Who Said Glasses Were Good (BxB 18+)

Ch. 18 If Need Be

Sage blinks, again and again, until sometime he realizes the sun whispering through his window blinds. He had not moved since he sat down on his bed last night. As if he had been drowning in cement, the air around him solified as he exhaled. He thinks and thinks and thinks.

He is also waiting. Waiting for the inevitable to begin to spread, waiting for his phone to ring. There's a strange silence in his room and he thinks that maybe his heartbeat has stopped.

But the ring never comes.

When he stands up there is a sharp pain in his back that rips from base of his spine to his should blades. Somehow, he drags himself to the restroom. He stares at his reflection in the mirror, the yellow fluorescent bulbs making his skin sickly. He runs his hands through his hair. He is a madman.

By the time he reaches school, he is somewhat relieved. He steps out of the bus and surveys his surroundings. There is nothing to be afraid of. He checks his phone again, which has remained relatively silent.

He takes a long raggedy breath at the sky, just beginning to blue. If whoever took the picture hasn't spread it yet that could only mean one thing—they want something. And if they want something, that means they can be manipulated. As long as they are not rash. Sage looks around. Some people glance at him, but they always do. He'll know when he sees it. And he'll do anything to preserve what he's built even if it means dirtying his own hands.

—

Jason does not sleep either. He sits on the balcony outside of his room. The cool summer night air makes his fingers go numb as they fumble on the handrails of the scratched metal chairs. Below, a fountain slowly sprinkles on the lawn. 

If Jason could physically remember when he first met Zach, it must have been lost to time. He does remember the summers they spent, just sitting on the green lawns, going hours unsupervised. His house was gated anyways—there was no real danger.

And they would run under the burning sun, finding shade under Japanese maple trees. Jason would lead Zach through the rosebush mazes that only he could navigate, until Zach would be the second person who could go through it with his eyes closed. When there weren't any secrets. There weren't supposed to be any secrets.

Owls hoot in the distance, like a beckon. He decides to go for a walk and jumps over the balcony rails. It isn't too difficult. His room hangs right over the garage, which is low enough to jump into the grass. There is a drop in his stomach as he lands on the wet grass.

The rosebush maze isn't far, and soon, Jason is in the midst of it. Moonlight casts light shadows that stick to his steps. He kicks a pebble as he walks down the path.

Was his imagination that he always thought of himself as a protector? That was what he always did, wasn't it? Protect him. He remembers the boy who mocked Zach for not having a mother. His face is blurry in his memory. Poor boy. Moved a semester later, though most people would kill to stay at this school.

But Jason barely feels any remorse. Opportunities are earned, not deserved. What happened to him? Well, that was karma. Jason just happens to be the person to bring it.

Jason reaches the heart of the maze, where a quiet pond ripples. Jason picks up the stone he has been kicking, feeling the weight and the jagged edges in his palm.

And I'll be that person again if need be, he thinks.

He tosses the pebble and it sinks through the water, settling at the very bottom.