Yay! You guys liked the first chapter! I'm happy that y'all are happy!

Enjoy!

"So you met Rafael's girl, huh?" Omar asked Carlos as the two of them played video games together. Omar had come to his parents' house after work. Since this was the first time Carlos and Omar had seen each other since Carlos' arrival in Minnesota, Carlos had anxiously waited for his oldest brother to show up.

Carlos smiled. "Yeah!" he replied happily. "They picked us up from the airport, then we went out to dinner."

Omar scoffed. "She's a clinger. Rafael better watch out. What do you think about her?"

Carlos shrugged. "She seems friendly. But I think I know where you're getting the 'clingy' characteristic from," he confessed. "She always sticks to him. Laughs at joke he made. I guess she really loves him. But overall, she seems really nice."

Omar nodded in agreement, though his little brother wouldn't be able to see it. Carlos' eyes were focused on the television screen as he furiously tapped the buttons on his controller.

"She told me I was her favorite member of Big Time Rush," Carlos happily announced. He didn't hear people say that very much so when someone did say that, it made his heart flutter.

Omar scoffed once again. "She really knew how to win your approval," he stated. "Me? Not so much. She had to work and prove herself worthy of my little brother."

Carlos raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Rafael told me that all she did for you was make you lasagna."

Omar acted like he was offended. "Well...she had to put the perfect amount of cheese! I don't accept lasagna from just anybody," he defended himself, crossing his arms over his chest, the video game long forgotten.

"But a week before I made this trip," Carlos stated. "I was talking to you over the phone and you said you were heating up a frozen lasagna from the store."

Omar just glared at Carlos, causing the smaller boy to feel a small amount of fear rise in his chest.

"Shutting up, now," Carlos said in a small voice.

"Good boy," Omar replied.

"Dani and some of her friends are throwing a party tomorrow night," Carlos began. "She invited me!...Well to come with Rafael, of course. But still, that was kinda nice of her."

"You'll be the youngest one there, most likely," Omar responded.

"I know. But I still wanna go. Besides, I'm eighteen now! Rafael almost didn't let me go either. I had to beg him."

"That's probably because there will be alcohol there," Omar said. "We don't want you mixing with any of that stuff yet."

"I'll be careful," Carlos promised.

Carlos knew what Omar was talking about. He knew how his brothers and father felt about alcohol, and Carlos had to respect that. Omar had done a lot of things, but he never got drunk. Not once. And he promised he never would.

And he kept that promise.

Carlos chuckled. "You know, on the plane, I was so afraid that Dani wouldn't like me."

Omar raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't she like you?"

Carlos shrugged. "I don't know. I just thought she would think I'm too immature or something. Then she'd get mad at Rafael because I really do take up a lotta his time and I thought she would dump him because she felt ignored," he rushed out in one breath.

"A girl doesn't just dump a guy because he spends a lot of time with his brother," Omar argued. "Besides, I heard from both you and Rafael that dinner went well. She doesn't hate and you're not gonna ruin their relationship. Rafael and Dani are in love. I've never seen Rafael like this before."

A small smile grazed Carlos' face as he nodded. "You're right. At least this dream won't come true," he muttered the last part.

"What was that?" Omar asked.

"Nothing," Carlos answered quickly.

"How long are you here, little bro?" Omar asked.

Carlos smiled. "Two weeks." It seemed Carlos' smile got bigger after every word he spoke. "That means fourteen days. I plan to spend seven of those days with you."

Omar smiled. It seemed that anytime Carlos came to visit home, he'd try to spend the most time possible with Omar, as if the younger one was trying to make up for all the lost time over the years.

"Sounds like a plan, shortie," Omar finally replied. "There's a new mall that opened. We could go there. Oh, and we needa go to the theater..." Omar trailed off and shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know everything you like yet."

"That's okay," Carlos said. There was no sound of disappointment or sadness in his voice. "Okay. Well, you already know that I like crondogs, hockey, football, singing, and dancing. Ooh. Did you know that my new favorite ice cream flavor is cookies and cream? I love that stuff and I could eat it all day but Mama Knight says I'll get sick if I do."

Omar chuckled. "Okay. Slow down, little guy. That's another thing we can do. I'll take you out for ice cream. How does that sound?"

Carlos nodded excitedly.

Carlos demeanor changed as he became a bit more serious. "You know, Omar. Rafael told me not to tell you this...but...he says that you still feel guilty about-"

"Stop it, Carlos," Omar commanded in a harsh tone. "Just stop."

"But I don't want you to feel like that!" Carlos continued. "Don't you understand that?"

"I understand that," Omar responded. "But Carlos. You don't get it, do you? You're the very definition of innocence. You haven't done anything wrong. Remember when you were five and you accidentally killed a squirrel? You cried! You kept saying that you were a murderer. Papi had to calm you down."

"Where are you going with this?" Carlos finally asked.

Omar sighed. "You have nothing to feel guilty about," he answered. "When Papi told you that you weren't a bad person for killing that squirrel, he said you couldn't be blamed for that. Because not only was it just an accident, but it was also just a squirrel...What I'm saying is...you and Rafael aren't just squirrels. You two are my brothers and getting over what I did to the both you is a little easier said than done, ya know?"

"But you love us right?" Carlos asked, receiving a nod from Omar. Carlos smiled. "That's what you should remember. That's what should hang over your head. Not what you did to me or the situation that Rafael was put in. You need to remember what you did to fix it. That's what really matters."

The two brothers remained silent for a few moments before Carlos spoke up again.

"Omar? D-does Dani know?"

Omar shook his head. "Rafael said he wouldn't tell her. He said she doesn't have to know unless I feel that it's necessary. She knows that Rafael was shot and that you were attacked but...Rafael didn't tell her any details."

Carlos nodded in understanding. "She doesn't need to know." Carlos' eyebrows perked up. He decided to change the subject. "You should go to the party with us!"

Omar shook his head. "Nah, I'm good," he replied. "From what I know about Dani, something tells me I wouldn't like parties she would throw."

"You mean tame parties?" Carlos asked.

Omar rolled his eyes. "No...just...I just know I wouldn't like her party, okay?"

Carlos nodded, pretending to understand. He was disappointed that Omar didn't want to go, but that didn't mean Carlos wasn't still excited about it. "Well if you change your mind," Carlos piped up. "I'm sure Rafael will let you come."

Omar scoffed. "I'm pretty sure I won't find myself at that party. I don't care how much you beg." He laid a playful punch on Carlos' arm.

Here was a little fluffy brotherly love chapter. Real drama starts on the next chapter. And things won't be pretty from that point on.

But until then, don't forget to leave a review, por favor!