A/N: Okay, another late update I know, and STILL no shout outs BUT bear with me guys, I'm in the middle of my final exams. Hang on tight for about 2 weeks and then I promise lighting-speed updates!

On the bright side, tomorrow May 20th is my 16th b-day! Gah, I feel old!

Anyways enjoy!

Cheers,

Franshes

PS. I'm sure you're all going to hate me for this but...you'll see.

Ch.39: Big Time Hurt

"Ah! It's just so great to be HOME!" Carlos exclaimed, dropping his suitcase by the door and flopping down on the orange couch.

"Agreed," Kendall said before flopping down next to Carlos.

"It's good to be back," James said with a yawn "I sure missed all our friends…"

He soon joined them and placed an arm around Kendall who immediately tensed.

James noticed his boyfriend's weirdness and looked at him strangely.

"Something wrong?" he asked Kendall.

"It's nothing," Kendall said, brushing away James' comment.

James' eyes narrowed.

"Something IS wrong," he said "Kendall, what's up?"

"Nothing!" Kendall insisted "Look, I'm just tired that's all…maybe I just need to chill for a little bit..."

"Okay, so what do you say if we go down to the pool, you know, catch up with all our friends, drink some smoothies, and swim for bit? Would that help you relax?" asked Logan helpfully.

"I- don't think that's a good idea…" Kendall said.

"Oh, Kendall, c'mon!" the three others begged.

Kendall sighed.

"Alright," he said, rolling his eyes "Let's go then,"

He went to the bathroom to get changed into his swim trunks and then left with the other three for the Palm Woods' Pool…

**Line Break**

"GUYS!" They were greeted cheerfully by all their friends.

"Lightning!" Carlos exclaimed, overjoyed to see his faithful friend who jumped into his arms and began licking his face.

"Hey, hey there that's enough," Logan said, taking Lightning out of Carlos' arms "You're hitting on my boyfriend right there, buddy," Logan added jokingly and Lightning barked.

"Hey guys!" Camille greeted them all cheerfully.

"Hey Camille!" the guys answered.

"So," Logan asked, trying to sound casual "How'd your date with Stetson go?"

Carlos smacked his arm hard.

"Ow!" Logan exclaimed angrily, rubbing his arm "Carlos I have a right to ask-!"

"No you don't," Carlos said stiffly.

Camille laughed.

"He's right Logan, you don't," she teased "But for your sake, I'll let you know…it went great. Jett and I are dating now…"

"Oh, um, wow-that's awesome…" Logan said, scratching the back of his neck.

"We're glad for you Camille," Kendall said sincerely.

"Hey Kendall, you're back!" Jo said, coming up to them.

"Hey Jo!" Kendall said as he embraced her lightly "How'd it all go?"

"Guess what? I got the lead role in the new Spy-Tron movie! It's the biggest role I've gotten yet! "

"AWESOME!" all four guys chorused.

"Sup boys?" said Lucy joining them, giving Kendall a fleeting hug and the rest of the guys a friendly (though rather hard) punch in the shoulder.

"Lucy!" James exclaimed while rubbing his shoulder "How've you been?"

"Never better," said Lucy "I got signed for a really big music company, I'll have a couple of demos and my first album should be out in less than a year…"

"Hey, that's good," Carlos said.

Lucy smiled and shrugged.

"I guess…" she said "I've also got a new boyfriend…"

"Whoa-really? Who is he?" Kendall asked, genuinely curious.

"Um…do you CARE?" James snapped.

Kendall rolled his eyes.

"Of COURSE I care James, she's my friend, and don't talk 'cause I'm not like you!"

That shut James up and made angry tears pool in his eyes which he hastily wiped away before anyone could notice. The other two noticed James' hurt look and shot Kendall dirty looks.

"Alright Kendall, that's enough, I think he gets it, what he did was wrong but you don't have to rub it in his face every time, it's all you've been doing ever since we got back!" said Carlos. Logan nodded in agreement.

The girls looked at them confused.

"Long story," Kendall said "Another time…"

The three nodded in understanding.

The guys were then joined by Tyler, Guitar Dude, and all their other friends, welcoming them home.

Kendall stiffened however when he saw Mark approach James.

"Hey Mark," said James cheerfully.

"James! How'd it all go? I heard you guys are big news right now…"

"Yeah, yeah, we are," James said, turning to Kendall and shocked at seeing said blonde glowering at him.

"I'll…leave you two alone…to catch up and stuff," said Kendall faking a smile before storming back to the apartment, shocking everyone at his hostile behavior.

"Mark-guys- I'm sorry, I have to go check on him…see what the hell's wrong with him," James said, before hurrying after Kendall.

"Kendall-wait up!" James exclaimed, the blonde just kept walking and so James was forced to break into a run in order to catch up to him, grabbing him by his arm and pulling him when he finally reached him.

"Let GO James!" Kendall snarled at him, attempting to free his arm from the brunette's grip.

"Not until you talk to me, Kendall, look at me!" James said, pulling him into his grasp, hugging him hard though Kendall continued to struggle "Baby, what's wrong?"

"You have to ask?" Kendall said dryly, finally staying still in James' arms.

"I do, what's wrong?" James asked again.

"Don't think I didn't notice what you were doing back there," said Kendall blinking back tears.

"Huh?" James asked, completely clueless.

Kendall gave a dry laugh and wiped his eyes.

"See? And the worse thing is, you don't even notice it. You were totally flirting with Mark out there, and he was totally getting it, and I was right next to you! I mean, I get it, you can't help it, you're pretty and people are bound to notice it but could you at least, AT LEAST try to pretend like you have a boyfriend and care about him at all when I'm with you? Whatever you do when I'm not looking…you know, I've decided that that's not really my problem. From this point on, you can date and kiss as many guys and girls you want, so long as I never find out about it…okay?"

"Kendall!" James exclaimed "I-I'd never do that!"

"Wouldn't you?" Kendall asked, looking at him sadly.

"We're over…" James said softly, eyes wide.

Kendall looked at him in shock.

"What?" he asked.

James swallowed the lump in his throat, not willing to cry in front of Kendall.

"We're done Kendall…you can't trust me and it's hurting you and it's hurting me…We can't keep on hurting each other this way. It's best if we-if we go back to how we were before all this mess…I want my brother back…"

"Brothers?" Kendall asked, the word sounding so strange and vile now, instead of boyfriends.

"Always," James said, blinking back tears "Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Kendall winced when he heard the door slam, and for the first time ever, lost it completely and dissolved into tears, curling into a ball of misery.

He knew what James had said was true. They were hurting each other and it was best for both of them to end things now, in more or less friendly terms, than when it was too late and they hated each other…but it hurt so much…

Kendall's phone beeped and he hurriedly took it out, hoping, foolishly, that it would be James, saying he'd been kidding or that he wanted to take back what he'd said before, instead, it was a text from Logan which read:

Gustavo says we're shooting a commercial for Griffin tomorrow…you might want to tell James 'cause it's early in the morning and he says he'll kill us if we're late.
-Logan

A/N: Aand I'm pretty sure you all want to kill me right now, remember, leave a review to tell me how much you hate me, lol.

Also, you might be sad to know this BUT this story's got about 1 or 2 more chapters left...do not despair, there WILL be a sequel with every bit as much smut, drama, humor, and just plain KAMES as this one.

It would really mean the world to me if you guys left a review, reviews are the best b-day gifts you guys could leave me!

Cheers,

Franshes