Disclaimer; I do not own BTR, or the movie this story was based on 'Definitely, Maybe.'
A/N;Hey, guys! It's been more than a month since the last time, but this chapter is longer than the last one, so I hope it makes up for it. It's also the last one until I'm done with my finals, which means it will probably be another month until you get chapter 22. I'm really sorry about it, I hope you won't give up in this story...Anyway, on to the chapter.
"Think we got enough alcohol?" Logan asked sarcastically. A frown crept up in James' face as he counted the shots internally "Jay, I'm kidding." Logan said quickly "We've got more than enough."
"Mhmm, don't know about that." Kendall's voice rang in his ears, his left arm coming around Logan's shoulders.
"Dude, you are not even supposed to drink!" Carlos pointed out, and James nodded his head approvingly.
"Oh c'mon, that was like two years ago!" Kendall exclaimed with an exaggerated eye roll "Loges, back me up."
"Um, no, I won't."
"But... it's been two years!" Kendall insisted "Things change in two years!"
"True." James agreed and Kendall let an excited cry reaching for one of the shots, only for his hand to get slapped away by the tall brunette "Things do change in two years;" James continued "Like you got a job and a promotion, and Logan got his fellowship. But some things stay the same; you are still a recovering alcoholic and Logan's girlfriend refuses to move in with him."
"Hey!" Logan's voice was loud enough to make Carlos cringe despite the music "Thin ice." He said warningly, and James raised his hands in the universal sign of surrender.
"We agreed on no-comments about the move-in situation, didn't we?" James asked innocently.
"Convenient that you somehow forgot about that." Logan deadpanned.
"Dude, you gotta admit; it's weird that you're both willing to start trying for an offspring, and yet she refuses to live with you. It makes no sense!" James' voice rose towards the end, his eyes widening. Logan's on the other hand, narrowed into two slits.
"We are not talking about it." He said firmly. From the corner of his eye he caught Kendall reaching for one of the shots, clearly about to take advantage of their brief destruction "And you are not drinking anything alcoholic." He added, swatting Kendall's hand away.
"Not fair!" the blonde pouted, crossing his arms "I just got a promotion, I have a right to celebrate. No, no, I deserve to celebrate!"
"Kendall," Carlos said, giving him a look "I think we all know that the only reason you got a promotion-"
"And a fat bonus." James quipped and Carlos nodded.
"Is because your boss' daughter has the hots for you." Carlos finished his sentence. Kendall frowned, giving a little shake of his head.
"Gustavo doesn't have a daughter." Logan to his left huffed.
"He means Griffin." He explained, managing to actually not flinch for once, while saying the man's name. Even in the dim lightening it was obvious that Kendall's cheeks gained some colour upon realisation "Carlos, Griffin is the CEO of the company that owns Rocque Records."
"Wait, so who is Kendall's boss?" the Latino asked, his eyebrows pulled together.
"That would be Gustavo." Logan supplied "And Griffin is Gustavo's boss."
"Oh." Carlos mouthed, dragging the 'o'.
"Yeah, and because this chick wants to jump your bones, you got a raise." James said, a smirk playing at his lips "Still don't get why you refuse to put out, man." Logan's head snapped around so fast that he would've sworn he gave himself a whiplash.
"You haven't told them?" he questioned. Kendall avoided his eyes, reaching for his virgin Bloody Mary. With his lips secured around the straw, he sucked loudly, his eyes examining his shoes like they were the most interesting thing on the whole wide world.
"What, what happened?" Carlos asked, bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet. Logan eyed Kendall's bowed head, before turning his attention to his two awaiting friends.
"Oh he put out." He said stressing every word, all the while nodding his head.
"Logan!" Kendall whined, but it was barely heard over Carlos' whooping, and James half laugh-half snort.
"So that's why you got the raise!" James said "Of course, now it makes more sense."
Actually Mercedes had nothing to do with how Kendall had gotten the promotion, but Logan kept his mouth shut. Explaining to the guys that Kendall had somehow managed to find a job in a record studio owned by Logan's girlfriend's ex-boyfriend, and that a run-in between said girlfriend and CEO Arthur Griffin a couple of weeks ago, had resulted into Kendall climbing the office ladder faster than he should have, was not in Logan's top priorities. Even Logan himself wasn't privy to the details; all he'd gotten out of Malese was that Kendall was in for an early Christmas' present. Anyway the less they knew about the whole thing, the better.
"Hey, back off, okay?" Kendall snapped, his voice lacking any humour or lightness, as he glared at James. Carlos stopped cheering, sensing the air around their table getting charged, and Logan moved his weight from one foot to the other, effectively stepping in front of Kendall and obstructing his view of James.
"Dude, I'm only messing with you." James said, his voice smooth, in an attempt to calm his friend down. But Logan could see Kendall's hand clenching around the glass; the blonde didn't have a reputation of being short-tempered for no reason.
"Yeah, well you all had a good laugh, now cut it out." Kendall all but growled.
"Dude..." James started, but he obviously didn't know how to continue, so the word was left hanging in the air between them.
"Kendall." Logan's tone was warning, the brunet standing now directly in front of his taller friend. Kendall's heated gaze turned to him, and Logan almost flinched.
"The fuck they know and feel so entitled to laugh their asses off?" he said, leaning closer to Logan's face. Logan held his ground.
"If you haven't told them about the speculations going around the studio, how are they supposed to know?" Logan fired back "If you haven't told them that you actually give a fuck about 'Cedes, how are they supposed to know?"
He'd seen this side of Kendall before; this aggressive side, full of swearing and threatening and slumming doors in people's faces. It had been Kendall's constant mood during the first stages of withdrawal, and Logan had pulled through it with Katie's help. Things had gotten better around the third month, and immensely improved when Gustavo took a chance at him and Kendall finally found a job in the music business. There were still occasional bursts of anger here and there, some mild, but some others pretty tough to stomach.
Logan wanted to be angry, to yell at him for doing this tonight, for doing this to Carlos and James who had no idea what was going on. But fighting Kendall's aggression with aggression never worked, Logan had find that out the hard way. So he set his jaw, and gritted his teeth, counting to ten, and making sure his voice was composed when he reopened his mouth.
"You need to calm down, man." He said, patting Kendall's arm. The blonde shrugged him away, taking a step back and putting some distance between them.
"I can't just 'calm down, man'." He threw back sarcastically "I can't even grab a drink with my friends, and unwind because somehow you three became the killjoy squad."
"You want to drink?" Logan asked, raising an eyebrow and levelling Kendall's angry glare with a challenging look "Drink your ass off, I don't care."
"Logan!" James and Carlos protested together, but he raised his hand as a sign for them to stay out of it.
"But the minute you say something stupid," Logan continued, as if he hadn't been interrupted, never taking his eyes off Kendall "The minute you piss one of us off, you are homeless." Kendall's controlled expression melted away, his eyes widening into saucers, and his mouth falling open.
"You don't mean that." He muttered.
"Try me." Kendall's fingers flexed, and Logan saw him forming a fist before he forced himself to relax by drawing a deep breath.
"I can handle my alcohol." He said, but his voice wavered; for all his stubbornness, Kendall had never been stupid. He knew his words were empty.
"You can't, and I have some firsthand experience of that." Logan said coolly and he felt a twinge of guilt in his heart when he saw Kendall flinch. Using something Kendall had so keenly apologized about against him, wasn't fair, he knew that, but guilt tripping Kendall into calming down was better than the four of them picking a fight.
"Oh! That's my favourite song!" Carlos exclaimed, breaking the tensed silence that had fallen over their table "Ken-doll, come, dance with me!" he said, and without waiting for Kendall's consent he'd grabbed Kendall's hand and proceeded to drag him towards the stage.
There was a bit of suspended disbelief, as James and Logan watched Carlos coaxing Kendall into actually moving his body to the rhythm of the music instead of just standing there scowling, before James threw back his head barking out a loud laugh. Logan scoffed, running a hand through his hair. Of course, if someone was going to break through Kendall's thick-headiness that someone had to be Carlos.
"Want a drink?" James offered.
"You've no idea." Logan said, reaching for one of the shots. James did the same, and after clinging his to Logan's, he tipped it up swallowing its contains. Logan screwed his eyes; he'd never really gotten used to the fiery sensation tequila brought with it, and shook his head.
"You okay?" James questioned, chuckling, and Logan felt the urge to flip him off, so he did jus that "Oh, doctor Mitchell, crude much?" the taller brunette teased.
"B-but Kendaaall..." Carlos whined.
"No, Carlos, I'm done." Kendall said, dropping himself heavily on one of the stools. There was a thin layer of sweat covering his forehead, and what looked like a permanent scowl.
"But it's fun!" Carlos kept at it, only to receive a death glare "Somebody dance with me!" He demanded petulantly looking between James and Logan.
"You unleashed the monster." Logan accused, eyeing James, who blinked innocently.
"Me?"
"You were the one who insisted we go to a club." Logan pointed out, crossing his arms. James eyes flickered between Logan and Kendall, who was still frowning, before landing on Carlos.
"C'mon 'Los, have one of these." James proposed instead, putting a glass in Carlos' hands "We'll dance later." Carlos looked at the shot, not really believing his friend's reassurance. He contemplated it for a short second, before shrugging and tossing the tequila back.
"Woo! That burnt!" He exclaimed, smacking the glass on top of the table. Carlos shook his arms, and bounced up and down a couple of times, making both James and Kendall smile in amusement.
"Dude, this is just your first shot." Kendall said, sipping on his Bloody Mary.
"I know, but I've already been pumped up on adrenaline." Carlos said, still bouncing on his feet. Logan leaned in, his interest perking.
"Something happened?" he asked, and Carlos nodded, three very fast jerks of his head, having Logan wonder if he'd given himself a migraine.
"I overheard a conversation at the station the other day." He said his eyes shining wildly "And I've been waiting for the right time to tell you guys-"
"Los, spit it out already!" James all but yelled, always the impatient one. Carlos nodded. He opened his mouth, then his eyes fell on the shots again. He reached for one, motioning to James and Logan do the same. His whole body seemed to shudder as the alcohol travelled down his throat, and Logan quirked an eyebrow, sharing a confused look with James.
"You know I've requested a transfer, right?" he asked and the other three nodded "But the officers willing to stay in Duluth aren't many, so getting a transfer is tricky. Apparently, though, my Dad pulled some strings, talked me up to my supervisors, and since the recruits are more this year, I'm the first in line for a transfer." He said, his eyes dancing between his three friends "A transfer to Brooklyn." He added. There was a silence for a bit, and then
"No way!" Kendall exclaimed, jumping up from his seat, and moving around the table to crash him in a bear hug.
"Dude, that's awesome!" Logan said, grinning like an idiot from ear to ear.
"Why didn't I know about this sooner? We've been having dinner together every day this past week!" James inquired half jokingly half upset.
"I didn't know how to tell you." Carlos said with Kendall's arm still around his shoulders "I didn't want you to think like I was abandoning you or anything."
"'Los, I'm in Minneapolis, you are in Duluth, it's not like we live together." James said pinning in his eyes.
"So you are not upset?" Carlos asked, worrying his lower lip. James kinked an eyebrow.
"Upset?" he asked back, and Carlos nodded "No, dude, no! I'm excited for you! You deserve this!" he said, clapping Carlos on the back. A relieved sigh escaped his lips, and Carlos seemed to relax a bit "You honestly thought I'd be upset?" James questioned, and Carlos averted his gaze. James chuckled.
"Okay, okay this calls for a toast." Kendall said loudly "Gentlemen get your shots." He cleared his throat "Thanks, Loges." He bade, when Logan handed him his drink. He cleared his throat and looked around their table "Okay, here's to one of the kindest, silliest, bravest men I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. 'Litos, man, sometimes I think you are too good for this world, you are certainly too good to keep hanging out with us losers, but that's for another toast. You deserve this transfer, you've done really good buddy." He said, patting Carlos' back "So, to Mister badass copper himself, Carlos Garcia!" Kendall yelled and James along with Logan hoorayed before downing their shots.
"Now we gotta find a way to lure Jamie to the dark side." Logan said, getting two simultaneous nods of approval "C'mon Jay, we've got cookies." He said grinning crookedly.
"First off; dork." James said holding up a finger "Second; wipe that thing off your face, you look creepy." He added only for Logan's grin to widen in response "Third; no thanks. My body is a temple, and I shall treat it as such."
"No, no, Logie is right!" Kendall said, putting his other arm around James, and pulling him closer "You need to move over too."
"Ken..." James trailed off "You know it's not that easy for me."
"Because of your mother?" Carlos questioned, and James gave a resigned sigh.
"Well screw your mother." Kendall said, and James winced.
"Dude."
"Figuratively. James, you gotta do this for yourself. Your mom, I know she loves you, man, but you can't live your life for her." James shut his eyes, shaking his head.
"I got a company to run, I can't do this from here."
"Jay, you hate that job." Logan jumped in "You love art, you understand it, and it's ridiculous you can't work as a curator because your mom doesn't want you to."
James leaned against the table, elbows holding his weight, his head falling in his hands. He gripped at his hair lightly, and Kendall made a move to touch his shoulder, but halfway there changed his mind, dropping his hand. They all knew James' crappy relationship with his parents, but just like when they were kids, there wasn't much they could do to help.
"We are not doing this." James said finally, looking up. He had his serious face on, and Carlos nodded instantly. Logan opened his mouth, only to close it again, and reluctantly agree with a small shrug.
"James." Kendall said, obviously battling with himself about what he should do. James gaze didn't falter, and Kendall apparently decided it wasn't the right time to push, so he said "Let's get you drunk." And handed the tall brunette one of the shots. James snorted, gulping the tequila in one go.
"Hey, there's a dude coming over." Carlos noted, and Logan turned to look over his shoulder "Wow, Jamie you won't like him; he's hot." James instantly straightened his body, lifting his chin and puffing his chest.
"Oh, that would be Dak." Logan said, waving the man over before returning his attention to his friends "We work together at the hospital, and I thought I should invite him." He added "James, he's a really good guy, so don't be too much of a jerk." Logan pleaded.
"I'm not promising anything." Kendall next to him chuckled.
"At least he is being honest." He said, and Logan glared at him, but didn't get a chance to say anything else, because Dak had reached their table.
"Logan, congrats man!" he said, pulling him in an one-arm-hug "Knew you were gonna make it."
"Thanks man, means a lot." Logan said, smiling "And thanks for coming."
"Free alcohol and a guys night out? I should be thanking you." Dak said, making him laugh.
"Right, okay. Dak, these are my best buddies on the world," Logan pointed towards the three men on the other side of the table "That's Kendall, you've met him before, right?"
"Yeah, that night I slept over." Dak said nodding his head "How are you doing, man?"
"All good." Kendall said with an easy smile.
"And that's Carlos." Logan continued, and the shorter of the five men held out his hand.
"Nice to meet you." He said politely, and Logan knew he was over compensating in case James decided to not be so cooperative, which Logan really appreciated.
"Last but not least, James." He said, glancing at his friend. James expression was neutral, but there was something in his eyes that Logan couldn't quite read. Dak next to him offered his hand, and James clasped it without hesitation.
"Hey, I've heard a lot about you, nice to finally put a face to the name."
"Hi." Was all that James said back, a dazzling smile taking over his face.
Waking up sucked, big time, mostly because waking up meant Logan could actually feel his brain trying desperately to break through his skull, and spill out. The pounding echoed in his ears, making his whole body pulse to the beat of none-existent music. Logan groaned, low and harsh, pressing the heels of his hands over his eyes.
"Morning, tiger."
Logan shot into a sitting position, confused and disoriented, fast enough to send his head swimming. He moaned painfully, the fingers of his left hand pressing against his eyelids, as his right tagged at his hair. He felt a pair of hands on his shoulders, pushing him backwards, and his back hit against his pillow that was propped against the headboard.
"Easy does it." Carlos admonished gently, patting his shoulder. Logan cracked an eye open, looking at the man sitting next to him.
"Tell me we didn't do anything stupid." He joked, and Carlos gasped in mock hurt, pressing his hand over his chest.
"You mean you don't remember?" he questioned, his lower lip quivering. Logan huffed a laugh, brushing his hand along the side of his face.
"I think my brain has finally had enough of me," he croaked, his throat hoarse and achy. Carlos raised an eyebrow "It's trying to make a beeline for it." Logan explained, touching a finger against his crown. Carlos hummed in understanding, and gave a nod of his head.
"Yeah, mine tried to leak out of my ears. But I've been up for a couple of hours, and it's getting better."
"Was I the only one still sleeping?" Logan questioned.
"When are you not?" Carlos shot back, and yeah, Logan had to give him that. Out of all four of them, Logan was the one who appreciated sleeping the most, choosing to sleep in whenever he could, instead of waking up early and starting his day with a jog, like James had tried to force him to do, while in college.
"Kendall made breakfast?" he asked, his stomach giving a slight rumble at the thought of food.
"Blueberry pancakes." Logan leaned further against the headboard, shutting his eyes.
"Care to bring me a tray?" he asked, not really expecting a positive answer. Instead of giving him a verbal one, Carlos dragged the covers of off him, and Logan felt his skin breaking in goosebumps, upon coming in contact with the chilly air of his room.
"A plate is waiting for you in the kitchen, princess." Carlos taunted, and Logan opened his eyes to glare at his friend.
"I would flip you off, but even that requires too much energy right now." He said grumpily, settling for throwing daggers with his eyes at the Latino.
"I swear you are so whiny when you are hung over." Carlos muttered shaking his head and sliding his legs off the edge of the bed.
"Yeah, it's why you guys don't ever let me get drunk." Logan reminded him, mimicking his actions in a much slower pace.
"Well, not ever." Carlos said, crossing his arms as he waited for Logan to actually slip his feet in his loafers and stand up "Sometimes we are having too much fun to stop you, like last night." A faint surge of panic cursed through Logan, as he turned to look at his friend, his eyes widening a little.
"What did I do last night?" he heard himself asking, although he wasn't sure he wanted to Carlos to tell him.
"You mean besides dragging Dak to the middle of the dance floor and asking the dj to play 'Roxanne'?" Carlos asked, cocking an eyebrow. Logan's face paled, and he had to rest his weight against the dresser to his left, to keep from collapsing.
"I did not do that." He refused his voice small. Carlos gave him a huge grin.
"Oh, but you did. I got video-proof." He said, grabbing his phone from his jeans' pocket. Logan brought both his hands up to his face, covering his eyes with his palms.
"I don't want to see that, ever. It didn't happen." Carlos chuckled just as Logan's stomach decided to rumble loudly.
"C'mon, Logie, I think it's high time we fed you." Carlos said placating, joining Logan on the other side of the double bed, and dropping his arm around Logan's shoulders "Gotta say, you got a nice mattress, man." He said, leading the way out of the room.
"Did you really sleep in my bed?" Logan questioned, looking at his friend sideways.
"Your couch is not very comfortable." Was Carlos' only answer. Logan was about to question him further, but the smell of fresh pancakes and butter hit his nostrils, and his train of thought went haywire.
"Food." He said, mostly talking to himself. Kendall was still wearing an apron over his flannel t-shirt, and had a spatula in hand, along with a full plate on his other one.
"Look who finally decided to grace us with his presence." He said cheerfully, and a bit too loud for Logan's sensitive senses. The brunette winced, pressing his palms over his ears.
"Too loud." He whined, and Kendall chuckled, dropping the full plate in front of him "And what's up with all the light in this room?"
"Um, that would be the sun, buddy." Carlos said, clapping his shoulder as he took a seat to his right. Logan groaned, rubbing a hand over his eyes.
"Turn it off." He sort of ordered, petulantly. And yeah, he was being stupid, he knew that, but his brain was pounding, his stomach was in a knot, and he was hungry while at the same time he felt like vomiting so, in his mind he deserved to be whinny and stupid, if only for a little while.
"Eat." Kendall said in the same tone, while Carlos chuckled. He set a fork and a knife next to Logan's plate, and then moved over to the stove. Logan grabbed his fork, lightly probing the puffy pancake with it.
"It's not poisoned." Carlos taunted, and Kendall snickered. Logan glared at them. His stomach growled again in hunger, but the mere idea of actually eating was nauseating.
"If I ever let you get me drunk again…" he trailed off darkly, not bothering to look at his friends. Kendall was leaning against the oven with his hip and he raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Logan's threat.
"Where's James?" Carlos questioned, crossing his arms on the table, and resting his head on them.
"Ugh, he was in the living room, talking with Dak." Kendall said, scratching the side of his head.
"Talking or fighting?" Logan asked worriedly. James and Dak had hit it off the previous night, proving Logan's fears about his friend acting out null and void, but their bantering had been a bit…tensed.
"Talking." Kendall reassured him, but Logan kept looking at him doubtfully "Seriously, Loges, they are fine." Kendall insisted. His eyes flickered somewhere behind them, through the arched opening connecting their kitchen with the living room "Why don't you…"
"Ken-doll?" Carlos asked, warily, when Kendall's sentence trailed off. The blond completely ignored him, staring at something behind their backs. Carlos' curious nature got the better out of him, and he twisted his torso, following Kendall's line of view. Logan heard a soft gasp, coming from his friend.
"What?" he asked chewing his first bite, not really bothering with his friends' childish antics. Carlos pushed at his shoulder, obviously wanting him to turn around and see for himself. Logan sighed, shaking his head. Maybe he really needed new friends after all. He set down his fork, and turned to look over his shoulder what had rendered both Carlos and Kendall speechless.
Logan made a chocking noise, something between a gasp and a laugh; James and Dak were lingering close to the entrance of the apartment, playing tonsil hockey. James' fingers were curled in the loops of Dak's jeans, their hips pressed together, while Dak's hands cupped the taller man's face.
"What…?" Carlos whispered and Logan nodded his head in agreement.
What was happening right before their eyes was the impossible; most eligible bachelor of Minneapolis, James Diamond, biggest ladies man since Casanova's days, was having a make out session in the middle of Logan's living room with a guy. This was beyond comprehension, even for a genius like Logan himself.
The heated kiss came to an end several seconds later, and the two men broke apart, still standing in each other's personal space. Still touching. James was saying something, but he was either whispering, or Logan had somehow lost his hearing capability, for he heard nothing. Dak then chuckled, gently pushing James away from him, and the taller man flashed his trademark one million dollar grin.
"Dork." He said teasingly, and Logan had seen that look in his eyes before.
Two years ago, Dak had been his intern, fresh out of med school, and easily one of the best doctors Logan had ever had the pleasure of working with. He'd tried not to play favorites, but even Steve had called him on it, claiming in jest, that he had been replaced in ''Logan's favorites'' list. Strauss hadn't been very pleased with Logan's 'infatuation for the new puppy' as he used to call it, but every time he made those sentiments known Logan would carelessly drop one of his 'maybe I should really consider Peds' loud spoken thoughts, which would make Strauss huff, but drop the subject.
Dak was one of the few people in the hospital Logan considered friends. So he made sure his other friends liked him. With George it was easy, because George liked everyone. He'd been formal in the beginning, but he soon let his walls down and turned into his normal, bubbly self. Jordan had been a harder case, but Dak's natural charm won her over before she even realized. Kyle…well Kyle treated him like he treated everyone else; with tons of sarcasm and the littlest bit of respect. But he once let him have his muffin during lunch, and to Logan that was almost a love declaration.
Logan had been the first one to figure out Dak's sexual orientation although, according to George, Jordan had had her suspicions ever since they'd met. It was the lingering looks in the locker room that at first didn't register, but were far too obvious for Logan to ignore, how sometimes he'd forget himself and stare at guys in the cafeteria, and how he'd brush off the nurses who tried to give him their phones.
When Logan finally found the courage to ask him about it, Dak was surprised that no one else had made the connection. "It's not like I've tried to hide it, and I don't think I've been exactly subtle." He'd said, and Logan with a start realized that he was right.
Logan had been around Dak long enough to know when he liked someone. He had seen him with his ex-boyfriend, Mike, and he'd seen him out, trying to chat up guys. He'd have this sparkly look in his eyes when someone would pique his interest, like he'd just won the lottery, and he'd resort to lame jokes because, yes he was charming, but sometimes he could be the most socially awkward person Logan knew.
He had that look in his eyes know, and Logan could hardly believe it was directed towards his best friend.
"I'll call you." James said opening the door for Dak, and leaning against it arms crossed. Dak stroked his bicep, and tipped his head for a soft and chaste kiss.
"You better." He said pulling himself away, and walking out the door. James looked after him until the elevator's doors shielded Dak from his gaze, and then pushed the door close.
"Well, well, well." Kendall quipped, breaking the silence that had fallen in the apartment after Dak's departure. James' posture stiffened, realizing that he'd had an audience, but the expression on his face remained neutral.
"Loges, you are up." He said calmly, joining them in the kitchen. Logan's eyebrows almost reached his hairline, and Carlos scoffed.
"Seriously?" Kendall asked, crossing his arms over his chest, still holding the spatula "We are doing this?"
"Doing what?" James questioned, picking an apple out of the fruit bowl and biting at it.
"Not talking about it!" Kendall snapped, throwing his hands in the air. Logan noticed James' fingers flexing around the apple, but when he spoke his voice was still collected.
"What is there to talk about?" it was Carlos turn to have an outburst.
"Dude, you just kissed a guy!" he exclaimed. James' eyes flickered to him, as he shrugged a shoulder.
"So?" he asked, his eyebrows pulling together in a soft frown. Carlos opened his mouth, but then shut it with an audible click, staring at his friend.
"You are straight, James." Kendall pointed out "Straight men don't kiss other men."
"Maybe I'm not." James said, biting his apple again, and taking his time chewing. Stalling.
"What are you saying?" Logan heard himself asking, and his eyes locked with James' when his friend turned to him.
"What if I've jumped on the bandwagon of finding love wherever it's available, despite close-minded, gender limitations?" he asked, and Logan internally gasped, because damn if this response wasn't rehearsed. James had been thinking about this long enough, apparently.
"So…You are bisexual?" he asked, leaning closer to his friend. James took another bite, and Logan could see the anxiousness, the calculations, the fear for his friends' reactions, shinning in James' hazel eyes.
"I might." He said, almost managing to pull of indifference, but Logan knew him too well for that. All of them knew him too well for that.
"James…" Kendall trailed off, approaching the island "Are you sure about this? Have you given it any actual thought?"
"You think this might be a phase I'm going through?" James went on the defense, taking a step away from Kendall. The blonde's eyes widened, realizing how his words must have sounded.
"No, no!" he said hurriedly, letting the spatula on the countertop "I didn't mean it like that! But you are impulsive, James, we all know that. Maybe this is something…else." He finished off lamely. James' face hardened.
"So, I'm bored and I decided to be bi for a while, to see if it fixes the boredom, huh?" He asked snappily, and again Kendall shook his head.
"No, but maybe you are using this as an outlet for-"
"No." James cut him off before he could say anything else, and Logan had a pretty good idea why. He could see the hypothesis forming in Kendall's mind, and his blond friend probably itched to speak his mind.
"But hear me out-"
"No, Kendall, no." James said firmly "This has nothing to do with the company, it has nothing to do with my mother smothering me, and it has nothing to do with Minnesota, so will you please accept that your best friend is queer instead of trying to pin this on his mom!" James all, but yelled, making Logan who was sitting directly next to him wince in pain.
"Dude." Carlos chastised, and Logan felt someone rubbing small circles in his back. It did nothing to ease the sudden headache, but he smile nonetheless, grateful for Carlos' presence.
"Sorry, Loges." James apologized, patting him on the back "My bad."
"It's okay." Logan said, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes "Just, no more yelling." He ordered, his eyes cutting to Kendall, hoping that for once Kendall would keep his thoughts to himself.
"Well you did say Brooke's smothering you." Kendall said innocently, and Logan groaned under his breath.
"Unbelievable." James scoffed bitterly, glaring at Kendall "Un-fucking-believable!" he growled, and Logan could feel the anger radiating off of him in waves.
And then it was last night all over again, with James and Kendall ready to go at it, and Carlos alongside Logan having to somehow defuse the situation. For a second Logan entertained the possibility of actually letting his friends beat the shit out of each other. James and Kendall has been friends the longest out of the four of them, and even though they loved one another, there had always been a sibling kind of rivalry between them; they'd always fight for the leading position in their little group, and they'd try to prove that one was better than the other, they'd even compete on who got to protect Carlos or Logan, who were relatively smaller and attracted the biggest trouble, from the bullies.
Maybe if they finally have a face off they'll let it go.
Carlos next to him had started fidgeting with a napkin. He was biting at his lip, his eyes moving between the two taller men like he was watching a tennis match. Logan could tell that he wanted to say something, perhaps to try and calm James down, or make Kendall back off. Why he didn't say anything, Logan didn't know. Carlos was a trained police officer, and his skill set was supposed to include ' being able to use your words under pressure'.
"If you are gonna fight, just go at it already." Logan's voice shuttered the silence, and even he was surprised at the words coming out of his mouth. He hadn't intended to speak them out loud "The tension is messing with my appetite." He added, stabbing his pancake, and looking up from his breakfast, first at Kendall and then at James. Carlos sat more alert in his chair, as if expecting a brawl to start the second Logan shut his mouth.
"We are not going to fight." Kendall said resolutely, drumming his fingers against the countertop, and shifting his weight so he was a bit further away from James.
Logan raised an eyebrow, looking at his friend; Kendall Knight retreating from a fight wasn't a usual sight. Kendall gave him a knowing look, before turning around and moving towards the sink. He turned on the tap, the sound of running water filled the small kitchen, and started rinsing the utensils he used to make breakfast.
James visibly relaxed, his shoulders lowering a little, and he finally allowed himself to take a seat. He rolled the apple between his fingers, taking another bite, and looked sideways at Logan who was already studying his expression.
"Staring is rude, you know."
"How long have you been…" Logan trailed off, unsure how to finish his sentence. James pinned in his eyes for a long second, and then they flicked over to Carlos, before landing on Kendall's back.
"I don't…I don't know." He said truthfully, shaking his head "I guess I've always known on some level." He went on his head tilted on the side "I'd always find guys attractive, but I never thought much of it. And no, 'Los, before you ask; I've never had a crush on any of you dorks." James said with a small smirk, and Carlos shut his mouth, huffing. Logan chuckled.
"Have you…" Logan paused; coming up with the right words was essential. The last thing he wanted was to set James off again "Have you ever had a relationship with a guy?" he asked carefully. James scratched his jaw with his free hand, the honey brown in his eyes more prominent than any other colourat the moment.
"Um no, not really."
"Not really?" Carlos asked, and James' tongue darted out to lick his lips, his eyes once again calculative.
"I've messed around with guys before, but…I've never had a relationship." James explained "No one was interesting enough."
"And Dak is?" Logan questioned "Cuz I saw him after his latest break-up James, and it wasn't a pretty sight. I don't want him to have to go through that again."
"Hey, you are supposed to be my best friend." James reminded him, slightly jealous over the concern Logan showed about Dak's well being.
"Dak's his mentee, man." Kendall spoke, sparing a glance at him over his shoulder "Loges is crazy protective over the dude." He added, making James raise an eyebrow as he rounded at Logan.
"Is that so?" he asked "So what if your little protégé ends up hurting me, huh?" Logan rolled his eyes.
"Dak's not gonna hurt you James, the guy's been starving for a little bit of affection-"
"Oh and I'm a careless playboy?" James defensiveness came back full force.
"I didn't say that. But trust me, Dak is not going to hurt you, not intentionally." He said in his most persuasive voice. James grunted, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I can't believe you are more worried about him than you are about me." He said sullenly. Logan pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.
"I work with Dak, James. I've vouched to Strauss about him, and his ability to do his job right. Yes, I care about him as a friend, but he is also my subordinate, and I'm responsible for him. I need him at the top of his game, and I can't let some guy mess up his career." Logan said, hoping his friend would see where he was coming from. James gasped.
"I'm not just 'some guy'!"
"I know that; you are one of my best friends, which makes it worse." James raised an eyebrow "I was the reason why you met him, James. If something happens, if either one of you gets hurt, I'll be partially responsible." James' squinted his eyes, and shook his head.
"That's not true." Logan shrugged.
"It might not be, but it's how I'll feel." James shook his head again, turning his attention to his half eaten apple.
"Mhmm." Carlos hummed and Logan glimpsed at him.
"What?"
"James never refused Dak is interesting." Carlos noted.
"Right, you are right, Carlos." Logan commented, eyeing the taller brunette again, whose cheeks had taken a pink-ish tinge "He never did…So I'm guessing Mr. James Diamond is officially off the market." He teased "Finally in a committed relationship."
"At least I'll never be as bad as you." James shot back.
"What is that supposed to mean?" James smirked, and Logan felt something in his stomach giving; it was never a good think when James smirked like that.
"Means, I'm never gonna drunk-call Dak, that's for sure." Logan had the urge to smack his head against the wall.
"I didn't call Malese last night, did I?" he asked, hopelessly hoping that James was just taunting him.
"Sorry buddy." Kendall said with a not so remorseful smile.
"You didn't say anything about me calling Malese." Logan said accusingly, eyeing Carlos, who raised his hands in surrender.
"I know, but in my defense wanted you to get some food inside your system, before we had to cross that bridge."
"Bridge?" Logan questioned "What bridge? What did I say?" he asked looking between his friends.
"Well," James said, after exchanging a look with Carlos and Kendall "You mostly whined about missing her, and feeling awful that you ditched her to hang out with us, and how she deserved better, and you loved her…It was all pretty lame, to be honest." James concluded, and the urge to hit his head against something hard came back to Logan, who contemplated charging towards the wall "But that was just Malese."
"Just…?" Logan asked confused, his still foggy and alcohol induced mind struggling to make sense of James' cryptic words "Just Malese? What do you mean?"
"You kind of called someone else last night, too." Carlos stepped in, making Logan frown and enchasing his confusion.
"What?" he asked feeling lost.
"Loges, last night you called Erin." Kendall spoke up, and Logan's jaw dropped.
"No." he denied "No, no."
No, no, no this didn't make any sense. Any sense at all. Logan shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, trying to figure out what the hell would make him call Erin… But you didn't call her, his mind refused loudly, stubbornly. Right, he would've remembered, if he'd called her, right? He would've remembered…
"You were piss drunk, Logie." Carlos said softly "I wanted to take the phone away from you, but you were holding it so tightly, I was afraid I might hurt you if I insisted."
"You were slurring pretty bad, man. I couldn't even make out half the things you were saying." James said any trace of jest gone from his voice.
"What egh…What did I say to her?" Logan asked feeling his throat closing up.
"It was late, so you got her voicemail." Kendall supplied "You wished her happy birthday, you said you had to, even though she'd decided to up and leave again, disregarding you like some piece of crap." Kendall paused "You..um, you told her that you are happy with Malese, that maybe it was for the best that she left without ever contacting you because when she was around she made everything hard."
Logan gulped against the imaginary lump in his throat. His already queasy stomach gave a violent jerk, and he gritted his teeth, swallowing down the bile that rose to his mouth. Two years, he hadn't spoken to her in two years. It had been a conscious decision to not look her up after she left New York. A tough, but conscious decision, and Logan would never forgive his drunk and hazy brain for messing it up.
"You said, um…" Kendall hesitated, looking over at James who gave a small nod of his head. Kendall let a small sigh, refocusing on Logan "You said you should've never slept together, that it was a huge mistake and it had, on some degree, destroyed your friendship. You couldn't look at her the same again…And then you wished her a happy life and you…you hang up."
Logan hid his face in his hands, pressing his fingers against his forehead. Stupid, stupid, stupid… But maybe it was for the best. Maybe it was the closure he needed, the goodbye he never got to have. Maybe it was time for him to cut his losses, and move on. She had already done that, so he was allowed as well. And it's not like he'd told her something he regretted saying to her; it was all true. It was his truth, coming out thanks to alcohol lowering his inhibitions. He'd been harsh, but honest, and that was more than he could say about Erin herself.
"Are you okay?" Carlos asked, worry shining in his voice, and Logan nodded not trusting himself to open his mouth.
"Maybe you could call back and apologize." Kendall suggested, but Logan shook his head.
"No." he didn't really feel like apologizing.
"But Logan, I think you should-" Kendall cut himself mid-sentence when he heard the sound of a key being jammed in the lock of their entrance.
Malese walked through the door of their apartment hesitantly, not sure what to expect after a guys-night out. Her eyes scanned the living-room, before landing upon the guys sitting around the kitchen island. The expression on her face was unreadable, as she made her way towards them, stopping in front of Logan.
"Hey." He said, reaching to get a hold of her hand.
"Hi. You look surprised to see me." She noticed, and Logan frowned "You don't remember last night's phone-call, do you?" she asked, arching an eyebrow, and Logan had the decency to flash a bright red colour.
"Ugh no, but the guys just told me about it." Malese bit on her lip, giving a small nod of her head.
"Right…So you don't remember how I told you I had something important to say to you?" she asked, but it was more of a statement. Logan gave her a blunt look, and she sighed "Okay, I guess it doesn't change anything, anyway."
"Wait, is it something serious?" Logan asked "Should we go to my bedroom?" Malese chewed on her lip, her eyes moving between the rest of the guys.
"No, it's alright. We can do this here." She said after a second, and Logan saw her swallowing hard. He squeezed her hand, tagging at the hand he was holding, and pulling her closer.
"Okay." He said, unsure of what was going on. He tilted his head forward, brushing his lips over her forehead, and her eyelashes fluttered.
"Logan, we…I.." Malese started, pulling back to look him in the eyes "Something's happened and I… I don't…"
"Babe, breathe." Logan reminded her, squeezing her fingers with his. Malese draw in a deep breath, and shakily let it out.
"I'm pregnant."
A/N; please don't kill me for ending it here...Just let me know if you liked it or not, and I'll see you guys again in July :)