I've been starting a bunch of random fics, trying to find a good angle to go with. Here's something I wrote on a whim. It's not much, I just really wanted to actually finish a story for once. :P No slash, just friendship.
At the brunette's words, Kendall immediately shot up from his chair and stomped over to the brunette, who was too busy staring at the computer in front of him. That changed when Kendall roughly grabbed James by the front of his shirt and yanked him up and against the wall. James looked shocked for a moment but then composed himself, returned the murderous glare Kendall was giving him with accuracy.
"Kendall, quit it!" Carlos said, stepping closer to the two fighting boys before Logan held him back, unsure of where this argument was going and not wanting his friend to get in the middle in case it went too far.
"Don't call me a coward" Kendall warned in a low, shaky voice. Then, louder, he added, "I'm sorry I'm not like you, perfect fucking James Diamond who can do no wrong, but do not call me a coward!" Kendall shoved him back hard against the wall once then released his friend. "I gave up just as much as you have, James. You need to wrap your stupid shallow head around the fact that you're not the only one with issues here!"
"Yeah, because I'm totally the one whose worried about appearances," James said, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. "Look at yourself! You're too busy playing up the role of leader for everyone else to care about how it affects everyone else!"
Logan felt Carlos shaking beside him. The tension in the air was so thick, he could barely breathe correctly. Instead, his breath was practically stalled in his throat as he watched his two best friends, both red in the face and furious, unleashing their wrath on one another.
This had been simmering for a while now, beginning when Kendall's now ex-girlfriend had cheated them dumped him a couple of week prior. Since that disastrous meeting before Big Time Rush had set out for their summer tour, Kendall hadn't been a happy camper. Onstage and with fans, he was a completely normal, happy-go-lucky guy. But when the cameras were off and there were no fans in sight, Kendall was often irritable and angry. He'd lashed out at his band mates and that was something that James didn't receive well. He returned the ill atmosphere easily, unlike Logan and Carlos who much preferred to stay out of things. Tonight after their concert in Dallas, the boys were all alone in their tour bus waiting to depart for the next stop and Kendall decided to call James out for leaving his suitcase on the floor in the middle of the front lounge. Things spiraled out of control after that.
Kendall scowled, "What's that supposed to mean?"
James took a step closer until he was face to face with his blonde band mate. "It means that while the whole world may think you're Kendall Knight, the amiable front man of Big Time Rush, it doesn't hide what you really are. A coward. A fraud. Own up to your bullshit instead of shoving it onto one of us for a change!"
"How dare you-"
"That's right. I called you a coward because that's what you fucking are!" James shouted right in the blonde's face, showing absolutely no mercy.
This time, Logan didn't feel the need to hold Carlos back from throwing himself into the conflict, because he too was moving forward to seize Kendall's arms in a tight grip before he tackled James to the floor in a rage. Carlos did the same with James, wrapping both of his arms around the tall brunette's waist and putting all of his effort into holding him back from beating the absolute daylights out of Kendall.
"Let me go!" Kendall yelled, struggling within Logan's arms. "This bastard needs to be taught a lesson!"
"Kendall, shut up!" Logan told him firmly, his words almost drowned out by James's loud shout of, "Let him go, Logan! Let this coward come at me, I don't give a fuck!"
"James, enough!" Carlos reprimanded James, slowly making his way out of the room and towing James with him. "Come on, you need to clear your head. You guys don't need to fight. This is stupid." "Fuck you, James!" Kendall bellowed at James, his green eyes bright with fury. "Fuck you!"
When Carlos managed to shove James toward the bunks and shut the door behind them, Kendall wrestled with Logan for a second before Logan finally released him. "Kendall, what the hell was that about?" Logan demanded, breathless from the struggle. "You and James completely lost your minds!"
"Well, it wasn't my fault!" Kendall snapped, hastily shrugging on his jacket. "He's the one being completely ridiculous!" he shouted, putting emphasis and raising his voice on the last two words.
"Screw you, Kendall!" they heard James through the door, followed by a softer, scolding voice that Logan figured was Carlos.
Logan sighed and opened his mouth to speak again, but Kendall was already getting out of the bus. Hurriedly, Logan followed him out and called, "Kendall! Where are you going?"
Kendall's retreating figure didn't reply, already several yards away. The blonde shoved one hand into his jeans pocket and ran another through his hair the way he always did when he was frustrated. Once he rounded the corner and disappeared, Logan debated going after him. Almost as soon as the idea popped into his head, however, he decided he wouldn't. Kendall was stubborn. If he was going to get over this, he would do it on his own.
Logan trudged back onto the bus and found Carlos sitting dejectedly on the couch, looking troubled. "How's James?" Logan asked before taking a seat beside his friend.
"Pissed beyond belief," Carlos muttered, twiddling his thumbs on his lap. "I left him alone in the back lounge. Hopefully he'll get over it soon."
Logan glanced over at Carlos. The boy's face was serious, an emotion Logan rarely saw, and he carefully held his bottom lip in between his teeth. He was the smart one of the group, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that something else was troubling Carlos, something beyond the fight that had just erupted between their two friends.
"What's the matter, Carlos?" Logan asked quietly, letting concern take over the tone in his voice.
Carlos shrugged, as though he didn't want to admit what was bothering him. Patiently, Logan waited. After a minute of silence, Carlos said, "I'm…afraid."
"Of?"
"Of what just happened." Carlos caught Logan's stare for a minute, then resumed staring at his lap.
"C'mon Carlos," Logan said, putting a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "People fight all the time, but then they get over them. James and Kendall fight all the time, but their still friends and nothing is going to tear them apart. Even you and I fight sometimes, but see? We're still friends. Things will work out."
"How can you say that?" Carlos demanded, turning to face Logan. "What if things don't work out today? Or tomorrow? What if…I dunno…what if they end up hating each other in the future? What if we end up hating each other in the future? Every time something like this happens, I get so scared. I love you guys. You're my brothers, my best friends…. I don't ever want to lose that." He stood up from his seat and paced up and down the room. "I know eventually Big Time Rush is going to break up. I just don't want us…our friendship to break up like so many others' does."
Logan's eyes were warm and sympathetic. Carlos was voicing all of the hidden worries he kept hidden inside and it made him sad to hear them aloud, mostly because it was all very possible. It happens to so many people everyday. Who was to say it couldn't happen to them, too?
They are all so different from each other. Kendall, the leader, the one who never backed down from a challenge and strove to protect those he loved. James, the talent, the driven one who refused to take no for an answer and was in it to win it. Carlos, the fun-loving, carefree guy who was always kind to everyone. And himself, Logan, the analytical, rational one. He was the one who made sure everything went the way it was supposed to. Such distinct personalities, all it took was one big disagreement and it could easily all be over….
"Carlos…," he began quietly. "You're right. Things like that do happen everyday, and it's unfortunate that they do. But you, Kendall, James, and I? Yeah, we're all different. We all want different things from life and we may not always agree. But we've got something nobody else has."
Carlos timidly asked, "What's that?"
"We've got this amazing bond that's been around since we all met in daycare. Even back then, Kendall was extremely stubborn and James could be a little…big headed now and then. But the point is that even through school and being on the hockey team together, they found a way to work together."
Logan saw Carlos raise an eyebrow. "I don't see where you're going with this, Logan."
"My point is that ever since then up until now, despite being opposites, they've been best friends," Logan concluded. "They've been there for each other through thick and thin…. Remember that time in the seventh grade when Kendall had a crush on that girl, Emily?"
"Oh yeah," Carlos nodded, reminiscing along with Logan. His brown eyes were far away in the past. "Didn't James have a crush on her, too?"
"He did," Logan confirmed with a slight nod. "And remember when James found out Kendall likes her?"
"Yeah, yeah I do. Kendall was the one that told him in the first place. But he had no idea James had a crush on her too. I remember Kendall had bought her a flower and a box of candy from the store to put in her locket on Valentine's Day and everything."
"Mhmm. James could have totally challenged Kendall to be her Valentine, but he didn't."
Carlos stood still in the middle of the room, lost in thought. "Yeah…. I remember… James, you, and I distracted Emily by the water fountains that morning while Kendall put the presents in her locker. It had all been James's idea." He glanced toward the back, where James was isolated behind closed doors.
"See," Logan said, standing up and walking over to Carlos, "James could have definitely ruined the surprise and told Emily, or worse, he could have asked her to be his Valentine before Kendall even had a chance. But he gave it up to make Kendall happy."
"And us? Remember during freshman year when you got mad at me for not letting you cheat on the math test?"
"I failed that one," Carlos said, letting a playfully hurt expression appear on his face. "And my mom grounded me for two weeks. I didn't talk to you the entire time."
"Yeah. I was pretty sad about it, because I didn't mean for you to get in trouble. I just didn't want you to get caught cheating and be in even more trouble," Logan told him, his brown eyes glistening with apology but a grin on his lips. "But you got over it and started talking to me again. Everything went back to normal."
Carlos sighed, holding up his arms in defeat. "Fine, fine, okay. I see where you're getting at. I'm sorry. I just really hate when we all fight."
"I hate it too," Logan agreed. "I'm sure Kendall and James do as well. But in the end, we're best friends for life, Carlos. We always will be. No stupid argument is going to change that. Brothers fight all the time."
"But their still brothers," Carlos smiled, seeming at ease. He realized he was overreacting. Big Time Rush would eventually break apart. But nothing could get between Kendall, James, Carlos, and Logan. "Thanks, Logan. You always know what to say."
"I'm just telling it like it is." But Logan also smiled at his best friend, feeling relaxed as well.
A couple of hours later, Kendall came back from wherever he went. He approached James and apologized for starting the argument. James accepted, then also apologized for calling him a coward. Minutes after that, all four best friends were sitting in various places around the lounge of their tour bus, yelling and hassling each other while they played a video game on the flat screen.
Everything was back to the way it should.
A/N: Hooray for friendship, am I right? :)
