Chapter 13

Sophia POV

By the time my friends came back, Michael was fast asleep and one of my feet was starting to go numb.

"Welcome back." I said softly, still running my fingers through the thick, dark curls. Pete raised an eyebrow and I could see Firkle move forward with the intention of poking Michael, so I stopped him with a gentle pat to his hair.

"Well, it looks like you two certainly got cozy." Henrietta smirked, looking like a cat that finally mauled an annoying canary. I looked away and rolled my eyes

"He was just a bit tired, nothing to get your panties in a twist over." Firkle took a seat beside me and leaned his head on my shoulder while Pete unceremoniously let himself fall onto the bed, slightly jostling me from where I was leaning on it.

"Well-" Henrietta was interrupted by her mom leaning her head into the room.

"Welcome back dears! Do you want a snack?" She grinned at us and just as I opened my mouth to politely decline, Henrietta elegantly beat me to it.

"For fucks sake, get the hell out of here and stop trying to smother us you sack of cow shit." She glared and the woman's smile faltered just the tiniest bit.

"Alright, I'll come back later." She smiled anyway and skipped away. I softly sighed but didn't comment.

"Anyway, Raven is going to catch up with us later, he had something to do or whatever." Henrietta shrugged and sat herself in a teal beanbag chair in the corner of the room.

"I hope everything's alright." I said softly, thinking of our new friend and his recent troubles.

"He was acting weird today." Firkle shrugged and scrolled through his phone. He was looking at a wrecked thread on 4chan so I turned my head away quickly, not wanting to accidentally see something I didn't like.

"How was the Village Inn?" I looked down at Michael and noticed his eyes twitching under their lids.

"It was fine, that waitress wasn't as bitchy as usual." Pete shrugged, looking up at the cieling. I smiled and continued running my fingers through Michael's hair, hoping to lull him into a deeper sleep.

...

After Michael was startled awake by a particularly loud greeting from Henrietta's mom, he got off my lap and I wiggled my leg to get the feeling back in my foot. He ducked his head away while he rubbed his eyes, but based on Firkle's smirk and the color of the back of his neck, I was willing to bet he was more than a little flustered at being caught using my thighs as a pillow for his afternoon siesta.

"I'll be right back." I stood up and lightly patted my legs, walking out of the room and down the hall towards the bathroom. Just as I stood to loiter outside the door, Raven came running up the stairs and I could immediately see what everyone meant by him acting different. Besides the obvious running, he did seem livelier and his eyes were brighter somehow, there was a bit of a flush on his normally pale face, and as soon as he saw me the corner of his lips started twitching, almost as if he was preventing himself from smiling.

"Oh, hey Sophia." He nodded at me and I nodded back.

"You seem in higher spirits today, did something good happen?" I pushed off from where I was leaning against the wall and tilted my head. He nervously flattened his bangs down on his forehead and looked away.

"Eh, kind of I guess..." He muttered. I took a step closer and an amused smile curled the corners of my mouth up.

"Was it your friend?" My whisper felt conspiratorial.

"What are you talking about?" His eyebrows pulled down.

"You know, Green Hat? His name is Kyle, right?" I asked softly, hoping the others wouldn't overhear, even from down the hall. His eyes immediately snapped over to meet mine and widened. My smirk widened as his jaw slowly fell.

"How did you know?" His voice matched mine as he leaned closer and I lifted a hand to my mouth, pressing the tip of my fingers to my lips in an effort to keep in an amused snicker ('not a giggle', I thought to myself, 'I'd never be caught dead doing such a conformist thing').

"Your friends were very worried you know, I'm glad things are beginning to look up." I said this almost inaudibly, such words are almost taboo in the sanctity of Henrietta's home. Disgustingly optimistic, obscenely positive. His face was stunned, no doubt remembering all the questions I asked during our second meeting a few weeks ago. So quickly it took me by surprise, and I'm sure he didn't mean to, his eyes crinkled at the edges and his mouth pulled up into a wide, happy grin.

I'd never seen such an expression on his face, well at least not up close and in person. There were pictures of the South Park Cow's star quarterback above the trophy case near the front office, but I'd only ever spared them an uninterested and half-distracted glance. I'm sure that if he weren't goth at the moment, he'd wear such an expression a lot more often.

"Sophia, you're the best." He said not too quietly and swept me into his arms. Being the same height, neither of us had to bend down or lean up, but I stood stunned as his strong and muscled arms (that definitely belonged to a football player and not an antisocial goth) wound around me and held me tightly to an equally as muscled chest.

'Where the heck does he hide all this?' My eyes widened behind my fringe and my cheeks bloomed scarlet. One arm was around my shoulders and the other around my waist; comfortable, and warm, and something akin to safe. Though my arms were pinned to my sides, I could feel my ramrod straight spine slowly loosen and I rested my hands where I could reach at his sides; one at his hip and the other at his ribs.

"Don't mention it." I patted his sides - his close proximity, his breath against the side of my face, and his chin at my shoulder were beginning to make me feel more than a little... weird. "Seriously, don't. I'll never hear the end of it from the others if you do." A small laugh burst from his lips and I'd never heard such a sound from him either.

"It'll be our secret." He pulled away and I nodded, pulling my arms back and flattening my bangs down, more out of habit than because they're actually ruffled.

"Of course." I said quietly, a small smile pulling up the edges of my lips. He nodded and checked his phone.

"Well, I'd better head home, but I'll see you guys tomorrow, say bye to the rest from me." I nodded and watched him walk down the stairs, not turning around until I'd heard an awkward goodbye to Henrietta's mom and the front door close. A deep sigh whooshed out of my lungs and I could still feel residual heat in the apples of my cheeks. When I turned to head back to the room, I was startled to see Henrietta, Pete, and Firkle peeking through the threshold.

"Oh Sophia," Henrietta slowly shook her head, I'd think she was actually disappointed if not for the gleam in her eyes and the smirk in her lips. "Seriously? A jock? I thought you knew better." The heat in my face had just begun to fade...

"Who knew your tastes ran in that direction?" Pete tsked, clicking his tongue, but once he flipped his bangs I could see the amused arch at his eyebrows. Maybe I can play off the redness in my face as a side effect from yesterday...

"It's like you two are trying to act out some wannabe live action Disney movie." Firkle rolled his eyes, but I would see his hands twitching at his sides, probably itching to play with his switch blade. Kill me now...

"It's not anything like that." I said quietly as I walked towards them. Walk of shame briefly flashing through my mind. "You guys were right, he was acting weird."

"Then what was all that? And what's this about secrets?" Henrietta continued to tease and I shrugged as I walked past them into the room. Michael was sitting where I left him, but his eyebrows were pulled down, a frown on his thin lips.

"It was really nothing, don't worry about it." I shrugged and sat down where I was, next to Michael who looked deep in thought. "Raven left by the way, he said he'd see us tomorrow."

"Don't sound so excited now." Pete smirked and I rolled my eyes, not that he could see, and flipped him off.

3rd POV

Charles and Sarah were at a rest stop just outside of Fort Collins, Colorado. They were going to shower and sleep in a motel there while Charles called the private investigator for more details over the phone.

"I was able to book us a room." He smiled and helped his wife move a few of their bags to their room. It wasn't anything special, just a Motel 6; there were two beds and an all white bathroom that probably hadn't ever been cleaned thoroughly or properly, but Sarah was just happy that she'd sleep on a mattress instead of a reclined seat and be able to shower with some hot water.

"What did the private investigator say?" She sat down on one of the two beds in the room as her husband put the bags on the other. He had this sort of nervous energy about him, like he couldn't stand still and his lips kept twitching up into a smile.

"Well, he narrowed down the area a bit more, it's a small place near Denver, just a bit southwest of it in fact." He sounded excited and Sarah couldn't blame him, he'd been waiting for something like this for years, and he was finally so close. "She lives somewhere in Park County, it's a really small-town kind of place, so our chances of finding her are pretty high so long if we just ask around." He plopped down next to her and she nodded with a small smile. He kept bouncing his knee and running his hands up his face and through his hair, still unable to believe how close he is to finding his daughter; she was practically in his grasp!

"I'm sure we'll find her in no time." She swallowed a bit thickly, happy that he was so excited about this. "Do you know what you're going to say to her? She's probably going to be really shocked." Charles let out a huge sigh that puffed out his cheeks and let himself fall back onto the mattress, his fidgeting finally coming to a stop.

"What can I say? 'Hey, I know you don't know me but I'm your dad! Want to come visit and meet your half siblings?' She'll probably be freaked out, think I'm some weirdo or something." He draped an arm over his face and let out another weary sigh.

"Well, probably." He almost choked on his spit and Sarah giggled at him. "I'm sure she'll stand still long enough for you to explain yourself. If you word it just right she might now go running for the hills." She ran her fingers through his salt and pepper hair, smiling gently at him.

"You really think so?" He peeked one eye over his arm at her.

"Of course I do, I know you'll be able to make it happen, somehow, no matter how long it takes." He leaned up on his elbows and pressed his lips softly against Sarah's.

"Thanks, I needed that." Charles grinned smugly, his face appearing youthful, and she raised an eyebrow.

"The confidence boost, or the kiss?" She leaned over him and he shrugged playfully as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Both?"

A/N: guess what guys? i commissioned some fanart for this story! once its done ill change the cover picture so you guys can see it, ill also be posting it on my ao3 account under the same name :)