by different author

Disclaimer: I don't own anything involved in this story.

I would also suggest reading Repetition first or this entire thing will make absolutely no sense.

Chapter 1

"AHHHH!" James screamed. His friends laughed as he squirmed around on his hospital bed. "No! Give it back! Don't!" he cried desperately. Carlos fell to the floor laughing, his helmet bouncing as his head hit the floor. Logan was sitting back, trying and miserably failing not to laugh, his face turning red as he gasped for breath. Kendall was standing just out of James' reach, holding a small black piece of plastic: James' lucky comb.

"Please, for the love of God, don't do it Kendall!" James begged, watching as his best friend moved the comb closer and closer to his hair. Kendall smirked, watching as James looked at him pleadingly. The comb was getting closer and closer to Kendall's hair. James looked like he was going to start crying. "Please, anything but that!" he shouted. Kendall laughed and threw the comb at his bed ridden friend, who quickly caught it and held it protectively to his chest. "I hate you," he pouted, sending his friends into another round of laughter.

They were interrupted as a nurse walked in, looking at them sympathetically. "I'm afraid visiting hours are ending," he said kindly. All four of the boys sighed and Kendall and Logan stood up, giving James a quick hug. It was Carlos' turn to spend the night at the hospital, so the helmet wearing singer quickly pulled down the folded up cot and flopped down onto it, waving goodbye as his friends walked out the door.

There was an awkward silence as both boys tried to figure out what to say. "So…" Carlos said, desperate to break the quiet. James snorted. "Is that really the best you can come up with?" he asked in amusement, laughing as Carlos' face turned red. "Well there's nothing to talk about," he complained. James smiled. "Sure there is. We could talk about…" he trailed off as he tried to think of something. Nothing came to mind. "Wow. We must be spending way too much time together," he said frowning. It was Carlos' turn to smile. "We wouldn't have it any other way," he said happily. James grinned and the two lapsed into silence again.

Carlos looked at the small digital clock by James' bed and faked a yawn. "9:30 already?" he asked, feigning sleepiness. James rolled his eyes. "Really? Am I that boring?" he asked in disbelief. Carlos pretended to look indignant. "I'll have you know that 9:30 is a very good bedtime!" he huffed. James smirked. "Yeah, if you're, like, twelve. Come one, we're the Hollywood Super Party Kings of Hollywood. It shouldn't be this hard to have a good time. Maybe if it were Kendall or Logan, who aren't nearly as fun as we are, but with us it should be like a huge party." Carlos almost reminded him that he was stuck in his bed and couldn't do anything, but he stopped himself, knowing that the fact would just make James upset. Unfortunately, James was practically telepathic and knew what Carlos was thinking. "This sucks," he mumbled. Carlos sighed.

"Well, it could be a lot worse," he reminded his friend. James' brown eyes darkened and he nodded. "You don't have to tell me," he said quietly. "Aw, James, I didn't mean to-" James cut him off with a forced smile. "I know. It's okay, really." Carlos still looked extremely unhappy with himself, but he dropped the subject. James faked a yawn and looked at the clock, mimicking Carlos' earlier actions. "Well, look at the time. We really should get to sleep," he said, acting serious. Carlos smirked and threw a pillow at his friend. "Goodnight," he said sarcastically, lying down on the small cot. Despite how early it was, he was asleep within seconds. James shook his head, chuckling at his comatose friend.

Carlos was weird like that. He was always super hyper, and it seemed like he'd never go to sleep, and then he was out like a light. Not only that, but he slept like a rock. It took a lot to wake him up, something that his friends had used to their advantage time and time again. He'd often wake up to find himself covered in Sharpie ink or wearing a dress. But he always laughed it off and sometimes even put on a show. That was just how he was.

James watched his friend and felt his eyes slowly growing heavier and heavier. Soon he drifted off to sleep, praying that nightmares wouldn't plague him tonight. And for once they didn't… at least, not when he was asleep.

He was woken sometime later as the door was quietly opened. James blinked sleepily and looked at the clock: 3:47. He frowned and looked up at the figure in the doorway, trying to place the familiar figure. It wasn't Carlos; he was still sound asleep on his makeshift bed. It must be one of the doctors or nurses or something, he thought to himself. A voice in the back of his head that sounded suspiciously like Logan shot down the idea. Why would they come in at this time of night? Logan asked, trying to get James to use his common sense. James frowned and realized that he was right. Then who is it? he wondered.

The door was quietly closed and the figure made his way towards James, trying to be quiet. "Who-" James tried to ask, but a hand shot out and quickly covered his mouth. James let out a cry of surprise as he was pressed against the headrest of his bed. "Shut up or I'll shoot your friend," a cold voice said. Everything fell into place and James' eyes widened as he recognized the voice: Stenwell.

James instantly began thrashing around in the man's grip. No, no, no! he screamed at himself. Samuel couldn't be here, not with Carlos in the room. Where was the guard? James continued to struggle wildly until he heard a quiet click and saw Stenwell point a gun at Carlos' sleeping form. He froze immediately, watching his kidnapper's every movement. "Last warning," Samuel said coldly. "Next thing you do will end with his death." James stared up at him with wide, horrified eyes. Samuel removed his hand from the boy's mouth and looked at him, eyes cold and calculating. "You seem to be healing well," he mused. "We'll have to fix that, won't we?"

James stared at the door, willing someone, anyone, to come in and save him and, more importantly, Carlos. But the door remained closed, leaving the two boys in a room with a sadistic creep. "You look a little tense, James," Samuel observed. "Am I bothering you? Or is it this?" he asked, gesturing the gun. James remained silent. He gasped in pain as a hand struck him hard across the face, using all his will power not to cry out. If he did, Carlos would die. He couldn't let that happen.

"Answer me when I'm talking to you," Samuel said angrily. James stared at him fearfully. "S-sorry," he stuttered, cringing as the man smiled. "Why do you seem so surprised to see me?" he asked. "I promised I'd be back, didn't I? And you and I both know that I always keep my promises." James swallowed hard. "What are you doing here?" he whispered. Stenwell laughed. "I know I said it was crazy for people to try anything in a hospital, but it turns out it really isn't that hard, especially with idiotic police officers like the one that was guarding you. It was so easy to lure him away and kill him. What is the justice system coming to these days?" James stared at him in shock. "Y-you killed him?" he asked in horror. Samuel smiled at his reaction. "Well, I wasn't about to send him on a vacation, was I?" James shrank away from him, trying to put as much distance between himself and the sick, twisted man in front of him.

A movement behind Stenwell caught James' eye, and he watched as Carlos slowly raised his head, looking around sleepily. When he saw Stenwell he froze, before slowly picking up his helmet and taking aim. Stenwell noticed that James was no longer looking at him and turned around. "What-" Carlos' helmet smacked him in the face and he fell to the ground with a cry of rage. Carlos jumped up and grabbed James' arm. "RUN!" he screamed.

James didn't need to be told twice and the two ran out of the room, running towards the staircase. "Split up!" James yelled, and before Carlos could argue, he took off up the stairs, praying that Carlos would listen to him. He heard footsteps heading in the opposite direction and breathed a sigh of relief. Then another pair of feet entered the stairwell and began going up, right towards him. James picked up his pace and ran up the stairs, panting as he exercised for the first time in days. He heard the footsteps getting closer and closer and as soon as he saw a door he flung it open, slamming it shut behind him.

He looked around him, desperately looking for somewhere to hide. He saw a supply closet to his left and dashed into it, closing the door behind him. He was instantly surrounded by darkness, unable to see anything. He heard a door open and footsteps slowly walk down the hall. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," Samuel called. It sounded like something out of a horror movie, except it wasn't a movie; it was real, and it was happening to James.

James held his breath as the footsteps got closer and closer to his hiding place. His lungs were burning, but he didn't dare breathe. The stops slowed as the neared the closet. Then they passed it and continued down the hall. James let out a breath a stepped towards the door. He couldn't stay there, Samuel would search everywhere on the floor until he found him. Slowly he turned the handle and eased the door open, poking his head out and looking around. Nothing. The hall was completely deserted. James took a step outside and immediately regretted it as strong arms wrapped around him. He tried to scream, but a hand quickly covered his mouth.
"Found you…" Samuel whispered in his ear. James shuddered and instantly began struggling as he was dragged towards the elevator. "Time to go."

The elevator door opened with a ding and Samuel shoved James forward. The boy groaned as his head slammed into the railing and slumped to the ground, dazed. Samuel stepped in after him and quickly hit the 'door close' button. Then he pushed floor one and stepped back as the elevator began moving.

As soon as they got to the second floor Stenwell reached down and grabbed the stunned teen by the collar, pulling him to his feet. The doors opened with another ding and James was once again dragged out. The lobby was deserted. There was only a receptionist, and she hardly noticed the two until they had passed her. "Excuse me, sir," she called out, "but what do you think you're doing? This boy is a patient and hasn't been checked out. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to-" Samuel spun James around and pulled out a gun, pressing it to the boy's forehead. "I think you can make an exception this one time," he sneered. The woman's face paled as she stared at the gun.

Stenwell dragged his victim towards the doors just as they opened and a bunch of security guards ran in. "Freeze!" one of the shouted. James could see Carlos behind the group, shaking and staring in horror as he saw James. Tears filled both their eyes as they met each other's eyes, one pained, one pleading, both terrified. Stenwell tightened his grip on James and pushed the gun harder into his temple. "Don't move or I'll drop him," he threatened. James closed his eyes, tears leaking from his eyes. Please, don't let me get shot, he prayed. "Now throw down your guns," Samuel ordered. The guards hesitated and he pushed the gun even harder, eliciting a cry of pain from James. The men quickly dropped their weapons and watched him carefully. Still holding James, Stenwell slowly began making his way towards the door again.

As he passed Carlos he paused and gave the trembling boy an evil smile. "So nice to meet you," he sneered. Then he was out the door and pulling James toward a car parked right in front of the park. Instantly the security guards lunged for their guns and raced out the door, ignoring Carlos' screams for them to stop. They ran towards Stenwell and his hostage, guns raised and ready to fire. Stenwell cursed and hit James hard over the head with his gun, throwing the boy forward and sending him crashing into the approaching guards. "This isn't over!" he screamed before jumping into his car and speeding away. The guards scrambled to their feet and tried to take aim, but it was too late; Stenwell was gone.

Carlos, who had stood back and watched in silent dismay, ran to his fallen friend, turning him onto his back. "James? James, can you hear me? James!" James lay still, breathing shallowly as his friend cried his name. "James, come on, don't do this. Please wake up, don't do this again," Carlos sobbed. James let out a little moan but didn't open his eyes.

The commotion had brought several medical personnel out of the hospital and now they were quickly hurrying towards the boys. Dr. Santos, James' doctor, dropped to his knees and quickly checked the boy's vitals, letting out a small sigh of relief when he found James was alive. James groaned again and moved his head to the side. "James, can you hear me?" the doctor asked gently. "If you can, I need you to open your eyes. It's very important, James." Slowly James opened his eyes and stared at the doctor with pain filled eyes. "Please help me," he whispered pleadingly. The doctor nodded and turned to some nurses. "Get me a gurney, stat!" he barked. They ran off and quickly returned with the rolling bed. They carefully lifted James onto it and rolled him back to the hospital. Carlos ran alongside, clutching James' hand. "Just hang on James, we're getting you help. Just hang on."