Hi guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! So where we finally are, Kendall has finally got to the front lines of the war! I won't keep you any longer, so let's crack on!

As Kendall passed through the French country side, it was almost if he wasn't being shipped off to war. The green fields surrounding him were untouched, and the people working on them seemed somewhat happy, almost as if nothing was going on. Of course, he knew that wasn't true at all, and he thought back to the first act of war that he had witnessed, the memory haunting him as it replayed.

They were sailing over the English Channel at the time, as five ships transporting troops accompanied them when all of a sudden there was a loud bang, followed by a huge plume of fire and smoke. Everyone on the ship scrambled, as they witnessed one of their fellow transports begin to sink, soldiers jumping off of the sides in order to try to escape and as well as watching the turning of the main guns of his, and the surrounding ships. The next few moments seemed to pass like a flash and before Kendall could even comprehend what happened, he heard their ships main gun fire, but instead of a plume of fire and smoke this time, he was greeted with a huge eruption of water with a ship rising from it for a brief second. The ship was like nothing Kendall had even seen before, and his mind thought back to the word 'submarine' which had been thrown around during his time in Dover. They were the first causalities that Kendall had witness during the war and was damn sure that he wasn't going to forget them anytime soon.

He removed himself from his thoughts when he heard the soldiers in is carriage become all rowdy as the saw the City of Verdun come into view. The blond was quick to survey as much of the city as he could, knowing that this would be his home for a little while, well sort of his home. He'd been told that this base was set up on the outskirts of the city, about a 5 minute car ride away, so he knew that he wouldn't be spending too much time here. As they disembarked the train, everyone was quickly sorted into groups, with those being sent to the trenches entering quite a few trucks, while those who were entering the camp were sent to another. Kendall made sure not to get confused, and once he was sat in the back of the correct truck, he let out a sigh of relief. It was moments later, when the vehicle began to drive, taking Kendall to his home for god knows how long.

When Kendall arrived at this base, he noticed that it was kind of similar to his training camp, but the big difference was the size. It was considerably smaller than the one he trained in, with him only counting about 20 different buildings, compared to what felt like hundreds at Camp Wiltshire. As soon as they had passed the entrance to the fort, the truck allowed them to hop out, and they're were greeted by another commander, Kendall's third if he was counting correctly.

"Greeting! I'm Commander Masters and welcome to Fort Vaux!" the man shouted, something Kendall was quickly becoming sick off. "Right, let me show you around so that you can get straight to work. You have been sent here because the forts in the surrounding area had recently been captured by the Germans and liberated once again. Due to that, we believe that more people are required here, to make sure that the area is as secure as possible" Masters continued as they walked, causing Kendall to freak out.

The blond thought that while he was close to the front lines, he wasn't close enough for them to be an issue but after hearing this, he wasn't so sure. A new wave of fear raced through him, but he kept himself composed at the commander continued the tour. After gaining the basic understanding of where the mess hall was, and where the sleeping quarters were, the whole group of them were dismissed, causing Kendall to make his way back to the stables they passed. When he arrived, he was greeted with the familiarity of the five horses he had worked with back at Lathom Park, but there were also about 10 more that he would have to get accustom to.

That was when the main stable door was barged open, following by a large man who was trying to walk a freaked out horse into one of the pens.

"You, dog!" he said, pointing to Kendall, causing the blond's eyes to widen at him as the British man to continue. "I need you to fix this horse while I get the rest of them in here. MOVE!" he shouted, causing Kendall to jump slightly as he ran towards the man, and got the horse out of his hands. The blond was quick to take over his place, leading the horse into a free pen, while the British man left, leaving him completely alone.

"Ok, you can do this" Kendall said to himself when the horse was secure. He was quick to glance around and as soon as he found the medical supplies, he bolted over to them, making sure to grab everything he needed. When he returned, the blond finally got a good look at the horse's injury to see that it was a long scratch down his leg.

'At least it's something I'm familiar with' Kendall thought to himself as he poured the lotion onto the wash cloth. The blond took a deep breath, before raising the cloth onto the wound. As soon as the cloth hit it, the horse seemed to neigh loudly as he bucked, Kendall quickly dodging out of its way while the horse continued to buck and kick in its pen.

"Woah, easy boy" Kendall said, his voice calm as he tried to help, but it seemed to do nothing for the animal with it still acting wild and mad. "Calm down" the blond continued, his voice a little sterner this time but when the horse didn't listen, he quickly lost his fuse. "Stop!" Kendall shouted at the horse this time, grabbing on the reins to keep it still. The horse seemed to neigh louder at his shouting, but ultimately stopped bucking, causing the blond to smile as he bent down once again, reins still in hand.

"This is going to hurt, but I will make you better, so stay still!" he continued, his voice stern once again, as he placed the wash cloth onto the wound. The horse neighed and jumped slightly, but Kendall was able to tug on the reins a little causing it to calm down. Doing his best, the blond began to clean out the wound by running the wash cloth up and down it. He didn't really know what he was looking for, but when he pulled the cloth away, to see some smears on it, he deemed that was good enough. He was then quick to douse the bandage in the lotion, before wrapping it about four times around the horse's leg. Again, at first, the horse freaked out at the touch, but Kendall was able to calm it relatively quickly by tugging on the rein. When the bandage was secure, he gathered the medical supplies and left the pen to put them back before returning to the horse.

"See, that's wasn't too bad" he spoke as he rubbed the horse's face with his hand. The horse seemed to lean into his touch, which caused him to chuckle. "Now, you will get better" he continued, before hearing a chuckle from behind him. When he glanced around his shoulder, he saw the man from earlier watching as he put a couple horses back into their pens.

"Not bad dog, where'd you get taught to do that?" the man asked, causing Kendall to glare at him slightly at the use of the name 'dog' before he replied.

"Lathom Park" the blond said, causing the man to whistle.

"Well, that makes sense then" he replied, before extending his hand. "Name's Gustavo, and I run this stable"

"Kendall" the blond nodded, before continuing. "And I'm here to help"

"A yank huh? That should be good fun. Well, since you want to help why don't you begin by getting the new horses ready?" he asked, causing Kendall to nod, a smile growing on his face at the fact that the could see his horses again. With a departing nod,

Gustavo went to do his own thing again, leaving Kendall to get on.

'August 2nd, 1917

Dear James,
I have received my posting in a city called Verdun, and I wanted to write to you to let you know that I am ok.

For the past month, I have been training at a place called Lathom Park, where they taught us about looking after the horses, not that I needed much practise at that. They also taught us some stuff to help in case the horses got injured and I already had to put that into use yesterday. I actually really enjoyed my time there and am considering whether to continue some of that training when I get back.

The camp itself is nice, but I will admit that it is scary being in this situation. We are just on the outskirts of the city, so I don't think that regular trips in will be a thing but one can only hope. Soldiers are constantly walking past, which acts as a reminder of where we are, and when the camp is especially quiet, mostly at night, you can hear loud bangs in the distance which I'm guessing the front line.

It is safe to say that I am still missing everyone on the estate, but now that I have a permanent posting, I hope to hear from you soon. Please pass my love to everyone, and I hope that you are all getting on ok. I only wish that I will see you soon

Kendall'

After sending that letter, the months seemed to blur together, with Kendall working every single day. It wasn't that the work was particularly challenging for the blond, mostly because he'd been doing it for the last 9 years of his life but what did make it difficult was the location. Being so close to the front lines was definitely freaking Kendall out, especially when he could hear bombs going off, and sometimes shooting occurring and the horses were relied upon a lot more than he was actually used to.

Normally, he would muck out the pen, and supply food and water while the horses were roaming in the field, but these horses were used a lot, which meant that Kendall also spent a lot of time saddling them up, or attaching them to carts and when they returned, he could also have to wash and groom them. Gustavo was definitely a big help when he was there, but Kendall noticed that a lot of the time, the older male was off doing something, so he would be left working on his own trying to get through about 15 horses a day and those were only the ones that were stationed at his camp.

Other horses from other bases frequented with supplies, and Kendall was also tasked with looking after them while they were there, so it was dealing with a lot. So much that his letters to James had stopped after his first initial one. He'd got a response back from the brunet saying that he was happy Kendall was safe and ok, and that he's glad he can now write to him but apart from that, conversation between them had ceased due to how busy Kendall was.

The next letter Kendall received was on the 2nd November, and after a pretty busy day, he found himself snuggling into his bed as he opened it.

'November 2nd, 1917

Kendall,
Happy Birthday! From what I have been told, today is the day that you turn 20, so we wanted to send you a letter! We are all full of sorrow that you cannot spend it with us, but we wish you all the best. Please write back!

James, Jennifer, Katie, Camille, Lucy, Peggy, Jenny, Henry and Brooke Diamond'

Kendall found himself gaping the letter, mostly because he himself had forgotten that it was his birthday. It was certainly difficult for him to keep track of the days with all the work that he was doing, but he was surprised that it had gone so quickly.

What he was also surprised about was the fact that everyone's signature was on the letter, showing that they all wanted to wish him the best. He couldn't help the tears that pricked the corner of his eyes and he was quick to wipe them away as he reached for a pen and a piece of paper.

After writing his response, the blond went to bed with a smile on his face that night, slipping the letter under his pillow for when times got rough.

With the announcement of his birthday, the blond was able to keep track of time a little better and as Christmas approached, he couldn't help the small bout of joy that he gained, not that it was justified. There was very little mention of the holiday in the camp, let alone any decorations, and while Kendall expected that from a war zone, he thought it would be at least talked about.

As the day seemed to crawl closer, there were a few more mentions of it, and when the day finally dawned he was surprised by a meal in the mess hall. Usually, the blond was subject to less than par foods, with him eating stale crackers and biscuits, and if he was lucky, canned meat, something he never thought he'd be grateful to see when he first encountered it at training.

However, on Christmas day, he was greeted with a cooked meal, with them preparing some meat and a few vegetables. The blond savoured the meal as he ate, knowing that it was the best one he had had in months, and also the best one he would get for the months to come, but when it came to an end, reality took back over his life and he returned to work.

'No rest for the wicked' he thought to himself as he walked back over to the stable, seeing everyone was still in there usually positions, doing exactly the same thing they usually did. War doesn't stop, no matter what day it is, and Kendall learnt that lesson rather harshly. Of course, with the Christmas season coming and going, there was still one thing that Kendall had to deal with, and that was the cold weather.

As January occurred, the weather remained in equilibrium with a constant cold air sitting over his camp, and the blond shivered at the thought of what it must be like in the front lines. Many soldiers had been passing though the camp with frost bite, giving Kendall some idea but he knew that he couldn't fully comprehend their position, especially when he saw how many of them were missing toes or fingers.

It was safe to say that Kendall truly wasn't prepared for the horror that he was actually going to face, and one day in February made that particularly clear to him.

It began as just a normal day, with Kendall mucking out one of the stables when a nurse from the medical tent came running in. "We need a horse and medical cart prepared now!" she demanded, causing Kendall to drop what he was doing as he grabbed one of the horses and pulled it outside with him.

"What about the ambulances?" he asked, as got the horse into position outside, making sure it was secure against the hitching post so that it wouldn't wander off.

"It's broken down, stupid machinery" she replied, as she helped Kendall grab the necessary cart to the back of the horse. It took the blond mere minutes to do as the nurse asked, the whole time Kendall being flustered due to the urgency of the matter. His curiosity was resolved however when he saw the patient the horse would be transporting. As Kendall was securing the last connection, he saw the nurse who had informed him bolt off back towards their medical centre. With curiosity getting the better of him, he turned to see where she had run off to, and when the sight caught his eyes, bile rose to his mouth quickly, but he suppressed the urge to throw up as he finished.

The nurses were carrying a man who had no legs, and chunks of his bone were visible. Some loose skin was flapping in the wind, looking charred and burnt, and while Kendall didn't want to look at the sight, he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away.

"You! Help us lift him" another nurse said, pointing to him and without even thinking about it, the blond nodded as his face paled. As he continued to approach the man, he noticed how much pain he was in, and Kendall was shocked to see him conscious. His face had a numerous number of cuts on it, as did his arm and Kendall couldn't help but stare as he grabbed a hold of the stretcher and lifted the man on the cart.

The man let out an ear piercing scream as the stretcher was lifted, causing the blond to jump slightly and as soon as the stretcher was on it, he was pulled away from the man in order to make room for the nurses to board with him, but that still didn't stop him from staring. As the carriage pulled away, the blond finally took a deep breath before turning away.

"What…what happened to…to him" Kendall stuttered out, causing a nurse to sigh as she rubbed her forehead.

"He stood on a landmine, poor thing. We're not equipped to deal with that, but hopefully the hospital in town can help him. We can only pray" she replied, before tapping him on the shoulder. "You did good kid" she added, before walking away, leaving Kendall and his mental image of the horrible scene.

He returned to work after that, but he had that awful thing imprinted in his brain for the rest of the day, and the blond knew that the memory of the sight and the scream would haunt him for the rest of his life.

It was another few months at the base before Kendall witnessed anything like he did before, and to be honest, he was perfectly ok with that, although it was fair to say that this one was slightly less involved. It was early one morning, where he decided that he needed to get to work. He'd been told that most of the horses were going to be used to transfer a lot of supplies to one of the forts in the area that day, and that they needed to be ready. So, as he worked on the first horse, which happened to be Diamond, he could hear what sounded like buzzing from outside. At first, the blond decided to ignore it as he got settled in the the day.

"Morning buddy" he said, stroking Diamond's face causing the horse to neigh and lean into him. He chuckled, before his ears focused in on the buzzing noise once again but this time it was a lot more vivid and the blond was certain that he heard an explosion go off at the end of it. "What is that?" he asked to Diamond, and when the horse just blew air at him, he chuckled once again before finally pulling himself away and outside. The buzzing sound continued, and when he got out, he noticed how there were quite a few people also gathered around and when he looked up, he was greeted with an unusual sight.

In the distance, he could see what looked to be miniature black dots moving around in the sky. Just by looking at them, he counted about 20 of them and he finally realised what he was watching, a dogfight. The blond squinted a little more and he could easily make out the planes moving about and he figured that the buzzing sound was them firing their machines guns. Everyone around him was whispering about what was happening, and they all shared a communal gasp when they saw one of them planes blow up, the sight clearly visible.

Due to there distance, it was difficult to make it whether it was friend or foe, so everyone refrained from cheering. Another bang sounded, and their eyes snapped to a plane that was on fire and heading towards the ground. You could say it looked like a shooting star as a trail of smoke followed the aircraft down before it hit the ground, which was signalled by another bang along with a plume of smoke and fire. As more people gathered, the whispering seemed to get louder with everyone having their own opinion on what was happening, where abouts it was, and who was winning.

To Kendall, it seemed like the whole base had gathered outside to watch the show, but the commander quickly put a stop to it, telling everyone to get to work. They were all quick to scramble, but that didn't stop the buzzing and explosions from occurring all day, and it certainly didn't stop people, including Kendall, from sneaking out to witness the events that were transpiring.

As night time seemed to dawn, the fighting seemed to stop due to the lack of visibility, but when Kendall went to bed that night, he couldn't help but picture the fighting in his head, with him even imagining himself in the cockfight of the planes a few times.

As August 1918 was approaching, Kendall was becoming more and more aware of the fact that a year had passed since he last saw his family, and since he last saw James. With him working all day, he rarely had time for idol thoughts and when night dawned, he was usually too tired to stay awake for too long but today seemed different. Ever since he'd been in the stable that morning, Gustavo had also been there, tackling half the tasks that Kendall would usually do. About an hour passed before the blond questioned him on it.

"I have to admit, I'm surprised to see you here today" he said, causing the British man to let out a little chuckle as he looked over at the blond.

"Well, today is one of those rare days I get to remain at the camp" he replied, causing Kendall to quirk an eyebrow at him. The older male smiled before continuing. "I'm usually the coachman for a lot of the wagons" he replied, causing Kendall to let out an 'ahh' as he realised what Gustavo's job was.

"No wonder you haven't been around a lot. If I'm working hard to prepare the horses…."

"Then I'm getting them to where they need to be" he finished, causing the blond to smile back at him.

"What's it like, the rest of the war?" Kendall asked, causing Gustavo to let out a sigh.

"It's rough, definitely a lot worse than that we have it here. The soldiers are engaged in trench warfare all along the border, and if I'm being honest, neither side is winning at the moment" That caused Kendall to let out a dejected sigh as he spoke.

"I can't believe it's already been a year"

"Try four" Gustavo added, causing Kendall to frown slightly as he imagined it. It was rough being away from James for a year, but how would the blond cope if he had to endure three more. He shuddered at the fact, before restarting conversation. "Do you have anyone? Back home in…"

"I'm from Coventry, and I have a wife, Kelly" he replied, and Kendall could see the small smile form on his face. "We've written to each other every other week since it had started but it's not the same as being with her you know." He continued, causing Kendall to nod again, knowing the exact feeling. "What about you, you got anyone back in…"

"Oakland" Kendall said, knowing it was better than explaining everything that had happened. "And yeah, I have someone waiting for me. At the moment they are looking after my mother and sister for me" he replied, a smile forming on his face again, as he thought of James.

"Do you write to each other?" Gustavo asked, causing Kendall to nod.

"When I can, so it's probably about once a month or so. It's not enough though" he stated, and he heard a sad chuckle come from Gustavo.

"Trust me kid, it's never enough" the older man replied, and that caused the two of them to get back to work, Kendall reflecting on what the older male had said.

He was right.

Nothing would ever be enough until he was being held is James' arms again.

So there we have it, Kendall year at the front lines, and a lot seemed to go on! This was definitely a weird thing for me to write because I wanted to do it all in one chapter but at the same time, I also wanted to drag it out a little bit, so I thought this, plus the next chapter would work well together. So, yeah, the next chapter will be Kendall at war also, but that will focus on one day rather than a lot of smaller events. But anyway, he also had the introduction of Gustavo in this chapter, who is married to Kelly!

I want to say a massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter and you were all sad to see Freight Train go, but at least we now have Gustavo right! And to answer RainbowDiamonds question, Tyler is the juice box kid, nice going spotting that! I'm also glad that you all loved Diamond the horse, and trust me, he'll be back!

I will see you all on Thursday for the next chapter of Love James, but until then,

TTFN 😃