Note: I have too many ideas of ways to abuse Carlos in my little stories. I really need to stop. It's just a great way to pass the time! Carlos lovers, don't hate me? I love him too, dearly, he's just so adorable that he practically asks for these kinds of things. Oh well, I'll stop trying to justify myself. I hope you guys like this, it's not by best one shot... thing.

Pairings: Lets just say, if you squint, you might see some slash.

Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush. Frankly, you wouldn't want me to.

"Keep gettin' stuck, stuck
But I'm never givin' up, up
In the middle of a
Perfect day
I'm tripping over
Words to say"

Kendall Knight, James Diamond, Carlos Garcia and Logan Mitchell, otherwise known as Big Time Rush, sang their hit single "Stuck" at the corner of the pool, their Palm Woods friend's surrounding them. The moon was high overhead and the teens at Palm Woods were having their usual Saturday night gathering at the pool. Every Saturday, they gathered at the pool and told scary stories, listened to their friend's sing, and get to know each other. They didn't seem very close in the daylight but every Saturday, they liked to get together and remember how good friendship felt.

Even the Jennifers were sitting with them, forgetting their social status for a few hours to just be kids again without the stress and worries of Hollywood to bother them. The boys finished their song and gave each other high fives as the others clapped, giving them happy smiled. Guitar Dude stood up, clutching his guitar, and took the boys' place as they sat back down.

Kendall and James leaned back on their palms, listening and watching as Guitar Dude showed them his latest "hit", and didn't notice when Carlos sat a few feet away. Logan sat beside Camille, something he usually did without bothering his best friends, and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. Carlos glanced at his friends, barely listening to Guitar Dude's song as he rubbed the back of his neck. The unusually rough skin rubbed painfully against his fingers as place his hand on the old scar. It was a fairly large scar that stretched from the middle of the back of his head stretch across the back of his neck and lap over his shoulder blade.

Nobody had ever mention his scar. Carlos had began to wonder if they ever noticed. He never wore a shirt while swimming and never tried to hide the scar, and still, nobody seemed to notice. That fact still surprised him. It had to be about five shades different than his normal tanned skin and every time he glance din the mirror, he could see it plain as day. His hair covered the top part of the scar, hiding most of it from view, but the rest was just laid across his skin.

Carlos had come to accept the fact that nobody could see it. They just saw what they wanted to see. Maybe they just brushed it off as some accident he had while doing some stupid stunt. But what really puzzled him, was that his best friends had never so much as given him a double take. Every time they were in the dressing rooms back in Minnesota before a hockey game, while swimming in the Palm Woods pool, or even when he stepped out of the shower with nothing but a pair of boxers on. Maybe they just didn't care.

He had received the scar seven years ago. He was nine years old then, no more than a baby. He could still remember the day he received it, wincing at the memory.

"Carlos!" A desperate wail jolted the nine year old boy from his sleep.

The air was thick and he found it hard to breathe as he sat up in bed, blinking the sleep form his eyes. At first he thought it was morning until he realized that the dim light was not coming form his window but from the other side of his door. Jumping out of bed, he pulled the door open and gasped. Fire was blazing everywhere he looked. Covering family portraits, furniture, the doors of his siblings, everything. The fire didn't stop as it raged into his room, burning the carpet and lapping at his toes. He backed up in fear, jumping on his bed to only find it engulfed in flames a moment later.

His mother appeared in the doorway, a terrified look on her face. He didn't stop to think as he jumped off the bed, landing in a place where the fire hadn't reached and ran towards his mother. She wrapped her arms around him and they made their way down the long hallway. As they emerged into the large living room, the fire biting at their heals, Carlos was pushed down by a fallen beam on the ceiling. His mother screamed and tried to pull the beam off of him. It was soon engulfed in flames and Carlos was held down tight, unable to move. His mother tried to pull it off, not caring that he hands were being burned, before she was grabbed by a man in a suit.

Carlos watched in terror as his mother was pulled away. His clothes had stopped the fire from burning yet but he could feel the intense heat slowly reaching his soft skin. His outstretched arms and legs were singed by the flames and he winced in pain, trying to keep himself from screaming. His shirt had burned away and the burning beam was pressing into his back, making the pain unbearable. He screamed and then it all went black.

Two days later, Carlos had woken up in the hospital with bandages all over his body but not quite a full body cast. Nobody told him about the scar on the back of his neck until he had been released from the hospital and was taking a shower at the hotel his family was staying in. Not even his family spoke of the scar, not wanting to remember that horrible night.

It was exactly one year later that Carlos met his three best friends, Kendall, James, and Logan. It shocked him when even they didn't question the scar and he often wondered if he was the only one who could see it.

"Earth to Car-litos." Carlos found himself being jolted from his thoughts as he heard his name being called. From the way it sounded, his name had been said multiple times and the person was starting to get agitated. As he glanced around, he saw all his friends watching him closely, odd looks on their faces.

"Sorry, what?" He asked, putting his hand down on his lap as he released the scar and pushing the memory to the back of his mind.

"We said, would you like to show off that cool stunt you were bragging about all morning?" James said dramatically.

"Oh... no, thanks." Carlos rejected, earning a shocked gasp from everyone in unison. Carlos never turned down a stunt. Never.

"Okay then." James turned away and resumed talking to the others, leaving Carlos to his thoughts. A few of them were still staring at Carlos in shock, wondering why he might ever turn down a chance of getting hurt.

Ignoring their looks, Carlos stood up and walked away silently. Walking into the empty lobby, Carlos thought nobody had followed him until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and gazed up at the person who had stopped him, his expression blank.

"Where are you going?" Kendall asked, Logan and James appeared behind him.

"Nowhere." Carlos muttered in reply, not bothering to link up a lie. (Haha! That rhymed!)

"Carlos, what's bothering you?" Logan asked flatly, stepping forward to stand beside Kendall and glare at Carlos.

"Nothing. Just thinking."

"That's unusual." James joked, earning a glare from all three boys before grinning at them apologetically.

"Really, Carlos. Something's bothering you." Kendall said, finally releasing Carlos' shoulder and letting him sigh with relief as the circulation could flow easily through his arm once more.

"It's nothing guys. Well, it's nothing to you. You never noticed anyway." Carlos muttered and turned away, heading towards the elevator.

"Is this about your scar?"

Carlos froze, his right foot suspended in mid air in front of him. He felt his body go rigid with shock. Was Kendall talking about what he thought he was talking about? That dreadful mark that had been etched into his skin? That mark that nobody had ever spoken about in his entire life. Carlos slowly turned around to face them, a shocked expression on his face as he stared at them. Logan slapped Kendall on the shoulder, an unrecognizable expression on his face.

"My... scar?" He whispered questioningly.

"Yes. Am I right, Carlos?" Kendall asked, staring at him with a sympathetic and curious look on his face.

"Yes." Carlos replied simply, instinctively rubbing the back of his neck.

His three friends said nothing as they stepped towards him and pulled him into a hug. He was shocked a moment but relaxed as he was smothered by the strong arms, barely allowing him to breathe. They released him after a moment and he stumbled back, his body half crushed.

"You... know about it?" Carlos asked, catching his breath and looking at them sideways, as if he didn't believe them.

"Well... when we first met you, your mom pulled all of our mom's aside. She told them what happened and they told us. They made us promised to never speak about it but now we have and their going to kill us!" James explained, a terrified expression on his face.

"What? Why?"

"Your mom said that she didn't want you to have anything reminding you about the fire. She didn't want you to be remembered about it more than you needed to be." Logan explained, gazing at his friend with a distant look.

Carlos stood there a moment, his body frozen as he processed all the information. His friends really hadknown about his scar all this time. They just never spoke of it in order to protect him. To keep the trauma from returning. Then, out of nowhere, Carlos burst into laughter, clutching his sides as he was hunched over. His three friends stared at him with shocked and confused looks, frozen to the spot.

"What's so funny about this?" Kendall asked, looking genuinely confused.

"All this time, you guys knew. I was beginning to think only I could see it. Thanks for proving that I'm not as insane as I think I am." Carlos stood up, giggles slipping from his mouth as he stepped forward and hugged his friends.

"Thanks guys." He whispered.

Note:Not my best work. Like it? Love it? Hate it? Make you want to kick a puppy? Leave a review!

Carlos: *facepalm*
James: You must be superman to not be dead after all this.
Kendall: Well he is Astro Comet El Hombre De Space Rock Man.
Logan: Sure he is.
Carlos: I'm not a super hero. I'm a Pop Star. *flounces off happily*