"Ouch! Carlos, sit still!" Logan yelped as Carlos has leaned over the seat and punched him in the arm.
"I had to, Logan! I saw a station wagon!" Carlos feebly tried to explain.
"Carlos, that's only for punch buggies!" Kendall told him.
The guys were on their way back to the Palm Woods. They had just finished an extremely, ridiculously long day at the studio. They were all tired and ready to just hanging out and relax. Currently, they were all goofing off.
All except James, that is. James sat quietly in the back seat next to a rambunctious Carlos. His eyes were closed and his forehead leaned against the glass.
James felt tired and grumpy and he just wanted to go home. Nothing had gone right for him today. His hair wouldn't lay perfectly, Gustavo yelled at him for singing off key, he couldn't get the dance moves right and he still had math homework and two history papers due tomorrow.
Carlos noticed how silent James had been and started to lightly tap James' shoulder. The first four times, James ignored it, hoping that if he did Carlos would stop. However, Carlos' tapping because more frequent and forceful.
James mentally groaned. "What is it, Carlos?" He asked in monotone.
"Stop sleeping, James! We're gonna go swimming when we get back to the Palm Woods! Come on, James, come on!"
They pulled in the parking lot now and were slowly beginning to exit the car. Carlos kept on rambling about nothing, clearly not noticing that James was in no mood to be pestered at the moment.
"James! Will you play Marco Polo with me? Do you remember that time at Jenny Tinkler's pool party when we were eight and you-"
"Carlos!" James yelled a little louder than he planned to. "Stop!"
Carlos looked hurt and immediately hushed. "What did I do?" He asked quietly.
"You're being annoying! I don't wanna remember what happened at Jenny Tinkler's party eight years a go!" He whined
Carlos stared down at his feet, eyes welling up with tears. He was only trying to make conversation with his friend.
James saw how upset Carlos was and immediately felt guilt wash over him. He didn't have time to open his mouth and apologize to Carlos, explain to him that he was just tired. Kendall was ready to pounce and rip him to shreds.
"What the hell was that for, James! You didn't have to yell!" Kendall hollered at his friend, despite the fact that he was right next to him.
James head because to pound in his skull. "Kendall, just be quiet!" He pleaded. He wasn't in the mood to argue with him right now.
"No, don't tell me to be quiet after you just yelled at Carlos for no reason! What has been up with you today?" Kendall demanded as he raised his voice.
"Nothing!" James yelled, laying his head on the back of the orange couch.
"Bullshit! You've been bitchy and crabby all day! Get off you're freakin' man period, already!"
"Just shut up, Kendall, please! You have no idea what you're even talking about! God! You don't need to act like such a douche bag all the time!"
Kendall snickered meanly. "Me? You're the one who's had a bug up their ass all day and has been treating everyone like shit! So whatever your problem is, just knock it off because no one wants to hear you bitch!"
James was officially done with the conversation. He pushed himself off the comfort of the couch and ran into his and Kendall's room, shutting the door behind him.
The three boys left just stared at the door for a moment before Kendall went about his business and Carlos looked around uncomfortably.
"You're an idiot Kendall." Logan softly told him.
"What did I do?" He asked, shock covering his face.
"You freaked out on him!"
"He deserved it! He's been an asshole all day! He made Carlos cry!" Kendall spat out defensively.
"You're so dumb sometimes. You've been friends with James forever and you really don't see it?" Logan questioned the guilty brunette.
"See what?"
"That James doesn't feel good! You should know by now that when he isn't feeling well he gets really grumpy and emotional." Logan explained, angry that his friends didn't notice it sooner.
"Don't you remember that time in ninth grade when he had a cold and he punched Nick Wilkins in the face for making fun of his shoes? Or that time in middle school when he got had a migraine and he cried and whined about any little thing? What about just last month when he didn't sleep all night because he stayed up with Carlos when he was sick? He was miserable all day after! Or how about the time-"
"Okay, I get it! I never thought about it." Kendall admitted. He felt guilty immediately. He didn't stop to consider that something was wrong with James. All he knew was that Carlos was hurt and it was James fault. Never did he consider that maybe James had a reason behind his grouchiness today.
"I didn't mean to bother him." Carlos whispered from were he sat on the couch. "I didn't know something was wrong."
"It's no your fault, Carlitos. You didn't know." Logan tried to reassure the upset Latino.
"Is he okay?" Carlos asked.
"I'll check on him. It's my fault; I'm the one that yelled." Kendall said as he started to get up off the couch.
"No, Kendall, I'll go check on him." Logan said gently but firmly.
Kendall sighed. He wanted to go check on James and make sure he was right. He wanted to apologize for not just asking what was wrong with him and for freaking out with him. He knew he was wrong and wanted to fix it. However, he knew Logan was right. He was probably the last person James wanted to talk to at the moment. Solemnly, he nodded.
Logan licked his lips and made his way over to James' door and gently rapped his knuckles against it.
"Leave me alone!" He heard James mumble.
"It's me." Logan tried.
Logan heard a sigh from the other room. He slipped his hands in his pockets and waited, knowing it wouldn't be long before he was granted permission to enter the room.
"Fine. Come in." James said in a barely audible voice.
Logan slowly pushed the door open, slipping his way inside. He closed the door behind him and turned to face James. The tall teen was laying spread out on his bed, face down.
Logan took a seat next to him on the bed, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"What's wrong, James? Are you sick?" Logan gently pried.
"No. I'm fine." James mumbled grumpily into his pillow.
"Come on, James. I know you way better than that. Something is wrong. You can tell me." Logan offered.
James let out a defeated sigh as he turned over to stare at Logan with miserable and lost eyes.
"It's just…everything!" James moaned.
"Care to elaborate?"
"Today has just sucked. It was so stupid." James rolled his eyes as he flopped his head down onto his pillows.
He took a deep breath before continuing. "My hair is a mess, I couldn't get the stupid new song right, I was completely off with the dance moves, my head is pounding, my stomach is in knots, I'm exhausted and I still have to write two papers and do thirty math problems for school by tomorrow! On top of it all, I made Carlos cry! Ugh, I'm so messed up!" With that James rolled back onto his stomach and buried his head in his pillow.
Logan rubbed his arm in an attempt to calm down his disgruntled friend. "You aren't messed up. You're just really stressed out."
James moaned. "It's all too much to handle, Logan. Just too much pressure. I can't keep being perfect. It gets too hard."
"Yes you can! You're James Diamond! You're the epitome of perfect! Nothing is too hard for you to do. I mean look at you. You're the reason we're living the dream right now! We're here because you're determined to be the best. You just need a little help sometimes, that's all."
James was silent, but Logan knew he was listening.
"Look, it was hot today, which isn't good for you're hair. Tomorrow will be cooler and you're hair will go back to being flawless. The song is new, none of us did great. Don't worry about it, we'll get better at it. The dance moves are kinda hard, Mr. X will work with us until we get them though. I bet taking a nap will help you feel less tired and it'll make your headache and stomachache go away. I can wake you up in an hour and help you finish that homework. How does that sound?" Logan offered.
"I still made Carlos cry." James whispered sadly.
"Oh, don't worry about Carlos. He knows you didn't mean to yell at him. Heck, he's probably forgotten all about it by now!" Logan chuckled.
James smiled softly. "So you'll really help me with the homework? You think I can get it all finished in time?"
"Of course! But first try and sleep a little so you're not falling asleep on the papers." Logan joked.
"Okay, Logan." James agreed as he put snuggled into his pillow, yawning lightly.
Logan smiled. As he got up to leave he was stopped by a small voice.
"Thanks, Logan. For everything. You always just know." The brunette mumbled as he let sleep wash over him.
Logan smiled at him. "Your welcome." He whispered, trying not to disturb his slumbering friend.
Logan quietly left the room as James continued to sleep peacefully. Logan always knew just what to say, and what to do to put his mind at ease.
I'm a terrible, terrible writer. I've had this idea in my head for way too long and when I finally finish it, it sucks. It was too fast, the ending sucked and it just didn't turn out as good as I thought it would. Ugh ): This sucks. I figured I'd post it anyways. Just because it took so long to do. You don't need to review, I already know it stinks. But if you feel the need to, go ahead. Flames are welcome.