{ four: sunrise shadows }

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❝ I'M NOT SCARED...BUT IF YOU ARE, YOU CAN HOLD MY HAND. ❞

That was a lie. A big fat lie. The biggest, fattest lie James had ever told in his entire life. But if you got rudely woken up in the middle of the night with your bedroom door banging and crashing and rattling up a storm, you'd be startled out of your silk pyjamas too, right? Even Carlos was uncontrollably shaking right next to him, and his come-hell-or-high-water boyfriend loved running helmet-first towards any oncoming signs of danger—the more reckless and adrenaline-elevating, the better.

But then again, Carlos also happened to be virtually afraid of both nothing and everything. Their genius bestie must have some big fancy-schmancy term for describing it...but going dictionary-diving with Logan to search for a fifty-cent word wasn't really James' highest priorities at that moment. Because if there was truly one word they were gonna have to cash in right now, it would be scared. Maybe even terrified—or was it terrific? James got those two mixed up sometimes—if they could spare some extra change.

Well, so much for their warmest snuggles and goodnight cuddlies. It was supposed to be a chill night in with the boys, with pampering routines and greasy cheddar popcorn and pumpkin and bat-shaped sugar cookies and party cups of Zom-B-Gon! soda accompanying a movie marathon of each of their favourite films—non-horror ones, even though it was Halloween eve and everyone was in the mood to get spooked into a major screamfest with Stephanie King's latest high-budget installment of Massacre Madness of the Mud Monsters, but their oldest friend insisted on having not-creature-slasher nightmares tonight, thank you very much.

The movies helped a bit to fend off the snack tummyaches, but James got even more of them anyway because of the super tickle fight Carlos fought him with all the way back to their bedroom, which ended with a pillow slash kissies fight and happily exhausted them both to sweetest dreamland.

Though at the very back of his sleepy mind, James felt like he was forgetting something else. He didn't exactly know what, but maybe it was something important...

The locked doorknob violently jiggled again, snapping James out of his confused rambling stupor, and Carlos squeaked in alarm as he shrank back and made a grab towards the taller boy, his bugged-out stare still entirely transfixed to the haunted door.

"Uhhh, Carlitos?" James' voice took on a higher squeak. "That's not my hand."

"Oh...oops...I, I didn't mean to—b-but—w-w-what is that—I—I'm..."

"Hey, hey, listen to me..." Taking Carlos's trembling hands in his own, James held them as tightly as he could, gently resting his forehead against the other boy and ghosting his lips on the ridges of Carlos's knuckles. "I'm here with you, okay? I always will be, and I'll always protect you no matter what happens, I promise."

"Y-you do?"

"Yeah, of course! So you never have to be afraid of anything, ever." James paused to consider. "Well, except for kidney-stealing serial killers. And fortunetelling super parrots that tell you when you're gonna die. And the face-eating mud monster possibly lurking just outside our bedroom door..."

"Jay-jay!" Carlos beat their intertwined fists on James' broad chest, pouting churlishly.

"Aw, I'm just kidding, sweetiebear. All I'm trying to say is, whatever's out there, we can easily handle it. 'Cause you're like the bravest man I know, and I'm obviously the strongest—so together, we're practically unstoppable! And I mean, it's probably nothing anyway...probably just Kendall being a meanie and trying to after-hours prank us again, right?"

Carlos courageously slapped at his helmet. "Right—bring it on!"

The door suddenly slammed open in a freezing whirlwind gust, interrupting their conversation. Both boys whirled around and ferociously embraced each other as a horrendous creature with a grotesque melting face greeted them in the darkness, guttural sounds of inhuman groaning erupting from its throat and chilling their blood into an instant freeze while it slowly shambled towards them with hands stiffly outstretched, its twitching fingers ready to strangle the life out of them and feast on their faces—their freshly-pampered pretty faces, no less!

"WE'RE GONNA DIEEEEEEEE!"

The peaceful midnight air filled with horrified screams as Carlos leaped up on James, and James tripped on the blankets and nearly dropped Carlos along with his near-faceplant while trying to make a frantic break for the hallway, and in the pair's shrieking and stumbling and scrambling to hightail the hell out of there, they didn't notice the mud-masked, cucumber-eyed Logan helplessly calling out after them.

"J-James? It's been approximately four hours since you slathered this gross skin exfoliation thing all over me, and I uh, haven't really hydrated in a while 'cause it's practically cemented my whole face shut—ech, my throat's so dry and I can't see a freaking thing! So can I please wash it off now? Helloooo? James? Carlos?"

"...Anyone there?"

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a/n: just like with kogan, this is obvs the other ship i was vaguely aware of pre-btr brainrot era. idk personally jarlos to me is like the ultimate bffs endgame but they're just really fun to write for...we love the truly unhinged disaster boyfriends with no thoughts and only one braincell bouncing between them like a dvd screensaver ❤

(this also ended up a v lengthy drabble bc i enjoy writing for james' pov too much,, how can i not i love a Himbo man who's too extra for his own good-)

also, in lieu of spooky month drawing to a close *sad skeleton noises*, this story serendipitously turned out kinda halloween-themed, although i might have a proper btr halloween fic up soon. or hopefully, if my chronic laziness and injured m'fing wrist don't volleyball-spike me back into the circle of hell where i crawled out from. it's got proper folklore and mythology and all that fun stuff...unless i never end up finishing and posting it in which case i said nothing you heARD NOTHING NONEXISTENT READER :L