Well hello there, amazing reviewers (; How's it been? So here we are... alone... together... LET'S READ! :D

Don't worry guys, just letting you know that this isn't just a recovery story. The summary says it all, he isn't just left alone, there is always a plot to a story that goes beyond all odds (;

I just wanted this time to say... oh god, I promised that I wouldn't cry. Okay, like I say, I just wanted to take this time to tell you that... YOU'RE THE GREATEST REVIEWERS EVER! I appreciate everything you've done even if its only chapter 4! I feel like we've been through so much together (':

So, enough of my sappy thank you, here are the... well... thank yous. Haha.

anon - I see what you did there (; . xx

PsychBTRLover - Yes, there will be more background, because like I said, this isn't a recovery story. (: Thank you! . xx

chocolate-colombo - DON'T DIE. Oh, now that you're awake, thank you! I appreciate it and I had the need to explain him to you guys! (: . xx

PizzaTop21 - Wow. I loved your review. Wow (; Oh. My. God. You just explained everything better than I did, hahah! Darn you. And maybe, just maybe, you're 99% right? Hm? Haha, thank you so much! . xx

CarlosPenaLuverBTR1 - You'll find out soon! (: Thank you so much for the review! . xx

Magiccatprincess - In this case, I'm glad that you cried! (: Thank you! . xx

SashaLovesBananas - My ovaries just exploded. Yes, I am done with the POVs. I put them early in the chapters so that I could go ahead and get into the actual plot without any interruptions. You needed to read them to understand what happens in the next chapters. And I am honored to read your long reviews (; Muscles... (Drool.) I'm flawless, yaaaaay! Thank you sooo much! . xx

fabulous36 - I'm sorry Hockey Accident is gone, I suddenly just got attracted to Bleach and then soon... well, you know what happened. Thank you for the review, I hope Attacked will be as good! . xx

And now, on to the story! :D

James couldn't hold back his smile as he stared back into Kendall's eyes. As he had thought earlier, he wasn't going to let them think that they owed him anything, but the last thing he wanted to do was to extinguish their fire. He was just going to have to let them do as they pleased.

Kendall's fingers stopped on top of his head as they both looked down at Logan and Carlos who huddled next to James, practically laying on his bed. Their tears were long gone but now they were just living the moment, almost scared that if they let go, James would disappear.

"I'm glad you're back buddy," Kendall smiled, pulling his hand back, watching as James' face fell. Loss of human contact wasn't much of the problem however, knowing that he had two boys clinging to him.

James' infamous smile reappeared, "I missed you guys."

Without even another word, Kendall's face filled with mischief as he quirked his eyebrow. Out of the blue, Kendall pounced forward, sprawling over James as he wrapped his arms around the lean figure. James cried out, following up with a laugh as he hugged Kendall back, suddenly feeling their other two friends join the group hug, or tackle.

There was massive pain in his neck and his brain was suddenly so foggy, too slow to not lag. So at this point, he just smiled and accepted it. He had to remember that even when he didn't know where he was going, his friends were there. He just had to trust him.

Kendall sat up, straddling his waste with a smirk. Logan felt obliged to at this moment grab a few chairs, setting the three by James' hospital bed. However, as him and the latino sat down with gushing happiness, Kendall just got comfortable in his best friend's lap.

With a chuckling laugh, James shook his head. He didn't care how they were positioned, how they looked, or how he felt. He was just so happy to have them by his side and know that he was going to be okay.

With a sigh of happiness, Kendall looked down at the bandages. Wincing a bit.

The specialist stepped forward, taking her seat. Noticing that their moment had settled down, she reached for James who practically pouted as he allowed her to grab a hold of his right arm. He turned to his friends, seeing them watching his arm.

Almost immediately he frowned, not wanting this. He was really hoping that they wouldn't treat him differently, that he was still the same James. Just with a few issues to take care of. Noticing the slight upsetness, Logan cleared his throat.

"We were in that waiting room for a while, how long have you been awake?"

James tapped his chin, thinking as his eyes flickered over to Mrs. Latimere. "I was awake after my surgery for about five minutes before I was given morphine. But just recently, I've been awake for about two hours maybe," He smiled, nodding along with his words.

Carlos sighed, looking over his shoulder.

"Can you flex?" Latimere asked, placing her hands on his bicep. He instantly clenched his fist but felt it to be weak, almost instantly letting off. His well done muscles went back to normal and his eyebrows furrowed. Logan looked down, his eyes looking away. He hated that James was going to have to learn this, but he was just going to have to trust that James could take it.

The specialist took a few seconds before she took some notes before placing her hand in the same spot, "Try again, James."

He tried once again, his muscles flexing for about three seconds before it collapsed, him letting out a huff as he caught his breath. This wasn't good, they knew this because he was out of breath. That meant he was forcing his biceps up.

Latimere sighed before nodding, "Does it hurt?"

"No," He simply stated, turning to look at his friends. He felt a pang in his heart when he saw them looking away. He didn't want this. He couldn't take it, knowing that he had new problems and they were looking away.

He was ashamed.

"How long will it be, before he gets out?" Carlos suddenly blurted out, his eyes gleaming as the others looked up. James smiled lightly. A major weight was lifted as he saw the childish look in Carlos' eyes. He wasn't asking in concern or anger. He was asking in excitement. He wanted to get back to having fun with James, to singing and jumping around. Doing random acts of stupidity.

The specialist smiled gently, prodding at James' shoulder, "In about a week or two, not too long."

James grimaced at his shoulder, shying away. His face filled with discomfort and Kendall instantly jumped in, "He doesn't like that," His eyes were full of awareness as he leaned over James' body. He sounded just like a mom. The woman backed away, knowing not to mess with someone protecting James.

She went ahead to stand up, her fingers wrapping around James' neck gently, pressing at random spots. For a few minutes James squirmed as he was tickled relentlessly but accidentally as she asked him where it hurt. The other three just watched, laughing at James' torture. He was so ticklish.

When she was finally done, she packed up her package and smiled. "Now James, I'm going to leave you be for now. I'll be back tomorrow and take this to heart, make sure not to overexert your brain and don't be afraid to ask for help. I'll see you soon," She smiled, patting him on the shoulder before leaving.

It went quiet, no one speaking.

They had made everything seem so real, so happy. When on the inside, they still had their doubts. Kendall shifted on James' lap, staring at the pretty boy. It would never be the same. James would probably have long-term damage, physical and emotional. What if he was too afraid to get back on the stage, what if he was targeted again?

James' strained voice broke the silence, "I knew people didn't like me... but I never expected someone to hurt me..." His voice was so heavy, like humidity in the air. His quivering eyes met with Kendall's.

"Shh, no James, that's not it," Kendall whispered, planting his palms on James' chest, "You have so much fans, so many people who love you. That was the very first attempt to assassinate any of us. That person doesn't deserve your tears."

James shook his head, looking away. Ever since he got into high school, he was so much more aware of his looks. Because of what his father always told him, he started to make sure that he looked good. He checked his hair every few minutes, made sure to dress perfectly. People thought that he was just trying to look good.

Well, they were wrong.

Every time he looked at himself in the mirror, he reminded himself of how ugly he was. He told himself that he was still worthless, that his father was right. So every day he tried his best to make himself look good. It wasn't that he was conceited, it was the opposite. It was his low self-esteem. He checked over and over, trying to make himself look better, when on the inside, he knew that he couldn't do that. He was the definition of imperfection.

But whenever he got on the stage, he saw all of the signs, heard his name, watched the screaming fans go crazy. When on his twitter hundreds of people messaged him or tagged him, asking him to marry them or be their boyfriend. He would just smile, laughing. It made his day. Then he went to bed; Kendall always waking him up and holding him after a nightmare. Then in the morning, he would start over. Seeing an ugly person in the mirror, going through the day trying to fix himself, then having girls go crazy over him. It was a routine.

It was what tore him apart.

The only thing keeping him sane was his friends. Just the laughs and smiles they gave him, the hugs and tackles, the random pouncing and play fights. Those were what reminded him that his father wasn't here anymore. That everything he said was a lie, just out of pure hatred.

Kendall was always the one that ended up rocking him in the middle of night, shushing him and reminded him how beautiful he was, what a star he was. Sometimes he made jokes to laugh off the tears. Other nights, he would break down and Kendall would follow short, begging him to realize who he really was. He was told plenty of times that he was just getting lost in the crowd, not seeing what was right in front of him.

If it weren't for his best friends, he would probably be a mad man.

There was one time when he finally broke, when Kendall wasn't there for him. Kendall had gone back to Minnesota for a family death. The last night that Kendall was gone, James finally couldn't take it and he locked his door. He threw up countless times that night, pulling at his hair and scratching at his own skin. Nobody heard him because he kept the sink running. The next morning he woke up to the door being broken open.

Kendall had never held him so long. For the whole day they stayed in the room, locking everyone else out. Kendall talked non-stop, telling him that he was gorgeous every hour, that he was funny every minute, that he was perfect every second. He had bandages all up his arms and legs, one on his cheek. His hair was combed and fixed, the whole time he sat there limp. He hadn't recovered until that very night when Kendall held him to sleep, not even getting into separate beds.

It never got as bad anymore because Kendall made sure that he never left him.

Every one thought that James was perfect and happy, well he was far from that. He had his moments when he was just so happy with his friends and was acting as the good 'ole James Diamond, but on the inside he would never be the same.

He squeezed his eyes closed, feeling Logan and Carlos grip at his hand and arm, "I know... I shouldn't be so upset about it but... why is it always me?"

"It's not, James! Remember when someone threw a bottle at Logan and the concert got canceled?" Carlos rushed.

Logan smirked and chuckled at the memory, he had almost jumped into the crowd and beaten the kid who was taken into custody. But then again, there was a big difference between a gun and a bottle. James was intended to be killed. Logan was supposed to just get angry.

James eased up and nodded, sighing. "I guess that I should just stop being upset and see the silver lining huh? I'll be out of here in no time and everything will be normal!" He smiled, his teeth shining as Kendall backed up, smirking.

Sure this person intended to kill him, to damage him for life. But then again, James Diamond wasn't that easy to break.

It had been two weeks and the specialist had done her work. After these two weeks of treating his arm and testing his brain, he was back to normal. Of course his neck still felt a little pressure and his arm twitched sometimes, but his brain was far from damaged. His speech was perfected and his senses were no longer blurred and smeared. He was old James.

Back into his normal clothes, Carlos tugged James down the hallway.

"Don't run!" Logan screamed, watching as the two almost instantly screeched to a walking pace. But knowing Carlos, the latino kept it at a power walk, James practically stumbling behind him.

Kendall crossed his arms beside Logan, grinning at the annoyed look. "I'm glad this nightmare is over..." He murmured, watching the other two turn the corner to the waiting room. Through the first week, it was hell. James was always being checked out by Mrs. Latimere or he was crazy with morphine. When he was actually awake and alone, he was worried about his condition and the three friends had to bring him back to the surface with a few jokes and some reassuring words.

The second week was heaven, the total opposite of the first. The specialist said that by the end of that week, he would be functioning normally and that they just had to keep him here for the time being to make sure that he healed well. His shot wound was long gone, just a few stitches. They had already sunken though and left the smallest of a scar.

Now here they were, Saturday afternoon, leaving the hospital. Carlos had woken his friend up, literally dragged him out of the bed, and the doctors had to come and pull Carlos away. The two had been halfway down the hallway and James was still in his scrubs.

Logan walked into the waiting room to facepalm. Carlos was legit trying to pull James out of the door. Carlos was on the outside, and James was on the inside with a doctor pulling him. Like always, Carlos was screaming nonsense.

The two rushed over and grabbed Carlos, huffing as he pouted, staring at James who tried to catch his breath, giving the doctor a thumbs up.

"You can't just drag a patient out of here!" The doctor scolded, shaking his head. Kendall rose his hand, motioning for him to stop. James stood straight, finally able to catch his breath.

"Don't yell at him, he's just excited," Kendall narrowed his eyes, almost threateningly. Behind him, Logan smacked Carlos in the back of the head, whispering scolding words. James laughed while Kendall stayed silent, staring down the doctor who agreed, walking towards the desk.

When he was gone, Kendall turned to Carlos and Logan with a huff. "You're lucky me and Logan got here, Carlos," He pointed at him, his eyebrows rising. James stood on the side, watching the doctor sign him out. He hadn't seen Dr. Miller today and he was actually planning on saying goodbye. But he didn't have much of a choice once the doctor announced that they could leave, stalking off, annoyed with the four boys.

Carlos let out a cry as he grabbed James, once again, and pulled him away. There was no time to waste, Carlos seemed to think, because Gustavo and Kelly were waiting out in the parking lot for them.

Logan and Kendall groaned, "Look both ways before crossing the street!"

James laughed in the distance, Carlos going soft for only a few seconds to look both ways before continuing his rampage of dragging James towards the limo that was parked on the side. Lord knew that Carlos was excited to get out of here.

However when they arrived there, Gustavo took two seconds to greet James before turning to Carlos and screaming at him. "Hello, dog," He nodded to James, watching as Kelly launched herself towards the pretty boy. He then turned to the latino, "What were you thinking!"

Carlos just shrugged and grinned sheepishly, "I'm happy."

He went to scream again but stopped, thinking over the innocent answer before sagging his shoulders. "Alright, whatever just get in the car."

Logan and Kendall waited for Kelly to let go of James as Carlos climbed in, the three following shortly. It almost felt so normal, Kendall beside James facing Logan beside Carlos. All were smiling as Gustavo drove.

He'd never admit how much he had missed James and worried about him. His pride never aloud him to go and visit him while Kelly always gave him the option to come with her. Of course he cared, a lot. But business was business and he couldn't get too attached. When he first saw James, it took him everything not to hug him and tell him how happy he was to see him.

The dogs were his sons.

But through all the laughter and grinning, the jokes and random acts, James felt his phone vibrate. It had been brought to him last week, being found back stage by a police officer searching for clues. It was a text.

He smirked when he felt Carlos fall into his lap, Logan trampling over him as they playfully fought. "You guys!" He laughed, pulling his phone out to check the message, only to furrow his brows. That was strange... it was an unknown number.

He just shrugged, it was probably a fan. He had a doubt in his mind though as he clicked 'open,' because most fans had said things on his twitter telling him to get better and he didn't remember ever giving away his number...

Then he read the text, freezing. His eyes widened and for the first time, he didn't even listen to his friends as all he could hear was his own rapid heart beat. He felt like he was going to faint.

"Payback's a bitch."

Oh shit. 0.0 LANGUAGE. Sorry, I liked the ending. A little short, I know, I'm sorry. FORGIVE ME. Waaaaiiiihhhhh. Anyway, enough of my mental breakdowns, here comes the amazing plot. I didn't think that I could make you guys wait anymore. Review and tell me how I did please! THANK YOU. XXXX