Breathe

| prologue

LOGAN BRADFORD | PROLOGUE

There is always a good and a bad to something, no matter what it is. Everything had a good aspect and a bad one. For instance, the good thing about summer was: school was out. However, the bad thing was the immense heat that managed to seep down to Californian soil. There really wasn't much you could do with heat like this, except go to the beach or find yourself a swimming pool to indulge in. Though, luckily, summer nights were much different. Summer nights were when everyone decided to do whatever they wanted, sleep whenever they wanted, and party for however long they wanted.

Logan and Haven were no exception.

Once the clock struck nine, Logan's parents were soundlessly asleep (except for Logan's dad, he was quite the snorer). She shook her best friend, as if to say that the coast was clear and they both tip toed out of the front door of her house. Silently shutting the door, they ran to the side of the house and pulled out both of their boards—Logan rode a penny board because she found it easier to handle, while Haven found a longboard more suitable.

"Are we meeting Jace?" Haven asked once the two of them were finally out of the neighborhood. She followed closely behind Logan. The only thing she could see was her best friend's neon board, as her eyes had not yet adjusted to the lighting change. Though, she could faintly get a glimpse of her brunette hair flying in the wind.

"Mhm," she replied, kicking the ground to lunge herself forward. "Same spot as yesterday." Jace was an addition to their little friendship, making them a trio. The three of them did almost everything together, never leaving each other's side.

The two girls silently skated until they reached a grassy area that would be hard to glide on. Though, they already knew what to do. Stepping off, they grabbed and hid their boards under a nearby bush. After doing so, they continued the rest of their journey by foot. They walked side by side through the woods they've been accustomed to since they were in middle school.

The night was quiet, only thing that could be heard was the sound of their feet crunching on the leaves and the cackling of a fire, which indicated that their friend was nearby.

When they continued on into the woods, through the many trees, they saw the orange glow of a fire and knew they had reached their destination. Just the sight of a the fire dancing on the logs, illuminating their little hang out area, made Logan grateful for the two true friends she had.

"Aye!" Jace shouted once he noticed the two girls in his line of vision. "You guys finally made it!"

"Of course, Logan's just a slowpoke," Haven teased, sitting down on the log. Logan just rolled her eyes, shaking her head and taking a seat next to her. On the floor, unlike any other time they've came here, was a bag of marshmallows accompanies by a box of Honey Maid crackers.

"Are we making s'mores?" Logan asked, trying to hide her enthusiasm but failed miserably. Her eyes lit up at the thought of s'mores because she had never had any. She was always up for trying new things.

Jace took a seat, facing the girls, grinning from ear to ear. He pulled out three Hershey bars from his pocket, distributing a bar to each of the girls. Haven was undoubtedly the most excited of them all because she enjoyed anything that had to do with chocolate. She quickly grabbed herself a stick, which Jace must've gathered, and ripped open the bag of marshmallows.

Logan laughed at the sight, letting Jace instruct her how to properly make a s'more. Shoving a marshmallow onto the top of her stick, Logan held it cautiously above the fire. Haven seemed to be a pro at this because she was already on her third treat.

"Slow down, kid, you're gonna get a sugar rush," Jace snorted, watching her flick him off and shove the sugary treat in her mouth. Logan laughed a little too hard, noticing the corners of her best friend's mouth were tarnished in chocolate.

Not paying any mind to her marshmallow anymore, subconsciously her hand begins to lower as she continues to laugh at Haven's messy eating habits. Suddenly, before Jace or Haven could notify her, her marshmallow was engulfed by the flames. Shrieking, Logan dropped the wooden branch in panic and the fire consumed it within seconds.

Jace smiled, attempting but miserably failing to conceal his laughter. Haven couldn't care less, she giggled endlessly at her best friend's failure. She glanced into the fire pit, knowing she wouldn't find it, and laughed at her own mistake.

"Hand me another branch, man," Logan requested with a light smile on her face, hoping she wouldn't be so careless next time. Her two best friends looked at each other, deciding whether or not to hand her another chance.

"Hell no," they chorused.

"You guys are mean," she pouted, but giddily smiled when Haven offered her a s'more that she had made. She greedily munched on the savory treat, careful not to make a mess on her face. She let the treat melt away in her mouth, satisfying her taste buds.

"You know you love us," Jace shouted, pulling her into a hug. Haven noticed and piled into the hug, too, squishing Logan in between them. She smiled in the hug, awkwardly patting their backs because she didn't know where to put her hands.

"Ah, okay, okay," Logan groaned, pushing them away, "get off of me, you idiots." They laughed, embracing her much tighter than before. "I hate you," she choked out playfully, a grin still plastered onto her face.

"Aw, that's her way of saying she loooves us," Haven laughed, pulling away from their embrace. Soon after, Jace did, too. Logan sent them a teasing glare their way, brushing her shoulders.

She loved the two of them, so much. She knew she would always love them; they were always there for her. When you grow up with two people, you have a special bond that differs from those that form close friendships in high school. Because when you form a friendship in high school rather than elementary, you don't get the satisfaction of seeing each other grow up and go through those awkward yet hilarious changes in life.

Logan subconsciously smiled at the thought, they were the lucky ones. Their friendship managed to survive through the brutalities of high school and she couldn't be any happier with the small set of friends she had.

"I BET I CAN SHOVE MORE MARSHMALLOWS IN MY MOUTH THAN YOU, JACE," Haven's voice echoed through the woods and she snatched the bag from him, ready to own up to her challenged. Jace seemed interested in her bet and nodded, betting all that was in his pocket. Emptying his pocket, there was two dollar bills, loose change, and a paper clip.

Haven didn't care what was in his pocket; she would have done it for free.

She simply shrugged her shoulders and began to stuff her mouth with the white, fully treats. One after another, Jace and Logan would count. Her mouth was bloated, the abundance of jumbo marshmallows not allowing her mouth to fully shut.

"Twenty-six," Jace and Logan chanted in unison, waiting for her to recover and push another one in. As she attempted to shove her twenty-seventh marshmallow, she went through a random fit of giggles and coughs, resulting in her hurling out slimy marshmallows. Logan scrunched her nose in disgust at the sight of twenty-six marshmallows covered in saliva.

But, as utterly disgusting as it was, she had beat Jace's all-time record of seventeen. This prompted her to get up, do her victory dance, and throw the bag of jumbo treats at him. And that's how the rest of the night went; them challenging each other, laughing, and creating more memories.

This memory would live on forever in Logan's head, even if Haven couldn't.

author's note —

sorry for confusion, but i deleted the prologue i put up earlier. i thought this would benefit the story much more. but two big shoutouts, 1) to my friend sarah (@sarbear0612), she begs me to update all the time. love you sarah. 2) @irwinthegod for making the beautiful cover that i'm currently using.