Chapter 4 - The Matchmaker

A pair of bright green eyes darted back and forth between the two humans as they seemingly attacked each other with a huge bag in the middle. That confused the poor Orion, the black cat. The bag hadn’t done anything to them. It didn’t stop him from hissing when a punch from the other boy sent the bag flying toward Orion’s human and almost made him trip backwards.

“Careful, Seb,” the blond, bespectacled boy called out from the chair he was sitting on, having no desire to take part in boxing. He didn’t even look up from his phone. “Orion’s gonna scratch you all over if one of those punches land on Logan.”

“Sorry, man,” Sebastian Rivera told Logan, a sheepish smile on his face as he flexed his wrists, a pair of black boxing gloves on his hands. “You know how I get carried away sometimes.”

Logan just shook his head with a grin, his own hands sporting a pair of navy-blue boxing gloves as he held the punching bag for his friend. “Don’t worry about it, you can’t do this properly without some hard punches,” the Ravers boy reassured. “I may prefer Fencing, but I don’t mind helping you with this, and besides, I can take it.”

“Just don’t hurt each other,” Cody Zimmer warned again, his gray eyes still locked on the screen.

The three boys and Logan’s pet cat were in a part of the gym at Ravers Manor on the day following Logan’s punishment, which fortunately for him, fell on a Saturday. That room had a little bit of everything; not as well-equipped as a proper gym, but enough for the members of the family to keep up with their workout routine if they so desired. The old boxing equipment was there because one of Logan’s older cousins, Zane, had taken an interest in the sport back when he was a teenager, but it didn’t last particularly long. Still, they could make use of it, since one of Sebastian’s secondary hobbies was boxing.

Both boys were shirtless, which would be a feast for female eyes if there were any watching their workout. Sebastian was an olive-skinned Latin young man with short black hair and brown eyes, his body having a stocky build that he was proud of. The friendship between the three boys began in middle school, when Sebastian stopped an argument between Logan and another boy who had been tormenting him and Cody. Since then, Logan and Cody, who had already been friends since they were kids, welcomed Sebastian into the Inner Circle, the group of friends they were a part of with Heather and the other girls. It had been because of Sebastian that Logan took a bigger interest into getting stronger and taking better care of himself.

“So, wanna talk about the elephant in the room?” Sebastian asked between blows on the punching bag.

“What do you mean?” Logan smirked as he held the bag in position for his friend. “Neither Cody nor Orion are fat.”

The other boy chuckled, those jokes that Logan sometimes spouted out were going to be the **** of him and Cody someday. “You know exactly what I mean, dude.”

“I told you to be careful dozens of times,” Cody calmly called out, reinforcing the admonishment. “If Sebastian and I caught you not only once, what did you think was gonna happen if you did it at school?”

Through texts between the group, Logan and Sharon’s full situation was widely known amidst the Inner Circle, so they were all caught up, especially about his predicament. It almost made Sharon glad her mother was grounding her until the day of the dance.

“Well, it’s not like we had time to think,” Logan chuckled.

Sebastian laughed as he gave the punching bag a jab with his right fist. “You’ll get it when it’s your turn, Cody, no worries. Sometimes you can’t help but live for the moment,” he drawled in an overly philosophical tone. “No trying to change the subject, though, so spill, dude,” he cocked his head for a brief moment to look at Logan behind the bag.

Logan shrugged his shoulders as he kept holding the bag for his friend’s punches. “There’s not much to say, I guess. We did it, got caught, and now we’re facing the consequences of our vile acts,” he let another chuckle. “Truth be told, I’m not mad about helping the clubs, I’m just worried about the dance.”

“But you’re gonna try to meet your parents’ condition, right?” Sebastian inquired as his arms and fists kept going relentlessly. “It wouldn’t be the same without all of us there, dude. Even if Vicky still gives me those dirty looks sometimes.”

“It’s hard to win her trust,” Cody piped in again, still fiddling with his phone as Orion alternated between observing him and making sure Sebastian wouldn’t hit his human. “You know that, it’s nothing new.”

“Still, dudes, it’s been years since I joined you guys,” Sebastian whined.

“Now who’s changing the subject?” Logan smirked in jest before continuing his train of thought. “Yeah, I’ll see what I can do, but a month doesn’t feel like enough time, you know?”

“Ah, I may not have been in a serious thing myself,” Sebastian started. “But my Dad always says that when it’s meant to be, sometimes a look and a chat is everything you need. Mom agrees, so it must be true.”

“Have you thought about who you’ll ask, Seb?” Cody asked from his chair.

“Have you, Cody?” Logan raised a teasing eyebrow.

“Touché, fencer,” the blond boy let out a chuckle and went back to his game.

“Let’s say I’m keeping my options open,” the Latin guy commented before resuming his timed punches.

Logan grinned at that, neither him nor his friend ever had many problems about finding dates to any event. They normally had to work on finding one for Cody, as their friend wasn’t too adept at the fine art of chatting up girls. He could talk and joke with them just fine, it was just for that dating portion of the conversation that Cody usually froze and couldn’t make much progress.

“Heather mentioned something that could help, or rather… someone,” Logan had to make a pause. “But I’m not sure if I’m ready for that level of… intensity.”

Sebastian’s brown eyes widened. “You don’t mean…”

“Ashley!” Cody exclaimed as the sound of two pairs of feminine steps could be heard coming into the gym. From his position, he could see exactly who it was.

“And Bella!” Logan grinned at the sight of his little sister following his friend, but a shiver went down his spine at the object Ashley was carrying in her arms.

A light-blue binder with the word ‘LOGAN’ written in big black letters across the cover.

There’s no way she compiled that in half a day. Fucking hell, Ash, you had a list of possible girlfriends for me stashed somewhere since when? Logan thought, swallowing hard before he smiled.

“Hiya, boys!” The blonde cheerleader happily waved, looking around the room and briefly appreciating the sight of two of her three male friends shirtless and exposing their lean muscles and well-sculpted bodies.

“C’mere, boy,” Isabella cooed to Orion, who was already on his way to get picked up by his other human, purring in her arms when she lifted him.

She was sixteen, and quite beautiful, just like everyone else in the Ravers family. The sophomore had a slender build, with long brown hair and the same electric-blue eyes as her big brother. Grinning at him, she successfully stifled the blush that threatened to break out at the shirtless Sebastian, as she occupied herself with petting Orion.

“Ash, why did I just know you’d grace us with your fantastic presence this afternoon?” Logan inquired, his grin widening as he tried to mask his nervousness. He took off his boxing gloves and tossed them on a chair.

“Heather called me yesterday, and well, that group chat we had last night made me see that you’re gonna need my services, Logan,” she replied in a tone that was a bit more serious than the one she usually used. She then placed the binder on top of a nearby table. “I can’t let you miss the dance if I can help you with this.”

Logan appreciated the sentiment, he really did. The issue was that Ashley tended to get really intense while in her matchmaker persona, everyone had seen it already, and he wasn’t sure if being the target of that intensity would be too fun. Not to mention the fact that she was probably bound to throw herself even more into it if this was for one of her best friends.

“Ash, thank you for this, really,” he gently placed his hands on her bare shoulders. She was wearing a blue tank top and a white skirt. “But don’t you think I can find a date myself?”

“I don’t doubt that,” she replied with an adorable smile, without missing a beat. “But you need a date with the potential to become a girlfriend, or your parents won’t let you attend the dance. Since a month is not enough time, I thought I could give you a nudge and point out the best candidates in each school group, club, or team. You can take advantage of Hartburn’s order to help them out and go straight for the girl in question whenever you join them.”

“Oh, so that’s what this is about?” Isabella asked with a big grin on her face as she chuckled at her brother. “I GOT to see this!”

“Don’t make me ruffle your hair,” Logan jokingly threatened as his sister sidled up to him. She playfully stuck out her tongue.

“That’s a solid plan, I have to admit,” Cody commented, turning to Logan. “It’d save you so much time, man.”

Logan had already opened the binder and was going through the options while raising eyebrows and nodding to himself. He was flanked by Ashley and Isabella, with Orion in her arms. “I’m really impressed, Ash,” he flipped through the pages. “But some of these girls, I don’t think I ever exchanged more than a few words with them, if any, since high school started. This one here, you know she’s kinda related to me, right?”

Ashley shook her head, as if she was just hearing excuses. “Not enough to matter, dummy.”

“Alright, but ten girls in a month? Girls that I’m supposed to really connect with?” He asked. “I won’t be able to date all of them.”

“Of course not, I was thinking more like one per week,” The petite blonde fired back enthusiastically. “But now you have a headstart. Isn’t it better than blindly fumbling in the dark?” She teased, elbowing him. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Thanks,” he sighed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “You just didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”

“Eh, it’s no trouble, I had it ready for ages, anyway,” she winked, confirming his suspicions. “Was just waiting for the time you’d need it.”

“Hey, Ash, how about helping out this buddy here too?” Sebastian threw her a jesting grin.

Ashley cutely cocked her head to the side. “You never need help with dates, and you don’t have a deadline like Logan, Mister.”

“I mean more like me and Cody here,” Sebastian tried to save it. “Maybe I’m ready to try dating for real too?”

Ashley laughed and just looked at him like he had just told her a really funny joke. “Nice try, I do agree that Cody might need my services too, though,” she admitted, causing the bespectacled boy to swallow hard.

Isabella cleared her throat. “Maybe they can all use this binder. Like Loggy said, he won’t have the time to take them all,” she suggested. The younger girl wouldn’t mind going with Sebastian herself, but she doubted they would let her.

“Hmm, my picks were more geared towards Logan’s personality,” Ashley pondered, but the prospect of playing matchmaker for all three of her close male friends won her over. “But sure, if you guys think you can do it, you’re welcome to try it. Just don’t complain to me later.”

“Okay, thanks again, Ash,” Logan squeezed her to him in a side hug. “I guess I’ll just wait for Hartburn to give me my first assignment on Monday and see if I can put this to use,” he said. There was the favor Paris asked of him to consider as well, he had almost forgotten about it amidst all the excitement. The Ravers boy wondered if that would factor into his quest for a date in some way.