Conflicted Eyes, Confusing Feelings | Complete

t w e n t y - t w o

"I'll be going now!" Sage announced to his friends. He pulled the straps of his bad up his arm, fixing it on his back.

"Already?" Vera pouted as she lay down the box she was carrying. Sage nodded to show confirmation.

"Do you need me to drop you off? 'Nyx offered'."

Holding back a small laugh, Sage shook his head. Nyx didn't own his own car and would have to rely on the Taste Buds delivery van to drop him off. Sage didn't want to disrupt them from their work, nor cause them any trouble when he could just walk two steps down the street and hail a cab. "I'll be fine. T-thank you."

"Sage-"

Nyx was cut short when someone yelled his name. Sighing, he responded that he'd be there in a minute. With Randall off, Nyx was like the second-in-command to dealing with the affairs of Taste Buds. He didn't have a problem with taking over, but anyone could see that he was the kind of person who would choose to be free of responsibilities any day.

Vera enveloped him in her signature hug, as fulfillment to her 'Vanilla serving' for the day. Nyx only rolled his eyes. Since Sage decided to take the back entrance, he took the garbage bag from Nyx, heading out the door after another farewell.

The sky was already darkened by the time the blond stepped outside. Greeted by a caress of chilly November wind, he shivered slightly as he threw the garbage bag in the bin with mild difficulty. After that, he pulled his bag up higher on his back as he began walking out of the darkness, and onto the poorly lit street.

Sage didn't know if it was just him, or everything looked different at nighttime than daytime ... or was it the fact that he never walked? Randall always dropped him off.

A street light situated a distance down the road flickered before going off completely, leaving a darkened road. Sage gulped. He never liked the darkness.

Another thing Sage discovered that had him wondering if he was hallucinating was the person behind him. The person wasn't clad in a black trench coat and a hat like in a cliché kidnapping novel, but he/she was too far away to tell. Becoming very aware, Sage lost the ball to the weeds as what he should do. Could he really walk home being followed? That wasn't wise. Oh, wait - he was planning to take the bus. What if the stranger followed him in the cab just to see where he lived and take note? What if-

What if he wasn't even being followed in the first place?

Utilizing his pre-Trump card, he settled on doing the classical scientific method of concluding - make an observation, ask a question, form a hypothesis, then experiment.

His heart was pounding in his chest, knees getting slightly wobbly as he took a sharp, unexpected turn in an unforeseen direction. Glancing over his shoulder with mild trepidation, his heart almost lurched out of its secured spot at the discovery that the person was still behind him, quickening their steps.

Make a circle.

That was the plan. But, after a few turns, Sage found himself in a bit of a predicament. Looking around, only unfamiliar building structures were to be seen off in the distance. Come to think of it, he didn't even know how to get back. Was it too late to drop a trail of glow in the dark stones, maybe?

"Hey, kid!"

A man. Definitely a man.

Sage tried reasoning with himself. What if the man wanted to hand him a wallet he dropped?

Immediately checking his pocket, his wallet was still in place, just about every other possession he had. So, should he stop to find out what the man wanted?