World Apocalypse: Apocalust

Chapter 45: Chapter XLV - May I Reminisce

The timer continued to tick down, each second disappearing with agonizing slowness, as though the System itself were deliberately drawing out the wait to torment him—at least, that was how it felt to Noah.

His peripheral vision caught the violet countdown once more.

〔00:09:46〕

Just great.

For a fleeting moment, Noah wondered if simply asking her for a kiss would actually work.

The thought lasted all of two seconds before common sense kicked in.

Yeah, no. I’d rather go Stephen Hawking in the face than be considered a pervert.

Noah’s eyes drifted toward Sage, and for a moment, the countdown ceased to exist. If her earlier reveal had made her look like a runway model, the setting sun seemed determined to take things a step further. Warm, golden light bathed her in a soft, sun-kissed glow, catching in her vibrant red hair and setting the strands ablaze with fiery hues. Against the light, she looked almost otherworldly.

Semidivine.

That was the only word that came to mind.

She looked like something beyond human—a member of some semidivine race that had wandered down from the heavens, only to settle on the balcony and casually watch the world below.

How was someone even supposed to look that majestic?

A gust of wind swept across the balcony, sending her red hair streaming behind her like ribbons of fire. Sage turned with it, and her emerald eyes met his.

She paused, and so did he.

Once again, they found themselves caught in the same predicament that had seemed to follow them throughout the night. Neither spoke. Neither looked away. They stood there, holding each other’s gaze.

Then Sage raised an eyebrow.

"Is there something on my face or something?"

"Yeah," Noah muttered. The word slipped from his mouth before he could get a grip on it.

Sage’s brow furrowed slightly.

"What?"

Noah opened his mouth, the answer mindlessly forming on his tongue before he had fully considered it.

Your beauty.

The thought struck him with sudden clarity. His lips pressed shut immediately, the words dying before they ever had a chance to escape.

"...Never mind."

Sage stared at him.

Noah looked away.

Yeah, no.

It had sounded much better in his head. Actually saying it aloud would have been less charming and more like something a guy would say right before getting booed off reality television by an audience watching from behind a sixty-five-inch screen.

His peripheral vision caught the timer again.

〔08:17〕

Eight minutes and some change.

Noah exhaled quietly.

The System had given him ten minutes. He’d already wasted nearly two of them, and somehow, the hardest part wasn’t the kiss.

It was figuring out how the hell he was supposed to get there without making the days ahead incredibly awkward.

He sighed again, the mere thought of it irritating him enough to make him reach up and tug at his locs in frustration.

He was still trying to piece together a plan—preferably one with at least a ten percent chance of success—when Sage finally broke the silence.

"How often do you come up here?"

Noah’s hands paused in his hair.

"I know you called it a tradition," Sage continued, glancing around the balcony. "But some people use that word pretty loosely. It doesn’t always mean there’s any real meaning behind it."

Noah slowly released his locs, letting his hands fall back to his sides. He thought it over, and when an answer finally came to him, his gaze drifted toward the small bench along the edge of the balcony, just wide enough for two people.

He walked over and sat down, leaning lightly against the windowpanes as his gaze wandered out over the neighborhood below.

"Pretty much every other day."

Sage followed, lingering on her feet for a moment before finally taking the seat beside him.

"I’d just come up here and listen to the world."

She looked at him.

"Listen?"

"Yeah." Noah’s eyes drifted toward the horizon. "I didn’t exactly have my..." He lifted his hands, forming air quotes around the next words. "Enhanced Perceptions."

Sage smiled at the gesture.

"But listening to the world go by was something I found myself doing pretty often." His voice softened, carrying a hint of nostalgia. "And not just up here. Whenever I got the chance to."

Sage remained quiet, giving him room to continue.

"I had this spot in my class right by the window," Noah said. "And since our teacher loved keeping it cracked open for some fresh air, there was almost always a breeze coming through, passing right by me before reaching the rest of the class."

A faint smile touched his face.

"If I really focused, I could hear it rustling the leaves outside before the breeze ever reached us." He paused, his gaze settling somewhere beyond the rooftops. "It wasn’t anything special, I guess. Just something I liked."

The wind swept across the balcony again, stirring Sage’s hair beside him.

For a moment, neither of them spoke, but Noah listened.

Not with his ability, just with his ears.

The faint rustling of leaves below. The distant creak of something shifting in the wind. The soft movement of Sage’s hair brushing against her hoodie. It wasn’t the same as before. But somehow, sitting there with someone beside him, it felt just as peaceful, if not just a bit more.

Sage’s shifted against the bench, searching for a more comfortable position. With the limited space between them, her thigh brushed against Noah’s, making it difficult for him not to notice.

Noah quietly adjusted himself, sliding a little farther toward the edge of the bench until his right side was nearly hanging off it. He planted his right leg against the balcony floor to compensate for the awkward balance, though he probably didn’t need to.

Sage seemed to understand what he was doing. Without saying anything, she scooted over as well, settling into the newly created space. Her thigh pressed fully against his now, followed by the warmth of her side as she leaned closer.

Noah didn’t pull away.

Instead, his right leg began moving absently, his foot bouncing up and down against the floor in a small, repetitive motion. It was something to occupy himself with, something that kept his attention from lingering too much on the closeness between them.

Beside him, Sage let out a soft yawn.

"May I?"

Noah glanced down at her.

"May you...?"

Before he could finish the question, Sage shifted closer and rested her head against his shoulder.

Noah froze.

His leg stopped mid-motion.

For a moment, even his breathing seemed to falter.

He looked down at her, surprise written plainly across his face. Sage, however, seemed completely at ease, her attention fixed on the view beyond the balcony railing, as though she’d done nothing unusual at all.

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