Dear Logan

  Logan went to his locker on a cold February morning and found an envelope sealed by a small red heart sticker. This had to be a Valentine. Maybe it was from Liv. He had been meaning to ask her out but he was too afraid to. Was ruining the friendship really worth it?

  He opened the envelope and read the pink paper. It hurt his eyes and it didn't help that she wrote it in red pen. It said:

  "Dear Logan,

  I don't really know how to tell you this... but I'm in love with you. I thought it was impossible. We're only in high school, so what would we know about love? Well, I think we know more than the adults are giving us credit for. It's like they forgot what it's like to be kids.

  I remember meeting you like it was yesterday. I guess you could call it a chance encounter? There will be more about that later. I want it to be a surprise!

  First, I just want to let you know how I feel. Your eyes are simply gorgeous. It's impossible for me to not smile whenever I see them. They are so expressive. I wish that I could talk to you, and get you to look at me the way that you look at your French fries. I've never worn ketchup before, but I'm considering it."

  He smirked. So the admirer was funny. Liv had a good sense of humor, so maybe it was her. But then again, they didn't really meet by chance. Their parents introduced them because they were business partners and it would help both of their companies if they worked together. So who could this be? He kept reading;

  "And you dress really nice, I'm not sure why. People can come to school with their pajamas on, but I can tell that you care a lot about how you present yourself - which is important, but I typically don't put any effort into what I wear. I don't shave either... I hope you don't mind a bush!"

  Logan's mouth fell open. She did not just go there... she probably gave this note to the wrong Logan. There were other Logans at school. But he couldn't stop reading. He was too curious.

  "Anyway, it's nice to know that you carry yourself so well. But most importantly, you are humble, kind and smart. I wish that I was those things, too. I don't have any self esteem. So if we ever date, I'm letting you know ahead of the time that I need frequent validation. Like, a lot of it. So if you don't like that, you can just throw this away and ignore me. "

  Seeking male validation. So she was not a feminist... what a relief! Logan couldn't stand them, they were man haters. But he didn't like a pick-me girl either, they were too desperate - even for him. He would have to find out more about her once she revealed herself. Which could take awhile.

  "I would love to get to know you, so I'll tell you my name at last. Remember when we were smoking pot at your dad's place? It was so chill!"

  Logan froze. He had been off pot for awhile now. It was a one-time thing. It was over. Done.

  "We were on the porch making out because we were horny. It's me, Jill! We were high and we had fun... But you made that beautiful moment between us even more beautiful when you kissed me behind my ear. I could hear your lips, I think that's a lot more intimate than kissing someone on the mouth. "

  It all came back to him. Yeah, Jill had the wild hair, that crazy laugh.. and although she was beautiful, she was not very bright. Obviously not. But...

  "I'm not saying we're going to be together forever because that's just not realistic. All of us will part, won't we? But I'm saying that if I didn't meet you, I would have fallen in love with someone else who is nowhere near as fun to be around as you are. Your smile lights up my whole world. And frankly, I was embarrassed that I kissed a guy under the influence, so I told myself that we would never see each other again and that it would be better that way.

  "But I felt something in me that afternoon, and it wasn't the pot. So you know what I mean? If you do, circle 'yes', if you don't, circle 'no' and I'll leave you alone.

  Sincerely,
  Jill "

  Logan didn't have the right to judge her. He was embarrassed by being under the influence, too. He was sick of his family forcing their business matters on him. Just to spite his dad, Logan waited for him to drive off so he could ask his friend for some pot. He smoked it on the porch, and that's when Jill came around on her dirty bicycle.

  "What're you up to?" She asked.

  "Nothing." She joined him, and they talked about everything and nothing for about an hour. He thought they were just high. That's why they kissed. That's why he felt so close to her at that moment. He wasn't thinking clearly. The next day he tried his damnedest to forget about it. And he did.

  Jill wasn't as lucky.

  Logan bit his lip and tapped the paper with his finger. She deserved a valid answer. It was true, Logan liked his friend Liv a lot, but that was probably because of their parents forcing them to be friends.

  Jill was in the hallway, her hair curly and her hoodie as baggy as ever. She looked exactly the same as she did that day. Her lips were chapped and her eyes were somewhere else. It was as if she forgot that she was waiting on his response.

  He hurried over to Jill to kiss her, grabbing her face. She hesitated at first, but returned the embrace. Logan's friends were shocked, but they clapped and whistled.