AN: Welcome back! Thanks so much for reading the last chapter. I'm going to keep this note short. I'm really excited and nervous for you all to read this chapter. I first thought of this fic back in 2013. This is the first scene I thought of. I had no idea I would finally be sharing it with you all five years later. This chapter is the definition of a plot twist, but I hinted and foreshadowed this from the very beginning. This chapter features a character from the past and tests Elle in new ways. This chapter is long but it was needed. I hope you enjoy, go easy on me and let me know what your favorite part was. I'm stoked to share this with you!

My face was pressed into my pillow and I groaned when I realized I was awake. I kept my eyes shut hoping to squeeze in a few more minutes but my stomach rumbled, waking me further. My head didn't move from my pillow as I blocked out the light.

"I'll blow you if you get me a bagel." My voice was raspy and my mouth was dry. "And if you get me coffee I won't wear a bra all day."

This was usually enough to get Kendall up and moving so when I was met with silence I was confused. I sat up, rubbed my eyes and squinted. His side of the bed was empty and his clothes were missing. I was alone, this was new. I had been waking up next to Kendall since Florida, and over the past few weeks it had become one of my favorite things.

"Guess I get the bagel and don't have to blow him," I smirked to myself as I got out of bed. "I'll take it."

After taking a steamy shower and getting dressed for the day, I stepped out of the bathroom and frowned. The room was still empty and there was no sign he had been here. It was almost eight so I knew Kendall was awake, but where was he? I sent him a quick text asking if he was okay.

Read at 7:47 am.

"Huh."

Kendall never left me on read, his response always came quickly. Gustavo had probably needed him for something so I tried not to think about it. I had left most of my things on the bus so I gathered the few items I had brought with me. All I needed now was breakfast and to find Kendall. There was a quick knock at the door and I smiled as I went to open it. I tried to hide my disappointment when I saw Liz.

"Oh, hey, Liz."

She looked confused and feigned hurt. "Clearly I'm not who you expected."

"No, it's not that. I just haven't seen Kendall."

"Gustavo gave the guys an early recording time. He's probably over at the venue on the studio bus." She explained, walking in the room. "So, today's going to be fairly relaxed. You have a songwriting session blocked out so you can work alone, a soundcheck as always and then if you could answer some fan questions on social media that'd be great."

"No interviews?"

"Those are all tomorrow. I need to make a few calls but I will meet you at the venue in a few minutes. Enjoy the day off, it's about to be crunch time."

I laughed. "Liz, everything's going to be great. Things can only get better from here."

The city was rainy and full of people but I was too distracted to feel anxious about it. It was now well after eight and Kendall still hadn't replied to my message. Even though Liz told me he was in the studio he would have replied to me. Hopefully, Gustavo wasn't being too hard on him. I balanced the bag of bagels and the coffees I picked up for us as I walked into the backstage area.

"Morning guys." I greeted. "What's up? Shouldn't you be in the studio?"

Logan and Carlos shared a look and shrugged. James gave me a smile and cleared his throat. There was an elephant in the room. I tilted my head and furrowed my brow.

"Okay, being weird works too." I laughed nervously. "Uh, where's Kendall? He was gone when I woke up and hasn't answered my texts."

"He's um, he's busy."

"You sound really unsure about that Los." They weren't telling me something. "Is he okay? Liz says he was recording."

James' eyebrows were raised and he nodded behind me. "Ask him."

"Hey." I chirped as I started to turn around. "Where did you go this morn-. Oh."

My question died on my lips when I saw him. Or more specifically when I saw them. Kendall's arm was slung around her shoulder and she grinned up at him. Her suitcase was in his hand.

"Jo!" I said a bit too loudly and blinked. "Uh, hey."

She nodded at me. "Hi."

My mouth was agape and I looked between her and Kendall. He avoided my eye and kissed the top of Jo's head. It was jarring and made me cringe. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"This is breaking my fingers. I'm going to stick it in my dressing room." He lifted her suitcase up. "Be right back."

She stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Hurry back."

I felt like I was being punked. What the hell was Jo doing in New York? Why was Kendall kissing her? My heart was in my throat as I watched him walk off. I looked at the guys who all shuffled in their seats. No wonder they had been so strange.

"What are you doing here?" My question sounded demanding so I backpedaled. "I mean, the awards were yesterday."

She flushed a bit. "I know and I feel super guilty about missing them. But I had two days off so I thought I'd come to visit Kendall. He was so excited, he had no idea I was coming but I got to the hotel as he was leaving to grab bagels and coffee."

This confession left my head spinning, all I could do was force the fakest smile. "T-That's cute. Did you have a good flight?"

"Yeah, actually. It was a red eye so I slept most of it."

"Good, that's good." I held up the coffees I bought. "I need to get this to Gustavo. B-Bye."

I fled from the backstage area towards the dressing rooms. My hands were shaking and I felt sick to my stomach. I crashed into Kendall and nearly burned us with the coffee.

"What the fuck is Jo doing here?" I questioned, as my hands shook. "I thought you were over?"

Kendall's shrug was non-committal. "It was more of a break really. I swear, I didn't know she was coming."

This softened the shock a little. "Really?"

"I mean, she told me she had time off around the award show. I said she should come but I didn't think she would." Kendall admitted and cleared his throat. "Listen, she came all the way from Italy to see me. And we had breakfast this morning and I-"

"You what?" I questioned, folding my arms. "You decided to not text me back or fucking warn me?"

"Shh, she'll hear you." Kendall held his hand up to my mouth. "Breakfast was nice and I think, I think we're going to get back together."

My stomach twisted and I inhaled sharply. "What?"

"She wants to try again." Kendall licked his lips and scratched the back of his neck. "I mean, we've been together for almost six years. And besides, we weren't serious. Just do me a favor and don't mention us hooking up to Jo."

I blinked hard and shook my head. "H-Hooking up? That's all this was to you?"

The look on his face was familiar, I had seen it at the start of the summer. "No. Jesus, listen, Len, I like you. But Jo's my girlfriend and I have to stay faithful, I'm sorry."

My teeth were gritted as my eyes burned with the threat of tears. "Y-Yeah, whatever."

His smile was remorseful and he kissed me on the cheek. "It's been fun. Let me figure this out."

I stood there and watched him walk away, from me, from us and what we had. Everything had gone to shit in ten minutes and I was left to pick up the pieces, all on my own.

Things went from bad to worse as the day progressed. Liz had been just as surprised as I was to see Jo. She had offered to make it look like I had to go to a meeting with her but I declined. I was regretting this choice because once she left things were tense. There were no interviews scheduled or meet and greets it was just free time which proved to be torture. The guys finished up their studio session fairly early in the afternoon. This meant Jo was all over Kendall. She held his hand, kissed him, and sat on his lap all while I watched. I had managed to kill a few hours holed up in the studio bus. I wrote a few lyrics but I was mostly distracted. But I was back inside the venue after our soundcheck. I had just finished up a mini Q and A with my fans about the album. Some of them were about Jo being in NYC but I ignored them. Being able to focus on something not related to Kendall had lifted my spirits a little bit.

I had a great time answering everyone's questions. Thanks for hanging out with me and for all your support!

With that, I came out of my dressing room, I could hear them talking.

"Thank god you still hate her. Your flirting looks so real."

Kendall's laugh was hollow. "Hell no, she's a bitch. The guys are all over her and Jett was in town yesterday."

"All her songs about him sound identical. It's so pathetic." She scoffed and sounded haughty. "I mean she fucked him and wants to be the victim."

My stomach felt sick but I just stomped past and tried to ignore it. Our soundcheck was stiff and awkward. When we sang our duet he stayed on the other end of the stage. When it was over he rushed off to make out with her. The guys sent me sad looks and kept offering to hang out but I turned them down. His eyes didn't meet mine once all day. It was like the past month and a half had been erased and undone because when I finally did say something he gave me a dirty look.

"I-I'm going to smoke does anyone want to come?"

Kendall wrinkled his nose. "That's disgusting. You're going to rot your vocal chords from smoking, not that you have the greatest ones now."

His comment was snide and it made me cringe. Where the hell was my Kendall? The one I knew was always down to smoke. He would never have spoken to me like that in the past. I couldn't hold back my comment as I stood up.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were the expert on singing. I guess you did win for Best Summer Single last night, oh wait that was me. Sorry, Kendick."

I could see his jaw clench from where I stood, he put his arm around Jo even more. "At least I didn't have to get naked for another video to make a comeback."

"Fuck you." I spat as I fished out my cigs and lighter.

"Well I see she's still a bitch," Jo said to him. "I'm glad you stopped smoking though."

"Yeah, a b-bitch." He laughed at this but stared at me. "As always."

My feet carried me through the venue and out the back door. I finally let a few tears escape as I tried to light my cigarette, I shakily took a puff and leaned against the wall. He was really acting like nothing had happened between us. He was with her. Last night he had taken my clothes off, called me beautiful, said he wanted me. But today it was like I didn't even exist and neither did the Kendall I had grown to care for. My stomach heaved and I emptied its contents onto the asphalt.

"Shit."

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Do I look fucking okay?" I shouted as I looked up. The guys were all frowning at me. "Oh, sorry."

Carlos handed me his bottle of water so I could rinse out my mouth. "You look sick."

I swished and stuck a piece of gum in my mouth. "Yeah, well, seeing the guy you're with all over his girlfriend can do that."

"He has no right to be such a dick to you. I think he just wants to make it look like things haven't changed." James explained and rubbed my arm. "But it's not excusable."

"What the fuck is Jo even doing here?" I felt tears leak down my face. "Kendall said they were over."

"He came with her to the venue. We were all surprised we thought it was the two of you but here she came. He said they're back together but then she went to make a call, he was stressed." Logan tried to sound reassuring but it failed as I sniffled. "He said he wanted to try with Jo one last time."

A cry bubbled over and James hugged me. "He said we were just hooking up. And I saw him texting her a few days ago, he said he missed her. I feel so fucking stupid."

"Come on, don't cry. If he can't be man enough to end it with her for good it's not worth it."

"Guys." I looked up and Kendall was standing at the door, he squinted at James who held me. "Can I speak with Len?"

After reassuring them I'd be fine, it was just the two of us. Kendall took a long drag of his cigarette and gazed at me. His hair was messy like he kept messing with it the way he did when he got anxious.

"I thought smoking was disgusting."

He was sheepish. "I'm sorry. For all of this, I just, I guess I missed her more than I thought. Did you throw up?"

"Yeah, not that it's your problem. You and Jo are actually making me sick."

"Fuck, baby. I'm sorry." He tucked my hair behind my ear and stroked my cheek with his thumb. "I'm so sorry. I'm falling for you, okay? I'm so crazy about you."

His eyes were full of guilt. "Well, so am I but I guess it was just hooking up."

Kendall stomped out the buds of our cigarettes and kissed me. It was warm and tender and it felt familiar. His arms wrapped around my waist and he pressed me against the building. I turned my head but he still held me.

"Shit. I want you but I owe her another chance."

"You don't get both. All day you've been rude and so has she." I shouted at him as I cried. "I won't fucking deal with it."

He shushed me and groaned. "Just stop, okay? Jo's my girlfriend but I like you a lot. We have fun and I care about you. I don't know what to do."

I was too appalled to even respond. He knew I didn't want to be that girl but he was so casual in suggesting it. I elbowed past him and slammed the door behind me. I was so angry that I was shaking. I got sick again in my dressing room as I pulled on a stage outfit. We were nearing showtime but Liz was nowhere to be found. I was still trying to come to terms with what was happening. Kendall was with Jo again but still wanted to fool around with me. Kendall had acted like there was nothing special between us.

"Just hooking up," I muttered. "But he's 'crazy for me'. What a fucking asshole."

It was like I was on autopilot as I pulled out my phone. Liz said she'd be back soon and to stay out of trouble. If only she knew what was going on right now. Kendall had texted me twice about how he missed me already but then said to not hug him tonight on stage. My temper flared as I opened Twitter, there was a picture of Jo and Kendall at breakfast on my timeline. He was holding her hand across the table and she was laughing. It was like a knife to the chest and I chewed on the inside of my cheek so hard I drew blood. I was focused as I typed. It was impulsive, immature and stupid but so was Kendall. And I didn't care, if he could talk shit about me onstage in front of fans I could do it online. I just needed some kind of control and when I hit post I felt a small weight lift off my shoulders.

That moment when he's too weak to dump his girlfriend but says he's 'crazy' about you...

I settled onto the couch and watched as the replies and retweets started to roll in. Eleanators has always been keen on reading between the lines. For weeks, both they and the media had been wondering if I was dating someone. Kendall had fooled us all. But now fans were putting the pieces together. In a matter of minutes, the tweet had over a thousand likes and replies.

Wait. Elle tweets about someone not dumping his girlfriend the same day Jo comes to see Kendall? That's too weird to be a coincidence.

Soooo did Elle just admit that she and Kendall were fucking? Because it's obvious.

Am I the only one who thought Jo and Kendall were over? They never mention each other and Kendall always looks at Elle like he's falling in love with her.

I told y'all #Kendelle was real. Elle's probably talking about Jo being in NYC. Throw that shade Elle get your man.

Those were just a few of the several thousand tweets. People posted comparison photos. One was of Kendall and Jo at breakfast this morning. Kendall's smile was small and didn't reach his eyes. He looked like the cat that ate the canary. He looked like he had been caught in a lie. Then there was a picture of Kendall and me on the red carpet at last night's award show. He was grinning at me even though I wasn't looking at him, his eyes were soft.

So you're trying to tell me that he's not with, or at least crushing on Elle, and that he's with Jo? The boy has whole ass hearts in his eyes when he's looking at Elle. And then with Jo, he looks bored and sad. And then Elle's tweet? Seems like they were an item.

All the tweets that were pouring in seemed to agree that Kendall and I had been a thing. A few said it was just a coincidence but still thought it was weird. And clearly, the fans weren't the only ones who had seen the tweet. It had been online for 10 minutes or so when I jumped at the unexpected sound.

"Tell me the truth Kendall!" Jo's shouting was muffled as it came through the wall. "Why did she post that?"

Kendall scoffed. "I don't know. I don't follow her every move."

"Yeah, you just look at her like she's the whole world. God, that article said you were in sync like the sun and the planets. And apparently, it's fucking true."

"Jo, you're overreacting. Calm down, it's just a tweet. It could be about anyone."

This must have angered her because she sounded frustrated. "She just so happens to tweet about a guy's girlfriend the day I come to visit? And you two have all this chemistry. Are you sleeping with her?"

I felt a bit guilty about how vulnerable she sounded. Kendall was quiet for a minute. She had been direct and I wondered how he would talk himself out of this.

"Jo, listen. I-I, it's not like that. We've been together for six years."

I could hear her sniff. "That wasn't you saying no."

There was a long tense pause and I heard him sigh. He probably was running his hands through his hair and biting his lip.

"Y-Yeah we slept together." He admitted slowly. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. It didn't mean anything to me, she doesn't mean anything to me."

Jo let out a sad sigh, I was just as shocked as she was. I hadn't expected him to admit it to her.

"When?" She was cold and detached.

"When what?"

She was pissed at his question. "When did you fuck her? How long have you been screwing her Kendall?"

"Uh, it was recent." I could hear him stammering, trying to keep himself from getting into more trouble. "Not long. She's jealous, I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter that she's jealous! You cheated on me! You cheated on me with Elle fucking Harper. You know the two of us never got along and I'm your girlfriend!"

It sounded like she was crying and I felt guilty. I timidly stepped out of my dressing room into the hall. The guys' eyes were full of shock when they saw me.

"Jo, wait where are you going?"

"Back to film my movie. I can't believe you! You told me there was nothing going on between you guys." From where I stood I could see her gathering her stuff. "I believed you! I don't know why because you never look at me the way you look at her."

Kendall was frowning and it almost hurt my heart to see him so sad. But then I remembered how awful he had been to me. He let out a long breath and reached out to her.

"Jo, please."

She stomped out of the dressing room and when she saw me, I braced myself. Her eyes were red and narrowed at me. Her hand was heavy as it went across my face. I cringed and held my cheek. Kendall took a step to stand in the middle of us, his arm stretched out to stop Jo.

"Shit, are you okay?"

"I g-guess I deserve that just a little," I said dryly, trying to lessen the tension. "But it takes two people to have sex."

"You're a slut." She hissed as she jabbed her finger into my chest. "You just had to fuck the guy with a girlfriend. But knowing you, you probably fucked his friends too."

"Jo I'm sorry. He said you were b-broken up. I even asked to make sure, I swear I never wanted to get between you guys."

This fueled her fury because she was shaking and her fists were clenched. She glanced at Kendall and then at me. "Well we weren't, it was a break."

"I'm sorry." I was staring over her shoulder at Kendall. He looked like he was going to be sick. "If we could take it back we would."

Jo's laugh was hollow. "I'm almost glad Jett put out that video of you. At least the world has proof that you're a whore."

I cringed harder at this than I did the slap. There it was again, the video being thrown in my face. There was nothing I could say and Jo turned to face Kendall. She pushed him a little.

"I'm done."

"Jo, don't go. She means nothing to me, nothing." He spat out the word nothing like I was worthless.

"No, she doesn't. If she meant nothing to you, you would have asked me if I was okay, not her. I'm done with all of this." She wasn't angry now, just sad. She spoke to me now. "Have fun being nothing but a whore."

With that she stormed out of the room and down the hall, her suitcase squeaking behind her. Kendall's shoulders slumped as he watched her go, but he made no move to follow. He was trembling and at first, I thought he was crying. But when he turned I realized he was pissed, angrier than I had ever seen him. His face was red and scrunched, his eyes were wild.

"Kendall. I-"

"Shut up!" He shouted and pointed his finger at me. "You're so goddamn stupid! Why the fuck would you tweet that?"

I hadn't expected him to shout at me, it startled me. "I-I'm sorry. I was angry and hurt and-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses. You knew Jo and I wanted to get back together, you knew that. But no, Elle always has to be the star of the show." His volume was growing louder and louder and when I stepped back I was against the wall. "You broke us up!"

"No, you did that when you kissed me, when you slept with me." I shot back, this wasn't all my fault. "You ruined your relationship the moment you decided to sleep with me."

"And that's my fault?" His words were nasty and he gripped my wrist. "You were asking for it, you're always fucking naked."

At that moment the Kendall I thought I knew was gone. The one who kissed me in the music shop, who defended me from Jett, who made me feel beautiful was gone. In his place was the Kendall who belittled me, insulted me and made me feel worthless. His hold on my wrist was tight and painful. His breathing was heavy and ragged.

"F-Fuck you." I was crying and trying to free my arm. "You couldn't keep it in your pants, you said you wanted to be with me."

His scoff was familiar and dismissive. "Are you really crying? You don't get to be sad, everything that happens to you is your fault!"

The impact of his words was enough to make me hit him with my free hand. "I can't take this back and forth anymore. You acted like you wanted to be with me. That you liked me and now you're acting like this. I can't play this game anymore."

"Who said I liked you?"

"You did! Every time you told me you were crazy about me, just now when we were outside you said you were falling for me." It came out as a shy whisper and I stared up at him. "You said I was your girl."

Kendall let out a short, mocking, laugh as he pressed his lips to my ear. "I said you were my girl not that you were my girlfriend. I just wanted to see how easy it was to fuck you. I never liked you, just how easy you were. Jett was right, you're disposable, a whore."

I felt sick to my stomach and when he pulled back he was smug. His words had sent a chill down my spine and I cried a bit harder. He was just mad, he didn't mean this, he couldn't mean it. I was too shocked to speak and tears fell down my face, his green eyes were full of amusement and his hold was still tight.

"You d-don't mean that."

"You're so stupid, did you think I would ever want to be with you? I love Jo, she's my girlfriend. Or she was until you ruined that for me."

When I finally found my voice it was shaking. I was embarrassed but I was also furious as things clicked together. "I am not a whore and I'm not stupid. This isn't my fault. I shouldn't have tweeted but you're a liar. You told me you broke up, you told Jo it was a break. You said you were done with her that you wanted to be with me. None of that was true, was it?"

He avoided my eye. "Shut up."

"That's why you wanted us to be a secret, not because you gave a shit about my music. You didn't want Jo seeing that you cheated." I turned so I was no longer against the wall. "That's why you're so upset because all your bullshit is falling apart."

"I'm not putting up with your shit. I'm done with you, Len."

I stepped out in front of him. "No, admit it to me! You like me and you can't handle that. You're pissed you fucked up."

"Get out of my way!" He ordered and glared at me. "You don't know anything."

Tears still streamed down my face. "No! This isn't all my fault, you said you like me, that you're crazy about me. I'm sorry I tweeted that but you lied to me. I won't say I want you and Jo to fix things, but I won't have you be mad at me."

"Move!"

"No! I'm not done talking about this! I won't be treated like shit, especially when you're wrong." I was louder now and I jabbed my finger in his chest. "You're a coward."

Kendall sucked in a large breath and the next thing I knew I was on the ground. I gasped at the pain in my back, I was shaky as I looked up at him. He stood over me, his chest heaving as he ran his hand over his face.

"You're nothing." His teeth were gritted and his words came out low. "Just do everyone a favor and kill yourself."

I was in shock as I watched him walk away. I was hyperventilating as I covered my mouth and blinked through hot tears. There were no thoughts running through my head. The room was silent, the only sound was the quiet roar of the fans who were eagerly waiting. I barely realized I was on my feet until Logan gently touched my cheek.

"Are you alright?"

My eyebrows were pulled together in confusion as I looked around. Everyone and I mean everyone was watching, even the stage crew. Liz was red in the face and shaking her finger at Gustavo. I had been so caught up in our fight I hadn't even noticed them. Embarrassment and shame washed over me and I sniffled.

"I'm f-fine, fuck him." I rubbed my face and inhaled deeply. "I n-need my mic."

Liz had taken a break from threatening Gustavo to come over to me. Her arm went around my shoulder and she pulled me aside, she wiped my face with a tissue.

"Elle."

"I'm fine, I just need to go on stage." I sounded strained. "It's okay."

"Elle, come on."

I shook my head. "He's just mad, it's fine. If he's anything like Jett he'll apologize and I'll deal with it."

This certainly wasn't the first time Liz had found me crying backstage and all I wanted was to spend time with my fans. My manager sighed and hooked me up to my mic pack and I put in my inner ear pieces.

"Uh, just make sure he doesn't pull any shit on stage. He's unpredictable."

Liz nodded and I walked past the guys on my way to the stage. All of their faces wore sympathetic expressions, they looked disgusted by what they just saw.

"Hey, wait." James stopped me and smoothed my hair down. "Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm just pissed at him."

Carlos rubbed my arm. "It's not your fault. We've never seen him act like that, it was nauseating."

"He's upset he got caught in a lie. We all thought he and Jo were over, he told us they were."

"Well, she didn't get the message," I grumbled and crossed my arms. "I know I shouldn't have tweeted that but-"

Logan held up his hand. "But nothing. You can tweet whatever you want, he shouldn't have done that."

My smile was weak but grateful. Since the beginning of summer, these guys had stood by my side no matter what. I pulled them into a group hug for just a moment.

"Thanks, guys. I appreciate you all so much."

"Anytime." James smiled. "Break a leg."

I was still upset, still sore and still shaken but when I stepped out onstage I felt a little better. The warm lights were soothing and the noise of the fans cleared my head.

"New York City! Are you ready to have some fun?"

The cheers were loud and welcoming and I felt loved. Even if my relationship with Kendall had turned to shit, I still had my fans and right now that's all that mattered to me. Despite all the drama that had occured the first five or so songs went well. As I moved into the newer songs my heart hurt a little. They were all about Kendall, every single one. And now, after everything that happened, I felt dumb. But I pushed through it.

"You make me glow but I cover up and won't let it show." My face pulled into a bit of a frown. "But I'm putting my defenses up, I don't want to fall in love."

Out of habit, I glanced to the side of the stage to smile at Kendall. But he wasn't there, in his place I saw Liz shouting at Gustavo. I swallowed hard and went back to singing. It was then that I noticed a lot of people on their phones. They weren't filming me, they were reading. It dawned on me they probably saw my tweet. I cleared my throat.

"Is everyone having a good time?"

The cheering wasn't as loud as I expected it to be and my stomach twisted. What if they were mad at me for the tweet? Or thought I was being petty? I laughed nervously and out of the corner of my eye, I saw frantic waving. Carlos was practically onstage and so was Liz, they were waving me towards them. I was confused and frowned. During a show you never left the stage, that was an industry practice. Something had to be wrong.

"I'm having some mic problems, sorry guys." I grinned, trying to quell the anxiety I felt. "Back in a flash."

I sprinted off the stage and Liz was quick to take my microphone away. "Come here."

"W-What's wrong?" The tension in the backstage area was tangible and I felt it right away. It was even tenser than it had been twenty minutes ago. The guys seemed angry and Kelly avoided my eye. That's when I noticed Kendall still wasn't back. "Where's Kendall, is he okay?"

He may have treated me like shit but I didn't want him to be hurt or anything. James let out a breath and gave me a fake smile, it did nothing to make me less worried. He looked at Liz who nodded and they both put an arm around me.

"We couldn't let you be onstage. Not while this is happening." Liz began, her words were gentle. "I am going to fix this, I swear to god."

"Fix what?" I pressed, growing annoyed. "What the hell is happening?"

James pushed his phone into my hands. "We're so fucking sorry."

I looked at Logan and Carlos with confusion before looking at the phone. And then it felt like I had been hit by a train, punched in the gut and had the air knocked from my lungs all at once. Tears instantly welled up and I shook my head. I couldn't believe what I was looking at, I blinked. My eyes had to be tricking me.

"W-What?"

Have you ever had one of those moments where life catches you so entirely off guard that you have to look around to see if there are hidden cameras? And it feels like there is no way that the situation could be real? I had experienced that feeling a lot over the past two years, I had felt it earlier today. But this time it really was unexpected.

"This has to be some kind of cruel joke, right?" I questioned, trying to keep the horror from rising in my voice. "I mean you can't be serious about this."

"Elle, we're so sorry."

"This i-isn't happening."

But it was, I was staring at it. The tweet was right in front of me and so were the images.

That moment when she's bitter you just fucked her as a joke.

I could barely comprehend the words because the pictures were what my eyes kept going back to. I stared at myself.

My breasts, my smirk, and my dark eyes stared back at me. I stared at my sleeping body that was wearing nothing but Kendall's shirt.

And most sickeningly of all, I stared at how many retweets it had gotten before it was taken down.

Hundreds of thousands of people had seen it and shared it.

Kendall had posted my nudes, the private pictures I had taken for him on his phone the first night we fooled around. We had admitted our feelings for each other but I hadn't wanted to have sex so I took pictures. He shared a picture of me sleeping in his bed. His hand was in the frame, the stupid matching bracelet I had bought in Virginia proved it was him. He posted them online for the world to see. I felt dizzy and swayed, Logan held me steady. It felt like I was going to throw up but I was too in shock to do it. I could barely get words out let alone be sick.

"T-This isn't happening. It can't be. He w-wouldn't, n-no."

I looked at James' phone again. It was a screenshot of the tweet and pictures. The timestamp was for a half hour ago, right when I took the stage. Things clicked together, the fans had seen it, that's why they had been weird. I cried and shook my head furiously

"He deleted it a few minutes ago but people retweeted it," Liz explained as she held my shoulders. "I can fix this though."

"Where is he?" I croaked, trying to keep myself from falling apart. "Oh my god."

"Elle."

"N-No! Where is he?" I demanded. "He doesn't get to hide from me!"

Carlos pointed towards the hallway that led to the backstage area we were in. Kendall walked into the room, dressed in the outfit he wore for our duet, his jaw was clenched. It took him all of three seconds to see the tears on my face and the phone I was holding. He let out a long breath and his green eyes were full of guilt. He opened his mouth to speak but I didn't let him.

"How could you do this to me?"

He buried his fists in his pockets and sighed. "I was pissed that you b-broke up me and Jo."

"I broke you up? I think you did that when you lied to both of us!" My words were loud and made Kendall jump. "You were mad so you posted my nudes? Those were p-private. You know how I felt about being exposed, especially after the video of me came out."

"Eleanor, s-shit I'm sorry." He was quiet enough so only the two of us can hear. "I'm sorry for all of i-it, this, for shoving you. I'm so fucking sorry. I was mad at you and I know I overreacted."

My fingers gripped the phone so tight that they cramped. I read the tweet over and over, trying to understand what it meant. Tears continued to roll down my face as I stared at my naked self and the words he had used. A joke. None of this made any sense.

"W-what did you mean when you said it was a joke?" My mouth barely opened, I didn't trust myself not to sob. "I-I'm a joke to you?"

Kendall acted like my question was a punch to the stomach. He cringed a little and ran his hand through his hair, he avoided my eye. His mouth was a thin line like he was trying to keep the words from spilling out. I held the phone up to his face.

"That moment when she's bitter you just fucked her as a joke." My words were hollow as I recited the tweet. "What does that fucking mean?"

Kendall shook his head and pushed the phone away from him. "Please don't."

"Tell her Kendall."

We both turned, his friends' faces were wracked with guilt and anger. My stomach sank, what did they know that I didn't?

"Kendall?" I whispered, my heart was already breaking at whatever he was going to say. "Tell me."

His green eyes were unblinking and he folded his arms. He was searching for the right words but he was struggling. "N-No."

"If you don't tell her we will," Carlos said from behind us.

"She deserves the truth, Kendall."

"Just tell her!"

"I'll tell you when we're alone." He took my hand. "We need to be alone."

I shook my head, I was also angry. "Tell me right here, so I know you're not lying to me again."

"Go on Kendall, tell her everything." James' voice was hard. "Now."

His friends' words had gotten under his skin because his temper flared. He dropped my hand and used it to pull at his hair. He was shaking and when he finally spoke it was a frustrated shout.

"It was a fucking bet!"

The words hung in the air, echoing off of the walls. My heart broke into a million tiny pieces and I was horrified. Kendall was talking frantically now, probably trying to explain himself to me. His hands held onto my shoulders and it looked like he was about to cry. But I couldn't hear a single word he said, the only sound was my pulse pounding in my ears. I was crying even harder now and my hands were shaking.

"No." I heard myself choke out. "N-No."

"I'm sorry. I-"

"What do you mean it was a bet?" I asked softly, the words were hard to get out. "Don't lie to me."

He scratched his jaw and swallowed hard. "Someone bet me I couldn't sleep with you before the tour was over."

I was disgusted. "What the fuck. Who?"

He ducked his head and squeezed his eyes shut like he was trying to wish away what was happening.

"Who was it?" I insisted as I bit the inside of my cheek. "Who the fuck put you up to this?"

He refused to let his eyes meet mine. His words were lost in his mumbling. But I heard just enough to burst into tears again. It sent a shock through my system and the hairs on my neck stood up.

"Jett." He said miserably, still not looking at me.

It was like a shot to the chest. A chill washed over me.

"No." I breathed and took a step back from him. "You didn't, y-you wouldn't."

"Baby, god, it was a mistake."

"What proof does he have?" The thought of Jett seeing me naked made me want to collapse. "I want to see what you sent him."

Kendall was against this right away. "No. It's just what I tweeted."

"Show me! You owe me that much."

After a moment of hesitation, Kendall handed me his phone. He had pulled up the texts between himself and Jett. The most recent one was enough to make my head spin.

Damn, I guess you are sleeping with her. Probably not anymore because you were a dumbass and tweeted it.

I scrolled up to see the only things he had sent were the three nudes he had posted online. The more I scrolled the more infrequent their texts got. Jett would ask how it was going and Kendall would tell him to fuck off. This left me with more questions than answers. If he was so annoyed with Jett why did he do it? Why would Jett even care enough?

"How could you do this to me?" I took a step away from him, I didn't want him near me. "You didn't just think of this."

Kendall looked around the room, for an escape. "Can we talk in private?"

"No! You forfeited any privacy when you posted those pictures." I was so angry that I was almost numb. "I can't believe you. How long has this been planned?"

"Baby, listen-"

"Don't call me that." I seethed.

"Eleanor." He cleared his throat. "I thought you were a bad p-person. I agreed to this before I met you, it was supposed to be a dumb joke. Jett said you were easy and when he found out you were opening for us, he thought it would be funny. I-I only agreed because of how you used to be shitty to Jo and I knew Jett would get under your skin. He didn't think you'd make a comeback and I wanted to get back at you for being rude to Jo. It's so stupid, I know it is. I'm sorry, Len."

This confession made me sick to my stomach. Jett had been behind all of this, Kendall had no idea how deep this went. It was all a joke to him, it had all been a giant joke. I had been a giant joke to him. I was surprised I still had tears left to cry as I sobbed. It wasn't even a good reason to agree to the bet. My behavior towards Jo had been because she sided with Jett when the tape came out and had been rude to me when I visited the set of their show.

"That's so stupid, you're an idiot." I shook my head and held my hands up. "That's not a reason to do this to a person. You were awful to me at the beginning of the tour. Why? If it was all a bet, why did you make me feel like shit?"

Kendall patted the pocket he kept his cigarettes in, his stress was obvious. "Part of it was b-because I wanted to get even, and the other was because I didn't want to see you as anything more than what Jett said you were."

"So you wanted to see me as a whore? A conquest?" My voice was small. "You're unbelievably disgusting."

"I'm so sorry."

A thought occured to me and I turned around. Logan, James, and Carlos had been mostly silent since Kendall showed his face. They stood a few feet away along with the crowd that had gathered once again. They looked choked up over all of this but that didn't stop me from speaking to them. My heart was already broken but I needed to know.

"We're you in on t-this?"

The three of them shared a look and it was Logan who was brave enough to talk. "On the bet?"

My stomach sank and all I could think of was the way Jett's friends had laughed as I had been drugged. Had they laughed at me behind my back? Did Kendall make jokes about me to them? Had they tried to sleep with me too?

"Did you set me up like Jett and his stupid friends? Did you know about this?"

I was yelling at them and they jumped. James covered his mouth with his hand and looked away.

"James?" I whispered and sniffed. "P-Please."

He let out a sigh. "We knew, h-he mentioned it. But we had no part in this, I swear to god. We told him how shitty it was."

"Is this true?" I turned to Kendall. "Or did Jett try to get them to sleep with me too?"

Kendall was quick to shake his head. "He's telling the truth, they tried to talk me out of it."

"And for the most part, we did. I mean, we thought he dropped it because you two had your own game going."

There were a million thoughts running through my mind at once. But a particular moment stood out to me for some reason, James' words had jogged my memory. It had been in Chicago, the night we filmed my video. I had been getting ready to go on set when I heard them talking.

"We all see how you look at each other, is this still the bet you told us about?" James' voice had been hushed. "Because we still think it's fucking shitty and gross."

Kendall had responded by saying no. I let out a confused groan and rubbed my fists into my swollen eyes. I was hurt and angry and Kendall's motives made zero sense.

"S-See babe? It stopped being a bet as soon as you and I got close." Kendall said quietly as he grabbed my hand. "I just sent that tweet because I was mad. I'm so fucking sorry. I messed up and I know that, but it wasn't always a bet. It was just before I met you and the first few weeks of the tour."

"Let go of me." I pleaded and pulled my arm back. "I don't care what it was, I care that you exposed me."

Kendall was insistent. "But then I fell for you, I swear to god I forgot all about that bet."

For the first time, I realized what a bet meant. He had been trying to fuck me to gain something. "What did you bet?"

He hadn't been expecting that. "What do you mean?"

"What was your prize for getting proof that you fucked me?"

"Eleanor, no."

"Tell me!"

Kendall ran his hand through his hair. "If I proved it by the end of the tour, it was $500 and bragging rights."

A mortified gasp worked its way out of me. "500 bucks and bragging rights are all I-I'm worth to you?"

"No. God, no." He said quickly as he shushed me, he looked ready to faint. "This was before I knew you, before I realized how amazing you are. You're priceless, baby."

"Don't call me baby!" I shouted and another thought dawned on me. "Don't call me that, don't touch me! You horrendous asshole."

"Shh, please just let me explain." He pleaded, he was in tears. "Len, please."

"No! T-That night, after that dad yelled at me at a restaurant you were on the phone." I was quiet as the pieces clicked together. "Do you remember?"

The look of pain on his face made it clear that he did. "Y-Yeah."

"I wanted to thank you for standing up for me. You said his name on the phone but then hung up and said it was J-Jo." I held onto my stomach, trying not to get sick over the implications of this. "You lied, you were talking to him about me, weren't you?"

He knew he was caught so he just nodded. "He wanted to see how it was going. But if you remember I told him I wasn't sure about the bet."

As much as I wanted to say I didn't, I could still hear his voice. I could practically see him rolling his eyes at whoever had been on the phone. Now I knew it had been Jett.

"I just think it's sketchy and disgusting. I'll keep it in mind though but still, I don't know Jett-"

That had been when he saw me, he had acted like it was his girlfriend before hanging up. But that didn't change the fact that he had betrayed me, that he had stooped low enough to embarrass me, to shove me. It didn't make those pictures disappear.

"That doesn't make up for any of this."

"I-I know and I'm sorry. I want to fix this."

I threw my hands up. "You think you can fix this? Hundreds of thousands of people have seen me naked. I look like an idiot and you pushed me. There is no fixing this!"

Kendall's quiet tears had been replaced by frustration. "I screwed up! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. But you can't look at me and say you didn't have feelings."

"Maybe I did, but you didn't. You were always a dick, you were a bigger one than I thought." I shouted back at him and ripped off my mic pack. "You made me doubt myself all summer and when we finally got close you did this. I'm done, K-Kendall. I'm over it."

As I pushed by him my heart was racing. He gripped my arm and turned me towards him. "S-Stop. What are you doing, where are you going?"

"I have to g-go." I was panicked at the thought of what was happening. "Let me go."

"Go? Go where?"

My anxiety was crippling and everything was out of focus. I wasn't looking at Kendall, I was looking at a stranger and my world was falling apart. Everything was wrong, it was ruined. My life, my comeback, everything was tarnished. I could hear the fans who were just a few feet away. The thought of all their eyes on me, on the tweet and pictures, made me dizzy. Everyone was looking at me, it felt like I was naked in front of a crowd. Which thanks to him, I was.

"I h-have to go. I'm done."

I freed myself and elbowed him as I passed. All I wanted was to disappear, I wanted to sink deep into the earth and never come back. But first I had to get away from all these fucking people. Away from him.

"It may have started as a bet but that d-doesn't matter now." His voice was trembling. "Eleanor."

"How can you say it doesn't matter?" This did nothing to stop me from trying to leave. I didn't even turn around, I couldn't look at him. "It was all a lie."

"It doesn't matter what it started as." He paused for a moment. "It doesn't matter because I'm f-falling in love with you."

This made me stop short, all the air was gone from the room. I slowly turned around and when I saw him, my mouth went dry.

"What?"

His green eyes were full of anguish and he looked desperate. He was reaching out to me, his pink lips were pulled into a faint and bittersweet smile.

"It may have started as a bet. But it was real, everything I felt, everything I said to you was real." And then he said it again, full of confidence this time. "I love you."

In his mind, this was probably meant to fix everything. It was supposed to make me stay and tell him it was all going to be okay. Which was probably why the way I broke down made him frown. My tears were hot and my body heaved.

"I d-don't care."

He moved towards me, trying to close the gap. "Why not? I do, I know that now. I'm falling in love with you. I have been all summer."

He flashed me that smile, the damn smile that started it all. It was soft and gentle, all the things he hadn't been today, that he had never been. It was like a knife to the chest. My words were pitiful as they came out as a whimper.

"Because I don't know if it's a bet to make me say it back."

His face fell and he put his hands on my hips. They felt foreign and were rough against my bare skin. I pushed him with all the force I had, he stumbled back.

"Don't touch me, don't you ever touch me."

Before he could react I took off for my dressing room. I slammed the door behind me and broke down for a moment. It felt like I was going to be sick but my instinct to flee propelled me forward. I shoved the belongings I had brought with me into my bag, paying no attention to where I put things. I just had to go, I had to leave this venue, this city, all of it.

I was crying as I ripped off my stage outfit. I pulled on the clothes I had worn earlier, the door opened a crack. Kendall was trying to get in and I shook my head.

"L-Leave!" I hurled one of my stage heels at him. "I don't want to look at you!"

Clearly, he wasn't good at following directions because he came inside. He watched as I sped around the room, shoving clothes and my computer into my bag. I was probably forgetting some things but it didn't matter. I had to get out of here, it felt like the walls were caving in on me. I zipped my bag shut and threw it over my shoulder.

"Move."

Kendall was blocking the doorway and when he saw my bag he let out a sigh. "You're leaving?"

"Obviously, now move Kendick."

He stepped out of my way but held onto the strap of my bag. "Baby please."

Liz forced herself between us, she looked ready to cry too. "Elle."

"I-I know I didn't finish my set but I h-have to go," I begged. "Please don't make me go out there."

She nodded and wiped my cheeks with her thumbs. "Shh, you don't have to. Do you want me to come with you?"

I looked over at Kendall who had tears in his eyes. "Stay here and make sure he doesn't fuck up my life any more than he already has."

With that, Liz kissed me on the cheek and I hoisted my bag higher on my shoulder.

"Wait, let me come with you." Kendall struggled to keep up with how quickly I walked. "Baby, please. I'll come with you and we can talk about all of this. I'm so sorry. You're leaving me? You can't."

I turned on my heel, my teeth were gritted. "I'm not yours, you don't own me. I'm leaving this tour, this stupid city, and all your bullshit. I quit."

Kendall was frantic and he let out a strangled cry. "Please don't go."

"Don't let him follow me," I asked Liz and the guys. "I h-have to go."

The door I went out led out to a busy street. The sudden sound of traffic and pouring rain was jarring compared to the relative quiet of the venue. I flagged down a taxi and flinched when I heard him.

"Get off of me!"

I turned to see Kendall in the doorway. James and Carlos had a grip on his arm as he tried to pull him back inside. But Kendall shook his friends loose and made a break for it. I slipped into the taxi.

"Airport, please. I don't care which one."

Kendall tried to open the door and knocked on the window. His teary eyes matched mine but I watched as Logan and James forced him away.

"Len, I'm sorry!"

"Is he coming too?"

I held Kendall's gaze for a moment before shaking my head. "No, we can go."

The taxi pulled out onto the busy street. And through the rain and windshield wipers, I peered out the back window. Kendall stood there, tears in his eyes, watching me leave.

"Elle! Are you dating Kendall?"

"Elle! Did you break up Jo and Kendall?"

I covered my face and pushed my sunglasses further up my nose. I had been at the airport for all of ten minutes and the press had spotted me. They flocked around me and the flashes from the cameras were dizzying. I bit back a sob as I bought a last minute ticket. It was a one way back to Los Angeles, I was going home. The tour was over for me and I knew I wouldn't be coming back to New York for a long time.

"Why would he post your nudes?"

"Leave me alone," I begged as I made my way to security. "Ask him, it's his fault, not mine."

In some ways, it was almost cinematic. The rain, the press, the bright lights of New York City, it was like a cheesy rom-com. But this time there wouldn't be a happy ending, the leading man wouldn't stop me from getting on a plane at the last second. There would be no kiss or declaration of love. And even if there was, it wouldn't change anything. When I finally settled into my seat, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Miss, you're going to have to turn your phone off in a few minutes."

The flight attendant pulled me from me from my thoughts. It was then I noticed that my phone was vibrating furiously. It was loud enough for all of the first class section to hear.

"Y-Yeah, sorry." I was a bit dazed. "When we take off can I please get a drink? Something strong."

She nodded before moving on. My phone buzzed again, it was Kendall. In the short time, it took me to get to the airport, buy a ticket and board my flight he had called me twenty-three times. There were a dozen texts from him, all begging me not to go.

I declined them all. Maybe he'd call me someday and realized he had run out of chances. But for now, I opened my Twitter. My mentions were flooded with the pictures and now there was a video. Apparently, someone backstage had gotten a small clip of Kendall and I fighting. I didn't care though, for the second time today I tweeted.

I shared three pictures, just like he did. One was a selfie when we had our beach date. His lips were pressed to my cheek and we held up our wrists to show off our matching bracelets. The next was one of us in bed, we both had sex hair and smiles on our faces. And finally, there was the one his friends had taken. We were asleep, I was in his hoodie and he held me close. He had stood up for me that day. That had been the day I started to see how great he actually was. The caption was simple.

This is what he didn't show you.

I uploaded it and sent Liz a text, saying that I was about to take off. After that I turned off my phone, I was done with the world. I didn't want to see anyone or be seen.

"I'm done." I thought as we moved down the tarmac. "I'm done with all of this."

The plane lifted into the sky and I looked down at the city beneath me. New York had always made me anxious. It made me feel alone and unseen. Or at least it used too. My life had just fallen to pieces for everyone to see. But now, as I climbed higher and higher into the sky I was grateful for the anonymity that used to make me nervous. This summer was supposed to be my fresh start. I was supposed to make a comeback and prove that I was more than the Jett incident. I had never planned on Kendall and I getting together. I never thought I'd fall for him. And I guess it had been too good to be true. My heart hurt as I replayed everything that had happened today. All the hard work I had put into cleaning up my image was gone. All the progress I had made in order to overcome my trauma so I could be close to Kendall was undone. My private life and public humiliation were on display for everyone below to see.

But for now, I disappeared into thin air.

AN: Ah! Things really took a turn this chapter. Not once, not twice, but three times! Did any of you see this coming? I've been subtly hinting at this from the start, from the first line of this fic. I've tried to show that Kendall has a temper and it can get the better of him. I think all of the events and stress went to his head. But also, let's talk about Jett and how he put Kendall up to this. I've hinted at this too but it will become clear in chapter 24. And of course, let's talk about our girl Elle. She left the tour and has been exposed once again. She's strong but this was a shock. Finally, Kendall said he's falling in love with her! God, I'm so glad this chapter is finally out for the world to see. I'm still so nervous about how you all are going to react to this. If it seems out of character just hold on to that thought because all has not been revealed. Elle still has a few secrets up her sleeve and so does Kendall.

Chapter 24 should be up the week after next just because I want to do it justice. Stylistically it will be a bit different. I can't wait for you to read it. But until then, let me know what your favorite part was and what your reactions were. My favorite parts were the fight when Jo found out Kendall was lying to her and when Kendall admitted he was falling in love with Elle. And of course, the final scene where Elle left. What was your favorite? Thank you so, so, so much for reading and reviewing.