PREFACE

NARRATOR'S POV

"Break! Finally!" Carlos Pena breathed out after spending a few hours doing stunts on the set of Nickelodeon's TV show.

"Those were crazy stunts back there" James Maslow chuckled giving his friend a high five as they walked away from the lights and cameras.

"Uh yeah! He hit me hard with that hockey stick" Logan Henderson said sarcastically with a creased forehead as he massaged his pained left arm.

Carlos made a guffaw as he reached for the iPhone in his pocket "Oh you're such a wuss, Logan"

Logan gave him a playful punch as a reply.

Kendall Schmidt chimed in with a laugh "It was kinda fun watching you guys hit each other like that!"

The four boys are members of the popular, band Big Time Rush. They are also part of the hit TV show under the same name. They have distinctive personalities and physical aspects that give the band a flare that enthrals the hearts of millions of teenage girls across America and overseas. Despite the uniqueness however, they hang out a lot and enjoy the same activities, one of which is snowboarding. They are a tight knit and treat each other like brothers.

"I wonder what we're having for lunch, I'm so hungry" Kendall Schimdt said as he and the rest of the group headed towards the pantry.

Take out cartons from Mr. Chow aligned the black granite table.

"Chinese chow!" James said as he went over to the plates and started handing them out to his friends. "Hey, Carlos".

Carlos was so busy texting that he did not notice James' outstretched hand. "Thanks" He momentarily looked up from his phone and got the plate.

"Dude, you seriously are hooked to Twitter" James said with emphasis on "hooked" then he went over to the buffet.

"Not tweeting, I'm calling Maxene" Carlos replied defensively. He leaned on the refrigerator and waited for the other line to pick up instead of joining the commotion on the table.

Maxene is Carlos' cousin and best friend. They lived in the same neighbourhood in Weston, Florida, went to the same high school and were members of the same clubs, Glee and the well-known Sagemont Cheerleading Squad. Just as things were looking good for both of them; Maxene's parents got involved in plane crash and passed away. She was fortunately left with their mansion and a trust fund but though financially secured; she was a minor that time and needed an adult to look after, Carlos' father took her in and treated her like his own. After high school, they went their separate ways, Carlos pursuing a career in Hollywood and Maxene a degree from Oxford. They kept in touch through the years.

Logan, Kendall and James have known Maxene and became friends with her ever since the band and tv show started since Carlos would always unconsciously mention her in his stories and call and text her whenever the group has time to hang out in between shootings and performances.

"Hey!" Carlos said when Maxene finally picked up. "All set?" he asked excitedly.

"Max! We missed you! Haven't heard from you in weeks" Logan shouted from the background while wolfing down his food.

"Hey, Maxene!" Kendall interrupted jokingly shouting in between bites of his dumpling.

"How's it going?" James joined in.

"Yeah, we're all crazy, you know that" Carlos said to the mouthpiece laughing. He balanced the phone between his cheek and shoulder and went to the counter to get food. After a couple of yesses and uh-huhs, he finally hung up. "She said hi". Carlos addressed the boys. He took a big bite of orange chicken "So good" he cooed.

Logan was helping himself with another serving "You didn't put her on speaker".

"Yeah, she's kinda in a hurry" Carlos replied as the rest of the cast and crew started filling in the pantry.

Stephen Kramer Glickman, a co-actor appeared from the door and gave Carlos a rather hard pat on the back. "That was a whack back there!" He said with a smile.

"Literally! Carlos gave me a bruise!" Logan retorted jokingly before Carlos could say anything then he glared at the latter.

Carlos guffawed once again "Was cool!"

"So not cool!" Logan sighed shaking his head.

"Was funny" Stephen said with his usual comical face as he continued to walk towards the food.

Logan looked up from his plate as if assessing something "I think I hear Irene from the hallway" he quickly whispered to his buddies. "Hide me!"

"Kendall's!" Carlos whispered back a little louder than Logan did. He was pertaining to Kendall's dressing room.

"Move!" Kendall said running ahead of them.

But they were a little too late. They halted just outside the door.

"Hey, where are you guys going?" Irene Sands, one of their co-stars asked with a wide smile on her face. She went over to Logan and struggled to put an arm around the taller person's shoulders. She directly looked at Logan's face and smiled even wider expecting an answer from him only as though the other guys didn't exist. She likes Logan so much and doesn't have a problem letting the whole world know about it even during the time Logan was dating his ex-girlfriend, Kelsey Riches.

"We're just hanging out here in the corridor, it's too crowded inside" Logan responded uneasily.

"Oh, ok, I'll go get some food and join you guys here." Irene said letting go of Logan then she went inside the pantry.

"Escape now!" James shrieked as soon as Irene was out of earshot.

They run away as fast as they could laughing all the way to Kendall's dressing room and collapsed on the brown couch.

"Don't get me wrong guys, Irene's ok… as long as she's not always in my face and so touchy and following me around, it's crazy! Logan said exasperatedly.

"What are you complaining about? I thought you like 'em girls?" James punned.

"That's your karma for being such a flirt!" Carlos grinned as he picked up one of the Xbox controllers on the small table in front of him then threw the other one at Kendall.

"Maybe she heard that you and Kelsey broke up so now she's going all out" Kendall concluded.

"See the pain on my left arm?" Logan asked. "It's now on my face". He finished pointing his face with his index finger.

NARRATOR'S POV … That afternoon

"That's a wrap"! The director called out. "Thank you, see you all on Monday!" He finished loudly above the cheers and claps of everyone in the studio.

"Hey, hang out at Fred 62? I'm feeling some coffee" Kendall asked his three friends as his assistant handed him a towel. "Thanks". He told her as he swiped it across his forehead.

"I'm gonna have to pass on this one, guys". Carlos responded.

"Awww, come on, Carlitos" Logan kidded after he took a big gulp of his kombucha tea.

"What could you possibly be doing this afternoon? We don't usually wrap up this early so come on". James chided.

"Really can't, need to pick up my house, I have a visitor coming on Monday" He said with a smile.

Kendall gave a face. He's the messiest among the four and doesn't get Carlos being a clean freak. He lives by the motto "Life is too short to get organized".

"There's still Saturday and Sunday" James pointed out

"Yeah but on those days I need to pick up a few things from the mall for the guest room" Carlos replied.

"So who is it?" Logan asked.

"Someone" Carlos replied with a mischievous grin. "Gotta go, see you guys next week!" He bailed.

CARLOS' POV

Carlos turned off the engine of his white Jeep and jumped out of the vehicle. He headed to the front door and noticed it was already unlocked. "Hey, you're here, cleaning ahead". He called out when he opened it.

Dani Drake gave Carlos a bright smile. "You're home early". She bounced towards her boyfriend and gave him a kiss on the lips. "I'm so excited so I went here already and started cleaning. Luckily I found your spare key under the mat". She answered. I can't wait to go shopping tomorrow; I hope she'll like what we'll get for her bedroom! She continued as she picked up a throw pillow on the floor.

"Why so stoked?" Carlos smiled at his petite, brown-haired girlfriend. He grabbed her by the waist and gave her a hug.

"'Cause we've been calling and texting each other for years now and this is the first time I'm seeing her in person. Plus, she's a member of your family so that's kind of a big deal for me". She blushed.

"Well, okay but I want some r&r first so what do you say we cuddle for a while?" Carlos said pulling Dani with him on the sofa.

LOGAN'S POV

Logan crashed on his bed and buried his face with a pillow "This is gonna be another long miserable weekend" He thought. He never expected that he would bump into Kelsey and her new boyfriend at Fred 62. He tried to play it cool in front of Kendall and James because as far as the boys knew, he was over her and moving on but in reality, he never felt so messed up. His feelings never went away, even months after the relationship was over. Logan was never overemotional but Kelsey is someone really special. He was not surprised to feel tears welling up his eyes. He knew he wasn't going to feel any better so he picked up his cellphone and speed-dialed the only person who knew what he was going through. He felt so pathetic giving into his feelings like this but what can he do? The other line picked up. "I need a friend right now" He said. His friend heard this line far too many times so she already knew it was one of those days for Logan.