A/N: What?! An update in a timely manner?! Shock!Gasp!Awe! Okay, but seriously, this chapter was handwritten in my notebook right when I did chapter twenty-five; it was just a matter of finding time/a fuck to actually type it up. Which, VOILA! It happened. \ (^u^) /
Part of this chapter was planned, another part was my characters taking over again (thanks, James.) but it works out. And I know it's short, but stuff happens! Yay stuff! Trying not to give it away.
Tumblr is property of David CreeperDude. iPhone is property of Apple and not me, which is whatever, I can still send perverted iMessages to my bestie who doesn't even blink when I send her a pic of James in a cowboy hat and the words "SAVE A HORSE RIDE A COWBOY HE NEEDS TO BE INSIDE ME RIGHT NOW OMFG THE FUCKING MASSHOLE!" But considering the shit she sends me about Sidney Crosby, she owes me.
I'm getting rambly again. It's either too much coffee or not enough. But ew at actual sugar in it. Sweetener all the way! But the universe clearly hates me and we are out of Splenda and I'm rambling again. Sorry.
Enjoy the update! :D
A knock on the door caused Kendall's head to snap up, eyes torn away from his iPhone and Tumblr app, the green orbs now focused on the wooden portal. A quick glance at the clock on the wall told him he'd been messing on the site longer than he thought, lost in fandom drama. Always fucking fun, especially when you're involved without actually being involved. Whatever. That made sense in his head.
He closed down the app, locking his phone, as he called out a "yeah?" Sliding the device in his pocket, he looked up to see the door open and Logan reveal himself.
"Meet-n-greet's over," he stated, shoving his hands in the pockets of his khaki pants. "We're gonna have dinner at catering so-" He trailed off, not bothering to finish the invite, leaving it open and unspoken.
"Cool." The blond nodded, rising to his feet, pulling his pants up at his hips. His wallet chains jangled, boots scuffed the floor, as he walked over to the shorter male.
The assistant moved out the way, allowing the teen to leave the room. The elder male closed the door before heading down the hall on the younger's left side, repeatedly lifting his head and looking at the taller male. Finally, the blond had enough, turning to look back at the shorter guy, eyebrow raised.
"What?" Okay, the word was kinda barked out, but the dude kept staring and it was fucking weird.
Logan's eyes widened-although Kendall wasn't sure if it was because of the teen's tone or because he'd been busted-his head shaking rapidly as he quickly tried to pretend he hadn't been doing what he was caught doing. "Nothing," he lied, smoothing his hair down at the back of his head, seeming a li'l awkward. But being busted would do that to a guy. Well, except for Kendall but he was another story entirely. "Just-" Logan started then stopped, sliding his hand back in his pocket, thumbs sticking out, head turned straight ahead. "Nice hickey."
A smirk formed on the blond's face, proud to be sporting the mark, proud to have been claimed by James, the memories of the act that had created it making his skin hot and his dick twitch. He quickly pushed those flashbacks to the side, knowing a boner at that moment would be both inconvenient and suspicious, not to mention awkward as fuck. Facing forward, he kept up the cheeky grin, letting out a "thanks", knowing the shorter male hadn't meant his comment in a complimentary way.
He saw Logan's eye roll in his peripheral vision, his smirk growing, the asshole side of him amused at the possibility that he had annoyed someone. And judging by the tenseness of Logan's jaw, the thin line his lips were pressed into, the hardness in his eyes, he was definitely irritated.
"Wanna make it more obvious that there's something going on?" the brunet grumbled, barely audible as he glared straight ahead at nothing.
The blond furrowed his brow, smirk gone as confusion took over his features, head turning and tilting down to look at the shorter male. "Huh?"
"Nothing." More muttering. Fuck, did this guy ever actually speak out loud? Or fucking stick with what he said or did?
Feeling aggravated himself, Kendall stepped in front of Logan, forcing the assistant to stop walking. "What the fuck is your problem?"
The elder male shrugged as he folded his arms over his chest, hard brown eyes looking up at questioning green ones. "At the moment? You."
The confusion stayed, the teen's brow furrowed once again. He knew it wasn't because he was in the other guy's way, since he was pissy before that. Hell, he'd been kinda pissy pretty much since Kendall had arrived, which led the blond to believe the brunet was generally just annoyed by the younger male's presence, by him being around James and taking all the singer's free time and attention. And really, there could only be one reason for that.
"Look," Kendall started, trying his best to be diplomatic, using the same tone he did when trying to get Carlos to alibi him because that's what best friends do or making deal with Katie to cover his ass in exchange for doing her chores or a li'l financial gain. "If you're pissed at me 'cause you wanna be with James, then I-"
He didn't finish. Logan had started laughing, dimples forming from an amused smile.
What the fuck?
Lost once again, the blond folded his arms over his chest, face serious. "I fail to see what the fuck is so funny."
The brunet stopped laughing, but continued smiling. "Dude, James is like a brother to me. And even if he wasn't, I'm straight. There's definitely nothing romantic going on between us."
The taller male was still baffled as his body language remained the same, mind wishing he could get an answer out of someone, anyone, and not constantly have to deal with all this fucking aggravation. "Then what's your problem with me?"
Logan's smile faltered, face falling into a solemn expression before he swallowed. "You could ruin a lotta things James has worked had to create."
Kendall's face reflected the other male's, his voice low, grave, serious. "I'm not gonna out him."
"I'm not talking about his career or image."
The teen became confused once more, eyebrows scrunched up for the five hundredth time, lips pursed as he struggled to figure out what the elder male was referring to. But before he could say anything, James appeared out of seemingly nowhere, standing between the other two males.
"What's going on?" He tried keeping his voice light, playful, like everything was okay and he wasn't worried 'bout a damn thing. But the apprehension was fully evident in his eyes, obvious in the tenseness of his muscles, the tightness around the small fake grin he was sporting. He was freaking out over the convo between Kendall and Logan, the blond could tell. And with the hostile looks they'd been exchanging, the hardness in their body language, it wasn't much of a surprise really.
"Nothing," the short brunet covered up, turning and looking up at his best friend, easy smile on his face like he truly didn't have a care in the world. The blond wondered what other shit the assistant hid from the singer. "Just warning Kendall not to get between you and food."
The taller male's body language changed, muscles relaxing, smile becoming more genuine as his eyes sparkled in mischief. "Growing boy's gotta eat, Logie," he stated in all seriousness, hand on the shorter's shoulder.
Logan rolled his eyes, swatting the hand away. "Only thing growing on you is your head," he commented, walking around the singer and taking the few steps necessary to reach the double doors Kendall assumed led to catering.
James turned his attention to the blond, shaking his head and smirking. "Steal an extra piece of cake one time-"
"It was my piece!" the assistant called over, fingers wrapped around the door handle and pulling. "On my birthday!" With one last aggravated look at the other males, he opened the door and disappeared inside the room.
The singer simply shrugged, like he didn't see the big deal or why it was such an issue, still focused on the teen in front of him. "C'mon," he started, motioning to the side with his head. "Let's go eat before Mommy Logie nags."
Kendall chuckled, corner of his lips curving up slightly in a small smirk of sorts. Turning around, he made his way toward the doors Logan had walked through, feeling the palm of James' hand burning between his shoulder blades. He figured it was supposed to be a safe touch, one that didn't seem suspicious to anyone else, wouldn't raise eyebrows or cause anyone to question anything. But knowing what those hands were capable of made the gesture not so innocent to him, his skin on fire where he was being touched, despite the layer of cotton in the way.
The blond took hold of the door handle, feeling the brunet's hand trail down, fingers lightly feeling his spine and causing goosebumps to form on his skin, his inhale to get shaky, before the touch was gone completely. Clearing his throat, the teen opened the door and entered the room, the pop star soon following.
Catering was a room with blue curtains for walls, filled with half a dozen or so round tables, one long one to the side covered with rectangular pans of food, a lot like a buffet. Kendall grabbed a styrofoam plate, putting a few pieces of fried chicken and a handful-okay, two handfuls of potato wedges on it, looking up to see Logan's disapproving face.
Debbie Downer much?
"What?"
"Aren't you gonna have any veggies?" Was this dude for real?
James stood on the other side of the assistant, rolling his eyes and mouthing the word "Mom" to the blond, who tried to hide his amusement. Picking up a wedge, he held it up for the shorter brunet to see.
"It's made of potato, which is vegetable," he stated, smiling smugly before popping it in his mouth.
The elder male just sighed, muttering something about having to "deal with two of them now". His best friend just chuckled, patting the smaller guy's back before putting a roll on his plate and one between his teeth, somehow managing to say "carb day" around it.
The threesome soon made their way to an empty table, Freight Train joining them not too long after with two overloaded plates of his own. Which Logan didn't comment on, the li'l prick. Then again, considering the bodyguard's size, it was probably pretty damn smart to leave the giant and his feeding trough alone.
The low din of conversation buzzed around Kendall, band and crew members all enjoying their own supper and chatting. Silence was a fifth member at his own table, no one really speaking, more focused on eating. And while the blond wished dinners at home would be more like that, wished his mom wasn't so determined to actually make her kids converse during the meal, in his current setting, it was unnerving. But it wasn't like he could bring up any of the topics he wanted to discuss, not with so many people around, not when it was meant to be a private talk between himself and James.
Then again, there was one thing he could ask.
"What're we doing tomorrow?" he questioned the two brunets, noting how the singer turned to the assistant to answer.
"Off-day," Logan answered from his seat across from the blond.
The teen nodded, chewing then swallowing before he spoke again. "What time are we leaving town?"
This made the shorter male's facial expression change, a mix of suspicion and curiosity. "After dinner. Why?"
Kendall shrugged, drinking out of his cola can, putting it back on the table. "Just wondering. Was hoping I could meet up with a friend in town for a bit."
"What kinda friend?" The question came from James, a harsh edge to his words.
The blond turned his head to the right, to the taller brunet, seeing the hard lines on his face, his eyes narrowed, jaw tense. Scanning the singer's form, he could see the muscles were taut, fists clenched, body hard. Someone was jealous. Very interesting.
"Female friend," the teen replied. "Just a friend." When he didn't get any sorta response, other than a slow stiff nod, he continued. "I was just hoping I could meet her for coffee or something, but if not, that's cool."
That mask he had grown to hate slid back into place, the emotions that had been swirling in his eyes, unable to be figured out, now disappeared. The elder male shrugged, poking at his green beans with his disposable fork, staring down at his food as he acted like it wasn't a big deal, like he didn't give a shit either way. Fucking weird.
Logan turned his head and attention to his best friend, his own face a myriad of feelings, the most prevalent seeming to be worry. And it didn't seem to change when the singer looked at him and shook his head, a silent "let it go" that was reluctantly followed. The shorter male sighed, resignation on his face, as he shifted his focus to the teen across the table from him.
"I don't see any problem with it," the assistant commented, wiping his fingers on a paper napkin.
"Yeah. Me neither," James added rather snappily, dropping his plastic fork onto his styrofoam plate with more force than necessary. "Go. Have fun. Tell me all about it when you get back." Slamming his hands on the table, he shoved his chair back as he stood, the legs scraping loudly against the floor. Eyes hard but face flat, he gave one last glare to Kendall before turning and heading to the door, leaving the room.
The shorter brunet turned to the blond, contrition all over his face. "Sorry 'bout James. He's a bit-"
Kendall didn't hear the rest of it. He'd shot up from his seat and headed after James.
He caught up with the pop star in the hallway a few yards later, not hesitating to grab hold of the elder male's wrist and drag him off, gritting out a "come with me" as he stomped along. He didn't care who saw or how it looked or any other bullshit. He just knew he was pissed. Pissed at the singer covering his feelings, pissed he'd stormed off, pissed at a lotta shit really, but mostly at James.
Reaching the dressing room, the blond pulled the brunet into it, closing the door behind them both.
The singer stopped in the middle of the room, turning to glare at the teen, not bothering to keep the annoyance off his face. "Dude, what the fuck is your deal?"
"My deal?" the smaller male snapped back, hand on his chest. "I'm not the one who stormed out in the middle of dinner."
"I don't have time to deal with this," the brunet stated, dismissing the conversation. Or at least trying to. "I gotta get ready for the show."
"No!" The blond stepped forward, pointing at the other male. "You fuckin' do have time and we're fuckin' talking about this right fuckin' now."
James huffed, arms folded over his chest, jaw jutting out, clearly pissed. But Kendall didn't give a shit. He'd meant what he said; they were dealing with that shit at that exact moment.
The younger mimicked the other male's position, letting it be known that he wasn't backing down, wasn't letting this go as easily as everything else. The singer couldn't hang up, couldn't ignore phone calls, couldn't disappear for a couple days then randomly ring the teen up. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. He was fucking dealing with it, no matter how much he didn't want to.
"What the fuck is your problem?" the teen questioned, green eyes hard as he stared the other male down, done kowtowing, done doing whatever it was the taller male wanted. "All I'm asking for is an hour, out of the entire weekend, just to meet up with a friend. There's as much romance between me and her as you with those chicks you bring onstage."
Okay, he totally hadn't meant to use that analogy. It just slipped out. But it was pretty perfect really: it was a good way to get it through James' thick fucking head that there was nothing between him and Camille, and also a sneaky way for Kendall to find out if his experience being brought onstage was unique, if he was the only one who'd ever felt that spark, that connection.
Something flashed on the pop star's face, understanding, and something else the teen couldn't figure out. But his features softened, his body language no longer as tense, seeming more relaxed and at ease, as well as... reluctant?
His hand went up, fingers combing his bands, eyes looking anywhere but at the other male in the room. "There was one time," he started then trailed off.
Oh. Shit. Kendall dropped his arms, hands gripping his jeans at his hips as he tried to seem at ease, tried not to make it obvious that he was internally freaking out, that his stomach was in knots, that his heart had stopped in anticipation of another break.
The singer swallowed hard, arms folded over his chest once again, only not in a defensive way. This time, it seemed more like he was holding himself together. His eyes were scared, worried, but they finally met the blond's as he spoke lowly. "You were the only one that I've ever felt like I needed to bring onstage, the only one I was pulled to, the only one that I actually felt something with. Nothing's ever come close. Doubt anything will."
The blond didn't need to hear anything else. He closed the distance between them, grabbed hold of the brunet's face, and pressed his lips to the other male's hard.
James didn't hesitate to kiss back, right arm wrapping around the smaller male's waist, left hand cupping the back of Kendall's beanie covered head. And while the feel of the larger body against his was slowly becoming familiar, the teen couldn't help but think this kiss was different than the others. Yeah, it still blew his mind, made his skin tingle and his internal organs quit their basic functions, but it wasn't as rushed, wasn't as sexually driven, wasn't about trying to turn the other on or get him off. This was a slow burn, a warmth that spread over him, like sitting next to a fire rather than being inside it. The singer was moving his lips in a slow rhythm, holding the younger male carefully, tenderly, like he was something precious, but at the same time, making sure Kendall couldn't be taken from him, couldn't leave.
Flashes of an earlier conversation came to the teen's mind, memories of a phone call, of a quiet serious chat inside a grocery store break room, confessions that were heavier than the boxes he was sometimes asked to pick up and cart around to be stored.
"You have me."
"That might be scarier than not having you at all."
The blond moved his hands, arms going around the brunet, pressing himself closer, proving that he wasn't going anywhere, showing the singer he had nothing to worry about. If anyone was gonna leave, it would be the elder.
Refusing to think about that, he focused on the kiss, on the physical sensations. He thought about how James' lips were softer yet rough from where he chewed on his own bottom one. He thought about the fingers gripping his tee at his back in desperation, in a need to hold on. He thought about the bandana resting against the sensitive skin of his neck, soft, worn in from being wrapped around the pop star's wrists on a daily basis. He thought how warm, safe, even loved he felt in the larger male's embrace and how he never wanted to leave it.
The kiss slowly ended, James tugging Kendall's bottom lip one last time, giving a few soft pecks, kissing the teen's nose once before pressing their foreheads together. A grave expression was on his face, a storm of emotions swirling in hazel-green eyes, countless unspoken words floating around, just waiting for him to locate his tongue-and/or balls-and say them. But instead, he just closed his eyes, both arms holding the other male close, as he swallowed hard.
Nothing was said. Nothing needed to be said really. They had each other and that was enough.
For the moment.
James was killing it onstage. Not much of a fucking surprise really. It was like the guy had been born to perform, created solely to make females-and some males-lose their minds with incredible vocal range and subliminally sexual dance moves. At least that's how it seemed to Kendall, whose theory only grew more concrete watching the show from a closer range, back in his earlier spot at the side of the stage with Logan.
The assistant seemed more at ease, head bobbing, foot tapping, mouthing the words to the songs. He also seemed to be interacting with Kendall more, commenting on how James always messed up the same line in one particular song-which he did pretty much right on cue-or how bad one of the guitarists was-which he was god-fucking-awful. And while he still appeared to be wary of the teen and his actions, the elder male was at least more relaxed, more open to forming some sorta friendship, something the blond would usually find annoying as fuck.
But the younger male's usual habit of being cold and trying to rebuff anyone trying to become pals with him wasn't gonna work in this situation. Being in a relationship with James meant being around those who traveled with him, including his best friend/personal assistant. So Kendall made nice, laughing at the flubbed line and agreeing over the guitarist's lack of skill, tried holding up his end of the convo as best he could, given the booming music surrounding them.
And he actually did a damn good job of actually being social, the two even exchanging a couple laughs, up until James headed into the audience.
Kendall's first two James Diamond concerts were experienced with himself in the crowd, anxious over whether or not the pop star would acknowledge him in some way. Now it was an anxiety over whether or not something bad would happen to the singer, if some whack job would try to hold him hostage or hurt him or worse. But a hand on his shoulder pulled his attention away, stopped the internal freak out, Logan standing on his tiptoes to get closer to the teen's ear.
"Relax! Freight Train's got him!"
The blond nodded, forcing the corner of his lips to curve up in a smile of sorts, still worried as fuck but trying to hide it this time. It got better when James came down the aisle closer to Kendall's side, where he got a better look at the brunet, but didn't fully dissipate until the singer was back on the stage. Then the worry turned into something else entirely different as he caught sight of the girl joining the pop star.
Okay, Kendall knew it was gonna happen, knew that pretty much for the rest of his career, James was gonna bring a fan onstage. But that didn't help the jealous, possessive feeling from narrowing his eyes and clenching his fists at the sight of the guy he was into holding hands-albeit hands cupped and not fingers laced-with some random chick.
He made himself zone out, to not pay attention to the show in front of him, reminding himself of what had happened in the dressing room only an hour or so before. He thought about how the singer kissed him like he never wanted to stop, held him like he was something valuable, told the teen he was the only one he'd ever felt something for during that song.
Feeling more calm and way less jealous, Kendall was able to watch the current rendition that was being sung. He was able to see that the girl was probably in her early teens and experiencing the greatest moment of her life so far, not to mention close to hysterical. But James was great, not freaked or uncomfortable, no wide eyes or "the fuck do I do now?" looks. He remained calm, sweet, rubbing her back in soothing circles, pulling her in for one-armed hugs during vocal breaks. There was nothing romantic or anything like how it'd been with the blond. If anything, it looked like like how the singer was with Katie.
The blond thought about how the brunet treated his sister, the easy interactions, the way he was able to make her laugh and just be a kid, the phone call on her birthday, the ability to get her to smile. It was small, simple things, but they added up to something huge. And as he watched the singer with the fangirl, he didn't bother fighting the grin that formed on his face, one that was returned when the pop star glanced over and met his eyes.
'I could so fall in love with you and you have no idea.'
The belief of that didn't scare Kendall as much as he thought it would. Probably because he knew he was already halfway in love with James.
If not more.