That's All She Wrote || James Diamond

Five Minutes to Midnight

hi! this chapter is a collection of short stories - time skips are denoted by "~" and story changes are denoted by "***" :)

tw: mentions of underage drinking

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 The day after Christmas, the largest snowstorm the Midwest had seen in 30 years subsided, and Big Time Rush, their assistant, and family members were able to get their flights rescheduled so they could spend some time back home before the new year.

Though Roxy and Declan had to part with the boys, Katie, and Mrs. Knight at their flight gate, it didn't stop the young writer and her boyfriend from a parting goodbye that felt as though it belonged in an old black and white movie. To an onlooker, it might have seemed as though James and Roxy would never see each other ever again when in reality, he was flying to Duluth and she was flying to Green Bay.

Somebody had to collect the ancient Somerset family truck, Dynamo, from Wisconsin, and Roxy certainly wasn't going to make her father do it alone, especially after his wonderful holiday surprise of meeting her in Los Angeles so they didn't spend Christmas apart. Despite it adding five more hours to their travel time to Duluth, she was more than happy to spend it with him.

More than once on the way to the airport, Roxy asked James to come with her and her father to Green Bay, but he unfortunately had to decline the invitation. He assured her he'd much rather spend the time with her, but his father was already made aware of their flight plans and was going to meet him and Carlos at the Duluth airport to take them both home.

So, the pair had a dramatic farewell - James being entirely over the top as he quietly double-checked to make sure his girlfriend had taken her air sickness medication and Roxy clinging to him so tightly she probably left a few crescent-shaped indentations on his skin from her nails - and after a deep kiss and lots of groans from their friends, the two groups managed to go their separate ways through the bustling airport.

Admittedly, the songwriter was quite worried as she and her dad passed through the large crowds of people. This was the first time in her life she'd be taking a flight without James and that wasn't sitting well with her. Even if he hadn't been there for her on their first two flights, their solo trek back to Los Angeles at the beginning of the summer had been far different.

Of course, Roxy hadn't realized it at the time, but It would be impossible for her to ever forget the jitters she felt when he held her hand during take-off or the way he checked on her whenever she finally felt well enough to weakly lift her head off his shoulder. Despite what felt like the entire world crumbling around them as they had jettisoned back out to California to work with a criminally insane record producer without their best friends, he had stayed awake the entire red-eye flight to comfort her as if she were the only thing in the world that mattered to him.

While she reflected, she could feel the smile tugging at her lips. I love being the center of his attention.

Just as the pair of them happened upon the correct gate, C10, Roxy heard her father mutter something as he stared out of the large, floor-to-ceiling windows. At the base of the plane they'd be traveling on, the luggage handlers were roughly loading everything into the spacious haul, including two identical black guitar cases.

"What was that?" She said teasingly, nudging him with her elbow as they continued to stare, watching as their items rode up the conveyor belt and into the luggage compartment.

Declan blinked before guiding his daughter to a few open seats in front of the airline help desk. "I said 'This is why I hate flying.' On top of the damn ticket check-in an' obnoxious TSA screenings an' ridiculously priced coffee," He gestured to a small cafe in front of them advertising seven-dollar lattes, "They don't even handle your things with care! He just threw a 300-dollar guitar on the belt like it was nothing!"