A/N: OMG…11 reviews for the first chapter…That's like really amazing…I want to thank every single one of you who reviewed and wished me luck for the exam. I would love to say that I aced every single one of my papers, but sadly… I think I might have just done the opposite.
Anyway, here's the next chap. Enjoy!
P.S: This, by the way, still doesn't have a real plot.
Chapter 2.
"It's working wonders."
Logan turned to his dark skinned friend and shot him a smile. "Yeah, it is." He looked down to his feet and watched in amusement as he wiggled his toes. He stepped down from the counter he was sitting on and his grin grew wider as he felt the cold floor come in contact with his bare feet.
Max's blood had done wonders. He had started regaining the feeling in his leg the night after Bennett's wedding and it had progressed to a full recovery, according to Sam. It was as if he was in a dream. Logan had never expected he would be able to walk again. But then again, he had never expected he would meet a genetically engineered human being either. And it was because of that particular genetically engineered human being that he was able to walk again. Funny how the world works.
You know what they say…Expect the unexpected.
No, he hadn't told Max yet. He wanted to surprise her, and what better way to do that than to show her the night of the party? He turned to his former physical therapist who over time had become his close friend and grinned. "Watch me walk." He said as he strutted to the kitchen. Bling laughed and realized that Logan, for the first time was truly happy.
"Which aunt is it this time?" Bling asked regarding the party, following Logan to the kitchen.
"Margaret." Logan replied, busying himself with preparing a sandwich. Bling scrunched up his face, trying to recall which member of the family she was.
"Isn't she the one married to the-"
"The ape? Yeah, that's the one." Logan muttered and handed a very amused Bling a ready sandwich. "You're cruel, you know that?" Bling said in between bites. Logan sighed. "Cruel, I may be, but I'm not the one trying to fondle every woman who attended my wedding."
Bling smiled. He was about to say something else before the front door slammed shut and a loud female voice calling Logan's name filled the apartment. Before he even realized it, Logan had appeared by his side in his wheelchair, somewhat out of breath. He flashed Bling a thumbs-up sign and wheeled out to greet his visitor.
"You haven't told Max yet?" Bling asked him in disbelief. Logan's eyes shot up to his, warning him to be silent, but a little too late.
Max appeared in front of them, hand on her hips, a look of indignation on her face. "Haven't told Max what, exactly?" she asked looking at both men in front of her. Logan grinned at her, hoping his smile would steer Max off track.
No such luck.
"Tell me what?" She repeated, her voice getting a little louder.
"That you look amazingly stunning today, did you know?" Logan said, saccharine sweetness dripping off every word. Bling held back a laugh as Max now fixed them both with a look which clearly said 'You've got to be kidding me.'
She waited a second more before exhaling loudly and headed towards the kitchen. "Don't wanna tell me, fine. Not like I care." She called back. Logan snorted as he followed her to the kitchen.
But you do care, Max. You do care.
He found her sitting on the table, taking a bite out of the sandwich he had made earlier for himself. "That was mine, you know." He said, pointing to the sandwich, now almost half gone. Max shrugged nonchalantly. "It's mine now. But if you want it back, feel free to come and look inside my stomach." She said, finishing the last of the sandwich and hopping off the table top.
I'd like to take a look at other things, though. GOD, Cale…What's wrong with you…
"No thanks…" He said.
"Thought so…here." Max handed him his credit card from the other day. "You done with it?" He asked her, surprised. Max nodded. "Got a dress for me, got a manicure set for Cindy, yeah, we're pretty much done with that piece of plastic." She said.
Logan pocketed the card, still slightly reveling in the fact that he could feel his hands pocketing it. He noticed Max eyeing him curiously, biting her lower lip. "Wha..at"
"Something's different about you, Logan. Hey, Bling…Anything I should know?" She turned to the other man. Bling shook his head. "Uh, no. Nothing important." He said as he carefully avoided her stare. Max rolled her eyes. "You two suck at lying. I'm gonna find out sooner or later. You mark my words."
"Yeah, when you do, you kick his ass for me, okay?" Bling said to her as he made his way to the front door. "I have to go. Got another appointment in half an hour. Have fun, kids."
Max watched him exit and turned back to Logan, who was already heading towards the living room. "Hey, we're not done yet! Tell me!" She yelled as he disappeared out of her sight. She huffed and went to the living room.
"I thought you said you didn't care?" Logan teased her. Max glared at him, but remained silent. She plopped down on the couch and lifted her legs, placing them on the coffee table, knowing it irritated Logan. The next few minutes passed in silence, the both of them looking at each other. Max's angry glare had softened into a casual stare. Logan however, was mesmerized by the beauty in front of him and ignored the fact that his table was getting dirty by Max's shoes.
Why the hell is he staring at me like that…
Good question, girl…Now the better question is why are you staring at him?
Go away. I like staring at him.
Then maybe he likes staring at you?
Why are there two people in my head?
It's the angel and the devil thing you know, like in the cartoons, I'm the angel.
No, I'm the angel.
SHUT UP!
Max shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "I don't care. It's in the genes." She said finally. "Cats and curiosity…"
Logan laughed softly, his eyes at last leaving her and eyeing the dark stain on the table runner. Max quickly put down her feet and grinned at him. "Sorry 'bout that." She said, not feeling sorry at all. Logan sighed.
"Oh yeah, before I forget. About tomorrow, Cindy says it'll be easier if I got ready at the apartment, instead of Jam Pony. Come pick me up there?"
"Okay. Around six, six thirty?" He asked, pulling the runner from the table. He started as Max's beeper beeped, the shrill noise disturbing the peaceful atmosphere they had created.
"Yeah," she said, checking the black beeper hanging on the belt loop of her jeans. "I gotta go. Personal antichrist number 2 getting on my case. I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked as she got up and made her way out. Logan nodded, holding the door open for her. "Tomorrow." He agreed. She took one last apologetic look at the dirty runner on Logan's lap, turned and entered the elevator already opening for her.
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"Not bad, for someone who's been out of the social limelight for sometime." Bling said as Logan emerged from his bedroom. He was in a tux, well fitted and smart. It was double breasted, made of fine material and probably cost more than most of the things he owned. His hair was cleverly spiked, making the messiness look boyish but natural.
"You think so?"
"You look good, buddy. Just don't take that the wrong way." Bling said.
Logan laughed. "You think Max will like this?" He asked, running his hands down the front of his suit. Bling nodded as he handed Logan his car keys. "Don't make the lady wait." He added, urging Logan towards the door.
"You gonna stay here, or…"
Bling shook his head. "Nah. I'm gonna go. I've got better things to do." They entered the elevator as the door slid open. "Max is going to kill you for not telling her." He said, tilting his head to Logan's now mobile feet. Logan smiled ruefully. "Probably. But everyone likes a nice surprise once in a while right?" He said as the elevator dinged.
"Whatever you think, Logan. I'll see you." Bling said waving back as they parted ways. Logan started his car and pulled out of the car park.
Please let Max be one of those people who like surprises…
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Max shifted restlessly on the worn out stool. Sitting patiently was not her best trait and she had been sitting for hours. Well, at least she thought it had been hours, Cindy kept insisting that barely half an hour had passed. And she had taken away the mirror after Max wouldn't stop fidgeting and playing with it. Now, all she had left to look at was the bare wall and count how many cracks there were running down it.
"Why is it taking so long?" she asked, cleverly rephrasing her 'Are you done yet?' question she had asked earlier which had resulted in Cindy yanking her hair back in irritation.
"Do you want to look good or not?" Came the answer from behind her as she felt Cindy spray something cold on her head.
"Half an hour is enough time for me to look good. Besides, you spent ages on my make up already, which by the way, I think is crazy because I look like I don't have any make up on. My hair doesn't have to look that good, Cindy. It'll overshadow the dress…" she said, pointing to dress, carefully laid out on her bed.
"Be quiet, boo. It's almost done, aiight? You sound like a kid. And this ain't gonna over shadow anything, trust me." Cindy muttered from the top of her head.
"Technically, in some countries, I am still a kid. Oh my god."
Cindy had come back to face her and lifted the hand mirror to let her see the end results. Max could hardly believe she was looking at herself. Her hair, previously a mess of curls hanging down her shoulders had been straightened and now hung loosely in waves, pulled back in a half ponytail. A few strands hung in wisps down the front, framing her face, further enhancing her already exotic features.
Cindy had cleverly streaked her hair so that it now had little red strands in the midst of all the black, making her look cool, yet elegant.
"You took half an hour to do this?" Max asked her, noticing how simple the hairstyle actually was. "Don't make me smack you, boo. You got hair more stubborn than two of you, aiight?" Cindy said.
Max snorted and turned her head, still somewhat amazed at the transformation. "Thanks, Cin. This is wonderful."
Original Cindy smirked and nodded. "Now go put that dress on. Original Cindy wants to see a princess." Max laughed as she took the dress off the bed and went into the bathroom.
She emerged a while later, a vision of perfection. Cindy stared at her, mouth agape not believing that it was actually Max. She looked ten times better than the last time when she attended Bennett's wedding and probably a hundred times sexier.
The dress was navy blue, made of material that shimmered under the light, sequins decorating the entire bodice. It was strapless, only held in place by the zigzagging stings tied at the back. The dress hugged her curves nicely, flaring slightly at the bottom.
Max laughed as saw Cindy's reaction. She twirled playfully, the soft fabric of the dress whispering in the air. The dress cut low down her back, ample of her smooth golden skin to be displayed to the public. "You like?" she asked. Cindy nodded her approval. "Original Cindy likes it a lot."
Max grinned at her. They both turned as someone knocked on the door. Max glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that Logan was early. "I got it." Cindy said as she headed to the door. Max turned and went to her room to get her bag.
Cindy pulled the door open, cringing as the metal hinges screeched, echoing in the hallway. She nearly tripped over her own feet as she saw Logan leaning against the doorframe, a bouquet of flowers in his hand. He caught her as she nearly fell.
"What the hell…"
Logan chuckled, releasing her as she straightened up. "Hey. Is Max ready?"
"Yeah, but…boo, this is amazing. You lost your wheels. When-"
"Holy shit!"
Max had appeared behind Cindy, here eyes wide and disbelieving. She pushed Cindy out of the way and hugged Logan without a second thought, her arms tight around his neck. Logan was taken aback, but returned her hug eventually, the bouquet of flowers hanging uselessly from his hand.
Ma pulled back after a while, suddenly feeling self conscious. What the hell did I just do? She looked up at Logan. He's standing…. A smile graced his features as he handed her the flowers. Max took the flowers, not really noticing them, instead fixing her eyes on Logan, actually standing before her. Cindy grabbed the flowers from her as they threatened to fall from her seemingly petrified fingers.
"How did…" her mouth failed her, unsure if there were any words to describe the emotions running through her head.
Happiness, confusion, indignation….fear?
Logan smirked at her silence.
"You look amazing." He told her, his eyes casually making their way down her body and back up again. Max blushed, noticing the movement of his eyes and grinned nervously. "You too." She whispered back
Cindy watched the two of them, who had now conveniently forgotten about her being there. She mentally stored the scene before her, planning to use it to tease Max at a later time. She went back in the apartment, leaving them alone.
"How…when did this happen?" Max asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"You did this, Max." He answered simply, his hands gesturing towards the lower half of his body.
"What are you talking about?"
"Your transfusion. Something in your blood fixed me. Sam, Doctor Sam, he said it's as if nothing happened, Max. Everything is fine now."
"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, suspicion and doubt beginning to fill her voice. Logan shook his head and stepped closer to her. "I wanted it to be a surprise. Don't…don't take this the wrong way, Max. It's just, we had this party and I wanted to surprise you. Trust me, if we didn't, you would have been the first person I told."
Max nodded slowly, realizing Logan was being really honest with her. He was so close to her she could smell his cologne, and whatever else he had used to make him smell so intoxicating, so…Logan-y.
They stood there for a while, him towering over her, their eyes speaking volumes they both could never convey with words. "We should go." It was Max who broke the silence, quickly stepping backwards, breaking the staring match. Logan nodded, glancing at his watch as Max turned to leave.
"Amazing dress…" He told her as they walked down the stairs of her apartment. "I'm glad you think so, since you bought it." She said. "I like your suit too." She added. They reached the ground floor and Max pushed the rusty doors open. Logan fished the car keys out of his pockets and pressed the little unlock button.
"How long is it gonna take us to get there?" Max asked as she watched in wonder as Logan eased himself into the seat. No more awkward transfers, storing the chair. He just gets in. Damn…He looks fine as hell tonight.
"Half an hour, give or take." Logan replied as he started the engine. Max nodded, more to herself than to anyone else.
Goody…more time for me to look at him, then.
What the hell, girl? You're seriously losing it.
I like losing it. Look at him, all nervous and cute and sexy…
You're right…Sexy as hell…
"I'm going crazy…" Max muttered as she tried to shake the irritating voices out of her head. Logan turned to her, thinking she had spoken to him. "Sorry, what did you say?"
Dammit. How did he hear me?
"Nothing. Just talking to myself." She told him as she flashed him a grin. Logan smiled back at her and turned back to the road. His hand flicked the radio knob and a rock song came on. Max heard him hum along to the old tune and settled back into her seat.
Now…Lets hope he stays like that. Then maybe he won't notice you staring at him.
Maybe I want him to notice.
Maybe I want you to shut up and let me stare in peace.
Max groaned inwardly. This was going to be one hell of a night. Still, he really won't notice if she stared at him just a little…
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Okay I need to know, should the next chap be about Logan telling Max about his aunt Margaret and his ape husband or should I just skip that part and jump to the party and let Max find out herself what an ape he is…
Let me know.
x0x0x
Griever
