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myloveforhergoeson · 10 months

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That's All She Wrote - Chapter 14

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Show: Big Time Rush

Pairing: James Diamond x Original Female Character

Chapter 14: Broken Strings/No Strings Attached (1.14) ~ 13k

As soon as the school bell rang, signaling the end of the Palm Woods School final exam, Roxy was more than happy to pack her items up and get ready to bolt out the door. Summer was finally upon them, meaning she had more time than ever to sit down and focus on her songwriting. With only a few months until Big Time Rush’s first album came out, there was no time to spare to try and squeeze in a few more hits.

Miss Collins stood at the front of the classroom, smiling down at her students as she waved her hands toward the class. “Okay, everyone, pencils down. Pass your finals forward, and I’ll see you all at tonight’s end-of-year Palm Woods School party!”

This fact caused the girl to lend an ear to the conversation, pausing her packing, supposing she could take one night off in order to let loose and celebrate her hard work. Now that a few months had passed in Los Angeles, and the five had gotten to know their classmates better, the promise of a party with them sounded extra intriguing; seeing everyone in one place outside of the classroom might give them time to form even better connections.

However, as Roxy and the band met this news with a grin, they looked around in confusion as the rest of the class let out exasperated groans at their teacher's comment.

“Wow,” Logan scoffed from the row of tightly packed desks in front of his assistant, turning to Camille beside him. “Everyone seems really not excited.”

The ravenette shook her head, trying to act as though she was just into the party like her crush was even if she had joined in on the groan-fest. “No! It’s really great, we get cupcakes, punch, and entertainment…” Her smile faded. “By Bitters.”

Well if the entertainment is the issue… Roxy threw her eraser across Jo’s desk to her right, hitting Kendall in the arm to get his attention. Leaning behind her friend’s blonde waves, she spoke directly to the frontman “Tell Miss C. Big Time Rush can be the entertainment this year. You four need stage practice.”

Nodding, the singer turned her suggestion over before confidently raising his hand. “Miss Collins? Don’t you think we could do something remotely cool for our end-of-the-year school party?”

It seemed as though he had heard Logan and Camille’s conversation as well.

“Like a dance!” James lit up next to the front man.

A chorus of “Ooh’s” erupted in the classroom. That boy sure knew how to command a crowd.

Logan snapped his fingers, pointing at the wannabe in agreement, using his suggestion to voice his own as he nervously glanced at the girl beside him. “With slow dances.”

“And dates to slow dance with!” Chimed in Carlos, already turning to face the row behind him to wiggle his brows at all three Jennifers and the new ghost-girl, Stephanie King.

Raising her hand as well, the assistant offered, “With a live performance from Big Time Rush.”

Nodding in agreement as they took the information in, the class seemed entirely on board with this idea, everyone turned to their teacher to gain her approval for their party.

“Well, we’ve never had a school dance before, because we’re really just one small classroom, but if a certain band and their songwriter-assistant want to be the new school dance committee, that sounds great!” The woman grinned, before turning gravely serious and crossing her arms. “So you need to find a theme, snacks, decorations, chaperones, and we have no money, no place to have it, and since today’s the last day of school, we need to have it tonight.”

No problem. Roxy thought, writing everything her teacher had mentioned down in a neat checklist so nothing would be forgotten. She had even begun jotting down loose ideas for themes before Kendall grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out of the classroom with the rest of the band, heading into the lobby to finalize their plans.

“Okay!” He called, everyone circling up around him, eager and bright-eyed at the prospect of having a party in less than seven hours. “The theme of our dance is…”

His assistant cut him off, listing off her choices before anyone could get their word in, “A Night in Paris, Enchanted Forest, Carnevale, Disco Fever-”

“No!” He stopped her, the boys joining in as if they had somehow rehearsed their next statement. “Move our butts, ‘cause we gotta do this fast!”

Idiots.

With her ideas going ignored, Roxy left the band to their own devices as they squabbled out plans with each other. Walking towards the staircase, she noticed Jo, Camille, and Stephanie sitting in one of the lounge areas of the lobby. The three were giggling at something Jo had said as she lazily glanced over to Kendall.

“Hey, Roxy!” Camille greeted, curls bouncing as she turned her head in the assistant’s direction. “Jo was just telling us about her dreamy fantasy where Kendall asks her to be his girlfriend!”

Taking a seat on the arm of Jo’s chair, the assistant poked her friend on the shoulder, “I think he might be a little too involved in the planning process to think of that at the moment”

Across the way, Stephanie shifted in her seat, anxiously running her fingers through her brown locks. “Do you think you’re going to ask anyone to the dance?”

“Oh. Um,” The writer looked towards Jo and Camille for a bit of help. After last week’s ordeal with Dak, the pair were having trouble working through the logistics of the fight they had; her friends had been such troopers as the girl did her best to work through her relationship troubles.

She and Dak had called a few times since to try and talk it out, but he was unrelenting in believing Roxy was spending too much time with the band. It was getting exhausting having to remind him it was literally her job to look after them and on top of that, they were her friends. She wasn’t interested in giving up four of her most important friendships simply because the guy she was kind of into didn’t like it. Though she recognized that he was more than welcome to have his own feelings about her personal life, he had no right to tell her who she could or couldn’t be friends with, nor was it fair for him to assume she would comply with his every controlling action. Dak wasn’t even her boyfriend; his behavior was more than a little concerning, yet she still found herself drawn toward him. The only reason she had been picking up his calls anymore were hopeful attempts to smooth everything out and get things back to the way they used to be.

Poor Camille and Jo had near daily updates as the girl needed a safe space to vent - lucky for her, her friends lived for the drama.

Finally able to formulate a reply, Roxy sighed. “Not anyone from the class.”

“Speaking of,” Jo quickly changed the subject before any more questions could be asked. “Here comes Kendall. I think he’s gonna ask me to the dance.”

Slowly, the frontman sauntered over to where the girls were sitting with the other three band members in tow. “Jo! Hey, I need to ask you something.”

From her chair, the actress flashed him a pearly, white smile, batting her eyes as she looked up at her crush.

“Could you go to the convenience store and get them to donate some snackage for the dance?”

Jo’s smile faltered for a second before he was able to detect a hint of change on her face. “Oh, sure, Kendall.” Unsure of what to say next, the blonde turned back to her friends in confusion. Roxy swirled her finger in the air, attempting to make a “help him get there” gesture. “Is… that the only thing you wanted to ask me?”

“Oh, no, um…” He brought his hands to his face as a thought connected, covering his mouth as if it was stupid he had forgotten. “Could you get some pop too?”

By this point, Jo was done trying to contain her frustration, mumbling “Sure,” before getting up and storming off towards the staircase.

The writer shot him a death glare, but the blond didn’t seem to notice as James moved on to the next stage in their plan, “Now we need a dance location!”

Jo’s friends turned to each other now that the conversation had turned, an unspoken connection the pair understood as Camille ran after the hurt girl and Roxy trailed after the boys in order to call a car service to take them to Rocque Records and ask Gustavo to host the dance. While they were still tossing ideas around as to where they thought the dance should be held, their assistant was many steps ahead of them. At the very least, this meant the assistant didn’t need to be a part of the conversation with Bitters in which the band tried to get the venue at the Palm Woods conference center.

How could they have not known the Hot Doctors Convention was in town?

Soon after the hotel manager had turned them down, and the band decided not to rent a warehouse in L.A.’s murder district, Kendall finally had the bright idea to ask their boss even if it took longer than the writer had anticipated. With a smile, Roxy was more than happy to escort the band into the car already idling at the curb outside the hotel to take them to Rocque Records. The sooner the planning was over with, the sooner she could go dress shopping.

Once they arrived, the guys wasted no time bolting down the hallway, Roxy doing her best to keep up with them as they entered their producer’s office.

Sitting at his desk was Gustavo, with Kelly overlooking something he had been working on over his shoulder.

“Gustavo, we were wondering,” Kendall began before the other three joined in a chorus of: “Can we have a school dance here tonight?”

A hello would’ve been nice.

Anticipating a classic Gustavo scream, the band covered their ears in hopes of staving off hearing damage. Normally, Roxy would join in but she felt she and Gustavo would be on the same wavelength about the dance - it was a perfect opportunity for some live practice; a win-win situation for everyone involved.

“Sure.” He said calmly, not even looking up from whatever he and the talent scout had been examining.

All members of BTR started shouting at once, not even registering the fact he had agreed to their request. Clearing her throat, Roxy gave them a chance to evaluate what they had actually heard, not what they thought they would hear.

Sensing this as well, Gustavo looked up from the computer and dramatically rolled his eyes, sighing before saying, “You can have your dance at my studio on one condition. You must sing tonight onstage in front of everyone.”

Yes! The girl allowed herself a silent victory dance at the back of the room.

“We need to start getting you guys some stage practice!” Kelly joined in.

“And since you will be terrible tonight, at least the audience won’t boo and throw bottles at you.”

Raising her hand, Roxy politely added, “I’m more than willing to boo and throw bottles at them for dodging practice.”

The producer cocked his head, looking at her funny. “You’ll be up on stage with them, Roxanne. Have we got a deal?”

“Deal!” Big Time Rush agreed, with little regard for the flash of panic that raced through their assistant.

“Mr. Rocque, they’re in the band, not me.” She said, moving past the moments of noisy celebration, jerking her thumb towards the four boys beside her.

Shrugging, the man shuffled a few of the papers on his desk around. “They sound better when you play along with them. It’s a stupid morale thing or whatever.”

“Now, let’s hit the studio and rehearse a dance!” Kelly suggested before Roxy could protest anymore.

At her statement, James clapped, “We need to find dates? Got it.”

In an instant, the four boys busted out of the office, presumably to make their way back home to the Palm Woods to figure out the night’s date situation.

“Well, now’s probably a good time to show you my new song, Mr. Rocque.”

***

After finishing up “Stuck”, Gustavo allowed Roxy some time away from party planning to go dress shopping while he called the famous choreographer Mr. X to work out a dance routine for tonight’s performance.

As she hailed a cab on Hollywood Boulevard to take her to Rodeo Drive, Los Angeles’ most famous and expensive shopping district, she got a text from Kendall.

K: Think Kelly + Gustavo count as chaperones?

R: I’m not with them anymore, should’ve asked sooner

R: Thought dates were more important?

Roxy didn’t want to tell him outright he needed to invite Jo, that was certainly a conclusion the boy needed to come to all on his own, but hoped that he had noticed how upset his crush was earlier and would want to remedy the situation.

K: For some of us more than others

K: You gonna invite Dak?

R: Not sure. still upset with him

R: I don’t want to be with someone who’s rude to my friends

R: Jealousy is sooo unattractive

K: Lol

Yikes. That was a bit serious.

R: Whoops, meant to send that to jo n camille ;P

R: See you back at the PW

The ride quickly came to an end, dropping Roxy right in the heart of the high-end fashion center. Standing on the edge of the street, the girl took in the designer shops all around her and mentally prepared herself to spend at least all of her last two paychecks. Her week had been incredibly stressful and there was nothing like retail therapy to fill the movie star-sized hole in her heart.

Not even checking the name of the store she walked into first, the girl giggled as two handsome men in black, well-fitting suits opened the door for her.

“Welcome, Miss,” The one on the right said, a gentle smile resting on his chiseled face.

From the left, the other doorman crossed his arm in front of his chest with a slight nod, “Let us know if we can be of any assistance.”

Pretending as though she was picking up the delicate edges of a large, dressy skirt in her hands, she dipped into a slight curtsey, “Thank you, gentleman.”

Oh yeah, She thought. I could get used to this.

Once inside the store, the writer ignored the stale, stuffy atmosphere as a faint tune of classical music filled the space. The pure white walls were carved into beautiful faux columns and allowed the colorful merchandise to pop right out of their displays.

Marveling at the beautiful clothing items that surrounded her, Roxy came to the realization she had given no prior thought to just what she wanted for a dress. It was a school dance after all. No need to get too fancy or out of the box; something simple and fun would do for the night. There was only one person she was dressing for tonight - herself.

Footsteps clacked on the marbled flooring as she walked the incredible length of the entire store, passing by many people who were much wealthier than she was. Though, it was a bit hard to ignore their snobbish stares as she began to examine a garment, check the price tag, and immediately place it back on the rack. She had been prepared to spend a nice chunk of change, but not that much.

Too long, too short, too transparent… Reaching out to touch the tulle-looking fabric on one of the dress skirts, she caught herself before completing the action, feeling a pair of unwelcome eyes raking over her body. One of the saleswomen on the other side of the floor loudly and obnoxiously cleared her throat before stepping up to the assistant.

“Might I recommend an item from our winter collection? It might… better suit your needs.” She asked, looking down on the girl from the monstrous hight her heels gave her.

More like suit my price range Roxy bit her cheek, noticing a severe lack of price tags on the items in this section of the store she had meandered into. No way I’m wearing something from last year.

Blinking a few times, the writer smiled, noticing the woman’s name tag read Millicent. “No, thank you. I’m more than happy to browse by myself.”

“All shoppers here need a personal liaison with them at all times. You can’t get any of the merchandise otherwise.” Millicent continued smiling, but her eyes conveyed a hint of annoyance.

“The guys at the door didn’t mention that. I’ve been doing just fine the last half hour I’ve been in here.”

Millicent dropped her smile, “Listen, kid. If you’re not going to buy anything you need to leave. We only take serious customers here and don’t waste our time on broke wannabe actresses like you. We’ve got an important client coming in and they need their privacy. Come on.”

“What?” Flew out of Roxy’s mouth, unable to filter her next words as they continued pouring out. “I’m a paying customer, just like everybody else. You can’t just tell me I need to leave because an ‘important client’ is coming.”

“I’m not going to tell you again: Get lost.” The woman made herself clear before grabbing the assistant’s arm and dragging her toward the storefront. Red, pointy nails poked into her skin as Roxy dug her heels into the hard ground, not at all understanding the woman’s unkind attitude or why she needed to leave before glancing around and noticing there weren’t any other shoppers in the store anymore. A million scenarios ran through her mind as she scanned through every single one that might help get this woman’s hands off of her and give her the ability to walk out of the store with some semblance of dignity.

What would the boys do? Racking her brain more and more to try and understand what she had done to cause a situation like this to occur, she came to her conclusion. Lie.

A wicked grin shot across the girl’s face as she very obviously pulled out her cell phone in front of the sales attendant, trying to ignore the feelings of the acrylics nailing her upper arm. “I don’t think my boyfriend, Dak Zevon, would enjoy learning that one of the employees at his favorite store was harassing his girlfriend as she was trying to buy something nice for their date tonight.”

“Do you think I’m that stupid? I can’t tell you how many girls have tried that one out on me.” Millicent deadpanned, continuing to try and drag the girl out of the store. Roxy hadn’t even realized how far into the place she had gotten, it was practically a labyrinth at this point.

Just as the girl opened her mouth to spit some nasty words at the woman, a voice coming from one of the other rooms cut her off.

“Well, I’d certainly hope it wasn’t too many. There’s only so much of me to go ‘round.” Stopping in her tracks, the writer turn to face the sound; she’d know that voice anywhere. “Roxy, baby, is this lady bothering you?”

You’ve got to be kidding me. Of course, she would happen to walk into the one store in all of Hollywood Dak Zevon happened to decide to shop in that afternoon. Sauntering over to the two women, Dak flashed a dazzling smile toward the sales associate. Stay calm, stay calm.

The look that formed on Milicent’s face made Roxy wish she had a camera to record her jaw hitting the floor. As Dak wrapped an arm around the girl’s waist, pulling her out of the woman’s tight grasp, she glanced up at him while faking a pout and giving a slight nod.

Looking on at the “couple” now standing in front of her, the saleswoman began to vigorously shake her head. “I had no idea that this… girl… was your guest Mr. Zevon. I was only trying to improve your shopping experience by removing any other patrons from the store. My boss didn’t tell me you had anyone coming with you, I swear!”

Waving his hand in front of his face, the actor indicated the mix-up was no big deal. “I’ll be sure to make a note of it next time I come in. In the meantime, mind helping my girl here find the perfect dress for our date tonight?”

Without another word, Milicent sprinted out of the room to make a collection of items to show the teens leaving the pair alone and in person for the first time since their ordeal the previous week. It was safe to say Roxy was thoroughly embarrassed Dak had caught her in her lie, yet found it very charming he swooped in to rescue her at the hands of the evil retail worker. All of her negative feelings towards him seemed to disappear as he pulled her tighter into his embrace.

“Ugh,” He sighed, squeezing her into his chest so hard she could barely breathe. “I’m so sorry about everything that’s happened this past week. It’s been hard getting time away from set to come over and tell you that in person.”

“It’s fine.” Lied the writer, supposing in the grand scheme of things there could have been a far worse outcome to their disagreement. Relationships were all about compromise anyway.

At her words, a look of relief washed over his face; Maybe he was more shaken up about their fight than she had thought. Over the phone, he had been practically unrelenting about her relationship with the guys, but maybe all he needed was to see her alone to remember how special she was to him.

How romantic… For a hypothetical situation I just made up.

Quietly, Dak lead the writer over to a small, white sofa towards the back of the room as they waited for Milicent to come back with her selections. After a silent minute he poked her in the side, waggling his eyebrows, “Wanna tell me where we’re going tonight?”

Blinking a few times, Roxy had almost forgotten the entire reason that got her into this mess in the first place.

“My school is having an end-of-the-year get-together dancy thingy, so I figured I’d splurge on a nice outfit to celebrate the hard work I’ve done these past few months in L.A.” She shared, before casting her gaze from his clear blue eyes to the marbled flooring. “Sorry for telling the lady we were together, she just freaked me out and I figured if I used your name she might leave me alone. If it bothers you, I won’t do it again.”

“I like the sound of that a lot, Roxanne Somerset - my girlfriend!”

Just as she opened her mouth to respond, though her heart pounded so loud in her ears she feared she may not be able to form a coherent thought, Milicent returned to the room with a whole rolling rack of beautiful gowns. It was a strange experience, having someone bringing the clothes to her instead of roaming the racks looking for something to her liking. If that was one of the perks of being with Dak, Roxy supposed it was something she could quickly get used to.

Ignoring the fact that each article of clothing was probably more expensive than her entire wardrobe combined, she carefully scanned the rack for something that caught her eye while Dak scrolled through his socials on the couch. Anything too flashy was out, so no excessive sparkles or shine, and there was no need for a long skirt or train, eliminating half the dresses she had been shown.

It wasn’t until she pulled the last dress off the rack and held it up to her body in the mirror did she feel a connection to anything. A simple, dark green coctail dress with poofy, transparent sleeves shouldn’t have stood out to her so much, but when she glanced behind her own image in the reflection, she saw Dak completely dazed as he looked up at her.

While the dress looked as if it would be slightly form-fitting, Roxy decided even if it wasn’t her style at least someone thought she would look beautiful in it.

Dak… My boyfriend… My first boyfriend. She thought as her eyes flickered to the dress and back to him in the mirror a few times. It wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot.

Milicent, who hadn’t spoken since she had brought the items out, gently took the dress from the girl and looked over Roxy’s shoulder toward the movie star. “Would you like me to package this up and charge it to your account, Mr. Zevon?”

Nodding, Dak stood up, “That would be great! Can you add a pair of matching heels, too?”

The two began to discuss other accessories to accompany the dress as well, talking through Roxy as if she wasn’t even there - as if she wasn’t able to dress herself for a nice occasion. While she was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, this entire interaction was making her incredibly uncomfortable, watching from the background as they went back and forth, deciding to add on matching jewelry and mentioned collaborating with the shop next door to find the ideal makeup products for a full glam look.

“Woah, woah, woah!” The writer interrupted, waving her hands around in an attempt to capture Dak’s attention. “As kind as that is, just the dress is fine. It’s just a school dance so there’s no need to pull out all the stops.”

Now, she turned to the sales associate, “And please just ring it up for me, I’ll pay for it myself.”

Dak cocked his head, “Are you sure, babe? It’s no problem. I don’t want you to feel underdressed on our big day.”

Glancing down at her current outfit, some dusty old flats, a pair of black leggings, and a blue tank top, Roxy shifted awkwardly. From the eyes of the shopping assistant, no wonder Milicent had tried to kick the writer out for looking like she was taking a quick trip to the grocery store - not dropping more than two paychecks worth of money at a high-end retailer. Besides, how would she look next to him tonight, their first official date as a couple, in his expertly tailored expensive clothing and her in her thrifted heels and costume jewelry?

Biting the inside of her cheek, she sighed. “You’re right. Just get whatever you think would best match what you’re wearing, please.”

***

Though Roxy nearly passed out once she saw the final total at the register, she mustered up enough strength to help Dak carry the heavy boxes to the trunk of his silver Camero. Even after he graciously paid for her shopping trip, he had insisted on driving her home while promising the Palm Woods was on the way to his next destination.

The entire ride to the hotel, he held her hand excitedly as he chattered about how eager he was for the dance and how he couldn’t wait for her to wear the things he had picked out.

Dropping her off at her building, he pressed a quick peck on her lips as she reminded him of the time and place of the dance before he sped off to destinations unknown.

It was a struggle to get all of the items into her apartment, hauling multiple boxes and trying to keep the dress from hitting the floor, but eventually, she was able to trudge up the stairs and unlock the door to 2-H before collapsing onto her couch. Of course, she made sure she texted Dak with the information about tonight just in case he hadn’t heard her a few minutes ago. He didn’t have the best track record when it came to arriving on time.

Just the thought of Dak should have sent her into a fit of butterflies and giggles, considering she had just accidentally found herself in a relationship with one of the hottest actors in Hollywood, but as she looked over the boxes toppled over her carpet, a pang of guilt wrought her stomach. She had been so happy to see him after their week of fighting, they hadn’t actually ended up fixing the problem that was threatening to almost tear them apart. The way her brain turned to mush in his presence upset her beyond words, thinking she was better than the cliche feelings she read about in her silly romance novels, and though she was thrilled by the thought of being in a relationship, she was still worried about how he’d react to seeing the band again tonight - considering the last time they had interacted, he had chosen to blow up on her, not them.

Should I warn him they’re going to be there? Or should I warn them he’s going to be there?

It was a feeling she hated, and a choice she certainly didn’t want to make, but she swiped away a few app notifications on her homescreen, noticing a few messages she hadn't realized she had received. The first were a set from her group chat with Camille and Jo.

C: logan just asked me to the dance in such a lame way

C: turned him down and told him it needed to be more memorable

C: and with no help from james!

J: Lucky! I can’t even get Kendall to ask me…

J: I really thought we had something good going :(

R: I'll shake him down for u

R: Andd camille you should've just said yes

R: u know it must’ve been hard for him to ask

C: why would it have been hard

C: im delightful and very approachable

J: lol

Thinking about sharing her good news, the writer began to type out her message before a message from Kendall popped up.

K: SOS need you in 2-J now!

That one message was more than enough to get the girl hopping up off her couch and through the door that connected their apartments, completely forgetting about what she wanted to tell her friends. Please be about plans to ask Jo to the dance…

When she reached the living room, Roxy found herself mixed up in a conversation between the Knight siblings and their mother. Mama Knight was clutching a romance novel to her cheek, pointing towards the handsome model on the cover before she threw it into her son’s hands who promptly passed it to his assistant like it was contaminated with some dangerous disease.

Before Roxy could get the gist of the conversation, Mrs. Knight headed towards her bedroom as the brother and sister looked at each other with a wry smile.

“How long do you think it’ll take you to track Mr. Love-Of-My-Mom’s-Life down?” Kendall asked, turning towards his assistant and pointing to the cover of the book she peered down on.

“From Here to the Wind…” The writer mused, flipping through the pages as a few words caught her eye. “Wow… Your mom likes some really steamy stuff.”

Covering Katie’s ears with his hands, Kendall audibly gagged.

Thumbing back towards the first few pages, Roxy quickly found the name of the publishing house before passing the book off to the young girl. “Call this number here, tell them Rocque Records is looking to book the model Fabio for a video shoot because, you,” She turned and pointed a set of finger guns at the frontman, “have more important things to attend to.”

“What could be more important than finding my mom a date for the dance?” He scoffed, clapping her on the shoulder as he and Katie left the apartment in search of the beautiful man. “Thanks for your help!”

Why even ask for it if you don’t need it? She silently asked herself as she set off in search of one of her other friends. Best bet being the pool, the girl texted Jo as she walked, mildly paying attention to the events occurring around her.

R: Have you thought about asking Kendall to the dance

J: Doesn’t that kind of dance have a specific name

R: I think so

R: But lucky you! you’re talking to someone on the dance committee

J: Maybe the two of us should go together

J: Forget about stupid boys for a little while

Just as she was typing a message back, something flew into the side of her head with a whack, nearly sending her tumbling into the pool. A flash of red hit the ground in front of her, and through a newly formed throbbing headache paired with blurring vision she picked it up and determined it to be a frisbee with “Will you go to the dance with me?” written on the back.

Examining her surroundings once her bearings were back, Roxy spotted Camille headed her direction from the other side of the pool carrying a small mountain of scripts, a handful of teenagers relaxing in the sweet summer sun, and James and Logan attempting to hide behind a plant fixture to her left. Based on how they were trying to duck under the shrubbery, it was safe to assume they were the ones who had tossed it.

“Sorry, boys,” She smiled, waving the disc in her hand before tossing it back in their direction. “I’m already spoken for.”

Neither one of them had even processed what their assistant had said before James was directing Logan to throw the frisbee at a rapidly-approaching Camille. The nervous boy’s shoulders tensed as he reared his hand back, shut his eyes, and tossed the flying disc once more.

Roxy didn’t even have time to warn her friend the object was coming before it smacked the actress in the arm, sending her scripts flying out of her hands and every which way over the pool deck. However, the scripts were the least of their worries as they watched in shock as Camille lost her balance and tumbled into the pool on her left.

Turning to face the boys, the writer sighed. “Just ask her out like a normal person. No schemes, no tricks, and no James helping you!”

Logan shook his head, “Come on! It’s not that easy.”

“It’ll be easier than explaining to Camille why you pushed her into the pool hours before one of the biggest nights of her life. Now go help her!”

***

J: Kendall did have something important to ask me…

J: To help make a theme banner and decorate the studio!

R: Don’t worry!

R: Sent a photo

R: I’m at RR doing that now

C: logan surprised me at the park w a bouquet of flowers

C: before yelling “go away” at me four times

R: It’s still going to be a great night, dates or not

Roxy knew better than to get her expensive new dress anywhere close to wet paint and bleeding markers, but the decorations she and Kelly had been putting up around the studio were nearly complete. On top of bringing food and drink, curating the perfect dance playlist, keeping up with Jo and Camille, and practicing the song the band was performing tonight on the guitar, the last few hours had been very stressful for the assistant.

It had been a good idea to bring her dance outfit and change in the costuming department of Rocque Records - it gave her some alone time to mentally prepare herself for what was coming. School dances had never been a source of fun for her, but she was hoping that tonight would change that. A lengthy hair and make-up session while digging through the boxes of costume jewelry in the accessories section of the floor brought her great joy while music from her iPod flooded her headphones.

While out shopping earlier, Dak had tacked on a large statement necklace to go along with the dress that Roxy couldn’t admit she didn’t care for. The blue and silver accents on the chunky accessory didn’t go along with the gold jewelry she was already planning on wearing, and she found a few other, simpler, pieces to compliment her look just as time trickled down closer to the beginning of the dance.

Miss Collins was the first to arrive in order to scope out the venue, which she was pleased to find was expertly decorated and was free of Magician Bitters as entertainment. Following was Big Time Rush, carrying some kind of costume in a large black bag. When Roxy questioned them, they didn’t give her many details, and they were soon free from her line of questioning as Jo, Camille, and Stephanie arrived soon after - still wildly unamused with Kendall and Logan.

Quickly, the assistant finished setting up small round tables in the lounge area of Rocque Records and set out the extra snacks and sodas Jo had picked up from the corner store as the rest of their class began trickling in.

Once Miss. Collins spotted everyone, she beamed, glancing over the party venue. “Okay, class! Welcome to the first ever Palm Woods School Move Your Butt Dance!”

Pressing play on the surround sound speaker system, Roxy let out a chuckle as dance music began to blast through the lounge and the class burst into cheers. Though she had been annoyed that the boys had blown off her theme plans earlier in the day, she figured they would appreciate what she had landed on - it had been their idea after all.

Just where are they anyway? Roxy thought, looking around the room unable to find the band. A survey of the room told her Jo, Stephanie, and Camille were wondering the same thing. All dateless at the beginning of the party.

Pushing the thought out of her head, she grabbed a bottle of Peppy Cola and pushed through the crowd to her girlfriends. With a wave of her hand, Roxy pulled them to the side of the long hallway, planning to ask the trio to dance with her as Brown Haired Jennifer sauntered down the aisle in a gorgeous royal blue dress, date in hand. A date who looked an awful lot like Carlos in a blond wig and sunglasses.

“Oh, Olaf, you’re so famous, and my date tonight!”

Exchanging worried glances, the girls nervously laughed as the pair pushed past them. In a terrible Swedish accent, Olaf responded, “Ja, Jennifer. Olaf will meet you on the dance floor.”

Without another word, Olaf let Jennifer go and sped off down the hall in search of something unknown.

Roxy took a sip of her soda, eyeing the hallway in hopes Dak would make his way over to her any minute. It was imperative she got to him before he spotted the band; she had been so busy setting up the party she had forgot to mention they would also be attending tonight

“You three look so beautiful!” Stephanie complimented, holding up her cell phone camera. The black and pink polka dot dress and matching pink trim looked gorgeous on her. “Let’s take a few pictures before it gets crazy in here.”

Click click click

Camera shutter ringing in her ears, the writer put on her best fake smile and did her best to pretend everything was going alright. She hoped Jo and Camille didn’t feel this way either, though she noticed her friend’s heads didn’t seem to be in it as they absentmindedly searched the crowd, no doubt searching for their crushes.

After a few more shutter sounds, the four opened Stephanie’s camera roll and anxiously fawned over the photos, pretending everything was alright, before picking out the best ones to send in their group chat.

“Yeah, Jennifer!” Someone called out from down the hall, a Jamaican accent echoing out this time and capturing the attention of most dance-goers. “I’m not just a soccer king, but I am your date, mon.”

Blonde Jennifer laughed, clutching the arm of a man in dreadlocks and a soccer uniform. The vibrant pink of her dress stood out against the greens and yellows of the uniform. Oddly enough, her date also resembled Carlos.

The assistant made a mental note to discuss the dangers and insensitivity of racial stereotypes with him later.

“What the…” Stephanie muttered, passing her plate over to Roxy before walking over and confronting the singer. “Carlos?”

“Yeah?” He answered eagerly, earning a smack on the arm and a disapproving look from Blonde Jennifer before busting out the Swedish accent again. “Oh, no, I’m Olaf!”

Smack

“No! I’m Ronaldolo.”

The horror director placed a hand on her hip, cocking her head to the side in disbelief. As she was about to say something a loud “Ahem!” came from down the hall.

There stood Curly Hair Jennifer, a maroon dress hugging her sides as her arms crossed. Strutting down the hall towards them, her brows were furrowed in anger causing the soccer king to run off and emerge a few seconds later in the same outfit he had entered in earlier.

“I mean, Marcello.” Carlos corrected, waving his hand to his poor Italian accent.

By now, the entire lounge was watching their exchange; Brown Haired Jennifer ran a hand through her locks.

“That’s Olaf.” She told her friend with the bouncing curls. “You’re dating Marcello.”

A sly smirk appeared on the actress’ face, toying with the red bow under her bust. “I’m dumping Marcello. He’s stupid.”

Out of all the things tonight, this was what Carlos ended up taking offense to. “Marcello’s not stupid-”

“Actually, Olaf dumped you for me.” Blonde Jennifer stated, linking her arm tighter around Carlos’.

“He’s mine!”

A small fight broke out between the three Jennifers as they all tried to tug the boy closer to them. Distracted by the drama, the dancing of the Palm Woods students had all but stopped, allowing Roxy to make her way to Stephanie, friends in tow.

“Now’s your chance!” Roxy whispered to her friend, giving her a slight nudge in the right direction.

Camille nodded, “Saving him is so romantic…”

“At least one of us might get to dance tonight,” Jo rolled her eyes as the fighting continued.

Stephanie took a few deep breaths, balling her fists into the hem of her skirt as she watched the exchange. Then, she reached out in front of her and snatched the ugly wig off the boy’s head, stopping the skirmish all together.

“Carlos?” She sighed, gingerly smiling at the boy in front of her. “Do you want to dance?”

Taking the sunglasses of his costume off, Carlos glanced between the three Jennifers before turning back to face to Stephanie.

“Carlos… would love to dance.” He said smoothly, taking her hand and moving towards the open floor before pausing and turning back to the three baffled girls. “And, ladies… Marcello und Olaf and Ronaldaldo have left the building. And how hot is Stephanie?! Whoo!”

Watching her friend blush sent waves of excitement through Roxy, she’d be sure to get a few pictures of them dancing to share with the director later. The pair looked so cute together, arm in arm, as they made their way to the refreshment table towards the back of the room.

Though the writer was elated, when she turned to her friends, it was clear they did not share the same sentiment.

Jo took a long sip of her Mist Twist. “Well, Stephanie got a date to the dance and I can’t believe Kendall didn’t ask me.”

Her blonde waves bounced as she took a few steps closer to the back of the room, projected lights highlighting her beautiful black floral dress.

Picking at a few salted crackers on her plate, Camille moved to join Jo, “Logan tried asking me, again, but he’s really terrible at it. I told him I didn’t need a knight in shining armor or anything, just something simple-”

Trumpet fanfare from the hallway caused heads to turn, everyone going wide-eyed at the sight of Logan - dressed in full knight regalia - trotting down the long hallway on a costumed horse.

“So that’s where they’ve been…” Roxy trailed off, poking Jo in the arm to let her know Kendall was probably with his friend as they made their way closer.

She, too, was stunned, “Is that Logan… on a horse?”

A few more clip-clops and one neigh later, Logan appeared in front of Camille, who was having trouble continuing the smile that spread across her face.

“Hello, Milady.” The knight drawled, bowing his head towards the actress. “Would you like to accompany me to the dance?”

The ravenette rocked on her heels, lips pressed together as the corners turned upwards.

“Say yes!” Two voices, Kendall and James, called from under the singer.

Roxy took the plate out of her friend’s hand, stacking it on the other one she was holding for Stephanie as Camille bounced up and down, “Heck yeah, I will!”

A look of relief washed over Logan as he took his date’s hand and pulled her up onto the back of the horse. Gently, she wrapped her arms around him as he dug his heels into the horse’s backside. “Onward, trusty steed!”

Someone screamed at the contact, but the horse still managed to get to the back of the room as the student body burst into applause. All, except Jo, who was gripping her cup so tightly the assistant feared it might break. Roxy wanted to crush her in a hug also but wanted to make sure she snapped plenty of images of Logan and Camille riding off together to remember the night by.

A few moments later, Mr. X appeared from the dance hall of Studio A, announcing the dance floor was open. Even louder music pumped through the speakers as students hurriedly made their way into the new space, effectively clearing out the lounge except for the two girls.

Glancing back towards the dance hall, Roxy noticed Kendall, dressed as the bottom half of a horse, making his way over to the pair. Taking her friend’s hand and gently squeezing it, the assistant took that as her cue to head over to the refreshment table so the two could speak in private. Or what would be private, if the frontman wasn’t having to speak so loud over the music.

“Hey,” He called out to Jo as the writer took her time plating some cheese and crackers. “What are you doing out here?”

“Hey?” Jo questioned. “You can’t just waltz in here, dressed all half-horsey, and say, ‘Let’s dance.’ I’ve been waiting all day for you to ask me to be your date, and you never did!”

Roxy silently winced against her cup as Kendall scoffed. “Seriously? I just thought we were kind of, you know, together.

The whole tone of the conversation shifted.

“Really?” Jo gasped, eyes flashing over to her friend across the room. “You… thought we were together? Like together, together.”

Nodding, Kendall eased into a grin. “Yeah. Is that okay?”

Jo didn’t hesitate, “It’s great!... Let’s go dance.”

Taking Jo’s hand, her boyfriend pressed a light kiss to the back of it. Roxy didn’t mean to look as though she were staring at their personal moment, but she thought she saw some movement in the hallway behind them.

“Um, Kendall.” The tone of her voice came out more alarmed than she had wanted as she watched a Dak Zevon-shaped figure make its way down the hall. “We’ve got to go perform. Come on!”

Not thinking twice, she moved as fast as her heels could carry her, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the dance hall as he quickly shed the bottom half of his costume. She wanted to race out of the building if her friends would let her, yet at the same time, she wanted to slow down and adequately process why she was actively running away from the person she had been waiting to see all night.

Having a boyfriend shouldn’t be this stressful.

Thankfully, the other boys were already setting up the equipment necessary for the performance of “Stuck” for their class. Roxy didn’t waste any time admiring the beautifully decorated stage Gustavo and Kelly had set up as she ran into the recording booth to grab her acoustic guitar and a small stool to sit on while the boys performed. Their classmates had eagerly gathered around the stage, Jo, Camille, and Stephanie had even managed to wedge their way right up front, gingerly leaning on the elevated floor their friends would soon be occupying.

Plugging in her guitar, Roxy waited for the boys to give her a thumbs up before counting off and silently prayed the puffy sleeves of her dress wouldn’t affect her ability to play, “1… 2… 1, 2, 3, 4.”

“There are so many things that I never ever get to say…”

Writing songs had its perks, like it was virtually impossible for Roxy to mess up her chords as she nervously strummed along to the beat since she had already spent hours trying to find the perfect melody. Eyeing the crowd through the bright lights shining down on the band was tough, but she was able to spot Kelly and Gustavo back towards the door, Katie pushing her way towards Mrs. Knight in the back, and finally, Dak leaning against the wall in the corner of the room. If he caught her looking, he didn’t acknowledge it, just simply bobbing his head along to the beat of the song. Picking up on the tempo, the Palm Woods School students began clapping their hands and moving to the rhythm, internalizing the lyrics.

Big Time Rush sounded great, not even missing a beat as they broke into their dance routine once the chorus hit. Their bosses slowly nodded their heads, approving of the performance so far, as the choreographer, Mr. X, stood next to them copying the routine he had expertly crafted.

During the writing process, Roxy had heard “Stuck” no less than one hundred times, but something about it now felt different as the sound of her guitar reverberated against her chest. The song was raw, vulnerable, and more open about her feelings for another person than she had ever admitted in her life, but now as the words came out of her friends’ mouths they sounded wrong.

This song was about her struggles communicating her feelings towards Dak, a factor that had caused strain on their relationship multiple times. First, his wild accusations that Logan was into her on their first date, then standing her up at the house party, and lashing out at her for her close friendship with her band… Sure, he had shown her kindness as well throughout the two months they’d known each other, but it hurt her beyond words that he had trouble trusting her. Even more so, she was disappointed in herself for not recognizing this earlier and allowing herself to become distracted by frivolous and expensive apology gifts.

A career at Rocque Records meant everything to her; her band meant everything to her. Both of those things were far too important to lose.

“Roxy,” James called out, though he had to speak almost directly in her ear to be heard over the music, holding his microphone out to the side so no one could hear. “Come dance with us.”

Now, her thoughts were thoroughly interrupted with a volt shooting down her spine as the boy pulled her out of her chair.

It was one thing that she couldn’t dance in the first place, but now she stood with her guitar strapped around her shoulder making movement even more difficult. That paired with the fact everyone had noticed James’ actions, including Dak in the back of the room as he noticeably raised his brows as she moved to stand by her friends.

At least the song was coming to a close, so she wouldn’t mess up the band’s routine as she swayed back and forth to the beat, copying the long-haired boy’s footwork towards the middle of the stage. Her favorite part of Mr. X’s choreography was the end, where the four pointed both fingers high up in the air, then down towards the audience, so as the song came to an end, she matched their movements before she made her way to the other side of the stage to set her guitar down.

Once the music stopped, the crowd burst into a chorus of cheering and Roxy felt herself get swept up in a large group hug with the proud, albeit sweaty, band members. They had finally nailed their first professional performance in front of a live audience. The feeling was exhilarating, causing her heart to swell as her chest heaved in an attempt to suppress the nerves she had during the performance. A sensation she didn’t even have time to process as she worried about how her boyfriend would perceive the song.

Wait a minute, she looked over Logan’s shoulder as he held her and noticed Dak wasn’t in the same spot he had been standing in for the performance and from a quick scan over the crowd, it didn’t look like he had joined the mass of people. From the other times he had come to visit her, she had gathered that he wasn’t a large-crowd kind of guy, but her gut twisted at the thought of him walking out during the performance. Maybe he hadn’t taken to the song like she thought he would.

Eventually, the guys let her go and the playlist of dance music that had been on before their performance began to blast out of the speakers once more. The lights illuminating the stage dimmed, and Roxy took that as her cue to put her guitar away and leave the stage in search of Dak.

Since he had only visited Rocque Records a few times to record vocals for Varsity Vampire 2: Game On, there were likely a few places he could be: the lounge or Studio B.

Heels clicking on the floor outside the dance hall, she didn’t spot him anywhere near the lounge and once she had gotten close to Studio B, she remembered her boss had locked it in order to keep any daring teens from getting in and messing with his expensive equipment. She wasn’t really in the mood for a game of hide and seek, making her way back to the dance hall, and brought out her phone to call him as a hand caught her wrist and tugged her into Gustavo’s office.

Her first instinct was to call out for her band, seeing as this was the kind of shenanigan they’d usually pull to get her attention, but as she slowly adjusted to her new surroundings, she realized the small, quiet room was the perfect hiding spot for her anti-social partner.

And there he stood in front of her, hand covering his mouth as he looked her up and down, admiring the way she looked in the outfit he had helped put together. It was a bit awkward, so she focused on the live clip of E! News that was playing on her boss’ computer. He must’ve forgotten to turn it off before he went out to watch the band’s performance.

“God, Roxy,” Dak breathed, reaching out to cup her cheek. “You look beautiful.”

Shuffling her feet, she glanced down at the floor, “Thanks… You don’t look too bad yourself.”

He had traded his casual look from the store earlier for a nice pair of black slacks paired with a blue collared shirt. A blue she soon realized was the same color as the jewelry she had omitted to wear tonight.

Meeting her compliment with a slow, sweet kiss, Roxy found herself falling into his embrace as the music from the other room, though muffled, flooded through the walls. Of course, she wanted to bring him out into the dance hall, and introduce him to Camille, Stephanie, and Jo, but once he slowly started swaying to the music she had quickly forgotten about everyone else in the building.

Mush, She thought. He turns me to mush.

“I really liked your song,” He started, one hand brushing down the length of her hair she had straightened for the party. “Was that one you or Gustavo wrote?”

Shifting her hands around the back of his neck, she pulled away from his shoulder to peer into his clear blue eyes. “I wrote it,” she said, before quickly adding, “About you.”

This fact seemed to surprise him and she watched his eyes widen as his grip around her waist tightened.

Ignoring the slight increase in her heartbeat, she spoke again. “Speaking of Gustavo, though, we should probably get out of here before he catches us. Besides, I want to introduce you to my best friends.”

“Five more minutes,” He murmured with a wry smile, bending down to kiss her again. “Like that line in your song.”

“That it’s worth every minute that it takes, just wait and see…” She recited, pulling away from him to do a little spin while holding his hand. Carefully, he repositioned her so she was facing toward the door and she noticed that he was scanning the room behind them, causing her to pull away a bit, “Is everything okay?”

Blinking a few times, he looked back up at her and sighed. “You're not wearing the necklace I bought you. I thought you’d look pretty in it.”

Roxy felt her heart drop into her stomach.

“Oh, I-”

Her apology was interrupted as the door to the office burst open, revealing a frazzled James slamming the door and locking it behind him, slowly sinking down into a sitting position with his head in his hands. He was breathing heavily, as if he had just run a marathon, and Roxy heard a large amount of heeled feet dash by the office.

The boy hadn’t even realized the couple were in the room until he ran a hand through his hair, sweeping it out of his eyes, noticing them standing before him.

“Fucking hell,” Dak swore under his breath as James waved his hands in front of him in defense.

“Just give me a minute and I’ll be out of here,” the singer begged, a hint of urgency in his tone. “Pretend I’m not even here and go back to… whatever it was you were doing.”

His presence didn’t bother Roxy, but she felt Dak shift beside her and hold her a bit closer. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this.”

James rolled his eyes, making it obvious he was ignoring Dak’s statement, before looking towards his assistant. “Before I forget, great job on stage tonight. Thanks for writing us such a great song.”

Roxy opened her mouth to respond, but she was quickly cut off by her date.

“She didn’t write it for you.”

“Dak, stop,” Roxy followed, looking over to James and attempting to apologize with her eyes. The last thing she wanted was a repeat of their previous, disastrous date. “Let’s go dance with everyone else, please.”

“Sure, babe,” His hold on her waist tightened, again, hurting her a bit this time. “After you tell him you didn’t write the song for him.”

“Come on, that's not what he said. Please, can we go?” She tugged on his collar trying to lead him towards the door, but her boyfriend remained rooted in place. “It’ll be more fun dancing out there.”

Taking in her words, Dak scoffed and pulled his hands off her body. When she normally would’ve protested his actions, this time, it felt like a relief. “Seriously? It’s not that big of a deal. Just say it.”

James stood up, confusion crossing his face as he decided if this was a conversation he should be a part of or not. As Roxy faltered, his attention flipped to Gustavo’s computer.

“Fine.” She huffed, crossing her arms as a bout of anger threatened to spill over. “I wrote the song for you, not for Big Time Rush. Happy?”

Dak’s entire demeanor changed once he realized what James was paying attention to and quickly tried to usher his date out of the room. “Yes, thanks, baby. Let’s go.”

There was only one flaw in his plan, James was blocking the door to the hall and wasn’t budging even as the two reached him.

“Roxy-” The band member started, looking towards the back of the room before Dak swiftly cut him off.

“Move.”

Glancing between the boys, Roxy felt her chest tighten at the thought of an altercation between the two. She cared about the both of them so much, it hurt her to see them fighting. “James, please. We just want to dance.”

The wannabe ignored the both of them, attention still fixated on the back of the room.

It wasn’t until Dak stepped in front of her and attempted to shove James out of the way, Roxy was able to turn and see what was bothering him so much.

On the computer screen, a clip from a Varsity Vampire press panel was playing, showing Dak and his costar Victoria Hodgkiss side by side as they answered questions about the upcoming film. He was wearing the same outfit now as he was in the conference, signaling the reason for his late arrival. Before Dak realized she was watching the clip, he told James to move one more time.

“Dude,” He scoffed, looking down on the movie star. “It’s over.”

Roxy continued to watch, so confused as to why James was so enamored with it, as the video showed Dak leaning over and placing his arm around Victoria as they exited the studio, before cupping her cheek and giving her a slow, sweet kiss. Or it would’ve been a sweet kiss if the watchful eyes of E! News hadn’t caught the pair with one of their hidden cameras. The room was silent as the clip played a few more times, with the rolling headline “LOVE IS IN THE AIR: DAK AND VICTORIA’S SECRET RELATIONSHIP EXPOSED.”

Staring as it played, Roxy felt her heart slowly pull itself apart, and all she could do was stand there and watch as it rolled. Her boyfriend, caught on tape kissing his co-star, when all this time he had been the one accusing her of having too close of a relationship with her band. No wonder he had been so possessive of her, he was too busy deflecting his own actions.

At some point, Dak had begun saying something to her, but she was too far gone to register his words, stumbling towards Gustavo’s desk to turn the stupid thing off as it played more and more clips over the course of the pair’s relationship. A picture of them at a club three months ago, one of them sharing an ice cream cone in Griffith Park - Dak in the same outfit he had worn on their first date - and of course the image from today once more. Reaching for the mouse, she noticed how badly her hands were shaking, so much so she couldn’t even correctly click the button to close out of the webpage.

All her anxiety, all her sadness, all her excuses for her poor behavior hadn’t been for nothing. He’d been intentionally causing her pain since the day they met and she had been stupid enough to ignore her all her instincts, all the signs he had given her, and that utterly broke her.

The clip played a few more times until finally, James moved from his spot in front of the door and slid in behind the desk beside her, and turned it off.

Dak was still speaking, standing across the desk from her but all of his words seemed to blend together into a garbled amalgamation she couldn’t understand as her attention turned from the computer to him. With each sound he made, his hands flew wildly in the air, pointing from the computer screen, to her, to James, then clenching fingers so hard his knuckles turned white.

Roxy tried to listen, but the pain exploding in her chest was growing too large to bear.

At some point, James started talking back, arguing with the movie star about something, anything, that had happened during the course of the two months she had been involved with him.

Thoughts swirled through her brain, to cry, to scream, to run out of the room and all the way back to the Palm Woods, all culminating into one clear thought she was finally able to understand:

I need my songbook.

Then, she snapped back into reality to find Dak lunging across the table at James. Fortunately, her words caught the movie star off guard, stopping him inches away from grabbing the singer’s collar.

“Dak, consider your contract with Rocque Records terminated. We’ve decided to go in a different direction at this time… Recording movie soundtracks is a bit below us.”

He flinched, a look of confusion crossing his features, open palm growing suspiciously closer to the wannabe’s face. “Roxy, E! just twisted some old footage-”

“Someone will drop off the demos we already have recorded to Colossal Studios.”

“You’ve got to believe me, she means nothing to me.”

The last thing she expected herself to do was laugh, but a few waves rolled out of her at his comment. “Clearly, neither of us mean anything to you. Do you want me to send the dress and things back to you or…?”

“Babe, chill, let’s talk this out- I can get us a nice reservation at Chez Fancee-”

“We’re done, Dak. Get out of here before I call security and make you.”

Once the words left her lips, the air in the room changed.

“Seriously, Roxy? Come on. Can’t you see that this band is tearing us apart?”

The assistant scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “The only thing this band has done is show me what a terrible person you are. I’ve constantly made excuses for your poor behavior because I thought you were a nice, genuine guy. Standing me up, to go on dates with another girl no less, picking fights with my friends and-” Her eyes widened as a realization dawned on her, “And you never wanted to be seen with me in front of my friends in case word got back to Victoria.”

“God, woman, will you just listen to me? What is it you want to keep your stupid mouth shut? Money, exposure? Clearly, not jewelry since you didn’t wear what I already bought - because this band can’t give it to you-”

“What I want,” She paused, allowing time for her words to fully sink in. “Is for you to get the hell out of here so I can head to the studio and write one of the best break-up songs anyone’s ever heard.”

“I-I’ll sue you. And this whole company! Just watch, your career will be finished!”

The girl didn’t have any time before the door was bust down for the second time that night, now revealing Kendall, Carlos, and Logan, fingers curled into tight fists. When James had called them, she hadn’t noticed, but she was incredibly thankful for his actions, giving him a slight nod as he moved to join his bandmates by the door. It was better knowing she didn’t have to face him alone.

There was nothing else for her ex-boyfriend to do but let out a growl of frustration before heading toward the doorway.

“I heard Minnesota girls were supposed to be easy… A girl like you isn’t worth all the fuss.” Now that his true colors had been exposed, he turned to the row of boys by the door, sneering in their direction. “Enjoy my sloppy seconds.”

Milliseconds passed before a crack! resounded through the room, Dak letting out a cry of pain, doubling over as his hands flew to his face. As he inched closer to the door, muffling his groans, she saw Logan’s eyes narrowed in pain, clutching his right knuckles in his left palm.

“You really need to get the fuck out of here, man. James, Kendall, and Carlos won’t be as kind as I am.”

Another groan from the pop star, “What the hell?”, and the boys moved away from the door, forming a makeshift barrier between their assistant and her ex.

“Hey, Dak?” Roxy called out, as he finally stepped over the door frame. When he managed to meet her gaze over Carlos’ shoulder, she smiled at the dark colored bruise already forming around the outside of his right eye, giving him a small wave. “You’re not worth the fuss either.”

***

It took 15 minutes for Roxy to talk her friends down.

Big Time Rush spoke in graphic detail about all the ways they could destroy the movie star, seemingly forgetting all about the wonderful dates they had waiting for them in the room across the hall. After stealing an ice pack from the kitchen fridge and handing it to Logan, she assured them that she would be fine, she just needed a bit of time before she headed back out to join their class on the dance floor.

She was able to shake Kendall, Logan, and Carlos after giving each a bone-crushing hug and thanking them for being there for her when she needed it, apologizing for Dak’s awful behavior towards them. Then, when they still wouldn’t leave, she threatened to call Jo, Camille, and Stephanie to have them personally collect their companions.

Now, after stealing the keys from their boss’ desk, Roxy and James sat silently together in Studio B. She had tried to shake him too, but he shared with her the reason he had been running around Rocque Records in the first place - in trying to get Logan to ask Camille to the dance he had accidentally ended up asking 7 different girls who were currently hunting him down. Technically, Roxy had been one of them since she had been hit with his frisbee.

One thing that had kept her going since the moment she witnessed the news expose on Dak was the pure adrenaline that was pumping through her body. Now, even 20 minutes after her break up, all she wanted to do was get her song started and get back out on the dancefloor with her friends. The only problem was getting the starting lyrics established. Her situation was a bit too specific - how many other girls ended things with their partners after finding out they were the other woman on national television - and she was having trouble formulating any thoughts that might lead to an enjoyable, catchy pop song.

After jotting a few things down on a blank page in her notebook so she could remember the situation with a bit of clarity, she glanced over at James who was sitting a few feet away from her, playing with one of the buttons on his shirt. He hadn’t said anything beyond a simple “sorry” that her relationship with Dak had ended since he had found them in Gustavo’s office earlier. Maybe it was because he knew she was writing or maybe he just didn’t have anything to say, but she was appreciative he wasn’t trying to fill the comfortable silence.

“Hey,” She called, catching his attention as he turned to look up at her. “What’s the worst way you’ve broken up with someone?”

James cocked his head, confused as to why she would want to know such a thing. “Do you really want to talk about sad stuff right now?”

“It’s for lyric inspiration. I can’t think of anything that rhymes with cheater, currently.” Roxy assured him. As long as her heart kept pounding adrenaline throughout her body, she would be good to keep writing.

“Heater, beater, eater, liter-” His list was interrupted as his assistant threw her guitar pick at him. “Okay, okay!”

Pen and paper ready, she stared at him expectantly as he began to share his story.

“Freshman year I was seeing this guy, Cliff, and we had a good thing going for a while but, uh, my mom didn’t like him. After I brought him over for lunch one day, she made me call him later and break things off.” He sighed, looking down at his lap. “It was really bad; I felt so terrible. He deserved a better boyfriend than me.”

After a tale like that, Roxy knew she should have offered some words of comfort but it was just the perfect amount of inspiration she needed to kick-start her song.

As the words came to her, she spoke them aloud while writing them down. Though this normally bothered her, James had just shared something raw and emotional, the best thing she could do was return the favor.

“Get a call on a random afternoon, I pick it up and I see that it’s you, like my heart you were breaking the news, you said ‘it’s over, it’s over, it’s over-’”

Once the verse left her mouth, another bout of inspiration hit which was quickly scribbled out.

Headin’ out, cuz I’m out of my mind

All my friends are gonna see me tonight,

Stayin’ here ‘til the sun starts to rise-

“Ugh!” Roxy vocalized, slapping the open book in her hand and allowing the sound to echo around the room. Curious, James peered over at her, slightly started at her outburst as she continued. “I don’t know what’s worse: The fact I can’t finish this verse, my first official relationship lasted a little over 6 hours, or that I’m letting Dak ruin my stupid night. I should be out there getting down on the dance floor, having fun with all our friends.”

Her friend nodded once, “Sure, but don’t you think you have some… complicated feelings you need to work out first? I’ve never seen someone so calm after a break-up and, honestly, it’s kind of freaking me out.”

At his words, a few memories flashed through her mind; ones involving her fall out with Mag. That, besides breaking her heart, had hurt far worse than whatever she was feeling currently.

You’ll get over it another night. She told herself.

“I’ve got to take my own advice, you know, dance hard, laugh more, all that good stuff. Wait- That is good stuff!”

Quickly scribbling her words onto a new section of the page for later, she read over the progress she had already made. Two verses and some loose lines were pretty good for one sitting; worrying about the melody would come later. For now, all she could think about was getting back to the party, however ill-advised it might be.

“I just need to have a fun time tonight and forget any of this ever happened.” Roxy stood up, making her way to stand in front of James who cocked his head in confusion. Gently, she extended her hand out to him. “James, take me to the dance. Please.”

Eyes widening, he bit the inside of his cheek. “Roxy, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Fine…” She huffed, turning her back to him and rocking on her heels a few times, suppressing a laugh as the next words flew out of her mouth. “I guess I could ask Guitar Dude. He’s way cuter than you, you know?”

It took all of two seconds for James to stand up and grab her hand, before pulling her out into the hallway towards Studio A.

“God, what am I going to do with you?” He muttered, shaking his head as she pulled open the door to the party. Spotting an open section towards the back of the room, he made a beeline.

“That’s an easy one!” She called over the loud music, bringing his hand to her waist. Effortlessly, he pulled her into his embrace as she giggled, “Dance!”

***

To say James had been a perfect gentleman the entire night, besides asking 7 different girls to the same dance, would be an understatement. However, as Roxy said goodbye to him and closed her apartment door, she realized he had been right about one thing; she had some complicated feelings to work out. A fact that became all too apparent as the writer flipped the lights on to her empty, silent apartment.

She had done everything in her power to make the night last as long as she possibly could and had done a pretty good job of it considering Gustavo and Kelly had to kick the two teens out of Rocque Records around 2 am. Neither had realized they were the only ones still partying the hours away.

Now that there were no distractions, no other people, and no need to wear her stupid uncomfortable shoes anymore, she was finally confronted with what she had been trying to avoid all night - the little voice in the back of her head, nagging her since things ended, that she was the reason her relationship with Dak had come to a grinding halt.

I was too boring, I never listened to him, I didn’t give him enough attention, I chose not to wear his necklace, I spent too much time with the band-

Buzz buzz

A text message from James lit up her screen.

J: I had a good time tonight

R: Me too :) Thanks for being there for me

J: We should do it again sometime

J: btw you looked gorgeous

J: Sorry I didn’t tell you in person

An unwelcome pit formed in her stomach as she read over his second message a few times.

Walking into her bedroom, she made her way to the bathroom before accidentally catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

The dress Dak had bought her hugged her body, matching beautifully with the heels he had carefully selected. It was such a nice, generous gift. A gift she didn’t deserve and, yet, she had repaid the actor only by breaking up with him.

Flashes from the E! News segments rolled around in her mind as she continued to stare - catching a few tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. If she was alone for much longer, she would only waste her time crying over a boy who had done nothing but belittle and hurt her.

Finally breaking her stare to pick up her phone, she clicked through her speed dial, trying to remember what her girlfriends had texted her about their after-dance plans.

Logan, Camille, Stephanie, and Carlos mentioned heading to Inside Out Burger for milkshakes but Jo and Kendall had to decline because she had a big audition she needed to run lines for in the morning.

Bingo.

Pressing the fourth button, Roxy waited for the call to connect before she heard someone’s groggy voice at the end of the line.

“Rox, it’s 2:30 in the morning, what’s wrong?”

Taking a shaky breath, she replied, “Hi, Kendall, I just got home and I- I don’t want to be alone right now.”

The sound of bedsheets being rolled around crinkled over the speaker. “Want me to come over?”

“No, stay in bed, it’s okay. Just, talk to me, please. Tell me about the stuff I missed tonight.” “Okay-” He yawned. “So, Fabio actually showed up…”

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

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