Ruby Fox (love_ruby) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2019-10-08 20:15:00 |
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Entry tags: | #december 2017, logan, logan x ruby, ruby |
Who: Ruby and Logan
Where: The Marina
When: Evening, Sunday, Dec 31st
Status: Complete
Going to the marina had been a good idea. Yes, it was cold, there were heaters all over the place and there were things to do that just wouldn’t be an option at a house party. Ruby was all for getting toasted, and was well on her way there, but she hadn’t been in the mood for a party where she knew every single person there. It didn’t lend to a stitch of privacy, whereas they could kind of get lost in the crowd at the marina. They did run into friends from time to time and that was fine, since they weren’t knocking elbows with them every five seconds. When they ran into a group of guys from the basketball team, Ruby took a step back and let Clint catch up with his friends. They all had stories to tell about the last few days, but she wasn’t up for telling her own, especially since it was all a lie, so she leaned against the wall of the skating rink and watched people circle the rink, glad to have gotten her skating in while it was still early in the evening. Doing it now, after a few drinks, would’ve been a horrible idea.
Logan was of the mind that he had spent far too much time indoors the week before, and while he didn't love being out in the cold, he could tolerate it. Being stoned helped. He planned on meeting up with Jasper and Jules a bit later, but he was content with giving them both some time alone. He still wasn't sure how Jules felt about him and he didn't want to cause any friction for his friend, especially on a night like tonight.
He was near the skating rink with a coffee cup in his hand, though it held very little coffee inside. The whiskey was keeping him warm enough. Logan was about to step away from the rink when he spotted Ruby. He hadn't seen her yet since coming home, and while they weren't super close friends, they had Jasper in common and had since they were kids. So he wandered in her direction, always up for saying hi to a familiar face.
"Hey," he said, nudging her arm with his elbow as he leaned against the wall of the rink beside her. "Remember me?"
“Hey!” Ruby smiled, straightening up and giving Logan a quick hug, the liquor and a familiar face making her more friendly than usual. “‘Course I do. You weren’t gone that long. What’s it been, a year? Year and a half?” She wasn’t really sure of the timeline and didn’t feel like doing the math. Although not close friends, they shared Jasper, which meant Ruby was used to seeing Logan around. And Amelia had said Logan knew about her, so Ruby supposed that made their circle a little bit tighter. “Heard you came out to karaoke the other night. Must’ve just missed you. What’ve you been up to?”
"I don't even remember. A year or so," he said with a grin. His brain was far too fuzzy and relaxed now to think about the timeline too much. He couldn't even really remember karaoke. "I haven't been up to much though, just hanging out, looking for a job. Getting low on funds and I refuse to resort to asking my mom for cash." Logan snorted softly and then sipped his drink. "What about you? Are you here by yourself?" He wasn't judging if she was, because he had come alone too - technically.
“I think we’re hiring at Moxie’s,” Ruby grinned. “But you’ve got to promise not to split in people’s food if you want a recommendation.” It was the kind of thing she’d never considered doing until she’d had to wait on a table of middle school boys. She’d managed to restrain herself, but wasn’t sure Logan was up for the task. “I’m here with Clint,” she said, nodding in his direction. “But he’s busy at the moment and I can talk to whoever I want to. I think they’re just catching up on the past few days, all the fog shit.”
"I like Moxie's too much to want to work there," Logan said with a laugh. "Jasper and I eat there all the time. If I start workin' there, I'll never want to go there on my days off." And he couldn't promise he wouldn't spit in people's food if they were dicks to him. Still, he was thinking about applying at The Boathouse anyway. The tips might be better at a fancy place than a diner. He glanced over where Ruby had nodded, seeing the group of guys but not really knowing who Clint was. Then he groaned, returning his attention back to Ruby, and the skaters on the ice. "I'm so sick of the fog shit. That was... traumatic. For Jasper, anyway." He remembered how pissy Jasper had been the day before, how aggressively he'd been throwing sick at those houses on Ludlow. Logan knew Jasper had anger management problems, but that had been the first time he'd seen it since returning home. "Were you okay?"
Logan was right--Ruby had stopped eating at Moxie’s when she started working there. It was just too weird. She probably wouldn’t start up again until she quit and at that point she’d be leaving for college. Ruby nodded, remembering that Amelia had said that Jasper was with Logan. It kind of amazed her that those two had managed to keep each other alive, but then she and Jules had survived, so anything was possible. “It was definitely traumatic,” she muttered. “I don’t know that okay is the right word, but I’m alive and that’s what matters, right?” She took a sip of her drink, needing a bit more to fuel her buzz. “I saw one of those things. Out in the fog.”
He supposed she was right. Being alive was what mattered. Even if it was all fucked up, and fucked people up, and they all got to deal with the aftermath. Logan was still having difficulty processing the whole thing. That Jasper could have definitely bled out and died if that wound had been any deeper. They could have both been stranded in that pharmacy until they starved to death, if the fog had decided to put down permanent residence in their stupid little town. Ruby's words caused Logan's gaze to tick her way. "Yeah? Us too. Sort of. Parts of it, anyway. Looked like it came out of a horror movie. How much did you see?"
“Not much. Too much,” Ruby said with a little, mirthless laugh. “Claws, sharp teeth. The thing was huge. I’m not even sure what I saw. It took a swipe at me and missed. Jasper’s lucky to be alive.” They both were, but she felt keenly that it was even more so for Jasper, that there weren’t very many people that had actually survived being attacked. In most cases people were either untouched or dead. “How’s he doing?” She asked Logan. “I talked to Lyra, but I don’t know if he’d tell her if things were really bad.” Ruby knew Amelia could take it, but she also knew Jasper was still her big brother and that he wouldn’t want her to worry.
It took Logan a second to remember Lyra was Amelia. He shrugged softly at her question. "I think he's doing okay. He's here somewhere with Jules. But that thing really fucked up his arm." Claws and sharp teeth. It made Logan shiver, worse than the cold air. "He was out of it for a while before the fog lifted. You're lucky that thing missed you. I think Jasper got lucky too. Hell, we all did, I guess." Logan blew a breath out from his lips and grinned at Ruby before taking another quick drink from his cup. "This is depressing the shit out of me. It's a new year, we should be having some fun for once."
Jules. By now she’d probably told Jasper everything that had happened, making him one of four in on the secret. Could four people really keep a secret that big? It made Ruby nervous to think about and she found herself laughing and nodding at Logan’s response. This was exactly why she’d side-stepped the conversation Clint was having with his friends, but instead found herself falling into it with Logan. “Sorry,” she smiled. “I did exactly what I was trying to avoid. No more depressing conversation. What do you think of Jasper and Jules?” She asked, raising a brow. She knew what she’d thought at first, but she’d come around. Now she wondered where Logan was in that process or if he’d ever get there.
The question prompted Logan's brows to raise in mild surprise before he looked back at the ice skaters thoughtfully. It was better than talking about fog monsters and death. "I don't know. I mean... I haven't really hung out with them together, mostly just Jasper. But he seems into her and she hasn't been a bitch to me beyond like, the occasional look, so it's fine. Honestly, though? It's fucking weird." Logan laughed. "Like, how the fuck did that happen? I always kinda figured you two would like... you know." Ruby seemed much more Jasper's type, though Logan knew that didn't always mean anything.
“No,” Ruby laughed, adamantly shaking her head. “Things just didn’t… We’re just friends,” she smiled, comfortable in that state, even more than she ever had been before. There’d been a time when she’d had some lingering feelings for Jasper, but they had passed, leaving her happy with where they were. “I think she may have fucked feelings into him,” she grinned. “Is that possible? I mean, it is weird, but I don’t really spend time with them as a couple either. I’m still working on Jules not hating me. I can safely say she won’t claw my eyes out, but we’re still a while away from a double date.”
Logan laughed, because he was sure Jasper would have appreciated that explanation. "Fucking feelings" into him certainly sounded right. Nothing else really made sense. "Why does she hate you?" He didn't think he was being invasive, since she volulnteered the information. "And don't tell me it's because you spend time with Jasper, because then I'm gonna feel doomed from the start." He and Jasper had been hanging out a lot since he returned home, and Logan was hoping that wouldn't change. But he knew how some girls could be about their boyfriends. Possessive of their time. It was an annoying trait, but one Logan hadn't had to deal with yet, thankfully.
“Okay, hate may have been a little harsh,” Ruby said, thinking back on the past few days. Had things not gone completely off the rails, she could’ve said it wasn’t bad hanging out with Jules. It was only when other people came into the picture that things got prickly, either her friends or Jasper himself. “I think you’re fine, so long as she doesn’t see you as competition. I’ve had a hard time convincing her that I’m not.” Some of that was Ruby’s fault, but she didn’t need Logan knowing that she’d randomly professed her love to his best friend, then tried to take it all back the next day. The less people that knew about that humiliating experience, the better.
Logan wrinkled his nose before taking another drink. Then he shook his head. "I'm not competition. At least I don't think I am. Jasper's never been the type to let a girl dictate what he can do anyway. I mean, you know, he's my best friend, so if he's happy, then cool. As long as she doesn't try to lock him up from everyone else... then she's cool too." They hadn't had that problem yet, and Logan wasn't one to worry about things that hadn't happened yet. "Jealousy is a shitty thing. Hopefully it's not too big a problem for you guys."
“It’s better than it was,” Ruby said with a shrug. “I think Jasper made it clear to her that we’re friends and she needs to get over it. And Jules isn’t so bad. She can be a lot of fun under the right circumstances.” She still worried that Jules would get bored and drop Jasper, but Jasper could be the one to get bored as well. And wasn’t that the fate of all high school relationships? It was sad, but so long as neither of them were malicious, Ruby supposed it wasn’t any of her business. “She makes him happy,” Ruby smiled. “So I’m happy for him, so long as she’s good to him.” She nudged Logan with her elbow. “What about you? Found yourself a girl yet?”
Logan was sure there were some fun aspects of Jules, otherwise Jasper wouldn't have been with her this long. Sex was always pretty great but there had to be something more there for Logan to stay interested, and he had always assumed Jasper was the same. And his friend seemed happy, like Ruby said, so that was that. Logan wouldn't get involved unless he felt like he had to. So far, so good. So he nodded along and then grinned at Ruby's question. "Nope, and I'm not really looking either. I think I'm still in that stage where I just want to have fun without any of the... complications. Strings. Whatever you want to call it. You and Clint, are you two... like, together?"
“Yeah, but I’d also say we’re having fun,” Ruby laughed. “I don’t think the two have to be mutually exclusive. If you’re not having fun, then what’s the point, you know?” She took a sip of her hot chocolate as she looked over at Clint, the exact opposite of every guy she’d ever dated. He was fun, and great in bed, and so far it hadn’t been complicated. “I think the only ‘string’, if you wanna call it that, is that I don’t really want him fucking anyone else. But so far, so good. Jasper’s not impressed, but I’m not out to impress him.” It seemed awfully hypocritical of him to judge her for dating Clint when he was in love with the queen bee, but whatever.
They didn't have to be mutually exclusive, no. But Logan liked the fun without the strings. And sure, relationships could be fun with all the rules, but that wasn't what he was looking for right now. Logan nodded, not at all minding Ruby's desire for monogamy. That was also something he wasn't looking for, but he didn't begrudge anyone else for it as long as it didn't affect him in some way. "You don't need to impress Jasper with who you date," Logan agreed with a laugh. "Besides, it would make him a total hypocrite for getting on you for dating someone like Clint when he's fucking Jules Cooper, of all people. As long as you guys are having fun, it shouldn't matter." He glanced back toward the group of guys and noted one of them eying Logan and Ruby. That was probably Clint. "I'm guessing he doesn't want you fucking anyone else either, right?"
“That’s usually how it works, yeah,” Ruby laughed. “It’s only fair. But I like him and there’s no one else I’m dying to get with, so why not?” Clint didn’t seem overly possessive and Ruby didn’t feel especially tied down, so it worked. Being with him made her feel good and she’d take all of that she could get right now. When she saw him looking her way, she gave him a smile and held up a finger before turning back to Logan. “I should get back,” she said. “Tell Jasper hi for me if you see him. We should all get together sometime.” The boys had always been fun to hang out with. It would be a nice change from all the Overlook parties she’d been popping into lately.
"Yeah, I'll tell him," Logan promised. He was supposed to hook up with Jasper and Jules later, and he knew they were around here somewhere. He wouldn't track them down just yet, but soon. "And we'll find a time to hang out. It's not like there's much else to do around here." He grinned at her, and then glanced at Clint again. "Have fun tonight. Don't get too crazy."
“No promises there,” Ruby laughed, giving him a wave as she headed back towards Clint. It was New Year’s Eve. The night was made for being a little bit wild. She just wasn’t sure she was up for it after the last few days, but she’d have to wait and see. “Later, Logan.”