Big Time Rush... on time?

It had never been heard of. And if it did happen, it's only because it was on accident, the guys were hiding out in the studio after breaking something, or because they weren't called in at all.

The band got their first appearance on teen magazine, Pop Tiger, offering a win a date contest. 

So when Emily saw the guys arrive when they were told to, she much more than surprised.

They skated in with rollerblades in their hockey jerseys and carrying sticks, having just played street hockey, no doubt. 

"Here we are," Kendall shouted, flying down the hallway. 

"Right on time," the guys smirked, skating to a stop in front of an astonished Emily as Gustavo and Kelly both ran in, gaping. 

"BTR on time?" Kelly mumbled. "You guys have never done this before."

"Well, it's amazing how much you can get done when you've swore off dating girls," Kendall said.

Emily narrowed her eyes, just hearing of this new plan for the first time, "You've swore off dating girls?"

"Well, they just end up moving to New Zealand on you!"

Logan shrugged, stressed, "And then your on again, off again is on again, then off again. It's exhausting."

"You realize that's the entire concept of an on again, off again, right?" Emily questioned.

"Well, since I've sworn off my fickle dating habits," James smiled, "my IQ has gone up 20 points." Emily turned her head, raising her eyebrows at the boy. "Go ahead, ask me anything."

Kelly shrugged, "Okay, who was the first-"

"Alexander Hamilton."

Emily slowly turned to Kelly who froze in shock, slowly nodding he was correct. 

"With the time we save by not chasing girls, we've increased our hockey playing 79% and decreased our showering 98%," Carlos cheered.

Horrified, "Please increase your showering," Emily pleaded.

"Yup, it's official," Kendall grinned. "Big Time Rush is never going on a date again."

"So, what's the big news?" Logan asked.

Emily turned to Gustavo, amusingly pursing her lips as he told them the irony of the situation. "You finally made it on the cover of Pop Tiger magazine," he told them, showing the page.

Kelly pointed down to their circle, "With their 'win a date with Big Time Rush' contest!"

The guys leaned forward, horrified. Carlos gasped, swiping the magazine from Gustavo as he threw himself on the arm of the couch, his friends stressfully tripping over their sticks to get a look at the article. 

"Win a date with Big Time Rush," Carlos read. 

Logan took the magazine, "Spend a day with the boys of BTR at the famous Palm Woods."

James leaned over, holding it in front of himself, "And wrap up your date with a big-time party in the very studio the guys record their hits."

"But, Gustavo, we've sworn off dating!" Kendall cried.

"Mm, yeah," Gustavo thought. "No you haven't!"

"Guys, these aren't real dates," Emily reminded them. "You're just spending a day with one of your fans."

"And it's a huge first step being on the cover of Pop Tiger, but now you have to work even harder to climb the cover," Kelly informed, taking the magazine back. 

"Climb the whatta?" The guys asked.

"There are three levels of success on every teen fan-zine," Gustavo told them as Emily held up three fingers. "The entry level, located at the bottom of the mag," he said, pointing to the guys picture in the bottom corner, "like 'win a date with Big Time Rush' or 'what's Jordan's big secret?'"

"The rising star level," Emily explained, pointing to Marcus. "Mid to high on the cover with a bigger picture, currently held by rapper, Marcus."

"And finally, the superstar level with dominates the cover, currently occupied by teen vampire queen, Aubrey Stewart."

Emily looked down, shifting her weight uncomfortably at the mention of the celebrity. James' eyes quickly flashed to Emily who focused on her shoes, before back at Gustavo, "Another date gone horribly wrong!"

"So, we have to wow these dates and impress the editors of Pop Tiger so that we can climb the cover and get to the next level," Gustavo told them. 

"But, Gustavo, this timing is terrible!" Kendall stressed.

The guys all stood, defiantly, "We're done with dates!"

Emily sighed, "So you heard nothing I said about these not being real dates?" She mumbled. 

One Month Later

"We're going on dates!" The guys all cheered. 

They waited in the Palm Woods lobby to meet their dates. Emily wasn't surprised the guys were excited about the contest. It had been a long month of not dating. They only kept it up out of pride because Emily repeatedly told them they couldn't do it. 

They played a lot more hockey. There was a lot less drama. The entire friend group seemed to click better when everyone was content in their lives. James and Emily especially liked each other more now that James had quit his "fickle dating habits." The two weren't ever alone like they would've been before. But some of the guys picked up she wasn't as short with him as she was.

"Dogs, heel," Gustavo hissed at their eccentric behavior in front of the editors. 

The thin, brunette-bobbed woman stepped forward, shaking the guys' hands, "Hey, guys, I'm Annie Winters, editor of Pop Tiger magazine. Now we just want you guys to be yourselves, have fun, and make sure that your dates have the best time ever." A man stood behind Annie, snapping pictures of the interactions for the story. 

"Got it!" They smiled.

"Okay, let's meet the winners." Annie smiled, bringing out the first girl, "First up is James' date for the day: Jeanette." 

Jeanette was a small blonde girl with a sweet face. "Hello, Jeanette," James smiled.

 "OMG," the girl gushed in a small, high voice, "I can't believe I get to spend the whole day with James Diamond."

"You don't spend the day with James Diamond. You experience it."

Emily met James' eyes, a tight amused smile as she raised her eyebrows in question as the boy nodded back at his answer.

"Carlos, your date is Tiffany," Annie said, pulling out the next winner. Tiffany was a darker girl with long, curled black hair, extremely beautiful, but not as innocent-looking at the first girl. 

"Tiffany," Carlos greeted, shaking her hand. "It is very nice to meet you." 

"I still can't believe I won," the girl grinned. 

"Kendall," Annie called. "You'll be with Bobby."

"Sch-weet!"

Emily looked down to see a small boy, attached to a harness with an overly exhausted mother struggling to hold his leash. He jumped forward, beaming at Kendall who was not as excited to meet Bobby. Kelly pushed Emily behind Gustavo as she struggled to keep her laughter contained. 

"I can't believe I have a date with Kendall Knight of Big Time Rush!" Bobby cried. 

"Yep, believe it," Kendall responded, looking to Gustavo and Kelly who helplessly shrugged, not sure how this happened. 

Emily walked out from behind Gustavo, giving him a bright thumbs up and a smile as Kelly shoved her away again when she started to laugh some more. 

"If you read this little fellas entry, you'd know he's the biggest BTR fan ever," Annie gushed to Kendall. 

"I always poster pretend I'm you!" Bobby screamed. He unrolled his poster, putting his face in a hole where Kendall should've been, "Uh, oh, oh, ohh." 

Emily stiffed a laugh, giving a round of applause to the kid. "I'll see you two tonight at the party," his mom smiled. "Thank you," she begged Kendall desperately as she let go of the leash, Bobby immediately attaching himself to Kendall. 

"He's a hugger," Kendall grunted, Logan dodging out of the way. 

"And finally Logan, your contest winner is," Annie said, "Rona."

A middle aged woman with bright red hair and printed clothing popped out, "Where's my date?" She grinned. Logan awkwardly smiled, raising his hand. Rona gasped, "Oh, look at him!" She ran up to Logan, pinching his cheek, "He's like a boy-man!"

Gustavo and Kelly deadpanned at the editor who shrugged as Emily took out her phones, getting pictures of the line up, zooming in on the last two couples that brought her so much joy. 

"Okay, let's get a shot of all our contest winners with their big-time dates!" Annie said. 

Everyone smiled brightly, except for Logan who did his best with his face being pulled at and Kendall who was being suffocated.

The pictured snapped, Annie smiled, "Alright, you guys go have fun, we'll be taking pictures all day, and we'll see you all tonight for the party at Rocque Records!"

James and Carlos smiled at the girls, leading them out to the pool together. Bobby tore Kendall away as he struggled to keep up with the boy and Rona clapped loudly, Logan wincing as they walked off. 

Gustavo turned pointing to Emily, "I need you to spy on the dates today."

"What? No," she responded. 

"Yes, you have to make sure the dogs don't mess this up," he told her. 

The girl whined, "But this was supposed to be a day off."

Kelly shrugged, "It is. You just have something to do now."

"Bye," Gustavo smiled, him and Kelly sprinting out of the Palm Woods before she could yell at them.

Emily sighed, grumbling as she saw no one recognizable around and headed to the elevator to lock herself in her apartment instead.

***

Two hours went by and she hadn't received any texts or urgent calls from Gustavo or the guys, so she had no reason to assume the dates were going well. 

Until Logan showed up breaking into her apartment. 

"Dude!" Emily screamed, sitting up on the couch, "Get out!"

Logan fell to his knees, holding Emily's hands as he begged her, "Get me out of this date. I can't do it anymore!" He cried. 

Startled, Emily torn her hand away, "Okay, Logan," she sighed. "I might be super awesome and intimidating, but I have no control over this contest. You're best bet would be Kelly," she told him, falling back onto her side, "but you'd have to run all the way to the stu-"

Emily shot up at the sound of her door slamming shut with Logan no longer in her apartment. She sighed in relief, going to relax again when her phone started ringing. 

"Yes?" 

"Moore, you have to monitor these dates," Gustavo cried. 

"Gustavo, everything is fine. They're separated from each other, and they're all extremely great guys when alone," she assured him.

"Kendall lost Bobby."

She frowned, sliding off the couch and hesitantly putting her shoes on, "What do you mean he lost Bobby?"

"Katie punched him!" Kendall cried, stealing the phone.

"He tried to kiss me, twice!" Katie snapped in her defense. 

Emily shrugged to herself, "Sounds like he had it coming."

"Thank you!"

A rustling over the phone and Gustavo came back, "Kelly told me Pop Tiger is handling Logan's date, so I need you to check in with James and Carlos." 

The girl let out an inner whine, hanging up and she slowly walked out into the hall, texting Carlos. 

How are the dates?

He replied instantly. 

Absolutely perfect. No problems here. I am being very nice to them.

Emily frowned, thinking to herself how Carlos would say that if this was a verbal conversation. There was A. the cool and confident response. B. Stressed and yelling response because he's trying to lie. C. Passive-aggressive.

She prayed it was A.

Where are you?

He replied.

We're heading to the park.

Emily dropped herself down the stairs and though the lobby in boredom. As she exited the Palm Woods, she saw a red SUV pulled up in front, Rona talking with the driver. Rona squealed in delight, opening the side door to climb in, revealing Logan in the drivers seat. 

"Logan?" Emily called before he drove off. 

"Hey, Em," the boy smiled, resting his arm on the wheel, much calmer than earlier. 

Emily walked up, leaning on the window, seeing Rona beaming in the back. Emily smiled, waving at her. "Hey, Rona." 

Logan turned, "Oh, Rona, this is my good friend, Emily. She works at the studio."

"Nice to meet you, Emily! You're very lucky to have such a sweet man like Lo-Gain as a friend," she smiled.

Emily smiled, coughing down a laugh, "Lo-Gain is a great friend," she agreed before turning back to Logan to discreetly catch up, "So what are you guys up to?"

"Well, we're hitting Santa Monica Pier, Rodeo Drive, the famous hand-prints, and then heading to her sister's," Logan smiled. 

Emily smiled, nodding at Logan, leaning in to talk to Rona, "Rona, you got the best one, you know?" She told her, backing up from the car. "Besides Carlos!" Emily shouted as the car drove off, receiving a loud honk in return. 

Standing behind the car, Gustavo appeared when Logan drove away, starling Emily, "He's not in the minivan!"

"He's not in a bushes!" Katie cried, popping up behind Emily. The girl spun in confusion, her mind not able to process all the shocking appearances so quickly. 

"You haven't found him yet?" Emily asked as Kendall ran over. 

"Try the lobby!" He screamed, the three barreling into the building. 

Seeing they were 1:1 on dates, Emily hoped the other two didn't mess things up when she walked to the park. 

Carlos and James weren't anywhere she could see, but she did spot Tiffany and Jeanette talking alone. Emily gently approached them, smiling. 

"Hi," she greeted. "I'm Emily, I work with Big Time Rush, and just checking in to make sure your dates are going well."

Jeanette and Tiffany both scowled. "Are there supposed to be "mix up's" on these dates?" Tiffany remarked. 

Shaking her head, confused, "What do you mean?"

Jeanette sighed, "We keep having the switch dates between James and Carlos."

Tiffany nodded, "James suddenly gets super interested in one of us and next thing we know, there was a "mix u.'"

"Like after I mentioned hair care products," Jeanette told Emily. 

"And I brought up my dad's rollercoaster, ski resort, place," Tiffany sighed. 

Emily narrowed her eyes, looking around. A little ahead she spotted James and Carlos, with the latter shouting at James. 

Emily nodded her head to the girls, "There seems to be one last mix up," Emily smirked, leading them to the guys. 

James suddenly turned, smiling, standing by Carlos as the three approached. 

"You know what?" Jeanette smiled. 

"There was another mix up with the contest," Tiffany shrugged, both girls paying along until Emily fixed their dates.

"I know!" James exclaimed, while Carlos sighed, disappointedly. "I was supposed to be with Jeanette all along. Can you believe it?"

Emily smiled bitterly at the boy, "No, actually, Tiffany and Jeanette are both supposed to spend the day with Carlos," she said, gesturing to the surprised and pleased boy in front of her. 

The girls pulled Carlos over to them, very pleased, each hooking an arm around him, smiling at James. 

"I like this mix up," Carlos beamed. The girls waved at James, walking off in arm with Carlos.

James shuttered, shocked in front of a proud Emily who had a rough glare painted over her. 

"Bobby!" Kendall shouted, running out of no where as the three of them checked around James. "He's not in James!" He screamed, running off. 

Emily ignored their dilemma, turning to James, shrugging. 

He scoffed, "Why did you do that?" He asked.

"Seemed like the best way to keep everyone happy," she responded. 

"Well, I'm not!" Emily shrugged in contempt towards him. James shook his head, scoffing confused, "I'm sorry, I thought we were starting to like each other again."

"I did too," she admitted, "but then this happens and I'm reminded of why I stopped liking you in the first place."

"So what? You're not going to go out with me if I make a mistake?"

"James, you're making the same mistakes." 

***

Emily casually found herself dancing over with Kelly to the editor, Annie Winters. 

She stood, taking notes, off to the side at the party that night. Emily wore an army green dress that tied around her neck and fell down to her mid-thigh. 

"So, getting your final pictures for next months big-time story?" Kelly wondered. 

"Yup, contest winners, Jeanette and Tiffany, have a blast with Carlos," she stated. Emily looked behind her to see Carlos dancing between to two girls, every few seconds turning around to face the other. "Logan makes a new friend from an older contest winner."

Logan came to the party with Rona's niece, a beautiful girl his own age. "Bobby gets a dance with Kendall's sister," through the crowd, Emily spotted an over eager Bobby struggling to reach a dancing Katie as Kendall tugged him back with the harness. "...Sorta. And James can't get enough of Pop Tiger's buffet."

James went up to the sandwich line, again, all alone. "Yup, this is definitely a cover story," she chimed. 

In front of her, Gustavo and the four boys jumped up, looking at the editor in question. 

"Where on the cover?"

***

A pretty short chapter :/

But another one is being posted WITH this one and it'll be full length :)

Enjoy!!