"WHY IS HE SCREAMING?" Carlos yelled as he covered his head with his arms and shut his eyes in a sad attempt to block out the unyielding cries of a 4 year old Logan. The small child screamed louder and was pointing at Carlos like his mere existence offended him.
James smacked Kendall's arm and glared.
"What was that for?" Kendall demanded as he rubbed his arm. James pointed at Logan and tried to give a serious frown.
"What does he want?" James demanded. "You seem to be the only one who's able to read him now." Kendall looked at him like it was so painfully obvious.
"He wants Carlos's helmet." Kendall said as he pointed to said person. Carlos, not hearing their earlier statement, lowered his hands and winced as the screaming pounded his eardrums harder.
"What are you looking at me for?" Carlos yelled. He wasn't angry, just confused and with a growing headache. Kendall heaved a sigh and shook his head.
"You're not gonna like this but I think Logan wants your helmet." Kendall said while patting his own head to signal what he meant. Carlos immediately threw both hands on his helmet and held on as if someone was about to pry it from him.
"No way! He can't have it!" Carlos yelled defiantly. Logan understood and turned to run to Kendall and hugged his legs. Kendall gently rubbed Logan's head of soft hair and looked at Carlos like he just kicked a puppy…an adorable, brown-eyed puppy. Logan's screams were now helpless sobs and hiccups which painfully pulled at Kendall's heartstrings.
"Please, Carlos?" Kendall asked softly as he held out his hand for the desired object. Carlos pouted and huffed before turning around and ignoring him. Kendall gritted his teeth but softened when he felt Logan tug at his shirt. Kendall looked down to see little arms reaching for him. Logan was no longer sobbing but tears still wet his face.
"Well at least he stopped crying." James said as he went into the kitchen to find food for Logan. "Carlos finished all the left overs so I guess we'll have to make him something else." Kendall nodded as he held Logan, who rested his head on Kendall's shoulder. Carlos continued to ignore them in favor of moving to the couch and watching TV.
Kendall frowned at Carlos before making his way to the kitchen with James. Said boy was digging through the fridge without a clue as of what to grab.
"What do kids eat anyway?" He asked as he backed up to close the fridge. Kendall rolled his eyes.
"He's not a dog. Here, you take him and I'll try to make French toast or something." Kendall said as he tried to hand over Logan but he wrapped his arms around Kendall's neck and nearly cut off his oxygen supply.
"NO!" He yelled. Kendall gasped for air as he pried the tiny arms off of his neck. James looked like he wanted to laugh but decided he wanted to keep his hair. "I wanna stay with Kendall!"
"I think we still have frozen waffles." James said as he opened the freezer so that he could hide his smiling face from Kendall. Logan whispered something to Kendall and the older boy nodded.
"He says he likes waffles." Kendall said as he took the box James pulled from the freezer. Logan made things awkward and difficult as Kendall went about taking the waffles out of the box and putting them into the toaster. Logan stopped hugging his neck but still refused to be put down, though Kendall didn't mind too much.
That is, until he heard giggling from the living room.
As the waffles toasted, Kendall walked into the living room to see James and Carlos actually giggling on the couch. From his place behind the couch he heard James whisper something and then Carlos laughed loudly.
"Something funny?" Kendall asked as he gently set Logan on the floor. James and Carlos gasped in horror when they noticed their friend was no longer in the kitchen.
"NO!" James screamed as he stood up. "Nothing's funny! I was just….uhhh.." James looked to Carlos for help but he just held up his hands in defeat.
"Right. Don't get so defensive guys." Kendall said as he turned away and went back to the kitchen, Logan following close behind. "Just keep the noise down. You're giving me a headache." Kendall searched the fridge for some juice for Logan while said boy stood by the toaster and watched it like a hawk.
"DONE!" Kendall jumped when he heard Logan shout at him all of a sudden, nearly knocking over the orange juice he just poured. The little boy was pointing to the toaster and Kendall looked to see that the waffles were done. He put them on a small plate and guided Logan to the table. Kendall sat him down and watched Logan poked at the warm waffles for a bit before the boy sighed and sat back.
"What's wrong?" Kendall asked. Logan looked up at him with sad brown eyes.
"No chocolate chips." Logan said sadly. Kendall thought for a moment before he disappeared into the kitchen and soon returned with a bottle of chocolate syrup.
"Will this make it better?" Kendall asked when he showed Logan the bottle.
"YES!" Logan clapped his hands excitedly and watched Kendall pour on the syrup. After he put the bottle down, Logan handed him the fork. "Cut them pwease!"
"Pweeaaaasssee!" Carlos mocked as he and James started laughing again. Kendall angrily slammed the fork on the table and marched to the other boys who immediately went wide eyed in fear.
"Do you think this is funny?" Kendall asked as he gestured to the surprised Logan sitting at the table. "We could lose him if we can't fix this and yet you're laughing?"
James and Carlos shook their heads in unison.
"Then shut up and watch TV. We have a job to do when my mom gets back!" James and Carlos quickly sat up straight on the couch and stayed quiet. Kendall turned around to go back to Logan but he was standing right behind him.
Logan put a hand on his hip and pointed to Carlos and James. "You scared them." He said in a stern voice and an adorable pout on his lips. Kendall crushed his impulse to pick up Logan and hug him like a teddy bear.
"They were being mean." Kendall tried to explain but Logan shook his head stubbornly and crossed his arms.
"Being mean back doesn't make it better!" Kendall was floored at the young boy's logic. Even at 4, Logan was smart enough to know right from wrong. What the hell was that fortune teller thinking?
"You're right." Kendall agreed and turned to his two friends on the couch. "Guys I'm sorry." He said before turning back to see Logan's nod of approval.
"Good." Logan padded across the room and climbed onto his chair again. Kendall smiled when Logan held out the fork expectantly.
"Pwease cut the waffles. They're getting cold and cold is yucky!"
"I'm back!" Mrs. Kendall said as she stepped through the door with Katie close behind. They were carrying lots of shopping bags and the boys quickly went to help carry them in. Katie left was carrying a rather large bag but Logan insisted that he help by taking something.
More like he dragged it across the floor but it was too cute for anyone to stop him.
"I have five sets of clothes for him to wear during the day and a few extra sets for sleeping and getting messy." Mrs. Knight said as she opened up a big, blue shopping bag while smiling at Logan "because kids love getting messy, right?" Kendall looked at all 6 of the big bags, causing his brow to furrow.
"This is a LOT more than kids clothing." Kendall said as he peeked into one bag. He was about to reach in but Mrs. Knight quickly snatched it.
"There were one or two things I needed." She said as she handed three bags to Katie and told her to take them to her room. "I also got a booster seat for Logan." She said as she took out the small seat covered with green frogs. She set it down on the floor where Logan shyly stepped forward to get a better look at the frogs. "I also got a few toys and coloring books since we're not really equipped for a child his age." She said as she handed a red bag to Kendall. He took it and sat down on the floor where Logan could reach into the bag for himself.
Logan's eyes lit up as he pulled out a fluffy fox plush.
"Thank you!" He screamed with joy while hugging it and hopping around. Kendall ruffled his hair affectionately as he took out the rest of the items. Carlos looked jealous when Logan got a box of Legos.
"Can you share?" He asked with a sweet smile. Logan looked at Carlos with a frown.
"You didn't." He said simply before grabbing the Legos and carrying them away from Carlos to go sit by by Kendall. Mrs. Knight couldn't help but think Logan was too cute for words as she watched him carefully open the box so as not to tear it.
"Okay well you should take a bath before we get you into some real clothes." Mrs. Knight said as she grabbed a bottle of Mr. Bubbles and headed to the bathroom to get the tub running. Kendall suddenly stood up.
"But we don't have time!" He exclaimed as he pointed to his watch. Mrs. Knight shook her head.
"You will have all the time you need when he gets clean! He's got chocolate all over his face!" Logan reacted by rubbing a small hand on his cheek and looking at the chocolate smudges on his fingers.
"But-"
"He doesn't leave here until he's clean!" She said in finality as she turned around and went to the bathroom. Kendall knew there was no room for argument and reluctantly sat down next to Logan. The small boy was busy building a castle with one arm while he hugged his fox with the other. Carlos sat nearby, still looking jealous.
James and Katie shrugged and went to watch TV.
Kendall sighed and helped Logan build his castle until Mrs. Knight came back to get Logan.
"Bath time!" She said with a big smile. Logan hugged the fox tighter and grabbed Kendall's arm.
"Go on, Logan. Go take a bath!" Kendall encouraged by gently guiding Logan to Mrs. Knight. Logan shook his head and stayed with Kendall.
"I guess you get to come with us." Mrs. Knight said with a smile. Kendall blushed.
"B-but I-"
"He won't go without you." She said while pointedly looking at the clingy Logan. Kendall sighed and stood up.
"Okay."
Once Kendall got Logan to let go of the fox it was Mrs. Knight's turn to try and get the shirt off but in the end it was Kendall who had to do it because Logan demanded that Kendall be the one to help him. Mrs. Knight patted Kendall's hair as she exited the bathroom, leaving Kendall to watch over Logan as he played with the bubbles.
"Please don't make everything this difficult."
Of course later, while trying to get Logan into his new clothes, the young boy was being very picky as children usually are.
"I don't like that one." Logan said as he stood with the towel wrapped securely around his small body. Kendall made a face and looked at the tiny t-shirt.
"What's wrong with it?" He asked. The shirt was dark blue with a green dinosaur on it. Every little boy should want to wear it. Right?
"Won't go with the overalls." Logan explained while pointing to said clothing. Kendall sighed and knew this was going to take a while.
"Okay….what shirt do you want to wear?"
Thirty minutes later Logan was wearing his blue overalls with a green shirt as well as his new light up Transformers shoes. Kendall would gladly bitch slap anyone who said child care was easy but right now he had other things to worry about.
"Did you get a list of names?" Kendall asked as he approached his mother. Mrs. Knight was about to answer but suddenly a very loud phone started to ring. Carlos smiled awkwardly and took his phone from his pocket.
"Sorry. It's mine." He said as he answered the phone and walked to the kitchen.
Mrs. Knight shrugged and grabbed her purse. As soon as she pulled a slip of paper out, Kendall grabbed it and read it over with eager eyes before a shadow crossed his face.
"Mom…this address is-"
"I know." She said sadly. She put her purse down and placed her hands on Kendall's shoulders. "I don't know how to help you on this one."
Kendall folded the paper and shoved it into his pockets, a determined look on his face. "We'll just have to figure out how to get to Portland Oregon then." Kendall said with confidence, though on the inside he wasn't so sure. They had a concert in two weeks and Gustavo has been working them even harder to rehears for it. There was little chance this was going to happen without them getting into big trouble...like maybe getting fired.
"Logan will have to stay here then." Mrs. Knight said. "I will not have you running of with Logan like this. It could be considered kidnapping if his parents find out before I tell them." She says as she crosses her arms and watches Kendall's face as he starts setting up a plan.
"But what if-"
"No."
Kendall sighed heavily and nodded in defeat before seeing a worried Carlos approach them.
"Gustavo wants us to head out to rehearsals now." Kendall's eyes widened.
"But the schedule said-" Carlos shook his head.
"He said now...Dogs."
James and Carlos walked in front of Kendall as he held Logan's hand and guided him inside the studio. All four boys felt nervous about breaking the news to Gustavo, knowing full well it was likely Logan would get replaced on the spot...or they would be laughed at and sent to a mental institution. Logan looked around as they walked to the recording room, curious about this place he doesn't remember.
Once they were just outside the recording room, Kelly appeared from inside and nearly flailed when she saw them.
"Oh good you're finally here! We were just about to...uhh." She looked over Carlos and James, both boys moving their heads to block her from seeing Logan. She sighed and gave them a stern look. "Where's Logan?" She asked as he put a hand on her hips. The boys were scrambling to come up with something to say but before any of them could get a coherent sentence out, a small voice spoke up.
"I'm here." Logan said as he raised his hand and waved it to the side so that she could see he was behind Carlos. Kelly stopped and dropped her arm and slowly walked around to see the small boy. "I'm Logan, ma'am."
Her mouth slowly slid open until her jaw nearly hit the floor. She gaped at the other three boys, each one trying to avoid eye contact as they looked away and nervously fidgeted.
"Not funny. Where is he?"
A/N: If I missed any grammar/spelling mistakes, please let me know. This story is without a beta. I apologize for the long delay.
