"What was that about?" Logan asked, very confused.
Kendall shrugged and said, "Honestly, I don't know." He looked over at James' door and then to Katie's. Something strange was going on and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. He quickly said "Goodnight" to Logan before heading into his shared room.
As soon as he walked in, he saw James lying on his own bed with his hands behind his head. Obviously he was deep in thought. Kendall closed the door, harder than usual, causing James to come out of his thoughts.
"Hey." Kendall said. James just nodded and looked back up to the ceiling. Kendall sighed and sat down on his own bed on the opposite side of the room. He looked back at James across the bedroom and asked, "James?"
James looked over and said, "What?" Kendall could tell he was slightly irritated.
He raised his eyebrows and said, "I just wanted to know what was going on."
"What do you mean?" James asked, sitting up. He looked confused and Kendall rolled his eyes.
"I mean, what's going on between you and Katie? You guys haven't been acting like you usually do since we got home."
"Nothing's going on between me and Katie." James looked up at his best friend. "Wait, why do you ask? Did she say something about me?"
Kendall looked at him with a raised eyebrow and said, "No, she didn't say anything." James looked slightly disappointed and Kendall said, "There!" He pointed to James and said, "You looked sad when I said she didn't talk about you!"
"What? I didn't look sad. What are you talking about?"
Kendall clenched his jaw and said, "James, don't lie to me. We've always been able to each other and the other guys the truth. Always. So what's going on between you and my sister?"
James looked down and muttered, "Nothing."
"Nothing?" Kendall asked, obviously not believing him.
James looked back up and said, "Yes, nothing. And that's just it! I wish something was happening between us, but there isn't! Are you happy now?" He laid back down on his bad as Kendall stared in disbelief.
"James, since when have you liked Katie? She's my sister!"
James closed his eyes and muttered, "I didn't say I liked her… exactly."
"You just did!" Kendall exclaimed.
James stared at him for a minute, contemplating what he was going to say next. He couldn't think of an excuse and sighed. "Okay, fine. I like your sister. I like Katie."
Kendall's eyes grew wide and asked, "Since when?"
James sat up again and said, "I guess I've always noticed that something was there. I just ignored it because she was so much younger than me. But now she's eighteen and grown up. And, I don't know. Now it's legal and…" he trailed off.
Kendall swallowed and said, "James, she's my baby sister. The same sister that moved here with us when we were 16. The same scheming, conniving, little girl who pulled pranks on us. You're telling me that you've always felt something for her?"
James stared at his friend and said, "Yes! And that's why this is so hard! I know I should only think of her as a sister but I just…don't. I've tried so many times to forget her. That's why I would jump from girl to girl. And on tour. I was so sure that would take my mind off of her. But I would just end up thinking about her. She was my first thought when I woke up and my last thought before I went to bed." He ended his rant and put his head in his hands.
Kendall sat in shock. How did he not see this? All through their time living at the Palm Woods, recording new songs with Gustavo, hanging by the pool, going on tour and performing concerts, James liked Katie? More than a sister? He couldn't believe that he didn't see it coming.
"James" he began. He didn't really know what to say to his friend. "Look, I-"
"Just forget it, okay? I'm not even gonna tell her." James said.
Kendall furrowed his brow and said, "You're not gonna tell her? Why not?"
James got up and started pacing around the room. "I'm not going to tell her because it would just make everything too weird." Kendall nodded at this. "And I already know that she doesn't like me that way. She's too busy with Kyle." He said Kyle's name in disgust.
Kendall asked, "How do you know she doesn't like you? I mean, it's possible." James stopped by the window and stared out.
Kendall got off his bed as well and walked over to James. "Look man. Sure it would be weird. It's hard to imagine you with Katie. As more than friends. But, I mean I would…eventually be okay with it." James turned around.
"You would be okay with me dating your sister? Really?" He asked, not really believing it.
Kendall hesitated before saying, "Yes. Look, you're one of my best friends. You've been on A LOT of dates with other girls, so usually I wouldn't trust you. But now that I know you just went out with them to get your mind off of Katie. That changes everything. I know she would be safe with you."
James smiled and said, "Thanks." Kendall just patted his shoulder and said, "So, are you gonna tell her?"
James thought for a moment before saying, "I want to. But I want to make sure she feels the same way about me. It would hurt way too much getting rejected by the most amazing girl on earth."
Kendall smiled and said, "She is pretty amazing, isn't she?" James nodded and Kendall added, "Okay, take your time. But know that you have my full support."
He hugged James and then went back to his bed. James had never felt happier. He just admitted that he liked his best friend's little sister, and his best friend was okay with it! He got into his bed and stared up at the ceiling, thinking about how he should tell Katie. More importantly, when should he tell Katie? He sighed and then turned off the light, the room being consumed by darkness. James figured he would tell Katie when the time was right. Although when that was? He had no clue.
The Next Day
"Katie!" Jo called as Katie walked into the lobby.
"Hi Jo. How's the you-know-what coming?" She said, looking over to see Kendall and Carlos talking nearby.
"It's coming along. Although there's one problem." Katie raised her eyebrows and nodded, letting Jo continue. "Well, we can't start decorating for the you-know-what while the guys are here. It'll ruin the surprise."
Katie thought for a minute before saying, "Don't worry, I'll get them to leave the Palm Woods for a few hours. Do we have enough food? And what about music?"
"Covered. Just get them," Jo pointed to Kendall and Carlos, "away long enough." Katie nodded and Jo ran off toward Camille, who was standing beside the pool talking to Logan.
Katie took out her phone and texted all of the guys to come to the lobby. In a matter of minutes, they were all standing in front of her.
"Hey guys! Look, why don't we all spend the day together? I mean, I haven't seen all of you for so long." The guys just shrugged and nodded. "Great, so let's do something away from the Palm Woods!" she started pushing them out of the lobby and away from the pool.
"Katie! What's the rush?" Kendall asked after they got to the front parking lot.
"Rush? No rush! Just excited to spend the day with my boys! Haha." She tried not to sound too obvious. The guys all looked at each other. Katie bit her lip and said, "So, what do you want to do?"
"Hockey!" Carlos exclaimed with a smile.
Kendall's face brightened and he said, "Yeah, we could all go to the local ice rink." They all nodded and scrambled into James' car. The ride took about 20 minutes and they guys were all talking excitedly about the game they were about to play. Katie just smiled and stared out the window. Finally they arrived and the guys automatically went to change into their hockey gear. Katie just rolled her eyes and took a seat in the empty stands. They were about the only ones there, aside from a few workers.
They played about 7 games, happy to be back on the ice. Although every now and then, James would look up to the stands and see Katie. She was reading a book with her head in her hand. She looked up and their eyes met. She smiled and he smiled back. James waved, but then got taken out by Logan. Katie's eyes grew wide, obviously worried about him. He got up, not too badly injured. As soon as she knew he was alright, she laughed. But not at him, with him. The games lasted until 5:00, but finally the guys exited the rink and went to go change into their regular clothes.
Katie waited for the guys. She was standing by the door leading out with a drink in her hand that she bought from the concession stand. She got her phone and texted Camille.
Hey, we'll be home in about a half an hour. Is everything ready? –Katie
Yep! Can't wait for the party! :) –Camille
Katie smiled as she read the text. She then looked up to see James come out. He was the first one done changing and he smiled when he saw her.
He walked up to her and she said, "Hey. Are you okay? That was a pretty rough fall." She giggled at the last part.
He chuckled and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Who're you talking to?" He pointed to the phone in her hands.
She looked down at it. "Oh, just Camille." She said quickly before putting the phone in her pocket. James nodded and looked back toward the rink.
Katie noticed and said, "Did you have fun? I know how much you guys miss hockey."
He turned back to her and said, "Yeah, it was. I haven't really played hockey since we moved from Minnesota. Man, that seems so long ago!"
She nodded and said, "Yeah, it does! Geez, if you think about it, we moved to Hollywood 7 years ago!" James' eyes became wide and they both laughed in disbelief.
"Time can go by so fast." He said, taking the cup from her hands and taking a sip.
"Hey!" she laughed before grabbing the drink back. "And you're right; time really does go by fast."
They walked to the see-through wall and looked out to the ice. Although on the way, Katie tripped over a roll in the carpet. As she fell, she was expecting to feel the hard floor any second. But it never came. She opened her eyes to come face to face with James. He had both of his arms around her waist and her hands rested on his chest.
"T-thanks." She said softly.
"Don't mention it." He said with a smile.
She then had the strangest feeling of deja-vu. The last time their faces had been this close had been last night on the couch. They almost kissed. Katie blushed at the memory and James chuckled. They kept looking into each other's eyes when they heard Kendall, Logan, and Carlos come out of the changing rooms. They looked up to see the three boys staring at them.
"Whoa." Carlos said, noticing James and Katie's extremely close faces.
"Are we interrupting anything?" Kendall asked with a knowing smile. James and Katie stood up and cleared their throats.
"N-no. Um, we should go." Katie said quickly before dashing out the door and toward the car. The guys looked back at James, whose face was bright red by now.
"Yeah, what she said." He said before following Katie. Carlos and Logan looked at each other and Kendall just laughed.
Hey! Another chapter done! :P
And don't worry, James and Katie will get together soon. I just won't say when! X)
The next chapter will be at the party and let me say, something big DOES happen! So hang in there!
Thanks for all of your awesome comments! They mean a lot to me! :)
Read&review! :D