it's been two, maybe three months, should i update? here's the second chapter, heartbreakers.

disclaimer: i do not, nor do i claim to own, big time rush.

"Kendall Donald, if you're not down here in -" Jennifer Knight looked at the golden wristwatch she sported, complimenting those golden sandals she'd bought 50% off at Macy's. Her eyes rolled, people would start arriving and Kendall was dragging his feet, literally, since he'd woken up. Given, that was a whole twenty minutes ago, "Fifteen minutes, I'm taking that laptop and selling it on Craig's List!"

"You had to pick the sleeziest of all resale websites, didn't you, Mom." Kendall's voice was distant, from Jenn's position on the stairs, but that meant he was up and either in his room - getting dressed - or in the bathroom - making some sort of progress. "I'll be down, don't worry. Get Katie to help you."

There was a second of silence, literally one second, before Jennifer tilted her head back in a mix of surrender and frustration, shouting, "Katie! I need help!"

Small footsteps, not from anyone weighing over ninety pounds, stomped down the upstairs hallway. Kendall smirked to himself, running fingers through the short haircut he had, before Katie appeared in the bathroom doorway. She was set on glaring, so Kendall was set on laughing. But, the younger Knight sibling was anything but amused, "I hate you, big brother." She said. "You owe me."

He leaned on the doorframe, "And why do I owe you, little sister?"

Katie could and would play that game, she crossed her arms and formed a smirk of her own, "Because, I know you're only worrying about how you look because of that new girl. I saw you talking to her, remember? And, I'll tell mom."

"You wouldn't." Outside of the family, that threat would sound absolutely ridiculous. Big deal, so what if Katie told their mother? But, the fact of the matter was, whenever Kendall was interested in a girl, Jennifer Knight took it upon herself to play matchmaker. It started in eighth grade, with Bailey Walker. It was the most embarrassing moment of young Kendall's life, he'd say. It was an infamous date, known around the neighborhood as the "You Tried, Kendall". In reality, he didn't try. Not at all. It was all Jennifer and a horrible plan to take the kids miniature golfing. Kendall only recently outgrew the nickname, "Butterfingers". He couldn't go back to those days. So, Kendall eyed his sister, then sighed. "What do you want?"

"Your lawn-mowing money, half of it, for a month." Katie was too proud. It was like she was waiting for a moment like this, when Kendall would have to agree, in order to strike. She was definitely a planner. Kendall started to protest, "Hey, mom!"

"Fine." His mouth was, essentially, closed, when Kendall spoke. Teeth gritted and fists balled, he shook on the deal. "It's a deal."

And, Kendall was suddenly regretting his choice to not help Jennifer. That was until he sprinted down the stairs and out the door. He almost ran into Mister Mitchell, a close call. The older man smiled, "Whoa there, Kendall. What's the rush."

Kendall noted the tucked in, red button down, the white visor and the navy shorts. It was not a mystery where Logan got his fashion sense. His Dad was a walking American flag. Still, he smiled back with a short wave, "Gotta go get the new neighbors."

"Oh, that girl the missus and I saw you talking to?" Dave Mitchell, Unofficial Neighborhood President. "She's a cute one, Butterfingers."

Kendall forced a laugh, "Yeah, she...yeah. You can just, you know, go inside. Straight through, past the kitchen. You know the routine." He was walking backwards down the sidewalk, pointing towards his house. For the second time, he almost ran into someone. This time, however, it was Missus Mitchell, "Oh, Mrs. Mitchell, hey."

"Kendall!" She grinned, hugging him with one arm and kissing his cheek. Kendall did all he could, to make his breath not catch. But, a vivid flashback of her saving his life made his heart thump. "Logan was right behind me, I swear."

Kendall shrugged, "That's alright, I've gotta go get the new neighbors."

"Oh! The girl from yesterday?" She piped. Did everyone in Hoover Hill see that? Did they not have better things to do? Kendall nodded, though, and Missus Mitchell smiled, "She's a cute one, isn't she."

"Yeah, I guess." He said, taking a step back and actually hitting someone this time. "Whoa, sorry."

"You think I'm cute?" Prudence had this amused smirk on her face, hands on her hips. Kendall faltered and flipped his hair back. She only chuckled, "I think you're cute, too." Then, she directed her attention to the adults, "Hi, I'm Prudence Fischer. This is my dad, Craig."

Her Dad stepped forward, offering a hand, "Hi, Craig Fischer." He looked down at the casserole dishes Missus Mitchell held, "Could I help you with those?"

Craig was almost as suave and collected as his daughter. If Kendall didn't know any better, he'd say Lady Mitchell had a crush - maybe even Mister Mitchell. He spent the next ten seconds thinking about if they were really aliens, who easily gained the trust of humans by being completely warm and friendly. But then, Prudence bumped his hip - though, it was a couple inches higher than hers - and nearly knocked him over. Kendall looked down at her and mock glared, shaking his head.

She clapped her hands together, grinning, "So, where's this Annual Fourth?"

Kendall perked up at that, "Right, follow me." And he took her around the side of the house, the shortcut that didn't involve dropping various pasta, potato and tossed salads in the kitchen. There were about ten people already there, at a party meant for forty. Hoover Hill was a big suburb, and a patriotic one at that. He stood, just past the gate, waiting for Prudence to follow. She did, and stepped past him after closing the wooden, picket gate. The smile she gave him was almost intoxicating, bright like Fourth of July fireworks. Looking back on it, that was probably the moment. He read it on the internet once: when a man spots a woman he finds attractive, he holds his gaze for at least 8.2 seconds. Kendall remembered, when he saw Prudence walk through the gate to his backyard, not looking away for exactly 11.6 seconds. The party was behind her, a suprisingly perfect backdrop. She shook her once tight ponytail loose, and glanced around the party at the guest who were a bit more Stepford than they should have been. Kendall smiled at that. This girl was something else. She spotted him, then, and raised her eyebrow. Her patriotic, awfully cliched tank top - loose, with an American flag across it - was a sight. It had to be from the nineties.

He felt suddenly self-conscious. He was dressed so casually, jeans and a blue striped v-neck. He was always under the impression that the neighborhood took this thing too seriously, decking themselves out in Fourth garb. But, Prudence did it. And, why that changed things, he wasn't sure. She cleared her throat, and it was then he noticed he was staring directly at the flag plastered across her chest, "Oh, uh, sorry. You're...the flag."

"Oh, this piece of shit?" Mark down this date, the first time he heard Prudence swear - certainly not the last. "I bought this at Goodwill earlier. It smells like body odor and I wouldn't be wearing it, if I wasn't trying to impress the Hoover Hill Highhats."

"Highhats? I like it." That wasn't Kendall's voice. His mouth was open, but that wasn't him talking. He turned and looked over his shoulder. Hello, James Diamond. Goodbye, Suave Kendall. Prudence smiled, her hands in her back pockets, "Hi, I'm James. You must be..."

She didn't seem hooked, which was a good sign. Kendall knew her for nearly twenty-four hours, and he could already read that expression. Prudence was amused, not attracted and not smitten at the sight of his best friend/neighbor. She just laughed, "I'm Prudence."

Logan stepped up, on the left side of Kendall, a Sprite in his hand, "Oh, the dying girl." Then his eyes went wide, because there was no way he'd meant to say that. "I mean..."

"No, no. It's totally fine." Prudence laughed. Thank God, she laughed. Kendall watched, nervously, as Carlos joined them. "It's nice to meet you guys, Dick Cloud has told me...absolutely nothing about you. Because, we just met yesterday."

The boys laughed. Whether it was at the nickname, 'Dick Cloud' or what she'd said after, he didn't know. But Kendall was quickly back to supporting his alien theory. It was so easy, too easy, for Prudence to talk to people. And that was another memorable moment, the moment he was hooked on the Fischer's line. She was talking, animatedly, to his friends. It was as if they'd known eachother for years, like old friends catching up. The sun was setting, Kendall's drink was watered down by that point and Prudence looked beautiful in the light. James slapped a hand on the blonde's back, "Kendall here probably wasn't the best to greet you."

"Kendall?" She asked, "That's your name? I like it, it suits you."

Carlos pointed between Pru and Kendall, "You didn't know his name?"

Prudence shrugged, "It didn't come up."

"Yes, it did!" Kendall laughed, "You refused to hear it. You were dead set on Dick Cloud."

James shrugged, "It's better than Butterfingers."

"I hear that." Logan agreed, sipping what had to have been his third Sprite.

She was clearly intrigued by that, and Kendall mentally noted to kick his friends' ass tomorrow, "Wait a minute, Butterfingers? What's that?"

Kendall shook his head, "The delightful candybar, yellow wrapper. Heard of it?"

But, the boys weren't having any of it. They were going to tell the story if it killed them, "Mamma Knight, Kendall's mom, planned this date for Kendall and some girl we go to school with - you'll probably meet her soon, she hangs around still -"

"God knows why." Carlos cut James off with a laugh. The tallest boy nodded, raising his Mountain Dew and taking a sip, "Anyway, it was eighth grade, none of us could drive - obviously - so Mamma Knight was going to take Kendall and Bailey - that's her name - mini golfing."

Logan stepped in, next, it was like story-telling hot potato, "And everything was going great. We'd prepped our boy here, "He patted Kendall, hard for Logan, on the back, "And he was going to have the time of his life, whacking some balls with Bailey." He paused a minute, "Wait, I meant..."

"So, they get there," James took over again, "And they start playing. I think it was around the third hole, and Kendall was feeling cocky. So, he was like, "I'm gonna get a hole-in-one, watch Bailey." Obviously, trying to impress her."

Prudence gave Kendall a look, the amused look she gave James - but it felt different, because when directed towards him, it was laced with sympathy, "Did it work?" She asked.

Carlos laughed, "No, not at all. Kendall swings back, right? He's all ready to get that hole-in-one, and then..."

"BOOM!" They all chorused, like they'd rehearsed telling his ultimate humiliation - just in case.

Laughing, Logan kept on, "Hits Bailey right in the face with his club. It slipped right out of his hands."

Kendall assumedit was about time for him to defend himself, and he stepped forward, saying, "I was nervous and my hands were sweating. Besides, I got to spend the night with her in the hospital."

"No, you fell asleep in the waiting room and no one noticed you were there until her parents came back in the morning." James remarked. And, while he was right, he didn't need to harsh Kendall's brief swag.

Prudence was in hysterics, laughing harder than Kendall thought was needed. But, the boys were joining her, and he imagined he would, too, had the story not been about him. Big deal, he broke a girl's nose. Butterfingers wasn't even a clever name. Neither was Dick Cloud. Kendall took a step back, "I'm going to get the fireworks. I'll...be back." He pulled James back, too, holding onto his arm. "Don't do anything stupid."

James smiled, "Rule. Of. Dibs."

He wasn't about to argue with James. He took those rules too seriously. Those snack foods were going to rot before they could eat them. Kendall stalked off to the garage, setting his drink on the hood of his dad's unused 2006 Honda Civic. Kendall took a moment to just stare at it. A brand new car, never used. It'd been sitting in the garage since the day his dad bought it. It wasn't like he knew he would never get to drive it. Nobody did. Jennifer didn't dare drive it. Kendall didn't even think about it. Katie refused to go into the garage, most of the time, because it was there. It was a constant reminder of something lost. Quickly, Kendall realized what he'd done and snatched the cup off of the car. He used the bottom corner of his shirt to wipe away the condensation. Then, he took a step back. It should shake him as much as it did. Or, maybe it should have. That car was the last of Donny Knight.

The running joke that he was Jordan Knight and Donnie Wahlberg's love child crossed Kendall's mind, brought him back to reality. His dad was gone, but life went on. And right now, life was the Annual Fourth - which was seriously lacking fireworks, now that the sun had set.

Kendall heaved the giant box of explosives and carried it out to the party, handing it off to Mister Garcia - the designated "responsible adult" who would set them off. The boys stood back, and Kendall noted that Prudence was nowhere to be found. Just as he was about to open his mouth, ask where she was, someone tugged on his shirt. He looked behind him, smiled and nodded towards the almost ready fireworks, "Come on, watch with us."

Prudence shook her head, nodding behind her and pulling on Kendall's hand. He thought he was dreaming when she whispered, "Do you have a ladder?"

But, he nodded and pulled her towards the garage, hoping no adults saw. The ladder was on the wall, across from the Civic, and Kendall made a b-line for it. He probably should have asked what she wanted it for, but there wasn't anytime to second guess himself around this girl. He lifted the orange-painted ladder and turned to Prudence, who was running her hand over the car, "Don't touch that." He almost shrieked.

Pru looked up, almost scared, "Why not?" Then she looked from Kendall, to the car, back to Kendall. Somehow, she'd put something together in her mind, and she knew. Quietly, Prudence removed her hand from the car and said, "Your dad."

Kendall didn't acknowledge that comment, "Come on, let's go." The garage door opened with the push of a button, "Where am I taking this?"

Prudence bit her lip and put her hands on her hips, staring up at the garage. She pointed, "Over there." Kendall did so, and Prudence immediately started climbing, "Come on, loverboy. We're going to miss the fireworks."

"The roof?" Kendall laughed, "You want to go on the roof?"

"Of course, where else are we supposed to watch? I mean," She turned and looked down at a slowly climbing Kendall, "Your friends, they're great, but I picked you, remember? Now, come on."

He just watched her, dumbfounded, "Wait, what do you mean you 'picked me', Prudence Fischer?"

"I mean, Kendall Knight," She was making a habit of mocking him, "Get your ass up here. Carlos' dad is starting already."

So, he climbed faster. Because Prudence asked him to. And soon, they were seated, side by side, on the black shingled roof. Kendall's arm was over Pru's, and she was leaning closer to him with every explosion. Occasionally, he'd look over at her. The most adorable, wide-eyed, innocent look was on her face, and making him smile. Then, she started shouting, 'Ooh!' and 'Aah!' dramatically, laughing at herself. Kendall joined, even though nothing was truly funny. It felt good to laugh with Prudence. He didn't even think about saying it, when it came out it was as much of a shock to him as it was to Prudence. But, his lips formed the words and his vocal chords made a noise that sounded a lot like, "I want to know everything about you, Prudence Fischer."

She only looked at him, the same look of wonder in her eyes, before smiling, "And, that's why I picked you, Kendall Knight."

Then, Prudence leaned in and kissed him. It was soft, and - much like the Katy Perry song - tasted like cherry chapstick. There were literal fireworks going off in the background, and Kendall was in bliss. Mentally, however, he was in termoil. Reminding himself not to fall in love with the strange new neighbor girl. The oddly named, extremely forward neighbor girl with the gorgeous smile. The new neighbor girl, Prudence Fischer, who was dying - and didn't care who knew.

Then, there was the part of him that was smirking, and remarking, "Best Fourth of July ever."