Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever, owned Big Time Rush.

Song2You: Thank you so much! Haha agreed, Shyle's awesome. Yeah, there wasn't really any room to put Katie's POV in the last chapter. You do see her POV in this chapter though :) And thank you for taking the time to review, I really appreciate it.

Guest#1: I'm sorry I wasn't very fast with the update! I did try but it just didn't pan out. I hope this chapter makes up for it :) And thank you for your review, I appreciate it!

Guest#2: Here's the update :) Thank you for reviewing! I really appreciate it!

Lovergirl24: Your PM system is disabled, so I hope you don't mind that I'm replying to you this way. Agreed about Lauren. And agreed, Jatie FTW! Thank you for your review, I really appreciate it :)

HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has read, followed, favorited, or reviewed this story! You guys are amazing and incredible! Thank you :)

So...yeah...I know it's been almost a month since I last updated this story and I'm so sorry! I had no intention to wait this long to get the chapter up but every time I tried to write it, I just got blocked. I finally had a breakthrough with it earlier this evening and I typed a lot of it up really fast, so if there's any typos that I missed, that's why. It was one of those chapters where I got the first 1,000 words done in a night and then nothing else wanted to come out. But here it is, and I hope you guys enjoy it. I do want to say that this chapter didn't turn out the way I thought it would, and it actually cancels out what was supposed to be the next chapter. There's also a revelation in here that I never planned on putting in this chapter, but hey, it happens. I'm surprisingly happy with this chapter, although there's a lot of drama in here and a lot of ups and downs.

On another note, your guys' reviews cracked me up. You were all so enthusiastic about the idea of shit going down at the dinner party and I loved it, it seriously made my day! I just hope this lives up to your expectations, though I doubt it's really how any of you pictured it. On another note, oh my gosh! This is the 25th chapter! To me, that's pretty insane. Also the fact that we're at 345 reviews is insane as well, so thank you all for that! You guys seriously rock :) Oh, and Kyle's and Shane's couple name is completely Dana2184's thing, so shout out to her for coming up with the name back when Shyle first came on the scene in this story!

Warnings: (Yeah, I'm doing warnings again for this story) Language, innuendos, minor violence, and a little bit of slash (-though I doubt I really need to put a warning for the last one ;))

Enjoy the chapter! :)

Chapter Twenty-Five: Dinner Party

James' POV

The rest of the day followed the tone of the morning, with Lauren huffy towards me and Katie swishing around school, a triumphant smirk on her face.

Around lunch time, Lauren informed me that her mom was in the hospital and that she would have to cancel on me for the night. I breathed out a sigh of relief and spread the word around to my mom, brother, Katie, and Kyle.

The next week passed by quickly, with my mom extending the dinner invitation to the Friday after that, the night before Katie's ice skating competition and the hockey game. Lauren continued to cling to me, Katie continued to flirt with me, and Shane continued to tease me. In drama, Mrs. Wattburgon began to pair us up to do short scenes with each other, and Katie and I always managed to get the romantically and sexually charged scenes, for whatever reason. Katie made sure to use that time to ensure that I still wanted her, however it may be, and Mrs. Wattburgon never dissuaded her from the idea, so I more often than not spent a good five minutes on stage with Katie either straddling my lap or attempting to seduce me. All in the name of acting, of course.

Friday finally arrived, and it was with a mixture of dread, anxiousness, and nervousness that I drove to school, awaiting my fate for that night. Lauren barely talked to me, letting me know that she was pissed off that I hadn't managed to convince Katie to ditch the dinner party, and she made several very loud comments in PE about Katie's chest size and what she might or might not be doing with some of the guys at school. I ended up pulling her aside and telling her to knock it off or else I was uninviting her. That got her to shut up, although she didn't speak to me for the rest of class.

Oh well.

I didn't get a chance to talk to Katie until chemistry rolled around. For once, I was the first to the classroom and I spent close to five minutes waiting for her to show up before she arrived, sliding into her seat in a breath of cherries and vanilla, long dark hair tumbling everywhere.

"Whew, I thought I was going to be late," she gasped out, shrugging off her jacket.

"Nope, you're fine."

"So I see."

"Anyway…Lauren's pissed."

"About what?" she asked, looking at me innocently.

Yeah, I didn't buy that for a second.

"About you agreeing to come over for dinner tonight."

Katie shrugged. "You said last Tuesday that you would invite me if Lauren wouldn't get mad at you."

"Not like that…"

"Close enough. Anyway, now you don't have to worry about inviting me, because your mom did it for you."

"Katie – "

"Look, your mom invited me and I said yes. If you had a problem with it, you should have let us know right away instead of letting it sit for a week. I'm not going to just cancel on your mom, James. That would be rude."

I stared at her in disbelief. "You're unbelievable, you know that?"

"I think I've heard that once or twice from you," she said unconcernedly.

"Katie, this was supposed to be a dinner for Lauren to meet my mom."

"And she met your mom. Anyway, our meeting at Burger Mania was supposed to be for us to hang out and talk. Notice how well that went."

I sighed. "Look…I talked to Lauren about that last week. She said she's insecure because she doesn't want to be compared to you."

Katie threw her head back, letting out a throaty laugh. "Oh my gosh! And you actually believe her? James, she's just saying that so that you'll feel sorry for her. Believe me, I know girls since, you know, I'm one myself. That's all she's doing."

"She also knows we made out on New Year's Eve."

"Guilt trip," she said automatically. "Wanting you to feel guilty for what you did and to blame you for how she's acted."

"Either way, she is insecure and you're not helping matters."

"Gee, maybe I'd be more inclined to help matters if she didn't keep informing me that I'm flat chested, that I'm a slut, a bitch, and – oh! Maybe if she didn't keep sucking face with the guy I happen to like, maybe – just maybe – I might like her a little more. I screwed up but guess what, Jamie-Bear. She's no better than me. You want to feel sorry for her? Then be my guest. But don't even try to get me to join in your pity party for her, because I'm not supplying the balloons and streamers. As far as I'm concerned, she deserves to have me crash the dinner tonight. And if you don't like it, then that's too fucking bad."

"You said you just wanted to be friends…"

"Until you break up with Lauren. Then it's every man and woman for themselves. You don't want to admit that you want me? Oh well. But one of these days, you're going to crack. And when you do, I'll be there waiting for you. You can't keep dating her forever. She drives you nuts, and let's face it, you're only with her to spite me and because you're afraid that if you're single, you'll make the horrid, dreaded mistake of going out with me."

"Katie, that's not why."

"Save it, James. I know you don't trust me. After what I did, I wouldn't trust me either. But there's a lot you don't know."

"Such as?"

"Such as – " She broke off as Mrs. Straumner walked into the room and began to take roll call.

We didn't say anything else un-chemistry related for the rest of the class.

The first words anyone said to me once I sat down with my friends in the cafeteria was, "So, I hear shit's finally going to be going down tonight."

I stared at Logan. "Look who knows how to cuss."

He popped a grape into his mouth. "It's one of my many talents. Anyway, is it true? Katie's crashing the dinner?"

"And I'm apparently joining you guys," Kyle added as he and Shane took their seats. "So tonight's just going to be all fun and games."

"So, you're going to have Katie, Lauren, and Kyle all in the same room in your house?" Carlos eyed me. "Barring Kyle from the mix, that sounds smart."

"I can hear the sarcasm in your voice," I commented dryly, taking a bite of my slice of pizza. "Believe me, I'm aware how stupid and dangerous this is going to be."

"Assuming they don't blow up the house, the chances of any of you getting out alive is still pretty much nonexistent," Logan informed me. He was always awesome with pep talks.

"Thanks, just what I needed to hear."

"Hey, everyone needs a hobby," Carlos said cheerfully. "Apparently ruining Lauren's life is Katie's hobby."

Shane snorted. "Please, they ruin each other's lives. Those two hate each other's guts, but if I had to root for one of them, it would be Katie. Lauren plays the victim, whereas Katie's pretty straightforward about who she is and what she's doing. If she's out to get you, you're going to know. With Lauren, it's like dealing with a camouflaged snake. You never know where she is or when she's going to strike."

"Katie thinks Lauren's trying to make me feel sorry for her," I added before raising my bottle of Coke up to my lips. "Because Lauren told me she's so insecure because she doesn't want to be compared to Katie."

"Did you tell her she's none comparable with Katie?" Shane asked me.

"Of course I did. But she also knows Katie and I made out on New Year's Eve, which is also part of the problem…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Kendall held up his hands. "Dude! You made out with my sister on New Year's Eve?!"

"Um…no…"

"Liar!"

"Dude." Logan shook his head. "Okay, it was pretty obvious they made out in the closet, it wasn't exactly a wild guess on Lauren's part. But why should she care? She made out with Dak. How does she think James feels about that? Here's my question. Why is everything about her? Why is it never about James, unless she thinks he's messing around with Katie? Is she that desperate for attention? Does she really need someone to feel sorry for her that badly?"

"Logan…" I began to admonish him, but he held up his hand.

"No. James, she's selfish. It's why she showed up at Burger Mania Tuesday before last, because she can't handle you hanging out with another girl. You could have gone there with Jo or Camille and she would've made an appearance. She may care about you, but she's also using you. She doesn't trust you. And maybe you should think about how taxing this relationship is for you…"

I bit into my slice of pizza again, chewing as I turned Logan's words over in my mind.

Before I could get very far, a small body dropped into the seat beside me. "Hi, Jamie-Bear!"

I tensed up as the scent of vanilla and cherries washed over me, like a tidal wave on a beach. She brushed her arm against mine, her leg pressing against my thigh. I could feel the toe of her boot lightly skimming against my calf and a moment later, the pressure disappeared, replaced with a feather-like touch, drifting up and down my leg – she had managed to get her boot off under the table.

I swallowed hard, slowly licking the mixture of pizza grease and tomato sauce off of my lips. "Katie."

"Ooh, pizza. I'm starving. Mind if I have a small bite?" Before I could say anything, she had grabbed my fork and cut off a piece. She popped it into her mouth with her fingers, moaning. "Oh God, that's good. I haven't had pizza in ages."

"Help yourself…" I managed to get out, watching as she licked the tomato sauce and cheese from her fingers. Who knew pizza toppings could be so enticing? She could have earned enough money to pay for her ice skates just by making a video of her trying to get a piece of cheese from her lips.

"Thanks!" she flashed me a grin as she pried a piece of pepperoni from my pizza and flipped it into her mouth. "So, tonight's going to be awesome."

"Kyle's going to be there," Shane informed her.

"Cool." She looked over at Kyle and he turned his head to face her. They eyed each other for a moment before looking away, neither saying anything.

As usual, Katie headed off to ice skating practice after lunch and I didn't see her until she hurried into drama class, two minutes after the bell rang. Mrs. Wattburgon raised an eyebrow at her. "You're late," she said crisply.

"I know, skating practice ran overtime." Katie worked on straightening out her skirt as she made her way up the stairs towards her spot beside me.

"Just see that it doesn't happen again."

"I won't," she promised before collapsing beside me.

"Tough day at work?" I teased gently as Mrs. Wattburgon went back to her lecture about the importance of recognizing William Shakespeare as a literary genius.

"God, you have no idea." Katie rested her head on my shoulder. "I just want to go to sleep, Sarah worked me so hard...I have a competition tomorrow, Sarah just sprang it on me a few days ago because she didn't want me to freak out – " she snorted skeptically " – and she's determined that I'm going to get first place."

"With all that exhaustion going on, you should probably just rest up tonight instead of joining us for dinner."

"Yeah, nice try. For your information, I'm looking forward to trying your mom's lasagna. You're not getting rid of me that easily."

"Crap."

Katie lifted her head long enough to grin at me before laying her head on my shoulder once more, closing her eyes. "Hockey's definitely done a lot for you."

"I – what?"

"You're all big and broad and muscly. You're, like, huge. I officially love your arms and shoulders." She snuggled closer to me, humming contentedly.

Well. Okay, then…

We managed to get through drama class and I headed to my locker, before making my way to hockey practice. I put my all into it, trying to block out the dread I was feeling towards the rest of the day. At last practice ended and I retired to the boys' locker room with the others, letting out a small sigh. Tonight was going to suck so bad.

Katie's POV

"I can't believe you managed to get yourself invited to the Diamonds' for dinner," Camille said as we walked towards the ice rink together.

"Along with Kyle," I reminded her.

"Are you two still not talking to each other?" she asked, pushing the door open. We were hit by a blast of chilly air as we walked into the rink, making our way towards the girls' locker room.

I shook my head, wrapping my arms around myself. "I haven't even tried to contact him. He can hold a grudge better than a girl does. And I'm a little afraid of what'll happen if I try to talk to him..."

"You two have been friends for years," Camille reminded me. "You guys probably know things about each other that you would never tell anyone else. You've been friends since elementary school. You were the only one who knew Kyle's gay, and from what I've heard it's partly because of you that she and Shane found each other."

"It wasn't partly me. They found each other because they go to the same school and James is Shane's older brother. It had nothing to do with me."

"Yeah, but you and James started hanging out and it kind of encouraged them to do the same."

"Believe me, Shane and Kyle are an entire entity onto themselves, completely separate of James and me."

"Jatie."

"I – what?"

"Jatie. That's yours and James' couple name. And Shyle is Shane's and Kyle's couple name."

I stared at her blankly. "You actually put thought into what our couple names could be? Are you that bored or are you just out of your freaking mind?"

She sniffed. "Rude. Anyway, yes, I have. Because when you and James were kinda sorta together, you were adorable. And Shane and Kyle are amazing together from what I've seen."

I sighed. "Yeah, well, that point is moot with James. He doesn't even want me there tonight."

Camille snorted as we walked into the locker room and began to change into our skating dresses. "Uh, you kind of butted in on a quiet dinner with his mom, brother, and girlfriend."

"Yeah, but his mom invited me and told Shane to invite Kyle. Doesn't sound to me like Brooke wanted a quiet dinner."

"No, it doesn't," Camille agreed thoughtfully. "I wonder what's going to happen tonight…"

I shrugged. "Who knows? Lauren didn't even speak to me today in PE, just kept giving me dirty looks and pretty much informed the entire class that I'm a slut. She's probably saving the animosity for tonight. I hope she brings out her bitch side so that Brooke will get James to dump her. And I think Brooke's boyfriend is going to be there, so I get to meet him."

"Do you know what he's like?"

"From what James has told me, Brad's a super hot firefighter who James and Shane aren't particularly fond of, but I guess he's better than their dad. Their dad's an ass," I added. "He's not homophobic, but he's, like, obsessed with appearances and he never really cared too much about James."

"Why not?" Camille asked curiously, lacing up her skates.

"Because James is just…he's beautiful."

"I – okay – "

"Not like that! I just mean…like, okay. He has those fucking long lashes and those fucking beautiful eyes and those fucking high cheekbones and that fucking natural blush. And he has that fucking perfect waist and hips that you just know could be used for dirty stuff and his ass is, like, curvy! All round and shit. I mean, what guy has a fucking round ass?! I bet he has trouble finding jeans that fit all over it. And it doesn't help that it's all tone and tight so it looks like you could bounce a quarter off of it. And explain to me why his legs are so long. He's got fucking dancer's legs! How does a guy have fucking dancer's legs?! Not to mention his chest is bigger than mine. Also so unfair. And his lips are, like, bitten cherry red. They're fucking cherry red, Camille! CHERRY RED!"

Camille leaned back slightly, eyes wide. "I'm sorry I asked…"

"He's fucking beautiful and everyone knows it and his dad didn't want a beautiful son. He wanted someone who was more rough and ragged. Someone like Shane."

"Except Shane's gay. And James is straight."

"I know…"

"So that doesn't make any sense."

"I'm not sure anything about his dad makes sense," I shrugged, lacing up my own skates. "Come on, let's head out."

She nodded and we made our way out of the girls' locker room together, neither one breaking the silence.

Ice skating practice was even rougher than before, with Sarah working me double time. At one point, I fell, twisting my right ankle, but she just shook her head.

"Work through it, Knight," she barked out. "It's just a twist, nothing to be bothered about."

Once ice skating practice was over – my ankle throbbing in pain – I headed home. I took a quick shower, slathering myself in my vanilla and cherry body wash, before drying off and slipping into jeans, a sweater, and Converse sneakers. I applied a light layer of purple eyeliner and mascara, before brushing out my hair, grabbing my coat and purse, and heading off for the Diamonds'.

An unfamiliar car was parked in the driveway, a bumper sticker on the back window with the words La Castillo Fire Department scrawled across it in bold letters, a red fireman's hat drawn in the upper right corner. Apparently Brad was already there.

I parked along the curb and climbed out of my car, hurrying to the front door. I rang the doorbell and a moment later the door swung open. I blinked, looking up at someone who could only be Brad. He had deeply tanned skin, neatly combed dark blond hair, and he was dressed simply in jeans and a t-shirt. He was hot, no doubt about it, but a split second later I realized he didn't do anything for me. I was too eager to push past him and run into the house to find James.

"Wild guess," Brad grinned at me. "You're Katie."

I smiled cutely up at him. "That would be me."

"I thought so. James described you to a tee."

"Did he call me an intrusive bitch?" I asked, trying to keep the bitterness out of my voice as I stepped past him and into the warm house.

"Nope. He said you were about 5'1, brunette with brown eyes, and beautiful. Just to let you know, he just said Lauren was really pretty."

"So I have a hand up in the looks department?" I asked hopefully, kicking off my shoes.

"It would seem so."

I grinned. "Where's James?"

"In the kitchen with Brooke and Shane."

"Sweet." I headed in there, Brad following behind me. Brooke was staring at the timer on the oven, Shane was perched on the island counter, legs swinging back and forth, and James was leaning against the fridge, arms crossed over his chest, muscles bulging out.

Was it even possible for a sixteen year old boy to have biceps like that?!

James glanced at us as we entered the kitchen. "Hey, Katie."

"Hi." I bounded over to him and hugged him, not even giving him a chance to fend me off. Luckily, he hugged me back and I relaxed into him.

After a moment, Shane cleared his throat, an impish grin on his face. "You two should probably save the cuddling and canoodling for after dinner."

"Shane," Brooke admonished him as I stepped away from James, but I had a feeling from the glint in her eyes that she didn't really mean it. Shane just continued to grin, still swinging his legs.

The doorbell rang and Brad headed off to see which one it was. A moment later, I heard Kyle's voice and not ten seconds later he emerged into the kitchen. Shane hopped down from the counter and walked over to him.

"Hey," he greeted him, grabbing the front of Kyle's shirt and pulling him against his chest. Kyle was a couple of inches shorter than Shane and about twenty pounds lighter, so he had to brace himself against Shane so that he wouldn't knock him over.

Kyle smiled at him. "Hey."

Their lips met and I felt a smile tugging at my own, almost amazed at the emotion I could feel radiating off of them. So much love and intensity it was insane.

I glanced over at James and he looked back at me, also smiling. Our eyes locked and I slowly walked over to him. I wanted that, and I wanted that with James. And I knew I could get it…I would get it. Sooner or later, I would. If there was one thing that could be said about me, it was that I was determined.

"It's nice to see them like this," I said to him softly, slipping my hand into his.

"It is," he agreed, just as quietly. "It really is." His eyes met mine again and I had a feeling he was doing the same thing I was – imagining us in Shane's and Kyle's places.

"It could be us," I almost whispered. "You know it could be."

He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything, the doorbell rang again.

Great. It was fucking Lauren.

Brad hurried off to answer the door and Shane and Kyle pulled apart, smiling.

Brooke shook her head. "The fact that I'm allowing two teenagers to make out in my kitchen has me worried."

"You're the cool mom," I told her.

"Yeah, you've bought James condoms," Shane added.

Kyle's eyebrows shot up. "Whoa, I didn't know that."

"It was back when we were all going up to the hotel. She made James measure himself and everything – oh, hey, Lauren!"

Lauren had just walked into the kitchen, but she paused as she took us in. James and I immediately let go of each other's hand, and Shane quickly zipped his mouth shut.

"What were you guys talking about?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Shane said quickly, while I just smirked.

"So, James, what is your condom size?"

Lauren and Brooke both dry choked, and Shane, Kyle, and Brad all grinned.

James turned bright red and immediately spun around to look at the oven timer. "Oh, look, the lasagna's almost done."

I smirked to myself as Brooke offered Kyle, Lauren, and me drinks. We got ourselves sat up at the table. I let James sit between Shane and Lauren, and took my place beside Kyle.

He looked at me. "So, any evil genius plans for tonight."

"We'll see. So, does this mean you're talking to me again?"

"We'll see how tonight goes," he replied.

A moment later, Brooke brought the lasagna out and we dished up.

I moaned happily as I took a bite of it. "Brooke, this is amazing," I told her genuinely.

"Thank you!" Brooke beamed at me. "It's actually an old family recipe that I found when I was unpacking some old boxes. My mom used to make it. I just hope I did it justice."

"Sure tastes like it," I assured her.

"It's really good," Lauren chimed in, shoveling some of the pasta into her mouth. "Do you cook a lot?"

"Not very often," Brooke responded. "I used to cook a lot before I met James' dad, and now I'm trying to get back into it."

"What happened to him?" she asked. "Or is that – "

"James didn't tell you about his dad?" Shane asked, eyebrows raised. "Oh. Wow. Okay. It's nothing too important…"

"You know, don't you?" Kyle asked me, and I nodded.

"He told me the night I took him to the school theater so that he could see it. He went up onstage and did a monologue from some Shakespeare play. He was incredible."

"Wasn't that the night of Shane's and my first date?"

"It was. If I remember correctly, you kicked us to the curb and accused me of groping James."

"You totally groped James."

I blushed slightly, wondering how Brooke felt about hearing us talking about me possibly groping her son. "I didn't. You guys are delusional."

"Sure we are."

Shane smirked at James and me around his bite of lasagna, while Lauren worked on her own food.

"So, how's school going?" Brad broke in, probably to change the very awkward dinner conversation.

"It's going well," Lauren spoke up. "I'm really loving geometry."

Ugh. Math nerd.

"Actually," she continued on, "my GPA's at a 4.0 right now."

She was so full of shit. The semester just started, bitch.

"That's really cool," he said to her, trying to look impressed and not quite succeeding.

"Thanks! What about you, Katie? Where's your GPA at right now?"

I poked at my lasagna. "Well, since the semester just started, it's probably pretty good."

"But you had a lot of trouble last semester, didn't you?" she prodded. "It's why James had to tutor you in English, and why you were banned from ice skating."

I shrugged. "I needed a break from ice skating, anyway. My coach was overworking me. Still is, actually," I added in a mumble.

Lauren snorted. "Right…sure. Because ice skating is something you can get overworked on."

James' eyes flashed as he looked at her. "Actually, it's possible, Lauren."

"Please. Ice skating isn't even a sport. Soccer, hockey, baseball, football – those are sports."

"I used to ice skate. I even competed for a couple of years," he snapped.

"Ooooh," Shane and Kyle intoned together. "Awk-ward!"

Lauren turned to James. "I'm not saying it isn't a good work out because I'm sure it is. But honestly, all you do is skate around and do tricks in pretty outfits. It's nothing more than a circus event."

Brooke and Brad both leapt to their feet, muttering something about having to make sure the oven was off. They hightailed it into the kitchen, leaving us teenagers out in the dining room.

James quirked an eyebrow, cheeks flushing and I knew he was fighting back the urge to scream at her. "Have you ever done a spin in midair? Or a leap?"

"I've never wanted to," she replied, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest. "Never needed to. I don't need to look pretty and graceful while I'm doing something pointless, unlike some people." She shot a look at Kyle and me and I felt my own temper rising.

"Then maybe you should get your head out of your ass. You have no fucking clue what you're talking about," I snarled. "Ice skating is as much a sport as gymnastics. Just because we're not kicking a stupid ball around doesn't make ice skaters any less athletes than soccer players."

"Whatever." She looked down at her nails. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Katie. You know, when you're not making out with my boyfriend."

"Oh, snap!" Shane snapped his fingers to emphasize his point.

I leaned back as well. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe there's a reason I've made out with your boyfriend? And you're not exactly innocent, either. We all know you kissed Dak at Carlos Garcia's New Year's Eve party. I don't know why you're trying to play the fucking victim here. If you really felt like one, you wouldn't be sitting here, eating lasagna and insulting ice skating. So just stop lying and trying to get James to stay with you by laying the guilt trip on him."

"He's not going to start dating you," she retorted. "Especially since you made out with Jett at the party. And I heard a rumor you screwed him. Did you screw Jett Stetson, Katie? Is that why you're so tired? Because you're pregnant with Jett's baby?"

My jaw dropped. "I never slept with Stetson! Gross! Where the hell did you even hear that?!"

Lauren shrugged. "Around. Man, it must be so hard to be a big, fat, stupid slut."

I looked over at James. "I'm really, really sorry about this." Before he even had the chance to respond, I grabbed my glass of iced tea and threw it in Lauren's face. "You're a liar and a user and a manipulator and I hope you burn in hell."

Lauren sputtered through her face-full of iced tea and glared ferociously up at me. The next thing I knew, she had thrown herself at me, knocking me to the floor. "Why can't you just stay in your cave, you fucking freak?!" she shrieked, entwining her hands in my hair and yanking. I let out a small whimper of pain as I tried to push her off of me. "You're nothing more than a flat chested pathetic freak who likes the hot guy who'll never want you. No one's ever going to want you! Why can't you get that through that fucking empty head of yours?! There's nothing in your head except air, so I don't know why you're so fucking thick headed!" She pulled my hair even harder, nails digging into my scalp.

"Get the fuck off of me!" I screamed, still trying to push her off but she was a good thirty pounds heavier than me and more solidly built.

"Not until you go curl up somewhere and die!"

The next thing I knew, Lauren was being yanked up, James pinning her arms behind her back, sheer, unadulterated rage spreading across his face.

"It was self-defense!" Lauren immediately screamed, trying to spin around so that she could plead face to face with James. "She threw tea in my face!"

"After you called her a big, fat, stupid slut," James said coldly. I had never heard someone's voice sound so…chilly. A mental image of an iced over, deserted pond crossed my mind and I shivered. James' voice sounded exactly like that. "And then you physically attacked her. You can leave now."

"James – "

"Go!" He let her go, shoving her away from him slightly. "And by the way, we're over. I don't ever want to see your face again."

"James, she made out with Jett and possibly fucked him. How can you take her side?!"

"I'm taking her side because what you just did was completely uncalled for!"

"I barely touched her."

"You hurt her! I don't like people who hurt other people! My dad used to do it to my mom and to me when we pissed him off! I'm not going to be with someone who abuses other people! GET THE FUCK OUT!"

"You're such a fucking tool!" she screamed, but she turned for the door anyway, kicking at me as she went. I yelped as her foot made contact with my right ankle, the one I had twisted earlier, unable to roll away quickly enough.

"You're still a bitch!" I screeched after her as a flash of red fogged my vision, the pain sharp and raw in my ankle. "GO TO HELL! JUST GO TO HELL!" It took me a long moment after the door slammed shut in answer to realize that pain wasn't the only thing fogging my vision.

I wiped at my eyes as Shane and Kyle helped me up into a sitting position, doing my best to ignore the growing lump in my throat. My head hurt from where Lauren had pulled my hair, and my ankle felt like someone had dropped a brick on it.

James hurried over to me, dropping to his knees beside me, hazel eyes glimmering with worry. "Are you okay – Katie?"

"Her ankle doesn't look good," Kyle reported. "It's pretty swollen."

I sniffed slightly, trying to hide the fact that I was crying. "I twisted it at practice earlier."

"Get ice," James ordered Shane and Kyle and they rushed into the kitchen, returning a moment later with an icepack and a thin towel wrapped around it. James gently rolled my jeans leg up, softly laying the icepack on my ankle. I closed my eyes, cringing at the coldness. James' fingers entwined mine and he pulled me into his arms, holding me tightly.

"Whoa, what happened?" Brooke's voice echoed through the room and I opened my eyes. She and Brad had just alighted into the dining room.

"Where'd you guys go?" Shane asked them.

"We stepped outside to give you guys some time to work things out. Where's Lauren?" Brad asked.

"I kicked her out," James replied, still cuddling me. "She went bat shit crazy – sorry, Mom – on Katie."

Brooke pressed her lips together before looking at me. "Is there anything you need, sweetie?"

I shook my head, burying my face in James' shoulder. He stroked my hair, sighing.

At last I was able to get gingerly to my feet and James walked me to the door. "Are you sure you don't want me to drive you home?" he asked me worriedly.

I nodded. "I'll be okay. I've had worse injuries. This is nothing."

"Okay…but if you have any trouble, call me."

"I will," I promised as he opened the door for me.

"Katie?"

I turned back to face him. "Yeah?"

"Did you – I mean – was Lauren telling the truth? About you making out with Jett Stetson?"

My stomach twisted as I mumbled out, "Yeah, it's true."

He closed his eyes, leaning against the doorway. "Oh. Okay."

"It – it only happened the one time," I stumbled out. "I was upset and angry and hurt because you had just left the party with Lauren and I just…I just reacted."

"Okay."

"I'm really, really sorry…You were never supposed to find out…I don't even know how Lauren knows."

"Beats me."

"James…I'm so, so sorry."

"I know you are. You just said it."

"You're hurt."

"I'm not. It's not like we were together. I was dating someone else at the time." I had never heard his voice so deprived of emotion. That in itself told me he was lying his head off, trying to save face.

"But you're still hurt. I mean, we may not be together, but…"

"But?" He opened his eyes, looking at me.

"I do like you. I care about you. I really care about you. I never meant to hurt you. It was never intentional…"

He sighed. "It's never intentional with you, Katie. That's the thing."

I licked my lips. "James…there's something I need to tell you. It's about why I broke up with you…Can we go somewhere to talk?"

He nodded. "Can you walk? We could go to the park or something if you don't want to talk at my house. Or I could drive us to Creamy Delish if you want."

"Creamy Delish works," I agreed.

"Okay. Then let's go."

So. There you guys go. James and Lauren are broken up. Lauren went bat shit crazy on Katie. That one was as complete shock to me, I had no idea she was going to attack Katie like that. In all honesty, I didn't even have the dinner planned out, so I was pretty shocked at what happened. I even had to rewrite a couple of the scenes to accommodate the dinner. I'm sorry if that particular scene bothered any of you :\ It wasn't my intention, but I know bullying is a sore subject as is physical violence, so I'm sorry. It was just something that forced it's way in and I went with it. It did get James to break up with Lauren though, so...

On another note, I can't believe I'm writing this, but we're nearing the end of the story. In all honesty, I could probably end it next chapter, but there's a few more things I want to slip in before I do, so I think there'll probably be around another three chapters, plus an epilogue :) Hard to believe the ending's almost here...I'm not sure I'm ready for this story to end, but if I carry it on much longer it'll turn pointless.

Anyway, thank you for reading, and please review! :)