The last few days hadn't been easy for Jo and Kendall. Even though they were both happy that they managed to convince Lucy to not tell the world that her songs were about Kendall being a jerk face, they were both worried about what would happen now that Lucy had decided to move back into the Palm Woods.
Kendall was mostly focused on doing everything in his power to make sure he could avoid Lucy and avoid making any problems with Jo and it had worked so far, but he still felt like he was in danger, which is why he had the guys on the lookout for Lucy before his and Jo's planned date at the pool this morning.
"Ready for our pool date?" Jo asked with a smile when she saw Kendall from down the hall outside his apartment.
"Yep, and no one will come between us," Kendall promised and held up the walkie-talkie he was using to stay in contact with the guys.
But right as he said this, Lucy walked out of a door in between them and turned her head to look at both of them. "Oh hey guys, are you headed to the pool?"
Kendall and Jo glanced at each other with matching looks of fear. Kendall did some quick mental math and decided that just as much as he wasn't going to let Lucy get between him and Jo, he also wasn't going to let her change their plans.
"Yes, we are," Kendall said, running around Lucy to go stand beside Jo. "Where are you headed off to?"
"Oh, I'm going down to the pool to work on writing a new song. Mind if I head down with you?"
"Nope. Not at all." Kendall said awkwardly, he shared a glance with Jo, and she just nodded along.
"Yeah, um Kendall and I are going to just hang out together and grab some sun," Jo added.
"Great, let's go." Lucy smiled, and Kendall could have sworn she winked at him before they all turned around to head for the elevator. Unfortunately for everyone involved…it was of course THE elevator.
When they stepped inside, Kendall ended up standing in the middle of the two girls, but he quickly stepped closer to Jo and held her hand tight in his own.
Jo meanwhile was just staring ahead while trying and failing to not think about the last time she had seen Lucy and Kendall standing in this elevator. She knew she may have been a little paranoid since she knew Kendall wouldn't ever cheat on her, but she still didn't like the painful memories buzzing in her head.
When they made it to the pool, thankfully Lucy left them to sit by herself on the other side and Jo and Kendall just did their best to lay back and relax, but it didn't help when the other three guys all joined them, scoping out the situation with Lucy and going on and on about how awkward it must be for both of them since Kendall's ex-girlfriend was living here again. And almost like she was standing in between the two of them.
"Guys, we're right here! And Lucy and I have both agreed we were never really dating." Kendall looked up from the magazine he had been using to avoid looking at Lucy to tell his friends to can it.
"And anyway, Lucy moving back to the Palm Woods doesn't bother me." Jo insisted with a nervous laugh. Neither she nor Kendall had really talked about it, but they could easily tell how uncomfortable they both were in this situation, they had just silently agreed not to admit to each other how weird it felt having Lucy back here again.
But then Lucy stood up from her seat and began walking around the edge of the pool towards Kendall, Jo, and the rest of the guys, and they all quickly tried to act natural and distracted, and not like they had all been watching her with suspicion for the last twenty minutes.
"Hey guys…" Lucy said, clearly not buying their acting at all.
"Hey, we're just acting natural," Carlos said while doing jumping jacks before blurting out the question on everyone's mind. "Why'd you move back in?"
Lucy focused on Kendall and Jo, "Look, I didn't move back to start any drama. But my album's all about being strong and doing what makes you happy. And the Palm Woods and all of you guys make me happy. So I'm back." Lucy smiled at all of them.
"OK, now that that's out of the way." James confidently stepped over Kendall's seat to stand right in front of Lucy. "Me and Carlos are about to head over to Rocque Records. Why don't you tag along and you and I could I don't know… make out?"
"James…" Lucy smiled and then deadpanned. "I'd rather eat hair."
"You will be mine!" James declared and then marched off with Carlos in tow.
"Anyway," Lucy brought her attention back to Kendall and Jo. "I don't want things to be awkward between us, so I hope we can be friends."
"I'd like that." Jo nodded while forcing a smile on her face.
"Me too." Kendall agreed.
"See ya." Lucy said and as she left, Kendall and Jo kept awkwardly laughing at each other.
Until Logan said what they were both secretly thinking. "Well, this is going to end badly."
Thankfully with everyone leaving them alone again, Kendall and Jo were finally able to get back to relaxing and enjoying their time together as both pointedly avoided mentioning anything about Lucy.
"So look at this." Kendall pointed to his magazine, eager to change the subject. "It says here that you and I are number three on Hollywood's hottest young couple's list this month."
"Oh really? Who beat us this time?" Jo asked with a smile.
"Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, as usual, and also Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal."
"Does it say how they beat us this month?" Jo asked.
"No, other than there were some big events like everyone going to everyone's concerts. I bet we're down since we haven't done anything PR-y since the season finale."
"Yeah," Jo nodded, "but speaking of… has Gustavo told you yet?"
"About what?" Kendall asked.
"Now you didn't hear this from me and seriously you can't tell anyone but there's a chance the season finale may end up being the series finale for New Town High," Jo whispered to him.
"Oh really? Why is that?"
"I'm not really sure, something about how TV shows always renegotiate contracts and stuff after the third season. I don't really know anything yet, but my agent has been looking for new auditions for me to go to just in case."
"Oh, that's too bad Babe. I know you love playing Rachel."
"And I know you love playing Flynn." Jo grinned back at him. "Plus our fans still love us together."
"You've got that right." Kendall agreed. "Just as much as I love us together." Kendall leaned over to kiss her cheek. "So any roles catch your eye yet?"
"No I haven't been reading scripts or anything," Jemma said she might have something for me next week.
"Well I guarantee no matter what audition you go to, you are going to blow the director away because you are just that amazing."
"Thanks, Kendall, but you don't seem too devastated about not playing Flynn anymore."
"Hey it was a lot of fun, mostly because I was working with you, but I am so happy that I actually have free time again that we can spend however we want, not just sneaking power naps and cuddles in your dressing room in between our scenes."
"OK, I get it." Jo laughed, "but-"
You dumped me for her, You gave me your word!
Everything was going great until it suddenly seemed like every single radio station started playing You Dumped Me For Her, which while Kendall could admit was a catchy song, it was the absolute last thing he wanted to listen to when he was trying to spend quality time with Jo and not think about Lucy.
Which is what led him to toss the radio in the pool and head upstairs to grab his MP3 player instead.
"Don't get in any elevators with anyone!" Jo said, forcing herself to say it in a humorous voice, especially as she could still hear Lucy singing, You kissed me in an elevator in her head.
"That is funny!" Kendall said, forcing laughter into his own voice as well. "Because Lucy living here is funny!" He forced more laughter into his voice, and despite his claims of being fine with Lucy, he still walked slowly through the lobby on the lookout, but thankfully she was nowhere to be found.
He let out a sigh of relief but then jumped out of his skin when the elevator doors closed and Lucy was leaning against the wall with a smirk on her face. "Hey, Kendall."
Kendall swallowed what he really wanted to say, which was screaming in fear, instead saying. "This would be awkward if we weren't just friends."
"Ha ha ha." Lucy tilted her head back in laughter but then looked at him hungrily and slowly stepped closer to him. "About that…"
Kendall backed up against the opposite wall, but she kept coming closer to him. "Um, we should stop…"
"You're right," Lucy said, pressing the emergency stop button and placing her hand against the wall right by Kendall's face, leaning in closer to him until she was only a few inches away.
"That's not what I meant." Kendall laughed awkwardly and quickly pressed the button again to keep the elevator moving.
"Kendall." Lucy smiled up at him. "We've done this before and I think you know what comes next."
Kendall grimaced, He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that he knew exactly what Lucy was implying… had she really moved back to try to take him back? He remembered every moment of that terrible day in his mind, and while that moment wasn't particularly bad, he couldn't kiss Lucy, never again. He didn't have any means of escape and he couldn't do that to Jo ever again. But thankfully his prayers were answered and the doors opened with a pleasant ding! "Oh, this is me!" Kendall shouted and sprinted out of the elevator and to his apartment as fast as his legs could carry him.
"That's not what comes next!" Lucy called after him.
When Kendall made it to his apartment, he locked the door behind him, just to be safe, and then ran into his room to grab his MP3 player, his mom, and Katie then asked him why he was acting so weird so he explained how Lucy being back could make things weird for him and Jo and about how she had just cornered him in the elevator.
He really didn't understand, Lucy had written a whole album about how much she hated him. And it had been her choice to leave the Palm Woods without even saying goodbye when he chose Jo. Sure at the time he felt like he had a more important person to focus on than Lucy, namely Jo his once again girlfriend. Did Lucy really still have feelings for him? And even worse she was willing to go behind Jo's back to try to win him over? Which would never happen.
Kendall had known the second he had taken that first step towards Jo's door that he had made the right decision. It was the only decision his heart would ever make. His heart would always belong to Jo, and no one, not even Lucy would ever change that.
He took both Katie's and his mom's advice but decided his best course of action would just be to do his best to make sure he was with Jo as much as possible, and with alone with Lucy as little as possible. Preferably never, so that he could avoid any and all awkward conversations, questions, or situations with either girl. He waited a few more minutes just to be safe that Lucy should be gone, and thankfully this time he checked that the elevator was empty before getting inside.
But a moment before the doors closed, Lucy stuck her arm in to block the doors and stepped inside herself, with that same look on her face as before.
"Hi Kendall," Lucy said sweetly, stepping closer to him once again until he backed himself up against the wall. "Now, where were we?" She once again raised her hand up against the wall and she was standing only a few inches away from him.
"Oh yeah, just about there. Now look, Lucy, I just want to go see Jo, who's at the pool. Because I don't want things to get weird between us. You understand?"
In response, Lucy stretched her neck up and her eyes were focused on his lips while Kendall felt frozen. He didn't know what to do. "Oh I understand…" she said with a purring lilt to her voice.
The elevators dinged open and Kendall was ready to make his escape, but instead of things getting better, they got a whole lot worse when Kendall got a sense of déjà vu because Jo was standing in front of the doors, about to catch Lucy kissing him once again.
Lucy stepped away and smiled innocently, while Kendall was sure his face was wearing his terrified expression along with probably being stained pink with the combination of intense fear and guilt he felt at even the thought of doing something to hurt Jo again. While Jo immediately looked suspicious, and maybe a little hurt. He had promised himself he would never do anything to make her feel that way again.
"Hey, Jo." Lucy smiled and waved happily at Jo, and also pointedly turning around to give Kendall a we'll-finish-this-later look.
"Ha ha." Jo waved awkwardly. But then glared at Kendall.
"Got the music." Kendall held up his MP3 player in a vain attempt to change the conversation he knew was about to happen.
"Did something happen in there?" Jo asked.
"Um…" Kendall said slowly, "No way of course not. Absolutely nothing happened in that elevator, don't be ridiculous." Kendall rushed out, wanting to tame any of Jo's fears before they could spring up.
"OK…" Jo said slowly. "Then what's wrong Kendall, you look worried?"
"No no nothing's wrong. Just me and Lucy taking a ride in the elevator together when she got in at the last minute."
"And did she say anything to you?"
"No, no she didn't really say anything at all. I just kind of awkwardly waved hi to her. Don't you worry about a thing? In fact, let's get back to relaxing by the pool."
"Ok." Jo sighed and studied him closely for a few moments longer before she turned around and grabbed Kendall's hand.
Kendall decided that the best course of action was just to stay with Jo as much as possible, not that either of them had any problem with that activity, although Jo had to draw a line when Kendall tried to follow her to the bathroom.
"Kendall?"
"Yeah, Jo?" Kendall asked, acting oblivious that he knew what Jo's next question was going to be.
"I have to use the bathroom."
"Well, I heard that it's good for you to hold it. I read it in a book. I'm holding it in right now."
"Well, that's good for you, but not good for me. I'll be in and out in like three minutes. Did something happen in the elevator?" Jo asked once more. Despite how hard she tried she couldn't help worrying about that split second that she saw. Where Lucy was definitely standing too close to Kendall for her liking.
"What? No of course not." Kendall insisted.
"Then I'm going to the bathroom," Jo said before walking inside and closing the door behind her.
When she got inside she quickly did what she needed to, and as she washed her hands she glanced in the mirror, and despite the brave face she was forcing herself to project she could admit, only to herself how much she was worried.
She wasn't going crazy, was she? Lucy had been standing right in front of Kendall when those elevator doors opened… looking so much like that day… and Kendall was acting so weird. She wanted to believe him that nothing was going on. She could tell that they both had been stressing out about Lucy the past few days since she moved back, but Kendall was definitely hiding something from her, no matter how much she didn't want to admit it she knew all the signs.
How he seemed to rush out and trip over his words as he explained that nothing happened, and how his eyes seemed to be shifting all over, never looking her directly in the eyes. She knew in her heart that Kendall would never cheat on her deliberately…but that didn't mean she could trust Lucy.
She could sympathize with her a little bit. She never wanted to even think about what she would have done if Kendall had chosen Lucy instead. It had been easier to push all her worries away when Lucy had left when Jo returned, and even then it had taken some time and lots of talking for her and Kendall to get back to their old selves again, but now…
Even though she knew Kendall probably wouldn't ever tell her outright, there were obviously things about Lucy that Kendall had liked before, and looking at herself she couldn't help but question what exactly did he see when he saw Lucy, and how did she compare to herself?
She felt torn down the middle, she knew in her heart that she had nothing to worry about. Kendall had spent the last six months showering her with his love every single day. But her brain just wouldn't shut up with the anxieties she felt. Sure, she had let her jealous girlfriend's side shows through in the past, but the worst part wasn't the jealousy that made her feel guilty even when she listened to the green-eyed monster. The worst part was the fear that Kendall could stop loving her someday.
Jo shook her head and watched her blonde tresses shake around her head. She was Jo Taylor, and she knew she would get to the bottom of this and make herself feel happy whether Lucy was living at the Palm Woods or not. She loved Kendall, and Kendall loved her, she knew that would never change.
When she reached for the door handle, it wouldn't budge like it was locked or something, she tried pushing harder but that didn't work. So she pressed her ear to the door, and what she heard was not helping her confidence.
But the moment Jo walked into the bathroom, Lucy once again popped out of nowhere in front of Kendall. "I've been brainstorming some new song titles." She said excitedly.
"Uh um…" In desperation, Kendall tried to open the door, but Jo had locked it behind her.
"What do you think? Escape Is Futile, You Will Be Mine, and Kendall dumped Jo because he realizes he still likes me."
"Look Lucy, I don't know what you think you are trying to do, but I am in love with Jo and I always will, now please go away." Kendall hissed under his breath so hopefully Jo wouldn't hear them.
"How about, I blow you a kiss instead?" Lucy blew Kendall a kiss. "But I don't see Jo here now, so how about we make it a real kiss, since it's been so long…"
"No no. Lucy look I don't want to do anything that will hurt Jo. So, I'm sorry, but I am not interested."
"Fine… but I can wear you down. I still have dibs on you, remember?" Lucy smirked before walking off.
And right at that moment, Jo stepped out of the bathroom. "Did I hear Lucy out here?"
"What no, of course not," Kendall said immediately.
"Are you lying to me?" Jo crossed her arms and looked at him suspiciously
"No, I'm not." Kendall lied once again.
"Ok then, are you still going to follow me around like a puppy?"
"Well it depends, you like puppies right?" Kendall asked jokingly.
"Of course I do what kind of question is that? But only because you're so cute, but yeah." Jo laughed off the joke but was still glancing around suspiciously for any sign of Lucy.
A little while later, Kendall was once again in his apartment and thankfully alone. He had made sure to walk Jo to her apartment and then sprinted to his apartment as fast as possible to make sure he didn't run into Lucy again. He sat down on the couch with a sigh as he tried to think of a more permanent solution. Despite his lying, which he hated doing to Jo, he saw it as the lesser of two evils, because he couldn't scare her with the stress that Lucy was trying to win him back. He knew it would never happen, but he didn't want to worry her.
But just as he did, Lucy slid out of the swirly side with her guitar and notebook in her hands. "Hey, Kendall."
Kendall jumped up from the couch, "Ahh! What are you doing here?"
"Oh relax I was just working on my next hit song, it's about me in a slide with… my guitar and playing a song…"
Right then, they both heard someone knocking on the door, and given Kendall's luck today, he assumed it was once again the worst-case scenario.
"That's Jo! Quick hide in the slide!" Kendall said and he quickly started pushing Lucy to climb up into the slide. Which she did with some mild protest.
"Hi! Jo!" Kendall smiled brightly as she walked into the apartment.
"Hey, listen I wanted to talk to you about…" Jo trailed off and then she walked past Kendall to lift up Lucy's guitar that she had left sitting on the couch. "Is this Lucy's guitar?"
"Uhhh, I mean no, it is Logan's." Kendall lied once again.
"Really? It says Lucy on it."
"That means guitar in Icelandic, it is actually pronounced Lu-Key."
Jo set the guitar back down and walked closer to the slide. "It's just all day long, I've had this feeling like Lucy is coming between us and it's just so frustrating!" Jo finally admitted as she slapped the side of the slide.
Making Lucy slide down to the bottom. "Hey Jo…"
"Uh…" Kendall said, panickily glancing between both girls he was out of ways to spin this situation and Jo was tired of listening to his obvious lies.
Without a word, only one final pained look at him, she ran out of the apartment, and Kendall's only thought was that he had to follow her and beg for her forgiveness.
Kendall finally managed to catch up to Jo in the park. "Jo please wait!" He begged her.
Jo finally turned around with tears falling from her cheeks and a quiver in her voice. "You! You lied to me!"
"Yes, I did lie," Kendall admitted. "Lucy tried to kiss me in the elevator."
Jo had to look away, was today really going to be her worst nightmare after all?
"And I didn't tell you because I thought you might get upset. I was afraid you'd want to break up with me."
"Well yeah, I'd be upset! And what did you do when she tried to kiss you? You didn't actually kiss did you?"
"No, no we didn't. Both times the elevator doors opened before she could. Both times I told her how much I love you and didn't want to ever kiss anyone but you ever again. But she cornered me and we were stuck inside so I couldn't escape until the doors opened."
"Why didn't you tell me? If you had told me that right away I would have believed you."
"I know, but I didn't want you to doubt me, or us. I will always choose you, and no one else."
"But did you really think lying would make me doubt you less? I've been so worried because I know you so well Kendall, and I know when you're lying to me. That's what hurt the most, and it's what made me doubt you. I wanted to trust you, but I just couldn't because I knew you were hiding something even when you didn't admit it. But I have to tell you something too Kendall. I lied too. I did care that Lucy was back. She's so pretty and talented, I was afraid I might lose you too."
"That will never happen. I promise. And I also promise that I will never lie to you ever again."
"Me too." Jo agreed with a smile.
"Me too," Lucy added, and Jo jumped away to stand next to Kendall in surprise. "I'm so sorry. I don't actually want to win Kendall back, I never did. I was just trying to create some drama to help me write some new songs for my album. When Kendall picked you over me, I wrote some of the best songs of my life. But now that I'm over it, I can't write a good song to save my life."
"Well, he is good for inspiration." Jo joked, "he always makes me happy, or when I need to laugh, or like right now, the next time I need to be angry I can think about today." Jo joked.
"Hey… and um Lucy, I just want to say, I'm sorry how everything turned out back then. Nothing would have stopped me from choosing Jo, but I should have at least found you to tell you in person and say goodbye."
"Don't worry Kendall, like I said I am so over you. I was hurt, but that pain allowed me to write my first album and get my first big break. So I should thank you. And once I wrote the songs, the emotions were in the songs instead of me, so I'm doing fine."
"Ok, that's good." Kendall agreed.
"And Jo… I know I should apologize to you, both for the songs inspired by you, and also for today. I'm sorry if I hurt you, and I do honestly wouldn't mind being friends with you." Lucy said, smiling at Jo.
"Yeah, I think I would like that. And this time I do mean it." Jo said. "Maybe I can help you with your songs, I mean if you still want to write songs about Kendall I know plenty of embarrassing stories you can use as inspiration."
"Wait, what?" Kendall asked.
"Oh, and I bet I know some he probably hasn't told you either," Lucy smirked at Kendall.
"See you later babe." Jo pecked Kendall's cheek and then she and Lucy walked back inside chatting away…probably about topics he didn't want them discussing at all.
"What just happened?" He asked himself, but he just focused on the good parts, namely that he and Jo were going to be alright, even if Jo and Lucy teaming up might be a new problem he had never even dreamed of before.
