Slightly Edited

Song on the side is War Of Hearts by Ruelle. Loved this song the moment I heard it on Shadowhunters when Malec kissed :D

Gage above *Eye heart emoji*

Hours passed as we laid out in the open field. Gage and I made light conversation not really going into anything deep; I don't think either of us were ready for that. What surprised me the most was Gage telling me a lot about the stars. He would point out certain ones and tell me the name and how it was named after Gods and Goddess of the Greek culture. I never pegged him as someone who knew astronomy or liked it. Gage always seemed to surprise me every time I saw him. In that moment I never felt closer to Gage.

"Did you know that in about a month the moon is going to turn green?" Gage asked suddenly. I turned my head to face him.

"Really green?"

"Yeah first time since 1879. Something about the moon, the sun, and mars will pass over each other creating the moon to glow green." I looked back up at the almost full moon right above us. Its light shining brightly down on us.

"Wasn't there an eclipse just a few months ago?" I asked.

"This year so far has been the most there ever has been of eclipses and stuff like that. More shooting stars have been recorded this year as well." He rattled off. Who knew Gage Harper had useless amounts of trivia in his head.

"Do you ever wonder what it would be like without the moon? Would every night be pitch black or would something else take it's place to be out light source? You know the world is dependent on the bond between the sun and the moon, what would happen without it? What would happen with the sun?" I questioned.

I could tell it was well past midnight just by our questions. It seemed like after midnight questions and conversations turned serious and thoughtful. At 11:59 you could be texting your best friend about a guy you saw earlier at the store and at 12:01 you are talking about what came first, the chicken or the egg. It was like after 12 o'clock an inner part of you came out, the serious part of you. The one that wanted to know about things that are unexplainable.

This always happened whenever Macey and I stayed up really late. One second we are laughing about something on youtube and the next we are being serious talking about the future.

"My opinion is during the day time we would be fine but at night it would be total darkness. No light of the moon but you could see the stars a little more. But I don't think the world would end with no moon. I mean look at Mars it's doing just fine." Gage commented.

"Yeah but Mars doesn't have people on it." I pointed out.

"Soon though. Studies have shown that soon living things may be able to survive on Mars." He went off, his voice sounding excited and fascinated. I looked over at him and smiled. I could only see the side of his face but I could make out a smile on his face and I bet his eyes were wide open.

I continued on watching him ramble about people on mars. Why was Gage here with me? Why did he leave a party just to bring me somewhere he goes regularly? The Gage I thought I knew before tonight never would have done this, he would have just let me run away by myself. This was a Gage I liked, a Gage that I could actually see myself being friends with.

"It is just so mind-blowing." I came back to the conversation as he said that. I smiled softly over at him even though he couldn't see it.

"So tell me, which planet is your absolute favorite? It can anything but Earth and Pluto." I asked.

"Why not pluto?"

"Cause it's not a planet. So which one?" I could practically see him rolling his eyes at me but he didn't reply with a smart ass comment.

"Well while I like Mars, I personally like Neptune. It is the 8th planet away from the sun and is the 4th largest planet. While it is made of gas it is mostly made up water getting the nickname of 'The Ice Planet' along with it's twin Uranus. It was named after the Roman God of the sea and it is even the color blue which is cool." Gage rattled off some facts about it.

"But why? It can't be because it is blue." He was silent for a few minutes possibly thinking over his answer.

"Because it is the least known. Everyone knows Saturn, Mars, Uranus because of it's unfortunate name, but the others are left out. Along with Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Neptune is just forgotten. I mean it is still there in peoples mind but because it is so far away from the sun no one really cares about it.

"No one knows much about it. It is like a 'dark' planet that has so many hidden things in it that no matter what no one will understand them. It is the forgotten planet among all the others."

I couldn't help but feel that he meant that in a different sense. Almost like it coincides with personal feelings. Although I wanted to know more I refrained from asking. Gage was actually talking to me, not just throwing in snide comments here and there, but an actual conversation. I did not want to ruin it.

"I've always like Venus." I commented randomly.

"Why?" It was his turn to ask and look my way.

"Because of its name." I joked but with a look from him I explained. "I know is the second planet from the sun making it the hottest. I also know it was named after a Roman goddess for love and beauty. But I like that you can see it in the sky at night. It is like a constant 'star' that will always be visible. I can almost see it as a beacon showing that no matter what happens in your life it will be there. Even if you aren't with your family and are alone you can look to the sky and know someone somewhere is looking at the same thing you are."

Gage turned away from me thinking of my answer. I honestly hadn't even known I felt that way towards a planet. It seemed like being with Gage and hearing all this astronomy stuff brought out a different side of me.

"I didn't know you were really into astronomy." I blurted out suddenly.

"Ever since I was young I have been." He shrugged. "I use to look up at the sky and try to figure out how far away the stars were and what constellations were what. I would go to the library and get books to learn about astronomy."

"Are you majoring in it?"

"Currently yes. I don't know what I can do with an astronomy major but at the moment I don't care." Gage said. I held back a smile at that. I knew he was lying when he said he didn't know what he was majoring in. I liked that he was going into something I never would have thought. Made him even more mysterious than before.

"Man we are way too serious right now." Gage interrupted my thoughts a second later. I let out a laugh totally agreeing with him.

"Yes we are. Damn we got really deep right there."

Silence once again wrapped around us as we laid flat on our backs enjoying the moment. It was a perfect moment. I closed my eyes breathing in the air and letting everything wash over me getting rid of everything else that has happened tonight, getting a fresh start.

"We should probably get going. It's pretty late." Gage said. I nodded although I wished we could stay here longer. Leaving this place would mean I'd have to get back to reality and quite possibly, well more like for certain, see Ethan tomorrow.

Sighing I sat up already dreading going home. I didn't know what time it was but I doubted Macey was home yet, she tended to stay as late as she could. It wasn't like I was worried of her getting mad at me for leaving, I knew once I told her the reason she wouldn't be mad.

I stood up and to the side as Gage folded the blanket we were just laying on. It was the sweetest gesture anyone has done for me. We silently made our way back to the car not really having anything to say. The silence was comfortable.

"Are you okay to go back home?" Gage asked once we got in the car and started it up.

"Yeah I'll be fine. Macey should be home soon anyways." I glanced at the clock on the dashboard to see it was nearing 3 o'clock in the morning. We really had been out in the field forever. I didn't feel that tired for it being 3 in the morning oddly enough.

"The question is if you are going to be okay going home? I know you'll miss me terribly." I teased over at Gage. He scoffed at my comment.

"Yeah right. You are definitely mixing me up with you princess."

"Whatever you say. I know you'll still miss me tonight."

"Did you know you are annoying."

"I wouldn't call it annoying more like entertaining." I replied. He didn't reply but I could bet you he rolled his eyes at me.

As we continued on our ride back to campus I stared out the window listening to the music playing through the radio. Because it was 3 in the morning nothing was open and no one was out and about. The streets were empty making it seem almost eery outside. They say New York is the city that never sleeps but right now everyone is asleep.

It didn't take us long to get back to campus and before I knew it Gage was parking his car and turning it off. We both sat there not moving, it was like we both didn't want to leave. The silence was starting to drag on a little bit longer than I liked but before I could say something stupid to break it Gage opened the door. Inwardly I breathed out a sigh in relief. I knew that if he hadn't made the first move to leave the car I would have said something equally embarrassing and stupid. It was something I was terribly good at.

I met him at the front of car and started walking in the direction of my place. I had no idea where Gage lived but I didn't want to ask making him think I wanted to come over. I wasn't that desperate not to be home.

As we walked I wrapped my arms around myself feeling a small cold breeze; a tale sign that fall was almost here. What was slightly weird is we hadn't passed anyone the closer we got to my building. I would have thought we'd see a least one person coming back from the party or even doing the walk of shame from someone else place but nope. It was just Gage and I.

I was really aware of how close he was to me. I could feel the heat coming off of him making me shiver either from the cold or something else I wasn't sure. I still couldn't wrap my head around Gage right now. Everything he had done in the last few hours baffled me. I had not known Gage was so...sweet, if I could even say that. I almost wanted to say he was drunk and that is why he was acting so different with me but I couldn't. Gage was very much sober at the moment.

I hadn't even realized we were in front of my building as I was lost in thought. A soft nudge on my arm jerked me out of them and back to the present. Gage was looking right at me, his eyes reflecting the light from a post near by. All I wanted in this moment was my camera. I wanted to snap a photo of Gage so bad that I even found my hand reaching for my cellphone. The way he looked with a soft light hitting his face made him look beyond handsome. The slight stubble on his chin and jaw made me want to run my hands over it to see if it was prickly. Because of his harsh cheek bones the light made him look like he was hiding in the darkness. He didn't have his hoodie to block his face or cover his head, so I could see his hair that looked soft. It was in that moment I noticed just how handsome Gage Harper really was.

"We are here." Gage said his voice rough. I cleared my throat trying to fight off all the images going through my mind at the moment.

"Oh uh thank you for walking me here."

"No big deal." He stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets making his wide shoulders curve in a little bit.

"And thank you for tonight. I didn't apologize or thank you before so..." I trailed off.

"Princess it's okay, as long as you are fine now."

"Y-yeah I'm good." We stood there staring at one another. A part of me wanted him to walk me all the way inside to my door but I knew that wouldn't be the wisest decision. If Macey was home she would not hesitate to grill both of us as to why we were together. That was something I did not want to deal with at 3 o'clock in the morning.

"I better go." Gage said gesturing back the way we had come.

"Yeah it is late." I commented stupidly. Gage turned to walk away but I found myself telling him to stop. "I uh... we are friends right?" I asked.

"Friends?"

"Yeah. Like are we passed that 'I hate you, you hate me thing'?" He was quiet for a minute just looking at me. It felt like an eternity before he finally answered.

"Yeah we are friends." The word seemed slightly foreign in his mouth. I couldn't stop the wide grin growing on my face.

"Good." I smiled at him. "Goodnight Gage." I watched as a smile spread across his face. And it wasn't no half smile half smirk. It was a full blown smile that instantly made my knees weak. My heart took that moment to sputter in my chest and pound making me feel like it would burst free from my chest.

"Goodnight princess." Gage grinned back at me. I stood there smiling right on back at him before I started walking backwards. I knew I should walk away now but I my body wasn't listening to me. My gaze was locked onto Gage's a big weight feeling like it had lifted off my chest.

I finally was able to force myself to wave to him before turning and practically running inside the building. Once I had made it inside and around the corner where I couldn't see Gage anymore I slumped against the wall. Although tonight was slightly terrible Gage changed it for me. I had a great time tonight even if I didn't want to admit it out loud. Gage made me feel better and now we were friends. Well not totally best friends but I feel like this is a step in the right direction.

Gage Harper is my friend.

Maybe this year won't be as bad I thought.

*****

Gage

Friend

That word was kind of foreign to me. Sure I had Dylan as my best friend but he was my only guy friend and friend in general. It has been years since I have had another friend, let alone a girl as a friend. When I was in high school I had plenty of girlfriends that were consider my friend but never one who didn't want to sleep with me. Carter sure was different than most girls I have ever met. She has not thrown herself at me, not even once. If I wasn't so shocked I would be hurt.

Ever since I have met her she has surprised me. She wasn't like other girls who tried to hide how smart they were, didn't eat nothing in front of people because she didn't want to become fat, and she was someone who stuck up for herself. Whenever I was around her she wasn't afraid to voice her thoughts and that was something I liked. It got boring easily when a girl always agrees with what you say, something different is a good thing.

As I walked away from her dorm building I couldn't shake the smile on my face. When she asked me if we were friends I didn't know what to say honestly. Were we friends? Did I ever actually hate her? Carter sure knew how to get under someones skin and make them like her. There was something about her that you couldn't hate. I don't know if it is her niceness, you innocence that drew me in or what. When I did reply saying that we were friends and seeing her smile like that I felt my pulse quicken. Her smile was breath-taking to say the least. An unknown feeling erupted inside of at her smile making a small voice in my head promise that I would make her smile like that again.

This night hadn't turned out at all like I planned. For the past week I had been avoiding her. I really didn't have a good excuse as to why I was but I just did. When I taught her some moves about fighting I could feel the wall I had built around myself starting to crack. It scared me to say the least when I got home that night. I forced myself to stay away from Carter all week, which honestly wasn't that hard to do considering we didn't have much classes together anyways. She was actually the reason I decided to go to the party.

****

Flashback to earlier.....

Tonight I was going to go to this stupid ass party to get her off my mind. All week Dylan had been bugging me about going to come sorority party here on campus. It wasn't like I didn't like a good party, because I do but today I just didn't want to go. But when I saw Carter and her friend walking together towards the football stadium I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. She drew me in like a moth to a flame.

Angry at myself I accepted Dylan's offer to go to the party, hoping to drink and sleep Carter away from my mind. A good fuck would probably do me nicely anyways. Of course we had shown up late because Dylan took his own sweet ass time getting ready. When he finally left the bathroom he looked the exact same way he did before.

As soon as we stepped foot in the house Dylan took off to get us something to drink. I tried to stay off to the side but sadly my tactic didn't work, not even 5 minutes later I had some girl sliding up to talk to me. While I did come here to fuck Carter away from my thoughts I couldn't seem to focus on the girl in front of me. It was stupid considering how hot the girl was and she was practically all over me. Her long dirty blonde hair fall down her back, a tight dress hugging her toned body. A body definitely worth seeing without clothes on.

Dylan had left me alone with the girl and was currently grinding against some girl that had bright green hair. I was making casual conversation with the girl in front of me while sipping my beer. I quickly ran out of alcohol and I knew that in order for me to actually forget about a certain someone I'd need more. Telling the girl I would be right back I turned to head to the kitchen. It was than I smashed right into someone, that someone being a girl.

I steadied both of us before I took in the girl. The dark brown hair covered her face making it hard to see who it was. I was about to move her out of my way when she moved her head up and I caught sight of who it was.

"Carter?" I asked. She didn't even seem to recognize me or anything for that matter. Her blue eyes were darting around the room, they were glazed over with tears that I knew would fall any minute. "Carter!" Seeing her on the verge of crying I wanted to know what happened. Did someone make her cry? A feeling of protectiveness encased me wanting to know exactly who did this to her.

When she did finally answer I knew what I had to do. I didn't even think twice about pulling her against me and taking her outside to my car, away from here. Carter was seconds away from breaking down and I knew she did not want everyone to see that. I don't know what really possessed me to save her from the party and take her somewhere. It was like I was on auto-pilot. Everything about wanting to forget her going straight out the window.

I listened as she sobbed in the passenger seat of my car. Her small body was curled into a ball and it shook as she cried. I tightened my hand on the steering wheel forcing myself not to reach out and rub my hand on her back to sooth her. I sucked at emotional stuff especially comforting someone when they cried.

I really wanted to know why she was crying but I knew she wouldn't tell me. Whenever she calmed down she probably would just clam right up. I had a small feeling it had something to do with a guy, which made my blood boil even more. I didn't have a claim on Carter, hell I didn't even like her, but thinking that some guy tried something on her did not sit well with me.

Because I was on auto-pilot my hands directed me in the direction of one place I knew Carter would love. Somehow I just knew she would like it, it was my own special place to go to think and get away. I focused on the road while Carter continued on crying. I was lost in thought that I didn't notice she had stopped crying and was now just hiccuping. My hands itched on the steering wheel to reach out and grab her hand.

I had no idea why I even wanted to comfort her nor why I wanted to find the person who did this and hit him. I had barely even known Carter for 2 weeks and she already had this affect on me. My thoughts scared me but I pushed it all aside so I could help Carter. She needed someone right now and I was going to be that person

End of flashback....

Although the night didn't start off the way I had thought I was glad what happened, happened. I know it was terrible but I was glad Carter ran into at the party and let me take her to the field I always go to. I hated that she got hurt and ended up crying but we had a good time afterwards. I knew she didn't want to explain everything to me so I just ended up talking about astronomy, which did the trick of helping Carter.

We had spent a good 3 hours talking about absolutely nothing but it was fun. I learned little things about Carter. How she would tap her finger against her thigh when she was deep in thought, how her nose would scrunch up when she was confused or thinking a little too hard. She of course didn't notice that I would stare at her. I was doing it unconsciously that I didn't even notice it at first.

When I noticed that it was getting late I reluctantly told her we better go, even though I didn't want to move. It was nice laying here not worrying about anything. The silence of the field was nice and just made you feel peaceful. Not to much I had a very pretty girl next to me who was wearing an outfit that I couldn't keep my eyes off of. I tried hard not to stare but I couldn't help it, I was a guy after all.

Now here I was walking back to my place thinking the entire night over. The night that seemed almost perfect in a way. I was slowly becoming friends with Carter even though a small voice in the back of my mind was telling me differently. For once I wasn't listening to the devil on my shoulder telling me I couldn't have anyone. Even if I couldn't have Carter maybe we could be friends. That alone was a scary thought but it wasn't enough to stop me. For some reason I did not want to push Carter away anymore, she was little a delicate flower that I had to protect and if I didn't she was break apart.

Carter was starting to do something to me and I had yet to figure out if it was good or not.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hey guys. I am sorry for the pretty crappy chapter. I could not think of anything for this chapter and had a total brain fart with it. But as I continued on writing I just went with it and thought I'd upload. It definitely is a filler chapter but you do see a good little bit into Gage's head, which I hope you all enjoyed. I most of you are Cage shippers so this one is for you. I was going to add an Ethan POV but felt like it would take away from Carter and Gage moments. But don't worry he should appear next chapter...I think not entirely sure what I will write for it.

I want you guys to know that in the next few chapters things will start to pick up. Not too terribly but a couple of weeks will pass by and such. It is going at a good pace now but I want a few weeks almost a month to go by and seeing that it is chapter 17 I think it should start picking up the pace slightly.

For those of you who have asked....THIS BOOK IS NO WHERE NEAR CLOSE TO BEING DONE! I have barely started writing this and getting into it. It is only chapter 17 so there is still ALOT to go. This story will be pretty long, I am not sure how long since I don't plan out the length of the book when I start. I kind of just write when I can and when I think it is over it will be. But don't fret plenty of more chapters are to come!!!

Because it is terribly weather where I live and I have nothing to do I may even upload tomorrow. Depends on if I finish my essay I have due and if it decides to clear up. But maybe I will upload another chapter tomorrow *fingers crossed* I'm already writing next chapter :)

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think.

VOTE, COMMENT, AND LETS ALL HUG GAGE!

P.S This story just reached 300 thousand reads! AHHHH that is incredible! It only has been up a few months and it means a lot to me! Hopefully we can get this story to number 1 in romance soon! Tell your friends about, share it, tweet it :) Feel free to tweet me also! I love hearing from you guys! <3 <3

<3

-Ken