A/N: You have every right to hate me. I'm sorry! Too much going on. But here is chapter 6, I hope you enjoy it.

The next morning, Ryan and Carlos woke up to Alex's alarm going off in his room at 6:45. Carlos sat up and rubbed his face with both hands, whereas Ryan just groaned and buried her face in her pillow. She sighed and started kicking the still snoring Alex beside her.

"The fuck, dude?" he mumbled, barely awake.

"Get your ass up and turn off the alarm!" Ryan responded and proceeded to throw her extra pillow at him. The grumbling response she received was indistinct, sounding almost like he was speaking through water. Ryan groaned once more and started to beat him with her pillow. Muffled sounds of protest came from Alex, but he still didn't get up. The fact that the alarm clock was still going off seemed to have been forgotten, but Ryan was determined to get Alex out of bed. Carlos was watching the exchange with a sleepy smirk, not wanting to interrupt Ryan's attack on her best friend. She looked up and glared at Carlos.

"You could help, you know!" Carlos just shrugged, got up, and walked to Alex's room to shut of the blaring clock. He returned and fell onto the couch, hearing Ryan cry out in exasperation.

"You are so annoying!" She threw down the pillow and stomped off to the kitchen. For a second, Carlos was scared, but when Alex started laughing from under his blanket, Carlos relaxed and couldn't help but join his laughter.

"Screw you both," Ryan mumbled, loud enough for the boys in the living room to hear. Carlos chuckled and rose from the couch, penguin-walking to the kitchen. He leaned against the counter and watched as Ryan sleepily poured three cups of coffee from the brewer. She handed him one and took a sip from her own, leaving Alex's on the counter.

"Thanks," Carlos said, voice deep and raspy from sleeping. He took a small sip and closed his eyes, relishing in the taste of the piping hot brew.

"You sleep okay?" Ryan asked him, continuing to take small doses of coffee.

"Mmhmm, you?"

"Eh, I guess. Alex moves a lot, but you get used to it," she said while rolling her eyes. Carlos laughed as the two walked back into the living room where Alex was propped up in his bed, leaning back on his arms. He looked up and pouted.

"Coffee?" he asked in an almost innocent voice. Ryan smiled smugly, and Alex continued pouting until she finally broke.

"Yours is in the kitchen, freak," Ryan said, laughing at the 22 year old man's pout. Alex hollered and ran into the kitchen like a 4 year old. Carlos was about to question his actions, but Ryan just shook her head in a "don't even ask" manner. He just sighed with a lazy grin and fell onto the couch, Ryan landing next to him. They finished their coffee as a comfortable silence fell over the apartment. Carlos set his empty cup on the end-table, Ryan set hers on the coffee table. Carlos looked up at her and opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by a loud crash coming from the kitchen. Ryan rolled her eyes and stood up, grabbing Carlos's arm and dragging him with her.

"What did you kill?" she said in an accusatory tone.

"Nothing! I swear, I just dropped a tray!"

"Was the tray empty?" When she didn't get a response, she pushed on. "Alex..." He stepped to the side revealing a tray, three plastic cups, and some spilled lemonade. Ryan sighed before laughing tiredly and walking out of the kitchen, leaving the two boys to clean up the mess. Alex looked up at Carlos pleadingly, but Carlos just shook his head, smirked, and followed Ryan out.

After cleaning up the mess, Alex returned to the living room and found Ryan and Carlos laughing about something. As he got closer he saw his and Ryan's photo album on Carlos's lap. His eyes widened when he saw the picture from his 12th birthday of him stuck on a tree branch. Ryan had dared him to climb a large old oak tree, and he went through with it, but he hadn't thought of coming back down. He was terrified, and the picture showed him clinging to the branch and almost crying. He snatched up the album, and held it to his chest, glaring furiously at Ryan. She was trying not to laugh, but she couldn't help but burst after seeing Alex's angry expression. Carlos, on the other hand, wasn't trying to disguise his amusement at all. He had his head thrown back and was clapping loudly. Ryan caught a glimpse of Carlos and once again started howling with laughter.

"You look- you look like a retarded seal!" she exclaimed between laughs, gasping for breath. Alex looked at Carlos and also began to laugh.

"You guys suck!" was Carlos's weak response, gasping and continuing to laugh.

"Hey, you laughed at my expense, now it's my turn!" Alex fought back as the laughter in the room began to subside.

"Whatever, man," Carlos stuck out his tongue childishly, "that's still a hilarious picture. You were twelve and couldn't climb down a tree? That's worse than the bra thing!"

"Shut up! That tree was hard to climb!"

"That was Capstone Park, right? The huge oak by the pond with the wooden bench?" Ryan nodded and Alex looked astonished. "Dude, I used to climb that thing all the time! I remember getting to the top and looking out over the pond. I never wanted to leave," Carlos sighed, remembering the memories.

"We should go," Ryan said suddenly.

"What?" Carlos asked. "Are you serious? I haven't been there since before I moved out to LA!"

"Why not? I mean, it's a mile away, and the bookstore is closed until opening day next dweek. We have a free day," Ryan said brightly. Carlos looked happier than she'd ever seen him, and the childish glow radiating from his face made her smile. "Plus, it's a Wednesday morning, there shouldn't be too many people." Carlos was almost jumping at the thought of going back to his childhood park.

"We'll just change, and we can head out," said Alex as he set down the photo album he had been holding. "We can run around like crazy 10 year olds again!"

After getting dressed and driving a short distance in Carlos's car, the three adults arrived at the park. Carlos caught one glimpse of the shining water of the pond and took off running, leaving Alex and Ryan to chase after him. When they reached the pond, Carlos was already sitting on the wooden bench under the oak tree from Alex's picture. He was panting lightly from running, but he was so focused on the water that neither Alex nor Ryan wanted to interrupt the silence and ruin Carlos's moment.

They quietly walked up to the tree, standing behind the bench and taking in the memories from their childhoods. Their thoughts were broken by a little girl running and shouting Carlos's name. She looked about 4, too young to be attending school, but old enough to know who Carlos was. Carlos turned when he heard his name and chuckled when he saw the little girl wobble across the grass to the bench, and a man he assumed was her father running behind her. Not wanting to disappoint a fan, he opened his arms just in time for her to attack him in a hug.

"I am so sorry," was all the father managed to say, trying to pry his daughter off of Carlos's arm. Carlos just laughed.

"Don't worry about it," he waved his hand dismissively then looked down. "What's your name?"

"Cassie," said the little girl with a baby-toothed smile after releasing her surprisingly strong grip on the pop star. Her hair was dark blonde and a cross between curly and wavy, and her eyes were vibrant green. She reminded Carlos of Kendall, which made him laugh. He looked back at Ryan and Alex who were smiling and then back at the girl who had introduced herself as Cassie.

"How pretty! How old are you?" Carlos continued to converse with Cassie. She proudly held up 4 fingers, and Carlos laughed.

"Wow, 4 years old? No way!" He teased her playfully, and she giggled, nodding her head furiously. Carlos continued to joke around with her for a while, and at one point, they engaged in a tickle war. Cassie's father was shaking his head and smiling, shocked that Carlos was spending so much time playing with a 4 year old girl. Alex was laughing, still standing behind the bench with Ryan who was smiling softly.

As Ryan watched Carlos play with Cassie, Alex noticed a small gleam in her eye that he'd never seen before. There was a hidden emotion he had never seen Ryan express lying in her facial expression. Alex shook his head, smiling at his friend's self-ignorance and looked at Carlos who was hugging Cassie for a picture. He kissed her head, and she ran to her dad, grabbing his hand and walking off. She turned sideways and waved at Carlos, and he waved back enthusiastically. After the father and daughter disappeared, Carlos sighed and turned to face his friends. He smiled sheepishly.

"I'm sorry," he said, blushing lightly.

"No problem, dude. You just made her day. You could tell her dad was kind of surprised that you were being so nice about it," Alex responded. Carlos nodded and glanced at Ryan who was still just smiling. He cleared his throat and looked back at Alex.

"So, how about I show you how to seriously climb a tree?"

A/N: Yepp. That's it. Hopefully y'all are still enjoying the story. Please review/follow. Constructive criticism can only help me! By the way, I read the past couple chapters, and seriously, WHY DIDN'T ANYONE MENTION ANY OF MY GRAMMATICAL ERRORS?! C'mon guys, help me out!