Switched At Birth

Chapter 3

"So, let me get this straight." James said as he and Kendall walked down the hall at Palm Woods High. "Katie's not actually your blood-related sister?"

Kendall nodded for the upteenth time. "Yes, James. And that does not mean you can call dibs on her. I'm still her brother." He added quickly, knowing James too well.

James rolled his eyes, but nonetheless complied. "Hey, you can't blame a guy for trying." He shrugged at Kendall's eye roll.

"So," James continued, narrowly avoiding crashing into another student running past. "Who's your brother? Is he cool?" He asked curiously.

Kendall shrugged. "Yeah, he's pretty nice. His name's Carlos. He's a sophomore." He told James curtly, not wanting to elaborate more. It was an uncomfortable topic for him; it was weird talking about a brother that he'd never even known about until now.

James nodded like it was the most interesting news he'd heard all day (which may or may not have been true). He opened his mouth to say more, but a group of girls interrupted him.

"Hey, James!" One said, waving. Kendall was pretty sure James didn't even know the girl's name, but he nonetheless smiled back. And James had one of those million-dollar smiles.

"Hey." He said back. The girl looked like she was ready to faint.

Kendall sighed, shaking his head. Unfortunately, he was all too used to the dramatic displays of affection girls showed toward James. For some reason Kendall couldn't fully wrap his mind around, James was a girl magnet. He was handsome (almost abnormally so for a high school boy), Kendall couldn't deny that; but were girls really so self-centered that that was all they cared about? Girls who didn't even know anything about James threw themselves at him like dogs at fresh meat.

The blonde-haired boy grabbed James's arm and dragged him away. "Why do you always flirt back, man? Every single day." Kendall added, shaking his head.

James grinned. Kendall didn't faint. "Well, Kendall, I happen to enjoy their attention, unlike you. You should try opening up more; maybe more girls will be interested in you."

Kendall scoffed. "I don't need girls to be interested in me. My mother is already enough." He mumbled. James, for some reason, thought that was the funniest thing. He clapped Kendall on the back, laughing.

"You're funny, Kendall. Anyways, think over it. I gotta go." Kendall watched as James walked away, probably to talk to one of his twenty-thousand friends.

James was a good friend. And it was not because he was good-looking.

"No way. Tell me you're kidding, Logan. Please."

Logan hit his locker when it didn't open for the third time. "Ozzie, I'm not kidding. I'm transferring schools."

Ozzie Clark, Logan's best friend, made a sound of disbelief. "To where? What's wrong with this school?" His question made Logan smile, because he could write a whole novel about the things that were wrong with Cedarwood High School.

"This school's great. But you know what happened. I don't have a choice; if I did, I'd never switch schools. Especially not to Palm Woods High."

"What?" Ozzie shrieked, causing a nearby teacher to cringe. "You're moving a rich kid school?"

Logan sighed. "Yes, Ozzie, I am. I'm sorry, but it's what's got to happen."

"No. You can fight back. You're almost 18, man. Once you're an adult, you can do whatever you want."

"Yes, but I won't be 18 until next year. Plus, it could be good for us. I want Carlos to grow up in a nice school. Not this one, no offense."

Logan explained, partly trying to convince himself. His locker finally opened after another two tries.

"Carlos? Who cares about that little twerp? This is about you, Logan. Not him."

"Ozzie, I told you already; whatever affects him affects me too. And he's not a 'little twerp'. He's my brother."

"Really? Is he really your brother? Cuz I remember you telling me that-"

Logan stood up and slammed his locker shut. "Ozzie, can't we just leave this alone?"

Ozzie looked down, his face falling a little. "Dude, I don't want you to leave." He said softly. "You're going to come back a rich kid."

Logan put a hand on Ozzie's shoulder. Though Ozzie was 6 foot 4 and weighed well over 250 pounds, sometimes he was just a teddy bear on the inside. But then again, other times he was a lion. "I won't be like them, Oz. You can still come over to my new house; things will barely be different."

The other boy shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

Logan patted him on the back. "See? It'll be okay, Oswald."

"I told you not to call me that, man!"

"Sorry."

"Dinner time, boys! It's pasta night!" Logan smiled a little at the familiar sentence. They'd been living at 36 Ruby Circle for a week already, and every night at around 7 Mrs. Mitchell would turn on the intercom that connected both houses and shout that it was time to eat.

It was nice, living like a rich person. You ate good food every night, got to have your own room… There were a lot of perks living with the Mitchells, even though Logan was reluctant to admit so.

"Come on, Carlos, Mrs. Mitchell said it's dinnertime!" Logan called over to Carlos, who nodded and began to follow him. He was a little quiet lately, probably because they were going to attend a new school starting Monday. Today was Friday, so he really only had a weekend left to brace himself for a whole new group of kids.

Logan didn't blame him; he was pretty nervous too, and he didn't even have to worry about what Carlos had to worry about. How were rich kids going to treat someone like Logan?

Dinner was great, as it always was, and afterwards, Logan found himself cleaning up the table along with none other than Kendall.

It was still a little weird around the blond boy, but they at least were talking. Kendall cleared his throat. "What's bothering you, dude? You seem much more… nervous. Is it because of school on Monday? You don't have to worry; it's a great school. Most of the people are nice." Kendall offered.

Logan shook his head. "It's not that… I mean, it kind of is. But... nevermind." It was stupid, really; Logan hadn't told Kendall or any of the Mitchell family about Carlos. It was like he wanted to keep it between his mom, Carlos, and himself. He was afraid if he shared it with anyone else, something precious would be broken.

But it had already been a week; he needed to tell someone. And he'd much rather confide in Kendall than in Kendall's parents, or in Katie. "What? What's wrong?" Kendall urged.

Logan looked around to make sure no one else was around. "It's… Carlos. I'm worried about him." He finally admitted.

"Carlos? He'll be fine too, Logan, I've already told you. You'll both be fine."

Logan shook his head. "No, it's just that… I think there's something about Carlos you should know. You and your family. I'm sorry I've waited so long to tell you. I was just afraid of what would happen if I did."

Kendall wiped his hands on a towel and motioned for Logan to sit down next to him at the cleaned kitchen table. "Afraid? Logan, we're not going to think anything bad of Carlos. Unless he did something bad like murder."

Logan smiled a little. "He didn't murder anyone. Kendall, Carlos… he's deaf."

He realized that it was such a blunt thing to start off with when Kendall gaped at him like he'd just grown wings. "Okay, okay, that came out wrong. He's deaf in one ear, and he wears a hearing aid."

Kendall blinked. "What?! How did we never notice? Why didn't you ever tell us? Why didn't he ever say anything?"

"It's a small hearing aid, and it's made to blend in with his ear. And I don't think he wants you guys to know. But my point is, he's going to have a hard time at school because of it. He definitely did back in my old school."

"How? Like, bullies?" Kendall asked.

Logan nodded. "Yeah, that'd be a… nice way of putting it." It was clear he didn't want to elaborate, so Kendall didn't push him any further.

"Well, we'll keep an eye on him on Monday, right?" Kendall asked. Logan nodded.

"Yeah, I guess we will… Thanks for understanding, Kendall." Logan said sincerely, staring into Kendall's green eyes.

Kendall smiled. "He's my brother." He stated simply.

A/N- It's been a looonnnggg time since I update this, and I'm really sorry. I can't say the next chapter is going to be up soon, and that this chapter was good quality, because I can't guarantee either of those things. I'm super busy these days, so maybe after this year I'll be able to update more.

Sorry, all. But thanks for reading. I'll try to update when I can! Thanks for all the reviews!

Anonymous Skrtle