A/N: So I'm stuck in the car for 18 hours heading back to Indiana. That means it's time to type. Thank you to Jistone, slowdownlittlelade, BadLuckGrl13, AlexaSummer, huyandhieu, Monocle51, TidusGT, Sum1cooler, duckduck4, squoctobird, and Lewkis for your reviews, faves, and alerts. As always they mean so much.

Just a note before this chapter though- I have friends who live in France and speak the language natively, and I did notice that most of the time when they speak English they replace "th" with "z", so I did that here. Hope that doesn't result in any confusion for anyone reading. Also, with the texts in here, if any of you have an iPhone, you'll probably know about group conversations. For those that don't, when you send a text to multiple people, it creates a larger IM type conversation between all the recipients.

Now, let's get the show on the road!

Disclaimers: I own nothing but the ideas and any OCs that you may see. Read the bottom note for an explanation of the OCs.

Chapter V

"Bienvenue and welcome to zee program," the woman said in her thick French accent. Carlos laughed at her voice, and James shook his head at how easily amused his roommate was. The tall brunet looked back up at the screen, watching French subtitles scroll across the bottom. "Zis morning we have monsieur Logan Mitchell here to answer a few questions for us." The gymnast and his manager walked on, Logan nervously waved and smiled. The tan boy giggled slightly at the sight, watching as Logan turned to the woman when she started to speak again.

"So, how are you zis evening monsieur Mitchell?"

"I am doing quite well, thanks, and please, do call me Logan," the short brunet took the woman's hand, kissing it lightly before sitting down. Carlos smirked at the sight, hearing the woman on-screen giggle lightly. 'What a gentleman he is…'

"Well Logan, how do you feel being here at zee Olympics, especially after having won your fourth golden medal?"

"Well, it's nice, everyone is being helpful and supportive here. Well, the other gymnasts aren't so much, but everyone else is nice enough." The reporter smiled at him again, scanning him over once more before starting anew. The blond man sitting next to him just kept the same contented smirk as before.

"I see. And are you excited about zee recent fame and popularity zat zeese medals have brought to you?" Logan's lips turned downward.

"Frankly, I don't like being famous."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, I mean, I may be a great gymnast, but who says that I want the crazy celebrity life? I've actually given away every single gift that I've been sent, and almost all of my fan mail is sitting unread in a pile in my hotel room." Carlos' heart sank at the last few words.

"It's true, Logan isn't the type to love gushing and he's given all the little gifts that have arrived to a charity," the blond by his side affirmed.

"I bet he didn't even give my letter a sideways glance," the Latino sighed, slumping a bit and feeling James' hand rub a soothing circle on his back.

"It's possible man, he said most of it. And seeing how much care you put into that thing it must have caught his attention for at least a second." Carlos smiled at his friend.

"True, I did put like five whole dollars worth of extra stamps on that thing. Heck, maybe he did read it."

"Most of the letters that I kept are from any young children that write to me." The two college students turned back to the program upon hearing the gymnast's voice again. "For instance, I received a darling letter from a little girl named Lily yesterday, and I felt really great after reading it."

"Zat's very nice. Now you said 'most of zee letters'. Does zat mean zat zere are others zat you keep?" The brunet onscreen smiled and closed his eyes, apparently enjoying the memory.

"Yes, there's one other one that I decided to keep. The guy who sent it made sure it was taken really good care of. There had to be at least five extra stamps on that thing." Everyone on screen laughed. James and Carlos just turned to stare at each other in disbelief, but they both noticed when the gymnast's manager raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Yeah, it was from a college student in California by the name of Carlos. It was nice and neat, which is another thing that drew my eye to it."

"Is zis 'Carlos' someone zat you've been hoping to get home to?" the blond woman asked, smirking and raising an eyebrow in a way that mirrored the blond man sitting across from her. The tan boy watched, completely shocked. It was his letter. The guy of his dreams had actually looked at his letter out of the thousands he had probably received from people all across the country. He saw the pale boy on screen flush bright red.

"Maybe a little, I mean, I've never met him of course, he's just a fan. But he invited me to come have a talk with him."

"So zis boy asked you on a date?" Apparently it was still possible for the gymnast's face to grow even redder than it already was.

"I-I guess? I mean, he just offered to h-have a chat with me. He guessed that most of the other athletes here aren't very intellectual and offered to have a smart conversation. He's right, by the way. Either the other athletes don't speak English or they're dumb as a cinderblock." Everyone laughed again, but Carlos just jumped up from the sofa, absolutely elated.

"Fuck yeah! That's my letter, man! He freaking read my letter and now he may want to actually come meet me! Me of all people." Carlos put a hand over his heart, which seemed ready to beat its way straight out of his chest. "God, I may just have a heart attack." The tan boy bounced around the room, completely overjoyed. James smiled at his friend, standing up to grab another soda from the fridge. He dodged his way past the flailing mass of limbs that was his roommate, walking into the kitchen when his phone buzzed.

'Finally, a reply,' the tall brunet thought, pulling the device from his pocket and seeing a few new texts pop onto the screen as soon as he checked the old one.

Me- Band practice today and Monday 3pm. Meet at usual place, Rocque's Sound Booth.

Jett S.- jeez, took long enuf for papi to pick a damn song

Dak Z.- Okay then, that works.

Jett S.- o hey there Dak, howz life?

The phone buzzed multiple more times in rapid succession, and James sighed. Dak and Jett didn't get along amazingly well, and they always argued over text even if they acted semi-civil in person. James joined the conversation when the two started fighting.

Dak Z.- Jett, shut the hell up

Jett S.- u mad bro?

Me- Jett, just shut it and bring your damn sticks

Jett S.- o, i'll bring my stick alright

Dak Z.- (facepalm)

Camille R.- I came into this conversation at the wrong time, didn't I?

Me- Jett, stop talking

Jett S.- wut r u gonna do, kik me out of da band? i'm the best drummer on campus, pretty boy, u can't replace me

Aaron K.- dude this is hilarious, keep going

James sighed, taking his soda back over to the couch. At least, halfway to the couch before he was smacked in the face by one of Carlos' still flailing hands. The soda and phone flew from James' grasp, spilling onto the floor. The tall boy scowled, grabbing his phone before the sugary drink managed to make its way over and ruin the device. Glaring at his friend and running a hand through his silky hair, he went to go grab a mop, the tan boy still dancing about happily, completely oblivious to the situation at hand and all of the rest of the talkshow.

Logan stumbled off the stage of the talkshow, coughing loudly and grabbing for a glass of water on a nearby table. That last question had left him pretty unnerved and flustered, she had basically asked if this Carlos guy that he had never even met before was actually his fuck buddy and if he was having an affair behind the back of his nonexistent fiancé. And Kendall had just been sitting there the whole time snickering about it. Gulping down the liquid, he heard heavy footsteps walking up behind him.

"Hey, dude, what up?" he heard his manager ask in a strict yet caring tone. Turning to the tall blond, Logan noticed the concern in his eyes. "You totally just looked like you were going to faint then ran away."

"Look, that lady is making me really, really fucking uncomfortable. She's asking so many questions about this guy that I just received a letter from yesterday." The taller man scratched his head.

"Well, yeah, about that… why did you keep that letter?"

"I already said that he seems like a nice and interesting person."

"Yes, but are you actually planning on going to see him? I mean, you had better, he was probably watching and now you got his hopes up."

"I was already going to. As soon as we get home… well, maybe a quick nap first, but then I'm going to see him." The blond grinned at his friend.

"There ya go, getting out to meet the fans, maybe sign an autograph, talk for a few minutes, then go ahead and get going back home. It'll be the perfect opportunity for a little bit of mingling with your adoring fans." Logan sighed.

"Well, he sent a picture along with his letter, and-"

"Oh, really? That'll make it easier to find him I bet. Now, let's see him," Kendall butted in, stepping a little closer as he watched his friend pull out his wallet. "You put the picture in your wallet? Wait, that means…" Logan put the picture up in his friend's face. The blond scanned it over once. "Well… um… he's seems nice, I guess. But you have it in there, which means that you're really wanting to meet this guy."

"Uh-huh," the gymnast replied, nodding slowly and blushing lightly. Kendall smirked, seeing that Logan had just confirmed his suspicions.

"Aw, little Logie has a crush on his fan, how cute." Logan's face turned a deep red color, and he punched his manager in the shoulder.

"Shut up, you should have seen what he wrote in the letter; he's a total gusher, he definitely feels the same way about me. But that woman is assuming that he's already my boyfriend and is waiting for me back home with bated breath and it's making me seriously uncomfortable," he replied, fidgeting a little as he shoved the small image back into his wallet and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Kendall looked up, somewhat concerned for his friend's feelings, but then clapped a hand on the shorter boy's back.

"Look, we don't have to go back out if you really don't want to. I can tell the woman that we're done for today and then we can go back to the hotel for a swim."

"…You promise?"

"I promise."

"And will you actually get in this time?" Logan grabbed his friend's large hand and looked up at him, eyes wide and begging. Kendall tried to resist, but he couldn't.

"…Fine, I'll get in."

"Yay!" Logan shouted as he started to pull the blond away. He struggled to stop the short, muscular ball of sudden energy, but couldn't, simply shouting at him instead.

"Wait, Logan, I still have to tell her that we're leaving!"

"Oh Kenny, you have to learn that it's okay to be rude sometimes. Just be spontaneous!"

"Where is everyone?" James was annoyed. He expected that with two hours of notice that everyone would be in the practice room and ready to go at exactly three o'clock. Nobody except him and Carlos were there. He looked over to the tan boy who was in the process of adjusting the microphone. Upon getting it to the perfect height, he sang a couple notes into it, proceeding over to the speakers right afterwards to check them for sound quality as well. James sighed again, looking at his phone. 3:08. Mr. Rocque only lent them the sound booth for a couple hours after extensive begging and promises from the pretty boy, and they had a lot of work to do.

Finally, James heard the door open and watched as his bandmates filed in. Jett walked in first, spouting off some story about a girl or something.

"So in the end, it totally rocked," the drama major finished as he stepped into the room, drumsticks in hand. Another brunet boy with short hair, Aaron, laughed from behind the actor, and Dak rolled his eyes from further back.

"You know Jett, you're so full of shit."

"Oh really, Dak. Tell me, when is the last time you got a girl? Oh wait, I'm sorry, I mean a guy. Fucking fag." Dak's face turned beet red, his nostrils flaring. James glared at his stuck up friend.

"Didn't I tell you not to use that word around the three of us? Oh yeah, I did. Never say that word if Dak, Carlos, or I are nearby or I'll kick your ass into next week." Jett scoffed, but seeing the murderous look in both James' and Dak's eyes, he shrunk back, hands up in front of him.

"Okay, okay, jeez. Don't get your skirts in a bunch," he conceded, slouching over and walking towards the drum set to bang out a few notes. During the whole confrontation, Camille had just been gossiping up a storm with her blonde and strawberry-blonde friends.

"Did you see what she was wearing?" Camille was referring to a girl that they saw on the way over. "She had a total Goth look, except she looked like a slut at the same time. She was a 'sloth'!" Her friends laughed, Jesi the strawberry-blonde pushing her green-framed glasses higher onto her face to keep them from falling as giggles escaped her mouth.

"Oh I know, hideous, wasn't it?"

"Totally disgusting, who would ever think to dress like that?" the last girl, Rachel, said. All three girls laughed, and James sighed. It was as if the rest of the band didn't exist to the girls at the moment.

"Ladies, please, can we get to work?" The three looked over to James as if his presence had surprised them. He tapped his foot on the ground impatiently. "Gustavo only gave us this room for two hours, and since the six of you took so freaking long to get here, we may not get to practice both songs. I know that we're all good enough to play it by ear, so let's go." The two nodded, walking toward their spots.

"Okay," Carlos stepped to the front. "For both songs, I'll be lead, James will be bass, and Jett will be drums as always."

"We already assumed that, papi, hurry it up," Jett sneered sarcastically. Carlos glared daggers at him for the nickname, and the actor looked right back with a snobbish smirk stuck to his face. Sighing, the tan boy looked down at the list in his hands again.

"For the first song, Dak and Aaron," he continued, pointing to the brunets who were standing side by side in front of him, "you two are on guitar and will both be singing harmony. Dak, you have rhythm, Aaron, you have riffs." The two high-fived, spouting off various small sayings as they grabbed a couple of the electric guitars that were sitting against the wall. Carlos smiled at their enthusiasm, and then turned to the three remaining girls.

"Camille, you get out the electric keyboard, and Jesi and Rachel, I need you to hit up that percussion cabinet for a triangle, some bongos, and a tambourine. You have to be on the ball with this stuff, there's no time for breaks during these two songs." The tan boy clasped his hands together, looking at his friends grabbing everything. He licked his lips, getting ready to sing his heart out as he grabbed his iPod out to play them the song.

"This band amazes me every time," James said as the group walked out of the sound booth. They already had a pretty good grasp of both songs after only two hours, and James was stunned at how good and close to the originals they sounded. Now they just had to make the songs better than the originals. James smirked at the idea.

'Better than the originals… is that possible? Hell yeah it is, and we're going to do it.'

"I told you Jamie, we're unstoppable," Jett blurted out arrogantly, his prideful grin still not having dropped the entire time they had been practicing. "We can learn any song that we put our minds to." The actor patted Carlos on the back. "And papi here sounds so much like the original singer that there's no way we can sound bad."

The tan boy beamed widely and nodded in agreement, ignoring the annoying nickname for once. James smiled sadly at his friend. After singing so passionately for so long, Carlos had almost completely lost his voice for the next day. But the tan boy was happy. They were going to sound amazing at the concert, and he couldn't wait. James put a hand on his shoulder, and the Latino smiled up at him.

"Remember everyone, practice on Monday at three, if we get this down it may just be our most successful set ever."

"We got this, no sweat." Jett's smirk seemed omnipresent. James rolled his eyes, bidding most of the group farewell. Dak stepped over to join the two roommates on their walk home. James waved a greeting before turning back to his best friend.

"Ready to go home?" The tan boy nodded in response. Even though he couldn't speak without pain for the time being, he was extremely excited. In two more weeks he would be performing some of his favorite songs in front of a lot of people. And they were going to love it. And since the Olympics were so close to over, maybe Logan could possibly be there.

'Don't get your hopes up Carlos,' he thought, but he secretly believed that fate would plan something special for him.

A/N: Eighteen hours in a car does wonder's for a guy's thoughts. I mean, just look at how Maize turned out (thank you to everyone who reviewed, faved, and alerted for that, it means a lot). Just for everyone to know, the OCs (Garrett, Aaron, Rachel, Jesi, and Mitch next chapter) are only in there for filler (although someone gave me the delicious idea of Garrett coming back… thanks for that, it may just happen now, but no promises). I mean, seriously now, in a show with only 14 or 15 major characters you run out pretty quickly, so I have to improvise. And seriously, they're on a freaking college campus. The first people that come to mind are the people I know in real life. I know I could have used the Jennifers but it's really hard to only use 2 of them and not feel bad for the third one.

First time writing for Jett; arrogant enough for ya? And Dak… does he actually have a pre-determined personality or am I basically allowed to make him do whatever I want? I like the second one…

Next chapter is a big one. I know there's still one more Olympic event that men can compete in (Logan has 4 medals, Floor, Single Bar, Vault, and now Pommel), but Horizontal Bars is so boring in my not-so-humble opinion, so I'm just going to bounce over that subject and get on to the fun part. And the songs. Oh how I love these songs… Well, have a great night everyone.