Carlos stared at the list of names on the table in front of him. Every single one of these names was out in the hall waiting to replace his best friend.

Carlos refused to think of James as 'the guy who used to be his best friend'. Because in his mind, James would always be it. James would always be the guy that was there when Carlos's pet goldfish, Bubbles, had died; who had been there when Carlos gotten a concussion because he forgot his helmet; the one who was totally obsessed with his appearance and the way people thought of him, but was never too embarrassed to do something insane with the Latino.

Kelly called the first guy in, and Carlos gulped. The guy looked great. He had James's sense of style and the same haircut. He held himself with James's confidence. Carlos knew that if the guy was a great singer and dancer, his best friend's spot in Big Time Rush would soon be filled.

It came as an immediate relief when a tone-deaf walrus could carry a note better than him. Carlos secretly crossed his fingers under the table, hoping that all of the auditions went this way.

(page break!)

The energetic boy was in luck. All of the rest of the auditioners bombed, making Carlos even more hopeful that James would get off his high horse and come back to him and Kendall and Logan.

But then Skippy-who looked great and sang even better-walked into the studio and did his piece. Carlos's heart dropped to his stomach, and he did his best not to cry. Instead, he put on a smile and applauded like the rest of them.

When Skippy turned out to be a total weird cult freak, Carlos was a little weirded out. But mostly, he was glad because it meant that he didn't have to replace James.

And then suddenly, they were a trio, and everything was just so effing wrong that it made his head spin and he wanted to vomit. They attempted to run through the choreography a million times, but someone always screwed up. If wasn't Logan looking from a nod from James to start a back flip, then it was Kendall looking for the tall brunette to make sure he was getting the choreography right, or it was Carlos, who was just completely out of it.

"Need I remind you that we have a concert in two days, and I put everything on the line for you, and you STINK!" Gustavo yelled at the three for the eleventy-seventh time.

"Yeah, well, the choreography is completely different with just the three of us," Logan said, getting snarky with the producer.

"Everything's different with just the three of us," Carlos mumbled, not meaning for anyone to hear. He looked up when he realized that he said it outloud. Noticing that both of his friends had heard him the Latino blushed.

"Look , don't worry, we'll figure this out. Have we ever let you down?" Kendall, ever the hero, told the man. Carlos inwardly scoffed. The only way that Kendall could possibly figure this out and make it better was if he, by some miracle, convinced James to come back.

"That's not the point," Carlos heard Gustavo say, bringing the short boy out of his rant. "The point is: James is not coming back." Carlos held back tears with that statement. Everyone was giving up on his best friend. "Now, I don't care what you sing, but look like you're enjoying it, or I will destroy ALL OF YOU!"

The three stood there for a second before Kendall started singing the turd song. Logan quickly joined in, followed by Carlos, who felt entirely wrong about singing the song without James.

And then, James was there singing his heart out like always. Carlos couldn't believe it. James was right there, standing in front of him. He cheered and ran over to the taller boy, joined by their friends not even two seconds later. Kendall and Logan gave James a hug, and then Carlos wrapped his arms around James's middle and picked him up. The brunette chuckled, and Carlos felt everything in the world turn right again. He was here in LA with his three best friends. They were all together, and most of all, James was back.

&&&BTR&&&

This story has been in the works since I posted In All Honesty, right after 'Big Time Concert'. This is for the amazing ashleyjordan, who requested it. I hope that it's what you were hoping for!

It's finals week, so after this posts, I'm going to start working on Confluence. Expect a chapter tonight!

XOXO, UB