This is a kind of alternate ending thing for Blood. Hope you like it!

14. Smile

James was never going to forgive Rachael for this. Any feelings he'd previously had for her had vanished.

"Kendall!" He collapsed to his knees and slowly reached towards the body with a shaking hand. There was so much blood it made him feel sick. He ignored it and reached down to check for a pulse, remembering what Logan had taught him about all this stuff. "Please, Kendall, please be alive . . ."

James searched for a pulse, and found none. "No . . ." He was sobbing now, great tears poured from his eyes like upturned buckets. The hand on Kendall's neck grew desperate, and he used his other hand to push the hair back from his pale forehead. He pulled Kendall onto his lap, staring at his lifeless face. "I'm so sorry, Kendall," he whispered. "I don't hate you. I couldn't . . . you're my best friend . . . you can't die . . ."

He pulled out his cellphone.

"This is 911 dispatch. Please state your emergency."

"It's my friend! He's hurt . . . he's not breathing."

"Where are you?"

"Uh . . . in an ally to the left of . . . of McDonalds . . ."

"Are you injured?"

"Me? No!"

"I'll send an ambulance right away."

James hung up and started to cry again.

Then he felt a pulse. A faint pulse.

But Kendall wasn't breathing normally, and he still hadn't woken up. James was also worried about the amount of blood he'd lost, and the faint blue tinge to his lips.

Then he heard the faintest moan. "Kendall?" he said, not daring to hope for much.

Then Kendall's eyes opened slightly as he gasped for breath. James smiled through his tears. "Hey, man."

"What . . . are you doing here? . . ." Kendall asked quietly, unsuccessfully trying to lift his head.

"I was looking for you," James answered. "I came to apologise for what I said. I didn't mean it."

Kendall tried to smile. "It's ok. We're . . . cool . . ."

Kendall began to shiver violently as the blood loss began to set in. His face was white. "Stay with me, ok?" James said as he noticed Kendall's eyes had closed again.

There was no answer.

"Kendall!" James cried out, shaking him. The shivering got worse.

Then James heard sirens. The paramedics came running. "Step aside, kid!"

They placed Kendall on a stretcher. One of the paramedics pulled James aside as they got into the ambulance. "I'm going to need your names, ok?"

"Uh . . . I'm James Diamond, he's Kendall Knight."

"Ok, your address?"

"Um, we live at the Palmwoods, 2J."

"Can you give me your parents' numbers?"

James answered the rest of her questions in a daze.

"He's stopped breathing! We need to perform CPR!"

James watched in horror as they shoved some respirator thing down Kendall's throat.

He turned away, everything spinning. No, he thought determinedly. I won't faint. I won't . . .

He staggered. The same woman who'd been asking him the questions grabbed him by the arm, steadying him. "Sit here, James. You're about to collapse."

James sat in the chair, breathing hard.

%%%

Kendall opened his eyes to see Logan, Carlos and James staring at him. He opened his mouth to speak, but I turned into a cry of pain. He hurt everywhere. "Do you want us to get the doctor?" Carlos asked.

"No. Don't leave . . ." Kendall sat up. "What happened to me?" he asked, as he looked around the hospital ward.

"You were mugged. And they stabbed you . . ." James stopped. "I found you and called 911. In the ambulance, they had to give you CPR because you stopped breathing . . ."

Kendall closed his eyes again. "Oh."

"Katie and your mom were in here already, but you weren't awake yet. They'll be in soon, and Jo's coming later with Camille and Guitar Dude," Logan said.

Kendall nodded.

"Kendall." James was speaking again. "I'm sorry about what I said in the club. I apologised earlier, but you weren't really awake then, so it didn't count. I found out the truth about Rachael. She's a skunkbag! I feel like this whole mess is my fault."

Kendall shook his head and smiled. "It's not your fault, dude. I forgive you."

James sighed with relief. He'd been waiting for that forgiving smile all day.

That definitely wasn't as sad. Please review!