A/N: I've never watched the show '24' but I'm pretty sure the setup will be similar to that. There will be 24 chapters. Each chapter will cover one hour. Chapter 1 will cover the first hour. Chapter 2 will cover the second hour, and so on and so forth.
Disclaimer: Big Time Rush is the property of Nickelodeon. I am not Nickelodeon. Therefore, I do not own Big Time Rush.
No Way Out
Ever since Logan got his driver's license, he had been taking me to and picking me up from auditions instead of my dad. Well, when he could. He had a pretty busy schedule himself. But having Logan take me and pick me up was much better than having my dad take me and pick me up. I mean I was almost seventeen years old! Getting a ride from my dad was…embarrassing.
Logan and I were in an on-again-off-again relationship that was currently on-again. I thought he was going out on a date with Peggy, so I went out on a date with Steve. When his date fell through, I thought he would ask me to be his date, but he didn't. That was the only time I went out on a date with Steve though. I think Logan and I were both kidding ourselves if we thought we could actually date other people. We were kind of like one of those couples who even when we weren't together, we were together.
I stepped out of the building and saw Logan waiting for me in the Big Time Rush Mobile. Upon seeing me, he waved at me and flashed me a trademark dimpled smile. My heartbeat sped up, and I think I melted inside. I was pretty sure I was blushing too. I couldn't help myself. Logan has the most adorable smile.
As I approached the vehicle, I wasn't the least bit surprised when Logan got out of the car, walked around, and held the passenger side door open for me. He always did little things like that. He was such a gentleman. Logan planted a chaste kiss on my cheek before I climbed in the passenger side.
"Hey Camille," he greeted.
"Logan," I answered.
After shutting my door for me, he walked around the front of the car, and climbed in the driver's side, shutting the door behind him. We both put on our seat belts, and Logan started the car. He pulled out of the parking space, and we were on our way. Logan kept one hand on the steering wheel, but with his free hand, the two of us held hands.
This time around, Logan had been getting much better with public displays of affection. Whereas before, I had always been the one to initiate things, this time, it was no big deal for him to kiss me on the cheek, hold my hand in public, or whisper sweet nothings in my ear. I was rather proud of him for that.
"So how did your audition go today?" Logan asked.
"Nailed it!" I replied.
"That's my girl!"
I was kind of absorbed in my own thoughts. Logan said I was his girl. I quite liked the sound of that. I felt my cheeks start to heat up again. He really has no idea of the effect he has on me.
"Hey, do you think we could stop by Wells Fargo on the way back? My agent just gave me a paycheck today for the last small role I had landed, and I wanted to deposit into my savings account," I said.
"Sure. No problem," Logan responded.
I detected a change in the tone of his voice though. It was so subtle that it almost wasn't noticeable. He didn't sound too pleased about something. I just wished I knew what it was. I wished he would talk to me. I frowned.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Huh? It's nothing," Logan replied.
"Don't do that. Don't shut me out. Talk to me."
"No, really. I'm just being ridiculous."
"Come on, Logie. Spill."
Logan sighed deeply as he kept his eyes straight ahead on the road.
"It's just…out of the two of us, you're the only one who makes money. I'm the guy. I'm supposed to be the breadwinner. But Big Time Rush isn't famous enough yet for me to actually make any money. It just sucks because I'm supposed to take care of you," Logan said glumly.
"You do take care of me!" I retorted.
"Not financially, I don't."
"Logan, you're overreacting. It's no big deal."
"Well, it is to me!"
Logan and I didn't fight that much at all, but when we did, I hated it. Who cared who made the most money? I sure didn't. He had a very old school mindset where the guy is supposed to be the breadwinner, where the guy is supposed to take care of the girl. I was startled when Logan pulled his hand back only to put it on the steering wheel.
"Logan, don't be mad," I said.
"Who's mad? I'm not mad," Logan remarked.
"Yes you are."
"Can you blame me? You deserve better."
"Whoa! Hold on just a minute! How did we go from me wanting to deposit a paycheck to you saying that I deserve better?"
"Well, it's true. You deserve someone who can take care of you. You deserve someone who can buy you whatever you want. You deserve someone who will treat you right."
As long as I've known Logan, he's always been pessimistic. I was used to that. However, I was not used to how he was acting now. How could he not see what a catch he was? How could he think so little of himself when he was so amazing?
"Logan, you do take care of me. You do treat me right. You're the best boyfriend a girl could ask for. If anything, I don't deserve you. I don't care about money. I'm not the Jennifers. I don't need to be spoiled," I said.
Much to my dismay, the rest of the ride to the bank was spent in silence. Logan wouldn't even look at me. He just stared out at the road in front of him. None of us said another word to one another. I wanted to, but I didn't want to make matters worse by pressing the issue further. Logan was already mad at me; I didn't want to make him madder.
We pulled into the parking lot of Wells Fargo. He undid his seat belt, and climbed out of the car before I could even undo my seat belt. The next thing I knew, he was holding my door open for me. Logan was such a sweetheart. Even though he was mad at me, he was still a gentleman.
"You don't have to come in with me," I said.
I instantly regretted my words when I saw the hurt look in his eyes.
"Logan, I didn't mean it like that," I commented.
When it rained, it poured. Now everything seemed to be going wrong with our relationship. Now that we had started fighting, that seemed like all we could do anymore. Logan quickly plastered a fake smile on his face; I could tell it was fake because the smile didn't reach his eyes.
"I'm sorry about before, Camille. I was just…well, I don't know what I was. Can we just forget about it? Can we just pretend it never happened in the first place?" Logan asked.
"I'm sorry too, Logan. I didn't mean that I didn't want to be seen with you. I don't think I need your help to deposit a check…"
"Oh."
"That came out wrong! You're welcome to come. Of course you're welcome to come! I…don't even know what I'm saying anymore."
One thing about Logan was that he apologized to me a lot. I think that trait was starting to rub off on me too because it felt like I was apologizing to him a lot myself. Logan held out his hand. I placed my hand in his, and hopped out of the car. He shut the door behind me, and we walked hand-in-hand into the bank.
I was relieved to tell you the truth. Things looked a little rough there for awhile, but now we seemed to be okay; we seemed to be in a good place. We were holding hands. He didn't seem to be mad at me anymore. That hurt look in his eyes was no longer there. Logan held the front door open for me as the two of us entered the bank.
Inside, there were only six bank tellers open. There were about twenty people in line ahead of us. Logan was a pretty patient person, but I wasn't.
"Maybe we should come back another time," I suggested.
"No way. We're here now," Logan replied.
He gave me a warm smile, and I suddenly forgot what it was I had been thinking about. I tried to hide behind a veil of hair so that Logan wouldn't see that my cheeks were starting to turn a rosy color. Logan kissed the top of my head and chuckled softly.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
"You. It's so obvious what you're doing. You're trying to hide the fact that you're blushing. What? I'm just supposed to believe that your hair all of a sudden just happened to fall over your eyes? Besides, we're holding hands, remember? I can feel your heart start to race," Logan answered.
Logan's response just made me blush even more.
What happened next no one could have ever expected. Three men wearing black ski masks and dressed in all black clothing came running into the bank armed with guns. Several gunshots echoed throughout the building.
"Camille, get down!" Logan exclaimed, pulling me down to the ground.
I couldn't believe this was happening to me. This was the sort of thing you always saw in the news but never did you ever think it could happen to you. I also couldn't help but think that this was all my fault; if I had never asked to go to the bank in the first place, this wouldn't have happened. If only I had waited to deposit my check.
Chaos erupted in the bank. People were running, screaming, and crying. I heard gunshot after gunshot being fired. I was far too scared to look to see if anyone had even been shot. From our position on the floor, Logan was using his body to shield me.
"Everybody get down on the ground now!" one of the bank robbers shouted.
"And slide all your cell phones to me! Nobody's going to be calling or texting anyone for help!" a second bank robber yelled.
Logan pulled his cell phone out of his pant pocket and slid it across the floor as did several other people. My cell phone was in my purse, but I didn't want to part with the one thing that could be responsible for me getting out of here alive.
"You! Where's your cell phone?" the third bank robber demanded, pointing his gun at me.
Logan held me in his arms as I buried my face in his shoulder and cried. I was far too frightened to even answer the bank robber.
"Put your gun down. You're scaring her," Logan said.
"Shut up!" the bank robber screamed before hitting Logan in the face with the butt of his gun.
"Logan!" I wailed as I watched in horror as he was knocked unconscious.
I gathered him in my arms, and cradled his head on my lap. I planted a kiss on his forehead. There was already a welt just beneath his left eye. It was already discolored. It was black and various shades of blue and purple. I was having a hard time breathing. My heart was racing, but this time for a much different reason. I was crying hysterically.
"This is the last time I'll ask you. Where's your cell phone?" the bank robber said.
"I don't have it! I left it in the car!" I lied.
I rocked Logan back and forth gently. I couldn't see past the haze of tears. I could still hear people crying. I could still hear their anguished screams. I could still smell the scent of freshly burnt gunpowder.
"You!" one of the bank robbers shouted, pointing his gun at presumably one of the bank tellers. My vision was so clouded by tears that I couldn't see. "Get all the money out of the drawers and put it in this bag!"
"Boss! I caught this guy trying to call 911," another bank robber announced.
One gunshot later, and I heard a body fall to the floor.
"Anyone else want to try to be a hero?" the 'boss' yelled. "Find the manager, and get him to open the safe. I want all the money in there too."
They shot someone! They killed someone! How many more people would be wounded or dead by the time this was all over? Were any of us going to make it out of here alive? Why were they doing this? What did they want? Money? Then, why couldn't they just take the money and leave?
Someone didn't give the robbers his cell phone like they asked, and now he was dead. It made me start to wonder if I would regret my decision to not follow their orders as well. I would be okay, right? I mean I wouldn't be stupid enough to try to talk on my cell phone in front of the bank robbers or anything like that.
As horrible as it was that Logan was unconscious, I was kind of glad. He didn't know what was going on this way. He couldn't hear the cries and screams that I still heard even when the inside of the bank was dead silent.
"You're going to be okay, Logan. We both are," I whispered to him, unsure of who I was trying to convince more: him or myself?
To Be Continued…