Trustfall || Sanders Sides Equestrian AU

Chapter 7 - Sleep Deprived

Logan woke up feeling particularly rebellious this morning. So rebellious, one may say, that after brewing himself his regular cup of black coffee (exactly one and three quarters tablespoons of coffee beans in 236 millilitres of hot water), he dared return the jar of coffee beans to the top left shelf in the cupboard instead of the bottom left one as per usual. Strangely enough, as adrenaline-inducing as the act was, Logan didn't feel quite satisfied. Perhaps today he would remain at the stables five – no, ten – minutes after his usual time of departure. Perhaps he would even give Nexus a carrot as a reward for her performance in their lesson, and even tell her she is a "good girl".

Okay, not that rebellious. What's next, wearing a white sock with a grey one?

Logan amused himself with the ridiculous idea (could you imagine? A white sock and a grey one!), as he left the house, feeling particularly... "savage", as a teenager may say. The bus ride to the ranch was uneventful, and nothing suggested today was going to be a special day as he entered the stables on even steps and stopped to grab his horse's tack before heading out to her stall.

Nexus gave him a blank look when he entered. Logan laid the tack on a nearby stand and quickly haltered her and tied the rope to a metal bar. He meant for the tacking process to be nothing but efficient; which meant he brushed the horse fast and where it was required and saddled her up in a couple of quick motions without letting his thoughts drift away. Nexus stood quietly in her place and waited for his command to leave the place.

And an immense wave of boredom hit Logan and made him blink lazily.

He glanced at his horse, who kept her gaze fixated before her as though waiting for him to tell her where to look. His entire life was one big routine, but Nexus was the most fixed one. Thinking back to their recent sessions, he couldn't tell them apart.

Logan never got what people found so enticing about horses. And although Laura had implied his problem wasn't in his riding, he couldn't help but be convinced it had to do with it. He felt this way when he was with Nexus.

What was he missing? When he would lay in his bed at night after a day at the stables, why would his mind never travel back to his horse? His teammates wouldn't stop talking about theirs.

Logan shot a glance outside of the stall; the corridors were empty from humans, and nothing but faint dust hung in the air. He glanced back at his horse. When he quietly clucked to her, she turned her head to meet his eyes. Logan lifted a hand and stroked the horse's face. He couldn't remember the last time he'd done so; her forehead was stiff due to the skull underneath, but warm, and she blinked slowly in response to his touch.

Logan had never realised how she was the most obedient horse in the stables, yet the one who got the least attention. He'd never considered that perhaps she did need it.

Perhaps he did, too.

Apparently he wasn't the only one trying out new things; when Logan entered the outdoor arena, Nexus following with her head low, the first thing he noticed was that Virgil was already there with the others – on that small grey mare he'd been training.

"Logan, perfect, we almost started without you," Laura said as he climbed onto the saddle. Patton looked shocked to his core.

"Logan, we would never start without you."

Logan never understood why the boy kept going out of his way to make sure no one was hurt, but it appeared like such an exhausting task. Either way, he didn't need the reassurance – he wouldn't have been hurt had they started without him.

"Alright, guys, along the fence. Warm up."

Logan was determined to make this lesson matter. There had to be something he was doing wrong, otherwise he wouldn't have been dissatisfied with his lessons. That only meant one thing: