Sk8er Boi (Logan Reese)

seven: sleeves are for the weak!

A week had passed since I got into trouble. Logan hadn't bothered me one bit, which was a good thing. I was trying my hardest to do good, but it was harder than what I thought. It just wasn't Logan that was annoying; it seemed like everyone annoyed me lately. I didn't know why I was getting upset with everyone, though. Maybe it was because I was on my period. Yeah, I could blame my period for my overdramaticness. 

The only sound in the air was my skateboard traveling over the concrete. The air rushed through my braided hair, but my helmet kept my hair in place. I hadn't been wearing my helmet, but I could hear my mother's voice in my head, telling me that I would die if I didn't wear it, so I decided I should. I had already fallen off my skateboard one (not my fault, by the way), so I didn't want another accident to happen. 

The surprisingly cool night air felt great on my skin. It was so hot earlier in the day that I had to take another shower once classes were over. Back home, it was never this hot, so I wasn't used to sweating the whole day. California weather was supposed to be nice, but I hated it.

I slowed to a stop, kicking my skateboard up. Grabbing onto the edge, I stood there for a second, thinking. Coco told me that I couldn't stay out too late since there was a curfew. I probably was out of time, but I wasn't ready to go to bed yet. Quinn still snored louder than a freight train, and there was no way I'd be able to sleep tonight. I'd rather get caught by Coco than go to bed with Quinn snoring her life away. 

I dropped my skateboard to the ground and sat down on it, rolling from side to side. Glancing up at the sky, I saw that there were no clouds obscuring my view from the sky. Back home, I could hardly see the stars and moon because we lived in the town. Pacific Coast Academy was further away from the city, so there wasn't much light pollution. It was a nice thing about this campus. 

The stars twinkled in the night sky, and I laid back on my skateboard. A sense of hope filled my heart at the sight above me. Maybe I was able to make friends here. Zoey did invite me to do things with her friends, so why did I decline the offer? It was because I was used to being alone, right? Yeah, I was, but it would be nice to do things with people. 

But then again, I was better off being alone. I had learned that lesson years ago, and I wasn't going to let it happen to me again. I could have a friend or two. That would be enough. It was easier eavesdropping on people when you're alone, anyway. For example, earlier today, I overheard someone tell her friend that Lola, my #1 Mortal Enemy, was afraid of the bigger costumes, like of animals and things like that. Since Halloween was coming up, I came up with this amazing plan. Hopefully, it would go off without a hitch.

And then my view of the stars was gone. Instead, I saw the curly haired freak known as Logan Reese. Even in the semi-darkness, I could see his bright smile as he stared down at me. God, I spoke too soon, didn't I?

"Well, what do we have here?" he said, crossing his arms over his chest. I noticed that he was wearing yet another shirt where the sleeves were ripped off. "Is little miss Kelsey Rivera cutting curfew?"

"I could ask you the same thing." I reached up and pushed him away from me. Sitting up, I undid my helmet and set it down on the ground next to me. I sighed tiredly, scrubbing a hand across my face. "What do you want, Logan?"

His face changed slightly, but then the confident smile came back. "I wanted to ask you out."

"Let me guess. You just went on another unsuccessful date, so you thought you could try to woo the girl laying on a skateboard?" His smile faded. I struck a chord in him, but this time, I didn't feel too happy about it. "And what is with you and the sleeveless shirts?"

"Sleeves are for the weak!" I couldn't help but laugh at Logan's ridiculous statement. He sometimes said the weirdest things. "Ha, I knew I could make you laugh."

My laughter subsided and I shook my head. I looked up at Logan and saw him in a slightly different light. There was a small halo on him from the intense moonlight, bathing him in a blueish light. "Why are you doing this, Logan? Why me?"

Logan stood there, staring at me. There was something going on behind his eyes, but I couldn't tell what it was. Suddenly, I got nervous. Logan didn't look quite as confident as he did earlier. Instead, he looked . . . sad. "You're the only girl that didn't know about my reputation." He shrugged, forcing a smile onto his pretty boy face. "But it doesn't matter anymore. You know who I am, so I should probably stop annoying you."

Logan spun on his heel, walking away from me. He stuffed his hands into his front pockets, his shoulders slumped. "Logan," I called out. He looked at me over his shoulder, slowing to a stop. "Even if you do annoy me," I said, already regretting what I was going to say, "I don't think you're a bad person, per se. You're just . . . strange."

"Thanks for that, Kels." 

I blinked. He called me Kels, which wasn't my name. Well, technically, it was apart of my name, but it wasn't my full name. I should have been mad that he called me Kels, but I wasn't. "If you try not to annoy me with your sexist, misogynistic comments and don't ask me out, I may like you as a friend."

"Got it," he said, nodding. He flashed me a quick grin, saying, "I'll see you later."

"Okay."

I watched as he walked away, wondering why I told him he could be my friend if he was nicer. My usual anger was gone, and in its place was . . . sorrow? Empathy? I wasn't sure what it was, but I did feel bad for Logan. His friends were kind of rude to him about his dating history. Sure, he was rude back to them, but still. It wasn't right. 

I saw a different side of him tonight, and I kind of liked it. Maybe I could be nicer to him. It would be nice to have a friend here, even if it was Logan Reese, the most annoying boy in the world.