badlands

CHAPTER TWENTY

The silence picks at them like flies buzzing around decaying fruit; viciously, and rapidly. The orange sun has made it's way around again and again, replaced by the large purple moon that Sage has remembered each detail by heart, where each crater is, where a vast area of smooth lilac surface should have been. They lay in the boiling heat of the front of the van, pondering in silence, their minds ridden with thoughts. Calum's hands fiddle with the radio, most channels filled with static, like it always is. Sage presses the side of her body against the side of the car, her forearm shielding her face from pressing against the hot pane of glass, Calum looking at her with admiration.

Her skin glowing, almost of liquid gold as the golden-brown specks in her usually, dark brown eyes, come to life, making it seem as if her eyes have an inner fire, Calum feels his heart jump in his chest. All is peaceful, and they both feel at ease.

And then the van is filled with screams.

The horrifying sound of bloodcurdling screams, mixed in with the cringeworthy sound of static, derive from the speakers, taking over the sound system as Sage jumps, her gold eyes widening and welling up with tears, her body beginning to quake with panic. Her chest begins to tighten, filled with anxiety and panic and held back sobs as she is unable to breath, attempting to back away from the monstrous sound that comes from the car radio.

Calum jumps at her reaction, quick to turn the radio off, the sound of screaming and static ultimately cutting off mid-way before inviting Sage with open arms, climbing to the back to join her, wrapping his warm, strong arms around her as she curls into a ball, sobbing into his chest. They stay like that for a while, Calum humming soft songs to soothe Sage's emotions, and Sage starting to calm down at the sound of Calum's voice, rich with emotion but with pain as well.

Sage slowly pulls away from him, wiping her eyes as she takes a few more deep breaths. Calum smiles gently, taking her free hand, resting it between his large ones. Calum's heart fills with warmth as he looks at Sage, her cheeks heating up as she looks at him. His eyes trail to her lips, ones that he's been dying to kiss, but is too much of a coward to; but his hands think differently, pushing a stray hair away from her face before cupping Sage's cheek, and almost eagerly, they both lean in. "I think I love you," Calum whispers softly, their noses barely touching as they gaze into each others eyes. "I know I love you."

And then their lips meet.

Their hands are tangled in each others hair, Sage's fragile ones combing through Calum's curly locks as Calum's large ones push her dark strands away from her face. They start divided, much like when they first started sharing sleeping spaces together, with a pillow between them; but the division is removed when Sage straddles Calum, her arms wrapping around his neck, pulling him closer.

Their tangled bodies lay in the back of the van, the sun starting to set as everything turns into a hazy pink, the same shade trailing down Calum's chest area, the same shade peppered in-between Sage's thighs. Whispered 'I love you's' fill the van, amongst the various moans and the sounds of skin against skin.

The climax that had overtaken the both of them tire them out, Sage laying on Calum's bare chest, a thin white sheet covering their nude bodies. Calum traces shapes on Sage's back, a soft smile on his face, stomach filled with butterflies. Sage sits up, covering her chest with the sheet, reaching, cautiously, to the radio, turning it on. A soft acoustic song, with bits of static here and there, overtake the van, Calum singing softly along as Sage listen to him happily, letting his voice soothe her. Moments pass, and the two wallow in the peacefulness.

And then the music stops.

The van is filled with screaming again, but Calum continues to sing, as if the song that had been playing never stopped, as if he was oblivious to the fact that bloodcurdling screaming is blasting straight into his eardrums. Sage freezes again, nearly brought close to tears, but she freezes as she hears a single word being repeated again and again amongst the screams.

"Underground."

-

a/n: this chapters so bad and im sorry.

i've honestly lost a lot of inspiration into writing Badlands. i'm not much of a fan of halsey anymore (i still listen to her music, i just don't really like her anymore because the way she's been acting lately has been pretty yikes) so the magic of Badlands honestly died for me. i've also started getting interested in other things so i guess that took part in the detonation of my inspo

i was really excited writing this but i don't know. i just don't see an ending to this story anymore. 

theres a high chance i'll discontinue badlands. idk sorry :/

(also i changed from youngods to easefully)