[ hear me out,,, i finally got a decent idea for this okay // song is by lil nas x

warnings: language, mentions of guns and alcohol, general redneck fuckery

concept: in a desperate attempt to get away from the memories that haunt him, logan moves to the middle of fucking nowhere.

the town is based on where i live in ohio, even though it's named after a small town in west virginia.

stay safe,
lew. ]

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Getting new neighbors in the itty bitty town of Hartford didn't happen very often. Let alone, people who seemed as... "city folk" as these did.

Lewis kept an eye on the movers as they unloaded the truck. Of course, he couldn't see very well, because his glasses broke last week and he had a shitty vantage point to begin with, but still.

A guitar case caught his eye, though, and that's what prompted him to make the short trip up the hill after the truck was gone. He stopped to grab his phone and text his cousin, then, before he knew it, he walked up onto the porch.

Before he could knock, the door opened, and a tall, intimidating guy joined him. Immediately, Lewis began to stutter out an explanation, finally settling on "I wanted to greet the new neighbors. So... hey."

The guy gave him the faintest hint of a smile, tugging his shirt sleeves so they remained covering his wrists. "Hey," he echoed.

"I wanted to tell you that we, uh, don't really get new people out this way very often. This is kinda a place where people never leave, and if they do, they don't come back."

"That sounds ominous."

He coughed, blush blooming across his freckled face, then said, "I didn't mean for it to be like that. Uh, my name's Lewis. I live next door, which is, um, like a quarter-mile down the road. And I hope you don't mind, but I talked to my cousin Chase, who's really excited to come up and see who moved in."

"It's fine. Harry says I need a change of scenery to get my mind off... things. It'll be nice to meet some new people, I guess. I'm Logan, by the way." The man offered that same faint smile as he rested his hand on the doorknob. "Let me tell everyone else we've got a visitor."

Lewis took those few moments to breathe deeply, to relax himself and prepare for meeting even more people. The door opened again, and the first thing he realized: everyone here was taller than him.

The man who stayed at Logan's side seemed familiar, as did Logan himself. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, though. The other two men, one blond and the other with an aura of darkness if we're being honest, just looked like they didn't want to be there at all.

Lewis took a deep breath, then introduced himself again. This time, he added, "Is there enough room in the house for all four of you? I didn't think any houses around here had more than two bedrooms-"

The scary one scowled, almost spitting out his answer. "All we need is two bedrooms. Not that it's any of your business anyway."

"Oh. Um..."

"Please don't tell me you're one of the homophobic locals." The blond man seemed nervous, trying to subtly cling to the guy that Lewis assumed was his partner.

"Dear Jesus, no. That'd be really hypocritical of me. I promise you I'm not like that." Lewis glanced down and scratched at the side of his face. Given that, he obviously didn't see anyone else approaching, so it totally shocked him when the girl jumped on his back. "Dammit, you gotta stop doing this shit."

"Make me, plant fucker," she shot back, before smiling at the new guys. "What's up, I'm Chase, this dipshit is my cousin, and y'all seem pretty cool, so... wanna come to the bonfire tonight?"

The four men exchanged a bewildered glance, and (ignoring the slight shake of Ezra's head) Logan softly answered, "Seems like fun. We're in."

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[ okay i originally had a different idea for the end involving an incest joke bc i'm a horrible person but whatever. i'll probably write another part bc i didn't rlly go in depth for this ]