You know in the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland? 

How he just runs around stressed the whole movie because he's late?

Emily was the White Rabbit. 

She stumbled out of the elevator, struggling to keep her papers from flying away, and mumbling the occasional sorry when she bumped into someone. 

Gustavo told her to be at the studio 20 minutes ago, and after her water stopped mid-shower, she's had the longest morning ever. 

Emily crossed through the Palm Woods lobby, eyes zeroed in on her phone as she tragically tried to apologize to Kelly over text for being late. She'd wait to deal with Gustavo in person. 

Staring at her screen, her shoulder collided with a blonde girls, losing all her notes, and the girl dropping her suitcase. 

Emily groaned, bending down to pick it all up, "Ugh, I'm sorry," She told the girl. "It's been a rough morning." 

"No worries," The girl replied, a genuine smile on her face. At her level, she picked up Emily's lost papers and handed them back as they both stood up. 

Emily looked up to thank the person who was so kind to her, but couldn't recognize her. "I'm sorry, have we met?" She asked, never forgetting a name. It wasn't the way to work in business. 

She shook her head, a small smile, "I just moved in, today. I'm Jo," she said, holding out her hand. 

Emily smiled, shaking her hand, "I'm Emily." The girl quickly remembered she was already late enough to work, she heart rate flying high again, "And I'm so late! But let's hang out sometime if my boss doesn't kill me!" Emily said, walking backwards out of the Palm Woods.

Jo silently laughed, waving goodbye to her first friend in LA. 

***

"Woah, who's he?" Emily asked in awe pointing to the tall, dark-colored, and massive dude in the corner. 

She was mid-apology when he caught her eye. 

"That is Freight Train. He makes people do what I say," Gustavo explained, a smile on his face. "Also," He said, standing from his desk and walking out of his office, indicating Emily should follow. "Griffin wants a slow love song for the album and I'm not sure if this is the right song." 

Emily nodded, unsure of what was going on, "Okay..." 

"And I wanted your take on it." 

Emily stopped in her tracks. Frozen with shock and delight. Pinching herself in case it was a dream. "Me? Y-you want my opinion on a song?" She asked, hustling over to the piano where Gustavo had sat down. 

"That's what I said, isn't it?" He asked, confused at her slow actions. Seeing her open her mouth to speak again, he held up a hand, "Song time." 

She remained patient and silent, waiting for him to start playing. As Gustavo progressed through the song, Emily understood why he was stuck. It was great, but something was off. 

He turned to her, "Well?" 

Taking a deep breath in, Emily reminded herself it's okay to be honest. That's why he asked. "It's weird," She admitted, slowly to search for a reaction. "I think it's catchy and beautiful, but it sounds bad." 

Gustavo nodded, furiously in agreement, "Exactly! I can't figure it out!" 

Collective sounds and voices echoes through the studio hallways as the boys arrived with Kelly. 

"Maybe it'll be different when the boys sing it," Emily told him, hopeful. Gustavo nodded, rolling his eyes in frustrated and got up from the piano to stand in front of his band. 

"Today," Gustavo projected while Kelly handed out the lyrics, "we are going to sing a love song. It's a slooow, love song. About looove." 

Emily stood, uneasy as the guys weren't paying attention and instead looking at each other for answers. 

"The record company wants one of your demo songs to be a ballad," Kelly explained. 

"Okay," Kendall said, turning to his friends, "does anybody else notice the huge guy in the corner?" 

It all making sense, Emily silently "ohh" to herself. 

"That is Freight Train," Gustavo told them. "My new executive in charge of making people do what I say." Smirking, Freight Train punched a huge through the dry wall, Emily's eyes widening in admiration. "Now, this is a song about when you see a girl for the first time and you know she's the one," He told the guys. "Do you guys know what I'm talking about?" 

The boys, collectively all sighed looking up into the ceiling, at absolutely nothing. Kelly turned to Emily in confusion. 

"This happens a lot just let it play out," She told her, shrugging off the concerns. 

The guys broke from whatever fantasy they were imagining and started fighting each other, saying "she's mine." 

Kelly leaned into Emily, "Is this about you?" 

Emily, equally confused as to who they were talking about, leaned over, "Can't be. Last time I saw them, I told them to "go back to Minnesota.'" 

Gustavo had summoned Freight Train over. The tall man picked James and Carlos from the group, each by the back of their shirts, and flung them up and away from the other two, breaking up the fight. 

After landing, the two boys smiled to themselves as Carlos thought out loud, "That was kinda fun." 

A strong smell entered Emily's nose, making her turned away, wondering what it was, and why her nose was on fire. 

"What is that smell?" Gustavo asked, uncomfortable. 

"Barracuda Man Spray," James said, taking out his can. "We're in love with a girl at the Palm Woods and this is my edge." He sprayed some into his closed eyes, turned around to no one, and said "Better wear your 'Cuda," before doing some weird head movement. 

"Yeah, the edge that makes you go over the cliff," Emily told him, baffled he thought this was a good idea. 

"You need an edge?" Kendall asked, rhetorically. 

"You always get the girl!" Carlos exclaimed, frustrated. 

"Yeah, give us a chance for once," Logan chimed in. 

"She will be mine!" 

And the boys started fighting again, but Emily couldn't understand why any girl would pick James out of that group. He might be the best looking, in her opinion, but Logan was smart and kind, and Carlos was selfless and sweet, and Kendall was real and honest, and James was none of those things. 

Freight Train broke up the fight again, hurdling them into the sound booth like a bunch of cows. 

"He's so good," Emily hummed, mesmerized by his power as she followed the group into the recording booth to hear the song, and hopefully like it more. 

Any kind of guy you want, that's the guy I'll be- ACHOO!

A massive sneeze from James set off terrible feedback through the mics, stabbing Emily's ear drums while she tried to fix the vocals. 

Turn myself up-side down- ACHOO!

Emily threw the headphones off that time, her ears ringing. Thankfully, all the boys stopped singing, knowing Gustavo would've called cut anyway. 

"This is a song about love, not sneezing!" Gustavo shouted into the mic. 

"The pollen count is really high today," Kelly told him, defending James. 

Gustavo turned in his chair, "Then get him to a doctor and fix him, while I fix the song because it's horrible," Gustavo said, "Moore, go." 

Emily snapped up, hating when he called her name. "Me?" She questioned.

"Um, yes, Emily Moore," Gustavo sarcastically retorted. 

"What?" She asked, pretending the conversation just started. 

Gustavo sighed, turning to her fully, "Take him to the doctor and get him to stop sneezing!" 

"Logan?" 

Gustavo started screaming in his chair, making Emily jump up and stand besides Kelly, who gave her an aggravated look for instigating the man. 

"Just take him to the doctor, please," Gustavo said, calmly. 

"Me?" 

Gustavo started screaming again, while Kelly pushed him back in his chair until he calmed down. 

James exited the booth going over to Emily to head off to the doctor. Emily turned closely to Kelly whispering in her ear, "Please don't make me take him. I can't stand him," She pleaded. 

"I can't stand Gustavo when he's mad, and you did a great job of making him that way," Kelly jabbed at her, upset he wasn't in a kinda-pleasant mood anymore. 

Sighing, Emily slumped her shoulders, groaning while she left the booth to take James to see a doctor. 

***

Arriving at Doc. Hollywood's office, James sat on the medical table while Emily was leaning back against it. 

Dr. Hollywood had been mixing a drink together, as James was still sneezing uncontrollably. 

"Now," the doctor said, "this should make it all better." He turned around, taking a shot of the drink, tossing the empty cup behind him, and addressing the patient in the room, "Okay. What seems to be the problem?" 

"The problem is that I'm here, when I need to be at the Palm Woods impressing the girl of my dreams!" James told him, desperate to get to the Palm Woods where the rest of the guys were. There was a whole blowout before leaving the studio when James found out. 

"Sounds serious," Dr. Hollywood thought, "I'm prescribing one dose of black Bolero jacket and 100 CC's of tight pants," he said, scribbling on a note sheet and handing the prescription to James. 

"Awesome- ACHOO."

Emily ripped the piece of paper from James' hands, throwing it away, "No, he needs to stop sneezing so he can sing a song," she told the doctor. 

"Sounds like Roseanne Barr Syndrome," He told them. Never hearing of it, and assuming it was only allergies, Emily and James looked to each other in confusion and turned back to the doctor. "The irreversible deterioration of the glands resulting in pain so severe, it can only be relieved by the sweet mercy of death." 

Sneezing, James wrapped his arms around Emily, pulling her close in fear, and wrapping a leg around her torso. 

She shrugged him off in annoyance, "You're not going to die," she grumbled. "And couldn't just be allergies from all the pollen?" She asked the doctor. 

"Pollen," He snapped in realization. "Of course. James, are you afraid of receiving giant shots?" He asked to boy, holding a long, thin needle in the air. 

Shrieking, James hopped off the bed, and ran out the doors into the hallways, screaming. 

Emily rolled her eyes, "Nice work," she sarcastically mumbled. "Can we go get him?" She asked, moving to find the panicking teen somewhere on the floor. "Also," she said, turning to the doctor, "Is it possible to get a stretcher with restraints?" 

Dr. Hollywood smiled, "Of course!" He said, enthused, "I love when I get to use them," he told the girl, giddy to go find one. 

While Dr. Hollywood went to find a stretcher, Emily needed to find James and distract him to get him on the thing. 

Turning down a hallway, James was pacing back and forth by a vending machine. She sighed, walking over to him, planning to be civil. 

"Dude, you okay?" She asked. He stopped pacing and turned to her. 

"Of course I'm not okay! The new Palm Woods girl is the girl for me and I can't show her that while I'm trapped in a building of death!" He exclaimed, upset with his current situation. Emily didn't even flinch, staring him down. 

"It's one shot," She told him. "And it's the only thing standing in your way of getting the 'girl of your dreams.' So, I suggest we go back in there, get this over with, and both move on with our lives," Emily said, growing impatient. From behind James, Emily made out an approaching figure as Dr. Hollywood with the stretcher. 

"I don't know," He thought, "I'm really scared of needles! I always have been, and that one was huge!" He said, his voice wavering. 

The stretcher was placed right behind James. All Emily would have to do is push him over...

"James," she said, gaining his attention. Genuine, she gave him a helpless look, "I'm sorry." 

As he started to question her, she pushed him back, the boy falling over as he tripped over the wheels and right into place. Dr. Hollywood tightened the belt around his arms, attaching him to the chair. 

"Is that the seatbelt from an airplane?" Emily asked, eyeing the fabric closely. 

Dr. Hollywood shrugged, beginning to wheel a protesting James back into the room. 

Upon entering the room, James stopped struggling and started laughing nervously, "Look, I'm not sneezing anymore, so I guess I can go back to the Palm Woods now. And I definitely don't need that shot-ACHOO."

"James," Dr. Hollywood told him, "it's not gonna hurt a bit." The man pulled back out the needle, "It's gonna hurt a lot!" 

James started screaming again, while Emily gave the doctor a harsh glare. 

"Why would you say that?" She screamed.

 James reached into his pocket, pulled out his man spray and started waving it around, threateningly. "Stay back! I'm not afraid to use this." 

"Barracuda Man Spray!" Dr. Hollywood exclaimed in recognition. He grabbed his own can from the table, "Now in new spice lime," He repeated the catch phrase for the brand James had earlier and stared off into space as he said it. He turned back to Emily, giving her a nod. 

Eyes wide and in fear she gaped at the two, "Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god!" She screamed, scrunching her face and holding her head before popping it back up. "Does it have to be a shot?" She asked, hoping for an alternative remedy. 

"There is one thing that might work," the doctor thought. As the two teens waited for his response he turned to them, holding his chin. "Do you think I need a chin implant?" 

Emily gaped again and muttered the phrase "Oh my god," over and over until the situation didn't hurt as much. 

She came back to reality when Dr. Hollywood left the room. She took a deep breath, looking down at James, who didn't look happy with the girl. 

"You tricked me!" 

She rolled her eyes, "Oh, please, we both knew you'd get the shot one way or the other." 

"Why don't you like me? I'm an amazing person! Have you seen my hair? My washboard abs? My face?-" 

Before James could name another feature on himself, Emily snapped, "That is why!" She sighed, "Don't you ever get tired of only thinking of yourself?" 

James looked down, thoughtfully after she called him out. Relieving the tension in the room, Dr. Hollywood returned with a gas mask. Smiling, he put it over James' head. 

"Please tell me you're joking?" She pleaded with the doctor while James made muffled noises under the mask.

"He stopped sneezing," Hollywood pointed out. 

Emily nodded in slight agreement, taking a moment to consider her options. 

She could take James back in the mask and face Gustavo. 

She could force James to get a shot against his will. 

She could run away and pretend Gustavo asked her for a latte instead. 

***

Any kind of guy you want, that's the guy I'll be.

Turn myself up-side down

Yes, I will! Yes, I will!

James released muffled, undetectable singing under the gas mask Emily decided was her best option. 

Gustavo slammed on the keys, standing up to turn to the boys, "What was that? What was that?" He demanded. 

"You wanted him to stop sneezing," Emily mentioned, in a kind tone, "and, look, no more sneezing!" She said, happily, knowing Gustavo wouldn't reciprocate it. 

"But he can't sing!" He shouted at the girl, who stood there in silence, expecting nothing less. "And we have to sing this love song because the record company wants a love song, and I still hate this song!" 

"Well, he refuses to take an allergy shot, I can't force him to, and I'm not a practiced nurse!" Emily screamed, imitating her boss. 

He stepped back, "Your yelling has improved," He told her, thoughtfully, before stepping to her face again as she tightly squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation. "But, more like this: get him an allergy shot." 

James took of the mask, turning to Gustavo, "It's my fault, Gustavo-ACHOO! I need to do this. I'll get the shot," He told the man, stepping in for Emily who was taken by surprise.

Emily gave him a nod, motioning for him to follow her so they could go back to the doctor. 

As they rode the elevator down, Emily built up the courage to thank him. 

"Thanks," she said, fiddling with her shirt. 

Surprised at her kindness towards him, "You're welcome. It was my fault he was yelling at you," he said, apologetically. 

"Also, I'm sorry about what I said-" She started to say walking out to the car. Until James started screaming. He sprayed his entire body with the man spray, screamed "she will be mine," and dove into an empty cab, speeding off. 

His selflessness and sincerity caught the girl off guard. Normally she'd be hurt after being messed with like that, but she could only be mad at herself. She shouldn't have expected a selfless act like that from James Diamond. 

Emily kicked a flower pot over in anger, and went over her options again. 

Go after James and force him to get the shot. 

Tell Gustavo what happened and let James suffer. 

Go to the hot dog stand and pretend like nothing happened. 

***

"Have a good day," she smiled at the man who served her the hot dog and lemonade. 

She began walking off, hoping to find a nice park somewhere, or maybe a cave where no one could call her. 

"Emily! Em!" A voice called. 

She sighed, turning around to be faced with the other three members of the band. 

"Where's James?" Kendall asked, breathlessly. 

 "He sprayed his entire body with that stupid man spray, shouted "she will be mine," and jumped into a cab," she recounted, a dull tone, too annoyed to care anymore. 

Carlos gasped, "He's going to the Palm Woods, to steal our girl!" He gripped Logan and Kendall's shirts, before they all took off sprinting to the Palm Woods. 

Bothered by everyone's behavior today, Emily sat on the concrete, in the shade, picking at the bush until a bus came to take her to Alaska. 

Her phone began buzzing in her pocket, pulling it out, she deeply groaned seeing it was James. She pressed the answer button, not given a chance to say anything. 

"Emily, pick me up. I need that shot!" He screamed, frantic into the phone. 

Unsurprised by his sudden need for help again, she got a cab and went to the Palm Woods to pick James up. 

At the Palm Woods, a person opened the door to the cab, getting in. 

A puffy, red-faced balloon, with a leather jacket, and sequin, snake print, boot cut jeans. 

Emily would've screamed under normal circumstances, but she recognized James right away and smiled to herself at how great this turned out. 

"You look hideous," she told him, smiling in shock. 

"I know!" He cried, "My face is red and-" 

"Oh, I meant the pants," She said, pretending to be dumb, "Is something wrong with your face? It looks normal," she said, bitter. 

James sighed, "I'm sorry I ditched you, but I had to get to the Palm Woods!" 

"That turned out great, didn't it?" She retorted, texting Kelly on her phone, blocking James out for the rest of the drive. 

They ran into Dr. Hollywood's office, James now wearing a full-face helmet on his head, and goalie gloves. 

"Give me a shot, now!" He shouted at Dr. Hollywood who was lying on the table, listening to music as Emily ran in. "I'm not afraid anymore. And I'm not pretty under here! And I'm in love, and-" James screeched until the doctor injected a shot into his arm through the leather jacket. "Hey, that wasn't that bad," He said, before slinking down, passing out on the floor.

Emily stepped away from his body, slightly concerned, "What was that?" 

"Something for his panic attack," he answered, obvious. "Were you not here?" 

"He has to sing a song!" Emily shouted, irritated this was taking so long. 

Dr. Hollywood hummed, looking through his medical bag, "Sing a song. Sing a song. Sing-A-Song shot? Oh! Yeah," He laughed, pulling out a massive, thick, silver syringe. 

Emily's eyes grew at the size of that thing, only to go back to normal, while she shrugged, "I don't care, do whatever," she said, pacing around the room, waiting for James to heal 

***

Gustavo figured out it was meant to be a faster song. 

Logan, Kendall, and Carlos learned the girl had a boyfriend. 

James learned not to use Barracuda Man Spray 

And Emily learned she probably could've used Freight Train for all her problems. 

Gustavo gave her the day off, thankfully the same day Griffin was coming to hear the song. 

She got to sleep in, and worry from a far if he would be okay with Gustavo not writing a slow song. 

Emily sat out by the pool with Jo, talking about their lives and getting to know her. 

She was in LA from North Carolina for acting. 

She was the girl the boys were in love with. 

She lied about having a boyfriend.

Emily couldn't blame her. 

Emily explained her involvement in the band and the entire fiasco from the other day. 

"Oh! James was the hideous guy?" Jo asked, realizing the identity behind the guy who hit on her as Emily told the story. 

"He's an idiot," Emily grumbled. "Would not recommend having a single conversation with him. All you'll get is self-absorbed comments about his hair and how amazing he is." 

Jo scrunched her face in disgust, "Sounds awful," she said. "But you could always let it play out," Jo suggested. "You never know who a person may turn out to be." 

"Aw, that's great advice," Emily told her. "But I'd rather hate him." 

Jo stiffed a laugh at her new friends comment, "Well, it's a good thing you have a girl friend to talk to when the boys drive you crazy," she said, raising her smoothie. 

Emily smiled, raising hers, "All I need." 

Clink

***

Another chapter woahhhh.

Still in awe of how well this is doing after a few days