Hey guys. :) I know this is a bit late considering Christmas is over, but this is posted for the BTR Plot Adoption Forum (which I recommend checking out). I hope you guys like the story. :)
For many, Christmastime is a time of jolliness and cheer—a time to spend with family and friends and enjoy everything that comes with it. But for Kendall Knight it is anything but cheerful. For the green eyed, blond teenager, it is a time of grief and sadness—which he spends locked up in his room, motionlessly lying on his bed with nothing but depressing memories swimming in his head. He doesn't go downstairs at the crack of dawn and open presents with his mother and little sister like most teenagers would do. He doesn't help Katie bake cookies for Santa, to leave out for him alongside a glass of milk, or help his mom wrap presents to place under their Christmas tree. He just wallows in sadness and cries until he has no tears left to cry, until he feels dizzy and like his heart can ache no more.
Kendall Knight is not a big fan of Christmas, and he has his reasons.
It all goes back to six years before—six years and eight days to be exact. December 17, 2002 is the date that marks the day in which Kendall's life took a turn for the worst; the 25th being the day in which he was left without a father.
He was only eight years old, sitting in his third grade classroom when the school principal walked through the door and asked to speak with him. He reluctantly stood from his seat and followed the principal outside the classroom, all the while listening to the other students tease him about being in trouble. James, Carlos and Logan—his three best friends—watched him go with worried eyes. Usually if Kendall got in any sort of trouble, they were involved, and if they weren't, they'd be the first ones to know. And from what all three of them knew, Kendall had not done anything troublesome at any recent time, so it all seemed kind of off.
"Am I in trouble?" Kendall asked as soon as the principal had closed the classroom door. He looked up at her with fearful green eyes and fidgeted uncomfortably in his spot, lips slightly parted, giving her a questioning look.
"No sweetie, you're not." She sighed, kneeling down so that she was somewhat at his height level. She placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head, not wanting to be the one to give Kendall the news. "Your dad's in the hospital," she said softly, slowly, watching with sad eyes as Kendall's face morphed into one of confusion and disbelief.
"The hospital?" he questioned in a whisper. "What do you mean he's in the hospital? Daddy's at work right now," he said, trying to make a point.
"No, he's not. He—your mom will be here to pick you up any minute now. She'll explain it then, okay?" she said, to which the blond little boy just nodded, not believing what she had said. In his head, his father was at work and not in harm's way. He was fine, he had to be.
Seconds after having said that, Mrs. Knight rushed to his side, little 2-year-old Katie held in her arms. She freed one of her arms and pulled him into a hug, sniffling against his sweater. Kendall squirmed in her embrace until he was let free. He looked at his mother, noticing the tear tracks on her cheeks, red and puffy eyes, and the way she seemed to be doing everything in her power to stop herself from breaking down on the spot.
"I am so sorry," the principal whispered, laying a hand on the red head's shoulder and giving it a squeeze before walking off, not wanting to witness the scene that would for sure unfold minutes or even seconds after she left.
"Mommy?" Kendall turned to his mother, his eyes now showing fear. He knew his mother only cried when she was sad, and he was so afraid that what the principal had said was true. "Mommy, is daddy really in the hospital?"
A nod was all it took for Kendall to know the answer.
Then and there, Kendall broke down in his mother's arms. She then drove them to the hospital, where they were told that Mr. Knight's condition was very critical—he had gotten in a car accident on his way to work, and the impact had been worse than anybody thought. Mrs. Knight was told that he was in a coma, and that from the way things were going, he wasn't expected to make it.
Surprisingly, Mr. Knight managed to pull through for a week, but not much longer than that. At 8:56 a.m. Christmas morning, Kendall's father passed away.
At the time, Kendall didn't understand much. What he did know was that his father was gone and he wouldn't be seeing him again any time soon. But as the years passed by and he grew older, he started to understand what had really happened to his father, and he came to the realization that he wouldn't have him by his side. He wouldn't be growing up like a lot of kids his age—with a father and a mother. He would be raised by only his mother, and he would have to be Katie's father figure; teach her about life, all the while taking responsibility for things his father would be doing if he was alive.
Christmas became a day full of struggle over the years as reality sunk in.
Now, at the age of fourteen, he sits on his bed, knees pulled up to his chest, tears painting tracks against his rosy cheeks. His mother has tried countless times to get him out of his room, but so far, nothing has worked. He knows that she is worried about him, but he doesn't want to come out. He can't. Coming out means facing his mother and Katie, and he can't do that at the moment.
The sound of tapping against his window is what startles him out of his haunting thoughts. Turning to it, he sees James sitting atop the tree branch that belongs to the tree he and the other boys use to climb into Kendall's room in urgent situations. He waves at Kendall and mouths the words "open it," so Kendall does.
The moping boy crawls out of bed and forces his feet to move towards the closed window. He sighs and uses all his strength to open it. There's not much strength left in him—not eating and barely sleeping does that to a person. Frankly, he feels like he could pass out at any moment. He's surprised he hasn't yet.
He didn't expect James to appear outside his bedroom on Christmas, so it is a surprise to him when he sees him. What really shocks him though is when James stops him from closing the window and watches as Carlos jumps in through the window, followed by Logan. The three boys stand there awkwardly in front of the younger boy, and then, in unison, they pull him in for a group hug. Feeling the warmth and love radiating from his best friends is all it takes for Kendall to let his walls come crumbling down. The tears roll freely down his cheeks and he allows his body to finally give out from underneath him.
"Come on." James helps him towards his bed, Carlos fluffing his pillow (possibly more than necessary), and Logan drapes a blanket over his body. The three sit around him; James and Carlos taking a seat on the foot of the bed, and Logan sitting down next to Kendall.
"Hey buddy," Logan whispers, smiling down at the sniffling boy.
"H-Hey," Kendall responds. "Why are you guys here? Shouldn't you be at home with your f-families?" His voice breaks on the last word and he hates it. He hates that he must seem really vulnerable in the other boys' eyes.
"We should," Carlos answers, "but we decided to spend it here with you. No one deserves to spend their Christmas alone... Our parents let us come. In fact, they should be here anytime soon. We're not letting you, Katie or Mama Knight have a sad Christmas. We're all a big family, therefore, we'll celebrate Christmas as one."
Kendall is sure he is close to tears by the time Carlos stops speaking. The shorter Latino smiles, patting his knee.
"We're all for one and one for all," James says.
"Y-Yeah," Kendall croaks out, trying to stop himself from crying once more.
Logan frowns, taking notice of the state his best friend is in. The dark bags under his eyes and paler-than-normal complexion does nothing but increase his worry. Slender fingers move to brush back dirty blond bangs and a hand is pressed to Kendall's forehead. The brunette frowns at the heat that he finds there.
"Ken, you're burning up," he says in a quiet tone. "Have you been sleeping enough? You look awful, no offense."
Kendall looks away, wanting to smack Logan's hand away, but relaxing against the gentle touch of fingers threading through his hair. "Guess not," he whispers. "Haven't really been out of my room, though. Don't have the energy or motivation. Everything in my head is all messed up at the moment."
The trio frowns at this.
"You need to sleep... and eat, because I'm willing to bet you haven't done much of that either," James points out. The sound of the front door opening and closing followed by voices alarms the boys that someone must've arrived. "Come on. Our families were bringing food. You need to try and eat at least, alright?"
Kendall isn't given much of an option as he is hauled over James' shoulder in a matter of seconds. Despite the two boys being almost the same height, James is able to carry him with ease.
Carlos and Logan follow the brunette and head down the stairs, where Carlos' parents, Katie and Mrs. Knight are standing. It doesn't take long for James and Logan's families to arrive as well. Kendall is forced to take a seat on one of the chairs in the dining room and a plate of turkey, mashed potatoes and vegetables is placed in front of him. Despite his stubbornness to glare at the food, he eventually ends up eating it.
When he's done, the boys all hand him and Katie presents they have brought for them. Kendall's lips are pulled up into a smile at the sight of Katie's face lighting up when she unwraps one of them and lifts a light brown teddy bear out of it. She giggles with joy, running up to Kendall and showing it to him. Kendall smiles and hugs her tightly. Seeing her and his mother happy and everybody around him is enough to make him the slightest bit happy as well.
It is in that moment that he realizes that as long as friends and family are with him, everything will be alright.
I hope that was okay, and I really hope you all enjoyed it. Please let me know what you thought in a review. :) Hope you guys had a Merry Christmas and I wish you all a Happy New Year!
~ BigTimeRush-BTR :)