Chapter 24

"Do you think it worked?" Carlos asked Logan worriedly. Logan stared up at the blue sky, watching birds and geese fly up in the air, free and without a worry in the world.

"I don't know, buddy. I really don't know." Logan answered honestly. He wanted Shane and Kendall and James to change, but he wanted them to change in a good way. He didn't want them to become snobs like the idiot football jocks at their old school in Minnesota. Those guys were bullies, and Logan hated bullies. He knew Carlos did, too.

"I hope they do." Carlos stated innocently. He wanted his friends to be nice again. To remember all their great memories from before… stuff happened to Logan. But he knew that sometimes, his wishes didn't always come true.

"I do too, Carlos." Logan sighed and averted his gaze down to the ground, staring at his shoes and the sidewalk they were currently walking on.

"Hey, Logan?" Logan looked up when he heard Carlos's sad tone. Carlos never sounded that sad, and Logan wanted to know why.

"Yeah?"

Carlos looked down and blinked rapidly. "I'm sorry." He blurted out. Logan's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. What was Carlos sorry for?

"Why?" Carlos stared at Logan like he was crazy.

"Because I did this to you! This stuff wouldn't have happened if Iwas just smarter! I shouldn't have told you to go in that cave! This stuff wouldn't ever have happened if it weren't for me!" Carlos shouted, tears streaming down his face. Logan stared at his younger friend in shock. He wasn't expecting such a change of mood. But Carlos's moods always changed from one to the next, and it seemed as if Logan could never catch up with it.

"Hey, it's okay, buddy. I don't blame you. After all, the other guys told me to go in too. This is their faults, too." Logan said, rubbing Carlos's back in circles. Carlos wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his blue shirt, staring up at Logan.

"You don't blame me?" He asked in a sad voice. Logan nodded.

"Of course not!' Carlos seemed to feel better when he heard the words coming out of Logan's mouth, and he quickly jumped up and started running.

"Carlos! Where are you going?" Logan called, running after the energetic boy. How Carlos could go from feeling sad to happy in less than 10 seconds was something that Logan could never figure out. But that was what Logan loved about Carlos. He was almost everything that he couldn't be.

Line line line

Shane walked down the streets of L.A, ignoring all the people who offered him fashion magazines and food and whatever. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice when he bumped into an old lady. He quickly apologized and kept on walking, almost crashing into a pole.

Shane didn't know what to do. He wanted to change now that he found that he was becoming like his father. He was being mean, being stupid, to those around him. He was causing Carlos pain, and causing Logan, too. How ironic was that? Shane hated people who hurt other people, but he now realized that he was one of those people. And that made him want to hurt himself.

But he didn't know what James and Kendall would think of him once he told them that he agreed with Logan and Carlos. Would they beat him up? Would they hate him forever, and kick him out of the band? He really needed that job, or his family would be dead meat. Literally.

Even though he was tall and looked strong, he really wasn't. He was afraid for his family and their well beings, and for himself. He was scared, and sometimes he just wanted to end all of this. But he couldn't. He had a family who looked up to him like a father. He had to live for them.

But his mom was doing fine. She earned more than enough to support her family. And when there were only two people in all to support, it wasn't all that hard. Shane didn't want to be a third burden that his mom had to care for, so he got a job so he could support himself.

Shane kept on thinking about his father and Logan and Carlos and Kendall and James and everything that had been going on the past few weeks. And he decided something that would change his life.

He was going to leave for good. Today, right now.

Line line line

"I can't believe they did that! What were they thinking, writing a song to get Shane to change. What idiots." James muttered, rolling his eyes. Kendall looked up from whatever he was writing.

"I know… and I can't believe they don't like Shane. He's like, the best guy ever." Kendall pointed out, earning a nod from James.

"Speaking of Shane, where is he?" James wondered out loud. Kendall looked around and saw no sign of the tall teenager. Wherewas Shane?

"I'll call him." Kendall whipped out his phone, and dialed the Shane on speed dial. The phone rang once, twice… eight times… ten times. No one answered. Kendall wondered why Shane didn't have a voice mail. Last time he checked, Shane did have a voicemail message. Kendall hung up the phone after it rang more than twenty times. It was obvious that Shane wasn't going to pick up.

"No one answered. And he didn't even have a voicemail." Kendall reported to James, who stared at Kendall's phone in confusion. Shane always picked up his phone. He said he never wanted to miss any calls, because they could be really important.

"Hmm. I wonder where he's at." James said. Suddenly, he thought about Logan and Carlos. Maybe they took Shane away and were doing something with him. They could be hitting him, singing him another song, getting him to change, or… having fun with him. What if Shane did change? What if he actually listened to Logan and Carlos? James didn't care that it was a selfish thought, he just wanted to know where Shane was.

Kendall seemed to think of the same thing, for they both jumped out of their seats and ran out the door, tracking down where Logan's phone was. Palm Woods Park. They drove there and ran out of the car in a rush.

They spotted their targets sitting at a wooden picnic bench, talking with each other. "Logan! Carlos!" Kendall called out.

The two boys looked up, surprise on their faces.

"Hey, Kendall. He, James." Carlos grinned at them, not seeing their angry looks casted at them. Kendall blinked and sat down next to Carlos. James sat down next to Logan.

"Where's Shane?" James demanded.

Logan stared at them, confused. "Why would Iknow? He's your friend." He retorted.

"We called him but he didn't pick up. Something's wrong." Kendall explained quickly. It was the first time in weeks that they'd had a conversation that lasted more than 20 seconds without violence or hurting someone.

"He could be in trouble!" James said, panic in his voice. Again, Logan wondered why they cared so much for Shane. He was a jerk, so why didn't they see that? But Logan had a kind heart, and so he felt concerned for Shane, too. Carlos was worried, too, because he knew how much Shane meant to Kendall and James.

Suddenly, Carlos's phone beeped, causing everyone to snap out of their thoughts. Carlos quickly pulled out the text message, and saw that Shane had sent it to him. Carlos stared at it.

Hey,Carlos.IjustwantedtosaythatI'msorryforeverythingIdidtoyou.IhopeyouandLoganforgiveme.I'mleavingL.A.TellmyfamilythatIlovethem,andtellKendallandJamesthatthiswasn'ttheirfault.Thisismyfault.IdecidedtoleavebecauseIcouldn'ttakethispressureanymore.I'montheairplanerightnowonmywaytoAustralia.I'vealwayswantedtogothere,andmaybethisismychance.Itooksomemoneyfrommybankaccount,andI'vegoteverythingcovered.I'mevenspellingeverythingoutinthistext,becauseI'mnotjokingaround.I'mreallyleaving.Pleasedon'ttellthemwhereIam.JustsaythatIleftformyownreasons.

Thanks, Carlos. You're a nice boy. I'm glad I got to meet you.

Shane Anderson (:

Carlos stared and stared at the message on his phone screen. He didn't even notice when James waved his huge hand in front of his face.

"What's wrong, Carlos?" He didn't know who said it, but he suddenly took his face away from the screen, closing his phone and stuffing it into his pocket.

"He… he ran away." Carlos said.

Kendall and James exchanged shocked glances. "What?" James whispered softly. "Why?"

Carlos shrugged. "He said he left for his own reasons." He lied. Shane had apologized. He told Carlos not to tell about why and where he was leaving to, and Carlos would keep that promise. It was all he had left of Shane. He didn't want to admit it, but he liked Shane. If Shane didn't beat him up, he would've become friends with him.

Logan couldn't help but blame himself. Maybe if Carlos and him didn't write that song, maybe Shane wouldn't have left. This was all their fault. All his fault. He had caused a person to leave the country, to leave the continent. He felt his throat going dry and swelling up. He felt his heart beat 10 times faster, and he started getting dizzy.

Suddenly, James found himself catching Logan as he fell to the ground, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

"Logan!"

A/N- Uh oh… please don't be mad at me… be mad at Logan! Aaah! And Shane!

What do you think is gonna happen next? Will Logan die? He will die at the end.

JUST KIDDING! JUST KIDDING! I'm not completely sure what I'm gonna do with him yet… but your reviews may help me decide! ;)

Peace Love, and Giraffes,

Anonymous Skrtle