Focus - Logicality

Logan - Don't Be Scared

"Say goodnight, Foster," he laughs, kicking Patton's bad ankle out from under him. Patton stumbles, bracing himself on whatever he can find to keep from falling. My vision narrows and I'm swaying on my feet. Pure, unadulterated adrenaline courses through my veins; kerosene feeding the burning flame inside me, diluted only by venomous anger that burns through whatever impulse control I have left like a lit match.

He's taunting Patton now, but only to get to me. He's fanning the flame and it's working. His words are drowned out by the pounding in my head, but every word out of his mouth is another lit match flicked carelessly onto the burning fire inside me. This flame is already one to rival the insurmountably powerful wildfires that rage through the thickest, driest forests of California, Nevada, and Oregon. The kind that halts for no living soul and leaves nothing but the ashen dust of the once-proud, once-thick, once-tall redwoods in its wake.

Remus raises his hands to push Patton down. I quickly free my arms, clawing and kicking and pushing until the lackeys restraining me fall. I rush towards Patton, but I'm too late. I'm forced to watch as Remus shoves him to the ground. Tears spill down Patton's cheeks, and his hand flies to his bad ankle.

"Do you feel that, crybaby?" He puts a foot on Patton's chest and presses a small portion of his weight on it. If he wanted to, he could easily break a rib. He doesn't thankfully, because he's just trying to toy with my emotions. "Do you feel that?"

"I'll be fine, Lo," he whispers shakily, trying his best to ignore Remus. "Don't let him get to you. It's not worth it."

"It's too late," I mutter. Patton isn't fine. Remus has long since gotten to me. And it is worth it. For Patton, it will always be worth it. I take a step towards Remus and push him away from Patton as hard as I can. He falls, but two of his minions catch him. He waves a hand at them as a sign to go. He wants this to be one-on-one. But I don't want a fight. I just want Patton to be okay. He winds up to punch me in the stomach and I dodge instinctively, but it's not a punch; it's a fake-out. When I bend down, he socks me in the eye.

"Go," I warn him, taking a step away. "I don't want to fight you. Run away while you have the chance."

"Why should I, nerd? I'm winning."

I ignore him, taking a step towards Patton, then crouch down to help him up to lean against the car in a sitting position. His knees and face are scraped, and his ankle looks worse. I don't have time to look him over though, because Remus seems tired of being ignored. I squeeze Patton's hand then rise to face Remus.

"I won't be kept waiting, Sanders." He smirks, kicking Patton's bad ankle again. Patton yelps, a small, strangled sound, but quickly suppresses it. "You seem to forget that I have him at my mercy." I stand, whirling around to face him and clenching my fists, biting my lower lip so hard that it draws blood. The pain renews my pointed rage. I can feel my knuckles turning white.

"It's not too late to leave," I inform him. His smirk disappears, replaced by a glare that would break most people's spirits. Well, at least I offered, right? I match his glare, taking a small step forward, standing on my tip-toes to appear taller. I tower over most people of my age being 6-foot-1, but Remus has me beaten by a solid few inches.

He winds up to strike, but before he can, I clench my aching fists with renewed strength and punch him right in the nuts as hard as I can. He squeezes his eyes shut and heaves an involuntary exhalation, doubling over and clenching his groin. Once he has the strength to right himself, he pivots on his heel, taking a few steps back then turning towards us dramatically. He takes a quick step toward me and tries to kick my legs out from under me. I jump to avoid it then push him away again.

"Leave me alone," I plead. "I don't want to fight."

"Too bad, Sanders. You started this and I'm ending it." He continues to strike and I continue to dodge, predicting his every move and occasionally pushing him away when he gets too close to Patton or begging him to stop. He only gets me once: one good, hard time in my left eye, which is now swelling shut. I'm not frightened of the prospect of a fight, but the cheerful light in Patton's eyes has long since faded. His face is a ghostly shade of white, and he's trembling. I've never truly seen him tremble like that.

"This is your last chance. Go before I fight back. You constantly get into fights, so it's not like you can report me after what you did to Patton. He just shakes his head and winds up to punch. "Have you ever heard the expression an eye for an eye?" I smile. He stares at me blankly. "Well, you took my eye, so I take yours." I poke my injured eye then smile venomously. I've had quite enough of Remus's violent games.

"You're not gonna--" he starts. But I am. I cut him off mid-sentence with a blow to the eye. He must have tired himself out by now, because he simply flips me the bird and stalks away. A bully with bad anger management issues; imagine that.

Remus has barely turned to leave by the time I reach Patton. I pull him into my arms and he embraces me fiercely. I can see him wincing out of the corner of my eye, so mumble an apology and pull away reluctantly to make sure I'm not causing him pain, but he just shakes his head slightly and grips me tighter. I relent to it without hesitation.

"I was worried," he whispers, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"It's okay, it's okay." I wipe them away, kissing him on the cheek. "It's over now. We're okay. Just focus on me."