.:CHAPTER ONE - You Say Stubborn Like It's A Bad Thing:.

"So Kendall, where are we going next?" Katie Knight asked as she licked her ice cream cone, grinning happily as she continued to walk along the crowded sidewalks of LA next to her big brother. "Sunglass Hut? I don't know about you, but I need some more shades."

Kendall Knight let out a sigh that was two-parts exasperation and one part a loving sigh. Sweat rolled down his neck and he wiped it away before he looked down at his watch and then pulled his wallet out of his pocket. "Well, we could get you some more sunglasses at Sunglass Hut, but even Gustavo won't let me spend that much money in one day."

"But don't you get a lot of money from being in BTR?" Katie asked as she looked up at her older brother. "I mean, I'm not completely stupid, I know how businesses work, even when you have a lot of sales and stuff done and you don't get much from that, I know that you're supposed to get enough to live nicely for a while." She placed on hand on her hip. "Is Gustavo stiffing you guys for money?"

Kendall laughed at his sister's antics. Being in the new upcoming band Big Time Rush did have its perks, after putting out one album, it had already gone gold and they were already getting a lot of recognition for it. He and his best friends (James Diamond, Logan Mitchell, and Carlos Garcia) didn't think that they were all going to get that big. Well, that's not exactly true, James knew that he was going to get big, because that was all he wanted to do

He looked down at the many bags that loaded Katie's arms out of the corner of his eye. "Don't even tell anyone that you're not girly."

"Just because I like to shop doesn't make me girly." Katie reasoned calmly as she continued to lick her ice cream.

"Yeah, but making your big brother pay for everything, without even offering him a lick of your ice cream is." Kendall replied sharply. With that, he reached around Katie's shoulders, and tapped her opposite shoulder, the one that was the furthest from him. As she turned to look, Kendall swooped his head down and took the opportunity to take a large bite, smiling as the cool, sweet, dessert melted on his tongue.

"Hey!" Katie cried and punched him on the arm.

"You're too slow, Katie." Kendall reasoned as he swallowed the mouthful of ice cream. "That's the only reason that you need to do a sport, and stop tricking people out of their money."

"Actually Katie could probably make a lot of money for her scamming people out of their money." A familiar voice spoke up behind them. "It's called being a Black Jack dealer, Hockey-Head."

Kendall's upper lip curled at the corner as he and Katie turned around to see their friend Riley Jackson standing behind them. She brushed her black hair out of her face, her blue eyes flashing with the sarcastic jab, as their eyes met, her right arm held a bag of groceries.

"Seriously, what have I done to make you call me Hockey-Head?" Kendall asked in exasperation. "Do you seriously, not know my name?"

"I know your name," Riley replied so patiently it seemed like she was talking to a three-year old. "I just don't care enough to use it. Besides, since when I first met you," she paused. "And I'm still wondering whether or not it was a good thing," she said as a side-note. "All you blabbered on and on about was hockey, so and I couldn't think of any other nickname that was as fitting as Hockey-Head." As she spoke, her American Accent slowly switched to her Australian one, something that she did whenever she got worked up (as Kendall and Katie noticed after getting to know her and her brothers and sister.)

"Ouch, burn!" Katie grinned as she looked back and forth between the two older teens. She turned back to Riley and her smile faded a little when she noticed a dark spot by her right eye. "Hey, Riles, what happened to your eye?"

"My..eye…?" Riley slowly brought a hand up to her face and felt the puffy skin, her eyebrows flying up as if she had just noticed that it was there. "Oh that, that's nothing." She shoved her free hand into her jeans pocket. "I was chasing Syd around yesterday and I turned around a corner too early and ran into it." She shrugged one shoulder. "It's nothing that I'm not used to."

Kendall narrowed his eyes for a second. That sounded really bitter. He thought to himself as he studied her face. "Because you're a klutz?" he ventured.

"Yeah, that's it." Riley replied shortly.

And once again you go into stony silence where no one can tell what you're thinking. Kendall thought as he shoved his wallet back into his pocket and looked around as he watched pedestrians stroll by them leisurely.

"Are you guys headed back to the Palm Woods?" Riley asked, grabbing their attention again. She didn't wait for them to give her an answer. "I can drive you back," she pulled her car keys out of her pocket and jingled them. "I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt if I left you out here to wait for the bus to take you back."

"Thanks!" Katie's eyes grew wide as she grinned, quickly finishing her ice cream. "That's really nice of you, you don't have to."

"I know I don't," Riley reached out and ruffled Katie's hair. "But you just grew on me." Katie pushed her hand away and smiled wider. Her eyes flicked to Kendall. "At least one of you did."

Yeah, she'd be nice to you. Kendall frowned, a little annoyed. She's always nice to you, and yet she just makes fun of me and seems to make my life harder rather than easier. He grimaced. Well, that's not exactly true; she helps me with your music and everything, so you can't say that she's not a friend.

"I have to get my brother from a friend's house," Riley said as she walked by the siblings and led them to her car, a 2010 Ford Focus. "But since I'm being nice, I'll just drop you guys off first and then go get him." She popped open the trunk of the car and put the groceries inside, closing it with a sharp snap before rounding to the front and getting into the driver's seat.

Kendall and Katie climbed into the car as well and buckled up, only seconds before Riley backed out of her parking space so fast that their heads slammed against the seats. She pulled out of the parking lot and merged onto the road, heading towards the Palm Woods, turning on the radio as she went.

"So if you have to pick up your brother, how come you don't get him first, if he's on the way?" Kendall asked as he rested his elbow out of window, the wind blowing through his hair. "And then drop us off last?"

"Because I already made up my mind, that's why!" Riley snapped back, reaching forward and turning up the volume on the radio, drowning him out.

Sheesh. Touchy. Kendall thought to himself as he looked in the rearview mirror at his sister. Katie just raised her eyebrows in reply, smiling back at him as she crossed her arms over her chest. Obviously she was enjoying this; then again, he enjoyed watching anyone's arguments as long as she wasn't the one being yelled at. Yeah, you just go ahead and keep smiling.

They drove back to the Palm Woods in silence, Kendall was afraid that if he tried to say anything, it would just cause her to snap at him again, Katie was just bopping along with the music that filled the car, singing along to different songs every now and then, and Riley just continued to focus on the road, looking out her window every now and then.

"Thanks for the ride, Riley!" Katie waved and hurried out of the car, running into the Palm Woods as soon as the raven-haired girl pulled the car into a parking spot and parked it.

"You're welcome!" Riley called after her, waving a hand as she brushed her hair out of her face. She expected Kendall to get out of the car just as fast, but he still continued to sit there. She looked over at him. "I'm not sure if you're aware of it, Hockey-Head, but this is your home too."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Kendall asked as he shot her a teasing smile.

"To put it bluntly, yes." Riley replied honestly and waved a hand towards the Palm Woods.

"God forbid the day you're not blunt." Kendall slapped a hand over his heart and gave her a wide-eyed look, to which she just

"Touché."

"It bothers you that I was right, doesn't it?" Kendall asked, grinning to himself when he noticed Riley's lips purse. It was apparent that she wasn't going to admit that he was right, no matter how glaringly obvious it was. "Why don't you just admit it?" He was messing with her, just because he knew that it was working. She's just too easy to annoy.

"Because it's my car and I made the gracious decision to drive you home," she replied sharply. "Now get out!"

'But really, the sarcastic comments are what I live for. The uncaring movements hide the caring motivations. I know what you're hiding. All those smirks, snide remarks, being sarcastic…It's too late. I've seen your softer side. I want you to at least notice me. Even if it's for a second. More than just 'Hockey-Head'. But that's not your nature. So why did I choose you?'

Kendall laughed to himself and shook his head as he climbed out of the passenger seat of the car. He got Riley's attention, halting her as her hand moved towards the ignition. "Has anyone ever told you that you can be really stubborn?" Kendall asked as he ran his fingers through his hair and then leaning against the door, resting his crossed arms on the doorframe.

Riley took her time answering as a smirk slid onto her face. She hooked her pig-tails behind her ears and turned to look at him, her blue eyes flashing in a challenge.

"You say 'stubborn' like it's a bad thing." She commented seconds before slamming the car in reverse and disappearing from sight.

Kendall shook his head, although he was still smiling.

A/N: Well, there's the first chapter, I hope that you guys liked it. Not much to say about it so far, but I'm already enjoying writing it. (Three guesses why and the first two don't count.) ;) So this chapter was about Kendall, the next one is about Riley, and it'll go back and forth from there.

Some of this storyline is different to what happened in my 'With Friends Like These' series. In this, BTR have their first CD out, but DE hasn't been adopted by Ronan. So, hopefully that doesn't confuse anyone. I'll update again soon.

Apart from this chapter and the prologue, chapters to this story aren't going to be shorter than 3000 words.

Cheers,

-Riles