Board Thread:Short Stories and Fanfictions/@comment-75.25.52.26-20190727210155/@comment-43311054-20190902233522

Chapter 6

Sophie was remembering everything that had happened, recalling every time Keefe had called her Sophie and not Foster in that conversation. Shocked as she was, the last thing she’d expected was to wake up to was Sandor telling her that both Fitz and Keefe were waiting downstairs. She paled, running downstairs in her messed up clothes. Too late she realized it was a bad idea, and both boys stared at her disheveled hair and wrinkled clothes. She’d slept in the outfit that she’d worn yesterday. They both cleared their throats at the same time and glared at each other. Sophie’s mouth fell open. Suddenly the friendship that she’d known to get through anything was falling apart. And she had an awful suspicion it was just because of her.

Sophie mumbled, “Let me just get ready,” and ran back upstairs. She showered as fast as she could, throwing herself into the first outfit she could find and hastily brushing her hair. She ended up wearing a dark blue tunic and plain leggings, her hair damp and flat. She ran downstairs into the middle of a fight, Fitz and Keefe yelling at each other about seemingly nothing. Fitz ran to Sophie, shooting a glare at Keefe before wrapping his arm around her. Sophie’s jaw dropped when Keefe dropped his burning face to the ground, eyeing his shoes instead of freaking out. She appreciated the gesture, surprised that Keefe was trying his hardest to be civil. Then she noticed Fitz’s protective position and frowned.

She shook off his arm, ignoring the hurt in his eyes when she said, “What is going on here? Please stop fighting.”

Fitz growled, “Apparently my so-called best friend came over here to make sure I wouldn’t hurt you and then tried to win over my…you. I came here to make sure that we were still in good terms and...I was gonna ask you out for real.”

Keefe groaned, saying, “And I came here to ask how you felt about this. I want to know how YOU feel.”

Sophie cleared her throat, and then she whispered, “I’m not sure who I like more.” Keefe sucked in a breath, flushing as Fitz stumbled back like someone had hit him in the stomach. Sophie felt something crumble inside her as she watched a tear slip down Fitz’s face. She’d never seen him cry before these recent events. Was she really that important to him? She then looked at Keefe, who was blushing insanely red and smiling like he’d never smiled before. Sophie felt like smiling herself at the adorable expression on his face, but Fitz was too important to just hurt like that. Who DID she like more? With each passing moment, it made less and less sense.

Fitz choked out, “Sophie? Why? Did I do something?” He backed up a couple more steps and the misery in his eyes threatened to break Sophie’s calm facade. She sucked in a couple of quick, unsubstantial breaths and shook her head. Fitz looked more relieved than before, but jealousy gleamed behind the glittering teal that was watching her.

She said, “I don’t know. I really don’t know why. Everything was the same as before. Just hearing Keefe say it…understanding most of the things that had happened…I don’t know.” Keefe smirked but quickly dropped his victorious look after Sophie continued, “That doesn’t mean that I necessarily automatically think I like Keefe more. You’re forgetting that I like both of you, Fitz. Not just Keefe.” The words flowed more easily and Sophie felt some of the tension dissipate from the room.

Keefe suddenly turned pinker and looked down to hide his grin, saying, “So I guess I was right. The Mysterious Miss F always has more tricks up her sleeve.” Sophie looked away from Fitz to hide her wide smile, choking down the laugh building up in her throat. She wasn’t sure why she found it so funny. She just needed a reason to laugh. A giggle escaped from her mouth and Keefe and Fitz smiled, however grudgingly, knowing that she was okay. Sophie’s smile dimmed a little and she bit her lip, suddenly remembering Tam. Tam. This whole time she’d been having boy drama she’d forgotten about Tam. She suddenly paced the floor frantically, thinking, trying to make up for the fact that she’d forgotten about Tam.

Keefe and Fitz looked at her, frowning. “Foster, are you okay? And answer that honestly please-”

Fitz groaned and finished for him, “Because you’re an Empath. We get it, okay Keefe?” Sophie raised her eyebrows and Fitz dropped his eyes to the ground, fuming.

She said, “It’s Tam. This whole time I’ve been freaking out over Match lists and you guys, but Tam is with the Neverseen and we’ve made no attempt to even talk telepathically.”

Keefe smirked and said, “You’ve been freaking out over us? Instead of Bangs Boy? Oh, Foster.”

Sophie’s fought back a smile as she said, “Keefe! I’m serious! I need to figure out how to reach Tam telepathically. For that to happen, you both need to calm down. Whatever happens will be right in the end, and quite frankly, Tam’s situation is way more important than this.” Keefe shrugged, still smirking.

Fitz’s eyes brightened and flickered to his Cognate rings as he said, “Maybe we can try right now. You know, finding his thoughts.” He blushed and Sophie felt her hand fly to her temple, thinking of what they could say.

Keefe cleared his throat and said, “If you guys are gonna go full-on Fitzphie mode, then I should probably leave. Bye.” He grinned a little and there was a skip in his step as he left. Fitz smiled, his teeth gleaming as Sophie sat down and motioned for him to join her.

Sophie felt a clear, accented voice fill her mind. Just like old times, huh?

Yep.

''Before we reach out to Tam, should we check on Silveny? It might strengthen our stamina, and we really should do that anyways.''

''I don’t know. We can reach out to her after, but for now I really need this energy so that we can actually reach Tam.''

Ok, that’s good.

Sophie smiled and thought, ''Let’s try to reach Tam. Do you know what his thoughts feel like?''

''Yeah. I once entered his mind for some reason. I think it was for practice or something. Probably in Alluveterre once we’d met them.''

''Great. I’ll send you a boost and you can try to find his mind. Let me know if you need me to enhance you.''

Okay. For a few endless minutes, Fitz’s consciousness spread thinly in different directions. Then he gasped and grabbed Sophie’s hand, tapping her fingernails. Sophie brought back her enhancing and the power of their minds went barreling towards whatever Fitz had picked up.

Tam? Fitz transmitted. He and Sophie squeezed their eyes shut, looking for a response as they entered the mind.

And suddenly they heard something.

It was Tam’s voice, thinking, Fitz?