Short Stories

Bea & Logan

"Logan, why do you act like such a bad boy when you aren't one?"

"Well, Bumblebee, that's a long story."

I rolled my eyes at the use of my silly nickname. "Are you going to leave me sitting here wondering, or are you going to say anything else?"

My sass is world famous, and his reaction didn't disappoint. He looked at me with an unamused raised eyebrow, and the tiniest frown on his face.

"You really want to know?" he asked. "Why?"

"Do you remember last week when you cleared an entire hallway with just a glare? People are so scared of you, but you're actually really nice."

"Gee thanks, Bea. And maybe I don't want people to know I'm nice. People only take advantage of your niceness. They don't care about you as a person, just what they can get out of you."

He looked down angrily and picked at a piece of the carpet as he said this, looking uncomfortable. He didn't want to be taken advantage of? Does he speak from experience?

I asked him those very questions, and his response was heartbreaking.

"Bumblebee." he stated. "Before I moved to this school, I wasn't a bad boy. I wore blue jeans and flannel shirts. I talked to anyone and everyone, and actually had more than a few friends. I had a girlfriend, even. She took pride in being a good girlfriend, and came to all my sports games. I was normal, whatever that means. But then one of my best friends and my girlfriend hooked up behind my back. I was disappointed, but I kept seeing her. I was nice to her, because she swore it was once, and would never happen again. And I kept talking to my best friend, because I had known him since we were 4. But I knew that they kept doing it once a week for months, too. And they never said anything to me.

"They took my forgiveness as permission to keep fucking around. They'd do it at each other's houses, at school, and even once at my house. When I had finally had enough, it was about a week before we were set to move. I confronted both of them, and told them to never talk to me again. I spent that week cooped up in my room, packing it up. Then on our last night there, my best friend came to apologize. He said he was a dick, and that he was sorry he ever did it. But as I turned to go inside, he muttered the phrase 'Even though she's fantastic.'"

His voice broke on the last sentence, and my heart went out to him, for ever having to deal with that. I watched as he took a few deep breaths to steady himself. I moved closer so that my arm was resting next to his, and our legs were touching. He looked up and smiled at me. But as he continued, the brief smile dropped off his face.

"I lost it at that point. I punched him in the face. He only got a nosebleed, but he still pressed charges. I was arrested for battery, and the judge wanted to make an example, so he sentenced me to 3 months of juvie. My release day was my 18thbirthday. But because I missed the last 3 months of school, I was told that I had to repeat the year to graduate. And I sure as hell wasn't going back to that school, so my mom and I picked up and moved here. Small town USA."

As he finished his story, I could only sit there in shock. And I'm sure it was all over my face. I wasn't expecting him to tell me the reason he went to juvie. I couldn't imagine having a best friend who did that to me. I would be devastated, especially with a fake apology thrown in for good measure. As for spending 3 months there, it explains why Logan is the most organized and disciplined teenage boy I've ever seen. Of course I never believed the rumors about him, that he killed someone, or committed armed robbery, but I wasn't expecting a simple fist fight, either. It was actually almost a relief that it wasn't something worse than that. I must have been silent for too long, because Logan looked up at me with something akin to vulnerability in his eyes.

"Bumblebee, say something." He urged.

"Thank you for telling me that." I began. I saw a quick flash of fear in his eyes before I continued. "I wasn't expecting to hear why you went to juvie, but I think you were right in doing what you did. The guy deserved it. It's shitty that your so-called best friend decided to press charges. You didn't deserve 3 months in juvie for punching him. Plenty of people do that and don't get arrested for it. And what kind of person calls herself a good girlfriend for doing something like that. Cheating is never okay. Never."

I was in a huff by the time I finished rambling to him. Over the course of my speech, a relieved look came into his eyes, and then another look that I couldn't quite decipher. His eyes were unreadable as I kept looking at him. My imagination was telling me it was because of the same rollercoaster feeling in my stomach that I had for him, but my logical mind squashed that fantasy in a heartbeat. He just got finished telling me that he doesn't show people his kindness because of his bitch ex-girlfriend, Bea. Get a grip.

"I'm glad you're letting me see your nice side. I really do feel honored." I murmured quietly.

"I don't know what it is about you." He confessed. "The first day I saw you, you were standing at your locker talking to Julie and The Squad, and whatever she had just said had made you laugh. That laugh, your smile, and the way you put your hand on your hip in response told me that there was something different about you. And I knew I at least wanted to get to know you."

He ran his fingers through his tangled hair and tacked on one last sentence.

"Biology class was a blessing in disguise; our seats getting assigned next to each other gave me that very opportunity."

He smiled a genuine smile at me, the first one all night. His true smile was a rare sight, but entirely breathtaking. I can see why the girls practically fell all over him at his old school. And some of the girls at this school, who were looking for a stereotypical love story. But he never showed any interest in them. He had hinted that he was interested in someone, but whenever The Squad pressed him to say who it was, he was always tight-lipped about it.

It suddenly clicked in my head why he never said when his eyes grew serious, and he glanced down at my lips. He leaned closer to me and hesitated slightly, waiting for a silent grant of permission. Whatever he saw in my eyes must have satisfied him, because he closed the rest of the distance between us and brushed his lips against mine. It surprised me how soft his lips were, and how gentle he was with me.

He leaned back with a smile, and added, "I showed you my kindness, the good man under the bad boy because I wanted you to see the real me. Not the asshole that roams the school. Not the mask of all black everything. You made me want to try again after what happened."

Hearing that, plus the kiss, made my heart melt in my chest. I smiled at him, bringing my hand up to cup his cheek. I stroked his face with my thumb, feeling the rough stumble beneath my skin. This time, I leaned forward and kissed him. I tried to communicate everything that I didn't know how to say. That I was grateful he opened up to me. That I was glad he trusted me to not hurt him again. That despite his bad boy exterior, I still had a crush on him.

"Logan," I whispered against his lips, "thank you for sharing this with me."

He seemed to know I meant both his past and our kiss. He smiled back at me.

"You're welcome, Bumblebee."