Chapter 2

Kendall hated this.

He hated that his mommy had to leave and that his daddy was hurt and in the hospital, and maybe he would die…

Kendall felt tears in his eyes at the thought.

He didn't want his daddy to die, he really didn't. His daddy had promised him he would be home before Christmas to buy him whatever he wanted. Kendall had even made his daddy a gift to welcome him home.

"Kendall, sweetie, are you thirsty?" Kendall looked up at the pretty woman who had taken him in while his mommy was away.

He sniffled. "N-no. I just want my daddy…" He whimpered, wiping his eyes with his sleeves.

The lady sat down next to him. "Sweetie, I know it's hard, but it's going to be okay. Your daddy is going to be fine." She assured Kendall.

Kendall didn't know how she knew, since Kendall had never even seen her before, and she probably didn't know his daddy, but he believed her anyways.

Before he could say anything else, though, he heard another voice like his. "Mommy? Why are you up sho early?"

Kendall looked up as the pretty lady stood up and went over to hug the little boy who had spoken.

The boy was about the same height as Kendall, which was pretty tall, his mommy had told him, but he was a little chubbier and his hair was brown. His eyes were this weird mix of colors that made them look pretty.

The lady smiled. "Oh, sweetie… remember our next door neighbor? Kendall?" The small boy nodded, glancing at Kendall cautiously.

"His daddy's in the hospital, honey, and he's staying over for a few days while his mommy goes to check on him. Is that okay, honey?"

The boy glanced over at Kendall again; but this time, his eyes were softer, more sympathetic towards Kendall. Kendall stared at him right back.

"Kendall, sweetie, do you want to play with James? James, sweetie, can you take Kendall to the basement and share your Transformers toys with him?" She asked sweetly. The chubby boy immediately shook his head.

"No! Those are mine! I wuv the Transformers! He's gonna get it all dirty and stuff!" He argued stubbornly.

Kendall stood up from his seat. "You're mean! They're probably all dirty anyways! So it doesn't matter!" He retorted. Kendall had always been headstrong, stubborn, not wanting to listen to other people.

The James boy looked down. He looked sad. "I'm sorry… you can come pway with me." He said softly, not meeting Kendall's eyes.

Kendall was confused, but he shrugged and followed James into the basement. The chubby boy seemed happy again, and so Kendall decided he wasn't so bad after all. He liked the Transformers, right? He must be okay.

James and Kendall sat down on the carpeted floor in the spacious basement. James grinned at him.

"I'm James. James Diamond. Like the rock that's worth a whole lotta money!" James bragged.

Kendall smirked back. "Well, I'm Kendall Knight. Like the knight in shining armor that always saves the princesses!" He added proudly.

James snorted. "Yeah, but diamonds are prettier!"

"Well, knights are braver!"

"Well, diamonds are… they're just better!" James retorted, finding no other word to use.

Kendall laughed. "Ha! See? You don't know what to say. Cuz knights are better!"

James pouted. "Fine! Well, you can't pway with my toys! Ha!" He said indignantly.

"Fine! I don't care!" In a split second, the two boys walked away from each other, and Kendall sat in the corner, pouting to himself.

First his daddy was in the hospital, now this mean boy who didn't let him play with his Transformers toys…

Kendall didn't even notice he was crying until James came up to him. "Why are you crying?" He asked curiously.

Kendall sniffled loudly. "I-I don't want my daddy to die…" He cried softly.

Suddenly, he felt arms wrap around him. James was hugging him.

"It's all-wight, you're daddy's probably fine. Here, you can pway with my toys if you want… which one's your favorwit?" James asked, holding the five Transformer toys out to Kendall.

Kendall wiped his tears away. "Th-the blue one." He finally admitted. Blue had always been his favorite color.

James smiled cheekily and handed him the blue one. "Here, I like the purple one. You wanna pway battle?"

Kendall nodded enthusiastically, and soon, the two boys who were just fighting before were giggling and laughing alongside each other, their worries forgotten.

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Kendall was sure James was his best friend.

He was funny, liked the Transformers, nice, and awesome. Everything Kendall wanted in his best friend.

James liked him too. At least he thought he did.

After they played battle, the two boys ran upstairs and ate pancakes. The pretty lady, who Kendall realized was James's mommy, even put chocolate chips in them.

"Hey, you wanna ride bikes?" Kendall asked through mouthfuls of pancake. James grinned and agreed, and the two headed out together with James's mommy after they finished eating.

Kendall realized something was wrong when James refused to get on his bike. Kendall was riding around on his four-wheeler, watching James refuse to get on.

"Come on, James, get on. You can do it." His mommy chided him gently. James shook his head.

Kendall rode up to them, getting off and looking at James. "Why aren't you riding, James?"

James looked down; there were tears in his eyes. "I-I'm scared I'm gonna fall." He whispered, his face red.

Kendall laughed. James was such a scaredy cat. "You're not gonna fall off, not with 4 wheels, baby!" He insulted James.

James's tears spilled over. "I-I'm notta baby… M-Mommy, I wanna go home!" He cried, burying his face into his mommy's legs.

Kendall suddenly felt mean for calling James a baby. Kendall had been the one crying in the basement, and James hadn't called him a baby.

He wrapped his arms around James just as he had for him in the basement. "I'm sorry, James… You're not a baby. And I'll show you how to not fall off. It's easy!" He offered. James looked up, smiling a little,

"Y-you will?" He asked timidly. Kendall nodded confidently.

"Yeah, come on!"

Kendall showed James how to balance his body and stuff and taught him how to turn. Soon, both boys were racing each other down the driveway. Kendall won half the time, James won the other half.

When they got off and were walking home, James gave Kendall a big smile. "Thanks, Kendall. You're my best friend." He grinned.

Kendall smiled back. "You're mine too!"

The two laughed and giggled the whole way home.

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"Mommy? Is daddy okay?" Kendall asked quietly. His mommy had called to see how Kendall was doing, and now Kendall was talking with her. It was already nighttime, and it was getting dark outside.

His mommy sighed. She sounded really tired. "Sweetie, he's asleep right now, he's fine. Don't worry. How are you doing over there, Kendall?"

Kendall grinned. "It's awesome, mommy! James is my new best friend!" He told her excitedly.

"That's great, Kendall! I'm glad you like him. Now you be good for mommy, okay? Mommy will be back before you know it." Jennifer assured her son.

Kendall smiled even though his mommy couldn't see him. "Okay, mommy! Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, my love." Kendall put the phone down.

"Miss Diamond? I'm finished." He called the pretty lady over. Ashley smiled at him and put the phone back in its place.

"Is everything okay, Kendall?"

Kendall grinned at her. "Yep, my mommy says daddy's fine and she'll be back really soon!" He told her excitedly.

Ashley smiled. "That's great, sweetie. Now, do you want to go sleep with James? He has an extra bed in his room."

Kendall let out a small yawn. "Yeah, I'm kinda tired." Ashley laughed and carried Kendall to James's room. The chubby boy was already in bed, looking through the pictures of a book.

"James, sweetie, Kendall's going to sleep with you tonight, alright?" James looked up and grinned.

"Yay! Kendall, we can dance and sing and we can play Pin the Tail on the Donkey and-"

Ashley shook her head, amused. "James, buddy, it's already 8. It's time to got to bed. Do you boys want a bedtime story?"

Kendall glanced at James hesitantly. His mommy always gave him a bedtime story… But what if James thought it was only for babies? Kendall didn't want James to think he was a baby.

But James nodded eagerly. "Yeah, can we read Dr. Seuss?" He begged. Kendall turned to her, nodding.

'Yeah, I love Dr. Seuss!" He added, his worries forgotten.

Ashley sat down, a book already prepared in her hands. "Alright, boys, settle down. I'll read the book about the fishies, okay?" The two boys cheered.

"One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish…"

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James didn't know what that crying sound was for a few seconds.

Then he remembered that his new best friend, Kendall was sleeping in that otherwise empty bed next to his for the night.

But then he wondered why Kendall was crying. Again.

The boy sat up, rubbing his eyes. "K-Kendall?" He called out softly, afraid that the other boys would start full out sobbing.

Kendall sniffled a little. "I-I had a bad dream…" He choked out, sobs breaking out from his mouth.

James cautiously stepped out of his bed and walked next to Kendall's. "Was is 'bout your daddy?" Kendall was brave, he wouldn't cry about anything else, right?

Kendall nodded timidly. "Yeah… I-I dreamed dat he was dead." He whispered.

James wanted to cry too. That was a horrible dream to have. If his daddy ever died… He couldn't even imagine it.

"Do you want me ta get my mommy?" James asked shyly. His mommy always made him feel better when he was scared.

"Yeah…"

James ran out the door, flicking on the lights in the upstairs hallway. He pushed open the door to his parents' rooms. He ran over to his mommy, shaking her shoulder forcefully.

"Mommy, mommy, wake up!" He whispered urgently.

"What is it, James?" His mommy replied groggily.

"Kendall's scared. He had a bad dweam his daddy died." James told her in a serious whispering tone.

His mommy immediately got up and put on her robe. "Come on, James. Let's go see." James followed his mommy back into his own room.

"Kendall, sweetie, what's wrong?" His mommy sat down next to Kendall, who snuggled into her arms.

"I-I dreamed my daddy died…" He cried, tears falling down his cheeks and onto his mommy's robe. James stared at them, wide-eyed.

"Oh, Kendall… it was just a dream, my baby. Your daddy's still in the hospital, and he's going to be fine." Ashley assured him. James wasn't sure about it, though. If Kendall had dreamed it… didn't dreams come true? Even if they were bad?

He didn't say anything, though. He didn't want Kendall to cry anymore. It made him want to cry too.

"A-are you sure?" Kendall got out.

James's mommy planted a kiss on Kendall's forehead. "I promise, sweetie. Now do you want to go back to sleep?" Kendall nodded, and Ashley tucked him into bed.

Then she bent down and kissed James's on the cheek. "Thanks for getting me, James. You go back to sleep, okay? You'll be alright?" James nodded, smiling a little.

"Goodnight, mommy."

"Goodnight, baby."

When she left, James could still hear Kendall sniffling a little. "Are... are you all-wight?"

Kendall sniffled. "K-kinda. I'm tired."

"Okay… goodnight, Kendall."

"Goodnight, James."

A/N- Wow… this is literally the cutest thing I've ever written… I hope you guys feel the same way. Aren't they just the cutest things?

And what do you think is going to happen with Kendall's daddy (see, I'm still talking all baby talk)? Please review this chapter and tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, anything…

And guys and girls, thank you SO much for all the reviews I got last time, all the alerts and all the favorites! I love you all! Keep it up!

Peace, Love, and Giraffes,

Anonymous Skrtle