The Scariest Days of Our Lives (Big Time Rush Fanfic)

Chapter Ten

"I wish Carlos was here," Kendall said as we sat around eating hot dogs at the ice skating rink. We had just been on the ice for almost an hour trying to play a pick-up game of hockey and we're now enjoying concessions.

"He's at the doctor right now," I said. "Mrs. Garcia said we could come by later."

James bit into his hot dog squirting ketchup onto Kendall who was sitting across from him.

"You look like you're bleeding," James laughed spraying Kendall with the hot dog that was in his mouth. I smiled for James reminded me of Carlos.

"You stained my favorite hockey jersey!" Kendall complained while I handed him a bunch of napkins to try to get the ketchup off.

"That's what you get for wearing it to the rink."

"I always wear it when I skate." He glanced over to the young kids taking a lesson on the ice. "I can't wait for the lake to freeze over."

"It kind of has to be cold for that to happen," I said. "May isn't the best time."

"I know! But, I still can't wait." He continued wiping his jersey. "Mom'll know how to get this out." Moms are magic. Give them the dirtiest clothes and they come back nice and clean. I don't know how they do it.

"What'd you do to your jersey?"

The black hockey helmet. The black hockey skates slung over his shoulder. It was Carlos. Carlos? What was he doing here?

"What are you doing here?" Kendall expressed my thoughts out loud.

The biggest grin I've probably ever seen in my entire life spread upon Carlos's face.

"I'm healed! The doctor said my brain, my head is all patched up and I'm healed!"

We all grabbed Carlos in a great big hug, jumping and squealing around like fangirls over well, over Big Time Rush.

"Mom said you guys were waiting here for my appointment to be over so she dropped me off."

"Mom's watching Katie take her lesson. Let me get them." Kendall ran toward the rink.

"You get to skate!" James exclaimed at the same time.

"Hey, you wanna snack or something?" I asked him since that's what had been doing before he got there.

"Corn dog!"

James and I bought Carlos a corn dog from the concessions and then joined Kendall and Mrs. Knight to watch the five year old skating class.

"Look, Mommy!" Katie waved to her mother and then began to skate backwards which was mostly the wiggling of her butt causing her to go in the opposite direction.

"Katie Knight, pay attention!" the instructor called to her.

Katie smiled sheepishly and went back to what they were working on, which was learning how to jump on the ice. Carlos sat there happily munching on his corn dog as we watched. Ten minutes later, Katie skated over to us, the lesson being over.

"Carlos, are you better?" She asked immediately.

"Yep!" He answered proudly.

"And you got your skates!" She reached her hand out to him. "Come skate with me!"

"I gotta put 'em on first."

"Don't you wanna skate with me, Baby Sis?" Kendall pretended to pout.

"We can all skate!" She declared. "Carlos is better!"

And so we did. Even Mrs. Knight. After putting our skates back on and buckling Carlos's helmet, all six of us grabbed hands and skated around the perimeter of the rink, just like old times. Well, maybe a little different since Katie and Mrs. Knight didn't usually skate with us. And we usually played hockey. OK, it wasn't like old times, but it was still great.

"Let's welcome back, Carlos Garcia!" Mrs. Donahue started class that following Monday. I looked over to my left at the seat next to me where my helmet wearing best friend sat. It had been around two and a half months since he'd last sat there.

The class cheered. Some of the kids sitting around us came up and patted Carlos on the back.

"Don't worry, Carlos," Mrs. Donahue continued, "we'll do everything we can to make sure you're caught up with the class."

"Thank you." Carlos blushed. It's hard to make Carlos embarrassed, but I guess all the attention at the moment was getting to him.

"Tag, you're it!" heading to the playground for recess later in the day, Carlos touched Kendall's shoulder and ran out the classroom door.

"Carlos Garcia!" Mrs. Donahue exclaimed following us out the door.

"OK, OK." He stopped running and waited for us to catch up with him.

"Thank you." Mrs. Donahue smiled at him, opened the outside door, and held it while we walked through.

"It's gone!" Carlos said suddenly.

James, Kendall, and I looked in the direction Carlos was looking. I had forgotten about it until right then. The Geometric Dome Climber had been taken up about a month ago and replaced with a black top where a few kids were playing Four Square.

Carlos didn't remember the accident, but the climber had been one of his favorite pieces of playground equipment that year so it was understandable he'd notice it missing.

"Like it never even existed. Like it was never there to cause damage to—" James said until I elbowed him hard in the ribs. He elbowed me back probably harder than I did him.

"Hey!" I made to elbow him back, but Kendall caught my arm and gave me a look. If we continued this, James and I would end up on the ground covered in dirt and who knows what else.

"Where's Carlos?" James asked suddenly.

"Carlos!" We all shouted when we saw him heading toward the monkey bars.

"Look what I found," Kendall exclaimed pulling himself out of his old Minnesota bedroom closet. James, Carlos, and I were helping Kendall, Katie, and Mrs. Knight pack up their old house. After four years in Los Angeles she finally decided to sell it. I get the hesitation with fame and fortune being such a finicky thing. James was helping Katie pack her room and Carlos was in the attic with Mama Knight.

"It's your cast—"I started.

"From when I broke my arm when Carlos hurt his head," Kendall finished. In a bag were the two pieces with all the scribbling of our friends, students, and parents. Kendall opened the bag and pulled out one half and pointed to a set of block letters. "That's when Carlos signed it." He turned it over to reveal dates written on it. "February 12, 2004—that's when Carlos fell and I broke my arm."

"April 2, 2004—when you got your cast off."

"May 14, 2004—when Carlos was officially told by his doctor that he was healed."

"I was just thinking about that incident. I honestly thought we lost him back then."

"Lost who?" Carlos asked bouncing into the room.

"You." Kendall showed Carlos his old cast.

"Oh my gosh." Carlos rubbed his fingers over his signature. "You know," he said slowly, "I still don't have any memory of the accident. Late at night I'll lie in bed sometimes and try to remember but nothing comes up."

"I think that's a good thing." I patted his shoulder.

"What's a good thing?" James asked.

"Hey, that's your cast from when Carlos's injury made you fall," Katie remarked entering the room behind James. "Has that metal plate in your head ever made the metal detector go off?"

"A few times," Carlos laughed. "I knew it would."

We joined in the laughter. It was the scariest time in our lives, but we made it through.