Yeah! This chapter came up quick. I guess that's what happens when you leave me with a laptop, a whole bunch of free time, and nothing to do. XD

Enjoy this semi-long chapter!

Carlos would admit that when he first arrived at Danielle's party, he felt a little uncomfortable. But as he and Rafael continued talking and meeting with everyone, Carlos began to blend right in.

When Dani was able to find the two Garcia brothers, she pulled them to her group that sat on the couch. "Hey guys!" she called out. Three girls and a guy on the couch looked up and waved as they saw Dani approaching with her guests. "This is my boyfriend Rafael. And this is his brother, Carlos."

One of Dani's friends recognized Carlos instantly. Her little sister was a huge Big Time Rush fan.

Carlos jumped when the stereo was turned on.

"Hey, Carlos!" One of Dani's friends called out. "Why don't you show off those dance moves of yours?"

Rafael gently nudged him, making Carlos step forward into the middle of the large living room.

Carlos wasn't shy or nervous. He started dancing, allowing his body and the sound music to guide him. When he heard people beginning to cheer him on, he danced even more. The only thing that stopped him was the song coming to an end and the "DJ" wondering what song to put on next.

After a couple of songs, Dani approached the Garcia brothers with two drinks in her hands. "Here you go," she said as she handed them the drinks.

Carlos started looking into the cup, almost as if he were inspecting it. Danielle noticed right away. She giggled. "Relax, Carlos. It's just punch."

Carlos laughed nervously. "I can't help that my dad's a cop. And back in LA, our producer and his assistant always warn us about Hollywood parties. You never know who handles the drinks, you know?"

"Well I know who handled our drinks," Rafael said before he took a sip from the cup. He smacked his lips in satisfaction. "Thanks Dani."

Carlos shrugged and started drinking from his cup. The punch was good, but he hated the strange aftertaste it left in his mouth.

Carlos downed the rest of the punch in his cup, but wasn't in the mood to get himself another cup. The aftertaste was just too bad. He went to where the snacks were laid out and began devouring chips and dip.

Carlos barely got picked his third chip, but put it back in the bowl when his stomach did a thousand flips. He groaned as the feeling of nausea continued to grow.

Rafael. Carlos needed to find Rafael. He scanned the house, his shoulders slumping when his brother was nowhere to be seen.

"Dani!" he called out to the red head as he saw her exit the kitchen. He quickly approached her, feeling his knees wobble a few times. "H-have you seen Rafael?"

Danielle began to think. "Um...I think one of the guys took him to the garage." She noticed the dazed and tired look in his eyes. "Are you okay, Carlos? You seem sick."

"Just a little dizzy," Carlos truthfully replied.

"Oh you poor thing," she replied out of sympathy. She felt his forehead. "I think you may be getting sick." She grabbed his arm and walked him a few steps. She pointed down a hallway. "You see down that hallway? My room's the last door on the left. Why don't you go lay down and I'll look for Rafael, okay?"

Carlos nodded. "Thanks, Dani," he replied, feeling completely exhausted. He followed her instructions without question. He passed three rooms before coming to Danielle's.

The picture on the dresser was proof that this was Danielle's room. There was a picture of her and Rafael together, his arm wrapped around her waist.

Carlos slowly crawled into the bed in the room and plopped on his back. He was laying down but he still didn't feel good. The world around him was still spinning, if not faster than it was a few minutes ago. He groaned in discomfort. Carlos wanted nothing more than for Rafael to walk through that door, ready to take him home.

But that's not what happened.

The door opened slowly. Carlos perked up his eyebrows, but his demeanor dropped when he realized that it was just Danielle.

"Sorry, Carlos," she said, seeming sincere. "We couldn't find Rafael."

"M-maybe someone should call him," Carlos suggested.

"I did," Danielle answered quickly. "I also left him a message to meet us in here." She took a seat on the bed. "Why don't you just wait here for him, okay?"

Carlos nodded in obedience, too tired to argue or suggest something else. He whimpered as his dizziness continued to overpower him.

"Shh," Danielle whispered. Carlos could feel her slowly running her fingers up and down his arm. "I'm sure you'll be okay by tomorrow."

Carlos felt his eyelids getting heavier, and everything at this point started to become one large blur.

"I'll keep you company until Rafael comes," Carlos heard her say. He felt Danielle's hot breath tickle his ear, and he squirmed, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. He could feel a small hand touch his chest and run up and down his torso.

"Wh-what are you doing?" he tried to asked, but he could hardly talk. Instead, his words had just slurred together, as if he was drunk.

Danielle didn't answer him...or at least, he didn't hear her say anything as she began running her fingers through his hair.

"Where's Rafael?" Carlos asked, hoping his words were clear enough for her to hear.

"I'm sure he's coming soon," Danielle replied softly, once again saying her answer into his ear as she continued softly ruffling his hair. "Just be patient and relax."

"I don't feel good," Carlos said pathetically. "M-maybe we should call Rafael again."

Carlos started reaching his hand into his pocket. His actions weren't very fast, due to whatever he was sick with. His hands were shaking weakly, and that kind of scared him.

But he became even more scared when he felt Danielle harshly grab at his wrist. "Don't," she whispered in his ear. But instead of her gentile voice, it was replaced by a harsh command, which made Carlos' heart beat ten times faster.

Carlos started breathing heavily. "Bu-but I need him," he said in a pleading voice. "I'm really sick."

"And Rafael is obviously busy." There it was again. The mean voice. It was as if the Danielle that Carlos had met at the airport and had dinner with was gone.

"Wh-what are you gonna do with me?" Carlos asked. He felt his eyes watering up as he thought up of worst case scenarios.

He felt her hand running up and down his torso once again, which he weakly swatted away. "S-stop. Please."

"Or you'll do what?" Danielle asked. "Fight me? You can barely move."

Through the fog in his eyes, Carlos could see the devilish smile forming on Danielle's face. "Please don't do anything, Dani. Think about Rafael."

"I am," Danielle replied with a smile.

Carlos breathed in sharply. "I promise I won't tell him anything if you just let me go." He couldn't believe he had just made a promise like that.

Danielle shook her head. "I know Rafael isn't going to find out." Danielle's voice sounded distant. "You won't remember a thing. I promise."

Carlos began shaking as Danielle began touching him everywhere.

"What did you do to me?" he asked.

Danielle smiled once again. Carlos was really starting to hate her and her smile. She kissed his cheek. "Just something to get you into a party mood. I know you'll thank me later."

Carlos weakly begged her to back off, but to no avail. He was surprised he was able to hold a conversation that long with the way he felt. Carlos weakly fought Danielle away. Whatever she had given him, whatever she poisoned him with, was having a powerful effect on him.

He felt Danielle plant another kiss on his face, then Carlos' world became black.

Carlos groaned as he woke up the next day. He was completely confused because he found himself in the guest room of Rafael's apartment.

So the question on his mind was: how'd he get here?

Carlos felt like mentally slapping himself. This is Rafael's place. He shouldn't be surprised to wake up here. Rafael brought him over all the time.

The party probably ended late. Rafael became extremely exhausted, so instead of dropping off Carlos at their parents' house, Rafael just took him home. Yeah, that had to be it. That was the only logical explanation Carlos could think of.

So why did he feel so...icky?

Carlos slowly rose from his bed, almost falling down when a wave of dizziness struck him. He took several deep breaths before the room stopped spinning.

"Rafael," Carlos addressed his older brother when he finally made it the kitchen. Rafael was cooking something that smelled amazing. "I-is that breakfast?"

Rafael shook his head. "You slept through the entire morning," he replied. "This is lunch." He practically shoved the spoon he was cooking with into Carlos' face. "Wanna try? I'm making spaghetti sauce...from scratch."

Carlos almost said yes, but the sight of the food made his stomach churn. He made a face, which Rafael noticed instantly, and shook his head.

"Still sick, little bro?" Rafael asked, truly concerned. Carlos nodded, making Rafael abandon his food to feel Carlos forehead. "Well you don't have fever..." he trailed off.

Carlos nodded as he groaned. "Wh-what happened last night?" he finally asked.

"You don't remember?" Rafael asked, Carlos shaking his head in response. "Yeah. Dani said you were pretty out of it."

Carlos raised his eyebrows. "Dani?" he asked. "What'd she say?"

"That you suddenly got sick after eating the chips," Rafael replied simply. "She said she led you to her room so you could lay down a bit. By the time she found me, you were out cold. We tried waking you up, a few times you did wake up, muttering something no one really understood." Rafael sighed. "Dani said that there was lobster in that dip you ate."

Carlos gave Rafael a surprised look. When he was seven, Carlos had an aunt and uncle that came over to visit his family for a month. It was nice having them over, but there was a dinner prepared by Tia Carmen that went horribly wrong.

Tia Carmen made lobster...and didn't cook it right.

Carlos sat at the dinner table, feeling completely obligated to eat the undercooked lobster that was making his stomach feel weird. When he finally finished his dinner, he said good night to his family, then went to the bathroom, throwing up everything he had eaten that day.

Growing up, the sight or smell, even a mention of lobster made Carlos want to hurl. To him, lobster brought back memories of the badly done meal, so he always stayed away from it...

...until he moved to LA.

A few months ago, Griffin had a dinner thrown for Fujisaki and everyone who worked for him. The guest list included Big Time Rush. They were at the very bottom of the list (they were able to peek a glance at it), but they were happy that Griffin even thought of them at all.

Carlos was excited...until he found out the the main course was lobster. His friends looked to him in worry. He could do this. It was just one night, right? And who knows? This is Griffin. It only makes sense that he recruited the best chefs to cook this meal.

And Carlos was right. He ate the lobster and had no problems. He didn't feel sick at all that night. And the lobster was definitely cooked. Carlos didn't think twice before thanking the chef for not ruining the dinner.

So if Carlos didn't have a bad reaction to lobster then, why was he having one now?

Carlos shrugged. Maybe he had just gotten lucky at Griffin's dinner. Yeah. That was it.

"Anyway," Rafael said. "Dani said she's really sorry for making you sick. She knew about your distaste for lobster, but a lot of chaos went on last night and she completely forgot. She says she wants to make it up to you."

Carlos nodded in understanding. "It's okay. I understand. Tell her no need to worry. What happened last night wasn't her fault."

Of course, what happened last night was still all a blur to Carlos. The only source of information was Danielle through Rafael. Though Carlos trusted the two of them, he hated the fact that he couldn't remember anything, because really, he felt that something important was being left out of the story.

Whoa. If you need me...I'll be upping the rating to this.

Awwww Carlos doesn't remember a thing :(

Hey TotallyLosingIt, you didn't see that coming, huh?...Well it's okay...cuz I didn't see that coming either. I guess writing this chapter while watching a marathon of Law and Order SVU had something to do with it... :O

So what's y'all think?