(A/N): Hey everyone! I realize it's been quite a while since I made an update on this story. I had to stop working on this for a bit while I concentrated on getting my next book typed up and personally edited. It's still not ready for publication, but I'm taking a break from it to give you readers an update. I've also been really sick recently, enough to go see a doctor. While I still have a few more tests to take, my doctor has come up with a diagnosis that fits my symptoms and it's pretty serious. As in, if I don't get treatment, it wouldn't just go away with some rest and would be, not life-threatening, but certainly life-altering. It's been really rough.
Anyway, thank you to these people who have reviewed and for sticking with me during these long stretches without an update: Dreamer1992 (Hope you had a Merry Christmas too! Sorry about these long stretches between updates. I haven't forgotten this!), Leah Garcia (Sorry that it took so long for an update! Maybe next time I make a story I should write up all the chapters and then slowly release them over time instead of updating while I write. Yes, Emily will be back, just not in this chapter. She's a villain in the story so, until someone 'defeats' her, she'll be lurking around, showing up randomly to make everyone's lives miserable.), Jenificent3007 (Another update! Yay! Sorry it's so late. Real life needs to stop getting in the way. Hope you're still reading!), Witch Demigoddess (You'll be able to see Natalie and Cedric's relationship here! This chapter also gives more of a focus on the guys than the OCs. It's easier to focus on the guys in this story when it's not centered around an episode because we all know what happens to them in the episodes and I can only change so much to keep the storyline. Then again, some things in the episodes will be changed because of the whole Logan/Katrina relationship rather than the Logan/Camille one, so those episode chapters will probably have a bit more focus on Logan.) and Guest (I know it's been four months. I've been slowly getting back to this. It's been kind of hard in real life recently. Don't expect me to give up on this though. I've always hated it when I read a good fanfic only to find out that the author isn't updating anymore. No one has to worry about me not updating. I'll update! It just might take me a while.)
As always, I still don't own Big Time Rush. That's it for my disclaimer for this chapter since it's filled with original storyline stuff. So, without further ado, here's the chapter!
Chapter 84: Suspicious Activity
Cedric released Natalie and she planted her feet back on the ground. At the sound of throat clearing, she turned around and found Big Time Rush staring at them.
"Oh!" Natalie blushed as she realized they had been caught. "This is Cedric, my boyfriend. Cedric, this is Carlos, James, Kendall and Logan. They're in a boy band."
"Vocal group," Logan corrected. "We're in a vocal group that happens to be all boys."
"Oh, kind of like One Direction," Cedric realized. "That's really cool. I bet you guys have girls lining up all over, trying to marry you."
"Logan's dating Kat," Natalie added. Cedric twitched slightly at that. While Natalie didn't seem to notice, the guys did. "You know, my best friend. And Kendall's her cousin." Cedric twitched again, making the boys even more suspicious. "She's a little busy this week, but you'll meet her at the New Year's party she and Evan, her brother, are throwing at Penny's Pet Care." For a third time, Cedric twitched, but this time, the boys were distracted by something else.
"Kat's throwing a party?!" the guys exclaimed.
Natalie winced, "Oh, right. She hasn't told you yet. Don't ask her about it. Let her tell you first." The guys nodded, still recovering from the couple of shocking things that have happened.
"So, are you gonna show me the set for your television show?" Cedric asked.
"Well, no one here's seen it yet, but sure!" Natalie agreed. "I'll show you. Just let me go change."
"I think you look great the way you're dressed now," Cedric assured her, eyes wandering up and down.
"Oh, stop it!" Natalie giggled, pushing him away slightly. "Why don't you get to know the guys for a bit? I promise I'll be quick." She pulled him down to place a kiss on his lips before gathering her stuff and leaving the pool area.
Big Time Rush and Cedric stood there awkwardly, none of them really knowing what to say. Cedric scratched his head, checking out the pool area.
"So," Cedric finally broke the silence. "Did Katrina introduce you to Natalie or did you meet her in some other way?"
"She saved my life," Kendall admitted. "That's how I met her."
"Yeah, she has a tendency to do that," Cedric mumbled. The boys shared looks. "Have you been to England on a tour yet? Girls there love American accents almost as much as girls here love British ones."
"Oh, really?" a smirk slowly appeared on James's face. "Maybe our next tour should include England."
"It should," Cedric agreed before the silence came back. The group took a quick look at the door, hoping that Natalie would be there, but she wasn't. The guys looked back at Cedric with polite smiles which he returned.
Finally, Carlos broke the silence with the question he'd been dying to ask, "What's your deal?" His friends gave him a warning glance.
"I'm sorry, what?" Cedric leaned forward as though he didn't hear Carlos.
"Who are you?" Carlos went on. "What makes you think that you deserve a genius like Natalie?"
"You know what?" Cedric responded. "I have no idea. I don't deserve her at all. Don't know how I convinced her to go out with me in the first place. She is way out of my league." He chuckled. "I was worried when she came here. She had a huge crush on Evan Wolff a few years ago." The guys' eyes widened. "But I've been hearing more about you guys instead of him which made me even more worried. Now that I'm here, that shouldn't be a problem." The guys glared at Cedric.
Suddenly, Natalie walked past them and up to Cedric, "Okay, I'm ready! Let's go." She grabbed Cedric's hand and pulled him toward the exit. "Bye guys!"
"Bye Natalie," the guys waved, but she was already out of sight.
Katrina looked up from behind the desk at Penny's Pet Care at the sound of the elevator doors beeping. She raised her eyebrows at the sight of Big Time Rush filing out of it.
"We hate Natalie's boyfriend," the boys declared. Katrina tilted her head in confusion.
"He's British," James complained.
"He's humble, but confident," Kendall added.
"He's British," James repeated.
"He's smart, but can still have a normal conversation with anyone," Logan went on.
"He's British," James said again.
"He doesn't think we're competition for Natalie," Carlos pouted.
"And he's British!" James exclaimed.
"Let me guess," Katrina finally was able to speak. "He's also smoking hot?"
"AND BRITISH!" the guys screamed.
"Well, he is from England," Katrina reminded them. "And that is in Great Britain. So, he's obviously British. What do you want me to do about it?"
"Get rid of him while we hide here," James suggested. The others nodded enthusiastically.
"Not gonna happen," Katrina shook her head. "Natalie's already texted me, asking if Logan and I will go on a double date with her and Cedric after I finish my week here. I told her yes." Logan groaned.
"So, you and Logan can get rid of him," Carlos decided. "Two against one is much easier anyway."
Katrina stared at them, "Why do you want him gone anyway? You're not jealous, are you?"
"Pft, no," the guys insisted.
"Aw, you ARE jealous!" Katrina got up from her chair and walked out from behind the desk. She held out her arms. "Come here." The guys went over and formed a group hug with her. "You know, you'll always be my number one boys. I'd always choose you over any British guy. Natalie doesn't realize how much better you guys are."
"You wanna know the weirdest part?" Kendall mentioned as the hug broke. "He twitched whenever Natalie mentioned you. Or Evan, but we can guess why on that one."
"It was probably your imagination," Katrina insisted, going back to her spot behind the desk. "Evan and I have never met the guy."
Evan came into the room from the door to the inner rooms of Penny's Pet Care, "Hey, Kat. Those dogs are growling at each other again."
Katrina sighed, getting to her feet once again, "Why don't you guys talk to Evan? I've got work to do." Katrina left the room, leaving Evan with the boys.
"Natalie's boyfriend is here," Logan quickly explained to Evan. "And we hate him."
"Want me to get rid of him?" Evan asked.
"Yes!" the guys exclaimed.
Evan pulled out his cell phone, "Okay, I'll need your help then. Freight Train can keep an eye on Kat for a few hours anyway." He dialed a number and put the phone to his ear.
Carlos, Logan, James, Kendall and Evan poked their heads around the corner, waiting for Natalie and Cedric to come back from their tour of Natalie's studio. They had already discussed what they were planning on doing to get Cedric out of the Palm Woods.
"Just a warning," Evan spoke to the other boys. "This is gonna make Natalie really mad, so whoever does it better be prepared for her wrath. And it can't be Kendall or Logan."
"I'll do it," James volunteered with a smirk. "I'm already used to Kat being mad at me for this." He pulled out some breath spray and sprayed it in his mouth.
"If anyone's going to kiss Natalie, it's gonna be me!" Carlos decided. The other guys quickly turned to stare at him.
"I knew you had a crush on her!" Kendall exclaimed. "You haven't been following the Jennifers around since she moved in."
"Yeah, you've been following Natalie like a lovesick puppy," Logan added.
"You do realize that she's going to blame whoever kisses her on the broken relationship with Cedric," Evan reminded Carlos.
Carlos blinked a couple times before he pushed James forward, "You can kiss her once." James suddenly didn't seem that happy with kissing her.
"Why doesn't Evan do it?" James suggested. "He's just as experienced as me with ruining relationships with a kiss." Kendall and Evan quickly turned a glare upon James. Carlos and Logan exchanged confused looks.
"What relationships?" Logan and Carlos immediately asked.
"Don't ask that," Evan insisted. "You're not going to like the answer."
"What relationships?" Logan asked again, his voice suddenly slightly deeper.
"Uh, guys," Kendall spoke. "Hate to break up this conversation, but look over at the entrance." The guys immediately looked.
A man in a suit had come in. He searched around the lobby before saying into his watch, "Place is clear. Targets will be here shortly." He then hid behind a potted plant just in time to avoid Natalie and Cedric coming in. They laughed as they walked, hand-in-hand, over to the pool area. The man exited his hiding spot and followed them.
"Abort mission," Evan decided. "We've got a new one."
Logan, Carlos, Kendall and James sat on the orange couch in 2J, watching Evan pace back and forth. Katie and Mrs. Knight were playing poker at the dining table, listening in to what the boys were talking about.
"Okay," Evan stopped pacing. "So, there's a suspicious man that's following Natalie and Cedric around. What do we do about it?"
"We follow him!" James decided.
"But what if he's a spy?" Carlos realized. "He'd know we're following him."
"You could just ask Natalie and Cedric," Mrs. Knight suggested.
The boys paused as they considered it before saying, "Nah."
"I have a bad feeling this has to do with the Zizi," Evan mumbled.
"You think EVERYTHING has to do with the Zizi," Logan pointed out. "It probably has something to do with Cedric being a part of the British military."
"Whoa," James held up his hands. "What if CEDRIC'S a spy and he's here on a mission and that man is the American spy spying on him?!"
"I can't compete with a spy," Carlos pouted.
Kendall sighed, getting to his feet, "There's only one way to find out exactly what's going on. We must capture him and make him tell us why he's following Natalie and Cedric. And then, we get him to help us get rid of Cedric."
"This won't end well," Katie noted, turning back to her game with her mom.
The five boys poked their heads out from behind a tree, tree hats covering their heads as camouflage. Carlos pulled out a pair of binoculars and put them up to his eyes, pointing them over to where Natalie and Cedric were sitting on a bench and talking.
"Natalie's so smart," Carlos mentioned. "Why hasn't she realized that someone's following them?"
"Maybe she knows that he's following them," Logan suggested. The others looked at him. "What? It's not like we know Natalie that well. For all we know, SHE could be a spy. Maybe that man is her partner and they're keeping Cedric close because he's a suspect for something."
"Well," Evan spoke. "I have a better idea than waiting for the mysterious man to show up." He took off his tree hat and tossed it to the side. "I'm gonna talk to Natalie and Cedric." Without another word, Evan left the boys and headed over to Natalie and Cedric. The guys glanced at each other before throwing their tree hats away and following him.
Natalie gave the incoming boys a genuine smile, "Hey guys! Evan, I thought you were helping Kat over at Penny's Pet Care." Cedric wouldn't look at Evan, but gave the other guys an uncomfortable grin.
"I am," Evan confirmed. "Just taking a break. I heard that your boyfriend was in town and I couldn't wait to meet him." To the other guys, the fake giddiness was obvious, but Natalie seemed to consider it real.
"Oh, well, this is Cedric," Natalie introduced him. "Cedric, this is Evan." Cedric looked up at Evan, gave him a slight smile with a nod and quickly glanced away.
"So, Cedric," Evan smirked. "How did you meet our lovely Natalie?" The boys and Natalie stared at him, expecting a response.
When Cedric didn't speak, Natalie elbowed him, "Come on, sweetie. I love it when you tell the story."
Cedric quickly pulled out his phone and looked at it, "Oh, would you look at the time?" Evan's fake smile disappeared as he stared at Cedric, analyzing the British man. "We have a dinner reservation to get to."
"It's only four," Natalie checked her own phone. "I thought we were eating at six." This time, the other guys raised their eyebrows.
"Yeah, well, it takes a bit of time to get there," Cedric responded, getting to his feet. He grabbed Natalie's hand and yanked her up. She fell into him once she was on her feet, but Cedric kept her upright. "Sorry, boys. I'll tell the story another time. Bye." He pulled Natalie toward the exit of the park. The five guys turned to watch the couple leave in a hurry.
"No way," Evan mumbled.
"I'm starting to think that this has to do with Cedric, not Natalie," James decided.
"And not just Cedric," Logan realized. "He was okay with talking with us, but when we brought Evan along, he seemed scared."
"Maybe Evan was right," Kendall mentioned. "Maybe this does have to do with the Zizi."
"NO FREAKING WAY!" Evan screamed, making the other boys turn to stare at him. He laughed. "Oh, I know just how to get rid of this guy. Gotta go talk to Kat first though. Don't do anything about this until New Year's. I'll see you guys then." The boys watched as Evan ran off, laughing as he exited the park.
"I think we missed something," Carlos told the others.
Suddenly, Logan's phone buzzed. He pulled it out and looked over the text he received. "It's from Kat. She says that Gustavo wants her for something, but she can't leave Penny's Pet Care. So, she wants us to find out what he wants."
"Better than doing nothing," James shrugged. "Let's go."
Gustavo looked up from his desk, watching Big Time Rush enter his office, "I didn't want you dogs! I wanted the cat and wolf!"
"Kat and Evan are busy," Logan responded. "We came instead." Kelly, who was standing behind Gustavo, groaned.
"Interesting," a voice made the boys turn around. Mercedes Griffin stood there, giving the boys a smile. "I've been hoping to meet Evan Wolff. He's been hard to get a hold of. Plus, I heard he's really hot."
"Mercedes," Kendall greeted her. "What are you doing here?"
"I need the demos for Wolff Pack," Mercedes explained. "I have to pick the new pop rock band by the new year. Without any demos, Wolff Pack will be automatically dropped from the label and unable to ever perform, record or play music publicly again." The boys exchanged worried looks. "Gustavo insisted that he needed to talk to Katrina and Evan before giving me the demos, but since they can't come, I guess I'll just drop them from the label."
"Wait!" Gustavo got to his feet. "Dogs! You pick out the songs!"
The guys tilted their heads, "What?"
"If we don't pick out the songs today, then there's no chance that we'll get the songs ready in time to put on the demo," Kelly explained. "Some of their songs we don't even have recordings for. You guys need to pick their songs and, if we don't have recordings of them, you need to get either Katrina or Evan singing the song into this recorder." She gave Carlos a recorder. "The fate of their band rests on you guys."
"Here's a list of their songs," Gustavo handed Kendall a sheet of paper. "Pick three so we can get the music ready. And do it now!" The guys huddled together to look over the song list.
"I think Prove You Wrong should be on there," Logan decided.
"Of course you do," Carlos rolled his eyes. "Cause it's about you."
"Hey, it's a good song!" Logan insisted. Under his breath, he added, "And it might kill all the rest of those Jamina rumors that won't seem to go away."
Kendall squinted his eyes as he looked over the list, "I don't think I've even heard the song Perfect. Or Gasoline."
"Those are some of the older songs that they wrote," Kelly rummaged through a few papers. "I think Evan wrote Perfect while Katrina wrote Gasoline." She pulled out a couple papers and handed them to Kendall.
After reading the lyrics on the paper, Kendall's eyes widened, "Okay, we're definitely not picking either of these." The other guys turned to him.
"You don't get to make the only decision on that," James declared. "Let us see them." He reached out to snatch the papers from Kendall's hands. Before James could even touch them, Kendall shredded them up and threw the resulting confetti in the air.
"Whoops, too slow," Kendall laughed nervously. The others gave him odd looks.
"This is boring," Mercedes mentioned. She headed for the door. "I expect the demos on my desk before noon on the last day of the year." Without another word, she left the room.
Gustavo glared at the boys, "Dogs! We need these songs picked TODAY! At this point, I'm all for just pointing at the paper at random and picking the songs that way!" He stared into the distance for a second. "Or you could just record Prove You Wrong since we do have a couple songs already recorded."
"Why didn't you go with those?" Logan asked. "If they're already recorded, then you wouldn't have to worry about rushing these songs."
"Griffin doesn't think any of them are hits," Gustavo explained. "The closest we've come to a hit is Prove You Wrong and that's only because it's tied to 'Lorina'. Fans love those celebrity couples. Prove You Wrong hasn't even been recorded yet, so we'd STILL have to get that recorded. We could go with Little Bit of Truth and that one song, Private Parts. You know, the one Logan and Katrina sang for that modernized Romeo and Juliet movie. Those two are recorded and ready to be on a demo, but we still wouldn't have a third."
"Then, we should go with those two and we'll just record Katrina singing Prove You Wrong," Kendall mentioned. "It's easier that way."
"Fine, just do it quickly!" Gustavo exclaimed. "I'd like to get this done soon so I can get back to my semi-vacation from you." After putting the list of Wolf Pack songs on Gustavo's desk, the boys scurried from the room.
"Guys," Katrina told the boys that were standing in the lobby of Penny's Pet Care. "I can't just stand here and sing for a recording. It's the middle of a business day." She stood in front of them with five leashes in her hands. Each of the leashes was attached to a small dog. The dogs were scampering around, attempting to loosen Katrina's grip on their tether to her.
"But if you don't sing, then the song won't be finished in time and it can't be on the demos," Kendall reminded her.
"I didn't say I wasn't going to sing," Katrina responded. "I just can't right now. These dogs are getting antsy and if I don't take them out now, they're going to crap all over the lobby, possibly on you." The boys each took a giant step away from the dogs. "Come back later once I've closed and I'll be happy to sing for the recording. Or you could stay for a while and help out here. When I get back, I might have some time for a quick recording if you guys help out."
"What do you need?" Carlos asked. "Can we play with puppies and kittens?"
"Only if you help me out," Katrina bargained. "Some of the dogs got extremely dirty on their last walk and I have no time to give them a bath before the party on New Year's. Could you guys do that?" The boys agreed. "Great! Just ask Evan where they are and he'll show you. And I still have to talk to you guys about the party. I'm gonna need your help with it, but it would be best if I told you when I wasn't in a hurry. Thanks again for helping with the dogs. See you later!" Katrina herded the dogs onto the elevator and the boys watched as the doors closed her inside.
Evan led Big Time Rush through the interior of Penny's Pet Care, bringing them over to an area with spacious cages filled with dogs. After pointing out the four dogs that needed baths, he left to sit in the lobby and wait for customers to show up. The guys stared at the muddy dogs.
"So," James spoke. "Which one should we wash first?"
"If we bathe them all at the same time, then we can get done faster and play with puppies and kittens!" Carlos exclaimed.
"Well, there are only four of them," Kendall mentioned. "It's not like the four of them can overpower the four of us. And it will make things faster."
"I see no harm in it," Logan agreed.
*Five Minutes Later*
Evan walked into the dog washing room to check up on the boys. He was immediately knocked down by a stampede of dogs escaping. After shaking it off, he got to his feet and looked around. Shampoo bottles littered the flooded floor, contents pouring out. Muddy pawprints lined the walls and ceiling. A hose flapped around, spurting water everywhere. Shelves were broken and all of the grooming tools were scattered around. Sitting right in the middle were the boys, tied together by leashes.
"What happened?!" Evan asked.
"We don't know!" the guys yelled.
"We started the water and fur went flying and that's the last thing I remember," Logan added.
"My face hurts," James admitted. Upon further inspection, there was a muddy pawprint covering his face.
"Kat's gonna be so mad," Evan mumbled.
"Don't just stand there!" Kendall told him. "Help us!" Evan rushed over and untied them. Once they were free, the boys brushed themselves off though they were still soaked.
Carlos was the first to notice something missing, "Where are the dogs?" After a second's hesitation, all five of them ran out into the hallway. That location was almost as soaked and pawprint lined as the grooming room. Down the hallway, the door to the lobby was open. The pawprints led directly through the lobby and into the elevator where the four dogs sat. Slowly, the elevator doors closed them in with a ding.
"Uh oh," five voices muttered. They raced over to the elevator, but they were too late. The elevator had stopped on another floor.
Seconds later, Gustavo's scream reached their ears, "DOGS!"
"And now Gustavo's gonna kill us," Kendall realized.
The elevator doors opened and Carlos, Logan, Kendall, James and Evan stepped out into Rocque Records. Looking around, they winced at the mess. The dirty pawprints had made their way through the hallways, ruining all of the posters depicting old boy bands. Some of the workers were on the ground, knocked over by the rampaging dogs.
"Who could have known that only four dogs could have done all of this?" James commented as the boys raced through the hallways.
Reaching the lobby area, they groaned at the sight. The dogs had finally settled down, though it was after causing even more messes. Broken glass covered the floor. The couch was ripped to shreds, two of the dogs lying on it happily. One of the dogs was playing tug-of-war with Kelly and a cardboard cutout of Big Time Rush that was almost torn in half. The last dog stood on top of a fallen Gustavo, licking his face while spreading the filth onto the producer.
"DOGS!" Gustavo screamed, wiping off the slobber. "CONTROL THE DOGS!" Quickly, the boys rushed forward, each of the boy band members grabbing one of the dogs while Evan helped Gustavo to his feet.
"Sorry, Gustavo," Logan apologized. "Things kind of got out of control."
"Do you have the recorded song?" Gustavo asked, trying to wipe the mess off of him. The boys shook their heads. "Then, GET OUT!" The five boys ran off, taking the mischievous dogs with them.
After all the dogs were cleaned up and put back in their cages, the five boys collapsed on the furniture in the lobby of Penny's Pet Care. They glanced around at the mess before giving off a cumulative frustrated sigh.
"Do you think we have time to get this cleaned before Kat gets back?" Carlos asked.
At that moment, the elevator binged and the doors opened, revealing Katrina back from her walk with the dogs. She stared at the destruction caused by the dogs with her jaw dropped.
"I'd have to say no," James answered Carlos's question.
"What the hell?!" Katrina exclaimed. "I leave you alone for half an hour and THIS happens?!"
"Oh, like you're surprised," Kendall mentioned.
Katrina stared at him for a few seconds before admitting, "Yeah, I should have expected something like this. But what am I going to do now?! This place isn't going to be ready in time for the party! And there were going to be so many celebrities that were going to show up! I might just have to cancel."
"Celebrities?" James perked up. "What kind of celebrities?"
"Oh, mostly ones that don't gain the headlines," Katrina responded. "But there are a few of the big names that said they were coming, mostly because this is a great publicity event."
"I think we missed something," Logan commented. "What kind of party is this?"
"It's a benefit for the animals here," Katrina explained. "There are a bit too many animals here for my liking, so I thought up this New Year's Day party. The theme is 'New Year, New Home'. It's supposed to get these pets adopted. Plus, all the money spent on adopting a pet gets sent to saving animals from abusive homes and finding a new home for them."
"So, we were invited because you expected us to adopt a pet?" Kendall checked.
"Of course not," Katrina shook her head. "You were going to work the party. Bringing animals to the celebrities that adopted them, making sure there's enough food for the guests, keeping the animals from fighting each other particularly dogs and cats. Those sorts of things. You guys are on the list of employees here, remember?"
"Right," the boys of Big Time Rush mumbled.
"Not that it matters anymore," Katrina sighed. "Can't have a party in this mess."
"What if you have it at the Palm Woods?" Carlos suggested.
"You're forgetting about the 'No Party' rule that Mr. Bitters has," Logan reminded him. "And the 'No Pets' rule. He already hates that we have a bird in our apartment. Imagine what he'd do if we brought tons of dogs and cats there for a party. We'd probably get kicked out!"
"But Mr. Bitters loves celebrities," James brought up. "If the party involved major celebrities, then he might allow it."
"Why don't you guys find out?" Katrina told them. "I have to put these dogs back in their cages and get some cleaning done. Take Evan if you want, but I can't leave the pets alone."
"But we have to record you singing Prove You Wrong for your demo," Kendall remembered.
"Fine, Logan can stay here and record me while you guys go check with Mr. Bitters," Katrina decided. "If Mr. Bitters doesn't let us have the party there, then maybe Gustavo will let us have it at Rocque Records." The guys winced. "Don't tell me. I don't want to know." She walked away, the little dogs following her into the depths of Penny's Pet Care. Logan grabbed the recorder from Carlos and followed her.
"I don't know if I like this," Evan mentioned watching the door close after his sister and her boyfriend. "Maybe I should stay and supervise this."
"Nope," Kendall insisted. "You're helping us convince Mr. Bitters." Evan sulked as he followed Kendall, Carlos and James into the elevator.
"No," Mr. Bitters told the boys before attempting to leave for his office.
"But why?" Carlos blocked his way.
"Don't you like celebrities here?" James added.
"Of course," Mr. Bitters responded. "Not enough to overlook bringing animals in to mess up my entire hotel! You hockeyheads plus your accident-prone friend plus a whole bunch of unpredictable animals plus a ton of celebrities equals lawsuits against me from those celebrities for some crazy event that I can't even imagine at this point. THAT'S why I'm saying no." He pushed past Carlos and disappeared into his office.
"You'd think he'd be more open to this after we included him in our Christmas," Evan mentioned. "I even ignored my birthday for it. So, now what do we do?" He, Carlos and James turned to Kendall.
"Oh, so now I have to come up with another crazy idea to save the day?" Kendall assumed. The others nodded.
Suddenly, Katie walked over to them, "Just go to Gustavo. Anything involving celebrities makes him interested. It'll get Big Time Rush more publicity."
"Gustavo might not be willing this time," Kendall explained. "Dogs trashed Rocque Records. It would take-" Slowly, a smirk appeared on Kendall's face. "Unless, we can still have the party here at the Palm Woods."
"Uh, did you not hear Bitters?" James asked. "He clearly didn't want anything to do with this, even with celebrities."
"There is something that might change his mind," Kendall told them, still smirking. The others glanced at each other.
Gustavo placed a check in Mr. Bitters' outstretched hand. The hotel manager smiled as he spoke, "Okay, you can host your party here." Kissing the check, he disappeared into his office.
"You dogs owe me," Gustavo insisted.
"We know," Kendall, Carlos and James responded.
"So, we have to get ready for that performance you promised me," Gustavo declared. "We don't want you to embarrass yourselves and me in front of a bunch of celebrities that could potentially help your career." He stopped as he noticed that Evan was there, but not Logan. "Where's the smart dog?"
"Logan's getting the recording from Kat," Kendall explained. "Now that I think about it, he should be done by now. Has anyone gotten a message from Logan or Kat?" Phones were checked before it became clear that neither of them had established contact.
"I think it's time to go check up on them," Evan decided, walking off toward the exit. Carlos, Kendall and James glanced at each other before following him.
"DOGS!" Gustavo called after them. "PRACTICE TOMORROW! NINE IN THE MORNING! DON'T BE LATE!" The boy band members waved back at him in acknowledgement.
Arriving at Penny's Pet Care, Evan immediately stormed through the business. Carlos, James and Kendall followed him closely. Searching through the business, they couldn't find any sign of Logan or Katrina. With every room empty of people, Evan's worry increased. Finally reaching the last part of Penny's Pet Care, the personal rooms, Evan burst inside, the others joining not long after. They had found the missing couple. Logan sat at a small round dining table, the recorder on the surface in front of him. Katrina stood behind him, voice rising in song. Her hands were on his shoulders, giving the smart boy a massage as she sang. Neither of them seemed to notice that they suddenly had an audience.
Suddenly, Logan reached behind him, pulled Katrina around him and settled her on his lap. Katrina stopped singing, but only because she had started laughing.
"Logan!" Katrina exclaimed. "This is like the fifth time that you've interrupted my singing!"
"Actually, it's six times, but who's counting," Logan responded. "I can't help it, knowing that song is about me." Katrina giggled slightly, leaning forward to place a quick kiss on his lips.
"Okay, let's try recording again," Katrina tried to get up. Logan stopped her by wrapping his arms around her tighter. He moved towards her, taking her lips with his in a deeper kiss than before. Katrina's hand found his chest, bunching up Logan's shirt in that hand. When Logan pulled away, Katrina spoke breathlessly, "Or we can keep doing this." Logan gave her a slight smile as she began to lean in again.
"That's enough of that!" Evan made his presence known. Logan and Katrina jumped upon hearing his voice. Falling off Logan's lap, Katrina's head hit the edge of the table on her way to the floor.
"Are you okay, Kat?" Kendall asked as the boys surrounded her to check if the accident-prone girl was hurt.
"I'm fine," Katrina insisted, rubbing the spot on her head that had made contact with the table.
"You sure?" James checked. "Your face is starting to lose its color."
"I said I'm fine," Katrina repeated. Groaning, the girl slowly got to her feet. "Can we get this song thing over with now? I have to get back to work."
"Kat, you've been working a lot lately," Evan mentioned. "Maybe it's time for you to take a break."
"I'M FINE!" Katrina yelled. The five guys backed away from her. "Sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. I'm just really stressed right now."
"Can we play with puppies and kittens now?" Carlos asked.
Katrina laughed, "Sure, go ahead, Carlos." He was out the door seconds later.
Logan wrapped an arm around Katrina's waist, "Let's find a quiet place where I can record your song." He guided her toward the door.
"OR I can join you!" Evan quickly followed them out. Kendall and James heard Logan and Katrina groan through the open doorway.
"So, what now?" James asked Kendall. "Follow them or Carlos?"
"Let's just head home," Kendall decided. "It's been a long day."
Later that week, Big Time Rush found themselves lounging by the pool. After a long few days filled with practice, they were happy for some time to relax. The only problem? They were the only ones there.
"This pool is boring when everyone else is gone on holiday," James noted. "No girls to flirt with and no real events going on."
"Well, there is that," Kendall pointed over to the glass windows into the lobby. Natalie was standing there, giving Cedric a passionate kiss.
"That's disgusting," Carlos declared.
"What's disgusting?" Logan asked. "The public display of affection or the fact that the girl you like is kissing a British guy." Carlos pushed Logan off his lounge chair. The boys watched as the couple separated. After a moment of staring at each other, the two left the lobby in opposite directions. Natalie went back in the direction of the elevators, presumably going back to her apartment. Cedric headed for the exit.
Kendall got to his feet, "This is the perfect time to go find out what Cedric is up to. Natalie won't be beside him to stop us."
"Maybe some of us should follow Natalie to be sure she doesn't have anything to do with this," Carlos suggested.
"You just want to follow Natalie," Logan accused.
"I'll go with him," James offered. The others looked at him with eyebrows raised. "What? Natalie could still be up to something. We can't rule anything out."
"Natalie's not up to something!" Carlos insisted.
"That we know of," James retorted. "You and I will check out Natalie while Kendall and Logan follow her British boyfriend. Then, we'll meet up later and see who is really up to something."
"Okay with me," Logan agreed, getting to his feet.
"Then, let's meet back at the apartment for dinner," Kendall decided. "We should know what's going on by then." The boys nodded and split up.
Carlos and James arrived at the third floor of the Palm Woods, immediately heading for Natalie's apartment. After knocking on the door, they waited, expecting a response quickly. Natalie didn't answer the door. Thinking she didn't hear the knocking, they tried again. Once again, they didn't get a response.
"What are you doing?" Natalie's voice made the boys jump. They turned around to find Natalie behind them, giving the two boys a suspicious look.
"Looking for you," James told her. "We thought you might be home."
"I actually stopped at your apartment to look for you two," Natalie revealed. "I could use some assistants."
"Assistants?" Carlos repeated. "With what?" Natalie's smile made James and Carlos look at each other, wondering what they were getting into.
Kendall and Logan tailed Cedric, watching the British man as he made his way down the street. At one point, he stopped in his tracks and turned around. Logan and Kendall quickly hid around a corner. After a few moments of staring, Cedric continued on his way with his followers.
"Where do you think he's going?" Logan asked.
Kendall shrugged, "How should I know? I don't know the guy. Maybe Natalie knows."
"Hopefully, Carlos and James come up with something then," Logan mentioned.
"Yeah," Kendall agreed. "But hopefully we don't come back empty handed either."
They continued to walk in silence as they trailed Cedric. Surprisingly, they followed him into a graveyard. Kendall and Logan shifted around uncomfortably as they checked their surroundings for any surprise attacks.
Cedric stopped and leaned up against a large tombstone. Logan and Kendall hid behind a nearby tree, keeping an eye on the man.
A few minutes passed before Cedric was approached by the mysterious man in the suit. Luckily, Kendall and Logan were close enough to hear the conversation.
"You shouldn't be here," the man told Cedric. "You should be back in England. You know what could happen if you stay here."
"I know," Cedric responded. "I had to see her, okay. I missed her more than I ever thought possible."
"This isn't about your feelings or hers," the man insisted. "This is about your safety. If you're in this country, then the government can't guarantee that you'll be safe. You know what these people are capable of. You've SEEN what these people are capable of. You're the key to this and we can't afford to lose you. Without you, we don't have enough evidence to put them away." Kendall and Logan exchanged looks.
"I know that she will get away with this if I die!" Cedric exclaimed. "Why me? I never asked for any of this!"
"Do you really want me to answer that?" the man asked.
Cedric shook his head, "No, I know why. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time." Staring at the gravestone, he continued, "You've got someone watching them, right?"
"Someone's always watching them," the man confirmed. "You know as well as I do that it's not helping them."
"Then add in some extra security," Cedric suggested.
"It's only one family," the man replied. "We can't add security on just one family."
"You don't know how important this one family is, do you?" Cedric checked.
"Our research has showed they're not even the main target," the man revealed.
Cedric sighed, "You should do better with your hiding. Natalie noticed you." A slight smile appeared on the man's face. The two men shook hands before parting ways.
Logan and Kendall came out of their hiding spots and stared in the direction Cedric had left.
"I have a really bad feeling about this," Kendall mumbled.
"Well, your feeling's just been confirmed," Logan responded. When Kendall looked over at him, he found his smart friend staring at the gravestone Cedric had met the man at. His eyes widened upon reading whose it was. The tombstone had Katrina's and Evan's parents' names on it.
Carlos looked back and forth in his spot. Natalie had strapped him in a chair with something that looked like a stylist's giant hairdryer above his head. The giant hairdryer thing was attached to a printer-like item. James watched from the couch, eyebrows raised at the contraption Carlos was in.
"I have a feeling that I'm a test subject, not an assistant," Carlos mentioned.
"You are a test subject," Natalie revealed. "But you probably wouldn't do this if I called you that." She pushed the hairdryer down to cover Carlos's head. "You okay in there, Carlos?"
"It's kind of dark," Carlos observed.
"You're not afraid of the dark, are you?" Natalie checked.
"No!" Carlos declared.
"Good," Natalie tapped lightly on the hairdryer. "Just relax. I'm scanning your brainwaves for irregularity." Grabbing a clipboard off a nearby table, she scanned the contents of the paper on it.
"Is this even legal?" James asked.
Natalie stuffed a pen in Carlos's hand and shoved the clipboard under it, "Sign your name, please." Carlos signed his name. "Now, it's legal."
"Okay, but is it safe?" James tried another question.
"He should only be electrocuted twice, maybe three times at most," Natalie waved it off nonchalantly, filling out some paperwork on her clipboard.
"What?!" Carlos exclaimed. His word was immediately followed by a sudden twitch in his hands.
"Yeah, that's the worst it'll get," Natalie assured him. "Like I'd put any of you guys under an experiment that could end fatally. No, I'll save that for the day we catch a Zizi member. This experiment is just to figure out why you can produce things out of nowhere." Upon hearing a crunching sound, Natalie looked up. Carlos had somehow produced a bag of chips and was stuffing his face with them by sneaking them under the hairdryer. The printer gave off multiple beeps and printed off paper after paper. Natalie knelt down to read them. "Fascinating." She quickly wrote things down on her clipboard.
"Not that this isn't interesting, but what am I doing here?" James brought up. "You're not going to experiment on me too, are you?"
"Not like this," Natalie shook her head. "But I do want you for an experiment, one that involves Kat."
James seemed to consider this for a second before asking, "What kind of experiment?"
"I think I have the solution to Kat's problem," Natalie revealed.
"What problem?" James raised an eyebrow. "The problem with the media? The problem with the Zizi? Her accident problem?"
"None of those," Natalie responded. "It's her song writing problem."
James leaned forward with a smile, "Tell me more."
"One second," Natalie told him. She pressed a button on the hairdryer thing. Music started playing.
"Ooh, music," Carlos started dancing in his seat.
"Now, we can talk," Natalie informed James with a smile of her own.
"So, now you agree that Cedric has something to do with the Zizi?" Carlos asked Logan. The four boys of Big Time Rush were gathered at the dining table in 2J, discussing what Kendall and Logan had found out.
"Yeah," Logan nodded. "Why else would he meet beside the Wolffs' gravesite? Before this week, Cedric had never met Kat or Evan, but what about their parents? He could have met their parents."
"Small world, huh?" Kendall mumbled. His friends nodded in agreement. "What bugs me is what that mysterious man said to Cedric. After Cedric talked about getting more security for a family, presumably about my family including Kat and Evan, the man said that we weren't even the main target. What could they be talking about?"
"You're thinking that the Zizi have a bigger target than your family?" James checked with Kendall who nodded in response. "But who else would they go after?"
"No idea," Kendall shrugged. "But whoever it is, it must be a major celebrity, right?" He relaxed back in his chair. "Should we even tell Kat and Evan about this? We could be overthinking this and it'll turn out that this has nothing to do with us. Are we just nosing into something that's none of our business?"
"We should keep an eye on him regardless if he's going to be around here," Logan decided. "He could still be planning against us."
"And he's still with Natalie," Carlos pointed out. "We don't want to see her get hurt."
"You mean YOU don't want to see her get hurt," James teased. Seconds later, Carlos pushed him off his chair. "OW! My hair!"
"So, we just watch him for anything suspicious then," Kendall decided. "Sounds easy enough."
The rest of the week flew by and, soon enough, New Years Day had come. The Palm Woods was filled with celebrities, dogs and cats. While most of the celebrities were on the B-list, it was still a sight to see. Kendall, James, Carlos, Logan, Katrina and Evan moved around the party, helping celebrities adopt pets and keep them happy. Mr. Bitters walked around the party with his camera, taking random photos. Katie and Mrs. Knight were helping as well, watching the buffet table to be sure it was filled and no animals found it. Gustavo and Kelly were there too, setting up a stage for Big Time Rush to perform on.
Natalie and Cedric arrived at the party a bit after the party had started since Katrina wanted them to relieve Big Time Rush of their celebrity tending while the boys had their performance. While the boys got set onstage, Natalie dragged Cedric over to meet Katrina.
"Hey, Kat," Natalie greeted the model. "This is my boyfriend, Cedric."
Katrina held out her hand for the British boy, "Nice to meet you, Cedric." He shook her hand quickly before going back to avoiding looking at her. "Where would you like to work?"
"Wherever you need me," Cedric responded.
After a slight twitch in her eye, Katrina pointed among the crowd, "Make sure everyone has their fill of food. Evan and I can take care of the adoptions." Cedric nodded, grabbing Natalie's hand and pulling her into the crowd.
Suddenly, Evan appeared beside Katrina, "Please tell me you heard it."
"I had to strain for it, especially in so few words," Katrina replied. "But yes, I heard it. You were right. We need to get rid of him. Sorry I didn't believe you."
"You believe me now, that's what matters," Evan insisted. "One of us should tell the guys."
"Let's tell them tomorrow," Katrina insisted. "Don't want a fight breaking out here."
"Fine," Evan agreed. "Just keep an eye on him. We don't know why he's doing this. Natalie could be in trouble."
"We could all be in trouble," Katrina added.
The party was successful, getting most of the pets adopted. The pets that were unlucky enough to not get adopted were brought back to Penny's Pet Care. Katrina and Evan stayed there for one more night before letting a returning Tim take over. With the holidays being over, the Palm Woods filled back up with the future famous residents by the day after New Year's Day.
Carlos, Logan, James and Kendall rushed into the pool area to greet everyone only to find a group of guys gathered nearby the door. Finding Evan among them, the boys made their way over to him.
"Hey, Evan," Kendall got his cousin's attention. "What's going on?"
"Cedric," Evan grumbled, not even bothering with looking at Kendall. The boys glanced over in the direction Evan was staring. Cedric sat underneath one of the large tents by the pool, arm around Natalie's shoulders. Multiple girls were gathered around him along with Brandon, listening closely as Cedric talked. What surprised the guys was that Jo and Camille were among the girls. They were suddenly not happy to see the residents' return.
Carlos slumped over, "How are we supposed to compete with that?!"
"At least he's not single," Kendall mumbled, glaring at the scene in front of him. The females and Brandon released a collective sigh as Cedric told them something.
Suddenly, Cedric pulled an acoustic guitar out from underneath his feet. He strummed a few chords, beautiful music filling the air.
"Oh, now he can play guitar?!" James complained. "Is there anything he CAN'T do?!" Cedric's voice rose in song, loud enough to reach the boys. Every pitch was perfect. "OF FRICKING COURSE!"
Katrina came up to the boys, "Kind of disgusting, isn't it?"
"Why aren't you falling all over him like the other girls?" Carlos asked her.
"Isn't it obvious?" Logan responded instead, wrapping an arm around Katrina's waist to pull her closer. "She's only interested in me."
"Actually, it's because fake British guys aren't as hot as real ones," Katrina revealed.
James, Logan, Carlos and Kendall simultaneously turned their heads to look at her, "What?"
Katrina leaned forward to see her brother on the other end of the line of guys, "You didn't tell them?"
"Haven't had a chance yet," Evan replied. "Been kind of distracted by this."
"Evan figured it out," Katrina explained to the guys. "Cedric is faking his accent."
"Oh, really," the four guys of Big Time Rush immediately turned to look back at Cedric, this time with smiles on their faces.
"Yep," Katrina confirmed. "So, now I agree with you guys. It's time for some mischievous plan to get rid of him."
"Nope," Evan insisted. The others looked at him. "There's a reason he's faking his accent and we need to find out why first before we haul his ass out of here."
"Do you think he might have something to do with the Zizi?" Kendall asked.
"Do you think it's a coincidence that a guy faking an accent is dating Kat's best friend?" Evan brought up his own question. "No, everything has a connection. We just have to find out his."
"Where do we start?" Logan asked.
"That's actually an easy answer," Kendall responded. "We start with the one person that's closest to him: Natalie." All of them stared at the smart girl as Cedric leaned over to give her a kiss on her cheek before continuing his song.
(A/N): And that's the scene that I wanted to end this chapter on. So, what have we learned here? Cedric, Natalie's British boyfriend, isn't actually British. He also might have something to do with the Zizi. Does Natalie know this and hasn't told anyone or is she clueless about it? Natalie has a solution for Katrina's song writing problem and it has something to do with James. That can't be good. With all of the Palm Woods kids returning, will things go back to normal or will something change with Cedric around? Will he even be sticking around? Getting back to the music, Wolff Pack's demo should be submitted. Will their music get picked or will there be some issues? Mercedes seems awfully interested in meeting Evan. What's going to happen when they finally do meet?
Notice the new story cover? It was created by Witch Demigoddess. It's simpler than my attempt at making one, which was horrible, so I changed it. She's created new covers for all of my major stories: A Rush of Dog Days, Big Time Rush and the Marauders and Virtual Vs Reality. And it's not just photoshop that she has a talent with. She's also talented with artwork, proven by her work on Deviant Art. Here's the website for the A Rush of Dog Days cover (without the added spaces): libroabierto . deviantart art / A - Rush - of - Dog - Days - Cover - 447027117. You should check out her work! She's amazing!
Don't know when I'll have another update. I'll try my hardest to get it up quicker than this one was. I'm sorry for the amount of waiting that everyone has had to do. Real life has been getting in the way. From sickness and my book stuff, I don't have much time left for writing fanfiction as I'd like. It's one of my favorite activities, so you readers don't have to worry. I'll keep posting. It just might take me a while. So, until that next post, happy reading!