Sage let out a gasp as her head pierced the surface of the water. She coughed and spluttered, clinging tightly to the person who was holding her. She wiped the water away from her face, pulling the hair out of her eyes, and looking around.
She was in the Black Lake, and not far from where they floated, where three large towers with platforms of people cheering. Sage's ears were still blocked from being submerged in the water, so all she could hear was the muffled chanting of the students.
Her skin had wrinkled slightly and her eyes were still adjusting to the lighting change as the person beside her pulled her towards one of the towers. When she reached the ladder, the person let go of her, holding her arm and helping her up the ladder.
On top of the platform, several people grabbed hold of her, pulling her up as her legs didn't seem to be working. She recognised Olive and Jill among them, and then it hit her. She spun around to see Cedric climbing up the ladder after her, not looking in her direction.
"Cedric?" She called after him, but he ignored her. "Cedric." She tried to stand to her feet, but Olive and Jill pulled her back. "You can't stand, Sage." They sighed. "He'll come around. This proves it."
"What just happened?" Sage turned to her friends. "He just rescued you from the bottom of the lake, it was apart of the second task. Sagie, you're Cedric's most prized possession, the one he cannot live without. Every champion had someone sent down there for them to rescue for that reason." Olive informed her.
"Me? Cedric hates me right now, why wasn't it Cho or something?" Sage frowned. "Sage!" Athena threw herself at her sister. "I was so worried." She hugged her tightly. "We don't know why it wasn't Cho." Jill shrugged.
"Oh, yes. I thought Cedric was angry with you?" Athena pulled away. "He can still value her above everyone else, even if they're fighting. Speaking of fighting." Olive pointed behind them, and Sage turned around to see what she had meant.
Cedric and Cho Chang had engaged in some sort of argument, and Cho kept pointing over at Sage. "I think she's angry that she wasn't the one sent down there. Seeing as she's his girlfriend." Athena laughed.
"I don't see why she'd want to. Clearly it doesn't change anything between Cedric and I, and I feel quite horrible after spending overnight underwater. I look like a prune." Sage frowned. Just then, Harper appeared.
"Are you okay..?" He asked sheepishly, this was the first time he'd spoken to Sage since the Yule Ball. "I'm okay. Thank you for asking." She smiled. "I'm sorry i've been a dick." He frowned. "Don't be. I deserved it." She laughed.
"Can we be friends again, Harper?" She bit her lip. "Friends..? Sure, we can be friends." He smiled sadly. "I figured i'd better give this back." Harper reached his hand out and passed her a book. Sage took the book, and read the cover. It was her 'Tales Of Beetle The Bard' book.
Sage looked up at him and smiled, she understood what the gesture meant, and he smiled back at her. "I don't think Cedric's as happy about your reunion as you and Harper are." Jill nudged Sage when Harper left them to go speak with Rowan.
Sage turned to the side to see Cedric was glaring at her, but when he noticed her looking, he quickly averted his gaze back onto Cho.
----
In the weeks leading to the third task, Cedric still refused to speak to Sage. Rowan and Harper engaged in conversations with the three girls when Cedric wasn't around, but for the time being, they remained in their seperate trios.
Sage rarely saw Cedric, and she assumed he was avoiding her. Sage also had not seen Cho since the second task, and she believed it to be for the same reason. During potions, Cedric had moved even farther away from her desk, and she very quickly gave up all hope of him ever reaching out to her again.
