"James!" I exclaim, knocking on the door.

"Oh, it's you." I say, as Kendall opens the door.

"Is James here?" I ask, slowly making eye contact with him.

"He's in the shower. Why do you ask?"

"Since Lucy invited me to hang earlier, I thought James could go with me." I say and for a second, his eyebrows twitched, but I shrugged it off.

"Okay, you can wait inside if you'd like." He says.

"Thanks." I nod and he opens the door wider, letting me in.

I take a seat on the couch and scratch the itch I have on my leg.

"Hey Amber." A high pitch voice says, swirling down the slide.

"Sup Katie." I say and she fist bumps me, leaving a curious Kendall as she walks away.

"Since when did you come buddy-buddy with my sister?" He asks.

"Since yesterday." I say in an obvious tone. 

"Why?"

"Because she's cool. And you know, not you." I state and he rolls his eyes.

"You should keep rolling your eyes, maybe you'll find a brain back there." I state and he squints his eyes at me.

"Real mature." He sarcastically says.

"More mature than you, lasher outer." I snap.

"Ms. Stubborn." He says, crossing his arms, walking toward me.

"Asshole." I spit, getting up from the couch.

"Stuck up." He says, getting in my face.

"Player." I say, squinting my eyes at him and he clenches his fist on his sides.

We stare at each other a little longer and I couldn't help but fall into his olive green eyes.

"What is going on?" A voice says and I break the intense eye contact with Kendall.

"Nothing, everything is fine. I was just gonna ask if you'd like to join Lucy and I at the pool tonight." I grin at James.

"Sure." He shrugs.

"I'll be there too." Kendall says and I give him a quick glare.

"See you at 8." I say to James, then kissing his cheek.

Kendall's jaw locks and I head out, shutting the door behind me.

I got this.

||

"What took you so long?" I groan at James.

"I was doing my hair! Don't underestimate the power of...the face." James says, fixing his hair and I roll my eyes.

"C'mon. There they are." I say as I see Lucy laughing with Kendall.

I intertwine my arm with James's and we walk over.

"Hey guys." I mutter.

"Hey." Lucy grins.

"I'm James." He says in a seductive voice and Lucy chuckles.

"I know. Kendall already told me about you guys." She nods.

"So, why'd you come to the Palm Woods?" I ask, flipping my hair.

"Well, I moved here to become a rockstar. I also wanna study more instruments than just the guitar and piano." She says and I nod.

"What about you?"

"Well uh, I've been here for over six months now and it's pretty great. I'm signed to Rocque Records and so are the guys."

"He yells a lot." James chimes and I playfully swat him on the arm.

I give James a smirk and I can just feel Kendall's eyes burning into mine.

"James, can you get us some lemonade?" Lucy asks.

"Sure." James nods and gets up.

"So, are you and him a thing?" She smiles.

"Uh, me and who?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"You and James!"

"Oh. Uh, we've been getting really close so, anything could happen I guess." I shrug.

"Well, I think you guys could make a cute couple. Don't you think?" Lucy says the last part to Kendall.

"Yeah, don't you think Kendall? I need some honest feedback." I say, raising my eyebrows at him.

"Yeah, I'd say so. He's just like you. Funny, stuck up, stubborn and self centered." He says, leaning closer to meet my stare.

I squint my eyes at him in annoyance and Lucy raises a confused eyebrow.

"Okay, why don't we play truth or dare?" She suggests as James comes back just in time.

"Ooh, I pick truth!" James exclaims.

"How many bottles of hair gel have you used?" I ask him.

"Uh, about a hundred." He shrugs and my eyes widen.

"Truth or dare?" James asks me.

"Truth."

"Do you have a crush?"

"Uh, I don't really know. I'm starting to bond with a lot of new people but there is someone." I smirk at him.

"Truth or dare?" I ask Lucy.

"Dare." She grins.

"I dare you to whack Kendall on the head." I say, grimacing at him.

"What?" Kendall says with wide eyes.

"Okay." She shrugs and gives Kendall a whack.

"Ow!" He exclaims, rubbing his head.

"This game is fun." I slur with a hand under my chin.

"Truth or dare?" Lucy asks Kendall.

"Yeah Kendall, truth or dare?" I spit, glaring at him and his jaw locks.

"Truth." He finally says, squinting his eyes at me.

"Why did you become friends with Lucy?" I ask.

"Because she's cool, nice, has great hair and you know, isn't you." He spits and my jaw locks.

"Thanks." Lucy awkwardly scoffs.

"Truth or dare?" Lucy asks me.

"Dare." I shrug.

"I dare you to kiss James." She smirks and I freeze for a second.

"Okay." I huff and look at James.

I give him a nod and he leans in, as so do I.

"No, no, no!" Kendall's voice shouts and he pushes James, making him fall.

"Kendall!" I shout, helping James up and I fix his hair.

"What is wrong with you?" I say.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Lucy says.

"Look, I really like you but, can we be friends?" I hear Kendall mutter to Lucy.

"Course." She grins and pats his shoulder.

"I'll see you idiots tomorrow." She grins, walking away.

"Wait, you're not mad?" I ask.

"No. I kinda caught on quickly." She winks at me, tuning on her heels.

"James, I need to speak to Kendall alone." I state.

"You owe me lemonade!" He exclaims at Kendall and walks away.

I turn back at him, whacking him on the head.

"Ow! Stop doing that!" He says with wide eyes, rubbing the back of his head.

"What was that about?!" I say through gritted teeth.

"I couldn't let you kiss James." He huffs.

"Why? It was a dare. It means nothing." I scoff.

"Yeah, maybe to you. But it does to me." He says, scratching his head.

"Kendall, what are you saying?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"I like you Amber. Like, a lot." He finally says.

"I...like you too." I trail off, coming closer to him and he lets out a smile of relief.

"So, what now?" He asks.

"This." I say, pushing him into the pool.

"Dipshit." I say and he laughs, wiping his eyes.

"Is that even a real word?" He chuckles.

"It is now." I say, flipping my hair.

"If I'm here, you're coming down with me." He says and grabs my hand, pushing me into the pool.

"Kendall!" I shout.

I open my eyes and see his arms around me, protecting me from the hard fall.

"I'm sorry, for everything. I would never, ever do anything to hurt you." He says, water dripping down his cheeks.

"I know." I say, brushing the pads of both my thumbs on his cheek.

"Amber, I'm crazy for you."

"You got the crazy part right." I say and he scoffs.

He slowly leans in and kisses me.

I wrap my arms around his neck and he pulls me closer to him.

I missed his lips.