Had a good question in one of my reviews, so I decided to answer it here so everyone knows. No, this story is not slash. I don't write slash. Not because I don't support it, but mostly because I fail at writing it and I don't really do romance anyways. :P So sorry to those who might be disappointed, but this fic probably won't have much romance in it anyways. Also, when I do add a sprinkling of romance, it's usually canon pairings, 'cause I'm a wimp. :P

Anyways, that was for future reference. :P Who's excited for Windows Down? ME!

Lol enjoy!

...

Three words. Three words that, separately, weren't terrifying at all. But together—together they made Kendall's mouth dry just by thinking about them.

Don't tell anyone.

Kendall shoved his hands in his pockets and hurried forward, not sure if he was angry or scared or both. He'd been so close. So close to Carlos. The Man in Black—that's what he'd taken to calling him. Kendall was hoping that the letter he'd received last week was nothing but a prank. He remembered opening it absentmindedly, taking out the neat folded paper, and reading the simple words:

I'm watching you. Don't tell anyone.

Creepy. Short. Vague. But not something Kendall usually paid attention to. After all, these letters were screened, weren't they? At least, for anything dangerous. And no one else seemed to pay much attention, so Kendall didn't either.

Except another letter came today. The envelope was packed full of dozens of pictures—pictures of him, of Carlos and Logan and James, of Katie and his mom, even of Gustavo and Kelly. Some of them scared him so badly he dropped the pictures, like the ones of Katie and his mom at the grocery store. Or the one where Carlos and James were playing hockey by the pool. He's that close? It was incomprehensible to think about.

The pictures came with the same plain, typed words on the same blank white paper. I'm watching you. Don't tell anyone.

And that's when he knew the man he thought was following him really was following him. Kendall had noticed him outside of Rocque Records the day he received the first letter. It was just odd, seeing someone dressed head to toe in black on such a hot summer's day. And those eyes—like beady brown lasers cutting into him when they locked gazes.

But now that Kendall was thinking about it, those eyes had followed him all week. Outside of the grocery store when he went shopping with his mom. On the street when he took a walk. Obvious when he wore black—and the times when the man didn't want to be spotted, he wore different clothes. But those eyes were everywhere.

Kendall suppressed a shudder as he remembered how close he'd gotten to Carlos. Too close. Of course, he probably should've been grateful. Carlos did save his life. He didn't even see or hear the car, lost in his own thoughts, blinded by… by what? He didn't even see.

He almost spilled everything to Carlos on the sidewalk if it hadn't been for The Man in Black. And if Kendall knew Carlos, the Latino would've thrown himself at The Man in Black, and who knew where that would lead.

But Carlos overheard him talking to Kelly.

"Don't think about it," he whispered to himself harshly, hurrying forward as if he could leave the thought in the dust if he walked fast enough. He didn't even know where he was going. It was ridiculous and dangerous, especially when the Man in Black could pop up anywhere.

Part of him wanted to tell somebody. Badly. This was insane! He was being stalked and harassed by a man older than him. Shouldn't he be entitled to a restraining order or something? But the message was pretty clear the first time, even more so the second time. If Kendall told anyone, something bad would happen to them.

Without even thinking about it Kendall suddenly found himself outside of the apartment. He didn't realize that his feet had been propelling him here. Instead of the usual peace he felt wash over him as he entered the lobby, Kendall felt nothing but dread. He couldn't help but look over his shoulder as he made a beeline for the elevator, taking in any unfamiliar things in the lobby as if the new lamp Bitters got was the Man in Black in disguise.

"Knight!"

Kendall nearly jumped a foot in the air as Bitters slid in front of him, blocking his way to the elevator. For a moment his panic level rose until he was almost hyperventilating, eyes darting around for the quickest means of escape.

As he realized it was only his apartment manager his terror subsided little by little. Bitters looked pleased at his reaction—or as pleased as his expression could manage around the permanent scowl he constantly wore.

"You have a special delivery," he said disdainfully, dropping a thick package into Kendall's hands. "Dunno why it's so urgent. If it's messy don't you dare open it in my apartment!"

He was gone before Kendall could find his voice again. He cupped the package gingerly, like it was a baby bird. Or a pipe bomb. After everything that's happened over the last two weeks, he wouldn't be surprised if it were the latter.

Despite Bitters' warning, Kendall rode the elevator silently up to his floor and went straight to his apartment. It was silent as he let himself in—Katie and his mom were out and about somewhere, and the guys hadn't gotten back yet. That was fine by Kendall. He needed to be alone, or he would go crazy.

The package wasn't big. It was only slightly larger than his hands in width. It was heavy, though, and something else slid around in it. There was no return address or name, just Kendall's printed neatly—even his middle name, as if that made it sound more official. It only served to make Kendall more nervous about opening it.

He stared at it for a good ten minutes until his curiosity won out. Sighing deeply, Kendall reached for the paper and carefully peeled back the corners. Pouring the items out onto the table, he sat back and sighed again.

There was a leather bound book and a cell phone, the cheap kind that you could find at Radio Shack. Kendall didn't know what to do with the cell phone, but he reached for the book, undid the cord sealing the covers together, and opened it.

Out fell pictures—a ton of pictures. Kendall's hands trembled as he picked up the thick stack of photos, sifting through them one at a time. His dread grew with each one. The first was himself, walking to nowhere with an easy smile on his face. Another—him getting into his mother's car. Katie, laughing as Kendall attempted to pick her up like he used to when she was smaller. James, who was staring off into space and Logan, who wore a concentrated look on his face as he brought the eraser of a pencil up to his mouth to chew on.

There were more. Inside the Palm Woods as Logan chatted with Camille. Bitters off on one of his rants. His mother, folding laundry out on the patio—and Kendall had to swallow on that one, because the angle had given the man full view of the inside of his apartment. They grew worse. Inside of Rocque Records as Gustavo met them outside. Griffin, in his office, giving some lecture. Kelly as she made coffee.

Kendall couldn't stop going through the pictures, although his mind was screaming at him to drop them and take off for his room, dive under the covers, and never come out again. But it was the last few that scared him the most.

It was him in the street, glaring at the road. It was Carlos, coming out of nowhere to tackle him. And it was Carlos staring straight at the camera after Kendall had left, a confused, concerned expression on his face.

Kendall finally got his fingers to work. He dropped the pictures like they were on fire, shaking so hard he could barely see. He gripped the kitchen counter hard and tried to breathe through his sudden revelation. That flash in the street that had blinded him—that was the camera's flash. There was no other explanation. The Man in Black had almost caused him an untimely death. Whether he'd done it on purpose or not, Kendall didn't know.

As the last picture of Carlos floated to the floor, it flipped on its backside. There in printed Sharpie, someone had scrawled simple words. Don't let him follow you again.

A threat. Or a warning. Or both.

Noise brought him out of his frozen state. It was Logan and James, and they were talking loud enough to wake the dead. Kendall spurred into motion, gathering up the pictures, book, and cell phone and shoving them back into the cardboard box. He looked around wildly. There was no time to sprint to his room and lock the door. He couldn't leave it out where Katie or his mom could find it. James and Carlos' room was close enough, and they weren't likely to notice the package since their room was always an inexplicable mess anyways.

Kendall made a quick decision, chucked the package into James and Carlos' room, and hopped onto the couch, turning on the TV in one swift motion.

The door opened. James and Logan walked in, arguing about something or other, when they spotted Kendall.

"Hey," Logan said, surprised. He looked around the apartment. "Where's Carlos?"

Kendall managed an impressive shrug. "Thought he was with you guys."

"No, he went after you." Logan seemed to remember why Carlos had followed Kendall. His expression changed to one of concern. "Hey, are you okay? You looked pretty upset back at the studio."

Kendall changed the channel, pressing the button a little harder than he meant to. "I'm fine."

"You sure?" James spoke up. "I mean, you got like that last week, too."

Since when did his friends get so observant? Kendall scowled deeper. "I'm fine, guys. Really," he added, softening his tone when he saw them flinch. "I'm just getting kind of sick of people asking that."

"Sorry, dude," James said, raising his hands. "I told Carlos it was nothing, but you know how he gets when he thinks he can help somebody."

Kendall knew. That's what he was afraid of. "I'm sure he's just off blowing off some steam."

Logan said nothing, studying Kendall like he was a problem to be fixed. Kendall didn't like that, but he didn't say anything. Snapping at his friends would tell them that something was wrong, and he couldn't afford for them to ask questions. Being as normal as possible would have to suffice their curiosity.

"Come on," he said, scooting over on the couch so he could make room for them. "Let's play some video games."

"Seriously?" Logan said, looking surprised.

Kendall shrugged. "Yeah. I need to blow off some steam, too."

So they sat down with him.

James was kicking both of their butts when Carlos came in. He closed the door behind him and sat down across from Kendall and did nothing but stare at him.

"Hey Carlos," James greeted, not taking his attention off of the game.

Carlos nodded in his direction, but said nothing. After dying for the eightieth time, Logan put down his controller and looked at Carlos.

"Where did you go?" he asked. "You were gone for almost two hours."

Carlos tore his gaze from Kendall to look at Logan. "Went for a walk," he said simply.

Kendall tried not to look at him. If Carlos was looking right at the camera, why wasn't he telling the others what he saw? Why wasn't he telling them of how he'd saved Kendall's life when that car almost hit him? Carlos was acting almost as strange as Kendall, and it was freaking him out.

"Why don't you play a game with us?" Kendall suggested, handing Carlos Logan's discarded controller.

Carlos looked surprised. Kendall must've really been acting weird if his friends thought it was odd for him to be playing video games. But the Latino took the controller and sat down next to him, and before long they were all lost to the game.

It wasn't until night had fallen and Kendall was in bed before he remembered that he'd left his package in James and Carlos' room.