Our Home

It was a gloomy day in Los Angeles. The animals hiding in their shelters, cars passing by causing more smog lifting in the air worsening global warming, and the rain pouring down everywhere. LA was known for it's perfect weather but obviously it wasn't the case. Big Time Rush, one of the boy bands that resided there in the city, were recording a new song in their record company, Rocque Records.

"No no NO! Stop it!" Gustavo Rocque ordered, shutting off the music. Being a loveable band, you'd think that their lives working in the music business would be easy right? Wrong. At least, that's how it felt when you have the most strict and angriest music producer ever. The band in the recorded booth stopped their singing and waited to listen to whatever their picky producer had to say. "All of you are HORRIBLE!"

"Oh come on Gustavo! We've been working for twelve hours! Of course we're going to sound off," a dirty blonde defended as he took off his headphones, the others doing the same. He was Kendall Knight, the leader of the group of best friends and band.

"No! That doesn't matter! You will keep WORKING until you have the song RIGHT- OWW!" He whined as he rubbed the back of his head. It was his assistant, Kelly Wainwright, who hit him with her lovely clipboard and a stern look present.

"Give the boys the break! They hadn't one in twelve hours and you know how they get just being stuck in a booth and you screaming at them is like," she reminded him. The woman was referring to the time when the band came in for their first day and after they were really grumpy. Not good for four teenage boys.

"Well they're dogs and they can go on for longer than they can!" The producer retorted. "We need to get this done and as you could see, we don't have all the time in the world because our next album will be coming out in a few weeks!" Kelly was about to advise him once more but an all too familiar CEO, Arthur Griffin, came in along with his right hand man (or how the band called him was 'the dude with the briefcase').

"Guess what Gustavo, we have all the time in the world!" The CEO threw his hands up in the air enthusiastically. The producer, assistant, and band (who had gotten out of the booth when he arrived) exchanged confused looks so he decided to clarify. " Well not literally of course. The next album is coming up but according to regulations and because I said so, I'm allowing the entire company to take a three week break!"

"Woohoo!" They cheered, clapping their hands or high-fiving. But they stopped when they heard the businessman clear his throat.

"Of course, this only applies if you finish this song by ten at night today," he said. He then changed his voice for a more dangerous effect. "So if want to have that vacation, turn that in on time or else," Griffin warned then motioned the man next to him making him gently tap his suitcase. Seeing the fearful looks of everyone else, he clapped his hands and returned to his cherry self. "Well! See you in seven hours! Gotta get me some warm pants." With that, he left.

"...Well I'm gonna take a break!" James Diamond, the 'face' of the band, announced after a few moments as he walked over to the couch and sat down, pulling out his mirror and lucky comb in the process.

"Oh no! You dogs are going back into the booth and-" Gustavo cut himself off when he saw the death glare Kelly sent him. With a reluctant sigh, he raised his two hands. "You dogs have ten minutes then we get back to work!"

"Thanks Gustavo," they all replied, relieved that they get some sort of break. Squishing themselves into the couch, they took out their phones and started playing games. Carlos Garcia, the helmet wearing teen of the band, was the one who started the conversation. "So what are you guys going to do on your vacation?"

" I...haven't really thought about it," Kendall admitted first, the other two nodding in agreement. "I'll probably spend my time with Joe. I've been wanting to take her to the new restaurant and picnic areas for some time now."

"I'll be with Camille," Logan Mitchell, the brains of the band, decided with a shrug. "She told me earlier this morning that she got a lot of auditions and asked me to help."

"And I will be searching for new girls around the Palm Woods and auditions to pursue my acting career," James ended coolly.

"What about you Carlos?" Logan asked.

"I'm heading back to Minnesota!" He exclaimed. He had been dying to go back home just to get the fresh scent of the snow and meet his old high school buddies, even though he didn't have any. The other three looked surprised by his answer.

"Wow. That's really cool Carlos."

"Are you sure you can handle going alone?" Kendall asked, a little worried sending the youngest to the big world. They had always been together so it was a little strange being separated.

"Well I didn't plan to be alone, I was wondering if you guys would come with me," he answered sheepishly.

"Oh. Well we can think about it. We'll tell you when we get back home," James decided. The Latino's face lit up.

"DOGS! BREAK'S OVER!" They heard their producer's voice boom. Although they were reluctant, the band headed back into the recording studio. At least, Carlos did but the others lagged behind.

"I don't think I want to change my plans," Kendall whispered.

"Me neither," the two agreed.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. Maybe Mrs. Knight and Katie might go with him," Logan theorized. The other two nodded, not worrying as much anymore. After their small talk, the three remaining members of BTR headed for the recording studio, not liking the idea of working for another seven hours.

"Good work Gustavo. You have managed to complete the album so that means we can head out to vacation," Griffin congratulated with his normal, enthusiastic voice. With a final wave of his hand, the businessman left the building.

"You heard the man! Fiji here I come!" Gustavo exclaimed, ducking down and popping back up with a floral shirt and tan shorts, as well as a suitcase in hand. The others whooped in excitement.

"Hey Kelly, where are you heading?" Kendall asked, not just because she's their friend but it's also for politeness.

"I'm heading to my grandmother's, haven't seen her in forever so I, along with my mother decided to visit for the time being," she smiled.

"That's nice," Logan commented. After saying their farewells, they all separated to their destinations. Taking a limo there, the boys went ahead and split up to tell their friends and girlfriends the news, even though it was ten at night they just couldn't hold their excitement. One of them specifically had other things in mind. So, heading up the elevator, Carlos made his way to apartment 2J to start packing his things because he already booked his flight tomorrow morning. As he entered, he noticed that all the lights were off so he concluded that everyone was asleep. Quietly, he made his way to his and James' shared room to start packing in his old duffel bag. Knowing Minnesota, he made sure to pack warm clothes as well as toiletries and other essentials. Once he was all done, he placed the bag in the corner of his room and exited it, making his way over to Jennifer Knight's, the mother of Kendall and his sister, room. He saw that there was a light illuminating from under the door so he knew she was up so he knocked on the door. After a few quiet seconds he heard a 'come in', so he did.

"Hey Mama Knight," he greeted. He noticed she was reading one of her book series about her dream guy, Fabio.

"Hi Carlos. Did you and the boys just come back? It's late," she pointed out.

"Yeah. We had to finish a song for Griffin. He told us that since we finished, he's letting his whole company go one a three week vacation," he explained with a grin as he walked over and sat on her bed.

"That's great honey! So what can I help you with?"

"Well, for my vacation I wanted to go back to Minnesota and I wanted to ask if you wanted to come along." She gave an apologetic smile.

"Oh I'm sorry honey but I can't. I have to stay here in case anything happens as well as doing my job here. What about the other boys?"

"Oh well they said they had plans but said that they would tell me if they wanted to come with me after all… I have a feeling they won't though," he explained but mumbled the last part to himself. Since it was so quiet in the room though, the stage mom heard it.

"I'm sure they'll come around," she reassured with a smile. "How about you take Katie with you?"

"That would be cool but I don't want to if she doesn't." The single mom waved her hand off nonchalantly.

"I bet she'd love to. Katie needs to remind herself of home anyways, I think LA's stock markets are getting to her. She needs to be reminded of who she really is, not that."

"I guess you're right. I'll book a flight ticket for her too then," he grinned. He got off the bed and headed to the door but not before they exchanged their goodnights. He made his way to his room, noting that James did not return yet, and changed into his pajamas. He flipped onto his warm bed and let the darkness consume him, a small smile plastered on his face.

It was now six fifty nine in the morning. Carlos had been staring at his alarm clock for an hour already, waiting for it to go off. He had a pretty nasty nightmare and couldn't go back to sleep. You might think it's probably nothing right? Wrong. His nightmare was about going back to Minnesota but once he got there, Gustavo sent him a message saying there really was no vacation and it was just a way to get rid of him. They all agreed to do it. Gustavo, Kelly, Griffin, Suitcase Guy, and worst of all the other three boys agreed on it too. When we woke up with a start, he realized that he was drenched in sweat and tears. It really hurt him. So that's why he was awake, because of that, staring at the clock for over an hour. But after a long minute, it went off. He quickly shut it off, jumped out of bed, and grabbed his bag to the living room. He was about to knock on Katie's room door when he realized that he only had his pajamas on. So, the Latino went to his room,grabbed some clothes, then proceeded to the bathroom to take a shower. After a short ten minutes, he was out wearing his favorite purple striped jacket, black shirt, jeans, and shoes.

"Can't wait to go back to Minnesota!" He whispered to himself. Though his excitement faltered a bit when he remembered his nightmare, but, he shook his head to get rid of it. Walking to the preteen's bedroom, Carlos softly knocked on the door.

Silence.

He knocked again but a bit harder.

Footsteps. He smiled, thankful that Katie was a light sleeper (other than when she had the headphones on). The wooden door opened to reveal an annoyed, groggy girl. She was Kaite Knight, Kendall's sister but the rest of the boys thought her as one of their own.

"Carlos," she spoke, trying to keep her voice down so the rest of 2J doesn't wake up. "What do you want?"

"Pack your bags because we're going to Minnesota!" He exclaimed but kept it a low volume. That statement woke her up.

"What do you mean?"

"Griffin let the guys and I have a three week vacation so I decided that I wanted to go back home and you're coming with me. So pack your bags, we're leaving in an hour. I'll make your breakfast," he rushed. Before she could ask anymore questions, the Latino left to the kitchen. As Carlos walked to the kitchen, he decided that he would make some eggs and toasted because he didn't have time to do anything special. Carlos knew how to cook, learning from his mom and Mrs. Knight, but a lot of people don't know about it - even the guys. After a good ten minutes, he prepared scrambled eggs and a half of toast, again, he didn't want to go all out. When he was finished, Katie had walked out of her room, fully dressed and showered. 'Lucky, she has a bathroom in her room only because she called dibs' Carlos thought bitterly as he served their food.

"Wow. I didn't know you could cook. I thought you would burn down the kitchen," Katie commented, impressed by the teen.

"Cooking is not hard, only takes patience and precision," he said matter-of-factly. The girl and boy sat down and enjoyed their food.

"Wow. This is really good. What did you put in it?"

"Uh, pepper," he shrugged.

"Why don't you cook instead of my mom, your home cooking is WAY better than hers."

"You never asked."

"We never knew."

"You guys don't know everything about me."

"Sure," she laughed. After they were a quarter away finished, she spoke again. "Are the guys coming along? They're not awake."

"No, I don't think they are. They said that they had plans so…," he sighed. She could tell it was a sighed of disappointment.

"Well I bet it could still be fun without them. Although I didn't SAY I wanted to go, I actually do miss Minnesota," she admitted to lighten his mood. And it did.

"I think so too." They finished their food, Carlos volunteered to wash their plates. "Did you pack your things?"

"Yeah...where are we going to be staying anyways?" She asked, genuinely curious.

"I'm going to ask mama Knight if we could use your guy's house for the time being. Could you wake her up for me, speaking of which," he said as he wiped his hands from the water. Katie nodded her head and left toward the direction of her mom's room. In the meantime, Carlos decided to brush his teeth. Afterward, he was finished, he walked out to see Mrs. Knight preparing breakfast. She turned to him with a smile. "Morning Carlos."

"Morning mama Knight. Could Katie and I use your house to bunk there for those three weeks?" He asked.

"Sure honey. I'll call the water and power company when you leave so when you two get there it will be ready. I'll also give you a couple hundred to use," she insisted.

"Thanks. We're going to leave in thirty minutes, our flight is at ten," he told her.

"I'll give you a drive there-"

"No it's okay Mrs. Knight. Katie and I are going to take a taxi, you're doing so much already I couldn't ask for more," he declined. Although she was a bit weary, she agreed. Carlos saw that Katie was on the couch, watching TV, with her suitcase beside her. So, he decided to join her and order a cab on his phone as well. After the half hour show ended, Mrs. Knight finished her cooking as well as the rest of Big Time Rush exiting their room. Immediately they noticed the suitcase and duffel bag, concluding that Carlos was indeed leaving to Minnesota. "Morning."

"Morning," they all replied back. They made their way to the couch, the two sitting there ignoring them.

"Hey Carlos?" Kendall called, making the teen turn to him. "We're sorry but we can't come with you back to Minnesota."

"*sigh* I knew you wouldn't," he dejectedly said. "You would rather spend time with things that you can do every other day than the thing you may won't see in forever."

"They're not 'things' Carlos, they're our girlfriends," Logan retorted.

"Yeah well I don't have one. Even if I did, I would have chosen to go back home, you know, to go back where we came from," he shot back, starting to get annoyed.

"We just don't want to, is that a problem?" James spiked up, putting his hands on his hips.

"No, it isn't. It's just disappointing," he ended the conversation with a frown. He stood and grabbed his duffel bag from the floor. Katie, who had been listening to the conversation, shot a dirty look to the three sadden teens then grabbed her suitcase, rolling it in the direction of the door. Mrs. Knight went ahead and gave the older teen two hundred dollars and a hug, giving one to Katie as well. The guys all looked at each other, seeing who was going to make the first move. It was James.

"We're sorry Carlos, but you have to respect our decision." The Latino gave a court nod.

"Bye guys," he said, saying it with little to no emotion. Katie just did a small wave, being slightly awkward by the situation. As they left to the lobby, Mr. Bitters was cheering that they were leaving but the two paid no mind. Katie shot him a dirty look while Carlos subconsciously glared at the floor. Outside, a taxi was waiting for them. After paying and telling the driver where to go, Carlos and Katie left for the airport.

The teen and preteen were seen sitting in their respective seats, beside each other, in the plane. Before he got on the plane, the Latino received a text from Kendall saying to have a good flight but he didn't respond. He was an even amount of disappointment and irritation. Katie, who was listening to her music, noticed the older teen's tense state so she decided to leave him alone for the time being. But before Carlos closed his eyes to take a nap, Katie saw something in his eyes that confused her.

She saw fear.

To be continued…