Sophie slipped inside the mansion of Havenfield by the back door, hoping to avoid her parents. Sandor had gone inside to give her some privacy, and her other bodyguards were around here somewhere, but distanced enough to let her cry in peace. She walked quickly but quietly through the hallways, but fortunately it seemed Grady and Edaline were outside working with the animals. Climbing the stairs to her huge room, she opened the door, walked inside, and fell face-first onto her bed, feeling the tears start to come again.

A few teardrops ran onto her comforter, but she pushed herself up sharply, wiping her eyes.
"No. I've got to stop crying."

Determined to be calm enough to see Keefe, Sophie walked briskly into her bathroom and rinsed her face with cold water a few times. She wet a washcloth with some facial toner and pressed it to her swollen face until the redness receded and the swelling started to go down. She studied her reflection critically, then pulled a brush through her hair, swiped on some lip gloss, and, after contemplation, put on the gold-flecked eyeliner her friends thought was so pretty on her. (She told herself it was just to hide the fact that she had been crying.)

Walking purposefully into her room, she squinted at her clothes, frowning. Dirty, covered in bits of grass and Panakes pollen, they certainly needed to be changed. She shucked off her tunic and pants, tossing them into her laundry bin, then walked into her closet to see what was available. She pulled out a purple fitted tunic and put it on, stepping into her favorite pair of pants, a high-waisted royal blue pair that were reminiscent of her favorite pair of human jeans. She added a pair of boots and grabbed a cloak, as it was cold in the evenings during this time of year.

She decided to hail Keefe and see if he was free. She hoped he was. If he wasn't, she would change right back into some sweatpants and a cozy tunic and curl up under some blankets with some mallowmelt for the rest of the evening. But she didn't much want to wallow in her sorrows right now.
Keefe picked up on the second ring. "Hey Foster! What's up? Did you miss my awesome hair so much you had to call me?"
"Hey, Keefe."
"What, nothing about the hair? I'm embarrassed for you, Foster. You should be missing me. Actually, you should be asking right now if you can come over, because then I can say yes and avoid doing this boring Elvish History homework."
Ro butted in. "Please get me out of this! Lord Funkyhair here won't stop sniveling about how boring it is! Not that it isn't extremely boring listening to a bunch of puny elves boast about how awesome and sparkly they are, but I don't have to do the homework, so I don't want to hear about it."
"Well, actually, I was in fact calling to see if you wanted to hang out," Sophie said, once she could get a word in edgewise.
"YES! Foster wants to hang out with me! Score one for team Foster-Keefe! Wanna leap over now? We can eat mallowmelt and annoy Ro with our awesomeness!"
Sophie laughed. "Sure, Keefe! I'll be there in a couple minutes." She hung up and pumped her fist at the thought of seeing her friend. Grabbing her Imparter and stuffing it in a bag with a few other things, she called to Vertina. "Vertina! How do I look?"

Her mirror came to life with a smirk. "Whoa, you all of a sudden care? Who are you seeing? Is it that Fitz of yours?"
His name hit her hard, and Sophie winced. "I might as well get used to telling people we're over", she thought. "No. We broke up today."
Vertina paused for a minute, looking embarrassed for once. She said softly, "I'm sorry." Sophie was surprised at the usually cocky and smart-alecky mirror's compassion, but she appreciated it. She also didn't know what to say in answer to that, so she just went with a simple "Thanks" and a half smile.

She continued, "It was for the best, I think. It hurts like hell, but I'll be alright eventually. I just hope Fitz is okay."
Vertina looked annoyed, saying, "Girl, you need to stop thinking about him. Wondering how he's doing won't help you get over him. Focus on yourself and getting over him. Why'd you break up, anyway?"

"We're hurting too much," Sophie explained. "Fitz and I are both struggling emotionally and we aren't-I mean weren't-helping each other heal. We have to become more happy and emotionally stable before we put emotional energy into a relationship, and I started to realize that recently. When I talked to Fitz about it today, I didn't know if I wanted to break up, but he said he'd been thinking about it too, and thought it would be the smartest thing for us both to separate. We talked it over, and I agree with him. So that's the end of us. We're both sad about it, but I hope this means we can grow and heal more."

Vertina whistled. "Wow. Well, I'm sorry you ended things, but it sounds like it was a smart thing to do. Anyway, you asked me how you look. I think you look great, but I'd suggest a hair clip to pull your hair out of your face."
"Thanks, Vertina, but I'll pass this time," Sophie said with a shrug. "I don't really want to have my full face exposed to the world today."
"Okay, I get it. Have fun wherever you're going!" Vertina said, clicking off.

Sophie grabbed her bag, quickly wrote a note to Grady and Edaline explaining where she would be, leaving it in the kitchen for them to see when they came inside. "Sandor! I'm going to Keefe's! Coming?"
Sandor walked in from the living room, where he had been reading on the couch. "This is random," he said in his squeaky voice. "Any particular reason you're going to Keefe's after breaking up with Fitz?" He sounded a bit suspicious.
Sophie raised her eyebrows at him. "No, not really, just wanted a friend right now."

"Okayyy," Sandor said, still seemingly unconvinced. "Let's go, then." They headed to the LeapMaster and disappeared into a ray of light.