Take Comfort Where You Can

By: Rhuben

Summary-Danielle returns to the Palm Woods after finding out about losing a role in a big upcoming movie and one of her best friends is there to comfort her. [For emoprinces16]

I let out a sigh as I stared up at the Palm Woods, the lights which used to be a warm and inviting beacon now seeming to taunt me for a life stuck in the "Home of the Future Famous." Yeah right. If only I could get an acting job, then could I even begin to be considered someone who had a future in being famous. I've been in LA for two years now, and have barely gotten any work done, unlike my friends who were now one of the biggest boy bands in the United States; Big Time Rush.

In fact, if it wasn't for Kendall Knight and his singing ability, I wouldn't even be out in Los Angeles. I had met him years ago when I joined our hometown's hockey team. I was one of the few girls on the team, but I didn't care. He was the captain, always working hard, encouraging the other members of the team to do their best. That's why we all looked up to him and without his encouragement, James Diamond wouldn't have tried auditioning for Gustavo Rocque

James had always dreamt of being a super star, singing and dancing of—and sometimes on—the ice. He had a great voice and great moves that made anybody stop what they were doing and pay attention to him. How Gustavo declared he didn't have any talent was beyond me. Kendall had practically attacked the guy for it. I was mad, but I wasn't that mad. As was stated in Ecclesiastes 3:8, there was "A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace." Kendall had basically called war on the guy.

Being his crazy self, Carlos Garcia wasn't one to hesitate in joining any fight and practically body slammed the guard that tried to carry Kendall away. It was probably a good thing he always wears his hockey helmet, or he would've just gone bouncing off of the man's chest. Despite all that, he issued battle cry after battle cry, swinging arms, legs, elbows, anything he could to get Kendall free. Carlos was always looking for an adventure, trying to find something fun in everything. I don't think I've ever seen him without a smile on his face. I mean, apart from when Sparky died.

Logan Mitchell didn't immediately join the fight as he was constantly rattling off what kind of punishment they would get if they really got into trouble. Not only that, but every punch, hit, or slap he saw his friends receive, he muttered to himself about the kind of medical attention they'd need. Logan always talked about "getting new friends" but he always stuck by our sides. Plus, it was easier to get checked out by him than actually going to a doctor.

I, Danielle Williams, rounded out the group and sometimes, I told myself that I had to get new friends. Kendall, James, Carlos, and Logan could drive me crazy but from time to time, I joined in their shenanigans no questions asked. In fact, when Kendall had decided to tell Gustavo that the only way he wanted to go to Los Angeles to make music was to bring his friends, too, he had included me in his plans. While the four of them were going to be a singing group, I was going to go to work on my acting career.

I've been in a handful of productions at school and for the city, but I had never done anything on that grand of a scale. Everyone said I had potential, so what better way to try things out. It took a little while for my parents to agree to let me go, but Mrs. Knight was like a second mom to me, to all of us. They were a bit worried that she was going to be overwhelmed with not only her two kids; Kendall, and his little sister Katie, to look after, but James, Carlos, Logan, and myself as well. What won them over was how responsible I was; I told them I'd help with cooking and cleaning and looking after Katie if I needed to (I had babysat Katie for Mrs. Knight dozens of times over the years).

So here I was, two years later…and with a lack of a budding acting career.

"You can't go in there, Dani," I whispered to myself, brushing my hands over my wavy blond hair. I pushed it back, gathering my hair in my hands into a ponytail before sucking in a deep breath of air, my cheeks puffing out. My shoulders slumped and I dropped my hand as it all rushed out of me. "You were so sure you were going to get this part, you never thought about what would happen if you didn't."

Needless to say, I put my foot in my mouth on that one. Both feet, actually. I had the habit of blurting things out without thinking only all of the time. I was kind of surprised that I could still talk right now. I had bragged to everybody and anybody how well my auditions and numerous callbacks for the new surfing film that was going into production soon. That was I was out of the Palm Woods. I knew I'd be getting the call today, and I couldn't stand sitting in the crib, looking at the boys' expectant faces.

I stayed out all day, going to The Grove, Santa Monica Pier, Citywalk, everything to get my mind off of that looming phone call. When it finally came, it wasn't what I was expecting. I heard the words, "Are you sitting down?" from my agent and barely listened to whatever else they had to say, I was so sure I had gotten the part. I started thinking of life on a movie set, if I'd make friends with the other cast members, the movie premiere, all of it. As usual, I let my mind wander and get the best of me before it all shattered.

I knew that I had to face the music eventually. Even now, it was tough just to take those steps through the front door.

"Carlos probably has those little poppers ready and arms open for a hug," I mumbled to myself, kicking at the sidewalk with my pink and black DC shoes. "Mrs. Knight probably made a cake, James will have already thought of a plan to get into the movie to show off his body, and ugh!" I buried my face into my hands before looking back up at the residential building.

This rejection wouldn't be a big deal if it wasn't a big production…and if I hadn't promised myself that if I didn't get this one, I would go home. I had wasted two years of my life sitting in one place, watching as my friends grew more and more successful. What was it about me that no one wanted to take a chance on?

Was I too short? I was only 5'1.

My glasses? God, I hate those. They're black rimmed and horrible! They stand out terribly against my pale skin and rosy complexion. I have terrible eyesight without them and you can forget about contacts, I hate sticking my fingers in my eyes.

Maybe I didn't have the look? Which was pretty weird. I've had plenty of people compliment me on my blonde hair and curves.

Maybe I was just a mess all around. Maybe I can't actually do this. Maybe this was just a big joke that everyone strung me along for, waiting for the punch line; me failing. I didn't want to leave. The Palm Woods was amazing, I've made great friends, and memories I knew was going to last me a lifetime. Logan was, of course, right, though. Only a small percent of people made it in this industry. I just never thought I was already a part of that big percentage and was wasting my time.

I reached for my phone, breaking eye contact with the Palm Woods to look at the display, tapping at the screen with a light pink manicured finger. The screen opened up to reveal a text message. With a second tap, that opened and I started to read the message.

Kendall: Hey, where are you? We're getting worried. Good news? :)

My fingers hovered over the touch keypad of my phone. My vision started to blur with the tears that threatened and I quickly blinked them back to type out ar reply.

Danielle: I'm back. Be up in a little bit.

I got a reply almost instantly.

Kendall: Great. :)

That sent a new wave of tears washing over me. Kendall was one of my closest friends out of the group of boys and, arguably, my biggest supporter. I had seen how he was when his ex-girlfriend, Jo Taylor, had told him about her three movie deal all the way in New Zealand. He was crushed. He was happy for her; happy enough to let her go, but it was hard on him a little while afterwards. He was so excited for me; I just knew this was going to hurt him, too.

I sucked in a deep breath of air through my nose, rolled my shoulders back, and headed into the Palm Woods lobby, pulling open the doors, allowing the blast of cool air to hit me in the face, drying the tear tracks on my cheeks.

"No loitering in the lobby!" Mr. Bitters' voice slammed into my ear as soon as I crossed the ugly pale orange carpet.

"I wasn't loitering," I replied, rolling my eyes as I turned to face him. This was soooo not what I needed right now. "And I wasn't even in the lobby." I jabbed my finger onto the counter. "You're just trying to find a reason to give us another strike on our door. I wasn't even loitering in the stupid parking lot, I was dreading going up to the apartment to tell everybody that I, again, missed out on an important role, maybe the most important role of my life! So excuse me for supposedly 'loitering in the lobby'!"

Bitters was now back against the wall behind the check in desk, staring at me, his eyes wide. He then gave a wide, sweet, smile stepping forward, folding his arms on the table. "Might I please ask you to not yell in the lobby, that's a rule," he said, moving to grab a cardboard sign that listed all of the rules. I merely smacked it out of his hand.

"I don't really care!" I replied, smacking my hand down onto the table. "I'm in crisis mode in case you haven't noticed."

"Ok, ok," Bitters said, putting his hands up defensively. "I'll let it go this time if you just stop shouting." He then straightened his tie. "I hope you have a Palm Woods day."

"Yeah, yeah," I replied, waving my hand in the air before turning on my heels, marching towards the elevator. I jabbed my thumb into the up arrow button and the doors ding-ed before sliding open. I stepped into the lift, pressing the circular button for the second floor, and slumped against the back. As the doors slid shut, I shouted, "Sorry, Mr. Bitters!"I didn't mean to be rude to him, although in some cases I really thought he deserved it from time to time. Seriously, I thought he was just waiting for the day he could actually kick us out. It'd be easier on me to have someone tell me to go home than to tell everyone else that I was going to go.

"It's now or never, Dani," I said to myself as the doors slid open. I stepped out into the hallway, silently singing the alphabet to myself before stopping outside of apartment 2J. I briefly closed my eyes before gripping the door knob, twisting it open…walking in to find Kendall, James, Logan, and Katie standing at the bottom of the swirly slide, pillows in their hands, waiting to smack Carlos as he popped out of the end. "What…are they doing?"

"You know," Mrs. Knight spoke up from the kitchen. I turned towards her as she pushed the door close behind her. She was leaning against the kitchen counter, a steaming cup of tea in her hands. "I stopped asking myself that a long time ago. As long as they're not in trouble, not hurting themselves or each other, and keeping each other entertained, I don't worry too much about it."

"Hey, Dani!" Katie was the first one to spot me, tucking the pillow in her hands under her arm. "Come join in." Her face was flushed and she was breathing heavily. "Carlos is going to slide down as fast as he can, we have to see if we can hit him before he slides out over here."

"Let me guess, this was his stupid idea?" I asked, lifting my eyes up to the balcony to where Carlos was crouched. He nodded his head happily and I quirked an eyebrow. "How'd I guess? I guess it's a good thing you have that helmet, then."

"Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine today," James said with his familiar easy going smile. Normally, it calmed me down from whatever it was that was bothering me. Normally.

"Hey," Logan turned to greet me and I gave him a weak smile. He had his arms pulled back behind his head, a pillow in his hands, waiting to strike at Carlos as he passed. His shirt had ridden up and I could see the flat of his abs and the small trail of hair that led south. I felt my face heat up and quickly flickered my eyes back up to gaze into his brown ones.

"Heyyy," I breathed.

"You were supposed to get the call today," Kendall said, setting his pillow down between his knees. He removed his beanie with one hand, using his other hand to swipe through his hair. "So? How'd it go?"

That got everyone's attention. I opened and closed my mouth a few times. A cold wave washed over me, an aching ball formed in my chest. My nose and eyes started to sting and I turned and hurried into my room. I had originally shared with Mrs. Knight and Katie—Katie and I sharing a bed—but when the boys renovated the crib, they got it so they built me my own room. I loved them for it.

It was one of the many reasons I loved them and that just made it harder for me to break the news to them, to tell them that I would be leaving. I've been around them for so long, I never thought of going back to a life without them. It was just so comforting and so normal. But, so was being rejected by so many film and TV production companies. I don't know which hurt worse; the rejection, or knowing I was leaving them?

I flopped down onto my bed, burying my face into my pillow and allowed the tears to finally fall freely. They soaked into my pillow, mixing in with my drool the small spots growing larger and larger as they combined together and as I cried harder. My eyes burned and I felt exhausted, but I couldn't stop. I just had to let it all out. To me, crying was the best stress reliever, but I hated it whenever someone saw me do it.

It made my cheeks even more rosy than usual, popping out even more so against my pale skin. Then again, I don't know a lot of people that could cry and look good. Apart from people in movies and TV shows, but even then I don't think they were actually crying. I'd book a part easy if they could just see how upset I was now.

Stop it, Dani, I scolded myself. Don't think like that.

I don't know how long I had been in my room, or how long I had been crying, but sometime later, I heard a knock on the frame of my door. "Go away," I muttered into my pillow.

I mean, I really wanted them to go away. I could just sense who it was. It was Logan. All the years I spent with the boys, I could just tell who was around me. I could tell them apart by their footsteps, and by the way they breathed, it was weird, but we were just that close. I really didn't want him to see me like this. He had never seen me so down in the dumps before. I made it a point for him not to.

I don't know how long I had liked him. I just remembered waking up one day and realizing that I really enjoyed being around him. I loved listening to him talk about his dreams of becoming a doctor. I loved seeing him smile and hearing his laugh. I loved the way he smiled at me. But, I absolutely hated how nervous I got around him, when he was by himself anyway.

I hated how sweaty my hands got, and how they shook, and how I tried so hard to think of what to say to him. It was always just so different when we were alone together. I don't know if he noticed, he had been on and off with our friend Camille Roberts over the years, I don't think he ever really noticed anyone else.

"Come on, DW," he said and I felt myself start to smile. He was the only one who called me DW. I loved how it rolled off his tongue, how it sounded, how it was filled with worry and care. "We're all worried about you." I could hear his footsteps shuffling across the room and the corner of my bed sagged as he sat on it. He patted my leg and I felt a shiver run up to hit the base of my spine. "I'm assuming it wasn't a good call." I didn't look at him, but shook my head back and forth. "Awww, D."

I rolled onto my back, wiping at my remaining tears with my hands. I sucked in a deep breath of air, letting out a shaky breath, trying to put a smile on my face as I shook my head back and forth. "But, it's ok," I said to him. "It was just a stupid movie."

"No, it's not ok," Logan corrected me. He leaned closer, resting his hand on the bed just by my waist. I had to shake my head, clearing my head from the thoughts that infiltrated my mind. What if his hand was on my waist, slowly moving upwards as he leaned closer towards me…"You deserve this. You've been working so hard, going to acting classes and everything."

"Like I really had a shot at this," I said, shaking my head. I let out a bitter laugh. "My career hasn't gone anywhere and I've been at it for so long. Kendall was wasting his time inviting me out here with you guys."

"You know this was going to be hard, Dani," Logan said, reaching out a hand to brush a lock of myhair from my face. I sucked in a breath of air at the burning touch. "Not everybody who wants to be an actor or actress becomes a house hold name. In fact, only—"

"Logan," I said, interrupting him, swinging up my hand to knock his hand away. He grasped my wrist, stopping me, giving me a confused look. "I don't want to be talked to like I'm a statistic." Logan slowly nodded his head. "Talk to me like I'm a person. Like it's Logan and Dani." I then added quietly, "Logan and DW."

"Sorry," he replied quietly. "I just know how much you wanted to get this part."

"Logan," I said, just as quiet. "I told myself that I've done this for so long…that if I didn't get this part…I was going to go home."

"What?" Logan asked, blinking in surprise. "You can't."

"I've been living off everything you've all been working for," I said, shaking my head. I glanced up at the ceiling, trying to hold back tears. I swallowed thickly. "It's not fair to you, or Mrs. K."

"Dani," Logan said quietly. "You can't do this."

I scoffed, sitting up. "I can and I am," I replied. "This all used to be fun, but being rejected isn't fun anymore. I can't do it anymore. If it's not with film it with…" I trailed off, looking into Logan's eyes and shook my head. "It's everything."

"Like what?" Logan asked."Just everything," I replied, turning my head away from him."Dani," Logan coaxed. He reached out a hand, cupping my cheek, turning my head back to face him. "Like what?" I shook my head back and forth, blinking rapidly. "Come on, Dani."

"Just forget it, Logan," I said, getting to my feet. "I'm leaving and that's that." Logan grabbed my wrist, stopping me. "Logan—"

"What if we don't want you to go?" Logan asked quietly. He licked his lips. "What if I don't want you to go?" I slowly brought my bottom lip into my mouth. He had such amazing eyes, one look could turn into a long stare, and this was no exception. "There's nothing we could do or say to change your mind?"

"No," I replied, shaking my head and Logan frowned. Forget Kendall being crushed, I could see that I was upsetting Logan. I never wanted to do that, I never wanted to hurt any of them, but it was inevitable. I don't know how I thought I could get out of this without hurting anybody.

"Dani," Logan whispered before pulling me into his chest. He gently removed my glasses, wrapping his arms around me, holding me tight. Just like I always wished he would. I closed my eyes, breathing in his scent, letting a sigh escape past my lips. It just felt right. I was going to miss him so much. "It's ok. Remember, I got so down when I couldn't dance, and Gustavo kept calling me out on it."

"Yeah," I replied quietly.

"And you helped," Logan replied. His chest vibrated with a small laugh. "You may not be the best dancer, but you helped me out. You worked with me until I couldn't move."

"Yeah, and I had to give you a piggy back ride home," I said, laughing as well, reaching to jab my finger into his side.

"That too," Logan said before stepping back, gently angling my head back to use his thumbs to wipe at my building tears. "So, let me help you. I'll run lines with you or something. Just don't give up, you wouldn't let me do it, so I'm not going to let you."He then looked me in the eye. "if I could get rejected—albeit loudly—by Gustavo and still bounce back to work for him, you can do this. You never know, they may need to recast. Or they like you enough they have another part for you." He gave a brief eye roll. "I may not be Kendall, but that's the best pep-talk I could come up with."

"Thanks, Logan," I said quietly, giving him another hug. "You're the best."

"No problem," he replied quietly. "Hey, DW?"

"Hmm?" I removed an arm from around my waist, and gently grasped my chin between his fingers, tilting my head back. Logan gave a small smile before he leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. I thought people were joking but I felt it; that spark. My heart started ramming in my chest as I slowly kissed him back.

It was over too quickly. Logan pulled back, peering down at me. "Please don't go," he said quietly. "We can do this together." He stroked my cheek with his thumb. "The producers will kick themselves for not hiring you. So, will you stay? I'd miss you too much if you left."

"I'd miss you, too," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "So much."

Logan grinned before kissing me again. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He pressed tighter against me, wrapping his arm around my waist.

"Oh, Dani," Logan whispered as he broke for air, pressing his forehead against mine.

"And to think all I was going to do was try to cheer you up with a hug," Carlos said, catching my attention. I craned my neck to see past Logan and saw him standing in the doorway, smiling peacefully, arms crossed over his chest. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "They wanted me to check if you were ok. I personally think you are."

I rolled my eyes before extracting myself from Logan's grip, moving to grab a pillow from my bed. "Hey, Logan," I said, starting to spin the pillow in a circle, peering over at my friend. "How does that game go again?"

"Bye," Carlos said, lifting a hand before rushing out of the room. I laughed, tossing my pillow back onto my laughed, pinching the bridge of his nose before turning back towards me.

"See, you're a great actress," he said to me, "you acted like you wanted to kill Carlos."

"That wasn't acting," I replied dryly and Logan gave me a confused look. "I did want to kill him." Logan's look of confusion intensified before I smile, dropping my gaze to the floor before looking back up at him. "For interrupting." I felt my face heat up, and put a hand to my cheek, turning away in embarrassment.

"Oh, I see," Logan said with a small laugh, placing his hand on top of mine before moving to kiss me.

Hopefully, this time with no interruptions.

A/N: So this was a request for emoprinces16 with their OC, Danielle. I hope you liked it. I couldn't really think of a better title. Sorry about that.

-Rhuben