A/N: Hey, CountryPeach05 here! Check it out—I finally decided to actually get typin' and post my own story...So, THANK YOU for clicking on it! Updates will be regular. Hope you enjoy :)
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Disclaimer: I do not own Big Time Rush. *Sigh* Only in my dreams, right?…
Face Value
Chapter 1: The Ice Rink
Sweat dripped from the ends his perfectly conditioned bangs, glancing down his temple under the sticky humidity of his black helmet as James Diamond glided, anticipating the pass. His buddy Carlos swung, successfully striking the puck seconds before getting body checked by one of Ventura County's defensemen. A resounding clack rang out -the puck went sailing across the ice as Carlos and the defenseman toppled behind him-and James pushed off, racing toward the blue line.
James grunted when the defenseman checked him from behind, nearly taking his skates out from under him. He flailed; managing to maintain his balance, but the defensemen stole the puck and took off towards the other side of the rink. Logan and Kendall spun around and powered after him. Carlos and James recovered quickly and followed, carving ice with their skates, when team Ventura set up for a slap shot—
—James crashed backwards, slamming hard into the boards. A whistle echoed shrilly to his far left as he staggered and dropped to his knees. He tasted hot copper on his tongue and fell forward, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the ice-bright red contrasted sharply against the blinding white surface. He sat on his knees coughing for a second, while his head pulsed rapidly; reeling from the force of whatever hit him.
His friends were surrounding him in an instant; skidding over in a spray of white. They all slid to their knees in front of him, frantically calling his name.
"James, are you okay?" Their voices sounded distant, almost underwater; everything was so heavy.
A sudden wave of heat rushed James' face, and he felt dizzy; instantly longing for the coolness of the ice. He slumped to the side, trying to lie down and close his eyes; desperate to escape the annoying vertigo spinning through his head, but someone had a hold of his jersey. He opened his eyes again to see Kendall, Logan and Carlos bent over him, worry etched all over their features. He looked up at them numbly as Carlos pulled him into a tight hug.
"Be careful, Carlos," Kendall warned. Carlos let go of James, allowing him to sit up by himself then scooted back, letting Kendall take over. Kendall knelt in front of James, talking to him, as he took his buddy's face into his cold hands.
"James, you alright?" His eyebrows drew together in concern as he waited for a response.
James stared past him, focused on the rock he felt scraping at his gums. Where did his mouth guard go? He ran his tongue around the inside of his mouth until the object escaped his split lip and shot out onto the ice between Kendall and Carlos. Carlos let out a little squeak of surprise while Kendall looked down at it, picking it up.
"Tooth." Logan stated matter-of-factly, taking it from Kendall's open palm.
James threw off his hockey gloves, hooking his index finger and sweeping it under his tongue. He nearly gagged as he fished out another that had wedged itself between the gum-line at the back of his mouth. Logan grabbed it from his hand and wrapped both teeth in a tissue before tucking them into his pants pocket. James fell back against the boards, groping at his mouth in obvious shock.
"Okay, somebody get some milk; I think we can save these long enough to find a dentist." Logan ordered. Carlos slapped his helmet and took off.
Logan turned back to James, going into doctor mode. "Let me see, James." He coaxed; hurriedly un-strapping James' helmet and handing it to Kendall. James finally dropped his hands, reluctant to open his mouth. He winced when Logan tried to stretch his mouth open wider, pulling at his split upper lip. Kendall leaned over Logan's shoulder, watching intently as he examined. Logan gripped James's chin carefully and tipped his head back, trying to find enough light to assess the damage. Suddenly remembering something, he reached into another pocket and pulled it out.
"A pen light?" Kendall asked incredulously.
"Mmm-hmm" Logan hummed in concentration. He studied a second more, and then clicked his light off, sliding it back into his pocket as he sat back on his heels. James' gaze darted back and forth between Logan and Kendall, begging for a verdict.
"Well, you've got a few teeth in the front kind of pushed in; a couple of them looked chipped." Logan sighed, "You're actually missing three and we only found the two…did you swallow it?"
Before James could respond, Carlos came skidding over with an open carton, sloshing a little of its contents out on Kendall as he came to a halt. "Milk!" he shouted, handing it to Logan before he plopped down beside them, panting.
"Thank you, Carlos." Logan replied; dropping James' teeth inside and folding the carton spout closed.
"Will that really work?" Kendall asked, shaking milk droplets off his hand. He pointed to the little blue and white cardboard box. "How long can we keep them in there?"
"The knocked-out teeth shouldn't be a problem to re-implant, but the milk will only preserve them for about thirty minutes. We have to get James to a dentist ASAP." Logan explained. With that, they all three grabbed James, hauling him to his feet.
"Whhaigghht—" James yelled, his speech badly inhibited due to his current condition. "The gh-ame…mah toofth. I'm not theaving here wit'owt mah other toofth!" He dug his heels into the ice, stiffening.
"The game's a forfeit." Kendall stated, using the edge of his jersey to wipe a trickle of pink off James' chin. "And you heard Logan. We need to get the teeth we actually have set back in before they die."
"Mah toofth…" James moaned. Kendall couldn't help but grimace at the sight of the other teen's mouth as he talked. All James' teeth were reddened by the thin sheen of blood seeping out around his damaged gums; so much so that it reminded Kendall more of a sucker-punched boxer, or something he'd seen in a late night horror movie than the boy he'd been best friends with since pee-wee hockey league.
"We don't have time to look for it, James." Logan declared. Then he shrugged. "You may have swallowed it, anyway."
"I'll look for it!" Carlos exclaimed; then set off in a dash to search the rink.
Kendall and Logan each took one of James's arms, having to physically skate him out of the rink against his will. They exited the ice, bickering all the way until a wide shadow fell over them, demanding their immediate attention.
The three went silent, looking up at the massive form towering above them.
"I didn't find it." Carlos announced, dangling precariously from the man's broad shoulder.
Before the other boys could to react, Freight Train's thick, burly arms shot out to grab them. The behemoth bodyguard threw them over his shoulders alongside Carlos then barreled out of the ice arena, Big Time Rush in tow.
There's the first chapter, I hope you guys liked it :) Hey, if you read, please review too! I crave your feedback :D It would totally make my day!