Alex and Jae parted ways but not without Jae inviting her to a party—for Colin’s homecoming, he said but Alex figured it might just be an excuse so they could throw a party. She normally didn’t attend them but it would be quite rude to decline so she said she’d think about it.
Finally, she reached the men’s room. She hoped the long wait taught Logan a lesson about using too much makeup. Half of her mind wondered if Logan asked her to leave just so she wouldn’t hear him scream when he pulled out his eyelash extensions.
“Hold still” Alex said, stepping inside. The first thing that hit her was the smell. Gods, did the place smell awful. She silently thanked heaven that no one else was around. It made her think if she has ever been inside the men’s room before or was this really her first time? It felt like a first since she did use the toilet at the faculty lounge for bathroom emergencies.
“Took you long enough” Logan scoffed as she walked towards him. He stood near the sink, back in his usual clothing style. Alex could see traces of makeup left on his face. His mascara and eyeliner had smudged, making him look like a panda. His lipstick also had smeared all over his outer lip line, giving him a lip look similar to a clown’s.
Alex pulled out a makeup wipe and set the rest of the pack near the sink. She stood on her toes, took hold of Logan’s chin, pulling it closer, “I said, hold still. Now, close your eyes.”
Logan obeyed her command as she placed the makeup remover against one of his eyelids and counted to 15 in her head. When she finished, she slowly rubbed the wipe in circular motions then she wiped it off to the side. This took out a lot of the eye makeup.
Alex nodded, impressed by the quality, and peeked at the product’s name on its packaging.
As she did the other eye, she noticed how thick and long Logan’s eyelashes were. They were enough to make any girl jealous. She had realized this when she did his makeup but it still surprised her—along with the beauty mark on his left eyelid. He also had a few freckles near his nose, nearly invisible. Someone had to be really up close to see them.
“Do you need a stool by any chance?” Logan’s breath brushed the bridge of her nose while his voice echoed throughout the room, bouncing on the walls.
Alex grimaced and added more pressure on her fingers, trying to poke the eye underneath the lid.
“Ow!” Logan whimpered in pain. Before he could glare his other eye at her, Alex covered it with another wipe.
Both of her thumbs held them in place.
“That’s for saying I’m short” she huffed at him.
“But you—”
Then, her thumbs pressed on both eyelids.
“Owow!”
Such a big baby, Alex smirked, “That’s for slapping me.”
She saw Logan visibly freeze. She had to press her lips together to not laugh with amusement.
“About that—”
“No excuses.”
“But Alex—”
“Nope, not gonna hear it.”
“Ugh, fine” Logan surrendered, “Oh, party at Colin’s tomorrow. Are you coming?”
Alex’ hands paused for a bit, realizing this was her second invitation. Just like the first time she heard it, she still had the same thoughts, “I don’t think so. I’m not really the party type, Logan.”
Her heart hammered just from the idea of it. The thing about parties was that it had a more enclosed space which made people interact with each other or, at least, made them near each other.
Not exactly a kind of scene Alex wished to be part of.
“Aw, come on. It would be fun.”
She bit her lip and finished cleaning off his eye makeup, “I really don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Why not?” Logan held her wrist and opened his eyes. Alex could see he genuinely wanted to know what made her hesitant. She sighed and looked in the mirror. Her clear eyes stared back at her then, she sneaked a glance around the room, making sure no eavesdropper was around.
As she told him about it, her voice came out low, “When Lauren and I looked thorugh the club portfolios, she opened them one by one and she would hand them to me when she finds something. Among those files…”
Alex gulped. She pressed her lips together, looking at the floor. She could feel Logan’s eyes watching her. She almost wanted to take the wig to shield her face.
Alex snorted half-heartedly, hoping it could ease the tension, “It almost seemed like a police record with the amount of information it had.”
“About what?” Logan asked curtly. This made Alex turn her gaze towards him. Gone was Logan’s playfulness. His green eyes had become hard emeralds that pierced into her, demanding the truth.
Although Alex had tried to be vague about it, it came as no surprise that Logan noticed her doing just that. Even with this knowledge, she still tried, thinking that the stall could give her more time to compose herself.
Her whispers had turned inaudible as she confessed, “About my life. About my childhood. About my parents… about almost anything I can imagine a 3rd person could know if they knew who I am.”
Logan wondered if she knew that she began to shake as soon as he asked her why she wouldn’t go to the party. From there, it only got worse. She tried to hide it but Logan could see the fear in her eyes and could hear it in her voice.
She felt unsafe.
The grip he had on her wrist tightened as she recovered, finishing the story, “I got rid of it before anyone else could see it. Burned it when I got home. You should have seen Maylin, she meowed at the fireplace as if cursing it.”
Her attempt at humor did little to relax him. Someone had actually planned to expose Alex.
But why?
Logan sighed, “I will get to the bottom of this, Alex. I promise.”
Alex shook her head, offering a small smile, “Don’t promise anything. Either you do or you don’t, whichever happens I’m cool with it.”
Logan reached for her other wrist, locking them in place, “Alex, I swear—”
“Don’t swear at all.”
“Alex—” He groaned at the sound of her imitating him.
Alex laughed shortly, “I mean it, Logan. I’d prefer if people didn’t promise things. Wouldn’t it be much better to be surprised and appreciated when it happens? Rather than celebrating early on something that we don’t know if it would even happen? Even with will and determination, there will always be a factor that can break a promise.”
Logan considered her words and decided to respect her wishes, “Alright. No Promises.”
Alex nodded in approval, shaking off his hands on her wrists. She handed him the packet of makeup remover so he could help her finish off the rest of the makeup.
“Still… I think you should go to the party, at least” Logan brought up again, wiping on one side of his face. He peeked at the makeup remover and his nose scrunched at the mix of colors and textures on it.
Then, he continued to rub it on his forehead.
“The party does get a bit… eccentric since the guys would want a real party. By that, they mean as if they want it to be in a night club” Logan shook his head at the memory, “But you should at least go to one before you graduate. Sort of part of the high school experience, you know.”
Alex snorted, balling up all the wipes she used and throwing them in the trash near the sink, “A part of high school life I can live without.”
“Like this phone?”
Logan raised an arm. In his hand, a familiar phone case gleamed at Alex.
“My phone!” She exclaimed, grabbing for it, but Logan pulled back his arm, away from her reach.
“I know, I know, I’m amazing” Logan boasted, making Alex roll her eyes.
“As a thank you to my amazing skills,” he continued, “You should come to the party.”
“You know you really should stop using my phones as hostages” Alex glared playfully.
Logan merely beamed in reply, “What can I say? It’s a bad habit.”
“Give it back” Alex held out her hand with its palm up, the other hand on her hip.
Logan shook a finger at her, “Hold on. Isn’t it normal to thank your phone savior?”
“I can thank you by not kicking you right now” she replied through gritted teeth.
“Come on” Logan insisted, “You only need to be at the party for one to two hours. Besides, I’d be there so no need to worry about people blackmailing you or finding out your identity. I’ll keep a watch for you. I really think you could have fun and I don’t think you should let something like this take that from you. I mean, look at what you have grown into?”
“What is that supposed to mean?!”
Logan laughed, dodging the kick to his leg, “I was just joking. Now, what do you say?”
Alex blew on her bangs. After hanging out with him so far, she realized he could be quite difficult when he wanted something. Max still owned the crown for that one but Logan came as a close second.
“Fine” she reluctantly huffed, jumping a bit to take the phone from his still raised hand, “Now, give me my phone back!”
Logan let it go easily, a triumphant smile on his face. Alex stuck her tongue out at his smug expression.
“Go wash off your face so we can go home already.”
