When the Sun Goes Down--Chapter Four

Chapter Four

~The night was young, the fire was blazing in the fire place, the lights were dimmed, and slow music was filtering through the air. Logan shook his head as he came into the room and scowled at the man there. "You mind gettin' a room so I don't have to watch this in my own house?" he questioned as he leaned against the wall, a brow raised delicately at the two on the sofa.

The man on the sofa, a boy of maybe seventeen years, turned his head to look at him with hungry green eyes. "Oh c'mon, Logan, have a heart," he said, his voice full of mock hurt. "Angie here just wanted to see the house, and well, it's a nice house."

Logan scoffed. "Yeah, I'm sure it is," he mumbled. "Sorry, Nathan, but you gotta get up early tomorrow." He looked at the girl with long, dark brown hair and dazzling azure eyes. "I'm sorry, Miss, but really, he needs to get up early." The girl gave a shy nod and rose to leave. Her and Nathan kissed briefly before she left the house. Nathan looked at Logan and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Man, do you really have to ruin all of my fun?"

"Have you forgotten that Kam's still missing, and Toga is supposed to train us in the morning? Jesus, are you that self-centered?"

Nathan's eyes narrowed. "What, you think you're better than me?"

"I didn't say that--"

"Because I saw you with Ginger yesterday, Logan. You two were pretty cozy in your room. What, no risk then? Yeah right, man. This isn't about Kam and you know it. You're just pissed that Casey died in that fire--"

"Don't you dare mention her!" Logan snapped, his eyes blazing and hard. "You don't dare! You don't have the right!"

Nathan glared. "And what, you have a right to boss me around? You're a year older, Logan. One year. That's it. Big deal. You're not the boss of me, and I don't like being bossed around."

Logan clenched his eyes tightly closed and took in a deep breath. For a long moment, it was silent, Nathan watching Logan, Logan trying to stay calm. Finally, Logan nodded and looked at him. "Yeah, okay. Sorry, dunno what I was thinkin'. Won't happen again."

Nathan nodded slowly. "I'm sorry, too."

Logan shrugged and left the room.~
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Logan's eyes snapped open and he gazed at the ceiling, panting and gasping for breath. His eyes were wide, wild, and held a look of utter confusion as they darted around the room. The hell? he thought with a flutter of panic deep within. He sat up quickly and hopped out of bed. Attacked by a sudden rush of dizziness, he was forced to sit back down when his legs gave way. Gasping at a sudden, relentless pain in his head, he brought a hand up and clenched his eyes tightly closed as memories slammed into him. I live here, he told himself. This is my house. I'm not with Nathan anymore. I live here. Tyler's here. Tyler... He opened his eyes and gazed around the room slowly, as if in a daze.

He hadn't shouted in his dream, had he? He paused and listened for any sign that Tyler was awake, but there were no noises in the house, no noises other than the usual creaking and groaning that it made at all hours of the night. He had used to think that it was strange, but now he was used to it, even soothed by it. Listening to it now, he took a deep breath and hurried to calm himself down. He couldn't let Tyler see him like this, it would raise too many questions, and that was not something he needed right now.

'Coffee,' he thought. 'I need coffee. And friggin' aspirin.' He got to his feet, paused as a wave of dizziness claimed him, and then walked out of the room once it had finally passed. Stumbling down the stairs, he kept his curses quiet when he stubbed his toe on the last step before he turned and headed into the kitchen. Pouring himself a cup of old coffee, he heated it with a simple thought, and then brought it to his lips as it began to steam and boil. After three quick swallows, he felt a little better. He wasn't so on edge.

'Jesus, can't those freaking dreams just leave me alone? Nathan's dead. Casey's dead. Ginger's dead. Haven't I suffered enough?' He closed his eyes and willed the images, memories of the dream, out of his mind. His eyes closed, he took in five deep, calming breaths, before he took a long swallow of his coffee. Raising his hand, the bottle of aspirin on the counter levitated into the air and slowly soared to him. He pried the lid off and tossed four into his mouth, swallowing them with the last of his coffee before he tossed the bottle aside and rose to his feet.

He migrated out of the kitchen and slowly made his way back upstairs, somehow knowing that he wasn't going to be getting anymore sleep on this night. 'Damn it. Can't a guy ever get a break?'
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Tyler blinked his eyes open as sunlight peaked through the blinds on the windows, almost shyly, it seemed. He yawned, stretched, and then slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He nearly let out a yelp when he looked over and saw Logan sitting in a chair near the wall by the door, eyes guarded, expression unreadable. The elder man leaned forward in the chair and watched him, seemingly studying him. Tyler shifted uncomfortably. "Uh...Logan...what is it?" he asked, his voice quiet and confused. "Did...something happen?"

"I'll say," Logan muttered, voice flat, eyes a bit too dark and emotionless for Tyler's liking. Logan pulled the sleve back on his long-sleeved shirt, showing a patch of white bandaging with a bit of a red stain in the middle. "I can assure that I didn't do this to myself. I may hate my life at times, but never enough to cut myself."

Tyler froze. "Did I...no, no I couldn't have, I...no, I didn't!"

Logan sighed and allowed a tired smile to appear, however briefly. "It's okay, kid. Yeah, it was you. You were having another nightmare. No books this time, thankfully, for my head hurts enough already. Don't know how you got a knife, though. Guess there was one in here somewhere." He shrugged to himself. "Anyway, it doesn't matter, because I'm supposed to be teaching you, right? It's not your fault that you can't control it."

Tyler swallowed. "But...but I hurt you...again."

"It's okay, kid. It's not that big a deal."

"I hurt you," Tyler murmured, eyes wide. He sounded sickened by the idea, and turned pale when he spoke next. "I could have killed you!" He backed up toward the far wall, trying to get as far away from Logan as possible.

Logan sighed and scrubbed at his face before he rose to his feet and took a small step forward. "Now, kid, don't be like that. It's okay, I swear. I couldn't control my powers when I first came into them, either. It's okay. Honest to God, it's okay. I'm fine, I don't blame you."

Tyler still looked doubtful. "I hurt you...I cut you, I--"

"It's okay," Logan broke in, giving an exasperated smile. "How many times do I have to tell you? It's okay. I'm okay, you're okay, everything's just fine. I just have to teach you, is all. Now. Are you ready to get started?"

Tyler hesitated a moment, before he gave a timid nod. "Yeah..."

Logan nodded. "Good. After breakfast though. I dunno about you, but I'm starving." He smiled briefly before he walked out, leaving Tyler staring in his wake.

'I could have killed him,' Tyler thought with a small shudder. 'I hurt him, again. That's twice now. I can't control it...I could have killed him...I could have...' He hurried to rid himself of his thoughts as he left his room to follow after Logan.

After all, Logan had said that he didn't blame him, right? That everything was okay? Tyler sighed. He hoped Logan wasn't lying.