KaidenThe moment I stepped into the house, I was greeted with chaos. A vase came hurtling toward me, and I barely managed to sidestep it as it shattered against the door. My heart stopped for a split second, then raced as I stared at Sage, who was standing in the middle of the living room, his chest heaving, his face red with anger.Which was comical because his face was the same color as his hair.“Sage, what the hell?” I blurted out as I tried to process the attack.“You!” he shouted, his hand came up and grabbed his hair, “I cannot fucking believe you, Kaiden. I just can’t believe you.”“What are you talking about?” I asked, holding up my hands defensively. “You’re acting insane right now!”“Oh, I’m insane?” he scoffed, then he chuckled, “he called me insane,” he mumbled to himself before he turned back to me, “You know who called me? River. Professor River. He told me my so-called best friend paid him a visit today. My best friend harassed him and told him to stay away from me.
SageThe next day, I dragged myself into the lecture hall, I still had to go to school. My phone had been buzzing non-stop since last night, but I ignored every call, every text. Kaiden could wait. Or maybe he couldn’t but I didn’t care. Not after the stunt he pulled.I kept asking myself if I overreacted or maybe, I acted just sane over someone I admire to my best friend but every part of me screamed that I was right. He shouldn’t have interfered with my career.I was so depressed that I didn’t want to come to school today but I managed it, and now, I was definitely regretting coming here since I couldn’t bring myself to focus.I sat in the middle row, my notebook open but I wasn’t writing anything down. Professor River’s voice drifted through the room as he explained some intricate engineering principle. It was probably fascinating, but I couldn’t focus on a single word. My thoughts kept circling back to Kaiden, from his jealous outburst, to the shame I felt when Professor River
SageBy the end of my lectures, I was practically bouncing in my seat. The morning had been slow probably because I was so mad at Kaiden. I tend not to focus on anything till we have made amends. I was feeling so much better now, not because the fight with Kaiden had magically resolved itself, no, that was still a mess but because I had something far more exciting to look forward to.Professor River was finally giving me a tour of Novatech. Nova-freaking-tech.Today was the day. I couldn’t believe I forgot. Damn that Kaiden. The message had popped up on my phone by the Novatech team, officially welcoming me to their company and how they couldn’t wait to meet me.I had almost let out a squeal in the middle of the lecture but I held my mouth. Since then, my mood has changed. It became lighter and it stayed like that till the end.I could barely keep my excitement contained as I made my way to his office. My feet carried me with a little skip, and the fight with Kaiden was pushed to th
SageThe tour was overwhelming. Every department seemed to be working on something extraordinary, and I couldn’t help but feel like a small fish in a huge ocean.What if I had nothing to offer here. I never once thought of that. I have always imagined working here but I forgot that my skills might pale in comparison to the others that work here.If they are as extraordinary as Professor River then I was barking up the wrong tree.He introduced me to various members of his team, and to my relief, they were all incredibly welcoming. His secretary, Clara, made a point to include me in their lunchtime plans.“You’ll be eating with us today,” she said with a grin.During lunch, I found myself at a large table surrounded by River’s team. They were friendly and curious, asking me about my studies and what I hoped to achieve during my internship. Clara filled me in on some of the office gossip, making me laugh with her dramatic reenactments of recent events.“You’ll fit in just fine,” she sai
KaidenFor the first time in all the years I’d known Sage, he had managed to leave me completely speechless. Me, Kaiden, the master manipulator, the one who always knew the right buttons to push. And yet, Sage had stood his ground, unmoved by my usual tactics. It was infuriating. Worse still, I knew exactly when this shift had started, when he entered Sage’s life. Who knew the nonsense he had filled in Sage’s head to turn him against me.Professor Rivers.I should have gone home like Sage told me to, but I couldn’t. Not when I knew something was off, not when it felt like the foundation I’d worked so hard to build over the years was starting to crack. If I didn’t step in, Rivers would knock it all down.My deck of cards, I had perfected each move right from the moment I started living with Sage, I can’t let that man ruin it all.So, instead of leaving, I followed him to his apartment. I ignored his warning. I was still determined to turn the wind in my favour. He is just acting out
KaidenI had always been a man of action. If something felt out of my control, I’d find a way to reel it back in. That’s why, when it felt like Sage was slipping further and further away from me, I did what any desperate person would do, I made a plan.The plan wasn’t exactly rational, nor was it entirely ethical, but it would put me back in Sage’s orbit. If he wouldn’t listen to me, if he was too caught up in his new life to see how much he meant to me, then I’d just insert myself into that life.The solution? Enroll in his school.Yes, it was drastic, but I was out of options. Sitting idly by while some arrogant professor stole Sage’s attention wasn’t something I could stomach any longer. I needed to remind him that I was the constant in his life, the one who’d always been there for him, who’d shaped him into the person he was becoming.And so, step one of my plan began with a trip to the admissions office. I had my disguise of course.I couldn’t risk the students finding out that
KaidenStep two of my plan was one that made me look like a deranged idiot but I didn’t mind.I bought his favorite flowers, daisies and went to his place. Since I didn’t have a key, I stayed In front where I could see him when he came.Unfortunately, the rain decided to come down this time. It soaked through my clothes, turning me and my bouquet of daisies into a sad drooping mess. I was cold, I was shivering but I stayed rooted to the spot. Sure, the rain was unexpected but it added a dramatic flair to my apology. It made me look pitiful, apologetic and weak. I needed all the help I could get at this point.He wouldn’t ignore a soaking wet fool like me, he has a good heart.The bright headlights of a car pierced the downpour as it rolled to a stop a few feet away. My grip tightened on the flowers when I saw who stepped out of the car. Him. Professor Rivers.He popped open an umbrella, walking Sage to the building’s entrance like some perfect gentleman. I clenched my jaw so hard it
KaidenThe next morning, I woke up with a fresh plan. I wasn’t going to let Sage slip through my fingers, not to the professor or to anyone else. If Sage thought I was being ridiculous, fine. But I’d prove to him that I wasn’t just being paranoid.Thankfully, we had reconciled and I don’t think we would be fighting again. So I had the free reign to do whatever I wanted.I ran out in the morning, very early so I could go get a change of clothes and also coffee. Nothing like a good peace offering to start the day.When I arrived back at his place to pick him up, he looked surprised to see me. His hair was still damp, sticking to his forehead, and he had that slightly disheveled, barely-awake look that he always wore in the mornings. I handed him a cup of coffee.“Morning,” I said casually, leaning against the doorframe.“What are you doing? Where did you go so early in the morning?” he asked, rubbing his eyes and reaching for the coffee.“Thought I’d drop you off at school. Consider it
SageI wore my clothes and wrinkled my nose when the antiseptic smell still clung to my clothes as I walked out, my body sore from injuries that hadn’t fully healed. The dull ache in my ribs reminded me of the attack, the pounding of fists and boots, the weight of helplessness crushing down on me. The bruises would fade, but the bitterness in my chest would remain because it was now obvious to me that Kaiden was the reason I had been attacked twice now.He couldn’t even come to see me after they had called him. He is a very ruthless bastard and I hate him with every fiber of my being now.The professor was waiting for me outside, leaning against his car like he hadn’t just berated me in there. His arms were crossed, his expression unreadable, as always.The warmth I had glimpsed in there was long gone now.I stopped in front of him, adjusting the hospital bag slung over my shoulder. "Are we going to your place?"He barely spared me a glance before unlocking the car. "No. I’m taking y
SageI woke up the next day having rested my body. The first person I saw was the kind doctor who had treated me the last time. “We have got to stop meeting like this,”I looked at him, he was young and extremely handsome, I smiled. “I am sorry, I can’t help it.”His face turned serious, “what happened this time, Sage?”I sighed, how would I even explain it so he would hear it? That I was a klutz or this was the second time someone intentionally put me in the hospital? I couldn’t say anything that wouldn’t put me in trouble. I had no idea what I was even dealing with.“You have to be more careful from now. The bruises you got this time were much worse. You cannot keep coming back here.”“I understand, doctor.” I said.There was nothing else to say but that. He must think that I am an idiot. Coming into the hospital like a bruised punching bag. I brought this upon myself.He was still crossing things off his record when the professor entered. He took one look at me and frowned.“What
KaidenA dull, throbbing pain spread through my skull as I came to. My limbs felt like lead, my throat dry and sore. The air was thick with the scent of disinfectant, and the bed beneath me was softer than I expected.Where the hell was I?I forced my eyes open, blinking against the harsh light spilling in from a nearby window. The room was familiar, too familiar. Clean, precise, without a single thing out of place. My stomach twisted.The professor’s house.How did I even end up back here? I thought I made the big show of packing up and leaving?Memories crashed into me. The party. The drink. The dizziness. The attack. A hit to the back of my head.Fuck, I should call Martin and ask him what the party was all about. Did he even properly investigate before putting me there?Fuck!I shot up, a sharp pain lancing through my skull. My vision swam, and I groaned, pressing my fingers to my temples.The world was still spinning around in circles and I held my head to try and steady it. It f
KaidenThe phone hung up and I stared at it in fury.“What the hell was that?” He asked.“It’s nothing,” I shrugged.“That didn’t sound like nothing. What was that?” He asked again through gritted teeth.“Okay, long story short. The people that attacked us earlier, they attacked Sage when he was in my house and he had to be rushed to the hospital. He is fine now and he went back home but he is back in the hospital. That was them over the phone.”I heard nothing, just the faint sound of movement. I expected him to make a huge deal of it but he said nothing so I looked up.The professor’s eyes burned with fury as he stood in front of me, arms crossed tightly over his chest. His usual calm, composed demeanor had shattered, and what remained was a man filled with contempt—for me.“What the fuck? Sage was attacked?”I nodded.“Take me to him.”I wanted to argue but something told me he wasn’t in the mood to play the checkers game with me. I could argue with him and end up with a bruised ch
SageI had days to myself in my house, barely gotten used to the quiet of my apartment. I keep having nightmares about the same people coming for me in my own house. But when I remind myself that I have nothing to do with them and they didn’t know where I lived.So I attended school, avoided the professor with care by the way and went back home. The typical life of a loner which I was sometimes okay with.The other times, I cried when I remembered that I was all alone with nobody to talk to. It really was like he didn’t care about me.Yes, I was still thinking about the professor. I had hoped he would try to corner me again to talk to me. I would have given him a listening ear this time.I shook my head with a smile and just rested my head when the peace shattered.It started with a knock at the door, and I froze. A warning bell went off in my head, but I ignored it. I wasn’t expecting anyone, but after the week I’d had, I figured it was someone from school or even my dad checking i
Sage For the first time in years, I felt like I was truly alone. Kaiden didn’t come. Not when I woke up in the hospital, not when I was struggling to sit up without wincing in pain, not even when the doctor signed my discharge papers. Three days had passed, and he hadn’t so much as texted. I tried calling him but he didn’t pick neither did he return my calls which seem to be a usual thing for him since he fucked up. I guess I got my answer. He was done with me. I should have expected it, but the finality of it still left a hollow ache in my chest. It is something I struggled to accept but I couldn’t. Whenever Kaiden and I fight, I always imagine that it wouldn’t last. We would get back to bickering after a day or two, latest three days. But this blowout made us grow further apart like we had been fighting for decades. I was dead to him. Instead of going back to his place, where everything reminded me of him, I went home. My real home. The apartment was too quiet
Kaiden Walking into my apartment felt like stepping into a crime scene. The door creaked open, revealing a space that had been utterly torn apart. My couch was flipped over, my shelves emptied, their contents shattered across the floor. The kitchen drawers were pulled out, their contents spilled as if someone had been searching for something specific. A muscle ticked in my jaw as I stepped inside, the crunch of broken glass beneath my boots making my stomach tighten. It was as if they were looking for something. I was ticked. I hated it when people went through my stuff like they had every right to. I hated it in every sense of the word. I have never acted rashly with anyone and I doubt it anyone was out for me seeing as I didn’t have the time to go around looking for trouble. I clenched my fists, my breath coming out in sharp exhales as I forced myself to calm down. Getting angry wouldn’t fix anything. I needed to clean up. I didn’t even know where to start. I left the hous
SageI woke up to the steady beeping of a heart monitor, the sterile scent of antiseptic filling my nose. My entire body ached, a dull, pulsing pain that reminded me exactly why I was here.The attack.The masked men.Kaiden.The moment my brain caught up, I heard a familiar voice, loud, agitated."What do you mean ‘soon’? Define soon!" Kaiden’s voice carried through the hospital room. He was pacing furiously, his arms crossed tightly over his chest as he glared at the doctor standing in front of him."Mr. Kaiden, I understand your concern, but his body needed time to recover. He experienced significant trauma. His vitals are stable now, and as you can see—"I coughed, my throat dry and raw.Kaiden’s head snapped toward me in an instant. His pacing stopped, his blue eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that made my stomach tighten.He marched to my bedside, his expression filled with anger and a part of me hoped that it was worry that I could see on his face. "What the fuck were y
SageI stood outside Kaiden’s apartment, gripping my spare key so tightly that the metal bit into my palm. I couldn’t sleep at all last night, I kept turning and tossing.Wondering why my mind was still stuck on Kaiden. He was still my best friend and I couldn’t give up on him. My anger had faded away to something more realistic.Loneliness.I didn’t have anyone to rely on and it made me so fucking lonely. The professor was out of my life and so was Kaiden, that one not by choice.The worst part was that I missed both of them so much that it hurt me everytime the thought of them came up.I decided that if there was any time to make peace with Kaiden then it would be now. He was still angry but he wouldn’t turn me away.My parents’ words still echoed in my head, Let it go if you want your best friend back.Easier said than done.I was so hurt that he would do something like that to me, whatever the reason may be.Kaiden and I had been through so much. The fights, the betrayals, the dis