Part Three-

Carlos walked into the apartment to find Kendall sitting at the raised bar in front of the sink. He was on the phone with a pinched look on his face like he didn't know what he was feeling. The grin that had been on Carlos' face as he caught sight of the other boy faded and he walked over to hop up on the stool next to Kendall.

"Yeah, okay. I'll see you tonight, then," Kendall said before hanging up. His shoulders slump as he set his phone on the counter and turned towards Carlos.

Carlos looked at him worriedly, frowning slightly when Kendall let out a heavy sigh. "Who was that?"

Kendall reluctantly looked up at Carlos, face forlorn as he muttered, "Jo."

Carlos swallowed, heart starting to pound in his chest and he tapped his pointer finger against the countertop. "Oh…what did she want?"

"She said she wanted to talk," Kendall said, pausing a moment before adding, "About getting back together."

Carlos stiffened slightly, and paused, fingernail resting against the counter after one final click. He studied Kendall for a moment, knowing the answer before he even asked. "And you're going?"

"Well, yeah. I miss her," he paused before adding, "A lot. I just want things to go back to the way they were."

Again Carlos studied Kendall for a minute, "Why?"

Kendall looked up at him, looking lost and helpless, "I love her," he said with a small shrug.

Carlos' breath caught in his throat and he quickly tried to cover it up with a cough as he turned away from the other boy, looking down at the countertop. "Right, of course," he muttered, trying to keep his voice as even as possible. He swallowed thickly and looked around helplessly. He could feel Kendall's eyes on him, waiting for him to say something, but he couldn't. His throat felt tight and his eyes started to sting. Without another word, he hopped off the stool and headed towards their room.

"Where are you going?" He heard Kendall following him but ignored him, rushing into their room and slamming the door behind him. He looked around helplessly, not sure what to do, before he sank down onto the edge of his bed heavily. He rested his elbows on his thighs, and covering his face with his hands. He looked up when the door opened and Kendall cautiously entered the room. The blond stood at the doorway for a few moments before walking over towards Carlos.

"Are you mad at me?" Kendall sat down on the bed as he asked the question, tentatively placing a hand on Carlos' shoulder.

Carlos shrugged his hand off and turned away, "Leave me alone," he muttered and scooted away from the other boy.

"Come on, Carlos, why are you being like this?"

Carlos suddenly turned back to the other boy, "Why are you going back to her? She hurt you, broke your heart and you're just going back like nothing happened!" His eyes burned with unshed tears that he refused to let fall and he got to his feet and stood with his back to the other boy so he wouldn't see them.

Kendall remained silent for a moment, "I'm miserable without her, Carlos, you know that."

Carlos' face felt hot from holding back his tears. He had thought he had been helping Kendall get over Jo, that the other boy could see how much Carlos cared for him but he had just been fooling himself apparently. "Whatever," he muttered, sniffing loudly, "Just go be with your stupid girlfriend."

A hand landed on his shoulder and he immediately shrugged it off again, "I said, leave me alone," he said, voice thick with emotion. He quickly spun around, shoving Kendall out of the way as he stormed out of the room.

He heard Kendall call out but ignored him as he headed straight towards Logan and James' room, barging in and slamming the door behind him. Logan looked up startled, "Carlos," he exclaimed angrily before he seemed to notice the state Carlos was in and his face changed to one of worry, "What's wrong?"

Carlos leaned against the door heavily, chest heaving as he tried to stay calm, still refusing to cry. But it hurt and he was angry and he'd never been good at keeping his emotions in check. He felt his face crumple, chin quivering as hot tears spilled down his cheeks and he brought his hands up to his face to hide them.

Logan was next to him in a second, placing both hands on his shoulders, "Whoa, dude, what happened?"

Carlos just shook his head as he furiously wiped at his face. He hated that he was crying over something so stupid. But Kendall was just so stupid and his heart felt so heavy in his chest, he didn't know what else to do that didn't involve beating the living crap out of Kendall.

Logan pulled him in, arms going around his torso as Carlos pressed his face against his shoulder, squeezing Logan around the waist. He cried until he couldn't cry anymore and Logan just let him, rubbing his back soothingly as he sobbed. He felt really stupid about it afterward. "Sorry for crying on you," he said quietly as he pulled away, using his shirt to wipe his face dry.

Logan shook his head, "Don't worry about it," he said, looking vaguely amused but still concerned. "What happened?"

"Kendall's getting back together with Jo," Carlos said with a heavy sigh and leaned back against the door once more.

Logan's mouth fell open slightly in surprise. "Oh."

Carlos looked away, not wanting to see the pity in the other boy's eyes. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

Carlos shrugged, "It doesn't matter. I should've seen it coming. They're always fighting and making up. It just sucks."

Logan nodded, and patted Carlos' shoulder gently, "Well, I guess James was right about the slow and steady plan not working."

Carlos sent Logan a dirty look and the other boy winced, an apologetic look on his face. "Too soon?"

"Yes." Carlos sighed and went to flop face down on Logan's bed as Logan made his way back to his desk. He was being selfish, he knew that. If Jo made Kendall happy, then he should be happy as well. But Carlos knew she didn't make Kendall happy anymore and hadn't for a long time. They were always arguing and Kendall came home aggravated more often than not. Carlos missed when Kendall would come home from a date with a goofy smile on his face and he and the others would tease Kendall until he was red in the face with embarrassment and they would all end up on the floor in a dog pile.

Later that night, Carlos is sitting on the couch watching TV when Kendall walked into the apartment. He glanced up briefly before snapping his attention back to the television, intent on ignoring the blond. Even though he had resigned himself to being happy for Kendall no matter what, Carlos was still annoyed at him.

"Hey," Kendall said and sat down next to him on the couch. Carlos stiffened slightly and resisted the childish urge to scoot away from the blond to show his displeasure.

"Hey," Carlos replied shortly, keeping his eyes trained in front. He grabbed the remote and started changing the channel completely ignoring the boy beside him.

He heard Kendall sigh and pretended to be engrossed by what was coming on TV but it was hard when Kendall was right next to him and he could practically feel how unhappy he was. "We didn't get back together," Kendall finally said. He sounded sad and defeated and that pulled at Carlos' heartstrings.

Carlos paused minutely, heart started to pound in his chest, but he still didn't look at the other boy, "I'm sorry," he said, trying to keep his voice even. He was dying to ask why though, and he knew it was dumb to get his hopes up that he was the reason but he couldn't help it.

"It didn't feel right. All I could think about is you." Carlos looked up at him sharply, but Kendall kept on talking, "I'm sorry, man. Whatever I did to upset you, I'm really sorry. Please don't be mad at me anymore."

And Kendall looked at him so earnestly that Carlos couldn't help but smile, heart melting and really, he could never stay mad at Kendall for long. It took more effort to try to hate the other boy than he was willing to put out. "It's cool, man. We're good," he said, reaching out to punch Kendall in the shoulder lightly.

Kendall laughed, "Ow, hey, that hurt," he said, rubbing his arm.

"Don't be such a wuss," Carlos said with a grin, shoving at Kendall's shoulder playfully.

Kendall let out a mock growl and lunged at Carlos, arms wrapping around his neck to put him in a headlock. Carlos let out a yelp of surprise and wrapped his arms around Kendall's waist as the other boy forced him to bend over.

They both fell to the ground laughing, Kendall landing half on top of Carlos in the small space between the couch and the coffee table. Carlos tried to roll away, but was blocked by the legs of the table so instead he attempted to squirm out from under the blond.

"No way," Kendall exclaimed with a laugh, grabbing the back of Carlos' shirt, crawling after him. Carlos laughed and turned around slightly, trying to break free, but Kendall only tugged harder as he lunged after him, pinning him down to the ground with his body.

They both laughed as Kendall pinned Carlos' wrists to the floor. Carlos tried to buck Kendall off, but the blond was sitting on his stomach and he couldn't get any good leverage.

Kendall struggled slightly to keep Carlos pinned as he squirmed under him, laughing breathlessly. "Who's the wuss now," he asked and laughed again when Carlos turns his head to try to snap at Kendall's hands.

After a few moments, Carlos finally gave up, letting his head fall back against the floor with a soft thud, "Okay, okay, you're not a wuss. Now get off of me, you're heavy," he grunted, trying once more to try to buck the blond off.

Kendall's mouth fell open and he let out an exaggerated gasp, releasing one of Carlos' wrists to press the palm of his hand against Carlos' face, squishing it roughly in retaliation. "Are you saying I'm fat?

Carlos' arm flailed slightly, "Ack, stop it," he exclaimed, reaching up with his free hand get at Kendall's face in return. But Kendall just leaned away from him. Stupid gangly limbed freak, Carlos thought, agitated by the fact that Kendall's reach was slightly longer than his.

"Say you're sorry."

"I'm sorry," Carlos exclaimed, words coming out muffled and slightly slurred from his face being squished to the side.

Kendall removed his hand from his face and Carlos shot him a dirty look as the blond smirked down at him in triumph. The other boy pushed himself up to his feet, but Carlos sat up quickly and grabbed him by the belt, tugging him down once more. Kendall let out a small exclamation as he went down and they rolled around once more, each trying to get the upper hand.

Kendall once again managed to pin Carlos down, lying flat on the other boy, legs slotted together. Laughing he pushed himself up, hands on Carlos' shoulder to keep him pinned down. He suddenly stopped, eyes widening a fraction and Carlos gulped, suddenly aware of his body's reaction, "Whoa, Carlos-" Kendall exclaimed cutting off as he rolled off of the shorter boy, sitting up to stare at Carlos in bewilderment.

Carlos sat up as well and covered his lap with both hands. "Sorry!" He could feel his face heat up in embarrassment and he tried to will his erection away by trying to think the unsexiest thoughts he could, but all he could focus on was the way Kendall's cheeks were flushed red and his hair was damp with sweat and plastered to his forehead.

Kendall blinked and licked his lips before shaking his head, "It's fine. I mean, we're teenagers. It happens," he said with a shrug, distracting Carlos from his thoughts.

Carlos nodded quickly, relief at Kendall's easy dismissal flooding through him, "Ye-yeah," he said shakily and got to his feet, "Right."

Kendall looked up at him, "Where are you going?"

Keeping both hands over his crotch, Carlos gestured awkwardly with his head, "To bed. It's, uh, getting late."

"Oh, right. Yeah, okay, I'll be there in a minute."

Carlos nodded, "Sounds good," he muttered before rushing off to their room, face hot with embarrassment and shame. Once there, he quickly changed into his pajamas, ignoring the ache in his groin. Normally he would just jerk off and get it over with, but he couldn't do that when Kendall knewand was probably waiting for him to finish before coming to bed. It was too embarrassing to think about and he quickly dove into his bed, burrowing under the blankets and closing his eyes tightly.

Carlos' erection was gone, thankfully, by the time Kendall finally walked into their room. He pretended to be asleep and listened to the other boy as he got ready for bed. He waited until Kendall was settled in bed before he spoke up, "So, does this mean you're over her now?"

"I don't know, I think so. I mean, I'm still a little sad about it, but seeing her again and talking to her made me realize how unhappy I've been the past few months. I don't want to go back to that."

"Good. I hated seeing you so unhappy and depressed," Carlos murmured, rolling onto his side to face Kendall's bed. He heard Kendall roll over to do the same.

"You made it better. If it wasn't for you, I probably would've gotten back together with her tonight," Kendall said softly and Carlos flushed with happiness, hiding his smile in his blanket even though Kendall wouldn't have been able to see it anyway.

I love you, he wanted to say, but knew it would only ruin things between them so he kept his mouth shut until the urge subsided and he whispered a soft, "Night," instead.

He heard Kendall shift, messing with his pillows before settling down again and murmured out a, "Mm, night, Carlitos," in return.

A few days later, Gustavo only wanted Kendall to come into the studio, which was just as well since Carlos needed to talk to Logan and James about what he should do next to try and win Kendall over. Now that he was sure Kendall was over Jo and didn't want her anymore, it was time for him to actually make a move. Over the course of the past few weeks, Carlos came to the conclusion that he didn't want to sit around watching Kendall be happy with someone else. He wanted Kendall to be happy with him.

He went straight to Logan and James' room as soon as Kendall left and closed the door behind him quickly. "Guys!"

Logan was sitting at his desk, as usual and James was lying sprawled across Logan's bed reading a magazine. They both looked up startled at his outburst. James closed his magazine and tossed it onto the small table between the two beds. "Geeze, where's the fire, Carlos?"

"Kendall just left."

James' eyebrows disappeared into his hair, "And this is earth shattering news how?"

"Because I need to talk to you guys about him."

Logan arched an eyebrow, "What about him?"

Carlos grinned and bound over to sit down at the edge of Logan's bed, bouncing a little in his excitement. "He said he was over her."

Logan's eyes widened slightly in surprise and he leaned forward in his chair, "Really? When?"

"The other night, after he went to see her, when he came back he said he was over her, or getting over her, whatever."

James nudged him in the back with his knee, "And what does that have to do with us?"

Carlos turned slightly and shoved James' leg away in annoyance, "I need you guys to help me try to get Kendall to, I don't know, notice me or something," Carlos said, suddenly feeling a little awkward as he spoke the words out loud.

James chuckled and sat up a smirk growing on his face, "You want help getting into Kendall's pants?"

Carlos felt his face flush slightly, "Not like that," he exclaimed shoving James lightly again before turning towards Logan, "Logan?"

Logan turned back towards his desk and flipped his textbook closed, "Well, Kendall already loves you. We just have to shift his love from 'Best Bud' love to 'Hey I'd really like to get into your pants' love," Logan said, spinning around in his chair to face Carlos once again.

"And that can be done with a simple pair of tight jeans," James offered that same knowing look from the last time on his face.

Carlos laughed, "Dude, enough with the tight pants."

James jabbed his finger at Carlos, "Hey, I'm trying to help you here."

"I don't see how wearing tight pants is going to help me."

"It might help," Logan said with his mouth downturned thoughtfully, "I mean, it couldn't hurt."

"You've got a really nice ass, Carlos. It would definitely help."

Carlos' eyes snapped towards James and he and Logan stared at the taller brunet incredulously, "Dude."

James sat up a little straighter, "What? I can't appreciate a nice ass without it being gay?"

"Not when it's mine you're talking about!"

James huffed in annoyance and rolled off the bed, wiping his hand down his shirt to get the wrinkles out. Carlos and Logan watched as he started to walk towards the door, "Where are you going?"

James turned back a few feet from the door, "To go hang out by the pool."

Carlos' eyes widened and he frowned at the taller boy, "You're not going to help me?"

"I already tried helping you. You don't want to listen. Good luck though," James said, giving him a thumbs-up before heading out the door.

Carlos frowned after the other boy before turning back to Logan who was wearing a similar expression. "Okay, whatever. We don't need him. What we need to do is find out if Kendall is even remotely interested in guys."

"How do I do that?"

Logan tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Hmm, I don't know. Make a comment about how hot some guy is or something," Logan said with a small shrug.

Carlos made a face, nose scrunching up slightly, "But I'm not interested in any other guys. I just want Kendall."

Logan sighed, "Doesn't matter. Just gauge his reaction."

Carlos let out a small groan of frustration, "Okay," he said and fell back against the bed, "Why is this so complicated?"

He glanced over at Logan just in time to catch his shrug, "That's what happens when you fall in love with your best friend, I guess."

Carlos managed to work up the nerve a few nights later. James and Logan had conveniently made plans for the night and Mrs. Knight had taken Katie and that boy she liked to the movies, leaving Kendall and Carlos alone to hang out. They decided to watch a movie since there was never anything good on TV. Carlos could barely concentrate on the movie though, an action-comedy that he couldn't follow the plot of. All he knew was that there were a few explosions and Kendall seemed to laugh a lot so it was probably pretty funny.

Carlos snuck a quick glance at the other boy and swallowed thickly, "Hey, Kendall…" he started softly. Kendall lifted his eyebrows slightly and hummed in acknowledgement but otherwise didn't tear his eyes away from the TV. Carlos opened his mouth, not sure what was going to come out but determined to say something. "Nevermind," he said instead, head snapping back towards the TV.

That had Kendall turning to look at him, a bemused smile on his face, "What is it?"

Carlos shook his head, "It's nothing. Forget it."

"No, see, now you have to tell me."

Carlos chuckled, "Really, it's nothing."

Kendall frowned slightly, "Teeell mee," he pleaded, reaching over to poke Carlos gently in the ribs repeatedly. Carlos laughed and tried to fend Kendall off, swatting at his hands and attempting to scoot away from him on the couch. Kendall only followed after him though, pinching his sides lightly.

"Ouch! Stop, stop!"

"Tell me what you were going to say," Kendall demanded, fingertips digging into Carlos' ribs, almost painfully, but it only made Carlos laugh harder

"I like a boy," he finally gasped out and Kendall retracted his hands quickly, as if burned.

Kendall sat back down heavily and stared at Carlos wide-eyed, "What?"

Carlos felt his ears burning as he looked down at his lap, chest heaving. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "I said that I like a guy," he said, glancing up at Kendall before averting his gaze back into his lap, fingers twiddling nervously.

"Oh…"Kendall fell silent and Carlos ducked his head further, chest growing tight as the silence lingered. He didn't know what he'd do if Kendall didn't accept this part of him. "I didn't- I didn't know you were into guys. You're always going on about girls and getting a girlfriend and you're always after The Jennifers."

Carlos shook his head, "I'm not really into guys. Just him," he explained, heart hammering in his chest.

Kendall studied him for a long moment, long enough for his palms to start to sweat and he felt hot all over. "Oh, well, he must be pretty special then, huh?"

Carlos nodded stiffly, "He is."

"Does he like you back?"

Carlos shook his head, "I don't know. I don't even know if he's into guys and even if he was, why would he want me?"

Kendall's brows furrowed slightly and he frowned, "Hey, anyone would be lucky to have you as a boyfriend. Boy or girl."

As heart-warming as that was to hear, Carlos knew Kendall was just being nice, "Yeah, right," he scoffed with a shrug of his shoulders. He stiffened slightly when Kendall reached forward and squeezed his shoulder.

"Really, Carlos. Who is he? Do I know him?"

Carlos hesitated briefly, not sure if he should answer Kendall. "Yeah, you know him," he said simply.

There was another moment of silence until Kendall prompted, "Well?"

Carlos looked up at Kendall blankly. He knew what the other boy expected but it wasn't like he could just confess right now. Could he? He still didn't know where Kendall stood with his sexuality. If Kendall wasn't interested in guys then Carlos would just keep his mouth shut forever about his feelings. "Well, what?"

Kendall narrowed his eyes slightly, "What's his name?"

Carlos shook his head, "Oh, no, I'm not telling you."

"Why not? It's not like I'm going to tell him. You know I wouldn't do that."

Carlos smiled slightly, "No, I know. I just…I just want to keep it to myself."

Kendall pouted slightly and it took all of Carlos' willpower to not give in and just confess right then, but eventually Kendall sighed and threw his arms in the air, "Fine, Fine. Keep your secrets. I'll find out eventually, you know," he said with a small mischievous smirk.

Carlos swallowed softly, knowing Kendall was right but he wasn't sure if he was looking forward to it or not.