With a nicely wrapped package, Camille sneaked into Logan's room on the morning of his birthday. However, she was disappointed to find that the room was empty. She was just considering whether to put her present on the bedside table and then disappear when suddenly the adjoining bathroom door opened and Logan walked in . . . in jeans and shirtless, drying his wet hair with a towel. Camille didn't know whether to draw attention to herself or try to sneak away when Logan suddenly turned around and dropped the towel, startled. "Camille!" Face flushing, he bent down to pick up the towel from the floor. Camille cleared her throat. "Um, I'm sorry, Logan. I didn't mean to scare you. I wanted-"

Logan straightened up and waved off. "It's okay, Camille. I just wasn't expecting a visitor so soon." He walked over to his closet, pulled out a clean shirt and put it on. As he buttoned up, he said, "My parents and Kendall were actually planning to come over later to celebrate with me."

"Yeah, now that you mention it . . . Happy Birthday, Logan," Camille said brightly, holding out her package. But Logan made no move to take it from her. He stared at her in surprise. "You . . . you bought me something?"

"Um, yeah . . . Was that wrong? I thought, well, you were so sad so I wanted to cheer you up with it."

His smile made her insecurity disappear. "No, it wasn't wrong. That's very kind of you, actually. I just didn't expect it, that's all. Can I see it?"

"Yes, of course."

Now he took the package from her hand, checked it briefly before carefully unwrapping it, making sure the paper didn't tear, which Camille thought was a bit strange, but that wasn't anything new by now. Then he looked at the book in his hand. "Shakespeare?"

Camille nodded. "I wasn't sure if you'd read it yet, but I didn't see it in here and I thought it might be something you might like . . . okay, maybe that's not the best word for it, but I hope you know what I mean. Also, I remembered it because we read it in school last year."

"Yeah, no, it's great, thank you so much." Logan flipped through the pages and seemed to forget that Camille was still standing in front of him. When he suddenly remembered her, he smiled sheepishly and put the book on his bedside table. "You said you read it in school?"

"Yes, we even perform a play."

Logan smiled. "Let me guess . . . Romeo and Juliet?"

Camille laughed. "Exactly."

"Did you have a part in the play?" he asked curiously. Camille nodded. "Yes . . . to be honest I even tried to get the role of Juliet but they ended up taking someone else. Maybe I just wasn't good enough and that's why they chose someone better." That was only half the truth. Camille was certain that no other person would be better suited for the role than herself. She had always loved drama and saw the play as her big chance. But in a world like this, the talented but unpopular girl never got the lead. Instead, the role was cast by the school's it girl, who, to make matters worse, was also an extremely bad actress. Camille knew that she was much better than this girl, but sometimes she wondered if the others were right. Maybe she really wasn't good enough. She was just . . .

". . . unique."

Camille flinched and stared at Logan in shock. "Sorry . . . What . . . what did you just say?"

Logan smiled. "It's a quote, actually: The more you like yourself, the less you are like anyone else, which makes you unique. It's from Walt Disney."

"Oh . . . yeah, of course." Camille felt stupid. Of course Logan wasn't able to read minds. She shrugged. "To be honest, I love drama. But life is more about being happy, isn't it?"

Logan nodded in agreement, then suddenly gave her a strange look. "Are you?"

Once again, Camille felt unable to follow his thoughts. "Am I what?"

"You just said that life is all about being happy." He walked towards her until he was standing right in front of her. His gaze intensified, Camille's throat and mouth went dry.

"So tell me, Camille . . . Are you happy?"


Kendall Knight ran down the hall, checking the time on his phone as he walked. He was a little early, but Logan wouldn't mind. Suddenly he hit something, heard a startled scream, and briefly lost his balance . . . like the blonde girl he accidentally bumped into. Quick-witted, Kendall grabbed the girl's hand to keep her from falling to the ground. "Sorry. My mom keeps telling me to pay more attention to my surroundings."

"Sounds like a very wise woman."

"Oh, she definitely is," Kendall said with a grin, eyeing the girl's clothing, which he now noticed bore a strong resemblance to the rest of the hospital staff's work-wear. "You work here?"

"In a way. It's a summer internship."

"Oh, then you're one of those girls my mom told me about. Her name is Jennifer Knight."

The girl smiled. "Ah, then you must be Kendall."

Kendall smiled as well. "That's right. And you're-"

"Jo. Jo Taylor."

"Nice to meet you, Jo Taylor," Kendall replied, holding out a hand. Jo grabbed it smiling and shook it. "Nice to meet you too."


Camille didn't know what to answer. Should she tell the truth or lie? What did Logan expect to hear from her? And why did he always manage to get her into situations like this? But it was this very special kind that Camille liked so much. The fact that Logan seemed capable of captivating her in a short amount of time was both frightening and fascinating to her. And yet she still couldn't find the words and only saw his dark eyes, which sent a shiver down her spine.


"Hey, you haven't seen my friend by any chance, have you? She has dark, curly hair, wears the same clothes as me."

Kendall had to laugh. "Seriously? I just crashed into you because I wasn't paying attention and now you're asking me if I saw someone else?"

Jo sighed. "Good point. Okay, I guess I'll have to keep looking for her then."

"I'll walk with you. Four eyes see better than two. I'm actually here to visit someone, but-"

Jo nodded. "Yes, you're here to visit Logan, aren't you?"

Kendall looked at her in surprise. "How do you know?"

Jo waved it off and started walking. Kendall followed her.

"Your mom told us that you come to see him from time to time."

"Of course she did," Kendall said. "To be honest . . . I think I'm his only friend."

"Is Logan always like . . . this?"

"Well, no, he can be quite normal. But I think if you can't go out that often, don't have many friends and spend most of your time reading, then it's probably no wonder that you start to get a little weird."

"I haven't thought about that," Jo said, embarrassed.

"That's why I try to get him out of his own little world whenever I come to visit him."

"And how do you manage that?" Jo asked curiously. Kendall shrugged. "I just tell him what's going on in my life. You know things like family and school. Sometimes I show him my newest song drafts and he-"

"You're writing songs?"

Kendall hesitated. "Oh . . . um, yeah, but they're not . . . well, actually, I'm just doing this for myself, you know? They are not intended for the public. But I make an exception for Logan."

"That's kinda sweet."

"Yeah, I guess."

Jo suddenly stopped, smiled and pointed to a door. "This is your destination."

Kendall gestured a bow. "Thank you very much. And I'm sorry you haven't found your friend yet."

Jo laughed. "She'll show up again."

"I hope so," Kendall said with a grin, raising a hand in farewell, then resting it on the doorknob.


Camille opened her mouth to reply, although she still had no idea what to say. Logan was still standing so close in front of her. "I-"

The door flew open and a blond boy came into the room. "Happy Birthday, buddy. I know I'm a little early but . . . oh . . . "

Logan turned around. "Kendall, yeah, nice to see you, man."

"I didn't mean to bother you," said the boy named Kendall, eyeing Camille curiously who wished to get out of this room before the situation got any more awkward. "Okay, your visitor is here, so I'll leave you alone. I'm sure Jen has a lot of work for me to do, so . . . See you." Camille crossed the room as quickly as possible and walked out the door, still feeling the eyes of both boys on her. When she had closed the door behind her, she took a deep breath.

"There you are!"

Camille jumped in shock when Jo suddenly appeared next to her. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere . . . Are you all right? You seem kind of . . . absent."

"What?" Camille asked confused. "Oh, yeah, no, I'm fine. I was just seeing Logan. I bought him something for his birthday."

"Are you sure that's all? Did . . . did something happen in there?" Jo asked worried. Camille tried to pull herself together. "Of course not. Come on, let's go. I bet Jen has a lot of work for us to do." She started to move and Jo followed her after a moment's hesitation, but with a skeptical expression on her face.


"It was so nice to see you again, honey," Mrs. Mitchell said, hugging her son tightly. "Oh, I wish we could take you home right now."

"It's only a few more days, Mom. We'll get through that. Am I right, Dad?"

Mr. Mitchell nodded gently. "Of course. And your mom has already taken care of everything. She makes sure that your room is always nice and clean and stocked the entire fridge with all your favorite snacks."

"I can't wait to get home," Logan said, beaming. His father hugged him and gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "Keep your chin up, son."

"All right, Dad."

"It was nice to see you too, Kendall," Logan's mother said to Kendall, who had been silently waiting during the goodbyes.

"It's always a pleasure to see you, Mrs. Mitchell."

Mrs. Mitchell smiled, hugged Logan tightly again, and then walked out with her husband. Kendall sighed contentedly. "Well, that was a nice day after all, wasn't it, Logan?"

Logan nodded absently. "Yes . . . Tell me, do you have some time left?"

Kendall nodded. "Sure. What are you up to?"

"I've been stuck in this room for quite a while now and I really need some fresh air. Can you help me get out?"

Kendall tilted his head indecisively. "Okay. But only on one condition. We'll take that with us."

Logan followed Kendall's outstretched finger and shook his head. "No way. You know I hate that thing."

"Logan, the last time we were alone outside, you had your collapse. I certainly won't let that happen again."

"Kendall, all I want is to get outside for just a few minutes. I have no intention of overexerting myself."

Kendall crossed his arms. "I'm sticking with it. Either you agree to use the wheelchair or I'll go home right now."

Logan sighed in surrender. "All right, you win."


"I really liked your last song," Logan told his friend as they both sat on a bench by the pond.

"Yeah?"

"But reading the lyrics got me thinking."

"Everything around you makes you thinking, Logan."

"Point taken. However, you always write about girls and love and stuff like that and I ask myself, where or who is your everyday girl?"

Kendall smiled. "Well, believe it or not, but I haven't met her yet."

Logan looked at him in disbelief. "You're kidding me, aren't you? I mean look at you. You're tall, you're blond, you're good at sports, you play guitar, you can sing, and you write your own songs. Now please don't tell me there isn't at least one girl at your school who isn't completely crazy about you."

"Of course there are a few girls who have asked me to go out with them, but the thing is . . . no matter how nice and pretty they all are, they are not the one."

"The . . . one?"

Kendall nodded. "Exactly. You see a girl for the first time and you know she's the one."

"Like a soulmate?"

"Yes."

"And do you think there is a soulmate for everyone in this world?"

"Absolutely."

Logan stared thoughtfully into space. Kendall felt like he should say something encouraging. "I'm sure there will be someone for you as well."

Logan turned his head and looked at him in bewilderment. "What? For me? No, definitely not."

"Well, you can't know that. Someday-"

"No, Kendall. Who wants to be in a relationship with someone who can barely get outside? I mean, a girl would want her hypothetical boyfriend to do exciting things with her instead of getting bored to death with him. And what if she gets sick? A boyfriend should be able to take care of her. But do you know what my reaction would be? Oh, you're sick? I'm sorry to hear that. Well, see you when you're better."

"I think there's a difference between not wanting to care and not being able to care."

Logan shook his head resignedly. "Forget it, Kendall. Besides, how or where am I supposed to meet someone?"

"What about the girl that was in your room this morning?"

"Are you talking about Camille?"

"If that's her name then yes, I mean Camille."

Logan laughed mirthlessly. Kendall looked at him confused. "What is it?"

"No, not Camille. I mean, yeah, she's nice and all, but a relationship would be absolutely unthinkable. She's told me a few things about herself, you know? And she's a real outdoor person. She loves things like camping, hiking, being on the beach, climbing. So no, definitely not a perfect match. I would only be a burden to her."

"But maybe she doesn't care that you . . . I mean, it could be that-" Logan's expression silenced him. He cleared his throat. "Well, if not Camille, then there will be someone else. Don't give up. You-"

"I'm getting cold," Logan interrupted brusquely. "I think I wanna go back inside."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm tired."

Kendall sighed softly. "Alright."


"You know, Logan, I still think there's hope. You'll see," Kendall said, looking at his friend who was now back in bed.

"Thanks, Kendall. But it's probably better if I stay alone. There really doesn't have to be another person in my life that I'm a burden to."

"You're not a burden to us, Logan. You never were and you never will be."

Logan gave him a grateful nod. "Thanks, Kendall. You're a good friend."

"See you soon, buddy," Kendall said, waving goodbye and stepping out into the hallway. He closed the door and leaned against it for a moment. "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink . . . we will see about that," he mumbled and started walking. As he left the building, a plan was already forming in his head.