.:CHAPTER TEN – Screaming Metal Death Trap:.

"Darn it!" Lizzie cried as she slapped her ring down on the side of the booth. "Why can't I get this ring around the milk bottle?" She let out a huff and turned her back to the booth, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sydney giggled, holding onto the giant stuffed monkey that Katie had won him at the booth where you had to climb up a rope bridge that was shook around, to get a prize.

"It's because this thing is rigged," Noah said from beside her, where he had his forearms resting on the side of the booth. "Here," he held his hand out as he stood up straight. Lizzie slapped the ring into his hand. "Syd, how would you do this?" He turned to his youngest brother, lightly running his tongue over the piercings under his lip.

"Hm," Sydney rubbed his lips together as his eyes shifted back and forth, scanning every angle of the bottles and the ring, mentally calculating how to throw the ring. Suddenly, he pointed. "Go for the one at the back," he instructed. "If you toss underhanded gently, you should get it."

"Thanks," Noah replied appreciatively and gripped the ring.

"Hey wait," the booth runner cried. "You can't do-"

Noah tossed the ring and smiled as it easily slid over the mouth of the bottle. The booth runner looked over at Sydney and muttered a few curses under his breath before reaching over and grabbing a stuffed purple bear. Noah took it and then handed it to Lizzie.

"Here," he said as he took it. "You can have it because you were trying so hard to get it in the first place."

"Thanks Noah," Lizzie gushed and put her arm around Noah's shoulders. "You're amazing you know that."

"You're amazing you know that," Katie repeated in a high pitched voice. She was standing a few steps away from the others, eating her cup of Oreo Dippin' Dots. "Oh please." She shook her head. "You're only going after them because you know that I like them."

"Oh my gosh!" Katie suddenly winced at a loud shriek behind her and turned to see a blonde girl scurry over to Patrick. He looked back at her, looking slightly interested, but annoyed at the same time. Katie couldn't help but roll her eyes. Obviously this happens to him a lot. She walked over to hear their conversation. "You're Patrick Jackson-McGuire! You're even hotter in person."

"Thanks," Patrick replied politely. He stuck out his hands. "It's nice to meet you…"

"Heather," she gave Patrick her fingertips to shake. "My name's Heather."

"I like that name," Patrick pointed over my shoulder. "That's Patrick and Noah and these are my friends Katie and Lizzie."

"Heyy," the girl gave a finger-wave, her eyes still on Patrick. "So, do you want to go on the spinning cups with me?"

"Wait," Katie frowned, taking another step forward. Mentally, she snickered to herself at her next words. "I thought that you were going to go on that swing ride with me." She frowned.

"Why would he want to go with you?" Heather asked, turning to stare hard at Katie. "I'm a fan; he should pay attention to me."

"Wait-"

"But I'm his best friend," Katie ignored Patrick, taking a step forward. "And he already promised that he'd go on the ride with me."

"Guys-"

Heather turned to Patrick. "So are you going on the ride with me or no?" She demanded, slapping her hands on her hips. She turned her gaze over to Katie. "Or are you just going to sit here and talk with her?" She wrinkled her nose. "She's not that pretty anyway."

"What did you just say?" Noah demanded, walking over.

"Look, you're not double parked," Patrick's eyes narrowed into a glare as he moved in front of Heather, looking down at her. His accent crept into his voice as he continued to speak. "I mean first things first, Katie is my friend and you will not talk to or about her like that!" He held up his middle finger. "So just take a number and wait in line!"

"Well, I never!" The girl huffed and whirled on her heel to walk away.

"And at this rate you never will!" Patrick continued and then gave a bright smile as he gave a finger-wave. "Goodbye." Heather let out a shriek and continued storming away.

"You do know that you've probably just made a million headlines saying you're a jerk, right?" Noah stated as he raised his eyebrows. Patrick shrugged as he turned around.

"Sorry, but I won't let anyone talk badly about my friends." He stated and then looked over at Katie, who looked back at him with wide eyes. "What?"

"I can't…believe you did that for me…" Katie replied slowly. Behind her, Lizzie grinned, holding her hands behind her back as she watched. Sydney just stood off to the side, looking around nervously. "I mean," she suddenly adopted a bored look. "What she said didn't bother me. She's probably just jealous that Kendall is my brother and that I hang out with you guys all the time." She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "It's no big deal."

Patrick's lips twitched, and he shook his head. "Whatever. Don't say that I've never done you a favor."

He jumped as a hand suddenly landed on the back of his neck, squeezing hard. He tilted his head back and saw his father standing over him. His lips were in a thin line and his gray eyes were flashing with anger. Patrick let out a loud gulp and Noah moved over to Sydney, wrapping both of his arms around him.

"Let's go," Robert said slowly, menacingly. "Now. We have to leave now. I can't have you embarrass everyone and give yourself bad press because you were being rude to a fan."

"B-but dad," Patrick stammered, starting to shake. "W-what about the concert? And Big Time Rush's performance? They have to-"

"They're still going to perform," Robert tightened his grip, causing Patrick to wince noticeably. Sydney made a whimpering sound, grabbing Katie's and Lizzie's attention, and he pressed his face into Noah's side. Noah expertly avoided their gaze. "But you guys are going home, now!" He shoved Patrick away from him. "Call your sisters and tell them that you're leaving and go to the car." He turned on his heel.

"I have to go and tell Ronan that we're leaving and to get him to tell the park that your performance is cancelled."

"Come on," Noah tried hard to keep his gaze off of Katie and Lizzie as he directed Sydney over to Patrick, and then placed his hand on Patrick's shoulder. "Let's get going before he gets even madder."

"So what do you guys want to do now?" Kendall asked as he got off of the merry-go-round, which Carlos had begged and pleaded everyone to get on. "We could do the booths to win prizes and stuff or…" he shielded his face and looked up, then pointed. "We can go on that rollercoaster."

"Don't you think that it would bother your knee?" Riley asked. If anyone had walked by and heard her ask that question, they would have thought that she was just concern about him. But Kendall, and everyone else, could detect the passive-aggressiveness of the question. "I mean, going up that high, with air pressure changes, it can really bother it."

"Oh, you mean like your attitude is bothering me," Kendall shot back, adopting the same tone.

"Exactly," Riley replied, not sounding like she was offended. "But it's good to see that you're telling the truth now."

Kendall's anger flared up at that one comment, and as he turned around to face her, he had the sudden feeling to yell at her and to shake her until she stopped using that superior attitude on him. He could tell that she was upset because he was lying to her, and it bothered him that she was upset, because he and the others could tell that she was clearly lying to them in return. They wanted their space? If they wanted their space so badly, they wouldn't have continued to go over to Rocque Records and held the guys with their music. There was definitely something else going on.

"Stop!" Carlos suddenly moved between the two of them, placing a hand on each of their shoulders, keeping them apart. "Come on guys, today is supposed to be a day of fun, and you're arguing."

"Carlos is right," Jo spoke up and moved next to Kendall, wrapping her hands around Kendall's right arm. "You don't want to fight, or you might say something you'll regret."

"Ok, how about this," WayneWayne took a step forward as well. "Dak, Riley, Camille, Carlos, Steph, and I'll go on the rollercoaster and you, Rhuben, James, Logan, and Jo will stay here and play with some of the attractions." He looked back and forth between Riley and Kendall. "That way you two can have some time to cool off."

"Fine." The two chorused in reply, turning away from each other.

So the two groups split up and for the next half hour they did their own thing. As Kendall, Logan, James, Rhuben, and Jo continued to play game after game, winning some prizes, and getting some food, the others went on as many rollercoasters and thrill rides as they possibly could.

"Whoo!" James punched the air with his fists, dropping the large hammer onto the ground as a bell rang out across the amusement park. "I am so strong, it's not even funny!" He lifted his arms and kissed his biceps. "Just look at these guns."

"Look at them any longer and you may shoot your eye out," Rhuben called from where she was sitting on the edge of a fountain, eating cotton candy.

James grinned as he took the stuffy puppy that the attraction runner held out to him and he turned and walked over to the fountain, holding it out to Rhuben. She looked surprised, her eyes narrowing as she looked up at him. "I want you to have it," he explained and then his grin widened. "That way you can look at it and remember the handsome guy that won it for you."

Rhuben blinked and let a shadow of a smile pull through, before she shook her head and pushed it away from her. "Sorry, but I'm allergic to stuff animals." She said quickly. That was really nice…why would he do that?

"Are you surrrrrre?" He waved it like a hot pastry under her nose.

"Yes." Rhuben replied with more force than she meant to put into the word. "I'm sure." James frowned for a second, then shrugged and sat down on the fountain beside her, waiting for the others to come back from whatever attraction they were at.

"So, what's eating you?" James asked after a minute. "You're more quiet than usual."

James wasn't sure if she was going to respond, as she stayed quiet for a few minutes more, but then she spoke up. "Have you ever kept a secret from Kendall, Logan, and Carlos before? Like, a really big one?"

"No," James rubbed his chin. "I tell them everything." He scratched the back of his neck. "Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever kept a secret in my entire life, unless someone else told me a secret." He looked at her. "Why?"

"I was just thinking that you could give me some advice," Rhuben replied slowly. "But since you've never kept a secret..." she shook her head. "Don't worry about it." She stated firmly.

"Alright," James replied, sounding unconvinced as he stood up, stretching. "But if you need my help or just advice in general, you know where to find me."

"Mhm," Rhuben murmured, still looking away from him. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone as it started to ring. "Hello?" Rhuben asked, whipping her phone out of her pocket as it started to ring. Her eyebrows furrowed together. "Why?" She then winced and pulled the phone away from her ear. "Yes, sir." She muttered and closed the phone. "I have to go!" she announced, standing up.

"What?" Jo asked as she and Kendall walked over to the others, their arms brushing as they walked. "Why?" She looked at her watch. "You performance isn't until-"

"No," Rhuben interrupted. "I have to leave the park." She shrugged. "Syd is sick and we have to get him home."

"Hey," Riley called as she walked over, the others in tow. "Did Pat just call you?"

"Yeah," Rhuben replied quickly. "Sad to hear that Syd's sick." She raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, it sucks," Riley ran a hand through her hair. "So, you guys have fun at your performance," she started to walk away from them, walking backwards. "And tell us about it later, we really have to go."

"No, wait," A burst out panic hit Logan's chest and he grabbed Riley's and Rhuben's arms, lightly pulling them away from the others. "Keeping this secret for you is killing me. I don't know how much longer I can keep the other guys from knowing that your dad is hitting you." He looked at them with pleading eyes. "And it kills me every time I see one of you come in with a bandage or a black eye or a broken bone."

Riley looked impatiently at her watch. "What's your point, Logan?"

"Maybe you should tell," Logan whispered in reply. "I know that if you ask them to keep your brothers and sister together, everything will be ok. Maybe Ronan can-"

"Ronan, no offense to him, can barely take care of himself let alone take care of all five of us," Rhuben interrupted. She scratched her forehead. "Besides, we're fine every now and then when we go and stay with Julius and Brittany."

"But he seems really mad now," Logan said earnestly. "Especially if he's taking you from the park and won't let you do your performance. How can you be so sure that he's not going to hurt you?"

"I can't," Rhuben replied honestly. "Because he's going to." Logan frowned. "But we can take care of it," she nodded over at Riley. "We always do and we're always fine."

"But what if you're not fine this time." Logan whispered.

"Logie-Bear, listen," Riley reached out and grabbed onto his arms. "We told you this because we knew that you could keep a secret. And you're going to keep that secret until we decide that it's a good time for everyone else to know or if everything goes to hell if it comes to that." She tightened her grip. "So before then, keep your mouth shut." Logan's frown deepened and Riley gave him a pleading look. "I'm asking you as my best friend, Logan. Please don't tell."

Logan held his breath, millions of thoughts racing through his head. I don't know if I can do that. I need to tell someone, Kelly, Gustavo, Ronan, or Mama Knight. They can't keep going through with this pain. But if they've survived this far, they're stronger than I thought.

"Ok," he finally relented. "I won't tell." He looked back and forth between the twin girls. "But you have to do it soon or I will."

"Logie-"Rhuben was cut off and she set her jaw, her eyes flashing, but stayed silent.

"That's my only offer, and I'm being serious." Logan replied, pushing Riley's hands off of his arms. "You tell soon or I will. And God help us, I hope you do it soon." He turned and walked back to the others.

"Great," Rhuben slapped her hands down to her side. "Now Logan's mad at us."

"He's not mad, just frustrated." Riley replied, scratching her forehead. "It's a good thing we're going home soon; we don't have to worry about it nearly as much." She looked at Rhuben. "Speaking of which, Kendall's knee is bothering him. He says it's from a hockey accident, but I don't believe that."

"That's why you're fighting?" Rhuben raised an eyebrow and, despite the circumstances, burst out laughing. "Wow, that's actually, really stupid." She stopped laughing abruptly. "I knew that you got mad about stupid things before, but this just takes the cake." She raised an eyebrow. "You know, especially since you were the one that suggested that we should push them away."

"Yeah, well," Riley kicked at a rock on the ground, shoving her hands into her pockets. "You agreed with the idea."

"Only knowing that it could possibly help a little," Rhuben admitted. "And because I knew that you wouldn't take anyone else's advice." She gave a sarcastic smile. "But what can I say…we just like to run and deal with things later, instead of having to let everyone else in on our problems."

"Yeah," Riley chuckled. "It's a bitch, isn't it?"

"You got that right."

"I'll walk you back to your car," Jo offered. Riley started to protest, but Jo took a step forward. "I have something I want to ask you anyway and now is as good a time as any."

"Fine." Rhuben turned on her heel and walked towards the car park. Ugh, Pat, what'd you do this time? I know that you were trying to defend Katie, but was it really worth it?

"So what did you want to ask me?" Riley asked, sounding a little irritable as she, Jo, and Rhuben went to the car park. "It must be important if you didn't want the others around to ask."

"Yeah, it has to do with Kendall." Jo replied and then looked over at Riley. "Do you like him?"

"He's my friend," Riley replied shortly. "Well, right now I'm not sure if he is. But he's my friend and that's it." She lifted her head and looked up at Jo. "Why?" It was a loaded question.

"Well, I was thinking of asking him out…" Jo said, giving a nervous smile. "I mean, you guys are close, you're like, together more than he and Katie are. I didn't want to step on your toes if I asked him and you liked him…it's alright if you do like him, I won't even try…I'll just sit back and-"

"Joey, you're rambling!" Riley pointed out. She made a face.

"So, is it alright if I ask Kendall out?" Jo asked, wringing her hands together, waiting for the answer. Rhuben stayed silent.

Riley let out a breath through her nose as she looked over at her sister. Rhuben raised an eyebrow in reply and Riley looked back at Jo and shrugged, her eyebrows lowering and her eyes hardening. "No offense Jo, friends or not, you shouldn't have to ask me to go out with Kendork. Frankly, I've got more important things to think about then who is dating who." She waved a hand. "Ask him out if you want, it's none of my business, I don't care."

"Ok," Jo didn't look convinced. "If you're sure."

Riley nodded. "I am."

A/N: The chapters are getting longer and things are heating up between everyone and because of that, this isn't going to be a long story, it's either going to end at 20 or 25 chapters, so not many left after this is updated, I hope that I don't accidentally rush everything though.

I decided that while this story is mainly centered on Kiley and that's what the plot of the story is driven around (because it's a request from pebbles7092) the story is also going to be driven by the Jella pairing along with PatKatNo. I hope you guys liked this chapter; I didn't need the concert at the amusement park to be a big part, more of the reason why Robert is there.

I know you didn't see any of Gustavo, Kelly, Ronan, and Kacy, but they've got their fair share of drama coming up soon too.

By the way, can anyone guess why I named this chapter 'screaming metal death trap'?

I'll update again soon.

Cheers,

-Riles