:March 29th, XX47; Saturday.

:CONCLUSION.

•~~~~•

For Joe, time that had passed between February first and the current date was... surprisingly smooth.

It had been a bit under two months- and yes, nothing much had changed. His three ghost uncles still came over every once and a while to hang out, and they grew closer to Joe's parents, and that was just how it was. Joe and Sage were also a bit better friends than they had been, which was nice.

On the other hand, regarding Oliver... with the help of his parents and Emile, Joe hadn't had a thought to hurt him in a good while. He was still very much hung up over him and wished they could date again, but it wasn't something that was likely to happen so he was very slowly coming to terms with that.

...Very slowly. It seemed that when you asked someone to prom and you broke up before prom actually came it just didn't go over well... especially when you still planned on going to said prom. And that prom was today. Joe had no idea if Oliver was going to be there, and he just hoped they'd come across each other somehow so Joe could apologize one last time- sure, they passed each other in the halls sometimes, but that just wasn't a good place to apologize for stabbing someone.

"You should be wearing a dress to this thing."

At the moment, Remy was helping Joe get ready so his parents could drive him over. Joe smiled sheepishly at the remark, looking himself up and down in the mirror, wearing a periwinkle-colored suit.

"That would require a lot of mental preparation, I'm not doing that right now. Maybe someday."

"Ugh. You kids and your fuckin'... whatever."

"Besides, I look pretty okay in a suit, right?"

Remy smirked a bit to himself, and he walked over to the mirror, standing next to Joe, though the mirror only reflected the latter. "You look good enough for a Junior year prom."

"Is that supposed to be an insult?"

"Take it how you will," he flattened out his nibling's shoulders a bit. "Now get downstairs before you're late to this thing."

"Right. Thank you."

"Anytime."

Joe walked out of his room and down the stairs, his uncle following behind him, just to see his father on the couch and his dad in the kitchen, talking to Emile. The former looked over at Joe as he descended and grinned.

"Awwe, you look so great!" He said, walking over to him. Joe smiled a bit himself, picking at his tie.

"Thanks, dad."

"You do look good. Are we ready to go, then?" His father stood up off the couch.

"Have fun, Joe!" Emile smiled over at him.

"You need anyone to go with you, kid?" Remy asked.

"Uh... no, I think I'll be fine. At worst I can always just hide out in the bathroom if I'm bored, but I can always just chill with Sage or something."

"Text someone if you need anything, then."

Joe smiled a bit at them all, and nodded, before making his way to the front door, followed by his parents. The three got into the car together, and it was only a short ride that got them to Joe's school, where he wished them goodbye and semi-nervously made his way to the school gymnasium.

It was decorated as it had been in previous years- random balloons and streamers and other party decorations hung up all around, plus a DJ near the front and lots of lights shining in the middle of the room where students were already dancing. Joe handed his admission ticket to someone standing at the door, and he stood and watched the scene for a bit, nothing much else to do.

It got a bit boring doing that eventually and he also supposed it would look odd for him to just be standing alone in a corner, so he walked towards where they had some food and drink laid out, grabbing a can of spite and popping it open, taking a quick swig. He sat himself down on the bleachers where a few other loners had seated themselves.

...Huh. He forgot how many people went to his school... and how he was really only friends with one of them. Prom was kind of boring. And sad.

And lonely.

He didn't even see anyone in the crowd that resembled someone he might recognize- no one looked like Sage or Oliver. He supposed that was a given, considering most of his classmates were boring and white and straight among other things, but still.

He sighed to himself- and time went on. He sat on those bleachers for about fifteen minutes, sipping away at his sprite until it was half-finished and he was bored out of his mind. He stood up and began walking around, which included asking a few teachers if they had seen Sage or Oliver, and most had but had no clue where they'd run off to. So Joe was pretty lost.

And that was pretty much how Joe found himself staring into a mirror in the quiet men's bathroom at his Junior year prom.

He had really expected to have a good time at this- months ago he'd been imagining slow-dancing with his now ex-boyfriend, holding him as close as he wanted to, not to mention being able to hang out with Sage at the same time. But, no, he fucked it up. So he was staring at himself in a mirror with more loathing than he had in the entire past week.

...God, this really sucked.

Just then, a toilet flushed behind him, and he blinked to himself, not realizing someone else was in the bathroom. He turned on the sink for a moment to make it seem like he'd had a better reason to stand there but he caught the gaze of whoever it was behind him and so he turned around and-

oh.

"...Oh."

It was him- it was him. It was Oliver, because of course it was. Who else would it possibly be? He was standing there, frozen still, seemingly wearing a navy-blue dress hidden by a hoodie that was a bit too big for him. But it wasn't Oliver's presence that frightened Joe the most, oh no, it was the fact that the hoodie was the one he'd given him on their first date.

And... apparently, Oliver had never returned it. Because there it was. On him.

Did that mean they still had a chance together..?

Oliver then suddenly furrowed his eyebrows, and he looked towards the door, beginning to speed-walk towards it.

"W-Wait, Oliver, I..."

He sighed, and stopped, turning around. They stared at each other for a moment, Oliver looking on angrily, waiting for him to speak.

"...I'm sorry, okay?"

"No shit."

"I-" Joe glanced towards the other stall doors to make sure they were alone- they were. "I've been looking for you since I got here just to apologize again. I've been wanting to for a long time. I feel so horrible, Oliver. And I'm not asking you to forgive me, I just want you to know I'm sorry."

Oliver bit the inside of his cheek. He looked him up and down, then letting out a small scoff. "...Don't you realize, Joe? You can't just take back th- that after you've already done it. Your hands are stained red forever... no matter how much you try to paint over them."

"I know. I... just wish things could go back to how they were before. Don't you?"

Another scoff. "Before? Before what? You made that choice. I honestly can't tell if you've fully realized that yet. It was your doing."

"I know! But-"

"I- I'm not having this conversation with you, okay? There is not a single thing you can say to make your apology worth anything."

Joe sighed.

"...You're right."

He looked to the floor. He thought about how much he wanted to tell Oliver in that moment- how much he still loved him, how he hoped he was feeling okay, how he looked amazing in his hoodie, how he could keep it forever if he really wanted to... but Oliver was the one who said something next.

"I guess I should also tell you something."

"Huh? What?" Joe looked up. Oliver sighed.

"Well, I... I'm moving to Nevada. Tomorrow, Joe. Forever."

"Oh."

Oliver said nothing more.

"...I really do hope you have a good life there. I- you deserved nothing bad that happened to you here. And I really think you'll find some people who appreciate how... amazing you are, and they'll stick by your side no matter what, and I just- I really hope you're happy someday, okay, Oli? That's all I've ever wanted for you."

They made eye contact, truly, and Oliver's eyebrows softened for just a moment, but then he sucked in his lips, and his expression went sour once more.

"...God, fuck you, Joe."

Joe's heart practically shattered on the spot, but nothing more could be said, because Oliver had disappeared out the bathroom door, and Joe was almost certain that was the last he would ever see of his beloved Oliver Keita.

He let out a breath he had apparently been holding, and he then held back a sob, covering his mouth with his hands. His knees buckled, and so he made his way back over to the sinks, bracing himself against one for just a moment.

Apparently, that was what rejection felt like. And boy, did it suck.

He wasn't feeling murderous, or anything- not at all. Just sad, and confused, and angry. And disappointed. And like he couldn't even process what it was he was feeling because the music in the main gym was only blaring louder and louder, and it felt like nothing would ever be right again from then on-

He heard the sound of the door opening again, and he removed himself from his tense stance, trying to make it seem like he'd been washing his hands, but apparently, it didn't matter.

"Joe?"

It was Sage. Joe sighed, and looked over at him.

"...Hey, Sage."

The latter closed the bathroom door behind him and took a few steps forward. The world seemed to quiet around them. "Uh... are you good?"

"Hah... not really."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Uhm, I just- I don't know if you saw Oliver walking out of here, but I ran into him here and I tried to apologize and- and he told me he's moving to Nevada tomorrow now, and then I just wanted him to know how I really hope he's happy in the future someday, but he said fuck you, Joe, a-and now I just..." Joe looked to the ground. "I don't know."

"Oh... shit, I'm sorry, man, I- he didn't tell me he was moving either."

"I guess he hasn't really been talking to anyone. I feel so bad for him. I don't know why I'm wallowing in self-pity so much."

"Well, at least it's with his dad, right? He wasn't that great but I think he was better than his mom."

"You're right, I- I'm just trying to think about that but I can't... get over him. I really miss him. I miss how our relationship used to be- even when we were just friends."

Sage walked a bit more forward, and he looked him up and down, and then to the floor. A moment passed, before he sighed, looking back up. "I mean... it's hard to get over people. And sometimes you just don't. It sucks, but that's that. You just gotta deal with it. And, I mean, at the end of the day, you were pretty in love with him, dude."

"And I understand now I don't have a chance with him and it wouldn't be all that healthy if I did but I just miss him so much. I wish I could at least apologize one more time, but..."

He trailed off, with a shrug. Sage pursed his lips.

"You're not gonna, like-"

"No, no, I'm over that, I swear. I promise, that's never happening again. I'm just trying to treat it all like a normal teenage heartbreak."

Sage let out a breath. "I guess that's all you can really do."

"Yeah."

They were silent, and the noise from the gym went silent as well as whatever song was playing seemed to end. But only a few seconds later Joe recognized the beginning of the next one, Under Pressure by Queen. He made eye contact with Sage, and they were reminded of something that had happened a long time ago, back in their freshman year- it was only a dare, really, but it lead to what Sage apparently considered his first kiss which lead to them dancing together to that very song, as a joke. And ever since, whenever the song came on, they'd very cheesily dance to it together. Just like they had back then. A mildly complicated inside joke was all it ever was.

Of course, it had been a long time since then, and they hadn't even heard the song in a good while, so Joe assumed Sage wasn't all that willing to-

"Hey."

"...Yeah?"

"Are we gonna keep up the tradition, or..?"

Joe blinked. "Oh. You... you wanna- you still wanna dance?"

Sage shrugged, and with a small smile, he held out his hand. Joe raised an eyebrow, but with a similar smile he took it, and nostalgia overtook them both.

It was odd, but dancing with Sage in that bathroom felt so good. It was really like everything was as it had been before, and they were just fourteen again, stumbling around Joe's bedroom and laughing like nothing else in the world mattered. And at that point, nothing did matter. So maybe nothing had to matter in that bathroom, either.

The song went on, and they continued dancing, despite the obvious fact it was a hard song to partner-dance to. But regardless, they reached the end, and Joe was dipped and they laughed once more just like they had so long ago, reveling in the feeling of the other person's hands on their back and how close their bodies were.

But as they came up, Joe's hand accidentally brushed over Sage's heart, causing the latter to flinch, and everything came rushing back when Sage let go of him in an instant. Joe took a breath in.

"Oh- shit, sorry. Are you okay?"

"Ah, yeah, I'm fine, I..."

Sage stared at him, breathing slowly through his mouth, analyzing Joe up and down for just a brief moment.

"...It's okay." He paused. "It's... it's really okay."

"...Oh."

Joe realized that that wasn't just forgiveness for making him flinch... that was forgiveness for everything.

Huh.

"Can- Can I hug you?"

Sage nodded, and then they came together, Joe laying his head against Sage's shoulder with his arms wrapped around his torso, and Sage held him close, and it felt amazing. They both took a breath, and as Joe let it out, he realized he never wanted to let go of him- not completely, not ever.

They pulled apart the slightest bit, holding each other's elbows, and Joe stared up at Sage, smiling.

"Heh... I- I really missed you, Sage."

Sage smiled back. "I missed you too, Joe." He let out a small, breathy laugh. "I... it took me a while to be able to forgive you, but I'll be honest, I just can't imagine living life without us being so close, you're... we've known each other for our entire lives. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Joe grinned. "Shucks, Sage." There wasn't much else for him to say.

"Hah... and you're just so- you, y'know? With all your little..." his smile turned a lot more sentimental. "The way your eyes get so wide whenever someone makes you laugh, and how your feet kinda shuffle together and you immediately look to the ground whenever you're embarrassed, and whenever I even touch your hair you just kinda lean into it and..." Sage blinked to himself. He looked away for a moment. "...Sorry, that was weird. Uh- but, you get what I'm saying, right? I... really just can't imagine life without you. We- I... yeah."

Joe smiled. He was glad they were both finally on the same page.

"You'll always be my best friend, Sage, you know that. Of course I get what you mean."

Sage's smile faltered for a moment but then it returned, and he laughed to himself.

"God... you're pretty clueless, too, aren't you?"

"What do you mean?"

Sage smiled, shaking his head. "Never mind." He hugged Joe close to him again, and Joe hugged him back, his confusion leaving his mind in that moment.

He leaned his head against Sage's shoulder once more, and he closed his eyes, basking in the feeling of hugging Sage once again. His mind drifted back to how they used to hug so much more often, and he smiled a bit, because maybe they'd be getting back to that now.

Or... maybe Joe just needed to stop being so hung up on the past. He couldn't fix it.

But the future was looking pretty bright.

•~~~~•
Hope you're all ready for that Epilogue coming up,, :,)

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