A/N: I HIT EIGHT-HUNDRED REVIEWS! YOU GUYS! YOU GUUUUUUYYSSSS!

Okay, enough of that. But seriously, HUGE thank you to everyone who bothered to take the thirty seconds necessary to type a review and actually let me know what you think of this fic. It means the world to me, even if I'm a terrible terrible author and don't always reply. Sorry :(

Next, this is the penultimate chapter, meaning next-to-last, meaning the next update will be the last chapter of "EotA" everrrrrr. Sequel will be up... um... in the new year at some point, I dunno. Starting that is way down on the priority list since my time is currently been taking up reading Sterek fanfiction making Christmas presents. Which, yay, I managed to finish the minion for my mom and he looks adorbs! Now just gotta finish Dr Who and Loki sock monkeys for my sisters. Yay fandoms!

No ass covering needed for this. Oh, except for maybe the chapter title which is clearly lifted from "I Love Lucy". OH! "Twilight Zone" is property of Viacom and my annual way to spend New Years. Don't judge. Enjoy the update, lemme know whatcha think. I'm off to read more about Stiles the omega finish sewing this long ass scarf. :D

Having the day off work sucks. Which was something Kendall didn't think he'd ever believe.

But he did. At least at that moment. Because an afternoon away from Sherwood's Grocery meant an afternoon away from the monotony of retail that so easily distracted him and allowed him a few blissful hours of no thinking.

And thinking sucked worse than no work.

Point was, he was stuck at home, nothing to do. Katie had raised an eyebrow and repeated her earlier inquiry over whether or not he was an alien replicant after his suggestion they do something together, then promptly returned to her "Castle Smashers" game. Carlos was apparently busy and had plans, so was unable to text. Same with Lucy, who was already at Guitar Dude's, suggesting Kendall come hang. Camille was at play rehearsals, making her also un-textable. The internet held no appeal since he knew he'd be bombarded with James Diamond shit. He'd already completed all levels of every version of "Angry Birds" he had. Playing his guitar was still a no-go.

Which left homework.

Which seemed like a good idea until he realized he had all weekend off from work and would need to fill that time with something other than sleep.

He did his homework anyway, thinking maybe he could spend his days doing chores around the house and yard.

Maybe he was an alien replicant.

Kendall shook his head as he sat on his bed, textbook on his lap. Carlos and his dumb sci-fi movies were getting in his head again. Plus he was tired and bored, making him more susceptible to dumb ideas. He wasn't an alien, a replicant, a robot, or any other stupid shit like that. He was a human. Hopefully a decent human. Or at least on his way to being it.

His iPhone beeped next to him on the bed and he grabbed it, welcoming the distraction. A text from Camille, informing him that her rehearsals were over and she was headed to dinner, meaning she'd be calling in an hour. He puffed up his cheeks and blew the air out slowly, checking the time. Okay, so he had an hour to kill, not nearly as bad as the looming prospect of having to fill an entire weekend worth of free time.

But still.

He sent a quick 'K' in response before setting his phone back where it had been, smearing a hand over his face. Really, he should just get back to studying, finish his reading. But he was too distracted, mind whirling with a million things he wanted to remind himself to tell her. There was no way he could focus on tiny black and white text.

But what else was there to do? He'd already gone through every other option and decided against them. Camille's mention of dinner put the idea of eating in his head, but he'd already had his meal. Hell, he'd helped make it, a surprise to his mom, yet something he'd done mostly because it was something to do. And also in an attempt to stop being a shithead.

Besides, at that moment, he wasn't hungry. Just kinda bored.

A sigh left him as he rubbed his tired eyes. Maybe he could take a nap, let her call wake him up. Tempting, especially considering the yawn he let out at the thought.

"Kendall! Donald! Knight!"

Or maybe he won't nap.

His eyes practically popped outta his skull at the sound of his mom screaming his full moniker from the bottom floor. Her using his middle name was never a good thing, pretty much always leading to yells, swears, lectures, and punishments.

What the fuck had he done now?

Flipping his textbook closed, he tossed it to the side before jumping up off his bed. His mind was racing as fast as his feet, tearing down the hallway, wondering what was going on. He'd managed to avoid Bitters all week, hadn't caused any fights, had turned in all his homework, so his school hadn't called. He hadn't gotten drunk or high, was home immediately after work every night, followed the guidelines of his punishment to a T.

Okay, maybe not, but no way would she display that level of anger over him watching two minutes of pre-recorded TV or checking his email during lunch with a school computer.

He took the stairs at such a rapid speed that he nearly ran into the wall at the corner landing, his hands slamming against it in order to prevent any bigger of a collision, before he spun to his right. Only he didn't take the final three steps necessary to reach the bottom floor. He stood there frozen at the scene before him, unable to believe his eyes.

"James?"

"Hey, Kendall."

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

It was James, in all his tan skin, white teeth, sparkling eyes glory. Kendall's gray beanie was on his head once again, dark gray hoodie and black jeans covering his tall frame. He was clean-shaven—bummer—face clear and smooth, yet the blond could see the newly formed bags under his eyes, a slight fatigue and wariness in the hazel-green orbs, the tightness behind his reluctant smile.

But it didn't matter what the pop star looked like, just that he was actually there, right in front of Kendall, within arm's reach.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

Kendall didn't hesitate or even fully think it through. The second his name left the singer's perfect lips he lunged at him, chests colliding, arms and legs wrapping around his muscular frame. James immediately returned the embrace, holding the leaner male up as his fingers clutched tightly to his Henley.

The blond buried his face in the crook of the other male's neck, inhaling his scent and holding it in his lungs. He smelled the familiar combination of 'Cuda manspray and James, something he wanted to breathe in forever. He could feel the brunet breathing against the sensitive skin of his neck, feel the heat his body gave off, feel the flat planes of his chest, the bulge in his biceps, the hard muscles of his back. It was all real, not some fantasy his brain conjured up to torture him further.

And as he clung desperately to the singer, all he could think about was how he never wanted to let go and how he wanted that moment to last an eternity.

Which, of course, didn't happen.

A loud throat clearing came from Kendall's right and he lifted his head to tell whoever it was to fuck off. Only to realize it was his mom.

Probably a good idea to keep his mouth shut.

She stood there with her lips pinched and her eyebrows raised in question, fisted hands resting on her hips as she cocked one out. "Wanna tell me why there's a famous pop star in my house?" she demanded, voice higher in pitch, a sign of her aggravation.

Shit. He'd totally forgotten that other people existed.

Unwrapping his limbs from around a suddenly tensed up James, Kendall slid down to the floor, clearing his throat. His hand rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at his mom in embarrassment, noticing Katie standing next to her with a smirk on her face. Shit just got awkward.

"Well?" his mom snapped, expectant look on her face. Right. She needed answers, an explanation for why James Diamond was there and why he'd lunged at him like a rabid fangirl.

Way awkward.

Clearing his throat again, he hooked his thumbs in his belt loops, nervous grin on his face. "It's a long story," he started, not entirely sure where to go from there.

'Start at the beginning, dumbass.'

'Not now, brain!'

His mom stared him down for a long moment before clapping her hands together. "All right, everyone in the living room," she ordered at a loud volume, then turned to her daughter. "You, too, Katie. That smirk tells me you're involved."

"Don't worry. I am not missing this for the world," the younger Knight female reassured before turning and heading into the living room on her right.

The Knight matriarch gave her son another expectant look before motioning to the living room with her head. Clearly a sign he needed to go in there before her.

Kendall gave her a weak smile before turning and scuffing his way into the room, James by his side. He wanted to reach over and hold the brunet's hand, but wasn't sure what the singer would think, what his mom would think, how James would react, how his mom would react, how Katie would—

Okay, he knew how Katie would react. She'd smirk and give him a wink. Camille would comment on how cute it was. Carlos would fucking squeal.

In the end, Kendall kept his hands to himself.

James sat down in the middle of the couch, Kendall moving to take the seat on his left, since Katie was already occupying the other end. Only his mom called out a "nuh uh" as she joined them, wagging a finger at him.

"You. Armchair," she ordered before taking the seat he was about to.

Kendall wagged his eyebrows in an "okay then" manner, wondering what the fuck that was about. It wasn't like he was gonna try anything, not with his mom and baby sister around. But he knew it would only hurt him more if he argued so he did as commanded, sitting on the armchair by his mom, elbows resting on his knees.

"Okay," she started lightly before her tone became demanding again. "Now spill."

He took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts as he inspected the three people on the sofa. His mom with her crossed arms and legs and aggravated expression, expectant look in her eyes. James with his legs spread as always, hands laying motionless on his lap as if he'd just dropped them there, seeming relaxed yet tense, eyes appearing intrigued about the story he was about to hear. Katie looked just as interested, big brown eyes locked onto her older brother, left knee drawn up to her chest, elbow on the arm of the couch, head resting in her hand as she smirked.

The blond's eyes glanced back and forth between his two female family members, finding it all incredibly surreal that James Diamond was sitting between them. It was like something outta "The Twilight Zone", Rod Serling's voice adding commentary in his head.

"Submitted for your approval: an internationally known, multi-platinum pop star making himself comfortable in the quaint Minnesota home of the Knight family..."

Kendall!" His mom snapped, ending the black and white revery.

"Right," he responded quickly, clearing his throat before rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Okay. Uhh—"

He had no idea what the fuck to say.

Sure, he relived damn near every moment in his head on an almost daily basis—whether he wanted to or not—but it was an entirely different thing to say it all out loud. For starters, he couldn't find the right words to accurately explain it so that everyone could understand it. If he even wanted to. He'd held it all in for so long he'd grown possessive of the memories, not wanting anyone to know them. Sharing everything was a scary prospect, especially when he knew he'd be judged for every syllable. And with his past being what it was, the jury wasn't likely to be very lenient.

Lifting his eyes, they locked onto James', taking in the curiosity, the waiting, the desire for answers. A lot of it would explain things to him, too, would help clear the air between them.

With that thought in mind, Kendall finally spoke.

"Okay, so a couple months ago, Carlos dragged me to one of James' shows, even though I didn't wanna go, and I honestly kinda wanted to be somewhere else, but then James took me onstage and th—"

"What?!"

His head snapped to Katie, his ramble cut off by her sudden outburst, noticing the mix of anger and disbelief on her face.

"Katie," their mom chastised calmly before turning to her son. "Go on."

"Right," he replied, giving his sister one last dubious expression before turning to his mom. "So, uh. Yeah, he took me onstage and it—" He paused, frowning as he struggled to find the words to make his mom understand. He glanced at his hands as though he'd pre-written the answers there, like he had for so many school exams, finding nothing. Awesome.

Sighing, he shrugged and shook his head, turning it and his attention back to his mom. "It just felt like something was there," he admitted lowly, seeing the corner of James' lips twitch into a small smile. "But I thought maybe I imagined it and I was being a moron for thinking James Diamond would be interested in a loser like me."

The singer frowned at that. "I don't think you're a loser, Kendall."

The teen's own lips quirked up at the corners in a small grin, the pop star returning it.

"I do," his sister scoffed.

The blond rolled his eyes before continuing on with his story. "So I had no clue if what happened was real or if I made it up, which caused me to waver back and forth between 'holy crap, I can't believe that happened, that was amazing!' and 'it didn't happen and you're an idiot for thinking a guy like that would be interested in a guy like you'." He saw the brunet open his mouth to argue, but stop when Kendall held up his hand. "Which was why I was moodier than usual over the summer." He focused solely on his mom. "Sorry, by the way."

Surprise had her eyebrows briefly raising for half a second, but she didn't comment otherwise. She just simply rearranged her facial features back into the same stoic expression as before and listened.

"So in order to figure things out," he further explained, focusing more on the coffee table than the trio on the sofa. "I obviously needed to talk to James su'more, but I didn't have his number or anything like that. Then when I found out he was playing St. Paul again, I knew it would be the only shot I had to talk to him, so I used Katie as an excuse to go."

"You're welcome," she commented haughtily with a grin, her older brother pointing with his thumb up and winking in response.

"I'm still waiting for the part where James shows up at our house," his mom pointed out tersely, crossed leg wagging up and down.

"Right, uh." Kendall paused, trying to remember where he'd left off. Oh yeah, the second concert. As in the one with the Dressing Room Incident, as he not-so-lovingly referred to it.

Although parts of it were pretty fucking awesome.

Probably not a good idea to think about that around his mom and sister though.

"At the meet-n-greet, James remembered me from the previous show," he picked back up, hands clasped together. "Afterwards, he had Logan take me backstage to the dressing room so we could talk, but we ended up making out instead."

"Dude!" James interrupted, eyes wide and jaw dropped as he gave the blond a "what the fuck?!" look.

The teen sat up straight, hands out to the side as he shrugged. "What?" he questioned innocently, not seeing the big deal. It wasn't like he'd given explicit details of every second that passed in the dressing room. He'd only pointed out the necessary moment that added to the plot of his story.

The brunet smeared a hand over his face, not seeming too stoked on what the younger male had shared.

Katie, however, was pleased, proud smile on her face. "Way to go, big brother!"

"Katie!" the Knight matriarch chastised again.

Kendall shrugged it off before returning to his explanation, one that was apparently longer than he thought. "Anyway, we parted ways," he stated plainly, skipping the bit where James had walked out. Partially because it hurt to remember, but also because he didn't wanna paint the brunet in a bad light in front of his mom. There was a chance the two of them might interact again and he didn't want things to be awkward or for his mom to not allow him to be with the singer in any way.

"But then he got in contact with me a few days later."

"On my birthday," Katie added, smirking deviously.

"Right," Kendall agreed, nodding once slowly, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

She didn't acknowledge the look, instead turning to the male on her left and smacking his arm with the back of her hand. "I take it you called him back then."

"Yup," James answered as he smiled down at her. "Thanks."

Her lips twisted in a wry grin as she nodded. "You're welcome, too."

"Wait," Kendall butted into their convo, brow furrowed. He had no clue what the fuck they were talking about, but knew it must've been important. At least he felt like it was. No matter what, he felt left out, hating it for the first time in a long while.

"What are you guys talking about?" he demanded to know, green eyes flicking back and forth between them.

Katie shrugged one shoulder as she leaned on the arm of the sofa. "I told him he needed to call you back and tell you he wants in your pants."

The chastising "Katie!" came from all three of them: their mom in her usual scolding tone, Kendall in disbelief that his baby sister would use the phrase "wants in your pants"—even though he had a feeling he'd heard her use it before—James shocked she'd so bluntly stated his true intentions and put them out there like that.

She glanced at the trio, eyes wide in faux-innocence. "What?"

The elder Knight female sighed harshly, eyes closed, fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. Kendall's eyes flicked from her to James, a fleeting hope that the brunet didn't think his family was always like this flashing through his mind.

Then again, maybe he did want the singer to think his family was nuts and would therefore no longer wanted to have anything to do with the blond. Would save him from having to end everything himself.

The sharp pain in his chest meant he didn't really want that, didn't want James to leave him for any reason. It'd been so easy for him to strongly consider breaking things off when he wasn't around the other male, when their relationship was more of an abstract concept, this impossible thing, rather than having the guy in front of him and making him realize that not only was a relationship possible, but might already exist.

The realization of that had him torn between elation and devastation.

Movement out the corner of his eye caught his attention, his mom dropping her hand onto her lap. She turned her head to Kendall, eyes tired yet expectant as she focused on him. "Please continue," she breathed, exacerbated.

He rubbed the back of his head, smoothing down the long hair there. He mentally shoved everything aside, forcing himself to remember what point of his story he'd paused at. Right, the phone call on Katie's birthday.

"James and I talked on the phone nearly every day for a couple weeks," he picked up where he'd left off, purposely leaving out what exactly had been discussed. Gripping the back of his neck, he winced slightly at the next part, knowing it wasn't his mom's fave moment. "And then I flew to LA in the middle of the night to visit him."

The singer nodded in agreement, backing him up. The teen was grateful for it, glad he had a witness to prove to his mom that he hadn't made any of it up and had been honest about everything. Maybe she'd start believing in him in the future and trust him more often.

'Another reason to keep him around.'

'Hold up. Thought you said I didn't deserve him and he was gonna leave me.'

For once, his brain was silent.

Douchebag.

"Wait a second," his mom requested, hand held up, brow drawn. "So the person you hooked up with really was James Diamond? You were actually telling the truth?"

Kendall nodded, sheepish grin on his face. "Surprise," he commented, sarcastically, holding both hands up and waving them slightly.

James scooted forward on the couch, head turned to the blond, hazel-green eyes wide in disbelief. "You told your mom you hooked up with me?!"

"The hickeys were kind of a giveaway," the younger male replied defensively. "And when she asked who it was I went to see, I told her the truth. Even told her she wouldn't believe me."

His mom nodded, backing him up, but she never got the chance to speak.

"Who else knows about us?" the singer demanded to know, narrowed eyes glaring at the younger male.

"Just Carlos and Camille," he answered with a shrug, not seeing anything wrong with telling the two of them. After all, he needed to talk to someone about all the shit that happened with him and James, otherwise he'd lose his fucking mind.

Or he'd lose what was left of it anyway.

The brunet seemed to think it was a big deal, however, flopping back against the sofa. "Jesus, Kendall," he groaned, covering his face with his hands.

"Dude, I trust them with my life, okay? They'd never say anything to anyone," he defended his friends before his voice took on a more snippy tone. "Besides, you told Logan."

James popped back up into a sitting position, finger pointed at the other male. "That's different."

"How?!"

"Okay!" His mom interrupted, clapping her hands together, her cheerful peacekeeper smile on her face. "You two clearly have a lot to talk about."

"So why'd you butt in and stop 'em?" Katie questioned, sounding a little annoyed that she'd stopped the show.

The elder female leveled her hard stare at her young daughter. "I meant away from you and your eavesdropping."

Her lips twisted to the side, not agreeing. "Where's the fun in that?"

The inquiry was treated with the contempt it deserved, the Knight matriarch turning her attention to their guest. "Where are you staying?"

James' eyes flicked to Kendall's, uncertainty on his face. Since the younger male also had no clue as to why his mom had asked that, he simply shrugged and shook his head, mouthing an "I dunno."

The brunet turned back to her, keeping the confusion on his features. "At a hotel downtown. Already checked in and dropped off my bag before I came here," he answered cautiously before he burrowed his brow. "Why?"

She didn't answer, not right away at least. Slowly nodding, she pinched her lips and narrowed her eyes, mulling something over. The two males in the room exchanged a couple more puzzled and concerned glances in the silence, neither having a clue what was going on, but both dying to know.

After a long moment thinking things over, she turned her head to her son, eyes still narrowed. "Here's the deal," she started, authoritative tone in her words. "You're still grounded, but you can spend the night with James. Assuming he wants that, too."

"What?!" Katie interjected, hand slamming against the sofa arm, her outburst going ignored.

Kendall scooted forward on the armchair so that he was right on the edge, eyes wide as they stared at his mom in disbelief. Hope and excitement flared inside his chest, the emotions growing in strength and size as he noticed James nodding, apparently okay with her suggested plan.

A night alone. With James. No Logan, no Freight Train, no Mom, no Katie, no fangirls, no interviews or soundchecks or anything like that. Just the two of them.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

"Seriously?" he double-checked, totally not squeaking.

"Mmhmm," she nodded. "But—" she held up a finger to pause him for a moment. "You better be back here at nine am on the dot, or you'll definitely be grounded forever and you'll never be able to see James ever again, got it?"

He nodded emphatically, fear prickling the back of his neck at the thought of being kept from seeing James. He shoved the feeling aside, telling himself he'd set every alarm clock possible and request a wake-up call so they wouldn't oversleep and would speed back home and everything would be fine.

More than fine. He'd be with James.

His mom turned and gave a warning glare to the singer, who gave her a thumbs up and a smile, a wordless "got it" of his own. She nodded to him once in acknowledgment.

"Good," she commented sharply. Issue settled, she rose to her feet, adjusting her blouse around her waist before walking around the armchair to leave.

"Wait!" Kendall requested, shooting up to his feet and causing her to stop in the large doorway that led to the hall. He strode over with purposeful steps to join her, asking his question lowly. "Why are you letting me do this?"

The murmur of James and Katie chatting hit his ears, but the sounds barely registered in his brain. He was too focused on his mom, on what her explanation would be.

Her features were soft, eyes sparkling, smile warm as she looked up at him. Lightly gripping his wrists, she spoke at a quiet volume. "If James is what brings you back to being the good, non-zombie Kendall, then I'm all for it. And at least this way I know where you are and you aren't sneaking off in the middle of the night to go see him." She wrapped it up with a pointed look, a manicured eyebrow arched as her lips twisted to the side.

Part of him felt the now familiar guilt of having worried his mom, but the other, much larger part was focused solely on the fact that she'd been serious. She really was allowing him to go stay with James. Sure, it was just for one night, but it was still a million times better than her demanding the singer leave because he was partially to blame for Kendall running off like that, or because she wasn't allowing her to son to have any visitors while he was grounded. He'd been given a night-pass from punishment and permission to spend it with the guy he was pretty sure he loved.

He didn't deserve any of it.

A small smile curved up the corner of his lips before he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. "Thanks, Mom," he mumbled into her red hair as she returned the embrace.

"No problem, sweetie," she softly replied. "Just keep doing good, okay?"

"Okay." He'd already planned to do just that, but the added incentive of being able to see more of James was a definite bonus and would spur him on to continue on the path he was headed down. It made the journey worth it when he knew the destination included the brunet.

"Uh, Kendall?" the pop star cautiously called for his attention, waiting until he'd pulled out of the hug before continuing. "We should probably get going," he suggested, turning to the blond's mom. "If that's okay with you, Ms. Knight."

The teen pressed his lips together to hide his smirk, thinking about how the other male was scoring points with his mom and not even realizing it.

She gave him a "sure", then turned and smiled at her son. Kendall returned it before racing up the stairs to pack. He grabbed his bookbag then dumped his school shit in his bed, shoving random clothing in it. Toiletries and iPhone charger were packed just as haphazardly, green eyes scanning his bedroom to make sure he didn't forget anything, then he raced back downstairs.

Everyone was gathered by the archway between the front hall and the living room, saying their goodbyes. He heard James tell his mom it was nice to meet her, she replying with the hope of being able to see him again soon. The exchange warmed the teen's heart, feeling the same hope as his mom, as well as the hope that the singer would become a part of his family in a way. Katie clearly already loved the guy; seemed like the elder Knight female was on her way to feeling the same.

Kendall said his own goodbyes, hugging his mom, ruffing his sister's hair, before following James out the house. It hit him that they never discussed how they'd be getting to the hotel, but the presence of an unknown silver sedan in the driveway cleared that up. Obviously a rental, given the logo on the front vanity plate.

"I figured you for a flashy sports car kinda guy," Kendall commented as he headed past the engine to the passenger side.

The brunet breathed out a laugh, smirking. "That one's back home," he replied proudly, unlocking the doors with the keychain remote. "Figured this one was more conspicuous and would allow me to drive around and go about my business without being recognized and having my presence questioned."

The younger male stuck his bottom lip out in a pout of sorts, eyebrows raised, thinking the explanation made a lotta sense.

Doors unlocked, the twosome got in the car, James starting it up. The robotic female voice of the GPS greeted them and the singer programmed in their destination before pulling out the driveway. The electronic guidance program explained how he was able to find his way around a town he'd never been in before. Yet the blond was clueless about how he'd even gotten his address in the first place.

"So," Kendall began, trying to keep his tone light and curious and not sound like he was interrogating the other male. "How d'you know where I live?"

James kept his eyes trained on the windshield—or rather what was beyond it—as he made a turn. "Katie told me," he replied nonchalantly.

The blond's eyes popped out his skull as his head snapped to the other male. "You've been talking to Katie?!"

Okay, his voice might've gone up in pitch and, yeah, he might've been overreacting, but whatever. It was his baby sister they were talking about. She shouldn't be talking to boys, no matter who they were. And on top of that, it was Katie. Who the fuck knew what kinda shit she spilled. Subtlety wasn't exactly her thing.

The phrase "wants in your pants" from earlier in the evening was proof of that.

"Yeah," the singer answered, still not understanding the gravity of the situation. Seemed the teen was the only one who ever really did. "When I didn't hear from you by Tuesday night, I sent her a text to make sure you were alive. She explained you were grounded for sneaking off, which, by the way—" He suddenly stopped speaking, head turning to the younger male before smacking the back of his skull.

"Ow!" the teen cried out, head jarring forward from the hit, hand flying up to rub the affected spot. He glared at the brunet, seriously contemplating punching back.

James returned the narrow-eyed look, not intimidated. "Don't worry your mom like that, dumbass!" he scolded, raising his hand once more.

Kendall held his own up in defense, yelling an "okay, okay!" The elder male lowered his hand, the teen doing the same. He didn't think his previous actions warranted violence, but apparently he was wrong.

"Anyway," the brunet started, turning the car according to the GPS' directions, hazel-green eyes focused on the road once more. "I texted Katie again on Wednesday to have her make sure you saw this interview I did that morning—which she said she did." He glanced at the younger male, eyes analytical as he scanned his face.

The blond knew exactly what interview he meant, why the singer would want him to see it. He wanted to make sure the younger male heard his comments about having someone special in his life, wanted to make sure he knew who that person was.

The smaller male focused his attention out the windshield, barely noticing the tall buildings and glowing street lamps of the downtown area, not giving away any clues about whether or not he watched the interview or the question he was most likely referring to.

James let out a small huff, eyebrows wagging in an "okay then" manner. "She also said you turned into an alien robot zombie replicant, whatever the fuck that is."

Kendall didn't comment on that either, just glared out the windshield as he imagined his wonderful baby sister's smug face smirking in front of him.

"Then yesterday," the elder male continued, not noticing the teen's expression. "I called and asked where you guys live, since I figured coming to visit you was the only way I'd be able to actually talk to you. Since, ya know, you wouldn't call." At that, he turned his head and glared at the blond, features hard, lips pressed in a flat line.

The smaller male tensed up, swallowing hard as he shrank under the weight and intensity of the brunet's angry stare. He'd been busted. Somehow the singer had learned that he had the ability to dial the elder male and didn't do it. He had a feeling Katie was involved in that, too.

Dealing with a pissed off or upset James was no big thing hypothetically. Kendall could sit there all day talking about how he'd be able to handle it, because in his mind, he was doing the right thing. But now that the hypothetical had become reality and he was forced to handle the actual thing, he realized how dead fucking wrong he was.

"Whatever," the pop star muttered, turning to the windshield. "We'll talk about it in my room."

The blond chewed the inside of his lip, eyes flipping to the front, noticing they were pulling into a parking garage. They must've been at the hotel now.

Panic welled up inside Kendall, his chest tightening, skin prickling with dread. Their conversation could go in any number of directions, including one that would see everything ending between them.

As much as he'd been contemplating doing that very thing himself, he was suddenly incredibly terrified of it really happening and actually losing James forever.