A/N: Hey y'all! It's been quite a while, hasn't it? I've been through some ups and downs and writing was giving me anxiety attacks (I'm a strange one, I know). I had a few dedicated readers and I felt like I was letting them down by not finishing my story. I have a responsibility as writer and I'm choosing to go through with my duties. I've been trying to work on my reliability attribute.

Some things will be changing course but it's all going in...sort of...the same direction...

I hope I don't disappoint my loyal readers! I love you all so much and you're incredibly important to me.

Enjoy!

The next day Kendall found himself alone at the smoothie bar. His favorite pink smoothie wasn't as sweet as it could have been. Maybe there wasn't enough strawberry... He glanced up and caught sight of Logan and Camille sharing a lounge chair. They were tightly snug against each other reading a magazine and giggling.
...Or maybe it had nothing to do with the strawberries at all.
Feeling a vibration in his pocket, Kendall pulled out his cell and glanced at the name before he answered.
"What's up, Alex? Are we still on for our session, today?" He sat down in one of the patio chairs.
The phone line was crystal clear as the other singer spoke. "Totally. I was just calling for the same thing but you just gave me my answer. Did you get the directions?"
"Yeah. I drove past when I helped my mom go grocery shopping a few hours ago." Kendall played with the straw of his smoothie and absentmindedly watched the liquid in it go up and down.
"You okay, man?"
"Huh? Oh. Yeah I'm fine. I had a late night is all." He got up and deposited the cup into the trash. "But I'm totally ready to get this song done."
"Good. I'll see you soon then, dude."
The line went dead.
Kendall turned around to walk back up to the crib when he, again, saw Logan and Camille. Maybe she can put him back together again.

While upstairs trying to get ready to leave, Carlos busted into his room.
"WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN A GIRL TWEETS EMOJIS AFTER YOU ASKED HER HOW SHE LIKES HER CORN DOGS?!"
"Woah! Buddy! Calm down. Breathe." Kendall put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Are you better now?"
Carlos nodded his head in affirmation.
"Good. Kay. Maybe she doesn't like CORN DOGS and doesn't know how to tell you. Did you explain to her that they basically give you life?"
Again, nodding.
"There ya go. She probably just doesn't like-"
"GASP!" Carlos pointed a finger right at Kendall's nose. "Watch your mouth!"
"Carlos..."
"Maybe she meant to type letters or GASP maybe it's code. Maybe it's just something meant for me?! Maybe it's her way of-"
"CARLOS." Kendall grabbed the finger that was an inch from his nose. "Why don't you just ask her if she even likes them? And if she doesn't, then move on from it."
"But..."
"I love you buddy, but I have an appointment to make and if we keep doing this all day I'll have management on my back." He moved the finger and bopped Carlos on the nose. "If you'll excuse me..."
Kendall left his room and turned towards the hallway, almost running into Logan.

"These hallways were not designed well," the shorter brunette sighed under his breath.
"Sorry. I'm just trying to get away from Carlos; I should have watched where I was going." Kendall ran a hand through his hair.
Logan looked up at the ceiling and muttered, "Not exactly the apology I was looking for."
"Excuse me? And what apology would that be?"
"The one where you ask for my forgiveness because of how big of a turd-y friend you're being!"
"I can't believe you! I'm being the turd-y one? Me?" Kendall had raised his hands in exasperation. "You're the one that walked off last night after you dropped that bomb on me! That's a lot to take in; it's not my fault if you gave your heart to someone who has better things to do!"
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?" Logan heavily blinked a few times. "I'm sorry if my feelings got in the way of your poser dreams. You didn't even want to be in the music business and now all of a sudden it's the only thing important to you? My feelings might be in some trouble right now but at least I know who I am and what I want. My life is in order. I'm the one that finished their song. I have it together for the most part."
The two took a step back from each other.
"Ya know what, Kendall? I feel really sorry for you right now. You're chasing this impossible dream and you're so prepared to throw your friends away. James wouldn't even do that." Grabbing a duffel bag that was hanging on his door knob, Logan turned around and walked down the hallway and eventually out of the apartment.

"Unbelievable. You just can't stop, can you?"
Kendall glanced down and rolled his eyes at his sister. "Let it go Katie. It's none of your business."
He tried to by her but she shoved him back.
"No. You don't get to dismiss me like you did Logan. I'm your baby sister and I deserve to be treated better. You two are my family and I hate seeing you fight. Goodness knows it's tearing up Carlos." Katie reached up and smacked his head. "Fix it. Or I'm telling Mom everything."
The older boy scoffed. "What everything?"
"Every. Thing. Everything about you and Logan. Everything about you and that other singer. Everything about you and freshman year of high school. Everything." The little girl got on her tip toes and gave her brother a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Doofus. Don't make this worse."

Arriving outside the doors of the studio, Kendall dragged his fingers through his hair and replaced his beanie. Alex liked beanies, right?
He entered the building and after asking for help, he found himself outside the room where ATL was practicing. He could hear Rian banging away. Maybe if I go in while they're playing, they'll be too busy to notice and it'll be less awkward.
Swallowing, Kendall opened the door and let himself inside. He pulled out his phone to make it look like he was in the middle of something so he wouldn't have to look up.
"Hey, Pop Star! What's up?" A voice came through the monitor.
His idea failed and he lifted his head to greet the band. "Hey guys."
Jack, Zack, and Alex set their instruments down while Rian put his drumsticks away and made their way outside of the recording booth and stood around Kendall.
"How's the recording going?"
Alex spoke up. "Good, man. We're about finished with the album."
With a sarcastic dreamy sigh, Kendall said, "I bet that's nice. I can't remember what that's like."
"Poor Pop Star doesn't know what he's doing." Jack fake-wept.
Alex just shook his head. "Ready to get started? We just have to put our instruments away and then we can start writing."
"Yeah, of course! Just tell me where to go and I'll wait." Because that doesn't sound desperate at all…
"Solid, there's a room two doors to the left. You can hang in there until we're done." Alex said turning around and making his way back into the booth to take care of his things.

This cannot be an actual thing that's really happening. Kendall sat in one of the chairs and drummed his fingers against the table in excitement. How did he manage to get himself here? He was going to brainstorm a song with his musical idol. The one that sang him out of his terrible times growing up. It had to be a dream, right? Or a practical joke, at least. He took out his iPhone to check on it and noticed a text from his sister. - From: Katie
You better be working on fixing this. I'm not afraid of going to Mom. It wasn't me this time.
- Why can't you just mind your own business? If Logan wants to be reasonable we'll talk.

He put his phone back into his pocket as Alex walked into the room.
"You ready to be productive for once in your life?" The lead singer joked.
"Funny. It's hard work being a pop star. You try being famous for a week and tell me how it goes." 'Cheeky' should have been Kendall's middle name, he wore it well.
Alex merely shook his head with a smirk. He grabbed a pencil and some paper. "Should we attempt to get started now, Punk?"