I just realized I never put a disclaimer up. I suppose I should...
Disclaimer: I do not own the BTR boys. If I did...well...you don't wanna know... ;)
Lots of Jarlos in this chapter! Enjoy!
One Week Later...
James awoke to the distant sound of voices and silverware clanking in the next room. He groaned and rolled away, pulling the covers over his head.
It had been a week since the night he and Carlos fought. The fight had only added to the stress the days after. He and Carlos barely spoke to each other, and were only near each other when they were all comforting Logan.
The trial began days ago, and it was disastrously difficult for their young genius friend. Logan's parents were fighting the emancipation as much as possible, especially since Doctor Bonner had been released on bail. Though his practice was under investigation, he was still free to be medically active, and Logan's parents were eager to get to Logan and give him the 'help he needed'.
Luckily, Doctor Mira's testimony that Logan was mentally stable helped Logan's case, considering she was a well known and reputable doctor in the court system. And, according to Sabrina, "The good news is the judge is very fair. The bad news is...he is very by the book. Which means when the trial is over, and we win, Logan will be forced into foster care."
At Logan's stricken expression when she first voiced those words, Officer Garcia wrapped a strong arm around Logan and said, "Don't worry though son. We have a back up plan."
What that plan was, none of the boys knew. But what they were sure of was their parents were fiercely protective of Logan, and knew that they wouldn't let anything happen to him.
However, that didn't stop the trial to be difficult. James knew that the trial should be lasting a few more days, and while Logan was required to be present for each one, the rest of the boys had been there only as moral support.
Except today. James felt exhausted from all the stress of the trial and as much as he wanted to be there for Logan, he didn't think he could stand being in that court room again. Especially with the boy he cared about so much being so near, yet so far away.
James kicked his blankets aside before rising from bed, taking in the sight of the empty bed beside him.
He didn't know when Carlos had woken up, but he had been gone every morning James had opened his eyes.
He stood and tried to stretch a bit, pushing his sadness far inside so he could face the day.
Striding into the kitchen he saw that most everyone was ready to leave. He walked over to Logan who was fixing his tie in the reflection of the toaster, and pulled him aside, feeling a like jerk.
"Logan...would it be all right if I don't come to court today?"
Logan let out a huge breath that almost sounded like a sigh of relief. "Yes! Please! I feel so bad that you guys feel like you have to go there every day."
When the trail started, all three boys insisted on being there for him, despite Logan's protests. James knew that Logan felt incredibly guilty that they were spending so much time dealing with him and his messed up family. Logan could see how much being at the trail was weighing on his friends.
Long continued, "And Carlos doesn't have to come to. Take him out somewhere fun. Its been rough on him to, I can tell. He's down at the pool now. Camille texted me earlier and said he's passed out in one of the sun chairs. If you see her trying to use him as a coma patient in a teenage doctor part she want's to try out for, please make her stop. "
James shifted uncomfortably. He and Carlos hadn't told anyone about their fight and with everyone so caught up in the trial, no one had even noticed they weren't talking.
"I'd asked Kendall to stay, but that would be of no use." Logan continued, glancing over to his boyfriend who was currently in a head to head Zombie Smashers: Apocalypse match with his sister on their DS's. Kendall kept sneaking his hand to his sisters ear to flick it, trying to distract her. Logan could never understand how his boyfriend could be so mature and yet so childish at the same time.
As everyone expected, Kendall had been glued to Logan's side since the first day of the trial. He was always trying to be positive and upbeat for him. Logan made a mental note that after the trial was over, he would have to do something extra special for Kendall to show how much he appreciated everything he had done for him.
"C'mon Logan. Lets get going." Officer Garcia said, and the rest of the group left.
For a few moments after the door closed, James let out a sigh at the peace and quiet of the apartment. Eventually he headed towards the bathroom to shower and get ready to go.
After a while of procrastinating he finally headed down to the pool area where, indeed, Carlos was passed out on the sun chair. He was sans-helmet, and looked peaceful laying there with various red and blue smudges along his body.
James had half a mind to lift the chair and throw his friend into the pool for not trusting him to tell him his secret, but he settled for crouching next to him and leaning close before, "Free corn dogs!"
Carlos instantly awoke and jumped up, his eyes wide. "Where? Where! Where?" He exclaimed, before turning to his friend on the ground, clutching his sides while giggling.
Carlos huffed and crossed his arms, exclaiming, "Joking about free corn dogs is crossing a line James!" before letting out a yell and jumping on top of him, increasing the tickling until James cried uncle.
Both boys were on the ground, panting and letting their giggles die down, each pleased that the tension between them had seemed to be stated, for now.
"Everyone already left for court," James said, and Carlos nodded, standing up and offering James a hand, which he took. "Logan gave us the day off."
Carlos raised an eyebrow and said, "Does it make me a bad friend that I'm really relieved?"
James shook his head. "No. Cause I'm the friend who asked for it."
"So...that means we have the day together?" Carlos continued, rubbing the back of his neck in a similar manner to Logan's nervous habit.
James smiled, relieved that Carlos was speaking to him again. He nodded, "What do you want to do?"
Carlos only smiled.
James couldn't remember the last time he had had so much fun. Granted, when one gets to live with their 3 best friends in a sweet apartment at a famous hotel complex to follow their dream of becoming a star, having fun is almost mandatory. But Carlos seemed to bring every moment an extra bit of awesomeness that James hadn't realized he had been missing out on.
James looked up at the movie theater sign and said, "Zombie Smashers 4? Really?"
They had already hit up an arcade for a few hours, with Carlos practicing his air hockey moves and James catching up on his sweet shooting skills. Then they grabbed some buffalo chicken pizza and of course Corn dogs. James dragged Carlos into a hair salon so they could both get their hair trimmed, and then Carlos dragged James to a sports goods store so they could check out some new hockey equipment they wanted to ask for Christmas.
Finally, knowing they had some time left, Carlos suggested a movie.
"It's the only one here that isn't super girly or boring." Carlos said, munching on his third corn dog. James shrugged. Logan was really the only one of the group who wasn't a huge fan of scary movies, but often relented because it meant cuddling with Kendall during the movie.
The boys paid for their tickets and eventually jumped in their seats. James was glancing at his phone, hoping to get a text from Logan or Kendall to see how they were doing. The only text he had gotten was from Kendall about an hour after everyone left to go to court. It only stated that they were jerks for not coming today. He knew that, however, Logan would defend them and agree with their decision not to come.
The movie went along its usual scary path. Suspense, violence, and then extreme carnage. Carlos was enamored, quickly eating his popcorn and sour patch kids, but James couldn't care much for it really. He wasn't actually very into movies unless they had a romantic aspect to it. He blamed it on his and his mothers romance reading obsession.
At one particularly scary part, Carlos jumped and grabbed James's hand. James could feel his stomach drop and a blush rise.
After a moment Carlos seemed to realize what he had done. As he went to remove his hand, James instead grabbed it and pulled it back, lacing his fingers through Carlos's.
Carlos chanced a glance at his friend, who only used his free hand to hold out his soda and ask, "Want a sip?"
Carlos was quiet for a moment, scrutinizing James while biting his lip. "Uh. Y-yeah. Yeah I would."
James smiled and said, "Good. I was hoping you would."
Stumbling through the door to their apartment laughing, James finished his joke. "So the snowman said...Ice to meet you!"
Carlos snorted out a laugh and gave his friend a friendly punch on the shoulder, before saying, "OK. You win for the lamest joke of the day."
James fist pumped the air before turning to look at the others in the room. Logan and Kendall were sitting on the couch, Kendall with his hand in Logan's who looked shell shocked. Their parents were at the table with Sabrina, coffee and forms scattered in front of them.
"James are you still telling that awful joke to people?" His mother said, rising from the table and walking over to the two, giving her son a kiss on the head and wrapping an arm around Carlos. She, along with the rest of the parents, looked as tired and drained as Logan.
"Psht...that is the best joke known to man." He paused, "So...what did we miss?"
"The trial is over." Kendall said from the couch, giving them both a death glare.
"What? But I thought it was suppose to last a few more days?" Carlos exclaimed as he and James both walked over to their friends.
"Apparently some hidden files of Doctor Bonner were located by Sabrina here. They contained all the information about his tests and how he performed them. Crazy stuff. The courts had no choice but to deem him dangerous. They also agree with separating Logan from his parents."
Carlos took a seat opposite Logan and wrapped an arm around him. "You OK buddy?" Logan just nodded.
"Wait." James exclaimed, turning to their parents. "What about the foster care? Is Logan going to get...taken away until he is adopted or turn 18 or...something?" James assumed they had all figured something out, since Logan was here and Kendall hadn't handcuffed him to their bedposts to keep him from being taken away.
Logan just buried his head in his hands and groaned, while Kendall grimaced before he answered.
"Sorta...well, see, he was...just adopted that is."
"You were adopted? Already?" Carlos exclaimed, "By who?" Carlos was worried that their friend was going to be taken away, which he knew they would all do anything they could to stop it.
"Adopted by me." All four boys turned to their doorway, where Gustavo was walking in with Kelly.
"You?" James and Carlos exclaimed, jumping up and watching as Gustavo walked over to the table where the parents were sitting.
"You think Logan is the first kid in one of my bands I've had to take away from his parents for his own safety?" He scoffed, "You kids have no clue how awful people can be." Gustavo said, taking a seat next to James's mom.
"But...I though he had to be certified." James began, to which Officer Garcia answered, "Apparently he is. He has been for a while."
James and Carlos turned back to Logan, who looked dazed. "um...does this mean you have to call him dad now?" Carlos asked, rubbing his head after James smacked him for asking such a ridiculous question.
Logan just stood and walked out of the room, closing the door to his and Kendall's bedroom.
Kendall watched Logan go, a sad expression across his features, before he stood and grabbed both boys by the ears, dragging them to the bathroom, saying to their parents, "We will be right back."
Ignoring the 'ow ow ow's' coming from his friends, he threw them into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind them.
"Look. First, it's bad enough you guys weren't here today," Kendall began, holding up a hand when James and Carlos began to protest. "Logan already told me that he said it was OK and he was glad you two were taking a break, but you guys know he wouldn't have left you if you were going through the same situation."
James and Carlos stared at the floor, seriously chastised.
"Second, you guys, Logan really needs us right now. I just got him to open up and I don't want him shutting me out again, because this is killing him. So no more stupid questions," Kendall pointed to Carlos, "And no more leaving him when he needs you." Kendall continued, pointing to James.
He opened the door and the three filed out, somber at the prospect of their friend hurting so badly.
They were met with Gustavo who was standing near them, handing Kelly some papers. He turned to the boys and said, "Well...on the bright side, not much will be changing around here. Logan will still be living here with you, and Mrs. Knight is still planning on taking care of him. The only difference is that now I'm responsible for Logan. So if anything happens to him," he pointed to himself, "I get in trouble." his voice became menacing as he leered closer, "So don't let anything happen or I will feed you to Griffin's pet's, which are African white sharks!" He nearly screamed, before turning and stomping away.
All three boys turned to each other, a scared expression on their faces.
Carlo's' mom came up to them and said, "Mi hijo. Baby you're father and I are going back to the hotel. We're leaving tomorrow, so make sure you get up early to see us off." Carlos nodded and headed over to his father with his mother to say good night.
Kendall went over to his mother and began discussing something that James wasn't sure off.
Mrs. Diamond came over to James, a small smile on her face, "Well this visit hasn't turned out quite as well as I expected." She began, running a hand along her sons face.
"I know mom. But I'm really glad you came."
She nodded, pleased, and said, "I changed my flight to a later time. Would you like to have some breakfast tomorrow and catch up a bit?" James smiled and nodded, kissing her cheek good bye.
After the parents left the boys each went to their rooms to get ready for bed.
James was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, going over everything that had happened in the past week. He was sad that his mother was leaving, but he knew he could coax her back soon enough. He also hoped that Logan would be OK. He couldn't believe that Gustavo, of all people, was now Logan's Guardian. James couldn't help but shudder at the thought, but was glad that Logan was with someone who would let him stay with his real family.
His musings were interrupted by the door opening, revealing a freshly showered Carlos. James hoped that they were past the fight, and while he was still curious as to what was going on with Carlos and the paint, he was just happy to be friends with the boy again.
Carlos sat on the edge of his bed, not speaking, which was unusual for the boy.
James sat up, facing his friend. "Carlos?"
Without looking up, Carlos answered, "We...held hands during the movie."
James smiled. "Yep." And went back to laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
Carlos remained silent. James wasn't sure how long it was until Carlos spoke again and said, "It's stupid to think...I know...after all they did for Logan..." Carlos trailed off.
James turned to him confused as to what he was trying to say.
"I know my parents wouldn't hate me...or try to change me like Logan's parents did...but throughout this entire trip...even as they stood by Logan's side...I just couldn't tell them...that I...I have a crush on a guy."
James moved towards Carlos when he saw his shoulders were shaking, taking a seat next to him on his bed. "I know they wouldn't hate me...but I was just to scared...after what Logan went through." James went to reach for his friend, but Carlos stood abruptly.
"Where are you going?" James asked, worried his friend was shutting him out again.
"You wanted to know where the paint was coming from...right?" Carlos answered, holding out a hand to James.
In Minnesota, especially during winter nights, the stars in the night sky seem to cluster together in groups. Their numbers reach to infinity and no one would even bother to start counting they'd get so lost.
In L.A., the only stars anyone really ever sees are the celebrities scattered throughout the city, more often than not failing to live up to the brightness of their shared nick name.
But the stars, among other bright, twirling masses of colors and shapes in the forms known throughout the galaxy that Carlos painted along the roof of the Palm woods, took James's breath away under the starless night sky of L.A.
Walking gently above the masses of black, yellow and white, he looked at the ground beneath him and felt like he had walked into another world of outer space.
Stars, planets, asteroids, meteors, galaxies and constellations were scattered in paint and color along the ground, vents and side walls in a mix and mass of other worldly beauty.
James turned to his friend, awe in his voice, "You...painted...all this?"
Carlos was nervously glancing at James as he stood by the doorway leading to the roof.
"Yeah...well...not by heart, I-I needed models." Carlos turned and pulled down a lever next to the door, shutting off the flood lights above them. The sides of the walls along the roof light up glow in the dark comets and other outer space designs.
James gasped in surprise, he couldn't believe his hyperactive friend held such an incredible talent.
"Carlos...this is amazing." James breathed, taking in the sight once again.
Carlos just rubbed the back of his head, nervously saying, "I just...had it inside me and I needed to get it out. I was scared...of what you and everyone else would think. It's...you know...it's not really something I would normally do..." Carlos stopped, realizing he was rambling.
James then frowned. "When did you do all this? I never even noticed you were gone so much to work on this?"
Carlos shrugged. "You...you go on a lot of dates. And Kendall and Logan are so wrapped up in each other most of the time they don't even realize I'm gone." He paused before continuing, "And...well...it's just...I remembered, how, when we first got here...we were all talking about what we missed most from back home. And...and you said that you missed the night sky back in Minnesota. Remember when we put up the glow in the dark stars in our room?"
James silently nodded, his throat to thick with emotion to speak.
Carlos continued, "I just...I know how much you love the night sky...and I...wanted to show you how much I care...about...you. So...I just...I didn't really know how to put it into words..." Carlos had to stop and look away from James, to afraid of his friends reaction.
James walked slowly to Carlos. When he was in front of him, he took his hand and pulled him further away from the door until they were standing in the middle of a cluster of stars. James felt like the world had flipped itself, and here he and Carlos were, standing together in the night sky, while the rest of the world looked down from above.
"It's beautiful." James said, running a soft hand along the boys face, "You're beautiful"
Carlos finally chanced a look up at James, hope in his eyes.
And when James leaned in to kiss Carlos for the first time, he realized that no romance novel could ever really do justice to how it feels to kiss someone you love for the first time.
Aw! Just...aw! Gotta love the Jarlos. I got the idea of ArtistCarlos! from Panda-Boo16 story "Big Time Painting". As I was writing my own story I found there was a serious lack of Carlos involvement, and I wanted to do something special for him, cause he is just...aw! I like the concept of creating another side for Carlos because sometimes I feel like he can be overlooked in the BTR show. So, thanks Panda-Boo16! Folks, if you want some awesome Jarlos and Kogan in your life, check out her stories.
One more chapter after this!
xoxo BA