For as long as Kendall could remember, Logan always carried around a whistle.
At first it would just be something random he occasionally kept in his pocket with loose change and hand sanitizer—which he also thought was a little strange—but as time went on, the whistle became something that Logan always had with him. It was on a key ring attached to his house keys and he would always have them in his hand as he walked home.
Finally, after school and a particularly rough hockey practice, as the four of them were trudging to their houses, Kendall finally asked, "Logan, what's that whistle for?"
Logan glanced down at the item in question, and his cheeks flushed. "Well…you know how some girls carry a rape whistle…?"
James and Carlos' eyes widened. "You have a rape whistle?" They both clearly wanted to laugh, but they held back—though they did so poorly.
"You know what? It's practical. If I'm ever in trouble, this will alert someone within hearing distance."
Kendall just nodded because it seemed understandable and it was just like Logan to have something weird and virtually useless. If it made him feel safer then Kendall wasn't going to say anything.
But James and Carlos had no problem laughing and joking about the genius' means of protection and just how girly it was to carry it. "Why don't you just whack him with your purse?" Carlos teased the brunet.
"Do you carry pepper spray too?" James added.
When Logan only blushed, James and Carlos' laughter continued only much louder than before. Even Kendall couldn't help but snort a little, but he tried to hide it when he noticed that Logan was glaring at him. "You guys are jerks," Logan said, tone showing he was hurt by his friends' reactions.
"We're sorry, Logie. They were only kidding," Kendall said.
"Yeah…don't get your panties in a bunch."
Then James and Carlos were laughing again, but Logan didn't stick around to take more of the teasing. Kendall sighed as he watched the genius run ahead of them. The blond stopped walking to glare at the pair. "See what you did? You know he doesn't like being laughed at!"
"We were only kidding," James defended. "He knows that."
"That doesn't matter; he's still hurt."
Carlos frowned, guilt washing over his features, and James sighed. "Sorry," they chorused.
Kendall rolled his eyes. "Don't apologize to me," he sighed. "Let's go find-" The three paused when they heard a shrill sound in the distance. It was too far away to accurately identify it. It could have been a bird or another creature that was just freaking out. It wouldn't be the first time they heard something like that, but this was…different. It was more alarming and it made the boys' shiver inexplicably.
It continued over and over, one loud, sharp blast after another as it faded until it stopped all together.
"That was weird," Carlos looked around the now eerily quiet neighborhood for any possible source of the noise.
"Yeah," Kendall shivered, a sudden feeling of nerves and anxiety washing over him. "It kind of sounded like…" his eyes widened and when he glanced at James and Carlos' fearful looks his own fearful thoughts were confirmed.
It was a whistle.
…
His legs just wouldn't carry him fast enough.
His chest hurt and his throat burned from the amount of running he was doing, but he had to move faster. He had to get to Logan. He vaguely recognized James and Carlos' footsteps behind him as well as their rapid breathing, but that didn't offer any comfort. It only reminded him that he had to move faster.
As the three boy bounded up a hill they could see flashing lights in the distance. Kendall's panic rose when the sound of sirens flooded his eardrums. "Logan!" he yelled, moving faster than even he thought he could move.
Kendall finally stopped when he caught sight of one policeman dragging a man in handcuffs to his police car, a stranger talking to another, and a third officer standing with a clearly shaken Logan, trying to talk calmly to him. He didn't wait another moment—he had already wasted so much time—and ran the rest of the way to his best friend, calling his name.
When Logan heard, his head whipped around and his face flooded with relief. "Kendall!" The genius immediately wrapped his arms tightly around Kendall, burying his face in the taller boy's chest.
Kendall held him just as tight, maybe tighter, doing everything that he could to stop the boy's trembling. He didn't even care what happened, he just wanted Logan to be okay, for every frightening thought going through that big brain to just go away and for his best friend to be the happy genius he was just a few minutes ago.
He continued to try to comfort Logan the best way he knew how, James and Carlos asked the police officer what happened. "A man attacked your friend, and he won't tell us much else," the older man sighed sadly at the distraught teen that still clung tight to his best friend. "Fortunately, that man could hear his whistle, alerted us, and we were able to get here before he was harmed severely."
They all breathed a sigh of relief, but Kendall hugged the genius even tighter to his chest—though Logan didn't seem to have a problem with the embrace. He was also searching for that feeling of shelter, the comfort of the other person being there. When Kendall ran his hands over Logan's back, he heard the shorter boy whimper slightly.
His brows furrowed at the reaction, loosening his hold in order to get a better look at Logan, but he just whined and held Kendall tighter. Kendall could feel the back of his shirt being balled between two fists and sighed shakily. "Logie," he started quietly so that it was just between him and Logan. "Tell me what happened."
He was met with silence for a while before Logan said quietly, "He p-pushed me into a wall. H-he wanted something but…I-I don't remember. I think he was drunk. He just kept g-getting angry and I fought him off and ran and b-blew my…" he trailed off, the continued, "but that made him madder." He took another pause and Kendall waited patiently for Logan to continue. "He g-grabbed me again and th-threw me into another wall. I think I got the wind knocked out of me because I couldn't blow the whistle anymore."
Kendall nodded, running a hand gently up and down Logan's most likely bruised back. "Then what happened."
"There was this guy, and he called the police after the man passed out." Kendall was glad when Logan's stuttering had calmed, but the genius was nowhere close to letting go of him yet—not that Kendall would make him.
But he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with guilt because he should have been there. He shouldn't have let Logan run off alone. He should have been able to protect Logan from the drunken man. Logan shouldn't be clinging to him because he wasn't there and needed to feel safe, but because he was there and knew he was safe.
Kendall shook his head. This wasn't about him. It was about Logan and making sure he was okay. He could see an ambulance approaching the area and silently guided Logan over to it to get checked out.
…
Kendall is the first to see Mrs. Mitchell when she rushes into the hospital in a panic. "Kendall, where is he? Is he alright?"
"He's fine, Mrs. Mitchell," Kendall says calmly. "They're just finishing up. He had some scratches and bruises—mostly on his back. His back will be sore for a while, but they're giving him a prescription for it," Kendall said, reciting everything the doctor told him. He had been listening intently, wanting to know everything he could do to take care of Logan because he wouldn't be leaving the genius' side for a long time.
Mrs. Mitchell sighed with relief then followed the nurse to where Logan was. He was sitting quietly on the examining table when she found him. He looked scared and uneasy, and he would fidget in place every once in a while as he waited for the doctor to finish cleaning up the scratches on his back. It was obvious from the impatient expression on his face that he was just ready for the whole ordeal to be over.
As soon as he was done, she pulled him close only to jerk back and loosen her grip when Logan hissed in pain. "Sorry," she said, hugging him more carefully.
"It's okay," Logan mumbled and returned the hug then pulled back suddenly.
"Honey, what's wrong?" His mom looked at him worriedly when she noticed his wide eyes and panicked expression.
"W-where's Kendall?" he asked with fear evident in his brown eyes. "H-he didn't leave, d-did he?"
"No, no, no," Mrs. Mitchell rubbed her son's shoulders in what she hoped was a soothing manner. "He's right outside with James and Carlos. They're waiting for you," she explained calmly, hoping to relax him but Logan remained rigid until they entered the waiting room and Logan's eyes fell on Kendall.
Logan's mother watched with raised brows as Logan rushed right into Kendall's arms and allowed him to hold him tight. If he was in pain, he didn't say anything; he just wanted Kendall to hold him tighter. "Are you okay?" the blond whispered to him.
Logan nodded. He lifted his head from where it was buried in Kendall's neck when he heard tentative steps coming toward him. James and Carlos were standing awkwardly, torn between wanting to hug the genius and wanting to give him his space. James finally sighed looking at Logan with regret shining in his eyes. "We're really sorry we made fun of you, Logan."
"Yeah, you wouldn't have gotten hurt if it wasn't for us," Carlos added sadly.
Logan shook his head, not the least bit angry with his friends. "It's okay, guys. It isn't your fault."
"But-"
"He's right; it's not your fault," Kendall spoke up and Logan frowned at the unreadable expression on the blond's face. "Logan's safe now, it's late, and we all need to get home," he explained, shifting his and Logan's embrace so that they were able to walk toward the exit of the hospital where Mrs. Mitchell was waiting for them.
They all piled into the mother's car and Logan clung to Kendall the entire ride from the hospital to James' house, Carlos' house, and finally his house. Mrs. Mitchell checked on Logan one more time before she let him go upstairs. The short boy pulled Kendall by the hand up to his room. While Logan got ready for bed, Kendall settled on his friend's bed and called his mother to let her know what was going on.
"Is Logan okay?" Mrs. Knight asked, immediately becoming concerned for the boy she had come to think of as her son.
"Yeah, mom, he's fine, but I don't feel comfortable leaving him alone right now, and I think he needs me."
And Mrs. Knight agreed. "Call me in the morning, okay?"
"Okay, love you," Kendall hung up the phone in time for Logan to crawl into the bed beside him and snuggle closely into his side.
Kendall wrapped his arms around Logan in return, careful of the injured back. They laid in silence for a while and Kendall almost thought that Logan had gone to sleep, but then he spoke. "It's not your fault," he mumbled.
He didn't even have to ask what the genius was referring to. "I should have gone after you. I could have stopped him."
"Or you could have gotten hurt," Logan gripped the taller boy's shirt tight in his fist at the thought. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have run off because of some stupid teasing that I know didn't mean anything. That was stupid, so don't blame yourself, okay?"
"But…I-I should have been protecting you. I've always protected you and…I heard the whistle, Logan. I heard it and I didn't do anything!" Kendall was sitting up then, fingers tangling in his hair as he held back tears of frustration. "I could have helped you if had just…just…"
Logan made a sound of discomfort as he tried to sit up, causing Kendall to turn his attention back to Logan and guide him back onto the mattress to relax. Logan grabbed Kendall's arms to keep him in place and looked at him seriously. "You didn't know, I didn't know, and blaming ourselves isn't going to turn back time to stop it," he spoke evenly and with a stern expression. "Let's just be glad that it wasn't worse okay?"
Kendall nodded and leaned forward to press a kiss to the brunet's forehead. Logan was right. It could have been worse than it was, and he didn't want to think about that. He settled back into his spot beside Logan and smiled when he cuddled closer to him. "And I know that you can still protect me. I'll never doubt that."
Kendall's smile widened and leaned down to press another kiss to Logan's forehead, but he paused when Logan lifted his head to lock eyes with him. He was met with secure brown eyes and a reassuring crooked smile, and Logan barely even thought about it before he was leaning forward to press his lips to Kendall's. The kiss was short and gentle, but so purely Logan that Kendall could feel his heart burst at the action. Logan pulled back and settled back into Kendall's chest with a sigh. "I think I'm always gonna need you."
Kendall's sigh was a mix of content and relief as he ran his hands up and down Logan's arms in a final reassurance that the genius was there and safe in his arms because he was sure he was always going to need Logan.