Above and Below: Battle Plans

(Sterling’s P.O.V)

Nana was cooking downstairs, I could smell it. And boy did it smell good. I quickly pulled on my slippers and tugged my hair in a sloppy bun. So this was how I was going to meet everyone, groggy and in really need of a shower. Ugh.

“Good morning, Nana,” I said as I walked into the kitchen, trying to pretend that I didn’t notice the four pair of eyes staring back at me.

Nana turned from the stove and smiled at me. “Oh, good morning dear, did you sleep alright last night?”

“Yes, I did, thank you.”

I watched Nana finish whatever she was making—eggs it looked like—and pour them into a bowl, placing them down on the table with the rest of the meal. “Don’t be a stranger, come sit down and meet the rest of the kids.”

The only seat open was next to Nana and a girl with wild mousy brown hair. “Hi, I’m Sage,” she said, taking my hand in hers. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

I nodded, pulling on my best smile. “I’m Sterling.”

“Well, Sterling let me introduce you to the rest of the family.” Sage stood up, smoothing down the crinkles in her skirt. “This is Tyler, and next to him is Jake. Across from you is Damon, my brother.”

Damon and Sage looked nothing alike. While all of Sage’s features were light and soft with her pale jade eyes and freckled skin, Damon were all edges, his bright blue eyes popping against his olive skin and shaggy black hair. To be honest, Damon was a contrast to everyone at the table, Jake and Tyler both sharing more boyish looks with their polo shirts and wallabies. The only difference was while Tyler had more of a dirty blonde, almost brown hair color; Jake’s looked totally surfer boy, his hair bleach blonde. Kind of odd for a dinky town in New York.

Nana came around and began to pile my plate with an enormous amount of food. “It’s time to put some meat on those bones,” she said to me when I gave her a look. “You need it, trust me.”

I blushed but said nothing. They didn’t need to know that I hadn’t eaten a decent meal in over five years. The places I had been to, it was frozen pizzas and cereal just about every night.

“Are those contacts?” Sage blurted immediately blushing. “I am so sorry but I just had to ask, they look so amazing!”

I smiled. I got this a lot. “No they aren’t, one hundred percent natural.”

“So, Sterling, where are you from?” Tyler asked me, clearing his throat, completely changing the subject.

I thought about it. “You mean where was I born?”

“Um, sure I guess. Does it matter?”

“Kind of. I was born down in Charleston, but over the past years I’ve bounced all around the Country.” I told them.

They all looked confused. “So you’ve never lived in New York before?”

“Nope.” I shook my head. “But there’s always a first for everything.”

Everyone must have thought I was a whack job. A girl that lost her parents at birth traveling around like a homeless person. That’s what I was. Homeless. Alone.

The rest of breakfast was much better. All of them, except for Damon, had a lot of questions and luckily for me I had the right answers. Once everyone finished I helped Nana clear the table before going off to find the shower.

Turns out that was easier said than done. This house was huge and every door I opened seemed to lead into another goddamn bedroom. With a home like this Nana could defiantly open it up to more kids.

“Hey, Sage?” I called out, thankful to find her wandering the hall.

“Yeah?”

I waved bag of toiletries. “Can you point me to the shower?”

Sage laughed. “I knew you would get lost. Don’t feel bad, I got lost too when I came a while back. Come on.”

I decided I liked Sage. She was nice and funny and very light about things. She wasn’t drop dead gorgeous, and heck neither was I, but she carried herself well.

“Well here you go,” she said, waving me into a stall of a room. “I know it isn’t much…but it’s better than nothing.”

I smiled. “It beats my last home. Thanks.”

“No problem, give me a shout if you need anything, I’m just down the hall.” Sage winked and shut the door. I could hear her feet scurry back into her room.

I was grateful to finally take a shower. Trevor and I had been on the road for days…you probably get the picture. I smiled and watched the dirt and grime puddle onto the shower floors and run into the drain, off to the sewer. The hot water felt amazing beating down on my skin.

When I was out I dried off in one of the plush towels Nana left hanging on a rack. Making sure that no one was in the hall, I quickly scampered to my room a few doors down.

“Sterling, are you okay in there?” I heard Sage ask through the door. “Can I come in?”

I looked down at my half-naked body. Eh, whatever. “Sure, the doors open.”

Sage seemed completely unfazed that I was standing there in nothing but a towel. Instead she zoned straight in on my open luggage. I hadn’t had the time to put everything away yet.

“Um, what are you doing?” I asked. I was a little confused.

Sage grinned. “Helping you pick out an outfit. I was thinking you could come with me and the guys down to the Strip. That is, if you want to.”

“What exactly is the Strip?”

“It used to be this giant warehouse down by the Lake. But whatever they did there closed about two years ago. A couple of college guys, decided to buy it and turn it into—it’s kind of like a lounge.”

I looked at her. Did she think I was stupid? “A club you mean?”

She flushed pink. I take that as a yes. “Yeah, I guess you could call it that.”

“Sure, sounds fun,” I shrugged. “When should I be ready?”

Sage smiled and tossed me my black skater dress. “Wear these with those black pumps. I’ll have one of the guys come get you in a couple hours. It takes a while to get there.”

“I’ll be ready.”
_____

(Sage’s P.O.V)

I left Sterling to get ready, setting myself out to find the rest of the guys before I had to get ready myself. I found them all out in the yard, chugging cokes and munching down on Nana’s homemade chocolate pretzels.

“Hey, Sage,” Tyler smiled, patting the spot down next to him. I took it, leaning my back against him.
“How’s the new girl doing?”

I shrugged. “Lost. I had to show her to the bathroom so she could shower.”

He smiled. “Lucky. Did you see any skin?” I tried not to roll my eyes when Jake and Tyler did their immature grunts and fist pounds.

“Do you guys have to be so barbaric?”

Tyler just smiled and wrapped his tan arms around me, burring his face in my tangled hair. “You know I love you. No one else.”

“I know.” I grinned, giving him a peck on the cheek.

Jake moaned. “Please, enough of the PDA.”

“What’s wrong, Jake? Does tongue make you sick? It really shouldn’t, I mean you watch porn like every night.” Tyler sneered.

“Stop, all of you, you’re giving me a headache.” Damon groaned from his spot in the grass. He was laying down with his hands over his face, defiantly hung over.

I sighed. “Damon, if you aren’t feeling good you really shouldn’t come…”

“I’m fine, Sage, I can take care of myself.” He snapped, rolling over onto his side.

Damon was Damon, there wasn’t much to it. Sure, he was my brother, and yes, I do love him, but he is also the biggest pain up my ass. He’s flat out rude to everyone and very rarely do I ever see him in a good mood. The only time Damon’s slightly tolerable is when he’s drunk, and even then it’s not a sight to behold.

“Come on, Sage, we better go and leave Mr. Sunshine to himself,” Tyler said, pulling me off the ground. “You coming, Jake?”

“Sure.” He said picking himself up. “Where are we going?”

“Good question.” Tyler stood there, clearly trying to think of something better to do.

I snapped my fingers, remembering why I came out here in the first place. “Oh yeah, that reminds me, are you guys up for the Strip tonight?”

“We’re always up for the Strip.” Jake said, rubbing his hands together. “When do you want to go?”

“Um, later this afternoon. Think Nana will let us go?” I asked.

Tyler thought about that. “Probably…especially if we use it as an excuse to show Sterling around. She is coming isn’t she?”

“Of course, I invited her.”

“Good, then everything should be good to go.” Tyler said, slipping his arms around my waist. “Are you coming, Sunshine?”

Damon groaned. “Yeah whatever, just shut the hell up, my head is throbbing.”

“Alright, let’s leave him be.” Jake said making his way back into the house.
_____

(Sterling’s P.o.v)

I pulled my clothes on and started blow drying my hair. The only downside to my long thick mane was that it took forever to dry and forever to get tame. Whatever, Sage said I had awhile anyway; there was no point in rushing.

An hour later, once my hair was dry and pulled into a loose side bun, I popped my ear buds in and decided to go read on the front lawn. It was a beautiful day, despite the fact that it was as cold as hell out there. Oh well, I went out anyway, wrapping myself in a giant fuzzy blanket Nana had stacked in the living room.

I read for a really long time. When Sage came out to get me the sun was already setting. To be honest, I couldn’t remember the last time I had sat down and relaxed with a book. Moving around and traveling kind of limited my spare time. But it was nice.

“Come on, Damon, you’re coming, right?” Sage called farther down the yard. I had no idea that Damon was out there with me the entire afternoon. Did he notice me? Why didn’t he come to say hello?

He didn’t say anything; he just picked himself off the ground and followed us to the car. Jake and Tyler were already waiting, the keys spinning on Jake’s fingers. “Ready?”

“Ready Freddy,” Sage chirped, lacing her fingers in Tyler’s. I couldn’t help but notice how pretty she looked. Sage was wearing a pale green cotton dress, making her eyes shine against her skin. She had even slicked back her mane of hair into a high ponytail, appropriately topped off with a rhinestone headband.

“Alrighty then, let’s get the show on the road.” Jake smiled, offering me the passenger seat. I looked around, thinking someone else would want it but no, Tyler and Sage were already nuzzled together in the back, and Damon was just…being Damon.

“Thanks.” I smiled, crawling inside the cramped car.

Jake put the car in drive and pulled out of the house. Immediately Sage leaned across the seats to turn on the radio. When she finally found a station she liked she cranked it up and sat back down to
Tyler’s widespread arms.

“So, how long is the drive again?” I asked Jake, trying to make conversation.

He shrugged. “Eh, not long about an hour or so, give or take.”

“Yeah, depends on rush hour and how bad the traffic is,” Tyler added. “But we left a little later than we normally do so hopefully it shouldn’t take as long.”

“Oh.” An hour didn’t seem so bad, besides, I was used to long car rides anyway. “That doesn’t seem so bad.”

Jake nodded. “It really isn’t, and trust me when I say the drives worth it. This place is the best, you’ll love it.”

“What’s so great about it?” I asked, not trying to start something, I was just simply curious with all the fuss they gave this place.

Jake and Tyler exchanged looks, both grinning. “I mean it’s a club what’s not to love about it, you know?” Jake said at last. “Music’s great and the ladies are smoking.”

“They don’t card you either.” Tyler told me. “This is great for us, since none of us are legal.”

Wow, not a bad place they got going here. “And Nana just lets y’all go? Sounds a little too good to be true to me.”

“Yeah, she lets us go,” Jake started, winking at me.

“Because she doesn’t know what we really do,” Sage finished for him. “But, Sterling, no worries, this place isn’t like a ghetto, it’s a safe place. We wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

I looked at all of them. They really did seem like a bunch of nice kids. “I know. I’m not worried at all.”

She reached forward and put her hand on my shoulder. “Good because Jake’s right, you’ll love it at the Strip.”
_____