A/N: Okay guys, here is the next chapter! I have gotten a few new reviewers who have said hello and I am loving it! Please stop by and say hello or review! It just takes a second or two? :D
And of course, here is a snippet from the wonderful, amazing, awesome Past the Sorrow by waterwicca.
After being ushered in the right direction, Carlos made his way into the kindergarten classroom. He was happily greeted by his young teacher, Miss Dawson, and told to settle in and pick a cubby for his belongings. Skipping over to the storage area, Carlos shoved his bag into a random cubby carelessly, quickly growing bored with trying to make it fit and leaving it hanging halfway out of the box. The little brunette pivoted swiftly on his heels and surveyed the large room around him.
Miss Dawson remained by the door, greeting the new students as they trickled in from saying goodbye to their parents. A few girls were admiring each other's outfits, and another two boys were near him in the storage area already chatting softly. Carlos' found his full attention drifting to a small raven-haired boy sitting by himself at the opposite end of the room. The boy was wearing a dark blue sweater with a lighter blue collared shirt beneath it, and his hair was combed carefully into place, his whole appearance coming off as clean and well planned. He was sitting on a rainbow colored cushion, his back resting against a small bookshelf with his short legs folded beneath him and a thin book positioned delicately in his lap.
Carlos approached him slowly, curiously studying the other boy's movements. The quiet, pale boy closed the book he had and placed it carefully on the shelf behind him before scanning the other titles and picking out a new one and settling back into a comfortable position. The Latino tilted his head in confusion as he watched the boy open the new book from the back. It had large pictures on the pages with single sentences written boldly at the bottom. The boy read the last page for a few moments and then flipped it over to start from the beginning.
"Why do you do that?"
The quiet boy jumped when Carlos spoke, startled at the sudden appearance and voice of someone new. His chocolate eyes scanned him cautiously, taking in the boy's sloppy appearance. Carlos wore a long-sleeved orange shirt with a cartoon character on the front that he didn't recognize and bright green sneakers. One of his sleeves were pushed up to his elbow and the other was left pulled down, giving him an off balance look, but the asymmetry matched the boy's constantly shifting posture as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet and wouldn't stand still.
"W-What?"
"I don't really read a lot yet, but I think you're supposed to start from the other end," Carlos offered innocently, talking slowly, almost as if he was prepared to be corrected.
"You are!" the dark-haired boy assured him quickly, seeing the growing embarrassment on the Latino's face. "I just read the last page first so I know what happens," he shrugged and spoke softly, closing the book and clutching it tightly between his thin fingers.
"Doesn't that ruin the ending?" Carlos asked again, still absolutely confused at the action. The boy nodded simply.
"I don't like surprises."
"Oh…" Carlos looked at the small boy as if he grew another head before shrugging off his bewilderment and easily smiling as he collapsed heavily to the ground in front of the boy and held out his hand. "I'm Carlos Garcia."
He waited patiently as the other boy hesitated for a moment, studying Carlos' hand with shifting eyes before finally letting himself smile crookedly. He took the outstretched hand into his own and let Carlos control the firm handshake. His weak arm wobbled wildly in the happy boy's eager grasp.
"Logan Mitchell."
"Alright, everyone! We'll be getting started very soon. You'll need to get into groups of four…" Miss Dawson spoke at the center of the room and held up the desired number of fingers for all of the students to see, "… and we'll get to know each other."
"Cool!" Carlos was immediately excited for a new task. He turned away from the teacher and focused on his new friend. "How much more do we need, Logan?" he asked eagerly, leaning in to watch the pale boy for an answer.
"Two," Logan held up his fingers hesitantly, still a little taken aback by the Latino's energy that seemed to roll off of him in waves. He was used to being quiet and by himself, but this boy loved interaction.
"Mhm…" Carlos leaned onto his hands and surveyed the room behind him with his head titled all the way back so he viewed everything upside down. After giving his eyes a moment to adjust, he saw what he had been looking for. "How about that kid?" he wondered aloud, sitting up quickly and pivoting on his bottom so that he could point Logan in the right direction.
A delicate boy with shiny brown hair was hanging up his jacket on the opposite side of the room. He was taking his time to smooth out the wrinkles with slightly tan hands after he placed it on the hook. Carlos eyes lit up as he looked to the dark-haired boy for support.
"He's alone right now. Let's go be his friend!" he jumped up to his feet so fast that Logan got a little dizzy while his eyes tried to register the movement.
"You make it sound so easy," Logan seemed skeptical of his new companion's sanity, but smiled anyway.
Yup, well, there it is! I know you are going to want to review and read if you haven't already! This is an amazing story! My favorite on here!
Oh, and I think you'll enjoy the little surprise I put in here ;D
Chapter Thirty: Storms
"R-really?"
"Yeah."
Stella kept her eyes locked on Kendall, as if she was seeing him for the first time again. Her side view of Carlos was completely gone and irrelevant with Kendall Knight standing in front of her. She looked at how his fingers nervously tapped against the door, how his left leg shook a bit, and his voice seemed to be uneven and edgy, almost like how it was the first time he sang to her on Christmas morning. Kendall swallowed hard, not even being able to fathom that Stella was in front of him, nevertheless acting as if nothing had happened between them. He had dreamt of this for so many nights, he had wished for this on so many stars, and now she was finally here.
And Kendall had just begun to forget about her.
Immediately, Kendall brought his hands to his lips, feeling the fire from Jo's kiss days ago on them, as if she had just laid her lips on his minutes ago. He brought his hand down from his face, and sighed, drinking every aspect of her. She looked the same as Kendall had last saw her, just a little more tired, and a little more hungry. Her blonde hair was still gorgeous, and more golden than ever, Kendall realizing it was probably because she had been using his shower for however long she had been here. Her blue eyes sparkled in the Minnesota sun, Kendall able to see faint rainbows in them. He smile even more when he realized she was wearing his sweatshirt, looking like it had belonged on her in the first place.
It was then Kendall remembered how she had greeted him.
Just using his first name.
He closed his eyes for a second, but a myriad of memories seeped into his brain from those two words. He had only really heard her say his first name solitarily when they made love. It was if a slideshow of their trysts began to play in Kendall's head, warm skin against warm skin, Stella's head back in ecstasy, Kendall's head hung as he powerfully took her with everything he had. It brought back her taste, her scent, her sounds and her life.
There was silence as a faint wind blew between the two. Carlos looked back from Kendall to Stella, his eyes going over the intense stare that was between them.
He had heard of Stella, and he knew Kendall. He now knew Stella. Carlos had thought he had figured it all out, and all of their feelings out in the market, and on the walk over here, but he couldn't have been more wrong. The way that Stella and Kendall reacted towards each other, in stare, voice, and sound was absolutely the most amazing thing Carlos had witnessed. He had never seen Kendall so absolutely confused and withdrawn as he did when the boy's eyes laid on Stella. It was like watching someone discover the cure for cancer, or watching someone witness their child's first steps. It was an awakening, an eye-opening experience in which nothing could be explained about feelings except pure joy and rapture. The boy felt a bit awkward being part of such an intimate moment, not being able to handle the scene well at all. He hadn't seen two people look at each other like this in such a long time, with their eyes shining and everything else about them starting to crumble underneath their strong feelings. As the seconds went, Carlos began to feel more and more confused about what was going on between Kendall and Stella, but understood it more on a level that was far too advanced from his usual thinking. After all the time denying Kendall and Stella's love from the moment the boy had told them about the girl that had stolen his heart, and after all the time spent trying to convince Kendall he wasn't in love with her, Carlos knew better.
Kendall loved Stella, and Stella loved Kendall.
"Uh…I guess I'll just…be off," Carlos said softly, feeling the tension on the porch and wanting to give the lover's privacy. Kendall and Stella snapped out of their gazes for the first time since laying eyes on one another, looking at Carlos with a worried, confused face.
"No, you can stay man, I just—I, we have to get back to the hospital and," Kendall muttered out nervously, his eyes going back to Stella's, getting lost in the hypnotizing blue trance.
"It's fine dude, I have to drop these off at home, and the hospital isn't far from my house, I'll take the bus," Carlos told him with a smile. Kendall knew Carlos hated the bus, but that he was offering so Kendall could have a moment alone with Stella. Kendall anxiously dug into the pocket of his jeans, and took out a wrinkled five dollar bill left over from the chocolate bar and water bottle he had bought at the hospital earlier this morning. He handed it out to Carlos with a desperate look on his face, biting his lower lip ashamed. He knew he shouldn't put Stella first, but the way he looked in Carlos' eyes, it was almost as if Kendall understood Carlos was alright with this. The Latino looked like he had been reborn in a way, his fresh faced smile coming out as he looked between Kendall and Stella, finally recognizing the strong feelings between them.
"Take this. I'll be there as soon as I can, alright? I promise. I'll make sure to be there to give you and your mom a ride, okay?" Kendall told him, taking a step down from the door, his green orbs connecting with Stella's every few seconds. Carlos nodded and Kendall sighed upset, knowing he was doing the wrong thing, but not having a choice in this moment. "Text me when you get there, alright? Please?" Kendall begged of him, taking another step closer to him, moving past Stella, and resting a hand on his shoulder. Carlos nodded and smiled, putting Kendall's ragged face at ease, his eyes going up to Stella and then back to Kendall.
"Don't worry, dude. I get it," Carlos whispered. "I'm going to be just fine," he told him. Kendall smiled at him and hit his shoulder playfully biting his lower lip as Carlos peered over Kendall's shoulder to Stella, who stood watching the boys with a smile. She had never seen Kendall interact with his friends before, and it was a pleasing sight to watch. It made her happy to see him so caring and compassionate like she had known him the first week they had met.
"Good-bye, Stella. It was nice meeting you," Carlos told her giving her a slight wave.
"You too, Carlos. Your father is in my thoughts," she added nicely, Carlos nodding respectively and looking back at Kendall with a deep breath.
"I'll see you soon, alright? Take your time here," Carlos warned him with a smug grin, masking all of the pain on his face as he remembered where he was going. Kendall nodded and sighed, still not feeling at peace with his decision, but accepting it as Carlos had with a smile.
"Thanks, Carlitos," Kendall whispered with a smile. Carlos looked from Kendall to Stella and chuckled with a smile.
"You crazy kids don't do anything stupid, alright?" he told them, as he began to walk backwards down the path of the Knight house with a comical grin, Stella smiling and laughing modestly as Kendall awkwardly laughed, and turned to the blonde girl just a few feet from him. Carlos slowly began to walk away from the house, Kendall's eyes locked on him as he disappeared thanks to the heavy shrubbery two houses down, blocking the sidewalk corner. Kendall turned back to Stella again, hands stuck in his pockets, as she eagerly looked into his eyes, hoping that something good would come out of this.
"I thought I'd never see you again," Kendall said outright, looking deep into her irises, his hands still in his pockets, not wanting to touch her or anything like that. He didn't want to get to comfortable, and he didn't want to hurt her. The last time he had touched her, it had been when he hit her. Kendall wanted to forget about that, but his eyes instantly went to the skin under the eye where he had hit her. Kendall didn't know if he had left a bruise or a mark, seeing as more than enough time had passed for it to fade into her skin.
"I thought that too," Stella told him awkwardly, looking up at him, twisting the shopping bag in her hands with heavy breaths. Stella wasn't afraid of Kendall in the slightest. She knew that he had never meant to hurt her and that it was simply his anger. True, Stella had heard from Carlos that he had begun to control it, but she didn't know if that was with just his friends. How did Stella know Kendall wasn't going to lose control and hit her again? How did she know that he wasn't playing some sort of sick mind game and was still angry about Cooper? How did she know that he wasn't in love with this girl who he had gone on a date with?
The only thing Stella could hold onto was the fact that when she had tried to forget Kendall, absolutely nothing worked.
There was hope.
Something she had never had before.
"I guess…you've been…living here?" Kendall asked her, scratching the back of his neck and sighing, Stella instantly tensing a bit and wondering if Kendall was angry about that. She hadn't planned on staying long at all, hoping to find clues to where Kendall was in California, but she had heard nothing.
"I'm—sorry. I wasn't planning on it, I came to look for you," she told him with a sweet whisper of a voice and a sympathetic smile. Kendall nodded with a small smile on his face.
"It's—alright. It's not a problem," he said to her with a smile. "As long as you had somewhere safe to sleep, I don't care where it is," he reiterated, causing Stella to smile. There was that awkward silence again as Stella sighed and looked up at Kendall, not knowing where to go from here. She wanted nothing more than to kiss him, and throw herself into his arms, but it wasn't the right time. They needed to talk about all of this, and fast. Kendall had Carlos waiting, and the more time Stella took to sort things out was the more time that she had to take from Kendall and herself living their lives.
"Your letter, Kendall…" Stella told him, biting her lower lip and closing her eyes.
She began to breathe heavily, and remember the letter he had written out, his heart and soul poured into it. The fact that she hadn't read it when Kendall wanted her to put a knife through her heart, and even more so the fact that as Kendall was opening it, and finding out that she hadn't gotten it after all those weeks, she was probably enamored with Cooper, laying there like his own person rape victim. Tears stung her eyes and she swallowed hard, her throat dry as everything came back to her in a moving picture montage. She hoped that Kendall wasn't angry about her reading the letter and snooping in his drawers, or reading the song that he had written for her over and over again. She could nearly recite the letter, and all the good things about it.
"It was so beautiful," she told him, opening her eyes, and a tear sneaking down her cheek. Stella quickly wiped it away, not wanting to play the pity role for him, forcing him to comfort her. There was silence as the wind blew through the trees, the sun beaming down on the two who stood awkwardly on the Knight's porch.
"I'm glad you got to read it," Kendall told her with a stoic face, looking at her with a sigh. Stella knew that he was still hurt by her actions, and even more so because of the circumstances of the letter. "It meant a lot to me that you get it, no matter what," he told her with a small smile on his face.
"So I guess we should…talk?" she asked him awkwardly, biting her lower lip and sighing. Kendall nodded and looked down at his feet, then back up at her.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," he said. Stella offered Kendall the bag of bread and soup as he took with an expressive face on, Stella sighing with a small smile.
"Carlos bought it for me. But, I won't be needing it. I'll be leaving after we speak. I have to head out home," Stella told him, the word home sounding odder to her than ever before. Kendall looked up at her in surprise at the last word of her sentence.
"Home?" he asked her. Stella nodded and bit her lower lip, shrugging her shoulders.
"Back to Thief River Falls. It seems good things happen to me there," she told him with a smile, her whole face lighting up. Kendall sighed and nodded, giving her a smile as he looked in the bag once more, and then twisted it around his hand, Stella playing with her fingers nervously. He took a deep breath, and dug in his pocket for his keys, taking them out quite victorious, a smile and idea spreading across her face.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to bring you somewhere," Kendall told her with a smile. Stella looked at him a bit confused, but those pleading green eyes looked at her with every good intention in mind. There was no way she could say no, no way that she even wanted to say no.
"Okay."
James and Logan sat on the couch of 2J with Katie beside them, and awkward silence between all of them. They had all been desperately worried about Carlos and Kendall since they had dropped them off at the airport. It was if Logan and James just stayed inside the apartment all the time, waiting for both of them to come back through the door, completing the last two sides of their square.
Katie was reading one of those trashy pop magazines that she had stolen from James' room, Logan sat on the couch picking at his nails awkwardly, as he read the rest of his A encyclopedia, and James just sat there emotionless, texting someone on his phone. It wasn't like James and Logan were angry with each other, or anything like that, it was just weird not having Kendall and Carlos here, especially when they knew that their best friend was in need. They hadn't really heard from the boys, except when they had landed in Minnesota, but that was strictly it. Mrs. Knight had talked to Kendall a few times, but other than that, they had spent most of their time at the hospital from what Kim had told them with a mother's smile, assuring them that everything with Carlos' father was going to be just fine.
James sighed and opened the text message he had received from Lianna.
From: Lianna
You alright?
James swallowed hard and smiled a bit, noticing that Lianna had seen his lackluster of emotion and overall happiness through his text messages. The two had been talking more and more the past few days, but since Carlos and Kendall had left, James was a bed of nerves. He hadn't talked to her much at all since the boys left, and hadn't seen her face since the day before. James knew he was pulling away for a stupid reason, and that Lianna was desperately trying to get him to loosen up a bit.
Their relationship was chaotic as James could handle, if you could even call it a relationship. What they were doing was the exact thing that James had made fun of for Carlos even wanting, as he looked back at home at all the girls he couldn't possibly have. It was that innocent, learning, getting to know the girl kind of relationship that James had no idea what to do or how to act in. It made him scared, and he didn't know how to react. Lianna seemed to have been worried about his distance, especially under the circumstances she was aware of. James had shot her a text the moment he had found out about Carlos' father in the apartment with him, watching the Latino run into his room and pack his life away.
It was a quick, two second thing to send, "Carlos' dad is hurt, can't talk right now," but the fact that Lianna cared enough to send back "He and his family are in my prayers. Keep me updated, and if you need me I'm here 3" with a little heart at the end of text, made James' hear fly up like he never had before.
To: Lianna
I don't know…
James felt he couldn't be anything less than honest with Lianna, and sent her exactly how he felt at the moment. He sighed and let his phone fall onto the couch next to him, as Logan closed his book, and reached for his phone which was vibrating on the table.
Logan picked up his phone and slid it open, looking at the incoming text from Camille, who's name was adorned with a small heart in his contacts. Ever since Logan and Camille's date the night before where they became official, Logan hadn't talked much to her either. They had plans to meet for a brunch downstairs in the Palm Woods Café which they had made yesterday, but after finding out about Carlos' father, Logan was hesitant to go. Only after some encouraging words from James, and of course the absolute push of it from Katie, Logan had retreated downstairs to brunch with Camille.
When Logan didn't kiss back when greeting her, she thought instantly that maybe he had changed her mind about last night, not knowing about Carlos' dad until afterwards. Logan nearly cried in his new girlfriend's presence, and that nearly made Camille cry, holding Logan's hand across the table as he worried about Carlos, and worried about Kendall.
From: Camille
If you need anything Logie please just tell me. Hope everyone is doing alright
Logan smiled a bit at the text, thinking about texting back but sighing, knowing that he couldn't even handle talking to Camille right now. It would just make him more upset, especially since she was so caring and wanted to talk about it to make Logan feel better. Right now, the boy just needed to be alone, but in the presence of other company, such as Katie and James.
He looked at the recent calls on his phone, one from Camille, two from his mother, and then the call from his father that just seemed to linger along with the rest of them.
Logan wanted to talk to his father, especially after finding out about Mr. Garcia. He wanted to call his dad and tell him he loved him, and that things were just so screwed up, that he didn't want to deal with it. He wanted everything to be alright, to be a kid again and not know that everyone had flaws. It was a wish Logan hadn't thought of in years, and it scared him.
"It's so quiet without stupid and stupider here," Katie said softly, bringing the magazine down to her thighs and sighing, looking around the apartment. James and Logan both chuckled.
"Well who's stupid and who's stupider?" James asked the girl, who smiled at the conversation. Katie sighed and pondered the thought with a smile.
"Well, Carlos is definitely stupid when it comes to math and stuff like that, but my brother is just an idiot. I don't know…I guess it's tied," she said with a smile, looking back at Logan. Logan looked at the fresh faced younger sister of his best friend and smiled. Katie really was more sarcastic and wise beyond her years, and he knew that while she made fun of Kendall all the time, that she truly loved him more than she could imagine. After Kris had died, Katie had depended on Kendall so much, after he responded to his family when his anger had ceased. Logan remembered the time about six months after Mr. Knight died, when it was her first day of fifth grade. Kim had only been able to stay with her daughter for a few minutes when she got settled into her classroom, and while all the other mothers and fathers stayed into the first thirty minutes of class. Sitting alone, trying to muster up the courage to be independent, Katie fought back tears as she organized her desk. It was the first, first day of school that her father wasn't at, and now her mother had to work. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up, seeing Kendall, who had a free period from the high school just a few blocks away smiling at her, his cheeks red from the cold and his bangs plastered to his face.
"Fifth grade is a big deal, Kates. You didn't think I was gonna not be here for it, did you Baby Sister?"
Katie had never cried into her brother so hard.
Logan was brought back to reality with Kim's heels on the hardwood floor of the apartment, more frantic than he expected. Her face was a bit torn and she held the cordless in her hand putting it down on the table with a sunken face, her eyes teary.
"Katie, could you go start packing, baby?" Kim said, trying her best to keep the voice in her throat strong. Both James, Katie and Logan looked at Kim like she was crazy, obviously very confused.
"Where are we going?" she asked confused. Kim tried to give her a smile and nod, knowing that her daughter was going to ask questions.
"Home. Just for a day or two," she told the small girl. Katie looked at her confused, and then back at James and Logan whose faces were starting to get a bit nervous. She didn't know the real truth about Carlos' father, just that he had broken a leg and gotten hurt on the force. She didn't know that Mr. Garcia was in critical condition, and now as Kim had just learned, on the edge of death.
"But why?" she asked.
"Just…go pack, sweetie. We'll talk on the plane tomorrow, alright?" Kim told her, wiping her eyes a bit with her fingers, trying to hide her tears from her youngest. She knew she was going to have to face James and Logan in seconds, and had to prepare for it. Katie sighed a bit annoyed, and picked up her magazine, grumbling as she walked back to her room. Kim's eyes followed her as James and Logan stood up, knowing that this wasn't good.
"W-what's wrong Mrs. Knight?" Logan asked her.
"It's Carlos' dad, boys. Mrs. Garcia just called…they don't think he's going to make it," Kim told them, her voice breaking with sadness and upset. James and Logan instantly looked at the woman with wide eyes, both of their stomachs dropping and mouths open in shock.
"B-but you said he was alright?" James exclaimed, getting a bit angry with what Kim was telling him. The woman wiped her eyes and sighed, her hands shaking a bit.
"I don't know what to tell you, James. Listen, I already talked to Griffin and Gustavo, and we are all flying out to Minnesota to be with Carlos. He needs us right now," Kim told them, sniffling and sighing as she chewed her lower lip.
"Fuck," Logan said outright, his voice beginning to break. James ran his hands through his hair as if he didn't know what to do with himself, a sadistic smile on his face, as if he were trying to believe this wasn't happening.
"You boys should go pack," Kim said, picking up the phone with a shaky throat. "I have to make sure that the ticket transactions went through on Griffin's credit card," she said swallowing hard, walking away from them, leaving the two boys with heavy hearts, and a pool of hideous silence between them.
James and Logan did nothing, not move an inch, not breathe a breath as their terror filled eyes caught each other in a deathly intimate and terrified stare.
Things were changing.
There was a storm brewing.
Kendall and Stella drove through the shady, narrow paths of the cemetery in his car, not saying much to each other. The drive from Kendall's house to here was basically silent, with Stella leaning against the car window, looking at the passing town of Sherwood, thankful she wasn't on foot for once.
The entire drive, every five seconds Stella would gear her head back to look at Kendall's concentrated and worried green eyes, stuck on the road ahead of him. She could see that every time he was stopped at a red light, his hands would clench the wheel and look like he was fixing something on it, or he'd look at his cell phone and try to busy himself until the light turned green again. Stella knew it was because of her, and it hurt her to see it. She didn't want Kendall to act awkward around her. She didn't want anything from him but to have one nice talk with him, and kiss his lips one last time before she'd have to leave him forever.
Stella hadn't even bothered to ask Kendall where they were going, trusting him willingly with her life. She knew he had to be back at the hospital for Carlos soon, and that wherever he was taking her wouldn't be too far away. As they passed the market, and the other houses and shops of Duluth, she wondered what was going through Kendall's mind. Was he trying his best to keep from hitting her again? Was everything coming back to him in one big wave to his mind? Did he still feel the same about her?
The initial "God I missed you" at the door could've been due to shock, surprise, or any other emotion. Stella didn't know if it was true, or even what it meant. In the movies, people who loved each other who hadn't seen each other in a long time usually ran into each other's arms in awe, absolutely enthralled in the other's lips, and hands, and body. But not Stella and Kendall. But then again, their relationship was never normal.
"A cemetery?" Stella finally asked him, turning the boy confused. Kendall took a deep breath and nodded, his eyes guiding past the road up to the headstones, turning the car effortlessly down one of the paths. Stella could see that the boy had made this journey many times, and he knew the path like he knew how to ride a bike. It was only after seeing Kendall take a shaky deep breath, and pull the car over to the side that she knew what was happening.
Kendall's father was buried here. Stella looked out the window and swallowed hard, a little intimidated by the fact that he had brought her here. This was obviously very personal for Kendall and truthfully, Stella didn't know if she could handle all of this right now. She looked up at the sky and saw the grey clouds of a Minnesota rainstorm begin to roll in, setting an all over ominous setting over the patterns of headstones decorating the green grass. Kendall turned the car off and sat back in his seat, biting his lower lip, and turning to the blonde girl, who looked back at him, still snuggling into his sweatshirt.
"I—I want you to meet my father, Stella," Kendall told her with a faint smile, as if the drive to the cemetery hadn't been awkward at all. She smiled patiently and nodded, Kendall still feeling the need to explain himself. "You've heard so much about him, so, I figured…I should take you here. It seems all good conversations happen in front of him," Kendall said with a smile, remembering the conversation he had with James, Carlos and Logan in front of the headstone when he had returned back from the Tregger's the first time, after their initial fight.
"Let's go," Stella said with a smile and adventurous grin, getting out of the car without any words, and shutting the door tightly. Kendall sat in the car and watched her begin to walk forward, her blonde hair bouncing behind her as she looked left and right for his father's headstone. Kendall smiled and chuckled, taking his key from the ignition, getting out of the car and shutting the door. He waltzed his way up to Stella, where she stood, finally finding the headstone that was Kendall's fathers. She smiled, kneeling down at the small, tattered picture of their family that had been taken a few years back. Kendall was a bit shorter with more roundness in his face, and Katie was still small enough to fit comfortably in the teenager's arms. Stella looked at how Kris' arm was tight around Kendall's shoulder. It was the first time ever seeing the man in a picture, and already, Stella felt like she had recognized him and knew him personally. He really did look just like Kendall, and it was something that made her heart swell with joy.
She turned to Kendall who stuck his hands in his pockets and sighed, smiling at her the best he could, while biting his lip. He felt awkward for sure, and didn't know how this was all going to down. He was almost glad he had a time limit with Stella, seeing as he might just stay here forever and talk to her about everything that was going on.
"Y-you can sit," he mumbled out, extending his hand to the spot in front of his father's grave. Stella sat down gingerly, pushing her hair to one side of her head and combing her fingers through at as Kendall accompanied her. He sighed and softly touched the headstone with a smile, as if he were saying hello to his father in the kitchen after school.
Kendall sighed and looked at her with a smile, swallowing hard. He didn't know what to say, but he knew how he felt. He loved Stella. He loved her now, he would love her always, and he didn't know how he was going to tell her that they weren't going to be together. It killed him, but he knew he had to let her go. They weren't right for each other, and love is something that cannot be forced. Kendall did feel that it was meant to be, and as much as he tried to let go of that he couldn't.
"Dad, this is the girl I've been telling you about…Stella," Kendall told the headstone with a small smile, looking back at the blonde with admiration. Kendall had hoped that he wasn't going to have to feel awkward in this situation, and that Stella would feel weird talking back to an inanimate object.
"Hi, Mr. Knight," Stella said with a smile. "I've heard a lot about you." There was silence between the two, Kendall sighing deeply, as the wind began to pick up a bit, the grey clouds in the sky getting darker and darker.
"Did you mean what you said at the door?" Stella asked feebly, looking at him with a small smile, hoping with everything in her heart it wasn't just shock.
"Yes. Of course," Kendall replied immediately, moving a bit closer to her as they began to talk. "Of course I missed you," he told her with a small smile. Stella wanted to do nothing more but take his face in her hands and kiss him with everything she had, but she knew she couldn't. It was far too soon for anything like that.
"I missed you too," Stella told him with a smile. Kendall nodded and swallowed hard.
Silence again.
Stella looked at Kendall and smiled, trying her best to hold back some sort of tears that she felt springing to the surface. She blinked them away the best she could, feeling victorious as the wind helped her efforts.
"You're singing now? In front of people?" Stella asked him with a smile. Kendall became a bit more relaxed in the conversation and nodded, with a smile.
"Yeah, I am actually. Nothing too big yet, but it's slowly happening. Just like you said," he added in with a whisper, his facial expression changing to one of pure joy. In that moment, Stella felt as if Kendall inviting her to Christmas Eve was yesterday, when in actuality it was months ago. She remembered Kendall's gentle touch on her hands and how he had begged her to spend Christmas Eve with him. She thought of how they had been each other's first times in the cabin that night, and how Stella had never felt better in her entire life.
"I'm glad," Stella said after a few moments, letting the memories wash over her.
Kendall noticed the hesitation, and saw the look in her clear blue eyes, as if he was watching a film reel of their time together tick through her head. He smiled at her and leaned back on his hands, very nervous unto where this conversation was headed. It was like a storm… intense and unpredictable.
"Stella…why'd you come here? To Duluth?" Kendall asked her in a airy way, making no negative connotation was put into his words. He was a bit relieved when he saw her face turn into one of wonder rather than sadness. He kept thinking that she was going to say to get him, to somehow prove to them that their love was going to survive Kendall's hit, and he also half expected her to lash out on him for touching her in the first place. Kendall didn't know what to expect.
"Why do you think?" Stella asked him quietly, not sure what she wanted to say to him at the moment. Kendall sighed and looked at her a bit frustrated with her throwing the question back at his face.
"I'm not playing games…I want to know," he told her curtly, using his first bit of strong attitude towards her. Stella nodded, knowing that he was serious, the look in her brown eyes burning through her blue ones. She swallowed hard and laid back a bit, her fingers gently touching the cold headstone, her other hand clutching her jacket to her breast.
"I know that you tried to forget me, Kendall," Stella told him nodding. "W-when I got into your house," Stella said awkwardly, realizing they hadn't really said too much about that, even though Kendall had told her it was alright, "I saw that you had left the note and the song. I figured that since you left for California, you wanted a fresh start," she said. Kendall nodded, wanting her to continue and she looked at him with a small smile. "I tried that. I tried to get you out of my life, cause I felt I didn't deserve you…and look at what I did," she told him, getting a chill from the thought of Cooper's hands all over her. "The only reason you are trying to forget me, is because of what I did when I was trying to forget you," she told him with a slight, sadistic chuckle in her voice. "It's a vicious cycle, Kendall. It never ends," she said with a frown, shaking her head.
Kendall didn't say anything but nod, taking everything in that she had said, trying to figure out what she really meant in all of this.
"So…you came back here, so I wouldn't forget you?" he asked her confused, his thick brows furrowed. Stella sighed and nodded no, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
"I came back, because I wanted you to know that I still love you, Kendall," she told him, breathing out slowly and opening her eyes with a small, helpless smile. "I love you so much, and I don't think I'll love anybody like this again, if I ever love at all," she told him with a chuckle, her eyes starting to water a bit. "But I know that we can't be together," she affirmed, causing the boy's lovesick trance to be broken as he stared into her eyes. Kendall scrunched his face a bit, very shocked at what she was saying.
"W-what?" he asked her, not noticing the stumbling in his voice.
"I love you. And I know you still love me, but w-we can't be together," she told him sadly, as if the fact that she was saying it was sending a knife through her heart. "It's not fair to either of us, and we both know it," she said breathily, looking down at her hands, not able to look in his green eyes. "We're not normal," she chuckled out a bit, causing Kendall to smirk, and move a bit closer to the blonde, feeling more and more comfortable. The air began to feel wet around them, the wind whipping around them as the trees and mementos of lives lost shook in the air.
"I know we aren't," Kendall told her with a soft chuckle, clearing the anxiety in his throat. He looked up at her with a small smile and sighed, not being able to take his eyes off of her. "That's how we work. Fighting, yelling, having sex after three days of meeting," Kendall told her with a chuckle as Stella smiled at him. "It works for us," he told her, "but you're right."
Stella looked up at him with a smile, feeling almost a weight being pulled off her shoulders. This is what she needed. The closure. The mutual feeling of love, but knowing that she could never be with Kendall. Here he was, about to be famous, and she was still the same runaway she was when she had met him nearly six months ago. She looked up into his celery colored eyes that smiled at her under thick brows and sighed deeply.
"But I'll always love you, Kendall Knight," she told him. Kendall nodded.
"I'll always love you too," he whispered. "My mom told me that sometimes you have to let the people you love go so they can be happy," he said swallowing hard, "and I think that applies here. I love you Stella, with all my heart, but we aren't right for each other," he said. Stella nodded sadly.
"It sucks…but it's true," she said, looking up at him with dark eyes. "I wish this was a better situation," she said.
"Well, I still think we were meant to be," Kendall told her confidently with a smile on his face, his eyes going to his father's grave and then back to her.
"How so?" she asked.
Kendall chuckled and smirked, moving closer to her, now just inches from her. "My dad sent you. A lot of people don't believe me, but I'm telling you. He sent you, Stella. Look at what you did for me," he told her with a smile. "I can sing in front of people now, just like you said I could. My anger got worse because of you, but then it was all put aside. It had to get worse before it got better, and you helped me through it. You got me through the first Christmas without my father, and gave me someone I could talk to. You gave me the best nights of my life, the best I've ever felt," he told her with a hint of seduction in his voice, a blush creeping to her face with a chuckle. Kendall took her hands and sighed deeply, looking at his father's headstone. "Right, dad? All of those reasons are why you sent her, but I know the main reason why," he said looking at the stone and then smiling at Stella. "You were sent to me by my father, so he could make sure I knew true love existed in this world," he told her, "and that it reigns over everything," he ended softly in a whisper, the feeling of Stella's warm hands on his like magic. Stella looked at their intertwined hands and gasped a bit, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks, a soft boom of thunder echoing throughout the deserted graveyard.
And then, the storm came.
Sheets of rain began to fall down on the two lovers, their hands still grasped as they both got up quickly and began to ran towards the car. Kendall shouted a quick good-bye to his father, as they ran in half-hysterics and half- laughs to the car just down the small hill, the rain soaking them to the extreme. Kendall and Stella, out of breath, leaned against the car, as the rain fell down around them, nothing else heard in the deserted cemetery. Stella had been maneuvered so she was pinned up against the car, looking up at Kendall's eyes with a scared, lustful look. He swallowed hard and smiled softly, his hands on her hips and gently crashed his lips into hers.
Stella immediately wrapped her hands around Kendall's neck, his wet blonde hair falling over his eyes as their tongues met in passion and fury for the last time. Kendall's sweatshirt on Stella's body was heavy and soaking, as she parted the kiss and immediately took it off, throwing it beside her on the ground, her arms instantly wrapping around Kendall's neck.
This was the last time.
She immediately moved her hips to his, hitching her legs around his torso, causing the boy to grunt, the friction pressing down on his semi-erect length. Stella and Kendall's lips messily met amongst the powerful rain, not even caring if they were in the middle of the cemetery as he caught her legs tightly, pinning her against the car. Leaning back against the side of the car, Kendall immediately brought his hand to Stella's braless chest, and cupped it through the wet, thin fabric immediately massaging her exposed nipple. The touch of Stella's body was just how Kendall remembered it, so soft and sweet, yet rugged and sexual. He gently massaged the pink bud, allowing her soft moans and cries to be controlled by his simple hand movements.
"I miss you," Stella cried into him, warm tears starting to fall from her eyes, her shaking hands holding onto his neck. Kendall went to her ear, and began to bring his hands down to her jeans, unbuttoning them quickly, pinning her up more against the car.
"Don't miss me yet, Stella," Kendall told her with a sour, shaky voice. Stella stood on her own two feet as Kendall pulled her jeans down and off her feet quickly, as well as her underwear. Not showing any shame, he quickly exposed himself, his hands shaking from the rain and anxiety as he unbuckled his belt, and unzipped his fly, all the while Stella kissed him passionately and messily. Her hands ran through his hair, not caring her bottom half was completely exposed as the rain fell on her sweet, soft skin.
Once Kendall was exposed, Stella quickly returned to her original position, the feeling of their warm lower halves meeting absolutely beyond intoxicating for the two lovers. Kendall still roughly massaged her breast again her blonde hair dangling off her shoulders. She looked so submissive in front of him, and Kendall couldn't take it. Not much time to feel around, Kendall quickly brought his hand to her slick, warm center, and rubbed roughly with his palm, feeling her throb under his touch. Stella groaned in ecstasy, the feeling of Kendall's warm hands touching her in the cold rain heavenly, deciding to bring her hands to his length. She gave him one long stroke on the underside with her thumb, causing their kissing to break and him to hang his head in ecstasy, his entire body shaking. Knowing that they wouldn't last much longer otherwise, Kendall went to Stella's neck and slowly gnawed on her pulse point, as he powerfully thrust into her, her hips hitting the car roughly and letting out a moan.
Making sure to keep her pinned with the car, Kendall began to rock his hips, as Stella held onto his back tightly. The car moved a bit with them, the rain and thunder surrounding them as the two wet bodies moved in completely motion, heavy breaths being passed between blue lips. Stella and Kendall didn't kiss, but rested their foreheads against one another, looking into each other's eyes as they made love. Kendall held her hips tightly, tenderly kissing her lips every so often, as tears rolled down Stella's face. Her silent moans of wonder and joy were felt by Kendall with each thrust, as he squeezed into her warm confines, knowing that they were getting closer and closer to the end. Their hips met in thrusts towards each other, the feeling of each other's bodies absolutely wondrous. The rain got even harder as Kendall and Stella neared the end of their tryst.
"I wanna hold on, but I can't," Stella told him with a weak voice, near hysterics as he moved in and out of her losing breath. She never wanted this to end, and now she knew this would be the last time.
"I know, love," he told her with a shaky voice, it breaking as they neared the end, knowing this would be the last time they ever made love. Kendall swallowed hard, trying to keep his tears in eyes but a few sneaking out along with the powerful rain.
"I l-love y-you," Stella cried out with all the energy she had left, her voice starting to tense up as Kendall gave her one final thrust, and her legs began to jerk, a rush of pleasure to the apex of her thighs.
Stella came powerfully, Kendall trying his best to work her through it before he enjoyed his own orgasm, looking at the mix of love, and pure horror on her face as she felt Kendall release inside of her for the last time. She immediately began sobbing as Kendall came with a heavy hearted grunt, Stella making the move to snap her hips up and immediately milk him through it, giving him sweet kisses on his neck and ear as they began to slow down. The rain still pelted down around them, as Kendall rubbed up and down Stella's bare legs wrapped around him in the soaking weather, her head buried in his neck, crying into him hysterically.
"Never forget me, Kendall," she told him out of breath, addressing him by his first name, her hands rubbing his wet hair at the back of his neck.
"I won't Stella," he told her with soft tears, holding her tight. "I promise."
After a few minutes of just laying inside of each other, Stella shifting her hips a bit to feel Kendall's softened length, they finally separated and began to take cover in the car, ditching their jeans and just sitting in the backseat, just enjoying each other's presence while they still could. Kendall had his arm around Stella, as she rested her head on his chest, his hands gently massaging her hip under her soaked t-shirt.
"We have to make sure that was the last time, or else it's just gonna be harder to stop," Stella told him, a bit calmed down from the escapade just a few minutes ago. Rain pattered on the windows not nearly as much as before, but still in moderate amounts. Kendall nodded and kissed Stella's forehead softly with a sad chuckle.
"I was gonna settle for just a kiss good-bye, but that worked too," he said. Stella smiled and closed her eyes, nestling more into Kendall with a sigh.
"I'm glad it happened, even if we are shameless enough to have sex in a cemetery," she told him. He sighed and licked his lips awkwardly, nuzzling into her damp hair.
"We have to get back soon. Check up on Carlos," Kendall told Stella, his words being interrupted by the shrill rock and roll song on his cell phone. Kendall sighed and chuckle. "I bet that's him now," Kendall told her with a chuckle, reaching down to the floor of the car to get his phone from his pants pocket.
"Well, if he yells at you for being late, don't blame it on me," Stella said with a soft voice, trying her best to look up on the bright side. He looked at the phone and saw his best friend's name and picture come up, sighing deeply. Kendall answered it, and brought the phone to his ear and took a deep sigh, his hand still massaging into Stella's side.
"What's up, Carlos?" he asked into it. He heard nothing but soft cries, and rustling on the other side of the line, furrowing his brows at the sounds. "Carlos?" he asked again.
"K-Kendall, h-he might not m-make it through the night," he heard the distraught, upset voice of his best friend say. It was like someone had taken a knife and stabbed Kendall in the heart, everything dropping as tears nearly came to his eyes at the pure sadness in Carlos' voice.
"Buddy, what happened?" Kendall asked sitting up more alert his heart starting to race at his friend's cries.
"I-I don't know, he was…he was f-fine this morning, a-and then I got here a-and he might not m-make it Kendall, I-I can't lo-ose him," Carlos cried hysterically into the phone.
"I'll be there in a second Carlos, I promise," Kendall told his best friend with tears in his throat as Stella looked alarmed at Kendall's sudden change in attitude. His eyes grew light with worry, and his hands began to shake a bit.
"W-what's wrong?" Stella asked softly and afraid, as Kendall nudged her off and rushed to pull his soaking jeans on in the small, crammed space. Kendall looked at her and swallowed hard, his eyes heavy and heart beating fast.
"Carlos' dad is dying," Kendall told her softly.