Just a little (long) message:

There comes a time in every story where the author has to take a risk. This risk I am taking in the latter half of this story is something that's not good now, bad later, but bad now, and will end up being bad-yet-good in the future...did that make sense? So I urge you to keep reading, please, and that it will be interesting, even if you hate the direction, it will be going in a good one. Just a little disclaimer. ONWARD TO THE TALES!

I'm just standing in the pool, looking at our hands with wide eyes. Everyone is babbling around us, not paying attention. Haile and Jo are wrestling for some odd reason, Kendall, Logan, and Carlos watching with wide eyes and looking like they just landed in heaven.

I glance at James out of the corner of my eye, to see that he has a broad smile on his face, watching his friends. I wonder what's happening.

That is his hand, right?

I double-check. Yes, it is.

Why is he smiling like that?

There's no way to figure out this answer. So I stand patiently, my mind buzzing. I can't help but wonder if I'm going insane, that a week of traumatizing events have all combined to give me hallucinations.

I look at him again, and he suddenly drops my hand. He looks down, his cheeks heating up. I feel mine redden, also, and smile a little at the corner of my mouth.

That's two signs, I allow myself to think, then mentally slap myself. No, Katie, don't go all Carlos on yourself! Don't get your hopes up!

I want so badly to believe that these things mean something. But if I let myself think that the feelings are mutual, I could end up more broken then ever.

Kendall suddenly splashes me, taking me out of my reverie. I smile wider, letting the corners of my lips turn up even more. I splash him back and tackle him, as Logan did only seconds ago. We wrestle for a moment, and I hear Jo, Haile, and the guys laughing in the background. I feel happy.

A thought creeps out of my subconscious and into the front of my mind, a mere flash, but it is enough to make me go cold inside.

'This was a mistake. I have to take you home.'

I remember what James said with perfect clarity.

'This was a mistake.'

I stop fighting with Kendall, getting up and standing in the water. He cocks his head curiously, as does Jo.

"What is it, Katie?" he asks me, and I shake my head.

"Nothing," I lie easily. "I just remembered I have something to do, is all." I wade over to the ladder and pull myself up, waving. They all still look pretty confused, but I don't care. I'll explain to Carlos later.

I go up to the apartment, riding silently beside Buddha Bob, who is jamming to classic rock on his huge headphones. I can hear the lyrics to Aerosmith's "Crying", and try to block it out. It seems that whenever I go anywhere there is ironic music playing.

We stop at my floor, and I wave to him. He doesn't see, however, because he is playing air-guitar with his eyes tightly closed in concentration.

"This is my stop," I say to myself, and step out. I'm still not sure of the reason why I'm heading to the apartment, but my feet have a mind of their own as they navigate the navy carpet.

I pull out my key, thankful that Mom went to renew our phone contracts. She shouldn't be back for a couple of hours- plenty of time for me to think.

Yes, that's what I'm here for. I want to think without interruption, without Carlos, without anyone. I want to think long and hard about what's been happening.

I hear the lock click and I shove the door out of the way. Instead of slamming it and running to my room, (which I've been doing a lot lately), I merely shut the door quietly and sit down at the kitchen table.

I stack up the evidence of his feelings meaning something, and I also think of all the things that he has done to show otherwise.

Does he feel it, too? I think. I don't know the answer to that.

I am still sitting there when I hear a noise.

Eyeing the hockey stick in the corner, I jump up. I grab the long length of wood and hold it up.

The noise is getting louder as I approach the bathroom. It sounds like…the shower? And…singing?

For the first time, I notice the bag sitting by the bathroom. It's red, with lots of band stickers on it. I narrow my eyes and tap on the door with the hockey stick.

"Teenager with a hockey stick out here," I say to the mystery person. "And I'm sure as hell not afraid to use it."

Suddenly the door opens, and I'm shocked by the sight I'm seeing. Then I scream.

"Who the hell are you?" I shout at the teenage boy standing in front of me, clothed only in a towel.

"Who the hell are you?" he shouts back, covering himself. His black hair is soaked, droplets plummeting to the floor with his every breath.

"I'm here selling newspaper subscriptions!" I exclaim sarcastically. "I live here, you idiot!"

He shakes his head vehemently. "No, I live here! I just moved in."

"That's where you're wrong," I say. There's a piece of paper lying on his bag, and he picks it up.

"See?" he says, jabbing a finger at it. I sigh when I read what it says: ZJ, 5-D.

"What's your name?" I ask. He looks at me like I'm insane.

"Zack Johnson. What does that have to do with it?" he asks.

I point at the paper. "First of all, that says Z J, not 2-J. Second of all, those are your initials, this is your room number," I tell him, poking the scrap of paper. Realization dawns on his face, and he blushes, looking down at himself.

"Oh," is all he says.

"Didn't you wonder where all this stuff came from?" I ask.

"Listen, I just spent ten hours on a plane and all I was worried about was a shower."

I narrow my eyes. "Well, get out of my apartment!" I exclaim.

I realize suddenly that I sound like a total bitch, like Hollywood personified, and my features soften.

"Go ahead and get dressed," I tell him, more kindly this time. "Where're your parents?"

He smiles slightly. "Probably in 5-D," he jokes. I laugh, and notice for the first time that he's kind of cute.

Scratch that, gorgeous.

"So, what's your name?" he asks.

"Katie," I answer. "Now put on some clothes," I say and point at the bathroom, laughing.

The back of my mind is screaming, James! JAMES!, but I ignore it. I smile at Zack.

He retreats into the bathroom to get dressed.

I find myself looking into the mirror beside of me, and stop suddenly when I realize what I'm doing. I think about James, and then push him out of my mind. I fluff my hair slightly, and Zack comes out of the bathroom.

He stands there awkwardly for a moment. "Hey, listen, I know this is kind of a strange time to ask this, but…"

Wait a second.

"I was wondering, if you're not doing anything tomorrow afternoon…"

Don't I recognize this from countless corny teenage romance novels?

"…if you'd want to, you know, go out?" he finishes confidently, reminding me of James.

Before I can stop myself, I nod my head. He flashes a grin as he heads out of the door, and I sit down at the kitchen table again.

Did I just agree to a date with a half-naked new guy?

Yes, I decide in my head. Yes, you did, you stupid idiot. What were you thinking? James! JAMES!

The front door opens, and the guys come in, Kendall at the head. He frowns a little at me, and then walks over.

"One question," he begins, looking over his shoulder. "Why did a wet guy just come out of our apartment?"

…

The reflection staring back at me from the mirror looks nothing like me.

For my date with Zack, Carlos has decided to go in a completely different direction in terms of my hair and makeup. Instead of the bold colors he used on the night of the premiere, he's using subtle browns and beiges.

Carlos is a genius.

He puts the finishing touches on my face, leaving me to gawk into the mirror.

"Pretty good," Logan says, approving, from behind me. He's been here the whole time; in fact, he's been hanging with Carlos and me all afternoon. It suddenly feels like a missing piece of the puzzle has been put into place, and I know Carlos feels the same way.

"Yeah, but it'd be better if you were dressing up for James," the other boy grumbles, and I feel a twinge of annoyance.

I sigh. "Let me repeat: I'm still in love with James, but it's never gonna happen. Therefore, I am trying to forget about him."

Carlos huffs. "It was so close!" he exclaims, demonstrating so with his fingers. Logan moves his arm and puts a hand on my shoulder.

"It's never going to happen," I repeat, and Carlos rolls his eyes, muttering what sounds like, "Whatever."

I stand up, checking myself one last time. As I suspected, the curls in my hair are flawless, as is my carefully applied makeup. I have to hand it to Carlos: he's got a knack.

I leave the bathroom, grabbing my purse on the way. I look down at my outfit, admiring the plaid peasant top and short-shorts. It's perfectly casual, and I love it.

James and Kendall are sitting on the couch. The sight of James is enough to make a familiar pain begin in my chest, but I stop it before it gets bad.

I haven't yet told them about my date, and I dread doing so.

I check my watch, which says one-thirty. I look back at the boys on the couch. The remains of lunch are still scattered across their laps, and they are watching TV.

I snort. "Slobs."

They look up for the first time. They both looked slightly shocked at my appearance, and I smile smugly.

"You look nice," Kendall remarks, turning back to the TV and taking a swig of his soda. "Where are you going?"

I hesitate. "I have a date," I tell him.

They both spit out their drinks.

"What?" Kendall asks. "B-But-"

"'But', what?" I ask him, putting my hands on my hips. "I'll be back at three."

James look surprised. "You're going on…a date?"

"We've established this. Yes."

Kendall suddenly turns to James, a confused expression on his face. "Are you guys trying to screw with my mind?"

James sighs, shrugging. "I don't even know." He doesn't seem very upset, which I take as a sign that I made the right decision.

"Why are you coming back so soon?" Kendall asks.

"Jo and I promised Haile that we'd be here when the infamous Konnor arrives," I say. Haile hasn't really filled us in on details of her boyfriend, but she's excited. He nods in understanding, and there is a knock at the door.

"That's him!" Carlos exclaims from behind me. He rushes to the door, but I cut him off. Before I can open it, though, all of them have gathered around me. I roll my eyes at their protectiveness. I finally turn the knob and open the door.

"Hi, Katie," Zack says. He waves slightly.

He looks extremely good, with a plaid blue and white shirt with skinny jeans and Converse. His shaggy black hair is swept to the side, and his piercing blue eyes are taking me in, widening ever so slightly.

"Hi, Zack," I say. Kendall steps in front of me, and I scowl at him.

"Hello," he says. "I'm Kendall, man of the house, A.K.A. Katie's protective older brother. Come in. Sit." He and James move even closer to him.

I shove Kendall out of the way. "No, we've got to be on our way," I say. I realize how odd it must look with four older boys grouped around me, staring at him like vultures. I usher him out of the door, slamming it to Kendall's protests. I sigh in relief.

"He seems…nice," Zack says, still looking slightly scared. I laugh dryly.

"Yeah, if by 'nice', you mean 'overbearing and protective'," I say. He chuckles. "So, what are we going to do?" I ask him curiously as we step onto the elevator.

He presses the button for the lobby. "Thought maybe we could go for ice cream."

Now I really feel like I'm in some corny teenage romance novel. "That sounds good."

We are silent the whole way down. I'm suddenly starting to question what I'm doing when the elevator stops. He smiles a little, like he's just accomplished something. He holds out his hand, and I'm surprised.

"Shall I lead you to my chariot, Madame?" he asks me, nodding pointedly at a crummy red car in the PW parking lot.

"Why yes you may," I giggle, placing my hand in his. I marvel at my behavior; since when do I get giggly around boys?

"Then let us be on our way," he says, and leads me to the car.

No violence please!

xoxo Kaelynn