Disclaimer: I still don't own anything Big Time Rush related, or anything that's recognizable in this.

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A/N: Hey, check it out! I'm updating less than three weeks since I last updated. I'm proud of myself now ;P In any case, this was a fun chapter to write (though they've all been fun so far) and I hope you guys have a blast reading it :) You also get to see James' perspective on things later on in this chapter, so that was kind of cool to do, since this story has mostly been from Katie's POV. :)

Enjoy the chapter! :)

Chapter Seven – Everybody Talks

Katie's POV

Kyle and I arranged to meet Jo, Stephanie, and Camille at the Burger Mill at seven. We whiled away the next couple of hours before we had to leave by way of watching TV and retelling old stories from when we were in elementary and middle school together.

"Oh my God!" Kyle hooted. "Do you remember in eighth grade when we had to pair up and build volcanoes?"

I scowled. "Do I ever."

He grinned. "And you and James were forced to be partners, and James accidentally set your guys' volcano off?"

"There was no accidentally about it! He did it on purpose," I growled, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You guys were in eighth grade! I seriously doubt James Diamond ruined your guys' volcano and risked getting a bad grade just to piss you off. I mean, that might be something he'd do now, but not back then. He was still learning how to get under your skin. You two didn't even really hate each other yet, you were still friends."

"Well, he obviously figured out how to get under my skin," I grumbled, flipping over onto my stomach and resting my chin on my folded hands, staring blankly at the TV. An old episode of That 70's Show was on, but I was barely noticing anything about it. All I knew was that it looked like Fez and Kelso were being total dumbasses again, and that was a given for pretty much every episode of that show. "Otherwise we wouldn't be caught up in such a freaking stupid bet."

"Why don't you just tell him that you forfeit? Call off the bet?" Kyle asked.

"Because." I looked at him. "Because if I do that, then he'll never let me live it down. None of the guys will. And the girls will kill me. I have to go through with this, Kyle. I don't have a choice. And I survived today and I'm still moving, so that's something, right?"

"I suppose. I just – this is really, really stupid. The guys are heavier, they're bigger, they're stronger, possibly even faster. You girls could get seriously hurt out there."

"I know that," I snapped. "Believe me, it's crossed my mind. But I'm not just going to give up. The guys – the hockey team – they think they're so much better than us but they don't know shit. And I have to prove that to them, one way or another."

"Just as long as this one way or another doesn't get you killed."

"It won't, I'll be fine."

Kyle sighed, running his fingers through his brown hair. "You want to head out soon?"

"Yeah, just let me change clothes."

"I'll wait downstairs." He scooted off my bed and padded out the door, closing it behind him. Shaking my head, I layered up, topping the ensemble off with jeans and a sweatshirt. I applied some makeup and pulled my hair into low pigtails, before grabbing my purse, and car keys and heading downstairs.

I found Kyle sitting on the couch while my mom worked on knitting a scarf.

"Oh, you know," he was in the process of saying, "I'm not technically 'out', so I don't exactly meet a lot of gay guys who I actually know are gay."

"But is there anyone you're interested in, at least?" Mom asked over the clack of her knitting needles.

"There used to be," Kyle said offhandedly. "But I'm over it. Besides, he's seriously unavailable."

"Are you sure he's straight?"

"Positive. I've seen the way he acts around girls – especially one in particular."

"That must be hard for you," Mom said sympathetically. "Well, whenever you decide to come out of the closet, we'll all be here for you."

Kyle smiled at her. "Thanks, Mrs. Knight. Katie's already told me that about two million times."

"Ahem." I cleared my throat, getting their attention. "Ready to go?" I asked Kyle, who nodded.

"Yep. Kendall and James already headed out, so they'll be there."

"Ugh." I groaned dramatically. "I bet they'll get the good table by the window, near one of the heating vents."

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Come on, K-squared. Let's go."

After bundling up in the mudroom, we headed out to the garage where my car was still parked and climbed in. As I backed out of the driveway, I made a conscious effort not to hit his car. "So," I said once I was out on the road. "Who's this guy you used to like?"

"Would you mind turning your headlights on?" Kyle countered. "I'd actually like to get to the Burger Mill in one piece."

"Just answer the freaking question," I whined as I turned the headlights on.

"Thank you. And it's just a guy I know."

"Does he go to your school?"

"Uh…kind of – did you just run a stop sign?"

"Yeah. So? There wasn't anyone else there."

"What if a cop had been there? You're supposed to stop at stop signs! It's why they have the word stop emblazoned across the sign in big white glow in the dark letters!"

I rolled my eyes. "God, you're dramatic. It was one stop sign."

"I don't want you to lose your license. And turn your turn signal on the next time you actually make a turn – that's what it's there for."

"Turning my turn signal on isn't going to help me make the turn any smoother."

"But it will alert people that you're making the turn and to stay clear. Man, I can't believe I forgot what a bad driver you are."

I gasped. "I am not! Take that back!"

"I'll take it back once you start following the rules of the road! I'm driving next time. In fact – pull over, I'm carjacking your car."

"You can't do that. It's mine."

"I will do that if you don't start driving safely."

"Ugh. Whatever."

Despite Kyle's claims that I was going to get us killed, we managed to get to the Burger Mill in one piece. According to him, it was a miracle of biblical proportions. According to me, he was stupid.

I parked and we headed in. Once the hostess knew who we were, she led us out into the main part of the restaurant towards the booth where Jo and Camille were sitting, sipping on hot chocolate. And seated in the huge corner booth behind them was none other than several members of the hockey team. Kendall, Logan, Carlos, Josh, Shawn Polanski, and Matt Hubert. A couple of girls sat with them – Georgia Thomas, a cheerleader, was cuddled up with Shawn, and Devon Riley, the captain of the drill team, was sitting beside James, taking a sip out of his milkshake. James' arm was draped around the back of the booth bench, and when Devon leaned back again, he repositioned his arm so that it was around her shoulders.

I may or may not have stared blatantly. But in my defense, I couldn't help it! Devon was a senior and not one for dating younger boys, even if only by a few months. As far as I knew, she had only dated the hottest and coolest guys who were, at youngest, in her grade. Everyone knew that her last boyfriend had been a college sophomore, so what the hell she was doing with a high school junior was beyond me. The only explanation was that James was hot enough for Devon to overlook the fact that he was a few months younger than her.

As I watched, Devon slid out of the booth, getting to her feet. She was dressed just like the other girls in here, in jeans and sweaters paired with snow boots, but her jeans fit just a little too well, her sweater snug in all the right places. Her dad was one of the richest guys in town, owning the local car dealership, and I knew that the majority of Devon's clothes were designer, like Guess, Juicy, and Chanel, to name a few.

Devon tugged her sweater down and headed off towards the restroom, her dark brown hair tumbling down her back like she was in a shampoo commercial. She spared me a nod as she passed by me, and I nodded back at her. She wasn't a bad person, just a snob, and she was easier to stand than some of the other girls at our school. That being said, seeing her with James still made my stomach roll.

They were just too perfect a couple.

"Hang on," I said to Kyle as he stopped beside Jo and Camille's booth. I held up a finger to the girls, and proceeded over to the hockey team's table, smiling sweetly at James. "So, I see you've become a meal for cougars."

James smirked up at me as the guys around him snickered obnoxiously. "What's the matter? Jealous?"

I snorted. "Of her and you? Not even close."

"What's the matter, Katie?" he asked with all the mock innocence of a boy taunting a girl. "Your boyfriend isn't sexually satisfying you?"

"How many times do I have to tell you this? Kyle is not my boyfriend and we're not sleeping together. I'm not a slut, and I'm still a virgin. And yes, Josh," I added when I heard him snicker again, "I'm sure you will be spreading that around school. But I'd rather be a virgin that get deflowered by you."

"Ooooh!" Shawn and Matt intoned together, high-fiving each other. "Burn!"

James blinked up at me cutely. "So Kyle didn't wait for you in your room after you showered, and you didn't go in there half naked?"

"I don't know what the hell you're implying, but nothing happened. And anyway, I don't have to defend myself or my actions to you."

"Of course you don't," he said sweetly. "Just like I don't have to defend myself or my relationship to you."

"It's pretty common knowledge that Devon doesn't go out with younger guys."

"That's because she doesn't think younger guys can satisfy her," James said smoothly. "But I've already proven her wrong."

My stomach churned, and I felt my body freeze at the thought of James having sex with Devon. Flashes of him in bed with her played through my mind, and my throat seemed to constrict. "So, what, you've slept with her? Aren't you the big man around campus?"

Josh sniggered. "They haven't slept together. Poor little Jamesy here is still as much a virgin as you are." He clapped James on the shoulder. "What James means is that they've fooled around a little. Though they haven't gone very far, have they, guys?"

Slowly, my throat relaxed and my stomach stopping rolling. James was still a virgin…he and Devon hadn't slept together…not that it mattered. It wasn't like I cared. No, really, I didn't. I had no idea what was up with the throat constricting and churning stomach. It was weird. Bizarre. Crazy, man.

But my dislike of Josh deepened even more. He was delighted by the fact that James was still a virgin, like it was a dirty, shameful secret that he wanted to hang on a clothesline for all the world to see.

"You're pathetic," I informed Josh. "Besides, I don't know what you're so high and mighty about. It's not like any of the girls around here will even let you kiss them, much less let you get their clothes off."

"What's going on?" Devon asked as she approached the table.

"Nothing," I told her. "I was just leaving."

Devon eyed me for a moment before sliding into the booth beside James. James settled his arm around her again and she smiled up at me sweetly. "You're welcome to join us, but there isn't any room – "

"It's fine, my friends are waiting for me in the next booth. I just thought I'd come over and say hi," I said.

"Okay," she shrugged, turning to James and capturing his mouth with hers.

Ugh. Freaking PDA. You can't live with it, and you certainly can live without it.

Rolling my eyes and fighting the urge to make really mature gagging sounds, I headed back to Jo and Camille's booth. Kyle and Camille were sitting on one side of the table, and Jo was sitting on the other.

I plopped down beside Kyle and had barely had time to settle in before Stephanie came hurrying over to us, hair windswept and cheeks bright red from the cold, but grinning nevertheless.

"I got it," she announced. "My dad agreed to it."

"Agreed to what?" I asked as the waitress approached the table. She passed us menus and took our drink orders, before heading off to another booth.

"Okay, so you know how a few weeks ago I was saying that I really want to have my birthday party at the hotel here in town?"

I nodded. Stephanie's dad owned a luxury hotel chain, the King Hotel. Original name, I know, but it fit. The headquarters were in Minneapolis, but King Hotels had long since popped up throughout the Midwest. Stephanie had gotten the idea to hold her seventeenth birthday party at one of the hotels after one of the girls at our school had had her sweet sixteen party there. Stephanie had been trying to talk her dad into it, but Mr. King had refused to budge. He had agreed to let his sons have parties there in the past, and the place had turned into complete disaster areas. "He finally agreed to it?"

"He did," Stephanie's grin widened. "Under a few conditions. I can only have a maximum of ten guests, and we're not allowed to go into the bar area, the ballroom area, or any of the meeting rooms. We can use the pool, hot tub, sauna, room service, and game room, and he'll rent out a couple of joint suites for us for the night."

"That sounds fair," Camille nodded, taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

"Right? I didn't want a huge birthday party anyway, that was what my sweet sixteen was for. But oh my gosh, this is going to be so awesome! The only problem is figuring out what to do about the boys, because I want Carlos to come, but on the other hand if he's one of the only boys there…" she sighed. "And he's on the boys' hockey team, which doesn't help matters."

"If he's the only boy?" I repeated. "How many boys are you inviting?"

"Well, Kyle, of course," she nodded at him. "But after that, I don't know. I mean, that's five on the guest list right there, and I was thinking that I'd invite James, Kendall, and Logan, along with Carlos, and that makes eight. But things could get messy…I should probably invite someone who's not on either hockey team. Besides Kyle, I mean. You know, so that they can act as mediators."

"What about Shane Diamond?" Jo asked. "He's not involved in any of this and he's always been pretty cool."

"Hmmm…maybe," Stephanie said thoughtfully, opening her menu and flipping through it. "It's been awhile since we've last seen him. Yeah, you know, he could work. I'll do it."

"Okay," Jo smiled. "This is going to be so much fun, Steph! We're going to have a blast!"

"Assuming we don't kill each other first," I muttered darkly, shooting a look at James over my shoulder. He and Devon were still cuddled up together, looking sickeningly adorable.

Stephanie's and my drinks arrived a minute later, and we ordered. I stirred sugar into my tea and blew on it, before taking a sip. In the meantime, Steph got to her feet and headed over to the boys' table to ask James if Shane would be interested in coming to her birthday party.

"I'll have to check with him, but I'm sure he'll enjoy it," James told her. "I doubt he'll mind being around a bunch of hot girls in bikinis."

My head snapped around and I swiveled in my seat. "Did you just call me hot?"

"I was using the term generally. I wasn't just directing it at you. Sheesh, Katie. I have a girlfriend, you know."

I rolled my eyes at him and turned back around. Ass.

Stephanie sat back down. "Well, James is going to invite him. And why do I keep getting the feeling that you and James are fighting about more than just hockey?" she asked me.

I sniffed haughtily before taking a sip of tea. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Uh huh. Sure you don't."

Our food arrived a few minutes later, and I dug into my grilled chicken sandwich, humming happily. I was aware of James excusing himself to go use the restroom, but it wasn't until Devon asked, "So, James is a pretty good hockey captain, huh?" that I really became aware of my surroundings.

"Yeah, he's pretty good for the most part," Logan said at once.

"For the most part…" Josh snorted. "He's the one who got us into this mess with the girls' team. If he and Katie Knight could stop razzing each other for five minutes…"

"To be fair, Katie gets under his skin just as much as he gets under hers," Carlos pointed out.

"I know. But seriously, this wouldn't have happened if Kendall was the team captain."

"Kendall was going to be team captain?" Devon asked blankly.

"That was the original plan," Matt spoke up. "But then Kendall got himself ejected from a couple of games for mooning the other team and he was no longer up to become captain. I was the other one who people wanted to be captain, and since I'm a senior I thought I'd get the position. But then I got into a pretty bad fight during the final hockey game last year and it was all I could do to keep my spot on the team, much less be made captain. So Benson gave the captaincy to a soon-to-be junior."

"But James is good, isn't he?"

"He is," Shawn said. "For who he is."

"He wasn't meant to be captain," Logan chipped in. "When you think of captain, you think of leader, and when you think of leader, you think of Kendall. You don't think of James. We could have a worse captain, but we could also have a far better one."

"We'd all kind of rather have Kendall as captain," Carlos admitted. "Not that we'd tell James that. But we all know that if Kendall was captain, we wouldn't be at war with the girls' team. And we wouldn't have just barely scraped wins for the past few games. James is okay, but Kendall would be better. It's the truth."

I held my breath, waiting to see if Kendall would jump in to defend James' leadership qualities, and after a moment he spoke with a laugh.

"Thanks, guys. Maybe next year, huh?"

I stared at my friends, my jaw dropping. What the hell kind of friends did they think they were? Who talked about their best friend like that? Josh, Matt, and Shawn I could understand. They weren't close to James. But Kendall, Logan, and Carlos? No. Just no. That was crossing the border straight into jackass-ish. I may not be able to stand James, but no one deserved to be talked about that way with no one defending him.

No one.

James' POV

I heard what they said.

It wasn't like they were trying to be quiet or anything. Their voices carried halfway across the restaurant. So as I walked out of the men's restroom, I could hear them talking.

"He wasn't meant to be captain," Logan was saying. "When you think of captain, you think of leader, and when you think of leader, you think of Kendall. You don't think of James. We could have a worse captain, but we could also have a far better one."

"We'd all kind of rather have Kendall as captain," Carlos added in, sounding slightly reluctant like he didn't really want to say anything. "Not that we'd tell James that. But we all know that if Kendall was captain, we wouldn't be at war with the girls' team. And we wouldn't have just barely scraped wins for the past few games. James is okay, but Kendall would be better. It's the truth."

Ouch.

But worst of all was Kendall laughing and saying, "Thanks, guys. Maybe next year." Like he thought I'd be fired from my position as team captain. Like he was planning on usurping me. It was true, I wasn't as good a captain as he or Matt would have been, but that didn't mean I didn't try. And that didn't mean it wasn't like a rusty nail going through my gut to hear. I tried my hardest to manage the team and keep them on their toes, but clearly it wasn't good enough. They didn't want me to be captain. I had known that at the beginning of the year, but I had honestly thought that they had come to accept me and respect me.

Apparently I was wrong.

"That's mean," Devon spoke up a moment later. "Saying stuff like that. He's your friend."

"Exactly what I was going to say," I heard Katie add in. "Man, you guys suck as a team. He's your friend, and you're treating him like he's slime. Grow the fuck up."

"It's the truth, though," Josh said, as if that made everything okay. "And stay out of this, princess. It doesn't concern you."

I sighed as the topic switched to a hockey game that had been on TV last night. Time to go back out there and face the music.

I headed out to the main part of the restaurant, momentarily locking eyes with Katie. She pressed her lips together, but didn't say anything. I nodded at her to let her know that I appreciated what she had said, and then took my spot at the table again.

However, before I could get comfortable, Devon squeezed my knee. "How about we head out? You can drive me home," she added pointedly.

She had ridden to the Burger Mill with Georgia to meet up with us. The look Georgia gave her at her statement told me that she was irritated she was being dumped for an eleventh grade guy, but I ignored the glare.

I nodded. "Yeah, let's head out." We paid for our food and traipsed back through the restaurant. I could feel Katie's eyes boring into my back, but I didn't turn around. A part of me was scared that she would be rolling her eyes at me. And the other part was hoping that she was jealous. It wasn't something I was proud of, but it was the truth.

Besides, she was here with fucking Kyle Margolis. Not that there was anything wrong with him. Oh no. Just perfect hair, perfect teeth, perfect skin, perfect everything. He was a fucking Ken doll. And he was Katie's best friend. At least, that's what they kept saying. But I doubted it. I was pretty sure they were at least making out once in awhile. And that thought alone made my fists clench tightly.

Devon and I walked out to the parking lot and I led her to my car, unlocking the doors and holding the front passenger one open for her.

"Thanks," she chirped, slipping in, and I closed it behind her. I got in on the other side and started the car, letting it warm up. "Brrrr…" she shivered, wrapping her arms around her body. "It's so cold out here."

"It is pretty chilly," I agreed. "And the car's going to take a couple of minutes to warm up."

"Aw, man."

"Come here," I offered, holding my arms out to her. "I'll warm you up."

Devon gave me a bright, shining smile, the kind of smile that Katie would never be caught dead flashing me, and slid over as far as she could so that she was lying in my arms. "How much did you hear?"

"When?"

"With the guys. When they were talking about you."

"Enough," I said reluctantly.

"They're jerks. I'm sure you're an amazing captain. And they shouldn't be so bitter towards you, anyway. Its Kendall's and Matt's fault they didn't get the position. You're the one who kept your nose clean and did what you're supposed to. Kendall and Matt are just pissed, and the others…I don't even know what they're on. But they shouldn't be talking about you like that."

"It's okay," I lied through my teeth. "I don't care. They can say whatever the hell they want, it doesn't bother me."

"Really?" She looked up at me, her face illuminated by the light of the dashboard. "Are you sure?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be? I'll prove them wrong in the end. I'll be the best fucking captain they've ever had."

"I can't wait to see their smirks wiped off their face," she told me, sitting up so that she could kiss me. I kissed her back, but pulled away when I saw the warm up light go off on the dashboard. I buckled my seatbelt and turned to her.

"So, what's your address?"

"Actually," she purred, "my parents are home. Is there any place we can go to be alone?"

I paused, opening my mouth and then closing it. I was so torn. On the one hand, third base might actually be in sight. Third base, man! But on the other, I had partly asked Devon to meet me at the Burger Mill because I knew Katie would be there and I wanted to see if I could make her jealous. And I didn't want to use Devon or hurt her, especially since I knew that most guys would consider themselves lucky just to have this one chance with her. She seemed like a pretty nice girl, and I didn't want to blow it.

But then the restaurant doors opened, light spilling out into the parking lot, and I spotted Katie and Kyle walking towards Katie's car, laughing at something, their heads thrown back in amusement. She looked happy, and my stomach clenched uncomfortably. Once again, someone else had what I wanted. That was the way it always worked. I wanted Katie, but she hated me and besides, she was clearly dating someone else, no matter what they said. It was obvious in the way she grabbed his hand, still giggling, and tugged him towards her car. I was betting they were going parking somewhere, where they would get in the backseat with the keys still in the ignition so that the heater would stay on. They would kiss and then her shirt would come off and he would reach behind her to unclasp her bra and –

Okay. I was going to be sick.

And there was no way in hell I was going to just sit here, wallowing in misery.

I turned back to Devon. "You know, there is some place we can go. How do you feel about lake houses?"

So, uh, how many of you want to chase me with torches and pitchforks right now? Wait, don't answer that. You guys probably aren't too happy about James and Devon...so, um, sorry...please don't chase me with torches and pitchforks. I bruise easily.

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read this, and please review and let me know what you thought! :)