"It's the only life you got, so you got to live it big time!"
Loud cheers and applause erupted from the audience after Big Time Rush's most famous single. The boys wished the audience a safe and good night and thanked them for being so great and supporting them. They then headed off stage escorted by a couple theater body guards to their dressing rooms. The four boys ended up in Logan's dressing room. Logan, Kendall and James slumped into the couch while Carlos headed for Logan's gaming chair.
"Logan, do you mind if I watch a little TV?"
"Sure go ahead" Logan responded.
Carlos switched on the TV and turned it down while the other three talked amongst themselves.
"what a night!" Logan exhaled.
"I know. 3 shows in one day is exhausting." James agreed.
"Tell me about it. But that is the price we pay to be living this dream. Right?" Kendall asked.
"Right." the others responded.
Kelly popped in just as they all took a deep breath at the thought of going home to 2J or at least their tour bus.
"There you guys are! I've been looking all over for you. Don't get comfortable, you boys have 20 minutes to change and grab a snack. You have autographs to sign at your meet-and-greet."
"what meet-and-greet?" Carlos inquired
"well when looking over your schedule for this week you had an extra hour to yourselves and Gustavo and Griffin both decided you should spend it with your fans."
"Thank you Gustavo!" James said sarcastically throwing his hands in the air. Carlos and Logan joined in the resentment when Kendall intervened.
"GUYS!" Kendall shouted. "This is crazy. Don't you realize that without our fans we wouldn't even be a band. We would have been sent back to Minnesota and never of had this chance."
"Kendall is right" Logan agreed. "we need to remember that without are fans, we are just four hockey playing best friends. And without Gustavo and Griffin this wouldn't be possible."
"I guess you're right" Carlos chimed in.
"Great now lets go, we need to get you to the lobby now!" Kelly said urgently gesturing for them to follow her. The boys followed her after grabbing a snack and some water from the snack table. They walked down a long hallway that you could easily get lost in if you weren't careful or didn't know your way around.
"Kelly where are we going? I thought you said we were going to the lobby? "Logan asked.
"we are." She responded. "I'm taking you through the service entrances to avoid your fans for the most part. There is a bigger turn out then we thought, so there isn't enough room in the lobby or security for you to walk by safely."
"Good you're here. Dogs, I need you to get through this meet-and-greet professionally and maturely. That means no slap fights, no yelling, don't throw things and no practical jokes!" Gustavo commanded
"You also need to be courteous to ALL your fans." Kelly quickly inserted.
"even the super crazy whack jobs that you will meet" Gustavo continued.
"your table is right through this door. Sign autographs as quickly as possible but without being pushy. You've only got 1 hour and there are over 200 fans out there ready to meet you. Are you boys ready?" Kelly asked.
"Uh…what-" Was all the boys could muster out before Gustavo pushed them through the door and into the bright light into the unknown.
"And here they are; Big Time Rush!" an announcer yelled as the boys entered through the door. The four boys were temporarily stunned from the bright lights in the lobby after being in the dark hallway for several minutes. Once they came around they saw and heard hundreds of fans screaming their names and waving CD's, posters and other memorabilia to be signed.
"This way please" one of the security guards said rounding the boys up and leading them to the table a few feet away.
The boys got to their table and James and Carlos sat down. Logan looked out into the crowd before sitting down with a big smile on his face. Kendall turned to the guard who escorted them and thanked him.
"No problem. Be aware that fans can get crazy. For your own safety, I suggest that you don't hug fans just handshakes. I know it sounds a little mean but we don't have enough guards on duty to control this crowd if something happens to go wrong."
"We understand." Kendall replied for the group. "Thanks again"
Kendall then sat down next to his friends and relayed the message.
"really? No hugs?" Carlos asked in dismay.
"that does sound harsh…" Logan said.
"How can I say no to a girl who wants to hug me? Girls love me!" James said enthusiastically.
"I know guys. Just try not too. Besides Kelly did say we only have an hour. If we hug fans it'll take up time that we could use to sign more autographs. We both know Kelly and Gustavo keep us on a tight schedule to keep Griffin happy. If we leave without getting to everyone we would be betraying our fans who have supported us. This is how we can repay them for being so loyal. It wouldn't be fair to our fans if we didn't sign something or at least say hi to everyone here."
The guys agreed with Kendall as the manager came up to them to introduce himself.
"Hello, I'm Charles Smith the manager of this theater. I'm so glad you could stay for a meet and greet this evening. Is there anything I can get you gentlemen before we begin?"
Can I get some more water?" James stated holding up his empty water bottle.
"Oh and can I get some cookies?" Carlos piped in.
"Certainly." Charles replied. He called over a security guard and told him the orders. "He'll be back shortly with your requests. Would you like to begin now?"
The boys looked at each other. Logan nodded to Kendall, Carlos shrugged his shoulders, and James sat silently looking in a mirror and fixing his hair.
"I guess we are" Kendall replied for the group.
"OK then" Charles agreed. As he turned to the still screaming crowd, he grabbed a mic from his pocket and began "Ladies and Gentlemen! The moment you all have been waiting for, Big Time Rush is now ready to sign autographs for you and say hello! Due to time restrictions, we ask that you only have Big Time Rush sign only one item, not to personalize anything, and please no hugs or kisses. Handshakes only."
A small uproar from the crowd erupted after the last part of Charles' speech. The guards took their places as Charles started the line for the meet and greet. One by one fans came up to the table to get autographs from the four cute boys and to get a chance to say hello. Several made attempts to hug the boys or kiss them as they stood up to reach their smaller fans. The boys felt heart broken that they couldn't hug back and had to deny the love. Most fans were girls but the boys had quite a few male fans as well. The boys continued to greet fans and were near to the end of them all. There were only about 20 fans left to see. There was still a large crowd as fans who had gotten autographs stayed behind to snap pictures of the boys and hoped that maybe if they finished early they could get pictures with them or give them the hug they wanted to give before. The last 5 girls waiting were let in to see the boys. The first four were giddy and kept screaming as they received autographs and handshakes. The last girl remained quiet as she walked up to the table.
James was the first to greet the girl.
"Hello there!" He said happily.
She smiled as she replied "Hello James."
"Thanks for coming to our meet-and-greet, it means a lot to us"
"I'm happy to come. I'm grateful for you guys to stay and do this"
"We wouldn't be able to do this if it wasn't for fans like you. So thanks!" James said giving the girl a handshake.
She accepted gratefully as another smile came across her face. "Your welcome and Thanks to you."
Next was Carlos. He finished up his autograph and gave the girl in front of him a handshake before moving on to the last girl. He glanced up quickly to the last girl to say hello and put his head back down to sign when he did a double take to look back up at the girl. Something caught his eye but he couldn't figure out what it was.
"Thank you for coming out tonight to see us" he said to the girl still staring at her wondering what it was he saw.
" You're welcome!" She replied enthusiastically. "I was so happy that I got this chance to see you guys perform. It's so great."
"that means a lot to us" Carlos replied sincerely standing up to shake the girls' hand. "Thanks again"
"Your welcome and thank you"
The girl moved on to Logan who was already waiting leaving Carlos to sit and think a moment. He watched the girl with Logan trying to see if he could see whatever it was he saw again. James tapped him on the shoulder.
"What's up man?"
"I don't know. I thought I saw something on that girl but when I looked up again I couldn't see it whatever it was."
"Oh I see, got your eye on a new girlfriend?" James joked.
"No! That isn't it. Its something else. I cant put my finger on it." he said as he watched the girl receive a handshake from Logan.
The girl glanced back at Carlos for a couple seconds before moving on to Kendall who was getting his picture taken. He stared at the girl for those few seconds, his eyes widening. Logan turned to Carlos and James for a chat when he noticed Carlos' stare.
"Carlos?" he questioned. "Carlos!" he said louder waving his hand in front of his friend's eyes.
"Here let me try" James said. He grabbed Carlos and turned him towards him and shook him yelling "Carlos! Carlos snap out of it man!"
James' outburst caught everyone's attention. Two security guards came up to the table while three others tried to hold the crowd back from trying to see what was going on. Carlos snapped out of his trance and noticed everyone surrounding him. Before he could say a word Gustavo and Kelly came out from one of the offices off the lobby. Gustavo was angry at the outburst. "What did I say about acting out like children!" He bellowed. "I want you dogs in your dressing rooms. Now!" He gestured to 2 security guards to escort them out. Kendall turned to the last girl whose CD he needed to sign.
"Sorry about that." he apologized. "My friends can get a little crazy sometimes, and my manager doesn't really help the situation." He gave a quick laugh.
"That's ok Kendall, I actually found it funny. It's just like how you act on TV." She replied sweetly.
"Well then, I'm glad I made you laugh. Let me sign this real quick-whoa!" Kendall was grabbed by one of the security guards and forced towards the door.
"Wait a minute! I still have an autograph to sign!" He quickly struggled against the guard and got loose. He picked up the girl's CD and signed it then gave it back to her with a smile and a hand shake before saying "Thanks for being such a great fan."
"Thank you so much Kendall! I cant believe you came back just to sign my CD and a handshake." The girl said sincerely. "Words cant describe how much I appreciate this."
"It was my pleasure." He said as he gestured as if to bow.
"Kendall!" Gustavo yelled frustrated. He turned to a guard "Grab him." He barked.
The guard ran to get Kendall but tripped on the mic cord. He fell into the girl and off the platform. Kendall jumped off the platform to the girl as one other guard who was watching the crowd radioed for help.
"Are you OK?" Kendall asked concerned.
"I got bumped around is all. I'll be alright" she replied.
"here let me help you up." He got on one knee and lifted her arm around his neck. "Ready? On three. One…two..-" he was cut off by a guard that was summoned.
"Sir, I'll help her. You need to head back with the others, your manager is pretty ticked." Said the guard.
"he's always like that" He replied.
"Either way, just go. This crowd is getting a little restless after all this. It might not be safe for much longer."
Before Kendall could reply his own bodyguard Freight Train scooped him up and threw him over his shoulders and carried him off to the dressing rooms. Kendall watched the guard help the girl to make sure she was ok. The girl watched him being carried off and couldn't help but smile at his predicament. Kendall saw her smile and waved to her and she waved back until the guards blocked her sight. By the time she could see again just seconds later, he was already disappearing beyond the doors. Freight Train carried Kendall all the way to the dressing rooms. Freight Train opened the door and put Kendall down just inside. Being the big, tall guy that he was, it was already difficult to get through the door by himself let alone carrying Kendall. This time they all ended up in Carlos' dressing room.
"There you are!" Kelly said exasperated.
"Dog! You put yourself in danger and disobeyed me!" Gustavo snapped.
"One of our fans got into the middle of the chaos you started, Gustavo! I had to make sure she was alright." Kendall said trying to defend himself.
"I don't care what happened! I am the master, you are the dog. What I say goes!"
"I'm supposed to just sit back and watch disaster strike when I can do something about it?"
"No, you are supposed to sit back and let everyone do their jobs."
"Gustavo, that isn't fair! We would be nothing with out our fans. If we just walk away from them like that when we could help they would turn their backs on us." James said coming to Kendall's side.
"Yeah and then Big Time Rush would no longer exist making you a failure." Carlos reasoned.
"And that wouldn't make Griffin very happy with you would it, Gustavo?" Logan finished up.
"The boys are right." Kelly agreed. Gustavo looked at each one of them as they stated their reasons.
"Fine!" Gustavo barked. "Dogs we'll talk about this later. I'm getting on the bus." He said as he went out the door.
"Look guys, you need to be more careful. I don't know what happened out there but like Gustavo said, we will talk about it later. Right now you guys have an hour to change and just relax before we get back on the bus to your next performance." Kelly instructed. She then left to follow Gustavo on the bus.
The boys sat on the couch for a minute to think about the night's events when Logan broke the silence.
"Kendall, what happened that got Gustavo so upset?"
"Remember the last girl we were signing autographs for? Gustavo sent a security guard for me after they broke us up worried about Carlos."
"Yeah sorry about that guys." Carlos interrupted.
Don't worry about it Carlos." Kendall assured.
"Yeah it wasn't your fault dude. You cant help who you fall for." James teased.
"I told you I didn't fall in love with her!" Carlos stated punching James in the arm.
"Guys!" Logan yelled to get their attention. "Kendall what happened to the girl?"
"Oh!" Carlos said "yeah what happened?"
"Right. Anyway, Gustavo sent this guard for me to bring me behind the doors with you guys, but I was taking pictures with two girls that were before her. I just turned to the last girl to say hello when the guard grabbed me and started dragging me away. I got free of the guard and went back to the girl to sign her CD. She was the last one and it wasn't fair to her if she came all this way and waited so long for her not to get anything. It wasn't her fault this happened."
"SO you gave her an autograph, what is the big deal that has Gustavo so upset?" Logan wondered.
"I was shaking her hand and having a quick chat when I heard Gustavo and he sent another guard for me. But he tripped and knocked the girl off the platform we were on. I jumped off to see if she was ok. Before I could help her up the guard that knocked her off came to her and told me to go because the crowd was getting restless. Before I could say or do anything, Freight Train showed up and here I am."
"So is that girl alright?" Carlos asked
"I don't know. I asked her and she said she was ok, probably a little bruised but alright nonetheless."
Just then one of the theaters security guards came in to check on the boys.
"just wanted to check to see how everyone is doing. Any injuries?"
"Nope. We're good." James replied.
"How is the girl?" Carlos asked the guard
"Huh? What girl?" He wondered.
"There was a girl that was knocked off the platform-" Carlos began to explain before being cut off by the guard.
"Oh! Ok I know now. She's fine. She's getting checked out by a doctor here at the theater to make sure she didn't suffer a concussion or anything."
The boys looked relieved at the news. Carlos and Kendall both let out a sign of relief.
"Excuse me."
The boys looked up to see another security guard and an officer at their door.
"Are you boys Big Time Rush?" He asked reading the band name off his notepad.
The boys nodded in response.
"OK. I have some questions to ask you about tonight's events. No one is in trouble, I just need to get some facts for a report." The officer assured them. "I'm Officer Franks. I assume you're Kendall by the description I was given." Kendall nodded. Being the only blonde in the group sometimes made him stick out from his friends but he liked his blonde hair and so did a lot of people. It became a kind of signature for him, much like Carlos' hockey helmet.
"OK Kendall, I need you to tell me what happened with as much detail as you can remember."
Kendall explained the sequence of events once more for the officer while the others listened in.
"Carlos, what happened out there?" Kendall asked.
"I-I don't know. I cant explain it." He responded.
"Carlos we want to help you if we can." Logan said putting his arm around his best friend.
"I know you do, Logan. I'm just having a hard time understanding this myself. I saw something when I looked at that girl. I don't know what but I know I saw something. I kept staring at her thinking I would see it again. It wasn't until she looked at me when she was going to Kendall that I saw it again."
"What did you see?" James asked being serious this time.
"that's just it. I don't know! I just don't know!" he said frustratingly as he buried his face in his hands.
"then what got you so stunned?" Logan asked.
"Well, like I said when I first looked at her when I was greeting her I saw whatever it was. I did a double take, but whatever I saw wasn't there. I kept looking at her and studying her as I tried to figure out what it was. And then when she looked at me from where Kendall was it showed up again. Something was different about her. I cant find the words to describe it…"
James stood up from his spot on the couch. "Let's go see if that girl is still here. We can go see her and you can see I whatever you saw is there."
"It'll also be a good reason for us to apologize for what happened." Kendall said reminding them of this evening's events.
"Alright let's go!" Carlos said jumping up from the couch and dashing to the door.
The other boys followed right behind him. Not knowing their way, they stopped the first guard they saw. They wanted to get to the lobby and fast. The guard denied and said it might be dangerous still and Gustavo and Kelly had both told the guards to make sure the boys stay put or that their whereabouts were known at all times. Past pranks and mischief had taught the duo well about Big Time Rush's antics and now were prepared for just about anything. The boys looked defeated as they walked away back toward their dressing rooms. As soon as they were out of view Carlos immediately perked up.
"We have to get to the lobby!"
"And this is how we're going to do it" Kendall said mischievously
Logan immediately interrupted. "Wait a minute guys, if we do this then Gustavo will be really ticked off at us. We shouldn't make him anymore pissed then he already is. Remember we do have to share the bus with him for the next 3 weeks."
The other boys looked at him with a confused look. Logan was always the first one to tell them not to do something dangerous or stupid, but never warned them about Gustavo.
"You're right. Let's go." Logan said and started down one of the hallways.
The others followed as Logan led them down different hallways and through different doors. With his brain he quickly memorized they paths they had previously took. The got to the lobby after about five minutes and one dead end. They opened the door to reveal an almost empty lobby. Staff were cleaning the floors and tables, concession stand employees were shutting down. All that remained were a few guards still on duty trying to round up the last few fans that still remained for the bathrooms and finishing up their snacks and sodas. As the boys surveyed the room they noticed 2 EMTs exit the main doors with their bright orange emergency kits. On the other side of the room they noticed where they had come from; a couple chairs were set up a few feet from the platform making a make shift examination room and table. A guard noticed the boys peeking out of the doors while heading back to his station.
"What can I do for you gentlemen?"
"We were wondering if that girl was still here" James said.
"No. She left already. He's on her way to the hospital. She said she was fine, just a couple bumps and bruises. Its theater policy to send anyone who gets injured to the hospital as a precaution. Just to make sure she didn't get a concussion. She also had a cut on her leg that we patched up, but she'll be fine."
"Oh." Carlos replied disheartened at the news.
"We just wanted to apologize for what happened tonight" Logan said also a little saddened by the news.
"I don't think she minds." The guard started. "The entire time we were with her we were talking about what happened. She loves you guys. She said this was one of the best nights she has ever had in a long time."
Carlos looked up at the guard, happy to hear the girl wasn't mad with them even though that it was mostly his fault she got hurt. The guard rounded up the boys and led them back to the dressing rooms where an impatient looking Gustavo was waiting. The boys eyes widened upon seeing him. They all looked at each other with a worried look before they unanimously tried speaking at once. Gustavo put his hand up to silence them.
"Dogs." He said gruffly. "You were right. Helping your fans shouldn't be a bad thing. You would be nothing without them. And as much as I hate to admit it, I would be nothing with out you. I would have been back home with my folks if you boys didn't come along."
"I'm sorry too Gustavo." Kendall started. "We should listen to you every now and then. We arent in Minnesota anymore and things are different here. You have more experience at this then we do."
"And I'm sorry too Gustavo. It was my fault this happened" Carlos said.
"Yeah we're sorry." James and Logan said simultaneously.
"Great, now that that is all settled, let's get on the bus to your next destination!" Kelly said enthusiastically as she popped into the room.
They guys all looked at her with confused/surprised faces wondering how long she had been there and how she got there.
"well? Come on!" She said waving her hand at them to get their attention.
They snapped out of it and began following her. They looked back at each other with questioning faces and shrugging their shoulders as they walked out of the room. Carlos and James grabbed a snack off one of the tables before staff took it away and boarded the bus while waiting for the roadies to check in to give the all clear.
They took off minutes later and headed for the next spot on their tour. Carlos kept thinking about the girl he saw and what would happen. He also hoped he would see her again. He never talked about her with the others again but still kept wondering what it was that caught his attention. For the next few weeks the boys played show after show with little time for rest in between. Their shows jumped all around along the east coast of the United States. One concert was in West Virginia and the next was in Maine then they headed back down to Vermont. They couldn't understand this by Kelly and Gustavo told them it came with the territory.
Each concert, especially those close to where he first saw the girl, Carlos would look out at the crowd before going on in hopes that maybe he would see her again. Even while he danced he focused more on his search then he did his singing or dancing. Big Time Rush had a decent fan base for a new band but most concerts weren't more then 1,000 people some were as little as 250 making it easier to scan the crowd. It would have been easier if they had more meet-and-greets, but after the chaos that ensued the first time, Gustavo and Kelly both agreed it would be wise to hold off on them for a while.
"I guess she didn't forgive us…" Carlos said disheartened one night after their performance. "I really wanted to apologize to her. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to."