#mrs. knight

[inkameswetrust]

a while ago i think i reblogged a post from @invadericee who said they'd love to see more btr as vines videos saur............... here ya go! sorry it took so long tho, i want you to know i was fully serious abt making this

[invadericee]

I want a Jennifer Knight edit to 1985 covered by bowling for soup

That's it. That's the post.

[allthistrashtalkmakemeitchin]

Ghostwriter CH 17

Unbetad Unedited Unhinged || AO3 / Wattpad

Character(s): Kendall Knight, James Diamond, Carlos Garcia, Logan Mitchell, Mercedes Griffin, Gustavo Rocque, Kelly Wainwright, Mrs. Knight, Katie Knight, Veronica Clark oc, Curt Haverfield

Pairing(s): Kendall Knight/Veronica Clark, James Diamond & Veronica Clark, Kendall Knight & James Diamond & Carlos Garcia & Logan Mitchell

a/n: because Ronnie's birthday is next week I want her birthday ch to be the only ch I put out that week

“Alrighty!” Mercedes pulled the brush away from his face and smiled. “Now, Daddy says that when you go out there, you must advertise RCM CBT Globalnet Sanyoid as much as possible.” 

“Mercedes, I can handle this.” Curt chuckled and gently swatted her hands away. The makeup on his face felt strange, but he would get used to it eventually. Thus was the price of Hollywood. “Have you ever gone on live television before? No? I didn’t think so.” Mercedes popped her gum and packed away the makeup she had brought because she believed she was far more competent than the makeup artist on the team. 

“It’ll be fine. I don’t need the cue cards your dad made for me.” Curt put the stack of cards on the table. “I’ll be myself, and it will be fine.” 

“Uh, no.” Mercedes planted her hands on her hips. “It will not be fine. Stick to the cue cards, and whatever you do, do not answer honestly. They’re looking for drama, if anything, and you cannot give it to them.”

“The RCM-CBT segment is on in five!” Someone in the distance called. 

Mercedes giggled and clapped. “You’ll do great! Don’t forget to have fun!” 

Curt waved her off and hopped out of the chair. He smoothed down his custom RCM DBT jersey, a gift from Arthur Griffin. It was his official debut as a player on the L.A. Kings and being sponsored by RCM CBT Globalnet Sanyoid. Pushing his shoulders back, he took a deep breath and waited for his cue. The interviewer was a gorgeous woman. Silk-pressed brown hair was cut into an angeled bob, and she wore a satin lavender dress. The backdrop was a mix of yellow, purple, and white—the colors of his hockey team. The interviewer stood up and gestured to the left of the stage. The blonde took this as his cue to walk out. The live studio clapped and cheered as the bright lights of the stage hit him. He squinted but continued walking. 

“Thank you for coming on the show.” The interviewer sat down again, and Curt did the same. 

“Well, thank you for having me…” 

“I’m Lindy Lam, and in today’s segment, we’re interviewing the youngest player of the L.A. Kings.” She spoke to the camera with her signature television smile. “Just a couple of days ago, you were signed onto the team after CEO Arthur Griffin of RCM CBT Globalnet Sanyoid offered to endorse them.” 

“That’s right, Lindy,” Curt chuckled and tried to relax under the lights. He was starting to understand why Griffin had given him cue cards. 

“Speaking of which, I see you’re representing RCM CBT Globalnet Sanyoid on your jersey.” 

“Yes,” Curt nodded and pulled at his jersey. He turned to give the camera a more precise shot. “It was a gift from Arthur Griffin.” 

“Would you say you’re close with Arthur Griffin?” She framed her question as an accusation. 

“If you’re saying that I got accepted by the L.A. Kings because of Arthur Griffin, I have no idea where you heard those rumors. I barely knew him before I came to California.” 

“Right,” Lindy’s smile pulled tighter. She was not happy about his answer. “Our sources say you’re from a backwater town in North Carolina.” 

Curt choked on his saliva. 

“Roxobel may be a small town, but it is not some backwater town.” He tensed up. The last thing he needed was for the tabloids to spin him into this caricature of an idiot. 

“You have quite a temper.” Lindy laughed lightly, and Curt joined in to make it seem like he let her comment roll off his back like water. 

“Now, your face has been plastered all over the media. Fans alike have been dying to know, who is this girl?” Lindy pulled a remote out of nowhere, and on the projector screen behind them was a picture that made Curt’s blood run cold. 

The paparazzi had taken a photo of him and Ronnie on one of their dates. The wind blew through her hair, and she clung to his arm. He flushed and scrambled for something to say that wouldn’t raise suspicion or paint anyone negatively. Lindy looked at him expectantly as he sat there floundering for an answer. 

“From the intel we gathered, she isn’t a supermodel, movie star, singer, or famous. Who is she?” The cameraman panned to Curt, and he started sweating. 

“Well…” He cleared his throat and shuffled around, gripping the armrests with white knuckles. “Lindy, she is my girlfriend. Ronnie Clark, she’s writing songs for Big Time Rush.” 

“Oh?” Lindy turned to the audience and gasped. “How did you two meet? Is she a fan of the L.A. Kings?” 

“She’s a hockey fan, alright.” Curt laughed. “Of course, because she’s dating me, she’s decked out in L.A. Kings memorabilia.” 

“Will we see her support you at your first game from the stands?” 

“Oh, I hope so.” Curt turned and winked at the camera. He had a feeling Ronnie was watching the channel. She seemed like the type of girl to watch celebrity gossip. She was a simple girl and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. That’s why he liked her. 

“We cannot wait to catch up on your whirlwind love story.” Lindy laughed. “But do tell me, are you threatened by the rising boyband Big Time Rush?” 

“What? No,” Curt scoffed. “They care about her a lot, and it’s not her fault if they find her attractive. She’s a gorgeous girl.” 

“I bet she’s happy to hear that.” Lindy chuckled. “You seem so secure in your relationship. This is quite an exquisite thing that two teenagers rarely share.” 

Curt’s smile faltered. Lindy leaned over and patted his knee. 

“Oh, no, no. I don’t mean that as an insult. It’s just something you don’t see often.” She smiled at the audience. 

“I didn’t think it was an insult.” The blonde tensed up. The stage lights were hot, and sweat dotted his forehead. 

Ronnie knocked on the door to apartment 2J, and luckily, James opened the door. Her hair was damp and dripping on an old t-shirt. James gave her a confused look and raised a brow. She was dying her hair, but for some reason, after she mixed the bleach and picked it up with the brush that came in the box, she dropped the mixing bowl and began to panic. The songwriter could have very well texted him, but she had forgotten her phone in the living room of her apartment. 

“Are you okay? What’s wrong?” 

“I need you to dye my hair.” She grabbed his shirt sleeve and pulled him down the hall without much explanation. The brunette shut the door and let her drag him wherever she was going. 

It wasn’t hard for people to be friends with James. He was easy to talk to and incredibly comforting, but Ronnie somehow clicked with him effortlessly. After a month, James didn’t question it whenever she asked for his help. Logan would chastise her about dying her hair at home, Carlos probably had no idea what to do, and Kendall would argue. At least James knew about proper hair care because his hair was his best feature. Mr. Clark didn’t ask when the brunette crammed into the small bathroom with her and thrust the mixing bowl into his hands. Curt’s interview on Starstruck was on the television in the living room. It was weird that Mr. Clark was watching it, but maybe he had put it on for Ronnie. James looked down at the mixing bowl of hair bleach and then put it on the counter. A box of rubber gloves had been haphazardly thrown into the mess. As a precaution, he feared ruining his hands with hair bleach. James put on the rubber gloves. He snapped the elastic against his wrist for fun, and the songwriter cringed. 

“Sorry, sorry.” The singer gave her an apologetic smile. “What color are you dying your hair? It’s been blue for quite a while.” 

“Green, I want to dye it green, but I just– I’ve done my hair for so long, but now the bleach makes my skin crawl.” 

“You’re lucky I know how to do hair, or else we would have a bigger problem.” James chuckled. 

“You don’t mind dying my hair?” 

“What? No.” James rolled his eyes and tsked. “I’d rather you not botch your hair color, and this is better than not dying it at all.” 

“Thanks,” 

“Don’t mention it, Ronnie. I’m happy you asked me.” 

Ronnie sat patiently while James worked the bleach through her hair. He was gentle even though he didn’t need to be and didn’t want to ruin her hair. Dyeing her hair took about an hour, including waiting for the color and then rinsing it. While the two waited, they watched Curt’s interview in the living room. Mr. Clark was eating cereal and looked to be intently watching the interview. He glanced at Ronnie out of the corner of his eye. 

“Isn’t that your boyfriend?” He asked. 

Ronnie squeaked, and her face flushed. In the blink of an eye, her dad started showing support for the L.A. Kings when he found out his daughter was dating a soon-to-be player. At least, now Curt was a player. Ronnie noticed her picture on the screen and her shoulders hunched up. The paparazzi had taken that picture on their first date. She was wearing the outfit James had picked out. 

“Hey! Didn't I throw that outfit together?” James pointed excitedly at the screen. “See? I told you, you look awesome.” He nudged Ronnie gently, and she nodded absentmindedly. 

If her picture was on celebrity gossip television, there was no telling how Gustavo and Kelly would react. When it was time to rinse her hair, she locked herself in the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned. Ronnie hadn’t noticed how dark the circles under her eyes were. The water from the shower head ran cold, and she flipped her head over and stuck herself under the ice-cold water without warning. She shut her eyes and let the water assault her skin and hair. The cold water pulled her into the present. When she goes to work tomorrow, Gustavo and Kelly will tell her how they felt about the interview. Gustavo would express how disappointed and upset he was about the interview, which would cause Kelly to attempt to calm him down.

Who knows? Perhaps Griffin would visit to chat with her about how the interview would be a smear for RCM CBT Globalnet Sanyoid. It had been a while since Ronnie had talked to him, but he was giving them time to finish the second album. They had another three months to arrange and produce music for a second album. Once again, Ronnie’s career depended on how much Griffin liked the album. Each morning she woke up, she would pray that Griffin would like the album they were working on because she wanted to stay in Los Angeles. The songwriter had friends she cared about, and she was making a name for herself. It would be a cruel twist of fate if she and her father were sent packing because the album wasn’t to Griffin’s liking. Stuck in her thoughts, she didn’t know how long her head had been underwater, but the water ran clear. Ronnie took the old bleached stained towel and used it to dab at her hair to get rid of the excess moisture so she could wrap the towel around it. Maybe Kendall would be surprised she changed her hair color. Part of her was hoping he was surprised for some reason. Oddly enough, his opinion meant more to her than it should. She didn’t know why, but she hoped Kendall liked that she changed her hair color. If anything, it might even catch his attention. Ronnie stepped out into the living room. Her phone started ringing, and the sudden noise made goosebumps pepper her arms. 

~ ~ ~ 

“Veronica, tell me why you were on television.” 

The green-haired girl just opened the door when Gustavo stopped her in the doorway. Admittedly, she had been worrying about their reactions since she saw the interview. Kendall and James shared worried glances. The boys knew better than anyone that their producer could blow up over the most minor things. Ronnie tugged at the drawstrings on her hoodie. She already had to deal with the paparazzi swarming the five of them on their way to Rocque Records. People in black clothes with cameras were almost shoving in her face. 

“We have paparazzi swarming outside! Are you proud of yourself?” Gustavo shouted in her face. She shrunk into herself and looked away. It wasn’t her fault that her picture even made it on television. She had no idea what Curt would say anyway. 

“Gustavo,” Kelly shot him a look and gently touched Ronnie’s shoulder. “We’re not angry at you.” The talent scout was glaring at her boss. “We just want you to know the gravity of the situation because we don’t think you’ve had to deal with the paparazzi before.” 

There was static in her ears. Ronnie nodded absentmindedly, her eyes glued to the floor. 

“Why is this a big deal?” Kendall asked. 

“Why– Are you not aware of what gossip can do?” Gustavo scoffed. “At least in Hollywood, gossip can make or break a celebrity career.” 

“And the last thing you guys need is for a scandal to destroy your career,” Kelly added. 

“What kind of scandal would we be involved in?” Carlos asked, but he couldn’t read the room exactly. He was smiling as if everything was okay. 

“Well, thanks to your songwriter, the world practically knows she’s dating that hockey player–” 

“I think we get it.” Kendall interrupted him. “But if something ever happens, can’t we go on the show and tell Lindy Lam that we’re just friends?” 

“You’re kidding.” James smacked his arm. “Paparazzi function off of juicy drama– Wait, did you say they’re swarming the building.” The brunette’s eyes lit up, and Kelly shot him a look. 

“Don’t even think about it.” Kelly chidded, wagging her finger. 

“But, Kelly! I need to be propelled into the blogosphere!” James whined. 

“No. There will be no propelling into anything!” Gustavo snapped. “None of you should be in the media.” 

“It’s not like I knew what he would say.” Ronnie frowned. “Besides, you can’t tell me not to date him.” 

“Could you?” Kendall quirked a brow. 

“No,” Kelly answered for the record producer. “He cannot tell you who you should or shouldn’t date.” 

“I still don’t understand why it’s such a big deal.” Kendall sighed and ran a hand through his hair. 

“Yeah, this doesn’t stop us from doing our work, does it?” Ronnie sat in the same spot at the back of the studio as every other day. At this point, the couch in the back of the room belonged to her. Gustavo sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“All I’m saying is now that the media knows you are, you must be vigilant.” 

“Why?” 

“Because you need to be careful!” 

Ronnie flinched. She stared wide-eyed at Gustavo. It had been a month since she moved to Los Angeles, yet his yelling surprised her. She had yet to get used to his yelling, even though he constantly yelled at the guys. For the most part, he refrained from yelling at her unless necessary, which was all the time. The record producer had quite a temper, almost like Kendall's. They clashed too often, but the blonde never walked out on Gustavo, regardless of his anger.  

The songwriter didn’t understand why Gustavo expressed his concern. She and Curt had been conscientious about avoiding the paparazzi, and this wasn’t even her fault. She didn’t know that Curt had the interview on TV. Ronnie was left to her thoughts while the guys got set up to record one of Gustavo's newer songs. She flipped to an old page in her notebook, the lyrics she had written down after Kendall had taken her sightseeing. The lyrics didn’t seem right. She must be missing a bridge or might need to swap the chorus with one of the verses. Humming the song quietly, the words brought to mind her first date with Curt. 

James picked out her outfit. Curt took her to a fancy restaurant, where their table was in the back. The atmosphere was very romantic. A candle was on the table, and the sound system played classical music. She remembered being extremely nervous. The first twenty minutes were a bit awkward, but she felt more comfortable once they got to talking. She kept the conversation away from music as much as she could. Curt complimented her quite a lot, but she had no idea what his favorite color was. They were close because they were dating, but that didn’t mean she knew much about his personal life. 

Ronnie leaned back and stared up at the ceiling. She had only ever known about the paparazzi from the few television shows she watched at home. This one show about a teenage singer managing her double life had quite a few encounters with the paparazzi, and they were fixed, albeit pretty quickly. She would be naive if she believed the paparazzi were like that in real life. All she could do was hope that this didn’t mean she had no privacy. She might consider returning to Vermont if she had to give up her privacy just because Curt Haverfield was her boyfriend. For now, there wasn’t anything she could do. It wasn’t like she would lie on television about her relationship status. If she tried to fight back against the paparazzi, they would make a distasteful spin on whatever she said. She’s damned if she does and damned if she doesn’t. Ronnie sighed and ran a hand down her face. It looked like today was going to be a long day indeed. 

James was positively over the moon when he saw the paparazzi outside. Ronnie and the guys were in the Rocque Records lobby. While James excitedly pressed his face against the glass, Ronnie pulled her hood on and curled into a ball on the floor around the corner. She had underestimated how many people were suddenly interested in her life. The constant chatter mixed with the flash from the cameras was too much. Perhaps the shows she used to watch as a kid downplayed the severity of it all. Kendall was on the phone with his mom when they realized they would be stranded there until the crowd dispersed. 

“Okay!” Kendall clapped his hands together. “Mom will be here in a couple of minutes. We need a game plan on how we will get out there.” 

Ronnie lifted her head when she heard whispering. The guys huddled in a circle, heads pressed together. Was this her fault? She couldn’t help but think she had condemned her friends. If she weren’t their songwriter, this paparazzi thing wouldn’t be as big of a deal. Occasionally, Kendall would look over his shoulder at her, hugging her knees against her chest on the floor. The blonde felt a tad bit helpless in this situation. There was nothing five teenagers could do against a swarm of adults. Then, the honking of a horn hit his ears. 

“Okay, break!” The guys pulled apart and turned towards Ronnie. She furrowed her brows in confusion. 

“What?” 

She had no choice when her friends surrounded her, like the Secret Service. She ducked her head when she saw the flash of the cameras. Four hockey players from Minnesota worked in tandem to keep the paparazzi away from her. Ronnie could barely hear them if they said anything to her. The next thing she knew, she was being shoved into a car. The guys piled into the car. Logan, James, and Carlos were squishing her against the door, but it wasn’t like she could complain. Mrs. Knight’s third rental car was her only way out of there. 

“Go! Go! Go!” Kendall instructed his mother as he haphazardly put on his seatbelt. 

Since Ronnie was squished, she couldn’t reach the seatbelt, but it wouldn’t make a difference even if she could. She hugged her back to her chest and ducked her head to obscure her face from the windows. Carlos waved at the paparazzi outside the car, and Mrs. Knight sped off. Unfortunately, the paparazzi were also at the Palm Woods, and Bitters inhaled the sweet scent of cash. The guys' protection plan fell apart in the blink of an eye. Carlos, James, Logan, and Kendall were shoved to the side as adults with flashing cameras swarmed Ronnie. They prattled off questions at a speed that would make her head spin. Trying to push through them was almost similar to treading water. She struggled to get to the front doors, but the struggle wasn’t over because Bitters happened to be a sellout in every form of the word. She didn’t have time to breathe when cameras were blinding her. James, Kendall, Carlos, and Logan fought through the crowd out front. Once they got to the lobby, Kendall picked her up without thinking and threw her over his shoulder. 

The five of them hid in apartment 2J. Ronnie called her dad in the bathroom since he was away at work. She left him a voicemail. She sat cross-legged on the couch and hugged a throw pillow to her chest. Katie was watching a random show on Fox, nibbling on popcorn. James, Carlos, Kendall, and Logan were plotting in their room. Katie quirked a brow. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Huh?” Ronnie had been staring at the coffee table, stuck in thought for quite a while. She snapped out of it and blinked rapidly. She hadn’t noticed her eyes were dry. “No, yeah, I’m fine.” 

“Are you sure? You look like you’re five seconds from a breakdown.” 

Ronnie groaned and leaned back. She covered her face with her hands. 

“You know, I watched the interview with Curt. He didn’t say anything bad,” 

“No, I know, I watched it too, but… I didn’t expect the paparazzi to be interested in me so suddenly.” 

“Technically, you’re a celebrity now.” Katie shrugged. 

“Yeah, but this wasn’t supposed to happen.” 

“Something else will happen, and then the paparazzi will go away. That’s usually what happens.” 

“Are you trying to make me feel better?” Ronnie quirked a brow. 

“Is it working?” Katie asked with a mouthful of popcorn. 

“Not really…” 

“Are the guys always like this?” 

“What? Protective?” Katie tilted her head. “Yes, all the time. Especially protective over me.” 

Mrs. Knight brought over a tray of homemade cookies. 

“If you can’t make it to your apartment, I am happy to let you stay here. I have extra blankets, and if you do stay, I hope you don’t mind sleeping on the couch.” 

“It’ll wind down eventually,” Ronnie hesitantly reached for a chocolate chip cookie. “Hopefully.” 

“If it doesn’t, you are more than welcome to stay here for the night.” 

“Thanks, Mrs. Knight.” 

“Anytime,” the red-haired woman smiled kindly and returned to the kitchen. 

Ronnie felt weird sitting down and watching television at someone else's apartment, but she wanted to know what the guys were scheming. She could only hope that they wouldn’t do something to Curt. James watched the interview with her, so he should know it wasn’t Curt’s fault either. Lindy Lam dug for juicy details, and the paparazzi took their photo without consent. Ronnie nibbled on the cookie. It had been a while since she had homemade baked goods. Her mother used to bake when she was younger, but that felt like a lifetime ago. 

The paparazzi left, but Ronnie couldn’t sleep. She kept thinking about the tabloids. Sitting on the orange couch in the living room, she searched the tabloids on the internet. The blue light from her laptop was harsh, and she couldn’t sleep. Music was playing through her headphones. 

Kendall wandered out of his room in the middle of the night. At first, he thought Ronnie was sleeping on the couch, but rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he noticed she wasn’t there. The blanket he gave her was thrown over the sofa. Her bag was on the floor, but her laptop wasn’t on the table. The blonde shuffled into the bathroom to do his business, then returned to his room to grab a pair of slippers. The singer was concerned because he felt the paparazzi were lurking around to catch her when she was alone. It wasn’t that he felt the need to protect her, but she didn’t need any more trouble than she already had. 

The blonde searched the halls, no longer half-asleep. He was wide awake now that he was worrying about her. It was ridiculous how quickly everything snowballed. Would this be what it would be like when Big Time Rush became famous? Will their privacy get invaded and their personal lives destroyed? James would love it because he has always wanted to be famous, but Kendall wasn’t so sure he would enjoy it. He had always kept to himself and preferred a quiet life. Fame was exciting, and he wanted to help James achieve his dream, but being in the spotlight wasn’t meant for him. He always knew that if he played on the Toronto Maple Leafs or Minnesota Wild, there would be a slight chance he would be centered in the spotlight. But sports fans were something he could deal with. They were easy to ignore. Singers and celebrity fans were ravenous and cutthroat. The four knew that Big Time Rush wouldn’t last forever, and the situation with the paparazzi cemented that belief even further. They all had goals and ambitions but came together to help James because he was their friend. 

Kendall took the elevator to the lobby. On the one hand, he hoped Bitters wouldn’t catch him or try to get him kicked out because he was awake, but on the other hand, he hoped Ronnie was there. He noticed a shadow in the pool area and ducked behind a potted plant. He didn’t bother putting on the tree hat since no one was around to see him. Ronnie sat by the edge of the pool. Her sweatshirt was discarded on a lounge chair behind her. She played with her hands in the water, and her laptop sat beside her. Kendall stopped hiding behind the potted plant and stood up. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, glad she wasn’t in danger. 

“What are you doing up?” Kendall slid the door open as quietly as he could and made his way over to her. 

“I could ask you the same thing,” Ronnie chuckled. 

“I’m not here to drag you back to bed.” Kendall squatted beside her. He squinted at the blue light of her laptop. She was reading tabloids. 

“I couldn’t sleep…” Ronnie pulled her hand out of the water and shook it, careful not to get water on her laptop. 

“Gee, I have no idea why.” Kendall snickered as he picked up her laptop. “Why are you reading these? Why does it matter what they say?” 

“It was better when people didn’t know who I was.” Ronnie sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I can’t– I can’t help it. I need to know what they’re saying.” 

“Ronnie,” Kendall put her laptop on the lounge chair and sat beside her. “All you’ll find is negativity, and you won’t like it. It won’t make you feel better.” 

“But they’re talking about me, and I’m not a part of the conversation.” 

“Of course, they’re talking about you. Who wouldn’t want to talk about you?” 

“But what if people hate me? What if they call me all sorts of names? What kind of reputation will I have?” 

“Not–” Kendall sighed. “Not everyone is going to like you.” 

“That’s something I would be telling you,” Ronnie laughed. 

“That’s not what you’re worried about, is it?” 

Ronnie looked down at her hands. How did he catch on so quickly? It wasn’t that she was worried about what people were saying about her, but more so that she couldn’t control how other people viewed her. She couldn’t control the headlines in the media or the photos the paparazzi took. All of it was out of her control, and she felt helpless. Nothing she could do or say would make any of this better. If she tried, then her words would be taken out of context or used against her to make her look like a horrible person. 

“Ronnie?” 

“I wish I was a nobody again…” Ronnie whispered. She put her hand in the water again and watched how the ripples disturbed the motionless surface. 

“You were a nobody to begin with. You meant something to someone.” 

“That’s not what I mean.” 

“I know, I know. Sometimes I think about my life before I came to L.A., too.” 

“At least, in Vermont, people weren’t scrambling to find trivial facts about me to judge my character.” Ronnie snorted. “What’s so wrong with my favorite color being yellow?” 

“My favorite color is blue,” Kendall watched the ripples on the water's surface. They were hypnotizing. 

“Together, they make green, like my hair.” Ronnie grabbed a strand of hair and giggled. 

“I didn’t even notice you dyed your hair,” 

“James helped me dye it the night Curt had the interview.” 

“You– You watched his interview? Then you know what he said about you,” 

“He didn’t say anything wrong if that’s what you’re wondering, but that’s not the problem.” 

Kendall grabbed her laptop and scrolled down to the comments left on the article. Many of the usernames were either their names or something like CurtSuperfan45, and none of the comments were nice. Most of these people seemed bitter that Ronnie got to go out with a hockey player instead of them. 

“Ignore them,” Kendall returned her laptop to the lounge chair. “It doesn’t matter what they say. All that matters is you’re awesome, and the people who care about you won’t let bitter fans get in the way of that.” 

“How come you weren’t this nice when we first met?” 

“Because I felt like the world was trying to make me move on too quickly,” 

“Oh.” 

“It wasn’t anything against you!” Kendall added to reassure her. “And I’m sorry I wasn’t the nicest.” 

“I’m sorry I made it worse,” Ronnie said quietly. She looked down, her hair curling her face. 

“But you didn’t make it worse.” Kendall reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You were treating me the same way I was treating you,” 

“Thanks, Kendall.”

[ragsy]

[X]

[1800-l0g4n]

Khonshu, my cape is being ruined..

[leorians]

someone will die (of fun)

[mussg0]

ok final post in a billion years bye bye

[incongruous-faggot]

The cat is there for personal reasons, don't mind her :3

[almondcroissantsandink]

moon knight pls come home it's been *checks watch* THREE YEARS??

[cartoonsbyandie]

Happy Valentine's Day! (They're trying to make a heart)

[daily-dose-of-danno]

I'd love to see Mr Lancer swearing in book titles 👁

I did a full rewatch of the entire show to find these, so I believe this is all of them! :)

[inkameswetrust]

current mood.

[cartoonpanic]

Me after missing the entire enemy team with the fist of khonshu

[allthistrashtalkmakemeitchin]

Ghostwriter CH 29

Unbetad Unedited Unhined || AO3 Wattpad

Character(s): Kendall Knight, Katie Knight, Jennifer Knight, James Diamond, Logan Mitchell, Carlos Garcia, Mercedes Griffin, Arthur Griffin, Gustavo Rocque, Kelly Wainwright, Veronica Clark oc, Mr. Clark oc

Pairings(s): Kendall Knight/Female Original Character, James Diamond & Female Original Character, Mercedes Griffin & Female Original Character, Female Original Character & Female Original Character, Male Original Character & Female Original Character

Word Count: 6127

Kendall was in the proverbial doghouse. Ronnie wasn’t talking to him and avoiding Jo because he didn’t deserve her kindness. Of course, this meant he hid in the apartment, looking out the window through the blinds like a creep. He had a weird gut feeling about Ronnie and Jo’s friendship and was worried. He had never seen her spend as much time with Lucy and Camille as she was spending with Jo, and it was bizarre. Was he jealous of her? No. That would be ridiculous! 

Their mom found out about the book in the pool and grounded Katie. He was also very upset with his sister. He didn’t know what was going through her head, but she was smart enough to know that taking Ronnie’s songbook would end badly. Maybe that’s what she wanted. But it was uncharacteristic for his sister to sabotage his chances with a girl he likes. He knocked on her door before walking into her room. 

“Why did you steal the book?” Kendall leaned against the doorframe. “You said it’s because you wanted a finders fee, but I can’t accept it.” 

“What?” Katie spun around, closing her laptop quickly and hiding it behind her back. 

“Is that your– Mom said you’re not allowed to have electronics.” 

“Please don’t tell her,” Katie pleaded, batting her eyelashes. She may not be a middle schooler anymore, but it didn’t work on her brother. He knew her tricks. 

“I won’t tell her if you tell me why you had the songbook.” 

“Okay, fine.” Katie scoweled and tossed her laptop on her bed. “I wanted to score you some points?” 

“Score points? What–” 

“Your relationship with Ronnie has been complicated, and I wanted to do something to ease the tension between you two. Her songbook means so much to her; if you happened to find it, she would think better of you.” 

“You stole her songbook to help me?” Kendall was not impressed. 

“I didn’t steal it. She left the book on one of the tables when Jo started talking to her, and then she walked away.” 

“Ronnie didn’t forget it because she returned to the lobby to look for it.” Kendall deadpanned. 

“Okay, okay.” Katie held her hands up. “On a technicality, I stole her songbook, but you were supposed to return it to her! Not drop it out the window into the pool!” 

“That’s not my fault. James wanted to look through it!” 

“He wasn’t actually going to look through it. He’s super close with Ronnie. Couldn’t you tell he was messing with you?” 

Kendall paused and processed her words. He leaned against the doorframe and ran a hand down his face. Of course, James was messing with him. 

“She hasn’t spoken to me in a week, Katie!” Kendall snapped. “I try to apologize, but she walks away.” 

“That’s on you for dropping the book.” 

“No! You stole her book, and I have to suffer the consequences!” 

“Yeah, because you’re my older brother.” Katie nodded slightly. 

“Ugh!” Kendall threw his hands up and walked away. 

The singer flopped face-first on the orange couch in the living room. As much as he loved his sister, he didn’t think he would ever forgive her. At least, not for now. He was starting to think she didn’t understand relationships at all. Her little stunt most likely ruined his chances of going out with her. He’d have to start from square one all over again. Kendall rolled over and pulled his phone out of his back pocket. Once in a while, he sent Ronnie texts, but she never responded. He’d ask if they could talk, but clearly, she didn’t want to talk to him. He screwed up royally, and maybe there was no way to fix this. Their friendship went down the drain. He covered his face with a throw pillow and dropped his phone. He might as well sulk about it if it was over because there was nothing else to do. 

“Kendall!” The door to apartment 2J swung open, and James came through. 

He looked at his friend lying face down on the couch and deflated like a balloon. This wasn’t exactly what he was expecting. James assumed his friend would be playing a video game or doing homework, but instead, he acted like the world was ending. 

“Okay! That’s enough sulking. We're going to the mall.” He nudged him and clapped his hands. James and Kendall were best friends. It was his duty to cheer him up. 

Kendall groaned in response and made no effort to get up. His phone buzzed against the floor. James bent down to pick it up, curiously looking over the notification. He frowned and slotted the phone in his back pocket. 

“We’re going to the mall whether you like it or not.” 

James grabbed Kendall’s arm and pulled his friend off the couch. Kendall didn’t make the physical effort any easier; he was limp, and his body ragdolled in James’ hold. 

“It’s not… The end… Of the world.” James strained as he dragged him across the floor. It took an erroneous amount of effort to get him off the couch. 

“I don’t want to go to the mall,” Kendall mumbled. His blonde fringe fell over his eyes as his friend struggled to drag him. Considering James was also on the hockey team in Minnesota, he would have thought his friend could drag him across the floor. 

“That doesn’t matter. I can’t have you moping indoors all day. It brings the vibe down.” 

“I bring the vibe down? Oh, sorry, I’m upset. Didn’t know it affected you this much.” 

“It does when you stop caring about work.” James huffed. He managed to drag Kendall a couple of inches away from the couch. 

“Okay, okay.” Kendall finally decided to stand up, knowing he had enough of his friend trying to drag him toward the door. “I’ll go to the mall with you if you stop trying to meddle with my feelings,” 

“Deal! This new mini golf place opened, and Carlos is on a date with some girl he met in a coffee shop. Ronnie’s been raving about setting them up together.” James' eyes sparkled, and a smile spread across his face. 

“She won’t be at the mall, will she?” 

“No? Not that I know of. She doesn’t go shopping,” 

“Cool. I’ll drive since I’m the only one between us with a driver’s license.” Kendall chuckled and grabbed the keys to the car off the kitchen island. 

“I have my permit!” 

James Diamond absolutely loved shopping. He inherited this trait from his mother, Brooke, and would often try to drag his friends shopping with him. However, this never worked because the guys weren’t into the whole ordeal, which made it more challenging than it should have been. The mini-golf thing wasn’t a lie to cover up how much James wanted to go shopping; it was a decent attempt to get his friend out of the apartment and technically doubled as an apology. Ronnie’s songbook falling in the pool was his fault, and her taking it out on Kendall was also his fault. James tried to tell her what really happened, and she believed him, but now she was angry at Kendall for lying to her. 

Unsurprisingly, the mall was crowded on a sunny Wednesday afternoon. James didn’t doubt the mall was a popular hangout spot for teenagers in Los Angeles. It was also a popular tourist spot, and some shops were dedicated to L.A. souvenirs that were outrageously overpriced. Surprisingly, no one asked either of them for their autograph. Big Time Rush was famous. Why was everyone acting like they didn’t know who they were? This irked James the most because he had already dreamed of having hordes of girls running after him once he was famous. It was disappointing not to be bombarded with girls asking for autographs. 

The food court was close, and Kendall realized he hadn’t eaten. The fluorescent light hurt his eyes, and the proximity to the water fountain at the mall's center hurt his ears. He sat on the fountain's ledge, resting his chin in his palm. James had wandered off a few seconds ago, and now Kendall didn’t know where he was. Of course, his friend had always been like this. He faintly remembered how many times Brooke had threatened to put James on a leash because he wandered off constantly. He chuckled and looked around. It wouldn’t be that hard to find his friend. Right? James was right next to him a moment ago. He couldn’t have gotten far in such a short amount of time. 

A few minutes passed when he saw James standing there like he was in a trance. 

Kendall sighed and rolled his eyes. His friend was staring at the record store. He could hear the music playing from the sound systems. James was slack-jawed, staring in awe. A girl was rifling around in the bins at the front of the store. Her long brown hair fell in her face, and she would reach up and tuck the strands behind her ear. She wore a light pink off-the-shoulder sweater and ripped denim jeans with black and white checkered vans. 

“Okay, come on.” Kendall chuckled and shook his head. “We didn’t come here to ogle at girls. I thought you wanted to play mini golf.” 

“What? Oh, yeah, yeah.” James nodded absentmindedly, his feet planted firmly on the ground. 

“Alright, you can come back and ask her if she’s still here.” Kendall led his friend away by the elbow. 

“But– But she’s so pretty! Kendall!” James whined but didn’t fight against him. He did want to go mini golfing. It was just an added plus to stare at pretty girls all day. 

“I don’t even know where this new golf place is. You have to show me the way.” 

“Couldn’t you have looked at the directory?” 

“Too many people were crowding around it.” Kendall released James’ arm and shoved his hands in his pockets. It was their natural resting place. 

“Ugh. When did you become such a loner?” 

“When you made our songwriter stop talking to me for nearly a week.” 

“I said I’m sorry!” James pouted. “To both of you, might I add? I understand why Ronnie won’t forgive me, but I genuinely didn’t know the window was open.” 

“Okay? You and Katie corroborated the whole plan because you think I have a bad track record with girls. It’s insulting.” 

“Well, you kind of do.” 

“I have had one girlfriend, and it was Jo. It didn’t end badly. I just made an awful decision before we actually broke up.” 

“Which is why I’m trying to help you!” 

“You’re not helping. You’re trying to turn me into you.” Kendall rolled his eyes. “And, not to mention, I’m doing fine without you. For a while, Ronnie and I were friends.” 

“Okay, okay.” James sighed and brushed his hair out of his face. “I’ll admit I was wrong about you, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to keep you from making the same mistakes or hurting her. I’m friends with her too, you know.” 

“Yes. I know.” Kendall deadpanned. “But you’re saying this as if we’re dating. Ronnie just got–” 

“She got out of a relationship six months ago, Kendall.” 

“Oh–” 

“You would know this if you weren’t throwing a pity party for yourself.” 

“Hey, I never said I knew everything about her. We started getting along six months ago.” 

“Really? I thought you were friends earlier than that,” 

“We weren’t friends. We were being civil because we work together.” 

“How did you ever go out with Jo?” James laughed and threw his head back. “Like, how are you this bad at getting along with girls? It’s absurd!” 

“Not all of us can have a dating list longer than the Declaration of Independence.” Kendall scoffed and looked away. 

“I haven’t dated that many people and most of them wanted the popularity that came with it. It wasn’t like I would confront them about it.” 

~~~

Mercedes was an extrovert and a socialite. To cheer her up after getting her book thrown in the Palm Woods pool, she took Ronnie to the mall for some good shopping therapy. Shopping therapy works when the person who needs the treatment likes to shop. But Ronnie never told her that she didn’t like shopping at the mall, so she decided to suffer silently with boredom while Mercedes took her to all her favorite stores and made her try on all kinds of clothes. However, the upside to shopping was that she wouldn't have to borrow dresses from her if she bought something that didn’t look like her typical wardrobe. It wasn’t that Mercedes didn’t like to share because she was happy to do so, but Ronnie couldn’t help feeling bad about sharing her clothes, especially when the clothes she borrowed were worn on dates with her ex-boyfriend, who had been trashing her to the media. 

She sighed and wandered through the clothing store, looking for Mercedes. Somehow, she managed to lose the talkative girl, but it was more than likely that she was talking to one of the store clerks and lost track of time. Ronnie sighed and looked down at the black dress she was holding. It wasn’t like anything she preferred to wear, but it was about time she bought at least one dress to spice up her wardrobe. Curt was right about one thing: she needed to start dressing like a girl. People in Hollywood were much more forgiving when someone wore a skirt or a dress. 

Ronnie and Curt broke up six months ago, but because she returned from a tour, it was as if it happened yesterday. The media woke like a sleeper agent, and all these journals churned out countless articles. She couldn’t keep up with it anymore because she was losing sleep trying to read them all. If she had it her way, she would stay up as long as she wanted and read every single article, but she couldn’t have her personal life interfere with her work. That wasn’t fair to Gustavo, Kelly, or the guys. Speaking of which, none of them knew what was going on. She was embarrassed to ask them for help since they’d dealt with Hollywood longer than her. 

She decided to buy a little black off-the-shoulder dress with a V-shaped neckline. Ronnie couldn’t think of a time she would wear it, but it was good to have it just in case something came up. What drew her to it were the pockets she discovered in the fitting room. She tried it on, spun around in front of the mirror, and was about ready to put it back when she made the discovery. They didn’t advertise it as a dress with pockets, and they would have remained unknown if she hadn’t taken a little extra time in the fitting room trying to convince herself that she would buy it. 

For the most part, Ronnie was walking around aimlessly. She couldn’t find Mercedes and didn’t want to return to the racks to look for another dress. Ronnie stubbornly decided this was the only dress she would buy. Considering she had a large sum of money thanks to her job with Rocque Records, she should allow herself to splurge, but she didn’t want to buy anything. At least, not clothing-wise. When shopping with her mother when she was younger, she always made the trips to the store quick and painless. The less time she spent trying on clothes, the better. That mentality never changed. 

Her aunt often complained that finding gifts for Ronnie was difficult because she didn’t know what she liked, but it wasn’t that hard. On her birthday or for Christmas, her father bought her a video game or a Lego set. Clothing wasn’t a gift she liked to get, not because it was girly but because she had to have particular clothes. Most of the clothes her relatives bought weren’t the right kind or didn’t feel right, so she would end up donating them. 

Boredom sunk in, but only because she didn’t like waiting and didn’t know what she was waiting for. Mercedes had no plausible reason to leave her stranded in a clothing store, but to each their own. She could only assume her friend got distracted by helping someone with their clothes or saw jewelry she liked. It wasn’t like Mercedes left her on purpose. Since she came to Los Angeles, the socialite has been a dear friend to Ronnie. 

She was waiting to buy the dress when she was sure Mercedes would follow her out. Ronnie aimlessly wandered the store, looking at everything and imagining that if she looked different, it would suit her. The articles had been feeding into her body image issues. Countless photos of her in Vermont were paired with spiteful words. All of this was because of a break-up. Ronnie couldn’t imagine what girls and women had to deal with daily in Hollywood. Even looking at the dress she was holding, a voice in the back of her head told her that she shouldn’t buy it and put it back on the rack so someone else could buy it—someone else who would look much nicer in a black dress. 

“Ronnie!” 

She jumped and whirled around to see Kendall. He looked relieved to see her, but his smile faded. Ronnie was mad at him, not for being part of why her songbook got in the pool, but because he lied to her about who threw her book. She thought he was past this. The scowl on her face was warranted, and some of him knew. The expression on his face screamed guilty. It was almost comical how he could crumble like wax at a moment’s notice. 

“Wait, wait! Please!” Kendall caught her by the elbow. “I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you. There has to be a way to make it up to you.” 

Ronnie hesitated. His big green eyes looked wet and dewy, but not from crying. She had never seen Kendall cry before. She pursed her lips and crossed her arms tightly. 

“I’ll do anything! I want you to talk to me again. I want to be friends again.” 

Maybe she was a bit too cruel to enjoy this, but Addison and Callie were the only people who tried this hard whenever they hurt her. Kendall looked fragile, like a house of cards. She had seen all his texts, and in her head, she already accepted his apology but couldn’t forgive him. The way he treated her snowballed. Ronnie didn’t forget when Kendall ignored her. Or when Kendall would halt the work day because he didn’t want to sing a song she wrote. This wasn’t necessarily revenge or payback. That wasn’t the mature thing to do. She was tired of being the bigger person, being more mature, and not letting it upset her. 

Ronnie took a step back, and her eyes widened. Kendall Knight was kneeling on the dirty floor with his hands clasped together. Customers were staring, and a nice red color blossomed across her face. In a panic, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him up off the floor. 

“Okay, okay. Fine. Just– Stop pleading, people are starting to stare…” 

“Okay! What do you want me to do?” He bounced back in record time. She swore if he had a tail, it would be wagging. Now that she thought about it, she couldn’t get the image of Kendall as a golden retriever out of her head. 

“Buy me this dress.” She pushed the little black dress into his hands. 

“Wha– Why are you buying a dress? You don’t normally wear them.” 

“Don’t question me!” Ronnie squeaked. Now, she was embarrassed for multiple reasons. The sooner she got out of the store, the sooner she could wallow in her self-pity or try to distract herself from the embarrassment.  

“Are you going out with someone?” 

She noticed the change in his voice inflection but didn’t comment on it. Without an answer, Kendall followed her to the checkout line. It was a simple question. Granted, he didn’t need to know the answer, but he wanted to. He could only hope that if Ronnie went out with someone else, they were better for her than Curt. At the risk of sounding jealous, he always knew there was something wrong with Curt; it was just a matter of time before he showed his true colors. 

Typically, any other teenager would whine and complain about buying something for a girl, but Kendall didn’t complain or drag his feet. If purchasing this dress ensured Ronnie would talk to him again, he would buy her a thousand dresses. He would drain his bank account to keep her from ignoring him. Kendall missed her voice and the way she laughed. He wanted her to insult, correct, or tell him a random fact about something. All he wanted was for her to talk to him again. Though she only left for a short while, her absence in his life left this gaping hole. 

“So, are you really going to talk to me again?” Kendall asked as they exited the store. He didn’t let her reach for the bag. He was going to hold it.  

“If you ask me that again, I will lose it.” Ronnie massaged her temples. “Why are you so anxious about me talking to you?” 

“Because–” 

“Slut!” 

The girl came out of nowhere. Kendall didn’t have enough time to react, but he hid the dress in the bag behind his back. Ronnie didn’t know what she was expecting, but a face full of pink smoothie was not it. She was more concerned with her ruined clothes than running after the girl who threw the smoothie at her. 

“The food court is right there. Let me go get napkins!” Like some white knight, Kendall sprung into action. 

Ronnie cringed as she wiped the pink smoothie off of her face. She didn’t move, afraid it would feel worse if she tried. The cold liquid was seeping into her clothes. Kendall returned with as many napkins as possible and started getting what he could from her hair. In hindsight, Ronnie should have expected this because those articles were again prevalent, but it slipped her mind. She assumed the only people reading them were middle-aged hockey fans who had nothing better to do than bully a teenager on the internet. 

“You know what, it’s fine. It’s fine.” Ronnie swatted Kendall’s hands away and started walking. 

“Do you need a ride home?” 

“No, I’ll just wait outside for Mercedes.” 

“Oh. Mercedes.” Kendall’s eyes lit up as though he realized something. “Is she the reason you’re buying this dress? There’s nothing wrong with liking–” 

“Just shut up!” Ronnie snapped. Getting a smoothie to the face put her in a worse mood. “God, you hover around me like you’re my mother. It was a stupid smoothie!” 

“Oh… Kay?” 

“For once, can everyone stop meddling with things and let me handle it? I can clean myself up and wait for my friend who somehow got lost in the clothing store.” 

Ronnie took Kendall's paper bag and stormed away. She had been right earlier about her stained and soaked clothes feeling absolutely horrid against her skin. Since she didn’t have a change of clothes because she didn’t anticipate this to happen, she could only sit on the bench outside the mall in the sun and pray it didn’t make her smell terrible. Once she was alone, her body felt it was the perfect time to start crying. Ronnie wiped at her eyes with the parts of her sleeves that weren’t covered in sticky pink smoothie. 

How could things get worse? She thought her songbook falling in the pool would be the worst thing to happen to her, but public humiliation was high on the list. The liquid was warm from sitting in the sun, but it had mainly dried when Mercedes emerged from the mall with various bags. 

~~~

Fresh out of the shower after doing laundry with Mrs. Knight, Ronnie dried her hair using a towel in her bedroom. Her smoothie-stained shirt, shorts, and socks were sitting in her hamper, waiting for the next load. Her father wouldn’t be back until later that night. Yet again, she had the apartment to herself. Since no one was home, her bedroom door was wide open. It wasn’t like anyone would see anything cause it was a habit to change in the bathroom. 

A knock at the door sounded, and her gut told her it was most likely Kendall. As much as she didn’t want to see him, she couldn’t turn him away because he would stand there like an idiot and wait for her to open the door. Discarding the towel on her bed, she sighed and hurried to the door to open it. 

She was right. It was Kendall. 

“What do you want?” Ronnie had no obligation to be nice to him just because he bought her a dress. 

“We need to talk,” Kendall smiled sheepishly and fidgeted with his hands. 

“Like hell we do.” It was like he expected her to close the door in his face with the way he flinched. “But, come in anyway.” She left the door wide open. 

Unlike apartment 2J, apartment 3G was sparsely decorated. Even if decorated, it would never measure up to 2J since it was a set for a music video that Gustavo paid for. But even so, it didn’t look as though people lived there. The only indication that people were living there was the souvenirs that lined a shelf on the wall. Kendall helped Ronnie pick out souvenirs for her father on tour. He remembered when they bought each one. Everything else that gave the space personality was tucked away. The apartment didn’t look like a home. It looked like a temporary living arrangement, which was most likely the case. They were in Los Angeles because Ronnie was picked to be the songwriter for Big Time Rush, and that could be taken away at any moment. 

“I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you.” There was no way to work his way up to an apology softly. It was easier to apologize before rambling. “My friends have tried to excuse it, but there’s no real excuse for how I’ve acted toward you.” 

Ronnie’s brows furrowed slightly. When people say they need to talk, it typically never means something good. Or, at least, that’s what she learned from movies. 

“I was heartbroken and upset after Jo left for New Zealand, and everyone kept meddling with my relationship and emotions because they couldn’t trust me to handle it myself. And… Then you showed up.” Kendall ran a hand through his hair. He could feel the anxiety gripping tightly at his chest. “And you didn’t try to meddle with anything. All you wanted was to be my friend, and it was so confusing because everyone was trying to change me, and here you are… accepting me as I am.” 

“Kendall–” 

“No, let me finish.” He looked beside himself as though he practiced this speech in the mirror a hundred times. “I didn’t know how to handle it, and I got so angry because you didn’t treat me like someone that needed to be fixed. And this isn’t an excuse either. I know what I’ve done was wrong, but I want to do what I can to make up for it. To make up for all of it.” 

Ronnie stared at him silently, expecting more, but his pseudo-speech was done. He looked like a kicked puppy, awaiting any response or reaction. 

“It confused me too…” Ronnie sighed. She might as well be honest with him if he was having a heartfelt moment. “Your friends welcomed me with open arms, and I thought I did something wrong to make you hate me. So, I kept overcorrecting myself to figure out why you didn’t like me.” She was never good with profound moments and wanted to curl up in a ball and die. “Then, you lied to me twice. I don’t know if you thought you needed to tell me something I wanted to hear, but no one else has lied to me, Kendall.” 

“I know I lied about the pool thing–” 

“No, you lied about being friends. You lied about caring. Until now, you’ve shown me that you don’t care about me and certainly don’t respect me, but you lie to my face about how much you care about me.” 

“Ronnie, I do care–” 

“You treat me like shit and expect me to swoon when you do something nice. Treating me nicely is civil and decent because I’m your friend and your coworker.” 

“You’ve been ignoring me for the past three days.” 

“It’s been three days! Get over it! You could live without me before, so why do you decide to act crazy now?” Ronnie paced her living room, threading shaky hands through her hair. 

“Ronnie–” 

“Shut up. Just shut up!” 

Kendall closed his mouth and swallowed thickly. He couldn’t deny that she was right about everything. All he wanted to do was make it up to her. He wanted to prove he could be better. He wanted to change. He was going to change. 

“I accept your apology, but I cannot forgive you.” Ronnie was staring at him blankly. He was intimidated by the eye contact but couldn’t look away. “I am not a doormat. I am not an emotional punching bag. I shouldn’t be telling you how to treat me.” 

Kendall nodded, afraid she would yell at him again if he spoke. 

“I’m only going to give you a second chance because we work together and are supposed to get along.” Ronnie sighed and massaged her temples. “Do you want a grilled cheese?” 

What was terrifying was that she could so easily change the subject. Kendall felt like he had been given whiplash. He stared at her, confused, for a couple of seconds. She looked exhausted, but he wouldn’t admit out loud how much he liked her wet hair. 

“Do you want a grilled cheese?” Ronnie repeated, arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. 

“What– Yeah. Yes, please.” He corrected himself quickly. 

“Okay then, we’ll start over, over grilled cheese.” 

“What? Just like that?” 

“Kendall, your second chance starts now.”

“Oh.” 

He followed her like a puppy at her heels. She gave him a second chance, and he wouldn’t lose it. He didn’t promise her he would change, but an apology without change was another form of manipulation, and Kendall didn’t want to manipulate her. Ronnie could practically feel him breathing down the back of her neck. She chuckled and nudged him. 

“You’re standing too close,” 

“Right, sorry.” Kendall backed up. “Do you need any help?” 

“I’m making grilled cheese sandwiches. It is the easiest thing to make next to pasta. I think I’m fine.” Ronnie raised a brow. 

“Yeah, but I don’t want to sit at the table while you cook.” 

“If you want to help, you could do the dishes.” 

“The dishes?” Kendall glanced at the sink. There weren’t many items, and he could wash dishes while asleep. It was his favorite chore. 

“I cleaned and vacuumed earlier. The dishes were the last on my list.” Ronnie tied her hair back with a random hairband she found on the kitchen counter. 

“Didn’t I see you doing laundry? What if I–” 

“No!” 

“Okay, okay. I won’t.” Kendall held his hands up. 

“That’s an invasion of my privacy, and besides. I’ll get my laundry after I make the sandwiches.” 

“Aren’t you afraid someone will steal your clothes?” 

“No, 'cause the laundry room was empty when I went down there with your mom.” 

“You did laundry with my mother?” 

“Yeah,” Ronnie shrugged. She turned on the stovetop and put a pad of butter in the pan she set on the burner. “She offered to show me the laundry room in the elevator, and we started talking.” 

“What did she say?” Kendall asked a tad bit too eagerly. 

“Other than apologizing for what your sister did, not much. We talked about work and the tour. Can you hand me the bread?” Ronnie turned slightly and jutted her chin toward the kitchen island. 

Kendall took the twist tie off the loaf of wheat bread and handed it to her. She set aside three pieces of bread on a paper plate and put one in the pan. Ronnie stepped away from the stove to grab the cheese from the refrigerator. 

“Let’s play 21 questions.” Kendall turned the sink on to start the dishes. 

“21 questions? What’s that?” 

“We ask random questions to learn more about each other.” 

“Oh, Addison told me about this. She and Trent played on their first date.” Ronnie peeled a piece of cheese from the precut slices and laid it on the slightly warmed wheat bread. She had the burner on low because she had never cooked on an electric stove. 

“Yeah, it is played on a first date sometimes, but it can also be casual.” 

“I’m sorry, I just met you. Why would I ever want something casual with you?” Ronnie snickered and carefully reached across the stove to turn the burner up. 

“Wait, no. That’s not what I meant–” 

“I’m fucking with you, Kendall. So, what’s the first question?” 

“What’s your favorite song to sing in the shower?” Kendall asked. 

“Easy, Hit Me Baby One More Time by Britney Spears,” Ronnie answered. When it came to games like Truth or Dare, she was never good at them. She always thought she was the boring one at sleepovers, but Addison and Callie would never admit it. “Favorite ice cream flavor?” 

“That’s a tough one… I’d have to go with Rocky Road.” 

“My mom loved Rocky Road, but I hated it as a kid.” 

“Okay, okay. My turn. What’s your favorite type of movie snack?” 

“Technically, it’s more than one, but I combine them. Popcorn and M&Ms with the peanuts in them.” 

“You eat peanut M&Ms? Weird,” 

“I’m not that big on sweets. I like salty and savory things.” Ronnie shrugged. She finished the first grilled cheese and moved it from the pan onto a paper plate. Then, she buttered the next slice of bread for the next sandwich. 

“Okay, what’s the last book you’ve read? School textbooks don’t count.” 

“Fahrenheit 451. What’s your favorite animal?” 

“Foxes. What would your theme song be if you had a TV show?” 

“You know, the band almost had a reality TV show.” Kendall chuckled. “It was horrible. Griffin had to hire someone to pretend to be our neighbor to cause drama between us. Logan and Camille wouldn’t stop kissing…” 

“Sounds horrible, but you didn’t answer the question.” 

“A TV about me? Maybe Check Yes, Juliet.” 

“Of course, you would pick that.” Ronnie rolled her eyes. “Between the four of you, I feel like you’d have some type of Romeo and Juliet relationship, so it’s pretty accurate.” 

“Do you think about my relationships that often?” 

“No. Do you believe in magic?” 

“That wasn’t one of the questions,” 

“Technically, it was a question. It counts.” Ronnie shrugged. 

“Growing up, I hated Harry Potter when I found that magic wasn’t real.” 

“So, you believed in magic?” 

“I’m not embarrassed by it.” Kendall crossed his arms and turned his nose up. 

“Yeah, sure. Keep telling yourself that.” 

“Okay, what’s your most embarrassing memory?” Kendall shot back with a smirk. 

“Most embarrassing memory…” Ronnie turned off the burner and joined Kendall at the small dining room table. “I don’t– I don’t want this to change what you think of me…” Ronnie wrung her hands together. She fidgeted in her seat. “We were hiding away from our parents at a Christmas party, and I was six–” 

“Ronnie, you don’t have to–” 

“No, it’s fine.” She swallowed thickly. She couldn’t look him in the eyes. “My cousin, Jordan, opened one of her presents on Christmas Eve. It was a lip balm kit… And… She made me kiss her.” Ronnie ripped off like a bandage. She screwed her eyes shut and tensed up. 

Kendall stared at her, hoping she was joking, but the clock ticked by, and something settled at the bottom of his stomach. A bad feeling he didn’t want to trust. 

“It’s only embarrassing because so many people used to make Sweet Home Alabama jokes when I was a kid, and I thought I was vile and disgusting–” 

“Ronnie, no.” Kendall reached out and grabbed her hand. “It’s okay.” He tried to think of something quickly to diffuse the tension. “When I was twelve, I got stuck in the washing machine.”

[littlestpersimmon]

The Scribe’s Silly Little Crush

[1800-l0g4n]

semi old art post