"Mrs. Knight, why don't you go talk to Logan alone? I'm sure he could use a loving adult right now," James offered, practically begging for some time to question Kendall on what happened with Jimmy.
Mrs. Knight eyed the boys skeptically. She had known them long enough to tell when something was up, and now was one of those times that skill came in handy. "Are you sure? I'm sure he'd much rather see you," she countered, watching them suspiciously. James plastered on his best sheepish smile, attempting to look uncomfortable, which wasn't exactly hard to fake.
"I think we could use a minute to compose ourselves before we go in," he explained convincingly, "it's gonna be nerve wracking to see him attached to a bunch of machines." Mrs. Knight frowned, but a quick glance at Kendall, who gave her a nod, reassured her that James was telling the truth.
Okay, so maybe Mrs. Knight didn't know them as well as she thought.
She headed off with Logan's doctor, glancing back at them uncertainly. They smiled back at her, goading her on, until she was out of sight. James and Carlos whirled on Kendall. "What were you thinking, man?" Carlos asked, eyes wild.
"N-nothing," Kendall.
l stammered, still in shock from seeing Jimmy wheel in. His face had paled since his mother left, and Carlos was clearly freaking out. They had dropped their façades with Mrs. Knight gone, and James was getting a better feel for the situation. He glared at Kendall for making a bad situation worse. They had been worrying all this time about Logan being alright, but now all that James was going to be thinking about was if Kendall was going to have to go to jail for assaulting Jimmy.
"What did you do?" he asked, voice dripping with an anger only slightly muffled by the fear that threatened to consume him. Despite being insanely mad at him and sleep deprived, James was still worried about Kendall. The blonde teen gulped and thought back to what had happened just a few hours earlier.
Kendall pulled his beat up, gray mini van into the Nixons' driveway around 3:15AM. Even while he was still in his car, Kendall could hear the base booming though the speakers playing in Jimmy's house. He stepped out into the cold, ignoring the bitter wind that bit at his skin, and made through the front door, sidestepping around couples clinging to each other on the front step. He gagged as his breath caught on the smoke hanging heavily the air. Jimmy was currently having another one of his "underage everything" parties. Kendall scowled.
He stormed his way through the dimly lit living room, spotting Jimmy smoking on a thread bare, floral sofa. His black hair fell into his eyes; beer cans littered his coffee table.
Kendall's blood boiled at the sight of him 'relaxing' after hurting Logan and sending him to the hospital. "Jimmy," he spat, struggling to contain his anger, taking it a second at a time. His hands balled into fists at his sides. Subconsciously, his chest puffed out authoritively, and he took on an intimidating expression.
Jimmy looked up at him, and, even in his drunken haze, realized how threatening Kendall looked. In a 'fight or flight' decision, Jimmy scrambled for the door. Kendall, however, caught him by gripping the back of his collar. He spun him around, smacking his fist into the side of Jimmy's fat face. He heard him grunt, and Kendall dropped him to the ground, where he struggled up onto his hands and knees.
Blood gushed from his nose, pouring down his face. Jimmy made the mistake of breathing it in and choked, coughing it up onto the carpet. Kendall sat him up and relentlessly punched him, as his druggie friends sat back and watched, slow brains not processing what was happening in front of them.
Kendall let Jimmy fall to the ground again, but this time left him there, headed out the door. Despite the pain, Jimmy rolled over to grab another cigarette and light it. He breathed in the addictive smoke and watched Kendall leave, red blood staining its white paper.
"I didn't do anything!" he cried desperately. James and Carlos gave him identical "oh, really?" looks. "Well, I punched him a couple times, but he was conscious when I left!" he relented, flustered. James rolled his eyes.
"Fine. Then why is he here?" he asked, crossing his arms.
"I don't know! Because he's a druggie?" James looked at Carlos like he couldn't believe what he was hearing, but he was met with a shrug.
"It was gonna happen sometime," Carlos reasoned, and James let it go. For the moment anyway. There was an uncomfortable silence as they realized what had to happen next.
"So..." Kendall trailed off. "I guess we should g-"
"Yep," James interrupted quickly, and led the way to Logan. He could practically feel his hair graying, what with all the worrying he had done lately. And honestly? It freaked him out.
Haha, I'm gonna be Whiney Brunette instead of Cheeky AGAIN and complain that I didn't like what I wrote. Am I annoying you yet?
So sorry! It's been… I don't know. A while since I updated, but it feels longer than that, you know?
SO GUESS WHAT! I now not only have my "BTR wall" which all of you 'Back in the Days' readers know about, but I now have my BTR ceiling. IT ROCKS! So I go to bed, and they just look down on me and I have a mini heart attack. It's the bestest thing ever!
NOW I COMMAND YOU TO GO READ 'BIG TIME SICKNESS'! Why? Cause it's….
a) the first BTR story I ever read
b) the first BTR story I ever loved, and the last for a good long time.
c) the story that inspired me to write BTR fic.
And if you know Teen Titans, read Mechanics cause that's what inspired me to write in general.
