A/N. Thanks so much for reading, guys! All right, this is chapter one! The next one will pick up where prologue left off.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything!
"Hey, Kendall! Have you seen my skates?"
Kendall laughs and turns to look at Logan. "You lost your skates?" he asks teasingly. "Logan, I thought you were too organized to misplace anything."
Logan doesn't laugh. He has that deer in the headlights look that appears whenever something doesn't go according to one of his perfect little plans. "Kendall," he practically whines. "this isn't funny! We're supposed to be leaving now! Coach will kill me if we're late."
"Relax, Logan." Kendall says, calmer this time. He knows Logan can only be pushed so far before the teasing becomes something more. "I'll help you. Where did you leave them last?"
At first, he's not sure if Logan heard him because at the moment he's busy tearing apart the hall closet. But then he says, "In here!" so loudly that he catches the attention of their mother and sister.
"Boys! Logan, what in the world is going on?" Mrs. Knight demands, looking both amused and upset at the same time. "Sweetie, are you looking for something?"
"I think he is, Mom." Katie tells him, looking nothing more than amused. "Logan, you look insane right now."
"I'm looking for my skates," Logan says again. "have either of you-"
"in the basement," Mrs. Knight interrupts calmly. "along with all of the rest of your hockey gear." She smiles at the sight of the relief crossing Logan's face. "I told you that's where I wanted it," she reminds him gently. "I also told you that the last time you left it to smell up the closet, I would move it myself."
"Sorry, sorry, thank you." Logan throws over his shoulder as he hurries in the direction of the basement. "Kendall, I'm not dragging our stuff up too. Come on! We have to get going!"
Kendall flashes his mother a quick grin. "Thanks, Mom." He's about to say more, but another call from Logan has them all laughing and him hurrying to the basement stairs.
"Are you and Katie coming to the game tonight?" Logan asks as he heads toward the door. He pauses in his crazed dash long enough to give them both a hopeful look. After three years of belonging to his new family, he still has lingering doubts. Clearly, three years of constant love and affection cannot undo the eight years of damage his father laid on him. A hockey game was always an afterthought to his dad, and here it's the first thought because it involves him and Kendall. He's just not used to that.
"Of course, sweetie!" Mrs. Knight assures him, giving him a quick kiss. "We wouldn't miss it for the world. You'd better go though, we'll see you later, okay?"
Logan's face lights up and he nods before giving them a quick wave before striding quickly out the front door. Amused, Kendall waves too and follows his best friend and brother. "Slow down!" he calls out. "I'm the one driving, remember?" He pulls out his set of car keys and jingles them in front of Logan's face. "Calm down," he advices. "we've never been late to a game or practice in our entire lives. I think Coach will be able to handle this one time. We might not even be that late."
"The longer you drag this out, the later we'll be," Logan points out. "and I'd rather not test that theory of Coach getting mad at us."
As usual, Logan has a point and wins the argument, if it can even be called an argument. Kendall throws his gear bag in the back of the car and climbs in the driver's side. Logan is fidgeting nervously in the seat next to him and Kendall thinks grimly of the one thing Mr. Mitchell did leave behind for his son: A paranoid sense of punctuality. Is it totally wrong for him to be glad that his best friend's dad is dead? He's better of without him. Now they can right and wrong and-
"Kendall?" Logan says, breaking his train of thought. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, why?" Kendall focuses his gaze on the road, so Logan can't read him. He has the tendency to do that.
"I don't know, you just got quiet all of the sudden. I'm sorry if I-"
"It's not you," Kendall interrupted hastily. "It's never you, Logan. I promise. I was just. . . thinking about the game. I hope we can win because that means we'll have a spot in the play-offs."
Even with his gaze ahead of him, Kendall can sense Logan's doubtful stare. "Okay," he hears the younger boy say, much to his surprise. He doesn't believe him, but he's willing to let it go for now. They'll probably discuss this later. After all, they have all the time in the world.
Kendall knows within minutes of the game that they have their work cut out for them. Their opponents, from the rival high school, have always been ruthless competitors with a habit of bending or breaking the rules and somehow getting away with it. Today is no exception. James and Carlos have already been illegally checked into the boards and sent to the penalty box for retaliation. The main problem is, the referees only seem to notice when it favors the other team. Already, Kendall and his remaining teammates are scrambling to keep up with them.
Logan skates quickly to the side, dodging another check and glances over at Kendall, his expression mingling with frustration and worry. It's really bad today. Both teams are fighting for a spot in the play-offs and it appears that the other team will stop at nothing. "We've got to figure something out," Logan mutters as he skates by. "someone is going to wind up getting seriously hurt. . . or worse."
That's the last thing Kendall wants. He loves hockey and one day he hopes to play in the NHL, but his friends are way more important. He'd rather forfeit the game then have someone get hurt. "Let's just. . ." he sighs when the whistle blows, signaling them to the center of the ice for yet another face-off. "Let me see what I can do, okay?"
Predictably, Logan frowns. "Kendall-" he begins, but it's too late to say anything else. He tosses his friend a warning look and then settles into position.
Kendall looks around, taking in his surroundings. He doesn't plan to hurt anyone since that would be counter-productive, but he does plan on sending a message. He doesn't care if it takes him out of the game as long as it gives his teammates some protection. The idea thing would be to do it when the refs aren't looking though and they're almost always looking at him. Maybe if he could switch roles with Logan and give him the puck for a while. Hopefully he'll keep it long enough for Kendall to-
The whistle startles Kendall into action, but not soon enough to claim the puck. He growls in frustration and gives chase along with the rest of his team. Logan, the quickest skater is side by side with the other team's captain who grabbed the puck from Kendall and is trying to steal it. He's up there all by himself and this makes Kendall nervous, giving him a burst of energy. There was no way he's going to let them touch anyone else. Even as another opponent is reaching out with his stick to trip Logan up, Kendall is slamming him hard into the boards.
The check disrupts the game completely as Logan manages to steal the puck and whack it hard toward a teammate who promptly gets checked so hard that both he and the other boy wind up on the ice. They're fighting even before Kendall is back on his feet and the refs are rushing to intercede. Kendall sighs in relief when he sees that Chris, the teammate who was involved in the fight, looks unharmed. Unfortunately, he's headed to the penalty box where James and Carlos are just being released.
"Can't we ever have all our best guys on the ice at one time?" he mutters to Logan. "These refs suck. Katie could call a better game."
"Kendall-" Logan tries to warn, but it's too late.
The whistle blows again and Kendall finds himself being ordered to the penalty box along with Chris for "verbal harassment". His quick temper wants to protest, but he reigns it in and obediently follows his friend. "We're losing because of them, you know." he says once they're settled in. Jason merely nods grimly and with nothing better to do, they sit down and watch.
It happens so quickly that Kendall almost misses it. The skater who he checked away from Logan comes up on his brother so fast that the warning dies on Kendall's lips. He watches in horror as the scene unfolds before him. The bigger, bulkier skater smacking Logan with his stick hard behind the legs. Logan falling backward so fast that his helmet flies off. And finally, Logan's head striking the ice with a crack that Kendall somehow hears above the roar of the crowd. Then, Logan laying on the ice and not moving. Not at all.
Once it's over, things move from hyper speed to slow motion. As quickly as Kendall moves, he feels like he'll never reach Logan. The penalty box doesn't open right away. His skates feel extra heavy and when he first gets out onto the ice, he slips and falls. His lungs feel empty of oxygen, but he doesn't stop. He rises quickly to his feet and skates over to where Logan still hasn't moved. James and Carlos are already kneeling around him and he has to shove them aside. "Logan!" he shouts.
Logan doesn't answer him and tears immediately spring to Kendall's eyes. Tears that he suppresses as soon as he can. Don't cry! he orders himself. It's not going to solve any problems and Carlos is already in tears behind him. "Logan, can you hear me?" he asks, trying to keep his voice steady. "Bro?"
Logan's face is whiter than the ice underneath him and there is a steady pool of blood growing, staining the ice bright red. It makes him look even paler. He doesn't even flinch when Kendall calls his name. His chest is still rising and falling in a steady motion, but that's the only sign of life.
"Logan! Move aside, boys, give him some air!" The coach drops down next to Kendall, looking frightened which only scares Kendall more. All around them, the crowd is silent. "Logan? We need the medics out here, he needs to go to the hospital."
No, no, no, no, it's not that bad. It can't be that bad. Kendall can hardly breathe. He finds Logan's hands and grips it tightly in his own. The skin feels cold and lifeless and he rubs vigorously at it, hoping it will wake him up. "Logan, please," he begs. "Can you hear me?"
"Logan! Kendall!"
Kendall turns to see his mother walking out onto the ice, somehow steady despite the slippery surface and her obvious shock. The medics are close behind and soon overtake her. He reluctantly backs off so they can help Logan and skates over to his mom. "Mom," he whispers, sounding out of breath for some reason. "it's going to be okay. He'll be fine."
He realizes of course that this might be a huge lie, but he can't help it. He's grown up under the impression that if he loses it, everyone and everything around him will fall apart. If he cries, Logan won't be okay, and he has to be okay, so Kendall can't cry. It sounds like a mess, but it's really all tightly organized. It's like how Logan's whole routine can get messed up by one little thing going wrong. They're more similar than most people think. Logan is a huge part of Kendall's identity. He can't lose him.
A/N. I hope you liked this, in the meantime have a wonderful rest of the weekend!