This took ages to write. It can be considered slightly AU, because Kendall and Logan aren't best friends with James and Carlos, they just know each other. And it's set in Minnesota. Ok, try to enjoy!

One thing Kendall noticed about parties was that everyone always hung out with the same people. There were the girls that hung out in cliques of their best friends and talked to no one else, there were the socialable people who walked around talking to everybody they came across, and then there were the ones who just tried to dance with as many people as possible.

Kendall didn't really belong in any of these categories. He wasn't into dancing, he had only one best friend who wasn't a partyer, and he wasn't exactly a big partyer himself. What usually happened was this: Danny would go and hang out with all of his friends, and Kendall would hang out with a friend or someone he didn't even know that well. Then when Danny did come over to him, it was to dance with him. The way Danny danced so close to Kendall, you'd think he was trying to climb into his pants right there on the dance floor. While Kendall sometimes enjoyed this, it mostly irritated him. Yeah, spend time with your boyfriend just to get in his pants. That's very attractive. He usually spent parties with Camille, Jo and Dak, but Camille and Dak had opted to go on their own date that night, and Jo had the flu.

So here Kendall was, walking towards the couch where a tall brunette was sprawled on top of the cushions. Kendall stopped for a second. He knew the guy; his name was James Diamond, and they were in a couple of classes together. Right now James was glaring at a couple who were dancing together a few feet away; a small Latino boy and a dark-haired girl. Carlos Garcia and Stephanie King. It was no secret that Carlos and James were best friends, practically inseparable. A lot like him and Logan. After another second of contemplating how James looked like he wished he could blow one of the two up with his death glares, Kendall decided to try and be friendly.

"Hey," he greeted, sitting next to him. "I'm Kendall."

"James." He didn't look at Kendall; he was too busy glaring at Carlos and Stephanie.

Kendall couldn't help smiling. "So, which one of them are you jealous of?"

James turned to frown at Kendall, and then he gave a despairing sigh. "Steph. Don't get me wrong, she's a good friend, but . . ."

Kendall nodded. "I hear you. So, it's like a cheesy movie? Best friends fall in love?"

James laughed. "I wish. He's straight as a ruler." He smiled at Kendall. "I doubt you'll judge me, though. You're Danny's boyfriend, right?"

Kendall nodded. "Yep."

"So, where is he?"

Kendall shrugged, giving his own despairing sigh. "Honestly, who knows? Every party is like this."

"Must get annoying," James commented, eyes finally drifting away from Carlos.

"Oh, it does. But I've gotten used to it."

James snorted.

"What's so funny?" Kendall asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I dunno. It's just strange. He does what he wants and you go along with it. Maybe that's how he ended up as Mr Popular. Got everyone to act like a total pushover around him."

"I'm not a pushover!" Kendall argued.

"Well, whatever. It's none of my business, anyway."

Kendall sighed and got to his feet. "I'm gonna go find him. I guess I'll see you on Monday."

James nodded as his eyes wandering back to Carlos and Stephanie. "By the way," Kendall added, looking over his shoulder. "You should tell him. If you put it off for too long, you'll be too late. Just keep that in mind."

He turned and walked through the crowd. His eyes searched every face, but he didn't see Danny anywhere. He was just thinking of going home when he felt a hand on his shoulder and a voice whispered in his ear, "Hey baby. You wanna get out of here?"

Kendall resisted the urge to roll his eyes and nodded. The two left the house and walked down the street. He felt Danny wrap an arm around his shoulders and responded, putting his own arm round Danny's waist. As they reached Kendall's house, he remembered his mom and Katie had on away for a girls' vacation. Kendall and Katie had been insisting that she needed a break, and she'd taken Katie with her last minute, trusting Kendall wouldn't burn down the house while she was gone. Kendall was brought back to the present as he unlocked the door and they both walked in.

Practically the second he had the door shut, Danny was pulling Kendall away from it, shoving him against the wall. As he joined their lips in an aggressive and passionate kiss, Kendall could literally smell the drink off him. He chose to ignore it and kissed back, winding his arms around Danny's neck as his boyfriend kissed him harder, his tongue exploring every crevice of Kendall's mouth. Then came the wandering hands.

Kendall should've expected this; it was always the same. He'd let Danny go almost as far as he wanted, only stopping when Danny actually tried to get into him. Maybe he really was a pushover. He hated the wandering hands; they made him feel so violated. So why was he letting Danny do what he wanted all the time? Kendall moved his arms and took Danny's hands, which were now trying to unbutton his jeans. "Danny, not this time. Ok?" It was the best attempt he could do for now.

Danny gave a long sigh, his hands moving up to Kendall's shoulders, fisting his T-shirt. "You know, you might be hot, but you're still a little slut."

"Huh?" Kendall was totally taken aback at this. He saw Danny's face contort with anger, and before he could say anything else, he'd been slammed against the wall a second time.

"Do you really think its ok for you to throw yourself at the first guy you see as soon as I'm not looking?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"James fucking Diamond, that's what! Well, do you think it's ok? Do you?"

There was a stunned silence. This was a big mistake on Kendall's part.

"Answer me, you slut!" Danny was yelling, slamming him against the wall by his shoulders again and again.

"I- I wasn't—"

Kendall's protests were cut off by a slap that sent him flying onto the floor. His hand flew up to his cheek, and the back of his mind wondered if he'd get a bruise there or not. The rest of his mind was just one long, shrill scream. Danny's drastic change of mood was scaring him shitless.

"GET UP!" Danny grabbed his wrists and twisted them, dragging him to his feet before knocking him against the wall again. Punches kept coming, each one hurt more than the last. Kendall's face was stinging, and his tears mingled with the blood from his newly split lip. His stomach and sides were aching so much that he couldn't breathe, and he was blinded by tears. He couldn't even scream for help, though no one would've heard him anyway.

Danny grabbed one of Kendall's wrists again and twisted it, ignoring his boyfriend's whimpers of pain as he threw him onto the ground. As Kendall landed, he knew he'd fallen the wrong way, because there was now a searing pain in his ankle. He just lay there, shaking and struggling to breathe.

Then he felt fingers close tightly around his throat. His own hands flew up to try and pry them off, but they only tightened, holding him up and slamming him into the wall again as they started cutting off his air supply. Kendall would almost welcome death at this point; he was hurting so much it seemed like nothing could make it better. Then suddenly Danny's hold on him loosened. Their eyes locked for one long, terrifying moment. Then Danny turned and left, slamming the door behind him.

Kendall just lay there, in too much pain to try and move. Both physically and emotionally. Every inch of him hurt, inside and out. He managed to push himself up with the hand that wasn't sprained. There were still tears sliding down his cheeks, and his throat felt so swollen that he could only take rasping breaths that hurt like crazy. He managed to reach into his pocket with shaking fingers and pull out his phone. He just wondered if he'd be able to speak at all.

Logan was just coming out of the shower when he heard his phone ringing. He hurried down the hall and into his bedroom. He picked the phone up and, seeing the caller ID, immediately picked up. "Hello?"

"Logan . . . I . . ." Logan was surprised to hear Kendall's voice shaking. And he sounded so hoarse that Logan could barely hear him.

"Kendall, are you ok?"

"N-no." Now Logan was really shocked, because he could hear muffled sobs on the other end of the phone. Kendall never cried. Ever. He got upset plenty of times, but he never actually let any tears fall. The last time he'd cried was when his dad had left, but they'd been little kids then. It didn't count. It only took a second for all of this to fly through Logan's quick mind.

"L-Logan . . ." Logan made up his mind in an instant.

"Kendall, don't move, ok? I'll be right there!"

He ran downstairs and was about to leave the house, when he realised that he was dressed in nothing but a towel. He gave a gloomy sigh and headed back upstairs. As he quickly dressed, his mind drifted to Kendall, as it always did. The two had met in pre-k, and had become best friends on the spot.

Logan had always wanted to be more, and it was only in Sophomore Year that he'd actually plucked up the courage to say so. However, he had waited too long, because Kendall had come up to him one morning to say that Danny had asked him out. Logan knew that Kendall was gay; it had been the only thing that gave him hope. He himself had never admitted it, though later on he realised how much of a difference it could have made. And Logan saw how happy Kendall had been that day, and he didn't want to interfere. So he settled with watching and waiting, but never touching.

Then Kendall and Danny had broken up during the summer, and Logan had thought maybe he would have a chance. But he couldn't say anything; he knew Kendall was upset and just needed a friend, and the last thing he wanted was his best friend confessing his love for him and complicating things even further. But, after a week, he decided that he wasn't going to wait any longer. He'd walked to Kendall's house just in time to see Danny walk out the front door, kissing Kendall before he left. And Logan knew he'd lost his chance yet again.

Once Logan was dressed, he grabbed his jacket and leaped down the stairs two at a time. He ran down the street as fast as his legs could carry him, panting. If something had happened to Kendall—

He knocked on the door so hard his knuckles hurt. He heard no response, and the door didn't open. "Kendall?" he called, knocking again. "It's me."

Logan listened carefully, and heard some very uneven footsteps making their way to the door. Then it opened just enough for someone Logan barely recognised to peer out with wide eyes.

"Kendall? What happened?" Kendall didn't answer, but he stepped back, giving Logan room to walk in. Logan looked at Kendall closely as he shut the front door. The blonde's face was pale, even paler than usual, except for the large bruises on his cheeks. There were also dark bruises and scratches on his neck. His eyes were red; he'd obviously been crying, a lot. His arms were covered in bruises too, and he was standing awkwardly. "Who did this to you?" Logan demanded, stepping closer to Kendall, who seemed to shrink away.

As Kendall stepped away from him, he stumbled and fell onto the floor, where he let out a shrill cry of pain, clutching his ankle with one hand. Logan was by his side in an instant, lifting him up and leading him over to the couch. He propped the blonde's legs up and kneeled on the floor so he was level with Kendall's face. He repeated his previous question, this time more gently. "Who did this?"

Kendall opened his mouth, but no sound came out except a hoarse gasp. Suddenly Kendall was shaking and breathing unevenly, and tears were suddenly streaming down his cheeks. Logan stared at him in horror for a split second. Then he reached up and brushed Kendall's tears away with his thumb, while his other hand moved up to Kendall's neck. Noticing how the blonde immediately stiffened, he felt that his throat was swollen slightly.

He got up and hurried into the kitchen, filling a glass with cold water and almost tripping over his own feet on the way back. He sat down next to Kendall and wrapped an arm around him, guiding him into a sitting position. "Drink," he said plainly, pressing the rim of the glass to Kendall's lips and tilting it slightly. Kendall gulped it down, still barely breathing as he finished the drink within a couple of seconds.

"Logan . . ." At least he could talk better now, although his breathing was still a bit raspy. And very shaky.

Logan, again, asked this question he was so determined to receive an answer for. "Who did this?" He was desperate. Whoever it was would pay for doing this, for hurting Kendall like this, for rendering him vulnerable and helpless. He'd make sure they regretted this as long as they lived.

"Danny," Kendall said in a small voice. "That's why I needed you. I just . . ." His voice died away as another tear slid down his bruised cheek.

"Is there more?"

"My sides, a little bit."

"I can't believe he would do this to you," Logan said, and it was true, he really couldn't. And it made him really angry. "When did this happen?"

"Right before I called you. We came here after this party, and then he just . . . I've never seen him so angry before."

More tears slid down the blonde's cheeks, and suddenly Kendall's sobs were muffled by his hands as he trembled more violently. Logan immediately pulled his best friend into a hug, not caring that his T-shirt was getting soaked as the blonde cried into his shoulder. They just sat there for a few minutes, Logan stroking Kendall's hair in an attempt to comfort him. He would've sat there as long as it took, it didn't make a difference to him. When Kendall was hurt, Logan was always there to make him better. This time would be no different. After a while, it was clear his attempts at soothing his best friend had worked, because the weeping had slowly stopped, and he wasn't shaking anymore. Kendall pulled back from the hug, attempting to smile, but failing. "I'm sorry . . ."

"Kendall!" Logan interrupted. "This isn't your fault. You've got every right to be upset. I'd be upset too. You've nothing to be ashamed of." He paused. "I'd better take a look at your ankle."

Logan looked at Kendall's ankle and his wrist, and after confirming they were just sprained, he went to get Mrs Knight's first-aid kit and bandaged them up. He couldn't do anything for the bruises covering Kendall's broken body, or for the unsteady panting that hadn't really stopped at all.

Logan had a problem to solve; there was no way Kendall was gonna get all the way up those stairs without ending up in even more pain. But there was a spare room on the ground floor, and it didn't take Logan long to get Kendall in there, laying him down on the bed under the thin comforter. He stood there for a second, debating what to do. Then Kendall made up his mind for him, by reaching with shaking a hand and weakly gripping the hem of Logan's shirt. "Don't go?" he whispered. It was such a feeble gesture that Logan almost burst into tears right there and then.

Without hesitation, he climbed into bed next to the quivering blonde, taking him in his arms. Kendall lay curled up against his chest, still shaking, still trembling, but he wasn't crying anymore. His head was resting in the crook of Logan's neck, and all Logan could think through the night was how he was gonna kick Danny's ass for this. And how much he loved Kendall.

Right. How is it so far? I kinda like the protective!Logan idea, it's always been a favourite of mine. PLEASE review, you know you want to! And pretty please go vote in the poll on my profile! I'd greatly appreciate it!