"That's a wrap for today, guys. See you on Monday. Have a fun weekend."

"Try not to fall this weekend, James," the makeup artist said. "That bruise alone is hard enough to cover!"

"I'll make sure he doesn't get hurt," Logan commented.

I followed Logan to his car and sat in the passenger seat. Nobody talked. Logan led me to his room when we got to his house.

"Why'd you invite me over?" I asked suddenly.

"I'm determined to get the truth out of you," Logan answered. "I know you didn't fall."

"Yes I did." And that is the truth. I fell after my mom hit me."

"James," Logan said sternly, "tell me the truth. Have you ever tried to commit suicide?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said. "You're cr-"

"Don't lie to me, James!" he suddenly yelled. He lowered his voice again. "Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying," I protested.

"The hell you aren't!" he snapped. He took a deep breath. "Look, James. You can tell me the truth. I won't tell anybody."

"I-I can't," I mumbled.

Logan took my hand in his. "Yes, you can. You can trust me." I avoided his eyes. "James, please. I can see the hurt and pain in your eyes and I don't like it. I really care about you, James."

I looked up at him then. "You… You care about me?"

"Well, yeah," he said. "You're one of my best friends. Of course I care about you."

I looked down again.

He cared about me as his best friend. That's it. I'm nothing more to him than a best friend. Tears burned in my eyes and threatened to spill over.

Logan gave my hand a small squeeze. "James."

"My dad left when I was seven," I said quietly. "My mom turned into an alcoholic and took her anger out on me. It's only gotten worse."

I told Logan my story. He stayed quiet. I could tell he was analyzing my every word.

"And here I am today," I finished. Tears were falling down my face. Logan reached up and wiped them off.

"That's horrible," he mumbled. "I'm so sorry."

I shrugged. "It's not your fault."

Logan stared into my eyes. I could almost see the gears turning in his head. Slowly, he leaned closer to me. My breathing stopped when his lips touched mine. He kissed me and I kissed him back. His tongue forced its way into my mouth. He pushed me back onto his bed. His hands tangled in my hair. Suddenly, he pulled away and rolled off of me.

"I'm so sorry!" he blurted. "I shouldn't have done that. I don't know what came over me. I just couldn't hold back any-"

I cut him off with a soft kiss.

"Calm down," I said. "It's OK."

"Wait. Do you-" he took a breath- "Do you like me, too?"

I nodded. "I have for a while, actually," I admitted sheepishly.

Things were silent for a few minutes.

"I'm going to help you through this," he whispered. "We can get you away from her."

~*Logan's P.O.V*~

James didn't speak much. I tried to think of ways to get his mind off his mom, but I couldn't get my mind off the kiss.

"Is there anything specific you wanna do?" I asked. He shrugged. "You hungry?" He looked up at me and nodded. I grabbed his hand and led him to the kitchen. "What do you want to eat?"

"It doesn't matter," he said quietly.

"James, I want you to be honest with me," I said. "When was the last time you had a full meal?"

"The night you took me to Burger King," he said.

"And before that?"

He looked down. "I don't know."

The sadness in his voice and on his face broke my heart. There was a lump in my throat.

"Help yourself to whatever you want," I told him. "I'll be right back." I gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

When I walked out of the kitchen, I ran into someone.

"Mom!" I said shocked.

"Hello, sweetheart," she said. There was something about the way she said it…

"Did you happen to see any of that?" I asked.

She nodded. "I saw all of it."

"Oh, uh, I just, uh, it's-"

"It's OK, Logan. Whatever makes you happy."

I hugged her. "Thanks, mom."

"I uh, put a pizza in the oven for us," James said when I walked back into the kitchen. "I hope that's OK."

"That's fine," I said. "What do you wanna do after we eat?"

"Um, watch a move?" he suggested.

"A movie it is." I smiled. He grabbed my hand.

"Can I… Can I kiss you?" he asked shyly.

"You don't have to ask," I said.

He smiled and leaned down to press his lips to mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and smiled into the kiss.

The oven timer made us both jump. I put the pizza on the counter and cut it. We ate in silence.

"What about… Iron Man?" I asked.

"Sure," James said.

I put the movie in and sat on the couch. James sat beside me and put his head on my shoulder.

"Logan," James said softly, "does this mean that you're my boyfriend now?"

"Do you want me to be?" I asked.

"Well… yeah," he said. He was blushing.

"Then yes. I'm your boyfriend."

He smiled.

James fell asleep about halfway through the movie. I carefully got off the couch and made my way to my mom's room. The door was open.

"Mom, can I talk to you?"

"Of course."

"Mom," I said. "How do you help a friend who's… being abused?"

"You tell the cops," she answered. "Who is it, sweetie? Is it James?"

Before I could answer, I heard my name from the living room. "I'll finish this later."

I walked into the living room. James was sitting on the couch. He looked up at me with tear-filled eyes.

"James, what's wrong?" I asked. I sat down beside him and grabbed his hand.

"I-I had a nightm-mare," he sniffed. "And when I woke up and you weren't here, I thought everything that happened was a dream. I thought I was alone again."

I kissed a tear off his cheek and then kissed his lips. I pulled him close.

"I'm here, I'm here," I murmured. "I'll always be here."

"Thank you," he whispered.

We both laid down on the couch, his head on my chest. He was still quietly crying. I rubbed his back, slowly soothing him into sleep.

**Author's note:

I'll try to update as soon as possible! It's summer now so hopefully it won't take too long.

-Xoxo L