Chapter Text
Logan loved to notice details throughout the day. Such as that there was usually more cheese pizza than ham pizza in the cafeteria, that there wasn't a day when Aiden went without a smiley face on his clothes, that on Wednesdays the hallways became a little safer because Barron had chemistry on those days and he always skipped it, which meant he wasn't at school, and that Tyler stared at him openly all day.
At first, Logan thought he was imagining things, but in the middle of the day, when everyone was sitting in the cafeteria, it became obvious. He and the twins always sat in a row, so Tyler couldn't 'accidentally' stare at him while sitting across from him; he deliberately turned his head and stared at him.
At first, it was a little awkward. At second Fields started to get nervous.
Is he angry or offended about something? Did I say something wrong yesterday or any other day? Did I do something wrong during the night outing? If he was angry, he would have said so; Tyler always shows his anger openly. Then what does he want from me?!
“I'm going to the restroom.” Logan got up from his seat, looking at the floor, and hurried to the men's room.
Does he want to find out something? Or do I just look ridiculous? Do I have bad breath? Is my sweater crooked?
Logan walked over to the sink and began to examine his reflection too closely to understand what was attracting Tyler's attention so much.
There don't seem to be any stains on my clothes. There are no smudges on my glasses. Maybe something is stuck in my teeth?
Logan opened his mouth slightly and then a stranger's hand suddenly touched his forehead. Fields froze at the unexpected touch and immediately glanced at the owner of the hand.
"You should get a haircut. Your bangs are already getting in your eyes, so it won't be long before you're completely blind." Tyler looked at him with a focused expression, pressing Logan's overgrown bangs back against his crown, exposing his pale forehead.
Fields blinked in confusion, his mouth agape, then turned back to the mirror. Tyler removed his hand, and sure enough, his bangs had grown so long that some strands reached the center of his eyes, falling onto his glasses frames.
“Damn, You are right...”
“I can help,” Hernandez said emotionlessly, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning his hip against the sinks. "It'll be way cheaper than a salon and more reliable than if you do it yourself. Just offering."
“Yeah, that would be nice.” Logan smiled, looking at Tyler again.
“Cool. Can you come over to my place at four today?”
“I have to help out at the flower shop, I won't be free until six.”
“Okay, six it is then.”
At 6:15, Logan stood at the doorstep of the Hernandez house, hesitating to knock.
I was 15 minutes late. Maybe I should have texted him? Maybe he changed his mind, or maybe I misunderstood something... He definitely said "today," right? It sounded exactly like "today"... What if he went out to run some errands? To the store, for example... His parents will open the door and most likely let me in, and then I'll have to sit awkwardly on the couch and chat with his parents... What if I say something wrong? For example, what if they're religious and I-
Before his stream of nervous thoughts could reach its peak, the door in front of him opened.
“Are you just going to stand there?” Tyler stood in the doorway, raising one eyebrow.
"Uh... Yes, I... I mean, no, I'd come in! Well, if it's okay to come in, and..." Logan mumbled nervously, trying to say something coherent, but failing miserably.
“Come on in.” With a quiet snort, Tyler grabbed Logan's wrist and pulled him inside, then immediately let go of his hand and closed the door. “Mom's at work, and Tay went grocery shopping. We usually go together, but I was waiting for you, so I sent her alone. So we're home alone, don't be nervous. Follow me.” said Hernandez and started walked down the hallway.
“Oh... Okay,” Logan muttered and obediently followed him.
Okay. Of course, everything okay, you're alone in the house with Tyler Hernandez, definitely nothing to be nervous about! Stop. Stop thinking like that, he's your friend now, not the popular guy. I mean, he's your friend and the popular guy, but that's no reason to be worried, you had to sleep in the same bed with him once during that trip—STOP. WHY DID YOU REMEMBER THAT NOW!?
They reached the bathroom and Tyler placed a stool in the center. “Sit down. It won't take long.”
Logan obediently sat down on the stool, staring at his reflection in the mirror. Tyler came up behind him and threw a cloth over him, the kind usually worn in barbershops to keep cut hair from sticking to clothes.
“Wow, I didn't know you were such a pro at this,” Fields said with genuine surprise as he looked at the cloth.
“Hmph. I don't think having a cloth makes me a pro,” Tyler grunted, spraying water on the back of Logan's head. “Any requests?”
“Uh... Requests? No... Just... Just return as it was.”
As it was. What nonsense are you talking about?! He definitely didn't remember details about you like your hair, you idiot!
“Got it,” Hernandez said calmly, starting to carefully trim the strands at the back of Logan's head.
Fields immediately froze, not wanting to interfere with the process, and looked at his reflection again. The bathroom was quiet, with only the soft snip of scissors and the quiet rustle of fabric as Tyler moved. The silence was pleasant for the first few seconds, but then Logan felt uncomfortable. He remembered watching Tyler dye Aiden's hair. At that time, the two guys were chatting non-stop, although it was more like an argument, but they talked. It would be better if they will chat too, isn't?
But I don't know how to start a conversation! I never have! Stop, don't panic! just remember what Taylor taught you! Ask something related to the topic. Yes, exactly! People love to talk about themselves! But what should I ask? Tyler is good at cutting hair. That's not a question!
“Where did you learn all this?”
Gosh, i hope this right question!
“YouTube and the need to save money work wonders,” Tyler replied calmly.
Save money... Oh, they had money problems, surely not the best of times. I touched on a personal topic about he don't want to talk for sure! I should have kept quiet!
“At first, it didn't work out well. I only cut my own hair, and when I tried to do it for the first time, it turned out so badly that I just shaved it all off.”
All? Like, All? What would he look like with a shaved head? Did he have a little hair left, or does that mean he was completely bald? Bald Tyler...
"And then Taylor dared to be my model, and for her sake I tried harder and it turned out pretty well. And then it just became a tradition. It's not as difficult as it seems. It's amazing how much money you can save by doing things yourself. That's why I pierced my and Tay's ears by myself too."
"Pierced? Yourself? Isn't that dangerous?” Logan's lips stopped mid-sentence and his breath caught in his throat.
Tyler's warm fingers traced the delicate skin around his ears, then hooked the frames of his glasses and carefully removed them, placing glasses on the sink. He stood in front of Fields, leaning toward his face with a thoughtful expression. Logan couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Tyler's face so close.
Tyler pinched a long strand of Logan's bangs between his fingers, then met his gaze. “Close your eyes.”
“Oh... Okay,” Fields murmured quietly in response, obediently lowering his eyelids.
To be honest, Logan didn't want to close his eyes. He wanted to look at Tyler's face more, examine every detail, every mole, his brown eyes...
God, what am I thinking?!
"It's not dangerous. There's nothing important in the earlobe that could be accidentally damaged. You just need to disinfect the needle. And as you can see, neither I nor Tay died."
Logan heard his voice, heard the quiet click of the scissors, felt the cut hair fall on his face, but most importantly, he felt every accidental touch of Tyler's fingers on his face. Every touch of his fingers on his forehead, bridge of his nose, cheek, as Tyler brushed away the cut hair... Each touch burned on his skin, and Logan had to summon all his willpower not to lean closer, press his face against those neat, gentle fingers, and feel even more of that strange warmth.
But the happy moment ended quickly.
“All done.” Tyler took a step back, placing his hands on his own waist with a proud smile as he examined his work.
Logan opened his eyes and looked at him in confusion. “Already?”
Damn, that sounded pathetic, didn't it? He'll notice that I like his touches and he'll think I'm a pervert!
“Yeah. Take a look.” Tyler stepped aside, allowing Logan to look in the mirror.
And it was perfect.
His hair was exactly as it had been a few weeks ago, his bangs no longer getting in his eyes, but falling neatly across his forehead. Tyler did everything so quickly, neatly and gentle that Logan didn't even notice how time flew by. Or maybe it was because he was so distracted by the faint, fleeting touches of Tyler's fingers on his face...
“Everything okay?” Tyler's voice came from the side.
Logan snapped out of it and looked away from his reflection, turning to the guy. “Yeah... Yeah, everything's great.”
“Good. You went quiet so suddenly that I thought I'd done something wrong.” Hernandez leaned closer and his gaze became serious. “Really, if you don't like something, just say so, I won't get angry or anything.”
God, he's so caring and so close! His voice sounds so good when he's like this! And he's so close!
Logan turned away, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks, and a nervous, embarrassed laugh escaped from his chest. “No! Everything's fine, really. I like it, I'm honest!”
That sounded completely unconvincing! He'll think I'm lying!
“I'm home!” Taylor's clear voice rang out from the hallway, followed immediately by quick footsteps. “Is Logan still here? Let me see, let me see!”
The second twin's head appeared in the doorway, and she let out a surprised gasp, then approached Logan with a broad smile, cupping his cheeks in her hands. “Just look at yourself! You're so cute!”
“This is my usual hairstyle,” Logan said with a kind smile, wrapping his arms around Taylor's wrists.
He had always liked her positive, infectious energy, which always made Fields smile involuntarily.
"Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that it suits you! Look at him, Ty! It makes him look so much cuter, yeah?" Taylor turned his face toward Tyler, as if he hadn't been hovering over Logan's face for the past few minutes.
If he says I'm cute, I'll die.
Tyler just shrugged, sweeping the cut hair off the floor. “Does it really depend on the haircut?”
“Oh, he's just too shy to admit it,” Taylor said with a smirk, hugging Logan around the shoulders by one arm. An involuntary chuckle escaped Fields's chest, and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Logan was clearly not used to receiving so many compliments for something as trivial as his hair.
“Stop clinging to him and sort out the groceries,” Tyler grunted, too busy cleaning the bathroom to look at the two of them.
“I'm not clinging to him, I'm expressing my friendly love!”
“Express your friendly love for the cheese, which will go bad if you don't put it in the fridge.”
“Bad cheese is a delicacy!”
“It's Blue cheese, not the bad-five-dollars-cheese!”