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Disclaimer: None of the characters or settings are mine. They are all CP Coulter's and JK Rowling's.

Chapter 12

Logan tore at a piece of bread with his teeth, chewed it thoughtfully, considering the rest of his plate, then popped the whole bread into his mouth. He didn't have time to eat everything he wanted if he didn't hurry up. It wasn't that he hadn't been fed since he'd told his father; rather, he'd been afraid to impose upon him the fact that he was hungry. He felt like he was a burden to his dad; he'd always felt that, but now it hurt more.

"You act like you haven't eaten in days," Julian commented from across the table. Logan glared with bright green eyes full of flame and ice.

"Do you think it's easy to tell you father that you like boys instead of girls?" he demanded, having taken more offense at Julian's joking comment than was warranted.

Julian looked taken aback. "No…" he said, unsure of himself.

"What did he say?" Derek asked, mouth full of corn.

"He yelled," Logan said simply, shrugging like it wasn't a big deal, though his prior statement about how hard it was had firmly established the fact that it was, in fact, a big deal.

"Why?" Julian asked, a little confused. "I don't get that. Why would he yell at you? What's that gonna do?"

"I don't know, do I?" Logan asked angrily. "Stop saying obvious things."

Julian's mouth fell open a little, and he looked to Derek for support. Derek looked between his two friends, wavered for a moment, and then said, "You know, Julian, I think that Logan is having a very emotional day and you shouldn't take anything he says to heart…"

"I'm right here, you know," Logan reminded them, glaring again.

"And Logan," Derek said, turning, almost a little afraid, to Logan, "you know we're on your side. We said it's all right with us. You don't have to be defensive. We get that your dad didn't accept it, and Julian was just saying that he doesn't think that's fair. He wasn't trying to hurt you."

"I know that," Logan said, shoving more food into his mouth, chewing, swallowing, as quickly as he could to get back to talking. "I know. He was just being ignorant about it. Where do you live, Julian, hm? A box?"

Julian very obviously deflated and pushed his food around his plate with his fork.

"Logan," Derek said softly, "that's not a way to treat someone who was nice to you."

"What are you, my father?" Logan asked, standing up and nearly pushing the whole bench back with the back of his knees.

"No!" Derek exclaimed, standing up too. "I'm trying to stand up for Julian, who you always pick on. Why? Why do you do that?"

Logan looked from Derek to Julian, whose deep brown eyes were angled down at the table instead of up at Logan, and he seemed to be trying to solve a hard math problem.

"I don't know," Logan said quietly, and he stepped over the bench and left the Great Hall, walking very quickly, as quickly as he could.

Derek sat down again, a little embarrassed at the scene they'd caused. Many eyes were on himself and Julian, and he whispered, "Just don't look at them."

"I don't mind," Julian said dismissively. He didn't mind having tons of people looking at him. "What I do mind is that I didn't do a thing wrong and he attacks me!"

"He's really sensitive about it," Derek said, "he must be. Why else would he yell at you for no reason?"

Julian shook his head. "I don't know…"

A thought, a bizarre and crazy one, occurred to them both at that moment, but neither voiced it because it was so stupid and weird. There was no way it was true. No way that Logan had feelings for Julian. It made no sense. None at all.

They both dismissed it and finished their meals, talking about Logan, Quidditch, their classes, teachers, their summers, everything.

When they got back to the Slytherin common room, they knew they had to talk to Logan. He was sitting in a chair, flipping through their new Potions book, obviously not reading it because his eyes weren't moving and he was turning the pages too quickly. He had a blank look on his face, like he was both thinking hard and trying not to think at all.

"Hey." Julian sat down next to him.

Logan glanced up at him and then back down to his book. "Hey," he said in response after a moment of silence in which Derek and Julian both held their breaths, waiting for Logan to stand up, start yelling, throw his book at Julian's head, something. Instead… 'Hey?' Not what they'd been expecting at all.

In a very good way.

And that was the way it was. No apology needed, because Julian knew that Logan was sorry because of the way he'd stopped fighting, and instead said, 'hey.' Julian understood that he was forgiven, in Logan's mind, for whatever he'd done. And Logan knew that he was forgiven for what he'd done.

And that was that. Logan was gay, but Julian and Derek didn't mind. His two straight friends.

As Julian glanced over at Logan every now and then, he found himself noticing the Christmas tree eyes, the way his lips moved to form the words he was reading (he'd now started actually reading the Potions book), the slight color in his cheeks…

Julian wondered if maybe Logan did like him.

And if maybe…