Lol. I completely forgot I had this story over on Wattpad, tbh. In my defense, it's a lot more popular over on Fanfiction.net. Maybe if you guys were to comment and vote more (hint hint hint) I would remember you guys! (Especially comment! --->)
Okay, but at least now you get a double update! Right?
Also, I got 100 reviews over on Fanfiction.net (!!!) so this chapter is dedicated to FastReaderBadWriter (I don't think they have a Wattpad account) for being my 100th! Yay!
Let's see how the crowd's doing!
Crowd: DON'T THINK WE'VE FORGIVEN YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO KEEFE!
Me: Oh... oh my mallowmelt! That means you're attached to my version of the characters! You actually like this!
Crowd: NONONONONONONONONO ANYTHING BUT THAT! *Runs away*
Me: Welp, they're gone. Hope you enjoy!
Sophie's sulking, zombie-mode-ing, and general "reacting" to Keefe's memory loss the next day was interrupted several times. First it was Grady and Edaline coming to cheer her up. Then Edaline again with mallowmelt. Finally, Fitz came and told her he'd heard the news from Alden, who heard it from Grady.
"How are you doing?" Fitz said gently.
"How do you think I'm doing?" Sophie muttered.
"Fair point." Fitz answered. Sitting down next to Sophie on her bed, he wrapped a (probably supposed to be) comforting arm around her shoulders and asked "Do you think we'll be able to get his memories back?"
Sophie sighed. "I don't know, Fitz. We already know the Neverseen, Gisela especially, are experts are washing memories. We figured that out with-" Thinking better of her initial idea to say Alvar, Sophie backtracked. "Never mind. And, um, Keefe's other memories were shattered, not just washed, so it might be the same this time. For all we know, this was part of the Neverseen's plan- and their plans almost always work."
"That's true..." Fitz conceded, "But-"
"If you say 'we're Cognates', I may strangle you."
"Fair. How about this?" Fitz cleared his throat. "Sophie, you're the Moonlark. The most powerful elf alive. You've done the impossible, like, what? Fifty different times already? You can do anything you put your mind to. Remember when my dad's mind was broken? You managed to heal him. I have no doubt that you can do this too."
The determination in his teal eyes was contagious, so Sophie stood up, shrugged, and said "It's worth a try. Come on, let's go the Wa- Shores of Solace."
"Yeah, that's the right attitude!" Fitz cheered. Standing up too, he grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him to the Leapmaster 500. "Shores of Solace!"
They reappeared at the familiar beach house. Keefe was on the swing, staring out at the waves.
"Hi," Sophie said quietly.
"Foster! Back so soon? Seems like someone missed me," Keefe smirked. "Who's the guy next to you?"
"Fitz," Sophie answered.
"Wonderboy?" Keefe remembered.
Fitz made an indignant noise and Sophie chuckled. "Yeah. That Fitz."
"So, besides missing me desperately, what brings the two of you here?"
"We're going to try to trigger your memories," Fitz muttered.
"Ooh, fun! So how does this work?"
"We're basically just going to transmit important words into your mind and see if they trigger anything."
Keefe gave them both a thumbs up. "Cool. Ready?"
"Ready." Fitz said. Both boys looked at Sophie.
She swallowed and resisted the urge to tug at an eyelash.
"Ready."
Sophie willed her heart not to flutter- she and Fitz broke up!- as their hands and cognate rings connected. Together, they entered Keefe's memory.
Black Swan! Sophie transmitted. Nothing.
Ro! Fitz tried. A memory of "Ms. Fangirling Ogre Bodyguard Lady" from the previous day appeared, but nothing from before Keefe lost his memory.
Um, Neverseen! Their symbol, but no specific memories. Still... "We're getting somewhere," Sophie muttered.
Gisela! Nothing. Sophie muttered some words she probably wasn't supposed to say. Just when she started to be optimistic...
Legacy! Sophie thought excitedly. A million Lady Gisela's surrounded them and started saying "-You need to fulfill your legacy, Keefe-", "-This is your Legacy-", "-Part of your Legacy-", "-Legacy-", "-Legacy-", "-Legacy-"
"Creepy," Keefe muttered. Sophie agreed. Yes, she definitely was a little creeped out by this- but snippets of memories were returning. That was definitely good. These things they were transmitting triggered small memories- maybe they'd be able to guess that one word that makes everything click into place.
Stellarlune. Shadowflux. Fitz guessed. A full memory came back this time- the memory of when Tam first "did the thing." Full memories! Sophie's hopes were growing more and more. It was going to hurt a lot if they were crushed.
Lodestar! Nightfall! Sophie thought desperately.
Silveny! Alicorn!
Glitter Butt! Sophie tried, knowing that would probably work better than Silveny's real name.
Black Swan! Fitz repeated.
"You tried that already," Keefe told him out loud.
"I did? Oh, Iggy fart!" Fitz grumbled.
Swan song! Sophie transmitted. It was a bit of a long shot, but while they were on Black Swan related stuff...
Sophie was searching her brain for something else to transmit, but anything even remotely resembling a train of thought vanished into a cloud of elation as a memory began to form around them. She was so elated that it took a second to register that the memory was tinted gold.
In the memory, it was in the middle of the night. Stars shined above them, and dark waves crashed below them. Flying against the whipping wind was Silveny, AKA Glitter Butt, with Sophie and Keefe riding on top of her. Instantly, Sophie recognized the memory as the time she and Keefe flew to a Black Swan hideout to "fix" Sophie's "malfunctioning" abilities. It did sort of make sense how "Swan Song" connected to this- after all, it was from the time they were just starting to figure things out about the organization. Sophie smiled a little bit at the memory of how aggravating the Black Swan was back then. They may have been secretive and controlling, but at least they always knew what to do.
"Gotta say, Glitter Butt, you are not as comfortable as I'd like you to be. We need to fatten you up next time so you're softer." Keefe joked. It relaxed him a little bit, but between Sophie's anxiety and his own worrying about her and Alden, it was hard to really find humor in this.
"Hopefully there won't be a next time." Sophie sighed.
"Aw, what, you don't want to make this a regular thing?"
Sophie shook her head. "It's a little different for me, Keefe. There's kinda a lot riding on this."
"Like your health and your future and Alden's health and stuff?" As soon as the words left Keefe's mouth, he regretted them. Yes, cracking jokes did help- but that wasn't something to make light of. Judging my the waves of disappointment flowing off of Sophie, she agreed.
"Which I thought you cared about- Alden at least." Slapping him probably would've stung less.
For a few seconds, Keefe was quiet. That didn't normally happen, but Sophie's comment was hard to respond to. Finally, he leaned closer to her as he said "I know I crack a lot of jokes, Sophie, but... that's just because it's easier, you know? It's how I deal. But that doesn't mean I don't care. I do. A lot." He even surprised himself with the words. Normally, Keefe kept everything bottled up- he'd never opened up so much to another person before. And yet, opening up like this to Sophie just felt... right. She was one of the few people Keefe thought genuinely cared about him... and it was slowly dawning on him just how much he cared about her in return. Being an Empath clearly didn't make him any smarter about his own feelings... as was made obvious by the fact that he was only now realizing...
Keefe "Lord Hunkyhair Gulon Master Bad Boy Prankster" was falling in love. With a certain Mysterious Miss Foster.
In shock, Sophie pulled her mind out of Keefe's. The look of shock and jealousy on Fitz's face let her know that he saw the memory too. Keefe's face, however, didn't reveal anything- though that didn't really tell her much.
He likes me. He likes me. He likes me. He likes me.
"Foster? I think my memories came back."
Sophie's mental panic and thought process of He likes me, he likes me, he likes me, was briefly interrupted long enough for pure joy to take its place. She flung her arms around Keefe and squealed "You remember! You're back! Keefe, oh my mallowmelt, thank goodness, Keefe!" she rambled thoughtlessly as she clung to him like a lifeline.
Keefe laughed as he squeezed back and assured her that air wasn't really necessary.
Fitz cleared his throat. A dark look passed over his face, but in a second it was gone and he was clapping Keefe on the back, saying "Glad you're okay, bro."
Now that the euphoria of having him back had begun to fade, the awkwardness/panic/he-likes-me-and-I-don't-know-how-to-react-ness was slowly starting to return.
He likes me. He likes me. He likes me.
And then a new thought, one even more shocking and panic-worthy and I-don't-know-how-to-react-y entered her mind: I think I might like him back.
I'll let you guys react to that. --->
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