The Problem Solvers Club

Part 7

Rory

I pull Logan out into the hallway, his hand warm in mine. As usual, he seems completely paranoid, in a good way. I sprint through the empty school, barely keeping my grasp on Logan's hand. Finally, we reach it, my locker.

"So...what'd you want to show me?" he asks awkwardly. How adorable. I quickly open my locker, fumbling around until I find what I'm looking for. There! I close my hand around the box, yanking it out of the mess I call my locker. "And I thought you were the organized type," I hear Logan laugh. "No offense."

"None taken!" I say, spinning back around, and hold out the gift box I had been looking for. "It's for you! Your birthday was yesterday, right?" He seems almost surprised by my gift, glancing at it like it was some kind of strange item out of a movie. Did I get his birthday wrong? I thought...

"You remembered," he seems shocked as he says this, reaching out to take the box from me. "No one has ever remembered..." He picks it up and I drop my hands back to my sides. Am I really the only one to have ever remembered. I'd learned about his birthday a few months ago, when I was chatting with him. Yesterday I'd tried to pretend like I didn't know, so I could surprise him today. After all, who expects to get a gift the day after their birthday.

"Open it." He nods, lifting the lid and pulling out the watch I'd got him. Does he like it? "It's a watch, you know, because you're always late." I can't help but feel nervous as he looks from the watch to me.

And then he starts laughing. I messed up.

"That's amazing!" What. Logan throws his arms around me and continues laughing. "Thank you, Rory! This is great. You're the best."

"I-" He continues to laugh and hug me as I glimpse something over his shoulder. A figure. They stand in the shadow of a corner, their face and body obscured. The only thing I can see clearly is their eyes. And those eyes make my blood run cold. They seem to stare into my soul, and I can feel it. Two piercing purple eyes. My body tenses, the eyes consuming my vision. "Logan!" I free myself from his grasp, glancing away from the figure as I do.

"Huh-!?" He looks behind him and I follow suit. Nothing. There is nothing there. Yet somehow, I'm even more afraid.