SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO GET THE CHAPTER UP!

disclaimer: would i be on fanfiction if i really owned something?

POV: Kendall Knight

And now that I look back on it, I only fell for Kimmy because my heart was so empty without Destinee around. I needed someone to fill the giant hole that my second-cousin left.

"Umm… do you… want to go skating with us? We're short a couple people."

"I'm not that good…" she answered.

"Don't worry. I am."

"Kendall!" Kimmy yelled.

"What?"

"Can you fasten my skates?"

"You mean you want me to lace them up for you?"

"Whatever. I need them nice and tight around my ankles."

I sighed and sat across from her. Her laces were fine, but I retied them anyways. She needed reassurance from a hockey played. Someone who knew how to do it right.

When we finally got out on the ice, god, she was horrible. She was seriously clinging to me, when she wasn't hanging onto the wall for dear life or falling everywhere.

I went up behind her, grabbed her forearms, and helped her glide gently across the ice. "Keep your toes, knees, and shoulders aligned. It'll help with your balance. And don't put all of your weight on one side. That'll really hurt your balance."

"My weight?" she asked. "Are you calling me fat?"

"What? No!"

"Kendall!" James skated up to us. "Come race me and Logan!"

I helped Kimmy get safely to the wall, and then got to the line where James and Logan were waiting. "Just don't run into my date," I warned.

"I won't," Logan said, just as James said, "No promises."

Sighing heavily, I crouched down, ready to make them eat my dust… or rather, in this scenario, eat my ice-bits. "How will we know when to go?" I asked.

Logan was first to speak up. "Why don't you two wait for me to go a few feet and hit that turn, and then come after me?"

James looked at me. "Sounds fair."

"He's still gonna lose," I replied.

"Screw you guys." Logan took off.

A couple seconds later, James and I raced after him.

Guess who won?

Me.

Again.

During my victory lap, I tripped James and Logan, leaving them to get frostbite on their stomachs. That's right.

After helping Kimmy get settled at a table, I confronted Stacie. "So, Stacie, exactly where are Destinee and Carlos staying?"

"I don't know exactly where, but at Jess' brother Chad's house."

Now to find Jess…

Oh, there she is.

"Jess!" I skated up to her. "How've you been?"

"Gustavo-d out. What about-"

"Cut the small talk." I pushed her up against the glass hard, but not enough to hurt. Time to turn on the charm.

I didn't need it, though. Jess was already dying inside just being near me.

She looked up and gave me a sweet smile. "Hello there, Kendall."

"Hello, Jess. You want to get some pizza?" I didn't need to worry about Kimmy. I had seen her wander off with James somewhere…

"What about your date?"

"Oh, Kimmy? She'll be fine."

"Uh… sure, then."

I got her a pepperoni pizza. I picked the pepperoni off my piece. I'm more of a sausage man. I also bought her a large Coke at her request, which made my plan work perfectly.

"Kendall?" Jess asked.

"Yes?" I replied, doing my eyebrow-thing where I raised the left one and gazed at her like she was the most important person in the world. And in this situation, she was.

"I have to go to the bathroom. Can you watch my bag?"

"Sure."

"Thanks."

When I couldn't see her anymore, I grabbed her phone and found her older brother's address. I wrote it down on a napkin and stuffed it in my pocket. I had her bag and everything the way it was when she got back.

She didn't suspect a thing.

POV: Emma Miller

I stepped off the plane and into the brisk North Carolina air. I officially hate Mercedes Griffin.

How could she choose "Triple Threat" over us? Their group is too big. We only have six people.

"Well," Lee said, coming up behind me. "We gave it our best shot."

"No, we didn't. And now, we have to go back to school and be humiliated by everyone because we didn't hit it big."

"They'll be happy to see us again."

"Yeah, right."

"Ems, maybe it was your constant negativity that sent us back up here to this shit hole!" Lee nearly shouted. "I don't care what you think, but I'm going back to see if I can make it by myself."

"You do that!"

"I will."

Lee caught me in the hallway a couple days later at school. "Hey, Ems, Can I talk to you?"

"What do you want?"

He grabbed my forearm and cornered me against the lockers. "Can you please go with me back to LA?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Why should I? My 'negativity' will just bring you down."

"I want you to be there with me."

"What good will that do?"

"Emma, I can't live without you." He stroked my cheek.

"Lee, you're too sweet for your own good." I kissed him for a second.

"Is that a yes?"

"No." I started walking away.

"Emma, please?" He was begging, now.

I turned back to look at him. He was on his knees now, pleading with his grey eyes.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry."

POV: Kendall Knight

When I got home that night, I packed my duffel bag full of clothes and the essentials. Can't forget la deodorant.

I just couldn't find my lucky shirt – the one that Dest had worn. It was lucky before that, so don't get the wrong idea…

The dull red caught my eye poking out from the drawer, and I grabbed it. When I lifted my head, I saw a picture of Destinee and me sitting on my dresser.

Seeing it just reminded me why I was running away to Texas. I just knew that something was going to go wrong – involving Carlos – and something was gonna happed to Destinee.

So devious-little-me hopped on a Greyhound bus to Dallas. I had to protect Destinee.

After I checked into a hotel, I realized that the maintenance people hadn't restocked the bathroom with shampoo and soap, and I didn't bring any. I caught a cab to the nearest Target.

Guess who showed up.

Destinee leaned against the end of an aisle and Carlos leaned in a kissed her cheek. She smiled sweetly.

Then she saw me. Boy did I wipe that smile off her face!

I waved at them.

Yeah – Dest flicked me off.

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