New Year, New You, they say. Yet, here she was in this old town. The town where she was born, played, fought, got lost, cut her knee, bruised her shins, kissed her first boy, her first girl, and discovered a deeper part of herself she could never share with anyone. At least, as far as she knew. So much had changed in the past 6 years that she had been apart from Hazleton, but not that. In some ways, it was a new her, she supposed. She wondered how much had changed about the town. Her mother had told her that the town was growing, but who knew what that meant? It could simply be that more people had flourishing yards, leading her to believe that the town itself was gaining life.
Whatever the answer, here she was - moving back home into an apartment of her own. A single heavy set professional mover was painstakingly dolly-ing one piece of furniture at a time to the 3rd floor. Hana was doing what she could, but there was only so much weight she could carry at once. She was embarrassed to take as many breaks as she did, as the man helping her took none. He reminded her here and there of the time he had left before his contract was up and he had other appointments, so no time could be added. She had prepaid only two hours and it was a hefty job for one man. Hana had foolishly thought that the cold weather would power them through it. She may be older than when she left this town, but that did not require her to be wiser.
Or so she mused to herself as she took a sip of a cool blue sports drink, leaning on the hood of her car. The sun was barely peaking beyond the clouds, giving her a single shaft of light to bask in for a moment. Even if her body was being over worked, she enjoyed these moments. Her and the warmth of the sun tickling her cheeks. Though, time was ticking away and she could not waste time. She needed to get as much done as possible before she was left alone with the remainder of the load to heft up herself.
Shoving whatever energy she had left into the soles of her feet, Hana hopped to and marched to the wide open moving truck to assess what was left. Just as she got there, she heard the crashing sound of the man's dolly hitting a corner as he started descending the staircase once again. Aghast at the progress he had made, Hana found only her mattress, cat tree, and a heap of boxes before her. She started around the boxes first, dragging together all the ones she knew to be heavy that she could not lift that far alone. Her muscles were exhausted and craved a long nap. She could not wait until this was all over and she could lay in the light of the curtainless window for the remainder of the evening.
"Leave that there a minute. There'll only be time fer the bed and cat thingy and I'mma need yer help," his gruff voice rumbled.
"Actually," she chimed with a calm and steady voice. "I can take that apart and bring it up piece by piece. It would be much more helpful if you could take these heavy boxes up."
"Sure thing, but we'll need to get this sucker out of here first. I can't leave with yer stuff in here." Obliging, Hana pushed the boxes against the wall and moved closer to see what was needed. He then instructed her to partially close the truck door, so the tall cat tree could be leaned over, then open it back up again.
The following 30 minutes flew. He finished taking up the heaviest things just in time to simply unload the remainder before the stairs and leave her staring at the pile in bewilderment. Wondering where she would get the energy to take it all up herself. First step was unscrewing the cat tree. The most painful piece of furniture she had, as the cat that once sat atop it like a King had passed away only months ago. Needing a moment, Hana sat beside the tree and rested her head in her arms. Her long braid falling to the side and revealing the leopard-like tattoos that adorned her spine.
Letting out a yawn, Logan parked out front at the apartment building and he cut the engine. All the New Year's festivities had taken their toll on him; he hadn't even been home for two nights in a row and he was definitely spoiling for some sleep. Another yawn escaped him as he pulled the keys out of the ignition and stuffed them into his pocket as he slid out of the vehicle. Slamming the door closed, he immediately hated himself for it. He wasn't hungover but he was so tired that the sound alone made his head pang.
As he started toward the building, however, he saw that there was a familiar enough looking girl standing outside with what looked like a pile of boxes and furniture. The closer he got, the more familiar he realized she was. Logan snapped his fingers a couple of times as he approached her.
"Hana?" he said, remembering her from their high school days. Logan hadn't grown up here but he moved to Hazleton when he was fifteen and there was only one high school. It was hard not to recognize certain faces and Hana was one of the prettier girls in school, even back then.
"What are you doing back here? I thought you left here like... a decade ago."
That wasn't true. More like five years? Six? Something like that. Logan just had a penchant for over exaggerating things for dramatic's sake on occasion. Without even asking if she needed help, he loaded up on a few of the items to help out. Why not? He'd never get any real sleep if he knew he left her out here to tend to this on her own.
Sounds flooded Hana's ears as she rested her eyes atop her arms. Birds chirped and fluttered in a nearby tree. It was a familiar sound - that chirp. It rang bells in her memory that sang of sweeter and more innocent times. A cold wind toyed with quivering leaves that held fast their branches and fought against the sky's torment. What kind of tree could it be that still had leaves this late in the year, she wondered. Engines roared as they passed by on their way to the suburbs beyond.
Enough. She could do this all evening and would later awaken to find her belongings either dreadfully still at the bottom of the stairs or swiped by strangers unsuspecting of how mundane the contents were. Gathering in a gust of air to claim as her own, Hana pushed herself to her feet again, blinked away her discomfort, then started unscrewing the cat tree. As if she were competing in a real-life tetris battle royal, she managed to puzzle together the pieces in a way that would be easier for her to carry up in only two trips. Unceremoniously, she dropped the pieces in a corner of her new apartment and hurried back down for the remaining boxes.
There wasn't much left, if she looked at it just the right way. There were a handful of relatively light, but fragile, boxes and a few heavier ones remaining. She stood and pondered. Five more trips and she was finished! And that's only if she carried one box at a time. If only the mover had left her the dolly...
Hana was snapped out of her reverie by literal snapping. Someone approached from behind her that knew her name. Whipping her head around, she spotted a man roughly her age approaching. Her memory was taking a moment to snap back into place, but his seemed on point. He spoke as if he knew her.
Stammering for a moment, Hana brushed the stray hair that fell from her braid behind her ear. "I-It was time," she chirped cheerily. The whispers of a memory were just beginning to trickle into the pond of her mind when he stepped passed her to lift two of her boxes from the earth. Her face warmed, despite the cold, embarrassed to be in a needy position, but also grateful to live near someone so willing to lend a hand. She knew moving home was the right choice. Nothing felt the same as Hazleton. Nothing felt as welcoming.
Hurriedly, Hana picked up a box and moved to lead the way to her apartment. She knew his face, but was struggling for his name. "I never meant to be gone so long after college. It just sort of... swept me away, you know? For a decade," She exaggerated her final words, glancing back at him from time to time, hoping she would catch his face at a certain angle that would scream his name back into her brain. Go felt right. Go...
It came back like a wild wind in her lungs and she spun on her heels with a smile brighter than the day's forecast. "Logan, I don't think we would have met if I'd left a decade ago. That would be a true shame." Chuckling inwardly for being so incredibly slow, she turned back and strode though her open door and sat her box beside the couch.
"Heh. Right, a whole decade," he said with a grin slowly forming. Hana was right to throw that word at him. If she was gone for a whole decade, they wouldn't have met at all and he wouldn't be helping her now. No, no. That wasn't true. Even if she was a stranger, he would have helped her. That was just the way he'd been brought up, despite other questionable points in his life thus far.
"And that would be a real shame, you're right..."
Hana was always smart, though. How else did she get out of this place? Yet she was back and she said she hadn't meant to be away so long... Logan was kind of one of the casual friends caught in her orbit growing up. At one point, sure, he had a schoolboy crush on her (who didn't?) although it never went much of anywhere. There were always other things, excuses. Then she went away for school and Logan stayed behind with his friends.
She so wouldn't want to hear what he did for a living now.
But he was curious about what she did. He eyed the thing she had been messing with when he arrived, not recognizing it for what it was, not at first. He followed her lead and their steps led through an open doorway. Logan gently set down the boxes he grabbed at the bottom of the steps.
"Heh. You're a floor up from me," he said, before looking around her new place. It wasn't much different than his own, really. Apartments tended to be mostly identical that way.
"What brings you back here, anyway?"
Still smiling, feeling revitalized from her exhausting day by the joy of running into an old friend, Hana shifted her footing to nudge the boxes he'd placed with her foot to keep a clear walkway around the chaos. That way, at least, she would be able to walk around until she got around to unpacking it all. She was grateful for the care he took in putting the boxes down, as some of her favorite photos were in it. For how fiercely nostalgic she was, it was a shock she could forget his name. She felt ashamed for it and determined to never let it on. For a normal person, it would have had to take effort to forget someone like him. They were never wildly close, but she knew him to be intensely.. out of her league. She could not even consider the 'what ifs' outside of pure humor.
"Wow, so close! You'd think I was stalking you." Hana looked to the sky and scrunched her face in the same old way she always did when she was being silly. "I mean, I might be."
With a sideways smile, she navigated around him and through the door again pondering the answer to his question. Why had she come back? Some days, she felt the true question was why she had left. She had gone off to college in a city that was so far from greenery she felt suffocated. Then, upon graduation she got offered a job in yet another city. She worked there for two years before she couldn't take it anymore. She missed home. Being able to escape into the woods and feel one with the earth. The nice people of a small town that all knew one another... "Not sure... I didn't go to school for Astrology, or I might speculate there was a black hole here sucking us all in," she joked, following the stairs down to the second floor where he must have lived according to his statement.
She paused there, feeling awkward about him feeling obligated to help her. "What about you, Mr. Go?"
"Oh yeah? How did I never notice?"
He couldn't keep the stupid grin off his face. She was playing with him and he knew that; Hana didn't seem like the actual stalking type. Not that he was wholly experienced with stalkers, although there were a few handsy people at the club. That sort of thing just went with the business but he could handle himself.
Watching her smile and skirt around him, he only followed her out the door after a few seconds passed. Back down to the rest of the things? He peered over the steps. Whatever jackass left her to do this on her own was... well, a jackass. Hopefully she had help with some of the larger items he saw were already in her apartment.
Loping down the steps alongside her, he listened, then stopped when she stopped at the second floor. He was so busy listening to her that he didn't actually expect the question to be rebounded back to him. Mr. Go. Logan made a face at that name.
"Just call me Logan." He propped an arm against the nearby railing, since they were stopped out in front of his own apartment. "And what about me? Nothing too exciting. I didn't go anywhere or do anything. I thought about the army, you know, but I guess ultimately, the black hole here wouldn't let me go."
Cold metal stung the palm side of her warm fingers as she turned with her back to the descending stairs and grabbed the railing for support. Were she a more clumsy person, it might have been worrisome, but Hana always had sure footing. It was her hands that weren't so graceful with holding things. Many an object had crashed at her feet, but so rarely was it her body hitting the ground. Though, admittedly, this would be an astronomically terrible time for her streak to break. All of that considered, she still took a step backward to where her heel touched the very edge of the top step.
Noticing the face he made, obvious distaste for the name she'd given him, did nothing to dissuade her from using it. If anything, it made her want to dig further at him. That, or, she was avoiding the work waiting for her at the bottom of the next flight of stairs.
Her smile shifted from devious to warm by the end of his reply. "Well, Mr. Logan, considering they say a black hole is originally a star, perhaps the black hole isn't the town after all." The corniest thing was about to escape her lips and it likely should be among the last things she said before she made everything comically worse for herself. Consequently, she took another step backward onto the next step. "Perhaps you're the black hole, and instead of being trapped here yourself, you draw others in."
Grinning, she swung a foot back to turn her body downward. "Maybe that's why I'm stalking you," she called back.
Huh? At first, Logan didn't know what Hana was getting at when she spoke of how black holes were originally stars and that maybe the town itself wasn't the black hole after all. He was still trying to connect stars with black holes when she continued and flattered him with her comparison. Now his smile grew and he leaned slightly forward.
"So I'm the reason you're back?"
That's what she was saying, right? In so many poetic words. Logan didn't even know why he was so pleased to hear it. Maybe he muddled what she was saying but that sure did sound like what she meant. One day Hana was gone, going to school, and then she was back here, talking about stars and being pulled back into this weird little old town. Because of me?
Hana was already heading down to the next floor, leaving him hanging.
"Hey!"
It didn't take long to catch up to her, even surpassing her and hitting the ground floor before her to look up at her on the steps.
"Hang on, stalker," he said, putting out a hand. "If you're here for me, I have a question for you."
She had nearly escaped! Nearly gotten away with a corny joke exit. At least, in her mind. Clearly Logan had no intention to let her off so easy. She hoped he would laugh and go home, but he followed her and cut her off in a way reminiscent of every television drama she had ever seen. Handsome guy, unbearably sweet face, blocking her path asking for clarifications.
She worried a little he had taken her seriously. She had only meant the comment as a joke. After all, she had no idea he still lived here and had not spoken a word to or about him since high school. College had swept her thoughts to other avenues than high school crushes.
Leaning into the joke, not sure yet if he believed her white lie or was simply being friendly, Hana smiled with feigned innocence. "Whatever you're about to ask, I'm sure it's classified material." She leaned against the railing once more as if to get comfortable and settle in to deflect his prodding.
"But, give it a shot, hot shot."
"Classified, huh?"
He knew he liked her for a reason. Back in high school, when Logan was tall but not fully grown into his height, he was that guy who was known for playing basketball and hanging out with his jock friends. The thing was, he wasn't locked into the group as a whole. Real life wasn't television--he had nerdy friends, goth friends, whatever. And he didn't just date cheerleaders. Honestly, he was confident, this was true. But when it came to Hana, he might have been just a shade shy.
Because! She seemed so out of his league. Smart, pretty, the kind of girl that probably didn't pay him much attention. She remembered his name, though. That was something.
It wasn't as if Logan pined for her when she left. Every now and again, her name came up in conversation, by friends that stayed behind, by friends of friends who knew her. And he would remember her and wonder what became of her. That was the long and short of it.
Now she was here, though! And only a floor away in the same apartment building.
"Okay, this is the question before the question, then. You're not dating anyone right now... are you?"
Lightning shot through her body, burning her core and chilling her fingertips. What was he asking right now?? She had been in town for a whole of three hours and is already being prodded about her love life? Or lack-there-of... The words felt heavy, her throat tight. Hana pursed her lips and weighed his question in her mind for a moment. Surely he wasn't being serious. He was toying with her! She had been joking with him this entire time anyway.
Chuckling awkwardly while fighting to keep sarcasm in her tone, Hana stepped forward a little - secretly preparing to make a quick maneuver.
"I have a question for your question."
With reflexes as quick and deft as a cat, Hana ducked under his arm and twisted around him, landing between him and the boxes herself. Now, she could turn and pick up one of the few remaining. The move doubling as a way to get her to her task and also provide her the time to regain her composure.
"How could I possibly have time to date while stalking you?" her cooled voice chimed smoothly - one could hardly tell she was struggling before. Like a feline that failed to leap to it's target, but landed square on her feet and got to walk away like nothing ever went wrong...
Whoa! Okay. He turned around and watched her grab the box nearest her.
"All right," he said, leaning down to grab another box to help out. At the very least, he could help her with the rest of her things. But he was worried now that his question had pushed her away. Flirting came second nature to him. Working at the club made him more confident, maybe--dare he say it?--even a little cocky sometimes. Maybe he came on too strong.
"Good question."
So he didn't make her uncomfortable then. Logan... couldn't tell. Hana was too cool, too smooth. He knew she wasn't really stalking him, that it was part of a playful game. But he thought... actually, she might be uncomfortable with his question--because she was deflecting with an artful joke. So now wasn't the time for asking her out. It would come off... pushy. He tucked it away for a different time, choosing instead to play along with her.
"But you must be good at it, if you've been stalking me all this time from... where have you been all this time...?"
Her cogs were turning at an increased rate, threatening self combustion at any moment. She still could not decide 100% if he was being serious with that question. Anyone could have guessed what the follow-up question would be if he was being genuine. If he was joking, he was one hell of a poker player.
She was grateful, at least, for the diversion of moving her boxes and that he continued to help while probing her for information. No longer hindered by him blocking the staircase, she lead the way once more. Finally, his voice took on a more playful sounding tone and her shoulders released a little of their tension.
"Sacremento," she answered plainly.
Her body was fighting her by the second flight of stairs. Re-invigorated with energy from seeing him again or not, her body was worn out. She had to pause and shift her box before braving the steps again. The moment she was done here, her consciousness was done for. She would likely sleep on the floor out of a lack of energy to dress her bed or move boxes off the couch.
"I..." she re-shifted her box a second time. "I spent a fortune on the cameras I had installed in your apartment and work." She would laugh at herself if she only knew what the last part might have meant.
If she was curious about his question, she certainly didn't let on. Curious. He wasn't sure if he was reading her or not but he thought that she was backing out on him and dancing around on him because she was uncomfortable. She was still playful and her tone was still light but... Maybe she's just shy...?
This was exactly like it was back in high school, he realized as he made sure to watch his step and keep the box well balanced. Looking over at Hana, she seemed to be having trouble with hers, since she kept messing with it and moving it around. Should he take it? The box he was holding was a bigger box and if he nabbed hers, it would put him off balance. Hm.
They were on the third floor before he had a chance to make a decision. Lucky for Hana and the contents of her box, Logan didn't drop it when he heard her flippant response. He blinked in surprise, then let out a laugh that he tried to disguise by lowering his head but he couldn't hide the shaking of his shoulders.
"At work, huh?" he asked, expression completely mirthful. "How did you like what you saw?"
Angels were singing sweet glorious repetitions of Hallelujah the moment Hana's feet adorned the top of the stairs. It was difficult to maintain this charade with Logan with thoughts in her mind of exactly how much pain she would be in tomorrow morning. The box she held wasn't even all that heavy. Lifting the weight of her own body up those stairs one more time was daunting enough. Though, Hana was never one to focus on the negative. If anything, she was unnervingly positive in sad times. Laughing while telling her closest friends in Sacramento that her cat had passed at only 6 years old...
Despite the thoughts of her impending doom after the next trip, Hana smiled through a quiet groan as she set her box down against the wall. New mindset - there was only one trip left. Only one and then the glory of a nap was all hers. That is, if she could get the buzz of seeing Logan out of her mind.
Golden eyes turned his way in time to see remaining evidence of his laughter of his face as he carried on their zestful conversation. "Mmmm," she hummed. Biting her bottom lip and looking toward the ceiling, she feigned - well it wasn't so fake - thinking carefully about her answer, as if she did not want to say. In truth, she was not sure what to say. Her body was increasingly taking attention away from that part of her brain.
"If I'm being honest, it was a little drab."
That made sense. Everyone's work seemed boring to themselves. Right?
"It's after dark that things get interesting."
Hana leaned against a tall stack of boxes at her hip. What was even in that last box? Was it worth it? Perhaps she could just put it in her car...
Did she know? He couldn't tell if she was screwing with him now or if she was just making things up! Laughter welled up; he couldn't stop it. The idea of a strip club being drab was humorous but then she went on to say it got interesting after dark and that's when he lost it. Setting the box he held down, he let himself just laugh, no suppressing it, no hiding it.
"Oh really? That is when things pick up!"
Logan grinned at her, not even noticing the poor woman's exhaustion. Man, if she was guessing, she really ended up saying just the right thing. Strip clubs were drab during the day, no word of a lie. That wasn't Logan's jurisdiction though. He worked during the evenings, when things were rowdy.
"How'd you know?" he asked. "Did somebody tell you?"
The stack of boxes shifted a little as she leaned. Clearly, she was putting too much of her weight into them. He startled her a little in his mirthful laughter. Either he found it amusing because nothing interesting happened after dark or being she was dead on. Sure enough, he confirmed the latter. Hana grinned innocently and straightened herself.
This was it. The final trip. His laughter provided just the energy she needed to survive it! She owed him so much after this. Who knows where she would be without him right now? Probably passed out on the stairwell, where he might have still come home and simply thought she was a homeless beggar.
She began to take a step around him when he asked how she'd known. He referred to his job, she supposed. Wow, I must really have nailed it, she mused. But, what did he actually do that would be drab during the day and poppin' at night? Night shifts? Was he just now getting home? He did look exhausted himself. Guilt mixed with curiosity. She was not sure if she could or even should keep up this game.
With a sideways smile, she hummed in a questioning tone. "Is it a secret?" She gave a playful shove to his shoulder, "You have me wanting to stalk you for real just for answers, Logan."
Aha! So she didn't know anything! Somehow that only made it all the more humorous to him. How did she strike it right on the head without even knowing? Maybe her subconscious tossed him into that category. The kind of guy who stuck around in a small town for no reason didn't have a lot of choices, now did he? Logan wasn't a farmer or rancher of any kind and while most teens had a stint at the Happy Burger in town, they didn't stay long. It was never a lifelong career choice.
Not... that stripping was, either. Right now it paid the bills but Logan was going to age eventually and when he did, nobody was gonna see that on the club stage.
"Nope," he said. "Everybody knows me. I work at the club on Center." He waggled his brows. "You know the one."
Hana's face made an obvious 'Ahhh' expression. Carrying on with the renewed energy he had given her, she swiftly slipped past him once more. She only hoped the scent of her hard work today did not waft behind her in her haste. One final trip! her mind sang excitedly.
Knowing he would follow, she carried on the conversation. "I know of the club, of course." Well, she knew where it was and that drinking happened there. She left town the summer after graduation and had only returned for holidays. She never had a relationship with the night life in Hazleton. Consequently, she had only her experience in Portland and Sacramento to aid her ideas of his occupation. She imagined him behind the bar or serving. She would tip double to a smile like his.
"I've never been," she admitted - now being truthful and leaving their goofy jest behind for the moment.
Being that there was only one box left at the foot the stairs, she had no qualms about dragging him along with her. She trotted down the stairs and swooped the final box up into her arms.
"I should come by and visit some time."
"Oh right, you left before you were old enough to go, right?"
Hana was gone before the whole night life phase. Did she have one while she was studying or did she take her schooling seriously? He liked to imagine she had a friend or two that took her out for a good time. Nobody could live life without having some time to themselves, whether it was out dancing or even just sitting in with a book. Not that Logan was the latter type of person but he knew an introvert or two. Half the town was made up of them.
"You should!" he said, encouraging her to come by and see him in his element. "I can even get you in free and you're pretty. You're sure to get a lot of free drinks, too."
He paused, then looked at her one last box, the one she'd picked up for herself.
"I can take it, if you want."
Hana only nodded sheeply that she had left before she was old enough to go. Sure, she had a slightly less bookish friend that tried to take her once. However, Hana was too honest for her own good and had told her mother about it. Needless to say... she did not go.
Her grin reappeared at his encouragement to visit the club. She truly had only been to a club once or twice and knew them to be fun with the right people. She only needed to find friends to go with her now!
"Good, because everything I had was spent on surveilling you and making myself your neighbor."
An flattered blush put at bay, Hana had turned to humor to keep her composure. Shifting the weight of the box, Hana smiled sheepishly once more at his offer to take her last box. She thanked the stars that she had run into him and that she had the chance to be his neighbor. Though he had been one with the jock crowd, she never knew him to be anything but amiable. He was kind and had already come to her aid in a pinch. She felt like she owed him the world in that moment.
"Is that really okay? I'm afraid I won't be able to walk tomorrow, but I don't want to wear out all my neighbor-panic-passes so soon after moving in. Then, how am I ever going to get into clubs?" She moved closer, hesitant to hold the box out to him.
"Here, just let me."
Logan took the box from her, countering her hesitation with his confidence. He smiled at her to reassure her that it was fine. It wasn't like he was obligated to do any of this; he decided to do it because he wanted to. There was nothing to it for him to pick up boxes. To stay in shape for his job, he was a regular at the gym. It would take more than a few hikes up and down the stairs with boxes to wear him out.
(Although he definitely would sleep well tonight after his shift and the box moving!)
"Oh don't worry about that. You'd be able to get into the club even without me. But... you'd have to pay the cover charge." Which he made sound like a big deal but it wasn't. "And it won't be as fun if I'm not there to show you around."
He winked.
"I know all the cool corners and people."
The box left her hands all too willingly, leaving her swimming in a sea of relief. It washed over her like no ocean ever had. Well, she had never been to the ocean, so that simile was anything but an exaggeration... Still, her face lifted as the box lifted from her fingertips and into his capable arms. She was not blind to the hard work he put into his body. She knew it was not truly a struggle for him, but that did not stop her from feeling guilty for putting him out of his way. Lifting boxes was hardly any fun for anyone, she imagined.
Hana smiled knowingly when Logan stated she could still get in a club. She had only meant she could not as a joke following her statement that she had used all her money stalking him and moving here. But, it was not necessary to correct him. If the joke did not land, it clearly wasn't amusing enough. They couldn't all be winners.
"I'm not surprised. I have no memory of you absent of 'cool people'"
In no particular hurry, her feet navigated around him and to the stairs slowly and gracefully. Being that it was the last box, it was about to be the end of their conversation. It was the most fun she had all day. Granted, walking a snail's pace up stairs with a box in tow would only be more work. So, she picked up her steps to a reasonable pace to lead him back up the stairs so that he could relieve himself of the dead weight.
"I'm not sure about the cool corners though... I don't think I ever found them. So, I'm glad you would be there, or else I still may never find one."
"Maybe I'll have to jog your memory, then!" He half smiled in her direction. The box he held wasn't so bad, not really heavy at all. Plus, it was the last one and knowing that the task was almost done made him nearly buoyant. That and the present company, of course.
Not that being lumped in with the cool people was a problem for him. Mostly what he said was in jest. It would be nice to get to know Hana better, though. Now that they were neighbors, there was a chance that they could develop at least a friendship. Watch something together, share dinners, that kind of thing.
...Was that getting ahead of himself?
"Well," he said, tilting his head with a conspiratorial glint in his eyes, "the truth is, the corners are where the cool people hang out. At first, you think it's the ones dancing in the middle of the club, right? But the ones in the corners, they're the ones really taking it all in, and they have all the stories."
Hana smiled and listened quietly as they ascended one final time for the day and Logan explained his perspective of cool people in clubs. Frankly, it was fascinating. She had never considered it from that point of view before. She wondered where she fell on his spectrum of cool people. All she knew of clubs was from tagging along with college friends. People were reckless and wild, and she had been on that side a few times. Though, usually she was the one making sure everyone drank enough water and had a safe ride home. She preferred to get drunk when she knew she had a reliable ride herself - which was almost never. That left her with drinking at house-bound parties, which she could not complain about. She rather liked it that way.
By no means was she afraid of a new experience though. In fact, she relished the idea of getting an entirely new experience in a familiar place. That was also why she was feeling suddenly more excited to be moving back home. Old faces making new appearances in her life. This boy who she only vaguely knew as a teen could very well prove to be an amazing friend as an adult.
Hana paused in the middle of the second flight and shot him a playful smile. "So, if I come and sit myself in a corner, people will think I'm cool?"
She failed to hold back a 'heh' of a choked chuckle. She knew too well that isolating herself in a corner would result in the more unwanted attention. That is, at the average club... she had no idea what she was getting herself into here.
"Maybe I'd get my 'no one sticks baby in the corner' moment and my Swayze will come sweep me off my feet?" She laughed silently at herself and gazed up at the sky. Loose locks from her braid tickled her cheeks in the wind. "I've been doing this all wrong all along!"
"Uhhh, we-elllll...." Logan scrunched up his nose for a second, sliding his gaze away for a moment. It was a good question but... When he slid his gaze back to look sidelong at Hana, he half smiled and his tone was light and airy as he added, "Here's the thing... That's my idea of cool. But not everyone's gonna think it is."
That was his confession of the day: the cool kids were the wallflowers with all the stories. They were the deep thinkers, the ones that observed. When Logan went clubbing for himself and not for work related reasons, those were the people he was most attracted to. He had questions and he also found some kind of joy in coaxing people out of their shells.
"Do I get to be the Swayze?" he joked as he watched the wind sift through Hana's hair. Good thing his arms were wrapped around a box or he might've done a stupid thing and brushed her hair behind her ear. "Or is that spot reserved?"
Hana giggled in spite of herself. She, of course, meant none of that seriously. So little of what she'd spoken since he had arrived was any level of truth. She was honest in saying she never actually wanted to leave Hazleton. She loved her home town. There was something about it that called to her. She was comfortable here, despite the excitement of city life. It just was not as welcoming. That was exactly what Logan made her feel now. It had not been a full day and she felt right where she was supposed to be. Welcomed.
"Well at least-" she cut off, having begun to speak right as he did and willingly let him take the floor. Little did she know, he would use that floor to slide in another sly probe at her love life status. If he was asking twice and felt the need to re-frame it like that, then he must have been serious when he asked the first time.
Her smile did not waver at first, as it truly was flattering, but then her mind wandered. This boy saw her for the first time in 6 years and jumped straight to asking if she was taken. If he was honestly asking out of interest of dating her himself, which she was beginning to suspect, she had little hope that it was genuine and thought through. How much could he possibly know about her? Perhaps she was more attractive than she gave herself credit for, but it was not the part of her she wanted men to notice. Growing up, she watched her mother go in and out of hasty marriages where neither of them truly considered whether what they felt was real or lust. Time and time again, Hana watched her mother's heart get broken, name changed, financial struggle, and having to move homes. Consequently, Hana was cautious about the whole process.
Hiding the flicker of her smile caused by her thoughts behind more shy behavior, she brushed stray hair behind her ear, looked at her feet and started up the stairs once more. She could not help but to turn and smile warmly at him once more. After all, if she was right and it was inquiries fueled by lust, he did not seem like the type that would deceive her and hurt her intentionally. She could not blame him for being fooled by his own feelings. In fact, she often admired those that had the courage to leap on what interested them so readily.
"The role has grown cob webs by now," she answered - meaning that it very much was not reserved.
At last it was upon them. The final trip and the final steps toward her door. Hana reached to accept the box from him so that she could place it atop the last boxes they had placed.
"I can't thank you enough, Logan." Her bubbly voice had faded. Her body aching to lay down and give in to a well deserved nap. "What could I do to make it up to you?"
Her arms crossed over her stomach and she toyed with the soft fabric at her sides. She was about to offer a hug - something she rarely did growing up, but had become a habit after college. However, she wasn't certain if it would just lead him on unnecessarily. She wanted to keep him as a friend and not ruin it just because she was terrified of becoming her mother...
"Sounds lonely when you put it that way."
Cobwebs. Did that mean she hadn't dated in a long time? Maybe she just plain wasn't interested. After all, it wasn't like she knew he was a dopey idiot that had a crush on her back in school. And a lot might have changed since then. They were adults now, with different and new weights on their shoulders. Logan wondered what hers were. Since he had hinted at asking her out a couple times now and Hana didn't seem all that receptive, he decided to just... leave it alone. He knew when to go for what he wanted, this was true. But he also wasn't aggressive enough to push a newly arrived Hana into something she clearly didn't want.
Maybe once she had time to settle into her new life, he could try again. Or maybe he could help her out, find somebody. Or maybe she just didn't want anybody. Logan tried to remember if she dated in high school and what kind of people she dated. But it was mostly a blur now. Maybe she had come back here for an old love. Logan honestly didn't know.
"Hm." How could she make it up to him? Now that the last box was settled amongst the others, he was able to playfully tap his chin as if in deep thought. "You know... You don't owe me anything. I wanted to help." His impish smile faded into a more soft, genuine smile. "It's been rough, right? If you need some time to rest, I'll leave you alone. But... if you get hungry, I'm ordering a pizza. You're free to come join me if you want."
An idle scratch at the base of her head and awkward smile was her only response to his comment as she placed the final box. By all means, he was right. It was lonely and she only had herself to blame, but she did not let it hold her back from living her life. Instead of spending her time on apps and at bars trying to pick up the first hot thing that gave her any kind of attention, she aimed to find joy in what she already had at her fingertips. Like the forest... It was vast, beautiful, and harbored so many secrets she could only dream to acquire. The forest would always be right where she had left it, albeit changing every day, and it would never leave her.
That wasn't to say she had no interest in dating, or Logan for that matter. Hell, the man was more gorgeous than he had the right to be. He always was. Hana simply wanted more proof that the person in question saw her for more than a warm body.
Just as that thought crossed her mind, Logan gave her a little faith back. He wanted to help, he said. In fact, he was being considerate of how exhausted she must be and how empty her fridge absolutely was and invited her over for pizza.
"Well, I'd probably fall asleep at your doorstep at this point, but..." An idea flashed across her features. "Wait."
Hurriedly, Hana scurried to the kitchen where she had left her folder full of information on the apartment complex. Her hair was beginning to unbraid itself - the tie had fallen off somewhere along the last trip upstairs. She tore a small blank corner from one of the flier and scribbled hastily with the pen she had from the front office from signing the prior damage report form. Upon returning, she was taken aback for a brief moment about the look of him in her doorway with the fading light behind him. It was an image that would take effort to forget.
She held out the paper with two hands, a courtesy learned from her mother's culture. On it was her cell number. "I'll take a nap. You can call me when your pizza gets here. If I wake up, I'll come join you. If I don't, mmmm..." She grinned like a child, "Then, my body is telling us both it needs more time."
"Okay," he said, in a tone of definite curiosity as she told him to wait. Wait for what, he wanted to know. Was she weighing up the choice to eat pizza with an old high school acquaintance or sleep? It wasn't like he'd blame her for choosing to sleep. She did look tired, as if all she needed was to close her eyes and she'd be asleep in seconds. He was about to tell her as much, that they could take a rain check on the pizza, but she tore around her new place, finding paper and pen.
Logan continued to watch her curiously as he leaned in the doorway. What was she going to do with--ah. Smiling, he took the properly offered paper and bowed his head slightly in response. Her number. He didn't even have to ask for it. Not... not that she needed to give it to him. He already knew where she lived. She knew where to find him, too. Still, he couldn't stop smiling as he tucked the number carefully away into his pocket.
"All right then. I'll do that." He stood awkwardly and dumbly in the doorway for another long moment then realized that she was probably waiting for his dumb ass to go so she could take her nap in peace. He stepped back, out of the doorway so she could close it without him blocking the way. He slid his hands down his backside, thumbs hooking in the catches of his jeans out of habit.
"All right," he said again, like a brainless idiot. "I'll call you when the pizza shows up then. And if you come by, you come by. Until then... Later, Hana."
Her grin remained as he backed out of the door. She was buzzing with the day's events. She had woken up early to help the mover pack the truck, then drove for hours trying to beat the truck here so that she could get her key and sign forms, met her mother's new boyfriend briefly as the interrupted the first hour of unloading, got abandoned by her mover, then ran into an old friend. He was so welcoming - even more so than her own mother, who treated the event as an opportunity to introduce her boyfriend then promptly went off to go on a date with him while her own daughter did all this. Hana was accustomed to being sidelined for her mother's love interests, but she was never abused by any means, so it did not bother her. She knew how much she cared and loved being cared for.
It was Logan's coming that truly made the day. After abandoned her social circle in Sacramento, she felt like she may have already found herself in one in Hazleton. Even if she did have questions about his intentions asking about her love life. Her own mind always had this magical way of spinning things into a positive light, though. She was, honestly, terrible at hanging on to negative thoughts and she would not give that one a second glance until he gave her more reasons for actual concern.
"Thank you again, Logan. I really..." She hesitated a moment, fighting her own mind. Finally, she decided there was nothing it could truly hurt. So, she stepped forward and drew herself into a quick friendly - in her mind at least - hug. "I really do owe you." Tearing herself away, she grabbed the door and waved a hand as she pulled it closed. "See you over pizza!"
Beyond a doubt, she wanted to, but her body had other plans. Short of a nuclear explosion, she would not likely wake up for many hours.
(Could prob end there?)
(Seems like a good ending spot. Let me know through PM if you want to continue in a new thread!)