Okay, this chapter took way too fucking long. Sorry. I tried to cover a lot of ground here and I think I accomplished that pretty well. Anyways, you're not here to listen to me, you're here to read.

Enjoy!

"NO WAY!" Carlos yells, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Yes way," Taylor says, handing her phone over to him. He begins to read aloud:

"Hey Taylor, I'd love 2 work w/ ur bf's band. Just txt me when & where and I'll b there."

"This is amazing!" Kendall exclaims excitedly, hugging Logan tightly.

"Ken. Can't. Breathe."

"Oh, right. Sorry," the blond says, letting go of the brunet.

"Well, someone needs to tell Gustavo, Kelly, and Mama Knight," Georgia alerts. The four boys exchange frantic looks before bolting about Rocque Records. They finally find them and Katie in the kitchen, eating.

"Gustavo, Kelly, Mom!" the four boys chorus. "DUSTIN'S COMING!"

It takes 2 minutes for Taylor to reply and 40 for Dustin to arrive. 3 minutes into Dustin's arrival, Carlos tackles Kendall out of pure joy.

"So," Dustin says after Kendall recovers from Carlos' attack, "you guys need 90 minutes worth of songs in 9 days?"

"Pretty much," James answers.

"You know that's one hell of a tall order, right?" Dustin asks, raising his eyebrows and adjusting the heavy gig bag that's slung over his shoulder.

"Yeah, but, uhh," Kendall began, "Gustavo's gonna be writing, too and I could always help you?" he offers.

"Yeah! Kendall wrote our first song!" Logan tells him. Dustin looks impressed.

"You know how to play any instruments, kid?"

"Guitar and a little bit of piano," he says. Dustin quickly grabs his arm.

"Well then, come on writing partner!"

Kendall wonders if he imagined the look of pure jealousy on Logan's face.

"Wow..." Dustin says, looking down at the song sheet in his hands. "Only two hours in and we already have a full song! I question whether you actually needed me or not."

"No, no, no!" Kendall exclaims, reaching over his guitar to squeeze Dustin's wrist. "Trust me, we did!"

"Are you sure, because I'd say you wrote about 80% of this song," Dustin teases, tapping the sheet. Kendall laughs, letting go of the older man's wrist.

"I'm positive," the blond says, smiling brightly at his writing partner. Dustin chuckles before becoming awkwardly serious.

"Um, Kendall... could I ask you something a bit personal?" Kendall is slightly taken aback by the question but slowly nods.

"Uh. Sure."

"Are you- uh... I mean- and please don't be offended- are you gay?"

If Kendall had been drinking something in that moment, he surely would've spat it all over Dustin. Instead, his eyebrows furrow and his eyes narrow in thought.

"...It's complicated," he finally answers after a moment. "There's just a lot going on right now."

"Well, you know, if you want to talk about it..."

"I don't even know you," Kendall says blatantly. Dustin laughs, kind of surprised by his bluntness.

"Yeah, but that could be a good thing," he tells him. Kendall raises his eyebrows in question. "I don't know you, therefore, I'm not biased," he clarifies.

"...True," Kendall says. Then he takes a deep breath, opens his mouth, and starts talking.

James glances at Logan as Dustin pulls Kendall away. "You okay there, buddy?" he asks, seeing the look of jealousy on the smart boy's face. Logan quickly composes himself.

"Ya, 'm fine," he mumbles. Taylor smirks.

"Someone's jealousss," she singsongs. Georgia giggles and Logan glares at both of them.

"Go fuck yourself," he bites out.

"Meanie," Taylor mumbles under her breath. Carlos sends the slightly taller brunet a look of concern but Logan just shakes his head.

"I'm going for a walk," he growls before storming out, slamming the door behind him.

"Well, this could've gone better," Kelly murmurs, and Mrs. Knight nods her head in agreement. Taylor shakes her head.

"It's his fault," she says, referring to Logan. Georgia hums in agreement.

"He just needs to get his head far enough out of his arse to see that," the brunette girl adds.

"Uhh-huh," James and Carlos hum in agreement.

Logan sighs as he walks around the outside of Rocque Records. He's starting to feel horrible about snapping at the girls like he did. He runs a hand through his hair, shaking his head.

"I need to apologize," he mumbles to himself. Before he turns around, though, he sees a figure of someone skateboarding. It takes him a moment to realize it's Kendall. "Yo, KEN!" he calls out. Kendall looks up in surprise before he loses his balance and sends his skateboard flying. "Shit," Logan hisses under his breath as he runs over after seeing him land on his ass. "You okay?" he asks when he reaches the blond.

Kendall laughs, nodding his head. "I'm fine, Loges. You just caught me by surprise," he assures his friend. Logan pulls him up and watches as Kendall dusts himself off. Then he notices the scrape on the younger boy's elbow.

"Ken, you're bleeding," Logan says, gently grabbing his arm to get a better look at the wound. Kendall glances at it before shrugging.

"'Tis only a flesh wound," he chirps with a goofy grin. Logan chuckles.

"C'mon, weirdo. I don't want this to get infected."

"Wait, my skateboard!" Kendall cries. Logan rolls his eyes as Kendall pries himself out of his grip before hurriedly grabbing his board.

"You're such a child," Logan teases.

"Shuddup."

"So, how'd it go with Dustin?" Logan asks as he leads Kendall back inside.

"Well, we already wrote a whole song," he replies with a grin. "I think you'd like it." Logan smiles.

"Yeah? What's it called?"

"Stuck," he says. Kendall open and closes his mouth before blurting "I wrote it about you." He feels his cheeks burn and ducks his head so Logan won't notice. Logan smiles, though.

"I can't wait to hear it," he says. He's stopped walking and Kendall blinks before he realizes that they're by the bathroom door. He watches as Logan opens the emergency first-aid kit screwed into the wall and takes some stuff out before snapping it shut.

"You're not gonna spray me with that acid spray, are you?" Kendall asks nervously.

"You mean the Dermoplast?" Logan responds, showing him the can. Kendall groans as Logan pulls him into the bathroom.

"I hate you," he mumbles.

"Yeah, yeah..."

"What do you think he's doing?" Taylor whispers to Georgia.

"I don't know... Maybe he's looking for Kendall?" Georgia replies in a hushed tone. James creeps up behind the two, leaning in between them.

"Why are you whispering?" he asks quietly. Georgia laughs, smacking his chest.

"So he doesn't hear us!" she says as if it were obvious.

"Because Logan can totally hear you from outside," Carlos says from across the room. He's sitting on a cot beside Katie, and there's a coloring book in between them. Both of them are scribbling on the pages.

Before Taylor can respond to her boyfriend's sarcasm, both Kendall and Logan walk in.

"Hey guys," the two greet simultaneously. Kendall quickly calls jinx before Logan even has a chance to blink.

"Haha, you owe me a Snickers bar!" Kendall taunts. Katie rolls her eyes at her big brother and Carlos laughs at the ten year old.

"Where's Dustin?" James asks.

"Oh, he fell asleep," Kendall answers with a shrug. "I didn't wanna bother him so I decided to go for a quick skate and Logaine here startled me right off my board." Taylor laughs.

"You fell?" she teases.

"Yeah, but I ain't got nothin' on you, Ted," he sasses. Taylor pouts. "Oh, that reminds me, I have to tell Gustavo that we finished our first song. Where is he?"

"Uhh, I think the adults are out getting coffee. They should be back soon," Katie answers.

"...Do you think he'll like it?" Kendall asks, referring to Gustavo. Everyone is quiet until Taylor says under her breath:

"May the odds be ever in your favor."

"IIIIIIIITTTTTTTT'SSSSSSSS," everyone leans forward in anticipation, "not bad," Gustavo finishes after Kendall and Dustin have finished singing Stuck for him. Logan is standing in the corner of the room, trying to hide that fact that he can't stop smiling.

"Eleven more songs to go!" Taylor cheers, jumping up and down.

"ELEVEN MORE SONGS TO GO!"

None of the boys have been back to the Palmwoods since they brought Taylor and Georgia over for the first time, so James thinks it's about time they visit their friends again. After all, they have big news and it needs to be spread like butter on hot toast.

"You got everything ready?" Kendall asks, snapping James right out of his thoughts. James grins, lifting up his bundle of posters.

"You bet I am," he says intensely.

"O...kay then. Let's go catch up with everyone else." The two make their way out of the building and into the parking lot, where the rest of their friends are waiting, along with Katie and Mama Knight. Georgia sees James and immediately perks up. Kendall watches as James kisses her cheek and- wait a minute. Kendall looks to his side where James had been a second ago, only to find himself alone.

"I don't even want to know," he mutters to himself.

"C'mon, Kendall!" Katie says, rushing over and tugging him towards Kelly's minivan. Carlos has already pried the trunk open, so he just grabs the fliers from Kendall's hands and dumps them in.

"Let's go!" he yells, and everyone piles in.

"Why does Kelly have a van anyways?" Logan asks after everyone is seated. Mama Knight is in the drivers seat and is buckling up as she answers.

"Her big sister has a lot of kids and sometimes Kelly likes to invite them over and let them watch her work. Apparently, most of them aspire to be producers or musicians, too."

"Cool," Taylor chirps as the van pulls out of the parking lot.

"How many kids does her sister have?" Georgia asks.

"I think she said five," Mama Knight answers. Kendall whistles.

"That's a lot of kids," he says. Everyone nods in agreement.

"Well, she has a set of triplets, so..." Mama Knight trails off.

"And she still had more kids?" Carlos asks. James chuckles.

"You mean like your mom?" he points out. Carlos rolls his eyes. Georgia laughs at Carlos' reaction.

"He's right," she says.

"Oh sure, side with your boyfriend," he complains.

"Kids, no bickering!" Mama Knight calls from the front seat.

"Yes, Mama Knight," they chorus and Mama K laughs when she realizes that Kendall had also said that.

Katie fiddles with the radio, wrinkling her nose.

"The stations here stink," she complains.

"We'll be there in a minute, Katie," Kendall tells the small girl. Katie groans, but otherwise remains quiet. She lets her hand drop from the radio dial and Kendall pats her on the shoulder. "Patience, young one," he whispers to her, making her laugh.

"Yes, because you're the total epitome of patience," she says sarcastically.

"Ruude."

"Oh, look! We're here!" Mama K announces with a sigh of relief. God knows how much trouble those teens can get into when together for too long. As soon as the van is parked, Taylor jumps out.

"Land!" she cries joyously, falling onto her knees and hugging the ground. Logan gives her an odd look.

"You aren't in The Pacifier, Ted," he says. Taylor hops up onto her feet.

"I know, I've just always wanted to do that," she says as Georgia climbs out, pushing her playfully.

"Ted, you really know how to stay under the radar, don't you?"

"Shush you."

"I think she really means 'Fuck you'," Kendall tells Georgia with a smirk. Taylor rolls her eyes.

"Why do you always make fun of me," she asks her fellow blond.

Kendall laughs. "Because you make it so easy!" Katie walks up to her big brother and grabs his hand, tugging him.

"C'mon, Kendall!" she exclaims. Kendall smiles down at the ten year old, letting her drag him into the Palmwoods. His friends follow closely behind them.

"Well, you're in a bit of a hurry," Kendall jokes. Katie smiles.

"So I'm a bit excited, but don't tell me you're not," she responds.

"Trust me, I am," he assures. "But I'm not dragging anyone," he points out.

"Psh, details," Katie says with a wave of her hand. She let's go of Kendall once they've reached the Palmwoods and Kendall holds the door open for her.

And of course he gets stuck holding it for everyone else. When he's finally able to walk in, Katie smirks at him.

She turns back towards the lobby and cups her hands around her mouth before yelling. "HEY EVERYONE- THE GUYS ARE BAACK! BUT THEY NEED HELP!"

"YEAH THEY DO!" Taylor yells.

"SO DO YOU!" the guys reply angrily. Georgia snickers. Camille, who had been sitting in one of the orange lobby seats, stands up.

"What do you need help with?" she asks.

"Well we're doing a last minute concert," Logan begins.

"And we need to start advertising it so people will come," Kendall continues.

"So we need a BTR 'Street team' to help us out," Carlos adds, making air quotes around the words "Street team".

"And please?" James finishes, giving her the puppy-dog eyes Katie taught him. Camille shrugs.

"I'm in," she says.

"Me too, dudes!" Guitar Dude calls from the computer area. Carlos takes a second to wonder what Guitar Dude of all people would do on the internet. Then he realizes that he actually doesn't want to know and forces himself to stop thinking about it.

"Awesome!" Taylor and Kendall chorus. She then laughs in the poor blond's face when she calls jinx before him.

"Rude," Kendall mutters and Taylor only grins in return, hooking her arm around his shoulders.

"And you say I'm easy to make fun of," she taunts.

"Anyways," Kendall says loudly, "Any more volunteers?" he asks.

"I'll help," a blonde girl says from one of the couches. The guys stare at her confusedly.

"Do you remember her?" Carlos whispers to Logan. Logan shakes his head.

"Not at all," he answers.

"Uhh, who are you?" Carlos asks her. She smiles, getting up and walking up to the group.

"I'm Jo," she says. "I just got here a few days ago."

"Ohhh," the guys chorus.

"Well, great!" Georgia says. "We have a nice group to help us spread the word."

"Dudes, ya mind if Lightning comes?" Guitar Dude asks. James shrugs.

"Nah, he can tag along," he tells the hippie.

"Awesome..."

"Welp," Katie says. "Let's go!" Kendall high-fives his baby sister right before Georgia grabs her, tossing the small girl over her shoulder.

"Onwards!" Carlos declares.

"It's almost time, it's almost time, it's almost time!" James exclaims, bouncing around nervously.

"Jay, calm down," Kendall soothes. "Everything is gonna be great. Gustavo has the investors lined up and ready to sign us onto their label." Even so, Kendall still knocks on wood as he says it.

"What if a stage light blows up in my face?" James asks worriedly. Kendall blinks. It takes him a moment to realize that his friend is serious.

"Then, uh... you duck," he answers with a shrug of his shoulders. James shoots him a hard look and Kendall licks his dry lips. "Look, James," he tries again, "I'll admit it, there's a lot that could go wrong today. But I have a really good feeling that everything will go without a hitch! Now, we have," Kendall pauses to look at his watch, "74 minutes until show time. Let's go get ready before we blow the roof of this place!"

James seems to finally perk up after Kendall's speech. "Yeah, you're right," he concurs.

"Fuck yeah I am!" Kendall exclaims. "Now, c'mon. We have to get ready."

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

"I can't believe this is actually happening!" Carlos exclaims, an arm wrapped around Taylor's waist. She's snuggled up against his side, her head against her shoulder. They were waiting for everyone else to finish getting ready. Even Georgia was prepping, helping Katie and Mrs. Knight set up a booth for merch.

"I know," Taylor hummed, "but I'm really glad it is." Carlos grins.

"I love how cuddling turns you into a mush ball," he says, lightly teasing the blonde girl. Taylor gasps, feigning hurt.

"You take that back," she says, sending the Latino a warning look.

"Never," he sings. Taylor lets out a harrumph, crossing her arms. Carlos chuckles, running his hand up and down her arm. Taylor glances at him before sighing, letting her arms fall back to her sides.

"You're lucky you're cute," she says, pecking him on the lips.

"I know..."

"It's time, it's time, it's time!" James exclaims, bouncing around nervously. Georgia is already on stage, waiting for them. Granted, it's only the soundcheck but still. The early-comers are out there ready to watch their every move.

James peeks out, looking at his girlfriend who has her guitar in the hand. Dustin's out there, too, on electric. Guitar Dude offered to play, too, but the boys politely declined for fear of him collapsing on stage in a feverish fit of 'What's up?'s. Taylor jumps up and down, clutching Logan.

"I'm so excited for you!" she exclaims. Logan looks amused as she continues hopping.

"How many sodas have you drank since we got here?" he asks. Taylor shrugs, still jumping.

"I don't know, maybe like two or three or seven, but who's counting?" she answers. Kendall chuckles.

"Lay off the sugar, Ted," he advises, patting her shoulder.

"But why? Sugar is my main source of energy!" she complains.

"Too bad," Kendall replies.

"I bet you if we cracked her open, shed be full of candy," James comments.

"Like a piñata!" Carlos exclaims. Kendall spots Kelly and nods towards her, silently alerting his friends.

"It's time," she says when she reaches them. Carlos suddenly looks very nervous and Logan thinks James might accidentally gnaw his bottom lip off with how hard he's biting down on it. Taylor grins to her friends, holding her hand out palm down.

"Like before your games," she says and the boys slowly stack their hands over hers, smiling. And then they begin chanting.

"Quack quack quack quack..."

Kelly looks amused as she watches them, their duck noises becoming louder.

"QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK!" they shout, throwing their hands up.

"NOW GO BEAT THE OTHER GUYS UP," Taylor yells. At the guys' looks, she grins. "Right. Concert, not hockey," she murmurs. Kendall grins.

"It's showtime, boys."

Yay! Another chapter complete!

Anyways, thought I'd let you now that the 27th of this month will mark one year since I began this story. How the time flies, huh? I'm so happy for all of you that have stuck with me for that year and I also want to apologize to you guys for having to put up with all my bullshit. I love you all so much!