Title: Dark Angel

Title: Dark Angel

Name: Joy

Email: SleepingBeauty2@ziplip.com

Rating: PG-13

OK. I have successfully not thought about what sort of response I'm hoping for from Logan for the last ten minutes. I guess that's a good thing. Normal looks like he's going to chew my ass for something.

"Max" he screams.

"What?! I have all my signatures, you can check!"

"Package."

"Fine…" Wait. "Normal, this has my name on it."

"Yeah. Got dropped off five minutes ago," he responds.

"By Logan… guy in the wheelchair?"

"No… Tall, bald, black guy," he says. "Now, I need your signature and thank you for using Jam Pony," he says with a slight smirk.

What the hell is this? And why did Bling bring it down? Only one way to find out. I walk over to my locker and sit down on the bench before opening it, so I can put whatever it is away quickly… There's a note on the front.

Max,

I wrote this the night you came crashing into my world.

Logan

Oh my god. Lips I long fordie at the touch of… My dark angel… I can't handle this right now. Original Cindy is heading this way. Crap. I shove the framed poem into my locker and lock it up. "See ya Cindy," I say to avoid whatever conversation was about to be had.

"Lunch?" she calls.

"Page me!" I yell as I pick up a few packages and head out. I may need to talk later. Right now, I just need to bike. I need to have several happy non-thoughts, otherwise I'm going to go crazy.

What the hell was he thinking? Why would he send that to me now? OK, my stomach is freaking out. I told you before- enough with the butterflies and summersaults. I'm not a normal girl. I don't need my body acting girlie on me! Get your head in the game, solider… What the hell am I thinking? That won't help. That will only remind me why Logan has gotten this far into my heart… Did I just think that?

Oh, god… My pager just went off. Please, don't let it be Logan. I'm not ready to face him yet… It's Cindy… Aiight. Maybe I need a girl talk after all. She may swing the other way, but she does seem to have a handle on the guy thing. I just don't want to hear the 'I told you so' talk right now. Suck it up. I need to vent a little at least. She was always great about Darren…

"Hey, it's me hitting you back," I say into the receiver.

"Meet me at the coffee shop on third?" Cindy says.

"K, just going to turn in my sign sheet first…" I say really wanting to get the poem to show her.

"Don't worry sug'r. I already let myself into your locker to see what upset ya. We be talkin' at lunch, K?"

"K. See ya soon," I say. Normally, I'd be mad…not this go round.

Cindy is already sipping on some coffee when I arrive. I must look bummed. "Aiight… tell me what's up."

"Ya know what's up… Ya read it…" I respond.

"Nah. There was a tall black man that we both know, sneaking a peek at your reaction, that says it goes further then that… so spill," Cindy sips her coffee.

"Bling was watching… Man, he's gonna tell Logan I hated it," I say biting my lip.

"Nah… The man was heading to another patient's home. Not planning on telling roller boy anything… That, my dear, is your job… So once again, what's up?"

I stare absently at the wall, playing with the mortar. How do I explain the last couple days? Logan and I can't tell each other how we feel so we've resorted to poetry… I'm a total moron and I can't deal with reality, so we've settled for paper… I have a habit of running screaming away from anything like commitment, so I'm pretending that nothing's going on.

"Hon' staring at that wall won't help," I hear Original Cindy say over my shoulder.

"I don't know what to say."

"Start with the poems," she prompted.

"How did ya know that there were poems?"

"Bling."

"Well, what'd he say?"

"Ya not gonna talk willing, huh? Aiight, brother man said ya been writin' each other poetry… Like ya actually wrote him some…"

"Yeah…" I say pathetically. Cindy is giving me her 'hurry up and talk or I'm gonna slap your ass' look. "I caught Logan writing in this journal the other day… poetry. He wouldn't let me see but it fascinated me. The next day or so he said he worried about me and stuff, so I asked if that meant I showed up in his poems occasionally. He said yeah and I let it drop. Last night he showed me one he wrote about me… and I took it."

"Ya took it… What'd he think of that?"

"Well, I went back to check out the rest of the journal and he had left me another poem. I guess he realized right away I had snagged it. I figured that turn about was fair play so I wrote him one back. I tried not to think about the consequences until today when I saw what he made me… I freaked and delivered packages until I got here."

"Why'd ya freak?" Cindy asks. "Why's it scary?"

"I wouldn't say scary just… I don't know where this is going…"

"I do… You and roller boy are coming to the end of your dance."

"What does that mean?"

"Ya getting' down to how ya really feel about each other… Ya gonna stop with the 'We ain't like that' crap and 'Just friends' stuff will go away."

"But I don't want that… I want Logan as friend," I plead.

"Boo, ya not gonna lose the man… ya just gonna have him differently." My face must be all worried 'cause Cindy looks like she is gonna coddle me or somethin'. "Up till now ya were cool with the poems. What happened?"

"I don't know…" I don't know. What did happen? When'd I freak? This morning I guess. "The first was simple and vague. Like it was about me but it could have not been… The second one was about how he sees me. It had some romantic overtures but it was still… gentle. I guess… I guess the third one got to me 'cause…" I can't even finish the thought.

"Desire… The third one expressed desire for you… by Logan," Cindy says simply.

"Yeah… I'm not sure how I feel about that," I say pouting.

"Would ya let the man kiss ya if he tried?"

Damn… Why'd she have to ask that? I can feel my cheeks burning… My stomach is flipping out again. My heart is racing….

"I got my answer… Ya blushed, ya started breathing heavier, and ya couldn't look at me… I think ya like it just fine. So question is, what ya gonna do now that ya know he feels that way toward ya."

"He wrote that poem months ago…"

Cindy is looking at me like I have a third eye, "BUT he gave it to ya now… meaning feelings still hold."

K, now I can't breathe. I'm going into convulsions at the thought. My mind is wandering. If he touched me… If he kissed me… Agh… I can't do this… I begin to shake my head. "What's the point of even thinking about it when I may have to jet tomorrow?"

"Boo, ya will always come back… The vibe he be throwing ya is strong… strong enough to last over time and distance… till ya be able to be together… Besides the man would run with ya," she says with confidence.

"Nah he wouldn't… When I jetted last time, I asked him to come. He said no," I say despondently.

"The chair will make him feel that way… but boo, I'm serious bout the time and space thing… I may not always give Logan props cause he's a man but … he's into ya hardcore. He'd do anything to keep ya safe."

I pout again. What do I want?

"Balls in your court boo. How ya gonna play it?" she asks.

"Can't we just pretend that nothin' happened?"

"Not anymore!"

Sigh… Step forward… Sigh… Breathe… I can do this. He sent me a gift; I'll send him one. "If I make him somethin' would ya deliver it for me in true Jam Pony style?"

"Got it boo. What ya gonna do?"

"I got a bottle of wine at home that I was gonna give him… I think I'll wrap it in a poem…"

"Sounds good to Cindy!"