CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
darling won't you dance with me.

━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━

          Eighty one days. It had been eighty one days since Murphy and Sage had witnessed anything of the outside world and Sage almost couldn't decide whether or not that was a good thing. It's not like she had anything waiting outside for her, one of the only people she cared about was stuck with her and she wasn't exactly on great terms with anyone else on earth.

          So why did she want to leave so badly? She would give anything to see Raven's stupid face again, even if she was angry at her. She didn't care, she wanted to see her.

          Sage didn't bother checking what time it was when she drew on the eighty first line of chalk on the wall, she cringed at the sound before placing the chalk back down on the table and wiping the dust off her hands.

          Carrying her body, her feet travelled through the kitchen and around the counter Sage soon located Murphy with her eyes, standing by the stereo, flipping through an oddly large collection of cd's. Sage pulled open the fridge, finding only two punnets of berries and one sad sad egg.

         She slammed the fridge door closed, suddenly pissed before running her left hand down her face.

         "You alright Darling?" Murphy asked.

          "As good as I can be I suppose." The girl responded, her voice mellow.

           Murphy nodded to himself while Sage strolled around the lounge, flopping down on it lazily, god she had spent so many hours simply sitting there, wasting her life on countless television shows and more video games than she could memorise. Her hands ran down her face in distress as she curled up on the lounge.

           Her ears perked up as a harmonious tune filled the air, a familiar one at that. Sage fluttered open her eyes to find Murphy, hips swaying along the music as he himself also hummed the song in question.

           "I had a dream the other night, about how we only get one life." Murphy sang along, stalking up to Sage, spinning for effect. Sage snickered at his flailing only for him to come closer.

            "You're crazy." Sage stated with a smile.

            "Woke me up right after two, stayed awake and stared at you so I wouldn't lose my mind." He continued, holding an outstretched hand for her to take. "Dance with me."

            "I'm not in the mood for dancing." Sage murmured.

            "Oh, come on don't be a downer." Murphy whined causing Sage to roll her eyes gently.

            "But Murphy,"

            "Just one dance, you know I love this song." He pointed, pulling her to her feet.

            "Fine." Sage sighed deeply, allowing the boy to pull her up.

            "And I had the week that came from hell."

            "And yes I know that you can tell." Sage grinned, joining in and singing with the boy despite the both of them being out of tune.

            Murphy rested his hands idly upon her hips while her hands fiddled with the nape of his neck, playing with the now longer strands. The two swayed to the music, holding tightly onto one another simply flowing to the sounds. The melody hung in the air, littering around them and transporting them to a world so serene, so beautiful that Sage lost herself for a moment, the only thing reminding her she was still stuck in the bunker being the touch of Murphy's fingertips resting carefully on the peek of skin poking out in between her trousers and black singlet.

           "I love this song." Sage sighed, resting her cheek against the boy's chest, his chin resting gently upon her head.

           "I know, me too." Murphy smiled softly.

     Eighty two.

           "Can we play apple on a stick?" Sage asked, fiddling with one of the couch pillows as Murphy exited the bathroom, a towel wrapped loosely around his lower half, beads a water dripping from his hair and down his surprisingly toned stomach.

          "Apple on a what?" The boy asked.

          Sage turned to him, finding his magnificent body stood proudly like some kind old statue while his hand ran through his wet hair, dampening the floor around him. Sage's eyes unknowingly travelled up and down his torso, over every muscle poking out. He was sadly quite thin, Sage knew it was the early signs of malnutrition and the sight made her question her own frame, surely she, the smaller and frailer of the two looked awfully skinnier in comparison to him.

         "Uh, Apple on a stick." She stammered.

         "W-We don't have apples or sticks. I don't understand, I-"

         "No, i-it's a hand game." Sage chuckled.

         "A hand game?"

        "Yeah!"

        "Just let me get changed." Murphy announced, beginning to walk towards the bedroom.

        "I mean, you don't have to." Sage suggested flirtatiously, leaning her arms and head over the back of the lounge and watching him walk away.

         "Keep it in your pants Noon." Murphy hollered down the hallway causing the girl to erupt in a fit of giggles.

          When the boy returned Sage could tell he was sleepy, his eyes hung low and his cheeks appeared hollow. He didn't look well. Therefore the girl scrapped the idea of playing a game with the boy and persuaded him to lay in her lap as she combed through his drying hair.

         "I'm sorry we didn't play that game you wanted." Murphy broke the silence.

         "It's okay, it was sort of me and Raven's thing anyway." The girl dismissed softly.

         "Did you play it a lot?"

         "Sometimes, when we were too bored to do anything else." Sage nodded confirming his assumptions.

         "You guys were really close huh?" Murphy presumed in a hushed voice.

         "We were, once upon a time." Sage muttered. "We, we used to play it when she visited me in the Skybox." Sage chuckled at the memory. She could almost see herself sitting across from Raven in the visiting room, with one table and the security guard in the corner. Just to piss him off Raven and Sage would recite the irritating hand game on repeat until they could visually see the agony forming on his facial features.

        "The guards hated it but we didn't care. We used to play it just to annoy them. But a part of me thinks they felt sorry for us. The sisters who would never be. I miss it. I don't forgive her, but I do miss it." Sage reminisced, her smile falling.

         Murphy glanced up at her, expecting to find angry eyes but instead being met with saddened melting chocolate eyes.

         "You know she loves you right?"

         "Maybe, but not as much as she used to." Sage shrugged, tucking a loose curl behind her ear to stay with the rest.

         Sage thought back to her time spent with Raven when they were children. They had quite the adventures growing up. They used to sneak into the engineering rooms when Raven wasn't busy stress studying every chemical on the periodic table. Sage knew every substance on said table and would sing it along with Raven as they strolled through the doors. Everyone in Mecha station was familiar with the sisters, they knew they weren't genetically related of course but the Noon-Reyes duo were a well known pairing. Everyone had heard of the tragically intelligent older sister willing to do anything for the younger and the innocently generous younger sister with a heart so full of gold.

        She severely missed the days where she and Raven snuck rations to a desperate Finn or ran down the hallways, Raven ignoring the ruckus she caused while Sage tried to apologise to everyone her sister bumped into. Sage shook her head free of the thought and wiped away a tear she didn't realise had slipped.

         "I miss her."

         "And I know she misses you too."

         "I seriously doubt it." Sage sighed defeatedly.

          Sage continued to reminisce, her fingers gliding softly through the boys hair as she thought of her sister, the way she used to defend her from any creep on the Ark, the way she used to try and teach her about the different constellations which were often way too difficult to notice when you were up close. She missed her, more than anything.

         The girl had grown so entangled in her memories she hadn't realised the braids slowly forming within Murphy's freshly washed hair, courtesy of her bored little fingers.

         "Are you braiding my hair again?"

         "Indeed I am." Sage responded.

         "Mmmm. Okay." Murphy hummed pleasantly.

     Eighty three.

          The hair braiding and hand games were a cute idea yes, and Sage was enjoying her time alone with Murphy but the days were adding up and the food was finally finished. Sage and Murphy had discussed the circumstances of the final packets of food, they had come to the agreement that the last packet of noodles would be shared between them however Sage had a feeling Murphy was going to take said food for himself, especially when she had woken up to an empty bed one night.

          She groggily forced open her eyes, coming face to face with the neon green numerals painted onto the alarm clock's face. Sage had always hated the devilish box, ever since it awoke she and Murphy one morning at six a.m. The two flailed about, attempting the smash the box until it shut up only for Sage to smack the top of it, instantly shutting off the blaring. Therefore the next morning at six a.m both teens slept peacefully, remaining at home in the subconscious world where nothing irritating would force them awake.

          The time read 2:47 a.m. Sage sighed at this and fell back into the pillow, smushing her face into the soft cushion. She turned her head to the side, brushing away the hair which had fallen into her face while her hand danced over Murphy's empty place. She knew she had to go find him but part of her was still far too tired. Ever since the shortage of food had began, Sage had been sleeping for longer, she would sleep anytime and anywhere, mostly in the bedroom or on the couch but there were the rare occasions like the time she had fallen asleep in the tally room, curled up just beneath the wall, the chalk only inches away.

           Despite her drowsiness, the raven haired girl pulled herself out of bed, wincing when her bare feet made contact with the cold timber floors. Sage assumed the boy was in the lounge room or the wine room, whichever he was more in the mood for. But she stopped playing the guessing game when she heard a commotion in the other room. The sound of glass smashing captured her attention, sending her rushing through the hallway and out into the lounge room where she skidded to a halt upon noticing a pile of broken glass, littered across the carpet and floor.

          Eyes scanning over said glass, Sage also noticed a brown and orange coloured substance staining the floor, she breathed in the toxin, yep definitely rum. And just when she thought she'd seen the worst of it her eyes fell upon Murphy, tears streaming down his face, breathing heavily, clutching a handgun so tight his knuckles had turned white from the force. Sage released an involuntary gasp and her eyes widened, she gulped loudly and her throat began to tighten.

           "Murphy." Sage started in a hushed voice.

           "Sage, I'm sick of this." He cried, the small gun still pressing up beneath his chin.

           "I know, I know you are." Sage continued, her heart hammering against her chest.

           "I can't do this. We've been here for so long. Eighty three days, eighty three days." He choked.

            Sage met his eyes, so broken, so miserable, so empty. They were begging for her help and yet the colour was so bright. She was right, his eyes did look like the rainfall when he cried. But suddenly her wishes to see him cry had faded and she hated this look on him.

             "Murphy please don't." She begged, her eyes now prickling with tears of their own.

             "I have to."

             "No, you don't. Okay, you don't, it doesn't have to be an option." She sobbed, walking closer to him, causing his grip on the gun to only tighten.

             "You don't get it okay! I'm over it. I hate this fucking place. I don't want to be here anymore!" He yelled, his voice raising causing the girl to flinch back in fright. "I'm sorry." He murmured, noticing her fear.

             "Murphy please, don't do this. I almost lost you once before, I won't do it again. Don't leave me here. I need you. You're the boy who survives, the boy who fights, the boy I love." She welled up, her voice cracking as she took yet another step closer.

              The boy froze, Sage didn't take her eyes off of him.

              "Please." She whispered.

              Murphy looked away, tears spilling from his beautifully tragic eyes. Sage stepped closer again, now face to face with the boy as he looked down at her. The gun fell from his hands and onto the floor. Sage kicked it away, sending it gliding across the floor to meet the broken bottle. His arms encased her and she breathed out a sigh of relief as she bent up onto her tiptoes, her face pressed against his neck. She pulled at his clothes, adjusting her grip and refusing to let him go. He cried into her neck, surely dampening her jumper. She didn't mind. Her hand found its way to the back of his head, combing down the unruly hair she would surely have to braid yet again.

              "Don't ever scare me like that again. I love you, so so much. I can't lose you." Sage sniffled, her voice was firm and hard and still soft and angel like at the same time. Murphy had no idea how she did it but it was one of the things he loved most about her, how she could be both strong and weak, both soft and powerful. She was everything all at once.

             "I-I'm sorry I scared you. It's just too much sometimes." He sobbed. She grasped his face in her hands.

            "That's why I'm here. I will always be here when things get just that bit too much. I promise I'll be here." She assured, nodding her head firmly.

            "I'm sorry I put you through this. I'm a mess, a total shit show." He muttered, his face falling into his hands. Sage pulled them down and interlocked their fingers, she ran her thumb over the top of his hand, trying to calm him.

            "You have nothing to be ashamed of Amata." She assured him softly.

            "Amata? What does that mean?" The boy asked gently. He was still upset but Sage knew she had altered his attention to something a bit more pleasant.

            "It's an old latin nickname my mother used to use. It means beloved." Sage explained in a hushed voice.

            "It's cute." He nodded.

            "So are you." She reminded, a hint of a smile ghosting her lips as she pressed her forehead against his.
            "Thank you Sage."

            "For what?"

            "For being you, and letting me be me."

     Eighty four.

          Sage wasn't sure what time it was when she woke up next. She assumed it was around eight a.m but was clearly mistaken when she read the clock hanging above some random artwork indicating to her it was in fact eleven a.m.  Sage was still asleep thankfully but Murphy had slept for long enough. After his breakdown, the two spoke for a while and Murphy informed Sage of the video tape he had found on the television when they first arrived. Before long the pair had fallen asleep, and with the smaller girl laying on top of him Murphy came to the realisation, that if he was going to die in that godforsaken bunker, he wanted to do it in her arms.

           The boy knew he couldn't get up off the couch without waking the girl and thus didn't move right away, not until he noticed her stirring in her sleep.

           "Morning Darling." He smiled softly.

           "Hey." The girl murmured drowsily.

           "I gotta go add another tally."

           "I'll do it." Murphy offered. He edged the girl off of him and shuffled down the hallway into the tally room. His eyes widened as he met the wall, stained with eighty three chalk lines, drawn perfectly and precisely. But that wasn't all she had written. Marking the walls were drawings and sketches Murphy was absolutely stunned by, they surrounded the tallies and other than the various gaps the wall was covered, artworks of two sisters holding hands, a dark skinned woman, her hair adorned with a flower crown, a man floating with the stars and more.

          He stalked closer to the image, his finger running along a drawing of a boy, the image was a close up portrait, a man whose face had been graced with scars here and there, his facial features were small but his eyes were drawn rather largely, big enough to fit waves within them. Sage had drawn the sea in both eyes, Murphy knew who it was. It was him after all.

          There were other drawings, a few of the drop ship, some of the grounders but there were easily twenty or so sketches of the sun. Murphy grinned at the images before picking up the piece of chalk. He slowly drew on the eighty fourth line and just as he was about to put it down, decided against it. He located a clear spot on the wall, right beside one of the many drawings of the girl with science goggles, surrounded by equations Murphy instantly knew as Raven. He slowly drew on an s and then an n then a + and a j and finally a m. s.n + j.m.

          He wiped his hands and glanced back at the new addition to the wall, smiling gently to himself. He walked out into the hallway, still grinning slightly. He was about to praise the girl and her drawing skills only to find the couch he had left her on empty. There was an odd light flooding the room but Murphy blamed it on his tired state. "Sage!" He called while flopping onto the couch.

         "Murphy you're not gonna believe it!" She yelled back, her voice elevated.

         "What is it?"

          "The door!"

           "Let me guess, it's locked." Murphy chuckled wryly.

           "No, Murphy! It's open!" Sage exclaimed, now halfway down the stairs. She rushed up to him, grasping his arm before dragging him up the stairs, ignoring his protests. She pushed him to the now open door, allowing the light to flood his vision. Murphy's eyes widened as he took a step forward, his hand reached back pulling Sage along with him as he took a step onto the grass. It reminded Sage of the first landing on earth when Octavia took the first step.

           The couple shared a glance and with a hint of a smile ghosting his lips, Murphy watched as the sun illuminated the girl's hazelnut eyes, completing his definition of a true beauty.

unedited!

hi hi ! here's another chapter, and the final chapter of the first half of this book! thank u thank u to everyone who has taken the time to read this book truly you all have a special place in my heart 🥰 & im sorry for being gone for so long i am almost finished this whole book and i've got my plans for the sequel ready to go! i hope you enjoyed this chapter, sorry if it's a little all over the place. enjoy all this sage & murphy content, act two of this book is- well let's just say

you got a big storm coming

bye for now!
- clovdy