Standing Chapter Seven
Jiade-103
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I am such a horrible person. So sorry all you DLers. I took like a…. three year hiatus. And I can't promise not to take more. However, this is chapter seven. I dedicate it to Kristin because I was excitedly reading through You've Got Mail Draft 4 and checking in on the reviews when I came across her review asking me to update this one… and of course… I couldn't even remember what this was about so I re-read it and then decided that it deserved another chapter in honor of my DL friend Kristin. That's the story of how this came to be.
Discalimer: I do not own DL or Zoey 101. I do own my ideas and my furious apologies.
Dana's morning started off like every other morning. She rolled out of bed, literally, her feet barely touching the floor before the chill from the floor moved its way up her legs and sent a shiver through her spine. She groaned into her pillow, her hand fumbling on the nightstand for the annoying beep, beep, beeping of her alarm clock. When her hand landed on the device with a pleasant smack she turned her head, peeked through her hair and sighed. Time to get up. Groggily she pulled on a pair of socks and threw a sweater around her shoulders.
"Coffee" She mumbled to herself. "Heat." She stumbled to the kitchen and started brewing an extra strong pot of coffee and then she ushered her frozen feet into the living room and turned up the thermostat. "Cold." Dana cursed quietly. "Not even December yet."
As the pleasant aroma of coffee started filling the apartment and the radiators started humming Dana started feeling more like herself. She started moving towards the promise of caffeine with renewed vigor when she heard a low grumble, slowly her head turned towards the noise. She pulled her sweater closer to herself and looked at her couch. Her eyes shot open. LOGAN. She couldn't believe she'd forgotten! She stood perfectly still, as if that would stop him from noticing her. He didn't move. His eyes didn't open. All that happened was that he let out a little shiver and curled up tighter under the crochet blanket her mother had given her last year. Dana let out a shaky breath and tip toed as fast as possible to her bedroom and started getting ready for work in the flurry of motion. She picked up her pants off the floor and thrust her legs into them, tossed a random shirt from the corned over her head, grabbed her apron and rushed to the door. She bounced up and down trying to get her boots on without losing her balance, she looked longing towards the kitchen and the coffee that waited for her there. She had half a mind to grab the entire pot and take it with her. She turned to leave. And then she heard it. The shiver. Her hand was on the door knob, everything inside her screamed to get out. Dana took a deep breath, cursed herself, turned around, and walked silently into her bedroom. She yanked off her deep red blanket, dragged it into the living room and then in one fluid motion, threw it onto the sleeping boy and sprinted out of the apartment.
-DL-
Jess was staring. Dana could feel her curious gaze following her around. In fact, Dana had been feeling her gaze since she'd walked in this morning. Dana wasn't completely stupid, she knew what she must have looked like when she bounded through the door this morning in a state of anxiety. She'd driven to work faster than the speed limit, looking through the rear view mirror every 10 seconds convinced that Logan was following her. He wasn't of course. He was probably still sleeping on her couch, hopefully a little bit warmer than when she'd left him, but that didn't keep her from being incredibly nervous that he was going to track her down. He'd found her all the way in Maine after all. Chased her. All the way to Maine. Like a stalker. A super cute, not entirely unwelcome stalker. But still… he wasn't supposed to be here and if he could find her apartment then who's to say that he couldn't find her work. That is, who's to say that her mother didn't let slip that she worked in a flower shop.
"Ouch!" Dana jerked her hand away and brought her bleeding finger to her mouth. She sucked on it for a few seconds before glaring at Deborah. "That wasn't very nice Deborah." The monster red rose just stared back at her. Dana sighed, "That's unfair. It wasn't your fault. I should have been paying more attention."
"You should be wearing gloves." Jess's voice said teasingly from behind a shimmering white orchid. Dana ignored her.
"Where are your gloves anyway, you never forget them." She wondered out loud. "And you were so disheveled when you came in today." Dana picked up a watering can and moved through the aisles. "It's almost has if you left in a hurry." Jess followed behind her slowly. "We're friends, so of course I know what happened." Dana's body tensed. "You're going to need to get them back from him." Dana put the can down slowly, trying to keep herself composed. She couldn't know.
"From who?" She asked with a little more force than she intended.
"Why from the guy you slept with last night." Jess said casually before laughing and dashing out of the greenhouse. Dana stood frozen and stared after her friend in complete bewilderment. She ran through the scene from this morning again. She ran into the store. Her hair was in a bun, un-brushed, probably a little lopsided from looking behind her repeatedly during the 20 minute drive. Breathing heavily, wearing roughly the same clothes she'd been wearing yesterday…. Dana's eyes widened.
"No! Jess! I didn't! That's not what happened!" Dana called rushing into the storefront after her giggling friend.
-DL-
Logan woke up as the sun was going down. His entire body was sore. He groaned and kicked off the blankets that were trying to cocoon him. He felt disgusting. He wasn't even sure - wait. Blankets, plural? He looked at the flimsy crocheted one he'd had originally and then at the blood red one he'd just tossed on the floor. His eyes darted down the hall. Dana.
"Dana?" He called tentatively. Slowly he got up, forcing his body to stand in an upright position. "Dana?" He tried again. No answer. He felt a dull pain through his back as he moved through the apartment. He looked into the kitchen situated to his right, he noticed the stale coffee, never touched. Odd. He wandered down the hallway the door to his left was slightly closed but he could see some yellow tiles on the floor and assumed it was the bathroom, the door dead in front of him was wide open and he could clearly see that it was a bedroom, a bedroom that buy the looks of it was torn apart by a tornado. He resisted the urge to go snoop around. He turned around and walked back into the living room and picked up the red blanket and put it back on the couch but then a thought hit him. It wasn't snooping if he was returning something was it? It's not like he was opening the door and talking a stroll around. The door was open and he was just… putting something back. That is completely acceptable right? He rolled the blanket into a ball, clutched it with both arms and walked into her bedroom before he could talk himself out of it.
The room was a certified disaster. Logan laughed out loud at it. It was just… So Dana. He dropped the blanket in a crumpled heap on her bed and looked around. She had barely any personal possessions. A picture of her mom and her on her dresser, a jewellery box and make up bag. Logan strolled over to the dresser and opened the jewellery box. She had a few earring; hoops, studs, several simple necklaces, and one silver bracelet. It looked cheap. It was a simple loop of sterling silver with a clasp. Something you'd probably pick up at some sort of flea market for two bucks. Frowning he closed the lid and did anther sweep of the place. It was ugly. He had no idea what a goddess was doing living in a place that looked like it had been a shady motel room in the past.
"Weird taste." He said aloud. The front door creaked open. Logan froze.
-DL-
"Logan?" Dana's tired voice echoed through the empty apartment. Logan walked awkwardly out of her bedroom. Dana gave him a hard stare and he knew that he was in trouble.
"I was returning the blanket." He said quickly "Thank you, by the way. I must have been really cold." Dana wasn't sure whether to yell at him to leave or ask him if he was hungry. She gripped the brown paper bag in her hand tighter. There they were. Standing at opposite ends of her apartment staring at each other. Two lost souls trying to find a common ground. They couldn't keep doing this. She couldn't keep running away and by the look of him, he couldn't keep chasing her. But she knew he would. He'd come this far, if she ran he would follow. He'd chase her to the ends of the earth. Suddenly she let out a heavy sigh and allowed the tension she'd been holding onto all day leave her body. No more running.
Dana lifted up the brown bag in her hand, "Chinese?"
So that's that.
Long live DL!
So sorry I can't promise when I'll update again.
