.:CHAPTER FOURTEEN – Why'd You Have To Go And Make Things So Complicated:.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ronan murmured to Kacy, looking at his watch. "I've seen this guy get mad before, it's not a pretty sight."

"I'm sure," Kacy replied with a firm nod. "It would explain everything about their behavior before they went home and after they got back." She let out a sigh, clenching her hands into fists. "I just hope I'm wrong."

Kacy had called Ronan, Kelly, and Gustavo together into Gustavo's office at Rocque Records to talk about his sons and daughters. Kacy was sure that he was abusing them and wanted to talk to the other three about it. When they had gotten together and she had revealed her reason for bringing them together, they were shocked, like she expected, in turn, they shocked her. Ronan had told her that he thought that he was almost completely certain that he was abusing them, because he had seen him knock Noah to the ground one day while they were rehearsing a dance number and yelled and screamed and berated him if he couldn't keep up at the intense pace they were working at.

Kelly thought that he may have had anger management issues as she was out for coffee one day and had seen him in line. She didn't know what the whole commotion was, but after getting bits and pieces from the other people waiting in line, she heard that the cashier had made an off-hand comment about how young he was to have five kids (not knowing that they were adopted) after he had seen a picture of them in his wallet and Robert had turned beet read and started to yell at the cashier, demanding whether or not he was saying that Robert was a bad parent. On part of it, Kelly sympathized as it must be hard having to keep telling people that his kids weren't biologically his, but she also sympathized for the cashier as she was shaking herself, when he wasn't even screaming at her. He took the conversation to the next three levels all with one question.

Gustavo never really had a reasoning as to why he hated Robert, it was that he just 'had a bad vibe' about him when he first met him. And when he saw how competitive Robert was and how talented his kids were, with Sydney being able to do many complicated dance moves for his age, he thought that it was possible that Robert may have been pushing them too hard, but didn't say anything because he just downright hated the guy and wasn't sure if his anger would come off as jealousy.

So after the three of them had talked, they agreed to call Robert and ask him to go over to Rocque Records so they could all talk, now they were just waiting for him to arrive.

"But is this safe?" Kelly asked, nervously twisting her hands together. "If he hits his kids when he's mad, what will he do when he's mad at us?"

"That's what we're going to talk to him about," Kacy replied firmly. "We're going to sit him down and try to talk to him rationally and try to get him some help."

"Huh," Gustavo snorted. "Good luck with that, I've known the guy for years, he's as stubborn and bull-headed as they come. Even Griffin can't tell him what to do."

"That may be in part that he doesn't really work for Griffin," Ronan pointed out.

Everyone turned towards the door as it was suddenly pushed open. "Hey," Robert's eyebrows raised when he saw everyone in the room, but his easy going smile didn't fade. "What's going on? What's this impromptu meeting all about?"

"We just wanted to talk," Kelly replied slowly. "About your kids."

"What about them?" Robert's demeanor suddenly changed, he looked wary. "Did they get in trouble again? If they broke something, I'm not paying for it!"

"Relax," Gustavo barked. "They didn't break anything, at least, not that I know of, but we wanted to talk about your kids." He then moved forward and glared at Robert from behind his glasses. "Have you been hitting them?"

"What?" Robert cried.

"Gustavo!" Kacy cried.

"Hey, you were the one that said that you were worried that he was hitting them," Gustavo stated, causing Robert to turn and glare at her. "So I'm just trying to get right down to business." He turned back to Robert. "Huh? Ya scum bag? Have you been hitting them?"

"What have you been saying to people about me?" Robert roared towards Kacy, causing her to flinch and take a couple of steps back. "I don't hit my kids!"

"Don't yell at her man," Ronan moved in front of Kacy. "We just want to talk and try to make things right here."

"I'm don't need this," Robert turned on his heel and strode to the door.

"If you're doing anything to your kids," Ronan strode behind him. "I'll call the police and have you-"His sentence ended in a gurgle as Robert whipped around and grabbed Ronan's throat in his hands. Kelly let out a choked sob and Gustavo and Kacy stared, too shocked to move.

"You stay away from me," Robert tightened his grip on Ronan's neck, causing the older man to cry out in pain. (Remember, Robert is 3 years younger than Ronan.) "And stay away from my family."

With that, he shoved Ronan backwards, causing him to fall to the floor, and stormed out of the office, slamming the door so hard behind him that the glass in the door shattered.

Jo let out a sigh before giggling, grabbing onto the fabric of Kendall's shirt and pulling him forward, kissing him again. He moved his hand up to cup her cheek as he kissed her back.

Jo had invited him over to hang out that day, after she had made sure that the Jacksons were going to be in the studio all day. It wasn't that she didn't like that they were back home, but things weren't the same as they used to be. She used to be really close with all of them, especially Riley, Rhuben, and Patrick (the latter she was sure had a crush on him) but now they seemed that they would rather spend their time with Big Time Rush. Even though she hated to admit it, she was glad that for once Riley wasn't around the guys and that Kendall could come over. It was awkward whenever the three of them were around and it wasn't because of her or Riley, the two were at least civil towards each other, it was Kendall that made things awkward.

If the three of them were in the same room, he wouldn't even look at Jo let alone hold her hand or kiss her. But then there was Logan and Camille and Carlos and Stephanie who were getting closer and closer and she knew that there was a thing going on between James and Rhuben.

As soon as Kendall had gotten to the apartment they were upon each other. Kendall had managed to close and lock the door behind them, glad that Jo's father (who was a CIA agent) wasn't home, but as soon as he did Jo went for him. He had stumbled back under her weight, but then he relaxed. His arms looped around her waist and he pulled her to him, dipping his head to capture her lips with his. At first their kiss was tame, a light brushing of lips against lips with a few nibbles here and there, but then it turned wild, demanding. Jo' tongue traced his lips begging for the entrance, which he gave her after a few seconds. Their tongues danced and dueled, her lips closing around his tongue to suckle on it.

As they continued to kiss, Jo walked backwards, pulling Kendall with her as she gently lowered herself onto the couch, pulling Kendall next to him. She ran her hand over his clothed chest and stomach, mentally enjoying the feeling of his muscles under her hand, before bringing it up and rubbing his neck as she continued to kiss him.

But like most times when they made out, Kendall's mind began to wander and the kisses slowed. Jo tried to keep him engaged in it, but she was losing the battle. Frustrated, she opened her eyes and pushed away from Kendall, breathing heavily, pulling her blonde hair behind her ears.

"You're doing it again, Kendall." She stated.

"Sorry," Kendall gulped in a lungful of air. "I just keep spacing and-"

Jo held up a hand, causing him to fall silent. His chest rose and fell as he tried to catch his breath, waiting for her to say something. Jo briefly closed her eyes and then opened them again, looking at Kendall seriously. "When we kiss or make out…do you think of someone else?"

Kendall looked annoyed; he reached out onto the coffee table and grabbed his beanie, only then noticing that Jo had pulled it off when they were making out. He shook his head once, his hair falling back into place perfectly, and then slid it over his head.

"If there's something specific you want to ask me, then just ask it." He replied with a little bit of an edge to his tone.

"When we make out, do you think about Riles?" Jo asked, looking him right in the eye. "Do you think about kissing her?"

"No," Kendall replied simply.

"Kendall," Jo warned, raising an eyebrow. "Tell me the truth."

"I am telling you the truth." Kendall insisted.

Jo pursed her lips and straightened her top before crossing her arms over her chest, leaning back against the arm of the couch. "I'm not mad or anything Kendall, I just want to know." She said softly. "Because we all know that before she left you really liked her, for a long time. I don't know if she felt the same way, or if she knew. And now whenever she's around when I am, you don't touch me or kiss me. And she seems to be hanging off of you guys more than usual."

"So what?" Kendall wiped his hands on his pant legs, then crossed and uncrossed his legs. "She just came back from Australia, all of them did, they've been gone for three months! They're our friends, they're in the music business, they were around us all the time before, and they're around us all the time now."

"But it's different now," Jo insisted. "They don't want to hang out with me or Steph or Camille anymore. They're only around you. If she's not with Logan, she's with you."

"Are you trying to say you're jealous or something?" Kendall asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is that it? Because I've seen you jealous before, but there's nothing for you to be jealous about now."

"But everyone here can see that you only had eyes for her before."

"Yes, and now I only have eyes for you." Kendall said, although when he looked away from her it debunked his statement.

"What's going on, Kendall?" Jo asked, changing the subject. Kendall didn't answer. "I know there's something wrong. You're not sleeping well, you're not eating as much as you used to, you're on edge all of the time, you keep snapping at everybody-"

"That's because no one will leave me alone!" Kendall said.

"And every now and then you flinch when someone raises their voice, you get angry for no reason, you're frustrated easily. You lock yourself in your room all the time; you're constantly on your laptop when we want to hang out. Even Logan is acting weird, but you're acting weirder than he is."

"Nothing's going on." Kendall's fingers started to twitch. "And who told you that I haven't been sleeping? Did Logan tell you?" Kendall demanded, his eyes turning back to hers. "Did he?"

"No!" Jo shook her head. "No one needed to tell me." She reached out and touched Kendall's shoulder, knowing not to say anything when he flinched under her touch. "I'm still your friend, Kendall." She said gently. "Tell me what's wrong."

She wasn't sure if he was going to reply. He kept cracking his knuckles and crossing and uncrossing his legs. It seemed that he couldn't sit still, no matter how hard he tried.

"I'm not sure if I'm right," Kendall started in a low voice. "But I think that something's going on at their home."

"The Jacksons' home?" Jo asked, raising an eyebrow. Kendall nodded. "What do you mean?" She looked concerned.

"I can't say more than that," Kendall rubbed his chin. "Because I don't have any proof, and I only have theories so…" he looked away again.

Unless he does know something and he's hiding it. Jo flipped her hair over her shoulder. But why would he hide it? Duh, Jo, to protect them. You know that he's better friends with them then he is with you, especially since they're all in the music business together. And you do know that out of the five of them Riley and Sydney are his favorites. If there was something that he needed to protect them for he would do it. You know what they say always protect…your loved ones…

"Do you love her?" Kendall looked at Jo in confusion, as if not registering that she had even said anything, so Jo asked again. "Kendall, do you love her?" Kendall stayed silent and looked away again. Jo shook her head. "Go." She lightly pushed his leg. "Just go."

"What?" Kendall's eyebrows shot up. "Jo?"

"Just leave, Kendall." Jo insisted, continuously pushing his leg.

"Jo, you're not being-"

"Kendall, I need to know." Jo replied shortly, standing up and tugging him to his feet. "I need to know if you still have feelings for her or if you love her, because if you do, I don't want to stand in the way of true love." She then pushed him towards the door. "So go talk to her, or kiss or something."

"Jo," Kendall planted his feet on the ground and whirled so he was looking at her. He was partially surprised to see that she didn't really look that upset. "I don't get it. I mean, I do like you, a lot-"

Jo waved a hand. "Come talk to me after you see her." She forced a smile. "Either way it's going to work out for someone. We won't know who or that someone will be until we figured everything out so you should go." She reached over onto the coffee table and grabbed a set of keys and tossed them to Kendall.

He caught them without batting an eye. "Fine," Kendall sighed heavily, hesitated, and then turned and left the apartment, gently closing the door behind him. He waited outside the door for a few minutes, listening, and when he didn't hear anything he finally left. Once he was outside of the Palm Woods and heading towards the Big Time Rush Mobile he stopped. "I don't know where she lives." He spoke out loud.

It was true, he had never seen her house, never been in it. And Katie was the only one that had ever slept over with Riley and Rhuben, but it was usually at Jo's apartment that they slept over, or they were at Ronan's apartment, Riley and Rhuben each giving a easy excuse: They didn't want to bother their dad with too much noise, Ronan was going to be gone for the night anyway, it would take too long for them to drive to their house with the traffic.

Everything that I did to keep my friends from going to my house. Kendall mused to himself as he thought about what to do. I hope to god they're not being abused like I was, but I won't know until I find out.

Kendall rang the doorbell and waited, rubbing his hands over his pants legs as he waited for the door to open. When it did, he looked up and couldn't help but smile when he got a good look at Riley. Her hair was pulled back into its pigtails, like usual, and she was wearing a red flannel shirt over a tank-top that reached an inch past her belly button, the top of a tattoo peeked out over the top of her black jeans. But what made him really smile was that she was wearing glasses rather than contacts. He didn't know why, but it just made her very attractive to him.

"What are you doing here?" she gaped at him in her accent, her eyes darting around. "How did you…we never told you where we lived."

"It wasn't hard to find," Kendall replied with a shrug. "I mean, once I figured out your dad's contact information due to the fact that he's your manager and all that," he waved a hand. "Blah, blah, blah. Can I come in; I want to talk to you?"

"Uh," Riley looked around again and then took a step back. "Sure, but hurry up, my dad will be home soon." Kendall entered the house and Riley looked outside before closing the door behind him. "Sorry about the smell," she apologized as she walked into the living room. She motioned to an easel in the corner of the room. "I was just painting."

"It's cool," Kendall replied with a short nod.

"So what is it?" Riley flopped down onto the couch and propped her legs up onto the coffee table in front of her. "What did you want to talk about?"

Way to get right to the point. Kendall flopped down onto the couch, sitting right next to her, their arms touching. "Well, I was just with Jo and we were talking and she seems to think that…" he cleared his throat. "That I have feelings for you."

"You told her you don't right?" Riley asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Kendall nodded. "But she didn't really listen to me, so she sent me over here to find out whether or not I do have feelings for you." He looked over at Riley and saw that her eyes were narrowed behind her glasses. He was so close he could see a light smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks.

"What does that mean?" she asked slowly.

Kendall moved suddenly, causing her to flinch. The sme thing I do. He then leaned towards her. "Hold still,"

"What are you doing?" Riley looked away from Kendall as he reached towards her, scooting all the way to the end of the couch in one movement.

"I just want to see something," Kendall scooted to the end of the couch as well.

"Don't," Riley leapt off of the couch and backed away, rounding the coffee table that was in the middle of the living room.

"Don't what?" Kendall looked amused as he followed her around the table. "I don't get it."

"I know what you were going to say and don't say it," Riley warned, picking up her pace. Kendall sped up as well and the two continued to round the table over and over again.

"I can't help the way I feel." Kendall explained.

"You're with Jo." Riley reminded him.

"So?" Kendall opened his stride and moved closer.

"Don't come any closer!" Riley darted behind he recliner, holding onto the back of it so tight her knuckles turned white. Her hands were shaking and her heart was pounding so hard against her ribcage it made her feel sick.

"You know you're acting like a baby?" Kendall laughed and stretched lazily. He swiftly brought his hands down to his hips when he saw that Riley was about to make a break for the stairs. "Riles!"

"Don't," Riley warned again, holding up a finger.

"Riley?"

"Stop!" Riley slapped her hands over her ears.

"Riley!"

"Shut up!"

Kendall was laughing now, but it wasn't because he found the situation to be funny, he found it ridiculous. He was laughing so hard tears were falling down his cheeks. As he wiped them away, more would come to take its place. "You really are ridiculous, you know that?" he stated when he calmed down enough to speak.

"It's part of my charm." Riley cracked.

Kendall then smirked, his eyes flashing. "You know when you say things like that it gets me hot and bothered," Riley's face enflamed as she babbled, trying to say something. "Wow, I didn't think saying something like that would make you that embarrassed."

"Shut up!" Riley hissed, her eyes narrowing. She jabbed her finger towards the door. "Get out!"

"No," Kendall replied calmly. "I'm not leaving."

"Why?" Riley slowly inched out from behind the couch and moved towards him. Her eyes kept darting towards the stairs. Just a few more seconds and you can high-tail it out of here. "It's my house, I asked you to leave."

"Yeah, but I'm your guest, I'll leave when I want." Kendall reminded her.

Riley looked at him for a split second before darting to the left, taking off towards the stairs. Kendall reached out and grabbed her around the waist, easily dragging her backwards. "Let go of me, Kendall!" She started to thrash wildly, trying to get out of his grasp. "LET GO!" She kicked her legs, trying to propel herself forward, but Kendall held on tight. "Kendall!"

Kendall pushed her back and grabbed onto her hands, holding onto them tightly. Riley moved her hands to the side of her face, and put her right foot back, pulling back as hard as she could, trying to get Kendall to let her go.

"Just hold still!" Kendall yelled into her face, causing her eyes to immediately slam shut. "Please," he lowered his voice, softened it. He waited a few seconds and Riley's eyes slowly opened. "I just want to see something." He took a step forward so their feet were touching. "Please?"

Riley just continued to look up at him, her eyes glassy.

Kendall tilted his head slightly and brushed her lips with his. As soon as their lips touched, the hairs on the back of Kendall's neck stood on edge; it felt like he had just stuck his finger in a light socket. Then he looked into her stunning blue eyes and he kissed her again but this time it was a more passionate kiss. He caressed her soft cheek with his thumb. She was hesitant at first, but then she melted into his arms and slipped her arms around his neck. They were totally oblivious to everything except each other. Kendall lost control of all coherent thoughts and concentrated only on his lips on hers and Kendall's hand running through her hair, pulling her closer. She felt a million wonderful sensations zinging through her senses, the kiss got deeper, hungrier as he pulled her tighter to him.

Kendall made a sound when his nose hit her glasses and he pulled away for a second. Frowning, he pulled back and reached up, pulling her glasses off of her face, and tossed it onto the couch beside him. "That's better," he said before pulling her in and kissing her again.

Riley's left hand rubbed Kendall's neck, like Jo had done a few hours before, then slid up to the blonde hair at the back of his head. She lightly tugged on the strands of hair and then ran her fingers over the base of his head repeatedly. Kendall let out a moan, kissing her harder. It was something that she did to Logan, to relax him (and partly because it was a comforting gesture) and when she did it while she and Kendall were kissing, it just made the experience ten times more pleasurable.

He moved his hands down from her hair and to her wrists. Eyes still closed, he walked forward, causing her to walk backwards until her back hit the wall behind her. He then gathered both of her hands in his and extended them up. He had her pinned against the wall with his hands pinning her wrists above her head and his body pinned hers, keeping her pretty much immobile.

Pushing her head forward, Riley bit his lower lip, not hard enough to hurt but enough to get his attention. A low growl came from his chest as he crushed her lips with his. Riley moaned as his tongue forced her mouth open, his free hand pulling her against him until their hips touched. He tasted of peppermint and she of strawberries.

An interesting combination.

Abruptly the sound of the front door being slammed shut brought Riley back to reality, she blinked and jerked away from Kendall, moving to grab her glasses, before turning to face her father, who glared at the two of them.

"Uh," Kendall's mouth dropped open.

"Hi dad," Riley squeaked.

"We were just, uh," Kendall quickly tried to think of something to say, but one look on Robert's face caused him to clam up. "I was just leaving." He looked at Riley, who stared at her father, shaking. "Bye," he practically sprinted towards the front door, leaving the house as soon as possible.

The shouting started as soon as he closed the door.

"What did you think you were doing you little slut?"

"Dad, I wasn't-"

"Shut up!"

There was a loud smacking sound, a cry of pain, and then the sound of a heavy beating filled the air, accompanied by Riley's shouts of pain and her sobbing.

Kendall stood beside the door, eyes closed tightly.

A few tears trickled from the corners of his eyes. I'm sorry, Riley. I had to do it.

"The water's warm," Rhuben noted as she walked over to the wet sand, allowing the water to rise over her feet. She smiled at the familiar feeling of the sand being pulled out from under her feet. "It would be cool to swim in."

She had been at the beach by herself, walking along, using some of the few moments by herself just to think. How much longer can we keep this a secret? I can tell that Logan is about to crack soon. Kendall may be figuring things out as well. I wonder if we'll have to move again?

She had been lost in her thoughts when James had run up to her and flashed a smile. They got to talking, and then ended up just walking about the beach in silence, enjoying each other's company.

"So why don't we?" James suggested.

Rhuben nearly choked on her spit as she turned to James, who had started to pull off his shirt. "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious," James replied with a grin, tossing his shirt aside, his hands moving towards the buckle of his pants. Rhuben quickly turned away.

"We don't have swimsuits," she pointed out.

"So we'll go skinny dipping," James replied, his laughter accompanied with the sound of his pants dropping to the ground.

"I am not going skinny dipping." Rhuben replied firmly. "Not with your or anyone else for that matter!"

"Relax, I was joking," James walked over to Rhuben and placed a hand on her shoulder, blinking as she flinched and roughly pulled her shoulder away from him, taking three steps away. "Just go swimming in your underwear." Rhuben didn't reply. "You are wearing underwear, aren't you?" James added, after her silence. He dodged backwards as Rhuben whipped around, aiming to punch him in the stomach.

"I'm not going skinny dipping, James." She repeated, the wind blowing her hair from her face. She pulled it away, glaring at him. "I'm not going swimming in my underwear either!"

"Well, then you're going to have to wait for me to get done before I take you back to your house." James said, placing his hands on his hips, his fingers creeping towards the waistband of his boxer shorts. "Because I'm going swimming."

Rhuben moved a hand up in front of her eyes. "Geez James, you-"

"Gotcha!" James laughed and with a whoop, he turned and splashed into the surf before diving over a wave.

Rhuben sighed and shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest as James swam around, splashing water as he went, obviously putting up a show, trying to persuade Rhuben to go into the water with him. "Having fun?" she called, when James stood up, the water going up to his thighs.

"A blast," James called back, taking a few steps closer. Rhuben cursed herself as she watched the water trickle down his shoulders and down his stomach. "But I'd be having more fun if you were in here with me." His smile widened, like he could read her mind.

"Not happening," Rhuben replied firmly.

"What? Are you scared?" James taunted, his smile not fading.

Yeah, I'm scared to death that my dad is going to pop up somewhere and try to drown me, like he tried before. Rhuben continued to stare at James. But of course I can't say that. As she continued to watch, James waved a hand into the air and waved her into the water. Rhuben groaned, tilting her head back and looking up at the night sky, and then looked at the water again.

"You know, you really need to lighten up."

It's just like you're wearing underwear. Rhuben thought to herself before pulling off her shirt. Good thing it's dark. She hesitated before pulling off her black jeans and ran forward, splashing in the water, waiting for a wave to break, and then dove into the water, allowing it to wash over her.

"Took you long enough," James commented as soon as she surfaced beside her. "I thought that I was going to have to start singing until I got you out here."

Rhuben made a face and moved her arm through the water, splashing him with a small wave. "That would only work if you had a bad singing voice." She remarked.

James sputtered, shaking his head so water moved off of his face. "So, Beautiful, are you saying I have a good singing voice?" he asked with a grin, treading water.

"You already know that you have one, or you wouldn't be out here, Handsome." Rhuben returned and then sputtered as James splashed her with a wave of water. She spat a mouthful out, tasting salt. "You're going to pay for that one." She declared and started to rapidly splash him with water.

James swam back a little bit and splashed her back.

Soon, the two were laughing hysterically as they splashed each other with water. Rhuben turned her head, shielding her face from wave after wave James sent her way. But when she turned back, thinking he was done, he splashed her again, getting water in her eye.

"Ow!" She cried, immediately closing her eye. "I've got salt water in my eye!"

"Ooh," James grimaced and swam closer to her. "Sorry, I'm sorry." He raised a hand and wiped water off of her face. "That must kill." He remarked.

"Eh, the pain's going away," Rhuben said after a second, her facial features relaxing. She slowly opened her eye and then looked up when she noticed how close James was to her. As they continued to tread water, their feet, hands, legs, and arms gently brushed by each other.

James slowly moved closer to Rhuben, keeping his eyes on hers. He moved his hands up out of the water and lightly placed them on her cheeks. When she didn't move or make a sound to tell him to stop, he closed the gap between them and kissed her.

He was accordingly rough when compared to his personality. His mouth pressed hard against hers. His hands were tangled within her hair, pushing her face back to get easier access of Rhuben's already parted lips. His tongue traced the tiny crack in her bottom lip before slipping in. It was perfect, in every sense of the word, absolutely perfect. ..

A/N: I'm not trying to do any Jo bashing in this story, but I feel that I kind of am without meaning to. So let me know what you think of that please. Wooooooow, things sure got steamy in this chapter. Soooooo what did you guys think? Was it hot? Did you like the way that I made it that Kendall had to chase Riley around because she knew what he was going to say/do? I laughed when I thought of it and knew that it had to be done. I hope it was because I planned it that way. Hahaha.

This chapter focused more on Kiley (of course) the next one focuses more on Jella. - Speaking of which, I know the Jella thing kind of seemed abrupt and odd, but it'll be explained more in the next chapter.

I'll update again soon.

Cheers,

-Riles