I REEEEEEAAAAAALLLLLLYYYYYYY should be studying.

Enjoy!

Seven days. They waited seven days before anything happened. That week had to be one of the longest weeks of their lives. The waiting was practically killing them, and the events spread between those seven days put everyone on an emotional roller coaster. If they didn't see any improvement soon, they would go insane.

The first day, Carlos was released. Of course, his discharge from the hospital only resulted in Carlos spending his extra time at the hospital. When he was able to see Kendall, he asked to be alone with him. Kendall may not hear what he had to say, but it felt good to get it off his chest.

Carlos wiped the tears from his eyes. K-Kendall," he stuttered. "They told me that I'm the one that saved you. That if it wasn't for me, you'd still be with Gavin. But why don't I feel it? I can't stop thinking about everything I coulda done differently and how much I feel that I failed you. Kendall, you'd do anything for us. You're a good person who would do anything for us to make us happy or make us feel safe. I just want one thing from you. I need you to wake up. Wake up and smile. Tell me everything's okay. That's what I need you to do. Just fight your way out of this and wake up."

The second day wasn't any better. They had grown severely impatient. Kendall hadn't shown any signs of improvement. Of course they knew that things can't improve in just two days, but they couldn't help feeling the way they did. The boys spent every minute of the day with Kendall. They refused to leave until visiting hours ended. They watched over Kendall's body like a hawk, waiting for the slightest movement. Katie had a tight grip on Kendall's hand, hoping that he would wake up and squeeze her hand, alerting everyone in the room that he was finally awake.

Day three, torture. Carlos was asked to give his statement at the police station. When he saw Martin, he ran up to him and hugged him. Thanked him for helping Kendall. But that semi-happy moment was ruined when another familiar face showed up. Carlos suddenly felt nothing but rage. He was ready to pounce, but his father, being much stronger than him, held him back. If it hadn't been for Mr. Garcia, Carlos would have bashed Gavin's face into a wall. Multiple times. The funny thing was, Officers Sloan and Rodriguez, along with a few other cops, acted like they didn't see a thing.

Day four, Kendall still showed no signs of improvement. Their minds were plagued with the fact that if Kendall hadn't been found, Gavin would have killed him today. But the boys' moods were lifted a bit when Camille and Amirah came to the hospital. Katie was happy to see the two girls she had grown used to constantly seeing. Everyone could swear that this day was the first day they had seen Camille shed real, actual, tears. Amirah had a concert coming up in three weeks. She planned on performing a song that she wrote, dedicated to Kendall and all their friends. She wanted to make sure they knew that they had tons of support.

Katie never left Kendall's side on day five. She started humming "You Are Not Alone". She later chuckled. "You were always the one singing to me," she said to her unconscious brother. "It shouldn't be this way. You should still be singing to me. Not the other way around." Katie felt herself tearing up again. "I just wanna hear your voice again." She waited, hoping Kendall would wake up then. He'd wake up, hold her close and start singing to her. Just like old times.

Day six was when everyone found out that a trial for Gavin was to be held. A month from today. Would Kendall be up for it?

On the seventh day, Katie and Jennifer saw Kendall's eyes flutter open. They both swore that they were imagining things, until they saw his hand reaching for the tube going down his throat. "Stop, Sweetie," Jennifer said as she touched his hand gently, stopping his action. She pressed the call button. "Everything is okay now."

Kendall fought the haze to finally recognize the familiar faces of his mom and sister. After the doctor had come and removed Kendall's breathing tube, Katie immediately wrapped her hands around her brother and hugged him as gently as she could. Jennifer joined the hug a few moments later. They stayed in silence, the only sound in the room was the sound of the three of them sobbing uncontrollably.

Carlos, James, and Logan were at the apartment when they received the phone call, coming from Mrs. Knight, telling them that Kendall had woken up, disoriented and in pain, but he had still woken up.

They broke every traffic law available in order to go see Kendall. Bursting into the hospital doors may have created a scene, but they didn't care.

Finally, room 356. Kendall's room. Carlos was the first to turn the doorknob and let himself in. The sight they saw was so adorable. Kendall was currently sharing his bed with his little sister, who was fast asleep. Her head lay on his chest as he ran his fingers through her hair. He was singing "Cover Girl" as he watched her sleep.

"Kendall!" Carlos cried out in joy, but not loud enough to wake up Katie.

Kendall's eyes lit up as he saw his best friends approach his bedside. They noticed that something still seemed off about his expression, though.

Katie stirred at the sudden commotion, and everyone froze, but they relaxed when she fell back into her peaceful sleep.

With one hand, Kendall pulled Carlos into a hug. Carlos was shocked at first, but he gently wrapped his arms around his blonde friend, whose shoulders started shaking.

"Kendall?" Carlos asked, feeling a sudden worry. "What's wrong?" he separated from the hug and looked at Kendall. Kendall was crying.

"C-Carlos," Kendall said between sobs. "Thank you. For everything. I'm sorry you had to go through that and I'm really glad you're okay." He wiped the tears from his face. "I owe you so much."

Carlos shook his head. "I just wanted you to wake up," he said. "And you have. We're even." Carlos felt tears stinging his eyes now. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I wish I could have done more."

"You've done enough buddy," Kendall replied. "And for that I'm truly grateful." He turned to his other friends. "And I'm glad to see you guys too." He shifted, then winced in pain.

"Kendall," Logan said, his panic evident in his voice. "Are you okay?"

Kendall nodded. "Yeah, just moved my back the wrong way. I'm trying to keep Katie comfortable."

"Maybe I can move her," James said as he pulled up a chair and got ready to carry Katie so she could sleep on his lap. "You could lay down more comfortably."

Kendall shook his head. "She's already so comfortable," he said, looking at his sleeping sister once again. "I like having her here. I haven't seen her in days and I really miss her...Besides, with the way she's sleeping now, it looks like she hasn't been sleeping very much lately, hasn't she?"

Kendall's three best friends shook their heads.

"I thought so," he responded sadly. "Mom said that Katie's felt guilty about the entire thing. That if she hadn't led me outside I wouldn't have been grabbed at the party. I hate that she felt that way." A thought suddenly struck Kendall as he looked over to Carlos. "Carlos. Did you get your helmet back?"

Carlos' eyes widened. He hadn't thought about his helmet for the past week. He shook his head. There was no way he was getting his precious black piece of plastic back. At this point, he didn't even think he wanted it anymore. Gavin had beaten him with it, he wasn't going to forget that.

"I'm sorry Carlitos," Kendall said. "You lost it cuz of me, didn't you?"

Carlos shook his head again, this time more furiously. "No! Don't blame yourself, Kendall! It was just a helmet. Helmets can be replaced..." He looked into Kendall's piercing green eyes. "You can't."

Okay...so honestly. What'd you think of this chapter?