.:Chapter Six:.

Logan reached out and knocked on the apartment door, took a step back, and waited for someone to answer it. He let out a deep breath, running a hand through his hair, only straightening when he heard the sound of rapid footsteps heading in his direction. Why was he so nervous? He hadn't been this nervous since the time he had asked her out for the first time. Not only was he, in a way, meeting her father for the first time that day, but he hadn't gone out with a girl that had been as straightforward as her.

In fact, if he remembered correctly, she had basically asked herself out for him.

But that wasn't why he was nervous that day. They had to have a serious conversation he wasn't sure how to start. Especially when it was a conversation he knew Kendall wasn't going to have with her himself. If there was anything Logan hated more than anything else, it was being the bearer of bad news.

"I got it, Dad, it's just Logan," he could hear Camille say from the other side of the door then winced.

To say her father didn't like him was a bit of an understatement. The outward affection that Camille showed Logan made her father uncomfortable, especially considering how close the two of them were. Her mother was still in Connecticut, waiting for the best chance to move out there. As Camille had told him, she never saw the point of completely moving if her daughter didn't have a steady job. So Mr. Roberts took care of his only daughter and watched her like a hawk whenever the situation called for it and in his opinion, anything having to do with Logan called for it.

"I just want to say 'hi'," Mr. Roberts replied in a calm voice.

"Daddy, you saying 'hi' is just a way for you to turn him into a quivering mess," Camille's voice sounded again.

"You have to admit it's not that hard to do so."

"Daddy!" The door flung open and Camille turned to her boyfriend with a bright smile, pushing her hair behind her ears. "Hey, baby!" She walked forward, placed her hands on Logan's cheeks and gave him a kiss. "I was wondering when you were coming by." She looked at her watch. "I thought you said to be ready by noon."

"I did," Logan agreed. "I, uh, just had something I needed to take care of first."

He shifted his gaze away from Camille. Yeah, he had something he had to take care of alright, if trying to figuratively talk Kendall down from the ledge was 'something'. He had never seen his friend look so down before. Normally he was really good at hiding whatever it was that was on his mind, not wanting to bother anyone with his own problems. But when the door to their room closed and they were turning in for the night—if Kendall was staying at 2J—it was when he let his guard down to talk about what was on his mind.

It didn't take a genius to know that his father wanting to get back together with his mother was something that Kendall had wanted for a while, but now that it was something that could happen again, he was starting to panic. Was it what he really wanted or was it what his younger self had wanted? A sense of normalcy in a life that had completely fallen apart.

It was then Logan had asked if Kendall was still thinking about the times that his father had beaten him and if he was worried that he would then go on to beat his mother if they got back together. Kendall had denied it and then Logan changed the subject slightly, asking if it was that he was worried about everyone finding out about him having been beaten more than anything else. Once again, Kendall had denied it.

He's getting better at keeping his thoughts to himself, Logan thought before clearing his throat once more. "Anyway, we should get going or I'm going to be late. And if I'm late, Gustavo is actually going to kill me this time."

Camille chuckled. "I'm sure he can threaten you with that as much as he wants, but he knows you guys are what're keeping him hot right now." She reached over to the side and grabbed her keys to the apartment, shoving them into her purse. "Well, I'm ready to go, but my Dad wants to say 'hi' to you first." She stepped aside to allow Mr. Roberts to fill up the doorway.

Logan gulped slightly and took a step back. Though Mr. Roberts was nothing more than a banker he was still a father to a daughter and had a way of appearing more and more intimidating as the days went on. Flashing a smile, Logan held out his hand towards the man. "It's good to see you again, Mr. Roberts," he said.

"It's good to see you too, Logan," Mr. Roberts replied. He gave a tight-lipped smile, shaking Logan's hand. "I'm glad that you're taking care of my daughter and that you're making her happy."

Logan pulled his hand back. "I'm glad I'm making her happy, too," he said honestly. "I mean, I never thought I'd be the kind of guy that she'd want to go out with—"

"—and that's the kind of boy that you are," Mr. Roberts continued. "And that brings me to the point that I'd like to get to know you better."

"Dad," Camille whispered.

Logan's eyebrows twitched. Get to know my better? What does that mean? "Sir?" He replied uneasily.

"I mean, I've noticed that you can't ever seem to look me in the eye for longer than a few seconds, like you're scared of me or something," Mr. Roberts continued. "And that's the last thing that I would want. For my daughter to date someone that's afraid of her father. So I figured you could come over for dinner one day. So we can get to know each other better and so that I can see the kind of guy that Millie here is always telling me about."

"Dad, that's enough," Camille said. She took a step forward and slipped her hand over Logan's wrist. She stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a comforting kiss to the underside of his jaw. Her smooth hair slid over his shoulder, tickling his cheek, allowing the scent of her shampoo to envelope him. "He's really not as bad as you think, Logan. I promise. He just thinks it's funny to terrorize you."

"That too," Mr. Roberts agreed. "But I really do want to get to know you." He looked at his watch. "So why don't you come along to dinner with us tonight."

"I, uh…" Logan thought quickly. "I might not be able to make it. I've got photo shoots and interviews I'm doing today and I also have some rehearsing to do for our tour and that's, like, an all day thing."

"Don't worry about it, Daddy, we'll get together some other time." Camille tightened her grip on Logan's wrist. "I'll see you later. Love you." With a sharp tug, she pulled Logan away from the apartment and practically dragged him to the elevator. She didn't speak again until the doors were closed and they made their descent to the lobby. "I'm sorry about that, Logan," she apologized to him. "It's just that he was asking about your family and I was telling him about your mother and grandmother…" she shook her head. "I guess when I said I didn't know much about your father he got a little concerned."

His breath hitched in his throat. He knew what was coming, it had taken him this long without having to mention it and now it was going to blow up in his face. Thanks a lot, Kendall. The bitter thought had struck him before he could stop himself and the sudden surprise stemming from the malicious blame put on his best friend shocked him. How could he blame Kendall for something like this? It wasn't his fault that Kevin had decided to turn his life upside down even further. Things had been going so great for them…they were starting to make their relationship work again, and then he had to drop that bomb…

"Why?" Logan knew why.

It was the same reason why people sympathized with James and Kendall over their lack of fathers. As he was an only child his mother and grandmother had taken care of him for a long time. Longer than he could remember when his father was actually in the picture. It was the same thing each time; a boy that grows up without a father doesn't know what it means to be a man.

He's going to turn out to be some sort of damaged goods that wouldn't know how to treat other people right.

"He's just worried about me, Logan," Camille defended him. She laced her fingers through his as they walked to the Big Time Rush mobile. It was his day to have the car, though he was now starting to realize that if they were all going to go their separate ways that he needed to be get his own set of wheels. "You know that. He's been worried since I decided to make the movie out to LA to become an actress. And…he was the one that was there for me each and every time I got rejected before I finally got my by break."

"So what? Does he think that I'm just using you or something?" Logan tried his hardest to keep the bitterness out of his voice. But whenever the subject of father's came up, he couldn't help but get a little testy.

"Well, you're in a band that had hundreds of thousands of girls throwing themselves at you day after day," Camille pointed out. Logan smiled, detecting a bit of jealousy in her tone. He unlocked the doors to the Big Time Rush mobile and the two climbed inside. Logan pulled on his seatbelt and reached out to grab onto the keys in the ignition, but Camille's hand on his thigh stopped him in his tracks. "He just wants to be sure that you're the kind of guy that I don't have to worry about."

Logan smiled. "You don't have to worry; I only have eyes for you."

Camille smiled back. "You're only saying that because you know I'll destroy any girl that gets in my way."

"You're absolutely right." Logan leaned over and gently pressed his lips against Camille's. Camille took the initiative and leaned into him, not being restrained by seatbelt, and deepened the kiss. Logan's sense came alive, his surroundings completely fading away. Nothing else mattered to him at that moment than holding his girlfriend in his arms; not the inevitable conversation they had to have about him going back to Minnesota, not the status of their relationship when they left, not the dark cloud that loomed over their heads, not the tour, not her job, nothing. All that mattered was him and her in that moment.

Camille finally pulled back long enough so they could catch their breath. Logan kept his forehead pressed against hers, his eyes roving to look at each spot of her face, taking in the freckles on her cheeks and colorful specks in her eyes that couldn't otherwise be seen unless one was that close.

"Can I ask you something?" Camille reached a hand up and gently ran her nails around the shell of his ear, causing him to let out a quiet sigh of appreciation. "How come you never talk about your father?"

Logan's eyes squeezed tightly for a moment then he leaned back and studied her carefully. He should've known this conversation would come up eventually. Frankly, though, he expected the one about Kendall's father first. "He's in jail," he said simply. It wasn't even a story to him anymore. It was a matter of fact, a statistic. He and his family had become a statistic and it was the best way for him to look at things. "Drug trafficking. Heroin I believe."

Camille let out a light gasp, her lips parting slightly. "W-what?"

Logan let out a humorless laugh, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I thought it was a joke when Mom first told me. But then I realized, from what I remembered, it made sense. Besides, everyone in Texas always knew about it." He turned away. "They would give us strange looks; kids in my class would tease me, saying I was a crack baby. Stupid things like that."

Tilting her head so it rested on the seat, Camille regarded him with sympathy. Instead of it being fake sympathy, something that seemed to have been expected rather than natural, he could tell she was really hurting for him. "And that's why you moved to Minnesota?" She asked.

Logan nodded. "Yeah. Mom said she couldn't take the attention anymore. In my neighborhood, the outskirts of the city, everyone knows everyone else's business." He lifted his hands, waving them around slightly then dropped them back to his lap. "She was tired of being the topic of everyone's conversations and even as a real estate agent there were people who would look at her funny. She wanted a new start so we moved to Minnesota and met Kendall, James, and Carlos and…"

He didn't need to finish the story; she and the rest of the world knew how BTR got their beginning. However, there was something else he needed to say and he hoped Kendall wouldn't hate him for it. "At first, I didn't think we'd click. Carlos was such a wild child that seemed to feed off of Kendall's plans for getting in trouble, and James followed along with them. They had their own thing going on and I felt weird for jumping right into it. But then one day I heard Kendall's plan to get a substitute teacher to keep from giving us a test that was scheduled for that day, because he hadn't studied, and I told him how overly complicated his plan was."

Camille giggled. She knew all about Kendall's plans and how he would quickly come up with one whenever something went wrong or he felt the need to help a friend. She had used her acting expertise and endless stream of costumes to help them out on more than one occasion. So she was well versed in the ways that Kendall's plans could easily go wrong. "That sounds about right," she said.

"And I told him the easiest way to be able to do it was to confuse the teacher, to convince them that it was the wrong day for the test and that we had, actually, already taken it," Logan explained. "And after that worked, we had become best friends. They taught me how to play hockey, I helped them with their homework, and we just clicked I guess. I got to know them so well that they ended up becoming my brothers." Logan licked his lips and took a shuddery breath. "Which was why I had been so…angry and frustrated when I heard what had happened to Kendall."

Camille's eyebrows furrowed together. "What happened?"

"His father left," Logan said simply. "That's all we thought it was. We thought that he had up and left and James, Carlos, and I were mad at him because he had hurt our brother. But the thing was he hadn't just hurt him by leaving them. He…did something a lot worse." He ran a hand over his face, now looking away from Camille. "It's what I wanted to tell you the day we had gone to lunch with everyone. That thing that Jo knows…"

"What is it Logan?" Camille reached out and gently caressed the sides of his face. She brushed his falling strands out of his eyes, rubbing her thumb over his cheek. "You can tell me."

Logan brought up his hands and placed them over Camille's gently, running his fingers over of the back of her hands. "'Mille…Kendall's dad beat him." He could feel Camille's hands clench slightly, her fingers digging into the sides of his face, causing him to wince slightly. She curled her fingers in, keeping her nails away from his face, her eyes searching his.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"Yes, Camille. I'm serious."

"…How come he's never said…?" Camille pulled her hands back and rested them in her lap. He could see she was doing her best to stay calm. "But, how come we haven't seen…? What?"

"For the most part he didn't remember it happened," Logan said. "He had blocked it out and it wasn't until the stress of coming out to LA and seeing him again that he started to remember. And when he remembered, he talked to Mama Knight and then…things snowballed from there."

Camille slowly nodded; her face blank. Suddenly, recognition came to it. "So that's why he was so upset at his father at the trial…because he was representing someone that had beat their own kids and was trying to make him seem innocent!" She snapped her fingers. "That's like that movie that I auditioned for last year: Murder by Mother!"

Logan gave her a funny look. "Lifetime movie?"

"Good guess."

His lips curling at the corners Logan shifted so he was looking out the front of the car. He was going to be late now; there was no question about that. But he didn't care at the moment. "So now that Mr. Knight wants to get back together with her…"

"…He's afraid that he'll start up again," Camille finished his thought for him. "I can see that." She then sucked in a sharp breath, looking at her boyfriend seriously. "You said only Jo knows about it? About him hitting Kendall?"

"Apart from me, Carlos, and James?" Logan nodded. "Yeah, she's the only one who knows."

"Not even—"

"Nope."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Camille protested. "Why wouldn't Kendall, or Katie for that matter, tell the Jacksons what happened? If anyone would understand, they would."

"I don't know," Logan said honestly. "All I know is that Kendall made us promise not to tell them and we're not going to. It's none of our business to tell them."

Camille's eyes shifted into a knowing look. "Were you supposed to tell me?"

Logan smirked. "Not really, but I felt I had to at some point. He'll get over it."

"Really?"

There was a brief pause from the smarter member of the boy band. Camille laughed. "Probably not," he finally admitted. "In fact, he may use my head as a hockey puck. But he'll understand why I had to say something." He leaned into Camille and gave her another long kiss. "But we have to get going now or else Gustavo is going to use my head as his personal punching bag and, personally, I prefer a hockey puck."

Camille laughed again and settled back into her seat, pulling on her seatbelt as Logan turned on the car. He slowly backed out of the parking space and headed off towards Pop Tiger headquarters. It was going to be one of the last times he and the boys worked with them and he was going to make the best of it.

"OK boys; turn this way slightly…yeah like that."

Kendall, Logan, Carlos, and James held their poses as the Pop Tiger photographer continued to take picture after picture of the boy band. On the other side of the room the Jacksons, Dak, and Jo were watching the boys finish up the pictures before having to move onto the interviews that would be taking place afterward.

"It's kind of weird to know that this is going to be some of their last interviews as a band together, "Dak remarked, slouching in his seat, crossing his legs at the knee. His arms were out along the sides of the chair, Rhuben pressed against his side in the seat. "Of course after they're done they're just going to get more questions about the band possibly getting back together." He shook his head. "I never would've thought they would end it."

"You probably didn't think Katie would go crawling through air ducts for you either, mate," Patrick remarked, tossing a grape at him. It bounced off his forehead and rocketed to the floor. He cheered and slapped Noah a high-five.

"You really need to get over your jealousy of that, weasel," Rhuben commented with a lazy grin over towards her brother.

Patrick pouted and turned to Riley, who was sitting on the arm of a chair that Jo and Sydney were squeezed into, holding onto a pair of shirts on a hanger, looking back and forth between them. "Ri-bread, make her stop making fun of me!" He called over to her.

"Can't stop doing something that brings us so much joy, Pattycakes," Riley replied with a smirk. Sydney laughed loudly. She dropped the shirts into her lap and stuck her tongue out at her brother as he pouted, looking down at his hands. "No, but I get your point, Teen Icon. Considering they haven't actually announced it they're going to get nothing but backlash from the fans when the time comes, yeah? I don't think they're ready for that."

"Really?" Jo shot a concerned look over at James as he stood off to the side of the background set up for the photo, laughing along with Kendall, who looked happier than he had in days. "They've had to deal with some backlash before though, haven't they?" She stood up from the chair, taking the shirts from Riley and placing them back on the rack that sat beside them as it was filled with the rest of the looks the guys had used during their photo session.

The year before, the Jacksons had hired Jo to be Riley's assistant in the wardrobe department, helping her out whenever the costume closet needed organizing, when things had to be ordered for photo shoots or video shoots, getting new clothes from stores, getting samples that were being sent in from various designers and record companies, and accompanying Riley whenever she went to style someone that was under the Blazing Phoenix record label. Though Riley wasn't contracted to work with Big Time Rush anymore, she had decided to do the last photo shoot as a favor to Gustavo, taking Jo along to help her out.

Dak had gone along as he was going to be one of the opening acts to Big Time Rush's summer tour that the boys were headlining with Blazing Phoenix—after the Jacksons had changed their band name from the DarkElements to Blazing Phoenix, reminiscent to the mystical bird that was always reborn and the namesake to their father's record company. He was scheduled to have his interview done after Big Time Rush had finished theirs.

"Not in the way you'd think," Noah said to her. "They've had some problems with production on videos and then some fans that started to bad mouth them if some fans were paid more attention to on Scuttle Butter than others, but nothing like this."

"When it comes to rumors of a band ending, it does nothing but bring chaos and drama, Joey," Sydney added, giving her a meaningful look. "Especially when it's all speculation. You have fans that say they're ending like they know for sure, then the diehard fans that say they'll never break up. And you're going to disappoint someone." He shrugged as if he was saying that was the breaks of the music industry and it was.

There were so many bands that deserved to have more recognition that didn't simply because of a bad experience, getting black listed, or because people weren't helping them as much as they could've been. One of the worst things about being in the music industry was when your band ended and you had to figure out what else to do. Reporters speculated over what caused the band to split, who was going solo, who was mad at the other band members, who would be the one to be the most successful, who would crash and burn…

It was a heavy cloud that was now starting to creep over the boys and they didn't like it.

"Dak?" A Pop Tiger intern walked over to the teen icon, a clipboard clutched to her chest. "We're ready for your interview now."

"Great, thanks." Dak got to his feet, stretching his arms over his head. He turned back to Rhuben, holding out his hand towards her. "You coming?" She glanced up at him, startled and then nodded, standing up and taking his hand. "You?" He turned back to the rest of the Jacksons.

"Nah." Sydney shook his head, his fringe flying in his face. "We're probably going to have our interview soon and Ronan basically threatened us with no dessert if we're not in his line of sight,"—he made a 'V' with his fingers and pointed them towards his eyes then across the room where Gustavo, Mrs. Knight, Kelly, and Ronan were standing (in that order)—"at all times."

"I find it so funny that you all will do basically anything within the thin line between legal and illegal and yet you're still afraid of getting your dessert taken away," Camille said.

"You try having to go without sugar for a day," Riley defended herself. "And see how you feel."

Dak chuckled, squeezing Rhuben's hand in his as they started to walk off towards the room where his interview was going to be. Leaning forward, he gazed into her face and then slowed to a stop, swinging his arm forward so that she spun in front of him. With his free hand, Dak lifted her chin so she was looking at him. "OK, what's wrong?" He pressed.

Rhuben shrugged. "Nothing," she denied.

"I think I know you well enough at this point to know when something's bothering you, Sugar Plum," he insisted. "What is it?"

The breath that Rhuben blew out of her mouth moved her purple strand off her forehead. "I'm just worried about the boys," she said. "They're all putting up a front at this point, and I know they're going to smash the tour…I just don't think they understand what they're getting into."

Dak nodded. "In other words, you're afraid they won't be able to handle the fall out."

"Do you?" Rhuben's eyebrows rose. "James is staying here in LA to work on his acting if he doesn't go solo, Kendall is going to be in Minnesota playing hockey for eight months, Carlos is…" she paused, tilting her head to the side. "Well, I don't really know what Carlos is going to do, but knowing him it's something that's going to warrant a trip to the hospital,"—Dak laughed—"Logan's going to Minnesota to study and we're going to keep shuttling back and forth from Oz to LA and—"

"How do I know you're not more concerned that Logan's leaving you?" Dak teased. Rhuben rolled her blue-violet eyes. "I mean, you were bound to get tired of me at some point, but I didn't think it'd be this soon."

"I've been tired of your for years, you just can't take a hint," Rhuben said. "Even if I was being straightforward." She stood up on her tiptoe sand gave him a quick kiss. "No, I'm not tired of you, boofhead. I'm just thinking that the boys don't understand what they're giving up."

Then Dak understood what she was getting at and what the Jacksons had not talked about after the first initial announcement. They were, arguably, the ones that had taken it the hardest behind the four Minnesota boys, after having taken so much of their time to help them in the music industry. "You're afraid that you wasted your time working on them, only for them to give up."

"Wouldn't you be?" Rhuben pressed. She sighed, swinging their arms back and forth, twisting her hand so that she laced her fingers with his. "I mean, you were the one that helped us out when we first got here. Wouldn't you be mad if we suddenly broke up?"

Dak shifted uncomfortably, knowing how sensitive what he was going to say was. "Isn't that kind of what happened with Syd?"

Rhuben twisted her mouth to the side as she nodded. It had thrown her for a loop when Sydney told his brothers and sisters that he had contemplated leaving the band because he wanted to focus on his school work, especially considering it all came around the same time that he had been told he was to give a speech and an scholarship award in their father's name. Many people said the youngest Jackson was exactly like their late father in many ways and it had given him a bit of an identity crisis. The rule for the Jacksons' band was that if one of them wanted to quit, then they would all stop making music as they generally preferred to do it together as they had been for years. So they had been scared of what was to happen while Sydney made up his mind.

But he had finally decided that he enjoyed being in the band too much and he would be able to juggle his school work and his band duties as long as he kept track of his work online. Still, the scare had given her a good idea of what the guys had been going through.

"Basically," Rhuben agreed.

"Yeah, but I wasn't mad about it," Dak reassured her. "Especially considering you all made a name in your own right back in Australia. I didn't really do a lot over here." He shrugged. "So it wasn't any of my business. It would've sucked, yeah, but it wasn't my call to make."

"You did enough," Rhuben reassured him. She reached out and gently poked him in the chest. "For me, anyway."

"Glad to hear it." Dak leaned in and gave her a long kiss, which she eagerly returned. "But you shouldn't worry about the guys so much. One thing they've taught me while they've been out here is that whatever they put their minds to, they're going to get it done. Right?" Rhuben nodded. "Good." They started walking off again. "Now don't be surprised if the interviewer asks you a few questions."

Rhuben regarded him suspiciously. Not only was she intuitive whenever someone was hiding something from her, but she could usually tell from body language and the way people's faces moved whether or not they were. At studying her boyfriend at that moment, there was something he wanted to laugh about, but wasn't sure how she would take it. "Like what?" she practically growled through gritted teeth.

Dak shrugged. "I don't know…" he trilled. "Something like how you like to baby me—"He let out a loud cry of pain as Rhuben whacked him on the arm. "Ow!" He laughed as Rhuben let go of his hand and increased her speed down the hallway. "I was kidding!"

"No, you weren't!"

"Sorry! Can you blame me?"

"I can blame you for when you suddenly go missing."

Dak laughed.

"Are you guys done?" Jo turned from the clothes rack that she had just replaced belts onto and regarded Kevin with surprise as he strolled up to her and the Jacksons. She exchanged a look with Camille as he reached up and grabbed onto the pass that rested around his neck. "I don't want to interrupt anything. I can come back later if need be."

Jo closed her mouth and shook her head. "No, they…uh…they just finished. They're getting changed back into their clothes," she said. She nodded over at him. "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Knight."

"You too, Jo," he replied. He gave her a kind smile. "I'm sorry things between you and Kendall didn't work out," he said.

Jo blinked in surprise as Camille gave a snort.

That had, really, come out of nowhere. She and Kendall hadn't been dating for a while and they were both over it, so hearing that he was sorry about it was…strange. How much of Kendall's life did he know about without having actually been in it? How much did he know about her when she barely knew a thing about him in the first place? Better question was what was he doing there when no one wanted him around? Even looking behind him, she could see the Jacksons looking at Kevin oddly, if not with a mixture of anxiety, ready to go to Kendall's and Katie's defense when it was needed.

"Thank you," she said as calmly as possible, looking over at Riley, whose eyes were narrowed as she looked at the man.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Kevin turned back to his son as he, James, Logan, and Carlos walked over to the group, holding hangers of shirts over their shoulders. Kendall had his gaze steady on his father, even when he handed his girlfriend his hanger. "What are you doing here?"

Kevin smiled at him. "I wanted to see what one of your photo shoot sessions was like," he explained. "But I guess I missed it. Sorry about that."

"I'm sure there'll be others," Carlos said helpfully.

"Where's Katie?"

"She had some homework that she needed to finish," Kendall said with an air of uneasiness. He glanced at his mother over his shoulder. "Mom's been on her with it lately and she fell a bit behind so…" he reached out and scratched the side of his neck, turning back to Kevin.

"Oh, is your mother here too?" Kevin's eyebrows rose and his smile widened. "Good, so I can tell her about it at the same time."

James shifted over to Jo and gave his girlfriend a kiss on the temple. "What's going on?" He murmured in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. Jo turned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning into his side, resting her cheek on his stomach.

"I don't know," She replied. "He just showed up." She tilted her head back and looked up at him when she felt him stiffen under her grasp. He was staring daggers into Kevin's back as the man waved Kelly, Gustavo, Ronan, and Mrs. Knight over to join the group. "James…don't."

"I'm not going to do anything, Jo," James murmured in reply, his eyes still on the blond man. "Not unless he makes me do something." He finally looked down at her. "I'm not going to have him hurt them again, I'm not."

"I know," Jo agreed. "Just…please relax a bit. We don't know what he has to say."

"What are you doing here, Knight?" Gustavo spat as soon as he was in ear shot of the man. "Did you come here to ruin something else?"

Sydney, as diplomatic as ever, let out a patient sigh, crossing his arms over his chest. "Don't you think you owe the bloke a chance to explain himself before you jump down his throat?"

"No," Gustavo said stubbornly.

Kelly elbowed Gustavo in the side before turning to Kevin. "Go ahead," she said diplomatically. "What is it that you wanted to say?"

Kevin's eyes flashed as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Well, I know how much stress and pressure you guys are all under while you're trying to get the last bit of work done before the summer tour and I thought you guys all deserved a much needed break."

Mrs. Knight's right eyebrow lowered as she regarded her ex-husband. "What's going on, Kevin?"

"How does a vacation in the Bahamas sound to you guys?" Kevin asked. His charismatic smile widened. "All of us and all of your friends too."

"Seriously?" Camille asked.

"Everyone," Kevin insisted. "I want to you guys to be able to have some fun and to hang out with your friends and just have a good time, right before you go off and do your own thing."

Riley looked skeptical. "Do you think that's the best thing right now?" She asked. "I mean, I'm not knocking you, dude, I'm just saying. It might not be very responsible to go out at a time like this." Jo looked over at the raven haired girl, not able to miss the very subtle insult she had sent the man's way. She then looked back at Kevin. If he had noticed, he wasn't showing that it irritated him.

Patrick and Noah gave identical smirks at their sister's remark, Sydney smiled and shook his head, and Ronan moved a hand up to cover his mouth though Jo was sure he was trying not to show his smile as well.

"In my opinion, it'd be irresponsible to go straight into a tour completely stressed out," Kevin said smoothly. "I would do the same thing before my hockey games. I'd go somewhere to clear my head and to chill out then go back to the game with total concentration." He shrugged modestly. "I didn't do so badly if I say so myself."

Now I know where Kendall gets it, Jo thought. Why he always needs the ice to 'clear his head'.

"I don't know," Mrs. Knight hesitated. "I wouldn't feel comfortable if you paid for everyone's way to get there. That has to be really expensive."

"Don't worry about it," Kevin reassured her. "It's a gift. Plus, it'll give me some time to be able to spend with Kendall and Katie…like a family."

"That worked well the first time," Camille said. Logan gave her a disapproving look and she lowered her gaze.

"It's just a vacation," Kevin insisted. "You can do whatever you want when you get there. We don't have to spend every waking minute together. I just want you all to have some fun." He held up his hands as if he was about to fend off some blows. "I promise."

The question was is it a promise he could keep?

A/N: Sorry for the wait guys, I had to get stuff ready to move and then it was moving day and I haven't had internet for a bit, but I finally managed to get the chapter done. There was some Dalla and Jameo in this chapter and there will be other pairings as the story goes on.

The main plot of the story is the love triangle with Kevin, Mrs. Knight, and Ronan, a second plot is how Kendall and Katie are still dealing with Kevin, and then the third plot with the rest of the kids is their dealing with the fact they're all going to be leaving each other soon (just like when friends leave from high school to college) and what goes along with that.

I hope you guys liked the chapter and I'll update again soon.

Cheers,

-Riles