a/n: is anyone there??

i suggest you read the last chapter if it's been a while for you ;) hell, i had to read it to remember

go nuts, kids

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Some weird hippie music has been playing in Logan's car for the better half of lunch period, and we've barely said anything to each other. Not in the uncomfortable way; I just don't have anything to say. In a short time, Shelby and I have become pretty close, yet I still don't know how he really feels about me. I don't even think Shelby knows how he feels about me.

I asked Logan if he was upset. He said no.

"Have you talked to Conner?" he asks out of nowhere. I shake my head 'no'. "I do hope he's alright."

I sigh. "His home situation is shit. I don't know what to do about it." Logan turns to me, and I know what he's going to say. "I know. Not my responsibility."

It's quiet for another five minutes, but I can't just sit here and stew in it. The whole reason we weren't together a while ago is because of some shitty communication issues. "I can't be sure Shelby likes me as more than a friend," I comment quietly. Logan just nods. "I think he's in a shitty relationship and he just needed a new friend with different qualities than his already crappy friends."

"I'm not jealous. Not today anyway," Logan says.

I scoff. "I didn't say you were. Were you jealous yesterday?" I ask. Logan shrugs. "Why?"

He takes a bite of his sandwich and shrugs again. "He was there when all the shit was going about. I didn't get to know him—it's stupid, really. I just get to thinking about all the people that adore you and how awesome they probably are. But I won't do that anymore." I just scoff to that. I wish people adored me as much as they pretended to. They adore straight A's Brandon, straight athlete Brandon—straight Brandon.

"I think we both need to stop worrying about each other's pasts," I respond, eating the last of my sandwich.

"Exactly," Logan says, eating the last of his bag of chips. "So... are we going to tell people about us?" With that, he turns his car off. I shrug. "If they ask, I mean."

"I... yeah. We should. It's not like people don't know anyway." Logan gives me a funny look. "It's gonna take some getting used to. I'm not ready to explain myself every single time." Logan leans over to kiss my cheek.

"Luckily, you've got someone to help you. Now let's go. I can't ditch any more classes."

**********

Mom: I won't be in the house today after school. Dr's appt and your dad is going with me. Then we're going out of town. order a pizza?

Brandon: Chinese food?

Mom: Sure. Money in the tin next to the flour. Love you.

Mom: make sure to tell Logan and Shelby they can come over ANYTIME!!

"Why did she say 'anytime' in all capitals?" Aiden asks. I shove her away. "You read my texts all the time."

"I didn't mean to make her feel so bad about what she said. I just didn't know she'd be so outright homophobic," I comment. "I guess it's my fault for not telling her about me and Logan anyway."

Aiden shakes her head. "Nah. Aunt Julie has never asked you if you weren't straight. She just assumed you were. For good reason, but still." I don't know how to feel. I don't even know anything about the LGBT community. I don't know if I even fit in it. "Don't stress. She'll ask one day."

"I don't want her to."

At 4:30, Logan is knocking on the door, and at 5, Shelby shows up, much to Logan's dismay. He even sits as close to me as possible while Aiden and Shelby have an argument over whatever. It really bothers me that he thinks Shelby is a threat. Shelby, who I can see is head over heels for Aiden no matter how he feels about me. "What time should we be at your house on Friday, Logan?" Shelby asks.

"Starts at 8, so 6? That way everyone can get ready and everyone's parents can take pictures," Logan replies. "My mum and dad are so excited about it. More than I am, probably."

"Yeah, wasn't Violet a bitch? Are you still going with her?" Aiden asks. Logan nods. "I'm lucky my date isn't a flaky douche." Shelby just smiles in response. "When are we ordering food?"

I shrug. I have a lot on my mind right now. Between what Logan thinks of Shelby and what I think of everyone and everything, I just want everything to be over with. I can't say I've been overly excited about Fall Festival anyway.

My phone buzzes around 6 and I just stare at the screen for a second. It's Conner. Logan sees it too, and then he looks at me, seeing what I'm going to do.

Conner: Hey

Brandon: Hey.

Conner: just wanted to say hi. what u up to??

Brandon: hanging out with friends at my house. How are you?

Conner: good. Sorry to bother u. I wanted to say sorry for the whole semester and all that crap I put u through. I could say sorry for a lot of shit but I think we both know what I did wrong. I wanted u to be the first to know I'm gonna live in North Carolina with my aunt and uncle. I'm moving this weekend (Saturday) but I wanted to say hi? You dont have to see me if u don't want to.

I'm stuck staring at the screen again. I can't tell if Logan has been reading my messages or not. I don't know how to feel.

Brandon: Wow. Is that what you want to do? And yeah I'll see you before you leave

Conner: I hate school and my dad so Im gonna be homeschooled there for the rest of the semester, then I'll go to school and then I might come back to WC senior year. Ur gonna be gone by then though so I wanted to say bye.

Conner: are you dating logan now though? He's super hot :)

Logan giggles. Yeah, he's reading my messages.

Brandon: lol yeah I'm dating Logan. Thanks. And that kinda sucks but I bet you'll be happy in NC! I do want to say bye too. Friday sound good? Before F&F?

Conner: Yeah. Hey I hope we can be real friends sometime.

Brandon: definitely.

"Where's North Carolina?" Logan asks.

"East of us. A state away," I reply. The tiniest part of me is hurt that he's moving. I bet that tiny part of me connected to Conner will take a while to go away, but I want him to be really, truly happy. "Conner is moving to North Carolina," I say to Shelby and Aiden.

"Good or bad thing?" Aiden asks.

I don't know. "Good," I reply.

**********

"West Crimson football team will have a meeting during lunch in Coach Troy's office to discuss returning football equipment."

I hear the groans from not only me as the bell rings for lunch. This means we all have to get lunch from the cafeteria and bring it to the gym.

I suppose the lunch ladies aren't used to the football team being in the cafeteria for lunch, because they give us giant helpings. I'm one of the last ones in the office, and everyone is gathered at the front. When I look, I see Conner in the middle of the huddle. My heart skips a beat, and I quickly set my food on a chair and join the crowd.

"Hey!" Conner exclaims, hopping up and giving me a big hug. A few guys give weird looks, but it quickly fades. I hug him back. "Hey. I'm leaving earlier than I thought, so I decided to say hi when I returned my football gear."

"You're leaving?" someone asks.

"Alright, everyone. Have a seat," Coach Troy says. While we settle, he continues. "As you can see, our favorite Freshman is here." The boys holler and cheer while Conner blushes. "He's gonna say a few words. Be respectful."

Conner stays sitting on Coach's desk and he plays with his hands. "So, I wanted to say sorry—I mean, thanks. I wanted to thank everyone who has been helping me all year, and I wanted um... I wanted to especially say thanks to people who helped me in the hotel. In case you don't know what's going on, I'm bipolar, and I haven't been handling it well with my medication or therapy and all that. So um... yeah. Thank you all for not giving up on me." I can tell it's hard for him to be saying these things. He looks at his lap the whole time. "Brandon, Matt, Carter, Tyler—especially thanks. Um... I wanted to let you guys know that I'm moving tomorrow. Wednesday. I'm gonna live with my aunt and uncle—" the rest is just what he told me over text.

It's real now. He is going away.

He gives hugs again, and although I want to be the last one to hug him, Matt is uncomfortably waiting to be last. I can understand that. So when I hug Conner, I squeeze him tight and tell him he can contact me anytime. That's all I can do anyway.

"You all need to return your jerseys before your fall dance this week," Coach Troy says. On my way out the door, he grabs my arm. "Hold on a second, Owens." Everyone is gone except for Mitch and I. He gives me a scorned glance, but I ignore him. "I really, really appreciate the hard work you boys put in this season. We weren't destined to go too far, but you did your part. Now I... I just wanted to say that I'm not going to be coaching here forever. But you boys really made this season different. I'm not going to beg you to come back next year, but I can only hope you consider it." Mitch and I just nod. "You boys have a good one, I mean it. And good luck in baseball, son," Troy says to Mitch.

We leave his office after a thank you. I walk a lot faster than Mitch; I'm not in the mood for his brain vomit.

**********

Brandon: Hey. I really hope you have a good time in North Carolina. Remember you can call me whenever. Thank you for making me realize things about myself.

I hover over the send button. I could've texted him this three days ago, when he told the whole football team he'd be leaving. Maybe I'm just being selfish about the situation somehow. By now, he's already moved into his aunt and uncle's house.

"It's official: I'm not going to Fall Festival," Aiden says from her room.

"Yes, you are," I sigh. I don't send the message, and it gets saved to drafts. "We're heading to Logan's in ten minutes."

"My dress doesn't even look good. My hair doesn't even look good. Fuck it; I'm not going."

"Language," I hear my mom's voice from the living room. "Aiden, honey. Do you want me to help you with something?"

"No!" Aiden snaps, and I hear the door slam.

Ten minutes later, Aiden is pouting in the passenger's seat of my truck, and we're on our way to Logan's. My tux is draped over the back seat. Aiden has her arms crossed. "You know, it's gonna be fun."

"I want to date Shelby," Aiden says, her face pressed against the window.

"No shit," I laugh.

Aiden groans. "He's a virgin."

My eyes widen. "I doubt that," I say.

"No, he's not. But 3% of you believed that, right? Because he's perfect. And his girlfriend is actually a greasy penguin." Aiden breathes hot air on the window and writes 'RIP'. "I want to have his babies."

"So, you can forget you said that to me and act normal, because we're here," I announce as I pull up in front of Logan's house. "Sometimes, you have to wait for shit to happen."

Aiden rolls her eyes. "You didn't just sit on your ass and wait for Logan."

"I said sometimes," I clarify. I knock on the door, and Logan answers. Everyone seemed to arrive earlier than us.

"We're all here," Logan announces. "Girls—and Jetta, if you want—you can have the downstairs bathroom—it's bigger—and my bedroom. The rest of us will go upstairs." With that, we all disperse. "I swear to god, I was about to go crazy down there," Logan says.

"Why?" I ask.

"Violet and her—ugh. She's just acting like nothing's happened. I can't wait to get ready, take pictures, get there, and then dump her. I haven't spoken to her since I found out she texted you from my phone, Babe," Logan says. "I barely wanted to tell her where we were getting ready."

He called me Babe.

"I don't care about her, if that means anything," I reply. I pull Logan aside. "By the way... I told my parents the address, so they'll be here fifteen minutes before it starts to take pictures. Um... my mom doesn't know about you and me, though... I want to keep it that way." Logan looks down, but he nods. "I think I'll have to tell everyone not to mention it."

Logan just kisses me gently. "Not a problem."

The girls—and Jetta—blast music downstairs. I think it's anyone's pick of song, because they go from reggae to hip hop to pop to heavy metal to some weird indie shit, and back through the cycle again.

Shelby is helping Harvey adjust his bowtie when his phone buzzes. "Brandon, could you—"

"Yeah," I respond before he finishes.

Celeste Marie Piper <3: what's the address of Logan's house?

"Pipp is asking where you are," I say to Shelby. "She asked for Logan's address."

"If it's fine with Logan..." Shelby says. Logan shrugs.

Shelby: 1339 Fort Lane.

Celelste Marie Piper <3: Okay. I'm coming to F&F with u love :)

"Wait... Shelby?!" I stare at the phone. Shelby snaps his attention my way. "Pipp says she's coming to Fall Festival. I thought she wasn't—"

"She's not," Shelby says, snatching his phone away from me. "What?" Shelby vigorously taps away on his phone and storms into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Bobby shrugs. "I'm not surprised Pipp would pull some shit like that, honestly. I think Harvey called that one a week ago." That's so awful. I knew Pipp was bad but not this bad. "Snake, I tell you."

I shake my head. Aiden is going to be absolutely devastated if this doesn't pull through. The drama never ends. One minute, everyone's happy. The next—it's Pipp or Violet or my mom or some crap. I listen at the door.

"Pipp, you should've told me a while ago—I know you were 'thinking about it' but then you said no. That's not fair to—well yeah I'm thinking of her feelings, love. I don't think that's an okay thing to do to anybody. Anyone." I don't know how he's being so calm right now. God forbid Christina pull some shady stuff like that. "Of course I want you to be there, Babe. But you can't be my date. You just can't. I want you to come. You should come, Babe."

Ugh. No.

I go away from the door before Shelby comes out. "I guess Celeste Marie Piper is coming to ruin everyone's lives," I say quietly. The rest of the guys have just about the same reaction as I do. "I honestly have never met anyone so—" Shelby comes out of the bathroom before I finish. "So what's going on?"

"I told her to come, but she's not my date. I don't understand why she's so wishy-washy sometimes."

I understand why.

The next thing I know, Shelby is downstairs explaining this mess to Aiden, and the rest of us are groaning and griping. The girls are still getting ready by the time we go downstairs, but it's only the 'last touches', according to Christina. I haven't worn a suit since the summer fundraiser we had for football, so I can't help but check myself out in the mirror. I tighten my bowtie in the mirror, and Logan sneaks behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. "I must say, while you look so good in the suit—"

"Don't," I interrupt. Logan smiles, pats my butt, and walks away. I just can't help but grin to myself, because Logan looks damn good in his tuxedo too.

Parents show up before Pipp does, and most of them are taking candid pictures. Not everyone's parents are here, but that's probably a good thing. Logan's house is only so big. My parents are the last to show up.

Christina looks absolutely gorgeous in her pink and white dress. In my opinion, we might be the best looking couple at Fall Festival. Everyone is scrambling for pictures, but Aiden stays sitting on the couch. "Light outside is fading," I comment lowly, taking a seat beside her. She shrugs. "You look perfect. And... I know it's not my fault, but I'm sorry that Pipp showed up out of nowhere."

"I don't care," Aiden grumbles. I hear her sniff, but she's turned away from me.

"You look absolutely amazing, Abraham," I say, poking her in the side. She hits my hand. "Look, if anything—"

"If anything, he's going to ditch me. I'm not staying the whole time." Just as she finishes her sentence, my parents pop into Logan's living room.

"Ohhh! You two look so good!" Mom says, doing little jumps up and down. "Let's get a few pictures." Aiden doesn't look like she's been crying, and she gives a little smile. We snap a few photos, and then people are calling for us to come outside. Everyone is in a group photo with their dates, unless they don't have one. Aiden decides not to be difficult, and she poses with Shelby, but her smile is fake. We take a few group photos, silly ones and serious ones, and then people are taking couple pictures.

"Oh Christina, you look wonderful, sweetie," my mom muses. "And wow, Shelby. You are a handsome young man."

"Thank you," Chris and Shelby reply. After a few awkward photos (the awkwardness coming from Shelby and Aiden), everyone seems to be gearing up to leave. While Mom goes to talk to other parents and be social, my dad approaches me quickly.

"Do you want a picture with Logan?" he asks. It takes me by surprise, and I nod. Right at that moment, I catch Logan's eye and wave him over. "You boys look really great," my dad says, and I know it's genuine.

We sneak around the corner, and my dad takes a picture of Logan kissing my cheek.

**********

Fall Festival isn't one of those dances where people show up fashionably late.

Basically, West Crimson's student population is here all at once. It's not impossible to sneak alcohol inside, even though I doubt many people did. As soon as I walk inside, I prepare myself for the drama of the night. Wouldn't be a real event without all that West Crimson drama.

It starts when Cill shows up with not Derek. She's an absolute knockout, and her date is pretty hot, too. Travis Keeler. Derek and Sydney Mays pretend not to notice, but the rest of us do. Then Logan openly ditches Violet at the first slow song. I'm pretty sure Mitch and Marshall are drunk, and so is Matt, but he's not hiding it.

I feel good though. That's all that matters. Not quite confident enough to slow dance with Logan, but good enough.

The group at Logan's house hangs out for the first hour, and surprisingly, besides a few peculiar looks and some freshmen girls scurrying off to the side of the dance floor, it's been a normal dance.

"What are you waiting for?" Logan asks. I turn toward him. "You look like you're anticipating something."

"I'm just waiting for the drama," I sigh, putting my hand on his leg. Logan kisses my cheek.

"What if you're the drama?" he asks with a raise of his dark eyebrows.

I gasp exaggeratedly. "Then I'm not doing my job, am I?" I kiss Logan twice, on the lips, and then we both head over to the food table. We both have mini sandwiches in our mouth for barely twenty seconds when a teacher I had last year, Mrs. Hansen, is on our heels. At first, I think we're blocking the food she wants, but then she follows us.

"Logan, Brandon—" she steps closer to us, "—you need to watch the PDA. I mean, you can talk and hangout without putting your hands and mouths all over each other."

I'm absolutely speechless. I've kissed Logan on one occasion while we've been here. We held hands through a four minute song. I haven't even hugged him or danced with him. I do not know what to say. If anything, I don't trust myself to say a sentence without getting emotional. Mrs. Hansen seemed to like me last year. We haven't even done anything.

"You're kidding, right?" Logan scoffs.

Mrs. Hansen rolls her eyes. "Honey, we're all trying to have a good, safe time. I'm just here to monitor and make sure things don't get out of hand."

"I've seen about six drunk kids since the hour I've been here, Miss. I don't think we should be a big concern. Plus, there are plenty of couples making out throughout this room," Logan says, squeezing my hand. I didn't even notice that he grabbed it.

Hansen sighs. "I wasn't looking for a dispute. I was just letting you know."

Logan retaliates, "And I'm just letting you know that there are drunk kids here, which should probably draw more concern. But if you want, we'll help you spot that dangerous PDA." With that, he heads off to our friend group, pulling me with him. "She didn't even try to hide her homophobia."

I still don't know if I can say anything without getting overwhelmed. Logan notices, and he turns me his way. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"She's jealous she's old and doesn't get to kiss someone as cute as you," Logan says, then he kisses my neck. I shrug. Logan wraps his arms around my waist. "There's probably going to be a lot of that. In restaurants, at school, in malls—just any public place, really. And you'll be upset every time, which you should be. But... I'll be with you."

I shake my head. "Or they could just not be assholes."

"That's not going to happen," Logan whispers. "Trust me on that."

I try my best not to let Mrs. Hansen get to me, but for some reason, I can't shake the uncomfortable feeling away. I feel like everyone is secretly watching us, like every time we think we're having a moment, a hundred other people are in on that moment, too. I want to have a good time without being paranoid.

Pretty soon, a group dance song plays, and Logan drags me to the floor, despite not knowing a single step to the "Cha Cha Slide". We're standing on the side, just on the outskirt of the large group, and Logan makes me hold his hands and face him while we giggle and do the wrong steps (me, on purpose; him, involuntarily). When the song ends, Logan wraps his arms around me and kisses me quickly, not giving a crap about who's watching. "Thank you for letting me crack you out of your shell." I simply smile, and Logan takes both my cheeks in his hands and turns me to face him, looking into my eyes intensely. "I'm serious. I don't want to emphasize it, but I know this is a big deal for you. I am so happy that I'm with you here, tonight. And tomorrow, and for a long while, you know?"

I smile and open my mouth to respond when the DJ stops the music and asks for everyone's attention. "Excuuuuuse me, West Crimson High, but we have some royalty in the building! We ought to give them a proper ceremony, don't you agree?" Many people cheer and clap. "Well, well, come on to the center of the floor, and we'll get started." Logan and I are close enough to the group, so we don't move. I hear some people groaning, some are absolutely up to their ears with excitement, and then the rest of us—the smart ones of us—know that Derek, Sydney, Carter or Matt, and Stephanie are going to be our royalty this year.

It's fun to watch hopefuls get upset anyway.

"Your Fall Festival Princess this year—drumroll please—" the DJ makes a big deal of opening the envelope—"Sydney Mays!"

Typical. Most people cheer. I just grunt. I've never been a fan of Sydney. There are prettier, nicer girls to be around.

"Your Fall Festival Prince—Mitchell Kern!"

There's literally a pause in the room for a whole second before people start applauding. I can't help that my jaw drops at the mention of Mitch's name. I am definitely not a fan of Mitch whatsoever. Even he's surprised the whole time the crown is put on top of his curly-haired head. He poses with Sydney while pictures are taken, and—I know this is pitiful—but I knew I'd never be royalty at F&F, but I'd have just about anyone over Mitch—

"Queen, Priscilla Clay!"

At this point, everyone knows something's up. Only senior girls are allowed to be F&F Queen—

"And your Fall Festival King—Brandon Owens!"

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a/n: you're welcome to roast the author in the comments. she's a mess.

Brandon

Christina

Logan

Violet

Cill

enjoy ur life