Fic: Five Times Jett Gave Kendall a Cheese Plate
Fic: Five Times Jett Gave Kendall a Cheese Plate
Disclaimer: Jett and his ass are not mine, alas. (Neither is anything else.)
Rating/warnings: Teen
Pairings: Kendall/Jett
Notes: For my darling lielabell.
Summary: Jett knew when a cheese plate was called for. His mother had raised him with very good manners, thanks so much. But Kendall, it turned out, had no appreciation for good manners whatsoever.
1.
The first cheese plate didn't mean anything at all. Kendall had told Jett to come over to work on the project, and Jett's mother raised him with very good manners, thank you very much. They were too young for him to bring a bottle of wine, so yeah, cheese plate.
Kendall, it turned out, had no appreciation for good manners.
Or for personal hygiene, judging by the stench of his hockey gear, or good taste, judging by his hair.
There was also the issue with his face. But short of massive plastic surgery, there was nothing Kendall could do about that.
Anyway. The project started with a polite cheese plate and somehow ended with Jett sitting in the capital building, carefully tied to a chair, mouth duct taped shut, wrists bound in his lap. Which was pretty convenient, considering how often he needed to … readjust things. He couldn't help it. It was something about the way Kendall was lording over him, smirking, bragging about how much Jett had squirmed.
It was also the way, at the end of the project display day, that Kendall unthinkingly rubbed Jett's sore, red wrists, his gnarled hands gentle as he did it. He probably didn't even notice it, but Jett did.
So maybe Jett had to take an extra-long shower after that, sure.
Point was: it all started with a cheese plate.
2.
Jett didn't like saying nice things about the members of Big Time Rush, because they were all such peasants (and James was not better looking than he was, just for the record), but they did know how to throw a party. Not that Jett sulked for three days because he hadn't gotten an invitation to Kendall's birthday party. Just because Kendall hated him, yeesh. That was no excuse to not invite him. Especially not when he invited literally everyone else at the Palm Woods. Including Lightning the TV Wonder Dog.
Jett didn't want to go to his stupid party anyway.
Which didn't stop him from coming up with an elaborate plan to crash it, because he was Jett Stetson, and there was no way he was not going to attend the party of the year.
Of course, Kendall had to ruin everything by rolling his eyes when he saw Jett casing the hallway, trying to figure out where the security cameras were and what path he'd need to take to avoid being spotted by them. And then, wearing even tackier flannel than usual, Kendall walked up to him, hands in pockets, and said, "So… do you want to come to my party, Jett?" Like it was such a trial to invite him.
"Psh, as if," Jett answered, because duh. Being snubbed by the best party of the year was an outrage. Doing the snubbing, however, would be great for his reputation. And it wasn't like he wanted to hang out with Big Time Rush and their groupies. Ick. Please.
And he definitely didn't want to spend time with Kendall. Especially not now that Jo was back in town and she and Kendall were back together. No way was Jett slumming it at a party with those two.
Still, ditching a party he'd been so kindly invited to was awfully rude, so again: cheese plate. He had it delivered a few days later, but Kendall somehow forgot to thank him for it.
Some people were so rude.
3.
It was time to leave the Palm Woods. Jett's career was heading up-up-up -- he was starring in a teen sex romp (which meant he'd been working hours and hours a day with his trainer; his ass was going to be on the big screen and no way was he using a butt double), and he was up for a major action flick after that. Of course, Dak Zevon was up for that same role, and Jett had a long history of losing out to Zevon. Not that he was still bitter about Varsity Vampire. But he had a good feeling about this. He was going to nail it, and it was going to launch him to superstardom.
So goodbye, Palm Woods. Hello, mansion befitting his soon-to-be superstar status.
Of course, he had to make sure the Palm Woods would always remember him and how awesome he was, which meant … well, bribery. So Jett spent a painstaking week writing out heartfelt cards, remembering good times -- making up good times if there weren't any to remember -- and making sure everyone knew exactly how much they would miss him.
He even sent presents to a few of his favorite people. Not that there were many. Just the big stars. Like Lightning. And Camille, because he was pretty sure she was still hung up on him after their one date. All of her making out with Logan was just to cover her pain. And he gave one to Katie Knight, mostly because she terrified him, but a little bit because she was going to own the town one day and it wouldn't hurt to stay on her good side.
And okay. Maybe he decided to give one to Kendall. Out of pity. Because Kendall still had that whole…face issue. That was all.
It was just a cheese plate. He certainly didn't spend a ridiculous amount of time picking out the cheeses, the crackers that would best accompany them, or what kind of fruits he wanted to garnish it. He definitely didn't spend hours on it.
Because if he had, then when Kendall gave him a confused look and said, "Uh, thanks? I guess?" and shut the door in his face, that would really have hurt.
Whatever.
He had bigger and better things on the horizon anyway.
4.
Things were not exactly working out how Jett had hoped. Well. Hoped wasn't the right word. Things weren't working out the way Jett had expected, and that expectation had been based on busting his ass in this industry since he was ten. But his teen comedy had been panned (the critics had insulted his ass! That was just rude), he'd lost the action role to Zevon, and suddenly no one was taking his agent's calls.
After six months of that, his agent stopped taking his calls.
After nine months of that, he had to sell his mansion and move into an apartment. Just for awhile, until he turned things around.
A year later, he was working for a catering company.
So no, things were not working out as expected. But he was still Jett Stetson. He was still gorgeous and talented and this was just a blip. A bad few years. If it went on long enough, he'd eventually be able to work the awesome comeback angle. So there was nothing to panic about.
Besides, when it came to catering, he looked as good in the uniform as anyone could. He had the black slacks tailored to fit his (extremely attractive) ass, and the button down was tight enough to show off his rock-solid chest. Because hey, producers and directors and agents all went to the kind of parties he catered at. He didn't want anyone to see him and think he wasn't still ridiculously good looking. There wasn't much he could do about the uniform's bow-tie, but whatever. He looked good, definitely better than anyone else working at the event.
He had a tray in each hand and was sliding through the crowd to where he was supposed to deposit them, when someone said, "Jett Stetson. What is it with you and cheese plates?"
Jett blinked a few times. He knew that voice. He did. He just couldn't place it. He put his things down and said, "It's more of a platter, really." Then spun to find Kendall Knight standing behind him.
Jett sputtered. He hadn't even thought about it -- that this was a music industry event, that Kendall Knight's career was still going strong, that he might be there. He hadn't even had the decency to get fat or maimed in an accident or something. He hadn't even plucked his eyebrows. It just wasn't fair that a guy with eyebrows like Kendall Knight's was a success and a guy with an ass like Jett's wasn't.
"Are you even going to say hello?" Kendall prodded.
"No," Jett said. "I'm on a my break."
"Then why are you carrying cheese plates around?" Kendall asked,
"I just… like… cheese," Jett gritted, and then ducked back through the crowd towards the kitchen, out the back, and behind the building where the even was being held.
Well. This was a rather annoying twist in his evening he hadn't expected. Anyone decent would have just pretended they didn't know each other. And why had Kendall said anything, anyway? It wasn't like they had ever been friends. Kendall had never even appreciated a single cheese plate Jett had given him. Or Jett's winning personality. Or Jett's ass. Really, Jett could have lived without appreciation for those first two if he'd gotten the third.
"Um… Jett?"
Kendall stepped out the kitchen door.
"What do you want?" Jett snapped.
Kendall hesitated for a second, then gave Jett a look. A look which, even with Kendall's stupid eyebrows and stupid face and stupid everything, was really hard to mistake, and one he'd definitely never given Jett before.
Well.
Maybe this was going to be okay, actually.
5.
"You've got Jett," Jett said, after putting his phone on speaker so he could continue running on the treadmill. The lady on the next treadmill over glared at him. Jett glared right back. He couldn't afford to not answer his phone in case a casting director called, and he couldn't afford to not keep up with his run, also in case a casting director called. Being as handsome as he was took careful maintenance.
"Uh… so I assume the cheese plate is from you?"
Jett adjusted his pace downwards a little. So it was Kendall calling. Jett hadn't really expected it, since they hadn't exchanged numbers or anything. Jett had just had the cheese plate delivered to Kendall's studio, because he didn't remember Kendall's address. It had just been Jett's way of saying thank you. For the sex. Which they'd had.
"Who else would it be from?" Jett asked, pleased that he wasn't breathing too hard. On the one hand, it might have come across as a sexy pant, which would be good. But he didn't want Kendall to think he was so desperate he was panting. Because he wasn't.
"Why did… it's kind of… look, I just didn't want you to get all clingy, okay?"
"Clingy?" Jett repeated. "You called me." He brightened. "You had to go out of your way to find my number! You want to have sex again. You're clingy!"
There was a long silence.
"Kendall?" Jett finally asked.
"For the record, I don't even like cheese."
"So what do you like?" Jett asked. Chocolates? Could he find somewhere to deliver those?
"Maybe you'd better come to dinner with me to see first hand," Kendall said, but it was grudging. Jett would take that, though.
"Chez Fancee. I'll be there at nine. Look for the most handsome guy in the room," Jett agreed.
"I know what you look like, Jett."
"But you're not disputing that I'll be the most handsome guy in the room," Jett pointed out. "See you then, Knight."
Then hung up and smirked over at the woman next to him, who was still glaring. Well, let her glare. Jett had one hell of a hot date lined up. It was amazing what a cheese plate could do.
Disclaimer: Jett and his ass are not mine, alas. (Neither is anything else.)
Rating/warnings: Teen
Pairings: Kendall/Jett
Notes: For my darling lielabell.
Summary: Jett knew when a cheese plate was called for. His mother had raised him with very good manners, thanks so much. But Kendall, it turned out, had no appreciation for good manners whatsoever.
1.
The first cheese plate didn't mean anything at all. Kendall had told Jett to come over to work on the project, and Jett's mother raised him with very good manners, thank you very much. They were too young for him to bring a bottle of wine, so yeah, cheese plate.
Kendall, it turned out, had no appreciation for good manners.
Or for personal hygiene, judging by the stench of his hockey gear, or good taste, judging by his hair.
There was also the issue with his face. But short of massive plastic surgery, there was nothing Kendall could do about that.
Anyway. The project started with a polite cheese plate and somehow ended with Jett sitting in the capital building, carefully tied to a chair, mouth duct taped shut, wrists bound in his lap. Which was pretty convenient, considering how often he needed to … readjust things. He couldn't help it. It was something about the way Kendall was lording over him, smirking, bragging about how much Jett had squirmed.
It was also the way, at the end of the project display day, that Kendall unthinkingly rubbed Jett's sore, red wrists, his gnarled hands gentle as he did it. He probably didn't even notice it, but Jett did.
So maybe Jett had to take an extra-long shower after that, sure.
Point was: it all started with a cheese plate.
2.
Jett didn't like saying nice things about the members of Big Time Rush, because they were all such peasants (and James was not better looking than he was, just for the record), but they did know how to throw a party. Not that Jett sulked for three days because he hadn't gotten an invitation to Kendall's birthday party. Just because Kendall hated him, yeesh. That was no excuse to not invite him. Especially not when he invited literally everyone else at the Palm Woods. Including Lightning the TV Wonder Dog.
Jett didn't want to go to his stupid party anyway.
Which didn't stop him from coming up with an elaborate plan to crash it, because he was Jett Stetson, and there was no way he was not going to attend the party of the year.
Of course, Kendall had to ruin everything by rolling his eyes when he saw Jett casing the hallway, trying to figure out where the security cameras were and what path he'd need to take to avoid being spotted by them. And then, wearing even tackier flannel than usual, Kendall walked up to him, hands in pockets, and said, "So… do you want to come to my party, Jett?" Like it was such a trial to invite him.
"Psh, as if," Jett answered, because duh. Being snubbed by the best party of the year was an outrage. Doing the snubbing, however, would be great for his reputation. And it wasn't like he wanted to hang out with Big Time Rush and their groupies. Ick. Please.
And he definitely didn't want to spend time with Kendall. Especially not now that Jo was back in town and she and Kendall were back together. No way was Jett slumming it at a party with those two.
Still, ditching a party he'd been so kindly invited to was awfully rude, so again: cheese plate. He had it delivered a few days later, but Kendall somehow forgot to thank him for it.
Some people were so rude.
3.
It was time to leave the Palm Woods. Jett's career was heading up-up-up -- he was starring in a teen sex romp (which meant he'd been working hours and hours a day with his trainer; his ass was going to be on the big screen and no way was he using a butt double), and he was up for a major action flick after that. Of course, Dak Zevon was up for that same role, and Jett had a long history of losing out to Zevon. Not that he was still bitter about Varsity Vampire. But he had a good feeling about this. He was going to nail it, and it was going to launch him to superstardom.
So goodbye, Palm Woods. Hello, mansion befitting his soon-to-be superstar status.
Of course, he had to make sure the Palm Woods would always remember him and how awesome he was, which meant … well, bribery. So Jett spent a painstaking week writing out heartfelt cards, remembering good times -- making up good times if there weren't any to remember -- and making sure everyone knew exactly how much they would miss him.
He even sent presents to a few of his favorite people. Not that there were many. Just the big stars. Like Lightning. And Camille, because he was pretty sure she was still hung up on him after their one date. All of her making out with Logan was just to cover her pain. And he gave one to Katie Knight, mostly because she terrified him, but a little bit because she was going to own the town one day and it wouldn't hurt to stay on her good side.
And okay. Maybe he decided to give one to Kendall. Out of pity. Because Kendall still had that whole…face issue. That was all.
It was just a cheese plate. He certainly didn't spend a ridiculous amount of time picking out the cheeses, the crackers that would best accompany them, or what kind of fruits he wanted to garnish it. He definitely didn't spend hours on it.
Because if he had, then when Kendall gave him a confused look and said, "Uh, thanks? I guess?" and shut the door in his face, that would really have hurt.
Whatever.
He had bigger and better things on the horizon anyway.
4.
Things were not exactly working out how Jett had hoped. Well. Hoped wasn't the right word. Things weren't working out the way Jett had expected, and that expectation had been based on busting his ass in this industry since he was ten. But his teen comedy had been panned (the critics had insulted his ass! That was just rude), he'd lost the action role to Zevon, and suddenly no one was taking his agent's calls.
After six months of that, his agent stopped taking his calls.
After nine months of that, he had to sell his mansion and move into an apartment. Just for awhile, until he turned things around.
A year later, he was working for a catering company.
So no, things were not working out as expected. But he was still Jett Stetson. He was still gorgeous and talented and this was just a blip. A bad few years. If it went on long enough, he'd eventually be able to work the awesome comeback angle. So there was nothing to panic about.
Besides, when it came to catering, he looked as good in the uniform as anyone could. He had the black slacks tailored to fit his (extremely attractive) ass, and the button down was tight enough to show off his rock-solid chest. Because hey, producers and directors and agents all went to the kind of parties he catered at. He didn't want anyone to see him and think he wasn't still ridiculously good looking. There wasn't much he could do about the uniform's bow-tie, but whatever. He looked good, definitely better than anyone else working at the event.
He had a tray in each hand and was sliding through the crowd to where he was supposed to deposit them, when someone said, "Jett Stetson. What is it with you and cheese plates?"
Jett blinked a few times. He knew that voice. He did. He just couldn't place it. He put his things down and said, "It's more of a platter, really." Then spun to find Kendall Knight standing behind him.
Jett sputtered. He hadn't even thought about it -- that this was a music industry event, that Kendall Knight's career was still going strong, that he might be there. He hadn't even had the decency to get fat or maimed in an accident or something. He hadn't even plucked his eyebrows. It just wasn't fair that a guy with eyebrows like Kendall Knight's was a success and a guy with an ass like Jett's wasn't.
"Are you even going to say hello?" Kendall prodded.
"No," Jett said. "I'm on a my break."
"Then why are you carrying cheese plates around?" Kendall asked,
"I just… like… cheese," Jett gritted, and then ducked back through the crowd towards the kitchen, out the back, and behind the building where the even was being held.
Well. This was a rather annoying twist in his evening he hadn't expected. Anyone decent would have just pretended they didn't know each other. And why had Kendall said anything, anyway? It wasn't like they had ever been friends. Kendall had never even appreciated a single cheese plate Jett had given him. Or Jett's winning personality. Or Jett's ass. Really, Jett could have lived without appreciation for those first two if he'd gotten the third.
"Um… Jett?"
Kendall stepped out the kitchen door.
"What do you want?" Jett snapped.
Kendall hesitated for a second, then gave Jett a look. A look which, even with Kendall's stupid eyebrows and stupid face and stupid everything, was really hard to mistake, and one he'd definitely never given Jett before.
Well.
Maybe this was going to be okay, actually.
5.
"You've got Jett," Jett said, after putting his phone on speaker so he could continue running on the treadmill. The lady on the next treadmill over glared at him. Jett glared right back. He couldn't afford to not answer his phone in case a casting director called, and he couldn't afford to not keep up with his run, also in case a casting director called. Being as handsome as he was took careful maintenance.
"Uh… so I assume the cheese plate is from you?"
Jett adjusted his pace downwards a little. So it was Kendall calling. Jett hadn't really expected it, since they hadn't exchanged numbers or anything. Jett had just had the cheese plate delivered to Kendall's studio, because he didn't remember Kendall's address. It had just been Jett's way of saying thank you. For the sex. Which they'd had.
"Who else would it be from?" Jett asked, pleased that he wasn't breathing too hard. On the one hand, it might have come across as a sexy pant, which would be good. But he didn't want Kendall to think he was so desperate he was panting. Because he wasn't.
"Why did… it's kind of… look, I just didn't want you to get all clingy, okay?"
"Clingy?" Jett repeated. "You called me." He brightened. "You had to go out of your way to find my number! You want to have sex again. You're clingy!"
There was a long silence.
"Kendall?" Jett finally asked.
"For the record, I don't even like cheese."
"So what do you like?" Jett asked. Chocolates? Could he find somewhere to deliver those?
"Maybe you'd better come to dinner with me to see first hand," Kendall said, but it was grudging. Jett would take that, though.
"Chez Fancee. I'll be there at nine. Look for the most handsome guy in the room," Jett agreed.
"I know what you look like, Jett."
"But you're not disputing that I'll be the most handsome guy in the room," Jett pointed out. "See you then, Knight."
Then hung up and smirked over at the woman next to him, who was still glaring. Well, let her glare. Jett had one hell of a hot date lined up. It was amazing what a cheese plate could do.