Written in the Stars

22: Camping, Hollywood-Style

❝a flicker of light before the dawning / out here the wild ones/ are taming the fear within me❞

- beautiful ghosts : taylor swift

City life was still relatively new for Big Time Rush. There were certain comforts from Minnesota that they had once taken for granted only to find the glamorous world of L.A. couldn't offer them. Things like weekends at lake houses or camping trips out under the stars, time spent with pure, unadulterated nature. So, after approximately 2 years without their monthly trip, they were itching to get out into nature.

The closest they could find was a campsite by a state park about an hour outside of the city ominously named Bear Gulch. Mama Knight heard the name once and refused to take any part in their plans to spend a weekend out there. So, the teens packed up their camping gear and made the short trip down to Rocque Records in search of a ride.

Gustavo tapped at his keyboard piano as he scribbled notes on his song sheet, humming to himself. His finger slipped as movement caught his attention and Logan, Kit, Carlos, James, and finally Kendall stepped into his office, each sporting wide grins and fully packed for a camping trip. They stood side-by-side in front of his desk, and silently begged for a ride through their expectant stares and pleading grins.

Pulling his hand away from the keys, Gustavo narrowed his eyes. "No!" The boys' faces fell at this. Kit's lower lip protruded into a pout, arms coming to cross over her chest. Carlos threw his hands up, "Aw, come on!"

"Really?"

"Look," Kendall pleaded. "We just need you to drive us to this really cool camping spot, 'cause my Mom won't."

The others nodded along with this. Carlos pleaded with puppy dog eyes and pressed his hands together, begging. Logan proceeded to unfold the map in his hands, locating the spot to show him. Gustavo nodded, tapping a finger against his chin, as he pretended to think about it. "Hmm, hmm," he dropped his hand. "No."

"Gustavo," James said. "We haven't been camping once since we moved from Minnesota."

"The call of the wild is calling," Logan agreed. "And we manly men must answer that call."

The other boys began to mutter in agreement with this but stopped short once Kit cleared her throat, eyes narrowing, as they glared daggers at her boyfriend. He wilted at this, apologizing under his breath. With a roll of her eyes, Kit continued for him: "We need to sleep under the stars-"

Carlos finished, nodding, "And see the sunrise to the sweet, sweet sounds of the loon." They waved their hands around as they pictured the scene.

Kelly stepped into the room but stopped short upon hearing Carlos's description. Kit looked to her right at this, a similar expression on her face, as she mentally compared the climates of their new home to the midwestern wildlife they remembered. It was Kelly who burst the fantasy bubble.

"Uh, there are no loons in L.A."

Ignoring the disappointed groans, Gustavo nodded. "Just bears. And I don't want to cancel the next concert because you've been eaten by 'em!"

"Okay, but," Kit shrugged. "There are bears in Minnesota, too, you know."

"Oh, no, no, no, no," Carlos held out his hands to stop him as he spoke quickly. "There are not gonna be any bears there."

"All we need is a ride to this campsite called..." Logan unfolded his map. Kit and Carlos peered over his shoulder at it as James pointed to the right spot. His face fell as he read the location name. "Bear Gulch"