Vacation

Chapter 6

Logan and Talia stood in the kitchen, leaning on the counter and carrying a conversation. Both of them were slightly blushing and seemed quite nervous, but they were still laughing and were enjoying talking to each other. Logan had always thought he would be a nervous wreck if he ever had a conversation with Talia, but he was keeping his cool and actually making her laugh at his lame jokes.

As much as he was enjoying the conversation, Logan couldn't help but think about Louise. He just couldn't get the adorable image of her wearing his hoodie out of his head. He tried his best to focus on Talia, but his mind would just wander off to his best friend. This made Logan very frustrated, and Talia noticed.

"Are you OK?" Talia asked, her aqua eyes wide in concern. Logan's eyes also widened.

"Oh, yeah. Something's just... bothering me," Logan replied with a reassuring smile, scolding himself for making his frustrations presentable.

Talia smiled and moved her hand through her hair. "Well... I hope I can take your mind off it."

Logan blushed a bright red and smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "T-thanks."

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Talia finally spoke up. "Um... hey. I was wondering if you wanted to-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Gene and Daryl walked up to the two nervous teens. Logan looked at them, confused.

"Hey, guys! How's it going?" Gene asked, trying to sound nonchalant. Logan and Talia looked at each other, confused.

"Um... we're good. Do you need something?" Logan asked, a little peeved that his two friends were ruining his moment with Talia. He really wanted to know what she was going to ask.

Gene and Daryl smiled slyfully, which Logan did not like. "Actually, I really need to talk my good friend here," Gene said, wrapping his arm around Logan's shoulders. "Don't worry, Talia. Daryl will keep you company."

Talia looked over at Daryl, who smiled and waved. She waved back half-heartedly.

"Ok.! We'll be riiiiight back!" Gene said, smiling at a frowning Logan. They quickly walked upstairs and turned the corner. Gene finally let go of Logan, who looked furious.

"Gene! Did you realize who I was talking to? What's so important that you had to interrupt TALIA LYNN GOODING?" Logan exclaimed angrily. Gene just crossed his arms, smiling calmly.

"I just want to talk to you. Just a nice chat between friends," he said, pacing slowly back and forth. "Now... you are best friends with a certain sister of mine named... oh, what was it... Louise Belcher, am I correct?"

Logan looked at him, not having a single clue as to what his friend was doing. "Uh... yeah? What about her?"

Gene continued to pace back and forth. "Now, today she was wearing an outfit that was quite... different from what she usually wore."

Logan could feel his cheeks start to burn when he thought about her outfit. "Y-yeah. So?

Gene then stopped pacing, looking directly at Marco. " How did you think she looked?"

Logan's eyes widened. Gene smiled, happy he got the reaction he wanted. "Uh... s-she looked OK."

Gene leaned forward, getting closer to Logan's face (much to his discomfort). "Really? Just OK?"

"She looked... good," Logan said, rubbing his neck nervously.

"Oh, from that stunned expression when you first saw her, I'd say you thought she looked more than good," Gene said, grinning. Logan responded to this by looking down and blushing.

"Now, I have another question for you. Usually, you have a red hoodie on. It is your trademark look, after all. However, the hoodie is nowhere to be seen. Now, tell me, do you know where it is?"

Logan's eyes widened once again. He knew exactly where it was, and he knew that Gene would get the wrong idea.

"I... gave it to Louise. She was cold, so..." he said, ruffling his hair.

"That's very nice, but is there ANY other reason why you would give her your hoodie other than the fact that she was cold?" Gene asked. Logan was starting to get really uncomfortable.

"Uh... um... no," Logan answered, not sounding very assuring.

Gene smiled smugly. "Now, I'm just saying something hypothetically. Let's say that you gave her your hoodie because you had... feelings for her..."

"W-what?! No!" Logan nervously stuttered, shaking his head and hands. Gene chuckled at his nervousness.

"Hypothetically," Gene emphasized. "Let's say that she... would return your feelings."

This got Logan's full attention. "Wait. What do you mean?"

Gene shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I'm just speaking hypothetically. You can go back downstairs if you want."

As Gene began to walk away, Logan quickly grabbed his arm. "No, wait. What did you mean by that?"

Gene smiled smugly. "Let's just say I know something about Louise that you would REALLY like to know."

"What is it? What is it?" Logan asked frantically

Gene sighed. "Well... I GUESS I could tell you... on one condition."

Logan groaned in frustration. "Fine. I'll make you a sandwich."

Gene shook his head. "No, that's not the condition, but you can still make me one. I need you..." He paused for dramatic effect, making Logan very annoyed.

Finally, he finished his sentence. "... to admit you have a crush on Louise."

Logan nearly choked out of surprise. "W-what?! I-I'm not doing that!"

Gene just shrugged and crossed his arms. "Then I guess you don't want to hear it."

Logan looked around frantically, mentally torn. He kept telling himself he didn't like Louise. However, the more he said it, the more it sounded like a lie.

"Say you like Louise" Gene repeated calmly.

"N-no!" Logan exclaimed.

"Say it," Gene said, starting to get louder.

"No!" Logan repeated, starting to panic.

"Say it!" Gene yelled. Logan closed his eyes. He knew he couldn't keep it in.

"OK! I LIKE LOUISE! SHE'S SWEET AND ADORABLE AND I LIKE HER!" he yelled. There was a couple of seconds of awkward silence. Then, Gene smiled.

"Well, then you're going to really like what I'm about to tell you," he said, starting to get excited.