Chapter 27

Sunday, May 19th

9:00AM

Logan wakes up spooning Raven from behind. He props himself up on his elbow and looks down at Raven. He brushes her hair away from her face and leans down to kiss her cheek. He then lays back down and rolls to his back. Raven rolls onto her other side so she is facing Logan. Her head is on his shoulder and her arm is across his torso. He kisses the top of her head and rubs his hand up and down her back. Raven opens her eyes and lifts her head to look at Logan. He smiles at her as he moves her hair behind her ear.

"Morning Rae," he says.

"Morning," she replies. He pulls her head closer to kiss her forehead.

"How'd you sleep?"
"Very well. No nightmares, never woke up during the night. I always sleep well with you."

"I'm glad."

"Thank you for last night. It was perfect."

"I agree. It was perfect." Raven lays her head back on his shoulder.

"We should probably pack everything up and head back home."

"Probably." Neither of them make a move to get up. "You would have to get off of me if you want to go home."

"I know, but I'm comfortable right now."

"I'm not going to make you move." They lay there for a few more minutes then Raven gets up. Logan follows and they start packing up their things after changing into clean clothes. Once they have everything packed, they head down the hill to Logan's truck. They put everything in the bed of his truck then get in and Logan starts driving. They stop at a restaurant for brunch then continue on their way back to the Tower. As he is driving, Logan glances at Raven.

"Hey Rae?" Logan says. She looks over at him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," she replies.

"Last night when we were kissing, why did you take my hand and put it where you did?"

"Oh." She blushes. "I wanted to know what it would be like if you touched me there."
"Oh."

"The other times I've been touched there, it was by people who didn't care about me and I didn't want them touching me. They only cared about themselves and what they wanted. I wanted to know what it'd be like to be touched by someone who truly cares about me."

"And was it how you imagined it would be?"

"Better. I think my reaction to you when you touched me was pretty evident."

"It was. That's also why I stopped us. We were both enjoying the moment and it was leading to us having sex. I don't know if we would've regretted it if it had happened but I don't think we should take that step in our relationship yet."

"I agree with that. I'm glad you stopped last night."

"I also don't think our first time should be on the ground outside."

"No, it definitely should not be." They continue with light conversation for the rest of the drive. After Logan parks his truck in the garage, they grab everything from the bed of the truck and put it away or in the laundry room to be washed. Raven hangs up her dress in her room and puts away her shoes. She meets Logan outside his room then go down to the living room where Dick and Victor are playing video games. Bee is reading a book and Kori is flipping through a magazine. She looks up when Raven and Logan walk in.

"Friend Raven and Friend Logan!" Kori exclaims. "You are home." Bee looks up then closes her book.

"Where were you guys?" Bee asks.

"We went out last night and stayed out," Raven replies. "We just got home a little bit ago."

"Kori said you didn't go to prom," Bee says.

"We didn't," Raven replies. "We went out on a date instead."

"And stayed out all night," Bee comments. "Just the two of you."

"Yes," Raven says. "Stop thinking what you're thinking because you're wrong."

"What are you talking about?" Dick says, not looking away from the game.

"Just that Raven and Logan stayed out last night, alone together, and just got home," Bee says. Dick pauses the game and he and Vic look over at Raven and Logan.

"Did you guys, uh…" Dick asks, trailing off.

"No, we didn't," Raven says.

Bee gets up. "Come on Kori. We need to talk to Raven without the boys around." Kori gets up as well.

"Not sure what you think we need to talk about but whatever," Raven says, rolling her eyes. The girls walk out of the room. Logan walks over to sit on the couch. Dick and Vic are still just watching him.

"What?" Logan asks.

"Where'd you two go last night?" Dick asks.

"We went out to dinner, then went to a special spot Raven and I have, danced, watched the sunset," Logan says. "We camped out there last night."

"Did you two do it then?" Vic asks.

"No we didn't," Logan replies.

"Really?" Dick says.

"Really," Logan confirms. "We might've fooled around a little but we stopped before anything could go too far."

"I'm impressed," Vic says. "Can't say the same for me on my prom night."

"You two have slept together so many times and you haven't done it yet?" Dick asks, disbelievingly.

"No we haven't," Logan replies. "Things haven't been easy for Raven, especially this year with Malcolm then some other things that have happened. I know she trusts me and she knows that I care for her a lot, but we're not ready to take that step yet."

"Okay, enough of this talk," Vic says. "Let's get back to the game." He unpauses the game and he and Dick continue to play.

Meanwhile, the girls are in Kori's room, all sitting on Kori's bed.

"So where were you last night?" Bee asks. "Did you stay in a hotel?"

"No we didn't," Raven replies. "Logan has this secret spot that he would go to when he wanted to be alone and think. He showed it to me after Malcolm broke up with me. It's kinda been 'our place' since then. We camped out there last night."

"And nothing happened between you two?" Bee asks.

"We didn't have sex, no," Raven replies.

"But something else happened?" Kori questions. Raven blushes and looks down.

"I may have encouraged him to touch my breasts," Raven says, still blushing.

"He hasn't done that before?" Bee asks.

"No," Raven replies, looking up. "He's never touched me sexually before."

"Wow, I'm impressed," Bee says. "You guys have slept in the same bed numerous times. I just assumed that you've gotten past that point. Maybe not sex yet, but definitely fooling around."

"After everything that has happened this year, I haven't wanted to pursue a more physical relationship and Logan knows that. He's been very patient with me."

"Has more happened than just when Malcolm broke up with you?" Bee asks. Raven looks down again.

"Friend Raven," Kori says, concerned, "you know you can tell us anything."

"I know," Raven says. "Logan is the only one who knows everything that has happened. Usually because he either sees something happen or he's the first one to see me after it has happened."

"Will you tell us now?" Kori asks. Raven takes a deep breath and tells them everything: Malcolm raping her then breaking up with her, the cheerleaders harassing her about having sex with a lot of guys, Malcolm cornering her at the soccer field, Malcolm blocking her and Logan from leaving the Halloween dance, Adam pulling up her shirt in the hallway at school then following her into the bathroom to have sex, Malcolm raping her again before Christmas break, Malcolm and Adam cornering her in the hallway at school after Christmas break, what her dad and his friends did to her on her birthday, and Jared, Damon, and Zack pulling up her shirt and touching her in the hallway at school. Once she finishes, Kori and Bee are looking at her wide-eyed.

"Why didn't you ever tell us about any of this?" Bee asks.

"I didn't want anyone to know," Raven says. "I just wanted to forget about all of it."

"But Friend Logan knows all of this?" Kori asks.

"Yes he does," Raven confirms. "It's why he's been so patient with me. He actually cares about me, unlike all of those other people. He won't do something unless he's sure I will be okay with it."

"Well I'm glad you at least talked to him about all of this instead of just bottling it up," Bee says. "I would've preferred knowing about it sooner but I'm glad you told us now." She hugs Raven. "I'm so sorry you've gone through all that. No one should ever have to go through that much."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you two sooner," Raven says. "I don't like to talk about it."

"We understand, Friend Raven," Kori says. "Just know that you can tell us anything. We won't tell anyone else."

"I know that," Raven says. "And thank you both."
"What're friends for?" Bee says. They talk for a little bit longer then they all get up and head back to the living room where Dick and Vic are still playing video games and Logan is watching them. Raven sits next to Logan and kisses his cheek. He smiles at her and puts his arm around her, pulling her into him and kisses her forehead. They all hang out together for the rest of the day, playing games and watching movies. At night, they all go off to their rooms as couples to sleep.