"What was that?"

Aaron looked up from his position under his desk, the response all rescue workers are trained to do in an earthquake. He came out shakily and looked around at the office—papers strewn from their desks, shattered glass sprayed all over the floor, and destruction as far as he could see.

"Earthquake," he breathed.

His co-workers froze, staring at him even though the answer was all around them.

"People!" their director announced from his office. Eyes turned towards him and he redirected their gaze to the window. "We've got lives to save! Come on, stop gawking, get out there!"

The phones started ringing immediately, as if on cue, spurring Aaron and his team into action.

…

"Is it bad?"

Camille rolled her eyes at James. He looked ridiculous with his eyes squeezed shut, stuck in a grimace with his shoulders hunched up as much as he could treading in the tiny space they were confined to.

"Oh yeah," she said, nodding. "You'll need to wash it twenty thousand times before it gets back to usual lustrous glow."

James moaned and clutched at his hair—soaked through with water, dust, and chlorine. "I don't even want to know what condition my Cuda products are in."

"Probably not." Camille reached over her shoulder to grasp at the tight knots that held her corset in place. "Ow," she groaned, giving up and rubbing her shoulder. "James, you try."

James still looked upset about his hair, but he reached forward and tried to untie the knot. "Jeez, Camille—what were you, a boy scout? These knots are crazy."

"It's a bow, James," Camille corrected. "But it's double-knotted. And I think the water is making it harder for the strings to slide through each other."

"You don't say." James fiddled with the thin, string version of a bow for another few seconds before growling in frustration. "Did you have to make them so tight?"

"I'm auditioning, James!" Camille said, turning in the water to glare at him. "It has to be authentic! You have to get into the role to get the role, get me?"

"Yeah, whatever," James sighed. He was starting to tire as he treaded the water, dipping slightly to bounce his toes on the pool's slick tile floor. It was starting to get seriously chilly in the water, too. Usually he'd be getting out by now and slipping into the hot tub to warm up. But that wasn't exactly an option in this position.

"Okay," Camille said aloud, thinking hard. "Maybe if I can rip the bottom half of the dress—"

"Camille, just leave it, okay?" James didn't mean for his voice to come out so harshly, but he was tired, irate, and stuck with a crazy, overdramatic actress in a really tight corset in a tiny room while he was half-drowning and treading water to stay alive.

The brunette whirled on him, her hair flinging water in his eyes. "I'm trying to get us out of here," she snapped. "Isn't that what you want, James? To escape from this tiny cramped space so we don't drown? So you can go back to having flawless hair and moisturized skin?"

James winced at her caustic tone. "I'm just saying, we're going to be here a while. You might want to save your breath."

Camille glared at him, but an involuntary shudder from the cold dampened the effect. She let out a frustrated huff and came to tread next to him. James was taller than she was, so she had to work harder at keeping herself afloat.

"I wish this space were bigger," she muttered. "I can't float on my back. There's not enough room."

"Here," James offered, steering her by the shoulders until her head rested on his right shoulder. Camille let her chest and legs drift up so she was floating as James braced his back against the corner of the pool.

It was slightly awkward. James knew that the girl floating in front of him was his best friend's on again, off again girlfriend. And that they'd kissed once. Of course, it didn't mean anything—especially when it put the friendship between him and Logan in serious jeopardy. But it was still a kiss. And it was still her.

James was painfully aware that he'd never had a serious relationship with anyone before. He was the face of the band and always had been. He'd always been the first to date, and the first to break up. He'd never thought much of it until Kendall and Jo had hooked up. And then Logan and Camille. If Carlos weren't so rash about girls, James would have been surprised if he managed to snag a steady girlfriend before James did.

Thinking about it made him depressed. James was relieved when Camille suddenly said, "What do you think happened to the guys?"

Her voice was quiet, and James could almost hear the words she wanted to say. "I'm sure Logan's fine," he said confidently.

Camille shivered, eliciting a shiver from him as well. "I know that," she said. "But, you know. Carlos was in the elevator."

"He might've been," James corrected. He didn't want to think about it. All he could imagine was the elevator cables snapping and sending his friend plunging to his death. How did elevators work in earthquakes, anyways?

"And what about Kendall and Katie?" Camille continued. "They were inside. I read this article once about how getting under desks and tables at school during an earthquake can kill you instead of protect you. 'Course, the theory got disproved, or whatever, but still. It can't be safe indoors during an earthquake."

"I don't think it's safe anywhere during an earthquake," James said. It wasn't a joke, but it fell flat anyways.

"And Logan."

She didn't say anything else, and James didn't offer anything either. He didn't even know where Logan was when the earthquake hit. Maybe he was safe and sound, freaking out about them being trapped here in the earthquake like they were doing. Or maybe he'd been crushed by furniture, or bludgeoned by a falling piece of metal, or trapped in a small crack like them. Or dead.

He could definitely be dead.

Despite how much James tried to avoid that thought, it kept coming back around to haunt him. Logan could be dead. Carlos and Kendall and Katie could be dead. Even Mrs. Knight, Gustavo, and Kelly could be dead.

He didn't want anybody to be dead, ever.

Camille sniffed, although James suspected it might've been from the chilly water—Camille never cried. Not for real, at least.

"You know," she said, voice sounding oddly tight, "I was going to try to make up with him tonight. Again."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Camille chuckled, but it wasn't really that funny. "I just… He drives me so crazy. Always have. And, you know, I never stopped. I think I actually love him." She pulled away from James and turned to look at him. "Ever been in love?"

James shifted awkwardly. He really didn't know how to answer that. "Um…"

Apparently that was all she needed, because she turned around and swam to the other side of the crack. "I've just never had a boyfriend before Logan, you know? It would figure that our relationship is so freaking complicated. I can't just be a normal girl for once, can I?"

"Well, to be fair," James offered, "if you were a normal girl you wouldn't even be here. So it's probably a good thing you're so unique and different."

Camille turned to flash James a genuine smile. "You know, that was pretty sweet of you, James."

"It was?" James grinned as he recalled the words that had just come out of his mouth. "Uh, thanks. I think."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'm going to go crazy if I don't get out of here." Reaching up, she tried to shove against the balcony. James wasn't surprised when it didn't budge an inch.

"It's wedged," he said, pointing down at the dark water. "Stuck, pretty much."

"We have to get out of here!" she insisted, distressed. Camille smacked the balcony and water dripped from the spot her wet hand came into contact with.

"Camille," James sighed. "Calm down." She ignored him and continued to pound and shove against the immobile object. "Camille."

"No!" Her screamed echoed over the water and James winced, watching as she shoved up on the balcony one last time.

Much to their surprise, it shifted.

Camille froze, not daring to breathe. She watched with James as the balcony shifted again. A voice drifted through the tiny crack at the top.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?"

"Katie!" they screamed at the same time.

"Katie!" James took over. "Katie, it's us! James and Camille! We're trapped in here!"

There was a thud against the balcony, but it didn't move again. "It's too heavy," Katie said, voice closer now. "I think it's, like, stuck or something. How did you even get in there?"

"I was on my balcony—"

"Doesn't matter," James interrupted. "I have an idea. Katie, if you could push the top of the balcony enough, I can use my legs to push from down here. We don't need it all the way, just enough to get Camille out."

"What?" Camille whirled on him, looking stricken. "I'm not just going to leave you here—"

"Camille," James growled through his clenched teeth, "don't worry about it. I'll be fine. Maybe you can even help Katie push it more so I can get out, okay? Just go."

"You better be right behind me," she said threateningly.

James nodded. "Go down by the crack and wait until it's wide enough for you to slip through." He looked up at the top of their cranny. "You get that, Katie?"

"Yeah." Katie sounded worried. "James…"

"Yeah, I know." James felt along the side of the pool for where it would be the best place to push. "On three. One, two, go."

Camille took a deep breath and ducked underwater as James braced his back against the side of the pool and his feet on the slanted balcony. He extended his legs and was surprised at how hard it was to move. Then he realized that he was pushing it down—he needed to push it up. Shifting positions, James shoved along with Katie. Elation filled him when the balcony creaked and finally lifted up, so much so that James could even see Katie's face as she strained to push the balcony.

Katie looked over and her face lit up. "James! She's out, James!"

Really? James grinned, but then his hold slipped and he plunged into the water. Resurfacing, he wiped his bangs out of his eyes and peered up. Sure enough, the balcony had thumped back into place.

"James? James!" Both girls were calling his name now.

"I'm fine!" he yelled up to them. "But there's no way I'm getting out of here. Just, go get some help! I'll be fine till they get here."

"Katie's going to get some help," Camille said through the crack. "Don't worry, James, we'll get you out of there."

"Who's worried?" James finally felt hope rising in his chest. Maybe, hopefully, they might make it out of this after all.