New year; New me

I walked into physics earlier than usual on Friday. The room was empty aside from Sage. Aiden must have dropped her off without waiting for Dante or me to get there. I was going to have some sternly vigorous gesturing with him. We had agreed on this plan. Sage was completely oblivious to me standing in the doorway so I took the opportunity to observe her. Wireless earbuds poked through her hair and her foot was nodding along to a beat I couldn't hear. I started walking towards her when I heard it. After getting a few feet away from her I could hear that she was singing along to the song she was listening to. She was singing along to the song Bad Day by Daniel Powter. When she hit the chorus her voice rose in volume and I smiled not realizing that I had stopped walking again.

I must have made some kind of movement or noise that altered her to my presence because her mouth shut, and her gaze snapped up to me. I smiled softly at her. "You have a beautiful voice." I signed.

Sadness crept over me like a thin summer sheet. It was there but not overwhelming with the realization that I could never sing along to a song I enjoyed. Listening to Sage sing gave me the urge to sing along too. Her eyes softened and I could tell she was sensing my emotions. I wondered how this girl could ever hold a grudge is she can always sense everyone's emotions and regrets.

I took my seat next to her and started to talk again before she could respond to the last thing I said. "I'm sorry about the first day of class. I don't usually speak so rudely about strangers. I was just feeling insecure because a lot of people treat me like I'm damaged or broken." I frowned at my stupid excuses.

Her small hand patted my arm. "I already forgave you when you turned red from embarrassment when you realized I understood everything you had said." Her voice floated through my ears like a balm to my battered soul.

I smiled at her when her lips curved up into a grin. "Can you talk out loud while we work from now on?" I asked hesitantly.

I just wanted to listen to her speak. I never got to just listen to her talk that much. Last night in the twin's room had been the most I heard from her. "Of course." She said without any questions asked.

I almost sighed in relief at that. What exactly would I have said if she had asked why? I had no idea and I was glad I didn't have to find out. We lapsed into a comfortable silence after that waiting for the other students to arrive.

I felt comfortable with Sage. Like I had known her for as long as I've known the guys. Whenever we made eye contact she would give me a small smile. I wondered not for the first time if she was reading my emotions. I had a feeling she tried not to when possible. I understood not wanting to have that sort of secret to keep all the time. It must be a big responsibility to be the only person to know how others feel.

While class droned on, I noticed how on edge Sage seemed to be. It was subtle and hardly noticeable, but a lot of my language skills came from body language. I was watching her noticing the slight stiffness of her shoulders and the way she was tapping her eraser against the table when she looked over towards me with her brows furrowed. She could probably feel the concern coming from me. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine." She murmured back.

I raised a brow, "What's wrong?" I was sure she could tell it was a demand rather than a question.

She sighed and looked away before meeting my eyes again. Leaning forward she whispered to me. "It's my birthday tomorrow and I'm just missing my mom a little." She confided.

I looked at her stunned. "Why didn't you tell us it was your birthday? We could have planned something. We still can, what do you want to do?" I signed quickly only worrying if she could keep up after she was already answering.

With a shrug she looked down at the table, "I didn't really think you guys would care. You barely know me after all."

I put my hand on her shoulder and she leaned into the touch. My chest rumbled in a purr that made my brows furrow as I stared down at it. I had never made any noises before, and this was the second time I had done that. Monday night when she had put her hand atop my head while we had our big talk. I had never purred before that, but I liked being able to make sounds for her. I wanted to wrap her up in my arms and press her head against my chest so the vibrations could soothe her as much as they soothed me. She must have felt some of the compassion coming from me because her eyes were softer when she looked back at my face. "We care. You're our friend now." I said the last part slowly not able to come up with a word more fitting than a friend.

I wanted to tell her that she was ours and that we would always care for her. That sounded crazy so I was stuck with a friend. Her small hand pressed against my hand that had been set on my knee. "Thank you."

I smiled "Now what do you want to do tomorrow?"

She smirked mischievously at me. "Well, I have earned two lackeys so we're going to start the day with laundry and then cleaning my bathroom. How about pizza and movies in the afternoon I really had fun last time before everything went a little crazy."

"Your wish is our command." Smiling fondly at her I patted her small hand she had laid on the table before we both turned our attention to the teacher.

After class as I walked with Sage to her art class, I pulled out my phone and sent a message in the group chat I had with the guys. It's Sage's birthday tomorrow. The message was short and to the point and it took not even a full minute to get a reply. I dropped Sage off at class once I saw Caden was already there before I looked at my messages.

Aiden: What? Why didn't she tell us?

Caden: Ditto.

Dante: She barely knows us.

Caden: She knows us well enough to tell us big information like this.

I rolled my eye before I dropped the bomb on then that she had dropped on me.

Maddox: She didn't think we would care. Also, the twins have lots to do tomorrow so anything we decide will have to be done by Dante and me.

Aiden: What does she have planned for us?

Maddox: Let's just say you'll get a nice look at her underwear.

Caden: Are we supposed to get her presents? There isn't much time for that.

Maddox: I mean it's a birthday, so I think so. She wants pizza and movies.

Aiden: Done.

Dante: Time?

Maddox: She said she'll be busy with the twins in the morning so, afternoon. How about one?

Aiden: fine.

Caden: Ditto.

Dante: works for me.

I shoved my phone into my pocket when the bell rangand tried to forget about how Sage made me feel. It was a useless endeavor, butI tried all the same.