CHAPTER 17
Over the duration of the week, Jeonguk had been working overtime, and Aurora had enough of staying at home. Tonight, she went to go sit on the balcony. Sliding the door open, she stepped onto it delicately, as though a heavy step can cause the balcony to crumble beneath her. There were two seats out there, and taking one, she sat down. It was pretty chilly tonight, and winter was already here. Aurora second-guessed her decision of coming outside. She was just feeling a bit of a reminiscence. Aurora hasn’t traveled in a long time now. The only time she stepped foot out of the apartment was when she had met Logan, but she hasn’t even seen him in a number of days. She just wanted to go somewhere other than just being at home.
Staring off into the distance, thousands of tiny lights lit the city. They were so sparkly, so pretty. Aurora’s eyes glistened with each flicker that illuminated the sky.
“…I feel…imprisoned.” She hugged herself, lowering her neck towards her chest to warm herself up. “…I don’t want to be here anymore.”
Deep in thought, Aurora’s meditation broke free when she heard the doorbell ring. It was a first for Aurora, since no one’s ever came over before. Jeonguk was the key to getting inside, so he never knocks or ring the bell.
Getting up, Aurora hurried to the door. “Coming!” Aurora unlocks the door and opens it. She jumps, seeing Logan standing before her. He waved at her and chuckled. “Ever heard of checking who’s at your door before answering?”
“Uh…” Aurora didn’t know what to say.
“What a strange girl,” Logan shrugged. “Can I come in?”
“Uh…” Aurora looked behind her. There was quite a number of things out of place.
God damn it! This place looks like an animal kingdom!
Aurora rubbed the back of her head and grinned at Logan. “Can you give me a few minutes please?”
“Sure.”
Closing the door, Aurora speedily picked up dishes that were left around and hid them under the kitchen sink. Jeonguk started to develop a bad habit of leaving his clothes that he bought all over the place, and so Aurora had to quickly gather them together into a ball and flung them into his room. Aurora had also left some sheets on the couch, and so she quickly folded them up sloppily and tossed them into her bedroom closet.
Huffing and puffing, she waddled back to the door and opened it. “Alright…I’m done.”
“Dang,” Logan came in. “I heard you bumping into things and walking like a heavy man. Are you good?”
“Yes, I am.” Aurora face-palmed. “I didn't mean to make it obvious that I was cleaning…”
“What were you even hiding anyway? A porn collection?”
“WHAT?!” Aurora gawked at him. “That’s disgusting, what the hell?!”
“I’m just kidding!” Putting his hands up in defeat, Logan laughed nervously. “Besides, I figured you were cleaning. No girl wants any guy to see her dirty side of living.” He smirks.
“Oh, haha, very funny.” Aurora rolled her eyes.
Eyeing the details of her apartment, Logan nodded his head impressed. “I’ve gotta say, the color-scheme in here is very nice.”
“Thanks.” Aurora invited Logan to the kitchen to chat.
As they both sat, Logan requested a drink.
“Oh, uh…what would you like?”
“Anything you have is fine.”
“Alright—” Aurora hurried to the cupboard and opened it.
“I would ask you for wine, but—” Logan looked snarky at Aurora. “How old are you again?”
Aurora looked at him and glowered. “Eighteen.”
“WOAH—” Logan gawked in awe. “Eighteen and you’re that tiny?! Oh my god…” He covered his mouth and looked away. “…I think I’m more of a creep than I thought.”
Aurora rolled her eyes, fixing her eyes on the glasses above her. She sucked her teeth because she knew she was just too short for her own liking. Aurora just couldn’t even graze the tips of her fingers against the glasses.
Logan got up from his chair and went over to Aurora. “I’ll get them.” Reaching over her, he grabbed two glasses. “And that explains your height, too.”
Aurora snapped her face up to his. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re not done growing yet, Shorty,” He handed her a glass. “Just wait a couple more years for your growth spurt to stop. Unless…it already did.”
“I’ve been this height since I was twelve.”
“Oh god!!!” Logan pretended that her shocking news made his legs give away. He gently places the cup on the table and lays the back of his hand on his forehead. “Oh lord, please bless this child! She was ahead of her prime time, but now she’s still the same height?! She is a midget!”
Aurora folded her arms and shook her head. “Listen, I don’t have a problem with my height, so don’t over exaggerate it as though I’m unhappy about it. I’m perfectly fine with my size.”
Logan stopped his acting and kept one eye on her. “So, you say.” Sitting back on the chair, he crossed one leg over the other. “Okay! I’ll be a good boy! Now, drink!” He holds his glass to her.
Aurora chuckled and got the gallon of milk from the fridge. Setting it on the table, Logan was just befuddled. “How do you drink milk and you’re still that short?”
“I don’t drink the milk.” Aurora corrected.
“Huh? Then who does?”
Aurora froze at that question.
Damn, I said too much!
“Hellooo?” Logan snapped his finger in Aurora’s face. “Who drinks your milk?” He grins.
“Nobody,” Aurora quickly says. “Because I use it to bake.”
“To bake?” Logan says intrigued.
“Yeah…”
“Hm, you need to let me taste one of your babies sometime.”
“Excuse me?”
“Your cakes?” Logan simplified. “Where is your mind at?”
“Ah, forget it!” Aurora plopped down in a chair and snatched the jug of milk. She poured him a glass and then herself.
Logan rests his face in his hand. “Thought you said you don’t drink milk.”
“Listen, I’m just doing it this one time just for the occasion, okay?!” Aurora’s cheeks reddened with irritation. Gulping the milk down, she cringed and shook from the murky taste of cow juice in her mouth. “Ugh…”
“Uh, are you sure you should be drinking that? If you never drank milk straight, then…” Logan held his chin worriedly. “You might be lactose-intolerant.”
“Lactose-what?”
“Aurora, did you ever attend school?”
“No.”
Logan blinked at Aurora. “Well, excuse me!” He cried. “Ms. Home-Schooled!”
Aurora frowned.
As annoying as Logan turned out to be, Aurora did find him funny. She never thought that a guy his age could be so down to earth with someone of her standard. Deep down she felt heart warmed by his presence, and he was just what she needed at this moment for comfort.
Logan could tell that Aurora was annoyed by his teasing, but he found it cute. He humbly accepted the glass and began to drink. Chugging it down, he slams the glass on the table and exhales satisfyingly. “Man, nothing beats a nice cold glass of cow milk.”
“You don’t say?” Aurora rose an eyebrow and took a baby sip of hers. She didn’t really like it that much. It was too murky for her taste. Trying to hide her disgust, she licked her lips and smiled weakly.
“So, Aurora. You seem like the type of girl who didn’t start off here.”
Aurora sat up straight, feeling her back and shoulders tensing up. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I mean—I don’t see any evidence of your parents being around,” Logan says as he observes. “And, you don’t work, do you?”
“Well, you seem like the nosy type.”
“Well,” Logan fixes his collar and gives Aurora a confident smirk. “I can’t lie about that one.”
“Well, I can tell.” Aurora huffed. “And I don’t have any parents, by the way. I never knew them.”
“…oh.” Logan whimpered. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s whatever, honestly.” Aurora folds her leg over the other. “They didn’t want me, I get it. It’s not easy raising a child in this world, even though technology is supposed to make it easier for newly parents.”
“Yeah, but I mean…damn.” Logan ran his hand through his hair. “I expected you to say something like, ‘My parents went overseas and bought this apartment for me and they’re paying for it’, or something like that,” Logan confessed. “So…you’re an orphan.”
“Yup.”
Logan rubbed his neck awkwardly.
“No need to suddenly feel pity for me. I stopped pitying myself when I turned nine.”
“Why at nine?”
“That’s when I realized that no one was ever going to adopt me,” Aurora explained. “But hey, that’s just another story that I don’t really want to talk about.”
“Understandable,” Logan agrees. “It just makes me even more curious about you though, Aurora.”
“About what?”
“If you don’t mind me asking, if you’re an orphan and all…where did you come from? And how did you find a place like this to live in?”
Aurora stared at Logan for a moment as her heart raced. “That’s…none of your business.” Aurora held her shoulder. “I don’t really want to talk about this anymore.”
“Okay, I’m sorry,” Logan pleaded. “I won’t ask again, sorry.”
“Thanks.”
The two sat in total silence, unsure of where to take this conversation. “So…” Logan started. “Would you like to watch something on television?”
“As long as it’s not Dirty Little Liars.” Aurora blurts out.
“Oh? You like that show?”
“HELL no!” Aurora barks. “I don’t know who made that show, but they need to get buried! Including the cast! A bunch of petty rich girls acting like as if they need every boy to turn up their ass just to feel like a somebody!” Aurora raged, slamming her fists on the table. “I HATE that show! Don’t you even dare suggest watching it, or that you watch it, or I’ll bury you with them!”
Logan gaped at the tomboy’s abrupt demeanor and cackled. “Damn, Daniel! I wasn’t even thinking about watching that! I just thought that you were into that sort of thing, I mean, I wasn’t gonna judge.”
“No, no way,” Aurora folds her arms and looks away. “Never.”
“How about some Webflix?”
“Webflix?” Aurora repeats. “What’s that?”
“Only the naughtiest of the naughtiest.” Logan bounced his eyebrows up and down. “Catch my drift?”
“If it’s porn…then, no thank you.” Aurora grimaced.
“No, silly!” Logan went over to the living room and turned on the television. “It’s an app where you can watch anything you’d like! I wouldn’t ever try to show an innocent girl like you dirty business, like guy’s humping—”
“Enough!!!” Aurora stood up. “Don’t say anything else about that dirty junk!”
“Like girls eating—”
“LOGAN!!!” Aurora shouted.
“Okay, okay!” Logan surrendered. “I’ll stop.”
Switching the station to Webflix, Logan sat down on the couch. “You don’t mind if I sit here, do you?”
“Nah, it’s fine.” Aurora slumped down onto the couch, sitting a reasonable distance from him.
“Alright,” Logan turns to her. “So, what type of movies do you like?”
“Uh…” Aurora became a braindead vegetable. Aurora’s never watched a movie in her life. Ever. She didn’t know anything about what types of movies there were besides violence and romance. She was curious about maybe seeing something funny. “…maybe the funny kinds?”
“The funny kinds?” Logan mocked. “What are you, nine?”
“I was nine. Nine years ago.” Aurora deadpanned.
“Touché.” Logan grinned at the screen. “Alright, so a comedy movie. Not in a romantic mood, aye? No problem. I got the perfect movie we can watch,” Logan eyes Aurora once more. “You don’t mind PG-13 or Rated R, do you?”
“What’s that? Are those some sort of name brands?”
Logan guffawed at Aurora, giving her a nice well-earned slap on the back. “Damn, Aurora, you really are hilarious! You really don’t know what those are?”
“Should I lie to you?” Aurora questioned.
“Dear god…” Logan covers his mouth. “…PG-13 means Parental Guidance advised, but it’s suggested that children ages thirteen and above should be consent to view it. Rated R means Restricted, so anyone below the age of eighteen—or usually nineteen—should not be allowed to view the material.”
“So…which one is it?” Aurora asked.
“Which one is what?”
“Eighteen or nineteen?”
“Um…eighteen?”
“Alright, so I have consent to watch.”
Logan gives Aurora a playful nudge with his elbow. “Clever little devil.” Logan surfed through the comedy realm and chose a movie called Smart and Smarter. “You’re going to laugh your balls off—if you had any.”
Aurora rose an eyebrow real high. “You must deep down secretly think I’m a dude.”
“After that outburst earlier, you gave me all signs of: I’m not a feminine girl, I kick ass! Vibe.”
“Hm,” Aurora shrugged with acceptance. “Seems about right.”
Requesting the movie, the screen turned black. “Aurora the Tomboy. Talk about a charm.”
Aurora smiled ear to ear, hearing Logan say that. “Logan the Pretty boy. Talk about a charmer.”
Snapping his head to Aurora seductively, Logan rolled his R’s like a feisty cat. “Getting a bit tense in here, I would say.”
“As if.”
Logan chuckled and shook his head. “Well anyways, I hope you like this movie. It had me in tears when I was younger, and it never gets old. Word of advice though, don’t watch this in public.”
“Why?”
“Man, you really must be new to movies. You’ll see why.” Logan stood up and placed the remote on the table. “Can I turn out the lights?”
“What? Why?”
“Um…because that’s how you watch a movie?”
“Oh, right.” Aurora hushed herself. “Go ahead.”
Logan came back and sat once he turned out the lights. “Bon Appetit, Madam.
Aurora and Logan laughed as the movie began to play.