Chapter 24

Wednesday, May 1st

8:00PM

Logan is sitting on the rocks looking over the ocean on the Tower's island. His sketchbook is sitting on the ground next to him.

"I was wondering where you disappeared to," a voice says. Logan turns to see Raven walking toward him. She sits next to him.

"I decided to come out here and watch the sunset," Logan says.

"And draw too?" Raven asks, indicating his sketchbook.

"I wasn't planning on it when I came out here," Logan says. "I was just looking through my sketches but I did end up drawing tonight."

"What did you draw?"

"The view from here. There was a boat out earlier too so I drew that in as well."

"Can I see it?"

Logan hesitates. "…okay. But only what I drew tonight. I don't want you to see my other sketches yet." He grabs his sketchbook and turns to his most recent sketch. He hands the book to Raven.

"Wow," she whispers. "You are really talented Logan. This drawing is amazing. There's so much detail."

"You really think it's good?" Logan asks.

"Of course I do." She looks at him. "You don't think it is?"

"Well I don't think it's bad, but I never thought my drawings were great."

"Why don't you think it's great? You have so much detail in this drawing. You even show the sun reflecting off the water even with just a pencil sketch."

"Maybe I'm just too critical of my own work."

"It's okay to be critical of your drawings but you should also recognize how talented you are."

"I guess that's true." Raven hands him his sketchbook back. He puts it next to him again. "So was there a reason you came out here?"

"I can't just come out here to be with you?"

"Of course you can. I was just wondering if there was another reason."

"Not really. Kori wants me to go shopping with her for prom dresses this weekend. She'll probably want to invite some of our other friends too."

"I'm sure you're looking forward to that."

"Ecstatic." They sit in silence for a little bit before Logan breaks it.

"So are you going to get a dress on Saturday then?"

"I'm sure Kori won't let me leave without getting one."

"Do you even want to go to prom?"

Raven turns to him. "Not particularly, but if you want to go, then I'll go with you."

"What if I said I don't really want to go?"

"Why not? I figured you'd be excited about going?"

"I was. But then I heard those guys talking about you the other day. I don't want those guys to have a chance to hurt you."

"You can't always protect me."

"No, I can't. But I can try to."

"If I tell Kori that I don't need a dress because we're not going to prom, you know she'll want to know why."

"You could still get a dress. Just don't tell her we're not going."

"Why would I get a dress if we're not going to prom?"

"I'm sure you can find one that you could wear for other occasions besides prom. I can take you on a date on prom night and you could wear it."

"Where would you take me that I would need to wear a dress?"

"Do we have to go somewhere special for you to wear a dress?"

"Not necessarily but I prefer wearing jeans instead of a dress."

"I guess I can't blame you for that. I prefer jeans and a t-shirt over a tux."

"So what do you want to do on prom night instead of going?"

"I don't know. We can go out on a date but I don't have any ideas of what to do on our date."

"Well there's still time before then. Who knows, maybe I'll think of something before you."

"If there's something you want to do, we can do that."

"How about you plan dinner and I'll plan the rest."

"Works for me." They sit in silence again, just looking out over the ocean. Raven moves closer to Logan and leans her head against his shoulder. He wraps his arm around her and kisses her forehead. She smiles and closes her eyes. After fifteen more minutes, Logan looks down at Raven. "Hey Rae." She opens her eyes. "Let's go inside." They get up and walk back inside the Tower. They go up to their rooms. Logan puts his sketchbook in his room then walks to Raven's room. He knocks on the door then walks inside.

"Do you want to sleep together tonight or in our own rooms?" Raven asks, turning to face him.

"That depends on if you're going to bed now or not," Logan says. "I still have some homework to do so I'll probably still be up for a while."

Raven looks at her clock. It reads 9:15. "I'll probably be up for at least another hour. I don't have any homework so I'll just be reading. Unless you need help with your homework. Did you understand the pre-calc assignment?"

"That's actually one thing I have finished. I've got a paper to write for English and I've got an assignment for US History to finish."

"How long does the paper need to be for your English class?"

"4-6 pages."

"And you haven't started it yet? Is it due tomorrow?"

"Yes it's due tomorrow and no I haven't started it. I can't start writing a paper and stop then come back to it. I have to write it all at once."

"Go get started on it then."

"I will. I just wanted to ask you something first."

"What is it?"

"You really think I'm good at drawing?"

"You're great at drawing."

"Can I draw you sometime then?"

"Me? Why would you want to draw me?"

"Because you're beautiful. Why wouldn't I want to draw you?"

"I guess you can. Do I need to pose for you?"

"You will have to but it will be easy. We can do it in here if you'd be most comfortable with that."

"Okay. But you have to let me see the sketch. I don't want you to draw me then not let me see it."

"Deal. We could do it this weekend if you're okay with that."

"That's fine."

"Cool. I need to go do my homework. In case you're asleep before I finish, good night." Logan kisses Raven, which she returns.

"Good night." Logan walks out of her room to work on his homework. Raven changes into her pajamas then gets into bed. She sits against the headboard and puts her blankets over her legs and grabs her book from her nightstand. She reads until11:00 then closes her book and turns off her light to go to sleep. Logan finishes his homework around 11:30 then gets into his own bed to go to sleep. After tossing and turning for an hour and a half unable to fall asleep, he gets out of bed. He quietly walks out of his room to Raven's. He opens her door and softly closes it. He makes his way over to her bed, his only light the moonlight coming in through her window. He crouches down by her head and kisses her forehead. She sleepily opens her eyes.

"Can I join you?" Logan whispers. Raven nods her head and closes her eyes. Logan goes around to the other side of the bed and climbs in. Once he is under the covers, Raven rolls onto her side facing Logan and lays her head on his shoulder and her arm across his stomach. Logan wraps an arm around her and quickly falls asleep.

Saturday, May 4th

10:30AM

Raven, Kori, Jenny, and Toni are at the mall shopping for prom dresses. Kori excitedly looks through the dresses. She pulls several off of the racks to try on and heads to the fitting room. With her gone, Toni, and Jenny browse the racks with Raven following them.

"I'm surprised you're here shopping too, Raven," Jenny says, looking at dresses. "Doesn't seem like your thing."

"It's not," Raven replies. "But have you ever tried telling Kori "no"? It doesn't work too well."

"Aren't you going to look for a dress?" Toni asks, looking through another rack. "I haven't seen you look at any yet."

"Who says I'm even going to prom?" Raven says.

"Kori wouldn't have made you come if you weren't going," Jenny says.

"Who are you going with?" Toni asks.

"Why do I have to go with someone?" Raven retorts.

"Come on, Raven," Jenny says. "Even you wouldn't go to prom by yourself. So who is he?"

"Who is who?" Kori asks, rejoining the group.

"Who is Raven going to prom with?" Jenny asks.

"Friend Logan, of course," Kori says.

"He actually got the courage to ask her?" Jenny asks, looking through another rack of dresses.

"What do you mean?" Kori asks, confused. "Why would he need courage to ask his girlfriend to prom?" Toni and Jenny turn quickly to Kori.

"Girlfriend?!" Toni asks. "When did this happen?"

Kori turns to Raven. "Friend Raven, did you not tell them you and Friend Logan are dating?" she asks.

"Um, no," Raven says. "I never did tell them."

"When did you two start dating?" Jenny asks.

"Christmas," Raven replies. "I wanted to keep it private so we didn't tell anyone. We just told Kori and the others a couple weeks ago. We haven't made it public at school yet."

"That's a long time to keep it a secret," Toni says.

"It was," Raven agrees. "But it made the moments in private that much more special."

"And has he made those moments special?" Jenny asks, smirking.

"If you're asking if we have had sex, no we haven't," Raven says. "I told him I want to take things slow and he has respected that."

"You mean when you two were in Oregon alone, you didn't sleep with him?" Jenny asks, disbelieving.

"We slept together in the literal sense of the word," Raven replies. "We both agreed that we aren't ready to take that step in our relationship yet."

"Well I'm happy for you guys," Toni says.

"Thanks," Raven says. Turning to Kori, she asks, "Did you like those dresses you tried on?"

"They were nice," Kori says, "but I don't think any of them are the one I want for prom. Have you guys found anything yet?"

"I'm going to go try this one," Jenny says, pulling a dress off the rack. She goes to the fitting room and comes back a few minutes later. "I'm getting this one. It's perfect. Wally will love it too." The others don't find a dress at this store. Jenny pays for her dress then they all go to another store. Toni and Raven each find a dress they like and pay for them. They go to the food court for lunch then go to another store for Kori to find a dress. After trying on five different dresses, she finally decides on one and pays for it. Now that they have their dresses, they go to a store to get shoes. Jenny and Kori each buy a pair of shoes but Toni and Raven do not, each saying they already have a pair to go with their dress. Having finished their shopping, they exit the mall and get in Jenny's car. Jenny drives to the Tower and pulls into the garage. Toni has to leave so she puts her dress in her car then drives off. Jenny goes up to Kori's and Raven's rooms with them so they can put their things away. Once they have done that, they go down to the living room where Logan, Dick, Vic, and Wally are playing video games. Bee is on the couch reading a magazine. She looks up when they walk in.

"Hey," she says. "How was shopping?"

"It was most glorious," Kori says. "We have each found a beautiful dress." Jenny walks over to Logan and punches his arm.

"Ow!" he yells. He pauses their game. "What the hell?"

"That was for me just now finding out that you and Raven are dating," Jenny says.

"What?!" Wally says. "You two are dating?"

"Yeah we are," Logan says to Wally. He turns back to Jenny. "It was her decision when to tell everyone. I was respecting that."

"You don't need to hit him when I was the one who didn't tell you," Raven says.

"When did you guys start dating?" Wally asks.

"Christmas," Logan replies. "But we kept it a secret until a couple weeks ago. We haven't let it be known at school yet though."

"I wouldn't be able to do that," Wally says. "I kiss Jenny in public too much to keep it a secret."

"It's what Raven wanted so I did it for her."

"Can we get back to our game now?" Dick asks. Logan unpauses the game and they continue playing. Once they finish, they turn off the game system and Vic flips through the channels to find something to watch.

"Are you and Wally going to stay for dinner?" Bee asks Jenny.

"No," Jenny says. "Wally said he would take me out to my favorite restaurant tonight."

"Somehow you convinced me of that," Wally says, getting up from the couch.

"It wasn't too hard," Jenny says. "Well not the convincing part anyway."

"I didn't need to hear that," Raven says from her spot on the couch next to Logan. Jenny just smirks at her.

"We should probably get going," Wally says. "See you all later."

"Bye," Jenny says. Everyone replies with a chorus of "byes." They decide to order pizzas for dinner and watch a movie. They agree to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Once the movie is over and dinner is cleaned up, they disperse into their couples. Raven and Logan go up to Raven's room. Logan lays on Raven's bed.

"I think that's the first thing you always do when you come into my room," Raven says.

"Your bed is really comfortable," Logan says. He sits up as she joins him on the bed, leaning against the headboard. "So what's your dress look like?"

"That's a secret," Raven says. "You'll find out eventually."

"You won't model it for me?"

"No."

"I should have you wear it when I draw you."
"I thought you said I'd be comfortable when I pose for you."

"You wouldn't be comfortable in a dress?"

"I wouldn't be comfortable posing for a drawing in a dress and holding a pose."

"Can I draw you right now?"

"I don't have to wear the dress, do I?"

"No. You're fine in what you're wearing."

"Okay."

"I'll go grab my sketchbook." He goes to his room and grabs his sketchbook and pencils. He then returns to her room.

"Where do you want me?"

"On your bed where you are. And you can read while I sketch you. Just get into a comfortable position while reading and try to stay like that while I draw."

"Okay." Raven grabs her book off her nightstand and gets comfortable to read. Logan pulls Raven's desk chair over by her bed and sits on it. He turns to a blank page in his sketchbook and starts to draw. They are quiet while he works. Periodically, Raven glances up from her book to look at Logan, focused on his sketchbook. After an hour, he puts down his pencil. Raven notices this and puts down her book.

"Are you finished?" she asks.

"Yeah," he replies. He gets up from the chair and sits next to her on the bed. He shows her the drawing. "What do you think?" Raven takes the sketchbook and looks at the sketch.

"Wow. It's amazing. Even with me being the subject."

"Raven, you are beautiful. I wanted to make sure I highlighted that in the drawing."

"You did. You are really talented, Logan. There's so much detail in this. All the folds in the blankets, the image on my shirt, and even everything in the background."

"I'm glad you like it."

"Can I keep it?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's a great drawing by you, and whenever I look at it, I could be reminded of how you see me."

"Yes, you can have it." He carefully tears the page out of his sketchbook and gives it to her. She puts it into her nightstand drawer to keep it safe.

"Thank you." She kisses him. "I'll have to get a frame for it sometime."

"You're welcome. I'll be right back. I'm going to go put this away." He takes his sketchbook and pencils and puts them back in his room. He then goes back to Raven's room. She has changed into her pajamas and is sitting on her bed reading again. He lays next to her and closes his eyes. After 30 minutes of reading, she closes her book and turns off her light. She lays down next to Logan, kisses his cheek, and puts her head on his shoulder. He puts his arm around her and kisses her forehead.

"Night Rae," he says sleepily.

"Good night," Raven replies.