A/N. First I want to thank everyone who participated in 'Project Love' with EpicInTheLibrary and I. You're all amazing and the entire time Rieley and I were getting everything together we just kept going on and on about how the whole world is made of rainbows and love. You made us very happy. Second of all, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I hope to hear from you all again! Lastly, I have to apologize for the long wait. I'm done school for a month on December 19, so I should be able to write a lot within that time period. Until then, patience is a virtue! Lol. Thanks again! I don't own anything.

The first thing James was aware of when he woke up was that his head hurt. It hurt a lot. He had experienced his fair share of headaches but none of them could compare to the way his head now felt like someone had been pounding on it with a sledgehammer. He was completely convinced that even if all of his past headaches had been combined into one, they surely couldn't equal the one he had now. Tentatively, he cracked opened his eyes and winced, instantly shutting them again. The light streaming in from the window increased the pain to the point where he felt dizzy and nauseous despite the fact that he was still laying down and had yet to move.

A knock at the door sent what felt like a tidal wave of pain washing over James. He couldn't bring himself to answer. His shaking fingers found his aching head and he clutched at it madly, desperate to make the pain at least ease up. Everything made it hurt worse. The light, any sort of movement, and noise.

"James, are you okay?"

He winced again. Logan spoke softly but at the same time it was if he was yelling at James, straight into his ear. Not wanting to risk a head shake he swallowed and managed to croak out an answer. "No."

"What's wrong?"

James still hadn't opened his eyes again. He knew that if he did, Logan would be watching him with concern written all over his face. "My head hurts." The effort it took him to speak was enormous. Tears burned in the backs of his eyes and he struggled to keep them at bay. He didn't want to be a crybaby over a simple headache. But then again, he wasn't so sure that it was a simple headache.
"It hurts really badly." He finally added.

"Do you feel sick?" Logan's voice had dropped to a whisper. "What about light and noise?"

"Everything makes it worse." James appreciated Logan's concern. His best friend wanted to be a doctor when he was older and James knew he would be incredible. He was brilliant and compassionate. The perfect combination. But still, he wanted Logan to stop speaking. As quiet as his voice was, it still made James' head throb all the more.

"You probably have a migraine. I'll be right back. Don't move."

James couldn't have moved even if his life depended on it. He heard Logan leave the room and he squeezed his eyes shut as tight as possible, willing the pain to at least ease up even if it was just for a few seconds. To his dismay, he could hear everything. His ears seemed extra sensitive and picked up the sound of Logan's voice telling Kendall and Carlos something. He couldn't hear exactly what his friends were saying but maybe it was because the pain behind his eyes blocked out his ability to concentrate.

Then Logan was back. "James, sit up for just a second okay?"

James tried. He opened his eyes and sat up. He gasped and would have fallen back down if Logan hadn't wrapped an arm around him and held him up. He dropped his head into his hands and tried to ease his breathing. The motion had sent a new wave of pain blasting throughout his entire head. "Logan." He managed to hiss out his friend's name through gritted teeth.

"Here." Logan brought on of his hands down and dropped a couple of pills into his palm. "Take some Advil. Then you can lay back down."

His hand shook so badly that James dropped the pills and Logan had to hand them back to him. He set them on his tongue and after Logan gave him a paper cup filled with water, James swallowed. His entire body went limp and Logan eased him back down on the bed. "Am I dying?" He whispered.

"Nope."

James opened his eyes as little as possible and was relieved to find that Logan has closed the blinds. The room was bathed in a darkness that made little difference in the pain. He could see Logan smile just slightly and he felt a little better. "It feels like I am." He said pathetically.

"I bet. But you just have a migraine which is a professional sounding name for a killer headache."

James shut his eyes but opened them again when something cold was placed on his forehead. "What-"

"It's just an ice pack." Logan explained, brushing James' hand away. "It'll help."

"Okay." James sighed. The cool temperature of the ice pack was already working its magic. His head still felt like it was splitting apart but at the same time it felt soothed.

"Is the pain on one side of your head?" Logan asked.

"Um. . ." Jame struggled to sound coherent. "It's behind my eyes and then on the left side." He felt Logan take his right hand and looked at him in confusion.

Logan held his wrist with one hand and with the other began to massage the space between James' thumb and pointer finger. "Acupuncture." He explained when he saw James looking at him. "Sorry, this might hurt a little bit but it works."

James winced as Logan pressed down hard. But the pain was nowhere close to the level of pain in his head and it distracted him slightly. "When will it stop?"

"I don't know." Logan looked apologetic even though it wasn't his fault. "Migraines can last a few hours or even days."

"Days?" James couldn't stop his eyes from widening.

Logan nodded. "Sorry, James."

"It's not your fault." James forced a smile.

Logan returned the smile before speaking again. "Close your eyes okay? Stop talking and just try to go back to sleep. Hopefully when you wake up it'll be better."

James obeyed Logan's instructions and closed his eyes. He felt Logan continue to massage the pressure point on his hand. As much as it hurt, Logan's touch was still gentle and to James' surprise, he felt the pain in his head slowly begin to lighten. His breathing steadied and he concentrated on the darkness, the cold ice pack, and Logan's hands rubbing the pain away. Then he knew nothing.

He had no idea that he had even fallen asleep until he woke up. The first thing James realized then was that the pain was completely gone. He almost cried in pure joy. His body felt limp and weak with relief. One shaking hand reached up to his forehead and found it bare. The ice pack was gone. He cracked open his eyes and saw that he was alone. Logan must have left when he fell asleep.

James sat up carefully, sighing when the motion cost him no pain. "Thank you." He whispered aloud. He couldn't believe that he used to think that the best feeling on Earth was the rush of adrenaline he got when he performed with his friends.

Suddenly James' eyes opened wide and he shot up to his feet. He nearly fell back down but he steadied himself and rushed out his room. The apartment was empty except for Logan who was sitting at the kitchen counter, bent over some math work that was probably ridiculously hard. He looked up when he saw James.

"Are you feeling better?" Logan slid off the stool and walked over to James.

"What time is it?" James ignored Logan's question and craned his neck to see the digital clock on the oven.

Apparently two could play at his game and Logan crossed his arms over his chest, a frown crossing his face. "Are you feeling better?" He repeated.

James nodded, a small twinge of guilt hitting him. "Yeah. I feel a lot better. Thanks, Logan."

Logan's frown was exchanged for a smile and he nodded in satisfaction. "Good." He motioned James to sit down. "You should eat something now."

"But Logan, what time is it?" James insisted.

Logan pulled a can of chicken noodle soup from the cabinet. "It's 12:30, James." He sighed.

"12:30?" James repeated in disbelief. "Logan, we had rehearsals with Gustavo at 10:00!"

"No, really?" Logan asked sarcastically. "I didn't know that, James. Well, I don't know if you remember, but at 9:00 this morning, you were kind of sick."

"So you let me sleep all this time? Today was important, Logan. All this week is supposed to be important. We have a concert to get ready for." James groaned in frustration and ran a hand through his hair. "Gustavo is going to kill us."

"I highly doubt that." Logan returned calmly. "Gustavo may be a little. . . hardheaded when it comes to missing rehearsals and whatnot but he's not stupid. He knows our health is more important." He looked up to glare at James. "It's too bad you don't realize that."

"Well, I feel totally better now so can we go? Rehearsals end at 3:00 today. We may as well get some practice in."

Logan frowned and shook his head. "Fine." He relented with a snap. "But don't blame me if your migraine comes back worse than before. You should be taking it easy for the rest of the day."

"Well, I can't afford to take it easy for a whole day when we're this close to a concert." James was already headed to the door. He was glad that he had worn sweatpants and a T-shirt to bed. He didn't have time to get ready. They were already so late. "I assume Carlos and Kendall left without us?"

"I told them to." Logan followed James out of the apartment. "There was no point in all of us missing rehearsal."

"There's no point in any of us missing rehearsal." James replied.

The ride in the elevator was quiet. James felt bad. He knew that Logan was mad at him. But he found himself irrationally mad at Logan for being so overly cautious. He himself had told James that he wasn't dying. It was just a stupid headache. Granted, it had been the worst headache James had ever had in his sixteen years and he hoped that he would never have to deal with one again, but still. In the end it had only been a stupid headache. He really couldn't afford to miss a rehearsal with a concert so close.

When they stepped out into the sun, James shaded his eyes with one hand, bracing himself just in case his head decided to react to the light. To his relief, his eyes quickly adjusted to the brightness and nothing else happened. He lowered his hand and walked toward his car.

"James, let's take my car." Logan stopped him.

"Why?" James looked at Logan. "Your car is all the way across the parking lot. Mine is right here."

Logan rolled his eyes. "Yeah well my car has been inspected and passed. You still need to take yours in."

James groaned. "I don't believe this."

"That's what you get for procrastinating." Logan smirked but the smile disappeared from his face when he stuck his hand inside the side pocket of his jeans. "Darn it." He muttered.

"What now?" James couldn't keep the irritation out of his voice.

"My keys. I left them in 2J." It was Logan's turn to groan. "I'll be right back."

But James stopped him. "Logan, let's just take my car." He insisted, waving his hand to the forest green Honda Accord. "It's right here."

"I can see that." Logan raised his eyebrows. "But James, it's kind of illegal to drive a car that hasn't passed inspection and you haven't even taken it in yet."

"Logan, Rocque Records is a fifteen minute drive." James tried to point out.

To his surprise, Logan sighed and gave in. "Fine. But only this once and only because I'm sick and tired of arguing with you today."

The two boys walked over to James' car and got in. James pulled out his set of keys and turned them in the ignition, grinning when the engine came to life without a hesitation. "See?" He looked over at Logan. "It's fine."

Logan didn't answer him. He crossed his arms again and stared straight out the window, totally ignoring James.

"Whatever." James muttered under his breath. He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the highway, grateful that the uncomfortable ride wouldn't last long.

They drove down the busy streets of Los Angeles, California in complete silence until Logan glanced at the speedometer. "James, don't you think you're going a little fast?"

"Man, I can't do anything right today can I?" James snapped.

"Now that you mention it, no, you can't." Logan returned, just as sullenly. "Slow down, okay?" He sat up a little, eyes widening slightly. "James, that light is yellow. It's going to turn red."

James bit his lip. They had time before the light turned red. Against his better judgment, he stepped on the gas and accelerated.

They would have been fine if they had crossed the intersection just three seconds before. They would have been fine if they crossed the intersection just three seconds later. But they crossed the intersection in exactly the wrong space of time, just as another car on the other side made their move. Panicked, James slammed on the breaks and wrenched the steering wheel to the side. The car careered wildly across the street.

James could hear horns honking in alarm and the squeal of breaks. He heard Logan shout something and then he saw the heavy looking SUV right in front of them. He could do nothing but shut his eyes and wait for the impact.

It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be because the instant the two vehicles collided, there was a terrific bang and then everything went black and for the second time that day, James knew nothing.

He couldn't have been unconscious for very long because when James opened his eyes, there was still chaos. Outside, the world had come to a complete standstill including the usually non-stop, busy traffic. Just off to the side was the SUV they had hit, a decent sized dent in the front. But for the most part, the larger car had remained fairly undamaged and the driver was even out on the street completely unharmed. There was a growing crowd of horrified on-lookers and just in the distance, James could hear the wail of sirens. He head was hurting again and there was an incredible amount of pain all around his torso. The impact of the airbag had probably saved his life but he hadn't escaped injury. Even James could tell that he probably had a concussion and maybe even some broken ribs. But none of that mattered to James.

He raised both of his hands and fumbled with the airbag, pressing against it roughly so that it deflated more rapidly. He couldn't see a thing with the stupid life-saving device in front of him. Then everything else came into view and James froze.

Logan's airbag hadn't gone off. It was supposed to but it hadn't. The younger boy was slumped in his seat with his eyes shut as if they would never open again. His right leg was twisted at a grotesque angle and blood was soaking through his jeans. There was a deep gash on his forehead and the surrounding area was a frightening shade of black and blue and purple.

It was then that James finally remembered to breathe. He inhaled sharply, gasping for air. The action sent pain blasting throughout his lower chest but James ignored it. "Logan?" He whispered. He closed his eyes and begged for a response. Please, please, please answer me. But there was nothing. He opened his eyes to see if Logan had at least stirred or maybe even opened his eyes but nothing had changed.

"Logan!" He called again, louder this time. "Logan, can you hear me?" Panic began to overtake James and tears filled his eyes and streamed down his face. "Logan, please! Answer me!"

Outside, the ambulances had arrived and already a team of EMTs was swarming the crushed car. James wrenched his gaze away from his unconscious best friend and turned to look out his window. "Help!" He screamed. "My friend! He's. . . he's not waking up!" He reached out with one arm and was just about to touch Logan on the shoulder when a voice ordered him to stop.

"Don't touch him!" The middle aged paramedic placed his own hand on James' shoulder. "I need you to stay calm. Don't move. We're going to get you and your friend out but you have to calm down for me."

"But he's not waking up." James tried to stop the shaking the had overtaken his entire body but he had no control. "Logan!" More than anything else in the world he wanted to hear Logan's voice. He wanted Logan to open his brown eyes and assure James that everything was fine. But just like everyone else in the world, James didn't always get what he wanted no matter how desperately he wanted it.

A/N. Well. Now you all know what happened. I'm off to write another paper for school. . . in my Weeping Corner. Review if you don't want to kill me and even if you do. . . hey. What can I say? I like reviews. They inspire me. Anyway, I'd like to say that I'll be able to update soon but it's going to probably be another week or so. Until then, carpe diem! -dead-