.:CHAPTER TWELVE – Constant Change:.

"Wow, can you guys believe that three months has gone by that quickly?" Mrs. Knight asked as she prepared breakfast one morning. She walked over to the sheet of paper that was hanging off the see-through refrigerator and picked it up. "The Jacksons' flight should have landed by now," she looked at the boys and Katie with a bright smile. "Don't be surprised if they suddenly come barging in here, Patrick always seems to know whenever I'm cooking something."

"Yeah, it should be awesome," Logan commented from where he was pacing back and forth. "Does the itinerary say exactly when their plane was supposed to land?" He walked over to the counter and placed his hands in the counter, looking like he wanted to start clawing at it. "And at what airport? You know, adding in traffic and everything I want to be sure of what time they get here."

"10:00, about an hour ago," Mrs. Knight replied and looked at him strangely. "Are you ok, Logan? You look a little tense."

"Tense?" Logan gave a high-pitched laugh. "Who's tense?" He walked over to the couch, where Kendall, James, Carlos, and Katie were sitting watching TV. He drew his hands up to his mouth and started to lightly chew on his nails.

"Logan, what is the matter with you?" Katie reached up and knocked Logan's hand from his mouth. "You've been on edge ever since they left and now you're acting even more creepy than usual."

In a word, Logan was a mess. Ever since the Jacksons had gone back to Australia (like they did every three months or so) he had been having somewhat of a mental breakdown. He had insisted on calling, texting, Skyping, e-mailing, facebooking, or ScutButting one of the Jacksons every day while they were gone and if he missed a day he would freak out and immediately call them apologizing and asking what was wrong. Now, the others weren't stupid, they could tell that there was something really bothering him about them being gone, but they couldn't put a finger on it. Kendall said he was just a worrywart, James made a joke saying that he had become too attached to the family, and Carlos gave a actually smart answer by saying he just missed his best friends, especially after having not been around them for a while. They keep asking him why, but he just finds a way to swiftly change the subject, keeping them from the truth. Even Logan's girlfriend, Camille (whom he had started dating a few days after going to the amusement park with them) was starting to worry about him, he didn't care about his school work nearly as much and he would easily be roped into helping her with her acting, when he would usually try to stay away from her crazy antics that went along with it.

Carlos, as harsh as it could sound, didn't act any different since the Jacksons had left and that probably had to do with the fact that he was now dating Stephanie King. The two were always close, especially when Stephanie had tricked them into thinking that there was a Palm Woods ghost for their movie, and then going to the dance with him, their attraction to each other was always obvious. So obvious that it didn't surprised them that one night Stephanie came by, asking Carlos out on a date, claiming that she was tired of waiting for him to ask her. Of course Carlos was over the moon, as he had never been asked out on a date before, nor had he gone on a non double, triple, or quadruple date. And now here was this girl that he thought was hot, asking him out and they were going on a date alone. So he was focusing so much on that relationship, putting so much energy into it, he had almost forgotten when the Jacksons were coming back, and when he remembered he was excited, knowing that he was going to get into a lot of trouble and crazy antics with Patrick and Noah, and try to get out of it with Riley and Rhuben (who usually made it worse) and then fixed it in a fun way with Sydney. He was probably the only one out of the four guys and Katie that didn't particularly favor one Jackson over the other.

James, on the other hand, was ecstatic that they were coming back to LA for two reasons, the main reason being that he was going to be able to see Rhuben again. While they were gone, he had casually sent her e-mails, asking what was up, and they then started to continuously send e0mails back and forth to each other talking about everything from music to books to their favorite foods and their pet peeves. He wouldn't say that they were dating; he even went to ask Logan if it was ok if he asked her out. He was wary about it at first; even going as far as saying that he flat out wouldn't like it, but when James had asked why he was being so weird, Logan quickly changed his mind and said that he would be fine with it. But then, he had even gone and asked Dak about it, knowing that his friend had liked her for a long time and he said that it was ok, that the two of them were just friends, even though he would have strong feelings for her probably for the rest of her life. So James had asked her out for one of the few days after she got back home and she didn't tell him yes or no, actually, she didn't really respond to his question. But James being James, he just took it as a yes, started working out a bit more, and continued talking to her like he usually did.

Katie was beyond happy to know that they were coming back to LA. After being rejected by both Patrick and Noah, and talking to Lizzie about it for a while, she quickly sucked it up, saying that she was happy because she wanted to at least be friends with them rather than nothing at all. She even had a day planned where the four of them could hang out and catch up over what happened while the twin boys were gone.

Kendall, on the other hand, was probably the only person that everyone else wasn't sure whether or not he was happy that the Jacksons were coming back and of course that stemmed from the relationship that he had with Jo, while he still had obvious feelings for Riley. Kendall had accepted a date with Jo after slight hesitation, but after Jo told him that Riley said it was ok, he had continued to date her for about as long as the Jacksons had been away. If he or Jo were asked, they would say that their relationship was going fine and that they were happy, but none of the guys or Katie were convinced. Sure, they would go on dates, but Kendall never seemed to be really interested in them. Sure, they kissed and even made out in the apartment sometimes, but even Jo said it seemed like she had to force him to kiss her. Plus, there were the nightmares; they had started to become stronger and more frequent, enough so that Kendall started to talk to Logan about it, trying to figure out what they dreams meant and why they were happening so much, but they were still looking for an answer. He had started sleeping less and less, and that was starting to show in his work and in his personality, he wasn't acting the same way he usually did, although he tried hard to make sure that no one else was worried. But if they knew that almost every slight movement now caused him to flinch and back away from someone, or to cause the memories to start up all over again of the pain that his father put him through, they would be more than worried.

And it as something that he definitely didn't want.

"Nothing," Logan forced a smile and placed his hands back on his lap. "Nothing, I'm fine. See?" he pointed to his smile.

"Logan, put that smile away," James said slowly. "It's creepy, it's not helping you be convincing, and it makes me wonder why Camille decided to date you instead of me."

"You're dating Bella, kinda," Logan replied making a face. "So don't do something stupid to make her hate guys even more, it's already hard enough for her to talk to me, I don't need you to screw it up."

"I was joking, Logie." James raised an eyebrow. "Chill."

"Yeah, what's that supposed to mean, anyway?" Kendall asked, lowering the volume on the TV, turning to the smart boy. "She and Riley are your best friends and you've been calling them non-stop for the past three months. How is it hard for her to talk to you?"

Logan's eyes widened when he realized the mistake he had just made. "No reason," he replied with a shrug, trying to keep his voice steady. "They've just been busy from time to time, so I've had to call more than once."

"That doesn't make any sense," Carlos shook his head. "How does James flirting with another girl have anything to do with them being busy while being back home?" He rolled his eyes. "Duh, they're back home to work, of course they're busy."

"Unless there's something else that Logan isn't telling us," Kendall replied mysteriously, keeping his eyes locked on Logan, who started to shake under his gaze. "Out with it, Mitchell, we've known you long enough to know that you can't lie, because you can't do it under pressure." He crossed his arms over his chest. "What's going on?"

Logan looked over at Mrs. Knight, who continued to stand at the stove, cooking. He knew that she was listening to their conversation, but didn't want to butt in. She had also been worried when the Jacksons had left, he could see it in her posture and the way she went about her day, but she never said why.

Logan opened his mouth to say something, but the door was suddenly kicked in and everyone jumped, looking up at Camille as she calmly strode through the door with Dak, WayneWayne, Jo, Stephanie, and Lizzie trailing behind her.

"Kung-fu movie." WayneWayne supplied, causing the guys to nod slowly, as they backed away from Camille.

Dak laughed. "You better get used to it; her audition isn't until next month."

This earned groans from the guys and Camille rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "You won't get it until you're the ones that are as into acting as I am."

"Trust me Camille, that's not possible." Carlos replied.

Kendall laughed along with the others as Jo walked over to him, bent over on the couch, and placed a light kiss on his lips. Just like the Spiderman kiss. He thought to himself, giving her a small smile. But it faded when Jo took his face in her hands and looked at him with concern. What now?

"Kendall, you look beat, have you been sleeping?" Jo asked, turning the attention him.

"Yeah dude," WayneWayne added with a snort. "You look like you've been hit by a truck or something."

"Thanks," Kendall rolled his eyes in reply, gently moving his face from Jo's as he stood up on the couch. "I'm fine, I've been sleeping fine." He turned to Logan, giving him a sharp look. "Right, Logie?" He didn't want anyone to know or worry over his nightmares or lack of sleep. He hadn't woken up screaming for a long time, so no one needed to worry.

"Right." Logan replied with a pained smile. His cheeks were starting to hurt; he had been doing that a lot lately.

"Hello?" There was a double knock on the door and everyone turned to the sound of the voice to see Sydney standing in the doorway his siblings behind him. As usual, he had a bright smile on his face. "You lot look like you've seen the Bunyip or something."

"Finally!" Logan leapt to his feet. "I was wondering when you guys would get here. I'm so glad to see you and-"he stopped short, looking at them warily. "That's probably the most amount of black I've seen you wear in your entire life."

"Hey," Riley gave a lazy smile, slinging her arm around Logan's shoulders and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "They don't call us the DarkElements for nothing," she gave a wink when she finished her statement, causing Logan to raise his eyebrows.

It was true though, all five of them were wearing black vests, a t-shirt or tank top in their respective color with black on it, black studded belts, black jeans/shorts, and black socks and shoes. The only splash of color that seemed to be there was the streaks in their hair and their blue eyes that seemed to stand out even more due to the dark colors they were wearing. But what shocked Logan the most was that Riley and Rhuben were wearing black eye-liner as well as red/black and purple/black eye shadow smudged around their upper and lower lids. It wasn't that they didn't wear makeup before; he just hadn't seen so much of it on their faces.

That seemed to send everyone in motion as Jo, Camille, and Stephanie hurried over to Riley and Rhuben and grabbed them in hugs, so excited that they didn't even notice that the twins gave half-hearted smiles and hugs in reply, quickly get out of their grasps. Patrick and Noah talked to the guys for a few minutes, grinning as they talked about the beach and the weather and the girls, and then they moved over to Katie and Lizzie.

"Hey girls," Patrick's accented voice reached their ears. "How've you been?"

"Not nearly as good as you have been, obviously," Lizzie replied with an appreciative eyebrow raise. "Whatever they have in the water out in Australia, I need to get some of it."

"I heart that," Dak said loudly, turning to her and giving her a hard stare. "You're not going anywhere."

Lizzie rolled her eyes and waved a hand at her brother as Katie laughed. "It's just been LA over here, I've gotten a few auditions for commercials and everything, but I'm still trying to figure out a way to rule this place." She smirked. "Multi-Billionaire at 14 doesn't sound so bad for my resume."

"Impressive," Patrick replied, quirking his eyebrow.

"I'm guessing the guys haven't gotten into as much trouble with us gone," Noah added. He had obviously become secluded again, as Katie had to strain to hear what he had said, when she usually could hear him perfectly.

"Not so much," Katie pulled her hair behind her ears. "But I guess it's a good thing, I don't have to worry about being pulled into their idiotic schemes for a while." She lightly reached out and hit Patrick's arm. "Why'd you have to come back?"

Patrick grimaced, but passed it off as a smile, moving his arm away. Lizzie though, was quick to catch the movement.

"Hey, are you ok?" She asked gently. "That didn't hurt did it?"

"No, I'm just getting over a broken arm," Patrick replied smoothly. "Don't worry," he gave a wicked smile that unsettled both girls. "I'm not that easy to hurt." Beside him, Noah smiled quietly.

"So Hockey-Head how's it going with you and your better half?" Riley asked, finally turning her attention to Kendall, who was leaning against the back of the couch, his arms crossed over his chest. She made a face when she caught his appearance and then smirked. "If it's anything like your face then I would say not well." Kendall stayed silent as he looked at her. "I just threw you a line and you don't say anything back? Are you sure you're ok, Eyebrows?"

"I'm great," Kendall replied gruffly. He uncrossed his arms and rested his palms on the top of the couch. "How was Australia?"

"Good," Riley nodded once. After Riley had apologized, they didn't talk much while she had been away and that was obviously causing a strain between the two of them, as they used to be able to talk easily without any problems. "Its home, we did our music thing. Did you hear our new single Ready to Roll? Or did it not come out here yet?"

"I heard it online," Kendall replied as he continued to look at her, more like through her. "I thought it, the message, was very interesting." He said slowly and then finally smiled. "The song is awesome though, really upbeat, something you can slam dance to."

"Considering you already have trouble with choreographed dancing it doesn't surprise me that you're happy about it, Hockey-Head." Riley replied.

"Ok," Kendall suddenly licked his lips, standing up straight. "Because you always have a nickname for me, I'm going to come up with one for you that will annoy you, just to get back at you for it."

"Go ahead," Riley waved a hand. "I'm hard to annoy and you've got plenty of time to come up with one." Her eyes suddenly darkened as she looked away from him. "God knows I'm going to be around for a while anyway."

"Hey," Kendall suddenly looked concerned. "What's wrong?" His eyes slid down and he noticed a strange bruise on the side of her neck, almost completely hidden by the collar of her shirt, it looked like a finger print. "What's that?" he reached for her neck.

"Nothing," Riley slapped a hand over her neck and took a step away from him. "It's nothing."

But it's not nothing, I'd recognize that move anywhere. Not being able to explain a bruise and nearly jumping out of your skin if someone brings attention to it…I just have to get some proof first before I call her out on it… Kendall nodded silently, dropping his arm back down to his side.

"So Handsome, how have you been doing?" Rhuben asked as she turned over to the taller member of Big Time Rush and smirked up at him. She looked him over. "Obviously working out a little bit more," she cocked her head to the side. "If you want my advice, you may want to stop before you become a body-builder."

"Trust me, I won't get that bad," James replied slowly, not sure if he should have been offended. But he gave a charming smile. "Now, about that date that we had planned, are you still interested?"

"Yes," Rhuben replied quickly, looking over her shoulder at her brothers. "How about tonight?"

"But," James furrowed his eyebrows. "Don't you want to go home and get some sleep? Spend some time unpacking and all that, I'm sure your dad-"

"My dad is busy." Rhuben said slowly, as if measuring each word. "He won't even know I'm gone."

Ok, what is up with her? I have never seen her so eager to go out with someone, not even those guys that have gone up to her on the street and ask her out. Something else is going on, and I don't think it has anything to do with me. James looked at her silently.

"What?" she asked irritably.

"Nothing," James replied, shaking his head. "I just think that you should get some sleep, you should be experiencing some jet lag."

"Oh," Logan jumped into the conversation. "She can sleep here, on the couch or whatever," James gave him an odd look and Logan started to stammer. "I'm sure we have the space, we don't want them to drive home do we?" He blinked. "They could crash."

"Logan, are you sure you're-"

"I don't mean to interrupt," Mrs. Knight called loudly, grabbing everyone's attention. She looked at Riley and motioned to the phone that was in her hand. "Your father called and says that he wants you home." She looked confused as Riley looked away, rapidly running both of her hands through her hair repeatedly.

"We don't have to leave for another hour," Rhuben replied when Riley didn't say anything, taking a step closer to James and Logan. "Dad said that we could stay and hang out for a while." She looked over at Sydney, who seemed to shrink against Carlos' side, and then over at Patrick and Noah, who were standing close Katie and Lizzie.

"No," Riley spoke up, looking thoughtful. "We have to go and get some more food before we get home," she chuckled hollowly. "And you know Pat; he's so indecisive it'll take twice as long for him to decide what brand of Pop Tarts we want." She tilted her head towards the door. "So let's go, yeah?"

She waited for her brothers and sister to leave the room, before looking at the others, her gaze landing on Kendall for a second, before leaving the apartment.

"Something's different about them." Dak stated after a moment. "And I'm not just talking about their clothes."

"Yeah," Logan agreed with a heavy sigh. "You're right." I hope that we can talk soon, I don't know how much longer I can keep this secret, and it's eating me alive.

"We're not going home or to the store are we?" Patrick asked in a murmur as they head towards the elevator.

"No Patrick, we're not," Riley replied as she pushed the 'call elevator' button. "At least not right away."

"Good."

A/N: Sorry if it was hard to keep up with everyone's conversations with each other. Now you guys see how the Kendall and the others act after the Jacksons have been gone after 3 months. Of course Logan would be worried out of his mind, James would be happy because his semi-girlfriend is home, Kendall would be…conflicted about his relationship with Jo and Riley, Carlos would be happy he has a girlfriend, and Katie would be excited to see her best friends again. But of course with the Jacksons being with their father alone for 3 months, they would change a lot.

What do you think is going to happen next? I'll update again soon. Oh and listen to the song Ready to Roll by Jet Black Stare. Even though it's owned by them, I made it that it's the Jacksons' next single, listen to it, it's really good.

Cheers,

-Riles