Fitz’s chest felt tight as bile rose in his throat.
Sophie had hailed him the moment she found Keefe’s letter. She paced her bedroom, flowers crunching under her feet.
“Have you tried to hail him?” Fitz asked. It was a stupid question, he knew- but it was possible that Sophie had just freaked out and forgotten to do basic things.
Sophie nodded, running a hand over her face. “I’ve tried everything- I tried to transmit to him, and when I couldn’t do that, I tried to get Silveny to reach him and she couldn’t either.” Her voice cracked, brown eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Fitz stood up from Sophie’s bed, still holding Keefe’s note. “We can find him.” He promised, crossing the room to her. He held up the letter in front of her face, she closed her eyes like it might disappear into thin air if she didn’t acknowledge it. “Look, right here-” He waited for her to open her eyes, when she did she flinched. But he simply ran his finger over a distinct line:
“I’m hiding as the black Swan hid you.” Fitz recited, “That sounds like he ran off to the forbidden cities, right?”
Sophie sniffed, a light flickering in her eyes- it was clear she was trying to smash down her hope. Fitz however, couldn’t afford to not be hopeful- if he let himself be upset and wallow, nothing would get done. He couldn’t crumble, not now.
“We have to tell the Black Swan,” Sophie said, looking slightly green at the prospect.
“I’ll talk to them. You just worry about telling Grady and Edaline, all right?”
A silent tear slipped down Sophie’s cheek, and Fitz resisted the urge to wipe it away with his thumb.
“Thank you, Fitz.” She wiped away her own tear, she reached out and gently squeezed his hand. He pulled his hand away and avoided looking at her face. They’d agreed to still be friends- the small gestures like that had to stop if he had any chance of getting over her.
“Where are you planning on having us all group together?” She asked quickly.
“Everglen… I guess.” Just the name of his home caused his chest to burn slightly. Sure, they’d been having family meetings and trying to figure out the next course of action for Alvar.
But lately, it felt like a group of strangers talking about four different versions of the same person.
Fitz couldn’t get the look on his parents’ faces after he told them that Sophie had found Alvar and then let him go. His mom had leaned on the wall to keep herself upright, while his dad got that vacant look in his eyes. Biana looked stricken, but in her eyes was something akin to anger.
Just the thought of what Sophie had done filled Fitz with a fiery rage, he felt his face shift into a frown.
“Are you all right?” Sophie’s voice cut through his mind.
Fitz pulled himself back to the present, “Yeah- yes.” He blinked. Sophie looked slightly guilty- like she might have understood a fraction of what was going on in his mind. “Okay, I’ll see you at Everlgen at around… five tonight?”
Sophie nodded, “I’ll be there.”
Instead of light-leaping directly to Everglen to hail everyone, he light-leaped to Mysterium. Anything to avoid going home early.
He slipped behind one of the shops and checked his surroundings thoroughly before hailing everyone.
He called Dex first- the screen of his imparter was faced up towards the ceiling (Probably his bedroom ceiling.)
“What’s up?” Dex’s voice asked from off-camera. Fitz sucked in a sharp breath, he hadn’t really considered how he would actually tell everyone that Keefe ran away.
Did he just drop the bomb exactly as it was? Did he sugarcoat a little?
“Keefe’s gone.” He finally said the bluntness made Fitz feel slightly numb. Saying the words out loud made it feel entirely too real.
Fitz sunk down the back wall of the building he rested on and stared up at the sky- fighting the burning behind his eyes. How could this be happening again?
His stomach twisted, he hadn’t apologized to Keefe for barging in on his mind- even if the cause technically justified it. Was that why Keefe hadn’t bothered to leave Fitz a note? He shoved the thought down.
Dex snatched his imparter so fast that Fitz got slight whiplash just watching the blur of colors until the screen focused on Dex’s face. Dex’s mouth hung open, periwinkle eyes wide as saucers.
“What do you mean?” He asked.
“He ran away- left Sophie a note.” Fitz suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe fully. It was beginning to sink in something akin to panic made his brain go fuzzy. He turned the screen of his imparter away from his face and lowered his head between his legs. He exhaled, hard. “I’ll explain more later… just be at Everglen at five.” He forced the words out so Dex didn’t get suspicious.
“Will do.” Dex’s voice answered, then he clicked off.
How was Fitz going to do this over and over?
He hailed each person, and at some point, he stopped mentioning Keefe altogether and asking them to just come to Everglen for further information.
Fitz finally gathered the courage to leap back to Everglen- the glittering palace had lost its sheen over the months- in fact, Fitz was almost positive he spotted thin cracks lining the crystal walls.
The house looked too vulnerable without the golden gate around it. Once upon a time, that gate had been a source of Fitz’s anxiety… he’d always wondered what it was there for. In his perfect world, why did they have to worry about intruders?
But now that it was gone- he felt the property was naked, exposed. Not having it had created an entirely different type of anxiety. Now he actually had a reason to worry about intruders and there was nothing to stop them. Other than some bodyguards- but they’d been bested a thousand times.
He walked up the path, keeping his eyes averted from Alvar’s old house on the property.
Fitz entered the house, noticing how empty and vacant it seemed. His footsteps echoed on the marble floors.
He heard his parents talking in the kitchen, and although his stomach grumbled he’d rather do anything than enter that room. The house felt entirely too empty when he was alone, but if he was in a room with any of his family members it seemed to shrink in on him.
He cut up the stairs and headed into his bedroom. Every step made his bad leg ache, he wondered if the sharp pain in his knee would ever go away.
He pushed his bedroom door open, his boots instantly crushing the already broken glass further into the carpet.
Dirty clothes were strewn out all over the floor, unfolded laundry piled high on his bed, shoved to the side so he could still sleep at night.
Crumpled pieces of paper littered the ground, angry scrawls covering them. And of course, there was glass just about everywhere. From picture frames and small ornaments.
The mess made him angry, but the thought of cleaning it made his body ache with tiredness.
He crossed the room and collapsed on his unmade bed, thinking about the fact that he hadn’t washed the sheets in weeks, and it would probably be long until he had any motivation to do so.
He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, waiting for himself to drift off to sleep. He stared at the ceiling. Then the hollowness came. Once every day that empty feeling would come, that moment of quiet when he thought of nothing.
While his mind was devoid he felt warm tears leak from the corner of his eyes, traveling up to his temples and into his hair.
He didn’t try to stop them, and he didn’t try to wipe them away- at some point sleep would knock him out and do it for him.
----
There was a quiet knock on Fitz’s door that woke him up. He rubbed the tired from his eyes and sat up.
“I’ll be right there.” He sounded groggy.
He pushed himself off of his bed and ran his fingers through his hair. He avoided looking in the mirror- he did that a lot recently.
Possibly, it was because of the stranger that stared back at him. Deep bags under faded teal eyes, a permanent frown, and a deep groove between his brows from furrowing them so often.
That had been weeks ago, he imagined he looked much worse now and he wasn’t in the mood to witness it.
Downstairs everyone was grouped, sitting in the main room. All of their attention snapped to him as he came down the stairs. He hadn’t seen a lot of them since Loamaore.
No one looked particularly different to him, but from the looks, on everyone’s faces, he definitely did appear different to them.
Sophie was perched on the arm of Fitz’s favorite armchair that Grady currently lounged in. Those who hadn’t gotten seats stood up or sat on the cold hard floor.
Fitz couldn’t keep his eyes from snapping to his parents, who both looked slightly red in the face.
“You didn’t tell us we were having company.” His mom said when she caught him staring. Fitz blinked and forced his sluggish brain to come up with some coherent answer.
“I- forgot.”
His mom plastered one of her fakest smiles, “That’s fine- just let us know next time.” She said it sweetly enough, but there was a warning in her words.
Fitz nodded and dragged his attention back to the rest of the room. Their stares were a mix of expectant, concerned, and downright confused. Suffocating. These were his friends, yet his hand still shook and his palms turned sweaty.
“You guys might have noticed that there’s someone missing from this gathering.” He finally said. “Um… it’s not because he’s still in recovery from Loamore, it’s because-” Fitz felt the bile rise in his throat. He swallowed and forced his voice not to shake. “Keefe ran away.”
The room erupted into startled What?’s and unsurprised groans.
Fitz sat down on the steps, staying there felt safe. He bent his head and pressed his palms to his eyes as his own frustration bubbled to the surface.
“Isn’t he with Elwin?” One voice finally cut through the madness, Kesler.
Fitz lifted his head, to find he barely had enough energy to even shrug. But everyone was staring at him, waiting for an answer.
Sophie suddenly stood, drawing the attention away from Fitz.
“He left this in my room.” Sophie pulled Keefe’s note from her pocket. She passed it to Biana who read it, face turning ashen as her teal eyes scanned the page. The paper passed from hand to hand.
“He’s an idiot.” Tam finally said, breaking the silence.
No one objected. Keefe had really runoff, with some uncontrollable ability, and was completely vulnerable to the Neverseen.
“Well, what are we going to do about it?” Marella asked, her pixie features scrunching up in annoyance.
Silence fell thick again.
“Have Sophie and Fitz tried reaching out to him together?” Mr. Forkle asked. Sophie’s eyes flitted to Fitz’s as she shook her head. “Well, why not?”
Everyone’s eyes danced between Sophie and Fitz.
“We were waiting for you guys to all pitch in.” Fitz lied quickly.
“Since when do either of you do that?” Stina asked, Sophie, shot her a warning look and Stina gasped. “Oh my gosh- the Fitzphie reign has ended.”
The silence was thick as everyone waited for Fitz or Sophie to object, when neither did everyone became interested in their shoes and fingers. Fitz knew he should feel awkward, Sophie’s face was beet red. But he felt nothing as another wave of numbness crashed over him.
Stina waved the air between her and Sophie, “Oh calm down- we would all have found out eventually anyway.”
Sophie didn’t answer, just bit her lip. Stina’s eyes suddenly latched onto Fitz, a question in her purple-blue eyes.
“We can still try,” Fitz suggested, but his voice sounded distant to his own ears.
“We can,” Sophie responded, awkwardly approaching him on the stairs. She held out her hand, Fitz grabbed it before her head exploded. Her brows were creased with worry- pretty as ever. Then he realized she was staring at his bare thumbs. He hadn’t touched the cognate rings since their falling out. Guilt twinged in his stomach.
Sophie sat down next to him on the steps, “I give you permission to enter my mind.” She whispered.
It’s me.
Her mind opened to his. Images of himself raced past, along with Keefe. Her emotional center bloomed with bashful navy and grief-stricken purples.
Fitz cut himself off from that part of her mind so that he could simply transmit into the void.
Ready?
He asked.
Sophie nodded outside of their minds, brown eyes tearing into his teal ones.
Together they called Keefe’s name. Fitz reached for the familiar tug of Keefe’s consciousness, but it was nowhere to be found.
A bright spark of green; lit the void of darkness suddenly, a thin strip weaving through the black.
Sophie and Fitz dove after it- chasing it until they were mentally exhausted. Sophie was screaming Keefe’s name at a jarring volume that made Fitz’s head spin.
Then the tendril of green flickered out and died. Instantaneously, Sophie pulled her consciousness away from Fitz’s, breaking the connection.
Fitz’s eyes snapped open, defeat slamming an angry fist into his chest.
Sophie tore her hand away from his, her shoulders shaking as she buried her face in her hands. For a moment he forgot that everyone was watching as he instinctually wrapped his arms around her.
She sank into the hug as tears spilled down her cheeks. “It’s hopeless.” She sobbed, “I’m- I’m so sorry.”
Fitz didn’t know what she was apologizing for, and he didn’t ask. “I’m going to find him.” He promised, an idea forming in his mind. He kept his arms around Sophie as she cried, but turned his attention to the rest of the room. Disappointed faces greeted him, burning a hole through his chest. “I’m almost positive Keefe ran off to the lost cities- and I’m going to look, with or without your guys’ permission.”
A few of the adults’ jaws dropped, including his parents.
“No, you are not-” His dad began, “It’s dangerous.”
Fitz’s jaw ticked, he wasn’t backing down. He stood up and Sophie quickly scrambled away from him. He gave her an apologetic glance before turning his attention back to his dad.
“Dangerous? And it wasn’t dangerous when I was six? Or seven? Maybe eight or nine? Was it dangerous then?” He snapped. “It’s only dangerous when you don’t gain anything from it, right?” He didn’t mean to say it. It tumbled out before he could stop it. His dad’s face went slack.
His mom’s ice-blue eyes widened, making Fitz recoil internally.
It wasn’t his mother standing in front of him anymore, it was Alvar. Cold icy eyes, a sneer- blood covering Fitz’s knuckles, a knife in his hand.
Guilt slammed against his ribs, locking the air into his lungs. He squeezed his eyes shut, reaching and gripping the railing before he fell over.
How easy it was to mistake his mother’s eyes for Alvar’s.
He opened his eyes, the world swayed- but he refused to back down.
No one seemed to notice, too surprised by his outburst to see the sickly tint his skin had taken on.
“I’ve been there a thousand times- I’m not asking for your permission.” He stated, bawling his anxious fingers into fists.
“You have no way of getting there.” Mr. Forkle reminded him. “No leaping crystal.”
If there was one thing Fitz had learned from Keefe, it was how to find things that were meant to stay hidden.
“I’ll figure it out.”
“Don’t be rash Mr. Vacker-” Tiergren held out a halting hand, but Fitz could have sworn he winked. He turned back to the room. “I think it’s a good idea. I think we should give him a crystal and let him do it- however, there need to be ground rules.”
Fitz was almost too shocked to hear the other’s responses.
“He can’t go alone-” Biana said.
“Mr. Vacker has already expressed the fact that that is the least of his concerns, considering he’s already gone alone… many times.” Tiergren glanced at Fitz’s dad. Something disapproving in his tone. “He’ll come home every night by nine in the evening, and hail us every two hours to update-”
No one said anything, perhaps they were unsure if they should get involved at all. Tension simmered in the air between Fitz and his parents.
“Nine is too late.” Fitz’s mom interjected, thin fingers pressed over her mouth. Fitz tore his eyes away before the guilt ate him alive and his mind shattered to bits right then and there.
“Eight, then.” Mr. Forkle suggested.
His mom nodded absentmindedly.
“I want to go too.” Sophie’s voice made Fitz jump, he’d forgotten she was behind him. “I speak English and can navigate pretty well-”
“No.” Mr. Forkle said flatly. “I’ll be honest Sophie, after that stunt with the Neverseen the other day, I’m not sure a lot of us trust your judgment anymore. Especially when you’re already strung out over the loss of Keefe.”
Sophie looked flabber ghasted. Fitz felt his own mouth fall open slightly.
He didn’t really want Sophie to come, but Forkle’s reasoning confused him. Sure he hadn’t reacted to Sophie burning down the storehouse, and he had felt slightly betrayed that she had gotten rid of such valuable things-
But he had to admit, it left a mark. Quite literally. It was the first step to winning this war, even if it cost them greatly.
“You can’t just hole me up here because you don’t trust me-'' Sophie snapped now, voice rising.
“Mr. Hothead here is rubbing off on you,” Stina commented. Sophie deflated instantly. Glancing up at Fitz.
“He’s fighting to find Keefe- how is that hot-headed? I don’t think the rest of you are doing enough!” Now Fitz was really shocked. “Maybe you could step up to the plate, huh Stina? What can you do to help out?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be our ‘leader’?” Stina shot back, gesturing to the team valiant pin on her top. “You tell me, Sophie. What am I supposed to do?”
Sophie’s mouth opened and then closed. “We’ll regroup tomorrow.” She finally said, “I’ll figure it out.” She turned to Fitz. “You’ll start looking for him first thing tomorrow, right?”
Her eyes were bloodshot from crying, but she actually looked hopeful.
“First thing,” Fitz promised.
Fitz laid in bed, recounting the night’s events. Replaying the words he’d said to his father in front of everyone. That small moment where the numb shell around his heart had cracked open- revealing a wound that felt entirely too fresh, considering how long ago it was made.
Guilt ran its greedy fingers through his mind, prying at his consciousness. Fitz shoved it down, melting the guilt into a fiery rage. Resentment. He deserved to be upset.
Right?
He had quickly retreated into his bedroom after everyone left before his parents could stop him.
He thought about the moment his eyes met his mom’s, and the sheer panic that had overtaken him. No one had noticed.
He’d almost fallen down the steps and no one had noticed. Not even Sophie, who stood right behind him. Another punch of anger, burying the guilt under another layer.
Fitz pressed his palms against his burning eyes- after a while, he gave up on sleep as a whole. He sat up, staring at the wreckage he called a bedroom.
Light spilled in from the open window, stars dotted the sky- entirely too peaceful. Basically mocking him.
The next thought was unwelcome. It slithered out of the cracks of his armored heart.
Where are you, Alvar?
He’d been trying not to think about it. About the fact that his brother could very well be dead, lying under these same stars- a lifeless body waiting to be found.
Pain as sharp as wire barbed through his chest.
Maybe he had held that knife to Alvar’s side, and maybe half of the world believed he was actually going to stab his brother- but even at that moment, even before Sophie said anything; beyond the rage- Fitz was incapable of it.
Sure, he could land a punch- he could hold the knife and threaten, but the threats had felt just as empty as his chest at that moment. He’d terrified his friends that night and there was no going back. No reversing it. Violence like that was almost unheard of in the lost cities.
Of course, there was still the part of him that wondered if- if he had just been angry enough, just terrified enough… might he have plunged the dagger through Alvar’s side? How much would have been avoided if he had done that?
He couldn’t even begin to think about how he’d trapped Alvar in the troll hive. It made his stomach writhe- how could anyone ever forgive him for that? How could he forgive himself? Maybe it would have saved them a lot of trouble if Alvar hadn’t escaped… but if Alvar had died… where would Fitz’s sanity be?
There were moments when Fitz forgot they were brothers at all. Because whoever he knew Alvar as was a lie. Every birthday Alvar missed, every party… had he been working? Or planning with the Neverseen?
This whole time, while Grady and Edaline grieved their only child- did he know the truth?
Did everyone just forget the fact that he was probably there when Dex and Sophie were tortured?
So many other moments. Had he tried to shoot Fitz with a meddler on Mount Everest by chance? How about Biana? Or Sophie- or Dex, or Keefe?
But no. No one wanted to talk about that.
‘Alden’s golden boy- a murderer?’
The words spiraled in Fitz’s head. From a note, he’d found in his locker from some snickering kid at Foxfire.
They just got worse over the weeks.
The Vacker legacy. Are they just unhinged?
Alden’s pet. Finally off the leash?
They were littered all over his floor. He had thrown most of them away at first, but the attempts were in vain. They never ended.
Soon the notes got to be too much and he couldn’t even bother to try and get rid of them.
But there were days when the fight drained straight out of him, and the guilt and sadness slowly gnawed at what was left of him. On those days, he’d pick up the papers and read them, letting himself get angry. It was better than crying himself to sleep or shattering over the guilt. Those were the days he broke more things. Yelled louder, and let tears of frustration spill from his eyes.
Because… how true were the notes?
Alden’s golden boy. The title gave the impression he was a piece of property, a dog on a leash like one of the other notes said. No matter how ill and cruel the letters were… were they wrong?
Was he just some trophy for his father? Another accomplishment for his ego?
When Fitz was younger, he had the utmost respect for his father. He did his best, he performed well in school- even though he missed half the days looking for Sophie. He went as far as having one single friend until he was fourteen years- old. Because dammit, if he didn’t impress his father- if he didn’t make him proud, what was the point?
The title Golden had fueled his ego.
But now the name felt like a cage. A Hollow accomplishment for the sake of pleasing someone else. A cruel joke.
But over the last months, it had all come bubbling up. The resentment, the anger, and god… how tired he was.
Fitz knew he was spiraling. But he couldn’t stop-
He thought of Keefe, how Keefe always got pity. But how; how selfish of the golden boy to be jealous of his best friend?
Well, maybe they weren’t as different as people wanted to believe. Maybe it was the same sort of jealousy Keefe had towards Fitz.
They came from different sides of the same spectrum.
A father with too many expectations.
Keefe’s parents had never been kind. Never hugged him, ever.
Fitz’s parents did hug him, but was it just because he was another staple to the Vacker name?
Keefe acted out to avoid the expectations of his father, because why would you want to impress such a jerk?
But Fitz- all he wanted was his dad’s validation, and maybe he’d cared more to get it because his parents had hugged him and gotten him gifts on his birthday.
Fitz had always wished he had the nerve to skip a class or get a bad grade- and he loved when Keefe roped him into one of his pranks. Because that meant there was a moment to laugh.
But his parents hugged him and said the words: I love you. Which made his anger feel unjustified, invalid compared to Keefe’s pain. Because that was just it, right? At least his parents hugged him.
Maybe it was the bare minimum- but at least his parents asked him how his day was… right? That’s what mattered, not the fact that their eyes only shined with pride when he got an A on a test, or learned some new skill in telepathy, or won another splotching match.
Cause at the end of the day- at least they didn’t call him a disappointment to his face.
Fitz’s heart began to pound, his blood rushed in his ears. He leaped off of his bed, and the quick motion yanked his brain out of its stupor.
“Everything okay in there?” Grizel’s sharp voice asked through his door.
Fitz sucked in a breath before replying. “Yeah- sorry, I… I was just getting up to get water.”
He avoided stepping on the glass on his floor as he made it to his bedroom door, he opened it and found himself face to face with Grizel.
Her big eyes were cut at him, picking apart his expression.
“Don’t think you’re off the hook for sneaking away like that earlier. Looking like a corpse isn’t an excuse.”
Fitz flinched slightly. Grizel had just opted to go to the bathroom when Sophie hailed him and told him about Keefe.
Fitz didn’t spare a second in leaping over to Havenfield.
Grizel’s hard expression faltered at his reaction. “I know you haven’t been sleeping.” She said suddenly.
“What?”
“You haven’t been sleeping… for weeks, and you’re looking worse and worse by the day.”
“How can you tell?” Fitz asked, considering looking in the mirror. “I took a nap before everyone got here-”
“An hour of sleep doesn’t make up for weeks. Your breathing is different when you sleep, verses when you’re awake. Plus- I can hear you tossing and turning for hours.” Grizel paused. “I’ve been hoping for it to just pass, but I think we need to start implementing Slumberry tea into your nighttime routine.”
She referred to the night routine that had also died weeks ago, with his sleeping schedule. They were probably holding hands in their graves.
“I don’t want to become reliant on that,” Fitz told her.
“Then what are you relying on? You can’t just not sleep.”
Fitz shrugged. He had always thought it was weird that Sophie refused to take life-savers like slumberry tea. But it was beginning to make sense.
He feared that if he took the tea, he might never want to wake up again.
“Fitz… I wasn’t going to say anything, but the way everyone reacted to seeing you today told me that it was time I need to intervene. When’s the last time you showered? You haven’t been eating-”
“I’m not hungry.” Fitz cut in.
“Yes you are- because again, I hear everything and your stomach keeps grumbling.”
Fitz rolled his eyes as the gnawing in his stomach began again. “Should you be seeing Elwin?”
“Fine. I’ll go eat something, I’ll take a shower- but I’m not seeing Elwin and I’m not drinking the tea.” He conceded. “Will you let me down the hall?”
Grizel stepped aside, clearing the path, her toned arms crossed.
Fitz went down the stairs, levitating slightly whenever he had to put weight on his bad leg.
He entered the kitchen and got himself a glass of water and a plate of mini blitzenberry muffins. He practically inhaled them.
He stared at the clock on the wall, four in the morning… What time would Tiergren be over to give Fitz the leaping crystal to the forbidden cities?
The morning light began creeping through the curtains when Biana came down, she swept into the kitchen, still in her pj’s.
She stopped short at the sight of Fitz. “What are you doing up?”
“What are you doing up?” Fitz asked.
Biana wrapped her fingers around each other, pale cheeks flushing. “I’ll be honest, I woke up because I had to go to the bathroom… but then I heard you and Grizel talking and then I couldn’t sleep.”
“Why… why couldn’t you go back to sleep?’
Biana gave him an incredulous look. “Because Grizel’s right- and I feel awful I haven’t done anything about it.” She said it all in one breath, wincing as if the words hurt. She placed her head in her hands.
Fitz was just confused. “What was Grizel right about?”
Biana looked up, spreading her fingers so her teal eyes peered out from between them. “That you’ve been… hard to look at lately.”
“Jee, thanks.” Fitz stood up, he wasn’t in the mood for another confrontation on his bad habits.
“I’m serious, Fitz.” Biana stepped in his path, blocking his way. “It’s scary, and it has been scaring me for months- this isn’t like you, not eating and not sleeping…” She trailed off, waiting for his reaction, when Fitz said nothing she kept going. “I know you don’t like being around mom and dad, but lately you’ve been avoiding them like the plague. I can’t stand another ‘family dinner’ without you. Mom and dad just stare at each other and ask me about school. We agreed to do this together.” Her teal eyes were misty. “It was better before- when we talked about things. You, you’ve always been better with a partner; when you have someone to lean on. But you’re pulling away… please, just lean on me… like you did before.” A single tear trickled down her face.
Her last words created another fissure in his armored heart. He had promised Biana that they’d stick together- and here he was, drifting away.
“I can’t sit around anymore and listen to you as you walk around the house at night- Or something shattering against a wall- I’m sick and tired of seeing your half-empty plates all the time.”
The fissure grew- guilt burned his insides.
“And I admit I haven’t been the best either. I should have sought you out way before this… but- I don’t know, I was scared of how you’d react.” Biana finished, and it was obvious she was holding her breath.
Fitz slumped back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. How did he begin to apologize?
“I didn’t mean to.” He finally said, after a long stretch of silence. There was a familiar type of regret lacing through his veins. The same type he had when he’d yelled at Sophie and called her damaged. The same kind after he broke into Keefe’s mind without permission.
It was the type of regret that said: I told you to stay away. I told you not to get this close- Keep everyone at arm’s length, they can’t hurt you and you can’t hurt them.
But he always ended up hurting people. It didn’t matter how hard he tried to keep people away, or how hard he tried to pull them close.
It either left them feeling abandoned or suffocated.
Because that’s what happened to everything. Keefe started to chase Sophie and abandoned Fitz. Fitz chased Sophie and abandoned Keefe. Fitz chased Alvar and abandoned everyone. He abandoned himself.
Fitz finally told Sophie how much he liked her, how she fit right into his world. But he hadn’t considered how he would fit into hers.
It was a desperate fight to make himself fit. So he pressed and pressed and pressed; trying to make puzzle pieces fit. And she drowned.
If anyone in the world was damaged- it was him.
Fitz’s lungs burned as he tried to get air. He was drowning now, in his own mind.
“I didn’t mean to.” He repeated, squeezing his eyes shut so he didn’t burst into tears.
Biana’s arms wrapped around his shoulders.“I’m sorry.” It was an empty word, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say.
He twisted to wrap his own arms around his sister, who rested her head on top of his.
“I know. But we both need to do better.” She whispered. His chest felt like his ribs were rapidly expanding and his lungs were shrinking.
What was he upset for?
For being awful? For holding a knife to his own brother’s side? For freaking out on Sophie? For pushing Biana away?
What kind of selfish jerk pitied themselves?
Fitz pulled away from Biana and quickly wiped his watery eyes with his sleeve.
“I need to get ready for when Tiergren gets here.” He said, placing another sheet of armor over his heart. Another wall between him and his sister.
Biana’s concerned face melted into surprise and then fear.
She seemed to realize that as she pleaded:
“Please… please be careful in the forbidden cities. Promise me.”
Fitz was about to leave the kitchen when he turned around; Biana looked so small, where she stood.
“I can’t-” Fitz began but she cut him off.
“I can’t lose anyone else. All right? Promise me.” Desperation filled her voice.
So Fitz said what anyone who was stupid would say.
Anything to get rid of that look on her face.
“I promise.”
Fitz took a long shower- longer than necessary.
He averted his eyes from the mirror as he went back into his room and quickly got dressed. He finger combed through his hair and went downstairs.
Fitz was seated in the main room when there was a loud knock on the door.
He stood up, ready to answer it when Grizel sprang up and got there first. She peered through the peephole and then opened the door.
Fitz had just expected Teirgren, but Dex, Linh, Wylie, Stina, and Mr. Forkle all stood on the doorste[.
“Mr. Vacker,” Mr. Forkle nodded as they stepped into the house. “I thought we should go over the ground rules again.”
Fitz nodded and gestured for them to come deeper into the house. Dex waved a sleepy hand as he passed. Linh gave Fitz a small smile and the rest of them just filed in like robots.
They all sat down.
“Mr. Dizznee, if you will?” Teirgen said.
Dex let his bag slip off of her shoulder and onto the floor, then he pulled open the flap and pulled something out of it.
A small silver disk, lined with blue coding.
“My dad and I were up all night creating this.” Dex spun the disk in his hands, to show a small dropper-looking thing pointing out of it. A brown liquid filled the small dropper. “It’s for Grizel, it’s just an appearance alterer; which shouldn’t have been hard by itself, but Goblin biology isn’t the same as elf. But anyway- it should manipulate her features and make her look more human.”
Tiergen leaned forward and said: “We decided that obscurers and cloaks were too unreliable. So, Grizel, if you don’t mind-” He gestured between Dex’s small silver disk and Fitz’s bodyguard.
Grizel stepped forward.
“You just need a drop on your tongue and you should be good for the next two hours. So you have to make sure to time it. It’s-” Dex glanced down at his watch as he approached Grizel. “It’s seven right now. Anyway, there’s a small button on the disk and it’ll release the elixir.”
Grizel took it from him and opened her mouth, positioning the tip of the dropper on her tongue. She pressed the button and the liquid was released.
She swallowed with a shudder, “That’s vile.” She said, trying not to gag.
Fitz actually laughed, a sound he hadn’t heard from himself in a while. Linh giggled, while Stina snorted.
It was stopped short by the anomaly suddenly taking place before him.
Grizel’s scaly gray skin was stretching and the color shifted to a deep brown. Her long ears shrunk into small round ones, and her eyes became softer.
Now she just looked like an extremely buff human.
Grizel crossed the room to look into one of the mirrors on the wall. She reached a tentative hand up to her now brown cheek.
“This… this is brilliant, Dex!”
Dex’s cheeks turned rosy. “It was mostly my dad, but thanks.”
Fitz felt a shock of excitement in his system. He was actually going to the lost cities to find Keefe- he was finally doing something useful, something that didn’t concern Alvar, or Sophie… well, exclusively anyway.
“Now that that’s out of the way- Fitz,” Mr. Forkle said, folding his thick fingers in his lap. “You will check in with Tiergren every two hours, you’ll be home before eight P.M. every day. Most importantly, don’t talk to the humans if you can avoid it.”
Fitz nodded. Teirgren bent down and pulled a bundle of clothing out of his own bag. “This is for you.” He said, handing Fitz a pair of dark blue jeans and a navy T-shirt and a black pullover hoodie. “Now we have one more thing to discuss- For your first leap, Mr. Dizznee will come along and you two will find one of those human money distributors.”
“An ATM.” Dex cut in.
“Anyway, Dex is going to manipulate one to give you some currency.”
“You can do that?” Fitz asked, turning to Dex, slightly surprised.
“I did it before…to get food, when Sophie and I got kidnapped.” Dex said it quickly, playing with the strap on his bag like it was the most interesting thing in the room.
“Oh.” Fitz responded, blankly. “Well, I’m glad you figured out how to do that, because we’d all be much worse off if you-” Starved to death. Yeah, he definitely wasn’t saying that. “If you hadn’t done that.” He finished awkwardly. Stina snickered.
For some reason, this made Dex perk up. “Yeah, I guess.” He smiled.
“Lastly,” Mr. Forkl interrupted, “We need to figure out all the places Mr. Scencen could be hiding. Which brings me to why you guys are all here-” He turned to Wylie, Linh, Stina and Maruca. “Team Valiant, You will all be heading into the forbidden cities and looking in different places to cover more ground.”
Fitz glanced around at the people sitting in his living room and realized what Mr. Forkle had just called them. Last he checked, Team Valiant didn’t involve Linh, and Sophie was its leader. So where was she?
“Wait…” Fitz started, he almost asked ‘Where’s Sophie?’ But he realized how that might sound and changed gears. “Team Valiant?” He raised a questioning brow at Mr. Forkle, who sighed.
“After Miss Foster and Miss Heks spat yesterday, I went to go see the council.” Mr. Forkle pushed himself into a more comfortable position. “We talked and all agreed that our Moonlark is in no condition to lead right now, and so we have Linh as temporary stand-in. Wylie has been appointed leader for the time being. He decided this was the best course of action and that it would take some of the weight off of your shoulders.”
Fitz glanced up at Wylie, “That… that’ll help a lot.” He said.
Wylie shrugged, “It’s no big deal- the faster we find Keefe, the faster we get back on track.”
But there was one more big Elephant in the room that had to be addressed.
“Does Sophie know about this?” Fitz asked. Everyone’s eyes snapped down to the floor. “You guys haven’t told her?”
“Everythings been happening so fast.” Forkle reminded him. “It’s been a single night. I’ll be heading over to her home after this to break the news.”
Filz felt his temper rise, on Sophie’s behalf. He was sick of hearing that excuse: ‘Everything happened so fast.’
It was what Sophie had said when she let Alvar go. And maybe he was still angry at her for that, but that didn’t mean he thought she deserved it.
He knew what it was to be shut out, and treated like an outsider because of grief- the way it alienated him from everyone. That wasn’t about to happen to Sophie, not on his watch.
“If you’re going to make huge decisions like this, you have to consult the people it affects.” Fitz said, making his voice sound as calm as possible. “That isn’t fair to her, and you know it. I may agree with you, that she isn’t in a good state to lead, but that doesn’t change the fact that you basically just kicked her out.”
“It’s for her own good.” Tiergren sighed, eyes tired. “She’s entirely too stressed out.”
The words made his blood boil.
Before he could say anything, Biana suddenly materialized next to him. Fitz jumped, and she placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him.
“I didn’t mean to scare you.” Although she grinned. Biana turned to Mr. Forkle, “Does this mean I’m heading into the forbidden cities too?”
Mr. Forkle shook his head and Biana’s grin faltered. “I have a different job for you, Mr. Dizznee and Mr. Song. We’ll discuss it later.”
Biana looked like she might roll her eyes, but then Dex smiled and her cheeks turned pink.
“All right, now that’s all out of the way…” Mr. Forkle reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of cerulean blue leaping crystals. He dropped them into everyone’s waiting palms, making eye contact with every single person. “Dont. Lose. These.”
Chapter 5.[]
Mr. Forkle and Teirgren left, leaving Fitz and the rest of Team Valiant standing awkwardly in the main room of his house.
After a stretch of silence, Wylie stepped forward pulling a rolled up piece of paper out of his pocket. He began to unroll it as Fitz cleared the random decorative ornaments off the coffee table so he could set it down.
Wylie laid it out, keeping his hands planted on either side so that it didn’t roll back up.
Fitz recognized the image instantly- the map of the human world. Fitz could only make out some of the human words.
“Is this supposed to make sense?” Stina asked, which jolted Dex into action.
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a handful of small silvery bags.
“One baggie for each of you.” Dex said and dropped them on the table.
Fitz bent down and grabbed one. Dex grabbed his own and unzipped it, pulling out a thin white sheet of plastic, covered in small and clear circular things.
“These work like human eye-contacts- but I tweaked them, so they’ll translate the human lexicon(s) into the enlightened language.” Dex paused. “You just put these things- on your eyes and you should be good.”
After a lot of frustrated groaning and watery eyes, everyone had the contacts in. The true test was going back to the human map. Fitz almost gasped as all the letters scrambled before his eyes and shifted into the enlightened language.
“Sadly, there’s nothing that will make it possible for you to speak in the human languages, so just avoid it.” Dex informed them.
They all nodded and turned their attention back to the map.
Wylie pulled a pen from the lapel of his jacket, and quickly began scribblign down names all over the map.
Fitz spotted his own name over the word: New York
He remembered going there when he was nine.
Wylie finished, and stated: “These are the locations we’re searching first. We’ll work our way out over time.”
After a bit more preparation, everyone set off.
Fitz changed into the human clothes Mr. Forkle and Tiergren had brought for him, the shirt was a bit loose, but that was better than it being too tight.
“You ready?” Dex asked after Fitz circled around the sitting room for the fifth time. Fitz glanced anxiously towards the stairs, half-expecting his parents to come down them. He knew he was stalling; some childish part of him hoped that they might show. Had he upset them that badly the night before?
Fitz walked one more time around the room, before stopping in front of Dex.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this nervous in my life.” Dex said, raising his eyebrows.
Fitz met his gaze, and he could feel his face heating up.
He honestly hadn’t expected his nerves to spike like this, but they were now, and he felt restless.
Doubt settled itself in the pit of his gut, but Fitz shoved it down.
For Keefe.
He was going to get his best friend back.
Maybe a small fraction of his determination was his own pride, he couldn’t back down now, not after what he said to his dad yesterday.
“I’m ready.” Fitz said.
“You’re sure?” Dex asked, concern stitched into his features.
“Positive.”
They stood outside of Everglen, Grizel used Dex’s gadget once again to make herself appear more human. Fitz fished the forbidden cities crystal out of his pocket, but was stopped short by the front door behind him flying open.
He whipped around to find Biana, she ran down the steps, opal-colored dress ruffling as she approached them.
Fitz was almost annoyed at the fact that he felt disappointed. A small part of him had been hoping it was his parents.
But what would he say to them anyway? Sorry? He couldn’t say that- not when it wasn’t exactly true.
Biana threw her arms around Fitz, “I know you already promised, but- Just say it again, that you’ll be careful.” She whispered. Fitz wrapped his arms around her.
“I’ll be careful.”
“Good.” She pushed away from him and turned to Dex.
“You be careful, too.” She chided and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him towards her. She placed a kiss on Dex’s freckled cheek. His face turned bright red and Fitz actually felt a spark of glee in his chest as he bit back a laugh.
Biana blinked out of sight, her bodiless voice saying, “I’ll see you both later.”
The door of Everglen opened suddenly, and Biana reappeared, disappearing back into the house.
“Um… are you mad?” Dex asked suddenly as Fitz held the leaping crystal up to the light and gripped Dex’s shoulder. Grizel grabbed onto Fitz’s arm.
“Mad?” Fitz asked, casting a sideways look at Dex.
“About- I-” Fitz considered making Dex say it out loud, for him to audibly admit that Biana had just kissed him on the cheek. But that would be too cruel.
“You just be careful with her, all right?” Fitz said, offering a faint smile.
Dex seemed to melt as he sighed with relief.
Fitz pictured the grimy streets of New York. He wrapped a bit of his concentration around Dex and Grizel. He knew they didn’t need it, but it became a habit.
After Sophie faded after being kidnapped a few years ago, Fitz couldn’t help it.
It was a fear he couldn’t shake. The people around him could vanish at any moment. He never wanted to see it again.
The first time had been traumatizing enough.
Chapter 6.
It was like this: Honeyed laughter and colors brighter than Fitz’s young eyes could comprehend. It was dinner parties, and clinking glasses, and being pulled from his room to be used as a conversational topic. It was sweaty palms, and his mother tapping the corners of her mouth in a silent reminder: Smile.
It was like this: Standing in front of the ornate mirror, flashing his white teeth at himself until his smile looked easy, and not so practiced. It was his first bit of armor in this fake, fake world.
It was like this: Picking at the hems of his clothing on the first day of Foxfire and his brother swatting his hand to get him to stop. It was being stopped in the halls by teachers and gawked at by students who didn’t bother to know him beyond his last name. It was rumors branded into his brain after every missed school day.
It was this: Staying up late, eyes burning with tears and exhaustion as he strived for that 100% on his test. It was walking through the halls of Foxfire- keeping that armored smile on his face. It was the moment before he entered the classroom, before he started the exam; where his breath hitched and caught in his lungs. The sleek door knob under a white-knuckled fist that didn’t seem to be fully attached to him anymore.
Smile. Shield up. Don’t fail.
It was meeting Lord Cassuis and thinking: Why am I complaining? I’m fine. It could be worse. It was hiding in his own chest to try and fill the cavernous hole in his heart. It was to never complain again, becuase some people had it worse. Besides, Keefe was happy when he was at Everglen, Fitz wasn’t going to taint that with the truth.
It was that deep, unwavering feeling of: I’m unknown. No one can hear me. Please help. And it hid behind a perfect smile.
It was this: His brother glaring from the far corner as his father gloated of his accomplishments, holding Fitz more like a trophy than a son. A poster child prodigy that wasn’t all that special to himself at all.
It was this: Failing his first test. Head spinning, heart pounding. It was hiding in a bathroom stall, staring at the 60% on his test paper. Blinking back tears. It was never failing a test again after that. It was the nickname: Wonderboy.
It was this: Seeing his little sister, with dread in his stomach. He was too young to tell her that mom and dad’s smiles were fake. Too young to warn her that one day her’s would be too. Too young to show her how to count backwards from 100, when the ground swayed beneathe your feet.
Too old to reverse the damage. They were too old to try and make something genuine from the nothingness they were given, in a pretty package disguised as love.
It was this: Why didn’t you warn me, Alvar? Why are you jealous of this? I can’t even breathe when I’m in crowds- I don’t know how to smile properly, I don’t know how to speak when I’m upset, without explosions bursting from my lips. Why didn’t you warn me? Why do you hate me? I’d give it all to you in a heartbeat, if you really wanted it. I wish you would have asked for it. I could have shrank away, I could disappear better than our little sister- I’ve been wishing to do that since the first party. Since the first smile.
Here, have the crown, have the smile, have the gold.
I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to- to turn into what you are.
It was this: Every fiber of Fitz’s soul, burning at the sight of his family. It was this deep, untouchable pain that expressed itself in a fiery roar. It was broken glass at his feet, and shocked expressions staring back at him. Burning, burning, burning. He was the remnants of a long lost cry in his childhood. A scream into an endless void.
It was screaming: I hate you. At his elder brother, and feeling more, like he was looking in a mirror. He hated himself so loudly, and no one noticed.
Smile.
CHAPTER 7.
CHAPTER 7.
The dreary streets of New York took shape around them.
Rain pattered down on their heads as they blinked into sight behind a tall graystone building.
Fitz inhaled sharply and forced his expression to remain neutral. The smell of the forbidden cities were not only putrid- they brought back a mess of memories
Running away from that strange woman on the street, who had asked him if he had ever considered modeling.
The sounds of distant gunshots in a not particularly ‘Nice’ neighborhood, when he was nine.
Throwing up in a public restroom after he’d witnessed human boys kicking a pigeon.
And so many more moments, tied to something as simple as a scent.
“We just need to find an ATM.” Dex said, “Do you have any idea where we are?”
“Not exactly, I came here when I was nine, looking for Sophie- but I don’t actually know.”
“You- you actually wandered around the forbidden cities when you were six? I thought you were exaggerating.”
Fitz nodded, not trusting himself to speak. After his blow up at his dad, he wasn’t eager to keep talking about his childhood inconveniences.
He could feel Dex staring at him, but Fitz kept his own eyes in front of him.
Grizel took a tentative step ahead of them, she peered around the corner of the building they stood behind.
“Coast is clear.” She said and waved them forward.
Fitz and Dex followed her out onto the street.
Buildings lined the street, old newspapers and soda cans littered the ground, sinking into dirty puddles of water. Last time Fitz had been here, there were a lot of people. It looked like a different place without the swarm of strangers.
After an incredible amount of walking, they found an ATM. Dex played around with the buttons until the machine was spewing money at them. Grizzel stood behind the boys, shielding the sight from the humans.
Then, Fitz leaped Dex back to the lost cities and came back to dreary London.
Even though Grizzel was there, Fitz felt intangibly alone.
Exactly as he had all those years ago. He shoved the ill feeling in his stomach down; it was better for him to dwell on it at night, when his insomnia refused to let him sleep at all.
“Where to?” Grizzel asked, peering down one of the scarce roads.
“We ask people if they’ve seen Keefe.” Fitz shrugged.
“One of the rules was that we weren’t supposed to talk to humans.” Grizzel reminded him. To which Fitz gave a humorless laugh.
“Well, I’m in a mood to challenge authority. Besides, they only said that because the rest of Team Valiant doesn’t speak a word of English.”
“This just further proves my point that you aren’t getting enough sleep. Since when do you take joy in annoying your elders?” There was a dangerous glint in Grizzel’s eye. One that said: I’m not going to rat you out, but I’m definitely advising against this.
Fitz opened his mouth to reply when a sudden scream burst out of nowhere. Fitz whirled, heart pounding. Only to see a group of college aged kids sprinting down the empty road.
And when Fitz said a group, he meant a group.
There had to be at least twelve of them. Glass bottles swinging over their heads, eyes somehow dead and bright at the same time. As they drew nearer, Fitz realized that the scream had actually just been deranged laughter.
They didn’t seem to notice Grizzel and Fitz, because they smacked right into them. One girl grabbed Fitz’s arm as she stumbled forward and without warning, dragging him with her. The craziest part was that Fitz was positive she didn’t realize that she didn’t know him.
“Hey-” Grizzel’s voice yelled angrily as Fitz was dragged away. He tried to plant his feet, only to be yanked and shoved forward so hard, he almost fell.
He had no choice but to follow, the swarm of people would lead him to be trampled if he let go of the girl.
It was a blur. They cut around corners, and weaved through empty streets until they were not the only people in sight. Fitz was lost in a sea of insanity.
The girl let go of his arm, but he was simply swept away by a a coup of men in suits. They didn’t pay him any mind as they shoved him around.
Fitz scrambled to plant his feet, but it became nearly impossible. He whirled around, trying to catch his bearings. Everything looked the same.
Grey and brown buildings, dreary sky, dirty windows.
“Grizzel?” His shout was lost in the chatter and scuffing of shoes on concrete.
He waded through the bodies, finding that the only way to get out of the sea was to be somewhat cruel. He shouldered past, and ducked under limbs until he found himself pressed up against one of the buildings on either side of the wide road. He was panting, the warm breath creating clouds of white in front of him.
Which direction had he come from? It was impossible to tell.
To calm down his frantic thoughts, Fitz forced himself to read the various shop names surrounding.
Missy’s baked goods.
Piercing & Tattoo parlor
Sunny-side bistro.
Fitz, without much thought entered into Missy’s baked goods. The smell of cinnamon, cream and sugar dulled down his panic in one deep inhale. Plus, it was warm in the shop.
Beyond the smell was a lot of lace. Doilies, table cloths, seat coverings.
He pulled off his scarf and seated himself in one of the heart-backed wooden chairs by the front window. Fitz rubbed his cold hands together to stop himself from running his hands through his hair.
“Are you all right?” The voice was etched with concern. Fitz turned his head to see a young girl watching him from the counter across the room. She had reddish-brown hair, twisted into two braids under a slouchy gray beanie.
Currently, she was filling up a paisley covered mug with coffee. She added an absurd amount of sugar and cream.
“I- I’m good.” Fitz flashed her a smile, but he could tell it looked stiff just from the way his face felt. She blinked, brown eyes widening. That was what reminded Fitz that he did not look like your average human; but hey, neither did she. In fact, she was what you called: Simple pretty. Crooked nose, kind eyes, high-cheekbones and softly curved brows.
Fitz was sure he wasn’t the only elf that would agree that she was, indeed, very pretty.
Suddenly, she schooled her expression, raising a disbelieving eyebrow.
“Whatever you say.” She replied flippantly, but her eyes were on his bouncing leg. Fitz willed it to stop. “Can I get you anything, sir?”
Fitz glanced at the menu, to find that nothing on it made sense. Sure- he was reading the actual words, but what on earth was a: Cinnamon dulce latte? Or a: Sapphire Frappuccino?
From the picture, it was a blue drink with an intense amount of whipped cream piled on the top, drizzled by more blue. Which also meant it looked exactly like the devilish things humans drank that destroyed their bodies from the inside out. Which also meant that Fitz wanted- quite desperately- to try it.
“What do you recommend?'' Fitz asked. He shoved down the urge to ask for the Sapphire Frappuccino.
The girl smiled, displaying her wide teeth. “Anything with caramel.”
“Well then, I’ll take your favorite one with caramel.”
“I’m not sure I could ever choose, but-” She trailed off, spinning away from the counter. She began to mess with the diabolical looking machines surrounding her, pouring different liquids into a single cup and shaking it fervently. Then, she added an ungodly amount of whipped cream (Fitz wasn’t mad about it) and a caramel drizzle.
She stepped around the corner and set it on the table in front of him. Fitz, having no idea how human currency worked, pulled out a ten dollar bill.
She took it, digging around in her apron pocket and pulling out change, which she handed back to him. She wore bright yellow flats, tattered jeans covered in old paint splatters and a loose gray crop top, revealing a pale midriff. Freckles dotted her arms, face and hands.
“We also give a free pastry to new customers, might I interest you in one?” She gestured behind her, to the glass display case sitting atop a table in the far corner.
Fitz nodded, human food didn’t quite compare to Elvin, but it was good enough, (excluding meat.)
She lifted the display case and with a napkin, she grabbed one of the strongest smelling ones. Fitz recognized it as a Cinnabon.
The girl set it onto a plate with a devious wink.
When she walked off, Fitz began to eat the Cinnabon, to find neatly scrawled numbers beneath it, covered in the sweet goo.
A phone number.
And a small message: I don’t normally do this- but you’re really cute, so it’s probable you’re not even single, but it’s worth a shot! My name’s Ann. : )
Fitz pocketed the napkin with a betraying feeling rising in his chest. Of course, many people told him he was good-looking, however, he was stupidly glad Ann was a part of that percentage.
He glanced up to see her already watching him, back behind the counter. He gave her a small smile and her cheeks pinked.
“Thanks.” He told her as he left, holding up the caramel coffee in his hand. He needed to find Grizzel, before he did something stupid- like, buy a phone.