Because There Is a Future

Chapter Twelve

"...Fitz." Marella said. 

The place went silent. Then, it was as if a bubble popped. A bubble of ear-splitting noise. Like a deaf person suddenly being able to hear again.

"What?" Fitz was the first to talk. "Are you being serious right now, Marella?"

"Duh. It'll be fun." She blew him a kiss. "Good luck!"

Keefe and Fitz sized each other up as if preparing for battle. They each glared at each other. Oh god, if this hadn't been real, Sophie would've laughed her ass off.

"Better get this shit over with." Keefe growled. He pounced.

Fitz, toppling backwards, grabbed the first thing she felt - which was Linh. Wylie, who was panicking in the current state of his wife, tried to get Fitz off Linh, but Fitz was paralyzed at the fact that Keefe was kissing him to let go of Linh. Tam was yelling at Wylie to stop treating Linh as if she were an object and that brothers were always better than husbands. Biana was screaming at Fitz to let go, Marella was lol-ing, and Dex was trying to calm her down. Sophie was the only one quiet. 

Keefe finally resurfaced, rushing to the bathroom to probably clean his mouth. Fitz raced off after him. 

"That," Marella gasped for air, "was," she giggled, "the best," she shrieked, "thing I've ever," she was laughing again, "seen!"

Biana rolled her eyes at her. After about half an hour, two sickly pale boys emerged. 

"Come on, your turn!" Marella said in a sing-song voice. Keefe and Fitz growled at her. "Come on, boys, don't be jerks."

"Marella," Fitz said, "please, shut up."

Marella batted her eyelashes. 

"Whatever. Bi, t or d." Keefe said. 

"Hmm..." Biana looked at Marella. "Um... truth..."

"COWARD!" Marella yelled and burst out laughing. 

"God, is she intoxicated?" Tam asked. 

"Dunno." Was Wylie's wary reply. He seemed to be remembering the things Tam had shouted at him. 

"Are you a virgin?" Keefe asked. Biana gaped at him. "Come on, I'm just asking. Payback for making us play this game."

"Uh..." Biana seemed to remember that Keefe was an empath, so she couldn't lie.

"Okay. I got it." Keefe winked at Biana. "Your secret's safe with me." He patted his chest.

But when Keefe met Fitz's cold stare, the cheerful side vanished. "What. Is she or is she not?" Fitz demanded. 

"Who knows?" Keefe mumbled. "I won't tell you."

Fitz let out a frustrated growl. 

"Sophie darling," Biana said, "truth or dare."

Sophie considered her choices. If she chose truth, she might be attacked with personal questions. If she chose dare, who knows what in the world Biana might do. Best-case-scenario, she would end up with a humiliated heart. Truth or dare. Truth or dare. Truth or dare.

When did she turn into one of those overthinkers? 

"Hello?" Biana asked, waving a hand in front of her face. 

"Um... dare." Sophie said before she could change her mind. 

"I dare you to hug or kiss everyone in this room. We missed you, hon, but you didn't hug us or anything! The rule is you have to kiss at least three people."

Sophie rolled her eyes. With Biana, it was always a challenge. 

She hugged Biana, Wylie and Dex. So far, so good. She still had Tam, Fitz, Marella, Linh, and Keefe, she would have to kiss three of them.

Sophie kissed Marella and Linh (like people did in the Anne of Green Gables movie, which meant it was all on the cheek. Right and left.) when Biana said, "no, you have to do it on the lips!"

"You never said that!" Sophie said. She looked at Tam, Fitz and Keefe. She had to kiss one of them. 

"Uh... can I pass? I already kissed two people. I'll hug them." Sophie whispered to Biana. 

Biana giggled. "No way." 

Right. Sophie had been caught in another one of Biana's traps again. 

To make her disappointed, she could just kiss Tam. But that would mean admitting that she knew what Biana was thinking, that she knew that the two were special to her. 

She could kiss Fitz... he had been friendly to her all day, what's the problem with that?

The problem was that she could also kiss Keefe. The three boys were looking at her with furrowed eyes.

Sophie bit her bottom lip. If she kissed Keefe, that would mean she was pushing Fitz away, in some complicated way. Because that was what it was like in the movies. If she kissed Fitz, it would mean the same thing, except she would be pushing Keefe away. And she had a sinking feeling that this and the way Keefe was acting was, in a way, connected.

Before Sophie could make up her mind, Biana pushed Tam and made him topple into Sophie. She caught him, and Biana cheered. "That was a hug!"

Couldn't anyone be any more obvious. 

Tam, cursing under his breath, glared at Biana. She grinned back at him. 

Keefe or Fitz. 

Fitz of Keefe.

Perhaps the answer was right there. Sophie had been too dumb to see it. Stupid her for going along with Biana. This game was a curse. 

Smiling, Sophie kissed them both on the cheek. Fitz's was a bit rough, but Keefe's were smooth. Fitz smelled fancy, whereas Keefe smelled like... himself. Sophie loved them both dearly -- as in a friend way, she amended.  

"You said at least three people." Sophie grinned at a shocked Biana.

Two chapters in a day! This was really short though, sorry.

I think I like Fitzphie now...

I'm just kidding. 

SilverFox out