We were twelve when we met James. It wasn't like when we met Carlos; I wasn't jealous of him, and I didn't have a problem with him. It was partly because I made friends with the pretty boy first.

We were in gym class, one of the few classes you and I didn't have together. I hated my gym teacher with a passion. Mostly because I hate running and every class he'd make us run three laps before he did anything else.

That day there was a new guy in school, and he was lagging behind. The coach was blowing his whistle, yelling at him to 'get a move on!' That used to be me at the back, panting like crazy. Now I was just in the middle of the group with Carlos. He's a bundle of energy. I looked back at the tall brunette at the back. What I couldn't understand was that he looked fit enough to be great at running. I didn't get why he was going so slowly when he could do a lot better.

I turned to Carlos. "Wanna slow down and talk to the new kid?" Carlos, who was always eager to make friends, agreed without hesitation. We slowed down until we were jogging next to him. "Hey!" Carlos greeted with a big smile. "I'm Carlos and he's Logan! What's your name?"

"James Diamond," he replied, smiling back.

"Well, James, I think you're gonna have to pick up the pace a little," I said. "Before Coach has a seizure. Why do you hate running so much, anyways?"

"I love sports, but I hate getting sweaty," he said. "It destroys my hair."

"Oh. Well, we shower after gym. You can fix your hair."

He shrugged. "I guess so. I'm still not into running."

"None of us are. Come on." Carlos took one of his arms, I took the other, and we pulled him along. At first he whined a little, but then he didn't mind anymore and for the whole class, we chatted to him about pretty much everything. By the time the class was over, it was like we'd known each other forever.

We showered, changed and went out to the hallway among all the other Middle Schoolers, and I saw you standing by your locker, talking to some redhead girl whose name I'd forgotten. We walked over to you. "Hey, Kendall!" Carlos greeted. "This is James. He's new."

You both acknowledged each other, and we all walked to lunch, talking about everything and nothing. "How did that math test go?" I asked you.

"I think I flunked," you replied breezily as we sat at a table in the cafeteria. "It doesn't matter. So, James, where are you from?"

The rest of the day was spent with James, even after school. We all went to the park together. I guess everything flew by. That night I was able to tell my parents that I made a new friend in school, and I was happy about it. I liked James a lot; he was kind of mixture between you and Carlos. He seemed a little shallow, but he wasn't at all.

I woke up one morning a week later with a sore throat, a blocked nose and a pounding headache. I pulled the blanket over my head, moaning quietly. I heard my mom come in. "Logan, aren't you getting up? You told me you were going to the ice rink with the boys."

"Sick," I sniffed mournfully. I peeked out from under the blanket and tried to smile. It probably looked more like a grimace than anything. Mom gave a sympathetic smile. "Call me if you need anything, ok? And phone your friends and tell them you can't make it." I nodded as she left the room, sitting up and grabbing my phone off the bedside locker. I dialled your number and waited for you to pick up. "'Lo?" I heard the sleepy voice answer.

"Hey Kendall. I can't go today."

"What? Why?"

"Sick."

"Oh." I heard you pause for a second. "Well, get better soon, alright?"

"Okay. Have fun."

I could swear I heard you laugh at the other end. "Will do. Bye."

I hung up and sighed, lying back down. Why did this always happen to me? I snuggled under the covers and shut my eyes, trying to find an upside to being stuck in bed all day. I could find nothing.

I heard the doorbell ring downstairs and my mom answered it. I heard someone coming up the stairs, and then the door opened and I saw you standing in the doorway. I sat up, hopelessly confused. "Kendall, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," you grinned at me, coming in the door. "I called James and explained everything to him."

"But you're supposed to be going with them."

"It's not fair that you're here with just a cold for company," you replied. Then your smile faltered for a second. "If you don't want me here I can go."

"No, I want you here! I just didn't think you'd skip out on a trip to the rink to keep me company," I replied quickly. You probably never would know how much I always wanted you around.

You grinned at me and sat down on the edge of the bed. "So, are you really sick or is it just a bad cold?"

"A bad cold," I replied, scowling a little. "It sucks but it's not the worst that could happen. I could be throwing up everywhere."

You laughed at the face I made. "Yeah, I guess so." You paused for a second. "This is like the time when we were nine. You were sick and you saw me and Carlos out without you, and you got really pissed."

I looked at the sheets, blushing at the memory. "Don't remind me about that. I was a real idiot."

"No you weren't. You were just being human. We all act stupid sometimes." You laughed again. "Some of us more than others."

This one was really bad, I'm sorry. I suffered a lot of writer's block with it, but the next ones whould be better. Please review!