Summary: When Carlos is feeling depressed, Logan puts on a small spectacle to bring back his old boyfriend. Rated T for language.
"Damn it Logan, I don't want to…" Carlos whined quietly, dragging his feet along the concrete. The pale boy looked back sympathetically at the Latino, but he only tightened his grip and pulled harder on his boyfriend's hand as the two walked through the Palm Woods park. The fresh air and bright California sun overhead didn't change the Latino's unhappy demeanor that had come over him a few days earlier. The music being played all around him by random musicians just served to augment a slowly developing headache.
"Come on Carlos, please keep walking. Just a little further."
"Why can't I just go back to the apartment and sleep?" Logan sighed loudly in response, not slowing down even a bit.
"Because you've been doing that for the last six days. Plus, I have a surprise for you." Carlos groaned in response. If this was some stupid little thing that was supposed to entertain him out of his slump, then it was a complete waste of time. None of the boys had any idea why, but Carlos had been feeling like crap lately. Like he just didn't belong anymore. Like he had no purpose, even if Logan really needed him. He had even gone so far as to outright reject every complement he was given and reply with some kind of self-deprecating insult.
"Logan—"
"Look Carlos, you aren't going back, so stop arguing!" the brunet snapped, making Carlos shrink back a little and begin to pick up his feet a little higher. However, the tan boy's eyebrows scrunched together and a deep frown came across his face when they arrived at their apparent destination. Raising a hand to his forehead, Carlos rubbed at his temples and sighed as his head shook back and forth.
"…a bench… you took me from my comfortable bed to a stupid old bench in the middle of the park?"
"Yes."
"Why?" the Latino moaned in an exasperated tone, turning from the bench to Logan and raising his arms into the air. "Why would you do that? There's nothing even here in the park today!" The tan boy's voice escalated to angered yelling, the park suddenly going quiet as everyone around turned to look at the commotion. Logan simply smirked at his boyfriend in response, pushing the Latino down onto the wooden bench lightly and taking a couple quick steps backwards. That's when the Latino heard a guitar begin playing again, turning his head to see Kendall standing by a tree and strumming softly while Logan began to sing.
"Made a wrong turn
once or twice.
Dug my way out
Blood and fire.
Bad decisions,
that's alright.
Welcome to my
silly life."
"…Logan, what's going on?" The brunet winked, but didn't stop. Carlos turned at the sound of a drum kit, seeing James sitting behind the instrument. Not even wondering how he didn't know that James played drums, the Carlos' attention redirected toward two new voices humming underneath the main line, Camille and Jo having appeared to either side of his boyfriend.
"Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood.
There's no way it's all good.
It didn't slow me down.
Mistaken, always second guessing, underestimated.
Look, I'm still around."
With that, Logan ran forward, grabbing Carlos' hands, pulling him off the bench and wrapping arms around him for a quick hug before returning to the song. Both girls started softly singing out with harmony, but the Latino only stared at Logan's face. His eyes began to grow red as tears flowed out and rolled down his cheeks, but the brunet just kept singing his heart out.
"Pretty pretty please,
don't you ever ever feel
like you're less than
fuckin' perfect.
Pretty pretty please,
if you ever ever feel
like you're nothing
you're fuckin' perfect
to me."
Kendall strummed one last chord for the end of the chorus, and Logan let his mouth close before forcibly pulling Carlos back into his arms.
"All you've been doing for the past week has been hurting yourself, and it hurts me to see you like that." Logan let out a couple sniffles before pulling away and staring his boyfriend in the eyes, his own still red from crying. "I don't know what's been bothering you, but please stop hating yourself. Please, for me."
The Latino stared for a couple of seconds, then smiled.
"Thank you Logan, this helps."
"It does?"
"Yeah, a lot." Carlos pulled the brunet back into his arms, resting his chin on the taller boy's shoulder. He could feel Logan blushing, the skin of the other boy's cheek hot against his own. His left hand rubbed up and down the other's back comfortingly, and Carlos knew that everything would be okay.
For both of them.
Note: Song is "F**kin Perfect" by P!NK.