Saving Logan

Mandy’s heart rate tripled the moment she set eyes on Logan. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

Alex looked her friend up and down, trying to determine whether she was up to this or not. “Mandy, if you don’t want to do this…”

“No,” Mandy said, trying to keep the tremors out of her voice, “no, I need to do this right now. I have to talk to him.”

Alex nodded; she could see that Mandy was breaking apart inside and as she watched her, Alex could see a tiny bit of Logan in the way she was acting. Maybe that’s what it was; Logan was broken deep down inside and needed Mandy to help put him back together. Alex hoped that Mandy had some super glue handy.

“What are you thinking?” Alex asked her friend, touching her arm.

“I think… It might be best to just… Go it alone,” she whispered.

Alex couldn’t even smile at the Harry Potter reference, “For now?” she amended, almost as if she was asking permission.

Mandy squeezed Alex’s hand with her own, thankful beyond belief for the support she was receiving from all sides, “Yea, for now.”

Mandy could just see the top of Logan’s head and, as she wound her way through the woods, she wondered what was passing through it, and whether she had even crossed his mind in the past four months. ‘Well, we’re about to find out…’

She reached the edge of the dock, where it joined the bank of the lake, anchored to several enormous pine trees. The whole set looked brand new; it had either just been built or was seldom used. She was surprised when the wood didn’t creak, and her footsteps didn’t echo on the wooden planks. It was a beautiful location; the lake seemed to stretch out for miles and miles before it joined up with the mountains. The dock itself was rather large and filled with an array of different items of furniture: a really comfy looking hammock, a writing desk, several chairs and a table. There was also a large wooden chest and finely wrought gas lamps in the shapes of different types of shells. Large sheets of canvas that also blocked the wind and served as “walls” separated the different areas of the dock. Mandy even spotted a huge iron trident resting against one of the support beams holding up the… Roof? Could you call it a roof? It was made of wood and looked sturdy, but then again the dock didn’t have real walls, so it wasn’t really a building. Well, for filming purposes, and just to simplify things, it can be called a roof. And from it hung all sorts of things, from a large chandelier made of shells holding candles to several different swords and shields, along with miniature models of ships. The desk was scattered with different maps and charts of various shapes, sizes, and colors. It was a beautifully decorated set.

And there he was.

Sitting on the edge of the dock with his feet dangling in the water, was none other than Logan Lerman. He looked taller, and more muscular, like he’d been working out, but she couldn’t really tell since she was standing behind him. Did he resent her? Was he angry? Disappointed? Hurt? In pain? The last one made her wince; she hated to think of Logan as anything less than untouchably perfect, because, to her, he was.

Mandy could feel her toes tingling. ‘Oh no,’ she thought to herself, ‘Alex dragged me all the way here to Nevada, I’m not gonna get cold feet just because my best friend in the whole galaxy is now a big star and might not like me anymore.’ And before she could back out, she took the plunge.

“Logan.”

Logan reached down and scooped up some water, splashing it on his face and clearing the fog from his brain. He could’ve sworn he just heard her say his name, but he must’ve been imagining it. She couldn’t be here, in Nevada… It wasn’t possible.

“Logan,” she said a little louder, wanting to make sure he’d heard her, “Logan.”

He must’ve been going crazy; she was in Atlanta, not here. What was he thinking?

“Logan, are you going deaf?” Mandy asked. She was starting to get annoyed with him.

Logan almost actually laughed out loud at that; his brain was conjuring up a very accurate impression of Mandy. He desperately wanted to turn around, but he knew that when he did, she wouldn’t be there, and the hole in his heart would rip open just a little bit more and the pain would be just a little bit bigger than it had been before.

Mandy had had enough; she walked up right behind him and grasped the hair on the top of his scalp, pulling his head back until he was staring straight up her. “Are you going to acknowledge my presence in any way, shape, or form you little jackass?”

He jumped as if someone had just pumped an electric current through his veins, “Mandy!” He scrambled to his feet and swept her up in his arms, peppering her face and neck with kisses.

“Logan, oh babe, I missed you so much,” Mandy said as she hugged him fiercely, partially because she missed him and partially because he was holding her about three feet above the ground and she didn’t really want to fall. But mostly because she missed him ☺

“OhmygodsImissedyousomuchhowareyouIloveyouhowdidyougethereohmygods!” he asked, his words all coming out in one long slur.

Mandy laughed at his ridiculousness, “Ok, let’s go one question at a time: I missed you too, I’m great, I love you, and Alex brought me. How are you doing?”

Logan looked at his feet, his sudden rush of words and excitement gone in a flash “I… I don’t know. I feel…”

Mandy touched his face tenderly, “What do you feel?” she whispered.

Logan shut his eyes under her touch. He felt himself relax and thought for a few moments. “I feel… confused,” he whispered. He sighed, dropping his head onto her shoulder. Mandy rubbed his back and hummed an unrecognizable tune.
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They stayed that way for what seemed like hours, but Mandy didn’t complain, and when Logan pulled away, she felt that it was worth it from the way he was smiling. It was a weak, fragile sort of smile, but Mandy would be willing to bet a lot of money that it’s a lot better than what’s he’s been doing for the past few weeks.

“Thank you,” he whispered, resting his hand against the side of her face and tracing his thumb along her cheekbone. Logan pressed a kiss to her forehead and she smiled up at him. The young blonde girl shut her eyes and leaned into her best friend’s touch, relishing in the feel of his calloused hand against her cheek. She found herself wondering if Alex was still standing in the woods fifty yards away, watching them. Mandy hoped that she wasn’t. This was her reunion with Logan, and it was private, especially this part.

‘She’s so beautiful,’ Logan thought to himself. He kissed her forehead again, letting his lips linger against her skin. He took in the scent of her hair: vanilla and cinnamon. Logan grinned internally at how happy she looked; her eyes were closed and she was smiling softly. His thumb passed over her cheekbone again, and then again. He was waiting; he didn’t know what for though. Just waiting.

Mandy felt Logan’s breath against her face and she smiled when she noticed that it smelled like a combination of chocolate and peppermint. He was addicted to chocolate, and the peppermint was probably the gum that he was chewing. But she didn’t open her eyes. She was waiting.

He kept waiting.

She kept waiting.

Waiting…

Waiting…

Logan leaned forward, ever so slowly, closing the distance between Mandy and himself…

Mandy felt him getting closer, closer, closer…

“LOGAN!!!”

The two teenagers jumped apart. Mandy looked like she was about to cry. Logan didn’t blame her. Whoever had just interrupted them made him want to kick a puppy dog. He looked up the path, trying to discern the figure that was rapidly approaching. It looked like… No, it couldn’t be… But it was.

‘Shit,’ he thought.

“Shit,” Mandy said.

Logan was about to tell her that he had been thinking exactly the same thing, but before he could:

“Logan!” Jennifer squealed, tackling him more than hugging him. Logan was proud of his balance; he didn’t fall off the edge of the dock into the lake. He had to force himself not to push Jennifer away. She was his girlfriend. For the moment…

“Hey Jen,” he said blandly, ignoring her hand on his neck, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. She was oblivious to his feelings, as per usual, and craned her neck up to capture his mouth in a kiss. He forced himself not to gag. As she pressed her tongue against his lower lip, hinting at what she wanted, he pulled away and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, trying to get the taste out of his mouth. He glanced over apologetically at Mandy, and saw that she was looking at her feet. He could see the barely contained disgust simmering below the surface; Mandy had never liked Jennifer.

Jennifer pouted at her less than warm welcome, “Baby, what’s wrong? Why are you so sad?” She traced her finger down the side of his neck and felt him shiver (but she didn’t know that it was out of disgust). “Do I need to pay a visit to Little Logan too?”

“What?” Logan said, his voice shooting through two octaves, as he pushed her away, “No!” His face reddened. Logan saw Mandy shaking, holding back laughter at either his voice crack, or ‘Little Logan’; neither one was a subject he was wishing to dwell on. He cleared his throat, “Um, Jennifer, I’m sure you remember Mandy and vice versa.”

The two girls eyed each other like they were mortal enemies, which, they kind of were. “Mandy,” Jennifer said, nodding to her curtly.

Mandy, however, extended her hand for Jennifer to shake. The redheaded girl took it cautiously; as if she was expecting Mandy to judo throw her or something. Which she didn’t… she just took a step towards her, causing Jennifer to step back… off the edge of the dock and into the lake.

Logan couldn’t help it: he busted out laughing, and before Jennifer could surface, he reached out and slapped Mandy a quick high-five.

Mandy smirked; one point Mandy, zero points Jennifer.

The red-haired girl came up sopping wet. She looked up at Logan as if she expected hi to help her out of the water, but he couldn’t; he was too busy laughing. Jennifer heaved herself up onto the dock, her makeup running down her face in rivulets.

“I’ll, uh, leave you two to catch up,” Mandy said with a smirk.