That's right, I finally finished the next chapter!
It took wayyy too long, but I did!
Enjoy-
Before:
His hand lifted, slowly. He watched it rise, watched it land on the door in three short cracks.
The door opened.
Fitz's eyes were wide with surprise, but, to Keefe's surprise, he wasn't angry. There was a hint of annoyance, or frustration, but not any anger at Keefe.
Choosing to take that as a hopeful sign, Keefe found his voice.
"May I come in?"
Sophie couldn't stop pressing her fingers to her lips. They were still tingling.
Keefe had left, of course. He couldn't stay forever, and Grady and Edaline would be home any minute; luckily, they hadn't been before, because Grady didn't seem to approve of Keefe for some reason.
Even though they definitely weren't dating.
Her lips pressed together as worries drifted through her brain. Grady was just one of the people who wouldn't like their... relationship. Or whatever they were doing now.
Fitz, Grady, probably Cassius and Gisela, maybe Alden and Della, and Sophie didn't even want to think about how the rest of her friends would react.
Not to mention the entire school.
She flopped back on her pillow.
She really needed someone to talk to. Fitz was out of the question, Tam was a no, Dex would just be awkward, Keefe wouldn't help with this... Sophie groaned.
A lot of teasing would be in her immediate future.
Sighing loudly, she reached for her imparter, holding it in front of her. "Biana," she tried, only to have the hail rejected. The younger Vacker must be in another hail at the moment; which meant- "Linh."
The hydrokinetic picked up quickly, her sweet face appearing in the imparter. "Yes?"
"Um. Can we. Maybe. Have another girl talk thing?" Sophie winced, burying her red cheeks in her pillow.
Sophie could practically hear the smirk in her friend's voice, even though her eyes were well covered by the pillow.
"Of course," Linh answered smoothly. "Come over in ten minutes? And I'd brush your hair if I were you."
Sophie felt her hair, which was all rumpled from where Keefe's fingers had tangled in it, and blushed. Her face was practically a tomato at this point, so she squeaked, "Yes! Fine, okay! I'll see you in ten!"
She clicked away before Linh could notice more things about her appearance. Lucky her tingling lips couldn't be seen.
Probably.
After straightening her hair and clothes a bit (she hadn't fixed her makeup after her breakup with Fitz, so she just got rid of the rest), Sophie leaped over to the Songs', following the path back to the peaceful spot from the last girl talk.
Marella and Linh were already there, but Maruca and Biana had yet to arrive, and Sophie settled herself on the chair closest to one of the pools to wait. Maruca appeared after about five minutes, but Biana still wasn't there.
"She's probably talking to someone else," Sophie told the others. "She was busy when I hailed her."
"Probably talking to Dex," Marella smirked. "Let's just start, she could be a while. Sophie, what did you gather us here to discuss?"
"You make it sound like we're some sort of council," Maruca snorted.
"We might as well be," Linh grinned.
Sophie sighed. "Let's wait until Biana gets here. She'll want to hear this."
Marella bounced on her seat. She didn't seem to notice that her feet caused tremors every time they hit the ground. "Come on, won't you tell us? Please?"
"Not until Biana gets here," she insisted firmly. "I don't want to explain twice."
"Who knew Sophie was this bossy? Also evil," Maruca shook her head dramatically.
Sophie sighed.
They waited for about ten more minutes for Biana, and when she finally showed up they leaped to their feet with way too much excitement.
"Wow, I know I'm amazing, but I didn't expect this much love," Biana smirked, flouncing over to a seat.
Marella rolled her eyes. "Actually, we want Sophie to spill and she wouldn't until you arrived."
Biana smirked. "Let's hear it then. This is about Keefe, of course."
Sophie groaned, covering her face with her hands. "Fine. I'll tell you now."
Silence.
"Come on!" Linh pestered, poking Sophie persistently. "Pleaaase?"
The blonde let out a mumble-groan that foretold the mounds of embarrassment and teasing she was about to endure. "Okay, okay. Keefe and I... maybe sorta kinda kissed."
The screams that arose from the girls could probably have shattered glass.
Biana seemed to be hyperventilating instead of screaming, actually, smiling so hard her cheeks looked like a verminion's.
They all seemed to be incoherent for a second, however, and Sophie let herself smile as she remembered it, even as her cheeks burned red and she buried her face in her hands.
"AWWWW!" Linh shrieked, her screech materializing into an almost real word. "DETAILS PLEASE."
Biana caught her breath, smirking. "I know the details!" She sang happily.
Sophie gaped at her. "You- what? Did Keefe-"
The sound of his name sent Maruca into a happy spazzy gasp giggle thing, and she made a sound that sounded like, "GooberjeebiesYESH."
Sophie rolled her eyes, covering her burning face again. "Did... you know, him, tell you, Biana?"
"Yup!" Biana's smile seemed permanently fixed on her face. "He hailed me! That's why I was laaaaaaaate!"
"Sophie needs to tell us the details! You tell us Keefe's version after, k?" Marella waited until Biana nodded before rounding on Sophie. "YOU MUST TELL US. OR SHOW US THE MEMORY THAT'S FINE TOO."
"Um. Maybe not showing you the memory. But I'll tell you. What. Happened. I guess." Sophie took a deep breath. This was what she'd come for, after all...
"Come ON!" Maruca shrieked.
"You. Don't. Have to tell us. If you don't want to," Linh gritted out, looking almost in pain as she said the words.
"No, I will," Sophie snorted at the excited looks on their faces. They were wayyyy too invested in her love life. Everyone was at this point, it seemed. "So. Um. He hailed me, and asked to come over."
"IT WAS AT YOUR HOUSE IN YOUR ROOM SO CUTE OKAY I'M SHUTTING UP NOW." Maruca slapped her hands over her mouth and nodded firmly.
Sophie rolled her eyes, pulling her hair over her blushing face. "So. Fitz and I had just broken up so I was a little... um. Sad. And then he helped me through it and said some... really nice things."
Marella snorted, but it sounded slightly off, as her face was stretched into a huge smile.
"And then he told me how much he... liked me. And I. I. Um." Sophie hesitated, before squeezing her eyes shut, burying her face in the cushioned chair, and saying in a slightly muffled voice, "I kissed him."
Cue freakout mode.
Once the screaming calmed down and the ground stopped shuddering from Marella's excitement, everyone settled back down in their chairs to catch their breath. Except Sophie, who still had her face pressed into the cushion of her chair.
"So how was it? How did it compare to Fitz?" Biana wanted to know.
Sophie sat up, her face still beet red. "I guess it was. Better. It just felt... right, you know?"
Linh sighed dreamily. "I always knew you guys were meant for each other."
Marella snorted.
"I dunno, I thought Fitzphie was gonna be endgame. But I guess Sokeefe was just perfect all along. Almost as if there was something right in front of me the whole time and I was too oblivious to see it..." Biana smirked.
Sophie threw one of the decorative pillows at her. She wasn't... that oblivious...
Was she?
"So are you together now?" Maruca bounced eagerly in her chair, awaiting Sophie's answer.
Biana answered for her when she hesitated. "No, not yet. They're waiting, cause Sophie only just broke up with Fitz and that would be... awkward. Plus, there's the whole thing of Sophie actually still liking Fitz."
The girls all nodded knowingly, if a little disappointed.
Sophie stared at them. "What- who- why- how- what?"
"You forgot when and where," Marella said cheekily, dodging the slap Linh aimed at her arm.
"You wouldn't just stop liking him, after all," Biana pointed out. "After all these years? No way. But you've also realized that you like Keefe. And you like Keefe more, correct?"
Sophie nodded slowly. Hesitantly. Uncertainly.
"Would you like to date Keefe?" Linh questioned.
She nodded again, this time more firmly.
The girls all smiled at the same time before dropping them and refocusing. "Do you want to date him more than Fitz?"
That... was a good question.
Fitz and her... they didn't seem to work in a relationship. They'd broken up twice, after all. Maybe she could give it another try, but what if they broke up again? It hadn't really taken more than a few weeks for problems to start the first time.
Maybe they just... weren't meant to be.
She couldn't lie to herself; the realization sent a twinge of sadness and regret through her. She really had enjoyed dating Fitz, but their relationship was more superficial, all kisses and hugs. They helped each other, comforted each other... but maybe not in the way she was going for. Maybe she'd only liked dating the idea of Fitz, of dating the handsome friend she'd had feelings for for years.
Maybe it wasn't him she'd liked at all.
Still, she had had a huge crush on Fitz for a good five years, and that feeling would be hard to shake. Maybe she'd liked Keefe for a few years, but more likely she had only started liking him a few months back.
Did she like him more than Fitz, though?
Sophie made a growl of frustration. "Urgh, this is so hard!" She rested her head on the cushions behind her, her mind swirling.
Biana covered a snort with a cough.
Sophie lifted her head to glare at her before dropping it back down.
"Come on. Okay, let's think of things this way. I'm going to ask you questions. Don't think, just answer," Linh cleared her throat. "Do you feel more comfortable around Fitz or Keefe?"
"K- Keefe," Sophie answered, all the times when her anxiety had attacked around her ex-boyfriend swimming through her mind.
"When you have a problem, do you go to Keefe or Fitz?"
"Keefe... I guess?" She sometimes went to Fitz for her problems, but never the ones that were really personal...
"Who's the better kisser?"
"Um. What? I. Don't. Is this really necessary?"
"You have to answerrrr!" Linh sang happily.
"I don't know?" Sophie tried. "I kissed Keefe only once and it wasn't... that long or like... Can we move on?"
"Sounds to me like you're avoiding answering the question," Marella smirked.
"Of course I am. Yes. That. Please, Linh?"
Linh snorted. "Fine. Do you prefer a joking, fun boyfriend, or a sweeter, more intense boyfriend?"
"Keefe can be intense. He can be serious, and sweet, and-" Sophie stopped herself, noticing the identical grins on the others' faces. She crossed her arms.
"I think we have our winner!" Biana cried, raising her arms in victory. "Not that it was a surprise. Sophie, I'm reasonably sure you like Keefe more than Fitz. You're welcome."
Sophie scowled.
"So, you aren't going to date... fabulous, that's not gonna be awkward at all when we're at school," Marella commented, although her eyes were glittering in a way that showed how excited she was for the drama.
"I can't wait to see Dex's face when I tell him... can I tell him?" Biana widened her eyes pleadingly.
Sophie sighed. "No! It's none of his business, may I remind you! It'll only make Fitz feel worse, anyway."
Biana pouted, her perfectly glossed lips puckering. Sophie stayed adamant, however, and she slumped. "Fiiiiine, I won't tell him. Or Tam, either. But it's gonna get out eventually."
Sophie ignored the last comment. Maybe it would all be fine and she could stay friends with Fitz? It may be unlikely, but it could happen?
Maybe?
"Anything else you need clarification for?" Maruca asked, leaning forwards on her elbows.
"Nope! I think I'm good!" Sophie responded, trying not to laugh at the notable disappointment in Maruca's eyes as she answered. "I think my embarrassment cells are cleaned out for today, thanks."
"We do what we can," Biana laughed. "Now, I wouldn't hail your sweetheart quite yet, as he is doing something rather important. Go ahead and daydream, though, I'm sure you'll be occupied for some time with that."
Sophie threw a cushion at her, and they all laughed.
"I'm really glad you're my friends," Linh said suddenly, in her typically sweet fashion.
The others looked at each other and grinned, nodding.
"Me too."
Sophie's a little more worked out now, thanks to her lady friend girl talk time (that made no sense, I'm a little sleep deprived okay-) but she and Keefe still have some time before they work everything out!
Next post will be as soon as I stop procrastinating enough to work on it, and will be from Keefe's POV, confronting Fitz!
Tell me what you think! Comment, give me some constructive criticism, tell me if you liked it! I'm always looking for ways to improve my writing!