Hey all. So here's the next chapter. More from Logan's point of view, yay! Huge thanks to endiahna, Patricia16, and storyofgreen for reviewing. Read, Review, Enjoy!
After that Logan took every chance he got to talk to Warren. He couldn't help it, there was just something addicting about the boy. His shy smiles, his soft laugh, how it was possible, with much coaxing, to get him to offer his quiet opinion on something. But the closer Logan tried to get to him, the more he had the unshakable feeling that something was terribly wrong.
'Every chance he got' wasn't very often. Sometime Logan managed to break away from the other's during class, or he tracked down the winged mutant in the hallways. But always, especially outside of class, Warren found some reason or another to dash off. At first Logan had taken that as that Warren had no interest in talking to him, but he soon realized, that Warren simply blushed and smiled too much for that to be the case. It puzzled him to no end. Warren was just a busy young man, Logan settled himself by reasoning, after all, nearly all of his classes were highly advanced.
All the same, it was beyond frustrating.
8
"Warren!" Logan called one evening, grabbing the younger mutant by the arm to stop him.
"H-hey," Warren stammered, blushing and jumping at the same time (He did both quite often). Logan was beginning to wonder if Warren stuttered like that all the time, or only around him.
"I was just thinking… that you know, maybe, you'd like to take me up, flying, tonight, if you're not busy," Logan kept his tone carefully nonchalant, rubbing the back of his neck absently, a nervous habit of his. He was slightly out of breath, and had a feeling that that wasn't due to the fact that he'd just jogged down several hallways to catch up with the younger mutant.
"I-I," Warren said, though he was smiling. But suddenly he stopped, his eyes, which always seemed to constantly sweep his surrounds nervously, Logan had noticed (Logan realized that he'd been noticing a lot of things about Warren lately), focusing on something behind Logan.
"I-I have to go," he said, and it did pass Logan that he'd suddenly stiffened and paled slightly, "I'm sorry." And with that he ran off down the hall.
Logan growled softly under his breath in annoyance, and turned, trying to figure out what had startled Warren. All he saw was a group of younger girls passing by, giggling over something in a magazine one of them held, and Scott, absently examining an old vase set decoratively on a table in the corner of the hallway
Annoyed with himself more than the flighty, younger mutant he seemed irrevocably drawn to, Logan turned on his heel and decided to take a long walk in the warm, twilight.
8
By Logan's fourth round around the grounds of the institute he was still unable to keep a certain blonde, shy mutant boy out of his mind.
That was it; there was no denying. Logan was totally, completely, and irrevocably in love with Warren Worthington III. Well, maybe love was going a bit too far, but he was attracted to the boy, a lot. He liked the boy, a lot.
Warren liked him back; he had too. He displayed every symptom of it when he was around Logan. The older mutant could have smacked himself for taking this long to truly see those shy smiles, the blushes, the stammer and nerves had meant.
And once something was decided, Logan wasn't one to stand around and keep thinking about it. So, without a second thought on the matter he turned back to the institute and toward Warren's room.
How he knew where Warren's room was despite the fact that he'd never had occasion to be there before, well, it wasn't that hard. It wasn't like he'd been stalking the younger mutant or anything… hardly. Borderline stalking, maybe. But not a lot.
He knocked rapidly on the door with the brass nameplate reading Warren Worthington III on it and wait for an answer. None came. There was no sound from within. After several minutes he knocked again. Warren wasn't out fly, he'd have noticed, and it was too late for him to be in the library. Perhaps Warren had just fallen asleep. Well, if that was the case, he would just have to wake up, Logan wouldn't wait. Tomorrow was Saturday anyway; it wasn't like he'd have to worry about over sleeping.
Finally, there was the muffled sound of someone moving about in the room and a few minutes later the door opened, just a crack. Warren's face could be seen. "Logan?" he whispered in surprise, opening the door a little wider, "What are you-" His hair was tousled and his pajamas had obviously been thrown on in a hurry.
"Honey? Who is it?" a sleepy voice slurred from within.
Warren glanced over his shoulder, and Logan noticed he looked slightly paler than usual, "N-nothing," he stammered quickly, "Go back to sleep."
Logan felt the bottom drop out of his stomach in surprise, "Is that Scott?" he demanded, his own voice little more than a choked hiss.
The way Warren carefully avoided meeting Logan's gaze was all the answer the older mutant needed. "D-did you need something?" he asked, his eyes trained firmly on the floor beneath his bare toes.
"No," Logan said quickly, already turning away, "Forget it." And with that he was strolling as calmly and purposefully down the hallway as he could, and out of sight.
8
Warren watched the love of his life walk away, as tears came unbidden to his pure blue eyes. Why? Why did Logan have to suddenly become interested in him? Why did he have to make everything so much harder? A few months ago Warren would have given anything for Mr. Logan to talk to him. Now the butterflies in his stomach at the sight of his beloved only served to make him sick with terror of Professor Scott.
"Warren?" the alcohol slurred voice brought Warren back to reality and he realized that he was still standing in his partially open doorway. Scott blinked blurrily at him, peering through the scotch-haze that perpetually fogged his mind these days, half sitting up in Warren's bed with nothing but a bed sheet pulled up his waist.
"S-sorry," he said quickly, shutting the door and locking it, before reluctantly approaching the bed. He dreaded to do it, he dreaded being anywhere near the tyrant who had taken control of his life, but he dreaded even more what would happen if he refused the older man.
Thankfully, Scott was too drunk and too close to sleep to do anything more but pull Warren back down on the bed and wrap his arms around the younger mutant, apparently not noticing as Warren suppressed a soft cry when Scott pressed one of the large purple bruises on his chest.
"Night, love," Scott slurred.
Warren just stared blankly up at the ceiling as silent tears slowly began to slide down his cheeks.
