Author's note: This is a holiday story, however, it is not as light-hearted as I wanted it to be. In fact, rather than a rated PG story about brotherly love and bonding over Yuletide traditions, this is more akin to Die Hard in terms of holiday fare.
It is based on one of my favorite movies: Cellular with Chris Evans from 2004. But it isn't, nor can it be, entirely faithful to the movie. Please be forewarned that there is cursing, darker subject matter and a good bit of violence to come. Um...Happy Holidays?
Unknown Caller
"James Diamond!"
James cringed at the tone in Savannah's voice. "Does she look as angry as she sounds?" he asked Kendall, who was watching the situation unfold with a slightly exasperated air.
"Uh...yeah," Kendall replied, his eyebrows raised super-high. "You ditched her at the Jennifers' Christmas party Friday night and didn't call her to apologize. Did you think she'd be happy ?"
James jiggled nervously in place. He hated past!James sometimes. Now he was going to have to tell her something vague that didn't give her a hint of the real reason he ditched her: she was beautiful but about as boring as math. "What do I tell her?" he asked desperately.
"The truth maybe?"
James gasped. "Who are you, your mom?" he hissed quietly.
"I'll have you know she gives out very...uhhh...hi Savannah."
James winced and turned around slowly. There she was: pale and beautiful, blue-eyed Savannah, the girl he'd just had to take to the party this year who had bored him into a coma after twenty minutes, so he'd gone to the restroom and then...sort of...never returned.
"Savannah! I...should apologize for not getting back to you the other night."
"Duh," she said, pursing her pretty lips.
"I fell..." James watched Kendall, who sighed before mouthing words to him, "...ill after eating one of the...corn dogs and just never felt up to dancing. Or talking. Or anythinging after that. It was bad." James gave her his pitiful face, trying to figure exactly how that had come across. Kendall gave him a thumbs-up.
"Oh James," Savannah said, concerned. "That sounds horrible!" She gave James a hug while Kendall rolled his eyes a bit too dramatically, in James' opinion. So he had a good pitiful face, so what?
"Yeah, it wasn't how I wanted to spend the afternoon, that's for sure. I didn't even get to give you your gift." Then he froze, wondering how that had come out of his mouth. Kendall was gaping at him. Gift?
"Well, we're not out of time yet. Christmas is still a week away. We could go try again Saturday?" Savannah said hopefully.
James looked at Kendall, who shrugged as if to say, "You're on your own, buddy."
Some friend. "I actually have to be at a studio party-"
"Oh! I could come along! I've always thought it would be so cool to be at a studio party and meet producers. Did I tell you I'm a singer? Maybe I could-"
"It's not open for outside guests, sorry," Kendall cut in on her, to James' relief.
"Yeah, sorry," he echoed.
"Maybe next time," she said hopefully.
"Uh, yeah...maybe," James said but Kendall was shaking his head, so he finished lamely, "maybe not."
She looked taken aback and quietly said, "Oh. Okay. Bye, James."
As she walked away, James and Kendall gave each other uncomfortable looks. Then James took all those weird feelings, clapped his hands once, and shoved them far down where he'd never examine them again. "Well, that's over! Thanks for the assist, bro."
Kendall frowned. "You don't think that felt really, really wrong?"
"Um...nope."
"James, you just broke that girl's heart for no other reason than she bored you!"
James' eyes flew open wide. "I broke her heart? Are you sure?"
"Yes. You need to go and apologize to her. It's the right thing to do."
James slumped. "But that's what I just did, sort of. What if I just make it worse AGAIN?"
"I don't know, man. Girls make everything complicated. But my gut says that she took that really hard and that you should try to make it up to her."
"Ugh, okay." James sighed. "Sometimes I hate your gut." He gave Kendall a weak fist-bump and headed to the lobby, his mind idly ticking over what kind of stupid present he was going to have to give her now that his mouth had promised her one. What about an autographed headshot? But...which one?
He stopped short when he saw Savannah in the corner of the lobby, apparently crying and being consoled by the Jennifers. Blonde Jennifer looked up and scowled at James. She whispered something to the other girls and they all turned to look at him with something akin to disgust and/or hate.
So, really, it wasn't even a decision on his part; James just said, "Nope," turned left and kept walking out the front door. He had to in order to avoid being eye-beamed through the heart. It was self-preservation!
Once he hit the pavement, his feet kept walking because he figured if the girls could follow him, they might and then they would yell at him and Savannah might be CRYING and then he would feel horrible and promise her anything she wanted until she stopped. And that...that was the real danger. Girls could get him to do anything! He was helpless once they started crying.
Actually, that made him mad to think about it. He stalked down the sidewalk, past the mini-mart on the corner where they always got snack cakes and where that weird old dude begged for change sometimes...like today.
"Sorry, don't have anything but a $20," James told him and kept walking, feeling okay about that since he would have given him something if he'd had a smaller bill, for sure.
The sun was shining outside, the sky was dotted with happy clouds and now, James was glad he was walking. High above there were Christmas decorations strung from the light poles. It was hard to get used to winter being warm the way it was here, but it was fun the way people strung Christmas lights on the palm trees. For a moment, he felt there was something he was supposed to be unhappy about, but he let his mind fuzz out and just enjoyed the walk. It was one of his favorite talents.
"We're halfway there..."
"Phone call!" he chirped, pulling out his cell and putting it to his ear. "James here!" But the voice that answered wasn't a friend he recognized, or a hot girl he'd given his number. He paused on the sidewalk to look at his phone. Unknown caller, it read.
"Sorry...what did you say?"
"I'm so glad you answered!" The voice was female, older, and pinched with desperation. "My name is Miranda Hadley and I've been kidnapped."
James was sucked in for a second, but then reason took hold. "Camille, is this you, because you're definitely getting the job-"
"No! No, it's not...Camille." She spoke slowly and carefully this time. "My name is Miranda Hadley and I've been kidnapped. Please, please, listen to me."
"Why would you call me if you'd been kidnapped?" James looked around as if someone might pop out to explain this. Sure, sometimes his friends asked for help with reaching things or if they needed advice about a girl, or were too upset to really talk and just wanted a hug, or if they needed someone to benchpress something, because he was really, really strong. But that was it. Other than that, James wasn't a helpful sort of person, really.
"I didn't call you, exactly-"
James laughed uncomfortably. "Yeah, you kinda' did. See, this is my phoooone and you dialed me. So this is me hanging up right now, because I don't-"
"NO, PLEASE!"
James froze. She was so desperate; he couldn't end the call. "Is this a prank call, because I-"
"No! No, it's not a prank. Please, please just listen to me. My name is Miranda Hadley and I've been kidnapped." It was what she had said before, but this time James let himself hear what he hadn't before: her voice was shaking like she was barely holding herself together.
Once again, James looked around, as if he could find someone better able to handle this call than him. "Kidnapped? By who?"
"I...I don't know. Three men broke down my door and shot my housekeeper. I-I don't know why. They all have guns."
"Why haven't you called the police? I don't-"
"I can't. I didn't even call you on purpose. They took my phone."
James pulled the phone away from his ear to look at it in confusion. "Then how are you talking to me?"
"They put me in the attic where there was an old wall phone. They smashed it but parts of it still work. I'm a science teacher, so I reconnected what I could. I've been clicking wires together trying to get an outside connection for half an hour. Do you understand? I can call out but I can't choose the number. You were the first person I could get to answer their phone."
"James?" Someone touched his shoulder and James whipped around, startled. It was Carlos.
"Hey man, is everything okay?"
James blinked a few times, pulled back into normal life for a moment, a life where a kidnapping and a desperate science teacher didn't belong. "I'm okay. I just got a strange call..."
"James? JAMES!"
He put the phone to his ear. "I'm still here. My friend just walked up."
"Please don't hang up, please! I need your help."
"I won't hang up." James looked up to see Carlos looking at him strangely. "I'm still here. But I don't understand what I can do. You really need the police."
Carlos tugged at James's sleeve. "There's a station just over the hill."
James lit up. "I can take my phone to the police station. My friend knows where it is. Will that work?"
"Oh yes! Thank you, James! Please, that's all I need."
James smiled. This wasn't going to be so hard to do at all. While he walked and Carlos directed, James told Miranda a little bit about who he was and about Big Time Rush. She had never heard of them. Then James asked her to hold while he filled Carlos in about Miranda's Very Scary Problem.
Carlos' eyes went wide and he grabbed James' arm. "Hockey pucks. We need to hurry. This is bad." James nodded.
"James, are you there yet?" Miranda's voice got his attention again. She sounded so hopeful. "Tell them I'm Miranda Hadley and I live on Oak Lane."
"Just got here. Hang on."
Having Carlos there was such a help, since he knew his way around a police station. His dad had been an officer back in Minnesota for nearly twenty years. But as soon as they got to the main office, it was clear that this was not a good time. The office was in chaos.
Officers had upwards of fifteen people waiting to be processed, all sitting in benches on either side of the entry hall. Several officers guarded them, but they were having trouble keeping the two rival groups of very scary-looking people apart. The large Christmas tree on the right of the desk was in imminent danger of going down.
James reached the front desk but had to yell to be heard over all the raised voices around him. "I have a woman on the phone who says she's been kidnapped."
An older bearded officer at the front desk listened to him carefully before asking, "And you believe her?"
"Well, yeah, but I don't know how to really tell. Can't you talk to her? Her name is Miranda Hadley." The man still looked dubious, so he told him everything he knew. "She says men came in and shot her housekeeper and took her from...Oak Lane, I think." Carlos stepped closer, his eyes watching the action behind James.
"Miranda Hadley, you say?"
"Yes. HADLEY! From OAK LANE," James yelled over the noise and held out his phone.
There was a sudden shout and a cacophony of voices as the surge of bodies knocked into James so hard that he nearly dropped the phone. Carlos went down and James had to pull his friend up as all hell broke loose. The police officers struggled to keep the people apart and whistles were blowing and the Christmas tree was the first casualty. After that, it was impossible to tell who was winning and who was losing.
"Stay down," James yelled as he huddled over the much-shorter Carlos and bulled his way back through the free-for-all. He got one good fist in the mouth just before they reached the hallway.
"It's okay, Carlos." James had to hold him back from following the guy. "It's okay, buddy. I'm fine. Are you all right?"
"James?" Miranda's voice floated to him as he checked Carlos over. A bruised cheek was all he could see.
"We're fine," James told Miranda as he pulled Carlos in for a hug. "Things just got a bit...tense in there. This place is crazy. How do they ever get anything done?" He asked Carlos.
Carlos shrugged. "Look, the Missing Persons division is upstairs- sixth floor," he said, pointing to the placard on the wall. "We would have been sent there, anyway."
"You're amazing," James told his buddy.
"I know! Hey- you're bleeding."
James could feel the blood on his bottom lip now that he thought about it. His lip had split from that punch, but it wasn't bad. When he had been playing hockey, that was a once-a-month occurrence. At least he didn't have any photo shoots scheduled for a while. He swiped at the blood and followed Carlos up.
"We're in the stairwell, so it might sound weird for a bit," James warned Miranda. "We have to go up five flights." Their footsteps echoed loudly as they started up.
"Stairwells can cause problems for cell phones. Go slow and make sure the signal is strong enough. You can't lose me, James," Miranda said fervently.
"I know. I'll keep checking the bars," he promised her.
Carlos whispered to James, "Maybe I should call Kendall."
James paused on the stairs. Of course! Kendall and Logan would know what to do. If Miranda had only called them to begin with, they would have had the whole problem solved already. "Do it," he told Carlos. They might already be seconds away from a solution here, but instinct told James to have a back-up plan.
He took the stairs quicker now, eager for a good end to this situation. Only one more flight to go...
"JAMES!" Miranda's voice startled him. James stopped and put the phone back up to his ear. "Sorry, did you say something?" There was static on the line where there hadn't been a few moments ago.
"...did you...? Why is...?"
In a panic, James realized he was losing the signal. He moved down a few stairs. "Can you hear me now?"
"Yes! Oh, thank God. James, you can't lose this call! Please!"
"I know. I just- I just need to go up one more floor. I can see the door from here."
"No, James! If you go up, you'll drop the call."
The terror in her voice stopped him dead. James looked up to Carlos, who was already at the top of the stairs, poised and waiting for Kendall to answer his phone. "Go!" James told him. "See if you can get someone to talk to you. I have to go back down a flight."
Carlos looked panicked. "But...you have the phone with Miranda on it. I got nothing!"
"Tell them what happened; tell them my phone fuzzes out on the stairs if I go any higher. Make them listen to you. Give them puppy dog eyes and get someone down here to talk to me. So, Kendall hasn't answered yet?"
"Nope. I guess he's with Jo?"
"Great. Of course," James whined, just a little bit jealous. Why couldn't he have a girlfriend to talk to instead of some desperate housewife? "Just hurry!" he told Carlos and watched his friend push through the door and onto the sixth floor.
James refocused. "Miranda, my friend just went upstairs to see if he could get someone to listen to him." His phone beeped. He checked it; the battery was low.
"Oh, shit," he murmured.
"What is it, James?" Miranda asked, then whispered, "Oh no." At first, James wondered how she knew about his phone, but then realized something was happening on her end of the phone. There was the rustling of fabric and the sound quality changed; Miranda was trying to hide the phone.
There was the sound of a door unlocking and opening and footsteps growing louder.
"What do you want?" Miranda's voice was small and shaky. "What is it? No, no- STOP! No...no, please!" There was the sound of a struggle, a slap, and a thud. Miranda shrieked and it sounded like she was fighting someone and being dragged away from the phone.
Icy pinpricks broke out all over James' body. He looked around again for someone to help, but he was alone in the stairwell, and alone on the phone.
A deep, dark voice cut through the quiet. "Your husband left you a note at home telling you to meet him at PJs. What did he mean?"
"I...I don't know. I don't know what he meant, please..."
The long pause that followed was terrifying. James bit his bottom lip and got a shock of pain. Blood was seeping from his busted lip and he tongued it carefully while listening to the very long silence. Was Miranda telling the truth? Did the man believe her? What was he going to do to her if he didn't believe her? James' heart thudded in his chest.
"Okay, then," the deep voice said. "It's almost time to pick up your boy from school, isn't it?"
"No! No, please. Don't- don't!"
"I'll be back with your son and we'll talk again."
"NO! No, please, please. Leave him alone!" The heavy footsteps were heading away this time but Miranda's sobbing and begging didn't stop until long after the door slammed. "No...he's just a boy...please..."
James felt himself trembling, shocked to the core. He suddenly realized that he had been assuming this was a prank or a crazy lady needing someone to check on her and probably she had been exaggerating the danger? But what he'd just overheard...she was so...helpless and the man was so...coldly violent.
"Miranda?" She was still crying. James found himself sinking down weakly on the stairs. "It's okay; it'll be okay," he whispered, but he was losing himself as well.
Her soft sobbing became the soundtrack for flashbacks he couldn't stop, memories of nights when his father was drunk and angry and searching for someone to blame.
He could hear his mother's voice, just as soft, just as miserable, begging. But on some terrible nights, it had been James and his hair or his clothing that set off his father. And then it was him sobbing quietly, nursing pained limbs and wishing for escape. Sometimes it was him begging, sometimes it was his mother, but always it was his father's deep voice berating them and his hard fists striking whoever was nearest.
"James?" Someone was shaking him. There was a hand on his shoulder. Slowly he became aware that Carlos was kneeling in front of him. "They won't listen to me, man. But I got Kendall. Do you want to talk to him?" James nodded.
"You're bleeding again, man. Here give me your phone. Is Miranda still there?" James blinked as he wiped at his bottom lip again. He didn't even know. He handed Carlos his phone and let him take over for a while.
"Miranda?...No, I'm Carlos, James' friend...He's here, taking another call."
Right. James put Carlos' phone up to his ear. "Kendall?" he asked hoarsely.
"James? Are you all right?" James shook his head, unable to put into words how he was doing. "Okay...that's a no. From what Carlos was saying, some lady called your cell phone?"
And words spilled out of James' mouth, words that were jumbled and clogged with tears (but Kendall would understand because he always understood James no matter what) about how this poor woman had just been attacked and how she needed help- more than James could give her and of course he would fail but someone had to-
"Jamie!" Kendall cut into his monologue. "Buddy, it's going to be okay. Calm down. I'll be there in like, half a minute. She's still on your phone?"
He nodded and then realized he'd have to speak. "Carlos is talking to her. They just...the men went to her son's school to kidnap him next."
Carlos leaned in, speaking loudly so Kendall could hear as well. "Yeah, she wants us to go and try to pick him up. If she talks to the security guard, he can at least pull Taylor aside."
"That might just work," Kendall said, to James' relief.
"He says it just might work," James repeated to Carlos. "But we have to hurry and get there first or they'll hurt him," James said.
"Got it," Kendall said. "Logan and I will meet you out front. Hurry!"
Carlos and James went charging down the stairs, trading phones as they went. Desperation and hope brought James back to life. Logan and Kendall could figure this out; the two of them could figure out anything!
"James?" Miranda's soft voice came over the line.
"I'm here. Don't worry. We're going to get your son."
"Thank you so much, James. He doesn't deserve to be a part of this."
As she continued to weep, James didn't say anything else, but he thought it. You didn't either, Miranda.
"Carlos! James!" Over at the curb, Logan waved from the driver's seat of a rental four-door sedan since the Rushmobile was getting a tune-up. Kendall was settling into the backseat, watching them intently.
"Come on," Carlos said, grabbing James and tugging him forward. "You need to be in the back," he said. Then he closed the door quietly as James collapsed back on the seat, carefully holding up his phone. He could feel Kendall's worried stare. Before he could snap at him, Kendall reached out and pulled him sideways, unprotesting, into a hug, tucking James' head under his chin. It felt safe; it felt good. James closed his eyes and listened to Kendall's heartbeat.
In the front seat, Logan and Carlos were talking intently, but James couldn't track with them. Tears were leaking from his eyes at an alarming rate and he turned to hide his face in flannel. Kendall squeezed him harder.
"It's okay, Jamie. Just calm down." James wasn't sure if Kendall knew exactly what had shaken him up so bad...but it seemed like he did.
"Hand the phone up," Carlos said, "I'll talk to her."
James shook his head and handed the phone to Kendall instead, wanting his friend to help calm Miranda down, too. Kendall was the best at that. Plus, this way Kendall would believe him that she was there and was in trouble. That was important. He listened to Kendall talk to her for a minute and then turned his brain off, not thinking of anything, relaxed in the knowledge that his friends were going to help him with this overwhelming and supremely important task.
After a few minutes he started feeling woozy and fought Kendall for a second when his friend tried to sit him up. But he calmed quickly as he saw that the car had stopped and Logan was talking to a security guard in a little guard house, trying to hand him James' phone. They must be at the school already.
Kendall looked shaken after his conversation with Miranda. "This is serious shit, James," he whispered, "These guys have guns."
"I know."
Kendall studied James for another moment. "Logan! James is too pale."
"I'm talking," their friend replied, raising one finger, but then snapped, "Carlos, cheese him!"
A cheese stick smacked Kendall in the forehead. "Uh...thanks. James- eat."
"I know these guys have guns, Kendall," James grumbled but he took the cheese stick, opened it and started nibbling. Logan knew best. "I'm not actually stupid."
"I know." Kendall sighed and put his arm back around James as they settled down in the back seat. Somehow, James managed to pout while eating his cheese stick.
Logan turned back from the window, phone in hand. "He's calling ahead to the school. I think he believed her."
"He needs to hurry up," James snapped, "or they're going to get Taylor."
Logan frowned at him. "You- finish your cheese stick. You're grumpy." James glowered at him but took a huge bite.
"He has good reason to be grumpy," Carlos said, giving James a fist bump that did make him feel better. "He had to save me from an angry mob while trying to save Miranda, too. Hey, give me the phone." He spoke with Miranda, giving her an update while James explained the angry mob situation at the police station in as few words as possible.
And then, miracle of miracles, the guard waved them through.
"Yes!" they all cheered. "Thank you!"
The school driveway was a long one, already clogged on one side with cars waiting for the students to be let out. Logan drove past all of them, apologizing constantly. "Sorry! It's an emergency- sorry!"
Carlos took up the chant, rolling his window down to join in, "Sorry! We have to get to the front first! Don't be mad!"
"I hope this works," Kendall said. James nodded, his mouth suddenly dry as dust.
"We're almost there," Carlos said into the phone.
Logan eased the car up as far as possible, deep into the circular lane where parents waited for their kids. Teachers stood along the sidewalk, armed with handheld walkie-talkies ready to assist. There was also a security guard walking up and down the sidewalk, looking at each car in a friendly manner.
As soon as the guard saw Logan squeezing into the second lane of the circular drive, he frowned at them. "You should be back at the end of the line," he called out, indicating with efficient hand gestures where they should go.
"Yeah, we should, but we can't," Carlos shouted to him.
Logan slid out of the driver's side door and gestured for the guard to come closer. The man hitched up his pants and then moved slowly in their direction, obviously trying to figure them out. "Hello, sir. It's of vital importance that we pick up Taylor Hadley before his other ride gets here."
Carlos looked around and said, "Some men are going to try to kidnap him."
The man looked suddenly energized. "What? An attempted kidnapping?" He put his hand on the gun in its holster, making all the boys jump and scrunch down in their seats. Logan jumped back in the car and got down fast. "Where are they?" When no one answered him, he frowned and leaned down to peek in Carlos' window. "Wait, who's going to be kidnapped again?"
The boys slowly sat up and Logan explained the situation and how urgent it was.
"If you don't believe us, talk to his mother, Miranda Hadley. She's the one who sent us." Carlos offered him the phone.
"Right," the guard said. "And why didn't she just call the school?" he asked simply.
"Long story," they all chorused.
"Just talk to her, please," Kendall said. "The guard down at the gate did. And hurry, that battery is getting low."
James groaned. "I still don't have my charger." He'd forgotten.
"Don't worry, I'll find one," Carlos said, jumping out of the car and going to the next car in line, cheerfully explaining his friend desperately needed a charger.
The guard was listening to Miranda now and Logan sighed in relief. "Well, that's that. He'll find Taylor and then call the police and we can go home."
James sat up, his instincts pinging him. "I was sure they would beat us here," he said uneasily. "Where are they? Do we even know what car they drive?" A bell rang from the school building. "Oh no..."
Ten seconds later, there was a flood of children out of the front door, all in uniform and nearly impossible to tell apart.
The guard went to the front of the deluge, waving his free arm and calling out "Taylor Hadley?"
Kendall and James jumped out of the back of the car, heading for the children. "Has anyone seen Taylor Hadley?" they asked. The kids glanced at them, but no one answered. The guard wasn't having any luck, either.
"Taylor Hadley?" they kept calling, walking farther down the sidewalk. All they got was a few shrugs.
In frustration, James repeated. "We really need to know what kind of car they drive!"
Logan joined him up on the sidewalk, phone in hand. "Black SUV, a Cadillac."
"There!" Kendall pointed to the first car in line. "Is that them?"
James cursed and grabbed the phone from Logan. "Miranda, how will we know which one is Taylor?"
"Oh James, thank God. Do you see him?"
"No, they all look alike; they're in the same uniform!"
"He has a...an Avengers backpack. It's blue with Captain America on it."
"Look for a Captain America backpack," James snapped at his friends, walking down the line of cars, his gaze jumping around desperately. But there were just so many kids...
"Can I help you," one of the teachers approached him with a worried gaze.
"No. We're trying to find someone."
"There!" Kendall saw him first and pointed to a small brown-haired boy with a blue Captain America backpack hung off one shoulder. He was being led to a black SUV by a tall man in a brown jacket.
"Hey!" The three guys started running toward him, dodging students and alarming teachers.
"Taylor! Stop!" Kendall yelled.
"No running," one teacher groused as they sped by.
"Sorry!" Logan called out, spinning to keep from plowing into her as she got in his way.
James and Kendall kept going, both yelling. "Taylor! Don't get in that car!"
The little boy swung around, eyes wide as he saw them running toward him. But it was too late. As James and Kendall watched, horrified, the back door of the SUV opened and a man reached forward to grab Taylor, pulling him inside easily. The other man jumped in the front seat.
"NO!" James yelled, but the car was already pulling away. He stood there, both hands gripping his hair, already wondering how he would break the news to Miranda.
"Back to the car," Kendall yelled, grabbing at James' arm and forcing him to move.
"I freaking hate this," James vented.
"I know, but- car," he said, propelling James forward again. "We have to go after them! Carlos! Let's go!"
By the time they reached the car, they had three teachers, the security guard and a few students chasing them and no time to explain anything. They jumped inside and managed to get away without hitting anyone.
"Sorry," Logan called out the window as he drove off.
"Miranda," James told her breathlessly, "they got him. But we're following behind as fast as we can. I'm so sorry."
She was inconsolable. James couldn't have felt worse and couldn't think of anything else to say. He sat there, staring at his phone until he finally realized that the battery icon was blinking red. Wide-eyed, he shoved his phone at Kendall. "It's down to five percent! FIVE!"
Kendall started pounding the front seat. "Carlos, did you find a charger?"
"No, sorry!"
"Logan, find a cell phone store- NOW!"
"But we'll lose Taylor," James protested.
"We can't drop the call," Kendall replied.
"Okay, okay, I'm looking," Logan said, hunched over the wheel tensely. "Someone GPS it!"
"Why is everything going so wrong?" James asked, running a distracted hand through his hair.
"I thought there were phone stores on every corner," Kendall said in exasperation, trying to calm his fingers down as he searched for nearby cell phone stores.
But before he could get his search to go through Carlos said, "There! A Verizon store!" Logan swerved across two lanes of traffic, getting several honks and a middle finger before rushing through a light, over a speed bump that made James hit the car ceiling and then into the parking lot, where they screeched into a parking place.
"Nice driving!" Kendall said in amazement.
"CORD!" James and Carlos yelled, jumping out of the car.
"CORD!" Logan and Kendall screamed and followed them.
This Verizon store was in the midst of a Christmas Sale of epic proportions. Garlands and ribbons decorated every wall and surface in sight. There was a free coffee stand and goodies to sample, which was good since there were also long lines of customers and every employee was surrounded by needy people.
"Excuse me, excuse me," Carlos said as he worked his way through the store.
"Where is he going?" Logan asked, "I don't even know where-"
"Carlos!" Kendall called after him.
"Found one!" Carlos said, holding the item over his head.
"Wow. Really?" Logan asked in surprise.
"Yes!" James vaulted the table in his way, knocking over a display, and ripped the package out of his friend's hand. It was one of those dumb clamshell containers that didn't open easily...in fact, James couldn't muscle it open and had to put it between his teeth to try to rip it.
"Let me," Logan said calmly, pulling out his pocket knife.
"You can't open that in here, sir," said a beautiful, sassy girl about a foot taller than Logan. She was wearing a Santa's Helper apron and a name badge: Sylvia.
James frowned. "So how do we open the package?"
"You don't," she explained with pointer finger gesture. Her fingernails were impressively long, sharp and purple. "Not until you buy it."
"Okay," James said easily, pulling out his wallet.
"I can't sell it to you right here. Do you see a register in front of me?"
The guys all exchanged glances. "Trick question," Carlos mouthed to the rest of them.
Logan took over. "So where is there a register?"
"Right there, at the front of that loooong line." She smirked at them. "You might want to take a number."
James looked over at the number dispenser nearby and grabbed the next slip: 563. The sign up on the wall read: CURRENTLY SERVING NUMBER: 501.
"And we might not," Kendall pointed out, his eyebrows scarily high. "My friend is on a life and death phone call right now and he needs that charger."
"Four percent," James said, holding up his phone and shaking it in her face as annoyingly as possible (which was pretty annoying, everyone thought).
The girl raised her eyebrow at him, unimpressed. He raised his eyebrow right back.
"Oh, you wanna' go?" She said, putting her hands on her hips. "Let's go."
Kendall put his hand over James' mouth to stop James' sassy reply. "No, he doesn't, because he can't because we-"
But she interrupted him, holding up her neon watch. "Ohhhh, look, I'm now on my fifteen-minute break, which means that you are someone else's problem." She snapped loudly somehow with her inch-long fingernails and walked away.
"That's IT," James yelled and threw the package on the floor then threw himself on top of it WWE wrestler-style, yelling all the way down.
"Excuse me," a quiet voice said, and a small hand tugged at Logan's sweater. He turned from the distressing sight of James-versus-the-charging-cord-case and found a young boy with dark skin and tousled curls. He had a slight British accent as he spoke, "Are you Logan from Big Time Rush?"
"I am," he said, nodding. "Are you a fan?"
The boy's eyes lit up and he nodded, tugging Logan past the roped-off line of customers and toward a lady standing at the front of the line. "Mum! It's them: Big Time Rush," he yelled and tugged Logan under the rope.
"Excuse me, sorry," Logan kept saying as they passed a few more people, but he saw mostly smiles on the other customers' faces. "I think he's a fan. Sorry!"
"Logan!" Kendall called. Logan turned to look and something flew at him. The charger, still in its case, landed right in his hands. "Buy it!"
"Oh, right. Uh, sorry," he said to the last few customers at the front of the line, "I wouldn't do this, but it is an emergency."
An older lady near the front laughed at him. "It's fine. Merry Christmas."
The boy tugged Logan farther until he was face to face with the little boy's mother. It turned out that she was also a fan and was very happy to have him cheat in front of her.
"Thank you so much," he said gratefully. "This phone call is really important and-"
"Fifteen dollars," the bored clerk at the register said.
"No, no," the boy's mother insisted. "I will pay. But only if you will sing us a Christmas song before you leave."
Logan hesitated, then looked over at the guys. Kendall smiled and nodded.
"Kendall," James protested.
"One song. We can plug in the phone and let it charge while we sing. Come on, guys," he said, gesturing to the little boy beside Logan. "Look at his widdle face."
James had to smile at that. He did love to make the fans happy. "Okay, one song."
Kendall gave them a thumbs-up and Logan happily turned to tell the boy. "You got it. Thank you so much," Logan told the boy's mother and got rewarded with a beautiful smile.
"Anything for my favorite band," she said. "You have always made me so happy."
Then James was calling to him, "It's on two percent, Logan! Hurry!"
The clerk had finished ringing it up and held it out. "Here you go."
"Can you open the package, please?"
The clerk looked surprised, but said, "Ooookay."
"Hurry!" Logan told the clerk and yelled over to Kendall, "find an outlet!"
"OUTLET!" The guys all yelled, scrambled around, dodging people and apologizing even more until again, Carlos yelled out, "Found one!" They all gathered in front of it and looked at Logan, who was watching the hands of the clerk as he fumbled his way through the packaging.
The little boy looked up at him and said in his tiny voice, "Sir, is that a car charger?"
Logan blanched. "Oops." He called over to the guys, "it's a car charger. Won't work in an outlet."
A customer called out from the line, "They need an adapter. Anyone see one?"
Another customer called out, "There's a charging station over here with a car adapter."
The guys all yelled, "THAT WAY!" Customers scattered as they ran toward the station, James leaping another table on the way, but unfortunately, the small Christmas tree didn't move out of the way and Carlos knocked it flat, sending ornaments flying. "Sorry!" he yelled, scrambling to pick them up.
"Ring up that adapter, too, please," the mother said with her beautiful accent and the clerk nodded.
Most of the customers were watching the drama unfold now. A few were even filming as Kendall and James made it to the station and whipped around to look at Logan. "Logan!" Kendall yelled.
"It's at one percent," James yelled, staring at his phone with wide eyes. "We're going to lose her! Oh my god..."
"Hurry!" a few customers cried out.
"Hurry, you stinkbucket!" the little boy cried out in his adorable accent.
"Here," the clerk yelled, and Logan snatched it out of his hand.
"Kendall!" Logan yelled, tossing the charger and watching it flip end over end until Kendall snatched it out of the air. He plugged it in the adapter and held up the end for James, who jammed the small plug in its place on the phone.
"It's charging," James whispered as he put it up to his ear. "Miranda?" He smiled and then held the phone up in the air. "She's still there!"
A lot of people cheered, though not the employees cleaning up the Christmas tree. Kendall did his happy dance and Carlos joined in. Logan thanked the family who bought the charger and slipped back over to the guys.
"So what should we sing?" Kendall asked once he arrived.
"Beautiful Christmas!" a fan from the line called out.
"I was just going to say that," Carlos agreed.
"Okay," James said, "but we have to get back on the road as fast as possible. Those guys took Taylor, remember?"
"Yeah, but we can't sing a Christmas song while we're worrying," Kendall put a hand on James' shoulder. "So just for a few minutes, focus on the fans here, all right?" James nodded and the other guys smiled. Kendall pulled up a C note on his phone and they tuned their voices and warmed up for about thirty seconds. Then they faced the crowd.
"Can you guys give us a double beat like this? It's pretty easy." Logan started off clapping a double beat and a lot of people joined in, happy for some entertainment. One long-haired guy with a black beanie took drumsticks out of his back pocket and used a tabletop to take up the beat.
"Nice!" Kendall told them. "All right, James, take it!"
And he sang over the background beats:
"Put down video games
Pick up some candy canes
And hang a wreath on your door," James sang as if nothing was wrong.
Kendall smiled and picked up the melody.
"Hey, give back to those who need
Bring peace and harmony (which they all sang in harmony)
'Cause that's what Christmas is for."
Logan sang next, still clapping the beat.
"And this Christmas this Christmas
We'll celebrate a wonderful year."
Carlos gave one of his famous spins before singing his lines.
"Oh, this Christmas, this Christmas...
We'll decorate the halls with love and cheer."
Then all the boys joined in.
"We can make a beautiful Christmas;
We can make the world shine bright.
As long as friends and family are with us
Every star will shine tonight.
We can make it beautiful- this Christmas.
We can make it beautiful- this Christmas.
We can make it beautiful- this Christmas.
We can make a beautiful Christmas."
They finished the song to loud applause and for a few moments, the whole store seemed brighter and happier. But James was vibrating with tension so they apologized quickly and headed for the door. "We'll explain the whole story as soon as this is over," Kendall promised the fans.
The Verizon store manager was holding the door open as they exited. "Maybe next time, you should check with me before commandeering my entire store."
"Sorry," the guys all said on their way out, waving to the fans. "Merry Christmas!"
As soon as they got back in the car, their smiles died. How were Miranda and Taylor going to have a Beautiful Christmas? Was there anything they could do to help them or were the boys in hopelessly over their heads?
James knew they'd just sung about hope, but he had the horrible feeling that things were about to get worse.