My intention of this chapter was that it would be longer than the rest, but instead, this will be a short chapter followed by a much longer one. Still, a lot of stuff goes down in this chapter, so I don't think you'll mind too much. I appreciate the response this story is getting, and please continue your reviews.

- Three -

Logan found that he could become used to seeing Kendall in a social setting without his world collapsing down around him. Though it still hurt him, the soreness of his heart became part of him, as it would have to. Kendall had become integrated into his social circle and whether he liked it or not, there didn't seem to be a change on the horizon.

The worst part of it all was watching Lucy fall for him. And it's not like Kendall wasn't encouraging it. Even Logan began to give in to the fact that Kendall must have an interest in her if he was giving her so much of his attention.

He started to see Lucy as Kendall must have seen her. She really was quite pretty, if not beautiful. She wasn't dumb by any means, but she was only average. She would never have been able to keep up with Logan's intellect. And she was kind, if a little absentminded. Most importantly, it was obvious to everyone that she adored Kendall.

There was only one time that Logan was relatively alone with his former flame, and that was when the boys decided to have a video game tournament. He and CJ would go up against Kendall and Ethan, though most of the competition was between the older men. Deep down, Logan never wanted to lose his hero status with the boys, and to keep that from happening he simply had to beat Kendall at something. Thankfully, he'd had a year of experience playing video games with Kendall, and he'd adapted to his weaknesses. He was very controlled, focused, as he was in almost every facet of his life, so as long as Logan was unpredictable, the game was his.

One game all four played against each other. When Logan beat all of them by a wide margin, the boys were unwilling to let him off easy. Immediately, both boys were on him, pulling at his hair and clothes, and he couldn't get both of them without hurting them, which he didn't want to do.

Before he knew it, CJ was lifted off of him, and before he could reach Ethan, he too was on the ground. Kendall had gotten both of them off, but before Logan could turn to thank him, Kendall had gone. Part of him was grateful that they wouldn't have to make awkward conversation because of it.

It was obvious to Logan that he and Kendall were on the same page when it came to what their new relationship entailed. It involved a lot of nodding, some cordial small talk, and every once in a while, even a smile at something the other man had said. It wasn't nearly comfortable, but it was workable.

Apart from the awkward relationship he had with Logan, Kendall had become a nightly ornament in the Groves household, and he was counted among their close friends. One Friday, they were gathered around the dinner table, the Groves, the Knights, and Logan. Logan had made dinner again, this time breaking out his recipe for lasagna; one which he knew was one of Kendall's favorites. Kendall even made the effort to compliment him, as if he'd never tasted it before. Logan understood that neither of them was willing to give away how well they'd once known each other. There would be too much left to explain.

Conversation turned to Kendall's career, as it always did, as well as his personal life. Lucy showed special consideration for this topic, and Logan was forced to calculate how hard it would be to kick her and blame it on one of the boys. He stopped himself, knowing that if there was anything he should wish for, it would be Kendall's happiness. Even if he had to sit through Lucy's blatant flirting.

"So what you're saying is that you'd never take a girlfriend on the road? Never?" Maria stressed. Logan could see that the corner of her eye was on Lucy, and that Maria was simply trying to cover for the knowledge her sister-in-law wished to attain.

Kendall smiled, but shook his head, "I would never want to subject someone to that. It's never sleeping, and a different city every night, and they'd get jealous from the attention I receive from my fans. I have a friend who tours with his wife, and I feel bad for her. She's told me that she wouldn't want to be away from him, but it's a hard life, a life on the road."

"Plus, wouldn't want her getting in the way of the groupies," Charlie commented, instigating a glare from his wife.

Kendall shook his head again, this time very serious, "I would never do that. If I were in a situation where I was committed to someone, I would never mess around, even if I were given the chance."

Lucy's eyes were the size of saucers. She didn't hesitate to add, "Well I think if you found the right girl, you'd never want to let her go."

"It'd have to be a very special person to make me change my mind," he confirmed. "But is it really worth arguing? I'm still single, and my next tour isn't for months. For now, I'm just looking forward to dessert."

He looked at Logan, who went to stand to get the cobbler he'd made out of the oven, but paused, adding, "You know, I think I'd hate to know that my partner had been to every city from here to Alaska, and I hadn't shared that experience with them. You'd almost be cheating them. I don't think it would be a sacrifice for them if they really loved you."

Kendall's reaction was neutral, but his eyes were conflicted for a moment, before turning to match the rest of his inexpressive face. Logan had taken notice of Kendall's neutral pronouns. Was it possible that he wasn't attracted to women, at least not entirely? Once again, he saw Kendall's behavior to Lucy as mere flirtation. Maybe on some level he was just trying to make Logan jealous, to hurt him as he'd been hurt. As frustrating as it was, he'd succeeded.

It seemed that the more Logan found himself avoiding Kendall, the more their social calendar became entangled. The next day, Lucy took it upon herself to get everyone together for a night out. Though it was obvious to Logan that she had wanted to get Kendall alone, Maria insisted that Kendall's connections could be used to get them into any club in Los Angeles. Charles found himself busy, and in the end the party amounted to Kendall, Lucy, Maria, and Logan. Though he'd attempted to get out of it, Maria insisted that after her husband dropped out, it would be unfair for Logan to leave her as the third wheel. Logan decided that if nothing else, the club would provide copious amounts of alcohol, which he could use in a situation like this.

Once they'd arrived at the club, Lucy dragged Kendall to the dance floor. It took Maria a moment before she decided that she'd throw caution to the wind. Logan had doubts about the condition of her marriage, but knew that she would never go too far. He shrugged as she found some man a decade her junior to dance with. He took one look at the writhing dance floor, and found himself at the bar. He directed the bartender that he might as well set up an IV, because it was going to be a long night.

With one drink in hand, Logan took a small spiral staircase up to the balcony, where he found a table in the corner, obscured by a column. He could still see the whole dance floor, but nobody would find him unless they were looking for him. He found a waitress and instructed her to get him another drink, before downing his in one long gulp.

He couldn't help that he could see everyone and everything from his perch. He forced himself to look at Kendall, ignoring the way he was dancing with Lucy, and just focusing in on him. Thankfully, the waitress brought another drink, which he drank accordingly. He glanced over to Kendall again, as he gyrated, a gleeful smile on his face, and ordered four shots of whatever would put him out of his misery.

Just as he began to feel lightheaded, Kendall was pulling Lucy off of the dance floor. Before he could recognize what was happening, they were at a table near his. Lucy was talking Kendall's ear off as she nursed a cocktail. He was nursing a beer, but his expression showed that he wanted something stronger. Logan felt guilty to be spying on them, but not enough to stop from eavesdropping from behind the pillar.

"You know, I haven't seen Logan since we got here. I wonder where he got to?" Kendall asked, innocently enough. At the mention of his name, Logan's ears perked up.

"Don't worry about him," was Lucy's response. "He's never really going to be the life of the party."

Logan could see Kendall's surprise at this description. When he had known Logan, he had been much more outgoing, forward even. A little shy, sure, but not particularly introversive.

"Really? I mean, he's a young guy. Shouldn't he be out on the floor?" Kendall asked, and Logan could tell he was digging for information, some sort of hint as to what happened in the last six years.

"Never. I don't know what it is with him. I've asked him out probably a hundred times, but he's never agreed. And I'm not a special case. He hasn't really gone out with anybody in years. Sure, a date here and there to appease his mother and Aunt Elinor, but nothing serious."

"Aunt Elinor?" Kendall asked, and Logan could tell it was a weighted question. Kendall knew perfectly well who Aunt Elinor was, and he'd suspected, correctly, that she had been a driving force behind their break up.

"The old bird!" Lucy said, chuckling. Logan half-hoped her word choice was being affected by the alcohol in her system. "Nobody dates Logan unless they've gotten past her. I think that's why he's never dated me. I could just imagine what she's said about me. A party girl with little future and even fewer connections. Well fuck her. I can do better than Logan Mitchell."

Logan frowned as she smiled, not because of what she'd said about him, but that she was using Aunt Elinor against him. It wasn't true what she was saying. He always followed his heart, she just…helped him come to a decision. But Kendall seemed to agree with a smile of his own.

Infuriated, Logan took two more shots from the tray the waitress brought, and for the first time, Kendall's eyes wandered to that corner of the room. Logan could see that now he was being watched out of the corner of Kendall's eyes. Eventually, Lucy excused herself to use the restroom, and as soon as she was out of view, Kendall came toward him.

"I was wondering where you'd gotten to," he said, more concern than mirth. Logan was very visibly drunk, and when drunk became spiteful. This wasn't a good combination when he was interacting with Kendall.

"I've been here the whole time," he said, a cocky smile crossing his face. His fingers wrapped around the glass of his most recent drink, and Kendall's eyes followed it to his lips, trying to calculate just how many he'd had at that point.

Kendall began to look around the balcony for the waitress, and Logan could tell he was about to be taken care of, and not the way he would have liked. Another grin crossed his face at that thought.

In the meantime, Kendall sat down, "How much did you hear?"

"Don't worry," he chuckled. "I won't remember any of this in the morning. But you will. Do me a favor, be kind. I'm not myself…" around you, he finished in his head, before exchanging it for a delayed, "…tonight."

"I hope not," Kendall said, a tone of disapproval in his voice. Logan chuckled to himself darkly. Whatever interest Kendall may have had in them reconnecting had been annihilated by his behavior tonight. And he wasn't even finished yet.

Finally the waitress came into sight, and Logan looked away as Kendall insisted on covering the tab. Even with his hampered mental state, Logan knew that the purpose of Kendall's generosity was to see just how much alcohol he had consumed. His green eyes went wide at the tally, as he pulled a card out of his wallet and handed it to the waitress.

Both sets of eyes wandered to the dance floor to see that Maria had somehow found Lucy, and they were now dancing together in the center of the dance floor. Both looked to be enjoying themselves. Kendall was glad for the distraction, as now he had time to deal with Logan.

The waitress came back and handed Kendall the card, her expression wishing him luck. He stood and stared at Logan, who was still unmoving.

"Logan, I think you should get some air," he said, moving closer in case the inebriated man stumbled.

Logan knew what he was doing, but resisted, responding coyly, "I'd rather have another drink."

"It was less of a request, and more of an order worded nicely," Kendall said, the irritation finally showing in his voice. He forcefully pulled Logan's chair out, and after a heated look, Logan stood.

The taller man had a hand on his back as he more-or-less led him to the entrance of the club. Logan deemed this unnecessary, but Kendall never let go. Though it occurred to Logan that he could lose his captor in the crowd, he feared that his mental calculations would come up short while he was in this state. Instead, he had a moment of bliss as they left the crowded club and he could finally breathe fresh air. Well, as fresh as the air could be in Los Angeles.

Now that they were outside, neither knew what to say to the other. They were relatively alone, and it would have been the perfect time for Logan to blame his inebriated state for elaborate declarations of love, but he still had just enough self-control to avoid that. What he didn't have was the decency not to stare as Kendall messed around with his phone. Kendall seemed to notice, his back tense under Logan's gaze, but didn't acknowledge it.

As if his own thoughts surprised him, Kendall looked up all of a sudden, and said he had to make a phone call. Though he didn't voice his concern, his eyes told Logan not to wander off. Logan rolled his eyes, knowing that his current dispute with gravity would keep that from happening. Instead he sat on the curb and waited, as Kendall tried to discretely call him a cab.

After he hung up, Kendall sat down next to Logan on the curb. Neither of them spoke, but it was clear that neither fooled the other. Logan was not nearly as put together as he'd like to project, and Kendall had definitely decided to cut the party short. His condition made Logan spiteful, and rather than thankful, he felt betrayed by the amount of attention Kendall was giving him.

If I have no say in who you date, you have no say in how much I drink. I could drink myself to sickness, alcoholism even, and you would have absolutely no say. You don't want to be with me, you've given up your right to make decisions for me. You don't want me. You've made that brutally clear.

Logan realized as soon as the thought crossed his mind that sickness should not have entered his mental dialogue. Immediately, his stomach began to churn, and he forced his head between his knees. Kendall put a concerned hand on his back, but after a glare from the other man, removed it and stood.

The cab finally arrived, and when Kendall reached down to help him up, Logan couldn't resist the urge to argue, "I don't need to go home. I just needed some air. This is completely unnecessary."

Kendall refused to give him the pleasure of arguing, and instead pulled him up and pushed him into the cab, like he was being arrested for public drunkenness. Logan bitterly stared out the window on the other side of the cab as Kendall tipped the driver. Even when Kendall leaned in and encouraged, "Go home and sleep it off. You'll feel better in the morning," Logan refused to look at him.

He spent the whole ride home feeling betrayed. Deep down, he suspected that Kendall sending him home had less to do with his concern, and was more likely an excuse to be rid of him. He suspected that only now would the real excitement start, now that he was on his way home. Sickly, Logan admitted to himself that he wouldn't have been able to stand much more anyway. He'd put on a brave face, but he was now struggling with the fine line between drunk and alcohol poisoning.

It was just late enough that Charlie and the boys had already gone to bed and Logan did the best he could to sneak into the house. Once downstairs, he poured himself a glass of water, the only sure fire way of lessening a hangover he'd ever found, before throwing his clothes on the floor of the bedroom and crawling into bed. Though he intended to stay awake long enough to think, his brain had other plans, and soon he was fast asleep.


The next morning he woke up to an inevitable hangover, proud that he hadn't gotten up in the night to puke up the last night's mistakes. It was nearly afternoon, and there was a bottle of aspirin on his bedside table, signaling that Maria had been in to check on him. He stumbled to the basement kitchen and made a pot of coffee, sitting at the counter until he'd drank its entirety.

Thankfully, the glass block windows in the basement only let in so much light, and it was still dark enough in his apartment that his head could slowly recover. After a few aspirin and two pots of coffee, he finally felt ready to get dressed. He threw on a t shirt and the jeans he'd been wearing the night before.

Upstairs, the house was silent. Maria was on the couch, reading a book. He assumed that Charlie was at work, and the boys were probably with their grandparents next door. With the sheer madness this house was used to, the silence seemed eerie.

Maria turned as he walked over, a knowing grin on her face. He grimaced in response, sitting next to her and covering his eyes so he wouldn't have to stare directly at the windows in front of him. She patted his knee, chuckling a little at his expense.

"You've never been a very good drunk dear," she said, putting her book down on the table and giving him her full attention. "I didn't see you leave, but Kendall let on that you were bad enough to be sent home."

Like a child. Logan thought. Like a fucking child.

"How was the rest of the night?" he asked, hoping against his suspicion that she would say nothing.

"It was fantastic. I haven't had that much fun in ages. Oh! I was supposed to tell you! What are you doing next week?" she said, changing her position with excitement.

Logan's curiosity got the better of him, and he asked, "Why?"

"Because Kendall's offered to take us all to San Francisco! Well, he mentioned it…but Lucy convinced him to invite us and he agreed!" she said, the excitement showing on her face.

Logan immediately prickled at the thought of going on vacation with all of them. It was hard enough to obscure his emotions when they were all in the comfort of Los Angeles where he could hide, but in San Francisco he had no choice but go along with the group. It was possible he could get out of it, but that was unlikely. Instead, he chose to get more information.

"What's in San Francisco?" he asked, while calmly listing possible reasons in his head.

"Well," Maria started. He could tell she was as excited to tell him as she was to go, and for once he was glad she had a penchant for retaining gossip, "some of his old band mates are playing in a festival up there. He hasn't seen them in a while, and he hopes that attending will give them some publicity. I guess they're a few of his oldest friends."

Logan smiled before he could think it through. He'd never met any of Kendall's old friends. Their relationship had been so private that they'd known no one apart from each other. He could only imagine what the guys were like. Probably just like him. Perhaps one of them could take his mind off of Kendall.

"Logan," she said, breaking his concentration. He looked up to see her smiling hopefully. "You'll come, won't you?"

He thought for a moment, before nodding.

"I'm looking forward to it."