Day 11: Tears

"Alright Kendall... truth or dare?" James challenged in a mock scary voice.

Kendall rolled his eyes. "Uh, dare. Duh." He stated it like it was obvious.

James and Logan looked at each other. "Okay..." Logan began to think. "We could have him do something to Carlos." He said, talking about the boy who was currently taking a shower.

James nodded in agreement. "He did push us into the pool today as a prank."

"And dyed us purple." Kendall pointed out, gesturing to their purple skin that had yet to come off. Carlos had assured them the dye came off in 2 hours, but it was still horrible.

"I got it!" Logan suddenly piped up.

"What is it?" James asked eagerly.

"What's the most embarrassing thing a teenage boy can do in front of his friends?" Logan started.

James widened his eyes. "Cry." The responded at the same time.

Kendall visibly gulped. "Uh... what are you guys talking about?" He asked cautiously.

James grinned. "We dare you to make Carlos cry." He stated.

"Yeah. And it has to be real tears, not fake ones." Logan added, grinning evily.

Kendall shook his head. "Come on, guys! Really?"

"Yes, really. And you have 30 minutes to do it. So you better hurry up, or else..." Logan let the threat hang.

Kendall rolled his eyes. "Whatever, you weirdos." He wouldn't let James and Logan see him fail, even though he didn't really want to make Carlos cry.

Carlos was just exiting his bedroom, his ink black hair still a bit wet from his shower. "Hi, Kendall!" He greeted cheerfully.

"What do you want, you big baby?" Kendall retorted harshly. Carlos stopped walking, staring up at Kendall with a confused look on his face.

"Uh, what?"

"I said, 'what do you want, you big baby?'. Are you deaf now too?"

Carlos looked taken aback. "I-I'm not a baby!" He protested.

Kendall scoffed. "Uh, yeah you are. And you're a loser."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about. You cheated on my girlfriend!" Kendall yelled loudly, making Carlos flinch.

Carlos shook his head. "N-no I didn't, Kendall, I-"

"Shut up! You're not my friend anymore, you retard!" Kendall shouted, shoving Carlos aside.

"Wait! Kendall! I swear I didn't even talk to Jo this week, I wouldn't never have cheated on her!" Carlos pleaded desperately. Kendall just wished he would cry already so he would stop having to look at Carlos's hurt face. This was the stupidest dare ever.

"And now you're a liar too? Wow, that's just low, even for a backstabbing loser like yourself."

Carlos shook his head again, tears forming in his eyes. "I-I didn't do anything, I promise! Kendall, you have to believe me!" He begged.

"Why would I believe you, loser?" Kendall retorted loudly.

A tear fell down Carlos's face. He looked down and didn't reply. Kendall cheered silently to himself. "There! I did it, James and Logan!" He called. The two boys came out and judged that Carlos was actually crying and that Kendall had successfully completed the dare.

Carlos watched them with hurt eyes. "Th-this was all a dare? To make me cry?" He asked, his voice shaking and sad.

"I'm sorry, Carlos, but you know what-" But Carlos just shook his head and ran into his room. Kendall could hear muffled sobs coming from Carlos's direction. He sighed.

"I can't believe you guys made me do this!" Kendall chastised the other two boys, who looked guilty too. "I'm going to talk to him."

He walked into Carlos's room since Carlos never locked the door. "Hey, Carlos. I'm sorry about that. We're never going to play truth or dare again, I promise." He said gently, rubbing Carlos's back.

Carlos let out a small sob. "I-I can't believe I'm such a baby." He mumbled.

Kendall sat him up. "What do you mean?"

Carlos sniffled, his tears ceasing. "I always cry because of the stupidest things and you guys probably think I'm the most pathetic boy in the world." He admitted, his cheeks red and his eyes downcast.

"No, Carlos, we don't think that. Look, I'm so sorry for making you cry." Kendall apologized again.

"Y-yeah, but James and Logan only dared you to do it because they know i-it's easy to make me cry. Cuz I'm such a baby." Carlos argued.

Kendall put an arm around Carlos's shoulders. "No, buddy, you're not a baby. You're just more sensitive, and it's okay to cry. Real men cry, you know." Kendall assured him.

Carlos looked up at him. "They don't cry as much as I do, and you know that."

"Hey. It's cool to cry, okay? We all have our weaknesses. Like Logan always hyperventilates when he's panicking, James always gets these allergies when he's stressed that makes his face puff up. And I always freak out when I panic too. Those things are all considers weak, but who cares? You're strong in other ways too. Like making other people happy and doing awesome stunts." Kendall told him.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. So don't worry about crying, buddy. We all have our things that make us embarrassed. But we just have to accept them and embrace what makes us proud."

Carlos smiled a bit, standing up. "Thanks, Kendall. You're the best."

Kendall smirked. "You wanna go and soak James and Logan with water soakers?"

Carlos grinned. "Of course! What are we waiting for?"