A/N—Hi guys! I know it's been a long time since I updated this story, but I was busy with the Halloween Challenge for a while. Finally back to this! As a reminder, the last chapter was James on a call with his mother, who got to meet Kendall and gave her approval. This chapter continues on with the same afternoon. And as always, thank you so much for reading! I appreciate it more than you know. :)

Lucy agreed to come back, though she was surprised when her offer to take James (and Kendall, though she clearly hated that idea) out for dinner was rebuffed. James instead said he'd rather stay in after his disastrous video shoot, and Lucy glared at Kendall as if he was somehow brainwashing James.

"But you always want to go out," she argued, having planted herself on the back of the sofa. "You love to get out and be seen."

"Not today, I don't. Honestly, Lucy, I'm just..." He didn't know how to voice his feelings. Part of his reluctance to leave the apartment was due to Kendall, sure—it would take too much energy to keep Kendall in line and bicker with him over other people getting too close. James just wasn't up to that tonight. Yet some of his need to stay in was because that feeling he'd failed everyone earlier still hadn't gone away and he couldn't face people.

"You're what?" she demanded.

Sensing Kendall behind him, as always, James faced Lucy with sad eyes. A hand came up to grip his shoulder, squeezing in a way that didn't feel controlling at the moment; instead, it felt comforting. Kendall might as well have spoken the words out loud: I'm here.

It steadied him.

"I'm tired," James admitted. "Not like...I-need-to-sleep tired. I had a great nap. I'm just kind of drained. Like I need a break from everyone and everything. Do you really never feel that way?"

"I do," Lucy said slowly, her harsh gaze softening. "I've felt that way on tour. You spend all day and night with people around, and you're a slave to your schedule, and I love performing but sometimes after all that I just need to be alone. Is that what's going on?"

"Not exactly that, because I don't mind you being here. It's not so much I want to be alone, I just don't want to be around like...people. I know that doesn't make sense."

"No, it does." Her lips quirked up into a smile. "I'm actually flattered that you don't consider me people. So what's for dinner then? You did mention pizza earlier."

"I can definitely go for pizza," he agreed, his stomach rumbling at the mere thought.

"Then I'll treat us all to that. I know what you like on yours," she continued, sliding her phone out of a pocket. Forcing herself to be friendly, she asked Kendall, "What about you?"

"Pardon?"

The voice came from directly behind James, so close it was almost right into his ear. Without consciously deciding to, James let his body lean against Kendall's. That hand squeezed again.

"What do you like on pizza?"

James realized just in time that Kendall could easily make things worse by telling her that he didn't eat. He answered instead. "He'll eat whatever we put on it. Just order the usual."

Lucy's gaze narrowed, darting back and forth between their faces, but then she shrugged and twisted to lift her legs up over the back of the couch. After landing on a cushion, she focused on her phone to place the order.

"I do not eat," Kendall reminded James in a whisper.

He spun around. "You might have to, just so she isn't suspicious."

Panic started to bloom in clear green eyes as Kendall shook his head. "I do not know how."

"You'll figure it out."

"I won't, James, I—"

"Okay, pizza will be here in about thirty. Now come sit over here and talk to me, would you?"

"We'll be right there," James replied easily, his back to Lucy and his palm pressed to Kendall's chest in what he hoped was a soothing manner. Hadn't Kendall said something about his touch also spreading that peaceful feeling? "Do you want something to drink in the meantime? Or snack on?"

"Nah, I'm good. But you need to talk about what happened earlier and get it off your chest. Unless you've already done that with..." Lucy hesitated, trying to find a nice word. She finally settled on an only-slightly-repulsed, "...him."

Now Lucy was watching them, James felt it. He dropped his hand after nodding at Kendall in a reassuring manner, then turned to smile at her. "Not really. It's embarrassing to talk about with other people."

"Well, we just agreed I'm not people, so..."

That got a chuckle out of James. "Okay, you win." He moved toward the sofa and sat at the opposite end from her. Lucy scooted toward the middle, but was shoved aside when Kendall planted himself between them and gave her a warning look.

"Hey, asshole! Are you kidding me? I can't even sit next to him?!"

Kendall's raised eyebrow and smug smile answered for him.

"Don't even bother," James told her. "You won't win."

"And this is okay with you? You're fine with him just running your life like this?"

"I wouldn't be if I didn't know his intentions are good. And no, sometimes I'm not okay with it," James admitted. With a glance at Kendall, he added, "But I know he means well, and I'm trying to work with him. He's trying, too. I talked to my mom earlier about it and...oh, thanks a lot for calling Kelly, by the way. She called my mom, who checked in on me because you two were freaking out."

"I'm not going to apologize for that. I was worried about you." To Kendall she said, "And can you maybe sit back or something, so I can at least see James when I'm talking to him?"

Kendall settled against the cushions, spreading out his left arm over the back of the sofa in what James now knew was a protective gesture.

"I told you it was fine," James argued. "Mom can be a little severe, so of course she went overboard with Kendall on this. Convinced him I'm in imminent danger every second. It'll get better."

Lucy didn't seem to think that was the case. "It's just hard to have a conversation with you when he's literally in the middle all the time."

Kendall finally spoke up. "I'm not moving."

"And I'm not going to hurt him. I already told you—"

"And I told you that—"

"Enough!" James yelled. "You both care about me. Neither of you is going to hurt me. It's settled. I'm not giving up either of you so let's just get past this already. Kendall's not going anywhere, at least for the next year. Lucy's my best friend and she's not—"

Kendall interrupted. "I thought Logan and Carlos were your best friends."

Lucy opened her mouth before shutting it again in confusion. Then, "Who are Logan and Carlos?"

"Oh my god," James muttered under his breath. Why was everything so difficult today? Couldn't they just eat pizza and watch a movie? "They're my friends from back home. Kendall's right, they are my best friends, but so are you."

"Oh. You've never mentioned them."

"I know. I don't talk about them much."

"Do you talk to them?"

"Yeah, just yesterday. For my birthday."

"Cool. You should invite them out to visit."

"They can't right now because of school, but maybe over the summer." James hadn't actually had the thought before, but now he really liked it. Why shouldn't they come out? A plane ticket couldn't cost that much, right? His mom would swing it if need be.

Of course, then he'd have to explain Kendall. Carlos might believe the lie, but Logan wouldn't for a second. He'd probably react like Lucy and be suspicious, especially since he knew for a fact James didn't have a cousin named Kendall. That wouldn't work.

James' heart dipped when he realized he wouldn't be able to visit with them at all over the next year. But he couldn't miss Christmas, right? His mother would insist on him coming home for that. And once there, Kendall would insist on remaining at his side every second. How would he ever explain being home but refusing to see his best friends?

"Are you well?"

Kendall's voice cut through James' despair. He returned to the moment to see both of them staring at him in concern. "Yeah, I was just thinking about home. I'm fine. Should we watch a movie?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "No, James, we're going to talk about your video shoot. What happened?"

"Do we have to?" James whined.

"I think you'd feel better if you do. Was it just Gustavo being a jerk again?"

"No." With a heavy sigh, James shifted sideways to face them both. His right calf came up to settle over Kendall's thigh, and Kendall turned slightly toward him. It was unnerving to have both gazes on him so intently. "It was me. I screwed up."

"How?" Lucy asked. "You're great on camera."

"When I'm performing, sure. I did fantastic on the first half of the shoot. Then we moved to Colossal and I was doing the whole James Bond thing on set, it was like a hotel scene? Elevator, lobby, hallways...that sort of thing."

Lucy prompted, "Okay."

"And I just...I can see it in my head, how he would look doing the stuff. When I tried, though, I just couldn't pull it off. It's like I try too hard or something. Or maybe not hard enough. My old acting coaches used to tell me to get out of my own head and into someone else's, like for the part? And I could never do that. I don't know why. Today it was the same, the director was telling me how to walk and where to hold the gun and they kept saying I was too stiff. Like I should be more confident, since that's what Bond would be like. I tried and tried and it wasn't working, the director was getting mad, and then Gustavo was getting mad...it was a nightmare."

Lucy's eyes were full of sympathy. "So it's the acting? That's what you have trouble with?"

James nodded in shame.

She shifted her focus to Kendall. "You were there, right?" After rolling her eyes at herself, she said, "Of course you were there, look who I'm asking. But you were watching him film?"

Kendall's faced turned enough to look at her. "I was there and watching."

"Was he really as bad as he thinks he was? Or is it just him thinking he was that bad?"

"I am no judge of acting ability."

"Okay, but you have to have some opinion on how he was doing."

"He was upset and I wished to get him away."

"Get him away?"

"Yes. He was unhappy. Everyone was treating him as if he was a disappointment. I said he should leave."

Lucy frowned. "So that's why you left?"

"No," James jumped in to answer. "It wasn't because of him. He wanted me to leave but I stayed and kept trying to do better. Kelly was the one who told me to go, and Gustavo's gonna bring in an acting coach Monday to work with me. I'm worried it won't be enough. I really suck at acting, Lucy, and the second that gets out, my career is finished."

"Bullshit. You're a singer, not an actor. So what if you can't act? Just do performance videos from now on. Tons of artists do that."

"Fine, but for now Gustavo's put a lot of money into this and if I screw it up, he won't want to work with me anymore."

"That's not gonna happen, James," Lucy assured him. "Gustavo knows you're talented. He knows you have a following. He just needs to work with your strengths and not have you doing all this other stuff."

"Yeah, trying telling him that," James spat.

"I will tell him that," Kendall offered.

James was about to laugh it off, then realized that Kendall being the one to say it might actually work; Gustavo seemed to fear Kendall just a little bit. Curious, he said, "What exactly would you tell him?"

"I would explain to him that you are happiest when you focus on your voice and your music. Must you have the visual to accompany that?"

"Yes," James and Lucy replied together. Lucy added, "You won't get anywhere without a video. People want to know what you're all about, what you look like."

Kendall absorbed that before saying, "Then you should do what is best for you. If acting is not it, I will tell him that. You seemed to be enjoying the earlier part of the day, so perhaps you should do that for all of your visuals."

"Which is exactly what I just said," Lucy pointed out. "He's right, James. But Gustavo's not gonna listen to him."

With a grin, James said, "He will, though. You should've seen Kendall yesterday, the way he stood up to Gustavo. It was awesome. And Gustavo actually apologized to me."

She was stunned. "No way."

"Yes! Kendall's like...the best thing that ever happened to me. I mean, on some levels. In other ways he's just..." He glanced at Kendall before finishing with, "...totally annoying."

Rather than be hurt or offended, Kendall offered him a tiny smile. As true as James' words were, they'd been spoken with a hint of affection, and that didn't fly over Kendall's head. He was getting better at reading the tone behind the words.

"So then, what?" Lucy cut in. "You're just gonna tell him Monday that you're not doing the video?"

James shook his head. "No, because he did sink a lot of money into this and I don't want to let him down. I'm gonna try it his way and I'm gonna try hard to do it right. But after that, I'll let Kendall have a talk with him about what I want in the future. I don't think I'm asking too much. I tried to tell them we should just stick with a straight performance video. It's not my fault Gustavo wouldn't listen."

"Good," Lucy nodded. "I agree. If he gives you any crap after this guy talks to him, let me know. But it's true, you have the right to make decisions about your own career. I've been telling you that from the start."

"I know, I was just afraid Gustavo would drop me if I argued with him. Hawk's been trying to get me to go over there, but I don't trust that guy. He's promising me too much, like it's too good to be true."

"It is. Don't work with Hawk, he's conniving and only cares about himself. I've heard too many stories from artists who let him run their careers and he ended up screwing them over. Gustavo's an asshole, but you don't hear about him ruining lives. He knows how to crank out hits."

"Yeah," James agreed, "and I think Kelly helps a lot with that. She makes things smoother between him and me." He smirked and squeezed Kendall's forearm, which was pressed against his shoulder. "And now I've got Kendall on my side, too, so..."

Kendall's bright smile showed how pleased he was with James' comment. Really, Kendall didn't smile enough. James was going to work on that, because when Kendall did smile it was like the sun coming out on a cloudy day.

A knock on the front door had Lucy jumping up. "Pizza's here!"

"I'll get the plates!" James waited until Lucy was a safe distance away to whisper, "If you don't want to eat, it's okay. I'll tell her you ate earlier while I was asleep."

The gratitude in Kendall's eyes almost knocked James over.

"But you can't do this all the time. We're gonna have to teach you how to eat."

Though the idea clearly filled him with trepidation, Kendall nodded. His trust in James was absolute, at least when it came to himself; he knew James wouldn't do anything to hurt him.

In that, they were even.

After finally picking out a movie, they all sat together on the sofa to watch it while stuffing their faces with pizza. Lucy bought the lie about Kendall not being hungry, so there was no weirdness there. James was surprised to find that Kendall was easily sucked into the movie, but that also might be because James was at his side and had the buffer of Kendall between him and Lucy, so he was able to relax knowing James was safe. He only spoke once, to question a character's action; the rest of the time he followed along as if trying to learn the behavior of humans in general.

He allowed James one hug with Lucy when she was leaving, knowing James needed that, but the second the door closed behind her, he turned to James to ask, "Are you well? Is there anything I can do for you? I am here."

Amused, James shook his head. "I'm fine. Thanks for letting her come over, I really needed that. Just down time with a friend, you know?"

"I'm not sure what 'down time' is, but you're welcome. No more guests tonight, correct?"

"No way, dude. I just want to be alone." James turned away to head back to the sofa.

"I will do my best to give you space while still fulfilling my mission. If you would like, I can stand here by the door. And I can occlude myself so that you feel alone."

James look back with a frown. "No, Kendall, I didn't mean..." He shook his head. "Get over here."

Surprised, Kendall approached slowly. "Here?"

"The couch. Come on, sit down." James already had.

"With you? But you said you wished to be alone."

"You don't count. Even when you're not here, you're here. Right? So you might as well be here."

"Your words are confusing," Kendall stated.

"Forget it, just come sit with me. We need to teach you to eat."

Kendall's movement slowed. "Must we?"

"Yes." James patted the cushion next to him. "Lucy didn't question it this time, but if it's a repeated thing she will be suspicious. She might even think it's because you're spiking the food and know better than to eat it."

After perching stiffly on the sofa, Kendall asked, "What does that mean? To spike the food? She thought I had done that."

"It means she thinks you're adding something to my food in order to control my behavior."

"Like a poison?"

"No, more like some sort of drug to brainwash me."

"Does your brain need to be washed? Is it dirty?"

"Kendall, no. No, brainwashing is...it's like tricking me into believing something that's not true because it benefits you."

"My concern is not for myself. It is for you."

"I'm aware of that, but Lucy isn't. Though I think she likes you a little better after tonight, so it was worth getting her over here. Look, forget about Lucy." James waved a hand as if chasing her aura away. "Let's talk about food. You know what it's for, right?"

"Yes, that was part of my training. Humans must eat to survive. Food is fuel for the body."

"Exactly. It helps if the food tastes good, because then we want to eat. Pizza's one of the best-tasting foods there is."

"So taste matters?"

"Totally." James reached into the pizza box that was still on the table and pulled out a slice covered in pepperoni, sausage, peppers, and onions. "Were you watching us eat at all?"

"Somewhat. And I've watched you eat plenty. I understand that you bring food to your mouth, and then your mouth moves. What I was unable to figure out is where the food disappears to."

"You don't even know about swallowing?" James asked in disbelief. "Or...chewing?"

Kendall shook his head. "We were only taught that you need to eat and told that our targets would know how."

"Wow, okay. In that case..." He set the pizza slice on top of the box and jumped up. "Hang on."

"Where are you going?" Kendall was immediately up and ready to follow.

"Just right here to the fridge. We need something..." James rooted around in the freezer until he found what was left of his emergency ice cream. "Perfect!" He grabbed a spoon from the silverware drawer before jogging back to the living room. "Ice cream is another of the best things in the world. You're so lucky to have that and pizza as your first meal." After plopping down on the couch, he gestured for Kendall to join him again. "Come on. You're gonna love this, I promise."

He'd added the last because the expression on Kendall's face leaned more toward uncertainty than excitement. "I don't recall anything in my training that stated I would have to eat."

"You will if you want to blend in. And trust me, you do."

Kendall nodded and sat. Again James had the thought that it was nice to have someone trust his advice. "Okay, so ice cream will be easier to start with because you don't really have to chew it. You just put it in your mouth and it melts and you swallow."

"How do I swallow?"

"You just...you know, your throat...you like..." James' brows drew together. How to explain swallowing? It wasn't something you were taught, you just did it. "Um. It's like a reflex or something. Are you saying you never swallow now? Not even saliva?"

"I...am not sure."

"Okay well let's just...here." James peeled off the lid of the pint-sized carton and stuck the spoon in. He scooped up about half a spoonful and held it to Kendall's lips. "Open your mouth." Kendall obeyed. "Wider. There you go." The spoon went in. "Okay, now close it. Your mouth, close it." Kendall did that as well, and James pulled out the spoon to leave the ice cream behind. "Cold, right?"

"I do not feel temperature—" That was all Kendall got out before the ice cream started to dribble down his chin, long drips of creamy brown that gravity was pulling toward their laps.

"Kendall, oh my god!" Again James jumped up and ran to the kitchen, this time for napkins. He rushed back just in time to save Kendall's shirt from a mess by wiping Kendall's chin clean. "Jesus, it really is like a toddler. Dude, you have to keep your mouth closed when there's food in it."

Kendall grabbed at the napkin James had used in order to spit out what was left in his mouth. "But you speak when you're eating. Just yesterday you were talking to me while you had food in your mouth."

"Okay, that's not the proper way to eat. It's just...well, technically it's bad manners. I don't eat that way when I'm around other people. When there's food in there, keep it shut until after you swallow."

"I see."

"And most foods you'll have to chew into a mush before you swallow. Ice cream is different. There's nothing in here to chew, it's just plain chocolate. So I'm going to try again, and this time keep the ice cream in your mouth and swallow."

"I still don't know how to—"

"I think your body will do that on its own. I hope, anyway. Ready for more?"

Kendall bit his lip. He really wasn't. But for James... "Yes."

This time it went a little smoother; the ice cream stayed in, and James nodded in encouragement. "Let it move toward the back. Down your throat."

Kendall suddenly gagged before choking.

"Here we go," James sighed. "You have to swallow, Kendall."

"It feels strange," he said while his face turned red. James held a napkin to his mouth to keep him from spewing ice cream everywhere.

"It won't once you swallow. Trust me, okay? I wouldn't make you do this if it was a bad thing."

Kendall nodded.

"One more time. You good? Do you need some...oh shit, why didn't I start with water? That's the easiest thing to swallow. I'm an idiot."

For the third time, Kendall watched James shoot up from the couch and run to the kitchen. He came back with a glass of water and offered it to Kendall. "Drink this. You've seen me drink, you know how that works. Just make sure to keep your mouth closed until you swallow. Tip some of this into your mouth but not too much. That's right, just like that. Now close your mouth." Once Kendall had, James plucked the glass from his hand. "This time when the water goes down your throat, let it. Just let your body do its thing."

James watched closely, praying for this to actually work, and cried out in victory when he saw Kendall's Adam's apple bob. "Yes! That's it! You did it! You swallowed!"

Kendall licked his lips. "The water is gone."

"I know! See, I knew you could do it!"

Pleased that he'd made James proud, Kendall smiled.

"Ready for ice cream now?"

"I believe so."

That went well, so after a few bites of that James moved back to the pizza. "Okay, now this you're going to have to chew before you swallow. You just use your teeth to grind it down, then do the same thing you did before. Ready?"

"I will try, James."

"That's all I'm asking, buddy. Open your mouth. Actually, try holding it yourself. I can't be feeding you in front of other people, that's just weird."

James coached him through that as well, then fist-pumped the air when it was successful. "That's it, you're doing it! One more, just one more bite. For me."

Kendall complied before tilting his head at James in amusement. "I have not seen you smile this much yet today. You are happy."

"Am I?"

"Yes, James. It pleases you to see me eat?"

"I don't know, I'm just like...proud of you. Or something." Suddenly self-conscious about it, James cleared his throat and moved to pick up the ice cream carton. "Do you want more pizza or can I put this away?"

"I do not require it."

"Okay." Needing to be away from that direct gaze, James focused on returning the food to its place. The ice cream was mostly gone, so it went in the trash. He shoved the last two slices of pizza into a small plastic bag and sealed it. When he turned to open the refrigerator, Kendall was right there, practically on him. "Jesus, stop doing that! You startled me."

"Forgive me. Are you well? I am sensing that you are not comfortable."

"I'm fine. You only have to eat when we're around other people who are eating. And you don't have to eat a lot, some people don't. But it's necessary to show that you do eat occasionally."

"I understand."

"Good." He gently shoved Kendall aside to set the pizza in the refrigerator. "And when you do, water helps wash it down. Did you at least like the food?"

"Do you mean the taste?"

"Yeah." James leaned back against the fridge after closing it. "Was the pizza good?"

"It was a bit much. So many flavors that it was overwhelming. I enjoyed the ice cream."

"Yeah, who doesn't?" James joked. "I only let myself eat it when I'm stressed out or upset."

"Why?"

"Why? Because it's not good for you."

"Is it dangerous?"

"No, Kendall, not dangerous, just...I mean I guess it can be if you eat too much. Some foods are fattening, and too much fat will make you overweight. It puts a lot of stress on the body, causes health problems."

"I see. So then why does it taste good? I would think it makes more sense to give the bad things a bad taste, so that humans don't eat too much of them."

"Right? God kind of messed up on that one. Because foods that are good for the body usually don't taste great. It's backward."

"I shall question that when I return to Heaven. I am sure there is a reason."

"If you say so." James glanced at the microwave clock. "Hey, it's still pretty early. You up for another movie?"

"I am upright, yes."

James spluttered out a laugh. "No, I meant are you in the mood? Feel like watching a movie?"

"My mood does not determine my actions, James. I am here to keep you safe and nothing more."

"Right, I get that, but you can still have fun. Let's find a comedy, something to make you laugh. Though knowing you, you'll probably just ask questions every five seconds anyway." He grabbed Kendall's hand to lead him back to the living room. "Why didn't you earlier? I know you were confused by that movie we watched."

"You have told me that it is best to refrain from speaking unless necessary when others are around. And when I speak to Lucy, you get angry and tell us to stop."

"I just want you two to stop fighting. That doesn't mean you can't talk at all. But...now that I think about it, it probably is best to not ask a bunch of questions around Lucy. Or Kelly. Or...well, okay, so pretty much everyone. It'll make them think you're weird."

"And that is bad," Kendall confirmed.

"In your case, yes. You're trying to pass for human."

"If you would let me speak the truth, I would not have to—"

"Nope, my answer on that is never gonna change." James plopped himself down on the sofa and pulled Kendall with him. "Let's just have a quiet night in and watch TV or something, okay?"

"Whatever you wish, James."

Kendall's arm came up like it had earlier, stretching out behind James on the back of the sofa. Ten minutes into the movie, James was cuddled into Kendall with that arm wrapped around him. It felt natural enough now that he barely even noticed.