A/N: I cannot believe that I ended up unintentionally taking a year break from posting anything on here and I don't even know what to say for it. I think the stress of college really took me out of my creative zone. But I have been typing and creating, especially with this story. I'm also going to be releasing another chapter for this story later on today. If you need to go back and jog your memory on this story, I don't fault you for it. This chapter was actually two chapters but I was thought to myself, "They've been waiting forever." So, here's a jam packed-roller coaster of a ride- chapter. But anyway, ENJOY! :D
"Absolutely not."
"Come on, Kendall."
"Hell no." Kendall said, walking away from James and lining up for the next play.
"Kendall, you're being stubborn."
"James, I'm not going to some party and I'm not taking Carlos." Kendall said before he called for the play to start. All things seem to go fairly well and Kendall was satisfied with his throw. It didn't connect but it was still good. Kendall looked over in the stands and Carlos waved to him with a smile. Kendall smiled behind his mouth guard and waved as James approached him again. Before he could speak, Kendall rolled his eyes and walked away.
"Kendall, it could be a valuable learning opportunity."
"You sound like Logan." Kendall said, taking his mouth piece out momentarily.
"Good, that means I'm making progress."
"I doubt it." The boys lined up for another play and Kendall glanced into the stands to see Jett walking over. He waved to his boyfriend, who waved back before sitting next to Carlos. When Jett sat down next to Carlos, the boy turned to him with a smile.
"Hey, Jett. How have you been?"
"I've been good. I haven't seen Kendall in a while."
"It's only been two days."
"I know." Jett said before turning to watch Kendall running down the field. Carlos was confused by Jett's reaction to what he said and he didn't know how to really respond to that. So, he decided to talk about something else.
"Um, do you watch the show Once Upon a Time?"
"I've heard of it."
"Really, what do you think about it?"
"I said, I've heard about it. I haven't watched it."
"Oh." Carlos said, turning to see James seeming like he was saying something to Kendall, who just shook his head at him in response. Logan, a few bleachers back, looked up from his book and raised an eyebrow at Jett's responses before listening in more on the conversation.
"Did you know they're coming out with another Injustice game? We just found out yesterday and it looks amazing."
"That's nice."
"Isn't it." Carlos said, smiling. Logan tried to hold back his chuckle at the fact that Carlos completely ignored Jett's tone.
"Wait, did you say we?"
"Yeah, Kendall was the one who showed me. Then he showed James and Logan. We're all very excited to play it."
"How much do you talk to Kendall?" Jett asked randomly. Carlos wasn't expecting the question so he took a moment before answering.
"I've talked to him almost every day since…" Carlos started before he remembered that Kendall hadn't told Jett where he was from. Logan looked up from his book and was about to step in but Jett spoke before things got awkward.
"Every day?"
"Yeah. Oh and the other day, we went to the mall. Have you been there before?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Isn't it amazing? It's so big! And they had so many stores that-"
"It's a mall." Jett said, waving it off. "I heard that you and Kendall bought a bunch of stuff."
"Well, it was me, Kendall, his mom, and his little sister. You know Kendall's mother is really nice."
"Yeah, I know." Logan shook his head from where he sat. He could feel the jealousy coming off of Jett in waves. The more Carlos talked about Kendall and his family, the more Jett looked annoyed. "And she had-"
"Would you say you and Kendall are friends?" Jett asked, interrupting what Carlos was saying.
"Oh, of course. I think Kendall is the best friend I could ever have. Especially since he's gotten me new friends like James, Logan, and you." Carlos said with a smile. Logan held a hand over his heart at the response.
"Right." Jett said in a tone that Logan didn't like and he had heard enough.
"Hey, Carlos." He said, getting the boy's attention. Carlos got up from where he was and stepped a few bleachers up to Logan. "Want to go get something from the vending machine?"
"Vending machine?"
"Like a snack or something to drink."
"Oh, that sounds nice."
"Yeah? Come on." Logan said, getting up. He walked down the bleachers before going down to where they let out at the school.
"Hey, where did Logan and Carlos go to?" Kendall asked his boyfriend as he ran up to him on the bleachers. Jett looked up from his phone and shrugged his shoulders. Kendall looked a little concerned at that but he knew Logan would keep Carlos safe.
"What are you doing?" Kendall asked.
"Instagram." Jett replied. "I just posted a picture of you."
"Really? What-"
"Hey, Kendall." James said, wrapping an arm around his shoulder pads.
"James, no."
"Kendall, don't make me ask again."
"Or what?" Kendall said, turning to his best friend.
"Ask what?" Jett asked and James got a devilish grin on his face.
"James-"
"Hey, Jett, are you going to the party before the weekend before the big game?"
"Of course."
"Well, your boyfriend, here, says he isn't going." James said, smirking as he looked over at Kendall.
"I hate you." Kendall mumbled, pushing James away, who just laughed in response.
"Why aren't you going?" Jett asked.
"Because I don't want to party before the big game, that makes no sense."
"It's like a week before it though."
"We have to practice two days after."
"Relax and recover the next day and chill before your practice."
"That's what I said." James chimed in, receiving a death glare from Kendall.
"Besides, you two are co-captains on the team. You kind of have to be there."
"Said that too." James added, moving away from Kendall just in case he tried to hit him.
"Ugh, fine. I'll go." Kendall said, rolling his eyes at their smiles before the coach's whistle was being blown.
"How are you feeling?" Logan asked as they stepped into the school.
"I'm great." Carlos said with a smile. It was obvious that Carlos didn't seem to be bothered by Jett's tone or responses and Logan was happy about that. There was a silence between the two as they walked to the vending machines. When they reached it, Logan took out his wallet and put a dollar in.
"What do you like?" Logan asked and Carlos scanned the items in the vending machines.
"Oh, I remember those. Kendall got me to try them. They're great." Carlos said, pointing to the Cool Ranch Doritos.
"Do you want those?"
"No, I ate too many of them yesterday. What do you normally get?"
"I personally like these." Logan said, pointing to the blue pack.
"Grandma Cookies?" Carlos read out loud as he leaned over to get a better look. He had never heard of them and Logan smiled as he typed in the number. The machine knocked down the packet of cookies and Carlos looked up at Logan.
"Cool, isn't it?" Logan asked and Carlos nodded as Logan reached in to pull out the cookies. He opened it and handed a small cookie to Carlos. Carlos looked at the little cookie in his hand before he put it in his mouth. His eyes widened at the taste of them before he looked at Logan.
"These are really good."
"Right. Do you want some?" Logan asked and Carlos nodded. Logan put another dollar in the machine and told Carlos what buttons to push. They moved over to the drinks and Carlos knew what he wanted.
"Mountain Dew, please."
"Oh god, Kendall's gotten you onto Mountain Dew." Logan said as he typed in the number.
"It's really good."
"Kendall had me try it when he found out I had never had it before."
"Did you like it?"
"Yeah." Logan said, handing the soda to Carlos. Logan typed in the numbers for his soda after he put in more money.
"Pepsi?" Carlos asked.
"Yeah, have you had it before?"
"Yes. I don't like it though. It makes me burp a lot."
"Yeah. It has that effect." Logan said as they made their way back.
"Thank you for the snacks by the way."
"No problem." There was a silence between them and just before they reached the doors to outside.
"Logan, I don't think Jett likes me." Logan shook his head at that. He was hoping that Carlos hadn't noticed it. "I know you said that he's like that but…I don't know. He's not very nice. Not like how you and James are." Carlos said, looking frustrated. Logan sighed, knowing that he was just going to have to break the news to Carlos.
"Okay, I think Jett is jealous of you and Kendall's relationship."
"Jealous?"
"It's when someone-"
"No, I know what it means but I…I don't understand why."
"I don't either. But he still doesn't know about you."
"Do you think that would help if he knew?" Carlos asked and Logan immediately shook his head.
"No, you can't tell him, Carlos. Besides, I don't think it will help. I think it'll make things worse."
"Really?" Carlos looked sad at that and Logan held his items in one hand and placed the free hand on Carlos' shoulder.
"I think when it comes to things like this, the only thing you can do is ignore them."
"But I can't. That's Kendall's boyfriend and Kendall is my friend."
"I know but sometimes you can't help how someone else feels. You can keep trying to be nice to him but I don't think that will work." Logan explained before he opened the door. Carlos followed through and seemed to be thinking about something.
"I have to keep being nice to him. It can work, I'm sure of it." Carlos said, giving Logan a smile. Logan could tell that there was nothing else he could say so he just nodded along with it as they headed back to their individual seats. "Here." Carlos said, holding out a small cookie to Logan. "You gave me one of yours, so..." Carlos explained when Logan gave him a confused look.
"Thanks." Logan said, taking the cookie with a smile. When Carlos sat down next to Jett, he offered the boy a cookie but Jett shook his head at the offer. After another play, Kendall came over to them and gestured for Carlos to come over. Carlos walked up to the rail of the bleachers and squatted down.
"Hey." Kendall said, taking out his mouth piece.
"Hey. Look, Logan bought me cookies."
"Grandma Cookies?" Kendall asked and Carlos nodded before reaching into the bag. He held the cookie out for Kendall to try it and the blonde smiled before taking one of his gloves off and taking the cookie.
"Do you like them?" Carlos asked.
"I love them." Carlos smiled at that. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay."
"It isn't too hot?"
"No. It feels great."
"That's good. We should be finishing up pretty soon."
"Okay." Carlos said before the coach blew his whistle again. Kendall gave Carlos a wave, who happily returned it before heading back to his seat. Logan shook his head at Jett, who just looked at Carlos when he sat down. Carlos blushed when he noticed Jett staring at him. Carlos turned to look at the boy when he saw something sparkle on Jett's neck.
"What's that?" Carlos asked, pointing to it.
"What?" Jett said before feeling his neck, only to feel his necklace. "Oh, that's my necklace. Kendall gave it to me." He said proudly. Logan rolled his eyes so hard he was convinced they were going to get stuck. He remembered to tell James about all of this when he saw his boyfriend running down the field. Jett looked so proud of the fact that Kendall had given him the necklace and Carlos just smiled at him like he didn't notice how he seemed to want to make Carlos jealous.
"It's pretty." Carlos said with a smile.
"I know." Jett said and Logan was about to call Carlos over but he remembered that the boy was determined to make friends with Jett. Once practice was over, Logan let out a sigh of relief. As the guys walked off of the field, Logan, Jett, and Carlos headed to the front of the school. While Carlos looked at the flowers that lined the tree a few feet away from them, Logan turned to Jett. "You know, you don't have to be so rude to him."
"What? Rude to who?" Jett asked in confusion.
"Carlos. He only wants to be your friend."
"My friend?"
"Yes. He is trying to be your friend and you're just constantly blowing him off and being rude."
"Logan, I don't like him. I mean, he comes out of nowhere and all of a sudden he's everyone's friend." Jett said and Logan rolled his eyes at that.
"By everyone, you mean Kendall." Logan said and now it was Jett's turn to roll his eyes.
"Logan, all I'm saying is, he's too friendly."
"Not everyone can be like you." Logan said, receiving a look from Jett.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing but just remember, Jett, you were once the new friend." Logan told him.
"I know that but I wasn't all up in everyone's face, desperate to be their friend."
"Who is he desperately trying to be friends with besides you?"
"Logan, it's obvious he's trying so hard to be friends with Kendall. I mean, offering him a cookie and all that. Seriously?"
"It was a cookie. I even offered him a cookie." Logan said and Jett had nothing to say after that. Logan shook his head at the boy next to him. "This has nothing to do with Carlos. This has everything to do with you and your insecurities." Logan said before he walked over to where Carlos was, leaving Jett by himself to think about what Logan had said.
Eventually, Jett made his way over to the boys. Logan watched Jett as he talked to Carlos about the flowers that were planted. He told Carlos what type of flowers they were and how they came in different colors. When James and Kendall came out, Jett hugged Kendall tight and the blonde wasn't expecting it at all.
"You know I'm glad you've decided to go to the party. It's been a while since we've done anything together." Jett said before the hug was over.
"I'm sorry about that. I've just been a little busy." Kendall explained as Jett continued to have his arms around Kendall's waist.
"Ugh, why don't you just pee on him and mark your territory for god's sake." Logan mumbled. James looked over at his boyfriend and chuckled while shaking his head. Logan didn't know that anyone had heard him and he turned to Carlos but the boy didn't seem to have heard him. When they walked to the cars, Jett was mumbling stuff in Kendall's ear and Logan looked over to see Carlos was paying more attention to the birds nearby.
"He's not even paying them any attention. All of this is so unnecessary." Logan said to James and he nodded in agreement.
"Hopefully, he'll calm down after the party." James added.
"He better or I feel like I'm going to punch him."
"Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready?" Kendall rolled his eyes at his best friend and resisted the urge to close the door in his face. Logan could sense the urge and stepped in front of his boyfriend and into the house. James followed in and Kendall headed back to his room. "Come on, Kendall, you should be excited." James told him.
"Excited for what?" Katie asked, walking out of her room.
"A party." James happily told her.
"I want to go."
"No!" Kendall yelled from his room. Katie rolled her eyes at his response before she went back into her room. James and Logan went into Kendall's room to see Carlos wrapped in a blanket watching the something on the Tv.
"Carlos, what's going on?" James asked while Kendall was in the bathroom.
"I'm watching a movie called The Martian." Carlos told him just before something blew up in the movie. James grabbed the controller and paused the movie while Logan stared at the now-paused scene.
"You aren't coming?" James asked him.
"Where?"
"We're going to a party. Kendall didn't tell you?" Carlos shook his head at that before Kendall walked out of the bathroom. "Because Carlos isn't going James. I told you that."
"Oh come on. Carlos, do you want to go?"
"Uh, I've never been to that before."
"It'll be fun. I promise. Come on, get dressed." James said, gesturing for the boy to get out of bed.
"I don't know. Kendall doesn't want me to go." Everyone turned to face Kendall at that and the blonde sighed in defeat. James smiled at that and picked out the boy's clothes for him.
Once Carlos was dressed, Kendall told his mother that they were leaving, having already explained the party to her earlier. When they got into the car, James happily drummed his fingers on the steering wheel before he started driving. Carlos was excited to say the least to experience something new. Usually at night, he and Kendall didn't leave the house but today would be the first day that he's left the house at night since he left the facility. He looked up at the sky from where he was seated before he turned to Kendall. The blonde had on a black leather jacket, a dark green fitted shirt, and black jeans on. James dressed Carlos in a blue shirt with black swirl designs all around it and black jeans as well. Logan had on what he was wearing earlier while James wore a white shirt and black jeans and his letterman jacket. Kendall opted out of wearing his because Jett got it dirty a while back and he hadn't washed it.
When they pulled up to the house, Kendall grew slightly nervous seeing the number of people there. There were people scattered around the front yard having conversations and such. Almost everyone had a red cup in their hand and Kendall made a mental note to never let one of those cups touch Carlos' or his hands. That was almost a successful plan but then they all stepped into the house. The cheerleader that spotted them in the mall was the first one to greet them into the house. Kendall guessed that it was her house but he could be wrong. The girl immediately handed Carlos a drink and whispered something in his ear that made him blush. Kendall pulled the boy away from her and took the cup and handed it back to her.
"He's not old enough."
"Neither am I but it's a party loosen up." She told him before rolling her eyes and walking away. James headed to the kitchen area to find something to drink and Logan followed after him to make sure he didn't drink anything too strong. It was almost always an unspoken rule that Logan was going to keep someone sober enough to drive them home.
As they walked pass the partygoers, Kendall wanted to shield Carlos' eyes from the people making out and practically having sex up against the wall. A girl almost bumped into him but he moved out of her drunken way. The house wasn't overstuffed with people but there definitely were a lot of people. Some people came up to Kendall and congratulated him on the big game and talked about how they were going to be in the stands, cheering the whole team on. At least that's what Kendall thinks they were saying in their drunken babbles. He managed to find the back door and just before they reached the door, Carlos stopped moving and tapped Kendall's shoulder.
"I have to go pee." Carlos said close enough for him to hear it over the music. Kendall nodded and maneuvered them to the steps. Carlos headed up the steps and before Kendall could follow, someone stopped him to congratulate him again. Kendall was almost positive that this guy had to be too old to even go to high school. He managed to get the guy to keep moving by pointing out that someone was opening some new bottle of alcohol in the kitchen.
When Kendall turned around, Carlos was gone. Kendall almost panicked before he realized that Carlos would just come back the way he came, so he camped out by the steps and waited for him to come back down. When Carlos had reached the top of the steps, he turned to see some guy was talking to Kendall. He thought he should wait for the blonde but he felt like his bladder was about to explode. The thing is, it almost did when he opened a door and saw the last person he expected to see on a bed.
"Jett?" Carlos said in confusion and the boy pushed someone who definitely wasn't Kendall off of him. Jett then jumped up, buckling his pants and rushing over to Carlos to pull him into the room, closing the door behind them. Carlos was shocked in multiple ways and he didn't know what to do, especially with his impending bladder explosion. "J-Jett, I-"
"You better not say shit about what you saw."
"Jett, I really gotta pee a-and-"
"Go pee." Jett told him, pushing him in the direction of the bathroom that was connected to the bedroom. Carlos awkwardly moved pass the guy who was still in the bed, shirtless and gave him a quick look before going into the bathroom and closing the door. While he peed, Carlos could hear Jett tell the guy to put his clothes back on. After Carlos was satisfied and his bladder was now empty, he flushed, moved to the sink, and washed his hands.
When he was done, he just stared at himself in the mirror. He had just seen Jett with another guy. But he knew that Jett was with Kendall and…that…that's cheating. His face paled a little at the realization. He dried his hands and slowly opened the bathroom door. Jett was standing there with an angry look on his face and before Carlos could say anything, he was being pulled out of the bathroom and slammed up against the wall. Carlos hadn't known that Jett was that strong and he was scared of what the boy was going to do to him.
"What did you see?" Jett asked him and he looked over at the boy on the bed, now with a shirt on, move to the edge of the bed.
"Jett, you don't have to-"
"Shut up! You don't get to tell me what to do." Carlos panicked and knew that he had to get away, so, while Jett was talking to the guy, he made a decision. Carlos pushed Jett off of him and ran. He made it to the door before he felt himself being grabbed. He was pulled back from the door and pushed towards the bed. Before he could reach it, he stumbled back and ended up on the floor. Jett stood over top of him and he had the urge to cry with the look Jett was giving him.
"Carlos, listen to me. You didn't see anything when you opened that door. When you opened that door, you found the bathroom and you went back downstairs. Got it?" Jett said and the guy on the bed stood up. Carlos nodded at that and Jett kneeled down in front of him. "Say it."
"W-When I walked in here, I-I went to the bathroom and went back downstairs."
"What did you see?" Jett asked, glaring at the boy.
"I, uh, I didn't see anything."
"Good. Glad to see we're on the same page." Jett said, smiling. Carlos felt a shiver go down his spine as Jett smiled down at him before he stood, offering a Carlos a hand. Carlos took the offer and Jett pulled him up with too much force and when they collided, Jett draped an arm around Carlos' shoulder with a hand on the back of his neck.
"If you talk about what you saw with anyone, I promise you I will personally beat the shit out of you." Jett whispered in his ear. Carlos nodded while Jett patted him on the back a little too hard before pushing him back. Carlos stared at Jett as the boy exited the room.
When Carlos felt a hand on his shoulder, he gasped and moved away from the boy that had been all over Jett moments ago. The guy put his hands up and when Carlos just stared at him, he decided to just leave. Carlos didn't know what to do at that point because he wanted to tell Kendall but he was afraid. When he stepped out into the hallway, the girl from earlier, the one who called him cute was there. She smiled and got too close to him, backing him up to the wall next to the door.
"Hey cutie." She said, her breath reeking of alcohol.
"You smell like hand sanitizer." Carlos told her and she didn't seem to have heard him as she got closer to him.
"Carlos, what are you doing?" Carlos heard someone say. He turned to see Logan was standing there with a confused look on his face.
"N-Nothing." Carlos said, moving away from the girl. He rushed over to Logan and followed the boy back down the steps. Carlos looked around for Kendall but he didn't see him. He followed Logan to one of the corners of the living room where James was sitting.
"Where's Kendall?" Carlos asked the two.
"Jett came down and ushered him off to someplace." James told him before taking a sip of his drink. He offered some to Logan, who shook his head in response. When he offered some to Carlos, Logan looked at him like he was crazy before moving the cup away.
It had been about an hour since the incident with Jett and Carlos was trying to find the appeal in going to parties. So far, he has seen something that he couldn't tell anyone about, was threatened, cornered by a drunken girl, and sat with his friends who occasionally got up to dance themselves. Carlos was so worried about having to keep the secret from Kendall that he wasn't enjoying himself. When the blonde finally emerged from the slowly dwindling crowd of people, Carlos let out a shaky sigh.
"Are you okay?" Kendall asked him and he nodded. "Do you want to go outside and get some fresh air?" Carlos nodded at Kendall's question again before being led out of the back of the house.
Carlos saw a pool a few feet away and when he scanned the crowd of people, he saw Jett glaring his way. He immediately looked away as Kendall led him to some chairs that were planted side by side. The two of them sat down and Carlos knew that Jett was looking over at him, so, he looked down at his hands. He jumped when he felt a hand on his back and turned to look at Kendall apologetically.
"What happened while I was gone?" Kendall asked him and Carlos looked up to see Jett was still staring at him.
"Nothing, it's just a lot of people and I can't understand some of them. Some even bump into me and I don't know." Carlos said, feeling overwhelmed with holding this secret from Kendall. Everything would be so much easier if he could just tell Kendall what the problem was and have him fix it. But Carlos knew that it wouldn't be that simple and he could get hurt if he told.
"I'll go get you some water and see if James wants to leave. If not, we can just spend the rest of the party out here."
"Okay."
"Don't move." Kendall told him as he got up from the chair. When Carlos looked over at Jett, the boy gestured for Carlos to come over. Carlos waited until Kendall was in the house before he stood up and walked over to Jett. As soon as he was close enough, Jett grabbed him by the front of his shirt.
"What did you say to him?"
"I-I told him th-"
"YOU TOLD HIM?!" Jett yelled and that seemed to get some people's attention. Carlos could also smell the alcohol on his breath but he didn't want to mention it. Right now, he just wanted Kendall to come back and take him back home.
"No! I told him that I was uncomfortable with the amount of people here." Carlos said and Jett let go of the boy's shirt before he spoke again. "So, what did he say to that?"
"He said that he was going to go get me some water and see if James wanted to leave."
"Leave?" Jett asked and Carlos nodded, moving a step away from the boy. He looked around for Kendall but the blonde still wasn't back yet. Jett groaned and walked as he thought, always keeping Carlos in front of him though.
"You know what, this is your fault." Jett said and Carlos was confused at that. "When Kendall suddenly became friends with you, my life got out of hand. Every time I want to do something, he's doing something with you."
"But I wanted to be friends with you. I still do."
"No, I don't want to be your friend. Why can't you get that through your head?" Jett asked, pushing Carlos slightly. Carlos didn't understand what he had done wrong. He had listened to the boy's threats and hasn't told Kendall no matter how much he really wanted to. Based off of what he's been observing, Carlos knows that being honest can help things. So he sighed and looked up at Jett.
"Jett, I…I don't think you should keep this from Kendall. You should tell him beca-" Carlos stopped talking when Jett grabbed him by the front of his shirt and brought him in close.
"You don't know shit. I'm not playing with you Carlos. If you say a word…you know what, I'm going to give you a taste of what will happen if you tell him." Jett said before he let go of Carlos' shirt. He smoothed out the shirt before he kept his hand on Carlos' chest.
Carlos didn't know how to react to the sudden calmness of the boy in front of him. He felt pressure on his chest from Jett's hand and the next sensation he felt was water on his back before the liquid enveloped him. Jett acted like he was reaching out to grab him but Carlos was already in the water, sinking to the bottom.
A/N: See, I told you. A roller coaster ride...if roller coasters suddenly veer off the tracks and off of a cliff. So...a Final Destination roller coaster. That's a movie reference by the way, if you didn't catch that. But yeah, exciting things going down in the next chapter! I really hope you all won't be mad at me for this cliffhanger since I did promise another update later on today. Thanks for reading! And don't forget, reviews are much appreciated, especially since it's been this long since an update! :D