god, the universe, and everything in between

two

age 15

i sit on the barstool in my kitchen, nervously watching my brothers bring in numerous kegs. i bite my lip, "are you guys sure that you should have this many?" i ask.

axel rolls his eyes, "yes, sage. now shut up and help. we can easily kick you out, you know." he smirks and raises his eyebrows as i stand up. as annoying as he is, he's right. this is my first opportunity to attend a high school party. and it's hosted at my own house! it's the perfect scenario. i'll get totally wasted and then walk upstairs to my own bed. i don't even have to get to know anyone and get them to take me home. i love having popular brothers.

i walk outside to the driveway where ethan is unloading drinks into a cooler. he hands me some bags and i look at him and pout. he shakes his head and sighs, "fine. but at least act like you're doing something." he says with a gentle laugh. 

i smile sweetly at him, "thank you, favorite brother." i chirp and turn on my heel to head towards the door again. i sneak past axel and up the stairs to go get ready. i catch a glimpse of noah walking into his room. he has headphones in with the chord going into his pocket, which usually means that he's not actually listening to anything at all but pretending so that people won't talk to him. i know noah better than he knows himself. at least, i used to.

i walk over and knock on his door, sucking in a breath. he turns his speaker on and i roll my eyes. "please talk to me, noah." i say, almost pleading. it's been months and he hasn't said more than a 'thank you' for passing the syrup at breakfast. he turns his speaker up louder and i sigh, walking away from his room and into mine. 

hours later, i find myself in the middle of fifty sweaty bodies dancing in my living room with a bottle of corona in my hand. my mind is blurry and everyone's voices around me are muffled. i can barely even hear the music. but i keep dancing, despite the chaos inside of my head. people bump into me and laugh, and i laugh along with them. after what feels like hours of moshing and running into people continuously, i decide that i need to take a break. i weave my way through the hundreds of people that have showed up to our house and into the kitchen. 

i grab another drink from a random cooler that i don't recognize and pop it open. i take a sip and lick my lips as i lean against the counter, looking around at all of the people that i've never seen before. my eyes fall onto a group of boys who are playing beer pong on the ping pong table we brought up from our basement. i look between them and my bottom lip finds it's way underneath my teeth as i look at one of them with dark hair and the most incredible eyes i've ever seen. his eyes meet mine and i immediately look away, taking a sip from the can in my hand as i walk out of the kitchen. the image of those vibrant blue eyes burn in my brain as i chug the rest of my beer, setting the can down on the coffee table. i walk back to the dance floor only to be welcomed by laughing seniors pulling me in with them. my mind becomes even more fuzzy as i start to dance again, laughing loudly. i dance for what feels like an eternity, every worry in the world washing away.

i continue on like this for god knows how long until i feel a body pressed up against mine. "hey baby." i hear in my ear and suck in a sharp breath. i turn my head to see dylan standing behind me, his body pressed firmly against mine. i elbow him in the ribs to get him off of me and he laughs dryly, grabbing my wrists and pulling me back to him. "stop fighting it sage, damn. it's just dancing." he says, inching closer to me. 

i shake my head and push him away again, "leave me alone." i say loudly over the blasting music. 

his eyes darken and he grabs my hips, gripping them tightly as he pulls me me close again. "stop being such a bitch." he growls in my ear as i try to wriggle out of his grasp. his fingers dig into my hips and i wince as i struggle to push them off. 

just as i feel as if i have to give up, dylan is shoved off of me. i look up to see the blue-eyed boy from the ping pong table. "she told you to get off of her." he says angrily to a now scared dylan. 

his fearful expression is quickly concealed by an annoyed one as he shakes his head, "you don't even know her." he snaps and rolls his eyes. 

"i don't have to know her to see that she obviously doesn't want you harassing her." the boy snarls and dylan takes a step back. 

"this is bullshit." he mumbles to himself and shakes his head as he walks away. i rub my hip gently, sighing at the thought of the bruises that will appear there tomorrow. 

"thank you." i say seriously and look up to the mysterious boy.

 he nods and gives me a small smile, "sure. looked like you could use some help." he replies smoothly, causing a small laugh to escape my lips. 

i look into his eyes and rest my hands on his cheeks without even thinking, "oh my god. your eyes," the boy laughs and raises his eyebrows. "they're so blue. like the ocean. but not the real ocean, the real ocean is gross and contaminated. like the ocean you see in paintings." i ramble and continue to stare into his eyes. just as he's about to reply he gets cut off.

"hey, get off the dance floor if you're not gonna join us!" someone shouts at us and we both laugh. the boy starts to walk away but i stop him by taking his wrist, "c'mon. let's join them." i grin and start dancing. he shakes his head and chuckles as i spin myself around with his hand. 

"i'm sage." i shout over the music, which seems to have gotten significantly louder. i look into his eyes again and grin widely, jumping around to the edm music. i don't even like edm, so i have no idea why i'm dancing so obnoxiously to it.

"ryker." he replies, licking his lips. a smile spreads across my lips as i repeat his name to myself underneath my breath. i nod and look back at him as the song ends, "that's a cool name. i saw it on urban dictionary once, it said that rykers were supposed to be really hot funny guys." i say randomly, mentally shaming myself for sounding like such a dork. to my surprise, he doesn't bust out laughing and walk away from me, but he laughs genuinely instead.

"do you think it's true?" he asks and cocks an eyebrow, looking down at me as we step off the dance floor. i knit my eyebrows to expression my confusion. my mouth forms an 'o' shape as i realize what he's asking. 

i bite my lip and try to hold back a grin, "half of it." i say cooly. he turns me around by my forearms and sweeps his tongue across his bottom lip as he looks into my eyes and moves closer to me, "which half?" he asks as a smirk crawls across his lips.

i purse my lips and inch even closer to him, "doesn't matter." i say and grin, our lips almost brushing together. he pulls away and shakes his head, "of course." he says and i laugh as i turn back around. i walk towards my staircase and nod my head towards it, signaling for him to follow me. i notice his bottom lip sneak underneath his teeth as he walks up the stairs after me. i lead him to my room and open the door for him, waiting for him to walk inside. i follow after him and my eyes meet noah's as he stares at me from across the hall. i feel my heart skip a beat as i give him an almost apologetic look before closing the door behind me.

i turn around to find ryker sitting on the edge of my bed, his hands resting behind him. he raises his eyebrows at me as i step closer to him, "so..." he begins as my knees gently bump his.

"kiss me." i say simply, leaning down to him. his eyes flicker between my own and my lips for second before he compliantly presses his lips to mine. my heart flutters as he carefully rests his hands on my hips, his thumbs gently caressing the now bruised spots where dylan's hands had once been. i sit down on his lap, one leg on either side of him as i loosely drape my arms around his neck. my breath hitches as his lips leave mine and attach themselves to my neck. i feel a slight pressure where his lips are and realize that marks will be left for a few days. a smile sneaks onto my lips as i tangle my fingers in his hair, urging him on.