Hi! This chapter is basically just fluff, and I think we all could use some good fluff in our lives, so… enjoy!
Sophie glued her eyes to the glittering house she was walking towards, trying not to blush or listen to the shouted conversation behind her, but she couldn't help peeking back towards the Panakes as she climbed the glinting front steps. Keefe stared at her, a red glow painted across his slightly freckled face, and she was pretty sure her head exploded into a ball of fire. She rushed inside and sprinted up the spiral stairs, only tripping twice. Too badly.
She shut herself in the bathroom, sliding against the door to the tiled ground and putting her face in her hands. She let the flood of emotions surge through her: rage, fear, but mostly grief. Grief for the trust she had lost. Grief for the allies she didn't actually have. She let the warm, wet tears trickle through the gaps in her fingers, knees pulled close to her shaking chest.
"Sophie?" a muffled voice said, thumps indicating the person's movement. She quieted her sobs, but she felt the bathroom door shift, sliding open and pushing her body a few inches across the floor. A full head of tousled blonde hair peek in, ice-blue eyes filled with concern and care. Sophie sniffled as Keefe shrugged inside, pushing the door closed behind him and sitting next to Sophie.
"You ok, Foster?" He asked, arms slung across his knees. Sophie sniffled again, and wrapped her arms tightly around herself and let her head fit into her knee, her hair draping across her curled-up body, like a short blonde curtain. Keefe muttered something that sounded an awful lot like 'screw it' and scooted closer, wrapping a comforting arm around her Sophie-ball. "What Mr Forkle did was unfair. It's not ok to use you, no matter what anyone says." Sophie looked up at him, eyes blurry from the tears still in her eyes. She wiped them with the palm of her hand and looked back at Keefe again.
"Really?" She asked, staring into his concerned, beautiful ice blue eyes. She noticed little flecks of lighter, almost white blue in them. He laughed a bit as he looked at her. "Yes, Sophie, yes! You are a normal elf. A NORMAL ELF! No, don't shake your head. Listen to me. You can do extraordinary things, and in ways that only make everybody more impressed and inspired. But you don't naturally have super-energy. You can't not sleep. You don't have future sight. You can't predict everything. You can't always get everything right. No one can. You can't not eat. You can't not drink water. And as much as certain members of the Black Swan hate it, you can't not make your own decisions. You have to. You can't be mind controlled." He took her hands. "You can't be mind controlled. So don't let them control you anyways. You hear me, Foster?" Sophie sniffled again, grateful for the reassurance. "Thank you, Keefe. Really, thanks." She leaned her head on his shoulder, causing a faint blush to settle comfortably on his cheeks. Sophie retreated, balling back up, embarrassed and blushing. The gesture had just been so… natural. "Sorry, sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to make things awkward, it was just Fitz said-" Keefe put his index finger softly against her lips, silencing her rant and intensifying her blush. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. For one thing, you didn't make things awkward. It was actually… kind of nice. Two, are you and Fitz broken up? If he hurt you, I swear.." he stared off, letting Sophie pull his finger down and convert it to grasp her hand. "No. I told Fitz that.. I… like you," Sophie said, glancing away as her face turned a furious crimson color that covered her entire face. She continued anyway, trying to distract Keefe, who was now squeezing her hand. "...and he said that he was fine and actually didn't want a relationship right now because he wanted to train and get his temper under control. It was actually… kind of sweet." She risked a glance at Keefe, who.. She couldn't read his expression.
"Sophie, I…" Sophie braced for rejection. "I don't know how to tell you this, but… I have liked you, for, like, forever. Ever since I saw you wandering the halls, covered in Alchemy gunk and hopelessly lost. I knew that you were someone incredibly special. Not just that, but just… incredible. Amazingly, wonderfully, fantastically incredible. And I started to really appreciate you and, well, care about you more and more as you proved how true that was. And this is exactly what I want. What I've always wanted, actually. Don't think that I'm some creepy stalker who loves someone the first time they see them! But… I really believe that you are the bravest, most caring person in the world. And… I love you, Foster. I really, really do." Sophie's eyes welled up again, and she hugged Keefe, burying her face in his shoulder. "Thank you, Keefe. I really, truly thank you. I… think that my heart always loved you, but my brain deluded me into loving Fitz." Keefe snickered. "Wow, it 'dElUdEd' you? Fitz would be offended that he is that hard to love!" He giggled. Sophie laugh-cried, smiling and laughing as her eyes cried uncertain but happy tears.
The happy, sad, overly emotional couple stayed there for a long, long time.
Ah, young love anyways, I hope you are enjoying this story so far!
-LLF out