Hey guys. I'm sorry it took me so long to write this... I hope you all like it. I tried to give the boys' an equal amount of attention, but I probably didn't include Logan as much as the other two (at least, it feels like I didn't). Either way, I hope you like it. :)
P.S. You're all gonna hate me towards the end.
A soft sigh escaped James' lips as he felt Kendall's body go completely limp in his hold. Carlos and Logan watched the two from where they were sitting in front of them on the floor, eyes filled with worry for their younger friend. It had taken a while to calm him down, and even when they had managed to do so, the tears didn't stop falling. It was a rare sight; very unlike the strong demeanor Kendall showed on a daily basis. This was a side of Kendall that they rarely saw, and one that they hated to see. He was always seen as the strong one, the leader, the one who guided them through dark times and helped them up when they got knocked down.
But this Kendall? This wasn't the Kendall they were used to. He was vulnerable, afraid, and in need of comfort and protection, and it scared all three of them knowing that Kendall's father could reduce him to this.
"I'm so worried," Carlos whispered, quietly, as to not awaken the sleeping blond.
"So am I," James whispered back, bringing Kendall closer in a careful manner, fearing what would happen if he were to stir him out of his sleep.
Beside him, Logan brought his knees up to his chest and hid his face against them, wanting more than anything to wake up and find out that this was all some sort of nightmare. James noticed this and nodded his head in Logan's direction, catching Carlos' attention. The shorter Latino nodded and scooted closer to the brunette, letting a hand rest against his shoulder.
"Let's go to the living room, okay?" Carlos said softly, watching as Logan's eyes filled up with unshed tears. "James will look after Kendall. We'll just be right outside the door," he added when Logan shook his head vigorously in response.
"O-Okay." In shaky legs, the slightly taller boy got up and followed Carlos towards the door, but not before looking back and making sure James would be okay.
"Go," James urged him. That was enough for Logan to follow Carlos and close the door behind them.
"Why did you want to get out of there?" Logan asked Carlos as soon as the two were out of earshot. He kept his eyes down and away from meeting Carlos' eyes. The shorter boy didn't respond right away. Instead, he grabbed Logan by the wrist and guided him to the neon orange couch in the living room, pushing him to sit on it once they were there.
"Are you okay?" Carlos asked, taking a seat beside his friend. Logan looked down at his hands, which he was moving nervously, his gaze still not meeting Carlos'.
"You didn't answer my question," Logan said bluntly, raising his head but staring forward.
"No," Carlos stated firmly, "you didn't answer my question."
"Carlos, I'm... I'm fine. I'm just worried, that's all. I don't like seeing Kendall like this... I hate it," he said quietly, looking down again. "I thought this was over with. I thought that bastard wouldn't come back into his life again." He bit down on his bottom lip in a futile attempt to keep the tears at bay. "I don't want to go through what we went through back then one more time. I don't want him to experience that again."
"I know." Carlos wrapped his right arm around Logan's shoulders, pulling him close. "It'll be okay. Kendall's strong, he'll get—"
"No." Logan pulled away from Carlos' hold, turning to him with an upset look. "I know that Kendall is strong, I know that. But Kendall's not a superhero. I know we, us three, we like to pretend that he is, because he puts up this bravado all the time. But you saw him in there..." His voice faltered as more tears began to gather in his eyes. "He's not a superhero, Carlos. He may be strong, but even the strong break sometimes," he said softly.
Carlos stayed silent, allowing Logan's words to sink in. Minutes seemed to tick by, but in reality, it was only seconds, until he turned to Logan solemnly.
"I'm not stupid, Logan," he said in an almost inaudible voice. He tried hard to keep the tears from falling, but just like Logan, he failed to do so. "I may be naive, but I'm not stupid."
"Carlos, that's not what—"
"No, I know. But do you really think I don't know any of that? I've seen Kendall break down—we have all seen him at his worst. It may have been a long time ago, but it happened. No matter how long ago it was, we can't deny that it did."
Logan remained silent at the next words that spilled from Carlos' lips.
"You know, as a kid, I used to always look up to him. Heck, I still do." Logan wanted to interrupt and say that he already knew this, but he remained quiet. "He was always the one to fight off the bullies, the protector, the voice of reason... Then, things started to change, right before you became a part of our little group. He started becoming more distant. I remember him coming to school with bruises all over his body, and when confronted about them, he would make up some random excuse to cover them up. Even then, when he was obviously hurting, he still continued to look after me and James, and soon, you as well."
Carlos let out a sob, and Logan tried to pull him close, but Carlos shook away from his grasp.
"And then... then we found out about what happened, and everything started to make sense. Everything kind of... came crashing down. Suddenly, Kendall wasn't Kendall anymore. He was a frightened, emotionally and physically hurt, little boy, and I... I couldn't do anything to stop it."
Logan pulled Carlos close, and this time he didn't try to fight him. He collapsed against Logan's body, tears spilling from his eyes and down his cheeks at a rapid pace.
"S-So I tell myself t-that Kendall is strong, because it's my way of telling myself that things will be okay... even if I don't even believe it myself..."
"Carlos," Logan started softly, fingers carding through black tufts of hair, "none of this is your fault, 'Los, and I need you to do your best to start believing it. No one ever imagines that a parent would ever hurt their child in such a way, so you couldn't have known. We were only eight, too young to understand that, much less to come up with such a conclusion and figure it out ourselves."
"I just wish he h-hadn't come back," Carlos said brokenly.
"Me too, but now that he has, we gotta try our best to keep Kendall safe, and find a way to get him out of the Palm Woods and as far away from him as possible." He didn't even wait for a response, pulling Carlos up to his feet, but keeping him close.
"I came here to help you, and you ended up being the one to knock some sense into me," Carlos said. "I'm such a big help."
"You are," Logan assured him. "You might think that you're not, but you are. Now, what do you say we cook dinner, that way Kendall has something to eat when he wakes up, and we can get our minds off of this?"
Carlos gave him a small nod in response, the tiniest of smiles forming on his lips.
"Good." Logan smiled, giving him a pat on the shoulder, and they both headed to the kitchen in search of something to make for the four of them.
James watched as Logan and Carlos left the room, knowing fully well that they both needed to get away from the confined space. He turned his attention back to the blond in his arms, who at first glance looked peaceful as he slept, but there was no way of telling what was going on in the inside.
He felt the smaller boy shift in his hold, burying his face against the crook of James' neck. How he wished that he could stay that way forever—pain-free, at peace (at least, he hoped), and away from harm's way.
"I'm not going to let him hurt you," he whispered, leaning down and pressing a kiss to the boy's dark blond hair. "We won't." That was a promise he intended to keep, despite knowing that Kendall hadn't heard him.
Anyone who really knew James, knew that just like Kendall, he was protective of his best friends. He wasn't selfish, self-centered, or arrogant, and that's what many thought because of his confident personality. Those three boys meant the absolute world to him, and he would do anything to keep them all safe. They were his brothers, perhaps not by blood, but he loved them just as much. As long as he could help it, Kendall's so-called father wouldn't come anywhere near him.
Carefully, the tall brunette balanced the other boy in his arms and got up from the floor. He lowered him to his bed and tucked him in, making sure that he was still fast asleep, before slipping out of the room to go check on Carlos and Logan.
"Carlos, give me that!"
James watched as Logan attempted to take a box of corndogs away from the shorter boy's hands.
"But I wanted to make corndogs!"
"You had corndogs yesterday!"
"Yes... But I LOVE corndogs!"
Logan shook his head, grabbing the box, making Carlos pout. It was a sight that would usually make James laugh, but at that moment, it didn't seem to do the trick.
"Guys?" James made his way towards them, stopping right in front of them. "Are you guys alright?"
"We're fine... We talked things out. Are you okay?" Logan questioned him, taking notice of the broken expression on the usually cheerful boy's face.
"Yeah..."
Logan turned to Carlos, and Carlos to Logan, before the two stepped closer to the taller boy and enveloped him in a hug.
"It'll be okay, James," Logan said softly.
"But, what if... What if it's not?"
"Hey," Carlos pulled away, looking him in the eye, "what would Kendall say if he was here?" James didn't have to think long before coming up with an answer.
"That things will be okay, as long as we stick together," he responded, a small smile coming to his face. Logan and Carlos smiled at his words.
"Exactly. Kendall will be fine, everyone and everything will be fine, but we gotta look out for each other, just like we always do."
James opened his mouth to respond, but before he could do so, a loud crash came from Logan and Kendall's room. The three boys turned to each other briefly, and then rushed towards the door, only to be met by a sight that tore their hearts in two.
I promise that whatever happened is not as bad as it sounds... maybe. Did you guys like it? Hate it? Feedback would be very much appreciated. :) Also, thank you for the reviews on the last chapter! I'll try to have the next one up soon.
~ BigTimeRush-BTR :)