GREY

CHAPTER 10

"Thank you once again for the lift," I said as he pulled up in front of my parents house.

"Driving you was the least I could do. And don't forget, our cooking challenge is still on," he replied with a smirk.

I groaned inwardly,
God I thought he had forgotten.
His chuckle echoed in the car.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow. Don't think I'll go easy on you," he called out, waving as he drove away.

"Why did I ever challenge him? I'm bound to lose," I sighed, heading inside.

➳➳❦︎❦︎➳➳

Sage's POV

"I'm back, my little chick," I announced, closing the door behind me.

Ethan's gloomy expression caught my eye. "What's up, Ethan? Did one of your experiments fail again?" I chuckled, knowing his tendency to throw tantrums when things didn't go his way.

He groaned, wiping away his tears. Dressed in all black, his hair was a mess, and his overall appearance was disheveled.

"Ethan, it's time," Blaze said, descending the stairs, also dressed in black and teary-eyed. He walked over to Ethan and helped him up.

"What's happening? Who died? Was it Aiden? I always knew he wouldn't live long," I joked, trying to lighten the mood. But no one laughed.

Seriously
not
even
a
HAHAHAHA

"Sage!!!" Ethan shrieked, sobbing uncontrollably and pulling Blaze into a tight hug.

"Why are you screaming? I'm right here," I groaned, covering my ears from his loud wailing.

"Why are you all crying? Where's mom? You're freaking me out," I said, panic creeping into my voice.

They silently walked to the backyard, and I followed. The entire family was there, all dressed in black.

My breath hitched when I saw a coffin.

"What's going on?" I laughed nervously.

My mom was being restrained by my dad, crying hysterically and calling out my name.

My heart pounded in my chest, and my body felt numb. I couldn't move from where I was standing.

Summoning all my courage, I ran to my mom.

"Hey, mom, I'm here. Can't you all hear me?" I asked, my heart pounding painfully in my chest.

I looked into the coffin and saw myself, or at least I thought it was me. I wasn't wearing my glasses, so I couldn't be tell.

Was I wearing a dress? I had specifically told them not to put me in a dress when I died. I took a seat in the front row, my legs bouncing nervously.

I never thought I'd attend my own funeral. I'm kind of hungry. Since I'm supposedly dead, I can do anything I want. I can have some ice cream, milk, yogurt, anything.

I quickly ran to the kitchen and grabbed a chocolate-flavored ice cream, some yogurt, and everything else I wasn't allowed to have.

Dying isn't so bad, I thought. I could get used to this.

"Anyone who would like to say a few words, please come up to the podium now," Blaze announced, wiping away his tears.

"S-s-sage!!!!!" Aiden screamed, gripping Raiden's shoulder for support.

"Why did you die? You were so young!!"

Ethan had to pull Aiden away from the podium and the coffin.

I know you might be wondering why I'm so calm right now. I should be panicking and going crazy, but I figured it out.
It's a prank.
They could have fooled me if not for Aiden being overly dramatic and mom taking all of my food.

"I figured it out. You can stop now," I laughed.

"I don't care if you figured it out. I'm still giving a speech," Blaze huffed, climbing the podium. I rolled my eyes at him.

"I'd like to say a few words. She was a short..
(Hey, I have an average height)
four-eyed monster, but she was our monster," Blaze paused to wipe his tears. I rolled my eyes.

"I remember when I was thirteen and being bullied. She ran up to my bullies and tried defending me. We received quite a beating, but that didn't stop her. She took her revenge, even though it almost landed her in jail for attempted murder," he chuckled, and everyone laughed.

Aww, I'm loved. I ran them over with dad's car
"by mistake".

"Aiden and Raiden will now cremate Sage's body." Did he just say cremate? They're going to burn the body.

"Such a beautiful speech," I clapped, laughing.

"Light the body on fire!!!" Blaze announced.

"Wait, don't, it's----" Ethan's words were cut off as Raiden lit the coffin, causing it to explode.

Smoke filled the air, making it difficult to breathe. I frantically searched my pockets for my inhaler. Realizing I must have left it at Hayden's, I started to panic. I always carry a spare inhaler with me.

Coughing heavily, each breath felt like a sting. My legs gave out from weakness, and I collapsed on the floor, struggling to breathe. My eyelids grew heavy, and it was hard to keep them open.

Is that you, great grandpapa? I thought, seeing a light.

➳➳♡♡➳➳

Raiden's POV

"In our defense, we didn't know the dummy was filled with gunpowder," I argued. It wasn't my fault the coffin exploded and Sage fainted due to lack of oxygen. It was all Ethan's fault.

We were all currently at the hospital, specifically in Sage's room. She had been sleeping for hours.

We only suffered minor injuries, like small bruises. No broken bones or fractured ribs.

It seemed like Aiden and I had battle scars.

I heard a faint groan from Sage's lips. She was waking up.

"Guys, she's waking up," I announced, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Oh god, it's so blurry," Sage groaned, rubbing her eyes.

That's why you wear glasses, you idiot.

"Hey, baby, are you okay?" Mom asked, her voice filled with worry.

"I'm fine, just as hungry as a wolf in the North Pole," Sage replied. The weird things that came out of her mouth were baffling.

"What would a wolf be doing in the North Pole?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Aiden! Raiden!" Mom called.

"Huh?" We responded in unison.

"What we talked about," Mom reminded us.

"We're sorry for almost blowing you up into tiny bits," we apologized, lowering our heads in shame.

"You guys owe me one, and you too, Ethan," Sage smirked, her eyes glinting.

"What did I do?" Ethan asked, feigning innocence.

"You know you're supposed to apologize," Aiden huffed.

I could understand his frustration. You do not want to owe Sage a favor.
A shiver ran down my spine just thinking about it, and I guess the same happened to Aiden, judging by the look on his face.

"Apologize for what?"

"Hmmm, let me see, maybe for filling the dummy up with gunpowder," I replied, slightly irritated.

"How was I supposed to know it would explode?" Ethan asked, acting clueless.

"Gunpowder, fire, gunpowder, dummy filled with gunpowder, fire!!" I spoke.

"We're all very lucky to be alive. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one," Aiden retorted.

That must have hurt.

"We-well-well then, Blaze is also to blame," Ethan stuttered.

"Me? What did I do?" Blaze asked.

"You're the one who instructed the burning of the body," Ethan pointed out, though it didn't justify his actions.

"You're the one who filled it up with gunpowder. It was your prank.
And where did you even get gunpowder from?" Blaze countered.

"That's not important right now."

"Guys, let's stop playing the blame game. You all owe me," Sage grinned.

I'm sure she was enjoying the show.

"Sage, that reminds me, how did you break your arm?" Dad asked, his face serious. He had been staring at her cast all day.

"This will be fun,
I hope it's as bad as I imagine." Blaze whispered.

"We-well--well, you see... um... how will I say this? Let's see... um... Okay, it was a mistake. Mistakes happen, right? So I kinda... um... you see, got hit by a car. Don't worry, I'm fine and alive. It's only a broken arm and a few bruises, nothing too serious,and he said he was sorry" she explained, smiling nervously.

"Oh, it's worse"He smiles finding this amusing.

"And this guy, where is he right now?" Dad asked calmly.

"Oh, you mean Hayden? He's probably at home right now. He doesn't go out much," Sage replied, her eyes widening.
I could tell she didn't mean to say that out loud.

"Where does he live? We're going to go break some bones!!!" Ace screamed, quiet the all time we were arguing.

"I was thinking the same thing. And maybe some teeth."Aiden yelled.

"Come on, guys, stop it. It was an honest mistake, and plus, we're friend now."

"Or more like your dating," Blaze teased.

"Sage got a boyfriend," I laughed, joining Blaze.

"Argh!!" Sage screamed in frustration, using her pillow to cover her head.

We all laughed