(A/N: You know the drill, kiddos! :D I hope you like this chapter! Also! I think from here on out each chapter will be named after a LIGHTS song. Maybe I'll go back and rename chapters, too...)

When Logan Mitchell climbed into his silver Toyota Prius and shut the car door two weeks after Carlos woke up from his coma, he couldn't help notice that the rain was beginning to come down, reminding him of his and the boys' first encounter with one of his new best friends, Meena Collins. Which, unfortunately, would make his task at hand much more complicated. Logan sighed, a headache coming on: but what else was new, anyway?

Logan Mitchell, son of Greyson Mitchell and Jennifer Blake, was used to doing complicated things that often caused him headaches. When he was born, his parents were unmarried. They had been dating for about a year when they had finally decided to do the deed—and a condom break had led to him. Jennifer had been 20, and Greyson 22. They decided to move in and live with each other for his sake. So Logan had grown up with both parents, yes, but they may as well have never been around. Greyson, who had been in college at the time, was now a professor at Minneapolis University. He only came home on weekends. Jennifer, who had been a waitress in Minneapolis, was now getting her degree, here. His parents had always been busy when he was a young child, so he was constantly getting dropped off at Carlos, Logan, and Kendall's houses, and when he was at home, he often had a babysitter. He could recall trying to do simple things by himself: tying his shoes, riding a bike, learning to count, learning the alphabet.

And even now, when he knew how to do that, and much more, his parents were still never around.

He sighed, and started up the car, put on his seatbelt, checked his rearview mirrors, always the safe driver. Logan never talked on the phone, texted, or listened to music when he drove. Sometimes he wished he did. The distractions would save him from his own overly-analytical mind.

In the two weeks that Carlos had been awake, he had been spending as much time as possible with Meena. The two had already gone out on a date, and constantly giggled when they were with each other. They teased each other, too, and flirted like there was no tomorrow. Logan, Kendall, and James knew that they would be a couple, and soon.

And Meena still wouldn't talk to James.

This led Logan to his current predicament. Kendall had asked Meena to meet him at the supermarket, and there, he, James, and Logan were going to corner her and force her to speak to James. That would've been pretty easy, but it was raining, and, for good reasons, Meena hated rain with a passion, and was terrified of it.

Logan prayed she would leave the house.


When Logan entered the supermarket, he spotted Kendall sweeping the floor near the cash registers. Logan walked up to him, and Kendall turned around. He had the broom in one hand, and the other was at his side.

"Do you know if Meena left the house yet?" Kendall asked.

"No," Logan said, pulling out his phone to check for any new text messages. "She hasn't texted me."

"Yeah, me either," Kendall murmured, pulling out his own phone from his apron pocket.

"Is James here?"

"Mhmm," Kendall said, looking up at Logan. "He's in the candy aisle. Let's face it; Meena's gonna go to that aisle first."

Logan laughed, remembering the first time they experienced Meena on a sugar high. That had included random giggling, poking, and her saying things that were just plain odd. "Those two are really alike, aren't they? Meena and Carlos?"

Kendall laughed too, probably remembering the same thing Logan just had. "Yes, they really are." Then he frowned, and lowered his voice. "I think James sees that, too." He paused. "What do you think? Who should Meena be with?"

Logan sighed. This had been a topic of conversation between the two of them for a while now. Either way, one of their best friends missed out on someone pretty great. Someone would end up getting hurt. "I don't know," he said. The two were quiet until the door's bell rang, signaling someone entered. They turned and were met with Meena, who was frowning slightly. She had an umbrella in her hand, and she was gripping it like vice. She sat it onto Kendall's counter, and joined them.

"Hey, I'm here." She forced a smile at the two of them.

"Great. You okay?" Kendall asked, craning his neck to look at the rain.

She nodded, looking outside. "It's not too bad," she said, crossing her arms. "And it wouldn't hurt to at least try to get over my fear."

Logan smiled at her, patting her on the back. "Good for you, Meena."

She smiled in return and her eyes then scanned the store. "So, why exactly am I here?"

"It's a slow day today, so I was bored. But I can't leave, so I call you guys here." Kendall answered, his eyes meeting Logan's.

Her eyes lit up. "Sweet, adventures in a supermarket!"

Kendall slapped his forehead. "Oh dear God, what did I do?"

Meena's eyes glinted. "The real fun starts when Carlos gets here."

Immediately, Logan's face fell and Kendall removed his hand. "What?"

"I invited Carlos!" She replied happily, smiling wide. "But until then…" She put her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and put a smug look on her face. "To the candy aisle!" She pointed a finger, and then ran, much like a superhero. Now was the time.

Logan took off in the direction Meena did, and so did Kendall. Meena made it to the aisle and she stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted James. She turned to leave, but Logan blocked her way. Groaning, she looked past James to see if she could go that way; but Kendall had occupied that side, too. She was trapped.

"What's going on?" Meena asked, meeting Kendall's eyes. James blocked her vision of him, and crossed his arms.

"We got you here so you would talk to me."

Meena looked down at the floor, and refused to look at his face. Several moments passed, and James sighed.

"Listen to me, Meena. I'm sorry, ok?"

Finally, slowly, she raised her eyes to look at him. She sighed, her look of anger falling, and asked, "What for?"

"For my kiss complicating things for you."

Meena paused. "So, you're not sorry you kissed me?"

"No," James answered, honestly. "But I'm sorry it made things hard for you. I'm not gonna say I wish I could take it back and all that jazz, because then I'd be lying. I just wish that our kiss would have happened under different circumstances."

All was silent as Meena ran his words through her head a few times. She offered a small smile. "Apology accepted."

James grinned and went to hug her, but she took a step back and held her hand up. Her palm was facing him and she returned to her previously serious expression. "However, you have to understand that I just think of you as a friend, if we are going to continue to be friends, ok?"

James's face fell, and he stared at her. "You really only think of me as just a friend?"

Meena smiled. "You're one of my best friends. You, Logan, and Kendall are my best friends, besides my best friend back home. But you have to understand, James, I like Carlos, a lot."

James sighed. "Fine. I get it, we're just friends."

"Good," Meena said, grinning. "You can give me that hug now."

James raced over and hugged her. He picked her up, spun her around, and sat her down.

That's when the lightning cracked.

Immediately, Meena's eyes went wide, and she raced to the door, looking outside.

The rain outside was now similar to that of the night of the lightning strike. It was coming down in what looked like buckets, and lightning cracked and thunder roared. Like a scared puppy, she backed away from the door, and sat on the floor, rocking herself back and forth. The boys were at her side, and Logan pulled out his phone, texting Carlos to tell him to hurry.

"Meena, shhh, it's ok." James was in front of her, crouched down, holding her hand. As he stared into her eyes, he decided that they were vacant. They were not bright, glimmering, and lively as they usually were. That, paired with her position, and the life faded away from her face reminded James of a different person. Eerily, she also reminded him of a doll, and, at the same time, a small child.

It was scary seeing her like that.

She still rocked, the vacant look in her eyes. It was obvious to James that she did not have much strength in the way she failed to grip his hand back. Kendall and Logan were at both her sides, and she looked up as the bell jingled. Carlos quickly emerged in front of them.

"Oh my God, Meena." Kendall and Logan moved aside a bit so Carlos could take Meena into his arms. James still held one hand, Kendall held another, and Logan sat directly in front of her, smiling reassuringly.

She didn't even respond to Carlos, and he sighed, gently taking her head and resting it onto his chest. She turned, and removed her hands from James and Kendall's, sighing.

"I'm sorry," she said weakly, closing her eyes.

"It's okay," the boys responded immediately.

Meena's eyes were still closed.

"We'll stay here all night if you need us to," Kendall said, smiling at her. She opened her eyes and looked at them all, the scared expression still on her face.

"You'd do that for me, guys?"

"Of course!" James replied, enthusiastically.

Meena looked at Logan, and he smiled. "You're one of us now, Meena. You have been, ever since that day we all met."

Carlos looked down at her. "This wasn't exactly how I pictured it when you said we were going to hang out again," he said, smiling. "But that's okay. I'd do anything for you, Meena."

Meena said, "Me too, Carlos. That goes for all of you."

The four teens fell quiet. All that could be heard was the splashing of the rain hitting the streets, the occasional thunder clap, and the even more occasional lightning strike.

The odds of getting struck by lightning in the United States were 244,000 to one. More likely than winning the lottery. Meena wondered what the odds were for finding friends like these four amazing boys; and, more importantly, her finding someone as great as Carlos.

"So, what exactly are we, Carlos? Are we together?"

"Do you want to be?"

"Of course," she said, instantly.

Carlos beamed back at her. "Then I guess we are."

Meena was grinning from ear to ear, she was sure.

Kendall and Logan's eyes couldn't help but travel over to James.

He smiled, and gave them a thumbs up. They couldn't help but feel a bit bothered.

His eyes were as vacant as Meena's had been.

(A/N: Awwww, I feel bad for James in this chapter. D: In the next chapter, James and Meena work on getting their friendship back and you see a little more Meenlos. And a bit of Jeena too: plus my favorite, DRAMA! Kristen comes back into the picture!)