Title: And So It Goes
Author: SLynn
Rating: T
Pairings: Logan/Camille and Kendall/Jo
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Does anyone actually read this? If so, these characters and settings are not mine. I'm only borrowing.

Summary: Katie has a plan, but it's Kelly that ends up needing one.

Notes: Almost done! I'm already about six chapters into writing the follow-up, so that one should be coming out shortly after this one ends! Thanks again for reading and reviewing! Enjoy!

Chapter 16

Just before Jo had confronted Katie with the scant evidence she'd had, Camille had been seated at one of the nearby tables, trying hard not to let her gaze linger long on Logan or those annoying, and inexplicably giggling, trio of girls that sat with him and Carlos. Part of her was burning up with fury that this was the punishment he'd been so angry about. It seemed to her that he'd been grounded for little less than a week. In the very least he could have written her back, but instead he'd sent a little girl to tell her for him, making him not only a jerk but a coward.

Fed up, wishing she'd thought of asking Erik back over tonight so she could show Logan what flirting really looked like, Camille stormed off. She wasn't about to sit here, watching this, and making herself even more miserable than she already was.

But she kept asking herself 'How could he do this?' She thought she'd known him better than that, but evidentially, she'd been wrong. Unbidden tears began to roll down her face, which she hastened to wipe away as she crossed through the lobby and into the stairwell. Camille had always been an emotional person, she thought of it as a strength, not a weakness. An actress had to be an emotional person, but it was getting ridiculous. She was just so hurt by it all, she couldn't help herself.

Sitting down on the bottom step, Camille indulged in her tears for a few minutes, hoping to just get it out of her system so she could go back up to her apartment and meet her parents scrutinizing gaze without having them worried. But before she could finish her cry, the door banged open and a hurried step brought one of the last people she wanted to see into view.

James came to a dead halt and even staggered backwards on finding Camille staring up at him with a reproachful glare.

"Excuse me," he said as politely as he could as he made to move around her.

"Don't mind me," she called bitterly after him. In her anger, and part of her knew it wasn't fair, Camille had begun blaming Logan's friends as well. They certainly hadn't helped the situation in any way she could see.

James stopped three steps up the stairs and turned back around, unable to let it go.

"Camille," James started slowly, "I shouldn't even be talking to you, after how you treated Logan..."

"How I treated him?"

"But," he interrupted, moving a few steps closer to her, "I have to know. How could you do that to him?"

"Oh, shut up, James," Camille said, breaking out in a fresh wave of tears. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I know it's your fault that..."

"Why does everyone think this is my fault?" she said, this time interrupting him, as she jumped to her feet. "Don't you think I'm sorry? Do you think this is what I wanted to happen? I made a mistake. We should have never gone to that stupid party."

"It has nothing to do with that," James said, talking as calmly as he could and really not wanting to upset Camille any more than she already was, but nevertheless angry on Logan's behave. "It's about after..."

"After?" she asked, catching onto the word as if it was a lifeline. "So, I do what my parents tell me to do and that's it? He can't handle that? I mean, what else was I supposed to do, James? What?"

Before James could answer her, Camille had broken down completely into uncontrolled tears. James looked around nervously, uncertain as to what he should do. For all his talk, James hadn't been around that many girls, and the ones he knew didn't do this. All the women in his life, like his mom and Kendall's mom, just weren't criers. So he did the only thing he could think to do, which was to jump down the last few remaining steps between them and tentatively put an arm around her. She turned instantly and crushed her face against his chest, sporadic babbling issuing out between her sobs.

"Camille," James said, softly patting on her back, and feeling an odd sense of guilt in the pit of his stomach as he realized he was actually holding her. "Don't cry. It'll be okay. It will."

"No it won't," she managed to croak out.

"Listen," James began, but the sound of the door flying open behind him startled the rest of his sentence right out of his throat.

Katie bolted past them and up the steps, her face very red, without saying a word or acknowledging their presence. James and Camille both had just enough time to register this event when the door swung open again and there was Logan.

His sneakers actually squeaked, Logan stopped so quickly and did a double take. And with his mouth hung open, stared at them, waiting for an explanation.

"Are you kidding me?" Logan finally snapped, when none was forthcoming.

Camille, as angry as she was with Logan, was horrified at how this must look. And, given that James, in shock, still hadn't let go of her, she did the only thing she could and pushed him away with a hard shove. That finally brought James back to his own senses, as he began to shake his head vigorously.

"This is not what you think," James managed, but the deep blush that spread across his cheeks was less than convincing.

Logan shut his eyes and took a deep breath, telling himself over and over that they didn't know. Camille and James didn't know what Katie had done. They didn't know that this entire break-up was a really awful misunderstanding. But, even if it was, nothing could excuse or explain this.

"Logan," Camille said, her voice uneven, "I wouldn't... you know I wouldn't do this."

"You had a boyfriend, like, two days after you'd broken up with me... or you'd thought I'd broken up with you," Logan stammered, the details jumbled in his own mind.

"He wasn't my boyfriend," she confessed. "I was just trying to make you jealous."

"Make me jealous," Logan repeated, looking from Camille to James.

"No," they both said together, understanding exactly how Logan had interpreted the remark.

"I can't do this," Logan said, shaking his head and turning for the stairs. "I've got other things to take care of right now and I can't... I can't do this."

"Logan," James called after him. "Really, I know you're upset but if you'd just listen..."

"I'm done," Logan said, without looking back. "If you want James, Camille, then... fine. Have him."

"Logan," James repeated, running up after him, reaching for his shoulder.

Logan wheeled round on him and pushed his hand off with surprising force. The shock was obvious on James face, as he staggered backwards a few steps. Camille ran forward and instinctively braced him, in case he'd fallen completely down the steps, which in Logan's mind confirmed the absolute worst. Unable to even look at them any longer, he turned and resumed, at a faster pace than before, his march up the steps.

"Let him go," Camille said, grabbing James by the arm as he attempted to follow. "I can't do this either. If I needed any more proof that this is not going to happen, then..." Camille stopped and gestured hopeless up the stairs.

"I'll talk to him," James assured her. "I mean, he can't possibly think..."

"Who knows," Camille sighed. "I used to think I did, but not anymore."

"It'll be fine."

"No it won't," she returned, smiling sadly up at him.

"It will," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Let me talk to him. Once he calms down and I explain..."

Again, the door banged open, and before James could finish his sentence, Kendall and Jo were staring at the two of them with wide eyes.

"What's going on?" Kendall asked, looking nearly as angry as Logan had.

"We have got to get out of this stairwell," James sighed, dropping his hands and shaking his head.

"No, seriously," Kendall said. "What is going on?"

"Nothing," Camille answered through gritted teeth. "Not that Logan believed us."

"Well," Kendall dragged out. "Look at you."

"It does look bad," Jo agreed with frown.

"Really? You, too?" James asked, starting to get angry now himself. "Do you really think I'd do that? Really?"

"No," Kendall said without hesitation. "And whatever Logan saw," he stopped quickly at the look James threw at him and amended his statement, "or didn't see, he'll come around. Eventually."

"I don't care if he does," Camille said. "If he doesn't want to be my boyfriend, he can't get mad every time he sees me with someone else."

"Yeah," Kendall said, "I'm still really confused about this whole Logan does-and-doesn't want to be your boyfriend thing."

"Me, too," James said.

"What's confusing about it?" Camille asked. "He said he doesn't want me to be his girlfriend."

Kendall and James exchanged bemused glances.

"Camille," Jo spoke up, "I really need to talk to you."

"Later, okay?" she sighed. "I'm going to bed."

"But..." Jo argued, but Camille was already out the door before she could stop her.

"You okay?" Kendall asked her.

"Not really," she admitted with a wan smile. "Listen, I'm going to try and catch up with Camille. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Okay," Kendall said, smiling as he leaned down and quickly kissed her goodnight.

After Jo ran off after Camille, James looked up the stairwell apprehensively.

"Do you think it's safe yet?"

"Probably not," Kendall answered. "But you don't have a lot of choice. Curfew."

"You do believe me, right? Nothing was happening."

"If you say nothing happened," Kendall said, "then nothing happened."

"Good."

Kendall and James climbed the rest of the stairs in silence. When they got to the apartment the first thing they saw was Carlos, looking anxious, and sitting on the back of the couch.

"Katie, please open the door," Mrs. Knight was calling, standing close to the bathroom off of the kitchen.

Logan was also in the kitchen, leaning against the counter with his arms folded across his chest, looking miserable.

"What's going on?" Kendall asked, his eyes darting from Carlos to Logan, before landing on his mother.

"It's nothing," she said quickly.

Kendall noticed Logan wouldn't look at him, so he turned to Carlos.

"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "I just got here."

"Kendall," Mrs. Knight said sharply. "You, Carlos and James, just go to bed."

"Why does Logan..."

"Now," she interrupted, and he knew that all arguments had ended.

The three of them all went to their room, waiting until the door shut, before they started talking.

"What was that about?" Kendall asked Carlos.

"I told you, I don't know," he answered. "I got home a few minutes ago and by then Katie was already in the bathroom and your mom was trying to persuade her out of it."

"Logan was following Katie up the stairs," James added. "She looked upset. But then, so did he."

"Well, yeah, he caught you..."

"Doing nothing," James interjected loudly, earning a 'shush' from the other two.

"What were you doing?" Carlos asked.

"I was talking to Camille."

"With your arms around her," Kendall added.

Before Carlos could exclaim, James waved his hand in front of himself, shaking his head, and saying, "No. It wasn't like that at all. She was crying. I found her, crying, and I only stopped to talk."

"Then how..." Carlos began to ask, but Kendall 'shushed' him.

"Forget that," he said in a huff. "What's wrong with Katie?"

"Kendall, I don't know," Carlos repeated for the third time now.

"And we're not going to know," James said, starting to get ready for bed, "because your mom is not going to let us out of here for the rest of the night. She had on her serious face and that look does not bode well for anyone."

"I'm sure we'll find out in the morning," Carlos said to Kendall, as he too went to get ready for bed.

Kendall's eyes remained fixed on the door for a few minutes before deciding that there was nothing he could do about it tonight and so, like the others, he went to bed.