The Realization (A SoKeefe/Keephie story)

Chapter 7 - Sophie

While Keefe was playing with Iggy, Sophie was bored out of her mind watching Biana flip through her private moments. And giggling. But she knew that there was nothing she could do to stop her. Except for one thing.

"Biana," She said firmly, waiting for her best friend to glance her way. When she didn't, Sophie said her name in a louder voice. "BIANA!"

"Huh? What?" Biana nearly lost her grip on the book.

"Bi-a-na. Weren't we going to plan for the sleepover? We could put makeovers in the schedule," Sophie said. It was a worthy sacrifice to keep her privacy.

Squeeeeeeeeal! Sophie covered her ears, then unplugged them. "Yessss! Makeovers!" Biana squealed again. She put down the book, but she was so excited that she didn't see Keefe lunge for it. But Sophie did.

"Not so fast!" Sophie called, using telekinesis to lift it up.

"Oh yeah?" Keefe said, a smirk on his face. "You think you can beat me at skills? I bet you don't even remember that you can move your feet to help you! It is soooo on, Foster." He lunged for it again, jumping off the bed, and then levitating, trying to grasp it. But Sophie had other plans.

"You realize you just told me about the foot trick, right?" Sophie called, also jumping off the bed. She then headed for the door. Before she got there, however, Keefe stepped in front of her, barricading her escape.

"Not so fast," He told her, flexing his muscles, which were pretty impressive, not that Sophie would ever tell him that. She looked around for an escape, then had an idea. She gritted her teeth, then separated her concentration into two parts. One was controlling the notebook, and the other was slowly pushing Keefe away from the door.

He yelped, trying to step back to the door, but Sophie steadily pushed him back, then leaped for the door and made her escape. She ran towards the stairs, hoping that she could run fast enough to get away from Keefe. Unfortunately, Keefe tackled her.

"I've got you now, Foster," He whispered into her ear, his breath tickling her cheek. Something about the circumstances made Sophie's heart switch to hummingbird mode.

She struggled against Keefe, twisting this way and that, but he wouldn't let her go. "You just can't get rid of me, no matter how hard you try," He whispered again. Sophie's heart was beating so loud she was sure that he could hear it.

Stop it, Sophie! Her mind told her. Focus on the game at hand! Sophie racked her brains, trying to think of an idea. Then she got it!

"You may have gotten me, but you haven't got the book!" She said to Keefe with a teasing twinkle in her eye. She used her telekinesis to move the book downstairs, all the way to the living room, then the kitchen, until it found a surprised Edaline, who was making ripplefluffs.

"Mom! I need help!" Sophie called from upstairs. "Can you conjure this book into the void?" Edaline appeared at the foot of the stairs, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw Keefe smushing her to the ground. But she didn't question any of it.

"Sure sweethea—" She began to say but was interrupted by Keefe.

"Nooo!" Keefe yelled, standing up and racing down the stairs. "Doooooon't, Edaline!" But it was too late. With a pop! the book disappeared just as his hands were about to grab it.

He turned back towards Sophie and ran up the stairs. "I will find out what's in that book someday." He said, gripping her hands and staring deep into her eyes. Sophie blushed and turned away slightly.

"I'm sure you will. One day." She cleared her throat. "Come on, let's go back to my room. Biana's probably tired of us ignoring her all the time." They walked down the hallway, with their hands still intertwined.

When they met Sandor, who was still standing guard in front of her room, he glared at Keefe.

"Mr. Sencen, if you ever tackle Miss Foster again, you will be exposed to the consequences," He warned, giving Keefe a warning glare. But it didn't sound very threatening because of his squeaky voice.

Keefe mock-saluted. "SIR YES SIR!" He said, before grinning and pulling Sophie into her room.

Biana was playing with Iggy, and when she saw the two of them, her face broke out into a huge smile. "Did you two have fun?" She teased, looking at Sophie in particular.

She blushed at what Biana was implying but she said, "Yeah, I did. I won."

"Aww Foster, just because you won doesn't mean you get to flaunt it in front of everyone," He whined, swatting her playfully

Sophie just huffed. "Well, you always— Nevermind. Weren't we going to decide stuff about the slumber party?" She turned to Biana. "Biana. You can hail Fitz. I'll hail Dex, and Keefe, you tell Linh and Tam. Everyone got it?" They nodded, and for the next hour, they hailed their friends, decorated the house, and generally prepared everything. This was the result:

In the middle of Sophie's flower carpet was where everyone would sleep with their sleeping bags lined up, though Sophie doubted that anyone was going to fall asleep. Since Keefe and Biana had come before the preparations, Edaline had conjured up two sleeping bags for them. All around her room there were streamers, balloons, and special hidden lights that flashed out different-colored spotlights. They'd also set up a loose plan for what they were going to do for the sleepover.

After all the preparations and stressing were done, the last thing to do was to wait for the guests to arrive!

Sophie, Keefe, and Biana were sitting on the Ruewen's couch in their living room, feeling accomplished but tired. After a few minutes of waiting, Dex glittered into the living room.

"Hey, Sophie! Am I the first one here?" He asked, looking around the room. Then he spotted Keefe and Biana, then shrugged. "I guess not."

"Don't worry. They were here way before you, helping to decorate and set things up," She reassured him.

Seconds later, Tam and Linh arrived. Linh launched herself at Sophie, pulling her into a hug, then going over to Biana, just being her sweet, bubbly self.

After 5 minutes of waiting, Fitz still hadn't arrived, so everyone just waited, making small talk here and there. Meanwhile, Sophie was staring blankly in front of her while her mind was spinning.

Why isn't Fitz here yet? She wondered. Does he really hate me that much? Is this revenge for our break-up? What if he's never going to arrive? What if-

"Chill, Foster," Keefe murmured from beside her. "Your emotions are bouncing all over the place." He lay his hand on top of hers, then smiled sweetly at her. "There's no need to worry. And I know you're thinking about Fitz. Either he'll arrive or he won't. That's his decision. No need to beat yourself up about it. There's no need to worry."

"'There's no need to worry,'" Sophie mimicked, laughing slightly. "You sound just like Alden." She lay her head on his shoulder, glad for the comfort.

And of course, that's when Fitz arrived.

Awkward silence ensues when he sees Sophie and Keefe.