Hiii! :) If you're reading this right now, and are seriously wondering why on Earth I'm writing this one-shot instead of continuing my multi-chapter, A Friendship Like Ours. Weeeell… I'm sorry. I have no valid excuse. I'll get to it eventually, I promise! But for now, enjoy this Kendall one-shot…:)
I don't own anything.
There was nothing Kendall Knight loved in the world more than he loved his family. Not his various pairs of Vans, not being a pop-star, not even hockey. His family was his entire world. He lived and breathed for them.
His mother was absolutely his hero in every single way. She raised him and his baby sister Katie all alone, after the family lost Kendall and Katie's dad when Katie was just two-years-old. The mother never once complained about the difficulties she faced every day as a single parent. She always kept her cool, and never got mad at her kids. She always supported Kendall and Katie, no matter what they wanted to do in life, and put their best interests before her own every time. Mrs. Knight was strong, happy, and the most beautiful person, inside and out, Kendall had ever known, and he was proud to call her his mama.
Katie was Kendall's biggest fan, as he was hers. The siblings supported each other and helped each other out at all costs. Kendall looked out for Katie—though the girl hardly needed it—and protected her from the messy things in life, the things she was just too fragile and young to understand. Kendall was always there for Katie, especially when their mother was just too busy trying to keep the family on their feet. The second their father died, Kendall knew he had to step it up and be a father figure/the greatest big brother ever for Katie. She deserved it.
Kendall even considered his three best friends—James Diamond, Carlos Garcia, and Logan Mitchell—his family. They were his brothers, despite the fact that they weren't blood related. He was the unofficial leader of their little group, and it was his job to take care of his brothers. He had to look after them, like he did Katie, and make sure they made the right choices in life. They, like his mother and baby sister, needed him.
Kendall had always gone his entire life looking at the bright side, acting like the fearless leader of his best friends, strong big brother to Katie, and helpful son to Mrs. Knight. But one day, he just couldn't take it anymore.
It started out like any other day at the Palm Woods. The boys were running around the apartment, frantically getting ready for a long day at the studio, with Mrs. Knight trying to get the boys to keep calm and eat some breakfast, as Katie laughed and shook her head at her four brothers.
Kendall sighed and sat next to his baby sister at the kitchen table. He had woken up with this terrible feeling that today was just going to be a bad day. Instead of making a big deal out of it, however, the boy placed a smile on his face and kissed Katie on the forehead as he stood up once again to call order to his friends and help his mother serve the bacon, biscuits, and orange juice she'd made the six of them for breakfast.
The studio was an absolute nightmare. Because the boys happened to be late to their recording session, due to the fact James had a "wardrobe malfunction", the boys had to do extra rounds of harmonies, one of the things they dreaded the most. That in turn caused them to be late to dance rehearsal, angering Mr. X, and making him push the boys twice as hard in their training. Because they were pushed so hard, the boys became lazy with their practicing, and that only made Mr. X as well as Gustavo even angrier with them. This caused the four boys to get called into the studio once again at 7:00 a.m. the next morning.
The boys dragged themselves into the apartment and each flopped down on the big orange couch. Each of them were absolutely beat.
"How was the studio?" Mrs. Knight asked the boys with a kind smile, the one she always wore.
While his best friends each groaned their responses, Kendall gave his mother an equally kind smile in return as he replied, "Difficult, but we'll get over it. How was your day, Mom?"
That was just the kind of person Kendall always was. It was who he had to be. He had to stay smiling, strong, and there. There was no other option. If he didn't do it, the people in his life might just fall apart.
It was nearing 9:00 by this point, and while the rest of the boys insisted on not moving from the comfy couch, Kendall was making them a late dinner. His mom had to go into a late shift at work shortly after the boys' arrival home just a short half hour ago. Mrs. Knight tried to insist that she could order the boys a pizza, but Kendall knew she really wished they'd eat healthier. (He didn't care if Congress claimed pizza was a vegetable…it just wasn't!) So Kendall stood from his spot on the couch, steered his mother out of the apartment, and made his way over to the kitchen to see what they had.
"Guys, Katie, dinner!" he called from the kitchen, putting a big bowl of spaghetti and meatballs in the center of the kitchen table.
"Aww, Ken, can't we just eat in here?" Carlos whined from the couch.
Kendall just rolled his bottle green eyes. "No, Carlitos—you know Mom hates that."
"Yeah, but she's not here," James followed. He sat up as he continued, "Besides, I'm way too tired to move right now, bro…"
"Guys, seriously, come on… Getting up off the couch for dinner won't kill you," Kendall deadpanned. "Katie! Dinner, come on!" he called to his sister once again.
This time, Katie entered the kitchen and sat at the table. Kendall gave a small smile, and told the boys, "See? Katie's eating her dinner."
"Okay, Dad," Logan spoke up, pushing himself off the couch. "Come on, you guys."
Carlos and James both groaned, "Do we have to?"
"Yes, get up," Kendall told them. "Or no pool for the weekend."
That got Carlos and James up right away, and the two joined the other three at the table.
Kendall was also stuck cleaning up dinner's mess, which not only included clearing the table and washing all the dishes, but also included cleaning up the sauce stains that James and Carlos had made on the floor while playing with their food. By this time,10:00, Kendall was absolutely exhausted. He just wanted to curl up in his nice, warm bed and sleep forever. But that could never happen.
"Kendall, can you help me with my homework?" Katie entered the room just as Kendall finished cleaning the last of the sauce stains.
The big brother sighed. The fact that he wasn't the smartest in the group—Logan was—and the fact that Katie had asked him about it so late had really mad him angry. Why didn't she just do her homework and get it out of the way when she got home, when their mother was still around?
Because Kendall always helped his baby sister with her homework. He had to.
So Kendall taught Katie how to do her fraction multiples, as tired as he was.
When Katie's homework was done and she had gone to bed, Kendall made his way back to the kitchen. He knew his mother would want some coffee when she got home, so he made a quick pot and stuck a note next to it, telling his mother there was leftover spaghetti in the fridge, too.
Finally, the boy was home-free—it was time for bed.
Or so he thought
At that precise moment, James came out to the kitchen. He quickly asked Kendall, "Do we have any Asprin? I have such a headache, man…"
Kendall gave a small, friendly smile at his friend, then turned around to search for the Asprin in the kitchen cabinet. When he found that there was none, he turned back to James, "Sorry, bud…looks like we're all out."
James made a face, and Kendall knew what he had to do—run to the drug store.
"I'll be right back…" the blond boy mumbled while he grabbed the car keys from the kitchen counter.
James smiled brightly and went back to his bedroom to wait for Kendall's return with the sacred Asprin.
A half hour and two separate drug stores later, Kendall entered the once again silent apartment. He made his way over to James and Carlos' bedroom, opening the door quietly so he wouldn't wake Carlos, had he been asleep as James waited for his Asprin to arrive.
Kendall saw that both James and Carlos were sound asleep. He sighed, wishing James could have gone to sleep before he'd decided he needed medicine for his headache.
The boy closed the bedroom door again and made his way to his own bedroom. He noticed Logan was still awake.
"What are you still doing up?" he asked his best friend as he got ready for bed.
"Couldn't sleep…and I wanted to talk to you about something," Logan replied.
Kendall quickly dressed in his pajamas and sat on his own bed. "What's up?" he asked.
Logan eyed Kendall for a second. He noticed that the boy looked more than tired. The dark circles under his eyes were huge, and he looked like he would pass out any second.
"Are you okay?"the smart boy changed the subject. "You look beat, man."
Kendall nodded with a small, reassuring smile. "Fine…what's wrong?"
"We can talk about it tomorrow, if you're tired," Logan suggested.
Kendall ran a hand through his own hair, "Now is fine…I'm not even that tired."
Logan immediately knew he was lying, so he continued, "Kendall…you can't do it all. We all need a break sometimes."
That was when tears started to pour from Kendall's eyes. "It's just so hard…" he commented. "I have to do so much—be the responsible, loving son my mom wants, be Katie's strong, protective older brother, and the fearless do-gooder leader of our friends. I can't do it all, I know, but I have to, and I hate it. I just wanna be a normal teenager, without all this responsibility."
Logan nodded and gave Kendall a hug as he sat on his best friend's bed. "I know it's hard, but you can do it. And it's okay to ask for help sometimes, Ken. We all need it. You're not alone, man."
Kendall wiped away his tears. He hated crying in front of people, and he was sure this was only the second time Logan had ever even see him cry, the only other time being when they were in the first grade, and Kendall broke his arm falling off the jungle gym at recess.
Now, the tears seemed unable to stop. There wasn't much Kendall could do about it, and he needed to vent to Logan. Things with him just seemed way too difficult to balance sometimes.
"I hate that I have to make sure things around here are so perfect all the time—it sucks," he told Logan.
"So don't do it. You always have me to help you out, buddy," Logan replied, putting a hand on Kendall's shoulder.
Kendall gave a real smile—the first one he'd given all day long. He was so lucky, he realized. Yeah, it was difficult for him to realize, but now he knew, his family was always there for him, too. He may have been way too stubborn to ask for help, but he knew his family was always willing to help. Logan's words helped him see that.
Logan's words helped him see that it's okay to ask for help sometimes.
Kendall loved his family, and they loved him just as much.
The words Logan had spoken only moments ago were stuck in his brain for the rest of his life—you can't do it all.