Ring, Ring, Ring!

James slowly got out of bed to answer his phone. He didn't want to wake up Carlos, who was sharing the bed with him.

"Hello?" James' voice was rough. He glanced at the alarm clock. It read 2:24 am.

Carlos' head cocked up from under the sheets. He heard James waking up, but didn't want to bother him while he was on the phone, so he pretended to sleep while listening to James'

conversation.

"Yeah, I know." Carlos couldn't hear the voice at the other end of the call.

"Look, it's not that big of a deal." James paced from side to side.

"I'm sure he'll be fine by tomorrow." Carlos was starting to get worried.

"No. I'm not coming." James' voice was mad now.

"Should you take him to the hospital?" James' hand patted the back of his head.

"Well, you've got to do something!" He was almost yelling.

"But—" James took the phone off his ear and stared at it. Carlos could hear the beeping from the other end.

Carlos quickly got back under the sheets, as James hung up and walked over to the bed.

"Hey dude, are you awake?" James' voice changed so much from the last time he spoke; Carlos thought he might start crying.

Carlos decided to stop pretending.

"No, I'm awake. Are you okay?" Carlos put his hand on James' waist.

"You… You heard that, didn't you?" James slipped Carlos' hand off.

"Um…" Carlos was feeling kind of awkward. What was up with James? "Yeah, I did. Who was that?"

"Just a friend." James pulled the covers over his whole body, even his head.

"Anything you may want to tell me? You know, to get off your chest?" Carlos tried to put his hand on James' forehead, but James moved away.

"Nothing you should be worried about. Go back to bed. It's late, and we have a big day tomorrow in the studio." They both felt awkward now.

"Yeah, well… um… Alright then. Just remember, James, I'm always here for you." Carlos lightly kissed the back of his boyfriend's head.

Without an answer, Carlos fell back asleep. Barely.

What was wrong with James? Why didn't he want to talk about the phone call? Was it something he was hiding from Carlos? Would Carlos ever know?

What was James' secret?