Well like I said, here's the next chapter. Remember to read and review. Thanks Brittney and someone named astounded? Lol Your reviews were lovely.

Chapter 10: Better Than I Know Myself

Logan

Her name is Shannon? What a pretty name for a beautiful girl. Oh god, am I going straight? Logan thought to himself. He let a chuckle slip from his mouth. "What's so funny?" Shannon asked. "Oh nothing, I'm sorry. It was just something my friend told me during class." He lied. "So how the hell do you get around this school? I am new here. God I'm just lost." She fibbed. "Oh what class do you have now? It's third period by the way." He informed her. "I have English Literature this period, with a Mrs. Dawson?" she stated. "Her class is on the other side of the building. I can take you there if you want me to." He offered. "I would like that, Mr. Stranger." She teased. He's such a cutie. No wonder why Carlos wants to fuck him. The undercover girl thought. They started their journey to get her to class. After a few minutes of wandering the halls, she decided to break the ice. "So what is your name, if you don't mind me asking?" she told the brunette boy. At that moment, Logan was about to introduce himself, but the bell suddenly rang and signaled the beginning of fourth period. "Oh shit, its fourth period now. Uhh, what class is next on your list?" he kindly asked her. "I have, uhh, Chemistry with a Mr. Ronald?" she informed. "Damn it, that's on the other side of the building." He stated. Los Angeles Central High School is not his favorite school, considering most of the classes students have are very far apart from one another. "We need to hurry and get you to class, before Mr. Ronald can chew you out." He told her. They made it to the classroom and he introduced the new student to the teacher. "Hey, I hope we can hang out at lunch. You know after this period?" she offered almost flirtatiously. "Oh yeah, sure we can hang out. I'll see you at lunch Shannon." He kindly replied. She almost asked for his name when he suddenly disappeared just like the wind. He's a fast runner. She thought.

The pale boy barely made it to his locker. He quickly entered his combination and whipped out his Calculus book. Mr. Jordan was his favorite teacher after all. He sometimes found it strange that math was always his favorite subject. He entered his Calculus class and quickly took his seat. They were learning about derivatives. He knew the lesson very well and knew he didn't need the lecture. Instead, he decided to let his mind wander. He looked around the room and found nothing of interest until a glare hit his eye. He started looking for the source of the light. He turned his head towards the window. Outside, he saw two girls all dressed in black. He saw a girl with semi-long nails with shades. She looked African-American. The other was a pale girl, much shorter than her friend, and was holding a camera. He caught himself staring too hard, and both girls suddenly switched their positions and acted as if they weren't doing anything suspicious. "Logan. What is the derivative of 3x^2? (three x squared)" Mr. Jordan asked. Logan heard his teacher and faced him and told him the answer was 6x. "Correct, Mr. Mitchell. I'm glad you were paying attention to the lesson rather than the outside environment." The teacher smirked. Logan realized he was caught staring outside the window. He quickly looked back to where he saw the two females. However, they were nowhere to be seen. Hmmm….I wonder what they were doing. The boy thought.

He immediately began his homework for tonight. He answered all the questions thoroughly and quickly. He kept looking back to the spot where he saw the two girls but no luck. Maybe they were ditching? But why would they have a camera? The pale boy thought. Suddenly the thought that clouded his mind earlier was back again: What did Carlos mean by, 'I'll never let anyone harm you, ever again. If they do, they're not going to live another day.' He contemplated on this for the rest of the hour. Am I overthinking this a little too hard? He mentally asked himself. Maybe it's nothing. Then again what do I really know about him other than he's the bad-boy type? A gangster, perhaps? No there's no way Carlos is that bad, is there? He contemplated further.

Logan looked up to the clock. He only had 5 minutes of class left. He couldn't wait for lunch, he wants to get away from these disturbing thoughts about his boyfriend. He remembered he was supposed to hang out with Shannon, though. He wants to spend time with his boyfriend, but he also wants to know more about her. He doesn't know what it is with this girl. He doesn't know why he's so drawn to her. He doesn't like her in the sexual or the physical attraction sort of way. He likes her in the best friends forever type of way. He could see them like that. He wants someone to hang out with. God I need a life and some friends. He thought. He laughed at his silliness. As if one second passed by, the bell rang and fourth period was over.

When Logan exited his class, he saw Shannon right by the door. He thought it was weird that she was waiting for him, but he let it slide. "Hey Shannon, you ready for lunch?" he kindly asked her. She smirked and replied, "Definitely, Mr. Stranger." "I never did get your name, Mr. Stranger." She added. He properly introduced himself to her. She giggled at his introduction. Logan thought it was kind of awkward how they can talk so easily to each other, yet she didn't know his name. Logan walked her to her locker, which was strange considering it was next to his. He asked if she wanted to eat in the cafeteria or off campus. She wanted to hang out off campus but before she could reply to him, a pair of hands grabbed the boy by the waist.

"Hey baby. I didn't see you last hour." Carlos stated. Shannon didn't like the fact that Carlos interrupted her and her prey's conversation. Shannon or Shanya never did like Carlos, not only because they were enemies. He killed so many of her close friends, male or female, due to their "war". She despised his very existence, but she was on a mission. She couldn't blow her cover; she needed to keep her composure, her façade. She observed the pale boy and Latino's behavior in front of her.

"Hey you, I was thinking about you all last hour." Logan told the Latino. They kept going on and on. They talked about the usual lovey-dovey stuff. Carlos started to go in for a kiss with his boyfriend. The kiss turned into a fiery makeout session. They were so lost in their session, they seemed to almost forget about the female viewer. Growing tired of the show in her face, she interrupted with a rude scoff. Logan broke away from Carlos at once. He was embarrassed he put such a show on in front of her. Carlos however was displeased with her. He shot her an almost-mean glare and somewhat of a smirk. "Remember we were going to spend lunch off campus." She told the brunette. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Oh Shannon, this is my boyfriend Carlos." He awkwardly informed her. She faked her impression yet politely introduced herself. Carlos gave her a somewhat snarky attitude himself. "Remember we were supposed to hang out at lunch in the cafeteria. Remember we were talking about that already." Carlos said, giving emphasis on the "we" part, simultaneously grabbing his boyfriend by the waist. Logan sensed the heated words and attitude towards his new-found friend and his boyfriend, but broke it up smoothly. He agreed that he would spend lunch with Carlos in the cafeteria, but would have Shannon as company as well. Both of them didn't want to, but insisted anyways.

As they got their trays they made their way to Carlos' table. Logan saw a pale brunette girl named Camille, a blonde haired girl named Jo, and a brown-haired girl named Stephanie. He had to admit, for a bi-guy, Carlos was sure a ladies man. He knew Carlos had no interest in them though.

Shanya/Shannon

Shannon/Shanya noticed who they were, with their black and green bandanas hanging outside their back pockets. She hated these three girls with a passion and wished she didn't leave her switchblade with Kat. She was very livid towards Stephanie. She was trying too hard to keep up her disguise. Logan noticed she was quiet. "Hey is there something wrong?" he politely asked. She nodded her head no. She finally spoke up and just focused her attention on Logan. She asked him basic stuff, like his favorite color, band, hang out spots. Then she started wanting to know more, like how his home life was, what he's afraid of, his parents and where they worked. The bombardment of questions were starting to become too personal, but Logan still answered because he didn't want to be rude. Shannon sensed this too, and decided to play it cool. She knew she wouldn't get enough information in one day. She needed to earn his trust. She knew it would take too long to become "best friends" with him. Throughout their conversation she attracted the unwanted attention of Carlos and his posse. She ignored them, but knew to cool off with the questions so that nothing would go wrong. She soon received a text message from her crew.

Have you found out anything yet? Kat needs to know. –J.

Nothing, yet. We need a plan. I don't think I can get anything from him without violence. I'll need to keep up with him, though. –Shanya

We don't have time. We need the information now. We need to go back to Jose. He's bitching too much. We'll just tell him what we know now. –J.

K, I'll leave now. I'm about to kill these putas. –Shanya

"Hey I have to go now. I need to checkout. My mom is in the hospital, my sister just texted me. We'll hang out later, okay?" she lied to Logan. He replied, "Yeah, of course. I'm sorry. If you need anything I'm here to talk to. Okay?" he told her. She simply nodded her head, and left the table.

Kat's Crew and Later that Night…

"That's all you have!" Kat roared. So far all they really knew about the blanquito is just his name, Logan Mitchell. Shanya couldn't get any more information on him other than just the behavior he shows towards Carlos. "It's not entirely my fault. What have you two done to help with this mission? Huh?" she challenged her leader. "Excuse me? Oh I've taken pictures of that gringo and his classes around the school. But thanks to someone we had to ditch that plan, because apparently he almost caught us." She fired back. Jay Jay almost got them caught due to her poor picture taking. "Sorry if I couldn't control the glare." She sadly retorted. "Well, I'm happy I got out of there fast. Las putas estaban allí con ese pendejo! (Those bitches were there with that asshole!)" she exclaimed. "Jo, Camille, and Stephanie?" Jay Jay asked. "No, the fucking circus! Of course it's them she's talking about!" Kat shouted with anger. "CALLATE!" an angry voice yelled. "Por qué son mis niñas actuar como salvajes? (Why are my girls acting like animals?)" he said. "It was just a tough day, that's all." He reassured them. "Que tenemos? (Now what do we have?)" he retorted with a serious tone. "No tenemos otra cosa que su nombre. (We have nothing, except his name.)" Kat said with regret. "And pictures." Jay Jay added. Without a second thought, a slap met with Kat's face. The other two girls looked on with a stoic, yet shocked expression. "Le doy una asignación, y todo lo que para mí es su nombre? (I give you an assignment, and all you give me is his name?)" he spat. "Lo siento. (I'm sorry.)" she said regretfully. He took a walk around the room and finally asked, "Well what is it then?" he asked. "Logan….. Logan Mitchell." Shanya spoke up. "What did you say?" he quickly asked. He went up to Shanya and asked once more, a little more politely, "What did you say?" She repeated the pale boy's name. "He's alive. After all this time, he's here? And with that fucking no good son of a bitch?" he yelled to no one in particular. "What are you talking about? You know this gringo?" Kat asked. "Where are the pictures? Let me see them!" he told them. Jay Jay quickly turned her camera on and went to the memory bank. She showed him the pictures of Logan in the Calculus class. Josh looked at them with adornment. His Logan was here in Los Angeles. What were the odds? The memories he had with him, began to flood his mind.

Flashback 3 years ago…

He remembered the trick the boy pulled on him. He told him to drive fast. He went faster to get to their "spot". Logan grabbed the wheel and spun them out of control. The car swerved and Logan quickly tucked and rolled out of the car. Josh crashed into a tree and the impact sent him flying over a cliff and into a nearby river. The current carried him away and he almost died that night. He woke up with no memory of where he came from. He didn't even remember what his real name was. A man found him near the bed of a river. He rushed the injured boy to the hospital. As cold as his heart was to leave the boy in the hospital, he found a soft spot for him. He spent months in the psychiatric ward trying to find his real identity. He couldn't remember his own self. If he couldn't remember who he was, he could create who he wanted to be. He created his alter ego, Josh or Jose. After more months in the psychiatric ward the man "adopted" Josh from the hospital. The man became a father-figure to Jose. That man's name was Javier Sanchez. Throughout his trauma, he remembered Logan. Logan was the spot of light in the shadows of darkness.

Javier taught him about the life of a gangster. He taught him about the Comillo del Lobo. He gave them the red and black colors. Their rivals the Cola de la Serpiente, were always at war, either for territory or power. Javier was to go on a mission with his "son". He told the boy to stay hidden while Javier went to go trade drugs with one of their suppliers. Jose went to go help his "father" do the trade. It took a long time, and soon the power of sleep and boredom overpowered Jose's eyes. He woke up 10 minutes from when his father left the warehouse. He saw his dad turn into an alley and heard fighting. Jose went to go see what was happening but traffic separated him from the other side of the alley. He wanted to run to his dad's rescue but the passing cars were going at least 70 mph. He watched from across the street as he saw a Latino boy the same age as him take on his father. He saw blood leaking down from his father's back. His dad continued the fight, but the boy was quicker. Soon the boy overpowered the man and he stabbed Javier in the chest and watched in horror as his father's throat was slit. The boy took the bags which contained Javier's supply and ran like hell. The boy ran away without a trace.

Jose ran to his dying father. "Jose? Is that you, mijo?" his father said wearily. "Si, papa." Josh replied. "Kill them all for me, mijo. Hágame orgulloso. (Make me proud.)" he told his son. Jose choked on his tears and soon ran after the boy. He followed him to the hideout of the Cola de la Serpiente. He snuck into their hideout and saw the boy with blood on his hands. He saw their leader as well. He made sure not to make a noise, and to remain hidden. He watched the boy's initiation. The boy was known as Carlos, Carlos Garcia. Apparently the leader was his father as well. He couldn't stay too long, and decided to leave with the information he gathered. Jose was next in line to lead their gang, the Colmillo del Lobo. He initiated a plan to kill his rival's father. He succeeded and vowed revenge on Carlos and the rest of the Cola de la Serpiente.

Present Time….

"Keep track of him. Learn more about him." He ordered. "You need to know how he and Carlos work together. See if he knows anything else about that fucker." He told Shanya. "How do you know him, though!" Kat yelled. Another slap to the face silenced her. "Maybe you need to learn more from your friends! They've done a better job than you have lately." He sneered. She remained quiet and dared not to open her mouth. Soon after the silence pierced the room, Jose's personality did a complete 180. "Come on. Take the night off. It can be a date night sort of thing. What do you say, Kitty Kat?" he indulged her. At that moment she brightened up and immediately stood by his side. "Keep an eye on my little gringo, and see if he may know anything about Carlos or his gang of bitches." He ordered Shanya and Jay Jay. Kat didn't know how to react when Jose referred to Logan as his little gringo.

Author's Corner:

Whoo, this took me forever to type. Lol Yes people, Dan Romero is Josh aka Jose aka Logan's abusive ex-boyfriend, aka Carlos' enemy. Damn there's a ton of plot twists, no? Hopefully it's not too confusing for you people. Hopefully you guys can read and review. I'll upload again later in the day, possibly. The title is named after Adam Lambert's song "Better Than I Know Myself" I chose this song title because most of this chapter is focused on Jose's past. The next chapter will be all about Carlos and Logan's thoughts about Shannon and their own internal battles. Sorry for the really long note. Until again.