The two tall band members couldn't provide an answer to Logan's question. Which frustated the young genius a lot.
There was no way they could've missed Carlos leaving the Palmwoods, was there? The Latino is not only loud personality wise, but quite literally too. Him leaving would have caused some attention, at the very least to other residents and their friends and especially Mr. Bitters.
Logan guessed this would be a good place to start the search for their missing friend.
"C'mon guys, you have to realize that something's not right here. Los never skips dinner and goes anywhere without his helmet, this is so unlike himself. Something happened and it's why he's not here now. We gotta figure out, what."
"Ok, Logan I generally agree with you that he's acting really strange but I think we shouldn't panic. Maybe he's spending the night somewhere else and will be back tomorrow, we should give it some time before we do something too frantic."
Logan really didn't like that answer. He had a gut feeling that Carlos most definitely wouldn't be back by tomorrow.
"Ever thought about simply calling him and asking what's up?", Kendall suggested.
"Well if you think it's that easy, then be my guest!", the short band member said cynical. He was really getting fed up about both his friends taking this situation so lightly.
"Bro, calm down. We are taking this seriously, but getting worked up over it is not gonna help here, ok?"
"Okay, I just really need you to understand that this could be far worse than you expect it to"
"Got it. Now, will you calm down, if I call him?", James had already selected the number and dialed it.
"I will, just hurry, please", Logan was anxious, so much depended on that call.
"It's ringing... annnnnd voicemail, goddamnit", James cursed. He wasn't surprised, no one really was, but they all wished for a different outcome nonetheless.
"So, I guess that means we gonna have to go look for him. It`s better if we split up.
James, you go to Palmwoods Park. Logan, you check the lobby and pool and ask Bitters, if he knows anything. I'll ask all our friends if they saw him or know where he would be. We will meet here again in about an hour, ok? Good luck, guys."
Before James made his way to Palmwoods Park, he decided to change out of his expensive suit that he was wearing for his date with Lucy, that was no longer on his mind, into more comfortable clothes.
He just had to pass the threshhold of the room he shared with Carlos to notice something that caused a lump in his throat. Not only lay his helmet discarded on his bed, joining it was the Latino's turned off phone. Now James understood what Logan meant with 'far worse than expected', so much has gone wrong in so little time.
Trying to focus on the task of changing clothes, James proceeded to open the closet door and pick out some sweat pants and a t-shirt. As he was just about to close the door, he had another realisation that made tears well up in his eyes. It was gone, the suitcase Carlos had taken on every trip and every tour so far is gone, which meant, so was he.
'SOS, come back to the apartment ASAP, you need to see something', was what he texted into their group chat immediately.
Ever since they could remember, it was called 'Brothers of the Ice', or 'Brothers' for short, because that is what they were to each other. A family. A very unusual and in some way messed up family that went through a lot (of shit) together, but a family who had a strong sense of love for each other, which is all that really mattered in the end.
It didn't take long for Logan and Kendall to re-enter 2J and shout out James' name.
"Back here', was his short reply.
The duo entered the room, meeting James' eyes and instantly feeling overwhelmed by the tension in the room. That was the moment Kendall had finally caught on to the mood that his friends had been feeling for a while now: massive worry for Carlos.
"What did you want to show us, James?", the blonde asked carefully, almost dreading the answer.
"Bed. Closet", it sounded like a command, void of any emotion.
"Why are his helmet AND phone here? Isn't it bad enough that he left one thing?", Logan ask rhetorically.
"C-closet, guys, closet", the tall brunette insisted. It was the last puzzle piece to make them understand. They needed to, because he needed their emotional support to get through what was about to come. And Kendall and Logan would need his'.
"I don't see anything, James", the blonde announced, looking around the closet confused.
"Exactly"
"Huh?"
"Oh my god, you're not about to fucking tell us, that he packed his suitcase and left, please tell me I'm wrong about this", the genius spoke so rushed that it was hard for the other two to understand him.
"Logan, you're almost never wrong about things. I really wish you were in this case, but this is exactly what I was about to tell you. Carlos left.", speaking it out in the open made it real.
"No, he doesn't do that, he seeks comfort when something's wrong, not run away.", Kendall sounded frantic.
"Or clings to his helmet. He loves that thing, why would he abandon it?", Logan questioned.
"Why would he abandon us?", James asked sadly, not really expecting an answer.
Of course the genius provided a theory nonetheless.
"I mean, up until like an hour ago we weren't really talking to each other. I was still scared of James and Los distanced himself from all of us. Maybe we made him feel like he couldn't talk to us about whatever was bothering him and it made him depressed. Maybe that is the reason he left", Logan started to panic again, which was noticeable in his voice.
"Could very well be. I mean, I honestly don't even remember when I last talked to him, so is it any wonder he did? Hell, the fact that we're only realising it now, speaks for itself. We're supposed to be best friends, goddamit!", Kendall cursed, angry with himself.
"We're terrible friends.", Logan mumbled.
James only nodded to that. He still had a hard time realizing, that his little brother really packed his things and left the Palmwoods without anyone noticing. A million thoughts streamed through his head of what he could've done differently. James came to the conclusion that a simple conversation with Carlos could've done the trick. But now it's too late for that.
"What I'm about to say, may upset you guys, but what if Carlos doesn't come back in time for rehearsals? What are we gonna tell Gustavo?"
"That is the least of my worries right now. I just want Los back where he belongs, here, with us. I want us to be complete again.", the young genius said desperately. He missed his best friend more than he was willing to admit out loud.
"We will be, but I think what Kendall said still matters. Gustavo should know, maybe he and Kelly can even help us to devise a plan. I also want the little one back, but we all know that's not gonna be easy.", James took the role of being the optimistic one for a change. Kendall was still in too much of a daze to take that part.
"So, Rocque Records then?"
"Let's go"
Arriving at Rocque Records the trio met their music producer and manager, who was very surprised to see his Dogs, despite telling them to stay away from the studio until prep for rehearsals is done.
"Dogs, what do you want, we're still deep in prep, so this better be important."
"It is very important, Gustavo. We kinda have to confess something… uhm…", Logan started, already feeling uneasy.
"What did you break this time? I told you to stay away from the new award shelf!"
"No, no nothing like that. We didn't break anything, we just wanted to say…" James couldn't quite finish, saying it out loud once took a lot of energy and he didn't have enough to do it a second time.
"We think Carlos left the Palmwoods and we want to get him back", Kendall said determined. There was passion and conviction in his eyes. This was one of the many reasons he was their groups leader, he inspired everyone.
"He WHAT!?"
"Gustavo, why are you yel – oh hey guys. You're not supposed to be here yet, we still got a ton of work to do. Why did Gustavo yell at you?", Kelly asked confused.
"Kendall, repeat what you just told me", Gustavo responded to her question with gritted teeth.
The blonde did and awaited the woman's reaction. She didn't seem fazed by it at all, which Logan found very suspicious and concluded that she already knew.
"You don't seem surprised. You know something! Kelly, where is Carlos?"
That was the question she was afraid of ever since Carlos asked her for a plane ticket home. She was a terrible liar, so she spent a lot of time thinking of a believe and plausible excuse in case someone actually asked her the whereabouts of the youngest - needless to say, she couldn't think of a good one, so she tried to lie, even though she knew she wouldn't get away with it.
"Haven't seen him, sorry guys. Gotta go", her voice wavered and she tried to avoid the subject. Kelly knew she was busted. Even Gustavo saw through her.
"You have to tell us what you know, please. Carlos running away is a really bad sign, we have known him since he was 4 and he has NEVER done that before. We can't even call him, because he left his phone behind. He could be in a hospital right now and we wouldn't know. At least tell us, if he said anything about us.", it was really hard for Logan to not shout this in Kelly's face.
"No, he didn't, but something about him was really off. The day Gustavo told you guys about the time off and the three of you ran home , Carlos stayed behind. He was oddly quiet and when I told him he could go, he stayed in place. Then he asked me for a plane ticket… to Minnesota. That was the last time I saw him.", Kelly admitted, kinda relieved she didn't have to keep this a secret anymore.
"Did he say anything else. For example how long he's planning to stay?", James wondered.
"No, I'm sorry guys. All I can tell you is that he seemed lost in thought a lot and his eyes looked really sad. It was really concerning. I thought some time away from here might do him good, so I couldn't help myself and booked his flight for the next day."
"And he hasn't returned since…", Logan exclaimed.
"Which means…", James was still thinking it over.
" Kelly, you need to book three more tickets. Guys, we're going back home."
