A/N: This update was quick, mostly because I was really impressed with the number of reviews. I hope it was worth the marvelous reviews. Baha, I love reviews. See what they do to me. By the way, you won't find out Dana's 'angry reason' for a while. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Do I even need this anymore?! You have NINE chapters of it.
I Wish
Chapter Ten: The Wish
Shoot. Miss. Shoot. Miss. Shoot. Miss.
He could hardly concentrate on the net in front of him. The backboard became nearly invisible in the darkness that surrounded him, but that wasn't even close to the problem weighing down on his shoulders. His head spun with uncertainty and regret. Her deadly words rang over and over in his head, stopping him from making a single shot.
I fucking hate you. Fucking hate you. Hate you.
The words stung and left an impression on his heart, one that could never easily be removed. He grasped the orange ball again, setting himself up on the free throw line. Shoot.
"Damnit." It was the first word he'd spoken in well over an hour. He'd retreated to his sanctuary, the basketball court, hoping to calm himself down. The night's cold air breathed down upon his skin, and nothing could have been more perfect than this night. Except to him, this night could not have gotten much worse then it was.
His ball bounced off the rim for what seemed like the thousandth time, however he didn't run to catch it. Rubbing his eyes, he made his way over to the set of bleachers on the side of the court. He leaned his elbows onto his thighs, delicately placing his head into his hands. He was as confused as ever. She had found out about his notebook somehow, and for some reason she had hated the idea of it. He just couldn't seem to pinpoint why. His mind ran at a mile a minute, and his heart clenched at just the thought of her. For whatever reason it was, it was pretty clear that he was hated, and that wasn't a feeling he particularly liked.
He let is eyes close as he breathed in the cold autumn air. It was nearly four in the morning, and he'd been out for almost two whole hours. Most likely, Chase and Michael hadn't even noticed he'd left, nor would they notice when he came back in. Picking himself off the bleachers, he left himself wander back onto the court, glancing around for the basketball he'd been using. He spotted it lying next to a shrub and jogged over to pick it up. Returning to the free throw line he began his ritual again.
Shoot. Miss. Shoot. Miss.
Finally the boy just whipped the ball towards the net, letting it hit the backboard violently as he ran his hands through his hair. Every memory was flooding back to him in a giant wave and he wondered if it had all been a cruel joke. The endless nights that he'd stayed up with her, the early morning Instant Messenger chats, the texting during class. When he thought of it that way, it really didn't seem like much. But at the time, it had seemed like everything to him. He had begun to think of her as one of his closest friends again, if only through internet cables and phone lines. However it was clear that she didn't have the same thoughts about him.
He sat himself on the cold hard surface of the basketball court and allowed himself to lean backwards, lying down. Placing his hands behind his head, he let himself look up into the clear sky. By five thirty the sun would be coming up, so he took in the starry night while he could. In that moment, a single memory washed over hi from his eighth grade year.
Everything was silent as Logan layed down on the basketball court. It was mid October and you could feel it in the air. There was a chilly breeze, and goose bumps formed on the young boy's arms, though he made no attempt to put on the jacket placed on the bleachers. Instead, he continued to lay there, his hands behind his head, gazing at the stars. It was almost one in the morning, way past curfew, but he refused to get up. When he heard a rustling next to him, he slowly turned his head, seeing another person next to him, and then returned his eyes to the sky.
"Hey." He whispered quietly, turning again to smile at the girl next to him.
"Hey." She whispered back just as quiet, never taking her eyes off the starts. The two remained in silence for a few minutes before Logan spoke again.
"You come here often?"
"No," She responded, giving him a quick glance before placing her hands from her sides onto her stomach, "Not really."
"Then why are you here?" He asked, pulling his eyes away from the darkness above him to cast a look at the girl next to him. He didn't look away this time as he awaited her answer.
She cast him another look before shrugging, "Sometimes," she paused, letting out a breath she didn't even know she was holding, "I just… Sometimes I just like to look at the stars. They help me to think about things."
"Things like?" He asked, confused at her reply.
"Everything." She turned her head to smile at him, and he returned the gesture. "Whenever I'm confused, I come out here and it just… helps me think about everything I need to think about."
"I thought you said you didn't come here often." He smirked, turning his eyes back to the sky. It was a brilliant cluster of white on blue, the different shades swirling and mixing with each other. The sight was breathtaking.
"I don't." This confused him greatly. She had told him she came out here to think about anything and everything, but yet she didn't come here often.
"I'm confused." He told her, furrowing his eyebrows and casting her another glance.
"Well, then I guess you're in the right place, aren't you?" She smiled at him as she stood to get up, dusting off her pants before starting to walk away.
"Hey Dana!" Logan yelled to her, remaining in his position laying on the court. She turned back to him, waiting for him to continue.
"Thanks." He smiled genuinely, and she did the same.
"My pleasure."
He frowned, turning his head to the side, hoping to be in that moment again. However he wasn't that lucky because the court was empty except for himself. Gazing again up to the stars, he searched for an answer to his confusion but found nothing to comfort him. Perhaps it was better off this way. Maybe it would all be better if she stayed in France, where she had made new friends, friends who didn't hurt her like apparently he did.
He looked again to the sky for assurance that this was the best thing for the both of them. To be honest, he wasn't sure if he could ever face her again with the memory of those striking words. It wasn't a line he was willing, or even able to cross. As he looked into the clusters of starts, a plane flew through the sky slowly and steadily, as he made up his decision. With a clear conscience, he let his tired eyes flutter shut and the darkness slowly came over him as he let himself fall into sleep.
When he slowly came to again, the sunlight streamed across his face. He brought his hand up to guard his eyes as he tried to remember where exactly he was. Thoughts raced through his head until he finally remembered the events of last night. He had fallen asleep on the basketball court after spending a few hours looking at the stars.
"Shit," He moaned, as he finally realized. He'd spent his whole night out there and by now Chase and Michael were probably looking for him.
He pulled himself off the court, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Looking around, he realized that his jacket that had been on the bleachers the night before was now gone. Although it was warm enough for him to walk back without it, he couldn't help but wonder where it had disappeared to.
Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was now eleven thirty in the morning. "Yeah, I'm definitely screwed," Logan commented, stretching his hands above his head as he wandered off towards his dorm. When he finally reached the door to room four seventeen he let out a breath before entering, taking in the last moments of peace he'd have for the morning. Finally he opened the door cautiously, stepping inside, finding the room just as silent. Smiling, he let himself slump down against the floor. He was safe.
"How nice of you to join us." No, he was still screwed.
"Aha…yeah," Logan faked a smile, laughing nervously as Chase and Michael made their way out of the bedroom.
"Want to explain, or will we have to beat it out of you?" Michael asked, raising an eyebrow and taking a swig of blix.
"Neither?" Logan asked with a cheesy smile, knowing he was already loosing this battle.
"About that," Chase started, opening the fridge to grab a water, "Not an option."
"I figured," Logan admitted, setting himself on a bar stool and folding his arms across the counter. "But I'm not explaining anything you don't ask me."
"That's fair," Michael commented, grabbing a seat across the island from Logan. Chase pulled out the stool next to Michael and sat net to him. Logan thought this all seemed oddly like an interrogation, but decided not to comment on it.
"Let the twenty questions begin."
"Alright, where were you last night?" Chase asked.
"Basketball court." Chase arched his eyebrow suspiciously as if to question the answer, but continued on anyways.
"And you were there why?"
"I needed to think."
"Think about?"
"The solution to a problem."
"And the problem is?"
"The problem is none of your business." Logan smirked and Chase objected, telling him that that wasn't even a real answer. "Alright fine, a phone call I got last night." Logan answered, rolling his eyes.
"Who called?" Chase inquired, only on his fifth question and already close to the final answer.
"A friend."
"Named?" Six.
"Dana."
"Why did she call?" Seven.
"To talk to me."
"About?" Eight.
"The notebook." This threw Chase off guard for a moment. He wasn't expecting that. "Wh- Wait a second," he scrunched up his eyebrows, "How did she find out about that? Who told her? Did you? Or did she just find out?"
"No idea, No idea, No and no idea. But you've wasted four questions, you've got eight left buddy." Logan answered, another smirk playing on his lips.
"Oh, if you want to play it that way, we'll play it that way." Chase grinned and Michael just looked on in slight confusion, "What did she say about the notebook?"
"Actually, I don't think she said a lot about the notebook, more about me." Logan answered, thinking back to the conversation and cringing a bit. Chase automatically noticed it.
"What did she say about you?" He asked
"That I was a jerk."
"What? Why Did you do something? I thought you two were good friends?"
"So did I."
"I don't get it then, why'd she call you a jerk?"
"Ask her, I haven't got a cue what goes through that girls head." He said, rolling his eyes. It was apparent he wasn't too happy with her at the moment.
"How would I ask her? I hardly talk to her myself."
"Call her. Email her. IM her." Logan gave a few suggestions.
"Well, what else did she say?"
"I'd tell you, but your questions are up, Sorry Bud." Logan answered, sliding off the stool and walking towards the bedroom, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need some rest. I was sleeping on the basketball court all night and well, it isn't a very good bed."
Chase rolled his eyes at his friend, standing up and walking after Logan. Michael kind of seemed like the odd one out in these types of situations. The three of them were al really close friends, but Chase was the only person Logan would really open up to about serious things, and Chase could tell it was pretty serious for the kid to have slept on the basketball court all night.
"Logan," He groaned, "Logan, wait." Chase called after him, somewhat chasing him. He reached for the handle of the bedroom room, fully expecting it to swing open. Instead, he found his body slamming into it.
"Hey!" he yelled, slightly angry. "Logan!" He let a low growl escape his lips. There was silence from the other side of the door, signaling to him that Logan wasn't going to bother listening to him.
"Ugh." Leaning back, he slid down the door to sit on the floor, "Come on!" He yelled, slamming his fist back into the door, "This is our bedroom too you know!"
"I'm aware of that fact," Logan finally answered, "And I'm also aware that I don't really care." After those words drifted through the door, the room became quiet except for hushed music of what Chase could only guess was Logan's iPod on full blast.
Chase pulled himself off the floor, leaning against the door for a few seconds before walking towards the dorms main door. He fumbled with his shoes for a moment before putting them on and yanking open the door. He was headed over to room 101 to talk to Nicole. Logan had subtly given him the advice to ask Dana what had occurred earlier in their phone conversation, and he knew Nicole would be sure to have her phone number, or email, or something.
He sprinted across the campus, finally reaching the girls dorm in record time. He stopped for a few minutes, leaning onto his knees, letting himself take a few deep breathes before banging onto their door.
"Nicole! Zoey! Somebody!" He shouted through the door, "Seriously, Open Sesame!" He reached for the door handle, jiggling it for a second, realizing their door was locked. Finally, the door swung open, and he saw Nicole standing there, a phone to her shoulder, giving chase an incredulous look.
"Uh, hold on a second." She mumbled into the phone, staring at chase wide-eyed with one eyebrow raised before placing the phone down on her computer desk. "Uh… Chase? Something wrong?"
"Something wrong? Something wrong?" Chase asked, walking into the room pacing.
"Yeah, that's what I –"
"Of course something's wrong!" Chase burst, "Apparently Logan and Dana got into this huge fight."
"I know –"
"And he slept out on the basketball court all night, and shut himself up in our room now." He rambled, "Apparently she found out about his notebook, and I don't even know how because only Michael and me knew, and I only told you and…" He stopped, turning to Nicole, his finger still slightly pointed from his walking and rambling. His jaw dropped as he stared at Nicole, "You!" he gasped dramatically.
"Haha.." Nicole laughed nervously, "See… about that."
"Look," He stopped her before she went into a panicky explanation and a bunch of excuses, "I don't care about whatever you told her. I need her email, or her number, or anything really to set things straight. Logan… He- he really cares about her and if he's too stubborn to fix this then, well, that's what friends are for."
"Chase, I know you're just trying to be this super friend, but, it's not that easy."
"And that's supposed to mean?" He raised an eyebrow.
"You probably know a lot more about Logan then I do, but I'm pretty sure I know a lot more about what's going on between them." She explained, taking a seat on Zoey's single bed and glancing at the seemingly forgotten phone.
"I don't see how it could be this complicated." Chase sighed, relaxing and taking his seat on the computer chair.
"It just is…" Nicole shifted her gaze downwards, slightly awkward with the conversation she assumed they would soon be having. She wasn't sure she was comfortable talking about two of her close friend's feelings towards each other.
"Nicole, come on, I know you're holding out on me." Chase dug his hands into his hair, "How am I supposed to even try to get Logan out of his…mood… when I don't even know what's going on."
Nicole placed her head into her hands, rubbing her temples to relieve the tension. She had already realized she had to be very careful with her choice of wording, and she was slightly worried about what Chase would let leak in what he probably thought was a confidential conversation. Oh how wrong he was.
"They fought because of some… wishes Logan made." She finally let out, trying to be as vague as Chase would allow.
"How did she even find out what wishes he made? He's only had the damn thing since school started." Nicole's head snapped up as Chase spoke the words. Her eyes were wide and she seemed to be incredibly shocked. Chase's face contorted with confusion, not sure why she was looking at him like that.
"Since school started?" She asked, and Chase nodded, "Like, this school year? Junior year? Grade eleven?" Again chase nodded his head.
"I don't know what wish they would have fought so bad over," He sighed, "All he's ever really wished for were smoothies and good test marks, a few dates… but that's another story. He said he'd spent the whole night on the basketball court because he needed to think about things. I'm guessing that's code for, think about Dana."
"Look Chase, you need to leave." Nicole suddenly said, remembering her previous phone conversation before Chase had stormed into her dorm room. She stood up, walking towards her desk chair and pulling him up too, ushering him towards her door. Shoving him out harshly and shutting the door behind him in a half-slam, she ran towards the phone that still remained on her computer desk.
"How much of that did you hear?" She asked anxiously into the receiver, crossing her fingers that the damage was minimal.
"Everything," the girl on the other end replied, a hint of regret etched in her voice.
"Oh," Nicole answered, plastering a somewhat hopeful smile on her face, even though the girl couldn't see it.
"Nicole…" She paused, "What the hell do I do now?"
"I told you not to jump to conclusions last night Dana."
"I know, I know. God I'm an idiot. I don't even remember why I thought his wish book did this in the first place." Nicole could hear voice wavering on the other line. "I think I have a phone call to make."
"Glad to hear you're not being stubborn for once, Danger." Nicole smiled, looking out the window. Since the morning, the sky had gotten considerably darker and she could only guess that a flash-storm was rolling in. It seemed to happen often at PCA considering how close they were to the ocean. She could hear a slight laugh on the other line, as she turned back around to face her dorm.
"Thanks Nicole," Dana smiled, feeling a smidge better already, "I'll call you later tonight." She clicked the 'off' button before even hearing a reply from Nicole and set her phone down. Leaning back to flop onto her bed, she ran thoughts through her mind trying to piece together what she would say exactly. She found it odd that she would draw a connection between Logan's wish book and what exactly had tempted her to return to PCA in her freshman year. She found it odder that while she had believed he had 'wished' her back, the thing she had drawn her connection to was the only thing forcing her to stay at BIS.
"Logan, I'm sorry." She practiced. She was never one to apologize, even when she knew she was wrong.
"I'm sorry, Logan, I wasn't thinking.— Logan, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. — Logan, you have to forgive me, we were finally getting along and I'm talking to myself trying to figure out a good apology even though I know this is never going to work." She growled, frustrated. Sitting up on her bed, she reached for her black tek-mate, slowly scrolling through her phone book, still trying to piece together what exactly to say. She finally reached his name, Logan Reese x3, and took a deep breath clicking the 'call' button and in an instant she forgot every thought running through her head, every word she practiced, everything she wanted to say.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
"Hey-"
"Logan!" She exclaimed.
"You've reached Logan. I'm too busy to come to the phone, I'm out, or I don't care, Leave a message, and if you're lucky, I'll get back to you."
Dana groaned, hanging up her phone. She supposed he would be avoiding her after the horrible words she'd said to him. Hell, she'd sure be pissed if he'd said anything like that to her. Then again, it was somewhat of a blessing in disguise that he wasn't answering her calls because then she'd have some time to formulate a good apology without being nervous that she'd forget it the second he answered his phone. She took a few seconds to remember everything she'd forgotten moments ago when she'd dialed his number. She still wasn't sure what she was supposed to tell him. She was… confused, about everything.
Glancing out the window, she noticed the stars beginning to come out. Remembering the conversation she'd overheard between Chase and Nicole, she was kind of touched to here that Logan still went to the basketball court when he was confused, just as she still did, if only to watch the stars. She reached for her tek-mate once again, finally having her words in mind and redialed his number.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
Logan glanced at his phone as it run for the second time in the last ten minutes. It was on the desk across the room from where he currently was, in his bed, and he hardly felt like walking over to answer it, or even see who was calling. Glancing out of the window, he noticed the dark sky, a drastic change from the sunlight he'd woken up to. He somewhat wondered, if somewhere, across the world, someone was looking at the same sky he was.
Turning back to his iPod, he clicked the 'wheel' to turn to the next song on his shuffle list. Taking a deep breath in, he turned to reach for the picture of himself and Dana that usually lay on his bedside table, however instead his eye caught sight of the charcoal notebook with a black pen sitting next to it. Crinkling his nose a bit and furrowing his eyebrows, he picked both up, examining the cover of the notebook before opening it to a fresh page. Usually he tried to use up every small valuable bit of extra paper, but he supposed this wish was worthy of a page all it's own.
Dear Journal, He began, sighing. This wish was all for the better, for both him, and her.
I wish Dana would never come back to PCA.
A/N: Dun. Dun. Dun. The end seemed kind of rushed to me, tell me if you agree or not? And there's the tiniest hint in the beginning of this chapter as to what happens next chapter, and it's the 'thing' that helps him make up his mind. Let's see if anyone can figure it out. Anyways, Review! Damn, I love reviews.