"Get your hand off of her!" said an angry voice from behind her. Sophia was roughly pulled back by her shoulder and almost fell to the ground again. Peter walked past her and pushed Felix. "She is mine, so if I ever see you touch her again-"
"You what?" Felix said just as intimidating.
"You don't want to know," Peter snarled.
"Peter, calm down," Sophia tried and tugged at his arm. He slapped her hand away forcefully. She stepped back and something of her dream crossed her mind, something she really didn't like. Felix seemed to have seen her reaction because his entire body tensed and his expression turned dark.
"Don't slap her like that," he growled.
"I can do with her whatever I please."
"No you don't," Sophia said and crossed her arms. They both looked at her, Peter irritated and Felix… was that adoration? Peter walked away from Felix and went to stand before her, she stood her ground and raised her chin, she was really done with him.
"Actually, yes I can. Because you're my girlfriend so you lis-"
"I'm not your girlfriend."
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm breaking up with you." He looked confused at her, like he had never heard those words before. But then his confusion turned to anger and he grabbed her throat.
"No. one. breaks up with me," he growled. She gasped for air and grasped at his hand while he slowly lifted her. She began to see black spots but was released and fell to the ground, coughing and gasping for air when Felix hit Peter over the head with… where the hell did he find a shovel?
Peter fell unconscious to the ground. Felix helped Sophia up, holding her steady even when she was stable on her own feet.
"You okay?" he asked and she nodded. "What the hell was that about?"
"I'll tell you if you take me to Granny's. I'm starving," she said after taking a few deep breaths and smiled at him.
He smirked back at her. "If the lady insists."
He led her to Granny's, keeping the entire walk one arm around her to make sure she wasn't going to fall. Something about his sweet gestures toward her felt familiar, like it was nothing new and she was actually used to it. But it still send a shiver down her spine when he talked or a warm feeling through her body when he touched her, something she never felt with Peter.
In Granny's they sat down in one of the booths. Ruby, a friend of her mother, walked over to them.
"Hey Soph, who's your friend?" Ruby asked and gave her a wolfish grin. "I half expected you to come in here with Peter since it's your one and a half anniversary."
"Oh, uhm… this is Felix," she said and felt a bit of colour rise to her cheeks. "Peter and I just broke up, sort of."
"Was about time," Ruby mumbled. "So what can I get you two?"
"The usual," Sophia said and Ruby scrabbled it down on her notepad before looking at Felix.
"I don't care, get me the same she gets."
"Okay, coming right up," Ruby said and walked to the kitchen.
Felix leaned forward on his arms. "Are you going to tell me what's going on, now?"
Sophia huffed, "It's stupid, really." She shook her head. "Today was our one and a half anniversary, like Ruby said. I expected that he had planned something, like had had for my birthday and our other anniversaries. So I waited under the tree we first met." She laughed to herself humourless. "I thought he was going to surprise me with something, that that was the reason why he didn't texted or called, but apparently he didn't care, he probably never had. That's why I was so upset when I bumped into you." She bit her lip to keep herself from crying again.
"That stupid jerk," he mumbled under his breath. Something in her mind clicked together at the word 'jerk'.
"Wait a second, I know you." She straitened, leaning over to table just like he did. He looked at her confused. "Yesterday, at the festival, you were the jerk I bumped into."
"That was you?" he asked her a bit in disbelief.
"Apparently."
"You thought I was a jerk?"
"You didn't really gave me the best first impression," she said and tilted her head, biting her lip. For a quick second he looked at her lips before snapping back to her eyes. He might have kissed her if Ruby didn't interrupted them with their food.
"Here you go," she said and placed the plates before them. They both sat back in their seats, Felix blushed a bit and Sophia had no doubt that she did too. Ruby gave her a knowing look and a wink. "Enjoy your meal," she said and walked back to the bar.
"I have to say, I half expected your usual to be some kind of salad," Felix said when he looked at his plate with a hamburger, fries and union rings.
"Why?" she asked him curious and plopped a union ring in her mouth.
He shrugged, "Isn't that what all girls eat?"
She laughed. "Maybe, but I'm far from those girls."
He looked down, giving himself a knowing smile before looking up at her again, the smile changing into a smirk that send butterflies in her stomach.
"What kind of girl are you?"
"Guess you have to find that out yourself."
After they finished their dinner they ordered hot chocolate and just talked. Sophia had forgotten all that happened today, only seeing him. It felt strange, she could just talk to him like she had always known him. She really liked it when he talked to her too, the way his voice sounded. It was calming and almost hypnotizing.
The diner was almost empty, only a few people were still there at the bar. Sophia felt a slight throbbing pain forming in her neck and started rubbing it slightly. Felix followed her movement with his eyes and his smile faded a bit.
"Does it hurt?" he asked her.
"A bit, but it's fine," she said and removed her hand from her neck. He stood up and walked around the table, sitting down next to her.
"Can I see?"
She nodded and brushed her hair out of the way. With a gentle touch he placed one hand on her neck and the other on her shoulder. He put a bit of pressure on some spots but immediately stop when she winched ever so slightly.
"Is it bad?" she asked, sounding as breathless as she felt under his touch. He seemed to notice because the corner of his mouth moved up just a little. He looked away from her neck and up at her, meeting her eyes.
"I'll kill him for doing this to you," he said, more serious than she expected.
"You don't even know me," she reminded him.
"I've known you long enough."
He looked down at her lips, slowly moving closer to her. She let her own gaze wander to his lips, moving her hand up to his shoulder. Her eyes closed when their lips met. It was the best feeling she had ever felt. It felt unfamiliar and familiar at the same time, like it was normal but still special. She brought up her hand and tugged softly at the back of his hair. She just wanted to stay like this forever, forever with him.
He pulled back and she followed his lips. Felix rested his forehead on hers, they both kept their eyes closed.
"I am a jerk," he said after a while.
"What? Why?" she asked confused.
"I just stole a kiss from a girl I met only a few hours ago who just broke up with her boyfriend. That kind of makes me a jerk and an asshole."
Sophia laughed softly. "It's not stealing when I'm giving it to you."
Before he could respond she kissed him again, catching him by surprise. Kissing Felix… it made her feel at home, at home in a place she never knew she was searching for. The fact that he was a good kisser made it even better. This time she pulled back and Felix made a sound of disapproval that made her laugh.
"It's getting late. I should be going home," she whispered but made no move to leave, neither did he.
"Can't you just… stay? With me?" he asked and looked at her, a silent plea in his eyes. "I don't want to be alone," he whispered barely hearable. He was lonely. He wanted her to stay so he wouldn't be alone. Something in his eyes told her that if she left he wouldn't be going back to a warm home where his parents were waiting for him. He would just be alone and it broke her heart. "Only tonight, please."
Tears were filling his eyes and she tugged him to her so she could hug him. Something had happened in his past on this day, she didn't know what, but she saw the sadness he was trying to hide the entire time. It surprised her how long he could hold it back, pretend like nothing was wrong. And that was probably because he had to hide it, that he mastered it because it made him look weak.
"Okay, I'll stay," she whispered and he tightened his arms around her, as if he didn't believe her and thought that holding her tighter would make her stay. She tightened her own arms around him, saying that she was really there and she was really going to stay. "I told you why I was upset, now tell me why you are."
"Not here," he said quietly and slowly pulled back from the hug. In his eyes were still the unshed tears, he was still fighting, still trying to be strong. He stood up from the seat and she followed him when he walked to the bed & breakfast part of Granny's. On the way upstairs she texted her parents that she was sleeping over at Violet's. She didn't like lying to her parents but the situation right now was a little hard to explain.
They entered a room she assumed was his. He sat down on the bed, covering his face with his hands and mumbling something she couldn't hear and she closed the door behind her. She walked over to him and sat down beside him, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry," he said finally. "this is stupid, I shouldn't have- you don't even know me. I'm an idiot, a stupid selfish idiot."
"Just tell me why you're upset," she said gently and rubbed his back. "I'll listen."
He moved his head out of his hands and looked at her before laying down on his back and closing his eyes and started talking.
"Today is the day my parents died," he started. His voice emotionless but she knew it was all just an act. "I was six. We were home, just having a normal evening, nothing out of the ordinary." He smiled sadly and she went to lay down beside him, taking his hand, telling him she was still listening. "I was playing when I heard glass shattering in the kitchen. My father said to me and my mother that he would check it out, that it was probably nothing to worry about. What else do you tell a child?" a single tear rolled down the side of his face. "I heard shouting. My mother picked me up and ran to the door but it was locked and she couldn't get the key in time. A gunshot could be heard, then a tump of a body that fell to the floor. A second later two man appeared, wearing masks. A joker and a king. Both pointing a gun at my mother, but not at me. My mom pleaded." His voice started to shudder a bit so she squeezed his hand. "Then I fell. My mother did too. The only difference was that I stood up and she didn't. I thought they were going to kill me too, but they just looked at me. Just looked. Until the joker grabbed a knife, cut my face and they left."
He finally turned his head and looked at her, tears now rolling down his face. "Why would they just leave a child like that?" he asked her, knowing that she didn't know the answer but tired of only asking it himself.
But she did know the answer. So she pushed herself up a little, placing her hand on the side of his face and wiped away a tear with her thumb.
"Because they are scarred themselves. They wanted to let innocent people pay for what had overcome them, hoping that it would feel the emptiness they felt. They scarred you in the hope that you would follow their footsteps, but you didn't. That's the difference. Your scar made you strong while theirs made them weak. The mask was just to hide it. Don't let them decide who you are."
He was looking at her like she was the moon and the stars. He pulled her to him, hugging her tightly. "You're everything I've been looking for," he whispered.
He didn't let her go for the rest of the evening, and she didn't want him to. His story broke her heart. How horrible that must have been. He didn't look like he had it any easier after that. She started to wonder if he ever felt love after that night. Millions of questions swirled around in her head but she didn't ask them. He would tell her when he was ready. That he told her this was hard enough for him, but it seemed to also lift a weight of his shoulders.
He finally fell asleep after hours of just looking at her, playing with her hair and holding her close to him. She didn't mind any of it because she did the same. When she closed her eyes some kind of wave flowed through her mind that made her smile. It was a wave of brown hair, grey-blue eyes, sweet touches and happy smiles. A wave that told her that this might be the start of a wonderful future.
A/N: Last chapter! Thank you all so much for reviewing and following! I really enjoyed writing this story and I hope you all enjoyed reading it. Tell me in the reviews if you guys want me to write an epilogue.
P.S. If any of you have an idea for another Sophelix story please tell me!
P.P.S. I also have a new story called 'Cursed Them All'. I can already spoiler that I've some Sophelix planned for that too in the future so make sure to check it out!