Before:
"May I, um, come over?" She realized she'd just invited herself over, but Fitz had already said,
"Sure! I'll meet you at the front gate!" His gaze was a little curious, as though he knew she was hiding something.
She checked her hair and makeup in the mirror, and when Aaina deemed it acceptable, she ran down to the leapmaster and called, "Everglen!"
The crystals rotated and cast a beam of shimmering light onto the ground. Sophie stepped into the light and let the sparkling warmth take her away.
Sophie blinked as the bright-as-the-sun gate materialized before her. No matter how many times she leaped there, Everglen's gate always burned her eyes and gave her a slight headache.
She spotted a dark haired figure waiting for her beyond the shiny doors and waited for Fitz to open the gate to let her in. The doors slid open and Sophie jogged over to her boyfriend, a smile curving her lips.
He cupped her cheeks and pulled her in for a kiss. It was nice, nothing too special. She'd become quite the experienced kisser over the last week.
He led her inside to his room. She had been inside before, so it wasn't like it was this huge, momentous milestone.
But Fitz kind of acted like it was.
Sophie pushed the thought from her mind and concentrated on her surroundings.
His bed was big and fancy, with a blue cover and a mishmash of blankets thrown on top in a messy pile. The blankets were all made of expensive, colorful fabrics and the pillow was blue with gold trim. The Vackers were fancy even by elven standards, but this was ridiculous. Sophie realized she'd spent too long looking at the bed and quickly tore her eyes away, a blush forming on her cheeks.
The rest of the room was messier than it had been the last time Sophie had been there, the floor littered with empty Youth bottles and dirty clothes. The desk was covered in papers and books and pens, scattered in disarray.
All in all, it was a LOT messier than Soohie would have thought it would be. Fitz always seemed like Captain Perfect, with his amazing grades, awesome looks, and shining legacy. But this showed a side of Fitz that Sophie had never seen.
"So... um... you wanna tell me why you wanted to come over?" Fitz asked, sitting down on the chair. Sophie cleared a book off the other chair and sat down in it, trying not to let her eyes stray around the room. Fitz blushed. "Yeah, sorry for the mess. I just figured this would be more private than anywhere else in the house, because Biana doesn't like to come in here."
"Where is Biana?" Sophie only realized after she said it that she hadn't addressed the messy room part of the sentence, and Fitz was probably worried she was judging him about it. But it was too late now.
"Oh, she went over to Dex's," Fitz told her. "She's been doing that a lot this week."
Sophie thought back to the way she had seen Dex and Biana sitting close together, and how at the sleepover the week before, they had confessed feelings for one another but said they hadn't wanted to date.
"Do you think they're together?" She asked. This would start a long, non-awkward conversation! Point one to Sophie!
That point was dropped into the dirt when Fitz said, "I don't know... but why did you want to come over?"
Looked like she wasn't going to be able to avoid this conversation.
She couldn't exactly tell him, so she said, "I just wanted to see you." Not entirely true, but true enough.
Good thing Fitz wasn't an empath.
And it was worth it when Fitz smiled his perfect smile, sending her heart into overtime.
"I wanted to see you too," he said, leaning over and pecking her on the lips. She smiled to hide the secret she wanted to tell him.
Obviously, she didn't hide it well, because Fitz said, "What's wrong?"
"What? Nothing's wrong. Why would you think something was wrong?" Sophie said a little too quickly. She wished she were as good of a liar as Keefe.
Or that Alden or Della or Biana or even Alvar (anyone) would barge in and save her from having to respond to Fitz's next question.
"Is this about Keefe?" His eyes were narrowed suspiciously.
"No! No, of course not," Sophie said more slowly. "Why?"
"No reason."
That was not true, but Sophie decided not to press him. After all, she had a secret too.
"But what is it, then?" Fitz asked.
When Sophie hesitated, he poked her side. "Come on, Sophie. You can tell me."
"I don't know... I promised not to tell..." she deliberated. Curse her indecisive mind!
"Promised who?" Fitz prodded.
"I guess... Grady? And the Council?" she responded.
"The Council? If it's Council business, why do you know?" And not me. The words that were not said, but Sophie heard them loud and clear. She also saw the shadow of jealousy pass over Fitz's face.
"I... can't tell you that." She winced when Fitz's mouth slipped into a pout. "Sorry, but I can't."
She shouldn't tell him. It was for Marella. So that she didn't suddenly become the Only Girl Who Had An Ability All To Herself. For Marella's parents, especially her mom, who couldn't deal with that kind of stress. The news would come out eventually, but until Marella adjusted to her new ability, Sophie would keep her secret.
Should keep her secret.
"Why not?" Fitz crossed his arms, still pouting. He looked like a whiny toddler.
"Because it's not my secret to tell." Sophie was regretting coming here. She should have gone to Dex's instead.
Fitz's pout melted away, replaced by a regular, mature frown. "Why don't you trust me?"
"I do trust you! But the person who's secret this is trusted me, and I can't betray that trust," she told him.
"Then trust me to help you keep that trust!" Fitz tried.
"No." Sophie wasn't going to make Marella's life any harder. Plus, it would be bad for Linh. And Sophie really didn't want Tam mad at her too. And... she just didn't want to tell him.
"Okay, fine," Fitz consented. Sophie thought he was going to drop it, but instead, he leaned over and tilted her chin up. Their lips pressed together and parted slightly. Sophie kissed him back. She knew somewhere at the back of her mind that he was doing this to convince her to tell him, but she didn't care.
And it was working.
Sophie's fingers tangled in his hair and his hands cupped the back of her neck, pressing them closer together.
Eventually, Sophie ran out of air and broke away, panting.
They both caught their breath, and Fitz gave her a smile that melted the last of her defenses.
So she told him everything.
Every last bit.
I really made Fitz a bad person in this...
Yikes.
Better fix him somehow-