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Kendall Knight winced at the pain in his nose as he walked through the door into apartment 2J, quietly closing the door so as not to alert his presence to the other sleeping residents.
As he started walking further into the apartment and past the orange couch, still bright in the dark, he didn't notice the still form on the couch under a pile of blankets.
Right as Kendall was walking past the couch, his foot stepped on a creaky floorboard. He winced again, this time not in pain, but in fear, and held his breath.
After complete silence for at least two minutes, he silently let out a relieved breath and continued on the way to the bedroom he shared with Logan.
The soft calling of his name stopped him his tracks. He recognized the voice of course, having known the owner of it since the fourth grade.
Turning around slowly, shoulders slumped in defeat, Kendall faced his best friend with a sheepish smile.
"Hi, Logie!" He grinned, trying to cover up his guilt, "why aren't you in bed?"
Logan raised his eyebrows, sitting up slightly and looking at his best friend. "I was waiting for you. I noticed you weren't in bed when I went to the bathroom, and when I couldn't find you, I was worried. So I waited for you out here."
Kendall's smile faltered a bit at the explanation, the guilt of sneaking out increasing. "You didn't have to wait for me Logie. I'm a big boy, I can handle myself."
Logan rolled his eyes before focusing on the blonde again, "Sooo..." shrugging his shoulders, "where did you go anyway?" He crossed his arms, staring the boy down.
Kendall could see the genius' questioning stare in the dim lighting of the apartment. The taller boy nervously searched for an excuse and smirked slightly as he thought of one, "oh, I wanted a midnight snack, so I went to a vending machine in the lobby."
"So you went all the way down to the lobby, when we have plenty of snacks that you can eat in the kitchen?" Logan questioned. Kendall smiled sheepishly again, "yes?" He answered, but it sounded like a question.
Logan's eyebrows rose higher on his forehead, and he glanced at his friend's hands. "So where is your snack that you bought from the vending machine?"
Kendall's eyes widened a touch, he had forgotten that small little detail. The boy stuttered, trying to come up with an answer. "Uhh, I uh, I ate it on the way up here. The chip company was nice enough to put a few chips in my bag of air, and I finished them all on the way up here." Kendall finished with a smirk, hoping he sounded convincing. He wasn't in L.A. to become an actor, and though he was good at lying, there was one person he couldn't lie to, and that was Logan.
Logan smiled and chuckled a bit at his best friend's dig at chip companies. Kendall smiled and his shoulders relaxed in relief, thinking his shorter friend had believed him.
Arms still crossed, Logan strode over to the group's leader. Still suspicious, he reached up and held his friend's chin. "What happened to your face?"
Kendall fought the urge to panic, and kept his smile in place. "I uh, fell down the stairs when I was digging in the bag for the last chip. No biggie." The blonde shrugged, hoping again that his explanation would suffice, because honestly, he just wanted to sleep for a day or four.
The genius didn't let go of his friend's chin though. "YOU fell down the stairs? Kendall, you're the most balanced person I know!" Kendall froze at the disbelief in his friend's voice, cursing him for being a genius and cursing himself for not being able to lie to the brunette boy.
"Accidents happen you know Logie. Even when you're the great Kendall Knight." Kendall spread his arms out in a goofy fashion and grinned, hoping to distract Logan from his battered face with false over-confidence.
Logan smiled at his friend's attempt to distract him, and poked Kendall's nose, observing the blonde boy's reaction. "Oww!" The taller boy yanked his chin from the genius' grip and held his throbbing nose, "Logan! What'd ya do that for??" His voice came out squeakier and muffled from holding his nose.
"Why did you lie to me?" Logan asked, his voice laced with hurt. Kendall looked up from holding his aching nose and his green eyes locked with chocolate brown. "Do you not trust me enough to be honest with me? Is that it?"
"Of course not Logie, you're my best friend!" Kendall quickly answered, "I completely trust you!"
The shorter boy's eyebrows, which had fallen back to their normal spot on his face, rose on his forehead again. "Best friends don't lie to each other, Kendall."
The blonde's head hung in defeat, "Look, I trust you, but I just...I just, can't tell you where I went." He watched out of the corner of his eyes as Logan crossed his arms over his chest again. "And why not?" The brunette questioned indignantly. Kendall sighed, "because you won't be very happy with me..." he muttered in shame.
Logan huffed and rolled his eyes, "well I'm already not very happy with you, so why don't you just tell me!" His voice rose in volume, just a bit too loud for Kendall's liking, so he quickly covered the smaller boy's mouth with his hand.
"Shhh! Okay, okay look I'll tell you, just please promise to be mad quietly!" He whispered, hoping that they hadn't disturbed his mother. Jennifer Knight was beastly when she didn't get her full eight hours of sleep, and Kendall wanted to avoid his mom-beast at all costs. He was already dealing with an irritated Logan.
When he was satisfied that everyone else in 2J was still sleeping soundly, Kendall removed his hand from the genius' mouth. Logan looked at his best friend with a questioning and harsh glare that said, "well?"
The band leader sighed, "okay, I went to teach Sebastian a lesson for punching you and breaking your nose. He didn't deserve to get off the hook that easy for the way he treated you," the boy admitted quietly, avoiding his fellow band member's gaze.
Logan's face and tone softened at Kendall's explanation. He fought the small smile threatening to overtake his face and kept his face blank instead, "I thought I told you that I could take care of myself. I'm sixteen Kendall, and I'm not a girl either, so you don't have to defend my honor every time a guy treats me crappy in a relationship."
The blonde boy raised his head at hearing Logan's tone, and smiled softly, "you know how protective I am of you guys Logie. Especially you."
Logan sighed as he was reminded of his childhood, tainted by the pain and suffering caused by bullies. "Kendall, I told you I can take care of myself. Now we both have broken noses!"
Kendall sighed but smiled at his best friend, ignoring the sting of his split lip. "Logie, you know you're my best friend. I love you, and I'll always defend you. And look at the bright side, we match!"
Logan fought the stupid grin trying to take over his countenance again, but failed. The genius quitely laughed and looked at his friend, "you're such a dork sometimes, Ken." The shorter boy smiled again, shaking his head.
The blonde grinned goofily at his best friend and pulled the shorter boy into a hug, murmuring into his soft raven hair, "yeah, maybe I should stop spending so much time with you."
Logan smiled into his friend's shoulder, "you wouldn't be able to do that if you tried."
Kendall chuckled knowing his friend was right. The brunette genius was pretty much the best thing in his life. And surprisingly, the blonde boy had no problem with that.
The shorter boy pulled back from the hug, but stayed close enough in Kendall's embrace that the younger boy's arms were still wrapped around his waist. He glanced up at the taller boy's nose and then at his split lip, "does it hurt? Your lip?" He questioned.
The blonde shrugged, "it stings a bit, but it was worth it. Sebastian looks way worse than I do. Why?" His large, dark eyebrows furrowed at his friend's question.
Logan bit his own lip while he glanced at Kendall, before leaning up and gently pecking the taller boy's injured lip for a few seconds before pulling back with a small smile, blush apparent on his face. "Thanks for defending me, Kendall," he said before walking towards the boys' shared bathroom to get the first aid kit. The older boy glanced back over his shoulder, "Ken, you coming?"
Kendall, stirring out of his daze from the genius' kiss, shook his head and followed the shorter boy.
Kendall would have no problem getting another split lip for defending Logan again.
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