Secrets; Chapter 3

Chapter 3


Kate throws her controller to the floor. "Lost again," She says angrily.
Nichole and I start laughing.
"Don't mess with the master!" I say playfully, though I am only half joking. I'm really good at the game and I would be the first to admit it.
"Of course you're the master!" Nichole replies, fighting to stop laughing. "You own the game!"
"At least you've won few times," Kate mutters. "I keep getting third and fourth. Even the computer program can beat me!"
Nichole and I laugh even harder and I fall off the couch.
"Ouch!" I moan, still laughing.
Kate smiles with satisfaction. "Serves you right, sore winner," She teases.
"I don't know about a sore winner, but I'll make you a sore loser!" I smirk and grab her leg, but before I can do anything, there's a knock at the door. "Be right back," I say, releasing her and heading to the door. I open it and see Kendall, Logan (The boy I had run into at school; I've learned his name by now) and Carlos Porter at the door.
"Hey!" Carlos greets me, looking excited. I've known him since kindergarten. I only just found out recently that he knows Kendall. 'Recently,' meaning today.
"Hi, Samantha," Logan says, smiling at me, his brown eyes lit up in a warm greeting.
I smile at the surprise, my gaze locking with Logan's. "You came!"
"Did you expect us to not? We said we would," Carlos replies, looking slightly puzzled.
"And we got Kendall to come, too." Logan gestures to the dirty blonde-haired teenager.
I look at Kendall. "Hi, Kendall," I say quietly, not sure how he would react at seeing me again.
"Hey, Sam." He actually used my nickname. That's a good sign, I suppose.
"Come in," I say, opening the door wider. They walk in and I lead them to the living room. Kate's eyebrows raise when she sees her brother walk in, but she holds her tongue. Instead, she pats the seat beside her for him. Kendall absently-mindedly obeys, Carlos sitting on his other side. I sit beside Nichole, Logan taking the other seat beside me.
“Alright, we want to know what’s going on, Kendall," Kate says, turning to her brother.
“There’s nothing going on,” Kendall mutters without looking at her. He stares at the ground, looking like he wishes the floor would open up and swallow him whole.
“Kendall,” Carlos speaks up. “Why won’t you tell us?”
“We’ll still be your friends, no matter how bad it is," Logan adds.
“Yeah,” I agree. “We wouldn’t stop being friends with you no matter what. You can’t get rid of us that easy.” Nichole nods vigorously in agreement.
Kendall continues to stare at the ground. I'm not sure if he heard a single word from anyone.
“Brother, tell us." Kate rubs his arm. “Please? We’re worried about you.”
Kendall just shakes his head.
“Why did you even come, then, if you aren’t going to talk to us?” Logan asks suddenly.
I narrow my eyes at Kendall. ‘Yeah,’ I think. ‘Why did he come?’
“Because I need to talk to Sam,” Kendall says, looking at me. He locks his gaze with mine with a sort of pleading look that takes me by surprise. “But in private,” He adds.
I stand up. “Alright…” I exchange glances with Kate and Nichole, my own confusion reflecting in their eyes. “Come with me. Carlos, Logan, why don’t you two grab some controllers and see if you can beat Kate?” I flash Kate a mischievous look. “It shouldn’t be hard.”
Kate sticks her tongue out at me and smiles. She grabs a controller and tosses it to Carlos while Logan grabs another controller off the coffee table.
I head upstairs, Kendall following. We can talk in peace up there without anyone eavesdropping. “What’s up?” I ask, sitting down on my bed.
“Well… I have something to ask you,” Kendall begins awkwardly after taking a seat beside me. Then he stops talking. I wait a little while, but he still says nothing.
“What is it?” I prompt.
“I’m not sure how to put it...” Kendall trails off again, looking at the floor. He is acting really strange, if it isn't obvious.
“Hold on.” I get up and race down the stairs. I snatch a few Reese’s Cups out of a small bowl of candy and return a few moments later. “Eat this.” I toss a few pieces to him.
Kendall catches them and looks up at me, confused.
“Why?”
I shrug and reply with a smile, “Peanut butter and chocolate make everyone feel better.” Kendall smiles faintly and eats the candy.
After a few minutes of silence, I turn to him again. “Can you tell me what’s wrong now?” I hope I don't have to force the question out of him. I hate doing that, but if I have to, I will. He obviously needs help, but in order to assist him, I need him to tell me what's wrong.
Kendall fixes me with his green gaze. "There's this girl," he begins slowly. "I really like her, but I don't know how to tell her. I thought I could write a song for her, but I got to thinking about it and I decided that writing a song could be too"-He searches for the word-"Forward."
I feel relief wash over me.
"So you're not a ninja?" I ask, before realize he has no idea what I mean.
"What?" Kendall asks, wrinkling his dark, thick eyebrows in confusion.
"Never mind. Who is she?" I ask curiously.
Kendall blushes a deep red.
"I'd rather not say... You'd just think I was weird."
"I would not!" I promise, but I honestly don't care who it is. I'm just glad he explained what was wrong and why he spends so much time in his room. It's all for a girl. 'I should have known,' I think, laughing silently.
"Do you think writing a song is weird?" Kendall presses, obviously trying to change the subject.
"Weird? No way!" I reply. "That's really sweet of you, Kendall. She'll love it, whoever she is."
Kendall looks relieved. "Thanks, Sam." He hugs me tightly. Once he releases me, he flashes me a white smile and heads out of my room.
I lean back on the wall that my bed is pressed up against and laugh to myself. Oh, Kendall.