Chapter 2

Chloe's first few work weeks as the assistant to Big Time Rush went surprisingly well…to an extent really. Her aunt wasn't kidding about them being extremely nuts; they certainly kept her on her toes. Thankfully for her, it was Sunday and like the past few, they were always a treasure; she was off for the day while the boys were off doing whatever.

The girl in question was currently relaxing on a lounge chair by the pool. She was sketching some new designs for her portfolio while sipping a strawberry banana smoothie. Actually, she had four different seasonal portfolios that held a separate section for males and another for females. The one she was working on in particular was the summer collection for males, one that she was a bit biased towards.

"Woah, nice work," a voice whispered making Chloe jump, knocking over her smoothie. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! Wait, let me grab some towels!" Chloe quickly inspected her sketchbook and pencil case making sure it was smoothie free; the same couldn't be said for her jacket and flip flops.

The person who spooked her moments ago, a female, rushed back in record time with a roll of paper towels and went to work on the mess. The smoothie didn't just land on her stuff but also the side table, the floor, and her arm. Chloe sighed, realizing that she would have to go up to shower.

"I apologize again for that. I thought you saw me coming," she said again.

"It's fine, I'm naturally jumpy. Can I have a few of those?" The girl obliged, ripping off a few to hand to her, giving Chloe a chance to study the girl. She looked about her height, lighter skin and a petite frame; her hair was straight and dark with bright red streaks running through it.

"I'm a bit of a sneak so again, I am truly sorry," she stated as she looked at the white jacket that was now drenched in pink. "Uh, I can have this dry cleaned for you?"

"Sure, that would be great," Chloe replied. She then stuck out her hand that didn't get hit with smoothie. "My name is Chloe." The girl smiled and grabbed hers to shake.

"Lucy Stone," Chloe's eyes widened as she held in a squeal.

"Oh my," Chloe squeaked then cleared her throat. "Wow, so awesome to meet you! I mean, sorry to sound like a fangirl but…I am," Chloe stammered before letting go of her hand. Lucy chuckled at the other girl's cuteness.

"It's ok, I appreciate it. I'm still not used to having fans, let alone fangirls," she replied with a wink. Chloe smiled while trying to think of a conversation starter. "So, judging by the sketchbook I almost destroyed, is it safe to assume you are staying here working on a future fashion design career?"

"Kinda. My aunt, Kelly Wainwright, turned me to an assistant's job so I could build up my resume since I'm fresh out of college." Chloe replied.

Lucy's eyes widened. "Wait, rewind a bit! You're the one in charge of the guys now? Big Time Rush?" Lucy exclaimed. Chloe took a half step back and nodded which made the other female laugh out loud. "Oh my fuck! That is too funny!" Lucy exclaimed again as she doubled over, clutching her stomach.

Chloe was confused by this and was about to question it, but she was momentarily distracted by James who was running towards them. He skidded to a halt in front of her, almost knocking over the pair.

"Whoa James, where's the fire?" Chloe asked. Lucy had calmed down a bit at the sight of James in front of them. James took a few quick breaths and said a quick hello to Lucy before returning his gaze to Chloe.

"Gustavo needs us all at the studio right away! And by all of us, you too!" James said in a rush. He was also bouncing on the balls of his feet and had an odd grin stretched across his face.

"Uh, I have no message from him nor has Kelly sent me anything. Maybe I read the schedule wrong…" Chloe stated as she dug into her pocket for her blackberry. James huffed loudly, growing impatient.

"Did you not hear me woman? We literally found out just now! We tried your room first, but obviously, you weren't there! So we each split up and luckily for me, I found you first." James exclaimed happily while Chloe tapped away at her phone, eyebrows scrunched together.

"Hmmm, not a thing," she replied and James rolled his eyes again. He then began sniffing the air and leaned into Chloe, inhaling the air around her. Chloe clenched up being in such close proximity to James; she resisted the urge to sniff him as well.

"Why do you smell like strawberries? I thought you were a citrus type of girl," Chloe blushed at this, not sure how to respond.

"That will be me," Lucy said, popping into the conversation. "I scared the poor girl and made her loose her smoothie. By the way, want me to grab you another one?" Chloe didn't get a chance to respond because at that moment, James took it upon himself to scoop her into his arms. Chloe yelped and clung to James, afraid that he would drop her due to her slight heaviness.

"No time! Gotta see Gustavo!" James yelled as he began to take off.

"Let me go!" she protested. She glanced over to see Lucy smirking at their retreating backs; Chloe also realized she left her sketchbook and pencils behind. "At least turn around so we could get my stuff!"

"Again, no time!" Chloe's eyes went as wide as saucers. She had that book close to five years and had all of her work in it. She was close to panicking at that point as James ran all the way to the parking lot. A red convertible was already waiting for them with Logan in the driver's seat, Carlos up front, and Kendall in the back.

James gently tossed Chloe in the back seat then hopped in beside, trapping her between the two. Chloe was on the verge of tears now when Logan started the engine. Then out of nowhere, Lucy comes running up towards the car.

"Hey, don't forget this!" She shouted as she tossed her sketchbook and case towards her. Chloe squealed with delight as she clutched them both to her chest as they sped away.

As they drove, Logan made a sharp turn that caused her to slide into Kendall's lap. "Ooof! Uhm, hi Kendall, how are ya?" Chloe asked, feeling a bit awkward.

"Well, the sun is shining and the breeze in pretty decent. Plus, I have a hot girl in my lap so I can't complain," Kendall said smoothly, making the latter shy away from his sight..

"Hey! You already have a girl! Logan, can't you make a few left turns?" James whined, making the others laugh.

"Dude, I would totally help with that but we are already here." Logan stated as he rounded a corner and parallel parked near the front. One by one, the guys shuffled out with Chloe remaining seated.

"Chloe, you need to get out too." Carlos stated.

"I would, really, but here's the thing…" she paused as she raised her legs to them. Chloe was currently decked out in an oversized red fishnet top with a yellow tank underneath, a pair of red Bermuda shorts, and bare feet; her red painted toe nails glittered in the sunlight. James smacked his forehead while the others groaned loudly.

"Dude! How could you not let her put shoes on?" Kendall yelled first.

"How could you not notice she didn't have shoes on to begin with?" Logan piped in.

James ignored them all and moved towards the car. He opened the door to the back then turned around and crouched down. Puzzled, Chloe straightened, looking to the guys for help. They each shrugged before heading into the building.

"Uh, James…" Chloe began.

"Hop on my back," James interrupted.

"You already had to carry me once today, that was enough," Chloe paused then smiled slightly, remembering how easily it seemed for James to carry her and how her heart raced much like it was doing at that moment. "Besides, I know I'm pretty heavy-"

"You weigh next to nothing and I barely broke a sweat. You think I'm not strong enough to carry you?" James huffed.

"It's not that-"

"Then it's settled! Hop on my back before I have get aggressive with you," that's when he turned his head to glance back, "unless you like that sort of thing."

"Say no more! Seriously," Chloe stated as she stood up. Taking a deep breath, she mounted James' back, gripping tightly.

"Ugh!" James groaned and swayed slightly, causing Chloe to panic again. She was about to jump off when James started laughing. "Just kidding," he said as he adjusted Chloe's weight and began to walk inside the building.

"You are such a jerkface!" Chloe yelled. "If I didn't fear for my life right now, I would so smack you!"

"Nah, I don't think you would," he replied, "you're too much of a sweetheart to hurt me." James stated cockily. Chloe scoffed then thought about it and then frowned; he was right, Chloe wasn't the violent type.

"If I really wanted to, I would…but I don't," she huffed as she snuggled deeper into James' back. This didn't go unnoticed by James and he decided to keep quiet about it, for now. While walking, they attracted quite a few stares, but James just shrugged it off. Chloe on the other hand struggled to keep her face hidden.

By the time they reached Gustavo's office, the man himself was already red in the face with a throbbing vein in his neck. Kelly's hand was on her forehead and was shaking it slightly. Looking up at the presence of her niece on James' back, she raised a questioning brow.

"I'm not even going to ask about," he paused, gesturing to James and Chloe, "that since I just want to get this over with so I can get back to my Walking Dead marathon,"

"Ooooo! Did you get to the part where the Governor dies?" Carlos asked. Along with a throbbing vein, Gustavo's eye twitched.

"Gahhhh!" Gustavo yelled as he lunged for Carlos. Kelly jumped on his back while Kendall and Logan struggled to keep him from throttling Carlos.

"So, that means he doesn't know what happened with the prison?" Chloe asked next.

"Shhhhhh!" James whispered. Gustavo was swaying slightly as Kelly attempted to calm him down. She eventually hopped off and straightened herself while Gustavo glared at Carlos.

"You explain!" He shouted to Kelly before storming off into the hallway. Kelly sighed as she pivoted to face them all.

"Auntie Kelly, uhm, is that normal?" Chloe asked cautiously incase Gustavo was listening in.

"More than you think," Kelly replied. "Anyways, the point of this emergency meeting was to discuss a certain bet that was placed a few weeks ago." Kelly stated, staring straight at her niece. Chloe's heart sank as she slid off of James' back to the carpet.

"Oh please Auntie! Don't fire me! I told the guys just to let it go and that I can quit! I am so sorry, please don't ha-" Chloe rambled.

"Tut Tut Tut sweetie!" Kelly exclaimed, moving towards Chloe to hug her. "I was going tell you that Gustavo, myself, and the design team are all for it." The young girl's eyes widened at her words and her jaw dropped. She looked past her aunt to the guys and they all had large grins spread across their faces.

"Surprise!" They each yelled.

"B-but, how did you…when did you?" Chloe stammered.

"No questions sweetie, but congratulations! The design teams loved your sketches and want to use them! We just needed to get you here ASAP so you can sign some paperwork so you can get started since filming for the new video begins in a couple weeks." Chloe was in shock over her aunt's words and couldn't even nod her head to answer.

Seeing her distress, James moved in front of her and grabbed her face, shaking her slightly. "C'mon gorgeous, say you'll do it," he pleaded.

Chloe cleared her throat before speaking, "uhm…ok then, I can do it," she smiled. James squealed before lifting Chloe in his arms and spinning her around. She giggled and held on tight, just as excited. She was on her way to becoming a real fashion designer!

Once contracts were signed and new schedules were drawn up, Chloe and the Big Time Rush boys headed back to the Palm Woods. Chloe was still a bit shell shocked over all that has happened in the last few hours and it didn't really set in until they were back in the guys' room. Chloe had taken it upon herself to run across the room to their couch and plopped down. She then grabbed the closest pillow, slammed it to her face, and proceeded to scream into it.

"I guess it's sunk it," Logan stated first as he took a glance at his phone. "And it only took two hours and forty seven minutes to do so."

"That also means I am a good hour late for my date, catch ya'll later," Kendall stated as he exited the apartment.

"And that also means that I'm hungry!" Carlos grumbled as he began raiding the fridge.

"Actually, why don't we celebrate?" James suggested as he took a seat next to Chloe on the couch, who still kept her face hidden behind the pillow. "What do you say gorgeous? Want to paint the town?"

"Stmmmmfe clllllrel meererrthhhhhhhet," Chloe replied.

"What was that?" James asked and ended up getting the same response.

"It would help if you removed the pillow genius," Logan stated as he tapped away on his phone. James rolled his eyes as he tugged the pillow away and flung it over his shoulder at Logan, who dodged it. James brought a hand to Chloe's chin and tilted it so she was facing him.

"Now, what was it you were saying gorgeous? I hope it was agreement in my fantastic plans," James smiled. Chloe was flushed and had to lean back in order for James to release his hold on her chin. She was getting overwhelmed with all the changes and it didn't help that James was coming on so strongly.

"Stop calling me gorgeous," Chloe blurted out.

"But you are; why would you want me to stop?" James frowned. When she didn't answer immediately, she instead shot up and ran from the apartment. James was quick to follow her, but stopped once Logan called him back.

"Let her go dude," he said and James felt even more puzzled.

"Why? She didn't even answer me!" James yelled back as he let his arms slap his sides. Logan let out a deep breath and sat his phone down.

"Dude, you are coming off kinda heavy and that isn't normal to a girl like Chloe. She's extremely sweet, innocent, naïve…you need to tone it down," Logan said as a matter of fact.

"How do you know? You're the one who's always wrong when it comes to girls." James stated. "Wait, does that mean I'm you now?!" He demanded.

"It's like the twilight zone in here, I'm out! I don't want helmet to start talking to me again!" Carlos piped in.

Meanwhile, Chloe was next door pacing. She was holding a giant bucket of cheddar popcorn and was stuffing handfuls into her mouth. She felt stupid for running out like that. She felt like a coward. No, she was a coward.

So what if her dreams of becoming a fashion designer were soon to be a reality. So what if hot guys like James Diamond, a celebrity singer no less, was coming on to her. These are the things most girls imagine and then write into fanfiction nowadays! But why was she freaking out? This is why she worked so damn hard.

And then another thought struck her. She was scared of screwing up. Chloe was psyching herself out, afraid that she would have to crawl back to Montana, and explain how she couldn't hack it in L.A. Her sisters would have a field day and don't even get started on how her mother would react.

What would her father say? He was the one who always stuck his neck out for her. He's the one she truly hated to disappoint.

*Knock Knock*

Chloe jumped at the sound, making her drop her popcorn bucket and spilled half of it on the floor. She sighed before heading towards the door and looking through the peephole.

"Déjà vu," she muttered before swinging the door open once more. James Diamond stood there, head downcast. "You know, we have to stop meeting like this. Or else you are going to be funding in my cheddar popcorn habit," Chloe stated.

Confused, James looked past Chloe to her living area to see that there was cheddar popcorn all over the floor. He smirked, thinking about how he helped clean the mess last time.

"Then you need to just let me catch you," James winked. Chloe blushed in response and looked away. "I just wanted to see that if you would be interested in coming back over and hanging with us for the evening. We ordered some Italian which I gathered is your favorite and there are other residents that I want you to meet. Sound good?" James asked.

Chloe was still avoiding his gaze. "No pressure or anything…at all…whatsoever," he dragged out. "Just some kids hanging out…nothing serious…just fun," Chloe smiled at his behavior, knowing that it wasn't him. He swayed a bit in front of her and began to whistle. "Yeah, so if you get bored, or something…" he began again but Chloe had already caved.

"Sure!" She exclaimed making James smile. "Only if you stop acting so…"

"Pathetic? Hopeless? Love-struck?" James suggested. "I kinda like it actually, it's different,"

"Well good for you…" Chloe mumbled.

"But could you do one extra thing for me? It's mostly reassurance," James asked.

"And what may that be?"

"Smile for me," James replied with a serious tone. Chloe's mouth fell open, caught off guard by his request.

"That's an odd thing to ask for. Why do you need me to smile?" James had that same mischievous glint in his eyes that he had that first night he showed up at her door.

"Just humor me my dear…it's for my benefit," James stated. Feeling awkward, she relaxed her face and smiled timidly up at him. "Give me a real smile."

She looked away and huffed. But once she turned back to him, his lips were on hers. Pecking them softly, he pulled away within seconds. Slowly, Chloe's face brightened and she smiled wide.

"That's it, now we can continue on with the rest of the evening," James said smugly as he gently grabbed hold of Chloe's hand and escorted the dazed girl next door.