:January 27th, XX47; Monday.

:RESOLUTION BETWEEN PROTAGONIST AND ANTAGONIST.

•~~~~•

As Remy sat on the cold, tiled floor of the hallway with his nibling gawking at his left side, he felt quite disgruntled.

Well- perhaps, disgruntled wasn't the right word. Remy wasn't angry or anything, he was glad what he was doing would hopefully help Joe feel a tad bit better about everything. But that didn't mean he was happy to be where he was. And that wasn't just because he had to get up early that morning for all this.

"Oh my god! Oh, this is- hah- I'm really happy to see you, uh, wow!"

Joe fumbled over his own words, a grin growing on his face, and Remy smirked to himself. Joe then wiped his eyes- great, he's crying now- and seemed to want to go in for a hug, but that of course was not entirely possible, so he just sat, grinning and unable to sit still.

"Well, good to know I'm still great like that."

"Where did you two go, anyways?"

"I... yeah, sorry 'bout that, actually, I guess. I just couldn't deal. Lot of shit happening. Emile's the one who really got me to come back, you should be thanking him."

Emile smiled a tad bit behind them, and Joe waved at him. "Thank you. Yeah, I tried to go visit you guys this morning before I went to school but you weren't there. Oh- and thanks for talking to my father, I don't know what you said but I- I really don't wanna see him in jail, so, uh, yeah."

"All in a days work. Now come on, get off this dirty-ass tile."

With a slight sniffle, Joe slung his backpack over his shoulder and picked up his tray, on which laid a merely poked at freezer-burnt something. Remy decided he could get better food when he got home. Joe seemed to agree, because he dumped it in a trash can that was sitting nearby, and then motioned that he was going to put his tray back where it came from. Remy and Emile both followed him.

Once they were inside the cafeteria, Remy glanced over to a nearby table where Sage sat, alone. He glanced up from his food for a moment and had to do a double take, seeing the ghosts standing by Joe. Remy smirked a bit to himself and waved to him, which prompted Sage to awkwardly nod and then look back to his food.

Must be fun for Sage, seeing ghosts. Totally.

"How much longer is your lunch, anyway?" Remy then asked as him and the other two walked out of the cafeteria.

"Uh... I don't know. Time has been going a lot slower lately, it feels like. Could be any moment." Joe looked at his watch. "Eh, the bell's gonna ring in like five minutes... might as well start walking now."

"Gotcha."

They began making their way across the campus to another building, the same one Remy remembered Joe had science and history in. Halfway to it, Joe glanced down at his watch a second time, and then let out a sigh.

"Everything alright?" Emile asked him.

"Yeah... just nervous. My father's trial is in an hour. So... yeah."

"Oh, don't act like you're worried. Y'know it was exhausting, helping him figure out a plan."

"And I'm really grateful for that, but- like... I- I don't know."

"I'm half-joking. You're fine, kid."

"Ah. Yeah."

Remy hummed. "Hope you know how much I despise your parents."

"I got that."

They reached the building and Joe sat down in his seat. The bell rung, indicating people to leave lunch, but as time grew closer to when his study hall was supposed to begin, no students entered the classroom. Joe seemed confused, but he got out his phone and opened up his gmail app, and then he seemed to realize something.

"Study hall's outside today, apparently."

"It's January," Remy raised an eyebrow. "That seems odd."

"Eh. It's warm enough outside, it's Florida. And I have a jacket."

"I guess you're gonna make me walk all the way back out there, then, aren't y-"

"Ah- shit, uh..."

The classroom door suddenly opened, just as the bell rang, and there stood Sage, his and Joe's eyes locking before both looked away from each other. Remy suppressed a snort.

"So this is what's happening today, okay, okay," Remy nodded his head, slowly.

"Uhm... no, actually, I'm just gonna go," Sage mumbled.

"...Hold on."

Everyone looked at Emile, who had just been the one to speak, and specifically Remy raised an eyebrow about what he was trying to do here.

"So you're gonna cause the show, then, huh, babe?"

"Just- you guys can say no to this, of course. But... I'm a therapist, of course, Sage, if you've forgotten, and I just feel like you two need a safe place to open up and talk about what you're going through right now."

Remy couldn't hold back his snort this time. Sage and Joe made nervous eye contact.

"I don't know if that's..." Joe trailed off.

The four in the room were silent. Emile looked back and forth between the two kids.

"Uhm, as I said, you guys can say no. It's just a suggestion. Free therapy session."

"I don't think therapy is gonna fix this," Joe mumbled.

"Glad you agree you're the one in the wrong here," Sage mumbled back. Joe blinked at him.

"When did I ever say I wasn't? I've been apologizing to you constantly for the past week or so, Sage, I- what more do you want from me?"

"You stabbed me, Joe. There's nothing I want from you."

"Something's brewing," Remy smirked to himself a bit. He sat down on a desk, and Emile nodded along a bit to what was being said.

"So... from what I can tell here- Sage, you want nothing to do with Joe, and Joe, you want the opposite?"

Sage nodded. Joe shrugged.

"Is that not correct for you, Joe?" Emile asked.

"I... I do want us to be friends, I want everything to go back to how it was at, like, the start of this year. But I know I don't deserve that. So I'd rather us not be friends if that's what you want."

Sage stared at him for a moment, and then he shrugged. "I guess that's settled."

He turned to leave. Remy sighed quietly. He really thought he'd be seeing more of a-

"Why did you stop me?"

-nevermind.

With Joe's blurted-out question, Sage stopped moving, and he turned back to look at him.

"...What?"

"You... you could've stayed home on Friday. You could've let me do what I wanted to do. But you didn't. And not only that, when I woke up on Saturday, you were still there. I- why?"

"Uhm, because I didn't want Oliver to die, that's why," Sage chuckled nervously.

"But you didn't leave when I was asleep."

"Well, I- ...I just..."

Sage stumbled over his words for another moment, and then he scoffed. "I have stuff I need to do for study hall."

"Wait, Sage-"

He was already gone. Remy blinked to himself a few times and watched him disappear down the hallway outside the classroom. He then looked to Joe, who was visibly disappointed and confused, and then to Emile, who's internal gears were turning.

"Hmm... well, from watching that, Joe, I think Sage might-"

"-He doesn't fully hate me?" Joe finished his sentence unintentionally.

"I think you should give him some space for a bit, because he might need it right now, but yes, he doesn't hate you to an extent that he couldn't ever like you again."

"Look at you, Mr. Dr. Therapist," Remy smirked a bit. He stood and walked towards his husband, patting him on the back. "Proud of you."

"I didn't get a doctorate just for the title, dear."

"Maybe things aren't as bad as they could be," Joe mumbled to himself.

•~~~~•
That definitely wasn't an actual therapy session but y'know what it's fine

See ya in the next chapter!👍
~Maxx(SanderShipper)