Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:33:11 -0700 (PDT) From: Shiloh Creek Subject: The Boys of Twillingate Shore: Chapter Five - Fireworks The Boys of Twillingate Shore _____________________________ **DISCLAIMER: I own the rights to this story 100 %. This story contains strong sexual content between minors (boy-boy, boy-teen), mature language, and some violence. If you are offended by this sort of material, please do NOT read any further. If you are underage (<18; <21 in some areas), please do NOT read any further. All characters, main setting, and places or people mentioned in this story are completely, 100% fictional. If you find similarities between this story or any characters in this story in comparison to some place or someone in real life or other stories you may have read anywhere else, these circumstances are purely coincidental and do NOT reflect the intentions of the author of this story.** - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hey everyone. I hope you guys have been enjoying the story so far. All comments and criticisms are more than welcome. You can just email me at the address provided. If I don't get back to you right away or at all for some reason, don't be offended. I have a very busy schedule to be honest, so I will most likely spend my free time writing as opposed to replying to all of my emails and stuff like that. Once the story is finished though, I will make it a point to reply to as many emails as I can. At this point, I think we're verging towards the fifty yard line. I'm still not too sure how many chapters this story will have, because I'm still just kinda going with the flow, but seeing how the story has progressed, I'd project that we're closing in on the halfway point of the story about now. Anyway, the fourth chapter was pretty sexually intense, huh? Well, this fifth chapter will see the confusing relationship between Logan and Cody grow and develop into something more intense. I'll just go ahead and say this to you before you start reading chapter five. Prepare for quite a journey with these boys through the nest few chapters. Sex, deception, confusion, happiness, heartache: it's all going to come crashing down at some point and these main boys will be smack dab in the middle of it. Enjoy! NOTE** Remember, this IS the year 1998 in which this story is taking place. You will read a few things in this chapter and think "wow, this author's far behind," but no, the story itself is set in 1998, so just keep that in mind. ** _____________________________ Previously... "Logan, I have something for you," Richard said. Richard handed the pocket watch over to his eleven year old son, hoping this would help smooth things over a little. Logan grasped the pocket watch from his father's hand carefully, initially surprised at the heaviness of the trinket. Logan unhooked the clasp of the pocket watch and opened it up. His eyes widened as soon as she saw what was inside. It was a black and white picture of Logan and Jesse that had been taken when Jesse was fourteen and Logan was eight. They were both sitting on a white platform with a white background, several white sheets on the platform. Both of the boys were completely naked. Jesse was sitting with his legs spread and his knees bent, staring up at the camera with a bright smile on his face, his body angled in just the right way that his private parts were hidden behind his leg. Logan was sitting Indian style beside his older brother, his hands and one of the sheets positioned in a way that they covered his private parts as well. - - - - - - - - - - - - "Secrets aren't a bad thing to have. Sometimes, it's better to keep things secret. It keeps people you love from getting hurt, you know?" "I'm good if you're good," Cody said with a grin on his face. "Okay. I'm good then." Cody stuck his hand out towards Logan for a handshake. Logan grasped the older boy's hand and they shook on it. - - - - - - - - - - - - "We really need to get going," Cody said simply. With that, Cody turned around, grabbed his swim trunks, and pulled them on. Without saying another word, Cody walked over and sat down on the driver's seat, getting ready to launch the boat for the ride home. Feeling somewhat confused, but yet as horny as he had ever been in his entire life, Logan grabbed his shorts and his t-shirt from the floor and put them on. He saw Cody's white, sleeveless shirt laying on the floor. He picked it up from the floor, walked over to where Cody sat on the driver's seat, and gave the shirt to the older boy without saying a word. The boys' hands touched as Cody tried to take the shirt from Logan. Instead of taking the shirt, Cody wrapped his fingers around the younger boy's hand and gently pulled him closer to his body. Cody gently ran his fingers over the smooth, tanned skin of Logan's hand and his forearm. Without fear or anxiety, Cody brought Logan's small hand up to his lips and kissed the boy's fingers lightly. Afterward, Cody released Logan's hand. "I can't do this, Logan," Cody said simply. "I'm sorry." - - - - - - - - - - - - "Darlene, this is my eleven year old grandson, Logan Henderson," Ruth said. "He'll be turning twelve on second day of August. Logan, honey, this is Darlene Chase, Cody's girlfriend going on, what...? A year and a half now?" "It'll be a year and a half next Thursday," Darlene said. "It'll be a year and a half next Thursday," Logan copied her in his mind, mocking the girl with all his will. - - - - - - - - - - - - "Well, do me a favor, Cody. Stick to people your own age, like my brother or your precious Darlene." "Oh, that's what this's about," Cody speculated. "You're mad because of Darlene." "Shut up! You don't know fuck about anything." - - - - - - - - - - - - "I'm only dating Darlene because it looks good to everyone else," Cody said in a softer voice so that no one outside could even possibly accidentally hear it. "What do you mean?" Logan asked. "I mean, I don't have feelings for Darlene. Not in the way everybody else thinks." - - - - - - - - - - - - "Cody, there's another reason I think I'm gay," Logan admitted. "What is it?" "I can't get you out of my mind." "Same here. I can't stop thinking about you." Logan looked over at Cody and grinned slightly. They stared into each other's eyes for a few long seconds, with no words spoken. - - - - - - - - - - - - Logan moaned out loud in total ecstasy. That pleasured sound was all it took for Cody. As soon as he heard that sound coming from the lips of this perfect, beautiful boy, his dick erupted. He sprayed his white cum all over the shower tile. Some of it landed on Logan's right leg, beginning to travel in a glob down the smooth skin towards the floor. Logan didn't seem to notice or care though. Finally, Logan inhaled deeply with one last erotic moan, and then his small dick spurted it's boyjuice directly into Cody's awaiting mouth. He had felt Logan's dick tense up inside his mouth, so he stopped sucking. Within seconds, his mouth filled up with a fantastic mix of salt and cream. Logan was holding onto Cody's head as he came, applying a wonderful pressure to Cody's head that was sure to give him a memorable headache the next morning. _____________________________ Chapter Five "Fireworks" Three Weeks Later July 4th, 1998 It was Saturday afternoon, Independence Day. The town was booming with traffic on this particular day, seeing as how the Annual Twillingate Shore Fourth of July Fair would be starting within the next few hours. People were at town square, scrambling to get everything ready for the big evening. Game booths were being set up on the sidewalks in town square, the concert stage was being set up in front of Town Hall, the concession stands were being set up on the other side of town square, a large tent was set up to the side of the concert stage in front of Jay Jay's Barbeque and lots of tables and chairs were being set up in random places throughout the square. On that night, there would be singing, dancing, drinking, partying, a parade, lots of tourists, fireworks, and tons of games to play from six o'clock in the evening until midnight. And the next morning, everyone in town – including the tourists – would most likely show up at church to repent for whatever sins they have committed at the party the night before. The fourth of July had always been a huge event in Twillingate Shore. Since the town was founded, there had always been a fair with a parade and fireworks to commemorate the founding of the United States of America. Logan had attended several of these fairs in the past summers he had stayed in Twillingate Shore. He was actually looking forward to the event, hoping he would be able to steal a dance with Cody at some point in the evening. He just knew that would be the highlight of his entire summer. For the past three weeks, Logan and Cody had been growing closer and closer to one another. Since that marvelous weekend on the houseboat, they were no longer so closed off to one another. They spent every minute they could together without making it seem obvious to others what was going on. Since they worked together at the Henderson farm every day, that made things easier. Each day, they worked together in the mornings to feed the animals and clean around the farm. And each day once they were finished working, they would either go out on the speedboat to their special cove or they would stay in the horse field and Logan would learn how to ride the horses. In the past three weeks, Logan had learned quite well how to manage the animals and how to ride the horses safely. He was certainly no expert yet, but he felt like he was on his way to knowing how to do these things without the constant supervision of Cody, not that he minded Cody's supervision though. On this particular day, once they had finished feeding the animals and leading the horses out to pasture, Logan and Cody had lunch with Ruth as they always did and then decided to head back to the horse pasture together for a little more riding. Logan had said he would go with his grandmother in a couple of hours to pick up a few things in town for the evening, but he and Cody at least had an hour and a half together before they had to say goodbye until the fair. Once Cody and Logan made it back out to the horse pasture, they saddled their favorite horses, Cody helped Logan onto his horse, and then they rode off together on their own horses out into the wide open field. Logan had loved this activity, as it put him in that same category of freedom as the horse. He and Cody rode towards the far end of the horse pasture, which was about one hundred-fifty acres away from the barn. At the very end of the field was Twillingate River, which ran for miles around the area towards the lake. Once the boys arrived at this spot, they jumped off their horses, tied them to nearby trees, and then they sat down together under a large elm tree, overlooking the majestic Twillingate River down the hill, the dark forest of grand trees on the other side of the river, and the noble, snowcapped mountains off in the background. Logan felt so alive, so at peace sitting there under the elm tree, cradled safely in the crook of Cody's shoulder, the older boy's arm wrapped around him. It was very hot outside, but it was nice under the shade of the tree. "Tonight's gonna be a lot of fun, I bet," Cody said. "I know for sure it'll be fun," Logan said confidently. "I have a surprise for you that you'll see when you get to the fair." "Oh you do, eh?" Cody said. "What's the surprise?" "Perhaps I should buy you a dictionary for your birthday," Logan commented. "Oh boy, you're becoming quite the smartass," Cody said. "I've taught you well." "Thank you, kind sir," Logan said and then chuckled. "Now, you know Darlene's gonna be there tonight," Cody said. "Yeah, you had to remind me of that shit." "Sorry." "When are you gonna break up with her?" "It's not the right time yet, Logan." Logan grunted impatiently. He was so tired of waiting. It was killing him having to wait like this. He and Cody had been very careful about how far they allowed their relationship to go during this process. Since the weekend on the houseboat, they had not done anything new outside of occasional handjobs, blowjobs and just goofing around. They hadn't even kissed for real yet, which was something Logan so desperately wanted to do with Cody sometime soon. But Cody had said it wouldn't be smart to let the relationship evolve so quickly, that they needed to keep it slow and steady so as not to seem conspicuous to their families. "Well, when is the right time??" Logan asked. "Listen, I promised you that I'd break it off with her, didn't I?" Cody said. "And a Haynes boy always keeps his promises." "You never promised Darlene that you'd love her forever, did you?" "Hell no! That would cancel out what I just said about the whole keeping promises thing, now wouldn't it. No, I never told Darlene I'd love her forever. That'd be a lie. In fact, I've never really said I loved her at all in the whole year and a half we've been going out." "Oh. Okay then." "Logan, my sweet boy, I give you my word, I swear on my last name, that all of this crap with Darlene will be over very soon." "I trust you," Logan said sweetly. "I just... I'm just so ready for it to be... just the two of us together, you know? It all feels so right, like the stars are lined up in our favor." "I know what you mean," Cody said with a grin, the tips of his wavy blond hair from underneath his cowboy hat fluttering in the breeze. Logan's long blond hair was constantly blowing into his face with this damned breeze. He was beginning to wish he had brought a hat to wear himself. "When it's just us together, everything will be okay," Logan said. "Logan, can I ask you something?" Cody asked uncertainly. "Sure. Whatever you want to ask." "Does it... you're not, like, you know, freaked out about our age difference, are you?" "What, the measly four and a half year age difference? It doesn't bother me at all. My grandmother was thirteen when she married my grandpa. And he was nineteen – almost twenty – at the time! That's nearly seven years age difference and they were kids themselves too, you know?" "Yeah, I know. It's just that, things are... kinda different nowadays." "I don't think so," Logan said in disagreement. "I mean, sure, the law or government or whatever the hell they are can make trouble for us, but you know, you can't help who fall in lo-... I mean, who you like or... wanna date." "Yeah, you have a point. I just can't stop thinking that we're doing something wrong here. But it feels so right though." "You know what? I think you're just thinking about it too much," Logan concluded. "How's about I help you get your mind off some of that shit?" Without saying anything else, Logan reached down and placed his hand on Cody's jean-clad crotch. He began to rub the older boy's crotch through his jeans. Cody's own mature boyhood responded almost immediately to the stimulation. Within a matter of seconds, his cock was at full attention within the confines of his jeans. Once Logan felt Cody's hardness, he unfastened Cody's large belt, unsnapped his jeans, unzipped them, and then attempted to pull them down. Cody lifted his butt off the ground and assisted in pushing his jeans down. Once Cody's blue jeans were down around his knees, Logan reached down and pulled the older boy's cowboy boots off his feet and set them aside. With that, Logan grabbed the boy's jeans again and pulled them all the way off, leaving Cody in just his cowboy hat, his sleeveless green shirt, white Hanes briefs, and white socks. Cody took his jeans and placed them under his butt so he wasn't sitting on the bare ground without pants on. He sat on top of his discarded blue jeans, his cowboy hat cocked to one side, his legs spread wide eagle, his knees lifted up, his brief-clad crotch exposed. Logan thought Cody resembled a cute cowboy model he had once seen in a Playgirl magazine he had come across in Sophia's room several years back. "Damn, you look sexy," Logan said with a cute grin. "You should always go around looking like that." "What? A cowboy hat, a tank top, tighty whities and no pants?" Cody asked. "Well, you could ditch the tank top if you wanted and I'd still be happy." "Yeah, I'll bet you would." Logan laughed sweetly. "Okay, I'll do my magic now. Scoot down a little," Logan said. Cody obeyed the eleven year old and scooted down a little, making sure his butt stayed on his discarded jeans, his back propped up against the trunk of the tree. Once he was set and comfortable, he spread his legs wide open for Logan to kneel between them. Logan kicked off his tennis shoes and socks and placed them next to Cody's boots. Afterward, he situated himself comfortably between Cody's tanned, beautiful legs, staring down at the older boy's underwear-clad crotch in which his boner awaited some attention. The pure whiteness of Cody's briefs contrasted brilliantly with his tanned legs. How Cody always managed to stay so tan after wearing jeans all the time was a mystery to Logan, but he didn't think too much on it. Logan reached down and began to rub Cody's penis through the confining material of his white briefs, immediately triggering a sigh of erotic pleasure from Cody. This made Logan seriously horny, but he wasn't about to think about himself. This was about Cody right now. After rubbing the older boy's penis through his underwear for several minutes, Logan decided it was time to get to the good stuff. He hooked his thumbs into the Hanes waistband of Cody's underwear and began to tug them down. Cody lifted his butt so Logan could slide the briefs off of him easier. Logan slid the underwear all the way down Cody's legs and took them completely off. He folded them up a little and placed them on top of his own tennis shoes and socks. Logan looked down at Cody's engorged penis. It looked as if it really needed some attention. Logan had been so utterly fascinated by Cody's dick; hard or soft, it didn't matter. Just the week before in the boat at their special cove, Logan had spent a whole fifteen minutes just playing with Cody's penis while it was flaccid. Cody didn't mind though. He thought it was adorable how Logan was so intrigued by his cock. Logan leaned over, grabbed the hard shaft of Cody's penis, and began stroking up and down, receiving immediate pleasurable gasps from Cody. Over the past several weeks, Cody had taught Logan well on how to give good handjobs and blowjobs. They had been practicing with one another almost every day since the weekend on the houseboat. As Logan stroked Cody's rigid cock with one hand, he reached down with his other hand and cupped Cody's balls. He began to gently rub them together with as much sensitivity as possible. He would occasionally tug and rub at the fleshy skin of Cody's hairless scrotum. He continued doing this for a few minutes, making sure that Cody was as aroused as he could possibly be. Finally, Logan was ready to give Cody a blowjob. He had given his very first blowjob to Cody on the second night on the houseboat when they went to bed. He was very nervous about it at first, since he had never before allowed a penis to be inserted into his mouth. But he quickly learned how to give a blowjob, yearning to practice it as much as he could. He had insisted to Cody that he needed to learn to give a good blowjob for future reference, but Cody understood that this young boy just enjoyed having his cock in his mouth. There was nothing wrong with that. Cody was more than happy to oblige with this gorgeous boy. Logan prepared himself, took a deep breath, and then leaned all the way over towards Cody's rigid cock. Finally, Logan's young, pink lips came into contact with Cody's hard dick. Logan gently kissed the shaft of the older boy's penis. The kissing turned into a mild licking within a few seconds. Logan began to lick the shaft of Cody's penis, making sure each luxurious inch was doused with his young saliva. As Logan continued licking the shaft, he reached under with his hand and began to massage Cody's taint, applying a little bit of pressure there, which caused Cody to moan in erotic bliss. If possible, Cody felt his young boyhood grow even harder as Logan licked away on his rock-hard shaft. The sensation of Logan applying pressure to his taint was absolutely the most amazing thing he had ever felt in his entire life. Logan hadn't yet done this before. And to think of it, Cody hadn't even mentioned doing so to Logan. He must have picked it up on his own. Even he and Jesse had never done anything like that to one another. Logan moved down with his tongue still sliding along the fleshy skin of Cody's penis. A few seconds later, with his eyes closed, Cody felt a wet stimulation around his balls. He opened his eyes and saw that Logan was licking his scrotum. Logan allowed one of Cody's testicles to pop into his mouth gently and he began to suck on it tenderly. At this exact moment, Cody lost control of his body and groaned in ecstasy, as the pleasure of Logan's ball-sucking was too intense to remain at ease. For Logan, all he could hope was that he was doing this forbidden act the right way, giving Cody as much pleasure as he could. He gently licked and sucked on Cody's balls for several minutes, occasionally rolling the loose skin of the older boy's scrotum between his supple lips. After a few minutes, Logan stopped sucking on the boy's balls and then began to move up Cody's shaft once again, licking his way up, applying as much pressure as he could just with his tongue. The younger boy licked all the way to the sensitive, awaiting head of Cody's cock. Logan could see that pre-cum had already formed and was pooling in the crevice of Cody's piss slit. Before Logan arrived at the head, he felt with his tongue the loose patch of skin on the underside where the shaft meets the nearly mushroom-shaped head. He licked and pressed his tongue against that particular patch of skin, receiving a very positively charged erotic response from Cody. As Logan paid some attention to this area right below the head, he tried to remember what that area was called. He had seen a diagram of the male penis in his science class a few months before and he saw that there was a name for that loose patch of skin. What was it called? Logan was pretty sure the name started with an `f' but he wasn't entirely sure. After spending a little time on that little patch of skin, Logan decided it was time to finally begin sucking. He moved his tongue up and over the head of Cody's penis. He placed the tip of his tongue into Cody's meatus, making sure to lick up every last drop of pre-cum that he could. This caused Cody to groan some more, not sure if could take much more of this pre-sucking erotic torture. Finally, Logan allowed the head of Cody's dick to enter his mouth. As soon as he had several inches of Cody's awaiting cock in his mouth, he immediately began sucking on it with extra force. Cody's eyes closed tightly, his face clenched in excitement, feeling an erotic stimulation take hold of his dick as it was being sucked away on by this sexy eleven year old boy. Logan sucked hard on the older boy's dick as if it was a cherry flavored lollipop, which happened to be his favorite up until he experienced the taste of Cody's penis in his mouth. Logan's perfectly erotic sucking was sending Cody's young body through an almost paralyzed state of bliss and ecstasy like he had never know before; so much so that he could not even open his eyes, which were now watering crazily. Logan sucked as hard as he could on Cody's rigid boycock without hurting him. He was careful about where he allowed his teeth to land and lodge. He applied as much pressure to Cody's hot boyhood as he could using his lips, trying to make sure Cody enjoyed every second of this blowjob. Cody swallowed hard as young Logan continued to suck on his dick better than a vacuum cleaner could ever think about doing. He took in deep breaths as the erotic sensations soared from his crotch throughout his entire body. He couldn't believe how anything could ever feel this awesome. A few seconds later though, Cody began to feel his penis tense up. He knew he was getting ready to cum. He could feel it through every fiber of his being. Meanwhile, Logan could feel the older boy's penis tense up inside his mouth. He had been trained well enough by now to know what this meant. Cody's dick was about to erupt its white boyjuices. Still a novice, Logan wasn't ready to swallow Cody's cum. Cody always swallowed Logan's cum, but he had had plenty of experience in that area. Logan sucked a few more times on Cody's glorious cock, bobbing up and down just a few more times. Finally, the tenseness grew to the extreme. Logan took his mouth off of Cody's cock just in time. Logan grabbed a hold of Cody's shaft and began to stroke it fiercely as the older boy's powerful orgasm was about to ensue. At last, Cody took one deep inhale with a pleasurable groan, and then his white juices erupted from the older boy's dick wildly. Some of Cody's cum landed on his green, sleeveless shirt. Some of it landed on his exposed belly where his shirt had ridden up during the blowjob. The rest of it traveled down in droplets onto Logan's fingers which were still wrapped around the older boy's shaft, some of it collecting at the head of his penis. After the orgasm ended, Cody took a few deep breaths, trying to collect himself. Logan removed his hand from the boy's penis. Cody opened his eyes and caught Logan's gaze. They stared into each other's eyes and smiled brightly at one another. "Holy shit," Cody mumbled in a total state of blissful calm. "That was the greatest blowjob I've ever had, I think." "Eh, you're just saying that," Logan said as he wiped Cody's cum off of his fingers onto Cody's socked feet. "No, I really mean it," Cody said. "And you're wiping that shit off on my socks." "Where else am I gonna put it?" Logan asked with a bright smile. "Well, eventually, I'm hoping I can teach you to swallow. Then we won't have these little messes to deal with." "Okay. Go ahead and eat the rest of your cum. That'll take care of the mess." With that, Logan grabbed Cody's discarded white Hanes briefs that he had set on top of his own shoes and socks before. He placed the briefs on top of his head and wore them like a hat, the elastic Hanes waistband wrapped around his head. "Hey, look! I'm a gay chef!" Logan said excitedly and then laughed. Cody rolled his eyes with a grin draped across his lips. "You are one crazy, sexy boy, you know that?" Cody said. "I try," Logan said softly as he took the briefs off his head and gave them to Cody. "Well, we better get cleaned up and get back to the barn," Cody said as he accepted his underwear from the younger boy. "I guess I'll just take off my sock and use that since you've already used it." Logan chuckled. Cody took his sock off and wiped his now drying cum off of his shirt, belly, and off the head of his penis using the sock. Once he was cleaned up, Cody stood up and put his white briefs back on. Logan was sitting on the ground putting his shoes and socks back on, his legs spread apart. Cody could see Logan's white underwear up his shiny, green shorts. If possible, Cody was beginning to feel horny once again. He grabbed his jeans off the ground and put them back on. Afterward, he put his cum-soaked sock back on his foot and then slipped his feet into his boots. Cody helped the younger boy up from the ground and then they walked hand in hand towards the horses. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Annual Twillingate Shore Fourth of July Fair had officially started. The golden sun was still shining brightly upon the small town of Twillingate Shore. Townspeople and tourists alike were walking around town square talking amongst themselves. Most of the people were now sitting in lawn chairs along the sides of Main Street awaiting the beginning of the Annual July 4th Parade, which would be starting within the next half hour or so. In town square, a group of young men and women in black t-shirts were setting up the stage for the concert, which was to follow the parade. There were people lined up at the concession stands to buy nachos, sodas, candy, popcorn, and other various junk foods. American flags and Independence Day decorations were set up everywhere in town. A bunch of young kids were jumping in the bouncer house in the corner of town square, laughing and yelping as little kids tend to do. A group of middle-aged women were gathered to the side of the bouncer house talking as their kids played. A group of men wearing cowboy hats were gathered under the large white tent drinking beers and having a good time. Most of the teenagers were hanging out around the game booths. There were a bunch of preteen kids playing the ring-toss game. Everywhere around town, there was joyous laughing and talking. Most of the people were beginning to make their way to the side of Main Street for the parade. The parade floats were awaiting nearby a little ways at the outskirts of downtown. Little kids with their parents and grandparents on the side of Main Street were waving little nine-inch American flags patriotically, whether they understood the meaning for it or not. At the concert stage, country music was playing loud enough to be heard on the other side of town to keep the flow of energy alive. Cody and Darlene arrived at the parade in his old truck, followed closely behind by his parents and younger sister. They parked where everyone else had, which was in the grocery store parking lot towards the other side of downtown. Once they all gathered together, they all began to walk down the sidewalk of downtown towards town square. Jack and Cody were carrying the lawn chairs for everyone that they would sit on during the parade. Once they arrived close to town square, they found an empty spot on the side of the road for the parade. Jack and Cody set up the seven lawn chairs they had brought with them. They had brought two extra chairs for Logan and Ruth, who were nowhere to be seen yet. Once the chairs were set up, Cody decided he wanted to find Logan and Ruth. He was now very anxious to see what the surprise was that Logan had told him about earlier that he said he couldn't show him until the fair started. "Hey, I'm gonna go find Ruth and Logan," Cody said to Darlene. "You wanna come with me?" "Sure, I'll walk with you, babe," Darlene said. "Dad, me and Darlene are gonna go look for Ruth and Logan so they knew we're here now," Cody said to Jack. "Yeah, okay," Jack said. "Listen, have Ruth bring me a beer." "Alright, Dad, sure," Cody said. Cody and Darlene walked off down the sidewalk hand in hand towards town square. As they walked, Darlene looked over at her boyfriend and smiled. Cody brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her forehand. "Awe, you're romantic today," Darlene said happily. "Please, I'm romantic every day," Cody said. "I'm a regular damn Shakespeare." "Hmm..." Darlene grunted without agreeing or disagreeing. "Hey, my grandparents still want to know if you can come with us to Disneyland in a couple of weeks." "I really don't think I can, Darlene," Cody said. "I have my job to take care of that Ruth can't do alone and Logan's just not experienced enough to do. It's just not a good time right now to leave town for a whole week." Darlene sighed impatiently. "But, Cody, you said you'd talk to Ms. Ruth about it," Darlene said. "Did you talk to her about it?" "Of course I talked to her," Cody lied. "Well?? What'd she say?" "Ugh, she... she... Darlene, it just doesn't seem right to go off and leave her to do it herself. That's all I'm saying." "So you don't wanna go, is that what you're telling me? My grandparents said you wouldn't have to pay for a thing. A free trip to Disneyland for a week with your girlfriend no less and you don't wanna go." "Darlene, why are we having this conversation right now?" "Because I wanna know if you're going or not!" Cody noticed a few people watching them, listening to their argument. A bunch of busybodies who don't have anything better to do. "If an answer's what you're looking for right now, the answer is no. I have too much to do here. I can't go traipsing off out of town for a week." "Oh, a nice week-long trip with your girlfriend is considered traipsing off now, huh?" "That's not what I meant." "It's what you said." Cody stopped walking. Darlene stopped as well. They each turned around to face each other, still standing on the sidewalk pretty close to town square now. "Darlene, please, I don't know what the hell the problem is here. If I remember correctly, I think we spent all of the fourth of July fair last summer fighting for something stupid. Can we please just not do this? Please, can we just enjoy tonight and worry about that other shit tomorrow? Please?" Darlene got quiet. She stood in front of Cody, but staring off somewhere else to the side of her, as if she was far too pissed to look into Cody's eyes. "Fine, Cody. We'll discuss this tomorrow." "Thank you. That's all I'm asking. We don't have to not talk about it at all, but please, let's just have a good time tonight." "I said we could do that, okay? Let's go find Ruth now." Without waiting, Darlene walked off towards town square. Cody followed quickly behind her and caught up with her just as they turned the corner into town square. They walked side by side to the main white tent to the side of the concert stage. That's where all the tables were, where everyone would be within the nest hour after the parade eating barbeque, potato salad, beans, and rolls. Cody figured maybe Ruth and Logan were in there eating early. Ruth wasn't one to wait for the crowds to arrive before eating. There were actually lots of people in the tent already eating. Most of them were finishing up and heading towards Main Street for the parade though. The parade would be starting within the next twenty minutes. Cody spotted Ruth sitting at the far picnic table, finishing up her barbeque. She had on a pink and white cowboy hat. She was alone there. Cody and Darlene walked over and sat down on the other side of the table from Ruth. "Well, hey kids," Ruth said sweetly. "What're you doing here?" "We came looking for you and Logan," Cody said. "We just got here. Dad brought some lawn chairs for you and Logan." "Oh, that's nice," Ruth said. "Well, I'm almost done with my food here. Logan wasn't hungry yet, so he's out there playing games. He said he'd wait to eat with you." "Oh, that's cool," Cody said. "Dad asked me to ask you if you'd get him some beer." Ruth chuckled. "Of course I will," Ruth said with a grin. "I think I'll get myself a beer as well. That sounds really good about now. Darlene, how're you doing, honey?" "I'm doing really well, Ms. Ruth," Darlene said politely in her normal chipper voice. "How're you doing?" "Hey, while you guys talk, I'm gonna go find Logan and maybe play a game or two before the parade," Cody said as he stood up from the table. "That's fine, sweetie," Ruth said. "Just bring Logan back with you for the parade, will you? I'll get the beers and go back with Darlene in a few minutes." "See you in a few minutes, baby," Darlene said sweetly. Cody leaned down and gave Darlene a kiss on a cheek. With that, Cody headed out of the tent, leaving Darlene and Ruth behind to look for Logan. He was so excited to see what Logan's surprise was for him. He walked around town square, checking out the different game booths, looking for an eleven year old boy with long blond hair. Shouldn't be that hard to find, since most of the people here were wearing cowboy hats. Cody walked around some more. Still no sign of Logan. He suddenly got distracted by a young girl who was beating everyone at the ring-toss game. She had managed to make a ringer on each of her throws. People were cheering for her. Cody cheered too, considering that was an amazing feat to score that much in a ring-toss game. Once the girl finished, everyone cheered for her again. She received the grand prize, which was a stuffed gorilla that was bigger than her. Once she was finished, everyone went back to what they were doing. When Cody turned around, he saw a boy standing amongst a few other kids close to the concert stage. They were being entertained by an obnoxious clown on stilts. The clown walked away towards Main Street for the parade, followed by most of the kids that had gathered around him. Cody watched the boy he had had his eyes on. When the boy turned around, Cody's eyes widened in shock. There was Logan – his boy – standing there wearing a pair of tight blue jeans with a big, western style belt buckle, a short-sleeved denim shirt tucked into his jeans, a pair of brown cowboy boots, and a white cowboy hat. His long, blond hair, now worn wavy like Cody's, awned out from underneath his cowboy hat sweetly. Cody thought he was the most beautiful person ever to grace this earth. Logan looked up and caught Cody's stare. He smiled brightly, which caused Cody to smile as well. He walked over to where Logan stood in his full western apparel. He stood silently for a few seconds, just checking Logan over thoroughly, taking in the new sight of Logan Henderson wearing real western-style clothing. "So? What do you think?" Logan asked as he stuck his thumbs into his pockets, spread his legs slightly, and bent his knees, like a cowboy from old movies would do. "Wow," Cody said simply. "You... you did this for me?" "Of course! Who else would I dress like this for?" Logan asked with a chuckle. "Oh, wow, you look... holy crap..." Cody said. "Really?" Logan asked with a bright smile. "Oh! Holy, holy, crap..." "You really think so, huh?" "You look absolutely amazing," Cody said, almost in disbelief. "Well, don't act so surprised," Logan said and then laughed. "So... do you think I've earned a dance from you for tonight?" "Hell yeah," Cody said. "We can dance the night away as far as I'm concerned." Cody and Logan smiled happily at one another, each of them feeling more content with each other than ever before. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The parade had been a blast for everyone. It certainly wasn't a big parade, but it was nice. The mayor of Twillingate Shore rode through town in his midnight blue Corvette, which was decorated very patriotically. Three different clowns walked in the parade on stilts, doing silly tricks, blowing up animal balloons and handing them out to kids, making funny faces, and throwing candy out towards the crowd at random. A hay truck full of cheerleaders from the school came through town, receiving hoops and hollering from every straight teenage boy and some of the men in town. The small marching band from school walked in the parade as well. Spectators were watching the parade happily, many of them waving little American flags obnoxiously. The entire parade had been a total success. Once the parade ended, the crowds migrated towards town square to fill up on barbeque and snack foods before the concert was to start. By this point, the sun was beginning to set and the people were beginning to drink. The concert started at about seven-thirty that evening. It would last until the fireworks show at nine-thirty and then begin again after that until about midnight. There were several indie country music artists in town to perform, none of which had enough clout to have ever been heard of by the general public, but were at least good enough for a small town fair concert. Everyone in town stuffed themselves with the delicious barbeque after the parade. It took a little over an hour for everyone to eat. At seven-thirty, the concert started. Most of the older people had lawn chairs set up to the side of the town square so they could sit and listen to the concert. But the middle of town square in front of the stage was designated for dancing. When the concert started, the first performers were a group of about six western-style young guys with guitars and cowboy hats and boots. They started off by singing classics from Bill Anderson, Johnny Cash, Lefty Frizzell, Boxcar Willie, and even a few Pat Green songs. There were tons of people dancing in town square, just having a good ol' time. Logan sat between his grandmother and Katherine in a lawn chair watching as Cody and Darlene danced together wildly in town square. Linda and Jack were also out there as well dancing. Logan was beginning to think about asking Katherine to dance. He glanced over and took one look at her and decided he wasn't that desperate. Suddenly, he thought of something else; something he hadn't even considered yet. He was a good-looking boy himself, and he was aware of that. There was no reason he couldn't walk up to some pretty girl his own age and ask her to dance. After all, Cody was out there dancing with his girlfriend, so it's not like he'd be cheating. Like he would anyway though. He hated girls. But on this particular evening, if felt necessary to have a girl at least as a temporary dance partner. With that, he told his grandmother he'd be back in a little bit, and then he got up in search of a pretty girl to dance with. "Pretty girl, pretty girl... what the hell does a pretty girl look like?" Logan asked just under his breath as he walked around town square in search of some girl to dance with. He saw a girl sitting by herself inside the white tent. She looked to be about his age. She had long, brown hair and glasses, and she wasn't unfortunate looking. He was just about to walk into the tent to ask her to dance when she did something that absolutely shocked him. Right in front of God and everyone, she stuck her pinkie finger up her nose, took it out, and then stuck the finger inside her mouth. "What the eff??" Logan asked under his breath. Without so much as another thought about that girl, Logan turned around and continued on his merry way in search of some other girl to dance with. He walked towards the concession stand. To the side of the concession stand, there were three girls sitting on a square, brick pedestal, which had a small tree planted in the center. All three of those girls were what one might refer to as pretty. There was one girl in particular that caught his eye. She was the girl in the middle, the leader of the trio most likely. She had long, straight blond hair. She was wearing jeans, a girlish, pink western-style top, cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat. Logan stood at ease, making sure this girl wasn't about to eat whatever was lodged inside her nose. When he was sure she wasn't a nose-picker, he carried on towards the trio. When he made it, he suddenly had the attention of all three girls. He was standing directly in front of the middle pretty girl, the one he had his eyes on before. "Hi," Logan managed to say. "Hey," the girl in the middle said with a grin. "My name's Logan," the boy said with confidence. "Mine's Julia," the girl said. "Umm... would you like to, you know... would you like to dance... with me?" Logan asked finally, suddenly feeling like a dork. "Sure, I'll dance with you," Julia said with a careless shrug. She immediately stood up from the brick pedestal, walked over to the boy, grabbed his hand as if she was now the one in control, and then led him towards the dance floor in the middle of town square. Logan could hear the other two girls giggling positively, probably meaning that Logan had somehow intrigued all three of them in a way. Logan and Julia walked onto the dance floor together. Logan could see that they were very close to Cody and Darlene, who were dancing their hearts away. Logan placed his hands around Julia's waist and they began to dance with one another. The performers on stage were singing the ever popular song by Johnny Cash entitled "Ring of Fire," which the dancers out on the square responded to very enthusiastically. Everyone was dancing in tune and enjoying every second of it. Logan found himself actually enjoying the dance with Julia. Meanwhile, over in the lawn chairs to the side of the dance floor, Ruth and Katherine were sitting and watching the dancers have fun. Ruth had danced for a few minutes with Ronny, the local bartender. He was the town flirt and was now dancing with another of the widows out on the dance floor. Dirty old man, he was. Katherine was looking everywhere for Logan, who had simply got up and walked off a few minutes ago. She was so hoping that Logan would ask her to dance. She had spent several hours in front of the mirror that afternoon fixing her hair just right and putting on makeup. She understood that Logan was nearly two years younger than her, but she didn't care. He was just so cute and sweet. Whether he was eleven year old, eight years old, or thirty-two years old, he would be a good boyfriend to have any way. "Did he say he was coming back?" a desperate Katherine asked Ruth. "He didn't say much at all, sweetie," Ruth said. "He probably just went off to play some more games is all." "Do you think maybe he'll ask me to dance?" Katherine asked hopefully. "I'm sure he will, sweetheart," Ruth said. "Just have patience. I'm sure when he gets back from playing his games, he'll come over here, take one look at your beautiful face, and then he'll practically beg you to... oh dear..." Ruth suddenly spotted her eleven year old grandson out on the dance floor, dancing with no one less than twelve year old Julia Griffith, the most popular preteen girl in town. That little girl had had so many boyfriends already and she was only twelve. She was completely notorious for wrapping her finger around any innocent boy she was fond of, using him, and then breaking his heart. Ruth knew her grandson was adorable, but she had so hoped he wasn't cute enough to meet Julia Griffith's standards. Ruth would do just about anything to keep him away from her. "Oh my god," came Katherine's desperate, pathetic voice from beside her. Ruth glanced over at Katherine. Her face hinted at an absolute heartbreak, seeing Logan out there on the dance floor with a little girl Katherine would never in a million years have the ability to compete with in the looks department. "Oh Katherine, honey..." Ruth started. Suddenly, Katherine got up and bolted, covering her face with her hands as she ran off. Ruth turned around in her seat and watched as that poor girl ran off, totally heartbroken by Ruth's own grandson. On the dance floor, Logan was really enjoying this dance with Julia. She seemed like a very nice girl, just for a few dances though. Once this evening of dancing was over, he would be finished with her. "How old are you, Logan?" the girl asked. "Eleven," Logan said. "You look more like you're ten," Julia said. "Thanks. Just what every boy likes to hear. I'll be twelve next month." "I'm already twelve. I'll be thirteen in October." "That's cool." Logan glanced over and caught Cody's sweet gaze from across the dance floor. He was smiling at him and he put his thumb up in the air, as if nonverbally congratulating him for finding a temporary dance partner. Logan smiled back and also raised his thumb in the air towards Cody, just for good measure. "I've already got a boyfriend too," Julia said to Logan. "He's fifteen." "You don't say," Logan replied. "So Logan, you ever kissed a girl before?" Julia asked. "Beside your mother?" "I don't have a mother." "Oh, that's too bad. So you've never kissed a girl before?" "Maybe, maybe not." "I like secrets. Secrets are sometimes good to have," Julia said. "Yeah..." Logan replied, thinking that quote sounded awfully familiar. "You know, you're really cute," Julia said. "For a little boy." "Gee, thanks," Logan said sarcastically. "You're not so bad yourself, for a little girl." "Little girls don't have boobs as big as mine," Julia said, deliberately perking out her breasts towards Logan. "Have you ever seen a girl's boobs before, Logan? Somewhere besides in a porno mag?" "I've seen a woman's boobs before," Logan said provokingly, but actually referring to the time he had accidentally walked in on Sophia when she was changing her bra. "I guess little girls' boobs just don't do it for me as well." "Hmm, you know, Logan, I think I could teach you a thing or two. Things you'd never forget." "Thanks for the offer, but I'm not interested," Logan said simply. Suddenly, Julia leaned in and got up really close to Logan's ear. She whispered something made Logan actually want to vomit. "Have you ever tasted real pussy before?" Julia asked. Logan felt grossed out now. He was beginning to wish he had never even tried to look for a girl to dance with. He could've danced with someone desperate like Katherine or the nose-picker and at least they wouldn't have grossed him out near as much as Julia just had. But no, Logan had somehow managed to pick out the town's preteen slut to dance with instead. He had the sudden urge to bolt the scene, but he thought better of it. "I'll take that as a no," Julia said after a few seconds of silence. "I'm actually happy to say I've never tasted pussy before," Logan said flatly. "What're you, a faggot?" Julia asked. "Or one of those fanatical Bible beaters who are all preachy against sex?" "Whichever one floats your boat, dude," Logan said, purposely calling Julia `dude.' "Well, maybe someday I'll let you taste mine," Julia said. "Afterward, maybe you'll let me taste yours." Without saying another word, Julia stopped dancing with Logan and walked off towards her spot with the other girls, leaving Logan alone on the dance floor. Logan still felt somewhat nauseous, thinking of the prospect of tasting a girl's vagina. Wait. Did she just imply that Logan had a vagina himself? Logan felt somewhat angry about that, but got over it pretty quick, realizing that the opinion of some whorish girl made no difference to him. He started to walk back towards the lawn chairs. Ruth, Jack, and Linda were sitting on the lawn chairs together now, each of them drinking a beer and talking. "Hey guys," Logan said casually. "Well, look at you, you rogue stud!" Jack said. "Boy, if you can get that little bitch to dance with you, that means you can take your pick at any girl left in Oregon." "Jack!" Linda exclaimed towards her husband. "What??" Jack asked defensively before taking swig of his beer. Logan chuckled at Jack. "Honey, I need to talk to you in private real quick," Ruth said to Logan. "Oh. Okay then," Logan said. Ruth stood up from her chair and then she and Logan walked side by side away from the others. Logan basically followed his grandmother. They walked for a little ways outside of town square, away from the rest of the people. Finally, they stopped on the sidewalk where no one else was around. Ruth turned to face her grandson, a look of disappointment draped across her face that Logan had never seen before. "Listen, I just thought you should know that you broke Katherine's heart this evening," Ruth started with. "What?" Logan asked, wondering where the hell this came from. "What're you talking about? How did I break Katherine's heart? I didn't do anything to her." "Oh, Logan, tell me you didn't know that Katherine's infatuated with you," Ruth said. "Well... yeah, I knew... about it," Logan said. "What was I supposed to do though? Go out with her? C'mon, Grandma, the girl's like three times my size and two years older than me not to mention. That's gross." "It wouldn't've killed you to dance with her tonight though, Logan," Ruth scolded the boy. "You had to know she wanted to dance with you. And when she saw you dancing with that little slut, Julia Griffith, she ran off in tears, the poor thing." "Okay, I'm still waiting to hear what I did wrong, cause last time I checked, dancing with a girl in public is not a crime." "Don't you dare sass me, boy!" Ruth said. "You may not think so, but I could very well bend you over my knee and ware your ass out in public, because last time I checked, that's not a crime here neither." Logan suddenly became very quiet. He stayed silent, waiting for his grandmother's crazy anger to subside. He could not understand what the problem was. He was certain he hadn't done anything wrong. Sure, dancing with Julia made him sick at his stomach, especially after the crude comments she made to him, but it was his choice to dance with her in the first place. On top of that, Logan didn't feel it was his responsibility to make sure Katherine was taken care of. If she was mad or hurt in some way, that should be her problem, not his. "Now, all I wanted to say here is that I wish you would've shown a little more compassion for Katherine," Ruth said. "She worships the ground you walk on and you haven't so much as given her the time of day since you got here a month ago. I swear, boy, between you and your father and your grandfather and brother before they died, the four of you have this little thing about you that says you can treat a girl any god-damn way you want to and there's not a thing any of us can do about it. And as God is my witness, I will not allow you to treat girls that way while you're living in my house. Is that understood?" "Yes ma'am," Logan said, hoping this little scolding session would end soon. "Alright. Now, I'm going back with the others. What I want you to do is find Katherine and apologize to her immediately." "What??" "You heard what I said, Logan, and it's not up for debate. You will find her and you will apologize to her. If I find out you haven't done so by tonight, you're grounded from going swimming with Cody after morning feedings for a week." "But, Grandma, I don –" "I don't wanna hear it! Do as I said. Now." "Yes ma'am," Logan said in surrender. Ruth started to walk off, but then she stopped dead in her tracks and turned around to face Logan once again. "And another thing..." Ruth started, catching Logan's immediate attention. "I don't want you mingling with Julia Griffith or any of those little girls she hangs around. Those little girls are nothing but sluts and I don't want you getting involved in things that like that." "Yes ma'am," Logan said simply. "Good. Now go find Katherine. Apologize and be nice about it." Without saying another word, Ruth walked off towards town square, leaving Logan standing alone on the sidewalk, the sun now beginning to set heavily. If Logan had to guess, he would've said that there wasn't more than another twenty or thirty minutes of sunlight left for the evening. About thirty seconds after Ruth left Logan there on the sidewalk, Cody came up from behind him by himself without anyone else with him. Logan saw him, looked around to see if anyone was watching, and then quickly leaned in to embrace Cody tightly, nearly knocking Cody off his feet, just happy to be able to wrap his arms around him again. "Whoa," Cody said as he caught his balance again and then wrapped his arms around the depressed looking boy. "Hey, buddy, are you okay? I heard everything your grandmother said." "You heard everything?" Logan asked, his arms still wrapped tightly around Cody's lean torso. "Yeah, I heard it," Cody said simply. Logan released himself from Cody and stood staring up into the older boy's eyes. "And you're not mad at me too?" Logan asked. "Hey, several years ago, I was in the same position you are," Cody said. "By the time I was fourteen, I already knew I was... you know. Anyway, Darlene was following me around all the time back then, making googly eyes at me and shit. Man, she was annoying as all hell. One time, your grandmother took me aside like she just did with you and gave me a very similar lecture about how to treat a girl." "My grandmother lectured you??" Logan asked in disbelief. "Logan, I don't know if you know this about your grandma or not. But that woman will lecture anybody she thinks deserves it. She once lectured the mayor in his own office for passing a bill she disagreed with. But yeah, she gave me a lecture much like the one she just gave you. The only difference here is that you live with her. She can lecture you a whole lot more if she feels like it and you have nowhere to go." "Shit. Now I know why my dad was so keen on the idea of staying away from here." "Yeah, I can imagine..." "Well, how'd you deal with Darlene? I mean, did you have to apologize to her and stuff like I'm about to have to do with Katherine?" "Does one and a half years of togetherness mean anything to you?" Logan's eyes widened as that fact dawned on him. "Oh mother crapper," Logan expressed. "So that means I'll have to date Katherine to keep my grandmother off my ass?" Cody laughed all of a sudden. "Of course not," Cody said with a chuckle. "It was a little different for me back then than it is for you now. But I'm just saying – I understand what you're going through. I mean, I know why you don't want to date my sister. It's not really about her weight or the fact that she... kinda... looks like a female... walrus... in a way." Logan raised an eyebrow toward Cody after hearing those words escape his mouth. "Anyway, I know it's because you don't like girls, period," Cody said. "Trust me on this. Katherine will get over this shit. The next guy that comes along she thinks is cute will mean it's the end of her crush for you. No questions asked." "Really?" "Trust me. Within a week or so, you won't even remember that she had a crush on you at all." "Well, that makes me feel better about Katherine. Worse about my grandma." "Don't sweat it so much. You're grandma's just kinda temperamental sometimes. She'll get over all of this soon enough as well." "I still have to find Katherine and apologize to her. Grandma demanded that I do that. Otherwise, I'm grounded from swimming with you after morning feedings." "I'll help you find her. C'mon," Cody said. With that, the search for Katherine was on. Cody and Logan searched through town square, through the masses of people, most of whom neither of them recognized. Cody was beginning to think there were more tourists this year than townspeople at the fair. The two of them searched together for well over twenty minutes. Finally, they located Katherine. She was sitting alone in a back alleyway behind town square. Before the boys headed towards Katherine, Cody patted Logan's back in encouragement. "Just do it and get it over with," Cody whispered. "But try your best not to even give her the idea that she has a chance with you. Otherwise, you'll end up in this boat again." "Great," Logan said. "I'll wait for you guys out here," Cody said. Logan began walking towards Katherine. She noticed him walking up, her eyes wet with tears and her makeup running down her face. Logan honestly thought she looked horrible. He felt like a dick for thinking it, but he was beginning to feel as if he'd have more sorrow and compassion for this girl if she didn't resemble... a female walrus?? Perhaps Cody was right in making that comment now that Logan caught a glance of her from this particular angle. Logan walked up to the girl and sat down on the ground beside her. She acted as if she didn't even notice him beside her. "Hey Katherine," Logan said sympathetically. "Why aren't you with Julia right now?" Katherine asked angrily. "Oh, well, it turns out that Julia's kind of like a... well... she's really just a cunt overall actually, to be... completely honest with you," Logan said. "Listen, I heard that you ran off crying because I didn't ask you to dance with me. And... well, I just wanted to say sorry for that. I... I didn't mean to like... you know... not show compassion... or something like that." "Just forget it," Katherine said unconvincingly. Had it not been for the threat his grandmother had made against him, Logan thought that forgetting it would have been among one of the best offers he had received all evening. He knew better than to believe it was that easy though. What was it that Sophia told him once? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? That once mysterious slogan was beginning to make some sense to Logan as he sat there trying to come up with ways to satisfy this girl, whom he had had absolutely no emotional feelings towards whatsoever to begin with. "Katherine, I just... I mean, I know how you feel," Logan said. "And... well, I'm sorry I can't help you feel better. Because... to be honest, I don't feel that way... for you, you know? I like being your friend and stuff. But I don't think you and me would be good together. Not like that anyway." "Is it just because I'm fat?" Katherine asked, her voice mixed with her crying. "Oh, fuck it all!!" Logan thought to himself privately. "Why do people like this always bring up the fat thing??" "Katherine, it really has nothing to do with that," Logan lied, half way at least. "It's just that, I have a different type. Very different. And just so you know, Julia's not my type. A girl like that really isn't anyone's type though, except for guys that are pigs." "Okay, Logan, I get it," Katherine said. "I accept your apology. Now, please, can you just away and leave me alone for a little bit?" Logan became silent, now beginning to feel bad for her. But the boy agreed, nodded his head and then got up without saying another word. With that, Logan walked away towards where Cody was waiting for him at the end of the alleyway. When he made it to where Cody was standing between the alleyway and the sidewalk, Cody stood up from where he sat against the brick wall of a building. He looked at Logan questioningly, as if asking Logan with the expression on his face what had just taken place. "It went well, I guess," Logan said with his thumbs up. "I apologized to her, she said I didn't like her because she's fat, and then she told me to go away." "Sounds about right," Cody said. "But hey, you did your part. You can't get in trouble now, because you did what you were supposed to do. If Katherine wants to wallow in her own self-pity, that's her problem." The boys smiled at one another and began to walk back towards town square. The firework show would be starting pretty soon. The concert was beginning to die down and people were heading towards the shore of the lake on the other side of Main Street from town square, since the fireworks would be showing over the lake. "Don't take this the wrong way," Logan said as they walked together towards town square. "But your sister really does kinda look like a walrus." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - About an hour later, everyone had migrated from town square to the grassy lakeshore to watch the fireworks. Many people were sitting on their lawn chairs. Lots of people were lounging on picnic blankets closer to the water. And some people, who had parked their vehicles nearby, were sitting in their cars or on the tailgates of their trucks. Cody had brought a picnic blanket. He, Darlene, and Logan all laid down on the picnic blanket while Linda, Ruth, Jack, and Katherine sat on the lawn chairs nearby. Cody and Darlene were lying down together, the teenage boy's arm wrapped around his girlfriend's torso sweetly. Logan lied on the other side of the picnic blanket, determined not to look Cody and Darlene's way at all costs. The fireworks show began a little after nine-thirty, once the sun had completely descended behind the horizon, leaving nothing but dark sky. The fireworks show was amazing this year, Cody thought. Bright sparkles of light exploding wildly in the sky, followed by the thunderous booms that sounded like gunshots. No matter how many fireworks were launched, no one got tired of them. Each boom and blast was accompanied by oohs and ahhs from the audience. The show lasted for about half an hour, followed by the grand finale, which was beyond phenomenal. Fireworks were launched so quickly and simultaneously, causing the night sky to light up brightly and in vividly gorgeous colors, the booming sounds as powerful as a hundred civil war style cannons. Once the grand finale ended, the entire town went dark, followed by the sound of a celebrated applause from the audience. After the fireworks, many people retreated back towards town square for another round of dancing fun that would last until midnight at least. Some people decided to call it a night and leave, including Ruth who seemed to be getting tired. "I think I hear my bed calling me now," Ruth said. "Logan, you ready to go home?" "Can I stay here for a little while longer?" Logan asked. "I'll drive him home after the fair, Ruth," Cody offered. "Okay, that'd be fine with me then," Ruth said. "Logan, I'll see you in the morning, baby. Bright and early, cause we're going to church." "Yes ma'am," Logan said. Ruth leaned over, gave her grandson a kiss on the cheek, and then she walked off towards the grocery store parking lot to go home. With that, Logan, Cody, Darlene, Jack, Linda and Katherine all walked back towards town square for more dancing. On the concert stage, there was a young couple up there singing, a young man and a young woman. They started off singing the song "Sweet Home Alabama," which got the crowds pumped up for dancing. Linda and Jack got out onto the dance floor with one another. Cody and Darlene also got out onto the dance floor. Logan and Katherine sat to the side on the lawn chairs. Logan began to think about it. He knew he would never live it down if he just sat there, making Katherine just sit there as well. Finally, Logan decided it was about time to swallow a little bit of his pride, at least for this one night. "Umm... Katherine, would you wanna, you know, go dance?" Logan asked. "Oh, that's so sweet of you," Katherine said. "But no thanks." "Okay, cool, just thought I'd ask," Logan said simply. "Thank God!!" Logan thought to himself with a gentle sigh of relief. After a few songs, Darlene decided it was time for her to leave, because she would have to get up really early to go to the church and help her mother set up for Sunday school and whatnot. Darlene kissed Cody on the lips right in front of Logan, which made the younger boy feel sick at his stomach. After that was finally over, Darlene said goodnight to everyone and left. Cody and Logan sat down together on the lawn chairs. Linda and Jack were still enjoying themselves on the dance floor. Katherine was still sitting in her chair sulking about nothing in particular now. "Hey, let's go," Cody whispered to Logan. "Where?" Logan asked, confused. "Just follow me," Cody said. Cody stood up and began to walk off. Logan followed closely behind him, wondering what was about to happen. They walked out of town square, down the sidewalk a little ways, and then behind a back alleyway which led back behind town hall. All of the parade floats were parked in this alleyway behind town hall now. The concert stage was just on the other side of town hall, so the music could still be heard as well as if they were in town square with everyone else. When they made it behind town hall together, Cody led the younger boy behind the haystack truck that they had seen the cheerleaders riding earlier during the parade. When they made it behind the truck, Cody stopped and stared down at a rather confused Logan. Cody thought Logan looked so damn cute in his western clothes and cowboy hat. Logan was beginning to understand what was going on now though. The couple on stage on the other side of town hall were now singing "You Lie" by Reba McEntire, which was a somewhat depressing, country-esque song. "Logan, may I have this dance?" Cody asked Logan. "Yes you may, kind sir," Logan said. With that, Logan took off his cowboy hat and laid it gently on the ground. He shook his head, his long, wavy blond hair flipping in every which direction. Afterward, Logan offered Cody his hand, which Cody gladly accepted. Cody wrapped his other arm around Logan's small body, placing his hand flat against the younger boy's back. With that, they began to dance together slowly behind the haystack truck. As they danced together, Logan felt his heart beating faster and faster with every passing second. He felt happy in the warmth and security of Cody's strong arms as they swayed around together. The song finished and was then followed by "You've Got A Way With Me" by Shania Twain. This was a perfect song for Cody and Logan. Cody led the dance between them. The two of them moved together with a gracefulness and chemistry someone might find between two professional ballet dancers. Logan wrapped his arms lovingly around the older boy's waist, his head resting against Cody's chest. Logan could hear the beating of Cody's heart as they moved and swayed together under the light of the moon, next to the haystack truck. Cody leaned down and kissed Logan on the top of the head as they danced, his arms now wrapped loosely around the small boy's body, his hands moving around the boy's denim-covered back gently. Logan closed his eyes as they danced together, imagining they were dancing together in the comfort of a large ballroom, with country music playing. But one thing was for certain. He was happier than he had ever been before as he danced gracefully with his boyfriend under the Twillingate Shore stars. Whether they were dancing in a grand ballroom, or behind a haystack truck, this was the best thing that had ever happened to the boy in his entire life. He felt something exceedingly strong for Cody. Something eternal. Something invincible. Something like love. _____________________________ END OF CHAPTER FIVE NEXT: Chapter Six – "The Cricket Song" _____________________________ Preview of Chapter Six: "My birthday's coming up pretty soon," Logan mentioned. "I know what I want from you... for my birthday." "...you can have whatever you want in the world," Cody said. "Just name it, and it's yours." "Actually, it's not something that you really... give." "Whatcha talkin' about, Willis?" Cody asked jokingly. "What I'm talking about is something you kinda... take away," Logan said. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Tears were streaming down Darlene's face like crazy. She felt humiliated for appearing in front of Cody looking like this, especially now. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. "Is there someone else?" Darlene asked through her tears. "Darlene –" Cody started. "No!!" Darlene exclaimed a little too loudly. "Is there... someone else?" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "So I invited your Aunt Beth and Uncle Dixon to come over for lunch tomorrow afternoon once we get out of church," Ruth announced. "Why?" Logan asked abruptly. "You've been here a month and a half now and you still haven't seen them," Ruth said. "Beth said she'd see if Gill wanted to come too." "They hate me, Grandma," Logan said. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Who do you think he's fucking around with?" Gill asked Darlene. "I dunno," Darlene said. "He's always over at your grandmother's house – or so he says, anyway – teaching Logan to feed animals and stuff." "Logan?" Gill asked. "Yeah, Logan. You know, your cousin Logan? Jesse's little brother?" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Dead or not, a piece of shit is a piece of shit," said Gill to Darlene. "Jesse's no exception in my opinion." "That seems a little harsh, Gill," Darlene said, feeling a bit uncomfortable now. "Does it now? How would you like to know something completely fucked up about your ex-boyfriend? Something you would've never guessed in a thousand years..." _____________________________