"L A B E L S"

Episode 51

Mia is quickly grabbing things out of her locker, stuffing them into her bag. She gets frustrated because her book won't go into her bag and the bag ends up falling to the ground. "Shit!" She grumbles and bends down to pick up her stuff while mumbling under her breath in frustration. She gets most of it picked up and begins reaching for the last pencil on the ground when someone bends down and picks up the bottle of Xanax she had overlooked. He stands up with it in his hand and she quickly stands up, looking at him straight ahead with wide eyes.

Joe holds it out to her with a small smile as she quickly grabs the bottle from him, stuffing it into her bag and closing her locker.

"You really gotta have a tight hold on those bags, they'll just jump right out of your hand." He smirks, jokingly and sticks his hands into his pockets.

She flashes a quick smile and nods. "Yeah. Well, thanks for the help. See you around, Joe." She turns and rushes off down the hallway as he stares after her with curiosity and a slight twinge of concern but he was never one to meddle.

Mia quickly steps outside and takes a deep breath, letting the fresh air engulf her. She opens her eyes and sees Logan walking away from the school. She stares after him with curiosity and shows a small smile before following after him. "This is one way to get some answers..." She follows behind him quietly for the next ten minutes, although she didn't really have to worry about being quiet, his headphones were jammed in his ears and he was completely oblivious to the world around him. She hides behind the corner of a building and watches as he walks across the street, towards a run-down apartment complex about twenty minutes from the school.

Logan starts to get the notion that someone is following him, and he has a pretty good idea who it is so he acts like he is going into the building but instead ducks behind to wall so she can't see him.

She crosses the street after him and walks up the steps of the apartment complex when suddenly someone jumps out behind her, giving her a mild heart attack. She opens her eyes after the scare and sees Logan smiling at her in amusement, she quickly slaps him in the gut with a clenched jaw. "Don't do that! You scared me to death!"

He smirks and gives her a disbelieving look. "Oh really? And you don't think it's scary to be followed home from school?"

"Hey, I'm completely harmless."

"And I'm not?"

She shrugs and looks towards the stairs of his apartment complex. "I don't know...why don't you show me where you live and then maybe I'll be able to make an educated decision?"

He shakes his head  and crosses his arms, giving her a firm and serious look. "No, Mia, just go home."

She crosses her arms and gives him the exact same firm expression. "No."

He had never meant someone who could dish his own antics right back at him. He wasn't used to anyone even attempting to compete with him at a starring contest. She tilts her head to the side, keeping up her determined expression. It was hard for her not to smile, she could tell she had him. She was the only one who could beat him at his own game.

~~~  

Jake walks out of the back office of the coffee shop with James, the manager, following close behind. "Thanks for the chance, Mr. Tamie."  

James smiles and sticks out his hand. "James...we're pretty informal around here." Jake shakes his hand with a small smile and James points finger at him. "But just because you get to call me by my first name doesn't mean I won't fire you...got it?"  

Jake snickers at James' attempt to be intimidating. "Got it."  

"Great. So, we'll see you Saturday?"