Chapter 4

"Lex!" Carlos yelled through a group of people, we weaved through strangers as we approached someone standing in the middle of the kitchen by the sink. A short, tiny blonde girl turned around with a smile on her face.

"Oh my gosh, is this Liz?" She asked excitedly, walking over in the exact outfit Carlos had said she was going to wear. She had freckles, how adorable!

"It's me! You must be, Alexa?" I asked offering her my hand. Alexa immediately by passed my hand and came in for a hug. I hugged her back, being a good head taller than her as Carlos and I were practically the same height. She was so tiny.

"You got that right, but call me Lex or Lexi." She said keeping a hold of my hand that I had outstretched before she hugged me as Carlos looked giddy with pride at us.

"Alright, will do." I smiled accepting her request. 'Lex' smiled wide and gasped as she looked at my outfit.

"Los was right, you are very stylish." She said nodding her head, looking over my dress, and then looking at her husband. "You're getting better with this whole fashion thing." She teased him, but still sounding proud. He rolled his eyes with a small smirk as he acted as if he wasn't beaming from her impressed mood. These two were meant for each other, they made each other so happy. It was so obvious and I had only seen them interact for a few seconds now.

"Oh! You don't have a drink yet? What would you like?" Lex asked still holding my hand, then slightly pulling me from where we stood, and bringing me over to the selection of wine and alcohol set up on table to the side of the room.

"I have to drive home later." I said, eyeing the alcohol as I knew I shouldn't drink any, even though Carlos suggested there would be booze here. She giggled and waved it off.

"One glass of champagne won't faze you, will it?" She asked worried as she smirked. I smiled and shook my head giving in to temptation. She filled me a glass and I swear the taste of the champagne was like liquid gold on the tongue. "Besides, we can always get you home safely and get your car back to you later." She assured me as I drank nearly half the glass already as she giggled. She was adorable.

"Wow. Expensive." I mumbled pulling the half empty glass from my lips. I hadn't had champagne like that before. Lex laughed and shrugged.

"I know, we always spend way too much on drinks." She said as if she was worried about her bank account when I knew they were doing fine compared to me who lived in an apartment the size of the dining room table. I smiled as she talked my ear off. I really liked her however, she was just as sweet and caring as Carlos. "Oh, I have to go check on the food out on the balcony." She informed me letting her smiley demeanor falter a moment. I nodded understanding as she then turned around again from having almost left me alone, but then turned to face me again. "Let me introduce you to someone so I'm not leaving you standing awkwardly until you strike up conversation." She said with a smile as she once again took my hand. I was thankful she and Carlos were such considerate people, it made it so easy to be here given how nice they were to me in ensuring my comfort. She brought me around the kitchen island and between standing people who didn't seem to care that we were butting into their conversations in order to walk through.

We walked out of the dining room, down the foyer that James and I had walked down earlier and through a door into a living room where there were even more people standing around talking and sipping on alcohol.

"Oh, here you are. Kendall!" Lex exclaimed as a few heads turned so I wasn't sure who she was setting me up to talk to. We passed by all of them, one after the other, and made it to the one head who turned in the corner of the room where oddly, a gaming system was being used on a huge flat screen tv. A guy who was sat by himself watching two others play the game on the couch made eye contact with me as I was being towed behind Lex. He smiled seeing me and stood up.

"Kendall, this is Liz. Liz, this is Kendall." Lex said with a wink in my direction and walked away. I stood there awkwardly as she past me, my eyes lifting to Kendall and then smiled upon seeing his smile as well. Kendall was actually quite dashing. He had dirty blonde hair and the most gorgeous green eyes I had ever seen on anyone. They were almost a golden green color. His jaw and face had a little bit of scruff on them as his lips moved to introduce himself before long.

"As Lexi said, I'm Kendall. Pleasure to meet you, Liz." He smiled offering his hand. I blushed and did a dorky curtsy as I shook his hand. Kendall chuckled seeing my dorkiness. Carlos had said he had a bunch of dorky friends, so maybe I'd fit in alright.

"Very nice to meet you as well." I confirmed still holding onto my glass with my hand. Kendall gestured towards the couch as we both sat, on opposite ends, but turned inwards to look at each other.

"So, how'd you get your invite?" I asked him trying to make conversation. He smirked as if I had said something funny, but he didn't care to laugh.

"I've known Carlos for years now. We were in a band once with two other guys, ya know, the usual." He joked as if that was normal everyday talk. I nodded, intrigued by his intensity in his gaze at me.

"Ah, back in the day?" I asked taking a sip of my drink, trying to remain light. He shrugged and nodded.

"Not as far back probably as you think. But, uh, yeah awhile ago. I have another band now." He explained. I nodded and relaxed a little. He seemed to as well by how he rested his arm on the back of the couch and had one leg bent on the cushion between us. I however sat with my back off the couch and my legs crossed at the ankles, hoping I wasn't seeming too much like a prim and proper person, but I forgot that I looked a different way nearing impossible to look too proper.

"Really? What's your band's name?" I asked him, figuring I worked in a music shop, I would maybe know of it. He smiled proudly.

"Heffron Drive." He announced as if he was a proud father. Carlos bought his 'buddies' record and the band was called Heffron Drive. His 'buddy' also owned his own record label. Kendall didn't look as if he could own a record label.

"You're in Heffron Drive? With a happy broken egg?" I asked shocked. He laughed a real laugh, nodded and then pointed at one of the guys playing the gaming system. This guy had a handlebar mustache and a bowler hat on his head.

"I am, with that guy right there." He said smiling at me now. "I take it you've heard of us?" He asked impressed sounding. I wanted to impress him and tell him I had, but I hadn't. So of course I went with honesty.

"I hadn't until two days ago when Carlos came into my shop and asked for your guys vinyl record." I smiled sadly, losing points I'm sure for that. Kendall seemed impressed still though.

"Really? You own a record store?" He asked as I felt my ego take a plunge. I snickered.

"Oh no. I just work at one. Not a life's dream, but it pays the bills." I said smiling, feeling as though I sounded pathetic and self-loathing. Kendall nodded understandingly.

"Everyone's gotta start from somewhere." He nodded to me, smiling. He was truly a nice guy. His eyes seemed to glow bright green in the dim lighting of the room as if the more we spoke, the more intrigued he got. His shirt wasn't as dressy as every other guys here and he wore black skinny jeans which seemed to me like he was a little more of a rebel when it came to 'normal'.

"I'm told you own your own record label? Where did you start from to become so successful?" I asked trying to be a little more flirty than not since he was being so open and accepting of my rather non impressive life. He grinned, but looked down at his shoes.

"Ah, yeah. I was just a kid, in love with music, with a best friend who agreed to be in a band with me. We started out on Myspace, but that's when another band came in and that's how I met Carlos and our other two bandmates." He said. I smiled as I put two and two together finally.

"James. Was James in your guys band too?" I asked remembering Carlos introduce James as his old band mate. Kendall smirked then, his green eyes scanning my face.

"You know so much more about me than I know about you." He joked. "Yeah James, Carlos, Logan over there," Kendall said pointing at the second guy who was playing video games. "And I were all in a band called Big Time Rush. But now that we've called a time out to branch out creatively, Heffron Drive is number one for the time being." Kendall informed me with a shrug as if being in multiple bands wasn't a big success. He was quite humble it seemed.

"Interesting." I said taking another sip of my glass. He smiled and then leaned back in his seat.

"Very. Now tell me about you." He said almost as if it were a challenge. I shrugged my shoulders then as I lowered my glass from my lips.

"What do you wanna know?" I asked being an open book. He thought a moment looking down at his watch on his wrist before smiling.

"Tell me your life story in the five minutes we have until dinner is served." Kendall challenged for real this time. I raised my eyebrow and then got determined.

"Well, I born out of state. My parents and brother still live there. I grew up in a small town, wanting to leave was number one after graduation. I'm obviously different than most girls at age twenty two, in the way I look. I mean how many girls my age do you see that look like this, have piercings and tattoos?" I asked as a rhetorical question, but he answered anyway.

"Not many frankly." He said smiling watching me.

"Exactly. So I moved out to LA. Got all my tattoos and piercings out here as an act of rebellion, but of course they all mean something to me. Now I'm just waiting for my chance to change the world with my kitty, Oliver, by my side, er, my feet." I changed as a funny ending to the story, which made him genuinely laugh.

"Thanks awesome." He told me. "Much more exciting than my life." He said seeming genuine. I scoffed as I was taken aback by that remark.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked almost shyly as he shook his head. I looked down at my emptying glass of champagne and played with the little charm around the stem of it.

"I wouldn't kid a girl like you, who happens to look very nice tonight." Kendal said touching my knee with his hand. I shivered feeling the heat from his hand on my skin from over my dress.

"Excuse me! Dinner is now served both on the balcony and the dining room. Please enjoy!" Lex's voice rang through the room. Kendall and I both stood at the same time and ended up bumping into one another, as we practically steadied ourselves on each other. We looked into each other's eyes, my breath catching in my lungs as I could see my reflection in his green eyes.

"Sorry." He whispered as he looked down at me as his phone rang. I nodded with a shy smile and took a step back from him as people filed into the dining room. Kendall headed the other way towards the foyer with the stairs. I stood for a moment, wondering why we both had hesitated being so close to one another, and then started to walk from the living room and into the dining room when the guy in the back of the line to enter turned around quickly while chugging a beer. All I felt was sticky and smelly beer running down both my dress and my body as I gasped.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry."