Hello again. I'm...sad and still heartbroken over the loss of my work, but even pain can help create more chapters for 'Under the Mask'. (Sighs) And just when I knew which pairing was going to be the FINAL pairing in 'Love the Way You Lie'. I wrote the pairing down so not to go back on my work, and now...oh boy, here we go again. Oh, sorry everyone! Here's another new chapter, hope everyone enjoys! Thanks for the nice, kind words! Totally appreciate and thank you to BTRlover1122 for the suggestion! I'll try Watt-pad sometime in the future when my crazy college finals weeks give me the chance to. Thank you again and enjoy! :) Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush. I just love them and writing stories about them, particularly AUs. I also don't own Spider-Man or any of other Spider-Man related characters. All I own is the plot of the story. This is possibly going to be a two or three-part chapter, so hope that keeps everyone on their toes when I update next-next week. ;)

Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker shared identical smiles as they spotted James finally arriving on his motorcycle, he taking the time to chain up before walking over to them at their usual hang-out by the flag pole.

"Hey guys, thanks for waiting around for me." The brunet said, flashing his famous Diamond smile. Gwen let out a giggle while Peter lightly punched the taller boy in the side, his skateboard over one shoulder.

"No problem, James. But are you sure Kendall is going to be okay? Falling down two flights of steps, I'm amazed he isn't in the hospital right now!" The sweet, super smart blonde noted, her bright blue eyes shining with concern.

James swallowed the guilt he was feeling about lying to the only two friends (apart from Kendall, of course) he had at Midtown High and nodded, soft hazel-green eyes going a dark golden-red behind his glasses. "Yeah he's fine; thankfully he managed to hook his arm on the stair rail before he could fall any farther. Don't sweat it, Gwen. Kendall's tough as nails, and I left your get-well card and flowers in the living room for him. Yours too, Pete."

"Still, he's lucky to have survived that. Is it okay if we can come visit him this weekend? You know, just to let him know that we love him?" Peter asked, a light blush on his cheeks.

Peter, despite the fact that he's been friends with Kendall and James for over two years, still had his shy, awkward side come out when it came to asking things from them. It didn't show up as much as it did before, yet some habits are hard to break.

Kendall and James found that nice about the other boy, though. Peter wasn't popular, but he had more brains and heart than some of them unlike the local bully Flash or snarky cheerleader Liz.

Unlike some of the populars, Peter and Gwen didn't treat James like a god or Kendall like some outcast. They treated them like normal people, and that's all the two really want in life.

James wrapped both his arms around Gwen and Peter's shoulders, nodding in response to Peter's request with a more softer, brighter smile than before. "Of course Pete, you know you and Gwen are always welcomed to come over. That is, if Captain Stacy doesn't mind his princess hanging out with a bunch of guys all weekend." He said, the perky blonde shooting him a mild glare the comment.

"Peter's my boyfriend and you and Kendall are like my brothers. I think he can deal with that, plus I can always say I'm helping you out at Oscorp with something. I do work there too, after all." She pointed out, Peter snickering at James' sheepish blush.

"Not to mention YOU were the one who got Jamie here a job there, Gwen..."

"Shut up, Pete." Said boy's snickers grew to full-blown laughter at this point, Gwen's lips pressed tightly together to suppress a devious grin.

"Oh Jamie, don't pout on us."

"I'm not!" James exclaimed, pretending to be offended. Gwen only rolled her eyes and went back to the book she was reading, her soft white-blonde hair falling down her shoulders instead of in its usual ponytail.

"Give it up, Jamie. We're putty in her hands." Peter said, pressing a light kiss to his girlfriend's cheek. Well, as best as he could around the taller, muscular brunet between them.

If Kendall was here, James wouldn't be much of a third wheel.

"Okay, okay whatever guys. You two go on ahead, I need to get some books from my locker." James said, shooting them both a wink before he untangled his arms from around them and stepped off to the side.

"Okay but don't take too long, you don't want to be late to English. Again." Gwen said, she and Peter clasping hands.

"I won't, Mom."

"What did you say, James?!"

"Oh come on Gwen, the sooner he gets his stuff in order the better. See you in five minutes, Jay." Peter called over his shoulder before he walked his still annoyed girlfriend to class.

James took a deep breath and turned on his heel. He wasn't worried about being late to class. Even though his locker was on the other side of the school, being best friends with Spider-Man can have its perks. Like learning how to speed walk without attracting attention.

'Plus, I need some time alone to think.' He added as an after-thought, chest suddenly tight once more.

-Page Break-

'Could I be right about this? The Symbiote was attached to Kendall for a good three-four months. Wait, when I...was Venom, I was able to shot webbing as well, but it was stronger, sturdier and an endless supply! I-I was able to walk up walls, stick to them, the whole package! Which means...the Symbiote will grant any subsequent host the same powers Kendall has! God I'm so stupid, why didn't I think of this before?! Venom, whoever becomes one with it will have all of Spider-Man's powers! So that means...because it has a vast memory of all of Kendall's moves, it must have found a way to not be detected by his spidey sense! Of course! That has to be it, Kendall depends on his spidey sense when fighting crime; if you don't trigger that, then you have the upper hand over him! And the ability of duplicating itself, Kendy can't do that but surly it taught itself that for survival! Oh God, that thing isn't as simple as we thought!

James leaned against his locker's open door, eyes wide as dinner plates.

'I-it attacked Kendall. It either has a host already, o-or it's waiting for the right moment to attack him! The Symbiote isn't stupid though, it won't try for him right now; it feeds on adrenaline, with Kendall weak as he is right now he'd be useless to it. So right now Kendy's safe, but that also means he'll be in constant danger when he's all healed and out on the field. He'll be open for another assault, and next time the Symbiote won't be as merciful! It might...t-try to turn Kendall into Venom. Oh no, no, no, no!

Soon James practically ripped his backpack open and dug through the contents of his lockers, digging and digging until he found a spiral notebook with a black cover.

Here was where he wrote down notes concerning the Venom Symbiote. He's been keeping this journal of sorts ever since he and Kendall came into contact with the alien substance, and even when it escaped.

'Everything that's happened, every number and calculation is in this book. I've been keeping record just in case, and I see now that I did the right thing. I haven't been able to show my updates to it to Dr. Conners, but this is the last straw. If I don't do more research now and find a way to destroy it, then it will just keep coming back. The Venom Symbiote is very vulnerable to intense sonic waves and fire...if we can find some way to combine those two together, it could be what we need to get rid of the thing for good. S-should I tell Gwen and Peter about this? They're smart and care about Kendall too, and I'm sure if they knew he was Spider-Man they wouldn't tell anybody...no, no James you can't do that. If you do that, then you'll be putting their lives at risk as well. They're great friends; the last thing Kendall and I want is to lose them...then I guess I have no choice: I'll have to approach this from another angle, through Dr. Conner's help. I'll get his input and see if I can track the Symbiote myself. It's a long shot, because if it can evade Kendy's spider sense than my chances are even slimmer, but I have to at least try. I can't wait for the worst to happen, I can't let Kendall get hurt again...

At this James sighed heavily, feeling tears burn his eyes.

'Kendall, w-why did you kiss me? I've had these feelings for quite a long time now, but then you became Spider-Man and...you have a responsibility to this city. I can't ask you to quit being Spider-Man; this city needs you, it's a better place to be in now and I can't take that away. From the citizens, from the kids that look up to you, I can't. You're not just Kendall Knight anymore, you're also Spider-Man and I love both sides of you but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you got hurt because of me. You're angry inside, I can tell; what the Venom Symbiote tried to do, t-turn us against each other that is still haunting you. I nearly k-killed you. I was fighting but at the same time it was able to use my body to hurt you; I became a monster, even if I didn't want to I did. I-I care about you, more than just a brother or best friend or teammate, I care about you like Gwen cares about Peter and vice-versa, but they're different from us. They don't have to worry about one of them never coming back one day...

The brunet ran a hand through his tousled chocolate hair, the other clutching the notebook to his chest.

'I'm sorry, but I can't be with you, Kendall. Not that way; you should go for someone who has powers too, that way no worries about kidnaps by baddies or death. I'd only be in the way, I can't be what you need. I'm just your tech wiz, your bro and back-up when things get too intense. I can be all that but nothing more; ha, normally it's the hero saying it's better to be alone than in a relationship. Guess I'm the outlier in this case. The one time I had powers...

"MAWHAHAHAHAHA! Yes, now we can some real fun!"

'The one time I did, I became something I never wanted to be...

"Oh don't cry, let's get even now shall we? Make him pay, make him pay! MAKE HIM PAY!"

"AHHH!"

"NOW SPIDER-MAN, STOP US IF YOU CAN!"

"NO, JAMES!"

"NOW SPIDER-MAN, STOP US IF YOU CAN!"

"NO, JAMES!"

"WHAT'S THE MATTER?! ARE YOU SCARED?! IT'S JUST US, KENDALL! IT'S JUST US, MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"JAMES!"

'And you had to see that, Kendy. You had to see what I became...Venom, what we became...

"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

'And that's why, that's why we can't be together. It's for the best; you deserve better, Kendall. That kiss...I would have made it last longer on my half but it was sweet, just how I imagined a kiss from you would feel. Sweet, warm, safe and familiar. I just wish it didn't have to be our first AND last kiss...' With that James quickly packed his "Venom" notebook away into his bag and closed his locker door, redoing the lock with a sad look in his eyes.

"Hello, beautiful."

-Page Break-

"HELLO!" James screamed and nearly jumped a foot into the air when Jett Stetson's face popped out from behind his locker door, it now closed while the brunet had a hand over his racing heart. His expression clearly screamed, "What the FUCK are you doing?!", eyes wide with a mixture of confusion and surprise.

Jett chuckled at James' reaction though, as if it was completely normal. He leaned against the bank of lockers lazily, dark golden-brown eyes practically devouring the other boy in front of him.

He had a look of absolute lust, hunger so intense it made the hairs at back of James' neck stand on end.

"Haha, did I scare you?" Jett asked, getting a glare in return.

"What do you think, Stetson?"

"Sorry, I just wanted to say hi is all."

"Okay, hi. Now, bye." James said flatly, shrugging on his bag and turning on his heels to leave for English. He had better things to do, like get to class and meet up with Gwen and Peter than to deal the narcissistic blond who messed with his best friend on a daily basis.

"Come on now James, why the cold shoulder?" Jett asked, catching up to the other boy with ease. James ignored him and continued stalking down the hall, desperate to escape the other's range.

"If it's because me and Kendall don't get along, it has nothing to do with you." Jett pointed out; still no response, though.

"Then again, you sure are a nice piece of eye-candy." That made James snap.

"Don't call me that, Jett. Unlike you, there's more to me than just looks." Jett's perfect lips curved upwards in a smile, invading the brunet's personal space as he wrapped an arm around James' slender waist.

"Ah James, you have me all wrong. I'm not as bad as Kendall might make me out to be."

"I see how you act here, and at work. Trust me, I don't judge a book by its cover." James said, annoyed now.

Why was Jett talking to him? Every time they crossed paths, the narcissistic blond would just look at him like an old fashion trend. He disliked the fact that James, despite being a fellow popular and good-looking himself, was idolized more than him. Jett wasn't a "loser, a nerd" as he so bluntly called James, yet he still wasn't the most drooled over guy in school.

Ha, even high school had its decent side!

"Well if you didn't a judge a book by its cover, then you wouldn't be so harsh with me." Jett retorted, snickering when James beat his arm away.

"Please, you were the one who started this. You picked on me, it backfired on you, the end. Now if you'll excuse me, I have class to get to." James hated the fact that he was polite to a fault; sometimes he wished he could flip someone off like it was nothing.

But his mom Brooke pounded those manners into him, and habits are hard to break.

"You mean you're going to meet up with that bubble brain blonde and Parker?"

"Don't call Gwen that, and give some respect to Peter. Unlike you, he can get a date." James growled over his shoulder, eyes narrowed. Jett's smirk didn't fade away though.

'So, he's very protective of his friends. Meaning he's very protective of Knight, too. I wonder...'

"Aw, so much hostility and I was only trying to be a good guy and give you back the book you dropped." At this James froze and turned around, holding back the gasp at the back of his throat when he saw Jett fingering his "Venom" notebook.

'H-how the hell did he get that?! It was in my backpack!' The brunet checked all the zippers; all of them were still intact, still closed over his books and pencils.

It was like Jett had reached in and grabbed it without touching James. That, or without James really noticing.

"Give that back." James said, snatching the book out of Jett's hand. The blond didn't even flinch or fight back, only smiled a smile that fitted an angel that was really a devil inside.

"Sure, but now since we're late to class, Mr. Nicolas will partner us up for our usual movie assignments. See in you class, partner." Jett let a laugh pass between his lips before he began trekking forward, leaving James standing alone in the deserted hallway.

'How did he do that?' James thought, boggled beyond belief.

But he didn't have time to stand around and ponder that mystery out, though. He had to get to class, so with a sigh he unzipped his bag again and shoved the "Venom" notebook away, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt up over his head.

He was completely oblivious to the thick, stringy black goo now stuck under the bottom of his left shoe.