title: forget the teal eyes
rating: k+
Sophie sat on a marble bench, scrolling through Instagram when a text from the group chat popped up.
f•r•i•e•n•d•s
biana
movie night at my house tonight
marella
will ur brother be there?
Sophie smiled, imagining Biana's eye roll, thought, to be honest, she was wondering the same.
linh
we should watch Lady and the Tramp!
The 16 year old smiled, knowing Linh was a sucker for animal movies.
biana
bet
marella
disney marathon
biana
yaasss
fitz will die.
marella
so he will be there?
biana
duh we only live in the same house.
Sophie turned off her phone, and stood up, taking in her surroundings. She had been sitting on a marble bench in the middle of a park. Weeping Willows, often fondly called Panakes by frequenters, were scattered throughout the park, their leaves swaying in the gentle breeze. The soft grass was a gentle green, not now, of course, because snow layered on top of the grass. In the summer, flowers were speckled on the ground. The park was well taken care of, you could always find a groundskeeper trimming the grass or watering the flora. She checked her phone. 6:02.
She strolled down the path, deciding to call her ride while she was at it.
"Sandor? Can you pick me up? I'm at-"
"I know where you are," his squeaky voice finished for her, reminding her that he was tracking her phone.
"Creepy. How long will it take?"
"Approximately 8 minutes and 36 seconds."
"'Kay, bye!"
She sighed and shoved her phone in her pocket, deciding to walk around the park before Sandor came.
"Sophie!" A deep voice called, the tone fringed with excitement.
She turned around and saw a boy, about 5' 9'' with strawberry blonde hair, rushing towards her.
"Dex!" She smiled and hugged him.
Her adoptive cousin grinned, his dimples showing. "I haven't seen you in forever!"
"I know!" she exclaimed, walking with him along the paved path. "Are you going to Fitz's house tonight?"
He nodded. "He said that Biana was having a movie night and we need to crash it." He put his hands over his mouth. "Oops. I wasn't supposed to tell, but whatever."
Sophie smiled. "I won't say a word."
"Tam's probably going to come, because Biana's going to be there," he frowned at that, "And since Linh's going."
She prodded him. "Are you jealous?"
"What?" His eyes widened. "No, of course not. Biana can hang out with whomever she likes. It's not up to me or anything."
"You're blushing!" she teased.
"I am not!" He blushed even harder.
"Sure you're not."
A honk interrupted his reply. "That's Sandor. I have to go!"
He called a goodbye and she rushed towards her chauffeur, who was waiting in a sleek black car, the windows tinted black.
She thrust the door open and waved a goodbye to Dex.
"How was school?" Sandor asked, adjusting his dark sunglasses.
Sophie sunk into the car seat. "It was fine."
"How was Mrs. Belvin's class?"
"Horrid."
"Sorry about that," he murmured gently.
The car swerved and Sophie yelped. Sandor pressed down on the horn angrily, yelling curses.
"Some people are idiots," he spat. "Where am I taking you, Miss Foster?"
"Just the Vacker's, please," she responded, glancing nervously out the window.
"Would you like me to tell Edaline?" he inquired, slamming down on the horn again, this time refraining from any insults to pedestrians.
"Please do."
Sandor nodded, pulling into the apartment garage. Sophie pulled out her phone. "Biana said she'd meet me outside, so you can just drop me off here."
"There's the young Miss Vacker," he pointed towards a slender figure.
Biana was one of the prettiest people she'd ever seen. She had wavy brown highlighted hair, sparkling teal eyes, complete with clothing and attitude to match.
"Thanks, Sandor," Sophie smiled and closed the door.
"Hey," Biana called, waiting for her friend to catch up to her. "Linh's already here, but you beat Marella."
Sophie pumped her fist. They had a pact that the last person to show up when they've planned something owed the other people a dare.
"I want to ask her if she likes Dex," Biana pondered, walking towards the elevator.
"I figured she liked Fitz," Sophie murmured, prodding Biana with a finger.
Biana scowled. "I absolutely hate it when people use me to get close to my brother!"
They entered the elevator.
"And if Marella takes Dex, Fitz is free and then Tam is too and you can take-"
"You've thought about this way too much," Sophie laughed.
Biana smiled innocently. "Anyways, my mom made mallowmelt, just for you Soph."
Sophie did a happy dance in the elevator. "Yes!" she cheered, pumping her hands in the air.
"Dang, I wish you'd get this excited over a guy."
The elevator opened, revealing the penthouse. "Hey, just so you know, we're doing face masks tonight," Biana called as she unlocked the door, pushing it open.
Sophie was always surprised by the Vacker's apartment. It was huge. It practically screamed, "We're rich!"
Carefully placed rugs, expensive furniture, crystal chandeliers. Della, Fitz and Biana's mom, stepped out from her office to greet them.
"Sophie!" Della wrapped her in a hug, "It's been forever since I've seen you!"
"Come on, come on, come on," Biana ordered excitedly, "When I left, Fitz and Tam were about to fence!"
"Fencing?" Sophie asked incredulously.
Of course Fitz Vacker fenced.
"Yeah, Tam's never done it before, but I'm sure he'll be a natural," she informed over her shoulder as she led them through a hallway.
"Okay, I'm pretty sure that's cheating!" A voice yelled from on of the many rooms.
Fitz's voice. Sophie could recognize that voice anywhere. Mostly because he had an accent, but still. She shook her head to clear those thoughts from her mind. She was trying to get over him, right?
"It's not cheating unless you get caught!" An unfamiliar voice retorted good-humoredly.
"Hurry up, Soph." Biana was already at the end of the hallway.
She jogged the rest of the way, surprised when she reached her friend. The room was gigantic. It must have served as a ballroom or something. Crystal walls, vases adorned exquisite tables. And in the midst of it all, stood a portrait of the Vacker family.
There was Fitz, looking handsomely rich, wearing an embroidered jerkin. There was Alden, their father, handsomely standing over it all. Della, dripping with jewels, looking radiant as she smiled, making her face light up. Biana, almost, but not quite, outshining her mother as she beamed, her hair loose and her neck showing off the many jewels. And Alvar, the oldest Vacker, though Sophie had yet to meet him. The Vacker family seemed so perfect.
A startled yell brought her back to the present. Fitz and Tam were dressed in proper fencing clothes. Surprisingly, she couldn't tell them apart. She figured Fitz would be the one with the most grace, as he had been practicing and Tam hadn't. But both boys were holding their own, striking with ease and confidence.
Dex was cheering, Linh had popped popcorn, Tam was watching intently-Tam? Sophie craned her neck to look. Yep, that was Tam. So who was fencing?
"I thought you said Tam was fencing," she whispered to Biana.
Biana shrugged. "Oh, I guess that's-"
A startled shout interrupted her and the Vacker turned back to the duel.
"That's no fair!" The figure on the left shouted as he plummeted to the ground.
That was Fitz, for sure.
The figure on the right tackled him back to the ground. Fitz yelled in frustration. "You're such a cheater!"
"And you're such a crybaby," the other fencer teased. "And a sore loser."
Fitz took off his headgear, glaring at the figure who had pinned him.
"Aww, does the great fencer give up?"
"Only because you play dirty."
Fitz scrambled up. "Tam, you want to try again?"
Tam scoffed. "Yeah, right."
Biana walked towards the figure, holding his arm up in victory. "Keefe Sencen wins!"
Dex made a ding, ding, ding sound and 'Keefe' took off his headgear.
Sophie sucked in a breath.
He was unfamiliar and she had never met him before, but he seemed so familiar at the same time. He looked like he belonged. The boy laughed as Biana cheered for him.
He had blonde hair, tousled and styled, a tall, lean figure, though it was obvious he was well muscled. He looked like he was straight out of a novel.
"I'm here!" Marella announced, dragging Sophie back to the real world.