*****
Logan had rumaged through the few clothes of his that Hallie had in a bag in her room, finally settling on an old pair of cut-off sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt, when he had dryed off. His other rain-soaked clothes lay in a heap in the bathtub of the bathroom that was connected to Hallie's room.
Laying back on her bed with her hands behind her head, propped up on a pillow, Hallie stared at Logan who was sitting at the edge of her bed, shaking a towel through his damp hair. She herself had taken a hot shower before changing into a pair of long green plaid shorts and an old black tank-top. "Lemme see your hands." Hallie ordered, crawling to the edge of the bed when Logan finished drying his hair as best he could.
Logan just grunted, "It's just a few blisters, happens all the time farmin'." he told her seriously.
Hallie wouldn't be convinced. She hopped off the bed and ran into the adjoining bathroom, emerging with some gauze wrap. Hopping back onto the bed beside Logan, she took both his hands in hers. "Ew, that's gross, they're all bloody." she said quietly, teasing and making a face.
"So don't look at 'em." Logan rolled his eyes sarcastically, but Hallie wouldn't let him pull away.
She dumped the rolls of gauze out of the little box, then began wrapping up his hands as carefully as she could manage. When she was finished, Hallie grinned, tossing the box on the floor and exclaiming, "All done," with a grin.
"Thanks." Logan mumbled, partially smiling with a yawn as he stood up, scrunching his toes in the soft carpet. "I'm goin' ta bed." he said tiredly, walking toward the futon near Hallie's bed where he usually crashed when he snuck over during the night to get away from his dad.
Hallie yawned, tossing back her covers and snuggling under the blankets. The rain had left a chill in the air, and her bedroom was a little cold. She sat up for a second, then tossed Logan an extra blanket off her bed and leaned back down under the covers to fall asleep. "Night Logan." she whispered.
Wrapping the blanket around himself and curling on his side, Logan mumbled, "G'night," before closing his eyes to try and get to sleep.
*****
"Hey Pop, what's wrong with the tractor?" Logan called curiously, heading across the field to where his father had been working.
"The damn blade's jammed!" Thomas Howlett hollered from his seat on the tractor. He gestured to Logan. "G'won an' take a look fer me will ya boy?"
Thinking nothing of what he was being asked, Logan rounded the tractor, crouching down near the wheels in front. "It's caught on a big rock in the ground!" he explained to his disgruntled father. "I think a few blades're loose."
Mr. Howlett let loose a bunch of colorful curses, thinking about the costs of the repairs, then in a last effort began fiddling with the tractor's controls in an attempt to get the blades spinning again.
A loud sound like grinding metal was heard, then something like a gunshot and a startled cry.
Logan was flung backwards, landing hard on the freshly plowed field with a thud, a jagged piece of the tractor blade sticking out of his chest.
Sitting up quickly and flinging his feet over the side of the futon, Logan hunched over, clutching a hand to his chest, feeling a familiar piercing pain.
Hallie thought she'd heard a noise as she sleepily rolled to her side so that she was facing the futon bed. She could only see a little from the glow of her clock and the moon shining in the window, but Hallie clearly noticed Logan sitting up in bed, and she knew something was wrong. "Logan? Hey, are you okay?" she asked tentatively.
He shook his head quickly in return, a pained grunt escaping his lips and his hand still clutching his chest.
Immediately knowing what was wrong, Hallie flung herself from the bed, nervous and alert. "You need yer pills?" she asked instinctively.
Logan nodded weakly, his face contorted in pain.
"Okay, okay, hang on a sec." Hallie told him, her voice cracking slightly from nerves. She began looking around frantically. "Where are they?"
Taking in a stammering breath, Logan mumbled through gritted teeth, "Jeans...pocket..in the..the bathroom."
Hallie nodded quickly, dashing into the bathroom as fast as she could, though she found herself stumbling from nerves and the dark. She picked up the dripping wet jeans that were draining in the bathtub, and dug around in the pockets until she pulled out a little orange prescription medication container.
Emptying a pill into her open palm, Hallie then tripped along through the dark back to Logan. She handed him the pill, watching as he tossed it into his mouth quickly, one hand still on his chest. "Logan..."
Raising a hand for her to relax, he mumbled, "Jus'...gimme a second." he took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly, keeping his eyes closed for a moment before he visibly began to relax, tiredly laying back on the futon with a sigh.
"You okay now?" Hallie asked softly with concerned eyes staring at her best friend. She'd been there when Logan had these sort of 'attacks' before, but it still didn't mean she'd be any less nervous when it happened.
"Yeh," Logan whispered weakly, breathing in and out with concentrated breaths as he waited for his heartbeat to slowly return to a normal, steady beat.
Hallie closed her eyes for a moment, sitting down on the end of the futon and sighing with relief. She glanced at Logan with quiet concern, then crawled up on the futon bed and laid down beside him as she pulled the blanket up. Hallie smiled when he didn't object, then gently grabbed his arm, hugging it like a teddy bear as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"What's wrong?" Logan asked, his gruff voice coming out soft and making his chest rumble a bit. He knew she was troubled, and not just by what had happened. She was more used to it than she seemed. No, Hallie only got really close and cuddly when she was being playful, or something was bothering her. Right now, Logan knew his best friend wasn't kidding around.
"Rrm...it's just been, well...not good the past few days." she mumbled sadly into his shoulder.
Logan nodded with understanding, then slowly raised his other arm and gently ran a hand through her soft hair before they both fell asleep.
Just before he completely dozed off, Logan absently wondered if he and Hallie could ever be more than just good friends. The two had been together so long that they'd never really gotten into dating, or really wanted to date other people. It's no wonder why everyone just assumed they were going out, and Logan couldn't help but wonder if they were...Maybe it just hasn't been confirmed by either of them, but they've been an item all along. Like they were truly meant for eachother.
*****