Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush.

Welcome to yet another story! This is something a little different than what I've ever done before, and I hope that you guys like the change. I'm exploring my writing abilities, if you will. :) Thank you to Theweirdblond for helping me with this and telling me that I need a change, and thanks to waitingFORthePERFECTsong9092, ferschneider261, 4ever with Kames, and LoganLover96 for all of your help and suggestions!

Enjoy!

My best friend Kendall was close on my tail as I opened the hotel room door, the smell of clean linens and saltwater rushing out at us. Kendall pressed me into the room and snaked past me, eager to get this vacation started. We had been saving for this cross-country vacation for years, and now here we were in a little Holiday Inn Suite celebrating graduating high school. It was exciting. So why was I so nervous?

"Logan! Look how awesome!" Kendall jumped onto the bed, spreading his arms and legs and taking in a deep breath. I think he always knew when I was thinking too hard and somehow distracted me. "This is so cool. We're here alone! No adults!"

I put my suitcase against the wall and looked around. It was a small room, but very neat and clean. There was a little kitchen area, a big bathroom, a TV, and two beds. We saved a lot of money by getting a plain room instead of a condo- now we had money for better food and shopping.

Together we saved over a thousand dollars since sophomore year when we agreed to take a trip the summer after senior year. With it so far we've gotten plane tickets and a week of staying in this hotel.

"Let's hit the beach!" Kendall beamed, sitting up. We were polar opposites- he was always care-free and excited while I was more cautious and conserved.

"Can I take a nap first?" I groaned. I was exhausted from the flight here. Kendall's face screwed up in a familiar "What are you talking about, that's stupid!" look.

"You can nap on the beach!"

"Kendall, we have a whole week to go to the beach," I reasoned, going to the window and pulling back the curtains, showing a gorgeous view of the California beach. People littered the tan sand and grayish water, but I was glad to see that it wasn't too crowded.

"Fine. I'll go alone," he said, getting up and going for his suitcase, knowing I wouldn't have that.

I bit my lip, knowing I couldn't let him go alone. He would no doubt end up in some girl's hotel room drunk and unaware. The only reason his mother allowed him to come unsupervised was because I would be there, and I didn't want to let Mama Knight down.

"Okay, okay," I gave in. "Let's go to the beach."

As soon as my bare feet hit the warm tan sand I was relaxed. The stresses of graduating high school were melted away with a howl from Kendall, who charged for the water. I laughed and rolled my eyes behind my blue hipster sunglasses, walking behind him to find a place to lay out my beach blanket.

Kendall had just gotten out of a bad relationship with his two-year-girlfriend Jo, who decided it was best to break up after she was accepted to a university in New Hampshire. Kendall told me that here in California, he was a new man and he would definitely get out there and meet new girls. "Beach babes" as he called them.

He was already knee-deep in the water, joining a group of girls with big butts and boobs and little bikinis, one already claiming him with an arm around his waist upon arrival. He looked her over and gave a dimply grin, putting a pale arm over her shoulders.

I spread my blanket out and sat, taking a deep breath of salty air and smiling. I could get used to this.

Looking over the beach, I decided that at some point I needed to take out my sketchpad and make something out of this beauty. I loved to draw and sketch- it felt like more of an emotional connection than taking a picture. My sketchbook was full of scenes from my house, like the backyard and the old swingset that hasn't been used in years, and people like Kendall and my mom. Mostly I didn't like to color the pictures- sometimes it ruins it- but I thought that I would color the one of the beach. There were such extreme colors here that I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

I rubbed sunscreen over my skin, around my tank top. Now that I was here and seeing all the tan and muscular guys, I definitely wasn't taking off my shirt. Kendall had no problem, but at least he had hockey muscles to make up for his pasty Minnesota complexion. Being hockey manager didn't give me too much muscle mass to show for it.

Behind the safety of my glasses, I watched the other beachgoers. I knew a lot of them must be tourists like Kendall and I, but some looked like locals with deep tans and beautiful faces. A lot of the guys were simply gorgeous, with sparkling smiles, rippling muscles, perfect hair, and huge egos. Yeah, they were pretty, but not my type. I liked the sweet ones, and I had a feeling there weren't many of those here.

I felt someone sit beside me, too close for my comfort. I turned to my right, seeing a guy sitting there, randomly using my sunscreen.

"Where are you from?" he asked without looking at me. He was really tan with black hair and trunks on, a nice and average muscle mass going on. Obviously Latino.

"Um…"

"Somewhere cold. You're pale," he said, looking over at me. I covered my arms self-consciously, although I didn't know the guy. "I'm Carlos. I work here- give surf lessons."

He gestured to a hut about ten feet away, marked "surf shop" with surfboards and wetsuits inside.

"Just waiting on my next guy," he explained.

"And you decided you were getting burned?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Do I know you?"

"Yeah. I'm Carlos. I just told you that."

"Why did you just come sit here? You don't know me."

"Well jeez, normally people don't care this much about someone being friendly," he said irritably, but immediately smiled again. "It's cool. Sometimes I come on too strong. Are you gay?"

I blushed but laughed a little at the irony of his last few sentences. Saying he came on too strong then coming on waaaay too strong.

"I mean, I just saw you staring at that guy," he said, pointing to Kendall. "And I figured you were checking him out, but you're both equally pale so maybe he's your boyfriend. Although it wouldn't make sense that he's feeling up those girls."

"No, he's my friend. I came here with him."

"So then why aren't you over there with him? I know those girls would love another guy to give them attention to bask in," Carlos smirked.

"Not my type."

"Not your type?" Carlos exclaimed. "Dude! Those chicks are prime. Good boobs, good butts, good hair. If that's not your type, you must be gay."

I looked over at him, silent, telling him that I was gay without really telling him.

"Oh. Sorry, man," Carlos laughed sheepishly.

"It's okay."

"There's no reason to be scared about it," he shrugged. "Maybe where you're from. But here, being gay is almost normal."

I was overcome with a feeling of relief. Maybe it was confiding in this stranger about my sexuality, or maybe it was that he told me I was accepted here. I didn't know. I had never been in a place where I felt that I could be open about my sexuality, and he made me feel like it was no big deal. Maybe it wasn't.

"I don't know how old you are, but there's this gay club about a mile down the street. It's really fun, and you could take your buddy, too, it's straight-friendly, but the girls won't like him hitting on them," he laughed. "You might check it out. Even if you're not 18, you look old enough. They won't check your ID."

"I don't think so."

"Yeah, you seem shy," he shrugged. "Do you wanna take surf lessons?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I prefer to just sit here. I like it," I shrugged.

"Okay. Well if you change your mind, the hut's just right there," he said, pointing to the hut. "My guy's here. I hate giving lessons to guys. It gets awkward, you know?"

I smiled at that, and he seemed to light up.

"You have a pretty smile," he said, getting up and dusting off his trunks. "I'll see you, man."

"See you."

I watched him jog over to the guy and use his charm to win the man over.

The people here were either sort of rude looking or really friendly, obviously. Kendall seemed to be having fun with these "beach babes", though.

I laid out on the striped blanket, loving the warm sun on my face as I put in my earbuds and turned on some music. I kept thinking about Carlos and how nice he was, and how his talk with me sort of cheered me up.

Next thing I knew, I was drifting off.

I was in a set of strong arms, slow music playing in the background. My heart was pounding happily as whoever was holding me swayed me to the beat. It was "All Of Me" by John Legend, one of my favorite songs.

"I love you," the sweet male voice said in my ear, and my heart jumped in excitement. His head pulled away and I looked up into a beautiful smiling face. Lights twinkled in the background, and we were alone on a wooden dance floor.

I couldn't make out the color of his eyes, but I knew they were some sort of brown. His skin was a pretty olive, teeth straight and white, hair short and chestnut brown.

Then he was leaning in, kissing me, and I swear I must have had a heart attack.

He hummed in content before nipping at my lip and bringing me closer, continuing to dance.

I never bothered to wonder who this guy was or why he loved me. You never do when you're dreaming, because in a dream it all makes sense. I never asked his name. I just danced with him without a worry in the world.

His big hands caressed the curve of my side and I let him brush my ass before coming back up. I could feel his breath on my hair and hear him hum slightly along to the song.

His face turned and he kissed my temple, and I looked up at him to meet his lips in another sweet kiss.

"Are you having fun?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Good. Me, too."

I don't know why he asked that, but I didn't care.

"I can feel your heart," he laughed, a tinkling, almost high-pitched and childish giggle. "You're so excited."

"So in love," I answered, but I didn't really think about it, I think my dream made me say it. The man giggled again and kissed my nose.

"I love you, too, Logie."

I started awake, feeling my sunglasses being removed from my face.

My heart was still beating hard, the happiness from the dream draining from me as I realized it was just that- a dream. I didn't remember exactly what the dream was about. I was mad- if it made me feel that good, I wanted to at least know why.

"Sorry, bud," Kendall said as I sat up. "I didn't want you to have tan lines."

"Oh," I said sleepily, rubbing my face and feeling that I was getting a little bit burnt on my cheeks. "Thanks."

His hands were then on my face, rubbing sunscreen on my cheeks and nose. He really was a great best friend. As straight as an arrow, but at times like these he didn't really care if people thought we were together. He was caring.

"Maybe you should rent an umbrella," he suggested, pointing to a rental stand nearby.

"It's okay," I said, shaking my head. "What happened to your new girlfriend?"

Kendall laughed and shook his head, spreading sunscreen on himself now.

"She ditched me. It's cool- plenty more to choose from," he said with a shrug. "Wanna come walk? Check out the selection?"

I laughed and rolled my eyes, putting my sunglasses back on.

"I'm not here for guys."

"Why not?"

"Because all there would be is sex. And even if we had a connection, I live across the country," I explained. "It's just a bad idea."

"You can still flirt. Get experience," he suggested. "Who was that cute guy over here earlier?"

"A surf instructor. It was the weirdest thing- he just sat down and started using my sunscreen," I said. "He talked to me for a while. He was really nice. Not gay, though."

"Damn," he grumbled before smirking. "Are you having fun, though?"

A faint bell seemed to ring in my head at that question, and I knew that there was something about it in my dream. Remembering the whole dream was just at the edge of my mind, but not there yet.

"I am," I answered with a nod.

"Good. Me, too."

I would have preferred to go to a cabin in the mountains or maybe somewhere like England with rich history and art, but Kendall wanted to come here. We had been saving money for this trip since sophomore year, and now we were here to celebrate graduating high school. It wasn't as classy as the mountains or Britain with all these half-naked, half-drunken people, but Kendall liked it so I did, too.

"What should we do tomorrow?" Kendall asked. We were sitting at a tall table on the porch of a beach restaurant, the sun setting and lights glowing everywhere in the restaurant.

"The beach, obviously," I said. "And I wanna see the Hollywood sign."

"That's pretty far away, Loge," Kendall said doubtfully.

"You don't wanna go?"

Kendall shrugged in that way that told me that he didn't want to tell me the truth, but he was trying to break it to me lightly.

"Okay… I can go alone," I said softly.

"C'mon, don't be like that."

"We came here together, Kendall! I'd like to be with you!"

Kendall sighed and put his cheek on his knuckles, picking at his food.

"I know, I know," he grumbled. "I'm being a horrible friend."

"No you're not," I sighed. "You couldn't even if you tried."

Kendall smirked gratefully at me, then he perked up.

"I like this song," he said, cocking his head to hear over the noisy surroundings. "You have this on your iPod."

I closed my eyes, trying to hear the song he was talking about. I heard bits and pieces, and as soon as I identified the slow song- "All Of Me"- the dream came rushing back.

That must have been the song that was playing on my iPod while I was dreaming. The song I danced to with that man.

"I remember it," I said, suddenly, pulling my sketchbook and pencil out of my backpack and flipping to a blank page.

"Remember what?"

"My dream that I was having before you woke me up on the beach."

I closed my eyes, thinking about what the man looked like. I didn't know how much longer I would be able to make out his features, so my hand sketched busily to get down his face.

"I was dancing with this guy," I said, looking down at the paper as I drew. "Slow-dancing to this song. And he kissed me and told me he loves me. And-"

I stopped, blushing. Sure, Kendall was my best friend, but I had never talked about boys to ANYONE, much less him. I was embarrassed for having said that so casually.

"That. Is. So. Sweet," Kendall said like a mother before her child's first dance. "Was he hot?"

I was silent, just focusing on the drawing.

"Logie, I had no idea you wanted something mushy like that," Kendall said. "How come you don't talk BOYS with me?"

"Because that's embarrassing."

"So what? I told you when I had my first wet dream!"

"Because we were eleven and didn't know what happened," I reasoned with a smirk. "That's different."

"I'm so open with you and you never tell me any secrets."

"Not true. I told you I'm gay," I pointed out. "You were the first to know."

Kendall sighed and twisted his lips, seeing that there was no way to argue with that.

I looked down at my finished sketch, finding that the memory of the dream made me happy. I smiled a little at the friendly face with the dark hair and kind eyes.

"I just wonder where I've seen him before," I said as Kendall took the picture to look at it. "You know you can only dream about people you've encountered."

"Probably on TV or in a porno," Kendall said, staring at the face, seemingly impressed. "Probably not in Minnesota, that's for sure. Even I would have remembered someone like that."

I laughed and rolled my eyes, taking back the picture before Kendall could fall in love with my dream guy.

"You need to meet someone," Kendall said as I slipped my sketchbook and pencil into my backpack. "Someone sweet and fun and protective to be with forever. Someone like me, except who's Team Hotdog and isn't me."

"I don't want a boyfriend."

"Why not?"

"Because college is coming up soon and I won't have time for him."

"What if you meet the love of your life and you just pass him up for school?"

"The love of my life will be at school, too."

"Maybe not. He won't have to be smart if he's with you, Logie," Kendall sang. "I bet he's not gonna be in school."

I sighed and shrugged, not knowing about the future and not caring to think too deeply about it.

"You just need to loosen up. Smile more- you dimples are what'll get em."

"Is that how it works for you?"

"Oh yeah. The ladies love em."

"If I meet someone here that I really like, I'll have to go back home and forget about him," I sighed, looking out over the beach absent of people. "I don't want that."

"You can get his number. C'mon, Logie. You're even considering a school over here, maybe you could do that," he suggested.

"But this school isn't as good," I sighed.

"Whatever. You don't have to fall in love, Logan," Kendall reasoned. "But you never will if you don't start flirting and getting into the dating world. You have to practice!"

I chuckled and rolled my eyes, taking a bite of my food.

"Just come out of your shell is all I ask," Kendall said seriously. "The rest will happen on its own."

So there's Chapter 1! I hope you liked it and can see where this will be going! :D It might be a little short in the end, but good nonetheless!