Not a single person is paying attention to Miss. DuPont's words during our career preparation class.

We started this new class a few weeks ago. It's literally what the name says; helps us prepare for the career we want to do after we graduate, or which college to go for.

Unfortunately, I won't be going to a university. My parents have enough money to take good care of our family, but they can't afford it to pay for that insane amount of money. Neither do I have scholarship that can help; I'm not good enough.

Not even at maths. I did try really hard the last years. I want to go to a university. But if they don't offer me anything, I've failed.

Maybe I still have a chance. I'm good at maths. I just need to study more. Dreaming about Sage all day is nice, but doesn't make the future a lot better. I can make it if I focus more on math.

And she'll get a scholarship for her sewing skills. She better. Sage can also play the piano quite well. Things like that help; talent-based scholarships.

The football team could've given me an opportunity, but I don't even like football that much. No longer, at least. The team didn't even continue after Mr. Keller's death.

Whatever. University or not, I can still become a financial analyst, or a statistician, or a market research analyst. I don't know yet.

It's too hard and confusing to think about. I don't really want to leave high school. My life was just going nicely.

Well, it was going horribly wrong for a few weeks, then it got nicer than before. That's better said.

Once the bell rings, the classroom is empty in just a second. It's Thursday today. I don't have to rush to reach Sage, as she doesn't have science on Thursday.

Yet I still rush. I'm excited to see her. Hear about her day as we walk on the beach with Mango. Secretly pray Mango pulls another trick like she did last Saturday.

"Hi!" She's already waiting in front of the school, the usual greeting leaving her mouth before she acts on it, too; her arms wrap around my neck and she places a kiss on my lips.

All the thoughts about not making it to a university vanish in just a second, and a smile grows on my lips. "Hey. We still going on that walk with Mango?"

She bites her lip, thoughtful. Makes me realize something got in the way. "I've got a test tomorrow. I have more things left to study than I thought."

"You can study after the walk?" I suggest slowly, unsure. I don't want to push anything. "Which subject is it?"

Her gaze softens. "Yeah, I guess so. It's biology."

"Do you need my help?"

"You're no better at biology than I am."

The smile grows wider. "I can ask you questions."

"Every time we plan on studying together, we end up talking about other things. I'll study on my own, leave to your house, you can question me, and then we'll see what's next."

Satisfied, I nod. "Okay. But to the beach first?"

She nods right back at me.

☯︎︎

Barely anyone ever walks on the beach in the month of November. It's cold and windy and wet. That's why I like coming here— not the cold and windy and wet part, but the no one being there part.

Something about it is peaceful. I don't mind the cold that much as long as I'm dressed warmly. Mango can be released on the beach and she'll have the time of her life. Simple but fun.

"Evie doesn't forgive Minho yet," Sage announces, her eyes following Mango, who's running around wildly. "She told me he'd have to do more."

"Understandable. One letter won't make up for what he made her lose."

"She says she won't forgive him until he gets on his knees and apologizes." A pretty laugh. "You think he'll do that?"

"Yeah. He will, once he figures out she means it." I can't help but also smile at the thought of it.

"Yeah?" Sage asks.

"Yeah. As long as he's really in love with her. I mean, I'd get on my knees."

"For Minho?"

"No, for you, dummy."

She pulls a face at me. "But you wouldn't hurt me like that. Or do anything close to what Minho did."

"True. I'd probably get on my knees after every slight inconvenience."

"Don't say that." Softly, she hits my arm. "It's quite humiliating."

"But it's true!" I defend. "Now you can use it in your benefit, though."

"I won't."

Of course she won't. She's too kind and she doesn't embarrass others... not on purpose, at least.

"But you may."

She rolls her eyes.

"I swear," I add.

"You're embarrassing yourself," she repeats.

I shake my head. "No. You need to know that I would do anything for you."

"I figured that out when you searched the whole town for me with the Mr. Leadford thing and—"

"That is the bare minimum," I interrupt. "Whoever's boyfriend or girlfriend would not do that, is a horrible one. You'd look for me, too."

"Yes, of course." A short pause in which she looks up at me, eyes bigger. They always get a little bigger when she's about to ask something. "Do you think it makes a difference that we've been friends since forever?"

"What do you mean?"

"Our relationship," she says, unsure.

"I guess we're immediately closer, if that's what you mean. We've seen each other in all states before. That what you mean?"

"I guess so. I don't know." Sage shrugs. "I don't know anything at all about... this."

"Neither do I."

"Liar. You've been in a relationship before. It lasted for over a year."

"True," I say, kicking a stone into the sea. "But that was different."

Talking about Teresa no longer hurts as much. It's definitely not my number one topic to talk about, but it's alright. Slightly weird.

"How so? Beside the best friend part?"

"I guess we jumped in deep and quite fast. We didn't have a solid relationship before we became a couple, you know? It made things harder to talk about, now that I'm thinking of it."

"But it was still nice, right?"

"Yeah, it was," I reply honestly. "At the time, it was everything to me."

Her face averts towards the sea, avoiding my eyes. "That sound scary. Sort of. Because that's our situation, too, isn't it?"

"Mhm. But we're not breaking up. Never."

"And you thought that with Teresa too." She pauses for a moment. "I'm not saying we're going to break up, of course— just... no one thought you and her would apart. I didn't, at least. And the relationship meant everything to you, like you just said. But then the everything got destroyed. How..." She frowns, not sure how to put it in words. "—did you deal with that, if you get what I mean?"

I shrug. "You were there. And yeah, the relationship meant everything to me, until you and I started getting more contact again. I, ehm, I guess my feelings start evolving before Teresa and I even broke up."

"Oh." A sound of surprise spills from her mouth.

"I pushed it all away. Thought I'd get over it. That's why I didn't break up with her. But then her feelings started evolving, too. She did believe she couldn't get over it. So here we are."

"You think it would've worked? Pushing your feelings away?"

"Probably not. Maybe I would've been the one to break up with her." I sigh. "Either way— in the end, I'm happy I'm with you now."

Sage's eyes finally meet mine. She nods, understanding. "Alright."

I smile a bit. "Kind of crazy."

"What?"

"Everything. How one thing leads to another."

"Hm." She also kicks a stone away. Keeps on kicking it until it eventually flies out of her reach. "Embarrassingly enough, Thomas, I already liked you before you and Teresa broke up."

I nearly stop walking from surprise. "Seriously?"

"Yup," she exhales. "Remember that night, when I suddenly had to leave? I was all panicked. Thinking of excuses, tripping, telling y'all to just spend the night together? And that y'all heard me say 'I'm so stupid' on the other side of the door?"

"Yeah."

"It was after Teresa and I went to the cinema. She told me she trusted me with you. That she didn't want to ruin our friendship. The thing was, I didn't trust myself. I decided to distance myself right then and there. Then you appeared and I randomly started panicking."

"So you've liked me this whole time?"

"It was obvious."

"Not to me."

"Your love towards me wasn't obvious to me either, though," she replies.

"Because half of the time, I was already acting the way I did. The way I am acting."

Her eyebrows scrunch downwards.

"It's not the first time I like you," I hint. Redness increases in my cheeks. I look down at the ground. Admitting this was probably not the best idea. I don't know— will it make her uncomfortable? "I liked you when we were eleven."

"Like a crush?"

I nod. "Yes, obviously. And I had an eye on you at fifteen, too."

"No way."

"And at thirteen," I add. Now there are barely any things Sage does not know about me. "Maybe when I was eight, too. Why else would I punch Gally?"

"I don't know, because you were actually not even that sweet as a kid?"

"I'm very sweet."

She laughs, a beautiful sound to my ears. "Currently, maybe."

"I was just jealous," I defend fast, even though it doesn't make anything any better.

At that, she begins grinning. "Oh, really?"

"A little bit."

"Why?" Her laughs make her stand unstable, so she takes ahold of my arm.

I shake my head. "I don't know— all those boys were around you all the time but you were my best friend and not theirs."

"Right." Her grip around my arm tightens the more she laughs. "Little Thomas did not like to share."

Unfortunately, that's true.

Sage's laughter starts to die down. Soon, she's looking around. "Where did Mango go?"

My heart drops in less than a second.

I swear, if she finds another—

"Oh, there." Her worried expression softens as she points at the rocks. "I see her tail."

"Mango!" I whistle on my fingers, but she won't obey. I look back at Vi. "I think she found something again."

At the realization, Vi's face pales. "Better not."

We start making our way to the rocks, fingers intertwined, hands clenched together harder than usually.

"Mango!" The dog starts barking when she hears her name again. But still, she doesn't move away.

Viviette reaches her first as she walked faster. A scream leaves her mouth and that does it for me; Mango has found another body.

She takes steps away from it, backwards, her hand pressed to her open mouth. All the color away from her face.

With a deep breath, I peek over the edge of the rocks.

His face is almost unrecognizable. It seems like it's made of wax, with eyes that stare lifelessly at the sky. His body is bobbling lightly in the water. Patches of skin have slipped away, revealing the reddish flesh beneath, though that has also gotten a blue tint because of the cold. Not only his life has been stripped away, but also parts of his clothes. They're ripped and tangled. Have holes in them.

It's him.

Mr. Leadford.

Dead.

And I don't know what to do for a while.

Run off? Call the police? Comfort Sage first? All three of them at once?

Last one seems like a good option.

With shaking hands—because this body is horrible looking—I take my phone out of my pocket. Dial nine-one-one and once again, tell them what I've found. I don't mention my dog or Sage.

Quickly, I attach Mango to the leash, then I take Vi's hand. "Let's go."

Her hand is shakier than mine. I squeeze it a few times. Murmur 'it'll be okay' as we walk towards my house.

"Let's never walk her without the leash again," she replies back, also muttering.

I swallow the lump in my throat away. "Yeah."

☯︎︎

After sharing the news with Dad at home and making sure Sage was actually doing okay, I'm bringing her home. She keeps pushing about the study thing no matter what.

"Finally," without any knowledge about what we just found, Dahlia pulls her daughter inside. "Tonight, you're staying home and you're not climbing through any windows," she says sternly.

"What?" Viviette asks, and I blurt out the exact same thing.

"I've gotten enough of your tricks. This isn't the first time I'm telling you you're no longer allowed to spend every single night together. You're still in high school!"

"And I'm eighteen," she replies dryly. "I can make decisions for myself."

"And you still live under my roof," Dahlia shoots back. "My roof, my rules. And right now I'm telling you to spend the night at home, alone."

Vi crosses her arms, a sigh she won't give up. "I have to share with Minho or Finn. It's the same thing as sharing with Thomas."

"I do not want to become a grandma yet." Dahlia forces Vi to take another step inside. Then she turns towards me. Automatically, I step back.

"We won't—" I start.

"Your father and I," she interrupts, eyes still on me, "have agreed on this together."

"My father or her father?" I peep.

"Your father," she snarls. "So I'm not the only problem here."

My mom probably couldn't care less. Oliver minds his own business more than half of the time, so we won't have to worry about him either.

I thought Dad was cool with all of this!

"Mom, please— we won't do a single thing together. We sleep. And we study."

"I don't want to hear it. Have a good night, Thomas."

Before I know it, the door has slammed closed in front of me.

☯︎︎

"Hello parents, our names are Thomas and Viviette and this is our presentation on why we should be allowed to sleep in the same bed every single night."

I watch both of our families stacked in front of us as Sage swipes to the next slide.

"We have a sleepover streak that's over a month. We can't ruin it," she reads.

"Next," I say, at the following slide, "we will not engage in any devilish things."

Viviette nods in agreement. "We will be very quiet because we are asleep fast."

Another click to the next, not very decorated slide. "We will study together," I say.

The next slide does contain some beautiful pictures, I have to admit. "We are actually Batman and Batwoman. We need to save the town at night."

A few quiet laughs from our audience before we click again.

"Please," we say in unison, "we are crazy in love and y'all have forced us into sharing beds since we were three years old."

A short silence. I add, "Raise your hand if you vote for us to be able to share a bed whenever we want."

Two hands raise.

Both of them are from Minho, his face bursting with some kind of joy.

Mom's hand then shoots up.

Slowly, Aris and Finn join in.

The other three share hesitant glances. Oliver looks like he's afraid his wife will kill him, Dahlia will not be convinced otherwise, and Dad is debating what to do now.

Then Mom forces all three of their hands up. "Yes, you may share a bed. You're eighteen and it's your own responsibility, no matter the consequences."

"Thank you."

About an hour and a half of getting ready and studying later, we're lying next each other in my bed.

"What do you want for your birthday?" She whispers out of a sudden, a complete change of subject. "I know it's two months away but I need to know right now so I can start preparing."

"I don't know." I shrug. "I've got everything I want."

Great parents, finally an upcoming siblings, her, nice grades, a roof above my head...

"What do you want? Yours is four months away but I might as well prepare, too."

Every year, she gifts me some handmade clothes, and something like perfume and a small amount of money.

Every year, I gift her a giftcard to buy materials to sew with, flowers, and a small amount of money.

But this year— well, next year, is different. We're a couple now.

"I don't know either," she whispers, the light on my nightstand lighting her smile up.

A comfortable silence falls. Sage turns to the ceiling as she scoots closer to me, until my head is buried below her arm. It's nice, being held.

"I've got it," she then announces.

Already sleepy, I hum. My eyes are falling closed after the eventful day. I'm way too comfortable.

"I mean it!" She elbows me in the side. "We could go away. During spring break or something. We pay for each other's half, so it's a present."

My eyes jump open. "Hm," this time, my hum is more interested.

"And then we could ask others for money, too," she adds. "We'll have quite a lot and we'll make it an awesome week. My birthday is in the middle of the break. It's perfect."

I nod. "It is. Where would we go?"

"Cold or warm place?"

"Warm. I've had enough of this cold and we're already going to the snow in December."

"True." Her head tilts to the side, against mine. I can smell her shampoo— it's not a very specific smell. I just recognize it because she often uses this one and it's my favorite. It's oddly amazing. "Maybe... Greece?"

"Expensive, though," I mutter. "Flying tickets, a place to stay—"

"Yeah. That's why we're splitting money and asking others for money as a present," she laughs. "What do you think?"

I can already imagine it. "It sounds awesome."

"Right?"

"But we're graduating this year," I add.

"Stop making it negative."

"I'm sorry— I'm just saying what your mom will tell us when we ask her for her allowance."  

"Oh, right." The disappointment is clearly hearable in her voice. "She won't ever agree."

"Our PowerPoint of today helped," I comment, nudging Sage in the side to give her some hope. "And if my parents and your father agree, they can influence your mom."

The hope indeed starts to grow. She hums, nods, snuggles into my side, and smiles. A lot of adorable things at once.

"Now I can't wait. I'm going to dream of this."