If We Have Each Other

Chapter 27

Monday, September 20, 2021

Monday morning finally came. Dallas did not sleep well at all, and neither did Logan. They had both been thinking about the other person all night. Dallas continued to be distracted throughout the day, growing more and more anxious as 7th period crept closer, and closer.

At lunch, Dallas thought he was about to pass out. He felt a constant pressure in his chest throughout the morning, but now it felt like it was going to crush him. He sat down at a table, and nearly dropped his tray because his arms and hands were shaking so much, and he felt dizzy.

"Ok, I think I'm really gonna pass out now," he thought, resting his head on the table.

"Breathe, Dallas, breathe. You don't want to have to explain to the nurse and your parents that you were like this because of a boy," he thought, trying to take deep breaths. Before he knew it, 15 minutes went by. He ate a little bit of his lunch, deciding not to eat it to not risk it coming back up. He walked slowly to 6th period, afraid he would pass out at any moment. The bell rang, and Dallas sat down at his desk. Only 45 more minutes until he sees Logan, and gets his chance.

"If I almost passed out, maybe I should just back out," he thought. As much as he hated to pass up his opportunity, he'd rather not do it than pass out. Sighing, he made his best effort to pay attention to what was going on in class.

After what seemed like forever, 6th period came to an end. "Breathe, Dallas. You can't pass out now. You don't have to do this," he thought, trying to comfort himself. He took a deep but shaky breath, opened the library door, and sat down at the table next to Logan. 

"Hi Dallas," Logan said in a cheerful voice.

"God, his voice will be the death of me," Dallas thought. There was something about his voice. It was so sweet but the tone was....different. He didn't know what it was, but it made him go crazy inside.

"Hey Logan. I actually have something to ask you," Dallas said without thinking.

"Yeah?" Logan asked, leaning in closer.

"Shit, shit, shit, what did I do?" Dallas asked himself, starting to panic. "I didn't mean to say that!" He paused for a moment, catching his breath.

"Well, fuck it, there's no going back now," he thought, determined to say the thing that's been on his mind for the past few days.

"Um— I....uh...I...sorry— I just...." Dallas stuttered out, trying to get a comprehensible sentence out. Logan looked at him with concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked. His voice was soft and caring. Dallas started to sweat and turn red. "Thank god for masks," he thought.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I was wondering......if......" he paused, and took another deep breath before he said what he had been planning to say all weekend. He glanced around the library to make sure no one was paying attention, and then said very quietly,

"Do you want to go to homecoming with me?"

Logan blinked. "What did he just say?" he thought, starting to blush. "No, it can't be. He must mean as a friend, there's no way he would ask me."

"Like...as a friend?" Logan asked, matching Dallas's volume.

"Wait, what if by some slim chance he does? I don't want to make it seem like it's not an option," Logan thought.

"Or a couple?" he quickly added. "Crisis avoided," he thought.

"Well...I— I was thinking as a couple, but if you wanted to go as friends I would be perfectly happy with that too," Dallas said.

Logan couldn't believe what he was hearing. "My crush is asking me to homecoming. Not many people can say that," he thought. Logan smiled, and nodded.

"Yes, I'll go to homecoming with you. As a couple," Logan said. Dallas's face lit up.

"Oh my god, are you serious?" Dallas asked.

"Yes, of course I am," Logan replied, smiling.

"So...we both are confessing to each other?" Dallas asked.

"I guess. I've had a crush on you since I first bumped into you, and I was straight until a few days ago," Logan laughed.

"Really? I made you question your sexualiality?" Dallas asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, you did. I'm still questioning, but I know I'm not straight," Logan answered. "Do you remember that dream we talked about at the sleepover?" he asked.

"Yeah. What about it?" Dallas asked, but he had a pretty good guess on what he was going to say.

"The person in the dream was you," Logan whispered.

Dallas nodded, and said, "I dreamt about you too."

"So....about us. Are we going to start dating or anything?" Dallas asked.

"Well, let's see how homecoming goes. I'm nervous being open around people we don't know, but let's just wait for homecoming before making anything official," Logan said.

"Yeah, that makes sense. Taking things too fast can be detrimental, so I like your idea," Dallas replied.

"Now I need to figure out what to wear. If I knew I was going to homecoming, I would've gone clothes shopping with my mom," Logan said.

"Just wear what you have, you don't need to buy anything," Dallas said. "You don't know how much I was stressing over asking you. I couldn't sleep last night, and this day was probably the longest of my life. I think I even had a panic attack during lunch—"

"You had a panic attack??" Logan interrupted, raising his voice.

"Umm, I think I might've. I don't know for sure, but my chest was really tight and I was breathing really hard," Dallas confessed.

"Dallas, that's a panic attack," Logan said, his voice turning soft and caring.

"I...I don't have them very often. They only happen when I'm super nervous or stressed. I'm okay though," Dallas said.

"Okay, but if you have another one, can you please tell me?" Logan asked softly.

"Ok, I will," Dallas answered. Logan looked around, and leaned over the table to hug Dallas.

"You promise?" he asked, feeling Dallas's warm embrace.

"I promise," Dallas replied, hugging Logan back.

The rest of the week was relatively uneventful, but both of them were anxious for homecoming. What will other people think? What would they tell their parents? How would they disguise themselves at homecoming? They will need to figure out answers, and some answers can only be received by testing the waters.