I still love you guys. Like, so much. Hugs go out to these amazing people, which are ThisHendersonChick14, Mr. President, brittney, Big Time Ships, carlosgarcia, I AM AIR, nigel small, taeXen, Hikari no Kasai, Aerojo, Miss-Invisible-Heartbreak, popsicle-apocalypse, WeLoveTheLove, Cookie Monster Giggles and best friend/amigo/stalker, MoonbabyAstroRock3r.
Favourites and alerts are still appreciated people! You guys are da bomb!
Anywho, Hikari no Kasai, your question is answered in this chapter, my dear. ;D
I'm sad. This story is pretty close to finishing. By pretty close, I mean, after this chapter, there is only 4 more chapters for definite. Possibly a 5th? Who knows. It's all about how the reaction is to the ending of this story. It's pretty mindblowing, if I do say so myself. :)
Behind The Lens
Chapter Fifteen; Now, The Fun Begins.
"Do you guys know what we should do?" Lucy exclaimed, throwing her suitcase onto the couch.
"I have no idea Luce, but guarantee, you're going to tell us anyway." Logan lightly laughed.
"Well," Lucy grinned. "We tots have to have a party in this place! Imagine how wild it would be!"
"Imagine the damage." Logan deadpanned.
"You're like an old man, you know that?" Lucy retorted.
Logan shrugged his shoulders, taking a hold of one of the suitcases on the floor and dragging it across the floor, heading to the bedroom he and Carlos had claimed for their own. Carlos soon followed, laughing at the tantrum Lucy was throwing as she collected her own suitcase, pulling it into her room.
"Do you think we should, 'Litos?" Logan asked.
"It's up to you," Carlos shrugged. "It's your place, so y'know, depends if you want it trashed."
"Our place, Carlos," Logan corrected him with a sweet smile. "It's our place Carlos."
"You paid for it, though?" Carlos furrowed his eyebrows.
Logan laughed lightly, his laugh sending shivers down Carlos' spine. It was the one thing that he would never get over. The sheer happiness and joy in Logan's voice when he chuckled. It was like a fresh breath of air on a bright summers morning. So refreshing and peaceful. It literally threw Carlos into a world of his dreams. A world where nothing bad happens, it's just him and Logan, wrapped up in a blanket of love.
The sound of a cough brought Carlos back into reality. Held out in front of him, held in Logan's hands, were a stack of papers. Memories of Henry doing something similar flooded back in his mind. The haunting thought of losing his apartment made Carlos' stomach somersault on instinct.
"What are those?" Carlos questioned, swallowing the large lump in his throat brought on by the self-doubts.
"These, my dear Carlos," Logan handed the flurry of whiteness to the Latino, watching his small wrinkles form on his forehead as he examined the contents. "Are the papers that say this place is both mine and yours. Your name is on the lease."
Logan watched as Carlos' jaw dropped, his eyes growing large. He couldn't believe it. His name was on the lease for such an extragavant home.
"Logan.. You shouldn't have.." Carlos breathed.
"I should have," Logan responded, voice light as air. "What Henry done is awful. So, you won't have that problem. This is your home, no matter what."
"Logan.. We could have just moved into your apartment.." Carlos replied, still smiling.
"We could have, but, I didn't want us to. The lease on my apartment is already under two names- mine and my mom's. I specifically wanted your name on the lease, as a sort of momentum, so, the obvious answer was a new place." Logan grinned, his crooked grin plastered across his chiseled face.
"Well.. Thank you, Logan," Carlos sighed. "You're the best."
"I know I am." Logan flirted back with a wink.
The boys unloaded the suitcase, placing Carlos' clothes in the drawers. They shared laughs and playfully fighting as they argued over which drawers they got, who got the higher poll in the wardrobe and who got which size of the bed.
"See, you are like a married couple." Lucy teased through the doorway.
The heat quickly crawled up Logan's neck, tinting his cheeks red. "W-Well, err, I think that's, erm.."
"Maybe one day?" Carlos said with an awkward smile.
"You serious?" Logan replied quickly, unable to hind his enthusiam.
"Yeah, well obviously, we'll still wait. But I mean, there's no saying no to it, right?" Carlos grinned.
"No," Logan smiled, his face hurting from the amount he was smiling. "That would be a good idea."
"I keep getting the idea I'm going to be a third wheel.." Lucy rolled her eyes with a soft smile, leaving the boys. "Oh, and we are having a party! This is my place too!"
"You are going to be a third wheel!" Carlos shouted after her, before turning to meet Logan's soft orbs. "Are you okay with a party?"
"Yeah," Logan replied. "One condition though. It stays reasonably small. And obviously, James, Kendall, Sabrina and Drew have to be on that list."
"Obviously." Carlos smirked.
"Now, stop being cute and put your clothes away." Logan gushed, smacking at Carlos' elbow, gaining a dramatic whine and laugh in response.
The rest of the morning went by rather quickly. Once the boys had packed Carlos' clothes away, and once someone had dropped off Logan's clothes and assortments, they packed that away too, all the while, fighting against Lucy's demands on a DJ, bubble machine and neon flashing lights.
"No, Lucy, we are not making the whole room black and then making everyone wear illuminous paint. It isn't going to be a rave!" Carlos argued.
"Stop being an old man!" Lucy whined. "What do you suppose we do, tea and cakes?"
"Tea and cakes?" Carlos mimicked her voice.
"Shut it!" Lucy hissed, slapping his shoulder. "I'll just ask Logan!"
"No you won't! It's a small gathering and that's final." Carlos retaliated.
When Logan returned from his shower, everything was being set up. Lucy was sat on the couch, phone in one hand, pressed against her ear, whilst her other was scribbling through names with a pen. Carlos was in the kitchen, making food. They hadn't decided on exactly what food, so the Latino decided to take the easiest option; party food like mini pizzas and chips and salsa.
"Everything looks good." Logan smiled as he entered the kitchen area.
"Yeah," Carlos replied, dipping his head up from the cooker and then back down. "Problem is, I want to make these little wrap thingys I remember my mom making and we don't have the ingredients."
"We'll go get them?" Logan asked.
"Yeah?" Carlos smiled. "I mean, she clearly has everything else covered. I would let her help me cook, but well, I want people to have fun at this party, not pass out from her awful cooking skills. God knows how many times I've heard her fire alarm go off through the walls."
Logan lightly laughed as he took Carlos' hand into his, squeezing it tight as their skins rubbed together. In that moment, when their hands were grasped together so sweetly, his whole future flashed before Logan's eyes. He could see their wedding, crying as Carlos slips the golden ring onto his finger. Seeing them sat on the sofa, watching their kids play on the carpet, smiling and laughing. Family holidays. Barbecues in the summer sun. Groups dinners with the 'Scooby Gang'.
Everything seemed so perfect.
As he left the apartment, Lucy nodded as she continued to laugh whoever was on the other end of the line. Their fingers laced, they made their way down the posh hallway, heading for the hallway. Almost as if on cue, once they got outside, Logan noticed the long, black stretch limo that looked all too familiar. That, and the man with his cap and polite smile that could level with a father's.
"Carlton!" Logan cheered.
"Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Garcia, it's nice to see you both. Mrs Johanna sent me around." Carlton nodded his cap.
"No need to be formal, Carlton," Logan smiled, placing his hand on the man's shoulder. "I'm done with all that crap."
"If you say so, sir." Carlton quietly laughed, opening the door for the young boys. Instantly, they climbed in, thanking the man as he climbed into his driver's seat, starting the engine. The machine purred to life, and quickly made it's way for the mall so Carlos could get the needed ingredients.
Soon, the car came to a halt, the fire in the engine burning away as the tyres grinded against the tarmac. Then, the door swung open, Carlton still taking his job rather seriously. As Logan and Carlos climbed out one after the other, they thanked the man, moving away from the car and into the mall, heading straight for the grocery store.
The doors slid open swiftly, revealing to the pair the mass of mothers with their children, pushing around shopping carts and pushchairs simultaneously.
"Wow, this place is huge." Logan whistled.
Carlos laughed in response, turning to face Logan before the aisles in front of him. "Oh yeah, I forgot, rich boy doesn't do his own shopping."
"Shut it, you," Logan smirked. "If you must know, mom never trusted me enough to choose my own food. Thought I'd 'wreck' my image."
"Sounds like her," Carlos lightly chuckled. "Now, follow and pay attention. I'm about to give you a lesson on what normal people do."
Logan laughed as he jogged after Carlos, finally catching up to the Latino and gently smacking him across the shoulder. They motioned quickly across the plastic tiled floor, Carlos checking every aisle before finally deciding on the one furthest away, containing spices and seasonings. Logan watched as the dark eyebrows that sat gently on the caramel skin dipped, furrowing as he checked each and every spice that lined the shelves.
"Found it yet?" Logan asked, finding himself staring at a small jar in his hand.
"Not yet," Carlos mumbled, too focused on his own spice. "Keep an eye out for it, though."
"Will do, chef." Logan teased, watching the playfully glare Carlos shot him.
Losing himself into the variety of spices in front of him, Carlos didn't hear the footsteps that walked towards him. When he felt the light touch of someone touching his shoulder, he instantly assumed it was Logan, spinning around with another witty remark ready to fire.
But it wasn't Logan.
It wasn't a boy, in fact.
It was his adopted mom.
"Carlos, it's nice to see you." Sylvia smiled.
"Hi.." Carlos quietly replied, tilting his head away from her gaze.
"Carlos, why haven't you called? I mean, I know things have been bad and all.. But, I'm still your mom." Sylvia asked gently, a special kind of softness in her voice.
"And yet, you took his side. And you'll never be my mother, Sylvia." Carlos retorted, voice laced with ice.
Sylvia let out a deep sigh, closing her eyes for a split second. As she opened them, she turned to the side, noticing the odd brunette boy only inches away, eyes completely fixed on the label of the other side of the spice gripped in his hand.
"Is he your friend?" Sylvia asked, pointing to Logan.
"Yes, friend. Put a boy in front of that word, and yes, you got it correct." Carlos said sarcastically.
"Boyfriend.." Sylvia nodded. "He's quite good looking, Car."
"And, believe it or not, his mother accepts him. Heck, his mother accepts me." Carlos spat.
"..Can I meet him?" Sylvia said quietly, flicking her eyes between her adopted son and his beau.
But before Carlos could even reply, or before Sylvia could make her own decision and walk up to him, it was too late. Logan had approached them.
"Carlos, what's this stuff?" Logan asked, eyes still on the ground. He tilted his head upwards, noticing the lady in front of him. "Hi, sorry, I'm Logan."
He held his hand, Sylvia graciously thrusting her hand forward and shaking before Carlos could object. "I'm Sylvia, Carlos' mom."
Logan's eyes grew wide within seconds, his throat forming a lump, the skin becoming scratchy. He knew her name, but really, Carlos even made it clear that it would be a long time, maybe never, before Logan would ever meet them. A flashback played in his mind as he remembered the walk to the beach on the day of the photoshoot, the day when their relationship came out into the light.
He remembered, clear as day, them sharing their past and details. And of course, he could remember Carlos stating the unhealthy relationship he had with both his adopted mom, Sylvia and his adopted father, Grant. More so Grant, seeing as he was the strong Christian who was viciously homophobic.
"Oh.." Logan mumbled.
"Take it he hasn't spoke good about me, correct?" Sylvia asked, raising her eyebrows up to a hairline.
"You haven't given me any reason not too." Carlos replied coldly.
Sylvia sighed, moving her hand to touch Carlos' shoulder. The minute her fingers met contact with his clothing, he jerked his body backwards, moving his eyes to the floor. Logan looked at Sylvia, noticing the genuine sadness in her eyes. Carlos had always said that Sylvia was always a little bit more accepting of his sexuality. It was Grant that argued daily with Carlos on it. It was Grant that pushed Carlos away.
"I'll.. I'll see you around, Carlos," Sylvia said quietly, turning on her heel to walk past Logan. "It was nice to meet you, Logan, please, take care of my boy."
"I will," Logan softly smiled, watching the woman disappear. "Do you wanna talk about it?"
"Not particularly," Carlos coughed. "Basically, I told you they didn't like me being gay. Sylvia was a bit more accepting compared to Grant. But the thing is, I only came out to them for Henry. I was so lovesick, so blinded by my affection with Henry, that.. I just wanted to be proud of it.. When they met him and it didn't turn out well, that's why I left. Then, almost instantly, Grant cut off my college funds so, I had to drop out.."
Logan could see the glimmer forming over Carlos' chocolate eyes, tears filling the corners rapidly.
"There's nothing to worry about, anymore Carlos." Logan cooed.
A small, raspy and choked laugh escaped Carlos' lips as he looked up at Logan, their eyes meeting. "You're too good to be real sometimes."
"Yeah, well, we've been through this, I'm amazing." Logan smirked his goofy grin.
"Yeah, and a doofus," Carlos bit back. "Let's go, I need to find this damn spice."
Logan's hand fell down to his side, brushing against Carlos'. Their fingers soon intertwined, linking their bond as well as their fingers. Hand in hand, they moved their way down the aisle to the cashier, not noticing the man dressed in black, only inches away, watching them closely.
The party was booming. Everyone on Sycamore Lane could pretty much hear the entire conversations of the people at the party, hosted on the second floor. Luckily for Logan, his supposed neighbours weren't there, or if they were, they were simply ignoring the amount of teenagers packing themselves into the large room, the music blaring and bouncing against the walls easily.
Logan was leant against the counter, his arms crossed against his chest. He looked on, not even knowing the many people. He had decided to be nice, well, as nice as he wanted to be. If managed to slip some of his model 'friends' onto the list that Lucy was creating. He watched as Mercedes and Zachary seemed squished in a corner, almost afraid to move in case they were to be touched by some of the regular people in the room.
"Stuck up much," Sabrina scoffed as she stood in front of Logan. "Why'd you invite them, anyway?"
"I dunno.. Entertainment?" Logan shrugged.
"Them? Entertainment?" Sabrina raised her eyebrows.
"Yeah, they are the entertainment. It's pretty funny to watch Mercedes have little fits everytime someone gets too close to her." Logan laughed.
Sabrina laughed, letting a warm smile take hold of her face. "So that means things are going swimmingly for you and Carlos?"
"Perfect, really. Everything is so perfect, that I am literally waiting for someone to come and trip everything up." Logan joked.
"Yeah," Sabrina grinned. "Well, knock on wood idiot. You don't wanna jynx it."
"That's very true," Logan spun around, banging his fist lightly against the oak countertop. "See, all done. Nothing can go wrong."
Sabrina laughed as she touched his arm lightly, before quickly vanishing into the crowd of party-goers, their fists and cups held in the air as they danced and grinded against each other. Warmth covered Logan's body as he looked on at the sight. It looked exactly liked Club Sparkz, the night he properly met Carlos. The night he tried alcohol for the first time. The night he ended up unconscious, completely drunk and in bed next to a topless Latino.
In the corner of his eye, he could make out a blonde figure. His eyes zoomed in on the face, noticing the ridiculously bushy eyebrows. Instantly, he knew Kendall had made it. So, James was clearly nearby. As he gently laughed to himself, his own words came true. Almost on cue, James soon appeared, handing a red cup of alcohol to Kendall, before flipping his hair in the James Diamond way, and then, shockingly, planting a chaste kiss on Kendall's cheek.
"James Diamond.. Always gets what he wants.." Logan mumbled to himself, laughing.
Soon, his jean pocket began to vibrate. His hand swooped down, fondling around in the fabric, pulling forth the device. He had a text message.. From an unknown number. Curiousity got the better of it, so, he opened it.
'Hey Logan, it's me, Drew. I got a new number. The man in the lobby won't let me up. Can you come get me?'
His eyebrows furrowed at the message. Drew got a new number? Plus, Sabrina was here without him? Since they became fully open with their relationship, they became inseperable. They rarely left each others' sides, and when they did, it was only so Sabrina could go and spend 'girl time' with Lucy.
Pocketing the phone, Logan made his way across the room, opening the door and silently slipping out, assuming no-one noticed his departure.
He made his way across the hall to the elevator, quickly getting inside. He pressed on the button for the lobby, listening to the small room hum as it began it's descent to the bottom floor. The metal doors slid open, but rather than seeing anyone in the lobby, all he saw was the man at the desk.
"Excuse me," Logan asked politely to the man, grabbing his attention. "Someone was suppose to be down here waiting for me?"
"Outside, sir." The man replied with a smile, pointing his finger to the door.
Logan nodded a thank you as he made his way across the room and out the doors, the Californian night swamping over his body, leaving it humid and warmed up. He turned on the spot, noticing a figure slightly down the street. It was the same height as Drew, looked the same build.
"Hey Sabrina, you seen Logan?" Carlos asked, grabbing her attention.
"No? He was over there a minute ago," Sabrina furrowed her eyebrows. "Hey Drew, you seen Logan?"
Drew turned around, cup gripped in his hand. "I haven't seen him all evening. I've been meaning to find him."
Carlos' face contorted, unable to find a solution to his missing boyfriend.
Logan began jogging down the sidewalk, heading to the figure. He shouted out Drew's name, waiting for the guy to respond. Instead, on the spot, he turned, the amber of the lampost shining down on him, creating a haunting shadow that swamped the entire pavement.
Then, sickness began rising in Logan's stomach. He pulled himself to a halt, sweat breaking out on his forehead as realisation kicked in. That figure. It looked the same height and build like Drew, but instead, it looked familiar for another reason. That man he's been seeing a lot. The man in black. The man that was following, but after a while, Logan assumed he stopped.
The feelings that normally rose in Logan began again. The same feelings that would creep up his spine and dance on his brain everytime he got the haunting feeling that he was being followed. Stalked. Watched on. At the dinner with Johanna, movie, walking on the sidewalk, park.. Everywhere.
But before he could react. Before Logan could scream or shout or plead for help. Before Logan could turn on his heel and make a run for it.. It was too late.
A firm arm wrapped around his waist from behind, gripping him tightly against someone's body. As he squirmed and kicked, the grip on him only got tighter. More deadly. Then, the world began to black out as a dirty rag smothered his mouth and nose. The smell instantly climbed into his nostrils. The smell of chloroform.
The colour of the world turned from the beautiful midnight blue and white stars that twinkled the sky or the amber glow that emitted from the lamposts into grey. Hideous, darkening and most of all, deadly grey. His heavy eyelids closed on him, the only thing he could hear before finally falling to the pressure of the chloroform was a husky whisper.
"You're mine now."
Oh no, mean man's kidnapped Logan! What is gonna happen?
Plus, I love the random meeting with Sylvia, Carlos' adopted mom. It ties in which the story, trust me, it wasn't just a random act of my crazy imagination. A lot of things will happen now. Trust me, like the title, the fun really begins here. Some.. Logan angst! Woot.