Whoo hoo! Another update for Break the Ice! I wanted to get this chapter up last week, but Touch the Flame kind of took over, so it didn't happen. But here it is now :)

Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Big. Time. Rush. There you go.

BTR: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it!

Guest: Thank you very much! You're very sweet (and polite!) :)

THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, followed, or read this story! I love you guys so much! You're the ones who push me to write, so thank you so, so much!

So, I gave Katie and Kendall Kendall Schmidt's real birthday - November 2nd. Happy belated birthday, Kendall!

Oh, and if this chapter seems a little choppy or doesn't seem consistent, I'm really sorry. I tried to make it as smooth and consistent as I could, but I might not have done it right. :(

Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Nine: The Birthday Maker

James' POV

"So," Kendall said on Monday morning as he leaned up against my locker, "Friday's my seventeenth birthday."

"Cool. Awesome. I'll be more enthusiastic when I can close my locker door."

"Right, sorry." He moved and I slammed my door closed.

"So, you're turning seventeen! That's awesome!"

"Right? I can't wait!"

"What're you planning to do for it?" I asked him as we headed towards homeroom.

"I'm going to have a party on Saturday evening. I have no idea what Katie's doing for it though."

I'd almost forgotten that they were twins…

"Maybe she's having a party too?"

"Nah, I doubt it. She doesn't like parties. Says they make her claustrophobic. She'll probably just go out to dinner with a couple of friends."

"Ah. Sounds fun."

Kendall shrugged. "I guess as long as it's what she wants."

I nodded in agreement.

"Well, I don't know what happened with you two on Saturday night, but she actually texted me yesterday to ask me how things were going. She hasn't done that in ages."

I smiled. "That's good."

"It is. I hope things get better between us. I miss my sister."

"I can imagine." We reached homeroom and took our seats. Logan was already there, waiting for us.

"So, how'd things go with you and Camille?" I asked him.

He blushed. "Well…we might hang out at some point…"

I grinned. "Sounds like a good start."

"I hope so." He blushed even more.

We were back to playing volleyball in PE. When Mr. Langly announced this, both Carlos and I exchanged nervous looks. Neither of us could forget when Katie and Stephanie had the football team pelt us with balls.

However, this time Katie and Stephanie both moved over to our side.

"What're you doing over here?" I asked them.

Stephanie shrugged. "We needed a change of scenery. Plus, you guys are better looking than the football team hulks."

Carlos beamed. "Really?"

"Yeah. You're actually pretty cute."

He blushed bright red.

Katie and I grinned at each other.

"Young love," she laughed.

"So adorable."

Needless to say, PE went much better than it had in the previous weeks. Carlos and I both managed to enjoy it immensely, and by the time the class ended, with our team winning, Katie, Stephanie, Carlos, and I were all howling with laughter.

"Oh man, that was fun," Carlos grinned as we headed into the boys' locker room. "And I think Stephanie likes me."

I grinned back. "It was, and I think you're right."

"Think she'd go out with me?"

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask her, right?"

He shook his head. "Nope! And to think, before today, she's never said more than two words to me!"

I chuckled. "Good luck, dude."

"Thanks!"

We showered and dressed, and then headed to Chemistry.

I slid into the chair beside Katie's, and she gave me a small smile.

"So, what're you doing for your birthday?" I asked her, nudging her foot with mine.

"I don't know, I haven't really thought about it."

"But it's your birthday!"

"So?"

"It's your birthday!" I repeated.

"I probably won't do anything for it. Kendall's the one with all the friends. I mean, Kyle and the girls will probably drag me out to the movies or something, but it won't be any fun."

"Why not?" I wanted to know.

She shrugged. "I can't have popcorn, and that's one of the best parts."

I blinked. "Why can't you have popcorn?"

"Sarah – my coach – put me on a diet to make sure I don't gain too much weight before I start skating again. Movie theater popcorn has butter and salt and it's really fattening, so it's a definite no-no."

"What about birthday cake? Can you have that?"

Katie snorted. "Maybe one bite."

I frowned. "That's really unfair. I mean, it's only one day…"

"That's Sarah for you. One day of pigging out and I'll gain ten pounds."

"That's nuts."

"That's Sarah."

I shook my head. "You should be able to have a real birthday."

"Well, I won't. Mom wants to spend Kendall's birthday with him, and Dad won't be home, so I'm going to be home alone."

"What about Kyle and the others?"

"I think Camille's going to try to go out with Logan that day, and Jo's going to be out of town, and Stephanie's got a family thing."

"And Kyle?"

"He and Shane are actually going to hang out that day. He just texted me and told me and apologized."

"He and Shane are hanging out?" I grinned. "Now that sounds promising."

"It does, which is why I can't be mad at him."

Class started a couple minutes later, and we got to work. It took about five minutes before the flirting/teasing began.

At one point, she leaned over so that she could read from my textbook, giving me a fantastic view down her shirt. There was absolutely no point in her reading from my textbook, because hers was open in front of her.

But I didn't question her motives.

At another point, I dropped my eraser on the space of chair between her legs, and reached down to grab it, making sure to brush her thigh while I was at it.

It was really too bad she didn't date hockey players, because the guys were right – we had a ton of sexual chemistry.

At one point I glanced over at Kendall and Carlos and saw that Kendall had built a wall of books at the end of their table so that he couldn't see Katie and me.

I grinned. I guess we had all accepted since Saturday night that Katie's and my relationship was strictly sexual tension.

Chemistry class went smoothly, and we all headed off to the cafeteria for lunch.

"So, how'd chem. go?" Logan asked as we all sat down together at our usual table.

"Pretty well. Katie and I seemed to have reached some sort of understanding."

"Oh?" Shane raised an eyebrow at me. "What sort of understanding?"

"The kind where they flirt shamelessly and try to turn each other on, but then don't date," Carlos answered him.

"Sounds fun…"

I shrugged. "It's not so bad."

"For now," Logan said. "But what happens when it's no longer enough for either of you?"

"Then we deal with what happens."

He shook his head, but didn't say anything else.

Study hall was the same as always. It was the one place that Katie and I kept things strictly platonic. It was generally a nice reprieve, although today it felt like it was slowly pushing me towards the Crazyville train station. There was too much left unsaid between us, and neither of us were stepping forward to say what needed to be said.

"Maybe I'll come watch practice today," Katie said we walked towards Mrs. Wattburgon's classroom.

I looked at her questioningly. "Ice skating practice?"

She shook her head. "I don't know if I'm even allowed in during practice. I meant hockey."

"Kendall will like that," I told her. "He misses you."

She twisted her hair around her finger, but didn't say anything.

Despite what she said, I really didn't expect Katie to show up at hockey practice. I figured she'd change her mind at the last minute and just head home. So needless to say, it was quite the shock when I skated out onto the rink and happened to glance at the stands and caught sight of Katie, bundled up in her jacket. She gave me a small smile as our eyes met, and I gave her one in return.

"Katie's here?" Kendall looked about ready to faint in shock.

I nodded. "She is. I think she came to see you practice."

He snorted. "I really doubt that. If she came to watch anyone practice, it's you."

I shook my head. "She doesn't like me enough. It was you she came to watch. You're her twin brother."

"That doesn't mean anything. It's not like we get along."

"Doesn't mean she doesn't love you or care about you," I replied, thinking about what Katie had told me on Saturday night.

He shrugged, obviously not really believing me. "Whatever. Come on, we need to practice that new play that Logan suggested."

It was after five by the time we trudged off the ice to the locker room.

We showered and changed into our regular clothes, and headed out. Katie smiled at Shane and me as we came out.

"Congratulations on your date with Kyle," she said to him.

Shane immediately blushed. "It's not – it's not a date…We're just hanging out…"

"Mmm hmm. Sure."

"We are! It's perfectly innocent!"

"Sure. That's what they all say." She winked at him.

He stuttered out a bunch of unintelligible words, and I waved at Katie, before dragging him out to the parking lot.

Once we were in my car, I turned to face him. "So…you and Kyle." I wagged my eyebrows at him. He blushed bright red.

"Shut up," he mumbled.

"Where're you two going?"

"I – I think we're just going to go to Fun Burger…"

"Fun."

"And innocent," he added pointedly.

"Of course."

He leaned back in his seat, smiling a little. It was nice to see him so happy. I hadn't seen him look this relaxed and comfortable in over a year.

"Do you want me to drive you to Fun Burger?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "Kyle and I are going to head out after hockey and ice skating practice."

"Ah." At the mention of ice skating, my mind went to Katie. It wasn't fair that she was going to be spending her birthday by herself. She deserved to at least have someone there with her. I mean, it's not every day you turn seventeen, you know?

I bit my lip as I drove through town, not saying anything.

As we entered our neighborhood, Shane looked over at me. "You've been pretty quiet. Thinking about something?"

I nodded. "Katie's birthday."

"Oh."

"I want to do something for it. And I have an idea…"

"That's great!"

"Yeah…I just don't know if I'll be able to…But I'm going to try," I added determinedly.

"Good for you."

"But I'm going to need your help…and Camille's and Kyle's…"

"Why their help?"

"Because they're the only ice skaters who'll talk to me civilly."

Katie's POV

The rest of the week passed quietly. James and I continued our pointless flirting, he continued to help me with English, and he didn't mention my birthday again.

On Saturday, Kendall was having his birthday party. He had asked me if I wanted to come and bring my friends with me, but I almost laughed in his face at the idea. We hadn't shared a birthday party together since we were ten. And there was no way in hell my friends were going to go to a party dominated by hockey players.

Camille, Stephanie, Jo, and Kyle were planning on taking me out on Saturday to go shopping, and maybe get some frozen yogurt, which was actually kind of pointless since I had it almost every day for lunch, but it was the only kind of dessert that Sarah was allowing me to eat. Kyle had suggested we go out for sushi, but we hadn't actually agreed on that yet.

Eventually, Friday morning reached us. The second I stepped up to my locker, I was grabbed from behind and spun around in a circle.

"Happy birthday, Katie-Bear!" James grinned once he had set me down.

Generally I really hate being manhandled, but when James did it, I somehow didn't mind.

I smiled back at him. "Thanks."

He grabbed me in a huge bear hug, cuddling me to him. I was suddenly reminded how much bigger he was than me. He was practically a giant compared to me. Somehow, instead of making me feel like a midget, it made me feel safe and comfortable, like I could depend on him. It was a nice feeling, warm and secure, like being tucked into your bed on a cold, winter night.

I hugged James back, smiling widely. I could definitely get used to this.

He pulled back, smiling back at me. "So, do you have any plans for after school?"

I shook my head. "I was just going to go home."

"Well, you have plans now."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yep."

"And what exactly would they be, Mr. Diamond?"

"You'll find out." With those words, he headed off towards homeroom, leaving me staring after him.

"Hey, K," Camille came up from behind me. "Happy birthday!"

"Thanks…"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just…James is being all weird and mysterious."

She chuckled. "What else is new?"

"Good point."

Camille slung her arm around my shoulder. "Come on, let's get to class."

"Okay." We headed to homeroom.

We slugged through our morning classes. Math was brutal as usual, though PE and Chemistry weren't so bad now that James and I were actually acting civil (maybe more than civil) towards each other. In fact, both classes were actually a lot of fun now. Him, Carlos, Stephanie, and I dominated PE, and James and I messed around in Chemistry. And now that we weren't fighting the entire class period, our grade already seemed to be improving.

At lunch, we sat at our different tables, but occasionally we'd glance at the other, like we were checking to see what the other person was doing.

Lunch went by slowly. Camille and Kyle were both yammering away, and Stephanie was occasionally joining in, but Jo and Jett were both pretty sullen. Talk about buzz kills.

About five minutes earlier than usual, I spotted James getting up, and leaving the cafeteria. I frowned, wondering where he was going.

I left soon after that, making a quick trip to the restroom, before heading to the library.

When I reached it, James was already sprawled out at our usual table. He smiled at me as I approached.

"Hey," I greeted him as I sat down, pulling out my books.

"Hey."

"So, what's on the itinerary for today, tutor?"

"We-ell…I figured since today's your birthday, we'd just do a review, give your head a bit of a rest."

"Oooh, have I mentioned lately how much I like your thinking?" I grinned.

He grinned back. "Nope. So please, do enlighten me."

I chuckled. "I love your thinking. I'm in love with it. If I could, I would marry it."

"It'll be picking out an engagement ring for you."

I laughed again, but blushed a little, as the mental image of James picking out an engagement ring for me popped into my head. Oh my gosh…

No! Bad Katie! Very bad Katie!

James helped me to review the past week's material, and within a half an hour, we were finished.

"Nice job," he told me. "I'm proud of you."

I beamed. "Really?"

He nodded, smiling back. "Aaaaannnd…" he drew the word out, "I have something for you."

I'm pretty sure my entire face lit up. "A present?"

"Of sorts," he chuckled, reaching into his backpack and pulling out one of those insulated lunch boxes that you can carry cold stuff around in. I eyed it curiously.

"You got me a lunchbox?"

He shook his head and unzipped it, lifting the lid. He reached in, and pulled out a small tray of chocolate cupcakes, complete with chocolate frosting and sprinkles, and a Tupperware dish of Oreo ice cream mixed in with chocolate. My two favorites…

My eyes widened. "How – ?"

He shrugged. "I asked the school cooks if I could keep the cupcakes in the fridge and the ice cream in the freezer, and they were fine with it. I figured you should at least get cake and ice cream on your birthday."

"But – Sarah – "

"Fuck Sarah. It's your birthday. For this one day, she doesn't control you." He pried one of the cupcakes from the tray and passed it to me, before retrieving a plastic spoon from inside the lunchbox and a napkin. He handed both to me, along with the ice cream.

I bit my lip. It all looked so amazing…

"Sorry there aren't any candles," he added apologetically. "I wanted to, but apparently the sprinkler system is really sensitive anywhere that isn't the chemistry lab."

I nodded. "It is. It's a good way to bust smokers."

"I bet. So…" he clapped his hands. "Dig in. And happy birthday, Katie-Bear."

I felt my face break out into a huge smile, before unwrapping the cupcake and taking a bite of it. Oh my gosh…amazing…

"Who made this?" I asked him.

He blushed a little. "Me. Well, Shane helped. You know, in-between making smartass comments about what you and I could do with the frosting instead."

I blushed too. Yeah, he and Kyle were going to be perfect for each other…

"Needless to say, I didn't let him touch the frosting after he suggested I lick it from – you know what? It's not important." His face was bright red now, and, I'll admit it, it was pretty adorable.

I laughed. "He sounds like Kyle. You don't even want to know what Kyle suggested I do with my tongue instead of using it to eat frozen yogurt."

"Yeah, Shane and Kyle are a match made in heaven – or hell. Take your pick."

I laughed even harder, before opening the container of ice cream.

"You know, I'm pretty sure we're not allowed to eat in the library."

"Oh, we're not. But in case you haven't noticed, Mrs. Muller is never around. She's too busy flirting with Mr. Clausenheimer, who has his lunch period this hour."

My jaw dropped. "Oh my gosh…gross! Are they sleeping together?"

He shrugged as he snagged one of the cupcakes from the tray. "Beats the hell out of me. But I'm pretty sure she's not wearing those '60 retro mico-miniskirts for a flashback party, you know?"

I gagged. "Thank you so much. Now I'm going to have nightmares."

He laughed. "My bad."

I pouted at him, before taking a bite of ice cream. "Who told you I love chocolate and Oreo mixed together?"

"Camille," he answered. "I hit her and Kyle up about your favorites."

"That – wow. That's really sweet. Thank you." I was beyond touched. I couldn't believe someone would go through all this trouble to make my birthday worthwhile, especially considering the way I had treated him previously, with the dodgeball attack, and teasing him, and turning down his invitation to go to the dance so coldly.

Who would do something like that, less than a week after you've buried the hatchet with someone?

Apparently James Diamond. But it still didn't make any sense to me. I mean, maybe it would if he had a crush on me but…no. He couldn't. He didn't. He knew I wouldn't date him, and he wasn't going to quit hockey. We were friends, just friends, who, okay, maybe had a lot of sexual tension. But there was nothing more to it. That was all. The end. Goodbye.

"Do you want a bite?" I asked him, indicating my ice cream. "It's really good…" I waved the spoon in front of his face tantalizingly.

"Well…maybe just one."

I grinned, dipped the spoon in the ice cream, and managed to make a hole in one right into his mouth. He licked the ice cream off, eyes flickering to mine.

"Good?" I asked as I pulled the spoon out of his mouth.

"Very good."

I grinned. "Good."

Once we were finished with the cupcakes and ice cream, we cleaned up and hurried out of the library, towards the English classroom.

"Thanks again," I said to him as we walked through the classroom door. "Seriously, you're incredible."

He smiled at me. "I don't know about incredible. Maybe I'm just a nice guy."

"Yeah…maybe you are." I smiled back, before heading over to my desk to take my seat.

"So," Mrs. Waddleburger said as she walked into the room five minutes later, just as the bell rang, "I finally got around to grading your tests. And I have to say, I was very pleased with the way most of them turned out." She smiled at us, but I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Oh no…here we go…I knew I had thought I had aced the test last week, but now I wasn't so sure. I had probably screwed up and gotten alliteration and allusion mixed up, or miss-analyzed sadness as horror or something.

Why did she have to choose today of all days to hand our tests back?!

Across the room, James gave me an encouraging smile, but I had the very uncomfortable feeling that I might just end up vomiting up the cake and ice cream.

Mrs. Waddleburger began to hand the tests back, doing the finger-lick thing with each one. Gross. Wasn't it bad enough that she was touching the tests? Did she have to get her saliva on them as well?

At last, she reached me. She passed me my paper and smiled at me, and I nervously looked down at it.

Holy crap.

I had gotten a B+.

My face broke out into a relieved smile, and I looked across the room, to where James was looking at his paper, his expression satisfied. He glanced at me, and I grinned at him, giving him the double thumbs up.

He grinned back and mouthed "Congratulations!"

I settled back in my seat, deciding that even if nothing good happened for the rest of the day, I would be happy.

"So," James said to me as he caught up with me as we headed out of the classroom. "I have one more surprise for you."

I stared at him. "Another one?"

"Yep."

"Oh man…the plans for after school…what are they?"

He grinned. "Grab your coat out of your locker. You have gloves with you?"

I nodded.

"Good. Get those too, though I doubt you'll actually need them."

"What? Why?"

He just gave me that infamously annoying smirk of his. "You'll see." And then he headed off to his own locker.

I huffed, and went down the hall. He had his locker open and was pulling stuff out of it. I opened mine as well, doing the same, and grabbed my coat and gloves as well.

Once we had finished, we shut the doors, and James beckoned his finger. "Come with me."

Together, we walked down the hall and outside, down one of the pathways. We passed by the PE building, and then stopped right outside the second, less-popular ice skating rink. It was the one that no one wanted to use, because the ice never seemed to be as smooth.

"James…?"

"Come on." He led me into the building, down the hall, and into the stands of the rink. It was dark, and completely silent.

"James…?"

And then the lights came on, and there was a loud, hollered, "SURPRISE!"

I blinked at the sudden brightness, and almost screamed in shock. Kyle, Camille, Logan, Stephanie, Carlos, and Shane were all standing on the ice, beaming at me.

"Ohmigosh…" my hands went to my mouth. "Ohmigosh…"

Camille grinned and wordlessly passed me a pair of figure skates – my figure skates. I would have recognized them anywhere…

"Oh, and I also managed to snag your purple skating dress," she added to me.

"But – how – ?"

She shrugged. "Logan knows a thing or two about how to break locker combinations."

"I – it was strictly experimental!" Logan squeaked out.

Camille smirked. "Whatever you say, Logiekins."

He mumbled something unintelligible out as Camille passed me a tote bag. "Come on."

She got off the ice and led me into the girls' locker rooms.

"I can't – ohmigosh – who – how – what?" I stumbled out.

"James," she answered as I pulled my coat off and began to strip. "He thought it was really awful that you were going to be all alone on your birthday, so he got us all together."

"But – you and Logan – and Stephanie – and Kyle and Shane – I mean, they're hanging out – "

Camille shrugged. "Logan's and my date isn't until tonight. Stephanie won't be able to stay for very long, but she wanted to be here. Shane and Kyle decided to hang out a little later today. Jo couldn't come because, you know, she's going out of town to visit her dad at the military base, and yours and Kendall's mom picked him up to take him up to your uncle's, since I guess they're really close or something."

I nodded. "Uncle Jack? Yeah, they're like this." I crossed my index finger with my middle one and held them up.

"Ah, okay."

I finished getting dressed, and I laced up my skates. I'd probably have blisters tomorrow since it had been awhile since I had skated, but it would be worth it.

I pulled my hair up in a ponytail, and voila. I was ready.

Together, Camille and I headed back out to the rink.

James had joined the others on the ice, in regular ice skates. He was chatting with Shane and Kyle, but he looked up as I stepped out onto the ice, his eyes widening.

"Whoa…" he half-croaked out, and Shane smirked.

"Don't stare, it's not polite."

"Shut up," James snapped back at him.

"Oooh, feisty."

"I'm gonna go put the music on," Kyle announced, skating over to the sound system. A moment later, a Hilary Duff song came on, and I gasped. This had been the song I had skated my routine to when I was ten.

Kyle grinned at the look on my face. "Bringing back old memories?"

I nodded. "Yeah…"

He chuckled, and did a triple axel.

"Hey, James, still remember all your old skating jumps and spins?" Shane asked James.

My eyes snapped to James. Wait – what? Old skating jumps and spins?

James nodded. "Of course."

"Well, come on! Show us!"

James grinned, and began a series of backward crossovers, before doing a perfect lutz jump.

My eyes widened. Oh, wow…Did they teach people that at hockey camp?

He kept going, doing a flip jump next, and then a toe loop. My eyes widened even more as he continued jumps, mixing some turns in there as well. He was good. And he didn't move like a hockey player either. He moved like a dancer, like the ice was barely there, like he was floating over it effortlessly. He was beautiful out there.

At last, he finished with a flourish, and the ice rink exploded into applause. He bowed, and skated over to me.

"I had no idea hockey players could move like that," I told him.

He grinned. "Shocked?"

"A little bit, yeah."

"Good shocked or bad shocked?"

"Good shocked…definitely good shocked. Where did you learn to do that?"

"Some of it I learned on my own, and some of it I learned from a skating coach. Besides, I'm from Minnesota, remember? We pretty much learn how to skate before we can walk."

"Ah. Wait – a skating coach?"

He nodded. "I did figure skating when I was younger."

I gave him a weird look. "And you moved onto hockey?"

"No, I did them both pretty much at the same time."

"But you quit figure skating?"

Before James could answer, Stephanie skated over to me. "Hey, I have to leave now. I'll text you later, okay?"

I nodded and hugged her. "I'm really glad you were able to come."

"So am I. Great party," she added to James and he smiled at her.

"Thanks."

She called bye to the others, and headed out.

"So, I want to see your skating routine," James said to me once Stephanie had departed.

I blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. From what the others have told me, you're really good."

I bit my lip. "Well…I mean, I haven't practiced it in awhile…"

"So, do the best you can," he said simply, and then called to the others to get off the rink.

Kyle started the Taylor Swift song I had chosen as my routine song – Better Than Revenge –, and I took a deep breath, before skating into my routine.

I floated through my routine, feeling like I was soaring, losing all track of time.

It wasn't until I landed for the last time that my brain returned to my body. Once more, everyone cheered and clapped, and I beamed.

"So, I think she deserves a reward," James called to the others.

"Oh, definitely," Camille agreed.

James grinned at the others and he and Shane skated off the rink, disappearing down the hall.

I frowned at Camille and the guys in confusion. "Where – ?"

The lights dimmed again, and a moment later, disco lights were flashing over the rink. The music had stopped completely, and a moment later, James and Shane appeared, carrying each end of a huge rectangular cake. It was chocolate, with chocolate, green, and purple frosting, two candles, one shaped like a 1, and the other molded into a 7, poking through the cake.

Oh my God…

Everyone burst out singing Happy Birthday, and my cheeks felt like they were burning. This was incredible.

Once they had finished singing, Shane balanced the cake in his hands, and James pulled out a lighter. "Okay, so we have to do this fast," he grinned at me. "Because I'm pretty sure the sprinkler system is just as strong in here as in the library."

"James – "

"Make a wish," he told me as he lit the candles.

I bit my lip, before making my wish, and taking a breath, blowing out the candles.

Everyone clapped once more, and James grabbed the cake again, skating it over to the bleachers with Shane.

"Come on," Camille smiled at me, and the rest of us joined them. James cut the cake into pieces and put each piece on a paper plate.

"Who brought the cake and the plates and the forks and napkins?" I asked as James handed me a corner piece.

"Well, Stephanie and I bought the cake," Camille told me. "And Carlos and Logan brought the rest of the stuff."

"And who rented out the ice rink?" I added. "I mean, it is rented out, right?"

"Sure," James said with a shrug. "Jett Stetson reserved the other rink for today, as soon as he heard what we were planning. We invited him, and he decided to try to screw us over. So I told the office that we needed to use this rink for extra hockey practice."

"Wow…"

"Hey, I think she's speechless!" Camille crowed and the others laughed.

"I'm not speechless!" I protested. "I'm just surprised. I mean, you guys went through a lot of trouble for this."

James shrugged again. "Not too much trouble."

"Yeah…maybe…but still…"

"Don't worry about it," he advised me. "Just sit back and enjoy your cake. Oh, and we're going to the movies tonight."

I blinked at him. "Excusez-moi?"

"You and me. We're going to the movies tonight."

"No we're not."

"Yes we are. Since everyone else is busy, it's just you and me."

"Oh goody…" The movies. Just him and me. Like a date. Super.

He just flashed a grin at me, and dug into his cake, leaving me wondering just what game he was playing. Because there was no way he was doing all this just for the hell of it. There was no way.

So...how what'd you guys think? I'll admit, when I came up with the idea of James doing this for Katie's birthday, I literally squealed aloud at the idea, because, well, I'm a dork ;P I don't know, to me it just seemed so sweet, so I had to include it in here.

Anyway, the review button would love it if you gave it some love and let me know what you think of this chapter! :)

Oh, and one more reminder - I know I did this at the end of the last chapter, but I'm bringing it up again. On the JatieFantasy profile page is a poll that'll decide which story Jatieluv and I post next. So, if you read our stories, or just happen to love Jatie, head on over and vote! :) The presidential election may be over, but the vote is still on for Jatie ;P Corny? Yes. But I had to do it ;)