Thank you everyone who wrote a review or who is following this story. Wow! Your response has been amazing. I've got to say, I can't believe I haven't seen this idea in another story before. Contemplating and receiving a friend request from an ex has certainly happened to me on more than one occasion and Rory and Logan are supposed to be my age so I couldn't imagine this not happening to them.

Some notes for the story in case you haven't figured it out. Rory is living in Chicago working for the Chicago Post-Daily. This is supposed to be like the Chicago Sun-Times but I wanted to get creative and take some liberties so I decided to use another name other than the Sun-Times to do so without having to worry about accuracies. However, I don't know very much about Chicago so if you see something or have any ideas especially regarding geography please let me know. Chicago is going to make a larger appearance in coming chapters so any help would be great especially when it comes to the Downtown area. Logan lives and works in NYC but I know a little more about that and NYC will come in much later.

Again, thanks for the reviews. Please keep them coming. I'm posting this chapter a little earlier than I originally planned. Hope you enjoy it. O

Three

The OHM

I had been on my computer at work attempting not to think about the fact that I had sent a Friend Request to Logan by attempting to do some research on my next article, when I got an email notification that Logan had posted something on my wall. I immediately went to my page to see what he had written me. I read the line a few times and then logged off my computer, grabbed my purse, and left the office to go for a walk.

LOGAN HUNTZBERGER: Hey stranger, it's been too long. Logan

This was the post Logan had left me. I had been so shocked and confused that I left the office without grabbing my coat which wasn't the smartest thing to do when it was February in Chicago.

The cold felt good though. It allowed me to clear my head and think. A part of me felt good that he had accepted my friend request and written me a message, but what did it mean? Why did he call me stranger? Had he been waiting for me to contact him? Had he been hoping to talk to me this whole time? What did he mean it had been too long?

Ahhh!

I had so many questions. He wrote one simple line. One line. How the hell was I supposed to respond to this? Oh God, I have to respond don't I? What do I say? Ugh.

He was just as infuriating as ever.

After walking for awhile, I noticed that I had gone in the opposite direction of my apartment and I was feeling slightly numb from the cold. I noticed a coffee shop up ahead. Thank goodness I remembered to bring my purse. The warmth of coffee shop immediately made my body tingle. It felt like a thousand pins were poking at me like my whole body had fallen asleep. Slightly painful. Ugh. I ordered my coffee and took a seat at one of the tables and pulled out my cell phone to call the paper and let them know I wasn't going to be in for the rest of the day. Luckily my friend and secretary Kate was on a break so I wasn't bombarded with questions.

I logged into FB from my phone and read Logan's post again.

LOGAN HUNTZBERGER Hey stranger, it's been too long. Logan

After two cups of coffee I finally decided I shouldn't read too much into it because it was the same type of message I had sent to dozens of people who had sent me friend requests. I mean what else do you say to someone that you haven't spoken to in awhile?

"Oh God." I muttered as realization hit me. I quickly dialed a familiar number.

"He sent me the obligatory hello message you send to people you don't really want to talk to again but feel the need to reply to because they sent you a friend request." I ranted before my mother could even say anything.

"I'm sorry kid but I think I missed a step. Let mommy catch up to what this conversation is about. Someone sent you a message..." Lorelei said.

"Logan. I finally bit like you wanted me to and I stupidly sent him a friend request and to my utter and complete disbelief, not only did he accept my friend request, but he also wrote something on my wall. He wrote and I quote "Hey stranger, it's been too long. Logan". He sent me the obligatory hello message Mom."

"That's not the OHM. The OHM is more like "Hey, it's been too long. How've you been. What have you been up to? It's great to hear from you? We should get together some time." my mom argued.

"Well it's a variation of it."

"I don't know kid. I'm looking at it and that's not an OHM. It looks like a thoughtful message someone you haven't spoken to in a long time would say. He sounds happy to hear from you and well it has been a long time. Short and sweet." Lorelei rambled on.

I paused and said, "So you do think it sounds like an OHM too."

"Ok well maybe just a little, but this is Logan. It's probably not a brush off like a usual OHM. Maybe he did it just to mess with you a little because he knew you would think it was an OHM and not know what to do with it. Yeah I'm sure that's it." Lorelei argued. "It doesn't automatically mean it's a brush off."

"And what if it is?" I argued back.

"Look at it this way. What if he had accepted and not sent anything at all. This short message even if it is an OHM is better than nothing right?" she asked.

I thought about it for a moment and sighed, "I guess, but what am I supposed to say in return."

"You could send him the ORM the Obligatory Response Message, "Wow I can't believe you're on here too. What a small world.""

"Mom."

My mom let out a small chuckle, " I don't know hon, how about turning it back on him, "Hey Logan. Good to hear from you. It has been a long time" or better yet you just send him the same exact message back. That will totally confuse him, keep him on his toes."

I put my head on the table and mumbled into the phone, "I should have listened to my gut. I didn't think this through. Why did you tell me to make this request. I shouldn't have done this."

"Yes you should have." Lorelei said. "So have you looked through his page? Does he have any embarrassing photos?"

My head snapped up. With all my confusion over his message I had forgotten all about his page. "No I haven't. I completely forgot about looking through his page." Hold on let me get my Bluetooth out and I'm going to scroll through his page.

I got onto his page and started looking through photos. There were photos of him in Europe, Palo Alto, New York, many of Finn, Colin, and many of their other college friends, and two beautiful blond haired children that appeared to be Honor's kids.

"Well..." my mom said impatiently.

"Uh just a lot of travel photos and lot of drunken Finn. Oh there's one of Finn reenacting the Passion of the Christ. Uh nothing too horrible." I said and made a mental note to go through these photos again. I then clicked onto his Info tab.

I could hear my mom saying something in my ear but I wasn't paying attention because his relationship status had caught my eye.

In a Relationship

He was in a relationship. He had a girlfriend.

"Mom he's in a relationship."

"What?"

"His status. It says he's in a relationship but there's no link to his girlfriend."

"Any overtly cute messages on his wall from a girl."

"Not that I can see." I say scrolling through his wall posts.

"Any photos of him with any one girl over and over."

"No."

"Well maybe he set his status to that to keep the girls away. It makes him look unavailable." Lorelei replied.

"Maybe." I said unsure of my mom's theory but even more unsure of why it mattered to me.

"Kid would it really surprise you if he was in a relationship. I know you were his first girlfriend and all but I mean it's been 5 years and you're dating someone now and you've been in at least one actual relationship with someone during this time. Is it really surprising if he was in a relationship?"

"Well no of course not. I guess reading that just threw me, along with his quick response and his post." I answered but still feeling unsure of how I felt about it, "I still don't know what I'm going to say in response by the way."

My mom was quiet for a minute then spoke again, "Hey Rory, I know we don't talk about Logan very much. Well actually before today never, but do you see this whole Facebook thing as a way to get back together?"

My mom's question threw me for another loop. It felt like that's all that was happening today but it was a fair question. I wasn't entirely sure of the answer. Did I see this as a way to get back together with Logan? Did I even want to be with Logan again?

Logan. I miss him. I know this.

"No. Not a way to get back together as a couple. I just... the way it all ended and with the way we were before. I don't know, I think I just miss him. His friendship at least. We had good conversations. Other than my conversations with you, his were the best. And if sending messages through FB is the closest I'm going to get to having Logan back in my life then that's fine. I'm not looking to getting back together with him. If anything, I need a reminder that he's not as perfect as he has been in my head for the past few years because despite knowing all of the horrible things he did and pain he caused me, the vision of him in my head is still kind of perfect and no one has been able to compare."

"So you're not expecting this as some way to getting back together with him right?"

"No. Not at all. Despite being freaked out about contacting him and his post, I just...well it's just kind of nice to know that maybe we can be friends again. Even if it is just through Facebook."

"I get it, just don't expect too much from this ok?" my mom said.

"I'm not."

With that we hung up and I ordered another coffee and began to type a response to Logan's post.

**********

It had been a long night. The Board meeting had lasted longer than I had expected and afterwards I was expected to attend a party being thrown by one of HPG's biggest advertisers. I may have made it clear to my father that I wasn't going to be running the family business anytime soon, but it didn't stop my father from making sure that everyone saw that the Huntzberger heir was back, more successful than ever, and would be ready to take over when the time was right.

I must admit, I both love and hate working for HPG again. While my capacity is far more limited this time due to my duties with the sister company I created and am currently running, Huntzberger Media Ventures, it felt good to be back. After my partners and I sold our Internet company, my father had actually come to me and asked me to come back. He didn't beg (too bad) but he had expressed that he was proud of the success I had created on my own, and in that same breath had stated that he was getting older and had not found anyone suitable to take over the business and wanted me to come back.

I had agreed but under many conditions. I knew HPG wasn't doing as well as it had been in the past mainly due to it's underwhelming lack of presence on the Internet. I told my father I had a plan to restructure all of HPG's publications online and I would do so with HMV. My ideas and the outcomes were successful and the name Huntzberger was making a new name for itself in the media business and my father couldn't be more thrilled with me and I in turn actually enjoyed being involved with the company business.

I knew I would be taking over someday but for now, I got to do things my way, have a smaller role in HPG as the Vice President responsible for recruiting talent and new media ventures, and I even occasionally was able to write a few pieces. I was able to come back under my own terms and that meant everything to me especially considering the way I had left.

In my youth I had been written off as a playboy and unworthy of taking over the family business, especially after I had lost all that money on that deal. Hell I don't think I even thought I was worthy back then. I would have written me off as well. Leaving HPG proved to be a good decision for me. It allowed me to grow up and form my own ideas without the interference of my father. I grew up in California. Now people saw me as an innovator and the future of media.

As I returned to my apartment and changed out of my suit and into a pair of sweats and an old Yale t-shirt my thoughts instantly fell to Rory. While she may not have accompanied me to California, it was her influence and her unwavering faith in me that had led me to believe I was capable to succeed in the first place. Before her I didn't think that I could be interested in the work and then suddenly I became a work dork. Her influence had made all of the difference in my eyes.

I turned on my laptop and brought it to the kitchen to prepare a snack. While the drinks were good at these parties, it was generally hard to eat while trying to have a conversation with someone so I always went home hungry. As I ate my sandwich I checked my email and noticed the notification that she had responded to my post on her wall. I logged into FB and read her response.

LORELEI LEIGH GILMORE Stranger huh? I guess things haven't changed much. Still can't remember my name. Oh well it is the way butt-faced miscreants behave. I guess some things just don't change. It's good to hear from you Logan

I reread it a few times and wondered how long it had taken her to write and how many times she had edited her response. How long had she analyzed his original post, probably thinking he had given her the brush off.

I looked at the top of her page and noticed her status update.

LORELEI LEIGH GILMORE NOTE TO SELF: Walking around Chicago in the dead of winter without a coat or appropriate attire is stupid. I feel like a popsicle

Somehow I think I may have been the cause for popsicle like status. I couldn't help but smile at the thought.

I responded to her status update by writing:

LOGAN HUNTZBERGER Hope you're nice and toasty now. By the way what flavor popsicle are you?. My guess is coffee.

My phone started ringing and I got up to answer it.

"Logan Huntzberger"

"Hey boyfriend."