A/N: Hello again everyone! I'm back with a new chapter! But before we get to that, I'd like to give a shout-out/thank you to those that reviewed last chapter!

winterschild11: Yeah, I just re-read it and more happened than I realized :P And thanks a lot! I was really nervous about the smut part, but I guess it came out better than I thought :)

TheeeAhi: Yep, just goes to show how much James has grown throughout the story! I'm pretty excited for the whole James meeting Kendall's family part of the story. It'll pretty much be the closing part of the story. And don't worry about the Jagan story, I'll include some Kames, even if it's just some bromance between the two ;)

annabellex2: Who doesn't love Kames?! :P And thanks a lot! I'm really glad you liked it! :)

ms simmons: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!

Again, thanks a lot to everyone that reviewed last chapter! There about three to five chapters left in the story so we're sadly coming to a close.

This is chapter has a little more Dak and Jo development before we shift back to the Kames for the last few chapters of the story!

I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Thirty Five

"Hey, man." Dak says as he's walking into my apartment. "You guys ready?"

"Kendall is still at Dustin's place going over some of the new songs."

"How's that been going? From what I've heard and seen, those two have been at each other's throats for a while now."

"You want anything to drink?" I ask from the kitchen before answering him.

"Yeah, can I get a bottle of water please?"

Grabbing a couple bottles of water from the fridge, I hear the door open, and when I look up, I see Jo walking in, looking like a mess, startled, staring at Dak.

"Hey, is everything all right?" I ask as I start walking into the living room.

I hand a bottle to Dak and look at her with her wet hair like she just got out of the shower.

"Umm, yeah… I mean, no." She's stumbling over her words, and I know I'm not gonna figure out what has her on edge with Dak here. But I ask anyway.

"What's that mean?"

"Nothing, never mind." She sighs as she flops down in the chair. "I didn't know you would have company, I would've called or something if I knew."

"Jo, I gave you a key so you wouldn't have to call. You can come over whenever." I chuckle.

As she turns to watch TV, I look over at Dak, who's staring intently at her. He's leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, gripping the water bottle with his hand. There's no doubt he's interested, and I suddenly feel very protective of Jo, knowing that he has no clue how fragile she is right now.

I like Dak, he's a great guy and all, but I'm wary about whatever intentions might be running through his head. Jo never dealt with guys even before the attack. Now… well… now she's just barely staying afloat.

"You okay?" Dak asks her.

She looks at him and then over at me.

"I don't want to talk about it." She says, glancing over at me before focusing back on the TV. "Where's Kendall?"

"He's finishing up rehearsals with the band. He should be here shortly, then we are heading out to shoot some pool and hang out." I say as my phone starts ringing. When I pull it out of my pocket, I see it's Kendall.

Knowing that he's probably going to be in an irritated mood, I grab my jacket and head out to the balcony to talk to him.

"Hey, where are you?" I ask.

"I'm heading over now. Sorry I'm running late. Is Dak there?"

"Yeah. So is Jo."

"Is everything okay?" He asks.

Leaning against the railing, I watch the rain fall from the dark sky.

"Yeah. Something's going on, but whatever it is doesn't seem to be bothering her too much. I didn't pry since Dak is here."

"Okay, well, I'm about ten minutes away."

"How did everything go with the guys?"

"Not as bad as I thought. Dustin is just on a different page with this whole music thing. He's a lot more serious about it than the rest of us. He's pissed, but he's been easier to handle."

"Is he looking to push this into something bigger?"

"Yeah, but as much as I love singing and being on stage, I'm just not ready for that yet. For right now, this is just a hobby for me." He explains.

"I see." I say as I turn, looking into the apartment, seeing that Jo and Dak are talking. "I'll see you in a bit. I'm gonna head back inside."

"Okay, see ya."

"Who was that?" Jo asks when I walk back in.

"Kendall. He's on his way."

"Hey, did you get a chance to think about Saturday?" Dak asks her, and I'm caught off guard.

When the hell did they talk about making plans on Saturday?

"Saturday?" I ask.

"Yeah, I asked her to come hiking with us."

Instead of questioning when this conversation happened, I take the bait to try and get Jo to step out of her comfort zone a little more and go with us. I never asked her before because I figured she'd shoot me down, but since apparently Dak has invited her, I decide to go for it.

"Oh yeah? You coming?"

"I have a lot of studying to do before finals."

I know that's a lie, and I'm not gonna let her avoid this, so I don't let up.

"Please, we both know you are way ahead in all your classes. You should come. It'll be fun." I say.

She looks over at Dak, and I am sure she doesn't want to fight in front of him when she lets out a sigh.

"Fine." She mutters, shaking her head at me when I smile in satisfaction.

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Kendall says as he barges through the door with his guitar case slung across his chest.

"Let me put this up, and I'll be ready to go."

Jo stands when Dak and I get up to toss our bottles in the trash. She walks over to Kendall when he heads to the door, and we join them as I hear her ask him if she can stay over. He tells her it's cool and draws her in for a hug as she looks over her shoulder at Dak, and he's staring back at her.

Not too comfortable with what's happening, I decided to jump in.

"Okay, I'm ready. Let's go." I say as I open the door, giving Jo a hug before the three of us head out.

XxX

I've been uneasy since we left my place, so after Dak sets up the balls on the pool table, I decide to question him.

"So when did you see Jo?"

"What?" He asks as he gets ready to line up his shot.

"When you mentioned our hike."

"Oh, this morning." He says as he lines up his shot before taking it. "She left her scarf at the concert. I stopped by her job to drop it off."

He looks at me curiously while I stand there, and I'm curious about how she handled that.

"You're up." He says.

I line up my shot before going for it, getting one into the side pocket.

"You guys want anything to drink?" Kendall asks us, and when I look up at him and nod, he heads over to the bar.

"So, what's her story?" Dak asks as I line up my next shot.

Being cautious and slightly territorial, I leave it at, "No story."

Distracted, I miss my shot and watch Dak as he walks around the table. I want to know where his head is at and what he's thinking when it comes to Jo. I'm not nervous about him as a person, he's a good guy. I'm just nervous about what his intentions might be, especially since he doesn't know about the state Jo is in right now.

"So, you've know her a long time?" He asks.

I can tell that he's obviously interested, but I can also tell from the tone of his voice what he's implying.

"She's not like that, man. Not even close." I say with a soft chuckle.

Leaning over the table about to take his shot, he looks up at me with a hesitant, yet slightly relieved expression on his face.

"She's like a sister to me." I assure him.

Kendall walks over, setting out drinks down on the table, and Dak takes his shot, knocking his target into the corner pocket. He doesn't ask any more questions, and I'm relieved. As much as I like Dak, I know he's probably used to getting what he wants out of women, at least from what I've head, so I can't help but wonder if he's looking for something quick and easy with Jo. I hate having the feeling that I would need to protect her from a guy who has become a pretty good friend.

We hang out for several hours, drinking and playing pool, but we decide to call it a night when Dak gets a call from the bar, and has to run up there. Kendall and I leave, and instead of dropping him off at his car, I ask him to come home with me.

"I told Jo that I wasn't going to stay and that she could." He says.

"I think we should tell her about Dak. He was asking a lot of questions about her earlier tonight, and I'm just worried."

"You weren't the other day. What happened?" He asks, sounding a little worried.

"I don't know, but I can tell he's into her. He stopped by to see her at work this morning." I say as I turn into the parking garage.

"How do you know that?"

"He told me. He invited her to go hiking with us on Saturday."

"Is she going?" He prods as I park the car.

"Yeah."

"I thought you liked Dak." He says after a minute.

"It isn't that I don't like him, I do. But I know how Jo is with guys. I don't want her to get hurt, and after everything that's happened, I just-"

"I think you need to relax. If she's as closed off as you say, then I wouldn't worry. I mean, the girl never goes anywhere aside from school and work. I think you're stressing over nothing, but if you want to talk to her, then you should."

I lean over and kiss him before getting out of the car and heading upstairs. When we walk in, we make our way into my room to see Jo curled in a ball in the center of the bed.

"Hey, Kendall's staying the night with us."

Keeping her eyes closed, she nods her head.

"I just wanted to let you know." I say before sliding into bed at the same time Kendall does.

XxX

The following morning, we sit around and drink coffee before we have to get ready for class.

"You guys have fun last night?" Jo asks from the kitchen as she's refilling her mug.

"Yeah. Why didn't you tell me that Dak came to see you at work?" I question as she walks back into the living room and sits at the corner of the couch.

"I don't know."

"Well, what happened?" I pry, wanting the answers I didn't feel like I could get from Dak last night.

"He had my scarf that I had left at the concert. He just returned it, and then Kelly, being Kelly, told him that I would have a drink with him when he asks me." She says, taking a sip of her coffee.

"So, you guys hung out?"

"Yeah. It was fine though. We just talked about school, and then he invited me to go hiking with you guys." Staring between Kendall and I she shakes her head and asks, "What's with the sudden curiosity?"

"James is just being protective." Kendall answers.

"I thought you'd be happy I agreed to go with you guys." She says, a little confused.

"I am." I try to convince her as Kendall takes over.

"James is just worried about some stuff we heard about Dak." He says.

"What stuff?"

"He has a reputation for sleeping with a lot of women. But ever since I've known him, I have never seen him be that way. At all. So, I'm not sure how much truth there is to it." Kendall tells her.

"You don't need to tell me this. I have no interest in him. In anyone. Why would you even think that?" She states, clearly bothered with what we are insinuating.

I don't tell her that I think Dak feels differently because it might freak her out, so I just let it go for now.

"I don't. It's just me feeling like I need to protect you." I say.

"Dak's a good guy. James is just a little worried, that's all." Kendall assures her when she looks over to him.

I reach over and pull her down on the couch as I lean into Kendall behind me.

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to have that." She says as she wraps her arms around me.

"Have what?" I ask.

"Feelings like that."

"You will. One day, you'll get everything you deserve." I say softly, knowing that there's truth behind my words.

Done! So like I said, a little Jo and Dak development for you all.

Next chapter will be the start of James' meeting Kendall's family, which will pretty much bring us to the end of the story.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the new chapter, as well as your thoughts on the DakxJo situation ;)

Next chapter will be up this weekend at the latest, so until then!

-Epically Obsessed