Lucas

I look down at my phone, staring at the dark screen. I half expect it to light up and the half expects it to stay dark.

I wish I had mind powers. Then I would turn it on by will and make Nikki text me back. I would force myself to talk and apologize. Possibly go on a mission, find someone with teleportation powers, and bribe them with my powers. They would take me back in time to where I could change the past so that I could take back all I did wrong. And try again if I mess the retry. I would also find a way to kick Victoria out the school. Maybe force Carter into scaring her off. He's good at that.

Wouldn't it be funny --

Knock. Knock.

This guy again.

Knock. Knock.

"Lucas, I know you're in there."

Who else would be here?

"You can't fool me!"

I exhale and pinch my nose. "I wasn't trying to!" I sit up against the frame of my bed, contemplating if I should open the door or jump out the window.

My eyes fall to my ripped pajama bottoms and the dirty Nickelodeon t-shirt I've had since middle school. He'll bully me for this. I climb down from my bed and head to my dresser, searching through my drawers for a shirt that won't embarrass me.

"He speaks!" I hear him knock quieter this time. "I thought you were dead!" Pause. "I was about to convince mom to let me keep your things."

"Now you know I am not." I pull my arms through the holes of a plain white t-shirt. "Leave!"

"Only If you let me in."

I wince and glare at the door. "Why are you yelling?!" I yell back louder. He's so loud my ear popped.

"Because. I can do what I want." He declares, knocking again.

I can't wait until he leaves. Oh wait, he's staying. Giddy.

Giving up, I walk towards my door and unlock the knob. Closing my eyes, I open the door expecting his arms to hug the life out of me. However, he falls on his back, looking up at me with wide eyes.

"... Why are you on the floor?"

Logan scratches his head, smiling sheepishly. "I did not think you would open the door so quickly." He clears his throat and holds out his hand for me to take.

I roll my eyes and head to my desk, sitting on my deckchair and spinning around. I push the homework papers on the floor and kick them away.

"Rude." He scoffs. He pulls himself up and dusts his sides. Smiling excitedly, he jumps on my bed. He looks up at the ceiling and smiles at the light fixture. Exhaling in satisfaction, he crosses his arms over his chest and lets himself fall on his back. As soon as his body hits the soft cushion, he covers himself with my blanket.

"What the... ?" I feel my eyes scrunch in confusion.

Did this idiot knock on my door to sleep on my bed? I expected some type of lecture or a short story of how he is a god... I don't know. Something more about me, but mostly about him.

He pats down the air holes and sits against my bed frame, eyeing me down, and smiling broadly. "This good." He nods. "I want your bed." His arms cross behind his head.

"Okay?" I raise an eyebrow and spin around again.

"No breakfast today?"

I stop spinning. "It's the evening." I point out. I look towards my porch window. The sky is dark and full of tiny little specks of light.

"I didn't know having breakfast for dinner was a crime." He raises an eyebrow, disappointment on his face.

"Um... okay." I can't with him. Who is he to feel disappointed in me?

I bite my bottom lip and observe him jumping on his spot as if he were trying to get more comfortable. He looks like a kid, wanting to jump off the bed but stay on it at the same time.

I can't believe I feel hurt that he's disappointed in me.

"You know, I know this is sudden..." He trails off and sets his sights on the dark sky outside.

I stop spinning.

"But I'm starting school next semester."

I nod. I knew my dad and mom wouldn't let him quit. I don't think my dad would trust me with his law firm. Not after pushing him anyway. My mom also pushed education in our faces when she was interacting with us. So no surprise she would make Logan enter school again.

"It was my decision."

That is a surprise.

Logan uses his arms to pull his body in my direction, legs crossed. "Dad offered me an administrative job but I'm not good at listening." He blinks, thinking. "Or following directions."

I nod in agreement.

"Act shocked, please."

I nod again, keeping my neutral expression to piss him off.

"So, I thought about it hard and considered it. And I got angry." Logan sighs, scratching his head. His face turns a light red. "I felt like he was underestimating me and that maybe..." He exhales, looking at the carpet sadly. " I thought he thought I couldn't do it."

I frown, my chest slowly rumbling in anger towards our father. "But you can." I let my back hit the backrest of my chair. "You're a Mabry. You can do whatever you want." I tell him earnestly.

He's Logan after all.

Logan smiles and nods, looking down at my covers. "I thought so too. So I started watching these YouTube videos of lawyers arguing and something about the process of preparing for trials." He blinks in thought. "It was... exciting." He smiles and shrugs his shoulders. "I'm kind of scared with myself. I guess I like it now."

Me too. I've never seen him pick up a book, let alone not sleep in class. "So, you're gonna become a lawyer?" My fingers play with the pajama holes on my knees. My head is trying to process the new information.

He grins. "Yeah." He tilts his head. "I thought I would do it for you but now I'm doing it for myself. I figured it would be okay. I mean, it's okay to just do things for oneself, yeah?"

Feels like he does that most of the time but yeah. "What did mom say?" I erase my complaint from my head.

"She was upset at first." He shrugs, uncaringly. "She thought I was doing it for dad. I had to stop her from choking him." We chuckle at his words. He continues, "I told her it was for me. I never felt so... happy, you know?"

I nod absently.

"I thought happiness depended on others or something along those lines." He taps his chin. "Do you remember when I gave you all those useless tips after I left?"

Heat rushes to my face. "I barely recall that." His eyes twinkle, smile turning into an evil grin. Crap, he knows I'm lying.

"Uh-huh," Logan smirks. "Well, I meant some of them back then. I was happy when I was surrounded by people who wanted to be me. I used to think it was everything."

Why do I feel like he's trying to teach me a lesson?

"And to be honest, people will say differently, but I had fun."

I feel my jaw drop at his confession. Is he telling me it's okay to seek popularity? What type of idiot is he?!

"I didn't have fun when I made fun of somebody though." Pause. "Or when I spread those rumors." He frowns. "Or when I pushed those nerds and geeks against the lockers." He looks thoughtfully at the ground. "Or when I - "

"I don't know if you're telling me a lesson or your story."

"Shush." He shakes his head. "All I'm saying is — I had fun and I don't blame you if you liked it too."

I guess I did like it when my classmates would cheer for me. The attention made me feel like I was something. Or everything. Though, I didn't like beating up Darren. I still feel awkward around him. Or telling people Victoria was a bad kisser. Or admitting I slept with Nikki when I didn't. Or when I yelled at the cheerleader for going off on Victoria. It made the fun... not fun.

"Like I used to say," Logan grins. "Having fun makes it all worth it."

"Yeah." He said the most useless things. Still does.

"Thinking about it, I had more drama than fun." His eyebrows lower. "I also feel angry for being mean to you."

Our eyes connect. I feel my body start to tremble from foot to midsection to arms. Argh, I'm disgusted but... How do you describe expectant but sad at the same time? Excited but also shaky?

"I know I treated you like you didn't matter or whatever." Logan grunts, as if he was forcing himself to continue talking. "And taking advantage of how naive you are."

"Am not." I am quick to decline.

He ignores me. "Now, I feel guilty. I'm about to become the best lawyer ever - "

I roll my eyes.

" - And I realized I'm about to start this school crap and I didn't fully enjoy my high school experience." He sighs into his hand. "I should have taken high school more seriously. I think... if I would have just focused on myself, I wouldn't have been so stressed."

"But you never looked stressed." I hated him for it. Always so cool, confident, and to top it all, "charming" as the girls said. "You made everything look easy."

"Duh." He shakes his hand at me. "I'm the oldest, cooler brother."

Not surprised.

"I couldn't let random people see me look uncool. Especially, since you looked up to me." He proudly places his hand on his chest, chin jutted out.

I bet our father dropped him a couple of times.

"It didn't matter, huh?" He scratches his head. "I dropped out of college my first semester and looked a little pathetic to my roommates. They did not care for me." He grumbles a curse. "And classes were horrible. I couldn't get into them at all. I shouldn't have tried to force it."

I suck in my lips, trying to keep the laugh inside. He looks so defeated. I know it's wrong but I want to laugh.

"I don't know, man. I think the experience helped me but at the same time, I will be graduating a year later than my class. What bull." He scoffs. "I'm so stupid. Oh!" He points a finger in my direction and shakes his head. "This sounds weird but the girls were not as after me as I thought. They were blind if you ask me. I asked out a girl and she spit at me. Can you believe that crap?" He slaps his face, hiding behind his hand.

I clutch my sides in laughter.

"Shut it, Mabry." Logan sulks. "The one girl who said yes, ruined my self-esteem and my will to live. She was stalking me and I was thinking, file a report, right?"

I nod, stifling my laugh.

"But campus security laughed." He scoffs. "It's not impossible, right? Girls can be creepy too. After that, I tailgated my way out and brought a ticket home." He shakes his head. "I crapped my pants when I thought I saw her in the airport. I ran out and drove home. Even through the water bridges, and we all know, they aren't as stable as the ones the Egyptians built." He shakes his finger, rambling.

They built pyramids.

"Anyway, I'm done." He lays on my bed, yawning. "I decided to just lay down and enjoy the moment. Better than my high school self."

Huh, so it's a bit of a lesson and his life story.

I wonder... "Did Julian or Carter tell you about what happened today?" I feel embarrassed.

I kind of want his advice. Even if it's stupid and weird.

"Nah."

I exhale.

He lightly chuckles. "I'm just kidding." He opens his eyes.

My stomach turns and all the emotions I've been avoiding come at me at once.

He turns his body in my direction, eyeing me with half-shut eyes. "If you ask me, you messed up. You failed. And hurt their feelings."

I hate that his words sting. And that he knows about both Victoria and Nikki.

"The old me would have moved on. But the now me would have apologized. It's embarrassing and it makes me want to pee but I would do it anyway."

We lock eyes.

"Just be you. Mumble, trip, and show your crack."

A smile fights its way to my lips. I hate that he remembers I would fall and so would my pants. But even so...

"Or have fun."

Have fun...

"Just be aware of the consequences." Yawn. "Of possible effects and shiz."

Did he say shiz?

"And Lucas?"

We lock eyes.

"If you like her, don't make it hard." Yawn. "Take a little risk." Yawn. "If she messes with you, I'll kick her to Saturn." He points at himself, grinning lazily. "I promise. I got your back..." He trails off.

Yeah.

My lips stretch to my ears. I feel like leaping and letting my ankles touch each other in an over exaggerated way. I know I saw a cartoon do it but it does not come to mind who did it. Goofy maybe? I don't know.

My eyes connect with Logan's peaceful, unmoving body. He's sleeping as if it were his own room. He's hugging the pillow to his cheek and drooling on my comforter.

Gross.

But I'll let it pass.

I scurry off to my closet. I choose a button down with stripes and pull it over my head. I didn't have to do it, I could have pulled it up my arms but it felt cool. I push down my pajama bottoms and pull up some running shorts over my legs. I pick up some discarded sneakers and push my feet into them.

With adrenaline and excitement running inside my body, I run out my home, on the sidewalk, and in direction to Nikki's house.

—-

I forgot my socks!