Chapter 14:

I start walking back up to my apartment, pulling my bag up on my shoulder. I step into the elevator, and I hear Elevate start playing. I grab my phone out of my pocket and see Rachel calling. "Hey, what's up?" I say as I answer it.

"Not much," she responds. The elevator stops at my floor and I walk out as she continues. "So I decided to see what you were up to."

"Well, I just got done working out at the gym for a little while," I reply as I unlock my apartment and head in. I toss my bag on the ground and walk to my room. "And in a little bit I'm going to get ready for dinner tonight with James."

"Aww, how are you and James?"

I smile as I lie down on my bed and stare at the ceiling. "He's great. The sweetest boyfriend ever."

"Have you done anything with him?" I can tell from her voice that she's smirking.

"No, Rachel!" I say offended. "We've only been dating for a month. And if you only called to talk about my sex life, which is nonexistent, then I'm going to go."

"Wait, I'll stop talking about that!" She says in a panic.

I smile as I respond. "I know."

"You're so mean, Lauren."

"No, I'm not. You know you love me."

"…Yeah I do." I hear someone start talking to her. "Hold on a sec, Lauren."

I stare at the ceiling while she talks to the person. I think about how the past month as flown by. In only a week the Hunger Games is premiering; my album is coming out in three weeks and I only had one more song left to record; and I had already been dating James for a month. I smile as I recall all the sweet things he's done for me.

"Hey, I'm back," Rachel finally says after a couple minutes. "So I have to get back to work early. I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's no problem. You've got to go do your job. Besides, I'll be seeing you in three days when you get back."

"Alright, I'll see ya then, Lauren. Love ya!" she says.

"Love ya too, Rachel," I say and hang up the phone. I sigh and glance at the time on my phone, and see I have two hours before James is coming to get me for dinner.

I slide off the bed and walk into the bathroom, and start running the water to warm it up. Once it's warm, I quickly strip off my clothes and jump in the shower. I quickly shower, wanting to finish getting ready as soon as possible.

When I finish, I step out and wrap a towel around myself before walking back into my room. I open my closet and stare at the clothes, trying to figure out what dress to wear. I push aside the garment bag with my dress for the movie premiere and start going through the dresses. I pause when I get to a new dark green dress that I bought recently. I pull it out slightly to look at it, before deciding to wear it.

I put it on and tie the brown sash that's right below my chest. I poof out the bottom a bit before looking in the mirror, satisfied with the dress. It's strapless and goes to about mid-thigh, poofing out at the bottom.

I walk back into the bathroom and start brushing out my hair. I carefully braid it into a French braid across the back of my head to the side. After I finish, I set out all my make up and start getting ready. I go with dark brown eyeshadow to bring out the green in my eyes and emphasize the brown in the dress. I finish and brush my teeth before walking out of the bathroom. I slip on a pair of brown flats, then walk out of my bedroom grabbing my purse from the dresser.

I glance at the time, realizing that I have over a half hour before James should be here. I sit down on the couch and look around, trying to think of something to do. My eyes land on the Wii, and I stand up and walk over quickly. I grab a remote and turn it on, putting the new Just Dance game in. I haven't had a chance to play it since it came out a week ago, and now is a perfect time.

I get to the menu and start looking through the songs. I scream lightly in excitement when I see that Elevate is on here. I select it right away, and start dancing and singing along. I laugh when I keep messing up.

Once the song is over, I realize that I did horrible. "How could I do so bad at a song by my best friends?" I mumble to myself.

I restart the song, determined to perfect the dance. I go through the song a couple times before I finally get a good score.

"Yes! Victory is mine!" I shout and fist pump. I hear someone start laughing and I frantically turn around, holding my hands in front of me to protect myself. I relax when I see James standing in the doorway.

He starts walking over, a smile on his face. I jokingly hold my hand over my heart. "Way to nearly give me a heart attack."

He wraps his arms around me in a tight hug. "I'm sorry. What can I do to make it up to you?"

I look up at him and smile. "Oh, you could just take me out to dinner at a nice restaurant. That sounds good."

He lets go and intertwines his fingers with mine. "That I can do."

I toss the wii remote on the couch and turn the console off. I grab my purse and we start walking down to the lobby. I swing his arm with mine and smile up at him.

James smiles back at me and leans down to kiss me as we wait for the elevator. I pull away smiling when I hear the doors open. We walk in, and James wraps his arms around my waist. "You look so beautiful tonight."

I blush and turn my head to look at him. "Really?"

"Yes, absolutely gorgeous," he replies and kisses me quickly on the cheek as the doors open at the lobby. We walk out and start heading to the parking lot. I smile and wave at Lucy and Camille when we pass them in the lobby.

"So what kind of restaurant are we going to tonight?" I ask as we approach his car.

James stops at his door. "Italian," he replies before opening the door and getting in.

I open my door and start to get in, but stop when I see a book sitting on the passenger seat. I pick it up and smile at him. "When did you start reading the Hunger Games?"

He shrugs as he starts the car. "About a week ago. I wanted to make sure I knew what happened before we see the movie next week." I slide into the car and he starts driving out of the parking lot. "Logan was terrified to let me borrow the book. He seemed to think I would destroy it since I never read."

"I'm sure he was overreacting, like usual," I say and toss the book onto the back seat. I turn to look at him excited. "So what part are you at? What do you think of it so far?"

"It's down to the final three right now. Honestly, I kinda wanted to stay home and just read tonight." He looks at me quickly then turns away, smiling sheepishly. "But I think the book is so fantastic. And I was kind of mad at Katniss when she killed Glimmer, because I was picturing you as her in my head."

I look over him and smile. "Really?"

He comes to a stop at a stop light and looks at me. He grabs my hand and smiles. "Of course. I want to do anything to make sure you're safe and to protect you."

James looks back at the light and it changes to green. He starts driving and glances at me and smiles. His face drops to one of fear as he looks past me, and he turns the steering wheel quickly, trying to move the car over.

I turn to look and see blinding lights before I feel the sharp impact. Things go black, and I can faintly here someone shouting my name, but it seems like the voice is far away. Then everything fades away.

~BTR~

I slowly come to my senses, knowing right away I was in a foreign place. I try to open my eyes, but the lids feel heavy, so I give up for now. I hear the steady beeping of machines and I smell the strong scent of antiseptics. I must be in the hospital. But why?

Someone is sitting to my left on the bed and holding on to my hand. Someone on my right, or perhaps the same person, runs a hand over my hair soothingly. I feel something bulky on my right arm and right leg, and I'm confused as to what it could be. There's a dull pounding in my head, and my chest hurts every time I breathe.

I tune into the people talking around me. "This is all my fault," the person to my left says.

"No it isn't, James. How were you supposed to stop that drunk driver from running the red light?" The person who replied is the one on my right. Logan, I think.

James grabs onto my hand tighter, and lays his head on the bed. I can feel him start to shake with sobs. I try to move to comfort him, but can't, probably from the stupid medicine.

"I had the perfect night planned, too. We were going to a nice restaurant for dinner, then I was going to take her to the beach and give her the necklace I bought." He pauses and takes in a deep breath, shuddering from his sobs. "And I never got to tell her I love her."

My heart starts beating faster at those words, and I vaguely note in the back of my head that the machine started beeping faster. I slowly open my eyes and look down at James head resting on the bed. "You just did."

His head jolts up quickly to look at me. A smile slowly forms on his tear-stained face when he realizes that I'm really awake. "Lauren, you're ok," he whispers. He leans over and gently hugs me.

I wrap my arms around him carefully. I bury my face into his shoulder. "I love you too, James," I whisper into his ear.

He pulls away with a huge smile on his face. He leans back down and kisses me lightly.

Carlos clears his throat, and James pulls away blushing slightly. I look over and see the guys. Kendall is sitting in a chair next to me; he must have been the one running his hand through my hair comfortingly. Carlos is standing right behind him, smiling at me being awake. And Logan is standing next to one of the machines, probably having been looking at it. They all look really happy that I'm conscious.

I look back at James. "So what exactly happened?"

He looks down frowning, and I can see his eyes starting to water. He rubs circles with his thumbs on my hand. He takes a deep breath before looking up at me. "Well, we started going through that light. A drunk driver started to run it. I tried to swerve the car out of the way, but he still hit us. I only had to get a few stitches from glass flying," he says and moves his hair out of the way to show the stitches on his forehead. "You, on the other hand, got hurt a lot more."

"How bad?" I ask, and can tell by his expression that it's not good.

James opens his mouth to start talking, but quickly closes it, not being able to form the words. Kendall notices, and starts to explain so James didn't have to. "Well, your leg is fractured, and your forearm is broken in one spot."

I lift up my arm and look at the cast. So that was what I couldn't tell before was there. I put my arm back on the bed and turn towards Kendall. "And?" I ask, knowing he wasn't saying everything.

His face scrunches like he doesn't want to tell me, but I give him a look and he continues. "Um, you had to get stitches in several places on your face, you probably have a concussion, and you had bleeding in your abdomen."

"Oh," I say and lean back against the bed. I guess it was a lot worse than I thought it was.

"Lauren, I'm so sorry," James says. I look at him and see tears starting to fall down his face again. "This is all my fault."

I wipe the tears from his face and hold my hands to make sure he's looking at me. "James, this is in no way your fault. So stop blaming yourself. Ok?" He nods his head and I smile at him.

Suddenly, I hear someone shouting in the hallway. "Where is she? Where's my niece?" I feel the floor shaking as someone runs closer. There's only one person who it could be.

Gustavo bursts open the door and quickly scans the room. His eyes land on me and widen in fear at the site of me. "Lauren, are you ok?" He asks as he walks over, pushing Carlos out of the way. Kelly walks in right behind him.

"Yeah, I'm ok," I say and smile at him.

"Ok good. I don't need one of my dogs getting seriously hurt," he responds. He tries acting nonchalant about the situation, but I can tell he was really worried about me.

"Don't worry, I'm going to be fine, uncle." I smile at him and try placing my hand on his shoulder, but it's hard to with the cast.

A doctor walks in, and looks relieved when he sees me. "Good, you're awake, Miss Rocque. That was quite an accident you got in there. But the bleeding in your abdomen stopped, and we have everything else taken care off. I'm just going to check things over, and if everything is good, you should be able to leave the hospital tonight."

He runs some tests to make sure I have full brain function. Then he looks over my cuts on my face. "Alright, everything looks good. The stitches will be able to come out in about a week and a half. The casts won't be able to come off for at least six weeks. But I think you're fine to leave later. You'll have to get crutches so you can walk around, and I'll write the prescription for your painkillers. You can get both at the front desk on your way out." He smiles at me before walking out of the room.

I sit up and swing my feet over the side of the bed. Everyone starts moving towards me like they're afraid I'm going to fall. "Guys, relax. I just want to get the hell out of here."

James chuckles as he walks around the bed to the side I'm on. "Well, let's get you out of here, then," he says and holds his hands out for me. I grab them and he helps me stand up. He waits to let go before he knows I won't fall.

"Um, guys? I can't exactly leave in a hospital gown," I say as I look down at the sheer cloth covering me.

"Don't worry, I already thought ahead," Kelly says and hands me a pile of clothes.

"Thanks Kelly, you're the best," I smile at her then slowly start walking over to the bathroom in the room. I pull the gown behind me, making sure my butt wasn't exposed.

I slowly change into the clothes, grimacing in pain every time I moved my stomach. I finally get the sweatpants and t-shirt on, and walk back out to see everyone waiting. James walks up to me and wraps his arm around my waist carefully. I lean against him as we start walking out of the room. Kelly and Logan walk past us, probably to go get the cars out front.

We finally get to the waiting room, and we go to the front desk to get my crutches and prescription. I start using them, feeling really awkward. I glance at a T.V. in the corner and stop when I see a picture of myself and James. I read the caption on the screen, and realize they're talking about James and I being in a car accident.

I sigh as I continue walking to the door where everyone is waiting. James looks at me confused. "There's going to be paparazzi everywhere out there. People know that we were in an accident."

"Well, we will just have to get you in the car quickly. Logan should have it out front."

I nod and take a deep breath before continuing outside. Carlos holds open the door for me and smiles apologetically. As soon as I get outside, tons of cameras start flashing. The guys all walk around me, trying to block me. Gustavo starts yelling at some of them to get out of the way, which they do; everyone knows how angry he can get.

I see Logan's van sitting there waiting, and sigh in relief. I walk over quickly, and James helps me in carefully before getting in himself. The rest of the guys get in and as soon as the door closes Logan starts driving away. I see Gustavo getting in a limo as we leave the hospital.

I rest my head on James' shoulder and he wraps an arm around me carefully, trying not to hurt me. "I'm going to take care of you," he says quietly so only I can hear him. "I'm not going to let anything hurt you."

I smile up at him. "I know you will. And that's all I need, knowing you'll be there for me."

So what do you think of the story? I had to make something dramatic happen lol. And sorry if the romance is bad, I'm not that good at writing it. But I hope you like the story so far! :D