A/N: Hey! It was really interesting to see your reactions to that last chapter. On to the next!

Oh, and after this first scene, I'm gonna be jumping back and forth between James and Kendall a lot. Think of it like... an action romance movie. Like maybe Source Code, going between Jake Gyllenhaal and That Girl He's Saving Whose Name I Probably Have In My Brain Somewhere But Probably Not Because I Have No Idea What I'm Talking About. Yeah, her.

ALSO I have never seen more than the previews for Source Code, so I have no clue how it's done. Just ignore that whole analogy. I'm just gonna go my merry way bullshitting through life. Seriously, I'll shut up now and write the story.

*~*~Not much later...~*~*

James ran a hand through his hair. On his way home with Carlos, he'd seen Logan, and it wasn't looking good. His eyes looked red from what he could see of them; he'd refused to make eye contact with James. Now, he'd just deposited Carlos on the couch to watch cartoons. He made his way to his room, where he just knew Kendall would be.

Kendall glanced up from his spot on his bed when the door glided open. James was in the doorway, looking tired. His hazel eyes gleamed a little brighter when he saw Kendall, who instantly hopped off his bed.

Kendall walked up to James and opened his mouth, ready to say something, whatever it may be. However, his mouth was soon filled by James's toungue, his soft pink lips pressing up against his own. For a moment, Kendall let himself get lost in the kiss; he felt James's rough stubble rub against his face and let James's toungue run over his own. His lips worked with the other boys', and Kendall let out a little moan of pleasure as they kissed.

"No," Kendall said suddenly. He put his hands on James's chest and pushed him away abruptly with surprising force, sending James backwards and away from them.

"What?" James asked in confusion. He put a hand on Kendall's neck and tried to pull him back into the kiss, surprised when Kendall forced him away again.

"Dude, what is with you?" James asked, frustrated. Kendall had looked down at the ground without a word.

"I talked to Logan," Kendall finally said. He looked up to meet James's eyes, his own burning with an angry green fire, "He told me what you did. Just making out? What the fuck is your definition of making out?"

James gulped. "Look, Kendall," he began, but he was cut off by Kendall pushing past him to leave.

"Don't even try lying your way out of this one," Kendall hissed, "I'm done. You just have to run around lying to everyone like that, don't you? You just tear down everyone who ever cared about you!"

"I'm-"

"No, James, I'll tell you what you are. You're irresponsible, and you're destructive. And I don't want to hear another second of your pigheaded lies."

He opened the door and left James standing in shock by the blonde's bed.

James just stood there and blinked for a moment. He knew he shouldn't have done it. Everything had gotten so out of hand. He knew he shouldn't have lied to Kendall. He should've just come clean, told Kendall everything from the start. Sure, it would've hurt Kendall. But this, this hurt so, so much more. For everyone.

A tear streamed down the side of James's face. He wiped it away quickly, only to find more following it. This was crazy. James Diamond did NOT cry. More tears came; soon he could barely see and his eyes were stinging and burning. He felt weak, tired, so he flopped down onto the bed beside him, which just so happened to be Kendall's. James shoved his face into Kendall's pillow and just let himself cry, his body shaking gently. This whole thing was his fault. He was just one hot mess, a disaster with great hair waiting to happen. And now, now he was finally drowning in his own ocean of lies.

He took a deep breath, noticing how the soft cotton sheets smelled like Kendall. That did not help his current situation, and more tears fell from his eyes, soaking Kendall's pillowcase. He hated crying. He really, really hated it. Still, it was kind of refreshing. Crying was at least different. And it was a lot more honest than his usual.

"James?" came a quiet voice from the doorway.

James looked up through his hot tears, blinking to see who it was. He recognized Carlos's small frame and worried face, a helmet perched on top of his head, unbuckled.

"Go away, Carlos," James grumbled as he put his face back down into the pillow.

"Are you okay?" Carlos asked quietly.

"Just go away," James whispered.

"Why are you crying?" Now Carlos sounded scared, geniunely worried for his friend.

"Just fucking go, okay!" James yelled at him harshly, causing Carlos to flinch and close the door.

More tears ran down James's face, but he wiped them away. He knew how he could get a little stress relief. He swiped his fake i.d. and snuck out the back door. It was a good thing they were in such a small town, where they were walking distance from the center of town.

James shook his head when he got out into the cool, night air. He saw Kendall; he was sitting at the end of the dock with his back to James and the house. James almost went to go talk to him, before deciding to give him a little space. He kept himself from calling out to Kendall and snuck away quietly.

All this insanity had happened since they had gotten to the stupid lakehouse; nothing like that happened before. There really was something about this place.

~*~*Moving on*~*~

Kendall ran a hand through his hair and kicked at the water. There he was, sitting at the end of the dock just like he had been that day after they crashed the jet ski. Just like now, his head had been crawling with thoughts about James. Unlike now, he had been thinking about the possibility of liking James as more than just a friend. He obviously thought of James as more than a friend now, but it appeared that that was over as quickly as it had started. James had lied to him, and that was that. Still, he thought about what James had said that night. How it had always been Kendall, not Logan, that he wanted.

Kendall shook his head. He was stupid to even consider that. Of course those were just words, nothing more. James had once told a girl his father owned NASA to get in her pants, so why should he believe James when he said he cared about Kendall?

Then again, James had seemed pretty serious when he said that to Kendall. And James was a really bad actor.

*~*~Now back to James~*~*

James smiled as he walked into the small nightclub. He scanned the room, the blinking lights on the dance floor illuminating people and leaving dark corners around them. Everyone was laughing or dancing, not a care in the world.

If he was such a good actor, he could always just act like he just didn't care. Kendall thought James was irresponsible and destructive? He'd show him irresponsible and destructive.

"Two beers," James said to the bar tender, slipping him a few bills. "One for me and one for-" he looked around the room before locking eyes with a curvy girl with shiny black hair, "her."

The bartender gave him the drinks and he made his way over to her.

"I'm James," he said, flicking his hair out of his face and handing her a bottle, "I'm in a band."

~*~*Over to Kendall*~*~

Kendall looked up at the sky above him. Where the sky was usually scattered with bright stars there were muddy-looking clouds. He realized he had no idea how long he'd been out on that dock; the sun was already setting when he got out there and now it was completely gone, the darkness of night taking over and quieting the little cottages around the lake. He knew that really, night had a completely opposite effect. While outside, everything was silent and dormant, behind the safely closed doors of the houses, bedrooms, clubs, and bars a whole new part of the day was just kicking off. At night, that was when things happened, some for all the wrong reasons.

He hadn't realized he was crying until he was really crying. Kendall brought his knees up to his chest and put his face on them, knowing tears would soon cover the knees of his jeans. His shoulders shook violently and his eyes stung, but he didn't really want to stop. Inside the house, Carlos and Logan were probably laughing about something, James was probably moping like the loser he was, and Papi Garcia was probably going to bed. Outside, however, the world was asleep. He was alone.

Kendall was jolted back to reality when his phone screen lit up, the vibrations echoing loudly on the dock.

He wiped his eyes and opened the message.

Carlos: Is james with u? (11:43 pm)

Kendall rolled his eyes. Why would James be with him? Wasn't he in the house?

His phone vibrated, Carlos again.

Carlos: And where r u? (11:44 pm)

Kendall wrote his reply slowly, trying to stop the tears from coming and blurring his vision.

No, he's not with me. im outside, b out soon.

Carlos: Um do u k where he could be? (11:45 pm)

idk, im sure he's fine.

Carlos: im kinda worried about him tho (11:45 pm)

Kendall squinted his eyes, confused. Why would Carlos be worried about James? James knew how to fend for himself, it was only midnight. Still, if it made careless, worry-free Carlos concerned, he should probably check out what was up.

whyy?

Carlos: idk if im supposed 2 tell anyone (11:46 pm)

Kendall sucked in a breath and ran a hand through his hair. Had James told Carlos about... them? They might as well make a website about it. It could be called KendallAndJamesHaveIssuesBook. Fantastic.

it might b better if u just tell me, maybe i could help

He stared at his phone for a second, almost not believing the message he'd just sent. Where did that come from? The last thing he wanted to do was help James. Of course, at the end of the day, James was his buddy, regardless. Bros before hoes. The problem was, James was both.

Kendall prepared himself for the worst when his phone vibrated again.

Carlos: k, well i saw him crying in ur room. idk y he just yelled at me nd now hes gone (11:47)

Kendall's jaw dropped. James had been crying? Maybe he did need to intervene. He had only seen James cry a few times, when they were younger. Crying certainly wasn't normal for him.

i think ik where 2 find him. ttyl.

He got up off the dock and wiped his eyes on the back of his hand one last time before running out of the backyard and up the street.

*~*~Now back over to James~*~*

"Buddy, I really shouldn't sell you any more drinks. The club closes at twelve thirty on Sundays, you should really start looking for your ride home," the bartender told James.

"Jus' gimme one more," James slurred.

"No can do," the bartender replied, "you won't be driving tonight, will you?"

James shrugged loosely, "I'll- I'll call K-Kendall, 'cept he probably hates me like, somuchrightnow."

The bartender just nodded as if he knew what James was talking about and wiped down the counter.

"Hey," a guy who was easily twelve years older than James said huskily, "what's your name?"

James looked the guy over from head to toe. He smelled heavily of smoke and his hair was greasy, he was built and even bigger than James, with a fitted white t-shirt and a pair of jeans on.

"J-Ja-James," James managed to say.

~*~*To Kendall!*~*~

Kendall glanced at his phone screen; it was a little past twelve. A lot of people were leaving the club, turning in early so they could go to work on Monday. They'd probably all spin around and make a complete transformation: go from drunken horny zombies to polished office workers in a matter of seven hours or so.

"Hey kid, the club is closing soon. And besides, you need an i.d.," the bouncer said in a deep voice, placing a hand on Kendall's shoulder.

"I'm with Christina," Kendall said smartly.

"Who the hell are you talking about?" the bouncer replied defensively.

"If you don't let me into that club, I'll tell everybody you slept with an underage girl. You know what I'm talking about," Kendall whispered.

The bouncer nodded wordlessly and stepped aside, letting Kendall into the club.

*~*~Into the club!~*~*

James gulped as the huge guy moved closer. He was breathing heavily and James could smell the beer wafting from his gigantic mouth. Not appealing.

"You must be used to being the bigger guy, huh?" the guy laughed a creepy pedophile-type laugh, "I guess that's about to change."

James's hand flew to his back pocket, reaching for his phone only to discover he hadn't brought it with him. That was definitely a flaw in his plan. There was no way he could walk home, he couldn't figure out how to navigate around the club at this point, much less the town. Maybe he could just go home with this guy. How bad could one drunken night with a giant sketchy dude be?

"Poor little James, you lose your phone?" the guy asked with a smile. When he spoke, James could feel the creepy vibes.

Suddenly, James felt an arm wrap around his shoulders. He was about to scream when he heard an ever-familiar voice.

"Sorry dude, he's leaving with me," Kendall said from beside James.

James nodded eagerly, not bothering to ask questions. Kendall grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of the club before the giant could say anything else.

"Dude," James said as soon as they got outside, "that was like, so awesome."

"Shut up and get in the car," Kendall grumbled. James may have been drunk and most likely about to get raped, but he was still mad at him.

"So awesome," James repeated as if he hadn't heard Kendall. He didn't go anywhere, just stood and stared at Kendall. Kendall couldn't help himself, he was pulled into James's gaze. He stood there for a minute, their eyes locked. James's usually bright hazel eyes were glazed over and tired-looking from the alcohol.

"Let's get you to bed," Kendall finally breathed.

James nodded and Kendall led him over to the car. He opened to back door to the small, beat-up Chevy for James, who pretty much fell into the backseat. Kendall rolled his eyes and took the passenger seat.

"Thank you so much," he said to the girl behind the wheel.

"Anytime," Christina gushed, "I'm just glad I could help."

"Why did you bring her?" James complained loudly from the backseat, slurring his words a little, "She's a slut."

Christina gasped, her mouth hanging wide.

"I'm sorry about him," Kendall apologized quickly, "he's really drunk, he doesn't know what he's talking ab-"

"Yesss I doo K-Kendall," James called, "And you can do so much better."

"Like I said, he's drunk," Kendall said with a sheepish grin.

"I may be drunk, but- but- but I'm- I'm right," James finally managed to say.

"You shut your big ass drunk mouth," Kendall hissed, spinning around in his seat to face James, "or I will punch you in it."

"Kendall! Be nicer to your friend! He's vulnerable right now," Christina scolded.

"But he-" Kendall began to defend himself when he was cut off by James.

"Yeah, Kendall. You can't f-fff- threaten me riinow. I'm vunebable."

Kendall rolled his eyes and they rode home in silence.

"Thanks again for this," Kendall said to Christina as he dragged James out of the backseat, "really."

Christina called out her replies as the two made their way into the house as quietly as possible.

"I hate her," was the first thing James said when Kendall plopped him down onto his bed.

Kendall just sighed, knowing there was no point in arguing, "How many drinks did you have?"

"I dunno," James gave him a half-assed shrug, "like... ten. Or twelve. Sumfin like that."

"James! Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?" Kendall hissed at him. He was starting to act like taking care of James was his job.

"Szhut up."

"And what were you doing with that big guy?" Kendall inquired next.

"He was creepy. I'm glad you came when you did," James mumbled.

"Yeah, me too," Kendall grumbled in reply.

James yawned and laid down on his bed.

"Thanks, Kendall. I love you," James slurred in a whisper before falling asleep.

Kendall's eyes bugged out. Had James really just said that? It definitely wasn't just in his head, that was for sure. But still, James was drunk. He didn't know what he was talking about. He would've said "I love you" to a sock. He didn't love Kendall.

Did he?

~*~*So yeah...*~*~

A/N: I don't even know who you should be pissed at, or if you're pissed at me, or... yeah. I just don't know. I'm sorry? Review pwetty pwease!