When Two Worlds Meet

Meet: Logan

Logan's POV

Let me introduce you to my world. I live in a fast paced world, one that never stops, is obsessed with efficiency, with the next best thing, having everything right now. We have built amazing things: buildings that are hundreds of feet tall, spectacular monuments to those that came before us, museums filled with priceless knowledge, and so much more. My world is home to many incredible people, scientists and artists and leaders. It is also home to me, Logan Booker.

I adore New York in the fall. Regardless of what other people say, I love pumpkin spice flavoring, particularly pumpkin spice lattes. I was planning on grabbing one after I finished my shift at the library, which would make my day even more perfect.

Life had been pretty wonderful lately. I adored my job with a passion; I worked at the library, re-shelving books, reading to little kids, ordering new books, making sure the computers worked properly, etc. I was paid pretty well, at least better than you'd expect for a library. But we were pretty popular and well funded, so it made sense, especially with all the work that I put in.

School was going very, very well. I was attending a few classes on astronomy, chemical engineering, and law. I was hoping to become a teacher, but there were a few things that I wanted to learn first. I still had plenty of time, and I had been saving my money since I was a young child.

Now I walked down one of the aisles of books with my little cart, carefully placing books back where they belonged. I was walking through the young adult fiction section; I corrected the order of the books as I walked by, shaking my head at the fact that so many series were out of order. I finished the top rack of books and moved on the next, losing myself in the quiet, slightly monotonous task.

My watch buzzed just as I finished my cart, and I felt my lips twitch upwards into a small smile. I hurried back to the front desk to put it away, saying hello to Perkins as I walked by. Perkins was one of my co-workers, an old man with inch thick glasses, a white comb over, and a puffy sweater vest. He whispered everything and winced when anyone spoke any louder than he did. He was a little crotchety, but I liked him.

I clocked out and buttoned my black jacket over my black shirt and blue tie. Thomas always said that I looked too dark and scary, but I thought it made me look nice. Dapper and professional, with just a bit of color. I checked that my Pride pin was in place on my jacket's lapel and slung my bag over my shoulder, walking swiftly through the front doors.

The crisp, cool air around me played with my dusty brown hair, pulling it out of the careful style I tried to keep it in. I sighed and just let it do its thing; trying to work against the wind wasn't possible. I'd fix it once I got to the café.

I walked down the sidewalk as leaves skittered down behind me, swirling in lovely curled patterns. I walked past plenty of people as I strode down the street. The constant noise was something that I'd had my entire life; cars honking, people yelling, doors opening and closing, constant movement. It added some nice background noise.

I finally found the café that I wanted: The Quintessential. I knew it had an absolutely ridiculous name; I wouldn't even get my latte here if not for the fact that this was Thomas's favorite café and Roman got a chocolate mocha here every day at about the same time. Thomas is my best friend; we've been friends since grade school and never really stopped hanging out. Plenty of people have asked if we were a couple, but we both just laughed it off. We both might be gay but we'd been best friends for so long that I couldn't imagine seeing him as anything else.

Roman, on the other hand, was a guy that was really something else. I'll tell you about him when I see him. Anyway, I walked into the little café to find Thomas sitting at a round table to my right, a good distance from the door. He was wearing a thick jacket and an orange beanie, warming his hands by breathing into them. He looked up and grinned when he saw me.

"Logan!" He gestured to the seat across from him with one hand, picking up my drink in the other. "Come in and sit down; it's FREEZING outside." I walked over and carefully leaned my bag against my seat as I sat across from him. I really enjoyed Thomas's company; while I was a very quiet man, Thomas's exuberant presence gave me energy.

I looked behind him at the clock on the wall, and Thomas caught the motion as he set my latte in front of me. He grinned. "Roman shouldn't be here for a few minutes." He told me. I nodded and took a scorching sip of my latte, ignoring the slightly embarrassed feelings in my chest. "In the mean time..." He reached down and grabbed his laptop from his bag. "I've got some new evidence to show you."

I groaned as I set my drink down. "Not your alternate dimension theory again." Thomas has been obsessed with his theory that there was an alternate dimension attached to New York City for a while now, at least three years. He kept collecting evidence for his theory, scanning the news for stories, looking for objects that might have come from the alternate dimension, asking people around the city questions, etc.

Thomas nodded enthusiastically, a large smile on his face. He opened his laptop and began looking through it. "I found a couple news articles from last year's Halloween." He told me as he looked through. "Just let me find it..." His voice trailed off as he looked through.

I sighed and shook my head at him when the door behind me opened. The cold air rushed in, making some of the patrons shiver. I turned and saw Roman standing in the doorway, loosening a scarlet scarf from around his shoulders. His blond hair fell in his icy blue eyes, and he brushed it aside impatiently as he closed the door behind him.

He looked up, spotted me and Thomas, and grinned his pearly white teeth. He got in line, but gave us a cheeky wink. Thomas smiled brightly back while I gave him a small smile and a nod. I pulled out my sci-fi book to read while we waited for Roman to get over to the table.

Roman and Thomas had met during a musical production of The Beauty and the Beast. They'd gone on a couple dates but weren't really each other's type. They were still friends and got coffee together most days. Thomas had been trying to set me up with Roman for a little bit, and I was coming around to the idea.

Besides the obvious fact that Roman is beyond gorgeous, he also enjoyed verbal banter, something that is very close to my heart. He may not be the brightest bulb some days, but his presence gave me energy; besides, he introduced me to Crofter's Jam. What's not to like?

Roman swaggered over with his steaming cup, one hand in his pocket. He took a sip as he stood beside our table, then smiled down at me. I gave him a small smile in return, trying to ignore my bright pink ears and cheeks. "Greetings, Roman."

"Hey Logan." He grinned at me mischievously. "How's your latte?"

"It is exquisitely warm, which is a pleasure in this frigid weather." I told him ruefully. "How's your..." I looked at his cup. "Mocha coffee? It smells divine."

His eyes glittered as he took in my words. He always seemed to enjoy it when I spoke. I assumed this was because I spoke in a more elegant manner than most people and Roman enjoyed speaking in a flowery way himself.

"Mine is also 'exquisitely warm'." He told me, taking another sip. He swallowed and set his cup down on our table. He leaned his hands on the solid surface and leaned forward, looking at me. He flashed his white teeth in my direction again. 'That's kind of odd.' I thought uncomfortably. Thomas was sipping his drink quietly, a sparkle in his eye.

"I was wondering, Logan, if you wanted to go out with me." He asked.

My eyebrows shot upward. I had been planning on asking Roman myself, but hadn't realized that he was interested it going out. Sure, we did some stuff together, but I'd thought it was because we were both friends with Thomas.

"Th-that would wonderful!" I managed to stammer out. "When?"