Biana.
Fitz.
Tam.
Linh.
Wylie.
Dex.
Marella.
Heck, even Stina.
They were all killing Sophie with unbelievable amounts of questions after questions. After a while, they decided it would be for the best if they each took turns talking to Sophie and not make her a deaf person with a baleful glare.
Edaline gave Sophie a reassuring hug, took Charlotte, then walked over to where Grady was.
And, of course, the first person to talk to her was Biana. She was wearing a flowy yellow gown, and if it weren't for Linh's way too puffy dress, Sophie would've thought Biana was the bride. She looked as stunning as ever. Her body bent and curved in all the right places, and everything about her screamed "royalty!"
"Oh my gosh!!" She exclaimed, looking at Sophie as if she were a ghost. "Sophie goddamn Foster!"
"Yes, Biana," Sophie said, rolling her eyes, "stop talking to loud! You're attracting stares."
"Uh, that part's on you." Biana deadpanned. "Look at you- the girl who was gone for seven years. Also, save some pretty for the rest of us! Look at your dress. I can only gawk at how much you've changed."
Before Sophie could say anything, Biana crashed into her and embraced her in a huge bear hug.
"I missed you." Biana sniffled.
"Me too, Bi." Sophie said after a while of comfortable silence. "You can never imagine how much I missed you all."
"Then why'd you leave?" Biana said. "Why? Do you know what it was like without you? We were all a snotty, wet mess. Especially Fitz and Keefe. Well, I guess everyone was like that... But Keefe and Fitz, they tied first place. If it hadn't been under these circumstances, it would've been hilarious. They cried a whole ocean out! And Keefe, get this, didn't come out of his room for about a month. His stomach won, though, and he came out looking dead. He claimed he wrote to you every day, though no one knew where in the world you were. Fitz wasn't much better, though. He was screaming at the top of his lungs every ten minutes and howling in the next. It was awful. And I-I..." Her voice quivered. "There isn't a word to describe how we felt, Sophie. So please, tell me why you left."
Sophie was saved from replying by Dex. He toppled out of a nearby bush looking very red.
"Dex!" Biana chastised. "Please tell me you weren't eavesdropping."
"I-I totally wasn't!" Dex tripped over his own words. Biana rolled her eyes, a bit of a smile forming on her lips.
"I guess it's your turn now. But Soph, you aren't off the hook yet!" She winked and skipped away.
Sophie looked down at her shoes. Cue the awkwardness.
"Hey baby girl." An amused and familiar voice said. "Can't say I missed you."
Sophie looked up to see Marella with her arm slinged across Dex's shoulders, although it looked odd given Dex's very tall figure and Marella's smallness. She smirked.
"Oh yeah?" Dex retorted. "You totally weren't crying when you found out Sophie was missing. And you definitely didn't beg the Collective to send out a searching team to find her."
Marella shrugged, rolling her eyes. She took back her hand from Dex's shoulders. "Whatever." But her facial expression changed back into a smirk when she caught Sophie's confused eyes. "I'm just kidding, hon. Damn, the humans must have had a bad effect on you, girl, because you can't take a joke anymore. Maybe Dizznee over here could make a gadget that resets your mind, because no offense, you're pretty messed up right now." She let out a tiny yelp when Dex elbowed her. "I'm just saying. Because, you know, you left the Lost Cities without any reason as to why."
"She probably does have a reason, Mar." Dex said. Marella growled at him.
"Don't. Call. Me. Mar."
Dex ignored her and continued, "are you okay, Sophie?"
"Yeah, fabulous." Said Sophie, sighing. I do have a reason I left... She thought. But it is better unknown. Not that it is a secret, of course. Emery saw and he...
Dex interrupted her thoughts by waving his hand in front of her face. Sophie blinked. "Woah, you okay?" Dex asked, his brows furrowed.
"You keep asking her that." Marella said, rolling her huge eyes and smiling.
"Jealous?" Dex grinned back, poking Marella's stomach. She yelped and laughed.
"If you're wondering," a deep voice said from behind, "they've always been like that. Flirty, I mean."
Sophie turned and saw Fitz casually leaning on a tree with his gorgeous smile on his face. Sophie felt her eyes quiver. She ran over to him and attacked him with a huge hug.
"Right, give Wonderboy a hug and forget about the rest of us. Because that's fair." Dex's voice came along with Marella's "whatever."
Sophie loosened her grip on Fitz's waist (he was really tall, don't judge) and turned back to face Dex and Marella, but they were already gone.
Sophie sighed.
"Don't worry about it," Fitz said, "they've got each other. Plus, their time was already up."
"How long have they been together?" Sophie asked.
"Believe it or not, they actually aren't." Fitz said, chuckling. "They keep refusing to admit their obvious feelings to their significant other."
Sophie snorted. "That's ridiculous! Anyone sane can see that they are perfect for each other."
"Well, then, maybe they themselves aren't sane." Fitz grinned at Sophie. "But enough about them. I... I missed you, Sophie. A lot."
Sophie felt her throat dry up. "So have I, Fitz. But," she added before Fitz could ask why she left, "I can't tell you why I left."
Fitz sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "Why not?"
"Because. I'll tell you when I am comfortable sharing."
Fitz mumbled something that sounded oddly like "but we're Cognates!" But Sophie decided to pretend she didn't hear.
"Anyway," Fitz said, "you look awesome."
He looked at Sophie up and down, and she squirmed under the gaze.
Fitz Vacker was checking her out.
Not anyone - but Fitz.
Her cheeks warmed and she fumbled for an excuse of her blush. "I, uh, it's cold out, huh?"
She mentally facepalmed herself.
But Fitz chuckled and took off his cape and quickly buttoned it up on Sophie.
"Oh! No!" Sophie said. Her stupid mouth. It wasn't like it was cold out. "It's okay!"
"Well, I'm not cold or anything. You can keep it." Fitz wrapped a protective arm around Sophie and she felt herself sink into it.
"You know," Fitz whispered, "I thought you wouldn't want-"
Someone cleared their throat behind them, and very loudly.
Sophie turned, half-expecting to see Grady, but she saw Tam, Linh and Wylie staring at them, all with a matching raised eyebrow.
"Sophie comes back and Fitzphie is already taking off?" Tam snorted. "I can't say I'm not impressed in your manly skills, Vacker."
Fitz rolled his eyes. "I'll see you later, Sophie." he said and walked away.
Linh let out an ear-piercing squeal. Tam and Wylie both side-eyed her. "Sophie! Sophie! Sophie!!!!"
"Linh," Tam and Wylie said together, but both shut up at the same time, each with a look of annoyance towards the other.
Sophie couldn't help but smile at the cuteness. Tam was, like before, the protective brother, but Wylie was the protective husband, and the two people colliding wasn't so great.
Linh ran over (which was pretty slow due to her high heels and puffy wedding gown) and hugged her gently.
Sophie closed her eyes and hugged Linh back, blinking back a few tears. She had missed a friend like this.
"Congratulations!" Sophie said, her voice cracking. "Husband and wife, huh?"
Wylie and Linh smiled and nodded while Tam rolled his eyes.
"What?" Linh said to her brother, frowning. "Are you sad?"
A ball of water materialized in her hand, and she splashed it playfully on her brother. He smirked and turned Linh's dress a flowy black. She gasped, and it turned back white.
"Don't mess with me, Linh darling." Tam said.
"Sorry!" Linh said.
Now Wylie looked like the left-out person.
"So, Sophie," Tam said, "would you mind telling us why you left Sencen and Vacker all pissed? It was the best thing you could've done to me - er, never mind," he hastily added when Linh shot him a look, "but why?"
"I think a better question would be why you were in San Diego looking for me." Sophie asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Tam scoffed. "We all needed you back! And Linh wanted you to be at her wedding."
"Yep!" Linh beamed.
"So did I." Wylie added.
"Did not." Tam growled.
"Did too."
"Did not."
"Did too."
Linh rolled her eyes and mouthed "he did" to Sophie.
"Did not."
"Mama!" Charlotte decided on this moment to make her appearance.
Wylie and Tam's voice died out, gawking at Charlotte.
"I learned human a while ago, when I was going to look for you, Sophie. And the language I learned was something called Englishish, and I think mama meant "mom" or "mother." I think." Tam mumbled.
"Then is she-" Wylie started.
"-your daughter?" Tam finished.
Linh was temporarily mute.
"And your husband is...?" Tam asked.
"Yes, she's my daughter." Sophie said. "But I don't have a husband. I adopted her."
Charlotte stared up at Tam and grinned. He picked her up and smiled at her, speaking in a soft voice. Charlotte giggled, although she did not understand a word he was saying.
"Who knew he had a soft side?" Wylie mumbled.
Linh smiled softly at Tam and Charlotte. "They are adorable."
"Mama!" Charlotte said. "Ish he my uncle?"
Chuckling softly to herself, Sophie replied, "yeah, sure."
WHERE IS KEEFE?
I know, I know. We'll get there in the next chapter.
Love you!
SilverFox Out