smile and a wink. "Whatever you say."
Logan's phone buzzed and he pulled it out of his pocket. He glanced over the text that appeared on screen and replaced his phone once more. "So the limo's here, we should get going." He, James, and Carlos turned and walked out of the apartment. Kendall and Katie were slow behind them, watching their mother as they left. They only spoke when the door to the crib was closed behind them.
"She's not going to be here alone," Katie said.
"No, she's not," Kendall agreed. The two walked down to the Palm Woods lobby and out to the parking lot where a stretch limo was parked, the motor running. Carlos already had his head out of the roof and was howling at the sky n between the times he would duck his head back inside to laugh with his friends. When he spotted Kendall, he stuck his head back out the roof and shouted and waved to get his attention. "Are you guys sure you don't want to come into the limo with us?"
"Nah, we have to stop somewhere first so we'd be late anyway," Katie said. She then noticed the worried look Kendall was giving her. "Noah's driving if that helps," she said. "So we don't have to worry about Lizz crashing us or whatever."
Kendall chuckled. "That's not what I was thinking about…I was just going to say that I know whatever you were talking about…with that girl that's been bothering you…you're going to do something tonight. So if you ever need my help, just let me know, Baby Sister."
"Thanks Big Brother," Katie replied. "I'll keep that in mind." She started to walk towards the other end of the parking lot where she spotted Noah's car.
"Hey, Katie?"
Katie turned back to face her brother.
He smiled warmly at her. "You look great, tonight."
Katie smiled back at him. "So do you, Big Brother." She turned back and continued walking over to Noah's car. This time her smile was the biggest one she had in a while. Victoria was going to finally get what was coming to her and she couldn't wait. She suddenly started to slow.
Actually, she corrected herself. Now all I have to do is figure out whether or not I'm getting that New Year's Kiss.
A/N: So, like I said in Memories and Melodies I'm not writing BTR fics anymore unless I get a good idea. But I felt bad for not finishing this story, so it's going to be finished but updated very slowly. So I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Cheers,
-Riles
