My second BTR story! I don't own Big Time Rush, and no copyright infringement is intended (blah blah blah). Read it and review it, please!

Carlos rolled over and stared at his clock. It was five o'clock in the morning. Carlos smiled when the song "5 O'Clock" popped into his head. Carlos was only awake this late because he had things on his mind. For days he'd been thinking of one thing and one thing only. He was sure of it, but he wasn't sure it was right.

Carlos Garcia was in love with James Diamond.

Everything about James was perfect. He took care of himself, and Carlos appreciated. Carlos loved the way James snored when he was extremely tired, just like he was doing right now. It was summer vacation, and James had been at Carlos's house for five days straight. Kendall and Logan were at the beach with Kendall's mom and sister, so James and Carlos had nothing better to do than hang out.

Carlos sat up and watched James as he slept in the extra bed that was right across from Carlos's. Carlos's eyes moved from James's combed hair down to the slight bump in his shorts. That part made Carlos a little nervous. If Carlos was gay, he wasn't sure he could handle the sexual part. He wasn't even sure which part he would play. (If you understand what that means. Haha.)

James rolled over in his sleep, and Carlos jumped. He almost thought James would wake up, and he certainly didn't want James to catch him staring. That would be awkward, and it would definitely raise some questions.

Carlos sighed and laid back down.

Carlos blinked when the sun coming through the window hit him. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. Carlos didn't remember falling asleep, but apparently he had. He glanced at his clock. It was three in the afternoon. James was gone from the other bed.

Carlos jumped out of bed and trudged downstairs. James was sitting on the couch in the living room watching TV. Shirtless. James looked up. He smiled. "Good afternoon, Carlos. Sleep well?"

"Yeah." Carlos nodded. He hadn't really slept that well: his neck was sore and he had a cramp in his left leg. Carlos surveyed James's body for what seemed like the thousandth time. He wanted to curl up next to James, wrap his arms around him, and never let him go, but he knew that that couldn't happen. Carlos could never tell James how he felt.

James patted the seat next to him. Carlos let out a breath and sat down beside James. "So when do Kendall and Logan come back again?"

"In two days," said James. He was flipping through channels, not stopping for a second to see what was on. It was mostly commercials, anyway. James stopped flipping on an episode of Degrassi. It was one of the old ones, the one where Marco tells his Dad he's gay. Carlos blushed. James put the remote down. "I love this show."

Carlos nodded. "Yeah. Me too."

Carlos could hear his heart beating in his ears. It was so loud that he was pretty sure James heard it, too. It was so ironic that this particular episode was on at this moment, the moment when Carlos was just admitting his own sexuality to himself. James said he loved the show, but did he like this particular episode? How did James feel about gay people?

"James?" asked Carlos.

James looked at Carlos. "Huh?"

"How do you feel about gay people?"

James shrugged. "They're just like everyone else. People have the right to love whoever they want to love. Homophobia pisses me off. It's not a fear. It's being an asshole."

Carlos nodded. He stared at the TV screen for a moment, not watching the show, just staring. His heart started beating impossibly harder. James looked at Carlos and laughed. "Are you dying? I can hear your heartbeat."

"No," said Carlos, too quickly. "I'm just hyper I guess."

James narrowed his eyebrows and nodded. He could tell Carlos was lying. Carlos knew that James sensed something was up. He hoped James wouldn't say anything, and he didn't.

Slowly and carefully, Carlos scooted closer to James. James didn't seem to notice. The taller boy stretched. "Damn. It's hot in here, Carlos."

"Yeah. The AC is broken. Sorry." Carlos glanced outside. It was so bright that Carlos almost thought the Earth was plunging toward the sun. He almost hoped that was happening, just so he wouldn't have to deal with these strange feelings. These feelings that he was in love with his best friend. These feelings that wouldn't subside no matter how hard Carlos tried.

James stood up. "I'm in major need of something to drink. Want something, Carlos?"

Carlos shook his head. James stepped into the hallway and walked back to the kitchen. Carlos's phone buzzed, and he checked the screen. It was a text from Kendall. Carlos opened it and read to himself.

Carlos, I was too embarrassed to tell you this in person. I wasn't going to tell you at all, but Logan is making me. Carlos, I like you as more than a friend. I know you probably don't feel the same way, but I hope we can still be friends.

Carlos's jaw fell to the floor. He read the message five more times to make sure he wasn't imagining this. Carlos pressed the "reply" button. He typed; Wow. Um. Yeah we're still friends. We'll talk when you get back. K?

Carlos sent the message. A minute later, he got another message: Okay.

James entered the room just as Carlos was putting his phone back in his pocket. "Was that Kendall?"

"Yeah," nodded Carlos. "He said he was bored. How could he be bored at the beach?"

James shrugged. They were both quiet. Carlos kept thinking of what Kendall had texted him. So Carlos liked James and Kendall liked Carlos. The world certainly had funny ways.

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