When Solace woke up jumbled in her bedsheets, she stared at the ceiling for a solid ten minutes, contemplating whether last night's events were real or not.

It may have been a coffee-induced delusion, or maybe she reached her final straw and had a complete mental breakdown. That seemed more feasible than what truly went down in the early morning. Who was he working for? This so-called organization seemed deadly and was giving her serious Black Widow red room vibes. It sounded like he almost enjoyed it at the beginning since he took so long to leave. She found it difficult to wrap her mind around it.

Solace had mourned in her own way. It was strange not having to see him every day in school, and although they never got along, he was still a person. She had moved on. He would pass through her thoughts occasionally, but he was a thing of the past.

But now, her 'past' was shuffling around in her kitchen, making a mess of her pots and pans.

"What are you doing?" she asked, eyeing his body that was somewhat inside the oven, and the idea of turning on the heat crossed her mind. Solace, you are not in a gruesome cannibalistic fairy tale. You are not about to cook a boy in your beloved kitchen appliance.

Sage banged his head against the oven with the sudden voice. He groaned, rubbing the top of his head. His bruise was still purple, and his knuckles were red with no band-aid in sight, almost like he would rather die from an infection than have bright pink Hello Kitty on his hands. "I thought I would make us some pancakes."

Solace pushed herself up onto the counter. He was wearing sweatpants, and a t-shirt she assumed came from his backpack. "Was your plan to put me in a good mood with your pancakes, so I would agree to help?"

"Possibly," he grinned unashamedly. "I couldn't find your pans, but then I remembered my mom kept them in the oven, so I gave it a quick look, and I was right."

"I think it's an immigrant thing," she mused.

"Haiti, right?"

"Uh-huh. El Salvador?"

"Yup."

Sage stared at her intensely with his arms crossed, almost as if he mentally willing her to change her mind. She patted the invisible dust off her pajamas and slid down to her feet. "We're out of pancake mix, anyway."

"Then, you should buy some."

Solace snorted at his order. He was only here for a day, and he was already getting too comfortable. "Thanks," she said dryly. "I'm going grocery shopping in a little bit, so I'll be sure to grab some."

"Can I come?" wondered Sage as he began to put the pans away, the prospect of pancakes long forgotten.

"No." He had already taken over her apartment. What he was not about to do was monopolize her me time. She enjoyed listening to her podcasts as she scoured the pasta section. There was nothing like hearing about brutal crimes and some twisty-looking carbohydrates to put her in a good mood.

Sage smirked. "Do you really want to leave me alone in your apartment? Just think of all the trouble I could get into. But I respect your decision," he played. "I can just relax, watch some tv, and snoop around."

Solace glared at him, but he was right. The mere thought of him snooping around her apartment was enough to make her shiver. Her house was her safe place. It held her memories and secrets, and the last thing she needed was Sage going through her drawers and closet.

"Fine," she sighed. "We're leaving in thirty minutes."

She swiftly turned away to avoid seeing his triumphant smile. She didn't want to spend more time with him than necessary. He would be gone in a few days' time, and she would be left wondering where he was once more. It also wasn't the best idea walking around Boston with a boy who got himself caught up with some dangerous people.

She was overthinking this. A simple trip to the grocery store was harmless. So, after taking a quick shower and changing into jeans and a warm hoodie with a layered puffy jacket, they made their way to the local supermarket that was around the corner. The snow crunched underneath her boots, and the sun peeking from the clouds did nothing to combat the cold. Neither of them said a word until they reached the warmth of the shop.

It wasn't busy since it was ten in the morning on a weekday. Solace grabbed a cart and began to saunter through the stalls with Sage trailing behind like an overgrown child. He was humming to the pop music and walking so close to her, he almost stepped on the back of her heels multiple times.

Solace tried her best to ignore him and focused on the grocery list. She managed to grab some of the basics like flour, rice, and milk. Now, she stood in the cereal aisle, having a mental debate between Froot Loops and Raisin Bran.

"Are you seriously considering Raisin Bran?" asked Sage in disgust. Solace jolted at his voice. She thought he had wandered off somewhere after not having heard his footsteps. He plucked the sugary Froot Loops out of her hand and tossed it in the cart.

She just stared at him as he scanned the shelves, snatching anything from rice krispies to crinkled chips and chucking them in their filling cart. "You act like you're going to move in with me," remarked Solace, eyeing a box of chocolate granola bars that Sage threw at her.

"I'm just introducing you to a world of delicious snacks," he grinned, passing her a packet of hard candy.

Her lips curled in dislike at the yellow candies. "What person our age likes Wetherbee's lemon delights? You're like an elderly woman that kids hate on Halloween."

Sage feigned hurt, placing his hand on his heart as if he was genuinely insulted. "You're meaner than I remember."

"You're uglier than I remember, but here we are."

His face turned passive with no signs of emotion on his face. She mentally cursed herself. Was she being too cruel? Being rude to him came so naturally. He did have a rough couple of months, though. Maybe, she had fallen into their back and forth much too quickly.

However, a smirk grew on his lips. "But we both know that's not true, SoSo."

She glared at the mention of her nickname. "Can you be any more insufferable?"

"You ask, and you shall receive."

Solace thought to argue with him but once that started, neither of them would be able to stop, so she stayed silent and turned on her heels to walk to the freezers. The familiar sounds of his footsteps started behind her, but both their strides came to an abrupt halt when a loud bang reverberated in the aisle. She swung her head behind her, startled from the sound to see an employee restocking a large box of groceries into the shelves. Solace relaxed and flickered her brown eyes to see Sage breathing rapidly and frozen in his spot with his hand on his hip.

"Sage?" she called out. "Everything alright?"

He slowly moved his gaze over to her, his eyes wide in alarm. His breathing became shallower, but when she spoke his name once more, he shook out it and fished through his pockets. Sage's breaths didn't slow until she saw him pull out a puffer from his coat with his shaking hands and took a deep inhale.

She watched him closely as his breathing eased. He shut his eyes, clutching the puffer to his chest. "I thought you outgrew your asthma." Solace remembered Sage telling the class about his asthma attacks as a child during their respiratory lesson junior year of biology. He said he no longer had them, and she recalled thinking it was a lost opportunity.

"I still get attacks, but they're rare," mumbled Sage embarrassedly, shoving the puffer back into his pocket. "I carry it around just in case."

"What triggered it?" she questioned curiously.

Sage messed with the boxes of oatmeal before speaking. "It sounded like a gunshot," he replied quietly.

Solace stared up at him, an unsettled feeling seeping through her. He looked absolutely terrified at that innocent sound, and it was possible she didn't fully understand what he had been through. Whatever it was, she couldn't deny that it was traumatizing. The Sage she knew was still there, but something was off about him. She could still walk away and leave him be, but she felt sick to her stomach, and her mind raced with potential outcomes if she didn't help. All of them ended with a legitimately dead Sage.

"I'll help you," she finally said.

"Wait, really?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes," she forced out. "But I want money." He did say he got paid a lot of money, so he could spare her a few if she was going to commit fraud. She was a college student, too. College students could always use more money.

Sage considered it, his posture now guarded compared to how relaxed he was mere minutes ago. "Fine. I'll give you five thousand."

Solace spluttered at the amount. She wasn't expecting him to offer that much. She pulled herself together and raised her chin. Let's see if I can milk some more out of him. "Make it 15 thousand."

He raised a brow at the offer. "Ten."

"Deal," she grinned, stretching out her hand and shaking his. "And I would've gone for one."

Sage let out a roll of curses. "Rookie negotiating mistake," he said to himself.

Solace started to roll the cart once more. "But all I'm doing is the painting. I want no part of your plan and what it has to do with Senator Moore."

"And what exactly do you think my plan is?"

"You're going to steal it, aren't you? Then use my fake to replace it, so no one knows it was stolen."

Sage let out an impressed whistle. "How'd you know?"

"I'm not stupid," she muttered, halting to grab several Ramen bowls. "But what I don't know is how did you find me in the first place? You wouldn't have known I'd be in Boston for school, and it is a big city."

"It was a coincidence," he shrugged. "I was doing some research on the senator, and found your picture on their website as one of his interns. It was perfect, and after that, it wasn't hard to find you. The internet has everything."

"So, that's why you came to me."

"I actually had two reasons. One: you're the only one I know that's interning for him, and two, if this goes wrong, I'd rather you die compared to someone I actually like." At her expression of horror, he quickly backtracked. "I'm joking. No one's going to die."

"I hate you," she stated.

"It was funny," Sage defended with a smile. "It'll be fine. We'll be fine."

Solace watched him turn the corner, already regretting her choice of helping him. He better hope that no one would die because she would devote all of eternity to haunting the life out of him. She was a petty person, and she would make an even pettier ghost. Another sense of annoyance hit her when he yelled from the other aisle.

"SoSo, I found the pancake mix, and look, the maple syrup is half off!"

***

Author's Note:

Hi everyone!

How was this chapter? Let me know your thoughts, I would love to hear them! And, does anyone else put pots and pans in the oven? I feel like it's a universal immigrant thing hahah!

Also, it's summer and I have no idea what to do. Like, I'm not a beach person, so all I do is go out to eat lol. Anyone got suggestions?

Until next week - m.k.t