A/N: before everyone would start freaking out because of the deep Kenlos ending, I'm telling you this is not Kenlos and it never will be :) anyways hope you like it, more soon :) thanks for following! sorry for any mistakes that may occurred ... lol

Chapter 2

On the following day of this big dinner night with the Diamonds I woke up very early. The house was quiet other than some fumbling in the kitchen, and I supposed it was mom making breakfast.

I was wrong.

When I stepped in to the kitchen I spotted Christopher making coffee and I noticed that the toaster was on, slices of bread already in it. "Uhm, hi." I said, unsure just what to do. After all I couldn't just go in there and get what I wanted without a word to him.

"Hey, Carlos. Early bird, are you?" He laughed quietly. Like he didn't want to wake mom up. Then I scratched the back of my neck and rubbed my eyes if I saw right indeed. Glancing around the kitchen I found a tray on the table with a thin vase on the left, one single red rose in it. There was some fresh lemonade, mom's favorite drink for the mornings, some butter on a little plate, jam, fresh fruits, and I figured much that the almost ready toasts were going on to that tray too.

Woah. He's making her breakfast. Impressive.

"Yeah. Only today." I realized when I caught Christopher eyeing me, that I hadn't yet answered his question. "My bed threw me out, kind of." I grinned like an idiot. Like a tired idiot. "And what about you?" I motioned towards the food. "Are you awake so early on a Sunday only to make my mom breakfast?"

Christopher shook his head. "Not only her." Of course. For yourself too. "For you too." What? And then he spun around and grabbed another tray which I hadn't noticed, from the counter behind him. He handed me the thing and I couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks." I chuckled. "It's really nice from you." I said but I guessed that if I was made breakfast to, I was about to be told about something too. Mom was just like him. Whenever she had something to talk to me about, she'd make my favorite food or give me some money above the usual monthly amount.

But I didn't say a thing to Christopher, just sat down at the table and started buttering my toasts. It wasn't a big thing to make someone breakfast, mainly if it was this kind of breakfast, but it was a nice gesture and I really appreciated it. He was trying.

He kept going on with the coffee maker and soon there was the beep of the toaster. He pulled the slices out of it and placed them on mom's tray. He did all of that without a word to me.

I was now even more suspicious that something was coming.

I hope he isn't about to ask for permission to propose mom. I nearly choked on a piece of peach when that thought went through my mind. Hell no!

Christopher turned round and gave me those curious looks that he had shown me earlier. Then seeing that I was somewhat fine and wasn't going to faint right there, he lowered to a chair opposite to me. "So Carlos ... " He started hesitatingly. Oh bad bad! "I think it's time for me to tell you a few things."

"What things?" I interrupted, putting down the remaining part of one of my toasts. "About mom?"

"No. Not really. About James."

"Oh." I looked down at the food in front of me. What the hell do you want to tell me about him? "Okay."

After drawing in a long breath, Christopher re-started. "You know what it's like to grow up with one parent only." I shifted in my seat. Is he going to tell me about his family? "And unfortunately James hasn't been as strong as you have. And it's mostly my fault. I try to be enough for him, but I can't be. He's always needed a mother, but since she left us when James was only five, he doesn't have anyone. I've made my own mistakes, and sometimes James puts all the blame on me for him being mother-less, and he's partially right. But in a marriage, or in any kind of relationship, it takes two to play a game, you know?" I nodded as I noticed he was waiting for a confirmation.

James had to grow up without a mom. Oh shit. I couldn't imagine my life without mom. She was my everything.

"Your mother is an amazing woman and I see that she's been able to give you all that you need. Life has been tough to her but she's tougher and she knows and she's a real fighter." Christopher took a pause and I stared at him speechless. This definitely wasn't something I'd expected him to say. He was literally telling me all the things I'd been curious about.

"Sylvia is something I've never been. She's special for you and I'll never be that kind of parent to my son. And because of how fucked up our relationship has been, and because of all the things he's had to go through without a mother, James is dealing with issues."

Oh. I've just found out why he's acting like a major jerk. The poor kid had to grow up in a shitty family and was lonely and obviously wanted control over the one thing in his life, over his social reputation.

"He's a problematic kid, but anyways a good boy. I hope in that school of yours he hasn't done any harm to you, and if he has, I sure hope you can forgive him. You are lucky with your mom, but he's had to put up with me, and with all the things that made her mother leave, and it's rough. I'm not telling you to try and act differently with him now. Oh God, no. Don't ever show him your pity or he'll hate you for the rest of your life. I'm just saying that you need to understand him before judging him for what he seems to be. He is nothing like that in fact." Christopher rose from the table and lifted mom's tray. "And now, I'll take this to your amazing mother and tell her that you said good morning. I believe you're going to your friend's right?"

"Yes." I mumbled, unsure how he knew about me going to Kendall. In my confusion I didn't notice that Christopher was halfway out of the kitchen. I called after him once I looked up. "Thank you, for everything."

He threw me a smile and shrugged lightly, then left.

I sighed. I definitely didn't know everything yet, but it was more than I had known the day before, so I was kind of glad.

I did understand James. And it didn't even take me lots of effort. Since I'd known what it was like to have one parent, I could imagine his feelings. And although I was very happy with mom, I'd sometimes been thinking about it myself, what it would have been like if mom had given up after losing dad. If she had lost herself and she'd forgotten to take care of me and everything would have been much worse.

That was what happened to Christopher. His wife had left him, and from his words I took it as it was his fault too. If he indeed had played a big part in her leaving, it was obvious he'd been feeling guilty and lost and the little James had been in the middle of his sorrow. And by the time he had realized that he rather should be a better parent, it was late.

I'm lucky that mom was able to move on. But then. Dad's death wasn't her fault, while James' mom leaving Christopher was partially Christopher's.

With my newly got knowledge I finished my breakfast and then I got dressed and headed to my best friend, Kendall. I was intrigued what he'd think of everything. But before I started thinking about a way to come out with James Diamond moving in with me and telling about his family story, I realized I shouldn't talk about his past. It wasn't right and it would give reason for my dear friend to hurt him.

Kendall wouldn't do any harm to anyone, not even to a fly, unless they hurt me. And though we didn't go to the same school he always told me that he'd one day come and punch the douche who keeps giving me headache. I hadn't even told him his name to avoid Kendall going after him.

And although Kendall was a nice guy, he could easily forget about the way a young gentleman, that his parents had raised him to be, should behave, if it comes to defending his friends.

Knowing that Kendall had grown up in a perfect family, with a mom and father and a little sister, and two dogs and three cats, with all the white lath fence and big yard to their house, Kendall would just go to James and tell him that he was a miserable motherless fucker.

He wouldn't understand James. But I did. So I decided to shut up about his family history. But I had to tell him that James was going to move in with me, because the next time Kendall would be at mine he'd find it out anyways.

I still can keep it a secret that he's the bully I've been telling him about.

It was our Sunday ritual with Kendall to go to the lake and do some fishing. It didn't matter that we never caught anything because we couldn't just sit there as it was supposed to be. We had fun anyways. At that place we could talk through everything we wanted to, we were alone and it was peaceful, just perfect for two friends like us.

Sometimes when I got upset about my dad not being with me, I'd ran there to cry. Kendall was there holding me.

When I'd left kindergarten, I'd gone there. I'd missed my father. I remember that at those times I still had had memories of him. And although those memories had faded, I'd been trying to keep them close to my heart through all these years.

Same thing happened when I'd first gone to high-school. I nearly shitted myself on that very day, but somehow I'd managed through it and then ended up at the lake. With Kendall.

Of course, even though Kendall's life appeared to be perfect, sometimes he'd had his own moments too. When he'd first been in love with a girl from first grade. She was blonde and pretty and nice, her name was Jo. I was going to the same school with her but I hadn't told it to Kendall, because I'd known how heartbroken he had been when Jo had told him to play with other girls.

Then, one day, his perfect family had almost come apart. We had been little kids back then too so I didn't remember of a reason, but I knew Kendall's life back then had been hell. Any time he could escape the house he'd come to the lake.

This lake had grown us to be the people we were. We hadn't been friends if it wasn't for this lake. After a few times of us meeting up there when we both had had a bad day, we realized just how close friends we had become. We'd told each other everything and played together and busied ourselves only to not have to go home yet.

The lake had been a part of our lives. Whenever we'd said each other to meet, we'd known without a word that it meant meeting at the lake.

And Sundays had become days when we'd spent almost the entire day out there. Just to catch up with the missed times, that happened to be a lot of time separated as we had started to go to different schools and both of us had started to grow up.

But if all else failed, we'd always make up for it on Sundays.

And since this past week I'd not seen Kendall, I was very happy to have this day and tell him about all the changes that were coming to my life soon, and I was just as interested in hearing about him as I knew he had to be.