Chemistry - A Sander's Sides Fanfiction

- 37 -

The start of Logan's break seemed bleak, to say the least. He was angry with Patton because he liked him so much and was beating himself up for being angry at Patton because he liked him so much. It was a vicious cycle that was, in all honesty, exhausting. And as much as Logan was getting fed up with it, he couldn't let his guard down again -- he just couldn't. He knew he shouldn't have bothered with emotions in the first place, and look where he was because of it: in pain.

Roman called Logan in a the afternoon -- which didn't surprise him in the slightest; he had been expecting a self-important bout of unwanted advice from Roman since Friday ended. It did not convince him but it did make him falter in his anger for a few moments. He knew he had the power to ease Patton's worry but he wouldn't. All he could feel was that sour, uncomfortable, somewhat-unwanted pettiness and there was nothing he was willing to do about it.

Yes it was immature and yes it was foolish, but at the moment, Logan didn't care.

Late in the afternoon, Logan heard a knock at his door. He sighed, expecting Roman or maybe even Patton (for the boy's unopened voicemails were still sat in Logan's inbox), and he contemplated not answering -- just as he contemplated closing the door after opening it. For there, stood on Logan's doorstep, was perhaps the last person he had expected to see -- or wanted to see:

It was Andrew.

Logan took in a deep breath. "Can I help you?" he asked.

Andrew raised an eyebrow. "No hi?"

"Considering the fact that we are not friends, I would deem what I said to be an appropriate greeting," Logan stated, passive aggression lacing his voice, then repeated, "So can I help you, Andrew?"

Andrew rolled his tongue in his mouth, obviously quickly latching onto the fact that Logan was not in the mood for whatever sort of 'friendly' exchange he was attempting. "Yes, actually." He tilted his head to the side. "Can I come in?"

"May I," Logan corrected in his head, staring blankly at the boy on his front steps for a second before stepping to the side and letting Andrew pass over the threshold. Logan left the door open so that Andrew would know this was to be a short encounter; brief, and therefore it was unnecessary to close a door that would be opened again so soon. He tried to keep the sour taste out of his mouth as he followed the boy on his way in, hoping that the reason Andrew was there wouldn't be too difficult to manage; Logan wasn't exactly in the best state of mind at the moment.

Andrew peered up at the walls and swept his gaze across the furniture, observing the house in polite curiosity. Logan took this moment to note what Andrew was wearing: turquoise pants with a thick burgundy belt and a horizontally-striped black and white shirt. His curly blond hair glowed with the overhead light.

After a moment of contemplation, Andrew turned round and faced Logan square. "Hi," he said after a second, sticking his hand out in front of him, "I'm Andrew. What's your name?"

Logan was confused and frowned at Andrew's outstretched hand. "You know my name," he said.

The boy rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know I do." He let out a breath. "But I don't think we exactly got off on the right foot. Can we just meet each other again -- not as Patton's mutual friends but as people."

Logan didn't exactly see the point to this, but he did not protest. Instead, he complied, shaking Andrew's calloused hand with a firm grip. "I'm Logan," he answered. "It's a pleasure."

"Thank you for humoring me," Andrew congratulated dryly. "Now, to get into why I came here --"

"How exactly did you come here?" Logan asked. "I'm sure I would have remembered giving you my address."