Part Two-

Carlos flung the door open to his and Kendall's room and ran over to Kendall's bed, where the blond was still bundled up under the blankets. He had been planning this for the past few days, just waiting for their next day off to implement it. He was proud of himself because he had thought of it all on his own and didn't ask Logan or James for advice at all. Kendall needed to have some fun and Carlos was the best person for the job.

"Get up, Kendall," he exclaimed, jumping onto Kendall's bed. He stood looking down at the other boy and jumped lightly to wake Kendall up. The other boy groaned from under the blankets and one arm emerged to swat at Carlos' leg.

"Go away, Carlos."

Carlos ignored him, stepping over Kendall so that he was standing with Kendall lying between his feet and jumped gently, "Come on, come on, we're going to the ice rink today!"

"Since when?"

"Since I said so."

"I don't feel like it."

"I don't remember asking," Carlos shot back almost immediately.

Kendall let out a groan, "Just leave me alone."

Carlos grinned and continued to bounce gently. Kendall made the occasional attempt at hitting him but otherwise stayed huddled under his blankets, which had Carlos worrying just a little. Normally, Kendall would've already tackled him to the floor or pulled him down to stop him. "Nope. Can't do that."

"Why not?"

Carlos finally stopped, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath, "'Cause I miss you," he said simply. And he did. He missed Kendall so much. He missed his raucous laughter and the sly look on his face whenever he got an idea and the way he was just there, solid and being all Kendall-y. Now, Kendall hardly even smiled and he might as well have been back in Minnesota for all Carlos felt him. He hated it.

"What are you talking about," came Kendall's muffled voice, "I'm right here."

Carlos swallowed thickly, "No, you're not! All you do is lie around in bed feeling sorry for yourself. I miss having fun with you! Not to mention you haven't showered in like a week and that's just gross," He heard Kendall sigh but the blond didn't respond in any other way, "Come on, Kendall, please."

"I really don't feel like it, Carlos."

"But I already paid for the morning!" Carlos didn't want to have to tell Kendall that. He wanted Kendall to go because he wanted to go, but if he had to guilt Kendall into it then he wasn't below using it to his advantage.

Kendall flung the blankets off and looked up at Carlos with an annoyed expression on his face, "Why would you do that without asking first?"

Carlos grinned sheepishly, "I figured if I already put the money in then you couldn't say no. And come on, it's hockey! Since when do you say no to hockey?" Carlos dropped down to his knees beside Kendall and clasped his hands together, bottom lip sticking out as far as he could make it go, "Pleeeaase."

Kendall pressed his mouth together tightly, eyes hard and Carlos knew he had to take it a step further. He let his bottom lip wobble and made his eyes as big as he could, "Please."

Kendall eventually let out a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes, "Alright, fine, I'll go. Just stop that," he said, reaching out a hand to push Carlos' face away.

Carlos let out a whoop, "Go take a shower and shave that thing off your lip and I'll get our stuff together," he said excitedly slapping Kendall on the ass before he clambered off the bed. He grabbed his helmet from his bed and placed it on his head before he went to his dresser to grab some socks.

"It's called a moustache," Kendall grumbled from behind him.

Carlos laughed and glanced back over his shoulder, "Yeah, okay, whatever you say, Kendall," he said and stuck his tongue out at the other boy when Kendall shot him a dirty look on his way out of the room.

About the tenth time his ass hit the ice, Carlos thought that maybe trying to take on all of Kendall's pent up aggression himself was maybe not the smartest move. He wasn't even sure Kendall realized how hard he was hitting him but he was hitting back just as hard and he knew they were both going to hurt later even through their pads.

He looked up as Kendall skated over to him, "You okay?" he asked, looking down at him worriedly.

Carlos nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. S'why I wear the helmet," he said patting his head. Kendall just grinned and held a hand out down towards him. Carlos grabbed onto Kendall's hand and pulled himself up with a small grunt. He wobbled a bit when he got to his feet and Kendall laid a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"That gives me seventeen, three more points and you owe me lunch," Kendall said, patting Carlos on the shoulder with a smug grin on his face.

If Kendall hadn't seemed like he was having fun, Carlos might have regretted ever making that bet with him. But he'd much rather have a smug Kendall than a sad Kendall any day. "Hey, I'm not out yet, I still have time to catch up."

Kendall smiled wide, slow and easy and oh, so cocky. Carlos' heart rate sped up at the sight. "Sure you do, Carlitos. You have plenty of time. I mean, you're only down 6 points, that's not too bad," he said, squeezing Carlos' shoulder and giving him a gentle shake.

Carlos' eyes narrowed and he swatted Kendall's hand away, "That's it, you're going down," he said, bending over to grab his hockey stick and skated over to retrieve the puck from his goal. He didn't care how cute Kendall was, he wasn't going to let him win.

With that thought in mind and the puck in hand, he quickly skated over to where Kendall was waiting in the center of the rink. He set the puck down between them and readied himself, both hands on his hockey stick.

They stared each other down, eyes narrowed and determined, both leaning in slightly. Carlos felt his heart pounding in his chest as adrenaline surged through his veins. Kendall suddenly grinned throwing Carlos off balance as the other shouted, "Go!" Before Carlos knew it, Kendall was swooping around him, pushing the puck forward towards his goal.

Taking a quick second to catch his bearings, Carlos rushed after Kendall, shoving him aside roughly with his shoulder when he reached him. Kendall let out an indignant squawk as he flailed to catch his balance but by that time Carlos had already gotten control of the puck, directing it back towards Kendall's goal. It didn't take long before Kendall caught up with him though, and they glided across the ice, shoulders bumping and hockey sticks clacking together as Kendall tried to steal the puck from Carlos.

All Carlos could hear was Kendall's harsh breathing and his own soft grunts as he tried to shove Kendall away without dropping his stick or losing the puck. Suddenly, he was pitching forward, arms flailing as he cried out in surprise. The ice came rushing up to meet him and he hit it hard, unable to catch himself in time.

Carlos slid a bit across the ice, groaning as he came to a stop. He heard Kendall skating over towards him as Carlos pushed himself up into a sitting position. He brought both hands up to hold his head and shook it slightly. "Whoa, Carlos!" Kendall reached down and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him up. He placed both hands on Carlos' shoulders and asked for the second time that day, "You okay?"

Carlos brusquely brushed Kendall's arms off his shoulders, ears burning hot with embarrassment as his anger took over. "You tripped me!"

Kendall's eyes widened and he leaned away from Carlos, "What? No, I didn't! I mean, not on purpose."

Carlos angrily pointed at Kendall, "You tripped me with your stick, that's a penalty!"

Kendall laughed lightly in disbelief, "What? Come on, Carlos, it was an accident."

"I don't care," Carlos said, crossing his arms and glaring at Kendall. The fact that Kendall wasn't taking him serious just made him angrier, his bottom lip pushing out slightly in a frown.

"You're just mad because you're losing," Kendall said in a placating and amused manner.

Carlos scowled, "No, I'm not! I won't even make any goals while you're in the penalty box."

"What the- I'm not going into the box, Carlos. That's stupid! Who are you going to play with while I'm in there?"

"I'll play with myself." Kendall arched an eyebrow, corner of his mouth quirking in amusement and Carlos felt his face heat up, "Shut up, you know what I mean. Five minutes in the box!"

"Five? You're kidding, right? I'll stay in there two max."

"Fine," Carlos huffed, crossing his arms across his chest.

Kendall rolled his eyes and skated away towards the penalty box. "Just for the record, I think this is really stupid," he called back over his shoulder. Carlos pouted petulantly, and skated away, his irrational anger ebbing away. He knew he was being stupid. Now he had nothing to do for the next two minutes but rules were rules and he just really hated the idea of losing to Kendall. He skated around the rink, pushing around the puck for a while until he heard Kendall call out to him.

"You're being ridiculous, you know," Kendall shouted and he stopped, chest heaving slightly as he looked over at the other boy.

He skated over towards the penalty box and leaned against the side of the rink, "It's just two minutes. Don't be a baby, Kendall."

Kendall laughed, "You're the one being a baby. You know I didn't mean to trip you, right?"

Carlos shrugged, eyebrows lifting slightly, "Maybe I do, maybe I don't." he sing-songed

The expression on Kendall's face looked like a cross between annoyed and amused. Amusement won out though and he shook his head, a fond smile on his face, "You're being extremely childish, you know."

Carlos shrugged again, "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," he said and Kendall laughed, shaking his head slightly.

"Has it been two minutes yet?"

Carlos lifted his hand and glanced at his watch, "Uh, I don't know. I wasn't keeping time."

Kendall threw his arms up, "Carlos!"

Carlos averted his gaze, ears heating up in embarrassment. "Sorry!"

Kendall let out a small growl of frustration, "When I win, I'm ordering the most expensive meal on the menu," he said, stepping back onto the ice. He stole the puck away from Carlos and skated towards the center of the rink.

Carlos blinked in surprise and quickly followed after, "If you win," he said as he faced Kendall once again in the middle of the rink.

"Oh, I'm going to win alright. I was going to take it easy on you but not anymore. No mercy." The look on Kendall's face sent a shiver down Carlos' spine that had nothing to do with fear or the cold. He swallowed thickly and quickly looked away, taking a deep breath to calm his rapidly beating heart. He shook his head to try to clear it. He couldn't afford to be distracted by inappropriate thoughts about Kendall, especially when he had a free meal on the line.

"Whatever, Kendall, I'm gonna wipe the ice with your sorry ass."

Kendall just laughed and Carlos regretted his words just a few minutes later when Kendall body checked him into the boards with enough force to knock the air out of his lungs. He gasped for breath, leaning heavily against the board as he watched Kendall score another point. Kendall turned around a wide grin on his face, throwing his arms up in the air, "What then, Carlitos!"

Carlos groaned and pushed off of the boards to meet Kendall in the center of the rink once again. Maybe he could persuade Kendall into letting him make him lunch instead.

They dropped their bags by the door and trudged into the kitchen. Carlos went straight for the fridge and glanced over his shoulder at Kendall who was leaning against the side of the counter across from the sink, "Want a water?"

"Yeah, sure."

Carlos nodded and grabbed two water bottles. He tossed one to Kendall and leaned against the counter by the sink as he twisted his open. He brought the bottle up to his lips and paused as he watched Kendall do the same, eyes fixated on Kendall's Adam's apple bobbing slightly with each swallow.

"I call dibs on the shower," Kendall said, snapping Carlos out of it.

He blinked rapidly, "Wha- Aww, man, no fair." He ached all over and all he wanted was to take a long hot shower then take a small nap before he and Kendall went out for lunch.

Kendall laughed, "Well, if you weren't so busy daydreaming maybe you could've called it."

Carlos blushed slightly and ducked his head, finger rubbing against the side of his water bottle nervously. "Yeah, whatever."

"Okay, tell ya what," Kendall said after a moment and Carlos looked up curiously. Kendall pointed his water bottle at Carlos as he continued, "Since I wiped the ice with you today, you can have first dibs on the shower."

Carlos' bottom lip protruded and he slouched against the counter from the reminder of his loss. He hadn't managed to get a single point on Kendall before the other managed to get his three points to win. It was a humiliating defeat. "Gee, thanks…" he said sullenly, twisting the cap back onto his water bottle.

Kendall grinned, "Aw, cheer up, Carlitos, there's always next time."

Carlos' eyes widened slightly and his heart nearly skipped a beat, "Next time?" He hadn't expected Kendall to want to do this again especially since he had been so reluctant to go in the first place. Maybe his plan was working and all Kendall needed was to go out and have some fun so he could forget about Jo.

Kendall's grin softened into a genuine smile, "Yeah," he said, then he smirked, "That is, if you're not afraid of me beating you again."

Carlos scoffed, "You got lucky, that's all."

Kendall threw his head back and laughed. Carlos tried not to get distracted by Kendall's throat, not wanting to get caught staring again. "Yeah, right, that was all skill, baby."

Carlos huffed out a laugh and rolled his eyes, "Whatever. You're going down next time, Knight."

Kendall smirked and it really wasn't fair the way it affected Carlos. He felt hot all over and he should probably just go take a shower now before Kendall noticed his blush. "I look forward to it. Maybe we can get Logan and James to come with us."

Carlos nodded quickly, "Yeah, that'd be fun. Just like old times."

Kendall smiled and nodded in agreement, "Just like old times."

Carlos sat in the middle of the living room, legs crossed and a half-inflated kiddie pool laid out in front of him. He had moved the round coffee table and pushed the couch out of the way to give himself room and he'd even rolled up the rug and set it to the side just in case he made a mess which he was bound to do.

He was starting to get tired of blowing the pool up though. He'd been working at it non-stop since Mrs. Knight had left after breakfast, telling them that she was taking Katie out for some auditions and they wouldn't be back until later that night.

"What are you doing?"

Carlos looked up in surprise, finding Kendall standing by the kitchen table looking down at him curiously. He quickly slipped a finger in his mouth, placing it against the hole in the pool so the air wouldn't escape before pulling it away from his face. "What does it look like I'm doing?" Carlos huffed a bit as he tried to catch his breath.

Kendall laughed. "Okay. Whyare you blowing up a swimming pool? You know there's a perfectly good one outside, right?"

Carlos couldn't contain his excitement and he bounced a little in place as he grinned up at Kendall. "Yeah, but that one isn't going to be filled with jello!"

Kendall eyes widened slightly and he laughed again, "Jello?"

Carlos nodded excited, a wide smile spread across his face, "Yup!"

Kendall smiled in bewilderment before he sat down beside him, "Why are you making jello in a pool?"

"Because Logan said it couldn't be done. Something about temperatures and blah blah blah sciency stuff. Want to help me? I'm getting kind of tired."

Kendall laughed, "Why isn't Logan here to help you?"

"Camille texted him and he went off to hang out with her," Carlos explained with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Oh…"

Carlos shrugged again, "Yeah, no big deal. So do you?" Carlos grinned slightly as he held the plastic pool out towards Kendall.

Kendall seemed to take his time thinking it over and Carlos' grin faded a little before Kendall grinned, "Of course. You know how much I love proving Logan wrong," he said pulling the pool closer to himself. Carlos' grin came back full force and he leaned back on his hands to watch Kendall. Kendall smiled around the plastic bit in his mouth and Carlos felt his ears get warm as he averted his gaze, hoping Kendall didn't notice the way Carlos was looking at him.

They sat in silence, blowing into the pool until they got tired and passed it back to the other. Carlos tried not to be weird by thinking about the fact that he and Kendall were basically swapping spit. It was definitely not the way he wanted, but the way Kendall didn't even seemed bother by it, just wrapped his mouth around the small bit of plastic without wiping it off like Logan would've had him pathetically flushing with pleasure regardless.

Carlos' turn had just started when he paused, holding his finger over the plastic plug as he held it in his lap. "Are you ever going to talk about it?" He didn't want to push but it had been weeks and Kendall still hadn't talked about his break up with Jo. Kendall seemed to be doing okay but for all Carlos knew Kendall was just putting on a brave face so no one would worry and Carlos hated the idea of Kendall hurting in silence just to spare them.

Kendall looked at him in confusion, eyebrows furrowed slightly, "Talk about what?"

"You and Jo."

Something in Kendall's face shifted, like a shutter being drawn shut and he looked away, "There's nothing to talk about. She dumped me," he said with a shrug, "That's all there is to it."

"Yeah but-"

"I don't want to talk about this right now, okay?"

Kendall's tone was sharp and Carlos knew better than to argue. He nodded jerkily, swallowing softly, "Okay, sorry…"

Kendall let out a sigh, "It's my turn," he said, reaching forward and taking the pool away from Carlos. It really wasn't. Carlos had barely started and he wasn't out of breath at all but he didn't say anything, just sat back and let Kendall take over.

"But if you did wanted to talk, I'm here for you, you know."

Kendall looked at him for a moment before he removed the pool from his mouth, "I know, Carlos. And I appreciate it, man, but I'm just not ready right now."

Carlos nodded, "Okay, I'm sorry…," he apologized again and Kendall just shook his head.

"Don't worry about it," he said offering a small smile before he resumed blowing air into the pool.

They finished blowing up the pool in silence, both falling over to lie on their backs afterward. "Finally," Carlos breathed out, folding his hands together on his chest. He turned his head to glance at Kendall. The other boy was still winded, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

Kendall caught his gaze and they grinned at each other. "So, now what?"

Boiling the water was annoying and tedious. Carlos hated the long wait but he had managed to find two large pots so he could boil all the water he needed at the same time, even if it would take forever. "Where'd you get these?" Kendall tapped one of the pots with a fingernail, one eyebrow arched curiously.

Carlos turned the burners up to high before glancing at Kendall, "I borrowed them from the neighbors," he explained as he leaned against the counter.

Kendall grinned, "You know it's not going to boil while you watch it, right?"

"Well, what should we do instead?"

Kendall shrugged, "Watch TV? We can't leave the apartment so grabbing something to eat is out."

Carlos' mouth twisted in thought before he nodded, "Okay, let's see what's coming on then," he said with a bright smile.

After pushed the couch back in place, Carlos flung himself onto it, bouncing slightly before settling back against the cushions. He smiled up at Kendall as the other boy sat down next to him, crossing one leg over his knee as he leaned back. "Where's the remote?"

Carlos glanced around the living room before he found it on the coffee table. "I'll get it," he said, lurching off the couch. He jumped over the pool and snatched the remote from its resting place before spinning around and hopping back over to the couch. Kendall stared at him in half amusement, half awe until Carlos started to feel self-conscious. "What?"

"I'm kind of jealous of all your endless energy, Carlos. I get tired just watching you sometimes."

Carlos chuckled softly, a small blush coloring his cheeks. Kendall grinned at him as he snatched the remote from Carlos' hands and leaned back against the cushions as he turned the TV on. Carlos glared at Kendall a bit before he sat back, bringing his feet up to cross his legs. Kendall flipped through the channels until he found something that they both wanted to watch.

They checked the water periodically, taking turns to see if it was at its boiling point yet. "Oh, oh, it's boiling!" Carlos bounced on the balls of his feet in his excitement as he watched the beginnings of the small air bubbles coming to the surface. He smiled widely at Kendall as the blond hurriedly made his way to the kitchen. Once Kendall was by his side he reached over and turned the burners off.

"Be careful."

Carlos paused, hands stopping mid-air and he rolled his eyes, "I know," he said with an exasperated sigh as he reached to grab the handles on the pot. He instantly pulled his hands back, "Ouch!"

"I told you to be careful!" Carlos was too busy shoving his fingers into his mouth to respond but he sent Kendall a look and Kendall's face went from annoyed to worried, "Are you okay?"

Carlos sucked on his fingers slightly, tongue soothing the pain away, "Yeah, I'm fine," he finally said, removing his fingers and wiping them on his shirt.

"Here." Kendall tossed him two pot holders which Carlos clumsily caught against his chest. By the time Carlos got with the program, Kendall was already fitted with oven mitts on both hands.

"Why do you get those and I get these?"

"Because I got to these first," Kendall said with a grin, holding up both mitted hands.

With a roll of his eyes, Carlos gripped onto one side of one of the pots, careful not to touch the heated metal with his bare fingers. Kendall gripped onto the other side and with a nod of his head they hefted it off the stove. Together they carried the pot between them to the living room, shuffling as fast as they could without jarring the hot water inside too much. A thought suddenly struck Carlos and he stopped abruptly, "Wait."

Kendall lurched to a stop, eyes wide as he turned to look at Carlos. "What?"

"Do you think this'll melt the pool maybe?"

Kendall blinked then seemed to relax, exhaling sharply, "Nah, I don't think so. But we'll find out, I guess," Kendall said with a small grin.

It turned out that the pool didn't melt or pop when they poured the water in, much to Carlos' relief. He felt he would've been totally justified in crying if it had, but since it didn't, he quickly put the thought out of his mind and concentrated on not burning himself on the still rather hot metal pot. They quickly did the same with the second pot and then Carlos ran to his room to grab the large trash bag full of jello mix he had bought from his closet.

When Carlos got back to the living room, Kendall was sitting on the couch, arms resting spread out on the back of the couch. The blond looked up when he saw him and sat up as Carlos sat down next to him, swinging the bag around between them. Kendall reached into the plastic bag and pulled out a box. He arched an eyebrow as he turned towards Carlos, "Green?"

"Duh, everyone knows green jello is the best," he said, reaching over to snatch the small box from Kendall's hand. He turned it over to read the directions on the side, squinting as he brought it closer to his face to see the tiny print more clearly.

Kendall laughed and nodded, "Right, of course."

"We need a spoon," Carlos suddenly said and tossed the box onto the couch as he got to his feet. He searched the drawers in the kitchen looking for a large cooking spoon to stir with. He came back holding it proudly and Kendall laughed.

"Alright, let's do this," Kendall said, sliding off of the couch to kneel beside the pool. He grabbed the box that Carlos had abandoned and tore it open, "Ready?"

Carlos grinned and nodded, "Yeah!"

Kendall began pouring the mix into the water and Carlos quickly dipped the spoon into the water, watching in fascination as it slowly turned green, the mix permeating the water. It was kind of cool to watch and he reached out as far as he could, leaning precariously over the pool to get it to blend together well.

"Be careful," Kendall warned and he looked up, "You're going to fall in if you lean over too far."

"Oh, right," Carlos said and he pulled back slightly, still stirring slowly.

Kendall suddenly laughed and Carlos looked up again, this time in confusion, "What?"

Kendall shook his head, grinning widely, "Nothing, you just look funny stirring with that spoon."

"Shut up. It's the biggest one we have."

"Yeah, I know. It's just funny."

"Just keeping pouring in the mix," Carlos grumbled, face feeling hot with embarrassment.

Kendall grinned as he obliged, tearing open another packet of jello mix and dumping the powder in. Carlos stirred the green tinted water as Kendall continued to open packet after packet. After a while his shoulders and back started to ache from his crouched position and he sat up. "Let's switch. I'm getting tired."

Kendall paused in the process of opening another box of mix and nodded, "Okay," he said, handing over the box and reaching for the spoon in Carlos's hand.

They continued on in silence, switching jobs when one boy got tired of stirring. Carlos eventually abandoned the spoon altogether, tossing it to the side with a clatter and a splash of green liquid. "What are you-?" Kendall started then stopped when Carlos plunged his arm into the pool. "Be careful, it's hot!"

Carlos shook his head, grinning up at the other boy. He felt warmth spread throughout his chest at Kendall's worry over him. "It's not that hot. It feels like a bath. A green, sticky bath," he said, chuckling softly.

Kendall looked dubious but eventually nodded, a small smile gracing his features before he turned back to opening the jello packet in his hands. "This is a lot of work."

"I know! Maybe we should've mixed it all together in the pots before pouring the water into the pool," Carlos said, facing turning thoughtful as he swished his arm through the liquid.

Kendall laughed incredulously and reached over to smack Carlos lightly on the back of his head, "Now you say that!"

"Ow! Hey, I can't think of everything, okay? This is why Logan should've stayed to help me. He would've thought of that before we actually got to this point."

"Oh, well, we can't all be as smart as Logan now, can we?"

Carlos paused, observing the way Kendall's jaw was clenched tight and wondered what he had said to upset the other boy. "Are you mad?"

"What? No, why would I be mad?"

"I don't know. But you seem all annoyed now," Carlos said and reached over to poke Kendall gently in the side repeatedly. He watched as Kendall's lips quirked up before he laughed, smacking Carlos' hand away.

"Stop it. I'm not mad," he said, face softer now and Carlos smiled.

"I'm glad you're here though instead of Logan." Carlos watched as Kendall smiled back, wide and genuine and hoped his flush wasn't as prominent as it felt.

"Good."

Carlos averted his gaze, looking down at the remaining boxes of mix and grabbing one as a distraction. He cleared his throat, "So, let's switch then?"

Kendall shrugged, "Yeah, okay," he said, and leaned forward. Carlos' breath hitched slightly as Kendall pressed into his space, reaching forward to grab the spoon laying on Carlos' other side. "But I'm using the spoon," Kendall finished as he straightened up.

Carlos grinned shakily, swallowing softly, "Lame. It's more fun to mix it up with your hands!" He reached down into the pool and wiggled his fingers into the mix.

Kendall rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I don't want to be stained green," he said as he dipped the pool into the mix and stirred slowly. "Come on, let's finish this up before it gets too cold," he added after a moment. Carlos nodded immediately, tearing open the packet of mix in his hand and began pouring it in.

After all of the powder was stirred in as best as they could, both boys sat back with a heavy sigh. "I'm going to go grab the ice," Carlos said after watching the pool for a few moments and scrambled to his feet. Kendall glanced up at him briefly, humming in acknowledgment but otherwise didn't say anything else. Carlos went to the freezer where he had shoved several bags of ice in and dragged them over to Kendall. "There's more in that ice chest," he said slightly out of breath from both excitement and the exertion of pulling the ice bags. He nodded towards the blue ice chest sitting by the wall, "Can you get it?"

Kendall nodded and jumped to his feet, "Sure thing." He dragged it over to the pool and opened it, pulling out a few more bags of ice and setting them down next to the others. "How'd you know how much to get?"

"Logan did all the math for me. He told me how much mix to buy and how much water and ice I'd need. I've been planning this for a long time."

"Really?"

"Yup."

The corner of Kendall's mouth downturn thoughtfully before he smiles, "Okay, so we just dump it in?"

"Pretty much," Carlos said, pulling a bag close and tearing the plastic open. He wrapped an arm around it and tilted it over. The ice splashed into the water and he heard it cracking faintly as he got to his feet and walked around the perimeter of the pool, trying to spread the ice evenly. He looked up when the bag was empty and saw Kendall doing the same on the other side of the pool before he smiled and grabbed another bag.

Mrs. Knight walked through the front door and both boys stopped, quickly glancing at each other in horror before turning towards Mrs. Knight. Carlos was elbow deep in the pool trying to stir the jello as well as he could on one side of the pool while Kendall sat at the other side pouring in the last of the ice. Mrs. Knight stopped before them and placed her hands on her hips as she surveyed the living room. "What are you doing?"

"Um, making jello?" Kendall sent his mother his best boyish smile and Carlos did the same, ready for Kendall's mother to get after them.

She looked at each boy sternly then glanced down at the pool before them, "Well, don't make a mess," she said, "I'm taking Katie out to lunch, but I forgot my wallet. We'll be back in time for dinner," she added before turning around and walking out of the living room area. Both boys watched her disappear out of sight before turning back to each other.

Carlos relaxed, letting out the breath he had been holding in a rush of air, "Have I told you how cool your mom is lately?"

Kendall grinned, "Nope, not lately."

Carlos grinned back and pulled his arm out of the jello mix. He shook it gently, trying to get as much of the excess liquid off as he could. "You think that's good enough?"

Kendall gave a sharp nod of his head, "Yeah, definitely."

Mrs. Knight walked back out into the main room and they both looked up again, "Be sure to clean up whatever mess you make," she called out to them, pausing at the door.

"Yes, ma'am," both boys responded in unison. Mrs. Knight smiled at them before she walked out the door, closing it shut behind her.

They both washed their hands and cleaned up whatever jello mix that had splashed onto the floor as best they could. Carlos still felt a little sticky afterwards and his arms were both stained green. Kendall was in the same condition because he had eventually given up on the spoon when it became too tedious. They chuckled as they stretched their arms out in front of themselves side by side. "How long do you think we'll stay like this?"

"Not long. A nice hot shower will probably make it go away."

"Too bad," Carlos said and wiggled his fingers. Kendall laughed and reached over to ruffle Carlos' hair causing him to yelp a bit and dodge out of the way.

They settled on the couch again and watched more television as they waited. Carlos really hated waiting but it wasn't so bad when he was able to sit pressed close against Kendall. And when Carlos let his head tilt to the side and pressed it against Kendall's shoulder, Kendall just leaned over and pressed his cheek against the top of Carlos' head without saying a word.

After about an hour and a half, the jello still hadn't thickened enough to really be considered gelatin. "I guess Logan was right after all," Carlos said in a huff as he plopped back down on the couch. He crossed his arms and felt his bottom lip protruding of its own accord as he glared down at the pool.

Kendall chuckled softly and sucked the green jello liquid off of his finger which was slightly distracting for Carlos but not enough to pull him out of his funk. The blond sat down beside Carlos and draped his arm around his shoulder. "Sorry, man," he said, squeezing Carlos slightly, "Maybe we needed more ice or something."

"Maybe…" Carlos said grumpily.

Kendall leaned over and pressed his forehead against Carlos' temple, "Come on, let's go out for smoothies instead."

Carlos glanced up at Kendall, the other boy smiling down at him gently, "Okay," he muttered, feeling his ears heating up when he realized how close they were. Kendall grinned down at him and gave him another squeeze before releasing him.

Carlos looked up as Kendall stood up. "Come on, we'll clean this up when we get back," he said, gesturing towards the pool before he turned away and started walking towards the door. Carlos jumped to his feet to follow him. The pool might have been a failure and he wasn't looking forward to the 'told you so' Logan was bound to give him but he got to spend the day with Kendall and that was worth suffering through a million 'told you so's from Logan.

It was a Saturday night and there was a cheesy horror movie marathon coming late on TV. James and Logan had bailed out in order to sleep half way through which left just Carlos and Kendall sitting on the couch. There was a commercial playing and Carlos could feel his eyes drooping, heavy with the need for sleep when Kendall spoke. "Things are so much simpler with you," he said without any kind of preamble. Carlos jumped slightly in surprise. He had been pretty sure Kendall had been half asleep already.

Carlos turned his head to look at the other boy and asked sleepily, "What do you mean?"

Kendall leaned his head back against the back of the couch, head falling to the side to face Carlos, "Just that. Jo makes everything so complicated. Nothing I do is ever right. But you, you don't expect anything from me."

Carlos blinked, feeling more awake all of a sudden and sat up slightly to shrug gently. He cleared his throat softly, "I expect stuff from you. I expect you to always be there when I need a friend and to always know what to do to get us out of trouble. And I expect you to never change and to be the same old Kendall you've always been so I'll always know what normal is," Carlos turned his head, finding the blond watching him and he grinned, "You've been doing pretty good so far."

Kendall broke out into a grin suddenly, dimples prominently displayed making Carlos' heart skip a beat, "Thanks, Carlos," he said and reached across the couch to place his hand on top of Carlos'.

Carlos' breath hitched at the contact and he tried not to flinch away while Kendall squeezed his hand gently. The blond removed his hand right away and they settled into a small silence once more as the commercial break ended.

Carlos traced Kendall's features with his eyes, wanting to reach out and use his fingertips instead. It took every ounce of his self-control to not lean over and kiss the upturned corner of Kendall's mouth. It was too soon. Kendall wasn't ready to move on yet and he didn't want to ruin everything by being impatient. He'd never been good at waiting, but for Kendall he was willing to do it.