A/N: I know, I know, I haven't updated in a while. I'm sorry, I've had a lot going on. This chapter is just a filler, but I hope yosee joy it anyways!

Guest reviewer: Thanks! Glad you're a enjoying it.

By the way, when Carlos and Alex are texting, Alex's messages italicized, and Carlos's are bold.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything recognizable.

Carlos put on his sunglasses and pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt, not in the mood to be noticed. He stepped out of his car, locked it, and trudged across the hotel parking lot. Entering through the revolving door, he made his way to the elevator and up to his room on the seventh floor. His father pleaded for Carlos to stay with him, but Carlos insisted on a hotel.

He whipped off his sunglasses and tossed them, along with his keys, onto the small oak-wood desk. Flopping onto the queen-sized bed, he sighed. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and his laptop off of the floor. He texted Kendall to get on Skype, signing on on his laptop. While he was waiting, he minimized the Skype window and pulled up his Twitter, smiling at his fans' messages until he heard the familiar Skype ringtone. The alert popped up, and he clicked the accept button. It took a second to load, but he soon saw Kendall and James on the screen.

"'Los! What's up?" James shouted enthusiastically. Carlos chuckled at his friend, missing them more and more.

"Nothing much, the shop is pretty much ready. We reopen in a few days," Carlos sad, reciwving a nod from Kendall and James. "Where's Logan?"

"He went to get lunch for us. How has Florida been treating you?" Kendall asked.

"Feels the same as before. I've been everywhere I used to go, and nothing has changed. I've made a couple friends," Carlos said in response. Their conversation continued, Logan showing up halfway through. After about 45 minutes, the boys said their goodbyes and logged off.

Carlos sighed, confused. He missed his best friends, but he didn't want to leave. He got out of bed and walked to the small window next to the bed, looking out over his hometown. He loved LA, but it would never replace Weston.

Alex walked into his apartment building, waving to his neighbors hanging around in the lobby, and walked to the elevator. He went up to the fourth floor and down the hall to his apartment, throwing the door open and kicking off his shoes. He shut the door and looked around, eyes falling on the bedding on the living room floor. He laughed softly to himself as he walked into his kitchen, remembering the events that had occurred the previous day.

After drinking a glass of water, he walked into his room, still thinking about the new-found friendship. His eyes fell on his Hooked on Books name tag laying on his desk, and he smiled. Carlos was a savior in more ways than one. He saved the bookstore, Alex and Ryan's jobs, and he had wormed his way into their hearts so quickly.

Carlos seemed to be the perfect addition to their lives, but there was one thing that had been nagging at Alex from the back of his mind all night: the bookstore. Carlos had pure intentions, but his efforts to hide the facts would eventually be crushed. Some paparazzi or crazy fan would find out and spill about the bookstore. It couldn't stay a secret forever.

Alex sighed and dropped onto his bed tiredly, not wanting to think about the possible outcomes of the situation. He glanced at his clock and saw that it was already 9:35 PM. Deciding that he was too tired to eat, he turned onto his side and pulled the covers over himself, drifting off almost immediately.

Carlos woke up at 8:15 the next morning, sitting in the desk chair, confused as to when he even fell asleep. The previous night, he had been looking outside the window for a while before taking his laptop and sitting down at the desk, aimlessly surfing the Internet. He must've drifted off at some point, too tired to realize.

He stood up from the chair, wincing at the stiffness of his neck and the pain shooting down his spine. He popped his neck and limped to the restroom to freshen up. He had to go to the shop to check up on the last details of the reopening. The reopening was set for that Friday, only three days later. Afterward, Carlos would be returning to LA.

After he had changed, he grabbed his keys, wallet, and the backpack that carried all the paperwork. He walked out of the hotel room and rode down the elevator, walking quickly out the main door. Once he was in his car, he checked his phone and found that he had a text from Alex.

Ryan's sick and can't come in today. I'll still be there on time.

Carlos typed his reply, letting Alex know that it was fine and asking if they should visit Ryan after they were done at the store. After sending it, he pulled out of the parking lot and drove three miles to the shop. He heard his phone vibrate just as he was turning into the parking lot. When he parked outside of Hooked on Books, he read Alex's reply and laughed.

Visit Ryan when she's sick?! Fuck no. She turns into Godzilla if someone sees her when she's sick, dude.

Alright, alright. I'll just text her later or something. Just got here, you on your way?

2 minutes.

He climbed out of his car and grabbed his bag from the back seat. When he unlocked and opened the door to the store, he saw Alex pull up in an old yellow Chevy truck. Carlos walked inside and flipped on the main power switch behind the counter. Alex soon entered and found Carlos standing at the counter, already engrossed in paperwork.

"Hey," Alex said simply.

"Hey man," Carlos responded, slightly distracted by his work.

"So, anything you need me to do?" Alex asked, knowing that there was still a bit of organization left.

"Yea, um, could you just check the inventory for the music section? Just N-Z." Alex nodded and walked around to behind the counter. He picked up the clipboard for the N-Z Music and strolled over towards the back of the store where the CDs were stocked.

He looked through the list and checked the stock of each album listed. When he had first started coming to the store, the thing that struck him the most was the variety. Aside from every type of book imaginable, they had music from every genre. From mainstream pop to folk, there was something there for everyone.

He remembered back to when he and Ryan would sit in the back of the store and listen to music from random albums they had never heard of. They would each pick an album that looked interesting, and they'd listen to it on the machine that was in the back of the store for sampling. They found some of their favorite artists through their method, and throughout their lives, they found music that seemed to fit perfectly. There was always something for each stage they had gone through, and those exact albums were still in stock.

Alex was almost finished when Carlos called his name. He turned around to see Carlos, backpack slung over his shoulder, walking toward him. He finished counting the last album on the list and started walking to Carlos, meeting him in the middle of the store.

"You done with the paperwork?" Alex asked.

"Mmhmm. We're officially ready for Friday," Carlos replied proudly, and Alex nodded in response, smiling. "Wanna grab some lunch? We could hang out at my hotel," Carlos said.

"Sure, let me just put the list back." Alex quickly ducked behind the counter and hung the clipboard on its hook then stepped back out and joined Carlos. The duo walked out the door and into their respective cars. Alex waited for Carlos to pull out and followed behind him.

Alex and Carlos had arrived at the hotel just a few minutes later. Once they had gotten to his room, Carlos sat criss-cross his bed, and Alex plopped down on the chair next to him. A comfortable silence fell over the room as the two sat, lost in their own thoughts.

"So, you leave the day after the reopening?" Alex asked, breaking the silence. Carlos sighed and nodded, falling backwards onto his back, covering his face with his hands.

"I really don't want to leave, but I've been gone almost three weeks. Don't even ask how I swung that," he said through his fingers.

"Well, now you have an excuse to come back more often," Alex offered.

"True. I'll definitely try and make monthly visits when we're not touring," Carlos responded before sitting back up and searching for the TV remote. He found it laying under his blanket and turned on the TV, tossing the remote to Alex. Alex just shrugged and put on the local news station.

"That's good. So, have you run into any paparazzi or fans?" Alex asked, genuinely curious. The only encounter Carlos had had while he was with Ryan and Alex was when he was spotted by the little girl at the park.

"Eh, a couple. Mostly just fans wanting a picture or autograph. It has been an unusually easy trip," Carlos responded. It wasn't the first time he had noticed how quiet it had been. It gave him a slightly uneasy feeling that he hadn't had any major encounters, but he had just brushed it off.

Neither of the two said anything for a while, the only sound coming from the TV. Suddenly, both of their phones rang, showing that they had texts from Ryan. The messages were the same: a link to some TMZ article. Alex raised his eyebrow and clicked on the link, and Carlos just closed his phone, figuring that he'd just see it on Alex's. Once Alex's phone loaded the page, he skimmed over it, eyes widening when he read the headline. Carlos's eyebrows shot up in confusion and concern at Alex's response to whatever had been on the screen. He got off of the bed and looked at the phone screen over Alex's shoulder. Once he saw the page, he winced, slapping his hand over his face, a single word slipping past his lips.

"Shit."

A/N: Hopefully that wasn't horrible. Let me know what you think!