Endless

Plans

He laughed, moving the hair out of my face.

I gazed up at him, and he stared back at me through his long eyelashes, his green eyes sparkling. I wiped a bit of pancake mix from his cheek, sticking my thumb in my mouth with a hum.

"Hmm... don't think it's quite ready." He smiled softly, scanning my face.

We were pulled from our interaction by a throat clearing, prompting us turn our heads.

There stood Ben and Leo, beside Carlos and Terry, who had slept there the night before after our regularly scheduled movie night.

I looked back at Sage and giggled.

"What's going on in here?" Terry teased, and Sage rolled off of me, rising to his feet. Ben and Leo stifled laughs, while Carlos bit back a smile. Terry's eyes widened and they quickly averted from Sage, and he glanced at me, perplexed.

I shrugged, scanning his figure, and I glanced at his boxers. He wasn't wearing any pants. My eyes widened then, as well, and I met his gaze again.

"Don't even tell me..." I held back a laugh, and he covered his face with his hands, before sighing deeply. He dropped his head, looking down at his waist.

"Well... at least this time we're engaged," I offered. The flat look he sent me let me know he did not think my joke was funny.

The other four couldn't contain themselves anymore, bursting into laughter. Sage groaned, trudging towards the hall. "Wait, where are you going?" I called.

"To get rid of this," he said sheepishly, motioning toward himself. He turned and disappeared around the corner and into his room.

Everyone stared at me expectantly, and I shot up.

"Well... I'm going to go... help him with that," I said, laughing nervously before walking briskly back to Sage's room.

*****

Later that night, I was packing up my books, getting ready to take them back to my place.

"Sage, I'll be right back, okay?" I called into his bathroom, where he was showering.

"Where are you going?" He asked, sticking his head out of the shower curtain.

"I have to put my books away and get my phone charger." He nodded, disappearing behind the curtain.

I headed across the street, peering up at the dark, starry sky. It was mid-March, but it wasn't too cold out, the spring air beginning its emerge.

When I got to my room, I placed my books on my desk, sighing deeply. I grabbed my charger from the wall, pausing when my phone buzzed. Pulling it out of my pocket, I answered Carlos' call.

"Hey," I greeted.

"Hey, are you busy?"

"Not necessarily. Why?"

"I need help with this psych question."

"Okay, what is it?"

I bid Carlos goodbye after around ten minutes, exiting the room after and shutting off the light.

When I was back outside, I felt this sudden pressure on my chest. I had this eerie feeling that someone was watching me, so I picked up my pace, getting back into Sage's building quickly.

When I got to Sage's door, I sighed in relief, knocking four times. The lock clicked, but no one opened the door. I frowned, pushing it open slowly. It was dim inside, other than the light from the hallway by the living room.

"Sage? Why didn't you open the door?" I shrugged off my coat, eyes landing on the dining room table, where I noticed one of the chairs were missing.

I waved it off, heading towards the living room.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter... I felt so weird outside, like someone was watching—" I came to a halt when I found Sage in the living room, duct taped to the dining room chair that was missing from the table. That same tape covered his mouth, and his eyes were blown wide open with fear.

A small cut in the corner of his forehead caught my attention and my eyes were wide, my chest tightening.

"Sage, what the hell—" I cut myself off when a figure appeared in the hallway opening, revealing a man whose identity I couldn't make out, because he was just a silhouette. I narrowed my eyes, attempting to recognize him in any way.

Sage, who was shaking his head furiously now, thrashed in the chair, and I turned back to the man, my eyes burning when they landed on the gun in his hand.

"What's the matter, Angel?" He taunted. "You don't remember me?" His voice was so familiar, but I couldn't place it. That is, until he stepped out of the hallway and flicked on the light switch, revealing his identity.

My furrowed eyebrows and tense arms relaxed and I nearly went limp. My throat was bone dry, but I managed to croak out two words.

"Mr. Hensley?"