Disclaimer: I'd like to point out that I do not and I never will own Big Time Rush, Kendall Schmidt, Logan Henderson, Carlos Pena, Jr., and James Maslow.

Sometimes A Hug Isn't Enough

Chapter 3

Mikkal

Okay, he was officially a stalker...with good reason! Kendall sighed, that's what they all say. He leaned on his windowsill and peered through the glass at Logan's house. Three months since they first met and he still hadn't learned anything.

Behind him James and Carlos were fighting over the last chocolate chip cookie. But James was going to win, he always did when it came to something as serious as chocolate chip cookies.

"Man, when are you going to give up?" James asked around, sure enough, his newly acquired cookie. "I don't think Logan's going to tell us anything."

Carlos stretched out on Kendall's bed and stared at the ceiling. "Yeah. I mean, he's cool and almost...brother like, but he's locked up tighter than a safe with super glue between the cracks. He's not going to open up."

Kendall sat back with a huff, crossing his arms over his chest. "I just don't get it! We don't know where he works. I see him sometimes at work buying food and only food. Cheap food too. He never goes out with us. He's missing out on so many thing's 'cause he's either studying or working. I just wish we could do something. I wish he would trust us!"

"There's nothing to trust," James pointed out to the heaving blond, who was breathless from his rant. "We automatically trust him because, well, we're very trusting. He's not, we have to do something for him to trust him."

"Like what?" Carlos asked.

James shrugged. "I have no idea." He ran his lucky comb through his hair, looking at his reflection on the window as the sun set. "Is Logan even home yet? Maybe he'll sleepover this time."

Kendall checked again and shook his head. "No, that car is still there but only the porch light is on."

"He never uses it," Carlos said, meaning the car. "Why does he have it?"

He shrugged, he had no idea. And he hated that. Kendall always had an idea as to what was going on, it annoyed him to no end that Logan was the first person to make him unsure about himself.

There was a soft knock at the door and his mom popped her head inside her son's room. "Hey, you boys going to dinner with us?" She asked with a smile.

James nodded. "Yep Mama Knight, we've got money."

Her smile got a bit wider. While Logan was prideful and didn't like it when people helped him when he couldn't afford things, Jennifer Knight welcomed it. She knew it took Kendall a while to let his friends pay for themselves, but he eventually agreed to it.

The boys and Katie piled in the Knight family's station wagon, Katie squished between James and Carlos as Kendall and Mrs. Knight took the front seats. Carlos kept the ten year old distracted from the uncomfortable seating arrangement with funny faces, even though she was stone most of the time when the boys were over she let herself be a little bit more of a kid than usual.

They pulled up to their favorite (and luckily cheap) diner that was really only a special occasion, like when James and Carlo came over for dinner. Which didn't happen as often as people think. The host sat them in a corner booth and told them their waiter would see them soon.

Katie sat near the window, then Kendall and then his mom. Carlos and James sat across from them with Carlos leaning against the window, messing with the crayons left there for the children menus.

James smirked and sighed sarcastically. "I swear, at this rate we're going to run into him everywhere we go."

Kendall whirled around the best he could, eyes widening when he saw Logan smiling at them as he walked up to their table. He had a pen and pad in hand, a waiter apron around his waist, and the diner's staff shirt on.

"Wow, I'm seeing you guys everywhere," Logan said, laughter in his voice. "Hi Mrs. Knight," he greeted. "Hey Katie."

"What, no hello to us?" Carlos teased.

He rolled his eyes. "Nope," he said simply, grinning wildly. He turned to the two female of the group and put on his best, politest, and brightest smile he had. "What can I get for you ladies?"

Logan eventually asked the boys what they wanted (with a dramatic groan of pain like it hurt to ask them) and he left to place their order.

"Have I ever told you I like him?" Katie asked, playing "cards" against James with packs of sugar. She's met him a dozen or so times over the last three months during those few moments the boys actually hang out.

Kendall growled playfully. "As long as you don't like him more than a friend."

"Oh please Ken." Mrs. Knight rolled her eyes. "She's ten years old."

Katie smirked. "And I already do."

"What?" The other four people exclaimed.

She rolled her eyes. "You do realize there's something between friendship and romance, right?" Her wisdom beyond her years by miles.

Kendall stared at her, thinking. Something between friendship and romance? A glass of Coke appeared in front of him and he looked up to see Logan.

"Katie, has anyone ever told you you're smart?" The pale boy asked, only hearing the very last question.

She shrugged. "Sometimes."

He laughed. "Tell them to say it more than sometimes," he informed her. "The something between friendship and romance is family."

Carlos managed to finally get his puppy dog eyes to work on Logan and all four of them found themselves at the rink on a Sunday, four months since Logan first moved there.

Unfortunately, you had to pay to skate even if you had you own skates (and even if you were the only one at the rink because normally the rink was closed on Sundays...but the manager loved the guys and the rink was privately owned by the manager...how lucky is that?) so Logan opted for watching the guys goof around from the bleachers.

"Come on Rufus," Kendall pleaded quietly so Logan couldn't hear him. "Can't you give us a break this one time?"

The manager raised an eyebrow, arms crossed. "You boys are great and all , but I just don't know."

"I'll pay," James said softly. "Just don't tell him that I am. Please Rufus?"

Rufus just stared at him and then glanced at Carlos entertaining Logan with uncoordinated spins on the ice. The pale boy leaned back on the bleachers and laughed loudly. He sighed. "I'll give you skates free today. Just don't expect me to do it again," he warned.

James' face broke out in a stunning grin and Kendall shook the man's hand thankfully.

"No problem, we just wanna see how good his is," the blond told him.

"Logan!" James called. "Come down here!"

He hopped down the seats and skidded to a stop next to the taller teens. He rubbed the back of his neck and grinned at his friends. "Yeah, what's up?"

Kendall clapped him on the shoulder. "Good news buddy! Rufus here is being nice and he said we get everything free today!"

"Hey, wait I didn't—."

James cut in, blocking Logan's view of the slightly miffed (that's right, miffed) man. "And that includes skates and hockey equipment. I kinda forgot mine." He scratched his cheek, embarrassed. What James would never say if that he forgot his things on purpose so Logan wouldn't get suspicious.

They weren't lying or tricking or being deceitful. They just wanted to be good best friends and get him out there more. And good hockey players by finding out how good he was.'

He glanced at Rufus and then the guys before nodding. "Okay...Thank you so much," he said sincerely.

Rufus softened his features and smile. "No problem kid." He went to the back and grabbed some skates (he was really good at guessing sizes) and two sets of gear.

Kendall watched with a semi-protective stance as Logan put both the skates and the gear on like he knew exactly what he was doing. Good, he wasn't boasting and actually knew how to do it. He hated it when people lied about what they could do.

"Yay!" Carlos practically jumped up and down in his excitement. "Now we can see you finally skate!"

Logan grinned and tested the blades on the ice before skating out and doing a tight turn to face them, smacking his hockey stick on the ground. "You guys coming or what?"

They shook off their surprise of the quick turn and the sudden playfulness that came over their usually reserved friend then dashed onto the ice for a two-on-two game of ice hockey were everything goes (including checking as long as they didn't do it too hard).

James took a chance and checked Logan into the board before swiping the puck away from him and scoring over to his and Carlos' side. He cheered and high-fived his friend, doing a little synchronized dance. Kendall stood to the side, glaring ever so slightly.

"Kendall!"

He turned to see Logan waving him over and followed his command. He smiled evilly as Logan told him the plan. This was good. This was very good.

"6-5!" Carlos called, tauntingly. "You've gotta hurry if you wanna beat us!"

James scoffed. "Oh please Carlitos, they're too far behind. One more and we've got this in the bag!" They high-fived again, laughing.

Kendall smirked and shot a glance to Logan, who nodded with his own smile on his face. "I don't think so!" The blond called. "Get ready to get your asses kicked!"

It was over before it even started. Logan was speed and Kendall was strength. As Logan sped towards Carlos to get the puck he veered off at the last minute to block James so Kendall could grab the puck without the other two realizing anything. Halfway across the rink he shot it to Logan, who then took off to make a score.

"Yahoo!" Logan yelled. "And that's 6-6!"

Carlos pouted in his uniquely Carlos way. "You're not going to get away with that!"

And they didn't. Despite all their hard work Logan and Kendall still lost by one point. But technically he was one the winning team because the three of them found out what they wanted to.

Logan could play hockey, really well.

"How long have you lived in Minnesota?" James asked when they all sat down at a little cafe down the street.

"Since I was eight," Logan told him, taking a sip of his coffee.

Kendall leaned forward a bit, like he would hear the answer better if he was closer. "Where'd you live before?"

"Richland Hills, Texas."

"Ah ha!" Carlos shoved a finger in Logan's face, making the pale teen go crossed eyes. "That explains it."

He raised an eyebrow. "Explains what?"

"Why you talk funny."

James smacked him on the head. "He doesn't talk funny!"

Logan just laughed (much to the two taller teen's relief, Carlos did not have a filter between his brain and his mouth). "It's fine James. I do talk funny, I still sound like a little bit of a cowboy."

"Get along lil doggies." Kendall tipped an imaginary hat, and attempted a poor imitation of Logan's slight Western drawl, and earned a punch in the arm as a result. He laughed. "So how long did you skate?"

He shrugged, eyes growing distant. "I learned to skate when I first moved up to Minnesota 'til I was twelve, then I had to stop."

"Why'd you stop?" James asked curiously.

"Family reasons."

Carlos fiddled with his helmet straps (He never took the darn thing off). "Why'd you move here?"

"Family reasons."

Kendall gave him a strange look at the cold answer and was alarmed to see him staring down at his drink, biting his lip hard. He flicked James hand, the one resting in the middle of the table, and urged him with no words to change the freaking subject.

"So," he searched frantically for a topic. Last minute things like this were Kendall's expertise not his. "How...'bout those Minnesota Wild?"