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Chapter 12: Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)
Carlos made his way to Stephanie King's mansion. They had been talking over the phone about the movie and Stephanie wanted to talk in person. He was excited about this. James had laughed when he had told him about this, he also called Carlos cute. Carlos didn't care though, he was going to hang out with Stephanie King in person. He was excited. He had followed her from her career online to mainstream. She was amazing and he was a big fan boy.
He walked up to the door and knocked. He eagerly waited for the door to open. The door opened to reveal Stephanie. She was wearing a sports bra and shorts and was covered in sweat.
"Is this not a good time?" Carlos asked.
"Carlos, hey I am sorry, I totally lost track of time," Stephanie said stepping aside for the Latino. "The media room is down the hall last door on the right, I'll be right with you," Stephanie said. Carlos nodded his head. He made his way to the media room while Stephanie made her way to the stairs and headed up them quickly.
He entered the media room. It was big and spacious. There were movie posters all on the walls. Some were Stephanie's movies, but most were other big time horror movies. Carlos knew she had to be a big horror buff herself. He then spotted her DVD collection. He walked over to it and started to look it over. He saw a lot of horror movies and other scary suspenseful movies. He saw a few comedies and even fewer romance movies.
"They say you can learn a lot about a person from their movie collection."
Carlos turned and saw Stephanie standing in the doorway. Carlos smiled and nodded his head.
"So what does your collection say?" Carlos asked looking at the movies.
"I'm a horror fan with a good sense of humor and I love the occasional romance story," Stephanie said.
"I'd say you love to be scared and with a wicked sense of humor, but you're still a girl who love romance," Carlos said. Stephanie laughed and nodded her head.
"Spot on, what about you," Stephanie asked.
"Horror, comedy, and action," Carlos said.
"I think you love to be scared as well with a sick sense of humor and love to do things rather than sit around," Stephanie said.
"Yep, I love being out rather than inside. Back home Kendall and I would go explore the woods together for hours and pretend to be anything we thought of that day," Carlos said smiling fondly at the memories of his youth.
"That how you decided to be an actor?" Stephanie said moving over to the black leather couch in back of the room. Carlos walked over and sat down next to her.
"Yeah, it's fun pretending to be someone you're not and I am good," Carlos said.
"I agree, I saw your audition tape," Stephanie said. Carlos smiled. He had never thought he would get praise from Stephanie King, much less be in her house talking about a movie that she was direction that he was in. Carlos never would've thought that this would ever happen.
"So, I've got something to tell you actually," Stephanie said.
"What?" Carlos asked.
"My lead actor bailed on me and I need to replace him," Stephanie said.
"He bailed?" Carlos asked.
"He got a better offer and didn't want to do my movie, so I need to replace him," Stephanie said.
"Are you asking me?" Carlos asked his eyes wide. Stephanie laughed and nodded her head. "Of course," Carlos said quickly.
"Good, now I'll just have to switch some roles around, but this helps me rather than hold brand new auditions," Stephanie said smiling.
-Better than I Know Myself-
Logan sighed as he followed James out of the studio. They had been working hard on some vocals for a new song, and he was exhausted. He wasn't sure why, he was just tired and he wanted nothing more than to go home and go to sleep.
"You ok dude?" James asked.
"I'm fine, just tired," Logan said as they walked outside into the cool crisp evening air. "Don't you have a date with Carlos?" he asked.
"No, he's with Steph talking about the movie," James said.
"Careful James, you how Steph gets," Logan warned. James sighed and nodded his head. He knew exactly what Logan was talking about. Stephanie had flings with actors. She picked out an actor early on and bonded with him and then dated him whether or not if he was single.
"I may not trust Steph in that respect but I know Carlos won't do anything," James said confidently.
"Big words for someone you've only been dating a few weeks," Logan said.
"At least I'm dating someone for real," James snapped.
"I didn't mean it like that," Logan said, but James had already walked away. Logan sighed and shook his head. Logan just shook his head walked away. He headed over to his car. He knew James would forgive him. He always did.
Logan was just worried that Stephanie had set her eyes on Carlos. She liked to take what others had. He loved Stephanie, she was a great friend and all, but she was a bitch. She was two-faced sometimes. He knew James had to be careful with her.
-Better than I Know Myself-
Carlos hummed to himself as he walked into his and Kendall's apartment. He had just gotten done hanging out with Stephanie and going over the script with her. She helped him get into his character and helped him with some of his lines. It had been great. He had a great time with her. It was a dream come true to be working with her. Stephanie was amazing and just like everything he had thought she would be. She was funny and loud and all around great. He had dreamed of meeting her a million time and he never thought he would. Now he was just getting home from spending a few hours getting to know her and work on a script for a movie they were going to work on.
Carlos put his keys on the hook by the door. He looked over at the couch where Kendall was sitting watching TV. Carlos cleaned his throat and got the blondes attention. Kendall looked over at him. Kendall gave him a confused look.
"Someone's in a good mood, were you with James?" Kendall asked slowly.
"No, I was with Stephanie. She is amazing," Carlos said.
"Working on the script with Stephanie?" Kendall asked. Carlos nodded his head and walked over to the couch. Carlos sat down and told Kendall all about his visit. He told him about Stephanie and everything. Kendall sat there and listened and Carlos just talked. There was nothing bad to say about Stephanie though.
"You haven't talked about someone like this since you and James got together," Kendall stated.
"What are you implying Knight?" Carlos asked.
"Nothing," Kendall said putting his hands up. Carlos narrowed his eyes at his best friend. "I am just saying you're talking about her a lot," he said.
"She's my idol. I've been watching her movies since we were in middle school," Carlos said defensively.
"Don't need to get so defensive," Kendall said putting his hands up.
"Sorry, but everything just seems to be falling into place for me," Carlos said changing the topic, "I've got an acting gig with my idol Stephanie King and I am dating James Diamond," he added dreamily.
"Speaking of James, how are things going there," Kendall asked.
"Amazing," Carlos said nodding his head. "We've got a date set up for this weekend and I think after almost two months we might finally take the next step," he said grinning.
"Aw, little Carlitos want some action," Kendall teased.
"Well it's been almost three months and I can only go so long," Carlos said laughing.
"I know what you mean, but it'll happen when it happens," Kendall said.
"I know, but I think the time is now," Carlos said.
"Don't push him Carlos, you don't want to lose him."
"I know that."
"I'm just saying."
"I know," Carlos sighed. He stood up from the couch and stretched. "I'm hungry," he announced.
"You know where the kitchen is," Kendall said. Carlos flipped the blonde off and made his way over to the kitchen. Kendall walked over to the counter that separated the living room and the kitchen. "So my next ultrasound appointment is my ultrasound so we can see the gender of the baby, if they are in the right position," he said.
"Twenty weeks already?" Carlos asked stood up from looking in the refrigerator for something to eat. He looked at the blonde.
"Almost, I'm only sixteen tight now, so I've got four more weeks," Kendall said.
"Can I come with?" Carlos asked he fished a few items out of the refrigerator. "I mean as uncle/godfather I've got to be there," he said.
"Who said you were the godfather?" Kendall asked playfully.
"I did," Carlos said as started making a sandwich.
"I'll talk to Logan and see what he wants," Kendall said.
"Logan? Since when did he decide what you do?" Carlos asked.
"Since he knocked me up. I mean we've got to pretend we're dating and 'he' might just want it to be us," Kendall said.
"By he you mean his evil manager Kelly?" Carlos asked.
"Yep," Kendall said popping the p. Carlos laughed and shook his head.
"Screw her, we're best friends, scratch that, we're practically brothers. I can be there if I want to," Carlos said.
"You can tell her that," Kendall said laughing.
"I will," Carlos said.
-Better than I Know Myself-
Logan sighed as he listened to Kelly talk to him over the phone. She was telling him that he and Kendall needed to be seen out on a date together. She was very insistent on it. She had even made dinner reservations for them tonight at some upscale restaurant. She wanted them in the public eye and she wanted people to like Kendall.
"Mhmm," Logan said nodding his head as he listened to Kelly ramble on about his career. "I'll be there Kelly, and so will Kendall. Don't worry," Logan said.
"You better," Kelly said.
"Don't worry Kel, I got this," Logan said. He knew if he wanted people to believe that he and Kendall were really dating they had to go out in public. They had gone out a few times, but that was with James and Carlos, and Dak. This was going to be just them. There was that one day they had lunch together, but that was hardly a date. It was just them getting to know one another and talking…ok, so maybe it was a date, but this was different.
"Ok, I've got to go, but don't be late. It was hard getting this reservation on such short notice," Kelly said.
"Ok, bye Kelly," Logan said and he hung up. He set his phone down for a second. He knew Kelly only meant good. He loved her. She was a great agent and all, but she could be a bit harsh sometimes. Her excuse was that Hollywood was harsh and she had to protect her boys, him and James. She only wanted what was best for them.
Logan looked at his phone and sighed. He had to call Kendall and convince him to go out tonight. He hoped Kendall would be willing. He didn't want to upset Kelly. He went through his contact list and selected Kendall and called him.
"Hello," Kendall said.
"Hey Kendall, it's Logan," Logan said slowly. He wasn't sure how to go about this. He didn't want to make it sound like a business deal, but it wasn't a real date either.
"Oh hey, what's up?" Kendall asked.
"Uh I was just talking to Kelly," Logan said. Damn. This already is starting to sound like a business proposition. he thought.
"Yes," Kendall said drawing the word out.
"She wants us to go on a date. She made reservations for us tonight at a restaurant," Logan said.
"What time?" Kendall asked. Logan's jaw dropped in shock. He had thought Kendall would take some convincing.
Well, that was easy.
Logan's jaw fished for a few moments before he closed his mouth. "Eight," he said finally.
"I'll be ready by seven," Kendall said.
"Ok, I'll be there around seven."
"What kind of restaurant is this?"
"Italian and very upper class."
"I'll dress very nicely then."
"Good."
"Great."
"This feels like a business deal," Logan said.
"I know, but that's what it is isn't it?" Kendall asked.
"Uh, yeah," Logan said nodding his head. He didn't know what that statement hurt him so much. He knew this was really just a business deal. Why did he want it to be more though? He didn't understand.
-Better than I Know Myself-
James laughed and shook his head. He looked across the bar at Carlos. "No, I did not say that. I said she looked like she had the potential to be a stalker. I mean you saw the crazy look in her eyes didn't you?" James asked.
"Ok I'll admit she did look a bit crazy, and I didn't like the way she was licking her lips," Carlos said shaking his head.
"You see, this is why I think we should just stay in tonight. I think she might be across the street waiting for me to come out," James said shivering at the thought of being stalked.
"You're right," Carlos said nodding his head. He didn't want to have to worry about being followed. He just wanted to spend time with James. He didn't want creepy stalker girl ruining the night.
"Carly," Kendall said walking down the hallway with two suit jackets in his hands. One was navy blue and the other was black.
"Kendahlia," Carlos shot back at his friend. Kendall frowned at Carlos.
"Blue or black?" Kendall asked holding up the jackets.
"Where's Logan taking you," Carlos asked.
"No idea, some Italian place," Kendall shrugged.
"Sapori D' Italia," James said, "and I'd go with the black," he added pointing to the black jacket Kendall was holding.
"Yeah definitely the black," Carlos said nodding his head.
"Sapori D' Italia?" Kendall asked looking at James.
"It translates to, Tastes of Italy, and it's very fancy," James said.
"I know what it means, I am just scared that I am gonna embarrass myself," Kendall sighed. He fell onto a stool beside Carlos. He set his jackets on the countertop.
"It's not that bad, the food there is great and you just gotta look like you're having a good time with Logan," James said.
"That's easier said than done," Kendall said.
"Don't worry about it, it's just a date," Carlos said.
"Says the guy who freaked out about his date with James," Kendall said grinning when Carlos' face turned bright red. "And you were looking forward to the date because you liked him, not because you're knocked up," he added.
"I did not freak out," Carlos said kicking Kendall's shin.
"Watch it," Kendall said.
"You're pregnant a kick in the shin won't affect the baby," Carlos said sticking his tongue out at Kendall. Kendall returned it.
"You can tell you've known each other a long time you fight like brothers," James said shaking his head.
"Might as well be," Kendall said. He sighed and looked at the jackets on the counter. "So what are your guys' plans for tonight, then?" he asked.
"Creepy stalker girl is forcing us to stay in," Carlos said.
"We'll probably just watch a movie," James said. Kendall nodded his head.
"If we start fooling around we'll move to my room, I promise," Carlos said.
"You better, I don't want to walk in on you guys again," Kendall said shaking his head. He grabbed his jackets and headed back to his room to get ready for his date with Logan.
Over the weeks Kendall and James had become friends. Kendall and Carlos were fitting in great with him, Logan, and Dak. They were all friends now. It was easy to joke and talk to one another. James found it easy to talk to Kendall, almost as easy as it was to talk to Carlos.
"So how are things going with Steph?" James asked casually.
"Great, she's really helping me with my new part and getting into the character and everything," Carlos said smiling.
"Good, you deserve this Carlos. I mean when I helped you read lines you seemed great," James said smiling.
"I know, I can't wait to actually start shooting," Carlos said. James nodded his head. He wasn't sure if he should warn Carlos about Stephanie's behavior patterns. He knew he had nothing to worry about Carlos liked him. They were exclusive and things were great.
-Better than I Know Myself-
"Calm down Logan," Dak said as he watched Logan pace back and forth in his walk in closet. Logan was trying to pick something out to wear.
"Dak, I'm getting too involved," Logan said.
"So you've got a crush on him, it's no big deal," Dak said shrugging.
"It is too, he obviously doesn't like me that way. He reminded me that this is just a business deal to him. After the baby is born we split and get fifty-fifty custody of the kid," Logan said. It all sounded so simple right now, but he knew down the line it wouldn't be. Things would become harder and he'd have a life depending on him.
"Make him like you then," Dak suggested.
"How?" Logan asked. He had tried charming the blonde. It didn't work. His usual tricks weren't working on Kendall. He was different than anyone Logan had ever dated. Then again he wasn't really dating Kendall. He had just knocked the blonde up. This was a business deal and that's all it would be.
"I don't know charm him, show him you're good side," Dak said, "I've gotten to know Kendall and fancy things won't win his heart. What you've got to do is just be yourself," he added.
"Be myself?" Logan asked looking at Dak like he had suddenly grown three heads.
"Yeah, you know that person you are when you let your guard down," Dak said.
"You're not helping me. I can't just let my guard down, I mean what if he doesn't like me," Logan said quickly.
"Will you listen to yourself?" Dak asked.
"Shut up," Logan said.
"Don't get snippy with me Logan, you're the one who got yourself into this mess," Dak said annoyed.
"Sorry," Logan sighed. He walked out of his closet. Dak followed him. "I'm stressed with this album and Kendall and the baby," he said.
"I get it, you're under pressure and shit, but you've got to relax and just let things happen. Maybe he'll like you if you try," Dak stated calmly.
"Yeah, maybe," Logan sighed. He walked over to his bed and fell onto it. Dak sat down next to him. "Ok enough about me, how about you and Jett?" he asked looking up at him.
"Things are fine," Dak shrugged.
"Fine?" Logan asked
"Yeah, I mean he's treating me nice and everything," Dak said.
"But," Logan said knowing there was more to it.
"I'm attracted to him," Dak stated.
"But," Logan prompted. He knew what Dak wanted to say, but his pride wouldn't let him.
"I don't know if I have those kind of feelings for him," Dak sighed giving up.
"Then don't string him along," Logan stated matter-of-factly.
"I don't know, I mean what if he's the one for me. I mean no one else seems to want me," Dak said looking down at his hands. Logan sat up and turned to face Dak.
"Dak don't, you're a great guy and anyone who wouldn't want you is crazy," Logan said.
"After Jett and I broke up, I tried dating and it didn't work. I mean what if this is gods way of telling me Jett's the one?" Dak asked looking up at Logan.
"You and Jett only really broke up for just under a year, that's not enough time to move on fully," Logan said.
"You moved on from Dustin pretty quickly," Dak said.
"I knew it was over months before it really ended I was just in denial," Logan shrugged.
"I don't know, I'll see where it goes and wait a few weeks and give myself some time to see what I want," Dak sighed.
"Just don't string him on for too long. I may not like him, but stringing his on will only hurt him more in the end," Logan said.
"I know," Dak sighed.
-Better than I Know Myself-
Kendall followed Logan into the restaurant. It was really fancy and Kendall felt out of place. Logan talked to the hostess and she got their table ready for them. They were seated, given menus, and glasses of water. Logan asked for a glass of champagne while Kendall just ordered a diet coke. They both looked over the menus in silence. The waiter returned with their drinks.
"You guys ready to order," He asked.
"Uh, yes I'll have the Linguini with clam sauce," Logan said setting his menu aside. The waiter nodded and turned to Kendall. Kendall looked at Logan for a second before reading an item off the menu in perfect Italian. The waiter nodded his head and left. Logan looked at Kendall shocked.
"What?" Kendall asked.
"You speak Italian," Logan asked.
"Yeah, I just ordered the baked ziti with mushrooms and no onions," Kendall said shrugging.
"Wow, you cease to amaze me," Logan said slowly shaking his head.
"I'm just full of surprises," Kendall said smiling. They sat there making small talk until their food arrived. The waiter walked away and Kendall sighed.
"Something wrong?" Logan asked taking a big sip of his champagne. His nerves were starting to kick in. He knew he had to relax and not worry about this too much.
"No, I guess I'm just gonna have to get used to places like this," Kendall said.
"I know, but it wasn't my idea," Logan said waving his hand. "I told Kelly not to that I would deal with it and see what you wanted to do," he said taking yet another sip of champagne.
"It's ok Logan," Kendall said quickly a small smile playing across his face.
"Sorry, I just don't want to make you uncomfortable," Logan said as he took a another sip of his champagne.
"I'm fine, it's just a culture shock is all," Kendall said waving his head.
"I know, when James and I first got here it was hard," Logan said nodding his head. "We had to push and kick our way in. We were found by Gustavo eventually and now here we are," he said taking another sip of his champagne. His nerves were really getting to him. He knew the champagne would help him relax a bit more. The waiter came over and asked Logan if he wanted a refill of his champagne and Logan just nodded his head.
"I've never really gotten too into the Hollywood spot light," Kendall said looking at the waiter as he walked away, "I mean Carlos is an actor, but this job with Stephanie is his first big break," he added.
"Oh yeah, you might want to warn you're friend about Steph," Logan said pointing a finger at Kendall and his words seemed a bit slurred. "She only pays special attention to guys she likes. She sleeps with them during her movies and then dumps them when the movie is done," he said.
"What?" Kendall asked shocked.
"She never used to be like this, but Hollywood changed her," Logan said.
"Wow, are you already getting tipsy?" Kendall asked looking at Logan shocked.
"No," Logan said shaking his head. He looked down at his food. The waiter returned and filled Logan's glass for him. Once he walked away Logan took another drink of the champagne. He now just wanted this night to end. He had said too much. He hadn't thought about what he was saying about Stephanie.
Tada another update. I hope you all like this. I am not only going to be able to update in weekends, but I can write through out the week. I will try to have at least one update each weekend for atleast one fic. So review and let me know waht you liked or what you dind't like.
Always
OUTOFMYMIND