You've chosen to stargaze! If this isn't the decision you wanted, feel free to return to Chapter 114!
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The story you are about to read was written by Diana, TheMechanicsOfLiving

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Logan walked out of his Calculus Two class with a pounding headache.

They were working on series today, covering about two weeks of materials in about 6 hours of time, with a 30-minute break in the middle for dinner, and he hadn't understood any of it. Granted, he had heard that series (and Calculus Two in general) was one of the hardest classes to attempt. Most people took the class 2 or 3 times before passing with a decent grade, but he didn't want to be that kid that was failing while everyone else passed with flying colors.

That wasn't the only class he had to take in the duration of the winter semester. He also had to take General Chemistry One again in order to obtain a better grade to take General Chemistry 2. He thinks Deceit would've been disappointed in him, if he even cared to understand what he had been studying. He was probably mad at him for something else, though. He always was.

Don't forget to breathe, a voice told him as he made his way over to a bench. His back of his head hit the glass surrounding the bus stop as he waited for the bus to arrive. His dragon blows a puff of air out of his mouth, creating rapid puff of clouds in the air in front of him. He looks up through the top of the glass case, hoping to see the stars.

They're blurry, though that might be because he didn't realize he was crying. He touched his fingers to his cheeks, drawing the evidence of the watery substance onto his fingers for viewing purposes before scrubbing it onto his khakis, hoping to get rid of the evidence before someone else finds out.

He had a strong distaste for crying in front of others, including himself. He knew the physical benefits of crying were great, but the idea of someone seeing him in a position to be taken advantage of, to be pitied made him taste blood on the tip of his tongue. He would rather run until he ran out of places to go, scream at the edges of the mountain top, or do problem after problem until his hands cramped up and his mind was clear.

However, nothing worked as effectively as just letting himself breathe because when you just focus on breathing, everything else around you just exists. A bunch of inopportune factors in a problem that you're well on your way to solving. Some of those factors are things you need to get rid of. Some of those factors are easily solvable. Some of those factors will take time to solve. But everything doesn't have to be solved now. Plus, one is a more productive problem solver when their mind is clear.

Deep breath in, he told himself as he closed his eyes, sucked air in through his lungs, and held it for 5 seconds while letting thoughts pass in and out of his mind.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

He let the air escape his grip once more and opened his eyes slowly, taking in the dimming street lights before walking out the glass box and moving away from the university and down the street.

He could see the stars clearly now. Logan pinpointed constellations in his mind, moving from Ursa Minor to Cassiopeia to Draco to the Corona Borealis. His eyes tried their best to adjust to the darkness as he walked, paying no mind to the buzzing going on in his pocket. It was probably Virgil, wondering where he was since he was later than usual. He tended to be more on guard, dumping unhealthy amounts of concern when it came to their safety.

He stopped in front of the doorway to the apartments, taking in the sight of the sky outside of the apartments one last time before entering the lobby. He pulled his phone out of his pocket as he entered the elevator and pressed the button for the 3rd floor, fingers hovering the keys before typing the words:

I'm okay. I'm on my way up now.
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