Author's Note: Aaand we're back to Sophie's POV again! Leave a review and tell me what you think so far! I'm going to bring the Neverseen into the story soon, I promise. It's not going to be all romance.

Okay, that's a complete lie.

It's going to be romance with a bit of action/adventure on the side.

This next chapter is 95% cute Sokeefe, and I literally could not stop smiling while writing it, because I want them to kiss so bad but there has to be actual plotline first!

iT's PaInFuL tO wRiTe ThIs BuT i'M dOiNg It AnYwAy

I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Sophie hoped that Keefe believed her. She didn't want to lie to him, but his safety was more important.

He spent several minutes looking back and forth between her and Fitz, probably trying to scope out the situation.

"Okay," he finally said. "Let's get back to base quest, I guess."

Part of Sophie's heart crumbled. She'd sorta been hoping he would notice how much pain she was in, but he didn't.

Keefe walked to the door and held it open for her. She walked through it, and as she passed by him, he tapped a finger against his head, twice.

She ignored him. If she was going to keep this up, she couldn't talk to him in private. He was too persuasive, and that combined with how much she wanted to tell him would break her.

The rest of the day passed quickly. Tam came back. He'd left after truth or dare, and Sophie hadn't even noticed. She felt bad about that. They played a lot of base quest, constantly switching up the teams. Keefe decided that he would choose the teams, and oddly enough, he made sure that Sophie and Fitz were never on the same team. Maybe it was a coincidence, but Sophie couldn't help wondering if he knew she had been lying when she told him everything was fine.

She also noticed that whenever they were all standing around talking, and when they left to take a break and get snacks, Keefe positioned himself between Fitz and Sophie. It could have been a coincidence, but Sophie suspected it was more than that. He was looking out for her safety.

At several different times, during base quest, Keefe walked by Sophie and casually touched her hand, sending one of those blue breezes to calm her down. She was sure, at this point, that he was doing it on purpose, and it made her want to hug him.

She didn't, though. Because Fitz was probably spying, or listening to their thoughts, and if she hugged him, Keefe's life would be in danger. She couldn't risk that.

Finally, everyone settled down on the balcony. Sophie's sleeping bag was in between Biana's and Linh's. On the other side of Linh were Tam and then Dex, and on Biana's other side was Fitz and then Keefe. All of them were arranged in a circle so everyone could see everyone else clearly.

Sophie avoided making eye contact with both Fitz and Keefe.

"Sophie," Keefe said, eating one of Edaline's chocolate custard bursts. "These are so good. Did you make them?"

"No," Sophie said. "I have no baking skill whatsoever. Edaline made them."

"Tell her thanks," Dex said, his mouth covered in chocolate. "These are the best."

"I will," Sophie promised.

They stayed up talking until about midnight. Then, they all laid down. Fitz was the first to fall asleep. Then Linh. Then Tam. Then Biana. Then Dex. Before long, everyone was asleep except for Keefe and Sophie.

Sophie stared up at the sky, speckled with stars that glowed in the dark. She could name all of them, thanks to her photographic memory. Suddenly, a certain blond boy was leaning over her.

"Hey, Foster," he whispered.

She hadn't heard Keefe get up. Sophie sat up and Keefe held out his hand to help her stand. She took it, butterflies beating against the inside of her stomach, and her heart pounding.

"Why are you still awake?" she whispered to Keefe as they walked towards the balcony railing.

He smirked at her. "Because you weren't asleep yet, and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

She leaned her back against the railing, so she was facing Keefe. "I already told you, I'm fine. Can we stop talking about this?"

"No," Keefe whispered back. He put his hands on the railing on either side of Sophie, effectively trapping her. His wrists brushed her waist. "You're going to tell me what he did to you, Sophie, because I can tell that whatever it was hurt you. A lot. I can feel it. So please, tell me. You can trust me."

Sophie sighed and looked down at her feet. "I can't tell you. I'm sorry."

Keefe reached out with one hand and tilted her chin up so she was forced to look him in his ice-blue eyes. "Fine. Then whenever you decide to tell me, I'll listen. You can always trust me, Sophie."

The way he said her name made her blush, and her pulse fluttered.

She smiled at him. "My first name. You called me Sophie."

Keefe blushed a little, but then he smiled and leaned in, pressing his forehead against hers. "I can call you Foster again if you want me to."

"Don't stop," Sophie whispered back. "I like it."

Keefe smiled, and their noses brushed against each other. Sophie could feel his warm breath on her cheeks, and her heartbeat turned even more erratic. She closed her eyes and tried to stop wishing he would kiss her. This was enough. He leaned in closer, pinning her to the railing.

She was content to stay like this forever, to pretend that the Neverseen and the Council and Fitz didn't exist. For a few minutes, she could forget about all of that. The entire world was irrelevant. It was just her and Keefe, alone, together.

"Sophie," he whispered again.

Sophie smiled. "Mmhmm?"

"Nothing. I just like saying your name."

She blushed. He doesn't like me, she reminded herself. This is just him being friendly. Normal people do this all the time. To be fair, he was one of her best friends, and this was probably normal. That still didn't stop her from wishing that it wasn't.

She leaned in and hugged him, and she felt her breath catch in her throat when he wrapped his arms around her. Sophie could feel his heartbeat through his shirt. She hadn't realized how tired she was, and she was suddenly very drowsy.

Keefe whispered something else, but at that point, she was already fast asleep.