21. Take It Out

Logan walked up to the gates of his parent's house with a lingering smile on his face. Brushing a finger over his lips he replayed the events of the day in his head until finally he landed on the highlight; kissing Maisie for the first time. But, if Logan was going to be honest, it was a bit of an awkward stumble in the beginning until Maisie got her shit together.

Logan dived in like an idiot but he didn't expect for his lips to actually hit Maisie's. The girl in question flinched back so hard that her head hit the brick wall behind her.

"Shit," she cursed and gripped her skull with the palm of her hand and rubbed her lips with the other. "Next time you try to get it on with me, please refrain from injuring me in the process."

Logan winced and wondered if the moment was completely gone now. Probably.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "That didn't go as planned."

"Well I'd hope not," Maisie said and then sighed, pulling her hands away and holding onto the fabric of Logan's shirt. "That doesn't mean I still don't want it though."

Logan looked at her with disbelief before shaking his head and laughing.

"Only you," he murmured and leaned forward quickly, pressing his lips back to her.

Of course, when it came to Maisie, nothing could be simple or orchestrated normally without awkward moments naturally slipping in. And so, when Logan tried to kiss her again, Maisie jerked in surprise and knocked her knee hard against the front of Logan's.

He flinched away and huffed out a laugh as Maisie freaked out. She patted down his shoulders and rambled for a few minutes about how sorry she was and that usually she wasn't this much of a disaster. Logan smiled and held onto her shoulders, leaning close but slower this time.

"Only you," he whispered again, fondly and gently kissed her.

After that, Maisie started to function like a normal human being and a bruised thigh later, she had finally stopped flailing about in surprise every time he came close. By the time Logan pulled away, Maisie's face was as bright as her hair and Logan couldn't help the quick teasing that came with it.

But now he needed to go back home for a few minutes and grab some things from his old room. He might be able to sneak in a quick movie with Juno before he headed back to his apartment. With this in mind, he slipped through the large gate that glimmered under the streetlights and stopped dead in his tracks before walking to the front door.

There were cars everywhere. Logan probably should have picked up on the faint music in the background or the low hum of conversation that mingled into it. But he'd overlooked all the usual signs of one of his parent's large parties.

He headed quickly towards the front door, pebbles crackling under his shoes and digging into his skin. The cold night air whipped against his cheek, chilling the tips of his ears and raising a blush across his cheekbones. Logan didn't bother to knock and instead let himself through the unlocked door and into the house. He slid the lock shut behind him and noticed people everywhere. Filling their cups with liquid from a large bowl, leaning against the walls, walking through the rooms, lounging on the couches, elbows against the kitchen counters and mingling with one another.

Logan's eyes scanned the room for a familiar face – Juno's face.

Nothing.

He frowned and pushed his way into the kitchen and out of the large glass doors that led to a patio. He forced the doors open and took a step out with one foot before he saw his mother, sat on the deck chair with a wine glass in her hand taking to other people.

His body tensed with anger.

Logan walked over to his mother and stopped in front of her.

"Where is he?"

"Who?" his mother asked, not looking up at him.

"Who do you think?" Logan asked. "Where's Juno?"

"Probably safely tucked away in his room," his mother said.

"Probably?" Logan sneered at her and his mother bristled a little, sitting more upright.

Logan sighed and shook his head. He walked past her and back into the kitchen where he had to force his way to the staircase which he clambered up quickly. The hallway his and Juno's bedrooms were along started right where the doors of his father's study stood. He stopped beside them and saw that the large, wooden doors were sealed completely shut.

That meant his father was in there, sat behind a desk with a laptop screen glued to his eyes. Logan was sure that if he pressed his ear to the door he would be able to hear the tapping of keyboard keys running a repetitive beat.

Eyes focusing on the end of the hallway, Logan forced himself away from his father's study and down the carpeted hall until he reached Juno's room. He ran a finger down the little yellow sticker that had 'Juno's room, back off' written on it. A hint of a smile fell across Logan's face and he knocked on the door before pushing it open.

"Juno?" he called out gently into the dark room and was met by the flashing lights of the television screen glaring against the walls. His eyes fell on the bundled-up boy lying in his bed, staring at the screen until he noticed Logan and sat up.

Juno's face spread out into a smile. "Logan! What are you doing here?"

"Hey buddy," Logan flicked the light on and walked over, sitting on the end of the bed. "Just passing by. Have you had dinner yet?"

Juno shook his head. "The kitchen's too crowded, they're too big and I don't like their food. It's all pickled and yucky."

Logan looked over at the digital clock on the bedside table.

8:57

He sighed as he looked at his younger brother before making a split-second decision. He stood up and pointed to the bag in the corner of the room.

"Alright buddy, pack an overnight bag, you're staying at mine tonight, we'll have a sleepover."

Juno grinned and jumped out of bed. "Will Maisie be there?"

"Not tonight," Logan said and helped Logan fold his pyjamas up before slipping them into the bag. He grabbed Juno's toothbrush and favourite bubble bath before grabbing the bag and lifting it from the ground.

Logan thought about all the people downstairs and how dense the space was. He crouched down and patted his back. "Go on, No-No. I haven't given you a piggy-back in ages."

Juno grinned and literally jumped like a flying squirrel onto his brother's back, clutching at his neck. Logan switched the television off and headed out of the room, his brother on his back and the bag on his arm. They walked past their father's study, down the stairs and out of the door with little fuss. Juno clutched Logan tighter when the cold air hit him and Logan walked faster.

The sound of the door opening behind them made him slow down though.

"Where are you taking him, Logan?" his mother yelled.

"Away from you!" he shot back, still walking. "You can have him back in the morning when you remember how to be a parent."

Juno got into his brother's car and did his seatbelt. He could just see out of the front window and played with his fingers in his lap. Logan looked over at his brother and started up the car, driving slowly down the street, leaving the party behind.

"You hungry?" Logan asked.

Juno nodded and Logan smiled a little.

They pulled up into a little food shack on the way home and sat on some bar stools that looked directly out the window at the city lights ahead. Logan enjoyed the view as a pickle slipped from his burger and Juno was too occupied with wolfing down his chicken strips. The ice cream sundae to his left was slowly melting and Logan knew he was trying to finish his food before it became a puddle.

Logan took a sip of his fountain drink and felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked down at his brother and frowned.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Can I live with you?" Juno asked bluntly and Logan's chest constricted for a moment before he sighed and ruffled his brother's hair.

"You don't want to live with me, No-No," Logan said. "Not really."

"I do," Juno huffed. "I don't like it there."

Logan turned in his seat, leaning his elbow against the tabletop and placed his chin in his hand. "You don't mean that. Sure, moments like this don't make home look like the best place. And yeah, mom and dad do stupid things like throwing parties and going on long business trips. But not everything is bad."

"Feels like it," Juno whispered.

"You remember when you got sick and didn't want to eat anything for a couple days? When you finally got better you wanted ice-cream more than anything. So, mom went out and bought as many tubs of your favourite ice-cream as she could fit in her kart and then sat with you until two in the morning, eating and watching whatever movie you wanted. Mom had an important board meeting that morning, nearly lost the project from staying up most the night. But she did it for you," Logan said. "They're not perfect, Juno. But they love you, and they're trying the only way they can."

Juno looked down and stared at his sundae. He picked it up and took a spoonful.

"Why do they never do that stuff anymore? They never have fun with me," Juno said.

"They're busy," Logan said. "But there's nothing wrong with making them do a movie night once a week. Or take you to the theme park now and then. We'll figure it out."

Juno nodded and ate more of his ice-cream. He leaned over and rested his head on Logan's shoulder and the latter smiled down at the little boy, dropping his head down too.

"Love you, Juno," he whispered.

***

Logan's apartment was dark when he walked in apart from the kitchen. He dropped Juno's bag down on the floor and picked his shoes off.

"Nick?" Logan called out, taking Juno's coat from him.

Nick emerged from the confinements of the kitchen with a mouthful of gummy bears. He gulped them down harshly when he saw Juno stood in the hallway.

"Oh, hello you beautiful ray of shit," Nick said as he rushed over and threw Juno up into his arms making him squeal. "I've missed you!"

Juno laughed and patted Nick's head. "Stop Nicky, put me down! It's too high!"

"Never," Nick roared and threw Juno onto the couch.

Nick glanced over at Logan when Juno wasn't looking and Logan knew exactly what his eyes were saying. Question after question until his face became understanding. Logan nodded mutely and Nick patted him on the shoulder.

Logan watched as his friend went over to Juno, bundling him up with blankets and putting The Incredibles on the television. Juno stayed smiling until he got perhaps twenty minutes into the movie and he was out. Logan walked over and sat on the other side of Juno, Nick preoccupying the other. He ran his hand through his little brother's hair and let out a long breath.

"Another party?" Nick asked.

"Yeah," Logan said softly.

He looked up and saw the concern on Nick's face. "It'll be fine. I'll sort it out."

Logan no longer had a choice not to.

- Ellie x