Hey guys! I know I haven't posted anything in a while…it's been midterms and I've been doing a lot of work on my novel, but here's the next chapter! A little bit of romance in this one, and I know the ship will seem like it's sailing kind of fast, but it needs to happen for this story. Enjoy!

Review replies:

silverfox02029: Thanks so much for reviewing! Haha I know what you mean…I've never been in a fight but I was once around one that I kinda used as the basis for this one. And yes, *SPOILER ALERT VERY HUGE SPOILER* there is a chance. A very very very very good chance. 😉 Sophie wasn't in this part because I figured since she has so many special abilities, she wouldn't have as much time to have classes with the others. Keefe injured his shoulder jumping off the cliff, but doesn't want anyone to know how depressed he is, so he pretends it was in the verminion tackle. I think Cassius really does or did love Keefe once. It probably would have been when Keefe was younger, since there would have been less expectations for him to disappoint. So sad that it's all gone now…:(

Thanks so much! Enjoy your chapter!

DEX

Keefe and Fitz came back to school after three days. I could only remember one time Keefe messed up this bad—one time when he slipped an elixir in Fitz's drink (Keefe was six) and dyed his hair blond for three weeks. I was considering recreating that little incident. Four-year-old me had tried to make a gadget to get the elixir to Fitz and blew it up.

After my last session was over, I headed to Slurps and Burps to help Dad. Hopefully I could pick up the stuff I needed when I was there. I'd slip it to Keefe tomorrow morning and it would find its way to Fitz somehow. Keefe always made pranks happen.

When Dad wasn't looking, I pretended to be checking the supply and slipped an elixir for long-lasting wavy blond locks into my pocket. It'd wear off after a month or so. We probably had an elixir to get rid of it, but it wouldn't be the same shade as before.

"Keefe," I hissed when I saw him at Foxfire the next day. "Here."

I discreetly slipped the elixir into his hand. He glanced at it and his eyes lit up. "Who's this for? Lady Galvin?"

"Wonderboy," I whispered, grinning. "But we'll do her next. How much would she freak out over a few streaks of gray, do you think?"

Keefe smiled proudly and wiped away a fake tear. "My protégé has matured."

I didn't see it happen, but Keefe must have gotten the elixir to Fitz somehow, because he came to school the next day with a hood added to his Level Six uniform.

"Fitz!" Sophie gasped right before PE started. "What happened?"

"Keefe," he mumbled, glaring. Keefe threw up his hands in surrender.

"Let me see?"

Fitz reluctantly pulled the hood down. It brought Keefe no small amount of joy to see that Fitz's hair was now a bright golden blond.

"It looks terrible," Fitz said sullenly. "Dad's looking for an elixir to change it back."

"Wouldn't it be a shame if Slurps and Burps was out of stock," I whispered to Keefe.

"It's cute," Sophie said, pushing herself up on her tiptoes to kiss him. I wrinkled my nose. Ew. Fitzphie.

The rest of the session would be full of Fitzphie-infused torture, especially since it involved exercise. I hated exercise.

Today was the Ultimate Splotching Championship. I usually made it pretty far in these, but this time I was paired with Wonderboy for the first round, so that didn't sound likely.

"Ready?" Sir Harding called. "Face your partners!"

I glared at Fitz ten feet away. He glowered back. I was pretty sure he knew my role in his current hair situation.

"You're dead," Fitz muttered.

"Aaaaaand…splotch!"

I closed my eyes and flung a random splotcher at Fitz. I heard a grunt and a splattering sound and opened my eyes to see him covered in bright pink goo.

I felt my lips stretch into a smile. Revenge on Wonderboy and I'd gotten past the first round. What a day.

My next partner was Stina. I grinned. It was going to be a fun day.

Twenty seconds later, Stina was splattered with yellow and I was moving up. Not bad.

I positioned myself ten feet away from Sophie, who was flecked with red from her previous victory. Keefe was covered in so much red he looked like he was bleeding.

"Splotch!"

Sophie's purple splotcher barely missed me, flew past, and hit Keefe in the back of the head. Sophie clapped her hands over her mouth and I used her hesitation to lob a maroon splotcher at her.

"Nice," she said to me as I passed her on my way to the next level. "Just don't kill yourself like I did my first year."

I grinned, remembering the incident. "I'll be careful."

We were down to the final four—me, Biana, Marella, and Tam. Biana and Tam were paired up, so I was up against Marella. I was honestly a little surprised she made it to the finals—she wasn't terrible, but she'd never been particularly good at telekinesis. Neither had I, though, so I shouldn't judge.

Tam and Marella walked away splattered with pink and blue, respectively. I faced Biana. She flashed me a teasing smile.

Sir Harding called for us to get ready and I lifted a midnight blue splotcher, ready to take the championship. Biana's lips quirked to one side.

"Splotch!"

Before I could launch my splotcher, I felt something smack me in the face and all I could see was pink. The impact lifted me off my feet and slammed me into the floor, sending shocks of pain through the bruised ribs I hadn't bothered to get fixed.

I lay there, broken breaths escaping my throat as pink slime dripped down my skin. That had hurt.

Soft fingers gripped my wrist, feeling for a pulse. A blurry mixture of voices swam into my ears.

"Dex?"

"You okay?"

"I think he's dead!"

"Oh my gosh!"

"Ew, who wants to die covered in pink?"

"Shut up, Keefe!"

That last one was Biana. I still couldn't see through the slime, but she sounded closer than the others. She was probably the one taking my pulse.

"Dex?" Something rubbed across my face, swiping the splotcher's remnants from my skin. "Are you okay?"

Biana's teal eyes blinked back at me, her expression etched with concern. There was a ring of gold around each pupil.

"I'm okay," I mumbled, reaching out a hand for whoever would help me up. It turned out to be Biana and I blushed again.

"Do you wanna go to the Healing Center?" Biana asked, propping me up. "I'm sorry, I hit you too hard…"

"No, it's okay," I said. "I'm fine."

I wasted a few minutes trying to convince her I was okay. My ribs burned whenever I took a breath, but elves healed fast, and it wasn't a serious injury. I didn't want to bother Elwin over a couple of bruised ribs.

"You're not okay," Biana said adamantly. "I'm taking you to the Healing Center."

"You don't have to—"

She waved a hand. "I got you into this. I'm going with you."

I pretended to be annoyed, but I was ditching PE with Biana Vacker, so it was difficult.

Elwin looked up and sighed when he saw me for the second time in a week. "What fight did you get into this time, Dex?"

I pointed to Biana. "She destroyed me in splotching in PE."

He glanced at her appreciatively. "Good for her."

Elwin flashed an orb around my head and torso, checking for injuries. "How hard did you throw a splotcher at him?"

"Why?" Biana squinted at the orb. "What's wrong with him?"

"Couple bruised ribs," Elwin said. "Seems forceful for a splotcher."

"Those were there before," I said. "A few days."

"And you didn't come see me?"

"I didn't want to bother you," I mumbled. "They're not that bad."

Elwin sighed and tossed me an elixir. "Take that. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes."

I placed the vial to my lips and let the liquid trickle down my throat. It got a little easier to breathe after that.

"Better?" Elwin asked. I nodded. "Good. You can go. Come back tomorrow so I can check your ribs."

I nodded and left with Biana. As the door swung shut behind us, I realized I didn't want to go back to PE.

"Do you really wanna go back to class?" I asked Biana, flashing a grin reminiscent of Keefe.

"Hmm." Her teal eyes sparkled with mischief. "Where else should we go?"

"How does the woods behind Rimeshire sound?"

She shook her head. "We'd be gone all day."

I grinned sideways at her. "You have something better to do?"

"Elvin History and alchemy. So no."

"Well." I tentatively reached for her hand and was startled when she wrapped my fingers in hers. "Shall we?"

I pulled myself onto the branch and reached down to help Biana up. "You coming?"

"Hold on!" she called, laughing. "I'm still in my uniform!"

"Well, take it off!"

Heat rushed to my cheeks as I realized how the statement would be interpreted. Biana opened her mouth and then quickly shut it, blushing, then burst into laughter.

She unbuttoned her cape and vest, then slid off her skirt, leaving her in a tunic, boots, and leggings. I blushed harder. The tighter clothes hugged her curves and outlined her the shape of her body. I'd never even had a girlfriend and here I was climbing a tree with the prettiest girl at Foxfire.

We sat on the branch for what was probably several hours but felt like longer. Biana leaned her head on my shoulder as the sun started to set.

"Dex?" she murmured.

"Mm-hm?"

"I think I might like you."

I felt a smile pull at my lips and a blush flood my cheeks. "Really?"

"Of course, you idiot."

It sounded less like an insult and more like an endearment as she pressed her lips to my cheek.

She drew back, a pretty flush rushing across her face. She fixed her eyes on the sunset again.

I leaned in to kiss her forehead, but at the last moment, she turned her head and tilted it up. I stopped. Her teal eyes glinted in the dying light.

"Don't be shy," she whispered.

I closed the distance between us. Her lips pressed against mine, soft and sweet and luscious. I'd only been kissed once—the awkward, I-have-to-prove-a-point kiss with Sophie.

This was so much better.

There was no thinking. No fighting. No questions. No what-will-they-think-of-us-now.

Just us.

Biana.

Me.

Soft, rosy golden light of dying sun.

It was perfect.