Deliberate Distractions

“I’m in the room,” Brooklyn stated with much annoyance.

“And I am too, I’m glad your so observant,” Shannyn snapped, she didn’t give a damn if Brooklyn was in the room or on the moon. She wasn’t talking to her frienemy; she was talking to her friend, her family. Her Logan.

Logan sighed heavily and pulled away from Shannyn. Shannyn quickly turned to him and furrowed her eyebrows—not knowing what he was to say next. “Logan?” she called out softly.

“Logan?” Victor called out and came into the kitchen—finding Logan’s gaze locked onto his wife. And it wasn’t a nice gaze either. “What’d I miss?”

“Welcome to the bad timing awards,” Shannyn whispered and rolled her eyes before trying to shake Logan out of his moment.

“I’ve done something bad,” Victor mumbled as he crossed his arms and fell back against the wall to watch, observe what was going on.

“Logan,” Shannyn said his name for the millionth time and that time she actually got his attention, he turned away from where his eyes met and bore into Brooklyn’s to Shannyn. “Walk with me.”

“I’d love too,” he said softly as he took her offered hand, intertwined his fingers with hers and followed the small blond headed woman out of the kitchen. “Shan, I’m okay—“

“No, you’re not and I wouldn’t be either. Don’t feed me bullshit, I know her words struck a nerve, I know you better than you know yourself,” Shannyn turned to him, looked back and forth down the hall and then pushed him into an empty room. “Now sit your toned ass down and talk to me, I won’t judge you like you seem to think I will. I’m not shallow and I’m not stupid.”

“Shan, let me out,” Logan requested politely—his eyes not meeting hers.

“No.”

“Please.”

“Thank you for the please, but the answer’s no,” Shannyn called out firmly. “Why did her words strike you so?”

Logan stood up. “I don’t wanna talk about it,” he said sweetly and ran his thumb against Shannyn’s cheek. “I’m sorry but I just don’t.” He kissed her fore head. “I’ll make up the tour around the school later, I promise.”

“You used to look at me with the same love you look at her,” Shannyn made Logan stop in his tracks and turn around, he looked at her innocent blue eyes and saw the sweet smile on her face. “Or somewhat the opposite, I used to look at you with that kind of love, you looked at me like your daughter.”

“We’re not going through this again,” Logan said sternly yet gently. “I will not talk to you about the past, why you left or about Brooklyn. Its over and done with, let the past go.”

“Why don’t you talk to me, why don’t you practice what you preach Logan? I won’t let the past go because at that time, you were my everything and you still are, just differently. I never knew you loved her, I just want to know how much, I just want you to talk to me,” Shannyn said softly as she grabbed his right arm and slid her hand down to hold his. “I want to be your best friend again, but you won’t allow it. I know I was stupid in the past, I was young but now I can make up for my foolishness. Let me help you like you tried to help me. Please, Logan.”

Logan looked into Shannyn’s eyes. His throat tightened up more and more with every word she spoke. Her hands felt cool against his warm hands and he liked it. Logan bent down to his knees and hugged Shannyn tightly. He sighed heavily, trying to hide the tears that tried to escape his hazel eyes. He sniffed. “I love you too, Shan,” he spoke softly. “I’m just not ready to talk.”

“When your ready,” Shannyn said softly as she held him tightly, her arms wrapped around his waist, her head on his chest. “Will you talk to me?”

“I will,” he agreed as he let go and looked down into her eyes again, Shannyn felt her heart break a little when she seen his misty hazel eyes staring back into her own. “But not until then.”

A single tear escaped Shannyn’s eye and slid down her cheek. Logan wiped it and smiled sadly. “Please….please don’t cry,” he requested—his voice breaking. He cleared is throat and wiped his eyes. “Please.”

“I’m trying not to,” Shannyn said softly. “Seeing you like this...is just breaking my heart."

“Don’t let it,” Logan softly called out as he once again wiped under her eye. “I’ve been through worse.”

“I love you Logan, I don’t want to let you go through this alone, whatever it may be,” Shannyn said softly as she reached up and wiped under his eyes. Laughing quietly as she leaned up and kissed the corner of his mouth and cheek. “I won’t let you go through this alone, this time—I won’t abandon you.”

Logan’s chin quivered at the sound of Shannyn’s words—almost causing him to break down. But he controlled it as best as he could. He smiled and sniffed. He hugged her tightly—burying his face in her cool neck.

“Hey Logan?” a female voice called out. Logan stood to his full height, wiped his eyes and turned around. Brooklyn.

“Yeah?” Logan wiped his face on the font of his t-shirt sleeve, Shannyn made due with her hands as she wiped her eyes, avoiding what make-up she had on.

“I’m sorry,” Brooklyn apologized. “I didn’t mean what I said earlier, I know you have a family. When I was here, what short time—I had a family, other than Victor.”

Logan hung his head low for a few moments before returning his gaze to Brooklyn. “Let me ask you something.”

“Okay,” Brooklyn said—her throat tight.

“Why did you get the abortion?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowed tightly, and shook his head.

“It might have been better if I had forewarning,” Shannyn murmured in a bit of a shock before she walked out of the room, leaving both Logan and Brooklyn in silence.

“I—“Brooklyn stuttered before closing her mouth, she had no clue what to say. “I didn’t.”

“You didn’t…did you? I do recall a certain furious black haired vixen yelling at me across the room that she had been pregnant with child and then aborted it without my consent, maybe I was dreaming,” Logan didn’t want to be sarcastic but it came out instead of blunt.

“I didn’t abort it,” Brooklyn glared at Logan. “I miscarried it.”

Shannyn walked into the kitchen and sighed heavily. “This was supposed to be a good summer vacation.”

“And it will be,” Victor said sweetly as he kneeled down and kissed her hands gently. “We’ll work out the kinks. Everything will be fine, darling. Even if that means locking those two in a room together for a few hours so they can talk. They’ll be fine.”

“I sure hope so.” She sighed once more. “How are you and Lo—“

“Fine. We’re not talking much. Which is good for us. If we don’t see each other or talk to each other, we’re fine.”

“I’m glad,” Shannyn said softly as she pressed her lips to Victor’s, she loved how he made her feel. Like every kiss was their first, just as passionate as their first, just as innocent and yet—sensual at the same time, he made her feel a lot of things that conflicted and she had no idea why besides love being the reason. “I love you.”

“I love you more,” Victor grinned as his whiskers on his chin made her giggle when they tickled her neck.

“Okay you win,” she said and chuckled again.

“Get a room,” Scott grunted. Victor turned to him. “I was joking. You touch my sister, I’ll fry you!” Victor laughed. “Joking…”

“Sure you were.”

“Shut up,” Shannyn told the both of them before she put both hands on each side of Victor’s face and brought his lips back to hers.

“That got him to shut up,” Jean chuckled as she stood by the coffee pot; she had been making herself some coffee while they joked around. “Scott, get over it sweetheart, they are newlyweds.”

“Yeah but…”

“Remember how Logan was when we got married?”

“Sweetie, Logan is like that….and will be like that…forever.”

“True.”

“Honey, what was the point throwing in Logan when you know it would backfire?” Scott questioned, trying to ignore his sister making out with her new husband. Thankfully they were quiet and very mature about there love, it just still freaked him out.

“I don’t think I had a point,” Jean said softly as she looked at her mug, raising it to her lips to sip.

Scott chuckled and walked to her, kissing her gently.

“Ew!” Ororo called out as though she was a little kid. “Ew! Cooties! Bleh!”

“Oh shut up,” both Shannyn and Jean pulled away from there moments with their husbands to laugh and playfully tell Ororo off. Ororo smiled at them before childishly stomping her foot and then walked away.

“Oh this is gross,” Logan walked in the room with Brooklyn beside him; he threw his hand up to block the sight ahead of him and groaned. “’Ro warned me but I just didn’t listen—“

“How many people do I have to tell to shut up today?” Shannyn murmured annoyed for a second. She pulled away from Victor’s arms and smiled at Logan and Brooklyn. “Did we sort things out?”

“When Brooklyn and I had first got together, I found out she was pregnant. When she got three months pregnant, she said she didn’t have it anymore. I assumed the worse because we had been fighting over petty shit, I figured she had aborted it because of that and she always worried about being a mother. I thought she had had an abortion, when we fought about it; I took her words and twisted them in my mind. She never came out to say she had miscarried it,” Logan paused to look at Brooklyn. “So I didn’t know, I held a grudge for nothing.”

“I hated him, for nothing,” Brooklyn said softly. “We both misunderstood one another.”

“So are you two cool?” Scott asked.

Logan looked at Brooklyn. “I don’t know,” Brooklyn said honestly.

“It might take a while to understand one another again,” Logan said quietly, he glanced at Shannyn before he looked back at Scott. He really did see the resemblance, even though she was hell of a lot easier to like than him. “But it will happen; we care too much for one another. Even if we don’t admit it.”

“Don’t make me say anything else, your lucky I said what I did,” Brooklyn turned her back on Logan and walked away. Instead of looking heartbroken, Logan smiled and turned to Shannyn.

“Come on pipsqueak, I promised you I’d talk to you when I was ready. I cleared some shit up and now I’m ready,” he waved her over.

Shannyn smiled and gave Victor a quick kiss on the lips before running to Logan. She took his hand in hers and the two walked out of the kitchen and into Logan’s room. “What’s up?” Shannyn asked and crossed her arms.

“Okay so, before you came here, when you were little. Brooklyn arrived, for some reason I took an interest in her. We started going out, I really started to like her more and more and then she told me she was pregnant. I found out it was her ex boyfriend’s baby, but I said I would be the father and I was excited to be a dad. The first time in my life, I thought I’d have someone to look up at me and not see as an animal, just a father. When she said that she didn’t have the baby anymore, I blew up. We had been fighting for a week; she went to the doctor in town and came back without a baby. I thought she aborted my baby. She ended up leaving about three months before you arrived,” Logan stopped to cast a smile in Shannyn’s direction. “Don’t hurt me for saying this, but I honestly saw what I wanted in your face. As soon as I looked into your blue eyes, I wanted to be there for you like a father, I wanted to be everything you needed and I was. Or at least I tried my hardest; you loved me more than Scott most of the time.”

Shannyn laughed as she looked away, she couldn’t believe he was actually bearing his soul to her, but she was proud. “Go on.”

“You started to grow into a woman, fourteen years old and already as beautiful as the sky. I had a hard time not knocking those little twerps on their asses that tried to come up and ask you out on a date. Then I started to realize, you started to like me more than just a friend or a fatherly figure. I didn’t want to break your heart, Shan. I really love you more than anything in this world,” he stopped to look at her with sincere eyes. “But when you started to get older, more mature, you expressed your feelings for me more and more. I didn’t say anything, I didn’t want too. But that day, the day you left was the day I had too. When you kissed me, I—I couldn’t let it happen anymore.”

“I thought you hated me,” Shannyn spoke, looking down at her fingers that laced in her lap. “When you said that you didn’t love me back, after I told you, that’s why I left, that’s why I ran away. I thought—I thought that you hated me in every way for what I had done.”

“Do you still feel that way about me?” Logan asked, silence followed as he stared at her, waiting for her answer. “Do you, Shannyn?”

“Yes,” she told him the truth as she looked up into his eyes. “But I know—I know it could never be returned. I settled for second best. Don’t get me wrong, I love Victor—he’s an amazing man when you get past his façade of hardcore hatred. But he’s no you Logan, and I—I can deal with that.”

“Oh God Shan,” he looked away from her beautiful blue eyes to keep from tearing up. “Oh I should have said something sooner…”

“Don’t cry, don’t get upset Logan,” Shannyn begged grabbing his hands. “I don’t want you to do anything that upsets you, I’m okay. I’m married, I love Victor. I just thought you should know. When you love someone for the first time, your first love, it just doesn’t go away. It just gets overshadowed and dimmer.”

“I need to go,” Logan pointed to the door before he walked out on Shannyn. She sat on Logan’s bed staring at her hands, sighing. She should have never told him the truth, it had been hard enough growing up with the truth but now, now she was married and in love with the guy who was ages older than her and basically her self-proclaimed father.

“I always knew I had issues,” Shannyn began talking to herself since no one else was there for her to talk too. She fell back on Logan’s bed and covered her face with one of his pillows and murmured, “But damn, Shan, damn.”

—An Hour Later—

Logan had finished his bike ride with a clear head, it always helped to go riding when he was stressed. He tried to ride for longer than he had but he had a strong urge that made him turn right instead of left and come straight back to the mansion. He wasn’t going to go visit anyone, just walk up to his room and sleep a little, maybe clear his head even more. Hearing all the details of Shannyn’s heart and mind had brought little details from the past into view for him, he loved the natural blond with a heart of gold more than life but not how she wished. He knew she knew that, he wanted to tell her again though but he couldn’t bring himself too. He figured he’d do it the next day after he slept on what he wanted to say, but after returning to his room, he found himself everything but alone. “Shan?” he whispered, she was out to the world in the middle of his bed. She hadn’t left; she had fallen asleep on his bed probably waiting for him to return. “Oh hell…” turning around, Logan walked out the door and shut it quietly, he was going to get her husband, it only seemed right, even if it was Victor Creed.

Logan sighed heavily as he walked into the Library where Victor sat with Ororo and Jean. He walked in and Victor turned and faced him. “Hey Creed?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you come here, please?” Logan asked and crossed his arms. Victor shrugged slightly and walked to Logan and crossed his arms. “Can you get Shan off my bed?”

“What the hell is she doin’ on your bed?”

“We were talking about something and when I left the room, I guess she stayed and fell asleep while I took a ride,” Logan explained. Victor nodded in understanding and the two men walked together to the bedroom. Victor opened the bedroom door and both men peered in.

“Are you two okay?” Victor asked as she walked to his wife and picked her up gently—bridal style. “I mean, I know how close you two are.”

Logan shrugged. "I hope so."