Sage

Kota

Sage:
I am standing in my driveway contemplating the meaning of life. I don't know that being outside, in the middle of the night in my driveway is the best place or time for my thinking, but I really can't help it. Rain is slowly drizzling from the sky, and a damp wind makes my hair stick to my forehead and neck. I am debating spending the night at an abandoned house down the street just to escape my house for one night. My backpack is heavy on my shoulders, and I can't decide how I want to proceed. My head says that it is a dangerous and unnecessary risk, but my heart fights for the chance of freedom for a night. Just as I am about to step out of my driveway, I hear a heavy panting sound and feet hitting pavement, and then I am falling as a huge dog jumps on me, knocking me to the ground.
I feel my hip and arm hit the ground and hiss in pain. "woah there boy." I say gently to the dog sitting on me, and now trying to lick my face. He calms down a bit then and climbs to sit beside me tail wagging rapidly. I reach up to scratch his ears when I hear another voice yelling.
"Max! What are you doing? Get off him." I laugh at the strange boy's panic and push myself up so I am standing again. "Hey, are you ok?" the boy asks me seemingly scanning me for injuries.
"Uhm, yeah I'm fine." I say rubbing my arm and staring at the ground. I am very shy, but I try to smile in his direction to let him know I'm ok.
"Well, are you sure? That looks like a pretty nasty cut on our arm man, you can come fix it up at my place if you want." He says. I look up thinking for a moment.
"uh, yeah sure, that would be nice. Thank you." I say nervously.
"Your welcome! I'm Kota by the way." He calls already headed towards his house.
Kota... that's a cool name. Better than Sage anyhow. I pick up my pace to catch up to Kota and catch him as he is walking inside. "You live across the street, right?" Kota asks me when we get inside the door
"Yeah. How did you know?" I ask curious as I never have seen him and have tried to avoid anyone seeing me since we moved.
"You walk out in the woods a lot, right? I've tried to talk to you, but you always run into your house before I can." He says honestly. Well at least he isn't a stalker, I think as I follow him up some stairs. I am worried about ruining the carpet with my wet and dirty shoes, but that would be considered girly if I asked, and since he didn't take off his shoes, I just let it go.  "So, you know my name, but I still don't know your name new boy." He jokes when we enter what must be his room.
"It's Sage." I whisper my head down. I have an awful name it is so weird...
"What did you say?" Kota asks. Damn I have to say it again.
"Sage. My name is Sage Sorenson." I say deadpan. "Sage? Like the plant?" Kota asks. I turn red, I knew he would think it was weird.
"Yeah... I know it's weird." I sigh.
"No weirder than Kota." He says smiling, and I smile back. Darn why does he have to be so nice. "Why don't we walk in the bathroom and get that cut taken care of?" Kota says, phrasing it like a statement rather than a question so I follow him in. I know it will be difficult to treat with my long-sleeved shirt, but I don't say anything about it. "do you think you would be comfortable taking off your shirt so I can fix your arm?" he says. I knew it was coming.
"I mean, sure I guess." I mumble, I am sure I am flushing from my shoulders up, but nonetheless I pull my arms above my head, and slide out of the wet shirt shivering from the cold air on my bare chest. "uhm, ok." I say awkwardly when Kota doesn't begin. Then he flushes and immediately get to work on my arm. He finishes quickly, and I am turning to exit the bathroom when I hear Kota take a harsh breath.
"Sage, why didn't you tell me you hurt your hip too." I turn my head to look in the mirror and a huge bruise blooms across my back.
"I didn't know, it didn't hurt that bad." I say sheepishly.
"Well here you should put this on it." He says handing me a tube of cream. "Uhm, Sage I don't suppose you have a change of clothes in your bag? Cause if not you can borrow something of mine." He says blushing.
"thanks Kota. That's nice of you. I do have a change in my bag, but if you have a towel to dry my hair it would be super cool." I say looking at the floor.
"Uh, sure." He says and grabs one from under the sink, shoves it in my hands and heads out the door. "I will let you clean up, just head out when you are ready. And then maybe you can tell me where you were headed, oh and I will bring some cocoa too." Kota says, and closes the door.
Kota:
The boy across the street was a very unsolvable problem. He seemed to be out only in the woods and avoid contact with people in general. He always sneaks out through the windows and takes hikes in the long stretch woods that stretch out behind his row of houses. He also watches us. My brothers and I, I mean, through his window upstairs that I would bet to be his room. Often, I glance up only to catch his curious and sad eyes following our group in our activities, but his stare doesn't make me feel the way I would expect. His stare is detached, not stalkerish, but like a study, watching to observe, and to be honest, it doesn't bother me at all.
​It bothers some of my brothers immensely, like North. It drives him absolutely insane to be watched, but even he eventually let it go when the boy never approached us. The boy sits in his window, his blonde hair hung in front of his petite face. I have wondered what he would look like up close since his family had moved in, and tonight I had finally seen my chance. The only explanation for the sight I had seen was that he was running away, and I couldn't have that. I figured the guy could probably handle himself, but I was still so curious, So, I took Max (my dog) for a walk to go meet him.
I was slowly walking towards his house when Max took off. I was already considering letting him chase down the guy if he ran, but Max seemed to take his own initiative in getting to the boy. He broke the lead, and raced towards the slender figure, and then Max proceeded to jump on him and knock him into the ground. The guy seemed to take it in stride, and calmed Max down quickly while I shouted at max. "Max! What are you doing? Get off him" I yell in their general direction, and the boy laughs a little. "Hey, are you ok?" I ask him stubbornly, giving him a concerned look. He looks back at me intensely, probably trying to red my intentions or something similar. I have to say that observing me first is a good move for a teen alone at night, but he seems to finally decide I am trustworthy.
"Uhm, yeah I'm fine." He says softly, rubbing at his elbow slightly and looking at the ground. He is obviously tired and hurt, and had a nasty cut running up his arm, which thanks to the long sleeves, I could only tell from the marge rip landing on the pavement had torn into his sleeve.
"Well, are you sure? That looks like a pretty nasty cut on our arm man, you can come fix it up at my place if you want." I say carefully wanting to sound friendly, and not threatening. I don't think he is going to come when he looks up at me, but then he surprises me.
"uh, yeah sure, that would be nice. Thank you." He says his voice shaking slightly, probably from nerves, and from the cold rain.
"Your welcome! I'm Kota by the way." I call and start walking to my house, trusting that he will follow me there.
"You live across the street, right?" I ask as I approach my door. Trying to start an easy conversation to make him a little make comfortable.
"Yeah. How did you know?" He asks sharply, curious, but not offended or scared.
"You walk out in the woods a lot, right? I've tried to talk to you, but you always run into your house before I can." I answer honestly. "So, you know my name, but I still don't know your name new boy." I say, trying to make the statement sound both like a joke and a question. Apparently, I succeeded, because quickly he mutters something underneath his breath, and unless he is cursing me out, which I highly doubt, he is telling me his name.
"What did you say?" I ask not hearing what he says the first time. 
"Sage. My name is Sage Sorenson." He then answers like a deadpan joke. I pause for a minute.
"Sage? Like the plant?" I ask. He turns red, that must be a sore subject.
"Yeah... I know it's weird." He sighs quietly, probably expecting me to make fun of his name.
"No weirder than Kota." I say smiling. He smiles back a little, still unsure, but warming up. "Why don't we walk in the bathroom and get that cut taken care of?" I say, taking on the voice I use when leading my brothers, hoping this one will respond the same way. He does, and then he walks into the bathroom after me. "do you think you would be comfortable taking off your shirt so I can fix your arm?" I now genuinely ask, aware that he may be uncomfortable with that. He flushes red.
"I mean, sure I guess." He says very softly. I like his voice it is smooth like honey and has a slight rasp that, while worries me for his health, is incredibly alluring. Where did that come from, I think as I hear him mumble.
"uhm, ok" He says sounding very awkward. I flush embarrassed that I zoned out on him. He is flushed too. Oh, crap he must have thought I was staring at him. I don't say anything and get to work on his arm. It is fast work, and I quickly have his wound cleaned and bandaged. He turns to leave the bathroom and I hiss at what I see. There is a large blue bruise starting to creep up his back.
"Sage, why didn't you tell me you hurt your hip too." I say loudly. He turns around trying to see his bruise in the mirror.
"I didn't know, it didn't hurt that bad." He says. I know he is lying, but instead of calling him out on it, I just offer him my Arnica cream.
"Well here you should put this on it." I say putting it in his hand. "Uhm, Sage I don't suppose you have a change of clothes in your bag? Cause if not you can borrow something of mine." I say blushing at the though of seeing him in my clothes. Bad Kota I think, trying to dispel that line of thought.
"thanks Kota. That's nice of you. I do have a change in my bag, but if you have a towel to dry my hair it would be super cool." He says still looking at the floor, making his pale blonde hair fall over his eyes.
"Uh, sure." I say grabbing a large towel from underneath the sink and quickly handing it to him. "I will let you clean up, just head out when you are ready. And then maybe you can tell me where you were headed, oh and I will bring some cocoa too." I say. I hope he will still be here when I get back.
He is still here! I cheer in my head as I walk up the stairs. I expected him to have bolted the second I wasn't around, but he had stayed. I walk into the sight of Sage curled up on my window seat in a huge sweater and a pair of too big sweatpants. His hair is now mostly dry and looks fluffy and lighter than I originally thought. He is cute, in a lost kitten sort of way. "Ummmm, Hey. I brought you some cocoa, hope you like whipped cream." I smiled at him as he turned to face me.
"Thanks." He says very quietly, smiling shyly, but not meeting my eyes yet. I handed it to him and sat down next to him on the window seat.
"Where were you going Sage?" I ask solemnly. Looking intently at his face for a reaction.
"Nowhere really. Just down the street. There is an abandoned house down the road, and I guess I just wanted to escape for a while." I consider his answer for a minute. What does he have to escape from I wonder...?
"Well that's not very safe is it? I mean, if you know its empty other people do too. Right?" I tell him. I hope I can convince him not to go.
"I didn't really think of that to be honest." He says sheepishly. I smile.
"That's ok. If you still want to escape you could stay here? I mean its just across the street, but its better than nothing." I say. I hope he accepts; it would be fun.
"ummmm, sure. That sounds better actually." He says. He finally looks at me then I see his eyes, I mean really see them, see him, I guess. They are bright green, like grass, or fresh leaves. They shine very bright and happy now, but I can see a deep ache of sadness beneath them. That makes me a little sad. It is just now when I realize that I have been staring, again. I blush and look away. I am a little reassured by the fact that he was staring too. We sit for a while not talking, just drinking cocoa, our knees touching, just sitting in silence considering each other.
"I think its probably time to sleep now, I can pull out the bottom bed, or we can share, I don't know what you would be more comfortable with." I say getting up from the shared seat and stretching my back.
"Whichever is easier." He says, not surprising me at all. I would burn all my books and quit school if I found out that this boy wasn't abused.
"Ummm, sharing would be easier, so I guess we are bed buddies now." I say, and he laughs. Looing at him you would think he would have a cute little laugh, but if he does, then this isn't it. This laugh is deep and loud and not pretty or cute, but it makes me smile and laugh along.
"Guess we should go to sleep then." He says as he plops down on my bed.
"guess so. Goodnight Sage." I say as I sit down and curl up.
"Goodnight Kota." He says softly and we both drift off to sleep.