A/N: @birdfishy requested I write Keefe's POV of Sophie and Keefe's 'meet cute' from the first book.
It didn't take long for Keefe to grow unbelievably bored in his session.
Lady Belva wasn't exactly the most exciting Mentor, especially considering the fact that Keefe could get everything he needed to know to pass the class simply by skimming the textbook.
So he could hardly be blamed for slipping out while Lady Belva's back was turned.
At least when he was ditching, he could eat his way through a box of Prattles and enjoy the satisfaction of doing something his father would hate.
His dad couldn't stand it when Keefe put a toe out of line.
So he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, already untucked, just to make sure he didn't look too clean-cut or presentable, and sprawled across the bench in his favorite ditching spot.
He was sitting there, feeling perfectly at ease...until he wasn't.
It was the strangest thing. He'd been alone in the corridor, and then he was suddenly hit with a wave of panic. A second later, a wide-eyed girl in a level two uniform came around the corner.
She didn't seem to see him, but appeared to be lost in her own thoughts.
Her own panic.
The closer she came to him, the stronger the feeling got—giving him no doubt that he was picking up on her emotions.
But this was unprecedented. Apart from when he'd first manifested, he never felt someone's emotions without physical contact—or at least very close proximity. Especially someone he didn't even know.
This was the most interesting thing that had happened to him in this school. The other interesting things usually happened because of him—and his epic pranks.
He had to find out more about this girl who was stumbling through the halls in a blind panic.
"You must be lost."
The girl—who Keefe now realized must be the mysterious new girl Fitz had brought from the Forbidden Cities—blinked as though she were coming out of a daze as she stopped and noticed him for the first time.
Something seemed off about her at first, but he couldn't place it right away.
But as she opened her mouth to speak, he focused more intently on her face, and...her eyes were brown.
She was clearly an elf—she wouldn't be there if she weren't, for one thing, but she was also too cute to be human—but still, impossibly, her eyes were brown.
"How did you know?" She asked, pulling him back to reality.
He smirked. "It's the middle of session. Either you're lost, or you're ditching--and clearly you're not ditching."
"Why couldn't I be ditching?" She asked, almost sounding indignant.
"Are you?"
"No."
He grinned. Obviously. "You're the new girl, aren't you?"
She sighed and nodded.
Why did she sigh at that? She must be tired of introductions.
Too bad for her. He definitely wasn't passing up on this opportunity.
"I'm Keefe."
"Sophie--but I'm sure you already know that."
He laughed. "You may be the biggest news to hit the academy since the Great Gulon Incident three years ago--which, by the way, I had nothing to do with." He smirked at her--and knew he was showing off a little. "But that's not a bad thing. Personally, I've always enjoyed being the center of attention."
She looked at him, studying him, taking him in. She seemed confused—or nervous, he really couldn't tell which. At least not without physical contact. But the fact that he was picking up on her emotions at all without contact was a new concept for him, especially since he didn't know her. It was always easier to read and understand someone's emotions if there was some familiarity.
So Sophie's emotions must be super strong.
And her eyes...
He hadn't given much thought to the fact that humans didn't all have varying shades of blue eyes, but if he had, he knew he would have assumed that brown eyes would be pretty boring.
He could not possibly have been more wrong.
He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something very warm and inviting about her brown eyes.
Interesting.
"Where are you supposed to be?" She asked him.
"The Universe. I ditch whenever I can. Lady Belva has the worst crush on me. I mean, I can't really blame her"--he gestured to himself--"but still, it's awkward, you know?"
Okay, he was definitely showing off a little.
But something about this mystery girl had him desperate to keep her talking, hold her interest, figure her out. Especially when he looked more closely—finally taking in more than just her pretty face and remarkably non-blue eyes—and saw that she seemed to be splattered with some strange substance.
Besides, his joke seemed to pay off.
He noticed the corners of her lips twitch, as though she were fighting a smile.
"And now I get to meet the mysterious new girl," he added, "so I'd say ditching paid off pretty well."
Really well.
She blushed. "I'm hardly mysterious."
"I don't know. You won't tell me why you're not in session. Don't think I haven't noticed."
She dropped her gaze to her feet. "That's because it's too embarrassing."
"I love embarrassing!" She still didn't say anything, so he laughed and continued. "Will you at least tell me where you're supposed to be?"
She sighed. "Alchemy with Lady Galvin."
"Ugh, she's the worst. I had her as a Level Three--and she hated me, probably because I turned the lab table to silver. But she said she wanted me to impress her." He winked, wanting to impress Sophie, too.
For some strange reason.
"Still, I wouldn't mention that we're friends if I were you."
Sophie's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the mention of 'friends'.
And he picked up on a slight mood shift. Was it confusion again? Or...disbelief, maybe?
That didn't really make sense, unless she was just confused as to why a stranger was acting like they were already friends.
But he really wanted to be.
There was something special about this new girl, and he wanted to find out more.
And think of all the stuff she knew about humans!
He could learn so much!
"So, what, did Lady Galvin kick you out or something?" he asked.
"Kind of," she mumbled evasively.
"Now this I have to hear." Come on, Sophie. Give me something to work with here.
"You're going to laugh at me."
"Probably," he agreed.
She dropped her gaze again and mumbled, "I accidentally exploded the serum I was making."
He burst into laughter. "Did you do any damage?"
"Only to her cape--"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Do you have any idea how epic that is? That cape is her pride and joy! Did she send you to Dame Alina's office?"
"No, she sent me to the Healing Center. A little of it got on my hand." She held it up and glared at it like it had done something to offend her.
Whoa.
Another facet of how unusual and mysterious this new girl was.
That was a pretty nasty looking burn. But she wasn't acting like it was hurting her at all—more like she was irritated she'd been sent to have it healed.
Any other girl he knew would've been freaking out.
"Wow, most girls would be crying about a wound like that--most guys too. Even I'd be playing it up for sympathy and stuff," he admitted, letting some of his awe creep into his voice.
"It must look worse than it is."
Somehow I doubt that. "Still, don't you think you should get it treated?"
"I guess."
He laughed again as he watched her face go pale and felt some of that initial panic again. Or was it dread? And why was she afraid of getting a burn treated? "You just turned whiter than these walls. What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Come on, then. I'm taking you to the Healing Center so you don't get lost again." He hooked his arm through hers and guided her toward the Healing Center.
The moment their arms touched, her emotions became way more intense—no wonder he could detect them even without contact—and also clearer. Careful to keep an amused smirk on his face as they walked, he was actually deep in concentration.
He felt her filling with more and more dread as they approached the Healing Center.
He also felt confusion, almost incredulity—though he didn't know why.
And worry. She was very worried. It felt different enough from the dread that he assumed there was a different cause for it—though just like her confusion, he didn't know why.
And under all that was something familiar—and a bit more easy to place.
Something that he picked up from lots of girls, since he was so ridiculously good-looking.
That, and the fact that his best friend was a Vacker who was almost as good-looking as he was.
So that swooping, fluttery feeling? He recognized it.
Even if it felt diminished, like she was trying to stamp it out.
Or like it was just too overshadowed by all the other things she was feeling.
He could feel that he'd piqued her curiosity, but it was not nearly as much as she had piqued his.
Elwin looked up as they entered the Healing Center. "Sophie? I figured I'd have to drag you back here to check up on you."
Keefe's eyebrows shot up and he cocked his head toward her, even more curious now. She'd already met Elwin?
And why had her dread turned back to panic as they walked in?
Elwin was like...the least frightening adult on the planet.
He was also one of coolest.
"I know," Sophie mumbled, not really looking at Elwin. "I have a tiny burn I need you to treat--no big deal."
"Well, let me check it out."
Bullhorn chose that moment to rush past, which totally freaked Mystery Girl out. Keefe couldn't keep himself from laughing—humans thought banshees were myths and apparently no one had yet had time to explain the truth to Sophie. Keefe supposed she'd have quite the learning curve for a while.
At the sound of his laughter, Elwin focused his attention on Keefe for the first time.
"What brings you here today, Keefe?"
"Just helping a fellow Prodigy, sir," Keefe responded with mock solemnity.
Elwin grinned. "I notice you've had to miss your session to do it."
"I know. Such a shame." He sighed dramatically. "But Sophie needed help, so what could I do?"
"What, indeed? And I suppose you'll be wanting a pass to excuse you."
See, this was why Keefe loved Elwin.
"What a good idea."
"You always have been one to seize an opportunity." Elwin handed him a pass. "Session won't be over for another half hour, so I'd walk slow if I were you."
"Oh, I can't leave yet--not until I know Sophie will be okay."
Thankfully, his tendency to love ditching class completely covered for the fact that he wanted to prolong his time with Sophie.
He didn't want to leave her yet—all the mysteries and secrets she was hiding were practically calling his name, begging him to riddle them out.
Not to mention she was super cute.
He wasn't sure what that meant, yet.
It felt like more than just curiosity.
There was a spark of interest.
The question was—if he got to know her better, would that spark still be there? Or was it just because she was the new girl, the elf raised by humans?
Either way, Keefe was glad for the ready-made excuse to stay close for a few minutes longer.
Elwin turned his attention back to Sophie, who was noticeably trembling. "This looks like an acid burn. How did you manage that?"
"Um...slight accident in my alchemy session."
Slight?
Keefe rolled his eyes, then mimed a huge explosion--complete with sound effects. "Destroyed Galvin's cape," he added with appreciation.
Elwin started laughing. "Wish I could have seen that! Sorry," he added when Sophie scowled at him--scowling Sophie was strangely adorable--"Have a seat so I can treat it."
She tried to act tough, but her emotions didn't lie. Now that they were no longer touching, her emotions weren't quite as clear, but he could still tell that they were negative. It felt like anxiety. She even flinched when Elwin applied the purple salve to her hand.
He just wished he knew why. The painful part had already happened—getting the burn healed would be painless. Was human medicine different?
Must. Find. Out. More.
"Out of curiosity," Elwin asked, "How did you explode the serum?"
"I'm not sure. I measured everything twice, and added it in the order I was supposed to, but when I whipped it, it exploded."
"Whipped it?" Keefe interrupted. Why would she whip the mixture? No wonder it exploded!
"Yeah. At first I thought it said 'whap', but I figured I read it wrong so I whipped it."
Keefe couldn't help it. He burst out into hysterical laughter--and Elwin joined him.
"WHAP means 'wash hands and present," Keefe barely managed to explain while still laughing.
Elwin cleared his throat. "It's an honest mistake. Could've happened to anyone."
Keefe could tell she was embarrassed, but he actually thought it was really adorable. Besides—this would help her.
She didn't seem shy, exactly, but she was definitely very reserved. She wasn't one who would enjoy being the center of attention, but her situation meant that she was whether she liked it or not.
So if people were going to be watching her and talking about her, they might as well be praising her for the Epic Cape Destruction instead of gossiping or even scrutinizing her for being new.
For being the strange girl raised by humans.
She'd be the prodigy who destroyed the beloved cape of one of the school's least favorite mentors.
Everyone would love her.
"This is going to be epic! I can't wait for tomorrow!"
She sighed. It was obvious that she was not nearly as excited about it as he was. But she didn't really understand what this would do for her—not yet, anyway.
But that didn't matter. He didn't need her to understand and didn't need credit. This was exactly his kind of thing anyway—spreading fun gossip around the school. The fact that it would help the cute new girl start to fit in? That was a very convenient bonus.
It would be his own little gift to Sophie.
He just had to hope he'd get more chances to be around her. She was clearly very special, and everything about her made him curious.
He couldn't wait to figure her out.