Kendall sat at the table and finished his apple and the bottle of water. He was still thirsty so he went back to the fridge and got another. He looked at the sandwiches, but he really wasn't that hungry, so he pushed the plate away. He was so tired and wanted nothing more than to go home and hang out with the guys. Then maybe he and James could all it an early night and have some more 'raincheck' time. He smiled to himself remembering the night before, he couldn't believe how lucky he was to have James in his life. He had never felt this kind of love before, certainly not with Jo.
After a few minutes his head started feeling thick and his thoughts became unfocused, so he rested his head on his arms, trying to stop the room from spinning. His arms and legs felt heavy and the room looked like it was tilting back and forth.
He heard the door open and someone walk in, but didn't have the strength to lift his head and look up. Someone ran their fingers through his hair and then he felt hot breath on his ear.
"How do you like me now?" Jessica asked as she wrapped her fingers in his hair and pulled.
Kendall tried to pull free, but couldn't move. She had wrapped her other arm around his chest and was nipping at his earlobe. He yelped when she bit down hard.
"Baby, did I hurt you?" she mocked as she bit him again.
"No marks, he needs to be intact for the meeting tomorrow," a man's voice said. Kendall was trying to focus on the voices but they were muffled, like he was wearing headphones.
"But daddy, he hurt my feelings," she said, giving Kendall's hair another hard tug.
"I SAID no marks. there will be plenty of time to play later."
She released him and another pair of arms encircled him, Kendall tried to fight them but all he could manage was a weak push. He felt himself being lifted off the chair and dragged across the room and a moment later was lying on the couch. He tried to focus his eyes, but things seemed to zoom in and then out and the lights twinkled like little stars. He tried to sit up but still couldn't move. "I must be sleeping and this is some weird dream," he thought to himself.
After a few minutes he found himself staring at the framed painting on the wall. It was a painting of a futuristic building, something that might be seen in a science fiction movie. It was tall and had strange angles to it, and the colors were steel and white with an occasional splash of blue and orange.
A moan drew his attention from the painting and he redirected his line of vision. A blonde girl was sitting on a desk and making out with an older man with gray hair. Kendall knew that he knew them from somewhere, but couldn't put a name to the blurred faces. "Gross," he thought with a shudder.
He refocused on the painting, trying to ignore the sounds of sloppy wet kisses coming from the other side of the room. he stared at the painting and could nearly see little spaceships flying around the building. "Carlos would really like this," he thought to himself. He continued staring at it until he drifted off to sleep.
James cried himself out and then drove home. He walked into the Palmwoods with his head down and ignored any greetings. He got to 2J and let himself in and headed straight for his room, slamming the door behind him.
Logan and Camille had been watching a movie in the living room and looked at each other as James rushed upstairs.
"Something's wrong," Logan said, jumping up to follow his friend.
"What do you think happened?" Camille asked.
"I don't know, but he was picking Kendall up and he's not with him," Logan said as he headed upstairs. Logan walked down the hallway to James and Kendall's room, he tried the handle, but it was locked. He knocked, "James, it's Logan, please open the door."
Not receiving an answer he knocked again, "James, please let me in." He heard movement and then the handle jiggled a little as James turned the lock.
Logan opened the door and his heart sank as he saw James curled up on his bed. He went over and sat next to him, "Buddy, what happened?"
James shook his head and curled up tighter, he could feel tears building again and he didn't want to cry again. "It doesn't matter anymore," he whispered.
"What doesn't matter?" Logan asked, rubbing small circles on his friend's back, trying to comfort him.
"Me. This. Us. Anything," James said as tears started to fall again.
"James, please tell me what happened," Logan begged.
"It's over," James said choking back a sob.
"What's over? Buddy, you're freaking me out please talk to me!" Logan begged.
"Logan?" Camille called quietly from the doorway.
Logan looked over and shook his head, "He won't tell me."
Camille walked over and sat on the other side of James. She looked at Logan and gave him a sad smile as she curled up behind James, wrapping her arms around him. "It's okay sweetie, let it out."
James shook his head, but a moment later couldn't hold in in any longer and sobs wracked his body. Camille held him close from behind and Logan took his hand and squeezed it to let him know that he was still there.
Kendall floated between barely being conscious to a deep dreaming sleep. He was dreaming that he and James were on the beach together. They'd been surfing and swimming and were now lying in the sun, and James was peppering Kendall's face with small kisses. After a couple of minutes Kendall didn't feel warm, he was cold and started shivering. "What's wrong baby?" James asked.
"So c-cold," Kendall stammered.
"Want me warm you up?" James smiled. Only James wasn't James...his beautiful face morphed into a woman with blonde hair who was smiling at him mockingly.
"N-No, get away from me!" Kendall said, pushing at her.
"You are not very nice to me, but I won't hold it against you too much," Jessica said as she straddled his waist. She reached down and kissed him, forcing her tongue into his mouth.
Kendall gagged and tried to turn his head but she her fingers were wrapped in his hair. After a minute she pulled off and licked her lips. "You may be worth the trouble after all," she smirked.
Kendall pushed her again and tried to roll over but still couldn't seem to get his limbs to work right and somehow his shoulders slipped over the side of the couch.
"Now is not the time for you to be hurt," Griffin said as he caught the teen before he fell off all the way. He pushed him back onto the couch, "Now behave."
Kendall's mind was starting to cloud over again as he pulled away from the older man. "H-Home."
Griffin waited for Kendall's eyes to close and looked at Jessica, "Go get Copen and tell him to get his tests done."
Jessica nodded and walked out of the office.
James cried for nearly twenty minutes and Camille and Logan never left his side. He was emotionally drained and feeling fairly numb by the time he'd calmed down.
Camille brushed his hair out of his face, "Can you tell us what happened?"
James took a ragged breath as he sat up against the headboard. "K-Kendall, h-he...h-he."
"Kendall what? Where is he? I thought you went to pick him up?" Logan asked.
"He's out with Jessica!" James said.
"What do you mean he's out with Jessica?" Logan asked.
"Who's Jessica?" Camille asked.
"Griffin's assistant," Logan said.
"I don't KNOW! Griffin said that they left about two hours ago and went to dinner and a club!" James said.
"He can't stand her, why would he go out with her?" Logan asked.
"I don't know but Griffin said that they make a cute couple. Maybe that's what he wants, someone he can go out with and have a 'normal' date and not be afraid of what people might say," James said quietly.
"James, Kendall loves you. Now you said Griffin told you that they went out, did he say whose idea it was...like maybe his?" Camille asked.
"She has a point, Griffin is always making us do things we don't want to do. Maybe this is just another one of his publicity schemes," Logan said.
"Do you really think so?" James asked.
"Have you tried calling him?" Camille asked.
"No...I j-just left. After finding the perfume and then Griffin telling me that, I-I just lost it," James admitted.
"What perfume?" Logan asked.
James sighed, "Carlos found a gift bag with perfume in it in the duffel he was going to borrow. He said it was probably for Mrs. Knight since Mother's Day is coming up."
"That makes sense," Camille said.
"Except that Mrs. Knight likes 'Interlude' which you can find at any department store. Why go someplace where you're going to pay twenty percent more, just for the name of the store?" James asked.
"Call and ask him," Logan said.
James bit his lip, "I'm scared. What if...what if that's what he wants."
Camille kissed his cheek as she grabbed his call phone. "It's not," she said as she found Kendall's number and pushed talk. She hit speaker and handed it back to James.
It rang three times and a woman answered, "Hello."
"Hi this is James, I was calling Kendall," James said.
"Oh, I'm sorry but Kenny's...indisposed at the moment."
"What does that mean exactly?" James asked..
"It means that he's busy at the moment, but I'd love it if you joined us James!" Jessica said sweetly.
"No thanks, can you just put him on please? It's important and I need to talk to him."
"I'm afraid we're busy, but I'll let him know that you called," Jessica said dismissively and hung up.
Camille looked at the phone in shock, "RUDE!"
James sat there for a moment staring at his phone. "Where's Carlos?"
"He's at the park with Stephanie, why?" Logan asked.
"I'm going to need you guys to give us some time after Kendall gets home," James said as he stood up.
"James, don't do anything you're going to regret," Logan said.
"There's nothing left to regret," James said, going to the closet. He opened it and started pulling his clothes out.
"What are you doing?" Logan asked.
"Moving back in with Carlos for awhile, you're going to have to bunk with Kendall," James said, tossing the clothes on the bed.
"James..." Logan started.
James held up his hand, "Look I just need some time, okay?"
"Okay," Logan agreed reluctantly.
"James, just talk to him. I'm sure you guys can work this out," Camille said.
"I will," James promised.
Kendall was unconscious again by the time Copen got to the office. He immediately sat next to the boy and checked his pulse and respiration. "How much did he get?"
"He had two waters," Griffin said.
Copen checked Kendall's eyes and found them dilated. "You're sure that's all?"
"Yes," Griffin said, pointing to the two bottles on the table.
"Alright, he seems a little deep though," Copen said, opening his bag. He pulled off Kendall's left shoe and ran his keys along the bottom of his foot and got no response. Next, he reached into his bag and pulled out small container and removed a needle. He gentle pushed it against the bottom of Kendall's foot. When he didn't get a response he made a quick jab into his big toe. Kendall's foot jerked and he mumbled something in his sleep.
"Well?" Griffin asked.
"He seems stable and has a pain response. He'll probably be coming around in the next hour or so," Copen said.
"Good," Griffin smiled.
"Griffin, how much longer are you going to do this?" Copen asked standing up.
"Until I'm done with him," Griffin said.
A phone range and Griffin nodded at Jessica. She found Kendall's cell in his jacket pocket and answered, "Hello."
"Hi this is James, I was calling Kendall."
"Oh, I'm sorry but Kenny's...indisposed at the moment."
"What does that mean exactly?" James asked.
"It means that he's busy at the moment, but I'd love it if you joined us James!" Jessica said sweetly.
"No thanks, can you just put him on please? It's important and I need to talk to him."
"I'm afraid we're busy, but I'll let him know that you called," Jessica said dismissively and hung up.
"Good girl," Griffin said.
"Thank you daddy," she smiled as she took his arm, kissing his cheek.
Copen shook his head in disgust, "What are you going to do when his parents ask what's happening to their son?"
"Tell them that he's getting the best medical care that money can buy. Besides, you're the one who 'diagnosed' him with anemia and exhaustion," Griffin said.
Copen bit back a response and headed for the door. He opened it and looked back, "We'll need to do more bloodwork in the next couple of days."
"Whatever you need," Griffin said, waving him out.
"What I NEED is for you to stop this before something worse happens," Copen said.
Griffin looked at him and appeared to be thinking it over, "By Monday."
"Are you serious?" Copen asked, not quite believing that Griffin was willing to stop.
Griffin nodded and smiled, "That should be long enough. Besides, there are others we can test on if need be."
"There won't be a need," Copen said.
"You never know. Now get out, we can handle it from here," Griffin ordered.
Copen went to say something but shook his head and closed the door behind him.
Kendall groaned as he stretched out his legs. His feet hit something hard and he realized he was in an enclosed space.
"Are you feeling any better? We'll be at the Palmwoods in a few minutes," Griffin said.
Kendall looked over at Griffin, who was sitting on the other side of the limo. "Y-Yeah, what happened?"
"Apparently you didn't eat enough and passed out from low blood sugar again. You really need to start eating lunch, especially since it's provided," Griffin admonished.
Kendall shook his head as he sat up. He took a deep breath, his head felt like it was going to explode and he felt sick to his stomach. "I had breakfast and I ate an apple at lunch. I was tired so I closed my eyes for a minute, What time is it?"
Griffin looked at his watch, "Nearly eight."
"Eight!?"
"Yes, and I want you to eat something and get some rest tonight. Harrison will be there to pick you all up at nine, drop you off and then drive the other boys on to Anaheim. He'll be staying there to bring them back, so either Parker or Jessica will take you home as I expect the other boys to be quite late," Griffin said.
"Parker?"
Griffin nodded towards the man driving, "Since Harrison will be busy with the other boys, I hired a limo service for the rest of the week."
"Okay," Kendall said, still trying to figure out where the time had gone.
"Also, tomorrow I want the investors to see the other side of the coin, so I want you to dress as the bad boy," Griffin said.
"Griffin, WHY is that necessary?" Kendall asked.
"Because I say it is, we'll see you at the office by nine-thirty," Griffin said as they pulled up in front of the Palmwoods.
Parker got out and opened the passenger door. "Thank you," Kendall said as he got out. He started inside, still feeling sick and sat down in the lobby when a wave of dizziness came over him. He lay his head back against the seat and closed his eyes.
"You're not going to get sick in my lobby, are you?" Bitters asked.
Kendall opened his eyes, "No, I just needed to sit down for a minute."
"Good, because Buddha Bob's left for the night and I don't want to have to clean it up."
"You won't," Kendall promised as he stood up, holding onto the arm of the chair.
"You look terrible, do you need help?" Bitters asked.
"No, but thank you," Kendall said.
"Don't let it go to your head or anything. I just don't want you passing out in the lobby, it's bad for business."
"Got it," Kendall smiled.
"Well...feel better hockeyhead," Bitters said with a small smile of his own.
"I will," Kendall said as he headed for the elevators. The ride up to the second floor seemed to take forever and Kendall was glad when the doors finally opened. He walked down the hallway to the apartment and let himself in.
The apartment was quiet and it seemed like no one was home. "Maybe they're down at the pool," Kendall thought as he headed upstairs. He was going to take a shower and some Tylenol and maybe the guys would be back by the time he was done. He went to his bedroom and found it dark. He pulled off his jacket on sat down his bed to catch his breath without turning on the light.
"Finally home?"
Kendall jumped and switched on the table lamp. "Hey, you scared me. Why are you sitting in the dark?"
"Where were you?" James asked, ignoring Kendall's question.
"I was at work...what's wrong?" Kendall asked, noting James' cold tone.
James shook his head, "Where were you?"
"I just told you I was at work. What's going on?"
James stood up and started pacing, "Really...you were at work? Because when we called a little while ago you weren't there and when I went to pick you up about five, you definitely weren't there. So I'm going to ask you one more time, where were you?"
Kendall looked up at him in complete confusion, "James, I was at Rocque Records the whole day. I never got a call from you and they just dropped me off."
"I guess your little girlfriend didn't give you the message then," James said angrily.
Kendall stood up and took James by the shoulders, "James, I don't know what you're talking about but I swear I was at work all day, ask Griffin."
James took Kendall's arms and pushed him away, "I DID talk to Griffin. He was there when I went to pick you up. He was the ONLY one there and he said that you and Jessica went out together so explain that!"
Kendall stumbled back and fell against the wall. He got back up and stared at James in shock, "It's not true, he JUST dropped me off! Jamie, please..."
"NO! YOU DON'T GET TO CALL ME THAT. NOT NOW, NOT AFTER BEING WITH HER!" James yelled, brushing away angry tears.
"Jamie..."
James grabbed Kendall by the arms and pushed him up against the wall, "I said don't call me that!"
Kendall looked at him, suddenly afraid. He'd never seen James this angry or hurt. He fought back tears as James' fingers dug into his arms, "James, hurts."
James realized that he was holding on too tightly and relaxed his hold. He looked into the familiar green eyes and took Kendall's head in his hands and leaned his forehead against the younger boy's. He desperately needed to hear the truth, no matter what it was. They could work things out if Kendall would be honest with him. "Just tell me where you were and I'll believe you. Just tell me the truth, please. I don't care if you were with her, I'll forgive you...PLEASE!"
Kendall was shaking from shock and confusion. He didn't understand what was going on, he'd been at work all day, James knew he couldn't stand Jessica, why would he think they'd been out together? He got a shooting pain in his head and was afraid that he was going to pass out. "James, I swear to God I was at work," he said as tears started to fall.
James clenched his jaw and choked back a sob, "Why are you still lying to me? How could you do this to me, to us? I loved you more than anything, more than anyone!"
"James, please! I'm not lying I was at work!" Kendall pleaded.
Their foreheads were still touching and James shook his head, "I was there, and you weren't. The only person that was there was Griffin and he was leaving."
He pushed away from Kendall who clutched at his arms, "James I was there, I never left."
James looked at Kendall and saw the tears falling from his eyes, as well as the blood that was now flowing from his nose. "Let go...or are you trying to ruin another one of my shirts?" James spat. James regretted the words as soon as he'd said them. He knew it wasn't Kendall's fault that he was sick, but the rest he couldn't forgive, not now. Not after he'd given him the chance to tell him the truth.
Kendall released him and pulled his own shirt up and held it to his face. He slowly slid down the wall and sat there with James looking down at him.
"I'm moving back in with Carlos and you need to stay away from me for awhile. I don't want to talk to you, I don't want hear anything else from you. This is the only way we can hope to save what's left of our friendship, so just give me some time." James grabbed his duffel bag and pillow and walked out the door, slamming it behind him.
Kendall sat there, trying to stem the flow of blood. He felt numb all over, except for a sharp pain in his chest. "I don't understand what's happening," he said as he started rocking back and forth. A couple of minutes later Kendall curled up on the floor, sobbing, "I don't understand!"