A/N: So this is sort of on par with my We're All Still Friends universe, mainly because it pairs Logan with Lucy (something that is weirdly unusual around here). Just a little drabble.
Lucy surveyed the room with a bored expression. She wasn't much of a party sort of person to begin with, but some of the ones in Hollywood were at least able to hold her interest. This, on the other hand, was beyond boring. Her idea of fun was not drinking lukewarm beer from a keg while a bunch of drunken, wealthy college students and actor wanna-be's staggered around an apartment, laughing like this was the best thing that ever happened to them. Bungee jumping through a waterfall? Illegal drag racing? Trashing the fancy backstage dressing rooms they always gave her? Now that was fun.
It obviously wasn't her idea to come here in the first place. She didn't actually know anyone present, even the person throwing the party, except for those in the group that she had reluctantly ridden along with.
The party was apparently celebrating the 20th birthday of a girl name Liza something, or maybe it was Lisa. She hadn't really caught it. Matt, an up-and-coming young actor currently living in the Palm Woods and a friend of hers, had begged and pleaded for her to come along. Just so his cousin Lisa whatever could meet some real live celebrities for her birthday. And also, Lucy suspected, so he could show off the fact that he knew some real live celebrities.
She wasn't the only person he had begged, of course. Also tagging along were Nina Rosen, two members of the band Beverly Cries, a few Palm Wood-ites that she didn't really know too well, and, of course, her boyfriend Logan and his friend Carlos, of the boy band Big Time Rush.
Boy band. Her boyfriend was in a boy band. It was so cliché it made Lucy want to puke. She couldn't believe that she knew these people, let alone was friends with them. Lucy wasn't the Hollywood type- she wasn't even the fame type. She was a musician. But the Palm Woods had some of the cheapest rates, it was recommended by the record company she had a contract with, and it was probably the safest, most appropriately sized place out there for an eighteen-year-old girl living in L.A. alone. So she ended up there.
Not that Lucy needed safe. But despite her bravado, she had never had to fend off a grown man before and wanted to keep it that way. She wasn't sure that she could remember the self-defense lessons she took five years ago, when she was going into high school.
But back to the issue at hand. It wasn't just the boy band factor- how on earth had a girl like Lucy ended up with a guy like Logan? He wasn't her type in the least.
Granted, there were many good things about Logan. He was a bit of a nerd, yes, and a little bit shy and awkward at first, but when he was relaxed he was just as fun and cool as the rest of the guys in BTR. He wasn't always as adventurous, but that was mainly due to the fact that he had common sense, something that she did value in a guy. He was smart, too, something that she had never really looked for but found that she didn't mind. It was nice to have sensible conversations, about things like classic rock and politics and shark facts and whatnot.
And of course, he was insanely gorgeous, that was something she couldn't deny. He wasn't especially tall or built, but he had fairly well defined muscles and when he sent her that crooked grin she all about melted.
That was the thing about Logan- he had turned her soft. He was just so sweet, a gentleman really. Even though she did NOT do gentleman- well, she sort of liked it. But since when had a guy as dorky as him been able to turn her knees to jelly and make her day with just a flower?
While on that topic, when had a guy as dorky as him gotten so great in bed, too?
Several people had commented that they didn't understand how Lucy and Logan had fallen for each other-and Lucy didn't really either. She didn't have any doubts in her mind that she loved her boyfriend, of course. But he was just so nice. Lucy had always been more into the bad boy type- one of the reasons that she originally was a bit attracted to Kendall, since he seemed a bit tougher than the rest of his friends (but that was ages ago and Kendall was now with Camille, so the attraction was no longer there).
Of her three previous relationships, each guy had been undoubtedly a troublemaking tough guy (though Logan and his friends seemed to have a gift for causing trouble as well). Her first boyfriend had ridden a motorcycle, introduced her to beer and pot, helped her sneak out at night, and dumped her when she had refused to sleep with him (she was only fifteen, for Christ's sake). Her second had been similar, only he rode a skateboard around and smoked. He also cheated on her multiple times, which was the cause of their break up. Her third had been just an all-around jackass, and she really didn't even want to think about him.
Of course as soon she thought that, she turned around to see herself face to face with him.
He was holding a beer (what else?) and was wearing his typical jeans and leather jacket. You could see the top of the giant dragon tattoo snaking from his neck all the way down his arm. She hadn't seen him in over a year, but he hadn't seemed to change much. Still the same hold heartbreaking jerk.
"Lucy Stone, as I live and breathe," Jackson grinned at her devilishly, as if it was Christmas and he had gotten presents even though he was naughty.
"Jackson," she answered curtly, automatically stepping backwards. She realized she was in almost exactly the center of the room and only a few feet away from the makeshift bar, a prime spot for most of the guests. At least all the nearby witnesses were drunk, so they could have trouble identifying her in a line-up after she murdered him.
"How've you been?" He moved a little closer, but this time she held her ground. He was still so much taller than her, but Camille had taught her a few tricks about slapping.
"Fine."
"Fine? What kind of answer is that? Girl, you've been making a fortune for yourself, haven't you?"
"Not quite."
"Yes quite. Big famous rock star now. Always knew you'd go far."
"I wouldn't say that, Jackson."
"Oh right, you don't want to be famous. Of course."
She didn't answer, just stared at him. He stared right back at her for a few seconds before continuing.
"So I uh…heard your CD. Why do I get the feeling that last song was for me?"
She snorted then. "Don't flatter yourself, you're not the only asshole in the world."
"Asshole? I'm hurt, Luce. I thought I was the greatest guy you'd ever been with. Didn't you say that once?"
Lucy was really getting sick of him at this point. She searched the room swiftly, looking for an excuse to escape, and hallelujah there was Logan talking with Carlos and some other girl. Their eyes met briefly and when he smiled at her, she gave him a look that said very clearly Get over here now. He raised his eyebrows and nodded once, eyes slowly trailing to Jackson standing in front of her.
"That was a long time ago," she said finally, turning back to Jackson.
He smiled at her almost condescendingly. "Whatever you say. You always had too much pride for your own good."
She ignored the partially true jibe at her and changed the subject briskly. "Why are you here, anyway? Last I checked you were moving to San Diego."
He shrugged. "Plans change. And I could ask the same of you. I actually know this crowd. Never seen you around here before, though."
As if on cue, a tall, beefy looking guy and a blonde girl with too much makeup on waltzed by together, both saying, "'Sup, Jack." He nodded back at them.
He opened his mouth to say something else, but before he got the chance, Logan was sliding in next to her gracefully. "Hey, babe," he said, wrapping an arm around her neck without taking his eyes off of Jackson once. "Who's this?"
Instantly, Lucy knew that he had gotten the message about this guy. Logan never called her babe- well, hardly ever. He put his arm around her a lot, but usually more relaxed- this was tighter, more possessive. Even his stance was different- just a bit more tense than usual.
Jackson's face changed the second he saw Logan- it suddenly distorted and looked almost angry. She could just barely see how his grip tightened around the beer bottle in his hand. He glared at Logan and Logan stared back coolly. She could practically feel the testosterone war raging around her, and seemed like the other partygoers could too, because they gave the three a rather wide berth.
Lucy realized that Logan was waiting for her answer and quickly said, "Logan, this is Jackson. Jack, this is Logan, my boyfriend."
Logan raised an eyebrow. "Jackson? You mean that fuckhead ex of yours?"
Jackson made a sound from the back of his throat that sounded almost like a growl. "I'd watch who you call fuckhead, kid. And seriously, Lucy? This is the guy you replaced me with? Your standards have really gone down."
She glared at him. "I'd say they'd gone up. Infinitely higher."
He chuckled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Ah sweetheart, you musta been so heartbroken after I left. Why else would you go running to the first wimpy loser who hit on you? You used to be much harder to get."
"If I recall, Jackson, it was me who left you. And don't fucking call me sweetheart."
"Why? Gonna sick the kid on me? Don't be such an uptight bitch," he sneered.
"Hey," answered Logan coldly, stepping forward, "watch it. That's my girlfriend you're talking about."
"Oh right, your girlfriend," Jackson mocked. He talked especially loud, obviously trying to attract an audience. "So what are you gonna do about it, asshole? Tell mommy on me?"
"Try me."
"Oh, looking for a fight, are we?"
"You want a fight? Go ahead, tough guy. Make a move."
This is not going to end good, Lucy thought. Jackson sort of laughed, looking around the room as if to say, Is this guy serious? He set his beer down on the nearby table.
Before Lucy had a chance to react or at least try to talk them out of the fight, Jackson spun around, swinging his arm in the direction of Logan's head. But Logan dodged it perfectly, and before she could even blink, he hit Jackson directly across the face, making a satisfying crack as his fist made contact.
The punch was so hard that Jackson actually fell backwards, landing on his ass and dispersing a nearby crowd. Lucy got a glimpse of a now crooked-looking nose covered in blood before Jackson had his hands clutched around it, groaning. Some of the people standing around gasped or looked over to see what the commotion was. She realized that her mouth was open in shock and quickly closed it.
Logan stepped forward and bent down so that he was face to face with Jackson. He jabbed one finger against Jackson's chest and said in a low, almost dangerous voice, "You act tough, but I can see that you're all bark and no bite. I'm not. So I'll say this once: kindly stay the fuck away from my girlfriend and me, forever. Got it?"
Jackson only nodded, still holding his injured nose and trying to suppress his moans of pain.
Logan straightened up and said in a satisfied voice, "You should put some ice on that, it looks broken." Then he turned towards Lucy and grabbed her hand, saying, "We should get out of here."
She let him drag her away and she turned around to see a few people helping Jackson up. Back in her hometown, when they had been dating, people never fought Jackson because he had such a reputation. Apparently it had all been lies. Either that, or Logan was just a really good fighter.
Lucy and Logan walked down the stairs not saying anything, and once they got to the street outside Logan immediately hailed a taxi, telling the driver to take them to the Palm Woods. He closed the little plastic separator between them and the front seat, before turning to her.
"Logan…" she began, not quite knowing what to say. Then she noticed him flexing his right hand. "Are you okay?"
He looked surprised, then laughed. "Me? Yeah, I'm fine. Hitting a nose just hurts more than it looks, that's all. I should be asking you if you're alright. Wasn't that that guy who said all that horrible shit to you when you broke up with him?"
Lucy waved a hand. "Oh, that's all ancient history. I could care less. He was just bothering me a bit, no biggie. I only called you over so I could escape."
"Well, we certainly did that," he said amusedly.
Lucy was silent for a moment and then asked, "Did you really break his nos
Logan shrugged. "I think so, I mean it looked like it. I got a pretty good angle to hit it at and it was all bloody and crooked, so most likely." He paused, then looked at her concerned. "Was that okay? I didn't, like, overstep any boundaries, did I? Because he was just being an asshole to both of us and I wasn't just gonna take it from a poser like him, but I don't want to seem overly possessive or whatever-"
"Logan," she cut him off. "It's okay. More than okay, actually. I just…" She giggled. "I didn't know you had it in you."
He made a face, but smiled at her with a glint in his eye. "Should I be insulted?"
She laughed. "No. I mean, you just seem so rational and nonviolent all the time. I know you get into wrestling matches with the guys all the time, but that's different."
"Yeah, that's just messing around and stuff. But I prefer to solve real problems through peaceful methods, yes."
"Then where did you learn to fight like that? You took him out with one punch."
He looked at her as if to say, You haven't figured it out yet? She just looked back expectantly before he answered.
"Have you forgotten who you're talking to here? Me and the guys get into trouble like every other day, and it's not just Hollywood that made us like that. We've had our share of fist fights. Besides, did you forget that I've been playing hockey since I was eight?"
Actually, she had.
Lucy smacked her forehead. "I'm such an idiot. I can't believe I didn't think of that."
Logan laughed and put an arm around her. "Don't beat yourself up. It's not like you ever see me play. Even though we head to the rink at least once a week."
She frowned. "Really? Now I feel even more stupid. I'll have to tag along some time, watch you guys. Are you good?"
"I'm pretty good, I guess. I can teach you how to play, if you come."
"Uh, no."
"What! Why not?"
"You obviously hadn't seen me attempt roller blading, let alone ice skating."
"Are you…clumsy?"
"Only when on skates!"
He snickered. "It's okay, I can teach you. I sucked at first too, but Kendall helped me out a lot. I'm still pretty clumsy on land though."
"Yeah, I've noticed."
"Or I could just put you in skates and let you figure it out for yourself."
"Hey!"
They pulled up outside the hotel and got out. Logan went to go inside after paying the driver, but Lucy stopped him, saying, "Wait."
His brow furrowed. "What is it?"
She hesitated, then just decided to go into it, judgment be damned. "It's just…the reason I was surprised that you had it in you is because you're just so damn nice, usually. I never see you get all aggressive or tough or whatever. And that's part of the reason that I like you, because you're different from all the other guys I've ever gone out with, who were just jerks like Jackson. But when you were… defending me, I guess, you just, I don't know, seemed so…ugh, don't make fun of me…you seemed so badass."
He smiled at her. "Are you serious?"
"Oh, now you're laughing at me!"
"No, no I'm not." He grabbed her arm to keep her from walking away. "I just didn't know you were into that, is all. I mean, I did, judging from your previous taste, but it just never occurred to me that…."
"That I liked it on you?"
"Yeah."
"Well…you know, not all of the time. It's sorta hot on you, when you get all protective or angry. But you're still the same sweet, nerdy guy that I love."
He smiled at her again, this time gentler, and said, "And it's always hot on you, when you get all cold or tough-looking, but you're still the same goofy, loyal, caring, beautiful girl that I love."
She rolled her eyes at his corniness, but still smiled and stood up on tiptoe to reach his ear. She whispered, "You know, I should definitely be thanking you for coming to my rescue back there. Especially when you're still in your bad-boy mode."
He pulled her closer, with one arm wrapped around her waist. "Why Miss Stone, however will you thank me? This bad-boy isn't easily satisfied, you know."
She nipped at his earlobe. "However you want me to. I had a general idea..."
"Then by all means, show me this idea and I'll take it from there."
She smiled up at her boyfriend, the dorkiest, sweetest, sexiest, most badass gentleman around before leaning in to kiss him.