A/N: This is the chapter where all the love starts happening...be prepared...X)
Chapter 8:
Closer Than Before
"Please, please tell me you left the door open, mom." I murmured to myself as I walked up to the door with Kendall. I twisted the knob and groaned. "Crap."
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"My mom didn't give me a key for our room yet, and she went grocery shopping. She said she won't be back until much later." I explained, leaning against the wall and sliding down to sit on the floor. Kendall did the same, crossing his legs as I pulled mines up to my chest.
"Well, it's not that bad, right? We just have to wait until she gets here." I shook my head.
"You don't know my mom. She will buy groceries for just about a three months, and since she's got extra girls to worry about, it's going to take her extra time." I explained again. I banged my head, groaning at the pain.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it. It's my fault that I made you bring me here." Kendall said, patting my knee in comfort. I smiled up at him.
"That's really sweet, Kendall." he shrugged, slightly blushing.
"So, you asked me a question earlier...and I have not yet answered it. Do you want the answer?" I asked him, remembering the question he had asked me out of nowhere. Kendall paused, trying to remember what I was talking about.
"Ever had a boyfriend, Abbey?" he asked again, finally remembering what it was. I grinned, putting a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Uh, no, I've never had a boyfriend." I answered his question with ease, not thinking it was that big of a deal. Kendall nodded knowingly.
"How come?"
"How come? Uh, I don't know, maybe guys just didn't think I was beautiful enough or something." I replied, thinking back at all of the close guy friends I had. Most of them already had girlfriends, or were gay, so I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to date them. But, maybe they didn't think I was girlfriend material in the first place.
"Ever liked a boy at all?" I rolled my eyes at Kendall's question.
"Of course I have. Tons of boys. Actually, I have a liking to this boy I met." I hinted at Kendall, but he continued to look at me, as if explaining for me to continue. "Nope, that's all you're learning about him. Besides, I'm sure you know him." Kendall thought for a moment, but I'm sure he came up blank, so before his brain started sizzling, I decided to turn the tables on him.
"Ever had a girlfriend?" This caught him by surprise, since he turned to me with a whip of his head. Yeah, I know the answer, but I wanted to hear Kendall's side of the story.
"Huh?"
"Have you ever had a girlfriend?" I repeated, folding my arms and smirking. His face fell, and he turned to face the wall across from us in a spacious way.
"Kendall? You okay? Look, you don't have to answer, I was jus-" he cut me off shaking his head.
"No, it's okay, Abbey. You told me, and I'll tell you." he turned to me, a sad expression on his face. "I had a girlfriend before. Her name's Jo, and I met her at the Palm Woods. I fell for her instantly, and she fell for me. We went out for a good, solid, six months." he paused, as if the next part would be too much to handle, and he might just burst into tears. I grabbed his hand amd squeezed it tight, as if telling him he didn't have to continue, but he squeezed back, as if I gave him the energy to continue.
"We broke up a few weeks ago. I mean, she broke up with me, but I assume it was for the best. She said that she needed to work on her acting more and I needed to work on my singing more. That it was best for the both of us." he finished, laying his head on my shoulder.
"That's kinda harsh, isn't it?" I thought out loud, but then I mentally hit myself for saying it. 'Way to be nice, Abb.' I thought to myself.
"Maybe. But, if we would've never broken up, I guess I would've never met you, Abbey." He lifted his head up to look at me.
"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to avoid his eyes.
"When Gustavo was looking for a new musical project, he recommended that the guys and I should go. But, I didn't wanna leave Jo, so I stayed. But, after me and her broke up, I just decided to go. I think the space away from her helped me get over her. We were looking all around the United States to look for the perfect singers. Then we came across New York, and we met you and the girls." he explained.
"Oh, okay. Then, thank you, Jo." I replied and Kendall laughed.
"You are really funny." he said, leaning closer to my face. I giggled.
"Yeah, well..." I shrugged my shoulders playfully, blushing, leaning in closer, too. Our lips were inches apart, all we had to do was close the gap. To help, I even put my hand on his neck to pull him in, incase something happened. And, well, something happened...
A dog ran down the hallway, specifically the one me and the girls saw earlier today, making me pull away from Kendall in wonder. 'Every time!' I thought to myself angrily. "No, Coconut, bad dog! Come back here!" the girl from earlier, who I'm guessing is Sophia, yelled out to the dog, running after it. They both turned down the hallway. Just then, the elevator doors opened and out walked Mr. Bitters. He sniffed both ends of the hallway and finally turned towards the way the dog and Sophia went.
"I smell a dog." he said out loud, walking that direction. I quickly stood up, bringing Kendall up with me.
"Come on, I have an idea." I said, running to where Mr. Bitters went.
"Mr. Bitters! We need your help!" I yelled out to him. I quickly ruffled Kendall's hair and grabbed his hand, doing my best 'wobbly' look. Mr. Bitters walked up to us, slightly mad.
"What is it?" he asked sternly.
"Well, me and Kendall need the key to my room." I stated, letting out a fake giggle.
"And why is that?" Mr. Bitters asked.
"Because...well, ya know...we're gonna...do it." Mr. Bitters' eyes widened as I said this and began saying "Oh! Of course! Right this way." I nodded, letting him go in front of me and Kendall.
"What exactly is your plan?" Kendall whispered to me. I held up a finger as Mr. Bitters took out his many sets of keys.
"Um, can we get some ice, Mr. Bitters? Kendall here is gonna need it when I'm done with him. I'll find the key."
"Uh, yes. Be right back." Mr. Bitters said, handing me the keys and walking back down the hallway. After he was around the corner, I began searching for the key labeled 'hotel room'. As I searched, Sophia came down the hallway, running up to me and Kendall, holding the dog in her hands.
"You have to help me, Kendall! Bitters is on the floor and I'll get kicked out if...why is your hair messed up like that?" she asked. Kendall pointed to me and I waved to her with a smile.
"Hi, I'm Abbey, and I am here to help you not get caught." I introduced, putting the key in the hole and turning it to the right, the door opening. "Come on in."
"I've got the ice you needed." We all ran in the room, quickly closing the door at the sound of Mr. Bitters voice from down the hall. He knocked on the door, waiting to hear any sign that we were still there.
"Let out a moan." I whispered to Kendall. He gave me a confused look.
"I don't know how to do a fake moan!" he whisper-yelled to me.
"Will one of you do something?" Sophia whispered to us. I let out a fake moan, which caught both of them by surprise.
"Uh, don't stop!" I yelled, banging on the door. After a pause of not hearing anything from Bitters, I let out another moan.
"I'll just leave the ice on the floor." Mr. Bitters said from the other side of the door. I heard footsteps go down the hallway and then fade out. I let out the breath I was holding, running a hand through my hair
"That was close." Kendall said, fixing his hair back to the way it was.
"Geez, Abbey. You did that moan really well...have you had experience?" Sophia asked me. A blush crossed my cheeks.
"Shut up." I said, sitting on the couch. Sophia and Kendall laughed.
"Well, thanks for helping me, guys. I'll talk to you later, okay?" Sophia said, walking towards the door. Surprisingly, the dog had fallen asleep, so it hadn't been barking.
"Later, Sophia." Me and Kendall said. After she closed the door, Kendall plopped down next to me on the couch.
"Well, that was a very devious plan." Kendall commented.
"Really? That's minor compared to what I usually do." I replied, turning my body towards him. It reminded me of when me and the girls had pulled a prank on the teachers in 8th grade. Before I could start reminiscing, Kendall laughed.
"Yea, well, me and my boys are experts at that." Kendall bragged. I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, sure. That's why you were so quick with my plan, right?" I teased.
"Well, you just automatically came up with it, my mind didn't have time to process it." he replied, arms folded. I giggled at his stubbornness. "Besides, I would've played the part if you would've told me."
"Oh really?" Next thing I knew, Kendall's face was inches from mine, almost making me pass out. Damn, he is good.
"Really." Before I could make the next move, the door opened and in walked my mom, her hands filled with groceries. I quickly pulled away, face burning from almost kissing Kendall (again).
"Mom, what are you doing here?" I asked. Of course, I already knew the answer, but I had one of those stupid moments. She put the groceries on the counter in a huff.
"I could ask you the same question. Or, I could just ask you what are you doing here with a boy?" she asked sternly, hands on hips. 'Busted.' I thought.
Alex's POV
"Oh yeah, is that all you got, Carlitos?" I taunted as my fingers rapidly pressed buttons on the X-BOX 360 controller. Me and Carlos had been playing Black Ops for only 15 minutes, and I was already kicking his ass at it. And he said he was a beast at this game. Yeah, right!
"No, no, no, no...NO!" Carlos yelled, standing up in anger as I killed him.
"YES!" I yelled, standing up and throwing the controller down as if it was a football. I did a little victory dance as Carlos watched in shock, plopping down on the couch.
"This is the first time a girl has ever beaten me. EVER." he stated, looking up at me. I grinned, hands on hips.
"Well, get used to it, because I own Blacks Ops!" I cheered again, finally collapsing next to Carlos on the couch. I noticed his saddened expression and my face fell. Seeing him like that made me feel bad.
"Hey, are you okay? Sorry about making fun of you, I-" before I could finish, Carlos snatched my fedora from off of my head and jumped off the couch.
"Gotcha! Ha ha, I can't believe you fell for that!" Carlos laughed, holding up my hat. I stared in shock, standing up.
"You little...ugh! How dare you manipulate my feelings like that!" I yelled, running up to him, trying to snatch my hat back. He just held it farther, even moving back to make me stumble slightly.
"Come on, Alex, you gotta admit, it was pretty funny." Carlos said. I rolled my eyes playfully. Ok, so it was funny. And a guy that could come up with something that fast is pretty awesome in my book.
"Yeah, I guess so..." I replied, taking a step closer to Carlos, who took a step back in return. "Can I get my hat back now?"
"Of course not! You've gotta work for it." Carlos stated, and with that, ran up the swirly slide, laughing at me. I smiled at him.
"Oh, you are so dead." I replied. I ran up the stairs, running toward Carlos. He simply waved to me and slid back down the swirly slide. I groaned as I watched him run out of the room, into the hallway. I slid down the slide, running towards him through the hallway. As soon as I got close to him, I tackled him to the wall. Before I could grab my hat, he lifted his arm up, making me unable to reach it.
"Uh, no fair! I got you fair and square, now give it back!" I complained, trying to get on my toes and grab it, but he continued to keep it up.
"Nope, sorry, gonna have to reach a little bit higher." Carlos commented, moving from the wall. Before he could begin running again, I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him closer, trying to grab my hat, but in the process, I ended up tripping him and myself, making my lips fall on his. I had closed my eyes, so I didn't notice we were kissing until I opened them, looking straight into Carlos's chocolate brown eyes, our lips connected. I felt butterflies flutter in my stomach as we stayed like that for a good minute until I pulled away. 'My first kiss...' I thought. My cheeks were probably crimson red, just like how they always got when I see something I like.
"Sorry about that." I apologized.
"No problem." Carlos replied back. Before I could embarrass myself more, I quickly got up, running down the hallway.
"Sorry, Carlos, I really gotta go!" I said while running to the elevator. The doors opened and I stepped inside, hitting the P button for pool. I felt like an idiot for leaving Carlos like that, but what was I supposed to do? I touched my lips, feeling the soft touch of his lips still there. I smiled to myself, the blush from before creeping back. 'Man, he is a really good kisser.'
Cassandra's POV
"So, ever thought of getting an acting job while you're out here?" James asked me as we continued to walk along the boardwalk. James had shown me most of LA already, so we were just strolling the boulevard. Our hands kept brushing each others, but I kept my feelings on hold as I answered his question.
"I've thought of it, but it seems kind of difficult since me and the girls are a musical group, and we're going to be working on the demo for a while. I'll definitely think about it, though. Ya know, if I'm still in LA, I'll think about it. Who knows what the future will bring?" I rambled, looking out at the sun.
"Don't be crazy. Of course you're going to be staying in LA. You and the girls are amazing." he commented. I smiled at him, twirling a strand of hair around my finger. "Especially you." James whispered so I couldn't hear, but I heard him.
"What was that?"
"Nothing." We continued to walk in silence, just listening to the sound of the waves.
"Hey James," I abruptly stopped walking, him doing the same. "if I do end up doing the whole acting thing...will you be there to support me?" I asked. James smiled, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"Of course." he answered with his signature smile. It seemed as though it was glowing from the sunset. 'This type of thing only happens in movies.' I thought as James's hand trailed up my shoulder to my cheek. My knees got that wobbly feeling again, just like when I performed in front of James. He pulled me closer to his lips and my mind started racing on what to do. 'Simple. Let it happen, or be the devious girl you are.' I thought. I smirked, quickly moving from James, making him stumble a bit.
"You're gonna have to catch me if you want these lips!" I yelled teasingly, already breaking off into a run on the beach.
"Hey! That's so unfair!"
"Life isn't fair, James." I replied back, grinning. He began chasing after me, faster than I expected he would be. I started running in zig zags, getting him tired easily.
"When do you plan on stopping?" he called out to me in heavy breaths.
"When do you plan on catching me?" I answered with a question, turning slightly to look at him. It was a little hard running fast since I was wearing black jeans and the sun was dizzying me, so I resorted to something stupid. Keep on running until I passed out. Which probably wasn't going to work because I can continue running for an hour and not get tired. So I had to resort to Plan B.
"Hope you like water!" I yelled back to James, who gave me a confused look. I quickly turned and started running towards the water, slipping off my extra high top Converse and putting them to the side. Then I began running in the water until I made it farther enough from James. I hadn't even noticed that the waves were kind of high.
"What, giving up the chase already?" I taunted James, smirking from where I was. He grinned at me, but then his face fell.
"Cassie, look out!" James yelled to me, pointing to whatever was behind me. I quickly turned to see a giant wave go over me, pulling me underwater. I'm an ok swimmer, but on a scale from 1 to expert, I was pretty much screwed. I tried to hold my breath for long, but I wasn't the one with serious breathing lungs, Alex was. Soon enough, I began losing air, my eyes fluttering slowly. Before I passed out, I felt something brush against my hand.
I woke up to wet lips on mine, but they were surprisingly soft. There were a few people around me with worried looks on their faces. I wasn't sure what was going on, but all I knew was that whoever had their lips on me should not stop any time soon. Then it hit me: I drowned and passed out. Whatever brushed against my hand must've been someone else's hand. But, who was giving me mouth to mouth... The boy lifted his head and I looked up at the face. James. He's the one that saved me.
"Oh my god, Cassie are you ok?" he asked, looking down at me. I coughed a little and said "Yeah, I'm...ok. James, you saved my life." He smiled, hugging me tight. Claps erupted around us, people happy that someone didn't die today. I hugged back, wrapping my arms around his shirtless torso. But hey, I wasn't complaining.
Marianna's POV
"So, will you help me?" I asked Logan as I sat next to him on the park bench. We had been talking about our lives this whole time, I almost forgot to ask him about the meteor. It's just, I have this weird connection with Logan, I can't really explain it. He makes me relax and not worry about the other things in the world.
"Sure, it sounds like an interesting experiment. Where'd you find the meteorite anyway?" Logan asked.
"From Abbey's backyard." I replied simply. Then I cursed under my breath. 'Why didn't you make up a lie?' I thought to myself.
"Whoa, that's pretty awesome! Did you guys have a meteor shower last night?" he asked, moving closer to me in interest. 'Great, now he wants to know more.' I thought.
"Uh, yeah, there was a meteor shower back home. We didn't get to see it happen though, we all fell asleep from the trip back." I explained, rubbing my arm up and down in nervousness. It was starting to get a little dark out, and the stars began appearing.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I asked out of curiosity, looking up at the stars.
"Yeah...they are." Logan said, barely above a whisper. "Come on, I wanna show you something." He held out his hand and I gladly took it. He led me to the park fountain, the light from the sun going down reflecting against the water. It was truly a sight to behold.
"Whoa. This is amazing, Logan."
"Yeah. Here, if you lay down against the side," he laid on his back and I followed in suit, my head close to his. "you can see everything." he finished. I gasped in shock. The sky was in this slight afternoon/night state, making it look like a big pink and orange cotton candy mixed with dark blue colored soda. Weird, I know.
"No, it's not weird. It's actually really creative." Logan commented. 'Did he just read my mind?' I thought to myself.
"Huh?"
"What you just said about the sky. It's really creative. You have an artist perspective, Marie." Logan replied.
"Was I thinking out loud again?"
"Pretty much."
After about 15 minutes, Logan sat up, swinging his legs around the fountain to sit. I got an idea and decided to show my wild side. I stood up, grabbing Logan's arm and pulling him up.
"What are you-"
"Just follow my lead." I shut him up, putting his right hand on my waist and putting his left with my right, my left hand on his shoulder. I slowly took a step back, Logan taking a step forward.
"You know how to waltz?" I asked, surprised. "It doesn't seem like your thing." We continued to turn around the edge of the fountain, not caring who saw.
"It isn't. My mom signed me up for it when I was younger to make me become more gentleman like. The guys used to make fun of me for it, saying I would never get a girl to like me." he explained, rolling his eyes at his words, smirking. I smirked back.
"Do you know how to cha-cha? Quickstep? Tango?" I asked, doing every style of dance as I asked, Logan not missing a beat. We were dancing to our own beat of music, which showed how much we were alike.
"Yes, yes," he dipped me down, holding me by my leg as I did. "And yes." I blushed as he pulled me back up, spinning me out and then back in, my face close to his. He began leaning in. 'A little bit closer...' I thought, leaning in also. Before anything could happen, I heard a loud voice.
"Marianna! Where the hell are you?" Alex's voice rang out through the park. Logan spun me back out, letting my hand go. Alex ran up to the fountain, looking up at us.
"I need to talk to you." she stated simply, as if she did nothing wrong.
"I'm gonna go. See you later, Marie." Logan waved, jumping from the edge of the fountain, walking back to the hotel. I gave Alex a death glare.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. Just the fact that Logan was so close to kissing me that I could feel his breath on my face, but then he heard you and didn't! But, you know, it's whatever!" I stated, bluntly.
"Oh. Sorry about that. But I need your help." Alex begged pleadingly. I rolled my eyes, folding my arms.
"What is it?"
"I kissed Carlos." My eyes widened at her statement.
"We need to find Abbey." I decided, grabbing Alex's hand and running to the hotel.
Abbey's POV
"I'll see you later, Abbey. It was nice meeting you Ms. T." Kendall said, walking towards the door.
"It was nice meeting you too, Kendall. Tell your mother we have to meet up soon." my mom replied. I walked Kendall to the door, stepping outside the room and leaving the door a little open.
"Thank you for putting up with my mom. Everytime she sees me with a boy, she starts getting overly protective." I thanked, looking up at him. His eyes made me grin, making me feel slightly like an idiot.
"No problem. And by the way," Kendall pulled me closer to him by my waist, catching me by surprise. "You were great today." I smirked, giving him my sexy raised eyebrow.
"At the singing, or the moaning?" I asked. Kendall smirked back.
"A little bit of both..." he trailed off, moving closer to my lips, me doing the same. Before our lips met, my mom called out to me.
"Abbey, come and help me get ready for dinner!" she said, making me pull away from Kendall.
"I'll see you later, Kendall." I said, walking back into the suite. He waved, walking down the hallway.
"Well, no wonder you were seconds from kissing him. He's sweet and cute." my mom stated as I walked inside. I rubbed my temples annoyingly.
"Mom, please don't. That was the most embarrassing grocery moment ever." I said. For some reason, my mom always seemed to embarrass me the most before, during, or after shopping. I don't know why, it just happens. I'm surprised Kendall didn't leave as soon as my mom started cutting up some veggies.
"Ok, ok, sorry. Dinner will be ready in an hour." she stated, walking to her room. As soon as she was gone, the door opened with a burst, Alex and Marianna running in.
"Abbey!" they both yelled to me.
"Guys?"
"We need your help!"
"...with?"
"ALEX KISSED CARLOS!" Marianna yelled loudly. The entire hotel probably heard her outburst. I stared in shock at Alex.
"We need to find Cassandra." I stated. As soon as I said that, Cassandra walked in, her hair looking drenched, along with her clothes and face.
"What happened to you? Actually, no wait, I wanna start." I decided. Cassandra sighed, pushing her hair back. We always tried to top each others day when we're not together. "I almost kissed Kendall for the 4th and 5th time today, I helped Sophia and her dog, and...Bitters thinks me and Kendall were having sex." Marianna gave me a wide eyed look.
"Uh, okay? Me and Logan were looking at the stars and then we started dancing, and we almost kissed, but Alex came and ruined it." Marianna explained, slightly glaring at Alex.
"I drowned, and James gave me mouth to mouth, shirtless. Beat that." she stated, smirking. Alex grinned.
"I beat Carlos at Black Ops and then we ended up kissing."
"...ok, you win."