Blue

The afternoon sun was brutal, and the large metal bleachers radiated heat, the air smelled like fresh-cut grass and dirt, and the sound of bats cracking echoed across the softball stadium.

The music was blaring loudly through the stadium speakers, players finished up their warmups, Y/n was finishing up with her pitcher. They were going through each pitch, discussing the gameplan, and how they were going to play it today.

"Remind me why we're here again?" Dean asked, stretching his legs out in front of him as they all sat in the front row right in the center. 

"Because Beau threatened violence if we didn't come," Garrett snorted as he placed a hand on Hannah’s thigh. Beau’s head shot over towards Dean and Garrett.

"I didn’t say I'd be mad, I said I'd be disappointed," he shot back with his finger pointing at them both. Beau rolled his eyes and leaned against the fence.

"So where's this best friend of yours?" Logan says as he nods toward the field below, and Beau smirks.

"Just wait and you'll see."

"That's all you ever say,” Allie snorts, making the guys giggle. “Why can’t we meet her right now?” she asks, and he shakes his head immediately.

"Because I'm not introducing you ladies, and these idiots before the game,” he giggles, pointing at the girls nicely, and then swats over towards the guys.  Allie crossed her arms. "Why?"

"Because she'll get distracted. She’s big into her pregame superstitions,” he explains, watching the girls run over a fielding drill together, both Allie and Hannah laughed.

"No, because you're possessive,” Logan jokes, and Beau purses his lips in amusement as he nods.

"That is also correct,” he says back, causing everyone to chuckle.

Over the past year, they had heard countless stories about Y/N, because Beau talked about her constantly. Not in an annoying way, it was just naturally.

“Y/N did this.”

“Y/N said that.”

“Y/N beat some girl to first from the outfield, and made a play.”

“Y/N accidentally started an argument with a referee.”

“Y/N somehow convinced me to drive three hours for tacos, and two in the fucking morning. Don’t ask.”

They all knew she was important to him, but none of them had actually met her, and today would be the first time that they would all be seeing her. Hopefully meeting her.

It wasn’t long until the game had started, the Briar team taking the field first, and they emerged from the dugout. Players spread across the field towards their positions, and Dean immediately pointed.

"Which one is she?" he asks, and Beau doesn’t let him finish before shaking his head.

"Nope,” he hums, Dean still trying to get something out of him. "That one?"

"Nope."

Tucker smirked, and joined in. “Is she a blonde?"

"Nope."

Garrett groans, and Logan speaks this time. “Dude, just spill. You’re killing us here,” he laughs, and then Beau nodded toward home plate. 

"There."

Everyone looked, watching as the girl wearing her full catcher gear walked up from the dugout, headed towards home plate. She had her mask hanging from one hand, glove on the other.

Her hair was long, her high bubble ponytail with a bow tied at the bottom with Briar’s colors swung back and forth. The moment she stepped to her spot behind the plate, she looked completely different from how Beau described her.

She looked confident. Focused. It was like she owned that field.

Logan's eyes followed her instantly, and not once did they leave her. 

Beau noticed immediately, smirking right away as he noticed something interesting. Y/N tossed her mask down and started warming up her pitcher.

The first throw hit her glove with a loud crack, and so did the next one. Every catch looked effortless, her throws were nothing but straight cannons.

"Okay," Tucker admitted, leaning back against the bleachers. "She's kinda badass."

"Kinda?" Hannah said, she chuckles, raising a brow before motioning to her. "Look at her."

Y/N was squatted down when throwing down to second base, only dropping to her knees as she fired a throw to second. The ball looked like a missile as it reached the bag before the infielder even finished setting up.

Dean's eyebrows shot up. "Oh."

Garrett laughed, nodding towards him as their eyes never left her. "Oh is right."

Logan was still staring, caught up in his own mind. His own world. He was mesmerized. He couldn’t see the way Beau was smirking. The game started a few minutes later.

Y/N crouched behind home plate, the umpire getting set behind her, as the opposing team's leadoff hitter stepped into the batter's box.

The entire group had never left her, watching how smart she was behind the plate. Y/N immediately caught the batter on first, who tried to delayed steal.

She adjusted, getting ready to throw it down, faking a play. She faked a throw to the pitcher, seeing that the runner took the bait, Y/N didn’t hesitate to zip that ball straight to shortstop, to get the tag at two.

“Yes! Good shit, Y/N! Beauty!” Beau yelled as he stood from his spot, hooting, whistling, and hollering.

Her team cheered as the runner was declared out, her pitcher coming to do their handshake, Y/N tossed the ball back to her pitcher with a grin.

"She's annoying, isn't she?" Hannah asked, mainly saying that because she just knew she was so entranced in her sport, she had to talk about it quite a lot. 

"The worst," Beau said proudly, chuckling lightly as he clapped.

The second inning got even better, with a runner on first, there was one out. The batter slapped a ground ball through the infield, and the runner rounded second aggressively, going and trying for third.

Big mistake.

Y/N received the relay throw, she spun, and immediately fired. The ball arrived before the runner was halfway into her slide.

“She’s out!”the umpire hollers from the baseline, holding a fist up to signal the out, and the crowd erupted.

Dean stood up, letting out a hoot. "What a throw!" he cheers, Beau going to grab his bicep to pull him back down.

"Sit down," Beau said.

"I will not!"

Logan was grinning now, clapping and cheering too as he was completely invested.

By the third inning, Briar's offense started rolling, as Y/N walked toward the batter's box.

The crowd immediately got louder.

"She's one of Briar’s highest sitting averages, and best hitters," Beau explains to them, her teammates doing cheers from the dugout.

“Really? What’s her average?” Tucker asks, and Beau just nods towards her. 

"Just watch."

The pitcher threw the first pitch, too high in the strike zone. Ball. 

The next pitch came in quick. Fastball. Y/N crushed it, as the crack of the bat echoed across the entire complex.

Everyone's heads snapped up, watching the ball soar deep into left-center, and it hit off the back of the stadium cushioning.

Y/N exploded out of the box with no hesitation, no wasted time on watching where the ball went, no waste on her movement.

She was fast, flying around first, her eyes tracking where the yelling and action was, spotting the outfielder finally recovering the ball.

Most players would've stopped, but not Y/N. She was already rounding second, going to try for third.

Allie laughed, shaking her head. "She's insane."

The throw came in, almost a millisecond too late as Y/N slid safely into third.

The Briar dugout exploded, doing a cheer they created for each player, singing hers out loud and proud. Beau was cheering for her loudly, pointing down at her, seeing her eyes find his when she stood up. She raised her arms, cupping one in front of her face, as the other made an eating motion.

Beau looked completely unsurprised, pointing over at her with a knowing smirk, seeing her smiling widely with a laugh. She puts her hands on her hips as her coach tells her something.

"See?" Beau says, sitting back down. “Told you she is someone worth watching.”

Tucker shook his head, his eyes wide. "How in the world is she so fast?"

"No idea."

Y/N stood up, brushed dirt from her pants, her eyes laser focused back onto the upcoming pitch.

Logan couldn't stop smiling. Every few seconds his eyes drifted back toward third base, not realizing that Beau saw everything.

The game continued, and Y/N scored moments later. Then in the fifth inning she threw out another runner trying to delayed steal, and in the sixth she nailed a line drive double into right field.

"She's nasty," Garrett said, his tone in complete awe. “I always forget how good Softball players are. They truly are a different breed.” 

Beau shrugs as he flicks his gaze to look back at Garrett. "I've been telling you."

But Logan barely heard them. He was staring, and Beau noticed instantly as a slow smile spread across his face. "Oh, this is getting bad."

Logan blinked, snapping out of his daze. "What?"

Beau folded his arms, sighing playfully. "You are, buddy."

"What about me?"

"Dude, you've watched every at-bat she's had,” he giggles, making Logan look away.

"No I haven't,” he says as his voice gets quieter. 

"Oh you absolutely have."

"I have been watching everybody,” he argues back, but his answer came back too quickly, making Beau snort.

"Name our shortstop."

Logan paused, opening his mouth only to close it a few seconds after. Beau smiled ear to ear. "Exactly."

The guys nearby burst out laughing, causing Logan to roll his eyes. "Shut up, I hate you all."

But Beau wasn't letting him off the hook.

Instead, he leaned forward, his gaze still checking to see Logan, who would continue tracking Y/N as she adjusted her batting gloves at second base.

"So,” he says once again, Logan looking at him with a confused expression.

"So what?"

"You like her, huh?” he says a little softer, not wanting to catch the rest of the group’s attention.

Logan nearly choked, saving it to sound like a cough. Which failed completely. "No."

"Logan."

"No."

"Logan."

"No."

Beau pointed toward the field. "You literally haven't looked anywhere else, but her, for two innings."

Logan opened his mouth, only to close it. Then he opened it again. "She's just-" he lost his words, making Beau squint his eyes.

"Just what?"

"She's impressive." Logan sighed.

"Good save," Beau snorts with sarcasm dripping from his lips. Logan ignored him for a bit, but after a few moments, he spoke up again.

"How long has she been playing?"

Beau immediately laughed, nodding in understanding. "There it is."

"What?"

"The questions."

"What do you mean the questions?"

"The 'I totally don't like her but suddenly need her entire life story' type of questions."

Logan groaned, before Beau was already counting on his fingers.

"How old is she? What's her favorite color? What music does she listen to? Does she like dogs or cats-"

"I wasn't gonna ask any of those!" which made Beau give him a look with a raised brow.

"You were absolutely gonna ask those,” he says back as he watches Logan rub a hand over his face. Deep down Beau was enjoying this way too much.

He turned back to watch the game, but smirks when he hears Logan talking again. "How long has she played?"

Beau lets out a dry laugh. "Since she was little. Four or five if I remember correctly."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"She's good."

"Better than good."

Logan watched as Y/N clapped on base, voice loud as she was cheering on her teammate up at bat. "Best hitter on the team?"

"One of the top on their leaderboard."

Logan nodded, knowing after her hits, that it had tracked. Everything she'd hit today had been crushed. A few moments passed, Beau cheering as her teammate took a pitch to the shin, taking her base. 

"She's their main catcher every game?" Logan asks, his eyes still on her, not realizing how he was looking at Y/N. Beau immediately turned.

"There it is again."

"What?"

"Question number two."

"It's a normal question."

"Sure,” Beau chuckled as shook his head, then answered after a few seconds. “But yes. Every game."

Logan looked genuinely impressed. "That's rough on the knees."

"She’s got strong legs. Stronger than ours probably,” Beau answers, turning to look at Logan for a second. “You're learning softball now?"

"I like to learn about other sports."

Beau laughed. "No, you like to learn about Y/N."

Before Logan could respond, the next batter brought her home with a line drive, the crowd cheering excitedly as she crossed the plate.

Y/N pointed toward her dugout, smiling wide as her team exploded, knowing she was the tie breaker to bring in.

Logan couldn't stop smiling, and Beau saw it. He honestly saw all of it.

The way Logan's eyes followed her, and the way he picked up every little thing. It wasn't subtle anymore, but he knew Logan wouldn’t admit it, not even to himself.

Beau nudged him. "So when are you talking to her?"

Logan looked horrified, leaning back in his seat as she disappeared from view, into the dugout. Almost like his body was physically relaxing. "What?"

"When are you talking to her?"

“I’m not,” Logan looked back toward the field. “She’s your best friend. You’ve kept her hidden for a reason,” he stutters out, creating excuses. “I don’t even think I’d know what to say.”

Y/N had removed her helmet and was laughing at something one of her teammates said. When the sunlight caught her face, Logan completely forgot Beau was standing there. He bit his lip as he couldn't get her out of his now, trying to hide the smile on his face.

Beau saw that too. "Oh, wow. It's worse than I thought,” Beau giggles. Logan finally tore his eyes away. "What is?"

"Dude,” Beau pointed dramatically. “You're gone."

"I'm not gone."

"You are absolutely gone. You’ve got the hots for my best friend, don’t you?"

"No,” he was too quick with his answer.

"You watched her smile and it looked like somebody just handed you a winning lottery ticket,” he joked back and Logan groaned while trying to hide his face.

"Can you stop?"

"Nope."

"Please, I’m even asking nicely."

"Not a chance,” Beau laughed, but then lowered his voice. "You know she likes people who actually talk, right?"

Logan looked through his hands at him, an expression of confusion and interest. "Huh?"

"I'm serious."

Now he had Logan's full attention, making him grin. Somewhere across the field, completely unaware, Y/N was jogging back toward home plate to warm-up her pitcher for the next inning.

The final inning arrived with Briar ahead, there were two outs with a runner on first, and the opposing team desperately needed something.

The batter connected with a sharp line drive into shallow center, making the runner take off, trying to force something.

Y/N immediately started directing traffic. "Cut four! Cut four!" Her powerful and loud voice echoes throughout the cheers from the other team, her mask being whipped off as she steps up to the plate. 

The ball was quick to come in, being thrown her way, Y/N immediately snagged it into her glove and turned down to apply the tag.

The Umpires had come to look closer, before signaling up with a fist. Out, and that meant game over.

The crowd erupted, and the players cheered with one another as Y/N went up to shake hands with the umpires, and then rushed up to do her handshake with her pitcher.

She was sweaty, covered in dirt while smiling. Logan couldn’t help but still think she was absolutely beautiful. That was apparently the exact moment Logan got himself into trouble, because he couldn't stop staring.

Beau folded his arms.

"Oh, no."

Logan jumped, turning to see Beau’s shit-eating grin. "What?"

"Oh, absolutely not,” Beau shook his head as they all began to stand up from their spots. 

"What?" Logan asks again, his voice an octave higher, and Dean immediately looks between them. Then burst out laughing.

"Oh no."

Garrett caught on next, not like it was hard to miss. "Oh yes!"

Dean wheezes out. "Looks like Logan had a massive crush on your bestie, Beau!"

"I- What? No! I do not," Logan sputters out, feeling the way his face was heating up as he tried to argue back with the allegations.

"You do,” Hannah chuckles, and he shook his head immediately.

"I don't."

"You absolutely do!” She laughed even more, and Logan looked horrified staring back down at the field while Y/N was still celebrating with her teammates, completely unaware. Beau looked genuinely offended.

"That's my best friend,” he trails off slowly, crossing his arms.

"So?"

"So?" Beau stared at him in shock, Logan rubbed a hand over his face.

"I literally haven't even met her,” he scoffs, still stuttering over his words as he felt his heart beating quicker. Beau leans forward with a knowingly smug smirk. "And yet?"

Logan groans, running a hand through his hair. "I can't help it!"

Everyone exploded into laughter, Dean fell back a bit while Tucker nearly fell off the bleachers.

Beau groaned dramatically. "This is a nightmare."

"It's been thirty seconds," Dean said.

"Thirty seconds too fucking many."

Down on the field, Y/N finally looked toward the stands, her eyes immediately found Beau. A huge smile spread across her face, and she waved, seeing as Beau waved back automatically.

Then Y/N noticed the group beside him, seeing the friends she'd heard so much about. She gave them all a curious smile, a few quick waves, and then disappeared back toward her teammates.

Logan watched her go, and Beau caught him yet again.

"John Logan."

"What?”

"Behave."

Dean nearly choked laughing, as Garrett slapped Logan's shoulder. Hannah and Allie were both grinning, and for the first time all afternoon, Logan looked nervous.

Because seeing Y/N from a distance had been one thing, but actually meeting her after the game?

That was going to be a completely different challenge. He felt like he might shit his heart out.  The second Y/N looked toward the fence and smiled at them once again, the entire group noticed.

Unfortunately for Logan, “”Ohhh shit,” Dean's voice rang out immediately, and Logan closed his eyes as his head fell backward. "No."

"She smiled at you."

"She smiled in this direction, dumbass."

"At you."

"Dean, I swear-"

"At. You,” he sings out, and Garrett was already laughing. "Dude's been staring at her for two hours and got rewarded,” he adds in, hands on his knees as he is laughing. 

"I have not been staring at her,” he tries to argue, only for the entire group to look at him.

"You literally were asking every single stat about her to Beau," Tucker deadpanned, and Logan looked at him in shock, making Tucker nod. “Yes, we all heard it.”

Logan pointed at him. "That's normal."

"No, it isn't,” Beau giggles back, sticking his hands into his pockets. "Not unless you're scouting for a pro team," Hannah added as Allie nearly doubled over laughing while Logan groaned.

Meanwhile, Beau stood with his arms crossed, watching the whole thing unfold. "See? It isn't just me,” he answers, watching as Logan shot him a look.

"You're enjoying this way too much."

"Oh, immensely."

Beau wasn't even trying to hide it anymore. The funny thing was that while he was clearly entertained, there was also a very obvious protective edge to him whenever Y/N came up.

It was the kind of energy that came from years of friendship..

A moment later, Beau leaned casually against the netted protection from the stadium. "So."

Logan narrowed his eyes.

"So?"

"Why exactly do you like about her?"

The entire group instantly got quiet. "Oh this is good," Tucker said. Dean hisses afterwards with a cringe. “Here comes papa Beau, rest in peace Logan.”

Logan looked horrified at both Beau’s now intimidating expression and Dean’s words. "I'm not answering that."

"Why not?"

"Because, just, not in front of these hooligans,” he says but then looks at the two girl. “Besides you two. Love you both,” then turns back to look at Beau with a curt shake of his head. “No."

Beau was trying, and failing, not to laugh. Then his expression shifted slightly as he looked back toward the field, watching her shake hands with the opposing team. "Just so we're clear."

Logan immediately recognized that tone. It was his protective one. The big-brother tone. Beau pointed toward Y/N. "She's my best friend. She’s family."

Logan nodded, knowing that this was coming. Beau has never played around when it came to Y/N. It took them how long to finally meet her because he knew how the guys would act, and he was being protective for many reasons. "I know."

"I mean it Logan. I will absolutely make your life miserable. I don’t play when it comes to her."

"Protective Beau has arrived,” Dean wheezes out, patting Logan’s back as the other friends in the group laughed with him.

Beau ignored them, knowing it was bound to happen, still staring at Logan. "I'm serious,” he says with no sign of jokes or sarcasm. Dean looked between them.

"Did we just witness a weird brother approval interview?"

"Before they've even gone on a date?" Hannah added, and Allie was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes.

A few minutes later, he pushed away from the netting, nodding at his friends. "I'm gonna go say hi, and see what her plan is. She gets busy post game, so I’ll see what she’s thinking.”

Dean pointed dramatically. "Tell your secret superstar friend we have complaints."

"What complaints?"

"You kept her hidden."

Beau laughed. "She's a person, not a treasure map."

"Well that’s debatable, because you have never brought her around, Goose."

Beau shakes his head with a snort at Dean, and then heads down to the field. Y/N was finishing a quick conversation with one of her coaches when she spotted Beau approaching the opening on the far side of her dugout.

A grin immediately appeared on her lips, bidding goodbyes to her coaches before heading his way. "There he is,” she chuckles, Beau laughs back with a sarcastic wink.

"There she is."

They met halfway, Beau not hesitating to lean against the opening as Y/N bumped her shoulder against his. 

"You watched?"

"Unfortunately,” he hums out a huff, giving her a fake pout. She gasped dramatically, putting a hand on her chest.

"Rude!”

"You only got like four hits."

"Three. The fourth was a shitty one to shortstop."

"Wow, absolutely terrible. Do you even play D1?"

"Honestly so embarrassing."

They both laughed, knowing the ease between them was obvious. He nudges her and nods back. "You played great though, not a bad play made," Beau admitted, watching as Y/N made a face before scoffing and crossing her arms over her chest.

"I left two runners on."

"You had a triple."

"I still left runners on."

"There it is."

"What?"

"The catcher perfectionism,” he hums. “Always downplaying your hard work. You had one wrong move, but you solved it effortlessly. Look at it from that point of view.”

She rolled her eyes, trying to hide her smile of appreciation. Beau was always able to prevent her mind from going into the gutter. "Whatever."

Beau laughed as she pushed his shoulder playfully, then he nodded toward the stands above.

"So,” he trails off, 

Y/N followed his gaze, seeing the entire group was still standing there.

Dean was waving both arms like an idiot, Garrett was yelling something incomprehensible, and Tucker was laughing.

Allie and Hannah were trying unsuccessfully to get everyone to act normal, Y/N immediately laughed. "Those your friends you’ve yet to let me meet?"

"Unfortunately," he grimaces with a nod, and she lets out a suspicious hum. 

"Wow. They’re definitely your friends alright."

"Exactly."

She smirked. "They seem chaotic."

"They absolutely are."

"Should I be worried?"

"Probably."

Y/N laughed again while Beau shook his head. He gave her a distant look that caused her to squint at him.

"They want to meet you."

"Oh?"

"Apparently they're offended I've never introduced you,” he adds, shrugging his shoulders like it was nothing and she snorted.

"That's actually kind of funny," she giggles. “But that’s also because you’ve kept me hidden, my good sir.”

“Wow you and Dean will get along great. He just said the same thing.”

“Respect,” she nods. “Wise man,” she added before she heard her name, and glanced back toward her dugout. One of her co-captains were ushering for her to come join for post game stuff, making her nod and put up a finger while mouthing, ‘One second’ 

She looks back at Beau and nods. "I’m up for it, but I have interviews and team stuff first."

"That's fine, they get that.”

"But I'll come over before I change,” she suggests. “ Because it’s gonna take a bit before I leave the locker rooms. That way we can figure out what the plans are after."

Beau nods, bringing his hand up to do their handshake. "Amazing. Take your time."

Y/N pointed at him as she turned to walk away. "If they start a fight while I'm gone, that's on you."

"No promises!” he hollered back, causing a couple of giggles to leave her mouth.

Fifteen to twenty minutes had passed since Y/N had talked with Beau, her eyes would occasionally look up to catch them all mostly talking.

She didn’t know that they were also teasing Logan, which had become everyone's favorite activity. Logan was talking about something else to change the subject, Beau hearing the crunch of metal cleats jogging to their direction, making him hold a hand up with a smug grin.

"She's coming over."

Logan immediately sat up straighter. Dean saw it. “This is fucking hilarious,” he wheezes lightly, Logan frowning. "Now what?"

"You perked up. It was so obvious.

"I did not."

"You absolutely did."

Garrett nodded, and added in, "That was immediate."

"I hate all of you."

"Oh yeah, look at him. He's nervous." Allie laughed, pointing over at the brown-haired boy from her spot under Dean’s arm.

“Try not to drop the L bomb on the first meeting,” Beau snickers while smiling widely over at Y/N. Before Logan could argue, a voice perked up. "There they are."

Everyone turned to see Y/N was jogging toward them. Still in uniform, her hair still pulled back, she had confidence practically radiating off her. She didn’t have her catcher’s gear on like she did when Beau stopped over.

“Hey guys,” she laughs once she makes it to their group, everyone was beaming and saying their greetings back, followed by some fun comments. 

"Finally,” Beau exasperates, pulling into a side hug. She rolled her eyes. "Well jeepers, sorry. I kept being summoned."

"You kept the celebrities waiting."

Y/N laughed.

"The only celebrity here would be Garrett Graham," she shot back, nodding towards him, making Garrett laugh loudly. 

“She knows her shit,” he laughs while pointing at her.

She smiles proudly, before shrugging her shoulders. “He’s said a thing or two. I also grew up in a hockey family, so it’s law to know hockey.”

“I like her. I like her very much,” Dean interrupts, making her chuckle. "So you're the mystery friend."

Y/N pointed at Beau, a fake look of confusion. "He tells people I'm mysterious?"

"Don’t start,” he whines, Dean cuts back in.

"We just couldn't believe someone this cool existed and he'd never introduced us."

"Beau, how could you?" Y/N gasped dramatically. “First you keep me in hiding, and then you go and tell them I’m some mystery girl? What is this, your bachelor pad?”

"I regret everything in this moment,” Beau purses his lips, and points at Dean. “I regret letting you both meet one another. Now I've got two versions of Dean.”

“So that’s Dean? The one I pretty much quoted line for line without knowing?” Dean and Y/N look at each other with smug expressions. “I knew we would get along just fine,” she laughs, and the group burst out laughing.

Garrett shook his head as he pointed to the field. "Seriously though? That was insane."

"It was alright,” Y/N shrugged, Garrett gave her a knowing grin. Every athlete nearby would recognize that kind of answer. The universal "I could've done better" response.

Hannah laughed. "That's such an athlete's answer.” 

She shrugs. "Unfortunately,” she then adds. “Sorry you’re going to have to hear more athlete talk. You probably already hear too much from this load.” 

“Oh no, after what we just watched? I’m invested,” Hannah answers, playfully swatting in her direction, Allie nodding. "You were on fucking fire. Seriously, I may have a girl crush on you," Allie added, making Dean let out a choked sound, causing the boys to snicker. 

Y/N smiled as she laughed. “Why thank you. I work very hard to at least look like I’m doing something right,” she jokes, and then Dean jumps back in.

"I think the bigger question is why Beau hid you from us,” he trails off, and she slowly turns to look up at Beau with a look that says everything. Before she could say another snide remark, Beau shook his head and pushed her head away playfully.

"Don't encourage them,” he shot, making her push him back. “I can sense the wrong decisions coming from a mile away. Don’t start.”

"No, I think I will,” she throws back, smiling smugly. “They will definitely be joining in on my shenanigans.”

The group laughed again, all the while Logan stood slightly toward the back. He was trying to play it cool.

Because now that she was standing right here? It was somehow worse.

She was funny, and extremely confident. She made herself feel easy to talk to.

It was exactly like she'd seemed from the field. Then he felt himself almost buckle to the ground when Y/N looked directly at him. "You're Logan, right?"

His brain briefly stopped functioning. "Uh,” he muttered before he could stop himself, Dean immediately covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing. "Yeah."

Y/N smiled sweetly at him. Nothing snarky, snide or smug about it. She was giving him a softer, more gentle smile. Something flickered between her eyes. "Nice to finally meet you."

Finally?

Logan blinked a couple times, then snapped out of the haze. "Finally?" he asked her, finally finding his voice, and she nodded.

"Beau talks about all of you,” she admits, and Beau groaned immediately. “So I kind of felt like I already knew everybody."

"Hopefully only the good stories?” Logan laughed, trying to keep his composure looking cool and collected. He was definitely the opposite. 

"Oh, definitely not,” she giggled, and the group erupted.

"YES."

"Thank goodness."

"She's good, I really like her."

Y/N grinned, and soon enough Logan found himself smiling too. A lot.

Which Dean noticed immediately. Of course he did.

"So," Dean said, trailing his voice off. "Logan's been very interested in softball today."

Logan nearly died, staring at Dean like he was ready to gouge out his eyes with the edge of his hockey stick. "Dean."

"What?"

Y/N looked amused, turning back to look at Logan. She was amused and he could slightly see the peak of interest in her face. "Oh?"

"He asked for your stats."

The group exploded, and Y/N turned toward Logan. One eyebrow raised. "My stats, huh?"

Logan pointed at Dean, looking over at him. "I'm gonna throw you into traffic."

Y/N laughed, and it was the sound that immediately made Logan smile again.

"Don’t be embarrassed,” she says softly. “That's actually kind of cute."

Dean nearly collapsed, while Allie hid her face in his chest. Hannah bit at her hand while leaning into Garrett’s back

Garrett doubled over, and Tucker looked like he was about to cry laughing. Logan stared, and saw that Y/N looked completely unbothered.

She was just smiling. She looked comfortable, and completely at ease. Then she tilted her head slightly. "So?"

"So what?"

"Were you impressed?" She asks like it was the simplest question ever. The grin she gave him was undeniably teasing, maybe even a little flirty.

The group immediately got quieter. They were watching. Waiting.

Logan somehow managed a smile. "I was."

Y/N nodded, her smile lit up even more, Y/N could feel her face heating up. "As you should be,” she answers back, the confidence in the answer made everyone laugh.

"Wow,” Logan chuckles. “ She's got the jokes and the confidence,” he shoots, his arms crossed over his chest, and Y/N pointed toward the field. "I earned my confidence."

"That is fair."

She looked back at Logan. "Good answer, though."

Logan laughed.

"Thanks? I think?”

"You're welcome,” she answers back. For a second, neither of them looked away from each other. Not until Dean dramatically stepped between them. "Okay, no mroe eye contact."

"What?"

"None."

"Dean."

"I'm protecting the group from whatever this is," Dean jokes, pointing at them both. “I’m protecting them from the eye fucking that was about to happen.”

The entire circle dissolved into laughter, including Y/N, who was now grinning directly at Logan. If Beau noticed the way both of them kept finding reasons to look at each other during the rest of the conversation, he absolutely noticed, but he just wasn’t saying anything about it.

The arena felt different the second Maggie walked in.

Not because of the noise. Not because of the cold. Not even because she could hear the sharp crack of skates against ice before she found her seat.

Because Logan was out there. This time, she was there on purpose.

She climbed the bleachers with her hands tucked into the sleeves of his her hoodie, trying to look casual and absolutely failing at it. When she finally reached the section where Jules was broadcasting live from their phone, Jules looked up, spotted her, and immediately broke into a grin.

“Well, look who finally showed up.”

Maggie slid into the seat beside her. “Do not start.”

"Oh, this is interesting."

Maggie rolled her eyes. "Hi to you too,” she jokes, making Jules laugh “Oh, I’m so starting.” Jules angled the phone a little farther toward the ice while reading the comments flooding through their live. 

Maggie glanced down toward the rink, where the guys were warming up. Dean was already talking with his hands. Tucker was tapping his stick against the boards. Garrett was laughing at something nobody else had heard. And Logan?

Logan was the problem. He looked up at the exact moment Maggie found him. Their eyes met across the ice once he had seen it was her. He stopped for half a second.

Then, very deliberately, his mouth curved like he already knew she was here for him. Maggie rolled her eyes with amusement, and looked away first.

Jules saw it happen and made a sound that was entirely too pleased.“You’re in trouble,” they said under their breath with a chuckle.

Maggie kept her eyes on the ice, shaking her head. “I’m not.”

“You are. You came to the game.”

“So?”

“So you rarely are ever able to carve time to make it to a game,” they pointed out. “You’ve got a busy bee type of schedule.”

Maggie sighed, her cheeks warm. “I know,” she admits with a light giggle. Jules finally lowered the phone a little and turned to face her. The teasing faded from their expression, replaced by something softer. “Okay. Then talk to me.”

Maggie hesitated.

The crowd cheered as the players took their positions, but it all blurred into background noise. She watched Logan skate backward, then pivot sharply, then glance up again like he was checking whether she was still there.

She was, and he smiled to himself. Jules noticed where her eyes had gone and smiled to themself. “You really do like him.”

Maggie let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. “Yeah.”

Jules blinked, like they hadn’t expected her to say it that easily.

Maggie looked down at her hands. “I think I’m going to finally give him a chance,” she assures, more to herself than to Jules. The words landed heavier than she meant them to.

Jules’ face lit up. “You are?”

Maggie nodded once. “I’m tired of pretending I don’t feel it. Especially with our conversation the other night.”

Jules made a triumphant little noise and clapped a hand over their mouth so they wouldn’t scream onto the live. “Oh, he is going to lose his mind.”

“Jules.”

“No, listen to me.” Jules leaned closer, voice dropping just for Maggie. “He already likes you. Like, stupidly. Deeply. Embarrassingly. Pretty positive my brother is in love with you, MJ. This is going to wreck him. In such a good way.”

Maggie smiled despite herself, nervous and warm all at once. “Good.”

The period started, and she tried to focus on the game, but Logan made that impossible. He played like he knew she was watching. Faster. Meaner. Sharper. Every time he passed the glass near their section, he looked up just long enough to catch her eye.

And every time he did, something in Maggie’s stomach flipped hard enough to make her forget how to breathe. By the end of the game, she was half convinced she might actually short-circuit before the final buzzer.

He always told her about how Hockey was like his version of Storm Chasing. To make it understandable in her terms. 

When the final buzzer sounded, the arena erupted.

Players tapped sticks, people stood, phones came out, the whole place turned into noise and movement and celebration. Maggie stayed seated only long enough to give herself one last second of courage.

Then she stood.

Jules immediately caught on. “Oh shit.”

Maggie shot her a look. “What?”

“You’re doing it.”

“Doing what?”

Jules stared at her like she was adorable and stupid. “You’re going to go kiss him.”

Maggie’s face heated instantly. “Maybe.”

Jules nearly fell over laughing. “Maybe?”

“Hush Jules.”

Maggie was already moving down the row, past cheering fans and bundled-up families and people still shouting about the final score. She could feel her pulse in her throat by the time she reached the tunnel area.

Dean saw her first.

His expression changed so fast it was almost offensive. He leaned toward Tucker and muttered something. Tucker turned. Garrett turned. And then all three of them were looking at her like they’d just been handed front-row seats to a disaster.

Then Logan turned.

The second his eyes landed on her, everything else seemed to go quiet.

He was still in full gear, face flushed from the game, hair damp with sweat as his curls became more prominent, gloves in one hand. He looked at her like he couldn’t decide whether to smile or ask a question.

The smile that appeared was impossible to miss.

"What are you doing-”

Maggie didn’t let herself think. She walked straight up to him, grabbed the front of his jersey, and kissed him. Right there, in front of Dean. In front of Tucker. In front of Garrett. In front of everyone.

For one stunned second, Logan didn’t move. Then his hand came up to her waist and he kissed her back like he’d been waiting to do it all night. He had to bend quite a ways to reach her as he was taller on his skates, but he didn’t care if it gave him a cramp or two.

When they finally pulled apart, Maggie was breathless.

Logan looked dazed in the best possible way.

Dean stared at the ceiling. “I hate all of you.”

Garrett was grinning so hard it looked painful. “About time.”

Tucker pointed at Maggie and Logan like he was assembling evidence for a case. “I need everybody to understand I have been saying this was going to happen for months.”

Maggie laughed, still holding Logan’s jersey. “You’ve been saying that about everything, Tuck.”

“That doesn’t make me wrong.”

Logan looked at her like the rest of them had ceased to exist. “Hi.”

She smiled. “Hi.”

His thumb brushed once against her side, small and absentminded, but it sent a jolt straight through her. “You came.”

The stupidest answer possible was also the only one that felt true. “Was able to push a few Radar presentations to tomorrow,” she trails off. His expression changed, softening just a little.

"You just kissed me in front of everybody."

"I know."

The grin that spread across his face was unstoppable.

"Do it again."

Dean threw a water bottle at him. Then Logan bent his head and stole another kiss from her, quick and sure, before she could even react. Maggie exhaled against his mouth, startled into a smile.

Dean made a gagging noise. “Absolutely not.”

Logan barely looked away from her. “Absolutely yes.”

By the time they got back to the hockey house, the energy between Maggie and Logan had turned downright dangerous.

Not awkward or uncertain. Dangerous.

Everyone split off to get changed for the charity event at Malone’s.

The second they stepped inside, Logan shut the door behind them and Maggie barely had time to turn around before he was there again, crowding her gently against the wall with a grin that made her knees feel weak.

“You know,” he said, voice low, “for someone who says she’s just giving me a chance, you’re being extremely generous with the kisses.”

Maggie tipped her chin up, trying very hard not to smile.

“You’re counting?” she jokes, making him smirk down at her in amusement. 

“I’m a very observant man.”

She snorted. “No, you’re not.”

“Okay. You have me there,” he said, leaning in just enough to brush his mouth against hers, “Maybe I’m only observant when it comes to you,” he mutters against her lips. That did it.

Maggie’s expression softened, and Logan took advantage of the split second before she could make a smart remark, kissing her again. Longer and passionate. Warm. Deliberately not enough. Now that she was able to kiss him, she feared it would never be enough.

When he pulled back, she stared at him. “John.”

He groaned, biting his lip with a smirk, as he looked far too pleased with himself. “Magnolia.”

“You are not allowed to just keep doing that.”

“Doing what?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Stealing kisses,” she hums, pressing a light kiss to the corner of his mouth. His smile turned slow and infuriating. “Nobody’s stopping me.”

She opened her mouth, then closed it again, because that was the problem. Nobody was stopping him. Which was worse, she didn’t want them to. From the living room, Garrett’s voice carried down the hall.

“Are they doing it again?”

Dean answered immediately. “Yes.”

Tucker, less amused, cutting up some veggies for tomorrow’s lunch: “I hate that I know this.”

Maggie buried her face briefly against Logan’s chest, laughing despite herself. He wrapped one hand around the back of her neck, thumb brushing gently along her jaw. She let out a soft moan at the feeling.

“That sound,” he murmured, “is going to be a problem tonight.”

She tilted her head back to look at him. “You’re the problem tonight.”

“Then why do you keep kissing me?”

Her breath caught, because now he was looking at her like he already knew the answer. It felt less like a game and more like the beginning of something she’d been pretending not to want for months.

So she gave him the truth, or at least the closest thing to it. “Because I’m trying to stop being scared. Someone I care about very deeply, told me to do so.”

Something changed in his face immediately.The teasing faded first, and then the shit-eating grin. It turned softer, more serious. 

“I’m glad they did, honey,” he said quietly. Then he kissed her once more, slower this time, like he was trying to prove he could be patient when he wanted to be. He pulled away only when Garrett started yelling upstairs that they were going to be late.

Logan sighed against her mouth. He groans when she pulls away this time.“Unfortunately,” he said, “the moron friends are right.”

Maggie laughed. “You mean your teammates?”

“You mean our roommates? Same thing.”

They made their ways upstairs, Maggie heading to her room to gather her things, knowing she wouldn’t need the shower as she took one before she got to the rink. She chose to keep the makeup light, and chose a more comfy look tonight. The jeans just weren’t doing it for her. 

She hummed to herself as did her makeup and hair, putting on her jewelry. 

Maggie decided to wear a boho styled flowy brown skirt, the hem hanging perfectly loose around her hips. She matched it with a simple loose and cropped white top, topping off the look with an oversized denim jacket that was definitely Logan’s. 

The boys were all finishing up too, music blaring throughout the house as they all hollered to one another to see where things were at, Maggie making her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. 

She had kissed Tucker’s cheek while he passed by her, mentioning something about going to get the car started up. Maggie grabbed one of her wine cooler cans, and popped it open to sip on before they left.

She was still standing there when Logan came up behind her. She felt him before she turned, smiling to herself.

“You’re distracting,” he hums, letting his arms wrap around her as his face goes into her neck. He plants a kiss on the skin there.

Maggie looked over her shoulder at the boy. “I’m standing still.”

“That’s the problem.”

She snorts, being turned fully now, narrowing her eyes. “You’re acting weird.”

He leaned one hand on the counter beside her, caging her in just enough to make her breathing hitch. “I’m acting weird?” he asks, and she nods with an amused look. 

“Yes.”

Logan’s mouth twitched. “You kissed me in front of my entire team.”

“You kissed me back.”

“I know,” he laughs, a proud smile on his lips. Her eyes flickered down towards them, finding herself licking at her own. The way he said it made her feel a little dizzy.

He was closer than before, close enough that she could see the faint flush still lingering at the edge of his jaw. Close enough that if she tipped her head up, she’d be touching him again.

He lowered his voice. “You really decided to do that today, huh?”

Maggie’s lips parted, but she couldn’t quite get a sentence out. Logan took that as encouragement. He was falling in love more and more with how much she began to fully react to him. 

He bent and kissed her once. Then kissed her again. Then once more, softer this time, like he was testing how much he could get away with. Maggie smiled into his mouth, hands curling lightly into his shirt to keep herself steady.

“Logan,” she murmured when he finally broke away.

He looked almost smug.

“Yeah?” he hums against her lips, kissing the corner of her mouth before kissing a trail down her jaw. She tried to be annoyed and got something much worse. She was breathless. “We have to leave in, like, ten minutes.”

“I know.”

“And you keep doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“Making it impossible to think,” she sighs, letting out a slight gasp when he nips at the sweet spot behind her ear. His eyes dropped to her mouth again. “That sounds like a you problem.”

Maggie stared at him. Then she laughed, because he was unbearable, because she loved him, and because she could feel herself falling for him in real time. Which was apparently too far gone to stop it.

Logan smiled at that. Really smiled, and not the cocky one. It was the one that made him look like he was already halfway in love with her and trying not to scare her off.

That made her chest tighten in a way she wasn’t ready to name. He leaned in one more time, brushing his mouth against hers just long enough to make her forget what she’d been about to say.

When he pulled back, he looked almost satisfied. “Better?” he said quietly.

Maggie shook her head, still smiling. “You’re impossible.”

“Yeah,” Logan said, eyes on hers. “But you deal with me anyway.”

She was here, standing in the kitchen with her pulse going wild and his kisses still lingering on her mouth, and every second felt like the beginning of something neither of them could pretend not to want anymore.

Malone’s was already packed by the time they arrived.

The charity hockey event had drawn half the town, plus a healthy amount of donors, local sponsors, and people who mainly came for the bar but pretended to care about the cause.

Music pulsed overhead, glasses clinked together.

Everyone looked a little too dressed up and a little too under control for a room that loud. Which made it all the more impossible for Maggie to ignore Logan.

He looked unfair in a button-down, and there was no other word for it.

Unfair.

His sleeves were rolled up. His top buttons were undone. He had that freshly showered, game-night confidence that made him look like he knew exactly what he was doing and had no intention of apologizing for it.

He caught her looking and immediately lifted one eyebrow. Maggie smirked, her eyes testing his own, her insides beginning to fire up as her legs began to clench together.

Logan’s mouth curved in response, and she had the sudden, dangerous realization that this was going to be a very long night.

Jules spotted them near the entrance and made a dramatic face.

“Oh, this is bad.”

Maggie laughed. “Hello to you too.”

“No, I’m serious.” Jules glanced between them. “You two are doing the thing.”

Logan groaned. “What thing?”

“The thing where you look at each other like you’re one bad decision away from ruining everybody’s night.”

Garrett appeared beside them out of nowhere, pointing at Jules with a laugh. “They’re right.”

Dean nodded solemnly. “Terrible news for us,” he whines with a fake pout. Tucker took one look at Maggie and Logan standing too close and sighed. “I was hoping this would stay hidden another week.”

“Hidden?” Maggie repeated, and smiled at him. Garrett pointed at their faces. “This? This is not hidden. This is basically a public disturbance.”

Logan laughed, but his eyes were still on Maggie. That was the problem. He kept looking at her like he couldn’t help it, but she kept looking back like she wasn’t trying to make him.

At some point, someone called Logan away to shake hands with someone who was looking to donate, and Maggie meant to grab another drink and be normal about it. She turned her gaze to the stage where Justin and his band performed another cover song request.

Every time she glanced across the room, Logan was already looking at her. Which was making her fail miserably at trying to keep herself at bay. Every time he passed by, his hand brushed her back a little too slowly. It lingered low, just where the dip of her back met her ass.

Every time she said something to someone else, his attention snapped back to her like a magnet. At one point, he leaned down beside her just to say, “You’re distracting me.”

Maggie lifted her glass. “You’re welcome,” with a hum, as he gave her a look that should have been illegal in public. Garrett saw it happen from across the room and put both hands over his face.

“Oh my fuck,” he muttered. “They’re worse now.”

Dean didn’t even bother to hide his grin. “Way worse,” he jokes, taking a sip of his drink.”I’m not hating it. I love seeing them finally figure their shit out.”

Beau nods with him. “It was agonizing watching those two pining over each other. Logan was about ready to rip my face off when I flirted with her at Drunk Shakespeare,” he laughs, making the boys join in. Garrett points at him. 

“I swear he was planning my funeral after that stage kiss,” he adds, making Tucker snort. 

“He still is.”

Later on, when the room had loosened up and the music got louder, Maggie found herself at the bar with Logan at her side again, his shoulder just barely touching hers. Not enough to be obvious, but enough to be felt.

He leaned in to speak over the noise. “You’re having fun,” he hums, and she shrugs. 

“I’m used to these. I’m around my favorite people, so I can’t complain,” she admits as she looks at him. “You say that like you’re surprised.”

“I am.”

“Why?”

His gaze dropped to her mouth, then back to her eyes. He leans closer to her.“Because all night you’ve been pretending you’re fine when you’re clearly not.”

Maggie’s pulse kicked, the spot between her thighs pulsing at his darkened tone. 

“Excuse me?”

He smiled, faint and maddening. “You keep looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re trying not to kiss me again. Or take me back home.”

Her breath caught so sharply she nearly laughed out of pure disbelief. Her cheeks heat up at his words. Logan smirks widely before taking another sip of his drink.

“You are unbearable,” she chuckles, leaning her head on his bicep.

“And you’re still here.”

She rolled her eyes, but her mouth betrayed her with a smile. Logan noticed, of course. He always noticed.

“See?” he said. “That one.”

“What one?”

“That one,” he repeated, nodding at her smile. “That’s the one that gets me.”

For a second, the noise of the bar seemed to fall away. Maggie looked at him, really looked at him, and saw all the things he wasn’t saying out loud. How careful he was, and how he was trying not to push boundaries. 

Logan had been craving her. More than he already has. She swallowed.

“Then maybe you should stop looking at me like that,” she says in a more seductive tone, sipping her glass of wine. His expression softened instantly, and his voice dropped.

“I don’t know how.”

The answer landed between them heavier than any joke. Maggie blinked, a little caught off guard by the honesty of it, and then she smiled, small and real.

“Good,” she said.

Logan’s eyes darkened just a little. He let his hand that was lingering on her back, slither to her hip before pinching it lightly. She let out a gasp. 

“Dangerous thing to say,” he mutters into her ear. She leaned in just enough to make him breathe differently. Teasingly.

“Good,” she repeated, letting her eyes flicker to his lips once more. Logan bites at his own, letting out a slight groan at her tone. 

And from the other side of the room, Garrett saw the entire exchange and groaned into his drink.

“They’re doing it again.”

Dean laughed. “At this point, I’m starting to respect the commitment.”

Tucker shook his head, but he was smiling. “This is going to end badly for all of us.”

John Logan used to know exactly where to find Y/N.

Either being curled up on the couch of the hockey house, his hoodie on her figure while Dean complained about having to take care of kitchen clean-up this time. Her laughs echoing across the house. Or when she was outside with them all, encouraging their lift sessions as she joined in.

Or he could find her in the passenger seat of his truck during midnight drives. The nights where he could find her waiting for him after practice with a sarcastic comment, and leftovers from Malone’s she swore she wasn't buying specifically for him.

For years, she was his person. His absolute best friend. Garrett couldn’t compare to her.

Y/N was his favorite girl. His favorite mistake.

She was the girl he called when he couldn't sleep. She became the girl whose bed he'd climb into after parties. She became the girl he kissed when friendship stopped being enough, but commitment felt too terrifying.

They never put a label on it, and deep down, that was Logan's first mistake.

Because somewhere between late-night study sessions, tangled sheets, and whispered secrets, Y/N fell in love with him. She didn’t realize it until one night, tangled up in his sheets after quite a few rounds, his biceps wrapping around her naked figure. The way he would cover her up so she wouldn’t get goosebumps along her skin.

It was the way they held deep conversations during the night when everyone else was asleep around them. Logan kissed her like she was the only one.

The problem?

Logan did too, and he was just too much of an idiot to realize it.

So when another girl showed interest, something flipped. He didn’t know how else to put it. He didn’t want to admit he was in denial. So he said yes to her. The new girl was someone easy, uncomplicated, someone who didn't make his chest tighten every time she smiled. He convinced himself that was what he wanted.

Something simple.

Something safe.

So, Logan started seeing her. But instead of being honest with Y/N, he did something worse. He did something he knew he would never be able to take back.

He disappeared.

There was no explanation, conversation, or even a warning.

One day he was in her bed laughing at some stupid movie, cuddled up next to her like it meant nothing. Knowing it meant every fucking thing. Then the next, he stopped answering texts.

Logan stopped showing up. He even stopped looking at her.

Y/N had spent weeks wondering what she'd done wrong. She remembered sitting with Allie, Dean and Hannah, tears rolling down her face as she tried to figure out what she did wrong. 

The courtyard at Briar had buzzed with the usual lunchtime chaos. Students crossed between buildings, laughter drifted through the warm spring air, and somewhere nearby a group of freshmen were throwing something back and forth.

Y/N barely noticed any of it.

She sat at the picnic table with her untouched plate in front of her, Allie had set it down knowing she hadn't eaten much in a few days. Her eyes fixed on the wood grain beneath her hands. Tears slid silently down her cheeks despite her attempts to stop them.

Across from her, Hannah looked heartbroken, while Allie reached over and squeezed Y/N's hand. While Dean had been chewing his own food, he had looked furious.

"Okay, no." He leaned back in his seat and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, but this is bullshit."

Y/N let out a shaky laugh that sounded more like a sob. "Dean."

"No." He shook his head, setting his fork down. "Seriously. One day you two are inseparable and then the next he acts like you don't exist? What the hell is that?"

She swallowed hard, sniffling lightly.

"That's what I don't understand,” Her voice cracked, as the table fell silent. Y/N stared down at her lap, picking the nail polish off of her fingertips.

"We have always been so close, we’ve always communicated when something was wrong," Her chest tightened. "We weren't officially together, but everyone knew what was happening."

Hannah nodded carefully.

"Everyone thought you guys were heading somewhere."

"Exactly, like fuck,” Y/N laughed bitterly.

"Then one morning he was just," She snapped her fingers. "Gone."

Allie frowned, running her thumbs over her friend’s hand. "He never gave you a reason?"

Y/N shook her head.

"Nothing?"

"No."

"Not even a text?"

"Nope."

The single word came out flat, and Dean muttered a curse under his breath.

"Dick."

"He stopped answering my messages." Y/N wiped at her face. "Stopped showing up. If I ran into him on campus he'd suddenly have somewhere else to be. He doesn’t come near me in class, I always catch him sitting with Beau or another one of the Hockey guys,” she explains, the hurt in her voice made all three of them wince. "I kept thinking maybe I did something-"

Allie immediately shook her head. "Don't."

"But what else am I supposed to think?" Y/N asked quietly, her tone sounding hopeless, eyes red and puffy as her lip quivers. "What if I said something wrong? What if I got too attached? What if he realized he doesn’t need me anymore?"

Dean's jaw tightened, watching Y/N’s body shrink down, shoulders sagging with a lack of hope.

"That's not it,” he mutters, shaking his head while playing with his lip.

"You don't know that."

"I know Logan."

Y/N looked up, and Dean sighed.

"I've known him for years, Y/N/N,” he says. “Living with the guy, and playing Hockey with him 25/8 kind of does that.”

"Then explain it to me, because apparently I don’t know a thing."

He opened his mouth, and then closed it. Not because he wanted to, but because he couldn't. Which made her hurt even worse.

“See?” Y/N laughed humorlessly, as Dean looked miserable.

Because the truth was he had noticed Logan acting strange. He was more withdrawn. More distracted. Every time Dean asked, Logan brushed him off. Left the house without another word. 

Now, Y/N was sitting in front of him crying. Dean hated it.

"He still looks at you,” The words came softly from Hannah. Everyone turned toward her, while Y/N frowned.

"What?"

Hannah shrugged, with a slow nod. "I've seen it."

"When?"

"Everywhere."

Y/N blinked, and Hannah leaned forward.

"The library. Parties. Hockey games."

"He avoids me."

"He avoids talking to you," Hannah corrected.

Y/N stared. “Han, he’s avoiding me altogether. Like I don’t even exist.”

“He’s avoiding something more,” Hannah continued. "But whenever you're around, he notices."

Something flickered across Y/N's face. Slight Hope. She still felt completely fucked up, and tired, but that hope was dangerous.

"If he notices me, then why won't he talk to me?"

Nobody had an answer, because that was the question. It was the one that didn't make sense. Yet, it was also still the one that had been tearing Y/N apart for weeks. She lowered her gaze again.

"Maybe he met someone,” Y/N frowns to herself, her eyes darting between her and Allie’s linked hands on the table.

The possibility tasted like poison, and Dean immediately shook his head.

"No."

"You don't know that."

"Y/N, I do."

"How?"

"Because if Logan had a girlfriend, Tucker would've accidentally announced it to the entire campus within twelve minutes."

That earned a small laugh from Hannah, and even Y/N managed a weak smile.

It came as quick as it disappeared, her face filling with heavy hurt and mental exhaustion.

"I just wish he'd tell me why. I swear I would have understood. I’ve known him for too long not to," Her voice was barely above a whisper.

The three of them exchanged glances.

Because that's what made it so awful. It wasn’t the ending, or the silence, or unanswered calls and messages. It was the not knowing that killed her most. Y/N lowered her head as fresh tears spilled onto her cheeks.

"I miss him."

The confession hung in the air. It was raw and honest. Her heart filled with breaking pain.

Across the courtyard, standing near the entrance of the student union with a hockey bag slung over his shoulder, Logan froze. Because he had heard every single word.

For the first time since he'd walked away from her, he had looked absolutely devastated.

But Hannah suddenly sat up straighter. "Wait."

Y/N sniffled, looking back over at Hannah. "What?"

Hannah's eyes lit up.

"You should write about it,” she conjures up, grabbing her songbook and a pen. Y/N laughed through her tears.

"Write what? A strongly worded email?"

"No." Hannah grinned. "Write how you’re feeling. In a song,” she admits, nodding at Y/N. “I’ve been needing ideas on how to start a melody, and finding someone to perform it with Justin being busy with his band. We can put a melody together tonight, and write up lyrics.”

Dean pointed immediately.

"Yes,” he said immediately while Allie nodded.

"Oh my goodness, yes. You’ve been in a songwriting funk, and I think this would be a perfect way to help explain your feelings throughout all of this,” Allie admits, squeezing Y/N’s hands. She gives them a sheepish look.

“I haven’t performed any of my music for anyone outside of that auditorium, Han.”

"And your voice is beautiful. Your songwriting is breathtaking. Listen,” she sighs before reaching over to place her hand over Y/N and Allie’s conjoined ones. “You're hurting," Hannah said gently. "And you're carrying all of it around because you never got closure."

Y/N looked away while Hannah continued.

"So let's make your own,” she smiles at Y/N, Allie nodding as Dean sat forward.

"And then sing it at open mic night,” he adds, going to place his hands on top of all of their’s. “I felt FOMO not holding all of your hands,” he says, making them all let out a slight chuckle. Y/N nearly choked.

"Absolutely not."

"Absolutely yes," Allie corrected.

"You know how to sing."

"That doesn't mean I want to sing about my emotional damage in front of strangers,” Y/N says. Dean shrugged, and she eyed him with a squint. 

"Technically they'd be Briar students, not strangers."

"Dean."

"What? I'm helping."

For the first time all afternoon, Y/N actually laughed a real laugh.

Hannah smiled. "Come on, I will help you out with this one."

“What about date night with G?”

She pulled out her notebook, swatting at her. “He can wait, or better yet he can come listen. Be an outsider hearing it. You know he will give you an honest opinion.”

Y/N looks at them all, seeing the agonizing wait for her answer. She rolled her eyes with a sigh, wiping her tears. “Fine.”

The girls had taken over Hannah and Allie’s place for the night. Takeout containers covered the coffee table, and a half-finished bottle of wine sat between them. Sheets of notebook paper were scattered across the couch cushions as Hannah and Y/N worked on refining the song.

Allie sat cross-legged on the floor with a red pen, pretending to be some kind of music producer.

"You repeat that too many times here," Allie said, pointing it out as she chews on the edge of the pen.

"It's literally the point of the song,” Y/N chuckles, scribbling part of it out. 

"I know. I'm just saying maybe make the last one hit harder."

Y/N rolled her eyes, and Hannah laughed.

"She's right."

"Traitor,” Y/N scoffed playfully, before sticking her tongue out at them both. 

"Thank you,” Hannah gasps with a giggle. The mood was lighter than it had been all day.

It wasn’t healed, or good. Just light Y/N was reading over a revised verse when Allie suddenly gasped.

The room froze. Hannah looked up from her laptop, pushing her headphone to the side.

"What?"

Allie's eyes were glued to her phone, then slowly turned up to Hannah’s in horror. Y/N frowns.

“Allie?”

That single word made Y/N's stomach drop. "What?"

Nobody answered immediately, which was answer enough. Y/N slowly sat upright.

"Allie,” she says a bit more firmly. Allie winced.

"Oh no,” Hannah’s voice cuts in, her eyes glued to her laptop. Y/N shakes her head in confusion. “Oh fuck."

"Hannah,” Y/N trails off as Hannah looks horrified, and Y/N feels her pulse start racing.

"What?"

The girls exchanged a glance, then looked at Y/N. That’s all it took. Y/N knew. Her frown slowly turned into pure sadness. Her face contorted into sadness, pain, anger, shock, confusion. She knew before she even reached for the phone.

"No."

Nobody spoke.

"No."

Allie slowly handed it over, and Y/N did not hesitate to look.

Instagram. A close friend's story. One of the hockey guys had posted it from the ongoing party. There were people laughing, music playing. 

Then, there it was. She was standing beside Logan.

A girl.

Pretty. Breathtaking. Looking at Logan like he was the world. Y/N’s eyes scanned the whole thing.

Her arm wrapped around his. His hand resting on her waist. The image had blurred instantly, but not because of the screen.

Because tears filled Y/N's eyes, as the room stayed silent. The kind of silence that hurts.

Y/N found herself going back and staring at it again. And again. And again.

The same image was proof for her. It was an answer. 

After weeks of wondering, of weeks being confused. Of weeks blaming herself for doing something wrong that she didn’t realize.

There was another girl. There always had been.

A sharp laugh escaped her. It was a broken laugh, filled with humiliation.

"Oh."

Nobody knew what to say, and Y/N swallowed hard.

"So. That was why,” Her voice cracked, handing the phone back. “Y/N-”

"I get it now."

Her chest hurt, like physically hurt. It felt as if it were caving in.

"He found someone else,” she sniffles, letting her head fall as she began to scribble every word she once had written. Hannah’s face faltered slightly, looking at Allie, who looked just as distraught. "You don't know that."

Y/N laughed bitterly, shaking her head. "I literally have eyes, Hannah,” she sighs.  "He couldn't even tell me."

The realization hit harder than the picture itself. Not that he might have moved on, it was the fact that he never respected her enough to tell her.

He had simply vanished, and left her searching for answers. While apparently moving on with somebody else. She pursed her lips, tearing out the page in the book, crumpling it and throwing it across the room. 

"I was sitting around wondering what I did wrong,” she bitterly laughs, going to write again. Her voice had broken with every word as she spoke. "And he was just-"

She couldn't finish the sentence as the apartment door opened.

"Hey babe, I brought-" Garrett stopped mid-sentence, his smile disappeared immediately. The hockey captain took one look at Y/N crying and set the grocery bag down.

"What happened?"

Nobody answered. Garrett looked toward Hannah, and then toward Allie. Hannah pans her laptop his way, watching as his face darkened. Because he knew exactly who the picture involved.

"So there you go,” Y/N sniffled, running hands through her loose pony. Garrett frowned.

"What?"

"That's why he disappeared,” she says, throwing her hands up in the air defenselessly. His expression tightened.

"You don't know that."

Y/N laughed bitterly, scoffing at him. "It kind of looks that way."

Garrett didn't answer right away, which was unusual. Because Garrett Graham always seemed to know what to say.

Finally he sighed. Garrett was usually the calm, responsible and level-headed one. Right now he not only looked ready to kill one of his teammates, but also he looked completely lost. 

"I don't know what's going on in Logan's head,” he grumbles, running a hand through his hair. The honesty surprised everyone. "But I know him."

Y/N looked at him with a frown. "And?"

"And whatever this is, it doesn't make sense."

“Oh, it makes perfect sense, G,” She almost laughed.

"No,” Garrett shook his head, chuckling darkly. "Not to me."

"Did he tell you why?" Y/N asked quietly, and watched Garrett shake his head.

"No."

"Did you know?"

"No."

He didn't hesitate, not even for a second. Somehow that made her believe him.

Garrett sighed. "If I had known he was doing this, I would've called him out weeks ago,” he admits, before his eyes dropped to the notebook on the coffee table. "What's this?"

"The song," Hannah said.

"The one she's writing for open mic night."

Garrett blinked, and then immediately looked interested.

"No way."

“Garrett, please,” Y/N groaned.

It was already too late, because he was already grabbing the pages. The apartment fell silent while he read a few pages that still had some lyrics circled, he squinted as he read them. 

A few moments passed.

Then a few more.

Finally he reached the end, and looked up. Then Garrett pointed at the notebook.

"Okay,” he huffs, as he hands her back the notebook. Everyone waited. "That's going to absolutely destroy people. These little mental lyrics you’ve written. This feels real."

She swallowed hard. "Because it is,” she assured him, and Garrett nodded.

"That's why it works."

His eyes drifted briefly toward the picture displayed, but also partly being hidden behind the garage band icon on Hannah’s laptop. Then back to the lyrics.

He paused on one section. "But if you put these all together, they may work. But it's still missing something."

Allie sat up, a shit-eating grin on her face. "Oh, I knew it."

Garrett nodded.

"The whole song is making statements about you. How you love, and how you are,” he explains, and Y/N frowned.

"Okay,”

"But now, you need to make it into how he made you feel throughout everything. From start to finish," he explains, and she tilts her head. Hannah smirks, knowing she would definitely be giving Garrett shit later about his songwriting smarts. 

The room grew quiet, as everyone knew exactly what answer he meant. 

"You don't need to make it angry,” he said as he looked at her carefully. "You just need to make it honest."

Y/N stared down at the page.

At the lyrics she'd spent hours writing, scribbling and retrying over and over again. She stared at the hurt she'd poured into every line. Suddenly she realized Garrett was right. The song wasn't about Logan leaving. It was about what finding that picture felt like.

The bar is packed. Dean, Tucker, Garrett, and Logan are crowded into their usual booth. Allie and Hannah had told their boyfriends that they would be coming with Y/N as emotional support. She had been rehearsing the song day in and day out.

She even had Justin help her through it, through the emotional side of it. He helped her figure out when to breathe, when to make it feel the pain she felt as she sang it.

Y/N’s eyes didn’t miss the way Logan’s new girl was sitting right next to him. She didn’t bother to dissect that he had zero interest in her advances. She just saw him with her, and that was enough.

Beside her, Hannah squeezed her shoulder. "You've got this."

"I absolutely do not,” she chuckles dryly, Allie coming up to squeeze her tight. "You do."

"I might actually throw up."

Allie laughed. "You'll be fine."

On stage, Justin finished the final song with his band, the crowd erupted into cheers and hoots. Justin grinned into the microphone.

“Thank you for all the love tonight,” he chuckles, and then eyes dart over towards Y/N. He nods at her, and her eyes widen. She let out a puff of breath.

Then his expression shifted, slowly softening. "Before we take off, I want to introduce the next performer. This next song is a little different. It was written by somebody who probably doesn't realize how talented she is."

Y/N wanted the floor to open and swallow her whole, as Justin looked toward the side of the stage at her. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "And from what I've heard, she wrote this one from a very real place."

Then he pointed toward the side of the stage, giving her a warm welcome.  "Everybody give it up for one of Briar U’s brightest singers, and also my dear friend, Y/N L/N."

The applause started immediately, not thunderous, but completely supportive. It was enough to make her heart pound harder. Y/N stumbled onto the stage slowly, the spotlight hit her instantly.

And suddenly every person in Malone's seemed to turn and look at her. Her pulse roared in her ears, where the microphone stood waiting. She could barely breathe. Then she spotted her friends.

Hannah smiling, Allie practically bouncing in her seat, Garrett giving her a reassuring nod, and Dean raising his drink in support. Tucker and Beau let out a few hoots and cheers for her. She smiles softly at them.

For a moment, everything felt manageable. Then her eyes moved farther back, because her eyes met his own. Logan was standing by the exit of Malone’s, as if something stopped him from leaving. He was looking up at her with a frown. The girl by his side, pulling him to leave with her.

Logan couldn’t find it himself to want to leave. Not now. Logan looked confused. Curious. Almost nervous as if he suddenly realized this song might be about him.

Y/N swallowed hard, finally pulling herself back, she looked away. The room quieted completely. Finally, she spoke.

"This song starts off slow, like an intro." she explains softly. “It’s called locket theme,” she says, and then clears her throat. “The intro is very personal, and goes into this song I wrote. The song is called Lovergirl.”

The titles alone seemed to catch Logan's attention, making him walk slowly back into the crowd, and his expression changed immediately. Y/N saw it.

So did Garrett, and suddenly his jaw tightened. Because for the first time all night, Logan looked like he might finally understand exactly how much damage he'd done. Y/N wrapped her fingers around the microphone.

The first chord rang through Malone's, and every eye in the room turned toward her as she began to sing.

For Logan, the entire room disappears. The lyrics aren't subtle, they're raw.

Did you miss me? I like to pretend you did. Was crying nightly, I know you can picture it

All our memories safe in my locket, I carry it.

I know I missed you, I’m not gonna lie ‘bout that. I had to leave you be and see how I felt ‘bout that

If you don’t hear from me, it don’t mean I loved you less. Had to get this off my chest

I’ve been searching, but the answer’s right in front of me. My protection’s so divine and now I see

Pain on a necklace, set it down, I’m weightless

Everything I need is within me

Every word feels like a punch to the ribs, and Logan can't breathe. She poured out everything in that intro, and he didn’t know if he would be able to handle hearing what she wrote in the song. He wasn’t just hearing lyrics, he was hearing memories. She kept every single one tucked away, because he pushed her away.

The music began to transition into a new low melody. It sounded like pain, heartbreak and yearning, turned into something deeper. Prettier.

I care too much all the time, love so hard it makes me cry

No, it's not worth it to deny. 'Cause when it's good, it's so good, it's so nice

One look right into your eyes, One touch and I'm yours tonight

I, I just can't help that I'm a lovergirl. Why not embrace the simple pleasure? Let me hold you close

And we can take off all our clothes. I, I thank God I found you in this lonely world

Why would we ever stop ourselves from doing what feels good? Baby, if we can, we should

I've flown too close to the sun. And I've been burned far more than once

But it still hasn't stopped me from doing it again, I'm doing it again

One look right into your eyes, One touch and I'm yours tonight (tonight)

I, I just can't help that I'm a lovergirl. Why not embrace the simple pleasure? Let me hold you close

And we can take off all our clothes. I, I thank God I found you in this lonely world

Why would we ever stop ourselves from doing what feels good? Baby, if we can we should

I, I just can't help that I'm a lovergirl. Why not embrace the simple pleasure? Let me hold you close

And we can take off all our clothes

Logan’s mind began to hit him with realization. With memories. With every single fucking thing he had been denying. The memories filling in one after another.

The night she fell asleep on his shoulder after finals. The way she'd laugh when he got jealous. The mornings he'd wake up beside her and pretend it didn't mean anything. The look on her face the last time she texted him asking if she'd done something wrong.

The messages he never answered.

Across the table, Garrett slowly lowers his drink, and Dean goes completely silent.

Tucker mutters, "Oh, fuck,” with a hiss after, because everyone knows exactly who the song is about.

And then Y/N sings the final verse, not angry, or bitter. Just with hurt. So much hurt. The kind of hurt that comes from loving someone who never chose you. The kind that sounds devastatingly permanent. For the first time in his life, Logan realizes the truth.

He never stopped loving her.

Not once. Not when he dated someone else. Not when he avoided her. Not when he convinced himself she deserved better.

Not even now.

He loves her. He's always loved her.

And he's spent months watching her slip through his fingers because he was too scared to admit it. Now, he couldn’t breathe. It was all making him feel dizzy. Because standing there watching her sing her heart out, he couldn't imagine a future that didn't include her.

Couldn't imagine another girl making him laugh the same way. Couldn't imagine another girl understanding him the way she did. Couldn't imagine another girl hurting this much because of him.

It hit him so quickly. Almost like a lightning strike. Logan understood what Dean had been trying to tell him for months.

He wasn't protecting himself, he wasn't protecting her. He'd just been terrified. Terrified of how much she meant.

The final chord faded.

Silence.

One second. Then two.

Then the entire bar erupted.

Applause.

Cheers and hoots.

Whistles.

People rising to their feet, and Y/N's eyes widened in shock. She smiled widely, thanking them politely as she stepped off the stage, hugging Justin, Allie and Hannah tight.

Logan barely heard anything, because he was too busy staring at her, realizing he might have completely screwed this up.

She disappeared into the crowd almost immediately after breaking apart from their hugs. Logan instinctively started moving.

He needed to talk to her.

Tonight.

Right now.

Immediately.

He was stopped abruptly when hand grabbed his shoulder. Hard. He turned, and was face to face with Dean.

He was not smiling. Not joking. Just staring.

"Sit."

Logan frowned. "Dean-"

"Sit. Down,” his tone was something that did not hesitate to make him listen. A few moments later Logan found himself back at their table.

Garrett sat across from him, and Tucker beside him.

Beau leaned against another chair, and now none of them looked happy.

That was unusual. Especially for Tucker and Dean. Tucker was normally incapable of looking serious for more than thirty seconds. Now he looked annoyed.

“What?” Logan sighed, and this caused Dean to laugh. A short, humorless laugh as he rubbed at his jaw.

"What?"

Garrett folded his arms, nodding at Logan."That's your question?"

Logan looked between them. Nobody answered, but nobody looked away.

That was when he suddenly had realized. They knew. They all knew, every single bit. Dean leaned forward first. "Do you have any idea how many nights she cried over this?"

Logan's stomach dropped, but Dean continued. "Do you?"

No answer. He stayed quiet, only gulping, because he didn't. Garrett shook his head.

"You ghosted her, Logan,” he says, his tone sounding defeated as he crosses his arms, making  Logan immediately look away.

"Garrett-"

"No,” Garrett cut him off. "You don't get to brush this off,” he snaps, and the table goes quiet. It was a rare sighting for Garrett to be putting Logan in place, when it was usually the exact opposite. "She spent weeks wondering what she did wrong."

Logan closed his eyes with a sigh, as every word felt worse.

"You didn't even give her a reason,” Dean pointed out, making Logan nod. "I know."

"You just disappeared."

"I know."

Dean scoffed. "No, I don't think you fucking do. Because if you understood what that did to her, you would've fixed it already."

Logan rubbed a hand over his face as Tucker spoke up next. Which somehow felt even worse.

"Man, she looked miserable,” he admits, talking about how he had seen her moping around campus for weeks. Her being around the house less and less. The way she looked so pained while singing in front of them. Logan's chest tightened, and Tucker shook his head. "And she still defended you."

That surprised him enough to snap his gaze back up, frowning in confusion. "What?"

"Every time."

The table fell quiet again, and Beau nodded. "She's never once talked badly about you,” he adds, trailing off and Logan looks down at the wood tabletop because somehow that hurt the most.

After everything.

After disappearing. Avoiding her. Leaving her with nothing. Y/N still hadn't tried to destroy him.

Dean sighed heavily. "What were you thinking?"

“I fucking wasn’t. That was the issue, Dean,” Logan laughed bitterly. Dean’s eyes sharpened at his friend’s tone.

"Clearly."

Another painful silence, but then Garrett leaned back as he let his expression softened slightly.

"Do you love her?"

That was when Logan froze.

The question hung there.

It was so simple, yet so terrifyingly direct. The one question he had ignored for months. Keeping it buried away. Locking it for far too long, or just pretended it wasn't true.

But after hearing that song? After seeing her on that stage? After realizing she'd been hurting this entire time? There wasn't really a point in lying anymore. So quietly, he answered.

"Yeah,” he sighs, running a hand through his hair as all of his emotions break through. They shattered completely. “Yeah. I really fucking do.”

Nobody looked surprised. Dean immediately rolled his eyes. "Oh, for fuck’s sake."

Tucker threw both hands in the air, pursing his lips, leaning back into the booth cushions. "I knew it."

"Everyone knew it,” Beau laughed, and Garrett pointed at him.

"Literally everyone,” he agrees, and Logan groans.

"Great."

"No," Dean said, shutting it down completely. "Not great."

The table quieted again, because out of every single one here, surprisingly Dean was right. Knowing the truth didn't magically fix what happened. It didn't erase weeks of pain.

It didn't undo the damage.

A few moments later, Hannah and Allie approached the table, both immediately noticed Logan sitting there. Neither looked impressed. Especially Allie, as she folded her arms.

"Seriously?" she hissed, not missing how Logan winced. Garrett slid over so Hannah could sit beside him, while Allie took the empty chair next to Dean. The tension was instant.

Logan looked around. "Where's Y/N?"

Hannah glanced toward the front doors.

"Outside."

His heart immediately sank.

"She okay?"

Allie laughed, but not kindly. It was a pointed and sharp toned laugh. "You don't get to ask that,” she shot back. “Where’s your girlfriend anyway?”

Logan looked away, before letting out a huff. “I never made it official with that girl. I couldn’t, something in me couldn’t.”

“Something as in your love for Y/N? Maybe?” she retorts, making him close his eyes because she wasn't wrong.

The table fell silent. Outside the windows, the spring night stretched across campus. Somewhere beyond those doors, Y/N was standing alone. Trying to catch her breath after singing her heart out in front of an entire room.

While inside, for the first time in months, Logan was finally being forced to confront the truth.

Not that he'd hurt her. He already knew that. The truth was worse.

Because sitting at that table, surrounded by the people who cared about both of them, Logan realized something he'd been trying not to admit for a very long time. Losing Y/N hadn't made things easier.

It had made everything harder.

Now? Knowing that there was a very real possibility that he was too late fucked his entire body up. Logan is on his feet before he even thinks.

"Logan-" Dean starts to call out, Allie’s expression softening as they watch him sprint out, but he's already gone.

The rain had started sometime during the last chorus. Not enough to send people running, but just enough to leave the pavement shining beneath the streetlights. Y/N stood outside Malone's with her arms wrapped around herself.

The cool air felt good against her overheated skin. Inside, everyone was celebrating. The buzz of her music, of her song. Justin’s band had gone back up for a couple of covers from what she could hear. 

She couldn't handle any of it right now. The emotions were too close to the surface. The tears were too close, glossing over her eyes.

The rain dampened her hair as she stared across the empty parking lot, slowly beginning to walk out from under the cover from the rain. Then the door behind her opened, closing quickly as feet padded behind her as if trying to catch her.

"That song was about me."

Not a question, but a statement.

Y/N laughed bitterly, not needing to turn to know who it was. "You figured that out all by yourself?" she snaps back, whipping back to face him with a cold stare, Logan flinches.

Good, she wanted him to.

"You have no idea what you put me through,” Her voice shook lowly, the cold rain starting to make her shiver lightly. The anger she'd been holding in for weeks finally surfaced.

Logan swallowed hard. "I know-"

"No,” she stood still, rain droplets clung to her eyelashes. The hurt in her eyes nearly destroyed him.  "You don't. You don't get to say you know."

His chest tightened.

"Y/N-"

"I spent weeks blaming myself,” Her voice cracked as she talked over the rain, teeth chattering. "Weeks, Logan."

Logan looked away, unable to hold her gaze. The rain began to pour down hard, drenching them both.

"I thought I wasn't enough. I-I had thought I scared you away,” another tear slipped down her cheek. "I thought maybe I imagined the whole thing,” she laughs to herself, hugging herself to keep any warmth she had left. The rain hid some of the tears falling freely, but not all of them.

Logan felt sick, because he remembered every text he ignored. Every hallway he'd avoided. Every opportunity he'd had to fix it. Every time he'd chosen not to.

"I never stopped caring about you,” The words escaped before he could stop them.

Y/N stared at him, and then laughed. It was her broken laugh. "Seriously?"

"I'm serious."

"You have a funny way of showing it."

She wasn't wrong, not one bit. Logan closed his eyes briefly, because there was no defense. No excuse. There was nothing he could say that would make it better. When he looked at her again, his voice was quieter.

"I got scared, Y/N."

Y/N scoffed.

"Of what?"

"You."

That made her heart stutter for a second. Something in her paused. For the first time all night.

The rain continued falling around them, and Logan stepped closer.

"I was fine when it was casual,” His voice shook, nerves coming out with each word. "I was fine when I could convince myself I wasn't falling for you."

Y/N's heart started pounding.

"But then suddenly every time something happened, you were the first person I wanted to tell,” He laughed bitterly. "Every good day,” Another step closer. "Every bad day,” Another. "You were the person I looked for."

Y/N's eyes began filling again. His bottom lip quivered as he spoke once more. "And it scared the hell out of me, Y/N."

The confession hung between them. It was raw. Honest. Painful.

Logan ran a hand through his wet hair. "So I did what I always do."

"What?"

"I screwed it all up,” he admits. “I fucking ran like a coward. Denied every single fucking feeling you were making me feel,” his voice cracked, a tear mixed with the rain on his cheek.

Y/N froze. Because Logan wasn't just emotional. He was crying.

Actual tears. Logan almost never cried.

His voice broke. "I thought if I walked away first, it wouldn't hurt as much,” The next laugh that escaped him sounded miserable. "Turns out that was the dumbest fucking decision I've ever made."

Y/N stared.

Because she'd imagined this conversation a thousand times. None of those versions involved Logan looking completely shattered. The tension snapped.

Not completely. But enough. It was enough for all the hurt beneath it to finally surface.

Logan stepped closer again. This time neither moved away. Rain soaked through both of them now. Neither cared.

"I. Love. You."

The words came out suddenly. Unplanned. Unfiltered.

Y/N stopped breathing, and Logan looked terrified the second he said it. He didn't take it back.

"I love you, Y/N," His voice cracked, another tear sliding down his face. "I think I've loved you for a long time. I just didn't realize how much until I lost you."

Y/N felt her entire world tilt. Weeks of anger. Weeks of heartbreak.

Weeks of missing him.

All crashing together at once. Her own lips began to quiver again. "You don't get to say that now,” she squeaked out, the words came out weak. Because that part of her wanted to hear them again.

"I know,” he nods, biting his bottom lip as it keeps quivering. 

"You don't get to disappear and then tell me you love me."

"I know."

"You broke my heart,” she sobs, the tears returned immediately. Logan nodded his tears were continuous too.

"I know,” His own voice broke. "And I'm sorry."

Y/N stared at him. Stared at the boy she'd loved for so long. The absolute fucking idiot who had shattered both of them.

At the person she'd spent weeks trying to forget.

Her shaking hand coming up to cup his face, he lets out a stuttered sob at the contact, taking her wrist softly in his hand as he leaned his cheek into her touch. "I hate you,” she says, her eyes still glossy and red, but full of love.

Logan laughed through tears, nodding. "I know."

"I really hate you."

His eyes never left hers.

"I know."

The space between them disappeared. One second they were arguing.

“But I still love you,” she admits, making him smile sadly at her as he cried with her. “So fucking much, John Logan,” The next moment, Y/N grabbed the front of his jacket, and pulled his neck down to kiss him hard.

Angry.

Months of frustration pouring into it. Logan made a sound somewhere between relief and heartbreak as he kissed her back. The rain fell harder around them.

Neither noticed, and neither cared.

All the words they'd never said.

All the feelings they'd buried.

All the hurt, and the love.

It all collided at once beneath the streetlights outside Malone's. Thunder sounding in the distance, the music inside blaring softly. Their lips moving together like puzzle pieces that were meant for one another. Hands wandering wherever they could grab and hold.

Maggie was all over the place once the day had started.

She had two presentations to do in her classes this afternoon, followed by a mock trial of recording data in a storm chasing scenario, had to head back home to grab her things to pack for Drunk Shakespeare, and then had to make her way back to campus once again, to finish rehearsing lines with Dexter and Allie for the night ahead.

In which case, it also means they're spending most of their time gossiping about Maggie's current state in her love life.

If there was one.

Instead, it had become group therapy. Maggie sat cross-legged on the edge of the small stage, script abandoned beside her, while Dexter paced dramatically through his lines. "Once more unto the breach, dear friends-"

He stopped, and pointed directly at her. "Absolutely not."

Maggie sighed, letting out an annoyed groan. She ran a hand over her face. "What?"

Dexter crossed his arms, giving her a suspicious smirk. "You haven't heard a single word I've said."

"I heard all of it."

"Recite the last line, then, smartass,” he chuckles back, standing over her as she sat up straight. She opened her mouth and then closed it. Maggie felt her face heating up, flicking off Dexter, and he and Allie laughed. "Exactly!” he squeals out, coming back to sit next to her.

Allie snorted from where she was sitting across from the two, plopping her script onto the floor. "She's thinking about Logan,” she sings, making Maggie’s eyes shoot towards her. She scowls with a groan. "Oh my gosh, not this again."

"What? You are!" Allie exclaims, pointing over at her. Maggie shakes her head, fidgeting with the pages of her packet. She looks down at it, avoiding all eye contact.

"I’m really not,” she argues, making Dexter and Allie look at one another. Dexter looks back at Maggie. "You absolutely are,” he trails off, leaning back so his hands take his weight behind him. He crosses one leg over the other as they stretch out across the stage. 

"Okay. Let's address the six-foot-two hockey boy-shaped elephant in the room."

“Allie!” 

“Babe, it’s true! You’ve been moping ever since Dean and Beau’s party. This isn’t like you,” she admits, her face softening as she leans closer.

Maggie shook her head with a shrug."There is no elephant."

"Oh, there is definitely an elephant, my girl,” Dexter agrees with a nod. She playfully smacks his thigh. Maggie rubbed her forehead.

"Can we please, just, rehearse?"

"No."

"Dexter."

"Honey, it’s Drunk Shakespeare for a reason. We can’t be perfect at it all the time, otherwise the drunk part is just besides the point,” he giggles, but immediately halts when he can see the sadness forming in Maggie’s eyes.

Allie leaned forward. "You've been weird, Mags. I know we give you shit all the time, but now it’s really starting to concern us," she admits. “You usually don’t care, and joke or play it off. But now you’re shutting it down. Completely.”

"I've just been busy."

"You left Malone's without telling him goodbye,” she pointed out, making Dexter’s eyes widen, and Maggie's head snapped up.

"How do you know that?"

"Beau told me.”

Traitor.

“I’m still on the fact that you left without him in general? Logan always takes you back home. I don’t think I've ever seen a time where he hasn’t at least made sure you got out okay,” Dexter adds, leaning forward as he clasps his hands together.

Maggie just shrugs, poking at the inside of her cheek with her tongue. “I was tired.”

Dexter and Allie share glances, then look back at her. "Dexter and I have theories."

"Allie, please.”

"Too late,” Deter spoke, this time wrapping his arms around her, as she buried her face in her hands. The silence stretched for a moment before Allie's voice softened.

"Mags." That tone. The one Maggie always mentally groans at, and also is currently groaning at. The one that meant they were done teasing. She hated that tone."What's actually going on?"

Maggie stared at the stage floor, silently debating with herself. At first she wasn't going to answer, and then she sighed. She knew that they knew her all too well, almost as well as Logan. That was scary to think about.

They always knew when she was lying or deflecting. Damn her for having great friends that cared. "I don't know,” she sighs out almost defeated.

Allie and Dexter waited, letting her slowly process what she may say. They watched as Maggie twisted and fidgeted with the rings on her fingers.

"It's just,” she huffs before shaking her head. “Fuck, Allie. I don’t know. I guess it’s just, it’s not even fully Logan. About him, I mean.”

"Okay."

"It's me."

Neither interrupted, but they both felt something in them shift. Like they hated hearing Maggie blame herself for whatever was going on. 

"The last time I really was into someone," she began quietly. “When I was seeing a guy-”

“Sophomore year?” Allie asks softly, almost cautiously and Maggie nods. The room immediately lost all its humor. Maggie's eyes stayed fixed on the floor. She hated how little she felt. 

"When we were seeing each other, he spent months convincing me I mattered." She admits. Allie frowned, while Dexter sat up straighter. Their eyes never left her figure, as they could see her trying to shrink herself. "And then I found out I was basically just filling space."

"Maggie-"

"He wasn't over somebody else."

The words came out flat.

Matter-of-fact.

Like she'd told herself the story enough times that it shouldn't hurt anymore. "He would say all the right things. Even made all these promises. Fucker made me think there was something real there,” She laughed dryly. "Turns out he just didn't want to be alone."

Neither of her friends spoke, their hearts breaking lightly as Maggie spoke.

"When she came back into the picture, I stopped existing,” Maggie admits. The room fell quiet. Even Dexter, who usually had a joke for everything. "So now," Maggie continued, "every time I start liking someone, my brain immediately starts looking for reasons why it's a bad idea."

Allie looked heartbroken. "Mags,” she trails out softly, going to sit closer to Maggie as she can see the girl’s hands shaking lightly. “I didn’t tell you guys because I was just so embarrassed. I’d never felt more stupid in my fucking life. So I lied. I said it was mutual.”

“Magnolia,” Dexter said this time, and she shook her head. "I can't do that again,” she says more to herself. Her voice was barely above a whisper, she then straightened up, her expression changing in a matter of seconds. "I won't."

Dexter rubbed the back of his neck."You know, I really don’t think Logan is that type of guy."

"I know."

"Mags, he's crazy about you," Allie assures her, reaching out to grip her shaky hands. Maggie immediately looked away.

"No."

"Yes."

"Stop."

"He looks at you like you've personally invented sunshine."

"Enough."

"Honey, we're just saying,” Dexter says this time, and she shakes her head.

"I don't even know what this is."

"But you like him,” Dexter says, and Maggie didn't answer. She looked like she was going to say something, but her face had said enough when she locked eyes with Allie. Allie frowns.

“You love him, Mags,” she puts out into the open now. Maggie knew that there was no turning back. She rubbed her hands over her face, groaning into them as she curled in once more to herself. Allie smiled gently, understandingly. "And that's what's scaring you."

Maggie hated how quickly tears threatened to appear, so she laughed instead. A defense mechanism she'd perfected years ago. She nods to herself, pursing her lips. "Cool. Awesome. Love this conversation."

"You love him, Maggie. That’s okay,” Allie assures her, nothing but genuine love and care in her voice. Maggie begins to stand up, dusting off her skirt as she snags her script.

"Let's move on."

"You love him a lot."

"Allie."

"You do. You cannot let that scare you."

Maggie tossed the script at Allie, and laughed. Allie then froze, and looked at Dexter with a certain look. Dexter suddenly sat forward, as a dangerous look appeared on his face. Like the two were sharing a conversation in their head.

“I hate when you two do this,” Maggie trails off. “That usually means the gears are turning. You guys have a plan. I don’t want to hear a plan.”

Dexter leans back, before standing up as Allie does the same, nodding at Dexter. He smirks. “Oh, yes. Yeah.”

"No."

"Oh, this is brilliant."

"Both of you. No,” Maggie argues back, looking between them both as they turn to face her. "We will get Logan involved tonight."

Maggie's entire body stiffened. "What?"

"Drunk Shakespeare."

"Dexter."

"We make him participate."

"Absolutely not,” she denies, and Allie immediately brightened.

"Isn’t it brilliant?” she beams, and Maggie shook her head walking towards her bags. 

"No."

"Actually yes."

"No."

"He'd be hilarious,” Dexter answers to Allie, trailing off to try and convince Maggie. Maggie's pulse sped up instantly. The room suddenly felt too warm, too small, too loud.

"No,” her voice quivered, as if something in her was about to snap.

Both of them ignored her.

"We could put him in one of the audience roles."

"Dexter-"

"Or make him read."

"Yes!"

"He'd totally do it."

Maggie slams her script onto the piano, and the movement cuts straight through the conversation. "Stop,” she snapped, not realizing how bad all of this was beginning to become. She was now becoming guarded more than ever. Allie noticed before Dexter could. 

The immediate shut down. The silence. Her friends exchanged a look, which was the kind of look people shared when they'd accidentally hit a nerve.

Maggie snapped out of her daze, and forced a smile.The pair realized it was the kind that never reached her eyes. "So anyway,” she shifts, zipping up her bag. There it was.

The wall, it was back up. Fully.

"Can you guys finish up? We’ve gotta go get ready,” Maggie changes, her friends’ eyes faltering. 

"Mags."

"Nope."

She grabbed her bag, and flopped it over her shoulder. “I’ve gotta finish up a few things. Then I will head over to the studio.”

"Maggie."

"I still need to figure out which corset-"

"Mags."

"-either the blue, mauve or green,” she ignores the pleas of her friends. Allie watched her carefully, and so did Dexter. They both recognized exactly what was happening.

Maggie was shutting down. She was retreating, and building distance from the conversation. Now that they knew why she wasn’t going to pursue Logan..Because talking about Logan felt dangerous.

Because imagining Logan becoming part of her world felt even more dangerous, and because if she let herself hope for something real, that she would get hurt again. At least in her mind, she believed that.

Instead, she changed the subject. Neither of her friends pushed any further.

The backstage area was chaotic.

Costumes hung from rolling racks. Props were scattered across folding tables. Someone was looking for a missing crown. Someone else was already drinking from a goblet that definitely wasn't supposed to contain alcohol yet.

In other words, Drunk Shakespeare was right on schedule.

Maggie stood in front of a mirror, adjusting the sleeve of her dress. She downed another shot as the tray came by, licking her lips to get every last drop. The whole crew would be in attendance tonight, which was a rare sighting, as the boys knew that this was her thing, and the schedules never lined up for them to all go. 

Tonight was a different story, as Garrett dragged them all with him so he could finally tell Hannah how he felt.

She pulled at her corset, feeling like it was much tighter than it was before, probably because her brain could not comprehend that Logan would also be here. Sure, he had come to several other nights, but tonight felt different. 

Different because of how the air had been between them both lately. She adjusted the wings on her back. It wasn't anything overly fancy. Just something simple and fitted that made her feel confident. At least until she looked out toward the audience, that was when her confidence immediately evaporated.

"Oh no."

Allie peeked around the curtain."What?"

"They came."

"Who?"

"The boys."

Allie grinned.

"You act like they weren’t planning on coming," she jokes, making Maggie purse her lips. 

“To be fair I thought they would play hooky at the last minute,” she says back, as they close the curtain behind them.

“Well, good. I’m glad they all could finally make one together.”

"No. Not good."

She stepped closer to the curtain, watching as they all conversed with friends. She saw Jules had made it too, but her heart beat a bit faster when her eyes found a certain brunette.

Logan was laughing at something Tucker said, one arm draped over the back of his chair, looking entirely too comfortable.Too pretty for his own good. Almost a bit too distracting to her now.

Then she noticed someone else. Hannah. Maggie's eyes narrowed slightly, as she saw Hannah was standing near the aisle talking with Justin, and laughed at something he said.

Garrett appeared beside Maggie.

"Who are we staring at?" his voice comes in, making her jump and turn to him. She puts her hands on her hips.

“How did you get back here?” she says first, and then points at him. “I’m also not staring. Just people watching.”

"Right. Because that’s totally not staring,” he chuckles, wrapping her into a small side huge. She sighs, and then pointed subtly. "I was staring at Han."

Garrett followed her gaze, Maggie not missing the way his face faltered slightly before he clenched his jaw. "Oh."

A smirk appeared on her lips, and Maggie immediately rolled her eyes. "Oh you need to relax-"

"I am relaxed,” He answers a bit too quickly after, his voice going up an octave. "You look like you're about to challenge someone to a duel."

Garrett laughed. "Whatever you say, MJ."

Maggie looked at him, and Garrett simply shrugged. “You know you have nothing to worry about, right? I know she likes you. She doesn’t stop talking about you,” Maggie says softer, making him grin at her. The defeat wasn’t hard to pick out, but the confidence in his voice tried to mask it.

Interesting.

Before he could ask what she meant, a familiar voice appeared behind her.

"Well."

Maggie's pulse immediately sped up, as she turned.

Logan.

Suddenly she forgot whatever she'd been about to say, and the noise backstage seemed to disappear. His eyes swept over her for a second longer than he probably noticed. Smile softening lightly around the edges.

"You look beautiful,” he says to her, making the heat rise up to her cheeks. His words sounded genuine, not something he rehearsed to say. Nothing dramatic, he knew she hated big .

"Oh,” she squeaked out, Garrett trying his best to mask the snort he let out with a cough. 

Logan chuckled, as he fixed something on the crown above her head. His touch barely grazed her skin as his hand came back down."That's all I've got?"

"You surprised me,” she shrugged, and then pointed between him and Garrett. “You both are also not supposed to be back here. I swear I am going to let Marcus have it for letting you two back here.”

They both chuckled, before Garrett slips away, saying something about going to talk to Hannah. Logan’s eyes stayed on hers, far longer than either of them probably intended. Maggie hated how easily she got lost there.

His warmth, and the familiarity. It was the way he always looked at her like she was the only person in the room. For a moment she forgot every reason she'd created for shutting him out.

Before either could speak once more, someone else had popped up in the back. Maggie facepalmed, wondering what these boys were saying just so they could get back here. 

"Well, damn,” a low and playful whistle came out. Beau appeared from nowhere. Maggie immediately groaned, going to push at his chest.

"No,” she hissed. Beau ignored her, and laughed at her desperate attempts to get him out from backstage.

"Now I see why nobody's been able to get your attention,” he teased, looking between her and Logan. He could see the look in Logan’s eyes, as if saying for him to get the fuck away, but Beau’s smile widened.

"Oh my- Beau! Go back and sit down!" she whines, and he looks down at her. 

"What?" Beau asked innocently. "I'm just saying."

Logan's smile disappeared only slightly. Beau noticed it immediately, nodding at him as he decided to play at this a bit more."Maggie cleans up nice."

"Beau,” Logan’s jaw clenches, Beau tuts. 

"Actually," Beau continued, "that's underselling it."

Maggie covered her face. "Please stop."

"I'm trying to compliment you."

"You're trying to cause problems."

"Maybe,” Beau giggles, while Logan folded his arms.

"Definitely,” he shot back at Beau. 

Beau grinned. The look he shot Logan was completely intentional, and Maggie didn’t hesitate to immediately recognize it, so did Logan.

A challenge.

A joke.

A test.

Whatever it was, Logan wasn't amused. Which only seemed to encourage Beau, because he then breaks eye contact with Logan and stares down at Maggie. "Hey Maggie."

"No."

"If I volunteer for the show, do I get special treatment?"

"No."

"What if I take you thrifting afterward?"

"Tempting, but still no."

"What if-"

"Maggie," Dexter yelled from across the room. "You're on in two minutes."

She had never been so grateful. She acknowledges Dexter, before pointing to the seating to them both. “Go sit. Now,” she scolds, Beau winking at her in amusement as he disappears. Logan comes up behind her, squeezing her sides before kissing the side of her head. 

“Goodluck.” 

With that he walks away, jaw clenched as if he was trying to hide something. Maggie’s insides began to rise with more butterflies. 

She was so screwed.

The show started, an absolutely packed house around them. College kids were all buzzing, ready to see their friends act in a drunk show, and get drinks alongside it. Laughter echoed through the theater. The audience was loud, energetic, and already slightly intoxicated.

That was perfect.

Dexter stepped into the spotlight, with a goblet in hand and a sparkled lace cape over his shoulders. "Welcome to Drunk Shakespeare!" he cheers out, and the cheers erupt.

He laughs slightly before bowing dramatically. "Tonight's performance will proceed exactly as Shakespeare intended."

A beat.

"Which is to say," he laughs, as he lifts the goblet. “Pourly. Pun intended, thank you."

The audience exploded with laughter. A few minutes later, after explaining the rules and introducing the cast, Dexter suddenly frowned at an empty spot backstage.

"Oh no,” he dramatically gasps. The audience perked up immediately. "We appear to have suffered several tragic actor casualties,” he trails off with a smirk. More laughter, and Maggie already knew where this was going.

To say she hated it was an understatement. Dexter scanned the audience.

"We need volunteers,” he announced. The boys stood immediately. Ones she knew way too well, making her mentally note to kill them in workouts later this week. Every single one.

The crowd roared. "Oh no," Maggie muttered, hiding her face.

"Oh yes," Allie whispered, as she clapped her hands together. Tucker pointed at their Captain, a wild smirk on his face as he held a watermelon in his hands. "Garrett."

The audience cheered, while Garrett laughed, cursing at Tucker, flicking him off, and stood.

Then Dean looked at Allie, who nodded, then smirked at Maggie. Maggie’s eyes widened, and she gave the blond boy a death stare. A warning. Dean stood and pointed toward Logan. “I pick Logan!"

The cheering got even louder, and Logan looked both shocked and horrified, in which made everyone cheer harder.

Maggie's stomach immediately flipped, because of course. Then Dexter looked around dramatically.

"We need one more,” he trails off, tapping his fingers against his chin and humming. ”I need a girl," He sings out, before making eye contact with Hannah. Her face gets bright red before she shakes her head with amusement written all over it. 

“Let’s get my girl Hannah up here, yeah?” he cheers, making the audience holler and clap in agreement. Suddenly, Hannah was walking toward the stage too, and Maggie felt something uncomfortable settle in her chest.

She immediately hated it. Hannah was one of her best friends. Why couldn’t her chest just leave it be?

The show became chaotic. More than it already was. Lines were forgotten, drinks were being handed out everywhere. Actors were stumbling left and right. It was glorious, and hilarious.

Garrett was naturally funny on the stage, and the audience loved him, of course. Maggie could not tell if it was because of him being the Hockey Captain, or because he was just that funny on the stage..

Logan was surprisingly good, which was annoying. Very annoying. Especially because Hannah ended up sharing several scenes with him. Maggie told herself she didn't care. Especially because she had most of her scenes with Garrett as her love interest. She knew deep down that her friends were behind this plan. They all were. Boys included.

She was lying to herself. She did care. Every time Hannah laughed at something Logan said, Maggie noticed. Every time Logan helped Hannah through a line, Maggie noticed his expression. Every time the audience cheered at their interactions, Maggie noticed the look in their eyes. Happiness

She hated that she noticed.

Meanwhile, Logan couldn't stop watching Garrett. Particularly whenever Garrett drifted toward Maggie backstage, or when he got way too close to her during a scene. Or how Garrett held her body when she stumbled and had to yell out ‘line’ before downing a shot.

Whenever she laughed at his jokes. Whenever they shared little looks that clearly came from years of friendship. Logan completely zoned out.

It wasn't rational, and Logan knew that. Garrett wasn't competition. Not when he talked about Hannah 25/8. He was just Garrett. Yet, Logan’s conscience wasn’t helping with that.

Especially when Garrett casually wrapped an arm around Maggie from behind, letting it trail up her stomach, between the valley of her breasts, to her throat. Using that hand to make her turn and look at him. Even if it was just a scene from the play. 

The audience loved it, sure. Logan didn't. Not one fucking bit.

The absolute worst part was that Maggie noticed. When her eyes met with his own across the stage. Flickering just for a second, but it was long enough for him to come to the realization. The realization that she wasn't the only jealous one.

Logan realized she knew it, but she would never admit it. That was how she was. They stared at each other across the runway, neither looked away immediately. For one brief moment it was just the two of them, staring.

Trying to understand what exactly was happening between them. Then Hannah grabbed Logan's arm for the next scene, while Garrett pulled Maggie toward hers. That was when the moment shattered.

Leaving both of them even more confused than before.

The moment between Maggie and Logan didn't have time to breathe before Dexter's voice boomed across the stage.

"Excellent. Wonderful. Terrible acting all around,” he fake laughs, clapping his hands, as the audience joined in. Dexter flipped dramatically through a stack of cue cards. "And now, because our volunteers have been doing far too well, we're introducing the Wheel of Bad Decisions."

The audience cheered, and Maggie immediately groaned, looking at Dexter, who gave her knowing eyes. 

"No,” she mouthed, and he chuckled while nodding. "Oh yes," Dexter said.

A large cardboard wheel was rolled onstage. Each section contained some ridiculous challenge. From fake accents, to dramatic death scenes, speaking only in questions, to overly emotional declarations of love.

The crowd was loving every moment, while Maggie could feel her insides shaking profusely. Because she knew Dexter, and Dexter had absolutely no respect for her peace. At least that was how she put it.

He spun the wheel, and it rattled dramatically.

Everyone watched it, as it slowly stopped. Dexter's grin widened.

"Oh no,” she mutters next to Garrett, and he frowns at her.The audience leaned forward.

"What?” he asks her slowly, and she bites her lip. Dexter looked down at the card, then directly at Maggie and Garrett. The grin became dangerous.

"Maggie and Garrett,” he trailed off wickedly. The audience immediately started making noise.

"No," Maggie said softly. 

"Yes."

"No."

"Audience participation rules."

Garrett was already laughing. "This feels targeted,” he jokes, and she groans. "It is targeted."

The audience erupted again, and Dexter raised the card. "In the next scene, your characters must conclude the interaction with a dramatic Shakespearean kiss,” Dexter announces, hearing the ooh’s and curses from the audience. The crowd absolutely lost their minds, and Maggie covered her face.

"Fuck,” she grimaced, as Garrett doubled over laughing.

"This is incredible,” he laughs, wiping tears from his drunk eyes.

"This is not incredible,” she shakes her head. 

"It is for me,” Garrett laughs, and then he sees the look on her face. He sees where she was looking. Maggie glanced toward Logan automatically, which was a mistake. Logan wasn't laughing.

He was smiling, but there was something tight about it. Like a front.

Something that made her stomach flip. Garrett didn’t need to ask anything further, because he knew. That whole damn house knew. So, Garrett told himself he would not be shocked one bit if Logan came up and fully decked him once they got back home. 

They had a few minutes to get themselves together, Garrett turning towards Maggie. He turns her to face him. “You trust me?” he asks her softly, and she frowns. 

“Of course I do,” she nods. “I’ve known you far too long not to,” she half-jokes, and he smiles. 

“So just know that I am only doing this to get him,” he nods towards Logan. “To get his head out of his ass,” he admits, and her eyes widen. 

“What do you-”

“Stop, Mags. I know. I have known since the day you moved into the Hockey house. He doesn’t hide it well, and neither do you,” he laughs. “So if me kissing you is what it takes for him to realize he needs to get his balls out of a twist, then so be it.”

Maggie shook her head. “I can’t do that to Han, G,” she sighs, and he shakes his head. “She will get it. Trust me. Her and I know where we stand, and trust me when I say she wants you two together just as bad.”

Maggie looks up at Garrett, then towards Hannah, who is giving her a knowing look before nodding. She smiles softly at her, Hannah giving her a sweet one back Maggie takes a deep breath. “Give me another shot, if we’re doing this.”

The scene itself was ridiculous. Garrett played into it immediately, as he was dropping to one knee. "My lady, the stars themselves pale before your beauty,” he says in a serious tone. The audience laughed so hard as they cheered.

Maggie immediately responded by throwing a prop flower at his head, the audience cheered harder.

"Get up,” she says, and he shakes his head. "I cannot."

"Why?"

"For I am stricken."

"With what?"

"Lower back pain,” he jokes, holding in his laughs. She tries to muster a smile, as the audience explodes into drunken laughs. The scene continued, lots of improvising, and fake tears. Then eventually they reached the ending.

Garrett was now standing over her. The audience was quiet with severe interest as they knew what was coming. She chuckles quietly as she shook her head. “This is awful," Maggie muttered, as Garrett leaned closer, his hands going to grab at her face. 

"You know they're never letting us out of this,” he laughs quietly."I hate everyone here."

"Same."

Neither of them were taking it remotely seriously, with years of friendship made that impossible. Garrett gave an exaggerated sigh. 

"Only for the audience."

"Only for the audience."

He leaned in, their lips locking in. It was a hard and passionate, but absolutely harmless stage kiss. Nothing more, nothing less.

The crowd went absolutely feral, and Maggie smiled immediately as they broke apart, playfully shoving him away.

The audience loved it even more, as her and Garrett took a dramatic fake bow.

Dexter nearly fell over laughing, as the whole thing lasted maybe two seconds.

But when Maggie glanced toward Logan afterward, it suddenly had felt much longer. Because Logan wasn't looking at the audience, or Dexter, or Garrett. He was looking directly at her. Jaw was clenching and unclenching. The veins in his arms were protruding as his arms were crossed. 

She could tell he hadn't enjoyed that scene nearly as much as everyone else had.

The show continued, but something had shifted. Every interaction afterward seemed sharper, almost as if it were more charged.

Logan became funnier, and more competitive. Whenever Hannah partnered with him in scenes, Maggie found herself watching. Whenever Garrett wandered near Maggie, Logan noticed.

Neither wanted to admit it. Neither wanted to acknowledge it, but jealousy had entered the room.

And once it was there, it refused to leave. By the final act, Maggie was exhausted.

Not from the acting, but from pretending.

She began to hate that she pretended she didn't care. Or pretending Logan's reactions didn't affect her. Pretending she hadn't immediately searched for his eyes after kissing Garrett.

Maggie had acted like she hadn't noticed Logan doing exactly the same thing whenever Hannah got too close to him. As the audience applauded the final curtain call, Maggie found herself standing only a few feet away from Logan.

The cast took their bows. The crowd cheered, and everyone was smiling. Her smile was as fake as she could muster. Somehow, despite all the noise around them, she could feel his attention. When she finally looked over, Logan was already looking at her.

That same unreadable expression, with a million questions written all over it was staring right into her own eyes. There were millions of things neither was saying, but was speaking completely.

For the first time that night, all night, Maggie wasn't sure which one of them was trying harder to hide how they felt.

The drive home was quiet.

Too quiet.

Maggie drove with the radio off, replaying the entire night against her will. The look on Logan's face after the stage kiss, or the way Hannah kept ending up beside him.

She knew Hannah didn’t want Logan, she knew that. Especially after they talked about things after the show. She knew more than enough. But her mind was mean enough to still make her think otherwise. The night was exhausting. She had sobered up on top of that, so she was even more tired

By the time she pulled into the driveway of the hockey house, all she wanted was sleep. No conversations, no feelings, and no Logan could hurt her there.

Especially no Logan.

She slipped through the front door as quietly as possible. The house was mostly dark, as a few lights glowed from the living room. Dean was most likely at Allie’s, Garrett was probably upstairs with Hannah, Tucker was most likely passed out upstairs too. 

Maggie kicked off her shoes and carefully eased the door shut behind her. She let out a huff as she leaned her head on it. 

"You're home,” a soft voice echoed lightly from the living room. She froze. Logan lay back, sprawled on the couch, controller in hand. The television cast blue light across the room.

For a second neither moved, and then Maggie sighed.

"Yeah. I thought everyone would be asleep,” she hums, taking off her jacket. Logan’s eyes didn’t miss the large, oversized sweatshirt of his hers that was falling off one shoulder. 

"Most people are,” he shot out, before his eyes returned to the screen. "You're back late."

The comment immediately irritated her. She raised her brows before crossing her arms over her chest, walking over towards the couch. "Okay, Dad. I was cleaning up."

"Mm."

There was something about the response. The tone. The obvious lack of belief.

Maggie's shoulders tensed."What does that mean?" she scolds, her tone pointed.

Logan paused his game and set the controller down before he finally looked at her. He clenched his jaw, then looked away. "Nothing."

"Then why say it like that?" she pushed. 

"Like what?"

"Like you're annoyed,” she points, making him huff. It was quiet for a beat. Then Logan laughed once, the kind of humorless laugh..

"That's funny,” he says lowly, rubbing at the stubble on his jawline

Maggie's stomach dropped.

There it was.

The tension.

The thing that had been building all night.

"What is your problem?" she snapped, still keeping her voice quiet for her roommates upstairs. He glares at her for a moment.

"My problem?"

"Yes, John.”

Logan stood at the sound of his first name. Now they were both standing in the middle of the living room. Both were tired and frustrated. Tension was rising slowly.

"I don't have a problem,” he denies, shaking his head. She tilts her head up at him, his figure just inches away from her.

"Bullshit, John."

His jaw tightened. “Call me John one more time, honey.”

Her eyes widened at his dark tone, his eyes never left her own. “What is going on with you? This isn’t like you at all.”

"You seemed pretty happy with Garrett tonight."

There it was, the pure jealousy. Maggie’s eyes flickered.

"Seriously?"

"You kissed him."

"Oh my-” she rubs her face, as a laugh that escapes her was pure disbelief. "It was part of the show."

"Still happened."

"Sweetheart, it’s called a stage kiss."

Logan folded his arms, eyes squinting at her. "You looked pretty comfortable."

Maggie stared at him, and that was when something inside her snapped.

"You don't get to say that,” she hissed, as his eyes narrowed down at her. 

"Why not?"

"Because you spent the entire night attached to Hannah,” she slips. The words came out before she could stop them.

The silence was deafening, Logan blinked, and Maggie immediately regretted saying it.

Not because it wasn't true, oh no. It was because she'd revealed she cared. That she actually was letting her guard down a second enough for him to stop it from rising once more. He’s got a hook on it, and he is not letting it go now.

"You were jealous,” he tuts, a slight grin on his face. His tone showed that it wasn't a question. That somehow made it worse.

"No,” she sputters, shaking her head. “I’m not.”

"Maggie."

"No."

"You absolutely were."

“I was not.”

“Magnolia.”

She threw her hands up. "You know what? Fine. Maybe I was,” she exasperates, hands falling to her sides. “Shit, Logan.”

Logan stared at her, neither of them seemed prepared for the honesty. Logan especially. That was when the room suddenly felt much smaller, lots quieter.

Maggie looked away first. She had to, because she hated being vulnerable. Hated that she gripped onto that hookline, he sat right where he needed her to hold on. "I don't know why we're even talking about this,” she mutters, before looking away from him.

She began to turn around, only to freeze when she felt hands grabbing her wrists to pull her back to him. His hands laced down with hers for a moment, the shakiness of her fingers decreasing at his touch. Logan took a step closer.

"Because neither of us is actually talking about Garrett or Hannah. You know that, don’t you?” he admits, and she feels her heart immediately start pounding. This was dangerous territory. Very dangerous territory.

"Then what are we talking about?" she tests, shooting back as their eyes locked, neither realizing that they were slowly leaning in. Logan didn't answer right away.

The silence stretched, as his eyes never left hers. His voice softened. "Maggie."

Just her name, nothing else. But somehow it carried weeks of tension. It carried the almosts. Or even the weeks of unfinished conversations and stolen glances and feelings neither wanted to admit.

Her breath caught, as she tried to swallow the nerves away. "Don't."

His expression softened, tilting his head towards hers.

"Why?"

Because she knew exactly where this was heading, and because part of her desperately wanted it. The other part was desperately trying to take over, letting her wall come up again.

"Because this is a bad idea."

He nudged his nose against hers, closing his eyes with a hum. "Is it?"

"Yes."

"You don't sound convinced, Magnolia,” he trails off, his hands leaving hers to wrap around her waist. She hated that he was right. The distance between them felt smaller now.

They both did not remember moving, and neither seemed willing to step back.

"I told myself I wasn't doing this,” she mumbles, their lips just barely brushing against one another. Logan’s teeth grazed against her lower lip. 

"Honey."

"I mean it.”

"I know."

"And you're making this very difficult."

A smile tugged at the corner of Logan's mouth as a light chuckle left his mouth. "Good,” he mutters as he pulls her body tight against his. She lets out a soft whimper at the touch, her arms slowly coming to wrap around his biceps. She should have walked away, and she knew she should.

Instead she stayed exactly where she was.

Because for the first time in days, she stopped fighting it, she stopped pretending. Maggie was tired of trying to convince herself she didn't feel something every time he looked at her.

Logan's gaze dropped briefly, then returned to hers. "Magnolia."

Her name again, only softer this time, almost like a plea. Suddenly, all the frustration from the night wasn't anger anymore; it was honesty. Something raw and impossible to ignore. She shook her head once.

A final warning.

Neither of them listened.

Logan placed his lips onto hers, not even a millisecond later. Maggie melted into it immediately, nails gripping his biceps. His hands went from being flat on her back to trailing down to grip her hips, harsh in his hold. As if he was holding back everything he had in him.

Because weeks of tension finally had somewhere to go. The kiss started briefly at first. Simple.

Both of them realized at the same moment that this wasn't imaginary. This was real. Completely raw and real. When they broke apart slightly, Maggie’s eyes found his looking down at her already. 

Maggie grabbed his jawline once more, crashing his lips back down onto her own. This kiss was filled with much more passion, yearn, and a craving she had for so long. Finally being put to rest. 

Logan moaned against her lips as they moved together, his hands wanting to roam everywhere he could reach as hers traveled to his hair. She pulled at it, letting out a groan before he pushed her front into his own.

When she let out a gasp at the feeling, he slipped his tongue past her lips to fight with her own. To map out every crevice and spot in her mouth as they kissed. A light moan left her lips when he pulled back with her bottom lip between his teeth. 

Logan didn’t stop there.

He trailed his lips to her cheek, down her jawline, behind her ear, and down her neck. He felt the goosebumps rise on her skin as his tongue poked out every so often. He nipped at a softer spot in her neck, not missing the way her body caved at the feeling.

She let out something between a sigh and a moan of his name, her hands crawling and raking through his hair as he kissed back up her neck, placing a sloppy kiss onto her lips. Tongues, teeth and lips clashing altogether. He couldn’t get enough, and neither could she. 

Logan didn’t hesitate to slide his hands down to the back of her thighs, wrapping them around his torso and bringing her to sit on his lap as he sat them both back down on the couch. 

That it wasn't one-sided.

When they finally pulled apart, neither spoke. The sound of their gasps and breaths was the only thing they could hear. The room was completely silent.

Maggie's heart was racing, and Logan looked just as stunned. Their eyes never leaving one another, one of Logan’s hands stayed on her hips, caressing the skin that he had grasped underneath the sweatshirt. The other came to rub softly over her swollen lips.

Her eyes looked deeply into his own.

Maggie had one hand still in his hair, the other coming to cup his jawline.

For a moment they simply stared at each other. Neither seemed to know what came next, only that whatever this was between them had become impossible to ignore.

For the first time, Maggie couldn’t think straight.

Their first kiss should have ended the argument. Instead, it either had made everything worse. Or better. Maggie couldn't decide.

The house was quiet except for the distant hum of the refrigerator and the video game menu music still looping from the TV. Logan's hands were still on her. Her legs on either side of him as they looked at one another. Both of them were breathing harder than either wanted to admit.

For a long moment, neither spoke. Maggie snapped out of her daze, looking away from him, and Logan laughed bitterly. "See? This is exactly the problem."

Maggie's eyebrows shot up, turning back to look down at him. "What problem?"

"The fact that I kissed you while I was mad at you."

"You kissed me?"

"You kissed me back."

"You started it."

"You drove me insane,” he grumbles back with a look of longing. She folded her arms, trying desperately to look unaffected despite the fact her lips were still tingling.

"Maybe stop acting insane then,” she shot back, Logan shook his head, biting his bottom lip, and looked away. That stung more than she expected.

The jealousy he'd shown earlier had almost felt flattering. But now there was something underneath it. Something heavier.

"Maggie," he says, his tone a bit darker than she has heard before. The way he said her name made her stomach flip.

"What?" she asks him softly. He shook his head, trying hard to keep looking anywhere but her. She rolled her eyes, grabbing his chin to make him look at her. His jaw tightened.

"I hated watching that,” he uttered, and she frowned. 

"Watching what?"

"You know what."

Drunk Shakespeare. Garrett. The kiss. The crowd, and the way she'd laughed afterward. Maggie's expression softened slightly.

"Logan, it was part of the show."

He sighs, nodding at her words. Her eyes made everything he was upset about, disappear quickly. She was his anchor in many ways, and this was always one. "I know."

"You know it didn't mean anything,” she adds, and he nods once more.

"I know that too."

"Then why are you acting like this?"

Logan looked directly at her because for once, he wasn't hiding. He was done hiding from her. From what they had. From how he felt.

"Because it meant something to me."

The room went silent, and Maggie's heart practically stopped. The anger that had fueled the entire argument suddenly vanished. It was replaced by something much more dangerous.

Logan looked away almost immediately after saying it, like he regretted letting the words out. Unfortunately for him, they were already there. None of them could be taken back.

"What does that mean?" Maggie asked quietly, her brain knew deep down. She knew deep down. Maggie wanted to hear him say it. Logan laughed nervously..

"I think you know."

She was slowly starting to, and that was the problem. It was making her realize a lot in that moment. For months they'd been dancing around it.

Late-night conversations, inside jokes, or the way he always saved her a seat. Or even the way she looked for him first whenever she walked into a room. Logan rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.

"I don't want to be the jealous guy,” he says softly, a tone she knew all too well. She chuckles lightly, caressing the crook of his neck. "You're doing a terrible job of that."

A reluctant smile appeared on his face, and she smiled back. Suddenly, the fighting was gone. The anger had dissipated. She didn’t even know what else there was to be angry about. Which somehow felt scarier.

They both stayed put in their position on that couch, Logan’s hands caressing her sides softly.

"Maggie?” he calls to her softly, and she nods as her pulse immediately sped up.

"Yeah?"

"If we're going to keep doing this."

"This as in..?”

He gestured vaguely between them. "The arguing. The jealousy. The pretending."

She swallowed, scared of what was next to be said. "Okay,” she trails off as his eyes search hers.

"I don't think I'm very good at pretending anymore."

Maggie's breath caught, because neither was she. Judging by the way Logan was looking at her, she knew it was changing. This entire demeanor between them was changing completely. 

The house had gone completely quiet.

For the first time, Maggie couldn’t think straight.

Their first kiss should have ended the argument. Instead, it either had made everything worse. Or better. Maggie couldn't decide.

The house was quiet except for the distant hum of the refrigerator and the video game menu music still looping from the TV. Logan's hands were still on her. Her legs on either side of him as they looked at one another. Both of them were breathing harder than either wanted to admit.

For a long moment, neither spoke. Maggie snapped out of her daze, looking away from him, and Logan laughed bitterly. "See? This is exactly the problem."

Maggie's eyebrows shot up, turning back to look down at him. "What problem?"

"The fact that I kissed you while I was mad at you."

"You kissed me?"

"You kissed me back."

"You started it."

"You drove me insane,” he grumbles back with a look of longing. She folded her arms, trying desperately to look unaffected despite the fact her lips were still tingling.

"Maybe stop acting insane then,” she shot back, Logan shook his head, biting his bottom lip, and looked away. That stung more than she expected.

The jealousy he'd shown earlier had almost felt flattering. But now there was something underneath it. Something heavier.

"Maggie," he says, his tone a bit darker than she has heard before. The way he said her name made her stomach flip.

"What?" she asks him softly. He shook his head, trying hard to keep looking anywhere but her. She rolled her eyes, grabbing his chin to make him look at her. His jaw tightened.

"I hated watching that,” he uttered, and she frowned. 

"Watching what?"

"You know what."

Drunk Shakespeare. Garrett. The kiss. The crowd, and the way she'd laughed afterward. Maggie's expression softened slightly.

"Logan, it was part of the show."

He sighs, nodding at her words. Her eyes made everything he was upset about, disappear quickly. She was his anchor in many ways, and this was always one. "I know."

"You know it didn't mean anything,” she adds, and he nods once more.

"I know that too."

"Then why are you acting like this?"

Logan looked directly at her because for once, he wasn't hiding. He was done hiding from her. From what they had. From how he felt.

"Because it meant something to me."

The room went silent, and Maggie's heart practically stopped. The anger that had fueled the entire argument suddenly vanished. It was replaced by something much more dangerous.

Logan looked away almost immediately after saying it, like he regretted letting the words out. Unfortunately for him, they were already there. None of them could be taken back.

"What does that mean?" Maggie asked quietly, her brain knew deep down. She knew deep down. Maggie wanted to hear him say it. Logan laughed nervously..

"I think you know."

She was slowly starting to, and that was the problem. It was making her realize a lot in that moment. For months they'd been dancing around it.

Late-night conversations, inside jokes, or the way he always saved her a seat. Or even the way she looked for him first whenever she walked into a room. Logan rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.

"I don't want to be the jealous guy,” he says softly, a tone she knew all too well. She chuckles lightly, caressing the crook of his neck. "You're doing a terrible job of that."

A reluctant smile appeared on his face, and she smiled back. Suddenly, the fighting was gone. The anger had dissipated. She didn’t even know what else there was to be angry about. Which somehow felt scarier.

They both stayed put in their position on that couch, Logan’s hands caressing her sides softly.

"Maggie?” he calls to her softly, and she nods as her pulse immediately sped up.

"Yeah?"

"If we're going to keep doing this."

"This as in..?”

He gestured vaguely between them. "The arguing. The jealousy. The pretending."

She swallowed, scared of what was next to be said. "Okay,” she trails off as his eyes search hers.

"I don't think I'm very good at pretending anymore."

Maggie's breath caught, because neither was she. Judging by the way Logan was looking at her, she knew it was changing. This entire demeanor between them was changing completely. 

The house had gone completely quiet.

The TV had long since timed out, leaving the living room dark except for the soft glow of a lamp in the corner.

Maggie had gone completely still, her silence deafening to Logan. He wondered what was going on in that head of hers. The tension was still there, just somehow it felt different.

Softer, almost. More honest. Logan glanced up at her, seeing the gears shifting in her head. He squeezed her thighs, seeing her snap out of her daze. "You got really quiet."

Maggie stared down at her hands, playing with her nails for a moment before shrugging the fabric of the sweater over them to prevent herself from picking any further. "Just thinking."

"About?"

She shrugged. "Everything,” she sighs, and he nodded. Logan spoke up after a few seconds.

"Can I ask you something?" he asks her, and she looks back up to stare back at him.

"What?"

His voice was careful, and very gentle. As if the waters he was about to cross were dangerously close to the edge of a waterfall. This softer and more cautious side was a version of Logan that very few people got to see.

"Why do you always run?" he asks her. No retort or teasing in his voice. Just pure and genuine curiosity. 

Her stomach dropped."What?"

"The second things get real,” he explains slowly, seeing her internal battle with herself. He can tell her body is debating on moving off of him, but he assures her with his touch that she is okay. “It’s just me, Mags. I’m not going to judge you. I just want to understand you.”

Maggie's eyes immediately moved away, biting and chewing at her lip. He chuckles lightly, pulling her lip from her teeth, pulling her chin to look at him. 

"There it is."

"There what is?" she questions, and he nods at her.

"That look."

She hated that he noticed things. Logan leaned forward, putting his hands around her waist, chin resting on her chest while staring up at her. She softens her demeanor immediately, making Logan settle back into the couch. His hand rubs up and down her back.

“Every time somebody gets close to you, you put up ten walls,” he exclaims, and she scoffs humorlessly.

"Maybe I just like walls,” she jokes, and he shook his head. 

"No,” he answers almost immediately. "You like people."

That caught her off guard. "You care about everyone,” he assured her as his eyes met hers. He grabs her hands to lace them with his own. He gives them a squeeze. 

"You just don't let anyone take care of you,” he points out. Not being rude or mean, just genuine. Honest. Open. The words hit harder than she expected, because they were true.

Incredibly, and oh so painfully true. Maggie swallowed, her heart feeling like it’s falling into her ass. Chest tightening as she takes a deep breath. Her eyes found his own, immediately getting rid of that feeling she began to have.

Logan was looking up at her softly, waiting. He wasn’t pushing her, he was being patient. Finally she looked away, closing her eyes as she could feel her walls slowly crumble away. Logan makes them come tumbling down. 

"There was someone,” she mutters out, her hands beginning to shake.

Logan's expression softened, not hesitating to squeeze them once more to acknowledge that he was here. Not pushing, that he was being patient. He stayed quiet, and let her continue.

She shook her head, feeling foolish now that she thinks back to it. "I really liked him,” she grimaced, shaking her head at herself as she took a deep breath. The words felt embarrassing now.

"I trusted him. I let him in. Let him make me believe I was something,” she chuckled dryly, as Logan's jaw tightened slightly. Not angry at her, but at whoever had hurt her. Maggie continued staring at the walls. "I thought he cared about me."

Her voice grew quieter, she sighs out. Letting her head fall lightly, not missing the way Logan’s thumbs had now started rubbing small circles on her hands. 

"But every time he talked to me, every time he was nice to me. It always came back to what he wanted,” She laughed bitterly, and Logan didn't interrupt. "He knew exactly what to say. He made me feel special when it benefited him. And when I didn't give him what he wanted, he just, disappeared.”

When we were seeing each other, he spent months convincing me I mattered, and then I found out I was basically just filling space."

“Mags,”

"He wasn't over somebody else,” she tells him. “He would say every single thing I wanted to hear. He always made these promises that it was only ever me. He fucking made me believe that it was real. We were real,” She laughed dryly. "Turns out he just didn't want to be alone."\

Logan's face darkened, but not with jealousy or because of her. It was anger. Protective anger.

The memories felt ugly and heavy. Her throat tightened, as she shrugged herself out of it. Maggie blinked rapidly. "He'd come back whenever he needed attention. Or validation. Or whatever."

A shaky breath escaped her. "And every fucking time I'd think maybe this time was different."

Logan looked heartbroken for her. Not pity.

Just pure hurt, because she was hurting. Because she had to heal from something that shouldn't have been her fault. She blamed herself for all of it. "He made me feel like I wasn't worth knowing unless I was worth something more than her,” She admits. The confession finally left her lips.

The thing she'd never really said out loud. It was the thing that had followed her ever since.

The room was silent, and Maggie looked down. She felt shame and embarrassment coursing through her veins, trying to shrink into herself. Even after all this time.

"I know it sounds pathetic-”

"It doesn't."

His voice was immediate. Firm. His tone made Maggie look at him, seeing his eyes had never left hers. Not once.

Logan straightens up as he looks at her."It sounds like somebody treated you terribly."

The knot in her chest tightened dangerously, because she believed him. She didn’t want to believe him, that would mean that she truly was never to blame for any of it. She hated that she believed him.

Maggie laughed weakly. "After a while you start wondering if that's all people want. Just a decoy until the real thing comes in,” she admits, finding it so hard to stop herself when it came to Logan. The room went quiet again.

"And then eventually," she continued, "you stop trusting anyone when they say they care."

Logan stared at her. It began to hit him slowly, that he was finally understanding.

It wasn’t about just the walls, or the sarcasm. It’s not just why she pulled away every time someone got close. He was seeing the reason.

The wound underneath all of it.

Maggie's eyes glistened. "I know I can be difficult,” she sniffled, going to speak again, but he stops her.

"No."

She laughed dryly. "Logan-"

"No."

His voice was stronger this time, taking her face into his hands, wiping away her tears. His expression was firm, but she could see the slight softness behind his eyes. 

"You can be scared, and you can be guarded,” he starts, lips lifting slightly as her chest tightens. “Yes, you can be stubborn as fucking anything,” he chuckles, earning a small smile from her. He then shook his head. “But difficult? Never. You’ve never been difficult. Not to me.”

The silence that followed felt overwhelming, and Maggie suddenly found herself blinking away tears. Something she absolutely hated doing, especially in front of people. The boys especially. She was not good at hiding her feelings from these boys, as much as she tried to.

Logan noticed.

Of course he noticed.

He always did.

"Magnolia."

"Yeah?" Her voice cracked slightly, letting him wipe more of her tears away, he smiled at her sadly. "If someone only saw your value in what you could give them, then they were a fucking idiot.”

For the first time in a very long time, Maggie found herself wondering what it would feel like to actually believe someone when they said they cared.

Because Logan wasn't asking her for anything. He was sitting there underneath her, understanding her, and breaking her apart because he wanted to know her. He wanted to care for her in every way that mattered, even if she didn’t think it did.

Somehow that scared her even more than the kiss had. Because if she let herself trust him, he would have the power to hurt her. Yet, as she looked over at him sitting there, she realized something else.

Maggie had gotten a text from Allie about needing some emotional support tonight at Karaoke night because of complications between her and Dean.

She didn’t hesitate to agree to go, knowing that the entire friend group was probably going to wind up there anyway.

Allie 

Wear something sexyyyyy ;)

Maggie rolled her eyes with a grin before setting her phone back on the charger to go get ready. She headed towards the bathroom, closing the door behind her as she started up the shower.

She hummed to herself as she set all of her things onto the counter for later, hopping in once she stripped down.

She also started to think about how she would most likely have to confront Logan tonight, and tell him what was on her mind. It was the only thing she thought would be right to do.

She missed having him around too much to keep avoiding him like the plague. 

Maggie knew she would never live up to being like Hannah, but she still wanted to put everything out in the air and let him know where she stood.

No matter how much it would hit her like a bullet to the chest. 

She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t hear the bathroom door closing just as quickly as it opened, Logan’s chest heaving as he wasted no time hopping into the shower without a second thought.

He would apologize to Tucker after this awkward mess was done. For now, he was avoiding Dean and Garrett, who were fairly keen on setting him up with yet another puck bunny that he had zero interest in. 

He shut the curtain behind him, going to tell Tucker his quick plan, only to stop in his words when his eyes met a very wide-eyed Maggie.

He could see the confusion, shock, anger, and concern in her eyes. 

Just as she was about to say something he spoke first. “I’m hiding from Dean and Garrett. I promise I will explain later. Just, please, help me? For a few minutes?” he asks her quietly, using everything in him not to scan her very nude body in front of him.

He knew she had a beautiful body just from her outfits and bikinis alone, but this was a different way of seeing her. 

Maggie goes to speak, only to be interrupted again by the door opening. She rolls her eyes at the lack of privacy. Logan is going to let out a noise, and then she steps forward to press her hands to his mouth. She shook her head before veering her head to the curtain.

“There better be a great fucking reason one of you boys are waltzing in the bathroom while I’m showering. Without knocking might I add,” she snaps out, her voice trailing off towards the end. 

She could practically feel the boys freeze at her words. 

“Shit, MJ, sorry. We were looking for Logan. We thought he might’ve hid in here,” Dean says, Maggie giving Logan a knowing look. He just looks down at her with pleading eyes. 

She pursed her lips, keeping her eyes on him as she spoke. “Why would he come in here? I haven’t seen him, and he knows better than to come in here unannounced,” she shot. “Unlike some boys I know.”

“Right, sorry. Speaking of that,” Dean starts, only for Garrett to finish. “Can you talk to him? He misses you, and I can tell he is losing it internally.”

Maggie tilts her head at Logan, who only raises his brow at her with a knowing look. She bit her lip before speaking out once more.

"I'm not avoiding him," she argues back, only to receive a pinch to her hip from Logan, causing her to let out a squeak and look at him with a pout.

"You okay?" Dean asks, and she looks abck at the curtain.

"Yeah, I just almost slipped," she spudders out slowly, shaking her head as they deflect from the subject. "Either way I'm not avoiding him."

"Mags."

"I'm not!"

"Then talk to him tonight, would you?" Garrett pleads. "I hate seeing him all mopey."

She stares back at her best friend, her hand over his mouth as his look has now softened, staring into her eyes.

“Fine. Now get out, so I can get ready for Karaoke night.”

The door shuts not too far after that, Logan fully relaxing his tense shoulders as Maggie drops her hands from her mouth.

It was silent between them for a few moments; Logan’s eyes flickered only for a split second down to her chest. Maggie’s arms immediately reflexed to cover herself, her insides churning as she caught his quick glimpse. 

“You can go now,” she says softly, making Logan snap out of his daze. He nods while looking down to see his now drenched sweats and muscle tee.

He looks back at her one last time. 

“Can we actually talk though? Like you said?” he asks.

She nods before nodding to the curtain. “Yes, Logan, now go. I need to finish my shower.”

He nods at her with a small grin before sliding himself out of the shower. “By the way,” he starts. “You don’t need to cover up. Not around me. You’re gorgeous, Mags.”

Maggie froze at his words while she rinsed the soap from her hair, feeling her cheeks heat up. She smiled to herself as she heard the door click shut. 

Once she finished showering, doing her hair and makeup, she finally figured out her outfit for the evening.

Her name was being called from downstairs by Tucker, signaling that it was time to go, the girl just straightening her top before making her way down the steps. 

She chose to keep it a bit more casual tonight, with a pair of low-rise flare jeans, with a blank tank top that sat just below her belly button, showing a bit of her skin between her jeans and top.

Her hair was pulled back into a claw clip loosely, the boys all hyping her up as she joined them out the door. 

“Shut up, don’t even,” she groans, pushing the load of boys out towards Garrett’s car. They all hop in wherever they can fit.

She sees Logan turn around to meet her gaze, the pair locking eyes for a moment or two that felt deeper than they could both explain. He smiles slyly at her before holding her door open, helping her into the front passenger seat.

She frowns as she takes his hand. 

“You usually take front with G,” she says, Logan making sure she’s in the car before shrugging. 

“Ladies first.”

Their eyes had never left each other once during the interaction, Maggie smiling softly before shaking her head. Logan chuckles before closing her door, going to join the other boys in the back. 

They all talk about the simplest of things, Dean also finding moments to rant about what was going on between him and Allie. Maggie stays quiet unless she finds a reasonable spot to back up her girl, while also giving Dean advice on how to approach her.

Once they arrived, it didn’t take long for the gang to disperse around Malone’s. She headed over to their usual table towards the front to sit. 

She didn’t fail to notice the way Logan’s warm demeanor had slowly turned cold and almost blank as his stare never left Garrett and Hannah, making Maggie’s own chest tighten.

It was only the dramatic sigh she heard from someone in front of her, seeing Allie sliding into the other side of the booth, hand resting on her chin. 

“You need to stop staring at him with complete love in your eyes, and just go tell him how you feel, MJ,” Allie says, motioning towards Logan.

“I guarantee you he has been dying to hear those words from you.”

Maggie chuckles before shaking her head, her gaze going back to look at Logan, who is now in a full conversation with Hannah over a drink she had gotten for him. As if she had lit up his entire world.

“Not happening,” Maggie sighs, picking at her nails. “He’s too busy yearning over someone that’s already happily in love.”

Allie frowns. “You mean Hannah?” she asks, making Maggie snap her head over to her.

“How do you-”

“Because I spotted it way before things got serious between Hannah and Garrett,” she answers, Maggie, nodding as she bit her lip.

“I can tell you this, though. He’s not yearning over her. He’s yearning over what she and Garrett have.”

Her eyebrows furrow. “That makes no sense.”

“It does. Think about it this way,” she starts, getting herself situated.

“He only looks like that when the pair are together. He never has looked at her when it’s just her. Trust me, with how much I’m over at that house, I’ve noticed. He’s looking at them both. Not just Hannah. He is yearning for that kind of relationship.”

Maggie lets out a huff. “Whatever you say, Allie-cat,” she jokes dryly, making Allie reach over and squeeze her hands. 

“Be ready later, and get some liquor in you. I’m getting you to sing Mamma Mia with me later!” she sings off before leaving the table.

Maggie protests with groans leaving her lips, watching as Allie goes up to Jules to sign up for Karaoke.

Maggie sees Beau, Tucker, and Dean making their way back over to their table with drinks in hand. She spotted her wine glass in Tuck’s hand, making her smile warmly as they approached. 

Tucker hands it to her with a fake bow, making her kiss his cheek with an amused look.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re absolutely to die for?” she jokes, taking a sip of her drink. Tucker winks at her before raising his beer to her.

“Only you, my darling. Only you.”

The group all converse quietly in between people who go up to sing throughout the evening.

At some point, Dean had disappeared at some point to finally go talk to Allie, Tucker was up on the stage singing another one of his go-to songs, and Beau and Maggie sat back comfortably at the table, talking while cheering on Tucker as he sang off-key. 

“Well, look who is finally coming to join us,” Beau jokes, nodding over.

Maggie sees Logan making his way over, Maggie’s wine intake buzzing in her body lightly, her realizing his eyes are only on her. She leans her cheek onto her hand.

“You finally decided we’re cool enough to be seen with?” she shoots, making Logan laugh at her before sliding into the booth next to her, their thighs brushing together lightly. 

“Had to make my rounds,” he shot back, making her hum in suspicion, but she chose to leave it.

“Whatever you say, John.”

He looks over at her with an expression she can’t quite read, his face closer than she thought it was. His eyes flicker to her lips just once before he smirks at her. “Easy, tiger.”

“Or what? You’re the one who just remembered we existed over here,” she says back, aiming it to be a little deep, seeing that it did based on the slight drop of his playful expression.

“Too busy yearning over something that’s not yours,” she finishes, making his entire demeanor fall. 

“What-”

Maggie hears Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! Starting to blare over the speakers, making her laugh and look over at Allie on the stage. She points towards Maggie, ushering her to come up to the stage, making her laugh before giving in. 

She doesn’t miss the way Logan slides out of the booth quietly, helping her out as well, so she can join her friend up there, his expression still confused by her words. This wasn’t the first time she said something like this, his mind going back to the party, too.

He sat back in the booth, his eyes never leaving her figure as she went to dance and sing the lyrics away. 

He can feel his expression and overthinking slip away as he watches her let go, the liquor in her system definitely playing a part as she sways her hips in ways he only ever dreamed of feeling against his body.

“You need to just say you love her, man. This is so nauseating watching you both beat around bushes,” Beau chuckles, making Logan snap out of his daze, and look at Beau. 

Beau gives him a knowing look, an amused grin also making its way onto his face. “You both don’t hide it very well.”

“Both?” 

“Yes, dude. You and her both. How have you not noticed how in love she is with you?”

“She’s not,” Logan shakes his head, his eyes still watching Maggie glow on the stage. He smiles to himself once more.

“Not with me.”

Beau looks at him as if he has two heads. “You’re fucking with me, right?”

Logan tilts his head with his brows furrowed. “No, I’m not. She’s not.”

“She is, but Mags thinks you’re so in love with Wellsy that she doesn't have a chance,” Beau admits, making Logan’s heart stop for a second. He finally snaps his gaze away from the girl on the stage. 

“What the fuck? I’m not in love with Hannah.”

“I know, but she doesn’t. I can see why she thinks that, though. You spend so much time staring at her and G, like you’re in your own world. It makes it seem like you want something you can’t have.”

That’s when it hits Logan. That’s when all of it begins to click.

She must’ve heard the conversation with Garrett that night. That’s the only thing he could think of. She did come in shortly after it happened. 

He had to make her know it was never Hannah. It was always Magnolia. 

Beau nods at Logan.

“There it is. It’s all clicking now, I can see the gears moving,” he laughs before taking a sip and cheering on the girls as they finish the song.

Maggie made her way back to the table where Logan and Beau sat, seeing Beau clap and whistle at her as she approached. Logan just looked at her with a bright grin on his face.

"Nice vocals there, Mags. I almost forgot you have pipes," Beau jokes, making her blow a kiss his way.

"Thank you, thank you very much," she chuckles, her eyes blinking slowly as she stands in front of the booth. "I need another glass, though, before I do anything else."

She doesn't hesitate to reach across the table, grab her empty wine glass, winking at the two before walking up to the bar.

Logan's eyes never left her figure as she walked away, his teeth gnawing at his bottom lip out of reflex as he watched her hips sway naturally.

He hears Beau scoff, taking a sip of his drink. "All I'm gonna say, Johnny boy," he says as he leans across the table. "Girls like her are rare in this life. And that rare girl over there just happens to love you. Out of any man she could have at the drop of a dime, she only has eyes for you."

Logan's eyes soften as he watches the way her face crinkles when she laughs at something Hannah was probably drunkenly saying to her, taking a sip of her wine.

"Yeah," Logan says to himself, eyes never leaving her. "Yeah, I love her too."

Maggie lets out a cheer as she sees Tucker singing his all-time go-to, going to cheer him on at the front of the stage.

She sings the lyrics back out to him as he does his little dance, urging her to come up and join him on the stage. Maggie doesn't hesitate, taking his hand to dance up on stage with him.

Logan laughs as he watches the pair sing their hearts out, not missing the way her body rolls to the music like it was made for her.

Logan stayed anchored in that booth with Beau, his eyes pinned to the stage the moment Maggie stepped cute ass up there.

Her body shifted. She began to sway, her hips tracing the rhythm with a slow, deliberate tilt that drew the eyes of everyone in the room.

Logan felt the movement like a physical pull in his chest.

His gaze scanned upward, following the sharp line of her collarbone as she tilted her head back to hit the high notes with Tucker, a laugh leaving her lips. The stage lights caught the sweat glistening on her skin.

Every breath she took was deep and deliberate, her chest rising and falling in perfect time with the music; she could see the way her piercings were protruding under her tank top. Her fingers were wrapping tighter around her wine glass.

The way she leaned up against Tucker's front, singing into the microphone with him, the moment was nothing but completely platonic.

With every move of her body, her voice he could hear clear as day, the tension in Logan's jaw seemed to tighten, his focus entirely consumed by the raw, uninhibited presence she projected.

He watched the way she navigated the space, completely captivated by the confidence radiating from her. He knew the wine was also a big part of the energy she was giving out.

It was a rare sight to see her so unbothered, carefree. Maggie always made it impossible for him to look away.

He was so in love with Magnolia Josephine that it hurt his chest.

Maggie finished singing the last note, cheeks red, chest breathing heavily. She pressed a kiss onto Allie’s cheek before they departed off stage. She began to make her way back over towards the two boys who sat at the table, Beau with an amused grin. 

“Get your girl before someone else does, Johnny boy,” he says before taking a sip of his drink. Logan gives him a knowing look, before shaking his head, taking a sip of his own drink as he tries to hide his smile. 

Maggie lets out a happy squeal as she wraps her arms around Beau from behind the booth. He chokes out a laugh, turning his head to the side, where her chin sat on his shoulder. 

“Someone is in a good mood,” he chuckles as she lets go. She looks at him and points her finger at his chest. 

“Great mood actually,” she chuckles. “Feeling great, looking great. Singing amazing.”

Logan laughed at her slightly slurring speech, Maggie looking over his way before going towards him. She doesn’t hesitate to set herself into his lap, wrapping an arm around his neck, her feet dangling from outside the booth.

“What’re we laughing at now?” she says, a bright smile, glossy eyes. Logan swore his heart may explode. He smiled as looked down at her, not hesitating to wrap her in his arms.

"You missed at least half the lyrics,” he jokes, watching a fake pout on her lips. "I improvised."

"You made up an entire second verse."

Maggie pointed at him accusingly. "And it was better," she chuckles. Logan laughed, shaking his head. She misses the way Beau winks at Logan before slowly dismissing himself from the booth, Maggie too caught up in Logan’s presence to notice, her shoulder bumping into his.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're trying not to laugh."

"I am trying not to laugh."

"Rude,” she gasps dramatically, putting a hand on her chest. He handed her the water he'd ordered while she'd been singing. "I'm fine."

"Drink it anyway. You’ll thank me later,” he assures, she narrowed her eyes suspiciously before taking a sip. 

"Bossy,” she mutters, setting the glass back down on the table. He squeezed her hip.

"Sober."

"Unfortunately."

Logan chuckled. Maggie studied him softly, her eyes doing something that he couldn't quite put his finger on, but they sparkled moments after. Maggie noticed the dim lights reflected in his eyes, and for a moment she forgot whatever sarcastic remark she'd been preparing.

"You know," she said, tilting her head, "you're annoyingly gorgeous."

Logan takes in a breath, leaning his head back to look at the ceiling, smirking widely at her comment. He could feel his face heating up. "There it is."

"There what is?"

"The alcohol."

She gasped dramatically, smacking his shoulder as he laughed. "That was a genuine observation."

"Mm-hmm."

"No, really."

Logan raised an eyebrow.

"You wait until you're a few drinks in to tell me that?"

She leans in closer, his head coming to lean against her own. She sighs in content, her finger on his chest. "Says the one blushing. Besides, I'm building suspense,’ she says softly. "I think the mystery is what keeps you interested."

Logan’s heart stops for a split second."The mystery?"

"Yeah."

"What mystery?"

Maggie frowned. She realized what she was saying a little too late, knowing if she says what she was going to, she may ruin everything. So instead, she shrugs and pulls her head away from his. Logan’s eyebrows furrow.

"I forgot,” she mumbles, turning to look up at the stage. Logan laughed again. The sound made her smile despite herself.

"What?" he asked, and she shrugs while crossing her arms, smiling up at him.

"You have a nice laugh."

"Now you're just collecting compliments."

"I'm being vulnerable."

"You told me last week I looked like a guy who would own three different tool vaults."

"You do look like that."

"I only own one."

"See? Mysterious."

Their shoulders touched again, neither bothering to move away. Around them, the bar buzzed with conversations and music, but Maggie found herself focused entirely on him. Logan looked down at her.

"You ready for another song?"

She groaned. "No. The stage and I have agreed to spend some time apart."

"Good call."

"I could probably do a duet."

"Absolutely not."

She laughed, then rested her elbow on the bar. “Come on! We haven’t sang Mamma Mia in so long.”

“Magnolia.”

“Oh now we’re getting the full name? Very well-played, Johnny,” she says with a nod. He rolls his eyes with a grin, rubbing up and down her sides.

"You know, I like this."

"What?"

"This." She gestured vaguely between them. "You making fun of me. Me pretending I don't like it,” she admits, and Logan's smile softened.

"Pretending?"

"Maybe a little."

For a second neither of them said anything. The teasing faded into something quieter. Something that made Maggie's pulse quicken despite the alcohol. Logan nudged her gently with his shoulder.

"Finish your water."

She rolled her eyes, straightening from her spot in his lap. "There he is. Ruining the moment."

"Someone has to keep you alive,” he shot back. Maggie smiled up at him, grabbing the glass once more, taking a large gulp.

"You're very responsible."

"And you're very drunk."

"Only buzzed, actually.."

"That's what you've said for the last hour,” he pointed, pushing a piece of her hair back behind her ear. She laughed and shook her head.

"Good thing one of us is keeping track."

Logan's eyes held hers for a moment.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "Good thing,” his tone became more serious, the playful tone now gone as if he had a lot swirling in his mind. And suddenly the space between teasing and flirting felt a lot smaller than it had a few minutes ago.

The spotlight flickered on.

Hannah stepped up to the microphone.

Maggie's smile faltered for the briefest second.

She followed Logan's gaze without meaning to. It wasn't dramatic. He wasn't staring. He wasn't grinning like an idiot or waving her over. He simply looked toward the stage because someone had started singing.

But Maggie noticed it anyway.

And once she'd noticed it, she couldn't stop noticing it. The way his attention shifted. The way he'd instinctively glanced over. The way Maggie suddenly became aware of how close she'd been sitting to him moments before. Hannah's voice drifted through the speakers, smooth and confident. The light drunkenness from her newfound favorite cocktail helping her through that.

Logan turned his attention back toward Maggie.

"You okay?"

She hums, not taking her eyes off of Hannah. She was proud to see her best friend letting go. She also was still not fully sober to snap out of how her heart ached from seeing the way Logan’s gaze turned all onto her. "Yep."

Logan’s eyes squinted, knowing her answer came too quickly.

She grabbed her water. Took a sip she didn't need. She began to look anywhere except at him. The warmth she'd been feeling a moment ago suddenly felt different. Less like excitement and more like something dangerously close to embarrassment. What exactly had she been doing?

Flirting.

Obviously flirting.

And maybe she'd imagined some of the moments between them.

Maybe she'd read too much into his smiles. Maybe he'd just been being nice.

Logan frowned slightly.

"Maggie."

"Hm?"

"You disappeared."

"What?"

"You've been staring at that glass for like thirty seconds."

She snapped herself out of her daze, and only laughed lightly. "Sorry. Just tired."

It was a terrible lie.

He looked like he knew it. Before he could ask anything else, Maggie started to unravel from his hold. "I've gotta use the bathroom."

Logan nodded, straightening up now as she slid off his lap. The spot she sat now cold on his body. His body craves her warmth once more. "You want me to wait for you?”

She offered a smile that felt convincing enough. “I’ll be fine,” she mutters, turning around before he could argue anything further. She didn’t miss his voice calling her name a few times, but she pretended not to hear it.

The noise of the bar faded slightly once she stepped into the hallway leading toward the restrooms. The smile vanished immediately. Maggie pushed through the bathroom door and leaned against the counter after washing her hands, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

Fuck.

She looked exactly like someone who'd gotten carried away. Her cheeks were still flushed. Her eyes are still bright from laughing. From hoping.

And maybe that was the problem.

Maybe she'd started hoping. She remembered Logan's smile. The way he'd been looking at her. The way she'd almost convinced herself there was something there. Then she remembered seeing his eyes drift toward the stage.

Toward Hannah.

Toward her radiating confidence on that stage. She knew she shouldn’t grasp onto it. That Hannah deserved to have everyone looking at her. She was someone who had the most contagious energy. Someone Logan would easily fall for. She knew she shouldn’t wrap her head around the idea.

But her brain had grabbed onto it anyway.

Because deep down, she knew she wasn't actually worried about where he'd looked. She was worried about why she cared so much. Maggie exhaled slowly. The mirror offered no helpful answers.

Just a woman who had spent the last hour enjoying someone's company a little more than she'd planned. Someone she probably shouldn't be overthinking. Someone she was definitely  overthinking.

Outside, muffled through the wall, she could hear the crowd cheering at the end of Hannah's song. Maggie closed her eyes briefly.

"Get it together," she muttered to herself. “Can’t have this happen. Not again. He’s not into you, Mags,” she says, not noticing the tear droplets falling onto the countertop. Fuck, she was too buzzed for this. She closed her eyes, slowly getting flashbacks to how things wound up the last time.

The last time she let someone in. To think that maybe there was more, when the last one really was just using her to get over someone else. Never again.

When she opened her eyes again, she knew the problem wasn't the alcohol. The problem was that somewhere between the teasing, the laughter, and the way Logan had looked at her earlier, she'd started wanting it to mean something.

And that realization was a lot harder to shake than a buzz from a few drinks.

She knew she had feelings for Logan, but now?

She knew she loved John Logan with everything she had. 

Maggie stayed in the bathroom longer than she needed to. Long enough for the flush of embarrassment to fade from her cheeks. Long enough to convince herself she was being ridiculous. Long enough to build a wall back up. Act like nothing happened. It was something she was good at doing.

When she finally stepped out into the hallway, she avoided looking toward the bar. Avoided looking toward Logan. Avoided giving herself a chance to change her mind. Instead, she spotted Beau near the dartboards, laughing and talking with Dean..

She didn’t waste any time walking up to the pair. "Hey."

Beau looked up from his beer, "Hey yourself,” he chuckles. Dean smiled widely at her as he threw another dart. “Hey, MJ,” he says, doing a double-take as she catches the slight redness and blank look on her face. He could tell she was trying to hide it. “Mags?” he questions, eyebrows furrowing. She shook her head, darting her eyes over towards Beau.

"You leaving anytime soon?"

Beau’s eyes flickered towards Dean’s. He narrowed his eyes immediately."What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Maggie,” Dean stepped in, not giving in to her cover-up she was trying to do. She sighs, shoulders dropping to relax a bit. Her eyes are fading to now looking exhausted. Not physically.

"Can one of you just take me home?"

Beau and Dean’s eyes really fell into confusion.

"You drove here,” Beau adds, crossing his arms. She nods. "I know."

"And you never leave early," Dean adds, tilting his head. Maggie rolls her eyes. "I know."

"And you were just sitting with Logan."

"Beau.”

They both stared at her for a moment. “Guys,” she warns, a glare evident on her face, they both then held up their hands.

"Okay. Not touching whatever that is," Beau comments first, Dean only gives her a knowing look. “Maggie,” he trails off, and she throws another look at him with a warning. Dean bites back. 

“Don’t give me that look,” he says to her. “You can act all you want, but we’re talking about this.”

“Dean, don't make me pull out the middle names.”

His eyes immediately falter slightly, he turns back towards the dart boards. “Got it,” he says, and she nods. 

"Smart,” she answers back, turning back to Beau. He nods down at her.

"When do you want to leave?"

"Now."

"Give me five minutes."

Maggie nodded gratefully. Dean looked back over at her with nothing but anxiousness and concern. She was shutting down, and he could tell. He kept an eye on her as Beau finished up goodbyes. None of them noticed Logan standing thirty feet away. Logan noticed them. He noticed Maggie avoiding looking in his direction. He noticed the way she folded her arms across herself.

The way she kept forcing smiles. The way Beau's expression shifted from confusion to concern. Most of all, he noticed that she never came back. Something was wrong. Something shifted in that booth between them.

Twenty minutes later, he watched her walk out the front door beside Beau.

The next morning, Maggie woke up with a mild headache and a significantly worse problem. Regret. Not because she'd left, but because she'd cared. She hated caring. Caring meant expectations.

Expectations meant disappointment, and that was something she'd gotten very good at avoiding.

So by the time she'd grabbed coffee and headed out to spend the morning thrifting, she'd already decided on a strategy.

Distance.

Simple.

Easy.

Safe.

The first antique store was quiet. The second smelled vaguely like old books and cedar.

The third was where she ran into Logan. She was not expecting to find him here. Not with everything he had going on back at the shop. Yet, apparently the universe enjoyed making things difficult. Maggie was examining a shelf full of vintage books and vinyls, when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Didn't take you for an eight-in-the-morning thrift shopper."

Her stomach dropped, and she turned. Logan stood a few feet away holding a coffee cup. Looking annoyingly good for someone she'd been trying not to think about. Trying to avoid more so it seemed.

"I’m always here early,” she mutters, looking away from him, and back at the shelves. Logan frowns at her, slowly walking forward. 

“On a Tuesday? When you have Atmospheric Science? The one class you say you will never skip?” he trails off, and she froze. 

“You sure take note of everything I do.”

“And you are avoiding.”

“Oh.”

Nice one, Maggie.

"Oh?"

"I didn't know you were here,” she changes the subject, Logan nods with a hum.

"I gathered."

Maggie looked back toward the shelf. "Find anything good?" she asks as he studies her.

He doesn’t take long noticing the difference. The night before she'd been laughing. Leaning into conversations. Seeking him out. Now every answer was short.

Careful.

Guarded.

"A few things,” he answers back, she nods curtly as her lips purse. She still has yet to look back at him. Knowing she would crumble if she did so.

"Nice."

"Maggie."

"Hm?"

"Did I do something?"

There it was. The question she'd been hoping to avoid.

"No."

Logan looks at her, eyebrows furrowing as he catches the shift in her expression. She was lying. "You sure?"

"Yep,” she hums out, turning away from him to head to the next part of the store. She sighs as she finds the jewelry, looking for something specific. While also trying to get Logan off of her tail. Which wasn’t working.

"You left without letting me know you got home safe,” he says, and she shrugs."I was tired."

"You've stayed at Malone's until closing while running a fever,” he chuckles softly. She almost smiled.

Almost.

Instead she picked up a pair of necklaces that she had absolutely no interest in. "Guess I was extra tired,” she mumbles, while Logan stares at her for a moment. The silence stretched.

"Magnolia."

"What?"

"Look at me."

She hated how easily that worked. Her head turned slowly, her eyes lifted and immediately met his own. Then there it was again. That feeling she'd been trying to shut down since last night. The one she had been trying since day one. The one that made everything more complicated.

His expression softened slightly. "You're doing that thing,” he pushed out, eyes looking between her own. She frowns. "What thing?"

"Where you decide something for both people and refuse to explain it,” he admits, making her chest tighten slightly. Because she knew he wasn't entirely wrong. The problem was that explaining it would be worse. Explaining meant letting him in.

Admitting anything was off meant letting someone back in like that, when he didn’t have anything he felt towards her. Not like he probably did for Hannah, at least.

So instead she forced a small smile."I'm really not sure what you're talking about."

A lie. A terrible one.

Logan knew it.

She knew it.

But he let it go. At least for now. Logan nods once, slowly as if he was trying to convince himself. Which wasn’t working. Not when he knew her better than himself.

"Okay." The disappointment in his voice was subtle, which somehow made it worse. "I'll stop bugging you."

Maggie swallowed. She didn’t want him to stop bugging her. She wanted him to keep prying, deep down. Her soul craved it.

"Thanks,” she pursues back, heart aching and begging to change her mind. She knew it was another lie. Especially when he leaned down to kiss her cheek softly, squeezing her waist as he slipped by her. The second he stepped away and disappeared, she immediately missed him.

It was one of those rare nights where the crew was at home, having a chill night, nowhere to be, nothing to prepare for. Just a night in the house where they all were at home in their own elements. 

Maggie had finished up another Storm analysis report, hitting send for her Professor to receive, closing her laptop as she went to head downstairs and join the crew. 

As she closes her door, she turns around only to have to shield her eyes with a hiss and grossed out whine. “Dean! We talked about this, shut the fucking door!” she groans walking past his room, missing the smug grin on the blond’s lips as she walks by. 

“I forgot!”

“Well now I’m reminding you. Close it,” she answers back, trudging her way downstairs. Tucker and Logan were both sitting hunched over themselves, playing a hockey game on the TV, while a couple of their other friends were hanging out, cooking food in the kitchen. She spots Jules scrolling on their phone while talking to the group in the kitchen, Maggie smiling to herself as she goes to give Jules a quick squeeze. 

After that, Maggie goes to sit and join the two boys on the couch. She sat on the armrest, watching the screen as the two cussed at one another while playing. 

Logan smells her perfume before he notices her sitting there, making him smile slightly before turning to look at her. She looks down at him with a pursed smile. “Hey there storm chaser. Did you manage to finish up your report?” Logan jokes, making her nod with a hum. 

“Only took thirty years off of my life span, but we did it,” she exaggerates with a loud sigh, slouching as she does so. Logan scoots over a bit, pushing Tucker over more to make room next to him for her to sit properly. Maggie squeezes his arm lightly before going to sit on the cushion next to him.

“You love it. You wouldn’t light up or beam everytime you bring it up if you didn’t love what you were doing,” he says, making her stay silent. She knew he was right. 

Logan doesn’t hesitate to grab both of her legs, plopping them in his lap as he never takes his eyes off the screen, one hand still working the controller. Once she is settled, he caresses her ankle lightly, before he puts both hands back on the controller. Maggie leaned her head onto her hand that was propped on the pillow, her eyes lazily following the screen. 

“Have Dean and Beau figured out what they’re doing for their birthday theme?” she asks, hearing the unsure hums from Logan and Tucker.

“Last I heard they wanted to do something with costumes,” Tucker answers while Logan nods. 

“Well I better get to brainstorming,” she groans while rubbing her eyes as she feels a yawn coming in. 

“How are you tired? It’s like 7,” Logan giggles, making her nudge his thigh with her foot. 

“Try living with you four. Start there,” she shot, watching as his mouth dropped. Tucker fakes a dramatic gasp, while putting his hand on his heart, the two turn to look at her for a second. 

“You love us all, don't even start!”

“Debatable most days. Especially the days after I deep clean the kitchen and diningroom, and I come home to see beer bottles and the dishes overflowing in the sink,” she laughs, Tucker’s eyes still on the screen as he points at her.

“Hey, but we all know who is the culprit of that one. Talk to the beloved blond one upstairs,” he admits, making her grimace and shake her head. Logan laughs at her expression. 

“He left the door open again?’ he asks, and she nods.

“Like how can he not want a bit of privacy? Poor girl probably gets annoyed by that,” she chuckles. 

“I think she’s too entranced by his dick to care.”

She practically gags at Logan’s words, smacking his bicep as he fully laughs at her reaction. “I don’t need that visual again.”

Before she could add another comment, she hears a faint knocking at the front door, causing her to frown. Nobody ever knocks when coming here, so she thought she might’ve been dreaming of it. 

Only for it to happen again, making her nudge Logan. “Someone’s knocking at the door?” she trails off, making his own brows furrow. He hands her the controller as he goes to stand, putting her feet back down where he was once sitting. “Keep playing for me, I’ll go check,” he answers as he walks over to the door. She turns back to the TV, resuming to play for Logan as she can hear the smack talk coming from Tucker. 

Maggie looks back quickly, seeing one of her best friends coming inside, making her smile brightly. “Hi Han,” she says warmly, feeling Hannah come up behind her to give the girl a large squeeze from behind the couch. 

“What the fuck, Mags? How did you know to pull that move? This shit is rigged!” Tucker whines, making her stick her tongue out at him. Logan hops clean over the couch, moving to set Maggie’s legs back into his lap, caressing the skin showing from her sweats. 

“I play with G and Logan all the time. You should know that,” she answers matter of factly, scoring yet another goal completely out of the blue. Tucker lets out a frustrated groan, banging his controller a couple times on the couch armrest. 

“Yeah, you’re screwed, my dude. Taught her everything she knows,” Logan says as he sits back comfortably, letting his hands rub at her calves. 

She feels a light shiver run up her spine, slight goosebumps rising on her skin that she chooses to ignore, as she was too into the game in front of her. Logan’s eyes catch it, not saying another word, and wraps his sweatshirt covered torso around her, pulling her closer into his embrace as he makes sure to not distract her from the game.

Maggie smiles at him thankfully, not missing the light squeeze he gives her thigh as acknowledgement. 

His touch had always hit her system short-circuit internally. The way a huge wave of voltage would run through her body at Logan’s touch and embrace, the sparks feeling almost electric every single time. 

Her heart beat a bit faster at their close proximity, the way she could feel his breaths on the back of her neck, his head not too far from hers.

Her mind was interrupted by the sound of Garrett letting out a curse of complaints, telling Dean to close his door, just like she had once said almost an hour ago. She huffs, turning her head back towards the staircase. 

“Dean Sebastian Kendric, if you don’t get off your ass to shut that door, I will personally come up there myself,” she hollers back, ignoring the ooh’s of the two boys and other friends around her, Maggie smiles lightly to herself knowing how annoyed he gets at the use of his middle names. 

“Come on up then, sweetheart! There’s always room for one more in my bed!” he shot back, his tone strained, as she could tell he was probably annoyed at her using his middle names. Maggie’s body tenses at his words, Logan’s grip on her tightening slightly as his jaw clenches. 

She looks back at Logan with a knowing look, pursing her lips before handing him the controller. 

Logan’s entire demeanor changes from annoyance of Dean’s comment, to straight amusement as he knew what was about to happen. Tucker was trying to suppress his laughs as she made her way up the stairs. They watched as she disappeared, the top floor was silent for a few moments, only then did they hear a fit of protests and hissing coming from the one and only blond hockey player. 

Maggie’s figure slowly appeared down the stairs, her arm behind her as she glared at Dean, that hand was gripping onto his ear hard. 

They burst into a fit of laughter as she dragged him outside towards the backyard, Dean was only in a pair of boxers,  Mags not caring if Dean had an audience for what was about to happen. It was a known thing in the household. If Dean so much as made sex comments about Maggie, he had to do pushups until his arms gave out. 

She let go of his ear, pointing to the ground. Dean’s face looked at her with wide eyes, horror in them. 

“Mags,” he squeaks out, and she raises a brow. 

“Now.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. It just slipped!”

“Dean.”

“Please come on, I won’t be able to make her c-”

“Don’t even think about finishing that sentence. Drop.”

“If I wasn’t scared of you, I’d be incredibly turned on right now.”

“Dean!” 

“Dammit!”

He always started to ramble when he was feeling nervous or feeling bad pissing her off, and he wanted to smack himself upside the head. It wasn’t long before he finally got down onto the ground and started pushups.

She crossed her arms, before turning back from the sounds of snickers from behind her. 

“You want to join?”

The other boys watching immediately shut up, scurrying back to their spots inside, Maggie turning back to face Dean. 

“Ten more.”

“Thank fuck.”

“You really aren’t going to tell me what you’re going to be? You’re killing me here Mags,” Dean groans out, faking a stab to the heart as Maggie laughs. She turns back around in the kitchen, setting the bowl of pasta down as Tucker hands her the tray of bread to put in the oven. 

“Nobody will know until party night. Not even my girls know,” she says back, earning a pout from the blond sitting on the sofa. 

“I should at least get a sneak peek! I am one of the birthday boys after all.”

Maggie pretends to think, her hand covered with the oven mitt as she hums and shakes her head. She hears another groan leave Dean’s mouth, earning an amused grin from her as she shuts the oven. 

“Not even a hint?”

“Dean.”

“Oh come on! What’s a guy gotta do to find out one of his best friends’ costumes?”

She makes her way over to the back of the couch, tapping his shoulders a couple times before bending down to make eye contact with him. “Wait patiently,” she answers, pushing his shoulders forward before grabbing stuff to set up their table. 

“You’re the absolute worst,” Dean huffs out with a fake sigh, just as the door begins to open. 

“Who’s the worst, and why?” Garrett’s voice booms out, him and Logan discarding their shoes at the door. Dean points over at Maggie, who just rolls her eyes with amusement on her face. 

“That one. That girl right there. So unbelievably terrible,” he exasperates, crossing his arms like a toddler. 

“I’m sure you’re not far off from that, but why?” Logan buds in, earning a smack to the bicep from her as he shoots her a wink, and wraps an arm around her. She pushes him off with a playful glare. 

“She won’t show me her costume! Won’t even give me a hint!”

“Dude, you’re more dramatic than Tucker after a recipe goes wrong,” Garrett laughs out, earning sounds of protests from Tucker.

“You can find something else to eat if you’re gonna bring me into this!” Tucker adds in, pointing his cutting knife at the Captain. 

“You’re all being drama queens,” Maggie says, throwing a rag at Dean’s head, going to sit down on the other part of the couch. “And you can be patient like everyone else. I don’t care if you’re the birthday boy or the King. You can wait, thank you very much.”

“Why is he so adamant on knowing anyway?” Logan asks, rounding the couch to sit between Dean and Maggie. He puts a hand behind Maggie’s head on the couch, his head tilted towards Dean. The blond boy looks at Logan. 

“Because I want to know? I know almost everyone else’s, except for hers. It’s law that I must know all of my buddies’ costumes before party time.”

“Nope.”

Dean lets out a dramatic whine, sinking deeper into the couch. Logan laughs at him before looking back at her. “Can you tell me?” he asks, and she gives him a look, shaking her head. 

“If the girls don’t know, that doesn't make you any different.”

“But I’m special.”

“Special how?”

“Just am.”

“Not a valid argument, Logan,” she chuckles before going back to face the TV. 

“Oh fine,” Logan fakes out a dramatic sigh before shaking his head. “I guess I am gonna have to find someone else to fill in your spot for Drunk Shakespeare.”

Maggie shrugs her shoulders, keeping her eyes on the TV and noticing his hand has slowly made its way to wrap around her again. “Go for it. I’m sure that Jules would love to add me as their plus one. You also act like I don’t take part in it.”

Logan shoots a playful glare at her, making her turn to look up at him with a light smirk. His eyes furrow for a split second before he smirks back down at her, Maggie not missing the way his eyes quickly flickered to her lips. If she blinked she would have missed it. 

“Well played, sweetheart. Well played.”

“Who said I was playing?” she shoots, making Logan’s mouth drop slightly. He froze for a second, next thing she knew she was over his shoulder. She yelled out in protest, laughing as she scolded the boy to put her back on her feet. He started taking her up the stairs, her ears not missing Dean shouting ‘Wear protection’ as they got further up, her face heating up. She kept protesting and scratching at his back, only for Logan to laugh. 

“I don’t mind having some scratch marks on my back from you, go for it,” he teases, throwing open her bedroom door. His comment threw her off enough to short circuit her next meaningless threat, making her curse at him instead and hitting his lower back. 

She didn’t expect for him to tap her back lightly on her butt, causing a light squeak to leave her lips. He sets her back down on her bed before going to lay beside her. He kept himself propped up on his side with his elbows, letting her turn and do the same. She shot him another glare, making him chuckle at her. 

“So you gonna let me in on the little costume secret or no?” he says in a much softer tone, making her heartrate speed up slightly. She was becoming more aware of how much closer they had become. They were just inches apart, Maggie was inching closer to his face with her own. His eyes only left hers for a moment to look down at her lips. Ones that he only ever dreamed of finally kissing. He looked back up into her eyes. 

She smiled ear to ear before kissing his cheek, backing off the bed. “Nope!” She chuckles, Logan shakes his head. 

Maggie could hear the music booming downstairs, the vibrations making her floor shake lightly with every beat that hit the speakers. She finished tying her red and white striped bikini top together behind her, making sure it was secure enough in case she moved the wrong way. She made sure her belt below was sat just right before spraying the last of her perfume. 

After many hours of scrolling and trying to figure out what she was going to go as, she had gotten her costume idea when cleaning her bedroom back at the hockey house. Her music video channel plays on her TV, Maggie in awe as she sees Christina Aguilera come on her TV for her Dirty music video. The bikini top with the leather low-rise chap pants, and cheeky red shorts. It was perfect and she knew she wouldn’t have to worry about anyone copying it. 

She finishes up zipping her boots before opening and closing the door behind her, heading downstairs. Once she made it to the bottom of the stairs, the select few people hanging out in the foyer stopped and did double-takes, cheering her on as she walked by. She smiled and greeted some friends and other people she knew as she walked by, her strut and sway of her hips making her build confidence. 

Maggie saw the familiar head of blond in the kitchen downing another shot with his best friend, Beau, before smashing their chests together and cheering loudly. They began to pour out shots for some people around them. Tucker was egging on the boys laughing before his eyes looked in her direction, but froze and had to snap back to Maggie. 

He began to hoot and holler, pointing to her. “Oh shit, MJ! I didn’t know you were hiding all of that underneath,” he hoots out, causing people to turn to where he was staring. 

Beau and Dean turned as well, Dean’s eyes lighting up as if he were seeing boobs for the first time. “No fucking way! Who was gonna tell me we had Christina Aguilera coming to the party?” he yells out, walking up to Maggie, who was laughing at how much he and Beau were hyping her up and taking her hands to make her do a twirl. 

She swayed her hips around in a circle as she turned for them, playfully winking at the pair before pulling them in for hugs at her sides. 

Beau yelled out something about the need for her to join them, as well as something about if she wasn’t off limits that he would’ve been giving her the time of her life. As she joins the two in front of the kitchen island, dancing and swaying her hips to the sexy music playing, she takes the wine glass from Dean’s hand. 

As she was about to down it, she felt a hand slowly slither to the lowest part of her hip. 

Her head turned to see a very awe and shocked Logan behind her. He was biting his lip to hide the smile forming, doing terrible at hiding it. 

Maggie grinned up at him with a light chuckle. “You forget how to speak, Johnny?” she jokes, making his adams apple bob up and down. His hand was still firm on her hip while he let his eyes wander for a short moment. 

“It seems I may have,” he chokes out, a cheshire grin on his face now. “You look good. Like really fucking good, Magnolia.” 

She raises a brow. “Just really fucking good?” she shot back, making Logan’s gaze darken slightly. He uses the hand that has his drink in it, using a finger to swirl around as if he’s telling her to give him a spin. 

Maggie laughs lightly before doing a slow, but teasingly slow spin for him. She misses the way Logan has to bite his lip to combust right then and there from how every single curve of hers was being hugged in all the right places. How her breasts sat so perfectly in her bikini top, not missing the way her nipple piercings could be seen lightly protruding through the fabric. 

Logan didn’t realize how bad he wanted to have her bent over somewhere private in this place, not until she turned back to face him with a knowing smirk. 

“You’re fucking gorgeous,” he says as he lowers his lips to her ear. “So so gorgeous, sweetheart.” 

Maggie swears her insides melt at his soft tone, not missing the way his hand slowly caresses up and down her waist as he talks to her. She can feel herself about to stutter over words, so instead she pulls back from him and happily says ‘I know’ before downing her first glass, and turning back towards Dean and Beau to grab another glass. 

Logan doesn’t waste time scanning her backside, seeing how perfect her waist looked from his position. It was taking every ounce in him to not take her up to his room and fuck the living daylights out of her.

He knew he couldn’t, that was a line he couldn’t cross. Not when their friendship was so much more important. Even if his feelings were as strong as they are. 

Maggie has gotten to the point of the night where she’s drunk enough to feel light and confident, finding herself dancing body to body with Allie at one point while laughing together as they danced. 

When she finally decides to take a break, she starts to make her way to the drink room of the kitchen, only stopping slightly in her tracks when she hears Logan and Garrett talking. 

“So are you guys like, dating dating?” Logan asks as he cracks open another beer. 

“Well I mean we’re not like exclusive or anything,” Garrett says back. They must’ve been talking about him and Hannah. 

 “And she’s cool with that?”

“Yeah, man. I guess so,” Garrett chuckles dryly, Logan sipping his beer before giving him a confused nod. Then looks down at his beer. 

“It’s just that last week you didn’t even know her name,” he plays off, a dry laugh leaving his lips. Maggie can feel her chest tighten a little bit. Based on his tone, he was jealous. Logan wanted Hannah. Logan didn’t want her. Not like she thought.

“Yeah, I guess sometimes people can just sneak up on you,” Garrett answers back before changing the subject to ask if they had any non-alcoholic drinks. Logan thinks for a moment before handing him a closed can of IPA. 

“Closed cans are safer bro,” Logan says before Garrett takes the drink, thanking his buddy by patting his shoulder and walking out of the room.

Garrett doesn’t see Maggie standing just outside the room, making her let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, Maggie’s entire demeanor changing slightly as she plays over the jealousy tone coming from Logan. 

After all of their harmless flirts, touches, and looks. She should’ve known. He may be her closest friend, but he was still John Logan to the entire college campus. Maggie was never going to be the one he wanted. Especially with how perfect Hannah was, she didn’t blame him. 

She snaps out of her daze before walking into the drink room to grab a cup, Logan still leaning his backside against the countertop as she walks in. 

Logan smiles at her as he finishes taking a drink of his beer, Maggie grabs her cup as she decides how much alcohol she really needs to forget how stupid she felt.

“Hi, sweetheart. You doing okay?” Logan asks her softly, making her give him a pursed smile before nodding.

Her eyes went back to find the expensive wine bottle in the back row. Logan looks at her with a slight frown, straightening his posture at her sudden behavior change. 

“Hey, what’s wrong? Did something happen?” he asks her, going to stand next to her and let his hand linger on her side. 

Maggie shook her head with a hum before pouring half of her cup with rum. Logan’s eyebrows furrow before he reaches out to grab the bottle from her hands with a soft protest. She groans at him as he puts the bottle out of her reach. “No, no you need to slow down. What’s going on? You don’t drink this much unless you’re trying to forget.”

Maggie’s eyes snap to him in shock, he nods knowingly. “Yeah, I know you well enough. What happened?”

“Nothing, Logan,” she sighs, looking between his eyes. He’s looking back into her eyes, trying to search for any ounce of her not telling the truth. He could see by the way her fingers twitched around the cup that she was preventing herself from biting her nails. She was lying. 

“Magnolia.”

“John.”

“Not until you tell me what’s going on-”

“Oh my fuck, I’m getting another bottle from Dean,” she groans out, setting the cup down on the counter before going to walk off from Logan. 

He stayed frozen in his spot, confused as to what changed from their playful banter the entire night, to her not even being able to stand next to him. He turns back around to see Dean’s got his hand wrapped around her throat, his front behind her back as he pours the bottle of wine down her throat.

Logan’s gaze hardened, his blood beginning to feel hotter than normal. 

The bass thudded through the floorboards, but for Logan, the only real noise in the room was the sharp, melodic sound of Maggie’s laugh. She was standing across the crowded living room, casually leaning into Beau more as Dean began to lean into her. She was radiating a bright, effortless energy, completely ignoring his existence. That was when he knew it was entirely performative. 

Something happened in the span of their time apart to make her completely change her behavior with him.

Logan leaned back against the stovetop in the kitchen, his knuckles white around his beer bottle. He didn't want to watch her, but his eyes kept watching the way she tossed her hair back, or how she smiled just a second too long at the Beau, who was standing way too close to her. 

The night dragged on for Logan after that. He chose to keep a close eye on Maggie the rest of the night, watching as she danced with her friends, letting Dean, Beau, and even Tucker dance up along with her. Logan really wanted to tear them each a new asshole as he watched them touch her in every way he should be. He did know for a fact that she had stopped drinking after that little moment between her and Dean with the bottle, knowing she was most likely buzzed at this point of the night.

She had ditched her boots at one point, setting them to the side after saying they made it feel like she had nails on her feet. 

He could tell she was getting really tired, the more she began to yawn in between songs. Especially when her eyes kept drifting over towards Logan with slow blinks. It was the kind of look she always gave him when she was ready to get comfy and pass out for the night. 

Logan set his bottle down, uncrossing his arms as he made his way over towards her, Maggie’s anger and heartbreak washing away at the sight of his beautiful brown eyes looking down into hers. She gave him a tired smile, slithering her arms around his neck as her head went to lie on his chest.

“Johnny,” she hums lightly, her mind forgetting about the conversation she overheard just hours earlier. 

“You tired?” he mumbles into her hair, and she nods. He hums back before pressing a kiss to her head, reaching down to grab behind her thighs and wrap them around his torso. She holds onto him instantly, Dean giving Logan a knowing smirk before winking. 

Logan swats at him, a small smile on his lips as he begins to walk away and up the stairs.

“My room or yours?” he asks her softly, the music disappearing into soft hums as he walks them down the hall. “Yours. I’m freezing now.”

He chuckles. “I’ve got a hoodie ready to go for you, honey. You don’t have to ask twice,” he mutters before closing his bedroom door behind him. He sets her on the edge of his bed, Maggie immediately beginning to lie back as she tries to lazily undo her belt. 

Logan turns back around with his hockey hoodie in hand, seeing her grumble as she fumbles with trying to free the belt from its locked position. He tries his best to hide his amused smile. 

“You want help?”

“I don’t get why they make these absolutely impossible,” she huffs before nodding. Logan heads over to loom over her, bending down slightly and removing her hands from the belt. 

“You conscious enough to let me help you?” he asks her softly, his tone more serious. Maggie looks up at him, lifting her head to stare up at him.

“I stopped drinking hours ago, I promise I’m fine. I’m just tired now, and too lazy to even try.”

Logan laughs before his fingers softly begin to pull at her belt, not missing the way her stomach bursts out into goosebumps from his touch. He smiles to himself as he pulls it free from the loop, loosening the chaps enough for her to sigh at the relief. 

She lifts her legs high enough for him to get the message to take them all the way off, the brown-haired boy not hesitating to do so. 

“Ugh it feels like my legs were stuck inside rubber gloves in a hot sun,” she groans as her legs are free from the leather chaps, just being left in her bikini top and cheeky shorts. Logan chuckles as he tosses the pants to the side. 

“Well to be fair, you looked absolutely beautiful tonight. I had my eyes on nobody but you.”

“That’s because you probably felt obligated to watch over me,” she mumbles before throwing his hoodie over her head. Logan frowns at her. 

“Whatever you’re thinking, you’re way off. I don’t want to have my eyes on anyone else,” he assures her, making her shrug with a yawn. 

“It’s okay if you do. I know you don’t feel the way I do about you,” she mumbles, making Logan freeze from changing out of his clothes. He turns to look at her with every emotion he was feeling at her words. 

“What did you say?”

She just settles more into the comfy bedsheets, a pout light on her lips. 

“What’s going on, Mags?” he says, making Maggie sigh before pulling the covers over her. 

“Nothing. Can you hurry and come lay down? You’re like a furnace and I’m frozen.”

He could tell she was avoiding talking about her feelings for another reason. But realizing that she may feel the way he does, it opened a whole new opportunity for him. He just needed to play this correctly. 

“Dean! Where you at? I need help with the kegs!” Tucker yells from the shoe room, annoyance all over his face, as he wasn’t surprised that the blond boy was where he needed him to be. Tucker keeps calling out for Dean as he carries the keg in his arms into the kitchen. 

“He’s taking the world’s longest shower.” Logan says from underneath the kitchen sink, a wrench in hand. Tucker raises a brow. 

“Still?”

“You shouldn't be surprised. At least he had the decency to lock the door this time,” Maggie’s voice rang out from the hallway, the girl scurrying into the kitchen as she put in her other earring. “I never needed to see full frontal sex, especially when it’s DiLaurentis.”

Tucker points at her and nods. “Yeah you didn’t use that shower for a week,” he laughs, making Maggie roll her eyes and flick him off. 

She bends down to tap Logan’s bent knee, having him pull his upper half out from underneath the sink to look at her with a small grin. “You look like you’re about to break the bank,” he jokes, looking at her simple but cute outfit she had just put on for the day. She didn’t have any classes on Fridays, only online radar data analysis, but that was something she knew she could get done over the weekend. 

It was just before noon, and she needed to leave in a hurry before the thrift sale opened up just a few minutes down the road. “We will see. I saw they had some old vinyls and art pieces I wanted to look into. Don’t be surprised if I come home with hands full,” she chuckles. “Where are my car keys? They’re not in the bowl, and the other three haven’t seen them.”

He nods at her. “Garrett definitely knows, I saw him move them. Just take my truck for now, and I will check whenever I see him.”

“Where even is he?” she asks, walking over to grab his keys from his jacke t, Logan shrugs with a frown. 

“Great question, I didn’t even think he would be gone before the party,” he answers. “You want me to come with you?”

She swats at him softly. “You’ve got your hands full. Don’t worry about it-”

“Hey Logan! Shower is clogged again,” Dean’s voice answers from upstairs, causing the three in the kitchen to all exchange looks. 

“And sounds like yet another handful after that,” she says back to him, making him groan. Maggie goes to grab her tote bag she uses for good finds, blowing kisses to Tucker and Logan. “I’ll be back!”

The boys bid their goodbyes as she heads out, walking down to Logan’s truck and hopping in. She backs out of the driveway and makes her way down the street. 

Maggie ends up with more than she thought, her bag full of vintage vinyls, books, and other finds she couldn’t help but take back with her. She knew she would give it all a great home and just as much love. She backed into the driveway, the late-afternoon sun hanging in the air as she heard the clinking and thuds of things being moved around inside. 

She opens the front door to see Dean with his newest puck bunny of the week, while playing Beau in air hockey in the living room, Logan was playing his game on the TV, while Tucker was in the kitchen organizing his food for the evening. 

They all looked at her at the sound of the door being closed, Dean and Beau giving her knowing looks, while Logan gave her a triumphant grin. 

“Someone found the jackpot today,” Beau whistles, making her smile widely. 

“You have no idea,” she chuckles. “I couldn’t stop. I finally had to call it quits after like the fifth round.”

“At least you have stamina for that many rounds,” Dean says while wiggling his brows, she playfully glares at him. 

“I will throw my shoe at your head. Might knock some nerves in that brain of yours to work,” she shot back, making him fake being hurt as he held his chest dramatically. Logan paused his game before making his way over to help her hands that were occupied with a box of things. 

“Lemme see the haul,” he trails off, helping her bring it upstairs to her room. 

She laughs before nodding. “I should’ve had you come. There was an insane amount of cassette tapes and old car plaques in the garage, and so many other vintage clothing items I knew you would’ve had to get your hands on. I did get you a couple things, but don’t tell the guys,” she jokes, earning a wide smile and hum from Logan. 

“I suppose I can do that, even though they should know I’m your favorite,” he jokes, looking back at her as he holds her bedroom door open. She steps inside after him.

“Careful, I may take them back for myself then.”

“You like me too much to do that,” Logan jokes, setting the box down on her desk. She felt her heart skip a beat for a moment, then she mentally shakes off his comment, laughing dryly. 

“I tolerate you. There’s a difference.”

He plops down on her bed, and sighs dramatically. His eyes never leave her own. “You wound me,” he fake whines, making her scoff playfully. He then motions towards her, nodding at her bag.

“Now let’s see what Miss Magnolia found on her thrifting adventure.”

His words made her heart flutter, Maggie wasted no time opening up her bag to get started.

Logan took in the excitement in her expressions as she showed him each item she got, the way her eyes would light up when she brought up what it reminded her of, or how she stumbled over her words and started going into another story that would relate to what she was saying. 

He wasn’t complaining one bit, letting her show him how happy it makes her. It made him beam on the inside. 

“Now, best for last,” she trails off, heading over towards the closed box she had him carry up. She grabs it and brings it over to set it in Logan’s lap. “Now, before you open it, I just want to say I remembered you talking about how much you wanted to find one of these when going thrifting. So I had to snag it before someone else did.”

She nods at him to open up the box. Logan chuckles at her words before opening it up, seeing two items in the box. One was some form of clothing, while the other was a simple but telling little chain. 

The chain was a golden chain, and it almost looked similar to the one he lost when he was on his spring break trip last year. His eyes darted up to her, seeing the small grin on her face with her arms crossed. “I knew you’ve also been looking for a new one that looked like the one you lost, so that was the closest I’ve ever come to finding it,” she explains, eyes softening. “Don’t feel pressured to wear it, though.”

“Mags,” he sighs with a soft chuckle leaving his lips. She stops him from saying more. “Open up the next one!” she urges. 

He doesn’t hesitate to pull the heavy piece of clothing out of the box, setting the box onto the ground. He unfolds it to see it’s a heavier jacket, the faded Carhartt logo on the corner. It was faded slightly, but navy blue. 

“Magnolia, shit,” he says in awe, Maggie chuckles while running a hand through her hair, and putting the other hand on her hip. 

“It’s an early 2000s J97 Carhartt Jacket. They didn’t have it in tan, but I figured you’d like the navy,” she admits, then points at him. “Don’t tell the others, because I didn’t get them anything. I got you these because I knew you were looking, and you actually enjoy coming thrifting with me.”

Logan nods with a laugh before setting the jacket down on her bed, going to pull her in for a hug. He kisses her cheek as he wraps his arms around her. “Thank you. I really do love it,” he says into the crook of her neck. “You know I’m always up for joining you. Especially because I know you will find great shit. It’s entertaining,” he jokes, making her smile and playfully smack his shoulder. She hugs him tighter, her heart beating quicker at the feeling of his breath on her skin. She nods. 

Once they pull apart, they still stand close to one another. “You staying for the party tonight?” he asks, and she shakes her head. 

“What? Why?” he groans out, and she pats his chest going to set her shoes onto her shoe rack. 

“I’ve gotta work tonight, remember? Justin’s band is playing, so it’s going to be a busy night,” she explains, making him slightly pout. 

“So you’re saying I’m stuck dealing with the hooligans on my own tonight? Killing me Maggie,” he huffs out playfully, making her roll her eyes before the pair head to the door, making their way back downstairs. 

“I promised Allie and Hannah I’d be there tonight. We’ve got some girl talk anyways, so it’s worth the shift,” she explains, heading into the kitchen. “But I’ll still help Tuck over here with making snacks for later.”

Tucker smiles at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Dynamic chef skills duo over here. But also thank goodness, because I need your extra hands right now.”

Maggie looks at Logan in amusement, seeing him holding back a laugh, but she agrees and helps Tucker with whatever he needs help with. 

It wasn’t long until the house started to fill up with friends, and other students from Briar U that knew about the party, music blaring through the speakers that she knew Dean was probably playing. She was finishing up making the homemade tomato soup per Tuck’s request, keeping an eye on her phone to make sure she wouldn’t be late for Malone’s. 

“Well, the drain is unclogged. Anyone want to guess the culprit?” Logan’s voice comes in behind her, hearing the guys groan and start blaming Dean. She didn’t even want to look, knowing it was probably another condom of his he let sink into the drain. 

So instead, she turns off the stove and grabs the pot of soup to bring over to the small glasses Tucker had set up for her. 

“Now what are these for?” Dean says, going to touch and play with the glasses, Maggie smacks his hand with the ladle, making him hiss and pull his hand back. She eyes him with a knowing look. 

“They’re for Tuck’s apps he’s putting together. I just made my homemade recipe to make it better,” she explains, slowly pouring soup into each glass. She feels a pair of hands come to steady around her waist, a figure standing behind her as they loom over to watch her pour. 

“And what exactly are these little guys?” Logan asks, squeezing her hips. She smiles lightly, feeling a sensation rise in her stomach at Logan’s touch. 

“They’re dippables,” Tucker says while planting sandwiches on each filled soup glass. The guys don’t take long to start teasing him about his new word for his entree, Maggie stepping out of Logan’s grip to go wash the pot quickly before she had to leave. 

“And with that, I’m out of here,” she laughs as Tucker starts telling the guys none of them will get any of his appetizers. She pats Tucker’s shoulder, who smiles gratefully at her before thanking her as she begins to head out. She hears the music change into some classic rock, making her smile warmly. 

Thank you Garrett. 

“You really leaving me here with them?” Logan jokes from behind her as she grabs her stuff. She turns back to him, patting his cheek lightly. 

“You’ll live. You deal with them all day everyday. This is no different,” she answers back, turning back to open the front door. “Keep the house in one piece!” she sings out before closing the door behind her. 

She’s glad she moved her car before people started arriving, seeing as the driveway was now packed with other cars, as well as up and down the street. 

Maggie woke up before any of the boys that morning, knowing they’d probably be out for another hour or so with how late they were up the night before. Which meant for her that she could take a shower in peace and quiet, with no disturbances or constant knocking on the door, so she didn’t waste another second heading in there to take some warm water for herself. 

Once she finished her routine, she decided to keep it lazy today as she had the day off and needed to work on some radar data for the upcoming week. She threw on a pair of comfy shorts and one of her oversized crewnecks before padding down the stairs, her laptop in hand. 

She was shocked to see Garrett was already downstairs, slipping on his tennis shoes, his head tilting up to see her walking into the kitchen. 

“You’re up early,” she starts as she goes to grab her ground coffee and filter for the maker. He chuckles, and nods. 

“I don’t have any time to waste on a weekend. Not a single second.”

“Right, you’re superstitions,” she jokes with a giggle, scooping grounds into the filter. “Can’t be off your game for one second.”

“Exactly,” he says back, while walking over to the fridge to grab a water bottle. “Can you save me a cup later? I’m gonna need it.”

She nods. “You already know I’ll have it at the ready. I was planning on making breakfast anyway this morning.”

He gives her a little squeeze before kissing her head, thanking her softly, and heading over to the backyard to work out for the morning. She lets her coffee pour while she begins to prep the stove and oven for Block Party breakfast, one of her favorite things to do for Block Party weekend. 

She didn’t hesitate to turn on her music softly as she started, hearing the slow wake of each boy in the house as she did so. 

Tucker was the first one downstairs, smiling warmly at Maggie before going to squeeze her shoulders, looking over to see what she was making. He then looks at her. “Block party feast?”

“You know it,” she answers, making him fistbump her before going to join Garrett outside. 

Logan wasn’t too far behind him, coming into the kitchen to grab his own water bottle and wrap Maggie in a giant hug from behind. His hands wrapped around her waist as he buried his head into her neck for a second. 

It was things like this that always made her insides churn but flutter at the same time. 

To Logan, this was harmless, as he was always like this with her. He didn’t see it as anything more than friendly, whereas she always wished it meant otherwise. She always chose to ignore the tightness in her chest, focusing on the fluttering in her stomach instead. 

“You coming to the block party later?” he asks as his chin sets softly on her shoulder. She nods. 

“It’s bad luck if Jules and I aren’t there. Can’t have that,” she answers, and he laughs softly. 

“Nope, especially not that.”

“Exactly. I might be a bit late though, I have to work on my Radar Data analysis to send over for my Prof’s approval.”

He hums into her skin as he nods, squeezing her once more before letting her go. She goes to head over and pour her coffee into the mug. “Any storm chasing going to happen this summer, Helen Hunt?” he jokes while leaning against the countertop. She smiles ear to ear as she looks back at him. 

“You already know.”

He bites his lip to suppress a laugh before nodding, and goes to join the boys outside, Tucker already cheering Garrett on as they start lifting. “Save me some coffee please!” he hollers back before closing the screen door. 

She chuckles before opening back up her ground coffee, going to add more into the filter.

Maggie finishes putting everything into the oven, starting to lay bacon out on the large griddle. She hears Dean stumbling down the stairs, grazing through the kitchen, smiling warmly at the girl before pressing a quick kiss to her head as he passes. “Good morning, my lovely Mags!” he says quickly before heading outside to the backyard. 

As the bacon cooked, she started cutting up some fresh fruit and putting together the protein bowl she knew Garrett would request, humming to herself as she happily cooked and baked away. 

She sets out a stack of plates and silverware, knowing that they will pile in and snag one as soon as they reach her, then puts the silverware towards the end of the island for when they finish. She pours herself another cup of coffee once she has finished making everything, the French toast bake cooling on the stove.

Her bare feet pad over towards the sliding door that leads to the back porch, opening up the door, and leaning against it with her mug in her hands. 

She watches as they all finish their core workouts, circling around each other as they hoot and holler to finish strong, collapsing onto their backs as soon as they finish. They high-fived one another, completely breathless, letting out light curses which caused her to laugh.

These boys were the closest thing she had to family, and that was okay for her. 

“You boys done stroking each other’s egos? Feast is done,” she calls out, a large smile on her face. They all looked towards her before looking back at one another with suspicious grins. 

“First, I think a group hug as a thank you is in order,” Garrett calls back. The boys are standing up quick and heading her way. Maggie’s eyes widened, immediately running to set her coffee on the outside table before running out of their way. 

“You guys are all sweaty and smell like a locker room! I just showered!” she says, giggling as she dodges each of the boys. 

It doesn’t last long because her eyes turn forward to see Logan peer around a corner, snagging her by her waist and putting her over his shoulder. She lets out a triumphant yell, Logan walking with her towards the boys as he ignores her protests. 

“You all smell! You’re ridiculous!” she laughed as Logan set her down. The boys all hugged her tight. “I hate you all.”

“Love you too, MJ,” Dean snickered as they all let her scurry back into the house. The group wasn’t too far behind her. 

Once everything had been settled and plates were filled with whatever they could fit, they were in a debate on whether or not Garrett had basically been dating Kendall. 

“House says?" Tucker called. 

“Nay”

“Yay”

“Nay”

“Yay”

“Yay”

They all called out in unison, starting to argue on reasons. 

“Dean taking your side basically proves that we’re right on this,” Logan argues, Dean pursuing his lips as he stands up. 

“You know what, I don’t need to take any of this slander, alright? I am a responsible human being-”

“Dean?” a girl calls out, all of their heads turning to see the girl he hooked up with was laying on the couch. Maggie frowns in confusion, pointing her way with the spatula.

“Has she been down here the entire time?” she mutters in shock. Tucker shrugs while the other boys all nod slowly. She pursed her lips before raising an extra plate. “See if she wants breakfast. May help her killer hangover,” she says softly while going to cut up some more of the bread in case the girl wanted some. 

With that, Dean takes the plate Maggie fills for the girl, leading the girl back upstairs with him. The remaining crew all look at each other in both shock and confusion. 

“Looks like I’ll be using Allie and Hannah’s shower today,” Maggie says, going over to start cleaning up. Tucker snaps over at her. 

“Nuh uh, you cooked, we will clean up. House rules,” he says, grabbing the dirty pan from her grip before turning on the faucet. She puts her hands up in surrender before going back over to refill her coffee. She turns toward Garrett and Logan, pointing at the machine as if asking if they wanted more. Garrett shakes his head while Logan nods, but stands up to walk over towards her and hands her his cup. 

She catches Garrett looking down at his phone, her gaze hardens slightly, and Logan looks back. “I’ll finish this up and head upstairs,” she says softly, and he nods with a thankful smile. 

“Go use my shower, I can wait a bit,” Logan says before kissing her cheek and heading back over towards Garrett. Maggie knew Garrett didn’t get along with his dad, more so that he hated talking about him or bringing him up at all. He was a sour subject, in which case she knew it was best to give him privacy when talking to Logan about it. Logan was the only one who knew the most out of anyone in that house. 

Maggie heads up the stairs, Logan and Garrett’s voices slowly beginning to fade, and she heads into her room first to decide on what to wear for later on. She knew she would most likely end up at Hannah and Allie’s to get ready, knowing that they both would be texting her to get her cute butt over there. So she decided to grab a couple of different choices, setting them in her bag of things for getting ready. 

It was going to feel like a long day until then. 

“Okay, lemme see!” Allie calls out, and Maggie finishes pulling up her pants before stepping out to show the girls. Hannah gives her a look like she’s still deciding what to say, while Allie looks at her with a frown. Maggie raises her brows. “What?”

“What other options are there?” Hannah asks slowly.

Maggie’s hands drop to her sides. “This is the last one! I didn’t bring anything else,” she groans, running her hands through her hair. Allie claps her hands before standing up.

“Good thing I’ve got a closet, and you’ve got two girlfriends who love to dress you up,” she squeals before the pair of them drag Maggie into Allie’s room. 

“Okay, so we’ve gotta match the outfit with the hair and makeup. But also give a sexy girl who wants the one and only John Logan to do a double-take!” Allie says, sizing Maggie up and down. Maggie facepalms, feeling her face heat up. 

“This again? I thought we had finished talking about this. He doesn’t like me like that, I know it. So I’m not going to worry about what he thinks.”

“Wrong. You finished talking about it, but we know that you want him to think about you. He already does, I can bet everything I have that he does,” Hannah says matter-of-factly, a small smirk on her face. “That boy loves you, and he is about to fully lose his mind when you come out tonight.”

Maggie groans, but doesn’t argue.

“Fine.”

They cheer before instantly picking out exactly what was in mind, touching up whatever they needed to while having a few drinks as they did. 

Maggie ended up wearing a red and brown plaid miniskirt, with tan brown knee-high boots, and a deep red boat neck sleeveless top, all from Allie’s closet. The outfit complimented her skin tone perfectly and hugged her curves in every way imaginable. She felt confident and smiled as she saw herself in the mirror. 

“You look hot. Logan won’t know what hit him when he sees you,” Allie whistles, while Hannah hoots and fans away at Maggie. 

They finally head out to meet up with Allie’s boyfriend, Sean, getting into his car to start jamming out before making it to Campus. They all made their way up, talking and laughing as they found Dexter in the crowd. 

His eyes widened at the three girls, whistling lowly as he scanned them up and down. “Wooooh shit, you ladies are looking mighty sexy, hello? Like, I’m obsessed?” he sings out, making them all chuckle. 

Dexter hugs Maggie before pointing at her outfit. “And if I’m not mistaken, you are definitely going to have that taken off of you tonight. By John Logan and John Logan only. He is going to lose it!” he giggles, making her roll her eyes as her face heats up once more. 

“Yeah yeah. A girl can dream.”

“Honey, no. You’re not dreaming, he is literally obsessed with you, and anyone can see that,” Allie says, dancing lightly to the music playing. Her eyes peer around her for a second, only to make her smile widen. “Matter of fact, he’s showing how obsessed he is with you right now. He can’t stop looking over here.”

Maggie turns around to look through the crowd, her eyes not taking long to spot the familiar head of brown locks and bright smile of his. Allie was right. He was looking at her. Staring at her with an expression she couldn’t read. Her lips turned up into a smile, waving at him, watching as he bites his lip to hide a bigger smile forming as he nods back at her. 

Maggie turns back to face them, seeing them all smirk at her knowingly. “What now?”

“Oh, nothing, just waiting for when you finally decide to go over to be with him,” Dexter shoots, making her give him a look. 

“It’s true! Go over to him! We’ve gotta get Hannah’s plan in motion with Justin, and you’re the prime motivation. Do it!” Allie eggs on, making them agree, and Maggie sighs. 

“I better hear all about how it goes with Justin then. I don’t want to miss a single detail.”

They cheer before nodding. Maggie turns around to make her way towards Logan, who now had his back turned away from her as he looked over at Garrett as they looked at something on his phone. 

“You guys know there’s a party just ahead of you?” she jokes, making their heads both snap towards her. Logan’s smile widens as he takes her in, Adam's apple bobbing as he struggles for words. Garrett laughs. 

“He literally just said that to me like two seconds ago,” he chuckles, and she smiles. He holds his phone up to her, showing a recent picture of Hannah at Malone’s on their social media page. “What is her name?”

“That’s Hannah?” She trails off slowly. “She’s one of my best friends. I’ve literally only mentioned her millions of times? I literally just came here with her and Allie?”

He nods slowly before going back to his phone. Logan stands up beside her, his figure now towering over her while he stares down at her. “You look-”

“Alright, gang’s all here! We’re doing shots, right here, right now,” Dean’s voice pops up behind them, seeing him and Tucker both making their way to join the group, handing them each a shot cup. Maggie holds up her hand to decline. Dean frowns with a whine. 

“I can’t, remember?” she laughs while he pouts. “Vodka maggedon Freshman year. Never again.”

“Oh shit yeah, you had like a full allergic reaction,” Dean trails off, and she nods with a hum. Logan points up at her.

"Yeah, and you nearly gave both Tuck and me a heart attack on the way to the hospital. Dean thought he killed you, while Garrett was positive he would have to start planning the funeral," he says, making her push his head slightly with a light giggle.

“Exactly, even if you guys were being a bit dramatic. Wine only for me. Tastes better anyway, and the buzz is top tier.”

She counts the boys down before they down their shots, cheering and clapping once they have finished, and soon makes their way up to join the crowd.  

Maggie ends up finding Allie, Dexter, and Hannah dancing away, going to join her as the boys aren’t too far behind her. Logan had gone to grab another drink, and she sang aloud and danced alongside them in the meantime. 

It wasn’t much longer till she felt a hand squeeze her hip softly, causing her to turn around to see Logan. He handed her a can, and she looked at him with a raised brow. 

“I brought a cooler of drinks, and I made sure to put some wine coolers in there for you,” he says over the music. She gives him a small grin as she opens it, going up to kiss his jaw and mutter a thank you.

Logan feels his heart beating a million miles a minute at the simple action, not hesitating to pull her figure to rest against his front. She sways to the music with Logan, not missing how he hums the song, his vocals being one other thing she had fallen for. 

Not many people knew Logan could really sing. He had a gorgeous voice, but he rarely ever sang in front of people. Unless it was to mess around during karaoke, but that was about it. 

She didn’t miss the way Logan found her free hand that was resting on her side, lacing it with his own before going to rest both of their hands on the front of her hip. She leaned more into him, feeling the stares from her friends. She knew she’d hear about this later, but at this moment she didn’t care. 

The pair swayed together as they listened to the music. Logan’s chin had propped itself onto her shoulder at some point, Maggie’s body feeling lighter. She couldn’t tell if it was the alcohol or him. 

This was it. 

One final battle, and it could all be over. That’s if the plan went accordingly, but knowing they always had a fuck up somewhere in the strategy. Y/N bit her lip as she sat quietly with everyone else in the back of the truck, the hum of the engine roaring underneath them as they drove through the upside down. 

She was staring off into space, zoning out as some of the crew talked quietly amongst each other. She had a death-like grip on her gun and ammo, going over every scenario in her head, especially if they got out of this alive. 

Y/N vowed that if they survived, she would tell Steve everything. She would finally tell him how in love she was with him, even if it meant that he didn’t feel the same. She wanted him to know, that way it didn’t eat her alive like it had been for months. She knew she never stood a chance at the end of the day. Not with how hung up he is on Nancy. She knew it would be easy to tell him before leaving town for good. She had to get out of there after all of this. After Steve friend zones her, there won’t be much else for in that town.

Y/N’s mom passed away when she was young. Cancer. Her dad fell through the cracks when Hawkins decided to split into four. She didn’t have any siblings, so there wasn’t much left for her. Which was why she didn’t mind if she lost the battle against Vecna. If she died trying, at least she died fighting to save the world. 

Little did she realize that Steve had been eyeing her ever since they all sat in the back of the truck, not missing the blank expression on her face as she zoned out. 

He knew that if it came down to his life or hers, he would choose for her to live over him. He would take the bullet for her if it came down to it. If they both lived through this, he wouldn’t waste another second with telling her it’s been her for the longest time. It was never Nancy. It was Y/N. It had been her ever since he had subbed in for Keith during a Saturday night shift, and she was the other one working. The way she held herself, how outgoing she was with the customers, or how easy she was to talk to after everything happened with Nancy. 

She never talked over him, or sugar-coated a thing. She just listened, and gave him advice when he finished. She was always easy-going, Steve felt like talking to her was as smooth as silk. It never felt forced, it just felt right.

He then realized she was it for him. It wasn’t Nancy, it was Y/N. 

It wasn’t long until they had arrived at the radio station in the Upside Down, unloading one after the other. Y/N hopped down on her own, turning back to help the kids down one by one. Steve hopped down in front of her, giving her a look that she couldn’t quite read. She just smiled lightly at him, squeezing his arm before having him follow after the group. 

They all made their way towards the giant tower, Y/N’s face dropping as she scanned it from the ground up. The clouds covering any signs of the world falling into the Upside Down were not yet evident as the sky lit up red with lightning flashes. “No sign of an evil moving planet, it seems,” she trails off, Lucas agreeing as he looks away from his binoculars. Jonathan nods as his gaze stays up above. “That’s good,” he answers. “It’s gonna take time.”

He begins walking over to one side of the ladder, Y/N not hesitating to walk towards the other. “Alright, we should split up,” Jonathan announces to the group, pointing to his ladder and the one Y/N had already gotten a jumpstart on climbing upwards. “Don’t rush it. Pace yourselves. There’s platforms along the way, use them to rest.”

Y/N looking back at the group as she ushers for some of them to follow behind her. “But also, be a bit more on the quicker side. The fate of the world is literally in our hands as we speak,” she calls back before returning to the long climb. 

Steve didn’t hesitate to be the first one behind her, a few of the kids following suit as the others joined Jonathan on the other side. 

The climb was long, Y/N’s arms were aching as she continued to climb up, breath heaving lightly as she pushed herself and kept a pace she could do. She was adamant on not taking a break to get up there, wanting to be there when the others were arriving to help them up. 

“You sure you’re able to go full there, sweetheart?” Steve calls from her not too far below. She chuckles. 

“This is nothing for me. I like a little burn,” she shot back, not seeing the way his smirk widens at her words. He kept a reasonable pace behind her, keeping an eye on her in case she did end up needing to breathe for a moment or two. She never let up, and it was one thing he loved about her the most. 

With that, it wasn’t long before Y/N had reached the final steps to the top, slowly pushing herself up onto the platform breathless. Jonathan was already up on top by the time she got there, Y/N taking the time to look around. “So this is what the wormhole looks like? I never would’ve guessed,” she says more to herself, not missing the way Dustin  nods. 

“It’s pretty damn spectacular,” he says.

Lucas looks at them both. “It’s almost too bad we have to blow it all up.”

A few moments later they all hear crackling and booming coming from above, their gazes all looking up to see a few ridges making their way down through the cloud. “Mother of,” Dustin trails off as his mouth drops. 

Y/N’s mouth drops slowly as she watches it drop at a concerningly quicker pace than expected. 

Steve wraps a hand around her own, making her look up at him as he looks up at the falling planet above them in awe. “This is going to be a fucking miracle if we get out of this alive,” he mumbles, Y/N shaking her head. 

“We will. Don’t start that now,” she says. “I’ll make sure of it.”

They both look back up towards the start of the underground part of the planet, Y/N’s eye squinting as she catches something off. She walks forward, causing a few of them to look at her with concern. “What do you see?” Lucas asked. She halts in her spot, eyes widening. 

“The crevice,” she says. “We’re not lined up with it,” she explains, whipping back to look at the group. Their eyes begin to widen at her words.

“What? What do you mean?” Joyce steps in, Y/N about to explain but then Lucas cuts in as he walks next to where she stood, his eyes on the same spot. “It’s not lining up with the rift!”

“If the abyss hits the needle then-”

“This entire tower is going down,” Mike and Will add on, making everyone freak out as they try to figure out what to do. Y/N keeps her eyes on the issue above, Steve not staying away from her too far in case something goes wrong. 

Dustin grabs the walkie. “Hey Chief, we’re gonna need El to stop this planet? On the sooner side please!” he yells through it as his eyes watch it coming down in horror. 

“How soon?”

Y/N whips her head back to Dustin. “Thirty seconds maximum, or we’re dying on this thing!” she yells back. She takes a deep breath, and gathers the group’s attention. “Everyone get to a side and hang on to the rail! When this hits, the entire platform is going to go off track! She explains, pushing everyone to hold on somewhere. Dustin keeps yelling and talking to the Chief about how low they’re running on time, everyone going to grab somewhere and hold tight. Y/N is making sure everyone is holding on before going to find a spot herself, but is pulled by her waist onto one side. Steve looks down at her as she snaps her head towards him, watching as he helps her grab on tight. 

They both look at each other and nod, Y/N looking back up at the planet as she huffs deep breaths in to brace for impact. 

“Shit!” Dustin screamed. The top of the radio tower made contact with the world above them, causing the entire balcony to shake and rattle. Everyone gripped onto the bars tightly, screaming as it came crushing closer. Y/N’s eyes widened in horror as they couldn’t do much to stop it. She looked around to make sure all of the kids were hanging on, heart dropping to her stomach when she saw that Mike was slipping closer to the edge, where the rail had been broken off. 

“Mike, no!” she yells out, pushing herself hard enough to grab onto Mike and pull him back towards where she was once hanging on. He gripped on tight, looking at Y/N with a grateful look in his eyes. 

The world got closer, causing the tower to tilt sideways and Y/N’s eyes looked down to see it tilting forward towards where the broken balcony opening was. Before she could grab onto a side, the entire tower jolted forwards. Her eyes looked up in front of her where Steve stood, gripping the railing. His eyes widened. “Y/N!” He screamed out, but it was too late. The tower jolted forward again, Y/N losing her stance and slipping down. She rolled towards the edge, falling right over it. “NO!” Steve’s voice yells out, Y/N screams as she goes to grab for any sort of grapple to prevent her from falling. 

Her fingers gripped tightly onto the edge of the balcony tower at the last second, her wrist cracking at the sudden halt. It was sure to be broken. She let out a yelp as she tried to hold as tightly as she could, the white-hot bearing pain shooting up and down her arm.

Y/N didn’t want to die. Not like this. Not like she thought she should. Her life began flashing through her eyes, everything coming back to her as her fingers began to slip. 

Steve, Robin and Max all screamed down to her figure as they inched towards the edge to try and grab her. Tears falling from Y/N’s eyes. She couldn’t hold on, and she knew there was now saving her this time. Her eyes looked at them before falling back to Steve. “I’m sorry,” she cried loudly, Steve shaking his head as they all reached to try and grab her somehow. The tower shook harshly, so they didn’t get far. “I love you Steve,” she says before her hand slipped from the grasp she had, his voice cracking out the loudest scream and cry anyone’s heard leave his lips. 

Y/N closed her eyes as she began to accept her fate, but was stopped short when a firm grip grabbed onto her wrist at the last second. 

The broken bone now felt as painful as ever, as her eyes widened to look up at what caught her. 

“I’ve got you! Just hold on!” Jonathan screams down to her, groaning and trying his best to pull her up. Nancy’s hand came down to try and have Y/N grab the other side, Y/N’s tears falling freely as she grabbed it and let them pull her up. Once her body was fully pulled over the edge, they all engulfed her into a giant hug. 

“It’s okay,” she assured the crying children around her, shushing and holding them all tight. “I’m here. I’m alright.”

Her eyes looked up through her blurred vision, seeing Steve sitting back behind them all, completely lost in his own thoughts. He was in shock, breathing heavily. His eyes just stared at her, unsure if she was really in front of him. He sat there frozen, too scared to move in case she disappeared. 

When everyone pulled away from her, she walked up slowly to him, before kneeling down slowly. His eyes never left her, but he was too scared to move. 

“Steve,” she muttered out, voice cracking. He didn’t move, didn’t react. Y/N took that as a sign to bring her non-broken hand up to his face. He immediately melted into it as soon as her skin came into contact with his own. It was then that he let himself break down, sobs coming uncontrollably. 

“Steve,” she cried out, and he said nothing. Just moved his head to lean their foreheads together as he sobbed against her. Y/N caressed his cheek. “I’m here. I’m alright.”

He shook his head, looking at her through his tears. “You never fucking do that shit again, you hear me? You stay fucking put!” he cries to her, and she nods. “You aren’t supposed to die. Not you, please.”

Her eyes look back into his eyes with shock, but she nods. “Okay,” she says. “I’m here. You’ve got me. Okay?”

Steve helps her stand up after that, Y/N wiping away his tears with a sad smile on her lips. He doesn’t take his eyes off of her. Their moment is only cut short, when Dustin says that they need to push through the barrier. 

Y/N is the first one through, trying to push all of her weight onto the better wrist while her broken one pains to even try to move. 

Once everyone is on the other side, they all walk towards the edge that overlooks the entire new world they’ve just stepped into. Eyes wide with shock as they look at the place that stood on the other side of the wormhole. 

Nancy leads the group across the canyon to start their trek towards Vecna, wanting to catch him by surprise as Plan B begins to brew.

Not before Y/N could walk any further, her hip was grabbed from behind to twist her back into someone’s arms, lips being placed onto her own in a passionate manner. The scent and touch felt all too familiar, making her soften as she kissed Steve back. She placed her hands onto his cheeks, feeling the way his tears fell from his face onto hers. 

He broke the kiss far too soon for either of their liking, but let their lips brush against one another. “I love you, Y/N,” he says right away, making her open her eyes to see he’s staring at her already. “I was going to wait until this was over. But after almost watching you-”

He bit his lip, and then spoke once more. “I’m done waiting.”

Y//N looks between his eyes. After hearing those words leave his mouth, it made it harder for Y/N to see herself leaving this behind. Leaving him behind. She couldn’t do it. Not if this was what was waiting for her by the end of this whole thing. Y/N looked at him, smiling softly and nodding. “I love you too, Harrington,” she says back. “I always have.”

Steve looks at her with an adoring smile. “Please, no more putting yourself on the frontline, okay?” 

She chuckles dryly before nodding, and looking down at the ground. “You got it. No more heart attacks for you. Noted.”

“Now let’s go kill this son of a bitch, so I can finally take you on a real date.”

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

“You sure you’ve got it? It looks like you’re struggling,” she chuckles quietly, watching Steve mess with the camera. He gives her a look before shaking his head. 

“I know what I’m doing.”

“Can’t even begin to mention how many times I've heard that line,” Robin snorts from the other side of Steve. Y/N snorts with her, earning a pinch to her thigh by Steve. She let out a quiet yelp, and stilled as she saw a couple look over at her. She narrowed her eyes at Steve, who smiles in success at fixing his camera before turning to face her and give her a chaste kiss. 

“Don’t give me attitude next time,” he jokes against her lips before they turned back to watch the rest of the kids get their diplomas, especially after witnessing Dustin’s iconic Eddie Munson exit on the stage.

“Rude,” she scoffs playfully, making him laugh quietly as he placed a hand on her thigh and squeezed. She placed her hands over his own, the shiny rock sitting on her finger shining from the sunlight.

They all made their ways to congratulate the kids afterwards, taking pictures and hugging them all tight before they began their departures. The older set of the crew were supposed to meet at the rooftop of the radio station soon to catch up and reminisce for a bit, which was also when Y/N would make her happy announcement. She had managed to keep it quiet from everyone, even Steve, who always noticed if something was off with her. She couldn’t wait to give them the news.

It wasn't long until she found herself between Nancy and Robin on a lawn chair, sitting on the WSQK rooftop as the sun set behind them.

Nancy went to grab more drinks from the cooler, turning to point at Y/N with a knowing smile. “Y/N the usual?” Nancy asks her as she opens the cooler, Y/N pursing her lips to hide a smile. 

“Actually, I can’t drink it,” she says slowly, making the whole crew look over at her and she feels Steve’s caressing thumb freeze on her leg at her words. Nancy’s eyes widen, and then she smiles widely. Robin cheers out and squeals, while Jonathan claps. She looks over at Steve who is looking at her in complete shock. 

“Are- you’re serious? Are you-?” he trails off, and she nods happily while biting her lip. “You’re not messing with me are you?”

She shook her head, standing up and pulling her flowy blouse above her slightly bulging stomach. Steve’s eyes widen as he immediately lets his hands go to cover her bump, their friends cheering and swooning at the baby bump forming. Steve looks back up at her, then stands up and wraps his arms around her waist. He lifts her off the ground just a bit, chuckling as tears fall from his eyes. “I’m getting my little family?” he asks her softly, making her nod while wiping away his tears. 

“Yes, you’re getting your little family.”

He puts her down and lets out a loud hoot before running a hand through his hair. He grabs her face in his hands, smiling widely. "Our little family."

Y/N laughs while nodding, wrapping her hands around his wrists.

She didn’t really understand how she got to where she was. How she wound up in this position. Truth be told, she somewhat did, cons of asking Steve for a ride to the party. 

She would’ve expected him to wander off with Nancy, and do his own thing as usual while she would go join some of her friends for beer pong. She’d expect him to tell her when he and Nance were ready to head out, as she always made sure they got Y/N home okay. Y/N would also expect for him to let her know if he got her a backup ride in case they left before she wanted to. 

What she didn’t expect was to watch him storm away, eyes glossed with tears as pure anger set throughout his entire face, pushing past the people in the crowd. Her gaze dropped and frowning as she gulped another sip of her beer. “Steve?” Y/N called out towards his direction. 

She followed when he didn’t even so much as acknowledge her, setting her cup somewhere on some random table, the music going to a soft hum as she stepped outside. “Steve, where are you going? What happened?” she calls out, watching him unlock his car. He still said nothing as he clenched his jaw. 

“Steve?” she says once more, rushing down the yard as he started up his engine. “Steve!” her voice rises as he begins to drive off without her. Y/N lets out a few curse words as she flips off his car while it sped down the street. 

She tried searching for Nancy when she got back inside, only to find her being carried out by Jonathan, explaining she was drunk off of her ass. She nods, thanking him while letting out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. When Jonathan offered her a ride, she politely declined, saying she would ask one of her friends to bring her back. Explaining that he should worry about getting Nancy home safely. 

Which now led her to where she stood on the porch, drink in hand as she let out a frustrated huff. Her friends had all been long gone by the time she tracked down one of their boyfriends, stating how they were all planning to stay put for the night. She usually would’ve stuck with that idea, but she had to be home to bring Dustin to Mike’s the next morning.

“The party’s inside, sweetheart,” a voice chuckles behind her, making her roll her eyes. 

She didn’t have to turn around to know who the voice belonged to. “Too overstimulating, and I’m trying to sober up enough to walk home.”

Billy Hargrove takes a seat next to her, cigarette in hand as he blows out a puff of smoke. “Thought King Steve was your chauffeur,” he snorted. “At least I see you following him like a lost puppy. How does Nancy not hate that?”

Y/N scoffs. “I do not follow him around like that. We’re best friends, and on top of that, they both want me to stay close by in case we need to leave. So don’t act all snarky, Hargrove.”

Billy lets out a loud laugh, taking in another drag. “I’m just saying,” he starts. “You’re a little obvious for how in love you are with Harrington. Maybe back off a bit, or better yet, leave the guy be.”

Y/N’s gaze snaps toward him, glaring hard. “What the fuck are you on, Hargrove?” she snaps, watching his eyebrows raise as his smirk widens. 

“Struck a nerve, have I?” 

“You’re being ridiculous.”

He purses his lips while shaking his head. “Not a bit,” he takes another drag. “But he’s gotta watch his own actions before Nancy realizes he loves you too.”

Y/N’s eyes widened at his words. 

“What are you talking about?” she snips, and he shrugs as he stands up, blowing out the last of his cigarette. 

He turns back to her, holding out his hands for her to take. “I’m gonna head home, I’ll drop you on the way.”

“I’d rather take another gulp of whatever is in Tommy’s mystery punch bowl than ride anywhere with you,” she scoffs, Billy rolling his eyes as he lets out a huff. 

“It’s the least I can do for being an ass-”

“You’re always an ass-”

“Are you always this much of a fucking headache, Henderson?” 

Y/N just stares up at him in shock at his tone, watching as he stands in front of her with his hands on his hips. She then sighs, crossing her arms. “You’ve been drinking, Billy.”

He purses his lips once more with a smirk, shaking his head lightly. “I can take more than you think, honey. I am sober enough to drive with my eyes closed if I wanted to.”

She eyes him once more before taking his hands he then offers her once more, Billy helping her stand upright as he leads her to his car. He even opened up the passenger side for her, closing it once she was inside. 

The engine revved to life, Billy giving her a smug expression before he sped off into the night. 

It was quiet for the first few moments, Y/N’s gaze looking out the window with her hands picking at one another in her lap. 

“So what is it about King Steve that makes you so obsessed with him? Let alone every girl I’ve met at that shit school of yours?” he starts up, making her groan and shake her head. “He seems like he’s so up his own ass, you can see his head coming up his throat.”

“Oh fuck off, you’re just as cocky. I don’t even know what you’re talking about, just let it go.”

He tuts. “Nope, I’m driving you home so I deserve to know what it is. You owe me that.”

“I’d rather jump out of the moving car-”

“Don’t you dare.”

“Well you’re wrong.”

Billy grabs her jaw to make her look at him as they rolled up to a stoplight. “Am I? Because it seems like you can’t see how you stare at him like he hung the moon.”

His tone is a bit more serious, nothing playful whatsoever as he looks at her, her eyes deflating as she sighs. She takes his hand off of her when the light turns green, rubbing her face in exhaustion. “There’s a lot to it,” she admits. “But he’s just always been there. Even in the worst circumstances, I’ve never had to question if he would be there for me. Even for my brother, he’s there at the drop of a dime.”

“Seems like tonight was the opposite.”

She rolled her eyes before sending him a scowl. “Something happened, so he probably needed to be alone. I get that way too when things happen. I’m gonna give him his space if so,” she explains, Billy snickering at her words. 

“Wow you really are down bad, sweetheart,” he jokes. “Here I thought I’d be able to woo you somehow.”

“Not like I’d give you the time of day, Hargrove. That dick of yours has been in every girl known at Hawkins high school,” she shot back with a chuckle, watching as his jaw dropped lightly at her words. He puts a hand to his chest as he acts hurt playfully. 

“Well played, Henderson. I’ll give you that,” he laughs, making her smile at him in amusement. “I like you, you’ve got some spunk to you.”

“You think I do, you should hear half the things my brother says.”

“Ah yes, the famous Dustin Henderson. I know all about that kid and his little shits of a friendgroup.”

She narrows her eyes and smacks his arm, making him hiss. “They’re good kids. Don’t you dare start.”

“They cause my sister to get into trouble, which causes me to get into trouble with our parents.”

“Well from now on if she goes off, you can tell your parents she’s with Dustin at my house. Have them call me and I’ll happily help you out. That way you don’t have to cancel any hookups of yours,” she jokes. “Fair trade?”

He rolls his eyes. “Noted.”

He pulled into her driveway, Y/N opening the door to step out, only for him to say her name softly. She bends down to look at him in the low car. 

“Don’t wait around for a guy that’ll make you his second choice.”

She bit her lip. “He’s not like that.”

Billy gives her a look. “If you need help with igniting the fire, give me a ring.”

She laughs before closing his car door, waving goodbye as she begins to walk back to her doorstep. 

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It was the next morning, and Y/N had been stressing at the fact that she knew Steve was coming to pick her up this morning. She didn’t really want to deal with the awkward tension right away in that car, especially if things went down between him and Nancy. 

She hesitated picking up the phone in the kitchen, dialing the number written down on a piece of gum wrapper from the night before. Her fingers slowly dialed the numbers into the keypad, biting her bottom lip as she held the phoneline to her ear. It didn’t ring for long, someone picking up the landline after a couple rings. “Hargrove residence, who’s calling?” a smaller voice, that didn’t take long for Y/N to know it was Max. She smiles softly to herself. 

“Hey Max, it’s Y/N. I know this is going to sound weird, but is Billy there? He gave me a ride home last night, and I had to ask him something.”

She hears Max chuckle on the other line. “What in the world did you get yourself into last night?” she jokes, making Y/N run a hand over her face. “I swear it’s not what it sounds like. Steve ditched me, and Billy was nice to just give me a ride home.”

“If you say so,” Max snickered. “Just be careful, okay? I don’t want to lose you because my brother is an asshole.”

“It’s not like that, but I’ve got it.”

There’s some rummaging on the other side for a few moments, before it was just quiet for a small second. Bily’s voice booming through the phone softly. “Well if it isn't a little miss lovergirl. You change your mind?”

“Very funny,” she chuckles dryly, twisting the phoneline between her fingertips. “I really don’t want to be stuck in that awkward tension with him this morning. Are you able to pick me up?”

It’s quiet for a few seconds, Y/N shaking her head to herself before rubbing her forehead. “It’s fine if not,” she says quickly. “I will just walk if anything. I just cannot deal with all of that first thing in the morning.” 

Billy hums for a second, leaning against the doorway with a smug look on his face. “Now what kind of gentleman would I be to let a girl walk to school, hm? Especially if it’s the one that’s going to cause Harrington a hard time?” he jokes back, making her roll her eyes. 

“I’ll just walk at this point-”

“Okay, alright fine. Sorry. Yes I’ll be there in a few. Hang tight.”

With that the line clicks, and Y/N let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She finishes up her morning routine and eats breakfast with Dustin across from one another. 

As she is finishing up putting her dish in the sink, a car honks outside and it makes her freeze. Dustin eyes her with a confused look. “That’s not Steve’s car,” he says matter of factly. Y/N shuts her eyes for a second before huffing. 

“Don’t worry about it.”

Dustin smirks. “Oh I’m not worried,” he says slyly. “But Steve might.”

She shrugs. “Not my problem,” she mumbles before grabbing her bag, and going to give him a small hug. “Stay out of trouble today, please? Or at least wait till I’m home to go back into the woods.”

Dustin rolls his eyes, and nods. “No promises.”

With that she walks out the door, and looks up to see Billy’s car pulled up. Max is in the passenger seat, her smile widening at the sight of Y/N. Billy pushes Max’s arm, making her snap her head back at him with a glare. He nods to the backseat, making her huff and slide to the back. 

Y/N smiles down at Max as she opens the car door to get inside. “Well good morning Maxine,” she chuckles. 

Max smiles as Y/N hops into the passenger seat in front of her, squeezing her shoulders once she is inside. Once the door is shut, Billy sped off without warning, making both girls hold onto some part of the car while he laughs. 

“Thank you,” Y/N says after a bit of driving. “For last night, and this morning. I mean.”

Billy shrugs. “Anything to make Harrington shake in his boots, I’m for it.”

She narrows her eyes while crossing her arms. “Is that all you’re keen on doing? To take some stupid title in the school that’s his?” she shoots, shaking her head. “If that’s your goal, you really have a low satisfaction line. Which is kind of sad.”

“That’s how he is,” Max sighs, making Billy glare at her through the rearview. 

“Shut up, Max.”

“You’re not going to be an ass to her, not while I’m around. Especially if she’s right,” Y/N cuts in, making Billy roll his eyes. 

“You sure have some spunk to you, don’t you princess?”

She grimaces at the nickname, smacking his arm. “Never that. Disgusting.”

“Okay fine,” he huffs. “No, I’m not just doing it to get on Harrington’s nerves. It is fun, yes, but I’m also doing it because I didn’t think you deserved to be ditched like that. I may be an asshole and go through girls like I do, but I’m not past letting a girl get left like that.”

Y/N raised her brows in shock at his words, but nodded slowly. “I don’t know how that really cancels out with how you treat women, but I guess that’s nice? Of you?” she trails off, not missing the way Max holds in a snort. Y/N trying to hide a smirk herself, and Billy eyes her. 

“I’m half tempted to make you walk the rest of the way.”

“Do it, then. I said I was fine walking.”

Billy huffs out a laugh, turning down the street as the school comes to view slowly. “You really are a little shit like your brother.”

“If that’s what you think, then sure,” she shot back, not missing the way he coughs over a snort leaving his lips. 

Y/N had a few side conversations with Billy after that throughout the schoolday, only when they walked past one another in the school’s hallways. Or if they were in the same class, he would come sit next to her instead, and just talk to her. Nothing more than platonic, Billy enjoying having a girl that didn’t want him just to say she had him, but because she actually wanted to be his friend. 

The bell rang, signalling that second period was over. Y/N grabbing her books as she headed to her locker. She put away her history books and grabbed her things for physics, shutting her locker and jumped at the sight of Steve coming to view behind it. She held a hand up to her chest, letting out a breath. “Fuck, Steve,” she sighs. “You can’t just show up like that unannounced.”

Steve is looking at her with a hardened face, but his eyes are soft as he crosses his arms. “I showed up to your place this morning, Dustin said you were already gone. I was almost late to school. Where were you?” he asked her, making her eyes flick away from his. She tightened her grip on her books. 

“I’m gonna be late for physics,” she mutters before trying to breeze past him. Steve grabs her arm and turns her back to him. Y/N’s eyebrows furrow, looking at where his hand was and then back up into his eyes. “Steve I have a test this period, I can’t be late-”

“Where were you this morning?”

Y/N sighs. “You now care? It seemed quite the opposite last night,” she shot, making his face drop. 

“I was upset about the fight that happened between Nance and I. I just needed to get out of there,” he sighs, his voice getting quieter after each word he spoke. Y/N looked between his eyes. “I also just thought you’d be able to get a ride home from Tina or Rachel. So I didn’t really think about it after that.”

“Well then there you go. One of them picked me up this morning. End of story.”

Steve looks straight through her and frowns. “They’re not here today. Too hungover,” he shot back, Y/N snatching her arm away from his grip. 

“Well either way I got home, okay? Just leave it alone.”

“Y/N-”

“I’ve gotta go Steve.”

She turns to walk away, only stuttering in her steps slightly when she sees Billy walking by. Based on the look on his face, he had seen the interaction and gave her a questioning look as if asking if she was okay. She nods curtly before breezing past him, taking a sharp turn down the hallway towards the labs.

Billy’s face turns back to Steve, he doesn’t miss the way Steve’s expression hardens at the small interaction he had with his best friend. Billy gave him a snide smirk before walking off, patting his chest when he passed. He was going to get under Steve’s skin if it was the last thing he did. 

After Billy found out through Tommy and Carol that Steve and Nancy had gotten into a fight, pretty much breaking up at the party, he was going to get Steve to crack. He was going to make sure he pissed Steve off in every way possible, to the point he finally realized how much he wanted Y/N too. 

At least, if Y/N wasn’t going to do it, Billy was going to do it. In the most menace way possible. 

Especially when lunchtime came, he noticed Y/N was sitting at the familiar table that their entire group sat at, his eyes seeing Steve was still getting his food at the lunch line. Billy made his way over, sitting right next to her, leaning his elbow on the table causing her to jump at his sudden figure next to her. 

She smacked his chest. “You cannot sneak up on a girl like that, Hargrove!” she hissed, wiping her mouth with a napkin. He smiles widely at her. 

“When’s your free period?” he asked her, and she hummed while thinking and taking a bite of her food. 

“Fifth, why?”

He leans toward her. “You should come sit in the gym for a bit. Watch me humble your little boyfriend for a change.”

She eyes him. “This again?” 

He chuckles with a shrug. “I just want to push his buttons a little. I think you’d enjoy that after he ditched you after the Halloween party.”

“I already told you, he and Nance had a nasty fight. He apologized after that.”

Billy hums with a smug grin. “I think it still would be fun to watch, no? Come on,” he trails off, making her grimace. 

“Fine. But only because I couldn’t reserve the study hall in the library.”

“Good,” he says before standing up, his eyes immediately meeting Steve’s, who was glaring straight through him as he watched the boy slowly stand from the spot next to her. 

“Harrington,” Billy scoffs smugly. Steve’s eyes furrowed. “Wrong table, Hargrove.”

“It’s not if Henderson’s at it.”

Steve sets his tray down next to Y/N, the spot where Billy once sat, before standing over Billy 

“Back. Off,” he says. “She’s not the next girl on your list, so move to the next will you?”

Y/N frowns, putting a hand on Steve's arm. “Steve, leave it be,” she says, only for him to still look at Billy. Billy’s smirk just widens as he eyes Steve up and down. He looks at Y/N, eyebrows raising. 

She gives him a look as if telling him to knock it off as well, watching his eyes roll while he chuckles. He puts his hands up in defense, before pointing at her for a minute. “I’ll see you during fifth,” he chuckles. With that, he walks off, Steve huffing before slumping into the seat next to hers. She looks at him with an amused look, watching as he looks at her and rolls his eyes. 

“Don’t start,” he says with a sigh, she snorts. 

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“He’s harmless. Just being nice, that’s all.”

Steve looks at her with a look. “He’s being nice out of the blue? Yeah, he wants you, honey. You’re one of the girls on that long list of his.”

“Okay, don’t be an ass,” she groans, rubbing her hand over her face. “I’m still pissed at you, so you have no right.”

He shook his head. “I’m not trying to be, I swear. I just,” he sighs. “I don’t want you to get hurt. You deserve someone better than that jackass.”

Y/N’s eyes still at his words. “Steve, I’m not interested in him. He’s really just being friendly, that’s all. Nothing more, I made sure to vocalize that.”

He eyes her before letting it go, nodding before taking a bite of his food. “How did you even cross paths?” he asks her, making her shrug. She hadn’t told him that Billy was the one who drove her home that night, knowing he was already having a hard time with what happened that night with Nance. The last thing she needed was for him to flip out on hearing she was seen leaving with Hargrove that night. 

“Just one of the classes we have together. We were partners for something in Physics, so now we’re just friendly.”

He snorts. “I’ve never known that guy to be nice to a woman unless he wanted something else.”

“Steve.”

He eyes her, before huffing. “Okay fine, I’m sorry. I know I don't have the right to worry, but I do,” he says. “I’m also sorry. About last night. You didn’t do anything, and you would’ve just been there to let me rant about what happened.”

Y/N nods, her chest tightening at his words. “I get that you needed time, but you could’ve just said that as you were leaving. You left without a word as if I did something,” she explains. “I mean it’s not that big of a deal to me anymore, because I’ve literally been in those woods at night after being chased by those creature things, but it hurts because of how you left.”

Steve’s gaze softens as he stares into her eyes. “I didn’t think. I’m sorry. I promise I’ll make it up to you, okay?”  

“You don’t need to make up for it. Just don’t shut me out,” she says, and he nods. 

“So about Hargrove-”

“Steven.”

“Right, dropping it. Sorry.”

Fifth period came a lot quicker than she thought, not taking much time to grab her things to bring to the gymnasium. She saw that the guys were all already there, warming up for their game of Basketball, while she walked up to the bleachers to take a seat. She unpacks some of her homework, knowing it was better to get it done now rather than wait. 

She nearly had to roll her eyes when she saw the giant smile on Billy’s face, seeing he wasn’t wearing his shirt, panting as they positioned themselves for the next ball drop. Steve’s eyes followed Billy’s, gaze hardening as he saw Y/N sitting in the stands, her face lightly red as she rolled her eyes at Billy. He turned back to eye Billy. 

“You can’t just leave her be, can you, Hargrove?” he scoffs, panting as sweat rolls down his neck. 

Billy shrugs, playing into it. “It’s fun when you want something you can’t have.”

Steve’s insides burn at his comment, zoning in as the game starts off not too long after. 

Each time Y/N pulled her eyes up to watch the boys, she noticed how Steve and Billy were always on each other. She watches as Steve runs up on Billy, ball in hand as Billy guards up against him. 

She can see that they’re exchanging words, but not for long because Billy then snatches the ball from him, going down the court to score. Billy stuck his tongue out smugly, panting and sweating as he eyed Steve in amusement, before going to wink at Y/N. Before Steve can say another word, he hears his name, causing him to turn and see Nancy. 

Y/N’s heart clenches just slightly, not missing how easy Steve followed after her, Y/N’s eyes following the pair. Billy’s eyes leave the pair that exit the gym, his eyes softening as he sees Y/N’s longing stare at where the couple once stood. He felt his anger burn for her, knowing she was so into Steve that it hurt her. No matter how much she denied it. 

He continued to play, anger radiating off of him as he creamed their team without Steve. One of his teammates had to exit the gym to go grab Steve as they got dominated by Billy.

When Steve came back in, he looked more pissed off than he did before, putting everything into his game that he could. Y/N knew something bad must’ve happened, based on how hard he was pushing up against his opponents. He was panting so hard she was convinced he would pass out.

The whistle blew soon after the excruciating game, Y/N having to prevent herself from wincing at the scoreboard. 

She began to pack up her stuff, zipping up her bag as she made her way down the bleachers. Her eyes caught Steve’s, frowning at his expression. He looked like he was trying to zone out, wiping a towel across his face as he breathed heavily. “Steve?” she called, walking over to him. 

“What happened? You okay?” she asks, walking with him as he goes to grab his water bottle. He hums while squirting water into his mouth. 

“I saw Nance walk in-”

“Please don’t. Not right now,” he says, walking off towards the locker rooms. She turns to him with her eyebrows furrowed. “Do you want to go for a drive after school to talk about it?” she asks, and he shakes his head turning to look at her. 

“You’re going to have to find another ride home. I’ve gotta stay here for tutoring tonight.”

“Again? You’re shutting me out? We just talked about this,” she says, and Steve looks down at her as his figure towers over her. He kissed her forehead softly. With that, he heads into the locker room, making her chest tighten just slightly. Billy’s hand comes up to her arm, squeezing softly. 

“You okay?” he asks, and she nods. 

“I just hate how he does this. He shuts me out when things go wrong.”

He takes another gulp of his water. “You want a ride home?” 

She shook her head. “No, I’ll just walk. I’ve got to wait for Dustin anyways.”

He hesitates slightly, before nodding. She nods at him. “Besides I know how much you’ve been looking forward to this study date with Heather tonight. Just go, I’ll be fine,” she assures, making him purse his lips before squeezing her arm one last time and heading to the men' s locker rooms.

The walk home was nice for her, as she and Dustin talked about everything he figured out for what’s going on with Dart, his new animal friend he found in their trashcan. Saying how he’s going to take him to the school tomorrow to see if anyone can figure out what he is. 

Once they had gotten home, Y/N had immediately set to the bathroom to take a shower, rinse off the last few days as she let her thoughts run. 

She sighed as she dries off and throws on her pajamas, hanging up her towel. She hears a knock on the door, she opens it slightly. Dustin looks at her sheepishly. 

“Mom’s going to sleep early tonight, and I need to get to Max’s. Can you drive me?” he asks her, she groans. 

“Did she say I could take her car?” she asks, and he nods. “Yeah, just- give me a second.”

“If anything you can stop at Steve’s on the way back. I heard Mike say that he and Nance broke up. He’s taking it pretty hard.”

She froze slightly, but rolled her eyes while throwing on her sweats instead of her shorts. “You guys need to stay out of their business.”

He snickers. “You know about it all too, so you’re just as nosey.”

She shook her head as she grabbed the keys from his hand. “I actually didn't. Steve has shut me out since it happened,” she admits, walking out to the car. “That’s why I’ve been getting rides from someone else.”

“You mean Billy?” Dustin shot, making Y/N halt in her tracks. Her head snaps back at him, she lets her eyes shut with a groan. 

“Max,” she says more to herself, Dustin nodding as he packs up his bag. 

“You need to be careful with that douchebag. He’s not good company to keep,” he explains. “At least that’s what Max says. Has a new girl with him every second of the day.”

Y/N squints at him. “I don’t want Billy. Just because he’s nice to me, doesn’t mean he has my attention,” she explains. “Besides. I’m already stuck on someone else. I couldn’t get over them if I tried.”

“Steve wants you too, you know.”

She rolled her eyes. “Not this again-”

Dustin frowns as he opens his car door. “You’re his best friend, how has he not said anything?”

She shrugs. “He needs his space if it’s as bad as I think it is.”

“Or maybe he’s finally coming to the realization he’s in love with you.”

“Dustin!” 

“What? It’s true!”

She rolls her eyes. “At least that’s what Nancy thinks. Said something about how he can’t fully commit. She thinks it’s because he’s obsessed with you.”

She palms her face. “Okay enough, stop eavesdropping on Nancy’s phone calls. I’ll tell her you’ve been listening next time.”

His eyes widened, only nodding before changing the subject about something Mr.Clark was teaching currently. Only, Y/N’s mind couldn’t focus as she thought about if that was really true. Her thoughts threw a million questions around her mind as her brother rambled. 

Once she pulled into the driveway, she put the car in park and told Dustin to call her if he needed her to come get him. Knowing full well he would get back in one piece after everything that happened before El disappeared. 

She pulled out of the driveway, beginning her trek home, her mind going to wander back to Steve. More so back to what her brother was saying earlier. He had to be wrong. Had to have heard the conversation wrong, right? Because she knew how in love he was with Nancy. He only told her more than one hundred times. Each time aching more than the last. 

Y/N was sure he heard it wrong, not bothering to think much more about it as she drove back home quietly. 

Once she got home, she could hear her mom’s wave machine going, meaning she was passed out. She set the keys on the table before trudging to her room, closing the door behind her. 

She walked up to her phone, taking in a deep breath before raising the handle up to her face and dialing in Steve’s number. She wanted to check in, see if he was okay despite him shutting her out. 

The line began to ring as she played with the cord, biting her lip as she waited. It seemed as though it rang forever, making her sigh. She knew he was home by now, but he was choosing to not answer. It went to the answering machine shortly after. 

“Steve,” she says softly. “I know you’re hurting, and that you’re shutting down. But don’t shut me out, I want to help you. Whatever happened, I’m here to listen,” she says firmly. “But if you really want space, I'll give you your space. I just hope you’re okay.”

With that, she hung up the phone, and went to sit in her bed. 

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The next day wasn’t much better, as he was now avoiding her almost completely. Instead of prying, she chose to let it be, knowing he needed the space. She ended up walking to school that morning, only to get an earful from Billy, saying he would’ve happily stopped by to grab her again. She didn’t argue, as she was too exhausted to do so. 

When lunchtime came, she saw him sitting at their table, making her eyes light up slightly. She began to walk over to him, going to sit in her normal spot. When she set her tray down, he immediately grabbed his own and began to walk away from her. She frowned at his behavior, her eyes burning slightly as tears lightly formed. She blinked them away. 

Y/N didn’t notice how Billy had watched the encounter, how he had noticed them all morning. He walked over to sit with her, telling her to come sit in the gym once more during fifth period, in which she nodded. 

She asked him how it went with Heather the night before, letting him ramble about it to distract her from the ache in her chest. 

When fifth period came, the boys were playing much harder than they had the day before, Y/N was writing down her notes as she heard yelling. She looked up, watching Billy yell out King Steve as he dribbled the ball. She watched the banter. “I like it. Acting tough today,” he plays. 

Steve rolls his eyes, guarding Billy. “Jeez, do you ever stop talking man? Come on,” he ushers back in a snippy tone. Billy just laughs as he dribbles the ball. “Why? You afraid coach is going to bench you now that I’m here, huh?” he pushes, watching the fire in Steve’s eyes ignite. With that, he pushes forward and checks Steve with ease, causing Steve to land on the ground with a loud thump and screech on the gym floor. She stood up like a reflex, shock written all over her face. She doesn’t miss the way he goes back over to Steve, lending down a hand. 

Steve glares at Billy, but takes his hand. “Or are you more afraid I’m going to take the one girl you’re too afraid to admit you couldn’t commit to Wheeler for?” he taunts, watching as Steve’s eyes harden. “You’re moving your feet. Plant them next time. Draw a charge,” he growls, before slamming Steve back into the ground and walking away to cheer with his teammates. 

He slowly straightens up, his eyes going over to the bleachers where he spots Y/N. She’s looking at him with both confusion and concern in her eyes, he doesn’t say anything, only looks away and gets back up to join his own team. 

Y/N’s heart aches as he goes back to acting like she’s just another person in the gym, slowly going to sit back down. 

Steve goes to guard Billy again, his eyes so harsh, they could’ve put Billy six feet under if looks could kill. “You’re not going to touch her. You’re gonna stay away from her,” he snaps, watching as Billy gets the ball passed to him. 

Billy laughs at his words, expression smug. “Careful. You almost sound territorial,” he snickers. “Besides, if I wanted her. I’d have her already. But she’s too stuck on the only guy who takes her for granted.”

Steve charges after him at that, playing as hard as he can the rest of the class period. 

When the whistle blows, Y/N is quick to grab her things and leave. Not wanting to stick around after what she witnessed, and knowing she also needed to get ready to take her test after school ended. 

The boys headed to the locker rooms to shower, Steve letting the water wash away every ounce of anger he had towards Billy. Only to huff when he knew it wasn’t going to work. 

“Don’t sweat it Harrington. Today’s just not your day, man,” Billy says in the stall next to him.

“Not your week, more so,” Tommy chuckles with a smug smirk on his face. “You and your princess break it off for one day, and she’s already running off with the freak’s brother,” he says, making Steve look at him with light confusion before looking away. 

Tommy’s eyes widened in shock. “Oh shit,” he says. “You don’t know. Jonathan and the princess skipped yesterday, and still haven’t shown. That must just be a coincidence, right?” he cackles, Steve eyeing him, scrubbing the suds through his scalp.

“I don’t give a fuck about them. He can have her for all I care,” Steve snaps back, scrubbing his hands through his hair. Billy smirks with a hum. 

“Oh I know,” he trails off. “You finally come to your senses over your Henderson girl, right? I hear she’s the reason you hate commitment. Because you want to commit to her, is that it?” Billy taunts, letting the water run down his chest. 

Steve scoffs and shakes his head, paying no mind to what either man was saying. “You don’t know her like that.”

“Oh, yes I do. I know a lot more than you think.”

Steve froze in his spot, his head slowly turning over towards Billy. “The fuck did you say?”

Tommy laughs, giving Billy a look. “You better tell him before he finds out through someone else, Hargrove,” he says, before grabbing his towel and turning off the shower. 

His words make Steve freeze. “What’re you talking about?”

Tommy wraps his towel around his waist. “Wow you really have been out of the loop,” he trails off, nodding his head at Billy. “She left with him after the Halloween party. Why do you think they’ve been so inseparable? Girl can’t get enough of him.” 

Billy glares at Tommy. “Goodbye Tommy,” he snaps back, watching the guy walk away with a smug grin on his face. Steve’s jaw was clenched, his eyes darkening as he looked over at Billy. 

“Relax, Harrington,” he chuckles. “Since some dick I know left her by herself that night, I was a gentleman and drove her home,” he admits, smirking happily. “You’re lucky she’s so obsessed with you, otherwise I definitely would’ve taken her back with me, and trust me,” he chuckles while turning off the shower, patting Steve on the shoulder. “I’m still debating.”

Steve eyed him hard as he left, whipping off his own shower head. 

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Y/N had finished up her test, smiling warmly at her teacher as she handed it in, bidding a goodnight as she left the classroom. The halls were now quiet as it was after school hours, the rain slowly beginning to dribble outside as she could hear the echoes of other students playing in the gyms. 

When she opened up the school doors, the breeze had gotten a little chillier, goosebumps arising on her skin as she walked down the sidewalk. The rain slowly picked up as she walked, making her put her hood up.

Her eyes squinted as she noticed Steve’s car was still there, making her frown. She then froze only slightly as he stood, leaning against the hood with his arms crossed. He looked more than upset. He looked livid. “Steve? Why are you still at school? I thought you didn’t have tutoring tonight.”

“Get in the car.”

She frowns at his cold tone the closer she got. She shook her head. 

“No. Not after how you’ve been treating me lately,” she shot back, walking up to him. He clenched his jaw as the rain began to get heavier. He towered her figure, eyes staring down into her own. “I have to wait for Dustin too.”

“He went home with Mike,” he answered quickly. “Get. In. The car,” he says once more. 

Instead of prying, she huffs and walks over to the passenger side where he goes to hold open the car door for her, letting her slide in. As he closes her door and rounds to his side, she sets her bag on the floor in the back. He slams his door shut before reversing out of the parking lot, and driving off. 

“Why are you so pissed off? What did I do to you to make you hate me so much in the span of seventy-two hours?” she finally breaks the silence, her arms crossing over her chest as the rain poured.

His jaw tightens at her words, hand rubbing over his jaw. “I don’t hate you.”

“Then why are you acting like a dick? All I’ve been trying to do is help you, and you act like I don’t exist,” she scoffs as she keeps her gaze on the window. “I don’t know what happened between you and Nance, but I’m just trying to be there for you.”

He stays silent for a few moments, and then speaks. “We broke up. Things were complicated and she said things between us weren’t going anywhere.” 

“You could’ve just talked to me, you didn’t have to shut me out. I would’ve listened,” she says in a softer manner. Still somewhat firm to show she was standing her ground.

“It seems you had your hands full with Hargrove anyways,” he says under his breath, but it was loud enough for her to hear. She snapped her head over to him. 

“What?”

“You really took a ride home from Billy Hargove? Of all people? Seriously?”

She scoffs. “I wouldn’t have needed to if you didn’t run off like you did! Besides, he offered and was actually nice to me the entire way,” she explains, running her hands through her hair. “You have no right to be upset. You’re the one ignoring me and acting all big macho whenever he’s around.”

“Is he the one who’s been picking you up too? Bringing you home even?” he shot, making her roll her eyes. 

“You’re a fucking ass. Why are you so obsessed with this guy?”

“Because he’s not good for you! He wants to fuck you, and then leave you for the streets! You’re nothing but a piece of pussy to that man!” he blows up, making her eyes harden and her eyebrows furrow. 

“Stop the car.”

“What-”

“Stop the fucking car, Harrington! I will not be scolded like I’m a fucking child by you! Stop the fucking car, so I can walk the rest of the way.”

Steve looks at her like she is crazy. “Are you kidding? It’s pouring-”

Y/N starts to unlock his car doors, going to pull open the lever as the car was still driving, causing Steve to slam on his brakes as she opened his car door. “Y/N seriously?” he screeches, getting out of the car to follow after her. “Get back in the car! You’re being ridiculous!”

“I’m not! You’re the one being an asshole, Harrington!” she yells back, not looking behind her. She hears him let out a frustrated groan before slamming his car doors shut, and his engine coming up to the side of her. He rolled down the window. 

“Get in the car, Y/N!”

She ignored his pleas, her body shivering as she was now drenched from the pouring rain. “Y/N M/N, get in the damn car before I make you,” he warns, letting out a low growl as she still looks forward and keeps walking. Steve brakes the car once again, opening his door and stomping up to her figure. 

Y/N feels arms wrap around her waist, despite her protests, she’s then thrown over Steve’s shoulder. “Put me the fuck down, Steve! What the fuck is your problem?” she screams out, punching at his lower back. 

“Seriously, let me down! I’m fuckign done with you and your bipolar fucking behavior-”

Her words die in her throat with a squeak as a loud smack is heard, a sting following on her ass a few moments after. She narrows her eyes. “Did you just-?” She trails off as he walks over to open his backseat doors. 

Steve softly places her figure into his back seats, ignoring her curses and shouts at him as he slams the door shut and gets back into the driver’s seat. He sped off after that, not missing the way she was sending daggers to the back of his head.

“I told you to get back in the car, and you didn’t listen.”

“Because you were treating me like shit, and started accusing me of sleeping with Billy. When all he’s been doing, is being a better friend than you. Nothing more than that.” she spat, crossing her arms over her shivering figure. Steve sighs, clenching his jaw at her words. Knowing deep down that she was right, he was being a total asshole to her. 

“Not when I feel how I feel about you. I can’t move on, even if I tried.”

He froze, his heart stopped for a split second at her words, realizing she had said it so quietly in hope he didn’t hear, but he heard her perfectly clear. 

All of his anger slowly washed away as her words repeated in his mind, realizing that Nancy was right. He couldn’t tell Nancy he loved her, not when Y/N had been here all along. No matter how hard he tried, he really tried to make things work with Nancy. But she knew it wasn’t meant to be.

Because he couldn’t control how strong his feelings were becoming towards Y/N. Nancy knew it too, she saw it when he didn’t. Which was why she couldn’t blame him. He did try. He couldn’t bring himself to admit it. Not after how things just ended with Nancy. He needed to see if what he felt for Y/N really was real, which was why he pushed away. Turns out it was more real than he ever knew or understood. Especially after hearing Billy’s words. 

“We’re going to mine,” is all he says, making her glare at him. 

“What? No, I’m drenched, I need to go home and-”

“I have stuff you can borrow, so stop whining. We need to actually talk,” he shot back, making her go quiet with her mouth open in shock. “No distractions, nothing. Because your brother will somehow bring us into the next adventure going on, and we need to figure our shit out.”

Y/N lets out a grumble, but doesn’t argue any further, the car was quiet the rest of the way to his place. 

Once he parked in his driveway, he grabbed both of their bags, then opened the door for her to get out. She whisks past him as he locks his car, the pair running up to take cover under the slight covering over his front doorstep. 

When they both got inside, the sound of the rain pattering hard over the roof was heard, as well as the light sounds of the occasional thunder booming. He sets down their stuff, huffing at his now drenched state, shrugging off his jacket. 

“You can shower in mine. I’ll use my parents.”

He leads them upstairs, grabbing her a towel and walking her into his room that she knew all too well. He hands her a pair of his sweats and a hoodie of his she always used to wear, before grabbing his own towel and heading towards his parents’ room without another word. 

She goes into his bathroom, looking around as she sees it’s still the same. It’s been a while since she has been here. Her having the decision that maybe they shouldn’t hang out like they used to when he started dating Nancy. She didn’t want Nancy to think otherwise, and knew it wouldn’t look right. 

Y/N let the shower run for a bit, letting it get warm as she stripped down her soaked clothes, a light shiver running down her spine. 

Once the steam had filled the bathroom, she stepped into the shower, the warm water cascaded down her back, making her let out a small hum in content at how good the warmth felt. She rinsed and washed up quietly as she let her thoughts linger as she rinsed her hair. 

She was too in her mind to hear the door open slowly, Steve closing it behind him as he saw her back turned away from his figure. 

He couldn’t take it anymore. Not after hearing what she said. He was sick of dancing around it. 

When he opened the glass door, Y/N jumped at the noise and turned towards him with eyes wide. “Steve? What’re you doing?” she asked softly, her voice sounding exhausted. Defeated. Steve said nothing, only closing it behind him and walking to her slowly. Y/N’s eyes followed his own as they took in her figure, then eyes softening as his eyes found her own. 

He stopped just inches in front of her, the water running over them both, Steve towering over her as he looked down at her. Her eyes staring between his own as his hand came up to her jaw to make her fully look up at him. 

He inched closer to her face with his own, their lips just millimeters away. Y/N’s hands stayed covering her chest, but slowly slid down in relaxation as their lips barely touched. 

Their eyes looking between one another for what felt like forever, Y/N looked back at Steve with one final nod. That’s all it took, and his lips slammed down onto hers. It was hungry, needy, passionate. Fire ignited between them both as their lips moved in sync. Tongues fighting and teeth clashing as their pants filled the air. 

Steve brought both of his hands to her hair, pulling her head back to let his lips openly trail from her lips, biting at the bottom one before going to her cheek, her jaw, and down her neck. Y/N’s eyes shut with absolute bliss at the feeling of his lips making contact with her hot skin. How his tongue poked out every so often, teeth biting at some spots. 

Her arms came up to his forearms when he found a sweet spot behind her ear, making him hum in satisfaction. Y/N had grown greedy, and in dire need of his lips on hers once more, making her grab his face from the spot in her neck to slam their lips back together. 

Steve’s hands trailed down from her hair, down her body, leaving sparks and fire in his trail as he touched her everywhere he could reach. 

He never realized how much he craved her until now. Now, he couldn’t live without her. He couldn’t live with the fact that any guy could have her like this. Could’ve been in his spot. He especially couldn’t stand the fact that Billy almost could’ve been in his place if he waited any longer. 

The thought alone made him grip her hips hard, making her whimper lightly in his mouth. He groaned as she bit his lip. They broke apart, just millimeters away from one another as he looked at her with a haze in his eyes. 

“I’m never letting you go now,” he muttered softly, leaving one hand on her hip while the other trailed to her belly button. He watched her lips hitch in a gasp at his touch. Her eyes were big and hazy as they looked up at him. The rain poured hard outside, being heard even through the shower running around them. “Not when I’ve got you like this. This is all I’ve ever wanted. I’ve always wanted you. That was the problem, honey.”

His hand trailed down her navel, just above where she needed to feel him most. Her insides burn with desire and need for Steve. 

“I couldn't stop thinking about you. Every second of every day,” he trails off, leaving soft kisses on her lips between his words. “You were always the one thing I came back to,” he hums, letting his hand finally cup her heat. He smirked lightly as he watched her eyes roll back as he let his fingers rub up and down her slit. 

“Steve.”

“Hm?” he says, letting his hand figure out what she liked, how she wanted, needed, to be touched. Her face would contort when he rubbed or flicked certain spots, making him bite his lip as she watched her lose any ounce of control she had. 

“Hargrove kept saying how he would take you like this. How he was debating on it,” he taunts, letting a finger slide in, Y/N let out a moan as her head fell onto his chest. He chuckled darkly as he felt her beginning to hump herself into his hand. “I kept thinking about that. Picturing. It pissed me off.”

She shook her head as her hand went to grasp at his wrist while he pumped his fingers in and out of her. “Never would’ve happened,” she moans. “I wouldn’t have let it happen.”

He takes his free hand from her hip and trails it up to her neck, causing her to look up at him. Her eyes are still lightly closed, light moans and whines leaving her lips. 

“You sure? It seemed like you enjoyed getting pretty friendly with Hargrove.”

She shook her head. “Only wanted you. I only want you.”

“Oh sweetheart,” he says softly, taking his fingers out of her, causing her to groan at the sudden loss of contact. “I wish I believed that,” he says, shaking his head. She frowned at his words, still dazed and confused at the fact he left her high and dry. 

She decided to push right back at his smugness. 

“Maybe I should. If you’re only going to leave me high and dry. I’ll let him finish your job.”

Steve’s eyes darkened at her words, causing him to turn off the water behind her, then grabbing both of her thighs to wrap around his hips. He walked them out to his bedroom, slamming her body onto his bed as he towered over her figure. 

“You and that mouth of yours are going to get you in trouble, honey.”

He spread her legs open, biting his lip as he tried to muster his groan, but failing miserably. 

“And here I was going to be nice and give you my tongue,” he tuts, before grabbing his dick and sliding it through her folds. “But after that little stunt you pulled, I’m not feeling so nice anymore.”

With that, Steve slams all the way into her. The pair both let out moans at the feeling, Y/N grabbing his hair in one hand while the other scratched down his back. Steve began to pump in and out of her fast and hard, lips and tongue busying themselves with her breasts as they bounced with every thrust. 

“Steve, please,” she whimpers at his pace. He looks up at her through his lashes, seeing how she  is biting her lip to keep from moaning louder. He releases her left nipple with a pop and leans down to kiss her hard. 

“Maybe if you fix that attitude of yours, I’ll take my time,” he groans into her mouth, capturing her moans in his own. “Fuck you the way I’ve been dying to. Nice and slow to show you how in love I am with you. You’d love that wouldn’t you?”

Y/N’s hand grips his hair to pull his head back to make him fully look at her. “Please, baby,” she moans out breathlessly, causing Steve to groan. She clenches around him tight, causing him to stutter his movements. Steve soon begins to slow down slightly, still hitting that spot inside of her that she loved oh so much. Her grip loosened on his head, both hands going to grab the headboard behind her as her back arched. Steve looked down at her in amazement, mouth open as he moaned out her name. 

“So fucking pretty, fuck,” he pants, taking her slower as his gaze falls to where they’re connected. He sees her hips grinding up to meet his own, making him bite his lip and grab them to meet his own with each thrust. “You’re fucking mine. Not Hargrove’s. I don’t share. Especially not when it comes to you.”

Y/N can feel the tightness in her stomach getting closer and closer with every thrust, causing her to look back at Steve who is so focused on watching him thrust in and out of her. 

“Steve I’m-”

“I know, I can feel it. Let go whenever, sweetheart. I’ve got you.”

It didn’t take much for her after that, clenching and sputtering around him with a loud moan that followed with his name. Steve came shortly after, placing his lips over her own as his hips stuttered against her pelvis. When their lips broke apart, Steve’s head immediately went into her neck, kissing at her collarbone a few times as they lay there breathless. 

Y/N’s hand trailed from his shoulders, up into his hair. She didn’t miss how his body broke out into goosebumps from her touch. His breathing slowed moments later, his now softened cock still inside of her. She could feel him twitching again, hardening as she clenched around him each time he twitched. “Steve,” she moans softly, gripping his hair as she feels his tongue and teeth biting at the skin along her chest. 

“I need more,” he groans out against her breasts, taking one nipple into his mouth. She arches into his mouth more at the feeling. His hands pushed down her hips as she started to nonchalantly grind up against his hips, letting his own hips slowly thrust and grind into her. “Gonna go all night. I might just need to have you like this forever,” he moans into her nipple, before pulling away with a pop. Y/N grabs his head and pulls his lips back down to hers, his thrusts hard but slow. Moans getting louder between them both as Steve hit that one spot inside her that made her toes curl. 

Before Steve could react, Y/N had tightened her grip on him with her legs, turning them over with him still inside of her. She took his hands from her thighs and laced them with hers, pressing them into the mattress beside his head. 

Her eyes looking into his with such adoration and want in them. She began to grind into him, moans leaving her mouth as she bit her lip from being too loud. Steve looked up at her mesmerized, mouth agape as he takes in everything about how she looked on top of him. 

“You look so fucking beautiful like this,” he sighs, watching her throw her head back she grinded and bounced on him. 

She let go of his hands, bringing hers to lean back on his thighs as she worked her way on him. Steve’s hands immediately went to the crevice where her hips and thighs met. He gripped them in a bruising hold, guiding her every move as he met his hips with hers. “Fuck Steve,” she moans out, not missing the way he hit that spot inside her once again. 

“Nobody will ever get to see you like this, Never again,” he moans as he lets one hand slithering up her front, going to grip her neck in a tight enough hold for it to go to her head. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head at the feeling. “Not even Hargrove. This is mine.”

“Always has been,” she sighs while looking back down into his eyes. Their highs were coming closer than they did the first time, Steve pulling her down by her neck to meet her with a sloppy kiss. 

Both of their movements became faster and faster as the pit in their stomachs got tighter and tighter. “Let go baby. I’m right behind you,” Steve breathes out against her lips, her nodding against him before her hips stutter and stilled as she reaches high. Steve took over and thrusted up into her through both of their highs as Y/N fell forward onto his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck, nails running through his hair. His hands trailing up and down her back as they lay there breathlessly. “This is gonna sting a bit,” he said first, before slowly pulling out of her. They both let out a loud hiss, Y/N followed with a slight whimper at the emptiness as she gripped his hair lightly. 

“You okay?” he hums against her, and she nods lightly. He chuckles. “We should probably clean up soon.”

She hums. “Soon. Just not yet,” she breathes out softly against his chest. 

“Oh no, I’m basking in this as long as I can,” he chuckles softly. She smiles against his chest at his words. “I’ve got you, and I will not be letting you go anytime soon.”

“So you like me?” she jokes, making him grab her jaw softly to look up at him. He looked at her like she had two heads. 

“I think we both know I’m way past liking you,” he admits, making her eyes soften at his words. His thumb caressed her skin softly. “It only took me how many years to come to my senses.”

“It took me being friends with Hargrove for you to come to your senses,” she shot, making him roll his eyes. 

“Whatever,” he laughs, making her snort. “He’s not gonna let up on this, you know. He will be giving you shit till the end of time for taking so long.”

Steve eyes her. “He really knew before I did? Ouch.”

She smacked his chest softly. “He figured it out, I didn’t have to say a word.”

“Well, I still don’t like how flirty he is with you. So he better knock that off,” he says slowly. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“How will you do that?”  

“Oh, honey we’ve got all night. I’ll make sure he knows to keep his hands off.”

Anger.

Fear.

Sadness.

Pain.

Then Nothing.

Y/N couldn't even feel the way her heart shattered, the tears falling freely from her eyes, numbly as if she was doing it for hours. Frypan held her shaking state as she watched Gally gasping for less and less breaths of air, the spear sticking out of his chest.

She watched his body give out its last movement, his eyes staring at hers as he now lay there motionless.

Before she could even break herself away from Fry's hold, the doors behind them were busted down, soldiers yelling out to them as they ran up to the group.

It was then that Y/N had begun to protest as she was pulled away from her friend's arms and into a soldier's grasp, being pulled away from Gally and Chuck's lifeless bodies. Y/N had screamed, kicked, sobbed, and pleaded for them to not leave them there. Leave Gally there.

She should've told him. She should've said how much she loved him. She should've told him they could fix him. They could've. She couldn't stop thinking about all the things she should've done.

Should've. Should've. Should've.

The sun was scorching on her skin as they made contact with the fresh air. Gunshots around them fending off any threats coming their way as they were all being run out towards a helicopter.

Y/N couldn't stop the numbness from taking over her entire body as she sat in the helicopter, frozen in her spot as they took off.

Everyone was looking out their windows to see the place they were all once trapped in for far too long. The maze.

Y/N's lip quivered as she could only think back to all the moments she shared with Gally. How it had taken him a little while to warm up to her. How he couldn't leave her alone once she was on his good side. How they shared their first kiss together. When he said he wanted to be with her forever. Everything.

"When we get out of here, I swear I'm gonna marry you," Gally laughs, setting down her plate of food in front of her. He takes a seat next to her as their friends chatter at their table around them.

She snorted and looked over at him as she bit into her piece of bread.

"What?" she smiles sweetly, her voice soft when she notices he is being honest.

He nods while eating away at his own plate. "I mean it. Gonna put a ring on you and everything."

Y/N sets her food down, grasping the side of his face to make him look at her. He had such love in his eyes. She smiles, caressing his jaw. "I can't wait."

Now she had lost Gally. She had lost the man she loved so deeply, and he would never know it.

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The noise was so loud, Y/N's ears were ringing.

They had reached the last city, in hopes of finding a way inside to find Minho, amid the loud trucks, guns, screams, and yells of angry citizens outside the city's cement walls, with large buildings hiding behind them.

Y/N stayed close to Newt and Brenda, keeping a hand tight on Newt's jacket as they squeezed through the crowd.

They were following Thomas to the front, where many other citizens were standing, screaming and cursing to whoever was listening on the other side.

Her gut was telling her something, and she couldn't think of what it meant. It was probably her nerves trying to break free as she realized they're so close to where they need to be.

"Something doesn't feel right," she yells out towards Newt and Thomas, looking behind her to see a large truck roaming through the crowd.

"We've got to keep going! We've come this far, we can't give up now!" Thomas says back, still walking in the crowd.

Jorge cuts in this time from behind Thomas. "This place has really gone through hell."

Thomas looks at him with a curt nod. "We gotta stay together," he says before the group continues their trek. The truck behind them is getting closer, and someone with a megaphone is yelling out to the crowds as they drive through. They all come to a halt in confusion as they watch them pass by.

They heard the hoots and hollers of those around them as they listen to the message being yelled out over the speakers, Y/N's eyes scanning their large SUV, seeing all the masked men sitting and holding onto the outsides of the car as they passed.

There was one particular man who had done a double-take on her and her group, their eyes stopping on hers for a long while, before going back to stare down Thomas. He was sitting on the top of the SUV, red gas mask on with his gun in hand, talking to one of his buddies next to him as his gaze never left their group.

Her brows were furrowing in confusion, and her gut was definitely telling her something.

"You okay?" Brenda asks as they soon all continue their walk through the crowds. Y/N bites her bottom lip, still watching the SUV before it disappears from view.

"I just know something isn't right," she hums, watching as Thomas keeps his eyes on the SUVs too. "Like something bad is about to happen."

Brenda scoffs with a dry laugh. "Well, I could've told you that. We're pretty much walking into death row."

The group had walked through a tunnel and out to a large opening, Thomas patting Jorge's arm while pointing. "That's it. That's our way in!"

Y/N looks between Thomas and the entryway that was cemented shut. "Thomas, there's no way! What makes you think we're going to find a way in that these people around us haven't already tried?" she hollers out from behind, and he turns back to her as he helps pull her through the crowd.

He shakes his head.

"Came this far, I'm not turning back now," he hollers back, the yells and protests getting louder the further up they get.

They reached the front of the cemented barrier, looking around conspicuously for any sort of hint of a way in. Y/N has to use a good majority of her strength to keep herself upright, as people push and shove into her from the left and right.

"What the hell did we get ourselves into?" Frypan yells out from behind her, Newt coming up on the opposite side.

She peers over Frypan's shoulder, seeing the same man from earlier.

The one with the red mask. He was staring their group down intensely, a few of his guys behind him as they stood not too far away.

She could tell his eyes were staring down at her now, based on the way his head tilted towards her direction.

"What the," she mutters to herself as she squints her eyes at him. She shakes her head before trying to use her hands to tap on Thomas, who was staring at the gates in front of them.

"Thomas, this doesn't feel right," she hollers, Jorge agreeing with her as he turns back to look at the gates.

Newt and Y/N turn to the sides, scanning around as they notice something off. The guys from the SUVs were surrounding the crowd. They were all eyeing and staring them down.

She looks at Newt. "We need to go. Now."

He nods before shoving his way through to grab Thomas by his shoulder. "We need to go, like right now!"

As the group begins to file back from the front gates, Y/n halts as she notices the group of men who were surrounding them has now begun to pull in.

They were all coming from every side, the group being completely stuck and surrounded.

Y/N's hands grabbed onto Frypan's arm tightly, her eyes watching the men cave in around them. Her eyes went to the back of the crowd, where the man in the reed mask was now much closer than before.

Jorge pulled his gun out, ready to fire at anyone ready to fight them. Y/N was doing the same as she grabbed her own from her waistband.

Before anything further could happen, loud noises and alarms had boomed from behind them, large guns at the top of the gates turning towards them as they wired up with fierce power.

The group of protesters had begun to scream in terror, pulling away from the front and sprinting every which way behind them to hide.

Y/N had begun to back away herself as she watched the guns turn towards them, putting her gun back into her waistband as they all began to run away.

Frypan had grabbed her arm, pulling her away as they yelled at their friends that it was time to get out of there.

Loud explosions and screams were heard behind them as they ran as fast as they could, the ground shaking and crumpling up around them as they tried to get away fast.

Smoke rose as each shot hit the ground, Y/N raising her hands over her head as she ran, her calves burning with every step she took.

She turned around the corner of the same tunnel they came through, following behind Frypan and Minho, looking back to make sure the others were still behind her.

"Let's go, come on!" she yelled behind her before turning back to the front. They all were brought to a brief halt when the men from earlier surrounded them, grabbing them each harshly.

Y/N had run into one of the men herself, the man grabbing her harshly by her biceps, manhandling her body as she tried to fight against him. "Get the fuck off me, you motherfucker!" she snaps, kicking him in his groin and pushing him off of her.

She didn't get far before her body was met with a hard chest, making her look up and see the man with the red mask looming over her.

"No!" She bites back, struggling in his hold as he grabs her by her torso, taking one of his hands to grab both of her wrists in his hold.

His touch was a bit less harsh, but still firm enough to pry her off her feet and into the SUV with Brenda and Thomas. Once they were all loaded in, the men around the Vans banged on the rooftop, signaling for them to drive off.

She sat between Brenda and Thomas, looking at them both, before gazing back at Thomas and gripping the gun in her waistband.

He shook his head once in a sly manner, as if telling her not now, making her roll her eyes and pull her hand away from it. She turned back to look at the men in front of her, seeing as the red masked man was staring her down with his head tilted to the side.

She watched his grip tighten and soften on his gun, making her slowly reflex back to holding onto her own.

He must've noticed her reflex, slightly softening his own grip on the trigger and letting his hand sit on his knee instead. She furrowed her eyebrows as she took her hand away from her own trigger, the SUV soon coming to an abrupt halt.

The trunk pops open behind their backs, making them turn and slowly step out to look around them.

Y/N looks around the new spot they're in now, seeing that it looks like an abandoned parking ramp, turned into a hiding place for everyone around them.

The other SUV, where the remaining friends in their group had come speeding in shortly after, came to a screeching stop as it moved back and forth. They could hear the screaming and grunting inside, fighting breaking out as the trunk popped open.

One of the men was thrown out of the back end. Jorge was going to jump onto him with a gun pointed at the man's neck.

"Where is she?" he screams out, Thomas and Y/N going to pull him back from the man.

"Where'd you take her?" he yells again, Y/N and Brenda going to grab him as Thomas is pulled back by one of their men.

Y/N didn't get far as she was ripped away from Jorge and slammed up against the back end of the SUV she was in, a gun pointing straight at her as she glared. "Get that fucking thing out of my face!" she curses, trying her best to pry the man's grip off of her.

"Hey, hey, hey! Back, get back, it's okay!" the man with the red mask yells out at the man holding her back, pulling his guy's grip off of her.

His voice had caught her off guard slightly, the familiarity of it now beginning to drive her slightly crazy as she couldn't pinpoint where she had heard it.

Frypan and Newt immediately came to help break it up, only to have guns pointed up at them, causing Y/N to bring hers out once more and point it at the two men who were pointing back at her.

"Everybody relax! We're all on the same side here!" he says once more, Thomas ripping the harsh grip off of him as he turned to face them.

"What the hell do you mean, the same side? Who the hell are you?" he growls out, glaring at the man in the red mask.

He stares back at them for a few moments before turning away and taking off his mask. He turns to look back at them, breathing heavily from all the action just seconds prior.

Y/N's entire facade faded, her gun lowering as her eyes stared at him.

"Hey greenie," he says to Thomas. Y/N's eyes had to be playing tricks. There was no way he was standing in front of her.

Gally was alive, and it was definitely not another dream of hers.

"Gally?" Thomas mutters weakly. They all stared in shock at the sight before them, Y/N completely frozen in her spot.

Before she knew it, Thomas had charged for Gally, throwing a punch across his cheek and knocking Gally to the ground. Everyone had immediately come to take charge as Newt was the first to hold back Thomas' fist as his other hand gripped Gally's vest harshly.

Gally told his men to back down and that it's fine, knowing that this was coming for him. He hadn't expected anything less.

Y/N was too much in shock to hear what was happening, her hands gripping tightly on her firearm as she watched it unfold. Thomas had to rip himself away from the boy under him, Frypan helping pull him back from Gally.

Gally stood up a few moments later as he adjusted his jaw, rubbing at it with his hand. "Kind of had that coming," he says, eyeing his old friends from the glade. "Anyone else? Fry? Newt?" he asks, his eyes then going to Y/N, who was still up against the SUV, eyes glazed over.

"You know this guy?" Jorge asks, Frypan shaking his head in disbelief.

"He was an old friend," Frypan mutters, his eyes locked on Gally in complete shock. Newt looked back at Y/N for the first time since the reveal, seeing her eyes glossed over. He walked over to her.

"Hey," he says, snapping her out of her daze. Her grip on her gun tightened as he came close to her, still being hyperaware of her surroundings. "You're okay. Give me this," he says, helping her loosen her grip on her gun to let it slide into his hands.

Brenda looks over at her with confusion. "Is she okay?" she asks with concern, Newt turning to look at her, seeing as now her questions had made the rest of their group look back at her. His eyes find Gally's, who is looking only at her, seeing that her eyes are still looking at him too.

"Long story," Newt says shortly, getting them to catch the hint to not ask any other questions.

Y/N hadn't snapped out of her daze until she felt a tug on her wrist from Newt, signaling that they were now going to start walking somewhere.

They had joined Gally as he led them around the facility, explaining how he got there, and how he lived, more importantly.

She kept her grip tight on Newt, as Gally and Thomas talked to this new man, who she gathered was the main leader of this rebellious group around them, Newt taking that time to turn to her.

"You okay?"

"You've asked me that already."

Newt smiles softly at her. "Wasn't so sure you heard me the first time, because you were so shocked at the sight of your boyfriend."

"Ex-boyfriend."

Newt gives her a look. "I doubt it."

She shook her head, staying silent. She didn't know what to say or how to approach Gally. Newt could tell not to push her any further, and instead turned his attention back to the front.

They soon dispersed shortly after that, understanding that Gally could bring only a few of them into the tunnels to get a look at what they'd be dealing with inside those walls.

"Meet back here in about half an hour, and we'll go over everything. Follow my men, they'll get you guys some food and water for now," Gally explains.

They all nodded curtly before deciding to go join the group behind them, Y/N watching Gally head the opposite way.

Newt calls her name, making her look back at him. He sees the expression in her gaze, knowing she wants to go see him. Talk to Gally privately. She just didn't know how.

He nods at her. "Go," he mutters softly. "He would never shut you away. Not even now."

Y/N hesitates, but nods lightly at her friend's words, and turns back towards the direction Gally disappeared. She begins to walk slowly away from Newt, her eyes scanning around to find the familiar buzzcut as she gets further into the unknown place.

Her eyes don't take long to spot him as he turns a corner and into a small spot covered by a curtain. She takes a deep breath before she cautiously makes her way towards it.

Once she's standing right in front of it, she feels her hands becoming shaky, her mind screaming to just turn around.

"I know you're there."

Y/N froze lightly at his voice, causing her to pull the curtain back and step behind it where he was. Gally was turned away from her as he was unfolding a sweater, his shirt from before now missing on his upper half.

Gally turns to face her, his expression softening at the sight of her.

She looked tired, but she looked like she'd been through a lot. He couldn't imagine what she had seen. What she had lost to get to where she was.

Her eyes tore away from his as they caught onto his bare chest, scanning his abdomen. They stopped as soon as they saw the scar on the left side of his chest.

She didn't speak as she finally walked towards Gally, his eyes never leaving her figure as her own eyes frowned at the scar on his chest.

Gally's heart was beating quicker and quicker with every step she took closer to him, wanting to do nothing more than just hold her again. Feel her lips on his own. Feel her touch again.

"Hey Y/N," Gally says softly as she now stands just inches in front of him. He could see her eyes fully now, not missing how they had tears glossing over them as she looked at his scar.

She slowly brought her hand up to touch at it, only to freeze and put it back down. He knew her mind was going a million miles a minute.

Gally instead took the chance to grab her hand softly with his own, not missing the way her breath hitched at his touch, placing it over his scar. Her lip began to quiver lightly as she caressed it with her delicate fingers, Gally clenching and unclenching his jaw as it took everything in him not to touch and kiss her like he used to.

He watched as she traced over the skin, before she finally brought her eyes to look up into his own, looking back and forth into his eyes. She shook her head. He placed his hand over hers that still caressed the scar on his chest, rubbing his thumb over her skin.

"You died," her voice finally said, a lot scratchier than she expected. Gally was just relieved to hear her voice again.

"I'm here," he says lightly, nodding curtly in reassurance. "I'm right here."

"I left you there. I-"

He shook his head. "No," he argues. "You didn't. Don't."

She bites her lip, looking up at him. "I'm so angry at you," she says more firmly, shaking her head at him. He nods. "But I missed you. I missed you so much," she says once more.

"You have no idea," he mutters back, leaning his forehead against her own. "How much I've missed you. I've been wishing on the day I'd get to see you again," he assures her, his eyes never looking away from hers. "It took everything in me not to just come and take you when I first saw you today. It took everything."

Her other hand trails up his abdomen, his chest, to his neck, caressing his jaw. "I realized I never said it back," she whispers out, making him look deeply into her eyes.

He shook his head before taking her face into his hands. "You don't have to," he says softly before planting his lips onto her own for the first time in a long time.

Y/N's hands fell to his bare chest first, then wrapped around his neck as she kissed him back with so much need and love.

They kissed for what felt like forever, but never enough for all the lost time between them. Once they broke apart, Gally placed kisses on her cheeks and her forehead, bringing her into his arms as he let her cry quietly against his chest.

"I'm here now," he assures her. "I'm never leaving you. Never again."

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The waves crashed against the shore, the sun beating down on the Safe Haven as the people around the small village chattered and worked on putting things together.

Laughs could be heard all around, nothing but happiness and joy filling the environment created.

Y/N stood in one of the small huts, where a crooked mirror had been leaned up against the bamboo wall. She looked at the dress Brenda and the other girls had made. It had pieces of lace and silk amongst the entire dress.

"You ready?" Brenda had said softly on the other side of the door, knocking as she came in.

She scanned her best friend, smiling warmly at how she looked. "You look gorgeous, Y/N. He's going to fall in love all over again."

Y/N chuckled lightly as she smoothed out the dress.

"I just can't help but remember when he first told me he wanted to marry me," she says, grinning as she thinks back to the glade. Thinking back on how they first met, to where they are now. "I just can't believe this."

Brenda chuckled with her, helping with any finishing touches to her hair. Y/N's smile soon fades as she thinks back to the one person she wished could see her today.

Brenda looks at her through the mirror, seeing how she's now trying to fight tears back, caressing the small vial with a note from her best friend inside. Brenda squeezes her arms. "Newt would be so proud of you," she assures Y/N, who looks up at Brenda. "He's going to be walking you down the aisle in spirit, I just know it."

Y/N smiles graciously at Brenda, soon bringing the vial up to her chest as she holds it there.

She takes a few deep breaths before nodding at Brenda. "I'm ready."

Brenda smiles widely before clapping her hands and opening the door for her. "Let's get you married, love."

Y/N is greeted by Frypan when she comes outside, seeing him look at her in awe. "He's going to fall in love all over again."

Brenda chuckles. "That's what I said."

Y/N laughs as she takes Frypan's arm, linking it with her own as they begin to walk towards the aisle, seeing everyone sitting in rows on each side.

Gally stood at the altar, Thomas and Minho behind him as he talked to them with slightly nervous jitters.

"You ready to get married?" Frypan asks her, and she nods.

"He's been waiting for this day since he met you."

Y/N looks at Frypan with shock on her face. "Really?"

He nods. "He knew it the first day he met you."

Y/N smiled to herself at that. Brenda walked down the aisle long ahead of them, signaling that Y/N was coming next. Everyone had stood up from their seats, turning towards where she stood with Frypan.

Her eyes locked with Gally's as soon as she got to the entrance, seeing him put his head down at the sight of her, wiping tears from his eyes. He then looks back up at her, tears falling freely as he looked at her with so much love.

Y/N could feel her tears falling too, smiling as she looked at him.

When she made it to the end of the aisle, Frypan kissed her cheek and squeezed her arm, handing her off to Gally before going to stand next to Thomas and Minho.

Gally took both of her hands in his, looking down at the love of his life with such adoration and happiness.

"Hi," he mutters softly. She smiles back at him. "Hi."

They both turned to look at Vince, who had a large smile on his own face, and nodded at the pair. He began the ceremony, Y/N and Gally not being able to look away from one another as they said their vows. Tears fell freely as they shared every single emotion and detail with each other.

Gally had wasted no time pulling her in for a passionate kiss when they were announced Husband and Wife, the audience letting out hoots and hollers as they kissed.

She gripped his face in her hands, smiling so widely that Gally couldn't help but laugh against her lips.

"To forever, huh?" he says once they break apart.