I'll Protect You (Re-Edit #2, 2016)

If the Grim Reaper gave me a boat ride, how long am I cursed for?

dedicated to halleloujaahx for the wonderful cover she made!

* * *

I ran in front of Logan's car.

Okay, before you all shake your heads at me, I didn't mean to run out before his car. I was casually strolling through the parking lot, searching for that vehicle of his while keeping his sweater on my head, feeling a lot like Professor Quirrell when I saw him driving my way.

He was headed towards the exit at a pace that was most definitely not legal in such a confined parking spot and I needed to stop him.

Alright, so running out in front of his car might have been on purpose.

Luckily for me, Logan still had enough sense in his head to slam on the brakes when I jumped in front of his car like some deranged zombie. After a few seconds, I managed an awkward little wave. I swear, Logan's eyes rolled so far back in his head, it was a miracle that they reappeared.

My phone, which was tucked into my left shoe, began to buzz, so I reached down to pull the device out. Bags and clutches were inconveniences—something I had learned after years of running from my enemies.

Logan's name flashed across the screen. Oh, gods. Here comes the lecture on road safety.

"Please don't kill me," was the first thing out of my mouth when I answered.

Logan didn't say anything, but I watched him shake his head before the line went dead and he dropped his phone. Then, he beckoned for me to join him on his journey of misery.

Well, look at that. He hadn't yelled. Honestly, I had expected him to be all, "LOGAN ANGRY! LOGAN SMASH!" on me.

This was a very good start.

Once I climbed into the car, taking care to make sure that the sauce on the front of my dress didn't inflict too much damage onto the leather interior, Logan asked, "Is Vincent going to take care of Sophia?"

I nodded in confirmation and Logan let out a sigh. "Tell him thanks for me," he muttered as he pressed on the gas pedal and drove off, entering the empty streets. It was a Thursday night, but it was Halloween so the normal five o'clock traffic was absent. The sidewalks were littered with trick-or-treaters, though. Miniature ghosts and vampires haunted the evening, accompanied by somewhat less frightening parents. I even saw a few academy students pull the oh-so classic 'Zombie Academy Student.'

Logan pulled alongside a curb in front of the main Paradise shopping square, where there was a little children's Halloween fair going on. Plastic pumpkins with golden lights hidden in the hollowness of the fake squashes hung from black wires. I saw a small boy dressed as Superman jump up and down repeatedly before his father swerved in to pick him up, allowing Superman to touch the pumpkins.

"Will you do me a favor?" Logan asked, his voice soft. He pressed his head against the steering wheel, arms crossed over the top of the wheel.

"I'm not going to apologize," I said abruptly, knowing that would be his favor. "I've taken enough of her crap and—"

"Will you take my mind off what happened earlier?"

I had assumed wrong.

At first, I didn't answer him. A great part of me was still furious with him for lying to me about Sophia. But watching him in the car, hearing the hurt in his voice over what Sophia had nearly done told me that right now, Logan needed a friend.

"I'm going to need a change of clothes," I spoke up. "There's no way we're going on an adventure while I look like the Ariana Grande version of Bloody Mary."