finally, finally, finally! And I actually have ideas for this! Sorry it's short. Please R&R! (R&R just autocorrected to YMCA and I'm laughing so hard)
Sophie scanned the cafeteria, looking for Fitz. After the tumulus events of last month, he had been re-registered as a level eight, even though his ID day had passed and his graduation had happened. Sophie, Biana and Dex were still in their second year of the Gold Tower, and Keefe was starting his third and final year of the Elites with Fitz, a year above as always.
Their rescue mission had left a toll on Fitz. Several burn and knife scars on his arms, a broken thumb that was now slightly bent, pale skin that had been trapped in caves for three weeks. He was quieter now, and people generally left him alone when they saw that the Neverseen could create visible scars Elwin couldn't heal. But not his friends. Keefe, Biana Sophie and Dex had never been closer to him, and he seemed to relish people who knew him well enough to talk without waiting for him to fill in conversation. Sophie still didn't know whether he was okay with her and Keefe being back together, but if he did, he didn't show it. Today, she plunked down her tray of Foxfire stew (Opening Ceremonies had just recently ended) and sat down across from him. He was twirling his fork around in the gray stew, but looked up when Sophie took the next available seat.
"Hey. You okay?"
"I guess. I don't know. Everyone wants to pretend like it never happened, you know? But it did. And I'm their biggest reminder."
"Now you know what it's like being me."
"Nah. You've gone through way more stuff than I ever have."
They sat in silence for a while, pushing the stew around on their plates, putting off taking the first bite.
And then Fitz broke the silence.
"Hey...do you, um, want to go somewhere after school? With me?"
Sophie was taken aback with he question. "Um, well, I was going to go to Havenfield with Keefe-"
Fitz blushed. "Oh, no, you don't...I mean...sorry, I guess I forgot? But it's-that's fine."
Sophie smiled. "You didn't let me finish. I'd love to go."
She met Fitz two hours later, after dropping her things off at her dorm and changing into clothing that wasn't her uniform-a red tunic that was too fancy and too tight and just too ugh that Biana had forced her in to, black leggings, and some low wedge ankle boots (also courtesy of Biana). Fitz sucked in a breath when she came up the stairs to the Leapmaster. "You look, um, fantastic." Sophie blushed. "You don't look too shabby yourself." He was wearing a gray t-shirt paired with jeans and black shoes. "Thank you. Go ahead." He whispered to the Leapmaster, and it lowered a crystal. Then he grabbed Sophie's hand, and they were swallowed in the light.
They came out of the light in a field, the tree line far in the distance. The grass almost reached their waists, and a huge rock sat in the middle, looking like it was reminiscent of the Jurassic period. Fitz took her hand, and they climbed on to it.
"The Neverseen took me here. They left me unbound with a dagger and went in to the trees, and I was alone. I was so tired...I couldn't transmit, and I didn't have the energy to run away. I wanted to use the dagger and end it all, right here, right now, but I couldn't...I couldn't when we had fought and not made up. You were the only thing that kept me going, and when I woke up in Elwin's room, all I could think was, I've done it. I've come back. And then you were with Keefe, and it ripped me to pieces. So, Sophie...will you come back to me?"
Her eyes were glittering with tears. "Fitz...I can't." He smiled. "But situations can be arranged. There's a party in the Silver Tower tonight. Won't you come?"
He was much too close. She could see the little scars by his hairline and the bags under his eyes, and he smelled like sandalwood.
And then he was kissing her. It was so right but so wrong, and all she could think was,
I shouldn't be doing this.