One of the Guys (15 page)

Logan stood, and I followed,
walking into the living room with him. He picked up the remote to
switch on the TV.

“
I’ll just go and get some
twizzlers.” Logan said, and he left me alone so he could get them
from his secret hideaway in his room. If he didn’t hide them, Matt
would steal them.

I was about to sit on the sofa when
Matt entered the room.

“
Logan would be better of without
you.” Matt said as he walked towards me. “You’re just drowning his
potential.” He added, and I had to fight the urge to slap him
across the face.

“
I’m not stopping Logan from doing
anything.” I said, looking him right in the eye, letting him know
that he wasn’t going to get to me this time.

Instead of walking away, Matt
walked right up to me, getting in my space. He looked right at me
and then let his eyes roam over my body, making me
uncomfortable.

“
Get lost, Matt.” I said, bored of
his shit.

Logan walked into the room and
instead of leaving, Matt made himself comfortable on the lounge
chair, next to the sofa.

“
Matt, leave Chase alone.” He said,
gesturing for me to sit down on the sofa next to him.

“
I wasn’t doing anything.” Matt
replied, glancing to me with a knowing look in his eyes.

I wanted to ask him why he wasn’t
at his own place, but I didn’t want to encourage any more
conversation with him.

Sitting down, Logan scooted closer
to me, causing my heart rate to kick up a notch.

“
Here.” He said, handing me a
twizzler.

Logan turned on the TV, turning it
to the channel that was showing the dirt bike racing.

Matt, for once, stayed quiet as the
race began, and I wondered if he were going to say something to
either one of us for sitting close together. I could feel his eyes
on me, and I saw him glancing at me intermittently.

Logan passed me more twizzlers, and
I, wanting to keep the peace, passed one to Matt. I was surprised
when he reached over and took it, saying nothing. I turned back to
Logan, and he smiled at me before turning to the TV.

I felt my cheeks burn, and I bit my
lip to stop the smile that was threatening to spread across my
face. I loved how Logan smiled at me. His eyes sparkled when he
did, and I could see the whites of his teeth.

I turned, and I glanced towards
Matt, and he was staring at me, his eyes narrowed as if in thought.
My stomach churned at the thought that he might have caught me
gazing at his brother.

Oh shit. I hope he doesn’t realize
that I’m in love with Logan!
I thought to
myself; My heart racing that he may just tell Logan what he
saw.

The race finished, and the racer we
were rooting for had won. Logan was happy about that, and Matt just
got up and left the room, making eye contact with me as he did. I
was glad that he didn’t say anything, but I was nervous that he
would the second I was out the door.

“
I should go. I need to check in on
Bren tonight.” I said.

“
Ok. I’ll come with you when I
drive you back.” Logan said, as we walked to the front
door.

He called to his parents that he
would be out for a little while, before we left.

“
I wonder what Matt was up to?”
Logan said on the drive back. “He’s never been that civil
before.”

“
I have no idea. It’s difficult to
say what’s going on with him. I mean, he’s always an ass, but he
managed to stay quiet for the race. It was… unnerving.”

“
Yeah, you can say that again.
Thanks, by the way, for giving him a twizzler. I bet that pissed
him off that you were being nice when he’s such a dick.” Logan
laughed.

“
Yeah, I think that’s what shut him
up.” I laughed.

Getting to Bren’s house, we walked
through the door, and my Mom was already there. She was chatting to
Bren and making her some tea.

“
Oh, hello you two!” Bren said,
happily, when she saw us.

“
Hi, Bren” We said in
unison.

“
You’re Mom’s making some tea.” She
smiled.

“
I see.” I replied. “Have you
tested her blood?” I asked, turning to my Mom.

“
No, honey. Not yet.” She replied,
stirring the teapot.

“
I need to do that before you have
tea.” I said to Bren, walking to the kitchen to grab the testing
kit.

Again, I felt bad at drawing blood
with the sharp tool. I placed her finger, with the drop of blood,
on the paper as Logan stood by and watched. I inserted the paper
into the end of the machine and pressed the green
button.

“
Ok, it’s seven-point-five. You’re
ok.” I said, returning the kit to the kitchen. “No candy though. I
don’t want you spiking through the night.” I warned her.

“
Ok Miss bossy pants.” Bren
giggled. “I’ll be good.”

We chatted about the upcoming game
and our finals results. My Mom, and Bren, were both confident that
we’d aced our tests for junior year. Bren also insisted that she
wanted to attend the baseball game on Friday. My Mom agreed to take
her so she could see Logan in ‘all his glory’. She winked at me,
and I knew
exactly
what she was getting at. I’d mentioned how good he looked in
his baseball uniform.

“
Ok, I think it’s time you went to
bed.” My Mom said to Bren, and she pouted like a child. “Come on,
Bren. You need your sleep if you’re going to go to the game on
Friday.”

“
Then, I’ll get my sleep tomorrow
night. I’m not tired.” She said, letting out a yawn that uncovered
her lie.

We all laughed, and Bren winked at
me.

“
Fine, I’ll get my beauty sleep.
Oh, and I’m taking pictures at the game young man.” She said,
wiggling her finger at him. “I might not get to see another game
for a while.”

“
Bren, there’s another game after
homecoming.” I told her. “You can come to that.” I said, and her
eyes lit up.

“
Oh I forgot about that.” She
beamed. “Well, goodnight then.” She said, and I bent to kiss her
cheek. “He keeps looking at you.” She whispered quietly, and I
gasped.

I looked into her eyes, and she was
beaming at me. I only hoped that what she said was true.

My Mom took Bren to her room, and
Logan and I walked out of her house. I waited on the front porch,
for my Mom.

“
I’ll see you tomorrow.” Logan
said. “I’ll pick you up again, ok?”

“
Yeah, sure.” I replied, trying not
to gaze at his eyes again. I was surprised when Logan put his arm
around me in a bro’ hug. I closed my eyes for the split second that
he held me and fought the urge to inhale him.

“
See you tomorrow.” My voice was
shaky, and I knew he heard it.

Just when I thought he was going to
say something, he just smiled, without showing teeth, and got in
his car. He waved before driving away, and I let out a frustrated
breath.

I’m so messed up.

*****

The following
day, I noticed that Logan looked a little distracted. For the whole
journey to school, he was fidgeting in his seat and looked
uncomfortable; just like had the day before. To be perfectly
honest, I was beginning to get tired of his behavior towards
me.

Throughout the day, he’d spoken to
me, as usual, but I knew something was bothering him. It was
getting to the point where I was getting paranoid that it
was
me
that was
causing his behavior. Like
I
had done something wrong. Wracking my brain, I
knew that wasn’t the case. I’d been the same old me like I always
was. My heart lurched when I thought that Matt might have said
something to him.

Oh God, no!
I thought to myself. If he
had
said something, and Logan was
being distant because he didn’t want to give me the wrong
impression…

No. I couldn’t think like that. If
Matt had, indeed, said anything then surely Logan would’ve said
something. But, then again…

“
Chase the ace!” Poppy’s voice
broke me out of my inner turmoil as she sat next to me in our
class.

“
Hi, Poppy. How are
you?”

“
I’m great, thank you.” She
chirped. “We’re all set for the senior year squad. The girls are
looking forward to the homecoming game. It’ll be their first!” She
said, bouncing in her seat with excitement.

“
That’s great, Poppy. I’m happy for
you.” I said, and I genuinely was. No matter what Poppy had said to
me, I knew she hadn’t meant it maliciously, and she was a nice
girl. I would’ve even hung out with her if we had more in
common.

“
Thank you. I know you don’t like
cheer, but it means a lot for you to say that.” She said, touching
my arm. “Are you looking forward to Friday’s game?” She asked,
changing the subject.

“
Um, yeah. The guys are going to do
really well. They’ve trained really hard.” I said. “It’ll only be a
matter of time before they’re picked up professionally.”

I thought to the letter I had my
Mom post for me that morning. I’d written to the Lions; Logan’s
favorite team. I’d addressed it to his favorite player, Brent
Loman, telling him how great of a player Logan is. I’d even
included a pen drive with a video, showing Logan playing. I was
hoping that he would reply, hoping even more that it would be in
time for our birthdays in a few weeks. I think Logan would be
excited to get a response from him.

“
I can’t wait either. The guys look
so hot in their tight pants.” Poppy giggled. “Even Carl. Ugh, I
thought he was totally cute until I saw how he treats
you.”

“
Excuse me, what?” I asked,
surprised at what Poppy said. I didn’t think she’d paid any
attention to any of us.

“
Yeah. I kinda had a crush on him,
but when I saw him treating you like an outsider, calling you a
‘tagalong’ that put me off. He’s so mean to you.”

I just looked at Poppy, speechless
at how she knew what Carl had said.

“
I know we don’t
hang out…” She continued “…but I would
never
do that to you. I would
actually like it if you did, you know, hang out with me. It could
be fun.”

“
Don’t you hang out with Sian and
the others?” I asked. I liked Poppy, but I wouldn’t be able to
handle the other girls.

“
I do, but it’s mainly for cheer.
When you get to know them, they’re not all that bad,
honest.”

I snorted a laugh. Sian had been a
bitch to me at the diner, and I didn’t see her attitude changing
any time soon.

“
Seriously, Chase. I know we’re
kinda different in our tastes and stuff, but the girls can actually
be nice… most of the time.” She giggled.

“
I
like
you
,
Poppy, but I don’t think I’ll get on with the others. Thanks,
though.”

We got through our lesson and went
our separate ways. I met up with Logan, and I saw, straight away,
that he was still in a strange mood. I decided I would just ask him
about it. I knew something was going on, and I wasn’t going to be
quiet any longer.

“
What’s going on with you?” I
asked.

“
Nothing, why?” He replied, a
slight flush to his cheeks.

“
Nothing. Sure.” I said
sarcastically. “That’s bullshit! Logan, you’ve been acting really
different these past few weeks and, to be honest, it’s getting
annoying.”

“
Excuse me?” He said, surprised at
my outburst. I knew he wasn’t expecting that.

“
Logan, I’m getting tired of your
mood swings. I feel like I’m getting whiplash.”

“
What are you
talking about?” He asked, with a frown, as if he didn’t know. I
could tell he knew
exactly
what I was talking about.

“
You’re really nice to me, like
usual, sometimes a little more…” I saw the blush on Logan’s face,
but I continued anyway. “… And then nothing. You ignore me, or go
really quiet. Sometimes you don’t even make eye contact with me!
What’s going on?”

I could see Logan was embarrassed
with my statement, but I was too far gone to leave it at that
point. He had to give me something.

“
Nothing, Chase. If I did that, I’m
sorry. I think I’m just thinking about the game
tomorrow.”

“
Yeah,
you
did
do
that. A
lot
. I
have a feeling there’s more to it than that, Logan. This has been
going on for weeks, not a few days.”

“
There’s not. Look, I have to get
going. I’ll see you tomorrow, ok?” He said, looking
nervous.