Keefe
Keefe was still half-asleep, but Sophie kissing him really woke him up. Shocked, he froze for a second. Then, he kissed back. It felt like he was floating. He was on Cloud Nine, in pure bliss. Her warm lips against his felt so...right.
Sophie finally pulled away, her cheeks redder than roses. An awkward silence settled between the two.
"So I take it you missed me?" Keefe was rewarded with a slap. He sat up and rubbed his cheek.
"Don't ever do that again!," Sophie sobbed. She threw her arms around him in a tight hug. Keefe inhaled her sweet scent.
"I'd do it again for you," Keefe whispered. And it was true. Gods, he'd just met this girl about a week ago, and he already cared about her so much.
Sophie sniffled. "Next time, leave the almost-dying to me, ok?"
"Nice try, Foster," Keefe said. He gently put his arms around her.
They stayed like that for a long time. Finally, Sophie leaned back, then pressed her forehead against his.
Keefe stared into her eyes, lost in a world of golden-brown. "Kind of ironic, isn't it?" His voice cracked slightly. "The Moonlark and the Lodestar."
"I guess we always were the type to rebel," Sophie breathed.
She kissed him again. This time, Keefe put his hands on her waist, and kissed back passionately. Sophie twined her arms around his neck. They broke apart a few seconds later.
"We gotta go, now," Sophie said. She glanced around. "Cadfael disappeared. We better go before he finds us."
Keefe nodded and tried to get up, but immediately fell back down. Sophie noticed, and put his arm over her shoulders. She grabbed his waist with her other hand, supporting him. Keefe got up, leaning heavily on Sophie.
"Is it better or worse that I'm taller than you?," he asked randomly.
"Worse."
Keefe limped forward, still using Sophie as a crutch. "Is this okay? I'm kinda heavy."
"I'm not an ordinary girl, Keefe."
"Right." Keefe was unaccustomed to being so close to a girl his age. The Neverseen's members were either cloaked 100% of the time so that Keefe couldn't find out their identities, or much older than Keefe.
The walk - or rather limp - back to the car was long. But Keefe did not mind one bit. He was elated to be in Sophie's presence. And the thought that maybe she liked him back...
But he didn't deserve her, did he? All he would bring was trouble.
Keefe looked at Sophie and saw an angel. She was beautiful, smart. She understood him. And she cared.
This was like a forbidden love in movies. Wait - love?
"Ok," Sophie said, interrupting Keefe's train of thought. "Can you just lean on the car while I open the door?"
Keefe nodded and hopped to the car. An ache spread through his body, but he ignored it. He would have fallen if the car's hood didn't catch him.
Sophie opened the door and shoved him into the car. Keefe fell onto the seat, feeling very sore. He watched as Sophie got into the car from the other side.
"Can I drive this time?," Keefe joked.
Sophie gave him a look. "I wasn't going to let you drive when you didn't have poisoned stab wounds. What makes you think I'll let you drive now?"
"Uhhh...rights?"
"What rights?"
Sophie started the engine. "Here, hold this." She handed him the jar with the Panakes flower. "Whatever you do, do not, and I repeat, do not let go of it."
Keefe took the jar. The cool glass was reassuring against his warm hands. He started tossing the jar from hand to hand, but a fierce glare from Sophie made him stop.
Sophie started driving. She stared at the road with so much concentration that Keefe thought her eyes were going to pop out.
"Did you get hurt?," he asked. He studied her worriedly. Please say no, please say no, I swear on Mrs. Stinkbottom, if she is-
"No. I'm a bit tired and sore, but that's it." Sophie turned the wheel. "Not as bad as you."
She glanced at him, her brow furrowed. "Does it still hurt? Keefe Sencen, don't you dare drop down dead on me!"
Keefe offered her a smirk. "Like you've never almost died."
"No, I - wait, I have."
Keefe gave her a look of triumph. "How many times?"
Sophie tilted her head to the side. Keefe's smirk grew as the time went by. The number of times must be big if she was taking this long. Then he realized this meant that she almost died numerous times. His smirk faded and his mood dampened slightly.
"Twenty-three," Sophie said.
"Ha! Fourteen," Keefe exclaimed. "And counting."
Sophie snorted. "You actually count how many times you almost die?"
Keefe pretended to flex his arms. "It adds to my coolness factor."
"Why don't you take a few points off that just for saying 'coolness factor?'"
"Wow, Foster, that hurt," he pouted. "Right here." He put his hand over his heart.
"I'm sure it hurts because you almost died."
"I Fostered it."
Sophie actually turned her head to look at him. "What? 'Fostered it?'"
Keefe smiled proudly. "Yep. Congratulations on setting a new trend."
"You come up with the weirdest things."
"Thank you, Lady Fos-boss."
A few minutes, Keefe decided to brave it.
"Hey, Sophie?"
Sophie turned her head again, giving him her full attention. Probably because he called her by her first name.
"Yeah, Keefe?"
"Are we...going to talk about it?"
"I guess."
"What...are we right now?"
Sophie's cheeks were beginning to tinge pink. "When I thought you were going to die, it felt horrible. Like all my hope was lost. And I was scared. I think...I at least have a crush on you. Maybe more."
"At least?"
Instead of answering, Sophie said, "Loki, drive us to Alluveterre, please."
Keefe nearly jumped out of his skin when the car responded, "Yes, Agent Moonlark. Commencing autopilot."
"Wait," Keefe said, "we could have gone on autopilot the whole time?!"
"Shut up."
"You can't make me."
Sophie pecked him on the lips. "I can."
***
"Hey, Foster?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm feeling very carsick."
Sophie looked up from the book she was reading. "How sick?"
"Like...I'm-going-to-barf-on-you sick."
Sophie groaned. "Can't you wait? There's only an hour of the car ride left!"
Keefe shook his head. "Nope." The nausea was horrible.
Sophie sighed. "Loki, pull over."
"Wait, his name's Loki?!"
"You didn't catch that the first time?"
"No. But Loki?!"
"For some reason, Agent Forkle really likes Loki's myths," she explained.
"Pulling over," Loki's voice said. The car drove to the side of the dirt road they were on.
Keefe opened the door and bolted out of the car, his soreness forgotten. He ran about forty feet from the car. The jar in one hand, he inhaled the fresh air.
"Ahhhhhh," he said. "L'air frais."
"You speak French?," Sophie asked. She had followed him out.
"Yeah-"
Boom!
An explosion rocked the Earth. Keefe and Sophie instinctively ducked, curling into a ball. Their cloaks covered their heads.
A bright light blinded them momentarily. Debris rained down on them. The world was filled with thick smoke.
Coughing, Keefe tried to see through it. He fanned the smoke.
"What's happening?!," he heard Sophie yell.
Keefe still couldn't see a thing. "I don't know!"
Eventually, the smoke cleared.
Keefe whipped around. His jaw dropped at the sight he was met with.
"Um. Sophie?"
"What?" Sophie craned her head to look at what Keefe was pointing to. Her eyes widened.
Keefe pointed to what used to be their car. "Someone planted a bomb on our car."
A/N:
1) Cliffhanger. XD