Disclaimer: Do not own BTR boys or company.
Pairings: Kogan/Jarlos/Klaine
Warnings: Swearing/boy x boy.
Note 1: So for some reason FFN didn't acknowledge this story, so I had to take it down and repost it. I apologize to that person who reviewed, FFN wouldn't let me see it. I appreciate the review, and if you want to leave another one I would love to hear from you. Thank you for doing so.
Note 2: I will finish Dressed Up in Love, as well as finish working on Proof of Love, the sequel to Love's Labours. I've just been dying to get this chapter out there for the longest time, and once I finish up Dressed Up in Love, I will be able to update more on this story. But for now, here is a teaser of what's to come!
Note 2: This will he an AU Kogan/Jarlos/Klaine story. I'm so excited! I have been wanting to write this for ages. It will be my next multi-chapter fic. I hope you all enjoy!
Kelly Wainwright, independent women of reasonable means who loves chocolate, dinosaurs and karaoke, gripped the steering wheel of her silver Toyota Camry so tight her knuckles turned pale white. She took three deep breaths, then one more just in case, before letting go of the wheel.
"You can do this Kel." She whispered to herself before grasping the rear view mirror, checking her makeup for a quick moment. "Ten minutes, tops. Then you'll be out of there." She hated how her voice quivered in that last word. She shook her head, took one more deep breath, then opened the car door.
The little one story ranch looked neither better nor worse than the other houses that lined this quiet little suburban street. The outside shingles were not chipped, the lawn was mowed. Through the little glass panes lining the door to the garage, one could see the inside was clean and organized.
No. It was what lay inside the house that separated itself from the rest of this neighborhood. And Kelly knew very well what that separation was as she slowly walked up the little stone pathway to the front door.
She rang the doorbell, then cursed her inner voice for wishing no one was home. She had come here to do, not only her job, but what was right, and hated her cowardice for causing her fear.
The front door swung open in a quick jerk, causing Kelly to jump a bit in surprise, her throat closing. She silently counted to ten, hoping the feeling in her legs would eventually return.
The man that stood before her was taller by about two feet. He had jet black hair perched above chocolate brown eyes surrounded by pale white skin lined in slowly appearing wrinkles. He had a thick mustache, but it did nothing to cover the deep frown this man wore when his eyes settled on the woman at his door step.
"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked, his voice gruff and filled with suspicion and annoyance at his sons guidance counselor from school bothering him on a Sunday.
Taking one more deep breath through her nose Kelly hoisted the stack of papers in her hands up to her chest...and smiled.
"Good morning Mr. Mitchell. I'm sorry for bothering you this morning, but I was hoping I could just take ten minutes of your time to discuss your son, Logan?"
The man leaned against the door frame. His body was not overly large, in fact he shared his youngest sons thin, lean body beneath a white t shirt and plain jeans. But the prominent beer gut threw off the image."What the hell he do now?"
Giving off a careless laugh, despite her trembling insides, Kelly said, "Oh no sir. Logan didn't do anything wrong. In fact I'm here with great news." She paused, waiting to see if the man had any comments. He only quirked an eyebrow. Desperate to not begin stuttering, she continued,"Um. Do you mind if we continue this discussion inside?"
Mr. Mitchell sighed, then looked up and down the street behind her, as if to see if anyone was watching. She knew why. She knew how he felt about her. About many aspects of who she was. His eyes settled back onto her as he said, "You sure this can't wait? The games about to start."
Stifling harsh comments threatening to bubble from her throat, Kelly smiled only wider, "I promise you sir, this won't take up more than ten minutes."
The man heaved a sigh, then took a step back, holding out a long arm as if to welcome her in, but by the sarcastic grin on his face, she knew he was less than thrilled to have her in his house.
"Logan. Get your troublesome ass in here!" Mr. Mitchell bellowed as he walked past a hallway lined with closed doors. But a voice from the living room called out, "He's in the kitchen dad."
Kelly looked into the living room to see Logan's older brother sitting on the couch, eyes glued to the large TV screen. ESPN was on, with four well dressed former pro-athletes discussing the possible outcomes for the football game, just minutes away from starting.
Jake, just two years older, had flunked out of his first semester of college, opting to move back home and work with his father managing a local farm almost forty minutes away. He was a bulky boy, not overly large, but suited for the four years of football he played in high school. He wasn't smart enough, or even tried all that hard, to garner any scholarships, but he lacked any real drive, so he had settled for community college, which didn't last long.
Kelly followed Mr. Mitchell into the kitchen, where her eyes fell onto Logan. The young sophomore, soon to be junior, was elbow deep in dishwater at the kitchen sink, scrubbing away at the pots, plates and utensils with an intense vigor.
He's gotten thinner since I last saw him, she couldn't help but think, remembering how he looked on the last day of the school year almost two weeks ago. Wearing his brothers much too big hand me downs, which were similar to what Logan was wearing now. With her smile still plastered onto her face, she sweetly said, "Hello Logan."
The boy jumped at hearing her voice, almost dropping a plate as he turned to face her. "M-Ms. Wainwright. W-what are you doing here?" She winced when she heard the fear in his voice. Before she could answer, Mr. Mitchell stalked back into the kitchen, opening a door that led to the basement.
"Woman! Get up here! Your fuck up of a son is in trouble again!" He bellowed down.
Drying his hands on a dishtowel, Logan's eyes widened at Kelly, fearing truth in his fathers words. She sighed, her smile fading a bit, "No Mr. Mitchell. Logan isn't in trouble-" But her words were cut off as loud stomping echoed up the stairway, and soon emerged Mrs. Mitchell.
She was thin as well, making Kelly wonder where Jake got his bulk, but her eyes were an icy blue beneath mousy brown hair. She wore a faded sweater and washed out jeans. But when she spoke, it was high and sharp, "What did you do now Logan? I swear to God I don't know where we went wrong with you." She advanced onto her son, making Logan cringe and step back, his breathing coming in and out fast.
"Please. If we could just sit down for a moment, I have some news that involves everyone." Kelly exclaimed, cutting through the tension to try and usher this family to sit at the kitchen table. Resigned, for now, all three sat. Mr. Mitchell sat closets to the entrance of the kitchen, trying to catch the news from the game. Mrs. Mitchell glared at her son. And Logan just kept his eyes downward.
"About two months ago, Logan was asked to write an essay on...well basically the mathematical equations of black holes. He did so well, I took the liberty of submitting it as part of a competition for promising young mathematicians. He didn't win the competition, but he did win the attention of a professor from Dalton academy who was one of the judges."
Logan's eyes shot up in surprise, regarding Kelly with trepidation...and hope.
"That school for faggots?" Mr. Mitchell muttered, standing to head towards the refrigerator, pulling out a beer. He didn't offer Kelly anything.
"Uh. No Mr. Mitchell. It's an all boy's school, but it is also the best school in the state. It has an amazing program designed for young minds with a focus on math. When the professor heard about Logan he inquired with the high school to find out more about him. His grades, interests, teachers comments. After a while it was decided...and Dalton wants Logan."
She could hear Logan suck in a breath, surprise evident in his downcast eyes.
Mrs. Mitchell laughed, "Right. And how the hell are we supposed to afford all that shit?"
For the first time since Kelly appeared on their doorstep, she smiled for real. Opening up the manilla folder she had been carrying, she laid out the various papers in front of Logan's parents. "I have here a scholarship that will pay for two full years at Dalton, as well as room and board, food and money for the uniforms." She paused, allowing the two to glance over the papers before taking out a pen from her purse, "All you have to do...is sign."
Kelly dared a glance over at Logan, who wasn't even looking at his parents. He was taking his own deep breaths, and she knew he was dying right now. The two people who hated him most in the world were just handed his future, and the decision was all theirs right now what to do with it.
"I don't know about this." Mr. Mitchell said, picking up a piece of paper and wrinkling his nose in confusion, "I need my boy around here. To help out with stuff, round the house and to bring in some money for food. I don't know about this math stuff, but he ain't all that bright, and can't do much on his own."
Logan was ice, frozen. Not muttering a word at his father spoke. But, Kelly had been prepared for this. She had to many run-in's with the Mitchell's to not know how they work. She slid another piece of paper out of the folder, placing it before the man. It was her last hope...her ace in the deck.
"I have here the calculations of all the money you will save by Logan not being here for the next two years. Food, heat, clothing, gas to and from school...basic living costs." The man scanned over this paper with much more interest than any of the others that were placed before him, his wife glancing over as well, "As you can see, it would do very well in your favor to let Logan go."
The room was quiet as the Mitchell's contemplated this information set before them. Minutes slowly ticked by, before Logan's father slapped his knee and with a smile said, "Boy...can they keep you over summer vacation to? This is good amount of money. Where do I sign?"
Kelly could hardly suppress a smile as she watched Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell sign the papers that would
allow Dalton Academy to take over for their sons education for the next two years. With an exaggerated clearing of his throat, Mr. Mitchell stood, his eyes on Kelly "So if that's everything..." he indicated to the front door, suggesting Kelly's time here was up.
"If you don't mind, Mr. Mitchell. I'm all set with you and Mrs. Mitchell, but if I could just have a minute with Logan to go over some things he will need to know?"
The man heaved a sigh, "Fine. Logan will show you out." And with that goodbye, he turned away to head to the living room, shouting out, "What the hell did I miss?"
Mrs. Mitchell stood, wiping her hands on her pants as if she had just dealt with something dirty, "Well. Now that that is over with...don't take to long Logan. We've got more work to do." And with that she turned and headed back down the stairs, barely glancing at Kelly.
Both Logan and Kelly were quiet, eyes focused on the same object. On the table before them was a admissions folder with the name Dalton neatly printed above the image of Dalton's towering main campus building, an old castle like structure of brick and stone. The Dalton emblem blazed next to its name, proud and promising.
"Logan," Kelly whispered, breaking the silence that had descended over them, "Are you all right?"
Logan raised his head, his eyes finally resting onto Kelly's, "I-I don't know." He whispered back. This was all so much. He had never thought about his future before, thought about much besides surviving each day.
She reached across the table, grasping Logan's hand that had been resting on the table. When she touched him, she felt him relax, unclench the fist he hadn't realized he had been holding. "You only need to survive three more months here...then you're free."
Releasing a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding either, hope, surprise and happiness entered Logan's eyes. And for the first time in the two years Kelly had known Logan...he smiled.
In that moment, when that smile formed across Logan's face, as his eyes rested upon Dalton's name, Kelly suddenly remembered why she got a job as a guidance counselor. Why she loved helping these kids.
Why she had the courage to get out of her car to face the wrath of Logan's family.
She became a guidance counselor so she could do amazing things for people. Wonderful things...like help a boy smile for the first time in years. Smile...with hope.
This will be written a bit differently than how I write my other mult-chapters. Normally I write the whole story ahead of time, then post as I edit. This time I will writing and posting chapter by chapter, considering my time restraints with school. Therefore, updates will not be frequent. But I will finish the story. I've been wanting to write this for to long to not finish it. I hope you all enjoy it!
xoxo BA