Through the Looking-Glass, and What Carlos Found There…
Carlos' eyes opened slowly, he was laying flat on his stomach on his own bed. A yawn escaped his lips and he flipped himself over to lie on his back instead. He then felt the awkwardness of the clothes he was wearing. He looked down and realized he was wearing the exact same outfit from the day at the photo shoot; dark red button up, black slacks, black belt. Thankfully his shoes were removed. Carlos' head was aching terribly. He wrapped his hand around his forehead and flinched as he grazed an obvious bruise. He winced and looked over to see James snug underneath his sheets. As if on cue, James' eyes fluttered open and he smiled.
"Oh thank, God, you're awake. You had us all worried."
Carlos rubbed his face, "What are you talking about, wait a minute. James, YOUR HAIR?"
"WHAT ABOUT IT?" the long-haired brunette instantly bolted up and grabbed the hand mirror from his end table, "I have bed head, asshole!"
Carlos rubbed his face again, "Was I just… Dreaming?"
James gave him a quizzical look before stating, "Whatever you're talking about, I'm sure it was just a dream."
Carlos scanned his room; everything was neatly placed away, "This can't be right. Why is my half of the room all like, tidy?"
James smiled softly at that, "You had us all worried, worst of all Logan. He didn't leave your side for hours; he kept trying to wake you out of your unconscious state by calling your name. It was sweet."
Carlos opened his mouth to speak but realized being silent and just listening would be a better choice. An important lesson he retained from his dream.
James continued, "Gustavo was in a huge fit because you and Logan had been up here for at least half an hour. He was on a rampage and charged up here; we tried stalling him. When we got here you were passed out on the floor and Logan was leaning over you. He looked so broken. I know, I know, this all seems so dramatic and whatnot, but it's the truth. We asked him what happened and he said he didn't know, BUT, from that tiny crack in my mirror we kinda figured you smashed your head against it. I'd be really super pissed off at you if you hadn't knocked yourself out for a whole day."
Carlos let it soak in and mentally slapped himself for being so clumsy. He also mentally slapped himself for not having his helmet on when he actually needed it.
Carlos looked around again and inquired, "So, Logan picked up after me?"
James yawned, "Yup. He was in here for practically the whole day; he took his dinner in here and brought some for you just in case you'd wake up."
Carlos swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. He stood up so quickly that blood rushed to his head making him black out slightly and lose balance.
"Whoa there, big boy!" James exclaimed as he stood up to support the other boy.
"I'm fine," Carlos admitted, "I'm fine now. Thanks."
Carlos regained composure and started to make his way out of the room. He swung the door open and was hit with the delicious aroma of freshly cooked pancakes and eggs. His mouth watered but he held his hunger as he made his way towards Logan and Kendall's bedroom.
"Carlos!" shouted Mrs. Knight, Katie, and Kendall all in unison. They all rushed over to him; Katie hugging him around the waist, Mrs. Knight hugging both, suffocating Katie (causing her to groan), and Kendall going up to his side patting his back.
Carlos laughed heartily and wrapped his arms around all three of them.
"You had us scared to death! I'm so glad you're okay." Mrs. Knight practically sobbed into Carlos' hair.
"Mom, please, contain yourself." Kendall smiled and pried his mother off of his friend. "My mom was so set on calling for an ambulance but Logan stopped her. He said you were breathing okay, just knocked the 'f' out."
Katie released him and looked up to meet his face, "Yeah, thank God for Logan and his wanting to be a doctor. He knew just what to do to take care of your nasty bruise and prevent it from swelling or turning into something worse."
"Where is he?" asked Carlos.
Mrs. Knight wiped her eyes and smiled widely, "He's still sleeping, I believe. He stayed up all night to make sure he'd be there when you woke up, but he was nearly passing out on your bedside. I had Kendall lead him to the room. Come on, I just made breakfast."
Kendall and Katie returned to their seats and as they did so they heard the shower turn on, apparently James had walked by unnoticed and began showering. Carlos stood in place and walked towards the kitchen. Mrs. Knight handed him his plate and he thanked her then asked for a second plate.
"Wow, you must be starving! Already going for seconds without eating your first!"
"Nah," he grinned, "I'll eat breakfast in their room and bring a plate for Logan; in case he wakes up."
She smiled and handed him the second plate full of food. He nodded and headed towards the room. He set on plate down on the floor so he was able to open the door. After getting inside and setting both plates on Logan's dresser he shut the door quietly and plopped down on the floor in the space between Kendall's and Logan's beds; not before grabbing the plates of food. Within seconds half of his plate had vanished. Logan stirred and quickly his eyes shot open as he sat up. He pulled off his blanket preparing to swing his legs over the edge of the bed when he noticed Carlos on the floor and he shrieked.
"Logan's up," the two heard Kendall say from outside of the room.
Carlos grinned innocently up at him, ketchup and syrup smeared on his chin and cheek, "Morning, Logan."
Logan's heart skipped a beat and he forced himself to relax, "Carlos…"
"Yeah?"
Logan watched as Carlos hastily ate away at his plate and sighed in pure bliss. He was so relieved; a truly heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Carlos turned and grabbed the plate above his head and offered it to Logan. The pancakes and scrambled eggs had been cut sloppily into messy pieces.
"I know you like your food pre-cut before eating."
Logan's smile could not have been any bigger. Sure it was a disaster, but the thought behind it made it the most beautiful piece of art he had ever seen. Even if it was just breakfast. He took the plate limply and slowly started munching. Logan ate his plate in a comfortable silence; Carlos had finished his plate way earlier and just sat on the floor whistling or tapping his fingers. As soon as Logan had finished, Carlos raised his hand displaying his filthy, used napkin.
"I'm sorry, I forgot to grab you one. I just remembered."
"It's okay, this will do fine. I'm not a slob." Logan laughed and Carlos smiled as he told him to shut the front door.
They sat there awkwardly for a while until Carlos spoke up, "Thank you, Logan. They told me how you took care of me and everything…" Carlos felt really uncomfortable now.
Logan grinned at him, "No problem, that's what best friends are for."
"No, really Logan, thank you." Carlos' thought began to drift toward the very vivid dream he had, where his world was upside down and everything was the exact opposite of how it really was. He couldn't help but think if the events in his dream had any real meaning to it. He certainly grew from his subconscious experiences. It's worth a shot, he thought to himself. Carlos stood up and sat on Logan's bed, inching ever so slightly closer to the thinner boy. He noticed the pink that appeared on the other boy's face and he inwardly smiled.
"Logan, can I ask you something, kinda personal?"
He heard him gulp and he replied, "Sure, anything."
Without putting more thought into it (as was Carlos' modus operandi) to psyche himself out, Carlos blurted out, "Are you gay?"
Logan jumped back slightly, "No, of course not. Why would you think that?"
Carlos looked at his eyes, paused, and suddenly burst out laughing, "Oh nothing. I just had this crazy dream."
Logan chuckled, "Was I gay in it?"
Carlos shook his head, "Far from it."
Logan cocked one brow, still smiles, "Then why would you ask that?"
"Like I said, it was a crazy dream."
Logan gave him a weird look and Carlos got up from the bed. Logan leaned forward, "Where are you going?"
Carlos turned around and smiled, "To put our plates away, duh. Come on, I say we head down to the pool today."
Logan smiled at him and jumped off following him into the living room.
AN: Just FYI I wrote out this entire story and the way I would end it BEFORE even learning about the movie Inception. So… Lol. Just pointing that out there. Of course my story had been on hold for freakin' ever because I lost all my notes on it and was way too lazy to restart the process but after watching Inception I figured, "Hey, it's about time I finish up my story."
PS: Thank you all who reviewed and favorited/alerted my story! It means so much and really encourages me to write more! Just in case you're wondering, no, this ain't over yet(;