"Don't come over unless you see him with another person. Got it? If he's alone, I'm alone." Carlos and Kendall gave him a thumbs up.
"Got it." Logan took a deep breath and walked into the theater. He looked around for James, hoping that he hadn't stood him up.
"Logan!" James ran over, shoving a bucket of popcorn into Logan's arms. "You're late. I thought you stood me up."
"I wouldn't do that." Good. It's just us. Maybe this really is a date.
"Good to know." He shoved his hand in his pocket. As the approached the ticket counter, a girl with long brown hair came up to them. Standing behind James tapping her foot, eyes boring into the back of James' head.
"James, I think she wants you." James turned around and sighed.
"Samantha, what did I say? I asked you one thing. One tiny thing. Just take your little boyfriend and go to the mall for two hours. Just two hours! I even gave you seventy bucks! What could you possibly want?"
"The seventy bucks that you forgot to give me." She held out her hand and put the other on her hip. "Maybe I'll just tell my mom that you're an asshole with terrible hair."
"Maybe I'll just tell your mom that you're a slut with a potty mouth." He pulled the money out of his wallet and slapped it into her hand. "There."
"Thanks." She stretched up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Who was that?" Logan had never seen such an odd interaction before. It both puzzled and entertained him.
"Just my cousin, Sam. She's been staying with me. Her mom thinks it'll straighten her out. She's basically paying me to keep her away from drugs, boys and alcohol."
"But, she's with a boy."
"Two out of three isn't bad." He paid for the tickets and they walked toward the open area in the lobby. "She's gets her way, I get my money, and her mom's happy. No one ever has to know. It's our little secr-"
"Hey buddy!" Kendall jumped on Logan's back and ruffled his hair. "We're here. Because you invited us, your friends, to this lovely gathering, of friends." Kendall added, smacking Logan on the back.
"I told you guys only to come over if we weren't alone!" He whispered, covering his face with his free hand, hoping that if he wished hard enough he would disappear.
"Ooh, popcorn!" Carlos snatched the bucket out of Logan's hold before running off with Kendall to the ticket counter.
"Friends of yours, I'm guessing?" James turned to Logan and laughed half-heartedly.
"I'm so sorry-"
"It's cool." He smiled and shoved his hands in his pockets. Logan had read enough books on body language to know what that meant.
"That was epic." Kendall declared as he left the theater with Carlos following close behind him.
"I saw you crying." James gave Logan a playful shove and chuckled.
"I'm a big Harry Potter fan. Sue me." He looked up at James who was walking with his head down. "I'm sorry about my friends."
"It's alright. The more the merrier."
"But I just thought-" Logan bit his tongue. "Never mind."
"No. What were you thinking?" Logan sighed dramatically and he laughed. "Tell me!"
"I just thought that this may have been somewhat of a date. Kind of. Possibly."
"Well, did you want it to be somewhat of a possible, kind of date?" Logan nodded. "Well then, I guess it was."
"Really?" James couldn't help but laughed at how Logan's face lit up at the statement. Logan blushed and turned away.
"Yes, really." They made it to the lobby and saw Kendall and Carlos waiting at the door for Logan. "I guess you should get going. Don't want to keep your friends waiting."
"Yeah. Wouldn't want to keep my plan ruining friends waiting." He scoffed and turned back to James. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"I'm coming back for that comic book tomorrow. What, did you think I only came to the library for you?"
"A little bit, yeah." That wasn't entirely true. Logan feigned offense.
"You're not that hot."
"But you still think I'm hot...?" James smiled at how red Logan's face turned before flushing a ghostly white.
"I'm gonna go before I embarrass myself any more." He waved and walked over to his friends.
"So where'd the girl go?"
"What girl?"
"The girl that Kendall said he saw with you and James. That's why we came over."
"That girl. That was his cousin. So it was Kendall that ruined my date?"
"I'm sorry." Kendall turned around in his chair. "I thought she was his girlfriend or something."
"I doesn't matter. According to him, it was a date." Logan smiled to himself. He couldn't wait to get to the library. Just ten more minutes and he was counting down every second.
When the bell finally rang and he made it through the front door, he could see James' smile beaming from across the room.
"Hey, Logan. I was starting to think I scared you off last night."
"Nothing could keep me away." He saw James' eyebrow raise and could feel himself blushing. "The library, I mean. Nothing could keep me away from the library."
"Sure." James walked out from behind the counter and back to the comic book room, unlocking it and holding the door open for Logan. "So our date last night was pretty fun. We should do it again."
"That's kind of what you do when you're dating someone, right?" He picked the book off of the shelf and sat down at the table, smiling when he saw James roll his eyes.
"No one likes a smart-ass, Mitchell." He sat across from Logan and fiddled with his keychain. He spoke up after a few minutes of awkward silence. "My birthday's coming up."
"Really?" Logan set the book down on the table and smiled. James nodded. "How old are you turning?" James groaned.
"Twenty two." James saw Logan's eyes widen and his jaw drop. "I know, right? It's all fun and games until after twenty one. The age everyone waits for, but no one tells you that it's downhill after that."
"Yeah, I guess. I wouldn't really know." Logan, what the hell are you doing!
"Oh, I see what's going on." Logan could feel his throat swelling up and his palms swelling. Logan hated two things: pressure and lying. This situation had both of those sitting on his shoulders. "You have even turned twenty one yet, have you?"
"I will in a while." Not a total lie.
"Well, you're lucky. When's your twenty first birthday?" October 13, 2015.
"October. Of next year."
"So you're nineteen?" Logan nodded. Nineteen wasn't bad. It was only a few years off from his actual age. "Cool. Live it up. When you're my age, shit starts to get real." Logan smiled.
"I bet it does." Logan picked up the comic book and continued reading, hoping the age conversation had blown over completely.
"So, anyway. I want you to come to my birthday get together."
"You're having a party?"
"Well, no. Me and a few close friends get together at my ex-girlfriend's dad's restaurant and order basically everything on the menu. There's karaoke, and an arcade and they have the best pizza in town."
"Sure. Sounds like fun." Their first date had been lucky for Logan. With Kendall and Carlos there, he had more confidence. Now, he was going to be alone, pretending to be a twenty year old college student, with a bunch of people he didn't know. This should be interesting.
Next one should be up soon. Thanks for the reviews and stuff. They make me happy. :)-