Chapter Two

"So… what's up with the dude anyways?" Carlos asked Kendall as he and his friend made their way along the narrow road leading from the back doors of their school. The two friends had made a routine of walking home together after hockey practice – the majority of the way, at least, since Carlos lived a street away from Kendall.

Turning to offer his curious friend a smile, Kendall shook his head. "Nothing is up with him, Carlitos. He just… doesn't like to be touched, that's all. And people seem to like taking advantage of that and making it worse." The newly beanie-clad boy (since hats were never allowed in school) clarified, gripping the heavily-worn straps of his book bag as he looked straight ahead once again.

Carlos, determined as he was, responded to Kendall's explanation with an exaggerated 'humph'. His shoulders slumped, and he jutted his lower lip into a pout. "But why?" the Latino muttered, making a quizzical gesture with his hands before letting them fall limp at his sides. "It doesn't make any sense."

Chuckling quite exhaustedly as he lowered his gaze to the pavement, Kendall leaned to nudge his friend in a playful manner. The good-natured action caused Carlos to stumble a bit, however, as he hadn't at all been prepared for the harmless shoulder check.

"You and James, I swear to god, dude," Kendall smirked, tapping his fingers upon his denim-clad thigh as he proceeded to walk at his friend's side. "It's not like I interrogated him. I was just defending him from the jerks that were harassing him. We only talked for a minute or two before the bell rang and he took off."

Returning the taller boy's playful nudge with a friendly punch to the shoulder, Carlos shook his head, laughing quietly to himself as he shrugged his broad shoulders. "Sorry Ken, I'm really not trying to pry. I'm just… curious, y'know?" the friendly 11th grader clarified, absently kicking a small stone that lie in his path as they rounded their usual corner and began their walk toward Kendall's street. Smirking as he watched the stone that Carlos had kicked roll across the grass and tumble into the gutter, the blonde sighed thoughtfully.

"I think I would be worried if you weren't curious, Carlitos," he mused, earning a soft snort from his friend. Since the short-lived conversation concerning Kendall's project partner had pleasantly concluded, the remainder of the walk toward the taller boy's respective path home consisted mostly of small talk and playful banter; mostly involving the boys' classes, school assignments, and upcoming hockey games.

When it came time for the two to part ways, goodbyes were exchanged in the form of good-natured sarcasm and a brotherly shove or two. As things finally did settle down a bit, Carlos offered Kendall a friendly wave.

"Well Ken, I hope your project works out… and your partner too," the shorter of the two boys smirked, reaching out to pat his friend on the shoulder once more. Chuckling, Kendall nodded his head and nudged his hands into the pockets of his zip-front hoodie.

"Thanks," he spoke coolly, shrugging his shoulders as he pursed his lips a moment before smiling back at Carlos. "Same to you, I guess. Good luck with that girl you're paired with. I'll see you tomorrow, bud."

With a smile or two and a farewell nod each, the two 17-year-olds parted ways, Kendall veering around the corner and starting toward home as Carlos kept on toward his own street. Now, as he always did when walking the short distance to his house on his own, Kendall fished through each and every one of his pockets until he found his iPod. Pulling the small device from the blue-jean pocket in which it had been wedged, he unwound his headphones from around the mp3 player. Nudging the small, rubber buds into his ears, he hit the play button and continued on his way. Despite the fact that it only took him around five minutes to get home in the first place, Kendall had found that having music playing as he walked seemed to make the conversation-less portion of his walk pass by even more quickly. This was definitely something that he was grateful for, since in cold, Minnesota temperatures, five minutes could easily feel like five hours.

In any case, Kendall had only made it two or three feet down the street before he happened to raise his head just in time for something – someone – particular to catch and keep his attention. Stopping in his tracks just across the street from an extremely familiar-looking blue house, Kendall blinked as his eyes focused in on quite a familiar sight. Sitting upon the front porch of that old house was the very same odd-mannered boy that he had just recently come to be so fascinated with. For a moment, Kendall simply stood, still as a statue. His mind reeled and lips parted in awe as, finally, the memory of exactly where he had seen Logan before reentered his mind.

"My name's Kendall… what's your name? You're new here, right?" he grinned rather brightly, making a valiant effort, once again, to meet his new, partial acquaintance's eyes. Asking someone's name was the simplest thing that he possibly could have done… There wasn't a way in the world that the timid boy wouldn't be able to communicate his own name, right? Remaining hopeful, Kendall honestly expected that he was destined to get a response this time around. However, what the bright, hopeful young boy received from the edgy child before him was something that he hadn't at all expected.

Once again jumping no less than a few inches off of the porch, the newcomer emitted a small, frightened sort of squeak, merely half a second before raising his left hand to swat the friendly boy's extended hand from anywhere near his body, and his right to connect a slightly clumsy (but forceful) punch to a single one of Kendall's baffled green eyes, as well as the surrounding brow bone.

Gasping as hot tears swelled rapidly along the brims of his eyelids, Kendall pulled back a safe distance from the brunette and glared (although the "glare" consisted far more of hurt and rejection than of anger) at him.

"H – Hey, what was that for?!" he squealed in an infuriated, high-pitched tone of voice – a tone of voice that only seemed to peek from within him every so often. In response to the words, the fragile-looking boy distanced from Kendall just as Kendall had from him, promptly shielding his wide, doe-eyes as well as the majority of his boyish face behind tremulous hands. From behind those boney, quivering fingers came soft sniffles, and every so often, noises that indicated muffled sobbing.

"I… s – s… - no…" he blubbered, seemingly not able to complete any one full sentence – though, clearly, that wasn't an unusual feat for him – between the broken sounds prying their way free of his lungs and the intense, lingering glare of the larger boy before him.

That's it! the momentarily stunned 17-year-old thought to himself, dragging one hand downward over his face and along his neck as the recollection finally registered with him. Having finally remembered the miniscule bit of history that he had shared with Logan, Kendall suddenly became unsure of whether or not he should approach the timid teenager outside of school; if they had a choice other than to cooperate and work as a team, would Logan want anything to do with him? Something at the back of his mind proceeded to suggest that he keep things strictly professional between them, but then, the suggestion came from the part of his mind that couldn't help but consider past experience. They had gotten off to a rough start – but it had been years ago. Sighing quietly, exasperatedly, Kendall once again clicked the play/pause button upon the iPod in his hand, this time to silence the music echoing in his ears.

Despite their falling out as children, today's brief conversation seemed to have gone well enough; and, realistically, the time that they had actually spent speaking to one another – past or present – had probably only been fifteen minutes max. This wasn't long enough for Logan's apparent disdain toward him to be set in stone… was it? Perhaps he could turn things around, become friends with his assigned partner.

Kendall tugged his headphones from his ears by the cord, nibbling anxiously at his lower lip at his lower lip as he turned in place, toward the boy across the street. With a few hesitant steps, he began walking toward Logan, who appeared to be hunched over what appeared to be a sketchpad or a notebook resting in his lap.

As he stepped onto the sidewalk before the house he pursed his lips, lowering his eyes for a moment as he re-coiled his head phones and stuffed his iPod into his pocket. He wasn't quite sure what had him so nervous about approaching this boy – that was, aside from the lingering feeling that he may very well come out of the encounter with a black eye, as he had at 8 years old. Despite his uneasiness, though, he straightened up and cleared his throat quietly, putting on his very best smile. It was with this confident semblance that he continued on toward the house, stopping a few feet from his reclusive classmate.

"Logan..?" he asked, his voice gentle as he addressed the boy. Despite Kendall's careful approach, the glasses-clad teenager's head snapped upward sharply as though he had been shouted at, and those wide, childlike eyes fixed upon the taller boy as though he were a monster that may have snapped and attacked him at any moment. With his brief knowledge of his classmate's exaggerated reactions, Kendall presumed that Logan was a bit shocked to see him.

"K – Kendall!" Logan exclaimed, shifting in his spot as he looked upon his partner. By the tone of his voice, the affable hockey player couldn't quite tell if Logan was excited to see him, or just plain stunned.

"Uh, yeah… hey. I didn't realize that you lived down here too," Kendall spoke apprehensively, gripping his backpack's straps as he had earlier on as he stood before the edgy boy. Logan swallowed hard and averted his eyes, nodding his head sharply.

"Er… yeah, I d – do," he murmured, his nervous gaze faltering just a little as it strayed someplace off to the side of Kendall's silhouette. Kendall, figuring that Logan must not have been able to see him too well with the bright sunshine looming behind him, nodded toward the porch upon which his classmate sat.

"Mind if I sit?" he asked, fighting his natural instinct to gesture openly as his hands fidgeted restlessly inside the pockets of his hoodie. He had always been one to talk using his hands, emphasizing his words by using actions as accompaniment. In this case, though, he didn't know that it was the best idea, regarding Logan's wariness toward physical contact. The last thing that he wanted was to startle his new acquaintance.

As Kendall made his request, Logan closed the notepad that he held with a frantic quickness, clutching the pad to his chest as he scooted aside a foot or so. Once he had shifted, he gestured in an odd, restrained fashion toward the area that had been cleared. Kendall thought, briefly, that the little gesture looked more like a strange little twitch than much else.

Removing his hands from his pockets, the taller of the two smiled a cautious smile, and stepped forward to seat himself upon the porch beside Logan. He raised his eyes a moment later, biting back a sigh as he caught sight of a quite pale-faced Logan. "Thanks, Logan," he spoke with a friendly smile, folding his hands upon his lap as his gaze lingered upon the small-bodied teen. He was sure that with his withdrawn personality, Logan would be fairly observant when it came to body language, and he wanted to make it as clear as possible to the smaller boy that he wasn't out to hurt him.

"M – Mhm," Logan mumbled, fingers clenching and unclenching restlessly around the edges of the spiral notebook that they held. It was as though he had become overwhelmingly anxious as Kendall had sat down – as though he believed that at any moment, the slender boy would turn into some sort of angry giant and stomp him into the ground. Kendall, however, completely understood the brunette's actions thanks to their earlier conversation, and offered an apologetic grin as he shifted just a few inches further away from Logan. There was plenty of room, after all, and he had sat just about as close to Logan as he would have to any of his other friends. He clasped his hands before him as he lowered his eyes to the pavement; he had always been a forthcoming person, and sitting within close proximity of someone he was interested in was one of those things that he tended to do without much thought.

As Logan noted the minor movement, those large eyes flitted downward, fixing upon the few extra inches of space that Kendall had put in between them. After a few seconds or so his posture seemed to relax notably, although those familiar tremors never ceased to cause his boney shoulders to quiver. Kendall breathed a thoughtful sigh, eyes fixing upon the other boy moments later once again.

"You really don't have to be so jittery around me, Logan. I understand that the kids at school are never … decentto you, but I would never purposefully startle you like that, I swear," he reassured his friend, stifling the urge to place a gentle hand upon Logan's shoulder.

Breathing a thick sigh, Logan closed his eyes for a short time before drawing his gaze upward hesitantly, purposefully, and gazing into Kendall's kind emerald eyes. The gesture surprised Kendall a bit… eye contact certainly wasn't something that he was used to getting out of the smaller boy.

"Thank you, Kendall," he murmured, seemingly as calmly as he could possibly manage. Kendall recognized this only because he had heard the boy speak in a similar tone of voice earlier, and had figured that it was something that he likely did without realizing when he was feeling frantic - as he must have been now. The taller boy smiled a nervous sort of smile as he held the gaze of the small brunette before him - of course, he didn't know exactly how common it was for Logan to make this kind of eye contact with someone, but from what he'd gathered from personal experience, he had to guess that it was something particularly rare; and honestly, he wasn't all too sure what it might have meant.

"Sure, Logan," Kendall spoke politely after a moment, biting down thoughtfully upon his lower lip as he averted his eyes. He didn't want to make Logan feel obligated, after all, even if his classmate had been the one to kick off their gaze. He did glance briefly up at Logan every few moments as he spoke, however, as he also didn't want to make Logan feel as though he were shying away from his brave advances. "It's not right, how they treat you."

As Kendall spoke his reassuring words, Logan's eyes fell away from the profile of the taller boy, finally, and settled upon his own lap, suddenly narrowing out of what appeared to be disdain. However, Kendall soon came to realize that the way his classmate's eyes slanted contributed to a slightly different expression, something far from the anger or slight irritation that he had first assumed. Upon further inspection, Kendall realized that the emotion in those eyes wasn't anger at all. It was sorrow.

A prominent ache formed within Kendall's chest with this realization, and he sighed quietly, feeling the slightest bit of sorrow within himself for his partner. Logan's shoulders slumped, hanging limply over his knees as he whispered one short, mangled sentence.

"I'm n – never… t – treated any d..d – different. M'used to it," he spoke tonelessly, allowing the messy, dark hair that was so often strewn about in all different directions to hang over his eyes haphazardly, shielding them more so than his thick-framed glasses already did.

It was unclear to Kendall whether or not his innocent young friend had begun to cry, since Logan's form seemed to tremble as it did now on a regular basis. Whether or not there were tears falling, though, he felt the need to comfort the brunette all the same. Clasping his hands together more tightly, the larger of the two sighed quietly and leaned forward a bit in the effort of seeing past that soft curtain of hair.

"It doesn't seem like you're used to it. It seems like it upsets you." Kendall spoke softly, lips pressing into a tight line as he shook his head to punctuate his sentence. Just after he had spoken his words, Kendall heard Logan draw in a sharp breath. Moments later, the smaller boy raised his head, eyes glassy as he peered into the empty space in front of him once again rather than meeting his classmate's gaze. Though his eyes seemed to speak paragraphs, he remained silent, and since Logan didn't seem to have anything to say on the matter, Kendall resumed speaking. "Like I said… it's not right. You don't deserve to be treated that way," he reassured the distraught young man, pursing his lips as he continued to gaze at Logan for a moment.

It was at that point that the petite boy released a pathetic-sounding whimper, apparently having broken emotionally. His full lower lip began to tremble as moisture swelled along the brims of his eyelids - obviously, this time. As far as Kendall could tell, it wasn't very often that Logan allowed emotions of this nature to show through – likely for fear of being tormented in worse a way than he was already – and he hoped that now, in his presence, the mistreated boy felt that it might be alright to do such a thing. After all, Kendall pondered, no one should have to live without a shoulder to cry on.

"The a-all s-say I do…" Logan stammered, and Kendall frowned as he noticed the boy's syllables breaking in a way more heartbreaking than usual. A single stripe of moisture ghosted its way downward, painting Logan's one of Logan's reddening cheeks with its subtle shine. "E-Everyone…"

With as soft sigh, Kendall unclasped his hands and straightened up a bit. "Logan, look at me." he requested, his voice and expression both calm as he watched the other boy closely for a moment. Logan seemed to hesitate for a moment, sitting still and keeping his eyes down for a good few seconds as though he were resisting. After so long, though, Kendall noticed his project partner attempting to take measured breaths, and just after that, Logan gave a tiny nod.

Kendall anxiously awaited his new friend's next action and just a few seconds later, the brunette stirred, rotating in his place so that he was facing Kendall. It took him a bit longer than it might have taken a "normal" person, so to speak, but Logan's eyes eventually found their way up from his lap, settling upon the face of the friendly boy before him. It seemed that Logan was doing the absolute best that he could to fully face Kendall without cowering away entirely, because it was another few moments before the smaller boy's gaze fully connected with Kendall's.

Shifting just a little bit in his own spot, Kendall smiled at Logan. "Do you trust me when I say that I won't hurt you?" the taller of the two questioned, his eyes remaining warm and placid as he gazed at the misunderstood boy. Logan sat as still as a statue, gazing blankly at Kendall as though he had absolutely no idea what his classmate had just asked him. However, after some time, the boy emitted an almost-exasperated sounding grunt.

"I – I… um… I don't know." he murmured, his voice coming forth in the form of a few soft squeaks. Kendall sighed softly; Logan was beginning to look a little green, as though his stomach were churning into an uproar due to the nerves that boiled beneath his skin. He wasn't surprised, truly, to hear that Logan wasn't entirely sure what to think of him; after all, the poor guy didn't seem to have a friend in the world. In any case, the fair-haired teenager didn't plan to allow a little bit of hesitance to prevent him from trying.

"Well," he murmured, holding Logan's timid gaze as he went on, "would you let me prove to you that I won't hurt you?"

Logan anxiously wore away at his lower lip as his classmate spoke, and as he considered what Kendall's suggestion could possibly have meant for him, he seemed to falter a bit. He had been the victim of schemes like this before; people pretending to be kind, to take an interest in him for a brief moment only to turn on him just as he gave them the small bit of trust that he had to offer. However, there was something about Kendall that struck him as extremely genuine – something that made him want badly to be able to trust the boy. After all, Kendall had tried once – long ago, but yet – to be his friend. What if that was all that the blonde boy wanted now? Logan sighed – this internal conflict was beginning to make his head hurt.

And apparently, he had been sitting there, looking at Kendall in silence and contemplating for a moment or two longer than he had thought, because after a moment or two Kendall spoke up once again.

"Logan… close your eyes." the kind teenager murmured, smiling and nodding briefly toward Logan as a signal for him to comply. Logan's brow furrowed. He still didn't have any idea what Kendall's intentions were, but then… if he didn't give his partner the benefit of the doubt, he would never know, would he? Another whimper brushed past his lips as his whirring mind seemed to reach a conclusion, and finally, he nodded his head.

Kendall watched carefully as Logan seemed to inhale deeply as a form of preparation, and a smile took his lips as the smaller boy did as he had been asked and shut his eyes. The edgy young man was still tense and it looked like he might have been holding his breath, but all the same, it pleased Kendall to know that Logan trusted him enough to grant him this opportunity. After a moment, it even seemed that Logan had found it in himself to relax; though, Kendall considered, that may have been due to the fact that he no longer had to maintain eye contact.

Whatever the case, it didn't make much of a difference, because as soon as Kendall made his first move, that scarce bit of composure shattered immediately. Reaching forward with one hand, the taller boy gripped the frames of Logan's glasses and began to draw them forward and off of Logan's face. He hadn't thought that the minor action would go over too badly, but it seemed that as soon as the petite brunette felt the tiny shift of his glasses, any trust that Kendall may have gained from him went right out the window.

Squeezing his eyes shut what could have been as tight as humanly possible, Logan gasped. The quakes radiating from within him seemed to intensify by twenty times, and he shook his head in a way nothing short of frantic as the gasp that he had taken let off into several breathless whimpers. The sounds pouring from the frightened boy's lips reminded Kendall of the sounds that a wounded puppy might have made, and immediately, he felt guilty for ever having thought up this idea of his; perhaps he should have asked Logan's permission before he had ever attempted any sort of physical touch. However, now that he had gotten this far – and without Logan having hauled off and started beating on him – Kendall felt the need to press on. He did have a point to prove, after all.

"Tell me to stop if I'm making you extremely uncomfortable – I swear that I will – but can you open your eyes for a second?" he said, resting each of his hands in his lap, now, one holding Logan's glasses with care while the other lay limp, palm up. Just as he had a few minutes ago, Logan appeared completely oblivious to Kendall's question. His eyes remained tightly closed as he seemed to struggle to breathe – it almost looked as though his ribcage were collapsing in on itself. The blonde considered his acquaintance's silence, and briefly wondered whether or not he shouldn't just stand up, apologize, and walk away.

After a moment or two, however, Logan apparently chose to agree to his request, as those long, dark lashes fluttered, smearing his unwept tears about the skin beneath his eyes. Despite having opened his eyes as Kendall had asked, though, the smaller boy did not meet his classmate's eyes as he proceeded to blink away tears. He opted instead to gaze at Kendall's hands resting just a short distance from his body.

Offering Logan a small, reassuring nod, Kendall smiled. He took a breath before proceeding on to his next action, which, to say the least, was even bolder than the last. Raising his empty hand from his lap, Kendall bit down anxiously upon his lower lip – it was safe to say that he expected nothing but the worst as a result of this small leap of faith, and that was even before he noted the expression upon his Logan's boyish face.

Kendall might have stopped, might have second-guessed himself – that was, had it not been for the fact that his project partner seemed to be doing everything that he could to keep his composure. Though he appeared rattled to no end at the sight of the hand stretching toward him, it seemed as though Logan was giving his best effort not to screech at him to stop what he was doing. After a few seconds, Logan's eyes had strayed from his hand and were instead flitting about hectically, never resting on any object in particular – for a moment, in those frantic doe eyes, Kendall saw the face of the child that he had come upon so many years ago. And in that moment, Kendall felt terribly bad for Logan.

He knew that his intentions were good, and that they would never be anything but, but that didn't change the fact that Logan more than likely expected to be swatted at or shoved as he had been earlier today. It was because of this that as he did proceed, Kendall took extra care in being as gentle as possible as he brushed his fingertips along one of the smaller boy's cheekbones. With just a few feather light strokes, he smeared away the glistening moisture that lingered beneath Logan's eyes and drew his hand away shortly afterward. Gazing at his classmate, he smiled – with the retraction of his hand, it was apparent that Logan's nerves settled a bit, though nowhere near completely. After a moment, the timid boy's brow began to furrow. Offering the glasses that he had borrowed back to the brunette, Kendall smiled.

"You don't deserve to be bullied, Logan. Everyone needs a friend," he spoke, tilting his head as Logan hesitantly reached for his glasses and then hastily replaced them upon the bridge of his nose as soon as he had retrieved them. As the touchy teen simply proceeded to shiver, shaking his head, Kendall sighed. He tightened his hoodie around his slender frame as he went on speaking. "Believe me, I know that. I had no friends as a kid… that's why I approached you so bluntly when I was eight."

Kendall hadn't known exactly what to expect as he spoke his last sentence – after all, he wasn't sure that Logan even remembered their meeting. However, as he heard a little squeak from beside him, he couldn't help but grin.

"Y – You remember!" Logan half-squealed, straightening his posture notably – out of excitement, Kendall hoped – and gazing upon his classmate's smiling face for a moment before sheepishly averting his eyes once more. Chuckling quietly, the optimistic blonde turned toward his skittish friend, nodding his head as he watched the boy intently.

"Of course I do. I didn't realize at first that you were the same boy I met all those years ago, but it's pretty clear to me now. I remember meeting you here when we were younger."

Logan wore away at his full lower lip as he listened to Kendall speak, and after a moment nodded his head. He sighed sharply just before speaking. "I do t-…too," he near whispered, cheeks flushing a deep rosy color as his voice trembled just a little.

"I'm sorry I didn't understand you then… and for calling you a 'meanie'," the taller boy laughed, shaking his head as Logan caught his gaze once more and held it for a few good moments. The glasses-clad teenager opened and closed his mouth a few times as he seemed to process Kendall's words, and eventually his gaze drifted down into his lap, brow knitting. Pondering his friend's slightly grim expression, Kendall raised an eyebrow – clearly, there was something on Logan's mind.

"S – Sorry I… I hit you. I d – didn't mean it," the jittery boy mused after a second or two more of silence, eyes darting about frantically as he began to wring his hands around and around one another. Kendall shook his head, though, cracking a smile as he waved a hand dismissively.

"Don't worry about it, Logan. I know why you reacted how you did, now, and I forgive you," he smiled, shrugging as he raised his eyebrows and dropped them in a gesture very similar to the one that he had just made with his shoulders. Nodding once again, Logan exhaled shakily. For a moment the smaller boy appeared to be staring vacantly into his lap, but after so long, Kendall came to realize that Logan's eyes had narrowed upon the spiral notebook sitting in his lap. The hockey player wondered briefly what must have been running through his partner's mind this time, but didn't have much time to linger it before his thoughts were interrupted unexpectedly.

Before Kendall could speak or even take another breath, Logan had taken the notepad into his hands and flipped through a good half of the pages. After having done so, he thrusted the notebook in Kendall's direction.

"Here, l – look." he spoke quickly. His gaze was pointedly directed toward the ground as a shaky hand held the notebook suspended before his friend. Blinking a time or two as he attempted to decipher what it might have been that Logan wanted him to see, Kendall smiled gently, brow furrowing as he took Logan's notebook in hand and lowered his eyes to the page that had been chosen. It took a second for the taller boy to really register what it was that he was looking at, but as it finally hit him, his eyes widened. Upon the simple, lined paper was what had to have been some of the best and most intricate pencil drawings that he had ever seen.

"Logan, these… these are amazing," Kendall spoke in an awe-stricken tone of voice, eyes still focused upon the works of art before him. Not only were the drawings greatly detailed and wonderfully sketched, however – they were also depictions of images that Kendall recognized clearly from certain memories; memories that, particularly, had been made upon the day that he and Logan had met.

First, there was a picture of a youthful-looking eye with heavy shading surrounding its outline – shading that was apparently meant to look like heavy bruising. Blinking as he looked into what appeared to be a reflection of his own eye, Kendall moved on to analyze the next work of art. This one depicted the hand of a little boy, drawn up to the wrist and clutching a frayed tree branch. Every detail was spot-on, just the way that Kendall remembered them -perhaps even better than that. Just as the taller boy's intent gaze drifted on to the last of the three sketches – the silhouette of a small boy running along a sidewalk - Logan's hushed voice chimed in once again.

"I – I'm… I'm a – autistic." he sputtered, appearing a bit nervous of whatever reaction his project partner might have had to his revelation. As he spoke, his gaze was drawn off to one side. "E – Everyone says I… m'stupid, because I can't t-…t – talk well, or… learn th – through... words. But I do l – learn. Just… through p-…pictures n'stead."

Glancing up from his partner's notebook, Kendall nodded, completely disregarding the way that Logan stuttered so heavily – so constantly. "So you have a photographic memory, then," he stated matter-of-factly, immediately fascinated with Logan's way of life. Knowing, now, exactly why the boy acted the way that he did, much of what had happened between them now made sense to Kendall.

Logan directed his gaze toward the considerate boy, though he didn't look directly into his eyes, and nodded. "Y – Yes. And my… my hearing. I – it's… it's…" he began before his voice tapered off. It didn't seem that he could find the correct words to explain his thoughts. After a moment, he scrunched up his expression and chose more simply to make a gesture near to his ears that indicated an incredibly loud noise, or an explosion of sorts. Kendall gazed at Logan for a moment before averting his gaze and looking into the distance. There wasn't a large variety of things that such a gesture could have meant, so he decided to pick out the first thought that came to mind.

"Intensified, you mean?" he asked softly as he attempted to visualize what his new friend's life may have been like if his inquiry was correct. The taller boy vaguely heard his friend confirm his assumption as he pondered each and every detail related to amplified hearing that may have made Logan's life more difficult than his own, or anyone else's.

"I – I… um, I… h – hear things… maybe… th – three or four t – times louder than anyone e – else." the small-bodied boy whispered, his frame lightly trembling as he explained one of the details regarding his condition. This detail in particular caused Kendall's eyes to widen, and instantly, he felt the need to apologize to his classmate for anything that he may have done to aggravate his heightened sense of hearing.

"God… how do you manage being at school with all of the obnoxious noises around you?" the stunned young man asked, his voice subconsciously having lowered a considerable amount in favor of Logan. It was mindboggling to think that Logan could probably hear him completely clearly even if he had only whispered the words he spoke in response to his friend. With a soft, forced little cough, Logan shook his head, raising one hand to press to his forehead.

"I u – usually get… h… h – headaches," he murmured, shaking his head slowly. "But I… I g-…get by, cause I like l-learn'n."

Sighing heavily, Kendall forced down the urge to reach out and place a hand upon his poor friend's shoulder. He couldn't piece together why it was that no one ever bothered to sit down with Logan, to help him and guide him rather than hurting his chances of success in a world bigger than he was. Surely the kid had to have been a rather bright student, inwardly.

"Couldn't you have been homeschooled?" the blonde murmured, carefully observing his classmate's every move as the other boy's shoulders slumped and he hunched forward. His body trembled even more harshly than before, and for a good moment or two, Logan covered his eyes with the hand that had previously pressed to his forehead. After so long, Logan's boyish face was once again revealed from behind those tremulous fingers, and Kendall noted that his friend's eyes had glazed over with moisture once again.

"N – No," Logan answered simply, the softest little sniffle escaping him as he shook his head briefly. Biting down hard upon his lower lip, Kendall shifted ever so slightly closer to his friend. Near instantly, he understood what must have been the reason behind Logan's upset, and he grunted, torn.

"I'm so sorry, Loges," he mused, gazing down upon his palms as he uttered the affectionate little nickname. "I wish I could do something to help you."

A brief moment of silence passed as the two teenage boys sat side by side upon the porch of the old blue house. The most – besides the sounds of everyday life – that Kendall could hear was the sound of Logan's ragged breathing, and for those few moments in time, the quick-witted teenager was rendered completely speechless. Kendall had always been the one among his group of friends, his family, to provide all of the answers, a joke or a witty remark to lift someone's spirits. However, for Logan's case in particular, he hadn't any answers, jokes, or witty remarks.

The silence didn't last much longer, though, as a minute or two later, Logan spoke up. "K – Kendall… why're you… n-…n – nice?" he asked quietly, pearly white teeth again gnashing into his lower lap for all they were worth. Kendall was beginning to wonder how the brunette's full lower lip wasn't always completely raw, since biting at it seemed to be a nervous habit of his, and, quite obviously, he was always nervous.

Softening his thoughtful guise as he turned to gaze at Logan, Kendall shook his head, heart aching for the gentle boy. "Loges, not everyone is cold-hearted. I know that it's difficult to believe, because high-school is a living hell for anyone who's the slightest bit different. But not everyone will treat you like some kind of alien, I promise," he spoke lightheartedly, casting a friendly smile in the direction of his autistic friend.

Though he frowned, still, Logan seemed to accept the answer that he was given, as after a few seconds he nodded and closed his eyes. After that, the peaceful silence seemed to weigh between them once again, and Kendall breath a quiet sigh out through his nose a he averted his gaze once more. He was curious, of course, about the other aspects of Logan's condition, but he certainly didn't want to push his friend. He figured that he had likely done enough of that for the day, and aside from that, the introverted boy more than likely wouldn't want someone who he had only realistically known for about an hour prying for information. Kendall certainly knew that when he was down about something of larger magnitude than spilled milk or a failed test, he certainly didn't want people poking and prodding at him.

Several moments seemed to pass as the boys simply sat together in silence, but the serenity was broken once again, eventually, and again, it was Logan who was the one to break it. Kendall had just begun pondering what time it might have been, now, when he noticed movement out of his peripherals. At first he figured that Logan may simply have been adjusting his position or reaching for his notebook, and he adjusted himself to allow the antsy boy to do so. What Kendall hadn't expected, however, was the light touch of fingertips that he felt upon his forearm just seconds later. Freezing for a moment, Kendall blinked – it was particularly shocking to him, knowing that Logan would have been willing to take this kind of leap toward being close to him - or anyone, really – regarding his phobia of touch.

Sooner or later, the blonde boy's slightly wide eyes flitted to gaze upon Logan's trembling fingertips, and his gaze lingered there for a moment before shifting to his friend's face. The smaller boy's eyes were closed, and as Kendall watched, he noticed the pale-skinned boy exhaling sharply. This was just before those large eyes opened up, revealing the tears that had begun clouding along Logan's long, dark lashes for the third time that afternoon.

Sighing, as he knew that Logan had to have been afraid despite the valiant effort, the taller of the two kept as still as he was able. He without a doubt felt the need to snatch his friend's hand up in what should have been a comforting grip, but he was well-aware that such a thing may only have frightened Logan more. A third moment of stillness seemed to pass between them before anything more happened, and when something did happen, it wasn't anything big.

Though he flinched as he did so, Logan shifted just a little bit, fingertips skidding along Kendall's forearm until they reached the hockey player's wrist. Kendall smiled, and near subconsciously moved his arm beneath the brunette's hand so that those trembling fingertips slid down into his palm. A few seconds later, he glanced up at Logan as his class partner stared into the dead air before his eyes. He gazed on for a moment, and once again, rather than questioning the edgy boy, he breathed a quiet sigh, opting to stay quiet as he drew his own thoughtful gaze toward the darkening sky.

It was as he noted the bluish-gray color of the sky, obviously having darkened a good bit since he had sat down, that Kendall realized just how long he had really been sitting with Logan. Hockey practice had let out around 3:00, and if it was getting dark out, it had to have been nearly an hour and a half. Suddenly, the blonde wondered if he possibly could have missed dinner at home, and reached into his pocket to retrieve his cell phone so that he could check the time. Pressing a button upon one side of the device to light up the screen, he blinked as he noted that the exact time was 4:45 - that meant that he had sat and talked with Logan for upwards of an hour and a half.

Kendall knew that his mother was more than laid-back about him staying out and fooling around with his friends – that was, as long as he called and informed her that he was going to be doing so. Blinking at the thought, Kendall's brow furrowed and he nudged his phone back into the pocket it had been resting within. He wanted to stay with Logan, get to know his friend better… but he definitely didn't want to be denied that very opportunity later on because his mom was upset with him. As distracted as he was with his sudden thoughts, however, Kendall was abruptly brought back into current time as a meek voice chimed in from beside him.

"You… you have to… g – go?" Logan murmured, the hand that remained set atop Kendall's beginning to tremble. Not having realized that the quiet boy had been watching him – or had heard him, perhaps – the taller boy returned his eyes to his friend's profile, smiling halfheartedly as he nodded his head.

"Soon, probably," he spoke gently, moving his hand cautiously beneath Logan's. After awaiting the reaction that the smaller teen would have to his movement (which was no more than a tiny flinch), the blonde warily clasped his slender fingers around Logan's hand fully. Logan shivered in response to the gentle action, eyelashes fluttering as he flinched once more. "My mom is probably wondering where I am by now."

As a strangled little cough was forced from his throat, Logan whimpered quietly. This drew Kendall's attention, and with a soft sigh, the reluctant boy cast an apologetic smile in his friend's direction. In the next moment, he loosened the grip that he had over Logan's palm before drawing his hand away entirely.

"Sorry… "Kendall whispered, averting his gaze from Logan's face as not to startle him, or put him on the spot anymore than he already had. As his eyes lowered, though, he came to realize that he still held his friend's notebook in his lap. At once, he picked the notepad up, turning back the pages with his free hand until the cover was where it belonged, atop the front page. Smiling, he then extended the spiral-bound book in Logan's direction. "Here, I forgot to give this—" Kendall began.

"N – No!" the brunette squeaked unexpectedly, curling into himself entirely and knotting his fingers up in his short, dark hair before Kendall could finish speaking. "D… D – Don't, please!"

Startled by Logan's sudden outburst, Kendall jumped backward a few inches. He wasn't sure of what he had done to entice such a reaction from the boy. "L – Logan?" he asked quietly. His voice was slightly high-pitched as he spoke – he didn't like the sight of his classmate so upset one bit. If he was honest, it frightened him. "What's wrong..?"

At first, all that was distinguishable was a gentle and constant whining sound, which radiated from behind Logan's hands as they had moved to cover his face. After so long, his upper body hunched over his knees. It didn't sound as though he were crying, but the way that his body had begun to rock forward and back and forward and back repeatedly obviously communicated that something was off.

Kendall watched, awe-stricken as his new friend seemed to melt down before his eyes. In more than a few ways, he was suddenly reminded of the very first time that he had seen Logan. Soon after he had begun to whimper, Logan had begun sputtering words that were more than a little broken – words that, really, Kendall was only able to find one meaning within.

"I – I… n-… n – no… y – you – you c – can't, don't, p… p – please…" he stuttered frantically, obviously unable to construct a sentence legible enough to make his classmate understand what he was trying to say. Sighing softly, said classmate took a swing at the meaning behind Logan's distraught reaction, and decided that it would be a good idea to act on the inclination that it gave him.

"I'm so, so sorry, Loges… I didn't mean to… to startle you. I'll just – um, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" the uncharacteristically anxious teenager stammered, nibbling at his chapped lower lip as he rose from his seat beside the other boy. He then turned to set the sketchbook that he still held down on the porch. As he straightened up once more, he offered Logan a semi-genuine smile. Just as he was about to turn and stride down the street, though, Kendall was stopped in his tracks by the petite brunette, who still looked rather distraught.

"K – Kendall!" Logan squealed, springing up from his seat as well as he became aware of the scuffing of his friend's sneakers on the walk. The shorter boy's arm instantaneously shot outward as he came within reach, and his balmy fingers clasped tightly around Kendall's wrist. He tugged instinctively, pulling the blonde backward slightly. "You d – don't… have to l… l – leave."

As the fretful boy forced out his last words, Kendall sighed softly. Turning back toward Logan, he smiled a gentle smile and glanced down at the boy's hand upon his wrist. As he noticed what Kendall was looking at, Logan jerked his hand away. A chill ran through him as he squeaked quietly once more.

"M'sorry." he murmured meekly as tears swelled along his lower lashes once again. Kendall wasn't sure if Logan was apologizing for grabbing at him or for his outburst, though he had a feeling that it was likely the latter. Whatever the case, the blonde smiled a gentle smile, shaking his head.

"Don't worry about it, Loges... it wasn't your fault. And I've gotta go home anyway, so… I'll just give you some time to relax, okay? We'll see each other tomorrow, I promise." Kendall spoke in a gentle tone of voice, not wanting Logan to feel as though he had been scared off. That was certainly not the case.

Logan's lips quivered as he kept his gaze down and nodded shakily as he peered down at his old sneakers. His boyish face twisted up with something that appeared to be dejection, and after a few seconds, Kendall became aware of the tears pooling beneath Logan's eyes. He frowned at the sight of them. Quiet little sounds were now spilling past the smaller boy's lips as he stood there, shoulders slumped and quaking as always.

"Loges… I'm not leaving because of you, okay? I promise. I was just worried that I was pushing too hard, too fast… and I'm sure my mom really does want me home." Kendall explained, doing his best to give his fragile friend some reassurance. After a moment or two Logan nodded sharply, swallowing hard as both of his hands flitted upward, scrubbing at his wet cheeks.

"K – Kay." he muttered, glancing up at Kendall briefly. Catching Logan's big, wet brown eyes, the captain of Shakopee high's hockey team frowned once again. That familiar sympathetic ache festered within his chest as he watched Logan, and after a moment, he sighed. He couldn't imagine what Logan truly must have been going through. There was so much raw emotion and pain in those eyes, and despite having seen it several times today, it was slightly different when the tears were in the context of Logan clinging to him – metaphorically, of course – and begging him not to leave. Shaking his head a bit, Kendall forced a small smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Maybe we'll work on the English review project after school." he suggested, hopeful that the idea would cheer Logan up. It seemed to work, seeing as Logan glanced up at him once more, nodding his head and as he kept eye contact for a moment. Kendall did his best to ignore the fact that his new friend's eyes were still slightly moist.

"I… O – Okay, Kendall," the brunette murmured, sighing softly as he stepped back from his classmate a bit. The taller boy did the same, offering Logan a little wave and yet another halfhearted smile as he did so. The longer that Kendall stood, gazing at his new friend and that dejected posture of his, the more he found himself wanting to call his mom and claim that he wouldn't be home for a few hours.

"Bye, Loges," he smiled, finally, waiting just a second more before turning to cross the street and heading onto the path that would lead him home. As the kindhearted boy walked, he worried at his lower lip. He knew that he would see Logan less than 24 hours from now, and that they would be spending more than enough time together from now on… He would have plenty of time to do everything he wanted, should his time with Logan continue to be successful as it had been today.

Honestly, his list of goals was endless – he wanted to teach Logan things, help him out, and try and make him at least a couple of new friends. He wanted to introduce him to Carlos and James, and his mother and sister; show him that he truly wasn't lying when he said that not everyone would alienate him. He had all of the time in the world to do these things with Logan, and there wasn't anything that would stop him.

All of this was true. But even so, as he approached his own home and glanced over his shoulder to see a petite figure still standing alone in his driveway, it didn't change the fact that Kendall felt just a little guilty for having left Logan's side tonight.