Chapter 18

As Morgan waited in the hall for Logan, Toby abled over, arriving at the exact same moment Logan finally emerged from the bathroom. 

"Are you joining us?" Logan asked him.

"W—what are you two doing?" Toby asked and frowned.

"Morgan said she'd show me around town. You're more than welcome to come along," Logan offered.

'No!' Morgan screamed internally. 'This is my worst nightmare.'

"The more the merrier," Logan said as Toby nodded.

A blur of faces passed, leaving snippets of conversations as they moved towards the exit. Scanning the crowd for any familiar faces, Morgan spotted Erin and pulled her from the vast sea of bodies.

"Great, then Erin can join us too," Morgan said, giving Erin her best, 'please go along with this,' smile.

Erin appeared to get the message and nodded. "Great."

Looking over Erin's shoulder, Morgan saw Rheya and Cara whispering to each other. Before that pair of harpies could invite themselves along, Morgan ushered the group out of the exit and round the back of the school.

"I'll take you on the scenic route," she told them, knowing her former besties would never come this way. If you walked past the park and mostly abandoned industrial estate, you could cut through to town around the back of the bus depo. In all honestly, it wasn't the most idyllic of locations, but it was better than taking the bus and ending up taking half the school with them.

'It's bad enough having Toby here,' she thought.

They walked along the grass verge as cars and lorry's whizzed down the freeway towards the nearby city. The park was located next to the graveyard up on the left and after a jitty that led to a private farm.

"What's down there?" Logan asked, pointing at the weathered fence. 

"A rapist, probably," Toby uttered without giving it much thought. 

For some reason, Erin found this hilarious, bursting into a fit of laughter. "My Mum never lets me down here because she's worried about paedophiles. I'm like Mum... I'm literally an adult now."

"Yeah." Toby chuckled. "I swear my Mum still thinks I'm twelve. She still buys me that alphabet spaghetti like I'm leaning to read."

"Has it worked yet?" Morgan teased him. Academia wasn't his strong suit. 

"I got through the first of the Game of Thrones books," he said, puffing out his chest.

"Damien has the whole set. I bet he'd lend you the next one," Morgan said, remembering his well-stocked bookshelf.

"No way." Toby shook his head. "Can you imagine if I accidentally creased a page or spilt something on it? He'd smite me down."

"He isn't that scary," Erin scoffed.

"Not to you. He likes you," Toby said. "I don't think I could ever get him to like me."

"Hmm," Morgan mused. "I sucked his dick a few times and he still doesn't like me much."

She wanted the new guy to know she was willing and good at giving head. There was no easier way to win over a guy than dangling the prospect of a blow job. 

"Oh, because your blowjobs are just so good?" Toby teased, ruining her plan. 

Morgan gritted her teeth together and squeezed her fists as he turned to Logan, snickering.

"She told me could deep throat when we first met," Toby said. "She can't even swallow a paracetamol without crying because it's stuck in her throat."

Logan widened his eyes and Erin tutted and scolded him. "Too much information, Toby!"

Logan didn't seem interested in the smutty talk. 

"So this Damien guy, he'd the one we bumped into in the hall? The one you called the Devil?" Logan asked, changing the subject.

"He's not that bad. Just don't try to bully him," Erin said, giving both Toby and Morgan pointed looks.

"I'd never bully anyone," Logan said, gasping as if the very idea offended him.

At that moment Morgan felt small and ridiculous. She wasn't sure what to say to make it better.

"I learned my lesson so, I'll never be mean to anyone again," she said. "I should thank Damien for correcting my behaviour."

"Not if he did it by jamming his dick in your mouth," Logan said. 

"He didn't force me!" Morgan cried. "He just kinda went from average dorky goth kid to Andy Biersack in a matter of seconds."

"I don't fancy Andy Biersack," Erin input with a shrug. 

Morgan stopped in her tracks, turning to the emo girl in shock.

"Nu-uh." Morgan shook her head. "There's no such thing as not being attracted to Andy Biersack."

"It's true," Toby nodded, making Erin giggle again.

As the group moved along the park and into the industrial estate, Logan seemed deep in thought.

"Who is Andy Biersack?" he asked at last. 

The other three laughed as they skipped over the rubble and broken bricks of the dilapidated offices.

"I used to start fires in here when I was a kid," Toby said. 

"Kid?" Morgan teased. "You were doing it last year, you giant spazz."

Toby rolled his eyes and flashed her a dirty look, nearly tripping over a brick when he stopped looking where he was going.

'Hah, Karma,' Morgan thought. She wished Toby hadn't invited himself along.

When he tripped again Erin tutted and took his hand, blushing as she led him through the minefield of debris.

'Oh my God,' Morgan thought. 'She's totally into Toby!'

It was hardly surprising. Most girls at school had a crush on Toby at some point. He was stupidly cute, had a perfect body and silky chocolate coloured hair that fell over his eyes so perfectly. Morgan was lucky to have snagged him.

'And yet, he seems plain next to Logan,' Morgan thought. Logan had a face like a porcelain doll—almost too perfect to be real.

After dwelling on it for a moment, Morgan decided she was going to try and push Erin and Toby together. Erin wasn't stereotypically hot, but she wasn't ugly. She had a decent figure and looked cute when she wasn't basically dressing like a dude.

'I could give her a makeover!' Morgan thought with way too much excitement and realised she missed doing makeovers with her friends.

When they finally got to town, the group spotted their gym teacher coming out of the children's clothing store. She walked a few steps, bent over the bench on the corner of the street and burst into tears.

"Do you think we should tell her about Damien?" Erin asked. "I mean... he could help... surely."

"We'll go order drinks," Morgan said, taking Logan by the hand. "You guys talk to Mrs. Thorpe."

"You remember my favourite drink, babes?" Toby asked, dripping sarcasm.

"I take it you two used to date?" Logan asked as he pushed the door of the coffee shop, holding it for Morgan like a true gentleman.

"Oh, that's in the distant past," she lied. "We're just friends now, and honestly, I think Erin likes him."

"You don't say." Logan snorted.

As they queued up for drinks Morgan saw a few kids she recognised from the lower year at her school as well as the women with the little boy she had met on her last visit. The woman recalled her also and gave a wave when she caught her eye. Morgan returned the wave and made a funny face at the kid, making him laugh for a moment before he pulled his mummy's boob out.

As she turned back to Logan, she caught him pulling a disgusted face, which quickly transformed into a smile when he noticed her eyeing him.

'Is he like the old businessman from before?' she wondered. The sort of guy who is happy to see perk cleavage but thinks the ordinary act of breastfeeding is gross.

Seeing that expression on his face had made him seem ugly, despite his picture-perfect features. It occurred to Morgan she was basing everything on looks as usual. Once again, she missed Damien's company. He wasn't beautiful or sexy, but something about the firmness of his beliefs, quirky behaviour and dry wit made him fun to be around.

"Sorry," the young girl behind the till said as she fumbled with the glassware. "It's my first day."

"No worries," Morgan told her.

"Ugh, can you get the other barista to make my flat white?" Logan asked once she'd finished Morgan's order. "I'm not paying three quid for a bad coffee."

The girl looked hurt for the briefest second before plastering a smile over her face, nodding, and fetching the older guy who'd been there for years. He was the best barista in town and had even won awards, still, Morgan felt guilty. The other girl had to be given a chance to learn and first days weren't easy.

As he went to pay, the girl stared at Logan for a second too long and fumbled with his change, spilling it under the till. She blushed and mumbled an apology as he tapped his fingers on the counter and tutted.

'What a dick.'

When he saw the look Morgan was giving him, Logan adjusted his facial expression again, becoming more cheerful. He thanked the poor barista-in-training and carried the drinks to a table in the back.

"I don't want to get an eyeful of Titsy McGee over there," he said, choosing the seat that faced the wall. "Can't they just use bottles?"

"Of cow’s milk?" Morgan asked. "Cow’s milk is for calves."

"Oh geez, don't tell me you're a vegan," Logan asked. He made an overly dramatic puking gesture. 

"I am actually, as of recently," Morgan told him. She made the decision right there and then that she was going to stick at it.

"Humans are supposed to eat meat," Logan argued. 

"But it's more sustainable for the population to consume fruit and vegetables, not to mention healthier and more humane," Morgan said.

'Damn... Damien left one hell of an impression on me,' she realised.

Logan looked put out, as though unaccustomed to girls arguing with him. He fell quiet until the others returned.

"So why do you think Damien can help with the teacher's problem?" Logan asked them.

After the others filled him in on every example they could think of, Morgan told of how he'd made her fall in love with him. As an afterthought, she told the story of the mean businessman who'd ended up with anal leakage.

Logan sat in silence; finger pressed against his lips for a moment before commenting. 

"So this guy can dish out punishments with only the power of his mind?" he asked at last.

The others nodded. 

"Not just punishments. He can heal people as well," Morgan corrected.

Ignoring her, he went on, "And the teacher's daughter gets taken into the hospital at the exact moment she humiliated Damien in P.E.?"

"What are you saying?" Morgan shook her head. "No. He wouldn't do that."

Logan raised his eyebrows as high as they would go before rolling his eyes. "If you say so."