To Love, From Cupid (Did it Hurt when I Struck You with My Arrow)
Author's Note: Hi everybody! I will not bore anyone with any more excuses as I'm sure everybody understands or knows or will soon know that I'm just not a very good writer in terms of storytelling and time.
I came up with this story last year, had the idea written down but didn't start planning it until a few weeks ago when I mistakenly heard BTR's "Shot in the Dark" song on repeat. It clicked with the story, gushing me with ideas so I sat down and wrote this. I'll like to dedicate this story to Dullahan Shadow, who helped and continue to help me. The cheesy pickup line in the title is hers. I own nothing.
Since it is about Cupid, I rushed to have the prologue written and posted on Valentine's Day. Any mistakes or confusion is my fault.
Disclaimer: Remember! I don't own Big Time Rush or anything that is related to the show or anything that is related to real life. Have FUN reading!
Prologue: Take a Shot in the Dark
There are some things in the world that men do not understand and probably never will. For Simon, it is the matter of his current surroundings and probably the person standing right next to him.
"That's the gate to Cupid's. You will find what you need inside," the black cloaked person points, excitement gleaming in his shiny brown eyes.
"Thank you Carlos. You sure you won't get into trouble for this?" Simon asks, turning to the cloaked boy beside him. He glances at the gateway, his heart beating like crazy, but if what he decides to do next will harm this young Latino, he might as well give up now. Breaking and entering Cupid's lair definitely means eternal hell.
Carlos perks up, taking off the hood of his black cloak, "Trouble? I'm made for trouble! If it weren't for you I'll never get to visit heaven! Not to mention break into Cupid's house!"
"Carlos, you're not going with me. You are going straight back to hell when this cloud fades away."
"You're leaving me here and breaking in yourself? You promised I get to raid Cupid's closet!"
"My dear boy, this is something I need to do."
"But I want to raid Cupid's closet!"
"Carlos, you have to understand how severe this is!" Simon counters, trying hard to calm his rage. Right now rage isn't going to help him get what he wants, and what he wants is someone to take care of his son.
"I brought you here so you have to let me inside!" Carlos pouts, crossing his arms. He had broken a ton of rules to bring this old man up here. He is not going back without at least seeing if Cupid really does wear a diaper, naked in glory.
"But Carlos, we –," Simon starts again, stopping when Carlos covers them with his black cloak. Flaps of wings can be heard circling over their heads, and the creaking of the golden gate sounds as it opens.
"Come on! You need me," Carlos whispers, dragging the old man with him as he rushes through. With the help of Carlos' cloak, they follow Cupid across the maze rose garden and into Cupid's house, unseen and unheard. They shuffle behind a statue of Aphrodite as they watch Cupid flutter into one of the rooms on the left before Carlos steps out of his cloak.
"I can't believe Cupid is a grown man with a goatee! God he needs to be naked more often," Carlos comment as Simon fumbles with the black fabric.
"Carlos, get back under here! You're going to get caught!" Simon urges as his eyes dart to the door that Cupid previously enter before wandering across the lobby. There are several doors on either side with just a single flight of stairs going upwards that leads to more doors and more than likely one of them is Cupid's office. The place he needs to be right now.
"But did you see Cupid's abs!?" Carlos giggles before snatching his cloak from Simon and running off in the direction of where Cupid is currently at, leaving Simon to fend for himself.
"Never should have trusted that boy," Simon mutters as he ascends the stairs, quietly and cautiously.
It took Simon several minutes, even though it felt like hours, to open all the doors upstairs. He is about to give up when he opens the last door. The room is coloured baby blue, with clouds floating and dancing on the walls, and a single full body sized mirror hangs across from the door.
"Finally," Simon breathes out as he walks into Cupid's office. He can see his reflection in the mirror and he wonders exactly how things work in this room. He wanders around, hands pressing everywhere to find a switch of some sort, feet stomping on the red hearts on the floor for something to happen. But nothing happened. The room remains the same.
"I just want to shoot an arrow! Why is it so hard to – wow," Simon desperately shouts as he paces around in rage. He must have done something right though, because when he steps on the heart located in the middle of the room, the mirror suddenly changes. His reflection disappears and a busy street appears with people bustling about. In the left corner beside the mirror a desk appears, papers and quills piled on top, swirls of names and check marks cover the papers. On the right corner are arrows and bows being pushed out, each of them a different size and shape, all labelled with country, nationality, distance and amount of love, helping Cupid shoot his 'victims' accurately and precisely. He laughs with glee as he searches for the right arrow and bow.
"So I see you've found what you're looking for," a voice calls behind him, stopping the old man from reaching out to the right arrow.
"I – I was just… Cu – Cu, I can expla – C – Carlos?" Simon stutters, turning around to see Carlos grinning mischievously at him.
"At your service! Now what are you reaching for?" Carlos asks, taking the arrow out of its holder and twirls it with his fingers.
"Careful! I need to shoot that! I thought you were pursuing Cupid and his…abs," Simon warns, grabbing the arrow and rushing to the desk to grab a quill.
"I was until I found out he has a wife. They were having sex in the shower when I left. You wanna see? What are you writing? Your name?"
"No, my son's name. Now move along so I can shoot this at his childhood friend. Wait how do I panel the mirror to show my neighbourhood?"
"I think you have to push this,"
"Push it then! Hurry before Cupid finds us!"
"But it could be this one…"
"Just push a button boy!"
"Okay okay, but I think this one is the… alarm," Carlos finishes as clouds start to cover the mirror, the room turns red and a buzzing sound bursts throughout the room. Surprised by the noise, Simon releases his grip on the bow, the arrow shooting out and through the mirror, disappearing in the clouds.
"Oh shit, we gotta go," Carlos cries grabbing the old man and rushing towards the exit. Iron bars start to fall over the doorways as the duo run down the hallway towards the stairs, just to see Cupid fluttering up towards them.
"Listen, take my cloak and run," Carlos explains, taking his cloak and hastily throwing it over Simon's shoulders.
"We can both hide under here. I'm not leaving you here Carlos Roberto Garcia. Your mother will spank me if you get into trouble again."
"Look, you have your son to look after, and mom will understand. Now go!" Carlos urges, pushing the man onto the rail and watch him slide his way down. Just in time to look back up into Cupid's dark blue eyes.
"Hey, you're Cupid right? Nice abs by the way, I'm just looking around, I'll be off now," Carlos grins, inching his way around Cupid's body. Only Cupid doesn't let Carlos leave so easily, picking the Latino up by his collar and flutters away.
If there is anything in the world that Logan Mitchell hates right now it will be Valentine's Day. Yes, Valentine's Day, the day where everybody in the world celebrates love, joy and anything fluffy and sweet. No matter where you go or when you decide to open your eyes, couples everywhere will be in a lovey dovey mode, fill with kissing, hugging, "I love you"s, romantic events, smiling, laughing, Loving.
It's sick.
Sick. Sick. Sick!
Logan sighs as he tears his eyes away from the banners hanging around him, his brain shutting down from all the whispers of Valentine around him as he waits for his coffee, all alone. He can feel the tug in his heart as he sees couples walking in hand in hand, glee in their smiles, love in their eyes as they decide what drink they want to order.
"Café' Mocha with extra chocolate, whipping cream and sprinkles!" the barista calls, and Logan quickly takes his drink. He shoves his way towards a window seat, settling down on a stool. At least here he can enjoy his extremely sweet drink peacefully without the reminder that he has no date today.
If I didn't have class later, I would have stayed in bed all day…Ugh people need to stop chewing each other down, can't they see I'm trying to be anti-Valentine today?
He sighs heavily, looking away from the window when a couple stops in front of his view to kiss each other sweetly on the lips. They must have kissed a long time, because when Logan looks up again, the girl is just about to push the guy away for air, their eyes gleaming with love as the guy pulls out two tickets from his pocket.
"Oh my gosh, movie tickets to the disgusting Valentine chick flick movie?" Logan mimics the excited girl's response, pursing his lips as he folds his arms together, his eyes staring jealously at the couple before placing his arms on the table and he rests his head on his crossed arms. He stretches his neck to nibble at his cup of coffee, sipping the "bitter" drink as he watches the girl scream in glee, hugging the guy tightly before planting another kiss on the guys' lips. The guy chuckles as he twirls the girl in a circle before linking their hands together, walking off towards whatever they planned for Valentine's Day.
"Cupid hates me. That's why I have to see that. Why does Valentine's Day have to be today?" Logan mumbles and closes his eyes as he feels tears start to flow out. Three days ago he still has a loving boyfriend to cuddle with, waking up beside the man he loves, making breakfast for him in bed, spending time with him in love and adoration. Only he had to leave Los Angeles for a promotional shoot in New York the next day. It's times like this that leave Logan miserable.
I guess it comes with it, dating a model… maybe I should call him!
Logan sits up and pulls his phone out, pressing number one for speed dial. The phone rings once, twice, third time before voice mail comes on.
"Hey, you've reached Jett Stetson. I'm probably too busy being sexy, so don't leave a message and don't expect me to call back soon…beep."
Logan frowns as he checks the time. 2:36pm. He still has a long time before the next class. Sighing, he steers his eyes towards the window again, watching students coming and going as buses come dropping them off or picking them up.
James Diamond sighs as he wanders into the college campus. His eyes wander up and down the bodies of students walking past him, his brain ticking off the bad styles or awkward fashions college kids pick for school. It's been a lot time since he gave up the urge to talk to these people. No one seems to care about him, notice him, see him, or talk to him. Some of them walk right through him, making his head throb with pain afterwards, his eyes rolling back, stomach feeling nauseated as he feels every emotion the person felt at the time they walk right through him. The last time he accidently allowed a drunken man walk through him, and the experience was horrible. Happy, evil, lust, rage, domination, cocky, all emotions that made him shiver in fear when he found a girl lying still in an empty alley, raped and killed.
He jumps as a blond hair student almost went pass him, his hand brushing lightly past hers, and instantly he feels the stressed emotion wheeling from the girl. He turns to see her looking at a test paper.
Oh… the stressful life of a college kid. It's a good thing I didn't have to go through that.
He smiles as he turns around, walking to the park when a black and white puppy runs towards him, yelping in excitement or rage James isn't really sure, until the puppy tries to scratch his leg, only to fall right through James' leg. James stops to look at the puppy, the cute little thing yelping like crazy, glee in its eyes.
"Hey Fox! How's it going buddy?" James cries as he pats the dog's head. Fox seems to feel his touch, his eyes closing as his tongue hangs out, panting with glee as his tail wags furiously. Fox barks back a respond, his head tilting to his side seemingly asking James how he's doing lately.
"Same old same old. I guess it's forever you and me Fox. It seems like you're the only one who can see me," James sighs as he walks towards a bench and sits down, the little dog trailing after him. Fox jumps onto the bench and lays down beside James, whining a bit like he's telling James "I feel your pain man", and James sighs as he scratches behind Fox's ears. At least, he tries to.
James sighs as he thinks back to the couple of months he's been wandering around Los Angeles. He doesn't know why he is there, how he got there, and why nobody can see him. He tried to get people's attention, him knowing very well how attractive he looks, but still no one noticed him. He even tried every trick he knows that can attract attention, but that didn't work either. No matter what he did, there's no one to talk to, nothing to interact with, not to mention he doesn't eat, sleep, or touch anything. He sighs as he looks around, wondering what is there to do today that can make time past faster.
They sit there for a few minutes in silence; his eyes wander towards the coffee shop. It's been a while since he's had a cup of coffee and he is craving it all of a sudden…except too bad he can't have any. Every time he tries to touch something his hand just goes through the item. He's not even sure Fox can feel his fingers scratching his ears, although the dog seems content with the movement.
He sighs, looking away only to look back to see a pair of eyes looking at him. Surprised, James runs a hand through his hair, unsure if the boy sitting in the coffee shop can see him. He hesitates but when the thought of someone can possibly see him, he quickly grins, his gleaming with hope.
"Oh my gosh Fox! That guy over there, he, he, he can see me!" James exclaims pointing at the guy in the coffee shop, a small embarrassed smile creeping on his face. James jumps up to wave at the guy just to make sure, the hope of finally getting to interact with someone driving him insane. When the guy hesitantly waves back, James' eyes burn with fire and right there and then, he knows he has to walk over and introduce himself. He needs to know who that guy is.
He abruptly walks towards the coffee shop, unable to contain his joy, just to see Fox running through his legs, aimlessly heading towards the bus stop. James steadies himself as he feels the fear from the puppy, knowing that the young man who just settled on the bench, his backpack almost hit Fox straight on the head when he settled down, the little puppy yelping in surprise as he jumps away, running towards the buses.
"Aw man, not right now! Fox! Stop!" James screams, running after the dog. Fox jumps in fright as students run off towards the bus stop, the poor puppy paddling around as he avoids the dozens of legs that could trample him. James staggers into a stop as he tries to avoid coming into contact with anyone that could run through him, not wanting to feel disoriented when he has a dog to save. Hearing Fox's desperate yelp for help, his eyes search for another route to reach the damn scared dog, only to see the little puppy jump into the open road.
Logan sips the rest of his coffee as he looks for something else other than couples to see. His eyes fall on a tall young man, his brown bang blowing in the wind as he bends down to pet a little puppy. His body is quite built, wearing a causal t-shirt and jeans, his feet kicking some simple red converse shoes. It surprises Logan when the guy sudden smiles at him, his handsome features capturing Logan's attention, but because of self doubt, he looks around to see if anyone notices him smiling, wondering if there is someone else he is happy to see – a model girlfriend perhaps or an equally handsome boyfriend. When no one in the coffee shop seem to notice his bright smile, Logan returns a shy smile, his hand going through his hair as he peeks at the handsome man, only to see him jump up and waves furiously at him. It stumps Logan a bit, slowly waving back, for he doesn't know the guy, but he seem to be smiling at him, and when he waves back, the guy gets even more excited.
Logan stops waving, picking up his things when he sees the man attempting to walk over, only to see him running off towards the bus stop.
"Great, he thought I was someone else," Logan mutters, slouching back into his seat, "Let's see who he's actually looking for."
Logan watches the brunette disappear in the crowd for a while before showing up afterwards, jumping around and around as if touching someone will give him hives, and Logan suppresses a laugh at the silly antics the boy pulls as he tries to wiggle through the crowd.
"What in the world is he doing?" Logan asks, his eyes darting around for the source. In the middle of the crowd is a little puppy struggling to get out, the little legs of his tapping around and jumping when a foot lands in the space he wants to travel too. Perking up, Logan continues to watch the dog find its way out, finally seeing an opening that heads out towards the road. Logan gasps as the dog leaps into the open road, a bus heading towards it.
"No!" Logan shouts as he jumps from his seat. All eyes in the coffee shop turn towards Logan, hush voices sounding in the background as costumers wonder if Logan is a special Valentine's Day event. Students sitting closer to Logan start to sway their bodies, eyes' scanning the bus stop to see what Logan is gasping about. Logan continues to watch the brunette rush towards the puppy and ushers it safely back onto the sidewalk, away from the people and the bus, only to have the bus head straight into the brunette.
"Oh my god!" Logan screams in horror as he witnesses the bus hit the man. Shock by the scene, Logan slumps onto the ground, his eyes wide, and mouth open. His heart can't stop beating, brain buzzing as people start to crowd around him.
"Hey are you alright?" a girl asks him, shaking him slightly. He turns to see it is the barista, and his eyes wide even more, jumping onto his feet.
"C – Call the police! Someone got hit by the bus!" He shouts, pointing at the area the boy got hit. The girl looks behind him and sees the bus move away, the street clear of everything but noisy students waiting for the next bus.
"Ah…there's no one there…?"
"No! You don't understand! I saw him. I saw him get hit by the bus!"
"There's nobody there. Seriously it is Valentine's Day not Halloween."
"No, I'm not joking! Look!" Logan cries and turns to see the exact same thing as the girl – no body, no blood, no sign of any disturbance and definitely no sign of a frightful puppy. His face melts into shock.
"H – He was just there! I saw him! He was helping the puppy, and then he ran in front of the bus and got hit! I – I - !" Logan stutters, unable to explain what is going on as people around him start to stare and gossip about him.
Fuck, people must think I'm a lunatic right now.
Logan gulps down his saliva and grabs his things, running off, his face red with embarrassment.
Worst Valentine's Day EVER.
James slumps onto the bus stop post, panting furiously as he tries to keep the nauseated feel at bay, his head spinning in circles. Too many people and too many emotions have temporarily disintegrated him and it took him a couple hours to pull himself back together. Fox comes waddling towards him, his tongue sticking out and tail waving as if he is glad that James is okay. James raises an arm to pet the animal, but his hand goes through Fox and falls onto the ground, his body too weak to do anything.
"Never… do that… again," James pants, closing his eyes. He will never ever wander around schools ever again, especially during this time of year. Too many stress feels.
James struggles to stand up, suddenly remembering the boy from the coffee shop, and he runs over to see that the boy has left.
"Fuck, he's gone. Ugh, Fox! Look what you've done?"
Fox whimpers, lifting one paw over his eyes as if ashamed with himself. James sighs and bends down to look at Fox.
"I'm sorry. It's just… it's been a while since someone can see me. I got desperate, but don't you worry. I'm going to find him if it's the last time I do. I'm not letting him go that easily," James winks at Fox, and Fox barks a respond.
Now I've got his face stuck in my mind, he isn't going anywhere.
So what do you all think?
Question: Can you guess what Carlos is? Any hints what James is?
Review and tell me!
Newbie OUT!