Sorry for the long wait. If you follow me on Tumblr you'll notice that I said work got busy. This is a bit shorter...had a bit of difficulty, which is funny because I had the first paragraph written for over a week and just wasn't sure where to go with it.
This is what I came up with.
Hope you enjoy!
Kendall fiddled with the tube cap between his fingers. He was holding it for James, acting as some sort of wing-man for his friend who was currently lathering sunblock girl in a copious amount of sunscreen.
After the whole blowup with Logan the two of them had settled into an uncomfortable silence. Awkward greetings and short glances being their only source of interaction, and it made Kendall a little frustrated.
Being unable to communicate with his best friend disturbed him to his very core. What if they couldn't get past this? What if they were stuck in an this awkward friendship for the rest of their lives? Would they even be friends anymore down the road?
Kendall tossed the cap into the air with his right hand and caught it in his left. The outbursts of emotions they'd exchanged during the whole ordeal seemed to have gotten out of hand. Almost as if they'd both taken one giant leap forward, skipping many smaller in their paths. Maybe they needed to backtrack a bit and figure out more behind what went down that day.
Something changed between them, Kendall just wasn't sure what it was yet.
"But maybe if we-"
"No Carlos."
"But what if it-"
"No Carlos."
"You don't know what could-"
"Carlos!" Logan shouted, cutting off his friends ever constant protest. The shorter boy had been spending the better half of their morning trying to convince the genius to go along with his plan. Said plan, orchestrated by their beloved manager, where Carlos was to convince Logan to meet the surgeon Gustavo had selected for him.
"I thought I was supposed to have a say in which Doctor was chosen for my procedure." Carlos nodded vigorously.
"Yeah and you will! But Gustavo said this guy was really super awesome!"
Logan eyed his friend sceptically, wondering why Gustavo would choose Carlos from his three friends to try and convince him to do something against his will.
"C'mon Logan, this could be really good for you...for all of us!" He sighed heavily when Logan did not budge.
"Look, I really didn't want to make you have to do this, but I care about you Logan, I only want you to be happy." Carlos sunk down onto the orange couch, Logan taking a seat beside him.
"Carlos, making me go see a doctor that-" He paused, lifting a hand to silence the shorter boy as he made to protest again, "that will be taking my measurements and signing me up for a consult, does not mean I'm making the choice here."
"But you could always just tell Gustavo afterwards if you don't really like him!" Carlos pressed on, sitting up to face the other brunet. Logan sighed, casting a glance off to the side before turning back to his friend. The Latino boy looked anxious and Logan felt a little bad for being stubborn.
"Carlos, I know you have good intentions and you're only looking out for me," he smiled when the shorter boy immediately nodded his head, "but I think Gustavo is in the wrong here." His friend instantly looked confused so Logan went to explain.
"I think Gustavo may be rushing me for the sake of the band - and believe me I care about what this does to the band too! It's just..." Logan took his lower lip between his teeth, "Carlos I'm worried – scared."
He watched as the shorter boys' expression softened, nodding to himself as he searched for a valid response.
"I'm sorry Logan, again," he sighed sadly looking up at the taller brunet, "I guess me and the guys are just not good at this." Carlos wasn't even sure what this was still and it frustrated him that his friend was entirely aware of that.
"Carlos the fact that you guys are trying his more than enough, okay?" He waited for the shorter boy to respond, but the Latino remained with his head hung low, staring down the bright sofa fabric.
Logan sighed for the umpteenth time, standing up from the sofa ,"you know what Carlitos?" Let's go meet this doctor, see if he's the right one for me. If not, we can go berate Gustavo for not allowing me any input on the decision." He inwardly cheered as the Latino immediately looked up at him, beaming happily before jumping off the sofa to join Logan.
As they exited Logan silently prayed this went as well as his meeting with his therapist, Dr. Gerald. Ignoring the tell-tale shiver up his back warning him of oncoming danger.
How bad could things turn out to be?
"So you think you're a girl?" The doctor standing before him rifled through a file of documents, gazing apathetically up at Logan every few seconds. Logan gripped the edge of the examination bed, his knuckles turning white. Carlos sat on a stool situated beside the examination bed, glancing back and forth between Logan and the doctor nervously.
"I don't think I am, I know I am." The doctor stopped rifling through the file and dropped it down carelessly on his desk. He leaned back against it and crossed his arms.
"Alright," he began, lifting one arm in Logan's direction, "then take off your pants and prove to me you're female."
Logan froze, struck with utter disbelief at what the doctor had just asked him to do.
"E-excuse me?" He managed to sputter out, glancing over at his shorter friend, noticing he was in the same state as himself.
The doctor pushed away from his desk and approached Logan. "Look Mr. Mitchell, I've dealt with you're kind before." And just as Logan went to ask what he meant by "you're kind" he continued.
"Momma play a little too much dress up with her baby boy? His voice came out so tauntingly and Logan had to dig his fingers into the bed cushion to stop himself from clocking this doctor in the face. He went to counter with a response but a flutter in his belly swallowed his words and fighting the urge to vomit.
Why couldn't he saying anything?"
"I think that's enough here." Carlos said solemnly, eyeing the doctor warily as he grabbed onto a numb Logan's hand and drug him out of the room.
Once through the doors, Logan let himself break down in the middle of the empty hallway. He heaved in a shaky breath and grasped onto the front of the shorter boys t-shirt. His shoulders shook as what had just transpired in the doctors office hit him like a ton of bricks.
Carlos glanced about the hallway as he clutched the taller boys shoulders comfortingly. "C'mon Logie, let's get of here okay? We can go get some McDonald's ice cream?" Logan nodded and released his grip from Carlos' shirt, opting for pressing against his side instead.
Carlos knew what happened in the doctors' office would eventually pass along and no longer bother the brunet.
He was more concerned about how Logan would react when he realized that there was more than just that one crummy asshole who felt the same way about Logan's condition.
That terrified Carlos beyond belief.
Logan and Carlos never managed to stop by Rocque Records to bitch out Gustavo on his terrible choice of doctor and highly evident lack in background check on the doctors credentials.
But to be honest it was less so that they managed to, and more so that Logan just wasn't feeling up to it today. Once they'd reached the McDonald's, he pleaded for Carlos to just go the the drive-thru so they could be in and out faster.
The genius just wanted to get back to their apartment and curl under the covers of his bed. Carlos knew it wasn't healthy to just let his friend give in to his wounded feelings, but he didn't have the heart to turn him down just then.
They made it back to the apartment just as Kendall and James were returning from the pool. Still sporting their swim shorts, James made a quick beeline for the bathroom, shouting dibs on the shower before the blond could get a word out.
So Kendall rolled his eyes and slumped against the orange couch, already occupied by his abnormally silent Latino best friend.
"Carlos? Is everything okay?" He flipped around the back end of the couch and joined the shorter boy. Carlos shook his head and Kendall frowned.
"What's wrong? Is it Logan? Where is he?" Honestly, Kendall had noticed Logan's absence when he'd walked into the apartment and had felt a little relieved and a lot guilty upon not seeing the little genius.
"We had a really bad visit to the doctors today." Carlos confessed, "Gustavo really knows how to pick 'em."
Kendall furrowed a brow, "bad how?" He couldn't help but notice the swelling anger in his chest when thinking of the possible 'bad' scenarios. He was aware that Logan had some sort of appointment today, he just didn't expect it to be the doctors. Not this soon.
"The guy basically accused Logan of making the whole thing up, flat out told him that he was wrong about what he was feeling." Carlos snorted in disgust, "he completely wrecked him in the span of fifteen minutes."
Kendall said nothing, but glanced at his bedroom door with a look of concern. He knew better than any one of his friends what Logan was going through and what he was thinking. The small brunet had out-poured his every thought and feeling to him just a few days prior.
Patting Carlos' shoulder he stood up from the couch and made his way to his shared bedroom. Maybe mending this awkward tension between him and Logan could be done through comforting his best friend. He gently twisted the handle of the bedroom and stepped into the dark room, shutting it slowly behind him.
Either way he was going to be there for Logan.
After Kendall had left the room, Carlos continued to brood on the couch, grumbling curses about the vicious doctor who'd torn one of his best friends apart.
"Hey Carlitos." James chimed, jumping onto the couch next to his short friend. He'd just finished his shower and had slipped on a pair of boxers and plain t-shirt. A towel was wrapped around his neck for him to later dry his still damp hair.
"Hey James." Carlos mumbled, subsiding from his curses to pick at loose threads from the sofa cushion. James wiped his ears with the towel, eyes never leaving the brooding Latino.
"S'matter buddy?"
"... Nothing." He grumbled, eyes never leaving the imaginary thread he was fixating himself with.
"Doesn't sound like it." James poked his shoulder, "c'mon, we're Party Kings you can tell me."
Carlos sighed, "it's complicated James." He really rather not go into detail again about the days events, but he knew if James continued to press, he'd be obligated to tell his friend.
"Did something happen as his appointment today?" James continued, eyeing his friend worriedly, "is Logan okay?"
Carlos nodded, "not really," he groaned in frustration, "but I should have done something James, something more!"
The pretty boy eyed Carlos with a look of confusion, having not heard the whole story he decided to wing it.
"I'm sure you did everything you could." Carlos shook his head.
"I didn't though, I should have told that doctor off James – he was such a jerk!" Carlos' expression dampened, "Logan looked so broken."
James watched the exchange of emotions in Carlos' eyes. He'd swear the boy was...
"I was there, and all I did was get him out of the room and by him a sundae..." Carlos continued to ramble on, the fire returning to his eyes.
James was almost sure of it now.
"I should have done something more..."
"Carlos?" James interrupted, "don't freak out or anything because I'm just asking here but..."
Carlos blinked and looked up at him, "what?"
"Are you...do you like, have a thing for Logan?" Carlos looked up at him incredulously.
"What? Why? Of course not James...no!" looking away, he bit down on his lower lip, thinking hard.
"I-I don't think so..." James could feel the panic fill his stomach as the Latino turned back to him with a look of defeat.
"Maybe...?"
So at least one more chapter to go and then I'll be planning a schedule which I'll be posting on Tumblr, showing which date(s) I'll be updating on.
This chapter was saved under the name 'chaptt'.
Don't forget to review!
Kind criticism feeds me.