A/N—Happy Tuesday! We all made it through another week, and how great was that surprise BTR video yesterday? It sure got a lot of people reminiscing about the good old days, and I'm hoping it brings people back to fic as well. You never know! Anyway, here's the next chapter of this one. It's shorter than I usually post but you'll see when you get there that it was the best place to stop before jumping into the next scene. Hope you enjoy! And I got a lot written this morning, so if I'm able to do the same on my next day off you might get another chapter before next week. Fingers crossed! Thanks for reading!

Papi tried one more time to convince Logan to go along to the party. Sylvia told Papi to back off, probably thinking Logan wasn't up to so many people and would prefer the time alone. Logan let her assume that.

Carlos gave him a sad look before stepping out of the house. "I'm sorry, man. I know you want to be there."

"It's okay. Just keep me posted. Often. Let me know how he's doing. He was upset when he left Sizzler."

"Yeah. He'll probably just spend the whole night with Mandy," Carlos complained with a roll of his eyes. "But we'll try to get him talking. See you in the morning!"

Right, because Carlos would be staying at Kendall's. Maybe they'd convince James to join them there; he wouldn't want to be alone on his birthday, would he? It might depress Brooke to be alone on James' birthday, though. Perhaps Logan would bully his way into her home with lunch Sunday.

In her own attempt at bullying by way of guilt, Brooke texted him video of the decorations around the house and backyard, along with a message of "Look at what you're missing. They've transformed my home!"

"It does look good. You're sure you didn't overtax yourself setting it all up?"

"I barely lifted a finger. Trust me, Jennifer and Katie came early to make sure of that. I still think you two are in cahoots against me."

A laugh burst out of Logan. "We're not, I swear! We just care. What's James doing?"

"He's not here yet."

Logan frowned and looked at the time. Twelve minutes past six. "Are you sure he's coming?"

"After all this effort I put into his party? He'd better or he's grounded. I'm not letting that harpy ruin my last chance to throw my son a birthday party."

Part of Logan really wanted to argue that she didn't know it was her last chance, that she needed to be more positive. He didn't, though, because he knew she was right and he respected her too much to give her false hope; she knew what was coming and was determined to face it with bravery and dignity. "He'll be there," was what Logan responded instead. He hoped he knew James well enough to at least be right about that. "Are there a lot of guests?"

"They're straggling in. James said he invited the entire hockey team and a bunch of kids from school, so I'm prepared for a hundred. That means I'll probably need help eating up the leftovers over the next few days."

He smiled at the hint. "If James is out tomorrow afternoon, I can spend some time there after our study session. Let me know."

"Study session?"

"I'm helping Carlos and Kendall with schoolwork on Sunday mornings now. So far they're both doing better."

"James could really use something like that."

Yes, that was the whole point of it—the whole point of his existence now: to help James. Logan's prospects seemed so hopeless in moments like this. "If he ever forgives me, he's invited." Surprising himself, he admitted to Brooke, "I miss him."

"He misses you, too. I know he does. Tonight should do the trick. He'll wish you were here. I need to get going for now, the party planners need direction. Are you sure you won't come?"

"Positive. Just keep me updated on him. Let me know he's okay."

The next hour was torture. No one communicated with him and he felt like time was going backward because it passed so slowly. He tried to read a book, but couldn't concentrate. Attempted homework and had the same problem. All he could think about was James.

So rather than run from his traitorous thoughts, Logan embraced them. It was safe to pull his box down from the closet and get lost in his photo cube of James; he spent time reminding himself of the man James would come to be, the man who'd captivated him from a young age and inspired every life choice he'd made since he was a child.

Seemingly larger than life while projected on Carlos' bedroom wall, an older and wiser James smiled back at him to impart words that had helped him get through many days. "We have to remember that as bleak as the world seems at times, there are people fighting for change. We're on the path to eradicating cancer completely, which is a feat that once seemed impossible. Everything seems impossible until it's not. This new genetic process will pave the way to a healthier life for all, not just in the area of cancer but illnesses we never imagined could be obsolete. Change is coming, and it's the hope that keeps us fighting."

Halfway through the speech, Logan was mouthing the words along with James while studying him with new eyes. James would cut his hair at some point, right around the time his formula became known worldwide because that's when the interviews and press conferences would start. Now Logan knew that it was a sense of vanity perhaps that would drive James to that; he thrived on the attention, but would want to look his best. That leather jacket he wore around from day to day would disappear to be replaced with suits (or nice shirts, at the very least) and eventually a lab coat that he loved so much he'd be buried in it. James would need glasses after thirty, when his eyesight started to gradually decline. His hairline would slowly recede, and by fifty there would be nothing but white growing out of his scalp but he'd still have a head of lush hair.

What wouldn't change was that spark in his eyes, the same one that appeared now when James talked about being famous. It was the spark Logan had fallen in love with at a young age, and while he didn't understand why it was fame driving James at this point, it drew him in just the same. He could spend all night listening to James talk about his hopes and dreams the way he'd started to down in Carlos' basement during that one perfect night they'd had together. Logan would give anything to have that back.

For now he'd have to content himself watching footage of future James (it was still weird to think of that version as "future" James rather than past) with the knowledge it would come to pass. "I believe in you," Logan whispered now, watching another press conference he'd pulled up. "You're going to change the world, and I'm going to be so proud."

Logan was just thinking about digging some food out of the fridge when a text from Kendall came in. "Well, James finally showed up and you're not gonna believe this. I feel like it's MY birthday or something."

Logan put away the cube to focus on his phone, hope burgeoning. "Tell me."

"She's out. FINALLY. He showed up alone. Carlos asked about her, and James said he broke it off. That's why he was late, he was ending things between them. SHE'S GONE, LOGAN!"

Logan's breath caught as his eyes skimmed the message. Mandy was gone? James dumped her? After everything they'd talked about in that parking lot, James had walked away from her? "Why? Why would he do that? Did he say?"

"Said he doesn't want to talk about it. Fine with me, I'm just glad she's gone. Mindy's not here either, she's probably consoling Mandy. I'm sure that bitch didn't take it well. But Denise showed up. I'd almost rather it be Mindy, even though she annoys me."

All of that made perfect sense to Logan, who knew that Denise represented a threat to his feelings for Carlos. Still, the fact that James had ended things with Mandy...

Nothing about this could be bad. It was the first step toward his destiny. The why didn't matter—all that did was that it happened and James could move forward with a clear head now. Unless... "Is he drunk?"

"Not yet. There is alcohol here for the adults, but it wouldn't be hard for James to sneak some of it. Not at his own house."

This was true. "Stay close to him tonight. Both of you. Where's Carlos?"

"Talking to James out back. The place looks amazing. I wish you could see it."

"Brooke sent me video."

"Of course she did, you're BFF's."

"Laugh all you want, but at least I know what's going on with James this way. Just keep him safe tonight, okay? Don't let him out of your sight. If Mandy's really upset, she might show up and cause drama."

It was more than drama Logan was worried about, because if by chance Mandy was the enemy sent back to kill James, this would be the perfect time. Not only had he already won the trophy that would help them pinpoint him in this time, she had a perfect excuse to "lose her mind and get revenge on her ex-boyfriend out of grief."

"Don't worry about it, we'll keep an eye on him. And we'll feel him out about you. If he seems like he's caving, we'll let you know and you can come make a move."

"Please do. Keep me posted."

"No prob. He's in surprisingly good spirits for a guy who just dumped his girlfriend."

"That's because he knew she wasn't right for him. Just stay near him."

Kendall sent back what looked like a thumbs up. Logan let out a relieved breath.

It would be easy to fool himself that James' actions had to do with feelings for him, but Logan didn't allow his mind to follow that path. It was the path to delusion. Instead of wondering why James had done it, Logan just enjoyed the fact that he did. Brooke would be just as thrilled with the news.

"Can you talk?" he sent.

Brooke replied a few minutes later. "I'm inside now. He's out back."

This required an actual call. Logan sat on his bed, foot bouncing restlessly against the carpet as he heard ringing through the phone. He needed to share this with someone.

"I was going to text you in a bit," Brooke answered in her no-nonsense tone. "I've kind of got a lot going on over here, you know."

"This is important. He broke up with her."

There was no answer.

"Did you hear me? Kendall just texted. Brooke, he broke up with her! She's gone!"

A harsh sigh came through before being cut off. "Are you sure? Is that why she's not here?"

"Positive! He won't talk about it but he told them he dumped her. That's why he was late."

"Oh, hallelujah! Miracles do happen!"

"I know! I don't even care why, I'm just so happy she's out of his life!"

"That's a lie. You do care why."

"Okay, maybe," Logan admitted. "But this doesn't mean I'm back on his good side. It probably has nothing to do with me."

"Hmm, I think it has a lot to do with you. If nothing else, he's using his brains now and that has plenty to do with your influence. Come to the party, Logan. Please. He's in such a wonderful mood, making the rounds with everyone and being sociable and it's been a long time since I've seen him this way. Come witness it."

Logan shook his head. "No. I'll just ruin it. Remember, he has to miss me."

"Why are you so stubborn?" she chastised.

He thought that was most definitely ironic coming from her. "Because I'm right. Just go spend time with him. See if you can find out what motivated him to do it."

"I think the boys have a better chance of that."

"Probably. He's not drinking, right?"

"Not that I'm aware of. But I'd say he's earned himself a beer tonight."

"Brooke, no, one leads to more. And he's a minor! You could get arrested for allowing him to drink!"

"Logan, will you lighten up? My son is happy, there's nothing more I want right now. Except you here. Will you come?"

Logan rolled his eyes. "And you call me stubborn. I'm hanging up now. Just wanted to let you know the good news."

"Well, thank you. Let me know of any other breaking news that you hear."

"I'm counting on you for the same. Have fun, Brooke. Enjoy the party. Just...enjoy spending time with him."

"I have been. The past few days have been wonderful, Logan. I almost hate to send him back to school Monday. But I will, because he needs to see you again."

"Also because he needs an education?"

"Well yes, there is that. Oh, Sylvia's calling for me. I'll talk to you later."

"Goodnight, Brooke."

Once he hung up the call, Logan didn't know what to do with himself. His body was humming with excitement, because even if James didn't forgive Logan in the next few days, he would be spending more time with Kendall and Carlos. And hopefully drinking less. That was something to celebrate.

Logan returned the box to the closet. There would be time to enjoy the future version of James (he hoped), and this time he'd see it all happen. For the moment he was content to think about the present James—one who had finally started using his brain, as Brooke pointed out. It was only a matter of time before he saw reason where Logan was concerned, as well.

In a much better frame of mind, Logan went to the kitchen to put something together for dinner. Sylvia had mentioned leftovers from the night before, and he supplemented that with a salad he threw together while wondering why people didn't dump ranch dressing on pretty much everything. He couldn't get enough of the stuff. Now if he could just convince Sylvia to pick up pine nuts next time she went shopping...

An hour after that, Kendall texted again. "We can't find him. Nobody's seen him for almost an hour."

Logan's heart stopped. Sudden visions of James weakening and running back to Mandy flew through his brain. "No. No no no, James, don't do this." He forced himself to calm down and paused the television show he'd been engrossed in. "I just talked to Brooke an hour ago and she said he was going around being sociable."

"He was." There was nothing more.

"So what happened? How did you lose him?"

It was too long before the next text, and when it came Logan knew why; Kendall was mad at himself and knew Logan would be angry, too. "Carlos wanted more cake."

Deep breaths, Logan. Deep breaths. "So you went into the house and when you came back out, he was gone?"

"We didn't think anything of it. He'd been having a good time, just making the rounds and thanking everyone for coming. He seemed happy. Like really happy to see us all here."

"Is he drinking?"

"I don't know. He wasn't, but I guess he might be now."

"Did he leave? Do you know if he left?"

"No. He's not answering texts. We don't know where he is."

Think, Logan. Think. "Is Denise still there?"

"Yeah. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Have her text or call Mandy. To 'check on her.' If James is with Mandy, or even on the way there, Mandy will tell her."

"Oh, that's smart! Give me a few minutes."

Those few minutes were agony. Please James, don't do this. Don't run back to her.

"Mandy's still depressed. Mindy said they haven't heard anything from James."

Relief was like cool water raining down on him in the middle of the desert. That had also calmed his fears that Mandy was currently making plans to harm James. "Okay, is there anywhere else he would go?"

Logan assumed the lack of an answer right away meant Kendall was thinking, but then he replied, "He just texted me. Told me and Carlos to meet him up in his room. I gotta go."

The relief intensified. "Please get back to me when you can. Just so I know he's okay."

Logan spent the next twenty minutes pacing the house and trying not to panic. The fact that James had reached out to Kendall and Carlos was encouraging; he needed to remember that. The break-up had probably just hit him and he was depressed. Or maybe now that he didn't have Mandy and alcohol to distract him, the truth of his mother's fate was sinking in. Maybe he was finally accepting everything and needed his friends to talk to. Hadn't that been their goal all along?

Jealousy sprang up unexpectedly. It was supposed to me. I'm the one he's supposed to lean on and cry to.

But that wasn't true. Logan hadn't been here the first time around and James had leaned on someone else, most likely the two people who were up in his room with him right this second. Things were going the way they were supposed to. Logan should be happy. This was the way it had played out in the past, he was sure of it. In fact, it was better that he wasn't at the party. His presence would probably alter things too much. Really, this was all for the best.

He was still working on believing that when his phone rang. It was Carlos. "Oh thank god," Logan breathed before answering. "What's up?"

"You need to get over here. Now."

Something was off in Carlos' voice; rarely did Logan hear him scared. "Carlos? What's going on? Where's James?"

"He went back outside. Logan...please, come talk to him. You're the only person in the world who can get through to him."

"Carlos, what's..." Sheer horror filled Logan when he realized what could have Carlos that frightened. "Is he alone? Don't leave him alone!"

Next it was Kendall's voice in his ear. "Dude, get over here and talk some sense into him."

Kendall at least didn't sound panicked; he sounded pissed. "What the hell is happening?"

"He's leaving."

Logan blinked a few times while trying to make sense of it. "Leaving? Like..."

"Like running away. Before morning. He's apparently been planning it for days and wanted to say goodbye to everyone tonight. Only nobody knows it's a goodbye."

Logan's mouth slowly dropped open. This wasn't right, James never ran away. He stayed here in Duluth and graduated from Denfield and turned in that assignment. Maybe Kendall and Carlos had... "Talk him out of it."

"We tried!" Kendall yelled. "We just spent twenty minutes trying to talk him out of it! He's pissed at us now and says we can't stop him or force him to watch his mom die."

"Oh my god," Logan whispered. He fell onto the sofa and rubbed a hand over his face. "James..."

"Get over here, Logan. You're the only one who can get past his wall. Don't let him go."

Fuck. "Okay. Okay, I'll be there in ten minutes, just don't let him go anywhere! Did you tell Brooke?"

"No, we swore we wouldn't. He made us promise. He just wanted to say goodbye to us and do it right and made us swear to look after his mom. He said nobody else knows. He's already got a bag packed and a bus ticket to Hollywood. Please, Logan." Kendall's anger was giving way to fear now. "Don't let him do this. Don't let him go."

"Just...keep an eye on him. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Oh, and Logan...he's been drinking. That's where he was, hiding out somewhere getting drunk. So he's not..."

"Of course he was," Logan sighed. "I'll bring my battle armor. Thanks."

"Just get here."

Logan killed the call, the weight of the fate of humanity resting on his shoulders yet again. When had this become so difficult?