Kendall and Jo were exclusive. 

Logan and Camille were... whatever was going on there.

James and Emily had their unspoken attraction.

And Carlos... Carlos really wanted a girlfriend. 

That's how they ended up in tree hats.

Logan was disguised as an old woman who James, a robber, would steal from in front of a girl by the pool. Carlos would knock James out, return the purse, and give a bouquet of flowers Emily was to set to the girl. Kendall was convinced he would get a date out of this plan. 

"This is Tree Hat, I repeat, this is Tree Hat," Kendall said over the walkie-talkie. "Is everybody in position?"

"Helpless old lady, ready," Logan confirmed. 

Emily leaned over to James, "$20 says this doesn't work," she mumbled, holding her hand out. 

James smirked, shaking her hand, as her pulled the ski mask down over his face, "Purse snatcher, good to go."

Emily stepped out, placing a vase of flower on the pool table besides the chair the target girl was lounging in, "Flowers in position."

"Copy that. Operation "Get Carlos A Girlfriend" is underway," Kendall said. 

Kendall ducked over to a dressed up Carlos, giving him a run down of the plan and giving a supportive pep talk. 

Kendall jumped back onto the slightly elevated patio, crouching with Emily, giving the signal, "Caw caw-caw!"

The two peered through the bushes as Logan trotted along, holding out the purse. James jumped out, grabbing the other end, the two in a dramatic tug-of-war. Emily smacked Kendall's arm excitedly as Carlos ran between them, yanking the purse free. 

Then he turned and soaked Logan. Emily gasped, a hand covering her mouth as Kendall winced. Carlos then grabbed the flowers, handing them to the mugger, and returning the purse to the girl of target. 

Emily gasped for breath as she fell over laughing. She sat up, seeing the girl scream in fear and run off. She hung on Kendall's shoulders as she died in a fit of laughter. 

Kendall sighed, "Yeah. We probably should have rehearsed more."

James took off his mask, groaning as Logan stared Carlos down in frustration after recovering. 

"Stop laughing!" Kendall snapped at Emily, shaking her off him. The girl continued to giggle hysterically. 

"I can't," she gasped. "He gave her the purse." Kendall rolled his eyes, shutting off the walkie-talkie. She gasped yet again, silencing her laughter, "I just got $20." Her eyes fluttered with joy as she raised her hand ecstatically, getting James' attention, "James! I'll give you an hour to come up with the money," she shouted to him. The boy fake laughed in response, punching Carlos in the arm for losing him the bet. 

Emily placed her radio back in Kendall's hand, walking off while still laughing to herself. 

"Where are you going?" Kendall asked. 

"I have to tell everyone about this."

***

"What do you mean we can't hang out?" Emily whined. 

Jo and Camille both just rejected her invitation to a girl's night in her apartment. They had one at least once a month. They'd have baking competitions, prank call Jett, and of course, dish about Big Time Rush. And Emily had lots to get off her chest. 

"Kendall and I are going to see Kiss and Tell tonight," Jo told her, waving the tickets. The girl's were walking through Palm Woods park together.

Kiss and Tell was the newest romance movie of the year. Everyone kept saying you were guaranteed to make-out while watching it, and the entire Palm Woods seemed to be sweeping for dates. 

"And I was hoping to go with a date tonight," Camille admitted, both Emily and Jo taking interest. "Maybe Logan and I will go, or maybe it'll be someone else, I don't know," Camille rambled, tucking a stray curl behind in ear. 

Emily groaned in disappointment, "Ugh, fine, whatever, have fun at your stupid make-out movie," Emily waved off, heading past the pool, until she turned back in a flash. "But also tell me what happens with Logan, and have lots of fun," she said, sincerely. 

"Wait," Jo called, Camille also giving the girl a knowing smirk. Emily spun on her heels, turning back, hoping the movie got rained out in the theater and girl's night was on. "Why don't you go to the movie?"

Jo and Camille shared a smug smile as they questioned their friend. 

"Why would I go to some kissing movie by myself?" She asked. 

"You could always ask someone..."

"Who?"

"James..." Camille shrugged, playfully. The two girls both knew James and Emily liked each other. Kendall told Jo, who told Camille, who already knew Emily liked James, and ever since they swapped the confirmed facts, they'd be waiting for the perfect time to push them together. 

Emily scoffed, a small blush creeping on her cheeks, "Funny," she mumbled, "if I ever were to go out with James, the first date isn't going to be a movie full of couples on top of each other."

Jo went to open her mouth in protest. 

Emily threw her hands over her ears, "What? I can't hear you!" She shouted, walking backwards away from her two friends who rolled their eyes at her antics. "See you later!" 

As Emily turned the corner to cut through the pool back to the lobby, James was seating nearby at a table with Katie and a boy who she had a crush on. 

"This is Katie," James told the kid. His eyes drifted to the girl walking behind him across the pool. "And I need to see Kiss and Tell with a girl tonight," he sputtered out, ditching Katie as he ran into the lobby to cut her off inside. 

The elevators disappeared from Emily's sight as James stepped in front of her, blocking her way. Noticing the boy, her lips fell into a tight smile. 

"Got my money?" She asked. 

James held up a finger, "How about something better?" Emily raised her eyebrows in interest. "You and me go see that new movie tonight after an elegant dinner," he proposed, his eyes flirtatious but his stomach a wreck. 

Emily's emotional wall coming down, "So a date with you in worth $20?" She mocked. The boy rolled his eyes. 

"C'mon," he said, trying a more practical approach, "all our friends are going, and we don't even have to kiss," he promised her. "Unless you want to."

Emily bit down aggressively on the inside of her cheek. Not only did she not want this to be her first date with James, but she didn't want to mistake his invitation for flirty cover of a pure friendly intention. 

"I'll meet you here at 6."

A charming smile flashed on James' face, "Perfect."

Emily gave him a soft, reserved smile, as they both turned heading in opposite directions, letting their excitement show. 

Riding in the elevator, Emily flipped through her phone to her group chat with Camille and Jo, sending an urgent text. 

Kiss and Tell with James tonight. Help.

***

Jo and Camille were remarkably in her apartment before her, bombarding her with questions as soon as her foot walked in. 

Camille thought it was definitely a date and Emily should let loose and go with it. 

Jo then told her James gets around a lot and if she wants this is really happen, she should take it slower. 

Then Emily started rambling about the moon and the stars and how James might not even be taking the date seriously and just wanted to get out for the night. 

Camille and Jo both felt obligated to calm their friend's nerves and tell her James really likes her. But Camille couldn't if Jo didn't and Jo couldn't because she promised Kendall not to let Emily find out. 

Jo fled the apartment fairly quickly, having an argument with Kendall about who Carlos was taking to the movie tonight. 

Camille and Emily found they could perfectly balance each other out to pick the perfect outfit, and Camille insisted on running a flat iron through the girl's light waves. 

Her hair straight, Camille ran off to prep for her own date, leaving Emily with her echoing thoughts. 

She stared at each part of herself in the mirror, standing in ripped jeans, with short tan booties, and her loose, white-laced, tank top, dipping in the middle. 

She really liked James. 

But she could never tell if he liked her. 

He flirts all the time. But he flirts with lots of girls. They're good friends. But also friends as a band. He did ask her out. But she didn't want to be a one time date to him. 

She didn't want something to happen, something to go wrong, and cause drama within the band. She didn't want to lose her friendships with the other guys. She didn't want to cause awkwardness in the studio. 

Emily found herself waiting in the lobby ten minutes early to walk off her nerves, twisting the rolled up tickets in her hands. Little did Emily know, her date with James wasn't on his mind in the slightest. He found himself occupied with Katie and her date. 

The boy ran off the elevator, wearing a dark blue button down, looking for the small girl and her new crush. 

Seeing him, Emily bit her cheek, smiling, holding up the tickets. 

James smiled, giving Emily his attention upon seeing her dressed up. 

"I printed the tickets for you-" she told him.

"Great."

"So you're picking dinner," she said, her nerves hiding away as she fell back into the comfortable friendship banter with the boy. 

"We're going to Funburger!" James shouted, sounding stressed, his eyes widening on the young couple walking out of the Palm Woods behind his date. "They serve the funnest burgers in town!" 

Emily nodded, watching his behavior carefully, sensing something else was going on. Also she was genuinely shocked at his choice. She had always assumed playboy James Diamond took his dates to the fanciest places. 

"Sounds good," she told him, turning to walk out with him. 

"Of course we can sit with Kyle and Katie!" He told her, not comprehending her words and instead found his mind obsessed with the two tweens. 

"Who's Kyle?" Emily asked, focusing on the mysterious person rather than James' odd behavior. 

"A terrible person."

***

Kyle was a kid. 

He was on a date with Katie. At Funburger. 

As much as James wanted to enjoy his time with Emily and focus on the date he'd been waiting to get, he almost forgot she was there, spending every moment stalking Katie and Kyle. 

As disappointed as Emily was she wasn't getting her real date with James, she was also relieved. With James distracted, she'd never have to address kissing him, or treating it like a real date. Instead, she was getting dinner and a show while she watched James continuously turn over his shoulder to spy on the two kids a few booths over. 

So naturally Emily performed an experiment. 

How devoted is James to ruining their date?

The waiter placed a single chocolate milkshake on the table while James was looking over his shoulder. He placed two straws on the table. Emily smiled back in gratitude, putting both straws in the drink. 

"So, I ordered us a milkshake with two straws," Emily told him. 

James turned, hearing her speak. He smiled, "Very romantic," he commented, feeling happiness in his chest at her interest. 

James suddenly turned back as Emily went to take a massive sip of the ice cream. Just as Emily went to close her lips on the straw, James yanked it from her, throwing out one of the straws, shouting "Too romantic!" 

Despite gaining data for her research, Emily sighed in sorrow, seeing her milkshake leave. She really only expected James to ignore her and she'd get the shake to herself. The boy ran over to Katie and Kyle, giving them the shake and taking a part their very own two-straw shake. 

James gave Emily a bright smile as he sat back down, only to immediately turn and stare intently at the two kids. 

"James, I can't wait to make out with you tonight," Emily said, sitting her head on her propped up hands. 

He turned back, "I know, the food here is great," he told her, turning back to Kyle and Katie. 

Emily nodded, nonchalantly, expecting no reaction where he actually heard her. 

She took notice of the mini jukebox on their table. Peering in, she turned the nobs, picking a romantic song to play. James turned back, returning to the date. 

"This is a romantic song," Emily said, giving the boy a coy grin. 

"You're right," He smiled in recognition. Thinking she closed her investigation, horror flooded his face. "How do we turn it off?" He cried, falling out of his seat, running over to Katie's table. 

Emily stiffed a laugh in amusement watching James desperately trying to turn off their music. It was all fun and games until James ripped it from the wall, sparks and smoke flooding the air. The girl covered her gaping mouth, her eyes wide. She cowered back into the booth, feeling a bit responsible for his outburst. 

Katie got out of the booth, snapped at James, and Emily watched quietly as her and Kyle left. 

James ran back to Emily, "Let's get a hot dog at the movies," he eagerly told her, grabbing her wrist and pulling her up and out the door. 

"Super excited," she told him, stumbling out of the booth, and giving a sorry wave to the waiter in the back. 

***

James ran off the moment they stepped into the theatre. 

Luckily for Emily she was able to spot Camille, in her blue dress, over on a stool by herself. 

"So where is he now?" Camille asked, after Emily finished recapping her evening. 

Emily shrugged, "I don't know. Probably screwing with Katie's date."

"And this does bother you?"

"No," Emily said. "I told you I was uncomfortable with this being a first date, and instead, I've been gifted a wonderful evening of watching him act like an idiot," Emily told her, smiling to herself. 

A soft smile on Camille's face, "And you're not disappointed?"

Emily shrugged, tugging her arms in, "Maybe one day I'll get a real shot with James, but tonight has not been disappointing," she laughed. Emily got James in her eye, walking back from the ticket booth. "I gotta go, see you later," she mumbled to Camille, chasing after James. 

His eyes found her, "Guess who just got four tickets to The Unicorn Princess!" He exclaimed, showing off the four tickets. 

Emily gaped in amusement. "No way," she said.

He nodded, "Much more age appropriate for the kids." He nodded over to Katie and Kyle who were innocently playing in the arcade. 

"Are you asking me on a double date to The Unicorn Princess?" Emily smirked, biting her tongue to not laugh. 

"In 3-D," James gushed. 

"That sounds awesome."

James smiled, content, to himself as Kyle and Katie came over. 

"Hey, we're gonna pass on Kiss and Tell," Katie told them. 

"Did you know that movie is full of people kissing?" Kyle shuddered. 

Emily silently held her hand up, receiving a high five in response from the kid. 

"So, we're just gonna hang out in the arcade and go home with you guys later."

James sighed, dropping the contents in his arms, "Oh, thank goodness!" 

"Let's go," Kyle said. 

Katie hung back, sternly looking at James. "You know, you were really annoying today with that overprotective stuff."

"Yeah, I know," James admitted, looking to the side in guilt. 

Emily caught a small smile on Katie's face as she stepped in, linking her arms around the boy's waist, hugging him. "Thanks."

Surprised, James returned a small hug before she went off to play more games. 

James shrugged, "So, are we still seeing Kiss and Tell or The Unicorn Princess?" He asked, holding up all his tickets. 

Not wanting to answer, Emily was saved by the bell, aka, Jo. 

"Well, you can't date her because you're both idiots!" Jo yelled. Emily and James both turned seeing Jo standing with a brunette yelling at Carlos and Kendall who were with another girl, Emily could only assume was about the date situation. 

Emily and James gaped as Jo blew Kendall off for the movie, and invited both of Carlos' potential dates to go shoe shopping instead. 

"Tough break," Emily scoffed. 

"I saw Logan cancel his date for Camille only to find out she already had one," James told her, grimacing for his friends. 

Realization crossed her face. All the guys were now dateless to the hottest make out movie. She winced looking at James, "So, look," she told him. "I don't feel like sitting in a hot romance movie with all four of you," she admitted.

James nodded, understanding, "You want to go with Jo," he said. She could tell she was totally ditching him. 

"Stop making me feel guilty and I forget about the bet."

James perked up, smiling, "Have fun, it's been a great night!" He beamed at her. 

Emily let out a small laugh, giving the boy the sarcastically salute, as she walked off to Jo who was with the two brunettes. 

"Em," Jo gasped in surprise. "What happened with the date?"

Emily shrugged, "James obsessed over Katie and her date all night, which was actually super fun for me, but he's just gonna see the movie with the guys."

One of the girls narrowed their eyes, "They're going to go see Kiss and Tell all together?"

"James also has four tickets to The Unicorn Princess."

Jo nodded, "And that's where they'll end up."

Emily looked to the girls, "I'm Emily, you must be Carlos' dates for the evening," she joked. 

"I'm Megan," one of them said, as they walked out of the building. 

"I'm Candy," the other greeted. 

Emily smiled at them, "It's very nice to meet you. I cannot wait to hear about the idiocy you experienced while I buy expensive shoes I don't need."

***

Ahhh... 

So their relationship has shifted gears! But of course, I couldn't let it take off. It's not time yet. 

Hope you enjoyed, the next one is gonna be great...