❝why do i keep running from the truth? all i ever think about is you❞
- crush : david archuleta
Today was the boys' first day off in weeks and Logan intended to take full advantage of it. He strolled into the crib with a grin on his face and a hypothesis swirling around in his head. Logan was ready to experiment with love science. All he needed was an assistant and he had just the girl in mind.
Kit sat leaning against the couch, scribbling in her notebook. Beams of L.A. sunshine brought out the golden hint to her brown hair. Logan tried to push away the rising thought that she looked beautiful, swallowing the voice in his head as it reminded him that she always did.
"I need you to make out with me. Don't worry, though," he added quickly. "It's for science."
The request took her so off guard that her hand spasmed and left a large line across the page. She sighed, abandoning her writing for the day.
"What? For science?"
"Love science."
Kit raised her eyebrows. She burst into laughter, sending Logan into a tizzy. The unamused look on his face caused her to cover her mouth with her hand. Once the fit of giggles finally passed, she apologized.
"Okay, sorry," she said. "But if that was some sort of pick up line, you might wanna go back to the drawing board!"
Logan plopped down on the couch next to Kit. He rolled his eyes:
"I'm serious," he said. "Just say you'll help me?"
She thought for a moment. Kit knew well enough to know that this probably wouldn't end well. Her conscience told her to turn him down, to go back to her writing. That puppy-dog look of his got her every time, though. She never could say no to him.
He had never been good at understanding exactly what his heart was trying to tell him. Science, however, never failed him. Statistics were something that Logan could always rely on.
"Okay, fine," she relented. "So, what do we do?"
Logan disappeared momentarily, only to lug in a large machine and set it up in their living room.
Kit noticed that he swapped his hoodie for a lab coat. The boy handed her one of her own, which she reluctantly shrugged on. She had no idea where he got the equipment from. Logan beamed as he put some sort of helmet which had wires sticking out of it onto his head.
She stuck sensors all over his face and over his chest, by his heart. Kit sat down on the armrest of the couch, watching the heart monitor as it registered his resting heart rate. When she looked up again, Kit furrowed her brows. She got her first good look at him.
"You look like a dork! What the heck is all this?"
"It's supposed to measure brain activity," he explained.
"This is love science?"
Logan simply nodded. He could easily have explained it to Kit, but that would involve disclosing the full nature of the experiment. And he much preferred to have her believe that this was only about Camille.
"You know this is stupid, right?"
"No," he insisted. "It's science"
"Sure, it is."
"Laugh all you want, Kit, but emotions can be deceptive and confusing. Heart rate, brain waves, and sweat levels, on the other hand, cannot-"
She rolled her eyes. Kit failed to stifle her laughter. "That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard."
Logan crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you gonna help or not?"
She shrugged. Kit moved over to the machines, watching as the monitor beeped. The photograph on the coffee table beside the machine caught her eye. She picked it up, waving it in the air. It was a picture of her and Camille from the previous summer.
"Where did you even get this?"
"Your room," he said. Logan shot her a grin at the dangerous look she gave him.
Kit chose to ignore him. Instead, she turned her attention to calculating the results of his vital signs.
"Your heart rate is really high," she said. Kit glanced from the monitor to Logan.
"Good," he said. "That means it's working"
Her eyes turned towards the other machine as it began scribbling his brain waves furiously. Logan found himself somewhat thankful that his actual thoughts remain private. Kit could see his thoughts racing, but she wouldn't think anything of it. He folded his hands in his lap.
"If you say so," Kit shrugged.
Logan chewed on his bottom lip. Deep down, he knew that the experiment could only offer him so much. The final decision would always land on him. Though he struggled to, Logan needed to follow his heart. His poor, neglected little heart screamed the truth at him, but his fears muffled the sound. Logan was looking for some sort of excuse to pursue Camille that he knew he would never find. Later, he would use the carefully calculated scale he concocted to measure love science. He would have to face the truth, eventually, but he took the opportunity to trick himself into prolonging it. The poor boy felt trapped by his innate fear of rejection and tendency to steer clear of conflict.
"Okay," Kit's voice broke him from his stupor.
She compiled the paperwork into a neat stack. After flipping through them once, she handed them over. Logan took them from her but didn't bother to look at them just yet.
He pulled at the sensors to remove them and set the rest of the equipment aside. Logan stood once he had freed himself. Exhaling shakily, he rubbed the back of his neck.
Sure, Kit was happy to help him with his hijinks when there was no more involvement than the science project they'd done together last month, but the second part of what he asked her to do still weighed on him. It was a long shot to think Kit would even consider it, let alone agree to do it.
He caught her staring at him and grinned. Kit brought it up first:
"You needed me for, uh, something else, right?"
"I gotta admit," he said. "I really didn't think you'd actually agree to, uh, you know-"
"I believe you wanted me to 'make out' with you?"
"Yep, that," he let out a nervous laugh. "It's strictly for science, though. Practically clinical. Er, unless you think James might be mad?"
She hummed. Kit furrowed her brow in thought for a moment, hesitant. Of course, she wanted to do it. Something held her back, though. Something that was 6 feet and one inch of pure dedication who might not appreciate her abandoning their plan so easily. Part of her felt guilty for not even telling Logan what was going on between her and James- well, what they were pretending to be, that is. Still, she really wanted this excuse to kiss him.
"It's fine," she dismissed. "Like you said, it is purely scientific. Practically a stage kiss"
"So, are you two a thing now?"
"I mean," Kit rolled her lips inward. "It's all still new, so we haven't really talked about it but, uh, yeah. I guess, we are"
"Gotcha," he replied.
Logan nodded. Brushing past the jealousy that stirred inside him, he did his best not to look as giddy as he felt.
"I'm curious, though," she added. "Why do you need me to kiss you, again?"
"Don't question my methods," he quipped.
Much like he saw her do with James, she sat facing him on the orange couch. Logan's mind went static as she got closer. The only thing he could register was her- how starry her eyes looked as she gazed up at him, how gentle her hands were as they cupped his cheeks, her perfume. It was intoxicating.
"Are you sure about this?"
With a simple nod, Logan finally closed the gap. The kiss carried all the words that neither of them had the courage to say aloud behind it. Its sheer force turned Logan's brain to mush. Whatever scientific purpose he convinced himself that this was for went right out the window. He had imagined what it might feel like to kiss Kit Knight a thousand times, but he never thought that it would actually happen.
It wasn't quite the same as kissing Camille. With Kit, it came naturally. Her lips were soft and passionate but there was a hint of force that simply made it unforgettable. She tasted like vanilla and a piece of heaven.
Her thumb absently stroked his cheek as she deepened the kiss, the hand not cupping his face reaching around his neck. Logan embraced her in his arms. He pulled her into his lap by the hips.
Time ceased to exist with Kit this close to him. As the kiss deepened, the teens desperately clung to each other. The resolve with which she first kissed him melted away and his touch became needier.
The sound of the apartment door opening caused the pair to spring apart. Kit sat on the opposite end of the couch from Logan. She stared wide-eyed at Carlos and James as they walked in, but they didn't seem to pay her much attention.
Once they had disappeared into their bedroom, Kit chanced a look over at Logan. His cheeks were brightly flushed and his lips were slightly swollen from all the kissing. He looked utterly bewildered.
"So," she said. "Did you, uh, get what you needed?"
Logan blinked at her. Still speechless, he could only offer her a pathetic: "yep"
Kit rose from her seat to fetch the data from their earlier experiment. She scanned over the numbers but still couldn't quite figure out what Logan expected them to tell him. Sure, his heart rate sped up noticeably and his mind raced a mile a minute, but what did that tell him? Surely, he could figure that much out without the help of a heart monitor.
She took the results over to him. Kit checked them once more before handing them over to Logan. He stared blankly at the numbers before him.
"Well?" Kit eyed him expectantly. "What's the diagnosis, Love Doctor?"
He ignored her questioning, feeling panic inch up his spine. Logan knew he didn't need a machine to tell him that he liked being around Kit. Why couldn't it be that simple with Camille, a girl who he had a real shot with? He doubled down on his stubborn insistence that he liked Camille enough. Balling up the papers, he tossed them aside.
Logan forced a smile, shrugging: "You were right. Love science is stupid"
Kit offered him a sympathetic smile. Sighing, she clasped her hands over his.
"Do you want my advice?"
He nodded.
"I think you already know what you want, Logan," she began. "And if that's Camille, well then, you should give it a real shot this time. Either way, just make your decision soon. She's not gonna wait around for you forever"
Camille Roberts certainly wasn't the type of girl who would let any boy make a fool of her. Logan had been too indecisive with her and she had every right to decide that she wanted more. But Kit Knight was already too far gone for that. Camille wouldn't wait for Logan to choose her, but Kit certainly would, even if he didn't even know it.
He exhaled slowly. Kit made it seem so simple. Logan knew she was right, about everything, but he felt weighed down by the glaringly obvious truth.
But what if it's not Camille he wanted?
"You're right," he said. Logan decided it was time to face his feelings head on. "Thanks for your help, Kit Kat"
She pulled her hands away from his, hoping he hadn't noticed her cheeks flush.
If he couldn't have Kit, he was perfectly fine with loving her from afar. It wasn't anything new, after all. Logan would probably end up taking her advice and giving it a proper go with Camille. After all, he would never know if he didn't try.
"Oh, and before I forget," he said. "Do you think we could keep this just between us? You know how Kendall gets."
She agreed readily. The kiss was a treasure for only them to know. Kit quite liked the romance of having such a secret with Logan. She assured him that her lips were sealed, then rose from the couch to head towards bed.
Before she could make it far, he called out to her.
"James is a lucky guy, you know. You're a really good kisser"
Her face turned crimson at this. James. Her kiss with Logan left Kit so lovestruck that the other boy had slipped her mind entirely, along with their little arrangement. Her heart clenched.
She chuckled in response, shaking her head playfully. If her mind wasn't so caught up in jealousy about the idea of Logan and Camille making it official, she might have noticed that he was flirting with her. Well, trying to, at least.
"I'll keep that in mind," she said. Kit shifted uncomfortably. Her and James was something that she had purposefully avoided talking about with the boys just yet. She figured word got around to him from Camille that the dance had not just been a friend-date. As far as the Palm Woods and their friends were concerned, James was, more or less, her boyfriend. Which, she assumed, probably meant that she shouldn't have been so eager to kiss Logan. Not that James could really be mad at her, given the circumstances.
Logan smiled after her. Before he could say something he might regret, he added:
"Good night, Kit Kat"
"Good night, Hortense," she said. With one last smile, she hung her head and retired to her room for the night.
Logan collapsed on the couch once she was gone. He stared at the ceiling and willed the butterflies in his stomach to fade. If even for a split second, he had gotten to pretend that Kit was his and that meant everything.
He went to bed that night feeling no different than he had when woke up. Logan stared blankly at the ceiling of the bedroom he shared with Kendall.
If nothing else, Logan finally felt ready to admit to himself just how irreversibly in love he was in Kit Knight. The thought terrified him beyond belief, especially so with the taunting memories of Kit locking lips with James and the indescribable feeling of her kiss. Kit had been right; love science was stupid.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
As he strolled through the Palm Woods lobby, James couldn't shake the dopey grin that overtook him. His left hand clutched at a bouquet of daisies which he bought on his way over from Rocque Records. Distracted, he didn't even notice Katie watching him until she'd grabbed his arm.
The younger teen clapped her hand over his mouth to mute the yelp that escaped him. Katie merely rolled her eyes in response to the daggers he glared at her. James glanced behind her to take in the small space of the janitor's closet they found themselves in.
"Okay, what is up with you lately?"
She took the flowers from him, looking them over. She held them up with a smirk.
"Woah," Katie spoke. "Are these for Kit?"
He scoffed, trying to deny it. Katie didn't buy it.
"Come on, James. You can do better than that. You know they're her favorite."
He smiled sheepishly at her. James shifted his weight, feeling something between uncomfortable and embarrassed. Kissing Kit to spite Kendall was one thing, but the wrath of Katie Knight was something he had not anticipated.
"If you hurt her," Katie threatened. "It's not just Kendall that you'll need to worry about"
He held his palms up in defense. James had no such intentions. Katie recognized the dopey look on his face from her big brother and the way he spoke about Jo. That clue was not lost on her.
"Oh my god," she smacked his arm. "You like her!"
James crossed his arms over his chest. He knew better than to deny it outright.
"I'm just helping a friend," he tried.
Katie gave him back the flowers. Although she didn't dignify it with a verbal response, her eyes told James that she didn't buy it.
"Spill," she commanded.
James parted his lips. He and Kit made a pact to keep this strictly between the two of them. After all, once one of their friends discovered their arrangement, it would only be a matter of time before they all knew. But the way Katie pouted at him made James cave every time.
Damn, the Knight girls were good.
After one more whine, James steeled himself. He began to explain the situation to Katie. What started as a misunderstanding simply snowballed into a full-blown relationship born out of a lie and a misguided attempt to use Logan's jealousy to push him closer to Kit.
Poor James had no clue what a mess he was in. Katie knew a love stricken boy when she saw one and no amount of deflection or assurance that he wanted Kit to end up with Logan would budge her. It may have started out that way, but it seemed that maybe not all of James's relationship with Kit was an act anymore.
She knew there were only a few possible ways that this could end for them; most of which left one or both of the teens with a broken heart. Rather than waste her energy trying to convince James that his plan was doomed, Katie settled on keeping a close eye on the pair as it inevitably failed.
Katie sighed. She watched him fix his hair and straighten his clothing.
"Hey," he said. "Are you free right now?"
Katie knit her eyebrows. "Yes?"
James grabbed her by the arm. "Great," he said. "You're coming with me to Rocque Records."
The pair hurried off to find Gustavo.
He ignored the questions that Katie threw his way as he led her away from the Palm Woods. James held the bouquet at his side; he'd save them for when he brought Kit the good news later.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Rocque Records was probably the last place James wanted to be on his day off, yet there he was. The boy stood outside of Gustavo's office. He grimaced at the muffled sounds of screaming which came from inside. With a deep breath, he held his shoulders up high and stepped inside, knocking on the doorframe as he did so.
The dazzling smile which James shot Gustavo caused the man to narrow his eyes in suspicion. He knew that look, James wanted something. Katie's presence only increased his anxiety. He didn't have the patience to play along with his little games.
"Gustavo, hey," he began.
"Yeah, I'm gonna stop you right there. I don't have time for whatever this is, so you better make it quick"
Kelly entered behind James, looked up from her cell phone and knit her eyebrows. She looked from Katie to James, confused.
"James? Katie? What are you doing here? I thought you guys had the day off"
He shrugged.
"Gustavo," he began. "You are one of the greatest music producers of a generation. I trust your musical judgement, which is why I want you to hear Kit Knight's new song. Uh, you know, 'cause talent recognizes talent-"
Kelly watched her employer closely, ready to intervene before things got too messy. She truly did not get paid enough to deal with these boys and their ridiculousness.
The man leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, eyebrows raised in bemusement. He enjoyed watching the boy grovel.
"You did say we should look into expanding Rocque Records with new artists," Kelly reminded him.
As the more sentimental of the two, Kelly preferred to sign Kit Knight over some other artist that they would have to wine and dine. As Mama Knight liked to put it, they were all family at this point. Kit and Katie included. However, she wasn't entirely sure if Gustavo would buy into the idea of signing a singer-songwriter, given his pride. Truthfully, Kelly ventured that an artist who wrote their own songs would be just the kind of break that Gustavo needed but would never admit to.
Gustavo rolled his eyes. Although he knew Kelly had a point, his pride caused the man to simply shrug.
"You're right," he said. "I am amazing. But I also write all the hits that I produce, so, tell me, why should I invest in the dog's sister?"
"Because you love us?"
James held his hands out, hoping that Gustavo would grant him this one wish. The two engaged in an intense staring contest. James's pleading eyes never once left Gustavo.
The immediate thought that entered Gustavo's head mostly revolved around a hesitancy to bring yet another distraction into the studio. He knew the lovestruck look on James's face well enough to judge that Kit would only serve to make his most chaotic artists even wilder. On the other hand, he also knew James's hardened determination meant that he would never hear the end of this, should he say no. A frustrated sigh escaped him.
"Yeah," Gustavo smirked. "I don't care"
Katie, who up until then remained uncharacteristically quiet, strolled over to whisper something to Freight Train. The two of them conversed shortly before the girl returned to her previous spot next to James, smirking.
From the corner, Freight Train stepped forward. He crossed his arms over his chest.
"Gustavo," he said. "I think you should listen. I've seen some of what Kit can do and James is right; girl's good"
At the confusion which flashed across James's face, he elaborated:
"What? We had some time to kill while you were in the studio and she asked for my opinion"
HIs answer seemed to satisfy James.
"So," Kelly chimed in. "Freight Train, you really think James is right? And this isn't just some puppy love thing...?"
James scowled at this. Before he could defend himself, however, the jarring sound of Gustavo's laughter boomed throughout the office space.
Freight Train cleared his throat. The bodyguard shook his head at the music producer, warning him. Gustavo let out a squeak.
"The girl's got heart and her songs reflect that. It's something relatable and catchy. Almost makes me feel like I'm a seventeen year old girl."
The booming laugh that Gustavo let out at this did not go over well. At the sight of an unamused Freight Train, he flinched. "Fine," Gustavo said. "The Dog Twin can play one song for me. Then I'll tell you whether it's good or not"
"You won't regret this," James promised.
The boy bounced on his feet in excitement. If he didn't think it would result in Freight Train personally escorting him back to the Palm Woods, James would have hugged Gustavo. Instead, he settled for another signature grin.
Gustavo watched him leave, grumbling. He wondered what exactly he had just gotten himself into. Kit certainly seemed to be the most levelheaded and calmest out of the Knight siblings, but she was related to Kendall and Katie nonetheless. He could only hope James was right on this one.
a/n: i promise there will be some resolution with kendall/kit/james in the next chapter. Say what you want about james diamond, but my boy is nothing if not dedicated.
are you team logan or james?