Hi!
Sophie's POV:
Foxfire is back in session now. Things are at least somewhat normal with Keefe, although he flirts with me a bit less. Fitz and Dex are still dating, and Tam is working up the nerve to ask Biana out (At least, so I hear from the reliable source of Linh.) I was trying to avoid spending time with both Fitz and Dex (especially together!), but when I saw them together it strangely didn't hurt that much. After putting it off so I didn't have to see Fitz and hear about his relationship with Dex, I finally had to do some cognate training with him.
I sigh, and looking anywhere except his teal eyes, transmit Hi, Fitz.
Hi, Sophie. He replies, equally awkward.
So, um, now that I told you my secret, what should we do for a trust exercise? I ask.
Well, actually, about your secret… I'm kind of unsure where this is going, but still... dread.
What? I ask, not entirely convinced that I want an answer.
Dex and I... we broke up.
Oh, I'm so sorry. I transmit. What happened?
He was sick of me insisting that I couldn't deal with the homophobia we'd face. And I was sick of him acting like me getting disowned by my parents shouldn't be a big deal. So... yeah. We are no longer a going concern.
Oh. Um, shouldn't I be elated? Maybe I just feel bad for Fitz.
So, maybe... do you want to go out with me? Fitz asks.
A panic-mode reaction goes off, similar to the one induced by Keefe's note. I should be yelling "YES!" at the top of my lungs, but... it doesn't feel right. I put it down to not wanting to be a rebound relationship, or maybe not wanting to do that to Dex right away, considering he is my best friend and everything. Maybe also fear that they'll work it out and get back together? Something like that, yeah. I express those same concerns to Fitz, refusing to admit to him (or even myself, really,) that I just... don't really like him like that anymore. I've somehow managed to move on.
Good point. Fitz replies.
So, um, trust exercises, trust exercises... Not so subtly, I change the subject.
What's your favorite color? That was the best question he could come up with? Then again, I couldn't come up with anything, so I shouldn't judge. Or maybe he's trying to go easy on me after all the heavy crush stuff that came with a side of extra humiliation.
As soon as Fitz asks the question, my brain instantly responds with the answer, almost subconsciously. I expect it to be teal... but instead, an ice blue color fills my thoughts. The same ice blue as Keefe Sencen's eyes.
Keefe's POV:
Since Dex is "busy" (either busy with moping over his breakup with Wonderboy, or planning some elaborate prank to get back at him), I volunteered to take upon the necessary task of dying Iggy the Imp. Normally, I would get Foster teal (because it is her favorite color, but then again, she doesn't need more reminders of how he friendzoned- or, sisterzoned- her), or ice blue (because it's the same color as my eyes, but she doesn't need more reminders of the awkwardness between us. I'm kind of trying to make her forget that I'm still just as in love with her as I have been since the ride on Glitter Butt), so eventually I settle on a rainbow Iggy! Once I pick out the elixir, I go over to Havenfield. Edaline lets me in, thinking it's "sweet" that I'm dyeing Iggy for Sophie. Grady just stands in the corner, holding a baseball bat and glaring at me. I tell Grady (without any bitterness in my voice, of course!) that it's okay, he doesn't need to kill me; Sophie likes Fitz instead of me, anyway. Also, Fitz was the one who sisterzoned her, so he should be at the top of Grady's hit list, not me!
I go upstairs and give Iggy the elixir, watching as he turns rainbow. It's actually quite fascinating, and Iggy looks great afterwords! Not only is he rainbow, he's sparkly! Just like alicorn feces!
Iggy lets out a smelly fart, and I start wondering what would happen if I bottled that and then mixed it with gulon gas. I'm still contemplating whether I should do this and what the punishment would be for leaving that in my father's room, when Foster arrives.
"Aww, I love what you did to Iggy! Did you borrow the elixir from Dex?
I laugh at the expression on her face, mixed between adoration and disgust (Iggy just let out another fart). "Yeah, I couldn't decide what color, so I went with rainbow. And sparkles, because sparkles are great."
"True." Foster tugs at an eyelash, and I start to feel nauseous as her anxiety washes over me. There's something else there too, maybe a little like... a crush? No. No. Bad Keefe. We've already established that optimism is stupid.
"You okay?"
Foster doesn't give an actual answer, instead just launching into the story. "Fitz and I were doing cognate training. He and Dex broke up-"
"Yeah, I heard about that." I say. "How's the Fitzster doing?"
"He asked me out."
Of all the things she might have said, I was not expecting that one. Then again, it explains the crush-y feeling (Feelings for Fitz again, not me, stupid stupid stupid), and the anxiety- it's not easy to tell someone who likes you that you're dating someone else. I force a smile, because her happiness comes first! Sophie's happiness always comes first! "Congratulations."
"So, do you remember your dad's book about heart emotions and head emotions?"
"Yeah..." I say, confused. This is an emotional roller coaster; Hope is starting to go up again, which ultimately means that my emotions will then plummet towards the earth. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"My head was telling me I liked Fitz. But my heart wanted someone else."
Dear Mallowmelt, if she says Bangs Boy...
"And who would that be?" Hopes. Stay. Down. Or. Roller. Coaster. Will. Go. Down. Instead.
She leans closer to me, and I can feel her breath on my cheeks as I give up on squashing my hopes and instead just pray that the pain will go away soon.
"You," she whispers.
And then she kisses me. Sophie. Foster. Kisses. Me.
It is the greatest experience of my life.
Yay! This was pretty fun to rewrite- I like it a lot better than the original, and I changed the POV of the last part. I think that way fits better. So, yay! Sokeefe!