A/N: You guys, so much has happened since my last update. My laptop broke but my stuff saved to Dropbox and then I started using my older laptop. I must have some type of laptop curse but I just bought an iMac so no more laptop troubles. I also have been pursuing some original works. One day I'll share those with you all when they're done but I will never stop updating on here. As a matter of fact, this week, I will be updating this story again. Enjoy :D
"You haven't told Jett."
Kendall turned to his mother and she was still looking through the clothes rack. It wasn't a question, Kendall noticed. It was more of a statement. Kendall was stunned for a moment as his brain made the connections. He looked down at the shirt he had picked up for Carlos and sighed, "No, I haven't."
"Oh, this shirt is cute." Mrs. Knight said, picking up a shirt with a galaxy design on it. Kendall expected his mother to say something but she didn't. He looked down at all of the bags from various stores they had already gone to and shook his head. They had to have spent over a thousand dollars by now. Kendall looked out the front of the store to see Katie sitting next to a tower of stuff. The girl was on her phone and when she looked up she tapped the back of her wrist as if she had a watch. Kendall couldn't help but laugh. The only two people who seemed to have the most fun was Mrs. Knight and Carlos as they literally visited every store. Kendall didn't complain because the look on Carlos' face when he saw everything was enough for him to endure a couple of more hours of shopping.
Kendall was particularly happy because the next store they were going to was GameStop. Carlos hadn't even seen the store because he was so excited to see the clothing store with the manikins in it. Granted, almost every store had them but Carlos found them fascinating. Kendall thinks that his mother is mainly having fun because she gets to get a few things for herself. Kendall was happy to pay for her, of course. It's his mother, he's not stupid. He watched as she took the shirt over to where Carlos was in the dressing room.
"Carlos, sweetie, try this shirt on." Mrs. Knight said, draping the shirt over the door. Kendall couldn't hide his smile when Carlos gasped and grabbed the shirt. A few moments later the door opened and Carlos smiled at the two before looking down.
"I loved this." Carlos said and Mrs. Knight smiled before she hip checked her son and headed back to the last clothes rack she was at. Kendall rolled his eyes and wished he never made that comment about her not having a sense of style. He didn't mean it but she wasn't going to let him live it down.
"Come out here and look into the mirror." Kendall said, taking a step back. Carlos walked out and smiled at himself in the mirror. This shirt had to have been one of his favorite shirts that he has tried on this whole day. Carlos glanced at Kendall also looking in the mirror and his smile widened seeing the blonde.
"This is my favorite shirt." Carlos told him and Kendall smiled in return.
"Good. Do you want to wear this shirt or the other shirt out?" Kendall asked and Carlos thought about it for a moment before he came up with an answer.
"This one." He said and Kendall nodded before collecting the other clothes.
"Which ones do you want to keep?" Kendall asked, holding up the other garments that Carlos tried on. "I personally like this one." Kendall said, shaking the white button up.
"I like that one too."
"Cool." Kendall took the clothes up to the register, calling his mother away from the racks that she was currently looking through.
"That's it?" Mrs. Knight said, eyeing the items on the counter.
"Yes, Mom." Kendall said, moving behind Carlos to take the tags off of the shirt, nodding at the boy's thanks.
Once everything was rung up, Kendall took another bag and added it to the collection building on his arm. He turned to see Carlos looking wide-eyed in the direction of the door and smirked when he saw that Carlos was staring at the GameStop across the way. Before Carlos could ask, Kendall grabbed his hand and led him to the store. Katie went to say something from her spot but shook her head when she saw the boy's faces as they walked from one store to the next. Mrs. Knight just shook her head as she followed the two of them before opting to sit next to Katie and the stack of items they've accumulated. Carlos couldn't believe what he was seeing in front of him. There were televisions that had various games on them for each section.
"PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo." Kendall said, pointing to each section. Carlos went in the direction of the PlayStation section and Kendall followed. Carlos looked over all of the games in excitement. He was a little too close for Kendall's liking but he let it go and watched as Carlos looked over the covers. When he saw something he liked, he picked it up and turn it over. Carlos started picking up game after game after game without putting anything back and Kendall shook his head at the boy. He knew he was about to spend a hefty price in here. He made sure to call his bank ahead of time to inform them of the purchases so they wouldn't freeze his card.
By the time they had exited the store, Kendall had purchased a PlayStation 4, three extra controllers, a variety of games, and multiple PlayStation network cards. The look on the cashier's face was something that Kendall was slowly getting accustomed to since he had stepped into the mall. Mrs. Knight couldn't stop shaking her head as she looked at the two boys walking out of the store.
"Kendall, how much did you spend?" The woman asked and Kendall just handed her the receipt. The gasp his mother had was so severe she started coughing.
"That's more than what you've spent on clothes."
"Not on shoes." Kendall replied, remembering the four figure final price. Kendall tried to explain that Carlos didn't need all of those shoes since he liked to spend his time in the backyard without shoes on but his mother just waved him off and suggested another high price shoes to Carlos. Mrs. Knight ended the conversation with a shake of her head before a sound overtook the group. Kendall couldn't help but smile as Carlos blushed.
"I'm hungry." Carlos mumbled and everyone nodded in agreement before they gathered their items and headed to the food court.
When they reached the food court, Carlos almost dropped everything he had in his hands and Kendall was happy that he suggested that he be the one to hold the bag with the PS4 in it. All Carlos had in his hands were his clothes while Katie held some shoes. Mrs. Knight held a few of Carlos' clothes but mostly things that she had picked out for herself. Kendall held so many bags he lost count of what was his, his mother's, Katie's, and Carlos'.
"There are so many different places." Carlos mumbled and Kendall was the only one that heard him while the two women walked down the steps.
"This might be the hardest decision of your entire life." Kendall responded, chuckling as he walked down the steps. Carlos was right behind him as he looked at all of the different restaurants. They found a spot to put their bags down and Kendall and Carlos opted to stay with them while Katie and Mrs. Knight went to find something to eat.
"Are you having fun?" Kendall asked as they sat there. Carlos smiled so bright that he didn't even have to answer.
"So much fun."
"You know, they say that buying things is actually good for you."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's called retail therapy. It's when yo-"
"Kendall?" Someone said. Kendall looked over to see that it was one of the cheerleaders from school. "What are you doing here?"
"Nothing much. Shopping." Kendall said, gesturing to the bags. Her eyes widened at the amount before she turned back to the boys.
"Trying to buy Jett's heart?" She asked with a waggle of her eyebrows.
"Huh? No, I'm here with my family and my friend Carlos."
"Hello." Carlos said, giving her a small wave.
"Oh, he's the one that was in the stands with James' boyfriend during practice." She said and Kendall nodded. "He's cute." She said and Kendall smirked, looking over at Carlos, who immediately blushed at the compliment.
"T-Thank you." Carlos said, looking over at Kendall, who tried to hide his chuckling.
"I'll see you guys around." She said with a wave before she was gone. Kendall nudged Carlos who just laughed nervously.
"You know she was flirting with you right." Kendall told him and Carlos nodded. "Why didn't you flirt back?"
"I don't know how." Carlos said and Kendall thought about that for a moment.
"The guys and I have to show you some day."
"I-I don't know."
"Carlos, this is the first time I've seen you like this. I didn't know you were this shy." Kendall said, trying not to laugh.
"I just got this feeling that I've never felt before." Carlos confessed and Kendall wrapped an arm around him.
"What did it feel like? Was it like butterflies in your stomach?" Kendall asked and Carlos immediately looked up at him with wide eyes. "Not actual butterflies." Kendall corrected and Carlos seemed to relax at that.
"I don't know. It's like I was tingling and I wanted to move."
"Oh, that's just nerves. It's okay. Girls probably just make you shy." Kendall said before Mrs. Knight and Katie came back with their food.
"What happened?" Mrs. Knight said as she sat down.
"Carlos, here, just had his first encounter with a girl and started blushing when she called him cute." Kendall said, pinching the boy's cheek as it heated up again. Carlos moved away from the offending hand and fought off his smile.
"Aww."
"Come on, let's get something to eat." Kendall said, getting up from his seat with Carlos following him. Mrs. Knight eyed all of their bags and Katie beat her to the question.
"How much do you think he's spent?"
"To be honest, I think he's spent a good two or three thousand." Mrs. Knight said before taking a bite of her sandwich.
"Can you imagine how he's going to be when he has children?" Mrs. Knight broke out into laughter at her daughter's words, covering her mouth to stop from showing her food.
Kendall and Carlos walked to almost every food station there was and Carlos tried the samples that they provided. Carlos' curiosity got the best of him when he tried something he didn't like. When Kendall saw him frown at the piece of chicken, he fought back his laughter and held a napkin out for Carlos.
"Spit it in the napkin." Kendall instructed, throwing the napkin in the trash afterwards. "How about we try something that I know will be good?" Kendall suggested and Carlos nodded along allowing himself to be guided away from the nasty food place.
"This is Panda Express." Kendall said and Carlos gasped while staring down at the food.
"Is that-"
"No, oh god, no, this is chicken. None of it is actually Panda."
"Oh." Carlos said before looking at the woman behind the counter as she nodded along with Kendall's words.
"I normally get double orange chicken and noodles." The woman placed Kendall's food into a tray before turning to Carlos.
"Um, I guess I'll get that too." Carlos said before he looked at the man making the food in the back.
"What's that?" Carlos said, pointing to the oddly shaped things.
"That's honey walnut shrimp." Kendall said, pointing to the sign. The woman behind the counter took a toothpick and picked up a piece of shrimp and offered it to Carlos.
"Try it." Kendall suggested. Carlos took the toothpick and placed the piece of shrimp in his mouth. He didn't know if he liked the texture of it as he ate it but it had a relatively good taste to it. "How is it?"
"It's okay." Carlos said before swallowing the contents. Kendall contemplated getting a few of them before he decided against it before grabbing a soda.
"Juice or Soda?"
"Juice, please." Kendall grabbed a bottle of juice before paying for their items. Once the boys got back to their table, the girls were almost finish theirs.
"Panda Express?" Mrs. Knight asked and they both nodded.
"Don't worry. It's not actually Panda." Carlos told her and she nodded before looking at Kendall.
"He almost had a heart attack when he thought it was." Kendall explained.
"Oh." There was a beat of silence as the boys opened their containers and started eating.
"So, Carlos, do you know how far along your education is?" The woman asked and Kendall gave his mother a confused look. It must've been something that his mother was discussing with Katie and decided to ask Carlos.
"I was told that I can read very well. I can write and I know two other languages."
"Really?" Mrs. Knight said at the mentioning of multiple languages. "What languages?"
"I know Spanish and French." Carlos said with a smile. "And English of course."
"That's amazing." Mrs. Knight said before looking at Carlos. Both Kendall and Katie shared a look, knowing that those things were on Carlos' files but Kendall guessed she just wanted to have a conversation with the boy. Mrs. Knight continued to make conversation with Carlos and Kendall chimed in here and there until they had finished their food. Kendall thought it was funny to see how Carlos reacted to the different type of vegetables in his food and eventually eating around them.
Once everyone was properly fed, they gathered all of the bags and headed to the car. Everyone seemed to realize the mistake of purchasing a bunch of items by the time they reached the car. Everything was piled inside and when Kendall looked over at Carlos, the boy was looking up at the sky. He had never seen it look so grey. He gasped when he felt a drop land on his cheek before he turned to look at Kendall.
"Rain." The boy said in an excited whisper. He held out his hand and his eyes widened when he felt another drop land on his hand.
"Carlos, you're going to get wet if you stand out here." Kendall said before he got in the car. When Carlos felt another drop, he got into the car but was glued to the window the entire drive home.
"Is this your first time seeing rain?" Mrs. Knight asked.
"Yeah." Carlos said, jumping back at his breath clouding the window. When it went away, he did it again with a smile on his face. Everyone in the car just chuckled at Carlos before he pressed a button on the car door.
"Carlos, don't wind down the window, you'll let the rain in." Mrs. Knight told him.
"Oh, sorry." He said before the window moved back up. He sat back for the rest of the ride home and as they pulled into the driveway, Kendall's phone started ringing. Kendall knew that it was James and he hadn't spoken to him since the day before yesterday.
"Congrats James, you're a nominee for the latest response ever." Kendall said as they got out of the car.
"I'm sorry but my phone broke and I had to get another one."
"How did it break?"
"Logan broke it." James told him. Kendall could hear Logan say something in the background about it not being his fault.
"Kendall, come on, you have to help."
"Okay, okay." Kendall told his mother before directing his attention back to James. "James, James, hey, stop arguing with your boyfriend and come over."
"Why?"
"I have a surprise."
"You, Kendall Knight, have a surprise for me?"
"Yes, you idiot, now come over." Kendall said before he hung up the phone. As Kendall collected the bags, it started to drizzle again. Kendall watched from where he was positioned at the trunk as Carlos looked up at the sky again. He chuckled as Carlos stood there with his arms outstretched, waiting for the next drop. Kendall gathered the rest of the bags and headed into the house, smiling.
"He's never seen rain. This is so cute." Mrs. Knight said, looking out at the boy. Kendall sat the bags down in the living room and stood there, admiring the large collection.
"Kendall, don't you think this was a lot." Katie asked from the other side of the pile.
"Well, Carlos needs his own things. He can't wear my clothes all the time. Besides, Jett is starting to notice." Kendall said before he left out the front door to get Carlos to come back in the house.
"Can't we stay out here?" Carlos asked and Kendall shook his head.
"You can't stay outside in the rain, you'll get sick."
"But it hasn't even started yet."
"How about we go back out when it really starts?" Kendall suggested. Carlos agreed and went inside the house. The two of them moved all of Carlos' things into Kendall's room and Kendall began the process of moving his stuff out of the closet. Carlos began taking things out of the bag and sorting them per Kendall's instructions while said boy created a space for the clothes to go. Halfway through the process, Kendall heard the front door open. Moments later, James and Logan were walking into his room.
"Jesus Christ, look at all of those bags. Kendall, what have you been doing?" James asked as they entered. Kendall stood from his position where he was putting Carlos' new shoes and gestured to the newly arranged closet.
"You two went shopping?" Logan asked and Carlos nodded before taking another shirt out of a bag. He smiled at the design before handing it to Kendall.
"How much did you spend?" James asked, eyeing all of the empty bags that were scattered around the room.
"Uh." Kendall said, stalling as he hung up the shirt. "Enough."
"Where did you even get the money for-"
"James, what's with all of the questions?"
"I just want to make sure that my best friend isn't a criminal." James said and Kendall gave him a look. "Okay, besides the obvious."
"I'll tell you later. I called you over here to show you this." Kendall said as he walked over to the GameStop bag. James looked like he saw an angel when Kendall lifted the box from the bag. That alone and the friendly gesture of letting him hook up the system was enough to get him to stop asking questions or even worrying about Kendall spending money. Logan, however, wasn't as easily swayed.
"Kendall, did you rob a bank or something?" Logan asked, following Kendall out of the room.
"No, Logan, only harboring a government secret alien." Kendall said as he walked into the kitchen for a trash bag.
"So, then, where did the money come from?"
"Taxes?" Kendall said, testing to see if that lie could work. By the look on Logan's face, Kendall knew that the smart boy didn't fall for it. "Okay, I'm getting money from the woman's daughter who has been taking care of Carlos since he got here. It's to make sure Carlos has everything he needs." Kendall explained as he grabbed a bag and headed back into his room. Carlos was helping James with the unboxing of the system as Kendall bagged up the clothes he no longer wanted. He threw it down into the basement before returning to his room to see the system was all hooked up and turning on.
"Man, you work fast." Kendall mumbled as he sat down on his bed next to Carlos. James was perched on the edge of the bed while Logan opted for the computer chair. Kendall pointed at the bag next to Logan and gestured to James. Logan leaned over and saw the slew of games in the bag and rolled his eyes before he handed it to James.
"What is- oh my god?!" James said, jumping up. He dumped the contents of the bag onto the bed before Logan sat another bag next to him. "Kendall, oh my god." Kendall couldn't stop the smile that was on his face as he watched his best friend flip out as he read over each game they bought.
"Bloodborne, Batman: Arkham Knight, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, Destiny: The Collectors Edition, Little Big Planet 3, Rocket League, Journey, Until Dawn, Star Wars Battlefront, Black Ops 3, Tom Clancy's The Division, Mortal Kombat XL, Horizon Zero Dawn and of course, Injustice: Gods Among Us. Oh, the ultimate edition."
"Fourteen games?" Logan asked, looking at Kendall.
"Well, technically The Uncharted Collection is three games in one but I guess, yeah."
"Kendall, oh my god, what do we play first?" James asked before Logan could ask another question. Kendall looked to Carlos for the answer and James held up Injustice with what Kendall would have to say is the creepiest smile he's ever seen on James' face. Carlos was pretty happy about it, so, Kendall felt he had done the right thing.
Everything looked so clear and crisp on his television that he couldn't complain. He smiled to himself when he thought of an idea. He took out his phone and started adding things into his Amazon cart. He typed in his credit card number before putting in James' address. He had to make sure he had the right address, so, he searched it up on google maps. Once he had it done, he chose next day shipping and confirmed the purchase just as Carlos beat James in the first round of the game. About two hours of gaming happened after that before Mrs. Knight came knocking on the door to Kendall's room.
"Are you boys staying for dinner?" She asked Logan and James who both looked at each other and shook their heads.
"I have to take Logan home because he got in trouble."
"Trouble how?" Mrs. Knight asked, turning to Logan.
"I, sort of, didn't tell my parents I was staying over James' house."
"Wh-"
"But, I wasn't planning on staying. It just happened by accident." Logan explained and Mrs. Knight shook her head at them as she left the room.
"Speaking of which, I should probably take you home now." James said as the game ended, Carlos' character standing victorious. "And I will be back for a rematch." James concluded before they said their goodbyes and headed out the door.
"Do you want to play?" Carlos asked Kendall, holding up his controller. Kendall was about to respond when he heard the sound of rain against his window.
"I have a better idea." Kendall responded, getting up. "Come on."
Carlos followed Kendall out into the living room and when the blonde opened the back door, Carlos walked up and saw that it was raining heavily. Kendall stepped outside while his mother looked on from the kitchen. He turned to Carlos and gestured for him to come out as well while the rain drops landed heavily on his back. Carlos stepped out and gasped as the rain landed all around his body. Kendall closed the door behind them before sprinting into the backyard. Carlos was right after him with a smile on his face.
"This is…amazing. I've never felt anything like this." Carlos said, looking up at the sky. He squinted to see the dark clouds above them. He smiled and wiggled his toes in the wet grass as he looked at Kendall. Kendall knew that they were soaked within a few minutes of being outside but Carlos didn't seem to care. He also seemed to be getting better with his fear of water which was a good thing because Kendall was getting worried about supervising the boy while he showered. He had realized early on that having a shower curtain was much more sufficient in keeping Carlos calm while he showered. When Kendall heard his name being called, he turned to see that his mother was at the back door.
"What on Earth are you two doing?" She asked when they approached her.
"Enjoying the rain." Kendall said, wiping his face as Carlos happily nodded.
"You two are going to get sick if you stay out here any longer." Kendall knew his mother was right and the second they heard the thunder, they were in the house. Carlos looked up at the sky and saw flashes of light.
"Woah." Everyone in the room had a smile on their face when they heard Carlos' gasp at the lightening. The loud rumbling of thunder seemed to bring them back to reality and Mrs. Knight pushed them off to Kendall's room to shower and get ready for dinner.
After everyone had their dinner and settled in for bed, Kendall laid there watching Carlos navigate through Little Big Planet 3. To sit back and watch him play was something Kendall hadn't done in a while. To truly watch and observe and actually see Carlos' mind working. Kendall wondered how Carlos was processing all of this. He had watched the boy keep the white flower from Dr. Wainwright's funeral on the end table and he would fall asleep looking at it. That's when he had a moment to truly think about everything that was happening and how Carlos was processing it all. The boy seems to truly enjoy nature in ways that Kendall thought he wouldn't.
Honestly, Kendall thought that Carlos would be afraid of being outside but he's been embracing it since the second they stepped out of the double doors of the facility. Which was also the same time Kendall became a felon of possibly the highest caliber. Carlos smiled when he completed the game and made his character do a little dance. Kendall smiled and thought to himself that it was definitely worth it all.
A/N: So, I have to say that this chapter was very wholesome and just them all spending time together as a family. I feel like things are going pretty well with this story. Let me know what you guys think. Thank you for reading and know that reviews are much appreciated. :D