Juniper's POV
I had spent the rest of my time with Sage and Niko who seemingly still had some tension. Ever since Niko tested Sage, Sage would send some looks over into the other's direction.
Monday came around and it was time for school. I was dreading it. My clothes didn't match and my hair looked a mess but I didn't mind. I brushed my teeth quickly and swiped on some deodorant before walking out my door. Chandler had pulled up to take me to school.
"Hey man," I greeted him as I ran my hands down my face, attempting to wake myself up.
"Hey June, it's been a while." He quipped.
I gave him a brief smile and nodded. He was quick to turn on the music then we were on our way to school. Not much was said between us because the air felt thick. My anxiety rose just slightly when we reached the halfway point and I thought he was going to reach for my thigh. He simply changed the song and I relaxed back into the seat, scrolling through instagram on my phone.
When we reached the school, Chandler parked and got out. He turned to me and told me he'd see me at the end of the day. He then locked the car and walked off.
It was weird. This wasn't his normal self.
With a shrug, I swung my bag onto my shoulder and walked into the building. Chloe waved to me when she saw me but went back to chatting with Bob. Devon passed by, a skinny blonde girl on his side. She was smiling up at him but he seemed to not hear her. He didn't even glance my way.
I chewed the skin on my bottom lip and walked straight to my first class.
Nothing new was happening and I broke out my phone to scroll through Instagram.
Sage busted into the class late and tipped his head toward the teacher before sitting down.
"Hey Juniper, how are you?" He asked quietly.
I shrugged and went back to scrolling through my phone. His eyes bore into the side of my face and I knew that reply wasn't enough for him.
"Don't be testing me like Niko, Juniper. If I have to remind you both where we stand then I will." He whispered to me.
My cheeks burned red and I nodded silently.
The class flew by while Sage attempted to make small talk. I wasn't feeling it though.
For some reason my social battery had been drained and I didn't feel like being around anyone.
The bell rang, signaling the end of class. I quickly gathered all my things and stepped out of the classroom. Sage gripped my arm and led me to an empty room, the door closing gently behind us.
"Is everything alright?" He asked. His face contorted into concern.
"I just dont feel like being here," I sighed and leaned my forehead onto his chest. His lithe muscles wrapped around me in a hug and he sighed too. His hands ran over my hair a couple times then a kiss was planted on the very top of my head.
"I'm sorry if there is a weird energy between Nikolai and I currently, we are working on it and we do not want to make you feel uncomfortable. Please let us know how you are feeling, okay?" He pushed my head back with both of his hands on either side of my face so I would look at him.
With big, round eyes, I looked at him and nodded. The bell rang for the next class session to start.
"Do you want to go to class? If not, we can leave. I'll tell Nikolai to come pick us up since he did not come in today..." Sage asked. He looked into my eyes, still cradling my face with his fingers.
"Can we leave please?" I tilted my head slightly to the right and attempted to summon all of my "puppy dog eyes" energy.
He chuckled but nodded. His hands removed themselves from my face then his left hand dropped to grab mine.
Sage led me me through the halls toward the exit. We were moving quickly but two bodies and hushed whispering caught my eye. I tugged Sage's hand so he would stop moving forward.
Cautiously, I peeked around the corner. The two people who stood there shocked me. I didn't know they were close...
Chandler and Devon were arguing in a hushed tone. Devon shoved Chandler's shoulder then stormed off. Chandler began walking in the direction that Sage and I were standing.
I gripped Sage's arm and yanked him away, walking toward the front exit again.
My phone began to ring so I looked at it and saw Niko's name pop up on the screen.
"Hey," I answered his call quietly.
"Hey Juniper, I'm outside the school."
"Oh okay, bet. We're on our way out."
I hung up and hurriedly rushed outside of the building and jumped into Niko's BMW M3. Sage got into the front seat and demanded that Niko start driving.
Once the car had whipped out of the parking lot, Niko turned his head and gave us both a sideways glance.
"What was all that about?" He questioned.
"Juniper and I saw Chandler and Devon arguing. I couldn't overhear their conversation however, it did seem quite heated." Sage responded in a calm voice. My heart was racing. They weren't friends, were they?
Chandler wouldn't betray me like that. Not after he stood up to Devon for me. Right?
My head couldn't wrap around the fact that they were alone in a room together.
Sage turned his head to look at me.
"Everything alright?" He asked.
I nodded then turned to peer out the window.
Once we had arrived at Niko's house, he parked the car in one of the attached garages. They both got out and Sage folded the front seat forward so I could get out. We shuffled into the kitchen in silence. Niko rustled through the pantry and Sage searched through the fridge. I hopped up on the countertop and watched as they picked out a collection of snacks.
"Juniper, do you want a coke?" Sage asked, reaching into the fridge.
"Fuck yes." I reached my arm out for the can he was holding.
"Niko? You want one?" Sage continued.
"Is that even a question?" The other cocked his eyebrow.
Sage smiled slightly and grabbed two more out of the fridge.
We migrated to the living room where Niko flicked on the TV and chose that Netflix play something random.
His head turned toward me then tilted to Sage who also turned his head toward me.
"So what are we thinking went down?" Niko asked me.
I shrugged.
"All I know is that they were arguing. I don't know how to approach this situation." My face turned red and I focused on my hands which were folded in my lap.
"Well, Chandler is your best friend, isn't he?" Sage asked. His eyes seemed to cut through my soul.
I nodded.
"Can you not ask him about it?" Niko quipped.
I shot him a glare.
"No, I cannot ask him about it! What if it was nothing? What if-"
"What if it was something though?" Sage cut me off.
I crossed my arms and hung my head.
My phone which was sitting underneath my thigh had buzzed a couple times but I ignored it, scared that it might be Chandler.
I pull out my phone and check the messages that popped up. One was from Chandler, four from Chloe, and two from my mom.
The messeges from Chloe seemed urgent so I opened those first. She had texted me that she saw something go down and she needed to call me ASAP. I must have been scowling at my phone because both Sage and Niko had placed a hand on both of my thighs.
"Chloe just texted me." I spoke quietly.
"Why don't you call her?" Niko suggested, his hand squeezing my thigh.
I leaned back into the couch and dialed Chloe's number. She picked up on the second ring.
"Juniper... I need to tell you something."
Author's Note: This chapter is longer but I think we're nearing the end. My personal life and interests have changed (as they do while you grow up) so my writing may be different and the subjects may be different.
Anyway, Niko's car is at the top. Well, one of them.