Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious or Big Time Rush. They belong to Dan Schneider and Scott Fellows respectively.
Author's Note: Here it is chapter 14. For those of you who have been reading since the beginning of the story, it's been one year since I posted the first chapter of You & I. It's funny, I was originally supposed to start this story after I finished You're the Reason, but I loved it too much and posted it ahead of time. Whether you've been reading since last year or just recently started, I appreciate it so much. I'm really glad you guys love it because this is one of my favorites. This chapter is a Thanksgiving based one. It's kind of fluffy, but that's because I didn't really want drama during a holiday. I was supposed to post chapter 15 today as well, but I've been so busy with school that I haven't had the chance to finish it. I'll work on it, though. I won't say anything else, just know that I truly appreciate you guys reading and everything. Enjoy!
For the remainder of that night, Kendall stays in his room, using music as his escape from the world for the time being. Jade doesn't bother to come and check on him, deciding that if he's not over it now, he will be soon enough.
She doesn't know how wrong she is.
When Saturday rolls around, Kendall couldn't get out of the apartment fast enough. He opted for hanging out with Camille at her place because anywhere is better than his place at the moment. They discuss what they're going to do over the upcoming Thanksgiving break and Kendall informs her that he's flying back to Minnesota with his mom and Katie.
"Have you told Jade?" Camille asks, glancing over at him.
"Why should I?" he mumbles.
"Kendall," she sighs. "I realize that you're upset about this, but you can't be mad at her for not liking you back. You knew that was a possibility."
"I know, but like and love are two completely different things. I'm in love with Jade. That just makes everything a lot more harder."
"You'll get over it. It hurts right now, but I know you'll be okay."
Kendall stays quiet, not wanting to talk about the subject anymore. No one will ever understand how much he truly has fallen for Jade.
Jade decides since Kendall left, she'll do as she always does when she has problems with him — go to her mom's. Walking in the front door of the house, Jade looks around briefly.
"Mother!" she yells.
"Up here." Ms. West calls from her bedroom.
Jade walks up the stairs and to her mom's room. Seeing as it's already slightly open, she pushes it and walks in, closing it behind her.
"Why're you still in bed?" Jade asks, sitting in one of the chairs off at the side of the room.
"It's Saturday. I thought it'd be nice just to stay in bed all day and relax." Ms. West explains. "What brings you here? Did you and Kendall have another fight?"
Jade rolls her eyes at the question as she crosses her legs. "No. I overheard him on the phone last night with his sister."
"And?"
"And I heard him say that he liked me."
"That's great!"
"No, it isn't. He doesn't even want to be around me."
"How do you know that?"
"Because after living with someone for almost four months, you can just tell when it comes to things like this."
"I'm sure he just doesn't want to be around you because he's embarrassed." she pauses. "Wait. Does he know that you know?"
"Yeah, I confronted him about it."
"Why'd you do that? He's going to feel uncomfortable every time he's around you, now."
"Gee, thanks, Mother." Jade scoffs. "I had to confront him. He lied and I wanted him to know that I knew."
"You hurt him."
"How do you know that?"
"Because you don't let people down easily, sweetie." she explains. "Kendall seems like a really sweet person and now he's probably just heartbroken."
Jade thinks about it and sighs. "What do I do about it, then?"
"I can't tell you that. This is something that you have to take care of on your own."
Jade huffs and leans back into the seat. "Whatever."
They both pull into the parking lot at the same time, but still avoid each other. Kendall takes the elevator up to their apartment while Jade opts for the stairs. It's quiet once their both in the same room and neither is willing to break the silence.
As always, though, Kendall is the one to break the silence. He's never dealt with awkward silence all that well.
"Umm... are you spending Thanksgiving with your mom?"
"No. She's flying to New York to spend it with family up there." Jade responds after a while.
"So, you're gonna be here by yourself?"
"Seems that way. You don't sound like you're staying."
"No, I'm going to Minnesota with my mom and Katie."
"Cool." she says and walks into the kitchen.
Kendall follows behind her. "Are you gonna be okay spending a holiday like that by yourself?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Because it's Thanksgiving. It's a time for family and you're gonna be here all alone."
"I'll be fine, Kendall. Don't worry about it."
"If you want-"
"No," Jade cuts him off. "I'm not coming with you to Minnesota. Like you said, it's a time for family. I'm not family."
"They'd be more than happy to have you."
"Thanks, but I'll be fine. Really, I will." she assures him, grabbing a pear from the fruit bowl.
"And you're absolutely sure?"
"I'm positive. It's nothing that I can't handle."
Kendall nods, but still doesn't believe her. "Okay."
Two weeks later, Kendall's gathering his things that he's taking along with him to Minnesota. He's still been trying to convince Jade to go with him, but she turns him down time after time. Her mom left the previous day for New York after trying to also talk Jade into going with either her or Kendall.
Jade's sitting on the edge of Kendall's bed, watching him pack before she drives him to the airport; his mom and Katie had told him that they'll take a cab to LAX, so Jade thought it was the least she could do.
"I really think you should come." Kendall tells her. "We could catch that later flight I was talking about, instead."
"I really don't want to. Besides, it's freezing in Minnesota; I'm not up for that."
Kendall sighs and closes his suitcase before zipping it up. "Suit yourself. We can go now."
The ride to LAX is a quiet one and Jade actually considers going to Minnesota with him. She weighs out the pros and cons in her head and even though she ended up with more pros, she decides that she'll just stay behind. Plus, if she really wants to go somewhere, she could always try and book a flight to New York.
They get out the car and Kendall grabs his suitcase out the trunk and closes it. They look at each other and Kendall awkwardly shifts his weight from one foot to the other before speaking.
"Last chance."
Jade rolls her eyes, but it's not out of annoyance. "I'll be fine."
"Just checking."
"You're like an overprotective parent."
"Like I told you before, at least you have a roommate who cares."
The corners of Jade's lips turn up into a smile. "You still care about me?"
"I'll always care about you." he replies, honestly.
Jade goes quiet for a moment. "You better go. Your mom and sister are probably wondering where you are."
"Yeah," Kendall says, placing his suitcase down. "Bye, Jade." he tells her opening his arms slightly for a hug.
Jade sighs, but steps forward anyway and hugs him. "Bye, Knight."
Kendall leans down and kisses her cheek briefly before stepping away from her. "Happy Thanksgiving."
"Happy Thanksgiving." she tells him, her voice a whisper.
With that, Kendall picks his suitcase back up and makes his way into the airport. Jade watches him the whole way, her eyes never leaving him. Kendall turns around before walking in and notices Jade watching him, he waves goodbye and Jade does the same before he's inside and out of her view.
As she drives back home, the atmosphere in the car is completely different. Sure, she's driven by herself plenty of times since meeting Kendall, but she just can't help wanting his presence around. It's even more weird when she arrives back to the apartment. It's quiet, which she likes from time to time, but it's not the quiet she's become accustomed to. Usually she can hear Kendall bustling around in the kitchen, or talking on the phone, or even playing his guitar. All she has now is complete and utter silence, something that she hasn't had since Kendall moved in with her.
"This is gonna be a long week." she sighs.
Stepping out of the taxi in front of his grandmother's house, the Minnesota cold air that he's missed so much, greets Kendall. He helps his mom and Katie get their things out before they walk up the path to the door. He opens his door to his grandmother's and smiles as he sees some of their relatives sitting in the living room.
Saying a quick hello to them, he takes the suitcases from his mom and Katie and carries them to the room they'll be staying in. After setting the bags down, Kendall digs through his suitcase to find his cellphone. Once he retrieves it, he turns it on before calling Jade who, to his surprise, answers almost immediately.
"What?" she asks.
"Just informing you that I haven't died in some horrible plane crash."
"Because I was so worried." she responds sarcastically.
"Hey. If that happened, you'd definitely cry."
"Tears of joy."
"Bullshit."
"Such foul language for someone who's around their family."
"Whatever." he mocks.
"Yeah, whatever. Go hang with your family, Knight."
"I'm about to, West. Like I said, I was just letting you know I'm here and haven't died."
"Thanks for the update. Bye."
Kendall rolls his eyes, but Jade obviously can't see it. "Bye."
By the time nighttime comes, Jade is officially bored. She didn't realize it before Kendall moved in, but by yourself there's really nothing to do that's even remotely fun. Since Cat's in Florida, she can't invite her over, so it really is just her for the remainder of the break.
Her phone rings and she walks over to it, secretly hoping it's Kendall. When she sees it's only her mom, she sighs, but answers it anyway.
"Hello?"
"Just checking up on you. How is everything?"
"Great." she lies. "I'm enjoying the peace and quiet around here.
"That's good. Have you talked to Kendall?"
"Does it matter?"
"I guess not, but I was just curious."
"I talked to him earlier. He was just letting me know he made it to Minnesota."
"I really think you should fly up here and join me."
"Mother, I'm completely fine by myself. I don't need you or Kendall here for me to enjoy myself."
"What are you planning to do all week, then?"
Jade thinks about it. "I don't know. I'll probably just relax or is that not enough for you?"
"It's whatever you want to do, Jade."
"And what I want is to stay here." Jade says, even though she doesn't mean it.
The next two days are long ones and Jade finds herself doing the same thing every single day. Kendall, although he's with his family, isn't truly enjoying himself and no matter what can't seem to get Jade off his mind.
He's sitting in the guest room at his grandmother's, flipping through his photo album when his mom walks in.
Kendall looks up at her. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course you can, honey." Jennifer tells him, sitting down beside him.
"Would you guys be mad if I left and flew back to California?"
"I had a feeling this would come up."
"Really?"
"Yeah," she nods. "It's okay if you want to go. I really don't think it's right for Jade to be spending the holiday by herself in the first place." Jennifer pauses. "That is the reason you want to go back, isn't it?"
"Yeah. I don't think it's right, either. I figured since we have two days left until Thanksgiving, I could book a flight and fly back, then we could have our own little Thanksgiving dinner together."
"That would be nice. I think if you're gonna go, you should book a flight as soon as possible so you can get back and buy some things."
Kendall looks at her sheepishly. "I already did. I just wanted to run it by you."
Jennifer nods understandingly. "What time's your flight?"
"In two hours."
"I'll help you repack."
Kendall's flight lands later that evening and he takes a taxi to the apartment. He unlocks the door and sets his suitcase down beside it inside. Jade's not on the couch like he expected her to be, so he walks down the hallway to her room. He slowly opens the door, but doesn't see Jade. Deciding that she probably went out, he closes her door back and walks across the hall to his room. When he opens his door, he's surprised at what he finds.
Jade is on Kendall's bed, sound asleep, and snuggled up to his pillows. He smiles at the sight and walks over to the bed, taking a seat on it and gently shaking Jade.
She blinks a few times before she looks up and her eyes grow wide when she realizes Kendall's the one shaking her.
"Hey, there." he smirks.
"What're you doing here?"
"I decided to fly back and have Thanksgiving with you."
"Why?" Jade asks as she rubs her eyes and Kendall smiles at how adorable and innocent she looks right now.
"It was bothering me that you were here by yourself, so I decided to come back and have a mini Thanksgiving dinner with you."
"Kendall, you didn't have to do that."
"I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to."
Jade smiles a little. "I'm not all that surprised. It's a very you thing to do."
Kendall chuckles, going quiet for a moment. "Why are you in my bed?"
"Hm?"
"Why are you in my bed?" he repeats. "It's not a problem or anything. I was just curious."
"I don't know."
He knows that's not the truth, but he lets it go for the time being.
"Get up."
"Why?"
"Like I told you, we're having our own Thanksgiving. We need to go buy some things."
"Now?"
"It's two days before Thanksgiving, Jade. We need to see what we can get. I know most of the good stuff is probably already gone, so we need to see what we can work with."
Jade sighs, but sits up. "Okay, okay. I'm up."
"Let's go."
They manage to find more than what they thought they would to have their own Thanksgiving dinner. Jade finds them a small turkey and Kendall goes and gathers things to make a pie. After getting a few more things to have just in case, they leave the grocery store and drive back to the apartment in comfortable silence.
They put the groceries away once they get home and Kendall tells her that they can prepare everything the following day. The rest of the night, Jade spends it in her room with her eyes closed, but she's not sleeping. She listening to Kendall play the guitar across the hall in his room and she couldn't be more happier to hear that familiar sound. Of course, she'll never admit that to anyone.
Kendall wakes up extra early to get some of the cooking out of the way. He allows Jade to sleep to noon until he decides it's time for her to get up and help him.
The radio plays in the background as they bustle around the kitchen trying to get everything done. Kendall calls his mom to ask her for the recipe of the homemade pumpkin pie they always have and he Jade try their best to make it.
Once all of that is done, they place the turkey in the oven to get that going before they both plop down on the couch, exhausted.
Jade glances over at the clock. "It's almost five. We've been cooking practically all day."
"I think you mean I've been cooking all day. You only helped for the last five hours."
"Whatever. It's the same thing."
"No, it isn't."
Jade rolls her eyes. "I'm too tired to argue with you right now."
"That's a first."
"Shut up, Knight." she sighs.
"I'm actually glad that I came back."
"Why?"
"I like being here with you, Jade."
Jade sighs. "Don't start that up again."
"It's not because I like you. I just enjoy your company."
"Oh," Jade smiles. "Well, I guess you make for good company every now and then, too."
"Of course I do. I'm the best roommate you could ever have."
"You know what, Kendall? I'm not even gonna deny you that."
Kendall's surprised into a smile. "Thank you. You're not so bad yourself."
The room falls quiet, except it's not the quiet that Jade's dealt with for the past few days; it's the quiet that she's comfortable with knowing that Kendall's here with her.
Thanksgiving Day is an all-around relaxed day. They wake up early enough to reheat things and get what they want set up. Kendall's just about to sit down at the table when Jade comes walking in the room with her camera.
"Don't sit, Blondie."
"Why?"
"Just move." Jade orders. When Kendall's out of view, she takes a quick photo of the table where their meal is sitting.
"Really? A photo?"
"Shut up." she says and takes another one.
"Are you done now?"
"Not yet." she walks over and stands in front of the table, motioning Kendall to join her. "Come here."
Kendall stands next to her.
"We're going to take a Thanksgiving photo."
Kendall smiles. "Really?"
"Yeah. Might as well have something to commemorate this, right?"
"I agree."
"Good. Now, stop talking."
Jade lifts the camera high enough to get both of them in the frame before she snaps the photo. She brings the camera back to her and views the photo.
"How does this look? Is it suiting enough for you?"
Kendall looks at it. "Looks good to me."
Jade nods her head and sets the camera down. Kendall walks back to his side of the table and takes a seat, Jade doing the same.
Before Kendall starts placing food on their plates, he looks over and Jade and gives a warm smile. "Happy Thanksgiving, Jade."
Jade looks at him and actually smiles back. "Happy Thanksgiving, Knight."