If We Have Each Other

Chapter 3

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Logan woke up to the beeping of his alarm clock. "Another day, another cycle of pain," he said to himself as he rolled out of bed. He walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower, the perfect place for contemplating. Once it warmed up, Logan stepped into the warm and steamy bliss of the daily shower. He stood in the stream of water, not ever wanting to get out.

"What if I actually find someone to go to homecoming with? Will it be more than just homecoming?" Logan pondered.

"Am I ready for dating?" Logan asked himself. He couldn't answer that question, and he didn't know why. He couldn't picture himself dating a girl, and he didn't know why.

"Doesn't everyone at least think about it?" He asked himself. "Maybe there really is something wrong with me." Logan wasn't sure if he should even tell Greyson about these thoughts. Grabbing the soap bar, Logan began to clean himself so he would have time to eat breakfast. He quickly put shampoo through his hair, and turned off the shower. He dried off and went back into his bedroom to get dressed.

Running short on time, he threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a hoodie on top of it. Logan grabbed his backpack and went downstairs. His mom had already left for the day.

"Why did she leave so early? It's only 7:30," Logan thought. Until he actually looked at the clock. It read 7:49. Logan did a double take, and then dropped his backpack in disbelief.

"Oh shit, I'm gonna miss the bus," Logan cursed to himself as he picked up his backpack and sprinted out the door. He ran down the sidewalk with his backpack bouncing on his back, and he turned the corner to find the bus at his stop. Waving at the bus driver so he would see him, Logan continued to sprint toward the bus. He reached the bus door, and got on, ignoring the bus driver's glare. Someone had taken his seat, and the bus was weirdly full, so he had to sit in the very back next to a hoard of obnoxious boys.

"What a great way to start off the day," Logan thought. The bus ride to school couldn't be any longer.

Once the bus arrived at school, a traumatized Logan practically flew down the bus steps. He was eager to get away from the boys who wouldn't shut up and didn't have the common decency to reconsider the topics they chose to talk very loudly about. He found the table where Paul, Ashton, and Greyson were sitting, and sat down next to them. They were ranking their classes, a topic that Logan didn't mind joining.

"Math is so fucking boring, it's the worst," Paul said with a very passionate tone.

"You're only in geometry, I'm taking Algebra 2, you aren't one to complain," Logan argued back.

"Well that's because you have nothing better to do with your life, at least I actually have a social life, unlike you," Paul shot back.

"I'm just a quiet person, and I choose not to be surrounded by people. Ever thought of that? Of course you didn't, because your IQ is a negative number. I don't even know why people like you, you're a dumb, inconsiderate asshole," Logan vented. Realizing what he had said, he slumped back in his chair, preparing for the worst. What surprised him was what Paul did next. He stood up, looked at Logan with a gleam of fury in his eyes, and walked away.

No one said anything. Time seemed frozen. The seconds ticked by like hours. Finally, Ashton broke the silence.

"Well....that happened. He's going to be pissed when he comes back, you better stay away, Logan."

"You're right, but those things needed to be said. Paul can sometimes be an arrogant dumbass," Greyson said.

"He's not an arrogant dumbass," Ashton said back to Greyson.

"Well, then what is he?" Greyson asked.

"Well, he's nice. Sometimes," Ashton said back.

"He's only nice when there's something in it for him," Greyson said without any hesitation, destroying Ashton's argument.

"Maybe you're right," Ashton said. "He's never really done anything for us." The conversation was interrupted by the first bell.

"Well, I'm gonna go to class now," Logan said. "See you at lunch, Greyson."

"Yeah, see ya," Greyson replied. Logan collected his things, and squeezed past the clumps of people congregated in the narrow aisles between the tables. While attempting to squeeze past a group of white girls with their venti pink drinks, Logan accidentally ran into someone, making them drop their things.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Logan apologized as he turned around and kneeled down to help pick up the scattered items.

"It's ok," a shy voice replied. Logan looked up. He almost recognized the boy, but he couldn't place where he had seen him. Logan finished picking up the rest of the fallen items.

"Again, I'm really sorry, it was an accident," Logan said.

"R— really, it's— it's fine," the boy mumbled. Logan looked at him again, and discovered his face was turning red.

"Are— are you okay?" Logan asked. He didn't know what to do.

"Um, yeah, I'm— I'm fine," the boy said, his voice shaking. He turned away from Logan to hide his face getting more and more red.

"Okay..." Logan said before walking away, glancing back at the boy to make sure he was actually alright.

"What was that all about?" He asked himself as he walked down the hall toward his AP Euro class. Logan walked into the classroom, and sat down at his desk. He began to reach into his pocket to pull out his phone, but he paused. It hit him. That was the boy from the library.

"Okay, well I know where he's from, but why did he get so red?" Logan asked himself. He let himself ponder that thought. "Why on earth would he get so red?" He thought about it until the second bell rang, but couldn't come up with an answer, and now he had to listen to his teacher drone on about French politics from the 1800s.