A little bit better. More in character for sure. Thanks to a wonderful reviewer who opened my eyes to how horribly over-dramatic this chapter was. :P

I completely rewrote this chapter. The depressed Logan thing wasn't really working for me. Or for any of you either, I think. XD So read and hopefully, enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own BTR.

He was accustomed to taking orders. Never the leader. He would do what you say, because he was too afraid to offer ideas of his own unless you asked him.

He was also used to running away. Because he was so convinced he could never do anything about it. So that's what he did. He took off, ran down the street. He didn't stop, didn't even breathe. Because he knew as soon as he did, the pain would rip through his body. He could feel it poised to roar up inside him, the moment he stopped to think.

Logan didn't stop to wipe the sweat running into his eyes at the humidity, didn't stop to answer the questioning glances people were constantly throwing his way. He knew what they saw. A sixteen year old boy in a tee shirt and jeans, running through the rain at the speed of light, as much as they could see of his face in the two seconds he lingered a curious blend of pain and shock. He didn't want to see the pity, the sympathy. He wanted them to laugh at him, tease him, make fun of him. At least that would be more along the lines of what he was used to. It would also give him an excuse to break a few noses.

He didn't realize he had gone in a complete circle until he was staring at the door to the Palm Woods lobby again. Three miles was never long enough. All the same, he was shaking with heat and exertion, and hadn't even stopped to remember he had drank cold milk that morning. His stomach curdled, and he felt a little pukish.

"Cold milk on a hot day...." he mumbled, then sighed. "You die."

He fought back the bile rising in his throat, and tried to force his mind blank. Thinking just made his head hurt. And every other part of him.

He strode quickly through the lobby, taking the stairs rather than the elevator. It was only two floors, and he really would rather not be asked the infinitely annoying question, "Are you OK?"

He could tell that people were awake in the apartment before he even walked in. Morning was the noisiest time of the day. He had no problem hearing Carlos and Katie having a shouting match from the end of the hall. But not really caring about anything right now, least of all the usual morning brouhaha, he ignored the noise, and walked in.

Carlos and Katie were yelling at each other from opposite ends of the swirly slide. Something about no more Lucky Charms. Kendall was shoving a bowl of the stuff into his face as fast as Logan reckoned was humanly possible.

"THEY WERE MY -" Carlos stopped his hollering as he watched Kendall put the last spoonful in his mouth. His face was so stricken, you'd have thought it was Sparky all over again.

"He ate the Charms!" Carlos yelled at Katie.

"I KNOW!" Katie yelled back.

Carlos stopped, a very confused expression on his face. He slid down, and stood unsteadily on the floor. "But if you didn't take them..... Why were you yelling at me?"

"Because it's fun. And I was winning," Katie shrugged, and looked at Carlos, ready to thrive on his reaction. Logan found he was holding his breath as well. Why? He had no idea. This exact same situation had happened before, only with Cocoa Puffs.

But Carlos didn't grate on Katie anymore. Instead, he walked up to Kendall, and grabbed the bowl from him, drinking the last of the milk at the bottom.

"Ahhhh...." he smacked his lips together, as he tipped the empty bowl over and placed it on Kendall's head. A few drops of the sugary milk rolled down the side of his face. Kendall looked horrified. But Carlos took it all in his stride, smiling smugly, and grabbing another cereal box from the table. Kendall got up slowly, grabbing the pitcher of orange juice as he rose. Slowly, slowly, he positioned himself to be ready to tip it all over Carlos at any moment. The first drop was rolling over the rim....

"Don't," Mrs. Knight said, as she walked in, not looking up from the catalog in her hand. Kendall winced, but put the pitcher down in defeat. Carlos turned around in time to see the orange juice pitcher leave his hand, and started laughing viciously.

"OH! Not quick enough, milk brain," he said happily, jumping up and down with his tongue out. After Kendall said nothing, he stopped, deciding it wasn't worth the non-existent reaction. Kendall had been waiting for this.

"At least I have a brain," he said. Carlos stopped chewing.

"Oh come on," Logan said, throwing his hands up. "That was lame. You don't have to react to that, Carlos."

Carlos resumed chewing thoughtfully.

"No. I don't," he got that hellish glint in his eye. Logan groaned inwardly. "But I will anyway!" He stood up and slapped Kendall on the back of the head, sending the bowl flying over the table, accidentally hitting Katie in the face. Katie then got up and threw a spoon at Carlos, who blocked it, sending it toward Logan's face. The handle hit him hard, poking him in the eye.

"Ow, ow, ow..." he hopped around clutching his eye painfully, as the three others continued to throw breakfast items at each other. Mrs. Knight sipped her coffee calmly, but she frowned when a splash of juice corroded her catalog. She looked up. Carlos was positioned nearly on top of Kendall, hitting him on the back with the empty juice pitcher with one hand, while fending off Katie with the other, who held two cereal boxes in her hands, throwing handfuls at him nearly as efficiently as a machine gun.

"STOP!" Mrs. Knight yelled. They all looked up, their arms or hands or various weapons raised, poised for attack. One death glare was enough to force them into submission. Katie moved away to her seat, dripping with juice and covered in something sticky that Logan hoped was jelly, an amused look on her face as she beheld her handiwork in the form of small welts and bruises covering Carlos' face, arms, and hands. Kendall merely shrugged, sending Carlos toppling to the floor, and continued to eat his cereal. Carlos started to eat his cereal too. From it's now scattered place on the kitchen tile. Just at that moment, James walked in. He looked around, obviously missing Logan still holding his eye in the corner. His gaze took it all in in a few seconds.

"Hey James," Carlos said through a mouthful of dry cheerios. "What's up?" He looked at Kendall satisfactorily, who was covered from head to toe in the mornings breakfast. James sighed.

"Five minutes. I'm gone for five minutes, and you guys have a food fight without me." James pulled a piece of toast off of Kendall's back, looking at it regretfully for a moment, before shrugging, and taking a bite. Katie shrieked with laughter.

"Ewwwwww. That's gross, dude! Even for you!" she said, looking at James, who merely shrugged again, and crammed the rest in his mouth. Dusting off his hands, he turned around. And froze. Logan glared at him from his corner.

"I gotta...." he cleared his throat with difficulty. "I gotta.... I'm gonna go. Now." He hurried past Logan not lifting his eyes, pulling on his sneakers as he went. Logan watched him until the door slammed.

Then he turned his eyes to the table, thinking of breakfast as his stomach rumbled noisily.

Everyone was looking at him.

"Erm." he said, before sighing. "I REALLY don't wanna talk about it."

Katie shrugged, and Carlos went back to eating his cheerios. But Kendall kept his eyes on Logan until Logan took his place at the table with two pieces of fresh, non-food-fightified toast.

"Seriously. What was that?" Kendall asked, nodding his head towards the door.

Logan squirmed uncomfortably. "Nothing." He looked down. " Nothing that matters."

Kendall resumed chewing. "That didn't look like nothing." He looked back up at Logan. Logan had a sudden impulse to cut out his tongue.

"Look, I said it was nothing. Lay off, will you?" He hadn't meant for it to sound so defensive. Maybe because he knew it wasn't nothing, and Logan had never been good at lying.

Carlos and Katie both looked at him again.

"Woah. Calm down man. It's cool-" Carlos started, getting off the floor, and putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Logan shrugged him off.

"No it's not cool, man. I said I don't wanna talk about it. He shouldn't have even said anything else," Logan said harshly, glaring at Kendall.

Carlos rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Well, sure, I guess." He sounded apprehensive.

Katie got up abruptly, and walked out.

"Where are you going?" Kendall called after her.

"Oh, you know. Anywhere but here." She shut the bathroom door quickly behind her.

Kendall's eyes roved back to Logan, sitting there glowering. Carlos put his hand back on his shoulder. Logan didn't try and shake it.

"What's wrong, Logan?" Kendall asked. "You and James have a fight or something?"

Logan let out a single bark of strained laughter. "Yeah. Yeah, you could say that."

"Was it about Camille?" Carlos asked quietly. Kendall and Logan both stared at him, amazed.

"How would you know that?" Logan asked accusingly.

Carlos looked at Kendall. "Well... I um..... I think...." he started moving in ten directions at once, something that Logan knew, by everything scientifically proved, was NOT possible.

"I THINK SPONGEBOB IS ON!" Carlos shouted guiltily, before finally deciding to run to the couch. Sitting down on it hard, he fumbled for the remote.

"How would you know?" Logan yelled, coming up behind him and wrestling the remote from his grasp. "Tell me!"

Carlos looked around wildly. Kendall shrugged. Mrs. Knight stared nervously. And Logan breathed heavily, choking on a bite of toast.

Finally, he sighed defeatedly. "OK. James came to me about a week ago, and claimed like, undying love for Camille and he said you were in the way but he really loved her and he wanted to tell her and he really hoped she would like him back and he felt guilty because he didn't wanna break you two up but he knew he would, like, die if he didn't tell her and I told him I couldn't help him but I told him to think about it and then do whatever he thought was right, you know? But I didn't tell him to kiss her or anything I swear I didn't! Don't kill me!" He half sobbed the last sentence.

Logan was still trying to process the jumble of words, before Kendall's exclamation woke him up. "James KISSED Camille?"

"I don't KNOW!" Carlos shouted. "I just told him he REALLY needed to think about it and not to do anything stupid and he was going to have to make a sacrifice if he didn't want to hurt YOU!" he said to Logan. "Because I knew it would! With you and Camille and everyth-"

"Wait, wait, wait, woah, HOLD UP! Logan and Camille are together? When did this happen? Why didn't I know?" Kendall sputtered.

"I thought Jo would've told you! Now SHHH!" Carlos said, slapping Kendall on the arm. Kendall muttered something about how nobody ever kept him in the loop. Logan glared at Carlos.

"You TOLD him to do what he thought was RIGHT? Why would you do that? How could you have been so impossibly idiotic?"

"I didn't know what else to say! What would you have done?"

"I would've told him to back the heck off my girl! He had NO right!"

"I told him it would hurt you, Logan. And Camille. Really, I did," Carlos pleaded. Logan scoffed.

"She didn't look too hurt to me when they were sucking face!" Logan yelled, not realizing how much it would hurt to say it out loud.

Carlos and Kendall were silent. Mrs. Knight had left the room, probably to let them work it out. But Logan couldn't even breathe, let alone defend himself. He sank onto the couch.

"He kissed her?" Carlos said quietly. Logan looked up to see an expression of shock on his face. "I didn't think.... I knew he wouldn't, or I thought he wouldn't....." Carlos muttered.

"Well, he did. What could I have done? What should I have done?" Logan buried his face in his hands.

"I don't know. I just..." Carlos sighed deeply. "I don't know."

"Wait."

Carlos and Logan both stared at Kendall.

"So, you and Camille are, like, boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Were." Logan said, wincing at the pain it caused him.

"And James kissed Camille, while you guys were STILL boyfriend and girlfriend?"

Logan nodded wearily.

Kendall looked veritably horrified. "Why?" was all he could get out.

"That's what I said." Logan was fighting back tears. "I can't stay here. I will not break down here. I will not break down PERIOD."

"You should get some rest or something, dude." Carlos' concerned tone of voice shocked Logan. "You look beat."

Logan almost laughed. Leave it to Carlos to state the obvious.

"Yeah, I should," he said, getting up. Surprisingly, the fact that someone thought he SHOULD sleep made him feel a whole lot better. He was sure he would've felt like he was wasting time if Carlos hadn't.

"I'm gonna go shower," Kendall muttered, still shaking his head a little.

"I'll uh...." his eyes lighted on the remote. "I'll watch Spongebob!" he said excitedly.

"Looking like that?" Logan said, gesturing to Carlos pajamas, still covered in food. "Don't you wanna shower?"

Carlos looked at him. "Do I have a choice?" he asked slowly.

"I guess." Logan shrugged.

"Then nope!" He settled deeper into the couch, making about two hundred new stains on the upholstery.

"Oh, man, is Mrs. Knight gonna kill you...."

"Nuh-uh. I tell her Kendall did it. She always believes me over Kendall."

Logan sighed, knowing it was true.

"You're mean." Logan said.

"Yeah, uh-huh. You do that." His eyes were glued to the screen as Spongebob blasted a plate with a futuristic looking World War inspired water gun, dressed in camo.

That show was so weird.

He walked down the hall into the bedroom. Kendall was bent over his dresser, pulling out a t-shirt and a pair of socks. He straightened out, and caught Logan's eye.

"Are you sleepin'?" he asked.

"Yeah. For as long as I can." Logan shrugged and walked over to his bunk, flopping himself down on the bottom, not bothering to change his sweaty clothes.

"OK. G'night." He walked towards the door and flipped off the light.

"And Logan?"

"Yeah."

"I'm really sorry."

Logan glanced at his face. He was sympathetic, but Logan didn't mind.

"Thanks."

Kendall smiled, and shut the door. Logan sighed. He couldn't avoid James forever. They slept in the same room, for crying out loud. He was gonna have to think of something to say, when they were inevitably, alone.

But right then, he didn't care much. He just drifted off, surprised by the sense of comfort that wrapped him in it's sleepy folds. He was dead to the world in a matter of minutes. Which was more than fine with him.

This was kinda fun to write. I know the boys aren't completely in character in this one, but they're close, right?

Please review! I'll love you forever and ever! :D

~Starbucks