"Logaaaan! Logie, Logie, Logie. "

Logan just had time to grip the edges of his laptop before Kendall bounced over the back of the couch and onto the seat cushion next to him, jostling Logan's knees but not spilling a drop of his own OJ. "And what are you doing on this ridiculously early morning?" He threw his arm around Logan's shoulders and peered at the video on the computer screen. "Ugh." His face wrinkled in comic distaste. "There seriously is more than one way to skin a cat? I always thought that was an expression."

"It's biology," Logan defended, tilting the screen protectively out of Kendall's view.

"It's mutant," Kendall countered. "And, it's Saturday." He hopped up and slapped the laptop shut. "And I'd rather be sleeping but since James and Carlos insisted on waking us before dawn, I say we accept their gift, however misguided, and take advantage of this early hour."

"Oh, what," Logan grimaced, "join Operation 'Stake- Out -the-Pool-Before-Sunrise-So-No-Girls-Get-By-You'?" He reopened his laptop. "I'll take the cats."

"Actually, I think it's called 'Operation Moonblock', and, no. Our adventures, my newly-licensed friend, await us far from the land of lounge chairs and zombie cats."

The keys to the BTR-Mobile suddenly dangled an inch from Logan's nose. "And so it begins," Logan sighed, staring at the jangling metal as though it had betrayed him.

"Indeed it does!" Kendall enthused. "Every young man with his very own, thoroughly legal driver's license must heed the siren call of the early morning, the open road, a sweet car… " he shook the keys for emphasis "…and his best bud. " He emphatically pushed the laptop closed with one finger and struck a palms-up pose. "Whaddaya say? "

"I'm in the middle of something." Logan wrenched the laptop open.

"Yeah, in the middle of learning to create mutant zombie cats. Which," Kendall allowed, "could be fun - if there weren't miles and miles of unexplored road waiting to meet a cherry GTO with a full tank of gas."

Logan considered his hyper- animated friend. It wasn't the least bit unusual that Kendall had hatched a plan and was throwing himself into getting Logan to go along. But something had those expressive eyebrows on speed-emphasis this morning. Which was always fun to watch. And mess with.

"You could take a walk."

"Logan." Kendall's voice was laced with sadness and disapproval. "This is L.A.! This is the home of the car culture. We are teenagers. We have a car. You have your license. And we haven't gone anywhere!"

"Mmm." Logan pushed his way off the couch and past his groveling band mate, keeping his eyes glued to the computer. If Kendall really wanted something, that action would tip him into salesmanship overdrive.

Bingo.

"Logie, come onnn," Kendall wheedled. "Consider it… an anthropological expedition! You could write a thesis on potholes. Maybe we'll find a cat! But Mom and Katie are sleeping, Mario and Luigi are at the pool, Jo's gone all day and I reallyreallyreally wanna do Mulholland!" The last plea was delivered with closed eyes and prayerful hands. Logan stayed silent until one green eye pried open. "Please?"

"Ohhh, I understand it now. How did I not see this sooner? It was bound to happen." Logan shook his head sadly while placing one hand on Kendall's forehead. "Delayed Hollywood Fever," he tsked. "I'm writing you a prescription for snow down your back."

Kendall jerked out of reach. "Logan-"

"O.K." Logan acquiesced, knowing the limit. "But you will wear your seatbelt, we will have fully-charged cell phones with us, there will be a first-aid kit in the car along with a road emergency kit, and we're back in an hour. "

"Check, check, check and check!" Kendall picked up Logan's first aid kit from the kitchen counter and tapped it on the side.

"And we should tell your mom-"

"Nooo, no we shouldn't. She's sleeping, no need to wake her."

Logan's Spidey senses started tingling. "Why do I smell trouble?"

"No trouble." Kendall patted Logan's shoulder. "It's our car, and you're allowed to drive it. We're not breaking any rules here."

God, the places that charisma landed them. How he still fell for it after so many years, and so many detentions, Logan could never explain. But, he did. They all did. "No," he heard himself agree, "I guess we're not. But" - and this was where he always inserted the responsible part of their plans - "leave her a note. "

"Fine." Kendall recited out loud as he wrote on a sticky note. "Mom. Logan and I went out for a while. Love, Kendall."

"In the car."

"In…the…car." Kendall set down the pen.

"She can read it better if you actually write it down." Katie had materialized to critique her brother's message.

"Nah. She's Mom. She'll know," Kendall reasoned.

"Why don't we just make certain?" Logan reached for the pen.

"It's fine." Kendall pulled the paper away. "Why are you making such a big deal?"

Logan's Spidey sense gave way to THREATCON Bravo. "Why are you making a big deal?"

"I'm not. I just want a nice, quiet morning for everyone."

"That's not happening for James and Carlos," Katie commented, her attention diverted out the window. "They'll be up here to change any minute."

"Smoothies?" Logan grimaced.

Katie nodded. "The Jennifers."

The boys shuddered in sympathy.

"As we do not want smoothie on the interior of the BTR- Mobile," Kendall started for the door, "this would be the perfect time to depart."

"Sounds good." Katie followed her brother.

"Uhhh, not this time, little sis. Logan and I must face the road mano-a-mano." He pounded his chest in salute.

"Aw, come on," Katie protested. You're finally gonna blow open up those sweet three deuces to ride the rail on a hairpin curve – and I have to stay here with the Boo-Berry brothers?"

Logan was still trying to absorb Katie's patter when Carlos burst through the door.

"Strawberry mango," he corrected, gesturing to his pink-swamped tank. "But worth it."

"You're making progress?" Kendall asked, incredulous.

"No. But we were up too early to get breakfast so now – " James scooped smoothie remains from his t-shirt into the palm of his hand and slurped it down – "we're good!"

"Oh. That's… handy." Logan congratulated, watching Kendall slip out the door. "Once you finish eating your wardrobe, you going back to the trenches?"

"Oh yes," James answered.

"We've got lots of shirts," Carlos added cheerfully, sucking on his hem.

"Great!" Logan waved, backing out of the door. "Hope you get lunch."

"Ooh!" Carlos exclaimed as the door closed. "Lunch smoothies!"

Logan caught up to Kendall in the lobby, where he was pacing the floor while twirling the key ring on his finger. The second he spied Logan he bolted for the door. "Let's go!"

Hustling to keep up, Logan wondered again what had gotten into Kendall. And what he, by extension, had gotten himself into by agreeing to this morning sojourn. "Kens!" he called. "Wait up."

"No can do!" his leader sang back, long legs breaking into a lope as their car came into view. Reaching the vehicle, he started dancing. "Kickin' in the front seat, sittin' in the back seat, I gotta make my mi-ind up which seat can I taaaaake…"

"Ugh, take the trunk!"

"Ah no, that's Bitters' special spot. " Kendall spun a 360 and pointed both fingers at Logan. "But not anymore!" He tossed the keys and leapt into the passenger's seat. "Whoo! Little GTO you're really lookin fine, three deuces and a four-speed and a 389…"

"Did you have a lot of sugary cereal for breakfast?" Logan asked as he entered the car in the traditional manner, checked his mirrors, buckled in and started the ignition. Kendall merely shook his head as he continued his serenade.

"Listen to her tachin' up now, listen to her whi-ee-eye-ine, C'mon and turn it on, wind it up, blow it out GTO. Wah wah, wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-wah…"

Logan laughed at the falsetto and they pulled away from the Palm Woods.