Chapter 33

"Good night, James." James glanced over at the bed next to his. He had moved back in with Carlos, and Logan had decided to sleep on a mattress on the floor next to them. They were all together again.

"Good night, Carlitos. And you too, Logie." James responded. He actually felt happy for once. Tomorrow, they were going to give Kendall the best day of his life.

Since the accident, that was.

He could just imagine the smile on Kendall's face. He missed Kendall's smile. He missed Logan and Carlos's smile, too. But he missed his own smile the most.

When he had smiled to himself that night, his smile felt rusty, old, like it hadn't been used in a long time. Which was true. He hadn't really, truly smiled since Kendall's accident.

"See you guys tomorrow." Logan mumbled, drifting off to sleep. Soon, James could hear his soft snores.

James lay awake for a while, thinking to himself about how to make Kendall's day the best day of his life. He heard Carlos shuffling around, too, which was weird because Carlos usually was the first to fall asleep.

But maybe he wasn't sleeping these days, not since he got into that fight with James and Logan. James froze at that. He wasn't there for Carlos when he needed it the most.

He was such a horrible friend. Carlos had needed his protection, but James hadn't provided it for him.

"Carlos? You alright there?" James asked quietly. He heard Carlos stop his fidgeting for a few seconds.

Then, he heard his soft voice. "I-I'm scared, James..." Carlos admitted shamefully.

"Of what, buddy?" He knew there was something wrong. He should have noticed before. He was such a horrible friend.

"I-I don't know… j-just… whenever I sleep, I get these nightmares about Kendall…" Carlos trailed off, obviously embarrassed.

But James only felt guilty. He felt so stupid, so horrible. Why hadn't he noticed this before? All he had been worrying about was ignoring Carlos and being stubborn, he hadn't even noticed Carlos had been suffering.

"Aw, I'm sorry, Carlos. Do you wanna sleep with me?" James asked gently.

Carlos sat up on his bed. "C-can I?" He asked timidly.

James smiled at him in the dark, even though he couldn't see. "Yeah, of course, buddy. Come here."

Carlos crawled in next to James, making sure not to step on Logan. James wrapped his arms around his younger friend, and Carlos buried his face into James's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Carlos… I should've noticed you were scared… I'm really sorry." James whispered, more to himself than to Carlos.

"It's alright, James. It's not your fault. You're still the best friend I've ever had." Carlos responded quietly.

James grinned. "Thanks, Carlos." He didn't know why, but Carlos assuring James that he wasn't a bad friend made James believe it.

"Good night, James… See you tomorrow." Carlos whispered.

"Yeah, tomorrow." James agreed.

Soon, they were both fast asleep.

line line line

"James! Wake up! Mommy says its time for breakfast!" James opened his eyes, wincing a little at the loud voice.

Kendall stood over his bed, bouncing up and down. "Come on, James! And why is Carlos sleeping with you?" He asked innocently.

James shook his head a little. "Nothing you should worry about, buddy. You go and wait for us, okay? I'll wake Logan and Carlos up, okay?"

Kendall nodded happily, skipping away. James smiled to himself. He glanced down at Carlos and Logan, who were still fast asleep.

Time to get this day started.

"Logie, Logan! Time to wake up!" James nudged Logan a little with his foot. The smart boy groaned and stretched, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Dude, what time is it?" He mumbled, yawning.

"Uh… 8am." James responded, glancing at the clock. "Logan, Kendall's just excited today. He wanted me to get you guys up." James said, knowing that Logan wouldn't complain if he knew this was about Kendall.

Sure enough, Logan stood up. "I call shower first." He mumbled, stepping out of the bedroom.

James sighed and chuckled to himself. Before, he would have fought with his fists and everything to get the shower first. But now, he didn't really even care anymore about when he showered.

Sometimes, you get your priorities straight.

He gently nudged Carlos's shoulder a little. The small boy shifted in his spot and buried his face into his pillow. James laughed a little. "Carlos, buddy, get up. It's tomorrow, remember?"

Carlos rubbed his eyes sleepily, blinking them open. "Yeah, I know, but I'm still tired…" He whined like a little kid. At least Carlos was going back to the way he used to be.

James chuckled at him. "Kendall's already got breakfast ready and stuff for us, Carlos. He's really excited for today, even though he doesn't know what we have planned for him."

Carlos smiled. "And what are we planning for him today?" He asked.

James shrugged. "I don't know. We'll think of it as we go."

Carlos giggled a little, then looked thoughtful. "How about we take him to the ice rink across the street? He still loves hockey, right?" He suggested.

James grinned at him. "Awesome idea, Carlos! Yeah, we could all walk there. But let's go eat first."

James and Carlos got dressed and went downstairs. Kendall and Logan were sitting at the table, waiting for them.

Mrs. Knight had made toast, pancakes, bacon, and sausages. The boys' mouths watered, and they immediately sat down and stuffed themselves.

"Mmm, dis is sho good, Mama Knight." Carlos mumbled through his food. Kendall laughed at that, and it brightened up everyone's day.

"You're talking funny!" He giggled. Carlos smiled back at him.

"So, Kendall, I was thinking we could take you to the ice rink today." James started. Kendall looked at them, confused.

"What's a ice rink?" He asked quietly, his eyes drifting off to look at something that wasn't them.

"Like, where you skate and stuff. Like the hockey players on TV." Logan tried to explain. Kendall's eyes lit up, and his eyes focused back to James, Logan, and Carlos.

"Really? We getta go on da ice?" He asked excitedly.

Carlos nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, we can go right now if you're done eating!"

Kendall jumped up from his seat. "Yeah! Let's go! Let's go let's go let's go!" He squealed happily, more to himself than anyone. The other three boys laughed and put the dishes away quickly.

Kendall was bouncing impatiently by the time they got ready. They packed their skates and gear and headed out.

"When are we there?" Kendall kept on groaning as they crossed the street. It had only been a few minutes, and he was already bored.

"Soon, buddy… oh, look, there it is!" Logan pointed at the large building that was the ice rink. Kendall cheered loudly, causing quite a few people to glance over.

It was always like that. Kendall would do something a 18 year old should never do, and people would look over. They would either smile sympathetically at James, Logan, and Carlos, try and pretend they hadn't been staring, or, with some of the mean people, laugh and point.

James, Logan, and Carlos ignored all of them. Kendall was still their best friend, and nothing would ever change that.

Even if no one else knew, they knew how Kendall had been before the accident. He had been an admirable leader, an encouraging brother, and the best friend anyone could have.

And no matter what anyone told them, he still was all of that.

Kendall would never change, not in their hearts.

The boys got on the ice, not knowing what to expect from Kendall. The blonde-haired boy skated around like he was a professional. Just like he used to.

At least Kendall was still good at skating.

For a few hours, everything was forgotten as the four boys skated around, playing tag and laughing together.

But when Kendall tripped over a piece of ice and fell face first into the ice, the other three boys froze.

They were reminded only too well of Kendall's accident before. James, Logan, and Carlos remembered all too well.

James remembered Kendall telling the coach that he would be fine, that he didn't need another helmet. There were only 2 minutes left, he had said. Only 2 minutes left.

Carlos remembered tripping and dropping his stick, and watching as Kendall skated closer and closer, oblivious of the accident that was about to occur.

Logan remembered watching Kendall fall, fall, fall… and heard the crack of his head on the ice. That sickening crack.

None of them moved, lost in their own memories. Kendall's wail broke them out of their daze.

The three quickly skated to Kendall and braced themselves for what horrible injury he had. But when Kendall looked up at them, he was perfectly fine. Just a bruised cheek and a little scratch on his hands.

"Owww!" He wailed, tears running down his face. "I wanna go home! I want my mommy!" He screamed. Everyone in the rink turned to look at him.

James kneeled down and tried to calm Kendall down. "Kendall, it's okay, we'll get you home real soon, alright? Don't worry, you're okay."

Kendall shook his head wildly. "I know, I know, I know!" He screamed, his voice echoing throughout the suddenly silent rink. "I know…" He sobbed quietly, looking like he was grieving the loss of a loved one.

"What do you know, Kendall? What's wrong?" Logan asked gently. He didn't understand why Kendall kept on repeating those two words over and over again… It was like he was trying to tell them something but couldn't.

It freaked Logan out, to be honest. But then, instead of responding, Kendall ceased his crying a little and stopped mumbling "I know" to himself.

Logan couldn't get those words out of his head… I know. What did Kendall know? What was he trying to talk about? Was he trying to say something to them?

James helped Kendall off the ice, and the three headed home after patching Kendall up with colorful Spiderman band-aids.

So much for Kendall's fun day.

A/N- Aw, poor Kendall… what do you think is wrong with him? Or is it just part of his mental issue? Sorry, this was mostly a filler chapter, it kind of sucked, actually… but I promise it won't continue like this.

Anyway, review and tell me your thoughts! And if you haven't already, check out my new story, "With A Little Luck". It's all about the boys as little kids… it's gonna be ADORABLE!

Peace, Love, and Giraffes,

Anonymous Skrtle