ONE MAN WRITING GAMES NOTE: Thanks for the reviews! This is a short author's note to say…sorry, but this is another bridge chapter. It's going to be longer than the last, but it's still setting up absolutely everything for chapter 5—which, you know, is where the real drama begins. And which, you know, I'll probably be posting the same day that I post this chapter.

*This chapter is another one with interchanging point of views, but eventually it will become general..

Disclaimer: I do not own Big Time Rush or any of its characters.

4. Anger

"What do you mean, James is missing?" Mrs. Knight demanded over the phone, and Kendall flinched a bit at her tone. He nearly dropped James' comb, but he held onto it tightly; the thing had already been abandoned by its beloved owner—it definitely didn't need Kendall to drop it.

And Kendall knew James being gone was seriously affecting his mental health, because he just put the feelings of an inanimate object into consideration.

"I mean," Kendall said into the phone, shaking his head. "That I was outside with him, but then one thing led to another and we ended up playing tag…sort of. And it wasn't a really good idea for me, because I really had to pee. So I went back inside, but James didn't because he got sick from all the food he ate. So I was waiting for Carlos and Logan to get their butts in gear, and I was texting James. And then when we all came out like, five minutes later, he was…gone. And he's not answering our calls or anything." When Kendall finished this explanation, he felt ridiculous. He sounded like a little boy who was asking his parents to scope his room for monsters. He wasn't like that; he was the strong one, the leader. He was the one who was supposed to tough it up and make things right again. He wasn't going to sound like some pussy in front of people who looked up to him.

On the other line, Mrs. Knight decided something that one might think of as irrational or stupid. "I want you to listen to me, and do everything I say." She started, her tone serious. Kendall knew she meant business, and didn't dare interrupt her. "I want you to leave Five Guys and come home. Right now,"

Kendall brought the phone away from his ear and looked at it, making sure that this was his mother that he was talking to and not some alien. After reading that the caller ID did, in fact, say "Mommy," he put the phone back to his ear. "Did you hear me? I said that James is missing, and you want—"

Mrs. Knight cut him off abruptly. "First things first, do not use that tone with me." She said harshly, and Kendall shrunk back at bit. "Second, I told you not to question what I'm telling you. Get in the car and come home right now." Kendall was about to protest again, but his mother had already hung up on him. Sighing, he closed his phone and shoved it back into his pocket.

"What did your mom say?" Carlos asked anxiously. Kendall turned to him, but did not look at the helmet wearing teenager; he was too busy fiddling with the comb that belonged to his best friend.

When he did look up, he noticed that both Carlos and Logan were staring at him waiting for an answer. Still playing with James' lucky comb, he answered, "She told us to go home." He said, but it sounded more like a question to his ears than a response.

Carlos' eyebrows scrunched together, perplexed. "But that makes no sense! What if James came back? Then he wouldn't know we were home and he'd just be even more lost."

Kendall shook his head, not knowing what to say. He agreed with Carlos' reasoning, but he did not want to argue against what his mother said. Mrs. Knight had helped him and his friends through so many tough spots before, and although what she suggested might have seemed crazy at first, it always worked out in the end. Even though Kendall strongly disagreed with her reasoning now, he knew he should probably listen to her. She had never failed him before now.

Logan looked at Carlos, shaking his head as well. "She wants us to go home because if James does come back, he'll call one of us and all we'd have to do is come get him. It's pointless to wait out here for someone who we do not even know is coming back." He said. "And besides, he might be on his way home now anyway."

Again, Kendall shook his head. "He would have called us if he were going home. I would know," he said. "I have the feeling that something is not right here. But while I agree with you, Carlos, I also agree with Logan and my mom—the best place to go right now is home. James is smart enough to figure out that's where we went if he comes back here."

Carlos nodded, but he still did not particularly agree with his friend's decisions. Putting his own feelings aside, he walked to Logan's car anyway, still feeling uneasy about leaving James behind. Kendall and Logan quickly followed suit, Logan taking out his car keys from his back pocket.

Logan and Carlos in the front two seats and Kendall in the back, Logan began to back his car out of his parking space at Five Guys. They were all silent as they turned onto the highway, and hadn't spoken once when they reached the intersection that would bring them onto the road to the Palm Woods Resort.

The lack of sound in a car full of sixteen-year-old males could have been due to anything; they were all sleeping, or perhaps none of them had vocal chords to speak. But as rare as it was for normal teenage boys to sit in a car without making a single sound (other than breathing, of course), it was even more rare for the boys of Big Time Rush to accomplish this silent trip. The reason for this lack of noise was really that they were all off in their own little worlds.

Logan, for one, was feeling calm but conflicted. Although he was not sure what had happened to James or where he went, he didn't see the point in freaking out about it. Freaking out only made you lose your common sense, and common sense is something that Logan relied on all too often. Common sense is not so common, and Logan always made sure he was the one that you could always find it in. However, right now his best friend was failing him; there was no way James would have run off by himself, especially in an area that he was not familiar with. Something horrible must have happened to James to make him leave his friends as abruptly as he did, but Logan didn't want to dwell on this. After all, keeping your cool was the only thing Logan knew how to do in stressful situations like this.

On the other hand, Carlos was feeling just disturbed. He didn't agree with Mrs. Knight's plan at all, and leaving Five Guys behind was like leaving a part of himself behind. He had a feeling that James was still there, even if this feeling was only there because that's where he last saw James. But regardless, Carlos felt extremely uneasy about leaving Five Guys without James. He and James had never been particularly close, but they were friends nonetheless. Carlos didn't feel it was right to leave James behind when they hadn't even searched for him for that long.

But Kendall was definitely thinking and feeling the worst things. He felt like he was going to throw up, and he kept thinking James had been raped and killed and was now lying dead on the side of the road. Other scenarios involved the same thing, only James had been cut into many pieces and shoved into a freezer. Kendall's imagination got the best of him sometimes, but this was only when he was feeling worried. Kendall wanted to believe that his mother knew best, but he just had a gut feeling that James would not be calling them any time soon. Quite frankly, the only thing that was keeping him from jumping out of the car and screaming his head off were the now familiar teeth of James' comb. Kendall had a feeling that it was the most tangible thing he could get to represent James, and he just pretended that this comb was actually his best friend.

All three in their separate worlds, they felt no need to talk to one another. After all, they had their own me, myself, and I's to talk to.

Carlos and Kendall were vaguely aware when they pulled into the parking lot of the Palm Woods, their temporary home in Los Angeles. Of course Logan was, for he had to watch the road no matter how much he desired to think.

Logan turned off the engine, but not one of the boys made a move to get out of the car. It felt almost as if they were bound there, like some invisible force was stopping them to get out of the car.

And all three of them knew it was because James being gone meant that something was definitely not right.

James was stunned in to silence. For one, he didn't even recall ever putting Gustavo's telephone number into his contacts. Putting this fact aside, however, he was more surprised that Rick even called Gustavo in the first place. James had been sure that when Rick was scrolling through his contacts, he had been looking for Kendall's name so that Rick could mess with him. He had even confirmed that Kendall was, indeed, the name of James' best friend! The fact that Rick had turned around and called Gustavo instead was surprising to James, although he figured it shouldn't have been.

Gustavo, as well, was silent on the other line. Rick definitely noticed this, and said, "Fine. If you're not going to guess, I'm just going to have to tell you." Gustavo still hadn't said anything, and James wondered if he was even still on the phone.

"Well," Rick said, walking around the room. James flinched every time the man neared him, but Rick didn't seem to notice. "I met one of your buddies down at Five Guys. You know, James Diamond? He was a little reluctant at first, but I just had to hang out with him."

On the other end, realization seemed to dawn on Gustavo. One, this definitely was the Richard Rolle that he hadn't seen for a decade, the one that was his ex-best friend. Two, he had to have James with him; looking at his caller ID, Gustavo noticed that the call was being made from the dog's cell phone.

"What are you doing with one of the dogs?" He demanded, his deep voice booming over the phone. Richard laughed and turned to James.

"Why don't you tell him, dog?" Rick asked James, patting the sixteen year old on the shoulder. James flinched, not liking the close vicinity with Rick. He shook his head, also not wanting to let Gustavo know he was here.

Rick didn't seem to appreciate him, because he slapped James for the third time that day. James screamed in protest, and then turned his head to the phone grumpily.

"Hi Gustavo," He said glumly, his cheek still stinging from the slap he had just received. "What's up?"

James winced at Gustavo's tone in his answer. "What's up? WHAT'S UP? What's up with you, mutt? Why are you with my ex-partner?" Something had definitely sparked within Gustavo, though James had no idea what since he was the one to backstab Rick.

Usually James just sat there and took Gustavo's out-of-the-line anger. He never wanted to make the record producer too mad; after all, he wasn't even supposed to be here in Los Angeles. If it weren't for Kendall, James and Carlos and Logan wouldn't even be here. So even when Gustavo made his blood boil, he knew he had to hold back. He knew that if he didn't, he might as well be packing his bags and heading home. He already knew that Gustavo hated him the most, which is why James always went out of his way to make the large man happier with him.

But the way Gustavo talked to him, like it was James' fault that he was taken to some unknown location against his will, James' anger flared up like it never had before. He was tired of being blamed for horrible dancing, off key notes, and never being good enough. He was not going to put up with Gustavo's shit, especially not now, not when none of this was actually his fault.

"Oh, I don't know," James said sarcastically. "Would you prefer that some creepy psycho path didn't kidnap me next time? I know this must be a burden to you."

Gustavo fell silent on the other line, not sure whether the shock he felt came from James' sudden confidence or what James had actually said. But the man decided that there was no way that he heard James right—Rick couldn't have kidnapped the dog! Rick would never do something like that (at least, not while he was friends with Gustavo!) and kidnapping only happens on America's Most Wanted, not in Los Angeles (though many people probably thought the same thing when one of their friends or family members were kidnapped).

But he couldn't, for the life of him, come up with a better reason as to why James and Rick were in the same room; hell, he couldn't come up with a reason as to how they even knew each other in the first place. Gustavo had never told any of the boys about his ex-best friend and production partner, and they were all too stupid to notice that it said ROCQUE N' ROLLE RECORDS on all of the band signs hanging in his recording studio.

Only starting to feel even remotely worried, he asked, "What did you say?"

James fidgeted in his chair, becoming a little more than frustrated with his music producer. "I said that Rick, also known as the 'creepy psycho path,' kidnapped me, and I'm pretty sure you heard me right the first time." He said dully, staring at his phone with a monotonous face.

"Since when does Rick kidnap people?" Gustavo asked, more to himself than to Rick or James.

Rick rolled his eyes. "Since I want revenge, dipshit." Gustavo's eyes widened a little at the hostility in Rick's voice, but Rick continued anyway. "Now what I want you to do is go in one of the meeting rooms in the record company," He instructed, pacing around James' chair. "If I remember correctly, there is a computer-like television there with a webcam hooked up. I want you to turn that on and connect to the network 'LAlinksys." I'll see you there, imbecile." And effectively cutting off whatever Gustavo was about to say, Rick ended the call.

The older man turned to James now, who was staring at him with an uncomfortable look. Rick walked right up to James, and bent down so that they were eye level. "Psycho? Really? There's nothing wrong with my mental health." He flicked James in the nose, who in turn, cried out an, "Ow, what the hell?"

Again, Rick rolled his eyes. "Baby," he muttered, and turned around to grab James' phone again. He scrolled through the contacts again before finding the number he wanted. "You're going to have a talk with Ken-doll, alright, pretty boy?" James shook his head as Rick pressed dial, but Rick put the phone to James' ear anyway, keeping it on speaker.

It rang twice, long enough for Kendall to see who was calling and pick up. "James, where the shit are you?" Kendall demanded the moment he picked up the phone.

"Uhhh," James stalled, looking to Rick for an answer. He was going to say the same thing he had said to Gustavo, that he was where he was because some creeper kidnapped him, but obviously that's not what Rick wanted him to say. "Rocque Records," James finished, for it was what Rick had mouthed to him. Rick nodded in approval.

"Why are you at Rocque Records, and how the hell did you get there so quickly? It's a 30 minute drive from there to Five Guys, and there's no way you could have walked there in the same amount of time." James silently cursed Kendall for not being an idiot. He didn't particularly like lying to his best friend, but he also did not want Rick to hurt anyone but himself. He looked to Rick again, hoping he would have something, but Rick only mouthed one thing: lie.

"Well," James said, still trying to come up with a bluff that he hoped Kendall would believe. "Gustavo called me and told me that I left my favorite bandanna there," he said quickly, fully knowing that his favorite and biggest bandanna was stowed in his back pocket. "And you know me, I need my bandannas at all times. And he said Kelly was already on her way to pick me up to get it, so I just went with her."

In Logan's car, Kendall's bushy brows knotted together. "Why didn't Kelly just bring it to you at Five Guys?" He asked, and James gulped. "And even if what you're saying is legitimate, then why didn't you call us to tell us where you were going?"

James didn't like being put on the spot like this. He wasn't good at lying in the first place, and he had never been able to come up with a good one off the top of his head. "Kelly has horrible allergic reactions to cotton, which we all know is the main material in bandannas," He lied. "And I dropped my phone and the battery fell out. I couldn't find it because Kelly's car was dark and it was somewhere on the floor…" He trailed off, looking at Rick. He knew that even Rick wasn't convinced by his lying, and he knew that Kendall wouldn't be either; Kendall could read James' mind like it was his own, and James had never been able to properly lie to him.

And like James had predicted, Kendall knew he was lying. "If Kelly were allergic to cotton, she wouldn't be able to wear most clothing. And that's got to be the most pathetic excuse I've ever heard," Kendall said, his tone harsh in the receiver. "Really, James. Where the hell are you?"

"I told you! I'm with Gustavo," He said, and he tried his hardest to make it sound more convincing.

Kendall still didn't buy it though, because he asked, "Really? Can you put him on the phone then?"

James' heart sunk into his stomach. "No," He said quickly.

"Why not?" asked Kendall.

"Because he does not want to talk to you," James lied, slightly impressed with his quick lie. "And can we stop playing 20 questions? It's kind of annoying." He said, hoping Kendall would let it go so that he wouldn't get hurt. James didn't want any of his friends to get hurt, let alone involved. He felt like something incredibly horrible was about to happen, and he didn't want Kendall or Carlos or Logan getting in the middle of whatever was going to happen—that is, if anything was going to happen. James had a tendency to have a pessimistic outlook in sticky situations (like being kidnapped by you record producer's ex-best-friend/music-production-partner), but he usually ended up not being surprised when the worst happened because he expected it. And because there was the familiar unpleasant tingly feeling in his gut right now, he really didn't want his friends to interfere with whatever was about to happen.

"What's even more annoying is that I know that you're lying to me," Kendall said, and James sighed in frustration. Couldn't his internal prayers be answered just once?! Couldn't Kendall stop being nosy for just one day?! "James, seriously. Tell us where you are. We're all seriously worried right now."

James groaned audibly. "Kendall, I told you already. I'm with Gustavo. Now would you—" He stopped abruptly when Rick slugged him in the back of the head, and he looked up at the man with an angry, curious look. "Ow! What the hell?"

"James?" Kendall asked, becoming more worried. "What's going on?"

Glaring at Rick, James said into the receiver, "Nothing. Everything's fine."

"Everything's not fine, idiot!" Rick shouted, whacking James' head again. "You suck at lying, and now I have to do the dirty work myself."

"Who's there with you?" Kendall demanded now, deep worry and concern filling his voice. Carlos and Logan looked at Kendall, both in the dark about what was happening. But judging by Kendall's facial expression, it couldn't be good. "James? James?" He asked again when there was no answer from the other line.

Rick had successfully gotten James to shut up now, who was sitting there with panic flooding his mind. I'm so stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Now he's going to get Kendall and Carlos and Logan involved in this, and they're going to get hurt and it's going to be all my fault. Why can't I lie better? Why does Kendall have to know me so well, so well that he can basically read my mind? Why did Rick have to kidnap me? Why does the world hate me? He had asked so many 'why's' in his head, and all of them were left unanswered. And as Rick pulled the phone away from James' ear so that he could properly talk to Kendall, James felt like the worst best friend in the world.

My fault. This is all my fault.

"Hello, Kendall," Rick said into the phone.

"Who the hell is this?" James heard Kendall demand, and he still felt horrible. "Where's James?" He demanded again, and Rick chuckled. James decided that it was a horrible sound, Rick's laughter, and that he never wanted to hear it again.

"Why, this is Rick Rolle." He said, and he still had that bittersweet smile plastered onto his face, perhaps thinking that if he smiled big enough, Kendall would be able to see it through the phone. "James isn't able to come to the phone right now—he's too stupid to lie. What makes you think he can talk?"

Kendall's anger flared up (and also a sense of panic and dread, because he knew that James being with whoever Rick Rolle was probably meant bad news), and he responded, "First off, don't call James stupid. He's not stupid," Kendall defended, and James couldn't help but smile at Kendall's comment (even if at the moment James completely disagreed with it). "And two, give my friend his fucking phone back."

Rick, irritated now, said, "I already told you, imbecile, that James is too stupid to talk on the phone right now. Obviously, you have the same mental capacity as him, because if you were actually intelligent, you would have understood the first time I told you." Kendall's eyes narrowed on the other line, and Rick continued. "Now I'm going to say this once, and I suggest you write it down because you're clearly not the sharpest tool in the shed.

"Go to Rocque Records and find Gustavo. He'll give you more details on where James is…I would myself, but I feel as though you're too idiotic to even comprehend a simple sentence. See you on the flipside, boys." And before Kendall could even speak, Rick snapped the phone shut.

He then threw the phone carelessly behind him, and James watched it break into two upon hitting the floor. "What the hell?" He asked, glaring at Rick. However, he did not expect to see Rick glaring back in a much harsher manner.

"What the hell is right, pretty boy." He said, moving closer to James. James wished that he could back away, and he helplessly moved against his restraints again. "You're an idiot, just like the rest of them." And with that, Rick pulled his fist back and let it fly towards James' face.

It made contact with his right eye, sending his head turning sharply to the left. He kept his head there for a moment, adjusting to the new throbbing sensation in his eye. He knew he should probably keep it closed, for he probably was not going to be able to see out of that eye for a while anyway. He waited another moment before turning his head back to glare at Rick with his functioning eye. He huffed in frustration and hatred, but chose not to say anything. He didn't want anything else going wrong.

Rick stared right back at him with a look of disgust on his face, and James had only received that look from one other person; Gustavo. But Rick's was so much worse than Gustavo's was, and James was thankful when he turned away from James to connect to 'LAlinksys.'

Sitting there in that chair, his eye throbbing and head sore, he realized the feeling that had just sunk in. It was something that hadn't really hit him until now, not until he looked at Rick: he was scared.

ONE MAN WRITING GAMES NOTE: It may or may not be 12:15 AM right now, and this chapter may or may not be late because I was playing 'Draw My Thing' on OMGPOP with my friend. But it's here, and chapter 5 (This is Only Round One) will be coming tomorrow, probably late as well. I hope you enjoyed this second bridge chapter, and the next one is DEFINITELY not a bridge. It's more of the…climax of James' stay with Rick. Anyway, review, and I'll type away at chapter 5.