Summary: Logan and Hallie are Seniors in high school, and it's almost the end of the school year, but with thier troubled family situations will they both make it?
Note: This doesn't take place in my normal Hallie/Logan universe like The Drifters. In this alt. reality, Logan and Hallie are both 18 and non-mutants (cuz they don't exist here).
2nd Note: Incase anyone decides ta gripe about this later, I'm jus' gonna explain now. I know in Origin, John Howlett is Logan's dad, but it's different here, and Thomas Logan is gonna be his dad (but his name will be Thomas Howlett), so don't bug me about that. x_- (besides, I think Thomas Logan the groundskeeper was his real father anyways 'cuz he looks like 'im. *sticks out tongue* hehe)
3rd Note: Oh yeh...and jus' 'cuz I feel like sayin' this...The title was inspired by Something Corporate's album, Leaving Through The Window. Alright..enough from me...here's chapter one! Enjoy.
Leaving Through The Window: Chapter 1-Wish Life Were Pleasantville
*****
Morning sunshine warmed the pleasant streets, a gentle breeze blowing up bits of dust and pollen that would float through the air. The place was Kansas, more specifically, a little town called Trent. It was just about summer, kids were itching to get out of school for their break, and it was nice warm swimming weather outside.
A cozy little house sat in a grassy yard at the end of a long dirt road, right near a farmhouse close by. Hallie had moved into that cozy house at the age of seven, when her mother died. Her parents were long divorced, so she was forced to live with her father, the only known living relative she had.
Hallie's father had remarried, and the drunk that he was, he'd taken off, leaving his only daughter with her stepmother, Maurine. Hallie didn't like Maurine much, but she could live with her. She'd have to. After all, Maurine didn't really have to take custody of the girl since her father had run off.
In the farmhouse nextdoor lived Hallie's best friend, Logan. Like Hallie, his mother had died when he was young. He lived with his father, Thomas Howlett, who owned the farm.
Logan's dad was something of a town hero. He was the highschool football champ of his graduation year, and everyone had respect for him and liked him. Maybe that was why they ignored the fact that he was a drunk who beat his kid. Either they knew and didn't care, or they preferred not to believe it.
Hallie and Logan were Seniors at Trent Highschool, and despite everything wrong in their lives, they were going to make sure that the end of the year would be something to remember.
*****
Hallie raised her face to the warm sun, leaning back on the old wooden fence at the side of the dirt road. Her backpack lay on the dusty ground beside the fence, half open with atleast one school book poking out. She wore a pair of old cut-off jeans that went just below her knees, a black tank-top, and her old Converse tennis shoes.
Smiling as she kicked her feet and hopped off the fence, Hallie noticed the dark form of Logan slowly approaching on foot from his driveway. "Hey!" she called, smiling and waving at him as she waited for him to reach her.
Logan's stride was casual, an old army backpack on his shoulder that he used for school. He was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans, a tan and red shortsleave plaid shirt that was left open with a wifebeater beneath it, and on his feet were his trusty black combat boots.
Hallie frowned as Logan came up to her, as she noticed a dark bruise under his right eye that he was trying to hide by pretending to brush hair from his face. "He hit you again, didn't he?" she asked sadly, in a way that showed him she wasn't about to believe any lies after they've know eachother so long.
"Yeh." Logan muttered gruffly, shifting the backpack on his shoulders. 'Aw, do we gotta go there Hallie, I really don't wanna talk about it.' he thought to himself, wincing inwardly when she asked the inevitable question.
"Why don't you fight back?" Hallie asked as she always did when something like this happened. "You've got muscle, you play football fer cryin' out loud. I bet'cha you could take 'im." she said, snatching her backpack off the ground and closing it securely before flinging it onto her shoulders.
Logan let out an exasperated sigh. "I jus' can't do tha Hal. I mean...he may be an asshole when he's drunk...an' sometimes when he's not..but he's my dad." frowning a little angrily, he began walking down the dirt road. "Can we not talk about this right now?"
Hallie nodded from behind, then skipped a few times to catch up with her friend's long, determined strides.
Though the two of them could either take the bus or drive to school, sometimes they just preferred the walk. This happened to be one of those times.
*****
Hot afternoon sun left no room for pleasant shade, and just outside the school a bunch of students ran tiredly around the track near the football field, looking like a wave of ants from inside the building.
It was P.E. class, last class of the day, thankfully. This happened to be one of the many classes that Logan and Hallie shared together, and the two were never really thrilled to participate in gym anyway. Even though Logan was technically a jock, since he was on the football team, he never wanted to be on the team. His dad had forced him, saying that it would give him discipline. Yeh, like he didn't get enough of that at home.
Hallie sat on the bleechers, swinging her feet endlessly as she stared at the P.E. teacher who was standing out in front of all the students, lecturing them on the importance of physical education for the ump-tienth time that year. She absently admired her gym clothes, which consisted of a pair of old basketball shorts that had belonged to Logan at one time, her normal sneakers, and a black t-shirt with many holes in it and bleech stains.
Getting bored from listening to her teacher, when all she heard coming from his mouth was 'blah, blah, blah', Hallie glanced sideways at Logan, who was standing in the grass beside her with his arms crossed over his chest. He had on some black cut-off sweatpants that now reached mid-knee, and a sleaveless white t-shirt with a few grass and dirt stains.
Hallie couldn't help but notice that he still seemed mad about this morning, and frowned slightly when she heard him tell one of the guys in class that he got into a fight when questioned about the bruise under his eye. It was true, partially, but he'd lied and said that it was a fight with someone he'd met out of town the other night. Hallie looked up when she heard her P.E. teacher start yelling at everyone to get moving.
"Alright everyone, I know it's hot, but you've got to do something. Walk the track, run, play football, whatever. If you don't do anything, you won't get credit for class today! So get going!" the teacher, Mr. Kolden hollered.
Rolling her eyes, because she doubted the overweight gym teacher could do any of the things he was suggesting, Hallie hopped off the bench and stepped beside Logan. "Hey!" she exclaimed happily, grinning at him.
Logan half smiled, glancing down at Hallie who was almost a foot shorter, his arms still crossed.
"You wanna walk the track with me? I'd rather do somethin' else, but it's so damn hot." she said, exagerating about the heat and pretending to almost faint, making fun of the popular girls, who she called The Barbies. "Oh no, I can't take this heat...I feel faint," she mocked in a squeeky voice, waving a hand in front of her face like a fan.
Logan chuckled with a lopsided grin. Hallie was just about the only person who could really make him laugh right when he needed it.
Suddenly one of the macho football players began strutting toward them, tossing a football up and down. This just happened to be one of the jocks Logan and Hallie both hated, but Logan was forced to associate with through being on the team.
The jock's shaggy, light brown hair dipped in front of his eyes and he grinned, showing off perfectly straight white teeth. "Hey Howlett, why don'tcha come play some ball with me an' the boys?" he asked, gesturing toward the other football players that happened to be in the gym class, as he tossed Logan the ball.
Hallie made a funny face, wrinkling her brow and glaring at the abnormally huge jock. "Steroids..." she muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes.
Logan grunted with a smirk, hearing Hallie's comment as he caught the ball. He then tossed the kid back the football, shaking his head. "No thanks Shawn, it's too damn hot. I'm jus' gonna walk 'round the track with Hallie."
Grinning because Logan had chosen her over football, which, actually she wasn't surprised about, Hallie tugged on his shirt and began pulling him toward the track. "C'mon, let's march! Left, left, left, right, left!!" she sang in a tone that sounded like a drill instructor.
Logan followed after her before she ripped his t-shirt, and glanced back at Shawn who gave him a grudging look as he walked away. The football team was like a club for serious jocks, and they didn't like Logan much because he wasn't serious about football. These guys played because they wanted it to be their life, he just played because his dad forced him to. What made these faithful jocks even more angry, was the fact that they'd tried many times to get Logan into their little 'club', tried to get him to hang out with them in and out of school, but always, he'd refused.
"Those guys are idiots." Hallie mumbled as she and Logan walked the track. "All they do is hang around the fake Barbies, who gaze up at them dreamily," she said in an exagerated voice, fluttering her eyelashes, "and make kissy faces, and squeel!" Hallie made a loud squeel, causing some of the other kids on the track nearby to stare at her. Rolling her eyes and making a face at a few Barbies that stared at her weird, she exclaimed, "What the hell're YOU lookin' at ya Ms. Victoria Secret model wannabes?!"
"Hallie!" Logan blurted with a snort, trying to hide his laughter.
Sighing loudly, Hallie grabbed Logan's arm and they jogged past the popular crowd.
A bunch of the Barbies gave her dirty looks as usual, probably trying to figure out why Logan always hung out with her. Truth was though, despite the fact that he was cowboyishly cute, those picture-perfect girls usually went for the 'pretty-boys' of the football team, and a rough kid like Logan scared them a bit. Hallie scared them as well, because she was weird, in their shallow opinions, and they all knew she could beat the hell out of them if she wanted to.
*****
Note: Pleeeaaassseee review!!