thesandbar, wHAT? WHAT AM I DOING? SHOULD I BE APOLOGIZING? IM SORRY?

i love all your reviews, they make me extremely happy :))))))))

sorry for the wait. i just honestly couldnt figure out this chapter. i wrote at least 5 different versions before deciding to stick to this one and im still not sure how i feel about it tbh.

i like the ending tho lol.

enjoyyyyy!

"I'm going to kill Nick!" James exclaims as he gets out of his bed.

Ava looks at Kendall. "Can you give us a moment?"

"Or 5." James mutters.

Kendall looks at James, only willing to go it James gives him the okay. The prince looks at him, sighs deeply, and nods slightly. Kendall's hesitant as he puts his shirt on. Does he want to leave James in a room, alone, with this fucking goddess?

Hell no.

He's not even exaggerating. She literally is a goddess. And the mother of James' child, no less. How can he leave this room with the goddess like mother of his boyfriend's child?

Boyfriend. Is James even his boyfriend? Sure, they've had one date and they're always making out and sleep in the same bed now, but neither of them have ever used that word.

"Kendall, can you give us a minute?" Ava asks again.

No.

"Uh sure, sorry." He frowns and slowly leaves the room, a pang of jealousy hitting him. out of nowhere.

He's out the door and it slams in his face. His frowns gets deeper as he makes his way to the rink, ignoring the cries of pain he hears in the room next to his.

"C'mon, Skye! You can do it!" Carlos cheers.

Kendall steps into the room and sees Carlos and Logan teaching Skye how to skate. She moves her right foot and almost falls flat on her face when Logan catches her.

"I got you." He smiles down at her.

She returns the smile. "Thanks, Uncle Logie!"

Logan turns bright red and Kendall chuckles. He's always hated that nickname. The blonde grabs a pair of skates and puts them on.

"Good morning!" He hums, skating straight toward Skye and picking her up.

"Uncle Kenny!" She beams.

She kisses his cheek and Kendall smirks at his two friends.

"Looks like I'm the favourite."

Logan rolls his eyes.

"Which one of us is your favourite uncle?" Carlos asks.

"Not you guys." She answers. "Uncle Nick is my favourite."

They all exchange glances in silence.

"Well then…" Logan says slowly.

"Would you like to skate some more?" Kendall asks the little girl.

Skye shakes her head and pouts. "I fall."

"That's because Carlos and Logan are horrible skaters." The blonde grins.

"Hey!" Carlos and Logan protest in unison.

"C'mon, I'll teach you properly."

He sets her down and crouches a few centimeters away from her, far enough to be able to hold her hand. She's quick to grab his fingers and Kendall urges her to go on. She starts to take small steps.

"Pretend you're sliding." He tells her. "Try not to pick your feet off the floor."

Skye nods and attempts to skate whilst Logan and Carlos watch.

"Kendall's going to be a great father to Skye." Carlos comments.

Logan looks at him. "What makes you think he and James are going to last?"

"They're already like a little family." The Latino smiles. "And please, you can't tell me you haven't seen the way they look at each other. They're going to last, even if they break up and end up meeting each other when they're 40. They'll last."

Logan hinges his finger into Carlos' belt loop and tugs him forward.

He leans in and whispers "what about us?"

Carlos kisses him, softly muttering "I'm never letting you go."

"I like the sound of that." Logan grins.

"Oh yeah?" The Latino asks, nibbling on Logan's bottom lip.

They're suddenly breaking apart with Skye's shrilling screams. She skating right toward them with a huge smile on her face.

"Look!" She squeals. "I can skate!"

Logan grins and picks her up once she clutches onto his leg to break her fall.

"I hungry, Uncle Logie."

"Can you call me something else?" Logan asks, embarrassed.

"Why?" She asks innocently. "I like Logie."

"I like it too." Carlos smirks, wiggling his eyebrows at Logan.

Logan just glares at his boyfriend before taking Skye to the kitchen.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Kendall asks Carlos.

The Latino nods. "Ask away, mate."

"Should I be worried about Ava?"

Carlos blinks. "Ava? How do you know about Ava?"

"Uh, she's here with James. In his room. Alone. And gorgeous."

Carlos blinks a few more times before the shock subsides. "I wasn't aware that she was coming."

"Well, that makes the two of us." Kendall mumbles.

"You don't need to be worried about anything." Carlos tells him. "They broke up a long time ago and the only way they get back together is over my dead body."

Kendall arches an eyebrow. "You don't like her?"

The Latino shakes his head. "Nah, it's nothing like that. They just had a falling out that sort of made me bitter toward the two of them as a couple."

"Ah."

It's 4pm and Ava and James haven't left his room. Kendall's getting restless and antsy. He's terrified of what's going on in there. Even if Carlos' words kind of made him feel better he's still fucking scared. He can't just lose James only days after getting him. James wouldn't do that, would he?

No, of course he wouldn't. He's not that type of person, right?

He is notorious for sleeping around.

Shut up Kendall. He likes you!

He groans as he walks into the kitchen where he finds a bruised Nick putting a pack of ice on his bare ribs.

He walks in, purposely hitting the door to let Nick know he's there but Nick doesn't even notice. His eyes are shut tightly and his teeth are clenched.

"You alright?" Kendall asks cautiously.

Nick's eyes snap open and he drops the ice pack.

"I'm fine." He glares but then winces in pain.

He bends down to pick up the ice pack but groans instead. Kendall rushes over and picks it up for him. He slowly hands it to Nick.

"Are you sure you're alright?" The blonde asks softly.

Nick avoids eye contact. "Don't tell James." He says and starts to leave.

"Tell me what exactly and I won't."

Nick doesn't respond, only disappears around the corner. Kendall watches him leave; hoping Nick isn't going through what he had to once upon a time.

Kendall's sitting on of those bed patio swings when James joins him. They swing in silence for a couple of minutes; Kendall wanting to ask what's on his mind but knowing James will tell him when he's ready.

James stares up at the stars as he says "Ava just spent the entire day telling me about Nick's father almost beating him to death."

Kendall takes a sharp intake of breath.

"I didn't believe her at first. I thought she was lying to justify his reasons for trying to take the crown but looking at Robert, I know he's capable of doing it."

"So…His reason for trying to take your place is because his dad is forcing him to do it."

James nods. "If he refuses, he gets beaten." He turns to look at Kendall. "How did you know?"

Kendall shrugs nonchalantly. "It doesn't make sense but there's usually a reason as to why your parents beat you. My dad used to beat me—

"What?" James grits out.

"— because I wasn't a 'masculine' kind of guy. He'd never lay a hand on me when my mom was around or when he was sober, though. It was only when he was drunk and my mom wasn't around."

"You didn't tell her?" The prince asks, shaking with anger.

The blonde shakes his head. "He told me he would kill me if he did but one night, my mom came home early from work and saw it happening. She was pregnant with Katie at the time and she knew that if we stayed he would do the same with her so the next day we literally packed everything and moved in with my grandma."

James is hugging Kendall tightly.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." The prince whispers.

"It's been years, James." He says lightly. "I've gotten over it but Nick hasn't."

James tenses up and Kendall pulls away.

"You have to help him." The blonde says softly.

"How am I supposed to help him if he won't help himself? He's 24, Kendall. He's perfectly capable of standing up for himself."

"It's his dad. He's either terrified that his dad is going to do something even worse or he loves his dad too much to do something about it."

"It's Robert," James snorts bitterly "no one loves that son of a bitch."

Kendall gently strokes James' cheek and looks into his hazel eyes. "I know you and Nick used to be inseparable. I saw the pictures of you two in your room."

James looks away, muttering "I thought I hid those."

"He's your brother, James." Kendall says quietly. "And the only one who can help him is you."

"We're not as close as we used to be." James whispers. "He can't even stand me."

"I saw him in the kitchen this afternoon with his broken ribs. When I asked him if he was alright all he said was not to tell you."

"What do I do?"

"Show him that you're there for him. He doesn't even want to be king, does he?"

James shakes his head. "Apparently he thinks I should be king, that I'd be amazing, probably even better than my father."

Kendall smiles softly. "Well, then there you go. If you need a reason to become close again, it's right there."

"What if he just pushes me away?"

"You guys are brothers, are you not? There will always be pushing and shoving but you'll always have each other."

James hears his voice in his head. The voice of an 11 year old James who had promised Nick that nothing would come in between then, nothing.

"It doesn't matter if we're not blood related." James had whispered. "You will always be my big brother."

They both promised nothing would tear them apart but neither stuck to their promise. As the years went by, they drifted apart. They didn't play together anymore. They didn't speak to each other anymore. Nick was always away and James was too busy with Carlos and girls to notice.

"You will always be my big brother." James repeats to himself. "I didn't even know what was happening to him. What kinda fucking brother does that make me?"

Kendall doesn't say anything, knowing it's a rhetorical question.

"A shitty brother is what it makes me!" James yells, jumping out of the swing and looking at Kendall. "A fucking shitty brother who had no idea what was happening to Nick. God, he was getting beaten in this very castle and I didn't even know. I didn't even care."

"James, you didn't know to care."

"We stopped wrestling and I didn't even ask why when I knew it was his favourite thing to do." James bottom lip quivers a bit. "He'd always tackle me within seconds and he'd win, gloating in my face for the next 500 fucking weeks. He'd never let me live it down but one day it just stopped. I punched him, not hard and he winced and pulled away from me. I didn't think anything of it. He came to my room with a black eye one day and I didn't even ask where he got it from."

The prince takes a few deep breaths and runs a frustrated hand through his hair. Kendall watches him have an internal war with himself before getting up and wrapping his arms around the brunette. He leans his head against James' chest and James immediately wraps his arms around the blonde.

"He was getting beaten every day under this castle and I didn't do anything about it." James says into Kendall's neck, his voice breaking. "I didn't even know what he was going through because of me."

"You couldn't do anything even if you wanted to." Kendall tells him gently.

"I could have told my father to stop him or kill him."

"There's no point in dwelling on the past now." The blonde says. "Just do what you can for him."

James nods and tucks his head into the nape of Kendall's neck and tightens his hold. They stay like that for a while, swaying to the rhythm of their heartbeats when Kendall breaks the comfortable silence.

"So, do I have to be worried about your ex?"

James bursts out laughing as he pulls away and Kendall only frowns, turning a deep shade of red. The prince softly strokes Kendall's cheek with his thumb and looks into his eyes. He leans in and captures the blonde's lips.

"You're adorable, you know that?" James whispers against his lips.

Kendall frowns. "You didn't answer my question."

James smiles and breaks away. He runs his thumb over Kendall's lips.

"You don't have to be worried about anything happening between us."

"But she's gorgeous."

He cannot believe he just said that. Since when is Kendall Knight insecure?

Since meeting this fucking god standing in front of him.

"She is." James admits and Kendall's heart drops. "But she left our daughter and I am not going to be with anyone who doesn't consider Skye as their own."

"Well, it's a good thing I consider her my own daughter then." Kendall says.

James' face breaks out into a huge grin. "Is that so?"

"It is, your highness."

James' grin grows even wider as he brings his lips to Kendall's once again.

you guys arent getting the back story on ava and james so quickly ;)

MUAHAHAHAH. god im horrible.