Disclaimer: Let's think about this for a second. If I owned Big Time Rush, why would I be writing Jatie fanfiction? Clearly, I don't own Big Time Rush.

KnylonMaslow: Aww, thank you! I'm sorry for the wait for chapter three and for this chapter, but I hope it'll be worth it :) And thank you for reviewing, I really appreciate it.

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THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, followed, or read "Anywhere But Here". Your support means the world to me, and I don't know what I'd do without it. So thank you :)

A/N: Basically, the A/N is going to consist of me apologizing. I'm so, so sorry for the late update! I had the chapter written, I just got busy and then I got lazy and then I got busy and then I got lazy again. The last two weeks have been emotionally exhausting, but no excuse. I'll do my best to push myself into getting the next chapter up much sooner. The same goes for my other stories - I'm working on the next chapters, I just need to finish them off. Also, if anyone's interested, I just posted a one shot collection, since I love writing one shots but they're starting to clog up my profile. I also posted a separate one shot a few days ago called "Faking It". Just, you know, thought I'd do some self-advertisement ;P

Anyway, I'll shut up now.

Warnings: Language and sexual references

Enjoy the chapter :)

Chapter Four – Prejudices and Assumptions

Katie's POV (Cont.)

Apparently desperately hoping wasn't working in my favor that day.

In trig, Mr. Rochester was being his usual grouchy, unhelpful self. As a result, no one was really understanding what he was saying, and I once more took it upon myself to explain, as quietly as I could, everything that they were confused about.

Mr. Rochester must have seen my lips moving, because the next thing I knew, he was towering over me, forcing me to look up at him.

"So, talking in class and cheating? Detention again, Miss Knight. And since this is the second day in a row that I have caught you, let's make it detention for the rest of the week. How does that sound?"

Unfair. Beyond unfair.

"But – but – " I stuttered out. "You don't understand! It's not what it looks like!"

He snorted skeptically. "It never is, Miss Knight. Get back to work, and keep your eyes on your own paper and your mouth shut."

This was so unfair. No one else was getting detention, and they were the ones who were technically 'cheating'. I was just trying to help them. So why was I getting into trouble?

I swear, Mr. Rochester had it out for me. I could just imagine the look on Zach's face when he heard that I had once more gotten detention. And then there was James…What were the chances that he hadn't gotten thrown in detention?

Hopefully pretty good.

But what were the chances that he wouldn't end up in detention for the rest of the week?

Less than zero.

Yeah, there was no way I was going to be able to avoid him, no matter what I had promised Zach.

And not only that, but a whole week of detentions would be on my permanent record. Harvard wasn't going to take me after that. Well, probably not…Unless I could win them over in my interview with them next year. Plus, I could do volunteer work. I mean, I already did, but I could do more than usual. It would look amazing on my application.

But…oh no! I had already missed cheerleading practice yesterday, and there was no way I would be able to make it for the rest of the week. Jo Taylor, the cheerleading captain, would probably kick me off the squad for not being able to attend practices. She was my brother's girlfriend and we got along really well, but she couldn't afford to let biases get in the way of her position.

So, not only would I possibly lose any chance of getting into Harvard because of Mr. Rochester, I would also lose my position on the squad.

How could he hate me so much? It just didn't make any sense. What had I done to upset him, to make him mad?

I continued to avoid Zach through the next few hours. I wasn't ready to tell him about detention, even though I knew he would doubtlessly hear about it from other sources.

I managed to flag down Jo on the way to the cafeteria for lunch.

"What's up?" she asked me, smiling as I approached.

I shuffled my feet. "I – I can't make it to cheerleading practice again…not for the rest of the week." I looked down at the ground, my voice slowly quieting down to a whisper.

Jo frowned and grabbed my hand, tugging me away from the people moving around us towards their next classes, cafeteria, or library. She pulled me into the nearest girls' bathroom, and turned to me.

"You never miss practice," Jo commented, her voice gentle. "Yesterday was the first time, because you got detention."

I stared at the bathroom floor tiles, not wanting to look up into her eyes. I was sure her warm brown eyes would glimmer with disappointment when I told her. "I got it again," I mumbled. "For the rest of the week."

"Mr. Rochester again?"

"Yeah," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, Katie, it's not your fault. Every year, he chooses one student to pick on."

"Why me?" I asked, finally looking up at her.

"I don't know. He has his own reasons."

"Who was it last year?"

"James Diamond," she shrugged. "But that was to be expected. A lot of teachers go after him. I mean, he's James Diamond."

"Oh. Yeah, of course."

"I mean, I don't think he deserves that," Jo continued on. "We have a couple of classes together, and he's always seemed nice. I get that a lot of people don't like him because he sleeps around, but he's not the only guy who does that. The guys on the football team do it, and so do some of the guys on the hockey team. I don't think it's fair that it's perfectly okay when they do it, but the second someone else does it, he gets called names and gets treated like crap."

"But he takes it to an extreme."

"Does he?"

I nodded. "You always hear about him getting caught with some girl, or him breaking her heart."

"He doesn't sneak around. And the girls sell him out."

I shook my head. "No they don't. Everyone knows that he's a man whore."

Jo stared at me. "Since when do you use the word whore? You hate it."

"But it's true, isn't it?"

"Okay, this isn't you. Come on, Katie, you don't really believe that, I can see it in your eyes."

"Zach says – "

"Zach may be your boyfriend, but he isn't perfect. He doesn't know everything about everyone, and frankly, I'm a little surprised that you're willing to believe the worst in someone all because of what Zach says." She pursed her lips. "Make sure you're at practice next week," she said to me in a clipped tone, before hitching her book bag higher up on her shoulder and turning, stalking out of the bathroom and leaving me alone.

I sighed, leaning against the nearest sink. She was right. I was being prejudiced and a hypocrite. I barely knew James, and yet I was willing to make all these assumptions about him based on what Zach said, even though James had been perfectly nice to me the day before. I had actually managed to talk myself into thinking badly of him simply because I didn't want to like him – because of what it could mean if I did. And I didn't want to think of that option. It didn't fit into my life plan, and that didn't sit well with me.

It was like I had told James the day before: I had had my life planned out since I was eight years old. Up until yesterday, only one thing had gone wrong, and I had used it to push me towards my goal even more forcefully.

Even being slightly attracted to the school's bad boy wasn't going to be added to the bullet points for my life I had scribbled down in a notebook one day in third grade when I had finished my math assignment and was bored, wishing recess would hurry up and get there already.

It hadn't been a big deal when we would just glance at each other in the halls or across the cafeteria, maybe holding each other's gaze for a few seconds. We ran in completely different circles, and were in different grades. The chances of us actually ever getting around to introducing ourselves to each other had been pretty much slim to none. And then I had gotten thrown in detention, and we were closer to each other than we had ever been, except for the rare occasion when we would pass each other in the middle of a crowded hall and were pushed together.

He had been so close…And I had heard so much about him, but I had been curious as to whether or not the rumors had any truth to them. So I had approached him, thinking that it might be interesting to talk to him for a few minutes. And then Mrs. Vanderbilt had left the room, throwing a slightly wrench in my plans. We had ended up spending the next forty minutes talking, and I had found myself wanting to continue spending time with him. But then he and Zach had ended up fighting, and Zach had made it very clear that he didn't like James, and he had a legitimate reason.

The truth was, James was a danger to Zach's and my relationship, and Zach refused to let anything get in the way of us. And if I was going to be attracted to James, then I had to fight it; I had to fight for Zach's and my relationship. It was one of the most important things in my life, and nothing could change that.

But…what if I accidentally hurt James' feelings?

I didn't want to do that, not ever. I would feel even worse if that happened, and the idea of hurting him made my stomach twist and turn and clench painfully. I couldn't do that to him.

With a sigh, I exited the bathroom, heading to the cafeteria. I grabbed a sandwich and sat down at the usual table with the others.

"Zach?" I said to him as I slid into the seat next to his.

"Hey," he smiled at me, and pecked my lips. "How's class been so far?"

"I got detention from Mr. Rochester again," I told him. "For the rest of the week."

He frowned. "But you promised me you wouldn't get detention again."

"I know, I didn't mean to. Mr. Rochester just doesn't like me."

"Katie, everyone likes you."

"He doesn't."

"And how're you going to get into Harvard or Yale now?" Zach demanded. "You have a week of detention! How is that going to look on your transcript?"

"It might make her look human," Kendall spoke up. "Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, and I'm sure the admissions people at all those colleges will understand that she was off her game for a week. And the amount of volunteer work and extra-curriculars that she does should definitely make up for a week of detention once in her junior year of high school."

Zach narrowed his eyes. "So, you're actually okay with her getting detention?"

"How do I put this politely?" Kendall said, tapping his fingers against his chin. "Fuck yeah, I'm okay with it. She doesn't ever mess up, and half the time it feels like she has a charmed life. So it's nice to know that she's not perfect. I just wish she'd gotten to do something fun in order to get detention."

Zach shook his head. "You're a lousy role model for her."

"I'm not trying to be a good role model. I just want her to have fun. I don't think she's actually had fun since she was eleven."

"Bullshit. She's had plenty of fun with me."

"Yeah," Camille spoke up, "because sucking face with you looks like the time of her life."

My face heated up. "Camille…"

"And I say that with a strong dose of sarcasm," she continued on. "Because, in all honesty, I don't know what she sees in you. She's a sweetie, and you're a complete ass."

Lucy Stone, a girl who I had seen hanging out with James and Carlos, passed by us as Camille said that. She snorted, and quipped, "Well, you know what they say about opposites attracting."

Camille shrugged. "Yeah, well, that really goes to the extreme with those two."

"You know, I've never been able to figure out how they ended up together."

"Hellooo, we're still here!" I cried.

"I'm not putting up with this!" Zach huffed out, grabbing his stuff and getting to his feet. Without another word, not even another glance, he stormed out of the cafeteria.

"Whoa, touchy, touchy," Lucy commented. "God, if he can't even take a comment like that, or defend his relationship, then he's more of a loser than I thought. So uncool."

"Right?" Camille nodded. "Feel like joining us?"

"Don't mind if I do." Lucy plucked a chair from the table behind ours, and plopped down in it.

Jo smiled at Lucy. "You're in band, right?"

"Yeah, but don't spread it around. I do it to make my parents happy. They're classical musicians and they want me to follow in their footsteps."

"But you don't want to?" Camille asked her.

"Nope. I'm gonna be a rock star, if you can't tell by my hair or boots."

We all chuckled a little. Lucy had black hair with a red streak in it, and she wore black combat boots with her school uniform. Plus, her backpack was covered with all sorts of badges of rock bands that I had never even heard of, let alone listened to. Not to mention, she was often seen with a guitar case, which she used to bash people out of her way when she was late to class.

"Yeah, it's not like it was completely obvious," Jo teased.

"No, not at all," Lucy replied with a grin, before looking at me. "Katie Knight, right?"

I nodded.

"Oh yeah, the cute little girl who James seems to like for some reason. No offense," she added. "I just can't figure it out."

I nodded. "Does James really like me?"

She shrugged. "He stares at you a lot, so as near as I can figure he does."

"Oh." I blushed and looked down at my plate.

"But it's James, so it could mean anything. He can be kind of hard to read sometimes," Lucy said with a shrug. "He likes to keep his mysterious persona up."

"Why?"

"Don't know. He doesn't really like letting people in. Carlos – he's known James since preschool – says that after James' parents got divorced, he got really closed in, wouldn't let anyone get close to him."

"Oh."

"Yeah. I guess the divorce was pretty rough on him."

"That sucks," Kendall spoke up.

"It does," she agreed. "I just wish he'd stop getting himself into trouble. He talked back to one of his teachers today, and he got himself thrown in detention again."

"For today?"

"Yeah. You know, he'd really cut down on his detentions if he kept his tongue in check. But then again, who am I to talk? I sass back my teachers too."

"They ask for it," Camille told Lucy. "They can be such pricks sometimes. They drive me nuts."

Jo nodded in agreement. "I wish I had the nerve to talk back to them. They deserve it."

I didn't say anything, even though I definitely agreed with them. If I had the guts to speak up, I might not have had a week's detention, although on the other hand, I might have gotten myself put in detention for the rest of my life.

Yeah, speaking up just wasn't worth it.

James' POV

The day was moving much too slowly for my taste. After lunch, Lucy had reported that she had hung out with my 'baby lover' and her friends, and that Katie had gotten detention from Mr. Rochester for the rest of the week.

That sounded like a sign from God that I needed to get myself put in detention for the rest of the week as well. It wouldn't be too hard, considering I had gotten myself thrown into detention twice in two days. I was already on a roll – why stop now?

"So what, you're just going to get put in detention straight for the next three days?" Carlos asked me in disbelief as he walked me towards the detention classroom.

"Not straight for the next three days – they don't lock us in there 24/seven."

"You know what I mean."

I shrugged. "It shouldn't be too hard, right?"

"All this over a girl who has a boyfriend and who probably isn't even interested in you?"

"It's not about Katie."

"Uh, yeah, it kind of is."

"It's not. It has nothing to do with her. And even if it did, why would it even matter? I would just be trying to keep her company in detention. It can be a scary and lonely place."

"Dude, detention isn't jail."

"But look at her! She's so small and sweet – they'd eat her alive without me there to protect her."

Carlos snorted. "Wow, man…you're delusional. Beyond delusional. I think you might need to see the school guidance counselor."

"I don't need to see the school guidance counselor. I'm fine."

"Trying to get yourself thrown in detention for the rest of the week generally isn't classified as fine."

"So I'm a little weird. So what? That's just me. And you know how much I like causing trouble."

"Which I really don't get," he told me. "I mean, I get doing it once in awhile to blow off some steam, but you take it to a major extreme. It's almost scary. You get put in detention twice a week, minimum. Most people don't get put in detention even once a month."

"I'm special."

"Yeah, you are…in more ways than one."

"I'll just ignore the insult." I patted his arm, just as we reached the detention room. "Oh, check it out, this is me. See you in about an hour."

"Yeah…enjoy. Don't burn down the room, okay?"

"As if I would." I grinned at him and pushed into the classroom.

The room was its usual mismatched jumble of people, skater kids who got caught riding their skateboards through the halls, or preppy kids who got a little too loud in class.

My eyes scanned around the room for Katie, and I immediately spotted her at the front of the room, in the seat she had sat in yesterday. She looked absolutely miserable, and she had a notebook out, doodling across the page.

I headed over to her and slid into my usual chair. "Hey," I greeted her. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Hi." She didn't even raise her head to look at me.

"So, I take it your day hasn't been very good?"

"What makes you say that?" She continued to keep her head down.

"Because you got detention for the rest of the week."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever."

"Whoa, what happened to you? Yesterday you were all Ohmigosh, no college is going to accept me and I'm going to have to go to a community college and what if they don't have the genius classes that I need to take?!"

Her head snapped up and she blinked at me. "I never said any of that."

I grinned. "I know, but it got you to look at me."

"That was a dirty trick."

"Hon, if you think that was dirty, then you haven't been exposed to anyone interesting."

"What I consider interesting and what you find interesting are two very different things."

I shrugged. "Probably."

She nodded, her eyes lowering to my right hand, across which the blonde girl who had approached me in the cafeteria had scrawled her number in hot pink lipstick.

"Are you gonna call her?" Katie asked me after a long moment.

"I don't know. If I do, it won't be to hook up with her, if that's what you're asking."

"It wasn't."

"Okay."

Another long pause.

"Why wouldn't you hook up with her?"

"Because she's only fourteen. That's too young."

"Legend has it you were hooking up with senior girls when you were fourteen."

I shrugged. "That was me."

"But you won't hook up with fourteen year old girls when you're a senior?"

"Nope."

"Why not?" she asked, cutting her eyes over to me.

"Because I don't want them to be classified as sluts for the rest of their high school career. I had a lot of shit happening when I was fourteen, and they might too. Maybe giving me their phone number – "

"In lipstick," she interrupted me, and I smiled slightly.

"In lipstick, is just their way of making themselves feel all grown up, or rebelling against their parents. I mean, who knows? But I'm not going to use them as an easy lay. There are pricks out there who will do that, but I'm not one of them."

She pressed her lips together, not saying anything.

"Surprised that I have morals?"

"No. I told you yesterday that you're a sweetheart. You're a nice person."

"Doesn't always mean one particular thing, though," I pointed out. "And I'm pretty sure you weren't talking about my sexual habits when you called me a sweetheart."

"I never claimed to. But I do know you have morals."

"Still doesn't explain the look on your face."

"I was just thinking of something."

"Okay…" Before I could question her further, Mrs. Vanderbilt announced that detention was now in session. Oh, goody. I spent the next ten minutes drawing up an outline for an English paper that was due next week. Right on schedule, Mrs. Vanderbilt, as reliable as they come, got to her feet, informed us that she was locking us in, and headed off to watch her favorite soap opera.

Heaven forbid she miss a single episode.

I glanced over at Katie, and saw that she still had her notebook out, along with her textbook. She was chewing on her bottom lip as she made notes in her notebook, occasionally reaching a hand up to push her hair out of her face.

I found my eyes focusing in on her mouth, how her lower lip momentarily flushed a darker shade of scarlet as she bit down on it, the way she caught it between her teeth, and then released it. A few seconds later, she swept the tip of her tongue around her mouth, before sinking her teeth into her bottom lip once more.

At last, after what felt like forever, she straightened up and pushed her notebook away from her. "I hate trying to work in a noisy room."

"You should bring earplugs tomorrow," I suggested. "Or your iPod. You are allowed to have your iPod in here, you know."

"You know, it kind of sounds like detention really isn't detention," she commented. "It sounds like we could do whatever the hell we wanted and there's no one around to tell us we can't."

"Uh, yeah, pretty much. The biggest punishment is that we're trapped in a small classroom with ten other troublemakers, and it goes on our permanent record. And yes, I know for you that's a punishment."

"But you don't really care," she confirmed.

I shrugged. "My grades are good. For some colleges, that's all that matters."

"Well, with Harvard and Yale and Dartmouth, there's a lot more than just getting good grades," she said pristinely.

"So I've heard," I replied dryly. "So, what were you thinking of before Mrs. Vanderbilt called detention to order?"

"It's nothing important." She twirled her pen between her fingers.

"Well, it seemed to be bothering you."

"Am I one of your targets?" she asked bluntly, turning in her seat to look at me.

"What?"

"Am I one of your targets? Are you planning on getting me into bed with you?"

I shook my head. "You have a boyfriend. I don't go after girls with boyfriends, it's one of my rules."

"Zach thinks you're going to."

"Zach's an insecure idiot."

"I know, but…With your reputation and everything…And Lucy Stone says you like me."

I leaned back in my chair. "Do you want me to like you?" I asked her quietly, eyes locking with hers.

She paused. "I shouldn't."

"That's not a straight answer."

"It doesn't matter if I want you to like me or not. I have a boyfriend."

"Right. Of course." I looked back at the outline I had gotten started.

"Do you like me?"

"You have a boyfriend, Katie. It doesn't matter if I do or not."

"Right."

We didn't say anything for the rest of detention, each of us focused on our own homework, though my mind still kept wandering back to what we had been talking about. She knew she shouldn't want me to like her…but the fact was she did. And I did like her. But of course, there was Zach. He was always there, always in the background, like a shadow, like a fly on the wall. And he was the kind of guy a girl like Katie would go for anyway, at least when it came to his views on school, and that appeared to be all that really mattered to her, anyway.

At last, Mrs. Vanderbilt let us go, and we began to pack up. As Katie and I walked out of the classroom together, I looked over at her. "By the way, I really hope you know that Zach can't always be your safety blanket. Sooner or later, you're going to have to step outside of your comfort zone."

"And when you do?" she asked me evenly.

"I might just be waiting." And with that, I headed off, away from her.

So, it looks like James might be making his move...and he might just be proving that he's not the guy everyone seems to think he is.

I hope you guys enjoyed it, and I'd love to hear what you thought of it, so please, please, please review! You have no idea how happy it makes me to read your opinions and theories and you think will happen next. :)

And for those of you who live in the U.S, in case I don't update before then, Happy 4th of July! :D