Endless

Falling In & Pillow Fights

ANGEL'S POV

It'd been two weeks since that night, and since, things had been calm. Mid-end of January, and Sage and I had grown much closer, rotating back and forth between his apartment and my dorm. It frustrated me, the way I didn't know how to explain what I was feeling, never having felt it before.

"I think I'm falling in love with Sage," I blurted out to Terry as she sat on Carlos' bed. She quickly shot up from her place.

"What? Seriously?" I hesitated, thought about about it, then nodded slowly, shyly.

"I just... love being around him. All the time. And he cares about me — like, really cares about me, Ter. I've never felt like this about anyone." I could practically feel my eyes filling with love and adoration.

"What's going on in here?" Carlos asked as he entered the dorm, having just gotten back from class.

"My Angel's in love," Terry announced, grinning. Carlos gasped playfully.

"He is?"

"He is." My stomach flipped at the sound of it. I'm in love.

"So what are you still doing here?" I frowned up at Carlos.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, why are you sitting here on your ass instead of telling him how you feel?" I laughed incredulously.

"Carlos, I—"

"And don't give me that, 'He doesn't feel the same,' story after that pancake incident." My mouth fell open. "Yeah, Leo told us!" I flushed.

"Well, I... That was..." I blinked a few times.

"A boner, Angel. It was a boner," Terry deadpanned. I huffed.

"So, what, you want me to just walk over there and blurt out 'I love you'? That's insane!" Carlos quirked an eyebrow, tapping his foot as he crossed his arms impatiently. I stared at him. "You can't be serious—"

"I'm dead serious." I scanned his face, zero trace of humor, and rolled my eyes, standing. They shooed me, nudging me out of the room before throwing me my wallet, shoes and jacket. I looked down at the contents in my hands, sighing.

I clicked my tongue. "Here goes nothing."

•

SAGE'S POV

I woke from my nap to the sound of murmured yelling. Rubbing my eyes, I climbed out of my bed slowly, stretching out as a yawn emitted from my lips. I walked down the hall to the source of the sound, stopping when I approached Ben's bedroom door. Hearing Leo's voice, I hesitated. I really didn't want to walk in on anything I didn't want to see.

Thump.

Was that a... pillow?

"Ow, okay, okay, Leo! Calm down!" On one hand, I didn't want to interfere. On the other, I wanted to make sure they were alright. After a long moment of thought, I carefully turned the doorknob and went in.

Leo was aggressively ambushing Ben with a pillow — well, as aggressively as you can ambush someone with a pillow.

Hurriedly, I got a hold of Leo and removed the pillow from his hands, giving Ben a moment to scramble to his feet.

"Leo! Stop it, calm down. Breathe!" When I was sure he'd calmed down, I gently released his body and he breathed heavily. "Does someone want to explain to me what the hell is going on in here?"

"Go ahead, Ben. Tell him how much of a dick you're being."

"I'm not being a dick!" Ben sighed heavily. "He's mad because I don't want to tell people we're together yet." I quirked an eyebrow. "I think it's too soon. I'm not ready to say anything, and I want to be able to be just us for a little while longer." Leo huffed.

"If you're ashamed of me, just say so. I don't want to be your secret, Ben," he said, voice a bit hurt. Ben's eyes softened.

"Leo, I'm not—" Leo brushed past the two of us, hastily wiping a tear that escaped his eye. A few seconds later, his bedroom door slammed shut. Looking at Ben, his eyes were sad, just barely glistening.

"Do you want me to go?" I asked softly. He nodded slowly.

"I just need a minute." I nodded and motioned for him to lie down. He obliged and lay down and I tucked him in, closing the curtains at his request and sighed.

"Everything'll be okay," I said just before I flicked the light off and quietly shut the door.

Making my way to Leo's room, I knocked softly.

"Go away, Ben," he snapped from the other side, voice thick like he'd been crying. I stuck my head in the door.

"Just me."

"I don't want to talk, Sage." I stepped in completely and fiddled with the base of my shirt.

"Okay. Do you need anything?"

"Nothing you can give me," he said, almost inaudible, his head hanging low. I sighed and moved to the foot of his bed, easing myself down slowly.

"Maybe you should just sleep. Maybe you'll wake up and have a clearer head." He exhaled deeply and nodded, eyes void of any emotion. I did for him the same I did for Ben, tucking him in and shutting his curtains. As I left, I glanced at Leo, his body curled up. Leaving, I inhaled for a long moment.

I plopped down on the couch, bored. Just as I did, there was a knock on the door.

What now?

I groaned and returned to my feet, sulking over to the foyer.

I swung the door open and my face nearly split in two when I saw Angel's face, experiencing an instant rush of relief.

"You have perfect timing." He raised his eyebrows.

"Why's that?"

"Ben and Leo are arguing again." He nodded warily. Angel had been witness to more than one of their — recently frequent — arguments.

"Are they going to be okay?" I smiled softly. I felt happy to know he was concerned about my friends. It made him feel closer, somehow.

"I hope so," I admitted. "I really like them together." He nodded in agreement, gazing off into space. "So, what brings you here?" His eyes fell on mine immediately, full of anxiety and anticipation. I was dying to know what he was thinking.

"I, um... I just wanted to say—" He cut himself off. His eyes trailed off into space for a moment before he looked down, biting his lip. "I just wanted to say hi," he finished.

"You sure?" He nodded with a smile, yet I couldn't seem to get myself to believe it. I left it alone, though. "Okay, well... Hi."

"Hi," he grinned. "You weren't busy, were you?"

"Nope, I was just laying around." Angel smiled.

"Well, do you want to watch a movie or something?" I gasped teasingly.

"Well, I would love to." He chuckled, shifting on the couch while I picked up the remote and turned the TV on, flicking through movies.

Angel offered to get the blankets, and while he did so, I ran to the kitchen and made two bags of popcorn. Once they were finished, I poured both bags into a large bowl and returned to the living room.

"What'd you pick?" I asked when I noticed the TV on a loading screen.

"Friday the 13th," he answered. "I haven't seen this one, but Terry and Carlos keep telling me to watch it. Do you mind?"

"Not at all." I turned off all the lights in my apartment and closed the curtains, trying to make it as movie-theater-esque as possible.

As the movie progressed, Angel and I found ourselves talking quietly and laughing at trivial things that seemed hilarious at the time.

At one moment, I glanced at Angel while he was right in the thick of laughter, eyes bright, smile wide, cheeks pink, and I knew.

I was completely and irreversibly in love with him.