Hey, guys. Long time no see. :) I wrote this story as a part of the emotion challenge for the BTR Plot Adoption Forum. We had to write a story based off an emotion that we were given, and the emotion I was given was embarrassment. Although I feel like I could have done a better job at writing about this emotion, I hope I did a well enough job so that it shows throughout the story.

I hope you enjoy.

"Class, I'd like you to welcome a new student."

Logan fidgets nervously where he's sitting in the back of the classroom, his palms growing sweaty as the teacher calls his name. Despite his hesitance to go up to the front of the class, he stands up on wobbly legs and starts to walk to where the teacher is standing. Though his gaze is cast downwards, he can sense eyes staring in his direction all around him, which does little to ease his nerves. Being the center of attention has never been something he has craved – if anything, it's something he has always done his best to avoid.

"Guys, this is Logan Mitchell. He just moved here from Texas." The teacher grins down at him as he stands beside her, but he doesn't look in her direction. His eyes are locked on the white tiles on the floor, and his hands are clasped tightly in front of him. He doesn't dare look up, doesn't dare say a word, too afraid that if he does, his breakfast will come spilling back up. "Logan, would you like to introduce yourself?" the teacher asks softly, one of her hands coming to rest on his shoulder. When he says nothing in response, she speaks again. "You can just go ahead and tell them something interesting about yourself."

Something interesting about myself? Logan thinks as he rocks back and forth on the heels of his shoes, his teeth digging into his bottom lip. "I…" He swallows hard and lifts his gaze, his body going rigid as he catches sight of all the kids in front of him. "I-I like to read a lot," he says quietly, his cheeks turning a light pink in embarrassment a second later when he realizes that that's probably not something most kids his age find interesting.

"What kind of books do you like to read?" his teacher asks, a warm smile spreading across her face as she gives his shoulder a light squeeze.

He shrugs his shoulders in response, unsure of what to say to that. He has never been good at answering questions right on the spot, especially not when he has over fifteen pairs of eyes staring back at him in anticipation.

"That's okay!" He feels the hand on his shoulder disappear, and a moment later his teacher is telling him he can go ahead and take a seat, probably sensing his uneasiness. He does as he is told without a word, breathing out a sigh of relief once he is sitting back on his desk, the students' attention no longer focused on him as the teacher once again starts to talk.

From the corner of his eye, though, he realizes that a boy two rows down and to his left is staring back at him, his green eyes carrying a sympathetic look. Logan shrinks back uncomfortably in his seat at the realization and tries to focus on the lecture that is now being introduced, hoping that the other boy will soon look away as well.

To his relief, when he turns back to look at him a minute later, the boy's attention is no longer focused on him but rather on the dark-haired boy sitting to his left.

When the bell rings for lunch a couple of hours later, he follows the rest of his class towards the cafeteria, his stomach twisting up in knots at the thought of having to sit alone. Sitting alone isn't something that's really knew to him. If anything, he's accustomed to it, seeing as most of the kids at his old school found him to be either annoying or too nerdy to be any fun. Before his mom had moved them to Minnesota, she had told him that things here would be different, but as much as he wanted to believe her, he just couldn't. It was hard for him to imagine why anyone would want to talk to him, let alone be his friend.

With anxiety huddled in every cell in his body, he starts to make his way towards an empty table, food tray clasped in between his tiny hands. Though the soup in front of him looks unappetizing, his stomach is growling in hunger. That is, until the plate suddenly goes flying from his hands and he crashes to the ground, landing on a puddle of soup. For a moment, he is confused about what's happened, until he hears laughter all around him, mocking him, belittling him.

He doesn't think twice before bolting out of the cafeteria as fast as his small legs will carry him, tears already forming in the corners of his eyes and making his vision blurry. He doesn't stop until he finds a restroom, which, to his relief, is empty. It's with shaking hands that he turns on one of the water faucets and splashes cold water on his face, wanting to just vanish into thin air because facing anyone who was in the cafeteria seems like too big of a task at the moment.

"Are you okay?"

He freezes as he realizes that the restroom door is now open and the boy who was staring at him in class before is now standing in the entrance. Behind him, he can see the dark-haired boy he was talking to before, as well as a taller boy with dark brown hair.

"I'm fine," he says defensively as he turns away from them and wipes under his eyes, hoping they won't take notice of the fact that he's been crying.

"Are you sure?" the same boy asks, letting his feet guide him inside the restroom, his two friends following closely behind. "I'm Kendall, by the way," he says in a softer tone. "And that's Carlos," he says as he motions to the dark-haired boy, and then to the taller one, "and that's James."

"I-I'm Logan."

"We know," Kendall says with a smile, which vanishes as soon as he realizes the state Logan is in. "We saw what happened at the cafeteria."

Logan remains quiet, unsure of what to say to that.

"We wanted to see if you were okay," the tallest of the boys, who he now knows as James, says. "Are you really?"

"Kinda used to it." Logan shrugs and turns away from them, facing the bathroom mirror. He doesn't think he can look them in the eye, not after what just happened. He hates that part of himself – the part that cares too much about what other people think of him, regardless of how long he has known them. Being made to feel humiliated and embarrassed is nothing out of the ordinary; the two emotions are like second nature to him now. He guesses that's what constant bullying does to people, even if his mother says that there will come a day when he won't care so much about others' opinions anymore.

"You shouldn't have to be used to that," Carlos says, and although it's the first time he has spoken, Logan can hear the sincerity and concern in his voice.

"Other kids used to bully me at my old school," Logan practically whispers, his throat clogging up with sadness and tears coming to his eyes once more. "I'm used to having no friends."

"You can be our friend," Kendall says without missing a beat. "If you want to, that is," he adds when silence follows his offer.

"R-Really?"

"Really," all three of them say in unison, wide smiles spreading on their faces.

Logan turns back to them then, a ghost of a smile starting to turn his lips upward. "I've never had friends before."

"Well, now you have three," James says with a grin as he moves to wrap an arm around Logan's shoulders.

Three friends, Logan thinks, this time wanting to cry, but out of happiness rather than sadness. "Thank you," he chokes out, his tears getting the best of him.

"My mami says everyone needs a friend," Carlos says, taking ahold of Logan's wrist and pulling him towards the restroom door.

At this realization, Logan shakes his head frantically, slipping his arm out of Carlos' grasp.

"What's wrong?" Carlos asks almost immediately, confusion clouding over his eyes.

"I-I don't wanna go back," Logan says quietly as he takes a couple of steps back, his body visibly shaking.

"Why not?" James asks and takes a step towards him, but he stops when all it does is cause Logan to continue to cower back in fear.

"Are you scared?" Kendall asks, which results in a nod from Logan. "Scared they'll make fun of you again?"

When Logan doesn't respond, Kendall moves to stand in front of him, a frown present on his face. "We're gonna be there with you," he says softly, hesitating before taking ahold of Logan's hand and taking a step towards the entrance, like Carlos had before. "It'll be okay. If anyone says anything, we'll deal with them. Right, guys?"

"Yeah!" Carlos takes Logan's other hand and squeezes it reassuringly. "We'll be there with you every step of the way."

"O-Okay." Though Logan still looks uneasy, he takes in a huge gulp of air and takes a step forward, feeling a new surge of confidence now that he has Kendall, Carlos and James by his side. The new-found confidence vanishes as soon as he steps foot in the cafeteria, though, as that is when a red-haired kid he hadn't seen before points out the fact that there is soup spilled on his pants, making it seem like he has peed himself.

"Don't listen to him," Carlos whispers in his ear, while James and Kendall send glares in the kid's direction. But as comforting as the three boys are trying to be, Logan finds it hard not to listen to the boy's mocking tone or the laughter that erupts from his mouth, as well as that of those around him, a second after he points out the wet spot on his jeans.

"This is the worst first day ever," Logan says in between tears, his feet glued to the floor, even though James and Kendall are now a couple of steps in front of them.

"Awww, is the baby going to cry?" The same kid snickers, causing the kids around him to once again erupt in laughter.

"Be quiet, Jeremy," Kendall says through gritted teeth, before grabbing onto Logan's arm and pulling him forward. "And that goes for all of you, too," he adds, staring at the other kids with a threatening look on his face.

Kendall's words seem to do the trick, because no sooner has he said them that the laughter comes to a stop.

"Here, you can borrow my jacket," James says when he notices the way Logan's cheeks are still tinted a rosy pink in embarrassment.

"Are you sure?" Logan asks, hesitating as he watches James start to remove the brown jacket he had been wearing.

"Yeah," James says with a warm smile, handing it over to Logan.

A small smile of its own starts to form on Logan's face as he takes it. "Thanks," he says and starts to tie it around his waist. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem," James says as he slips an arm around Logan's shoulders. "Now, let's go get you a new change of pants."

Thank you for reading. I hope you all enjoyed this little story. :)

~ BigTimeRush-BTR :)