A/N: Got a lot to say here, starting with YOU CAN'T KILL ME OTHERWISE YOU WON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN THIS STORY! That plus I've yet to have any Masbabies (right, Nath ;) ) Oh, and I'm looking into hiring Freight Train to protect me :D But seriously, that cliffhanger had been planned since I started chapter one, maybe even before that. So...I knew it was coming. You guys didn't (obvi) but I did, so I was actually hoping for death threats and angry yells. So yay! I did my job right :D

Next, HOLY. SHIT. YOU. GUYS. Twenty-seven reviews on the last chapter-which I attribute to you guys being really pissed off with me and threatening me, but I will take it! But all those reviews pushed me to 100 reviews overall! Thank you guys so so much! So great to know you guys are loving it!

Special shout outs to Nath, for being herself, and iamcaptainnarcolepsy, paigeistherealmasterofcomeba cks, and rockchickblog on Tumblr (I don't know your names on here, sorry :( ) for the awesome posts and/or messages. Those were just so fucking awesome I can't even begin to find the words, other than keysmashing and weird pterodactyl type noises. So thank you guys a million times over! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Not sure what else to say right now. Kinda just busy freaking out over those messages/posts again. I'm a nerd, okay?! Uh...the usual I don't own BTR, witty comment about what would happen if I did, yada yada yada. VIP Nation don't sue! OH! Say "fanboying" out loud. You sound like Flavor Flav. But other than that... ummmmm...yeah!

Enjoy!

AND DON'T KILL ME!

Kendall's heart stopped right in his chest. Or was it beating double time? He wasn't sure. Either way, it wasn't acting normal.

His green eyes were locked onto James' hazel ones, watching as the singer's orbs widened, his breath hitched, mouth opening in shock. That had to be a sign, right? A clue of some sort. James had to remember him, that had to be it. Why else would the internationally known pop star be looking like he was the one who was starstruck?

But as quickly as that expression had appeared on James' face, that was how fast it vanished. The singer closed his mouth, put his eyes back in his skull, and cleared his throat before plastering a friendly smile on his face, one used for all fans, one Kendall had seen in countless pics the pop star had taken with his admirers. The change had happened so quickly that the blond wasn't entirely sure that he hadn't imagined the whole thing. Wish for something enough, hope for something enough, it was bound to fuck with your head and cause you to see shit that wasn't actually there. Hadn't he been telling himself that the past couple months?

Smearing a hand over his face, he hid his confusion, his disappointment. He hadn't been expecting any sorta overly dramatic reunion straight out of a chick flick where James cries out his name before running over and embracing the younger male in a bone crushing hug, rambling about how he was so thankful the blond had come, how he was so scared he'd never see the slightly shorter male, how he'd spent the past two months pining over a guy he'd spent a total of five minutes with.

Okay, maybe he had and it ended with a fuckfest on the black curtain that they'd pulled down onto the floor and wet boxers when he woke up.

But still, he was hoping for something more than a brief flicker of what could possibly be recognition on the brunet male's face. Although he shouldn't complain too much. Was better than nothing.

Didn't stop the disappointment and sadness from knocking him on his ass like a prize fighter.

Shoving that shit aside, he put an emotionless mask on his face, walking over to where the singer was already talking to his sister, coming in to part of their convo.

"Big bro bought me the tickets for my birthday," Katie told James, arms folded over her arms in a relaxed manner as she tilted her head back to look up at him. "He's tryna buy my love."

James laughed, the sound as musical as his singing voice, Kendall's heart doing that weird stopping-yet-beating-double-time thing again. God, the things this male did to him. None of it was fucking okay.

The singer kept up the convo with the younger female, not seeming to notice Kendall as he stopped a step behind on her left. "So it's your birthday?"

"Next Wednesday."

"Happy early birthday." The pop star gave her a genuine smile, touching her shoulder briefly, causing Katie to giggle—which she never did—before turning to Kendall, hands on his hips in a relaxed manner. "So you came for your sister, huh?" His face seemed to be flat, but his green-brown eyes were a myriad of emotions that the blond couldn't even begin to figure out.

He rubbed the back of his neck, debating on how exactly to answer. "Uh," he dropped his hand, shoving both in his jeans pockets. "Yeah." Okay, slightly a lie, but whatever. He wasn't gonna admit to anything and seem like a loser fanboy.

Which he totally wasn't.

Something flashed on James' face, his smile slightly faltering for a brief second before he righted it. Only instead of the grin looking like the genuine one before, it was back to the fake one he forced during photoshoots. Which caused Kendall to internally raise an eyebrow in question. What the fuck was that about?

"Cool," James replied, that fake smile still there as Logan walked back over, dimpled smile on his face.

"You guys ready to get your picture taken?" the spiky haired male questioned, clapping his hands together, clearly wanting to get the show on the road.

The singer turned to his best friend, shaking his bangs to the side, that fake smile disappearing and confusion taking over. "Huh? Oh! Right." He turned back to the Knight siblings, small smile back. Kendall wondered how the guy's face didn't hurt from all these false grins, the happy face that was always plastered there. Maybe the muscles had built up strength due to their constant use. The blond definitely wouldn't know anything about that.

He, Katie, and James moved so they were in front of the logo hanging over the black curtain that covered the back wall. The young girl positioned herself ahead of the two males, Kendall putting a hand on her right shoulder, James mimicking the position on her left one. Not that the blond was paying much attention to the brunet's left hand, considering the pop star's right one was currently on the teenager's lower back, the palm hot, burning him even through the cotton of his t-shirt. It was like someone put hot coals right against his spine, warming his entire body. He was surprised he hadn't broken out into a sweat.

Knowing it might be his only chance, he decided to make a move—of sorts—of his own. With a mental 'fuck it', he shored up his courage, moving his own left hand under James' jacket, palm flat, fingers splayed right against the singer's lower back.

And damn if the brunet's skin there didn't feel just as hot as his palm on Kendall, the heat the blond was feeling getting more intense, like he was in a sauna and someone had cranked up the temp. He was on fucking fire.

James' arm snaked around Kendall more, hand now on the blond's side, gripping it tight. The teen inhaled sharply, entire body tensing, fingers digging into the pop star's tee. It was definitely there again, that connection, that intensity, that feeling that if James didn't do anything—and soon—Kendall was gonna explode.

Although shoving his tongue down the singer's throat in front of his baby sister was a really bad idea. Sure, she watched a lotta cop shows, had seen a lotta shit most eleven-year-olds hadn't, but two grown men sucking face and groping each other wasn't one of those things.

At least he hoped not.

"All right," the photographer started, cutting into the intensity. "Everyone smile on three."

Kendall focused on the guy behind the camera seated on a tripod, trying to ignore how it felt like flames were slowly burning him alive as he stood there, ignore how good it felt to be in James' embrace, ignore how fucking edible the singer smelled. He made sure not to show how bad he was freaking out, how he was wishing no one else was around and his and James' clothes were gone so he could fully feel that skin to skin burn all over. Instead, he attempted to smile like a normal person who was happy in that moment and not one who was dealing with all that shit in his head.

The photographer counted to three, the camera clicking as the picture was taken. And while Kendall was thankful to have that moment captured for the rest of his life—although he was one-hundred percent certain he'd never forget a second of it anyway—he didn't wanna move, didn't wanna leave the singer's arm. He'd never really experienced a desire, a need to stay in a moment forever—except a few brief wishes of that at a few concerts or parties. But he knew he'd give up anything and everything to keep James' arm right where it was.

"All right, guys, we got it," the photographer stated as he straightened up from behind his camera.

Katie stepped forward—well, bounced forward was more accurate, which was still really fucking weird to see her actually act her age rather than older. But when Kendall tried to move forward, James' grip on his side tightened, the singer pulling him closer and holding him in place.

"Wait!" the brunet male called out, four heads whipping around to him. "We need to take another photo. My eyes were closed."

"Uh, James?" Logan spoke up from his position on the photographer's left. "They only paid for one."

"Yeah, don't care. I'm not giving my fans a pic where I look like a derp with my eyes closed," James argued, eyes hard as they stared his best friend down. "Let's take another."

"I don-"

"Logan!" The singer interrupted. "Another. Picture. Now." His jaw was tense as he practically growled out the words from between his teeth, anger all over his face, stare heated as he glared and holy shit, was that fucking hot.

The shorter brunet male let out a harsh sigh, shoving a hand through his dark hair and pulling on the locks before shaking his head and putting his hands on his hips. "Fine," he relented, giving Kendall the impression that it happened a lot, the assistant turning to the photographer. "Give the diva what he wants."

"Divo, thank you very much."

Logan rolled his eyes.

"Idea," James started, ignoring his best friend and turning to the male he still had a hold of. "Why don't we pick the birthday girl up and have her lay across our arms?" Those hazel eyes of his were locked onto Kendall's green ones and the blond knew that if the singer asked him to go jump off a bridge with him, he'd do it without hesitation, as long as he looked at him with those green-brown eyes.

How. Fucking. Pathetic.

"It's Katie," the young female corrected him, James turning his head to her. "And I am totally okay with that."

The smile the pop star gave her was a genuine one, a sparkle of amusement in his eyes. Kendall found himself wishing the singer wasn't so great with his sister. For starters, it was making him feel like a shit brother. And secondly, it was too fucking cute and was making the blond fall harder.

Asshole.

James unwrapped his arm from around Kendall, making the teen's skin immediately grow cold. Except where the pop star had touched him. A permanent impression had been burned onto him there.

The two males managed to lift the small female so that she was laying across their arms, James holding her legs, Kendall her torso.

"Wait, hold on," the singer started, interrupting the photographer's count. "I gotta-" he broke off, moving his right hand, causing Kendall to tighten his own grip and shift his hand to his sister's hip. Where James promptly covered the blond's hand with his own. "Much better," the brunet commented.

The blond's eyes went wide. The guy had to be fucking with him. Right?

"I swear if you idiots drop me-" Katie let the threat hang unspoken, her brother rolling his eyes.

"Don't worry. We got you," James replied, the eleven year old relaxing in their arms.

'At least she can fucking relax,' Kendall thought to himself, a warm tingle passing through the back of his hand and throughout his body.

The photographer called for their attention, starting his count over, taking their pic. Again. Once that was done, the two males carefully sat the young girl on her feet, neither letting go until she was stable. Or shoved their hands away, which was what happened.

James let out an amused laugh as he straightened. "Feisty, aren't we?"

Katie pointed, big brown eyes turned up at him. "And don't you forget it, buddy," she instructed, before folding her arms over her chest.

The singer chuckled again. "Well, with that attitude, I'm sure you'll get everything you want for your birthday next week."

"Always do."

Yet another laugh, Kendall's heart pounding in rhythm with it, only to stop when the brunet turned his head and looked at him. Their eyes locked again, the world melting away like it seemed to always do with them, the blond's breath stopping in his lungs.

A serious expression washed over the pop star's face, James licking his lips before speaking in a low volume. "Good seeing you again, Kendall."

The teenager swallowed hard, chest tight, that tingle back once more. Only now it was all over. "You, too." His voice was barely a whisper, hardly even heard by his own ears. But judging by how James' smile grew, the brunet had clearly heard.

"Uh, James?" Logan's questioning voice cut into their moment, rudely reminding Kendall that it wasn't just him and James. Dick. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

The singer let out a short, harsh sigh, looking as annoyed as the blond felt. "Yeah, sure." The smile he gave Kendall and Katie was an apologetic one, before he turned and walked over to his best friend and the photographer, the teenager totally not staring at his ass in those tight, dark jeans.

The VIP Nation rep from earlier walked over, carrying two purple drawstring bags with gold diamonds all over them. "All right, guys," he spoke to the Knight siblings, creepily friendly smile on his face. "Here's your goody bags. Time to go get any merch you wanna buy before the doors open."

Kendall glared at the guy, snatching his bag. His time with James was over, he was being kicked out by this prick. Needless to say, he was a little pissed. Or more than a little. Whatever.

Katie was handed her bag and the two of them followed the rep out into the hallway. He led them through the backstage labyrinth, back to the main lobby, where he pointed the way to the merch booth before leaving them.

"Okay, spill," Katie demanded, once she and Kendall were alone.

"Spill what?" he questioned, turning to walk in the direction they'd been pointed.

His little sister fell in step on his left, brown eyes going back and forth between her big bro and looking in front of her to see where she was going. "'Good to see you again'?" she quoted James. "When'd he see you the first time? Plus he knew your name without either of us telling him, there were all those weird looks between you two, and you've been acting strange since you went to his show last time. What's going on with you guys?"

Yeeeah, so not going there. Not with his mom and definitely not with an eleven year old.

"Nothing's going on."

"You're a crap liar, big brother."

"Believe whatever you want, baby sister."

But the truth was, he didn't know if he was lying. From the way the singer had touched him, looked at him, it certainly felt like there was something there. But they weren't in a relationship, there were no date plans. Hell, the guy didn't even ask Kendall to wait as he talked to Logan. Plus the blond didn't fully get any answers as to whether he was remembered or if the singer had felt the same things he had. So Kendall had to figure that, in reality, there really wasn't anything going on. And wasn't that just a major fucking bummer?

A male voice hit his ears, his name being called out. He stopped walking, Katie doing the same, both of them turning around to see Logan jogging over.

A relieved smile was on the spiky haired male's face when he reached them, chest rising and falling a little faster than usual. "Hey, glad I caught ya," he told them, taking a moment to catch his breath. "Mind coming with me?"

The elder Knight raised an eyebrow in question, the younger speaking for them. "Can't. Gotta go put a dent in your merch booth."

"And I owe my friend a hoodie," Kendall added, having decided to just give in to Carlos, since the lil annoying bastard had been right about having introduced the blond to James Diamond.

"Um, okay." Logan shoved a hand in his hair, tugging at it again, face showing that he was trying to work something out. "I'll get the hoodie and take your sister to the booth, if you go with Freight Train."

The blond raised his eyebrow once more, wondering who—or what—the fuck 'Freight Train' was. But he never got to ask, green eyes coming across an extremely large dark-skinned man that couldn't possibly fit through any normal sized door, watching as he made his way over. Clearly the guy was a bodyguard, especially when you add the "don't fuck with me" attitude that hung around the guy like a cologne.

Well, at least Kendall didn't have to worry about James' safety.

His sister's on the other hand...

He turned back to Logan, focusing on their conversation rather than the intimidating bald man heading towards them. "Yeah, no way am I letting my sister go with some dude I don't know."

The smaller male looked like he understood, but at the same time, didn't like the response. "Would you feel better if she went with Freight Train and I go with you?" he suggested, as the mentioned male stopped behind him.

Kendall's eyebrow raised for the third time in the past minute, arms folded over his chest. "Okay, where the hell am I going?" he questioned, seriously confused about what the fuck was going on. "And why isn't Katie going with me?"

His little sister's body language mimicked his, clearly having no problem with the huge guy behind Logan.

"She'll be joining you guys when she's done."

Kendall's confusion grew even more, wondering exactly who "you guys" were. Well, okay, he had an idea of who it could be, considering it was Logan who had approached them and telling the blond to come with. But Kendall was back to refusing letting his hopes getting too high. He'd managed to survive the afternoon in tact—mostly, except for a few new bruises—and he was gonna keep it that way.

"Yeah, I'm lost," he pointed out, rubbing his forehead then refolding his arms.

The short brunet let out a harsh sigh, looking around to make sure no one else was within earshot. Taking a step forward, he spoke in a volume low enough for only the blond to hear. "James wants to see you."

Those five words stopped Kendall's heart, those fucking lame-ass butterflies back in his stomach. James wanted to see him. He didn't know why, didn't really care. Just the fact that the singer had a desire to be around him again was enough. He was ready to yell "fuck the world" and take off running in the direction where James would be, to not stop until he was in the other male's arms, looking into those eyes, breathing the same air as him. He wanted to hear those words he'd been dreaming about, hear them from those perfect lips about how the pop star wanted to keep the teenager to himself, to never let him go, to just stay in that moment, just the two of them, forever.

But there was still his little sister.

Tilting his head up, he looked at Freight Train, saw the seriousness on his face, saw the large frame that could level a tank and not get a scratch, saw the "don't fuck with me" attitude up close. The guy was most likely hired to protect James and hired because he was damn good at his job. If he could keep an international pop star safe from crazed fangirls, surely he could take care of an eleven year old in a small crowd.

"You swear nothing will happen to my sister?" he double-checked, hand on Katie's upper back.

Freight Train put his right hand over his heart, the vow on his face as well as in his voice. "I'll protect her like she's my own."

Okay, his voice was a little higher than Kendall imagined it would be. But whatever, that didn't mean shit. Not like he was gonna fight someone off with his voice.

The teenager nodded, turning his head and tilting it down to look at his sister. "Katie?"

"One condition," she started, looking up at the bodyguard, finger raised. "You give me a ride."

Freight Train smirked, seemingly amused by her moxy. "Sure."

"Sweet!" She turned to the male on her left. "Later, big brother." Stepping over, she slightly hopped up as the bodyguard caught her, holding her bridal style.

"Fellas," he stated, looking at Logan then Kendall, before carrying Katie over towards the merch booth.

Kendall turned and watched, hoping he made the right choice.

"You ready?" Logan's voice cut into his thoughts, reminding the younger male why he'd let his sister go off with the large male in the first place.

James wanted to see him.

Turning back, Kendall nodded, trying to calm himself down. Last thing he needed to do was act like a fanboy—on the outside anyway—and especially not in front of the guy he was fanboying over.

If that was even a word. Fanboying.

Logan gave a reassuring smile, clapping the blond once on the arm before leading him back the way they'd come, then even further, stopping outside a door with a sheet of paper taped to it, printed message alerting everyone to what it was.

"James Diamond Dressing Room."

"All right, man," the shorter male started. "He's right in there. Just knock on the door first." Another clap, this time on the back. "See you 'round." One more smile, then Logan walked off to—well, Kendall didn't know. Didn't give a shit either.

Facing the door, he thought of the male on the other side, wondering what he was doing, what he was thinking, why he had his best friend track a random fan down, what exactly he needed or wanted to say.

'Only one way to find out.'

For once, his brain wasn't being a dick and actually made sense.

Kendall took a deep breath, shoring up his courage once again, as he raised his hand and knocked on the metal door.