Thanks to VerdiTheTRex, Mia, and Little Strawberry fruit for the ship names! I decided on one, but I included the rest as a joke (you'll see). We just have a few more chapters of initial explaining, and then we can start getting to the real drama and dorky human stuff. Of course, I'm adding some cuteness to this chapter as a thank you. And I PROMISE there will be some Sophitz in the next chapter after this! I actually have that part written, so it's guaranteed! Thanks for reading everyone!
Also, to answer a question, imagine this story happening right after Nightfall, only that cliffhanger in the end didn't happen. So, they're all the same age when Nightfall left off.
-The Shadow Reading and Music
"A what?" Evan asked. The rest of the room stayed silent.
Sophie was finally able to break away from Keefe. She stood up off the couch. "But are you sure we have time?" she babbled. "The Black Swan could be here any minute, and..."
"You know it doesn't take that long, Sophie," Tam said calmly, still looking at Evan.
"Besides, Sophie," Fitz jumped in, coming over to put his arm on her shoulder. "There's no harm in checking."
Sophie knew Fitz was right, and yet, why was she so nervous? She'd just gotten Evan back, just got to remember him again. Did she honestly think Evan was hiding something? And if he was, they'd have to turn him over or do something. Either way, she wouldn't be able to see him any more. Not as a friend, anyway.
Darnit, get it together, she chided herself. Trust Evan little more! He's probably just as turned around as you were when you came here!
Evan sighed from his corner and stood straighter from his leaning position. "I understand you guys must not trust me. All of a sudden I show up, and we've still got a lot of explaining to do. Go ahead, with whatever you want to do. I don't feel like causing trouble."
"It won't hurt," Tam promised as he stepped closer to him. Tam's light shadow slowly extended across the room, eventually colliding with Evan's. Evan's eyes widened as he looked down at the gray shapes, moving independently from their castors.
All eyes turner to Tam as he feel silent. It lasted a long time. Tam frowned at first, his face darkening. Sophie's heart jumped in her chest. But after a minute or two, Tam's face relaxed, and soon his blueish-silver eyes opened. His shadow bounced back to its original position, and everyone was left in suspenseful silence. What had Tam read?
"It was," Tam started, carefully choosing his words, "strange, at first. But..." he paused, and Sophie held her breath. "His shadow level is normal." He eyed Evan one last time, who's face seemed pleased, and slunk back to his spot next to Linh. Sophie breathed deeply and grinned at Evan, who smiled back at her.
Biana clapped once, getting their attention. "Now that we're all done with that, I'd like to ask a question." She turned to Evan, who raised an eyebrow curiously. "What exactly is the thing that you have on your back?"
He scrunched his eyebrows, confused, then reached to pull his guitar in front of him. "It's a guitar. Don't tell me you've never seen one before?"
It was the same one he'd had when they were kids. Old, worn, and brown, but still beautiful. He strummed a few chords, and Sophie sighed with nostalgia. He shot her another smile and sat crossed-legged in the middle of the room, guitar still in hand.
"I got it when I was 10; saved up my money working around the foster home. I've been playing ever since. People say I'm quite good." His eyes flashed with something Sophie couldn't recognize. They looked hardened, almost...scary. But then it was gone, and the bright, mischievous blue was back. Sophie wondered if she'd even seen it in the first place.
"Play..." Dex started slowly, coming over to look at the guitar. He reached out his arm to touch it, but Evan narrowed his eyes. It was playfully, but Dex still snatched his hand back. "It makes music?"
"Yup," Evan answered. "Would you like to listen?" They all nodded, and Evan patted the carpet next to him, looking at Sophie. "C'mere. Any requests?"
She went over happily, excited to hear Evan play after all these years. She sat close, but still far enough away so he could move his arms. "Photograph by Ed Sheeran? You still know that one?"
His eyes sparkled and the side of his mouth twisted up into a smirk. It was different from Keefe's "I'm gonna cause trouble" smirk. It was a little more mysterious...a little more closed. Like he knew all her secrets. Maybe she was reading in to it too much.
"Yep, I do. Any reason you're in the mood for something romantic?" His eyes flicked to Keefe for just a second, so only she noticed. She rolled her own eyes, and his flicked over to Fitz. She stared at Evan hard before he finally put his hands up in surrender.
"You can deny it all you want, Soph, but I can still see right through you."
"Shut up."
"Quite the problem you have."
"I said you can stop."
His face got a little closer. "Want me to add to it?"
Her face fully flushed and she turned away, mumbling, "Just play the darn song, you jerk, and stop meddling in my business."
"Still the same old Soph,"he laughed, smiling knowingly at the rest of the elves in the room.
Biana clasped her hands again, all of a sudden getting giddy. "I wonder what we should call you?"
Sophie looked at her incredulously. What?
"Seven, Evie, Sovan," Linh started listing names off her fingers. Sophie groaned out loud.
"No..." Biana shook her head.
Evan raised an eyebrow. "Are you deciding our ship name?"
"Oh my gosh, knock it off." Sophie buried her head in her hands.
"Evphie, Ephie," Linh continued.
"Hm..." Biana kept thinking. "Sophan!"
Evan snickered as Sophie's face burned. Through her fingers, she could see Tam and Dex smirking, while Fitz and Keefe were almost...glaring? She was kind of suprised they hadn't joined the chorus of names. "Can we please just get on with the song?"
"But Sophie..." Biana whined, and Sophie shot her a glare.
"Alright, alright," Evan interrupted, getting his guitar read. "Photograph by Ed Sheeran, here we go."
Loving can hurt, loving can hurt sometimes
But it's the only thing that I know
When it gets hard, you know it can get hard sometimes
It is the only thing makes us feel alive
Sophie was amazed by Evan's voice. It was beautiful, enchanting. She watched as he strummed the chords gently and sang, his eyes closed. Her whole body was frozen and she stared at him intently.
Hm, we keep this love in this photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts were never broken
And time's forever frozen still
Warmth swelled in her chest, and her heat began to beat faster and faster. What was happening? She was so entranced, and the feelings rose inside her until they began to become unbearable.
When I'm away, I will remember how you kissed me
Under the lamppost back on Sixth street
Hearing you whisper through the phone
"Wait for me to come home"
The last notes spread through out through the room slowly, and the elves were left blinking as Evan looked at them all sheepishly.
"Foster," Keefe started wearily. "something kinda crazy is going on over there. Something a little off the charts." Evan smirked as he looked at Sophie's blushing face.
"But..." Keefe said. He went over to Dex, who was still staring at Evan, and touched his hand. "This guy...whoa, dude." He looked at Dex dubiously. "It's the same for you." Keefe went around the room, touching the hand or shoulder of each elf. "Okay, is it just me, or did all of you literally just fall in love with Evan?"
"What?" Fitz sputtered, his eyes darting to them all. "I'm not... we don't... WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"
Even Keefe's cheeks were a little pink. "I know this might sound weird, but...I'm picking up a lot, and I mean a lot, of lovey-dovey stuff from all of you. Even Bangs Boy over there." Tam glared at Keefe, but when he turned his head away, Sophie could see that his ears were a little red.
Evan sighed deeply. "Don't worry, it'll wear off in a few seconds."
"What?" every cried, and Evan grimaced.
"It happens when I sing. I sang a really romantic song, and now..." he looked away, his cheeks pink.
"Errrg," Keefe groaned, "It's like I'm drowning in a pool of rainbows, hearts and glitter. I think I'm gonna barf." And he did look a little green as he doubled over, clutching his stomach.
"Are you saying," Sophie said slowly, "That we're all feeling...this...because you sang?" As the seconds pass, the overwhelming feelings that Sophie had felt before began to fade. Her heartbeat started to return to normal, and she could again look Evan in the eyes without having to dart them away in flushed embarrassment.
He nodded grimly. "Yeah. I think it's because of my-"
"Ability," someone finished for him, and all eyes darted to the figure standing in the archway.
"Mr. Forkle!" Sophie cried, sprining to her feet.
"Hey, you kids, I should have known you'd have a lot of questions. I have a lot of explaining to do."
OOO what do you think of this new development?
Mia: Will do! I'm not sure when, but Taylor Swift songs will definitely make an appearance. I am cringing right along with you! At least for her current songs. Her older music wasn't so bad. Thanks for your ship name suggestions, and I'm happy it makes you laugh! And, actually, there will be a slight star wars reference in the next chapter. I'm not the biggest fan, but my brother is, and he talks about it all. the. time. Thanks for reading!
Little Strawberry fruit: I picked "Sophan," so thanks for your suggestions. XD The drama will be coming, I promise! One more chapter of explaining, and then we can get to some serious drama, cuteness, and dorky human references. I know it's kind of dragging right now, but my average chapter length is a little longer than with my Tophie story, so hopefully that helps. Thank you for reading!
Meels: Lol, thanks for bookmarking it! I'm happy you like the story that much and I hope you continue reading it!
readstoomuch09: Hopefully the specification helped before I started this chapter. Thanks for reading!
Guest: Are you enjoying it? I'm confuzzeld... XD Thanks for reading it anyway.
