If We Have Each Other

Chapter 26

He paused the video and rested his ear against the door, attempting to eavesdrop.

"Haven't you noticed? Or are you just that oblivious like you always are?" he heard his mom say. Logan couldn't make out the words of who she was talking to.

"Oh, ok, good to know I'm not going insane. Something isn't right. He's been acting differently since around Tuesday. He was facetiming with someone, and he even went to a sleepover yesterday night."

"What? I know I might've been acting differently, and facetiming someone for once, but why would they care that much?" Logan asked himself.

The other person spoke. Logan couldn't understand what they were saying.

"He was acting differently at your house too? In what way?" There was another pause.

"Wait wait wait, back up. He talked to you about a crush?"

Logan gasped. "Please tell me this isn't happening," he said to himself.

"But that still doesn't explain why he went to a sleepover, it was with another boy."

"That's it. I'm jumping out my window," he thought, desperately hoping she wouldn't put the pieces together.

"I don't know either, something isn't adding up. Should I ask him about it?" Another pause. "No, you definitely should not," Logan thought.

"I guess you're right, I'm just a little concerned." There was a short pause, before Logan finally made out something.

"I have to go now, give me some time to think about this," the voice said.

"Alright, bye," his mom said. Logan went back to his desk, and took a minute to ponder what he had just heard.

"How do I not act differently now? At least she hasn't figured out that I have a crush on Dallas," he thought. Trying not to think about it, he went back to his YouTube video.

Most of the day was uneventful. They had the teriyaki chicken his mom had promised. Logan went back to his room after dinner, and it wasn't long before Dallas called, and asked him if he was ready. A few minutes later, they hopped on Facetime, and started the project.

"Ok, so I need more websites about the downsides of Switzerland. Like the high taxes and rent, expensive to start a business, things like that. There are only negative things in the financial aspect of things, because Switzerland is so damn good at everything else," Logan said.

"Of course, what else would you expect from a western European country?" Dallas agreed. "I found that public transportation isn't that great," he said.

"Really? Can you give me more information?" Logan asked.

"Sure. This guy says it costs 7.60 CHF to get to the center, and another 7.60 to get back. Also, an hour and a half trip by train is 84 CHF," Dallas continued.

"Perfect, thank you. Can you find anything else?" Logan asked.

"Health insurance is very expensive, and mandatory. The deductible can be up to 2,500 CHF," Dallas said.

"That's expensive, but not USA level," Logan said, adding the information to his presentation.

"It will take me a while to format it into slides, but I think I'm done with the research part," Logan said, grateful that Dallas helped.

"Really? That's it? I had the impression that it would be longer," Dallas said, surprised.

"Yeah, but I only needed a little research, and I always have trouble finding reliable sources. Researching always takes way longer than it should for me," Logan replied.

"Researching is easy for me, it's the writing that's difficult. I could know everything about a subject, but not be able to write about it," Dallas replied.

"Wow, I'm the opposite. I could write forever. My essays are always longer than everyone else's, but I can't research for shit," Logan said.

"It's funny how we're the complete opposite, but we get along so well. I've only known you for a week," Dallas remarked.

"Yeah, kinda funny how that works," Logan said, his voice trailing off. There was an awkward silence.

"You know how we told each other what our crushes looked like last night?" Dallas asked, trying to control the shake in his voice.

"....Yeah...what about it?" Logan asked, growing concerned.

"I think I'll tell you who it is on Monday," Dallas said, failing to hide his shaking.

"Are you sure? You don't sound very sure in yourself," Logan softly pointed out. Dallas paused for a second before responding, trying to calm himself down.

"I....I'm sure," he said.

"...Okay, but just because you said that doesn't mean you can't back out. If you change your mind, that's fine," Logan reassured him.

"Wow, it's almost like he can read my mind," Dallas thought, his heart still racing. "I don't know why I said that. I don't even know if I want him to get the hint or not," he thought. Then another thought popped up.

"If I admit my crush, will you admit yours?" he asked Logan. This caught Logan off guard, as he was not expecting it.

"Ummmm, maybe. It depends how I feel on Monday," Logan answered. "I wonder who his crush is. I have the feeling it's me, though," he thought.

The next few hours were spent playing seemingly endless games. Smiling, laughing, and enjoying the presence of each other, even if it's just over the phone. Before they knew it, it was well past midnight, and they decided to call it a night.

"Well, that was fun," Dallas said, yawning.

"It really was," Logan agreed. Dallas's yawn triggered Logan to yawn as well.

"Good night Logan," Dallas said, smiling. Seizing the moment, Logan took a screenshot. The dimly lit face of Dallas tiredly smiling appealed to Logan for some reason. He smiled back.

"Good night Dallas," he replied, disconnecting the call. However, Logan had other plans before he went to sleep, totally unrelated to the screenshot of Dallas.

Sunday, September 19, 2021

Sunday came and went rather quickly. Logan stayed home all day, not stepping outside once. Dallas did the same. However, Sunday night did not want to pass as quickly as the day. Dallas laid awake in bed, anxious as ever to Monday. He was second guessing his plans, but wouldn't let himself back out.

"Think of all the green lights at the sleepover," he told himself. "The odds are pretty good, and you won't have another chance like this. Just take a deep breath, and go for it." Even with the self-reassurance, he still had trouble falling asleep. He tossed and turned throughout the night, and was unable to get his mind off of Logan.