I started writing this in April and decided to finish it up last night. Ironically, tomorrow's my first day of school too, so it was kind of bittersweet to write this. This is meant to just be cute, friendshipy fluff, by the way. I hope you like it!

Little Logan Mitchell didn't like loud sounds or crowded spaces. He liked quiet, open areas, and his kindergarten classroom was currently quite the opposite. It was the first day of school, and all of the students were dashing around the classroom, screaming and flailing with excitement as the teacher spoke to the parents outside.

Logan had never felt more out of place; among all of the students there, he didn't have a single friend. The little girls were mostly playing dolls in one corner of the room while a few of them seemed to be playing tag, giggling as they chased different boys around the room. But Logan certainly didn't want to play with the girls. The majority of the boys seemed to be on a rampage as they darted around the classroom, some of them holding toy cars and producing appropriate sound effects while others made dinosaur noises and kicked over building blocks. Logan didn't want to play with them either. In the very back corner of the room sat the only two boys who seemed to be engaging in a civilized activity.

The two had claimed a handful of action figures for themselves and were quietly battling each other, an occasional "kablam!" or "sploosh!" sound leaking from their secluded area. One of them was blonde with green eyes, and he sported a victorious smirk as he knocked his friend's action figure to the carpet. His friend had longer, brown hair and was well-dressed in comparison to the other kids, and he scowled up at his friend with frustration. They were the two Logan wanted to play with, he decided. He inhaled and tried to move his little feet, but they didn't budge. He stepped back instead, bowing his head shamefully. What if they didn't like him? What if they laughed at him for wanting to play with them? In the midst of his worrying, Logan noticed another boy who, like himself, seemed to be alone. But the boy seemed to be having a lot more fun than Logan was.

The boy was wearing a helmet over his short, dark curls and grinning to himself as he spun in circles, obviously finding the activity entertaining as he laughed loudly. His skin was tanner than Logan's, and he had dark eyes that lit up with his laughter. The boy stopped suddenly, swaying on his feet as he regained his balance. He spotted the two boys in the corner and walked over to them, smiling brightly as he sat down and picked up a fallen action figure. Logan watched as the other two boys grinned at him and almost immediately engaged him in their battle, handing him a toy spaceship to use as well. The three of them began to chatter amongst themselves, and Logan looked down at his shoes again. He wished he could be as brave as the boy in the helmet.

Logan wandered over to the bookshelf, the only place that his classmates were not currently ransacking. Logan let himself sink into one of the beanbag chairs, picking out a picture book to read. Normally, he would've rejoiced at the opportunity to read and learn something new, but he felt too lonely to enjoy the colorful story. Before he even realized what was happening, tears had welled in his eyes and a few dripped down his cheeks as he tried to focus on the book. "Why are you crying?"

Logan jumped in surprise, looking up to see the boy with the helmet looming over him. "I wasn't crying," Logan mumbled, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Yes you were," the boy affirmed, kneeling down beside Logan, "What's wrong?"

Logan sniffled, deciding to tell the boy the truth, "I'm lonely, and I don't have any friends."

Logan was taken aback as the boy immediately enveloped him in a hug, the little boy's arms wound tightly around him. "I'll be your friend," the boy said.

Logan tried to awkwardly shimmy out of the other's hold, but the boy wouldn't loosen his grip. "Um, ok, uh…" Logan stuttered uncomfortably.

"I'm Carlos," the other boy interrupted him, still holding him tightly. Logan finally stopped squirming, even though he still felt awkward under the sudden attention.

"I'm Logan," Logan said shyly.

Carlos eventually pulled back, smiling brightly, "Do you wanna come meet my other friends?"

Logan glanced over at the two boys still occupied by their skirmish, feeling nervous again. "Uh, I don't know…what if they don't like me?" he suggested timidly.

Logan squeaked with surprise as Carlos suddenly grabbed his hand, clasping their fingers together and tugging so that Logan stumbled behind him as they approached the other two boys. "Wait! Carlos, wait!" Logan pleaded, planting his feet firmly so that he wouldn't be dragged to his impending social doom.

"What's the matter?" Carlos looked at Logan with confusion, "They'll like you. I like you, so they will too."

Logan hung his head, still unconvinced. Carlos sighed, extending his pinky. Logan quirked an eyebrow, baffled by the gesture. "They'll like you, I pwomise," Carlos swore.

Logan hesitantly closed his pinky around Carlos', accepting the boy's word. Carlos grinned giddily and gave their fingers a firm shake to confirm his oath. He then resumed jerking the still hesitant Logan across the room until they were standing beside the other two boys. "Hey," Carlos chirped, "This is my new friend, Logan. Can he play with us?"

The blonde boy glimpsed up from strategizing with his friend, showing off his missing front tooth with a friendly smile, "Shore! My name's Kendall."

"Hi," Logan mumbled bashfully.

"Kendall," the brunette boy huffed with annoyance, "You have to ask me what I think first! I'm playing too, you know; and you're not the boss of everything!"

Kendall rolled his eyes, explaining to Logan, "Sorry James is such a whiner. My mommy says he gets spoiled a lot—like milk!"

James' little button nose wrinkled with disgust, "Eww, Kendall! Spoiled milk is gross! I'm not gross!"

"Yes you are!" Kendall chanted merrily, "My mommy says you are!"

With a growl, James pounced on his friend, the two breaking into a scuffle. Within moments, Carlos had eagerly joined. Logan watched the three of them wrestling at his feet, unsure of what to do. They were acting as childishly as the other students had been earlier, but Logan found that he wasn't repulsed. They had been kind to him—well, mostly, at least. And they seemed like they were having lots of fun without joining everyone else. Logan couldn't help but feel a quiet longing to join in with them, to have some fun with his nice, new friends.

Carlos seemed to read his thoughts. "Jump on in, mi amigo!" Carlos yanked at Logan's ankle, sending the boy tumbling to the floor with a squawk.

Logan was unsure of what to do at first, but he quickly decided he wanted to be on Kendall's side of things since the blonde boy seemed more pleasant than James. In an attempt to aid Kendall, who had James temporarily pinned to the floor, Logan cautiously reached forward and tickled the brunette's unguarded sides. James squealed in response, wriggling free of Kendall's arms as the blonde laughed loudly at Logan's actions. "Tickle fight!" Kendall announced with a shout.

Before Logan could recognize what was going on, his own sides were being assaulted by tickles. He couldn't even distinguish who was who amidst their tangled limbs. Logan shrieked and laughed as they rolled around on the carpet, with James yelping about messing up his hair and getting carpet burns and Carlos cackling with energetic laughter. Logan felt free, happy. He had friends!

But before Logan could fully lose himself in the joy of the moment, he noticed that the teacher was standing over the pile of boys, clearing her throat sternly. The new friends hastily shuffled to their feet. Logan blushed with humiliation as the teacher assigned each of them a time-out during recess—in front of the whole class!

"Hey," Carlos whispered from beside him, "At weast we'll all be together!"

Logan sighed, muttering bitterly, "I gotta get new friends."

Although deep down inside, he knew he intended on doing nothing of the sort.