I repeat, I have never been on the West Coast, so this is my best guess. I've also never been to a music festival, so this is my best guess. There is an actual music festival in San Francisco called Outside Lands, but since I've never been, you can think whatever you wish about whether or not that is the festival that Captain's Resolve performs at. The response for this story continues to be awesome, and you guys are honestly the best. I'm not great at responding to reviews, but just know that every one makes me smile.

- Five -

Logan honestly hadn't expected to enjoy this trip as much as was. He was even getting along with Kendall, thanks to Carlos, who was quickly becoming one of his best friends. Kendall had pulled him aside the morning after the fire to thank him for taking care of Carlos, to which he replied, "He took care of me too. I guess he and I have more in common than I thought."

Thankfully, this statement was made as someone entered the room, and Kendall couldn't respond. Logan couldn't begin to guess what he would have said.

It had been three days since the night of the fire, and things had been much less eventful since. The day after the fire, the girls had insisted on shopping, and after dropping them off, he and Charlie had gone to Alcatraz to tour the island. The other guys had gone to rehearsal, and Logan could see that it wasn't his place to intrude. He didn't mind spending time with Charlie, who actually wasn't so different from him, just a little vulgar and less intelligent.

Charlie had shockingly known a lot about the island, and mentioned facts about criminals the tour guide missed, sort of an amateur historian on Dillinger and Capone. Logan even managed to forget that somewhere Kendall and the guys were rehearsing, and let himself enjoy his time touring San Francisco. He took a few shots of the Golden Gate Bridge to show the boys, before he and Charlie went to a bar to wait for the girls to call.

The next day had been spent on the beach, relaxing under the cloudless sky. Logan had spent most of his time observing the actions of the others, who had been anxious to enjoy the amazing weather.

Noah and Addison had spent their time curled up in the shade of a tree, whispering quietly to each other. Every once in a while, somebody would go over to talk to them and they would welcome them, but they seemed content to be together. So were Charlie and Maria, who had been acting like teenagers the whole trip. Maria had tried to tan, swatting Charlie away at every opportunity, until finally he convinced her to go back to the beach house while it was empty.

Lucy had pulled Kendall toward the water before he'd even put his towel down, eventually wearing him down until he was waist deep in the ocean, defending himself against each playful splash she sent his way. Logan admired the way the water glinted off his back in the sunlight and wondered if it would be dangerous to get any closer.

Carlos followed them out, after an unsuccessful bid to get Logan in the water. For now Logan was content to be left to his thoughts as he let the sun warm his skin. He'd been doing a lot of thinking lately, about what he should do with his life. He'd been stalled, he'd like to say since the money troubles, but it had actually been much longer. Six years, if his math was accurate.

Once again, he considered going back to work, or possibly going to school to become a doctor, but the money for that simply didn't exist. He once again realized just how sheltered he'd been for so many years, and he was ashamed of the sheer naivety of his upbringing. The fact he was making dinner every night would have shocked him mother, who hadn't cooked a meal for as long as he could remember.

He even considered whether he should stay in California. He'd been staying with Maria for a few months at this point, and his mother had been asking him to visit for just as long. He'd told her that a visit was out of the question, due to the sheer cost of air travel, but if he were to move out there, it would be a different story. He couldn't imagine leaving the coast, but he also knew that his mother was lost without him.

He came to the decision that it would be best to call Aunt Elinor about it once the vacation was over, but that for now, he should be content to relax. Just as he began to drift off to sleep, he felt dripping on his chest. He opened one eye, to see Carlos standing over him, dripping with salt water.

"Logan Mitchell, I command you to get up and get wet," he said, before reaching down to pull Logan up by his arm. Logan was taken aback by his strength, disproportional to his small frame. He steadied himself, dusting the sand off of his arms, the shock forcing him to secede to Carlos's demands.

Carlos ran back toward the water, as Logan followed slowly. When Carlos made it to the others, they looked toward Logan as he made his way there, treading water. Before he'd made it close enough to hear them, Lucy began jumping up and down with excitement.

"What's going on?" he asked, finally coming up to them. Unable to control himself, he took a glance at Kendall's chest, wet with water droplets, and looked away before he could make it worse for himself.

"Logan, how's your upper-body strength?" Carlos asked, which was answered with a shrug. Carlos specified, "Well, could you lift me?"

"With what?" he asked as he looked him over, making calculations in his head.

"On your shoulders," he answered. "Could you lift me on your shoulders?"

He looked over to Kendall for a better explanation, and he answered, "Lucy challenged Carlos to a game of chicken. That's the whole reason he came to get you."

Logan glanced at Carlos, who shrugged with a smirk on his face. The guy had a child-like charm that nobody could say no to. Logan groaned, but he nodded his head.

They walked out a little further, until the water came to the middle of Logan's chest. Kendall went a little deeper in to make it fair, making up a little for the height difference. Logan could have told them that the height difference had never stopped him from dominating Kendall before.

They both ducked underwater and came up with Carlos and Lucy on their shoulders. Logan found it unfair that Lucy was so much lighter than Carlos, but that wouldn't stop him from winning.

"Carlos, I don't care if she's a girl. Own her," he said, as Carlos adjusted himself on his shoulders. Carlos mussed his hair in response.

Kendall had some trash talk of his own, "He's not going to have to worry about that. He's got the balance of a drunken squirrel. Make sure he doesn't break your neck on his way down."

Logan looked up and his eyes connected with Kendall's. His green eyes flickered with challenge, and his whole face showed his competitive side was acting up. Logan was taken aback, but didn't break eye contact when he instructed Carlos, "Take them down."

They carefully aligned themselves as Carlos reached for Lucy's hands, before Logan counted down from three. On the third count, he could tell that Carlos wasn't going to let Lucy win, whether he had a crush on her or not. It took all of his energy to stay standing with Carlos writhing back and forth.

He noticed that as the smaller bodies struggled back and forth, Kendall watched him, his emerald eyes laced with mischief. He had a hard time breathing, and wasn't sure if it was more to do with his emotions, or the fact that Carlos was starting to fight dirty.

After nearly a minute, Logan and Kendall looked at each other, struggling under the weight of the battle, as they silently asked each other how much longer this could go on. With a nod, they mutually decided to step forward, making the battle more intense, but hopefully shorter.

When Logan looked back up into Kendall eyes, he realized that he was close enough to see the droplets on every eyelash. He could see the flicker of gold around his irises. This was the closest he'd been to Kendall since the last time they…he drew in a short breath before refocusing in on the game.

By now Carlos had his arms wrapped around Lucy, but she was doing a decent job swatting him away. Suddenly, they both fell totally off balance, and as they went sideways, Kendall and Logan could do nothing more than let them go.

They both shook their heads, before turning to watch the disturbance in the ocean where they'd fallen in. Almost immediately Carlos popped up, declaring himself the winner, making shows of strength that caused both men to roll their eyes.

His excitement lessened when after nearly twenty seconds, Lucy still hadn't broken the surface. All three stared at the surface, panic beginning to show on their faces, before Carlos went to plug his nose to go under.

Instead, he was attacked from behind, as Lucy launched out of the water at him. As small as she was, she tackled him straight into the water, and the other two could only watch as they struggled to beat each other to the surface. Carlos rose out of the water with her in his arms, but she wriggled free and made him lose his balance. The battle continued, as the men lost interest.

"Do you think they'd even notice?" Kendall asked, pointing toward the shore. Logan followed his finger, before looking back at their friends, struggling for dominance as the tide kept both of them from getting a grip on the sand. He was slightly concerned, but they were laughing, and he had a suspicion that Carlos was taking advantage of the situation to have his hands all over Lucy without Noah judging him.

Logan shook his head, "I doubt it. I think they're a little distracted."

He and Kendall treaded back to the beach together, and without consulting each other, they both headed toward the house. He wasn't sure why Kendall was going inside, but Logan could feel the beginning of sunburn hot on his shoulders. He went to the fridge to grab a water bottle, while Kendall disappeared down a hallway. He began to consult what they had to prepare for dinner, before deciding that it wouldn't kill anyone if they just ordered in takeout.

As he opened cabinets looking for a takeout menu he was sure somebody had hidden, he was surprised by a looming blonde figure behind him, and he turned quickly, very nearly hitting Kendall on instinct.

"Hey?" Kendall said, his dark eyebrow rising curiously. He set a record on the table and slid it toward Logan. Logan looked down at it, before matching Kendall's confused expression.

He picked up the record, examining the art work, before confirming what it was, "What's this?"

"It's the limited vinyl release of Dobler's latest album. I pulled some strings," Kendall shrugged, leaving Logan speechless. "Nobody meets their favorite band without something to autograph. That's pretty much a criminal offense."

"Kendall, this album doesn't come out for two weeks…" Logan said, finally finding his voice. "How did you…?"

"I owed you one," he said, his eyes boring into Logan's. There was so much they just couldn't say, but Logan knew he was referring to that one date. It wasn't his fault the band had cancelled, and he'd more than made up for it since. This only reminded Logan of how good he'd had it, and how little he'd deserved it.

He averted his eyes, before responding, "You know I don't deserve this."

Kendall hesitated, his jaw clenching in agreement, before his eyes noticed the redness of Logan's shoulders. Before Logan could argue, Kendall had walked off and returned with a bottle of aloe. He reached out to take it, but Kendall shook his head, arguing, "You're not going to be able to reach it. I've got it."

Begrudgingly, Logan turned and gasped as Kendall's calloused fingers grazed his shoulder blades. He wanted to tell himself that it was the cold aloe that affected him, but he knew differently. Kendall's fingers rubbed into his skin, sending shock waves through his back as his muscles remembered what this felt like, as if it'd been just yesterday that Kendall was rubbing his shoulders after a stressful session of EMT training.

He could feel the calloused fingers slow down, and he knew that Kendall was following his same train of thought. He turned, staring up at him, exasperated, "Why are you being nice to me? How can you…after what I did…"

He couldn't form sentences, but neither could Kendall, as his mouth hung open in response. Logan could see a wealth of emotions passing through his eyes, before he started, barely above a whisper, "Logan, I-"

Before he could finish, Lucy burst into the house like a rocket, with Carlos close behind. Logan's eyes bore into Kendall's, as they both found themselves unable to look away. Lucy ignored the tension, and came over to Kendall, attempting to drape an arm over his toned shoulders.

"Where did you guys get to? We were having so much fun!" she squealed, still hanging all over Kendall's frame. Logan knew he was the only one that saw Kendall stand a little taller, making it harder for her to hold on.

Carlos came up next to Logan, and in his peripheral he could see the strained look on his face. He wished he could tell Carlos that Kendall was no threat, but to do so would reveal more than he'd have liked. Carlos cleared his throat, "Yeah, we looked up and you guys had disappeared. What happened?"

"Logan was sunburned," Kendall said, as if this explained everything. Logan felt that the short sentence sounded suspicious, but Lucy didn't seem to notice. Carlos looked a little curious, but Logan had come to expect that from him by now. He could never tell what was going on in Carlos's head.

After the shortest pause, Carlos intentionally patted him on the back, causing him to hiss with pain, "Well Logan, I'd say you were pretty fried for a white guy."

Carlos took a step backwards, prepared to bolt, and Logan thought it over, before deciding that he could catch the shorter man, even with sore shoulders, and he followed Carlos over the sofa as he ran for the nearest exit, "You're gonna pay for that, Garcia."


The next morning they'd all risen early to get to the festival. Charlie and Maria had chosen to wander, and Lucy heard that a favorite band of hers was playing at one of the smaller stages, talking Addison into joining her. Kendall told Logan to follow him as he kept a slight distance behind Captain's Resolve, flashing a backstage pass to get them through.

The guys moved quickly to tune their instruments, and Carlos only paused a moment to introduce Logan and Seth, who seemed more interested in his guitar strings that social interaction. After the introduction was made, Kendall guided Logan away from where the guys practiced, to where Logan assumed Dobler was practicing.

Logan had made a few observations of Kendall this morning. He was wearing sunglasses, and an outfit that really didn't look like him. It seemed he was hiding in plain sight, but Logan still didn't know why.

Instead of heading directly to find Dobler, Kendall paused and turned to watch his friends as they ran through one of their newest songs, the one they were most likely to mess up.

"You know, they really want you to play with them," Logan suggested, watching as Carlos consulted Noah about a certain beat. Seth seemed to be retuning his guitar as his bandmates dealt with the details.

Kendall looked down, and Logan could tell he yearned to do just that, "But you see why I can't, don't you?"

Logan nodded, "I do. You don't want to be selfish. This is their show, and you don't want to take attention away from them."

"It's more than that," Kendall added, kicking the dirt. "Noah's got this complex. He really doesn't see it, but it's there. It's why I went off to do my own thing. I just know that if they made it big, even if it wasn't because of me, he would always think it was. That I had stolen his thunder."

"But for one song? I know Carlos wants you out there," Logan said, reacting to the hurt in Kendall's voice.

Kendall shook his head, but his face showed that he was considering it, "That's enough of your meddling Logan. Are you ready to meet the guys? They're over here."

Kendall led him over to an open-faced white tent, and Logan could hear the riff of one of his favorite songs as Kendall called out to them. A head bobbed out of the tent, and Logan recognized the lead singer. He was paralyzed with excitement as the realization hit that he was about to meet one of his idols.

Slowly, Logan returned to the land of the living, only to realize that both men were staring at him. He cringed as he realized that Kendall had already introduced him, and the singer was holding his hand out for Logan to shake, "Hey man, I'm Tyler."

Logan forced his hand up, before shaking his hand just a little too excitedly, "Oh wow, I know. I just…wow. This is…wow."

He caught Kendall smirking in the corner of his eye, and it occurred to him that this embarrassment was among his list of motivations, "Yeah, Logan, I caught up with Tyler at rehearsals and told him how much you loved their music. You own every album, right?"

"Yeah, I…every one. Even the bootlegs. And your cover of "In Your Eyes"? Fantastic man…I just…you guys are awesome," Logan realized he was making a fool of himself, and he tried to right it by handing Tyler the record that he had kept under his arm. Kendall pulled out a Sharpie, way ahead of him, and handed it to Tyler.

He began to inscribe the cover, but continued making conversation, "Thanks man, that really means a lot. I mean, we have a lot of fans, but few are as diehard as you are. Kendall told me you were supposed to come to a show a few years back?"

"You had laryngitis. It happens. I'm just glad you recovered and made that next album," Logan said, finally achieving complete sentences as Tyler handed the album back to him.

"What's your favorite song?" he asked, before calling over the rest of the band. Logan handed the album to each of them in turn, star struck by every one of them.

Logan gulped as he forgot their entire catalog in an instant, before remembering a song from one of their early albums, "'Glass Houses Sink Ships'! That song is beyond tight. Gives me chills."

"We'll add it to the set list," the bass player, a guy called Harry, added as he handed the record back to Logan. He was sure that his reaction had been what Harry was going for, and after lifting his chin off the ground, he asked if he could get a picture.

Kendall took his phone so he could position himself between the members of the band, and he stuttered, "I feel like CJ. Oh god, I bet you're enjoying this."

His green eyes glinted and he smirked as he took the picture, thanking the guys for their time. Logan and Kendall promised to watch their set, before heading back over to the stage where Captain's Resolve was about to go on. Kendall asked if Logan wanted to remain backstage to watch the show, and he could think of no reason to refuse. They took their position off to the side of the stage, as Noah ripped into the opening chord of one of their hits.

Logan couldn't help but think, as the set went on, that Captain's Resolve were really terrific. They were more than decent musicians, and Carlos's energy gave them something fantastic. He understood what Kendall meant. They didn't need him, and he would only distract from what they had. But he also knew that they really enjoyed playing together, and that one song wouldn't kill any of them.

Kendall looked off into the audience, and Logan caught Carlos and Noah, in turn, looking into the wings. He knew that they wanted him to play a song with them. He just had to convince Kendall of that.

"You know, more people will come once it gets out that you're here. They might wander over here for you, but they'll stay for them. You know that as well as I do," he said, nudging Kendall below his ribs.

He paused, as the band broke into a ballad, "It would just be one song. Maybe the encore."

Logan nodded, and sure enough, once the set was over they took a bow, before rushing into the wings. They paused just long enough to hear the crowd chant for an encore, before Kendall turned to Noah, "Do you think I could…?"

Noah smiled, the adrenaline pumping through his veins as he groped for one of the spare guitars kept backstage and threw it at Kendall, who just barely caught it, "Maybe just this once."

Kendall smiled back, and the crowd roared anew when they noticed that Kendall was on stage. He caught the guys glance at each other, completely in awe of themselves, before bursting into a song Kendall had written back when they were first starting. Slowly, more people surrounded the stage, and he knew that the encore was a success.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Tyler, ready to go on. They nodded to each other before turning back to watch as the encore winded down.

"Kendall said you guys have known each other for a long time?" Tyler asked, trying to make small talk in the most insane of conditions.

Logan looked over his shoulder to answer, "Six years."

"Wow, that's longer than some marriages," Tyler chuckled, unknowingly saying exactly the wrong thing. Logan felt his heart cringe. "You know, it's not often you meet a musician that down-to-earth. He's really a decent guy."

As they hit the last note, Kendall looked over into the wings and caught Logan's eyes. Logan could see the sheer excitement he had from performing, and he broke into a smile.

He nodded in response to his idol, answering, "You know what, he really is."


The day after the festival, everyone slept in. Celebrations had lasted long into the night, and they'd all crashed wherever they'd stopped to rest. Logan woke to Carlos's head against his thigh, vaguely remembering a late night conversation, where Carlos had been sitting on the floor next to where Logan was lying on the sofa. He'd probably fallen asleep mid-sentence. Kendall had passed out on the air mattress nearby.

Once everybody slowly started moving, it was already afternoon, and Carlos made the executive decision that it was a fine day to go surfing. Logan recalled his lessons from Kendall, which had involved weeks of exhaustion and the taste of salt water in his nostrils. Still, once he'd gotten the hang of it, he'd had a great time.

After renting some boards, it was decidedly a guy's expedition, until Lucy asked Kendall if he could give her a lesson. Everyone, including Kendall, cringed, because it was a tough business learning to surf, and the lesson would take up, at the very least, an entire day.

Carlos offered to help, but as expected, Lucy insisted that Kendall was a better teacher. After all, Carlos had already mentioned that his lessons had come from Kendall as well. In frustration, Carlos trudged off toward the water with his board under his arm, and Logan followed, trying to hide his friend's disappointment.

As they took to the water, Logan realized that surfing was like riding a bike, and though it'd been a while, he took it up again with ease. The waves were great today, and he loved the adrenaline rush as he rode them through. He could see the other guys in his line of vision, and eventually even Kendall and Lucy paddled out, though he insisted she stay sitting until he gave the okay.

Logan should have suspected she'd take that as a challenge, and as soon as Kendall turned, she waited for a decent wave and stood, keeping her balance as she rode out the wave. The others congratulated her, but Logan caught Kendall's eyes, and it was evident that they both thought she was being foolish. Surfing was fun, but it wasn't a game. It could be dangerous.

The rest of the day was fairly easy, and Lucy began to take their advice as to which waves she could handle. Logan was probably the least helpful, as it wasn't in his nature, and he was still annoyed with her for pulling the stunt earlier. While waiting for another decent wave, he floated toward Carlos, who was doing the same while watching Lucy.

His brow was knitted deep and thought, and Logan waited for what he suspected was coming. Sure enough, Carlos asked, "What does he have that I don't?"

Logan followed his gaze to where Kendall was trying to help Lucy practice standing on the board, and though she was getting better, she still needed some work.

He smirked, "You mean besides a number one album?"

Carlos didn't look amused. "I'm serious. She just can't see past him. I've tried every tactic I know, and she just doesn't…"

"You're a great guy," Logan interrupted. "I think, given some time, she will catch on. And if she doesn't, she's an idiot, and she doesn't deserve you."

"She's not an idiot," Carlos said quietly, before smiling at Logan in thanks. They paddled over to Kendall and Lucy, and were soon followed by Noah and Charlie.

It was getting late, and the tides got worse as the sun went down. As everyone discussed when they should go in, it was slowly decided that the waves were getting too high and now was as good a time as any. As they started to paddle back to shore, Logan could see Lucy almost thirty feet away, starting to keep back, and he knew what was coming. He hoped he was wrong, but he knew.

Before he could open his mouth to stop her, she turned around and started paddling toward a wave that even the most experienced surfers couldn't handle. He screamed her name, but she continued going. By now, everyone had noticed what was happening, and Carlos, Kendall, and Charlie had all made motions toward going after her.

Logan was closest to Carlos, and grabbed him, knowing that the only thing that would do was add to the casualties. Noah did the same for Charlie, who fought him, not wanting to give up on his little sister if he still had a chance to stop her. As Lucy began her ascent into the wave, Logan realized that Kendall was out of their reach, and had headed directly for the wave, his strong arms taking him closer and closer.

He let out a breath as Kendall was pushed back by an undercurrent, saving him from the full force of the wave. Lucy wasn't so lucky, and they all watched in horror as she was pulled down. As soon as Kendall recovered from the aftershock of the wave, he abandoned his board and dove in for her.

The rest of them were frozen, until Logan's training kicked in and he shouted, "Everyone get back to shore! We're going to need some help! Noah, stay and watch Kendall, but do not dive in after him. We don't need anybody else playing hero. Just keep track of where he goes underwater, and make sure he comes back up."

Noah nodded, and Logan led the charge back to the beach. Charlie ran off to alert a life guard, and Carlos ran off to call 911. Logan waited on the shore, helpless until Kendall could find her. He guiltily realized that he felt more fear for Kendall than Lucy, and promised himself that Kendall would pay for trying to play hero. He'd better survive, or Logan was going to kill him.

After what seemed like hours, Kendall emerged carrying Lucy, who showed very few signs of life. Logan quickly sent Noah to get a towel as he made it to the beach, after seeing that Lucy was bleeding from her forehead.

"Set her down," he said calmly, helping Kendall guide her to the ground before kneeling next to her, taking in what had to be done.

Kendall stood helplessly next to them, before stuttering, "I think she hit her head on a rock or something. I tried to…"

Logan looked up at him soothingly, "Kendall, you need to breathe. I need your help. You have to stay with me."

Noah came up behind him with a towel, and Logan gave Kendall instructions, hoping he could pull himself together, "I need you to put pressure on her head to stop the bleeding. She's not breathing, and I need to do mouth to mouth. Noah…"

"I know CPR," Noah said quickly, and Logan was grateful for this surprising turn. Noah kneeled on the other side of her and waited for instructions.

"I'm going to do chest compressions, and you're going to give her mouth to mouth," Logan instructed, and Noah nodded. They proceeded to give her CPR, repeating the process four times before she gasped for air. They all breathed a sigh of relief, but Lucy remained unconscious, and Logan suspected it had something to do with her head wound.

He took over the towel from Kendall, and applied pressure to her head until the paramedics arrived. He gave them what he knew, explaining that he had a medical background, before handing her off to them. Charlie got in the ambulance with her, and they sped off. Noah told them he was going to call Addison to get her and Maria to the hospital, and Carlos ran to get the car so they could follow the ambulance.

Logan was the first to notice someone missing, and he found Kendall sitting in the sand, staring at his blood-stained hands. He leaned down to check on him, and saw that he was suffering from the obvious signs of shock, "I tried…Logan, I…"

"She's going to be fine," he said, trying to convince both of them, as he stared into Kendall's terrified green eyes. "She's on her way to the hospital, and she's going to be fine."