I know You Better Than That...

[Blake Emma Renner]

School had not been what Blake had been anticipating. The video for You Belong With Me had dropped, and she was just positive that people were going to taunt her and ridicule it the entire day. But there she had been, awake at 6 AM to watch as it premiered on MTV, covering her face in embarrassment as her mother ran around the house screaming. Despite the pleading and begging to not go to school, and even a very good attempt at faking sick, her father had essentially kicked her in the ass until she was out the door. But it felt like it was everywhere. People were on their phones, watching the computer screens at school. They were watching the videos, but they weren’t necessarily watching her. Until it felt like universally all of the attention shifted toward herself. But all she could see was Logan standing at the very end of the hallway. Blake held onto her books, locking eyes with him as the sea of students moved around them.

The sound of the bell pulled her from her gaze, flickering a half-hearted smile before turning to go toward her morning class. More people spoke to her today than they had in her entire life. It was honestly a little….overwhelming. Inbetween classes Blake snuck into the janitor’s closet. She closed her eyes, finding the humor in the fact that she had once been locked in her by mean girls, and now she was voluntarily using it as a place of quiet. As the day came to a close, she was surprised at herself for agreeing to go out with Chad and his friends tonight. Her initial instinct was to avoid Logan, but it seemed like there was a part of her that hoped she would run into him. It was playing with fire.

Fast forward several hours. Blake had her arm draped around the back of Chad’s next, trying to convince him to stay later. But he had to leave. With a surprise to herself, Blake had insisted that she stay and have fun. He too, seemed a little surprised. Blake smiled, giving him probably the biggest display of public affection in a kiss than she ever had before reluctantly letting go of the collar of his shirt. After he left, Blake took in a deep breath as she looked around. These people could be her friends. Whatever she was drinking.. it was delicious. It tasted like cotton candy..in a cup…

Blake pushed her hair out of her face. It was so unruly sometimes. An entire day had been wasted thinking that she was going to have it ruined. And an entire party hoping to see someone, she shouldn’t be hoping to see. She really did care for Chad. He was like your favorite sweater. It probably had a hole in it, but it was comfortable. You never wanted to get rid of it, and when you had a hard day you just wanted to wrap up in it. It was imperfectly perfect. But… there was some force of nature that pulled her toward Logan that she couldn’t explain. Maybe people were allowed to dream of someone else. Maybe even people were put in your life that were perfect, just in reach, but you were never able to touch them because that amount of perfection would be incredibly hard to keep up with. “Parker, wanna team up?” someone asked as they set up the next round of beer pong. “ I brought cookies!” Blake remembered excitedly. Cookies would go great for whatever game they were playing. She turned, clumsily making her way back to the kitchen to get the treat for her new competitive friends.

[Logan Chase Renner]

Logan stood outside his car in Scarlet's driveway, having supposed to be going to this party with her, pinching the bridge of his nose in complete frustration; a habit he picked up from his own father when they were upset. How these arguments even started wasn't the point, it was the scary fact that he and Scarlet had them. It didn't matter sometimes what they were about, sometimes the topic was the worst part about it. All he knew was a fight between them felt like it shook the ground he was walking on. Some days, Logan wondered how on earth he and Scarlet were still even together, but then the good days reminded him what he loved about her. It all depended on the day. Logan climbed back into his car by himself, Scarlet having told him to fuck off, in her own charming way of course, so Logan slammed the car door shut, revved the engine and took off down the street, not looking back. He could go to the party by himself, he'd have friends to hang out with.

When he got there and went inside, he realized his blowout with Scarlet had lasted longer than it seemed, as everyone here was trashed. The only person that looked sober was Chad, which Logan knew had a meeting in the morning with a college he was looking into. He was saying goodbye to Blake who was kissing him goodbye. Judging by the exchange, Blake was well on her way to white girl wasted and was actually not leaving with him. Interesting. Good for her though, she should be celebrating, with the new video being such a hit and all.

Earlier that afternoon Logan had been mulling it over in his mind; sure he'd heard the song, it was really good. Another lyrical masterpiece. He hadn't had much of a chance to see Blake at school and talk about it, aside from that morning's exchange across the hall. He hadn't watched the video until he came home and had all the questions from his step mom. Why she was making such a bog thing about it was lost on him; yes it was really cool that Blake's career was taking off, but she was still Blake. Joanie had pestered him relentlessly about watching it, so when he went upstairs to shower he sat down at his laptop and pulled it up. He watched it two times and that was enough to start wondering just how much her personal life inspired her music. You say you're fine, I know you better than that... Didn't she though? But this song couldn't really be about him , could it? Just to humor the thought, he imagined that it was about him, listening to the lyrics a third time. be couldn't deny the way it fit perfectly into their lives. Scarlet was cheer captain, Blake was literally the girl next door, just like in the video...

Seeing her now at the party, Logan didn't know how he didn't see it before. Blake had always had a little crush on him hadn't she? It wasn't hard to make her blush, she was always stumbling over her words talking to him. It wasn't until recently that she was becoming more confident, dating Chad and all, and her music taking off. Logan shook his head as he approached the game of beer pong where Blake had just started a new game. Logan was still floored from his conversation with Scarlet right now to even get a drink, but seeing Blake brought his thoughts back to her and those lyrics, that song he was so sure was about himself. He started wondering this afternoon what other songs were possibly about him too. As Blake reached out to make her second shot, Logan reached out to block it, smiling at her, "hey Parker."

[Blake Emma Renner]

Blake had just reached up to toss a ping pong ball when it was interjected. “Hey!” Blake said frustratedly, putting her hands out to the side. But she smiled the moment she realized it was Logan. “Hey,” she said again a little more softly. She stared at him for just a moment longer before looking at everyone else and taking a step back, “Someone can have my spot,” she said, picking up her drink and moving toward Logan. Seeing as how he was the only person here now that she actually knew she felt it was okay to stick by his side. “Did you want a drink? I was going to get another one.” she said, looking up at him and unable to stop the smile that came to her lips. He had that effect on her. But as she looked over his features she could tell something was wrong. She knew him better than that, after all. “ Wanna talk about it?” she asked with a slight lift of her eyebrow. “We can go somewhere more private,” she said, smiling at him again before she turned, grabbing what appeared to be two beers before tilting her head in the other direction for him to follow her outside.

[Logan Chase Renner]

Logan wasn't sure he wanted a drink; seeing as Chad left and Blake was... intoxicated was accurate, Logan really knew it would be smart to make sure they both had a way home. Right now him driving them was the most logical thing. Before he could respond, she was staring at him directly, the way she did when she was analyzing his face, asking if he wanted to talk about it. "No, I really... I don't actually," he let out a small laugh, following her anyways when she said they could go somewhere more private. Knowing now what he was pretty sure he knew, her asking if he wanted to go somewhere more private was sort of comical. She grabbed two beers anyhow and he trailed along behind her. Right now he felt as if he would go anywhere with Blake; she was the one escape he could count on to drag him out of whatever depressing thoughts he encountered in his day to day life. Logan took the beer she handed him, sitting down on the stairs leading off the deck onto the beach. He could feel the cool breeze whip through his t-shirt, chilling his body after being in the warm, crowded house. The sun was a tiny sliver just barely lingering over the horizon before it would slip away until tomorrow. He motioned for her to sit beside him, "I watched your video today. Three times actually," he added, not wanting to bring it up about it being about him. Not because he wasn't sure, but because he was. And then what? What would be the point? Things for now were probably better left unsaid. For him at least, things with Scarlet were already so complicated; he needed things with Blake to be simple right now.

[Blake Emma Renner]

Blake sat on the stairs of the deck, making a slightly annoyed expression at the wind that was pushing her hair all over. She reached into her shorts pocket and took out a ponytail holder to lazily hold her hair back; enough that it was out of her face, but still enough that it was framing her face. She looked over at Logan sitting beside her, handsome as ever. She smiled before taking a sip of her beer. How many was this? She looked down at the can in her hands, lifting her eyebrows slightly as he mentioned that he had watched the video three times today. She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to mull things over in her mind before looking back at him. Well, looking at his lips more specifically. She wanted to kiss him, she did. “I think it turned out pretty well,” she said, giving a slight nod. “And thanks to you it has at least three views,” she said, nudging him gently. “ Come on,” she said, standing up on the step. Blake tilt her head back to finish her beer quickly before making sure that she set the can down where it wouldn’t fly off into the sand. Blake jumped into the sand, turning to face Logan as she walked backward toward the water, taking her shirt off before tossing it at him.

[Logan Chase Renner]

Logan watched her in silence as she slid the little elastic band out of her shorts pocket and pulled her hair back. He hated her hair pulled back, and what was with it today anyways? It was so straight. "No, don't do that," he said reaching over to gently pull the elastic out and shot it out into the sand. He ran his hand through one side of her hair, "it's so straight," he mused, deciding immediately he didn't love it. Blake finished her beer, Logan setting his down too, confused as she stood up and made her way down the beach, "Parker.." he said tentatively, a grin creeping slowly onto his face as he watched her strip her shirt off and toss it aside. Logan smiled hugely, saying in mock surprise, "Blake Parker!" Logan stood up, jogging to catch up with her, shaking his head all the same. He reached down with both hands, pulling his shirt off over his head and dropped it in the sand. Maybe Blake Parker had a mischievous side after all, maybe she wasn't so pure as everyone thought. She certainly thought she was sneaky, but Logan was beginning to see right through that. When he finally caught up with her just steps away from the waters edge he reached out to grab her, throwing her over his shoulder before running head on into the evening waves and dropping them both in waist deep water. Logan came back up for air, shaking the water from his hair and laughed out loud, the first real big smile he'd had all day. "You think you're so sneaky," he said, smirking. He wiped at his face, looking at her in the little bit of glow that was lingering on the horizon, "Aww look," touching at her hair that was springing back into tight curls, laying over her slender frame. Logan stopped for a moment, caught up in how crazy attractive he was finding her at the moment.

[Blake Emma Renner]

Blake held on tightly to Logan as he swept her up easily, failing to produce the proper scream before she was submerged in the water. She pushed herself to stand up, “Oh my gosh,” she said, pushing her hair out of her face before starting to rub water from her eyes as she laughed. “Logan!” she said, twisting her head away slightly as he touched her hair. Blake smiled, looking down on the water as she placed her palms against the surface of the water. When she finally brought her eyes up to look at him she found herself looking at his chest. She’d seen him shirtless plenty of times out in his front yard, working on cars, throwing a football with various people, playing basketball. But she had never been this up and close personal with it. She narrowed her eyebrows slightly, moving closer to him in the water, tracing her fingertips of a scar just beneath his collar bone. “I was always told that kisses made those feel better,” she said, with a serious nod. Maybe she had one beer too many. Blake smiled at him, placing on hand against his chest as she leaned down to kiss the top of his scar. “All better,” she said, taking in a deep breath. “I only have one… Right here,” she said, tapping just above her right hip. Standing this close to Logan… it was strange, almost. The only other person she ever stood this close with was Chad. And it was always when she was trying to make him dance with her. Blake smiled instantly. “You’ll dance with me, won’t you? You like to sing,” she said, instantaneously wrapping her arms around his body.

[Logan Chase Renner]

Logan could feel the exchange moving into uncharted waters. He and Blake saw a lot more of each since she started dating Chad, sure, but it had always been generally pretty platonic. Yeah Logan teased her often when the opportunity arose to get her blushing, but he'd never seriously crossed any line and neither had she. They were both seeing other people. The trouble was Logan was beginning to see pretty clearly how Blake felt about him and he wasn't at all put off by it. Even though she was probably a little drunk it didn't negate how she really felt. Realistically it was just giving her more courage. "Is that so?" he replied when she mentioned his scar, feeling his heart beat just a little bit faster when she placed her hand on his chest and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on a scar that rested there. Logan knew it probably wasn't fair to Scarlet or Chad to engage in this type of behavior with Blake but he couldn't shake the curiosity that was nagging at him, or the pull of attraction he was feeling toward her. The truth was, whatever she was doing, he didn't want her to stop. "Thanks," he murmured quietly, unsure of whether he should put a stop to it or let himself give in. No one was out here but them, and that made it feel all the more like they were in a little bubble between the two of them and they could do whatever they pleased. Before he knew it, she was wrapping her arms around him, asking if he would dance with her. He smiled, "Always." Logan paused and they asked, "You aren't going to let all this fame go to your head are you? I'd would hate to see this Blake go and have a diva in her place," he teased, letting his arms snake around her waist. For some reason his thoughts jumped to that first time in her room when he'd managed to get her out of the house and on a date with Chad. He remembered looking away from her body when she had gone to change her clothes, but he wasn't looking away now.

[Blake Emma Renner]

The moment that Logan wrapped his arms around her waist, Blake moved closer to him. It was almost as though it was her body's response, to just crave being closer to him. The strange thing was that as much as her butterflies seemed to be around him, the moment he engulfed her, everything came to a stop. She was completely calm and at peace, which had never happened around him before. " Mmmm.." Blake said with a nod when he mentioned that she should not turned into a diva. "I think we are getting ahead of ourselves. Literally anyone can make a music video," she said smiling at him as she traced her thumb against the back of his neck. "But I promise to firmly uphold the belief that I will treat others the way I see them treat me," she said, giving him a confident nod. Blake looked up, smiling as she moved her hands away from his neck and onto his chest. "..... I'm starving," she admitted, laughing quietly. "My parents are out of town... They left this morning after the video came out. Some business meeting back in Texas..." she said, taking in a deep breath. " Will you take me home? I'll cook for you," she said, lowering her hand into his as she started to pull him back to shore.

[Logan Chase Renner]

He was realizing now that he had metaphorically jumped into the rabbit hole and was falling further and further from reality and his better judgment, so far that he wasn't sure where exactly the bottom would be, or if it would be a safe landing. The touch of her thumb slowly tracing along the back of his neck was entrancing but he shook his head when she said she would treat people how they treated her, "I don't believe that. You would kill them with kindness." Logan had seem plenty of instances where Blake had been treated less than nicely and she had never replied with anything less than keeping her chin up and taking the high road at the very least. There was probably a special place in hell for anyone who treated her poorly enough to rise a from her. She was hungry though, and Logan thought getting her out of here and some food in her belly was a really good idea. He could only smile when she took his hand and dragged him out of the ocean after her. Gathering their things he walked with her to his car and opened her door, making sure all her limbs were in before he shut it again. It was a quiet ride home aside from the radio, but Logan enjoyed nothing more than to sing along while he drove places. He wondered how long her parents would be gone for, if he should check back in on her tomorrow or the next day before they were back. As he killed the engine he asked, "Okay chef, what do you have in mind, because I would eat just about anything right now."

[Blake Emma Renner]

Blake kept her legs propped up so that she could stretch them out on the ride home. The passenger seat of Logan's car was becoming one of her absolute favorite places in the world. When he parked and he called her chef, she looked over at him, giving him a quick smile before pulling her knees to her chest so that she could get out of the car and head inside. As soon as she stepped inside she ran upstairs to change into dry clothes, opting to wear a white tank top with a pair of cheerleading shorts that they practiced in. Her hair was starting to dry now, and it seemed useless to try and make it straight again. "Okay," she said, clapping her hands together as she came into the kitchen. "Hey hun, will you pick out something to drink? There's wine in the cellar, whiskey in the cabinet, and beer in the fridge," she said with a nod before tapping her fingers on the counter to try and decide what to make. Her eyes lit up, turning to look at Logan with a smile. "I'm going to make you grilled macaroni and cheese sandwiches," she said with a bounce of her shoulders. Blake got out the cheese and heavy cream, deciding to make the macaroni from scratch before she stood on her toes to reach for the pasta shells. Pushing her hair behind her ear she started shredding the pepperjack cheese, putting it into the pot on the stove. " I don't think we've ever had dinner alone," she said, giving him a quick laugh as she looked over at him. Maybe she was still feeling the alcohol. No, she definitely was. Blake picked her phone up, debating whether or not she should text Chad but for some reason found herself turning her phone off entirely, setting it on the counter.

[Logan Chase Renner]

Grilled macaroni and cheese sandwiches sounded like a dream. Only Blake would concoct something so extravagant for him at this hour she was calling dinner. Logan had a pair of sweats in his car that he changed into with his dry t-shirt, opting for the whiskey, "I have some catching up to do." He started laughing at the idea of drinking her father's whiskey, "If only Mr. Parker could see me now," he said to her, grinning broadly as he poured himself a glass. "I don't think we've had dinner alone, should we make a habit of it?" He turned around at the smell of bacon, "Are you making bacon? When did you learn the way to my heart, Parker?" Logan took a few large sips of his drink, wanting to catch up with her. He was recklessly wanting to get on her level. They were alone, her parents weren't home, they had nowhere to go and no one to answer to. Logan tipped his glass back and finished it off before pouring himself another and one for Blake. "Okay. Question round. Your choices are to answer truthfully, or you have to drink. I'll go first. How clearly can you see in my room when the curtains are pulled from this side of the street?"

[Blake Emma Renner]

Blake flipped the bacon over in the skillet before looking over her shoulder to see that he was joining her with whiskey. She smiled at him downing one glass, only to continue to pour himself one and her one as well. “Here, you’ll like this,” she said, taking a bottle of Honey Whiskey and pouring it into the glass. Blake tore a piece of bacon in half, placing one half of it as a garnish in the honey whiskey and set it in front of Logan. After hopping onto the counter so she could sit on it, she picked up her own glass of whiskey, licking her thumb where she had just been eating bacon and chewed while listening to his question. Before he could even finish the question she started laughing, giving a nod as she tried to figure out how to best answer his question. “ Well enough to know that when you put your pants on you always start with putting your left foot in,” she said, smiling before she drank nearly half of her whiskey, setting the glass down. “Okay,” she said, narrowing her eyes slightly as she tried to think of a question. “ When did you notice me?....Have you?” she said, lifting her eyebrow as she raised her glass back to her lips.

[Logan Chase Renner]

"Parker!" he laughed, throwing his head back. Logan stood up, mimicking putting pants on, "Haha, I do. I put my left leg in first, what the hell." he took the drink she handed him, licking his lips, "I knew it though." He'd maybe thought he had caught her a few times peaking. "What else have you seen..." he wiggled his eyebrows and took a long sip. But he set his glass down, putting his hands up as if to say, hang on. "There's two answers to your question, depending on context. I first noticed you as an existing person a week or something after you moved in. My window was open and I heard you playing guitar on your front porch. I listened for a good 20 minutes," he admitted, remembering that being the first thing that put her on his radar. They had something in common, a shared talent. Logan drank a big gulp of his drink while holding up a finger for the rest of it, setting his glass down. "The day you wore that skirt to school. And I came over for dinner. That was the other time." The other time he noticed her for what she was, which was someone he was attracted to. Instead of elaborating he took another sip. Let her think that one over.

[Blake Emma Renner]

Blake looked down in her glass, realizing that it was empty and held it out to Logan, hoping he would refill it for her. And honestly? His answer was pretty damn cute. She was pretty sure when she came into town she was still writing things like I heart ?, and Mary’s Song.. some Hey Steven. She looked up as he mentioned that he noticed her the day that she wore the skirt to school, smiling slowly. “ I wore that skirt to get your attention,” she said, chuckling quietly to herself. Taking in a deep breath, she hopped off of the counter, reaching out for the glass of whiskey that he had replaced for her. After taking another sip, Blake checked on the macaroni and cheese, taking it off of the stove so that she could start grilling the sandwiches. While working with the bread, she listened to his next question. “Are there more songs about me?” he asked. Blake looked over her shouler, giving a sly smile before taking a long chug from her drink – suggesting she wasn’t going to answer. Which really, was an answer. She placed the bread in the skillet, piled some macaroni and cheese on top and then placed another piece of bread before doing the same thing in the spot next to it. Blake turned the heat on low, figuring the best way to cook these was the ‘low and slow’method before turning her attention back to Logan. “Do you want them to be?” songs..about him. For him. Inspired by him. Did he want to be that much a part of her world? …..Was he only in her kitchen tonight because she had a video come out and was seemingly on the road to success? She narrowed her eyebrows slightly at the thought, because the moment she brought her eyes back to his again she felt it all over once more, the inner calm and peace. No, if anything he was here because of the confidence that the video had given her.