A/N: OMG people this is up SO late, I know! I'm so sorry, I've just been really busy AND sick lately, HOWEVER, hope this makes it up to you guys.
Speaking about that, hey what happened to my reviewers last time? Lol. Did you guys get lazy and decided not to review? Lol. I'm pretty sure you were all just too busy, and I really don't mind anyway.
Enjoy this chapter people!
To those who did review...
SHOUTS OUT!
-LoveSparkle: Definitely more trouble on the way...but I'll lay off any real drama for a couple of chapters...it'll just be the tension building up, lol. Thanks so much for reviewing! Hope you like this as well!
-OuToFmYmInDbAcKiN5MiNuTeS: I'm glad you liked the chapter. I loved "Aftermath" like always, well...you'll see, both couples have their point. I'll show both sides on this story, why it's good being impulsive and also why it's good to actually stop and think things through. Thanks so much for reviewing! Enjoy the chapter!
-Cashmeere: Thank you...oh I have tons of drama brewing up ahead...but no worries, I've also got tons of fluff prepared too...as it is, I hope you'll like this chapter and thanks for reviewing!
-EagleAce11: I can't promise you that, sorry, lol. I'm the queen of drama...it's just something I can't help. BUT I haven't said anything about stopping the Kames wedding...yet. Lol. I'm evil, but do not despair, Kames will be the ultimate outcome of all this. Hope you like this chapter though and thanks for reviewing!
-SerenityRatliff: Lol. Glad you're excited for the Kames wedding...however, we still have to see whether they'll actually make it to the altar...hmm...I'm evil, lol. Don't worry, there will be a happy ending...I'm just not sure how we'll get there...but we'll get there. Lol. Evil me. Anyways thanks for reviewing and enjoy the chapter!
-EliJace: Thank you, I'm glad you're liking the story. I'm sorry I couldn't get this up yesterday but...you know...life happens. As it is, hope you like this chapter as well and thanks for reviewing!
You guys are AWESOME!
Cheers,
Franshes
SPECIAL THANKS! To SuperNeos2 for...well...inspiring this chapter, I hope you're not disappointed with how I've initially set HIM up...and I know I didn't get around to sending you the sneak peek but I will repay it next chapter, promise.
Ch.24: New Guy
"I'm glad to be back on-set!" Carlos exclaimed as the four guys made their way into the place packed with camera crews and technicians, all trying to have the place perfected for the scene about to take place.
"Well…I hate the scene we're filming today…" James grumbled.
Kendall cocked an eyebrow at his boyfriend.
"James, seriously?" he said "Not this again…I've told you a million times, kisses on-set mean nothing to me!" he exclaimed though he avoided James' gaze in the last part.
"I know that!" James exclaimed "And I also know she's not doing it to be mean or anything but that doesn't mean I have to like watching you kiss another person besides me…"
"So don't watch then," Kendall suggested.
"And leave you alone with your ex-girlfriend while you two make-out? Please, I'm not that dumb!" James said, his hands on his hips.
Kendall huffed, annoyed at James' jealousy which was getting to be perhaps a little bit too much for him. Not that the brunette didn't have a valid point, seeing as it wasn't like Kendall disliked these kisses on-set either…but Kendall decided to ignore that dangerous trail of thought.
"Looking at it from a bright side," Logan intervened before the two could get into an argument "James will make a good desperate housewife one day…"
"No I won't," James said offended while slapping Logan on the back of the head.
"Ass," Logan grumbled while rubbing his head.
"Oh, I know you want it and all…" James replied smirking.
"No I don't you pervert-"Logan exclaimed but Kendall grew tired of their little argument.
"Alright, knock it off you two," he said "James, baby, look…I know this will sound cliché to you but…I won't be kissing Jo…my character, Marco, will be kissing Jo's character, Rachel…"
"Same thing," James argued.
"Not so," Kendall replied, arms crossed.
On set
They arrived to find the strangest of scenes taking place.
Jo was talking and laughing, flipping her hair over her shoulder every few minutes and-very evidently- flirting with another strange guy on set.
The guys' mouths dropped open at what they saw.
The guy was tall, blonde and had a pair of piercing green eyes.
"It's like your evil clone from another dimension!" Carlos whispered, a little scared.
Kendall scoffed.
"Carlos," he said "I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for him being here…besides, I'm not curly-haired and he is, and I don't have freckles and he does so…"
"You have to admit…you DO look a lot like him…" Logan said.
"Hey guys," Elena greeted them cheerfully "Ready for today's scene?"
The guys nodded enthusiastically.
"Umm…just a quick question, Elena," Kendall said "Um…who's THAT guy over there, talking to Jo?"
"Oh-him?" Elena said "Hold on one second- Frankie! Come over here! There's someone I want you to meet!"
The boy named Frankie smiled at her and headed towards them.
"Kendall, this is Frankie Wilson. Frankie-Kendall," Elena said, briefly introducing them.
"Hey, so you're famous Kendall Knight… I've heard so much about you…I'm looking forward to working together with you…" Frankie said, shaking Kendall's hand.
"Um, guess that goes both ways," Kendall replied, giving Frankie a smile.
"Frankie here will be your double," Elena said "In the next scene, Marco's supposed to fight with Drake and Drake accidentally pushes him through an open window and he falls three stories down, leaving him badly bruised…"
"Ouch!" Carlos said "That's painful, trust me, I know from experience…"
Elena smiled.
"Yes, well, Kendall's our star and we can't have anything go wrong in the last minute and him getting hurt so I'm asking Frankie to be your double and, since he's a stunt man, do the trick for you…"she said
"Hey man, thanks for saving me," Kendall said, smiling at Frankie.
"Hey, whatever you need, man," Frankie said "Besides, I love doing my job,"
"Couldn't Frankie also be Kendall's double for the kiss scene?" James asked , hopeful.
Elena laughed.
"Nice try, but no, James, I'm afraid not…" she said "The trick with using doubles is that people don't notice the difference, that's why the stunt is being filmed by a camera that is several feet away. A make-out scene, however, requires constant close-ins of the actors' faces, thereby making it impossible to use doubles…"
James groaned. Well, at least he'd tried…
"Alright everyone, places please!" Elena called.
James sighed as the bell signaling the beginning of the scene rung.
Entering Movie World…
Marco sat alone in a nice little café, drinking his iced coffee, waiting for Rachel to show up. He couldn't wait to tell her the news!
He smiled once he saw her approach and she smiled back at him.
"Hey Marco," she said, giving him a brief hug "I managed to escape my class's excursion of the Coliseum and slipped out to come here!"
"Won't you be in trouble for that?" Marco asked teasingly.
Rachel shrugged.
"Possibly," she said "Not that I care…I wanted to be here…with you…"
"What, no more Drake?" Marco continued, playing with a strand of Rachel's hair.
"No more Drake," Rachel said firmly.
"Well, my sweet lady, I think you'll be pleased to know that my parents have agreed to let me go with you guys, even AFTER we leave Rome and Spain…and my friends will be coming along as well…they're only finishing some paperwork and they should join us in Spain," Marco said.
"Oh Marco!" Rachel exclaimed, breaking into a huge grin "That's wonderful!"
Marco chuckled.
"Yes it is, isn't it?" he said.
He and Rachel stared at each other for a long time before inching closer, their lips connecting in a passionate kiss which lasted for several minutes until they were rudely interrupted by the waiter who came to take their order.
Nevertheless, Marco grabbed a hold of Rachel's hand and didn't let go.
Rachel smiled and blushed.
He was just too perfect…
End of Movie World
"And CUT!" Elena called almost in time with the bell "That's a wrap you guys! It was awesome, I really don't think it could get much better, we don't need a second take…"
Kendall smiled, relieved, flashing James the thumbs up, James returned the smile.
"Alright, everybody, let's take a 15 minute break and then I want you all back here to film the fighting scene between Drake and Marco! Great job everybody!" Elena called.
"This should be fun…" Kendall said with a smirk, looking directly at Jett.
"Only because it's a movie, Knight, otherwise there'd be NO WAY in HELL that you'd beat ME in a fight…" Jett replied nonchalantly.
"Want to bet?" Kendall said, inching closer to Jett before James pulled him back.
"Whoa dude- we only have 15 minutes, wouldn't you rather spend them with me, your adorable fiancé than with that jerk over there?"James asked, putting his arms around Kendall and preventing the blonde from advancing on Jett.
"You're right, sorry babe," Kendall said glowering at Jett who scoffed at him before beginning to walk away.
"Whatever," Jett said "This wasn't going to be interesting anyway…"
"So how was it? Was it too bad this time?"Kendall said, turning to James.
"Nah," James said with a shrug "I mean, I guess since the first one was on a beach with both of you barely clothed and to top it off it required a second take, this one was much better…" James said.
"I'm glad it wasn't that hard for you, babe," Kendall said, squeezing James' shoulders "And I'm proud that you didn't overreact like last time.."
"Yeah, well, Logan's right…" James said "I mean, we are getting married…so I need to start trusting you more…"
"Agreed," Kendall said " Now c'mon, let's go grab a quick bite from the snacks' bar, my stomach's growling…"
"Yeah, so is mine…" James agreed.
When they got to the snacks line they were shocked to see Jo and the new guy, Frankie, having an animated conversation, it looked like he was showing her something on his phone that was making her laugh a lot.
They got in line right behind them.
"Oh, hey guys!" Jo said, smiling brightly at them "Frankie here's just showing me videos of his cat, Gigi, doing really funny things! Want to watch?"
Frankie offered the camera to them.
"No thanks," James said, smiling at Frankie "I'm sure you and Jo will enjoy them more…besides, I'm more of a dog person…"
"Suit yourself…" said Frankie with a shrug and returned to Jo.
"Is it just me or…are they, flirting?" Kendall asked, watching the laughing pair with narrowed eyes.
"Oh they're most certainly flirting," James said, turning to stare intently at his boyfriend "Why? Does it bug you?"
"No, no, it's just…well, Jo's been hurt enough James, and…I guess I just don't want another idiot to break her heart…" Kendall said, choosing to be honest with James.
"Well Kendall, you're going to have to start letting go of her sooner or later," James said quietly "And I'm not saying it because you're my boyfriend and I'm jealous or whatever but…well, Kendall, the closer you stay to her the more she's going to get her hopes up, or she'll keep comparing everyone she dates to you and…that's not good for her. It won't let her move on from you and, I mean, it's bad enough that her first crush after you is…well…practically your clone!"
Kendall had to agree that James had a point there. Yet he also didn't want to admit out loud that…maybe he wasn't all that comfortable with having Jo move on from him and having to see her with someone else. NOT that James ever needed to find out about his last thoughts.
"Still…" he grumbled, arms crossed while glaring at Frankie "She's special, and she deserves to be treated as such,"
"And I'm sure Frankie's a nice enough guy," James said reasonably "Maybe if you got to know him better?"
"Oh, alright," Kendall said, rolling his eyes "I guess you DO have a point…"
They got their snacks and joined Jo and Frankie at their table.
"Hey James," Jo said, smiling at him brightly.
James returned her smile.
He knew now that he'd been right when he'd guessed Kendall and Jo's relationship to be special, and he knew Jo would forever be an important part of Kendall's life, whether he liked it or not, so then, James thought, he had to start attempting at least to get along with the actress.
"Hi Jo," he said "Hi Frankie, so, are you guys excited over the next scene?"
Frankie laughed.
"Yes," he said "It's not ALWAYS that I get to jump out of a three-story high building into a giant cushion…"
"That sounds scary, doesn't it scare you?" Kendall asked.
Frankie shrugged uncaringly.
"Nah," he said nonchalantly "It's part of my every-day life, I'm used to taking risks in general…"
"I have a feeling you and Carlos would get along great," James said softly.
"I've actually talked to him a couple of times in the last half hour and he seems like a nice guy…" Frankie commented "You all do, I'm really looking forward to working with all of you in the future…"
"Um, in the future?" Kendall said "You mean, like, you'll be traveling with us to Spain?"
"And then back to the U.S, yes," Frankie said "I was in Paris too…didn't you ever notice I was there?"
"Surprisingly…no, we didn't," Kendall said.
"Well, I was just telling Jo here how, since tomorrow we have the morning off, we could all go and do something…maybe you guys would like to come too?" Frankie offered "I'm taking Mia and Jo to Bioparco tomorrow…that's the Roman Zoo right there…"
"I'm sorry but, who else is coming with us?" Kendall asked.
"Mia," Frankie said "She's uh-the little kid you've seen playing around a few times? Tiny? Curly blonde hair and gray eyes?" (A/N: Yes, she's my Katelyn version for anyone who happens to be Reading SuperNeos2's "Heavy Blood)
"Oooh…that child," James said. They HAD seen the child in question looming around the set a few times but had assumed she was just some relative of Elena's or something.
"Yeah, she's uh-my niece, really, but I'm raising her like my daughter…" Frankie said.
"And why's that?" Kendall asked "You look no older than nineteen…"
"I'm twenty, almost twenty- one as a matter of fact, and yes, I know I'm kind of young to be raising a child but…well, she's my sister's daughter…" Frankie said, getting really quiet.
"What happened to her?" Jo asked, taking Frankie's hand "I mean, I'd seen you taking care of Mia but…I'd assumed she was just visiting you or something, not that she lived with you…"
"Well, you see…I had a sister. Her name was Monica," Frankie said "She was a year younger than me, actually, which is why I was pretty pissed when she and my best friend, Steve, started dating in High School. I was even more pissed when I found out she was fifteen and pregnant…"
"Understandable," Kendall said, nodding, thinking about how he'd be if it were his own sister in the same situation.
"Well, at first I wanted to kill Steve but…eventually, I saw he really cared for her and the baby and they made a nice little family. Well, one day last year, my sister was seventeen, soon to be eighteen and my best friend was eighteen going of nineteen and they went out on a date. They were engaged by then…" Here Frankie had to stop and take several deep, steadying breaths.
"You don't have to keep going if you don't want to," Jo offered helpfully but Frankie waved off her concern.
"An idiot drunk driver ran a red light while they were on their way back," he said, blinking back tears "He hit their car and killed them on the spot…both of them…gone. Forever…"
"I'm so sorry," Jo said, her eyes glistening with tears.
"I'm really sorry about your loss," James said sincerely "But then why couldn't your parents care for her, instead of you?"
"My father abandoned my mother when I was seven years old," Frankie mumbled "I haven't heard from him since. He could be dead for all I know, or care. My mother…well, she started to but…she wasn't strong enough. The grief of losing her only daughter was too much…she died of a heart attack not three months after Monica's death…" he said.
"I'm really sorry…" Kendall said "I know what it feels like, losing a parent, my dad died when I was 10…in a car crash as well but…at least I still have my mom and my sister…"
He and Frankie were so similar, Kendall realized. Not only physically but also, their backgrounds were very similar. He could only be glad that he didn't know the type of pain Frankie knew, because losing his father had been bad enough. He couldn't imagine his life without his family in it.
"So anyways," Frankie said, wiping his eyes and offering them a weak smile "Enough about me and my sad story…I was talking to you guys about going to the zoo with us?"
"Sure," James said, looking at Kendall who shrugged before nodding "We'd love to,"
"So you'll be coming back to America with us?" Kendall asked, now curious to know more about the boy.
"Yes," Frankie said "Apparently, production wants to do this epic special in which I'm your evil twin from another dimension and so…you know, as we look so similar, they think I'm perfect for the role as your evil twin…"
"Figures," Kendall said, rolling his eyes "So, will you be staying at Palm Wood's then?"
"If there's any apartment available then yes, I believe so," Frankie said "So long as Mia likes the place anyways…"
"Oh, she'll love it," Jo said enthusiastically.
Frankie offered Jo another shy smile.
"Guess we'll really get to know you then," Kendall said, smiling at both of them, feeling a slight twinge of jealousy at Jo's smiling at Frankie but giving no indications of it whatsoever.
"I…guess," Frankie said, giving them a weird look "But…aren't you guys supposed to be getting married or something?"
"Um, yeah, why'd you ask?" James said, resting his head in his hands, the ring on his left hand giving a distinct glint.
"Well..aren't you guys going to, you know, want to live on your own after the wedding? Won't it be kind of weird being married and sharing an apartment with your friends, your mother and sister?" Frankie asked, eyebrows raised, while looking at Kendall but it was James who answered for them.
"Nah, it wouldn't be weird, but we ARE getting our own place…" James said with a shrug "Gustavo said he's getting us something that's not too far away though…so we'll come and visit every day if possible…"
"That'd be awesome," Jo said, giving him another bright smile which he returned.
A bell rung nearby, making them all turn towards the set.
"Seems like it's show time," Kendall said before getting up and helping his boyfriend up as well.
Frankie got up as well and waited until Jo was up to push her chair back in for her. She blushed and looked away from him.
Kendall smiled. Despite feeling a bit jealous of Frankie's easy-going relationship with Jo, he was glad that Frankie wasn't a dumbass, self-centered jerk like Jett was.
Speaking of Jett…
Kendall smiled, he was going to love doing today's scene so much…the only bad thing about the scene was that, in the end, Jett's character got to shove Kendall's character out a window...but, oh well, it was still going to be fun getting to fight with Jett.
**Entering Movie World**
"So, I heard you're the idiot who's been hitting on my girlfriend" Drake said, glowering at Marco.
"So what if I've been?" Marco challenged "If you'd been any less idiotic you'd have noticed the poor girl needs comfort…"
"Not from you, that's for damn sure," Drake said "Now you listen here, buddy, here's how things go. I don't care if you're the new rich boy whose parents managed to get into our school regardless that it's the middle of the semester, the school's MY turf and you play by MY rules. So stay the hell away from MY girl! She doesn't need any more of your COMFORT anyways…"and he started to walk away
"Evidently she does, seeing as you're her dumbass boyfriend…" Marco replied, making Drake stop dead in his tracks.
"WHAT did you just say?" he said quietly, turning to face Marco slowly.
"You heard what I said, I won't take it back," Marco answered firmly.
Enraged, Drake lunged angrily at Marco, knocking him to the ground.
Marco fought back just as fiercely, kicking Drake square in the stomach, knocking all air out of him.
For several minutes, the two rolled around on the floor, Marco overpowering Drake after some time.
Just then, Rachel arrived at the scene and her eyes widened, horrified at what she saw.
"Guys! Stop! Stop!" she exclaimed "Drake! Marco, please! Please just stop! This is stupid…"and she attempted, unsuccessfully to separate the two boys.
"Stay out of this, Rachel!" Drake barked out to her, shoving her to the side.
"Hey! Don't touch her!" Marco said.
"She's my girlfriend and I can do whatever I want with her!" Drake exclaimed, throwing a hard punch which hit Marco squarely on the jaw.
As Rachel watched the two guys fight for her love she was filled with inexplicable dread. Somehow she knew…she knew this fight wouldn't end well.
**End of Movie World**
A bell rung, indicating the end of the scene.
"And CUT everyone!" Elena said "Good job boys, that didn't even look like fake fighting from here…"
"Heh…that's 'cause it wasn't…" Kendall mumbled angrily, although too quiet for Elena to hear, while rubbing his sore jaw left from Jett's punch.
"Damn it, Knight," Jett cursed, rubbing his sore ribs "Were you trying to kill me back there?"
"What, can't take a hit Stetson?" Kendall taunted.
"Back at ya, Knight," Jett glowered and the two were about to engage in another fist fight until Carlos, James, and Logan conveniently intervened.
"Alright you two, knock it off…" Logan replied "Kendall, c'mon, he's not worth getting in trouble with Elena or production, c'mon, let's go…"
Kendall sighed as James took his hand and gave it a firm tug, finally letting his friends lead him away from Jett.
"Are you hurt, baby?" James asked once they were well out of Jett's earshot.
"Not really, my jaw hurts a little but that bastard can't throw a punch to save his pathetic life, I'll be alright…" Kendall said, glaring in Jett's direction.
"Let me have a look," Logan offered and then gingerly ran a hand through Kendall's slightly pink face, making Kendall wince.
"How bad is it?" Kendall asked finally.
"Nothing major, it's going to leave an ugly bruise though," Logan said "To be fair, I think Jett's far worse off than you are…"
They all glanced at Jett who appeared to be trying to persuade everyone he was okay before grudgingly allowing the on-set doctor to bandage his ribcage which was purple and VERY bruised.
"Think Elena will bitch at me for hurting her star?" Kendall asked worriedly.
As if reading Kendall's mind, Elena approached them.
"Hey guys," she said, offering them a small smile "Kendall, we need to talk…"
"Before you say anything, I'm sorry, okay? We got carried away and… I'm sorry if I hurt Jett," Kendall said, deciding to get straight to the point.
"Relax, Kendall, I wasn't going to yell at you or anything. I was only going to say that you have to make it less realistic next time, because, yeah Jett's pretty beat up…but he'll be okay. He's even agreed to filming next scene with Frankie in half an hour…" Elena said.
The boys breathed a sigh of relief and Elena laughed.
"What's between you and Jett anyway? Why do you hate each other so much?" she asked Kendall.
"The other producer didn't tell you?" Kendall asked, surprised.
Elena shook her head.
"What should she have told me about?" she asked.
"Well, when I was dating Jo he'd spend half his time trying to take her away from me, even went as far as starting false rumors about the two of them dating…" Kendall said "And now that James and I are together, he's determined to piss me off, constantly bringing up when…he and James were together…"
"You guys were a couple before?" Elena asked, looking at James surprised.
James blushed and shook his head.
"No, we were never a couple, we only fooled around and it was ONE time…" he said "At a party…and we were both drunk out of our minds…so it's unfair that he keeps bringing it up now that I actually have a serious relationship with Kendall and we're-"
"Getting married, you're right…" Elena said with a nod "Alright I'll talk to Jett and see if I can get him to lay off you two for some time…we'll see. For what it's worth, great job today Kendall, and if you and your friends want to come watch Frankie's fall through a three-story high building you can come join us in half an hour…"
"Thanks, we'll be there…" Kendall said with a nod.
Eventually, they all made their way to the set again to watch Frankie do his fall and land on the giant cushion below.
Everyone clapped and cheered at the end of the scene.
"Dude, that guy is cool!" Carlos exclaimed, clapping enthusiastically along with the rest.
The other three smiled.
Despite being worried about Frankie possibly being Jo's new boyfriend, Kendall decided that he wasn't all that bad, and he was glad he'd be seeing more of Frankie because he seemed like a nice guy they could all make friends with…
A/N: Okay, so now that you've all met Frankie...predictions of further problems anyone? I'd love to hear them! Also, I'd LOVE to hear what you guys thought of the chapter so please...
REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!
Reviews would really brighten my week seeing as I (sob) lost my iPad...isn't that sad? It's not even 3 months old...waaaah!
Anyways, please let me know what you guys think!
Cheers,
Franshes