The Candles

4

Logan stepped outside into the school's courtyard, where small groups of students talked in closed circles. It was lunch time, and instead of going to the dining hall for lunch, Logan had been told by Riley to meet him in the courtyard.

Logan spotted his group friends in a dark corner under a tree. Logan joined them and they opened the circle to reveal the beat up Riley. He looked up at Logan, revealing a swollen right eye, a purple nose and several bruises on his arms.

"Logan," he said. He was missing one of his front teeth. Logan tried to hide his surprise at the sight of him. "Surprised?"

"Um.. yeah, a little. I didn't know it was that bad," Logan said frankly. Riley chuckled coldly.

"You said you knew kickboxing. Let's see how much you know. Joey, test him," Riley said, nodding at one of the thugs on Logan's right. Joey grabbed his shoulder and threw a powerful punch at Logan's stomach. Logan bent over, holding his stomach, out of breath. The circle was silent as they waited for something to happen.

Logan jumped up and threw a roundhouse kick at Joey's side. He stumbled, holding his ribs, and then rushed forward, throwing both fists out at once. Logan bent down and used Joey's momentum to make him roll on his back and fall on the other side.

Joey grunted as he hit the ground hard. Logan grabbed his arm and punched his jaw. He stood up, brushing off the dirt from his shorts. Riley nodded approvingly.

"Welcome to the group," riley said, smiling. "You're walking home with me today."

Logan met Riley outside the school building. He was still surrounded by his group of friends and Logan didn't want to approach right away. he spotted something interesting happening. Riley was counting money from a wad of banknotes. Logan squinted to see better. Riley gave three bills to each of the thugs before they left him alone in front of the building.

Logan joined him. "So are we walking to your house?" asked Logan. Riley nodded without saying anything, putting the wad of money back into his pocket..

"So those guys, are they your friends or...?" Logan wanted to know what the money was about.

Riley laughed drily. "Those guys? Do they really look like they could be my friends? Far from it."

"So what are they, then?" asked Logan, worrying he was pushing it a little too far.

"More like bodyguards, I guess," Riley said, shrugging.

"So do you have any real friends?" asked Logan. Riley shook his head, and suddenly, he looked a bit sad. "Am I a bodyguard now, or what?"

"Yeah, of course you are," Riley said. "I mean, you managed to beat Joey's ass, and he's one of the best."

"Have they ever help you?" asked Logan. Riley shook his head. "They weren't there for you yesterday," Logan pointed out.

"I know," Riley said, sounding slightly annoyed. "You were." He sighed. They arrived in front of Riley's house. He pulled out the wad of money and took three twenties.

"This is for today," he said, handing the money to Logan, who looked down confused. "I pay my bodyguards, Logan. Do you think those guys hang out with me for free?" He rolled his eyes. If Logan took the money, his chances of being actual friends with Riley would die. And he felt bad that Riley had to pay people to stay close to him. "Oh, and here's another twenty dollars for saving me yesterday."

"You know," Logan sighed. "After saving you yesterday, I thought we would become friends, not a bodyguard." Riley looked up at him thoughtfully. They were silent for a second.

"I've never really had friends before," Riley admitted. "You seem like a pretty decent guy. You don't seem to be like those fuckboys. You want to come inside?"

Logan smiled. "Sure." Riley shoved the money back into his pocket and Logan entered the Harris household for the second time.