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ithinkyouhealedmyheart · 4 months ago

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National Boyfriend's Day

Characters: Kendall Knight, Gustavo Rocque mentioned, Veronica Clark oc, James Diamond, Mrs. Knight mentioned,

Pairings: Kendall Knight/Female Original Character(s), Kendall Knight/Veronica Clark

Word Count: 1988

Grammarly is my beta reader

The boys were graciously given the day off for some unknown reason, which was not wholly unknown. Gustavo claimed his throat hurt from all the yelling he had done the day before. But it didn't matter; they didn't have to sing or dance in the recording studio for a whole day.

Ronnie had been doodling a lot the past few days. She had heard about the botanical garden and wanted to go there more than anything, but she was stuck working with Gustavo and the boys. It wasn't like she hated working with them. They were rowdy and louder but had their quiet moments. Since Kelly gave her earplugs on her first day, she hasn't been without them. It was common for her to wear earplugs even if she lounged at the pool with the guys.

Her doodles mainly consisted of various types of flowers. She hadn't been sightseeing since arriving in L.A. a few months ago. Gustavo's been keeping her busy with the prospect of a new album, so it's been taking away from her time. For the time being, she sat in the living room of 3G. Her dad and Mrs. Knight got coffee earlier, leaving her alone in the apartment.

Living in Hollywood was a dream come true. She also heard her music play on the radio because Big Time Rush was a big hit. It was excellent writing music that would sell stadiums and make it onto CDs that teenagers would buy and listen to. But, being behind the scenes was the best of all. She wasn't a fan of all those big crowds or the flash of camera lights. Instead, the boys got to deal with all of that.

A knock was at her door, but she was too in the zone to notice. Music playing softly on the radio, Pink Floyd and David Bowie tapes that her father left in there from his spring cleaning.

"This is your first date. It has to be amazing," James whispered to Kendall. He only tagged along because Lucy wasn't at the pool, and he was bored.

"How many times do you think I should tell you? This isn't our first date, and quit trying to control it." Kendall knocked on the door again.

"I'm sorry, you have a bad track record of asking girls out and keeping them entertained. Shall I remind you of- "

"Don't. Say her name." Kendall sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do we even know if Ronnie is inside? She could be with Camille,"

"Maybe she can't hear you? She always has those earplugs in." James shrugged. "Oh! Which means she can't hear us talking,"

"For the last time. You don't have to worry about the date I've planned."

"But you won't tell me about it," James pouted. "I want to make sure you take her to the right place and know-"

"You're not her brother. Or her dad." Kendall cut him off sharply. He pulled out his phone and texted her.

Shortly after, the door opened, revealing Ronnie with her faded blue hair dye. She'd meant to touch it up, but everything else had been distracting. She wasn't wearing her yellow sweatshirt. It had been swapped for a plain tank top.

"Sorry, did I keep you guys waiting? What happened?"

James waved and smiled brightly. He was a bit too giddy for her liking, and she wasn't sure if she would be happy about what Kendall had to say. It wasn't odd that they were standing outside her door, but something about it felt suspicious.

"So, uh, there's this new botanical garden that opened, and I was wondering- I was hoping that you wanted to come see it." Kendall was rarely all that nervous, but it was cute when he did trip over his words.

"Of course! But uh," Ronnie glanced down and smiled sheepishly. "Let me go change real quick."

"I think that's fine considering the heat wave-" Kendall elbowed James.

Ronnie left the door open and sauntered into her room, closing that door behind her. Kendall and James glanced at each other before stepping through the threshold. It wasn't that they'd never been in her apartment, but they hadn't been inside without her dad present. He was ex-military and scary. The last thing either of them wanted was for him to come home and assume Kendall and James were there for less-than-safe for work activities.

"Oh, hey, her notebook!" James's eyes sparkled as he made his way over to the beige couch. He didn't pick it up but leaned over to look at what she was doing.

"Does she have any new song ideas?" Kendall joined him, but he was too afraid to touch her notebook. It was one thing if Ronnie caught them looking at it, but an entirely different ordeal if they picked it up and started flipping through.

"I know it's scorching out, but I can't go anywhere without my hoodie. At least I have short-" Ronnie's bedroom door creaked when it opened, and the three stood still, staring at each other. Not only were Kendall and James caught red-handed, but they also froze like deer in headlights.

"What are you doing?" Ronnie narrowed her eyes.

"You left it open!" James whined, shuffling away and holding his hands up. "If you're going to hurt us, don't touch the face!"

"I'm not going to hit you. It's not like you would see the new song I'm working on anyway,"

"Are you sure you want to wear your hoodie?" Kendall asked. He was wearing cargo shorts and a T-shirt.

"I'll be fine." Ronnie shrugged. "Now, get out. I'm not leaving my apartment unlocked with three idiots all day. That's asking for something to get broken." She shooed the guys with her hands.

"Aw, but I wanted to see your dad's face when he gets back." James mocked.

"I bet he'll be happy to see you later." Ronnie rolled her eyes.

~~~

It was no surprise that Ronnie hated buses. She hated the crowds, the limited number of seats, and, most of all, the smell of L.A. passengers. A purse dog with dead eyes was staring straight at her, and she stared back, nearly crushing Kendall's hand. The bus was noisy because of the people on it and because it sounded like the moving vehicle would fall apart at any given chance.

Kendall was standing, holding onto the bar above his head. He moved to block the small purse dog from her sight and gently rang his thumb over her knuckles. He could tell from a mile away that she was getting overwhelmed. As much as she tried to hide it, she wasn't really good at it.

Ronnie didn't want it to seem like everything in this city was overwhelming, but when the only place she had been to was the Palm Woods, everything was overwhelming. But it wasn't for a lack of trying. She rested her head against the back of the uncomfortable plastic seat and closed her eyes. The bus ride would be shorter than it seemed. It was easy to get caught up in it all.

Originally, Kendall would have asked his mom to take them to the botanical gardens, but she was away, and he couldn't ask Gustavo or Kelly to drive them. A limo would attract suspicion, which would, in turn, alert a border of fangirls. It had been a hot minute since he last rode the bus; he was too used to having a driver, and now that he and his friends were famous. However, they would have taken the train if they had been in Northern California.

As soon as the bus finally stopped at their destination, Ronnie hopped out of her seat and whizzed past the bus driver. Her thanks were drowned out by her feet hitting the steps. Kendall followed after, thanking the bus driver more prominently. Even though the bus had yet to pull away, Ronnie couldn't contain her excitement. She jumped up and down, clapping her hands with a big smile. Kendall wasn't embarrassed to be seen with her. He was glad he could make her happy.

"We could never start a garden back in Vermont, which was a bummer because everything always looked so gray. Also, Scout would eat whatever flowers we planted, which was a hazard to his health. My dad doesn't have the best green thumb either-" Ronnie rambled while she led him by the hand, taking a big breath before launching into the second part of what she was saying.

"Easy, easy. Don't forget to breathe." Kendall chuckled. He would follow wherever she would go, even to the ends of the earth.

"Sorry, sorry. I swear, sometimes I need one of those cool devices that tells you when to drink water, but instead for when I need to breathe." Ronnie laughed and played with the drawstring of her hoodie with her free hand.

"If you got one of those, you would throw it against the wall."

"Well, yeah, but it would be useful for a little while."

Kendall showed the man at the door their tickets, and they each passed through a metal detector. Luckily, it didn't go off. When they were in the lobby, Ronnie froze. Her eyes went wide and sparkled. Her head swiveled, trying to take in every detail about the botanical gardens. Kendall was even taken aback by how pretty it was, too.

There was greenery everywhere. It was the perfect place for Poison Ivy’s secret lair. There were halls divided up by seasons. Wordlessly, Ronnie took the blonde's hand and led him toward the Spring hall. When did she get so strong? He nearly tripped over himself, trying to follow after her. In a way, she was like a kid in a candy store. Wait, no, she was like Gustavo when she spent the night at 2J because Griffin took his mansion away. And her smile was infectious. He honestly didn’t mind getting pulled around. He hadn’t realized just how pretty nature was before now. When James suggested the botanical gardens, he shrugged it off but this place was ethereal. Although he would have preferred playing street hockey with his friends this wasn’t the worst way to spend his time.

Did he mention how pretty Ronnie’s smile was?

Kendall, pretty much, spent the day admiring Ronnie while she admired plants and talked about them. She wasn’t the most knowledgeable about them but she was passionate. Maybe this little adventure could even spark some inspiration? At least Kendall could only hope. He really just wanted to know what their next song was going to be about, because Gustavo wouldn’t tell them anything. But, he could ask her about it any other day. Ronnie didn’t stop holding his hand either, and he was on cloud nine. It was the cutests thing. She was the cutest thing. Now that he thought about it, he should take her on dates more often. She deserved it to be honest.

Plants weren’t just pretty, but they played an important role in symbolism. Bouquets could be used to relay a hidden message, and different colors had different meanings across all genes. The only thing Kendall knew was that roses were used to symbolize love. It was why he always got roses for his mother on valentine's day, because he loved and cherished her more than anything. Ronnie prattled off about the symbolism of different roses and even different flowers. But, he was too busy paying attention to the sparkle in her eye to understand anything she was saying. At least he found out that she liked Lisianthus, whatever that was.

And by the time they were ready to come home, Ronnie leaned her head on Kendall’s shoulders and her eyes fluttered shut. She had tired herself out.

“Best, day, ever.” She mumbled sleepily.

“Best date ever.” Kendall clarified with a small smile.

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myloveforhergoeson · 2 years ago

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That's All She Wrote - Chapter 7

Chapter 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6

Find me on wattpad and ao3

Show: Big Time Rush

Pairing: James Diamond x Original Female Character

Chapter 7: Call me ~ 12k

There were many things that Roxanne enjoyed about having her own apartment. Privacy, for one, was one of her favorite features; how she could choose to see as few or as many people as she wished at any time. Along with that, came the peace and quiet she needed in order to write the songs that would help make her friends famous, the songs that would keep her in Hollywood like she had always dreamed.

So, when she picked up her brand new electric guitar to write some melodies in the time she had before work, a hockey puck-sized indent smacking into her wall and startling her was the last thing she needed. Not only was the noise loud enough to send her heart into overdrive, but she was in the middle of formulating a perfect chord for one of her older songs and had lost it in an instant.

Gently setting her instrument down, she marched over to the shared door connecting her apartment to the band’s and threw it open.

“What the hell do you all think you’re doing?” She cried, but her voice was lost to the crunching and cracking of hockey pad on hockey pad as the boys zoomed around their living area on rollerblades in full protective gear. A puck was flying somewhere on the floor that all four of them spied, sending them hurtling into each other, making even more noise and ruining her quiet morning.

The mess they had already created was made even larger as Kendall shoved James over the breakfast bar in an attempt to get ahead of the other boy, sending snacks atop it every which way. The blond reared his stick back and slapped the puck with a sickening crack, shooting it once again toward the wall the two apartments shared.

Now, it was clear to her that she needed to get out of the way or take a puck to the face, so she dove behind the small barrier that kept the hallway to the bedrooms out of view. Just in time too, as she spied Kelly making her way into the apartment with a large, orange air horn.

As soon as the boys scored a goal, wherever they had deemed the net to be, the puck was placed in the center of the room where the four gathered to start a new round. While they were oblivious to the talent scout trying to catch her attention, Roxy covered her ears as quickly as she could as Kelly blew the horn right into their ears, not only scaring the boys but sending them into a straight, attentive line in front of her.

When the girl emerged from her hiding spot, she moved to stand beside Kelly, excited for whatever was in store for the group today. Meanwhile, Carlos remembered the game at hand and body-slammed Logan one more time for good measure.

“Get your helmets off and your smiles on.” Kelly declared, referring to the pads the boys were still clad in. “Gustavo pulled some strings, and if we hurry, you can make the next Pop Tiger hot-new-star pinup fold-out special spring poster issue.”

“No way!” Roxy squealed, reacting to her statement and inadvertently cutting off something James was about to say. “The spring poster issue is my favorite edition of Pop Tiger. We’ve got to make this happen!”

“Um…” Kendall started, sharing confused looks with Logan and Carlos. “In English, please?”

Kelly and Roxy glanced at each other, displaying their disdain at the band’s ignorance. How was it they had made it this long as a boyband without knowing about cutesy teen magazines like Pop Tiger?

“It’s picture day!” Kelly settled on in lieu of a proper explanation. “Move it!” And blared the air horn one more time before leaving the apartment to go wait in the lobby.

The four boys still stood in their line, not quite sure what to do now that she had gone.

“Why don’t you just put on your favorite outfits? Or ask James for help styling your hair?” The assistant questioned, still trying to understand what the boys found confusing.

Once they had scrambled off into their rooms, she figured they’d be fine until they made it to Rocque Records.

About 20 minutes later, everyone was changed and looking their best. Kelly had texted her to let the boys know that it was just a simple shoot, so nothing over the top would be necessary. Just an in-and-out kind of session with a photographer whose name she recognized from past issues of Pop Tiger. Even she had taken time to change into a nicer, red mini-dress decorated with small white flowers she had been saving for a special occasion. Though she wasn’t going to be in the picture, it was still nice to have a reason to dress up every once and a while.

Making sure to grab a few of her old editions of the magazine from her nightstand in her room, she met back up with the guys out front of the hotel, where they piled into the limo waiting for them.

“I can’t believe we’re gonna be in Pop Tiger.” James gushed, finally sharing the girl’s excitement.

After recognizing some of the emotion in his voice, Roxy felt a bit bad for cutting him off in 2-J earlier. It was their photoshoot after all, they should get to relish in the feeling far more than she should.

In response to the boy’s words, Carlos pumped his fist in the air, “I know! It’s totally awesome! What’s a Pop Tiger?”

“You can’t be serious!” Roxy slapped his arm before passing him one of her personal copies of the magazine.

“Only the most popular teen magazine in the world!” Chimed in James, holding up this month’s edition his assistant had been dying to get her hands on. On the cover was one of her favorite actors, Dak Zevon - the star of the Varsity Vampire series.

Oh, I’m definitely signing up for the home delivery service now…

Logan held up his pointer finger, trying to read the numerous blurbs covering the page, “Is that Roxy’s? Please tell me it’s Roxy’s.”

“Hey!” James pouted, “This magazine has great articles for guys too, like ‘OMG, I IM’D the Wrong BFF’.”

He passed off the magazine to Kendall, who seemed to be examining the cover with much scrutiny. To his credit, there was a lot to look at between the pictures of celebrities riddled across the cover, article titles stacked on top of each other, and the section in the bottom corner promising four life-size posters of JLS.

“‘What one thing would hottie hunk Dak Zevon bring to a desert island?’” The blond read off one of the article titles in a mocking tone. “I’ve gotta say, I’m curious!”

“Easy!” Roxy cut in without thinking. “His dog, Snowball. He’s just so caring…”

Kendall flipped a few pages into the magazine, taking a second to read the first few lines of the interview with the pop star. “Rox is shockingly correct.”

“What? What an idiot!” Carlos said, trying to take the magazine from his friend. “Everyone knows you bring a roller coaster!”

“Dak isn’t an idiot!” She slapped him on the arm again. “Take that back!”

At Carlos’ comment, it was finally time for Logan to jump in, “You don’t bring a roller coaster. You bring a flare gun to signal passing ships.”

“Oh, what, you don’t think people are gonna see my extreme looping coconut coaster?” The black-haired boy bit back.

“Your island is stupid!”

“Your island is boring!”

The two erupted into a slap fight causing Roxy to reach between them and bravely pull the magazine out from under Carlos’ arm. She was lucky she was able to get it out before they had done any damage to Dak’s cover image. After today, she was going to run down to the drugstore and pick up the issue she was missing. How did James get it before she did?

I wonder if he’d let me rip out the posters in his…

By the time the fight was starting to get out of hand, Kelly was on top of it, blowing the air horn once more to get their attention.

“Break it up.” She warned, voice clear and commanding. “You need to stay pretty. This picture could end up on the walls of millions of girls.”

“Did you say millions of girls?” Kendall, Logan, and Carlos repeated.

The woman nodded and there was a chorus of screaming from outside of the vehicle. As they pulled up to Rocque Records, a horde of teenage girls decked out in t-shirts, signs, and everything in between proclaiming love for Dak Zevon swarmed their car.

It was clear that the boys had not picked up on the fact that these girls were screaming out for someone else as they began to wave excitedly behind the tinted windows. With faces squished into the glass, the girls were doing their best to get a look at who was inside. Each of the band member’s faces lit up as they tried to roll down the windows and greet the people outside; their boss had to lock the manual controls to keep anyone from getting in.

“Kelly?” Questioned the young girl, looking over to her boss. “Why is there a screaming fan mob here for Dak Zevon?”

The woman shifted in her seat, casting her eyes down to the leather ledger she held tightly in her hands. “Maybe, because he’s recording vocals for Varsity Vampire 2: Game On here today?”

“What!?” Roxy gasped, loud enough to make Logan flinch beside her. “Why didn’t you tell us? If I had known Dak was here today I would’ve curled my hair and worn nicer shoes and oh, no, do I have extra lipstick in my bag…”

“Roxy, Gustavo is doing his recording.” Kelly tried to say gently, but the assistant was too busy digging around her small bag to try and find the tube of lipstick she knew she had. “He requested a private, professional session.”

Logically, she understood what Kelly was trying to tell her. The calm letdown was kind and probably more than she deserved, but there were few things she was going to let stand in her way of getting to meet Dak today. With an opportunity like this practically handed to her on a silver platter, how could she let it pass her up?

From on top of the car, somehow, one of the girls in the swarming pack yelled something about spotting Dak at the front gate and the mob that had engulfed the limo moments ago disappeared.

“Woah, where are they going?” Groaned James, seemingly oblivious to the entire conversation the assistant and Kelly had right in front of him.

Ugh, he’s so one-track-minded.

Once all the girls were gone, the band was given the all-clear from their driver and they began the trip to the studio. Once the doors were closed and the car sped off, the reality of what had happened finally set in with the group.

“What was that?” Kendall questioned. Clearly, he had never seen a crazy mob of fangirls - something he would have to get used to if he expected this band to go anywhere.

Kelly rolled her eyes, “That was a pack of screaming fangirls looking for Dak Zevon.” She held up the fold-out poster of him from the magazine James had brought to work with him.

“Just one great picture in Pop Tiger and those girls will be screaming for Big Time Rush,” Roxy added, hopeful that their shoot today would go off without a hitch. There was limited time if they wanted to make sure their picture was in next month’s edition rolling out at the end of the week.

Her comment was enough to connect the dots in the band’s mind and had them excited enough to practically dive through the doors of the studio to get to their photoshoot.

All they could think about was getting their picture on the wall of millions of girls, and it was the only thing mentioned all the way up the elevator and through the halls until they ran into Mrs. Knight and Katie, who had somehow beat them to the studio.

“Oh, Mom and Katie,” Kendall half-greeted, more confused to see them than excited. “Hey, what are you guys doing here?”

Katie was proudly clutching the same Pop Tiger edition Roxy desperately wished she owned. It was obvious she was here to see Dak too. “What, I can’t just come down to see my big brother, who I love?”

The comment touched Kendall’s heart, and his assistant hated to ruin it, but if Katie was here for the same purpose she was, her chances of meeting Dak were about to skyrocket. That little girl always got what she wanted.

“Are you here to see Dak Zevon?” Roxy asked, ignoring the dirty look Katie’s brother gave her.

“Oh, yeah!” The two girls exchanged a high-five. “I just want him to autograph this picture for my wall.”

James scoffed, “Really? I didn’t think you were into that stuff.”

“I’m a preteen girl. He’s a cute pop star.” Katie bit, folding open his picture in her magazine, “I’m not made of stone, you know.”

The boys exchanged mocking glances as Logan took a step forward to snatch the magazine out of the young girl’s hands. He swiftly held it up to his face, making it look like he was Dak, and pulled out a terrible high-pitched impression. “Look! I’m Dak Zevon and I love you, Katie Knight.”

Then, out of seemingly nowhere, the mob of screaming Dak fangirls rushed down the hall from both sides and tackled Logan to the ground. The group of about 20 girls held him down, poking and prodding him then pulling the picture out of his hands to learn that he wasn’t who he claimed to be seconds before. As quick as the pack had come, they were gone - off in search of their favorite teen idol once more.

“Now, where’s Dak recording?” Mrs. Knight asked politely, giving Kelly her award-winning smile.

Katie, Roxy, and Mrs. Knight all looked at the talent scout expectantly.

“Sorry,” She tried. “I’m not allowed to say.”

Lightly chucking, Mrs. Knight pushed Katie in front of her “Well, look into these eyes and say that again.”

The two locked eyes and Katie did her best sad puppy dog impression, filling her eyes with water and sticking out her bottom lip to pout. For a moment, the assistant could’ve sworn there was a small symphony playing behind her as they faced off.

“Studio B, down the hall to the right!” Kelly gave up, succumbing to the power of the puppy dog eyes. “Just stop looking at me like that!”

The Knight pair didn’t even stop to say thank you before toting off down the hall to Studio B. Watching anxiously, Roxy hoped she would soon join them.

How long could the photo shoot take anyway?

After that exchange, Logan had finally gained enough strength to stand back up after his mob attack.

“Girls- Many girls in the- Ouchies.” His speech was slurred as he stumbled around in a few circles, trying to get his arm back through the hole in his shirt. But, his struggles were quickly ignored as a strange pop-techno beat started playing from Studio A, exciting the boys. Dragging their dazed friend behind, they all ran toward the sound.

The glass studio doors were pulled open and the group tumbled in to find the lights had been dimmed. A handful of mechanical fans and photo lights had been set up around a plain white backdrop and were blowing a gentle, foggy breeze onto a middle-aged man and a younger woman, both holding cameras and dancing eccentrically to the music. Each time the woman pressed the button on the camera, a flash of light bouncing off the white backdrop would blind them.

“This is so not like school picture day!” Kendall called out, excitement tinged in his tone.

The sound alerted the man standing in front of the backdrop of the newcomers, quickly snatching the camera from the woman. Running up to the band, he stopped a few feet away and checked their position through the viewfinder, pretending to take a couple of shots. He shouted over the music, but whatever accent the man spoke with made it nearly impossible for the teens to understand him with the loud song playing.

“What?” They asked back.

The photographer tried yelling again, but his words were lost once more. After a moment he held his finger up and turned around to grab some sort of remote, shutting the music off.

“That’s better!” He cried, chucking the remote to the side of the room and taking out one of the many light fixtures, causing the girl to cringe. “So, how are you guys doing?”

The band answered in a garbled mess as their assistant lamented over the fact she would probably have to sweep up the broken light bulb after the shoot was over.

From the recording booth on the side wall, Gustavo emerged and moved to stand beside the photographer, clapping him on the shoulder.

“This is Marcos Del Posey, the best teen idol photographer on the planet.”

Marcos continued to move around like he was dancing, despite the fact he had shut off the music a bit ago. “Some say, photographer. Some say, magician. Mira! One camera.” He held up a camera in his right hand and took a few dozen shots, setting off the bright lights each time. “Now, oh, two camera!” He cheered, repeating his motions with both cameras before tossing them over his shoulders once he was finished.

Great. More, expensive, stuff for me to clean up later.

“Okay here is what I’m thinking,” Marcos continued. “Shirts open, hair blowing, with… the stuffy puppy.”

The lady who was with him earlier handed him a huge black and white stuffed dog, causing Roxy’s heart to melt - it almost made her forget the prospect of shirts open, hair blowing.

“Mr. Del Posey, you’re the creator of the stuffy puppy shoot?” She beamed, trying to keep her focus on the task at hand and not on James beginning to unbutton the first few buttons on his shirt. “My poster with Jesse McCartney and his stuffed rottweiler is one of my favorites!”

Just as the man was about to answer, one of the band members cut him off in protest.

“Woah, woah, absolutely not!” Carlos yelled, taking a few steps back from the photographer.

Marcos’ features twisted into a pout, raising the dog to his face and posing like someone was taking a picture. “Why of course I did, Miss!”

With a quirk of her lips, she turned to her friends, “I cannot wait for this shoot.”

They stuck out their tongues at her words as Gustavo moved to take the dog away from Marcos. Maybe the girl would be able to swipe one of the stuffies before the day was over and add it to her collection. That would be more than satisfactory if Gustavo didn’t want the boys to have a shot with them.

“What I want is a simple shot of four best friends just chilling and being themselves,” Gustavo commanded as Marcos waved his hands, forming the picture in his mind.

Kendall snapped his fingers and pointed to the two men, “I totally agree.”

“I totally don’t care.” Their boss snapped back. “Now, get on the backdrop and look handsome!”

The boys, for once, did as they were told and rushed over to the white curtain, testing out a few different poses.

Simple shoot, simple day. The assistant concluded and moved to sit down behind Marcos to jot down a few notes in her journal. In the contacts page she had started, she copied down the photographer's name and would move to get his number from Kelly later.

The studio lights were flipped on before the actual photographing began, and the woman Marcos had been dancing with before rushed over to give the band a bit of touch-up to combat the glare of the camera flash.

“I changed my mind about the island,” Carlos shared, turning to James who was combing his hair. “I’m gonna bring a fridge packed with ice cream!”

“Where are you gonna get the electricity, dumbass?” Logan hissed, low enough for none of the adults to hear.

“Electric eels, dickhead, duh!”

The two erupted in another smacking fight which was once again broken up by the sound of Kelly’s air horn.

“Dawgs, heel!” Gustavo yelled. “We need a great picture before the Pop Tiger messenger gets here in 2 hours. Now look into the camera and think about something funny.”

“Like Roxy’s crush on Dak Zevon?” Carlos quipped, cracking a smile.

The comment was enough to get the rest of her friends laughing as she sighed in protest. The scene looked perfectly natural, like a shot into the domestic bliss of the band.

They’re lucky they’re all so photogenic.

Her boss was about to flip his lid as Marcos was rummaging through his camera bag to find something instead of standing behind the camera. “Take the picture now, before something goes wrong!”

“What could go wrong?” The other man protested. “I am Marcos.”

The look Kelly shot at him was lethal, “Oh, you don’t know these boys, so snap the picture, now!”

The boys stayed where they were, laughing at Roxy’s expense, and Marcos jumped into position behind the camera. Slowly, his finger descended onto the photo button.

Just as it reached, someone yelled “Freeze!”

Everyone’s hands shot up in the air as two LAPD officers burst into the studio.

“Gustavo Rocque, you failed to report to your court-ordered community service.” The male police officer began as he and his partner moved Gustavo’s hands behind his back to handcuff.

Gustavo squirmed but confidently huffed out, “Officers, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m talking about destroying Matthew McConaughey’s mailbox with…” The female officer looked around the room, eyes landing on Roxy and making her shiver, before they moved on to Kelly. “Her!”

Kelly was apprehended as well but squealed as soon as the officer brought out the handcuffs. An accusatory finger was stuck out at Gustavo. “He made me be the lookout!”

“Hey, I’m the victim here! He plays the bongos til 3 in the morning!”

“Let’s go!” The officer holding him spat out, pulling him from the room.

Her boss struggled for a second, “Wait, wait, let me at least get my workplace in order! Roxanne, take over recording in Studio B, the sheet music, and everything is there!” His screams got quieter as he was dragged farther and farther away. “And dawgs, take care of this photoshoot!”

At this point, she couldn’t even see him and he was still screaming, but his direction to help record in Studio B was more than enough for her to pull herself off the ground. She could barely contain her excitement as she turned towards her friends, a goofy smile plastered all over her face.

“You’ve got this right? It’s just a picture.”

Did she trust them? Yes. Should she? No. But every one of her thoughts telling her not to leave was ignored as she grabbed her journal and made her way out of the room. There was some protest from the guys but she could hear Marcos’ poor attempts at calming them down. That would do for now.

On the way out and down the hall, she passed company CEO, Griffin and his two bodyguards.

“Ah, Miss Somerset, you look lovely today! Where are you headed?” He greeted her, raising one brow when he noticed the direction she was going.

“Hello, Mr. Griffin! Thank you.” She replied, giving him a quick wave.”I’m off to record our ‘secret project’ in Studio B!”

The white-haired man nodded. “Would you like to aid me in finishing the photoshoot in Studio A? I can handle it, but a helping hand is always nice.”

Roxy blew some hair out of her face, “Uh, Gustavo said the recording is super urgent, so, probably not the best idea for me to skip out!” She began to walk away, picking up the pace as she got closer to the right-hand turn, “Thanks for the offer, good luck!”

Her feet didn’t stop until she was seconds away from entering the recording room to Studio B, which she nearly ended up slamming into by underestimating the speed at which she had been running.

Hastily brushing off the front of her dress, she made sure not even a thread was out of place. Her hair was smoothed down by both shaking hands and she took a few breaths in and out to try and disguise the fact she had just been sprinting down the hall to meet the love of her life.

Private and professional. She reminded herself. Private and professional.

Roxanne was definitely up for the task, or so she thought before a deep voice called out from behind her.

“Hey, this is a secure area! What do you think you’re doing here?”

Two massive bodyguards wearing bright yellow jackets began to march towards her, blocking any way for her to leave by taking up enough space in the hall that she couldn’t slip by. They got closer and closer, somehow not spying the Rocque Records ID tag bearing her name, picture, and position on it clipped around one of the thin straps holding up her dress.

“Um, hi!” She squealed, “I’m Roxanne Somerset, here for Gustavo Rocque!”

Through her trembling fingers, she was somehow able to pull her badge off and show it to the guards; at least they would know she belonged somewhere in the building.

One of them swiped it out from her hands and held it up to eye level, squinting at the text printed on the plastic card. How long they looked at it she didn’t know, it almost felt like time had slowed down while she anxiously awaited their decision. Her heart was beating out of her chest; there was no one here to vouch for her now and she probably just looked like a crazed fan girl.

“All my stuff is in the control room, I can prove to you that I’m supposed to be here.” Roxy offered, knowing it was a long shot.

“Sure, and let you into the same room as our client? Nice try, it’s time to go.”

She planted her feet at the door, grip tightening on her journal. “Really, I’m supposed to be here! America’s fourth most powerful CEO, Arthur Griffin, is just down the hall if you want to check. I’m not sure he’d appreciate learning you two are harassing one of his favorite employees… But I’d be happy to go get him for you!”

The taller guard of two scratched his chin, turning her words over in his mind. “You know Arthur Griffin?”

Nodding her head slowly, her voice grew more confident. It seemed like her plan was falling into place. Only Arthur Griffin, and maybe the other three most powerful CEOs in America, could gather this type of response. “Yup, he’s right next to us in Studio A.”

“Huh,” The other guard thought aloud. “He’s the CEO of our security company.”

“Met him one time.” The taller one added. “He was pretty terrifying for an old guy.”

“Ooh,” Roxy pretended to wince. “He hates it when people call him old. Hang on let me text him, he’ll be over to see you in a second.”

From her dress pocket, she pulled out her phone and began to draft a text, heading to Kendall, not Griffin, and she read her fake message aloud as she typed up her real one.

“Hey, Mr. Griffin. There are two guys in Studio B trying to remove me from the building, they’re being incredibly hostile and even calling you old! We’d appreciate it if you could meet us-”

The shorter guard waved his hands in an ‘x’ motion. “Woah, hang on, that isn’t necessary.”

“Yeah just go ahead, you don’t need to bother the nice man.” The other chimed in.

Meanwhile, her real texts were sent.

R: Warn your mom and sister Dak has 2 huge terrifying bodyguards pls

R: Managed to outsmart them tho, no need to worry about me

R: Have fun with the shoot, take one puppy pic for meeee

Slipping her phone back into her pocket, she looked up at the two and gave them her best crowd-pleasing smile. “Wonderful! I’m glad this all worked out. Now, if you need me I’ll be doing the vocal recordings for today.”

Before the two had the chance to say anything else, she opened the door to the room that she had been leaning on and slid inside. Keeping her head down, she checked that all of the supplies Gustavo had promised were on the desk in front of the control panel before looking up, through the glass, into the studio dance room.

Almost instantly, her heart skipped a beat as she locked onto the deep, dreamy blue eyes of her favorite teen idol: Dak Zevon. There he was, in the flesh, standing right in front of her, and all she could do was stare.

His wave through the glass was more attention-getting than greeting, but it was a wave nonetheless. “Hey.” The boy mouthed, but there was no mic in the studio so the sound didn’t carry.

This snapped her back into reality. Attentive, she waved back and zoomed through the recording booth and out the door into the studio. Now he stood there, no barriers between them, and waved again.

“Hey,” He tried once more. “Nice to meet you, I’m Dak Zevon.”

The boy held his hand out for a handshake that she returned a bit too quickly.

Private and professional, private and professional.

“The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Zevon. My name is Roxanne Somerset, I’ll be standing in for Mr. Rocque to help you record your vocals today. Thanks for choosing Rocque Records.” She pushed out, not even one stutter, truly more than happy to be helping him out.

He gave her a perfect, pearly white smile. “Well, if I’d known the company had such a cute production assistant I’d probably have urged my manager to pick you guys way sooner. How long have you been working here?”

At the sight of a dimple cutting into his left cheek, her hand flew to the back of her neck to cool down the red shade it was definitely turning. “I’ve been here for about three weeks now. I work with Gustavo Rocque, Kelly Wainwright, and the upcoming band Big Time Rush… Give me just a moment to get the equipment set up and we can start recording.”

“Whatever you need, Miss Somerset.”

She turned away, hoping to save some of her dignity as she began to set up the recording equipment. “Just- Just Roxy is fine.”

Buzz

The sound from her phone caused her to jump, dropping the mic stand she had just picked up. Nervously she laughed, to no one but herself, and pulled out her phone.

K: Mom says they’re trying 2 get an autograph but security wont let them thru

K: Can you let them in

R: NO!

R: Just tell them to wait until the session is over

K: Boo :( no puppy pic for you

K: Here’s what we’re currently in thanks to Griffin

K: Sent a photo

The attached image was her band dressed in brightly colored matador outfits on a backdrop that made it look like they were standing on the moon.

R: Has Marcos taken the pic?

K: Nope

R: Great! Don’t let him! Bye!

Once she was finished setting all of the equipment up, she walked back into the control room to grab the sheet music for the songs that would be produced during the session. Now that there was a mic and headphones set up in the studio, the pair should be able to communicate through the glass - a fact that calmed Roxy down heavily. Though it was still communication, it didn’t feel entirely real. Hopefully, she would be able to maintain her calm and make Gustavo proud.

Then Dak could record all of his music here! Her perfect dream. I’m about to hear him sing… and I get to hear the music from the movie before anyone else! I can’t wait to tell Jo and Camille.

Shrugging on a pair of headphones, she pressed down on the button that would allow two-way speech.

“Alright! It looks like we’re recording 3 songs for the Varsity Vampire 2: Game On soundtrack today, any preference as to what you sing first?”

“Dealer's choice.” His smooth voice flooded through her ears and would’ve probably made her knees buckle had she not already been sitting down. Roxy did her best to look up and meet his eyes, but she couldn’t lift them higher than the blue shirt hidden underneath a casual black blazer.

It hugs his chest so nicely…

“How about we go in order then? The first one is-” Glancing down at the page she noticed all of the song titles were vampire puns like the first movie soundtrack had been. “‘Drive Me Batty!’ Do you need any time to look over the sheet music?”

This was routine, something she had done with her band enough times, and that brought her some comfort. It was a miracle she was so wired into doing this or she probably would’ve made a giant fool of herself in front of Dak. Normally, the guys would take a little extra time to review the song before recording for the first time, but the pop idol just gave her a thumbs up.

Pressing another button on the board, she began to play the karaoke-style track. The lead vocals would be recorded first, then they would worry about the harmonies. From here, Dak took it away.

A nice, tenor voice filled her ears, matching each note perfectly. From the lyrics, it seemed as though this was one of the opening songs being sung to his female counterpart in the movie: a human girl on the cheerleading squad named Scarlett. As she recalled from the first movie, Dak’s character, Kieran, was the star of the basketball team but struggled to find balance between his human and vampire lifestyles. Thankfully, the other members of the team were turned into vampires at the same Halloween party Kieran was, so they worked through their passion for the game, singing, and blood together.

It appeared as though this song was Kieran’s way of letting Scarlett know that even though she drives him batty there are some parts of his life he is unable to share with her. As marked on the sheet the song was written as a duet, but Dak was singing both parts, not that Roxy was complaining.

By the time the 3-minute track had run out, the girl was already giving a few claps in congratulations before naming and labeling the file on the small computer in the studio and looping it around for another try.

“Could I trouble you for some water, Roxy?”

She looked up at him and he gave her another beautiful grin.

“Sure thing, Mr. Zevon! Give me a few minutes, I’ll be right back.”

“Just Dak is perfect.”

Roxy nodded her head, throwing him a thumbs up as she took her headphones off. Before she left, she made sure to hit the track recording again and he began to sing once more as she walked out of the room.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the two bodyguards from earlier scaring off a group of screaming Dak fangirls. The assistant did her best to be quiet as she slipped down a separate hallway and headed towards the studio’s shared kitchen for a few bottles of water.

Maybe I should check on the boys.

It was a fleeting thought, but they would probably appreciate it; she would have to be fast about it. There was no need to keep Dak waiting as she checked on the band she wasn’t even in charge of today.

Making her way to the kitchen, she could hear voices trailing through the hallway since Marcos had left the door open for his photoshoot.

“Giant stuffy puppies for everyone!” He called, and the boys groaned loud enough for her to hear.

Grabbing a few bottles of cold water from the fridge and tucking them under her arm, she took the hallway leading to Studio A and poked her head in the door.

Still in front of the space backdrop, the boys were clad in their hideous matador outfits with the addition of four huge black and white stuffed dogs taking up a large amount of space.

Griffin and Marcos stood next to each other, the latter framing the shot with his hands, “The photo is now bold and cute and cuddly!”

James punched the dog he was holding in the head.

“Uh, uh, no animal abuse on my watch.” The girl called through the door, pointing at the long-haired boy.

He glowered at her, “Traitor!”

The rest of the band chimed in with their own, “Traitor!” in response.

Holding one hand up to block her next move from the adults, she took her other and flipped them off.

“Let’s shoot it!” Griffin declared, breaking up the squabble between the teens.

Marcos lined up to the camera, and the assistant watched in delight as her band gave their most uncomfortable, terrible looks. They were in misery, and after their name-calling, she was impressed by how quickly karma worked her magic.

Slowly, Marcos’ finger descended on the button, “Smile pretty, pretty!”

As it got closer and closer to the time the image would be taken, a barrage of thoughts swarmed Roxy’s mind.

If this photo bombs, we’re headed right back to Minnesota. But how funny do they look! It serves them right, calling me a traitor. No… that’s not fair. I’m supposed to be their assistant and they could surely use some assistance right now. Aw, but they look so cute with the puppies…

“Mr. Griffin, wait!” She called out, seconds before the image was to be taken. “They can’t take that photo.”

He turned to her, eyebrows knitted. “Why not?”

“Because,” She offered with a shrug. “It’s not finished.”

The boys caught on to her scheme, completely relieved and incredibly grateful.

“It is bold,” Kendall began before James added, “And cute and cuddly! But we don’t have… uh.”

While James was lost for words, Carlos yelled, “A snowmobile!”

Roxy’s palm flew to her face, but at least that would keep them occupied for at least an hour while she finished up with Dak. How was Griffin going to find a snowmobile in the middle of Los Angeles?

As she walked back towards Studio B, feeling slightly triumphant, she was too lost in a daydream about replacing Scarlett in Varsity Vampire and getting to star in a movie with Dak Zevon. A hand wrapping around her wrist and pulling her backward into Gustavo’s office was the last thing she needed. The flash of purple was nearly too quick for her to spot, but by the time she had it was too late.

Catching herself from spilling all over the carpet, Roxy grabbed one side of the door frame and peered into the room in front of her before she felt a pull on her wrist once more, dragging her to the middle of the office. Behind her the door was slammed shut, confining her to the small space with the four boys.

“No, no, no, this isn’t happening. Let me go back outside, now.” She told the frontman, trying to push back past him to get to the door.

Just her luck, he remained blocking it until he was sure she wouldn’t leave.

“Rox, we need you right now!” The blond told her, crossing the room and leaning on Gustavo’s desk. “We cannot let Griffin take this photo!”

She rolled her eyes. “I gave you all the tools to at least waste another hour, I thought you guys were good at that.”

“Kudos on the snowmobile idea, Carlos.” Kendall continued, to her point.

“Which is why I’m taking one with me on my desert island!” The light blue matador, Carlos, told the room.

Logan, still ticked by their conversation about the desert island from before, turned to him utterly confused at his lack of critical thinking skills. “A desert island has a tropical climate, professor.”

“Will you just let me have fun on my desert island? It’s mine!”

James decided this was the perfect time to interject his thoughts, pulling a black comb out of his green sleeves. “Well, I’m taking my lucky comb.”

“But you’re alone,” Logan pointed out, “No one’s gonna see your hair.”

The long-haired boy snapped, “Hey! I’m there.”

“Enough about the desert island!” Roxy yelled, her voice cutting off whoever was going to speak next. “If you four don’t come up with a plan in the next 30 seconds I am walking out that door.”

“Yes, right.” Kendall backed her up. “We need to figure out a way to change this photo.”

Logan held his own, orange-sleeved arms out, “From cuddly space matadors to…” He looked around, finding an edition of Pop Tiger and holding out the Dak Zevon fold-out.

Wishing to smack the magazine out of his hands, but choosing not to in case she crinkled Dak’s double-page spread, the assistant growled, “15 seconds.”

“There he is!” A voice cried out from the hall and the Zevon fangirls piled into the room, tackling Logan like they did earlier in the day.

It took everything she had not to burst out of the room while everyone was distracted and head back to her task at hand.

I hope Dak isn’t upset. I've been gone for so long.

After the mob determined it wasn’t Dak, the head girl called them off and they flooded back out into the hallway.

With the magazine lying on the floor, the girl bent down to pick it up. With her hand flat on the pages to not damage any exclusive posters, she squished it into Kendall’s chest. “5 seconds.”

“Um, let’s put this photo away before somebody gets killed.” The blond suggested sheepishly, pulling the image out of the magazine.

Between the five, tensions were running high; a plan needed to be put in motion soon.

“Right.” James paced over to the other side of the room, standing near Roxy and Kendall. “Now, where’s Gustavo, ‘cause he should be saving our photo!”

She pointed one of her fingers towards the door, “Gustavo isn’t coming back, we all saw him get carried away to community service. Like I am about to carry myself away to Studio B.”

“That was weak,” The brunette scoffed. “Serves you right, traitor.”

“I’m literally just doing my job! Big Time Rush aren’t the only musicians working at Rocque Records, so until you start funding my paychecks, I defer to Gustavo.”

“Yeah, but you’re supposed to work for us!” James pointed out. “That’s what Gustavo said at Kendall’s house all those weeks ago, or have you forgotten? You’re supposed to do what we say.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean, James?” She spat out, not even trying to disguise the disdain she felt towards his offensive comment.

It was one thing to poke fun at her, call her a traitor even, but to imply that she had to do every stupid little thing they said like that was her only purpose was just degrading.

“Just because I’m your assistant doesn’t mean you get to treat me like a little puppet. In fact, I think respect is at the top of the list of things I deserve from all of you. I won’t be spoken to like this just because I’m helping someone else.” She looked between the four of them, crossing her arms. “If that's how you all see me, good luck solving this problem on your own.”

With that, she shoved her way between James and Kendall, throwing the door open with her free hand. The other, gripping the still bitterly cold water bottles she had been sent out to get so long ago.

Through the halls, she passed a man who looked an awful lot like Mrs. Knight pushing a tray of catered food but didn’t stop to make too much of it, probably just Dak’s lunch being ordered to the studio.

The security guards who had given her such a fuss earlier made sure to get out of her way as she stormed through the brown double doors into the room where Dak was recording. Skipping the trail through the sound booth, she entered straight into the dance room he was recording in and handed him a few bottles.

“Sorry about the wait.” She gritted out, trying to maintain her composure in an entirely new way than earlier. This time, instead of trying to mask her crush on the teen idol, she was trying to mask how much she wanted to crush James. “‘Drive Me Batty’ should only need one more vocal layer from you before it’s sent to your co-star.”

Avoiding eye contact, she didn’t wait for a thank you before hitting the recording room. Sitting down, she slid her headphones on and sunk into the chair hoping Dak wouldn’t be able to see her over the soundboard on his water break. The conversation with the guys was flying around like a whirlwind in her mind; it was nearly impossible trying to process her emotions while she was still angry.

“Everything alright there?” Dak asked, voice filling her headphones.

The choice of telling the truth was completely out of the question, both professionalism and privacy boundaries would certainly have been crossed, and she wasn’t interested in Gustavo threatening to fire her again.

Roxy sucked in a breath, hoping her voice wouldn’t betray her. “Yes. Looping ‘Drive Me Batty’ around now.”.

If Dak noticed anything in her speech, he would at least have to wait until the song was over to mention it. While he filled in the background vocals, the girl flipped to the next set of sheet music for the second song. Titled “Creatures of the Net”, this one appeared to be a song that the vampire basketball team all sang together about their love for the game and their nocturnal lifestyles. While Dak sang the lead parts, there would be more people singing along with him, lessening the number of times he would be singing this time around.

Though she was doing her best to concentrate on the recordings, the cell phone in her pocket buzzed about a million times.

“Creatures of the Net” was queued in defiance; the longer the music played the longer she could ignore the messages

***

The pair had worked diligently and before they knew it, the songs “Drive Me Batty”, “Creatures of the Net”, and “B Positive” were all recorded and edited to the best of Roxy’s ability. As instructed in the notes, the writer had properly labeled all of the recording files and placed them in the proper folders in the computer system where Gustavo would be able to find them later. She wouldn’t admit it, but the solo recording process was quite tough and it gave her a bit of newfound respect for her boss. How he functioned recording alone since the ‘90s, she would never understand.

Glancing up, she noticed Dak was typing something on his phone. In order to get his attention the girl pressed on the microphone button on the soundboard.

“Great work today, Dak. It looks like your agency has rented out Studio B for a few more sessions this week. Is there anything I can do to make your next visit better?”

The teen idol raised his head, “Maybe. When else do you work this week?”

Private and professional, Roxy reminded herself. He just thinks I’m a good worker. Right?

“I’m at the mercy of Mr. Rocque and Big Time Rush, unfortunately. My schedule isn’t definitive.”

The thought of the Big Time Idiots clouded her happiness momentarily.

His long fingers tapped at his chin as if the boy was in deep thought. “I’ll have my assistant email Gustavo and let him know I’d like you to be there next time.”

Before she said anything stupid, she shot him a grin and pulled off her headphones. Once Dak went back to his phone, she crouched down below the soundboard and let out an excited, fangirl-esque scream. It was one thing to just meet Dak Zevon, but getting to hear the new soundtrack for Varsity Vampire 2 and having Dak practically flirt with her was going to make her head explode.

After a few deep breaths, she made her way through the glass door into the recording room to put away the equipment her client was using.

Quickly, Dak slid off his pair of headphones and handed them to her. When she reached for it, their fingers brushed for a second, sending a shock down her spine.

“Thanks.” She squeaked, avoiding his gaze and grabbing the mic stand to place in the closet in the back of the room.

Buzz buzz

Walking away, she ignored the sound of her phone going off and placed everything away, just how Gustavo liked it. One less thing for her to get yelled at about in the long run. Silently she hoped that he wouldn’t blame her for the band’s photo situation.

Buzz buzz

Once more, she headed for the spot Dak was standing to discuss any last-minute questions or concerns before his recording session was over.

“Phew,” The boy whistled at the end of her ringtone, “Miss Popularity over here.”

A frown graced her features for a moment as she thought of all the messages the guys might be sending her right now.

Roxy brushed his comments off, “I’m having a little spat with the band. Their messages probably aren’t the kindest right now.”

“No kidding?” Said Dak. “If you want to shoot some messages back I won’t tell Mr. Boss Man you’re on your phone during work hours. Besides, I heard there's a pack of my fangirls out front. I’m not too keen on leaving anytime soon.”

He chuckled, giving Roxy a chance to laugh as well. Those girls seemed to be no joke.

Pulling out her phone, she noticed a barrage of notifications from 2 new group chats she had been added to while she was focused on recording.

K: ROX!! COME BACK WE NEED YOU AND WE’RE SORRY

L: ^^ You’ve been so helpful and patient and kind to us these last few weeks

C: We cant do this without you! Help!

J: Sorry :(

R: Almost done recording, be there soon

Their “apologies” would be fine for now; she didn’t wait for their response as checked the second group chat. This one contained both Camille and Jo.

C: heard someone at my audition today say dak zevon was @ rr today

J: Can you confirm or deny

R: Confirm

J: ????????

C: did you meet him??????

R: :)

C: FULL DETAILS WHEN YOU GET HOME

R: You got it.

R: I’ll tell you now though, he’s better than any guy I’ve ever met

“No hate mail,” Roxy thought aloud as she sent her last message, smiling a bit as she entertained the idea of asking the idol for his number. That was neither private nor professional, but she couldn’t ignore the flustered sensation rising and falling in her chest with every breath as she stood in the same room with him. “It was better than I was expecting.”

Dak took a step toward her, “You know, I know a thing or two about the industry if you’re looking for some tips. Maybe we could discuss it over dinner sometime?”

BOOM

Following the loud noise from across the room, Roxy whipped her head towards the sound, watching as the recording room door opened and flooded with a small army of Dak fangirls. It was a terrifying sight to behold behind the glass; she didn’t even have time to process what the boy had just said to her.

“Oh, my God, Dak!” She cried, pulling on the black blazer he wore in an attempt to get him out of their line of sight. “Towards the back of the room!”

The two ran to the back wall, squishing themselves flat against it in an attempt to place as much distance between themselves and the screaming teens as possible.

“It’s gonna be alright.” Reassured Roxy, though she was terrified at what the mob might do to Dak if they got their hands on him. “We’ll find a way out of this.”

Creek

To the left of her leg, a silver, metal grate popped off the wall revealing the familiar face of Katie Knight. Despite the young girl’s diminutive size, the duct seemed to be big enough for the two teenagers to squeeze through as well.

Roxy gave a small wave, which the preteen ignored as she turned to face Dak.

“Hi, I’m Katie.” She said, cool as a cucumber.

The boy looked to the songwriter and then down to Katie, practically petrified. “I’m Dak.”

“Come with me if you want to live. I guess you can come too, Roxy.”

Though he was incredibly unsure of the young girl’s methods, Dak placed a gentle hand on Roxy’s arm guiding her to the grate. As she ducked down, she felt his hand brush the top of her head, protecting her from accidentally bumping into the metal as she crawled in. After her, Dak was soon to follow, pulling the grate closed behind them.

From the room, Roxy could hear the screaming grow louder as the ground began to shake in the wake of the running teens.

“Find Dak!” One of them cried, commanding the other girls to turn around and exit the studio.

The three crawled through the ducts, glad to be anywhere but close to the mob.

In front of Roxy, Katie turned her head backward. “Everyone good back there?”

“Oh, sure,” Dak breathed behind her. “Can’t complain about the view, I suppose.”

The writer’s eyes grew wide, meeting Katie’s for a moment as the young girl stuck her tongue out in silent disgust before turning back and marching on. For the time being, Roxy was rendered speechless, only able to absentmindedly crawl after her little friend.

He’s sweet… he’s caring… he’s hot… and he doesn’t think I’m a pushover.

Maybe Dak did like her.

A few moments later, Katie had led the others to a different grate and punched it open. The group popped out, taking a brief moment to collect and dust themselves off after crawling on their hands and knees for so long. When the girl looked around, she recognized that they were in Gustavo’s office.

Before she could get a word in, Big Time Rush dressed in top-half normal clothes and bottom-half matador garb burst into the room with orange jumpsuit-clad Gustavo and Kelly in tow.

“Roxy! Perfect timing!” Logan complimented, hurriedly flicking on a handful of desk lights.

Kendall grabbed her attention, “Catch!” and he threw a black DSLR camera her way which she barely managed to receive. In addition, he pulled down the white movie screen behind their boss’s desk.

James, sounding reluctant, asked her, “Can you shoot it from the waist up, uh, please?”

The girl nodded and once the boys placed themselves in front of the backdrop she imitated what Marcos had said earlier, “Smile pretty, pretty!” as her finger landed on the shutter-release button.

Click

“Ugh!” The band cried as Kelly took the camera out of the girl’s hands. Easily, the woman ejected the SD card and passed it off to a small man on a motorized bike with a red cross-body bag waiting outside the door. He must have been the secret messenger Kelly had mentioned on the drive over.

Tipping his helmet, the man congratulated the group in an old-style Transatlantic accent, “See you in Pop Tiger, boys!”

People in this town are so strange.

From behind her, a hand snuck onto her hip, pulling her back into the teen idol’s chest.

“Nice one.” He whispered to her as his hand lingered, drumming against the fabric of her dress a few times.

“I don’t know what happened here today,” Gustavo grouched, swiveling his hips to see everybody standing in his office, “But maybe we should leave the dawgs, and Roxanne, alone more often.”

Katie took the following silence after the man’s statement to finally announce her exciting news. “Look who I found today!”

Dak finally let the assistant go, raising his arms in a shrugging motion to the group. “I think she just saved my life.”

Roxy watched with joy as he pulled the little fangirl into a hug, making sure to snap a quick picture to send to Mrs. Knight.

“Oh!” The actor snapped his fingers and turned to the assistant once more. “May I?”

He held out his hand, and Roxy didn’t catch his drift at first but soon understood as he reached for the phone clutched into her hand. Time for her stood still as with each press of a button, a small beep let out. Ten beeps for a ten-digit phone number.

With a wink, he handed it back. “Call me later, okay?”

“It’s Dak Zevon!” Katie cheered, causing a negative chorus from the band.

In an instant, the room was full of screaming teen girls - the Dak Attack squad. Big Time Rush blocked their view of the actual idol and was mown down by the group, giving Dak enough time to escape through the air ducts once more, Katie in tow to show him the way.

***

“Hm,” Camille wondered aloud, turning to the group of Palm Wood’s residents behind her at the pool - holding up the magazine that boasted the band’s double-page spread poster. After a recounting of the day’s events, Roxy and her band were sat on the lounge chairs, soaking up the sun, as she slowly nursed them back to health. The encounter with the fan girls had been no joke. “Who knew such a simple picture could bring you so close to death?”

After the Pop Tiger messenger dropped off the image at the headquarters, he biked all the way back to Rocque Records to give the band an advance copy of the next month’s issue. They had all been dumped on the eager assistant, who kept two for herself and had already hung up her desired posters, then handed out the rest among the hotel’s residents. The picture had turned out great, it was almost impossible to imagine the crazy story behind it.

“But it was totally worth it.” James cooed, cradling his neck brace.

Carlos held a steak up to his bruised black eye. “‘Cause we’re going to be on the walls of millions of girls.”

“All over the country.” Winced Logan, raising his arms in victory despite both of them being in slings.

Camille let out a small laugh, looking over to the assistant who was holding a smoothie up for Kendall to sip out of, “Of course you are.”

“Because,” Roxy giggled along, “Dak Zevon is on the other side!”

The band didn’t have enough energy to process what the two meant but groaned nonetheless. It was seeming as though the day’s misfortune only kept growing.

From the lobby emerged Jo, who managed to catch the last few lines of the story.

“Speaking of…” The actress trailed off, joining Roxy at Kendall’s side. “You’ve got a lot to tell us, don’t you? Come on!”

With no chance to protest, Jo and Camille grabbed each of her arms and began to pull her away from their wounded friends. James let out a noise that sounded like a “no!” but they were too far gone to check on him, not that the assistant wanted to anyway. His comments from earlier cut deep and she certainly wasn’t ready to forgive him even with his text apology. She even had half a mind to delete it, text apologies don’t even count, but decided to save it as evidence that the wannabe can care about others sometimes.

The other two girls were excitedly chatting in her ears, busy asking what seemed to be a million questions a minute. In only a few moments, they had arrived in Jo’s bedroom, door closed, ready to relay their information from the day.

“Stop, stop!” Roxy giggled, sitting at the edge of the blonde’s bed. “I’ll answer your questions but the two of you need to tell me about your auditions first.”

Camille rolled her eyes, sitting down as well. “Fine! I tried out for the role of an upcoming high fantasy elf movie called Fayeth the Brave. Thought I was a shoo-in for the part but I guess the casting agents didn’t like that I brought an actual bow and arrow to the audition and shot arrows with my resume and headshots at them.”

“And I,” Began Jo, flopping backward on the bed beside her friends. “Totally blew a laxative commercial. I know it’s nearly impossible to land one of the first roles I try out for, but it would be nice to have a little bit of beginner's luck.”

“Aw.” Roxy patted her shoulder, “You’ll get the next one, for sure. Something way better than a laxative commercial. Maybe an eczema cream commercial?”

The ravenette jumped in, “Remember that one that showed in between the Vampire Diaries these last few weeks? That girl just got a major part in an upcoming hospital drama.”

Each of the girls had discovered their shared love for supernatural teen shows as they were helping Jo move in and had made a point to find one to watch together each week.

“Oh, that reminds me, there's a new episode tonight. Sleepover?” Jo offered. “Maybe we’ll catch the commercial for good luck.”

Though Roxy had work in the morning, it was the weekend and she was in desperate need of some girl time. They hadn’t even talked about what happened today with the guys, and the assistant couldn’t wait to spill.

Her “Sounds good.” overlapped with Camille’s enthusiastic “Yeah!”

The two actresses now shifted to face their friend. It seemed it was her turn to share about her day.

“So…” Camille started. “I’m going to need every ounce of information about your meeting with Dak Zevon today.”

The writer grinned, “Okay, so. Gustavo and Kelly got arrested in the morning…”

Roxy explained everything she could remember with as much accuracy as possible and the girls hung onto her every word. While Camille was getting more and more used to meeting celebrities, Jo and Roxy were still new to the Los Angeles experience, but the three of them were so starstruck in the moment they felt like normal teenage girls discussing Dak’s latest news. Some of the comments she had made to Dak made her cringe looking back, it was embarrassing she was so nervous to meet him, yet it had all paid off at the end of the day.

Pulling out her phone, she opened her camera roll and tapped on the most recent photo. “Kendall’s little sister saved us from a screaming fangirl mob, something the boys left out of their story earlier.”

The image was passed around, the girls squealing in jealousy.

“Also, after I took the picture…” Camille handed her phone back and Roxy popped open her contacts. “He gave me his phone number and told me to call him later! He even put a little heart next to his name! God, he is just so romantic like that.”

“Shut up…” Jo trailed off, too shocked to formulate the rest of her thoughts into words.

Camille’s jaw dropped. “What did you talk about on your call?”

It took her a moment to process the question, blinking a few times as she drew a blank. She hadn’t called him, what would they even talk about? Maybe she could tell him about the new song she was writing if she ever managed to formulate any ideas for the next BTR hit. Would it be okay to talk about his movie? Or-

“You didn’t call him!” The blonde cried, pointing an accusatory finger at her friend.

Holding her hands up, Roxy defended herself. “I’ve been so busy passing out the magazines and taking care of the guys I guess I kind of… forgot.”

Without another word, Camille swiped her phone out of her hands, startling her. With two taps, the actress pressed the dial button and placed the call on speakerphone.

“Good luck!” She smiled.

“Shit! Camille! What am I supposed to-”

“Hello?”

The sound through the speakers nearly made her stomach leap into her throat.

“Hey,” Roxy breathed, shakily. “It’s Roxanne Somerset, from Rocque Records.”

Jo and Camille bit back laughter at her formal introduction causing her to place her hand over the speaker and shush them.

“Roxy!” He sounded enthused. “I was beginning to think you would never call.”

She looked from girl to girl. How do I respond to that?

“Oh?” The writer settled on. “Sorry for keeping you, I had some magazines to distribute and boys to look after since your fan army took them out.”

He whistled into the receiver, “Boy, am I jealous.”

Why she felt the need to apologize, she didn’t know, but brushed it off with a laugh. Across from her Jo and Camille were whispering among themselves, being very careful about the sound of their voices carrying.

“Anyway, it sounds like it all worked out with the band. You seemed pretty upset with them earlier.”

That was the truth, more or less. “Uh, well. I’m waiting for an in-person apology, maybe some flowers or chocolates, general sorry guy stuff.”

“Remind me to pick some up the next time I see you.”

Looking down at her crossed legs, she felt her eyes widen. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

There was a pause on the other end.

“I’m sorry you have to deal with unappreciative jerks. New guys in Hollywood are always the worst.”

“Wow,” she mouthed, glancing over to her friends. She jokingly fanned herself with her free hand. “No worries, it’s new territory for all of us.”

“Fair enough.”

Neither of them knew what to say after that trail of conversation came to an end. Panicked, Roxy looked over to her friends, Camille was typing something on her phone in a hurry before holding it up to display the message.

ask when u 2 can hang

She held up her index finger and pulled it away, amending her previous statement.

OUTSIDE OF WORK

“Oh,” The writer coughed, unsure of how to blend that into their current topic. It was hard to follow his offer to bring her flowers and chocolates. “So, um, I was thinking- Well, wondering really, if your dinner invitation was still on the table? We got kinda… interrupted earlier. I promise Katie won’t be materializing out of thin air to follow us. Um, but she does live next door to me so she might-”

“Of course, the offer is still on the table. I’m pretty free this week aside from my sessions at Rocque Records. Just text me when you’re available, okay?”

Absentmindedly, her fingers reached into her long strands of hair to twirl one around her finger. Her reply was bubbly, almost hidden away in the giggle she was having trouble containing. “...Okay!”

The mattress bounced as Jo and Camille jumped up, a silent victory dance for the first of them to officially date in Hollywood.

“Great, I’ll see you then.” She could practically hear his lips forming into his perfect, pretty smile. “Goodnight, Roxanne.”

With a click, the line went dead.

Clutching her phone in her hand, it trembled slightly. Did that just happen?

“So…” She thought aloud, hopping off the bed to join the other two. “I have a date with Dak Zevon!”

Their screams could probably be heard throughout the entire building, but they didn’t care. They jumped around, yelling about this and that; what she should wear, what they could talk about, how she should star in the next Varsity Vampire sequel. It was an excellent feeling, one she was glad to share with her friends.

Eventually, they collapsed onto Jo’s bed, panting in an attempt to catch their breath.

“Now we need to get Camille on a date with Logan,” Roxy commented, pinching the lovesick girl on the side.

The actress swatted her hand away, “Easier said than done, I’ve been dropping hints that I like him for days now. He can be so clueless sometimes.”

“What hints?” Jo asked, feigning ignorance. “Making out with him in the lobby should be enough of a hint!”

Roxanne recalled the messages Camille had sent her the day that happened and the ones Logan had sent as well. It was only a matter of time before the actress and singer got together - Logan just had to get his feelings straight.

“Well, I think this calls for celebration.” The writer stated. “I’ve got some ice cream in my apartment, want to sleep there? Maybe we can get the guys to watch Vampire Diaries. I tricked them into watching Twilight when I told them it was about a war. There's action in that show, sometimes.”

It was so natural, so easy, for Roxy to try and include the band in anything she wanted to do. Their company was enjoyable, and she always had fun after hanging out with them both inside and outside of work. Even as the words left her lips she cringed a bit, still upset at what they had said to her earlier, but hoped her invitation could be the start of making amends.

Eagerly, Jo grabbed her pillow and a change of clothes, “Let’s go!”

At the elevator, Roxy and Jo went separate ways from Camille who had to grab some stuff from her apartment upstairs.

“I’m kind of worried about hanging out with the guys, to be honest.” Jo confided in her friend. “They all just… threw themselves at me last time we spoke. It was pretty scary.”

Roxy grabbed her hand, swinging it back and forth as they walked to the west wing. “We don’t have to invite them, it was just a suggestion. They just don’t know how to act sometimes.”

The blonde shook her head. “If you want them to be there, I can deal.”

“Jo, I would never knowingly put you in a situation that would make you uncomfortable.”

“Maybe, you can talk to them beforehand?”

The songwriter nodded, “Of course! And if any of them bother you, let me know and I’ll send their asses flying out the door.”

The girls laughed as Roxy opened the door to her apartment. “Make yourself at home in my room, the bathroom is in there, too if you need it. Oh! And everything in the fridge is free game. I’ll be right back.”

Jo made her way to Roxy’s room as the girl unlocked the door connecting her apartment to the band’s. At the end of the hallway, she found the four on the other end playing Mario Kart on the Wii. From the looks of it, Carlos, playing as Bowser, was in the lead on the final lap. Close behind him was Kendall, King Boo. Then came Rosalina, played by James, with Mario, Logan, in last place.

Once the race finished, she coughed into her hand and the four turned their heads to face their assistant.

“Jo, Camille, and I have graciously decided to invite you to our sleepover. On one condition that is.”

The four looked between themselves, seemingly stunned. James was the first to nod, the others following suit. “What condition?” He asked.

She placed her hands on her hips, “Last time the four of you interacted with Jo, you scared the shit out of her. No fighting over her, no inappropriate comments towards her, and no singing my unfinished songs to her. Any of that and I’ll throw you out myself. Got it?”

Each of them nodded.

“I need verbal confirmation,” Roxy demanded.

“Yes…” They all mumbled, walking out of the living room to grab what they needed in their rooms.

We’re gonna have so much fun.

Eventually, the seven had congregated in Roxy’s kitchen enjoying the chocolate chip ice cream she had stashed away in her freezer. The silence, for her at least, was comfortable as they all munched away.

“So…” Kendall said, “Thanks for the invitation, ladies. Any special occasion?”

Camille nodded as she took in a spoonful. “Yup,” She mumbled before swallowing. “Roxy scored a date with Dak Zevon.”

James dropped his spoon, the metal clattering on the table and then the silence came back, this time extremely uncomfortable.

“And… We’ve got a new show we think you’ll just love.” The writer piped up to break some of the tension. “More action stuff.”

Logan blinked a few times, sneaking a glance over to Camille who was already staring at him. He let out a cough. “When’s the big day?”

Camille smiled, “Whenever she’s free next. Speaking of, Logan, when are you free this week?”

The boy coughed again and Roxy swore she could catch his cheeks turning a light shade of pink before Carlos cut in.

“That’s so awesome! I loved him in 16 Once More. Such a good movie.”

Jo’s eyes lit up, “Carlos! I love that movie too!”

Roxanne quickly waved her hand in front of her face, “It’s not a big deal, it’s just a date. But anyway, it’s almost 8, how about we head to the TV?”

From beside her, Camille clapped her hands, “Yes, I’ve been waiting all week for this, I can’t wait to see what Elena is up to…”

Hello! Beta reader message from previous chapters still applies :)

Thanks for reading, everyone's support is much appreciated!

#big time rush #btr #james diamond #james maslow #kendall knight #kendall schmidt #logan mitchell #logan henderson #carlos garcia #carlos penavega #thats all she wrote fic

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