Wow, an update less than week after my last one ;) I'm so proud of myself now!

Disclaimer: I'm going to keep it simple this time. I do not own Big Time Rush. There. Simple enough?

Guest: Did I update soon enough for you? ;) Thank you for reviewing!

Guest (#2): Well, hopefully this chapter will kind of answer some of your questions. Thank you for reviewing!

THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, followed, or is just simply reading this story! I really appreciate it, and I love you all for it!

So, this chapter is kind of the Halloween chapter, if you will. Not that it's spooky or anything, it's just that it's the Halloween dance for them. Just that I'd mention that random little piece of info that you'd probably figure out once you read the chapter anyway. ;)

Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Eight: Neither the Winner Nor the Loser

Katie's POV

That. Little. Jerk! Just when I thought I had him where I wanted him, he turned around and did something like this!

How was I supposed to get him to do what I wanted now, when he knew he could tease me right back? I saw that cocky grin on his face. He knew…Oh man, did he know…

My breathing picked up slightly as my mind envisioned the V of his hips that trailed right down into his jeans…Open jeans…Granted, he'd been wearing boxers, but if he hadn't been…

Okay! That's it! I needed to stop. I needed to stop thinking about James like that, because all it was going to do was keep me from concentrating, and I really needed to. Chemistry class was about to start, and James had just walked into the room.

Telling myself to stop didn't keep me from thinking that it was crime for him to cover up his body with clothes.

I almost banged my head against my textbook. Unbelievable. Since when did I start getting this dirty? Before he showed up, I wouldn't have dreamed of tempting anyone via vanilla frozen yogurt, or snapping my hip into someone's crotch. That just wasn't me. I was adorably innocent, with insanely awesome focus. No one – especially cocky, know-it-all boys – could make me lose my cool over anything.

Except James.

For some inexplicable reason, whenever I was around him, I felt like I was losing my mind. Not only that, but my brain constantly went straight into the gutter.

James sat down next to me. "So, is that a tradition?"

"What?" my head snapped up to look at him.

"For the football team to go running through the gym, throwing confetti and blowing horns?"

I nodded. "It's stupid, and it usually throws them in detention, but yeah, they do it anyway."

"That is stupid," he agreed, leaning back in his chair.

I nodded again, trying not to notice the way his bangs fell into his eyes, giving him an almost mysterious appearance. Damn it. Why did he have to be so gorgeous? It was so hard to concentrate with him around.

I shook myself out of it, reminding myself that I was on a mission to set Shane up with Kyle. That is, if I could just get James to convince Shane to go out with him.

Ms. Straumner called the class to order a couple seconds later, and went through what we were going to be doing for the day. James opened his textbook to the correct page, and I followed suit, brushing my leg against his.

I expected him to jump slightly, and move away, but instead he pushed his leg slightly against mine.

Oh…um…I hadn't expected that…

"Something wrong?" he asked, sounding slightly amused.

I shook my head. "I'm fine."

"Good." We figured out what we needed to do, and began the lab experiment.

Partway through, I managed to regain my usual edge, and accidentally-on-purpose dropped a beaker. It clattered to the floor, and I dove down to retrieve it, making sure that I was between James' legs.

I thought he would freeze up at the sight of me between his legs, where he so obviously wanted me to be, but he didn't. Instead, he scooted his chair back. A moment later, his pencil dropped to the floor, and he got down on his hands and knees, going under the table with me.

I grabbed a hold of the beaker, but before I could crawl out from under the table, he grabbed my arm and dragged me to him. His lips barely brushed my ear as he whispered, "I'll do what I have to in order to protect Shane. Even if that means getting you wet. No one goes after my brother and gets away with it, got it?"

I wordlessly nodded.

"Good. New body wash? You smell like vanilla and strawberries. Smells good." With a smirk, he pulled back, and straightened out, getting to his feet. I joined him, just as Ms. Straumner looked over at us with a suspicious look.

"We just dropped a couple of things," James assured her, waving his pencil around, and she nodded curtly, still not dropping the suspicious expression.

I nodded in agreement to what James had said. "He dropped his pencil and I dropped one of our beakers. Don't worry, it was empty." I smoothed out my skirt and sat down in my chair. James plopped down in his, and scooted it forward.

There was no longer any doubt in my mind that Shane was gay, considering what James had just said to me. But I was also a little scared. I was wondering if I had finally just pushed James too far. I kept my hands to myself through the rest of the class, and I didn't tease him at all during lunch.

"Hey, Katie," Kyle said to me halfway through our lunch period, "can I borrow your iPod? There's a song on it that I'm thinking of using for my new routine, but I haven't downloaded it yet."

I nodded. "Yeah, sure. It's in my locker."

"Okay, thanks." We got to our feet, said bye to the others, and headed out into the hall. I got my iPod out of my locker and handed it to him. "Here you go."

"Thanks. So, you've been really quiet," he commented.

I sighed. "It's just been a weird day."

"Well, do you want to talk about it?"

I sighed again. "I tried to manipulate James into talking Shane into going out with you, but he finally laid down the line."

Kyle began sputtering. "You – what – why – what the hell, Katie?!"

"Well, you like Shane, and I think he likes you too, and James won't give me a direct answer as to whether or not Shane's gay, so he probably is. I just want you to be happy," I added in a small voice, hoping Kyle wasn't too mad at me. I hated when he was mad at me.

He sighed. "That wasn't the way to do it, Katie. I'd rather find out if Shane likes me by myself. Besides, if we started dating, we might have to come out to the world. I'm not openly gay, and I don't think Shane is either. Once we do come out, it won't be pretty."

"Oh."

"I know you meant well, but you put us all in a really difficult situation. Especially James."

"I know…"

"It's either keep getting manipulated by you, or else betray his brother. Katie, there are consequences to what you do."

"I know that too…"

"Do you? Do you really?"

"Yes! I just – I just didn't think it all out, okay? Look, I'll stop teasing him. Okay?"

"Okay."

There was a pause, and then he asked me, "Are you going to the dance?"

I shrugged. "Probably. Why?"

"Is Shane going…?"

I grinned. "I believe he is, as a matter of fact. Are you?"

"I think I just found a reason to go. What about James?"

I shook my head.

"Oh. Bummer."

"Not really."

He smirked. "You'll miss him if he doesn't go to the dance. You like him."

"I don't like him! He's annoying! Irritating! A cocky, arrogant ass!"

"And what're you? The tooth fairy?"

I glared at him. "That's not the point – "

"Actually, it is. You two are perfect for each other. You're both stubborn as hell, and fighters, and you drive each other crazy, but you also want each other. How have you been teasing him?"

I sniffed and walked past him. "None of your business."

"That's why you were messing with your spoon!"

"Hmmph."

Kyle cracked up. "My best friend the tease."

"Shut up."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"So wait – " Shane's voice came from around the corner. "You actually did that? Really?"

"Well, what else was I supposed to do?" I heard James demand. "Besides, you know she deserved it."

"Dude, you two so want each other."

"We do n – " James broke off as he and Shane rounded the corner, coming face to face with Kyle and me.

There was a long, awkward pause, and then Kyle spoke up to James and me: "You two are in such denial."

"We are not," we said together.

Shane smirked. "You are. You liiiiike each other," he sang.

"Shut up," James told him.

"You waaaant him," Kyle teased me.

"Be quiet," I snapped.

"You want each other," Shane grinned.

"If you don't shut up – " James began to threaten.

"Can't you just admit it?" Kyle smirked.

"I will kick your ass," I snarled at him.

"Ah, young love," Shane said to Kyle, coming over to stand beside him.

"Isn't it precious?" Kyle added.

"I could cry."

"I just want to cuddle them both!"

James and I glared at them, before I turned to him. "We need to go to the library. You said you'd help me review for the test."

He nodded. "Let's go."

We walked off together, both of us grumbling under our breath.

At last I said, "I don't care what they say about us. They're so obvious. They want each other. Just admit it, you know it's true."

James zipped his lips shut.

"So you still won't admit that your brother's gay? Are you ashamed or something?"

He glowered heavily at me. "Whether he is or isn't, I don't have a problem with it."

"Then why won't you admit it?"

"Because it's none of your fucking business!"

"My best friend is gay! He likes your brother! I think it's my business!"

"It's not your business if they're not dating! And they're not!"

"But they would be if you weren't such a stubborn ass!"

"How do you know? They might not even get along!"

"You know they will. Look at how they ganged up on us!"

James let out a long breath. "I told you, Shane has his reasons for not dating. Just drop it, Katie." And with those words, he walked into the library.

I followed him, grinding my teeth. That boy was so stubborn. He drove me nuts. And his hair looked really soft.

We managed to get through study hall without any more fights. As we packed up, I looked over at him. "Are you going to the dance?"

He shrugged. "Shane wants me to go. And the guys are going, so I might. How about you?"

"Yeah. My friends are going, so…"

"Cool." He slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Ready for the test?"

I snorted. "Not in the least."

"You'll do great. You've really improved."

"I have?" I asked, almost sounding shy.

He nodded. "You really have. You're a fast learning."

I felt my face break out into a smile. "Thanks."

He smiled back. "You're welcome."

Somehow, I managed to survive the test. It was actually a lot easier than what I had thought it would be, and I realized that James was right – I had improved.

James was the first one finished. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he walked up to Mrs. Waddleburger's desk and handed her his test paper. She gave it a quick glance and smiled at him. He smiled back, snatched up his stuff, and walked out of the room.

I finished not too long after, and headed up to her desk too. I passed her my paper and she looked it over. She smiled at me too. "Looks like you've come a long way already."

"Thanks." I grabbed my backpack and headed out of the classroom.

James was waiting for me in the hall. "So, how do you think you did?"

"I think I did pretty good," I answered with a smile. "You?"

"Same."

"Yeah, I bet. You probably got an A++."

He laughed. "Do they even have that grade?"

"No idea. Ask Logan."

He chuckled.

We walked down the hall together, and reached our lockers. We opened them up and transferred what we needed.

"Do you have hockey practice?" I asked him as we slung our backpacks over our shoulders again and closed our locker doors.

He nodded. "And…you're still not ice skating?"

I shook my head.

"That sucks. Do you miss it?"

"So much." I sighed. "I love it. It's like trying to live without music."

He nodded in understanding. "I can only imagine."

I sighed again. "Well, have fun at hockey practice. Don't get anymore brain damage."

"I'll do my best."

I nodded, and began walking away.

"Hey…Katie?" he called after me.

I turned around. "Yeah?"

"Do you…do you want to go to the dance with me tomorrow night?"

I stared at him for a good twenty seconds, before starting to laugh. "James, you know I don't go out with hockey heads. No way in hell. Nice try though." I waved at him, and ignoring the slightly hurt look on his face, I headed off. As I got into my car, however, the wounded look in his eyes flashed in front of me, and I felt my stomach twist uncomfortably. No matter what I said or did, I wanted to go with him. I really did. But I couldn't. I refused to.

James' POV

I did my best to put Katie's rejection out of my head for the rest of the day. I didn't need to think of the way she had turned me down. But in all honesty, it didn't do much good. You know I don't go out with hockey heads. No way in hell.

No way in hell…

I struck at the puck forcefully, sending it flying across the ice, right into the net.

"Holy crap!" Kendall cheered. "Nice one, James!"

I barely acknowledged him. I had all but turned this hockey practice completely brutal. I was taking out all of my frustration, hurt, and anger on the puck and anyone who got in the way.

By the time practice ended, we were all battered, beaten, and sore, more than ready for a hot bath. I didn't say much as we showered and got dressed, and it didn't really matter, because everyone else was too busy yapping around me.

I drove Shane and me home, barely speaking, and the second I was inside, I hurried upstairs to collapse on my bed.

I don't go out with hockey heads…

Bitch.

The word rocked through my head with the force of a train. So she could flirt and tease one, but she couldn't go out with one? What a fucking bitch.

"James?" Shane came into my room around six-o-clock. "Mom says dinner will be ready soon."

"'Kay."

"Are you okay?"

I shrugged, and rolled over to face away from him.

"James? What happened with Katie?"

"She's a bitch."

"We already knew that."

"I asked her to the dance." My voice caught a little. "And she turned me down. She said she doesn't date hockey heads, no way in hell, and nice try."

"Oh…"

"She doesn't want to go out with me."

"I'm sure she does…"

"She doesn't."

"James…"

"Go away. Please?"

Shane sighed sadly. "Okay. I'm sorry, James. I'm really, really sorry."

I didn't say anything to that. A moment later, my bedroom door closed softly.

I curled up, burying my face in my pillow. I couldn't believe it was affecting me like this. I'd only asked her to the dance on a spur of the moment. I hadn't been prepping myself for it for the past week or whatever. I didn't even like her. And yet…her rejection had hurt. It was her saying that I wasn't good enough to go out with her, that I wasn't worth her time.

Bitch.

It began to get dark soon after that, but I didn't bother to turn on a light.

Around eight-o-clock, my mom knocked on my door. "Jamie? Sweetie? Can I come in?"

I let out a muffled grunt, which she must have taken as a yes, because she walked into my room.

I didn't roll over to face her, but she sat down on the edge of my bed, and began rubbing my back. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm sorry she can't see how much better off she would be with you."

I sighed and turned over to face her. "I don't get why she hates hockey players so much."

"I don't know. Maybe she's angry with her brother for something, and disliking hockey is just an excuse. It could be anything. I'm just sorry it's the reason she turned you down."

"I don't even like her."

"Yes you do. You just don't want to admit it. Shane says neither you nor Katie will admit that you like each other. You're both so stubborn." She sighed, and pulled me into her arms.

"Mom, I'm too big for this," I protested as she tried to arrange me so that I could sit on her lap.

"You're still my baby. Well, my older baby."

I sighed and rested my head on her shoulder, closing my eyes as she gently stroked my hair. "You'll feel better once the sting passes."

"I hope so."

"You will. Trust me." She kissed the top of my head. "I love you, Jamie."

"Love you too, Mom." I crawled out of her lap and plopped down on my bed again.

"Are you still going to the dance tomorrow?" she asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah. I promised the guys I'd go."

"Okay. Shane's excited, especially since he found out that Kyle's going to be there."

I chuckled. "Of course."

"Of course."

"Is there any food left?"

She smiled. "As a matter of fact, there is. Come on down, I'll heat you up a plate."

"Thanks." We got up, and headed downstairs.

I was not looking forward to the dance. I was expecting to have to watch Katie dancing and flirting with other boys all night long, while I sat in a corner with Shane and sulked.

Nevertheless, I got ready to go and at seven-thirty, drove down to the high school with Shane. We headed into the gym, which had been decorated with orange and black streamers and lights. Tables had been set up, covered in orange and black tablecloths, and cut-out ghosts decorated the walls.

There was the option of going to the dance in costume, and in fact there were quite a few students who had opted for this, but since the guys and I hadn't felt like dressing up as the Wicked Witch of the West or as the Three Musketeers, we had gone with regular suits.

The guys had already scouted out a table by the time Shane and I walked in, and they waved us over.

We joined them. "Hey," Shane said brightly as we sat down. "How's the dance been so far?"

"Boring," Kendall grumbled. "I can't believe I let Carlos drag me here."

"You and me both," Logan agreed. "I've been watching Camille flirt with that football player. Hmmph. She should be flirting with a hockey player – this hockey player!"

We all smirked at him.

"So go ask her to dance," Kendall suggested.

"What? I can't do that!"

"Yes you can."

"No I can't! What if she turns me down?"

"She won't do that. She likes you."

"But – "

"Hey, Camille!" Kendall called, flagging her over.

Logan's eyes widened and he began spluttering.

She walked over. "Hey, guys. What's up?"

"Logan wants to dance with you."

Logan began to dry choke.

Camille's face lit up. "Really? Well, come on, Logie!" She grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet. For a small girl, she seemed to be surprisingly strong. She dragged him out onto the dance floor.

We all laughed and shook our heads.

"Our little Logie is growing up," Kendall grinned, but the grin slid off his face when he caught sight of Jo Taylor dancing with a basketball player.

Carlos didn't look too thrilled either – Stephanie King was dancing with Jett Stetson.

I looked around the room and found Katie dancing with a football player. I sighed, feeling like my heart was breaking slightly.

Shane looked at me sympathetically but didn't say anything.

After about twenty seconds of watching her dancing with someone else, I got to my feet and walked over to the refreshment table. I got a cup of punch and was just about to buy one of the sugar cookies, when I heard Katie say, "I wouldn't recommend it. The cookies are crap this year."

I spun around to face her. "You think a lot of things are crap. And sometimes they're not."

She smiled slightly. "Touché."

I nodded and moved past her.

"James…"

"I'll see you later." I couldn't be around her, not then.

"But – "

"Bye." Watching her dance with someone else had seriously pissed me off, and knowing that she was trying to act like she hadn't completely blown me off just added to it.

Before I could reach my friends, however, Coach Billings intercepted me.

"Can I talk to you really quickly?" he asked me, and I nodded, surprised. I hadn't even known he was here tonight.

He led me out of the gym, down the hall to his office, and we stepped in.

"Take a seat, Diamond," he told me, and I did so.

"So, I've gotten a lot of people commenting on our school hockey blog," he informed me.

I frowned. "Um…okay…"

"From people at your old school, and at other schools as well. They seem to be under the impression that your brother's gay."

My stomach dropped.

"Now, it's normally none of my business if he is, but they're taking up room on the blog, and they're threatening him and his brother, which would be you."

I ran my fingers through my hair. "I – I'm sorry."

"Why? You have nothing to be sorry for. These people are bullies. The only reason why I'm telling you is to warn you, to let you know that there are people out there who will be out to get you and Shane."

"I already know there are."

He leaned back in his chair, watching me.

"At our old school – the bullying got pretty bad. Shane was constantly harassed and abused. He got called really horrible things in school. People would text him and e-mail him threats. They'd prank call him. He'd get beaten up almost every day. He was only fourteen, he didn't know what to do. Eventually, I just had to say enough, and I went after the bullies."

"Well, you weren't kicked out, but it was suggested that you left Shakopee High," Coach Billings put in, and I nodded.

"That's exactly what happened. That's why we moved out here. We wanted a fresh start, somewhere where no one knew about Shane."

Coach Billings nodded. "I assume it was an accident that they found out about him?"

"It was. He used to keep a diary, and one day someone stole it and they read it over the loudspeaker."

He winced. "Poor kid."

"I know."

"Well, I'll see what I can do to block these attacks."

"Thank you," I said gratefully. "Please…I don't think Shane can handle something like that happening again. He's just finally recovering, getting back to his old self."

"I can see. He's opened up in the past few weeks."

"He has. Please don't let them take this away from him."

"I'll do my best," he promised. "Now, go on back out to the dance. Although you didn't look like you were having much fun."

I snorted. "I wasn't. I don't even know why I decided to come to this stupid dance. The girl I asked rejected me pretty coldly."

"Gee, you didn't by any chance ask Katie Knight, did you?" Coach Billings asked, raising an eyebrow and looking almost amused.

"As a matter of fact, I did."

He pursed his lips. "That girl…" he shook his head. "I don't even know what there is to say about her. She was shaped by her coach, Sarah Redford. Sarah taught her to manipulate and use people to get what she wants, because that's what Sarah does."

"Ah."

"Yeah, her coach is a piece of work. And once she finds out about Shane…believe me, she'll use it to her advantage."

"Katie's already tried."

Coach Billings winced. "I see. You may need to back away from her…"

"I'm tutoring her."

"That makes it a little hard."

"It does," I agreed.

He sighed. "I don't know what else to tell you, Diamond. Just be careful."

"I will. Thanks for everything."

"You're welcome."

I got to my feet and walked out of his office.

I turned the corner and almost ran into Katie. I could tell by the way that her eyes were shifting back and forth that she had most likely followed me to Coach Billing's office, and had then listened to our conversation.

I rolled my eyes and pushed past her.

"James – wait!"

"Leave me alone."

She ran after me, high heels clicking against the floor, deep blue evening dress rustling with every step. "I didn't – I didn't know – "

"What? That if I did what you wanted me to you'd accidentally start a massacre?"

"I – yeah…I'm sorry. Look, Kyle's not openly gay either. He doesn't want everyone to know. I didn't realize until I talked to him today how much damage I could do by trying to push him and Shane together. I just wanted him to be happy, you know? He's been my best friend since third grade. He's stuck through everything with me, no matter what."

"I get that. I do. But you don't think how it's going to affect everyone else, Katie. You didn't think about what you might be doing to Shane, and you didn't think about the impact you would have on me."

"I know, and I'm sorry. James…Look, I know I'm a bitch and a brat, but I never meant to hurt Shane, not like that. It didn't even occur to me that he'd been bullied before, although I guess when you kept saying that stuff about protecting him, it should've been obvious."

I didn't say anything to that. I just began walking back towards the gym.

"James," she desperately said, "I'm so sorry. I honestly, truly am. I'm apologizing, and I don't like apologizing. I almost never do it."

"Then why are you?" I whirled around to face her.

"Because I screwed up by trying to get you to get Shane to go out with Kyle."

"Fine. I forgive you for that."

"And what I did to you, trying to manipulate you like that, that was pretty awful too."

"Please. You just wanted an excuse to touch me and tease me. That's all you wanted, Katie."

She remained quiet.

"We're done here," I finally said.

"James," she pleaded. "Can't you forgive me for that too?"

"Yeah, you know, I could, except that you didn't follow through."

"Excuse me?"

"I asked you to go to the dance with me, and you said no way in hell."

"I don't date hockey players."

"Yeah, you've said that. I simply asked you to the dance. You didn't have to add no way in hell to it."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Then you shouldn't have asked me."

"Why won't you date hockey players?" I demanded.

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because I don't like the sport! Because I've been around it all my life! My dad was a hockey player! My mom was a cheerleader. And I've seen what kind of accidents happen! My dad hurt his knee and he hasn't been able to walk right since! It's part of why he and Mom divorced, because she couldn't give him what hockey could. When I was thirteen, Kendall got a concussion during a game! He was in the hospital for a week. So yeah, forgive me if I don't worship hockey. I've seen too many bad things come from it. I'm not going to let someone I care about get hurt like that."

I nodded. I actually understood her reasoning for it. "I get it."

"Do you really?" She looked skeptical.

"I do."

"So…I'm sorry, but this…whatever it is that we have, it's never going to happen, unless you suddenly decide to quit hockey, and somehow I don't think that's going to happen."

I shook my head. "Probably not."

She sighed. "I shouldn't like you. I really shouldn't. You drive me nuts. But there's just something about you. I think it's because you challenge me in a way that no one ever has before. You don't put up with my shit." She paused, and then added, "Not that I like you, like you. I mean, I just like you…as a friend…"

"Yeah, I figured. I don't even know why I asked you to the dance. I wasn't going to. I didn't even want to go. And can you imagine us on a date?" The idea really was pretty ludicrous. I really had no idea what I'd been thinking. At this point, it didn't even make any sense as to why I'd been upset that she had turned me down.

She laughed. "Completely disastrous. Yeah, I don't know what Kyle and Shane were talking about yesterday. We don't like each other. We'd kill each other."

"Exactly. I mean, on our best day, we can't stand each other."

"They just got into your head, it's why you asked me to the dance."

"Right. That must be it."

She nodded. "Well…"

"Well…"

"You did ask me to the dance…"

"Uh huh…"

"So how about we dance. Just one dance?"

I paused, before nodding. "Okay. Let's give it a try."

She grinned and took my hand. What felt like an electric shock raced through my entire body, and by the way her eyes widened, I knew she felt it too. But neither of us said anything, much less acknowledged it. Instead, we just headed back into the gym.

A slow pop song was playing as we entered. Once we were on the dance floor, we turned to face each other. I wrapped my arms around Katie's waist, and she winded hers around my neck. I felt a smile tug at my lips, and she smiled back. Who knows? Maybe there was a chance for us after all…

We didn't speak during the dance, but when the song ended, we stayed where we were.

We danced for the rest of the night, and by the time the last song was playing, there was no doubt about it: No matter what we said or did, we definitely liked each other a little more than what we wanted to admit.

So. Much. Happening! What'd you guys think? Were you able to follow it? I had trouble following it, and I'm the one who's writing it! So if it went by too fast in some places, or didn't make a lot of sense, I'm really sorry. I wrote this chapter in a complete blur (and it wasn't even last minute) so if it's not that good, that might be why.

Anyway, make the review button very happy and let me know what you think!

One more thing: I tweeted about this, but for those of you who aren't following me, on the JatieFantasy profile (for those of you who don't know, JatieFantasy is Jatieluv's and my joint account) is a poll to decide which story we should post next. So if you like our stories, head on over and vote :)