4/25/11: okay, so, as you can see, i totally edited this chapter. i reread it not too long ago and was actually pretty embarrassed with how i went about it. it wasn't really thought out nor was it written that well. and since i'm in the process of finally writing the second chapter, i thought it would be a good idea to go back and pretty much rewrite this chapter. it has the same general events in it and i actually kept a lot of the original paragraphs, but i reworded a lot of things, took away unnecessary things, added some more detail; things like that. so, i hope it's a little bit more enjoyable to read now. i should have the second and final chapter up sometime soon. :)

anyway, this isn't a slash fic, surprisingly. i mean this to be more of a best friend relationship, but i'm not going to say that you can't view it as being pre-slashy, if that's how you want to view it. honestly, it could go either way, but just know it's not my intention to have them romantically involved with each other.

disclaimer: the usual.
warning: this chapter ends kind of ... abruptly, but i kind of think it's better that way instead of trying to drag something out by adding unnecessary details and what not.

When kids are faced with the question "what do you want to be when you grow up?", almost always the answer will be fireman, or teacher, or astronaut, or something of that nature. It's that generic dream that most kids don't end up pursuing, which is a shame, because they are pretty ambitious dreams. But once in a while, you'll get that kid who decides they want to become famous in some sort of way, which is actually becoming more and more popular with kids these days.

James Diamond was not one of those kids. Not at first.

Growing up, James didn't have a lot of ambition – he wanted to do something simple with his life. At the ripe age of seven, taking over his father's bar seemed like a pretty good idea to him, even though, technically, he didn't know what a bar was. He just knew that his dad had his own business and that he wanted to work together someday.

You don't really need to have a whole lot of smarts to do something like that, which meant no extra schooling or any kind of degree was needed either. James already disliked school enough, he didn't want to have to go and enroll in even more after high school. Besides, he knew that it would be an easy job to get his hands on, considering, he's the son of the owner. It was basically an unspoken agreement between the two already.

That plan was pretty much set in stone for James all throughout elementary school. Yep, he was going to grow up, grow a mustache, buy a nice leather jacket – and multiple bandanas, because, hey, bandanas are cool - and help his dad run the bar. Well, that was the plan until they moved to Minnesota, where taking over daddy's little bar was no longer an option. He wasn't sure what to do anymore. Mr. Diamond had found work at a new bar pretty quickly, but it wasn't his bar, so James knew that "taking it over" was completely out of the question.

What was worse was that James was the new kid in a new town and it was just awful. James has never had to be "the new kid" and, quite frankly, he wasn't really sure how to go about handling it. He'll have to start everything all over again; make new friends, build up a rep, find out where all the coolest spots to hang out are - all the "fun" stuff. It was a lot of work that needed to be done, and James really doesn't like having to exert himself. Why did they have to move to Minnesota? What is even in Minnesota? They were perfectly happy with their lives in New York. None of this would be happening if his mom and dad hadn't decided to move to a "quiet and peaceful city in the midwest". To say that James was bitter with his parents after the move would be an understatement.

Of course, the boy eventually got over it and had reasoned with himself that there wasn't anything he could do about it anymore. It's not like he could just pack up again and move back on his own.

James was too awkward to do anything at school once he started. Most people would say that he was just being shy, but that's not a word that he liked to associate with himself, because he definitely was not a shy person. Being the center of attention always took top priority over anything else, with the exception of looking devilishly handsome. He was just so different. Everything was different. People kept staring at him, but not in the way the people back at his old school did. These stares were condescending, clearly showing that the general population of this town new each other, and this new kid was screwing around with that. He was definitely not use to those kinds of piercing stares and James had decided hat staying in his own little bubble for the time being was his best bet. It gave him time to soak up all his surroundings and assess the types of people that were in his various classes. Then he'd be ready to pick and choose who he wanted to be "friends" with, if they'd even let him.

School was so boring when people weren't constantly at his feet, telling him how great his hair was or what beautiful, white teeth he had. Of course, he was still good looking in Minnesota – it's not like moving can really take that away from someone – he just wasn't "the bomb" like he was at his previous school. Two weeks had gone by, and much to his dismay, his fellow classmates (schoolmates, really) still showed signs of not wanting to accept him. This was going to take a lot longer than he thought.

Little did James know that one Carlos Garcia had other plans regarding his approach. He was the only one how had the courage and decency to try and befriend the new kid. New or not, a friend is a friend and obviously, they were going to have to get used to him sometime if he was going to move on to high school with them.

It was on Wednesday of the third week when Carlos had strolled up to James in the lunchroom, full of confidence.

"Hey new kid," he started, tugging on the back of James' uniform; "you should turn around and talk to me."

James turned around with his brow furrowed. That had definitely caught his attention, and not in a good way. "New kid?" He had a name, and it definitely was not New Kid. He briefly wondered if he could even be considered the new kid anymore. Two and a half weeks had already passed since he started school, so really, he wasn't "new" anymore.

"Dude, I have a name," he quickly retorted, slightly offended.

The smaller boy looked up at him blankly, his brown eyes wide and slightly apologetic. His confidence shrunk down immensely.

"Uh – sorry. I don't really remember names right away. I just know we have a lot of classes together and that you're the new kid."

That explanation seemed logical enough. James was better at remembering faces himself, so he couldn't really be judgmental on that subject. That would just be rude, and this poor boy in front of him looked like he didn't really need anyone to be rude to him. He seemed like the kind of boy to get teased and bullied a lot. Besides, he really shouldn't have been as offended as much as he was. It's not like he was exactly throwing his name out there. The brunette mostly kept to himself as much as he could.

James shrugged as if to say "it's all good" and held out his hand to introduce himself. "I'm James Diamond."

With a grin, Carlos took the outstretched hand into both of his, shaking them wildly. "Carlos Garcia! And I promise I won't forget your name again."

"It's cool, don't worry about it." James had pretty much already forgiven him anyway. How long can you hold a grudge over something as little as forgetting a name? No need to keep going on being upset about it. "So, what made you want to come up to me and talk?"

Thinking about it now, Carlos wasn't really sure why he did. You have to have some sort of reason for wanting to talk to the new kid; it was a rule. Something inside him was just screaming to go over and talk to this new kid, like it was destiny. …or something corny and girly like that. He wouldn't ever actually say that out loud to James, but, that's kind of what he was thinking.

They picked up their lunch trays (filled with who knows what. no one should ever trust school lunches.) and made their way to the nearest empty table. Carlos didn't really have too many friends, so he usually sat by himself at some abandoned, dirty table in the dark corners of the lunchroom. Having James with him there was a nice change.

"I'm not really sure," the Latino finally replied with a shrug as he sat down on the crumb filled bench. "You're the new kid and everything and you just seemed bored during classes and in need of a friend." James stared blankly at him. "What? Don't give me that look! I was the new kid once too. I know how that feeling is and it sucks."

"So, it was pity."

"What? No, I just felt bad that you were alone."

"... dude, that's pity."

Pity was such an ugly word to Carlos and he couldn't stand when people used it. The word just has such a negative sound to it. The next thing he knew, he was mocking James in a voice that really didn't resemble his at all. It's not like he did it because he wanted to make the new kid angry; it was just something that he never really grew out of when he was younger. "Dude, that's pity, blah blah blah. My name's James and I have girl hair."

Really, it wasn't pity that made him talk to James, he knew that for sure, but for whatever reason it was, James couldn't care less about the why he was talked to anymore. He was too busy getting offended (again.) by being mocked and throwing whatever was on his tray in the general direction of Carlos' face. "Shut up, it's not girl hair!"

Ultimately, the little exchange led to James tackling Carlos, wrestling around on the dirty floor, and ended with them in the principal's office. Luckily, there wasn't any punishment for a little rough housing. Since James was the "new kid" and Carlos never got in trouble at school (but outside of school was another story. he had two younger siblings, so it was hard not to pick on them. it's just a sibling thing.), they both just got away with a warning.

The best part about everything was that neither of the boys were angry with each other like they thought they'd be. Wrestling like that was actually really fun, in retrospect. Despite it ruining his perfect and not girly hair, James enjoyed himself because he actually had a chance to do guy things with another guy. Back in New York, James was the ladies man and was always friends with more girls than boys, so wrestling with them was completely out of the question. The attention was a nice plus too. He silently hoped that he would have some kind of reputation after that; a new one that blocked out the one he had just for being the new kid.

They both stood awkwardly outside of the principal's office, waiting for the next period to start. Carlos shuffled around, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He never liked silences, especially awkward ones. Something needed to be said between them and he knew that; it was just a matter of what to say and who was going to say it. It was obvious that James had something on his mind though, waiting to spew out of his mouth, but whatever it was just sat there waiting, hanging out on the tip of his tongue.

So, Carlos waited with baited breath. Somewhere between the time they exited the office and now, Carlos decided to treat whatever was going on between the two as a game. And to anyone who knew how Carlos worked, he was very determined to win games of any kind. James has to be the first one to talk, and he was determined to stay quiet until that happened.

"So …," James finally started after a few more agonizing minutes of silence, rolling his eyes in Carlos' direction. "We good?"

The Latino stood there, biting his bottom lip and grinning before James stretched his hand out for the second time. On the inside, he was pretty happy that James wasn't mad (and was silently cheering over the fact that he had won the unofficial game and was trying hard not to rub it in james' face). That meant he got a new friend and Mamá will be so proud of her little mijo. Maybe he'll even get her special cookies after he tells her the great news.

"Definitely!" Carlos shrieked back and shook the taller boy's hand with both of his own again. This was too exciting to handle. He can see himself becoming pretty good pals with "the new kid" and this was just the start of a beautiful friendship.

"You wanna come to my place after school?" the taller boy asked on a whim, taking his hand back and giving a friendly smile; the first one Carlos had seen James have. He decided that James looked better with a smile on rather than that weird, brooding look he always seemed to have during classes.

Carlos blinked in confusion at the sudden question, which wasn't really a question as much as it was a suggestion, and stared up at his new friend. This was just too much for him to process so quickly and he just stood there, frozen. The tension between them was starting to build up as the time droned on and, to be honest, James was starting to feel just a little uncomfortable. Not only that, but he was also starting to regret ever suggesting that Carlos come over. Maybe he had jumped the gun, because inviting people who were practically complete strangers over to your house was something you did in elementary school, not middle school. Things were different. But before he had a chance to tell the gaping boy to forget he said anything, Carlos's face broke into a grin as he finally blurted out his answer.

"Yes! That would be awesome!"

Finally, a response, and James let out a sigh of relief before smiling for the second time that day.

"All right, I'll meet you out front when sixth hour is done then," the sandy haired boy said. It was pretty awesome to see how happy he has just made the obviously beaming kid in front of him. Someone would have to wear sunglasses just looking at Carlos in that moment, that's just how bright he was. His sunny disposition could put the sun to shame. But it was odd to James to see the other kid so happy over something like that. If he didn't know better, he'd swear that Carlos had never been invited to someone else's house.

"I've never been in someone else's house before!"

… oh. Well, there's a first time for everything, James supposed. Even though he should feel bad that the Latino has never been to another's house before, he couldn't help but wonder just what was wrong with the kid that made people not want to bring him over.

"I mean, I've been over to my family's houses before, but that's pretty much it," Carlos added as an afterthought.

"Well…that's okay! Because if you're gonna go to someone's house for the first time ever," James started, patting the smaller boy on the shoulder, "it might as well be the coolest house with the coolest kid, right?" Never let it be said that James Diamond doesn't know how to smooth talk.

With the nod James got in return, it was surprising that Carlos' head didn't roll off. It was kind of funny and amusing how he didn't even try to hide his over excitement.

"Sweet – and don't flake out on me," James said putting on a serious, but not too serious face and pointed at Carlos in that threatening way that people tend to do; the gesture that silently said 'don't-do-this-or-else'.

Carlos grinned even wider, if that was possible, and shook his head violently and James was slightly worried that he was going to give himself whiplash. "I won't, I promise!" He then brought his hand up to James face, pinkie finger outstretched. "I pinkie promise, and I never break pinkie promises."

There was something strangely endearing about Carlos, James concluded as he linked their pinkies together. Was it the quirky way that he spoke, or the over-all happy demeanor, or the way his eyes never lost the shine in them, even when he was obviously upset; James wasn't sure. All he knew was that he could see the two of them becoming best friends and fast. Sure, he wasn't exactly in the "cool crowd" like James was previously hoping to gain access in, but hey, a friend is a friend. Despite the fact that they had only just met about thirty minutes ago, it was easy to see that Carlos could definitely use and deserved a person to call his friend.

"But seriously, if you bail on me, I'm going to beat you up tomorrow," James half-joked. Sadly, he had been flaked out on before by the girl he really had a crush on at his old school. All he wanted to do was to go and get ice cream. He waited for hours at the shop and she never showed up. The worst part about the situation was that she didn't give a reason as to why he stood him up and didn't even say sorry the next day. It wasn't a very good feeling, and James would rather not have to experience it again.

"I won't," Carlos repeated, tilting his head slightly and shifting his backpack into a more comfortable position. "Don't worry, James. I'm not like that."

The bell ran soon after their little agreement was settled, marking the passing time before fifth period. "I'll catch you later then, bud." And with that and one last smile, James was off to his next class, high hopes that his new friend would keep his pinkie promise. Something inside him was telling him that it was very easy to trust Carlos, even though they just met, and he had almost no doubt that he would be there. But you honestly never know with these things.