Disclaimer: Are you kidding me? Do you really think I'd be allowed to own Big Time Rush what with all the crap I put the characters through in my stories? I don't own Big Time Rush.

InLogansBed: Speechlessness can be good, right? Aww, I'm sorry. And it is absurd. Katie doesn't want to get James involved, otherwise she'd tell him in a heartbeat. As always, thank you for taking the time to read and review, I really appreciate it :)

KnylonMaslow: Wasn't it? Haha she kinda does. Thank you for taking the time to read and review, I always appreciate it :)

Rusher24seven: Hopefully those questions will be answered in this chapter ;) Thank you for taking the time to read and review, I really appreciate it. Also, I love your name! :)

Maslover4life: I'm updating, I'm updating, please don't die! Thank you for taking the time to read and review, I appreciate it so much :)

Thank you to everyone who has read, followed, favorited, and reviewed this story! You guys rock!

A/N: I'm so sorry for the late update! I know it's been over two weeks, but I got stuck with this chapter and I had a bunch of stuff come up. Forgive me? This is a long chapter - over 6,000 words - but a lot happens and everything that happens in here is necessary. The plot's about to get kicked up a notch, so the story should be going quite a bit faster now.

Warnings: Language, sexual innuendos, and underage drinking.

Enjoy the chapter :)

Chapter Fifteen – Schemes and Traps

James' POV

There wasn't anything new about waking up in a strange bed next to a strange girl, in a strange room. I had done it enough times in the past three years that I should have been used to it by now.

But it was still a little weird to open my eyes to an unfamiliar room, to an unfamiliar girl getting dressed, an unfamiliar pillow under my head.

I blinked, and everything came into sharp focus. A split second later, my head felt like someone had taken a shovel and done their best to crack it open.

I groaned, burying my face in the pillow, but my head continued to pound, a drum beat against my skull.

The girl let out an annoyed huff, before tossing my clothes on top of me. "Here. Hurry up and get dressed before my roommate gets here."

"I don't even get breakfast in bed?" I quipped as I slipped on my boxers, moving slowly and trying not to open my eyes too much. I was already thinking longingly of my own bed, of painkillers and icy water and my dark dorm room. The routine wasn't anything new. I didn't do drugs, I stayed resolutely away from them, but I had no problems with alcohol. And alcohol and sex were usually synonymous with each other, at least when I was involved.

"Nope, and hurry. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea."

"How could they get the right idea?" I demanded, stepping into my jeans and cringing as I opened my eyes a little more. Darkness…soft pillow…no thinking…

"I don't word getting around that I'm a slut. In fact – "

The next thing I knew, I was standing out in the hall with the rest of my clothes and my sneakers in hand, the door slamming shut in my face.

Was it really so hard to wait an extra thirty seconds while I finished getting dressed?

A door a little ways down and a girl poked her head out. Her eyes widened, and my face heated up as I recognized the girl – Katie.

Yeah, this was going to be a great day.

"James?" She rubbed her eyes, stepping out into the hall. She was in thick, cotton pajama pants and a sweatshirt, her hair pulled up into a messy ponytail. "What're you doing here – half naked?"

"Surprise strip tease?"

"I couldn't get that lucky. Are you – did you – you didn't – did you?"

"Depends on what you think I did or didn't do…"

Her face fell. "Oh. You did. You hooked up with someone…"

"I – yeah – maybe a little bit…"

"How do you hook up with someone a little bit? Do you only go all the way halfway?"

"No…"

"Whatever." She turned around. "It's not like it matters."

"Don't give me that shit. You're the one with a boyfriend. If you want me, then fucking dump him."

"You know why I can't dump him!"

"I don't know shit because you won't tell me! We've gone over this about fifty times by now. Until you break up with him, you don't get to get pissed because I slept with someone else."

"I'm not pissed off! It's none of my business, it doesn't matter!"

"Stop yelling! Please..." I added a little more desperately.

She sighed, before looking at me again. "Your jeans are still undone."

"Fucking hell…"

"Oh, James…" She marched down the hall, grabbed my hand, and dragged me into her dorm room, closing it behind her. She shut the curtains, flipped off the light, and directed me to her bed. "You got drunk too?"

"A little…"

"How do you – forget it, I don't even want to know. I'll go get you a bottle of water. I have Tylenol in my nightstand." With that, she headed out, and I gingerly pulled the drawer of her nightstand open.

It was nice and neat and precise, with a bunch of old postcards and pictures lying on one side of the drawer, and a random collection of other objects staying to the other. I reached for the bottle of Tylenol, but before I could wrap my fingers around it, a picture sticking out slightly from the stack caught my eye. I gently pulled it out, holding it up.

It was a picture of a little girl, around nine or ten, and a boy around eleven or so. They were sitting at a table on either side of a tall man with dark blond hair and brown eyes. The little girl's ponytail was tied with a pink ribbon, and the boy was in a school uniform. What looked like perfectly cooked grilled cheese sandwiches laid on plates in front of them.

I flipped the photograph over to check to see if it had been dated. Sure enough, scrawled across the back were the words, Katie, Paul, and Kendall – February 18th, 2008.

I turned the picture back over, staring at it. It was a little creepy and morbid to think that in just a year or so, the man sitting there with his kids, smiling and laughing over grilled cheese, would be killed in a car wreck, and the little girl who was beaming so brightly would be devastated beyond belief. And then there was the boy. I didn't get the feeling that the car accident had messed with him the way it had messed with Katie, but he also hadn't been there. He didn't blame himself for their father's death. But I was sure that there was a part of him that was still heartbroken, that would always be heartbroken, because he had lost his father so unexpectedly at such a young age.

The bedroom door swung open and I quickly slid the photograph back in with the others, grabbing the Tylenol bottle and closing the drawer.

Katie eyed me, a little suspiciously for a moment, before passing me a bottle of water. "How's the hangover?"

"It's a little better now that I'm not in bright light."

"Vampire," she teased as I uncapped the bottle and took a long sip, before popping a couple of Tylenol and chasing it down with another drink.

"What can I say? I like the dark."

"So I've gathered."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, before I asked, "So…how was your night with Zach?"

"Clearly not as good as your night was," she replied, a hint of bitterness creeping into her voice. "There was no alcohol and no sex. How'd you even get drunk, anyway?"

"There's this thing called beer, and when you drink too much of it – "

"I meant, where was the party, smartass."

"Ah. It's in the basement of Bastille Hall. It's kind of the party scene at Dalton Prep."

"Ah. Well, then it's a good thing you live there," Katie said crisply. "Who was the girl?"

"Hell if I know. She was petite with brown hair and brown eyes."

"You just described me."

"She reminded me of you…"

"I think you hooked up with Tara Steele."

"She told me she didn't want to get a reputation as a slut."

"Yep, that sounds like Tara. Be more careful who you hook up with next time," she suggested. "Because the girls you sleep with never turn out to be nice or sane."

"I've noticed that," I commented dryly.

"Or, you could, I don't know, stop hooking up with girls, period."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because you're not a natural born player. You have to get drunk to hook up with those girls, don't you?"

I didn't say anything to that; instead, I just stared at my water bottle.

"That's what I thought." She sat down beside me on the bed, placing her hand on my forearm. "Why? If you have to get drunk to sleep with them, then what's the point?"

"It's hard to explain."

"Well, try."

"It numbs things. It…" I winced as a sharp pain shot across my skull, closing my eyes until the agony melted back down to a twinge. "It helps."

"Apparently not that well, not if you're hung over; not if you're being kicked out of girls' dorms unceremoniously. That can't be fun."

"I'm used to it."

"Which is really sad."

I turned my head to look at her. "Are you mad?"

"That you hooked up with someone? Maybe a little," she admitted. "I shouldn't be, not when I'm with Zach and I'm not even telling you what's going on with that, but yeah, I'm a little upset. More jealous than anything, I guess. I don't like the idea of you with someone else, but I don't really have room to talk."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I don't have any claim over you, I gave it up the second I sent the text. I just wish things had turned out differently."

"They still can. Break up with him, Katie. Whatever he's got on you…I'm sure we can get him to back off. I'll get Lucy and Carlos and Dak and Jett to help, we can get you away from him."

She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could get any words out, her phone beeped. She checked it and sighed. "I'm supposed to meet Zach in the cafeteria for breakfast. You going to be okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just going to head back to my dorm and sleep off the hangover."

"Okay." Katie leaned over, kissing my cheek. "If this mess ever clears itself up, if you're not with anyone in the future, you're mine, got it? And when we sleep together, you're not going to get drunk. I want you completely sober."

I smiled a little. "Deal."

"Good." She pressed her lips to mine for a long moment, before pulling back. We wordlessly got up together and I reached for my clothes. She waited until I had finished getting dressed before leading me out of her dorm, and we walked out to the courtyard in silence. We went our separate ways, and I made my way back to my dorm, where I stripped and buried myself under the covers, falling back to sleep for the next few hours.

Logan's POV

The table was silent. We were in the middle of breakfast, and while Monday mornings were never anyone's favorite time to talk, usually a few words were exchanged at the very least. Instead, no one was saying anything, instead focusing on their food and resolutely not looking at Katie or Zach, who were sitting side by side like wooden statues, Katie's face carefully blank and Zach's triumphant.

I took a bite of my oatmeal, my gaze drifting over to the table across the room. I knew Katie's eyes would drift that way every few seconds, searching out James Diamond. He and Carlos were also in the middle of breakfast, shoveling down eggs and bacon like their lives depended on it, and I almost chuckled as Carlos swiped his bacon through the over easy egg yolk, gobbling it down happily.

It had been three weeks since our trip up to Winchester. We were now in mid October, a crisp, brisk feeling sweeping through the air as the leaves fell and the skies glittered an icy blue. Shimmering layers of frost swathed the courtyard grass in the morning, crunching underfoot as we walked across campus between classes.

It was my favorite time of year, the in-between time where it was neither autumn nor winter, more of a meshing of the two seasons. I loved sitting in my dorm with Katie, Kendall, Jo, and Camille, sipping on hot chocolate in the Huddle, curled up on the couches in front of the electric fire.

Only lately, I had been getting the urge to invite someone else to join us in the Huddle. And he was sitting right beside James, eating egg-sopped bacon.

Katie and I might have been in similar situations when it came to James and Carlos a few weeks ago, but right now, it looked like hers and James' story would be the next Romeo and Juliet, while there was – maybe – a little bit of hope for Carlos and me. I wasn't too sure, however. I had only really spoken to him in biology since James and Katie were staying away from each other and Carlos and I were both loyal friends, but it was better than nothing, and I found myself looking forward to biology class more than I ever had.

As I looked over at James' and Carlos' table, James glanced towards us, his eyes locking on Katie. I tilted my head to peer at Katie, and smiled just a tiny bit when I saw her gazing back at him.

Yeah, she and James definitely weren't over, that much was for sure.

I turned back to James' and Carlos' table, focusing in on Carlos. He looked up from his food and smiled over at me, giving me a little wave. I waved back, and Katie snapped out of it.

"Aww, you two have moved to waving at each other across the cafeteria," she teased, nudging me in the ribs. "That's so cuh-yoot!"

I blushed. "Shut up."

Camille and Jo both cackled, grinning at each other.

"You should ask him out," Camille advised me. "Since you two are so in looovvve."

"Shut up."

"Don't you want to marry him?" Jo asked me. "You two could have a wedding in the biology lab."

"Yeah, I'm done." I made to stand up, but Katie tugged at my sleeve.

"Come on, you know we're just screwing with you."

"Since when do you say screwing?" Zach demanded of her.

"Since I was corrupted by James," she replied, to which Kendall clapped his hands over his ears.

"Okay, gross! I don't need to hear that!"

Zach glared at her. "Keep your corruption undercover, Katie. I'm not going to have a girlfriend who was corrupted by James Fucking Diamond."

"Then maybe you shouldn't be dating me," she retorted, getting to her feet. "See you guys later." She stalked off across the cafeteria, her head turning once more towards where James and Carlos were sitting, before she pushed through the doors and out into the hall.

Zach got to his feet and followed her, muttering darkly under his breath.

A couple of hours later, I walked into second period biology. Carlos was already sitting at our table, his textbook spread out in front of him, though he wasn't reading it.

"Hey," I greeted him, setting my bag on the table. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

He glanced at me curiously. "What's up?"

"Katie and James."

"You mean our friends?"

"Yeah. The ones who haven't had any contact in the past few weeks."

"Tell me about it. James is driving me nuts. I keep seeing him and Katie looking longingly across the cafeteria at each other, but he keeps saying he's not going to do anything until she breaks up with Zach."

"Why is he being so stubborn? Isn't it obvious that he'd be doing us all a favor by stealing Katie away from Zach?"

"He doesn't like cheaters," Carlos shrugged. "His parents cheated on each other repeatedly when they were still married. I think he understands the psychology of it or whatever, because that's one thing he's never really seemed to hold against them, but he still thinks it's disgusting."

"Well, that explains that much." I sighed. "We have to do something. Katie's completely miserable, Zach is driving everyone up a wall, and it's obvious that James misses Katie."

"I don't know what to tell you, dude," Carlos said. "Katie won't tell James why she can't break up with Zach."

"Maybe if I could convince her to tell him…"

"James might do something if he knew what Katie was being threatened with," he agreed, nodding. "But I think he really just wants Katie to finally get up the nerve to stand up to Zach."

"I don't think she's ever really been good at telling Zach where to go. He's always been able to push her around, and he's used it to his advantage."

"Clearly." Carlos made a noise of disgust. "According to James, Katie can stand up to him. It's just getting her angry enough to, I guess."

"She's scared of him. I don't know why, but she is."

"Well, if you could convince her to at least tell James what's going on, he might be more willing to do something."

"I'll see what I can do. Let's just hope she actually listens to me."

"Agreed." Carlos bobbed his head.

Katie's POV

I sat down beside Logan in the Huddle on Monday evening, sipping on the hot chocolate I had just gotten from the coffee stand in the lobby. "So, what'd you want to talk to me about?"

"James, actually," Logan responded, blowing on his own hot chocolate and poking at a marshmallow floating on the surface.

I tensed slightly. "What about him?"

"Why won't you tell him what Zach threatened you with?"

"What makes you think Zach threatened me with anything?"

"James told Carlos who told me."

"Whatever." I ran my fingers through my hair. "It's no one's business what goes on between Zach and me."

"Katie, if he's threatened to hurt you – "

"He hasn't, okay? It's just stupid."

"But you're scared of him."

"I told you, it's stupid."

"Look, we can't help you if we don't know what's going on."

"I can't tell anyone, Logan."

"Did Zach tell you that?"

"It's unspoken. It's pretty obvious."

"But we need to help you. This isn't just about you," Logan added to me. "This is about all of us. Zach is driving everyone nuts."

"I'm aware," I said dryly. "You guys have made it very clear."

"And what about James?" he pushed. "Don't you think James deserves to know?"

"Of course I do. But, it's like I told you, I can't tell anyone."

"But does James really count as anyone?"

I gaped at him. "He's a person, isn't he?"

"Zach clearly doesn't see James as a threat. I'm sure it'd be okay if you told him what's going on."

"Really?" I quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah. And then he could help you."

"Ah. So, you think Zach doesn't see James as particularly dangerous, even though he and James almost came to blows in the cafeteria a couple of weeks ago?"

"I think James is off his radar for the time being, since you've had virtually nothing to do with him."

"Unfortunately," I mumbled. What I wouldn't have given to be off of Zach's radar permanently. At this point, all I wanted was a way out, but I had no idea how to get it besides wait for him to graduate and leave me behind. And I missed James. We may have only had a week together, but he had somehow managed to become a big part of my life. I wanted him back. I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take…

"Come on, Kat," Logan pleaded with me. "You won't talk to Cami or Jo or Steph or Kendall or me. We can't help you if you don't tell us, and since you clearly aren't going to, you should talk to James. Besides, he has the attitude that he has nothing left to lose. And he hates Zach with a passion. He'd do anything to knock Zach off his high horse right now. So talk to James."

I sighed deeply, sipping on my hot chocolate. "I just don't know. I don't want Zach to find out and then go after James. Besides, I'm not sure that there's anything that James can do."

"But if he can, then it's worth the risk, right?"

"Not if it means Zach somehow manages to get James kicked out of school."

"Zach's one person. An influential person, but he's not an army. Katie, Zach is only as strong as his power over you is. So think about that." He got to his feet. "I'm going to head to the library to try to get some homework done. I'll see you in the morning."

"See you in the morning," I said miserably, staring down at my cup. Logan headed off, leaving me by myself. There were a smattering of other students, but no one paid me much attention.

I wanted Zach out of my life. This threat was just hanging over my head, controlling my life, and I wasn't fighting it. I had never fought Zach, I had just let him walk all over me. And I was starting to get fucking sick of constantly playing the victim. I wasn't going to hide in the corner like a scared little girl afraid of the monster under her bed. Zach was a monster, but he could be conquered, vanquished, put in his place. I just needed someone to help me.

With a determination I hadn't felt since I was eleven, I pushed myself to my feet and, still clutching my hot chocolate, I walked out of the Huddle and down the steps, the heels of my booths clacking against the pavement. I reached the grass and crossed the courtyard, heading for Bastille Hall.

As I walked, I could hear the soft crunching of grass following me. The back of my neck tingled, my body stiffening. Someone was following me and I had a strange feeling I knew who it was.

I made a dash for the nearest building – the library – and pushed through the door, glancing over my shoulder.

Sure enough, Zach's two goon friends were about ten yards behind me, heading for the library as well. I locked eyes with them, before walking through the lobby and into the library, sitting down at a table in the middle of a relatively crowded section.

I could see James sitting off to the side with a few members of the play's cast. He glanced over at me and made to stand up, but I shook my head furiously. He frowned, but a moment later realization flashed across his face as the goons sat down opposite me.

I had no idea where Logan was, but hopefully he was close. Zach's friends creeped me out, and just being near them was enough to make me want to take a shower.

Nevertheless, I fixed a steely gaze on them and folded my hands on the table. "Why are you two stalking me?" I demanded.

"We're not stalking you," the one on my right replied.

"I beg to differ. You two don't look like you could have found the library yourself."

"We get that a lot," the one on my left said, almost thoughtfully.

"I can believe it. You look like Crabbe and Goyle."

"Who?"

"You know, from Harry Potter?"

My statement was met with blank stares, so I didn't press the point. "Anyway, you two were following me. Why?"

"Look, it's not like we go around stalking chicks for kicks, ya know?" Righty said. "Oh hey, that kinda rhymes…"

I fought back the urge to bang my head on the table. I was starting to wonder if my initial disgust was just my instincts telling me to stay away from those two before their stupidity could affect me.

"Well, you're stalking this chick, and it's kind of ticking me off."

"Zach told us to do it," Lefty informed me.

I blinked. Um…what?

"Yeah," Righty nodded. "He said we were to make sure you didn't have any contact with James Diamond."

I fought back the urge to scream. I was getting so sick and tired of Zach always trying to keep me away from James. He constantly acted like it was James who was the bad guy when Zach was the one blackmailing me into dating him. The whole freaking school saw James as this man whore leper, but no one knew the truth about Zach. If Zach ended up killing me, no one would suspect him. My murder would go unsolved, and then I'd have to haunt James or Logan or both of them until they annoyed the police enough to arrest the real culprit.

And in the meantime, I'd still be dead.

"Tell Zach that that wasn't part of our agreement," I hissed at them.

"I don't think Zach cares what the agreement is," Lefty shrugged unconcernedly. "Whatever the agreement is. He says that you're his and no one's going to take you away from him."

"He's only interested in me because he thinks he can rule the world through me."

"Look, we all know he's a bit psychotic – " said one of the creeps who was stalking me " – but he's not going to give up."

"I'll say. Now he's making you two follow me. I hope you're getting something in return."

"We are," Righty nodded, leering at me. "We're getting his leftovers."

"I – what?"

"His leftovers. The pussies he hits and quits."

My eyes widened. "He's sleeping with other girls?" I gasped out.

"Yeah, has been since last summer when he realized you weren't gonna put out."

I took a moment to recover from that shock. Zach was cheating on me? I knew I probably should have been more surprised, but somehow I managed to digest it pretty easily. I guess after everything he had done, that was just the icing on the cake. "Do you really think the girls he sleeps with are going to want to sleep with you two?" I asked.

They both shrugged. "He goes for the party-girls," Lefty explained. "The girls who get so falling-down drunk that they'd fuck a rock. They don't remember anything in the morning, and they'll do anything while drunk."

"That's really sick," I informed them, beginning to realize just why they creeped me out so much. "And you can tell Zach that I'm done playing his little games." I got to my feet.

"Doesn't he have something on you?" Righty asked, almost curiously. "He said he had something huge."

"Damn it!" I had almost forgotten why I was still putting up with Zach's crap. My mom. My mom's job. Shit.

I collapsed back in my chair, burying my head in my hands. Now what?

The answer was easy enough – get James to help. Everyone kept telling me to do that – he was the only one with the guts to stand up to Zach. But with those two goons following me, approaching James was going to be that much harder…

I chewed on my lower lip for a moment, before leaning back in my chair, grinning. "How would you two like to go to a party where you can get your own girls instead of Zach's leftovers?"

On Friday night, I slipped into skinny jeans, a purple halter top, and a cropped denim jacket. With Camille's help, my hair was transformed into a mess of curls. My makeup was smoky, I actually looked like I might've been 17 or 18 – which never happened this side of the universe – and I daresay that I was almost…hot.

Camille did nice work.

She wiggled into a tight, sparkly dress that accentuated her curves and would remind everyone that she had nice legs, before doing her own makeup and hair. "So, just remember, if you need a distraction I'll make out with those two goons, but I'm not sleeping with them. Stupid brutes aren't my type."

"They're not stupid," I said automatically.

She raised an eyebrow at me. "They accidentally told you that your boyfriend is cheating on you. Trust me, they're not exactly Albert Einstein."

"Uh huh…anyway, is everything in place?"

"Should be. Carlos is doing everything he can to get James to the party in case James actually decides to stay in tonight. Logan, Kendall, and Jo are going to be with us on the off chance that trouble makes an appearance, while Stephanie and I will act as a distraction if all the other girls go running from Dumbo A and Dumbo B."

"Hey, I liked that movie. Dumbo was an adorable elephant."

Camille face-palmed. "Of course you would get upset about me calling them Dumbo. Anyway, if we're lucky, there won't be any problems, but if there is…"

"If there is, we all make a run for it?"

"You're not making a run for anything in those shoes." She indicated the boot sandals she had forced me into. They were black with spiky heels and I felt like I was walking in stilts. I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to stay on my feet for the rest of the night. I had visions of crashing into someone's lap playing through my head, and I was steeling myself for utter humiliation at the hands of a pair of shoes.

"Gee, thanks." I rolled my eyes. "Ready?"

She checked her phone and nodded. "Yep. Logan just texted me. He's going to walk us over to Bastille Hall, and the others should be joining us shortly."

I grinned and together we walked out of the dorm, catching an elevator to the lobby where Logan was waiting for us. He was dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a crisp, button up shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his forearms.

I elbowed him teasingly as we walked out of the building. "Cleaning up for someone?"

His cheeks tinged red. "Shut up."

"I'm sure Carlos will like to see the buttoned-down you – figuratively speaking, of course."

"Okay, that's it, I'm going to go change!"

"No, you look fine," I assured him. "Trust me. Carlos is going to be all over himself trying to get to you tonight."

"Tonight's not about us," Logan reminded me. "It's about you trying to get rid of Zach."

"I know." I stumbled slightly as my heels sank into the grass, and Camille and Logan straightened me out, helping me along. "But that doesn't mean you guys can't have any fun in the process."

"We'll see."

"Yes, we will." I looked over my shoulder and mentally smirked when I saw Righty and Lefty following us. Logan and I had figured that they'd still be tailing me by tonight, which was why Camille and Stephanie would be acting as temptresses, in order to lure them away from me and supply them with enough beer to get an elephant drunk. If the two goons tried anything, they would be hit in the face with pepper spray and possibly whacked over the head with a Nokia phone.

"Did Zach ask you what you were up to tonight?" Camille asked me, slogging along beside me. She was walking much better than I was, even though her heels were a good inch taller than mine, but she was also more used to them. Because of her performing, she had had to wear all sorts of shoes. At one point she had even worn a pair of dominatrix boots, although I wasn't entirely sure they had been for a play.

"He did," I nodded, stumbling again. Logan caught me and straightened me out. "I told him I was hanging out with you guys. He didn't press me for details – I guess he'll get all the information he wants out of Righty and Lefty."

"And when he does get that information, what're you going to do?" Logan asked me.

"Well, hopefully those two," I jerked my thumb over my shoulder at Goon #1 and Goon #2, "will be so drunk that they won't remember anything, or they'll be out of commission until Monday morning."

"And if they're not?"

"Then James and I are going to have to work fast. That is, assuming James still wants to help me."

"He will."

We had reached Bastille Hall by this point. We walked through the entrance, and after a few minutes of trying to figure out where we needed to go, we located the basement.

Music was blasting, disco balls were flashing, and tipsy teenagers were grinding on each other.

I was pretty sure I had once seen something like this in a horror movie.

We made our way down the steps, guiding by the disco balls and the glow sticks that had been taped to the banister.

I reached the basement first and paused, glancing around. I couldn't see James in the half lit crowd, and I sighed. Now what?

"Let's go get drinks," Camille suggested from behind me, as if she had been reading my thoughts. She steered me over to the refreshments table, Logan trailing close behind us. Camille grabbed us all Cokes, before leading us through the room, searching for James and Carlos.

The basement was hot and stuffy and smelled like a mixture of sour cream and onion chips, beer, and sweat. And people actually liked this kind of thing?

I sighed, pushing my hair out of my face. Claustrophobia was beginning to kick in and all I wanted was to make a run for it, bursting out into the chilly night air, inhaling sharply like a dehydrated person downing a glass of ice-cold water.

I needed to get out of there, and soon.

"He's not here," I said after a couple more minutes of fruitless searching. "Guys, I need to get outside, I'm going nuts in here."

"We'll keep looking for him," Camille promised me, and I nodded, before turning around to head for the stairs.

I had known I was going to end up tripping inside at some point that night. It had been obvious, I wasn't coordinated nearly enough in these damn shoes. But it still came as a shock when my right heel caught the rug and I went tumbling into someone's lap.

"Hey, you found him!" Camille chirped. "I knew putting you in those shoes would be a good idea!"

I pushed myself up, a huge arm draping around my waist and pulling me into a sitting position. "Katie?"

Of all the laps, in all the towns, in all the world, I fell into James' Diamonds'.

It so figured.

I gave him an innocent smile. "Hi, James! I've been looking for you!"

He gaped at me. "Are you high?"

"No…"

"Are you drunk?"

I shook my head.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Well, I'm not too fond of the basement…"

"She has claustrophobia," Camille explained quickly.

James pushed me to my feet and stood up. "I'll take her outside. Why are you two here?"

"Oh, you know, just hanging out…" Camille said off-handedly.

"By the way, do you know where Carlos is?" Logan asked James.

"Yeah, he's DJ-ing."

"Thanks!" Logan scurried off to find Carlos, and James gripped my hand, leading me through the crowd of people towards the stairs.

"So, why are you here?"

"To see you. I need to get rid of Zach."

"Sorry, I don't do professional hits," he informed me as he pulled me up the stairs and through the door, into the lobby.

"No, that's not what I meant."

James flashed me a grin and I shoved his shoulder.

"Smartass," I clucked my tongue.

"Who, me?"

"Yes, you. Anyway, I need your help. I'm going crazy. I need your help to break up with him."

"Do I get to know what the threat is?" James asked me as we walked outside. Righty and Lefty were standing there like a couple of bodyguards, arms crossed.

"What're you two doing out here?" I demanded. "I thought you were coming inside."

"We changed our minds," Righty informed me, eyes narrowing in what could have been considered shrewdness if he actually had the brains God gave a coconut. "We've decided this is a trap."

"There're slutty girls in there."

They took off into the lobby and out of sight.

James blinked. "Aren't those the creeps who follow Zach everywhere?"

"Yeah, only now Zach's making them follow me everywhere. He told them he'd let them have his leftovers if they stalked me and made sure I stayed away from you."

James blinked. "Leftovers? We're not talking about dinner, are we?"

I shook my head. "Zach's been sleeping around, apparently."

"Oooh…" he let out a low whistle. "And he has the nerve to call me a man whore."

"Yeah, there's hypocrisy for you." I sighed, but perked up when I spotted Kendall, Jo, and Stephanie heading towards us. "Head on in," I told them. "Stephanie, you have a dumbass waiting for you."

She whined. "Can't Camille handle them both herself?"

"Probably, but it never hurts to have an extra set of boobs."

"Damn my cleavage!" she stalked inside huffily. Jo and Kendall cracked up, wished me good luck, and followed her in.

"Why are Stephanie and Camille handling the creeps?" James asked me.

"Because otherwise they'll go and tattle on me to the evil dictator."

"Ah. Think it's safe?"

"Well, considering the plan is to get those two drunk off their asses, I think so. And Logan and Kendall will be there."

"Again, do you think it's safe?"

"I'm an optimist, okay?"

"Clearly. Anyway, what did Zach threaten you with?"

We sat down on the steps and I sighed. "He told me he'd get my mom fired."

"How?"

"He said he'd call his dad and tell him that I've been cheating on him – Zach, not his dad – and that my mom knew about it. And he'll play the heartbroken card as well."

James chewed on his bottom lip. "Hmm…yeah, he's a manipulator all right…"

"What do I do?" I whimpered. "How do I get around him?"

"Break up with Zach. Say you're breaking up with him because he's cheating on you. If you need to, record the breakup. Send the recording to your mom and his dad immediately. Don't even wait until you're back in your dorm – send it the second the conversation is over, or until you have enough damaging information on him. If you can, get him to confess how he's been manipulating you."

I raised my eyebrows, impressed. "Wow…sneaky."

James grinned. "Huh. Maybe I should do that with my stepmom and the cops."

"Ya think?"

Before he could reply, I spotted a tall figure crossing the courtyard, heading towards us. I tensed at once, recognizing the guy immediately – Zach.

Well, crap.

So, on the bright side, Katie told James what Zach threatened her with. On the down side, Zach's still involved.

What'd you guys think? What do you think is going to happen next? Please review and let me know, I love hearing your thoughts and reactions to what's happening in the story! :)