Sparks Fly

A whole twelve hours later, Ellie was sitting in an airport terminal, half asleep. Carlos and Sophie were playing tag and generally pestering people waiting for their flight. Somehow, Carlos had convinced Ellie and Sophie to return with him to LA. Somehow meaning Sophie refused not to go, and Ellie was craving warmer weather. And more Carlos.

“Coffee?” Ellie cracked an eye open to see Carlos in front of her, holding a cup out to her with a silly grin on his face.

“Because more energy is just what you need” Ellie grumbled, accepting the coffee from Carlos. The warm liquid awakened her senses, thankfully.

“Oh c'mon, aren't you excited? This is gonna be so much fun!” Ellie smiled and nodded her agreement. It would be nice to go on a vacation. She and Sophie rarely got family vacations, so one with Carlos was all too welcome.

“Of course I'm excited, don't be ridiculous. I'm just tired because somebody decided to keep me up late last night.”

“Hey, now that was fun. Tell me kissing wasn't fun.” Ellie smiled into her coffee, offering up a shrug. Carlos leaned over to kiss her, but she blocked him with her coffee cup.

“It was fun. But no more kissing until we go on a real date. Also, a) we're in an airport, b) Sophie is right there, and c) we both have coffee breath.” Carlos pouted at Ellie. “Here” she supplied, pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek. Carlos smiled and lifted the armrest between them so Ellie could rest on his shoulder. Even after the coffee, she was still exhausted.

“But so, you want to do this?” Carlos tested.

“Do what?”

“Like... date, me.” Ellie sighed, sitting up to face him.

“Yes, I want to date you. You're a good guy, and obviously I like you. So as long as someone is taking care of Sophie, and you keep being nice, then yes.” Carlos beamed, sneaking a quick kiss. “Hey!” Ellie smacked his arm, the pair of them unable to stop smiling. “I said not till later!”

“What's wrong with right now?” Carlos quipped, kissing Ellie again, placing a gentle hand on her waist. Ellie smiled into the kiss, despite what she'd said, nudging Carlos away when his fingers teased the fabric of her t-shirt.

“Okay and we're done” Ellie announced, smacking Carlos' arm again. “Next time there better be like... fireworks, or something. Because kissing you in an airport with all these people just does not feel that magical.”

“What, are you kidding? That's where all the most important movie kisses happen!” Ellie rolled her eyes, and Carlos stood to throw away their now empty coffee cups. “And besides, it's not the place that makes the kiss magical, it's the people.”

“Okay, that was cute, but I'm still not kissing you again until I see epic explosions.”

“Sophie!” Carlos yelled to Sophie, who had been pressing her face to the glass, watching as planes took off. “We're magical, right?” Ellie rolled my eyes. So cheesy.

“Yes.” Sophie hopped up on the bench, wriggling her way between Carlos and Ellie. Sophie grabbed each of their hands, holding them up triumphantly. “Like three musketeers!” Ellie loved seeing Sophie this happy. They had fun together, of course, but they did the same stuff, most of the time. It was refreshing to add someone else to the mix. And Ellie couldn't help but notice that she was smiling more, too. Carlos' hand connected with her free one, and she snapped out of her thoughts to look at him. He really was a genuine person. And it was just absurd for her to deny how great looking he was. “Look, our plane is here!” Sophie ran over to the window again, watching as it pulled up next to their terminal.

“So what all are we going to do in Hollywood, Mr. Pena?” Ellie inquired, figuring that they wouldn't be able to board for at least half an hour.

“Haha, nice try, I'm not telling. We're definitely gonna hang out with the guys for a while though, so they can meet you both.” Ellie smiled, wondering what they were really like. Sophie wanted to watch nothing but BTR; Ellie was sure she'd seen every episode at least twice.

“So we get to see the set then?” Carlos mimed zipping his lips. “Fine. Two dates before you can kiss me again.”

“You act like dating you would be such a chore” Carlos chuckled. A flight attendant announced that passengers with first class tickets could board the plane. Carlos scooped up our things and pulled Ellie over to the gate, Sophie right behind them.

“Wait, we have first class seats?” Ellie marveled.

“Of course” Carlos mumbled, as if it was no big deal.

“Hey, you're on TV, aren't you?” the flight attendant asked him. She was young, she couldn't be much older than he was. Carlos smiled and nodded. “My little sister loves your show.”

“Awesome, tell her I say hi and thanks for watching!” The girl nodded, smiling back as they boarded the plane.

“Do you get recognized a lot?” Ellie asked. Carlos sat down next to her, Sophie had the window and he had the aisle.

“Mostly in Hollywood, but yeah. The show is really starting to take off, it's great!” Ellie hadn't heard Carlos talk about Big Time Rush that much, but he absolutely lit up whenever he did. “It's just so amazing. I get to do something I'm passionate about for a living and share it with everyone. I love it.”

“Is that actually you guys singing, on the show and stuff?” Carlos looked wildly offended.

“Of course it is, are you judging my talent?” Ellie laughed, patting his arm.

“No no, I've just never actually heard you sing.” Carlos glanced over at Ellie and grinned, pressing a sloppy kiss to her cheek.

“Well don't you worry your pretty little head about that, you will hear me sing before the week ends.”