A/N: HERE WE GO! I can't even tell you how excited I am for this :D

IMPORTANT before you read: This is off of the couple, Kendall/Sage, in my story "Past the Sorrow"… In order to understand these, you DO NOT have to necessarily read it (although I hope it'd be enjoyable lmao)

FOR MY CURRENT KAGE LOVERS: this is an AU of PTS! That means the rules and circumstances are a bit different… It is set during the episode "Big Time Beach Party"… Unlike in PTS, the boys are the boys you know from BTR (it's all the rules of the show, and they are SEVENTEEN now :)… I think that's all you need to know.

and, this may or may not contain Jo bashing... Sorry to those of you who like her! but it's not ALL bad... just read and you'll see. It's not so much hating on her as it is saying that Kendall and Jo do not work as a couple here :)

Just keep an open mind and enjoy! OH! And this is PART ONE… Part two (the last part) will be posted Friday as "chapter two" of this. So, story alert if you'd like :D

(Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush, but I do own "Sage Henderson" :)

"A Drop in the Ocean" (PART ONE)- Kendall Knight and Sage Henderson meet during summer vacation in Malibu. They are instantly bonded, but there's a problem. Kendall is dating Jo… (set during Big Time Beach Party)

"Kendall, you're so amazing…"

That's all Kendall Knight had been hearing in the last few minutes; the longest minutes of his young life.

You're so fantastic. You're so sexy. You're so talented. You're so perfect. Your smile is breathtaking, and your singing voice feeds my soul.

He wasn't James. He didn't need or necessarily want the compliments. They made his stomach churn with a nervous need to run and his mouth dry with the inability to use his usually quick witted speech. The praise was uncomfortable and, coming from its source, completely undesired. The overly enthusiastic Sandy couldn't seem to take a hint from his awkward laughter and tense shoulders. She just kept on going with her verbal tribute to his existence.

"Take a picture with me!" the brunette suddenly declared, not making it sound like a request he was capable of denying. The thought of refusing her eager wish felt akin to kicking a puppy that looked at you like you were holding a meaty treat. He couldn't do it; not to a huge fan that adored him with every creepy cell in her body.

Kendall had a hard time letting anyone down, even crazy strangers he met on the beach.

Sandy pulled out her phone and held it in front of them as she leaned even further into his dwindling personal space to pucker her pink lips near his cheek. She snapped picture after picture of them sitting on the beach blanket that was meant for him and his girlfriend, Jo. Pressing her soft body into his side and placing her hand on his knee, Kendall's eyes widened beneath his sunglasses, trying to think of the quickest way to escape the clingy girl.

The beach was vast, but they were in a relatively private area. Most of the people on the sand were the teens that Big Time Rush bussed over for the first day of their Malibu vacation. Griffin had compensated the boys for their recent success and high profits. They were long overdue for a break after working at the studio and juggling homework nearly every day for the past year, and they were granted a sweet reward. Gustavo would be working with new artists, trying to expand the label because of its new achievements, and Griffin gave the boys his beach house for the whole summer. They had two months of sunny fun and relaxation to look forward to, even though a perturbed Gustavo promised them grueling hours on harmonies and dancing to "whip their sunburned asses back into shape", but Kendall's deserved leisure was getting off on the wrong foot. He wasn't even sure if it was standing at all. Right now, he would have rather been in a punishing rehearsal with Mr. X.

"Listen, Sandy, I really appreciate the enthusiasm, but I'm kinda here to de-stress. I love that you're a fan, but-" Kendall tried to break her away from him slowly for the millionth time, struggling not to use his muscles on the girl and just shove her ass onto the stretch of beach next to him. She cut him off before he could finish a sentence. She had possibly been doing that more than he had been pulling away from her. The girl's mouth moved faster than either of their limbs.

"I can de-stress with you! We can just lay here and enjoy the day together… Maybe later we could go somewhere more private," Sandy's voice shifted a few octaves lower into what Kendall assumed was supposed to be an alluring tone. It sent all the wrong shivers up his spine, and he desperately wanted to be anywhere else when her fingers clenched his exposed knee in a vice grip and made him want to lose his lunch.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, you're really sweet, but I can't do that," Kendall kept his overly chipper smile, his white teeth standing out against his lips and tan skin in an attempt at being soothing, but also direct and friendly. He jumped off of the blanket, finally detangling himself from Sandy with a mental happy dance, and stood in front of the seated girl.

"Are you busy? 'Cause I'll be around tomorrow too-"

This time, it was Kendall's turn to interrupt Sandy.

"I can't ever. I have a girlfriend," he delivered the news like he knew that it would break her heart, but he really didn't care after the first five minutes of fake laughs and appeasing gestures. He was exhausted from her presence, but still forced himself to remain charming and cordial. After all, the excited brunette didn't mean any harm.

Kendall didn't mention the fact that his girlfriend wouldn't be around for the entire summer. Jo had planned to work her filming schedule around Kendall's vacation so they would have some time together, but her successful show, "New Town High", had receive a deal for a television-movie, and filming was slated to begin only two days before his Malibu getaway. She would be up in Canada shooting the film for the summer, and Kendall would remain by himself in sunny California until the final week, when Jo would be able to finish the vacation with him. Fate always seemed to mess the couple up. When Kendall's work finally stopped interfering with their relationship, Jo's would rear its ugly head. They had been dealing with it for several months, but seven whole weeks apart was going to be a trying test for both of them. Kendall had been optimistic, but now he was sort of wishing Jo was here to deter Sandy's advances. His girlfriend would be able to excuse acting like a bitchy girl because she was, well, a girl, but Kendall was neither bitchy nor female.

He compelled himself to stay nice and sociable, internally congratulating his gentlemanly behavior.

"That's okay. We can still hang out and see where things go," Sandy remained hopeful, and Kendall almost wanted to pat her on the back for her perseverance. He had been known to demonstrate the Knight family's trait of stubbornness himself, but he hoped he never got this bothersome. Sandy was still giving him a disturbing look of seduction that was doing nothing for him. He never even thought about any other girl besides Jo.

"I'm sorry, but-

"I'm gonna go get us a couple sodas! Stay here!" her voice was still abnormally animated. She didn't seem to notice his frown as she latched her surprisingly strong arms around his abdomen in a needy hug, her face pressing into his rigid torso while he kept his hands in the air as a form of surrender.

"O-Okay," he choked out a chuckle, aiming for equal enthusiasm and hoping that he sounded convincing enough for her to leave him alone for a minute.

Kendall sighed in relief when Sandy departed with a final squeeze, practically skipping across the sand in search of refreshments. Watching her move farther away, he took several paces backward with his eyes searching for the nearest exit. He counted the steps and only got to five before the loony brunette turned around to check on him with a flirtatious and frantic wave of her fingers. Kendall swallowed thickly and plastered on another forced smile, his lips fighting to turn down in a frown of disgust, and lifted his hand in a weak form of salute until she spun back around. He decided that he was done being cautious, and, as soon as her eyes were off of him, Kendall pivoted through the sand swiftly and dashed behind the base of the nearby bluffs.

The ocean was relatively calm, so the water barely met his heels as he rounded the smallest point of the rocks and took cover on the other side. The sand was much cooler, and the sun's bright rays didn't directly strike the ground behind the bluffs because of the early hour of the day. Kendall crouched down dramatically and swiped his sunglasses off of his eyes, slipping them onto the neck of his t-shirt, and glanced around the immediate area for any sign of Sandy. He was hoping to wait the girl out. If she came back, and he was nowhere to be seen, then hopefully she'd give up her crusade to date the unavailable pop star and forget about him.

"Hey, are you okay?"

A soft voice broke him out of his panic and sent him into a fresh wave of paranoia.

"Ah!" Kendall yelped in surprise and landed hard on his butt, instantly looking around for Sandy. He didn't see the brunette, but he did see a lovely, hopefully sane, blonde.

She was sitting against the rocks with her knees drawn up towards her chest and a notebook in her lap. Watching him curiously, her dark green eyes contrasted vibrantly with her pale skin as they morphed into a look of amusement when she studied his sprawled limbs and frantic behavior. Her pink lips turned up into a smirk while she tilted her head to the side, making her long hair flow over to favor one of her shoulders and her sunglasses shift slightly where they rested at the top of her head.

"This looks weird, right?" Kendall smiled uneasily. Earlier he thought Sandy was embarrassing herself, but now he felt like he had stolen her role. Struggling to rise to his feet smoothly, he knew he probably seemed like a spastic idiot. It was a lot less humiliating when he was acting like a fool in a group with Logan, James, and Carlos.

"A little," the blonde girl popped the cap onto the pen she was holding and pinched her thumb and index finger close together, only making her smile widen as he huffed out a heavy breath and dusted the sand off of his clothes.

"Sorry, I probably look like a dumbass, but I'm trying to dodge this clingy, psychotic chick- Shit!" Kendall's tone had been fast paced and cordial as he looked at the intrigued girl, but he reverted back to a high-pitched cry of alarm when he spotted Sandy making a beeline for his hiding spot, which he had abandoned when he got startled.

Kendall's eyes widened and the sitting blonde kept her smirk as he darted his head around their immediate area wildly, not even thinking to attempt to crouch down again, and searched for a way to avoid the obnoxious fanatic heading in his direction. He was biting his tongue and taking one step forward and another backward, essentially staying in the same spot he had started and making no progress.

"Kendall, there you are! I decided against the drinks and figured we should just go out for lunch. It'll be like our first date," Sandy approached him quickly, making Kendall curse her long legs as the distance was closed before he could blink.

When he regained some of his composure, he had to fight back his glare of annoyance. He had already gone over this with her, but Sandy was still inching towards his body and reaching her hands out to hug him without asking. Her stare was overly intense and had him wanting to whine, thinking that she was never going to get the hint, which wasn't even really a hint anymore. He thought he had been very direct, but apparently he was too nice for his own good. Keeping a small smile of pity, Kendall grabbed her shoulders lightly to keep her from coming any closer and held her still.

"I'm sorry, Sandy, but I can't have lunch with you," he made his words sharp and sluggish so that there was no doubt about his intent. "I already told you that I have a girlfriend," he reminded her, pressing his lips into a hard line and narrowing his eyes.

"I know, but I don't see her anywhere," the eager teen took a small step forward and reached out to touch his abdomen with a new wave of disgusting seduction on her face.

"She's right here."

The blonde girl, who Kendall had forgotten about and Sandy never noticed, spoke and stood up abruptly, tossing her notebook down into the sand along with her pen. She wore an amiable smile, which was aimed at Sandy, and her eyes darted to Kendall to silently warn him to play along with a slight raise of her thin eyebrows. He was stunned for a moment, and then he smirked easily and recovered with an outstretched hand to the helpful stranger.

She accepted it with a smile, and their fingers interlocked. The girl leaned into his side, standing only a few inches shorter than him in her wedged sandals. He estimated that she would be about Carlos' height if she wasn't wearing shoes, and he found himself relaxing into her enthusiastic embrace. Unlike Sandy, who made Kendall instantly nervous, this new fellow conspirator made him comfortable. It helped that she wasn't only wearing a bathing suit. She had a small pair of jean shorts and a black tank top on, and she seemed more normal than anyone he had run into so far on his first day in Malibu even though he knew next to nothing about her. She was helping a random person in need, and that was good enough for Kendall to have a high opinion of her.

"Yup, this is my sweetie!" Kendall declared zealously, unlinking their hands and wrapping a tan arm around her shoulders to pull the girl tightly against him and kiss the top of her head quickly for dramatic effect, not even thinking about Jo at the moment. He just pretended that this blonde was his girlfriend.

Kendall internally patted himself on the back for a convincing show, thinking that James would be proud of his acting talent. Carlos would probably be upset that he missed this moment and a little pissed at his fortunate friend. The unfortunate Latino had experienced no luck in the romance department recently, and now Kendall technically had three girls. Logan would probably just be glad he wasn't in Kendall's situation. He hated lying almost as much as he hated the attention of overzealous girls. He only ever agreed to go out with Camille after they had one of their first normal conversations. Kendall was probably the most ordinary guy in all of Big Time Rush, yet somehow he found himself in so many extraordinary circumstances. As of right now, meeting a crazed girl that wanted to get in his pants on day one of his beach vacation took the cake.

"You're serious?" Sandy asked, her expression turning forlorn as she studied the pair of teenagers before her. The object of her desire nodded his head vigorously and rubbed his "girlfriend's" bare shoulder beneath his palm while she pressed the side of her face into his chest.

"As a heart attack," Kendall insisted happily, not able to force away his smile of joy when he realized the brunette was buying it.

"Fine," Sandy spat viciously, losing her pleading pout almost as soon as it came with a look of annoyance at the girl in his arms. "Maybe I'll see you around…" her eyes lit up as she brought them back to Kendall. She grinned and played with the end of her ponytail flirtatiously.

Feeling her "boyfriend" tense up beside her, the nameless girl reached up to his hand on her shoulder and interlocked their fingers once again with a harsh glare at Sandy and a fake smile on her lips.

"Yeah, we'll see you later," her voice was genial, but Kendall wanted to laugh at her professional use of subtle emotions with her emerald eyes. They spoke volumes.

He breathed deep, relaxing for the first time in what seemed like forever, when Sandy stormed off without another word. Her defeated and angry posture said everything they needed to know. The overzealous adolescent had finally taken a hint.

"Thank you so much!" Kendall cheered and spun to face his new partner in crime with an eager and grateful smile. Their warm bodies broke apart, and the slight breeze felt a little too chilly on their skin. The girl's eyes were back to their normal amusement, easily losing the act once their nemesis had disappeared. She shrugged her shoulders modestly. "Seriously, I feel like I should pay you or something," Kendall chuckled, taking another pleased look at the crazy-teen free space around them.

"I think that might be considered prostitution," she smirked playfully, crossing her arms just below her chest and looking down at the sand beneath their feet, making her blonde hair graze the skin of her forearms. She glanced around for her abandoned notebook and smiled when she spotted it.

Kendall thought her joke should have made him stutter or blush, not having ever discussed sex much with any female. He was still a virgin and waiting for the time to be right with Jo, but this girl didn't faze him at all. In fact, he felt himself itching to banter back, but not in the way that he would do with his girlfriend. Jo often made him feel like arguing because of her stubborn attitude. This girl's tone and words made him feel secure enough to talk back without hesitation, knowing that his statement wouldn't be taken the wrong way or lead to a quarrel. Being able to speak freely was refreshing.

"You didn't do me any sexual favors, so I think we're good in the eyes of the law," he smirked right back at her, watching as her eyes met his after she picked up her notebook and pen off of the ground, shaking the sand from the pages.

"Good to know. I'd hate to end up in jail for helping such a national treasure," she teased him lightly, her smile staying friendly as she gathered a messenger bag from where she had been sitting and threw it over her shoulder. She removed the sunglasses from her hair and placed them over her face as the clouds shifted in the sky and the shade diminished. Kendall found himself missing her direct eye contact immediately. She was hard to read without it.

"So, you know who I am?" Kendall asked suddenly, realizing what she had called him. She nodded slowly.

"Kendall Knight from Big Time Rush, right?" she inquired, biting her bottom lip innocently, thinking she may have gotten it wrong; not having too much knowledge about the rising band.

"Yup, that's me… I still gotta get used to this being-recognized thing," he snickered, shaking his head slightly.

They say fame doesn't come over night, but it sure felt like it to him. He could still remember high school and hockey in Minnesota, and now he was on a beach in Malibu. Life moved so fast sometimes, and he was just struggling day by day. He loved the band, but his personal life outside of the studio felt out of his control. That's why he had been grateful for this vacation. No work would be a welcomed change, and he'd be able to focus on other things; things that may not have mattered otherwise.

"Wait, I don't know who you are. I should probably have my fake-girlfriend's name up here for reference," he bantered with a smile, pointing to his temple.

"Oh, now I feel like the idiot," she giggled and moved forward to stand right in front of him. She lifted her sunglasses into her hair again so that she could politely make eye contact. "I'm Sage Henderson."

Kendall's smile widened, and, if you asked him why, he wouldn't have known. The second he met Sage his life just changed. It wasn't an epic explosion of fireworks or a big neon sign directing him into a new phase of his young existence. It was so subtle that he wouldn't even see it until it all caught up with him at once and shook both teenagers' worlds. In this moment, the only thing he knew was that he was comfortable and happy, and that was enough for him to reach out his hand to shake Sage's.

"Thanks for helping me, Sage," he stared right at her, losing his train of thought for a moment when her name left his lips; surprised at how natural it felt. It seemed like he had said it just as many times as "James", "Carlos", or "Logan".

"It's not a problem. You looked like you were in a bind, and I wasn't busy, so…" Sage trailed off, waving her hand modestly, not searching for gratitude. "Besides, I've seen that girl around here for the last couple of days. I saw the cops escort her off of Russell Brand's property yesterday. We'll just call it a favor to society and your actual girlfriend," she grinned and toyed with the metal spiral of the notebook clasped tightly against her chest.

"Why can't it be a favor to me?" he asked curiously, raising an eyebrow and shoving his hands into his pockets. She seemed taken aback by his question, not expecting him to tease her as much as she was joking with him.

"I- I don't like anyone owing me anything…" she answered nervously. She knew what if felt like to be on the opposite end of a favor. Sage hated the feeling of being in debt, and she'd never wish it on others, even a relative stranger like Kendall Knight.

Kendall's smile lessened, already thinking that the uncomfortable expression didn't suit the girl at all. One second she looked confident and fun, and now he pushed her into an emotion she didn't seem to be prepared for.

"Okay, then we'll be debt free as soon as this conversation is over," he assured her, keeping the playful tone in his voice that he noticed calmed her down.

"So, you're forcing me to talk to you?" she teased, her eyes softening and her posture relaxing. "What do you wanna know?"

"Well, I've got your name, what else is there? Address? Social Security number?" he asked rhetorically, happily eliciting more laughter from his new friend.

"I'm staying at my family's beach house for the summer," Sage stopped to nod up at her house, making Kendall smile.

"Not only are we fake-dating, but we're also real neighbors," Kendall declared cheerfully, pointing up to the building right beside hers.

"I thought that belonged to Arthur Griffin?"

"It does! He's our boss, and this summer is his gift to us," Kendall explained further, looking excited for the vacation. He stopped when his phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out with a groan, smiling apologetically at Sage as he answered it. "What is it, James?... No, do not let Carlos dig for treasure in the basement… How could that possibly sound like a good idea? Where's Logan?... He's helping? Is he high?"

Kendall yelled into his phone, his expression one of panic while Sage watched in delight. She had been there for a week, and Kendall was by far the most interesting person she had ever met. Actually, he was the only person she had spoken to.

"Ugh, I'll be up in a minute. There's no way I'm letting us get sent back to the Palm Woods. It hasn't even been an hour!" Kendall rolled his eyes and ended the call without saying goodbye. "Sorry about that." He stopped to look at Sage, suddenly feeling upset that he had to leave.

"It's okay. I'm sure I'll see you later, but no debt, alright? I don't want you doing something stupid because you feel like I helped you out," Sage reminded him weakly, adjusting her bag on her shoulder again.

"First of all, you did help me out. Second, why would you assume that I'd do something stupid?" He grinned, showing her that she may not have been all that inaccurate with her guess.

"Your friends are digging for treasure in your boss' million dollar beach house. You can't hang out with guys like that and be sane all the time," she chuckled, taking several steps backwards, and started to move around the rocks. Placing her sunglasses back over her eyes, Sage turned to him with a final wave. "See you around, Neighbor."

Kendall waved back at her slowly, keeping his essence of confidence as he watched her walk away from the bluffs. He responded softly, pretty sure that his answer was too late to be heard, but he said it anyway.

"Count on it."

"Jo, can we not do this, please?" Kendall stepped out of his newly acquired beach house, feeling the late morning breeze flow in from the Pacific.

His girlfriend had called as soon as he and the boys were about to leave for an early lunch, but her tone told him that the conversation couldn't wait, and he sent his friends on without him. Now, he was gripping his cell phone tightly, keeping a smile on his face as he begged for a change of topic. Jo had found out about the overeager Sandy, and she wasn't too pleased… or too trusting of her boyfriend.

"No, I can practically hear your stupid smile, Kendall Knight. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't fix everything," she sounded aggravated, her voice constantly rising and falling in pitch.

"There's nothing to fix!" he yelled back in disbelief, looking around the beach as if he thought he was the only sane one in the whole world. He moved past the infinity pool and grill area, stepping onto the private stairs leading to the beach. Taking them one step at a time, he cringed at his girlfriend's next words.

"So, you don't think our relationship is worth fixing?" she accused him venomously, and, if he was actually in front of her, he imagined he'd see her crossing her arms and bearing her brown eyes into his taller, yet somehow meeker, frame.

"Stop putting words in my mouth! I'm not saying that at all… You know I care about you, but you tend to… overreact," Kendall admitted awkwardly, taking a few more steps before shutting his eyes as he waited for Jo's response with fear. In an ideal relationship, he knew that he shouldn't have to be scared of her reactions, but he kept finding out that he wasn't in an ideal relationship by any means.

"I do not overreact, Kendall! If anything, you underreact!" Jo fought with fervor, turning her own negative attribute back onto him in her typical manipulative fashion. She controlled all of their discussions; how they flowed, how they began, and how they ended. This was no exception.

"That's not even possible," he sighed heavily, speaking in a reassuring tone. "If I was underreacting, then I wouldn't even be talking to you right now. I would have ignored your call and your feelings…" he sounded appeasing and sweet, but he couldn't help adding to his speech internally, "… even if both of them are occasionally pissy…"

Kendall smiled enthusiastically and continued aloud.

"I do everything to make sure that we stay close through our crazy schedules. I work with you all the time no matter what," he reminded her, hoping she'd see his point of view, but Jo was still irritated with him.

"You're not working at all right now, Kendall… I'm on set in Vancouver filming a movie, and you're vacationing in Malibu with your hooligan bandmates and girls in bikinis!"

Kendall instantly wanted to groan and raise his voice at her tirade. He hated it when she took jabs at his brothers. Jo never seemed to find the good qualities in them at all when she got amped up. They're there, but she just seemed to want to pick out the negative. Only a few weeks earlier, she even wanted to change Carlos so he could get a date.

Kendall thought Carlos was just fine the way he was, and so were James and Logan. He didn't want any of them to ever alter who they were, or their group wouldn't work as impeccably as it did. They thrived on each other's differences; filling the gaps and taking over with supportive stances when there was a flaw in their nearly unbreakable structure. They were a team composed of diverse members with various circumstances that came together despite all odds at an early age. There was no single reason that Big Time Rush was such a strong family. They just existed together, and loved each other permanently.

Jo messed with that from day one. Her appearance at the Palm Woods got them all to turn on each other like animals. Granted, Kendall got the girl in the end and everything worked out, but it was times like these that he thought he should have picked up the lesson that was waiting to be learned during the whole love song ordeal after Jo moved to Hollywood from North Carolina. At first, he thought it was intriguing that she wanted to fight him on everything. It was their form of flirting, but now it was Jo's form of nagging, and Kendall always rolled over again and again for her.

He missed who he used to be. He used to be a protector, a leader. He used to be needed and loved, not just wanted. It was like Jo took his presence for granted. She just assumed that he'd always be right next to her when she was ready to call for him, and, every time he wasn't, he had a verbal assault to look forward to.

Jo's favorite things to rant about were usually out of Kendall's control.

"Who is this Sandy anyway? Why were you just letting her hang all over you?"

And there it was…

"Jo, she was a fan that I met here on our first day. She was really supportive of… the band…" Kendall fumbled, thinking it was best not to point out that she was obsessed with him specifically, "…and I had trouble shaking her loose. She got a little extreme, but I dodged her. She's not gonna be bothering me anymore."

"She put pictures of you two together all over the internet, and she's kissing you!" Jo screamed, and he thought he could hear her stamp her foot.

Kendall sighed again, not even attempting to bring up the fact that the Sandy issue had happened over two days ago, and Jo was just calling him now. He had tried to get in contact with her to tell her everything before there was a problem, but she ignored his calls and texted that she was too busy or exhausted to talk. It wasn't his fault that she just saw the pictures now, and, of course, she thought that he'd been hiding something from her. Calling her four times a day and texting at least twice? Yeah, real secretive…

Kendall just kept his mouth shut. It was what he was used to doing. Jo was easier to handle when you agreed with her or merely let her talk, but it hadn't always been a problem for Kendall. It used to be one of her qualities that he admired. She was stubborn and determined; similar traits that he himself possessed, but, as the weeks dragged on, and they both became more occupied with their careers, he saw the pushier side of those attributes.

Jo was always down his throat about one thing or another, which often caused them to spend their short time together arguing over something that never mattered in the first place. He'd rather be watching a movie or holding her in his arms and talking about their hectic days, but he never gets that. Jo was starting to become high maintenance. That was James or Carlos' sort of thing when it came to girls, not Kendall's.

Logan, being the one that could always read Kendall the best, had told him again and again to reevaluate the relationship and ask himself if it was really what he wanted, but Kendall evaded that almost as much as he tried to avoid a fight with his girlfriend. Maybe he ignored the boy's wise advice because Logan was trying to get him to see a truth that was hiding there without being crude or pushy, doing what any good best friend does. This truth was one that he wasn't ready to view, but it was ultimately Kendall's choice whether he accepted the fact that he and Jo may not be right for each other. As of right now, that decision was far from his mind. He was only concerned with the current conversation.

"She was kissing my cheek, Jo, and it's not like I was begging her to plant one on me," he chuckled uneasily, giving off his disbelieving attitude at his girlfriend's ability to blow things out of proportion.

"Well, you weren't exactly stopping her…" Jo was whining now, the irritation still present but dwindling.

"Come on, I'm not gonna shove away a huge fan. That's rude," Kendall softened his voice, but his face showed his annoyance. He hated that he felt like he had to remind her about manners.

"I know… but…"

This was his favorite part of any of their arguments; the part where Kendall finally got to let his shoulders relax. Jo was relenting a little.

"You're upset," he finished her thought for her with what felt like his hundredth sigh, reaching the sand at the bottom of the stairs with heavy steps. He strolled down the beach leisurely, keeping the phone securely tucked against his ear as he headed towards the water.

"Of course I'm upset!" Jo shouted again, but her voice was losing its venom, and Kendall knew he could relax a bit more.

He just wanted the phone call to end. The morning was beautiful, and it was a different way to see it all compared to the view he got at the Palm Woods. Something like Malibu was another thing he could have never experienced in Sherwood, Minnesota. He wanted to cherish it. He had two months of it, but even that seemed short. Everything moved so quickly in Los Angeles, and it was hard to keep up with the breakneck pace. Time to breathe like this was good. It was good for all of them.

"I know… I know you are, but I promise that everything is okay. There's no reason to feel insecure."

Almost as soon as he finished his sentence, he regretted it. Even if what he said was absolutely true and delivered pleasantly, he knew that the words shouldn't have been spoken. It was going to fire her up, and he walked right into it.

"Kendall, I am not insecure! These are perfectly legitimate worries! There's evidence online. I don't think that I'm completely insane here…"

Jo continued her rant, but Kendall had stopped listening, his final thought being that her distrust in him was aggravating and insulting, but even that negative state of mind drifted away when he found something new to focus on. He spotted the girl who had helped him with Sandy two days ago.

Sage Henderson, his neighbor for the summer, was lying on an orange blanket near the water. Her sunglasses were thrown on top of a notebook by her side, and her hands were resting over her smooth, bare stomach. The bikini she was wearing was plain and black, and Kendall found himself shamelessly studying every small curve of her slim body as much as he could from his position several yards behind her.

The girl's long blonde hair was somewhat darker and waved, bunching slightly beneath her head where it pressed into the fabric under her, showing that she had most likely been swimming a while ago and was now drying off in the warm sun. Sage's lean legs were bent at the knee, her feet digging into the sand beyond the blanket, and her eyes were closed peacefully. At first, he thought she may have been asleep, but then she grinned, startling him into actually realizing what he was doing.

Kendall donned an awkward, disbelieving smile, looking around his general vicinity to see if anyone had noticed him blatantly watching this girl. Sage did something to him that he never experienced before. He was usually so tactful in social situations. He was always in control, but now he was staring at her like a thirteen-year-old that couldn't handle his actions after puberty kicked in. She mesmerized him. After he realized that he hadn't been caught, and he still kept watching her anyway, he knew it for sure.

Sage definitely put Kendall into a trance, and it was frightening and exhilarating all at the same time.

He didn't know whether he felt more like running to her or away from her, so he stood completely still as he watched her smile widen and her eyes open with excitement. She rolled over onto her side, swiping the pen from beside the open notebook and carelessly letting her sunglasses fall to the blanket beneath her. As she sat up fully, still keeping a happy expression, she laid the pad in her lap and scribbled something down furiously. He observed the way her back shifted as her right arm worked over the paper in front of her, and every move she made only deepened his infatuation. Although he was definitely studying her body, Kendall found that his thoughts weren't even sexual. He focused more on his curiosity towards her. Watching Sage made him want to talk to her, touch her, laugh with her… and he didn't even know her…

"Kendall!"

He suddenly remembered that he was on the phone with Jo.

Jo, his girlfriend.

Right.

He instantly felt as guilty as she made him out to be, but not for the same reasons. He shook his head and tore his eyes away from Sage, yelling at himself to get it together and stop being a douchebag.

"Sorry, Jo… I got distracted. Carlos was doing this really funny thing with a bowl of cereal…"

"Awesome." Her voice was dry and sarcastic, and he could tell that she had rolled her eyes.

Kendall would have normally been annoyed, but the guilt ate away at him faster than the frustration. Not only was he looking at another girl, but he also just lied to Jo for the first time.

"I really am sorry, Babe. I swear, I understand where you're coming from, and I promise that there's nothing to worry about. Sandy is gone. I told her that I had a girlfriend that I care a lot about. I'm not gonna jeopardize that…" Kendall spoke softly, but, even as he made a promise that he intended to keep, his gaze drifted back to Sage.

She had stopped writing and resumed her position on the blanket. If he had never seen her get up in the first place, he was sure that he would have never known she had moved at all.

"Really?" Jo brought him back to his phone conversation, which he had almost forgotten about again. She sounded pleasant, like she thought she was being cute, but it just made Kendall's stomach ache. It wasn't a lie, but he had only really said what did to get her off of his back.

He really wanted to mean it, but, with Jo, he often found himself using his brain a lot more than his heart.

"Yup, of course…" he recovered easily, nodding for emphasis even though she couldn't see him.

"Thank you for recognizing that you did something wrong- Oh! I'm getting called back to set. I gotta go…"

Kendall was instantly enraged at her backhanded gratitude. It was as if she wanted him to learn something from every single one of their verbal exchanges. God forbid she ever have something to absorb or change about herself so they could be at their best together. He did all of the labor in their relationship and Jo supervised. Kendall was a leader, not a follower, but he sucked it up and planted a big smile on his face so that his tone would hopefully reflect his features.

"Okay, Babe. Have a good time. Don't work too hard," he stayed serene, but a bitter taste overcame his tongue as he thought that costarring with overly handsome Jett Stetson wasn't really hard work. As usual, he didn't voice his opinion. He just gave Jo what she wanted, "Again, I'm sorry… I hate it when we fight…"

"I hate it too."

Then why does she always start an argument?

He wanted to ask her the question constantly running through his mind, but Kendall just bit his bottom lip and smiled even though she wasn't there to see it. It's what he always did. He always rolled over. He always gave in…

"Alright, I'll let you go. Have a good day. I'll talk to you later whenever you get a chance to call."

"Okay, bye, Kenny," Jo used the nickname that he despised, making him cringe as it flowed through the receiver.

Maybe he didn't actually hate the name itself. The distaste most likely came with the way she said it; sickeningly sweet like it could solve every tension between them just because she occasionally falls all over him.

Kendall never wanted that. He didn't really mind arguments, but he wished that they were more productive and that they didn't always end like this; Jo being too lovey-dovey and Kendall lacking the balls to say anything to the contrary. It was like she was always fake with him. Everything was like one of her movies. She wanted the perfect story and the perfect ending, but Kendall knew that life didn't work that way. He wanted someone who knew that too; who knew that everything couldn't be composed of rainbows and sunshine, but he had Jo, and he wouldn't search for anything more, even if Logan constantly told him that he deserved it.

Jo's fine. They have some problems, but all couples do. It's merely something else for Kendall Knight to figure out the solution to.

He just didn't realize that there wasn't always a solution for everything. Sometimes, two puzzle pieces just don't fit, and you have to keep searching in the huge pile for the right one, but Kendall was born stubborn. He was going to jam two of them together with all of his might until one snapped in half and the entire puzzle was ruined. He and Jo were headed for destruction unless one of them did something different or jumped off of the path that they were on completely.

"Bye," he ended the strenuous phone call in a bright voice, but, as soon as they were disconnected, the frown was back on his face.

He couldn't figure them out. It was like every single one of their conversations drove them further and further apart, yet he couldn't really make himself do anything other than what he usually did.

Kendall slipped his phone into his pocket, tucked his sunglasses onto the neckline of his t-shirt, and shifted his eyes back to Sage like a moth to a flame. He had almost forgotten that she was there, thinking about his issues with Jo, but, as soon as he spotted her again, it was like he had never had the horrible discussion in the first place.

He observed Sage as she smiled and rose up, just like she had done before, to write something down. Kendall strolled a little closer, going at a slow pace, almost as if he was mentally giving himself a chance to back out like he knew he should and walk away. He had an odd, apprehensive feeling in his gut; like this next insignificant event would change his life. He knew that it could go really well or really wrong, but how could one conversation in a series of millions in his life lead to any sort of monumental shift?

With a silent snicker, he shook the thought away.

Kendall didn't believe in fate. He made his own choices. Good or bad, the consequences would be his alone to deal with and no one else's.

He walked forward, making his decision, and smiled softly as he saw Sage finish what she was writing and toss the notebook in the sand at her feet instead of beside her. Just as she was lying back down, Kendall caught a glimpse of a scar across the lower half of her side, dragging at least three inches parallel to the line of her right hip. It made his curiosity grow. He wanted to ask Sage so many questions, and he didn't know why she seemed to matter so much to him. She just did, and Kendall didn't want to stop and question it. He just rolled with the punches like he always did.

He approached her after she was resting again, her eyes shutting softly with her dark lashes brushing against the pale skin beneath them. Crossing his arms over his chest, Kendall finally spoke to her for the first time since they met two days earlier. They were neighbors, and he was around a lot during the day, but she was surprisingly absent during that time.

"Come here often?" he asked cheekily, aiming to get her to smile from the lame line.

Sage jumped, her whole body jerking quickly, and he almost couldn't fight the urge to hug her. He thought the idea was insane. He didn't know her, but a simple display of innocent fear made him want to take care of her.

Recovering, Sage smirked when she saw him and leaned up on one hand to look over her shoulder. She glared playfully and then laid back down with her fingers laced over her abdomen again.

"Get stalked by any crazy chicks lately?" she shot back easily, making Kendall laugh genuinely for the first time all morning. He boldly stepped onto the blanket after kicking his shoes off and rested beside her, mirroring her prone body.

While he stared at the small clouds decorating the blue sky above them, they shared a quiet moment. It was peaceful and not awkward, which he thought it would have been, and he couldn't stop smiling the entire time. Kendall was sure he looked idiotic, but he couldn't make himself care. Being next to Sage was one of the most comforting experiences he ever had, and they had barely spoken to each other for five minutes total. It was an oddity, and Kendall liked that. He liked abnormality.

He only tore his eyes away from the sky when Sage sat up again. He thought she may have been getting ready to tell him to leave because, even to himself, he seemed a little creepy, but she just went for her notebook by her legs, wrote something, closed it, and then lay back down without a single word. Kendall grinned as he watched her closely, but she ignored him, shutting her emerald-colored eyes from view. Leaning up on his elbow, he found himself only inches from hovering above her, and he sort of wished he actually was. Lifting his hand up to place it gently on her abdomen would have been so easy. He felt like he just wanted to touch and feel her to see if she actually existed, but he didn't. He couldn't.

"You're kinda funny," Kendall smirked, speaking smartly with a light tone in his voice as he observed her odd behavior.

Sage smiled widely, almost laughing before she stopped herself, and cracked her eyes open to look up at him. She only had to turn her head a little to stare right at his face, and she didn't seem to mind that he was sharing so much of her personal space. It made Kendall want to lean in even more to test her limits, but he stayed put. He had a girlfriend who's limits were supposed to be more important, but he had trouble even remembering Jo whenever Sage spoke.

"You're probably the only one who thinks so," she mumbled, keeping her face calm as she lifted her upper body off of the blanket with both hands and took the notebook into her lap again to write yet another note.

"Why do you keep doing that?" he asked, sitting up with her and avoiding the heavy comment she had just made. He let it go, but he was still determined to learn more about Sage. He wanted to know everything.

"When I get an idea I write it down right away so I won't forget it," she explained it simply, still composing on the paper as she spoke, obviously trying to concentrate and do it as fast as she could before the words left her mind.

"Huh… are you some sort of genius?" he wondered innocently, only half joking. Logan was always writing something down.

"Now you're the funny one," Sage giggled, rolling her eyes at the thought.

She threw the notebook towards her feet again, turning her full attention to Kendall. She was still smiling softly, her laughter subsiding as she met his eyes, and then it was as if she suddenly noticed their close proximity and her lack of clothing. Even Kendall forgot about her half-naked form after he had gotten over the initial interest and decided that his mind was more content with actually talking to her, but she looked a little shy once she realized that she only wore a bikini and he was dressed in swim trunks and a t-shirt. Kendall saw her shift her posture, finding it interesting that she was so abruptly timid, but he didn't say or do anything different as she rolled her shoulders and reached next to her for her cover-up and shrugged the light green fabric over her head, causing some of her damp hair to stick to her neck from the movement. Kendall just watched on, trying to appear as impassive as possible, but he still felt the desire to brush the hair away with his fingertips. Almost as quickly as the need arrived, he swallowed it down with the new wave of shame that was tightening his chest.

"No way in hell am I a genius… not that I'm completely dense, but school isn't really my thing. I'm more… artistic…" she spoke through their brief silence, easily falling back into conversation with Kendall, but she sounded as if she wasn't sure if she used the right word or not. It was like she had never explained who she was before.

"You write, then?" Kendall inquired further, keeping his composure and billions of questions at bay. Something about her made him excited and jumpy, but, being who he was, he remained calm and collected. He couldn't explain why or how, but he was almost sure that she smirked knowingly, somehow detecting his inward feelings as she kept their talk going without calling him on it.

"Yeah, not books or poems. That's a little above my level of understanding… I write scripts… I'm hoping to get into the family business…" she admitted sheepishly, not ever having talked about her career goals with anyone before.

"Which would be?" Kendall questioned further, quietly hoping that this conversation wouldn't ever end. It was so simple and effortless. It was easy, and that's what he'd been craving.

"My father is Elliot Henderson. He's a pretty successful movie producer… I thought about directing, and even acting, but I decided that writing is what I want to do… I prefer to be behind the scenes…"

Kendall instantly thought that someone like her hiding in the background was a shame, but he pushed the idea away and concentrated on the topic at hand.

"I've heard of your dad. He and your mom are in the local news a lot when award season comes around. So, you and your family are staying here for the summer?" he wondered, finding his eyes drifting towards the house he knew was hers as if he would see Elliot and Julia Henderson appear out of thin air in all of their Hollywood glory.

"No, I'm alone… My father's working, my mother's doing whatever it is that she does, and I have a brother, but he's at an art school in New York," Sage shrugged, tucking one leg beneath her and playing with the hem of the blanket beneath them.

"How old are you?" Kendall sounded shocked, tilting his head in concern, which didn't go unnoticed by Sage. The show of emotion made her smile, forgetting the parts of her life that crept up her spine like an icy chill or stinging electricity.

"Seventeen," she breathed the number out heavily, knowing what his reaction was going to be. He silently cheered when he heard that she was the same age as him, not really knowing why he should have cared, and then recovered to get back to his point.

"And you're just spending these next two months all alone in a huge house with no one else? That doesn't seem-"

"Normal?" she offered for him, smiling slyly and shaking her head. "No, it's not, but abnormal circumstances breed abnormal results," she sighed, one corner of her lips quirking up along with a shoulder in a dismissive gesture. She couldn't change the past.

"Yup, you're definitely a writer," he teased her for her last statement, finding her small blush and eye roll endearing. "You don't have any friends that come over to keep you company or anything?"

"None that I talk to. It's been an… eventful year. My parents wanted me to come here so I can 'get my head on straight'," she made quotation marks through the air with her fingers, using a slightly deeper voice in what he assumed was an imitation of her father, making him laugh again.

"So, you're a loner?" he asked humorously, keeping the mood light, which she was eternally grateful for.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Sage chuckled at the thought. Only three months ago, she was the farthest thing from a loner. If anything, she relied far too much on social interaction.

"Well, then I'm officially your first new friend… I'm kinda honored," Kendall raised an eyebrow, leaning back on his hands and looking proud of himself.

"Who said we're friends? I don't even know you…" she declared quickly, giving him a small grin as she stood up and swiftly walked towards the water.

"Not true! You know my name, my profession, and we were in cahoots just a few days ago. What else do you want to know?" Kendall rushed after her, keeping his smile as they reached the Pacific's waves where they met the beach.

The water went up to his ankles, occasionally receding back before pushing in again as he came to stand right beside her. With her arms crossed, Sage was watching the birds fly in an organic formation close to the horizon. The sun was still behind them, not too high in the sky yet because of the time of day, and it casted a dull orange glow against her porcelain skin. That was the first time Kendall was sure she must be supernatural, and it was also the first time he forgot to keep his composure and ended up letting out a single string of laughter at himself for the idiotic, overly romantic thought. Sage furrowed her brown, smiling awkwardly at him as she turned at his sudden sound. He instantly straightened up, shaking his head and begging her not to ask, which she complied to with ease.

"Tell me something that no one else knows…" she suggested, bringing him back to the point of him following her into the water. It was rising towards their shins now as the breeze picked up a bit, blowing small pieces of Sage's blonde hair as she looked at him for a response. Her expression was hopeful but guarded, trying to gauge his reaction.

Kendall was thrown off by the idea. No one ever asked him to dive this deep, and he liked it. He felt like they were about to share a moment; an epic moment that no one else will ever know about or understand. It was something special between two people, and he couldn't even bother to care that they were practically a pair of strangers. He didn't want to just be simple acquaintances. He wanted more.

After taking a moment to consider it, Kendall gave her an honest answer; truly saying something he had never divulged before, even to his best friends.

"I… I feel like something in my life is missing, and I think that sounds really stupid… I have so much to be thankful for… I've got fantastic friends and bandmates. They're really more like my brothers… I have a great job doing something that I love with the people that I love… I have a good girlfriend that cares about me…" he paused, thinking how he verbally left out the fact that she cared way too much to the point of annoyance, "… and a fantastic mother and baby sister, yet I still want more… It sounds really selfish, doesn't it? In fact, forget I said it," Kendall had donned a serious expression, but his lips tightened and he shook his head vigorously, trying to smile so that they could forget everything he just said.

However, Sage wouldn't let him. She constantly challenged him in their short time together, and, even though it was difficult and a little frightening, he enjoyed it. He liked having an equal; someone who didn't allow him to hide or back down.

"No, that's good… That's normal. I get what you're saying. Wanting more is never a bad thing… If we were all perfectly happy, then there'd be no reason to dream… It keeps us wanting…" Sage commented, having similar thoughts to Kendall's. To many, she may have a wonderful life, but it ruined her, and now she had to put the pieces back together by herself. It was a difficult process, that was still in progress, but wanting more is what made her leave the dangerous path she was on…

"And wanting is a good thing?" Kendall wondered, looking at her and wishing she had all the answers while she gave him the same exact expression. In the last two days, he had found himself wanting a torrent of new things, and he was rejecting every single one of them out of fear and guilt, but maybe he should have been revaluating his choices. Maybe he should have focused on the difference between wanting and needing, and maybe he should be a little selfish every once in a while, or he'd end up hating the world.

"It can't be all bad," Sage confessed nervously, almost sorry that she couldn't comfort him with a definite response, but he took her words with an appreciative smile, thankful that someone understood him despite not being able to understand himself.

They stood in silence again. It was comfortable like the last time, but this one held more meaning. They were both thinking about their past, present, and future; wondering where they'd end up. A strong wave rolled in several hundred yards away from shore, sending the excess water rushing at their knees. Kendall didn't want to move, enjoying the way he and Sage braved the current together with no one else in the area around them. They felt like the only two people in Malibu. He reached into his pocket for his phone, noticing a mushy text from Jo with several hearts. He only glanced at it quick enough to make sure he wasn't still in the doghouse, and then he chucked it the short distance to Sage's blanket so it was safe from the water, and he immediately forgot about his drama with Jo altogether.

"What's your goal for the summer?" Sage asked suddenly, causing him to look at her in disbelief when she intrigued him again.

"To not work?" he snickered slightly, not thinking that he needed to have a goal, but she was serious, only grinning a little when she caught him off guard. He inched closer to her, not sure if he used the force of the wave as an excuse to take a step to his left or if it actually did carry him there naturally.

"Mine's to forget about the life I had and start building a new one. I want…. I want to have fun for myself, and be who I was meant to be. For these two months, none of the old shit matters," she smiled cheerfully, appearing thrilled by the idea alone. It made Kendall speculate about what she had been through to make her look for such an extreme change, but he decided to save it for another day. They had plenty of afternoons ahead of them.

"Yours is better… I'm stealing it," he declared playfully, taking another step sideways so that his hand could almost brush hers if he let it, but he held himself back as she laughed lightly, the beautiful sound carrying in the wide space around them and over the sound of the ocean lapping against the bluffs.

"How about we share it? Do it together?" she suggested happily, turning her body fully to face his while he did the same.

"Cool, stress-free summer full of fun… Together?" he smirked, stretching his hand out between them. She grinned right back, and, if you asked him, Kendall would never admit that it made him a little weak in the knees. He'd just blame it on the waves pushing his legs.

"Together," Sage agreed effortlessly, lifting her own hand to meet Kendall's in a firm hand shake.

The simple contact had them both buzzing, but their old lives, the ones that still controlled them, made them push it to the back of their minds. They couldn't give into that feeling. They stared at one another for a moment, both of their easy smiles falling into content expressions of awe.

Kendall broke the reoccurring trance with a mischievous glint in his eye and a swift tug to her arm, sending them both crashing into the saltwater with a fit of giggles as they started to shove one another and dunk each other gently. Kendall enjoyed the casual touching he allowed himself to take part in, and Sage soaked in every second of it too. They both didn't realize how much they needed it; how much they wanted it.

It was okay to want things.

They wanted an epic summer of joy together, and they'd get that. They'd get a whole lot more too, but they would have to lose some things along the way.

It was two weeks later, and Kendall and Sage had spent every day together. They would meet each morning or afternoon on the beach or at her house, where they often decided to stay either way. The two friends would watch movies, play games, and chat about anything. There was no stress, just like they promised, and, so far, it was one of their favorite summers in a long time. Kendall got to experience California like he hadn't before with relaxation and no music producers screaming their heads off, and Sage got to experience it differently as well. She was used to being in larger groups of overly sexed teenagers who only cared about their next big break or if Mommy and Daddy would buy their new designer clothes. That was her old life, and it was out of control and damaging. This new one was already better. It was calm, and she was spending time with someone genuine, friendly, and not looking for anything from her other than company. It was the perfect friendship between two equal people that could understand each other without much effort.

That was why Kendall was keeping it a secret. At least, that's what he told himself.

He'd been keeping Sage separate from James, Carlos, and Logan no matter how much he wanted them to meet. He was scared to think about what would happen; what it would mean. When it was just him and Sage, they got to be in their own little world that only they shared. He constantly felt guilty when he went home at night, but he wasn't sure if it was because he left Sage alone or because he hadn't thought about Jo once until he laid his restless head against his pillow. Either way, he felt selfish with Sage. He wanted to keep her disconnected from the boys because he feared the possible results of merging this new life with the one he was already living. One of them may shatter, and, even though it's only been two weeks, he felt like he might stop breathing if Sage was suddenly absent from his daily routine.

All of that quickly changed when his nosy brothers started asking the right questions, and he kicked himself for being a terrible liar. As a seventeen-year-old boy, shouldn't it just come naturally to him? He couldn't catch a break.

"So, Kendall, are you actually gonna grace us with your presence at our get-together today, or are you gonna find something more worthy of your time?" James asked jokingly, smirking at his blonde friend while dumping a bag of chips into a large bowl.

It was noon, and the boys of Big Time rush had invited their friends from the Palm Woods over for a day for some fun in the sun. A few of the guests had started filing in, but it was mostly just the guys in the house with a couple stray people gathering by the pool beyond the wide opening adjacent to the kitchen.

Kendall rolled his eyes, opening the fridge for Logan when he came over with his hands full of hamburger patties for lunch later on.

"I think I can fit you losers into my schedule," Kendall assured James with a sarcastic tone, holding a bottle of ketchup in confusion when it was merely shoved into his chest by Logan, who was shifting the fully stocked refrigerator's contents to accommodate his new purchase.

Carlos laughed good-naturedly, hopping up on the counter beside James and stealing the bowl of chips right out from underneath the party planner, earning a glare and a slight punch to his shoulder as he munched on the snack with enthusiasm.

"Where do you go all the time anyway? Are you a secret agent now? Do you fly out to save the world by day and sleep here as a rising pop star by night?" Carlos wondered excitedly, not fully joking and hoping for something interesting from Kendall, who just shook his head.

"I'm just hanging around, enjoying the change of scenery," Kendall shrugged, swallowing nervously. It wasn't exactly a lie. In fact, it was pretty damn close to the truth, but he was skating on thin ice because of the direction their questions were heading.

"So, you hang out all by yourself?" Logan lifted a dark eyebrow, reappearing from behind the fridge door and looking at his friend curiously while he took the ketchup bottle back and stuffed it inside.

"N-No… I, uh, I'm usually with a f-friend," Kendall scratched the back of his neck, tugging his hair in one short, painful burst as a punishment to himself for his lack of the ability to even fib smoothly. Why his confidence always left him at the worst times, he'd never know.

"You made a new friend?" Carlos asked, having looked slightly bummed by the fact that Kendall didn't have a tale of adventure but perking back up at the actual story.

"Yup," Kendall kept his answer quick, smiling fervently and internally cheering when he sounded convincing and he didn't necessarily have to elaborate. He spun around, taking a deep and calming breath as he grabbed a glass out of the cabinet above his head.

"What's their name?"

He froze when James spoke, muttering curses as he firmly set the cup on the counter. He looked over to his friends, noticing that they were all standing in a line with their arms crossed, knowing he was hiding something. Kendall gave up the fight with a slight tilt of his head.

"Her name is Sage," he didn't stutter, resigned to the fact that he couldn't hide her anymore, and waited for the response he was anticipating.

"Her?"

The trio yelled simultaneously, making him take a small step back before recovering and pouring himself a drink; casually tipping a bottle of fruit punch over the glass while avoiding eye contact.

"Yeah, she's got lady parts. Sage Henderson: about yay high…" Kendall sipped his juice, holding a hand a little below the level of Carlos' height and continuing nonchalantly, "… blonde, the daughter of Elliot and Julia Henderson, and our neighbor," he finished with a shrug, hoping that, if he kept things simple, then the guys' reactions would reflect that too, but they very rarely fell into his traps since they started living together.

"We have a neighbor?" Logan asked, scrunching his face up and thinking that he never saw any movement from the house beside theirs.

"Her dad is rich and famous?" James inquired happily with shiny hazel eyes, thinking about all of the movies he could possibly star in.

"You can't be just friends with a girl," Carlos laughed at the idea, looking at Kendall as if he felt like the smart one for once.

"Yes you can," Kendall retorted defensively, ignoring the other two's questions while placing his cup down and pressing his hip against the countertop that the Latino hopped onto again. "Logan is just friends with Camille," he offered lamely, already realizing the weakness in his argument.

"Nope, doesn't count. They had a romantic history first. Plus, did it slip your mind that Logie's female friend pretty much sexually assaulted him in the tunnel of love at the carnival a couple weeks ago?" James interjected briskly, smirking knowingly at Kendall, which made the blonde's stomach turn. He recovered quickly, though; refusing to let anything mess up his important friendship with Sage.

"He kinda has a point, Kendall…" Logan added sheepishly, getting embarrassed and searching around for Camille, thinking she'd appear any second.

"Well, no one's doing anything sexual between me and Sage. We're just really good friends. We get along, and it's fun to hang out. Stop trying to porn it up!" Kendall whined, not sure if he was fighting his friends or his own caged thoughts that he hid away and refused to acknowledge.

Logan grimaced at his vocabulary and grammar.

"We really need to get back to school," he mumbled towards James, but, as usual, his worried words were disregarded.

"Since you two are so platonic…" James grinned, sending it in Logan's direction to get an approving jerk of his head from the boy for his accurate terminology, "… why don't you invite your friend, who is a girl, over to the party? Go get her. I'd love to meet Sage. Wouldn't you love to meet Sage, Carlitos? Logan?" he spoke in a peppy tone, still keeping his eyes glued to Kendall in a silent challenge.

Kendall snorted, sending a glare at the pretty boy when Logan and Carlos nodded in agreement, all of them teaming up to see exactly what the situation was between him and Sage.

"Fine! Whatever, it doesn't matter either way. I'm gonna go ask her if she wants to come up here…" he declared angrily, storming off dramatically and muttering, "… You guys are so fuckin' immature. I can totally have a female friend…"

Kendall walked past the pool, slowing his pace when he was out of the boys' line of sight. He inhaled the ocean air, trying to stop the breaths from trembling with his nerves. What had he gotten himself into? He wasn't sure what he was hoping for, or how he thought he could keep Sage all to himself, but he felt anxious about bringing her to his friends. He didn't know what it would mean, and wondered what would change. He was also still a little pissed from their accusations. Starting down the steps, Kendall was pretty sure he had everything under control.

"Where r u? :) -K"

He sent the message to Sage quickly, still strolling casually down the stairs towards the beach, for some reason just knowing she had to be there. She rarely stayed in her house unless he was with her or she was sleeping, saying that she got better inspiration for her scripts in the fresh air with background noise. The large, expensive house was eerily silent without his company.

"On the sand btwn our houses… Can't believe u actually asked… usually u stalk me close enough to knw where I am 24/7 ;) -S"

Kendall rolled his eyes when he read her text, smiling fully at the fact that she could tease him even when he wasn't in front of her. It was how they worked. She challenged him, and he challenged her, but it was all in good fun. It made every conversation entertaining.

"Shut up :P -K"

He smirked, hurrying to step onto the sand and immediately taking a sharp right. It was only a few seconds before he saw her, his eyes going right for her like she was a homing beacon in the middle of the beach. Sage was dressed in sneakers, small lavender shorts, and a black tank top, and she sat on a white hoodie laying beneath her on the sand. Her blonde hair was clipped loosely to the back of her head, which was turned down as she scribbled furiously in her notebook; probably her fourth one in the two weeks he'd known her. Kendall grinned approaching her from behind as quietly as he could. He thought he had successfully snuck up on her, noticing that his shadow wasn't even visible in front of them, but she laughed as she slowed her hand but didn't stop writing.

"Hi, Kendall…" she didn't look up, but he almost heard her smile; having grown accustomed to all of her traits and mannerisms in only a little more than fourteen days, which were all spent with her.

"How do you always freakin' do that?" Kendall whined playfully, plopping down beside her after kicking her messenger bag out of his way. He gave her a pout, leaning back on his hands.

Sage shrugged, unsure of how she always knew when he was around, and turned to meet his eyes while keeping a tight grip on her pen.

"Why do you always insist on trying to surprise me when you know it's not gonna work? You're setting yourself up for failure. You're quite the masochist," she smirked, poking the pen into his bare calf teasingly before going back to observing her notebook.

"I just wanna see what you're writing. You never let me look!" he complained, trying to keep his pout even though he just wanted to smile like an idiot when he was beside her. Sage pretended to ignore him as she wrote another sentence down. "Can I see, please?" Kendall clasped his hands together, sitting up and spinning around so that he was facing her with his legs folded beneath him.

He already knew she was going to fight him on it, but that didn't mean he'd ever stop trying. Her writing was the only thing she ever avoided talking about directly other than details of her past, and he wanted to know why. He wanted to know everything about her that he could. Sage was his obsession. No matter how much he tried to deny it or how much he thought it was crazy, it was still a fact, and he didn't even know that she felt the same way. Neither one of them were willing to go beyond what they had. They weren't going to jump off that cliff.

"Nope," she announced simply, smacking her pink lips together for emphasis, which only made Kendall lean closer to her. Although, he didn't even realize that he did it.

"Why not?" he wondered genuinely, wiping the frown from his face as he proposed a serious question, but she was still grinning.

"Because this..." Sage stopped, jotting another note, "Is rated… R…" she kept smiling, not meeting his eyes, and he instantly smirked at her wickedly.

"So, you're gonna be a porn writer?" he asked suggestively, raising an eyebrow at her, knowing that they were still joking around.

"Why? Would you watch it?" she shot right back, clicking her pen and turning to look at him conspiratorially, mischief in her emerald eyes.

"Depends who's in it…" Kendall widened his smirk, staring at her like he was going to wait for her comeback and implying that he may or may not enjoy it if she herself was the star of such a film.

They were always pushing each other's boundaries, trying to see who would back out first. Without really knowing it, they were testing the limits of their relationship and treading on dangerous ground.

Right before Sage could open her mouth, Kendall lunged for the notebook with a chuckle; halfheartedly attempting to get his hands on in. As she wrestled with him, Sage giggled and slapped at his hands while trying to keep one of hers wrapped securely around her notes. They fought weakly, both secretly enjoying the way their skin made contact at various times with small sparks of electricity, and then Kendall found himself hovering over her fully.

The notebook was almost completely forgotten, squished between their warm bodies. They were both breathing heavily as the battle slowed to a halt. Kendall was laying on top of her with his hands on either side of her head in the sand and his legs straddling her waist. Sage licked her lips, and he had to remind himself not to lean in to close the miniscule distance between them for a kiss.

He had to remind himself about Jo.

Kendall already had a girlfriend.

However, he didn't move off of Sage. They stared, waiting for something that they couldn't understand. Kendall didn't know if he wanted her to speak first, almost testing her to see if she'd push him away. Sage really didn't want him to go either, but she also didn't want to get him into trouble or disregard Jo's feelings… She'd been disrespected like that before…

"If we, uh… If we don't stop, we're only gonna be a few steps from acting out scene four," Sage aimed for humor, but her words were still shaky, her composure dropping for one of the first times since Kendall had met her.

"Right…" he whispered, still a little surprised by the fact that he didn't leap off of her the second reality pushed its way back in. He only reluctantly sat up, disconnecting their abdomens and straddling her for another moment with a longing look in his eyes before finally lifting his leg over her to move away.

Sage pretended not to notice; pretended that she didn't have the same exact expression, and raised her back off of the sand with a casual smile. She reached over for her bag, slipping her notebook and pen inside so there wouldn't be a chance for anymore impromptu wrestling matches, and then she lifted a hand up and unclipped her hair to shake the sand out. Kendall watched as it cascaded loosely over her pale shoulders and thanked God when she put her hoodie in the bag along with the clip, enjoying her hair when it was down. It made him want to touch it and run his fingers through the naturally blonde locks, and that thought also made him huff out a breath of annoyance at himself. He had to stop thinking things like that. It was wrong. He knew it.

Then, if he's such a wholesome guy, why does he keep partaking in the small fantasies? He was still a virgin. He hadn't slept with Jo in all of their months together, not even considering it seriously more than once or twice, but, even when he had known Sage for just those first 48 hours, he wanted nothing more than to be intimate with her and feel her against him; like his hands might never stop shaking if he couldn't touch her.

"Okay, back to the reason I came out here in the first place…" Kendall donned a chipper voice, going back to their easy exchange of words and pushing away the thoughts that plagued him every night.

"Oh, you mean it wasn't just to steal my ideas or invade my privacy?" Sage asked in mock shock, smirking and thanking him internally for shifting the conversation.

"No, I was saving that for later," Kendall rolled his eyes, laughing lightly as he continued, "I wanted to ask you to come up to my house." He looked at the building above the rocks and then back at her.

"Your house?" Sage was caught off guard. She wasn't against the idea, but they had never spent time there together. They were always around town, at the beach, or at her place.

"Yeah, we're having a little party right now, and I want you to meet my friends… Will you?" he ended nervously, suddenly feeling like he'd be upset if she wouldn't go.

"Sure," she answered him easily, not liking the way he got uncomfortable and anxious and wanting to calm him down as soon as possible. She felt like she needed to protect him and like she wanted him to protect her. They were a team.

"Great, come on," Kendall smiled cheerfully, hopping up and holding out a hand for her to take so he could pull her into a standing position. He bent down to grab her bag, positioning himself closely in front of her and placing it over her shoulder. He grinned as he swept her hair back away from the strap, inwardly dancing when he got to touch her once again and then biting his own tongue as punishment for doing it.

Kendall almost reached for her hand, feeling the need to hold it, and he even saw her fingers twitch like she was going to do it too, but then they both turned at the same time to make the trek to his house without another word spoken.

He searched for the guys immediately, sticking by Sage's side as he scanned the suddenly increasing crowd. Most of the Palm Woods residents had arrived.

"I'm gonna go look for James, Carlos, and Logan. Stay here… Oh! I'll introduce you to Camille while you wait. She's a very… interesting… actress," Kendall smirked, pulling her towards the zany brunette standing in a small group of teenagers with a cup of punch in her hand. He didn't want to leave Sage alone, but he also wanted to talk to his friends before they met her. He felt like he needed to lay down a few disclaimers because he refused to let them embarrass him.

"They're all interesting, Kendall… At least all of the good ones are," Sage spoke happily, seeming like she was looking forward to meeting Camille. With her family business, Kendall figured she had probably met plenty of actors.

"Camille, this is my new friend, Sage Henderson. Can you two girls chat while I go look for my bandmates?" he asked charmingly. Camille immediately widened her eyes and smiled excitedly.

"Is your dad Elliot Henderson?" she leaned into Sage with anticipation.

"Yup, that'd be him," Sage replied politely, like she had found herself in this situation hundreds of times, and she probably had.

"That's awesome! That movie he worked on last year…"

Kendall chuckled as Camille started ranting and Sage listened closely, amused by the young actress. He gripped Sage's forearm lightly in a silent goodbye that she acknowledged with a nod while still trying to listen to the bubbly girl in front of her, and then Kendall moved into the house. It was only a second before he spotted the guys all standing in the kitchen where he had left them a little earlier. It was as if they were waiting for him.

"Dude, did your new girly friend reject you?" James teased, noticing that Kendall was alone.

"No, she's talking to Camille by the pool," Kendall declared matter-of-factly, sending James a glare as he gestured towards the two girls beyond the open doors.

"She's really hot… There's no way that you can only be friends with her," Carlos maintained his stance, observing Sage, which almost made Kendall want to hit his best friend. That thought was a little sobering, but he pushed it away with a smile.

"She's aesthetically pleasing," Logan murmured, scoping her out as quickly as he could before focusing on the cup he held in his hands. That made Kendall want to laugh, knowing that only Logan could blatantly check a hot girl out and then feel guilty about it. He didn't even have a girlfriend.

"We kinda thought she might be ugly since you were hiding her," James explained their shock, still raking his eyes over her. Kendall scowled at his comment, but didn't stop him from saying anything else. "She's single, right? If you two are just friends, then you wouldn't mind if I asked her out, would you?" he asked, sharing a look with Logan and Carlos, who had discussed this earlier with him. It was part of their plan to see exactly what was going on inside their blonde friend's head, but Kendall didn't notice their scheming. He only heard James' words.

His eyes widened, his mouth hanging open before he snapped it shut. That was not how he thought this meeting would go. He didn't want James to go out with Sage because… He really didn't even know why, but the idea of it made his throat tighten and his fists clench. However, he couldn't oppose it. James was a good guy, and Sage was a good friend that wasn't seeing anyone. Why should he stop them from dating? It wasn't his place to control that, but he couldn't hinder the feeling of possessive anger rolling through his spine.

"Do whatever you want, James… Just be nice," Kendall ground his teeth together in a forced smile, turning and locking eyes with Sage effortlessly and softening his expression into one of actual contentment.

After he waved her over with final gazes of caution at each of his friends, Sage nodded at Camille, said something that made the brunette laugh, and then walked into the house. Kendall took her bag for her, staring her right in the eyes with some sort of communication that he didn't actually know the meaning of. He might have been silently warning Sage about James. He may have been asking her not to reciprocate any flirting, or maybe he was trying to make sure she was okay with meeting his friends. No matter what the look meant, she returned it with a soft smile, like she knew he was upset about something. Even if he was anxious about James, he wanted her and his brothers to get along. He wanted her to fit in with them like Jo didn't…

When did he start comparing her to Jo?

"Guys, this is Sage," Kendall announced comfortably after relaxing from her smile, and placed her bag on the countertop for safekeeping.

"Hi, Sage, I'm James Diamond, Kendall's most handsome friend," James put on the charm right away, reaching his hand out to shake Sage's with a provocative grin that Kendall had seen countless times before. It was always used on the girls he picked up, and they never declined.

"Yeah, Kendall's said a lot about you guys. Logan and Carlos, right?" she looked over to the other two boys happily after shaking hands with James, not spending too much of her time on the tall boy despite his advances.

"Hi! It's nice to meet you," Carlos waved from where he stood, acting just as sunny as he always did, making Sage bite back a giggle.

"Kendall has said almost nothing about you," Logan admitted confidently, eyeing his secretive friend and getting a death glare back.

"But we can remedy that… What do you say, Sage? You wanna go out with me sometime? People say I'm a catch," James laid it on thick, taking another step forward and placing his fingers over hers on the counter top. He was focusing on Sage completely while Logan and Carlos watched for Kendall's reaction, but it wasn't subtle anyway.

"James, I love you, man, but Sage is a friend, and I wouldn't really want to subject her to your dating life… He's not very good at monogamy," Kendall dramatically frowned, like he was breaking bad news. He rushed to Sage's side, wrapping a protective arm around her shoulders.

James grinned at his friend's response, glancing at Carlos and Logan with a knowing look and unfazed by Kendall's negative remark. They had gotten what they wanted. They knew how Kendall felt about Sage.

"What if I don't care about monogamy?" Sage raised an eyebrow at Kendall, teasing him as she almost immediately took her hand away from James' and automatically leaned into Kendall's side, but the blonde's eyes grew fearful at her words.

He didn't catch her tone. They were always playful, but the mere thought of her dating James destroyed all of his nerves with fear and confusion.

"Kendall, I'm joking…" Sage informed him softly, concern lacing her features as she focused on him entirely, reaching up to squeeze the hand that was hanging by her neck when he only stood there quietly.

"I- I knew that… I was just letting you think that I thought you were skanky," he recovered, grinning and pulling her into a loose headlock, getting a punch to his ribs when he wouldn't let her go.

"I like her. She makes Kendall nervous… Not much does that," Carlos declared, bumping shoulders with Logan for support.

"You're definitely a rarity, Sage," Logan agreed, crossing his arms like he was studying the couple for an experiment. He appeared intrigued by their interactions; the way they touched and smiled like it was the easiest thing in the world.

"I think I'm gonna take that as a compliment," Sage grinned, smacking Kendall's hand away when he still tried to tickle her side after their small scuffle.

Logan nodded, wanting her to think of it in no other way. He liked her… He liked Kendall and Sage together, but he wasn't going to say it. Kendall's opinion is what mattered, not his. James and Carlos fell silent too as the entire trio studied the new pair in front of them with knowing smiles.

"You guys are acting creepy today. Come on, Sage, let's go get some air while we wait for them to go back to normal… It might be awhile," Kendall laughed, dropping his arm from Sage's shoulders in favor of placing his hand on the small of her back and guiding her towards the doors with a curious look at his brothers, who all just shrugged and offered no explanation.

"Something bad is gonna happen, isn't it?" Carlos spoke first once the two blondes were out of earshot, sighing nervously as he rested his palms on the countertop.

"I'd say we're absolutely going to have an issue on our hands," Logan concurred with a sigh of his own, still keeping his arms crossed while they continued to observe Kendall and Sage.

The two teens were at the pool, constantly talking to each other with smiles of joy as they slipped off their shoes and sat on the edge with their legs in the water. Sage said something that made Kendall laugh and press against her, and neither one of them moved from the contact. They stayed glued together, occasionally turning their heads to see each other while they spoke softly.

"This is more than an issue… It's fuckin' life changing. He loves her!" James exclaimed, trying to keep his voice down as he waved a hand towards the pool and looked at Carlos and Logan as if he was daring them to say otherwise.

He was the first to say it out loud; to acknowledge its existence. It was said before Kendall and Sage even realized that it was there, hiding underneath the surface of sweet smiles and innocent touches.

"Don't jump to conclusions…" Logan warned his excited friend, biting his lip like he thought it wasn't all that insane.

"Look at him, Logan… He's so happy and calm… He hasn't been like that since… ever. He's never looked like that with a girl," Carlos smiled fondly, finding the sight of his best friend in love touching.

"They're made for each other," James agreed with the sentiment, grinning at the pair and feeling happy for them.

"Kendall's got Jo," Logan reminded them quickly when he felt himself getting sucked in too.

"But he's not happy with her… They're arguing and he's miserable all the time…" Carlos submitted a counterpoint, only tearing his eyes away from Kendall and the new girl for a second to see James nodding.

"My vote's for Sage," he announced proudly, raising his head up and down in approval when he could still see the couple talking intimately at the pool's edge.

"I'm backing her too. Jo's mean," Carlos sided with James, his face scrunching up with disgust when he mentioned Jo. Between her nagging Kendall and inserting her unwanted opinions here and there, she hadn't made the greatest impression on the boys.

"You guys have known Sage for two minutes," Logan rolled his eyes but still appeared to not want to fight them.

"It doesn't matter," Carlos assured him easily, knowing that it was irrefutable.

Sage was meant to be in their lives. She was supposed to be with Kendall.

"It's not our choice anyway," Logan mumbled, seeming sad at the idea of not getting involved. "He's got to do it on his own, and we can't influence him… It wouldn't be right… Let Kendall take care of this by himself. He'll make the right choice…" he sounded sure of it, his jaw setting in determination as he continued to watch Sage and Kendall lean against each other casually.

"Which is…?" James wondered, raising a perfect eyebrow at Logan.

"Whatever makes him the happiest… and we'll support him," he explained with a small nod of his head.

"Even if he stays with Jo?" Carlos asked cautiously, turning away to lock eyes with his friends. Kendall ending up with Jo was not the outcome they wanted for this summer. Logan frowned, but nodded anyway.

"Even if he stays with Jo."

They knew that Kendall was the type to take chances, but not ones at the expense of others. It was guaranteed that he didn't love Jo, but that didn't mean that he never cared about her. She's his girlfriend, and that means something to Kendall. He wouldn't give that up for Sage unless he was certain, or if he just decided to throw all caution to the wind, which was rare because of his tendency to make plans. However, Sage wasn't a predictable presence in his life. She just appeared, and they didn't know how he'd handle that.

The boys had to wait anxiously by the sidelines to see if Kendall would take the biggest risk of his life for the biggest reward.

A/N: STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO (the last part of "A Drop in the Ocean").. which will be the SMUT ;D :D :D It will be posted on Friday as "chapter two" of this, so "story alert" if you think you may forget and don't wanna miss it :)

Please tell me what you guys think about this! I kinda love this different world, and we'll be seeing that, no matter what universe they're in, KAGE is meant to be ;D

PLEASE REVIEW! :D Anonymous are enabled :)