Fire & Ash

I remember your face perfectly, even as I lay with my eyes closed on my bed in the early morning. The straight line of your nose and your chiselled cheekbones protruding just the right amount out beneath your skin are illustrated well in my mind. I can see the dark circles under your eyes, smudges of tiredness, and the one scar you have scratching only slightly just by your left eye. Your eyes, even as I stare at them in my head, make my heart stutter. They‟re dark, as they usually were, with flecks of golden brown in them, sparkling when you smiled and dancing wildly when you laughed. I can picture your lips, dry but warm. And I can even remember the way your hair flopped gently into your eyes, the dark russet strands a little longer than the usual boyish haircut I had stereotyped you for. But what I cannot picture perfectly is your voice, rough and dark, almost a warning sound that would scare anybody. But to me, it was an ongoing purr of velvet, a low sound of safety and strength. And I grip my duvet with a scowl as I try and remember it desperately. Try to remember you. I remember the first day I met you, I had just moved with my mother to your town. She had finally decided my deceased father‟s hometown was too old-fashioned for us and we packed up. I remember her driving me to your school, undoubted excitement in her face. She was always this vicarious. She made me promise to make friends and try my hardest. She even told me to look out for a possible boyfriend. I had scowled hard at her; boys were definitely not my thing. I had got out of her car, slamming the door hard to silence my mother‟s squeals when she pointed out possible candidates. Many of the students milling around casually watched me with faint curiosity. New girl. I stood out from the people at your school; my skin was paler and my hair darker. It was sunny in your town and I had grown up in a constantly rainy place. Everybody else seemed to have sun-bleached blonde hair and caramel skin that showed barely imperfections. I felt dejected already as I hugged myself with my crossed arms. You weren‟t among the hundreds of students crowding the halls. Or perhaps you were. Maybe you noticed me long before I noticed you. Slinking through the crowd I was so desperately trying to stride through without making a fool of myself. A few people introduced themselves to me, their faces so tanned and warm I felt like a porcelain doll against them. They all seemed to smile widely at me. Your perfect smile was not there, shining at me. 1. I made my way to my first class quickly. I scanned the classroom for an available seat and found one lone desk in the back corner. I quickly got seated there and put one iPod earphone in on low volume. I liked the familiar lyrics of my music. The teacher strode in with his bellowing voice shouting out our lesson aims of the day. He was short, dark-haired and wore unattractive brown square glasses. It was also obvious that he enjoyed one too many cakes as I noticed his beige sweater stretching dubiously across his rotund stomach. Even with the help from his glasses, he seemed to squint constantly at the students sat patiently in his class. He only realised my presence when my unfamiliar name cropped up in the register. “Anna Fraybern?” He asked, his tone changing. I looked up at him and smiled slightly. “Me, sir.” He beamed at me for a few seconds. “Ah, a new student.Lovely to have you among us Anna.” He nodded once then seemed to forget entirely about me. He droned on without introducing himself to me, scribbling in his scrawny writing about the solar system on the smeared whiteboard. I copied his nearly unreadable notes down in my new book, finding my eyes drifting to the neat bald patch on the top of his head every so often. My head was near the desk as I bent over my work so the sudden jab in my arm made me jump. “Oh, sorry,” a boy‟s voice mumbled apologetically to me, “I didn‟t mean to make you jump.” I pushed the curtain of my dark hair back and saw another tanned boy with the same

warm smile on his lips. His eyes were a deep jade colour and sparkled as he spoke. “I‟m James,” he put out his hand for me to shake hesitantly. “Anna.” “New girl huh?” James mused. “We don‟t get many new people.” I nodded as if I was interested and tucked my hair behind my ear. “Do you need a lunch partner?” James asked. I blinked at him once and he grinned. “I don‟t mean to spring myself on you or anything,” his eyes sparkled again, “but I thought you might need a friendly face.” “There are plenty of those around,” I mumbled and he laughed quietly. My eyes flickered downwards before meeting his again. “But sure, thanks.” “No problem.” James smiled once before leaning back over his desk to continue writing. I spent the rest of class trying to decode the stupidly messy handwriting on the board to copy down in my book. I gave a sigh of relief when the bell signalled for me to give up. I expected James to follow me to my next class, treating me like some sort of rescued animal that needs supervising nearly every second, but he simply grinned at me before disappearing into the crowd. The school wasn‟t that much of a cryptic maze; I found my English classroom quickly. I felt a sense of relief as I reached the room, knowing English was a favourite subject of mine. Hardly anybody was seated yet so I hesitated at the door, not wanting to sit in someone‟s seat by accident. Suddenly, a whole wave of students filed in, pushing and shoving past me with rambunctious laughter. I remained still as they began to resemble a crowd of squawking birds released from years of being trapped in a small wire cage. The only seat left was near the front. The desk, big enough for two, creaked as I put my bag on it. I sat down quickly, shoving my bag on the floor. The students around me chattered noisily and I reached in my pocket to take out my iPod again but my English teacher, a slender woman, waltzed in. “Morning,” she called out. Everybody looked up at her and smiled; a rarity in my old school. She was fairly young, with bouncy blonde hair that cascaded down her back, just about reaching the top of her trousers. Unlike my still unnamed Science teacher, she noticed me immediately and beamed. “Ah, Anna, am I right?” I nodded. “I‟m Miss Walker.” She introduced herself before settling at her desk, logging onto her computer. The class began to chatter again as she got herself sorted. The bell rung out awkwardly and Miss Walker began calling out the register. I quite liked Miss Walker and decided against blocking out her voice with my iPod. She began writing our objectives on the board and her tremendous knowledge of vocabulary poured out of her mouth effortlessly. She glanced down at me once or twice, just to check I was following. Impressed at my attentive note-taking, she smiled once and began writing about Thomas Hardy on the board. She was just about to do the swirly curve of her Y when he walked in. He was ten minutes late but he still walked at a casual pace. He took a seat next to me silently and pulled out his tatty English book. I tried not to stare at him but I failed miserably. He was still tanned like everybody else but his skin was almost a darker coffee colour and his hair was a deep shade of brown. It was a colour I was familiar with and instantly I found myself inspecting him. The humming of chatter ceased for a few moments after his entrance and I began to see he was well known on the school food chain. His position on the chain, however, was yet to be decided. Unlike everyone else, he wore a grey hooded sweatshirt with the sleeves rolled up due to the humid weather and a pair of jeans. A black iPod stuck out of his jean pocket, displaying one of my favourite songs on pause. I smiled automatically. “Ah,” Miss Walker turned back to us, “Logan, how nice for you to join us.” There was a murmur of gentle chuckles that vibrated throughout the class. Logan smiled up at her, making my breathing halt.

“Sorry Miss, got caught up.” His voice was gruff and almost menacing, even in the light-hearted tone he spoke with. Miss Walker nodded and smiled. “I‟m sure you did.” It amazed me how she was able to talk coherently with him smiling at her like that. His eyes twinkled as he looked back down at his book, sending my heart beating frantically. A haze swirled in my head; unfamiliar feelings clouding my head as I found him utterly attractive, but I forced myself to look back down at my book. Miss Walker‟s voice that I had been listening to attentively with dulled slightly against his. Logan‟s boyish smell washed over me momentarily as he leant over to grab the pencil he had rolled along the table. I froze, my pen in midair, until he slid back into his seat. His eyes met mine for a second and again, the haze began descending. “Logan, do you mind?” Miss Walker asked, bending down to block the path of his pencil with her tanned hand that he had rolled once again. He chuckled to himself and smiled up at her impishly, knowing he wasn‟t ever going to be scolded too harshly. Logan‟s charm was undeniable. I couldn‟t help but tilt my head in his direction to catch that irresistible grin on his face but to my sudden panic, he met my gaze. “Am I distracting you?” Logan asked innocently, the bright squares of his white teeth glinting perfectly behind the dark colour of his lips. I forced myself to shake my head silently and turn away. He attempted to suppress his chuckle but I heard it. Somehow all of my senses had tuned into him, his movement, his sound, his smell, and I had only known him for ten minutes. I didn‟t like this momentary loss of control over myself – it had never happened before – and I began to scowl. Miss Walker bent down beside my desk, finished talking to the class. “Are you following ok?” I glanced up at her, quickly wiping my scowl away, and nodded. “Just fine thanks.” Her eyes flickered towards Logan and a smile crept onto her lips. “Let me know if you find him too distracting.” Her words were only light-hearted and had no meaning of attraction whatsoever but I felt my cheeks blush. Thankfully, she had turned away when the reddish colour painted my cheeks…but he hadn‟t. He watched me for a couple of seconds with the same tilted grin before turning back to his work. He was undeniably irritating, I concluded, but stupidly attractive. I continued with my work, avoiding all means of communication with Logan, and managed to finish before the other students. I tried to ignore the fact that his eyebrows rose as I put down my pen. He was impressed, his face gave it away, and I couldn‟t help but feel smug. The bell rang, its jerky rhythm shaking me up, and I put my book in my bag. “Dismissed guys, well worked today.” Miss Walker called out to the bustling students, her words drowned slowly in the chatter that rose in volume. She strode up to the front of the class and put her hand on my arm to get my attention. “You impressed me today, Anna, well done.” “Thanks,” I mumbled back. Her expression then changed as she looked at Logan. “You, on the other hand, need to pull your socks up.” She raised an eyebrow but he laughed gently. “Sure, sure,” he replied casually, slinging his bag onto his back. He winked at her and strode out of the classroom without a backwards glance. I raised my eyebrows at his mannerisms but Miss Walker didn‟t seem surprised. “Watch out for him,” she murmured as I began to walk out of the classroom. I didn‟t look back just in case the embarrassing pink colour that threatened to flood my cheeks reappeared. The playing fields were quickly dotted with students at break and I found a spot on the continuous slope that curved around one edge of it. It was quiet and nearly deserted. It was a perfect refuge for a new student that shunned the welcoming sentences and automatic over friendliness of the regulars. “Anna?” A slightly familiar voice called out my name. I glanced around to find James walking over with two friends. They were both lanky boys with ruffled golden hair and bright

eyes, blending easily with the other students. I had my iPod earphones stuffed in my ears but at the sight of James and his friends, I slowly pulled one out. My moody and mysterious persona had worked well for me back home, mostly because everyone else was the same, but it was clear by the large grins plastered on everyone‟s faces that this would not be the correct approach if I was to fit in. I allowed myself to be polite and friendly to the mildly cute and perfectly innocent boys who hovered in front of me. “Hey,” I greeted them as they sat beside me. “This is Lewis and Bradley,” James gestured to his friends, who smiled at me identically. “How‟re you finding school?” “I‟m fine,” I replied quietly, looking away from James‟ friends who could not stop smiling. James laughed softly. “You‟ll find your way round soon enough. Are you still up for a lunch buddy?” He nudged me carefully as if I were made out of glass. I smiled as best as I could and nodded. “Great,” he grinned. His friends turned their heads as their names were shouted out. Some other boys were waving at them in the middle of the field, obviously taking part in the short game of football that was occurring there. They mumbled goodbyes and ran down to the make-shift pitch. James‟ gaze lingered on them. “You can go,” I gestured to his friends, “you don‟t have to stay with me.” His eyes darted back to mine. “Hey, you sure? You‟re all alone and I‟ll feel pretty mean if I-“ “No,” I assured him quickly, “I‟m a solitary person.” He eyed me sceptically. “Honestly.” “Okay,” his voice was unsure at my confidence but he rose to his feet, “if you‟re sure.” He wavered at my side. “I‟m sure.” I smiled up at him and he returned it almost automatically before bounding away off to the pitch. His run wasn‟t at all graceful, more like an awkward jerking than anything, but it was endearing. I couldn‟t help but chuckle slightly at him. I stuck my hand in my pocket and fished out my iPod, sticking the earphones quickly in my ears again. I began blasting some of my music, enjoying being alone for once, when I felt somebody beside me. I turned around quickly, startled to find Logan sat a metre or so away from me. His eyes were intent on me but they were warm and bright, almost as if he were humouring me. I frowned, looking back down at my iPod‟s scratched screen. I was hoping that if I concentrated on something else, the temperamental pigments in my skin would forget to flush an embarrassing pink. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him ruffle his gorgeous dark hair with a short sigh before he looked at me again. At the sight of his mouth slightly opening, I automatically turned down my music just in case. He was trying to think of something to say, he had that expression of concentration on his face. As his brow furrowed gently, I noticed the dark scar he had by his left eye. It would have made him look even more hostile if it had not been for the warm colour of his eyes. I wondered what had caused the imperfection on his face. A fight with another student?A gokarting accident? No, Logan didn‟t seem the type to be fooling around like a teenage boy. It must have been something serious. “You‟re in my spot,” he finally said with a carefree tone, breaking my train of thought. I looked at him properly then. “I‟m sorry?” I asked, pulling out one earphone. “You‟re in my spot.” I looked down at the grass. “Oh.” He annoyingly made my heart stutter as he laughed under his breath. “You see I‟m fine right where I am, its just where you‟re sitting has the best view of the hills,” Logan pointed past the large garishly painted sports hall to a cluster of hills I hadn‟t noticed. They were a beautiful shade of green and their rounded tops were perfectly curved. It was a wonder why a view so incredible appeared to be invisible to many of the students here. He saw me gazing at them appreciatively and smiled. “You see?” I looked back at him at the sound of his voice and began to blush. “I‟m sorry,” I began to stand, “I‟ll move.” Logan moved quickly to press his large hand against my arm and I

froze. “No, its fine, really,” he smiled again, “I was only pointing out that you were in my spot, not that I wanted you to move.” I hesitated, my knees bent awkwardly until he pressed a little harder on my arm to make me sit back down again. He released my arm and then offered the same hand for me to shake. “Logan.” “Anna,” I shook his hand nervously. “New girl huh?” Logan mused. I sighed and looked away from him. “Unfortunately.” “It‟s not all that bad being new,” he said, “all the attention, the new friends, the mistakes you‟re allowed to make.” “I don‟t want attention,” I frowned. He laughed in surprise and I found my eyes lingering on his charming face. “What?” “Sorry,” he apologised as he stopped laughing, “it just comes as a shock to me that a girl doesn‟t want attention. I thought it was a genetic thing?” “You have obviously misjudged me.” His eyes flickered with interest at the confidence in my voice. “I‟m not like other girls I guess.” There was a slightly amused smile on his lips as he spoke, “No, you‟re not.” He did not continue, even when prompted by the eye contact we suddenly retained “Maybe that‟s why you like me,” I joked. He did not smile and immediately I began to blush once more. “I‟m joking of course.” The quietness between us was hard to bear and I fidgeted uncomfortably on the grass that grew itchier by the second. I noticed how Logan‟s face was lined; I realised with dismay that he was frowning. He looked regrettable. It was an emotion I was familiar with; I often expressed it myself after barking unintentionally in response to questions I regarded as irritable and pointless uses of words. My mother often showed regret on her face with the slight crease of her brow and her teeth sink into the side of her bottom lip, especially when she was faced with my innocent questioning of my father‟s absence as a child. Regret, however, did not seem to be an emotion I expected on Logan. I studied his face carefully; cautious not to draw attention to myself just in case he might return my gaze. The teenager looked down at the ground, his frown hardening, and shook his head ever so slightly. “Are,” I stuttered slightly, “are you ok?” Then suddenly, his frown sharpened into a harsh scowl and his eyes flickered with furious fire. He continued to sit in silence, though he was gritting his teeth as if he was fighting back words. I stared at him in shock; his sudden turn of emotion was unexpected and uncalled for. His hands that had been resting lightly on the greenish grass curled into large fists. His whole body just seemed to harden into a rigid, fearful statue. The bell rang then. I nearly jumped at the shrill sound. Logan stood up swiftly, throwing his bag over his shoulder and vanishing into the crowd of students without looking once at me. I couldn‟t help but stare after him but he had disappeared into the brownish colour of people milling around. I bit into my lip nervously, worrying erratically if I had upset him somehow. But how? My „humorous‟ comment was clearly a joke and I hadn‟t said much apart from that; my breathing had been far too irregular to say more than a few words. I shook my head with confusion and stood up slowly, preparing myself for another lesson, another new teacher scanning the room for my unfamiliar face and another round of new people wanting to know my life story. I felt ultimately relieved when the final bell went. It surprised me how the students around here weren‟t as eager as me to leave school. They hung around outside the building, gossiping and hugging as if they hadn‟t already spent the majority of the day together. I blinked in the harsh sunlight that was beating down on us, reflecting off car bonnets and blinding me momentarily. I forced myself not to think of Logan‟s face. Unfortunately, I had lost control entirely and his frowning face cropped up more than once or twice in my head. After looking for him, it was obvious that he wasn‟t hanging around with the rest of the

students. Logan had vanished quicker than I was about to. My mother‟s car glinted in the sunlight, alongside her teeth that were visible as she smiled wildly. She had pulled back her curly ginger hair into a rough ponytail; the unfamiliar heat obviously taking a toll on her body. I anticipated her interrogation as I fell into the front seat of the car. “So,” she began, starting up the engine, “how was your day?” I stared hopelessly out of the window and shrugged. “Average. Like another school day I suppose.” My mother sighed at my unenthusiastic response. “Anna,” she shook her head disappointedly, elongating the syllables in my name in that irritatingly disapproving tone. My eyes flickered to her face. I began to scowl. “What?” I snapped. It seemed like Logan‟s obvious dislike of my company was affecting my mood severely. She turned down our road without speaking but her eyes darted quickly to my face. Her expression was slightly worried; she probably thought I‟d been bullied or something. An automatic feeling of guilt began to rise in my stomach, sliding around thickly as the car slowed to a halt on the drive. “I‟m sorry,” I apologised as I got out of the car. “I just miss home, you know?” My mother turned to me with a sympathetic look in her eyes and leant on the car roof. “This is home now,” she told me gently. I nodded as if I understood, which of course I did, but that didn‟t mean I liked it here. Nor will I ever like it here. The kids were far too smiley, too tanned…and too charming. There were no remnants of Dad here. Back home, there was the familiar diner, the run-down garage I used to clean cars at and the big bricked cinema that everyone went to on the weekends. There weren‟t heat waves there, there weren‟t any young bright teachers and there certainly weren‟t any irritatingly gorgeous but upsettingly confusing people there. Oh how I missed home. Without a backwards glance, I rushed up the stairs to my new bedroom. It was still a dull greyish colour and dampened my mood further. With a groan, I threw my school bag towards the floor but my aim was terrible and my throw was stronger than I thought; my bag slammed into my wall with a loud thud. I cringed. “Anna?” My mother‟s expected voice called worriedly up the stairs. The sound of her footsteps followed. “Sorry!” I shouted as an explanation. She didn‟t question me and seemed to disappear downstairs again. I didn‟t retrieve my bag; instead I fell backwards onto my bed with a groan. Starting at a new school sucked. My phone vibrated in my jeans pocket and I wriggled it free before flipping it open. “Hello?” “Anna!” It was Leona, my best friend practically since birth. Her effortlessly bubbly voice poured out of the phone, softening my hard mood immediately. Our friendship was potentially dangerous as we seemed to start off as complete polar opposites. Although not quite a loner, I began my teenage years detaching myself from certain cliques and idle gossip but somehow, one of the most popular girls in our town took an interest in me. Amused by my moodiness and unwillingness to fit in, Leona proceeded to take me under her wing and suddenly, I became a well-known name myself. Her track record with boys was horrific and I lost count of how many times I‟d splashed all my pocket money out on endless tubs of ice creams and chocolate to stuff into her wailing mouth. Strangely enough, I enjoyed her stereotypical excitable personality and allowed her to drag me out of my shell a little. Moving away from her felt like I was being pushed back in it again. “Oh I missed you so much today! How did it go? Did you make friends? Oh don‟t forget me Anna, I‟m going to ring you everyday just so you don‟t forget me!” She babbled on for another few minutes, her words eventually merging into one long squeal of excitement and sadness. Eventually, however, she slowed her speech to a halt to let me answer. “It‟s horrible,” I growled down the phone. She giggled affectionately and then made sympathetic noises. “Isn‟t it amazingly sunny there?”

I frowned. “Sure.” “And the kids are supposed to be really nice…” She hinted. “Yeah they are.” Leona laughed. “So what‟s the problem then?” I scowled, even though she couldn‟t see me, and let out another groan. “It‟s too nice, it‟s too perfect. I miss you. I miss home.” “Oh brighten up Anna, I‟m stuck in boring Rainville and here you are complaining that your new home is too nice!” Her voice was incredulous and made me realise how spoilt I was being. No, I wasn‟t being spoilt. I was simply unravelled because of Logan. I continued to chatter with Leona but my mind was elsewhere. His dark, meaningful eyes that were full with many complex emotions flickered behind my eyelids as I blinked, making me flinch every time. He was gorgeous, I could understand that, but what was making me obsess over him so much? I‟ve had crushes before; I wasn‟t a boyfriend virgin at all and it wasn‟t as if he was the first boy I had ever found attractive. Sure, I wasn‟t a huge fan of the male species; I grew out of that phase pretty quick. So what was it about Logan that was making me slip slowly and dangerously back into a physcotic version of that phase? “Well I suppose I better go now,” Leona‟s change of tone made me jolt out of my daydream and frantic questioning. “Oh, okay.” She laughed again. “Don‟t sound too depressed. I‟ll call you on the weekend, ok? I‟m already swamped with homework.” “Ok.” I replied slowly. My one connection to home was about to disappear. “Later!” She hung up quickly, a habit she had had since she was little. I looked at my phone with a sad expression, weighing up the odds of my phone breaking if I threw it like I had done my bag. I thought rationally and tossed my phone lightly onto my pillow. I sat up slowly, scraping the hair out of my face, and crossed my legs. Logan‟s sudden change of emotion had frightened me more than anything; the way his scowl fit so easily on his face, as if it had been worn there for most of his life, and the deep set lines where it had made his scar looked darker than when he smiled. His brown eyes had lost all signs of warmth, the deep dark colour just a mass of complex issues I couldn‟t pick out. And what had made Logan suddenly flip? It was beyond me. I slept restlessly that night. I convinced myself it was the new surroundings, the way I didn‟t feel close to home anymore and the unfamiliar silence that showed the constant absence of rain. I missed the heavy humming of the wind and the rain circulating around my house. Regardless, I knew I was just smothering myself in lies to conceal the embarrassing truth. The truth of Logan‟s reappearance in my head as I had slept. His face, close to my eyes, was soft with his easy grin prominent on his dark lips. I was at ease when he smiled like this. But suddenly, with a flash, he turned into a silent, hateful character with a frightening scowl. A scowl that looked too perfect on his face. He almost lookednormal angry. He didn‟t cause my heart to stutter as much with adoration with this expression; it was as if it was ordinary for this dark shadow of hatred to conceal his face. As much as the theory pressed into the side of my head, I refused to believe it. Logan couldn‟t be that guy. I woke up automatically at the harsh sound of my alarm. The sun was shining through my window and I blinked at it with a frown. It welcomed another day when all I wanted to do is curl up in my bed and hopefully be transported back home. “Anna, come on!” My mother shouted up the stairs, hearing the ongoing ringing of my alarm clock. “All right, all right!” I yelled back at her, quietening the horrible sound. I changed quickly into a shirt and some jeans, pulling my hair back into a ponytail as I wandered down the stairs. My mother was stood by the fridge, drinking a cup of tea and reading the newspaper. She was wearing her reading glasses, giving her an automatic look of intelligence.

We flashed each other our brief early morning smile and I quickly made myself a piece of toast. “Ready for your second day?” My mother asked me in a sing-song voice. I looked up at her whilst spreading my toast. My silence made her laugh. “I‟ll take that as a very enthusiastic yes.” I pursed my lips before crunching into my toast. She continued to smile at me sideways as I ate slowly. Our comfortable silence continued as I washed up my knife and plate before running upstairs to brush my teeth. “Come on Anna,” my mother called after a minute of brushing, “This is my first day, I can‟t be late!” I groaned at her, spitting in the sink. I walked heavily down the stairs and slung my bag over my shoulder. The handle of my bag dug into my shoulder unfamiliarly; I was used to having a thick jacket underneath the uncomfortable strap. We bundled into my mother‟s car. I leaned forward to turn the radio on and my mother wound down the window slowly with a sigh. She pursed her lips at my choice of radio station but didn‟t comment. The little known breeze flitted through her open window, dancing through the loose strands of hair that had fallen out of her scruffy bun. I leant my head against the glass, scrunching my eyes closed tightly. They flashed open though as Logan‟s face appeared behind my dark lids. “Okay Anna,” she said, pulling into school, “have a good day.” I nodded in reply and forced myself to get out of the car. I scanned the crowd for him as soon I slammed the car door shut without looking behind to wave at my mother. He wasn‟t visible to me; though it was highly possible he was slinking around so that I just couldn‟t see him. I trudged forwards into the crowd of students, their smiles broad on their faces, and let my eyes wander nervously on the ground. I heard James calling my name persistently but if I looked up, I might accidentally find Logan. James‟ voice grew louder; he was somehow getting closer to me even though I was advancing pretty quickly to the school building. “Anna! Anna over here!” He called. I heard him moving now, bustling through the throng of students with undeniable excitement. I couldn‟t help but feel a pang of anxiety of his sudden love of our new found friendship. James planted his hand on my upper arm and pulled me roughly to a halt. I looked up at him – my bubbling fear of seeing Logan simmering low in my stomach – and found his expression wavering from a frown to a large smile. Annoyingly, the excited childish smile was infectious and I felt my lips aching to mirror it. “Anna,” he said a little breathlessly, “did you not hear me? I‟ve been calling for ages.” I felt my cheeks flush. “No, sorry.” I saw his eyes flicker onto my coloured cheeks briefly – he knew I was lying – but he played along willingly. “Oh, well anyway, I was wondering if you wanted some help finding your classes?” I smiled appreciatively and nodded, my fingers scrabbling into my bag pocket, trying to find the crumpled timetable I had shoved in there last night. James watched me unfold it slowly. I quickly memorised my subjects and the classrooms before glancing back up at his expectant face. He took the timetable from me and studied it intently, his brow furrowed as if he was working out a difficult maths problem. “Ah,” he mumbled through his partly closed lips, “you‟ve got a pretty easy day; basically the same classes as yesterday.” He seemed to hesitate before giving me the timetable back. I felt his fingertips brush mine, his eyes darting to meet mine as they did so. I looked away, fighting back an irritated scowl, and stuffed my timetable back into my bag. James‟ presence beside me did not falter as I began walking to my class, his beady eyes had now fallen to the floor embarrassingly and his honey coloured skin was recovering from a fresh burst of pink. The wailing call of the bell sounded and I felt my pace quicken. “You have English first,” his voice hummed in my ear, “so I guess I won‟t walk you there.” Suddenly, I felt a pang of guilt at his immediately dejected tone; I didn‟t realise the boy was so sensitive and I wasn‟t out to make him feel bad about himself and his undoubtedly failing charm. To hopefully save his faltering happiness, I stopped in my tracks and touched his arm gently. “Thank you,” I flashed him what hopefully looked like a genuinely appreciative smile.

James‟ face exploded into his massive grin. “I‟ll meet you after,” he promised before dashing into the crowd of coffee-coloured students. I advanced towards my English classroom without a backwards glance. “Need a partner to walk with?” An amused voice made my heart slam dramatically into my rib cage. My eyes wavered as they began to look to the person beside me. Logan‟s expression made my lungs contract into flat pieces of useless muscle, especially that amazingly gorgeous curve of his lips as he let himself grin crookedly at me. I exhaled shakily, my teeth sinking nervously into my lip, and forced my eyes to stare determinedly at the floor. My forehead creased with concentration; one foot in front of the other. “I‟m all right thanks,” I managed to tell him. He continued to smile at me. “I don‟t think you have much choice.” His dark eyes didn‟t leave my face and I wondered for a second how he didn‟t walk into other people. It was only then did I realise they all seemed to move out of his way, parting like he was a celebrity, but then regarding him like he was a convicted criminal. I frowned. “Oh, well if you really feel that bad about it,” Logan laughed, noticing my suddenly negative expression. I stared up at him for a few seconds. He stopped laughing at the sudden confrontation of eye contact but did not act panicked. It seemed as if he was genuinely impressed with my gaze; I could tell by the short exhale of breath through his nose and the pursing of his lips for a minute secod. “Do you want something?” I asked slowly, keeping my voice calm. Logan‟s expression flickered, his eyes flashing gently as he looked away from me. He dipped his head but I still noticed the faded smile on his lips. “I‟m only walking to my class,” he finally said. Those dark but glittering eyes met mine again, setting my heart racing, before he quickened his pace. I was left behind him unable to catch up without looking like a pestering puppy, and I couldn‟t help but feel a little disappointed. With a scowl, I forced myself to realise it was only a physical attraction I had towards Logan. Nothing else. I eventually reached the classroom and because of his increased speed, Logan had beaten me there. He ran a hand through his tousled hair and let out a sigh as he sat down heavily in his chair. It was impossible for me not to watch his mannerisms. There was a slight roll of his eyes every time he reached to pick up his pen, an agitated noise deep in his throat when a student would correct his answer to a question and he often stopped writing mid-sentence to let out a dramatic sigh to express his boredom. It was fair to say Logan did not enjoy English. There was, however, that heart-stopping grin he unleashed as Mrs Walker would let her eyes linger over him for a second too long. It almost made me sick. I stared down at my book, the lines glaring back at me, growing bigger and bigger and running around on the page. I turned away with an uneasy roll of my stomach after I had accidently let myself look at him for the hundredth time this lesson. “Are you feeling all right?” Logan‟s voice seemed to calm the nauseous storm that was raging sickeningly in my stomach. “Not really,” I allowed myself to mumble. There was that annoyingly beautiful grin again. “You don‟t look good.” I stared back down at my book with a scowl. “Gee thanks. You do know how to flatter a girl.” I hissed without looking up. “I didn‟t mean it like that,” his words were tainted with that grin, I could hear it. “Oh, there‟s no point me trying to apologise if you‟re going to sit with a face like that.” My head whipped up to glare into his auburn eyes. “Could you please stop insulting me in every single one of your sentences?” “Look,” my heart spluttered as his arm brushed mine, “why don‟t I make it up to you?” The scowl on my face was hard to retain but I just about managed it. A lock of his scruffy hair fell into his eyes but Logan didn‟t push it away. I forced myself not to lean forward and tuck it behind his ear myself. Jesus Christ how embarrassing. “How do you think you‟re going to do that?”

“Come back to mine,” Logan flashed his white teeth in a wider smile, “I‟ll treat you to pizza.” “You‟re inviting me back,” my voice wavered, “to your house?” I then rolled my eyes and laughed quietly. “I‟ve only known you for two days, Logan, for all you know I could be some puppy-killing psychopath.” He pursed his lips for a minute. “Are you a puppy-killing psychopath?” “No.” “Are you a murderer of any kind?” “No.” He beamed again. “Well then, that‟s settled.” I laughed incredulously at him and shook my head in disbelief. “I‟ll drive you home myself.” “Wow, will you?” I faked an impressed expression, causing him to laugh and shake his head like I had just done. “Guys, keep it down.” Mrs Walker tapped our table with her ruler before continuing to pace the classroom. We bowed our heads over our work identically, looking at each other and grinning at the same time. Logan tore a small piece of paper out of his book and scribbled hastily on it. After school “Sure,” I whispered as casually as I could, “whatever.” He laughed as if he knew how much I was trying to stop blushing. As if he knew the utter most strength was going into keeping my heart from not slamming into his face after it broke free from my chest. Thank God the school day seemed to fly by. I tried so hard in every single lesson I had, thinking of the time I would be spending with Logan after it all. It felt like every time I had to stop and cross out a misspelled word slowed down time and made me wait longer for the bell to ring. Of course I was just being a psychotic fan girl. Though as much as I laughed internally at myself, I couldn‟t stop feeling that way. It was stupid really but I didn‟t seem to care. It took a lot of self-control to stop myself from literally skipping out of the school building. I was slammed back into reality, far away from fairies and love hearts, when James caught me before I could scan the car park for Logan. “Hey Anna, I didn‟t get a chance to see you at lunch,” he blurted hurriedly. “I had football training, sorry I didn‟t tell you. You weren‟t on your own were you? Oh I felt horrible but it‟s not as if I could‟ve just dropped out to see you…” James trailed off as he noticed I was looking over his shoulder, paying very little attention to his heartfelt apology. I had noticed Logan leaning against his sleek black car. He could have been wearing a chicken suit for all I care, the way he leaned against that car made him look like a celebrity. That was just absurd. “Anna?” James tugged at my arm gently. “Sorry,” I looked at him sheepishly. “Oh its okay, I wasn‟t alone.” I felt a smile creep onto my face. Logan had sat with me at lunch on the field, our arms innocently touching as he leaned to show me more of the surroundings. We didn‟t speak too much, both enjoying the comforting sounds of our iPod libraries but I never felt the need to complain. It suited me down to the ground. “You weren‟t?” He almost sounded disappointed that I wasn‟t a completely helpless loser without his presence. “No, Logan sat with me.” The mention of his name almost brought a scowl onto James‟ perfectly impish face. I didn‟t like that at all. “Oh, right.” James turned to see that it was Logan I was looking at and his lighthearted expression faltered again. “Well I‟ll see you around.” And he slipped away into the bustling throng of students. It was as if I had just slapped him. I stood still in a slight daze, small swirls of guilt and confusion building in my stomach. I debated whether to try and follow the innocent tanned boy through the crowd of students and plead dishonestly for his

company tomorrow. “Are you planning on standing there any longer or will I be forced to pick you up and carry you to my car?” Logan‟s voice suddenly appeared from behind me. My heart flipped and I stared at his car that was now stood alone. He must have practically sprinted to my side. All thoughts of James were hurriedly wiped out of my head. “There will be no need to carry me thank you very much.” I said with a smile, following his graceful lope towards his car. It was one of my Mum‟s favourite cars; a BMW X6. I knew that because Leona‟s dad was a mechanic so we used to spend endless summers mucking about his garage whilst he muttered away about the different types of cars that rolled in for servicing. Parked in the school car park, it looked very out of place. Just like Logan. “In you get.” He opened the door for me but then literally disappeared. I slipped into the dark car, admiring the clean interior. Logan was already in the front seat, his hands ready, one on the wheel, one on the gear stick. I slammed the door shut and he started up the engine, revving it once or twice to make me smile. The car was stupidly tidy in the front, not one wrapper or drinks bottle. But then I looked into the back seats and saw dirty dust sheets thrown across several bursting cardboard boxes. “Are you living in here or something?” I asked, still studying the mess in the back. Logan pulled out of the car park and chuckled. “No.” There was a slight click and the radio hummed on. It was on my favourite station, I noticed with a small smile. “So why are there boxes back here?” I slid back into my seat. “Why are they so interesting? Can‟t a guy have a bit of mess in his car?” He asked me with an eyebrow raised. I flushed pink and ducked my head to avoid his gaze. “Yeah, whatever.” He chuckled again at my short responseI felt myself drawn to the boxes once more and I looked back at them again. After a few minutes of observation, I realised the boxes were full of newspapers, bundles and bundles of them compacted together with large elastic bands. They weren‟t duplicates of each other but from this angle, I was unable to see the significance of the issues he was obviously hoarding. Feeling unsatisfied, I turned back in my seat and stared at the road ahead. There was a momentary silence between us, the radio only on a low volume. I leaned forward to turn it up but Logan beat me to it. My eyes flickered up to his in surprise though I really wish they hadn‟t. His expression was annoyingly gorgeous; that knowing smile that showed he knew what he was doing and everything was working out well for him. That smile that showed he knew how embarrassed and conscious I was of myself. That smile that made me want to punch him or perhaps kiss him, I wasn‟t quite sure. Logan swerved his car neatly down a long gravelled driveway. I felt my mouth drop open. Logan‟s house was gigantic. It was practically a castle. He switched off the engine after parking his car perfectly beside a small sleek looking Audi. “Come on,” he appeared on my other side, the door open. I didn‟t really have much sense to question his stupidly fast movements because I was still trying to get my head around the size of his house. For some reason I had pictured Logan in a rundown cottage or perhaps a flat. Something no nonsense. I definitely did not envisage Logan living in a manor. “This is your house?” I asked eventually after he gently eased me out of his car. “No, I‟ve just parked on somebody else‟s drive.” He rolled his eyes and guided me towards the enormous black door of his home. I scowled up at him. “I don‟t appreciate your sarcasm.” The black door swung open and stood, ready for orders, was a middle-aged butler wearing the typical black and white uniform, complete with the white towel over his bent arm. “Jesus,” I mumbled. “Actually his name is Brian,” Logan whispered in my ear with a low chuckle. “Good afternoon Master Asher.” Brian bowed slightly and then smiled in my direction warmly. “And his guest.” “Logan!” There was a high-pitched call from above us. I looked up to find a large

double sided staircase with a young girl sat with her legs dangling precariously over the banister. She looked exactly like Logan, only with a face framed with thousands of brunette ringlets. In fact, the more I stared at her, the more her expression began to morph into an exact replicate of Logan‟s. It was if she were a smaller and much more cheerful clone of him. “Watch out for her,” he whispered down into my ear before opening his arms wide. The little girl slid down the banister with ease, to my complete amazement, and jumped into his arms. “Logan! You need to see my new trick! It‟s awesome!” She jumped out onto the hard wooden floor and crouched low, as if she were going to pounce on something. “Harmony!” Logan cautioned her in a new voice I hadn‟t heard him use. It was definitely not a voice you wanted to question and the young girl seemed to know this. She straightened up quickly and stared up at him with her big brown eyes. “What?” “Why don‟t you show me later,” he hesitated, “I have a guest you see?” Harmony‟s gaze drifted past her brother and she suddenly seemed to notice me. A dazzling smile appeared onto her angelic face. “Oh, I‟m sorry.” She apologised sincerely and I smiled back even though I wasn‟t sure why it was such a problem. “Where are the other lot?” He asked, ushering me further inside. “Well,” Harmony walked alongside us with undoubted cuteness, “Phoenix is up in her room, Fawn is in the dance studio with Kyra and Scout is in the kitchen.” I was stunned by the stunning names his siblings had and wondered what on earth his parents were smoking when his mother gave birth all those years ago. “Anything I need to know?” He continued to query her as we wandered through the enormous entrance hall. I couldn‟t help but gawp at the grandness of his house; large tapestries covered with mythical creatures and italic Latin words were draped on the walls excessively. It seemed like every one had some magic story but only meant for people who knew them already. “Phoenix is an absolutely rotten mood so I‟d steer clear but other than that, it‟s all good.” Harmony grinned, her tinkling voice distracting me. We reached the kitchen where everything was either black, white or made out of glass. A boy, probably around fifteen years old, sat at the breakfast bar with a plate full of sliced fruit in front of him. I guessed this was Scout. “Scout, Scout,” Harmony ran up to him and tugged at his leg. “Logan‟s got a guest, come say hello.” Scout turned his chair around to face me. He, again, was very similar looking to Logan, but his eyes were a surprising pale slate grey and his cheekbones were more prominent. “Hey,” he waved his hand once before turning back to his food. His hair was shorter and a shade lighter than Logan‟s. It looked more styled and perfected. “Do you want a drink or anything?” Logan asked me and I became very aware of how close we were standing. “No,” I managed to say, “no thanks.” “Okay, come on let me show you my room.” He led me out of the kitchen, leaving Harmony behind, and back through the entrance hall. We climbed up the stairs, his movements completely faultless, and then turned right, only to be faced by a long corridor dotted with dark oak doors. There were no tapestries up here and only one window right at the end of the corridor. One of the dark doors was slightly ajar and there was heavy bass music thumping out of it. “That‟s my sister Phoenix‟s room,” he said with a slight roll of his eyes. I couldn‟t help but slow down just to peek through the slight gap in the door. Phoenix was sprawled out on a white plush bed, her long golden hair fanned out around her head. “Logan you dare put one toe in my room,” she called out threateningly only to his amusement. I had hoped to peek at her a little more to see if she too had a scary likening to Logan like his other siblings. “I didn‟t know you had so many siblings,” I then hurried to catch up with him. He strode

ahead of me confidently, running a hand through his hair and glancing back at me every so often. “Yeah well you don‟t know much about me.” Logan answered simply, opening the last door on the left. “Likewise.” I reminded him before looking through the open door. Logan‟s room was large but I expected that already. The walls were black, one of them just black ruffled fabric. He had a large bay window hugging the king-sized bed. The walls were bare, not one picture or poster, which actually didn‟t surprise me. I didn‟t have Logan down as a football fan…or as topless model fan either. “You can go in you know,” he slipped past me to sit down on his bed. I hesitated for a couple of seconds before wandering over to the armchair he had by the other window. We sat in silence for a bit again before I plucked up the courage to speak. “Why did you invite me round Logan?” He met my gaze and smiled. “Why not?” I looked down and began fiddling with my sleeves. “You barely know me.” “I know I do,” he agreed, “but I don‟t think I‟m going to learn much about you in our English lessons. You work far too hard.” Logan‟s dark eyes glittered as he joked. “I do not!” I replied hotly. “You do,” he grinned again, “so I feel rude interrupting you.” “Well you shouldn‟t, I like-“ I stopped, my cheeks flushing a hot pink. He noticed, I could tell by the change of his smile. “You like me talking to you?” I hesitated. “Yes.” Logan let out a comfortable sigh as he stretched out on his bed. “Ah, well I sort of gathered that.” My cheeks flushed again, making my skin burn and tingle so much I had to duck my head down. He sat up, his long back clicking and making me cringe, and then shot me a grin that make my heart falter. I scowled at him, my embarrassment quickly turning into irritation like it usually did. His eyes then flickered to his door that was still wide open and in a few seconds, he had rose to close it. I shifted to sit on his bed nervously. “So,” he sat down in the chair I had previously accommodated, “you said you don‟t really know me that well.” I bit my lip. “Yes.” “And I don‟t know you very well,” he mused with a slight sparkle in his eye, “well I think it‟s about time we get to know each other then.” He moved slowly towards me, only to sit on the bed of course, but his careful movements sent my heart hammering. “Why did you move here?” Logan stretched out on his bed, his arms behind his head but his eyes on my face. I struggled to make any audible noise for a while. “After my dad died, my mum wanted a fresh new start.” I shrugged. “I guess moving was what she had in mind.” “Ah,” he tilted his head higher so he could see me better, “I‟m sorry.” “Thanks.” I looked down at my fingers which were nervously playing with the end of his duvet. “Are you happy here?” Logan‟s voice was still pretty light-hearted but I hesitated to answer. “I suppose.” “You‟re a terrible liar, you know that right?” I laughed. “Yeah, I know.” I then turned to face him, crossing my legs on his bed. “So, where are your parents?” Logan‟s face twisted slightly before he answered. “They‟re not around…anymore.” “Oh…oh. I‟m sorry.” I moaned internally at myself. “I‟m such an idiot; I always drop myself in it.” Logan laughed. “Hey, how were you meant to know? Don‟t worry about it.” He shot me a genuine smile and I felt a little better. “It means I‟m the boss around here though,” he rolled his dark eyes. “I bet that‟s kind of cool.” “Not when you have crazy siblings like I do. And lots of them.” I smiled at him and

shrugged as if to agree. We were silent for a bit then, my eyes faltering when they fell onto his face accidentally. Logan closed his and leant his head back again. “What happened,” I asked quietly, “to your parents?” Logan answered without opening his eyes. “Fire.” “Oh, right.” His short reply unnerved me; was I upsetting him? I cleared my throat awkwardly and struggled to find something else to say. “How did your dad die?” I looked at him in surprise. “He had cancer.” “Ouch.” I scowled then. That was a little harsh, in my opinion. He opened one eye to peer at me and saw my clearly put out expression. His face twisted as he sat up. “Was the fire…here?” I said my words slowly in case he may suddenly break down in tears. I could not handle any male crying. Logan‟s face twisted again, a couple of expressions flashing onto his face. “You could say so.” It definitely wasn‟t the answer I was expecting…or an answer that entirely made sense. “You weren‟t hurt from it though, were you?” “What is this, an investigation?” Logan growled, his eyes flashing angrily for a second. I felt myself tremble at his truly frightening expression, even though it lasted but a second. “No I wasn‟t hurt from it.” “Invincible.” I muttered with a tiny smile. His eyes slid in their sockets to focus on me and his mouth twitched. “You could say so.” “You must miss them. I wish I could have my dad back.” Then Logan said something I never expected him to say. “No, I can handle things just fine without them.” I stared at him with slight horror. “You don‟t wish you could have your parents back?” My tone was incredulous and I could tell by the shift in his posture that he realised how bizarre his reply was. I could feel my eyebrows pulling together in a slight frown and his dark eyes scanned my face emotionlessly. They then suddenly flickered with an unreadable light. “I‟d rather not talk about it,” his voice was gruff and I was unsure whether he was angry or fighting back a flood of emotion. I felt a stab of guilt as I regretted my sudden assumption; it was particularly rude of me to presume that Logan would grieve identically to me. I had no knowledge of his relationship with his parents, for all I know they could have been sworn enemies. Despite my shamefaced thoughts, a small voice inside of my head panicked about the possibility of Logan being pleased about his parents‟ deaths. “We‟re supposed to be getting to know each other,” Logan pressed quietly. His face was unwelcoming once more and I took in a long inhale of breath before I tried to smile at him. “I‟ll go first,” I told him with as much cheer as I could muster, “what‟s your favourite type of music?” He shrugged with disinterest. “Anything.” I remained undeterred by his flip of mood. “Favourite colour?” “Can‟t say I have one.” “Film?” My voice was beginning to waver. “I don‟t often have time to watch films, Anna.” Logan‟s eyes flickered towards his door and I realised he was referring to his busy schedule of posing as a father to his younger siblings. “Oh yeah, course. What about food? Everyone has time for food!” I smiled and nudged him playfully. I was overcome with joy when I noticed his lip curling up into a sly grin. “That‟s a tough one,” he spoke in a lighter tone to my immense pleasure, “I like a lot of food.” I laughed again, “You need to pick one!” He pulled a face comically and then made a groaning noise as he tried to decide. “If I had to pick,” he spoke slowly to make me giggle, “it‟d be pancakes.”

“See, that wasn‟t so hard, was it?” I beamed. I continued to interview him with questions you‟d often find on social networking profiles and he answered them all with short replies but they weren‟t rude; every one of them was accompanied with one of his heart-melting smiles. Logan‟s siblings were all home-schooled by his butler Brian, who appeared to be working as a child-minder to the group of rambunctious children. I was interested in why Phoenix, a girl who appeared to potentially fit in well at our school, was so happy to remain locked away in their house to be tutored. Knowing that depth wasn‟t particularly evident in our conversation, I decided not to ask. Logan didn‟t seem to have many hobbies but he showed me his small collection of antique novels as well as telling me he regularly enjoyed running and had a planned out route that stretched over the acres of land joined to the manor. Any other questions concerning his parents were slyly avoided. It seemed like I was talking for ages. He didn‟t stop me. I took in a deep breath, finally, and then sighed. “Okay, that was my interrogation over. I suppose you could say I know you from Adam know.” I told him, almost proudly. “If you say so,” Logan murmured. His eyes seemed to bore into mine until suddenly, I blinked. And he had gone. I panicked for half a second till I realised he was stood beside me. “It‟s late,” his voice was like velvet, “I‟ll drive you home.” I stood up automatically at the touch of his fingers on my shoulder. I didn‟t want to leave his perfect bedroom; I wanted to stay and talk with him forever. “Okay.” I followed him down the corridor, chewing on my lip. He ran his hand through his tousled hair quite a few times as we walked. “Your mum won‟t mind the fact you‟re home so late?” Logan asked as he swung open the door. I gasped. It was dark outside. “Oh my god.” I scrabbled in my pocket to ease out my phone. It was ten o‟clock. No, that couldn‟t be right. I stared at it like a crazy woman until Logan put his hand on my shoulder again. I flinched. “I‟m taking that as a yes?” He asked with a slight crooked grin. “Yes. Yes! Oh my god she‟s going to murder me!” I pushed past him to run to his car. “Hurry up! Take me home!” I yelled as I ran. Logan caught up with me, even as he jogged slowly, and opened his car door for me. “She‟s not going to be as angry as you are right now is she? Because if so, I might have to quickly go get my bulletproof tank.” He winked at me before shutting my door. I sat in the passenger seat with a sigh. My mum was going to go crazy, there‟s no doubt about that. Logan slipped into the driver‟s seat and revved his engine once before reversing out of his drive. He flicked on the radio as he was reversing, his eyes briefly glancing at me. I didn‟t say a word the whole journey, my eyes fixed on the road as Logan drove quickly. His driving was fast but not at all reckless. I felt completely safe with him at the wheel. It wasn‟t until we pulled up at my house when I realised I hadn‟t told Logan where I lived. I stared at him with wide eyes. He didn‟t look at me, his hands gripping the steering wheel but a slight grin on his lips. “Go on, go get murdered.” He turned to look at me. “It was nice to know you.” I made a scoffing sort of noise and leapt out of his car with a perplexed expression. How the hell did he know where to pull up? I glanced at my house – just checking it was in fact my house – before turning back to look at Logan‟s car. It had disappeared. Typical. I walked in with an expectant expression. Like I had guessed, my mother was nervously doodling on her notepad, her eyes slightly crazed and her mobile in her other hand. Her head snapped up at the sound of the door closing. “Anna!” She half screeched, the biro in her hand suffering a painful smashing death as she threw it across the room. I cringed.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry!” I yelped, knowing I wouldn‟t be able to get out an articulate apology. Her eyes blazed until suddenly, she calmed down. She grabbed my wrists and stared at me in the eyes, checking for something. She then smelt the air around me before letting go with a satisfied smirk. “You were with a boy, weren‟t you Anna Fraybern?” Her eyes were alight with excitement, all sparks of anger and viciousness invisible. “Don‟t,” I pulled a face before scrambling upstairs. She called after me but I groaned and slammed my door behind me. I fell on my bed with my hands covering my face. My cheeks flushed even now as I thought of the gorgeous smile Logan dazzled with me with every time I had asked him a question. With my head spinning slightly, I tugged on some comfy sweats and a vest before crawling into bed. 2. The next morning, James was waiting for me outside school. He was accompanied by a girl, who had his arm slung around her shoulders and the two boys I had previously been introduced with. His smile was unmissable as he saw me get out of my mother‟s car. She grinned suggestively as she said goodbye. I scowled back at her but she laughed, as I knew she would. “Anna! Hey, over here!” James shouted, waving his free arm at me. I strode over, smiling politely at the two boys. “This is Jennifer,” he jerked his head towards the blonde haired girl. Her tanned skin was freckled and her eyes were a bright blue, a seemingly common trait in the school. She smiled prettily at me, her lips painted with a light shade of pink. “You must be Anna, new girl right?” “Yeah,” I squirmed at the thought of the interrogation she might put me under. Thankfully she just smiled again. “You‟re in my English class,” she told me and I saw the change in her expression, “you sit at the front right?” Her eyes were now a little more interested in me. “Next to Logan.” “Yeah.” I replied bluntly. She obviously understood the closure in my answer but her eyes were still sparkling. “Thought I recognised you.” Jennifer smiled once in my direction before looking back up at James. Luckily, the bell rang then and we moved towards our class. I found it hard to keep up, or rather slow down to their pace as they loped casually towards school so I couldn‟t help but walk a few steps in front, to the amusement of Jennifer. “Hey kiddo, slow down!” She called jokingly and they all laughed as I turned and grinned. It was harmless joking, I could see by the politeness in their faces. Then suddenly they stopped laughing and I felt something jab my skin just above my hipbone. I flinched, turning back around, only to find myself looking at a rather humoured Logan. “Hey,” he greeted me. Suddenly the sun began shining individually on me and my temperature felt like it had shot up. His russet coloured hand hovered slightly by my hip before he dug it into his pocket and smirked quickly. “Hi.” “It‟s nice to see you weren‟t murdered,” he laughed. I could help but notice how he leant into me slightly, as if our conversation was private, only for us to hear. I mirrored his stance; feeling slightly proud of our closeness. I smiled. “My mother certainly looked deranged when I walked in.” Logan‟s dark eyes danced as he laughed again but I found myself staring at how close our arms were. I could feel the light brush of his skin on mine as we walked and every time I did, my heart seemed to falter slightly. Logan then looked at me a little more intently. “Who are the new kids you‟re dossing with?” His eyes then went huge like a puppy‟s. “Am I not good enough for you?” I scoffed, though because of my nerves it didn‟t sound as blasé as I had hoped. “You

know that‟s not true.” “Hm, that‟s true. I just like to hear it.” He winked. I was pretty sure he was trying to kill me. “I‟m allowed other friends, Logan; it‟s not as if we‟re exclusive or something.” I regretted the words as soon as I had said them; they seemed to imply something heavier than I had meant. Logan didn‟t react, however, except by shrugging. “I like having things to myself.” We were inside now. His response replayed over and over in my mind, his tone so casual yet his words implying an aspect of coveting. I looked at my feet as we slipped into the river of students bustling about the corridors. Logan leaned into me further and seemed to hover there. His lips were then at my ear. “See you later.” And then he practically vanished into the swarm of students. “Anna! Hey Anna!” James‟ familiar voice called and I fought my way through the throng of students to be by his side. “Ready for some exciting science?” We laughed together, my laugh slightly quieter and more artificial as his, as he led me once again to our classroom. As we reached the door, James put his arm out to restrict me from walking in the classroom. “How come Logan took you home after school yesterday?” He asked, surprisingly casual. I stared at him in shock, knowing I was terrible at lying, and ducked under his arm. “I sort of went to his house,” I mumbled, throwing my bag on the floor under my desk. James watched me carefully, leaning on my desk with his face in his hands. “You went to his house?” His voice was a little protective. I didn‟t look up at him again; my head was ducked as I rummaged in my bag. “Yes.” “It‟s huge isn‟t it?” He noted with a chuckle. It was then that my eyes flashed up to his face with mild shock. His smile was easy and boyish as he looked at me. “You‟ve been there?” “Everyone knows Logan‟s house, Anna,” he rolled his eyes at me. I blushed and began re-ordering the position of my possessions on the desk. “Oh right, because of the fire right?” It was James‟ turn to look shocked then. He frowned slightly. “Fire?” “You know,” I began to mumble, “the fire at his house? The one that - that killed his parents?” I watched James chew his lip as he continued to frown with a bad feeling in my stomach. Something was not right. Surely people would know if there was a fire at Logan‟s house, if they were so aware about its existence in general? “A fire killed his parents?” James looked sheepish as he scratched the back of his head roughly, “I don‟t want to sound offensive but I thought they died in a drive by shooting when they were visiting family in Brooklyn.” He turned, looking over at Bradley who had ambled in. “Brad, hey, get over here.” The boy obediently loped over, running his hand through his bleached blonde hair. “What is it dude?” James nudged him. “How did Logan‟s parents die?” I felt a pang of uncertainty at James‟ bluntness. It wasn‟t a topic I was completely happy on discussing but the two boys seemed at completely ease and this made my doubt multiply. “Windsurfing accident on holiday, right?” Bradley replied after a few minutes. He responded as if it were a game show answer or as if a teacher had called upon him in class and it made the hair on the back of my neck tingle with the notion that something was definitely wrong. I gawped at him. “What?” “Hm, haven‟t heard that one before.” James mused. “I thought it was a drive by shooting in Brooklyn.” “I don‟t know man, I really don‟t. Doesn‟t bother me too much either, Logan‟s a freak.” Bradley shrugged. Automatically I scowled fiercely at him, my hands suddenly balling into angry fists. James noticed and gave Bradley a swipe around the head. “Dude, that‟s so disrespectful!” “But what kind of person makes up stories about their parents dying?”

“He‟s got a point, Anna.” “Beat it.” I growled at them both. My tone must have been successfully intimidating because they scuttled off pretty quickly. I spent the rest of my science lesson and the majority of my Spanish lesson with my head in my hands. My mind ached with questions and it made me feel queasy. I was defiant, for some indescribable reason, that Logan was telling me the truth. His parents must have died in a fire…though his house seemed perfectly untouched. No, he must have had it restored. His parents must have died trying to save his thousands of siblings. It would have been huge blaze to catch them like that. But surely then, it would have made the local paper at least? Some students must have heard about it? “Hey, are you ok?” Jennifer‟s hand appeared on my arm, her wrists invisible under the many festival wristbands she wore. She was sat next to me in my Spanish lesson and I had barely noticed. “Yeah,” I ran my hand through my hair with a sigh, “yeah I‟m fine.” “You look pale, do you feel sick?” “No,” I attempted a smile, “against you tanned beauties I look like a ghost.” Jennifer laughed but her eyes were still curious. She removed her hand but continued to look at me for answers. “I‟m fine,” I reassured her so she would carry on with her work. “I heard you were asking about Logan‟s parents?” She asked in a lower, softer tone after a few moments of silence. I glanced up at her and she smiled. “It‟s okay to be curious about him.” She leaned closer to me so she could whisper. “Logan told me the same story he told you.” “Logan told you?” I asked, unable to hide my surprise or what might‟ve been my slight disappointment that I wasn‟t the first he had confided in. Maybe it was just another story, another lie. Why did I think I was so special? “Yes,” she bit her lip, “we used to be close. Never met his parents, they died a long time ago.” “You used to be close?” She laughed quietly. “A long time ago. I know everybody thinks he‟s a freak but he just likes to keep to himself, that‟s all. He‟s not a bad person.” “No, I know.” I nodded slowly. Jennifer‟s eyes were intent on watching my expression as she spoke. “I know he‟s not lying to us, Anna. I can just tell. No one else knows the story of the fire. Surely that counts for something?” Her forehead creased when I didn‟t answer. “It‟s like the stories change as you move through the cliques of the school. Windsurfing accidents to drive bys, shark attacks, cancer, murder, everyone knows a different story.” “Did you ask Logan?” I suddenly asked. “Did you tell him you knew different?” “Course not Anna,” Jennifer frowned at me, “do you really think I‟d like to see that kid angry? How would you react if someone told you they knew several stories about your parents‟ death?” I blushed automatically. “I guess you‟re right.” Jennifer‟s eyes lingered on my face for a few seconds before she continued to write in her book. “Why don‟t you guys,” I paused, “talk anymore?” Jennifer‟s pen froze in midair and she chewed her lip. “My parents didn‟t want me to be associated with him.” “Why not?” Her expression changed to a twisted smile, as if she were making a mere joke. “He‟s the bad guy of the town, Anna, the freak. He‟s not meant to have friends.” I gawped at her. “That‟s awful!” “But it‟s true. He doesn‟t want friends so no one bothers with him. And he was such hard work to keep happy. Try and keep a distance or you‟ll regret ever knowing him.” She said grimly. I chose not to ask anymore questions. Logan was sat in his usual place at lunch. His eyes began to sparkle as he caught sight of me. Half of me exploded in excitement to see his genuine happiness to see me

wandering over to him but the other half began to squirm at the thought of our impending conversation. “Here she is.” He smiled at me. I sat down slowly, my head still spinning. All day I had been hearing stories of his parents‟ death. Everybody had found out I was curious and suddenly it became a dutiful act for everyone to tell me their version of the incident. “Hey,” he frowned, “what‟s up?” “Nothing.” I answered quietly, looking away from him. I found my eyes lingering on the hills. To my surprise, I saw large clouds rolling towards the school. They looked dangerously grey and they progressed over the top of the hills at quite a pace. “It‟s going to rain.” I said. Logan sighed. “Feels like a storm to me.” “How can you tell?” I looked at him for a split second and was thankful to see he was staring at the clouds. He shrugged offhandedly. “I can just feel it.” He then turned to watch me carefully and by the slight crease of concentration on his forehead, I gathered he was studying my slightly distressed expression. “There‟s something wrong.” I swallowed even though I knew it was a giveaway to my suppressed distress. He waited silently for some sort of explanation but naturally, I found myself speechless. I looked into his inviting, dark eyes for some sort of inspiration but was only met with the mass of complicated emotions that often congregated in the deep pool of chocolate. Ashamed at my failed attempt to explain, I lowered my gaze to the floor. “Hey.” Logan placed his warm hand on my arm. Our contact almost made a sizzling noise and I flinched involuntarily. He withdrew his hand immediately and although it was only for a short while, I saw the smudges of hurt cloud his eyes. “I‟m sorry,” I managed to tell him, sliding my hand across the grass to touch his. He looked down at my pale hand in silence. “I don‟t really know how to say it.” “Then don‟t.” Logan murmured, still staring at our hands. Slightly shocked at his blunt reply, I found myself with my mouth absently open. Logan‟s shoulders had locked but he looked up at me with a warm expression, melting my insides. “You don‟t have to share anything with me.” “Ok,” I replied quietly. My eyes flicked down at my hand, still placing precariously on his and I noticed how Logan smiled at me as I did so. His smile stayed on his lips as he spoke. “Your hands are cold.” “They always are,” I began to move my hand away from his to rub them up and down my leg in an attempt to warm them up but Logan‟s hand appeared out of nowhere and snatched my palm. Suddenly, my skin flared up as I realised he was rubbing my hand gently in between his large palms. “Jesus, do you stick them in a freezer before you leave the house or something?” He grinned teasingly. I laughed nervously, my eyes darting around. I noticed a small gathering of girls walking pretty close to our spot on the grass and my heart began racing as one of them swung her hair, catching sight of me. The surprise in her eyes was readable from here as they swept across my frail frame and over to Logan. I half expected her to faint as her face froze. Her friends automatically began looking in the same direction and they all reacted identically, their eyes wide with shock and their mouths aching to drop open. I flushed and retracted my hand from inside Logan‟s hold. He looked up at me with mild surprise before seeing the girls. Unfortunately, he didn‟t react like I had wanted to; he didn‟t make the biggest possible distance between us and he didn‟t pull a face at me. No. Logan began to smile, that annoyingly charming smile and lifted his hand almost as if to wave. However, he did something even worse. He took my hand and clasped it. My heart almost burst and I stared at him incredulously. “Logan what the hell are you doing?” I yelped quietly. “I‟m sorry am I hurting you?” Logan met my shocked gaze and continued to grin. “No, of course not,” I began to stutter, “but you‟re going to make them think-“ He interrupted me. “Think what?”

Again, I was speechless. I found myself just staring at our hands clasped together and hoping my heart would slow down otherwise it was going to burst out of my chest and punch Logan right in the face. The girls dispersed quickly and when they had disappeared, I expected Logan to let go of my hand and chuckle to himself. But he didn‟t. Our hands continued to press against each other, my skin no longer cold to touch. I could feel my pulse beating uncontrollably against the skin on my wrist. “Is this uncomfortable for you?” He asked softly. My heart lurched as if to leap out my throat; it seemed it was making every effort to leave my body. “I‟m sorry, has holding your hand ruptured your voice box Anna?” The smug grin Logan often wore in front of me tainted his lips crookedly. “Don‟t be stupid,” I snapped shakily. “Better to be safe than sorry,” Logan said before releasing my hand. I couldn‟t help but notice the slight reluctance in his movements. I stared at him and frowned. “Why on earth did you do that?” “Do what?” He lay back down on the grass, his polo shirt lifting ever so slightly, revealing a small patch of coffee coloured skin that hugged his hip bone. I found myself looking at that small patch as I replied. “In front of those girls, Logan.” I then looked up at his face accusingly, with a glint in my eye. “You know exactly what you did.” He had closed his eyes but opened one to peer up at me boyishly. “Oh that.” “Yes, that. Do you know what will happen now? They‟ll unravel some lavish story about some love affair we are engaged in or something ridiculous like that.” Logan shrugged. “So what? Can‟t be any worse than what they normally say about me.” I shivered at his reply and how he seemed to deliver it with such casualness. I bit at my lip and ducked my head to avoid my guilty expression being seen. However, I couldn‟t look at the grass for long and I eventually peered through my curtain of hair at his face. His jaw was twitching, his lips fighting against a smile. It was the perfect time to call him up on the various stories that circled his parents‟ death. But something deep inside my gut growled as if to stop me; that perfectly shaped curve of his lip as he smiled would immediately be broken into a furious scowl, a scowl I knew I was slightly afraid of and so I remained silent, hoping one day I would find the guts to find out the truth, if there was any. “You‟re deep in thought Anna,” Logan murmured, “would you care to share your musings with me?” I flushed. “No thanks.” Logan‟s forehead wrinkled as he fought a disappointed frown. His forearms flexed, making my heart race involuntarily as I watched his veins become apparent underneath his lavish copper skin. Thank God he had his eyes closed once more; my ogling was far from subtle. I bit my lip to stop myself from trailing my fingers over his skin, to feel the thickness of his muscle that formed a large band around his bones, to feel the continuous blood flow that pulsed generously through his veins. I could trail my fingers down to his hands, following the faded lines on his palms and then retracing back up his arm to the impressive muscles on his shoulders. They made my lungs struggle as I admired them from the small gap his open collar offered. My fingers would possibly rest upon those muscles for a while, I concluded, before I could allow them to stroke his skin all the way up to his strong jaw line, across his cheekbone and then up to the distinct scar just above his eye. I would ponder over his scar, letting my touch to be gentler than he had ever experienced. Then possibly, my fingers would fall to his torso to hopefully encounter upon an impressive six pack… “Anna?” Logan‟s voice was very close to my face and I jumped, realising I had closed my eyes to picture his bare torso. His face was a picture of amusement as he placed his hand on my arm. “The bell‟s gone.” “Oh yes, right, well.” I stuttered, slinging my bag over my shoulder jaggedly and getting to my feet. Logan removed his hand and winked at me before walking in the opposite direction. "I'll see you later?" I called hopefully. He didn't look back, but I saw his shoulders shrug casually as he walked towards the

school building. I kept my iPod in for the rest of my lessons; my teachers barely noticed as they rambled on about things I had already partly studied at my old school. I copied the notes off the board just to be polite. One of my hands was growing warmer throughout the day; I looked at it curiously to find it untouched. I decided that it was the act of gripping my warm iPod that made my skin burn up since it was the only explanation. As the final bell went, I took out one of my earphones and passed my Philosophy teacher my book. He barely looked up at me as I did so, and I wordlessly turned on my heel and walked out. The sun was once again shining down on the school and most of the students were milling out through the corridors, taking off their small cardigans and cropped jackets with glee. I pulled out my locker keys from my jeans pocket and went to put them in the lock when a small faded pink envelope caught my eye. It was half-pushed through the edge of my locker door, slightly bent but in no way old. I looked at it for a few minutes before gently easing it out. My name was written in curly handwriting on the front, handwriting I didn't automatically recognise. Other students were jostling around me, banging their lockers closed, as I stood quietly and took out a small piece of card from the envelope. It was garishly designed, with party hats and banners lacing the edge. It was an invitation. "Oh you got it!" Jennifer's pleased voice came from behind me. I turned around to her with the invitation in my hand. "I couldn't find you all day so I just shoved it here," she took the invitation off me and examined it, "oh I thought I had bent it but it seems ok." She then smiled up at me. "Are you going to come?" "I haven't really read it yet," I answered politely. "It's a party Anna, what more do you need to know?" She laughed. "It's at my house, the address is on the back, wear something cute." Jennifer passed me the invitation back and disappeared into the crowd. I took another look at the invitation before opening my locker and dumping a few of my books in there. "Hi." I slammed my locker shut and whirled around to find Logan watching me with an amused look in his eyes. "Oh, hi." He took the invitation out of my hand and smiled. "Invited to a party already? I'm impressed, new girl." He read it quickly. "Ooh, this Saturday, how exciting." I snatched the invitation back and began walking down the corridor. "I doubt I'll go." "Why, don't you have anything cute to wear?" He teased. I scowled at him and he laughed. "Oh please don't tell me you're the stereotypical new girl who doesn't like parties, keeps to herself...likes the mysterious strange boys?" "No that's not it." I retorted. "I won't know anyone." "Not true, you know Jennifer, and she's the host. I reckon you're in." I rolled my eyes as we walked outside onto the car-park. "What does it matter to you anyway?" I looked up at him intently. "Are you going?" "I think you need an invite to go to a party," he muttered with a casual smile. "Oh, don't tell me you're the stereotypical mysterious strange boy who has no friends and is too scared to crash parties?" "Too scared? Please." He laughed at me. We strolled towards his car, although I hadn't asked for a ride, and he unlocked it from a distance. "Well, why not crash it then...with me?" "You can't crash," he snatched the invitation and waved it teasingly in my face, "you're invited." I tried to hide my disappointment as I pressed further. "Crash it for me then?" "I don't think so." Logan answered, opening the car door for me. "I'll drive you home. Your mother has a meeting." "How'd you-" "Get in the car Anna." He grinned, closing the door behind me as I slipped into the

front seat. Typically, he appeared seconds later next to me, revving the engine. I sat in disappointed silence as he pulled out of the car park, the crowds quickly moving out of his way. "You'll have fun at the party," Logan reassured me after a few minutes silence, "don't worry Anna. None of them bite." "I'd prefer it if you were there." "Well I can't go, so stop moping." He replied. I frowned and folded my arms, resting my head on the window. "Ok, ok, compromise." I looked at him hopefully and let my frown disappear. "Go on?" "How about I be your designated driver?" I smiled. "Does that mean you'll come?" His hands flexed on the wheel as he turned out of the car-park without looking at me. He then dropped one hand to the gear stick to rest it there casually. "It means I'll drive you there and I'll pick you up." I slouched again. "Oh." Logan didn't reply, and so we had our first silent journey home. *** "Oh Anna, you look lovely," my mom grinned happily as I wandered down the stairs. "Are you excited?" "Looks like you're more excited than I am," I mumbled, looking at myself nervously in the mirror. It's not that I didn't like parties, but I was so used to having Leona beside me, taking silly photos, changing our outfits a thousand times, curling our hair. Now I was looking at myself, stood alone. I wore skinny denim jeans and a beige laced blouse with some black studded heels. I knew if Leona saw me now, she'd order me to 'get my legs out' but, although it was in fact warmer here than it would've been back home, I wanted to make the right impression. And I knew I would soon be getting in the car with Logan. "Are you sure Logan's ok with taking you there? Is he going to the party too?" Mom asked, leaning on the kitchen top as she ate some noodles. "No," I continued to look at myself in the mirror, messing up my straight hair a little, "he just offered to drive me." "Do you want to give him some petrol money, best to be polite?" She put down her bowl and went searching for her purse in her bag. "No Mom, don't worry about it." Despite my words, she pressed some cash in my hand and watched me carefully until I folded it up and put it in my back pocket. "What time are you leaving?" I heard an engine roar outside the house. "Now," I leant forward and kissed her before walking out the front door, "love you!" Logan hadn't got out of his car, but the passenger door was open for me. I walked with ease in my heels down my drive to his car. I heard some heavy dubstep filtering out of the radio and smiled, figuring Logan was trying to get me in the party mood. I slid into the front seat and slammed the door behind me. "Hi," he smiled at me. I felt his eyes quickly wash over me. "Hi," I replied. "Ready to go?" "Yep." Logan revved his engine once before pulling away, smiling. I pulled some cash out of my pocket and tucked it under the handbrake. "That's from my mom," I laughed, "and since when do you listen to dubstep?" "I thought you'd recognise this song?" Logan's eyes flickered quickly to my face before returning back on the road. There was a grin aching to paint his lips as I listened. Of course I recognised this song; Leona used to play this song all the time before parties. In fact, it was in my aptly titled 'party' playlist on my iPod. "How'd you know I'd recognise it?" I asked curiously.

"It's quite a popular song, it was a hit in the charts not long ago," Logan answered casually, "I got it off my party playlist." "Why have a party playlist if you don't go to parties?" I teased him gently. "I have my own." I leaned forward to turn the stereo up, "No offence, but that sounds pretty sad." "No offence taken," Logan smiled. "Do you know where Jennifer's house is, I brought the invitation," I began to search in my pockets but I heard Logan reply lowly, "Of course I know where she lives." I felt the need to distract him as I saw his eyes cloud over. "Riverside Manor," I read off the invite, "sounds posh. Is it a nice house?" "Yeah it's quite nice, has a swimming pool, used to have this beautiful conservatory, it was nearly a mile long," he smiled faintly before gripping the wheel tensely. "Sounds lovely. Did they get rid of it?" "You could say so." We lapsed into silence again so I leant forwards to flick through the playlist Logan had playing through his iPod. It was identical to my playlist, I realised with shock. I looked up at him in surprise. "Logan, this playlist-" "Good isn't it?" He smiled, turning down an avenue lined with rather huge houses. "It's a bit old but you can't help but love some of the classics." "Yeah," I put his iPod back down slowly. Logan's car rumbled as it slowed, the tyres rolling smoothly over the paved driveway that stretched up a gentle hill. "Does everyone around here live in manors?" I mumbled with my face against the window. "No," Logan laughed, "in fact Jennifer and I are the only ones." I automatically felt jealousy creep into my stomach; I didn't like the way Logan said their names together with such ease, such familiarity. His face twisted uncomfortably and he stopped the car halfway up the drive. "Are you going to be okay walking up there?" "I guess," I answered, confused. "Have a nice time tonight, here's my number," he passed me a small piece of paper with his number scribbled on it, "call me when you want picking up." I took it quietly, letting my thumb run over his handwriting, and smiled. "Bye Logan." I got out of the car and closed it quickly behind me before beginning to walk purposefully towards the buzzing manor house. Jennifer swung open the oak door with a beaming smile. She wore a small black dress and her blonde hair was straight, falling past her shoulders neatly. "You made it!" She hugged me quickly and ushered me inside. There was loud music coming from down the hall and a hum of voices throughout the whole house. I recognised a few faces, but the one I wanted to see had just driven off. "Do you want a drink?" "Sure," I followed Jennifer quietly through the house. She took me through to the enormous kitchen and took a glass off a tray on the side. "Try this; my mom makes the best punches." I sipped at it cautiously, only to find it was actually quite nice. "Wow, she does." "Now come on, let's go dance!" She grabbed my wrist hastily and dragged me through the large sitting room. The sofas and chairs had been pushed back against the wall and two large speakers were situated either side of the TV so it was like a high-tech jukebox. I tried to stop feeling self-conscious as we danced, although Jennifer's dancing was pretty wild and against her I looked vaguely sensible. We danced for what seemed like hours, and most likely was, as when we stumbled childishly out of the room, many people were scattered on the floor or filing slowly out of the door. Jennifer shouted for them to come back but soon began to giggle and pulled me out of

the door too. A lot of people were casually strewn out over her front yard, staring up drunkenly up at the sky where the stars shone devilishly. "It's so pretty," I murmured. "I know right?" Jennifer agreed, her hand still gripping my wrist. A few people were wandering past the side of her house and she tugged at me as we followed. "Where are we going?" I asked worriedly, the darkness was falling fast and I could barely see in front of me. "The forest behind my house," Jennifer whispered excitedly, "maybe someone's got a campfire going." The forest was still a little way from Jennifer's house but soon, quite a few people were congregating at the edge of it. "Why is no one going in?" "Don't you know?" called a scruffy looking boy who was stood a little way away from Jennifer and me. "She's new, Cody, of course she doesn't know," Jennifer laughed, "plus it isn't even true!" "What isn't?" I pressed. Cody looked at me with wide brown eyes and strode towards me. "You shouldn't go into the forest," he warned me lowly. "Sounds like a horror movie," I laughed. He paused and bit his lip. "It's not quite that bad. There are wolves that live in this forest." "I have never seen one, Anna, don't take any notice." Jennifer swatted playfully at Cody but the boy continued to stare at me. "Have you?" I asked him. Before he could answer, there was a scream. Jennifer's grip tightened on my wrist and her other hand grabbed onto Cody's arm. "Who the hell was that?" She asked breathlessly. A girl in a dirty green dress thundered blindly out of the forest, her mouth open as she continued to scream. I didn't recognise her but since she was dressed up, she was obviously invited to Jennifer's party. She stopped at the edge of the forest and pointed back into it with a shaky arm, her other hand over her mouth as she silenced herself. "Ella!" Someone cried out and another girl grabbed her by the waist, trying to calm her down. "What's happened, what's going on?" Jennifer wailed. "Jake!" Ella screamed again, falling to her knees and pointing into the forest still. "Someone get a torch!" She ordered. Cody vanished from Jennifer's side and disappeared back towards the house. "Ella! Ella, calm down, stop screaming," the other girl told her forcefully, trying to pull her away from the forest. Jennifer and I stood frozen watching in terror. I flinched dramatically as I felt Cody brush past me with a large torch. He disappeared into the forest, accompanied by a few other boys. It felt like hours, waiting, as Ella cried helplessly on the floor and Jennifer stared in silence next to me, until eventually Cody and the others returned, all holding one boy. His head lolled and his shirt was torn, dark stains surrounding the rips. Jennifer screamed once. "I'm calling 911!" She then shouted, running back to her house. Cody put the boy down on the floor and Ella leant protectively over him, her brown curls hiding the boy's face. "Jake, oh god," she mumbled through tears. "Ella what happened?" The girl asked her but Ella ignored her, rocking back and forth, cradling Jake's limp body. My hand delved into my jeans pocket and I pulled out a piece of tatty paper and my phone. He answered as soon as I dialled. "What's wrong?"

"You have to come pick me up." I continued to stare at Ella's rocking figure. "Anna, what's happened?" "Please, just come get me." There was a click as Logan hung up. I looked back over to Ella, and saw Jake‟s hand was firmly gripping hers, and my heart began to beat a little more regularly. He was alive at least. With her free hand, Ella was jabbing her finger forcefully in the direction of the forest. In this light, it was frightening and unknown but I forced myself to remember that in the daytime, it would look like any other average forest. This wasn‟t a horror film. I had to try and rationalise things. There was a revving of a deep growling engine and headlights swooped over where I was stood. I whirled round to see Logan‟s car pulling up right outside Jennifer‟s house. He got out like a shot, slamming his car door and heading straight towards me, my skin illuminated by the bright glow of his headlights. “Anna!” He called my name, striding so fast towards me that I was shocked to find him stood right in front of me in a matter of seconds. His warm hands gripped my forearms but his face was completely calm. “I don‟t even know who they are,” I began to mumble helplessly at him, waving my hand in Jake‟s direction. Logan‟s eyes flickered over to where I was gesturing and suddenly they began to blaze. I felt my heart thunder into my chest. He let go of me and strode towards Ella. She looked up at him with a shocked expression; it was clear that Logan was unwelcome here. The crowd that was hovering by Ella dispersed quickly, and soon their eyes flickered over to where I was stood. I stayed put, uneasy and probably drunk, as I stared at Logan. He knelt next to Ella, whose eyes did not leave his face, and it looked like he was talking to her. She nodded and moved back slightly. Logan then turned his head to Jake, whose face I could now see. He had two long scratches scraping down his face, reaching from his eyebrow to the corner of his mouth. Jake‟s expression was bewildered, his eyes looking up at Logan nervously. Slowly, I made my way over. I followed the low humming of Logan‟s voice and hovered nervously beside Ella, who was still uneasily crouched on the floor. Her eyes darted up to meet mine but her stricken face didn‟t twitch. “Is he okay?” I asked quietly, my stomach churning slightly as I saw the rips in his shirt. His body wasn‟t in shreds but he had been scratched across his torso once. It had bled heavily through his shirt and Logan examined it wordlessly. He looked around him before easing off his t-shirt, rolling it into a rough ball and pressing it gently to Jake‟s bleeding torso. Ella dipped her head to not look at Logan‟s exposed body, but I did not do the same. My heartbeat raced slightly as I saw the gentle curve of his back as he leant forward, the arcs of the muscles on his shoulder blades. “He‟s going to be okay, he just needs these wounds seeing to,” Logan mumbled. Jake didn‟t say anything as he lay motionless on the floor. I looked at his poor face, astounded by the scratches that dug into his face. They were quite deep and most likely going to scar. I then looked quickly at Logan, his brow furrowed and his own scar dark against his skin. It seemed to be the same depth into the skin, the same curve. Logan‟s scar was just shorter and higher up in his eyebrow, as if Logan had been able to stop his attacker quicker than Jake had. “There‟s an ambulance on its way!” I heard the panicked call of Jennifer‟s voice far behind me. Logan flinched. “He‟ll be okay, just keep him there and wait for the ambulance. And uh, you can keep the t-shirt.” He rose to his feet, carefully taking hold of my wrist and leading me away from Ella. He walked with purpose and I followed him, stumbling a little in dark. I saw the blinding light of his headlights and began to walk towards them. His fingers were loose around my wrist but still, I could feel my skin growing warmer by the second. “Do you want to say goodbye?” He murmured quietly. His eyes were on the floor as he spoke. We neared the house and I saw Jennifer‟s face. Her eyes were wide and her mouth twitched as she realised who was leading me. “I ought to,” I mumbled back before walking over to Jennifer. She stared past me at Logan, barely listening as I tried to apologise and explain that I was leaving. I might have

well recited a nursery rhyme; she didn‟t take any notice of me. I turned on my heel and walked to Logan‟s car. He was sat inside it, his arms taut as he gripped the steering wheel, his face expressionless. I got in quietly and he pulled away roughly, the wheels skidding across Jennifer‟s drive as he swung the car around and began driving recklessly down the drive. As soon as we reached the bottom of the hill, Logan slowed the car down and began to drive like a saner person. “Well,” I shook my head slightly, “I didn‟t expect that.” “No,” Logan‟s lip curled a little, “nor did I.” “Are you sure he‟s going to be okay?” “Yes.” “Was it the wolves?” Logan‟s eyes slid in his sockets to glance at me sideways. “It would seem that way.” He then smiled a little. “He‟ll be okay, I‟m sure there‟ll be some heroic story of how he saved Ella.” “Surely they should have some sort of barriers if there are aggressive wolves so close to Jennifer‟s house?” “It‟s a little difficult to corner off wild animals.” Logan answered calmly. “Hey, what time does your mum want you home?” “She expects me home at like one, why?” I replied, looking aimlessly out of the window. Logan flicked his indicator and turned down a different road to what I was expecting. The road led us away from the streets heavily lined with identical three bedroom houses. I didn‟t protest as I watched Logan ease down a little more on the accelerator. The road was slowly becoming more solitary, the flash of other people‟s headlights growing into a rarity. I lay my head back on the chair. My party playlist was no longer playing; Logan‟s indie music was playing quietly. I leaned forward and turned it up slightly; music always being the thing to keep me at ease. Logan‟s lips twitched as he grinned slightly, tapping the steering wheel in time of the drum beat. “Is there much point me asking where we‟re going?” I asked with a slight laugh. He shook his head with a wide smile. “Do you like surprises?” I raised an eyebrow. “Do I have a choice?” He laughed again, his eyes twinkling. “You‟re beginning to get to know me very well.” I smiled with satisfaction and began to look out of the window into the darkness. We continued to drive on for a little while before Logan eventually stopped the car, parking up on the side of the deserted road. I got out of the car and looked out at the surroundings; there was nothing. Nothing but short dark grass. I slowly turned around to look back at the outline of our town. Logan was leaning on the roof of his car with the same grin tainting his lips. “Funny isn‟t it,” he said, “how something so quiet can be so close to a town that doesn‟t shut up.” I laughed gently. “That‟s true.” He exhaled and then climbed swiftly onto the roof of his car and laid back, his arms curled behind his head. “Everyone knows everybody‟s business,” he commented. I looked up at him with my head slightly cocked to the side, stories of his parents flickering through my head. “That‟s not entirely true,” I replied. He glanced down at me before gazing back up at the sky, “No, I suppose not.” He sat up and put his hand out for me to grab. I obliged, letting him pull me carefully next to him. “Not many people know much about you,” I told him. His eyes closed but I saw his jaw clench slightly. “Good.” “Are you always so secretive?” “Yes,” his teeth flashed for a second in a helpless grin, “it‟s more fun that way.” “For you, maybe.” I looked up at the dark sky and the stars, little flecks of white sparkling slightly. I felt him heave a short sigh beside me.

“My story is a little complicated,” he said quietly. “Oh I see,” I rolled my eyes and looked across at him. “If you‟re trying to be all mysterious and cliché right now, it‟s not working too well.” “Shut up,” Logan rolled his eyes like I had done. “Hey I‟m just being honest, that was my first impression of you.” “That‟s not true,” he propped himself up on one arm and looked at me carefully. His dark eyes were almost impossible to see in this light and I nervously looked away. “Your first impression of me was definitely much more focused on my appearance and my boyish charm than my obviously mysterious personality.” My cheeks flushed hotly but I snorted in defiance. “Oh please-“ “And it was clear you were attracted to me because your heart rate practically doubled in pace every time my pencil rolled remotely close to you.” “You‟re being arrog-“ “And you mused over how I got the scar here,” he pointed to his eyebrow, “and you were out of your comfort zone enormously when I invited you back to my house.” He then looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “I was impressed that you actually did come back with me.” “It would have been rude not to,” I retorted quickly. “It would have been sensible,” Logan laughed. I blushed again and ducked my head. “Well yes that too.” There was a pause before he also ducked his head. “It was nice to have you come back with me. I mean, it was brave of you.” “Jesus Logan,” I then chuckled, “you‟re not a murderer. It‟s not like you‟ve escaped prison or anything.” He laughed uneasily. “I know, I know.” “You really need to stop that,” I told him light heartedly, “stop scaring people off. You‟re only a boy.” “Hm, I suppose.” “I mean, what‟s so wrong about you?” He swallowed and then grinned widely. “I‟m irritatingly gorgeous but upsettingly confusing?” I opened my mouth to answer but ended up looking at him shock. He had taken the words straight out of my thoughts only a few days ago. I closed my mouth and smiled at him with a hint of suspicion. He exhaled and we sat in peaceful silence for a while, leaning back and appreciating the sky. His music played quietly underneath us. Suddenly, I felt Logan shift next to me. His muscles were stiff and he sat up with a scowl on his face. It was the same scowl he had thrown at me the first day we had met. I watched him carefully, fear swirling quietly in the bottom of my stomach. His chest was heaving slightly but his eyes were blazing, suddenly visible in the darkness of the night. “Logan…” I quietly said his name in hope he‟d snap out of it. But instead, he swung his body off the roof of his car and began pacing away from me quickly. I knew it was best for me to stay put so I sat silently, hugging my knees and watching Logan pace. I could hear his heavy breathing over the humming of his music. His nostrils flared slightly. He strode up and down for what seemed like hours, but surely was only a few minutes. He then hunched his shoulders, his muscles rippling unusually underneath his skin. His eyes then flickered up to mine, embarrassment clear in the dark brown colour, and his body stopped shuddering. “I‟m sorry,” Logan stammered, walking slowly back to the car. I remained still and watched him with confused eyes. “Let‟s take you home,” he offered me his hand but I ignored it, sliding off his car on my own. He dropped his hand with a quiet sigh and then got into the driver‟s seat. I sat carefully in the passenger seat, slamming the door and turning up the music. My face was turned away from him as he started up the engine and swung the car around. The journey home was uncomfortable but I ached to speak to him. I wasn‟t angry with

him, I was frightened. I was confused. There was something about him I so painfully wanted to know. Logan cleared his throat uneasily as he slowed his car to a stop outside my house. I saw the lights were all turned off; my mother must be asleep. Without thinking, I quickly got out of the car and practically ran to open Logan‟s door for him, knowing he would drive off if I took my time. He looked up at me in surprise, a slight frown creasing his forehead. “Come in?” Logan unbuckled his seatbelt in silence and cut out his engine, tucking his keys in his pocket as he closed his door behind him. He followed me quietly as I led him into my house, closing the door quietly behind us both. I didn‟t turn on any lights, knowing it would attract unwanted attention. I took Logan upstairs, continuing our careful silence, and into my bedroom. He hovered nervously at the door as I walked in and turned on my dim bedside lamp. “Sit,” I told him, getting comfortable on my bed. He bit his lip and then smiled slightly, walking towards me and sitting gently beside me. His brown eyes looked expectantly at me; he was waiting for an interrogation. “You can be honest with me Logan,” I told him. “I know,” he answered calmly. “So why aren‟t you?” He replied without hesitation, to my slight surprise. “I am as much as I can be.” “Figures,” I muttered under my breath, ducking my head and playing nervously with the hem of my blouse. “Sorry about earlier,” he began to explain and I lifted my head to meet his gaze, “it‟s a genetic thing.” “Genetic?” I repeated suspiciously. “Yes, kinda complicated…” he trailed off with an easy chuckle. I rolled my eyes. “That doesn‟t surprise me.” “I‟m sorry,” my heart raced as he took my hand. His face was genuine, his tone meaningful as he spoke. “I‟m a difficult person; it‟s just the way it is. I don‟t do it for attention, I‟m not playing a victim,” he then chuckled again, “and I‟m not trying to be the sexy mysterious guy you always find in those films.” “What are you trying to do then?” I asked him. “Nothing, this is just me.” He shrugged with a small smile. “Logan,” I began. The confusing stories of his parents‟ death once again clouded my mind; it didn‟t make any sense. Why didn‟t anyone know what really happened? Why was he telling people different things? “If I ask you something, will you promise to be truthful?” “I hate questions like that Anna,” he tried to laugh but it was clear that he found it difficult. “Can we just have an easy conversation for once?” “What‟s that supposed to mean?” I frowned. His face remained reasonably amused as he spoke to me, his hand hot against mine. “I need to go,” he let go of my hand slowly; “I have to get back home to my brothers and sisters.” My heart sank. I had so wanted to ask him. I needed to know but I couldn‟t argue; he was at my bedroom door in a matter of seconds. “I‟ll let myself out,” Logan then smiled a little, “see you around.” And then he disappeared. My weekend had dragged on and to my overwhelming disappointment, Logan was absent from school for two days. I hadn‟t heard from him at all since the night he had left my house and although my fingers were constantly dialling his number, I never seemed to have the courage to ring. Wednesday came around and I was still left sat alone on the curve of the playing field, staring hopelessly at the arches of the hills. I was tapping my iPod screen impatiently, my eyes scanning the fields over and over again, when Jennifer appeared from behind me. She took a seat on the grass beside me and waited for me to take my headphones out. Her usually carefree expression was tainted with doubt as she looked at me.

“I haven‟t seen you since the party,” she spoke nervously. “No,” I bit my lip as I confessed, “I‟ve been skipping lessons.” It was true; I was often wandering home despite the long distance. School seemed to depress me now; it was cold and dull. “I told Miss Walker you were ill,” she smiled comfortingly; “she bought it.” I nodded in thanks. “I thought you were skipping to go see Logan.” Her tone had altered slightly and I looked at her in the eye before replying. “No, I haven‟t seen him since the party either.” “Bit of a disaster wasn‟t it?” Jennifer ran a hand through her long blonde hair with an air of embarrassment about her. She stared at the grass, her cerulean eyes glimmering with disappointment and discontent. I put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently, hoping intently that I could be able to comfort her slightly. It surprised me how I began to feel unhappy realising that she was miserable. “I enjoyed myself,” I admitted. It was true, somewhere in between my nervousness and my insecurities; I remember having fun dancing with her. “Really?” Jennifer looked up at me with a small smile and I felt a swell of success inside of me. “Definitely, it was a pretty good party if you forgot about the whole...” I trailed off uneasily. Flashbacks of Jake‟s unmoving body flickered in my mind and I flinched. Jennifer‟s face twisted. “I know, he‟s fine though. So is Ella.” “What happened to him?” Her face remained slightly scrunched up as she debated what to say in response. She shifted uncomfortably on the grass before sighing. “Everybody makes a big deal about the fact there‟s a pack of wolves in the forest behind my house,” her voice flickered with slight annoyance as she continued, “my dad tried to petition for them to be hunted but there‟s some sort of wildlife protection thing for the woods. We just have to leave them alone. Hardly anything happens with them anyway, everybody raves about them but half the people here have never even seen them. I haven‟t and I live there!” She rolled her eyes crossly. “The police might try and fence off the forest but I doubt that‟ll help. People like Ella and Jake love to sneak off in the forest for a little rendezvous!” I was happy to see her laugh then as she began to continue on about how irresponsible the couple were. “If they wanted a bed, I‟ve got like a thousand spare rooms,” Jennifer laughed again and I joined in. It was nice to have her company that day. She began to walk around school with me but unlike James, she was happy to wander away to speak to someone else. It was nice; I hated feeling like I was being followed around. It was nothing compared to the constant heated shadow I was used to though. I stared at his empty seat in English and began rolling my pencil up and down the desk, only to have Miss Walker stop me just as she had done with Logan himself. “You haven‟t seen Logan around have you?” She called to me as I began packing up my things. I kept my head bowed and my eyes on my books as I stuttered to reply. “No, not lately, no.” She frowned once but seemed unconcerned and began wiping the board clean of her notes. I disappeared out of the classroom, glad to escape the confinements of the school building. My mother‟s car was humming jaggedly as she parked out on the curb waiting for me. I scrambled in with a sigh and flashed a quick smile in her direction before she began interrogating me on my mood. She smiled back and handed me my phone which I had left on the countertop this morning. “I was going to drop it off to you earlier but I got held up at work,” she pulled out off the curb slowly, “so it‟s been going off in my bag all day. It‟s been driving me absolutely crazy.” I laughed, “you could have just turned it off?” “If you just had a bog standard phone I‟m sure I could have figured it out but you kids have to have all those snazzy gadgets these days,” she muttered. I chuckled again before inspecting my phone. 3 missed calls from Logan. My heart rate picked up slightly and I searched to see if he had left any messages but there was nothing. I felt my mom‟s eyes on

me, sparkling vicariously as they often did. “Who wanted to get hold of you so badly then?” I glanced at her before stuffing my phone away in my pocket. This only fuelled the fire more and she began to get more excitable. “Come on Anna, I‟m your mom, you can tell me. Is it that boy who took you to the party? Is he your boyfriend? Do you like him? He is pretty handsome, I mean, if I was ten years younger-“ “Mom!” I exclaimed, my cheeks flushing. I then eyed her up sceptically. “Ten years younger?” “Okay, okay, twenty,” she pursed her lips in discontent before grinning once more, “and anyway, you haven‟t answered any of my questions!” We pulled up on the drive, my mother‟s rebellious driving cutting our journey time in half, and I got out of the car with another laugh. “You‟re right, I haven‟t.” I stated and she stared at me in mock surprise, following me into the house. “I‟m guessing that means you‟re not going to? Oh you‟re no fun Anna.” “That‟s ok, I like being boring.” She pulled a face like a stroppy child and flung her bag onto the kitchen counter with a sigh. “Please?” She pleaded but I stood firm and shook my head. “There‟s nothing for you to know,” I turned on my heel and walked out, only to her childish disappointment. Automatically, I discarded my bag on my bedroom floor and hurriedly fished my phone out of my pocket. Just knowing he was trying to get hold of me overwhelmed me with the sufficient amount of bravery to dial his number and let it ring. “I‟ve been trying to call you,” he answered almost immediately in his laid-back tone I had familiarised myself with. “I‟ve been at school,” I told him, “where you should have been.” I heard him make an uninterested noise in the back of his throat. “I didn‟t fancy it.” “You‟ve left me to fend for myself,” I protested quietly. The sound of his laughter sparked a smile on my face naturally and I scrambled onto my bed, leaning my head back on my pillow. “Where‟ve you been?” “Here and there. Just had some errands to run.” “Errands? What kind of errands?” I knew my interrogation would unnerve him and with a smile, I pressed further. “Couldn‟t Brian sort them out for you?” There was another noise of irritation which confirmed the success of my questioning and Logan paused for a moment before responding. “They were personal errands,” he said in a condescending tone. “And they took two days to run?” He chuckled slightly, impressed at my defiance. “Yes, they sure did.” “I hope you‟ve finished them now though?” “Yes, all done. That‟s why I‟ve been trying to get hold of you,” he paused, “I just wanted to make sure you were ok.” My heart fluttered and I felt a smile creep childishly onto my lips as I replied, “I‟m wonderful thank you.” “Good to hear, I‟ll see you at school.” And with that, Logan was cut off. I couldn‟t help but feel a little disappointed at the short length of our conversation but this didn‟t deter me from the fact he had been thinking at me at some point that day. I leaned over to grab my bag from the floor and tugged out my folders. I began to make a start on my Philosophy homework, listening to my mother singing along with the CD she had put on. The regular banging of metal saucepans and the occasional exclamation signalled that she was trying to be creative with dinner. I felt the remnants of a smile tainting my face still, even as my forehead creased with concentration, and I was amused by the lasting effect Logan seemed to have on me. I decided not to dwell on it so much anymore; instead I just allowed myself to feel slightly privileged and happy to have our friendship.