Hey, all.
My school workload isn't as bad right now so I actually have time to work on this story! I'm having trouble with deciding how to end it though, whether Sophitz or Sokeefe will be endgame. So . . .
You get to vote!
I'm going to write the ship name on separate lines below and whichever ship has the most comments (and therefore votes) will help me decide! (One vote per each account, multiple comments by the same account does not count as multiple votes.)
FOR THIS FANFIC (not the actual books), COMMENT ON WHICH SHIP YOU WANT TO BE END GAME (and maybe include a reason why you want that ship over the other one):
Sophitz/Fitzphie
Sokeefe/Foster-Keefe
Other (say who)
And just for funsies: comment other ships/pairings you'd like to see for the other characters. :)
This will go on until I publish chapter 19 (hopefully later tonight or maybe tomorrow). (As long as this part is up, votes will still count, so if you are seeing this, GO VOTE!!)
Thanks!
-Nuela
Here's a snippet from the revised/final draft of chapter 13, taking place during the party after the Foxfire Ball (featuring an OC from a book I'm writing, "The Carmine Queen"). (Also, I'm doing this on my phone and when I copied and pasted it, the formatting got messed up, so I had to go through and fix it, but there still might be some errors.)
--
"Hi," said Sophie.
"Hi," said Fitz.
Their very insightful conversation was interrupted when they heard a familiar laugh sounding a few feet away. When they looked over, they saw the laugh came from Linh—who was talking with a smiling Wylie.
"Aren't they cute together?"
They both jump—though, Sophie more than Fitz—and both sigh when seeing it was Biana.
"You need to learn how to stop doing that," Sophie practically hissed.
"Eh, I'm used to it," Fitz said.
Biana smacked her brother lightly in the shoulder.
"Hey, what did I do?" he asked, though unable to hold back a smile.
"Be my brother," Biana grumbled. "Anyways, you two are looking pretty cute together, too."
"Um . . ." Sophie turned red, realizing that Biana didn't quite seem herself. "Have you been drinking something?"
Biana giggled. "Maybe."
"You shouldn't drink so much, Biana," Fitz said, and Sophie thought it was cute how concerned he looked for his sister.
Biana only frowned. "You guys are such party-poopers. I'm gonna go talk to more fun people. Bye!"
Fitz sighed and turned his attention back to Sophie. "So how are you enjoying the party?" he asked, moving closer toward her.
"I'm enjoying it," Sophie answered quietly, looking at the ground in hopes of covering her pink cheeks.
"It didn't seem like you were enjoying it a couple minutes ago," Fitz pointed out, his voice lower.
Sophie nodded, slightly gulping, and trying hard not to make any expression. "Oh? A couple minutes ago? I don't know what you're talking about."
"Really?" he asked, moving even closer towards her. " 'Cause it seemed like when I was talking to those girls, you were pouting furiously."
"Furiously?" Sophie repeated, trying to make it sound like a joke but her voice came out higher-pitched than she intended. "I don't think it was furiously."
"Oh?" He laughed, moving his head slightly closer towards Sophie's. "Then what was it?"
Sophie shook her head. "I don't know but—" She made the mistake of looking up, only to meet Fitz's eyes—which never failed to make her mind go blank. Then she quickly noticed the space—or lack thereof—between them. Then she realized they had just been staring at each other—really closely, she may add—for several seconds.
She saw his gaze shift from her eyes to her lips for a split moment before meeting her eyes again and she gulped. Fitz wasn't laughing or smiling or grinning or smirking anymore. His lips were a thin line and his eyes were slightly wide.
He closed the space between them—though, not into a kiss like Sophie thought he was going to do—but moved to the side of her face to whisper, in a low voice, in her ear, "How about we get out of here in half an hour? Together."
He didn't move until Sophie got over her shock and nodded. Sophie took a step back and nodded again.
"Yeah," she agreed, averting her eyes.
He smiled. "See you then."
As he walked by her he kissed her temple quickly and blended into the crowd.
Sophie couldn't even register that because she was focusing really hard on calming down her rapidly-beating heart.
"What'd he say?"
Sophie jumped and let out a squeal. When she looked to see who it was she sighed. "Linh! Don't sneak up on me like that!"
Linh laughed. "I thought that was Biana's job."
"Exactly!" Sophie replied, calming down.
"So . . . what'd he say?" Linh asked again with a smile.
"Nothing important." Sophie's high tone, however, suggested it was definitely something important.
"Mhmm," Linh mumbled. "Whatever it was, it looked really . . . heated right before he left."
Sophie gasped at Linh's implication and lightly bumped shoulders with her. "Girl of Many Floods!"
Linh laughed and covered her mouth with her hand. "What? If you're not going to tell me, what am I supposed to assume?"
Sophie rolled her eyes but kept wearing her smile. "We're going to meet up in a bit and get out of here together."
"Alone?" Linh questioned, waggling her eyebrows and Sophie lightly shoved Linh again—causing the both of them to laugh again.
"Yes, alone," Sophie confirmed. "But not like that."
Linh shrugged before giving her a slight smirk. "Whatever you say."
Before Linh could turn around and leave, though, she collected droplets of water from the air and splashed Sophie in the face. "That's for shoving me."
Sophie figured she should feel annoyed but all that came out was laughter. "Yeah, yeah."
As she was wiping the water away from her face and blinking water out of her eyes, she realized she couldn't stop smiling. It felt so good to have normal, playful fun with friends rather than almost dying every three seconds. It was definitely a good change.
Sophie was walking while still trying to get water off her face, she accidentally bumped into someone, causing whatever drink they were holding in their hand to spill over their shirt.
"Oh, sorry!" Sophie immediately said, and then wanted to retract her apology when she saw who it was.
"Seriously, Sophie?!" Stina exclaimed, overlooking the hardly-noticeable stain on her shirt. "Ugh!"
"You can get it out," Sophie reminded her. Then she grumbled, "Relax a little."
"Ugh!" Stina groaned again. "I don't get what Fitz sees in a clutz like you."
Sophie wanted to retaliate and say something mean in return, but she decided to roll her eyes and walk away. Only, Stina didn't let that be the end of their conversation.
Stina grabbed Sophie's arm, forcing her to turn around and face her. "You know, I seem to recall overhearing him talk to Keefe a few days ago. He said something like 'I don't like her, I just pity her enough to pretend like there's still a chance we'll be together'."
Sophie shoved away from Stina's grasp. Before she could say something—though, she wasn't sure what words would actually have come out of her mouth—someone interrupted her.
"Funny, I don't seem to recall that conversation at all." Sophie turned to see the blond grinning. "And everyone knows how amazing my memory is."
Stina muttered something Sophie couldn't make out then stomped away.
Sophie faces toward Keefe and gave him a smile, noting the cup in his hand. "Thanks."
"Anytime," he responded, giving her a smile back. He leaned closer to her. "Though, don't take me defending Fitz as me supporting the two of you together."
He laughed and Sophie furrowed her brows as he walked off.
Sophie went after him, "Keefe! Wait."
But Keefe only walked away faster, making twists and turns in the crowd of people until Sophie couldn't track him anymore.
Sophie gave up and walked out the back door, feeling frustrated. The cool air felt fresh against her skin in comparison to the heat inside. It was quieter, too. Sophie wanted to corner Keefe and get him to confess what he really thought about her situation; whether she should go back to Fitz or not. For the first time in a long time, people were letting Sophie make decisions on her own without interrupting with their own opinions. Yet, this was the one time she wished someone could tell her what to do.
Don't take me defending Fitz as me supporting the two of you together.
Did Keefe not want Sophie to get back together with Fitz? Do the others feel the same way? Even if the others did think Sophie and Fitz would be good together, would that matter over Keefe's opinion? Why does she care so much about what Keefe thinks?
Sophie sat down on the tightly-woven vines that formed the deck she had been standing on. She put her head in her hands and groaned.
"Trouble in paradise?"
Sophie almost jumped, not realizing someone else was there. She looked up to see a man standing a few feet away, looking down at her. Sophie couldn't make out his features clearly in the dim light of the night, but from the way he stood and what she could see of his face, he looked attractive. He smiled as he sat down in front of her.
Now that he was a bit closer, Sophie could see that his eyes were more grey than blue—though, that could be from the poor lighting. His face was definitely attractive; he looked like he belonged on one of the posters of the K-Pop boy bands that Sophie had seen in Amy's room.
Sophie gasped when she saw his ears. They were pointy. Which meant . . .
"I promise I'm not, like, a thousand-years-old," he assured her. "It's a genetic thing that runs in my family."
"Oh." Sophie nodded, noting that he had more of an Australian accent rather than a British one like mostly every other elf she's met. She, most of all, understood a thing or two about unique genetics. "I get that."
He laughed and held out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Vixen."
Sophie's eyes widened. She was in so much shock, she almost forgot to shake his hand. "O—oh! Um . . . I'm—"
"Sophie Foster-Ruewen," he finished for her, wearing a knowing smile. "I think you'd have more trouble finding someone who doesn't know who you are."
Sophie let out a nervous laugh. "Right, probably. I've heard a thing or two about you, too, actually."
Because he's number one on her list. And twenty years older than her. The hot troublemaker, as Biana put it.
"Oh, have you?" he questioned. "Like what?"
"You're a h—a . . . um . . . trouble maker," Sophie stumbled out. He definitely has the hot part down.
He smiled sheepishly and bowed his head. "People still say that about me?"
Sophie shrugged, not knowing how to respond.
Vixen probably picked up on her discomfort and changed the subject. "So, back to earlier. Having troubles?"
At the mention of Sophie's previous dilemma, she groaned again. "Boy troubles."
Vixen laughed again and Sophie found the sound melodic. "We're in the same boat there, I guess."
Sophie raised an eyebrow. "You are having relationship issues?"
He shook his head slightly. "I wouldn't quite say that. You'd need to be in the relationship to have issues. I don't even have a chance."
Both of Sophie's eyebrows shot up at the sound of that. "You don't have a chance? What's the other dude look like?"
"Me," Vixen said, before adding, "but less handsome, of course."
"Of course," Sophie affirmed and they both laughed.
After a moment, they both fell silent.
"So . . . I hear I'm really high on your list?" he questioned, looking at Sophie intently.
"Heard from who . . ." Sophie sighed, not needing to finish her question. Disappointed, but not surprised. "Biana."
He smiled. "Yeah. I saw her earlier and she kind of told me."
Sophie felt her cheeks warm up against the cold breeze, and she really hoped the lack of light hid her blush from Vixen. "Figures."
"You're on my list, too," he said and Sophie perked up a little.
"Really?" she asked. She didn't think she'd be on a list for someone like Vixen. "I'm guessing I'm not also your number one?"
His eyes went side for a second and Sophie wanted to facepalm herself.
"She didn't say you were my number one, huh?"
Vixen let out a nervous laugh. "No, she didn't. But if it makes you feel any better, you might as well be my number one since I don't have a chance at all with the girl who is first."
Might as well be my number one? Sophie repeated in her mind. Does that mean that . . .
"Yeah, you're second on my list," Vixen said and Sophie felt surprised.
"Are you a telepath?" she asked. Even if he were, he still shouldn't have been able to read her mind.
"No, but I can feel your confusion," he admitted and Sophie nodded, realizing he was an empath.
Hot. A so-called troublemaker. And an empath? Definitely a lot like Keefe, Sophie thought.
"Wait, so the girl you like is your number one?" Sophie asked, and he nodded.
"And the guy I'm competing against—if it even counts as a 'competition'—is my cousin."
Sophie gasped. "No way! Your cousin? That must suck. Your crush and cousin liking each other."
"Oh, no no no," he said quickly. "They absolutely despise each other."
"Huh?"
He chuckled. "I don't really understand it either, honestly. But she spends too much time hating him that she doesn't really have room for me. That's the best explanation I've got."
"I'm still a little confused," Sophie admitted, and he laughed, which made Sophie feel a little less bad for him.
"So, do your 'boy troubles' compare to mine?" He asked and Sophie immediately shook her head.
"Not at all, yours is brutal," she teased and he smiled.
"Trust your feelings." Then he stood up and brushed off his trousers. "It was nice meeting you, Miss Foster-Ruewen."
"You can just call me Sophie," she responded, also standing up. Then she gave him a smile. "It was nice meeting you, too, Vixen."
Sophie watched him as he walked back inside until her eye landed on a familiar blond elf that she had been trying to get a hold of earlier.
"Keefe Sencen, get your butt out here right now!" she yelled and a few heads turned her way—including Keefe's.
Keefe looked around him then back at Sophie and pointed at himself.
"Me?" he mouthed and Sophie nodded.
"Yeah, you!"
He rolled his eyes then dragged his feet along as he made his way outside onto the patio.
"Yes?" he asked. His facial expressions were exaggerated and the cup in his hand looked to be almost empty.
"What did you mean earlier?" Sophie questioned, getting straight to the point before he decided to run off again. "When you said you didn't want Fitz and me to be together."
"That I don't support you and Fitz being together," he said, looking confused. "Well, I mean, I'll support it, if that's what you"—he pointed his finger at Sophie—"want. But I don't want you to want to be with Fitz."
"Why?"
He sighed. "You know, I know you know I'm slightly a little bit tipsy. And you're taking advantage of me being tipsy, and that's not nice."
"Slightly?" Sophie reiterated. She reached for the cup in his hand. "Actually, I think you've had enough."
"No." He pouted and pulled the cup out of Sophie's grasp. However, he accidentally spilled it on himself. He looked down at his white shirt, which was now soaked. "Oops."
"You need to change," Sophie told him, trying not to focus on how his shirt clung to his body.
"Yeah, I know," he grumbled. He started taking off his shirt and Sophie reached for him to stop.
"Are you crazy?!" she asked him, trying to get him to keep his shirt on. It was no use, he managed to pull it off and Sophie started looking everywhere except at him, knowing she'd blush profusely at the sight of him being shirtless. "It's cold out here, you'll freeze."
Keefe used the dry parts of his shirt to wipe off any of the liquid that may have soaked through to his skin. "It is a bit chilly, now that you mention it."
"Let's go inside," Sophie said, finally gaining the courage to look him in the eye—and not anywhere below.
"I like it out here, though," he complained. Then he started laughing. "I think future me is going to be very upset at drunk me."
"Let's go." Sophie placed her hand around his arm, thinking she could at least drag him inside. At most, she managed to turn him around so that he was facing the glass doors and Sophie had her back to them.
"Before I poured a cup, I kept telling myself 'if you see the mute and kysterious Miss F., think really hard about if future you will regret saying or do anything to her, and don't do it'." Keefe tried taking a step closer toward Sophie, but it was more of a stumble and his body clashed against Sophie, but she managed to keep them both standing—which was surprising, given her track record of being the clumsy one. Keefe's arm was around Sophie, it looked like he was giving her a hug. "But, I don't think I'll regret doing this, I've wanted to for a long long time."
Their faces were already close, but Keefe brought his closer to Sophie's, closing his eyes. Sophie realized what he was about to do and quickly brought a finger to his lips. Sophie's finger was the only thing separating Keefe's lips from hers; their noses were practically touching.
Sophie looked down at his lips then up into his eyes. Up close, she could see so many emotions flash through them, but the one that appeared the most was sadness.
"I'm sorry," he whispered and pushed himself away from Sophie. He started stumbling his way back to the doors to go inside, hitting his side against the door frames as he entered.
Sophie realized that everyone inside who could see through the doors had been watching them that whole time, all their eyes wide with shock and surprise. Sophie brought her fingers to her lips, feeling the ghost of a kiss that never happened.
All that was running through Sophie's mind was, Did Keefe just try to kiss me?