who: logan and fletcher where: fairvale community centre what: logan shows fletcher how to relieve stress through destruction.
logan hadn’t wanted to come. he’s never been good at dealing with grief, has always been more comfortable with actions than feelings. but holly’s here, and wherever she is, he’s never far away, unable to shake off the irrational fear that she might disappear if he lets her out of his sight for too long.
he glances over at holly to make sure she’s holding up okay, reaching for an unlit candle. logan has no plans to grieve his dead sister in public, but he lights a candle for her anyway, even if only because he thinks she would have liked him to. grief crawls up his throat, and he feels like he’s outside of himself; even though he hasn’t had an episode for years now, it’s hard to forget the warning signs. placing the newly-lit candle down, logan turns on his heels and makes his way out of the community centre, trying to escape the oppressiveness of the crowded space filled with grief.
the air outside is warm and sticky, but it’s a welcome relief all the same. he walks along the outside wall of the building, trying to find a quiet space to clear his head before heading back in, only to find that he’s not the only one trying to find some peace. he recognises fletcher, had seen him often enough when visiting holly at the clinic to say hi to him when they pass each other by in town, but saying hello feels inappropriate now.
fletcher isn’t doing anything other than just standing there, staring into space, but logan can’t help but feel like he’s intruding.
he means to back away, pretend he’d never been there, but then fletcher seems to come back to himself, gaze flicking over towards logan. “hey,” he greets, feeling strangely like a young boy being caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “sorry, i was just—i needed to get outside for a bit, didn’t realise you were out here.”
at first glance, fletcher doesn’t seem all that different from his usual, unflappable self, but logan can’t help but feel that the other young man seems... sad, or tired perhaps. it’s really none of his business, and logan knows he should probably just excuse himself and leave, but the question slips out before he can stop himself.
“are you okay?”