Carlos sighed in the dark, eyes already adjusted to the soft moonlight filtering into James's room. He most often slept in James's bed, loving it's large frame that gave them space to breathe...amongst other more intimate things.
But when it came time for sleep they became one entity, James with his long arms wrapped lovingly around Carlos, pressing the boys back to his strong chest even in his sleep. His soft breath caressed Carlos's neck, and it often made the other smile when James's nose brushed up against the back of his head, sleepily and subconsciously placing soft kisses there without even realizing it.
The little Latino loved it, and slept better in his love's embrace than any night in his own home back in Mexico. Carlos was fully aware that the only difference was James, and it made each moment they spent together that much more beautiful.
But...tonight...Carlos laid awake. James's arms and sweet touches doing little to comfort his troubled thoughts. His memories of this past day plagued him, and fear of the fall out made him worry for the morning's arrival.
Carlos had seen James angry. Besides a constant annoyance at the world in general (sans his little Latino of course) anger was the next best emotion James carried across his handsome features. Carlos knew where that anger stemmed from, even understood it, and didn't try to change it. But today, James's anger at his fellow Warblers was fiercer than any other time before. Carlos even had to shudder a little as he remembered just how far James's anger went.
Three Warblers were cut. His tall love had held to his promise, and after the first two were thoroughly and permanently excused from the practice room, the truth came tumbling out.
Burton. Carlos closed his eyes. Of course it was Burton. An old fear crept unexpectedly into his stomach, and on instinct he burrowed closer to James, who wrapped his arms tighter around the boy, shifting and mumbling quietly before his breath evened out again.
While he was just as aware of the rivalry between the two houses as every other student on campus, Carlos was surprised as to how far they would go. Bribes? Blackmail? All to get one of their own off a club that had nothing to do with them?
He opened his eyes, adjusting instantly to the dark shadows that hung silently across the room. It didn't make any sense. This was more than just some silly prank...some way of showing dominance. They wanted Logan hurt...or someone did. Carlos knew better than to assume Logan had done something in his short amount of time at this school to upset his entire dorm. No. This mess had to have come from the orders of someone else.
And Carlos had a sneaking suspicion as to who it was.
Suddenly a low vibration echoed in the room, causing Carlos to jerk back in surprise. James mumbled and shifted again, but Carlos knew he wouldn't awake. Now that hockey had started, James would be dead to the world once he slept, his exhaustion quickly overtaking him as soon as night came though.
Carlos slowly slid out of James's embrace to grab his phone on the nightstand, blinking in the dark when he realized he had a text.
"Whose texting me a three in the morning?" He mumbled curiously, opening his phone.
It was a number he didn't recognize, but the message was like a shot in the gut.
Meet me at the Linden tree.
Carlos's entire body froze, tense with fear, nerves...and anticipation. He knew...knew he should just put the phone away, crawl back into James's embrace and ignore the world until the sun came up.
But instead he slowly slid off the bed, keeping an eye on James as he threw on a sweatshirt and some sneakers, before quietly walking out the front door.
"I am such an idiot." Carlos muttered as he walked through the dark woods. Luckily he had thought to bring a flashlight...but didn't check the batteries. Now it was dead, and about as useless to him as a rock in his hand at the moment.
But then he heard some rustling in the bushes beside him and then realized he wished he had a heavy rock to throw at whatever monster was about to tackle him.
No. He shook his head. No monsters. "Get a grip Garcia." He muttered again, knowing the worst part of being in this kind of situation was to let his imagination get away from him. Instead he took a deep breath and steadied his nerves, allowing his senses to guide him.
It was good luck that the moon was full, allowing him some light as he tripped and stumbled his way along the path that led into the woods surrounding Dalton. Though he was familiar with these woods, it still did little to make him feel safe as he was alone here in the dark.
"James is totally going to kill me." Carlos shuddered at the thought of James realizing he had been traipsing about the woods at night by himself. He knew the boy was fiercely protective of him, and felt guilty for being here. "I should have just woken him up." He whispered to nobody. "He would have come with me." But it wasn't true. It was why he left James there. If he told him who it was they were going to meet, Carlos would have never been allowed to leave the bed.
Finally he came to the spot he had been instructed to go to. It wasn't a real Linden tree, but it was large and beautiful Oak. A towering giant amongst it's smaller subjects. It was the kind of tree one would imagine belonged in a fairy tale, and in the spring it's leaves were greener than all the other trees around it, and it's bark smooth and dark. But tonight, in the early October air, the branches were dark jagged arms reaching out into the night.
Pulling out his phone, he checked once more the time and to see if he had any messages. It was almost three thirty...but nothing new.
Sighing he looked around, but was alone. Taking a deep breath he called out, "If this is some kind of prank I swear to God I will kill-"
"Chill dude."
"Ah!" Carlos yelled as he jumped, turning around to regard the newcomer as he grasped his chest. His heart was beating against his ribs, and he swore it was ready to burst.
"You scared the crap out of me." Carlos said, walking over to the boy and punching him hard on the shoulder.
"Well you shouldn't have taken so long to get here." The other replied.
"Screw you Jett." Carlos said, crossing his arms angrily, "I don't even know why I came here in the first place."
Jett scowled at Carlos, his blue eyes dark pits in the moonlight. "You know why." He said, and Carlos gritted his teeth and turned away.
"Fine. I'm here." He shot his eyes back at Jett, blazing with fierce fury as he continued, "What do you want?"
Carlos was surprised when Jett reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him away from the tree, "We have to hurry. It's been too long as it is." He started dragging Carlos off the path, leading him deeper into the woods than Carlos ever had before.
"What are you talking about?" Carlos shot back, trying to jerk his hand away, but Jett held tight.
"You'll see. I need your help." Jett called back as they continued to run through the woods. Eventually they came to a spot Carlos didn't recognize, and Jett whispered, "And he needs your help to." Carlos looked around, seeing no one. Just more trees.
"Who?" Carlos asked, turning to Jett with a frown. He heard his phone beeping and took it out, just in time to watch it die. He sighed in frustration before he shoved it back into his pocket.
Jett let go of Carlos's hand and reached into his jacket to pull out a small hunting knife. Fear shot into Carlos's throat, but Jett walked away from him, heading over to a large tree. He turned to Carlos and repeated, "C'mon. We have to hurry." Then disappeared to the other side of the large tree.
Tentatively Carlos stepped closer, the moonlight finally showing that there was rope around the tree. Furrowing his eyebrows, Carlos eventually stepped around to where Jett was, and let out a strangled gasp at what he saw.
Furiously Jett was cutting through the thick ropes that held a pale form taunt against the trees large trunk. It took Carlos a moment to make out the features of belonging to the unconscious person, but when he did his entire body froze with realization.
No.
"Carlos come on!" Jett growled, working hard to cut the ropes. He spared a glance at the boy, and watched as he slowly walked up to the tree, caressing the face belonging to the boy he saw earlier that day.
"Logan." Carlos whispered, horror in his voice. The boy was unconscious, his head hanging low and his body as pale as the moon. When Carlos tried to shake Logan a bit, he saw that his friends lips were already turning blue, and his skin the same temperature as ice.
"Carlos." Jett said, trying to snap the other out of their trance. When Carlos turned to him, his face no longer bore shocked fear, but instead sheer fury was evident in every feature.
"What...did...you...do?" Carlos screamed before lunging himself at Jett, knocking the blond to the ground.
Unsuspecting this, Jett barely registered what had just happened before pain erupted across his jaw.
Carlos reared his fist back, ready to strike the fallen boy again as he straddled him, keeping him pinned.
"What the hell did you do to him?" Carlos screamed, his voice echoing in the dark forest. Just as he went to strike again, Jett grabbed his arm and expertly rolled them over so that now Carlos was pinned to the ground with Jett breathing heavily on top of him.
Carlos struggled and growled, trying to at least claw at the boys face, but stilled when Jett placed a free hand over Carlos's mouth, harshly whispering, "I know. I know. It's my fault. It's all my fault."
Hot tears for his friend were leaking out of Carlos's eyes as he regarded Jett, but he made no move to speak.
"I need your help. Please. We have to help him. He's been out here to long. I tried to get back here sooner...but this was the best that I could do." Slowly, Jett let go of Carlos, "Please."
Carlos scrambled to stand, watching as Jett grabbed his knife that had fallen in the scuffle and go back to work on the ropes.
"What happened?" Carlos demanded, walking over to stand beside Jett, who didn't answer. When the ropes were finally cut Jett shoved the knife into the belt of his jeans before slowly pulling Logan down from the tree. Carlos put his arms around the boy, lowering him to the ground before pulling off his own jacket and wrapping it around him. It would do little to help him, but Carlos had to try something.
"Logan." Carlos yelled, trying to get the boy to wake up. He looked up at Jett helplessly, watching as he gathered up the rope and then tossed it aside in the woods before walking over to the two.
Jett slid off his own jacket and wrapped it around Logan before lifting him up in his arms. Carlos had a stifle a sob as he watched Logan's head roll onto Jett's shoulder, but he still made no movement on his own.
"Is...is he...?" Carlos began, but was unable to finish his sentence, fearing the answer.
Jett shook his head, "No." But he didn't say how close Logan might have been. The night had grown dangerously cold, and the fact that they had left Logan soaking wet did nothing to help the boy.
"Let's go." Jett said, and began walking back towards the dorms.
"We have to take him to the hospital" Carlos said from besides Jett, "They can help him. We have to get him there now-"
"No." Jett said, not looking at Carlos as he walked back onto the path. He shifted Logan in his arms, his dead weight heavy.
Carlos froze in his tracks. "No? What do you mean no? Jett...he-he's practically-" Carlos couldn't continue, the words stuck in his throat.
But he didn't need to finish. Jett picked up from his cut off, "Logan's a scholarship student. If admin finds out about this there will be a whole investigation. Chances are Hawk will just make his life that much more miserable, and try to get him kicked out of the school."
Hawk. Carlos clenched his fists. He knew it."But-"
"And nothing will happen to help Logan. Because Griffin will care more about having a hockey coach that brings home the gold than what one kid has to suffer through." Jett shook his head, "No. He'll be fine once you get him into some dry clothes and warm him up. But you'll have to keep an eye on him. There's a chance he might get an pneumonia-"
But he didn't get the chance to finish because Carlos stepped in front of him, that anger back in his eyes.
Spending to much time with James, Jett mused. But said nothing out loud.
"You're telling me that Hawk's going to get away with this?" Carlos seethed, his voice dangerous.
Jett was silent for a moment, staring back at Carlos. He didn't want to go where he needed to go, but they were running out of time, and he knew he needed to convince Carlos to keep his mouth shut about this. Taking a deep breath, Jett breathed out, "He got away with what he did to you. Trust me...he'll get away with this."
Carlos's entire body froze at Jett's words. It killed the blond to say them, but he needed Carlos to remember what happens when someone goes after Hawk...and how bad it gets.
Pressing his lips together tight, Carlos glanced down at Logan before looking back up at Jett. Jett had to look away, because those damn brown eyes were dragging him down to places he had fought so hard to free himself from.
Only when he heard the gravel moving beneath Carlos's feet again did he chance to look up, watching Carlos walking away from them.
With a sigh he followed.
They got back to Fletcher twenty minutes later., making sure to take the long way around to avoid Burton. Carlos looked up at the dorm, then stopped short, a tremble in his breath as he said, "Shit. James's light is on." He turned back to Jett, "He'll know I'm gone by now."
Nodding, Jett shifted Logan and gestured for Carlos to walk through the front door. Tentatively Carlos opened the large doors that allowed entry into the old building. Calos turned back to Jett as the taller handed Logan to him.
Silence surrounded them, but Carlos could see the soft light coming from the third floor making it's way down the long staircase. Emotionally and physically exhausted, he sunk slowly to the cold marble floor, idly noticing that Logan's skin was much colder, and wrapped his arms around Logan. He sat there, looking up at Jett. His body began to shiver, from Logan's cold body pressed against his, and from staring at the boy who watched them with guarded eyes.
Carefully Jett grabbed his jacket, whispering, "If they're up just call out to them. Someone will come. Or just get help." He crouched down low, "Please. You know what'll happen if you get admin involved." He paused before he continued, "Get Logan out of Burton. Make him transfer here. He'll be safe here with you guys watching over him."
Carlos nodded, squeezing his eyes tight as the tears filled up behind the closed lids. When he heard Jett standing Carlos opened his eyes, looking back up at the boy. Just as Jett began to turn away, Carlos reached out, grabbing Jett's hand.
The blond turned back to Carlos, confusion in his eyes until Carlos spoke, "Why? Why did you come back for him? You didn't need to. You don't even like him."
Jett turned and stepped back to Carlos, then leaned forward to run a cold hand through the dark locks. He leaned forward, and placed a kiss upon the crown of Carlos's head. Pulling back only an inch, Jett whispered, "I wasn't there for you when you needed me. The least I could do is try to be there for someone who did."
Carlos didn't look up. Instead he watched Jett's shadow across the floor as it turned, and walked out the door.
"And the winner for best actor is...Kurt Hummel for his portrayal of Titus in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus!"
Kurt's hands flew to his face in glee, shock written on each feature. All around him in the large golden auditorium celebrities old and new stood and applauded this news, their clapping and cheering loud and unending.
Turning to his right Blaine sat beside him, smiling bright before he pulled him in for a quick kiss. "Go!" Blaine exclaimed, pushing his boyfriend out of his seat so he could begin the long walk down the aisle.
Everyone he passed were eager to shake his head or clap him on the back, shouting out words of encouragement. George Clooney held his hand up to his ear, mouthing "Call me!" Robert Downy Jr. winked at him.
His breath was gone by the time he jogged up the stage, hands eagerly outstretched to grasp the small golden statue behind held by Julia Roberts, with a smiling Queen Latifa to her right.
As the two woman stepped back, Kurt proudly walked up the podium, his smile bright as he looked over the sea of faces, waiting for his words.
Clearing his throat, Kurt began, "First I'd like to thank my father, for all his support." He held out a hand towards the audience, "To my husband, Blaine. I love you so much." A few cheers erupted as Kurt continued, "To Rachel Berry-in your face!" He yelled, causing some more cheering, "I'd like to thank the rest of the cast and crew, for all your hard wor-"
But his words were cut off as he heard his name being called. It was hard for him to tell who was the source, so he held up his hand to shield his eyes from the fierce light.
"I-uh-I-" Kurt tried to continue, but the yelling only got louder.
"Kurt! Kurt wake up!"
"I-I'd like...I'd like to thank-"
"Kurt wake up...NOW!"
Everything went black for a moment before Kurt felt his world...and then himself...tumbling away. He landed with a hard thud, and groaned not only from the pain in his shoulder, but from the realization that the best moment in his life was actually a dream.
"I'd like to thank the academy-" He mumbled, trying to get back into his dream, but he felt someone grab his shirt and lift him a few feet off the ground from where he landed when he fell off the bed.
"Get out of your acceptance speech dream and wake up." A voice growled beside him. Kurt groaned, but already knew who it was without opening his eyes.
"Jeeze James." Kurt mumbled, jerking his shoulder out of the boys grasp as he slowly stood, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, "Where's the fire?"
"Worse. Carlos is gone." Came a new voice. Kurt yawned as he finally opened his eyes, watching as a just as sleepy Kendall and then Blaine came stumbling into his room.
"Gone?" Kurt asked, looking over at James who was walking in circles and running his hands through his hair. "Did you try calling him?" Kurt suggested, then shrugged when James gave him glare.
"Of course I did Hummel. Did you hear him leave? Did you see anything?" James shot at the boy, walking over to him and getting into his face as he threw out desperate questions.
Holding up his hands in defense, Kurt shook his head, "Nope. Sorry. Afraid I'm a heavy sleeper. Got way too used to Finn's snores of thunder."
Yawning Kendall said, "I'm sure he's around somewhere. This is Carlos. He rarely stays more than ten feet away from you if he can help it."
"What if he couldn't? What if something horrible happened? What if-?" James ranted, but Blaine walked over and grabbed his friends shoulders.
"James. Stop. I'm sure Carlos is fine. If something was wrong he would have woken you up." Blaine implored with his friend to listen, but James could only shake his head.
"No. Something's not right. I know it. Something isn't-" His words were cut off again, but this time it wasn't by anyone in the room.
Instead, faintly, all three could hear a voice calling from the distance.
And that voice was calling for James.
Carlos yelled once again, desperately hoping his friends could hear him. It was the third time he had called for his boyfriend, but he was beginning to worry that he would have to leave Logan to get them. He knew he would never be able to bring Logan upstairs by himself, and needed everyone's help.
Suddenly he heard his name being called out. Gasping in surprise, Carlos called out once again, "James! Down here! On the first floor!"
The sounds of multiple footsteps racing down the stairs told Carlos that the others had heard him. He looked down and ran a hand gently along Logan's face. He was still too cold, but Carlos could see Logan's eyes moving behind his lids, as well as his chest slowly rising and falling. He wasn't gone. Not yet. "Hold on buddy."
"Carlos!" James yelled when he came to the landing, looking down onto the first floor and seeing his boyfriend on the floor, his arms wrapped around...something.
"Are you alright?" Kurt called out, following behind James with Blaine behind him, and Kendall casually trailing behind the others.
The tall blond hadn't been to worried when James busted into his room, demanding to know where his Latino lover had gone off to. Carlos was impetuous at times, and Kendall had no doubt the boy would show up. Now proven correct, he was more curious than worried as to the reason Carlos had gone on this midnight stroll.
But his curiosity turned to nerves when he watched James skid to a stop in front of Carlos, then let out a strangled, "Oh my God." Followed by a Kurt and Blaine also letting out small gasps of shock and surprise as they all fell around the strange bundle in the boys arms..
"Please." Carlos said to his friends as Kendall finished walking down the steps, "We have to get him upstairs. I don't know how long he's been like this-" But Carlos's words died when his eyes fell onto Kendall, now standing above him.
"Kendall-" Carlos began, watching his friend as he walked over. "Kendall I know. But we have to take care of him now-"
"Logan?" Kendall whispered as emotion boiled up inside him. "Oh my God Logan." Kendall whispered harshly as he fell to the floor. His hands instantly went to the boys face, feeling the cold seep into his skin. The blue lips, the frosted hair, the skin so pale he could see the veins pumping blue blood through the body. Shock and tears bubbled up inside him, and he turned hard eyes to Carlos, "What happened?" He didn't even bother to try to keep the harshness out of his voice.
"Later." Blaine said, pushing Carlos aside to help hoist Logan up. Kendall let out a possessive growl and nearly swore at the boy, but Blaine anticipated this, instead barking out orders, "Kurt go get some extra blankets. Meet me in Kendall's room." He turned to James, "Take Carlos upstairs and get some clothes. Winter ones." When the others began running upstairs, Blaine turned to Kendall, "Help me carry him upstairs."
Kendall nearly tore Logan out of Blaine's arms, "I can do it-"
"We'll both do it." Blaine shot back, but Kendall cradled Logan close to his chest, standing as he lifted the boy in his arms. His face was a mask of fury, pale and tight. Blaine could see the boys muscles tremble as he grasped onto the boy, and knew to let this one go.
"Fine." Blaine huffed, stepping back to let Kendall walk upstairs. The prefect frowned at the sorrow that laced his friends eyes, but said nothing, knowing there was nothing to be said.
As he went to turn and follow Kendall upstairs, he saw some movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked out the window at the large quad separating the two dorms, and could have sworn he saw a figure stepping out from behind a tree. He stood for a moment, motionless, but when he saw nothing else, he sighed and walked away.
Jett sighed in relief. He knew he should have just kept walking back to his dorm, but he couldn't do it. Instead he waited by the tree, watching through the window to make sure the others found Carlos and Logan.
He watched as they converged, then quickly split up. It was a hollow victory to see the misery in Kendall's eyes, but he pushed that thought away.
He was surprised when Blaine looked out the window, so he quickly tried to melt into the shadows of the tree, hiding from the boy. For a moment Jett worried that the meddlesome prefect would come outside to investigate, but luckily he followed his friends back up stairs.
Pulling his jacket tight against him, Jett turned and jogged back to his dorm. There were no lights in any of the windows, which he knew granted him a better chance of sneaking back inside without being caught by anyone.
He slipped in through the back door that he had snuck out of, and quietly walked a few steps into the dark room, intent on going back up to his bed and trying to pretend this night never happened.
Barely had he gotten a few feet when a sudden weight pushed him heavily against the wall, his face hitting it first. For a moment he struggled, but the weight against him was strong and unyielding.
"Taking a midnight stroll huh Stetson?" The voice sneered, causing shivers to rack up the boys back.
"Hawk." Jett grunted, then moaned in pain when the man pushed Jett even further into the wall.
"I'll bet a pile a'dead Warblers that you went to rescue that pathetic excuse of existence...didn't you?"Hawk sneered, his voice close to Jett's ear. When the boy remained silent, Hawk pulled Jett back and pushed him hard against the wall again, snarling, "Didn't you?"
Jett continued his silence, but Hawk just laughed before letting him go. He already knew the answer. When they all got back to the dorm earlier that night after leaving Logan alone in the forest, he had purposely kept an eye on Jett for hours. He didn't want to believe the boy would betray him, but he had been wrong, and Jett had snuck out when he wasn't paying attention.
"I wont forget this Jett." The man said, then walked away, leaving Jett with his hand to his throat, fear in his eyes.
It took a couple minutes for Jett to calm his breathing. He was shivering...and it wasn't from the cold. After swallowing a few times, he eventually began making his way down the hallway, towards the stairs and up to his room.
He never saw the dark figure step out from the kitchenette near the stairs, a frown on his face and worry in his eyes.
Kendall paced back and forth outside his bedroom as Kurt and Blaine had taken Logan to help get him into some warm clothing. Kendall was immediately shooed out.
"You're crushing on Logan. It wouldn't be right for you to see him naked." Kurt explained before slamming the door in his face. Kendall would have broken the door down if they weren't right, but they were. It wouldn't be right for him to be in there, but his worries were tearing at his heart.
Questions about Logan's condition plagued his mind. How did this happen? Why did it happen?
Voices trailing out of James's bedroom caught Kendall's attention, and he decided while he waited to find answers to those questions.
He strode over to the door, opening it to find Carlos sitting on the bed with James standing beside him. Both looked up when he entered, and Kendall could feel the tense atmosphere in the room.
"Carlos was just about to tell us what happened." James said, his arms crossed as he turned back to his boyfriend. A part of him was furious that Carlos was hiding this. He trusted the boy with everything, and it tore at him to think that Carlos didn't do the same with him.
The smaller boy looked exhausted, his eyes staring at the bed. Kendall almost felt bad for wanting to push the boy to talk, but his worry for Carlos paled in comparison to the boy fighting for his life in his bedroom. He stood beside James, pleading, "Please Carlos. What happened?"
Looking up at the two with tears in his eyes, Carlos said, "I-I don't know. I don't know why this happened."
"Do you know who did this to him?" James asked, desperately wanting to comfort his love, but he remained where he was.
Nodding as the tears fell, Carlos croaked out, "It-it was Hawk."
"Hawk?" Kendall shot back, "But why? Why would he do this to Logan? He's never done anything to him."
Shaking his head, Carlos said, "I don't know. Jett said-" But James cut him off.
"Jett? What does Jett have to do with this?"
Pleading with his love to understand, Carlos stuttered out, "H-he's the o-one who s-showed me where Logan was."
Jealousy surged through James's chest as he exclaimed, "So Jett just texted you to meet in the middle of the night in the woods. And you just went?"
"You wouldn't have let me go if I told you." Carlos shot back.
"Why would you want to go in the first place?" James answered, turning away from Carlos to run his hands through his hair. He felt like his whole world was falling apart.
"James-" Carlos began as he slid off the bed, but the taller boy turned back to him, fire in his eyes that was mixed with tears.
"Please. Please tell me you aren't...you and Jett...you're not-"
"No!" Carlos yelled, throwing himself into James's chest. He wrapped his arms tight around the boy, wondering how this night had gotten so terrible. "No. I'm not cheating on you. I would never do that."
Carlos looked up into James's eyes, pleading with him to believe him. "You're my everything James."
"Then why did you go?" James asked, tentatively placing his hands around Carlos. He wanted to hold onto his anger, but he knew he could never stay angry at the boy for long. Instead he was scared. So damn scared that he was about to loose the one thing he loved more than anything else in the world. He already knew he wouldn't be able to live a day without Carlos loving him, and was so afraid that Carlos was about to walk away from their everything for a man he hated.
"Because I know Jett. He wouldn't have had any reason to text me to meet unless it was important." Carlos answered, "I'm sorry okay? I-I shouldn't have just taken off like that. I'm sorry that I scared you and that I didn't tell you." He took a deep breath before he continued, "But I'm not sorry I went." He grasped onto James's shirt, "Because we need to get Logan out of Burton."
"That's where everything doesn't make sense. Why? I know that what happened with the Warblers was because of Burton, but that's no reason to do to Logan what they did." Kendall clenched his hands tight, fury pushing against his chest to be released. His friends had told him the true reason as to why Logan had quit the Warblers, and Kendall wished that Logan trusted him enough to tell him the truth himself. But it still didn't answer any questions.
"Something must have happened to make Hawk angry." James said, searching his loves eyes for any untruths. Carlos clutched onto him as if he were about to disappear any moment. As much as James worried about Logan, his number one concern was Carlos. He trusted his love, but the lingering feelings from waking and finding Carlos gone, to hearing that he left to meet Jett in the woods twisted him inside.
"But what's so different about today as opposed to any other day?" Carlos asked, turning to Kendall. Suddenly he felt his love tense, and looked back at James. But James was looking at Kendall, his face pale with realization.
Carlos turned back to Kendall, who was now sharing James's look for complete shock.
"What?" Carlos asked.
Swallowing thickly, Kendall said with a hoarse whisper, "James. Y-you...you don't think-"
"There's no way to be certain." James said, but his voice wasn't so convincing.
"Oh my God." Kendall's voice broke as he spoke. He sat heavily in the desk chair, holding his head in his hands. "It's my fault. It's all my fault." He continued. There was no denying it. It was the only thing that made sense. "They think Logan did it. And so...they punished him..." His voice broke as he spoke, mostly to himself.
"Did what?" Carlos asked, looking back up at James. But his boyfriend was watching Kendall and his movements, a thoughtful and almost worried expression on his face. Jett had said it was his fault, so why did Kendall think it was his? Nothing seemed to make sense. Just when Carlos was about to ask again, James started pushing him gently away from his body, quietly saying, "Go check on the others."
"But." Carlos began to say, but James turned to him and said almost sharply, "Carlos go-"
Yet James didn't get to finish his sentence. Kendall let out a loud frustrated growl as he stood, took the chair he had been sitting on in his hands, and threw it heavily against the wall. Luckily it was a sturdy chair, as well as a strong wall, and no damage was done. But Kendall was still fuming, his breathing coming out in quick, angry gasps.
With quick, fluid movements, James pushed Carlos behind him, shielding his boyfriend from their friends sudden wrath. Carlos let out a small whimper of fear, and grasped onto the back of James's shirt. He had seen Kendall angry before, and was scared this would be a repeat of their friends anger.
"Kendall..." James began, hoping to keep this from escalating. His blond friend was running his hands through his hair, guilt evident on his face. "This isn't your fault."
Letting out a sharp sarcastic laugh, Kendall said, "Nice try James. But we both know that that's not true."
A figure appeared at James's door, his voice high as he asked, "What the hell was that banging sound?" Kurt shot a narrowed look at the fallen chair, and his pacing friend. Letting out a sigh, he knew that Kendall would take this hard. "Blaine and I got Logan into bed." Kurt began as he walked over to Kendall. He ignored James furiously shaking his head, "Do you want to come see him?"
Kendall looked at Kurt helplessly, "I-I don't..." But Kurt reached out and gently took Kendall's hand, giving him a soft smile.
"It's okay. He's still asleep, but he's got some color back and he doesn't feel as cold anymore, which is a good sign. It's late, and we can figure the rest of this mess out in the morning okay?" His tone was as soft as his touch as he calmly led a now more subdued Kendall out of the bedroom.
Carlos and James shared a look, surprised at their friends skills at calming. They had never seen Kurt like that before, and both made a mental note to make sure he was around in case Kendall got upset again. But both were silently worried. Kendall's anger wasn't anything new to them, but so far the boy had a tight grasp on it. The last thing they wanted was that grasp to slip with Logan in the picture.
"You okay?" James asked, turning around and pulling Carlos back to his chest, running trembling hands into Carlos's hair. He had been so worried that things were about to escalate and didn't want his love to be caught in between.
Nodding into his boyfriends firm chest, Carlos said, "I really am sorry."
"Shh baby. It's okay." James whispered, leaning his head down so he could kiss Carlos's head, "We'll figure this out okay?"
Carlos looked up and stood on his tiptoes so he could kiss James on the mouth. He grasped onto James's shirt, and tried to convey every ounce of love he felt for the boy in that one kiss.
When he pulled back James had a small smile on his face, but his eyes were still nervous, "We still need to talk about things, and I'll explain to you why Kendall feels so guilty. But that was definitely a great first step towards making me me feel way better."
Carlos smiled as well as blushed gently. He then took James's hand and said, "I know. But first let's go see Logan."
Voices filtered around Kendall, discussing what the next step to help Logan needed to be. But he heard nothing anyone said. Logan laid safely on the bed wrapped up in blankets. Color had returned to his face, as Kurt had said, and Kendall was glad for it. He leaned over the bed and ran a hand through the boys dark locks, glad to feel some warmth in the touch.
He brought his lips down to Logan's temple, and placed a soft kiss there. When he pulled back an inch he whispered to the boy, "I'm so sorry Logan. I'm so...so sorry." He had to pause to swallow back emotion that was rising in his throat, "I promise I'll take care of you. I promise I'll make this better."
There was no response. Logan just slept on.
Logan was running. His legs pumped fast as he could hear the blood in his ears. Someone bad was chasing him, but he didn't know what it was. All he knew was that if he stopped, he would never be able to move again.
Hands reached out from the darkness, and he could only see trees passing by him in quick blurs. They wanted to drag him back down. Down into the darkness, tied up and alone.
So he ran. And ran. And ran...
Hands shot up from the ground. He screamed in fear, but the hands got him. He fell to the earth, digging his cold and tired fingers into the ground. But the hands were dragging him down. Into the dirt, under the earth.
Into the darkness...
Logan woke up gasping for air. His chest was heaving as he gulped in greedy breaths of air. Then, just as quickly as he had opened his eyes, he closed them again. The bright sunlight assaulted his eyes, and he felt a large headache forming just behind those abused orbs.
He moaned quietly, bringing up a hand over his closed eyes to keep even more sun out. His body ached, and he had trouble breathing.
What a nightmare. He thought, remembering vaguely of him running, and the trees...
Trees...
Suddenly his body froze. Dread filled his stomach, and he could feel himself sweating. Trees. Hawk. Burton. Him.
It wasn't a dream. At least that part wasn't. No. Logan knew that wasn't a dream.
He clenched the bedsheets and tried to calm his heavy breathing as the memories of that night assaulted him. They had left him there. Alone in the dark, freezing to his core. A joke. A prank. Nothing more than something to amuse them. They couldn't care less if he lived...or died.
Logan buried his face into the pillow, fighting back hot tears. He had been so wrong. So very wrong to believe that Dalton would be any different. What a mess. He really thought he had a chance at a better life, a better future. But so far all he had been was the joke the rest of the students enjoyed pushing around.
His heart sank. So much for a new life.
When he finally got his emotions under control, he slowly lifted his head, expecting to see Cam fast asleep in the bed beside him.
Instead he was staring right at a window, the light blinding him once more.
Letting out another groan, he turned in the bed, rubbing at his eyes, then opened them. He had to blink a few times to get them to adjust, and when they did, his mouth fell open in shock.
This wasn't his room, but there were people in it he definitely recognized. Kurt and Blaine were snuggled under a thick blanket on a couch at the far end of the room. On the floor were James and Carlos, wrapped up close as they shared one large sleeping bag.
Then, to Logan's left, was Kendall. The blond was half sprawled on the bed, his other half sitting on a chair pulled right up to the bed. One of his arms was jutting out towards the pillows, his hand palm up. For a moment Logan was confused, then realization dawned on him with a gentle blush. Kendall must have been holding his hand.
Knowing that, it did much to ease his hurt heart.
Laying back down he drew the blankets over him, and began to study Kendall's face in the morning light. The boy was breathing softly, his chest rising and falling. Gentle wisps of blond hair fell over his face, brushing against his nose and eyebrows. Logan felt a longing to reach out and brush them away, but he held back.
He didn't know what happened after he passed out last night, but somehow he had ended up here, and felt more safe than he had ever been in a long time.
Suddenly Kendall began to stir. Logan tried to decide if he should pretend to be asleep for a moment, but Kendall opened up his eyes quickly, and those beautiful green orbs settled onto Logan's tired face.
"M-morning." Logan muttered, clenching the blankets close to his face.
Kendall blinked, then emotion fell over his face. Logan could see fear, relief...and then guilt.
"Logan." Kendall whispered, pushing himself up, "Oh Logan thank God you're okay." Reaching out a arm, Kendall wrapped his hand around Logan's head and brought it in, pressing their heads gently together in a sort of hug. "Thank God." The taller one whispered again before he pulled away, but only just, "How are you feeling?"
Blushing a bright red from being so close to Kendall, Logan looked into those green eyes and fought down flips in his stomach, "O-okay. Tired." He croaked out, "Confused."
Guilt flashed in Kendall's eyes again as he let go of Logan's head. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted when a voice called out, "Logan. You're up!" Though the voice was full of sleep, there was a definite lace of excitement in it.
Kendall and Logan turned to see Kurt stumbling off the couch after throwing off the blanket.
"Blaine. Get up. Logan's alive!" Kurt said, poking his boyfriend gently in the side before he slid of the couch to walk over to the two. Blaine groaned, muttered, "Hurray." Then turned his back to the others as he cuddled closer to the couch, pulling the blanket over his head before falling asleep again.
"You haven't gotten as much sleep as you should." Kurt said, rubbing his eyes with one hand, while the other hand reached out and caressed Logan's forehead. The little diva was glad to see that Logan didn't flinch when he was around anymore, but he still wasn't happy to find the boys head warm and his cheeks flushed.
"How's you're breathing? And are you cold...or hot? Are you hungry? How's your stomach-?"
"Chill Kurt." James muttered from the floor, "He's awake and talking. It's a good sign." James's voice croaked as he spoke, and Carlos only mumbled and shifted closer to James.
Huffing, Kurt turned back to Logan, "I just want to make sure. There's no reason to be too cautious."
Logan blushed and shook his head, sitting up in the bed, "Really I'm fine. Thanks though." He brought his hands up to his shirt, not recognizing the clothes, "Can someone explain to me how I got here?"
Both Kurt and Kendall looked at each other, sharing a silent look.
"Um." Logan said, "Or not...?"
Kendall looked back at Logan, "We're not entirely sure of the whole story."
"Carlos knows most of it. But the jist is he and Jett brought you here-"
"Jett?" Logan exclaimed, his brow furrowing in confusion, "Wha-? Him?" Logan ran his hands through his hair, "I'm so confused."
Kurt turned to Kendall, who so far had been looking at Logan like he wanted to hug the boy and never let go, and then nudged him with his elbow. When he got the blonds attention, he then jerked his head and nodded it towards Logan. Kendall looked at him confused, so Kurt silently sighed, rolled his eyes, and mouthed "Comfort him!"
Jumping to life, Kendall turned back to Logan, who had completely missed the entire exchange has he stared at the bed trying to understand what Kurt had just said. Gently sitting on the edge of the bed, Kendall tentatively reached out and took Logan's hand. The shorter boy jerked at the touch, then visibly blushed when his eyes rested on Kendall.
Kurt had to pinch himself to keep from cooing about how cute they looked.
"Can you tell us what happened?" Kendall said, hoping he was wrong about his suspicious. But, he knew inside he was right. Logan had suffered because of him. "If you don't want to talk about it you don't have to." Kendall finished, giving Logan a soft smile.
Logan bit his lip. He didn't want Kendall to find out that what happened was because of his prank, but when he began stuttering and trying to come up with some sort of lie, Kendall looked at the bed and whispered dejectedly, "It was my fault...wasn't it?"
"No!" Logan exclaimed, causing James to moan and throw a pillow in their direction.
"Confess your secrets more quietly please!" He called out from the floor.
Rolling his eyes, Kurt turned back to the two, Logan who was grasping onto Kendall's hand and Kendall who was staring at Logan with so much guilt in his eyes.
"Look..." Logan said, "I-I know about the prank. Hawk-" He had to pause for a moment, remembering the man brought shivers to his body, "He-he made me take blame for it. He said that it was Dak who did it, and if he went to the school about it, Dak would loose his scholarship. But if I took the blame I wouldn't get into as much trouble." He sighed, "It's not your fault Kendall."
Kurt couldn't believe what he had heard. Granted, he was used to teachers pulling strings on their students to get them to do what they wanted, but even coach Sylvester had never gone so far as to do something like this...as far as he knew anyways. What was also troubling him was that Logan seemed to be taking it all in stride. Like he hadn't just almost been seriously hurt by the actions of those who should be taking care of them.
He furrowed his brow in confusion. Something wasn't right. Logan should be much more upset about this, not trying to comfort Kendall. But that was what Logan was doing. The brunette had scooted closer to Kendall, and placed his hand on the blonds shoulder that was shaking with emotion. Kendall's eyes had gone glassy, and he was lost in the guilt.
"It's Hawk's fault that he did it. That he made me take the blame. Don't blame yourself. Please." Logan begged. For a moment he hesitated, then he scooted forward and pulled Kendall in for a hug. The blond sunk into it, wrapping his long arms around Logan, burying his face in Logan's neck.
Kendall shook his head and said vehemently, "You never should have done that. You should have just told him it was me-"
But Logan shook his head as well and said, "No. Not after everything you've done for me. And I couldn't let him pin it on Dak." He sighed, "Taking the blame had the least worst repucussions-"
Kendall cut him off this time, pulling back to look into his brown eyes, "You could have died!" It also tore at Kendall that Logan was just as devoted to Dak. He didn't want to think that maybe Logan had feelings for the boy, but now he wasn't sure.
"I'm fine Kendall." Logan said with a small smile. "I'm tougher than I look."
Kendall ran a tired hand through his hair, "I promise this wont happen to you again Logan. You don't deserve this. No one does."
Logan pressed his lips together, and a strange look crossed his eyes. Kurt couldn't identify it, but it was something he had never seen before. For a moment it held there, evident, but then it passed, and Logan gave Kendall a small smile as that same sweetness he always carried returned to those brown orbs, "Thanks." he said.
Loud banging suddenly filled the room, causing all the inhabitants to jump. Kendall and Logan pulled apart, with Logan breathing out, "Oh God is that Hawk?"
"No." Kurt said, heaving an exasperated sigh, "It's-"
But his words were drowned out as the door swung open, revealing a tall man with shaggy hair, Khaki slacks and an halfway buttoned up dress shirt. He wore no shoes but was sporting some seriously large Ray-bans. Across his chest hung a large guitar, and he strummed a few loud and sharp cords, causing everyone to throw their hands over their ears.
"Good morning fellow Fletcher's! How are you all doing on this seriously fine morning?"
"Shut up and die Guitar Dude." James mumbled as he sat up and regarded the man.
Laughing, Guitar Dude shook his head, "Oh James. You seriously need to work on your mellow vibes man. Some fine tunes and a positive outlook will do wonders to keep you all sorts of copacetic."
Logan blinked at the man in wonder. He couldn't think if he'd ever met someone like him before, and guessed he hadn't. He wore a wide smile and seemed completely at ease. Though everyone around him grumbled, they seemed to not mind his presence, and even Kurt and Kendall smiled at his comment to James.
The man then took of his sunglasses and walked towards the bed, saying, "Hey there little-man. You the new recruit?"
"Recruit?" Logan questioned, shooting a look at Kendall and Kurt.
Both boys looked at each other and then turned towards the couch, simultaneously saying, "Blaine?"
The prefect jerked awake and turned, ready to chew them out, but when he saw the man he scrambled to get off the bed, falling onto the floor in the process. When he was upright he stumbled over to the others, rubbing his eyes and croaking out, "Yeah. Yeah." He cleared his throat before continuing, "Yeah this is Logan Mitchell. He's transferring over from Burton."
"I am-?" Logan began, but the elder man thrust his hand out and grabbed Logan's, shaking it furiously.
"Welcome to the fold newbie! No hard feelings here for Burton transfers. They can be hard core at times, but it's totally banging to have new guys join." He let go of Logan's hand and gestured to the others, "And you've definitely fallen in with some awesome dudes!" He slid his sunglasses on and said, "I'm sure Blaine can handle orientation and all that. I'd do it myself, but I've got a breakfast date at the IHOP with some pumpkin pancakes and this rad chick I met at a Pink Floyd cover band last night."
With a wave the man bowed out of the room, "Peace bro's!"
Logan blinked for a minute after the man left, then turned to the others. Blaine, Kendall and Kurt stood beside his bed, nervously regarding the boy. After Guitar Dude's entrance, James and Carlos had also woken up and gone over to the bed, though James and Carlos looked worse for the wear, leaning sleepily against each other.
"Um...what just happened?" Logan asked.
All the boys looked at each other, then back at Logan. Simultaneously they all yelled, "Welcome to Fletcher!" before they all jumped onto the bed, dog piling Logan by tickling, hugging, and rubbing his head. They laughed and cheered as they welcomed the boy, each talking about all the things he could do now that he was with their dorm.
For the first time in Logan's life...he felt at home.
I know this ending has made at least one reader very happy. Thank you for all your reviews, you are all amazing. I'm really thankful for all of you for still reading my story, and I'm so glad that you are still enjoying it! Thank you so much!
Also I apologize if I totally messed up Guitar Dude's dialogue. I don't speak hippy very well.
xoxo BA