A Little Bit Of Joy | ✔

Chapter Twenty Three : The Boy's Guardian

"You do?" That's all he said before the corners of his mouth curled.

"Hey, come on now," I whined, heat rising in my cheeks. "Don't embarrass me! Forget I even said that . . . " I blushed and tilted the laptop towards him. "Anyway, you want to watch a movie?"

He nodded, amusement vividly evident on his face as he silently sat beside me on the bed.

We both observed the screen, the movie Spiderman Homecoming loading because it was a safe choice as my favourites were rom-com movies and I was definitely sure that Logan wouldn't like them. I started randomly, "You don't have a guardian now, do you?"

I could feel Logan staring at me, but I didn't avert my gaze from the screen.

"I can be your guardian," I continued with a whimsical grin.

"I would like that," he mused and a small smile played on his lips, dimples appearing and eyes twinkling mischievously. He appeared so much younger now that it astonished me. I gawked at him for a few good seconds, admiring his lopsided smile and the innocent glint in his eyes.

"Aye, it started!" I exclaimed suddenly to avoid the embarrassment of my staring session. Logan looked a bit startled before we both started watching the movie and I sighed. I couldn't keep quiet the entire time since I had already watched the movie once so I shot him with questions, "How were you like three years ago when everything was normal?"

His eyes softened and he shuffled on the bed. "I was uh-the same."

His gaze flickered between the laptop and my lips before finally settling on me-looking right into my eyes.

"An introvert then?" I asked, trying to ignore the flecks of icy fire in his eyes and he simply shrugged in response. "Did you have friends?"

"Yeah, they're still there, but I stopped talking to them much. It happened after the accident, I-I think. I was unable to spend more time with them since I had other things to take care of." It would have been difficult to catch up with friends since they would hang out all the time and Logan wouldn't be able to join them because of his jobs. So, he was always an introvert and a bit awkward. I wasn't surprised, it was almost impossible to imagine him partying around wildly.

"How were you like three years ago?" Logan asked and I burst out giggling irrationally.

"Me?" I raised my eyebrows, still sputtering. "I was the same too, you could say. Tragedy doesn't necessarily change our personalities, I see."

"Yeah, but how were you? You know, when you didn't have any worries," he questioned curiously as the movie played in the background, both of us not paying any heed to the screen anymore.

"What do you think I was like?"

"Like rainbows and sunshine," he said flatly and I snapped my fingers in delight.

"Correct!" I chirped merrily. "But jokes apart, I wasn't always rainbows and sunshine. I was a normal kid who threw tantrums, but significantly less because my parents were already occupied with Gemma. In school, I was neither popular nor unnoticed. People knew me and I did have many friends so yeah, I had a happy childhood."

"Me too," he said in a barely audible voice, a feeling of nostalgia dawning on both of us.

"Hey," came Shaun's unexpected voice as he barged in through the door. Logan and I hadn't realized that we were sitting very close, our thighs brushing each other's. Both of us scrambled on the bed, Logan almost knocking down my laptop in the process and a strangled noise escaped my lips. Shaun looked bewildered. "Sorry for not knocking."

"No, no, no, it was nothing," I muttered hurriedly and placed the laptop safely on the nightstand. "What happened?"

"Dinner's ready and dad was wondering about the ice cream plan," Shaun said as he subconsciously toyed with the doorknob.

"Yeah, I'll bring dinner upstairs and can you cancel this ice cream plan? I---"

"Joy," Logan interjected and placed his hand firmly on my thigh. "What plan?"

"It's nothing Logan, we were just going to grab some ice cream," I said nonchalantly and I could notice guilt swimming in the pools of green and blue of his eyes.

"You all should go---"

"No man, it's cool," Shaun cut Logan off dismissively. "We go to have ice cream every other night, it has become kind of annoying, hasn't it JJ?"

"Yeah yeah, Shaun has teeth sensitivity," I pointed out and Shaun flashed me a tight, scornful smile. "But Logan, don't worry. We're not cancelling this plan because of you, it is getting annoying anyway. You're like a much-needed saviour right now."

Logan still didn't look convinced, but Shaun changed the topic. "After dinner, come to my room. It's right opposite and you can have my bed. Or . . . you can stay here-in JJ's room too, I won't tell our parents."

"Shaun!" I almost screeched and Logan tugged at his sleeves uncomfortably, both our faces turning an awful shade of scarlet. "We're just friends."

"They all say that in the beginning."

"Oh God! What has gotten into you? Are you possessed? Where is my brother? Where is Shaun?" I rushed through my words dramatically. "Aren't you as an elder brother supposed to protect me and stuff?"

"From him?" Shaun scoffed and Logan had a puzzled look on his face,  which slowly turned into a glare, unsure whether it was a compliment or an insult. "I have seen Logan at our previous dinner times and at the shop, he's a pretty well-mannered kid. Doesn't talk much either and I don't think he has the heart to even squash an insect."

At this, Logan cleared his throat dryly and I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.

"I'll go, you can come after dinner," Shaun announced and left the room, the door creaking after him.

"Great, you're everyone's favourite already! Except Gemma's of course, she's too sceptical to trust you. But Shaun was right, wasn't he? You're afraid of insects, there's no chance that you can even kill one," I mocked him and let out a devilish laugh, but Logan instead of scowling cracked his knuckles nervously. "What happened?"

"Nothing," his reply was too quick, he was being evasive as usual.

"Are you hiding something from me?" My voice was merely a hushed whisper and he knew that I could figure him out after so much time of us spending together. "What is it?"

"It's Fred . . . " he trailed off, his Adam's apple bobbled and my heart dropped. Fred. Alfred. Alfred Gonzáles. My dear, deceased pet worm.

"What did you do?!"