Chapter 26 Warning signs…

As Logan pulls back up at the house, he smiles at the still sleeping Katie next to him. He turns the engine off and gently shakes her.

"Katie? Wake up, we're home." He quietly tells her. She just grumbles and turns around. He chuckles slightly. "Come on, kiddo, I think Carlos and Kendall are waiting for us." He mentions as he unbuckles his seatbelt and opens the car door.

Katie does hear this last comment and slowly opens her eyes. She stretches her limbs and slowly gets out of the car herself. She follows Logan as he heads for the front door, when she has the strange feeling she's being watched.

She turns around and finds the street deserted, safe for a few parked cars. She frowns and is about to turn around when she sees movement from the corner of her eyes in one car. She quickly turns around again, but sees nothing in the windows of the car parked not too far from them.

"Katie? Are you just going to stand there all day or are you coming inside?" Logan asks with a smirk. She frowns again, but chooses to head inside. She looks over her shoulder one more time, before following Logan through the open door. "You okay?" He asks her. She just nods.

"Yeah, just thought I saw something. But I guess I was wrong, so never mind." She says and throws him a smile. He raises an eyebrow and chuckles.

"Okay then. Let's go see what Kendall and Carlos are up to." He announces as they head further in.

They can hear loud blasting sounds coming from the TV. As they walk over, they can see the screen of Battleblast 4 still flashing with the words 'Game Over' along with Kendall's name. Logan smirks.

"Well, looks like Kendall needs some more practice." He chuckles softly and looks over at the wiped out pair sleeping on the couch.

"Yeah, but at least they seem to have made up." Katie pipes up. Logan nods and grabs some blankets from the back of the couch and covers his friends with it. He then turns off the game console and the TV, leaving only a small light coming from the lamp beside the TV. The room is huddled in full silence.

"Come on, let's go to bed." Logan suggests with a yawn. Katie nods, but then looks towards the front door with a worried look. Something is off, she can sense it. "Katie, you coming?" He asks her at the foot of the stairs. She turns to him.

"Yeah…" She trails off and follows him, trying to forget about the ominous feeling poking at her senses.

While Logan and Kendall sleep peacefully, both Katie and Carlos can't help but toss and turn.

They are right to be concerned, as the dark car is parked just far enough from the house not be seen by any of the residents.

"So, can we go get him now?" A high female voice asks in excitement. The male next to her sighs as he holds his binoculars in place.

He sighs again. "No, we can't go in now. We have to wait for the right moment. And when it arrives, we can go in and get you your teddy bear." He says with a menacing grin.

"Oh, I can't wait. I just want to hold him and cuddle him and make love to him all day long." She says lovingly. He grins wider.

"Oh, you'll get the chance for that. And so much more…" He ends in a whisper as his smile vanishes and he grips the binoculars so hard, his knuckles turn white.

At that same moment, Carlos and Katie shoot awake, sweat dripping down their faces and their eyes wide awake. Katie grabs a stuffed animal Carlos once gave her, and squeezes it tightly as she tries to go back to sleep.

Carlos looks over at the still peaceful sleeping Kendall. He bites his lip, but then scoots closer and carefully leans in to him. He stiffens when Kendall suddenly moves and wraps his arms around the Latino. But instead of fleeing, he snuggles into his arms, putting his head on the blonde's chest for some needed protection.

The next morning…

Everyone is dressed and ready for the day. Carlos and Katie are playing video games on the couch, while Kendall and Logan clean up the house a little. Carlos still isn't saying much, but some quiet words or sentences here and there have everyone jumping for joy.

"So, have you thought about what you're going to say to James when he comes home this afternoon?" Logan questions his friend as they clean up the kitchen.

Kendall sighs. "Not sure. I guess we'll see when he gets here." He says with a shrug.

Just then, the door handle of the front door is jiggled. Carlos shoots up from the couch and slowly starts to walk backwards towards the staircase.

"Carlos, just take it easy. It might be mama Knight." Logan tries to assure. A loud knock is heard then, which has Carlos screaming and he runs up the stairs in near tears.

"Carlos…" Kendall calls out after him, before opening the door.

"Oh, Kendall. I am so sorry, I couldn't find my keys." Mrs. Knight announces as Kendall lets her in. "I know, I know, we're early, but look who's home?" She tells with a big smile. She walks inside and waits, until a nervous looking James follows her with a small smile.

"James! You're early!" Katie shouts as she runs up to him and engulfs him in a tight hug. His smile grows as he hugs her back.

"Yeah, didn't feel much like staying in there any longer." He says with a wink. Logan throws him a smile.

"Feels like forever since we last saw you." Logan jokes and James just grins. Then he turns around and comes face to face with Kendall.

Both awkwardly stand in the hall and stare at the floor.

"Uh, so, I'm glad you're okay." Kendall sheepishly says as he rubs the back of his neck.

"Thanks." James answers. "I am really sorry for scaring everyone." He adds.

An awkward silence follows.

"Okay, you two can talk this out later. Right now, let's celebrate James' home coming with some sandwiches." Mrs. Knight announces and everyone's face lights up. Then she frowns. "Where's Carlos?"

Logan and Kendall share a look. "Uh, he kind of freaked out when you knocked and then ran upstairs." Kendall tells her. She looks down guiltily.

"Oh, I guess I should have called, huh?" She asks quietly.

"No, mom. It's not your fault." Kendall tries to tell her. "He's been a little on edge all morning. Not sure why."

"Oh. Well, uh, could one of you assure him that everything is fine and that I'm making sandwiches?" She asks with a smile. Logan nods, but before he can rush off, James stops him.

"I'll go. I need to talk to him anyway." He announces. Logan shrugs and lets him go.

Kendall watches his mother closely as she starts to take out everything she needs for the sandwiches, acting as if nothing is wrong.

"Mom?" He asks, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" She tells him, putting on another big smile. He frowns as he can see right through her happy façade.

"But..." He starts.

"Just go wash up for lunch, okay?" She asks him. "Oh and thank you for cleaning up." She adds, before turning back to her task at hand.

He sighs and then looks down as Katie puts her hand on his arm.

"She'll be okay, big brother." She assures him with a smile. He smiles back, but can't help but stay worried for her.

Katie turns away and stares through the window for a moment, that eerie feeling still lingering in the pit of her stomach.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kendall asks her suddenly as he stands behind her. "You seem a little distracted."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just uh, thinking about some stuff I guess. It's nothing." She tells her big brother with a nervous smile.

"Okay then. I'll just go wash up." He says with a frown.

Katie bites her lip, before turning away from the window with reluctance.

James slowly walks down the hall of the first floor and sighs before carefully knocking on Carlos' door.

"Carlos, buddy? It's James." He announces, before slowly opening the door with a smile. "Carlos?" he asks again when he looks around the room. He feels panic set in when he doesn't see his friend in the room. "Carlos?" He calls out a little louder as his heart starts to pound.

Just then he hears a sniffle from further inside the room. He walks towards the sound and his heart drops.

"Oh, buddy…" He nearly whispers when he sees a trembling Carlos in the corner of his room, knees pulled up to his chest and tears falling freely down his face.

He rushes over and gets to his knees immediately. But the moment he gets close, the smaller man whimpers and scoots away.

"No, no, no, hey, come on. It's me, buddy, it's James. I'm not going to hurt you." He tries, when he suddenly looks up.

"Jamie?" He whispers in a small voice.

James smiles at him with eyes full of concern. "Yeah, I'm right here."

"You're okay…" Carlos whispers as he suddenly throws himself into James' arms. The taller man gulps with shock, but hugs the man back as he sobs into the strong embrace.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks to you. Is that why you were crying? Over me?" He carefully asks. Carlos looks up with a sniffle and shakes his head. James frowns. "Well, then what happened?"

Carlos quickly pulls away and hugs his knees again, his gaze avoiding James' eyes.

"Carlos? I-I know you're not ready to talk about everything yet. But you know it might help you feel better?" He offers. "But I'm not going to push you into it. If you don't want to talk, then…"

"I'm scared…" He suddenly whispers, interrupting James, who looks at him in amazement.

"You-you're scared? Of what, buddy? You know you're safe here with us. Nothing is going to happen to you, everything is fine." He tries to assure, but Carlos just shakes his head and whimpers a little. "What, did something happen?"

But before Carlos even has a chance to answer, Mrs. Knight calls from downstairs.

"Guys, I have to go to the store for a little bit. We ran out of mustard for the sandwiches. I'll be right back!" She calls. James notices Carlos tense up and trying to crawl further into the wall. He frowns.

"Okay, mom!" Kendall's voice suddenly sounds from the hallway.

"'Litos, I'll be right back, okay?" James mentions, but Carlos doesn't even seem to hear him anymore as he has started to rock back and forth. He slowly gets up and takes one last look at his upset friend, before closing the door behind him.

He watches as Kendall exits the bathroom. He jumps when he sees James suddenly next to him. He grabs his chest and laughs a little.

"Jesus, dude. Don't scare me like that." He jokes, but James notices it's a little forced because he is still uncomfortable.

"Yeah, hey, did something happen while I was gone? With Carlos, I mean?" he asks and Kendall frowns.

"Uh, no. I mean, we talked a little and then we played videogames and fell asleep on the couch after he kicked my butt." He ends with some bitterness. James tries hard not to laugh, but keeps it in.

"So, but he was okay?" James asks again.

"Yeah." Kendall replies. "Well, he has been kind of on edge today, but maybe he just had a bad dream or something. Probably the same dream Katie had, since she's been acting just as weird." James frowns again as Kendall walks towards the stairs.

"But what…" They are both interrupted by the doorbell ringing. They frown at each other, while Logan hurries for the door.

"I got it!" The taller men slowly ascend the staircase. Katie gets up from her seat on the couch and walks backwards, while she's not sure why.

Carlos can feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing up straight. He breathes heavier and feels himself trembling. He gets up from the floor and slowly looks around for a place to hide. His eyes land on his closet/playroom. Without knowing why, he practically runs inside the extra room and barricades the door with anything he can find.

Logan slowly opens the door halfway and stares at the two strangers in front of him.

"Uh, can I help you?" The man smiles at him.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. Our car broke down and my wife and I would really like to use your phone." He says. Logan stares both of them down. The man seems a little odd, with sunglasses and a cap. His smile doesn't look sincere, while the woman laughs and giggles at a butterfly flying past her. She also wears sunglasses and a large summer hat, which she keeps low over her eyes.

"Well, I am sorry to hear that. Maybe you could use your cellphones." Logan offers with a polite smile and is about to close the door, when the man puts his foot in between.

"Well, unfortunately we don't have cellphones." The man says as Logan tries to put on another forced smile.

"And our phone is not working at the moment, so…" Logan says as he moves to close the door again. The man sticks in his hand this time.

"Is there a problem here?" James asks as he walks up behind Logan. Logan breathes a sigh of relief to see his tall and muscled friends walk up.

The man smirks suddenly.

"Oh, no, no problem here. We were just asking to use your phone for a moment and your friend was about to let us in." He says in a low voice, making Logan shiver.

"Don't let them in…" Katie's very scared voice suddenly whimpers from somewhere behind them. Kendall turns around to find her.

"Katie? What's wrong?" He asks as he looks for her.

"Don't let them in…" She repeats.

"If we're going to have a problem here…" James mentions as he grabs hold of the door. He flexes his muscles.

"James, don't…" Katie whimpers in the background as he moves to open the door wider.

"Katie, what's going on?" Kendall asks again.

James starts to move the door as if in slow-motion.

"James, noooo!" Katie yells, right before the man grins evilly and pushes James inside with the gun he pulls out from under his jacket.

"Should have listened to sweet little Katie, James. Didn't your mother ever tell you not to open the door for strangers? Come on, Molly. We're going to see your teddy bear."

He puts on one last grin as he leads his squealing girlfriend into the house and closes the door behind him.

A/N I'm sorry. This took forever to write, I have rewritten this like four times now and I'm still not sure if I like it. But I didn't want to keep anyone waiting anymore.

I hope you guys like it, please let me know what you think Any feedback is welcome, so just hit that review button

Thanks for your support in this story and my others. By the way, if anyone has a Carlos angst/drama one-shot request or idea, let me know. Because I am still suffering from writer's block and even all the ideas that used to clog up my head are just fading out. So, just pm me with any Carlos angst/drama idea

Anyway, still going through some stuff, which is probably causing all the blockage. Trying to write in the meantime, but also so excited now for the new BTR season to start! It's making me very happy and helping me go through my crappy days, so thank you to them (even though they will never read this).

Sorry for yet another cliffhanger, I just had to do it. But I will try to update sooner this time.

Love, Baxxie