Okay before you guys can launch your tomatoes and whatnot at me for not updating, let me give some shoutouts to those who reviewed.

RushingRusher
Aoiyou
bigtimecrazy123
Alley Petifier
Elevate
PizzaTop21
ElevatedSuperstar
jamesmaslowlover
callthedoc-tor

Thanks so much for your kind words! -heart-

I'm done.

Fire at will!


Katie looked into every corner and even resorted to taking the stairs in search of her brother. She had searched through every storey, the Palmwoods Park and even in the cabanas by the pool but still nothing. She asked everyone she saw but nobody had seen where her brother had gone to. Letting out a long and dreaded sigh, she plopped down into one of the couches in the lobby.

"Have a Palmwoods day!" She heard Mr Bitters greet.

Looking up, she saw a tall– and rather dashing, she might add– blonde making his way toward the elevators with a suitcase in hand. She was rather amazed by how much the man resembled her brother from behind. His hair was styled the same way and he looked pretty lanky and pale. He looked pretty friendly, but the tattoo on his right shoulder blade that peeked around his tank top told her otherwise. Katie knew better than to judge someone without getting to know them first, but she would be lying if she said this guy didn't give her the bad vibes.

Shrugging it off, she thought about what she should do next. Just then, a breathless Carlos appeared beside her, hands supporting his upper body weight on both knees. Apparently, she hadn't been the only one searching for Kendall without luck. His face was contorted in agony as he tried to regain his breathing. He slowed down his pants as he straightened up, checking if Katie had gotten any luck.

When Katie nodded her head no, his instant reaction was to puff his cheeks and huff. Katie's face lightened up a little as she reached for his arm in a reassuring gesture. Her eyes widened as she thought of one last place: the roof.

Both of them had never been there, but considering their time back in Minnesota, Kendall always sat on the roof of his house when he was too worked up.

The duo made a beeline for the roof, opting for the stairs to get there faster in all their haste. When they got up there, Carlos was already panting for the second time that day. Katie walked onto the roof of the building with a little more energy in her. She scanned the vast area but found nothing. Carlos came behind her slowly, his footsteps nearly unheard, catching Katie off-guard.

"Did you hear that?" His voice was a little scratchy.

The two of them strained their ears and took little steps to venture the empty floor. Carlos heard the noise again and pointed to its general direction. They made their way over and each of their heart constricted painfully at the sight that greeted them.

Bloody fists were pounding against the concrete wall, painting it with little splatters of scarlet. The sound of flesh against cement and the cries of frustration were all too painful to take in. Kendall made one final blow before noticing the two shocked figures of his family members.

"Get outta here!" He had bellowed before he could even process the thought of being angry at Katie and Carlos.

Katie winced at her brother's tone. She took one small and hesitant step forward, little tremors wrecking her frame. Kendall protested but made no move to stop it. She slowly and very timidly made her way to her brother and engulfed him in a heartwarming and bone-crushing hug. Kendall tried shaking the preteen off his torso but to no avail. Her embrace was too strong and he was weakened by the sobs that soon followed.

As he watched Kendall break down like that right in front of him, Carlos held his own tears at bay. He made his way over to the Knights as Katie finally made a move to unlock her arms around her brother.

"It's all her fault." Kendall hissed, the pain from his earlier actions finally getting to him.

Neither Katie nor Carlos questioned what Kendall meant, being much more concerned about the scraped flesh and possible broken bones on both fists. Katie texted Logan to inform him that Kendall was found while Carlos brought a protesting Kendall to the car. One can only wonder what more could the group of teens go through next.


Katie and Carlos entered the apartment with Kendall faced down. Logan got up from his position on the couch only to find Kendall's hands in braces. He let out a small gasp as he asked what had happened. Kendall made a move to go to his room but was forced onto the couch.

Logan demanded the entire story but none of them spoke. Kendall had his neck bent forward, his head and bangs hanging from the effects of gravity. Katie and Carlos each shifted in their sitting positions, either waiting for the other to speak up or for Kendall to explain himself. Logan asked again, his voice dropping several notches as he reminded himself that James was asleep. He looked straight at Kendall, eyes boring deep into his non-reacting friend. He was thankful for that or else he would've missed the low growl that escaped the blonde's lips.

"It's her fault," Kendall looked up and swallowed.

That effectively got Carlos' and Katie's attention. Both of them thought back to their time on the roof. Kendall had said the same thing. But what had he been implying? Logan had voiced out their thoughts sooner than they had planned.

"J-Jo." He replied shakily. "It's all her fault. She shouldn't have left. None of this would've happened if she hadn't left! I hate her! That-"

Logan cut him off before he let out any unnecessary words or woke up their slumbering friend. He offered Kendall to calm down as he rubbed soothing circles on said boy's back. Carlos slipped away from the group and made his way to his room. He needed to take a breather. As he got closer to his room, something was telling him to take a few more steps and enter James' room. He took the risk of following his instincts, stopping just in front of the door to James' room.

Fingers ready to twist open the door knob, a weird sound froze him momentarily. It sounded like rapid movement. And the sound of wood on cement. This didn't sound good. With one swift motion the door was opened and Carlos was making his way into the room. He wasn't greeted with the best sight.

James was thrashing around in his bed, one hand choking himself. A layer of sweat covered him from head to toe, effectively matting his hair down. His legs, both with and without the cast, were kicking about in every direction. Carlos had to dodge a few of his kicks before he could peel James' own hand from his throat. The moment his hand was removed, James' eyes popped open as he took in a large gasp.

James ripped his hand away from Carlos' grasp and pushed the boy away from him in the process. He yelled at Carlos to get away from him, whose lips quivered in return. James got up and curled himself in the corner of the bed when Carlos took a step forward. He kept saying no to Carlos, who tiptoed as subtly as he could towards his distraught friend. Carlos called out gently to his quivering bandmate. Said boy just cowered himself away.

At this point, Carlos' tears were gushing down his cheeks. Not wanting to scare James anymore, Carlos backtracked his steps. He silently wished Logan was here with him. Carlos stopped when he was at the door, eyes never leaving James' sobbing form.

Then, something sparked in him.

He could do this. He could handle it. He didn't need Logan to calm James down. He could do it all by himself.

Right?

Deciding he had contemplated enough, Carlos mustered up some new-found courage and made his way back to James' bed. James had his head in his arms, sobbing non-stop.

"James," his voice was soft, gentle, much like putting a baby to sleep. "I just want you to listen to me."

James' crying was slowing down, now. Carlos inwardly cheered to himself as he climbed onto the bed. Slowly, he placed an arm around James' back. When James flinched, so did Carlos but that only encouraged him to try again. On his second attempt, James was still. Carlos began rubbing circles onto his friend's back as he brought his other arm around James' waist, hugging him from the side.

"It's okay, it was just a dream. Everything's okay now. I'm right here, Carlos is right here. Nothing's gonna happen to you." Carlos cooed, bringing his head near James' and rocking their bodies reassuringly. "Kendall's back. Everything will be fine, I promise.

At that, James' head shot up. With puffy and red eyes, James asked if he could talk to Kendall. Carlos let go of James and adjusted his position on the bed such that he was facing the latter. He hesitantly told James to get some rest and that he could talk to Kendall later. James complied, repositioning himself on his bed as Carlos got off. Before leaving, Carlos made sure to sneak one last peek at the resting brunette before closing the door.


Kendall took a look at his brace. Great. Logan will be all over him for at least a month. He picked up a photographed frame of Jo. Should he cry? He didn't know. At the moment, he had mixed feelings about the blonde in the framed photograph. Maybe Logan is right. He really needed to get over Jo. He'd been told that countless of times. Why was this time any different?

"Think about those around you. Your longing for Jo not only affected you. It affected your family. It affected your friends. It affected your friendship with James. This needs to end, Kendall." Logan's words rang clearly through his mind.

But it seemed like everything he tried ended up coming down to nothing. No matter what he did to forget about her, Jo satyed on his mind. Perhaps he was letting this whole thing get to his head.

"It's mind over matter, Kendall. The more you think about her the more she won't leave your head. Look around. You have us. Mom, Logan, James, Carlos, our friends at The Palmwoods. Me. We can help you, Kendall. It just takes time. Please, we really need you. We need you back, Big Brother." Katie had cried.

"I promise, Katie. I promise, I'm coming back." He vowed, moving to grab his cellphone. "It just takes time."

This will be a long phone conversation.


HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I survived your tomatoes. Better luck next time!

Xoxo, Sasha