𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒 | 𝐆𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬

26| The Archer.

26 | The Archer.

| 3rd POV |

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"What happened with your parents?" Sage whispered, tracing his face for any sign of discomfort.

Jess looked at her, forcing himself to meet her eyes. "My dad ditched, and my mom's-" he paused, scoffing, "she's a mess."

Sage didn't bother apologizing. It wouldn't mean anything, she knew that. Apologies are worthless when they don't come from the person who actually needs to apologize.

"What about you? Your dad, I mean." Jess asked, watching as she looked down at his hands.

She shrugged, tracing the lines of his veins softly with her finger.

"He's my dad, I guess."

Jess stayed quiet, his eyes following her finger.

She took a deep breath. "I just don't know why he always leaves, you know? I mean, why bother showing up only to stay for a bit, then leave again?"

"Dads are fucking dumb," Jess said.

Sage laughed, "yeah, they are."

They simply watched each other a few minutes, Jess beginning to twist the ring on her finger, not even realizing he was doing it. She didn't mind, of course.

"Why do I care so much?" Sage mumbled, her eyes running over his features. "About what?" He asked.

"My dad, other people, myself," she shrugged, "anything. Everything."

"I don't want to." She shook her head. "I really don't want to. It hurts, Jess. It hurts so much." She bit her lip, trying to focus the pain somewhere else. "I don't wanna be this sensitive. I don't want to care this much about things. Like school. I've slept twenty five hours total in the last seven days, I've spent every minute of time I have studying. I'm exhausted." She was talking a lot, but he didn't stop her. He sat there, listening.

"I'm a mess. I'm overworking myself, but I'm completely terrified of being burnt out. My brain is stuck between giving up and thinking how much more I can take. It's exhausting! I just want to stop thinking, you know? I need a break. I just need my head to shut up." She rambled, her brain not even registering what she was saying.

Without trying to, without thinking, without any sense of right or wrong, Jess leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her waist.

She froze at first, but quickly leaned up, bringing her arms around his neck.

She rested her head on his shoulder, his body completely covering hers. His forehead was rested on her shoulder, as his arms tightened, bringing her closer.

"It's okay," he breathed. "Everything's gonna be fine, alright?"

"Pinky promise?" She muttered, running a hand through his hair. He smiled, ever so slightly. "Yeah, princess."

One of her hands stayed on his neck, keeping his body close to hers. While the other twirled around pieces of hair that had fallen out of her braids, making soft curls.

They were the closest they'd ever been, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Not at all, actually.

Maybe it was the overwhelming amount of emotions, and perhaps they would deeply regret this in the morning. But for now? They felt okay. She felt safe, and he felt at peace.

"We're both insanely pathetic right now, aren't we?" She joked, her voice muffled by his chest.

"Oh, definitely." He nodded, his head in her hair.

She laughed. It was soft, and fragile. But still, it was a laugh.

He slightly pulled away, keeping her body against his, but now he could see her. Her smile softened, her eyes glistening. They were close enough where their foreheads were nearly touching.

She had practically wrapped her legs around him at this point, nearly straddling him. His arms were around the middle of her waist, making sure she wasn't uncomfortable.

Jess wasn't used to this position being so gentle, so secure. It felt real to him. He didn't feel anything sexual, or even romantic. Just genuine comfort.

"Did you know that the little jumps guinea pigs do when they're happy is called popcorning?"

Jess smiled, more than Sage had ever seen before, his eyes crinkling a bit.

She laughed, the tears rimming her eyes, overflowing the tiniest bit. A small tear fell down her face, making her look down.

He moved a hand away from her waist, his touch leaving her skin tingling. He brought it up to her neck, tilting her head up. Her eyes got even more blue when she cried, resulting in them to look like ice.

"Stephen King is a really messed up man," Sage nodded, a wobbly smile on her lips.

She'd tend to say a lot of random things whenever she was nervous. Like now. No one had ever comforted her like this. Occasionally, Rory and her mom. But Sage didn't cry a lot, especially not around other people. She hated it. It made her feel weak, and really dumb.

"Did you know that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was based on cocaine? The dwarfs were just side effects of the drug." Sage explained, tightening her hand around the back of his neck.

"Why do you just know that?"

She shrugged, "you never know when you'll meet a fired member of Disney. I want to be prepared to hate on it for any reason, so, hopefully they'd like me more."

Jess smiled, "you're fascinating."

She grinned, laying her head back on his shoulder. "Thank you."

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