A/N—Finally back with a short chapter. It was either going to be too short or too long (since the next scene is a long one) so I decided to just cut it where I did. But the good news is this time I'm determined to not let so much time pass before posting the next chapter, so I should have that up later this week. Thank you if you're reading this! It means so much to me!

We left off at James' video shoot, after his discussion with the acting coach and then Kendall & Lucy having a talk. :)

Once the final cut was called, James jogged over to where Lucy and Kendall were standing and gave her a high five. He was beaming. "Well?! Could you see anything from here?"

"I saw some of it on the monitor," Lucy answered. "I don't know what Saturday was like, but today was amazing. Even the director was saying he couldn't believe the difference."

"I know, I wasn't nervous at all!" Seeing that Kelly and Gustavo were heading toward him after a brief conversation with the director, James tensed up. "Well, now I am. But seriously, the director said that? I was good?"

"You were great, James. You really sold it, and I'm proud of you."

"Thanks!" With a huge grin, James leaned in to hug Lucy tight. Kendall allowed it, though his gaze narrowed as if waiting for something more. He relaxed a bit when James stepped back, then was on guard again as Kelly arrived.

"James! It was perfect! I'm so happy you got past your mental block!"

"It's all thanks to Judy. I still can't believe it! Where is she? I need to thank her."

"She couldn't stay, she had another meeting. But I'll pass that along." Kelly cleared her throat and looked up at Gustavo, waiting to see what he might have to say.

James' stomach rolled over in dread; Gustavo was staring him down through the oversized shades he wore almost everywhere. "Why didn't you do that Saturday?" was his comment.

"I um...I was trying too hard to get it right. I was worried about looking cool and how the public would judge me."

Gustavo chewed on that before asking, "And you're not now?"

"I mean...yeah, a little. But Judy told me to go in and pretend I was playing a game with a friend. It worked. I just had fun with it. Was it um...was it okay?" James bit his bottom lip. He sensed Kendall behind him and leaned back slightly. Kendall magically knew what he needed and rested a hand on James' shoulder.

"It was good enough," Gustavo finally replied. "Be at the studio tomorrow morning at nine o'clock. Don't be late," he added as he turned away.

James stared at his retreating back, blinking repeatedly until it sank in. Gustavo approved of his acting. It was good enough—and everyone knew that for Gustavo, that meant it was amazing. He dared to look at Kelly, whose face was lit up with a smile. "Honestly, James, great job today. I'm really proud of you."

"Thanks. And he left before I could say it, so thank him for me, too. He didn't have to give me a second chance on this, but he did. I know it was mostly to save himself money, but...still. Thanks for believing in me."

"I keep telling you, James, you have the talent. It's just a matter of bringing out the best in you."

A shoulder squeeze from Kendall punctuated that remark, as if emphasizing it as something important. James supposed Kendall would agree that he should always find the best version of himself to put forward. Today, he had. It was a relief to have the video done, but it was also so much more than that; it was affirmation that he really could overcome barriers that his own mind put up, and that he could continue to learn. He smiled at Kelly, full of a warm feeling that was only partially due to Kendall's touch.

"Don't be late tomorrow morning."

"I won't!" James grinned. She nodded at Lucy and Kendall before going off to find Gustavo, who had returned to the director.

"So you impressed Gustavo and get the rest of the day off?" Lucy asked. "I say this calls for a celebration! Let me treat you guys to lunch."

James opened his mouth to accept that invitation whole-heartedly, then hesitated when he remembered how difficult it would be to have Kendall out in public. Lucy saw it and shook her head. "It's okay, James, we talked things out while you were filming. Kendall and I are...cool now."

Wide eyes met that statement. What exactly had they talked about? What in the world would Kendall have said? "Really. What uh..." James glanced back at Kendall, who had nothing to add. "Explain," James said to Lucy.

"We just talked about how we both have the same goal, to make sure you're happy and safe. And since I'm your friend, I'm not going anywhere so he needs to get used to it."

Another glance Kendall's way resulted in more silence. James frowned before asking, "And how did he respond to that?"

"He agreed that he doesn't want to make your life hell, so we're going to learn to co-exist. Right, Kendall?"

Kendall offered nothing more than a brief nod in response.

"So it's fine! We can all go get lunch at your favorite place. My treat!"

It was definitely tempting. Something was off about Kendall, though. James wasn't sure what it was—maybe just that there were so many people around and it put him on guard more than usual. Or maybe he wasn't happy about what Lucy had asked of him; they'd probably bickered like children while James was working. Either way, James couldn't take a chance with Kendall being so unpredictable. He sighed and said, "I'm sorry, but I'm exhausted after all that. I didn't sleep well last night and what I'd really like to do is just go home and try to catch up on that. Can we do dinner instead?"

Lucy stared back in suspicion. It was unheard of for James to turn down free food, especially at his favorite place. This was twice he'd done that in a matter of days. "James, I really think we need to—"

"Please, Lucy. I swear I'm fine. Just tired. Dinner?"

She struggled with that, wanting to say so much, but finally nodded. "It'll have to be late, though. I have a session this afternoon and don't know how long it'll run."

"That's okay. Thanks for understanding. And for being here." He launched himself at Lucy again, more grateful than ever to have found such an amazing friend in a place that was more lonely than he could've imagined.

"Of course. I can't wait to see the finished product."

"I know! Kelly said earlier that it should take about a week to edit once the girl films her parts, so...yeah. We'll get together when it's done so we can watch it." He stepped back with one more beaming smile. "Text me when you're done tonight."

"I will." She started to turn away but then looked back at Kendall. "Time," she said mysteriously. "It takes time."

Kendall acknowledged her comment with another nod.

"See ya."

With a flip of long, two-toned hair, she strutted off toward the exit. James spun back toward Kendall with a confused expression. "What the hell was she talking about?"

Instead of answering, Kendall used his grip on James to steer them toward the small group huddled around the director. "Where are we going?" James was so lost; had everyone lost their minds?

"Excuse me," Kendall said loudly once they'd reached the others. All talk stopped. James had a moment of terror when he feared Kendall was going to ruin everything, which would suck after he'd turned in a fantastic performance and redeemed himself. But at a lower volume, Kendall added, "We would like to speak to you in private, Gustavo."

"We would?" What the hell was going on with Kendall? First he'd say nothing, now he was just randomly wanting to talk to people? Whatever he had in mind to say to Gustavo, it couldn't be good. "Kendall, I—"

"It will only take a few moments of your time."

Though Gustavo rolled his eyes, he apparently was still scared enough of Kendall to comply. "I'll be right back," he sighed, as if having to humor children. Once they were far enough away to speak without being overheard, he glared at Kendall. "What. What is it you have to say this time?"

"In the future, James will not be forced to do things he is not comfortable with."

Surprised, James whipped around to stare at Kendall with his mouth open.

"Oh, is that so?" Gustavo replied, arms crossed over his chest.

"It is. He expressed to you that he did not wish to act. He wanted to keep the performance on a stage. It has caused him much stress and anxiety, and that will not happen again."

"Oh god," James muttered under his breath. Gustavo really didn't need to know just how nervous James had been over this. It made him look like an amateur. "Kendall—"

"But he overcame it," Gustavo interrupted, as if James wasn't even there. "I brought in a coach, the best coach, and he did fine. It worked out."

"And yet in the meantime, he suffered. So much so that he didn't want to be here and feared it would ruin his career. James knows where his talents lie and what works well for him. You need to trust him and actually listen when he speaks."

"Oh, do I?"

"Yes."

James swallowed hard. Gustavo was about to blow up, he could feel it. He braced himself, closing his eyes and waiting for the explosion.

"Fine. In the future we'll stick to performance videos if that's what he wants. God knows it'll save me thousands of dollars to avoid a repeat of this fiasco."

Holy shit. Had Gustavo actually caved? Again? James slowly dared to look at Gustavo, who stared back at Kendall with something close to hatred.

"Thank you. I would also like to suggest that you allow him to sing unfettered by technology."

The hatred morphed into confusion. "What?" Gustavo snapped.

"His natural voice is a gift. When you alter it with technology, it loses the beauty he was graced with. Perhaps tomorrow you can let him sing without altering it, and hear just how glorious his true voice is."

A wave of emotion swept through James, overwhelming him with feelings of gratitude and pride. Maybe a little worship, too, because anyone who could talk to Gustavo like that without flinching was incredible. He remembered the way his singing had brought Kendall to tears and wondered if that was only due to him being an angel, or if his voice could actually affect humans that deeply as well.

"You're crazy," was Gustavo's answer. "Everybody uses autotune these days. It's suicide to record without it."

"I promise you that the sound will be better received by anyone who hears his natural voice."

"No way. We'd have to re-record the entire album, which is almost done!"

"Try it with just one song. Please. Then decide."

Gustavo shook his head, not so much in denial but more of a "Who does this guy think he is?" manner. He finally looked at James and said, "Go home. Please. Leave me in peace for the rest of the day."

"Yes, sir. Thanks again for giving me a second chance on this." Before Kendall could say anything else to push Gustavo over the edge, James turned to him. "Let's go home."

Kendall met his gaze before taking James by the hand and leading him do a deserted corner of the set. James was still too overwhelmed by everything that had happened today to even realize how that might look to others, Kendall holding his hand. He'd turned in a worthy performance, his best friend had made nice with his guardian angel, and to top it all off he'd gotten an agreement from Gustavo that he'd never have to act again and would let James have input on future projects. And then? Kendall had complimented his voice. Now he had wing-sleep to look forward to at home. This day was already one for the books and it wasn't even noon yet.

The lack of restful sleep the night before really was catching up to him, though. Out of sight from everyone else, he faced Kendall and leaned into him. Kendall's arms pulled him in closer, and James laid his head on Kendall's shoulder. Before he knew it, they were in the quiet of his apartment.

He could breathe again.

For a minute, all James did was stand in place with Kendall's arms around him and his face buried in Kendall's neck. Even the movement it would take to move away felt like too much effort. Emotionally, he was ecstatic at the way the shoot had gone; mentally, he was drained from lack of peaceful sleep and the worry he'd carried around all morning that he would fail yet again.

But he hadn't. He'd succeeded, and done it so well that Gustavo had (in his own vague way) actually complimented him. A celebration was definitely in order.

First, though, he needed...what exactly? He knew what he wanted, but part of him felt that he was starting to rely too heavily on Kendall for peace and security. Kendall himself had even suggested that he be used to meet all of James' needs, including ones that were inappropriate in James' mind. Kendall had said it so nonchalantly, like it was common sense. "I can provide it for you. Is that not why you taught me last night? So that I'm better able to help you?"

Kendall had missed the entire point of that exercise. But even when you took sex out of the equation, James was coming to lean on Kendall far too much. It made him feel weak. So even though what he really wanted was for Kendall to take him to the bedroom and let those wings out, James pushed away from the angel and headed toward the kitchen. He waited for the inevitable interrogation ("Where are you going?" "Are you well?"), but Kendall remained silent.

James' phone beeped, distracting him from his trek to the refrigerator. Kelly had texted.

"You left with the tux. Please bring it with you to the studio tomorrow so I can get it back to wardrobe."

"Shit," he muttered. He hadn't even thought of that, but he was still wearing the damn thing. Food would have to wait, because he couldn't risk spilling anything on it. He about-faced and skirted around Kendall, who had been standing three feet behind him.

Now it would come. "Is something wrong? Are you well?" James made it to the bedroom and shrugged out of the jacket. When he turned to reach for the hanger he'd left on the back of the door, Kendall already had it held out to him. "Thanks."

Kendall nodded. His face showed no expression.

James continued removing the outfit, standing in nothing but a tee and boxers by the time he was done. Kendall carefully hung the suit back up, then turned to watch James dig in his dresser for a pair of jeans. He stopped halfway through that—why was he bothering to get dressed? It was just him and Kendall in the apartment, and he wasn't going anywhere until dinner. He could lounge around all day in his pajamas if he wanted to.

Yes, that was a good plan. Some food in his belly, maybe a nap (he really had slept poorly the night before), and then he'd call his mom and let her know how well the shoot had gone. Mom would be proud. Lucy and Kelly certainly had been, and even Gustavo was. James himself was proud.

"Pride is a sin."

The words echoed in James' brain, coming through loud and clear in Kendall's voice. Was that why Kendall had been so quiet since the shoot? Was he feeling guilty about being proud of James?

James frowned when another thought followed that one. What if Kendall wasn't proud at all? What if that was why he wasn't saying anything?

Having been on the way to the kitchen again, James stopped suddenly and spun around. Kendall was of course not too far behind. "What's going on with you?"

One of Kendall's thick brows lifted in question, but there was no answer.

"Aren't you proud of me? I did well at the shoot. I got past my mental block. Everyone else is really proud of me."

Kendall nodded in agreement.

"But you're not. You won't even say anything to me. Did I do something wrong? Something to piss you off yet again?"

Kendall shook his head.

James' gaze narrowed. Something was definitely wrong, because Kendall was clearly refusing to speak. "Kendall, what the hell is going on? I get that pride is a sin so...fine. You're not proud of me. It hurts, but whatever. Is that the issue here? I'm being...what was it? Vain and proud?"

Again, Kendall's only answer was a head shake.

"Will you fucking say something?!"

Another head shake.

"What? What the fuck? Why aren't you speaking to me? At least tell me that."

"It is not absolutely necessary."

"Huh?" Lost, James asked, "Since when do you only speak when it's 'absolutely necessary'?"

"You informed me earlier that everything I say is stupid. Therefore, I will not bother you with my 'stupid' words unless it is necessary to keep you safe."

There was an underlying tone of hurt in Kendall's voice. James was dumbfounded. He hadn't actually said that, had he? He cast back in his mind, trying to remember if he'd actually—oh wait. They'd argued before leaving the apartment, hadn't they? James had already forgotten about it.

"It's stupid. You're stupid, Kendall. Everything you say just sounds stupid."

He had said that. And Kendall's reply had been something along the lines of "I won't speak anymore unless it's necessary."

Fuck.

Here came the guilt again, the regret for lashing out at Kendall without thinking first. Kendall just made him so angry sometimes! He couldn't help it. "Kendall...I...I didn't mean that."

"You sounded very firm about it." He wasn't going to let this go.

"I know, I was pissed, and..." James let out a deep sigh. "Look, I really didn't mean it."

"You often say words you do not mean. Was that another example of sarcasm?"

"No, sarcasm's different. It was me being angry and just..." How to explain it? He didn't even really understand himself why he did that. The why wasn't as important as the fact that he regretted it. "I'm sorry."

"Are you? You seem sorry, but you did not until this moment. What changed?"

"I..." Why was this so hard? "I didn't realize I'd hurt your feelings. Sometimes I say things without thinking, I let my emotions take over and when I'm hurt or angry, I say stupid shit."

"So your words are stupid as well?"

"Sometimes," James admitted, not meeting Kendall's eyes. "This was one of them. I'm sorry that I hurt you. I know what it's like to feel as if everything you say just annoys someone. I feel like that a lot with my mom. It's not cool that I did the same thing."

Kendall pondered that. "This is the second time you have treated me in a manner that your mother treats you. You say that you do not appreciate it when she does it to you, yet you exhibit the same behavior toward me. Is that a human shortcoming?"

"Yeah, I think it is. I never realized until I met you that I do that. You just...you have this way of pushing my buttons that—"

"Buttons? I have not pushed any buttons that I am aware of."

"Figure of speech, Kendall," James sighed. "It means you get to me. You provoke me."

"That is not my intention."

"I know, but you do it anyway. Constantly. It makes it difficult sometimes, to be around you."

"You have no choice in that matter."

"Don't remind me." Before Kendall could get his feelings hurt over that, James said it one more time. "I really am sorry. The things you say aren't stupid, they're just not what I want to hear, so I lash out."

"It is acceptable for me to speak then?"

"Yes. I actually missed it when you were so quiet."

One corner of Kendall's mouth lifted. "I missed it as well."

James couldn't hold back a full smile, relief pouring through him. "So we're okay? You're not gonna ignore me anymore?"

"I never ignored you, James. You were always my focus."

"Yeah, I know." And this time it was reassuring rather than annoying to hear that. "Look, I'm starving. I'm gonna make an omelet. You want anything?"

James had already turned away to head for the kitchen when Kendall replied. "I do not need food."

"That's not what I asked, Kendall. Do you want anything?"

Once the refrigerator door was open, Kendall stepped up closer to James and peeked in. "To be quite honest, I have thought of pizza often this morning. It will not leave me in peace."

"That's called a craving," James chuckled. "Sorry, there's none left. Maybe we can have that later in the week. I bet you'd love my breakfast scramble, though. Carlos can't get enough of it." He pulled out a carton of eggs and added, "Then again, Carlos will eat anything, so that might not be saying much."

"What does a breakfast scramble consist of?"

"Whatever I can find to throw in it. I think I still have some bacon...oh yeah, and a few sausages. Rad. We got two kinds of cheese here. I'm out of onions, though. Oh well, it'll still be good."

He spun around with his arms full of ingredients and gently nudged Kendall aside to set them on the counter. Kendall watched closely as James cracked eggs into a bowl. "Your performance today was outstanding."

James froze, his hand halfway through the act of reaching for a fork. "What?"

"You were much improved. And even more importantly, you enjoyed your work. It was a pleasure to witness."

James' head turned slowly. Kendall was actually complimenting him. He was proud, though he couldn't come out and say it plainly because in his mind, that would be a sin. "Thank you," James said softly. "For telling me that."

Kendall's eyes met James'. He nodded, and James understood that Kendall had known he needed to hear it. For that reason, he'd found a way to say it without actually saying it.

Never again would James tell Kendall his words were "stupid."