Author's note: Yes this is Jo and Logan. Now before you go all crazy on me, saying, "Jo is suppose to be with Kendall! Grrr!" I know this. This story is not a couple story, while it may seem like it a LOT at times. Trauma is a dangerous thing, and you can't control what it does to you.
I'll be honest, I don't know if this is actually possible in real life. The rescue, the trauma. But I made it possible in my story so, sorry if I'm altering the laws of the world here.
But I'm totally with you, Jo is meant for Kendall, and I just wanted this be a Jo and Logan FRIENDSHIP building story, that is all. Jo doesn't spend enough time with the other guys of BTR, which is why I did this. But don't worry, there are tons of Jo and Kendall goodness in here too, lots of drama! :D
No slash, just friendship.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Chapter 1
Hero
"I'm just a step away. I'm just a breath away. Losing my faith today. I'm falling off the edge today. I am just a man, not superhuman. I'm not superhuman. Someone save me from the hate."
"How could you?" She screamed at her lover, hurt and rage in her voice.
"Maybe if you'd stop screaming at me, I'd tell you!" He shot back.
"I thought I could trust you! I thought we had something together! I thought I. . . ." She trailed off.
"You thought you what Rachel? Huh?" He inquired bitterly.
"I thought I actually loved you!"
Kendall grimaced at the word shot from his girlfriends' mouth towards someone else. He stood at the side while she argued with the most cocky, self-absorbed, vain, annoying man on earth.
"How could you do this to me?" She asked, slightly softer than her previous yelling.
He sighed, "Look, it's not you okay? I just. . . .We're not getting anywhere." He stated, annoyed.
"How do you know? You never took the chance to talk to me!" She yelled. A cold wind blew through the air, and she pulled her small, thin jacket closer to her body.
He walked closer to where she was standing at the stone edge of the roof, her back was to the city just below them. "Well I'm sorry if I have classes to go to and a job that pays for all the pretty clothes and jewelery and junk you like!" He said.
"I have classes too you know! And I have a job as well! I work just as hard as you do! And yet, I still have time for you when you want to hang out! I'm in the exact same position as you are. The only difference is that I didn't go and make out with my co worker!"
He was standing in front of her, both facing each other as the city bustled about to her right. "Look, I'm sorry," His voice was soft, but carried no sense of regret or remorse. "It's nothing against you. She just gets me you know? I can be myself around her."
"And you can't be yourself around me?"
He sighed frustratingly and flung his head back. "See this is why I didn't tell you! I knew you wouldn't understand!" He yelled, then lowered his voice slightly, "I think it's better if we just see other people."
She stared at him with hurt filled and teary eyes. "Drake."
"And cut!" The director shouted from his seat. "Check the grate. That's a wrap people!" All the crew packed up and started piling out through the stairwell doors.
Kendall let out a huge, over-dramatized sigh of relief and ran over to his girlfriend, the guys following.
He and his friends were watching Jo shoot a scene for her show 'New Town High'. He was suppose to be hanging out with Jo at the Palm Woods, when she got the call to come back in.
They were shooting on the roof of a relatively old, 30 story apartment building. It had cracks all throughout the hard cement and there were even chips and small gaps in the stone railing that fenced the edge. Kendall had doubts is was very safe, but the producers had just been able to get permission to use it and they were anxious to get it done.
Kendall wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea of their time together being cut short, so Jo asked her directors if she would be allowed to bring some of her friends along. After a great deal of pleading, they reluctantly agreed on the condition that they stay absolutely quiet during shooting. This was proving quite difficult for Kendall seeing as his girlfriend had previously just confessed her love in the scene, for the person he despised more than anything; Jett Stetson.
Kendall was growing increasingly more irritated the longer they were there. He was anxious to get back to the Palm Woods and hang out with Jo, and the air was particularly chilly that day, especially on the roof. Everyone was wearing jackets, but his jacket wasn't exactly the warmest. He was really kicking himself now for not listening to Logan when he suggested to bring a warmer one.
"That was awesome!" Carlos shouted to Jo as they neared where she and Jett were standing, up against the railing-like stone along the edge of the roof.
"Yeah you were great Jo!" James exclaimed, while Logan nodded in agreement.
"Thanks guys." She said simply.
"So what's going to happen next? Will she take him back? Will she find someone else?" Carlos asked as he and James stared her down with eager eyes. Logan and Kendall shook their heads fondly at the sight, and Jo let out a chuckle. Carlos started bouncing on his toes in anticipation.
"Uh Carlos I don't think you should be doing that, this building doesn't exactly look like it's in the best shape." Logan said worriedly.
"Oh pshhh, come on Logan, it's not like I'm doing cartweels or backflips." Carlos stated.
"You just worry too much." James said as he slung an arm around Logan's shoulders. "Now," He turned back to Jo expectantly. "Does she take him back?"
"I think what you mean to say is, will he go back to her." Jett stated, slinging an arm around Jo's shoulders with a cocky grin on his face.
Kendall glared at him, then slowly pulled Jo away and imitated the action. "Well I think she was right to dump him, he was a loser low-life that didn't deserve her in the least anyways." He said, shooting Jett a cocky grin of his own.
"Or maybe," Jett started, and pulled Jo back to him. "She simply just wasn't doing enough in the relationship. But don't worry, I have a feeling he can be a very forgiving man if he wants to be." He said smoothly as he leaned in close to Jo's face.
At this, Kendall grabbed Jo back. "Yeah I doubt that." He said simply as he scrunched up his nose. They glared at each other and Jett grabbed Jo's free arm and tugged her, Kendall tugged back and they broke out into a game of tug-a-war with Jo.
"Guys?" Jo said as she was being pulled around, stumbling at being yanked every which way.
"Guys?" James tried, no response.
"Guys!" James, Carlos and Logan screamed at them, and the two jumped and dropped Jo's arms with such force that it flung her back and she stumbled up against the railing. The stone was old and worned down, and it crumbled at the added weight, breaking away, leaving a gap in its place and letting Jo fall straight through.
"Jo!" Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan screamed in horror and they all ran up in a line along the railing, Jett on one end with Kendall to his left, and James on the other end.
"Don't touch the railing!" Logan yelled, and they all stopped before they were up against it. Jett stood there beside Kendall in shock. The boys looked over the edge tentatively, careful not to touch it. Then suddenly, a blur swan dove right off through the gap in the stone. They all watched in shock, craning their heads over the edge to see their two friends falling to certain doom.
Everything felt like it was in slow motion as the building flew past Jo. With the wind forcing her hair past her face, she watched, absentmindedly as the boys on the roof above her, gathered in the spot she had been previously standing. Her mind was somewhere else though. 'I fell.' She realized. She fell for what seemed like an eternity.
'What happened? I was standing just now, and now I'm not. The railing, it must have broke away when I bumped into it.' She thought to herself as tears made their way down her cheeks, 'I'm falling. I fell off the roof. How big was it? 30 stories. You can't survive a 30 story fall can you? I'm going to die. I wonder what it feels like to die. Will it hurt?
What will happen to the show if I died? Will they cancel it, or just replace me? What will happen to my co stars, and friends. Camille, my best friend. How will she handle it? What about Kendall, and dad? What will happen to them?' Her head was reeling as it filled with all these thoughts.
He only had one thing on his mind; 'Catch.' He out-stretched his arms in front of him and dove off the building just like he would a diving board into the pool. Then he swiftly swung them back to his sides in a swimming motion to gain more momentum. He zoomed downward faster ever so slightly and continued to fall head first, not taking his eyes off his target.
'Why didn't they realize the stone was so old?' she thought, 'It's not safe for people to be living in there. Hadn't anyone gone up there and seen all the cracks? How could such a safety hazard go so long unnoticed?'
But Jo's thoughts were interrupted when she saw something approaching her, from the roof. 'Did they drop something?' She guessed, but as the figure came closer, it started to take the shape of a person. 'Jett?. . . .Kendall?'
She didn't have long after to continue her guessing as the figure wrapped his arms around her waist and up her back. She naturally wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head into his right shoulder squeezing her eyes shut, still in shock and utterly confused as to what was happening. The strong shoulder holding her soon became damp as more tears streamed down her face and she began to tremble.
He sped past the building. Bricks and the balconies of the fire escape beside him flying by. He vaguely mapped out what he was going to do, how this was going to go. But his main focus was on his target.
Finally, he caught up, he reached it. He wrapped both arms around her briefly, squeezing her comfortingly. Then, feeling two arms around his neck in response, reached out his left arm. He caught a balcony railing and they both stopped falling immediately.
But the stop was too sudden, it pulled at his arm while the weight of his own and that of his catch weighed him down, and he heard a crack. A small cry of pain escaped his mouth but he quickly stifled it.
'Dislocated.' He deduced. His left shoulder was dislocated. But he couldn't worry about that now, he fought the pain as best he could.
They watched in horror from the roof as the second figure raced for Jo, crushed by the fact that they were falling to the busy, hard concrete below. They would die. That thought was weighing them down to the core. Their friends were going to die. Tears filled each and every one of their eyes and began to blur their vision. They squeezed their eyes shut in an attempt to block out the thoughts.
Suddenly a small cry of pain pulled them out of their grief and they all looked over to see their friends hanging from a balcony fire escape. They felt something they thought they'd never feel again; Hope.
"They're alive!" Carlos screamed and he jumped up and down as he grabbed his friends shoulders who were standing on either end of him. The momentum of Carlos' jumping caused Kendall to lose his balance and he stumbled back into Jett, pushing him into the weak stone and it crumbled again against his weight, allowing him to fall through. Kendall reached out to try to grab him but fell short, and Jett fell just like Jo.
The scream startled Jo but it didn't last long, he was trying to fight the pain. She was disoriented and scared, and still couldn't tell who was holding her, who had saved her. But she could tell he was trying to be strong.
"Jo? Are you alright?" The voice was breathless and strained with pain, but also calm and concerned. She knew it right away.
'Logan?' She realized, and nodded to his question. She could hear his heavy, hitched breathing, and grunts. He was in pain. He wasn't alright. She tightened her grip on him and continued to tremble in fear, her tears never ceasing through her sealed eyes.
"Shhhhh. It's okay Jo it's okay. I've got you. You're going to be alright, I promise." Logan soothed.
They could vaguely hear yelling above them, but Jo didn't dare take her face out of his shoulder or open her eyes.
Small cement chunks suddenly rained down at least, three feet away from them. Logan looked up, then spoke calmly but breathlessly, pain in his voice. "Jo, wrap your legs around me, and hold on as tight as you can okay? Can you do that for me?" He spoke step by step like he was explaining it to a small child, calm and clear.
Jo nodded and wrapped her legs around his waist, crossing them behind his back, then she shifted her grip and tightened once more. She slowly felt Logan's hand leave her back and her fear raised to its highest, as she tried to tighten her grip even more.
Terror was the only thing Jett knew anymore. He was falling, and he was going to die. He had forgotten everything that had happened. He had forgotten why he was falling. That the railing of that stupid old building broke for the second time in under ten minutes.
He forgot about the show, and his fame and fortune. He forgot about trying to get Jo to go out with him and his rivalry with Kendall. He forgot about making Jo fall off the building, and he forgot about seeing Jo and one of Kendall's friends hanging off a balcony.
He forgot about Kendall bumping into him and the railing breaking behind him, sending him off the ledge, and he forgot about Kendall trying to grab him and missing by an inch. He was falling to his death. All he knew was the falling feeling.
In his daze, he could vaguely feel something wrap around his right wrist, then all realization shot back to him when the force of the sudden stop caught up with him. 'I'm not falling anymore? I'm. . . . .Hanging? But how? What happened?' A scream urged him to look up.
Another small cry of pain escaped Logan's lips, this one a lot harder to suppress, as more weight yanked on his injured arm. But he pushed it aside and looked down to where he held Jett firmly around the wrist.
Jett couldn't believe it. There was Kendall's friend holding Jo and hanging onto the balcony. 'He caught me?' Jett questioned, 'He caught me. But, how-. . . . . .he. . . .Kendall's friend, what's-his-name, caught me, in mid air! How is that possible? He's so puny, and he's carrying me! I always thought he was so tiny and weak, the weakest of Kendall's friends. But his grip, it seems relentless! How is this possible?'
All these thoughts were swimming around, but one nagged at him the most and refused to let up, 'Why? Why would he save me? I've been nothing but mean to him and his friends! But he saved me. He actually saved my life!'
"Hey!" Logan's yell pulled him out of his thoughts. "Are you alright?" He repeated. It seems he had been trying to get his attention this whole time.
"Y-yeah, I'm okay." Jett answered back somewhat breathless, still flabbergasted by what was happening.
Logan gave him a short, quick nod and began assessing the situation. The fire escape was oddly designed. It zig-zagged all the way down. First a balcony jutting outwards, then one inwards, and so on. None of them lined up. This was going to be difficult.
The one they were hanging from was outwards, and the one below them was still a fair ways from them. There wasn't a lot of options on how to get over to it.
"Hey, Jo? How ya doin'?" Logan asked concernedly. She hadn't made a sound since he caught her.
She was shaking slightly in pure terror, and tried to let out a small hum in response but it came out as a whimper.
"Everything's going to be okay Jo. I've got you, you're going to be fine. Just hold on tight alright?"
She nodded, shifting her grip and tightening again.
He looked back down. "Jett!" He called, once Jett looked back up at him he continued. "Think you could be ready to grab the ledge?" He gestured with his chin to the balcony below, a few feet away from them.
Jett followed he gaze and nodded in understanding. "Yeah." He yelled back.
Logan sent him another nod. Then he started swinging his right arm back and forth, trying to get Jett closer to the balcony, while fighting against the pain shooting through his left shoulder. He swung his hardest and Jett gripped the top metal railing, then positioned his feet in between the poles going along from the top railing to the grate floor.
Seeing him stable, Logan let go of his arm and Jett climbed over the railing in one smooth motion, then went down to his knees to rest and catch his breath. Logan then brought his now free hand to rub Jo's back soothingly for a moment.
He looked up at the roof again, seeing his friends watching them in hope and fear. He looked along the building then to where the balcony Jett was on, then back up at his friends. "Tenth floor. Room. . .Seven I think." He yelled up at them. They nodded in understanding and bolted away from the edge.
He let out a sigh of relief, before feeling a slightly more violent tremble from Jo. "Shhhh, everything's going to be okay." He whispered.
Then he brought his arm to the grated floor of the balcony he clung to, found a position to grip, and swung forward like on monkey bars, relieving his injured shoulder. He hung there on his good arm for a moment to give his other shoulder a rest, then, tentatively brought it up and repeated the motion, grunting in pain as he did so.
Two more swings and they were hanging over the balcony, his bad shoulder clinging to the grated floor above them while his other arm was around Jo once more.
"Jo, we're over the balcony now. But I have to let go of the grate. We're going to fall for a little bit okay?" He heard her whimper and felt her shift her grip again. "Don't worry I've got you. I'm not gonna let you go alright? I promise, I won't let you fall." He said as his grip around her tightened.
He waited for her to nod, then let go of the grate, quickly wrapping his other arm around her. He landed on his feet and the force shook the balcony, also causing Jo to let out a tiny scream.
He rubbed her back. "Shh shh it's okay. I've got you Jo, I've got you. You're okay." He soothed as he crouched down to set her down against the railing. She was sitting up, her back leaning against it, and her arms slid down from around his neck to his arms, her grip never loosening on the black fleece of his jacket.
He looked back behind him to where Jett was also leaning up against the railing, breathing hard. "You alright?" He called as he scanned him over. He was fine, Logan deduced, and once Jett nodded, Logan turned back to Jo, who was also breathing hard and trembling, with tear stained cheeks. She was watching him but her eyes were still filled with tears of fear.
"Jo honey, it's okay now. It's okay. You're safe now. I need you to do one more thing for me though okay? Can you focus just for a second?" He asked as he rubbed her arms up and down. She nodded and focused on him as he held her face, looking her in the eyes. "Are you hurt? Do you feel any pain anywhere?" He asked calmly, he could see in her eyes, she was going into shock. Her gaze was becoming more distant.
"N-no." She finally spoke through her fear. More tears rolled down her cheeks.
Logan let out a big, audible sigh of relief and carefully slid his jacket off to wrap it around her shoulders, then took a seat beside her on her right side, and pulled her close with his good arm.
She lay resting on his chest, gripping the fabric of his shirt around his right arm tightly. She buried her face into his chest and began to cry quietly, shaking despite Logan's warm jacket around her shoulders and the close contact. Fear and sobs wracked her entire body.
His hand rubbed Jo's head soothingly. "It's okay now. You're safe, I've got you. Everything's okay." He breathed soothingly. They sat there for a little while, Jo crying into his chest, him stroking her head, Jett watching, still a bit taken aback by the events but relieved, and all of them breathing heavily, still trying to catch their breath.
If someone ignorant to what had just occurred, saw them, they'd assume they had just run a marathon or something, with all the heavy breathing. Jo had been scared to death along with Jett, but Jett also had to pull himself over the balcony railing.
Logan was in the worst shape. He had carried Jo for a long period of time, and had caught Jett in the air. Then having to swing around on his dislocated shoulder while still holding Jo, he was severely exhausted.
The sliding glass door of the balcony swung open then, and Kendall stood panting in the doorway, Carlos and James and a very confused woman standing behind him.
"Are you guys okay?" Carlos asked through gasps of air.
James was clutching his cell phone in his right hand with white knuckles, as if it was his life line. "We called 9-1-1 on our way down." He breathed out.
Kendall eyed Jo worriedly, but before he could ask, Logan answered his unspoken question.
"They're okay." He said breathlessly, speaking for both Jo and Jett. He used his chin to gesture to Jett, "He's a little shaken up, but no injuries." Then he turned back to Jo. "She's in shock. But she's not hurt, she's okay."
Kendall ran up beside them and the overwhelming relief brought him to his knees. "Jo." He breathed with a cracking voice. He reached out to touch her arm, but the contact made her flinch and whimper, pulling herself more into Logan and tightening her grip on his right arm. Kendall was shocked and looked to Logan for help.
"Shh shh, it's okay Jo, it's only Kendall." He tried, but she continued to shake and her grip was as tight as ever. He turned back to Kendall who was staring at him with hurt and confusion in his eyes. "Just give her some time." He whispered. Kendall reluctantly nodded and watched his shaking girlfriend in concern. They could all hear the sirens approaching in the distance.
"Help is coming." Kendall said in a soft, but determined voice. "It's going to be okay Jo." He watched as Logan continued petting Jo, and seeing her relax a little at the soothing action, became slightly more at ease. She seemed to stop shaking now and her breathing had finally returned to a normal pace, but Logan continued his soothing strokes along her smooth golden hair. She was is good hands.
Kendall turned to James and Carlos who were still standing in the doorway with wide eyes, James still clutching his phone. They were still terrified at what just happened.
"Guys, it's okay now." Logan said. As if reading Kendall's mind, he too saw that they were still stuck in their terror. But those words seemed to snap them out of it. They both shook their heads to clear the remaining haze, then walked closer, sitting down in front of Logan, Jo and Kendall, cross-legged.
"Where's that woman?" Kendall asked, finally realizing that the woman who lived in the apartment that the balcony they were all gathered on was attached to, was no longer standing there.
"She went to flag down the ambulance." James informed, then realized he still had his phone in a death grip and quickly put it back in his pocket.
Kendall nodded and they sat there in silence for a while, still trying to catch their breath and fully grasp the situation.
Logan was exhausted beyond belief. It was getting harder and harder just to stay awake at this point. But he knew that he couldn't pass out now. The paramedics still had to look them all over even though there was nothing severely wrong except for Logan's shoulder.
They also had to get back to the hotel, and for some reason, Jo couldn't let go of Logan, not even for Kendall. So Logan knew that in her current condition, it wouldn't be wise to separate her from him just yet. Logan had to stay conscious for Jo.
"How did you know what room it was?" Jett finally broke the silence. He had finally been able to regulate his breathing and piece together everything that had just occurred.
All attention was now on him as he stared through the open door into the apartment, then he looked to Logan. "All you did was look at the building. How did you know?" They were all slightly stunned by the sudden question, but soon softened after a minute or two.
"That's our Logie." Carlos stated softly with a huge grin on his face. "He's a genius! He's the smartest guy I know!"
"Sometimes." James emphasized. "Though I'm not sure how diving off the roof of a 30 story building head first is very smart." He said as he ruffled Logan's hair.
Logan's face turned bright red and he lightly pushed James' hand away smiling shyly. Jett just watched the friends in some lingering confusion.
"We should go wait in the lobby, it'll be easier for the paramedics." Logan suggested, trying to take the attention off of him. He leaned forward, Jo moving in the action as well, still firmly pressed against his chest.
He moved his right arm up to hold her left, which was still gripping his right arm just above his elbow, and slowly guided her up until they were both standing, his left arm gently pressed against her back. He shifted the jacket on her shoulders, pulling it tightly around her.
Everyone else followed suit, and James and Carlos started walking back through the door to the apartment while Jett started to walk in their direction. Logan stood there for a while, his left shoulder pulsing in pain. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the wave of pain to subside at least a little.
"You're hurt." Kendall noticed with a worried voice. He hadn't moved from his spot beside Logan and Jo yet, and he wasn't one to be fooled easily, especially when it came to the safety and well-being of his friends.
His voice caught the attention of the others and James and Carlos stopped in their tracks just in the doorway, then turned around with concerned eyes fixed on Logan.
Jett was stopped just behind Kendall, his eyes filled with more confusion as he stared at Logan. 'He's hurt? When did that happen? Did he carry us like that? How could someone do that? It's impossible!'
Logan tried to hide it. "I'll be fine." He said to ease their worry, but his voice was strained and full of pain. To avoid more confrontation though, he started walking, leading Jo as well, his right arm tightly holding her left. One step. Two. But then he felt a hand on his right shoulder, and he had to stop.
"Logan. . ." Kendall said with more worry than before. Logan sighed heavily then turned slightly to see him out of the corner of his eye.
Logan knew there was no hiding now. "My shoulder. It's dislocated." He admitted like it was no big deal, nodding to his left shoulder. Though he saw the concern raise in his friends' eyes, they weren't buying his act. Jett just looked shocked.
But Logan brushed off their concern and continued to lead Jo past James and Carlos and through the apartment. Kendall, James and Carlos exchanged worried looks then quickly followed after them, Jett trailing behind them.
"I need a Hero, to save me now. I need a Hero to save me now. I need a Hero to save my life, a Hero will save me, just in time." - 'Hero' by Skillet