Chapter 1
triggers: food mention/food, cursing, some logan angst at the end
Age - 13
Logan’s alarm blared, phone buzzing on the old bookshelf that he kept in his room. His hand fumbled around for the phone, turning the alarm off before groaning into his pillow.
He rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling with bleary eyes, barely even awake. With a grunt, he sat up and ran a hand down his face before putting his glasses on.
Reluctantly, he got out of the covers and walked to the bathroom, washing his face. He stared at himself in the mirror for a few moments, noting the bags under his eyes. He made sure not to look at his arms, not even sparing a glance. For him, in the case of soulmates, ignorance was bliss.
With a sigh, he walked out of the bathroom, his nerves settled enough for him to be ready to start his day.
That was, until his mother swept him up into a hug, peppering kisses all over his face.
“My baby boy is all grown up! 13! God, soon you’ll be taller than me and driving and-”
“Mama!” Logan exclaimed, a grin belaying any exasperation he might have portrayed.
“Sorry, bud! I’m just so excited for you!” she grinned wildly, ruffling his hair and pressing a kiss to his forehead.
“Are you excited enough to not send me to school?” Logan tried, a small smile on his face. Emillia snorted.
“Nice try, but no. You’re still going.”
Logan groaned, rolling his eyes. “Worth a shot.”
“Now c’mon!” Emillia exclaimed, ignoring that last comment. “Eat your breakfast! I made you pancakes, your favorite!” she smiled, walking to the kitchen. Logan followed behind her, a smile remaining on his face no matter how hard he tried to get rid of it.
“You didn’t have to,” he mumbled, setting out the plates and cutlery.
“But I wanted to. Besides, it’s your birthday and I also want pancakes. So, pancakes it is!” she smiled easily, putting the pancakes onto the plates.
Logan laughed, sitting down at the table. “Thanks, Ma.”
“Anything for the birthday boy,” she kissed the top of his head, sitting down as well. Logan grumbled slightly, fixing his hair, flushing slightly from embarrassment.
Wisely, neither of the two brought up the topic about soulmates, or how he was supposed to get one on his 13th birthday. It was a touchy topic for them, one of the few times the two had argued. As such, it was better off going unmentioned.
“Do you know what you wanna do today? Besides school, of course,” Emillia grinned playfully.
Logan rolled his eyes but answered anyway, “Um, no not really. I have soccer practice today so I’ll probably come home later than usual. Besides that,” he shrugged, eyes looking down at his plate.
Emillia raised an eyebrow, always able to tell when Logan was hiding something. “Are you sure?” she pressed.
“I—um, well, I kinda wanted to go to that arcade we used to go to,” Logan mumbled, stabbing a piece of pancake with his fork. “Only if it’s not a bother, though,” he added, fingers drumming against the table. Emillia’s smile faltered, hating to see her son so insecure over just wanting something.
“Of course we can! We’ll go right after I get back from work. That sound good?” she recovered her smile, eyes crinkling at the corners.
Logan nodded, a faint smile playing at his lips. “Tha’ sounths good,” Logan replied through a mouthful of pancake.
Emillia snorted, “Okay, now hurry up if you don’t wanna be late for school.”
⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼
Logan fumbled with his apartment keys, managing to unlock the door and walk inside. He took off his cleats and set his bag down, running a hand through his hair as he looked around the apartment.
After momentarily debating what to do, he ultimately settled on taking a shower. He trudged off towards the bathroom wearily, muscles sore.
As he showered, Logan made sure not to stare at his arms more than he needed to, afraid of what he would see. Afterwards, now wearing fresh clothes, he sat at the dining table as he did his schoolwork, pencil tapping against the wood as he thought.
At around 5:23, his mom arrived home, having been able to get off work early. Her face lit up with a warm smile when she saw her son.
“Hey, birthday boy! You ready to go?”
Logan nodded, a smile of his own forming. “Yeah, Ma. I just gotta put my shoes on.”
Emillia clapped her hands together excitedly, “Alright, we’ll go in a minute! I just gotta change real quick.”
During the time she was gone, Logan slipped on his shoes and jacket, sitting on the couch as he waited for his mom. After a few minutes, his mom walked out, now dressed in casual clothes.
“You ready?” she asked once more, a huge smile on her face, showing off her dimples. Logan nodded as he stood up, slipping the outdated phone into his pocket.
“Let’s go then!” she waved a hand for him to follow, both of them walking out of the apartment door.
Instead of driving to the arcade, they simply walked, passing the time with mindless chatter, punctuated by laughter. Eventually, they reached the mall where the old arcade was located and walked in, Logan shoving his hands into his pockets as he looked nervous at the crowds that were present even in the evening.
However, all of his fears soon melted away as he and his mother walked into the arcade, his eyes lighting up and a grin forming on his face. He looked up at his mother, silently thanking her with his eyes.
She laughed gently and tugged his hand slightly. “C’mon, I’m gonna kick your ass at pac-man. I mean—“
Logan laughed at her slip-up, his chipped tooth on full display. His mother smiled, gazing around at the arcade.
“You coming?” she teased him gently.
“You can bet your ass I am,” Logan grinned.
“Logan!”
⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼
Logan collapsed onto his bed, a permanent smile etched onto his face. He sighed contentedly, stretching his arms out. He felt a faint tingling on his arm and without thinking, he turned his head to look at it, wearing a ratty old t-shirt and shorts for pajamas.
And that smile on his face faded as he was met with colorful sentences staring right back at him.
a/n: finally got around to finishing this chapter lmao









