It wasn't one member breaking out suddenly or any dramatic fallout. Nothing to make wild headlines though there would be theories and rumors after. It was all four of them simultaneously even though they hadn't known it until they talked to each other.
There wasn't really a way to tell who had these thoughts first, but they thought it might have been between Logan and Kendall followed shortly by the other half of the band. They all confided in their girlfriends who eventually figured it out by talking to each other that the boys needed to sit and discuss it.
...
Kendall had taken his third walk of the day, thoughts swirling around in his head. Walks were to clear the head, which mostly worked except for the battling two voices. He'd gotten a recruitment letter from the Minnesota Wild hockey team which had been his dream. He wanted to take it so badly, confident that with training he could become a pro.
Jo accompanied him on this walk. She'd advised he talk to his friends, but knew he was too scared of hurting them.
"I've loved being here but this dream was really James's to chase." Kendall sighed as the two of them entered his apartment. He got two glasses of water and brought them to the couch where Jo sat. He sunk into the cushion and sighed again.
"You took a chance and made it for your best friend. But what about your dream? How about Logan and Carlos? I bet they have different goals in life."
"They do...I mean I don't really know what Carlos wants to do. He's had so many different ideas it's hard to keep track."
"I know he'll find something."
"If I go for the team, I move back to Minnesota...and away from you."
Jo shrugged. "Then I'll visit. Maybe one day I'll decide to move there. We can work it out."
Kendall snickered. "Hey I'm the one who's supposed to make song puns." He frowned. "But what about my mom and Katie? They might want to stay and I can't force them to follow whatever I do. They already moved out to LA for me."
"That I can't really help with."
"You tried though...wanna watch a movie?"
"Sure, you pick."
...
"You're sure about this?" Lucy asked, looking over a paper James had just given her. He came over to her apartment because she wanted to know why he'd been acting strange lately.
"Yep." James said. "I should be able to get it before Kelly picks it up, but I'm sure. The only problem now is how to tell the guys."
"They're good listeners." Lucy said. "And I'll be there to back you up."
"Thanks."
...
Logan and Camille approached 2J with the former feeling anxious. They'd just been talking in Camille's apartment.
"I can't." Logan said, his hand shakily hovering over the handle.
"You can. It's not about them, really, it's about you. If you want something go for it." Camille urged. She saw Lucy and James approaching, the latter looking just about as nervous as Logan. Logan hadn't noticed.
"You okay, buddy?" James asked. Logan yelped, jumped and twisted around, almost falling. James and Camille steadied him.
The four of them stood there awkwardly, the girls not wanting to intrude and the boys feeling too nervous to make eye contact. Finally, they turned their attention to the opened door and saw Jo and Kendall.
"Everything okay?" Jo asked. She had a knowing expression on her face. She exchanged glances with the other girls and nodded. "Come on in."
The group sat on the couch and the boys shot glances at each other without making eye contact. The girls were getting tired of waiting. Lucy was about to break the silence when all three boys heard a chime and looked at their phones.
"You get a message from Alexa?" Kendall asked.
"Carlos's girlfriend? Yeah, it's a group message." Logan said, staring at the device.
"Why is she threatening to hurt us if we hurt Carlos? Actually wait...why does she think we'll hurt Carlos for whatever he has to say?" James looked over at Logan who was very pale.
"Because we girls talk to each other and are pretty sure what the subject is about." Lucy said.
"You talked about it?" Kendall asked, looking a little hurt.
"Only because we worried about you." Jo said defensively. "Once we figured out it was about the same topic, we wanted to get you four together. I texted Carlos and he should be here-"
BAM
The door shook before it was opened normally.
"Ow! Sorry...hi guys." Carlos shook himself off and closed the door. "I forgot to open the door before kicking it."
"Now that we're all here, start talking." Lucy said.
"It's the same subject, the 'elephant in the room' needs to be addressed." Camille said.
"Happy birthday, elephant!" Carlos said to no one behind him. Everyone gave weak chuckles.
"Alright, should we go first or you guys?"
"We will, I promise. But do you mind if it's just us four?" Kendall asked.
"Not at all." Jo said. The other two girls looked like they wanted to protest, but the blonde shook her head. "If they don't talk about it, we will." They nodded and followed her out.
...
"So...who wants to rip off the band aid?" James asked as the four of them avoided eye contact. Carlos shook his head vehemently while Logan paled.
"As leader of the band, I guess I will." Kendall sighed. The other three looked relieved. "We're lucky to be dating smart people who care about us and talk to each other otherwise we'd probably have just blown up badly later instead of coming to a natural close. We're at the end of BTR's story, aren't we?"
"It's been five years." James said. "We started out as a bunch of wild unsure teenagers and you all came out for me honestly. Kendall, you're the one who got us here and I'm eternally grateful for that, but I know you have different dreams. You put aside what you wanted in life for me...for us."
"I got an offer. Not quite center yet, but I'll be on the Minnesota Wild."
"Dude that's great!"
"Awesome!" Carlos chimed in.
"You're going to be amazing!" Logan added.
"This morning, I submitted an application to Griffin for assistant manager at Rocque Records, but Kelly and Gustavo don't know yet." James said. "I got accepted and I should be able to get it tomorrow before Kelly sees it. But basically, I want to work at Rocque Records with them, maybe record some solo albums. I want to stay in the industry and help future bands and musicians. Then once Katie's eighteen, she can take over as my manager. That's only another three years."
"Mom and Katie like it here, though, I couldn't just ask them to move for me again." Kendall frowned. "What do I do?"
"The house in Minnesota is still in your mom's name, right?" Logan asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"You most likely would inherit whatever property your mom left should anything happen to her. That being said, before you interrupt me, she could also have planned to give you the house if she wanted to move. That's a discussion with her, really."
"Makes sense...what about you Mr Doctor?"
"Well, Camille and I agreed that we don't think Doc Hollywood is the most reliable or safe person to care for...well, anyone. So I'm planning on going to medical school and eventually taking over his practice. I'm going to send out applications tonight."
"Those are some good plans." Carlos mumbled.
"What do you want to do?" Logan asked.
"I haven't really thought of it. Mostly, I still feel like my younger self...mostly because maybe I didn't mature that much. I want to at least be a coach for our old hockey team. Actually, Coach emailed me yesterday saying he's retiring and he knew that you three might have different plans."
"Coach Mason is retiring...wow..." James said.
"He always told me he was thirty...then again he said I asked too many questions." Logan said.
"You probably should have guessed by the second year you knew him that he wasn't thirty anymore." Kendall snickered.
"Oh shut up." Logan said with a smile.
"I think we're good on ideas of what we want to do...but how do we tell everyone else?" Carlos said, his friends' smiles turned into uncertain expressions that matched his.
"Well, our girlfriends already know so that's four people down." James offered.
"I guess we tell Mom and Katie first, then Gustavo and Kelly." Kendall said. He took out his phone to text his mother. "I'm not telling her over text, I'm telling her we have things to talk about." He added when he caught Logan's expression. Logan blushed and nodded.
...
The boys were playing table hockey when Mrs. Knight and Katie got home. Kendall caught his mom's worried expression.
"None of our girlfriends is pregnant." Kendall said. The boys turned pink and stammered things about having never been involved in such activities.
"Guys!" Katie shouted over the noise. They fell silent and waited for someone to speak.
"Thank you, baby sister. It's about moving on." Kendall said. "We're not completely certain of the future, I mean you can never really be, but we're certain that we're ready to go our own paths." He handed his mom a letter.
"I'm about to hand in applications for med school and James is applying for a position at Rocque Records. We're planning to tell Gustavo and Kelly tomorrow." Logan said.
"Coach Mason offered me his position when he retires." Carlos said. "I think he's also the middle school gym teacher."
"Wow...that's...I don't know what to say...wow." Mrs. Knight blinked, tears fell.
"Tears of joy, I hope." James said.
"Don't worry, honey, they are. Did you all discuss this fairly and openly?"
"Of course." Kendall said. "Actually, it was our girlfriends who got us to finally sit together and admit we've been thinking the same thing for a while now. There's no dramatic blowup, no breakout, just moving on."
"Katie, are you okay?" Carlos asked. Katie had opened and closed her mouth several times since Kendall first said 'moving on'. She started at the question, inhaled deeply, then abruptly turned around and stormed into her room.
"Oh dear, want me to talk to her?" Mrs. Knight said.
"No, I got this." Kendall said.
"Can you help us work out details?" James asked. "We were going to contact Mama Mitchell for finding a good place in case Bitters decides to kick us out. This would be a good excuse for him honestly."
"Sure."
They sat at the table with Carlos and Logan.
"James and I plan to stay here in LA and we'll room together for a while so-"
Kendall didn't hear the rest as he entered Katie's room and shut the door behind him.
"Go away." Katie mumbled.
"Not the response you usually give me when you're upset." Kendall said.
"Because I'm not usually upset with you."
"And you're upset because-?"
Katie didn't respond.
"If it's about the band, we're all still best buds. We have vague plans but we're working on them."
Still no response. Kendall sighed and sat on her desk chair.
"You don't have to move back to Minnesota if you don't want to. James and Logan are trying to find a place here so if Bitters kicks us, you and Mom can move in with them or I can help you get a place. Carlos and I can probably live at our house for a while. We have enough funds from BTR to last a long time. By the time we use it we should all have steady incomes. And we're trying to be money smart which you could help with."
"I want to stay and you don't." Katie finally replied, sniffing.
"I mean, that's a natural part of life. We're growing up, baby sister. I'm sure Mom wants to stay here too. James said you could be his manager when you're eighteen, he means it, I pro-"
"You don't get it!" Katie groaned. She sat up and glared at him, her eyes red and full of tears.
Kendall's stomach tightened. He didn't like when she was upset, but hated that it was him who was causing it.
"W-what don't I get?"
"You're about to promise me something when you don't even know you broke one!"
"When did I-?"
"You promised you'd always be there for me! You've said for years that you wouldn't leave me...I know I'm being stupid, but-"
"How many times have I said to not call yourself stupid?" Kendall interrupted.
"A lot..."
"Katie, I meant that you wouldn't have to be alone in life. You can always call me and I'll make time to be there for you whether by phone, facetalk or in person. You know the promise was mostly from Dad's death and I was only six so of course I'd say it in a way a child would. I wanted you to grow up knowing you had me and Mom and everyone we trusted and loved to protect you."
"I guess I knew that..."
"Me leaving just means I'm ready for more things in my life. It also means that I have even more reasons to come back to LA than just the guys and Jo. And you always have a place to stay when you visit."
"I guess this was me acting childish...you did want to talk to us about it before everyone else."
"You really never had tantrums so I don't blame you for this...but if we're talking childish, then I guess I have to cheer you up the old fashioned way!"
"What?"
Kendall rubbed his hands together and smiled. "TICKLE MONSTER!" He began tickling her, she laughed and turned pink. He stopped when she almost accidentally kicked him.
"This was slightly less dangerous ten years ago." Kendall said.
"All better in here?" Mrs. Knight asked, having heard them.
"Yep."
"I'm okay." Katie said. They went to the table and started talking plans.
...
The boys were still in the process of house hunting for James and Logan, leaving it to Katie, Mrs. Knight, and Mrs. Mitchell as they went to Rocque Records. The girls offered to go for support, but they said it was something they had to do themselves.
Logan started shaking slightly as they entered. Carlos took his hand and squeezed gently. Logan took deep breaths and nodded, Carlos let go once the shaking stopped. They entered the studio lobby, wondering where Gustavo and Kelly were.
"The papers shouldn't be here yet, right?" Kendall asked James.
"No, I just got email confirmation from Griffin an hour ago. He said he'd keep it on the down low." James whispered as they saw Kelly come from Gustavo's office.
"Hey guys." She said. She smiled, but the boys thought something was off.
"Everything okay?" Carlos asked.
"Yeah." Her voice was a little too high and all four of them became nervous.
"Is everything okay?" Kendall echoed Carlos. "Is Gustavo alright?"
"Yes, he's meditating...new exercises to keep him sorta calm but not too calm like last time. He's calm..."
"For now." James said, voicing what they thought Kelly wanted to add. "What do you know?"
Kelly sighed and pulled James's application papers from her binder. He paled and let out a sigh that ended in a slight whimper.
"I'm just waiting for an explanation and how you're going to approach Gustavo."
"Well, one less person to have to break the news to." Kendall said, trying to stay positive. "Let's sit, James and Logan look like they're about to faint. Carlos would you like to use the bathroom first?" Carlos nodded and hurried off.
He came back to Kelly sitting in an armchair and the boys on the couch. Logan was playing with a stress toy and James nervously combed his hair. Kendall made room for Carlos to sit between him and Logan. Kendall took charge.
"So, we talked last night after a big push from our awesome girlfriends and figured out we've all been thinking pretty much the same thing." He said. "This has been the opportunity of a lifetime and we're nothing but grateful...but we feel we've reached the end. We're ready for the next chapter in our lives-"
"WHAT?!"
The boys' eyes widened as they saw Gustavo standing in the doorway, his mouth open and his face growing red.
"Gustavo, listen-"
"YOU JUST WANT TO LEAVE?!" He shouted over Kendall. "FINE! YOU DOGS CAN GO! WHY DID I EVER CARE?!" He turned and strode into the office, slamming the door.
"So that's how that went." Kelly sighed. "I'd like to hear your plans, but I think he should hear them too."
"That's how we kinda imagined it would go." James squeaked.
"Okay then." Kendall said, standing up. The boys questioningly did the same. He approached Gustavo's office and knocked loudly. "Can we at least talk about it?" He asked. No response came.
He tried the door to find it locked, then approached the boys who hadn't moved from where they stood.
"Now what?" Carlos asked.
"I have a key." Kelly said.
Kendall nodded and whispered. "Carlos and James, you two go to where the secret passage leads out so he doesn't escape." The two nodded and hurried off. "Then we wait."
A few minutes later, Carlos texted that they were going through the passage.
"And we enter."
Kelly unlocked the door and they saw Gustavo try to leave through his passage, but James and Carlos blocked the way.
"I'd at least like to talk about it first." Kendall stated calmly.
"I want to hear what they have to say. And honestly, you knew this day would come." Kelly said. "You've always known with each and every band. You were just afraid it would end in disaster like those before."
"We're literally all still best friends, we're here, but also ready for the next step." Kendall said.
"We still care about you and Kelly, it's not about anyone else but us and how we feel." Logan said. "And we feel like this is a good place to evaluate where we are and where we want to go."
"All we did last night was talk to each other about how we all felt and make basic ideas of what we want to do." Kendall said. "Kelly accidentally found out a little early because Griffin faxed over the papers and we didn't know she was here early."
"Griffin didn't even know that long, I literally called him yesterday before I sent in the application and explained everything. He's pretty supportive but oddly disappointed that one of us didn't breakout." James said. "I don't want to leave Hollywood or abandon my singing career. I could probably jump into acting if I practice well enough too. I want to work with you and Kelly."
"Just because your family wants different things in life, doesn't mean they're not family anymore." Carlos said.
"Get out of my office." Gustavo said, having turned his back on all of them.
"Does this mean you'll at least think about what we said?" Kendall asked.
"Out."
"We're not changing our minds because you're throwing a tantrum. It was barely passable for Katie's small one, but not you. She's a fifteen year old who never really had any cause to throw tantrums before."
"OUT!"
James and Logan yelped, running to the door. Kendall signaled for them to go out even though Carlos looked like he wanted to stay.
"You think we're not grateful. We're nothing but grateful for you and this opportunity you provided for us. We got to come to a cool place, gain experiences and learn new things and meet new people. We all literally met our girlfriends because we came out here. My mom and sister are happy here. They want to stay, it's just me and Carlos who don't."
"Carlos and I." Logan said, poking his head in. He saw Gustavo turn with a red face and slid out of view.
"I'll give you time to cool off, but please think about what I said." Kendall said.
"I'll try to talk to him more. Why don't you guys go home early today? I'll see what I can do." Kelly said.
Kendall sighed and looked at Gustavo who had turned away again. They left the office, closing the door behind them. The boys looked downcast at Kelly.
"I know what it feels like, but no you're not turning your back on him. You all just need time to process everything." She offered them a friendly smile. "I'll look over the application later, James. It would be really cool to work with you."
"Thanks." Kendall said when the others couldn't bring themselves to say anything. James had given a halfhearted smile back.
...
Plans started going underway even though Gustavo hadn't spoken to them in a week. Kelly said she hadn't even seen him in the office, but he texted her that he's 'fine' because she got worried he was going to hurt himself or worse. She interpreted 'fine' as 'I'm breathing and unharmed' and decided that was good enough for now.
Logan already set dates for touring different universities and Freight Train was driving him to one. He'd had a tough time trying to call people without them freaking out about who he was, but he got a few levelheaded people who composed themselves after a minute or two. He even got a couple of people who were indifferent and treated him as any other student. He got credits for physical education due to the amount of dancing BTR did.
Carlos was going to school too, but for teaching and child development. He knew he'd have to be able to meet the needs of each student as a teacher and coach. He was doing courses online while he shadowed Miss Collins. He knew she couldn't help much in the physical education aspect, but she did interact with children and she was well liked and respected by them. He had a lot to learn from her.
Kendall had already been preparing for the move. The team contacted him and wanted him to start practices as soon as he could. He spent as much time as possible helping everyone out and hanging out with Jo.
James was stuck. Kelly couldn't technically accept him on behalf of Gustavo. Griffin wholeheartedly accepted James's application and was ready to hire him whenever and offered to put him in whatever record company that he was CEO of. James didn't want any other record though, he wanted Rocque Records because it was where he felt most at home. He tried to distract himself with helping the other guys.
Another week passed and the news got out to the presses. They had told a few friends both in Hollywood and back home to keep it on the down low. As with most things, rumor gets out eventually.
James almost yelled at the paparazzi. Not because of the rumor, but because they had sprung up on Lucy at her record label and bombarded her with questions. James had been going with her so he had something to do while everyone else was busy.
That was a messy day of not knowing exactly what to say, especially when some of the questions were "where's Gustavo been?" And "What are you going to do, James?" It made his stomach tight.
Kelly arranged for an interview at Rocque Records with the boys so they could set everything straight. She had a friend who also worked for Griffin who would be calm, rational, and observing the edits of the interview, showing Kelly before release.
...
"I have four schools who would love to have me and treat me as a normal student." Logan said happily. "I don't want to disclose the names or which one I'm picking at the moment. Though it'll come out eventually." He looked over at Sasha and the interview crew.
"That's good, I'm glad you've all been keeping busy too." Kelly said.
"It's best to do something." James said.
"Alright, ready?" Sasha said.
"Yep." The boys answered.
"Rolling." The cameraman said.
"Thank you, Ty. Hello lovely viewers, I'm here with Big Time Rush whose been going through the rumor mill lately and your spunky, odd but truthful reporter, Sasha Key, is here to confirm and/or debunk rumors. Hello boys, I hear it's been a busy three weeks or so."
"Definitely. A lot of things are getting done." Kendall said. He felt bad because he knew James was hurting. James had told him it was okay to say that because technically, it was the truth. Didn't mean it wasn't going to hurt.
"I think the main question on everyone's mind is, has the end of Big Time Rush come?"
"The band, yes. The friends and brothers, no. We decided that we've done a great run with the band, but we felt like it wasn't meant to last forever. That doesn't mean we don't care about our fans. We love and appreciate all of you guys because BTR wouldn't be anything without you. We were literally better with you." Logan and Carlos gave fake groans while Sasha laughed. James just kept his smile, it was the best he could do.
"I can imagine it must be quite a big change in your lives."
"It seems a little smaller compared to the change of going from four regular high schoolers to a pop boy band that sometimes rocks." James winked at the camera. He imagined Lucy rolling her eyes with the biggest smile on her face.
"So, may I ask, do some of you plan to stay in Hollywood?"
"James and I will, but the other two have their own paths." Logan said. "Even though I never planned or thought I'd be part of something like this, I don't regret it. This has been, as Kendall told us, the opportunity of a lifetime."
"Indeed it has. Your fans have a hunch of where you might go next, though I've heard some wild things."
"I'm not going to bungee jump off the Eiffel Tower." Carlos said. Sasha rose her eyebrows in amusement. "That's the biggest thing I've heard, bungee jumping off of random buildings. I'm actually just going to do my own thing back home. One of my sisters is getting married soon and staying at home. I think the riskiest thing I might do is play hockey or hike in the woods. Although skydiving at least once does sound fun."
"I'm still going to be somewhat in the news probably, playing hockey for a team." Kendall said.
"And I'm attending medical school." Logan said. "People will probably find out eventually but it's nice to have at least a short time to ourselves."
"I respect that."
She asked a few more lighthearted questions and the boys answered and sometimes told short stories. James couldn't stop the dread that he felt.
"I do have a difficult question though." She looked apologetically at James. He knew this was coming. "James, you've told us behind the scenes you want to work here at Rocque Records. I think that's amazing, but we haven't seen or heard from Gustavo Rocque in a while. What do you think you might do if you can't get in contact with him or if he denies you?"
James tried not to show the hurt. He'd told her he had some answer for this and it was okay to ask. He felt hot and not in his usual 'I'm the pretty one' way.
"Our CEO, Arthur Griffin, has offered to place me somewhere and I said I'd accept after a month." Griffin hadn't wanted James to wait too long for Gustavo's 'toddler tantrum' to be over with as he put it. James looked directly at the camera. "Gustavo. I want to work here with you and Kelly, that's why I didn't jump at the offer from Griffin. This is my safe space. My second home. Our home. BTR isn't abandoning you, so don't give up on us...please."
Kendall asked for a break and as soon as the camera was off, James ran to the bathroom, his face pink.
"I'm sorry." Sasha said earnestly.
"I don't think he really planned what he wanted to say." Logan said. "And he did say you could ask. People would have bombarded him if he didn't say anything."
"Do you think he'd be alright wrapping up the interview?"
"I'll ask." Carlos said. He went to the bathroom to see James scrubbing furiously at his face, muttering under his breath. "Aw, don't scrub off all the pretty."
James jumped and yelped. "Don't scare me like that!"
"Dude, it's okay to be upset."
"I know."
"It's not okay to try to rub your face off."
"I look terrible."
"Good thing we're about to wrap up."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." James said sarcastically
"Anytime, buddy."
James tried to make his face look less pink, but his eyes were still puffy when he got back to the couch. He silently wished he had his longer hair or his bangs so people wouldn't see his eyes as much.
The wrap up went well and they chatted after.
...
The interview was released two days later after Kelly and the boys reviewed it. James didn't want to watch his last part before his face came back on screen, pink and puffy.
The drawback to this was that there would be more paparazzi until the hype died down. Fans blew up their socials too, many well wishes were sent but a lot of people were upset. Jo, Lucy, and Camille also received media attention, being consistently asked if they were breaking up with their boyfriends. All three of them were friends with Alexa, but wished they could be off the radar like her. Carlos had somehow managed to keep it a secret that he had a girlfriend.
Mainly Jo was sought out and questioned since Logan and James planned to live near their girlfriends.
"We can make the long distance relationship work." Jo and Kendall kept saying every time they were asked.
"What about when you went to New Zealand?" This question happened to be asked when Kendall wasn't around.
Jo was taken aback. "I-that was- the time difference was a lot more than two hours."
"But what if you get a job like that again?"
"We're older now and we can figure out how to make it work as adults."
"Shoo! Off my set." Jo sighed as she was rescued by the producer of New Town High.
"Thanks."
"Anytime."
...
The Super Hollywood Party Kings of Hollywood threw a party the night before Kendall and Carlos were due to leave. Carlos wanted to learn from Coach Mason before he retired and decided on a move out day.
Logan passed his entrance exams and was due to start Stanford in the fall semester. He would be moving into a dorm. Even though Logan would come back after he got his degree, Mrs. Knight, Lucy, and Katie, and his LA friends were still there, James still felt alone.
The party consisted of song requests for the boys and they sung so much they were exhausted and had to play on a boom box.
That night, after the party, the boys snuck up to the rooftop of the Palm Woods. They didn't really talk much, just sat for a long time.
"Thanks for the memories." Kendall finally said hoarsely.
"Fall Out Boy." Carlos whispered, his throat feeling too tight for much else.
"2007." Logan added.
"They do some pop rock." James croaked. The other three snickered.
"We'll always be Big Time Rush." Kendall said.
"The only life we got, so we gotta live it big time."
"24/7 'til the end of time."
"Worldwide."
...
James had distracted himself with party planning and he really did enjoy it. The pain came the next day and he couldn't stop crying. He closed himself in his room as soon as Mrs. Knight drove him, Logan, and Katie home. Camille had brought the girls and Kelly also came. Alexa briefly came to kiss Carlos and wish the boys luck as she was very busy.
Nothing Logan said or did got James out of the room much. Griffin extended his deadline saying that he had a position available and Gustavo had until Logan left to respond.
Griffin bought 2J from Bitters and was going to allow James to live there until Logan was done with medical school which gave James plenty of time to apartment hunt and send Logan details.
The only problem was that James barely got out of bed.
"Okay, you can't keep being nice now." Brooke Diamond said when she video called only to get Jennifer. Logan had a week left.
"He's basically grieving, I can't tell someone how long to do that."
"Jen, I understand. But also, I know my son, he needs to be kept busy and have at least a little hope. One person not talking to him can't devastate him like this. That's the reason he's like this, he'd be working through it if it was just because of the boys leaving. Remember how much busy work I gave him after Jason moved out?" Jennifer nodded and Brooke continued. "It was because he shut himself in his room for two days and barely ate. He didn't want anyone to know so I never said anything."
"Okay. I did teach Kendall how to cook a few things, so I'll have James help out with that and laundry."
"Good. He is an adult after all. Thank you, Jen. Please ask him to call me when he's feeling up to it."
"Of course."
...
"Jamie boy, get up!" Logan called. "You have six and a half days of Logan fun time and I'm bored of watching you sulk."
"Unnnnghh"
"Unacceptable! Get up and shower, your girlfriend thinks you don't care about her."
James lifted his head "I care!" He grumbled.
"I'm sure you do. I also know for a fact that you love yourself and your looks, and this is not doing right by you. Your mom called and wants you out of bed."
James sat up. "She's here?"
"No, but she's planning to come next week and that's the same day you have to take Griffin's offer."
"But Gustavo-"
"Is unavailable so basically treat that as a no because he's not responding. Griffin already accepted your application and is ready to have you on board with whatever in the industry. Kendall told me to tell you not to waste this. He didn't get us this opportunity of a lifetime for you to cry in bed and listen to Adele."
"It wasn't all Adele..."
"Whatever, case in point, you're young and talented. Don't squander it by wasting away in a bed, James. Kelly said it's okay if you're somewhere else, she also believes in all of us. One person can't make you crumble like this."
"Even if that's the one person who started it all? He came to our town randomly. He could have gone anywhere else, including Minneapolis, but he chose Duluth."
"Even that person, James. You could have made your dreams eventually on your own. You did wonder if Broadway was an option and yes, it was. Gustavo happened to be one of those opportunities that came earlier for you and we came along for the ride. And, really, it was Kendall who pushed for this. Gustavo may have come, but Kendall got you to do something about it. Actually, now that I think about it, you started it all. It was your dream, your desire to be famous. We got you there, Kendall got us here. Do I have to keep repeating myself? I feel like I'm getting redundant."
"No, I get it." James stood up and took a deep breath. "I'm ready to get out there. I know what I want to do first..." He sniffed around, then sniffed his armpit. "Ugh. Okay, after I shower..."
"That's the spirit!" Logan said. "Hey maybe I am good at pep talks."
...
The first thing James did when he finished his shower was apologize to Lucy, Katie, Mrs. Knight, Logan and his other friends for not being around as much. Everyone accepted his apology and helped him keep busy.
The day before Logan was due to leave, his bags all packed in the car that his parents got him as a graduation gift, James asked him to accompany him on a short trip. Logan was confused until he saw the place.
"Are you sure?"
"I need to do this."
"Does he know you accepted Griffin's offer?"
"Not sure."
James sighed and got out of the car, followed by Logan. The two of them walked up to the mansion doors and James knocked determinedly and rang the doorbell. They waited a while.
No response.
"He didn't know you were coming, did he?"
"No. Kelly said she wouldn't tell. He told her this morning he was writing songs. I'm hoping that's a good sign."
James rang the doorbell again and knocked louder. No response came.
"How long has it been since Kelly was at the studio?"
"Maybe three days, Griffin asked her to help with an event and she was busy."
"When did we last go to the studio?"
"The day before the party when we all went to say goodbye together."
"What if Gustavo's there? That's where he does his best songwriting...at least for us."
"Maybe."
They went back in the car, James giving the mansion one last look. It seemed a little off. Or cleaner than he thought. He and Logan discussed it and decided it was probably not something to be concerned about.
They entered the studio and immediately heard faint music. They exchanged surprised looks and went to the main lobby. It was a piano that sounded somber but peaceful. As they approached the dance studio, they saw Gustavo with his back to the door, playing. Kelly was also in the room with a smile on her face. She saw the boys and gestured for them to come. She showed them her tablet. Kendall and Carlos waved and the other two waved back.
When it was over, everyone said 'wow'. Gustavo turned to face the boys with a look of guilt on his face.
"I hate apologizing, but Kendall was right. I was acting like a baby and I'm sorry. I should have acted more like an adult and come to the party told you do- you boys that I appreciate you too. You got me out of an almost ten year slump and taught me that we're not just coworkers, we're family. James, I really should have talked to you sooner, I'm sorry you went through all that. I hope you'll forgive me and think about working with me and Kelly?"
"I'll think about it." James said with a huge grin.
"We're pretty forgiving." Carlos said. "And we can't wait to see James's solo career."
"Produced by Rocque Records." Kendall added.
"Gee I don't know, might feed James's ego too much." Logan teased.
James rolled his eyes. "Better learn how to deflate egos, Dr Sass."
...
Gustavo came to see Logan off and to have James start working on lyrics.
When Logan first arrived on campus, there was a great deal of staring which made him feel nervous. He'd rather people approach him and ask him to confirm who he is, the nonstop gawking was weird. I mean, it is wild to think there was a pop star attending a normal college, when does that ever happen? He did miss the studio days and would sometimes hum lyrics as he studied. He did do a dance number during orientation week when asked because another student was too nervous. Three other students joined him and tried their best to copy the other boys.
Carlos also experienced the staring, but added squealing. Students were always running up to him and screeching excitedly, he tried to turn the wince into a smile each time. Things took a while to calm down for him.
Kendall's team treated him as any other hockey player, but also teased him lightly because his skills were a bit rusty. He got the hang of it eventually started playing in games. He imagined his friends and family cheering him on in the stands.
James was having a pretty good solo career, though he did miss the guys and wish that they were together again. Gustavo opened applications for musicians and bands, the studio was flooded with people as soon as the flyers went out because James was one of the judges along with Gustavo and Kelly. They all had a good laugh after the first day when James said that nothing could top BTR's 'audition'.
Camille and Jo got on a show together after Jo helped her audition with less flair and less flare. Camille had visited Logan on campus when she could. Alexa would visit Carlos when she wasn't working and one day decided to retire from being a spy.
Jo watched all of Kendall's hockey matches, recording the ones she couldn't watch when they aired. And despite her sixteen year old self who would vehemently deny it, she was starting to like it...only for her boyfriend though.
The boys all visited LA for Christmas before heading to Minnesota. Carlos and Logan had the shortest time to spend but they all cherished the moments spent together.
During the first summer after they parted, the four of them took a week long camping trip in Minnesota and decided they wanted to make it a tradition if they could, like the old days.
They agreed that somewhere along the line, they'd have a reunion tour as Big Time Rush.
A/N In my headcanon, Mr. Knight died when Katie was a baby. Truth is, like Carly Shay's mom, we just didn't need to know about the character because they weren't relevant to the story being told.
I have a few more ideas for BTR stories.