Some stupid house party that Hideki had been invited to was not how Logan wanted to spend his night off. But his cousin had reminded him of their promise at the beginning of the summer.

“BSE! Best summer ever! Say yes to everything.”

So far they’d managed to knock off another few things from their list. With only a little over a week to go before he had to head back to Helena, time was running out. Of course, he could always stay longer, and put off school. Hideki hadn’t totally convinced him he didn’t have to stay. But somehow he had convinced Logan to go out tonight.

At least it would let him see what a ‘real party’ at Columbia might look like. Hideki had been to tons this summer, and promised they were all the same. Logan still couldn’t think of the city without seeing Cassie there next to him, but maybe tonight, surrounded by so many other people, he could finally get his mind off of her. Maybe he could start to see a future in New York on his own.

It had been nine days since his phone had lit up with a message from her but it felt like months. He couldn’t bear to delete their conversation, so he would see the counter every day, telling him exactly how long it had been since the last message. 5 days. Then 6. Now almost 2 weeks.

This would end tonight. He was moving on.

The second he walked in to the party, however, he regretted it. This was not the way to forget about Cassie; all he saw were copycats. The same long blond hair, the same expensively frayed cutoffs and designer hoodies worth more than he made in a week. They all looked like her but not one could even hold a candle to her.

The beautiful, lying, rich girl who’d broken his heart.

“Hey guys, glad you could make it.” One of the copycats came up to them. Logan thought her name might be Brittney. He remembered singing her happy birthday at the restaurant earlier in the summer.

She started talking to him, and Hideki caught the eye of someone he knew from the boat shop and wandered off. Logan’s pulse quickened at the thought of talking alone with Brittney; he had no idea what to say. But she seemed happy to chatter away, her hand lingering on his arm. All he had to do was nod and smile.

At some point Hideki shoved a cup into his hand as he passed by, and Logan didn’t even look to see what was in it. He drank it in a few gulps. Brittney laughed and said something about bartenders being the best drinkers. He’d laughed at that too, and she beamed. His heart gave the tiniest flutter. Maybe he just had to give someone else a shot in order to start getting over Cassie. Logan ran a hand down Brittney’s arm, just to see what it felt like.

Nothing. Not even the hint of a spark.

Someone walked by with a tray of shots. He took two and downed them both.

“Woah, Logan, slow down!” said Hideki over the music. When had he shown up again?

Logan shook his head with a glance towards Brittney.

“Best summer ever, right?” he yelled back. Brittney flashed him a grin that showed all of her perfect white teeth. Her tank top was so low he could see the top of her bra.

“Yeah, but not if you can’t remember it.”

Logan didn’t want to remember.

Everything he’d been holding in so carefully, so that Hideki and his aunt and uncle wouldn’t know the pain he was in, was bursting free tonight. Seeing what life would be like for him, without Cassie at his side, was painful and depressing and no amount of Brittney’s bra showing would fix that. But he didn’t really have any other options.

He took a third shot for good measure.

It felt good to be numb. He forgot everything. He laughed at Brittney’s not very funny jokes, and let her lead him outside, where he danced with her, letting his arms drape over her hips as she shimmied close to him. His stomach did a funny flip at one point. It wasn’t a spark, not even close to what holding Cassie in his arms had done to him. But it was something. And maybe it could help drown out everything else he was feeling right now.

And then he saw Spencer.

A rage Logan hadn’t felt since the night he’d yelled at Cassie’s dad boiled up inside of him. Spencer was standing at the door to the house, a cocky grin on his face, an arm slung over the shoulder of a tiny redhead with a giant chest. The complete opposite of Cassie’s tall and lean curves.

No. Logan shook his head. He wasn’t thinking about her tonight. He turned his attention back to Brittney gyrating in front of him. But his eyes kept glancing back over her shoulder to Spencer, and Cassie wormed her way to the front of his mind again. How could she not, with her ex standing right there, his smug face just asking to be punched?

Logan leaned into Brittney and told her he needed to find the bathroom. She waved in the direction of the house, spouting off its location but he wasn’t paying attention. He kept his eyes trained on Spencer, formulating a rough semblance of a plan as he approached. Hideki appeared at his side with a drink, but backed off when he saw who Logan was staring at.

“Just let me know if you need back up!” he shouted over the music, and shoved a cup into Logan’s hand.

He weaved his way closer, slowly, so he didn’t spill his drink. His legs felt heavy and the music had gotten louder all of a sudden.

Then Spencer suddenly glared in his direction. Logan’s heart started beating faster as he prepared for a confrontation. But as he kept walking, he realized Spencer wasn’t looking at him, but through him. He moved to the right a little, and Spencer’s gaze didn’t shift. Logan looked around, now relatively sure that he wasn’t the intended target.

There, behind him. There she was. Cassie.

Logan turned away, his fuzzy mind not even able to process what he was seeing. She looked even better than he remembered. Her silky top hugged every curve and the skirt she had on was the shortest he’d ever seen her in. He remembered that none of it was for him, and he most definitely hated her, but yearning tugged at his bruised heart.

Spencer was still glaring at her, a dark look in his eyes. Logan had to hold back a laugh. What did Spencer have to be pissed about? He had everything he could ever want, while Logan got nothing.

When Spencer made a move in Logan’s direction, he shrank back into the crowd. Had he spotted Logan after all? Did he even remember who he was? He probably only registered as ‘that waiter who didn’t served me alcohol’ on Spencer’s radar.

Cassie was talking to some guy, a tall beefy looking dude who must have been at least twenty-one. Logan wouldn’t have dared to card him if he’d ever been to the bar. But he didn’t seem like the type to frequent Chez Pierre. His huge motorcycle boots over ripped jeans and leather jacket looked very out of place in the midst of all the Hollister and American Eagle. Logan had worn his best shirt and still felt like trash, but this guy didn’t even seem to notice anyone else, much less care what they thought of him. All his attention was focused on the blonde in front of him. Cassie threw her head back and laughed at whatever he was saying.

So she didn’t care about people seeing her out with someone like this guy, but she’d snuck around with Logan. The final knife twisted in his already shredded heart and he turned to go. But a movement from Spencer caught his eye. He was approaching Cassie from behind, a fierce look in his eyes.

Logan shifted on his feet, ready to…to do what exactly? Go save a girl who clearly didn’t care about him? Who’d lied to him and had been too embarrassed to be seen in public with him?

Spencer sidled up next to Cassie, his hand poised over her drink. Logan narrowed his eyes as Spencer slipped one hand around her shoulder and the other dropped something into her cup. She turned to look up at him, not even noticing her drink, her eyes flashing anger.

Spencer help up his hands, and Logan could hear his loud defense from where he stood.

“Hey, just trying to be nice. Looked like you were in need of saving.”

Logan couldn’t hear her response, but she rolled her eyes and turned back to beefy-motorcycle-boots guy. Her cup was still at her side, and Logan held his breath, waiting to see if she’d take a drink.

Should he stop her?

Her laugh ringing across the lawn gave him the answer he needed. She was doing fine on her own. She’d been to parties like this before, and would keep going to them long after she’d forgotten all about him. This was her world, not his.

Let her deal with the consequences herself.

Logan turned on his heels and went to go find Hideki. He was ready to go home.