So this is the last chapter. Before you start reading, I'd just like to thank everybody who's stayed with my fic since January (woah) and read every chapter. The positive feedback means so much, you guys will probably never even know. I've definitely expressed myself through this, especially because this year has been especially hard, depression-wise. I carried a composition book with me to all my classes so I could write this whenever there was a spare moment. ^_^
I hope you guys liked reading this as much as I loved writing it.
One more thing: I do not own "Cover Girl"
This was it: the day James was coming home. The moment everybody in 2J, especially Kendall, had been waiting for for the past two months, 3 weeks and four days. They had all cleaned the apartment until it sparkled and filled James' side of the bedroom with all of his favorite things. There were countless 'Cuda products by the mirror, a brand-new fluffy comforter on the bed, and a stack of unopened video games by the television.
Kendall had gone a bit further than the others, though. He had a planned the most perfect coming home gift for James and couldn't wait to share it with him. Sure, he'd visited James at least five times a week... every week that James had been gone... but that didn't matter. All that mattered was Kendall's boyfriend being back home with him, back in their bedroom, and things being normal again. Kendall didn't want to admit to himself that that was definitely just wishful thinking. Things could never go back to normal. But maybe James and Kendall could move forward together and create a new normal. Kendall liked the sound of that too.
Although all the guys had wanted to drive to the clinic and pick James up together, the doctors and therapists had made it clear that only a small group was welcome at any given time, so as not to overwhelm James or any of the other patients. Mrs. Knight picked James up and helped him load his suitcases and belongings into the car. He was completely unable to sit still on the ride home, staring out the window for landmarks that would help him estimate how much longer the car ride would be.
When Mrs. Knight pulled into the parking lot of the Palmwoods, James tore open the door and was in the hotel before she had even parked the car. He'd even left his suitcase in the trunk, but Mrs. Knight couldn't complain, not when James was this happy.
"When do you think they'll get here?" Carlos asked for what was probably the thirtieth time.
"I don't know, Carlos," Logan growled. Of course he was just as eager to see James as the other two guys were; it was just tiresome hearing Carlos whine like a kid.
"Mom hasn't texted me back," Katie piped in.
Logan and Carlos frowned and continued pacing around the living room.
After a few moments of silence Logan stopped in his tracks. "Anyone seen Kendall? I mean, you would think he'd be the most excited out of all of us."
"Oh, he's in his room," Carlos answered without a moment's hesitation. "He said for us not to go in there."
Logan made a face and was about to object when the front door to apartment 2J opened.
There, in the doorway, was James Diamond. A healthy James Diamond. The same boy who Logan, Carlos, and Kendall had befriended back when they were all kids; the same boy who played on their Peewee hockey team and scored the winning goal in the last game of the season. He was the same James that they'd always known and loved. And now, after months of struggling and fighting with himself, he was healthy.
"James."
It wasn't too easy to determine who reached him first, but Logan, Carlos, and even Katie bolted toward James before he could blink an eye. James was dragged to the floor by the three and attacked with hugs and "welcome home"s and, courtesy of Carlos, forehead kisses.
"Miss me?" James smiled, finally freeing himself from the heap and stepping to his feet along with Katie. He offered a hand to the guys and helped them up, and both were impressed by the amount of strength their friend had regained.
"Duh!" Carlos yelled giddily. "We can't wait to play video games with you, buddy! Oh, and..." he rushed into the TV room, James and Logan sharing confused glances, and came back with his helmet. "I've decided to let you wear this for the rest of the day. My gift to you."
James had to laugh. "Wow, thank you!" He slapped Carlos on the back and actually put the helmet on, patting it twice. "Hey, where's Kendall?"
"In his room, apparently?" Logan shrugged.
"I'm gonna go see what he's up to."
James hurried down the hallway toward his and Kendall's bedroom, wondering why the heck Kendall hadn't been there to greet him. He took off Carlos' helmet and stood outside their room for a few moments before finally opening the door. The aroma of vanilla flooded James' senses as he stepped into the bedroom.
All the lights were turned off save for the little lamp on the nightstand, but the room was anything but gloomy. There were tiny candles lit all around the room; that explained the scent of vanilla. And there, sitting at the foot of the bed, was Kendall.
He had his guitar in his lap, strap over his shoulder, all poised to start playing. And he was gazing at James with a look of such adoration, such total love and faith, that James' legs practically turned to jelly.
"Hi," Kendall said, eyes dancing with excitement.
"Hey," James whispered. The two stared at each other, neither feeling the need to move, just appreciating the familiar surroundings. But there were some additions to the room, James observed.
"Woah, you guys got me 'Cuda? And oh my God, is that Biohazard: Battle Blast 6? Dude, you have to promise me we're going to play this together."
Kendall smiled. "Of course."
"Thank you, thank you so much. You guys really didn't have to do this, being back home is a big enough gift, believe me." James finally moved toward the bed and sat down beside Kendall.
"Well, I kind of have... I wanted to, um..." Kendall shook his head in an attempt to "get it together", so to speak, and then continued, "Here goes nothing."
James watched as his boyfriend began strumming the guitar softly, skillful fingers dancing across the strings. And then Kendall looked up, gazed into James' eyes, and began to sing.
"I don't know why you always get so insecure
I wish you could see what I see when you're looking in the mirror
And why won't you believe me when I say
That to me you get more beautiful, everyday..."
James was at war here; whether to interrupt Kendall's singing and attack him with kisses, or to sit and allow his boyfriend to finish. He quickly decided that he wanted too badly to hear the rest of the song to cut it short. Kendall sounded so damn beautiful, looked it, too, and was so earnest in every word he sang.
"When you're looking at the magazines
And thinking that you'll never measure up
You're wrong...
Cause you're my every, everything
I think you're a superstar, yeah you are
Why don't you know
Yeah, you're so pretty that it hurts
It's what's underneath your skin
The beauty that shines within
And when I'm with you I just wanna sing
My everything...
Oh, my everything."
James felt tears welling up in his eyes but couldn't be bothered to wipe them away. He was mesmerized by Kendall's beauty and for the first time, he believed every word of praise. James rested a hand on Kendall's knee and rocked along with the soft sound of the guitar.
"You walk in rainboots on a perfect summer day
Somehow you always see the dark side, when everything's okay
And you wear baggy clothes that camoflague your shape
Whoa, but you know that I love you just the way you're made..."
James crawled behind Kendall and draped his arms around his neck. He laid his head on Kendall's shoulder and watched the beautiful, large hands move gracefully across the strings on the guitar.
"When you're looking at the magazines
And thinking that you're just not good enough
You're so wrong, baby."
The chorus came again, and James was in heaven. He found himself softly humming along to parts of the tune he'd picked up.
"You've got a heart of gold, a perfect original
Wish you would stop being so hard on yourself for a while
And when I see that face
I'd try a thousand ways
I would do anything to make you smile...
Cause you're my every, everything
I think you're a superstar, yeah you are
Why don't you know
Yeah, you're so pretty that it hurts
It's what's underneath your skin
The beauty that shines within
And when I'm with you I just wanna sing
My everything.
Oh woah, my everything."
James pounced on Kendall the second he was done singing, both boys falling back on the bed with an "oomph". Kendall carefully removed the guitar strap and placed the guitar on the floor, then pulled James close, nuzzling into him. It was an awkward fumble, but still beautiful, giving both of them butterflies.
"I love you," Kendall whispered and pressed his lips to James' forehead. James was sniffling and looked awe-stricken. "What?" Kendall laughed.
"You."
"Me?"
"I don't even know how to put into words what I'm feeling. You make me want to like myself." James sniffled a few more times.
"My only wish is that someday you love yourself as much as I love you," Kendall said, voice quiet and sweet.
"Promise me something?" James asked softly, and Kendall squeezed him.
"Absolutely anything."
"Can you promise me that... that you'll be mine forever?" James bit his lip shyly and couldn't bring himself to meet the other's eyes. Kendall lifted James' chin gently and locked gazes with him, and there was such a light in Kendall's eyes, such pure love and excitement that his expression answered the question on its own.
But still Kendall said, "I was planning on that all along, James. I will always, always be yours. Even if you don't want me. I'm still yours. Always."
"Thank you," James whispered. He looked at Kendall, a small smile playing at his lips. "You're going to have to record that song for me."
"Anything to make you happy," Kendall nodded.
"Gustavo's gonna want to put the word 'girl' in it somewhere, you know."
"I'm sure he'll figure something out..." Kendall shrugged.
James placed a light kiss to Kendall's nose, laughing softly, and then moved to his lips. Their kissing was achingly sweet and James was sure he'd never felt quite so comfortable and in his element before. Kendall moved his hands to his boyfriend's scalp and tugged at the brown locks softly, pulling him in further.
Kendall could physically feel the change in James' mental state; he seemed so much more at ease, and had definitely left behind the nervous edge he once had while being intimate. It was just the two of them in that moment, and literally nothing else mattered.
"I missed this," James murmured.
"Mmm, me too." Kendall pulled James into his lap and began kissing his neck.
James took over from that moment on. He stripped himself of the blue button-down he'd been wearing and began massaging Kendall's chest slowly. Kendall was at James' mercy, writhing a bit under his touch, and gasping every so often when James nipped his neck. James soon slipped Kendall's shirt over his head and kissed down his chest, to his stomach, and finally got down to the zipper on his jeans.
"I love seeing you like this," Kendall said
"Like... what?"
Kendall's eyes crinkled at the sides and he whispered, "Confident." James smiled from ear to ear and eagerly unbuttoned Kendall's jeans. Without a moment's hesitation, James pulled his boyfriend's hardened cock from the confines of his pants.
He had a dark, determined set to his eyes that made Kendall shiver as he murmured, "I want to taste every inch of you." And with that, James took Kendall in his mouth and slowly began bobbing his head. Kendall drew in a breath sharply and squeezed his eyes shut, hand going straight to James' hair and holding on for dear life.
James moved his lips up and down the shaft of Kendall's cock in a slow, passionate rhythm. He reached for his own erection and began pumping, never taking his mouth off of Kendall.
"J-James..." Kendall gasped as his grip on James' hair tightened, "Come here.. I want you-"
James was there in a second, positioning himself over Kendall and capturing his lips. The two kissed hotly and a bit desperately and soon Kendall and James had both shimmied out of their pants and boxers.
"James," Kendall breathed against James' mouth. There was a moment of beautiful silence as both calmed their heartbeats and breathed the same air, so close that their noses were touching, just staring into each other's eyes. "I want you to fuck me," Kendall whispered, and James didn't have to be asked twice. He positioned himself between Kendall's legs and gently spread them with his knee. Kendall was staring up at James, everything else in the world having disappeared, and watching as James stroked his own cock and few times before lining himself up with Kendall's entrance.
Slowly, but no less eager, James began to push forward. He waited for Kendall's approval to continue and then was soon rolling his hips and thrusting into Kendall hard. He kept a strong grip on Kendall's thighs while desperately trying to keep control of himself so he wouldn't cum too soon. James wanted this to last. He wanted it to be perfect.
"James," Kendall whimpered, "Harder. Please, harder." And that was it. James began pounding into Kendall with a new fury and soon he came in contact with the spot inside of Kendall that made him come undone. James was trying to keep it together, he really was, but Kendall was making it extremely difficult; he was making this face like he could cum at any second and breathing James' name continuously, looking even closer to losing it with each thrust.
"I'm so fucking close, so close..." Kendall whimpered, and at that moment, James couldn't hold himself off any longer.
"Kendall," James warned, "I-I'm gonna..." and he whimpered as he felt himself cum hard, releasing inside of Kendall, who let out a long whine and came soon after. James all but collapsed onto Kendall and the two gripped each other while desperately trying to catch their breath.
Finally Kendall found his voice and said, "You are so fucking beautiful," and James smiled.
"Thank you."
"You're... you're not going to argue with me?" Kendall questioned. He seemed a bit shocked and James laughed.
"No, I'll take your word for it." James winked and Kendall's heart swelled with happiness. This was all he had wanted all along; for James to be happy and to finally believe in himself.
Kendall and James would take on the world together, and if James ever forgot how beautiful and infinitely valuable he was, Kendall would always be right there to remind him.
End.
Review and let me know what you thought of A Diamond in a Rhinestone World.
And by the way... recognize Kendall's lyrics from anywhere? ;) See what I did there?!
Love, Vanessa. (Twinklover, XOXOXO)