A/N: I managed to get this out JUST before the new year! Woo! Here's to the NEW YEAR! I love you all for reading! Enjoy! :D
I could hear the vibrations of my phone on the wood of the nightstand and I knew I didn't have enough energy to answer it. Whoever was calling was going to have to wait until I got enough rest. I rolled over and sleepily reached out to put my arms around James. When my hand fell on the empty bed, I slowly reached further and further until I felt the end of the bed. That's when I opened my eyes. It was still dark outside, and I could see light coming from the bathroom. I laid there waiting for James to walk out and when he didn't, I decided to get up. I adjusted my underwear as I walked over to the door and that's when I heard a sob. I opened the door wider and my heart sunk at seeing him naked on the floor.
"James." I said, getting his attention. "Wha-"
"Kendall." James said before he continued to cry. I immediately moved over to him and got down on the floor with him. I ignored the cold tiles on my knees as I tried to lift him up from his position. He allowed me to move him up so that I could look at him before he threw himself in my arms, sobbing. I fell back and rested against the cabinets as he continued to cry in my chest.
"James, what's wrong?" I asked him and he cried even harder as he curled himself against me. I held him in my lap for some time before I noticed that his phone was face down on the floor. When I reached for it, I felt him cling to me tighter. I turned it over and noticed that the screen was cracked, and he had tons of notifications coming in at the same time. He had at least six messages from a bunch of different people in his phone and fifty missed calls from his mother alone. Just as I was about to open the phone, he was receiving another call from his mother. I waited until it went to voicemail before I typed in his password. A few more text messages showed up at the top.
"I hope you're okay. I love you."
"Please don't do anything crazy."
"I support you." I read and James cried harder as he clung to me. I looked to see what his recently opened apps was and I saw that it was Instagram. I saw that there was a post from Camille that he was looking at and when I loaded up the app, the post went away. I went to his search page and looked up Camille's name and when it popped up, I went to the most recent post that she made an hour ago.
"I cannot believe that this is how things have to end. Didn't even have the nerve to call me. I forgave you for everything. The lying, the cheating, the late nights, and even the drugs. You break up with me through text and I refuse to sit here and let you continue to play me or your fans like you're some nice guy. I even tried to help you when you came out to me and this is how you treat me. Well, here you go world. Enjoy." Camille had written in a note.
"What the fuck?" I said as I continued to scroll. She had the screenshot of the note as the first picture and then the picture after was of a texting chain of her and James and she had asked James if he was on drugs and he said yes. Another photo was more texts between the two of them where he couldn't make it to something, and she sent sad face emojis. The last pictures were more texts between them with James telling her that they couldn't be together because he was in love and another of him telling her that she already knew that he was gay. My blood was boiling, and I had never wanted to strangle that bitch more than now. The post already had hundreds of thousands of comments and I didn't know if I should read them or not. Just as I was about to click on them, the phone started ringing again and I saw that it was his mother. I contemplated answering before deciding that it was the best thing to do.
"Hello?" I said, holding the phone up to my ear.
"Jam- Kendall, where's James." She asked, sniffling.
"He's righ-"
"Please, let me talk to my baby. I need to hear his voice." She said, and I had never heard her sound so concerned.
"James, here." I told him, trying to hand him the phone and he didn't move. I placed the phone against his ear, and I could hear his mother speaking to him.
"James, baby, don't you worry about this. I'm going to handle it. I just wanted to know that you're okay." Mrs. Diamond said and James only continued to sob. "Don't worry, everything will be okay."
"Mom." James said as he cried.
"Don't worry, mommy is here for you. Remember, I will always be there for you, but I need to speak to Kendall. Can you put Kendall back on the phone?" I took the phone away from his ear and held it to mine.
"Yeah."
"Kendall, please take care of him. I will be there in the morning."
"I will." I told her.
"Thank you, so much." She said before she hung up. I think that's the first time she has ever thanked me. I was stunned for a moment before I locked James' phone and placed it in his hand. He looked up at me and I kissed his forehead before trying to stand. His grip increased on me and I rubbed his back.
"Don't worry. I'm just getting us off the floor." I told him and we went to stand but he stumbled. I lifted him up and took us to the bed, cutting off the bathroom light in the process. We cuddled in bed and James was silent until he started crying again after a while. I didn't go back to sleep until I was sure that he had fell asleep.
A couple of hours later, we both jumped up when we heard banging on the door. I rubbed my eyes and yawned as I looked to see that the sun was out now. James held my hand when I got out of the bed, stopping me. I rubbed circles on the back of his hand with my thumb and he let me go before the banging happened again.
"Coming!" I yelled as I stepped into the main area of the suite. I looked through the peep-hole to see Mrs. Diamond standing there with three big men behind her. I opened the door and she walked right in.
"Where's James?" She said as the three men filed into the room behind her.
"Bedroom." I told her.
"Get him, please." She responded, and I nodded before making my way to the bedroom. I let the door close and moved pass the three men.
"James, your mother is here." I told him and he gasped, climbing out of bed. I grabbed his arm just before he was about to walk out of the room.
"Underwear." I told him and he looked down at himself, blushing before grabbing a pair from his suitcase. I followed him out and Mrs. Diamond had just hung up the phone. I noticed that the three men were gone, and I figured Mrs. Diamond sent them away. James walked over to his mother and wrapped his arms around her. I could tell by the way that he shook that he was crying again. His mother just rubbed him on his back before her phone rang again. She sighed and separated them before answering it. I stepped up and James turned to look at me, frowning. The look on his face was breaking me and I wanted nothing more than to change it. I frowned in response and opened my arms for him to hug closer to me.
"I don't know what to do?" He whispered, and I squeezed him closer to me.
"Everything is going to be fine." I whispered back and he shook his head as much as he could from where it rested on my shoulder.
"She's trying to ruin me."
"Why is that?" Mrs. Diamond asked and we both were taken aback by her chiming in because we didn't think she was listening.
"I broke up with her because I'm tired of living this lie and I'm in love." James told her before he squeezed himself closer to me. Mrs. Diamond looked at me and I waited for her to yell but she didn't.
"Well, let's start with the evidence that she put out on Instagram. We need to make a counter post." Mrs. Diamond said and James nodded before separating from me. He headed into the bedroom and when he came back, he had both of our phones. I looked at my phone to see Katie, my mother, Carlos, and Logan were the main people trying to contact me throughout the night. I was surprised to see that I even had a call and a text from Mrs. Lauren.
"Mrs. Lauren is praying for our happiness and she wanted to let you know that she doesn't believe a word that Camille is saying about you doing drugs and such." I told James and he smiled at that before scrolling through his phone.
"Where did she get those text messages from?" Mrs. Diamond asked us, and James let out a sigh before he kept scrolling.
"She kept every single text that we've had, and she deleted and manipulated those messages. She had asked me if I was on drugs and I asked her if she was out of her mind. Later she asked me if I was still going to her premier and I responded with yes. So, she deleted some messages to make it seem like I was responding to her messages." James said before he teared up again as he flopped down onto the couch.
"Don't worry honey, I'm getting on the phone right now with our social media team. They're going to tell us exactly what to do." Mrs. Diamond said before she got up to make the phone call. As she walked back and forth, I watched the tears roll down James' face.
"James." I said, getting his attention. "I-"
"Please, don't tell me you're going to leave. Kendall, I know this is crazy but-"
"James, what the hell? Why would I leave you?" I asked him, looking at him like he was crazy.
"I-I'm just scared. I don't know what's going to happen."
"Like your mom said, we're going to make a counter post. Fuck a social media team. I have an idea." I told him, grabbing his hand. I pulled him up off the couch and we ran to the bathroom, locking the door. I tapped the counter and he jumped up on it as he looked down at me.
"What are we doing?" James asked, and I smiled at him, wiping away his tears.
"Screenshots. Screen shot every single message chain in response to all the ones that bitch posted. Here, you can use my phone as a reference." I said, sitting my phone on his lap with her post already open.
"What if people don't believe me-"
"Make sure the last one is of her threatening to out you. I know she has texted you at least once."
"Nope. Several occasions." He said, smiling.
"Post. Every. Single. One." I told him before Mrs. Diamond gasped.
"Post what? James! What are you posting?"
"Relax, Mrs. Diamond. You said make a counter post. That's what he's doing. We're listening to you."
"Then, let me in."
"Uh, we can't. We're naked." I told her and James giggled at that.
"Why?"
"Showering relaxes James." I told her and she grew silent. James looked up from his phone to me and I shrugged.
"The social media team says that it's best not to respond."
"What? She's trying to ruin me, and they say don't do anything?" James said, looking at the door.
"Wait." I said, thinking.
"Is this your personal social media team?" I asked him and he shrugged.
"I think they're consultants that management hired."
"Then couldn't that mean they're also consultants for Camille?" I asked and James nodded.
"Of course, that's why they want me to stay silent. Fuck her and them. If she wants to post shit, then I can post shit too." James said and I smiled before the banging on the door was heavier.
"James, I will have them tear down this door. Don't do whatever you're thinking." Mrs. Diamond said and James rolled his eyes as he typed on his phone.
"We'll see whose career is ruined by the end of this." James said before the door handle started jiggling. I went to the door and placed my hands on it before there was a bang on the door. James walked over and unlocked the door, moving me away from it. He opened it and his mother looked furious before she snatched his phone out of his hands.
"What did you post?" She asked, pointing the phone at him.
"The truth." He told her and I was honestly surprised. She glared at him and he kept a steady face.
"To be fair-"
"Hush." She said, interrupting me.
"She tried to ruin me, and I wanted to simply say my part." James told her.
"Oh my god." She said walking away. The big security guard that she had with her followed her out of the room.
"Can I get my phone back?" James asked, following behind her.
"No! You can't be trusted."
"Mom, you can't confiscate my phone like I'm some child."
"I am your mother. It doesn't matter how old you are."
"Then let me express myself as my mother and not my manager." James told her and I wasn't expecting that. I could tell by the way she stopped in her tracks that she wasn't expecting that either.
"Fine. Take your damn phone but remember that everything you do has consequences. I'm trying to protect you as much as I can-"
"I get that but you're also consulting a social media team and not your own son." James said and she nodded.
"You're right." I could pass out from hearing her say those words. "However, this girl is coming for blood."
"There's no need for all of that because I have the truth while she has her lies." James explained and I was so proud of him in this moment. I hugged him from behind and kissed his shoulder while his mother looked at us. James got his phone back and climbed into bed while his mother gestured for me to follow her. We walked into the living room and I knew she wanted to scold me for something. She sat down on the couch, dismissing the big man. I sat down with her and waited for her to speak.
"Do you love my son?" She asked me and I instantly nodded. "What makes you so sure? And I'm only asking you this because of all of everything that is going on. I need to know and before you answer, I know that I've been a bitch. I get it. I do it because of stuff like this. Granted, this one is my fault, but I only originally did this because I wanted him to live his dreams. I knew the world couldn't handle him, but I guess we will see. I just don't want him to get his heart broken by some opportunist. I'm not saying that you are just…you know." Mrs. Diamond said to me and I took a moment because everything that she was telling me was something I never thought I would hear.
"I could see how you could view me as an opportunist or a person like that but that is not how my mother raised me. I feel honored by just being here so to even take this as a way to gain fame or whatever would be beyond disrespectful. That's one of the reasons why I feel like I've never liked Camille. She never cared for him or even tried, at least from what I can tell. Granted, from my perspective, I could see how I would be a threat to her but for her to be so nasty towards James just pisses me off." I said, looking down at my clenched fists. "To answer your question, that's when I knew deep down that I had feelings for James. When the only thing I wanted in the world was for him to be happy, that's when I knew. I didn't admit it to myself until my friend asked me and even then, I surprised myself with the confession. Of course, it didn't take me long to reveal that to James. I can't keep things from him, and I never want to. I have no interest in fame and just by being his bodyguard, I see how it takes a toll on the mind. You can't trust everyone, and I get that's why you don't like me, but I assure you that I love James for everything that people don't get to see. Yes, he can sing and dance and all of that, but people don't know just how sensitive he is."
"That he is." Mrs. Diamond agreed and we both laughed.
"His passion for what he does is beyond words and although I haven't been in his life for that long, I find that his passion has extended to me as well. I want him to be even more successful than what he is just because I believe that he deserves it. I just hope that this doesn't ruin his career or his mental health."
"You and me both." Mrs. Diamond said, patting my knee. We both sat there for a moment and I had a thought.
"Can I ask you something?" I asked, and Mrs. Diamond looked at me for a moment before nodding. "Why did you make him do this in the first place?" I asked, and she sighed.
"It was the label's idea. Her movie was doing tremendously well but she wasn't the main actress. When she met James, the two of them got along well but the label pushed and pushed. James initially did it because he wanted to help her career but then she changed. She started to be disrespectful to James when I wasn't around. James told me and I was so focused on his tour that I just told him to stay focused. I can only manage his career and the world tour was big for him. I guess I lost my focus on being his mother. That's when you got into the picture. I remember when I first saw you and you were introducing him to the girls you had with you. I didn't think much of it until I saw you again. Then it was like whenever I found him, he was with you. I'm not going to lie, I did a full background investigation on you." She said and I was shocked but I wasn't surprised. She seemed like the type of person to do something like that. "When everything about you said small town boy, I told myself that I had to keep an eye on you and proposition you a little. When it didn't work, I was surprised. You pushed back and I knew that you were serious. It took me a while to process it and I told myself that if you're going to last, then you'll stick through the good and the bad. You've been through the good and some bad but we're in the trenches now. This is career war and that girl is out for blood." She told me and I nodded.
"Kendall!" James yelled out and Mrs. Diamond gestured for me to go.
"Yeah." I said, getting up from the couch. When I got to the bedroom door, James was staring at his phone before he looked up at me. I saw tears in his eyes and I was by his side a few seconds later.
"I've gotten so many messages of support and I wanted to ask you if it was alright if I posted something." He asked and I was confused.
"Yeah, you don't need my permission."
"It's about us." He said.
"James, I don't think it would be good to come out with everything so soon." Mrs. Diamond said, now standing at the door. "You would essentially be thrusting him into the spotlight and although I'm sure he's come to terms with it, I don't think it would be a good idea right now. I'm saying this as your mother not your manager. Now, as your manager, I think the public has enough to digest right now between your first two posts."
"You're right." James said, sighing. "But it just feels freeing and I just want to share it all with my fans." He was smiling the entire time as he looked at me.
"I know the feeling. Probably not the same scale but the feeling of the weight being lifted off your shoulders." I told him and he nodded.
"I just feel like being incredibly honest about everything and I don't know." James said, giggling to himself before his phone rang. His eyes widened before he answered the phone and put it on speaker. The second he did, all we heard was screaming. I looked from James to Mrs. Diamond, who simply rolled her eyes.
"Who is that?" I asked him and he deadpanned.
"Take a wild guess." James said before the screaming died down.
"FUCK YOU JAMES!" Camille yelled and I rolled my eyes before sitting down on the bed.
"I didn't do anything." James said into the phone before he stuck his tongue out at it.
"I expected you to not say anything, but you decided to say everything."
"No, no, you told the world everything and that's not fair. I didn't have my moment of expressing myself to my fans. You took that from me and part of my career from your lies. All I did was tell the world the truth. This moment will forever be a stamp on my career, and it was supposed to be on my terms, not anyone else's. But now, I have my career moment and you now have yours."
"James! I'm losing all of my contracts because of this!"
"Well, you should've thought about that!" James yelled into the phone and I placed a hand on his leg. He took a deep breath before he pushed the phone away from him.
"Delete your posts right now!" Camille yelled over the phone.
"No. Besides, this is the internet, everyone has screenshotted the posts because they think I would delete it. It's over. We're done."
"Then it's your word against mine."
"No, it's your lies against my truth." James told her and before she could say anything else, he hung up on her.
"Did you hear what she said?" James said to me and I nodded.
"She said she didn't expect you to say anything." Mrs. Diamond said from the door.
"Didn't the social media team advise that exact thing?" James asked her and she nodded before she pulled out her phone, walking away. James groaned and fell over on the bed and I smiled at him before I crawled on top of him. He looked me in my eyes until I was directly over him.
"How does it feel to be an out and proud gay man?" I asked him and he smiled.
"It feels just as amazing as last night." He said, leaning up to kiss me. "You know, the way you held me and kissed me was so perfect. That's why I sent Camille that text."
"When was this? I was with you the whole time."
"I sent it after you went to sleep. I didn't think it would turn into this but I'm kind of happy that it did. I mean, I wanted to be the one to say it but now there is no way in hell that I'm going back." He said before he flipped us. I smiled at him and he leaned down to kiss me but stopped short.
"I love you."
"I love you too." I told him before he closed the distance between us. We kissed for a few minutes and I was very aware that his mother was in the other room because of her voice. He pulled away and was about to say something before his mother came back into the room.
"James, I- I leave the room for five minutes and this is what happens."
"Sorry." James said but he noticeably didn't move from my lap.
"Well, I just got off the phone with the label and they're losing their shit. I let them know that we won't tolerate this, and we will move forward with a label that will support us. They've assured me that they will get the situation under control." Mrs. Diamond said.
"So, does that mean they'll drop Camille?" James asked and she responded with a shrug.
"Oh, and HBO picked up the concert, but it wasn't until the news broke that I received the call. I declined because we're better than that and they were trying to send a camera crew over right now. I will get the footage edited and such so that we can put it on YouTube, besides, who watches HBO anymore." Mrs. Diamond said and James looked like a kid in a candy shop.
"Isn't she the best!" James asked me and I nodded before sitting up.
"Now, I'm going to make some phone calls. I will be back soon." She said, leaning over to give James a kiss on the cheek. It was pretty weird to still be under him, but he seemed comfortable.
"She's awesome." James said again.
"And put on some damn clothes!" She yelled before we heard the door open and close. We both burst into laughter at that before he leaned down and gave me another kiss. I caught him before he could pull away again and rolled us over again.
"How long do you think we have until she comes back?" I asked him and he smirked. "A long while. Plus, she doesn't have a key."
"You're right." I said before I pulled his leg higher up on my waist before attacking his neck. He moaned and I smirked, knowing I had that effect on him. I nipped at his neck before I felt my phone vibrate. I saw that it was Carlos calling me and I jumped up, letting James go.
"Seriously?" He said as I answered the call.
"Hey, is everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything is fine now."
"Do you guys mind if we come over?"
"Nope, come on over." I told him as James looked at me like I was crazy.
"Have you lost your mind?" He asked me and I couldn't help but laugh.
"They're worried about you."
"They can wait until after we have sex!"
"We have about thirty minutes."
"Come here!" He yelled before pulling me by my underwear, making me laugh.
A/N: The drama + the humor + the lovely conversations = my year and this chapter. I hope you all have a great new year and just in case you're wondering, the time is 11:58! Love you all for reading!