Hey guys. :) Hmm… I don't have much to say. Well, I do, but I will say it at the end. Now, I just want to say that this story is dedicated to winterschild11. Hope you like it! It has Kenlos bromance. It's a little sad, but the end is kind of happy. :D

Smiling was such a difficult task for him to accomplish these days. It seemed like every time he got his hopes up, somehow, something or someone managed to knock them back down. His eyes no longer held that innocent, childish sparkle that brightened up everybody's day. They lacked their sparkle, just like he lacked his happy-go-lucky attitude. He was falling, but he didn't seem to realize it, seeing as how he did nothing to stop it.

His friends were growing more and more concerned as each day passed by. One of them in particular had tried to make him laugh or at least smile. His friend's attempts were gone unnoticed by the little Latino. It seemed almost impossible to place a smile on Carlos' face. But Kendall Knight was never one to give up that easily.

Logan had given up rather easily and James had followed suit. However, it wasn't because they didn't care. Kendall was just strong headed and liked to do things his own way. At first, he had given Carlos his own space. He was never one to push the truth out of someone, unless the matter became serious and lasted over a period of 24 hours.

Carlos had been silent for three days now. Kendall was in the verge of ripping his hair right from his scalp. He needed to know what was bothering his best friend, but Carlos seemed convinced on keeping his mouth shut. No matter how many times Kendall questioned him, the smaller boy would shake his head and walk away; a frown always plastered on his face. To say Kendall hated it would have been an understatement. He loathed the fact that he didn't know what was bothering his older brother. It tore him apart.

Kendall had tried multiple times to get Carlos to spill the beans, but his question always went unanswered. It wasn't until he found himself alone in the apartment with Carlos, that he decided that he had had enough. He wanted the truth, or more like needed to know the truth.

Mrs. Knight and Katie had gone out on what Mrs. Knight called "Mommy and Katie Day". They were probably going to be gone for the whole day and return until the evening. Logan was off in the library doing some research on a homework assignment they had been assigned. Of course, Kendall didn't feel like tagging along. And James was off at the gym.

Kendall sat on the edge of his bed, emerald eyes staring off into space. He was debating on how to approach his shorter friend. He didn't know if he should wait some more until Carlos' emotions emerged to the surface, or save him the trouble and simply come right out with the question. Deciding on the latter, he stood up and walked out of his room to find that Carlos was no longer sitting on the couch watching cartoons like he had been a few minutes before.

Running a hand through his dirty blond hair, Kendall walked the few steps to James and Carlos' shared bedroom. The door was closed but unlocked. Not wanting to upset his friend any further, Kendall decided to knock on the wooden door. He stood in front of the door until he heard the sound of someone's footsteps approaching the door.

With a small squeak, the door was swung open. On the other side stood a saddened Carlos. He eyed Kendall for a minute before finally opening his mouth to speak. "What?" The simple word made Kendall frown. Carlos never greeted anyone in that matter. He always had a smile on his face, accompanied by a cheerful voice.

"Carlos, we need to talk," Kendall said slowly. Carlos sighed but regardless, opened the door even wider so Kendall could walk inside. Shrugging, Kendall walked into the small bedroom and took a seat in the bed nearest to the door, which was Carlos'. He patted the spot next to him and waited for Carlos to sit down. Looking down at the floor, Carlos took a seat on the edge of the bed and turned to stare at his hands.

"What do you want to talk about?" Carlos kept his eyes on his hands as he asked the question. Kendall laid a hand on the smaller boy's shoulder and let out a shaky breath. He didn't really know when to start or how to start.

"What's going on with you, 'Litos?" he asked after a moment of silence had passed. "You've been so quiet lately; very un-Carlos-ish. Is there something you're hiding?"

Carlos didn't respond. Kendall held his breath until Carlos finally looked up from his gaze on his hands. He stared back at the blond with teary, shimmering, caramel eyes. His bottom lip slightly trembled, and soon, the broken boy found himself enveloped in Kendall's arms. "Shh, it's alright, Carlitos. Shh," Kendall cooed into his older friend's ear.

"N-n-no it's not!" Carlos yelled in frustration as he grabbed a fistful of Kendall's shirt in his hand and nuzzled his face against the younger boy's side. "My puppy d-died, Kenny. Chiquito died… he-he got run over. I… I'll never see him again!"

Kendall rubbed Carlos' quivering back as realization finally hit him. Chiquito was Carlos' little brown Chihuahua. Carlos had received him as a birthday present right after his other puppy, Sparky, had died. Carlos had grown close to the pup. It was to be expected for the little Latino to act in such a vulnerable matter after Chiquito died.

"Carlos, I'm so sorry, buddy. I… I didn't know. I'm so, so sorry!" Kendall buried his face against Carlos' soft tufts of hair. He tightened his grip on the older boy and cried along with him. He didn't even know why he was crying. Maybe it was because he had grown to know the little Chihuahua, or maybe it was the fact that Carlos was now a sobbing mess in his arms. Whatever the reason was, he couldn't help the salty tears streaming down his pallid cheeks.

"N-n-not your fault," Carlos whispered. He wrapped his short arms around Kendall and rocked him back and forth until the two were only slightly sniffling. Their sobs had now quieted down. Their tears were slowly drying up, but they still held onto each other for comfort.

"Kenny, do you think Chiquito is okay?" The innocent question brought a small smile to Kendall's lips.

"I'm sure he is, 'Litos. He must be in Doggy Heaven having the time of his life. I bet he's running around with Sparky right now. There's nothing to worry about. He's safe now, bud."

Carlos smiled as he rested his head against Kendall's chest. "Thanks. I love you, Kenny."

"I love you too, Carlitos," Kendall whispered. Smiling, he slowly stood up and held out his hand for Carlos to take. "Now, how about we go out for ice cream? My treat."

Carlos nodded in response and let Kendall hold him up. "Sure, let's go… But only if I can take Smokey with me."

"Smokey?" Kendall raised a bushy eyebrow as Carlos walked over to the bathroom, only to emerge with a little Calico kitten in his arms. "Oh, 'Litos. You know we can't keep him."

"Hey! It's a she!"

"Okay, but we can't keep her."

"I know, which is why we're gonna look for a new home for her. Let's go!"

Giggling, Kendall let Carlos take a hold of his wrist with his free hand and lead him out of the apartment. It was sure nice to see his happy-go-lucky best friend with that sparkle in his eyes and that giant smile on his face.

Did you guys like it? Hehe, I have a kitty named Smokey. :D

Okay, you guys might have already noticed that I deleted most of my multi-chaps and one of my one-shots. I'm sorry guys, but school starts for me on Monday, and I had too many multi-chaps in my hands. However, "Two Hearts Shattered As One" has been adopted by Your Smile Makes My Day 123. :) So go read it if you like. And, if anyone wants to adopt "Falling Angel" let me know, okay? The only one I am keeping up is "Delusional".

Now, thank you so much for reading. Hope you liked it winterschild11! I had fun writing it. :P

~ BigTimeRush-BTR :)