It all started with the meet and greet.
The boys were joking around in their tour bus, chatting about nothing in particular and tweeting their dedicated fans they proudly called their Rushers. They were hyped up for their concert that night and could not wait.
"Man, I love our fans," Kendall randomly commented to Logan. He had seen various tweets about how proud the Rushers were of them, for them to have fun, and for them to be safe. They never ceased to make him smile.
The Texan boy nodded in agreement. "They're the best."
"I love this job," James piped in.
"I love you guys," the sentimental Latino added with a genuine grin sprawling across his face.
The boys had to agree. They were living the dream and having the time of their lives with each other. They even had Kendall's long time friend Dustin Belt as their guitar player. It was their real life fairytale.
"Guys," Ranel called out coming in. "It's time for the meet and greet."
They boys literally dove for the open doors, fighting each other to get off first.
This was the best part of their job. This was the reason their dreams were coming true. They all secretly wished that they could spend more than thirty seconds with their fans. Of course, the Rushers made the same wish openly, but they were happy with what they got. After all, thirty seconds was better than nothing.
The boys greeted each of their fans warm smiles and open arms. They goofed off with a few of them, and talked with others. Their favorite part were the picures; it was a keepsake, and their fans' faces, some eyes wide with excitement and some teary-eyed, always made them smile. It reminded them that they were living the dream.
"C'mon Krista!" Jessica bubbled to her cousin. "Any slower?"
Nineteen-year-old Krista crossed her eyes at her fifteen-year-old cousin's enthusiasm, but she managed to give her a silly grin, before receiving her corndog.
They were meeting Jessica's idols for the first time, and the whole situation always made made Krista laugh out loud.
Both girls were Rushers but Krista knew her limits. Jessica however, always found ways to exert her Rusher-ness. But she wasn't crazy or obsessed; she was just über excited. It should've been the other way around since the older teen girls were into that, but the world knew they weren't a typical family.
"How can you have so much energy Jess?" Krista complained good-naturedly.
She shrugged. "Dunno. I just do." It was a little white lie though. She knew why. She hardly slept a wink the night before. She fell asleep around three and woke up every hour after that, only to give up on sleep at seven. Throughout the day, her energy came from a cold slice of pizza and a single can of Coke.
"Hurry Krista! I'm getting impatient!" She threw her raven colored hair over her shoulder. She felt as though her cousin was doing this on purpose.
Krista casually bit on her corndog while walking up to the growning-more-restless Jessica. She managed to smirk through her mouthful of food. 'Damn,' she thought to herself, 'It's just Big Time Rush. It's not the forking President…aww crap! She's got me saying 'forking' now.'
Noticing her ponytail was becoming loose, she had Jessica grab the corndog, so she'd be able to fix her strawberry blonde hair back.
The guys' cheekbones hurt from smiling too much, but they weren't complaining; it was worth it.
Ten minutes later, two girls came in and joined the line that had formed by then. One was scoping the place out while the other seemed content eyeing the nearby stands individually.
Carlos noticed the calmer one right off the bat, and a smile crept on his face. She was patiently waiting in the line whereas the other girl she came with looked ready to either kill someone in front of them or pass out from what -or rather- who she saw.
"Ooh, who're you checkin' out?" Logan asked the Latin boy flirtatiously. He'd noticed the lopsided smile that formed on Carlos' face and was determined to know.
Carlos coughed nervously, realizing the dimpled fiend he called his friend had caught him. "Um, uh, n-nothing. No one. I was just seeing how some of these Rushers personalized their shirts, and some are really cool."
"Hmm," the Texan boy shot him smirk, signallng that he wasn't fooled for a second and that he'd keep an eye on him.
"Whatever," the boy muttered to himself. He snuck another peek at the girl and smiled again. Just until he heard a girl scream.
"EEP!" Jessica squealed loudly enough to cause curious heads to turn at her sudden outburst.
"Jessica!" Krista hissed, trying not to turn red from embarressment. "What's gotten into you?" She noticed that even the BTR boys had stopped to stare.
"Carlos was staring at you!" She whisper shouted. "The Carlos Peña of Big Time Rush is totally checking you out."
"Prob'ly because they wanna know who brought the weirdo that screamed randomly," she commented sarcastically.
"No! It was before that! He saw you, then he smiled. Then, he said something to Logan before looking at you again!"
'So it wasn't my imagination. No, stop it Krista May. He was not looking at you. Jessica only wants an excuse to tease you for being stupid.' She faked a smile. "Okay Jessica. Whatever you say."
The look on the fifteen-year-old's face was priceless. She looked as though she'd been slapped. "You- you don't believe me?" she asked quietly.
"In all honesty, I don't. I'm sorry, but I really don't. I wish I could, but I don't," she rambled nervously. And she didn't; Krista didn't even believe herself. Who would? What are the chances of someone like one of the BTR boys to be staring at someone like…like her?
She wasn't carrying a sign like some Rushers, nor was she painted from head to toe like others. And she most definitely wasn't wearing dresses to the concert. The closest thing to showing her support she had was a normal BTR T-shirt.
She honestly failed to see how she'd catch his attention.
Carlos felt as though the line wouldn't move fast enough; he wanted to see the girl up close. He kept his glances discreet, hoping nothing was obvious. He felt his friends clap him on the back.
"Don't worry buddy," Kendall reassured him, "as soon as we're done with the meet-and-greet, we're gonna relax for a bit, then do a quick soundcheck, and then just relax again."
"No," he whined, "I wanna stay and meet all the fans as long as possible." Of all the boys, Carlos usually did everything to go the extra mile for them.
Logan shot him a flirty wink, which many of the Rushers caught and thus began the squeals and 'Cargan' screams which earned private smirks from all the boys.
Five seemingly endless minutes later, his wish was granted. He came face to face with the girl. But before he could get the chance to do so, the girl who was with her interupted.
"Oh my gosh! It's really you! OMG! ! I'm Jessica and this is my cousin Krista!"
The guys stared humorously at the girl who was trying not to blush, but not really succeeding. She did crack an embarressed smile though. "Hi," she waved casually.
"Hello to you Jessica," Kendall flirted innocemtly, swinging his around her shoulder. "So, what brings you here today?"
Krista giggled and peeked at her cousin. 'Poor girl looks ready to die," she thought, 'she's in fangirl heaven.'
"We are here to see One Direction. Isn't it obvious?" Krista joked.
"Extremely," Carlos butted in, casually snaking his arm through her waist. "Now then, what can we do for you?" He smiled slyly.
"We just want to get a picture with you guys," Jessica piped up shyly. "If it's okay."
"The blond boy looked offended by her statement. "Of course! Why wouldn't-"
"Sorry ladies but your time is up," Ranel interupted, "Please move along and enjoy your evening."
"No!' Carlos thought desperately. "Ranel! Can you just give us a little more time with these girls? Please? They just want a photo is all."
Ranel was indecisive. "I don't know Carlos. I mean, look at all the fans you still have to meet."
"One quick photo!" Logan pleaded. It wasn't just because he wanted to spend more time with these girls,-because he did!- but because he also happened to notice the look on Carlos' face when he saw the girl even when she was in the line.
"Please!" James and Kendall chimed in sounding desperate. They too saw the demeanor written on their Latin friend's face.
The girls said nothing, fearing the worst if they begged along.
Ranel looked away defeated. "Fine, but just a photo."
"Yes!" They cheered. Kogan posed next to the bouncy Jessica, Kendall's hands on her shoulders, with Logan's arm wrapped around her waist.
Jarlos had the honor of posing with Krista. Carlos tiptoed to be able to kiss her cheek while James had her carried bridal style. Ranel snapped the photo.
"We look good," James commented looking at Jessica's phone.
"Definitely!" Krista agreed. "You gotta send it to me ASA now!"
"Do you have a Twitter?" Carlos blurted out once he saw that Krista had a satisfied smile sprawling through her face.
"I do, but Jess doesn't. Why?" Krista inquired curiously.
"I want that pic too. Here. What's your Twitter, that way I know it's you."
I'm sorry ladies, but you really have to get going," Ranel interfered once again.
"I'll send it when I can," she promised leaning in for a quick hug.
"I'll be waiting," he guaranteed, sending her another friendly kiss on the cheek and a flirty wink.
"SEE YA AT THE CONCERT!" They chorused.
They waved at the boys before Krista uploaded the photo.
*"HeyItsKristaMay: Look TheCarlosPena, we all look good. ;)"*
She received an instant notification:
*"TheCarlosPena is now following you."*
Carlos followed her as soon as he saw the mentions. But he wasn't done yet. He had to see her again. And he knew the perfect way to see her again.
"Where's the pen and paper?" He asked the guys a few minutes after the meet and greet was over.
They'd gone back to their bus to relax before the final soundcheck and even invited Cody Simpson and Rachel Crow over. He, however, was growing restless.
Kendall glanced up from the couch before resuming playing his beloved guitar next to his Austrailian friend. "Why?" He finally asked once he saw he hit the right chords to one of Cody's songs.
"Because I wanna hang a note on top of the bus inviting our fans to chill with us," he responded sarcastically. The tour bus erupted with chuckles.
"And by fans, you mean Miss Krista May," Logan whooed. He was peeking over the older boy's shoulder when she was followed, and couldn't resist teasing his friend.
Their visitors just stared at them with confusion and curosity.
"Carlos met a nice lady friend during the meet and greet and now he's hung up on her," Kendall explained, filling them in.
"I am not not hung up on her," Carlos protested, hunting for the materials himself. 'If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself,' he thought good naturedly. He found them and wrote a short note.
"Ooh, what's she look like?" Rachel squealed, speaking for the first time.
'Average height, strawberry blonde hair, hazel eyes a shade lighter than James, and a beautiful smile,' Carlos thought too enthusiastically. "Um, I don't remember. What stood out the color of her hair. It was sort of reddish blondish color."
"Hmm," the Texan boy snickered, amused by his description.
The girls ended up getting good seats; it wasn't first or second, but they thought fourth row was just as great, especially the end. Thirty minutes into the show, things just got better.
"How many of you guys have a Twitter?" Carlos boomed ibto the microphone.
More than half the crowd, including Krista, screamed in approval. She still couldn't get over the fact that Carlos'd follow her, but she didn't mind.
"Awesome! And how many of you follow us?" James chimed in. He was greeted with louder cheers.
"Well, you know, the boys and I read each and every one of your tweets. Some make us laugh, others make us stoked that we have awesome fans in the first place. But there are also tweets that make us sad," Kendall said seriously.
"Just know that even though we don't reply to all your tweets, none of you are invisible," Logan added.
*"Oh, when the lights go down in the city, you'll be right there shinin' bright. You're a star, the sky's the limit. And I'll be right by your side. Oh, you know you're not invisible to me. You're not gonna be invisible."* they sang the chorus before starting the entire song. Krista felt herself tearing up…
Four songs -which included 'City is Ours, 'Love Me, Love Me', 'Music Sounds Better with You,' and 'Nothing Even Matters'- later, the blond boy spoke up.
"This next song is very special to us. It is perhaps one of our favorites. I don't know about you but we're thinking about you worldwide. And I wanna pick the girl I'm thinking about tonight." He pretended to walk around in search of the girl. The other boys debated before James spoke up.
"If you're gonna pick a girl, then so am I. You can't leave us out…Who wants to be my 'Worldwide' girl tonight?"
The arena literally went wild with shrieks, raising their hands and waving them frantically, in hopes of being noticed.
"Wow dude, look at those hands. So many beautiful girls. How will we ever pick one for each of us?" Logan said casually.
While everyone went crazier, the disappeared into the rows in the blink of an eye. The crowd wild out when they saw the empty stage…
Carlos took his time searching for Krista even after the guys had chosen theirs. He did luck out. He only went as far as the edge of the fourth row to see her. He reached for her.
"Go!" Jessica screamed.
"Go for what?" She yelled back. Jessica didn't bother to explain; she simply pushed her out of her standing position and she awkwardly tumbled to the center. She would've landed on the floor if Carlos hadn't saved her.
"Hi," he breathed.
'Hi," she replied, trying to sound cool. {(And by cool, I mean calm. x)}
"As a reward for saving you, be my worldwide girl," he said cutting to the chase.
"Okay," she responded without hesitation. He laced his fingers through hers and guided her to the stage. Her brain was jumbled. It was too surreal. It surely had to be a dream
"Okay guys. I have finally chosen my 'Worldwide' girl," Carlos announced into the microphone, breaking her trance. "Surely you remember Krista from the meet-and-greet."
The boys gave each other knowing looks even though the oldest was still tugging Krista to the stage. Krista herself was delighted that he remembered her name.
Throughout the song, Carlos had a hard time keeping his eyes off Krista. He had to keep reminding himself that this song was dedicated to the fans as well. He never once let go of her hand, much to Krista's pleasure. He went as bold as to kiss her cheek, while reaching her into one of his famous Carlos hugs.
She burst out into happy tears. This really could not be happening to her. This was every Rusher's dream come true, and she was living it.
He only pulled away to dig into his pocket and fish out the note he had written. He grabbed her hand, and kissed it, all while keeping the note hidden. {If you've seen Titanic, try to think of it as the way Jack did when he gave Rose the note. :)}
"Give it up for these lovely 'Worldwide' girls!" Kendall boomed as they guided the girls back to their seats.
Krista kissed the Latino boy's cheek and murmered a sincere, "Thank you," before he returned back to the stage. She quickly unfolded the letter. In his scrawly calligraphy were the words: Meet me by the Ferris wheel after the concert? She glanced at Jessica who kept her eyes glued to the boys who've been reunited.
Carlos caught her eye and she nodded. He grinned his signature grin.
"And now this next song pretty much describes the Rushers and girls over the world," Kendall continued, "You have the beauty that shines within. It's 'Cover Girl'. If you know the words, sing along."
The guys took the liberty of hopping off the stage and singing away, swaying their fans, and making others cry. They caressed cheeks, kissed cheeks, intwined hands, pulled Rushers' hands and put them over their hearts, looked them directly in the eyes and sang to them, even twirled them around in a dancey way.
"You've got a heart of gold, a perfect original," Carlos sang to her, coming out of nowhere. His eyes seemed like they were glowing. They never tore away from hers.
"Wish you would stop being so hard on yourself for awhile," James chimed in a few rows back, whoo-ing the girls.
"And when I see that face, I'd try a thousand ways…I would do anything to make you smile."
"I can't believe it! This was, like, the bestest night of my entire life!" The fifteen-year-old squealed for the upteenth time that night.
"Can't argue with that," Krista agreed. Who'd have known she would be the 'Worldwide' girl, get sung 'Cover Girl' to, and even get a note from Carlos Peña himself? She surely didn' it.
Speaking of notes and Carlos, she had a date with the Latino boy by the Ferris wheel. There was no way to ditch her cousin without being interrogated, so she just decided to be honest.
"Jess, can you keep a secret?"
She eagerly bobbed her black colored hair in a yes manner. "Duh!"
"Well, I think I might have a date with Carlos tonight," she reluctantly admitted.
She snorted. "Sure you do. And I'm the queen of England."
Not wanting to argue, she pulled out the crumpled piece of paper and handed it to her cousin with a smug-like smirk…
"WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO?" She shrieked possibly breaking the nineteen-year-old's ear drums.
I don't know, well I do, but I can't just can't leave you here by yourself…so, why don't you just come along?"
Her mouth formed into an 'O' shape. "I can't do that!" She finally protested.
Krista frowned. "Why not?"
"Because it's technically a date and I don't wanna be the cock-blocker. Do you know how rude that is?"
She managed a sly half-smile. Jess did have a point even though she -Krista- would never admit to it. "Fine," she groaned, "but what do you wanna do? I can't leave you by yourself. That's just as rude."
The fifteen-year-old shrugged. "How 'bout you give me money and I'll walk around?"
"Y'know, that's actually not a bad idea. Here's forty bucks. Don't stray too far."
"Yes, Mom," she rolled her eyes.
Soon after the concert, Carlos skidded off to wardrobe, threw on a fresh set of clothes, and flew out to the fairgrounds, without giving the guys an explanation.
Not that they needed one, really. They knew he found a way to get to Krista; it was pretty obvious. The smile, no, scratch that, grin hadn't been wiped off his face since her made her his 'Worldwide' girl. The boys merely smirked in humor.
Carlos was there in no time, so he kept his eyes peeled for her. He was somewhat nervous though.
What if she stood him up? What if she was feigning interest? What if she wasn't really a Rusher, much less a fan? What if-
His worried thoughts were silenced when he spotted his strawberry blonde-haired beauty, walking with her cousin. He felt a surge of disappointment running through him. He didn't mind that she was there, but he'd had his hopes set on just them two.
His disappointment turned into relief when she saw Krista reach into her pockets and hand the younger girl some money before walking to him.
"Hey," she greeted him casually.
"Hello. Long time, no see, eh?" He joked.
"Very," she replied, sticking her tongue out. "So, um, not to sound too blunt or anything, but-"
"Why'd I write you the note?"
"Yeah."
"I don't know. I guess I was interested in getting to know you while we take a ride on the Ferris wheel. How's that sound?"
"Sounds like a plan," she agreed whole heartedly.
To both of their reliefs, they were actually calmer than they expected. Each were laughing at anything in line and getting to know each other on the way up.
"So, what's your story?" He asked curiously.
"Nothing really,"" she admitted.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, I don't have any painful experiences if that's you're asking. I wasn't raped when I was younger, I didn't cut or starve myself 'cause I didn't fit in. My parents are still together. In other words, my life's nothing like those fanfictions you tend to come across. I had a normal childhood. You?"
"Are you seriously asking me that?"
"Well, aside from the obvious," she corrected herself.
"Okay, um well, I love animals, so I would love to specialize in some kind of animal help. Um, French fries are the best potato food in the world. I'd love to name my future boy Daniel, and my future girl Ariana. And, I'd love to live in the countryside, away from the chaos. That's about it."
She was at a loss for words. She didn't know what she expected to hear, but that was definitely not it.
"Shocked?" He teased.
"Yeah, I didn't expect that."
He hovered dangerously close to her. "Yeah, there's a lot of things you wouldn't from me."
She cocked an eyebrow. "What else am I supposed to know?"
"Guess you're gonna find out more if you'd like me to take you on an official date."
Damn! The guy played his cards well. She pretended to think about it. "I don't know…okay. I'd like to learn more about you."
"Perfect," he murmered, half-smirking, half-smiling, before capturing her lips with his.
Hi guys! :) I hope you enjoyed this one-shot while I work on STAC? & TG,tB,atS. It was the first one I've officially done. I never really ask for this, but please read & review! I really liked working on this one & I'd like to know if you want me to continue working on them.
Also, I feel as though I should say this since I've seen other authors do this: As much as I'd love to, as much as I wish I could, I do not own the boys. Everything is ficticious, & resemblance of any kind is completely coincidental. That is all. Have a Palm Woods day everyone! XX -Byanka. :)
Ps, I'm typing from my phone so I can't edit stuff. Sorry!