Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! So, this chapter is the start of the Griffin's visit on the estate, so let's crack on with it shall we?


Much like when the Taylor's arrived on the Estate, James and his family were waiting outside, annoyance present on both James' and Brooke's face. They weren't afraid to show how much they were dreading this visit, and no matter how many times Henry, James's dad, said about how much of a good opportunity it was, it still didn't change anything.

They both hated the Griffin's, much like the rest of the estate did. So as the car finally pulled onto the estate, the two of them both let out a sigh, causing Henry to shake his head before they forced a smile onto their faces. When the car stopped, the driver was quick to get and move round, allowing Arthur Griffin to get out first.

"Mr Diamond, it's so good to see you!" the man said, his tone far to cheery for James' liking.

"Mr Griffin, it's been too long" '

Not long enough' James thought to himself, being careful not to roll his eyes at the older man. That's when the worst of the two got out of the car, already making noises to show her disgust.

"You all remember Mercedes" Griffin presented as Mercedes shook her head so that her hair could flow free.

"Of course, how are you Miss Griffin" Henry spoke, causing the blond girl to roll her eyes.

"It's wet, and I'm cold. How do you think I feel" she replied, James trying his best not to make a sarky remark.

Instead, he glanced around the estate and when his eyes landed upon the stables, he was met with the door being slightly ajar, as well as a few pairs of eyes peeking out at him. That caused a small smile to grow on his face, seeing as both Kendall and Camille were watching them this time. With a subtle wink, his eyes shifted over to the garage, where he noticed the same thing with Dak's head poking out of the door. That time, the brunet couldn't help but roll his eyes as he tuned back into the conversation.

"Well, we best head inside. I'm sure Lunch is almost ready" Henry said, causing them all to nod as Mercedes just reached her hands out.

"Care to give me a hand James? These shoes aren't made for walking you see, they're more for show" she said, raising a leg as if to make it easier to show the brunet.

Having no interest in them whatsoever, he replied with 'they're nice' before begrudgingly taking her hand, aiding her in walking. She seemed to cling to him instantly, causing James to roll his eyes once more as they finally entered the house.


"So, that's the she-devil huh?" Kendall asked as Mercedes first stepped out of the car, with him and Camille watching from the stables.

"Yeah, just look at her. Everything she does is bitchy" Camille replied, as they both watched as she shook her head, allowing her hair to flow free.

"You know, I can see it. She's just giving off this vibe."

"It's even worse up close. God forbid you ever have to go near her though" Camille said, them both watching as James rolled his eyes.

"He's already fed up with her. Bless him, it's going to be such a long day" Kendall spoke up, just as James caught wind of the two of them watching.

"He's definitely seen us"

"He has, I can see the smile that's growing on his face. *Gasp* He just winked at us!" Kendall replied, a smile growing on his own face as he continued to watch James look around. "He's just saw someone else" Kendall continued, looking over to where James was looking, revealing that Dak was also watching from the garage. "Dak's doing the same thing"

"Is he? Where?" Camille replied, causing Kendall to point over to where Dak that. Dak made eye contact with the two of them, and with a blush on his face, he waved over, causing Camille herself to blush as she waved back. Awing at the cuteness, Kendall looked back over to the door, where Mercedes currently had her hand wrapped around James' as she tried to walk.

"There going inside now. Good luck James" Kendall spoke, causing Camille to smile and shake her head as she finally pulled away. "Well, we best get some work done, just in case they want to come horse riding"

"Or James wants to see you" Camille teased, picking up a scoop as she began to muck out one of the pens.

"Oh no. We've talked enough about James and me. I want to know about you and Dak" Kendall replied, picking up his own scoop.

"What's to know?" Camille asked, trying to play it off as if it were nothing.

"Nuh huh. After what I've told you, I think you owe me"

"Fine" Camille replied, blushing as she did so. "So, it began the day he got back from the war. He drove him and Carlos home, while James waited for you, and as soon as they arrived, everyone went running out the door to greet them. When it got to Dak, I pulled him into a hug, when he placed a quick kiss onto my cheek, before he pulled away. After that, I suppose we sorted just slotted into place. We sat next to each other in the kitchen, as we all talked about everything while you were gone and that. Eventually, we all had to get back to work, but before I left, Dak asked if I could see him later, so I just nodded" Camille began, not making eye contact the entire time. "Of course, as soon as I was finished, I went to his room and knocked on his door, and when he opened it, he'd set out a nice little table with a flower on it and some food he claimed he cooked. We spent all night chatting-"

"And doing other things-" Kendall interrupted, causing Camille to blush as she continued.

"And I suppose from there, we've started dating" She finished, a smile wide on her face.

"That's so nice! I'm so happy for you" Kendall replied, flashing her a small smile before he got back to work, conversation dissolving into it's usual contents.


"So, James, I take it you've been training with your father in preparation for you to take over the estate?" Griffin asked as everyone began to take their seats at the table. Henry was at one end of the table, with Griffin at the other. To Henry's right sat Brooke, and to his left was James, who was also sat next to Mercedes, much to his dismay.

"Actually, I've been going my Literature degree" the brunet replied, as he placed his napkin over his lap with the first of the food being brought out from Jennifer and Carlos, who James knew were forcing a smile onto their faces. When they made eye contact with each other, James could see that they were trying their hardest be to polite, and not piss the Griffin's off.

"A Literature degree? What on earth would you need that for. You're taking over a business boy, you don't need to be reading books" Griffin replied, as Carlos poured him a glass of water. Neither of them missed the disdained look that Carlos received from Griffin, and James could see how Carlos was trying his best not to say anything.

"Actually, I wasn't planning on taking over the family business until later in life. First, I want to try and make a difference in the world"

"A difference? Nothing needs to be any different that it already is now. Life is perfect. Those who are beneath us serve us and we are entailed to whatever we want. The world doesn't need to change" Griffin replied once again, this time as Jennifer placed a plate of food in front of him. As Griffin spoke, James could see how hard Jennifer was trying to not say something, and thankful she didn't have to, as James spoke up instantly.

"I don't think that's true at all, I think the world needs to change a lot. I mean, there are people out there who can't read and can't write but they would definitely benefit from that knowledge. That's why I want to become a teacher." That's when Griffin did a spit take, but deciding to ignore it, James carried on. "To help out those who need it and who would benefit from it. It may not be much, but at least I'll be making a mark on the world"

"A teacher?" Griffin bellowed, making sure that all attention was definitely on him. By this point, Carlos and Jennifer had left the room, knowing they couldn't take any more of Griffin's opinions. "Why would you want to teach? The poor don't need to read and write, all they need to know is how to be obedient. Why on earth would you want to teach them, and why are you abandoning your responsibilities to your household. You should be training to take over your family's business, and getting ready to run this household, not teaching the peasants how to read and write" Griffin scolded but that didn't stop James from replying. If anything, it only made the brunet more willing to respond.

"As I said before, I will be taking over my family's business, but when I am older. There is no reason why I should take over now, when it is unnecessary. Instead I can be using my time to do something meaningful and useful, which is helping out those who need it"

"The only meaningful thing you should be doing is furthering your family's wealth" Griffin replied, once again causing James to visibly roll his eyes this time at the older man. It seems their argument had taken up a reasonable amount of time, and that everyone else had finished off their starters. This time however, before James could respond, his mother spoke up.

"Why don't we focus on something else. You've hardly touched the starter that our chef's have prepared" Brooke said, causing James to nod, as he noticed that Carlos and Jennifer were already in the room, readying to collect all of the dishes. James was quick to dig into the bowl of soup served, but as expected Griffin spoke up.

"I don't think this is up to scratch personally. I was expecting something more to begin with" he said, causing James to roll his eyes once more before glancing up to look at Carlos and Jennifer who were now trying to hard to maintain their friendly persona.

"Anyway, it's been a while since we're seen you Arthur, how are you getting on out East?" Henry spoke up, hoping to guide conversation into something preferable.

As Carlos and Jennifer cleared away their plates, James could only profusely whisper his apologies to the two of them.


It had been about an hour since James disappeared into the house with the Griffin's and about five hours since Kendall had started work that morning, meaning that the blond was getting ready to eat once again. As the blond finished mucking out his last stable, he spoke up once again.

"I wonder how James is getting on? You have more experience with the Griffin's than I do, so what do you think?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder at Camille.

"I think he's fairing ok. I mean, he's dealt with his plenty of times before." Camille began, before looking back at Kendall. "But I'm guessing something like this has gone down. The Griffin's have already complained about some of the food they've been served, and they've also insulted us, the servants, about 10 times. I'm guessing that James has probably tried to defend us, and that Carlos and Jennifer are about this far-" Camille demonstrated with her fingers, which were very close "-away from shouting or losing their heads"

"Wow, that's pretty specific" Kendall replied, causing Camille to shrug as she went to speak. Only, it wasn't her voice that spoke up.

"Like she said, we've had plenty of experience with this before" Dak said, causing the two of them to chuckle.

"Hey Dak" Kendall replied, causing Dak to nod as a response before Camille walked up to the brunet, and placed a small peck onto his cheek. The brunet was shocked at first, especially due to Kendall being in the room, but Camille was quick to explain.

"Don't worry, he knows everything" she said, causing a grin to grow on Kendall's face.

"So do I" Dak replied, flashing Kendall a wink, causing the blond to blush in return, the smirk wiping itself off his face. "And don't worry, I won't tell a soul"

"Thank you" Kendall replied, blowing out a little sigh of relief before Camille spoke up.

"So what are you doing here anyway?" she asked, as Dak lent against one of the pens.

"I'd cleaned about half of the cars, but I was starting to get a little peckish, so I thought I'd go get some lunch. When I heard the two of you chatting, I thought I'd just come say hi" Dak shrugged, just as Kendall's stomach grumbled, causing everyone to chuckle.

"It seems I'm a little peckish as well" The blond blushed, as he leaned his scoop against one of the pens. "Should we head in as well?"

"Sure. I mean, all we need to do now is replace the food and the water in the pens, so we can do that after lunch" Camille replied, as she did the same as Kendall, placing her scoop down.

With Dak taking Camille's hand, the three of them made their way back over the house, the whole time Kendall trying to glance through the window's subtly. Well, he thought it was subtle, but by the way that Camille and Dak were softly chuckling, he gathered that it wasn't. The three of them decided to head through the back door, deciding to try and avoid the Griffin's as much as possible, despite how much Kendall wanted to see James, and as they walked in, they heard Jennifer and Carlos chatting.

"The cheek of that man. I can't believe what he just said" Jennifer said, her voice filled with rage.

"Get used to it. This is what he's like every single visit. It gets harder each time not to say anything" Carlos replied, causing Jennifer to let out a frustrated sigh. Just as she was about to speak, the three of them walked into the kitchen area.

"Rough day?" Kendall asked as he walked in, instantly going over to the drying rack in order to try and help out.

"You would not believe the cheek of that man. He's so, so…rude" Jennifer enthused, scrubbing the plate she was cleaning a little harder.

"What did he say?" Dak asked, grabbing some of the food that was set out on the table for them to eat.

"Well, firstly, he insulted Carlos and I's cooking." She began, before turning directly to Kendall. "He didn't even try my leek and potato soup, yet he had the audacity to say that it wasn't up to scratch" That caused Kendall's eyes to widen slightly. He'd been having that soup for years, so he knew how delicious it was. "And then, when we were serving the main course, they were all talking about their businesses. He was so patronising to Mrs Diamond, explaining to her what profit is and basically treating her like an idiot. He's a sexist, personally targeting her because she was the only woman at the table. Besides his daughter of course, who he was treating like God's gift to earth" Jennifer raged, managing to get through all of the dishes she was working on. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little wound up" she apologised, when she realised no one else had spoken for a while.

"It's alright. We know exactly what he's like, and how infuriating he is" Camille spoke up, as she also reached for some food.

"I just don't know how you've put up with him for so long." Jennifer sighed, causing them all to shrug.

"I guess it's because we love the job for the rest of the year. We can tough it out for one day" Dak replied, causing Jennifer to nod.

"I suppose. I'm just grateful that Carlos is here with her. I doubt I'd be able to survive this on my own. I would have said something to them by now."

"It's part of the job" Carlos joked, patting Jennifer on the shoulder, causing them all to chuckle. "Anyway, let's take a quick break. They won't be finished for a short while, so we should take the chance to eat" the Latino continued, causing Jennifer to nod, as everyone gathered about the table, reaching in for the food that sat in the middle.

"So, how's everyone else getting on?" Jennifer asked, causing them all to shrug, as Dak launched into his story.


James had felt the two and a half hours since the beginning of this meal pass, so when Jennifer and Carlos began to clear away their dessert plates, he couldn't help the smile that grew on his face, and the sigh that escaped.

"I suppose we should get onto business now?" Henry asked, causing Griffin to nod, as the five of them got up from the table.

"I suppose so." Griffin nodded, as he pushed his chair in. "Brooke, Mercedes, you're welcome to leave, as it's about to get confusing for you" Griffin said, causing James and Brooke to roll their eyes at his sexist comment. "James, will you be joining us? Or are you going to continue your foolish endeavours?" Griffin continued, but James smiled at his question, finally seeing his way out from this awkward day.

"Unfortunately, it'll be the second one I'm afraid. I have a lesson scheduled for today, and it would be rude of me to cancel on such short notice." He replied, causing Griffin to nod slightly.

"Oh no James, please stay with me! We have some things that we have to...discuss as well" Mercedes pleaded, causing James to physically shudder at her tone.

"I can't. I've made a commitment with someone else that I have to honour" James replied, causing Mercedes to put on a fake pout. Luckily before she could speak up again, Griffin spoke up.

"At least you are honourable while being foolish" the man replied, before turning back to Henry. "Please, lead the way"

"Mercedes, why don't we leave them to it? The two of us could have a chat" Brooke replied, but by the time Mercedes replied, James was to far away to hear what she had said.

As soon as he was allowed to leave, the brunet jetted straight for the kitchen door. As the door closed behind him, he could help but lean against it slightly, as he tried to clear his head space from the horrible hours he'd just endured. Letting out a deep breath, he finally walked into the kitchen, seeing how Jennifer and Carlos were washing the last of the plates.

"I'm so sorry you had to suffer through that" the brunet began as he walked over to the sink, and began to put some of the dry plates away.

"It's not your fault sweetie" Jennifer replied, as she dried a plate. "But I will say that that man is the worst human I have ever met" She continued, causing James to chuckle.

"I know, so I'm sorry once again"

"So you managed to escape?" Carlos asked, James nodding in response.

"Yeah, after he ridiculed me for teaching again, I was able to get out of business talk. Instead, I'm going to my lesson with Kendall" the brunet replied, and just as he spoke the blond's name, Kendall walked through the back door. "Hey you"

"Hi, you ready?" Kendall replied, causing James to nod.

"Yeah, if you'll follow me"

After saying farewell to Carlos and Jennifer, the two love birds made their way through the house, where James could hear Griffin's voice coming through the walls. The brunet shivered at it as he walked up the stairs and luckily, the closer he got to his office, the quieter the disturbing voice got.

So, when they finally arrived at James' study space, a small grin grew on his face as he opened the door. With the blond ushered inside, James to quick to connect their lips together, something that Kendall didn't fight him on at all, instead relishing the feeling. It was clear that the both of them needed this, but of course that left them oblivious to what was following.

That became abundantly clear when they both heard the scream.


So there we have it! Griffin is a massively sexist pig , who only cares about furthering his own wealth which of course meant that James argued with him a whole lot. I realised that I set Mercedes up to be the worst person ever, but I'm pretty sure it was Griffin in his chapter! 😜

So, as always, I want to give a massive thank you to Guest, Winterschild11, and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm so glad you liked it! Trust me, the worst of Mercedes will come next chapter, so prepare yourselves for that!

I will see you all on Thursday for the next chapter of Rush and Response, god does it feel weird to say that, but until then,

TTFN 😃