Board Thread:Short Stories and Fanfictions/@comment-75.25.52.26-20190727210155/@comment-43311054-20190924010429

Chapter 7

Sophie gasped. TAM?! She thought.

Yeah. How did you find me?

Fitz thought, I remembered your thoughts from Aluveterre.

Oh. Well, hi. This isn’t really a good time, you know.

Sophie frowned, transmitting, Why not?

I’m trying to figure out what the Neverseen’s next plan is. They’re talking about the Moonlark, so you, and about Matches. I guess they wouldn’t let you register? Anyways, they’re trying to figure out how to distract you from your problems. I guess they’re planning this big thing with Foxfire. I’d talk to Magnate Leto—or Mr. Forkle or whatever. I should really go now. Check back in later. Tell Linh I miss her. And—tell Biana I said that I hope she’s doing okay.

The Cognates said their goodbyes and Sophie dropped backwards onto her bed. She sighed and smiled. Tam was okay. There was no reason to feel guilty. She felt a small weight lift off her shoulders. It wasn’t great, but at least he seemed like he was still alright. Then she remembered his message to Biana.

She sat up, frowning as she said, “Tam left a message to Biana. And only Biana.” Then a smirk came over her face.

Fitz laughed and replied, “You know, you look a lot like Keefe when you do that. And yeah, I noticed that too. Hey, if you want to come over to Everglen tonight, you totally can. We can invite Grady and Edaline too, if you want.”

Sophie smiled and replied, “I’d love to come over. Just make sure that you invite Dex, Marella, Linh, and Keefe, okay?”

The smile dropped from Fitz’s face, but then he flashed a quick grin and said, “Sure. Let’s go.” Sophie hopped off her bed and watched as Fitz walked past the Leapmaster, grinning. “You should teleport us directly into the house. That would definitely freak them out.” Sophie sighed, noticing that it seemed like Fitz was trying to adopt Keefe’s playful personality. Not that it stopped her from agreeing.

The two stepped outside and clasped hands as they rose higher and higher into the air. Then they dropped, and Sophie closed her eyes as the clap of the void tearing sent them into dark black space, and then the middle of Everglen. Sophie opened her eyes and Fitz squeezed her hand before releasing it as Alden dropped his papers. Sophie was just glad that the door had been open, a detail that she’d forgotten about. Della and Biana stared, jaws dropped, as they blinked into sight. Sophie jumped, not prepared to see both of them appear without any warning whatsoever.

Before any greeting, Biana ran to Sophie and dragged her to her room as Fitz, visibly upset, called after them. “Sophie, I need to tell you something.”

Tam’s farewell drifted into her thoughts and Sophie exclaimed, “So do I!”

Then at the same time, they said, “It’s about Tam.” Sophie raised her eyebrows as Biana looked away, motioning for Sophie to go first.

“I finally got in touch with him. And…he told me to give you a message.”

Biana’s eyebrows jumped and she leaned forward, eager to hear. “What did he say?”

“He said that he hopes you’re doing okay. Only you. He didn’t mention anyone else.” Sophie put intentional emphasis on some of the words, trying to see what reaction she’d get. It was almost satisfying to watch Biana’s face burn and know that this time it wasn’t her blushing. Sophie grinned a little, and Biana couldn’t hold a smile back as she pushed Sophie a little.

Sophie continued, “So…what did you want to tell me?” She raised her eyebrows and Biana flushed again.

She replied, “Nothing that matters now.”

“Why,” Sophie wondered aloud.

“Because…I was going to tell you to reach out to him so that I’d know he was safe.” Sophie could practically hear what Biana was trying to say without words. She’d wanted to know that he was safe even more than Linh. A full smile lit up Sophie’s face.

The smile faded from Biana’s face, though, as she turned away and whispered, “I just miss him and I need to know that he’s okay.” Sophie’s own smile slipped off her face as a sad sigh escaped Biana’s mouth. Biana looked back and a timid smile crept back onto her face.

She said, “Thank you.” Sophie fought back the teasing coming and she reached over to give Biana a hug. No matter what, now she had to get Tam back.

Suddenly a voice called, “Biana? Sophie? Are you ever going to come back?” The girls stood up and smoothed themselves out before walking out to Fitz, Keefe, Marella, and Dex. Biana was a little pale, but Sophie hoped that she wouldn’t be as anxious anymore knowing that Tam was okay.

Then she noticed that someone was missing, and she frowned. “Where’s Linh,” she asked.

Fitz shrugged and said, “She told me she was hanging out with Wylie today. It’s been kind of a rough day for her, what with it having been a couple weeks since Tam joined the Neverseen, so I just let her do what she’s comfortable with. I told her she’s welcome to drop by with Wylie later, and I gave her Tam’s message.” Sophie nodded, smiling slightly at the way Keefe’s face lit up when she walked in.

She grinned suddenly and asked, “Base quest, anyone?” Everyone stood up, Fitz and Keefe immediately claiming their spots on Sophie’s team. Marella, Dex, and Biana were on the other team.

“So,” Keefe started, “Special abilities are definitely allowed. There is one rule—do not destroy anything.” Sophie raised her eyebrows at the rule as a smirk crept onto his face. “Just kidding. Feel right at home to do so. Or not,” he added as he noticed Sophie’s expression.

And there it was. Sophie felt, for the first time, that she could breathe again. It was such a relief to laugh and know that no one judged her for being herself again. Pinpointing the minds of the people not on her team, her team won the game by a landslide.

Afterwards they had the beautiful fire again, and Sophie stayed inside with Keefe. The flames still bothered her more than she’d like to admit. Seeing Marella around them didn’t bother her, but the way she made them change colors and flicker around made her jumpy, so she’d gone to sit alone in the hall. Of course, Keefe had followed her in.

“Hey, Foster. How’s it going,” he asked, sitting so close to her she could feel his breath warm her cheeks. Or maybe that was just the feeling of the heat rushing into her face, burning proudly like the sun.

She replied, “Okay, I guess. You?”

She swore that she could feel his smile as he replied, “Never better.” They didn’t need words to fill the space after that. They sat like that, Sophie’s head against his shoulder, for an immeasurable amount of time. And when the group finally came in, Sophie felt warmer than she ever could’ve with flames in the dark.