Big Time Sleepwalking

Kendall awoke with a start at the sound of a crash. He looked over at his roommate, Logan, who had also woken up startled. Without saying anything they crept out of bed and slowly, trying not to make any noise, opened their bedroom door. Kendall reached for something to protect them with and grabbed his guitar. He really hoped he didn't have to hit anyone over the head with it as he loved his guitar. Spotting the dark outline of a figure a few feet away, Kendall raised his arms ready to knock the guy silly. He really wished he'd grabbed a hockey stick instead, but the hockey sticks were in the closet and the guitar was by the door.

The figure screamed causing Kendall to stumble, trip over his own feet, and fall, landing his elbow into his quitar.

"Hockey pucks!" He shouted when he realized he'd cut his elbow and broken every string on the instrument.

"Kendall?" said,

"Carlos?" said,

"Logan?" said,

"James?" Kendall questioned.

"Boys?" said,

"Mom?" Kendall called out.

Mrs. Knight flipped the light switch to reveal everyone gathered in the hall. Everyone except Katie. How she slept through this no one knows.

"You really shouldn't play that with your elbow," Carlos remarked.

"What's going on out here?" Mrs. Knight asked helping Kendall to his feet and getting his elbow out of his guitar. Luckily, the only thing damaged on the guitar were the strings.

"I heard a crash," Kendall, Logan, and Carlos said.

"I was on my way back to my room when I heard what I'm guessing was Kendall falling," James said.

"Logan, you help clean up Kendall's arm and you four go back to bed. I'll check the living room."

"Mom, you really shouldn't do that alone."

"I'm a grown woman, but thanks for worrying, Kendall."

"Whoever or whatever was here last night knocked over a lamp, but I didn't find anyone in the apartment," Mrs. Knight said the next morning. "How's your elbow?" She asked her son as he sat down at the counter for breakfast before heading with his buds to Rocque Records for a day of rehearsal.

"Sore." Logan had done a good job cleaning the scrapes with antiseptic and applying a gauze pad. "What'd you do to your arm?" Kendall asked James spotting a huge bruise on his left forearm.

James examined his arm.

"I have no idea! It does hurt. That's weird."

"I think James is sleepwalking," Logan spoke up as he and Kendall climbed under the covers of their respective beds in the room they shared.

"Sleepwalking, are you sure?"

"We all heard the first crash, but James never said he did. What he said was he heard your crash. If he had been in bed he would have come from the same direction as Carlos, but Carlos was alone, as you almost got him with your guitar."

"He said he was going back to his room so of course he wouldn't be coming from the same direction as Carlos," Kendall interrupted.

"Also, there's that bruise on his arm. He doesn't remember how he got it. It's possible he got it knocking over the lamp. Mama Knight said she didn't find anyone in the apartment last night."

Kendall climbed out of bed.

"Where are you going?"

"Come on." Kendall snuck out the door with Logan following. They crept down the hall toward the living room. "There." Kendall pointed to James.

"Wait," Logan said upon spotting his pretty boy best friend. "He's not sleepwalking."

James crossed his legs, spun, did a kick, and…

"He's doing the can-can!" Kendall exclaimed.

"Sleepdancing!" both boys shout.

"And now…" Logan ran into the living room to stop James from doing a back flip into the dome hockey set.

Logan tackled James to the floor. James hit his head on the carpet essentially waking him up, which was better than him crashing into the game and possibly breaking a bone or something of equal harm.

"I thought you weren't supposed to wake a sleepwalker?" Kendall rushed towards them.

"What?" James asked coming to consciousness. "What are you doing and why does my head hurt?" He looked up at Logan who sat on top of him.

"I caught you sleep—"

"Walking?"

"Dancing, sleepdancing."

"That's not possible."

"Yes, it is," Carlos appeared from the shadows of the kitchen. "And I've got it all right here." He tapped his video camera. "I recorded you doing our entire routine to 'Elevate.'"

"No way. I'd remember doing something like that."

"It's all right here."

Carlos gathered around James, Kendall, and Logan as Carlos pressed play on the camera to reveal James appearing from the hallway performing the number.

"I'm posting this on the 'net," Carlos exclaimed happily.

James jumped up knocking Logan over and ran after Carlos who crawled, with his video camera in his hand, up Swirly. James went right after him up the slide.

I came up with this idea when I was coming back from something, I don't remember what. I do remember riding in the car daydreaming when I thought of the idea of someone sleepdancing instead of sleepwalking. In my daydream it was James as the sleepdancer so he became the star of the story. It's this and Big Time Funeral that really prompted me to write one-shots for Nano this year.

I'm sorry I'm a day late with this. I figured I would be but for a different reason! The real reason is my uncle had a heart attack Thursday night. Long story short his tests came back positive and clear (my stepcousin saved his life knowing CPR). The heart attack had to do with a combination of diabetes and a cortisone shot. Anyway, I went to visit him yesterday and thus this one-shot is a day late. Hopefully, I can get everything back on track.