SOKEEFE - What If

4 - Keefe

"I was thinking we might want to move forward the wedding," Fitz suggested.

"Move forward?" Sophie asked, a split second before Keefe could.

Keefe wondered if Sophie was purposely misunderstanding Fitz, or if she was seriously going to put down this idea. If she did, there still was some hope for him to confess his sudden feelings to the beautiful blonde girl.

Fitz frowned at her. "Move forward. You know, make it earlier? Didn't your human teachers teach you anything?"

Keefe felt anger and hurt radiating off Sophie, but her face gave away nothing. "Of course they did. I'm merely surprised. I thought we had little enough time to prepare already."

Fitz shrugged indifferently. "What's there to prepare? Invite a few guests, get the gnomes to decorate Everglen's reception room, and done."

"Everglen?" Sophie asked, raising her eyebrows.

Keefe frowned. He almost felt like Sophie was expecting him to suggest Candleshade for some stupid reason. Of course she wouldn't, she didn't have any feelings for him.

But... That wasn't what her emotions were telling him.

"Yeah, Everglen." Fitz was growing annoyed. "What, you think we'd want to hold it at Havenfield, with stinky vermillions all around?"

"There's only one," Sophie said heatedly.

Keefe could tell Fitz might've meant that as a joke, but his hot, angry tone had pretty much erased all of Sophie's doubts that he was joking. Anger was coming off her in hot waves.

"It's stinky enough," Fitz snapped back. "I don't want it ruining my clothes."

"Oh, it's all about your clothes now, is it?" Sophie demanded hotly. "You don't care what I want, do you?"

Fitz snorted. "Of course I care! But think sensibly. Holding at Havenfield? All the animals, Sophie! Some of the Vackers absolutely detest them!"

"I didn't say we had to hold it at Havenfield!" Sophie snapped.

Keefe watched the exchange, a little dumbfounded. He knew he should intervene with one of his funny jokes, but for some reason, he wouldn't. His heart told him not to, told him to let them argue. And it was heartless of him, ironically, but he said nothing.

"Then why are you being such a pain?" Fitz groaned. "Look, can we just hold it at Everglen, everyone's happy-"

"Look, I know it's not that way for you, but with the humans, they don't get married in their homes, not usually," Sophie snapped, glowering at Fitz.

"Yeah, well, you're in the Lost Cities now! And we do that sort of thing!" Fitz was getting infuriated, and Keefe decided, feelings or not, it was time to step in.

"Hey, hey," Keefe soothed. "Why don't we reach a compromise, you could get married in Everglen's grounds? That way you're not in the house, but close enough for comfort, right, Fitz?"

Fitz rolled his eyes angrily, but he at least looked like he was considering the idea. Sophie, on the other hand, seemed completely adamant, glaring at Fitz, her eyes seeming to burn into his cape.

"No, we won't," she snapped, seeming angrier, though thankfully not at Keefe. Perhaps she respected that he'd only been trying to help.

Fitz banged his fist on the table, his cheeks reddening with fury. "Well, what the hell do you want to do, then?!" he snarled. "Why don't you stop complaining and actually make some suggestions?!!"

"Why don't YOU stop being such a pain?!" Sophie shouted.

"You know what? I don't want to marry you," Fitz said harshly.

Sophie's eyes flashed with sadness for a moment, but then it was gone. "Neither do I you," she murmured, almost sadly.

Fitz's anger subsided. "Sophie... Why?" he asked softly.

"It... It just doesn't feel right," she said. Keefe could feel her emotions hard, and they were a mix of regret and determination.

"Doesn't feel right? What, have you fallen for someone else?" Fitz asked, getting mad again.

"No!" Sophie said defensively, but her emotions flickered with guilt for a moment.

What?

Had she really?

Keefe wanted to grab her hand and get a better feel, but that would be too suspicious.

"Keefe, how about you stop staring at Sophie and maybe do some mediating?" Fitz interrupted Keefe's thoughts.

"Sure, mediating," Keefe said automatically. "Well, you guys, you know, you can both be downright stubborn sometimes, right?"

"Is this mediating?" Sophie asked, looking sour, but a smile was twitching at the corner of her mouth.

"Totally mediating," Keefe said enthusiastically. "But maybe, like, you guys argue a bit much, ya know? Not a healthy relationship."

"Are you encouraging us to break up?" Fitz asked, his bushy eyebrows narrowing.

Wait, why did he have bushy eyebrows? Oh, the prank elixir in his dinner. Uh- a bad time?

"Fitz," Sophie said, her eyes fixated on his eyebrows.

"Don't tell me my eyes are beautiful. You clearly don't think so," Fitz snapped.

"No, I mean-" She cut herself off as Fitz sprouted a big moustache. Fitz couldn't miss that one.

"Keefe?" Fitz yelled, and, doubling over with laughter, Keefe ran out of the house, calling over his shoulder, "See you later, Foster!"