How He Broke

Something's Off (Matty's POV)

It's been almost a month now since Sage and Tate became friends again, and I have to say I'm not super happy about it.

She wants to hang out with him all the time, and it always seems like she's more excited to see him than she is to see me.

She claims they're just friends though, and I believe her. I know she loves me, but I also know Tate loves her too.

"Hey, babe!" Sage smiled, latching onto my arm as we met up in the hall.

"Hey baby." I smiled before kissing the top of her head. "How was class today?"

"Meh. Same as always." She answered. "Thank god, Skyler and I are partners for this upcoming project though." She said, "I would probably die if it were anyone else."

I chuckled, "Thank god for that indeed, I'd hate to be dating a dead girl."

"Hey!" She laughed, playfully slapping my arm as we walked out into the courtyard to meet up with Skyler and Tate.

I'm happy Skyler and Sage made amends. Skyler was her only friend other than me for so long and I knew how much it hurt her when they weren't exactly on speaking terms. I have no idea what they talked about, but Sage said they talked about pretty much everything.

It's crazy to me that either of them are actually still friends with that freak, Tate, even after everything. But, if Sage likes him, then I guess I just have to play nice.

As we exited the building, I heard Sage gasp before she let go of my arm, bolting over to where she had spotted Tate.

"Tae!!!" I heard her squeal, watching as she jumped into his arms.

"Woah!" Tate laughed, catching her. "Well hi to you too."

I rolled my eyes as I walked over, forcing a smile. "Hey man what's up?" I greeted as he set Sage down.

"Not much." Tate replied.

I wrapped an arm around Sage and she found her way to my side, hugging me,

"Sup, losers." Skyler greeted, walking over to us.

"Hey, Sky." Sage beamed.

I watched closely as Skyler awkwardly mirrored Sage, hugging Tate's side, her arms wrapped around his torso as he put an arm around her shoulders.

It was quite a sight to be seen considering they were about the same height and they kind of looked related.

Skyler had long straight blonde hair and blue eyes while Tate had wavy dirty blonde hair and dark brown eyes. Tate was also a lot more fair than Skyler was, looking almost like a ghost beside her tanned form.

If it weren't for Skyler's constant grunge and stoner aesthetic, you could easily mistaken her for being a prep.

"So, what are we doing today?" I asked, knowing how happy it made Sage when I tried to initiate plans that included Tate.

"We could go to my house and smoke?" Skyler suggested. "My mom is out with Sage's to go shopping for a dress for some big date she has."

"That sounds fun, but you guys practically do that everyday after school." Sage complained, resting her head on the side of my chest.

Sage was the only sober one out of all of us. She refused to smoke or do anything for that matter. She says it has something to do with her past so none of us pry too much.

From what I've gathered, Sage's dad was a real piece of work. Someone that still haunts her to this day, and we all know that; so we don't dare ask questions unless she opens up for us to, yet even then we're cautious.

"Okay, well we could go to an arcade." Tate suggested. I rolled my eyes internally.

"That's an idea." I nodded, knowing Sage was beaming at the sight of us getting along.

"I mean that does sound fun, but I kinda wanna do something else." Sage said.

"Okay, what about a party? I heard from Christian that the Cave brothers are throwing a ragger tonight." I said, "Could be fun if we all went together."

"That's a great idea, babe!" Sage agreed happily. "What do you guys say?" She asked Tate and Skyler who shared a look with one another.

I knew how hard it was to turn Sage down. It was like scolding a puppy, or telling a toddler they colored outside the lines; a heartbreaking experience just from her reaction.

"Sureeee." They both said, giving into her despite obviously not being interested.

"Great!" Sage cheered, "We can all go over to my house to get ready." Sage said as we all began to walk. "You two can hang out downstairs while Sky and I get ready in my room." Sage instructed as moved to drape my arm over her shoulders. She held my hand as as it hung down over her chest.

"Oh I dun-" Tate began to protest.

"Sounds great, baby." I cut him off. "It'll be some one on one bonding." I shot him a look; telling him to go along with it to make Sage happy.

"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Sage smiled, "I'm glad you two are getting along." Sage said happily.

I glanced over, noticing how awkwardly Tate and Skyler walked together. They were holding hands, but held expressions as if the other had cooties.

Something was off about those two, and I was determined to find out what it was.