AN: I'm back already! :D Thank you very much for reviews! Here is the third chapter, and it is big time James angst! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything!
Coffee. Yeah, coffee was something good to wake up to. Chocolate chip pancakes can be nice, too. Those were two things that were on Camille's list to wake up to, but a loud cry was not on there. She shot up in the bed and flung the blankets off of her body. Camille stumbled half-blind out of Kendall's bed , trying not to trample him in the process, and made her way down the hallway. Camille stood in the silent hall, breathing hard as she tried to figure out where the cry had come from. Two seconds later, another agonized cry came from…James' bedroom. Camille flung open his door and ran over to the side of the bed where James was thrashing around amongst his blankets. "James! James! Hey, wake up!" Camille said, grabbing both of his arms to keep him steady. Wait…BOTH arms? She looked down and saw his sling lying on the floor. "Oh no!" she exclaimed. "James! James!" she shouted, continuing to hold him down as he struggled against her. James cried out again, tears streaming down his face as the nightmare still held him captive. Camille loosened her grip a little on his wrists when his struggling finally became weaker as fatigue overwhelmed him. "James, it's okay. You're okay, we're home." she said, speaking a little softer this time. Suddenly, James' body slackened and his eyes flew open, revealing bright hazel eyes. Camille let go of his injured arm and put her hand on the side of his face comfortingly. "Hey, it's okay." she whispered, putting emphasis on the word "okay". James stared at her for a moment before throwing his one arm around her desperately. Camille exhaled deeply as she pulled the distraught boy closer to her. "It's okay. Shhh, it's okay. You're fine." she whispered, running a hand through his hair. James continued to cling to her, shaking like a leaf as he tried to convince himself that it had just been a nightmare. Camille picked up his sling and climbed onto the bed with him, stilling holding onto him as they got situated. "Is everything okay?" came a husky whisper from the doorway. There stood Kendall, supporting himself against the door with one arm wrapped protectively around the bandages around his abdomen, and his hair sleep-mussed as he stared at them worriedly. "Yeah, we're okay." Camille replied, wrapping an arm around James' shoulders as he curled up against her and buried his face in her shirt. "I'll come back to bed in a few minutes." she said. Kendall nodded, "Yeah. Take your time." he said, not being able to avert his gaze away from the curled up ball, his friend, James. Kendall glanced at Camille one last time and then he began to walk back to his bedroom unstably. Camille reached over with one hand and grabbed James' glass of water and bottle of hydrocodone. She pulled back from him a little ways and slipped the sling over his head before situating his arm into it. A sob escaped James' lips as the movement jarred his injured arm and Camille looked at him apologetically. Once the sling was back on James, Camille handed him one of his pills and a glass of water. It was 4:00am and he was way past the time for his next dose. James obediently took the pills she handed him and then laid back down against her. Camille rested her head on top of his and rubbed his uninjured arm comfortingly. "It's okay. It was just a dream, James." she whispered. She actually didn't know what the nightmare had been about, but she didn't have to know in order to tell him that he was safe. Camille held James closer as his shaking persisted and she continued to reassure him that everything was all right. She was going to stay right here until he fell asleep again, for however long that may be. Kendall knew that James needed her right now, and he appreciated the help and support Camille gave his best friends, so she didn't worry about him getting annoyed by her absence. Camille rubbed James' back and took a few deep breaths in attempt to slow down her heart rate. James was lying against her shoulder and chest, and the last thing he needed was to hear her heart pounding wildly - that would not necessarily be very calming. Camille brushed her fingers through his bangs, sweeping them off of his face. She smirked, James used soo many products in his hair, yet it was still extremely soft. When the tension lifted and things were actually peaceful again, she would definitely have to ask him how he pulled that off. Whenever Camille used just a tiny bit too much hairspray…her hair felt like sandpaper. James closed his eyes, dark eyelashes splaying against his pink cheeks, and took a shaky breath. Camille desperately wanted to know what was bothering James. She couldn't stand seeing him like this, but he didn't look like he wanted to talk at the moment. Camille closed her eyes and exhaled deeply as she felt hot tears begin to soak the fabric of her shirt. She glanced down, James' eyes were still closed, but tears were still running down his cheeks, and he was biting his lower lip. Suddenly, James Diamond, the unbelievably attractive guy with the angelic voice, was just a scared boy that just wanted the nightmares to stop. Camille reached over and tucked a stray strand of dark hair behind his ear, and he looked up at her. James' beautiful hazel eyes just stared at her sadly, silently begging her to help him sleep. Feeling helpless, Camille wrapped both arms around his shaking form, once again, and held him gently against her. James closed his eyes again and continued to cling to the tiny brunette, desperate for peaceful sleep.
Camille figured about thirty minutes went by before James' breathing evened out and his body relaxed against her. Camille waited another fifteen to twenty minutes, just to make sure James was asleep, and then gently got out from underneath him. She slowly reclined his head back against his pillow and pulled the blankets up to his shoulders before leaving the bedroom….keeping the door open. Once she was in the hallway by herself, Camille ran a shaky hand through her curls in frustration. Maybe things weren't going to go back to normal very quickly.
After gathering her wits about her and grabbing a bottle of water from the kitchen, Camille tiptoed back inside of Kendall's room. Surprisingly, Kendall was sitting up in the bed with the light on, sheets resting just below his navel, reading a book. Camille was tempted to stand in the shadow of the doorway and watch her gorgeous, half-naked boyfriend read his book - for hours. However, she was extremely tired (by now it was 5:15am) and she assumed Kendall was up waiting for her return. "Hey." she whispered, climbing into the bed with him. Kendall gave her a tired smile and set his book down on his bedside table. "Hey there. How's James doing?" he asked, lying back down underneath the covers. "He's not sleeping well, and when he actually does fall asleep, he has nightmares. None of us want to face the fact that what we went through in the woods is not going to disappear from our minds right away. I'm sure James had never seen you and I like that before - especially you. He's not going to bounce back easily. You and I won't either, even though we keep pretending nothing happened." Camille said. Kendall nodded and softly brushed his lips against hers. It was those feather-light kisses, his hot breath teasing her and soft mouth barely touching hers, that covered every inch of Camille's skin in goose bumps. Smiling, Camille kissed his neck before lying down next to him. "Thank you for helping him. I don't think he would be comfortable enough with Mom helping him, and Katie wouldn't know what to do." Kendall said. "Of course. I just want this whole ordeal behind us." Camille said, snuggling up to him as he put his arm around her. "Yeah, me too. It seems like whenever we decide to finally get over something that has happened, our mind doesn't let us." Kendall replied. He reached over and switched off the light, "Let's just get some sleep for now." he whispered, and Camille nodded against him. The question was, would they ever fully recover?
Well, my friends, things are no longer peachy! ;) Please review! I'll post another chapter this weekend if you guys review!
P.S. You guys should totally check out the online charity called Much More Than Me. You can purchase some really pretty shirts and some of the money goes towards helping animals in need. Kendall and the Schmidt family started it! So, go check it out and support Kendall and the homeless animals! I just ordered! :D