Title: Four Guys and a Kitten Disclaimer: Don't own. Fandom: Big Time Rush Pairings/Characters: Kendall, Logan, James, Carlos Rating: M Word Count: 6,420 Warnings: non-con Summary: For this prompt: The boys are kidnapped and Kendall, being Kendall, is uncooperative so the kidnappers take him into a separate room. Kendall thinks they are just going to hit him, though one of the boys (Logan or James) suspects otherwise. (Maybe they noticed the kidnappers checking Kendall out?) The others can't see anything but they can hear Kendall being raped. Much hurt/comfort when Kendall is returned and for once, let's keep it slash-less. (Never thought I'd say that o.O)
"You know that Gustavo's never going to pay you anything for us, right?" Kendall asked as the men shoved him into the room. He fell to the concrete, hard, and Logan winced. Why did he have to push them? Maybe if they just cooperated this would all be over soon, and they could go home. "It doesn't do you any good to keep us here."
"Shut up," the leader told him.
Kendall sat up slowly, glaring at the other man. Logan looked at him. He needed to stop his friend before he did something that got him hurt. "Let it go. It's not worth it."
"I said shut up," the leader repeated, smacking Logan across the face. He fell, trying to come to terms with the pain. Kendall was instantly on his feet, going after the man who'd hit Logan. One of the others pulled him off, and another one helped hold him still while the leader walked over to him. He grabbed Kendall's face in his hands. Logan didn't like the way he was looking at him. "You have too much spirit. You need to be taught a lesson."
"Oh, if I'd known it was a school day, I would have packed a lunch," Kendall joked, and the leader hit him, hard, in the stomach. The men holding him let him go, and he fell to the floor.
"Kendall! Stop it!" James cried as he saw what was happening. He and Carlos tried to get to Kendall, but the kidnappers caught them and dumped them over by Logan.
"Tie them up. They can wait while we have a... chat with this one," the leader said, and Kendall watched him with angry eyes. At least this time, he didn't try to fight. Still, Logan had a really bad feeling about this.
He, James, and Carlos were tied together, and they could only watch as the kidnappers dragged Kendall into the other room.
"They won't kill him, right?" Carlos asked worriedly.
Logan didn't know what to say. He couldn't hardly believe what had happened. They'd been kidnapped. Again. Hawk hadn't scared them, not like this.
Then it came. Kendall's voice. Loud. Angry. Scared. "Get the fuck off of me!"
The three of them looked at each other. Logan thought he was going to be sick. It couldn't be real. Couldn't be. Couldn't be.
The kidnappers were laughing. It sounded like something had torn. Fabric. Kendall's clothes? No. Please, no. Logan would pray. He'd beg. Anything. Just make this stop. "Hey, look at that, he's even prettier naked than he was before. Time to teach that lesson."
"Get off of me," Kendall repeated, and then there was a thud, like maybe they'd hit him. Logan felt Carlos' hand on his shoulder.
"They... wouldn't, right?"
Kendall screamed, and Carlos had his answer. Logan wished he could cover his ears, pretend he wasn't hearing this. Not real, not real, not happening...
There was nothing they could do but wait. Wait and listen. They just sat, none of them speaking. Kendall's screams had stopped a while ago, and that was almost worse than hearing him. None of the men had left the room. Was Kendall dead or was it still going on?
Logan shifted as much as he could. He didn't understand. Why had this happened? Why would anyone do this?
He was still asking that question when he heard people coming into the room. They were back. James tensed, and Carlos lifted his head from his knees. Now they'd find out whether Kendall was still alive or not, whether the men were going to grab one of them next.
The leader didn't leave the other room, but two of them dropped Kendall in the room. He was naked and bloody, not moving.
"Any of you have any need for a lesson now?"
They didn't say anything. They couldn't. They looked at Kendall and tried not to cry.
The men laughed again and walked away. Logan bit his lip. "Kendall?"
The silence stretched on uncomfortably until Kendall finally moved, coughing badly. He didn't look at them, tried to get up but couldn't.
"Kendall?"
He doesn't answer. He tried to move further away from them. "Don't, Kendall, come on. It's okay. It's us. We... We're not going to hurt you."
"We can't," James added. "We're tied up, so you can relax, okay?"
Kendall lifted his head for a moment only to shake it, turning away.
"You don't have to feel..." Logan knew that the psychological trauma of what had happened to him had to be the worst part of it. "You have nothing to be ashamed of or afraid of. It's just us. I mean, we saw you after you got poison ivy on that scout trip. What could be worse than that, right?"
"Yeah," Carlos agreed, trying to help. "You were so red..."
Kendall managed to look at them, but his eyes fell to the floor again quickly.
"Here, I think I can get my jacket off," James said. "You can have that, okay, buddy?"
Shivering, clearly reluctant, Kendall nodded and moved closer as James wiggled out of his coat. A bit more and he might be out of the rope. Kendall struggled to pull the jacket on, but he couldn't seem to make his arms cooperate and gave up.
"Here," Logan said, "let us help you."
Kendall shook his head. "No."
His voice didn't sound right, all hoarse like that. He laid back down. Despite the rope holding them, they managed to contort their hands and feet into knocking the jacket on him as gently as possible.
Kendall's hands were free. He could untie them...
A long time passed, and Logan figured that Kendall must have lost consciousness because he didn't move or answer then when they tried to talk to him. They had to get out of here so they could get him some real help.
"Maybe I can get out," James whispered. "I was close earlier."
"Kendall could untie us," Carlos added. "If he wanted to."
"Don't say that. It's not that he doesn't want to. He's just... hurt. Really badly hurt."
"We could help him," James said, moving around again. He was straining against the rope when they heard footsteps and froze. "Oh, crap, they're coming back. We have to do something to help Kendall."
"If we could get him up here with us we could kind of... block him or something," Logan began. "Kendall! Are you awake? You need to get over here."
Kendall didn't answer. Carlos frowned. "Please? Kendall, please come over here."
Somehow that got through to him, and Kendall dragged himself over. James and Carlos moved in to body block him, and he tensed. "Easy. We just want to keep them away from you."
Kendall tugged on the jacket, burying his head as the men passed by them, blowing kisses and rubbing themselves. Logan made a face. They were sick.
Kendall shuddered and ended up burying his face in James' shoulder. They looked at him. "It's going to be okay. We're going to make this okay somehow."
He frowned at them. James took the bottom of the coat sleeve. "Here, put your arm through. You need to get warm."
Kendall did, slowly, still in a lot of pain. He slumped weakly down after the coat was on, this time on Carlos.
"Did you see anything in the other room? A way out, maybe?"
Kendall shook his head.
"No pressure, buddy, but your hands are free, and..."
Kendall looked down like he hadn't realized that before, and he turned around, hands shaking as he tried to undo the knot holding the others to the pillar. He managed to get it undone, and they pushed the rope off with relief.
Logan got to his feet with relief, and so did James and Carlos. Kendall didn't move. James leaned down. "The door's not far. Lean on me and Carlos. We'll get you over there. Logan?"
"I'll check the door," he agreed, rushing over to it. He could see it wasn't locked-they'd made this way too easy-but then maybe they figured Kendall would be too traumatized to undo the ropes. Or move. Or maybe they didn't care. It didn't really matter as long as they got out of there.
"Quickly," he said, not wanting to hurt Kendall more but knowing that they had to get out of there fast.
"This is so not what I was hoping for."
Kendall managed to look up from where James and Carlos propped him up. They seemed to be the only thing keeping him on his feet. Logan didn't like this. It was possible that he'd gotten really, really messed up inside. There were bruises, too, they'd seen them. Bruises and bite marks, too.
Logan forced himself not to think about it. He couldn't let himself get distracted. Kendall was hurt and needed a doctor, and that was what they had to worry about.
Carlos looked worried. "It's another room. They'll find us."
"Calm down," James told him. "We won't get anywhere if we panic. Logan?"
Logan sighed. He didn't know. He was the one that usually panicked under pressure. Kendall lifted his hand and pointed shakily to the back of the room. James smiled. "Hey, nice! A door. Good job, buddy."
Kendall moaned, letting go of Carlos' shoulder and wrapping his arm around his stomach.
"Easy, come on," Carlos said, picking him back up despite his protests. They pulled him over to the door and then stopped to rest.
Logan reached over to open James' jacket and look at Kendall's stomach. They'd gotten him pretty good, that bruise was dark and ugly. Logan didn't know if it was from when the kidnapper's leader had hit him or later. "Guys, we have got to get him to a doctor."
"Yeah, but we still haven't found a way out, and even if we do... he's got no clothes, and we've got no money and no cell phones. They took them when they grabbed us. I don't know how we're going to get anywhere even if we get out of this warehouse."
Logan pushed the door open. "It's the alley, at least."
"Still, no money, no phone. No spare clothes."
"Here," Carlos said, grabbing for something on the floor. "It's not much, Kendall, but you need something else, right?"
"Dude, how long has that been there? That could be bad, right? All the dirt and stuff in Kendall's cuts?" James said with a frown.
"Just... go," Kendall said, weakly pushing Carlos away and towards the door.
Logan shook his head. "We're not leaving you."
"My fault."
"No, it wasn't," they all said. Logan heard something behind him and turned around.
"Crap, that's the door. We have to get out of here," he said. He helped James and Logan get Kendall up. "We'll find someone to help us. We just have to keep moving. Come on. If we stay, those guys... they might..."
"Not gonna happen. Not again."
"Leave me," Kendall told them, stopping them at the end of the alley and pulling away from James and Carlos' hold. "Can't make it dragging me along."
"Not going to do that. You know we won't."
He lowered his head. "Should."
"Wouldn't be us if we did, Kendall."
"There's a cab," Carlos called excitedly, and they dragged Kendall over towards it.
The driver looked up from his crossword. "I've got a fare. And my cab ain't the place for that kind of thing."
Logan shook his head. "It's not like that. Our friend got attacked. We have to get him to the hospital. Please."
The man looked at his meter. It changed. James shook his head. "Look, we'll pay you triple that when we get him to the hospital and call our producer, okay?"
"Producer?"
"We're a band. Come on, this is an emergency."
The cabbie gave them another look. Kendall curled up into as much of a ball as he could, shivering. Logan looked at the front seat. "And we'll give you a hundred dollars for the blanket, too."
They caught the blanket and wrapped it around Kendall as the cab pulled away from the curb, leaving several angry men behind.
"We need help," Logan began, reaching the emergency desk. James had stayed back to deal with the cabbie, who wasn't all that happy with not getting paid right away. Carlos had helped Logan get Kendall inside. "He got attacked."
"I'll need you to fill out some paperwork and take a seat. We'll get to you when we can."
"He could be bleeding internally. He can't wait," Logan began. Kendall started coughing again. "He's definitely in shock, and he was bleeding externally, too. I think his abdomen is distended. Please, don't blow us off because we're kids."
The nurse got up and came closer. Kendall jerked when she touched the blanket. "I need to see."
Kendall shook his head. Logan looked around. "Can't you do it in private? Please, they... took his clothes."
She looked at him, a question on her face, and he nodded reluctantly. She reached over to check the computer and nodded. "Okay, bring him this way."
Some of the other people waiting in the lobby glared at them as they went back. Logan knew they'd probably been waiting for a while, and he was sorry for that, but Kendall really didn't look good, and he didn't need to be humiliated in front of everyone. They'd been lucky that the cab driver had a blanket they could cover him with because he might have refused to go inside without it.
The nurse ushered them into a room and shut the door behind her. Logan took the blanket off Kendall's shoulders but kept it wrapped around his lower body. She opened the jacket, and Kendall winced, trying to get away as she probed the bruises gently. "This could need surgery. Where are your parents?"
"James is calling his mom," Carlos said. "You can help him with her, right? I mean, she'll come, but she'll be a while, and he needs help now."
"Don't tell her," Kendall begged. "Don't tell her what they did. Or Katie."
Logan bit his lip. He didn't know how they could not tell Mrs. Knight. It wouldn't be easy to keep it a secret from Katie, either.
The nurse went to the computer in the room. "I've got you in as priority for CT before we rush you into surgery. We're going to need to get you out of that jacket and into a gown. Were any of the rest of you hurt?"
"Just him."
"No, Logan, they hit you, too. Kendall got hurt because he yelled at them for it."
Logan winced. He'd forgotten about that. "It's not that bad. I haven't felt any pain or anything for hours. We need to help Kendall."
The door opened, and Kendall flinched. James sighed. "Sorry. I just... couldn't wait out there."
The nurse frowned. "Gown first."
Kendall grabbed the edges of the blanket and pulled it tight around him again. She sighed. "Maybe your friends should wait outside."
"One of us should be with him," James began. "He'll be calmer that way. Come on, Kendall. You need to let her help you."
"No."
"What if Logan stayed? Right, Kendall, he can explain any of the medical stuff for you."
Kendall shook his head again. "I just want to go home."
"Not until they've looked at you," Logan said. "Do you want us all to go?"
Kendall shook like he wanted to cry but he wouldn't let himself. James and Carlos pushed Logan over to him and backed out reluctantly. Logan forced a small smile. "It's okay, Kendall. We'll get you through this."
Kendall shivered as the nurse took off James' jacket. "We should get started on what we need for the kit before you head up to CT."
"No kit. No."
Logan hesitated for a moment, and then he grabbed Kendall's hand. "Hey, do you remember that prank war when I tried to rig the toilets?"
The nurse frowned a little as she took out the camera. Kendall started to freak out again, but Logan kept talking. "I was so sure I was going to win. I had it all planned. And then I was testing to be sure of the pressure, but I accidentally set it off."
Kendall nodded. Logan kept talking, hoping to keep Kendall's attention on him and not on the fact that the nurse was taking pictures of him, of everything they'd done to him. "It was a good thing that we didn't add the Carlos clause until the year later, because I would have covered you all in the stuff from the toilet when you started laughing at me."
"There," the nurse said. "Sorry about that, son. Let's get you into a gown."
"Can we get him a robe, too? Or another gown to wrap around the back?" Logan asked. "So he doesn't feel exposed?"
"As soon as we finish what we're doing here-and before he goes to CT if I don't finish here, okay?"
Kendall shivered again. The nurse looked at him. "Do you think you can sit on the bed? Or maybe lie on your good side?"
He groaned, but he did get onto the bed. She looked at him. "I'm going to need to draw a couple vials of blood. Just to make sure you don't have anything in your system before surgery if they need to do it."
Kendall sighed. Logan didn't know how to help him now. He just had to be here. He didn't think it would be any easier sitting outside, waiting. The nurse finished with the second vial. Logan frowned at first, but he saw it go in the "kit" and realized it was probably for evidence, to make sure Kendall hadn't been drugged when he was attacked. "Okay, good. We'll go ahead with a quick swab, and I'll do some treatment for the minor abrasions after that. Shouldn't be much longer on that CT."
"Why can't he just go now? It is an emergency, right?"
"There are only so many CT machines. Even emergencies have to take their turn," The nurse answered. She looked at Kendall. "Do we need to start with your mouth?"
Kendall looked sick, but he slowly, reluctantly nodded. Logan winced. That explained why there hadn't been as much screaming towards the end. She used a tongue depressor and looked inside. "I'll need another picture first, then I'll take the swab."
Logan closed his eyes for a moment, trying not to think about it. James should have been in here. He could pretend to be a robot spy. He'd fool Kendall into thinking he wasn't freaking out. Logan was a bad choice for this. He panicked. A lot.
"There," she said when she finished. Her pager went off, and she smiled gently. "Okay, that's CT. Your friend will have to stay down here in the lobby-"
Kendall reached over and grabbed a hold of Logan. Logan sighed. "Can't I at least go with him up to the room?"
She started to say no, but the look on Kendall's face stopped her. She sighed. "Yeah, you can come with to the room. You won't be able to stay in there, though."
Logan joined the others in the waiting room. Carlos and James looked at him. "Well?"
"He might need surgery still. They're not sure if they can stabilize it without going in," Logan said. He sighed. "I don't understand. This morning we were goofing off in the park and now..."
"I called his mom, and I told her that Kendall got... attacked. I couldn't tell her the rest."
"What about Gustavo?"
"He was kind of pissed that we promised the cab driver so much, but when I told him Kendall could die, I think Kelly hit him, and he agreed to pay everything. Kelly said she was on her way. She doesn't know, either. Not about... that."
Carlos looked at the floor. "What are we going to do?"
"Wait for him to get out of CT and surgery and then..." Logan didn't know what to tell them. "I guess... just be there."
"What are we supposed to say? He got... he was... hurt."
James shook his head. "If we can't even say it, how are we going to help him?"
"Heya, buddy. Guess they finished patching you up, huh?"
Kendall closed his eyes just after opening them, trying to pull his sheet up over his head. James winced. He looked at the others. No one knew what to say. Logan grabbed the blanket and helped pull it up so that Kendall didn't yank the iv out of his arm. Kendall curled away from them.
"It's just us, really. The cops wanted a statement, so we gave it to them, and they won't be bothering you for a while."
"We gave them the address-the cabbie told us where he picked us up-and they'll find the warehouse, at least. Maybe they weren't smart? Maybe they're still there?" James shrugged. "Maybe they'll get arrested."
"If not, maybe the fingerprints will lead them to these guys. They probably did something like this before."
Kendall groaned.
"Logan!"
"I just meant the kidnapping," Logan said quietly. "I suppose it's not... that impossible. They could have... It doesn't matter. They should be able to find out who those guys were and lock them up."
"Here," Carlos said, putting a stuffed kitten on the bed. "I got this from the gift shop. I thought... I know... it's just a kitten, okay?"
Kendall looked at it, and James thought for a moment that he was going to throw it across the room, but he took it under the blanket and held it against his chest, curling up like a little kid again. "Thank you."
The words were so quiet that James didn't think he'd heard them at first. Carlos nodded. "Anything for you, Kendall."
"He gets to go home? Really?" Carlos asked, excited.
He was probably the only one who was excited, James thought. Sure, they wanted Kendall back home, but excited wasn't the word to describe Logan right now. He looked worried. James fought the urge to fix his hair again. He was nervous. Kendall hadn't hardly spoken since Carlos gave him the stuffed kitten, and he might have been okay enough for the doctors to send him home, but he wasn't okay. Not really.
"I recommend that Kendall see this counselor. She's a good friend of mine, and she has helped other survivors with the trauma," the doctor said, giving Mrs. Knight the card. The doctors had told her what happened. In some ways, it was a relief, but Kendall really didn't react well to that. He'd knocked over his food tray and thrown the kitten, telling them all to get out.
They'd heard him crying after that, and no one knew what to do. Mrs. Knight had gone back in the room and held him and spoke to him and even sang to him. She had cried with him, and they all wanted to. It was Kendall. What happened to him shouldn't have happened to anyone.
And if it hadn't been Kendall, it might have been the pretty one. James didn't want to admit how much that scared him. He could be the one in that bed right now.
Maybe it shouldbe. Kendall would know what to do to help James, wouldn't he? James wasn't that smart.
"Kendall, you get to go home," Katie said. "No more hospital food. No more nurses. That's good, right?"
"Hey, I thought the food wasn't that bad," Carlos protested.
Kendall shoved his food tray at Carlos. It hit him in the elbow, and he winced. "You eat it."
"Guess this means no party, huh?"
"Okay, so before you get all upset, there's no party," Logan said quickly, stopping just in front of the door. Kendall gripped the kitten tightly. Carlos had done good with that. Other than the one time Kendall had thrown it, he'd held it close, and it seemed to help. James had picked out his clothes for the trip home, but that didn't seem that great in comparison. "Really. No party."
"People think there's a party, but there isn't. We... kind of lied to the Palm Woods crew so that we could bring you home without running into anyone since we know that bothers you," Katie explained.
"But we couldn't not get you this," Carlos said, pushing Logan out of the way and opening the door. He pointed up to the "Welcome Back, Kendall" banner that hung across the room. He had put plenty of kittens on it, Logan had done the lettering, and James had picked the colors.
Kendall looked up at it and shook his head. James blocked him from going off to the room by himself. "We know this isn't... But we really are happy you're okay. And home. And it's going to get better, okay? We're going to make it better."
Kendall handed him the kitten. "Can't undo what happened."
And he walked around James and into their bedroom.
Logan winced. "He just locked us out, didn't he?"
Carlos picked up the kitten. "What are we going to do?"
James wished he had an answer for that.
"I can't believe they're making him go in for this," James muttered to Logan, and Carlos nodded. "I mean, why can't they just let us do it? We're here. We can do it."
"Only we can't say what the guy might have done to Kendall. Only he knows that," Logan said unhappily.
Carlos sighed. He didn't like this much. He wished they had a time machine or something. They could go back to the past, stop themselves from being kidnapped, stop Kendall from being hurt, and Kendall could go back to being... Kendall. He missed Kendall. Right now, Kendall was there, but not really there because he wasn't... Kendall.
"It's still not right that they're trying to keep us separate. I don't care about the legal crap. Kendall needs us," James said. "It's not right that he has to go in that room alone. We should be with him."
The officer standing nearby looked at them. "You know you're not supposed to be discussing the case. At all. I will have to separate the three of you as well."
"Come on," James said, frustrated. "He needs us in there. You know he didn't go in the bathroom to fix his hair. He's puking his guts out in there. And you won't even let us in to help him."
"Like it or not, kid, if this identification goes wrong, if the guy's lawyer thinks the four of you conspired to tell the story, then the DA will have no case. You really want the men who beat and raped your friend to get away with it?"
"No!" they all shouted at once.
"Uh... what's going on here?" Kendall asked, coming back up to them. Carlos rushed over and hugged him, relieved that he was back. And that he spoke. He handed him the kitten he'd brought along for Kendall. Since they weren't letting them in the room, at least the kitten could go there. "Carlos, why did you bring this?"
"So you can have it in there with you. You need him."
Kendall looked at the kitten. Actually, he looked like he was going to puke again. Logan frowned. "Kendall, you're pretty pale-"
"Here," the policeman said, pushing Carlos off Kendall. "Take a moment, and then we're going to head in and the other officer will explain how this works, okay?"
"Seen it on TV," Kendall muttered, letting the cop take him inside.
Carlos sighed again. "He's going to be okay, right? I mean, now that they got the guys, it'll be better, right?"
"We don't know that they have the right men," Logan said quietly. "And even if they do, the trial's going to be really hard on Kendall. He doesn't even like to talk to us about what happened. He'd have to testify."
"On the stand and everything?" Carlos asked. "Why do they make him do all that? Those guy are the bad ones."
"Apparently, that doesn't matter," James said angrily. "Kendall's the one who gets all the crap."
"The laws were set up to protect everyone-" Logan began. The cop came back out of the door and shook his head as he pointed James into the other room. Great, Carlos thought. Now they'd be alone.
"Are you sure you're not hungry? You haven't eaten all day."
"Leave him alone, Carlos. He had to look at them. He's not going to be hungry."
"Quit talking about him like he's not there."
"Sorry, Kendall."
"How is he doing?"
"Well, his appetite finally came back a couple months ago. That was a start, at least," Logan began. He sighed. "He sees the therapist the doctor recommended, but he still doesn't really talk about it. Not to us. Maybe to her. He doesn't have as many nightmares as he used to, and he's more comfortable with people touching him. It's... progress, but this isn't going to go away, and he has to deal with the trial next week."
Kelly sighed. "The rest of you have been doing really well with the songs and everything, but sooner or later, we have to have a decision from Kendall about this. I don't want to force him, but... Gustavo and Griffen won't wait forever. The company is going to want that next album. It's already taken too long in their opinion."
"That's ridiculous! They can't expect Kendall to just... sing after what happened to him. I mean, we were all kidnapped to get money out of Gustavo, right? And Kendall told them Gustavo wouldn't pay. He was right. You jerks are turning your backs on him when he needs help!"
"James, please calm down. I am on Kendall's side. I have been doing everything I can to keep the Griffen and Gustavo away from Kendall as he heals. Trust me, that hasn't been easy. Why do you think you barely see me?
"Well, maybe we thought it was because you don't know how to help Kendall any more than the rest of us do," James said. He shook his head. "Can't this wait until after the trial? Kendall could probably start getting back to rehearsals after that, as long as they lock these guys up."
"I'll keep stalling," Kelly told them.
"What are you doing?"
Kendall didn't move the blanket off his head. "Go away."
"Kendall, you have to go to court today. The trial?"
"Not going anywhere. Go away."
Logan sat down next to him and James pulled the blanket back. "You can't not go."
"Yes, I can. They don't need me. They have all those samples they took from me. That's enough," Kendall insisted, pulling the blanket back. James wouldn't let him have it.
"Kendall, this going to turn into one of those ugly they-said you-said things, and if you don't show up to testify, their lawyer is just going to argue that... well, he'll try to say it was... consensual."
"Logan!"
"What? I'm just-Kendall, you have to know that this is-"
"I know what this is. Get out."
"We can't let you kick us out and we can't let you not go."
"Here, have Sparky," Carlos said, handing Kendall the kitten. Kendall shook his head, pushing the stuffed animal away.
"A stuffed kitten is not going to fix this," Kendall told him. "Just... leave me alone."
"Come on, Kendall. You didn't get this far to give up before those bastards go to jail for what they did to you. You want to lay in bed after that, then fine. We'll leave you alone for that. But don't let them get away with it. Please," James begged, and Kendall closed his eyes as he started to cry.
"Can't look at them. I'll feel them watching me and I know what they'll be doing and they didn't get them all and it's not going to work. Just let me stay here."
"You don't have to look at them. Ever. You just look at us, and we will hold up Carlos' kitten and somehow we'll make it work. I know they never found the leader, but it... If the others are locked away, you can breathe easier. And if they convict them, then maybe they'll finally talk about where there leader is," Logan said. "Please. We can help. Just let us."
Kendall shook his head. "I hate this."
"We all do, Kendall. It's not like we wouldn't all love to have a time machine or something. Or that we wish we'd fought harder before they dragged you off. Anything." James lowered his head for a moment. "If it had been me-"
"You don't want to think about that. You don't want this. At least it was just me and not the rest of you."
"If you really want to protect us, testify," Carlos told him. "Then they go away and you save everyone."
Logan frowned at him, but Kendall actually rolled out of his bed and went into the bathroom. Carlos frowned. "I can't believe that worked."
"At least something did."
"I can't believe they kicked us out."
"He did tell you to stop waving Sparky."
"I was just trying to get Kendall's attention because he kept losing it when he looked over at them. It's not fair that they kicked us out."
"At least they let Logan stay," James muttered. "I could have stayed if I hadn't tried to stop you from waving that dumb kitten."
"Sparky is not dumb. Sparky has helped Kendall lots."
James sighed. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm just... We're out here, and Kendall's in there, and it always bothers me when Kendall's in a different room. Last time..."
Carlos nodded unhappily. "They hurt him really bad. I hate them. I wish we could do something to them."
James nodded. "Me, too, but at least they're going to prison."
"Are they?" Carlos asked doubtfully. "It's not over yet."
"James! Carlos!" they looked up as Logan called their names, and Kendall came up, sitting down on the top step. They rushed over to him, sitting down next to him.
"I'm tired. I want to go home."
"Hey, we did say you could stay in bed all day if you wanted."
Kendall nodded. James looked up at Logan. Logan gave him a little nod. "So...it was bad after we got kicked out?"
Kendall shuddered. "I guess the good news is that they'll be putting one of them away for sure. He... asked me how I'd liked it..."
Carlos threw his arms around Kendall and put Sparky against his chest. "It's going to be okay."
Kendall put his head on James' shoulder. "Mom said she was getting the car."
"She is. There, I can see it."
"Come on, Kendall. Let's go home, okay?"
He nodded, and they helped him stand up, walking down with him to the car. They were almost through this.
Kendall looked down at the phone on the table and found himself squeezing the stupid stuffed kitten tighter. He didn't know how he kept ending up with it, but the moment he needed something to hold onto, it was there. Carlos never let him leave it behind, though he was the one that really liked kittens, not Kendall.
"Ring already," James began impatiently.
"Leave it alone," Logan said. "Watched pot and all that. Forget it's there, okay?"
Kendall gave him a look, and Logan sighed. Carlos chewed on another corn dog. He'd eaten five in the last twenty minutes, though he probably didn't have any idea he had. Katie came over and sat down next to Kendall. "Do you want to do something else? Take your mind off... this?"
He shrugged. "What would, Katie?"
She sighed. "I have no idea."
He passed her the kitten. "There."
She gave him a look. "I don't want your kitten, Kendall."
Neither do I, he thought. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate Carlos' gift, but he didn't want to need it.
The phone rang, and everyone jumped. James, Carlos, and Logan were on their feet, panicing, and Katie shook her head at them. Their mom grabbed the phone and answered it. "Jennifer Knight. Yes. Yes, I understand. No, thank you for telling us."
She hung up, and the guys looked at her. "Well?"
She looked at Kendall, smiling even as she seemed to be starting to cry. "They convicted them. On all counts. They're going away for a long time, honey."
"YES!" The guys shouted, all of them jumping onto the couch with Kendall and hugging him. He forced a smile and tried to join in their cheering. It wasn't like he wasn't happy. Well, he was relieved. He didn't know about happy. Didn't know how to be happy, but relieved, yes. He just didn't think his friends understood. They thought this was over now that the trial was done, and a part of it was, but he still had to live with the memories.
"Kendall? You okay? You don't seem... Aren't you... This is good, right?"
He ndded. "It is."
"Then... Why aren't you celebrating with us?"
"I'd rather celebrate a time machine and make it so it never happened," he admitted. "You guys have all been great, but I... I just wish I'd never..."
"We all wish it had never happened, Kendall," Logan began. He swallowed hard. "But... we're happy that they didn't kill you and that they're in jail and I know things will get better. They have to. The worst of it is over."
"We'd all changes places or build time machines if we could," James added. "But even Logan's not smart enough to build a time machine, so... we're just here for you. Always."
Carlos picked up the kitten and gave him back to Kendall. "So is Sparky."
Kendall broke down and started crying. "I never could have... couldn't have come this far without you guys."
They wrapped their arms around him in a big hug, and Katie joined them. His mom kissed his forehead. Safe. He felt safe. Not lucky, though he should be because he had these friends, this family, but lucky would have meant he never went through this in the first place. Loved. Yeah, he did feel loved.