Changing With Autumn

Chapter 18

Oh my God, oh my God. It’s him! He’s here! Why is he here? Why is he looking at me like that? Oh my God is he actually looking at me? 

The thoughts swirled through my head. I felt like my brain was going on overload. I was so excited and so confused and all of my emotions were a total jumbled mess. Our eyes had yet to stray from each other and the longer we stayed there rooted in our own form of a staring contest the more and more I felt the intensity of his eyes on mine. I felt the heat begin to creep up into my face and I admitted my defeat in the stare down knowing I couldn’t let it continue and risk him seeing my bright red face. So I let my hair hide as much of my face as possible before I became a flashing neon red beacon in this dark room. Thankfully, Erika chose that moment to walk up and block his direct line of sight and ease some of my embarrassment. 

“Girl, I’m sweating more than a sinner in church,” Erika started to say but then noticed my frazzled state. “What’s the matter with you? You look like you just pissed yourself.”

“Erika, it’s him.” I said in a whisper, as if somehow from across the room he would hear me talking.

“Him? Him who?” She asked, as she very nondescretly started scanning the surrounding people.

“Oh my God, stop looking around. The guy from the party is here?” I grabbed her arm and turned her towards me to keep her from turning around any further in her quest to find the intruder.

“Uh… Jake?” she asked.

“No not Jake. The other guy.” I said, rolling my eyes and giving her an annoyed rap to her arm.

“Hey! It was a logical response. It’s not my fault that you’re ho-ing with so many boy toys.” She said, sticking her tongue out at me.

“Just shush. Focus woman. Focus. Ok, do you remember the tall, dark, sexy goodness that walked into the party right after Jake?” I asked.

“Um… oh yeah. The one you like went total creep-o for right?” She giggled and wiggled her eyebrows.

“It wasn’t that bad.” I said, annoyed.

“Ha! It was totally that bad! I thought I was gonna have to protect the poor guy from getting kidn*pped and taken to your dark chamber of naughties.” She let out a bark of a laugh. 

“Ok stop.” I smacked her arm. “Focus. Do you know him? Why is he here?”

“Well can I look at him now? I can’t tell if you won’t let me look at him.” She said, rolling her eyes at me.

Giving her a small glare, I peeked around her and back at him to make sure he had stopped looking at me and grabbed her chin turning her head in his direction. I quickly turned it back when he snapped his eyes back up towards us. Instantly, my face flamed again.

“Well?” I asked.

“Uh. I don’t know. He looks familiar, but I can’t put my finger on how I know him.” I could tell by the scrunched up look on her face that it was seriously bugging her trying to figure out who he was, and she wasn’t going to let it go until she did. 

Izzy had made her way back towards us and Erika wasted no time in using that as her opportunity to scrounge for information to fit the puzzle pieces together. 

“Iz. Do you see the tall guy standing against the wall behind me? Buzzed down hair, black shirt, silver chain?” Erika asked as she positioned herself to give Izzy a clear, inconspicuous view of the wall where he was currently propped against.

“Yeah, I see Logan. Why?” Izzy responded, sounding confused at where this conversation was going.

“Oh my god.” Erika said as her eyes bulged so far out that I thought they were going to completely pop out of her head, and she shot back around to get another look at him. “No f-ing way. There’s no way that’s Logan! He looks so different.”

“Ok I’m lost. What’s going on? Who is he?” I asked, looking between the two. I had to admit though, hearing his name brought goosebumps to my skin. I could feel myself testing his name out in my mind a few times, and I really loved the mental sound of it.

As if I had snapped her back into the present from her little flashback, she finally brought her focus back to me. Suddenly her eyes got big again as she realized why we were asking about him in the first place, and she started shaking her head vigorously.

“No. No, nope. Nuh uh. I absolutely forbid it Willow. Stay away from him.” She said, grabbing my face between her hands and looking me straight in the eyes. “He’s bad news. Keep away. Forget all about him. Run and don’t ever look back.”

“What?” My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

“For real Willow, she’s not joking. Seriously, stay away.” Izzy shook her head, agreeing with Erika. 

“Why? What’s so bad about him?” My curiosity was piqued now, and I desperately wanted to know more about him regardless of their ominous tones.

“Ok, first of all, no one has seen Logan for years. We all assumed he had finally landed himself in juvie or something. He bounces from home to home in our family because no one can deal with him for longer than a couple of months. He’s always in trouble. Like ALWAYS! He dropped out of school after he got kicked out for like the tenth time and I remember overhearing that he even joined a gang a few years ago. He’s a total man-w***e too. I’m amazed he’s even in here instead of out back with one of the skanky waitresses. I don’t know why he’s here, but if you’re smart, and I know you are, you will steer clear. Forget whatever little crush thing you have going on right now and clear out those goo goo eyes. He’s bad. Like really, really bad.” Erika said.

The panic in her eyes was evident, and it was as if she was trying to telepathically convey to me the severity of her panicking. It was ironic that when she was trying to hook me up with “Bad boy Jake” all of the rumors were ok with her, but the thought of “Bad boy Logan” brought out complete and utter fear. She glanced back at him and she was met with his glare. When she turned back towards me her face was hard and her lips set in a sharp frown. I peeked back towards him and was met with a small smirk tilting the corner of his lips making a whole damn zoo stampede through my stomach. Returning my gaze back to Erika, her face was set in a disapproving scowl at me and she snorted and shook her head.

My head shot down, trying desperately to hide the small smile that I couldn’t wipe off of my face. Even though her words and their warning had registered in my mind, they were being pushed deep into the back by the thoughts that were screaming louder and louder and refusing to be ignored. 

I don’t give a damn what anyone says, I want Logan.