Disclaimer: I do not own Big Time Rush
A/N: Thank you all for the reviews winterschild11, BookWorkKendall, LazyLazyWriter, bubzchoc, SmileyFaceBitch, S.O.S. Shay, and other guests!
6. Wanna' Race?
Logan woke the next morning with a churning in his stomach, and a headache to match. He fought the lingering fatigue to try and remember how the night had concluded. He saw that Kendall's bed was empty. He stretched and yawned, wincing when even that was too painful. When he emitted a groan, the door swung open immediately.
"Awake, sleepyhead?" Kendall asked with a mischievous look in his eyes.
Logan groaned again and rubbed at his eyes. "At least I woke up alone. I'm never doing that to myself again."
"Yeah-yeah, we know. Firewater is bad, and we will burn in eternal hell for indulging in its unsavory goodness."
"No...firewater is bad because it makes me feel like absolute hell," Logan explained. Kendall shrugged and grinned wider.
"Well if it helps ease your pain a bit, I made breakfast and it includes one of your favorites, fresh bagels and cream cheese."
Ahhh...That's great Kendall, but I don't think my stomach can handle food right now."
"Now, what is it that a certain brilliant guy always said? Oh yeah. Food will soak up the evil firewater, and make tummy feel much better!" Kendall teased.
"Why do I sound like a Native American, again?" Logan teased back, in spite of his aching temples and queasy stomach. "Uh, could you hand me a pair of boxers? I seem to have lost mine somehow."
Kendall tossed him a pair from the bureau, and waited until he tugged them on underneath the sheet.
"You have anything to do with my nudity?" Logan asked quietly.
"Sure. I babysat your drunk butt and had to take off your wet trunks. Don't worry, I didn't see anything I haven't seen before."
"Didn't think you had. I'm anatomically correct in every way," Logan said with a grin. He felt a new twinge in his head and moaned. Kendall tilted his to the side and studied him. Suddenly he dove at the bed.
"Whoah!" Logan cried. "Eaaa-say!"
Kendall laughed and ripped down the sheet. "Get up!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming...please just don't talk so loud," Logan murmured into his hands."What time is it anyway?"
"Noonish."
"Who says noonish, you crumb," Logan said.
"Yours truly, and he is getting very impatient! It's bad enough that we can't make sense of why Carlos is acting so strange today. He says that things went well with that chick last night, so I don't get it."
"Oh yeah. I almost forgot about her. The brunette, right?"
"Nope, the redhead. He was on fire last night!" Kendall said with amusement.
"Now, only my stomach is on fire," Logan said with another moan.
Kendall reached down and swooped him up in his arms. "No, Kendall! Please! I just want to stay still!"
"Too bad!" Kendall said, accidentally banging Logan's shoulder into the door jamb on the way out.
Logan pretended to cry, still begging for mercy, but Kendall continued down the hall and plopped him onto a chair at the kitchen table. The two boys already sitting there, just stared.
Kendall whipped away the sheet that Logan had managed to still cling to, and tossed it aside. He laid the bagel before him and set a glass of apple juice down with a thud.
"You okay, Logan?" James asked. "You don't look so well. Did you actually get loaded last night? I thought you guys were joking about how bad he was."
Logan laid his head down on the table and sighed heavily. They were never going to let him live this down. He picked up the glass of juice and drank thirstily. He glanced at the red wall clock and thought for a moment. "I have to shower," he said suddenly.
"Okay...that was way too many questions...and I thought we were all going to reminisce about the party last night and-"
"Later, I promise," Logan said with an urgency. He bolted from the table and raced to the bathroom.
"Sick, you think?" asked Carlos.
"Don't know," Kendall said, looking at the bathroom door suspiciously. "But, I was thinking about hanging out at the park with you guys, or something. Guess not."
"We'll go with," James said. "Not much else going on."
"Nah, forget it," Kendall said, walking back to the kitchen. He took the rest of his breakfast and tipped it into the trash bin, earning him curious looks from the other two.
x-x
Logan stood across from the diner, leaning against his red car casually. He knew that he was easy to spot wearing his yellow button-down and navy Letterman's sweater, but he was getting a little bolder each visit. He chewed his gum rhythmically, trying to calm his nervous jitters, and sang along with the Platters crooning on his car radio while he waited for the convertible to pull up.
The car was visible from down the road, and his heart sped up. He shifted to get a better look as it approached, and smoothed down the sides of his dark hair. The car rambled up and parked gracefully in its spot. The girls exited the vehicle, glancing over with friendly smiles.
He smiled back, and lowered his head to watch them from under his eyelashes. The sun peeked through the overcast sky, and he placed his sunglasses back on to watch as they removed a few belongings from the backseat. Both girls were speaking, but he couldn't make out what they were saying from where he was.
He had never made himself as vulnerable as he had for this girl. Some would even call him too arrogant to chase after a girl, but this one was stunning to him. Her ponytail swung playfully as she spoke, its curls glistening in the sunlight. Her blue-green eyes twinkled even from where he stood, and she had something special that he couldn't put his finger on. She intrigued him, and it wasn't her perfect figure or the fact that she was a budding actress. It was the complete package.
He thought about how the other guys might react if they discovered he was smitten with the starlet. They all knew her as one of the unattainable, even though they'd come to find their own dawning fame. They had vowed to never allow themselves to fall too hard for anyone. Especially not before they were truly world-renowned, but Logan couldn't keep that promise.
He was trying so hard to control the attraction, but how could he when she was smiling back at him now? She was looking him up and down with those sultry eyes. He swallowed, and stopped breathing for a moment when she turned back to wave. He gave her what he hoped was a nonchalant wave back. She went into her family's diner and the door closed behind her. It wasn't long before her older brother came out to greet him.
"Hey Logan! What's shakin'?" he called. He was getting used to Logan's random visits.
He shrugged, wishing the hang-over wasn't so intense, and swallowed down the rising bile. He chewed the wad of gum more incessantly to push back the nasty taste.
He watched as the tall dark-blond boy walk over and rested beside him. "You look a little ...hung-over?" he said uncertainly. "So, what brings you out this way?"
Logan laughed. "Yeah...I know. Not my usual style, but we had a get-together at the beach house last night. You should come to the next one."
"Want me to bring the Sis?" he asked, throwing Logan off of his game.
"Sh-Sure," Logan stammered. "That would be f-fine." Mitch grinned.
"Okay," he said knowingly. "You're cool. Just let me know when. I gotta' get back in. My uncle wants this place to take off, and it just ain't happen' yet," he stage-whispered out of the side of his mouth.
Logan nodded. "Good to see you guys...I mean you," he emphasized, blushing.
Mitch snorted. "Good to see you too, cool cat."
He watched the boy enter the diner, and jingled his keys. A party at their place would be a great way to get to know her, he thought to himself.
Before he could climb back into his car, a black car skidded to a screeching halt beside his cherry red one, and the boys inside ogled him mockingly.
"Aw, isn't he cute? All dressed up for someone, huh guys?" the blond boy said.
They laughed and peeled out, leaving a stripe of black rubber on the asphalt, and shooting small rocks and debris into his space. One stone bounced off the side of the impeccable paint with a loud ping.
"Hey, idiot!" Logan yelled, hopping into his car.
He started the engine and sped after them. He lost them around the next bend, slamming his palm on the dashboard in frustration. "Jerks," he mumbled aloud.
He went for a short drive, smiling at the people who waved at him with recognition. He didn't feel like going home. Sometimes he considered himself a loner. Before he knew it he glanced down at his wrist, shocked to find that it was almost seven o'clock already. Where had the time gone?
He was just headed home after stopping for some sodas and chips, when a shiny black car pulled beside him again. It was dark now, and he strained his eyes to see the driver. He couldn't be sure who it was, but it looked a lot like Kendall's hot-rod. He accelerated to catch up with the car. He wouldn't be surprised at all to learn that Kendall was following him again. He always seemed to sense when he came to see the girl. He increased his speed as he approached the stoplight, but the car darted off as soon as the signal turned green and led him to a back road.
He immediately recognized that the road was Hudson Raceway, as the kids had dubbed it. A place where daring teens faced off, to see who was the fastest and bravest racer.
His instincts told him to turn around and leave the shiny black car where it sat idling, and gunning its engine provocatively...but his pride told him otherwise. It clearly was not Kendall, but he had a pretty good idea who it was: the same carload of boys who had taunted him earlier at the diner. They might be interested in the same girl he was.
He took a deep breath and pulled along the car, revving his own engine. He knew how fast his car actually was. He'd tested it on a vacant country road one evening that he was alone. It had even taken him by surprise, how much power the vehicle possessed. He could easily take these punks, he thought.
He glanced over at the dark tinted windows of the car beside him and smirked. "Come on losers, wanna' race?" he mouthed. The thrill of the race outweighed his common sense and the instinct to drive away.
The two cars sat side by side, engines racing. A boy with a hood pulled tightly around his face exited the black vehicle and stood in front of the cars, his hands poised to signal the start of the race. He slammed his hands down in one exaggerated swoop, and the two cars sped around him into the darkness.
Logan gave it full gas to pass the swerving vehicle, and he bit his lip in frustration when it threatened to overtake him. He laid into the gas pedal and the black car unexpectedly veered to the side, flipping before his very eyes. Logan involuntarily jolted around in his seat, to see the car flip once more behind him, then catch fire.
"SHIT!" he screamed. The flames rose high into the night sky.
He spun the car around, and slowly passed the burning wreckage. The tow-headed driver was shaking his fist at him, and yelling obscenities in his direction. The boy who had waved them off was sobbing loudly. He did the first thing his instincts told him to do.
He sped away from the crash site, heart pounding in his ears, and headed for home. He slowly pulled his red car up the winding driveway, silencing the engine, and resting his head on the steering wheel.
"Jesus Christ," he mumbled over and over. His whole body was trembling.
"Logan?" Carlos said, obvious concern lacing his tone. "What's wrong?"
Logan's head shot up. "Nothing! I-I just feel awful. You know, too much beer last night." He ran a hand through his greased bangs.
"All right..."Carlos said, still studying his friend.
"What about you? Kendall said you weren't in the best of moods today, either," he said, trying to divert attention away from himself.
"Uh, I don't know. I guess I just don't know if it's wise for me to take on a dame that's already got a boyfriend, that's all."
"She said she did?" Logan asked, surprised.
"Sure, all those girls do. Didn't you know that?"
"I knew a couple of them did, but all of them?"
"Well, the one I was hanging with does, I know that for sure. I get the feeling that her boyfriend doesn't mess around when it comes to staking a claim on his property. I think I may have been given a real warning last night," Carlos half-whispered, looking around.
"What do you mean, Carlos?"
Carlos bit his lower lip. "Never mind. Forget I mentioned it. I did see a few cops hanging around a little while ago, though."
Logan's pulse began to race. He looked around too. "Hang-hanging around?" he echoed.
"At the end of the drive. Just sitting there in the dark. I saw them with my binoculars. I saw lights and then... nothing, so I took a peek. Almost like they wanted us to know they were there or something."
"Why-why do you say that?" Logan asked, more nervous than ever. He ran the hand back through the already tousled hair, and swallowed hard. Carlos just shrugged and looked away.
"Just a gut feeling," he whispered.
Logan climbed from the front seat, and walked toward the house with Carlos limping at his side. Carlos felt guilty for not telling the others about the motorcycle accident, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Logan was hiding something too.
"Kendall home?"
"Yeah, and he says he has a bone to pick with you," Carlos said with a warning look in his eyes.
Logan sighed. "Of course he does," he muttered.