A few things I need to say before introducing this chapter. First of all, when I'm finished with this fic (one chapter to go!) I intend to write a Carlos-centric romance fic. Not gonna say yet who his love interest is, although I will tell you that she is 100% female and is not an OC. And it will also have hints of Logan/Camille in it. Because I love them.
Secondly, I posted a second LoganxCamille video on YouTube. There's a link in my profile if you want to check it out.
Thirdly, if you haven't read "Big Time Thunderstorm" by Live Laugh Love 2009, you ought wander over to it and take a little gander. It's a fun read.
Now I shall let you read the fourth chapter. I hope it was worth the wait. Please review!
I don't own Big Time Rush or the song "Show Me The Way" by Styx.
The Warning Signs
Chapter Four: Handle With Care
"And then Wesley goes, 'I'm Camille's boyfriend.'"
"What?" Logan's friends cried in unison.
Logan threw his arms in the air. "I know, right?"
"She has a boyfriend?" Kendall cried.
"I don't get it," Jo exclaimed. "Camille never told me about a boyfriend. She would have told me if she had a boyfriend."
"Ex-boyfriend," Logan amended.
"Wait, wait," Carlos replied. "You just said that this…Wesley guy said that he was Camille's boyfriend."
"He did," Logan said. "But then Camille explained that they broke up before he moved to New York to star on Broadway."
"So…Camille doesn't have a boyfriend?" James said.
"Wait, how long did it take for her to correct him?" Jo wondered. "Did she like, interrupt him or did she wait until he left the room?"
"Does it matter?" Logan asked. "Look, I never told you guys this before but…I have a bit of a…crush…on Camille."
"No, really?" James asked, feigning surprise.
"But it doesn't matter anymore, because Wesley's back doing musical theatre in LA and he's staying at the Palm Woods."
"I don't get it," Kendall said. "If Camille and the blond guy broke up two years ago, what's the problem?"
"They broke up because he moved away," Logan explained. "But he's back now. Nothing's stopping them from getting back together."
Jo crossed her arms, staring pointedly at Logan. "Nothing?"
"And why wouldn't Camille get back with that guy?" Logan continued. "He's like eleven foot five. He could probably lift a semi."
"I highly doubt that," Kendall replied.
"Plus, they've known each other since they were seven. Childhood sweethearts. How can I compete with that? I haven't even known her for four months."
"But it's been a pretty awesome four months, right?" Jo pointed out.
"More like an awesome two weeks," James corrected her. "Logan was afraid of Camille up until our party."
"But Camille's been crushing on Logan since you guys got here. She told me so herself." Jo turned to Logan. "Camille is head over heels for you."
"Until last night," Carlos chimed in. "You know, when she started acting all weird and ditching you at her party and not returning your phone calls and inviting Jo on your date…"
Kendall socked Carlos on the shoulder. "Stop helping, man."
Carlos rubbed his shoulder. "Mean!"
"Ignore Carlos," James told Logan. "If you like her, man, you have to fight for her. If you just sit back and let this guy win, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."
"Or, you know, until some other girl shows some interest in him," Kendall added.
"Kendall!" Jo cried. She socked Kendall on the arm even harder than he had hit Carlos. Then she faced Logan. "James is right, Logan. You need to go to her."
Logan looked around. "What, now?"
"Yes!" Jo replied. "Go! Now!"
"But what do I…?"
"Just be honest with her," Jo instructed.
"But what if I…?"
"You won't," Jo assured him.
"But how can I…?"
"There's only one way to find out," Jo replied.
"How did you know what I was gonna…?"
"You're predictable. Now go."
"Should I put on more aftersh…?"
"Go!" his friends cried in unison.
"Okay, okay," Logan muttered, as his friends ushered him out the door.
After a rather forceful shove from his best friends, Logan stumbled into the hallway. Regaining his composure after a couple of younger girls walked by him giggling, Logan marched toward the elevator determinedly.
"Camille," he mumbled to himself as he hit the button for the elevator. "I want to tell you that…I want to know if…"
He heard the elevator ding. The doors opened, and to his utter surprise, Wesley stepped off.
"Hey, uh, Wesley," Logan said.
Wesley put a hand on Logan's shoulder. "It's Landon, right?"
"Yeah," Logan replied. "Wait, I mean, no."
"You are just the guy I was looking for," Wesley told him, turning the smaller teenage boy around and steering him away from the elevators.
"Me?" Logan asked. "Are you sure? Because I think there's a Landon on this floor if he's really the one you want…"
"Let me get right to the point," Wesley interrupted him.
"The point?" Logan repeated.
The next thing he knew, Wesley had him backed against the door of one of Logan's second floor neighbors. He stabbed his finger in Logan's face. "Stay away from Camille," he hissed.
"What?"
"You heard me," Wesley replied. "Stay away from Camille."
Logan tried to stand tall, but it was hard to do when backed against the door of apartment 2F by a guy twice his size. "But I lo…"
"No you don't," Wesley cut him off. "You know why?"
"Because…you said so?" Logan guessed.
"Because Camille is my girlfriend. We've known each other since we were seven, and I've known we were soul mates since I was Humpty Dumpty and she was Mother Goose in our second grade play."
"But, you know, second graders are often wrong about that sort of thing," Logan pointed out logically. "When I was seven I thought I was gonna marry a girl named Holly Kuliguski, but then she moved to Nebraska in the middle of the school year…"
"I don't care," Wesley cut him off, "about Holly Kuli…whatever."
"Kuliguski," Logan replied. "It's Polish."
"I don't care!" Wesley cried. "Just stay away from my girlfriend."
And with that, Wesley turned and marched back toward the elevators.
Logan took a bold step forward. "But she said that you're not her boyfriend."
Wesley turned back around, and to Logan's surprise, he looked amused. "That's what she said this morning," he replied with a laugh. "But after you left, I asked her out on a date by the pool tomorrow for lunch. She said yes."
Logan searched for a comeback as Wesley stepped onto the elevator.
"Yeah well...I bet you suck at hockey! Your shirt is stupid! AND NOBODY KNOWS WHO THEY WANT TO SPEND THEIR LIFE WITH IN SECOND GRADE!"
But Wesley probably hadn't heard any of that. The elevator door was already closed and the tall blond boy was out of sight.
The door to apartment 2F opened and a young boy stepped out.
"Oh, hi Landon," Logan greeted the boy.
"I'm in third grade," the boy informed him.
Logan stared back at the boy, confused. "Um…good for you."
"Do you really think my shirt is stupid?"
xoxoxo
Every night I say a prayer in the hopes that there's a heaven…
The blaring music lulled James out of his fitful slumber. He sat up and looked around the room. Carlos and Kendall were still sleeping, although James had no idea how.
Logan's bed was empty, which wasn't unusual for Logan even at 7:30 am. But it was unmade, which was unusual for Logan, who was the only one of the four who ever bothered to make his bed. None of the others ever saw the point. It was just gonna be slept in again.
And every night I'm more confused as the saints turn into sinners…
This was also unusual for Logan. He was normally considerate in the morning, and never played loud music that would wake the others. And his choice in songs… Really? Show Me The Way? Again? Hadn't he gotten enough of this song?
James rolled out of bed and stumbled into the living room. He was about to yell at his friend for waking him up, but what he saw when he got there made him forget all of the vicious words he'd planned to use. There was his friend listening to his Styx and sobbing into a half-empty bucket of rocky road ice cream.
"Logan?" he said, turning down the volume of the blaring music.
Logan looked up at James, teary-eyed. "This song is so…powerful."
James nodded, concerned. "Logan, this wouldn't have anything to do with Camille's date today, would it?"
Logan shook his head. "It's the song. It's so…powerful."
"Right," James replied, turning around and racing back to their shared bedroom. He hated to leave Logan in this state, but he couldn't console him on his own either. This was a three-man job. He needed to wake the others.
"Carlos!" he shouted as he burst into the room. "Kendall! Wake up!"
He rolled his eyes as Carlos continued to snore away and Kendall rolled over contently in his bed. He picked up a spray bottle that he kept on his night stand for these kinds of emergencies as spritzed Kendall twice in the face.
"Hey," Kendall mumbled groggily, wiping his damp face with his Spongebob Squarepants bed sheet. "Do you mind?"
"Get up," James instructed, ignoring his friend's complaints. He turned to Carlos. "Piranhas!" he shouted.
Carlos sat bolt upright in his bed. "Where?" he shouted, his eyes now wide open.
"James, what is going on?" Kendall asked. "Why'd you wake us up at…7:36 in the morning?"
"Look, I'm sorry," James replied. "But it's an emergency."
"Are there really piranhas?" Carlos asked. "They don't have piranhas in LA, do they?"
"Piranhas only live in the water, stupid," Kendall replied. He tended to be a bit testy in the morning. "They're fish."
"Hey, I'm not stupid!" Carlos defended himself.
"Why would there by piranhas in your bed?"
"Because James put them there as a joke?"
"I wouldn't put carnivorous fish in your bed as a joke," James said.
"Then where did the piranhas come from?" Carlos asked.
"There are no piranhas!" Kendall cried.
"Right," Carlos said. "I forgot."
"REALLY, Carlos?"
"Hey, I'm not dumb. I'm just tired! And you're mean!"
"Guys!" James shouted. "Can we focus?"
Carlos and Kendall snapped their heads in James's direction. "What?" they both shouted angrily.
Finally, he'd gotten their attention.
James looked at his friends seriously. "It's Logan."
xoxoxo
"Hey," Jo said, bursting into apartment 2J.
"Hey Jo," James greeted her. "It's about time you got here. Did you…Did you just wake up?"
"Yeah. So?"
"So it's almost noon," Kendall told her.
Jo shrugged. "Your point?"
James shook his head. "Never mind. Carlos is at the computer and he says he found something important."
"Where's Logan?" she asked.
Kendall grabbed Jo by the hand and led her to the bathroom door. He opened it to reveal Logan standing in front of the bathroom mirror, talking to himself completely unaware that he was being observed.
"Hey Camille," he told the mirror. "How's it going? Oh really? You two are back together? Well that's great. I couldn't be happier for you.
"Has he been like this all morning?" Jo whispered.
Kendall shook his head. "Just since eleven. Before this he stared at his phone for two hours asking us if we thought the ringer was broken and checking it every few minutes to make sure he hadn't set it to silent and accidentally missed a call."
"And I'm guessing this isn't normal Logan behavior?"
"Are you kidding?" Kendall replied. "This isn't normal human behavior."
"I'm doing great," Logan told the bathroom mirror. "The music career is going awesome. Not to mention all of the girls who are totally into me."
Kendall slammed the bathroom door shut. "Either he's trying to convince the bathroom mirror that that's actually true or he's completely delusional."
Jo nodded. "I can see why you called me over here."
"Guys!" they heard Carlos cry from the computer. "Come on! You need to see this!"
Soon James, Kendall and Jo were gathered around Carlos at the computer, reading the screen over his shoulder.
"5 Signs His Heart is Breaking," Kendall read aloud. "That sounds kind of serious."
"Hello, did you see Logan when I woke you guys up this morning?" James replied. "This is serious."
"Is he showing the symptoms?" Jo asked.
"You be the judge," Carlos replied. "Does this sound familiar? 'Number five: He eats uncontrollably.'"
"Does he?" she asked.
"Let's see," Kendall said. "This morning he ate a single serving microwave pizza…"
"Nearly half a gallon of ice cream," James added.
"Six Double Stuf Oreos," Carlos continued.
"Two handfuls of trail mix," James went on.
"Three breakfast burritos," Kendall put in.
"And a package of chocolate chip cookie dough," Carlos finished.
"So…that's a yes," Jo concluded.
"You think?" Kendall replied.
"'Kay, keep reading," James instructed.
"'Number four,'" Carlos read. "'Music makes him cry.'"
James rolled his eyes. "Don't even get me started."
"He cried?" Jo asked. "I've never seen Logan cry."
"You don't want to," James replied. "His eyes get all red and squinty and he can't close his mouth no matter how hard he tries. Not to mention, it's like snot city. It's not pretty."
"All right. Two for two," Jo said. "Keep going, Carlos."
"'Number three,'" Carlos continued. "'He constantly checks his phone.'"
"I think we already covered that," Kendall said.
Jo nodded. "Yeah. You told me about that. So what's next on the list?"
"'Number two,'" Carlos went on. "'He rehearses what he wants to say to her.'"
Jo wrinkled her nose. "Just witnessed that. It was disturbing."
James nodded. "The boy is messed up. What's the last one, Carlos?"
Before Carlos could read the last symptom aloud, the bathroom door swung open and Logan appeared before them dressed in camouflage and wearing a cap disguised as a plant.
The four of them looked up at him sheepishly, hoping he could not tell from their expressions that they'd been talking about him. He merely crossed his arms and shook his head at the four of them.
"Heeey, Logan," Kendall said. "What's happening?"
"You guys have been spending too much time at the computer," Logan replied. "It's unhealthy."
Carlos laughed awkwardly. "Unhealthy, yeah. You're probably right."
Rolling his eyes, Logan strolled across the room to the front door.
"Hey, where are you going?" Carlos asked him.
"To the pool," Logan said simply.
"Don't you think camouflage is a little…out of season?" James asked. "And what's with the plant hat?"
"It's almost noon, and I want to spy on Camille's date."
Before any of them could reply, Logan was out the door. The four exchanged nervous glances.
"I hate to state the obvious," Jo said, "but I don't think that's a good sign."
"You're telling me," Carlos replied. "That's warning sign number one." They all turned to the computer screen. "'Number one,'" Carlos read. "'He has urges to spy on her.'"
Jo bit her lip nervously.
Kendall sighed. "So. What do we do?"
xoxoxo
Logan ducked behind the bushes when he saw Camille and Wesley approaching. Before them was a table set for two, just far enough from the pool that they couldn't be splashed by the water or hit in the head by stray beach balls. Like any gentleman would, Wesley pulled out her chair for her as she sat down. Yes, this looked very much like a date.
Camille said something to Wesley as his took his seat, but Logan couldn't make out exactly what it was. He wished he'd chosen a closer hiding place.
Wesley placed a wicker basket on the table between them. A picnic lunch by the pool. Darn it, that was romantic. He began pulling food out of the basket. A foot long sub sandwich. What looked like a carton of fruit salad. A plate of jello squares. A bottle of sparkling cider and two champagne glasses. This was not looking good for Logan.
Wesley leaned across the table and whispered something into Camille's ear. She laughed her sweet little laugh, which normally sounded beautiful in Logan's ears. But she was laughing at whatever Wesley said, so now it only sounded like defeat.
So, that concludes chapter four. I hope it was sufficient. It seems short to me, but I think it's just because I usually write really long chapters in all of my stories. So let me know what you thought. I hate to beg, but please please please please please review!
The next chapter is the last one. It's all leading up to this. Stay tuned, because it's gonna be exciting (I hope). I've already written parts of it, so hopefully I'll be able to update soon.
I love you all!
:)Bubbles
Last Chapter: Chemical Reaction May Occur