New chapter because I felt like it :) Please review so that I know whether or not to keep writing!
"Sophie! What's wrong?" Biana asked, woken by Sophie's screaming.
Sophie jolted awake after being shaken by both Biana and Linh.
"I'm sorry guys. I just...had a nightmare." Sophie explained.
Biana gasped. "I bet it was triggered by seeing the Neverseen!"
"Oh yeah! Don't worry about it." Agreed Linh.
Sophie laughed nervously. "Y-yeah, that's probably why." Sophie decided it would be better to keep the repeating nightmare to herself. She had a feeling the dream wasn't just a coincidence; it had been playing in her head for almost two weeks now. So she let herself bottle it in, told herself not to let anyone know.
She was Sophie Foster.
Strong, confident Sophie Foster.
Never afraid, always brave Sophie Foster.
But she was slowly cracking...worrying...breaking…Sophie Foster.
Heading downstairs, Sophie got ready to head back home. But before she could leave, she saw Fitz heading her way. She smiled.
"Good morning."
"Oh. Um. Good morning." Fitz replied, quickly rushing past Sophie.
Sophie's forehead wrinkled in confusion.
That was strange. Sophie thought to herself.
"Hey, what was that about?" Keefe asked after seeing the awkward encounter.
"Uh...What...do you mean?" answered Fitz, shakily.
"Don't play dumb. What's up with you and Foster?"
"Oh. Nothing!" Fitz tried to come up with an excuse. "Just worried about the Neverseen I guess."
Keefe mentally rolled his eyes as Fitz scrambled away.
Yeah, right. Maybe Foster will know what's up.
Keefe walked up to Sophie, and in unison, they asked, "What's his deal?"
Sophie still looked confused. "No idea. I thought you might know."
Keefe snorted. "He told me he was just nervous about the Neverseen."
"Sure he is." Sophie mumbled under her breath and went back to packing.
"I don't believe him either. What do you say, should we make that our challenge today?"
Sophie looked up, a blank expression on her face. "Huh?"
"Come on, let's find out what's wrong with Fitzy."
"Keefe, you know we have to plan, talk to Forkle, get supplies, g-"
Della walked in, interrupting Sophie.
"You know, it's fine to let the adults handle things sometimes."
Sophie's annoyed expression made Keefe burst out in laughter.
"Seriously, Sophie. I'm sure taking one day off isn't going to be a problem. Go have fun."
Keefe grinned as Della left the room. "See? It'll be fine. So, shall we?"
Sophie sighed. "Yeah, why not." She stood up and smiled at Keefe.
Keefe beamed.
If only she knew how good it is to see her smile. He thought to himself. And off they went.
Calm down. She doesn't know that I know.
Fitz thought to himself as he paced around.
Should I tell her I know? No. That would make things so awkward. But she needs to know that I...I love her too. No. Stop. I'm sure she just meant as a friend. Yeah. Probably. It's best not to tell her just in case. Anyway, I bet Keefe and Dex and every other guy is in love with her. What makes me think that she'd pick me over them? Imagine that, Sophie Foster choosing me. Ha.
His thoughts were interrupted as someone knocked on the door.
"Fitz?"
Crap.
"It's Sophie. Can I come in?"
Act casual. Pretend you don't know.
"Umm...yep!"
"Hey. Everyone is downstairs, we're about to eat breakfast." She looked around. "What have you been doing?"
"Oh, you know," he answered. "Just some...stuff."
Just some stuff? Could I be any more obvious? Fitz scolded himself.
Sophie's head wrinkled in confusion.
"Is everything okay?" She asked.
"Yep! Everything is great. I'd better get going. See you later!" Fitz replied walking out of the room and leaving Sophie dumbfounded.
"Wait, Fitz!" Sophie yelled after him. Fitz stopped walking and turned to face Sophie.
"Can you please just tell me what's wrong?" Sophie pleaded.
Fitz looked defeated as he contemplated the outcomes of what would happen if he told her.
He took a deep breath.
"How about a Cognate exercise?" He asked.
Sophie's eyes widened with surprise.
"Now?" She asked.
"Yeah. If you tell me the secret you've been hiding," started Fitz, "I'll tell you this one."
Sophie's cheeks immediately started blushing as she weighed out the options in her mind.
May as well just humiliate myself now and save the later embarrassment. She thought.
"Okay." She agreed.
So they sat down, and their Cognate rings snapped together.