Disclaimer: I do not own Big Time Rush, Demi Lovato, "Made in the USA", UCLA, or anything recognizable.
TooLazyToSignIn: Thank you so much, I'm so happy you enjoyed it :) I had them get together at the end because otherwise there just wouldn't have been a story. And that was the chapter title, the one where the ice was finally broken. Well, I did my best ;) Thank you for taking the time to read and review, I really appreciate it :)
btrluvr8: Thank you very much! Yay! I'm glad you've enjoyed the story. Oh, I definitely plan on continuing. I have a whole bunch of stories waiting in the queues to be posted, so hopefully you'll be seeing some new stuff soon. Thank you again, and thank you for taking the time out to read and review! I mega appreciate it! :)
KnylonMaslow: You're welcome, and thank YOU for taking the time to read and review! It's always appreciated :)
Guest: Aww, I'm sorry about that. But thank you for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate it :)
person: Thank you so much! I'm so happy you enjoyed it! I do have a few more stories that want to be posted, so we'll see...;) Thank you for reading and reviewing! I appreciate it so much :)
bubblegum pop: Haha you're welcome, and sorry the epilogue wasn't posted right away. James' mom is always blunt. Thank you for taking the time to read and review, I always appreciate it :)
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THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everyone who has read, followed, favorited, or reviewed this story! I love you guys so, so much and I appreciate it so, so much, and you guys are just amazing! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
So...yeah. Wow. Okay. I'm finally getting the epilogue up. It would've been up sooner but the idea I'd had for it for the past year just didn't work, so I had to change it around, but hopefully you guys enjoy it. I'm not even sure what to say. I kinda feel like I should make a huge speech or whatever because of how much I've loved writing this story and how much I've loved getting your alerts and reviews for "Break the Ice".
Okay, so, San Alvaro College is completely made up -as far as I know, it's not real at all. This also takes place three and a half years later after the last chapter. If the characters seem a little bit different, just chalk it up to maturity and all that fun stuff. Some stuff might not be completely wrapped up, but that's because there's a pretty good chance I'm going to end up doing a couple of one shots set in the "Break the Ice" universe. I'm not positive, but we'll see. Anyway, I think that's about it :)
Enjoy the epilogue :)
Epilogue
Three ½ Years Later
James' POV
The plane ride was more than half over, and I was counting down the minutes until we landed at LAX.
Logan sat beside me, reclining back in his seat, staring straight ahead. His earbuds were in, but I wasn't actually entirely sure he was listening to music. All I knew was that he hadn't blinked in the past thirty seconds – I had been watching him.
We had been in New York City for going on three months, and we were finally on our way home to California, to Los Angeles, to our respective girlfriends. Also to my brother's and Kyle's wedding…Which was going to begin in six hours. Damn, that was crazy, thinking about my brother getting married. I mean, it wasn't exactly unexpected. He and Kyle had the best relationship I had ever seen. It was equal parts love, friendship, and respect, with a dash of insanity and a smattering of passion. I was happy for them, it was just a difficult thing to wrap my head around.
But I was looking forward to seeing Shane and Kyle again, since I hadn't seen them closing in on three months. And then there was Katie…I missed her beyond anything else. I could picture her so clearly, moving around our apartment in LA, curled up on the couch with a takeout carton of Chinese food, phone lying beside her as she waited for my nightly text to see if she wanted to Skype. Thankfully she was always up for it because otherwise I had a feeling we both would have gone crazy from the distance and sexual frustration.
A year ago, I hadn't been planning to spend my summer in New York, and neither had Logan. But he had gotten an opportunity to take a summer med course at the New York University and had jumped on the chance. In the meantime, my drama professor had mentioned summer classes that were held at the Broadway Theater in New York City. I had applied and had gotten in. Katie and Camille had both been amazingly supportive of Logan and me, even though it had meant we would be all the way across the country for close to three months. Katie had been working at the San Alvaro College ice rink, where she was teaching elementary school kids to skate, and she loved her job too much to take the summer off. Plus, she had opted to take a couple of summer classes at San Alvaro College because the class size would be smaller and students could get some really good deals on summer courses. Camille had gotten a part in a stage musical in LA that ran through the summer, so there was no way she would have been able to go either.
When I wasn't jetting off to New York City, I was living in an apartment at the edge of campus with Katie, and we were even working at the same place, as ice skating instructors for elementary school kids. She had followed through on the decision she had made that night in my room three and a half years ago. She had continued to ice skate through high school, although it had been more of a hobby and less of a career, and she had earned a scholarship. She had even won second place the southern California ice skating regionals that same spring, with Jo earning first place.
Once she got to college, Katie had taken a bunch of different classes, anything to distance herself from ice skating. It hadn't worked, of course; the skating coach she had had for the second part of our junior year and the whole of senior year recommended her to the ice rink at the college, which held classes for elementary and middle school kids. Coach Billings had also spoken to the rink, and I was hired pretty quickly as well.
Once we had enough money, we had moved out of our dorm rooms and into a one bedroom apartment.
Shane and Kendall had both continued on with hockey after high school, and were currently at UCLA on hockey scholarships and were both hoping to get onto the LA Kings team. Kyle, Logan, and Carlos were at UCLA as well – Logan was planning to continue on to med school, Carlos was studying law – although he was considering joining the police academy once he got his generals out of the way since becoming an attorney didn't really appeal to him as much as being a cop did – and Kyle was going to be a business major. Stephanie was currently at the NYC film school – she was planning on becoming a horror movie director. Jo had continued on with ice skating and was going to try for the women's ice skating Olympic team. Camille was going to San Alvaro College and was planning on being a drama major as well. We even had a couple of classes together which were always fun. She was a total character, and she always had hilarious stories about when she was trying to learn how to skate, or about the time she had gotten stage fright during her third grade Christmas play.
And of course, there was Shane and Kyle. Kyle had proposed to Shane during their three year anniversary dinner. It was insane to think that Shane was getting married before me, but he was so happy and ecstatic that it was hard to imagine it happening any other way. In any case, Katie and I had talked about it, and while we definitely intended to get married at some point in the future, we didn't really feel the need to make it official just yet. Right now we were college students and we were living together – we were happy that way.
Logan stirred slightly, tilting his head to look at me as he pulled his earbuds out.
"Yeah?" I asked, stretching my legs out in front of me as much as I could.
"Do you think the girls are thinking about us right now?"
"They're probably rushing around the park where Shane and Kyle are getting married, either getting pissed at the caterer, or cussing us out because we aren't there to help. I'm an awful big brother."
"Hey, Shane told you to take the opportunity. Shane and Katie both, just like Camille told me to take the chance with the summer program. And at the time we left, a date hadn't been set yet."
"True," I conceded, turning my head to look out the window and only seeing cloud. "I miss Katie…"
"I miss Camille," Logan sighed. "You know, she flirted with me almost every day from freshman year until junior year, when we got together."
I smiled a little. "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me."
"And it completely freaked me out. I couldn't figure out how she could like me so much. It just didn't make any sense."
I chuckled, patting his shoulder. "And Katie and I were totally different."
"Yeah, you two hated each others' guts the first time you saw each other."
"Something like that. But there was also this intense attraction that neither of us could figure out."
"Ah, the good ol' sexual tension. We all had a field day when it came to you two," he grinned.
I groaned. "Don't remind me. I remember when Shane told you guys in the cafeteria that our mom had given me The Talk."
"And when Katie mimicked a blow job with her spoon."
"And all the times we teased each other in chem."
"You know, she was really impressed when she found out that you'd skated when you were younger. I think a part of her was kind of pissed, but she was amazed that you could be a hockey head and could skate that well."
"She's always so nice."
Logan's grin widened. "I'm sure she's got her nice moments."
I smirked. She did. She really, really did.
I couldn't help but remember the day we finally had sex for the first time. It was almost funny, because we'd been in the middle of a fight, screaming bloody murder at each other. That wasn't anything new, that happened a couple times a month, but this time we were just getting heated and passionate. She was pissed because earlier that day at the community pool, a couple of girls from our school had been hitting on me, and I wasn't particularly happy because the male lifeguards were all gathered around her. I guess something must have just snapped, because we had completely let ourselves go, right there in my bedroom on a hot, muggy day the summer after our junior year of high school.
We hadn't been able to follow through on our deal of having sex at least once a day, mainly because once high school started back up that was impossible, we were just too busy, but we tried to keep it regular, and once we started living together, it was close to every day. Obviously we had gone close to three months without being with each other, and I could tell just by talking to her that we were both going a little nuts – neither of us had been this horny since our junior year of high school – but we would be seeing each other in just a couple of hours.
I couldn't fucking wait.
"Have you talked to your mom lately?" Logan asked.
I nodded. "She and Brad are doing really well."
"And your dad?"
"Nothing from him, as usual."
My mom and Brad were engaged and had set the wedding date for the upcoming winter, once we were all on winter break. My dad had had very little contact with us ever since Mom had kicked him out of the house, and what we did hear from him only made us roll his eyes. He had left the cult group thing he had been involved in, but had ended up in another one. As Mom said, if it was the only thing that was keeping him from going back to his old ways, then maybe it was a good thing, but that didn't mean I had to like it.
And then there was Mr. and Mrs. Knight…Soon after Katie and I started going out, they began meeting for coffee a couple of times a week. And then they were having dinner together on a regular basis. And then they were seeing movies and going on weekend getaway trips by themselves. They had remarried a year ago, much to Katie's and Kendall's delight, and from what I had heard and seen, they couldn't have been happier.
"Suckage," Logan said.
I shrugged. "My dad's a flaky ass. The less I hear from him, the better."
"Very true."
I nodded.
"How're you handling being away from Katie?"
"Right now I just want the fucking plane to land so that I can jump out and find her."
"About how I feel about Camille."
"And it's been almost three months…" I groaned. "It's been complete torture. We went from having quite possibly the best sex on the west coast – "
"Actually, that would be Camille and me."
" – to completely going cold turkey. It's not fair." My lips formed a pout, a scowl etched across my face.
Logan shrugged. "You two knew what you were getting into when you decided to do the program."
"Yeah, but I didn't think it would be this hard – no pun intended."
"Mmm. I get where you're coming from," he nodded.
"And Katie and I were having sex almost every day. And now…" I let out a small whine.
"Okay, changing the subject before you cross the line for friendly sharing and too much information," Logan decided. "On the bright side, the plane will be landing soon, and then we can see our girlfriends again."
I nodded. "Very true."
"And your brother is about to get married as well, and the wedding will probably be really beautiful – "
"It will be. My brother's not always the most romantic person in the world, but Kyle could win the prize for it. He's made sure everything's perfect and gorgeous, I'm positive of it."
"So, the wedding will be really beautiful, and then we'll get a few weeks off from school."
"Right."
"I'd say we're doing pretty well."
I nodded in agreement. "You know, I think we are."
The plane landed a couple of hours later and we shuffled into the terminal, before winding our way through LAX so that we could get our bags. We met up with Kendall and Carlos out front, Kendall behind the wheel of the silver Toyota Prius, grinning widely.
"Good to see you two made it back to LA safely," he said once everything was loaded into the trunk and Logan and I were seated in the car, with me in the front and him behind Kendall.
"How was New York?" Carlos asked eagerly from where he was sitting behind me.
"It was pretty awesome," I grinned. "It was a lot of fun. Very busy, very stressful at times, but a lot of fun."
"Same for me," Logan agreed.
Kendall pulled out of the pickup/drop off spot he had been parked in, and headed for the park where the wedding was being held.
I leaned back against the seat, stretching my legs out as much as I could, enjoying the temporary rest until we reached the park and everything went nuts. And knowing Shane, Kyle, and Katie, everything would be going to hell. I was a little bit scared of what awaited us.
At last, Kendall parked and we climbed out. He led us towards the park's community center, which Shane and Kyle had rented out so that everyone could get ready in the back rooms.
The community center was a long building, painted creamy white with snow white trim, and wood steps going up to the porch. As I mounted the stairs, I could see the crystal blue ocean around the bluff the park was perched on.
Damn, it was nice to be back in California. I had missed it more than I had realized.
We pushed through the doors into the building, and my mother immediately flung her arms around me. I hugged her back, letting her lean into me.
"You're never leaving for that long ever again," she informed me. "All the way across the country for almost three months…I don't think so!" She pulled back to look at me sternly. "You're staying here with me from now on. Well, me and Katie. Where is Katie, anyway?"
"She's dealing with a little flower situation," Jo told Mom as she headed over to us, giving me a quick hug. "Hey, James. Katie missed you."
"Good to know."
Stephanie joined us. "And now that you're home, she might finally kick her fro-yo addiction."
"I – what?"
"Oh yeah, she got a frozen yogurt addiction once you left. She fell in love with the dark chocolate mousse mixed with strawberries and crème. Said it reminded her of you – don't ask."
My eyes widened as I realized just exactly why it had reminded her of me…And it wasn't appropriate to say in front of my mother. "Um…okay…"
"She started eating it pretty much every day."
"Um…"
"Yeah, she really missed you. Even started saying your name in her sleep. I'm pretty sure she skated your name into the ice at work one day."
"Can someone go get Katie?" I pleaded.
"I'll do it," Jo volunteered, slipping away and headed out of the main room and down the hall.
At that moment, Camille came running into the room and took a running leap, flying into Logan's arms. I scooted away from them.
"Anyone know where my brother is…?" I asked the room at large.
"In one of the back rooms, getting ready," Stephanie answered, nodding towards the opposite hall than the one Jo had headed down.
"Okay. Tell Katie I'm back there with – " Before I could finish getting the sentence out, I heard Katie scream,
"You motherfucking prick!" And the next thing I knew, my girlfriend had thrown herself into my arms, legs around my waist, her lips pressing against mine. I kissed her back happily, holding her tightly. She forced her tongue into my mouth, deepening the kiss and grabbing handfuls of my hair as I backed her into a wall, moaning as I pulled back and instead kissed and licked and bit my way down her neck. She whimpered. "I swear, if you ever leave me like that again, I'm going to tie you to the bed and – "
"Okay!" Mom shrieked. "This is a public place!"
"Yeah, get a room," Stephanie added.
Katie whined as I pulled away. "It's been almost three months since I last saw him."
"Yeah, three months," I growled, catching Katie's lips with mine.
"A wedding's going to be happening in two hours," Mom reminded us, hands on her hips. "And there's still plenty to do. If nothing else, you two at least need to go get ready."
"Fine," I groaned, setting Katie down and pecking her lips before heading off to find Shane.
He was in one of the back rooms, which had been made over into a dressing room, buttoning up his shirt.
I smiled at him as I walked in. "Hey, little bro."
"Hey, big bro."
Shane hugged me tightly. "How was New York?"
"Very educational and insane. How was…here?"
"The definition of crazy."
"How's Kyle?"
"I think he's doing good. I don't know, I haven't seen him today. Fuck." He raked his fingers through his hair. "I'm so fucking nervous, James. I mean, I'm excited, but…fucking hell. I can't believe I'm getting married. I mean, I love Kyle so much…But I'm getting married!"
"In two hours…Please don't be a runaway groom."
"I won't be, I won't be," he assured me quickly. "This is just insane!"
"Everything's going to be okay. In a few hours, you and Kyle will be on your honeymoon and Katie and I will be in our apartment and…can we hurry this thing along? I barely got to see Katie and I need time with her."
Shane gave me a dirty look. "The wedding will begin when it begins."
"Ugghhh…"
He finished getting ready and I changed into my suit and tie, running a comb through my hair, before heading out to see if anything needed to be done.
Everything seemed to be under control, with my mom barking last minute orders at people who I assumed were helping with the wedding while Brad just stood off to the side, watching her lovingly. They rushed around, dashing down the stairs and to the path that led deeper into the park, carrying chairs and streamers.
I turned to Shane, my brow furrowing. "Who's officiating the ceremony?"
"You know the pastor/professor who teaches religious theories at San Alvaro College?"
"Yeah."
"Well, it's him."
"Really? I mean, he is aware that this is a gay wedding, right?"
"Yeah, that was Kyle's reaction when I told him I had found someone to marry us. But his daughter's actually bi and his brother's gay and he told me he just couldn't convince himself that homosexuality is wrong when his own daughter and brother aren't straight."
I nodded, before jumping back as several workmen carried a white arched trellis through the building and outside, down the steps.
An hour later, people began showing up, a combination of high school and college friends, and family members. I had my cheeks squeezed into the next life by my grandmother, and it took me a good five minutes just to get the feeling back in my face.
I knew there were two arched trellises being used – one that the guests had to go through like a doorway to get to the grassy, open area where the wedding was supposed to take place, while Shane and Kyle would be married under the other one. I knew that the guests would be offered flutes of champagne upon their arrival – assuming they were over twenty-one – or glasses of sparkling cider if they were still underage.
That was the one issue I really had with Shane and Kyle getting married so young – none of us were old enough to drink.
Before long, the wedding was due to begin, and the girls hurried out from their own dressing rooms.
My breath caught when I saw Katie. To say she looked breathtakingly beautiful would have been the understatement of the century. She wore a deep purple sparkly halter dress, with her hair pinned up in a mess of curls, and adorned with a purple rose. Her eyes had been lined in purple, and her lips were a darker red than usual. Amethysts glimmered at her ears, around her neck, and dangled from her wrists.
I was totally going to marry her one day.
She beamed when she saw me, pushing a couple of stray strands out of her face.
I held my arms out to her and she stepped into them, wrapping her own around my neck and kissing me deeply.
"You look beautiful," I murmured against her lips.
"Thanks. You look pretty fucking good yourself." She brushed her lips against mine. "So, ready to marry off your brother and my best friend?"
"Let's do this thing."
Katie pulled back and grinned at me, before hooking her arm through mine and leading me out onto the porch, before heading down the steps and across the grass, just a little ways back from the first trellis. Balloons, streamers, and different colors of fake roses had been tied and entwined in the wood, and I could see balloons bobbing up ahead as well. Logan, Camille, Kendall, Jo, Carlos, and Stephanie joined us, while my mom and Brad hurried off to sit down. I knew Kyle was already in position, and his parents were probably seated as well. They had been trying to keep the Diamonds' wedding party away from the Margolis' to ensure that Shane and Kyle didn't see each other before the wedding.
The music began and my eyes widened.
"Why is a Demi Lovato song playing?"
Katie grinned. "Because your brother thought it'd be adorable to have Made in the USA playing during the ceremony and my best friend can't seem to say no to him."
"Oh, dear God…"
The flower girl and the ring bearer – Kyle's younger siblings – jumped into motion, leading the way down the aisle, and Kendall and Jo followed, with Logan and Camille quickly hastening after them. Stephanie and Carlos stepped through the trellis, and then Katie and I moved forward, through the archway, and down the aisle. I could see Kyle standing under the second trellis, beaming as we approached him.
Once Kendall and Jo reached him, Jo stood a few steps away from him, while Kendall stood on Shane's side. Logan and Camille, and Stephanie and Carlos repeated the motions, and when Katie and I finally got there, Katie stood the closest to Kyle, while I positioned myself opposite of them.
There was a pause, and then Shane walked through the archway, sauntering down the aisle, a lone figure amongst the rows of people. Kyle's eyes glittered, smiling so hard I thought his face might break.
Shane reached us, and the pastor moved forward from where he had been sitting in the audience, beginning to speak about the meaning of love.
The ceremony was brief, and before long the pastor was saying, "I now pronounce you partners for life. You may kiss."
Shane yanked Kyle towards him and kissed him deeply, earning applause and wolf whistles from the audience and the wedding party while Mom and Mrs. Margolis sobbed into tissues.
Once they pulled away from each other, they grasped hands and headed back up the aisle, the rest of us following.
The reception began soon after, with the wedding guests spilling over the section of the park that Shane and Kyle had reserved for the day. Buffet tables were lined up under tents, and folding tables had been set up. The community center had a few tables set up inside as well in case people wanted to get away from the chaos that was going on outside.
We loaded plates up with food and sat down, watching as Shane and Kyle made the rounds, thanking their different guests for being here.
"Beautiful wedding," Kendall commented through a mouth of macaroni salad.
"Don't talk with your mouth full of food," Jo admonished him, but she was smiling. "And it was beautiful. I'm happy for Kyle and Shane."
I nodded in agreement.
Before long, Kyle and Shane moved to the area outside the tables that had been dubbed the dance floor for the evening, and shared their first dance. We joined in soon after, the music growing louder and the guests getting more and more brave as time wore on – Kyle's dad had supplied the wedding reception with a beer keg.
It was dark by the time Kyle and Shane were escorted down to the limo that would take them to the airport. They were planning on honeymooning in Hawaii for a couple of weeks before school started back up.
I hugged them both, making them promise to take lots of pictures and buy lots of souvenirs for those of us less fortunate.
"You were in New York City all summer," Shane scoffed. "I'm not buying you jack."
"Take care," Katie said to Kyle, kissing his cheek. "I'm so proud of you and happy for you."
"Thanks, K," Kyle smiled at her. "Have a good rest of your summer vacation."
"I will." She grinned wickedly. "I plan on dragging James to bed and never letting him go."
"Gross!" Shane hollered. "TMI! TMI!"
Katie cackled. "Have fun, you two!"
Shane flipped her off, before letting Kyle drag him into the limo. The limo sped off and we returned to the makeshift dance floor.
"So," Katie winded her arms around my neck, grinning widely. "Your brother and my best friend are married."
"Mmm hmm." I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her against me.
"Who do you think is going to be married next?"
"Us."
"Really?"
"Yep."
"And how do you know that?"
"Male intuition."
She leapt into my arms and I caught her, supporting her as she draped her legs around my waist. "You know what I think we should do?" she asked in a low, soft voice as she pressed her lips against mine, feather light and pillow soft.
"Hmm?"
"I think we should go back to our apartment and have a honeymoon of our own. Just to practice."
"Hmmm…I think I could get into the idea."
Katie grinned widely. "Good."
I grinned back and kissed her deeply.
We headed out soon after, driving back to our apartment and heading on in. The second we were locked in, Katie practically attacked me, ripping my clothes off as I steered her towards the bedroom.
The sun was beginning to rise by the time Katie and I collapsed side by side in bed, panting hard. I wrapped my arms around her and she rested her head on my chest, sighing.
"I love you," she murmured. "Always and forever."
"I love you too." I kissed the top of her head and settled back against the pillows, slowly drifting off to sleep.
Always and forever…it had a beautiful ring to it. It was going to happen.
Definitely. Who would have thought that a fresh start would lead to this?
I wasn't complaining though. Not with the ice finally broken. Not with always and forever a definite promise for our future.
Not when everything was absolutely perfect.
The End
So...yeah...that was the end. I'm honestly not sure what to say or think, because I have so many mixed feelings about the epilogue. I hope you guys enjoyed it, and please review :) I love hearing from you guys!
Peace out,
-Science-Fantasy93
