The Encounter

Chapter 9

Logan's POV:
For the past few days, things have been weird between Kendall and I. I finally found my phone inside the bunk bathroom but things were too strange to celebrate. Ever since the incident at the community home, we haven't talked about it or anything for that matter. Both of us decided to just leave it in the past, but little did we know, that later, things were going to resurface again. After Kendall and the crew filmed some last minutes scenes at the camp, we all got on the shuttle busses and were driven to the hotel where we were originally staying at. Kendall barely had time off from that point on. It seemed like every minute of every day, they were filming out in the desert. It was pretty hot out there sometimes. Can you imagine being in heavy marine get up and running around in full suit out on a hot ass day? I can. The crew set up small, movable tents and bunks for the upcoming scenes. It was insane because everything looked so authentic. Everything was going great, all was being shot on time and with ease except for one day.

It was a normal day, I would say. I was going to skip on going to set and let Kendall do his thing in peace, but he really wanted me to go, so I could give him some feedback on how he was doing. I agreed and went with him. The ride out to the set was only a couple of minutes compared to the ride to and from Camp Pendleton. The day before, Kendall shot a scene where he was supposed to snap and go off on one of the other actors. He told me that it was all too intense for him and that it was strange because the scene called for him to yell and cuss and be angry and that wasn't normally who he was. Needless to say, the first time filming on that set he freaked, and I quote, did poorly, according to Kendall. The day after, he got his stuff together and was getting ready to do that scene again. He looked like he had everything in focus, so they started to shoot.

Kendall, Jett, and another actor got into place and the director called action. The scene was intense when watching it come to life right in front of me. I could tell Kendall was going to nail this part. The only thing I was a little worried about was how animated Kendall was with his hands when he acted. In the part when Kendall holds the rifle to Jett's face, Kendall was supposed to turn the rifle on himself and his anger level was supposed to rise. Well, when this happened, Kendall accidentally got too forceful and jabbed himself in the mouth with the rifles barrel. I got shivers when I saw Kendall hold his mouth from the pain. He immediately walked off set for a moment, and after a few minutes came back. The director never called cut. I saw small stains of blood on Kendall's palms and fingers and his lip was starting to drip small amounts of blood. He stayed in character and went with the scene. While they kept filming the rest of the scene, Kendall began to slap Jett over the head. I didn't know if this was supposed to happen or not so I stood back and watched. Eventually, Sam did call cut and Jett was holding onto his head while Kendall walked off set. Something was really wrong. I followed behind Kendall as he went into his trailer and slammed the door behind him. I opened it and walked in.

"Are you okay?" I asked. Kendall was looking at himself in the mirror, flashing his teeth and pressing down on them.

"Fuck!" He said loudly. "It's chipped."
"Let me see," I said. He walked over and opened his mouth. I could see the small missing half of his tooth that was covered in blood. "Does this hurt?" I reached in and pressed his tooth with my finger.

"Ow! Fuck!"

"Sorry."

He walked back and looked in the mirror again. "Son of a bitch!"

"What was all that about?" I asked. "Where you supposed to beat him up like that?"

"No. It was an accident," he said.

"Accident? You kept hitting him on the head. How many times did your hand accidentally smack him?"

"Look, I don't know! He made me bleed!"

"Don't get mad at me!" I replied.

"Then stop asking stupid questions!" He yelled.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing..."

"That's bull! Is it me? Did I do something? Are you mad because Carlos calls the room?"

"God, can you not mention him for one day?! I mean, you talk to the guy twenty-four seven. Give it a break!"

Kendall walked towards me, his eyes wide and angry.

"What?! Where the hell is this coming from?" I was a little shocked to hear him say that.

"I don't want to hear his fucking name anymore! Leave the guy alone already." There was silence that filled the trailer. I turned to the door, swung it open and stepped down from the steps.

"You know, I thought you were a little different from the other asshole actors, but I guess I was wrong. What a great fucking time to find out." I shut the door hard and walked away.

I layed on the couch back in our hotel room looking up at the off-white ceiling, rewinding what Kendall had said earlier. Who was he to say those things? I mean, he should've said something instead of letting it explode a while later.

The room was dark except for the bathroom light shining through the door sides. I had left it on accident and didn't want to get up to turn it off. I took my cell phone out and looked at the time. It was already 9:14 P.M., and the light from outside started to become dim. I put the phone down and closed my eyes, opened them and looked at the time once again. I came to realize that ten minutes had gone by without me even noticing. Just then the hotel door swung open and Kendall walked inside. I looked at him but quickly turned around when his eyes looked in my direction. We didn't say anything to each other the whole evening. Not even when we were standing besides each other in the bathroom brushing our teeth. I got in between the couch cushions and the thin white blankets to sleep. I closed my eyes but opened them a while later. This went on for several minutes, until I finally sat up and turned on the T.V. There was nothing on besides infomercials, but I didn't care. I heard the bed in Kendall's room squeak and the sheets move around, and then Kendall appeared in the living room doorway.

"Hey," he said. I ignored him and kept flipping through channels. Kendall came over and sat besides me on the couch, pulling his bare feet up. We sat in the T.V. light, neither of us saying a single word.

"Look, I'm sorry. I had no right to blow up like that. I wish I could take it back, but I can't, so all I can do is apologize."

I looked over for a quick second and saw him staring at me, he had a sad look on his face.
"Why didn't you say something earlier?" I said. "It would've made it easier for both of us."

"I know, but I'm not the person to just come out and say things until I can't take it anymore. It's weird, I know," Kendall said.

"Yeah, well... I guess it's okay. I mean, we all have our moments. I was just the cause of yours."

"So am I forgiven?" He asked with a boyish smile. How could I not forgive him. He looked so adorable.

"Yeah," I said.

"One thing though. Do you really think I'm an asshole actor?" Kendall asked.

"No. I just said that because I was mad. I say stupid shit when I'm pissed off."

Again. Another moment of silence.

"So is there anything good on?"

"Nope. Mostly infomercials selling exercise equipment."

"Can I see the remote?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure." I handed Kendall the small, rectangular remote. He turned the T.V. off.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, in order for us to get along a little better, we should probably talk a little," he said.

"About what?"

"Anything. Like, uh... tell me a secret. Something no one knows."

"A secret? Okay. Okay, when I was younger, I used to watch the show Hercules, and I used to pretend I was his him. I would try and pick up the bed and drawers like he would pick up heavy rocks and stuff," I confessed. Kendall started to laugh a little. "Your turn."

Kendall thought for a moment. "Let's see... oh, okay. I used to be in a band when I was younger. Like, in my teens."

"A band? Rock band or marching band?" I joked.

"Boy band. We played really bad music. It was terrible. I was the lead singer."

"What?!" I was amazed. I had to make him sing a little. "Do you remember any songs?"

"Yeah, actually."

I didn't expect him to just start singing, but he did. It was the funniest thing watching Kendall
sing.

"That was amazing." I clapped for him after he was finished.

"Thank you." He looked at me and smiled. I was starting to get the feeling I first had when we had kissed that one night.

"It's late. I should go to bed now," said Kendall while he dropped his feet to the ground. He was standing almost all the way up when I grabbed his wrist and pulled him down towards me. I pressed my lips onto his and we started to kiss. It felt so great to be with someone in that way again. Kendall leaned back onto the arm of the couch and opened his legs, allowing me to slip in between them and hover over him. He put his right hand behind my neck and pulled me down. I then started to move onto his neck. I laid kiss after kiss on his jaw and adams apple, not missing a single spot. Kendall pulled away from me and held onto my cheek. We looked at each other for a moment, then continued kissing.

A week later, Kendall and I went to set so that we could get the work day over with. Kendall went to his trailer to change, while I went to check out the new set. My jaw dropped when I saw everything. There were hundreds of extras dressed in their camouflage suits walking around with their rifles and tent bags on their backs. A few tanks and hummer looking trucks were scattered around with men riding behind the steering wheel. It was all very surreal watching the trucks and men. I've said this hundreds of times, but this is when I really mean it. It looked like I had taken a wrong turn and ended up in an marine base.

"It's great, right?" Kendall said from behind me. I turned and saw him walking up to me in his uniform.

"Yeah. It looks so real."

"Here." Kendall handed me a small, tan envelope.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Open it."

I did what he said and pulled out a chain with two dog tags hanging from it.

"Oh, wow. This is great. They have my name on them."

"I had Sam order an extra pair when he ordered ours," Kendall said. "Do you like them?"

"Yeah. Thanks!"

"Just thought they would be a little memorabilia from the set."

"I'm an official marine now," I joked. "Are they both the same?"

"Yeah, they say the same thing," he said.

"Do you want to trade one? I'll give you one of mine, and you give me one of yours?"

"Yeah, sure." Kendall took off his chain and slid a dog tag out and we
swapped them. I put mine on and filming started.

"Hello?" I heard Kendall answer the phone in the other room of the hotel. We had just gotten back from the desert and were taking a little break. "No, this is Kendall, who's this?" He said next. "Ashley? Yeah, hold on a minute." I got up and walked over. "It's your friend," Kendall said while he handed me the phone. I took the receiver and placed it over my ear.

"Hello?" I said.

"Who was that?" Ashley asked.

"He's a friend of the guy I'm here with."

"A friend? He sounded familiar."

"Yeah. What's going on?"

"Okay, I got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?" Ashley asked.

"The good news."

"Mr. Shingle said that you don't have to come to work for however long you want."

"Really? That's nice of him. What's the bad news?"

"Bad news is that he said that on account he fired you."

"WHAT?!" I practically yelled into the phone.

"Yeah. He said that he went to your apartment to see how you were doing when the lady at the desk told him that you had been gone for a while. Then he came to me at work, and I had to tell him the truth. I'm sorry, babe."

"Ashley, tell me you're kidding."

"No, I'm serious," she said. "I had to tell him. Are you mad?"

I sighed. "No. It's my fault. I knew it was a bad idea to come here. Shit!" I said.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I guess I should go back to see if I can get my job back. I need to make rent somehow."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'll be there in two days," I said. I knew I was going to have to go back. I couldn't afford to lose that job.

"Okay. I'll see you then."

I hung up the phone and sat down. I was starting to regret coming with Kendall, but I knew there was nothing I could do besides get on a plane and go back to L.A. I didn't tell Kendall anything. I called Sam that same day and told him that I had an emergency at home. He said that he'd place me on the first flight out the next day. I was so grateful for the fact that he was able to do that for me. I know it wasn't going to come cheap. The next night, after Kendall fell asleep, I got my bags and ordered a taxi to drive me to the airport. Once there, I got on the plane and left to Los Angeles. The ride was long and boring as expected. After landing, I had another taxi drive me to Ashley's house since it was still pretty early. I rang the doorbell and she came to answer.

"Good morning," I said. Ashley looked at me with her tired eyes.

"Logan! How are you?" We hugged each other then she invited me inside. "Good. Did I wake you?"

"No, I was just going to go swim laps around the pool," she exaggerated.

"Funny. Where's Sargent?" I asked.

"In my room, sleeping. Do you want me to go and wake him up?"

"No, leave-" Just then he came running out of the room and stood on his back legs while placing his front paws on my legs. I greeted him warmly, talking baby-like to him. "Hey, can I crash here until you leave for work? I want to go and see Mr. Shingle."

"Yeah, sure. Come on." The three of us walked to Ashley's room and Sargent got in his bed while I shared the bed with Ashley. Morning came quickly, and I was back up. After Ashley got into her uniform, we got into her car and drove to The Ivy. We got there, she started work, and I went to see Mr. Shingle. I knocked on his office door and waited for a response.

"Come in!" He yelled out. I opened the door and walked in. "Well look who it is. What the hell are you doing here?" "I came to try and get my job back," I said. "It's too late. I already gave your position to someone else," he said while writing on a piece of paper. "Come on, Mr. Shingle. I'm sorry for making Ashley lie to you. I knew that if you knew what I was doing you wouldn't let me go. It was stupid of me to go without telling you the truth."

"Save it," he replied.

"There's absolutely no way to get my job back?"

"Nope."

"What am I going to do for money then? How do I pay rent?" I asked.

He didn't care about me, and I knew that, but I was trying to put him on a guilt trip. Mr. Shingle reached into his desk and pulled out an envelope and handed it to me.

"That's your last paycheck," he said. I took the envelope and left with my tail between my legs. This was all very fucked up, but he was right. I should have been clean with his about where I was going even though he probably would've made me stay. I found Ashley behind the small seating booth and asked her if she could take my things and Sargent to my apartment after work.

She agreed, and I decided to walk home. I needed time to think about what I was going to do for money. I could always sell myself on the streets, but I probably wouldn't last long. The best thing to do was to start over and go job hunting.

I got to my apartment building and took the elevator up to the floor my apartment was on, when I noticed a paper taped on my door. I pulled it off and read it through thoroughly. It was a notice of eviction. Since I was away, I had forgotten to pay the month's rent and was now two weeks overdue. Everything was going wrong that day. I couldn't get one break. I honestly felt like crying. I went down to the front desk and asked to see Mr. Stein, the building manager, so I could get everything cleared up. Fortunately, he was in, so I got to see him right away.

"Hey, Mr. Stein," I said, as I walked into his office.

"Hello. How can I help you?" He asked, taking off the thin glasses from his long, slender nose and letting them hang down like a golden chain around his neck.

"Well, um, I wanted to see you about this eviction notice." I slid the paper over to him. He put his glasses back on and looked it over.

"What about it?"

"I wanted to know if I could maybe have an extension on the payment. I have half the money now and-"

"I'm sorry. It clearly states on your contract that all payments must be payed in full."

"Well, I know, but couldn't you make an exception? I have half the money with me. I could get the other half to you sometime later."

"I'm sorry," he said again.

"I know, you said that already. So what do I do now? What's going to happen to all my stuff? I have nowhere else to go," I said.

Mr. Stein sighed and looked up at me. "I'll tell you what. If you can get the whole amount in one month then you can have your apartment back."

"Really?" I shot up excitedly.

"But..." he added. "I will have to mark the apartment as vacant. We can put your things in storage for the time being."

"Okay. So if there are no takers for my apartment and I make the money in a month, I can move back in?" I asked.

"It'll be good as yours."

I guess that was better than nothing, right? "Thank you, Mr. Stein."

"You're welcome." I walked out of his office and out into the street.

What the hell was I supposed to do now? I have no apartment and the only place I could maybe stay at was a good ways away. I walked around until Ashley got off work, so that I could ask if it was okay for me to stay with her for a bit longer. I was officially homeless.

Thanks for reading and for the reviews/comments on the last chapter~ I really appreciate it, so please keep them coming! ^^