Please don't kill me! *hides behind James Maslow*

I am really truly sorry! There wasn't inspiration coming from anywhere because my Chorus class actually started behaving for a short while, which shocked me to the MAX! The 'good' them don't seem to be going anywhere for a while, so I'm just gonna have to learn to do without. I hope this chapter serves as an apology.

Now if you'll excuse me, James and I have some business to attend to. *pulls out a pair of handcuffs*

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Big Time Rush… I just rent them. ;) Aura, Lauren, and Nicole belong to their rightful owners. The only things I own are: Krista Dossie, the Odyssey School, and anything or anyone major that you don't recognize.

Chapter Two:

"Meeting the Guys"

Ever hear of the phrase 'Looks can kill'? Well, if there's any truth to that statement at all, there are four teenage girls who certainly would be dead, buried, and decomposing by now. Gustavo stared daggers at them for several moments, without blinking, and approached them, inch by inch. The whole thing was reminding Krista of something out of Wild Kingdom. He was the lion and they were the helpless baby gazelle.

"Please don't eat me!" Lauren yelled. She was using her tote bag to shield her face and kicking her legs wildly. Honestly, she looked like she was having what Nicole liked to call a "spaz attack."

"Ignore her," Nicole said. "The drama queen is going to CUT IT OUT now!" And with those words she delivered a quick smack to Lauren, who immediately stilled.

Finally, Gustavo was able to form a coherent sentence. And surprisingly, it was calm. "What was the last thing you worked on in here?"

"Uhm… 'Heal the World' and… 'Earth Song'." Aura snapped her fingers as the song titles finally came to her. "Both by Michael Jackson."

"Got the music right here!" The girls and Gustavo heard Kelly call from across the room. She had traded in her ever present clipboard with a moderately thick stack of red and white booklets. She was still sporting the Blackberry, though.

A plan had been forming in Krista's head from the moment Kelly said the word "music." Her friends took note of the sly grin on her face. Nicole was the one to actually speak, though they all felt the same.

"Don't even think about it!" Nicole whisper-yelled.

"Fine, I'll just do it, then!" She flipped her hair over her shoulders, wet her lips, and made her way over to the four guys, whose name's they still didn't know yet. On the way, Krista grabbed the booklets from Kelly, quickly saying something about her taking care of it and not to worry.

She felt Lauren, Nicole, and Aura's eyes watching her every move. As she closed the distance between herself and the guys' group, she decided to put a little "pep" in her step. Krista thought of her favorite song, which was California Gurls by Katy Perry, and strutted to the chorus. The guys all looked up at her simultaneously.

Three of them looked terrified – Nervous would actually be a better description – while the remaining one wasn't fazed at all. In fact, he looked downright smug. He grabbed Krista's free hand and lightly kissed it.

"I'm James, I'm in a band. And you have no idea how many times I've dreamt of a moment like this."

Krista forced a laugh to ease the awkwardness of the moment. "Big Time Rush, right? I love you guys. Anyways… do you need the music?"

No response.

Krista dropped a booklet onto James' lap. "Can you tell them what I said, please?"

"Just give 'em the music. They'll be fine."

Logan, Kendall, and Carlos came to just as promised. Each boy gave the girl in front of them a small thank you, but Carlos was having a tiny bit of trouble. Whenever he tried to speak, he would get tongue-tied and just end up stuttering. On another guy, Krista would have thought this weird, but it helped a little that Carlos was… well… adorable.

"It's okay, I understand," Krista giggled. "You're welcome."

And with that, she dropped a booklet in his lap, pinched his cheek, and went on distributing music to the rest of the class.

{***}

It took Gustavo around thirty minutes to get the class settled and to get started due to the fact that no one really knew for sure how the parts were divided up. Mr. West returned once more, so Kelly had asked him. And that's how they got to where they were now.

Gustavo, sitting at the piano in the middle of the room, flipping through the music, had one last question. "Who does the solo at the beginning of 'Heal the World'?"

Everyone's head snapped toward Aura, who was texting with her phone in her lap. When she finally looked up, her eyes widened.

"Why the hell is everybody looking over here?"

Lauren placed a hand on Aura's shoulder. "No need to play dumb, girl. You already know what we're talking about."

"I honestly don't. I wasn't paying attention."

"The solo…?"

She sighed. "What about it?"

"Get ready 'cuz we're about to run the song."

Aura rolled her eyes, placed her purse and cell phone in her chair when she stood up, and descended the risers. She stood behind the music stand that was set up right next to the piano. The sheet music was already there for her. After nodding to Gustavo, he began playing the introduction. Finishing the counts in her head, she started singing.

There's a place in your heart

And I know that it is love

And this place could be much

Brighter than tomorrow.

And if you really try

You'll find there's no need to cry

In this place, you'll feel

There's no hurt or sorrow.

Then, she stopped. The solo was done. She looked over at Lauren, Nicole, and Krista, who were smiling. That had to be a good sign. But it couldn't have been because no one else was saying anything. She knew she shouldn't have done this. Aura was on the verge of tears until all of a sudden, out of nowhere, everyone began clapping.

"Thank you," she said to her classmates. "Gustavo, can I sit down now?"

"Go ahead."

On her way back to her seat, she saw Kendall – Krista finally told them their names – smile at her and she almost tripped up the risers… almost. The last thing she needed to do was humiliate herself in front of the guy.

{***}

The time was 9:30 AM. There were only 29 minutes remaining in that period. Everyone was still congratulating Aura on how well she sang the solo. Gustavo had gotten a call over the intercom about two minutes ago, informing him that the attendance had not been submitted. So he and Kelly were in the office figuring out how to do that. The students were pretty much doing whatever. Krista had gotten Lauren, Nicole, and Aura to come with her and talk to Logan, James, Kendall, and Carlos.

Each girl was sitting next to or near their crush, chatting it up. As they laughed at something the guys said, they thought maybe, just maybe, Chorus wasn't bad after all.

And that's the second chapter. Read & review.

~Shauna Leslie-Maslow~