A/N: So this is "Stupid." I hope y'all like it.

"Stupid"

Logan hated to be called stupid. He had a fear of being stupid. It's funny how fear pushes you to do or be the opposite of what it is that scares you. Logan Mitchell had fantastic grades, he spit out facts that were just barely related to the conversation he was in, and he never backed down from helping his friends with their homework. To his friends, he was a genius, and he reveled in their praises.

Unfortunately, he was a pessimist. That may not mean much to the average person, but often enough, smart pessimists got hesitant, and scared. Were they actually smart, or were others just stupid? Or maybe the others just didn't want to hurt the smart people's feelings because they weren't actually very bright? Logan hated these thoughts, and when it came to the thought that maybe his friends were just stupid, he actually shook his head and tried his best to push the uncertainty to the back of his brain.

Then there was Carlos. He didn't get the best grades, and once he was incredibly close to flunking algebra, bless his heart, so Logan helped him pass the class. When Carlos got an A on the test, both boys felt so brilliantly happy. Carlos felt smart period, because he and Logan got the two highest grades of the class, and Logan felt brilliant because he helped Carlos get that grade. An A. That was sure something, wasn't it?

When they got to L.A. however, Logan felt more unsure of himself than ever before. This was new territory, new people, far more people, and they were a pop band now. He had to prove his intelligence way more publicly now, on a much higher scale, and he still couldn't come off as a know-it-all, because then no one would like him anyway. It was hard, and he hated to admit it, but he had no idea how to do that.

Carlos was ecstatic about moving to L.A. It meant new adventures, more adventures, and thanks to the weather, more time to have the adventures! Plus, they lived at a place that had a pool. A pool! It was awesome. Of course, many of his ideas were shot down, and was often hurting himself, but smiling through it all. Logan called him stupid quite a bit though, and now he was just a little sensitive on the subject.

"Carlos, you really shouldn't do this!" Kendall called up to Carlos. The helmet wearing boy had climbed up the swirly slide and was very excited to enact his new idea. It'd be so much fun.

"But Kendall! I have to do it! You'll do it once you realize how fun it is!" Carlos whined, then shouted.

It was simple, really. All Carlos had to do was jump as far as the couch was from the place he was standing, and land carefully. On the couch. Which was at least twelve feet from the exact drop point Carlos was going to jump from. How could Carlos jump that far? The answer was, he couldn't.

"Yow!" Carlos yelped when his wrist hit the back of the orange furniture. He fell on his back, but thanks to his cat-like landing skills, he made it so the blow wasn't as bad. He had to use his already hurt wrist to catch himself though, and that made the pain even worse.

"I'll get Logan," Kendall sighed, walking off to the door. As far as he knew, Logan was at Lucy's.

Kendall didn't need to go far though, because Logan was already walking down the hall, whistling. Kendall smiled.

"You're happy," Kendall commented. Logan shrugged, and continued to walk into the apartment. He stopped in the doorway as he saw Carlos groaning and clutching his wrist.

"What happened?" he asked Kendall. Kendall pursed his lips to the side, and shook his head, disappointed in the lame stunt.

"Carlos tried to jump off the second floor and land on the couch. His wrist hit the back of the couch, and I think he had to use it to cushion the fall." Logan winced at the last couple of words. Yeah, typical Carlos.

"Carlos, you really need to think your ideas through. You continue to make these stupid mistakes," Logan told Carlos as he walked over there. The correct phrase was "silly mistakes" but Logan thought the word "silly" was for first graders who couldn't take the word "stupid." He learned that a long time ago. Carlos looked up at him, with darker eyes, and a frown. Logan tried to grab at the wrist.

"No. Don't. The pain will go away on its own," Carlos grumbled, getting up. Logan stood up after him, and watched as the shortest boy stomped out of the apartment. Kendall looked after Carlos too.

"I think it was something you said," Kendall came to the conclusion after a minute of staring into the empty hallway. Logan looked at him in shock.

"What do you mean it was something I said? Maybe the pain in his wrist just made him grouchy!" Logan defended himself immediately. Kendall shook his head.

"Stupid mistakes? Logan you say stuff like that to him a little too often. I think he's finally gotten sensitive to it." At these words Logan stared back out the door again, his jaw dropped in disbelief.

"I don't say it that often," Logan whispered. Kendall raised one of his bushy eyebrows.

"You kind of do. I could even get James to agree. Where is he, anyway?" Kendall looked around the apartment.

"He's by the pool, with Lucy. He said he needed her help getting some girl to like him or something," Logan informed him. Kendall grinned.

"Are you jealous?" Kendall was sure Logan was, a lot.

"No. She told me that she'd been wanting to date me for months before we got together. She's a smart girl, she won't throw us away," Logan replied smugly.

"Fine. Well, you know what? James probably already knows about what just happened. Do you remember what Carlos' favorite place is?" Kendall asked. Logan sighed. He went to sit down on the couch, and Kendall followed after him.

"The pool. I'm going to look like such a jerk," Logan groaned. Kendall nodded.

"Why do you call Carlos stupid so much anyways?" Kendall inquired. Logan looked up at him with wide eyes.

"'Cause he is. I can tell, since, based on what you guys say, I'm not. I'm smart." Kendall then got an idea.

"Based on what we say? Logan, it's a fact that you're smart. Don't you know that?" Logan shrugged.

"I don't know. Half of the time I feel like I do, others I don't." This played even more into Kendall's thought.

"What times do you feel smart?" Kendall eased Logan into the conversation.

"When I'm helping you guys with your homework, when I get a perfect grade. I feel smart when I have to help Carlos after he does something stupid," Logan listed. That was it.

"So you feel smart when Carlos does something stupid. I imagine you tell him that what he did was stupid," Kendall raised his eyebrows at Logan, but the shorter boy didn't notice.

"Yeah…what are you getting at?" Kendall rolled his eyes.

"Logan, you use Carlos' stupid ideas to make you feel smart. You use him to make you feel better about yourself. Doesn't that sound familiar?" Logan's eyes widened when it finally came to him.

"Kendall…I'm a bully! I've been bullying Carlos! I feel awful! I have to go apologize! Oh man, Carlos probably feels so bad!" Logan felt like kicking himself. How could he do that? He knew what it was like to be bullied. It definitely wasn't fun.

Kendall looked after his best friend, proud that he finally got through his thick skull that he should really lay off the stupid stuff.

"Carlos? Carlos!" Logan shouted once he got down to the pool. Carlos was pouting in one of the cabanas.

"Stupid Logan, calling me stupid. He couldn't come up with fun ideas. He says studying is fun," Carlos had been muttering to himself. Then he heard someone call his name, and looked up to see Logan frantically searching the area by the pool.

"Over here, Logan," Carlos called out reluctantly when he saw that Logan wasn't looking in the right places. He rolled his eyes. Logan could be blind sometimes.

Logan looked up, and the surprised, yet concerned expression he had was priceless. Carlos still looked annoyed, but he was looking at the upper corner of the cabana, which made Logan think that Carlos was already getting over the hurt.

Which, despite Carlos' want not to, was true.

"Carlos, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize what I was doing, I was being, being…a bully, and I'm so sorry…I was being…being…I was just being stupid, and I feel so lousy and hypocritical," Logan struggled to get out the words, and he was on his knees in front of Carlos, who still wasn't looking at him.

"Why do you always call me stupid?" Carlos' voice was small, and Logan hated that. He was still hurt, just not as much. He could just tell.

"I'm a bully. When I'm feeling stupid, and you do something that could get you hurt, I say you're stupid, and I feel smarter. Gosh, why are you still friends with me?" Carlos looked at Logan then, and was struck that Logan had tears in his eyes. He forgave him instantly, but he wanted to do one last thing.

"Maybe I'm just stupid," Carlos pouted, doing his best not to burst out laughing. Logan's eyes got even wider, and he jumped up to wrap his arms around his best friend in a hug. Carlos laughed, and Logan pulled back, and stood up.

"Were you trying to torture me?" he asked, astonished. Carlos laughed again, nodded. To him, that was a knee-slapper.

"I-I, yeah, I was. Woo, that was fun. Okay. Now that you realize how monstrous you are, we need to come to an even greater conclusion," Carlos ordered. Logan, taken back by Carlos' use of words, nodded silently.

"You need to quit calling me stupid. I'm not. I just don't use my head too often. Don't agree with me just yet. Don't nod your head. Second, you somehow need to feel smarter in a more healthy way, so you don't feel compelled to call me stupid." When did Carlos start using these words?

"Okay…how do you suggest we do that?" Logan asked suspiciously when he noticed Carlos blushing.

"Well, I need your help studying."

"I have to help you anyway…" Logan's eyes were barely open he was squinting so hard.

"Logan…" Carlos was blushing like crazy right now.

"Yeah?" Carlos' foot was moving nervously around the concrete.

"I'm failing algebra again."

"No offense, but that doesn't surprise me." Both boys looked right at each other, and burst out laughing like a couple of idiots, which, in some ways, they were.

Carlos would slap Logan every time he called him stupid. When others would call Logan stupid, he'd punch them. Violence may not solve everything, but when a happy bubbly person like Carlos punches you, you stop whatever you were doing. Logan signed up to be a math tutor, but no matter how long he spent with the other kids, he had to spend twice that amount of time on the easily distracted Carlos.

Of course, months after this incident happened, Carlos, who had forgotten he'd already done the stunt, tried to attach rockets to his skates, so he could fly across the pool.

"Carlos, that was so stupid." Unfortunately, James didn't realize, Logan was protective of Carlos too.

A/N: Yeah, James was the one to last call Carlos stupid. These boys are so silly. Oh, speaking of, how many of you hate the phrase "silly mistake"? I don't want to say stupid mistake either, but I'm so tired of hearing that phrase.

Anyway, tell me what you think of it, and sorry for rushing the ending a bit. I forgot how I wanted to write it.

~RosesAreForWriters