It's happening all the time,
When I open my eyes,
I'm still taken by surprise,
You have shining eyes.

Logan squirmed uncomfortably in the padded cushions of his booth, the café buzzing with life and speech as teenagers and adults alike rambled on about their daily lives to one another. He held the steaming cup of coffee, black as he had requested, between the palms of his hands, the cup sitting idly on the table in front of him. Small, caramel colored stains formed into perfect circles littered the top of the table, obvious places that coffee cups had been placed before his own. He brought the scorching, bitter drink to his lips and took a swig from it, swallowing it to seep down his throat, the warmth soothing and bitter at the exact same time. He had always had a peculiar yet strong liking for the taste of black coffee, even since he was a child. He couldn’t stand any type of coffee that wasn’t as bitter and flavorful as black coffee was, often tossing away those flimsy caramel mixes or iced drinks. He only settled for the murky, watered-down coffee that now sat between his hands again.

Logan let his eyes shift across the café again, the number of people growing by the second. Most of them were students his own age, rushing in for anything caffeinated to numb their obvious lack of sleep. Logan, normally, couldn’t stand those kinds of people. The ones who let the inevitable dawning of school send them into a frenzy of rushing and hurrying. Although he’d seen his sister and her friends surrender to it once or twice, he’d never let it get to him. His outlook on the entire situation of school starting again was just that he would deal with it when he came to it. Logan didn’t see the purpose in wasting a perfectly nice day running about and fretting over what kind of classes you were gonna get.

Logan tried to keep his mind focused on the swirling, shadowy coffee in his cup, now half empty. Blake had said she would be here… she’d said she just wanted to catch up with him. It was true that they hadn’t spoken in awhile, but awhile only meant a few days or so for the siblings. He’d always loved the way Blake cared so much for him. She would even ask him about the vapid, insignificant events that went on in his daily life. Of course, out of courtesy, Logan would ask her the same things, even if his attention span would stray when she would ramble on and on about her life. But he did care, even if he didn’t like to admit it. She was the only family he had here in America Town… he wasn’t going to let the connection slip between his fingers. He let a smile creep upon his lips as he thought of Blake’s blushing cheeks as she talked to him rapidly about the things that she found entertaining. He loved his sister to pieces. Even when he didn’t have much to say to her, she’d find some way to spark a conversation between the two, whether it was silly or serious.

He took another sip from the coffee and awaited his sister’s arrival, chewing on his lower lip absentmindedly.

Sailing over wave and tide,
Fantastic crash against our sides,
I'm not so afraid lost at sea,
As I should be.

Logan felt a wider grin grace his face as he saw Blake rush in, taking a seat across from him quickly. Her face was flushed, a slight crease in her eyebrows as she gave him a somewhat forceful smile. She seemed flustered, her eyes only a little bit glazed over. He cocked an eyebrow, trying not to jump to conclusions on his sister’s sobriety just yet. He hated that she drank so much, although the thought was usually countered when he brought it up with her. Even he could admit to himself that saying he was uncomfortable with his sister’s drinking was beyond hypocritical, considering the amount that he could intake in a Saturday night. “Hey,” He said hoarsely, still giving her a smile, “Don’t worry about it.”

He watched, bemused, as she gulped down her coffee, almost equally as black as his own. Yes, there was no doubt in his mind now that she was at least a little bit hungover. Sleeping in? That was not a trait that Blake had ever acquired. Hell, she hadn’t slept in late since the ninth grade, and that was only because she had been on several pain medications after she broke her ankle. And she always scoured for the slightest drop of black coffee when she was hungover. He fought back the words that were inevitable climbing up his throat, and decided to stay put. He knew Blake didn’t like when he accused her, even if it was so blatantly obvious.

His eyes ventured across the café for a moment, settling on the pale, green eyes of a boy that looked to be much younger than both Blake and himself. The green eyes were staring, scrutinizing every inch of Blake’s partially revealed body, a slow smile forming on his lips. Logan felt anger bubble up inside of his throat, his instincts beginning to get the best of him. He knew that look… the hungry appeal in his eyes as he watched Blake innocently shift her weight in the booth. Logan’s hands curled into tight fists as he held himself back. If he hadn’t turned his attention back to Blake in that instant, he would’ve gotten up and slammed the adolescent boy’s face into the counter he was seated at.

“So, how’ve you been?” He asked, trying to incite a regular conversation, despite her slightly inebriated state of mind. She wasn’t a loud, annoying drunk. He knew that for a fact. So he knew he could at least attempt at a decent, normal conversation. He hoped she wasn’t feeling too under the weather, though. He had actually been anticipating being able to talk to her again. They’d both been so busy recently. He glanced up into her blazing, hazel eyes expectantly. He didn’t try to be as overprotective as he was… it was just a natural instinct of his. And especially now, with Chantel gone… it only made things a million times worse for Logan.

My dear, you've been used,
I'm breaking the news,
Well love nearly beat us,
I'm thinking like you, I'm thinking of you.

Logan brushed loose strands of his dirty blond hair away from his eyes as he listened to his sister speak. He hadn’t even noticed the incessant chatter of a group of girls that had strolled by until Blake’s eyes had narrowed at them. He loved that, although it was more subtle, she was almost as overprotective of him as he was to her. Whenever he’d had a girlfriend, she’d always had to scrutinize her to make sure she was good enough for Logan. Of course, she’d never gone as far as getting rid of a girlfriend of Logan’s, considering how sparse they came. But for Logan, it had been completely different. He’d stepped into Blake’s relationships twice, both of the times ending up having to shove his fist into the boy’s scared faces to set them straight. They had all been older than Blake for some odd reason. He had no idea why Blake would sometimes throw herself into relationships with guys, no matter the age. Logan’s hands tightened around the coffee cup held between his thin fingers.

When he thinks of girlfriends he’s had, Logan always draws a complete blank. He couldn’t remember anything extremely significant about any of the girls he’d dated. They were all so trivial and dull. They were egotistical for the most part, and preppy to an unimaginable degree. Even he didn’t know how he’d ended up with them. He’d enjoyed the small time he’d spent with them, even if it had consisted of nothing but a completely superficial romance that only existed beneath his dorm room sheets. But as soon as the relationships had ended, they’d left Logan feeling completely empty, despite how unaffectionate and invalid they had been to begin with. Although he never shared it with anyone, Logan did have a softer, sensitive side to him.

And then Logan felt his heart race as he saw a flash of white blond hair swoosh into the café. The emotion quickly left him as soon as he saw that the familiar hair color belonged to someone he’d never met before. Arly was all he had been thinking about lately, no matter how he tried to deny it. I mean, she was a junior, not to mention Blake’s best friend. But he couldn’t even begin to deny how he had become so hopelessly infatuated with the girl. He shrugged the thought away as he looked back to Blake. He wouldn’t do that to her… right?

“I’ve been alright,” Logan smiled, finishing off his coffee and placing the empty, cardboard cup back onto the table, “Ready for school?” He knew that although he wasn’t particularly ready to go back to the dreary classes that swallowed his life whole during the school year, Blake probably was. She was one of the busiest people he’d ever met. He was surprised she was able to keep up with a more than decent social life, the way she worked so hard in school.