Chapter 25

Tuesday, May 7th

Raven is at her locker after 7th period, packing up her bag to go home. As she is doing this, three guys come up to her.

"Hey Raven," one of the guys says.

Raven looks at him. "Do I know you?" she asks.

"I'm Jared Harper," he replies. "I'm in your sociology class. This is Damon and Zack. They're on the football team with me."

"What do you want?" Raven asks.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to prom with me?" Jared asks.

"No," Raven replies, turning back to her locker.

"Why not?" Jared asks. Raven turns back to him, annoyed.

"I don't know you," Raven says. "Why would I want to go with someone I don't know?"

"It'd be a good chance to get to know me then," Jared says.

"My answer is still no," Raven says. She turns back to her locker again.

"Well there is something else all three of us were wondering," Jared says.

"What?" Raven says, continuing to pack up her bag. Damon and Zack grab her arms and pin her against the lockers, facing Jared.

"If you've had a boob job or not," Jared says. "We saw you when Malcolm and Adam pulled up your shirt and we wanted a closer inspection."

"Let me go," Raven says. Zack covers her mouth while Damon pulls up her shirt, revealing her bra. Jared pulls the cups of her bra beneath her breasts, exposing them.

"Very nice," Jared says. "Wonder what they feel like." He puts his hands on her breasts, squeezing them. Raven moves to try to get free and get his hands off of her. "Move all you want. It just pushes your boobs into my hands more." Raven stops moving.

"Let her go," someone says from behind. Jared looks over his shoulder and sees Logan.

"This doesn't concern you," Jared says.

"I'm making it concern me," Logan says. "Let her go." Jared takes his hands off of Raven and faces Logan. Damon and Zack still have her pinned to the lockers, mouth covered and shirt lifted. Before Jared can say anything, Damon speaks up.

"Teacher walking this way," Damon says. Jared looks down the hall and sees the teacher.

"You just got lucky," Jared says to Logan. "Let's go," he says to Damon and Zack. They shove Raven into Logan, who wraps his arms around her, and walk away with Jared. Logan backs Raven over to her open locker. He positions the door so it blocks Raven from the rest of the hallway. He removes his arms from around her.

"You can fix your shirt," Logan says. "The locker door should block anyone from that side of the hallway and I can shield you from the rest of it. I won't look either." Logan looks up at the ceiling as Raven fixes her bra and shirt.

"Thank you," Raven says. "You can move now." Logan looks down at Raven and moves away. Raven grabs her bag and closes her locker. She starts walking down the hallway and Logan follows her. They walk out to Logan's truck. Logan opens the door for Raven. She puts her bag on the floor in front of her seat then turns to Logan and hugs him. He wraps his arms around her, pulling her close.

"Are you okay, Rae?" he asks softly. She shakes her head against his chest and he feels her start crying. He tightens his arms around her. After a few minutes, she stops crying and her breathing evens out. After a few more minutes, she pulls back from the hug and wipes her eyes.

"Can we go home?" Raven asks. Logan nods and she gets into his truck and closes the door. Logan goes to the driver's side and gets in. He starts his truck and starts driving.

"This isn't the only thing that happened today, is it?" Logan asks.

"No," Raven replies quietly.

"What else happened?"

"When I was going to my locker before school after you had gone off to your meeting, Stacey tripped me. She then grabbed my bag that had fallen away from me and dumped everything out on the floor. Kendra took one of my notebooks and threw it into the pool. I managed to get it out but it's pretty much ruined. Then there were the normal comments I always get throughout the day, about being a whore and sleeping with a ton of guys. Then there was what happened with Jared that you stopped."

"Those were the three guys I had overheard in the bookstore. Well I guess they got the answer for what they were wondering about you."

"Unfortunately, yes they did."

"Do you have a lot of homework tonight?" Surprised at the change in subject, Raven looks at Logan.

"Not really. Just a reading assignment for English and I was going to see what I can salvage from my notebook. Why?"

"I was just thinking about making this a relaxing evening for you. What's your favorite song?"

"I don't really have a favorite song."

"Okay…what's a song you could listen to on repeat and never get tired of it?"

"'My Heart Will Go On'."

"So is Titanic you favorite movie?"

"No. It's actually been a really long time since I've seen it."

"Do you want to watch it tonight?"

"It's a four hour movie."
"So?"

"I was going to try to get whatever I can from my notebook."

"What subject is it for?"

"Anatomy."

"I can look at it and see what I can get from it. You can use my notebook for any quizzes or tests we have."

"You don't need to do that."

"Come on Rae. Anatomy is my best subject. Even if I can't read everything in your notebook, I might be able to still figure out what you wrote."

"Okay fine."

"So you want to watch Titanic tonight?"

"Sure." Logan pulls his truck into the Tower's garage. They get out of the truck and go over to the elevator. They get in the elevator and go up to the floor for their bedrooms.

"Let's watch the movie after dinner so we don't have any interruptions."

"Okay."

"Do you want a massage to help relax after today?"

"That would be nice. I want to do my homework first though."

"You just have to read a few chapters?"

"Yeah. Four chapters in The Great Gatsby."

"You could always read while taking a bath. That would probably help you relax too."

"All sorts of ideas from you today."

"It's been known to happen occasionally."

"Well I think it's a pretty good idea. I'll go take a bath and read. Then you can give me a massage."

"Okay. I'll be working on my homework in my room. Just let me know when you're ready for your massage."

"Okay." Logan goes into his room to start his homework. Raven puts her bag in her room, grabs her book and a change of clothes, then goes to the bathroom. She locks the door and starts filling up the tub. When it gets to her desired level, she turns off the water, strips off her clothes and gets in. She settles into the water and grabs her book to read. After she finishes four chapters, she closes the book after marking the page. She pulls the plug in the tub and grabs her towel as she steps out. She dries off then dresses in shorts and a tank top. She hangs up her towel to dry, grabs her book and walks out of the bathroom. On her way to her room, she stops by Logan's room to tell him to come to her room. Raven walks into her room and puts her book in her bag. Logan walks in a minute later and closes the door.

"You can lay on your bed," Logan says. He goes over to her CD player and puts in a CD. He starts the CD and turns to the bed. He sees Raven has taken her tank top off and is lying face down on the bed. He kneels on the bed next to her. He pours some massaging oil on her back and starts massaging her muscles. He massages her neck and shoulders first before moving down her back. He pauses when he reaches her bra strap.

"Can I unhook this?" he asks.

"Go ahead," Raven says. He unhooks her bra and continues his massage. "Did you make this CD?"

"Yeah. I made it while you were taking a bath. Do you like it?"

"I love it." The CD is made up of different versions of "My Heart Will Go On."

"What's your favorite version?"

"The piano, definitely. It's so relaxing. I like the guitar version too."

"I'm glad you like it." He puts more massage oil on his hands then moves down to her legs.

"It's great. Thank you."

"You're welcome." He continues his massage down to her left foot then switches to her right foot and works his way back up her leg. After he finishes massaging her hamstring, he moves up to her back again then up to her shoulders and neck. Once he finishes the massage, he wipes his hands off on the towel he has next to him and re-hooks Raven's bra. She doesn't get up, just turns her head to look at him.

"That felt amazing," she says. Logan lays down next to her.

"You were really tense," he says. "Hopefully now you're much more relaxed."

"I definitely am. I don't even want to move right now." He smiles at her.

"Well if you want to eat, you're gonna have to get up. And we have our movie to watch too." Right after he says this, there is a knock on the door.

"Dinner is ready," Dick's voice calls out.

"We'll be right down," Logan calls back. He kisses Raven's cheek then gets up. Raven gets up too and puts her tank top on. She also puts on a sweatshirt, sweatpants, and fuzzy socks. Logan turns off the CD. They both then walk down to the kitchen where Dick has made lasagna and garlic bread. They join the others at the table after getting drinks. They all enjoy dinner and light conversation. After they finish, they help clean up the table then move into the living room. Raven sits on the couch while Logan gets the movie set up. Bee walks into the living room.

"What movie are you guys watching?" Bee asks.

"Titanic," Logan answers.

"I love that movie," Bee replies. "Can I join you?"

"Sure," Raven says. Bee sits at the other end of the couch as Logan finishes up setting up the movie. He sits on the couch next to Raven and puts his arm around her. He starts the movie and Raven leans into him. Kori joins them after finishing the dishes with Dick. Vic and Dick have left the room, not wanting to watch the movie. After the movie ends, Logan turns it off but doesn't yet get up.

"That is such a great movie," Kori says, wiping her eyes.

"Agreed," Bee says. "Vic will never watch it though."

"Why not?" Raven asks.

"He says it's too much of a romance movie for him," Bee replies.

"Dick thinks it is too long," Kori says.

"I'm glad you watched it with me," Raven says to Logan. "Thanks for everything tonight."

"Anything for you Rae," Logan replies then kisses her forehead.

"What else has he done tonight?" Bee asks.

"He made me a CD and gave me a massage, and it was his idea to watch Titanic," Raven says.

"Any particular reason for all of this?" Kori asks.

"I didn't have a great day at school today," Raven replies.

"I think it's official," Bee says. "You have the most thoughtful boyfriend."

Logan blushes and Raven says, "He is pretty great."

Bee gets up. "Well I'm going to go find Vic then go to bed," Bee says. "Good night."

"Good night," they all reply.

"I am going to bed as well," Kori says. "Good night, friends."

"Good night, Kori," Raven says. Kori gets up and leaves. Logan gets up and takes the movie out then turns off the TV. He goes over to Raven and pulls her up off the couch.

"Ready for bed?" he asks.

"Yes," Raven replies. They go up to their rooms. Raven puts on her pajamas then goes to Logan's room. He has also changed into pajama pants and has taken off his shirt. Raven closes his door then lays on his bed. He joins her on the bed after turning off the light.

"Thanks again for today," Raven says.

"Like I said earlier," he replies, "anything for you." He wraps his arm around her and kisses her. After pulling back from the kiss, Raven lays her head on his chest and closes her eyes. Logan falls asleep shortly after.