A/N: So, how was chapter one? If not terrible, I'm glad you're still here.

Sun Down

Chapter Two

Girl, I've seen your dreams and they were filled with darkness.

Logan sat in the lobby of the Palm Woods with a book in his hands, glasses sitting low on his nose, and a cold smoothie on the table next to him. It was just a day, just an ordinary day, just like any other day at the Palm Woods. They were free until two, and then they had to head over to Rocque records. But there was time to kill until then.

Kendall and Jo were lounging by the pool, Carlos was scheming with Katie and James was in the lobby with Logan. Except he wasn't really with Logan. He sat a few feet away with the blonde Jennifer. They were "running lines" for her latest audition. But really, this was foreplay; everyone knew they were sleeping together. But, not everyone knew he was also sleeping with the other two.

James was a classic asshole. As cool as he could be, and as good of a friend that he was, except for the part where he went around kissing other people's girlfriends, James was just a really big douchebag. But Logan could still barely believe that he had kissed Camille. They were always just so friendly; there had been no hint of attraction on either end. But then again, James fucked anything that walked, and Camille got a little bit too into character.

James flopped down in the chair next to Logan. He didn't acknowledge him, he didn't have to, James always made himself known. He looked to Logan and said, "What are you reading?"

"To Kill a Mockingbird."

"Dude." James said, "you always read that fucking book."

Logan looked lazily to James, "it's my favorite."

"I don't know how you can read when there is so much action going on in the lobby."

Logan set his book down on his knee and looked around the lobby. There was nothing going on. James was obviously delirious. "I don't see anything."

"Come on," James subtly pointed in the direction of Stephanie, "she's leaning over the table like that on purpose. She is intentionally showing off her cleavage. She wants James Diamond to swagger on over and show her a good time."

"Then get to swaggering." Logan told him picking his book back up. "No." James reached over and took the book from Logan's hand. "You can't read right now."

"What am I supposed to do then?"

"Go talk to a girl."

"James, it's been less than a week since I broke up with Camille. I think that I should have at least two weeks before you force me to start talking to chicks again."

"No." James said firmly, "no. the best way to get over a girl is to find another one."

"Easy for you to say." Logan growled, "I actually liked Camille. You had to go fuck things up."

James looked taken aback. Like Logan had finally just said the cold hard truth that James didn't want to hear. Well that's what James had done, wasn't it? He had fucked things up with Camille for Logan. It had taken him so long to actually get the courage to ask her out, and then, of course, James just has to fucking be James. Not everyone is as handsome or charismatic as him.

"Logan." James said, "I thought, I mean, you said-"

Logan internally groaned. "Yeah, we are, we're good. I'm just a little sore over the whole thing, it's whatever though."

"Logan, I'm sorry, you know it was an accident."

"Fuck you." Logan didn't actually say it. He wished that he did though; he wished that he had the balls to stand up to his own best friend. It wasn't like someone he should be afraid of kissed Camille, this was his best friend and he couldn't even say what he felt. At the moment, Logan felt pretty pathetic.

"It's okay." Logan told James.

James reached over and took Logan's glasses from off his nose and said, "Can I borrow these?"

Logan shrugged, "Go ahead, just don't break them."

He watched James do just as he said. He swaggered over to Stephanie and he saw Stephanie smile coyly, as if everything James has said was right, she wore her shirt that low cut to get his attention. Whether she had or not, it had gotten his attention and more likely than not, they'd meet up later that night. Logan felt bad for Carlos.

He stood up; watching James made him a little sick sometimes. Logan kind of believed that chivalry was still alive and well. He believed that relationships should be monogamous. Maybe his parents raised him old fashion, but he was taught that girls were fragile and they were to be handled with care. He knew that all the feminists of the world might disagree with him, but when it came down to it, women wanted to be treated right, and Logan believed that they should be. James was obviously not a believer.

He did a once over of the lobby, trying to find any reason to stay, but he didn't find anything until he saw her. She was headed right towards him too. Hair bouncing, hips swaying, legs long, strides confident, shoulders back, head held high, her Way-farers hid her eyes, and so cliché, a lollipop stuck in her mouth. Her skirt was too short, her shirt exposing too much, black bra, clearly visible through the thin white fabric. She had a book bag slung over her shoulder and a pair of Chuck Taylors clad on her feet. Logan felt his mouth go dry.

She stopped right in front of him and pushed her sunglasses up onto her head then took the lollipop from her mouth. She was tall; Logan only had an inch or two on her at most. "Hey." She said. Her voice suited her, it was silky and sultry.

"Hey." Logan managed.

""I'm kind of new here. Can you tell me where I can find whoever is in charge of the Palm Woods school?"

"Oh, yeah." Logan glanced over to Mr. Bitter's desk. "Well, Mr. Bitters is in charge of enrollment, but Miss Collin's class room is just around the corner, your first left. I can show you if you want." He was surprised he had even been able to tell her that. He should have been stuttering, stumbling over his words the way James did when they met Nicole Scherzinger.

Her dark blonde hair was shiny and fell in loose waves over her shoulders. Her skin was tan, kissed by the sun, and flawless. Her eyes smoky and green looked him over way too seductively. Her pouty lips smiled slightly and she said, "Thanks, I've got it from here."

Then she was gone. She turned on her heels, put her lollipop back between her lips and walked away from him. As she left her hair whipped and he caught a whiff of perfume and cigarettes. It was heavenly. Logan watched her leave, hips swaying, hair bouncing. He only had a single question, who was she?

If she was a model, she deserved to be, defined cheekbones, hollowed cheeks and eyes entirely too enticing. If she was an actress she was so alluring, and the cigarettes made her such a badass. She'd be an automatic favorite, strong-willed, the unlikely heroine in all of her roles. And if she was a singer, Logan longed to hear her voice, if it was anything as beautiful as her face; she'd be an instant success.

When the time came for all the boys to head over to the recording studio, Logan kept quiet about the new girl. If none of the other boys brought her up, Logan wasn't going to volunteer anything. The longer she was kept out of James's bird eye view, the better it was for Logan, though with a girl like that, Logan didn't stand a chance. She'd crush him, chew him up and spit him out. But hey, he might enjoy that.

James was telling Kendall about his plans with Stephanie later; Logan trailing behind was just close enough to hear about it. Carlos was nowhere to be found. Whether he'd gone ahead or was taking his time, Logan didn't know but he was glad that his friend wasn't there to listen to James. Ever since the ghost incident at the Palm Woods, Carlos had pretty much been head over heels with Stephanie. Well, it was a trade-off between Stephanie and the brunette Jennifer. He was in love with one on a certain day and in love with another the next. But James was about to take both of Carlos's dream girls to his bed. The brunette Jennifer was already there, but now Stephanie would be another one to add on to the list.

It made Logan wonder if James did it on purpose. Everyone thought James was stupid, but Logan knew, James wasn't stupid. Being underestimated gave James the upper hand, something he enjoyed having in all aspects of life. But could James really not see that Carlos liked both of those girls? It was so obvious. He said it every day. Maybe James just didn't take Carlos seriously; it was kind of hard to sometimes. Or maybe James was just out to sabotage. Was Jo the next one on his list? It was really hard to believe that James wasn't intentionally hurting his friends, but at the same time, it was hard for him to think that. James had always been everyone's wing man. He helped with girl trouble (when he wasn't causing it of course), he stayed up with Logan when he needed to study, went along with all of Carlos's idiotic schemes and backed Kendall up every step of the way, even when he and Carlos felt a little short. James was their best friend. He was also very driven, very motivated and self-centered. If he wanted something, he got it. James was probably more devious that Logan could fathom.

Logan shook himself. He was just over analyzing everything because he was still upset about James kissing his girlfriend. He'd get over it eventually. Everything would go back to normal and Logan would stop having these accusing thoughts and feelings towards James. It just might take a while. Trust was something to be earned in Logan's book, and James had a long ways to go before he got back to where he was in Logan's ranks.

"How long are we here today?" James asked Kendall. The blond shrugged and looked to Logan. "Till about seven."

Both boys groaned. But working with Gustavo wasn't as bad as everyone thought. Sure, he was loud, obnoxious, kind of mean and unappreciative, but it could be worse. They could still be back in Minnesota listening to James whine everyday about how badly he wanted to be famous. It was much better in Los Angeles. Now all they had to worry about was choking on all the Cuda man spray he wore.

"So we take what comes and we keep on going," Logan sang into the microphone. "Leaning on each other's shoulder. Then we turn around and seeing we come so far somehow."

The other's joined in for the chorus. Logan liked to sing. He always had, maybe just not as much as James or Kendall. But Logan had always known he sang alright. Now, singing with Big Time Rush, he was learning how to improve his vocals. He was kind of like a diamond in the rough. When they first got to L.A. no one had really expected much from him. He was the brain, not the talent. It kind of motivated Logan, he wanted to prove that he could be the talent too. He could be the complete package if he tried. He could shine too.

"Logan!" Gustavo roared, "You were off. Do it again."

He wanted to flip Gustavo the bird, because no, he wasn't off. Gustavo is just being an asshole. Logan was the only one who wouldn't fight him back. James would insist that he's perfect, Kendall would sass him and Carlos would do something obnoxious. Logan was the only one who just nodded his head, accepted the criticism.

He often pictured himself acting out, saying everything he'd ever wanted to say to all the people he'd ever wanted to say it to. He pictured himself getting violent, he pictured himself losing it and telling the world how he really felt. But he doesn't. He doesn't know why either. Bottling up emotions can be dangerous. He doesn't want to end up in a psychotic rage and killing everyone. But, maybe, it just wasn't worth it. Logan was who he was, people would give him the respect he deserved or they wouldn't. Whether they did or not, Logan didn't care. He was so apathetic.

Logan sang his part over. He did whatever Gustavo told him to.

When they finally got back to the Palm Woods, it wasn't quite dark yet, but the sun was going down. Camille found Logan almost as soon as they walked through the front doors. She grabbed his hand and pulled a little bit too hard, removing him from the lobby's eyes. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her slight body pushed hard up against him and her lips glued themselves to his. Logan placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer to him. The fact that she was now his ex-girlfriend and kissed his best friend didn't really matter then, because everyone loved a good make-out session.

When they finally broke apart, Camille wiped her lips with the back of her hand and said, "We're having a bonfire tonight." Then she walked away.

Logan found his way back up to his to 2J just as the other three boys shirtless, in swim trunks and towels draped around their shoulders were heading out of the room.

"Hey, Logie," Carlos said, "hurry up, we're making s'mores with or without you."

Logan exchanged his jeans and polo for a pair of swim trunks and grabbed a towel from out of the bathroom closet. He said hi to Mrs. Knight before he headed out to the elevator. When the door opened, he froze.

The new girl stood there, a bored look upon her indescribably pretty face. She was changed out of her miniskirt and into a pair of unfathomably tight jeans. She was so thin. Her legs looked like sticks, almost to a point where Logan thought it might be unhealthy. She wore a cut, off the shoulder band t-shirt that was a little too short, showing off her tanned torso, just an inch or so of skin above her belt was exposed. Her hair fell in the same loose waves over one of her shoulders and her sunglasses from earlier sat atop her head.

Logan's legs wobbled as he stepped in. Their eyes met. Logan managed a smile, the corners of her full lips twitched upwards. He stood beside her, her scent intoxicating. Warm vanilla and cigarette smoke. Normally, Logan found girls that smoked a turn off, but this girl, this girl was too much.

His mind raced, he needed to find something to say. It was so silent between them and while Logan found it slightly uncomfortable, she seemed just fine. But Logan was only uncomfortable because he wasn't used to standing in the presence of such a beautiful girl. Was it even possible to look like that and be a real human being?

The elevator stopped on the lobby floor and when the doors opened, she stepped out, without looking back, she walked through the lobby like it was a runway. Then just like that, just as earlier in the day. She was gone.

Logan made his way outside, not quite in a daze, but not entirely there. The nameless new girl was clouding his mind. Her dark, smoky, green eyes, those perfectly plump lips, long legs and confident strides. Hot damn.

"Hey Logan." James said, he put his arm around him.

"Hey."

They were walking around the pool to the bon fire where all of their friends sat. He didn't even see Kendall. But once he did, Logan was already in the water. When he resurfaced, everyone was laughing, at his expense. His friends weren't bullies, just assholes.

He climbed out of the pool and used James's towel to dry himself off. He couldn't be this anymore. The punch line in everyone's jokes, the victim of all the pranks, the boys girls walked on, the nerd who did everyone's homework. He didn't want to be that guy anymore.

Things needed to change. Somehow. They had to.

A/N: So, how was it?

Reviews, please.