A/N: I really struggled with this one. You know when you have so much planned out for your story, but then the characters take things into their own hands and throw a wrench into your plans? Aghhh, I had the next few chapters planned out, but Sang and Silas decided to make everything explode last chapter.

I'm a little bit mad at them.

But I'm finally done putting off this chapter, so I decided to just rip it off like a band-aid.

The Precipice

Nathan's POV

I didn't get it.

Sang's name continued to flash across my screen, but all I heard was continuous ringing until her voicemail.

Why wasn't she answering?

My feet restlessly paced the carpet beside the sliding doors, willing myself not to look at Silas again because the urge to strangle him was growing stronger by the minute.

"Should we call Mr. B?" Luke's nervous voice broke the last two minutes of silence.

"Not yet. We can handle this, then fill him in later," Kota answered calmly from the couch, but he didn't fool me. Calm was the last thing Kota was, if the white knuckle grip on his phone was anything to go by. Was he trying to call Sang, too?

"But it's kind of a big deal—"

"Silas and Sang had an argument," Kota cut him off sharply. "It happens. We're not going to run to Mr. Blackbourne every time an issue happens in this relationship. That's not healthy."

"And Sang holing herself up and not responding to any of us is healthy?" I snorted, turning to face the backyard.

"We can handle this. I can handle this," Kota assured me, doing his best to sound confident. I wasn't buying it. I was the only one to notice the way his fingers shook as he adjusted his glasses for the thirtieth time tonight. "Maybe she just wants some alone time."

Luke's sigh was dramatic, one worthy of an Oscar, as he sunk down next to Kota on the couch. I spared another glance at my unanswered phone, before tossing it on the other couch next to a stoic Silas.

"She was crying when she ran past me in the diner," Luke shared quietly, shoulders slumped as my fingers starting to itch.

"Silas, can you please tell us what happened in there?" I asked for the tenth time, feeling the carpet burn through my sock as I spun around to face him. But he just continued to sit there, silently, staring at his clasped hands. I turned to Luke. "How far out is North?"

"He should be here any minute," Luke answered quickly, checking his own phone. "He was at home when I called."

Frowning, I turned back to the sliding doors. The forest called to me, and I would've expected Sang to run there first if she wanted a place to think or get away. I would've found her up in a tree, just like the day we'd met.

But Sang wasn't up in a tree—the cameras confirmed that—and a lot had happened since the day I'd told her to jump. To trust me.

Did she still trust me?

What the hell had happened between her and Silas?

The roar of a motorcycle engine sounded from the street, and three of our heads turned towards the commotion. Silas didn't budge.

"Maybe this was a bad idea," Luke offered doubtfully, as the engine died. "North probably isn't the best one to handle—"

"We need him to get Silas to talk," Kota cut in again, causing Luke to huff. "Sang told Luke not to follow her, and I don't want to make things worse by visiting her until we've heard Silas's side of the story."

"North doesn't have that kind of patience when it comes to Sang," I offered my two cents as the front door swung open, flinching when it banged against the wall.

"That's why we're meeting here," Kota explained with a grimace, shifting closer to the edge of the cushion he was on. "In case we need to hold him down."

Fuck.

I rolled my shoulders, loosening them up.

"What's going on?" North's voice boomed through the house, as he stepped into the living room. "I got here as soon as I could. Luke, you red-lined?"

"We're in a bit of a pickle," Luke explained carefully, looking to Kota for help.

"Silas and Sang had an argument today, but he's not telling us what happened," Kota explained, gesturing to the frozen Greek. "We need your help getting him to talk."

North watched Silas with a frown, before turning to Kota with a lowered brow.

"Was it about the team?" North asked bluntly. "Or something between them?"

"We don't know," Kota admitted, pursing his lips. "We just know they're both upset, and Silas hasn't said a word since Luke found him in Uncle's office."

"Where's Sang?" North asked, heading over to the couch Silas was slouched on.

"She's safe," Kota answered quickly. "She's just upset, and asked that we don't bother her."

North's frown turned back to an unmoving Silas. "Si? Ti synévi? Eínai káti idiotikó metaxý ton dyo sas kai prépei na to apolýsoume?" What happened? Is it something private between you two, and we need to fuck off?

Silas blinked once, his sizeable shoulders slumping as he turned slowly towards North.

"Ti tréchei?" What's wrong? North pressed, eyes narrowing on the Greek before him.

"Aftí me miseí." She hates me, he whispered hoarsely, fingers gripped so tightly together I was afraid he'd snap one off. "Katastrépsa ta pánta. Teleíose." I ruined everything. It's over.

I didn't understand a word he was saying, but that didn't stop my heart from galloping into overtime at his broken tone.

"Exigó. Tóra amésos" Explain. Right now, North demanded. Kota cleared his throat, and North laid a hand on Silas's shoulder. "In English. We're all family here."

Silas took a few moments to gather his words, eyes lowering shamefully, before he took in a deep breath and I mirrored the action.

"I swear, I wasn't bragging about it, North. They were just being dickheads, and I was tired of it. I didn't think..."

"Who was being a dickhead?" North asked, gripping Silas's shoulder tighter when he'd trailed off. "What did they do?"

"Típota." Nothing, Silas sighed, eyes straying back to his hands as my own fingers sought out the back of a chair. It was taking everything in me not to put my fist through a wall now that Silas had switched back to Greek. "It was the chazos podosfairikí omáda." It was the stupid football team.

"The what?" I grit out through clenched teeth, fingers sinking further into the chair's fabric.

My breath cut short when I saw tears well up in Silas's eyes, and my eyes cut back towards the forest. I'd never seen Silas cry before.

"The football team," he explained, voice choking up. "I was stupid and didn't think of the effect it could have. I just wanted them to shut up about Sang, so I didn't deny it when they asked if I'd slept with her. She found out."

His voice was muffled, and my eyes cut back over to see his head in his hands.

"You told her?" I demanded, blood running hot. We'd all been at the family meeting where that was discussed, except for Sang. It was so long ago, I'd almost forgotten what we'd agreed on.

"Actually," Kota cleared his throat, drawing our attention. "A student in our Home Ec class brought the subject up first. I encouraged Sang to discuss it with Silas, but I didn't expect—"

"You told Sang to confront Silas about something we'd agreed upon as a team?" North asked dangerously, eyes glaring daggers at my oldest friend. "The two people in our family who have the most trouble articulating what they mean? What the hell were you—"

"Don't attack Kota," I cut in, feeling my inner North wanting to hulk out. "We're all mad, North, but we need to focus on what's happening next instead of making it worse."

North's glare met mine, and held for a beat too long before he turned back to Silas.

"Breathe, Silas," he ordered, before taking his own advice. "We're going to fix this. We'll explain everything to Sang, and it'll be in the past before you know it."

"No, no. You didn't see her face or the way she looked at me," Silas argued quietly, a low moan escaping his throat. "She's going to leave us."

My heart stopped. The sliding door handle was in my palm before I knew it, and then I was out the door without looking back.

Sang's POV

It took a total of fifteen minutes before there was a light tapping against my window.

At least it felt like fifteen minutes; the setting sun had barely moved.

I took my time rolling over on the bed, craning my neck against the lumpy pillow until my sore eyes saw Nathan's concerned ones staring back at me through the glass.

Eyes that were asking questions I really didn't want to answer right now.

I heaved myself up onto my elbows, shaking my head at the boy in my window before slumping back down into the blankets. If I let him in, I didn't know what I would say, and the last thing I wanted to do today was yell at another one of them.

"Please, Sang."

I barely heard his plea through the glass, holding in a groan at their persistence.

"I want to be alone," I whispered against the pillow. I lifted a hand towards the camera in my vent, figuring at least one of them had to be watching, and quickly signed the letters.

I'm fine. I just want to be alone.

The first claim was a toss up. Physically? Yes, I was fine.

Emotionally? I was mostly numb.

The tapping on my window stopped.

Hours passed as I stared blankly at the wall. Part of me was angry at the reputation I had now with the football team. If my stepmother thought doing that with a boy made me a whore, surely the team thought the same. Another part of me was mad at myself for being angry.

Silas had orders from the Academy, and this time they happened to disagree with me. Did that make me wrong, or the Academy?

As the sun fully set, and crickets sounded from outside my window, I couldn't will myself to be upset with Silas anymore. I was mostly upset with myself for fighting with him, for turning into an emotional mess when I'd always been so talented at waiting until after the storm to freak out.

I told myself I'd sleep on it and see what tomorrow brings, but the idea of facing all of the boys at school before I'd had a chance to talk with Silas again made my stomach churn.

I fumbled around for my phone, finding it nestled between the covers. I'd turned it on silent earlier, ignoring the missed calls and texts now as I pulled up Kota's conversation.

Sang: I won't be at school tomorrow. I need time by myself to figure some things out.

If it sounded ominous, I really didn't care.

Weighing the phone in my hand, I quickly pulled up a new text window to Mr. Blackbourne and Dr. Green before I could talk myself out of it.

Sang: I'm not feeling very well. I don't think I'll make it to school tomorrow.

Setting the phone down gently beside my bed, I snuggled deeper into the covers to await the nightmares I was sure would come.

The creak of the window opening woke me from a fitful slumber the following morning. Strong arms wrapped around me—a firm chest pressed against my back—as the bed dipped behind me. Musk invaded my senses.

"North, I said I wanted to be alone," I grumbled with a sigh, as he placed a firm kiss atop my head.

"Sang, I gave you all night alone, when all I wanted to do was climb through that window," North grumbled back with his gruff voice, and I tried not to feel too comfortable encased in his arms. They were a balm to my numb heart. "I'm not here to talk. I just want to hold you, and I think you need the comfort."

I took in a shaky breath, willing myself not to turn around and wrap my arms around him. The temptation to burrow myself into his offering comfort was overwhelming.

"I don't deserve any comfort," I whispered back. North made a noncommittal sound, nuzzling his face against my hair.

We must've laid there for an hour in the silence. North's arms around me like a cocoon, his calloused thumb trailing up and down my wrist.

I wasn't sure how to start talking; wasn't sure if he was the one I should be talking to.

"I yelled at him," I admitted to the quiet room in a whisper, when the stillness became too much.

"You were angry," North answered gruffly, confirming that he knew what had happened.

"I don't want you to validate my actions, North." I frowned, wondering if this was something people would take sides on. That was the last thing I wanted. "I just...I yelled at him. Really yelled."

"You did."

"He hurt me," I whispered again, heaving in a shaky breath and wondering how my eyes were still capable of tearing up after the river I'd cried last night.

North let out an unstable breath against my hair.

"He did."

"You know what happened?" I asked for the sake of asking, glad I wasn't facing his probing eyes right now.

North grunted in affirmation, arms pulling me tighter against his chest.

"I know what happened, Sang." North's words confirmed his grunt.

"Did you all talk about it already?" I asked, staring at the blank wall in front of me.

"Luke called me, because Silas wouldn't talk to anyone," North explained softly, his breath whispering against my ear. "Luke was worried after you ran out of the Diner, and he needed me to get Silas to talk."

"Hmm." I thought about the mess I'd looked like last night, tears and snot running down my face as I fled the Diner. "And what did Silas say?"

"That he messed up," North answered readily, fingers splaying out against my belly. "That he ruined everything, and that the last thing he wanted to do was hurt you. That he thinks you're going to leave us."

A pang radiated in my heart, and I hated that it chose right now to ease its numbness. I wasn't ready to start feeling again. Using all of the willpower I could muster, I wiggled around in North's arms until I was facing unfathomable, dark brown eyes. Eyes that held the same sadness I was positive mirrored back in mine.

"I'm not leaving anyone," I exclaimed in a surprise, feeling a wave of tension ease from my shoulders when I realized how true the words were. It wasn't something I was actively thinking about, but I had been really hurt... "We had a disagreement, and it hurt, but that doesn't mean I'm leaving."

North's own breath left him, arms pulling me tightly against his chest as he pressed his lips against the top of my head. He took a deep breath in, tickling my hair. "Thank God."

"Is that really what you thou—"

"I've never seen Silas like that, Sang," North cut in, pulling back to look down at my again. "That plus the text you sent Kota...it didn't seem that crazy to think about."

"North, I'm...upset," I tried to explain, bringing a finger up to trace gently around his heart. "And I'm mad, but I just wanted some time to think about it—not to plan a Dear John letter."

"Thank God," North mumbled again, pulling in a deep breath as his eyes remained glued to mine.

I didn't know what to say, so I focused on re-tracing my finger around his heart. His shirt was soft against my finger.

"Do you want to talk about it?" North asked, serious eyes fixed on mine. "If not, that's fine, but I'd like to at least stay and hold you for a while longer. If it's alright."

"You're asking my permission?" My eyebrows rose on their own accord, the side of my lips flirting with a smile. The action felt alien after where my thoughts had been since last night.

"Anything for you, Sang baby," North promised, jaw set. His mouth opened again, seeming to rethink the words. "Well, anything that wouldn't put you or the team in harm's way."

"Nice save." My lips twitched again, resting my hand flat against his shirt over where his heart was. It beat steadily against my hand, a reminder of how much of a pillar North was in my life. I pursed my lips for a few moments, trying to gather my thoughts. North waited patiently, fingers trailing up and down my lower back.

"What upsets me the most is...is that I wasn't even included in this decision. A decision about me, and I had no input or knowledge of it," I explained softly, looking down to where my fingers were splayed wide against North's black shirt. "I can't say I would've agreed if I was included, but I wouldn't have been blindsided with this feeling of betrayal."

North's heartbeat picked up against my palm, but he stayed quiet, patiently waiting.

"Si—," his name caught in my throat, and I coughed quickly to clear it up. "Silas claimed I did things that I haven't done yet. Things I'm not ready for. And I hate it because...because I've been thinking so much lately about becoming ready for those things—things that are special to me."

My eyes welled up again without my permission, and I dragged the back of my hand hastily over both eyes. North shifted, pulling his hand out from under my side until he could use both of his thumbs to wipe away the two tears that had managed to escape.

"I know it's stupid." I pulled in a shaky breath, sniffling. "But I treasure every step with you guys, and he just tossed that to the football team like it was nothing. Like it'd mean nothing to him."

"It's not stupid, Sang," North bit out, palms cupping both of my cheeks. "And it'd mean the furthest thing from nothing to him."

My lips twisted doubtfully, a grunt escaping.

"I'm being honest," North pushed, squeezing my cheeks together. "It was a team decision to have him play it off like that. It wasn't his own opinion. He had the right intentions, Sang baby, even if we were being idiots when we came up with that plan."

It shouldn't have felt good because North called himself an idiot for their plan. But it helped, a little.

"I understand that," I agreed softly, sniffling a little more as I tried to clear out my nose. "It doesn't stop me from hearing my stepmother's words in my head, though. From feeling like Silas was validating those thoughts."

"No, hell no," North denied adamantly, pulling up my cheeks until I had to look into his eyes or make things awkward by looking over his head. "Don't you waste even one little thought on her. She isn't worth it, and neither are those lies she told you."

"I can't help it," I muttered, my lips squished together from his tightened hold. "I don't mean to think about her; I don't want to."

North sighed, eyes darting back and forth between mine.

"If I could take it back, I would," he promised, his hold easing on my cheeks as his hands slid down to my neck before he clarified. "That meeting where we decided Silas should pretend to be your boyfriend at school. I would've claimed you myself, and the football team wouldn't fuck with me."

I was speechless, gazing back into his adamant dark eyes.

"Will you get in trouble for skipping school today?" I asked shakily, partially to change the subject. My emotions were starting to go haywire.

"No," North sighed, shifting on the bed until his leg hooked around both of mine. "But I'll get in trouble for visiting you after you asked us not to. We'll probably get hours."

My brows shot up. The boys hadn't had hours in a long time. Not since earlier in the semester.

"Oh," was my genius reply.

"Let's get you some food," North urged, grasping me around my waist and pulling me off of the bed with him. "When was the last time you ate?"

I shrugged as he set me on my feet, my stomach giving a low growl as I tried to remember if I'd eaten anything since lunch yesterday.

North sighed, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as we headed downstairs. My hand trailed softly over the railing, feeling decidedly lighter than yesterday.

My argument with Silas still weighed heavily on my heart, but I didn't want that affecting my time with North more than it already had. How was I supposed to deal with the rest of them, when things were rocky with just one?

"After breakfast, I'll run a bath for you," North said, tugging me closer against his side before sniffing the top of my head. "Because you stink."

I surprised myself by laughing and poking a finger into his side. He grabbed my wrist before spinning me around, heaving me over his shoulder, and making quick work of the last few stairs. My giggles trailed after us.

Maybe it wasn't the end of the world, after all.

A/N: Thank you for all of your support with this story so far! The votes and comments seriously make me ridiculously happy. I missed you guys. :)