Gods and Monsters

Ch. 9 The French

Sighing in relief, Sage shut the twins bedroom door but left a crack to let the hall light in. Mia refused to sleep alone and only fell asleep after Aurora cuddled with her.

Sage still wasn't sure what exactly happened but it had the usually aloof girl worked up. She wouldn't even go to the bathroom alone.

Downstairs, Elias sat on the floor with his back against the couch and his laptop in his lap. Marlo was asleep beside Brandon who looked up when Sage reached the bottom of the stairs. Sage's face warmed and Brandon stood, walking over to him. He had insisted on giving him a ride home and Sage didn't really have much of a choice but to agree. It was still raining and the bus wouldn't have arrived for another hour.

"Um, thanks, for the ride." Sage said, hating that he was so awkward. He tugged on the hem of his shirt and avoided those amber eyes that were leveled on him.

"Yeah, no problem."

Sage didn't know what to say. It seemed neither did Brandon; so they stood in an awkward silence.

"Is Mia going to be alright?" He eventually asked.

"Yeah. I'll figure out what happened when she's not so spooked." Sage shrugged and finally looked up at Brandon, immediately getting caught up in those eyes. They were so clear, like honey, with a brown ring holding the lighter shade. Sage blinked and looked away when he realized he'd been staring, again.

"I should get going. You'll be at school tomorrow, right?"

"Y–Yeah."

Sage walked with Brandon outside, both hesitating near the stairs. Sage hoped his new friend wouldn't ask too many questions or wonder where his parents were. He couldn't risk anyone finding out their living situation, he couldn't risk loosing his siblings. It's why he never cared to get close with others and preferred having no one over to visit. It would become all too clear that their mom was absent and he was supporting them.

The taller boy leaned down some and Sage's breath hitched, watching wide eyed as Brandon's eyes held his. They were so close they shared the same air. Sage trembled slightly, his eyes falling to Brandon's lips that he could kiss if he was brave enough. All he would have to do was lean just a little closer. But Sage wasn't all that brave and so he watched those kissable lips pull up in a small smirk before they brushed across his cheek.

Sage held his breath, forgetting to breathe as a chill ran down his spine and the hair on his arms stood.

"Goodnight."

There was no way Sage could have replied, it was like the other boy had stolen his ability to speak from him. So Sage watched him get into his car from the front stoop, turning around to go inside only when the red taillights disappeared down the road. Something made Sage turn back to look across the street.

Shutting the door quickly, he made sure to lock it and then rushed to make sure the back door was locked.

It's probably just neighborhood kids playing around he reasoned. After all, this wasn't the suburbs, there's no telling who's out there. It's not like he can call the cops without them asking where his parents were.

Elias watched him curiously but didn't say anything.

                                      ***

By morning, Mia was back to her moody self as if nothing had happened. Sage had tried asking her about it but she brushed his questions aside or changed the subject completely. He decided to let it go for now but he reminded everyone to make sure the doors were locked and not to answer the door for any strangers.

It was like nothing even remotely weird had happened. The day was like any other. He took his younger siblings to school, went through classes unnoticed by the majority of the student body and sat with Brandon at lunch while he did his homework. The only difference was his difficulty to concentrate as he found himself staring at Brandon more than usual, which is a lot. Brandon seemed to notice this too but all he did was flash one of his bright smiles.

Sage couldn't help but think about how the other boy had kissed his cheek the night before, causing his face to heat up from the memory. Brandon most likely meant nothing by it, it was probably something he did with all his friends. Like French people, Sage thought.

"We're still going to the park tomorrow, right?" Brandon asked, reminding Sage of their plans made last week.

"Oh, ugh...sure. We usually stop at the park on the way home." He shrugged. Brandon seemed excited, which was weird because they were just going to watch his siblings run around like animals.

While Sage was stuffing his homework in his backpack, Brandon bounced up and took his empty tray. Sage opened his mouth to stop him, but he was already a distance away, dumping the trash.

Sage's brows furrowed when he looked across the cafeteria to see his brother waving his arms to get his attention while running towards him. Sage stood to meet him halfway, hoping nothing had happened. Maybe he'd begged too hard for this day to be normal.

"Sage," Elias held up his finger for him to wait a minute as he leaned over with his hand on his knees, breathing heavily.

Sage had noticed that his little brother had come into the cafeteria only to get a tray of food and then left. He had thought nothing of it, it was common for Elias and his friends to take their lunch into a classroom of their favorite teachers or stay in the library. But Elias was breathing like he'd ran I marathon. Not that he ever would, he was as lazy as Sage.

"We need to tell you something." Elias finally spoke, straightening up. Sage raised a brow and looked behind him at Sam who was fidgeting nervously. He looked a little taller, standing a few inches over Elias now.

"Is something wrong?" Sage worried.

Elias nodded frantically, his eyes huge behind his glasses. "You need to wa-" Elias stopped himself when a smiling Brandon appeared.

"Hey Eli, everything okay?" Brandon asked the wide eyed teen who seemed to have frozen in place. Sam put himself in front of Elias and nudge him back a little, his brown eyes seeming to have darkened.

"O-oh," Elias gave a strained chuckle, looking up at Brandon who stood taller than all of them. "I'm fine, I'm great, couldn't be better actually. Sam and I were just going, we have...we have things to do. Right Sam?" Elias rambled, grabbing hold of his best friends hand and dragging him away.

Sage looked after them, confused and slightly amused. He knew if it was anything important, Elias would have told him so he just shrugged up at Brandon who was looking at him confused.

He'll never understand the workings of his little brother's brain.

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