EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, some things to explain. Remember how I said Chapter 9 was HARD to write? Well it was! And Chapter 10 wasn't easy either! As a matter of fact, I kept trying and trying to write CH-10, but it wasn't working...something wasn't clicking for me, so I kept rereading 9, and I decided that I didn't like the direction I was going in, and I was going in that direction way too fast. I had Jo inviting Logan to a party just minutes after getting her "confirmation!" So yeah, that didn't work for me, and I was having a very hard time trying to rewrite it. I left it alone for a few days to recharge my creative juice, and then I spent several agonizing days rewriting that entire scene until I finally got what I wanted out of it. It's EXTREMELY DIFFERENT AND EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, so you MUST go back and read the new revision to Chapter 9 before you even lay eyes on this chapter. Consider the previous revision sort of a preview of things to come, though, because the whole "party" angle is definitely gonna come up. But anyway, after feeling good with CH-9, I started on 10, and it wasn't easy, but I finally got into the zone again, and here it is! It sheds a lot of light on some things I wasn't so sure about myself (because these stories always have a mind of their own!), and I hope you enjoy! Thanks for all of your reviews, and I'm truly sorry for the loooooong delay in updating.

CHAPTER TEN

It made no sense. The more Kendall thought about it, the less sense it made.

He retreated to the only place he could go to for quiet concentration, the beach, and, as always, the time alone was doing wonders for him. Still, though, he was unsure of what was or was not unfolding around him. Logan and Jo made no sense. The whole conclusion that he'd come to made no sense. The thought of Logan somehow trying to make a stealth move on Jo behind his back, then lying about it to his face? It was silly! It was ludicrous! The whole thing was so not like Logan that Kendall couldn't help but crack a smile when he tried to imagine Logan as this suave, debonair panty-dropper.

Suave and debonair...in a suit...with his black hair slicked back...with a come-hither look on his face...

But still. Kendall had seen with his own eyes Logan leaving Jo's apartment. But that could have been anything, right? Something totally innocent, right? Maybe Logan and Jo were planning a surprise party for him. That would make sense. His birthday had already passed...his anniversary with Jo was still months away...but people gave random surprise parties for no reason all the time...right?

Or maybe Jo had asked for Logan's help with math or science or something like that. That would make sense. Yeah, they'd all just graduated from the Palm Woods school, and Jo had no intentions of ever doing anything academic ever again, but...it was a possibility, right?

Or maybe Logan had wanted to see Jo for some acting tips! That had to be it! Logan had mentioned something about acting once or twice in the past. His total lack of interest in it, of course. But maybe he had changed his mind!

It was very possible that Logan had gone to apologize for the Michelle stuff. He was such a push-over. Jo attacking him and making him feel responsible for Michelle's night obviously made him want to apologize for it, and so that's what he'd gone to do. And, maybe, Logan had also asked if he could see Michelle again. Or another one of Jo's friends.

It could have been something else, though. What if Logan had gone to Jo to tell her something...to talk to her about something that he really needed to talk to someone - anyone - about? Kendall didn't want to believe that. Though they'd never talked about it themselves, he and Logan had silently vowed with their eyes to never tell anyone about certain things...certain moments...and Logan would never betray that unspoken trust, would he?

No, Kendall thought. No.

He refused to believe Logan's visit with Jo was anything but innocent. Maybe Logan just wanted to borrow a cup of sugar, for goodness's sake! Something stupid and silly and foolish and mundane, and Kendall was wracking his brain and throwing around all of these theories for nothing. But Logan didn't have a cup of sugar in his hand when he was leaving Jo's place...

Kendall, never one to bullshit around, took his phone out of his pocket and began to call Jo. All he had to do was ask her, and she'd tell him, and that would be the end of it. He'd even tell her that, for a second, he'd thought she and Logan were having some kind of clandestine affair. They'd laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, and then he'd suggest they make up for the date they'd missed the night before. As always, everything would work out.

Except the phone just kept ringing...and ringing...and ringing.

Still, though! That didn't have to mean anything! Logan would be just as good as Jo at calming him down and getting him to see that he'd been worried for nothing. Logan would tell him, and Kendall would laugh, and yes, Kendall would even tell Logan about his wild little assumption, and they'd laugh. They'd make plans to continue their day of "best friend bonding" by relaxing by the pool and checking out random Palm Woods hotties.

But Logan wasn't answering either. Just ringing...and ringing...and ringing.

He slowly slipped the phone back into his pocket.

Rarely did Kendall let paranoia get to him. No, he usually had everything under control! He usually knew what was going on at all times, and he was usually boss of everything. No one could ever get anything past him, and he loved it. He counted on it, actually. He always knew, at any given time, what his three friends were up to, what his mother and sister were up to, what his girlfriend was up to (or at least what she'd told him she was up to). Hell, he even kept close tabs on Gustavo and Kelly just because he could.

But now he was feeling strangely out of the loop. He wasn't the type to bathe in his insecurities, though, so he didn't sit and mope and worry and have fears like Logan and Jo would. He just made a resolve in his mind that he would not let this get to him. He'd put it on the backburner and not even think about it until he could talk to Logan or Jo and find out that his stupid little assumption was just that, a stupid little assumption. He would be more than glad to be proven wrong.

It was bad enough that he could feel his relationship with Jo falling apart anyway. Even if Logan wasn't trying to make a move on her...Kendall didn't know if there was even anything there for anyone to make a move on. He and Jo hadn't been out for so much as a meal in months. They talked on the phone, but it was usually her rattling on and on about her "problems," content with just an occasional "Mhm" and "You were right" from Kendall. And then she'd get jealous over the most stupid things...always thinking he was trying to cheat on her.

Once upon a time, it had been much better for them. She'd needed him, and he needed to know that he was needed. He felt he'd finally found someone he could help and not be ashamed to love. When Jo had come to California, she'd given everyone the idea that she had it all together, that she was perfectly happy...but she wasn't. And Kendall knew it. And he made it his duty to change that. And he did. Through their dates and their phone conversations, he made her believe that she was special, that she was beautiful, and that she was loved. He did that, and he was proud of it.

It definitely had not been the first time he'd done that for someone...but with Jo, there was a feeling of safety...a feeling of normalcy. He could be with Jo, and he wouldn't have to deal with drama.

But he was indeed dealing with drama with Jo. As soon as she'd started to feel better about herself, she'd gotten her own case of Hollywood Fever, and it wasn't showing any signs of lifting. Kendall often wondered what was worse...the drama he dealt with with Jo...or the drama he would have had to deal with if he'd just...followed his heart...

As he sat down in the sand, his eyes never left the horizon. It was the afternoon, but the sun still cast a magnificent glow over the ocean, and, as always, Kendall found himself lost in the sight. He thought about his life, and the decisions he'd made...the decisions he felt he had to make. He wondered if they were the right choices...he wondered if they were mistakes. But it was too late for that...much too late. He had something to prove, and Kendall Knight never backed down from a fight.

No one ever said it would be easy or quick. It would be a long, long uphill climb, but it'd be worth it. Oh, it would be worth every step.

Happy.

Normal.

Those were the two words that meant everything. They rung in his head like church bells, like an alarm clock, like the sound of horns honking in traffic.

I'm going to be normal. And I'm going to be happy.

Thank God there wasn't too much of a mess. It had been a long, long time since she'd done it, but she remembered how to keep it under control, how to keep the blood from getting everywhere. She put a few drops on the innocent kitchen knife that would be blamed for "the accident," if an explanation would be necessary, and she put a purple Band-Aid on the already-drying slit in her wrist.

Jo wasn't proud of herself, and she promised herself it would be the only time. She only had a brief relapse, and that would be it. No more thoughts of knives and blades, no more thoughts of hurting herself, no more thoughts of hating herself.

No more thoughts of them...together.

Logan had told her that Kendall didn't know. And if Kendall didn't know, that meant Kendall wasn't lying to her. That meant Kendall really was hers...he was hers, and she was his, and they were together, the way they were supposed to be. And Logan was a dirty, jealous, little liar. She'd let him get to her, though...oh, how he'd gotten to her. He'd exposed her weakness, and oh, she was weak. She was weaker than she'd been in a long time, but she was over it now. A few swipes of her trusty, stainless steel friend, and she was okay.

She knew she should probably feel bad for Logan. In a way, she felt guilty. She'd forced the whole situation...obviously, he wasn't ready to talk to her about any of the things they'd talked about, and he'd said an untrue thing out of anger, but she'd forced him, and she'd gotten what she deserved.

You got what you deserve, you stupid bitch, her little voice tried to say, but she shut it down.

"I'm not listening to you," she calmly said aloud as she poured the now-cold coffee down the drain. "You don't get to me anymore."

What to do, what to do? What would be her next move? Once she'd gotten herself together, once she'd cleansed herself of all the self-hatred, all she could think about was how she was going to get past this.

It was only about five o'clock, but she was tired. She closed the blinds in her bedroom and crawled into bed. A long nap would do her some good...a long nap would put it all into perspective. She needed the time to think.

Okay, she thought. Logan has feelings for Kendall. Fine. He seems to understand that he'll never get him. Kendall belongs to me, and Logan will just have to deal with that.

You're going to lose him, the voice said. You're going to lose him...

"No, I won't," she said. "He's mine, and Logan knows it."

But Logan was right, urged the voice. Logan was right! You don't deserve Kendall.

"I'll change...I'll change...I'm going to start being better to Kendall. I swear it..."

And what about Logan? What are you going to do with him? If you think it's over just like that, you're dumber than you look. And you look dumb as hell.

"I'll get rid of Logan. I know how to get rid of people."

But you said you didn't want to hurt him-

"I have to! I have to hurt him! I hurt him or I hurt myself!"

You're insecure...and you're scared...you know he could have Kendall.

"But he won't have Kendall. He'll never have Kendall."

Logan had never realized before just how many books he had about the inner workings of the human body. Five on the digestive system, six on the respiratory system, three on the circulatory system, a whopping twelve books all about the nervous system, four books on the integumentary system (desperately bought on Amazon when he started to show his first signs of acne). Just tons of books, and he'd read most of them.

As he thumbed through a truly exciting chapter all about teenage hormones, he couldn't help but think of his own out-of-control teenage hormones. Damn...the sight of Jo...broken and beaten, crying and trembling at the kitchen counter...it had gotten to him. And he'd enjoyed it, too! For a brief moment, he'd enjoyed her misery.

Am I that kind of person? he asked himself.

More importantly, he never thought Jo could be the kind of person he'd seen her be that day. Scared and confused and absolutely mortified. All because she thought she'd lost Kendall to Logan? Really? There had to be more to the story than that. But Kendall was enough, though. Kendall was enough to make a person cry, pull their hair out, and do dangerous things. He just never imagined Jo could feel that way over him. It was true, she did treat him like shit, and she rarely truly appreciated him. But the prospect of losing him tore her up like a tornado. He could relate.

"Hey, Logan," said Mrs. Knight as she entered the bedroom with a basket of laundry. "Still reading?"

"Uh...yes, ma'am," he said earnestly. "The endocrine system. A few more chapters, and I'll be moving on to the lymphatic system."

"Ah," she replied, accepting and acknowledging that she had no clue what that was. She began to fold Kendall's clean clothes and carefully stack them on his bed. "...Uh, so what exactly is the lymphatic system? Like lymph nodes and stuff?"

"Yeah," he chuckled. "Lymph nodes and stuff."

"Ah, so I do know a thing or two! If you ever need a nurse to work for you, call me!"

"I will."

As Mrs. Knight continued to sort through her son's various outfits, she could sense something was wrong with Logan. She'd been a second mom to him for years, and in California, she practically was his mother. She had those maternal instincts for all of the boys, and Katie, and they never failed her. She wasn't the type of mom who would just bug and bug and nag and nag until she got the kid to spill, though. She took her time and sized up the situation, all without saying a single word, and she knew when they just wanted to be left alone.

Logan had taken a nap all afternoon the day before, and he'd went out on a date which had obviously gone horribly. Today, the other boys were out enjoying the beautiful day, and she and Katie had just come home from a concert, but Logan was here...in this room...reading those books...all afternoon long. Not that that was uncharacteristic of Logan, but...there had to be a reason why he wasn't tagging along behind Kendall today.

She was glad Kendall and Logan were best friends. She thought Logan was a great influence on her son, and she knew Logan had been there for him through some hard times. She hated herself immensely every time she remembered how she'd neglected her two children during the long process of divorcing the asshole known as Sean Knight, but a little bit of the edge was taken off every time she was reminded of the fact that Kendall had a great friend who helped him through it all.

In her mind, there was something just so right about Kendall and Logan's friendship, something so...healthy. She remembered the dorky little, big headed, bifocals-wearing kid Kendall had brought home from school one day. Yeah, she'd laughed at him behind his back, and she'd thought he was a weirdo...but Kendall had been committed to making that friendship work, and over time, Mrs. Knight knew that they were good for each other. She always hoped they'd be best friends for the rest of their lives. She knew that one day, depending on how this whole fame and fortune thing worked out, her baby boy would no longer require the love and attention of his mother, but she could accept that and be at peace as long as she knew Logan would never be too far away from him to keep him on the right track, to get him out of his various jams, and to keep him down to earth.

She folded the last of Kendall's clothes. His favorite pair of blue-and-white pinstripe boxers. She smiled to herself. She knew it wasn't exactly what most mothers wanted for their sons, but secretly, she always hoped that one day...just maybe one day...it would be Logan folding her son's boxers.

Oh, but she would be happy as long as her boys were happy, no matter who they decided to spend their lives with. Kendall had Jo, and that was good enough for her. Logan and Camille had finally broken up for what might have been the last time, but Mrs. Knight knew he'd find someone else in no time.

She decided to leave him to his physiological studies because she knew that's where he could most easily find comfort. Whatever was bothering him, he'd figure it out. He always did. And if he couldn't figure it out? Kendall would be sure to do it for him.

"Enjoy your books," she said warmly as she went for the door.

"Thanks."

Once again, he was alone in their room, and as he closed one book and reached to open another, he felt like he was absolutely read-out for the day. That didn't happen often, but it did happen, and it was happening now. He put the two books back on the shelf and stood up. He glanced out the window to see the usual Palm Woods pool happenings taking place, once again feeling that those people were living happy, carefree lives.

He looked over at Kendall's clothes. He knew they smelled like him...clean, mind you, and full of whatever Summer Rain/Hawaiian Morning/Autumn Mist/Fresh Linen/Lemon Zest laundry detergent Mrs. Knight was experimenting with, but still...they were Kendall's clothes, the clothes that covered his body, and Logan could feel his presence in the room just from looking at them.

An uphill climb. It would be an uphill climb.

He wondered about Jo. The whole thing had backfired in such an epic way. He hadn't counted on her having such a negative reaction, but it was out of his hands now. Was she going to tell Kendall? Was she going to tell Kendall everything he'd said, even the parts that were untrue and had only come out in the heat of the moment?

Oh, he hoped she wouldn't. Yes, he'd been planning to tell Kendal that day, and he'd figured it would be fantastic, but was that still a possibility? What if...what if Jo didn't say anything, but Logan did, and then, by Logan telling Kendall, Jo figured she had the "okay" to go ahead and tell Kendall the whole story...the story of how Logan had lied to her and made her think Kendall didn't love her and practically murdered her in her own home?

I can't tell him, Logan decided. I don't care if I'm overreacting or going crazy or being chicken or doing what Hortense would do. I don't care. I can't tell him.

Once upon a time, he could tell Kendall anything.

"So, Logan, where did you and Kayla end up after homecoming?" Carlos asked as the four guys began their walk home from hockey practice.

"Yeah, I think that's a good question," James chimed in.

It was the Monday after the homecoming dance of their junior year, and Logan had spent all of Sunday hoping he wouldn't have to answer any questions about it. He'd gone to the dance with Kayla Kelly, one of the quieter girls at their school but a very nice one nonetheless. The boys and their dates had all made an eightsome out of it - pictures, dinner, dancing. It had been a fairly comfortable night for Logan, but then after the dance...well, everyone knew what was supposed to go on after a high school dance.

They'd gotten four hotel rooms. Kendall and his date, Melanie, were in one. James and his date, Krystal, was in another. Carlos and his date, Rachel, was in another. And Logan and Kayla...they had a whole room to themselves as well. And Logan had no clue what to do with it.

"We...uh...did some stuff," he said to the boys as they continued their trek across the school's student parking lot.

"Like what?" Carlos prodded, poking Logan with his hockey stick.

Kendall didn't seem as pressed. He kind of chuckled at James and Carlos's insistence that Logan give out all of the details, but he wasn't interested in probing him for information.

"I can tell you what me and Krystal did," James said, "but I think you're all minors, so..."

Carlos and James high-fived each other.

"Why don't you guys knock it off, huh?" Kendall instructed. "Leave him alone."

"We're not doing anything!" Carlos defended. "Just wanna know if ol' Logane here got some...some putang!"

All four of them winced.

"Oh my God, Carlos, that's disgusting!" Logan shrilled.

"And with that, I withdraw myself from the conversation," said James.

The guys came to the corner where they usually split into pairs. James and Carlos lived on the east side of their neighborhood, and Kendall and Logan lived more to the west. They said their normal goodbyes, did their normal handshakes, and split up for the rest of their daily journey.

Kendall knew Logan was upset by the others' incessant prying, and he knew that if stuff like that continued...if Logan thought that he'd always have to answer to them when it came to personal things like that...he'd probably want to stop hanging around them, probably go back to being by himself all the time. And Kendall wasn't ready to lose his best friend.

"Don't worry about them," he said, doing the old tried-and-true arm-around-the-shoulders bit. "They're just jealous."

"Heh...jealous of what?" Logan asked, becoming infinitely more self-conscious with Kendall's arm around his shoulders. He hoped Kendall would say that they were jealous of the two of them...of their friendship...of whatever it was they had.

"Jealous of me and you," Kendall said. Logan could feel his heartbeat speeding up. "Jealous of the fact that we actually know how to treat girls with respect."

The rose wilted, the balloon popped, the sun went back behind the clouds.

"Yeah...yeah, they're jealous," agreed Logan.

They reached Logan's house and stopped on the sidewalk. Kendall's soulful eyes were on Logan...those fucking eyes that never ever quit.

"If you and Kayla didn't do anything, there's nothing wrong with that," he said. "Nothing wrong with that at all."

"Well, we did-" Logan quickly began, but Kendall started shaking his head.

"No, you didn't," said Kendall. "I know you, and that's not the kind of guy you are."

Logan was waiting for Kendall to judge him for not "getting it in" with his homecoming date, but then he remembered...Kendall wouldn't do that to him. Kendall understood him.

"Thanks," he said hesitantly.

"For what?"

"I don't know...everything?"

"Oh my God, Logan, it's nothing!" Kendall said with a smirk, amazed at how often Logan saw himself as some kind of imposition. "I'm...just doing what a best friend does."

They stood awkwardly for a second, both feeling like there should have been some kind of action in that moment. Logan knew what he wanted to do...he knew what he wanted Kendall to do. On this beautiful Midwestern autumn day, he wanted Kendall Knight, boy of his dreams...keeper of his heart...king of his soul, to lean over and kiss him.

But Kendall didn't do that. He gave Logan a friendly pat on the arm. "See you tomorrow, Horty," he said and began to walk away.

Kendall was already halfway down the block before Logan forced himself to go inside. He kept hoping that Kendall would come back. He kept hoping that he'd feel Kendall's chapped lips and potato chip breath on his mouth. He kept hoping...and hoping...and hoping...and he'd keep hoping for years to come.

An uphill climb. Plain and simple. But a climb, nonetheless.

Suddenly, those books didn't seem so tiresome anymore, and he was just about to start with "lymph nodes and stuff" when the door opened.

Kendall.

He knows, Logan suddenly thought. Jo told him, and Kendall knows, and he's here to kill me, and he's here to beat me up, and he's here to tell me we can't be friends anymore, and he's here to tell me that I should have just fucked Kayla Kelly like I was supposed to, and-

"Whatcha reading?" Kendall asked as he closed the door behind him.

"Uh...uh...lymphatic system."

"Oh."

Kendall began to put away his fresh laundry, but he remained very perceptive of the other boy in the room. He was waiting for Logan to tell him why he'd seen Jo...he was waiting to hear about that "cup of sugar" or those "acting tips" or that "math and science" stuff Jo'd been so eager to know about. He wanted to know that Logan went and apologized for showing Michelle a boring night. He just wanted to know.

But there was nothing...silence.

"So...how was your nap?" Kendall asked, not wanting to believe the worst.

"It was...uh," Logan began, "I didn't really take a nap." But he sure as hell wasn't gonna tell Kendall that he'd gone and had a conversation with Jo that ended up turning into something out of an episode of All My Children.

"You didn't?" Kendall asked, his voice taking on an a controlling slant. "I mean...I thought you said you wanted to take a nap."

Logan held up his book. "I was going to, but then I started reading."

"Oh," said Kendall. Okay. So nothing about why he was with Jo. Nothing at all? "And you've just been reading all day?"

"Yes."

Nothing at all about Jo.

"Oh," said Kendall. He put the last of his clothes away, the blue-and-white pinstripe boxers, and then he left the room without saying another word to his lying sack of a best friend. That lying bastard...that lying asshole...that fucking liar.

Logan could feel the negative energy on Kendall as he left, and he wondered what it could mean. If Jo had told Kendall, then there would have been something...some kind of reaction...Kendall would definitely let him know that he knew. But it wasn't like that...yet he could tell when Kendall was upset about something.

He's pulling away from you, Logan's little voice told him. He's pulling away from you, and he's going to make you not love him anymore. He knows you, remember? He knows how you think and how you feel and how you are. And he's trying to help you get over him.

Logan didn't even care anymore. Too much drama for one day. He wished he had indeed taken that nap, but that was all right. He'd read from his book for a little while, and it'd soon be dark. He'd take another sleeping pill, and he'd be out like a light. Gustavo and Kelly would be back, and the next day would be filled with work.

He wished Dr. Riley would be back the next day, too, because he had to talk to someone about all of the crazy events of the last...day? It was just one day since his last session? And his world was already turned upside down. Damn. He knew not what the next few days would bring, but he knew he had to get through them at any cost.

Jo carefully applied her lipstick in the mirror that had been her own personal jail cell just hours before. She'd had her moment of weakness...and she'd let all of her fears build up to a gigantic meltdown. But that was done now...it was over, and it was time to move forward.

Jo didn't want to hurt Logan, and if he'd just fall in line and did what she wanted him to do, she wouldn't have to hurt him. What she'd said to Michelle was true. He was a nice guy, and he was sweet, and now that she'd calmed down, now that she'd let all of her craziness run its course, she knew that just destroying him would be a selfish, overly dramatic, needlessly traumatic thing.

But he's trying to take your boyfriend, the little voice tried to say, but it was getting fainter and fainter by the minute.

Jo didn't care. She'd heard what Logan had said...she'd had the chance to think about it. Kendall didn't know, and Logan didn't want him to know. Fine. Perfect, actually. She definitely wasn't going to spoil that for him. She would be open to cooperate, and hopefully so would he, and maybe they could work together to get past this...whatever "this" was.

They're just friends...that's all...nothing more, she reminded herself as she checked her nails and make up one last time.

She was the image of beauty.

She didn't completely dismiss the things Logan had said in anger, though. She knew more than ever that she had to change, really change, and show Kendall that she deserved him, that she wanted him, and that she appreciated him. She owed it to him, and she was going to remind him of all the reasons why they'd gotten together in the first place. Kendall was her lifeline, and she needed him...she just plain needed him. If her showdown with Logan was enough to send her over the edge, how could she be sure that there would be no more unforeseen circumstances that had the potential to break her?

She checked the casual clothes that hung on her closet door. Kendall's clothes. Starched and ironed, just waiting for his body to occupy them.

Yeah, things were going to change, and that change was going to start tonight. She knew what she wanted to do with Logan, but there would be time for that...there would be time to adequately set that into motion. Not tonight, though. Tonight was going to be "their" night. Hers and Kendall's. Logan's little "heat of the moment" declaration had been too close a call for Jo, and she felt it was time for some good old-fashioned relationship re-enforcements.

The doorbell rang, and something inside her just knew it was him. She ripped the bandage from her wrist...it had dried just as fast as she'd hoped it would.

"Kendall," she greeted with a warm and vivacious smile when she opened the door. No one would have ever guessed that she'd been a depressed, drunken mess just two hours earlier. She knew how to bring the magic of television back home to reality.

Kendall was taken aback by the sight of her. His girl. Gorgeous...lovely...beautiful in every single way. Dressed up and ready to go out...but where? And with who?

"You look...amazing," he said, too mesmerized to start forming accusations. He momentarily felt that things were the way they'd been in the beginning.

Jo blushed. Yes...oh yes, Logan would never get his hands on this boy because this boy belonged to her. "Come in," she welcomed.

He stepped through the door, and he immediately started to backtrack on his overactive imagination. Once again, the thought of Logan and Jo sneaking around behind his back seemed ridiculous to him...how could Jo betray him? She couldn't, and neither could Logan. There was a missing piece to the puzzle, and he was going to put his hands on it sooner or later.

"Where are you going dressed like that?" he inquired as Jo put on a pair of black and silver earrings.

"The question you should be asking," she said, "is 'Where are WE going?'"

Kendall's eyebrows jumped. "We?"

Jo finished with her earrings and smiled mischievously. She took a deep breath. "Kendall," she began, "I've spent all day thinking...and thinking...and thinking, and I think we need to spend some time together. Some real quality time."

Finally, he thought. Finally! This relationship is going to start feeling real again...it's going to start being everything I need it to be again! We're going to be crazy about each other again, and we're going to be happy again! No more pretending!

Yes, they were young and in Hollywood. Yes, they both had busy schedules. Yes, they didn't always have the time necessary to build and maintain a healthy relationship. Yes, Kendall had been getting worried...yes, Kendall thought he was losing her. Yes, Kendall was afraid she was cheating on him (if not with Logan, then definitely someone else). Yes, Kendall felt unhappy...yes, Kendall felt like he had to pretend to be happy just to make sure she didn't do anything crazy. Yes, he'd had his own moments of weakness, including that one time when he'd let Logan see him naked, and he was just a sigh away from...

But no. Not anymore. Jo wanted to change, and he believed her. He had to believe her, and he had to believe in their relationship. He had to believe that their relationship could be happy and normal...that it could make him happy and normal.

He was spellbound as she took him by the hand and led him to the couch. He felt so lucky...she looked and smelled amazing, and she was saying the things he'd been wanting her to say for a long time. She sat him down and took a seat next to him.

"I...I know that I've been busy lately," she said sincerely. "And I know that it seems like I'm a million miles away from you, even when I'm just right here...but Kendall...you know that I love you, right?"

She just had to know. She just had to wipe that look off of Logan's face...she had to know that he was wrong, that Kendall knew just how much she cared about him.

He nodded.

"And you know that I appreciate you, right?"

He hesitated. No, sometimes he didn't know that she appreciated him. But she looked so good in her little black dress...and so he nodded.

She sighed. Logan Schmogan. He thought he knew everything.

Nerves flushed across her face as she tentatively leaned in to kiss him. Their lips met, and it was a solid kiss. Wet and warm. She was scared that it wouldn't be good, scared that it wouldn't be enough to keep him, but she felt successful.

"Jo," he began, just confused by everything, "why...what is this all for?"

"It's for you...and me."

She smiled again. He was hers... he belonged to her. Logan could never change that, and she would never let him.

It was all she could do to force herself to stand, to force herself to remember that there were plans for the night. "I made reservations at that Mexican restaurant you like," she said as she led him to her bedroom.

"El Chaparral?" he asked.

"That's the one."

Jo opened the closet door and showed him the outfit she'd prepared for him. She couldn't help but be amused by the look of bewilderment on his upon face seeing his clothes in her closet. "You get sexy. I'll be waiting in the living room."

The clothes had been in her room for months. The last time they'd gone to El Chaparral, they'd gotten back to her place, and her parents were, just like tonight, not there. Needless to say, they'd made the most of it, and Jo, feeling sadistic, made Kendall go home in just his underwear. Kendall was up to the challenge, but he'd forgotten about the clothes he'd left behind. Jo kept them in her closet to remind her of him every time she needed a reminder...every time she was close to the edge and he was nowhere near.

But that's not what Kendall was thinking as he got dressed. He'd forgotten all about that night of passion and that dare. No, he thought he'd found that missing puzzle piece once and for all. Everything made sense now...everything! Logan's secretiveness! The fact that he'd been to see Jo that day! Those clothes hadn't gotten to Jo's room all by themselves. Logan had brought them, and that explained everything. Logan had lied about it because it was supposed to be a surprise!

Everything, Kendall thought...everything. Everything explained away just that quickly and easily. Everything was the way it was supposed to be after all.

He buttoned up his shirt and couldn't help but smile. As soon as he got in that night, he was gonna tell Logan that he'd done a damn good job of keeping the surprise a secret, and he'd thank him for being such a good and thoughtful friend. He'd comment that it was good to see him and Jo work together and get along for a change, too. He'd promise Logan that they'd find a girl for him to take his mind off of...whoever it was he needed to take his mind off of. Camille. Or whoever.

Logan's gonna be fine, Kendall thought. And so will I.

NOTE: Once again, VERY SORRY for the long delay and thank you to everyone for hanging in there. Next chapter will be up in a few days!