(A/N): I know that this has been a long time coming, so I'm really sorry! I'll try and work harder to get these updates out sooner. I just didn't know how to end this. And then it didn't help when I got seriously sick. So sick that it hurt to move. But, I'm back! Anyways, thank you to these people for your reviews: Awesamazing (You seriously are awesome and amazing for going back and reviewing EVERY CHAPTER! And congratulations on being my 200th review! Okay, now to address some of the best of them. A chubby kid sitting on a poodle? I couldn't stop laughing when I read that! And yes, Brandon was a traitor, but he was looking out for Katrina… Sort of… She did get back at him by hitting him in the next chapter so it worked out. Again THANK YOU for all of those reviews!), Dreamer1992 (Yes, everyone seems to want Logan and Katrina to be together… Except Camille… But she doesn't know they like each other… At least, not yet…), Milkamoo97 (Thank you for the good luck! I'm sending out the query letter today. It took so long to get everything as perfect as it could be. Then I have to wait 2 to 4 weeks for a response. That's okay though. More time for this!), Sugarcrazed (Logan and Katrina seem together, but there's always challenges along the way.) and Cryss'BTRusher (Logan's not really indecisive in this chapter… It's just some unfinished business that comes up… As for James… He doesn't really ruin the picture, but sort of… Well, you'll see. And Evan is in this so you'll get to find out exactly what he decided!) I don't own Big Time Rush nor the episode Big Time Concert which is used in this chapter. And now, before this gets WAY too lengthy, here's the chapter!
Chapter 59: Two Years Coming
"I think my hearing is coming back," Logan told Katrina as he sat in her room, watching her pack. Somehow over the three days in Minnesota, all of her new clothes had scattered around the place. Logan's stuff was already packed, so he was visiting her to see if he could help. He was scratching the inside of his ear with a finger as though it would bring back his hearing that he lost after Gustavo's scream.
"Always a good sign," Katrina noted. She sighed as she threw down a piece of clothing into her new duffel bag. Logan raised his eyebrows as he watched her. As she continued to pack, her mood went south and he could practically see her fuming as she threw clothes into the bag.
"Okay, I thought you wanted to go back to LA," Logan mentioned, finally figuring out that Katrina was upset. "What's wrong?"
Katrina slammed her fist down on the desk causing Logan to jump in shock. She took in a deep breath as she tried to keep herself from crying. Noticing this, Logan got up off her bed and headed over to wrap his arms around her from behind. He rested his head on her shoulder as he asked again, "What's wrong?"
"We can't be together in LA," Katrina finally told him what was on her mind. She turned her head to him, a tear slowly rolling down her face. "Camille's gonna want you back."
"But I want to be with you," Logan assured her. "And I'm going to tell that to Camille when we get back. I promise."
"She's going to hate us," Katrina warned him.
"I know," Logan responded. "But you're worth it."
Katrina gave him a slight smile, "So are you." Logan smiled back before giving her a kiss on her cheek. Katrina's eyes darted down to his lips quickly before going back to his eyes. His mouth twitched a bit before leaning forward to take Katrina's lips with his. Katrina kissed him back, but it didn't last long. They broke apart and smiled at each other. "Okay, let me go. I need to finish packing."
Logan seemed to consider this before saying, "Nah." Before Katrina could say a word, Logan started tickling her. She squealed, laughed and tried to break out of his hold.
"Luh-Logan!" Katrina exclaimed through her laughter. "Stop! I can't breathe!"
"But I like making you laugh," Logan insisted. He didn't get to continue though because Katrina finally broke away. She giggled a bit before resuming her packing, tossing a t-shirt into her bag. "It's too bad we have to leave tomorrow. You never got the chance to meet my family."
"I'll meet them eventually," Katrina replied, stuffing a couple of skirts into the bag. "Like when we stop here for your tour."
"So, you are coming on tour with us?" Logan assumed.
"Well, duh!" Katrina responded. "You guys are gonna need your assistant. Plus I wanna stay with you." She reached over and grabbed his hand. "You know, make sure that no fangirls steal my man."
"You don't have to worry about that," Logan assured her. "Now, come here." Logan wrapped his arms around Katrina's waist and pulled her towards him. He leaned forward to kiss her again. Pulling back, he smiled sweetly, "You taste so good today."
"Might be my strawberry lipgloss," Katrina admitted with a smirk.
"You should wear that more often," Logan insisted before taking Katrina's lips with his own. Her arms wrapped around him as the two of them kissed. Their lips moved slowly together, planting soft kisses on each other. After a few of these light kisses, the two separated slightly, looking into each other's half shut eyes. Heavy breaths came from their mouths to mingle in the small space between their lips. The room began to get warmer as they continued to stare into each other's eyes.
Suddenly, both of them lunged forward, slamming their lips together. Slowly, Katrina was pulling Logan back with her and, soon, her back hit the wall. Logan pulled his arms away from her waist so he could place his hands on the wall on either side of Katrina's head. Their heartbeats sped up as Katrina's fingers mingled into Logan's hair. Moving his hand to Katrina's neck, Logan pushed her hair out of the way, revealing the skin of her neck. He pulled away from her lips to move down to her neck.
"Logan," Katrina sighed happily. Logan smirked as he placed slow kisses on Katrina's neck.
Their moment was interrupted by a knock on the door. The two froze as their eyes snapped open in horror.
"Logan? Katrina?" Kendall's voice came through the door. "My hearing came back just in time to find out that there's no talking coming from this room. What's going on in there?" Logan and Katrina continued to stay frozen in their spot, Logan's lips still on Katrina's neck. The doorknob jiggled. "Why is the door locked? One of you better open this door now!" There was banging on the door as Katrina burst into a giggling fit.
"You so planned this," Katrina accused Logan. He pulled away from her neck to look her in the eyes.
"You can thank my brain," Logan admitted. "I knew that Kendall would try and interrupt us."
"And how can I repay your brain?"
"Maybe more of that strawberry taste?"
"Gladly." Katrina leaned forward to take Logan's lips again. His hand went back to the wall as the couple made-out. Katrina's hands left Logan's head to move down to his chest, slowly letting her fingers graze over his shirt. He pulled away slightly to let out a moan. Katrina breathed heavily as Logan went back down to her neck. His kisses got more intense and Katrina's breathing staggered, her head going back to hit the wall behind her.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Kendall had his ear pressed up against it. He heard the moaning, the heavy breathing and the thud on the wall from Katrina letting her head go back. Not being able to see what was going on, Kendall automatically assumed the worst. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.
"Carlos, I need your help," Kendall spoke into the phone.
Suddenly, Carlos appeared at Kendall's side, fully decked out in his superhero costume, "Never fear, good citizen! Comet Lad is here!" He struck a heroic pose. Kendall looked back and forth from his phone to Carlos.
"How did you get here so fast?" Kendall asked, "Weren't you at home?"
Carlos pulled out of his pose, "Actually, I was hanging out in the kitchen. Your mom made snickerdoodles for the flight back to LA tomorrow. What did you think of my superhero name?"
"It still needs work," Kendall admitted. Carlos stomped his foot in frustration. "Now, break down Katrina's door."
"Why?" Carlos asked.
"Because I need to stop Logan and Katrina from doing something stupid," Kendall explained. "Do it." Carlos shrugged, smacked his helmet twice for good luck, screamed and raced at the door, ramming it down to the ground. Screaming, Logan and Katrina latched onto each other. Their faces were frozen in terror as they stared at the Latino on the knocked down door.
"CARLOS?" Logan and Katrina exclaimed.
"Who is this Carlos you speak of?" Carlos got to his feet. "I'm Comet Lad! Here to save the day!" Katrina facepalmed.
"No, Carlos," Logan shook his head. "Just no." Carlos grumbled as he stomped his foot again.
"Logan," Kendall poked his head into the room. "I think it's time for you to head home. We'll see you tomorrow." Logan shrugged, gave Katrina a goodbye kiss and left the room. "You too Carlos."
"Okay," Carlos gave in. He practically dragged his feet out of the room.
"How much trouble am I in on a scale of one to ten?" Katrina asked Kendall.
"Six," Kendall responded with certainty. Katrina winced. "You're lucky you weren't on the bed otherwise it would have been a ten." Katrina gave him a guilty smile. "Don't ever shut or lock the door again when you're alone with Logan. Especially in bedrooms."
"Got it," Katrina nodded. "Now, get out. I have to finish packing. Logan kind of distracted me." Kendall's eyes went wide as he stared at Katrina. "Don't look at me like that!" Kendall held his hands up in defeat before leaving the room so Katrina could finish packing.
"We are back!" Carlos announced as he, Logan, Kendall and Katrina walked in a row down the hallway. Kelly, Gustavo, Katie and Mrs. Knight were walking behind them.
"Now," Kendall got their attention on the task at hand. "All we have to do is find James, tell him the band's back together and-" He cut himself off as the four teens looked around the empty studio in horror.
"Oh my gosh, the studio's been robbed!" Logan exclaimed as the guys and Katrina dropped their bags to the ground.
"What if this happened to Penny's Pet Care?" Katrina seemed more concerned about her old business.
Before she could run off and check though, Carlos spoke up heroically, "This looks like a job for-" He opened up his shirt to reveal his superhero costume underneath. "-El Hombre Del Flaming Space Rock Man." Kendall made a buzzing noise while Katrina facepalmed, shaking her head.
"Not even a little," Logan mentioned. Carlos let his arms fall down in frustration.
"The studio wasn't robbed," Kelly assured them.
"I had to sell everything to buy Big Time Rush back from Griffin," Gustavo explained as Carlos rebuttoned his shirt. "Including my mansion." Gustavo started to cry so Kelly handed him a handkerchief.
"Don't worry Gustavo," Kendall tried to get his producer calm again. "We won't let you down." Carlos and Logan nodded.
"And you can stay with us at the Palm Woods," Mrs. Knight offered.
Gustavo immediately stopped crying, "Yeah, there's no money for the Palm Woods." The teens stared at him in disbelief.
"Then where are we staying?" Katie asked. Kelly and Gustavo winced. They walked off leaving the others to look at each other in concern before following them.
"Welcome to the Rocque Woods," Kelly announced as the group walked into the practice room. They looked around in shock. There were cots set up around the room for all of them to sleep, taking up most of the room. "It's not much, but, well, it's not much."
"And it's only temporary," Gustavo assured them. "Until you guys rock the concert in four days. And Big Time Rush gets some big time investors."
"Then we go on tour," Kelly continued, "Get your album released."
"Then I get my studio and my mansion back," Gustavo finished.
"This'll be fine," Mrs. Knight spoke. "We can do this." She sat on one of the cots. "And see how positive I'm remaining?" Kendall gave her an okay sign with his hand.
"At least this is better than the place I lived in that rundown neighborhood," Katrina mentioned. The guys nodded.
"But before we do anything, we need to find James and get rehearsals started up again," Gustavo reminded them.
"Got it," Kendall responded. "We'll go straight to the Palm Woods so I can see Jo." Before anyone could stop him, Kendall ran out of the room.
"What he really means is that maybe someone at the Palm Woods has seen Camille," Logan offered. Katrina's eyebrows went up into her bangs as she turned slowly to glare at Logan. "I mean, uh, James." He gave a nervous laugh before running off.
Katrina suddenly got an idea and turned to the others with a smile, "Maybe James went to visit Brandon at Penny's Pet Care. I should go check there. You know, James has always said he wanted a dog."
"No he hasn't," Carlos replied.
"YES HE HAS!" Katrina yelled before running out of the room.
"This looks like a job for-" Carlos announced, reopening his shirt, "-my still unnamed superhero!" Gustavo facepalmed as Carlos jumped out of the room as if he was going to fly. He fell flat on his face causing multiple facepalms from the others.
"Don't worry, we'll go to the Palm Woods right after this," Katrina assured Kendall, Logan and Carlos. "I just wanna see Brandon first and he's closest." The elevator doors opened revealing Penny's Pet Care. Tim was behind the desk, but there was no sign of Brandon.
Tim looked up and smiled when he saw the four teens, "Oh my God, you're back!"
"Yeah, hi, I missed you and all that stuff," Katrina quickly spoke through her greeting, "Where's Brandon?"
"Palm Woods," Tim replied. "He's hanging out with Jo and Camille." Katrina stared at him in confusion.
"When did they become friends?" Kendall asked rhetorically. The other teens shrugged before getting back in the elevator to head down to the lobby.
Brandon, Camille, Jo and Lightning the Wonder Dog were lying out beside the Palm Woods pool, feeling sad. Depressing music was playing in the background.
"This place is so depressing since the guys left," Camille admitted.
"And Rina," Brandon added. "I still can't believe my best friend's gone."
"And the music doesn't help," Jo turned to glare at Guitar Dude who was playing the depressing music on his guitar.
He stopped suddenly and looked at Jo, "Oh, uh, sorry."
Suddenly, Kendall, Logan, Carlos and Katrina stopped in front of them.
"What's everyone so down about?" Kendall asked.
"Kendall!" Jo exclaimed.
"Logan!" Camille joined her best friend in getting up off the pool chairs.
"Rina!" Brandon practically leapt off the chair, heading towards Katrina. Lightning barked before he got up and went for Carlos.
Jo pulled Kendall in for a hug while Camille did the same with Logan. Katrina and Brandon held onto each other as they jumped up and down in their happiness of seeing their best friend.
"Lightning!" Carlos exclaimed when Lightning jumped into his arms. Carlos embraced the dog with a gigantic smile on his face. The others broke apart to stare at Carlos.
"Aww," Katrina commented. "Lightning loves you Carlos!" She had on the goofy grin she had whenever she saw an animal. As if he was proving the point, Lightning licked Carlos's face. Carlos slowly turned to his friends.
"Okay guys," Carlos addressed them. "Um, after the concert, I need to get a girlfriend." Logan, Kendall and Katrina laughed while Camille, Jo and Brandon seemed excited.
"What? The concert's back on?" Jo caught.
"As soon as we find James," Logan told her.
"Yeah, has anyone seen him?" Kendall asked.
"Uh, yeah, he's living here," Camille answered. "In your old apartment." Logan and Kendall exchanged shocked looks while Carlos and Katrina did the same. Guitar Dude played some suspenseful chords on his guitar.
Logan, Carlos, Kendall, Katrina and Brandon were standing in front of apartment 2J. Logan sighed as he motioned to the doorbell that was installed next to the door. Kendall pressed it. A sound rang out nearby that sounded like a gong. The five of them looked around in shock.
The door opened revealing an elderly man on the other side. They jumped back slightly at the surprise of seeing someone other than James.
"May I help you?" the man asked them.
"Yeah," Kendall responded. "We're looking for James."
"Do come in," the man offered.
"We shall come in," Logan replied. Brandon shrugged before heading in right away. Katrina raised an eyebrow before she went in too. Carlos, Kendall and Logan looked at each other as they followed the best friends in.
Looking around, their jaws dropped. The swirly slide was gone, replaced with a spiral staircase. The color scheme was gray with a hint of blue. Everything was slick and tidy and there were pictures of James on the walls.
"This is our old apartment?" Kendall commented in disbelief.
"It kind of looks like my uncle's studio," Brandon mentioned. They heard someone speaking in a foreign language and looked over to see two people offering them sushi.
"Those are sushi chefs," Logan pointed out the obvious.
Katrina reached over, grabbed one and put it in her mouth, "Not bad." She gave the sushi chefs a smile before bowing politely to them.
"Ah!" Carlos exclaimed. "And what happened to swirly?"
Suddenly, James came walking down the spiral staircase, drinking a soda and wearing a purple robe, "Hey! What are you guys doing here?" He seemed excited, but then realized what he sounded like and toned it down to make it seem like he didn't care that they were there. "I mean, what are you guys doing here?"
"Big Time Rush is back together!" Kendall announced. James gave them an amused smile.
"Yes, so, let's get dressed and go," Logan added.
"Yeah, and what happened to swirly?" Carlos was still obsessed with the missing swirly slide.
"We gotta get back to Rocque Records to get ready for the concert!" Kendall explained.
"Yeah, no," James responded. "You see, Hawk signed me to a three record deal, modified the crib to suit my new personal style and gave me Sebastian."
The old guy that had greeted them before came up to the others, "Hot towel, anyone?" While Logan, Carlos and Kendall each grabbed one, Katrina and Brandon shook their heads, knowing what the towel would do to them. The three boys put the towels on their faces and screamed in pain. James winced as he watched them fall to the floor.
"See, this is why I never accept the hot towels from Brandon's butler," Katrina let them know.
"Oh, and as I recall, you were the ones who told me to get real and move on," James went on. "So I did."
Sebastian came up to James with a megaphone on a platter, "Megaphone for emphasis, sir?"
James took it, brought it up to his mouth and spoke into it, "I rock!" Carlos, Logan, Kendall, Katrina and Brandon jumped at the sound. He placed the megaphone back on the platter.
"James, I was mad, okay?" Kendall tried to get the pretty boy to see some sense, "We shouldn't have broken up the band. But we've always promised since we were PeeWee hockey players that we would stick together."
"Ooh and you've never broken a promise?" James pointed out. Kendall, Carlos and Logan suddenly got a look of horror and realization. Katrina and Brandon looked at them with their eyebrows raised.
"Did I miss something?" Katrina asked.
"We might be horrible people," Logan told the others. Katrina and Brandon furrowed their eyebrows as they exchanged looks.
"Yeah," Carlos agreed, wincing at the thought the guys had.
"We'll fix it," Kendall assured Logan and Carlos. "But first, we need to fix the band. James, we're sorry. Now, let's go." He, Logan and Carlos headed for the open door.
"He's not going anywhere," a voice rang out into the room. Everyone looked over at the stairs to see Hawk and his assistant walking down it. Hawk continued to talk, "Because he's got everything he needs here. Right James?" He placed a hand on James's shoulder, smiling at him.
Sebastian came up to James with a platter of toys and money, "Some toys or money sir?" Carlos, Logan and Kendall stared at the platter with desire. Katrina rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Brandon glared at his uncle. James picked out a Rubik's cube off of it and began to play with it.
"Excellent choice," Hawk told him.
"You guys told me to move on," James addressed his friends, "So, I did."
"And now," Hawk spoke up, "My assistant Rebecca will show you the door." Rebecca smiled sweetly at them.
The guys chuckled as Carlos mentioned in amusement, "She's gonna show us the door?" Rebecca stepped forward before dropping her folder and assuming a fighting stance. The guys didn't have a chance before she threw Kendall and then Carlos out the door.
Logan, seeing his friends get hurt, rushed out of the room, calling out, "I'm leaving! I'm leaving!" Rebecca turned to Katrina and Brandon.
"Leave the girl and my nephew," Hawk instructed Rebecca. She pulled away making James, Katrina and Brandon look at Hawk in confusion. "Close the door. I don't want the others to hear this." Rebecca closed the door and stood in front of it as if she was guarding it.
"What's going on?" James asked.
"I'm getting you something else you want," Hawk explained. "A girlfriend." James furrowed his eyebrows before looking at the jawdropped Katrina.
"Uncle George," Brandon spoke for his best friend, "You've officially gone crazy."
Hawk ignored his nephew as he went up to Katrina, "There's an extra room here. You can have everything you want. All you have to do is agree to be James's girlfriend. You don't even have to work for me."
Katrina closed her mouth and turned to Hawk with a glare, "I can't be bought. Besides, my heart belongs to another."
"Logan is never going to break-up with Camille!" James exclaimed getting everyone to stare at him. "He doesn't have the courage to do it!"
"He promised me," Katrina insisted. "He promised that he'd break-up with Camille and then we'd be together."
"Tell me, how did he react when I mentioned broken promises?" James reminded her. Katrina furrowed her eyebrows as she thought back. "And how did he react when he saw Camille here?" Katrina suddenly seemed furious. Brandon stared at her in surprise. "I won't break a promise. Just stay here with me and you can do whatever you want." Katrina stared at him for a second, confliction running across her face. She looked over at Brandon who had his jaw dropped slightly. Taking a quick glance at the door, she thought of her family. He mind raced as she went through all the options she had. One seemed to stick out.
"Brandon," Katrina turned to her best friend. "Tell the guys I'm staying here." James gave his million dollar smile while Hawk smirked.
After staring at Katrina for a second, Brandon grabbed her arm, "Can I talk to you for a second? Alone?" Katrina didn't have a chance to say anything before Brandon dragged her into the kitchen, past the sushi chefs and into the bathroom, closing the door after him. "Katrina Raven Wolff, what do you think you're doing?"
"Wow, the full name," Katrina responded nonchalantly. "I must be in a lot of trouble." Brandon glared at her. "Okay, I'll tell you. If I stay here and gain James's trust, I might be able to convince him to rejoin Big Time Rush and forget about your uncle."
"I get it," Brandon replied. "You're gonna be a double agent!" Katrina nodded. "Logan's not gonna be happy with this."
"I know," Katrina admitted. "But if he's worth it, he'll understand that I'm doing this for them. For all four of them. To help them become friends again."
"I don't like this," Brandon insisted.
"Trust me."
"Then we have to sell this," Brandon took a deep breath. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" He yanked the door open and stomped out of the bathroom. "WE ARE NO LONGER FRIENDS!"
"Brandon!" Katrina called out as she left the bathroom. "You're making a big deal out of nothing!"
"If you think this isn't a big deal, then maybe we weren't friends to begin with!" Brandon retorted. Before Katrina could say another word, Brandon pushed Rebecca out of the way and left the apartment. Katrina stared back in hurt.
"Well that was awkward," Hawk mentioned. "James, why don't you show your new girlfriend to her room?" James suddenly appeared next to Katrina.
"You okay?" James checked with her.
Katrina turned to him and smiled, "Yeah, I'll be fine. Show me where I'll be staying." She grabbed his arm and he led her out of the room.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN KATRINA'S STAYING HERE?" Kendall, Logan and Carlos yelled at Brandon. They were standing right outside the Palm Woods and Brandon had just told them that Katrina was staying.
"Wow, Gustavo's rubbing off on you guys," Brandon responded. "Anyways, yeah, she thinks that if she stays here and acts as his girlfriend, she might be able to get him to come back."
"But that could take too long!" Kendall pointed out.
"Girlfriend?" Logan caught. He stared at Brandon in defeat.
"What are we gonna do until then?" Carlos asked. No one had an answer.
Two days later, James, Katrina and Sebastian went to Hawk Records so that James could report in for work. James had his arm around Katrina's waist as the three of them followed Hawk and Rebecca into Hawk's office. They looked around at the solo artists on the posters on the wall.
"And now," Hawk began, walking up to a poster that was covered by a black cloth. James was showing his million dollar smile while Katrina was looking around the room in disgust. "The newest addition to Hawk Records' line of pop superstars." He took off the cloth revealing a poster of James. Well, sort of James. On the poster, his name was spelled with a 'z' instead of an 's' and his lips were unnaturally huge.
James's smile fell, "You spelled my name wrong."
"No, I didn't," Hawk insisted. "You're James with a 'z' now!" James and Katrina gave Hawk skeptical looks. "It's awezome!" He chuckled from the play on the letter z.
"Isn't that technically Ja-Mez?" Sebastian asked, giving the name a different pronunciation. Hawk looked at the poster and then at Rebecca who nodded. Katrina turned her head so no one could see her hide her laughter.
"I don't pay you to speak Sebastian!" Hawk snapped.
"You'd still be James if you were with Rocque Records," Katrina brought up. Hawk glared at her. "I'm just saying."
"I don't pay you to talk either!"
"You don't pay me at all!" Katrina reminded him. "I'm just James's eye candy."
Before the two could continue to argue, James mentioned, still staring at the poster, "What's wrong with my lips?"
"We added new ones," Rebecca explained. "We wanted something fuller. Yours are too thin." James brought a hand up to touch his lips.
"I wouldn't kiss those large lips," Katrina noted. "They look like they'd swallow my head if I tried." She shivered at the thought.
"You're lucky that it's only digital then," Rebecca responded. Katrina scowled at her.
"And check out your new zingle," Hawk went on as he sat down at his desk, grabbed a remote and pressed a button, starting up some music. James, Katrina and Sebastian looked on in surprise.
"But I haven't recorded anything yet," James pointed out.
"You don't have to," Hawk laughed, turning off the music. "Thanks to digital enhancement."
"Like we did with your lips," Rebecca added.
"So you mean be fake?" Katrina commented.
"No," Hawk responded. "I mean digital help." Katrina stared at him in disbelief. "And together, we are going to crush Gustavo and Big Time Rush."
"But I don't wanna crush Big Time Rush," James admitted. "Those guys are my friends. Or, they were." Katrina looked up at him with a proud smile.
"Ja-Mez," Rebecca called James by the new pronunciation of his name. "Do you want to have friends or do you want to be famous?"
"And besides," Hawk went on. There was a tone to his voice that made Katrina turn to him in confusion. "If they were really your friends, would they be searching all over town for your replacement?" Hawk handed James a magazine. Katrina craned her neck over to look at it. There was an ad there for an open audition to be a member of Big Time Rush. Sighing in defeat, Katrina facepalmed.
James suddenly seemed upset as he tossed the magazine back down on the desk, "I wanna be famous."
Evan was sitting in LAX waiting for his plane to Minnesota to start boarding. Because he had forgotten to bring something to do on the plane ride, he had stopped at a store in the airport and bought a magazine.
"Why did I buy this?" Evan asked himself, flipping a page. "I don't even like this magazine." He looked up for a second as he thought about it. "Oh yeah. The others weren't good either." He shrugged and went back to the magazine. "Maybe I should have gotten a puzzle book or something." He flipped another page, completely ignoring the people staring at him since he was talking to himself.
Something on the next page caught his eye. Quickly, he brought it up closer to his face so he could read over the advertisement. It was for the Big Time Rush open audition.
"Are you freaking kidding me?" Evan exclaimed as he got to his feet. The people nearby continued to stare at him, all conversations disappearing. He groaned as he grabbed his overnight bag from the ground, stuffed the magazine in it and walked off.
The elevator doors opened up on the Rocque Records floor and Evan stepped off of it. He stopped in the middle of the hallway and just stared down it. The elevator closed behind him, but he still didn't move.
"Once I walk down there, there's no turning back," Evan told himself. He took a deep breath before continuing down the hallway. He made his way through Rocque Records, glancing through open doorways, wondering where everyone was. Soon, he found himself right outside the open door of the practice room. He glanced inside and watched someone singing before he did a backflip. The people that were sitting behind what looked like a desk made out of boxes got to their feet and clapped.
"Welcome to Big Time Rush!" Gustavo announced. Evan smiled slightly as he leaned up against the doorframe to watch the scene in front of him. The guy that had been singing jumped up as he cheered.
"I'm so excited," the guy told them. "I must now tell my dark overlord, Zorbloc." Evan's smile disappeared at the same time as the others' smiles did. The guy bowed, "Oh Zorbloc! The time of prophecy is upon us!" He then began to make weird noises as he turned around in a circle before running and jumping to hit the wall on purpose. He fell to the ground and twitched there.
"Maybe we can't replace James," Kendall realized.
"Hey, Big Time Rush is now a trio," Gustavo decided. The others agreed.
Evan decided it was time to get their attention. He cleared his throat causing the others to turn their heads and look at him. Logan's, Carlos's and Kendall's jaws dropped in shock. Gustavo and Kelly seemed confused.
"I know I'm a little late," Evan began, "I was at the airport, about to take a plane out to Minnesota, when I saw an ad that you were looking for a new boy band member."
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Gustavo asked.
"EVAN?" Kendall, Carlos and Logan exclaimed.
"Wait, Evan?" Kelly spoke up. "As in Evan Wolff? Katrina's older brother?" Evan just smirked.
"Are you staying?" Carlos asked.
"Well, I am auditioning for Big Time Rush," Evan announced. Before anyone could respond, Evan burst out in song, "If you want it all, lay it on the line. It's the only life you got so you gotta live it big time." Kendall, Carlos, Logan, Gustavo and Kelly clapped and cheered for him.
"You," Gustavo pointed at the random guy still twitching on the floor. "You're fired! You," Gustavo turned to Evan. "You're the new member of Big Time Rush!" The guy didn't seem to notice being fired as he got to his feet and began mumbling random words.
"Come on," Kendall placed his hand on Evan's shoulder. "Mom and Katie are gonna be happy to see you."
"And Katrina?" Evan asked. At the mention of the model, the boys, Gustavo and Kelly exchanged nervous looks. "What? Did something happen to her?"
"You're not gonna like this," Logan responded. Evan narrowed his eyes before the guys explained why Katrina was not with them.
Katrina was playing a racing video game versus Sebastian while James ate sushi behind them. She was supposed to be playing against James, but the pretty boy had asked Sebastian to play for him.
"This takes all the fun out of trying to beat you," Katrina mentioned to James. She glanced over at Sebastian quickly before focusing on the game again. "How the heck are you beating me?"
"Uh, where to now sir?" Sebastian asked James.
"Uh, just turn left here," James responded nonchalantly. Katrina raised an eyebrow at his tone, but didn't look at him. Sebastian made the turn.
"Are you alright, sir?" Sebastian asked.
"Yeah, you seem kind of out of it, James," Katrina added. "Honestly Sebastian, where did you get these awesome video game skills?"
Sebastian didn't get to answer though because James did, "I'm good. I got both of you and I got sushi. Everything's awesome." He didn't seem to agree with his answer though since he didn't smile once. Katrina and Sebastian exchanged concerned looks before Sebastian paused their game.
"Yes," Sebastian replied as he got up. "And you seem so awesome." Katrina turned around in her seat to look at James.
"Are you being sarcastic?" James laughed slightly, "Cause you sound like Logan." He frowned as Katrina smiled knowingly, raising her eyebrows. "Who I don't miss. Just like I don't miss Carlos or Kendall."
"Yeah, you do," Katrina told him, getting up to stand next to Sebastian. "You miss your best friends and there's only one solution to that. Go back to Big Time Rush."
"I don't miss them," James insisted, shaking his head.
"Of course you don't," Sebastian responded. "Just like I don't long for a life away from the smog and shallowness of this town." Katrina furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and turned to look at Sebastian.
"We still talking about me here?" James checked. Katrina rolled her eyes before turning to him with an 'are you kidding me' look.
"How do you teens say it today?" Sebastian replied. "Whatever Ja-Mez."
"Hey," James got to his feet. "Hawk is gonna make me famous."
"Ooh," Sebastian spoke sarcastically, "A whole life filled with fake lips, fake vocals and a fake girlfriend." James's hand went up to touch his lips while Katrina's jaw dropped slightly. "Wake up James and do enjoy a hot towel." He used his tongs to pick up a hot towel and throw it at James's face. James grabbed it, screamed and fell to the floor in pain.
"James," Katrina knelt down beside him, pulling the towel off his face. "You've got ambition and talent. Don't settle for letting someone else do the work for you. Hawk is only making you famous so that Gustavo can't. He doesn't care about you like your friends, Gustavo, Kelly, Mrs. Knight, Katie," She looked away from his staring eyes for a second as she hesitated. James pulled himself up so he was sitting instead of lying down. Katrina turned back to him. "And me. I care about you. Which is why I can't let you stay here acting as Hawk's puppet when I know you can do so much better by going back to Big Time Rush."
Smiling, James responded, "Logan is one lucky guy to have you." Katrina blushed as she moved a strand of hair out of her face. "If he messes up, I'm right here."
"I know," Katrina assured him.
"Hey Sebastian," James addressed the older man, "Can you drive us over to Rocque Records?"
"It would be my pleasure, sir," Sebastian nodded his head once, a smile on his face. He grabbed his keys while James and Katrina got to their feet. The three of them headed for the door.
Kendall, Carlos, Logan and Evan were singing Famous, but it wasn't good. They were running into each other and Evan kept dropping out of the singing since he didn't know the lyrics as well as the others. Gustavo, Kelly, Katie and Mrs. Knight were watching from the control room.
"Stop, stop, stop, stop, STOP!" Gustavo yelled at them. "Need I remind you that we have a concert in two days and I put everything on the line for you and you STINK!"
"I'm just learning this!" Evan pointed out.
"And the choreography is completely different without James since Evan can't do backflips," Logan added.
"Everything's different without James," Carlos admitted.
"Look, don't worry," Kendall assured Gustavo, "We'll figure this out. Have we ever let you down?"
Gustavo burst into laughter before turning to the others in the control room, "Have they ever let me down?" Katie, Mrs. Knight and Kelly shook their heads. He looked back at the four boys in the practice room. "That's not the point." Getting to his feet, he continued, "The point is James is not coming back."
"Katrina can get him to come back," Evan insisted.
"THE CAT'S NOT COMING BACK EITHER!" Gustavo screamed at him. Evan jumped in shock, not being used to Gustavo's screams. Logan, Carlos and Kendall rolled their eyes as they looked at each other. "Now, I don't care what you sing, but look like you're enjoying it or I will destroy ALL OF YOU!" The four boys flinched back at Gustavo's fury.
That's when Kendall got an idea. He brought the microphone up to his mouth and began to sing, "Oh, you're such a turd. Oh yeah, a giant turd."
Carlos and Logan joined in while Evan just laughed since he didn't know the song, "And you look like a turd and you smell like a turd." Gustavo let his head hit the control panel.
As the three guys sang and danced while Evan looked on, Kelly noted to the others, "Well, they do seem to be enjoying it." Gustavo nodded, giving in.
Suddenly, their singing was interrupted by someone else. Looking over at the open doorway, James was standing there singing while Katrina was right next to him. While James seemed happy, all Katrina could do was stare at Evan. Carlos, Logan and Kendall cheered as they pointed at James. Evan held back as he stared at Katrina with a slight smile on his face.
"I'm gonna be rich!" Katie exclaimed causing Gustavo, Kelly and Mrs. Knight to look at her in disbelief. "I mean, hurray for friendship!" Logan, Kendall and Carlos ran up to greet James.
"Big Time Rush is back together!" Carlos announced.
"Yeah, I felt bad knowing how much you all missed me," James responded. "Plus, Katrina helped me see some sense, right Katrina?" The four guys turned to her to find her still staring at Evan. "Are you-" James noticed who she was staring at. "Evan? What are you doing here?"
"I'm back," Evan explained simply. "I heard that my family needed some help." He turned to Katrina, waving at her. "Hey Kat."
This caused Katrina to snap out of her stupor, "Hey? HEY? You've been gone for two years and all you have to say to me is HEY?" She stormed up to him and smacked him across the face. Everyone else winced at the sound.
"I guess I deserved that," Evan admitted, rubbing the now sore spot on his face.
Katrina smiled at him, shaking her head slightly, "I missed you, you idiot." That said, Katrina pulled her brother in for a hug. Smiles spread on everyone's faces as Evan wrapped his arms around his sister, returning her hug. Katrina could feel herself tearing up from being so happy to have her brother back. Pulling away, Katrina looked up at him, "And whatever you've gotten yourself into, I'm gonna help you get out of it."
"I look forward to it," Evan replied. The siblings turned over to the band who was watching with smug grins on their faces.
"See? Nothing blew up by coming back," Kendall told Evan. "You were worried over nothing! Now, everyone can be happy!"
"Not yet," Katrina reminded him. "You guys still have to rock your concert so that we don't have to live here anymore."
"Which reminds me," Evan turned to Katrina, "I heard that you were living in an apartment with a boy!" He crossed his arms as he glared at Katrina.
Katrina laughed nervously, "Oh yeah. That. Um. Does it help that we were in separate rooms?" He continued to glare at her. "And that there was an adult living in the same apartment?" Evan didn't stop.
"Dude, nothing happened," James insisted. "We didn't even kiss. I wouldn't go there. Not again." He looked at Logan apologetically.
Logan suddenly seemed uncomfortable as he changed the attention back to James and Katrina, "And you two aren't gonna miss the cool pad, the hot towels and Sebastian?"
"Yes, no and yes," James replied.
"I second that," Katrina added.
"Well, don't sweat it," Kendall told them as the Kelly, Gustavo, Katie and Mrs. Knight came into the room. "Because when we nail the concert, we're gonna go back to the Palm Woods and get our own Sebastian, right?" The guys, Katrina and Evan turned to look at the newcomers.
"And what about Hawk?" Kelly reminded them.
"We'll talk about your Sebastian later," Gustavo responded. "And we've got bigger problems than Hawk. As in the concert is in two days and we haven't sold a single ticket and all the posters are now wrong." He pointed at a poster attached to a couple of boxes. While the date, time and place were right, James wasn't on the poster, but Evan was along with Carlos, Kendall and Logan.
"Don't worry," Mrs. Knight insisted. "Katie will donate her posters." She unrolled a poster revealing one of the four guys of Big Time Rush.
"No I won't," Katie seemed insulted.
"KATIE, DONATE THEM!" Mrs. Knight yelled.
"Okay!" Katie gave in. She ducked down and suddenly stood up with a hat and shirt with Big Time Rush logos on them. "But I get concession space for my hats and t-shirts."
"Deal," Gustavo agreed.
"How did she do that?" Evan whispered to Katrina.
"I've given up asking," Katrina admitted. "Just go with it. Everyone's magic here or something."
"Kelly," Gustavo turned to the woman on his side. "What money do we have left in the budget for street team advertising and local TV spots?"
Kelly pulled some cash out of her pockets, "We got five bucks and a punch card for one free Schmetzel's Pretzel." Gustavo made a weird noise of annoyance, disappointment and anger.
"We'll go back to the Palm Woods and get some street team volunteers," Kendall offered.
"And I think I may know a way we can get some free TV spots," Logan informed them.
"And Evan, Brandon and I should still have some connections with minor celebrities around here," Katrina added. "We might be able to get them to come and then more people will want to come. You know how people want to be around celebrities."
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Gustavo asked. "I can't sell this band to investors if we don't sell out the concert! Go go go go get out of here!" James, Carlos, Logan, Kendall, Katrina and Evan ran from the room.
As they stood in front of the elevator, waiting for it to come up, Katrina leaned over to whisper to Logan, "We need to talk later." He didn't get a chance to respond since the elevator opened up and the group filed into it.
(A/N): Well, that's not good…. What's Katrina gonna say to Logan? What's she gonna say to Camille? Is she gonna fight for Logan or let him go? Is there still something going on between James and Katrina? She admitted that she cares for him, but what does that mean exactly? And something happened that we were all waiting for! Evan's back! FOR GOOD! Or is he? Is he gonna run off again at the sight of Katrina getting in harm's way or will he stay to protect his sister? Chapter 60 is next and you know what that means! Something big is gonna happen! But what could that be since Evan's back? Maybe it'll be Katrina and Logan? Maybe Evan's got a secret that'll get out? Maybe it'll be something that's completely unpredictable? You'll just have to wait to find out! Hopefully it won't take as long as it took to get this one up. Until then, happy reading!