A/N: Sorry for the delay! I know it's frustrating. xoxo

Chapter 11: Video Girl

For the shooting of Dak Zevon's new music video for his hit single "Bad Girl", Camille Roberts was permitted to invite two guests—Stephanie and Lucy. Because Scarlett and the members of Big Time Rush happened to be signed to the same record label as Dak, Gustavo had permitted them to tag along.

Dak had filmed part of the video at the Rocque Records soundstage, but today, they were shooting on location—the Venice Beach boardwalk, to be exact. To avoid any interference from beach patrons (or rabid fans), the crew had been forced to meet up around five A.M. that morning. Luckily, there was plenty of freshly-brewed coffee to go around.

Scarlett shivered, feeling a field of goose bumps crop up across her skin. She took a lingering sip from her steaming, Rocque Records coffee mug. The espresso was scalding hot, but it was also steadily elevating her body temperature and keeping her exhausted eyes propped open, so Scarlett was tolerating it. Still, she wouldn't have worn shorts if she had known it was going to be so chilly.

Logan and Carlos were camped out by the craft service tables, getting familiar with the glazed donuts and other goodies. Logan spied Camille and Dak from afar as they got their makeup done together. Logan angrily ripped into his jelly-filled cruller with his teeth.

Carlos shook his helmeted head (yes, the helmet is back) at his raven-haired friend. "Quit being so jealous, mi hermano!" Carlos scolded, breaking out the Spanish. "You're gonna make yourself go loco!" Logan, caught off-guard, flushed bright red and tore his eyes away from his girlfriend and his new nemesis.

"What?! I'm not jealous," Logan argued with his mouth full, "That's preposterous!" He glanced down at his clenched hand and realized he had been squeezing the life (and the filling) out of his pastry. He flashed a sheepish grin at Carlos, who simply rolled his eyes.

Logan sighed defeatedly and scraped the cruller guts from his fingers. "Okay, so maybe I'm not as okay as I thought," he confessed. "But can you blame me? He's all over her." Logan wasn't even sure if Dak had realized that he was with Camille.

Carlos popped a mini-snickerdoodle cookie between his crumb-covered lips. "Camille loves you, man," he assured Logan, gripping the boy's shoulders and looking him square in the eyes. "Don't worry so much."

Logan almost burst into hysterical laughter at Carlos' last statement. Don't worry so much. Had Carlos even ever met him? All he ever did was fret. It was an undesired side effect of his ever-constant neuroses. He picked up another donut and chewed miserably.

So engulfed in his own misery, Logan barely noticed when James sidled up beside him. He was in an unzipped anorak atop his usual V-necked shirt, looking perfect despite having woken up at the ungodly hour of four in the morning.

Carlos glanced over at James and jumped at the chance to cheer up Logan. "Hey, James, do you think Logan is being silly?" Carlos pointed over at Camille and Dak. "I mean, he shouldn't feel threatened, right?" James glanced over at Dak and then back at Logan.

"Are you kidding?" James scoffed. "That guy is hot." After a moment of consideration, he added, "Almost as hot as I am. Logan doesn't stand a chance." Logan's face fell even farther down at this comment and it looked as if tears would begin rolling down his cheeks at any second.

Carlos smacked James on the back of the head. Hard. James was fairly sure he felt his teeth rattle in his skull. "What the hell!" he screeched, lunging to hit Carlos back. Carlos jumped out of the way just in time to narrowly miss James' hand.

"I'm trying to make Logan feel better, not worse," Carlos hissed, as if Logan were not right beside him.

James just shrugged and clapped Logan on the shoulder. "Sorry," he apologized nonchalantly, walking away.

As soon as he walked off, Camille paced towards the area James had just left to see her boyfriend. She came up from behind him, throwing her arms around his waist.

"Guess who?" she sang playfully. Logan's spirits lifted at the sound of her voice.

"Gosh, I don't know," Logan deadpanned. He scratched his head and guessed, "Um…is it Megan Fox?"

Camille circled to his front and took hold of his hands, swinging his limp, lifeless arms from side to side in a playful manner.

"Do I look like Megan Fox to you?" she asked with her brows raised. Then she smiled.

She would smile in this way that prompted Logan to smile as well; it was a smile that she reserved for him and only him. It was comforting. He bent down—Camille had become considerably shorter than he was after a summer growth spurt—and closed the gap between the two of them.

"You look fantastic," Logan murmured once they parted. "Better than Megan ever has." A pink flush spread over Camille's cheeks and she shook her head humbly.

She did look fantastic. Smoky silver shadow rimmed her dark eyes, making them look smoldering. Glossy, coral pink gloss coated her tiny mouth and body glitter covered her sun-kissed shoulders. Decked out in dark leather and crimson pumps, she was looking as badass as ever.

Logan smiled half-heartedly. While she, no doubt, looked better than anyone on the lot, he preferred her in the simple, girly clothing that she pranced around the Palm Woods in. They suited her more and in her current attire, she could have been a complete stranger.

The confident, commanding voice of Dak Zevon broke through Logan's thoughts and he felt Camille let go of his hands, threading her fingers through Dak's. Logan felt the lump in his throat expand, making it more difficult to breathe.

Mercedes Griffin stepped away from her father as soon as his attention shifted from her. She was tired of hearing him ramble on about things that didn't interest her. All he ever talked about were things that involved business and money. It sickened her. Why couldn't they talk about her? She was delightful!

Mercedes' eyes darted across the lot, landing on the blonde bombshell that went by the name of Scarlett. Surrounding her were Stephanie King, the aspiring screenwriter, and Lucy Stone, the Palm Woods' resident rocker. Mercedes decided right then to join them.

"Is everyone freezing their ass off or is it just me?" Mercedes pulled her fox-fur stole tighter around her shoulders as she settled beside her best friend.

Lucy nodded in agreement. "Can someone remind me why I let you guys drag me here?"

"So you could stalk Kendall?" Stephanie tried. Scarlett unsuccessfully attempted to hide her smile behind her mug.

Lucy rolled her eyes before stuffing her fists into her leather jacket. Not that she would ever admit it to anyone (or even herself), but she really, really liked Kendall. He was smart, a great friend, and exceptionally talented. Despite his abundant confidence, his cheeks still managed to flush an adorable shade of pink whenever Lucy flashed him a grin.

Scarlett stared intently at the skinny swirl of cream coating her coffee to veer her attention from Camille and Dak. Every time she would glance up at them, she would immediately regret doing so. Dak would brush himself up against Camille's side and whenever he would say something, Camille would throw her back in laughter, deliberately giving Dak a peek of her cleavage.

Scarlett shook her head, refusing to feel any guilt. Flirting was harmless, and besides, she was justified. Scarlett wanted nothing more than to scream at herself to make up her mind. All her conscience had succeeded in doing was confusing her.

An unfamiliar voice suddenly broke through her thoughts. Scarlett flinched, black espresso sloshing over her mug's rim and spilling onto her slender fingers. She bit down on her tongue to stop the expletives forming in her mind from tumbling out.

The tiny, Asian Rocque Records intern in front of her cringed and stammered an apology.

"Did you teleport here? I didn't even see you come up," Scarlett stated, frowning. She narrowed her eyes. "Are you a ninja?" Scarlett inwardly smiled when the intern seemed to loosen up considerably.

"I'm afraid I don't possess any ninja skills," she replied jokingly. "You probably didn't see me because I barely come up to your shoulders." The intern pointed towards the gaggle of people setting up the filming equipment.

"The director just changed his mind about the treatment of the music video. He wants to put you all in the video," the nameless intern explained, gesturing to the girls. "BTR will be in it, too." The intern started pacing away. "Follow me," she called, "You have to get your makeup done."

Thankfully, the hair and makeup didn't take very long. It was only a few brushes and touch-ups here and there, nothing extensive. After all, they would only be extras in the video. Dak and Camille (the lovely couple) were the main focus. Scarlett was grateful for this; she was too tired to actually put any effort into anything.

The director busied himself showing all of the extras where they would be and what they'd be doing. It mostly consisted of walking along the beach and pretending to have fun.

"Something's missing," the director commented, narrowing his eyes at Scarlett. Scarlett shifted uncomfortably under his intense gaze. His sharp cheekbones, smudgy eyeliner, and scraggly dark locks eerily reminded her of Jack Sparrow.

"…You maybe wanna tell me what that is?" Scarlett asked after nearly a minute of awkward silence.

The director snapped and exclaimed, "Ah!" He was the second person that had caught Scarlett off-guard that day.

"A pretty girl like you wouldn't be caught walking alone on the beach," he murmured to himself, waving his hands through the air maniacally. Scarlett simply continued to fidget in response.

Jack-Sparrow-looking man turned around and looked around. He spotted Logan meandering alone on the boardwalk, where he had been directed to stand.

"Logan!" the director called, snapping his fingers.

Logan looked from side to side before pointing to himself. Scarlett rolled his eyes. He was the only guy named Logan on the lot. Who the hell else would the director be speaking to?

"Yes, you! Over here!" Logan left his post and wandered towards the two of them. Scarlett had a sneaking suspicion of what was to occur next and she suddenly felt a bit nauseous.

The director grabbed Logan by the arm and yanked him towards Scarlett. The director proceeded to squint at the two of them for a second.

"Yes…yes, I like this!" he said excitedly, his eyes sparkling. "You two are perfect! Bad girl meets good boy! This just screams sexy! The chemistry between you two is overwhelming."

Scarlett could feel her face getting hot. Logan was most likely blushing as well, but Scarlett didn't dare meet his eyes. The director, mistaking their apprehension as shyness, violently shook his head.

"Don't be shy! Logan, put your arm around her." Logan face blanched; he looked as if he wanted nothing more than to shoot himself dead right then and there. Scarlett couldn't blame him.

Logan reluctantly snaked his arm around Scarlett's waist. It might have looked a bit strange from the perspective of someone who wasn't aware of their history. Scarlett was subtly trying to inch away as Logan's arm limply fell at her hip, resembling a piece of cooked spaghetti.

The director turned away from them to rejoin the crew. Scarlett and Logan just stood there, staring at their feet so they didn't have to stare at each other. After what seemed like an eternity, a member of the crew yelled out, "Action!"

"So this is kind of awkward," Logan croaked, trying and failing to keep his tone light. Yeah, it was awkward. It was far more than awkward. The terse, uncomfortable tension that dwelled between them proved it.

After another lengthy pause, Scarlett glanced over her shoulder. "So your girlfriend and Dak look cozy…" she stated innocently.

Logan's normally-soft features hardened like stone. "Is your sole goal in life to annoy the shit out of me?" He screeched to a stop, involuntarily yanking Scarlett backwards. "Why would you say that?"

"Please, don't flatter yourself," she sneered, her voice lacking conviction.

Scarlett narrowed her eyes at Logan menacingly. Her glare weakened when it fell over the dark circles of stress resting under Logan's cocoa-hued eyes and the grim downturn of his mouth. He looked as if he had been so busy worrying about his on-the-rocks relationship with Camille he had failed to acquire any sleep. Scarlett couldn't help but pity him just a little.

"Logan, you don't actually believe that Camille would go after Dak when she's with you, do you?" Scarlett exclaimed in exasperation. "She's obsessed with you! Chill out, okay?" Logan kept his eyes trained on his boots as she spoke.

He chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully. "Maybe you're right…," he sighed, the uncertainty apparent in his voice.

"Of course I'm right. I'm always right." Scarlett playfully kicked Logan in the shin, earning a small smile from him. Relief erased the creases and lines in his face, replaced by his lovely dimples.

The remainder of the video shoot wasn't so bad after that.