Only Gotta Try:
Logan
Logan Mitchell stared at the giant text book in his hands. His eyes darted back and forth from line to line, question after question, silently answering them. He flipped the page and started again, head moving slightly from side to side. He set his thumb into the center of the book before looking back over his answers on the sheet next to him. He frowned, his eyebrows knitting together.
Wrong.
He was wrong.
"What?" he whispered to himself. His lips moved slightly as he read over the question a second time. "Oh, there we go." He picked up his pencil, flipped it over erased his answer before filling in the bubble with the correct answer. "There we go."
"BOO!"
Logan barely bat an eyelash at the sudden shout in his ear. He set down his pencil, cupping his cheek with his palm before looking up at the figure that walked around the table. "Hey, Bella," he greeted.
"You don't seem excited to see me," Rhben Jackson-McGuire said with a small laugh as she moved to sit down on the edge of the fountain in Hyde Park. She smiled as small droplets of water hit the side of her face as the water was pushed by the breeze. "That hurts, Logie-Bear."
Logan's cheek twitched when he heard the name. "Sorry, I'm just finishing this practice test," Logan said before showing her the cover of the book.
"Trying for the MCAT again, huh?" she asked and Logan nodded. "Why don't you take Carlos's approach?"
"Corn dogs don't solve everything," Logan said through clenched teeth. "That was a fluke anyway. He wasn't supposed to take the test." He used his pencil to scratch an itchy spot on the back of his head before setting it down against his practice test.
"Aww, you're just aggro because he got a better score than you," Rhuben replied. She moved to take off her socks and shoes. Logan watched as she rolled her jeans up her tan legs, cuffing them at the knee before swinging them over to stick her feet into the water. "Not a big deal."
"Not a big deal?" Logan repeated, his eyebrows inching up his forehead. He looked over at his friend as if she had grown a second head. "Not a big deal? In case you've forgotten, Bella, this is my future I'm talking about."
"Your future in the funny farm, maybe," Rhuben replied, kicking her legs back and forth in the water. She wrinkled her nose, her freckles sliding closer together, appearing to make a darker brown spot over the bridge of her nose. "I thought we were going to hang out."
Logan's lip curled upwards into a smile. "I thought you wanted to help me," he said to her before looking at the watch on his wrist. "You're ten minutes late."
"Surprised you lifted your eyes from the test long enough to figure that out," Rhuben replied with a teasing smile. "You're going to ace that test you know. You always do." Logan made a snorting sound. "You know, you really need to relax."
"Forgive me for looking ahead and actually wanting to do something with my life," Logan replied. He then groaned when he heard a beeping sound. Feeling vibrations in his pocket, he reached his hand in to pull out his cell phone. He watched as a small alarm clock bounced up and down, the bells on top ringing in time with the vibrations. "Great."
Logan had always dreamed of becoming a doctor, even more so after finding out about his friends' abuse. Not only the Jacksons, but Kendall's too. He had never noticed the warning signs when he was younger, and often wondered how things would've turned out if he had said anything before. He wasn't in Minnesota at the time of Kendall's abuse, but he had seen the side effects: the bursts of rage, the occasional nightmares, insomnia, and rarely a bout of depression.
He had seen that with the Jacksons, but never did or said anything about it. Partially because Robert was such a scary guy he was worried about what the man would do to him, and also because he wasn't entirely sure what was happening. He spent months looking up the signs, recording any interesting and questionable actions from his friends.
He was happy that things were finally going well for them, but it could've all been handled if he had said something years ago. Even as a kid, he had that distinct feeling that something was wrong, but he had never said anything. To be a doctor, to notice all the warning signs and to step in early enough, it'd be really fulfilling and he felt like he could really give back to those in need.
"Logie, relax," Rhuben said, putting a hand up into the air. "It's just a practice test. You're not taking the MCAT for a couple more months."
"That's just it," Logan said, rubbing at his temples. "I felt like I'm taking the actual exam and not just a practice test. I really want to do well on this." He let out a sigh, peering up at her. "Being a doctor has always been my dream."
"I know, Logan, I know," Rhuben replied with a nod of her head. "You've talked about it often enough."
Logan pressed his lips slightly together. He had been talking about it for a long time, he couldn't deny that. He just wanted to be sure he had something to do in his free time when he wasn't working on new songs, or dance moves, or doing interviews. He wanted to be sure that he had a back-up plan in case things ended. He was being realistic; there was a slim chance that anyone who tried to make it in the business would succeed and make a name for themselves. It was an even slimmer chance to keep their career going for a long time. There was nothing wrong with being prepared.
Being a part of Big Time Rush was a completely different life, but it was something he was truly enjoying. It was less structured and more carefree in contrast to the structure of schooling and little felt as good as a heart thumping, adrenaline pumping live concert.
"Well, excuse me for wanting to be prepared," Logan said, allowing a smile to come to his face, "unlike Miss I-Don't-Know-What-I-Want-To-Do-With-My-Life." He laughed, lifting his book to shield himself from the wave of water she kicked towards him. "Hey, watch the books."
"I've been watching you, with those books, for the past couple of weeks," Rhuben replied, starting to twist a lock of her hair around her finger. "You need to get a life." She lifted a hand and made an 'L' with her index finger and thumb, mouthing the word, "Loser."
"Whatever," Logan mouthed back, making a 'W' with his hand.
"You're going to do great, Logan," Rhuben said with a slight eye roll. "I mean, as long as you stop being so uptight."
"I'm not uptight," Logan protested with a frown. He glanced at his watch again as it started to beep. He then shoved his book into Rhuben's arms. "Key words; quiz me."
"You're sup uptight, you're wound tighter than a two-dollar watch," Rhuben replied, looking down at the book in her arms. "Cool your jets. You just won a Tween Choice Award, you should be having fun and working on your next album."
"If there's going to be a next album," Logan replied with a sigh. "We haven't done anything since our album's been released." His eyebrows knitted together. "It's important to be working on new material to stay ahead of the times."
"Take it from me, it's also important to take a break every once in a while," Rhuben replied. Logan had to agree with her; she had taken a year off after years and years of constant rehearsals, dancing, touring, and working. He was surprised that she had even lasted that long with constant pressure on her.
He barely lasted through preparations for their first ever tour; he almost went into global meltdown. First they had a tour planned, then it was cancelled, and then Gustavo wanted them back, and they had to put together a concert without money for promotion, wardrobe, or rehearsal space. But, they had pulled it off and put boy bands back on the map.
"There's no such thing as over studying," Logan protested.
"Have you seen Patrick?" Rhuben asked, quirking an eyebrow, a signature move. "He over studied once, just once, and now he hates to think." She shrugged, shaking her head back and forth. "It's pretty sad, really. He could've been really smart." She put a hand over her heart. "I'd hate to see that happen to you, Logan. I really would."
"Thanks for that, it's nice to know you care," Logan said with a roll of his eyes. He caught her eye and the two of them started to laugh. "Tell you what…help me for five minutes…and then we can go get some fro-yo."
Rhuben's nose wrinkled as she twisted her mouth to the side. She looked around the park and Logan followed his gaze. He would have never found Hyde Park if it wasn't for her. He remembered the first time she took him to the park. It was a couple of hours before their very first concert in Los Angeles. He was just as nervous as the other boys, and she had asked him to go for a walk.
She took him to Hyde Park, just in time to see the water color display at the fountain. It was the coolest thing he had ever seen and it really did calm him. Since then, whenever he wanted peace and quiet, or just a place to hang out, he would go to Hyde Park, often times asking her to join him just to get away from it all for a while. It was like time stood still while he was there. Like nothing else mattered while he was there.
"Deal," she replied before holding out her hands towards him. Logan smiled lifting his hands over hers and swung his hands down, slapping his palms against hers. He then turned his hands over, showing her his palms, before she slapped his with hers. "Let's get cracking Mr. Future."
"You remember our deal, right?" Logan asked.
"That you and Riles would go to medical school and I'd attend a college down the road?" Rhuben asked and Logan nodded his head. "Yeahhh." She gave him a brief smile. "I don't know if Riles still wants to do that. Go to school with you, I mean."
"I figured," Logan replied with a nod of his head. He had never realized they had grown apart over the years, and it was a surprise to him when she suddenly blew up at him about it.
He still cared about her, and they did still hang out together with their large group of friends. It was just going to take some time to be comfortable with their new friendship. They were really taking the time to start over and get to know each other, when they talked, anyway. It did hurt, but Logan could understand her reasoning behind everything. He knew she wasn't going to forget anything they had previously shared and he would make sure he didn't either.
"What about you?" Logan asked and Rhuben gave him a confused look before lifting a purple nail polish covered hand to her mouth. She used her teeth to start picking at a hangnail. "Would you still follow through with our plan?"
"Hard to say," Rhuben replied with a shrug. "I never really think about what'll happen in the future, just what I'm doing at a moment in time." Logan nodded his head. "Logie, you'll always be one of my best friends. You always took care of me."
"Somebody has to," Logan replied with a shrug. He pressed his lips together before making a popping sound. "I couldn't do it before…so I'm making up for lost time."
"Hoon, you drive me corkscrew crazy sometimes," Rhuben said laugh, gently hitting Logan's forehead with the palm of her hand. She then opened the book in her arms. "Passing might be the only way to get you to shut up about this test, so let's get cracking." She opened the book and started flipping through the pages. "I'm proud of you, you know; wanting to do something worthwhile with your life."
"A life without risks is a life unlived, right?" Logan asked, giving her a smile. He picked at his fingernails before holding out his pinky. She peered curiously up at him through her bangs. "Promise me that, no matter where we are five or ten years from now we'll still be a part of each other's lives. Whether we're still making music or living on opposite ends of the world, we'll still be friends."
Rhuben hooked her pinky around his and they shook their hands up and down three times. "Promise," she replied and the two of them shared a smile.
"Do you really think I'll make a good doctor?" Logan asked, reaching forward to start turning the pages himself, going back to where he had left off in the book.
"Yup," Rhuben replied with a nod of her head. "if you're half a good a doctor as you are a good friend; then I have no doubt, Logie-Bear. Only someone as kind and selfless as you would be willing to help those in need even at the risk that things won't turn out alright."
"You've' always been an optimist; wanting to see things turn out well. And like you said, it's a good idea to have a back-up plan. School's always going to be there; no one can take that away from you. No one can take away your dreams and this is something you've always wanted to do."
Logan smiled. Before reaching out to shake her knee. "Compliments aren't going to get you out of this," he said to her and Rhuben snapped her fingers as if he had ruined her plan. "What's up?"
"What do you mean?" Rhuben asked, using her shoulder to brush her hair out of her face.
"I don't know..." Logan squinted his eyes slightly. "You just seem really...happy today. I don't think I've seen that in a long time; it's nice to see."
"Nice to feel."
A/N: I think I enjoy writing season 4 fics the most now (technically, this is after season 4, but you get my point. Even though this is my second one, I'm pretty sure. I have to go back and check). Merry Christmas, everyone. Due to the length of the chapter, Never Again has been pushed back in updating, but it's more than halfway done, so I'll have it up, soon.
-Rhuben
