Lethal Friends

Consequences Be Damned

"WHAT THE HELL, LOGAN?!"

I stirred as someone shouted at the top of their lungs. Wow could they be loud, and dang were they pissed.

"Do you want to wake her?" That was Logan I was sure of it. I could just picture him stalking the room, pinching the bridge of his nose, brooding. What a stupid word- brooding. But, that's exactly what guys like him did, didn't they? But what about other normal boys? What would you call that, when they're all broody but not broody? Oh right, maybe just worried and upset. Wow, was my mind running in circles. I felt like a puppy who was chasing her own tail and being surprised when she became dizzy. 

I groaned into the pillow, now fully aware of the enormous headache pulsing behind my eyes. 

"Sh*t," Logan mumbled, and I felt the bed beneath me sink a little as he sat down. Wait, who's bed was I on? Where was I? Oh crap, what time was it? Did Adam know I was gone yet? If he did, Logan would get even more black and blue than he already was. 

In desperation, I tried to open my eyes, but they felt like they were glued together with dried sugar, and I could feel lots of grains grating against my face and eyelids. I pried them open as wide as I could, but quickly squinted them till they were closed again once. I realized that bright lights were not my friend right now. 

"Hey, London you alright," I heard a girl ask. Who was that? Maybe Kayla?

I just groaned in response my answer lost somewhere between my brain saying I had to get home and my tongue.

"Oh Gosh, someone get her water," definitely Kayla.

"I-" I had to clear my throat, "I need to get home before Adam finds out that I'm gone."

"Too late," said a moody voice that sounded like it came from the corner of the room.

Sh*t that was Adam.

It took me a few seconds but as fast as my body allowed me, I sat up in the bed almost smacking my forehead into Logan. He leaned back in surprise.

"Whoa there, you need to lay down," he said pushing my shoulder gently back down until I was flat on my back. I shivered at his touch, the feeling making me feel feverish, but not in a bad way. My breath started to go in and out in short pants as I slowly realized what had happened, and as I thought over everything. My hands made their way to my face and covered it in shame. 

"London, it's alright. London listen-" Logan started, his hands fluttering lightly over my wrists, until suddenly his weight was pushed off the bed.

"Shut the f*ck up, Logan," Adam said, this time a lot closer. He was in his overprotective mood right now. We had already been mad at each other from that fight the other day, and now that he knew about tonight, this was going to get a whole lot worse.

"Guys, everyone should just calm down." I heard Kayla say. Then I listened as Adam made his way near me and took Logan's previous position.

"Logan screwed up again like usual. Except this time it was with you." Adam whispered. My eyes finally adjusted opening wide and I realized I was back in my room. Logan must have brought me home, but on his motorcycle? I glanced at Logan.

He looked ashamed and looked at his feet standing on the wooden floor. Why wouldn't he look at me? It wasn't like he had given me that Pepsi. 

"No it wasn't Logan's fault." I said trying to defend him, but my voice came out all weak and crackly. I looked at Kayla for support, but she didn't seem to want to get in the middle of this.

"He took you out to the beach with a bunch of strangers at 3 am for a party! What do you mean it's not his fault?!" I finally looked at Adam full in the face. His entire visage was one of fury, his nose and eyebrows scrunched up in anger and his hand thrown out looking ready to walk over and put it to some good use on Logan's face.

Logan didn't deny any of it, not even bothering to defend himself. Instead he accepted every one of the verbal and non-verbal threats and insults thrown at him. But he wasn't the one who drugged me, and that was what, and who, I blamed all of this on. Not Logan.

"He wasn't the one who drugged me. It was- what was his name?" I couldn't remember what the name was. It was lost in the sea of mush my brain had become and felt like at the moment. I pushed back the hair that had fallen in front of my face.

"It was Devin. Adam, it was Devin." Logan looked extremely unsettled and ready to run, as if Adam was about to blow off his top. But why would he unless he knew the guy?

"You mean-" he started

"Yes, Devin." He had an air of finality floating around him as he said it. This was definitely somehow connected to when they had still been friends.

If Adam had looked angry before now he was murderous, ready to tear out someone's throat. Kayla walked over, and despite all their previous shyness she grabbed his arm and tried to sooth him. He looked incredibly surprised, and smiled softly at her for a second before he gently shrugged her off. It was as if he wanted her to know he could handle the situation, but at the moment I didn't think he could.

"Devin gave me a drink- Pepsi- but it definitely had some d**g in it"

"Yeah, we know," Both Logan and Adam replied quickly. I gave them a look so that they would stay quiet.

"But it was Logan who took me away from him. It was Logan who got mad at him, and beat him, up. And it was Logan who helped me when I fell." I tried to make him see it hadn't been Logan.

Logan glanced at me briefly shifting his eyes towards me, away and then back again. He was gauging my words seeing if I really meant what I said. Seeing if I really didn't blame him.

"I don't care. Devin may have drugged you, it's almost expected from someone like him. But it was Logan who took you there and left you alone." Logan's face winced and I think the action costed him dearly, as his lip split even further letting a few drops of blood back out again, and his puffy cheek stiffened.

"You know what- whatever. We can talk about that later. For now you should get up, and move around a little, eat something, hell anything. But please don't fall back to sleep we thought you had gone into freaking coma." Adam was definitely way more worried than what I thought was necessary. But I listened to him anyways, looking for a way to make him happy, and leaned far enough up to glance my reflection in the small mirror that sat on my dresser.

My hair was sticking off to one side, it was still half wet and full if sand. My whole body was covered in sand now that I thought about it. I cringed as I felt the grains grate against my entire body and shift with my movements. I had always hated that feeling. My eyes too looked black and purple, making me look exhausted and sick. Even my clothes were rumpled just enough that it looked like I had gotten into a cat fight. No wonder everyone was freaking out. I made my way to sit up.

But trying to move that far up had been a terrible decision and I felt awful and incredibly dizzy. I was half way up and ready to fall to the floor when Adam caught me and held me steady, shifting me back on to the bed. Even if we were mad at each other we still were like siblings and I bet what had happened was hurting Adam, more than what it was me. I heard Kayla gasp from behind us, and then sigh. 

But then, without knowing why, I looked over at Logan. He seemed so deep and lost in his own head, I didn't know if I would ever be able to pull him out of it. And from the expression frozen on his face, it seemed like part of him did  blame himself for me getting drugged. But it wasn't his fault- not in the slightest he had to have known that. How many times did I have to say it and think it?

I looked away just as Logan came back into focus, and saw out of the corner of my eye him cringe as my cousin hugged me, and take a step forward. I slipped out of Adam's arms and leaned back against the pillows. 

"I won't sleep, but I don't think I can get up right now, I just need to rest and stay stationary-ish alright? Maybe you can grab me some food- like toast or something?" I gave him the puppy eye look, even if it wasn't really needed. 

"I'll get you some food, but only once Logan agrees to leave." He crossed his arms looking serious. His white muscle tee shifted as a breeze came through my open window, but Adam didn't move a stitch. 

I looked at Logan. He looked at me. Neither or us wanted him to go, I guess. I wanted to talk to him alone. I wanted to tell him, that I really did not blame him, I wanted to tell him how nice he had been tonight. I wanted to tell him, maybe we weren't enemies anymore, at least not in my mind. In my mind we were what I would call lethal friends. But we were friends nonetheless. 

"I'll go," his voice seemed to struggle to come out of his throat, and he looked upset, but not enough that anyone else would have been able to tell. 

"And when I say Logan goes, I mean you're not allowed to ever see or talk to him again, London," My head whipped his way so fast I heard my neck c***k, and I heard Logan growl menacingly under his breath. 

"WHAT?! NO!" Those were the first words that came flying out of my mouth, and I could see that Logan felt the same way nodding a little at my words and glancing at me. 

"Tonight, London, just look at tonight!" Adam said pointing vigorously at Logan. "I swear, London, you're going to get yourself killed if you keep hanging around him. No pun intended, Logan." His upper lip pulled back in a snarl, but I stopped for a second caught off guard. What did he mean no pun intended? I shook my head. I should be concentrating on the more important matters at the moment, like being banned from Logan. 

That. Could. Not. Happen. 

But, why not? My brain blurted out to me.Why don't you just admit the real reason why you don't want to be banned from Logan. Because it's not because you're having too much fun with the war, let's face it. Those thoughts that had been locked away in the bolted off sections were seeping through the cracks again.

"Really, Adam? What the hell man. Don't you think I've paid enough for my mistakes more than a million times over? Don't you think I've beat myself up just as much as you would like to? Don't you think I had to go through even more hell than you, or what you could have even imagined?" Logan looked angry and upset, but mostly above all he looked defeated. 

Obviously, though, this had become a conversation about something else all together. I, of course, had not been filled in. Typical. Still, neither Adam nor Logan would tell me the real reason they hated each other and were no longer friends, other than the d**g deal. But there was something more, I was sure of it. And that something else seemed like it had to do with what they were talking about now.

"You know what, I think I'll just go get London that water and toast," Kayla said inching slowly out the door, but no one was paying attention. Trust me, Kayla I wouldn't want to be a part of this fiasco either, if I had a choice. Make the escape while you still can. 

I caught back up with the situation and found Adam looking like maybe he was about to give Logan a break for a second. Maybe he would even reconsider refusing me the option of seeing Logan. 

But then Logan screwed it all up. 

"You know what, no you're right, Adam, I shouldn't even talk to London." My mouth fell open. Had I been wrong this entire time? Were we not as close to being friends as I thought? Did he still just consider me an enemy, and not want to talk to me? 

It was just like I had said earlier tonight, when I had confronted Logan. He had just been using me to get to Adam. Everything he had said, all these pranks and fun little fights, creating an illusion of the growth of something- it was a lie. His decision had been all to much for me, because I just didn't want to see the truth, and had blinded myself. He had never even wanted to talk to me- still didn't I guess. 

Logan turned to look at me, and I was embarrassed to be found with an expression of disbelief and sadness. I thought I saw a small look of longing and mirrored disappointment on his face, but then it was gone completely wiped as if it had never been there in the first place. 

He looked down again as if he couldn't bear to look at me. "I know you heard what I mumbled when we got there. About how I promised to stay away, because you were bringing me down, and I was bringing you down. And it's true. I need to stay away. Everything Adam's saying is too true. Don't get me wrong Adam, you're an a*s, and this is not for your sake, but I'll stay away." Without one more word he left the bedroom not even bothering to look back.

Me and Adam stayed silent as we listened to him walk downstairs and back out the front door. I couldn't believe what had just happened. Logan never, and I meant never  listened to Adam, why should he start now and why did he? It didn't matter, though, anyways did it? Because now, Adam had got his way and Logan wouldn't be talking to me anymore. That made me pissed- much more so than I should've been if anyone thought about who the guy really was. 

But that didn't matter. "Get. The. Hell. Out. Of. My. Room. NOW." I said slowly and forcefully. Adam, his mouth still fluttering like a fish, backed up wordlessly and slipped out just like Kayla and Logan. And then there was no one left. I didn't know where Jordon was, but right now I didn't care I didn't want anyone with me in my room. I curled my legs up into a ball and leaned against the wall next to the window, moving ever so slowly. I wanted to cry, but wouldn't let myself. That would be too pathetic, because I guess we were enemies and well, we were nothing. No use crying over spilt milk- it was useless where it ended up on the floor. So similar to how useless me and Logan had been for each other. 

I heard movements from the window across from Logan's house, and listened closely as he moved around his room. What was I going to do? Was I supposed to keep going with the war or would that count as talking and seeing Logan? And would it send Logan the wrong message? After he looked so defeated did I really have the guts to pull one more prank on him? And what about my everyday life? It would be so boring now with out a miscreant butt-faced loser trashing my life and always making me look over my shoulder. Because in all honestly I liked the war that was going on between Logan and I.

My hands covered my face as I heard Logan's curtains close with a 'shink', and I moaned quietly to myself.

I peeked through the gaps in my fingers as I heard a soft small movement by the door. It was Conner sticking his head through the smallest c***k in the doorway. I sighed.

"Hey, London, are you alright?" One of his pudgy fingers had slipped into his mouth as he stared at me worried.

I sighed patting the bed beside me. Conner rushed over and plopped down snuggling up close to me.

"You look like you're about to cry, London, what's wrong? And why was Adam yelling?" The questions were so innocent and caring and I felt like his little hands were squeezing my heart.

"Hey, Hey, little buddy don't you worry yourself about it. Just a good friend of mine was stolen from me tonight. I might not see him again for awhile and it makes me sad." I couldn't go into detail with a little kid like him, not without having to go into detail about Logan's reputation.

Suddenly I heard Logan shift from his room, I guess he had never bothered to actually close his window.

So I started to speak what I wanted Logan to hear. It was under the thinly disguised appearance of talking to Conner, but I hoped Logan would listen in anyways.

"There was a mean man, tonight and he hurt me, Conner. You have to choose who you trust carefully, always remember that buddy. I came with someone I trusted but left them, which was my own fault. And so when I was hurt, that trusted person got caught taking all the blame for what happened. But it hadn't been him. We both care too much about each other for either of us to hurt the other. Some times you don't want to admit things like that even to yourself, Conner. But those people who you care about, you have to let them know otherwise they'll walk away thinking you won't be affected at all if they leave you first." Conner's short arms encircled my waist even as I could tell he didn't understand half of what I said. But I smiled down at him gently, happy he had such a big heart for me.

I looked at my clock and realized it was only 6 am still and we could sleep in today. Poor Conner was probably up half the night because of me and the drama that had gone down. And now his breathe was coming in and out in soft little pants evening out, as he arms grew slack around me and he fell asleep. I wish I could have no worries like him and doze off whenever.

I heard a tiny and slow 'shink' as the window curtains across the way were pulled back. My sad smile widened into a larger happy one. So he had listened.

And then I heard a voice that soundly distinctly like Logan mumble, "Ah damn all the consequences, London."