Logan placed his hands against the lockers, leaning heavily as he attempted to calm his anger. His hand was throbbing, but he hardly paid it any attention. How could she think that he would actually cheat on her? What the hell would possess her to believe something like that?
"I swear, mate, if we weren't a school right now..." Finn threatened, letting his voice trail off.
"Logan?" Stephanie questioned, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.
He whipped around and was immediately staring into the cold gazes of Colin and Finn, and the concerned eyes of Stephanie.
"I swear to God, Logan..." Colin began, his words made of ice.
"I didn't cheat on her!" Logan hissed, his voice rising, "I can't believe any of you would think I would do that to her, or could do that to her."
Colin and Finn lowered there eyes and Logan charged forward, "I don't know who the hell made her think something like that, but it's bullshit. It's complete and total bullshit."
"Logan, you have to admit, your history does suggest..."
Logan cut Colin off, "My history suggests that I've never had a girlfriend before, nor have I ever met a girl that means as much to me as she does. I can't believe you would even think..."
He let his voice trail off, rage consuming him to the point where he couldn't even speak anymore. How could none of them believe him? How could Rory and two of his best friends not give him the slightest benefit of the doubt?
He lost her. He couldn't believe he actually lost her and the worst part was, he lost her for absolutely no reason. God, the only thing he'd done over the past few days was work, in London. The only person he had thought about was her. How could she? How could she not even show the slightest remorse when he told her that nothing happened? Was he that untrustworthy? Did his past haunt him that much?
He would never hurt her, ever. He cared to much about her. Not only was she his girlfriend, she was his best friend, the one person he knew he could always count on. Except now. Now, she was gone. Gone because she chose to believe somebody else's words over his, gone because her past experiences with boyfriends had left her weary of actually believing that he was telling the truth, gone because she was scared. He knew she was scared. She was scared of actually letting herself fall for him. And this? This was the perfect way out.
"Logan," Stephanie said again, her voice soft, "Who would have started a rumor like this?"
"Take your pick, Stephanie. Practically any girl I've ever looked at wants me and her apart."
"But you were in London, mate," Finn pointed out.
"Don't talk to me, Finn," Logan replied coldly, "In fact, you and Colin can both go to hell."
"Logan..." Colin began.
Logan just shook his head and turned, storming off down the hallway towards his first class. He didn't have to turn around to know Stephanie was right behind him, but he didn't mind. At least she had believed him, at least she knew he would never cheat on Rory. At least he had someone.
"It had to have happened in London," Stephanie said as she walked up beside him, placing a gentle hand on his arm, "It had to have been somebody you saw in London."
Logan's step faltered slightly, "I know who it is."
Without waiting for a reply, he whipped around and headed in the complete opposite direction, not caring if he had a class or not. He knew who started the rumor, and he had to find her. Stephanie somehow managed to follow right behind him as he weaved his way through the crowd of Chilton students. Finally, he found who he was looking for: Amber Stanley.
She smiled when she saw him, her green eyes practically lighting up. His anger only grew as he walked towards her, fists clenched at his sides at an attempt to keep calm.
"I heard you and your girlfriend had a fight," she greeted, taking a step towards him, "What a shame."
"Shut up," he demanded, "Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Excuse me?"
"I saw you in London, Amber, saw you. That was the end of the interaction we had together. That's it, nothing more. So stop spreading rumors just to make you feel better about yourself. You're pathetic."
"What are you talking about?" she asked innocently, although her almost scared eyes betrayed her words, "What rumor?"
"Look, I know you're as dumb as a rock, but nobody's going to believe you're that stupid. So cut the crap and own up. You already made her think that I cheated on her, something that I would never do, so stop messing around. God, no wonder Rory hates all of you."
"Just because your ex-girlfriend thinks she's better than me--"
"She is better than you," Logan interrupted, "She would never pull the shit you do."
"Logan, she was never good enough for you. You shouldn't be limited, you should--"
"You don't get to decide what I should and should not be, do you understand me? The only reason I even know who the hell you are is because I had to go to a stupid ass dinner party and we both happened to be there. I was bored out of my mind the entire time, and do you know why? Because my father made me talk to you. I probably could have had a better conversation with a wall."
"He made you talk to me?" she practically yelled.
"You actually think I talked to you willingly? God, you really are stupid."
He heard Stephanie cough from behind him, and he lifted his eyes up to see Rory standing a few feet down the hallway, her eyes wide with shock. He held her gaze, his eyes battling hers, as the rest of the world seem to disappear. He was hardly aware of Amber pushing past him, or Stephanie following the other blond with rage in her eyes. All he was aware of was Rory, and how much it hurt that she didn't believe him.
She took a few steps forward, and he could see tears building up in her eyes.
"Logan..."
"I don't want to talk to you, not right now," he paused, "Maybe not ever."
"Logan, please, I'm--"
"I don't care what you are. You didn't believe me, Rory. You believed some stuck up bitch over me. God, Rory. You wouldn't even listen to me."
"I was hurt, I--"
He cut her off again, "You know what? Now I don't feel like listening to you."
She looked absolutely devastated as she stood before him, but she kept her jaw clenched in an attempt not to cry. He refused to feel bad for her, refused to be the one to apologize. Instead, he turned around quickly and walked away, not even bothering to glance back as he headed towards his first class.
He sighed as he slid into his seat, barely noticing the people milling around, obviously conversing about the potential break up of Chilton's most talked about couple. He paid them no attention, he had too much on his mind. He couldn't believe it was all over.
The past months with Rory had been absolute bliss, and he couldn't remember a time when he had been more happy. He'd put her first, made her everything to him. He changed his lifestyle for her. He dropped his head into his hands, trying not to remember everything about her, but it was no use. All he could think about was her smile, her kiss, and the look on her face as she determinately worked on building a snowman.
Could it really be over? Could everything they had really end just like that?
She knew she made a mistake, she knew that now. But what angered him the most, and what hurt the most, was that she didn't believe him in the first place. He couldn't believe that she actually thought he would do something like that. Rory was a smart girl, why the hell did she even listen to Amber in the first place? God, she knew what those girls were like. She had to.
How could he be with someone who would believe rumors like that without even giving him the chance to speak? He didn't know if he continue dating her knowing that she was so quick to doubt his character. He knew she was weary of him, and his past, but he also thought that deep down, she knew that he would never do anything to hurt her. He wasn't Jess or Dean, he was her friend first. There was nothing he wouldn't do to keep her from getting hurt. Didn't she know that?
His thoughts drifted briefly to his friends as the teacher walked into the room and closed the door. It angered him that Colin and Finn, two people he'd known practically all his life, would think that he was capable of cheating on Rory. Sure, they didn't commit to other girls, and the three of them knew how to play the field. But he thought they knew, and believed, that Rory was different to him. To have two of his best friends turn on him so quickly actually hurt him.
But the question remained: what should he do about his girlfriend? He cared about her so much, that he just wanted to walk out the door, find her, and pull her into his arms. But he was so angry, and so hurt, that he wasn't sure if he could ever do that again. Did she even care about him as much as he cared about her? Could she learn how to trust him, completely, with no doubts? Was she capable of letting go of her past, and letting herself fall for him?
These were the questions clouding his mind during the class period, not the questions the teacher was asking as he stood in front of the room, but these.
--------
"Logan."
Logan turned in the hallway as he headed towards lunch to see Stephanie walking towards him. He slowed down and let her catch up, thankful that he had at least one person he could count on that day.
"I talked to Rory," she informed him.
"Great," he replied dryly, "So did I."
"Logan, come on..."
"I really don't want to talk about this."
"Well, you are, so get over it."
He couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the headstrong blond's tone as they walked into the cafeteria. Logan almost instantly saw Colin, Finn, and Rory sitting at the usual table, and he averted his eyes almost as soon as they glanced up and noticed him.
"Logan, just listen to me, okay?" Stephanie asked, stepping into line with Logan.
"Fine. I'm all ears."
"Okay. First of all, you of all people know how insecure she is about relationships right now. She's been hurt a lot, and she's scared," she talked faster as he opened his mouth to interrupt, "And I know that that's no excuse, and that you would never cheat on her, but that's why she was so quick to believe what she heard. She's still scared of you, Logan."
"She barely even let me open my mouth," Logan responded, "She didn't care what the hell I had to say, she believed Amber Stanley over me. I thought she was smart enough not to listen to those girls and their rumors, but I guess not. She should have listened to me, Steph."
Stephanie sighed, "I know that, and she knows that, too. She's really sorry, Logan, she feels like shit."
"Well, that makes two of us then."
"Logan..."
"No. I'm not going to feel bad for her. She's the one who made the mistake here, not me. The only thing I'm guilty of is getting dragged to a dinner party by my father. That's all. She turned her back on me, she chose not to listen to me, she decided not to give me a chance to explain. It's all on her."
Logan walked to a table a good distance away from the other three and Stephanie followed him, her mouth set in a straight line.
"Don't throw this relationship away," she instructed, "You'll regret it. She made a mistake, Logan, everyone makes mistakes. She's sorry, she really is. She misses you already and I can tell that you really miss her. You two are so good together."
"Were good together."
"Logan, please, just talk to her, okay? I've never seen you as happy as you are when you're with her. She's your best friend, you need each other."
Logan didn't reply and he stared hard at the floor, refusing to make eye contact with his friend. She knew him too well, she knew how much he cherished having Rory in his life. She knew that he really didn't want to throw everything him and Rory had together away.
"Please, just talk to her, okay?" Stephanie repeated.
He lifted his eyes and nodded slowly, "Okay, I'll talk to her. After school, I'll talk to her."
"Good," Stephanie nodded firmly, "Now, about Colin and Finn--"
"Colin and Finn were two of my best friends, they aren't anymore. They turned their backs on me when I needed them, and didn't even let me open my mouth before they formed their opinion. I don't want to talk about them right now. No."
"You know how fiercely protective they are of her, hell, you are, too. And--"
"I said no, Stephanie. I don't want to talk about that right now."
Logan thanked her silently for finally falling silent, and he stared at his food briefly before pushing it away. He was too angry to even consider eating right now, and his upcoming conversation with Rory had his stomach in knots. What was he going to say to her?
--------
Logan stood in the parking lot, leaning against his Porsche as he waited for Rory to exit the building. He'd walked out with Stephanie, avoiding Colin and Finn at all costs, and the other girl was long gone by now. He knew that Rory would probably walk out with the other two, but he refused to even acknowledge them.
He would deal with them later.
She walked out a few minutes later, and he took a step away from his care, staring at her for a second before opening his mouth to call her name.
"Rory!"
She turned quickly, searching for him, and she found him quickly. Colin and Finn glanced up also, and he stared at them coldly until they finally turned away. Rory walked over to him slowly, her arms crossed in front of herself as if for protection. She stopped as she neared him, and brought her nervous blue eyes up to meet his icy brown ones.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered, her words barely audible, "I should have listened to you. I don't know why I didn't listen to you."
"I do," he answered, "You didn't listen because you don't trust me."
"Logan, that's not true--"
"Yes, it is. You don't trust me, you haven't since we started this. You've always been scared that I'm going to end up hurting you. You look at me, and you see Jess and you see Dean. You look at me and you see a guy that has never had a girlfriend and doesn't know how to commit. You see me as someone who was born to screw this up and hurt you. Isn't that right?"
A single tear slid down her cheek as she slowly nodded, "I want to trust you..."
"Then trust me, Rory! Know that you were my friend first, and I would never want to hurt you. Know that I couldn't live with myself if I ever even thought about cheating on you. These past few months have been amazing, and I would never, ever do anything to screw that up."
"I'm so sorry..."
"Why did you listen to her?" he demanded, "You know what those girls are like. They would say anything to get the two of us apart and--"
"I didn't know they saw me!" she interrupted, her voice rising, "They weren't talking to me, they were standing beside me. I didn't even know they knew I was there. I'm practically invisible to them!"
"Correction: you were invisible to them until you started dating me."
"I'm trying to explain myself," she practically hissed, "What was I supposed to think, Logan? There are two girls standing there talking about you, and the one is talking about what a great kisser you are, and I'm supposed to think that they're setting me up? That they planned all of this?"
"Maybe not, but you're supposed to at least talk to me before jumping to conclusions. You're supposed to give me the benefit of the doubt. God, Rory."
"I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry! I know I should have let you talk. I know that! I was just so scared that it was happening all over again that I could hardly think straight. You mean so much to me that just the thought of you cheating on me made me go practically insane. I know I shouldn't have believed them, and looking back, it was so freaking obvious what they were doing. But at that moment? At that moment all I knew was that my boyfriend cheated on me and I felt broken!"
"I can't be with you if you can't trust me, Rory! You have to be able to trust me."
"I'm learning, Logan! I'll get there."
"No," his voice grew quiet, "You have to be able to now. You have to be able to look me in the eye right now and tell me that you trust me."
"I don't know if I can--"
He reached out and grabbed her shoulders as tears streamed down her cheeks, "You have to trust me, okay? I'm not like them, I'm not. You're more than just my girlfriend, you know that, right? You're my friend, a person I can turn to. I want you to know that you can turn to me, too. I trust you. Do you trust me, Ace?"
She raised her eyes to meet his. She blinked a few times, clearing the tears from her eyes, before she took a step forward into his arms.
Steadily holding his gaze, she murmured, "I trust you, Logan."
And at the moment, as he stared into her unblinking eyes, he knew that she really meant it this time. He knew that he had finally gotten through to her. She'd made a mistake, a mistake he had to forgive, for the sake of what he would be throwing away if he didn't.
Nodding slowly, he pulled her tightly against his chest and held as she breathed a shaky sob.
------------------------------------------------------------
AN: Yep, it's actually a quick fix from me for once. Consider it a Christmas present. REVIEW!