Here you go...chapter 2 and part 2 of the introduction, all rolled into one.

Disclaimer: Do I own Big Time Rush? ! That is the funniest thing I've heard all day! Nope, don't own Big Time Rush, and honestly, I can't afford to. Ahhh, you joker you...

Thank you for the reviews and the alerts and favorites! They mean so much, and I'm so happy to hear that you guys are interested in this story!

So...let's see what James is up to now...

Enjoy the chapter!


Chapter 2 – The Invitation Part 2

(Wednesday, April 30th)

James's POV

I was so bored. I hate album release parties. They're filled with CEOs and bosses and people in suits who I've never met and don't have much interest in meeting anyway.

The only good thing about this particular party was that: A) It was for me, and B) The food. Oh, and C) The dancers who Gustavo had hired for entertainment, and were clad in almost nothing. But honestly, they weren't worth much. Not to me anyway.

"Ah, there he is!" Griffin shouted as he approached me, clapping me on the shoulder with one hand and clutching a glass of wine in the other. "The young pop star who will be making me even more money than he already has!"

His daughter, Mercedes, smiled at me. "Congratulations on the single, by the way," she said with a flip of her long, curly blond hair. "Number one on iTunes, Amazon, and on the top forty, and that's just here in the United States!"

I shrugged modestly. "Thanks Mercedes, but it's not really a big deal. It's pure luck."

Griffin laughed. "Well, in that case, James, you must've caught a leprechaun and captured his pot of gold, because you've been bringing in nothing but luck!"

He patted my shoulder again and then walked away to go help himself to some of the fancy appetizers who's names I couldn't even begin to pronounce.

Mercedes grinned at me. "He thinks you're wonderful, and so do I." She took a step towards me, her blue eyes clouded slightly with the wine.

"Thanks again Mercedes," I said as I stepped back.

Another problem with parties like this one: Mercedes would drink a little too much wine, and would completely forget her policy about not dating guys who are prettier than her.

As much as I like Mercedes when she's sober, and as gorgeous as she is, I could never bring myself to really consider the possibility of sleeping with her. Maybe I would've eight years ago, but I wouldn't now. Besides, she's the boss's daughter. That's just wrong.

"Tell you what," Mercedes began again, her voice low and seductive, "why don't we take this conversation somewhere a little more private?" She slid the strap of her royal blue cocktail dress off of her shoulder suggestively and bit her lower lip, looking up at me from under her eyelids.

Ah, what the hell.

We had both had a little too much wine, and this party was completely boring anyway. What could it hurt?

I could answer that, but I wasn't going to. Instead, I just returned her seductive smile.

"That sounds perfect."

Mercedes flashed me a wider grin and spun around, flouncing away. She glanced over her shoulder as if to say, Well? Are you coming?

I hurried after her, hoping no one noticed our escape. She led me up a flight of stairs to an empty bedroom. We were in Gustavo's mansion, and he had about two million guest rooms. There was no way he was going to care about this one.

I closed the door behind me, and Mercedes launched herself at me, smashing her mouth to mine so hard that I felt our teeth clack together, but I ignored the jarring sensation. Her fingers were already fumbling with the buttons of my dress shirt and I was working on the zipper of her dress.

She ripped my shirt open and I shrugged out of it, just before I got her dress's zipper down. She stepped out of her dress and stood there, in just her strapless bra and thong. "I've always wanted to hook up with a famous pop star," she mumbled thickly as she reached for my mouth again. "And I've always wondered what you would be like, with a body and a voice like yours."

"Well, you're about to find out," I burbled back as I gently bit against her collarbone. She gasped, half from pain, half from pleasure.

"Ohhhh…James…"

I closed my eyes, pretending that it was Katie who was gripping my hair (probably messing it up – we would have words about that later) as I nipped along her neck and shoulder, that it was Katie who was moaning out my name.

I breathed through my mouth, refusing to inhale through my nose, because I knew if I did, I would smell Mercedes' Chanel perfume and the entire illusion would come crashing down around me.

And that's when my phone vibrated, completely ruining the moment.

I pulled away from her and made an apologetic face as she groaned and sauntered away, throwing herself on the king size bed.

"Sorry, just a second," I told her as I yanked my iPhone out of my pants' pocket to check the text message. What the fuck?

So James, congratulations! This must be such a proud night for you! You're about to bang the boss's daughter! You must be so thrilled! But dear oh dear, what would Katie say if she could see you now? Imagine those huge brown eyes of hers, so trusting, so innocent…Talk about painful. And she trusted you that night. Do you remember that night? I'm sure she does. I'm sure that night still haunts her. In fact, she probably considers it to be the biggest mistake of her life. But that wasn't my point. But congratulations on the album and your latest single! Number one in five countries! Your dream has come true…well, almost, anyway. And besides, it's all doubtlessly soured by this tedious party! But don't worry, your night is about to get a little more interesting (besides screwing Mercedes Griffin). You'll see what I mean soon. – The Replacement

Who the hell was The Replacement, and what did they want with me? And why did they have to bring Katie up? And "that night"…did that mean they knew…? Oh God…

And that's when my phone rang. I fumbled to answer it.

"Hello?"

"James, didn't you check your Caller ID? This is Kelly! A letter just arrived for you, it looks like an invitation. The delivery man said that it was marked urgent, so you better get your ass down here and open it!"

"Okay, I'll be down in a moment," I said. I hung up and turned back to Mercedes, who was still lying on the bed. "I'm sorry, they need me downstairs. I've gotta go."

Mercedes let out a heavy sigh. "Whatever."

I reached for my shirt and pulled it back on. "Are you coming?"

"Nope, I'm going to stay up here for awhile. Maybe I'll call Guitar Dude or someone to hang out with."

I rolled my eyes. She went through guys the same way I used to go through girls. I was probably the only guy at the Palmwoods who she hadn't had as a boyfriend at one point.

"Have fun," I called to her as I left the room.

"Oh, I will."

It was sad – I didn't even know if she was upset with me leaving, or if she simply didn't care. She was one of the only friends who I still had who I knew actually cared about me, but she was also a self-proclaimed slut, and she wasn't overly picky about who she slept with – especially when she was drunk. When she was younger, when we first met, she was a complete bitch – not that I cared. She was hot, and that was enough for me. But eventually Griffin started paying more attention to her, which was all she really wanted in the first place, and, well, she grew up. She's a lot nicer now than she used to be, although she definitely still has her Head-Bitch moments.

I walked down the stairs and reached the ballroom where the party was. Kelly and Gustavo were waiting for me, Kelly holding out an envelope. Gustavo was clutching an envelope himself, and the producer and the assistant were both frowning in confusion.

I took the envelope from Kelly wordlessly and examined it. It was plain and white with no return address. Well, that was interesting…I flashed back to the text I had gotten seconds before Kelly had called me; it had been a blocked number. And whoever had texted me had said that things were about to get very interesting…Could this be what they meant?

On the back was my name, Gustavo's address, and Cordially Invited stamped under the state-part of the address. Okay then…

"We got one too," Gustavo added, holding up his envelope. It had both his and Kelly's names on it, but it was still his address, with the same stamp underneath, at the very bottom.

"It's probably just an invitation to join some church group or something," I said with an eye roll.

"Gustavo and I would have each gotten our own invitation then," Kelly pointed out, "and yours and mine would have never been addressed to Gustavo's mansion."

"True," I conceded. "All right, then I guess I better open this thing up."

I gingerly tugged the envelope open, as if expecting it to be laden with a bomb, and I guess I kind of was, after that mysterious text.

The flap came free, and no bomb exploded. Well, that was uplifting.

I pulled the letter out of the envelope and flipped it open. My mouth dropped as I read it:

Dear James Diamond,

You will not know who I am, but I can assure you, I know exactly who you are. I have been keeping tabs on you for eight years, and have wanted to meet you for that lengthy period of time. And now I have been granted the opportunity to invite you on a cruise on the DLS Serpent, a cruise ship that my partner and I recently bought.

The DLS-S will depart from Santa Monica Pier on Friday, May 2nd, at 2 PM. Boarding begins at 12 PM. The DLS-S will sail around a specified route and will return on May 16th at the previously named pier. Your ticket has already been bought and paid for, you just need to give your name to the boarding officer when you get on the ship. All expenses are paid for as well.

If you decide against this cruise, I am warning you, Katie Knight will be in danger. I am watching you, and I can very easily arrange an…accident for her, since I have been keeping my eye on her as well. I do not advise you to ignore this warning or threat, whichever you prefer. And the threat will be activated if you choose to involve the police.

Keep all of this in mind when you make your decision. I hope you make the right one.

Good luck and I hope to see you soon!

-The Replacement

I stared at the letter. Who. The. Hell was The Replacement, and who the fuck did they think they were, threatening Katie and using her against me? What sort of cruise was this anyway? It had to be some sort of set-up, if I was getting blackmailed into taking it. And besides, how did I know this – person, if they could even be called that – had access to Katie? They were probably just bluffing, hoping to scare me. They probably didn't even know what she looked like. It was probably just some oddly smart paparazzi scam to get me onto a cruise ship full of strippers so that they could take pictures and claim that my morals were crumbling to the ground. Well. I wasn't going to do it.

"Do you think they're serious?" Kelly whispered to Gustavo, and I turned towards them. They were huddled together, reading the letter that they had received themselves. Their faces were pale and their eyes were wide.

"How – how can they be?" Gustavo muttered back. "How can they possibly get to the Dogs and Katie?"

My head snapped up. "You've been invited on a – " I checked the letter – "a cruise on the DLS-S ship too? What kind of name is that anyway? DLS-S?"

Gustavo snorted. "The same kind of name as The Replacement. This person is FUCKED UP in the brain, that's all I can say. You're under heavy guard twenty-four/seven, Kendall and Katie are both under the protection of a bunch of insane dudes with hockey sticks, Carlos has a small army of bodyguards, and Logan is protected by whatever security they give to young doctors. There's no way The Replacement can get to any of you."

"Katie's under the protection of the hockey team," I said, gripping the letter even harder.

Gustavo's beady eyes snapped on me. "She was the one who was threatened in your letter?"

"I – yeah."

"Why?" Kelly asked, eyebrows slanting in confusion. "I mean, I know she's Kendall's little sister, but…why her?"

"She's special to me," I said hollowly. "She always has been."

Kelly nodded, although she still didn't look like she completely believed me.

I crumpled the letter into a ball in my hand. "Look, I'm gonna go. I'm tired, and to be completely honest, Gustavo, this party is boring. Tell Mercedes I'm sorry for what happened – I'd kind of like to know she'll speak to me again. See you both later."

And I hurried off with Gustavo yelling after me, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MERCEDES?"

Thankfully, nothing.

I chuckled to myself as I paused at the doors to his mansion and turned around to flash him a sly grin, just to get under his skin. Kendall used to be so good at driving Gustavo nuts…Damn, I missed him just as much as I missed Katie.

After Big Time Rush broke up, Kendall, Katie, and Mrs. Knight moved back to Minnesota, and the next thing I knew, Kendall was being announced as the new center for the Minnesota Wild. Logan was in medical school, and according to reports (Griffin and Gustavo still kept tabs on him, for "safety purposes") he graduated in record time, and is now working at Minneapolis General Hospital. Carlos turned his love of stunts into a reality TV show. It's a bit like Fear Factor, where people basically just do stupid things that they're afraid of. Of course, they're always wearing protective gear and stuff, but I've seen a couple of episodes of it and its flipping crazy. I would not want to go on it. But Carlos is a fantastic host, and he's crazy and energetic enough himself to get the contestants pumped for their potential scars (both physical and mental).

And then there was me. I had been the only one out of us four Big Time Rush boys to actually want to become a singer, so I signed contract with Gustavo to continue on as a solo artist. I released an album nine months after the band split up, and I released a second album a year later. This third album was going to drop in three weeks, and I was proud of it. Each record felt more and more honest than the last. The first one sounded like the main purpose was to be played at a party, but the second one had a lot more depth. Plus, I switched from dance pop back to my roots as a pop/rock artist, with a little R&B thrown in on some songs. This third one, though, had me opening up about stuff that had happened before Big Time Rush split up – all a bit shadowed, of course, because I really didn't want to point fingers or go into detail about some stuff, such as the thing with Katie, how I had betrayed her; we all had our problems, and I guess they're the main reason why we went our separate ways.

The sad part though is that I haven't seen any of them since the morning the Knights left for the airport. Logan had flown out the night of the last big fight, and Carlos left the same morning as Kendall, Katie, and Mrs. Knight. Reports said that Logan had had absolutely no contact with any of them either, and when asked about Big Time Rush in interviews, Carlos would just blow the questions off. Kendall had made it very clear in one infamous interview that no one was ever to ask him about what had happened to tear us apart, and as far as he was concerned, Big Time Rush had been a part of someone else's life, someone else's life that wasn't his.

In-between recording songs, I had begun an acting career – I had been in two action movies to date. I was also a model for Cuda, something that I had wanted since I had first discovered expensive hygiene. Girls flocked to me, always willing, and I could afford pretty much anything. Life was good…except that I missed my friends, Katie, and Mrs. Knight.

I headed out to where my car was parked – a 2011 red Mustang – and slid in. I started up the ignition and pulled out of the driveway and onto the main street. I drove the fifteen minutes back to my house – a mansion really – and parked in the driveway. I headed into the dark house, dropping my car keys on the small table in the entrance hall, and proceeded upstairs to my bedroom. My entire house was furnished in black, white, and chrome, and my bedroom was no different. The bed was also king size, although lately there really hadn't been much point in having such a large bed, and covered in a black and white checkered bedspread with matching pillows. There was a black leather couch up against one wall, and a 42 inch flat screen TV (I had a 102 inch plasma TV downstairs).

I sighed as I began to unbutton my shirt. The last half hour had been insane, and the entire night had been draining. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and stay there for the next week or so. That sounded like a pretty good idea…

I glanced at the digital clock on my nightstand (black, of course) and saw that it was 1:05 in the morning. Not as late as it could have been, but that didn't change the fact that I was exhausted.

I had just gotten my shirt completely unbuttoned and was about to shrug it off when a small stack of glossy paper on my bedspread caught my eye. I snatched the papers up and my stomach flipped over and over about twenty times: The top one was a picture of Katie. It was the style of an old Polaroid picture, trimmed in blank white. It didn't look like she was posing for the picture, it was like the pictures of celebrities that showed up in tabloid magazines. Only she wasn't a celebrity…

She was leaving what looked like one of the buildings on the community college campus in Chasm Lake...It was windy, and her hair was blowing slightly. Her face was turned slightly away from the camera, and she was squinting in the sunlight.

The next picture was of her at…was that her car? It was an old Honda Civic, really crappy looking. What the hell? Why hadn't Kendall bought her a new one? He could definitely afford it, if the rumors of the Minnesota Wild's big win last night were true…

Katie was sticking her key into the driver door's lock, looking ahead, eyes not completely focused, her hair still blowing around slightly.

The third picture was of her at the front door of…her old house? She was unlocking the door, and this time the photographer only got her back, but it was still definitely her.

The fourth and final picture was the one that scared me the worst. She was in her bedroom, at her desk. The angle wasn't the best, and I had the disturbing feeling that the photographer had taken the picture through her bedroom window. Someone had gotten that close to her haven, someone had invaded her privacy that much…The thought made me want to throw something at my TV.

At the top of the picture was…today's – well, yesterday's – date, and underneath the picture were scribbled words: I had a feeling you would need some convincing, and I was right, now wasn't I? But keep in mind, Diamond, I can get to little Miss Katie very easily, just as easily as I can get to you. I got into her car, and left a newspaper clipping about Kendall Knight's victory on her passenger seat. What? You thought that she and Jennifer Knight were living with Kendall? They haven't seen him in person for over three years! So no, Diamond, she isn't safe, and she never was, and neither are you, although your boss seems to need some convincing, now doesn't he? Keep in mind, Diamond, I could get into your house, and I could get into Katie's car. I hope you've changed your mind, because it would be such a shame to hurt Katie's pretty face. –The Replacement.

I was shaking. How…why…what…?

I had to get in touch with Gustavo. He needed to know about this.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, but discovered that the signal was jammed. What the hell? I had never had problems with cell phone service before…unless someone was electronically jamming the signal…Shit.

I yanked my shirt back on and raced back downstairs with the pictures in hand. I snatched my keys up, and ran outside, remembering long enough to lock my door (not that there was much point if The Replacement could get inside), and climbed back into my car, and started the ignition.

I drove like a maniac on sugar back to Gustavo's mansion. Just as I pulled into the driveway, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket…the signal wasn't blocked anymore?

I ripped it out and saw that I had a new message: So you've figured out the danger, huh? Well, your boss obviously hasn't. Which is why if you're not out of that car in thirty seconds flat, you're going to go up in flames with it. –The Replacement.

I stared at the message, trying to comprehend what they meant…

…And then it hit me…

I snatched up the pictures, threw myself out of the car, and made a mad dash for Gustavo's house, pounding furiously on the door, completely forgetting that it was probably unlocked.

The door swung open to reveal Gustavo, Kelly, Griffin, and Mercedes, just as there was a BOOM…and my beloved Mustang exploded.

The explosion knocked me off of my feet, and I crumbled to the ground with a yell, hand raised in front of my face to block the heat.

I watched, eyes wide with absolutely no comprehension, as my car burned slowly, the metal crackling as it melted.

"Oh my God," I heard Kelly murmur as she knelt beside me.

"James, what happened?" Mercedes asked, sounding absolutely horrified as she kneeled down on my other side, hand on my shoulder.

All I could do was shake my head wordlessly.

Had someone just tried to kill me?

"The Replacement?" Griffin asked softly, and we all looked up at him.

"What's The Replacement?" Mercedes asked worriedly.

"Someone who's blackmailing all four of us," Gustavo answered, sounded shaken.

I looked up at him. Wait…Griffin?

"I got a letter too, a little while ago," Griffin answered my silent question. "I'm being threatened onto the DLS-S cruise ship."

Oh God. Griffin too?

"Mercedes, take James upstairs and get him some chamomile tea to help calm him down, he looks pretty shaken," Kelly said softly.

Mercedes nodded without a word and gripped my arm. With Gustavo's help, she managed to drag me up onto my feet. "Come on," she murmured, arm around my waist.

Everything was blurry, nothing was in focus, and I felt dizzy, as if I had been spinning in circles for the past five minutes, instead of watching my car blow up and just barely escaping with my life.

Mercedes led me through the entrance hall and upstairs, back to the bedroom we had been in earlier.

"Here," she said softly, gently pushing me down into a sitting position on the bed. "I'll go get you that tea. I'll be back in a little while."

My head was still spinning, and I could feel bile rising in my throat…I managed to stumble to my feet, and, leaning against the wall, managed to feel my way to the bathroom. I somehow managed to get the toilet lid up, and collapsed to my knees, a half second before everything that I had ate and drank earlier decided to give an encore performance.

I could feel my stomach lurching, my muscles contracting painfully with each round of vomiting. My throat burned, my head ached, and sweat dripped into my already bleary eyes.

I don't know how long I knelt there in front of the toilet, vomiting my guts out, but I'm guessing it was awhile, because the next thing I knew, someone was kneeling down beside me, wiping my forehead off with a cold washcloth.

"Oh James…" That wasn't Mercedes' voice…

My vision was still hazy, but I could make out a familiar girl with long, straight blonde hair, brown eyes, and a slim figure: Jo Taylor. What was she doing back? As far as I knew, she hadn't been in the United States since we were seventeen.

"Jo…" I managed to get out. My voice sounded horrible, hoarse and raspy.

"I'm here, James, I'm here." She swiped the washcloth over my cheeks. I could feel the water dripping down my face, pleasantly refreshing, yet nauseatingly cold at the same time.

"Oh...fu – " before I could get the entire cussword out, I was retching into the toilet once again. This time was weaker and didn't hurt quite as bad as it had, and I knew I was close to being done.

I leaned back on my heels and Jo wiped my face again. My vision began to un-blur itself, and I could make out her scared, yet sympathetic expression.

"How do you feel?" she asked quietly.

"Crappy," I answered. "But I'll live…I think."

She smiled weakly. "Are you – are you done?"

I nodded. "I think so…The dizziness is starting to fade."

She didn't ask what I meant, instead she just turned her head and called, "Camille, could you help me in here?"

"Camille's here too?" I mumbled out.

"Yeah, we both got invitations from The Replacement too, and they said we could find you and Gustavo and Kelly and Griffin here. We just didn't think we'd find the remains of your burnt car here as well."

Camille walked into the room, her dark hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun. "What do you need me to do?"

"Just help me help him up? He should probably rinse out his mouth and brush his teeth, and since this is a guest room, there's probably a toothbrush and toothpaste in one of the drawers."

Camille nodded and she and Jo together lifted me to my feet. "Mercedes got back with the tea, but she won't come in – she said the smell of vomit makes her nauseous."

Jo rolled her eyes. "Well, it doesn't do much for my stomach either, but you don't see me cowering in the next room like a five-year-old girl."

Camille gave her a reproachful look, before letting me go so that she could begin searching through the drawers underneath the sink. She quickly came up with some small paper cups, a toothbrush, and a tube of Colgate toothpaste.

With Jo's help, I managed to get over to the sink. I turned the faucet on and bent over, rinsing my mouth out with icy cold water until the worst of the burning sensation was gone. I readied the toothbrush and slid some toothpaste on the bristles before sticking it in my mouth. I took my time, trying to hit the back corners of my mouth, doing my best to get every little chunk of vomit out of my gums, just wanting the taste gone.

I finally finished, and spat and rinsed another five times before wiping my mouth with a towel. Jo and Camille gripped my arms tightly, supporting me, and together we managed to get back into the bedroom.

They let me fall onto the bed, and Mercedes stepped forward, cupping a mug of tea in her hands. She passed it over to me and I took a sip. It was warm, on the side of hot, and sweet. It slid down my sore throat muscles and settled in my now empty stomach.

"So you two got invitations too?" I confirmed, feeling the comfort of the warm mug against my hands.

Both girls nodded. "Yeah, this evening, and then we both got texts saying that if we wanted proof of what this – person – could do, than we better come here. And I guess we got our proof," Camille explained.

I turned to look at Jo. She was older, more mature, than she had been when I had last seen her. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a simple ponytail, and she wore little to no makeup.

"Why are you back in the U.S?" I asked. "I mean – that didn't come out right. I just – I thought you were somewhere in Europe."

Jo shrugged. "I was. But production on the movie got halted due to some problems with the budget, so I came back out here to spend some time with Cam and my older friends, and…Stephanie's here by the way, she's downstairs. She's looking for clues in our invitations – she got one too, did I mention that? – for clues as to who this person could be, but she'll be up soon…"

As she said that, the door opened and Stephanie King walked in, her dark brown hair swinging down around her shoulders. "I couldn't find anything," she announced, crossing her arms angrily. "But I'd kind of like to know who the hell thought they could do something like this."

"When did you get your invitation?" I croaked out.

"Earlier this evening, along with tickets for the first flight out of New York. I called Jo and Camille since I kept in touch with them after I moved back to the Big Apple, they picked me up, and things just kind of snowballed from there."

I nodded, feeling the rest of my strength beginning to leave me.

"Oh, by the way, I picked this up – I guess you dropped it when you were puking your guts out." Camille slapped my phone in my hand.

I activated it to check the time, and felt my stomach lurch a bit as I saw I had four new messages. The girls exchanged meaningful looks.

"Do you think it's from The Replacement?" Stephanie asked, biting her lip. "I got one before I got my invitation."

"So did I," Camille added.

"And I," Jo confirmed.

"Only one way to find out," I said, and with my stomach roiling, I opened the text:

Sorry about the car, Diamond, but your boss wasn't going to cooperate unless he realized how easily I could get so close to you. I think he's convinced now though. And man, it's a good thing you checked your phone, otherwise you might not have gotten out of the car in time – I would have hated to blow you up. Btw, how did you like the pictures of Katie I left you? She looks good, doesn't she? A bit sad, but good. But don't worry, you'll see for yourself – all of you Big Time Rush boys will! I'm seeing a nice little reunion for you all up ahead, won't that be fun? –The Replacement.


So, how was that? Sorry if it was a little choppy, or if I didn't explain enough in some places. It was, like, 1:30 at night when I was writing this and I was exhausted. I went back and reread it today before posting, but I still might have missed some stuff.

Car bombs...pictures of Katie...The Replacement...And yes, I know Mercedes was very OOC in this, but my reasoning for that is that she's an adult now and more mature...plus she was a *little* tipsy.

So...questions? Comments? I love 'em all, and hearing your opinions on the story are always interesting...and yes, I do reply in some way to every review I get (unless the story is finished and the review is anonymous, but I'm always grateful for reviews). So...please review! And now I'll stop begging...Slowly backing away from the computer now...;)