Hey all, here's chapter 11. Yay! More Logan! Huge thanks to endiahna, Patricia16, and storyofgreen for reviewing. Read, Review, Enjoy!
After that things began to settle into a routine.
By the time the bruises had just faded entirely, Scott once more lost his temper at the younger mutant, although not nearly as bad as the first time, and Warren found himself still more or less able to move the next morning. This soon happened at least once or twice a week, depending on just how drunk Scott got. But it was never as bad as the first time, and Warren managed to continue with life as though nothing was happening.
Gym quickly became his favorite class, of course. He was happily surprised to see that Mr. Logan often would join them in whatever exercises they were doing, laughing and joking with the other boys. Warren soon found himself excelling at whatever they were doing, he had always loved sports, and, he had to admit, even if only to himself, he never passed up a chance to show off for Mr. Logan. And, although he was constantly careful to make sure he ended up on the shirts team, if Logan noticed, he didn't say anything.
Life was still hell, but at least he had those blissful mornings full of Mr. Logan to keep himself going.
8
As time passed, Logan began to find that first period every morning was his favorite time of the day too. At first he tried to rationalize to himself that he had always been a morning person, and that his first class were simply less idiotic than his others, but as the weeks passed he was forced to admit that only one of his pupils was less idiotic than the others.
Warren Worthington III was, undeniably, in a class higher than all the others. He was faster, quieter, and far more intelligent than the other students. And, though he spoke little to not at all, Logan watched his eyes flicker and dance as he followed the conversations of his classmates.
Before long, Logan caught himself noticing when the winged boy passed in the hallways between classes. Often, Logan would take walks around the grounds in the evenings; he loved the outdoors, and found himself watching the small figure circling high up in the clouds.
One day, the class was in the weight room. Logan wandered around through the groups of boys, joking here, cautioning there, when he noticed Warren in the corner, about to bench a good three hundred pounds.
"Don't you think you might want a spotter for that?" he asked, approaching the younger mutant.
Warren reflexively jumped to his feet in surprise, not having noticed Logan approaching. "I-I-," he stammered.
Logan suppressed a laugh at the boy's shyness. "Here, I'll spot you. But are you sure you can lift that?" he asked, eyeing Warren's lithe frame, "I can't have you hurting yourself now."
"Well, I-," Warren moved to take off some of the weight, but Logan stopped him with a hand.
"I didn't mean that I doubted you, kid," he said, unable to entirely hide his grin, "If you think you can do it, then by all means."
"O-OK," Warren stammered, pulling back from Logan's touch and sitting back down on the bench and sliding under the bar, a slightly red tint dusting his cheeks. He left the weights where they were.
Logan placed his hands under the bar, ready to catch it should Warren drop it, and Warren, grabbing the bar, slowly began to lift it. He managed three full reps before he began to strain. But still he kept going, despite the fact that his breathing hitched constantly and he was becoming rather red in the face.
Halfway through the fifth rep his arms gave and the heavy bar fell toward his chest. Logan caught it, easily sliding it back onto the pegs on which it rested.
"Good job," Logan congratulated, chuckling under his breath as he walked around the bench and extended a friendly hand down to Warren, pulling in up into a sitting position.
Warren's blush was quite a bit more pronounced this time as he smiled.
"You've definitely got Eric over there beat," Logan said, in a half whisper, nodding his head toward a wiry boy on the other side of the room, who was having trouble lifting the bar alone.
Warren glanced over, and laughed softly. His laugh was a soft, shy sound; Logan decided he liked it, a lot.
There was a long moment of uncomfortable silence. Both were reluctant to move, but neither could find anything to say.
At last Logan spoke. "So, I've seen you up flying before, you look like you really enjoy it," he said awkwardly, anything to start some form of conversation.
"Its amazing," Warren said, a faint light flickering in his eyes at the mention of flying, "I-if you want I could take you up sometime."
"Do you think you could lift me?" Logan asked dubiously, once more eyeing Warren's not-so-muscular frame, though he smiled as he did so.
From the way Warren's face paled when he realized what he'd just blurted out Logan guess what the younger mutant was struggling very hard to keep himself from slapping his own forehead. Also, judging from the passionate blush, he was probably wishing he were at least a hundred feet in any direction from where he was. But, miraculously, he managed to find an answer, and with minimal stuttering too. "M-my wings are strong than my a-arms," he muttered, carefully studying the ground at his toes.
"Well, yeah, that'd be great," Logan fumbled. Since when was he awkward and uncomfortable talking to anyone? Let alone a student.
Warren looked up quickly, blushing (by now Logan had become quite certain that he found Warren's blushes extremely cute), and also smiling. This smile was not the tentative, shy, almost scared smile he usually gave when called to smile, but in fact a broad, true, happy smile, although still quite shy, and Logan decided that he like that look best of all so far.
But just then the bell rang, and Warren, jumping, with an odd look of almost guilt crossing his face, grabbed his bag and ran for the door as quickly as he could, though he did manage to call back over his should, "Good-bye Mr. Logan!"
"Just Logan!" Logan hollered back, in slight annoyance, but he doubted Warren heard.
