So the next day when I come to school, I try to act natural... at ease... I go to have lunch at my usual spot. And, when Logan predictably shows up, I'm ready.

What I was not ready for was that he would hand me a tube.

"What is it?" I ask warily.

"It's an ointment. For your bruise." He points to my left eye hidden under a patch. "It will heal faster."

I stare at Logan for a moment and finally take the tube.

"Thanks..."

"Though I think it would heal faster if I just..." Logan suddenly trails off and then changes the subject. "So... what was with your mom?"

"Could've been worse, I guess," I shrug, looking at my phone where a book is open. "I'm grounded for two weeks, and she made me go to the hospital."

"And?"

"And what?"

"What did the doctor say?"

I look up at Logan.

"You mean about the shining?" I specify.

"No... about you... Is your head okay? Your eye?" he says casually.

"Well... I..." What the hell is this feeling? I'm at loss for words... "My head... is mostly ok; the eye is too."

"Can I see?" Logan says.

"What?" I ask stupidly.

"Your eye," Logan smiles. "Are you sure your head is ok?" and he starts laughing. His laugh tickles me in the belly, and I can't help but smile too.

"I don't think it's a good idea," I say after a pause. "I mean the patch is clean and holding tight. But I promise it's getting better by the day. I think, next week my face will be back to normal."

"Good." Logan picks a grass blade and starts twirling it between his fingers.

We lapse into silence. I feel a slight agitation but can't say if it's mine or Logan's. I try to ignore it and continue reading. But I re-read the same line over and over failing to grasp its meaning.

"What do you read?" Logan asks turning to me.

"A book."

"What book?"

I smile in reply. I didn't mean to smile; it just happened when I met Logan's eyes. He smiled too.

This. Is. Awkward.

My stomach is tingling again.

"I never thought you were a book lover," I say.

"Yeah, just lose the "book" and I'm your man."

I almost burst out laughing but manage to hold back and smile broadly instead.

Is this me or... he's kinda hitting on me? Never thought I'd see the day.

I think Logan realized how it had sounded because he turned away and started twirling the grass blade again. I'm laughing soundlessly, shaking slightly. Logan notices it, and I can't help but start laughing aloud.

"Sorry!" I say in between breaths and keep shaking and laughing. "I... hahahaha...I can't... ahahahahaha..."

To my surprise, Logan isn't angry, he smiles too and then just pushes me, and I fall onto the grass, gasping for air, tears in my eyes.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't know how to react," I say wiping my tears. Logan's face appears above mine; he stares at me, making my heart pound.

I must stick to my plan!

But maybe once I can let it...

With a heavy heart, I pretend that I'm about to sneeze and get up abruptly.

"Are these your friends?" I point to the farther corner of the field. Logan narrows his eyes, frowns, clenches his jaw, and unwillingly gets up.

"Thanks for the ointment," I say in his wake.

And for your company. I don't remember when was the last time I laughed like that.

I come back to my book but recess is over. So I scramble to my feet and go back to school.

"Next week we are going on a 4-day camping trip as planned. I need your parental permission. So don't forget it. Adam," Mr. Caulter, our teacher, looks at me. "Will you recover by then?"

"I hope so," I reply.

"Good! The list of necessary things is on the desk, please take a copy and get ready."

The next class is PE. But when a coach sees my face, he sends me to the bench. And I just watch the others rush around the hall. And in the second part of the class, the guys play basketball. Logan is back in shape. Occasionally he glances at me, but I pretend reading something enthusiastically on the phone.

In math class, we write a test, I finish it early, and Mrs. Kerry lets me go home.

Well, this day went pretty well. My shining got recharged from being near Logan, but my head is clear. It encourages me that I can come up with something. Or at least, I can exist in this mode until the end of the school year.

In the evening, I show my mother a list of things for the trip and ask her to sign permission. Mom looks at me, frowning.

"Are you sure you can handle a 4-day camping trip?"

I shrug.

"To be honest, I'm not particularly interested," I purse my lips and look away. "So I won't be upset if you don't sign."

"How does this affect the final grade?"

"These are points for extra activity."

Mom sighs and signs the permission. Dad comes into the kitchen. I see him rarely. Now he is very busy at work. But even before that, we were not close. We have no interests in common, but he sometimes asks me about school.

"How's your eye, champ?" Dad asks, looking at me and then at mom. "What is it?"

"The champ is going camping," mom says, shaking her head.

"Is it possible to go camping with one eye?" He wonders.

"Dad, I have 2 eyes, and at the end of the week, I think I won't need a patch anymore," I cut in.

"Let's have dinner already," mom says and gives me the papers.

After dinner, I go up to my room. Mom is still true to her word - no TV, no PS. I go into the bathroom and remove the patch from my face. The swelling subsided, but the color... I take the ointment that Logan gave me. Remembering how the experience with the pills ended, I read the instructions first, and only after that I apply the ointment.

It feels cool on the skin. I think about Logan, about his words... And again this strange feeling in my stomach...

Wait a sec! This is it! That's what's weird! This didn't happen before. I felt shining only in my chest - warmth, tingling, even burning. But that feeling in my stomach... it's odd. Is this the next stage of shining?

I lay down on the bed and pick up my phone.

I open the browser and search. On the request "shining strange sensations in the stomach" google suggests "butterflies in the stomach when falling in love" or intestinal issues.

Hmm... but not a word about shining.

In general, the days were similar to each other. Logan came to me at recess. I did not try to avoid him. We had a small talk or exchanged a couple of phrases, then he left, classes ended, and I went home. Logan didn't pay me any more late-night visits. There was only one funny moment in the classroom when Logan's friends tried to find out where he disappeared at every recess.

"Did you get yourself a girlfriend that you don't want to show anyone?" Mitch inquired.

"Is she ugly?" Mike supported him. "Or is she too pretty?"

"No, wait! If everything is so secret, maybe it's one of the teachers?!" Mitch laughed, Logan pushed him jokingly but didn't argue with them.

I wonder if they knew...

By the weekend, the swelling on my face finally went away. I don't know if the ointment or daily meetings with Logan helped, but the bruise is barely noticeable, which makes me happy. The bruises on my ribs are gone too.

My mom puts me to work around the house. And at the end of Saturday, she solemnly announces an amnesty for me and gives back my PS and TV privileges.

"But I hope it won't happen again," she says, looking at me meaningfully. I nod.

On Sunday we go to the mall and buy everything I need for the camping trip. It even seems to me that somehow we become a little closer with my mother. It's strange... I didn't think that after we fought we could reconcile so soon...

"Oh, Adam, I don't remember you had a sweatshirt like that, but I washed it," mom says, peeking into my room after we returned from the shop and had lunch. She hands me Logan's hoodie. I'm not sure if I managed to hide my regret...

Two days without Logan, and I began to feel a longing. And actually... I was thinking about sleeping in his sweatshirt again. But now it smells like alpine meadows...

"Yes... thanks," I say absently.

"Maybe you should return it to your friend," mom adds. I shift my gaze to her. Shining seems to cling to this idea. Yes, this is a good reason... I need to replenish a bit... I think these few minutes when I'll be giving him his hoodie back will be just enough.

"Yeah, I think you're right," I agree and immediately add, "So you don't mind if I talk to him?"

"You said that he didn't do anything bad to you," mom says thoughtfully. "Well, except for skipping school with you," she adds reproachfully. "But... boys will be boys. Plus... I was worried you didn't make any friends since we moved here. So... if this is your new friend, then, of course, I don't mind."

"Good," I smile. "Then I'll go and return him his sweatshirt."

"Go on." Mom leaves the room, closing the door. And again, these butterflies in my stomach are swirling in a warm glowing whirlwind. I think that maybe I should text Logan first, his phone number is still lying somewhere under the table. But then I decide that it's good for me to just take a walk.

I pack Logan's sweatshirt and leave the house. The road takes me about 10 minutes. On the threshold, I hesitate, but finally, I knock several times.

Logan doesn't open right away. But when he does, I see his tired face; his eyes are reddish.

"Hi," I greet him. "I brought your hoodie." I raise the bag. "Mom washed it... I don't know if it's a good thing or bad."

Logan looks at me without answering. He's playing for time, and I understand that. Shining seems to wear him down. He may not know what to do with it, how to behave. Or maybe we just feel it differently.

Finally, he takes a step back and says, "You wanna come in?"