Disclaimer: I do not own Big Time Rush or any of its characters. Just me and my imagination. But please be aware that this story is entirely inspired by the music video of "Just So You Know" by Jesse McCartney. It's a song that everyone should listen to. At some point in life, you probably have experienced the true meaning of this incredible song.

Just So You Know

How does it feel to be in love with your best friend's girlfriend? According to Carlos Garcia, it sucks big time.

For the past four months, Carlos Garcia has been avoiding his best friend and his girlfriend whenever they are together. Just seeing those two holding hands makes his stomach woozy and queasy. It was as if he had been food poisoned; only, there was no possible way to cure it.

At first, he doubted loving her, knowing that it's never a good thing to chase after someone who's already taken by a friend. But every now and then, his mind would always wander off to the pretty girl. Her dark eyes were a constant favorite of the Latino. And dreaming about gazing into them made him feel a lot worse about it. He knew it wasn't right, not wanting to get into a huge fight with his best friend just because of a girl. It was stupid, but his heart wasn't getting the message at all.

"Fight it, Carlos. Fight it," he would occasionally tell himself alone to control his feelings. But he just couldn't. It was impossible, and he never meant to hurt anyone because of it.

"Kendall and Jo, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G… First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby—"

"Shut up!" Carlos pleaded, screaming on top of his lungs as his hands flew up to cover both of his ears. He wasn't in the mood to hear any of James Diamond's mockeries, knowing that the boy would never stop once he starts.

Unfortunately, the pretty boy kept right at it. He continued on, singing his whole heart out. James loved the terrified look on the Latino's face, and he loved every moment when Carlos would grab a nearby object and shot it at him. Of course, James would simply dodge it and sing even louder, knowing how annoyed Carlos must have been.

Logan Mitchell stared blankly at the two on the sidelines, not sure what to do. Even if he was the genius in the group, he was certainly clueless when it comes to love. He had no idea that Carlos was in love with Kendall Knight's girlfriend. Worse of all, he was oblivious to the fact that Jo Taylor was the main reason why Carlos didn't thrive to get a girlfriend. She was all he ever wanted, but he just couldn't have her.

"James, be quiet," Logan spoke up softly, moments later. "Kendall will personally murder you if he discovers that you're singing that."

"Yes, Father," James replied with a roll of his eyes. He soon got up and left the living room of apartment 2J, hoping to find someone or something else to amuse him.

The Latino let out a sigh of relief. He then thanked his friend for stopping the irritating chant, saying, "You have no idea how much I love you right now."

Logan chuckled. "You definitely don't hear that every day."

Carlos shrugged his shoulders at that remark. He really was grateful for having someone like Logan. Besides, he was probably the closest out of his three best guy friends, and he wouldn't change a single thing about that. He loved Logan, like an older brother. He was that one person who sincerely understood him no matter what situation Carlos was stuck in. For sure, Logan Mitchell was his inspiration and motivation to live and be strong.

"Logan, how would you react if your best friend is in love with your girlfriend?" Carlos randomly asked quietly, popping up the question, as he shifted around in his seat. He was uncertain about this problem. Although, he had no doubt about trusting Logan at all. He was just afraid of what he would answer.

The boy blinked as he plopped down next to the Latino, unsure how to respond. Logan thought about it for a couple of minutes, wanting to find just the right words to completely say it thoroughly but in a simple way. "In the first place, we should never flirt in any way with our best friend's girlfriend, Carlos," Logan stated, raising his eyebrows at him. "What are you trying to say here? Is James flirting with Camille?"

"No!" Carlos quickly cried out, not wanting Logan to get the wrong idea. "It was just a theoretical question. Trust me."

By this point, Logan was beginning to gain suspicious, and he wanted to know exactly what was happening. "Uh, okay…" To him, it sounded to be more of a hypothetical question, not theoretical.

"I was just curious. That's it… But seriously, what would you do if you were stuck in that kind of situation?"

"I'll probably go off and rant about how that friend of mine betrayed me. I mean, it's not really a pleasant thing to hear someone say that a friend of yours is hitting on your girlfriend."

"But what if that best friend wasn't planning to break you two apart? He just has those tingling feelings whenever he sees you and her together. For instance, he stays all quiet about it because he doesn't know what to do at all."

"In other words, he's too scared to admit that he likes her because he doesn't want to lose his best friend or hurt anyone of them…?"

Carlos slightly smiled. "Exactly."

"Then that person is screwed," Logan declared, ending the conversation on a harsh note, as he got up from his seat. He soon left the Latino alone in the room, having the urge to call Camille and ask her if someone was flirting with her in reality and whether or not if it was one of his best friends.

Carlos was driving himself insane. In fact, he actually thought about checking himself into a mental hospital or seeing a therapist. At times, he found himself locked up in his own bedroom, crying and thinking about what Logan had said to him the other day. Then some other times, he realized he was watching Kendall Knight and Jo Taylor from a far distance, having the desire that he was the one that the girl was falling for, not Kendall. It even got worse when he started to daydream about the pretty blonde every single time. To be precise, Carlos couldn't even get at least two hours of sleep nightly just because he was thinking about her.

So one day, he decided that it was time. It was finally time to tell that certain girl how he truly felt about her. He didn't care if she didn't share the same feelings towards him. He was just desperate to get the word out of his chest, wishing that it was the answer to his problems. And hopefully, his best friend and his girlfriend would find a place in their hearts to forgive him, knowing that it was probably the last thing they both wanted to hear.

"Carlos, where are you going?" Logan Mitchell asked him tiredly one night, wiping his eyes in an attempt to stay awake. "You do realize that it's 3 o'clock in the morning, right?"

"Crap," the Latino cursed under his breath. He totally forgot that Logan was a light sleeper, and trying to sneak off without him finding out was not going to be an easy task.

"Answer me," Logan ordered, clearing his throat, as he crossed his arms firmly across his chest.

Hesitantly, Carlos turned around and forced a smile. "Hi, Logan."

"Don't avoid the question, Carlos… Where are you doing?" he snarled as he glanced the boy up and down, observing and wondering what he was up to.

Carlos let out a defeated sigh. He hated the fact how practically nobody could get around Logan without letting the tiny bit of information slip out. "I'm going to see Jo."

"Why?"

"Just because."

"Does Kendall know about this?"

"No."

Now, Logan was sighing. He soon relaxed a bit and frowned. "Why am I not surprised?" he muttered.

"What do you mean?" Carlos said. His head was cocked to the right side as he looked at the boy in awe. He didn't remember mentioning about him liking Jo to Logan.

"I've been watching you, Carlos… I've seen the way you look at her for the past couple of days. It's like you want Jo for your own. But you know you can't have her… And I've seen your eyes piercing at Kendall whenever he's with her, showing how frustrated and hateful you feel towards him… How, Carlos? How did this happen to you?... Last time I remembered, you were fine when Kendall won her heart."

Carlos shivered, having a quick flashback when he and his friend competed for the girl on the first day she arrived. "I really don't know, Logan… This feeling's taking control of me, and I can't help it."

"Well, whatever you're thinking about doing, just stop it. You're not helping yourself at this rate… You need to stop liking Jo."

"I don't like her, though. I love her," he corrected, looking away from his friend. "And I plan on telling her tonight…"

"Carlos, don't—"

"And I don't care if you guys are going to hate me forever. But I'm doing it."

With that, Carlos stormed out of the shared apartment, leaving Logan in total shock. And for that moment, Carlos regretted the fact that he snapped at his best friend. But then again, he was wrong about the genius. Logan didn't understand him at all, for the matter. Although, this was the only time that he and Logan had an out-of-control argument, so he still wasn't sure.

It was 3:17 A.M. by the time Carlos arrived in front of Jo's apartment. With a huff, he slowly brought up a tightly clenched fist and knocked on the door three times. Relieved that he had gotten this far, he casually slipped his hands into his pockets and waited for an answer or somewhat that shows a single person is alive behind the wooden entrance.

About two minutes later, the door finally swung open. Behind it was a sleepy Jo Taylor. She was dressed in a matching pink pajama set that Carlos found to be quite adorable. And at the sight of her, he slightly smiled and flashed a small wave.

"Hi," Carlos greeted her, showing off his goofy grin.

Jo yawned as she let the Latino in. "Logan texted me that you were coming over… So, what's up?"

Right then and there, Carlos Garcia was speechless. He didn't know what to do. It would have been easier to tell the girl how much he truly loved her. But after she mentioned Logan, he suddenly didn't want to. Who knows what Logan could have said to the girl?

"I, uh, just wanted to check up on you," he coughed up, saying the lamest excuse that he could ever think of fast.

"I'm fine, thank you. But it's like 3:30 right now, and I'm much more worried about you… Is this really all you wanted to talk about?"

Hesitantly, Carlos nodded. "Yeah. I just wanted to see you again 'cause we never really gotten a chance talk to each other nowadays because you're too busy with Kendall, and—" he stopped himself, realizing that he said too much already.

Jo giggled and put on a genuine smile. "I'll always have time for you, Carlos… If you want, you can come with me and Kendall today… We're planning to take a hike in a nearby woods just to get away from this town, you know… So, do you wanna come?"

"Is Kendall okay with this?"

"Don't worry about him. I'm sure he'll be fine with it. Besides, you are one of his best friends… It'll be fun!"

Carlos was not fully convinced. Sure, he wanted to spend a day with her. But he didn't know what he would do. Would he go all crazy? Will he let his true feelings slip? And how can he handle the fact that he'll be watching Kendall and Jo smooch and cuddle with each other on the whole trip? It will definitely be sickening for him. But still…

"Sure, Jo. I'd love to come with you," Carlos said through gritted teeth.

Jo smiled once again as she leaned over to give him a friendly hug, showing how grateful she is. She soon pulled away and said, "Well, we're gonna leave at 12 o'clock, so you better get your rest… Got it?"

"Yeah," he promised.

Little does Jo know that not only Carlos promised to get a good sleep, but he vowed to himself that during their trip, he'll finally have the guts to tell her that he loves her.

A few hours later, Carlos woke up to the sound of a ringing cell phone. Annoyed, he rolled around in his bed, ready to tell whoever owned that phone to answer it already to shut the friggin' noise up. However, to his dismay, he saw Kendall lying awake in his own bed with his cell phone glued to his left ear. Apparently, the tall blonde hadn't notice that Carlos was already up. Besides, he expected him to be peacefully asleep since he had caught the Latino sneaking into their room not too long again, and Carlos definitely looked exhausted by the time he reached his mattress.

Quickly, Carlos shut his eyes close. He didn't want to be seen eavesdropping or anything, and he really didn't want to anyways.

"Are you serious?" Kendall spoke softly into his phone. He then groaned and sighed quietly, not wanting to disturb his friends in their deep slumbers. "But Jo—"

Faintly, Carlos could hear the girl's voice through the speakers, saying, "He's your best friend, Kendall. Let him have some fun for once... Besides, Carlos and I never really gotten a chance to know each other ever since I came. Plus, I heard Logan is off with Camille for another date while Katie is practically blackmailing James to come with her to watch some gruesome movie that your mom disapproves... You wouldn't be such a good best friend if you let him all alone for the rest of the day, now would you?"

"Why must you be so logical?" Kendall asked his girlfriend, slightly smiling. He still didn't like the idea of Carlos coming along, but Jo was right. He wouldn't be a great friend at all if he leaves the Latino bored and all by himself for the rest of the day.

"Deal with it," Jo spat out, giggling. "Love you, Kendall."

"Love you too," the tall blonde replied back before hanging up.

Love. It was the one thing that Carlos Garcia felt, but will never receive from that one person whom he wishes to spend his entire life and grow old with.

Just thinking about it made Carlos question things. Was this trip going to worth it or pointless? Jo didn't share the feelings with him anyways, so why even bother, right? But still, he gets the chance to spend time with here, which hardly ever happens since the day Kendall Knight and Jo Taylor became inseparable.

"Carlos, I know you're awake. Stop pretending."

Startled, Carlos' eyes fluttered open as he bolted from the bed, sitting upright to face the speaker. He then took in a deep breath after noticing that Kendall was the one talking to him. Although, the tall blonde stayed motionless in his own mattress, lying still and staring off at the top of the room.

"I just woke up, Kendall," Carlos said, forcing a smile, as he scratched the back of his neck nervously. He has been told that he was a terrible liar by several people, but now he's hoping for a change. "I think you're hallucinating."

Kendall Knight soon sat up to face the Latino. He smiled and chuckled at that pathetic comeback. "That was lame, dude."

"Whatever," Carlos coughed up, rolling his eyes.

"Anyways, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," Kendall began off, talking in a sincere voice. "I love you and all, but I just love Jo so much that I would love it if you didn't come so that Jo and I would have some time alone... I'm not saying that you should back off from this trip, but I just hope you understand why I'm sorta acting all protective and stuff these days... I just really love Jo. That's it."

Carlos only nodded, acting like an obeying puppy. Although, he wasn't feeling too good anymore inside. By now, Kendall's love towards Jo is making it harder for him to keep his promise of telling the girl his secret feelings during the trip.

Kendall laughed once more, grinning proudly for some reason. "Eventually, you'll find out what I mean when you're certain that you have found that one special girl whom you wanna live with for the rest of your life."

I think I already have, and her name is simply Jo Taylor, Carlos thought to himself.

Kendall Knight, Jo Taylor, and Carlos Garcia hopped onto their train ride towards the nearest woods. They figured that they would seem to be asking for a grand big welcoming party to run up to them if they showed up in a limo, so they all decided to keep it casual and simple by going to a local station. And apparently, they were right. So far, only a few has asked for their autographs and photos. Best of all, there were no signs of paparazzi.

And by the time they have arrived, they grabbed their belongings and walked off the train to take in the beautiful sight and smell of nature.

"You two wait right here for a few minutes! I'm gonna go and snap some photos, so our fans can see the wonders of the woods!" declared Kendall as he ran off to find some good angles for quick images.

Carlos and Jo laughed as they watched the teenage boy skipping off excitedly.

"What do you honestly see in him?" Carlos asked Jo once Kendall was out of sight, still laughing. The question wasn't meant to sound rude or anything. It was just a joke, or a small tease.

"He's incredibly talented and incredible, I guess," Jo said, smiling, as she shrugged her shoulders.

Carlos rolled his eyes while he adjusted the straps of his backpack that he was currently wearing. He then took a couple of steps closer to Jo and said, "And you're saying that I'm not?"

Jo placed her pale gentle hands on both of his shoulders and looked at him right in his eyes. "No, Carlos. You, Kendall, James, and Logan are all amazing and talented in your own ways. I'm just saying that..."

Carlos frowned, knowing that Jo couldn't quite answer and defend herself. "That Kendall's a better man than any of us are to you... I get it, Jo."

"Well, I really can't deny the fact that he's my hero or anything, but Kendall is very special to me."

"And I'm not?"

"You are too."

"How?"

Jo didn't even need a split second to answer this. It was like as if she had prepared for this moment in her entire life, and this made Carlos feel a little bit more confident.

She said, without any hesitation, "Unlike Kendall, you're probably the sweetest guy I have ever met. I mean, you hate making people cry and you hate to disappoint others... Besides that, you're a very intelligent person. Now, you may not believe it, but it's true... You got so much potential in you, Carlos. You just have to let go and be set free, like an injured bird who has been taken care of by others who have loved it... And there are so many other reasons, but—"

"Jo, I love you," Carlos blurted out, thinking that the appropriate moment of telling the truth would be now. He stayed calm and serious throughout, wanting to show how much he truly meant it.

"What?"

"I love you," Carlos repeated.

Jo laughed, finding it funny. "I love you too, Carlos... You're like the big brother I never had..."

"No, Jo... I love you," Carlos emphasized, hoping that the pretty girl would understand him.

Unfortunately, she didn't. Instead, Jo stared deep into Carlos' deep chocolate brown eyes to find the answers. Although, the only things she could see were her reflection and how the rays of the Sun were at a perfect angle, making the boy's eyes glisten.

Carlos sighed and tried this over again, saying, "I shouldn't love you, but I want to. And I can't turn away... And I really don't know how to be fine when I'm not 'cause my love for you won't stop..."

"Wait, what?" Jo blinked, snapping out of her trance. She heard Carlos loud and clearly, but she couldn't believe what he was saying to her. Could Carlos really be in love with her even though he is aware that she is taken by his best friend. "Carlos, I honestly don't know what to say right now."

"How about this?"

Without any hesitation, Carlos Garcia leaned forward and kissed the girl gently on her lips. He needed to find out if he did truly loved her or, most importantly, if she loved him back. But no. Jo didn't respond to his kiss. Instead, she quickly pulled away once their lips touched and slapped Carlos right across his face. She didn't know what was happening to the Latino, but she was obviously scared for him and herself.

"I can't be with you!" screeched Jo, taking a few safety steps back so that Carlos won't make a move again. "I'm with Kendall!"

Carlos looked down at the muddy ground. He then began counting how many leaves had fell down from the branches that belonged to a very tall redwood tree above them. And once he reached the number of twenty-five, he stopped and took in a deep breath. He felt ashamed, and he suddenly wanted to kill himself. He couldn't believe he let his actions take control of him like that. But what he really couldn't believe was that he hurt her just by one stupid and reckless kiss.

Of course, Kendall came rushing towards them with that crooked smile of his. But that smile slowly turned into a worried frown as he saw the look of terror in his girlfriend's eyes and the look of disgrace in his best friend's.

"What happened here?" Kendall asked the two, looking at them and trying to figure out by observing their body language.

Carlos and Jo nervously exchanged brief looks at each other. They really didn't want to talk right now, but they were both willing to lie for the sake of Kendall's heart. "Nothing," the said in unison.

"I just saw a lizard..." Jo mumbled, now looking away from Carlos and at her boyfriend.

"I didn't believe her..." Carlos added, nervously scratching the back of his neck. "She's seeing small creatures now, Kendall. It's kinda scaring me..."

Kendall laughed as he approached the two. He then placed his arms around both of his loved ones and pulled them closer to him, seeming as if he didn't want to let go. "Well, I am just settled for having a heck of a good time here! I'm sure there are tons of surprises coming!"

Jo sighed and mumbled under her breath, "You honestly have no idea..."

"What was that, Jo?" he asked his girlfriend, turning his head off to his left side to face the pretty blond. "Did you say something?"

Jo quickly forced a smile and responded, "I meant to say that I totally agree with you..."

"Okay, okay," Kendall laughed, facing the forest again with his own two eyes. "Let's just all enjoy these precious moments while it lasts."

"Agreed," Carlos and Jo chanted, gulping in their hard breaths.

As their one day quest in the woods continued, Carlos Garcia found himself to be trailing awfully behind the two lovebirds with his hands sticking into his pockets. He would constantly look down whenever Jo would sneak a tiny peek over her shoulders to see what the Latino was doing. Occasionally he could feel his cell phone vibrating, but he did not have the nerves to pick it up. He wished for this trip to be done and finish already, not wanting to remember that stupid little kiss that could easily ruin him and his best friend's friendship.

"Carlos, aren't you going to pick that up?" Kendall asked his friend, stopping in his tracks to face the boy. He cocked his head slightly to one side and plastered small smile, hoping to encourage the Latino.

Carlos looked up and blinked. "Come again?"

"Your phone," the tall blond added, rolling his eyes while laughing. "You should answer it. It could be something important."

"Uh, I don't want to right now…" he replied, taking a brief glance at the girl who was currently clinging onto Kendall's arms. He then looked away and sighed, knowing that he'll never know what it was like to be in love.

"We can wait, you know. Just hurry it up," Kendall assured him, laughing. He then ushered Carlos to leave, and Carlos hesitantly did so.

Carlos simply casually slipped his phone out as he let out a mocking sigh. He soon frowned once he realized that Logan was the one calling.

With one press of a button, Carlos answered the caller as he brought his phone up to his left ear, saying, "Hey. What's up?"

"This isn't Logan. It's James," a familiar voice said.

Carlos was confused by this. What was James doing with Logan's phone. "James? What do you want?"

"Logan's in a panic attack right now—along with Mrs. Knight, Katie, Gustavo, and Kelly, and it's because of you."

"Wait a second. What the hell did I do?" he snapped back, quietly yelling into the little device. He soon began to pace back and forth, getting worried. "I didn't do anything!"

"You kissed Jo. We know everything," he explained. "And how come you're answering your phone just now? We've been trying to call you for the past hour!"

Carlos shook his head frantically, wanting to get all the facts straight and ignoring James' remarks. "How did you know?"

"It's featuring on every entertainment show on television and gossip site on the whole freakin' web, Carlos. Paparazzi are everywhere. You should know better, man. This whole thing is getting insane… Our fans are… Well, they're losing their minds right now. But most importantly, they're hating on you and sympathizing with Kendall."

By then, Carlos looked back and saw Kendall and Jo talking and laughing with each other. He knew he did something so wrong, but he never actually thought that this would become a worldwide critical topic. And now he could only imagine all their fans saying how "KenJo" is way better than "CarJo", or at least something based on those lines.

"You should be lucky that no one's even thinking about contacting Kendall… How do you think he'll react when he finds this out?" James added on, sounding more furious than ever.

Carlos took in a deep breath, letting his mind freshen up. He thought about the problem through and hoped that there was no actual evidence that could prove that he and Jo, in fact, did kiss. It would be heartbreaking and the starting point of his own career flushing down a toilet. He didn't want that, that's for sure. And he really didn't want his fans to hate and bash on him. He loved them all, and if the world was gonna exclude him, then he'll be practically left with nothing.

"Is there a picture?" Carlos asked, feeling quite dumb. He knew that there was already a leaked photo of him and Jo.

Seconds later, his phone beeped. Carlos looked at its screen and saw that James had sent him two images. With a hesitant finger, he opened it and soon let his jaw drop at the sight.

In his hands was a blurry picture of Carlos smacking his lips against Jo. Then next to it was a very clear one that showed Jo slapping Carlos away from him.

He brought his cell phone back up to his ear, his hands shaking. He had no clue what to do at this point. He just wished that Kendall wouldn't be able to hear the news, but that would be impossible. It was destined to happen, and he just got to be prepared for the worst.

"Are you still there?" James asked through the line connection. "Carlos?"

Carlos gulped. "Yeah, I'm still—"

Gustavo's voice interrupted him, saying, "You are going to die, Carlos! Die, I say! Die!" It was clear that Gustavo was enraged by this.

As Gustavo kept on ranting and yelling, Carlos slowly pulled his phone away and squinted his eyes shut while pinching the bridge of his nose to tell himself to calm down.

"Uh, is everything alright?" Kendall suddenly questioned.

Carlos turned around and saw that the tall blond cocked his head slightly to one side as he raised an eyebrow at him. And at the sight of his suspicious, Carlos felt like breaking down.

Kendall went on in his interrogation. "Why is Gustavo calling you? What the heck did you do? And what is up with him freaking out and stating out death threats?"

"I think it would be better to tell you when we get home," Carlos suggested as he flipped his phone close. He thought about all the possibilities of Kendall getting reckless and hurt while they were in the woods, and he didn't want to harm him at all.

"Then we're going home," Kendall declared, grabbing Jo's hand and dragging her back to the train station. "I want to find out what happened."

A/N: So this was originally going to be a one-shot, but it's pretty long. And I don't know about you, but I get overwhelmed whenever I have to read long texts, especially when the size is miniature.

Reviews are much appreciated. Just want to hear if you guys like this or not. Even so, if you happened to read the whole thing, you just earn major, major cool points.

And this story is dedicated to three amazing writers and people: Runs with Werewolfs, iBeNinja, and TheRescuer2.