Hey guys! I know what you're all thinking right now! "WHERE IS THE NEXT EPISODE OF 'BATTLE SCARS'!" Well, the ¾ done next ep is on my computer that is out currently being cleaned of viruses. So, until that comes back you'll have to wait patiently. I'm typing this on my old desktop, and it's reminding me of why I got my laptop in the first place. Anyways, this came to me while watching BTR the other day. Enjoy!

Jo and Kendal had just left on their anniversary date to celebrate being together six months. Katie was out with her mom to go and find something they could do together. The guys were all lounging around inside their room not doing anything productive. Carlos was watching cute girls walk around outside in their bikinis while he used his hockey helmet as a popcorn bowl as he snacked. James was lying upside down on the couch while staring at his reflection in his hand-held mirror to see how long he could hang upside down while still looking good. Logan was playing a surgery simulation game on his itouch and was currently dissecting a frog on it. Nothing all that interesting seemed to be going down today and the boys were BORED!

"I wish something would happen today! This is SO boring!" James whined as he shook his bangs into a different spot to see if it'd look better that way. Right as the words were out of his mouth they all heard a knock at the door. "Ooh! Like clock work! Would someone get that?"

"No, you get it!" Logan snapped with irritation because the knock had startled him, causing him to accidentally cut the frog's head off.

"I don't wanna! Carlos!"

"No! The Jennifer's all got new swim suits and their wearing them! Man I love bikinis!" Carlos droned on as he stared at them mindlessly.

"Why don't we all get it? That way everyone has to stop what they're doing and no one will miss out more than the other." Logan offered, looking up at his friends through his eyelashes. James and Carlos nodded and they all set aside what they were doing and dragged their feet to the door.

James twisted the door handle and they all waited as it swung open. Once they all saw what was in the doorway all of their hearts stopped in panic.

"Hey guys! I came to visit!" The medium height brunette standing in the doorway chippered, obviously happy to see them. The Minnesota native smiled a sweet smile to reveal her pearly white, perfectly straight teeth. Her hair was pretty short, as if she had a pixie cut a few months ago and it was starting to grow out, and she had big hazel eyes that stared up at them in a mix of blue brown and green. Her figure was slim and muscular from all of the soccer that she had played over the year. She was a very beautiful young lady and the boys didn't know what to say to her. Their best friend that was a girl was standing before them looking as she had a year ago only older. "Where's Kendal?" She looked around the trio, into the apartment to check to see if he was there.

The boys were in full on panic mode! This was a code red and they knew it! They became jumpy and James looked at the other guys for some sort of sign of what to do. Unfortunately the other two were doing the same thing. James did the only thing he could think of at that moment. The door slammed in the girl's face and she jumped back surprised but not upset with them. They had always been freaks, this was actual normal behavior for them. Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh…

Make it count, play it straight. Don't look back, don't hesitate. When you go big time. What you want, what you feel. Never quit, and make it real. When you roll big time. Hey, hey, listen to your heart now. Hey, hey, don't you feel the rush? Oh, oh, oh, oh. Go on shake it up, what you gotta lose? Go and make your luck with the life you choose. If you want it all, lay it on the line. It's the only life you got, so you gotta live it big time!

"Oh god! What are we going to do?" James asked as he paced back and forth. "I was not expecting to see her any time soon!" Logan shrugged and looked at Carlos with worry embedded into his eyes. This was going to get complicated fast, he could tell already because she was prettier than she was before and that was saying something. It looked like Carlos had seen a ghost because he was pale and had completely forgotten about his popcorn and the girls outside. Last year was replaying in his mind and he already wanted to cry.

Man up dude! Only chicks cry! His mind echoed and he shook himself out of it, putting on a mask of complete numbness.

"Are you okay Carlos?" Logan asked as the attention was all passed over to him. He felt hot nerves grow in the very pit of his stomach and he gave just a simple nod, reminding himself that they were still best friends. "I love that girl to death guys but she's only been here a few seconds and she's starting trouble within our walls of manly fortitude!"

"—and she can hear everything you're saying." Her voice could be heard through the door and it had a sarcastically snippy tone. James took a deep breath and re-opened the door for her. She stepped into their colorful apartment with multiple bags of luggage under her arms, making all three of the guys even more nervous than before. "I'm glad to see Hollywood hasn't changed you guys a bit. You're still a bunch of goofballs! Good thing too because if not I was going to have to snap you guys back into shape!" She laughed and when she noticed they weren't laughing or rejoicing that she was there after a year apart, she broke off. "What's wrong guys? None of you have even hugged me hello yet and I've been here for about a minute. Normally by three seconds I'm on the bottom of a Kendal, James, Logan, and Carlos dog pile."

"It's not that we're not happy to see you…" Logan started as he dug his hands into his pockets and snuck a look over at Carlos again who was trying to avoid looking at her.

"…It's just that you just showed up here, without any warning…" James continued the sentence with the tiniest smile possible. It was still the biggest one she'd received from any of them yet.

"What are you talking about?" She said as she set all her bags down. "I asked your mom if I could come down for the summer since I hadn't seen you guys since you left Minnesota. I figured she told you guys…"

"Mrs. Knight!" Carlos cursed as he rubbed the back of his head that was currently spinning from this sudden revelation.

"Oh my gosh, Carlos…" She trailed off as if she had just seen Carlos for the first time. At the sound of her voice saying his name Carlos snapped his head up and stared directly at her with anticipation of what she was going to say to him. "You're not wearing your helmet! I don't think I've ever seen you with it off." She boldly reached her hand out and rubbed her hands over his hair quickly, causing Carlos to stop breathing for the duration she was touching him. "You actually have hair under there, who knew?"

"Yeah, Gustavo only lets me wear it if I'm actually using it for something. It's no longer a fashion accessory…"

"Well you look good with out it." She laughed turning to the guys. "Come on guys! What is wrong with you? It's not like the Twins lost last night or anything!" Once she mentioned the guys all time favorite baseball team, reminding them of their victory last night against the Marlins, they all smiled at her from ear to ear. Before she knew it she was enclosed in a tight hug from the guys, despite the one missing piece.

"Hey guys! I'm back, why are all of you hugging?" Kendal cheered as he walked through the already open door way. "I had a great time with…" Kendal stopped talking entirely when the guys departed to present who was standing in the middle of their hug. He opened his mouth but no words came out as her eyes lit up with delight.

"KENDAL!" She squealed joyfully as she flung herself into Kendal's arms. It took Kendal a moment to hug her back, remembering that she was still his best friend despite everything.

"Riley…" He sounded breathless as he realized this was really happening to him and he hugged her close to his chest. He shut his eyes and let out a breath that blew onto the back of Riley's neck, giving her goose bumps. He thought he'd never have the chance to hold her like this again, but here she was, right in front of him, right in his arms. "What…what are you doing here?" He whispered to her in their long embrace.

"I came to see you…" She pulled out of the hug so she could look him in the eyes. "…all of you! I'm staying the summer, on the couch."

"Aw, no! You don't have to do that Rie! You can take my bed and I'll sleep on the couch." Kendal offered up immediately as he leaned down and took up most of her bags.

"Caaaa-would Jo-craaa-like that-craaaah." Carlos coughed as if to remind Kendal secretly of something. Luckily, Riley was too busy messing around with her bags to notice, but Kendal sure did. At first he glared at Carlos for even bringing Jo up around Riley, before he realized that he was right and handed one of the bags off to James.

"Look Kendal, that's very nice of you to offer but Gustavo probably wouldn't like the idea of you sleeping on a couch for two months. I can sleep on the couch, I almost guarantee that it'll still be comfier than my bed back home." Riley assured him as they all carried her stuff into Katie's room, where the extra dresser was. "You guys probably wanna go out and have fun! Go ahead, I'll be a while unpacking. I'll just come find you when I'm done, I promise." She turned and looked at all the guys staring at her in disbelief. They just couldn't believe she was here.

"'Kay, see you in a little bit Riley! We'll be by the pool!" James said, motioning Logan to help him drag Kendal and Carlos out of the room.

"The window in the living room has a perfect view of the pool area so you should be able to find us easily. LETS GO GUYS!" Logan had to thwack Kendal upside the head lightly just to get him to listen. This was definitely going to get messy.

Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh

"She looks good, doesn't she?" Kendal remarked as they all looked up at the window that they knew was their own. They were huddled in their special corner where Kendal had given them all their first motivational speech about the band. Now they met there whenever they felt as though they needed to have a band meeting. This was definitely one of those times. "She chopped her hair off but I like it, it makes her look older."

"Will you just STOP!" Carlos finally snapped at him. Everyone went silent, including Kendal. Both Kendal and Carlos glowered at each other, as the memories of last year's event's floated back into each member's heads.

"I thought we were both over what happened last year bro." Kendal growled as he leaned over the coffee table to get into Carlos' face.

"So did I." Carlos said getting up and storming away. Correction, tried to storm away. James jumped up from his seat and tackled him to the ground. "What the flip are you doing?"

"You are not running from this. Not again. Come on man, don't walk away angry." James pleaded with his friend, hoping he'd listen to him. Carlos sighed and nodded his head as James helped him back over to his place on the bench.

"Ok, you wanna talk. Then let's talk." Carlos huffed as anger rose in his chest and he knew he wouldn't be able to contain himself any longer. He just had to say what he'd been feeling ever since he saw Riley show up at their doorstep. "Riley is back in our lives now and you have a girlfriend! One that you've been acting all gaga and lovey dovey over for six months now! I feel as though this may be destiny giving me my chance to get with her."

"NO ONE will be getting with Riley while I'm still breathing!" Kendal shouted as he jumped up from his spot all flustered.

"Sit down Kendal!" Logan reprimanded as he kept and eagle eye out for Camille to make sure she wouldn't over hear and tell Jo or worse, Jo overhearing them herself.

"That's not what I meant and you know it! Stop trying to twist this into something it's not!" Carlos' words were low, quick, and harsh. "Why can't you just let her go and let me be happy?"

"Because…" Kendal sighed as he looked down at the glass of the coffee table keeping them all separated. Logan began to hit Kendal in the arm to stop him from talking but, Kendal didn't seem to be reading his sign. "…I'm in love with her…"

"Really?" Jo said, her voice welling up. Kendal gasped and hopped to his feet in embarrassment. "Do you really mean that?"

"There's your out bro!" James mutters to his friend who resembled a deer caught in headlights.

"No James, she needs to know…" Kendal sighs looking directly at Jo's face who was peering up at him with anticipation. "Yes, it's true."

"Oh my gosh! This is great!" She automatically planted a kiss on her boyfriend's lips, shooting every member of Big Time Rush into a state of complete and total shock. What was wrong with her? "I love you too Kendal!" She gushed after pulling away and gripping Kendal in a tight hug. Kendal looked as though he was totally shell shocked and Carlos looked relieved. The last thing he wanted was for Kendal to magically become single again.

"Right…yeah! It's…GREAT!" Kendal recovered from his state and tried to act normal, despite the fact that he had just admitted he never really got over Riley and his current girlfriend overheard, thinking that he was talking about her, who he wasn't sure he did love.

He really liked Jo, it wasn't that he didn't. Or that he wasn't attracted to her because he definitely was and he got butterflies when he kissed her but, he wasn't sure if what he felt was strong enough to call love. What could he do now though? He couldn't take it back, could he? That would most likely be considered very wrong on every level of being a good boyfriend. Of course, having feelings for another girl doesn't really give him a nomination for boyfriend of the year.

"We'll see you boys later, we're gunna go celebrate." Jo excused them both, keeping her gaze on the boy she loved. "If that's okay with you Kendal…"

"Of course, I'll see you guys later…" He kept his gaze on Carlos a little longer than necessary before taking off with his girl friend. "What do you want to get to remind you of this moment?" Jo asked leaning into her boyfriend, to get him to lay his arm over her shoulders.

"What?"

"Well, I was thinking we should get promise rings so we can always look down at them and remember our love." Jo burst smiling widely. Promise rings. To remind him of when he told her he loved her. Of when he told her a lie. A big lie. Great. He nodded his head and went on with her, looking over his shoulder at the window where he could see Riley's figure. It's standing there, staring at them.

At that moment he swore he was going to fall over and pass out.

"Are you alright honey?" Jo asked looking worried as they headed for the exit of the Palm Woods.

"Yeah dear. I'm fine…" He said with a weak smile in her direction but, he had just told her another big lie.

Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh

She couldn't feel anything around her. She was completely numb. She watched the boys fighting and acting all weird. Kendal and Carlos in particular. It was definitely about her. About what happened last year. Then this pretty blonde girl pranced up to them and kissed Kendal. KISSED HIM! Then they left together with their arms wrapped all around each other like two octopus. This couldn't be happening to her! Kendal had promised that they would take a break when he went away from home, but he wouldn't move on. He PROMISED.

She grabbed her sunglasses and stormed out of the room, she had to go somewhere. She didn't know where she just knew that she couldn't stay here, not after seeing that. She was already in a bikini with only a wrap tied around her waist but, she didn't care. She'd have to go find somewhere that wouldn't mind her being dressed like that. She slammed on the elevator button repetitively until it finally reached her floor. As the doors slid open a girl dressed in something similar smiled at her. She stepped in and noticed she also was going to the lobby.

"Are you going swimming?" The girl asked in a friendly voice. Riley just shook her head no shyly and tore her fingers through her hair in frustration. "Me either, I'm going to the audition. Is that where you are going too?" She asked with the same tone as before. Riley turned to this girl to get a better look at her. She was on the shorter side with long beautiful dark curly hair and a fair complexion.

"I am now." She said with a snide smile and putting on her sunglasses. "I'm Riley."

"Camille." She said shaking hands with the new girl. Who cared if she was competition for the role, she looked like she was having a bad day and need a friend right now.

Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh

"Riley?" Carlos' voice echoed into the apartment as he peaked in, afraid of walking in on her as he had accidentally when she was changing into her costume when she was the lead in the school play. He had gotten her flowers and when she hugged him, she had placed her hand on the back of his neck. It had felt so good…

Once again Carlos had to snap himself out of it. These were all only memories now but they seemed so fresh in his mind, as if they just happened yesterday. But they didn't. They happened last year. Before Kendal had gotten involved and ruined everything for him. Before Gustavo came into town. Before He was part of a band that was slowly growing in popularity.

No one answered his call so he walked into the apartment the rest of the way. He looked around for her but Riley was no where in the apartment. He quickly scanned the pool area out the window to see if he had somehow missed her but, she wasn't there either. As he turned around he noticed something on the ground, sparkling in the sunlight. As he knelt down he recognized it as a necklace. A very beautiful and expensive one. He knew that he shouldn't have, but he smiled at the sight of it. He remembered well the first time he had seen that necklace now in his hands.

He was there. Riley told him to be so he was. It was plain and simple. He knew that he was getting the news today and it was apparent to him that there was a chance that it wasn't going to be good news. He could only hope that it would be. As he saw Riley pulling up on her 1940's style bike he smiled at her. She looked tired and worn out but he didn't care. She still was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. She had been crying, he could also see that.

Maybe she had broken Kendal's heart before coming here. That had to be it. It had to be or he would just die.

"Hey…" She mumbled as she got off the bike and walked over to him looking extremely shaken up. He touched her arms with both his hands, running his fingers over her smooth skin to calm her down. Tears welled back up in her eyes as she looked up at Carlos. "I've just come from talking to Kendal…"

That's when he saw it. The expensive gift that hung around her neck. He knew automatically that it was a gift because her family was having a lot of financial issues and would never have been able to afford a necklace like that. "Where'd you get this?"

His fingers trailed over the crystalline texture of the jewelry that wasn't anything like what Riley would normally wear. She let the tears pour over her cheeks as she looked down at the grass underneath both of their converse. Then he knew and recoiled his hands from her as if she had just burned his hands very badly.

It was one of his worst memories and even though the necklace reminded him of it, he was never happier to see it there. Riley never look this necklace off, EVER. She must've ripped it off of her neck and rushed out of here. She saw Kendal and Jo together through the window. Now she was out doing something to distract her until she could calm down. He knew Riley well and knew that was what she was doing.

Now there definitely was hope for him.

Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh

"Thank you ladies, we'll be in touch within the next couple of days." The casting director said to Riley and Camille politely as they walked out of the audition, both of them feeling confident that they had nailed a part.

"You were great." Riley said smiling at Camille as she started calling for a taxi to bring them back to the Palm Woods.

"Thanks! You too! I didn't expect you to be that good, I must admit." Camille said sheepishly as a taxi pulled over for them.

"Don't worry about it, I understand." Riley laughed as they got in together. "I was in my school plays all the time back home in Minnesota."

"You lived in Minnesota?" Camille blurted amazed at the coincidence and waited patiently as She nodded in response. "So are my closest guy friends! Have you met Logan, James, Kendal, and Carlos?"

"MET THEM? Their my best friends!" Riley cheered, happy to know that someone else knew them. "However, Kendal and I…we uh…we're more than that…I think…or I thought so until earlier today with I saw him with some blonde chick!"

"Whoa! Back up! Kendal? Kendal Knight?"

"That'd be the one. I know their pop stars or whatever but he and I have been friends before any of them moved here."

"That blond girl…her name is Jo and she's my bestie." Camille informed the new comer, causing Riley's mouth to drop agape. "They've been together for six months. Do you mind if I call her?"

"I-I, uh…no go ahead. I feel she has a right to know." Riley stammered. Kendal was going to kill her later but she didn't care. All she wanted was her true love back.

Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh

"Riley! There you are! Where have you been?" Kendal shouted when she walked into the apartment. Kendal was sitting in it all alone, so it seemed but Riley knew better. Carlos' door was closed, which meant he was inside because Carlos never left his door closed when he wasn't in it.

"I was just chilling with Camille." Riley said sitting down next to Kendal and feeling him lay his arm over her out of instinct. She knew it was wrong of it to be there but it felt comfortable, normal. "Oh, you met Camille?" Kendal asked smiling at the memory of her forcing Logan to kiss her over and over. "Yeah, she's really nice." Riley said taking a deep breath, remembering the way Camille acted when talking to Jo on the phone. She could hear Jo screaming on her end of the line from her side of the car.

"Kendal!" Jo had just burst into the room and the scenery was not good. Kendal jumped ten feet away from Riley but it was too late, Jo had seen him. "You need to tell me what the heck is doing on right this second or I'm walking out that door and I'm never coming back!"

"I don't think that's a good idea." Riley said glancing over at Carlos' closed door.

"Kendal? I want to know! Or I'm gone." Jo said ignoring her advice.

"Can we do it some other time?" Kendal's mind was full of how it would make Carlos feel to over hear them both telling Jo the story again. It hurt him so much the first time. Hearing it again would only make it worse.

"No, let's tell her. All three of us." Carlos said, he was now standing in his doorway, propped up against his door frame. "It all started a year ago…"

To be continued…

In the next episode we're stepping back in time and learning all about Riley/Kendal/Carlos' past, mentioned A LOT in this episode. But what about now? Who do YOU want Riley to end up with in the end? The vote may swag who I want her with…leave your vote in your review and add this story to your alerts to find out what happened a year ago and who she'll pick THIS time around. ;D