Because of a Scroll | KotLC Fanfic

Chapter 16 - Winnowing and Weeping

"Thanks so much for not bailing on me," Sophie said, looking at her friend through the reflection in the mirror.

He smiled and walked closer toward her. "This is what you want, Sophie. And I'll always stay by you. Plus, it doesn't involve breaking any rules or laws—actually, that's a negative because breaking rules is a lot more fun than choosing between pink flowers and slightly-lighter-pink flowers for decorations."

Sophie smiled and turned around to face him. "You're way too good of a friend."

He smiled, though it didn't seem to quite reach his eyes. "Well . . . what if I don't want to be your friend, Sophie?"

Sophie felt like her heart had stopped, like time froze, and all she could do was look into his perfectly blue eyes. She wasn't sure what to think or just didn't want to fully understand the meaning of his words.

"What if I want to be your best friend?" he asked after a second, turning his smile into a smirk—though, based off Sophie's photographic memory, the smirk didn't quite match his trademark one.

"Oh." Sophie let out a sigh of relief—hoping her previous panic wasn't obvious—and felt like she could breathe normally again. "What if I told you you're already my best friend?"

Keefe wrapped his arms around her waist. "Then I'd tell Biana and she'd get jealous."

"Jealous of what?" the aforementioned asked from the open doorway, making both Sophie and Keefe jump.

Keefe quickly recovered, however, and moved to be next to Sophie, keeping one arm around her. "She told me that I'm her best friend."

Sophie smiled. "No . . . I said what if I told you that. Not that it's necessarily true."

"I'm an empath, Sophie," he said bluntly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world—though with the amount of times he's repeated it to her, it might as well have been. "I know that's the truth."

"Mhmm," Sophie mumbled, not sounding like she was completely agreeing, though.

"You two are great friends, I can't lie." Biana stared at Keefe knowingly as she said that with her tone low and directed. Her gaze softened as she looked at Sophie up and down. "Anyways, Sophie you look so pretty!"

Sophie saw Keefe smile at the faint blush that appeared on her cheeks—natural blush, beneath all the makeup. "Thanks, Biana. Are people . . . here, yet?"

Biana laughed. "You wouldn't believe how many guys are downstairs! And it's just from one list."

Keefe coughed. "You're gonna freak her out."

Biana rolled her eyes with a smile. "It'll be great! Let's go, Sophie!"

Biana had practically dragged Sophie out of the room and down the flights of stairs, giddy to open the doors and reveal the party in the open land of Havenfield. Keefe was right behind them.

"Ready?" he asked, seeming nervous himself.

"It's been three months," Sophie mumbled to herself, since she decided to have a gala. "I can do this."

With that, she braced herself and opened the doors.

The firefly-like bugs floating in the air glowed in colours of greens, blues, magenta, and violets, which contrasted well against the reds, yellows, and oranges of the sunset. Flowers were strewn up everywhere and made the yard look really beautiful and elegant—though there weren't that many decorations which surprised Sophie since she knew Edaline likes to go overboard in these situations.