by different author

Disclaimer: I don't own anything involved in this story.

Chapter 11


All three boys stared at James before jumping at him, grabbing him a tight group hug. James smiled as their arms wrapped around him, glad to see them again, but his grin soon turned into a grimace as they squeezed his bruised and battered body. "Guys…" he mumbled weakly. His friends jumped back like they'd been shocked, panic in all of their eyes. "Oh my gosh James, we're so sorry!" Kendall exclaimed. James smiled again, this time reassuringly. "It's fine Kendall, don't worry about. Seriously, you guys have spent enough time worrying about me. I know that I'm fine, and that I'm going to be okay," he said, his smile wavering as he thought about Samuel's last threat. You'll still remember all the stuff that I've done to you, and you'll still have to worry about when I'll come back, because I will, that's a promise. He quickly shook it off, deciding that his friends were more important at the moment. "But what about you all?"

The boys just looked at him, unable to respond to James' question. Finally Carlos spoke up, disbelief making his words slow. "Are… you… serious?" he asked, almost unable to form the words. "You- the one who was just kidnapped and nearly beaten to death and unconscious for several hours- are asking us is we're okay?" James frowned at him. "Um, yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what I said," he said. "Are you kidding me!" Carlos exploded.

James jumped a little at Carlos harsh tone and shrunk back as memories of Samuel came back. Carlos noticed this and winced. "Sorry," he said guiltily. "But seriously, how are you worried about us? Nothing happened to us, just to you. You must be in an unbelievable amount of pain, and all you can think about is how we feel?" James frowned again. "I'm actually not in as much pain as I was before. I must have a little morphine in me or something because it was ten times worse earlier. And like I said, I know that I'll be fine, but I have absolutely no clue what this has been like for you," he explained. "And I know that you're not all fine, because if any of you were in my place I know that I wouldn't be. So I'll ask again; how are you?"

Carlos just shook his head and looked away. Kendall looked like he wanted to say something but would start crying if he opened his mouth, something that greatly troubled James. Logan was the only one who was willing to answer. "We're scared; we're angry; we're confused. In all honesty, we don't know what to feel. In all our life experiences nothing like this has ever happened. How exactly are we supposed to feel? The emotions we feel are so overwhelming. It's like they're all fighting to be in control and they're all winning. It makes us so incredibly angry that someone would take you from us, and cause you so much pain. And it hurts that you care more about us than you do about yourself, but it also makes us feel better that you still care about us. And we're still so scared that Stenwell's going to come back for you since he got away…" James stiffened at his friend's last words and Logan's eyes widened in horror. "Oh God…" he whispered.

James tried to smile, but everyone could see right through it. "James, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to… It just slipped out, I… I'm so sorry," he said, mentally slapping himself. James shook his head. "He never breaks his promises…" he whispered, saying it so quietly that the others almost didn't hear him. "What do you mean?" Logan asked hesitantly, not wanting to push his already damaged friend over the edge. But James didn't respond, just stared into space as he was lost in a memory from ten years ago…

Flashback…

James was huddled in a small closet, listening as the strange men who had taken him laughed drunkenly outside. He was crying quietly, tears silently rolling down his cheeks as he desperately wished for his mommy and daddy. His cheek and shoulders were hurting from where he'd been hit and dragged, but he was mostly okay. He listened to the men outside, wishing they would just be quiet and take him back to his house.

"Taking that kid was a good idea, Samuel," someone slurred. The man laughed and continued. "The little brat might be a worthless piece of crap, but his parents'll pay a lot to get him back. Not sure why, he's just a burden on them…" The others laughed and agreed while James covered his ears with his hands, tears falling faster than ever. "Stop it!" he screamed, which just made the men laugh more. "My mommy and daddy love me! They say so all the time! You're lying!" he sobbed.

Before any of them could say anything he heard a loud bang and a new voice. "Freeze, police!" James felt his heart fill with hope. The police! His parents were always telling him that the police would help him in an emergency. And this was definitely an emergency.

He heard a bunch of shouts and thuds from outside. Then it got really quiet and he could hear footsteps moving away from him. He began to panic, fearing that they were going to leave without him. "Wait!" he cried. There was a pause, and then he heard someone walking towards him. The door was flung open and two policemen stood before him, looking at him in concern. "Are you James?" one asked gently. He nodded and flung himself into the officer's arms, bawling. He felt himself being lifted and carried. The officer took him outside, where all the bad men were being handcuffed and pushed into police cars. The flashing lights lit the area up in blue and red, allowing him to see everything that was going on.

"Hey kid!" someone shouted at him. James looked up to try and find who was talking to him. He saw the man who had appeared to be the leader, Samuel, being led to a police car. "Don't forget about me kid, because as soon as I get out of jail, I'm going to find you. I'm going to hunt you down, and when I find you, I'm going to kill you, that's a promise. And I never break my promises." He was shoved into the back of a squad car, smiling maniacally. "See you soon, kid!" he yelled as the door was slammed shut. James buried his face into the chest of the officer that was holding him, trying to hide from the bad man. Someone wrapped something warm and soft around him and he looked up to see a kind faced woman. "Can I take a look at your ouchies?" She asked the six-year-old gently. He nodded and she took him from the officer's arms, carrying him over to the ambulance.

A few hours later he was back at home, safe in his mom and dad's arms. They assured him that the bad men were going to jail, and that they would never hurt him again. He thought back to Samuel's promise and hoped that they were right, and that Samuel wouldn't make good on his promise. He allowed himself to relax into their hug and fell asleep like that, no longer afraid.

End flashback…

"James?" Logan asked again. James's head snapped up and he met his friends' concerned looks. "I'm sorry, what?" he said. The others exchanged looks. "You said something about him never breaking his promises…" Logan pressed. "Oh." There was an awkward silence, broken, surprisingly, by Kendall. "Well?" he asked expectantly. "Are you going to tell us what you meant by that?" James hesitated, then nodded, taking a deep breath.

"When… When Stenwell kidnapped me the first time, he promised that when he got out of jail he would come back for me and… kill me. He said that he never broke his promises, and apparently he doesn't. And when you guys found me, before he opened to door and pushed me out, he told me that he was going was going to come back for me again, and that that was a promise." He looked up at his friends with scared, pain filled eyes. "And he never breaks his promises," he said, voice breaking as tears filled his eyes. Then he broke down sobbing.

"I'm sorry," he cried. "This is all my fault," he whimpered, refusing to look at his friends. They were all staring at him in a strange mix of horror and sympathy. "James…" Carlos murmured sadly. Kendall and Logan watched as the boy wept pitifully. Then anger exploded in Kendall's heart and he grabbed James' hand, staring hard at his best friend. "Don't you dare apologize for what he did, James. It's no one's fault but his, and it's especially not yours. He's a sick, sadistic creep who likes to torture innocent people like you. He doesn't deserve to live, let alone make you feel like this. You have nothing to be sorry for, except being such a great friend. I swear that if he ever tries to hurt you again I'll kill him, because no one, and I mean no one, hurts my friends and gets away with it," he said, pulling James into a gentle but firm hug. His friends soon joined in, this time being extremely careful not to hurt James again, but if he was feeling any pain, they wouldn't be able to tell, because the only thing he was doing was crying, unable to do anything else.

The four BTR members, one broken and the others breaking, sat hugging each other, unwilling to move, as tears poured down each of their faces. Logan was thinking about how hard this was going to be, Carlos was praying that they would get through this in one piece, Kendall was hoping that James would realize that they would keep him safe, and James was wishing on everything he had that it would all eventually be okay. And with his friends at his side, he was beginning to believe that it just might be.