(A/N): Okay, so I wanted this out yesterday, but I went to a baseball game. It's the last one that we were able to do this summer with my sister because she's leaving for college later this week. And if you want to know, our team won! (WOOHOO!) *clears throat* Anyways, back to this. Thank you to Milkamoo97 and oOo KitKat oOo for reviewing! I didn't win Big Time Rush at the baseball game, so I still do not own them. I also don't own the song, Time Bomb by All Time Low, which is in this chapter.
Don't forget to vote and enjoy!
Chapter 22: Time Is Running Out
James and Katrina arrived at the place where they were going to do their model shoot. James had bothered her for the entire ride, trying to get her to reveal what the picture was for, but Katrina wouldn't budge. They found Katie in her power suit waiting for them right outside two doors.
"Hey Katie," Katrina greeted the little girl, "Give us the rundown."
"Okay," Katie addressed the teens, "Your outfits are this way." She pointed to the door on her left. "There should be two rooms past this door, one for you and one for James. Once you're dressed, they'll send in a make-up crew and hair stylists to get you ready. After that, you come out here and meet up in the room past this door." She pointed to the door on her right. "There is where the pictures will be taken." She then got really giddy, jumping up and down in excitement. "This is such a big deal!" She suddenly got serious again, "So don't mess this up."
"WHAT ARE WE MODELING FOR?" James got their attention.
"You didn't tell him?" Katie asked Katrina.
"I didn't want him to keep talking about it," Katrina explained, "Then again. Not telling him might have been worse cause he wouldn't stop asking!"
"So, what is it?" James settled down now that he knew he was going to be told.
"It's for a debut ad for a new perfume," Katie told him.
"PERFUME?" James looked confused.
"Yeah," Katie went on, "It's for the new female line of 'Cuda. They wanted someone famous to launch the ad and once they heard Katrina was getting back into modeling, they had to have her. I told them that the only way they could have her would be if they had you too. After I take my cut from both of you, you're left with 3000 dollars together. This is going on billboards across America and in tons of different magazines."
"You never did tell me the name of the perfume," Katrina noted. James was too excited to notice. He was practically jumping up and down at the anticipation.
"It's called Greek Goddess," Katie replied. "The slogan for it is Enchant the Gods. You two are going to be dressed as Greek Gods in this."
"Yes!" James grabbed Katrina's arm and pulled her through the door to Katie's left. Katie shook her head at the enthusiastic boy as she pulled her phone out to call someone.
Once the other line answered, Katie spoke, "Hello. This is Katrina Wolff's new manager. I hear that you're interested in booking my client." There was a pause. "Yes, it's true. Katrina Wolff has come out of retirement, but she will only take the job if you also take her model partner, James Diamond." She waited for the response and then got a smile. "I thought you'd agree. Now, let's work out the details." Katie walked into the photo shoot room as she continued her conversation with whoever was on the other line.
James came out first. His hair didn't change much. It might have been a little softer, but not a lot. There was a wreath of leaves pinned in to keep it from falling off his head. Around his waist was a toga. It was wrapped as tightly as it could go and pinned up as much as possible to keep it from falling. The way that they had pinned the material made it look loose as it layered down to his knees. Someone had slathered body oil all over him to emphasize his muscles.
Inside the photo shoot area, Katie was talking with the man who looked like he was the photographer. There was tons of equipment around the room, including a laptop that was set up to show the picture almost immediately after it was taken. The man and Katie stopped talking when they noticed James had walked in.
"This is James Diamond," Katie introduced the photographer to James.
The man held out his hand, "It's nice to meet you, James. I'm Will. Is Katrina not ready yet?"
James shook the man's hand, "It seems that way. Girls always take the longest to get ready."
Katie covered her mouth to stop laughing at the irony because James usually took longer than Katrina to get ready in the morning. Will, however, didn't see this and nodded at James's comment before he went on, "Once she's here we can talk about business with your manager. 'Cuda is thinking about filming a commercial too which would star you two."
Before James could respond, someone from behind him spoke up, "No." The three looked and found Katrina in the doorway. Her hair had been slightly curled in the back, halfway up in a ponytail. They had gotten her bangs to cover her right eye and part of her hair was going down her shoulders in the front. A wreath had been pinned into her hair too, but hers had white flowers in it along with the leaves. Her toga had more material than James's, but not much. It started on her right shoulder and went down to cover her chest, but stayed above her stomach. Covering her left side, it then wrapped around her waist. The skirt part ended in the middle of her thigh. She was wearing gladiator high heels that went up to her knees and her makeup was much heavier than usual, particularly around her eyes which make the blue stand out so much that it could be seen across the room.
"Why not?" Katie looked mad.
"Because I don't do commercials," Katrina told them.
Before Katie could argue, Will replied, "Why don't we deal with this later? We have a schedule to go on. Now, for this ad, I'm thinking that James should look infatuated with Katrina. Do not let your eyes wander from her. While Katrina should keep her eyes on the camera, no matter which way her head is turned. I want a black and white photo with Katrina's eyes the only color in it."
"You know my strengths, Will," Katrina responded, "It's been, what, three years since we last had a shoot together?"
"I remember that!" Will reminisced. "Your dad brought you in. It was for an ad for that one clothing store that I forgot the name to. Your dad was on the phone most of the time, talking to one of your siblings about some audition."
"That was for Vergil!" Katrina remembered, "He had an audition for some movie and didn't want to be late. Mom was too busy, so he called Dad. Luckily, that shoot didn't take long otherwise Vergil would have been late."
"I'm sorry, who's Vergil?" James piped up.
Will looked over at him for a second before turning to Katrina, "You're modeling with him and he doesn't even know your history?"
"Nope," Katrina replied before turning to James, "Vergil's one of my little brothers."
"You and Evan left him in charge of the house that day, didn't you?" Will got Katrina's attention, "It's really too bad. If you had stayed, things might have been different."
"We had no choice," Katrina answered, an edge starting to get to her voice, "Can we just start this shoot?" She grabbed a confused James and pulled him over to the black backdrop in front of the camera. "Now, how do you want us to pose?"
Will stepped up to the camera, "I want you two close." Katrina inched closer to James, but there was still space between them. "Closer." She got close enough that their arms were touching. "You know what? James, just pull her into your arms." James did that happily, but Katrina stiffened when his skin touched hers. Will noticed this, "This isn't working. Katrina, you're rusty. You need to loosen up!" He snapped his fingers, "I've got just the thing." He went over to the laptop and brought up the internet, "Your favorite band is still All Time Low, right?"
"Yeah," Katrina looked confused.
"Whoa, what about Big Time Rush?" James seemed insulted.
"No offense to you guys!" Katrina tried to cover it, "You guys are good, but I've always liked a little edge to my music."
"And we don't have an edge?"
"I meant like a punkish edge! You guys are more pop!"
"So, you don't like our music?"
"I do! It's just not my favorite."
"Let's see if I can get a song playing," Will broke up the awkward scene as he messed with the laptop until a song started to play. Katrina recognized it as All Time Low's song, Time Bomb. She relaxed immediately. Will quickly got behind the camera as Katrina's instinct took over, pulling James close to her.
O-oh, o-oh
O-oh, o-oh
Will took some shots and Katrina changed her pose so she was standing in front of James. Both of them got eye contact with the camera.
O-oh, o-oh
O-oh, o-oh
"James," Will started a correction, "Don't look at the camera. Keep your eyes on Katrina. And don't give that bright smile. Keep it sexy."
From the get-go I knew this was hard to hold
Like a crash the whole thing spun out of control.
Lowering his head, James pressed his lips against Katrina's neck, getting a "Perfect," from Will.
Oh, on a wire, we were dancing
Two kids, no consequences
Katrina placed one of her hands on the back of James's head and her other on top of James's hands that were resting on her stomach.
Pull the trigger without thinking
There's only one way down this road
"Beautiful," Will mumbled as he began to shoot photo after photo.
It was like a time bomb set into motion
We knew that we were destined to explode
And if I had to pull you out of the wreckage
You know I'm never gonna let you go
James pulled his head back to stare at her, but still kept his mouth close to her ear so she could hear him whisper the next part.
We're like a time bomb
Gonna lose it
Let's diffuse it
Baby, we're like a time bomb
But I need it
Wouldn't have it
Any other way
Katrina disguised her shiver by changing the pose. She turned back around to face him and they turned so their sides were to the camera.
Well there's no way out of this so let's stay in
Every storm that comes also comes to an end
Lifting her leg up, she wrapped it around James's waist to pull him closer. Setting her hands on his chest to keep herself steady, her head turned to the camera, but was tilted in James's direction.
Oh, resistance is useless
Just two kids stupid and fearless
James's right hand held her leg up to help her keep her balance while his left hand went to touch the bare part of her back. He pulled her closer to him and she shivered again, but didn't move away as James stared down at her.
Like a bullet, shooting the lovesick
There's only one way down this road
Snapshots were going off, cementing the pose into the digital film.
It was like a time bomb set into motion
We knew that we were destined to explode
And if I had to pull you out of the wreckage
You know I'm never gonna let you go
James brought his head down to her ear again, singing the words softly.
We're like a time bomb
Gonna lose it
Let's defuse it
Baby, we're like a time bomb
But I need it
Wouldn't have it
Any other way
This time, James changed the pose. He brought a hand up to turn Katrina's head to him. Her eyes moved quickly to scan his face. He looked like he did that day they were painting.
Got my heart in your hands
Like a time bomb ticking
"Katrina!" Will addressed the girl, "Eyes on the camera." Katrina's eyes moved back to the camera, but James wouldn't let her head turn.
It goes off, we start again
When it breaks we fix it
James brought his head down, his lips so close to Katrina's lips that their breath was intermingling.
Got your heart in my hands
Like a time bomb ticking
Will called out, "Get closer!"
We should know better
But we won't let go
They did as he asked. Katrina's head tilted up and their lips brushed up against each other slightly, but not enough for a full on kiss. Will was gleeful as he spoke, "Stop right there! That's my vision!" And there was a click and flash as the picture was taken.
It was like a time bomb set into motion
We knew that we were destined to explode
And if I had to pull you out of the wreckage
You know I'm never gonna let you let me go
James began his singing again, his lips touching Katrina's as they moved. The camera was going off like crazy, blinding both Katrina and James.
We're like a time bomb
Gonna lose it
Let's defuse it
Baby, we're like a time bomb
But I need it
Wouldn't have it
Any other way
O-oh, o-oh
O-oh, o-oh
The song ended and Katrina pushed herself away from James. She crossed her arms and wondered to herself why she wanted the song to last longer.
Will went over to the computer, telling the teens, "You two can come over here and check out some of the shots we got. I think they're great! Katrina, brilliant as always and James, excellent for a newbie. You two have chemistry."
James and Katrina made their way over and looked at a couple pictures on the laptop.
"Whoa," James looked impressed, "That's us?"
"Wow," Katrina seemed shocked, "I didn't think I could pull that off."
"Are you kidding?" James turned to her, "If anyone could pull it off, it's you."
Katrina blushed, "Aw. Thanks, James."
Suddenly, Katie appeared beside them, "No time to relax. We've got to get to our next gig. You two need to change and then we've got to get in the limo and go."
"Where'd you get a limo?" Katrina sounded suspicious.
"Let's just say that Gustavo and Kelly are going to have to live with cabs for the day," Katie explained. "Now, move!" Katrina and James called out their goodbyes to Will before heading to the changing rooms.
By the end of the day, Katrina and James had gotten through tons of modeling gigs. Although none paid as much as the first one, they still paid a lot of money each. The jobs included modeling clothing for a department store, something for a local restaurant, a new electronic toy and a local tourist attraction. None of them included anything close to being as saucy as that first photo shoot.
James, Katie and Katrina were walking down the second floor of the Palm Woods, heading back to 2J. Katie was going over something on a clipboard, James was practically skipping along and Katrina looked annoyed at the happy boy.
"I can't believe we just earned 7,000 dollars today!" James cheered. "That's like half of what Gustavo owes!"
"Yeah, he'll be happy," Katrina noted. "I wonder how tired the others are?"
They found out as they walked into the apartment, finding Kendall, Logan and Carlos slumped down on the couch. None of them even had enough energy to change the channel from the news. Mrs. Knight was in the kitchen, cooking dinner.
"Hey Katie, James and Katrina," Mrs. Knight looked up at them, "How'd the modeling go?"
"They're naturals!" Katie exclaimed, "I've got them booked for another gig tomorrow." Katrina groaned and James jumped in place. "They earned 7,000 dollars!"
The boys fell off the couch when they heard this, "SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS?"
"We were lucky to get to five hundred!" Kendall complained.
"And Gustavo took all of our tips," Logan added.
"And he wouldn't let us take any breaks!" Carlos finished. The boys groaned as they pulled themselves back up onto the couch.
Katrina paused as she thought this over, "Okay, I prefer the modeling." She checked her phone to find that she had a text, "Oh, and Brandon finished up the painting for us, so we just have to put in the flooring and get the furniture. Then, it's done!"
All four boys groaned this time and Katie reminded her, "But you and James have a modeling thing tomorrow!"
"And Gustavo wants us at the studio for something," Logan told them.
Katrina rolled her eyes, "Fine. We'll just work around those things." She had to duck as a pillow came flying across the room at her, thrown by Carlos.
Before she could give a retort to that, the newscaster said something interesting, "And breaking news today! Katrina Wolff is back in the news almost two years after the Wolff Family Tragedy." The boys sat up as James joined them on the couch and Katrina, Katie and Mrs. Knight stood behind them to watch. "It's been reported that Katrina has come out of her retirement to model once again. A statement released from 'Cuda says that she is to be the face of their first product from their new female line. Although the photos haven't been given out yet, they have been described as being a different look for Katrina. Also released was the name of her new modeling partner, James Diamond. James has been reported as being a part of Gustavo Rocque's new boy band, Big Time Rush. After our reporters did more digging, we found a statement from their manager saying that she will not model without him." Everyone turned to look at Katie. She gave them an innocent grin as the newscaster continued, "If there isn't a romance going on between these two, I'd say it was a matter of time." Logan began glaring daggers at James. "This news comes just in time for the Wolff Family Tragedy to have its two year anniversary this Friday." Katrina stiffened at this as Kendall finally turned off the TV.
There were a couple of seconds of awkward silence as Logan glared at James, James stared at the floor, Katrina looked brokenhearted as she fixed her eyes on the blank TV and the other four didn't know what to do next.
Suddenly, Mrs. Knight broke it, "So, who's hungry?" There was a chorus of 'yeah's as Carlos, Kendall, Katie and Mrs. Knight headed for the table, leaving Katrina with Logan and James. Logan still looked as though he was going to attack James to the floor any second.
Katrina was the first to snap out of it. She quickly saw the way Logan was looking at James and sat down in the middle of them. Turning to James, she spoke, "Go eat." James ran away so fast, he caused a paper nearby to fly off the coffee table. She turned to look at Logan.
Logan spoke before she could, "You're dating James, aren't you?"
"No!" Katrina insisted. "I'm not dating him!"
He hesitated, "The last time I asked that, you laughed at the idea."
Katrina paused as she remembered that. "It's not that ridiculous a thought anymore." She couldn't look at him as she said this.
Logan was angry, "But he's a player! I thought you were smarter than that! You're going to get hurt if you date him!"
"You can't tell me who not to date!" Katrina argued. She and Logan had stood up and were up in each other's faces as they almost yelled at each other. "You're NOT my father! And you're NOT my brother! Besides, you're with Camille, no matter how much you deny it! I can date whomever I want! You have no say in it because we're not dating!" She huffed as she stormed over to the others who were pretending not to have heard the argument, but James looked happier than normal.
Logan stayed where he was for a second, staring at where Katrina had been. He whispered so quietly that he could barely hear it himself, "But I want to be dating you." He sighed, shaking his head, "Why can I never say that to her face?" Joining the group at the dinner table, he found himself glancing at Katrina sadly and glaring at James throughout dinner and for the rest of the night.
(A/N): Aww, poor Logan! Katrina is starting to warm up to James. What will Logan do when he sees the pictures of James and Katrina that they did for that ad? And it's getting closer and closer to the anniversary of the Wolff Family Tragedy? Will Katrina get enough courage to tell them by then? Will she tell them all or will she tell only one? And what does Katrina really think about modeling? Why does she hate doing it? If it pays so much and she's a natural, then why did she retire in the first place? Well, you'll just have to wait and find out!
And here are the choices for the voting contest again:
1. A girl bully.
2. A boyfriend for Brandon.
3. A stray animal.
4. A boyfriend for Katrina.
Confused? Check out chapter 7 for more information! Until the next chapter, happy reading and don't forget to vote!