Title: And So It Goes
Author: SLynn
Rating: T
Pairings: Logan/Camille and Kendall/Jo
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Does anyone actually read this? If so, these characters and settings are not mine. I'm only borrowing.

Summary: Katie has a plan, but it's Kelly that ends up needing one.

Notes: Thanks for all the great reviews! And, since it's been awhile, thanks to my beta Tripp3235! All I have to say for myself after this chapter is, it's not over yet. Thanks, enjoy!

Chapter 10

"So," Kelly said as they sat down at the exact same table they had a few nights before. "Spill."

"What?"

"Exactly," Kelly said with a smile. "What is going on with you guys? I've never seen the four of you like this before. What's that about?"

Carlos let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. For one terrifying moment, he thought Kelly was asking him about something else entirely.

"Oh."

"Are you okay?" Kelly asked, leaning over and looking concerned.

"Yeah," he said, trying his best to make it sound true, but his heart was hammering in his chest so hard he was sure she could hear it.

"All right," she said, without looking terribly convinced. "And is everyone else as okay as you are?"

"Mostly," he said, and then shook his head. "Well, Logan's not."

"James sounded kind of mad at him. He wasn't the one that..." Kelly trailed of as she mimed punching someone.

"No," Carlos said quickly. "No, it's nothing like that. James is mad at Logan because... um, well, they fight. A lot."

Kelly took another sip of her coffee, nodding her head knowingly as she set her cup back down.

"You're not telling me something."

"Kelly, I..." Carlos began, stammering horribly.

"No," she said, cutting him off. "That's fine. I don't expect you to tell me all your secrets."

Carlos took an extra large drink from his coffee to be spared a reply.

"But," she said, "you would tell me if it was something serious, right? I really want to help."

"Of course," he returned. "I know that. Part of it is, I think we're just kind of cooped up together too much. I love them like brothers and I'd do anything for them, but sometimes... sometimes..."

"You can't stand them," Kelly provided.

"Sometimes," Carlos admitted with a laugh.

"Well, yeah," she laughed along with him. "That's what families are like."

"Tell me about it," he answered with a laugh. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"One brother," Kelly answered. "He's older and lives in New York. What about you? Besides the other 'dogs', of course."

"Three sisters," Carlos said. "All older. I was kind of a surprise. My dad said that after Teresa was born he'd given up on having a son and then nine years later..."

"How'd your mom take that?"

"You know, now that you mention it, I think she was kind of glad when this whole singing thing happened. She finally got all of us kids out of her house."

"I'm sure she misses you."

"She does," Carlos admitted. "I miss her, too."

"And now I've made you homesick," Kelly groaned, knocking her hand against her head. "I'm sorry. I'm really bad at this."

"Nah, I'm fine," he said, brushing it off.

"So there's really nothing wrong?" she asked, still concerned despite his dismissal of the situation. "Nothing that maybe you can't talk to Mrs. Knight about; that you might need me to handle?"

"You?" Carlos repeated, and just like that his heart was pounding furiously again.

"Of course. I'm always here for you."

"Really?"

"All of you."

"Oh."

"Are you sure you're all right?" Kelly asked, really concerned now.

"Yeah," Carlos said, but it sounded weak even to his own ears.

Kelly studied him silently for a few moments with a serious expression that gradually grew lighter.

"I know what it is," she said, nodding her head as the problem suddenly dawned on her.

"You do?" he said, but she didn't see the momentary terror in his eyes.

"Yep," she said, leaning back and smiling at him. "It's pretty obvious."

"It is?" Carlos gasped.

"Of course it is."

"Oh, man," he sighed, dropping his head to the table.

"James and Logan are fighting over a girl," Kelly said, taking another drink and mentally patting herself on the back for having figured it out.

"Excuse me?" Carlos asked, lifting his head up just enough to look up at Kelly's face.

"Don't worry," she said. "I won't tell them you told me."

Carlos pressed his cheek to the side of the table and let out a sigh of relief.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Kelly asked, leaning towards him and putting a hand to his forehead. "You really don't look good."

"I think it's the coffee," Carlos lied. "It's not sitting well in my stomach."

"Oh," Kelly said, looking a little worried. "Well, let's get out of here. I can drive you home; got my car is fixed."

"I think I'd rather walk."

"That's a really long walk, Carlos," Kelly said as they deposited their cups in the trash can and pushed open the coffee house doors.

He tried to argue the matter, he did, but she seemed really concerned, given how quiet he'd become, and wouldn't let up. By the time they reached the studio she'd brought up the word 'doctor' more than once, and Carlos figured the easiest way to avoid that needless torture, was to just accept a lift without any more complaint.

"Great," Kelly said, smiling brightly once more. "I'm just going to call Mrs. Knight..."

"Please don't."

"...and let her know you are on your way home, and that will be that."

By the time they were actually situated in the car and on their way to the Palms, Carlos had calmed down considerably, but was still rather anxious. On one hand, when he'd thought Kelly knew about his secret, he'd been panicky and sick. On the other hand, a huge part of him just wanted to tell her and get it out there and out of the way. Carlos really wasn't sure how he'd be able to keep seeing her on a daily basis and have her not find out, but then again, the idea of her actually knowing seemed equally humiliating.

What decided it for him in the end was his parents. They'd raised him to believe that the truth was never something to be afraid of, and with that in mind, Carlos took one last deep breath just as Kelly stopped the car in front of the Palms.

"Listen," he said quietly, his eyes trained on the dashboard. "I have to tell you something."

Kelly turned in her seat to face him but said nothing, only waited for him to continue.

"When I told you that James and Logan were fighting, that... that was true. And, you were kind of right, it was about a girl. But... okay, what happened," Carlos said, stopping and shifting towards her, without looking her in the eye, "...what happened is that Logan told the guys that I liked this girl. I didn't realize he'd known, and maybe I didn't really know myself, but because of that James has been mad at Logan. And I've been mad at him, too. Kendall, he's just trying to stay out of it... and that's why we're all kind of, kind of a mess."

"And this girl? Does she know?"

"No," Carlos said, smiling sadly as he stole a quick glance up at her. "She's... really kind of out of my league."

"Don't sell yourself short," Kelly said earnestly, patting him on the shoulder. "You're a great guy. You should talk to her. Tell her."

"You think so?"

"Yes, of course I do."

And when Kelly smiled at him and he smiled back, her first thought was that she might have actually gotten through and done some good. He really was a good guy and she hated seeing him get this upset over anything. The alarm bells in her head didn't start ringing until she'd realized that he'd stopped smiling. Carlos suddenly looked serious, too serious, and determined. By the time the bells were so loud that Kelly could no longer form a coherent thought, he was a breath away from her and then his lips were pressed gently against hers.

"Carlos," Kelly exclaimed, firmly pushing him away with the hand that was still planted on his shoulder.

"Oh, God," Carlos said, shaking his head as if emerging from a daze. "Kelly, I'm... I'm..."

"That was really inappropriate," she fired at him, putting both hands on the steering wheel of her car and looking down at the floorboards.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

"I'm twenty-three and you're like... like... seventeen?" she asked, tentatively hopeful that this wasn't as bad as she thought it was.

"Yeah," Carlos agreed half-heartily.

Kelly whipped around, glaring at him.

"In another fourteen and a half months."

"You're fifteen?" she gasped.

Carlos smiled weakly and nodded.

"I'm going to jail. I am going to jail."

"Kelly, I swear, I won't tell anyone what happened."

"Nothing happened," she yelled.

Carlos nodded a few times, afraid to look at her again.

"Okay," Kelly said, after several deep breaths and an extremely long an awkward pause. "Carlos, I'm sorry for how I reacted just now."

"It's fine."

"No," she said, shaking her head and sounding more at ease. "It's not. That... that was mean. I don't want to be mean to you."

"Kelly, I get it. You don't like me that way, and it's fine."

"Carlos," Kelly sighed, dropping her head to her chin and shutting her eyes, "you really are the sweetest guy I've met. Honest."

"Yeah?"

"But," she added before he could get his hopes up.

"There's always a but," he mumbled.

"I am eight years older than you are."

"My parents..." he started.

"Are adults."

Carlos looked her in the eyes and the truth of what she was saying struck.

"You're still a kid," she whispered, her eyes overly bright with unshed tears.

It was as if someone had dropped a lead balloon in his stomach. Suddenly, Carlos found he couldn't look at her and he couldn't speak. He just nodded dumbly and tried to smile.

"I'm really..."

"Don't," he said abruptly, shaking his head and realizing that if she finished that sentence, he might not be able to keep his emotions in check. "I'm... I'm going in now."

"Will you be okay?"

"Yeah," he said, still unable to even look at her, as he fumbled with the door and got out of the car as fast as possible.

"Goodbye," she called after him.

Carlos, who had already begun walking away, didn't turn back, just threw a hand up at his side in what he'd hoped passed for a decent wave.

Kelly watched him until he was inside the lobby, as she always did whenever she dropped one or all of the guys off at home, holding it together until he crossed over the entrance. Only then did she allow herself to cry.