"I've been cast as the female lead in a new sitcom," Jo announced over the computer one evening in late October as she and Kendall did what had become their nightly webchats. "They already filmed the pilot but they didn't like the original actress in the role so they offered it to me. They offered it to me, Kendall! I did have to audition, but they wanted me. It's set as a mid-season replacement if the new pilot gets picked up. I'm going to be pretty busy from here through December."

"You're still coming to the party?"

"Yes, of course! Wouldn't miss it for the world. I'm just not sure how much more visiting I'm going to be able to do."

"I'll have to come visit you, then." Kendall smiled

"Yes, you will." Jo looked at something off camera and then turned back to Kendall. "I need to get to bed. I'd rather talk to you all night, but I have to get up early for my first day on the set," she squealed. "OK, I'm acting like I've never been on a set or filmed something before. I'm Jo Taylor star of The Danica Patrick Movie and New Town High."

Kendall laughed. "It's okay to be excited. This is a big deal."

"Thank you. I do have to go now." Jo blew Kendall a kiss. "Love you."

Kendall pretended to catch the kiss. "Love you, too."

After closing his laptop and laying it on his bed, he left his room and headed downstairs where Carlos was laughing at a TV show.

"What are you watching that's so funny?" Kendall asked claiming a seat on the empty couch. Ever since the accident Carlos had claimed the recliner as his and wouldn't sit anywhere else.

"Some show about a band of misfit teenagers. I think they're teenagers. They might be twenty-somethings. They're an actual musical group of four guys who get into all kinds of mischief on a thirty minute show. Who comes up with this stuff? In this one, Davy's pretending to be this prince who looks just like him in order get this girl to marry the prince."

Kendall sat and watched a few minutes of the show which, for some reason, felt oddly familiar. He couldn't put his finger on why. Midway into the show he quietly left the room and went downstairs where he had previously left his guitar. He thought about taking it up to his room but it was late and he didn't know if James or Logan was asleep. His notes and case were in his room, but he'd be fine just fiddling around with the stringed instrument.

Picking up the guitar and sitting on the couch, Kendall began slowly strumming the opening notes to the song he'd been writing.

"It's you when I'm lying in my bed. It's you when I'm feeling all alone. It's you I just want to hold near me. It's you when times are slipping by. It's you letting me know everything is all right. And it's your voice that calms me. And it's your eyes that keep me moving. And it's your touch that starts the butterflies flying through me. It's you when I'm lying in my bed. It's you when I'm feeling all alone. It's you I just want to hold near me. It's you…it's you."

He strummed his guitar a few more times and then laid it down. Gosh, he missed Jo.

"I think everyone's coming." James appeared on the staircase leading into the game room.

"To the party?"

"Yeah. I mean Jenny's not. She's in Europe like Jo said. Lucy's bringing her brother, Linus."

"Linus? Linus and Lucy?"

James shrugged. "I haven't met him, yet. Oh my gosh, what if he doesn't like me?"

"Well…" Kendall began thinking about the reputation the media had built up about James.

"He's not going to like me. Great, great. None of her family's going to like me. They'll know me as whatever the media has painted me as and you know it's not a pretty picture."

"A womanizer, flirt, hasn't had a steady girlfriend in a good while, um…"

"I'm pretty strong." James flexed a muscle. "But, he's been to boot camp. Oh my gosh, he's going to kick my butt."

"He's not going to kick your butt. You just have to show him you love Lucy and would never hurt her."

James shook his head.

"You don't know. Jo doesn't have a brother or sister. Does she?

"No, she's an only child. But, meeting her father was no picnic." Kendall shuddered at the thought of the two of them getting caught at the prom. "You love Lucy. You're a nice guy. Just be yourself."

"I dunno. Lucy doesn't seem too happy when I'm 'being myself.'"

"What do you mean? Does this have anything to do with this Christianity kick you're on?"

"Yes, no, kind of."

"You're not trying to change yourself into something Lucy wants you to be?"

"No."

Kendall raised an eyebrow.

"Look, no! You know Lucy. It's just...I don't know. She's not pressuring me to be anything different, I promise you."

"I know you had this massive crush on Lucy and getting her to be your girl was your biggest dream, probably almost as big as wanting to be famous, so I know there's a good chance you'd probably do anything to get her to not only be your girl but to stay your girl."

"Kendall, I'm not…this isn't…this is real." James sighed and took a seat on the couch. "I told her I love her and she told me she loves me before any of this came up."

"What is 'any of this?'"

"Lucy thinks I'm too obsessed with my looks," James admitted.

"Aha! I knew she had something to do with it. Is that why you went through that phase last month?"

"It's not what you think!"

"She's manipulating you."

"No, she's not manip—manip—that word you used. She just made me realize that on the surface I can be very shallow."

"But you know deep on the inside…"

"I know, I know, blah, blah, blah, but she really made me open my eyes."

"James, there is nothing wrong with caring about your looks. You may take it to quite a girly level, but that's you."

"Gee, thanks."

"You shouldn't change yourself to make a girl like you."

"I'm not! I'm not doing this to get her to like me. She already likes me! What she said, maybe, I don't, maybe I don't really like me."

As you may know when I started this story I had not seen season 3. I knew Jo returned (duh, season 4) but I didn't know the specifics. Thus, in this story I had the idea that she was no longer on New Town High. So, let's just go with that (it's only been hinted at once or twice with the TV movie thing I think).

The Monkees episode Carlos is watching is The Prince and the Paupers which I haven't seen in a long time, but when I first saw Big Time Weddings I immediately thought of this episode.

Kendall's song is a reworking of the poem "It's You" by Josh Buller on Hello Poetry.

I hope you like the name I came up with for Lucy's brother, haha. I don't know where that ending came from, but I like it.