Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever, owned Big Time Rush or anything else that is recognizable.

KnylonMaslow: Haha nope, not in the least, but it's what makes the story work. Aww, thanks! I'm so happy you enjoyed the first chapter, and thank you for reviewing :)

A/N Wow! As always, you guys blew me away with the positive responses for the first chapter, so THANK YOU so much! I can't tell you guys how much I appreciate it, but I will say that I was really nervous no one would like the story, so it's nice to hear that you guys are enjoying it. So thank you :)

Also, I usually try to get the second chapter of a new story up relatively quickly, but this chapter is coming almost a week and a half after the story was posted. I had it written, I just got really busy with other stuff and then a couple nights ago I discovered that they have my favorite show from childhood - "Liberty's Kids" - on YouTube, so that was also pretty distracting. So if you guys start seeing stories about the Revolutionary War and Boston Tea Party and stuff popping up on my profile, you can blame it on the show. Anyway, my original point was, I'm so sorry for the wait, and hopefully I'll get the next chapter up a little more quickly :) Thank you for your patience, I love you guys for it!

Warnings: Language, mentions of drug use, and sexual innuendos.

Enjoy the chapter :)

Chapter Two – What People Say

James' POV

There's nothing quite like someone announcing in front of the entire school that they don't want you anywhere near their girlfriend. There really isn't.

Especially when that guy happens to be the football star. Just freaking awesome.

I could count on at least a week of people avoiding me, acting like I was a blank wall or an invisible ghost. It wouldn't be the first time I had been treated like that, and I was sure, after today, that it wouldn't be the last. I wasn't exactly a favorite among the popular people. Guys like Zach Wilder seemed to think of me as a danger when it comes to girls, under the impression that I'm a girlfriend stealer.

For the record, I'm not even close. Every girl I hook up with is single, I make sure of it. Mainly because I like to try to avoid confrontations like this one.

And I hadn't even slept with Katie!

Unbelievable.

The crowd was beginning to disperse, people muttering and mumbling to each other, a few of them shooting me furtive glances, others staring outright.

Yeah, along with being treated like I was invisible, people were going be whispering behind my back about my argument with Zach. I just hoped Katie wouldn't get dragged into it too much. It wasn't her fault, none of it was.

The only question now was, which of us had won the fight?

I would have loved to be able to say that it was me, but Zach had the upper hand. He had been able to pull Katie away from me. But my comebacks were still way better than his.

With that reassuring thought, I stuffed my hands into my pants pockets, and moved through what remained of the crowd, the path clearing away for me easily. So, either I was a sudden celebrity, or there was also a rumor going around that I had HIV. Probably the latter.

I headed out of the building, towards Bastille Hall. In case you don't know your French history, Bastille Hall is named for Bastille Day, which is the French version of Independence Day. Why anyone would name a boys' residence hall that is beyond me. Maybe the name's supposed to be ironic in a way, but I can't figure that one out either.

"Dude!" Carlos hurried up to me from where he had most likely been playing soccer with a bunch of other guys in the courtyard. "People are saying that you and Zach Wilder had a fight in Chancellor Hall, over his girlfriend! Is it true? Did you sleep with Katie Knight?"

Oh no. People were going to bring her in…And now the rumors would be spreading, and her reputation would be ruined. All thanks to her loving boyfriend, who couldn't seem to tell the difference between protection and suffocation.

I heaved out a deep sigh. "We had an argument, because Wilder insulted Deana Miller, and then he jumped on me about hanging around his girlfriend, who was in detention with me."

Carlos' eyes widened. "Saint Knight was in detention?"

"Saint Knight?" I repeated. "Isn't that a little far-fetched? Or bordering on heresy?"

"Don't know. That's just what some people call her. Or Saint Katie. Or Katie the Saint. Stuff like that."

"Charming," I snorted, continuing on towards Bastille Hall. "And yes, she was in detention."

"Why? What did she do?" he gasped.

"She tried to help Deana Miller with her math, and the teacher caught them and jumped down Katie's throat. She has Mr. Rochester," I added, and Carlos nodded in understanding.

"Oh, gotcha. He's the one who thinks he's a perfect teacher, but only the best students ever seem to pass his class."

"Right, because he doesn't bother to explain stuff. Katie was just trying to be nice."

Carlos shook his head. "Stupid. Just like you getting put in detention for holding Chip's cigarettes for him. It should've been him that got detention, but ohhh nooo. You just had to offer to hold his cigarettes for him when he went to class this morning. And then what happens? You got caught. Smart move, James, real smart."

"I was just trying to be a good friend," I shot back at him. "Besides, I get put in detention almost every day. It's not like this one was going to make a difference."

"Yeah, you're right. The only difference it would've made was that you'd actually have an hour free."

"I pretty much have that hour free, anyway. You know Mrs. Vanderbilt never stays in the room any longer than she has to."

"But you're trapped in there with twenty other kids who you don't even like. Is it really worth it, James? Is it? Was it worth it today?"

I shrugged. "I talked with Katie. So it wasn't a complete waste."

Carlos' eyes widened. "Oh no. Oh nonononono!"

"What?!" I gaped at him in alarm.

"You're not going to go after her, right? Because she's got a boyfriend who would like nothing more than to beat your brains out. Also, she's a good girl. You can't corrupt her!"

I rolled my eyes. "I don't go after girls. They go after me. And don't worry about it, dude. I wouldn't go after her anyway. She has a boyfriend and I respect that. You know I don't hook up with girls who have a boyfriend. It's just not my style."

"Yeah…but…you've kind of been crushing on her since sophomore year…"

"What? I have not!" I protested.

"Uh, yeah, you kind of have. I mean, you're always looking for her. You're always aware if she's in the same room as you."

"I'm not. And how would you know anyway?"

"Because every time she walks into a room, you immediately turn around to look at her. You don't do that with most people. Hell, you don't even do it with me."

"It's just a coincidence," I sniffed as I pushed through the double doors, stepping into the lobby of Bastille Hall.

"Right. Some coincidence. And it's not like she does it too," Carlos snorted sarcastically.

"What? What're you talking about?"

"Okay, you are not that stupid. You know she's just as aware of you as you are of her. She's always looking for you, she always turns around when you enter a room, and her boyfriend has this tendency to shoot you death glares when you walk by."

"Oh. That's why? I always thought it was because I dress better than he does." I shrugged.

Carlos face-palmed. "Yeah, that's definitely not why."

"Whatever. She has a boyfriend, and she's loyal to him. It's not like she's going to do anything that might jeopardize her relationship with him."

"Uh, yeah, she might. Because she did today. By talking to you."

"So? How was she supposed to know that that would upset him?"

"Because she knows him. Because I'm sure she's seen the look on his face when you two lock eyes in the hall – which you do. Don't try to deny it – and she'll know what it means. She knows that he's jealous."

"Look, the guy's practically suffocating her. If she's not even allowed to look at another guy – "

"James, you two have been looking at each other for over two years. Something's got to give."

"Carlos, she's been with him for three years. She hasn't broken up with him. She obviously loves him. I'm just the hot bad boy man whore whose dick she keeps hearing about from her fellow cheerleaders."

Carlos stared at me. "Who exactly have you been banging lately?"

"Not relevant to the conversation."

"Please tell me you haven't slept with Kylie Kennedy since she left the bible in front of your door."

"I haven't."

"Good. Because that girl's the worst hypocrite I've ever seen. Oh, and she's moved on to the preppy nerds."

"And which preppy nerds would those be?"

"Just one. Logan Mitchell."

I raised my eyebrow. "Ah. Your preppy nerd."

"He's not mine!"

"But you want him to be."

Carlos blushed. "I – I – I never said that – "

"You two have pretty much the same relationship that Katie and I do, only you're not on opposite ends of the spectrum."

"James, come on. Besides, he's probably not even gay or bi. That crowd isn't."

"That crowd isn't a lot of things. Interesting is one of them. Fun is another. Their idea of a wild Friday night is sitting around the library, with huge coffees, researching quantum physics."

"That's an exaggeration. I think."

"Katie told me that a 3.5 GPA in her crowd is low."

"Oh. Maybe it's not an exaggeration."

"You think?" I shook my head and walked towards the stairs. "Anyway, let's talk about something other than preppy do-gooders with perfect grades. How was your day?"

"The usual. Mrs. Lansberry wants me to be Bottom in a Midsummer Night's Dream. I'm not sure how I feel about that…"

I chuckled. "Oh, Carlitos…"

"Isn't he the court jester?"

I blinked. "No…I think Bottom is the one who ends up with a donkey head."

"Then who's the court jester?" he asked in confusion.

"That would be Puck."

"What the hell kind of name are those, anyway?" he demanded as we mounted the stairs.

"Shakespearean names."

"Apparently. He was insane."

"An insane genius."

"No, just insane."

I chuckled as we reached the second floor. A door was flung open, and out came Chip Carmichael.

"Ah, James, just the person I wanted to see!" he beamed at me.

"You mean, just the person you wanted to thank for saving your scrawny ass?" I suggested.

"Um…yeah…that's what I meant…"

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. I'm never doing it again. I'd rather get a reputation for the stuff I did, instead of the stuff I had nothing to do with."

"Hey, that's cool, man. I just need my cigs back."

I smirked. "Then you better head down to Ms. Carlyle's office."

"What?" he looked at me blankly.

"She's the one who caught me with the cigarettes. Maybe if you're lucky, she'll still have the pack, instead of throwing them out."

"No…why'd you let her take them?!" he yelped.

"Because I really didn't want to get suspended."

"Dude! Not cool!"

"Hey, I didn't sell you out. You're the one who let me take the fall for you."

"And I was going to thank you."

"How?"

"By – by – making you brownies."

"And would those be pot brownies?" I smirked. "Sorry, dude, I don't do drugs. Sex is addicting enough, I don't need to add to it."

Chip glared at me. "You're a prick. Go to hell."

"I can't, it has a restraining order against me. Sorry." With that, I pushed past him and headed down the hall to my room.

Carlos followed me. "Told you he was no good."

"I know, and I believed you."

"Please tell me you're finished with hanging out with him. He makes a rotten friend."

"That he does." I unlocked my door and opened it. We stepped inside and I closed it behind me.

Carlos plopped down on my bed. "You know what really sucks though?"

"What?"

"That you just made another enemy. That's two in the space of – what? – an hour? Maybe thirty minutes?"

I chuckled. "Damn. People don't like me. Whatever will I do?"

"James, I'm serious."

"I know you are. But I'm not you. I don't need people to like me. I'm me, and as long as I'm not completely alone, I'm good to go. So to me, it's not a tragedy that Wilder and Chip are pissed at me. The way I've got it figured, if I ticked off those two, then I must've done something right."

Carlos shook his head. "What am I going to do with you?"

I batted my lashes jokingly at him. "Love me forever?"

"Yeah…sure. That's what I'll do. Get Katie to love you forever."

"Oooh, eternity with Katie. Would there be a bed?" I grinned, falling down onto the mattress next to him.

"Like you need a bed. You seem perfectly happy screwing girls in supply closets," he commented.

I pouted. "It was one time."

"Uh huh. Sure. Anyway, you like the idea of eternity with Katie, don't you?"

"That – oh. Yeah. Maybe."

He grinned. "Do you have a crush on her?"

I snorted. "I don't do crushes."

"Oh, come on…"

"I don't. Crushes are stupid."

"Teenagers get crushes. It's not a bad thing. And crushes can turn into love."

"I also don't do love. I don't do relationships. Period."

"Not even if it's with a petite brunette who people call The Saint?"

"Nope. Especially not with her. I'd just fuck it up. Oh, and remember her boyfriend? The one who hates me?"

"Yeah…"

"Even more reason not to be involved with her. I don't want things to get screwed up between them. Even though I do think something's wrong with him."

"How so?" Carlos asked me curiously.

"I don't know…It's just, he has this possessiveness over her. It's kind of…scary. Creepy scary. Like, if he can't have her, then no one can."

Carlos raised his eyebrows at me. "Now that's interesting."

"I guess. I don't know, it was just the feeling I kept getting off of him. I'm probably wrong."

"Or you could be right. Who knows? I mean, there has to be a reason why she's still with him. It's not like he's the nicest guy out there. In fact, he's kind of a jackass."

I nodded in agreement. "How well do you know him?"

He shrugged. "I know him okay. Obviously we're not close, but we have a few classes together. I don't know, he kind of seems to be a bully."

"You mean besides how he treats his girlfriend?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah. He treats a lot of people pretty badly. It's why I can't figure out why she's still with him. I mean, doesn't she see him treating people like crap?"

"Maybe he's got her wrapped around his finger," I suggested. "She seemed pretty scared about how he was going to react when he found out about her getting detention."

Carlos turned his head to look at me. "Do you think he abuses her?"

"No idea. I hope not…" I bit my lip, a little anxiously.

"Well, if he does, then she'd still be better with you, no matter how you 'fuck it up'. At least you won't abuse her."

"I know. But I doubt he does. I think her brother would notice if that was happening. I mean, everyone says that Kendall's really protective of his little sister," I pointed out. "And I know he looks skinny, but I've seen him play hockey, and I wouldn't want to get on his bad side. Ever. I'd think that Zach would feel the same way."

Carlos nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he doesn't seem stupid enough to do anything to hurt Katie."

"Exactly. So I wouldn't be too worried about it." I sat up and scooted back, leaning against my pillows. "Tell me why I shouldn't do my homework. Give me a reason. I need a reason."

"I don't have a reason."

"Damn it." With a sigh, I opened my book bag and pulled out my homework. "You're a lousy rebellious friend."

"I'm not a rebellious friend, that's why I'm so lousy at it."

"Ah, that'd explain it."

"Yep."

I shook my head and began to work through my history homework. About fifteen minutes into it, there was a knock on the door. Carlos looked at me over the top of his biology textbook, and I shrugged at him. I slid off my bed and crossed the room, opening the door.

Katie stood there, holding a covered pan. "Hi, James," she chirped.

"Katie…hey. What're you doing here?"

"Well, it turned out that I still had red velvet cupcakes from last weekend, when I visited my mom. And I thought of you!"

"That's really sweet of you," I told her, leaning against the doorframe, "but what's the occasion?"

She shuffled her feet awkwardly. "Well…I feel bad about how Zach treated you earlier. It was really rude of him. He's not normally like that, but he was in a bad mood, and he took it out on you. I tried to get him to come over here and apologize, but he has a lot of homework, so I thought I'd do it for him."

"Oh. Well, that's really nice of you, but you shouldn't have to apologize for him. If he wants to apologize, he'll do it himself. So don't waste your cupcakes on me."

She blinked at me. "I'm not wasting my cupcakes on you! I want you to have them. You deserve them. After what everyone says about you, you deserve to have something nice."

Carlos got to his feet. "Wow, you really are a sweetheart. I'm Carlos, by the way. I'm a friend of James'."

Katie smiled at him as he came into view. "Hi! I've seen you around! I'm Katie Knight!" she balanced the pan in one hand and held out the other hand for him to shake. He took her hand.

"Nice to meet you," he replied, smiling back at her. "I heard you got detention today."

She ducked her head, an ashamed look crossing her face. "Oh no…does everyone know?"

"Um…I don't know," he admitted. "I think a lot of people know, at least."

"Oh my gosh…" she whimpered, bottom lip trembling like it had earlier.

"But – but – it's not really a big deal. If anything, this'll make people like you even more," Carlos tried to assure her.

"How?" she sniffled.

"Well…it'll make you seem more like them."

"I'm a freak?!" she wailed.

I took the pan of cupcakes from her and passed them to Carlos, before putting my arm around her shoulders and leading her into the room. I closed the door behind us and brought her over to my bed, making her sit down on it.

She wiped at her eyes. "I'm – I'm sorry," she sniffed. "You guys probably think I'm crazy. I know I shouldn't worry so much about what people thing, but I can't help it. I don't want people to think I'm weird."

"No, I didn't mean that you're weird," Carlos said quickly. "I just meant – I mean, you're super smart and super focused. So I think you intimidate some people."

I nodded in agreement. "I mean, your grades alone are pretty insane."

She looked up at me, still sniffling. "You think so?"

"I know so."

She attempted a watery smile. "You're so sweet. I don't know why you have such a bad reputation."

"I thought we went over this in detention," I smiled back at her. "I'm a troublemaker and I sleep around."

"Yeah…but still. Everyone talks about you like you're a monster, and you're really not. You're actually a sweetheart."

I'm not sure, but I think I almost blushed. "I'm really not. I just don't like seeing girls cry."

"See? You're not a bad guy. Not in the least."

I shook my head. "Well, thanks for the cupcakes. But seriously, you don't need to apologize for your boyfriend."

"But I want to."

"But it's not your responsibility," I pointed out. "How did you find out where my room was anyway?"

She shrugged. "I asked a girl on the cheerleading team who I knew you slept with. She gave me your room number."

"Please tell me it wasn't Kylie Kennedy…"

She shook her head. "Don't worry, it wasn't. It was Amanda Shelby."

"Oh, okay."

"Yeah. So, I should probably get going. I have lots of homework. I'll see you later."

"Hopefully not in detention," I joked as I walked her to the door.

She smiled at me. "Yeah, no offense, but unlike you, I don't want to make getting detention a daily routine."

I gaped at her in mock horror. "But it's so much fun!"

"Yeah, and I'm sure dropping fireworks into toilets is fun too, but you wouldn't want to do it on a regular basis, right?"

"Maybe. It might get boring after awhile…but until then…"

She shook her head, laughing. "Maybe I'll see you in the cafeteria. It was nice finally meeting you."

"You too," I smiled at her again. "Good luck with your homework."

"You too! And enjoy the cupcakes! If you ever want anymore, just come and find me. I'm usually in the library in the evenings so I shouldn't be too hard to find."

I chuckled. "Of course you are. Well, I'll come and get you if I get a sudden craving for them."

"Sounds good!" With a wide smile, she waved at Carlos, and then turned and almost skipped out of my room.

"She's so cute!" Carlos squealed. "And really sweet. But damn, she's high strung. I would not want to be her. She's, like, type A personality to the max."

"Right? It's almost freaky."

"I would not want to be her."

"Same."

We continued to work through our homework. It was past seven by the time we finished and headed downstairs and out of the building, towards the Recreational Hall, where the cafeteria was located.

I automatically began looking around for Katie, and quickly spotted her. She was sitting at her usual table across the room from where Carlos and our friends usually sat, with her brother, her boyfriend, and her friends.

Carlos' eyes immediately went to Logan Mitchell, one of the resident geniuses.

"He's so sexy in his sweater vest," Carlos sighed dreamily.

"Oh man…you need help," I informed him as I headed over to the line to get food.

"Please. You're practically in love with the queen of type A personalities. What does that say about you?"

"Nothing, because I'm not in love with her."

"Puh-leeze. You can't keep your eyes off of her. You've never been able to."

"So?"

"So, it goes beyond attraction, beyond the average crush. Come on, James, you know it does. Why can't you just admit it?"

"Because you're insane?"

"You're in denial."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Amnotamnotamnot!"

"Aretooaretooaretoo!"

I growled and grabbed a burrito, placing it on a plate. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"And neither do you."

"Why don't you go try to talk to Logan Mitchell?"

Carlos' face paled. "I can't – I can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"What if he doesn't like me?" he whimpered. "What if he thinks I'm hitting on him?"

"You will be."

He gasped. "No I won't be!"

"Uh, yeah, you will be. You want to woo him, right?"

He snorted. "Woo? What is this, Romeo and Juliet?"

"Or something much more epic than that. Your dream love story." I grinned at him. "Wouldn't you love that?"

He fidgeted. "N-no…"

"Liar. You so do."

"I should have never told you about Logan."

"Au contraire. It was obvious from the way you looked at him. I knew at once."

"You didn't!"

"Did too."

"Hmmph."

I chuckled and finished loading my plate with food. Carlos did too, and we headed over to our usual table.

"So," one of our friends, Dak Zevon said. "You corrupted Katie Knight. Nice work, Diamond."

I rolled my eyes. "I didn't corrupt her. She's incorruptible. She got thrown in detention because her math teacher's a jackass. And believe me, nothing happened."

"Really? That's not what I heard."

My eyebrows shot up, as Jett Stetson, another friend of ours, sat down with us. "What're we talking about?"

"James corrupting Katie Knight," Dak grinned.

"Oh yeah. She was seen coming out of your dorm room," Jett said to me.

"Yeah, she felt bad about the way her boyfriend laid into me, so she dropped off a pan of cupcakes."

"Oh, well, that would explain it."

"Why? What did you hear?"

"That she asked one of the girls you've hooked up with where your room was, and then she disappeared into your room and didn't come out for awhile."

I snorted. "Bullshit. She was in my room for maybe fifteen minutes, tops."

"Long enough for a quickie," Dak commented.

"Maybe, but we didn't have one. We just talked. Carlos was there too, he can verify."

Carlos nodded. "Nothing happened. James was nothing but a gentleman to her. I was impressed."

I rolled my eyes. "Why does everyone assume that I'm a pig?"

"Because you are?" Jett suggested.

"Whatever." I stabbed angrily at a burrito. "It's not fair. I don't want Katie to get an unfair reputation all because her boyfriend's a stupid fuck."

"I know, it's not fair," Carlos agreed sympathetically.

I sighed. "And she's with Zach Wilder. So nothing would have happened anyway."

"Speaking of Wilder, he doesn't look too happy," Jett commented, nodding towards the table that Katie was sitting at.

I looked up, and sure enough, Wilder was giving me a nasty look. As our eyes met, he cracked his knuckles threateningly, and I almost swallowed hard. Something told me that, if he could, he would make my life a living hell. But what he didn't know was that I had already lived through a living hell. So bring it on, Wilder, bring it on.

So, the first thing I'm going to say (because I like talking at the end of the chapter) is that obviously my usual bad guys (*cough* Jett *cough*) isn' my usual bad guy! And I also brought Dak in, which I've never done before, but hopefully I wrote both characters okay. I know Katie's still extremely OOC, but like I said before, she has reasons for it.

Anyway, I would love hearing what you think about this chapter, so feel free (i.e. please do) to review :) I love reading your reviews and getting to see your guys' reactions to stuff and your opinions and theories, it always makes my day that much better, and I won't lie, I sometimes get ideas from your reviews. :)